The starke county youth soccer league is a great opportunity for kids to get out and have fun playing a sport with friends. This youth league starts young and allows the kids to get very good at the sport. However, the sport stops after 8th grade which does not allow the kids the opportunities of playing in high school and maybe even some into college. Often times these kids lose friends that they have known most of their life as they no longer play sports together.

Our purpose is to inform and to promote social change within our education system. We want to focus on the structure first, where the students develop and learn different behaviors and attitudes. This is a vulnerable and important time for students so, we want to advocate for better staff development and implementation of non discriminatory practice in schools. We are advocating towards mental health and trauma-informed practices to be put into schools nationwide. The students need support, not to be reprimanded unfairly with punishment.

Calvin University cannot fire Professor Kuilema over his support for marginalized communities. Professor Kuilema has shown time and time again that he is an excellent faculty member by caring for his students, and teaching them to think critically about the world around them. To fail to reappoint Professor Kuilema over his involvement in a queer wedding would be unfair and unjust to not only him, but the Calvin University community as a whole. This petition was created by Calvin University alum, Nicole Sweda, and current Calvin University student, Isaac Seiler.

For many trans and non-binary students, it is extremely uncomfortable to be forced to use a labeled, gendered restroom. We should not have to experience any more struggling and discomfort than our cisgender peers

These policies and practices include: (1) Calvin University prohibits staff and faculty members from being in queer relationships through an unclear and dated rule. Calvin University sees “sexual relations” as only being permissible in the context of marriage which they define as only being between “a man and a woman”. A sexual relationship outside of this traditional marriage is not recognized by Calvin University as being a legitimate marriage. Therefore any staff or faculty members in queer relationships and/or marriages will be terminated on the grounds that they are committing “sexual misconduct”. (2) Calvin University consistently lacks adequate support for their LGBTQ+ students and is not transparent about a lack of supports when recruiting LGBTQ+ students to attend the school. Calvin University publicly brands themself as a Christian university that provides more support and safety for LGBTQ+ students in comparison to other, “more conservative” Christian universities. They do this by publicly advertising the supports the school offers for LGBTQ+ students such as a peer support group - Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA), a therapy group through Calvin’s Center for Counseling and Wellness - Without Shame, and a Sexuality Series Director, a position that has not been filled at a full-time capacity in several years, making it ill-equipped to support LGBTQ+ students and their needs. (3) Calvin University does not allow LGBTQ+ students to enter certain leadership positions at the university if they are in “same-sex relationships”. The positions include most notably being a resident assistant in university dorms, but this is not the only leadership position LGBTQ+ students are barred from. (4) Calvin University refuses to allow staff and faculty allies to publicly advocate for LGBTQ+ rights without repercussions and consequences to their careers at Calvin University (denying tenure, reappointment, etc.). Calvin University’s discriminatory policies and practices: (1) Create a hostile environment for LGBTQ+ people in the Calvin University community, including LGBTQ+ faculty, staff, students, allies, and potential candidates for hire. (2) Directly harm LGBTQ+ people and their allies in the Calvin community by ending the careers of LGBTQ+ staff and faculty. (3) Jeopardize the careers of allies who affirm and seek justice for LGBTQ+ folks in the Calvin community and elsewhere. These policies fuel anxiety, a fear of speaking up, and uncertainty among Calvin faculty and staff. Some faculty and staff have seen their LGBTQ+ colleagues leave or be dismissed from the Calvin community, but they cannot speak up about it for fear of jeopardizing their careers. (4) Increase feelings of shame among LGBTQ+ people across the Calvin community. Calvin University’s partial affirmation of LGBTQ+ identities but not relationships, leaves many LGBTQ+ folks at Calvin feeling ashamed of themselves, isolated, lonely, and wrong. It furthermore may intensify mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. (5) Create a toxic culture where LGBTQ+ people and their rights are debated across campus – dehumanizing LGBTQ+ people into an issue and invalidating their worth as people. (6) Bar the majority of LGBTQ+ people, including Calvin alumni, from working at the university – effectively limiting any diversity in gender identity or sexual orientation in the staff/faculty makeup at the school. This lack of diversity limits the work and perspectives that Calvin University has. It also sends the message that no matter what gifts and great contributions a person has or may offer Calvin University, their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, bars any contribution to the institution. Calvin University must STOP their discriminatory policies now! They must stop harming, silencing, and traumatizing LGBTQ+ people and their allies. This petition was created by Calvin Alumni Lindsay Owens and Grace Swanson.

Collectively we can make changes for the betterment of our youth and the communities through work release, education, innovation and hard work.

First the Florida GOP described the “Don’t Say Gay” bill–HB 1557–as legislation that would protect parents’ rights in education. But now Governor DeSantis’ press secretary has exposed the real agenda behind this egregious bill. In a recent Twitter post, the governor’s spokesperson, Christina Pushaw, accused the bills’ opponents of being groomers of young children (aka pedophiles), going so far as to single out Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, a legislator of the utmost integrity. In earlier controversies, Pushaw called the Archbishop of Miami a liar, blamed Democrats for organizing a Nazi rally to hurt the governor, and harassed members of the media for reporting factual information.

Every one of the students who were told to evict has the potential to do good in this world. And the key to unlocking that is exiling them from the Collin College Student Housing Community? That is mental! That has no place in a just society. Compassion does. And this arbitrary decision is absolutely unjust and shortsighted. Collin College is tangibly harming everyone involved in their decision to evict for a single, unprosecuted event.

These American children, and their parents, must be protected AT ANY COST!

The truth is that Ron DeSantis and Florida Republicans are running a full-court press to attack our most vulnerable communities this legislative session. DeSantis' own Press Secretary Christina Pushaw took to Twitter with a bigoted, anti-LGBTQ rant regarding Florida's Don't Say Gay bill. In the two-tweet thread, she accuses LGBTQ people of being pedophiles. She continued throughout the weekend, retweeting similar language from right-wing outlets and lashing out at NBC's SNL for a skit on the bill. DeSantis owns this unbridled hatred. Time is running out. And it’s not just Florida: Republican-controlled state legislatures across the country have introduced over 100 anti-LGBTQ+ bills, most of which especially target trans and nonbinary youth. So we must rise up to push back against these dangerous attacks. There is absolutely no time to waste. LGBTQ+ youth like me are counting on you to rise up and fight back. Bills like this cause further, immeasurable harm to communities that already face harassment, discrimination, and attacks like these day after day for simply existing. These bills are attempts at erasing us, stigmatizing us, and isolating us, and they would continue to push LGBTQ+ youth even farther to the margins. It's heartbreaking and hits way too close to home for me and so many others. These attacks are happening across the country, so it’s critical that all Floridians and people across the country know of the lengths Governor DeSantis and Republicans are willing to go in order to curb free speech, propagandize school curriculums, and police them in classrooms, private workplaces, and doctor’s offices. DeSantis and Republicans are willing to inflict harm on the most vulnerable in our state in order to shore up their extremist base. Together, we can stop DeSantis and Republican’s dangerous agenda by fighting back against white supremacy, homophobia, and transphobia.

The current push for book bans is the strongest that it’s been in decades, with attempts to stop students from learning about the Holocaust, slavery, gender and sexuality, and more. Schools should allow a curriculum that educates students on our collective histories and allows them to learn about resilience and empathy. In a state that often touts freedom, there is no freedom of speech, when books are now being censored after years of already being taught in Florida schools. School environments should be inclusive to all students and give them the opportunity to read stories that reflect their interests and identities. Students, teachers, and communities across the country are facing similar right-wing attempts to censor what’s taught in schools, but we are not powerless. Together, we can take action to ensure schools and libraries have the ability to serve everyone so that we can learn from our diversity, history, and culture, and work to create an inclusive future where everyone can thrive.

My name is Jaime. I’m a mom and teacher in Florida. My husband and I have three amazing children— our youngest is transgender. Our family is one of many with a personal stake in stopping the discriminatory “Don’t Say Gay” (HB 1557/SB 1834) bill currently working its way through the Florida legislature because our daughter identifies as a girl even though she was mistakenly assigned male at birth. Because of how she chooses to express her authentic self, our daughter has been bullied at school. We fear the passage of a bill to ban any discussion of children’s LGBTQ+ identity will hurt kids and limit schools’ ability to foster an overall environment of compassion and kindness to all. Right now, politicians in FL are proposing a bill that would BAN some educators from teaching about LGBTQ+ people. This bill would make it illegal for any elementary school staffer—including teachers and school counselors—to talk about LGBTQ+ people. They would be barred from talking about how kids express their gender identity, or the fact that some kids have two dads or two moms. And if a child confides in their teacher or counselor about their own identity, that staff member would be required to disclose that to their parents, even if there were concerns about potential abuse. Sadly, a third of all LGBTQ+ youth report being physically abused by parents due to their identity. Requiring staff to tell parents puts children at a huge and unacceptable risk of violence. Sign the petition now and tell FL legislators and the governor to oppose this dangerous bill. Thank you.