It is important because COVID-19 has shattered what was our students' normal daily lives. Many of them do not possess the tools needed in their homes to complete their school work successfully.

Now more than ever, every Healthcare worker in the United States deserve this recognition.

Designating Election Day as a university holiday is important in increasing voter turnout and promoting civic engagement among students, faculty, and staff at Binghamton University. On-campus polling sites and early voting have both helped in this endeavor but fall short of allowing students the proper time to vote. 47% of college students cite being too busy as their primary reason for not voting. Having Election Day designated as a university holiday would free students of the time constraint of having to attend hours of classes on Election Day. In 2019, New York amended the Paid Voting Leave Law to allow voters to take up to three hours from work to cast their ballot on Election Day. Still, no provision exists allowing students time off from class to vote. The University of Montana is closed on Election Day in even-numbered years, and in New York, Columbia University treats Election Day as a university holiday with the cancelation of all classes. Making Election Day a state and national holiday is already a legislative priority at the state and federal levels for many lawmakers. Binghamton University could be at the forefront of this movement by designating Election Day as a university holiday. While the university already cancels classes for a number of holidays meant for observation, cancelling classes on Election Day would serve a practical purpose by allowing the Binghamton University community the opportunity to exercise their right to vote. Together, through this initiative, we can help uplift the underrepresented voice of today’s youth. Please join us in urging President Stenger to designate Election Day as a university holiday.

Since President Thomas Jefferson founded the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1802, the federal government has expanded and improved the education of military leaders. Two centuries later, however, the national declaration that "all men are created equal" remains unfulfilled. Naming academy buildings, roads, and other infrastructure for Confederate leaders at West Point and Annapolis perpetuates American inequality. At West Point, a barracks constructed in 1962--the height of the civil rights movement--was named for Robert E. Lee. At the Naval Academy, an engineering building and the superintendent's house were named for Confederate naval leaders in 1907 and 1976, respectively. Both academies also have roads and other infrastructure named for Confederate leaders. I recently urged West Point Superintendent LTG Darryl A. Williams, a fellow West Point graduate, to rename Lee Barracks and other infrastructure to "serve the nation’s paramount quest for a more equitable and just society under law." He wrote that "the Academy -- as a subordinate command of the Army -- will not act independently on this issue," "Confederate memorialization is an Army issue," and West Point recognizes "individuals who are a part of our history as an institution and a nation, not as representatives of a cause." The Confederacy and its leaders, however, will always stand principally for disunity, racism, and white supremacy. Honoring Confederate leaders at military academies reveres those values over equality and liberty. It is time for the nation's self-described premier leadership development institutions to replace Confederate names so they more fully express and honor Americans' highest values. Those values are clearly expressed through countless state and local officials who have removed Confederate statues and other divisive symbols from public spaces since the violent racist attacks in Charleston, SC in 2015 and Charlottesville, VA in 2017. State and local officials are fulfilling citizens' interests and leading an important democratic change movement where the federal government is failing. Sign this petition to: - tell the Defense Department and Congress to align the academies' values with your values; - support legislation that will require and fund the removal of Confederate honors at the military academies; - give your children better environments to learn leadership and selfless public service.

This is important because the mayor allows and even encourages the doe to be run by mountebanks and grifters who have corrupted public education under the guise of learning and caring, all while destabilizing, demeaning and damaging the children and the workforce of the NYC public school system.

DEMOCRACY: We are in the middle of a Democratic Primary. 27 states have not yet voted 43% of delegates are still available COVID-19: We are living in an unprecedented time where a global pandemic is testing the nation and revealing the deep flaws in our system. Record-breaking numbers of people are applying for unemployment. Millions are losing their jobs and their employment-tied healthcare. Millions are at risk of being evicted. This is the precise time for people to have a voice in how America should move forward beyond this world-changing crisis. Regardless of the path we take, life as we know it will fundamentally change. PATH FORWARD: We still have a choice. Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders have very different visions for how to proceed through this crisis. Let the American people hear them and make this very important decision before the remaining states cast their votes. Give us the debate we deserve.

During the COVID crisis this change would be beneficial to social services agencies on the front line. Certain programing can be of substantial benefit to clients in Social Service Programs that address topics related to addiction, mental health, and survival stories be valuable teaching tools for clients struggling with these disorders.

Although, it is a great initiative to do distant learning, parents and/or students are not fully equipped, mentally, emotionally to successfully provide or acquire the education that is provided by an official educator. This initiative will also keep the educators and households sane as we survive and readjust because of this pandemic. It will also provide a more realistic grade point average for schools and students not to lose their academic status.

The class of 2020 has nothing to look forward to with school being cancelled. I want them to still be able to atleast walk across the stage and receive their diplomas in recognition of their hard work just as the previous classes before them did it also. We shouldn’t just sit down and take this slap in the face as this pandemic will past in due time. It may not affect directly you, but put yourself in their shoes the 1st class ever to have their senior year canceled stripped of everything they have been working toward for all 4 years. We’ve already had our our fun of highschool and moved on it’s a one time experience all should have so why excluded our next generation of successors. I for one say this should be treated as a top class emergency in efforts to save the class of 2020. All those who would love to help spread this and raise awareness your effort are greatly appreciated.

An endorsement of a large group necessitates an election by its members! The American Federation of Teachers  (AFT) supports Joe Biden for president, says spokesperson Randi Weingarten. But, we professional educators were not asked our opinion and we should have been! The undersigned AFT teachers support Bernie Sanders for President and we think the AFT should do the same because Bernie's platform is the best for our students, from the young child through the college-bound student. There is no question or doubt that Bernie's platform for education from the start is superior and calls on us to make the playing field equitable and education attainable for all. Here is why: Bernie's platform for elementary and secondary school education: • Provide equitable funding for public schools • Give teachers a much-deserved raise by setting a starting salary for teachers at no less than $60,000, expanding collective bargaining rights and teacher tenure, and funding out-of-pocket expenses for classroom materials. • Strengthens the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) by ensuring that the federal government provides at least 50 percent of the funding for special education and giving special education teachers the support they need. • Provide year-round, free universal school meals, and incentivizes locally sourced food. • Make schools safe and inclusive by protecting the rights of all students from harassment, discrimination, and violence and enacting comprehensive gun violence prevention laws. • Rebuild, modernize, and green our nation’s schools. • Combat racial discrimination and school segregation • End the unaccountable profit-motive of charter schools Bernie's platform for higher education:  • Guarantee tuition and debt-free public colleges, universities, HBCUs, Minority Serving Institutions and trade-schools to all. • Cancel all student loan debt for the some 45 million Americans who owe about $1.6 trillion and place a cap on student loan interest rates going forward at 1.88 percent. • Invest $1.3 billion every year in private, non-profit historically black colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions • End equity gaps in higher education attainment. And ensure students are able to cover non-tuition costs of attending school by: expanding Pell Grants to cover non-tuition and fee costs, tripling funding for the Work-Study Program, and more. We do not support the AFT's decision to support Joe Biden without full participation. We, respectfully, request that the AFT support Bernie Sanders because he is the best pro-education candidate in this race for the presidency.

1099 business have been literally tossed by the wayside and ignored. We have needs, responsibilities, families and obligations, just as any other business in Maryland and we should not be treated, as if we do not matter, when we still pay taxes. Business taxes, personal property taxes, sales taxes, bottle taxes., etc.Our rents and mortgages on our businesses are due, just like every other business in Maryland and it's time we stop being ignored.

We are unbelievably upset by the decision to host the graduating class of 2020 Commencement events online. This is incredibly unfair and feels like a slap in the face to not only the seniors who have worked hard and put in a tremendous amount of time and hard work to get to this position, but to the supporting families who have spent a fortune for us to even be at this school in the first place, as well. This ceremony is not only for us but for the families who have continuously supported us AND this institution. We understand the current events occurring in the world are out of your control. However, this decision completely discounts our experience, especially in regards to the Commencement Concert. A virtual Commencement concert is not realistic or ideal and does not encapsulate our experiences at this college. This concert is a culmination of all the work we have individually put into our different crafts. It is our final chance to perform together as one graduating class and show that we are ready to take on the music industry within whatever route we choose to pursue. There is no reason why, when things return to a normal state, the school cannot host the exact same caliber of event as they have in previous years. We have earned it and deserve to be celebrated.