The Building for Women in Downtown Duluth has been open since 1981 and providing services including reproductive health care, advocacy for sexual assault victim-survivors, programs for young mothers and young women, and much more. While all of these services are important and necessary, we recognize those accessing the building aren't just women. Folks of all genders access resources through the services provided in this building. The building name is currently a barrier and exclusive to those who are not female identifying. It should represent all of those it serves, not just a portion of them.

Many are excluded from the voting process- whether they're too young, incarcerated or suppressed. Regardless, your vote impacts their future too. Vote4Me is amplifying the voice of those who can't vote because they deserve a say in their lives. Take a pledge to vote for those in your own life who can't vote, and encourage others to do the same! For those who can't vote, we're hear to support and amplify. Challenge those around you who can vote & say, "This is why you should vote 4 me."

“The city has defaulted the handling of almost all social ills in the city to the police department, especially those dealing with the homeless population. Through the focus groups conducted with the department’s supervisors and line-level personnel, it was obvious there is a high level of frustration among all employees regarding the responsibilities of dealing with the homelessness issue.” -Santa Cruz Police Department Operations Analysis 2018 Report Many of the calls police currently respond to here in Santa Cruz could be better handled by a program like CAHOOTS. In the city of Santa Cruz, 21.9% of calls to the Santa Cruz Police Department (SCPD) in 2017 were classified as welfare checks, which programs like CAHOOTS are specifically designed to handle. (Less than 16% of calls to SCPD were classified as crime-related.) For the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office (SCSO), 43-56% of calls each month in 2020 have been welfare checks. The annual Santa Cruz Police Department budget is $30 million. SCPD responds to 100,000 calls a year, at an average cost of about $300 per response--over 3 times the cost of mobile crisis units. The cost per response from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office appears to be much higher; SCSO’s budget for “police protection” is over $45 million, and according to the office’s published crime statistics, they handled 17,199 calls last year (an average of over $2600 per response). By contrast, in 2019, CAHOOTS responded to more than 24,000 calls on a budget of $2 million (an average of $83 per response). “I recently spoke with a sergeant about defunding. He said, ‘If someone could take the homeless issues entirely from us and stop us from responding to mental health calls—please, take the money!’ The sad reality is that no one else has stepped up as the first responder to these issues.” -SCPD Chief Mills’ blog, 6/16/20 The 2020 Grand Jury Report on Homelessness recommended establishing a program in Santa Cruz County modeled after the CAHOOTS program and “would be beneficial to those receiving its services, as well as the County’s law enforcement and medical personnel. The BOS should work with City and the County law enforcement agencies to identify funding in their budgets, and launch a program similar to CAHOOTS to reduce the overall costs of homelessness to the County.” We call on elected officials to heed the Grand Jury’s recommendation and establish a CAHOOTS-type crisis response service here in Santa Cruz County. A program like this would better serve our county’s needs, while saving public money by diverting calls from police and emergency medical services. Email [email protected] to get involved or for more info! Sources: https://whitebirdclinic.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/CAHOOTS-Media.pdf (pages 1,2, & 5) https://www.cityofsantacruz.com/home/showdocument?id=70001 (page 2 & 120) https://santacruzsheriff.org/about-us/crime-stats https://chiefmills.com/2020/06/16/de-fund-the-police/ http://www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/Portals/0/County/GrandJury/GJ2020_final/MicroHomes_Report.pdf (page 23)

Indian Village is an affluent neighborhood on the East side of the city of Detroit. It is a subdivision that was created from a farm owned by the Cook family. The name of the neighborhood was not chosen to lift up or empower people, it was not chosen out of honor or respect. Instead, according to the Detroit Historical Society, it was chosen to “give the neighborhood character” helping to sell the lots and homes. There were many settlements in the area and there is a long history of people living in the area before colonization. However, local Tribal historians, the Detroit Historical Society, and the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office have all confirmed that there was not a Native settlement at the location. The name is offensive to the local Indigenous people, historically inaccurate, and misleading. It is not acceptable to appropriate people or culture to sell products. Indian Village is another example of the appropriation of the Indigenous people of North America being used by others. These practices must come to an end and we are calling on the neighborhood residents and the City of Detroit to rename this neighborhood to “The Village.”

October 14, 2020: Today the United Farm Workers (UFW) and UFW Foundation (UFWF) filed a lawsuit against Trump's Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. On September 30th, the Department of Agriculture took an unprecedented step toward reducing farm worker wages. They announced the unilateral decision to eliminate the data collection that is the only national source of information that allows the Department of Labor to determine and set guest worker wages. Without this information, the wages of all domestic farm workers could be adversely impacted. You can stand with farm workers by signing their petition to USDA Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue. For over 100 years USDA has consistently used this method to collect data about farm labor and wages. The federal Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR), determines the minimum rate that must be paid H–2A workers to avoid undercutting the wages of domestic farm workers. The AEWR rate is higher than the minimum wage in all 50 states -- often significantly. To put it in perspective, in states like Utah and Wisconsin, wages could fall by as much as $7 per hour. Even in California, workers stand to lose almost $2 an hour. The USDA gave no rationale for this change and did not make it available for public comment. In addition, they did not consider the incredible harm this move would have on farm worker wages and did not explain why they chose to eliminate it even though many states and federal entities rely on this information. This lawsuit is critical. The wage loss could amount to thousands of dollars to workers who are barely making both ends meet. These wage decreases will create a ripple effect, ultimately resulting in many US farm workers being paid less. And the fact that they are trying to cut the wages of these essential workers in the middle of a pandemic is outrageous. Stand with us in stopping this travesty. THE UFW & UFWF filed a lawsuit against Sonny Perdue today, but let's also show him that Americans care about the people who put food on our tables and will not accept this change. Sign our petition to Sonny Perdue now.

The Trump administration is trying to end the 2020 Census count as soon as possible -- so that already vulnerable communities lose out on representation in Congress and vital funding for things like schools, fire trucks, and COVID-19 relief. This is just the administration’s latest attempt to intimidate, exclude, and erase immigrant families and young people out of the 2020 Census. And now, the Supreme Court has given Trump and his administration the go-ahead to halt the census count. Remember: rigging the census is part of a years-long effort by far-right political operatives to rig our system and silence millions of Americans. We’ve uncovered documents from the GOP’s top redistricting strategist, Thomas Hofeller, that outline this exact strategy -- and we took this fight to court. And despite this setback, we’re not done fighting. But we need to prepare for the worst: that the Administration might shut down the census immediately. We have one path to stop this -- put maximum pressure on the U.S. Senate to save the Census. We must go all out -- right here and right now -- to protect the 2020 Census from political manipulation. We must make sure senators know that their seats are on the line -- and the American people expect them to put the integrity of our democracy before Trump’s partisan schemes. We don’t have a moment to waste. There is bipartisan legislation right now that would save the U.S. Census -- and passing it just got far, far more urgent. If we can get it to the Senate floor, it has the support to pass. Demand that GOP senators add their support to the bipartisan 2020 Census Deadline Extensions Act (S. 4571) -- which would extend the census count through October 31st -- and insist Majority Leader Mitch McConnell holds a floor vote.

Freeform has a wide variety of Audience. They show 31 days of Halloween movies, and they have Christmas specials. I am petitioning for this network to add a 31 days of Disney movies. The up and coming generation DESERVES to experience the classics that is Disney. Children are so impressionable and they see such violence and gore on TV that we owe it to them and ourselves to provide a safe time and space for children to spend time and watch TV with there family’s without being subjected to unchildly things. Disney movies not only provide that safe space but they are also a huge part of a child’s development. Disney inspires, animate, and molds the lives of millions, so who are we to deny our children this experience. Simply adding Disney to Freeform will not only make views skyrocket, but bring family’s together in a safe setting and during trying times like these, it might be exactly what we need to bring our community back together!

No scholar or child should be left behind. Failure to address issues within the school system (or any system) furthers oppression and disparities that have been carried on for decades. We must stand up. Education must be inclusive and representative of all identities, including color, language, culture, ability or disability, gender identity and sexual orientation

A president who has been impeached, whether convicted or not, has been found to have broken a law. Such a president cannot be trusted and has proven to be compromised in one way or another and should not be allowed to be re-elected for any government office, particularly president or vice president of the United States of America

Profiting off of hate is deplorable, and wrong. The sale of Nazi memorabilia is illegal in the EU, and it should be illegal in North America as well. The perpetuation of these goods being circulated gives them credibility, and a sense of honor. There is no honor in the genocide of millions of people. There is no honor in terrorizing innocent people. There is no honor is racism, and xenophobia.

Many current hybrid students and families are happy with the structure and safety of this model. Covid has disrupted so much for these students already. Last years distance learning was unacceptable and left gaping holes in many students education. Finally settling into a process that is working and stable is a good thing. Families should have thier voices heard and the board should have to listen to the people they serve.

History is fundamental to our understanding of the world around us. Through the study of history, we can discover why the world is as it presently exists: our world in its current state is a direct result of the developments and events of the past. Every action taken in the past, every idea and concept thought of and acted upon, every war and treaty, every great leader and villain has contributed to the collective sum of developments which have molded our world. History is the build-up of actions taken in the past, and as we go about our lives in the present we contribute to that accumulation. Our choices today will directly affect the future, just as the choices of the past directly affect our present. We are, right now, making the history of the future. Thus, history is an immensely important subject to study and understand. It provides the answers to why the world is like it is. An inaccurate understanding of the past, therefore, will present the incorrect answers as to why the world is like it is now. This is incredibly important: having the incorrect answer to why the world exists as it does presently means that the consequences of choices made in the past, or the reality of the development of the past, will be lost and unknown. This means that, as we move forward into the future, we will be unable to truly understand our own place in history and the nature of the changing world around us. Further, incorrect readings of the past can lend support to ideas or beliefs which don’t actually have a historical basis. Such misinformation about the past can provide people inaccurate assumptions about the world around them. It is lamentable, then, that history is so often either lost, deliberately misconstrued, misunderstood or misinterpreted, or entirely fictitious. Much of our understanding of history, and the stories presented to us, do not accurately describe actual events in the past. We therefore often cannot truly understand the nature of the world around us. Much of early recorded history is rife in inaccuracy, legend, and fable. This, of course, is a result of the nature of early human civilization: writing was uncommon and in its early stages of development, history was told through word of mouth and legend, and such a medium for the recording and telling of history easily allows for the true history to be changed, altered, and reinterpreted. Yet history has also been deliberately falsified to provide support or justification for various positions or beliefs. As with any other type of knowledge, history directly influences and shapes our perception of the world, our beliefs, and our ideas. Because of this, the telling of history can be a powerful tool to provide justification for some concepts or ideas, and rewriting history can discredit others. There are many examples of these inaccurate histories, and some of them are quite prolific and influential in the way various societies and civilizations perceived the world. These inaccurate stories of history range from legends and myths about the origins of civilizations and societies, such as the legendary founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus, sons of Mars, which gave the Romans a perception of their civilization as being divinely inspired and thus destined to greatness, to stories about great events in a countries past, such as Paul Revere’s supposed ride to warn the colonists that the British ‘were coming’ which, in reality, never happened but created patriotic fervor amongst American citizens. Further inaccurate histories can be seen across theology, as almost every system of religion claims to be the sole descendents and adherents of the one true god or gods. Not every religion can correctly claim to be the only true faith, and thus the histories that each present must somehow be falsified. As students and scholars of history, we must thus pick out what we discern to be the most reliable sources of history, and be skeptical towards all claims and stories which attempt to tell the past. History is an immensely important subject which contributes very heavily towards our understanding of the present, and as such it is vital that we understand it as correctly and completely as possible. The misconceptions and misinformation about the past which is prolific in modern times lends support to inaccurate understanding of our present world, but hopefully the diligent study of and reporting on accurate and correct accounts of the past will help us finally understand the true nature of our here and now. Cody Knipfer.