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.

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! 

Iowa recently passed legislation to undo protections for trans people by removing gender identity from the state civil rights code—making it the first time a state has removed a protected class from a state law prohibiting discrimination. These changes will weaken legal safeguards against discrimination and affect the rights of transgender people at every turn—from hiring practices to health care access. Meanwhile, congressional Republicans are targeting sanctuary cities like Boston and Chicago for the civil rights protections they guarantee to immigrants, attempting to force city governments to comply with Trump's mass deportation agenda, including ICE raids in workplaces, schools, and hospitals. Make no mistake, these attacks don’t just affect targeted communities—they represent a dangerous erosion of our civil liberties and undermine the rights of ALL Americans. Sign the petition to tell elected officials that they must safeguard our civil rights from Trump’s attacks.

While republicans may be receiving "marching orders" to avoid town halls, it is up to us, the people, to demand them and to ensure members of congress who support the current administration answer to their actions and the impact it will have on individuals and community alike.

This is extremely important! Elon Musk must not be allowed to have access to anything in our government.  Elon Musk and DOGE are not elected officials yet, they have unchecked power and access to things that even top officials have never seen. They are not finding fraud, Elon Musk and DOGE have not shown any proof. This is a coup that is taking place in real time. Elon Musk needs to have his citizenship revoked and DOGE must be stopped before it is too late for America to recover. I implore you to support me in this fight for our freedom, our constitution, our families, our freedom. 

Details are still emerging, but Trump and his allies are quickly working to revive Guantánamo’s shameful legacy with an unprecedented effort to imprison tens of thousands of people on the island. The New York Times reports that migrants are already being housed in the same prison that once held individuals accused of being members of Al Qaeda. The very idea that facilities synonymous with torture could be used to detain people fleeing incredible violence and political instability is abhorrent. The potential for trauma, corruption, and human rights violations is sky-high. This plan is more than cruel and likely illegal. It will also be extraordinarily expensive. Maintaining Guantánamo already costs hundreds of millions of dollars per year, and expanding it to imprison immigrants could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions more. Every lawmaker who claims to care about “fiscal responsibility” or “American values” should be outraged — that’s why, with your help, we’ll make enough noise to turn outrage into action. Right now, as Congress puts the final touches on a bill to keep the government open past March 14, we have a critical and urgent opportunity to push them to deny ANY money to pay for immigration detention at Guantánamo Bay. 

Immigrant students are an essential part of our UH community, yet many face unnecessary barriers due to restrictive policies and lack of institutional support. By joining our campaign, you can help push UH to take action—ensuring immigrant students have the resources, protections, and advocacy they deserve. Together, we can make UH a truly inclusive and supportive environment for all.

With the growing threat of harmful immigration policies in the U.S., it is important to provide material support for immigrant students and their families. When 1 relative faces deportation, it affects the entire family.  Currently, there are not many supports in the Salem-Keizer School District for students and their families when they experience deportation. Students report that deportations deeply affect their emotional, physical, and academic well-being, as they are forced to deal with loss of income, housing, food, and other necessities. These are unjust and detrimental barriers to education.  The Salem-Keizer School District should not be spending nearly 1 million dollars on a program that is not supported by research. Instead, these funds should be utilized for the actual well-being of students in the district, which begins by addressing the emotional, physical, and financial needs of immigrant students and families. 

We need to stop the glorification of such a serious situation. These are people’s lives that are being impacted, not TV fodder.  Please show some compassion for those who are victims of this cruel process and stop the glorification of the situation. 

Everyone who cares about their neighbor should sign this petition in hopes to make and keep NC as a state that is seen as a safe and welcoming place for all. While we cannot control what the federal government is doing, we do have the power to reach out to our government, especially our governor, as we elected them to work in our best interest.

Trump's attack on birthright citizenship is unconstitutional, and it's just one part of MAGA's far-right playbook to scapegoat our immigrant neighbors, all while Trump makes life easier for his wealthy friends and harder for everyone else. If this Congress votes on this order, they must resoundingly reject this brazen attack on our Constitution and its discriminatory agenda that threatens the very fabric of America.   Trump's promises of deportation raids and family separation policies are in practice unpopular—morally AND economically. Yet, he remains undeterred, because the true goal isn't efficient policies—it's scapegoating immigrants, fueling division, and creating a distraction while he and his billionaire allies profit at the public's expense. Congress must take action and refuse to concede to Trump's assault on our Constitution. Re-litigating the question of who gets to be a citizen is just another attempt by Trump to divide us and further advance a discriminatory America. We won't be distracted or divided. Add your name to demand Congress denounce and fight back against Trump's unconstitutional executive order—and commit to protecting birthright citizenship.

Imagine you were fleeing violence, or seeking to reunify with your relatives in the United States. You are crossing the border when the US government arrests you. Despite your age, you are treated like a criminal, locked in detention, and separated from your family. Not only must you endure conditions that the federal government itself has found inhumane, but you must also defend yourself in immigration court alone-because the United States does not recognize your right to a lawyer even if you cannot find one. This is the reality that hundreds of thousands of adults and children face each day. It is the result of an immigration system designed to dehumanize and criminalize people, not welcome them with dignity. The US immigration system is an arrest-to-deportation pipeline rooted in racism. Our nation’s immigration laws were created and founded explicitly in racism and xenophobia. The past three decades have been marked by an ever-expanding immigration detention system, and an immigration enforcement regime that criminalizes people of color and funnels people from the criminal legal systems into detention and deportation. As a result, our immigration system serves as a form of “double punishment” for people who pass from one legal system to another, compounding the racial disparities and injustices in both. Just as Black people are more likely than white people to be targeted by police, Black immigrants are also disproportionately vulnerable to immigration enforcement. One-in-Ten Black people living in the United States are also immigrants.