Thank you for taking time to follow our journey to open a new SixFour3 facility in Fairfax. Over the past year, the SixFour3 Fairfax Team has been working hard …we have leased space, designed what will be an amazing softball training facility (!!), and pursued a building permit to begin construction. Our hopes were to open in early 2025. However, a few short months ago, Fairfax County Staff ruled that we are not allowed to use industrial space for a softball training facility, which came as a shock to us all. During the last decade, countless baseball facilities and other sports training facilities have been approved by the County in industrial space. Some examples include Perfect Performance in August 2023, Pioneer Baseball in April 2022, Metro Baseball Academy in July 2021, Capstone Soccer in 2020, and Diamond Heroes Baseball in 2017…the list goes on and on. We feel singled out!! Our next step is a hearing with the Board of Zoning Appeals on May 7th at 9 am to try and overturn the staff's decision. To win the appeal, we need your voices to be heard!! Winning an appeal is no easy task, but we know the softball community will rally around us to help remove the barriers we are facing from the county to open SixFour3 Fairfax.  We believe it is vital to inform Fairfax County about the benefits of SixFour3 and would be grateful for your support in disseminating this information through your broadcasting channels. Want to do more? You can also write your own email to the Fairfax County BZA! We encourage you to share personal stories, your support, or feel free to use the sample language we’ve provided on the second page of this document. 

Accessibility is not just about ramps and elevators—it is about respect and inclusion and the type of community we create at Fordham. Many of our residence halls today—particularly Martyrs’ Court—currently bar students with mobility issues from being an active participant on campus. That means friendship, late-night discussions, study breaks and all that college offers beyond just class work are out of the question if one's living facility is inaccessible. If a residence hall is not accessible, then so is the community that is built there. Even if this matter does not directly affect you, it does affect your classmates, your friends, your future roommates. It decides who feels welcomed and who does not. By signing this petition, you are supporting the belief that all students should have access to the complete Fordham experience—not only in the classroom, but in all aspects of our campus. You're making it clear that we value one another and won't tolerate physical spaces creating unseen divisions. This is our opportunity to make Fordham better-for ourselves, for the current students on campus, and for all who will come afterward.

1. Protecting Children and Educators: Schools are meant to be safe environments. Joining this campaign helps push for laws that prioritize the safety and well-being of students and teachers. 2. Preventing Tragedies: Gun violence in schools has led to heartbreaking losses. Banning guns from campuses can reduce the risk of shootings and save lives. 3. Creating a Peaceful Learning Environment: Fear and anxiety have no place in education. Removing firearms from schools helps students focus on learning rather than survival. 4. Sending a Message to Lawmakers: Every signature shows that people care. A strong collective voice can influence real policy change at the local and national levels. 5. Standing Up for Common-Sense Safety Measures: Most Americans support reasonable gun laws. This campaign is not about politics it’s about protecting people and preventing preventable violence.

We, the people, invite you to meet with your constituents at a public Town Hall meeting: on Saturday, April 26, 2025 at 6 PM at Krutch Park, 504 Market St., Knoxville, TN, to discuss the concerns outlined above.

Not only is this depriving the community of acknowledging and learning about worthy individuals; this is also a direct violation to the state policy approved in 2010 by UNANIMOUS consent of the state House (112-0) and State Senate (37-0).  We unequivocally believe that the Civil Rights Hall of Fame MUST be Re-Activated!! To join in this push, please sign the petition as a show of support and affirmation!

This decision to close its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion offices and discontinue the DEI 2.0 Strategic Plan should concern not just University of Michigan students, faculty, and alumni, but anyone who values higher education, diversity, and academic freedom. Here’s why:  1. It Sets a Dangerous Precedent – If a leading public university like Michigan backs down under federal pressure, other institutions may follow, leading to a nationwide rollback of DEI initiatives. This weakens higher education's ability to support historically marginalized groups. 2. It Empowers Authoritarian Tactics – By complying with political intimidation, Michigan signals that academic institutions can be bullied into abandoning their core values. This emboldens those who want to dismantle equity efforts, making it easier for future attacks on universities, faculty, and students. 3. It Hurts Students and Faculty – DEI programs provide crucial resources, mentorship, and protections for underrepresented students and faculty. Removing them makes campuses less inclusive and more hostile for many communities. 4. It Undermines Academic Freedom – Universities should be spaces for critical thought, debate, and progress. Allowing government overreach to dictate educational policy threatens the independence of institutions dedicated to truth and scholarship. 5. It Echoes Historical Patterns of Suppression – Historically, authoritarian regimes have targeted universities first, recognizing their role in shaping society and challenging oppressive ideologies. This decision mirrors past moments where institutions either resisted or enabled such takeovers. People should be paying attention because what happens at Michigan could happen elsewhere—and the consequences extend far beyond one campus.

This is an important cause because every person deserves a chance to go to college if they want to. Going to college allows people to get a higher education which can be very helpful to develop critical thinking skills, a deeper understanding of the world, and just overall being more informed. It also allows for better job opportunities, better earning potentials, and greater career success. Almost half of college students have to get jobs while in college which can add stress to these students because they have to juggle school and work. Over half of college students have to take out student loans and end up having debt after they graduate because they can't afford college on their own. With rising costs many people won't be able to afford a higher education if they want to but expanding Federal Pell Grants to account for inflation can help more students be able to afford college. This can potentially allow students to take out less student loans and students might not have to get jobs during college for them to afford to attend. It can potentially help students be less stressed and less worried about where they are going to find the money to afford college. Overall, expanding Federal Pell Grants to account for inflation can allow lower income students to attend college and get a higher education.

Without your support the forgotten women in beers beautiful and diverse history will remain forgotten. 

People should join this campaign because a nation is smart and thoughtful when its people are enlightened through a good world-class education.

An executive order issued by the Trump administration on Friday night, March 14, calls for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the nation’s only federal agency for America’s libraries. The following statement was made by the American Library Association: Americans have loved and relied on public, school and academic libraries for generations. By eliminating the only federal agency dedicated to funding library services, the Trump administration’s executive order is cutting off at the knees the most beloved and trusted of American institutions and the staff and services they offer: • Early literacy development and grade-level reading programs • Summer reading programs for kids  • High-speed internet access • Employment assistance for job seekers  • Braille and talking books for people with visual impairments • Homework and research resources for students and faculty • Veterans’ telehealth spaces equipped with technology and staff support • STEM programs, simulation equipment and training for workforce development • Small business support for budding entrepreneurs To dismiss some 75 committed workers and mission of an agency that advances opportunity and learning is to dismiss the aspirations and everyday needs of millions of Americans. And those who will feel that loss most keenly live in rural communities.  As seedbeds of literacy and innovation, our nation’s 125,000 public, school, academic and special libraries deserve more, not less support. Libraries translate 0.003% of the federal budget into programs and services used by more than 1.2 billion people every year.

Recess is a time for members of Congress to return to their home states. They should be using this week to meet with their constituents, give space for their concerns, and take that back to D.C. Instead, House Republican leaders are now reportedly telling their offices to avoid holding public events when they are home for March recess. Tim Burchett had scheduled a town hall for March 16, but canceled it citing concerns about "professional instigators" (The Hill). This is the opposite of the directions Democrats are receiving—with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries encouraging all members to connect directly with constituents to talk about the Republican-backed attacks on key services like Social Security and Medicaid embodied by Elon Musk's actions and the Republican budget.  Tim Burchett was elected to represent us—he should not be hiding from his constituents. Period.  Add your name to the petition to demand that Tim Burchett host a town hall or public office hours during the congressional recess! 

Sign this petition and send a letter to your Congressional representatives urging them to take immediate action to protect our public schools.