After an influx of revealing stories submitted by students who have been abused and traumatized by Greek organizations and their members at USC, it has come to the attention of USC's student body that these organizations are doing much more harm than good to our community. A recent study has grounded these perspectives in data, and those involved and uninvolved in Greek life at USC have shown us that empty promises and reforms are no longer tolerable. College is an introduction to adult life for many students, and Greek life acts as a precedent for how students should behave socially after they finish their time at USC. The normalization of sexual assault, white supremacist ideals, and gender or sexuality-based discrimination have no place in our students' first steps towards adult independence. The world around us is progressing rapidly, but by choosing not to stand with the abolishment of IFC and Panhellenic Greek organizations, USC will be left behind in social evolution.

Days after the WNBA announced it would take extraordinary steps to amplify the movement for Black Lives, U.S. Senator and co-owner of the WNBA's Atlanta Dream Kelly Loeffler, declared, "I adamantly oppose the Black Lives Matter political movement" and that we should "remove politics from sports." The WNBA announced that it would spotlight Breonna Taylor's name on jersey's, "Say Her Name" on warm-ups, and "Black Lives Matter" on its basketball courts. Sen. Loeffler, a major supporter of President Trump, criticized the league for taking a stand and said they should put an "American flag on every jersey" as a "common-sense" solution. Former and current WNBA stars Sheryl Swoopes, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Natasha Cloud, Alysha Clark, and Sue Bird have all called for Sen. Loeffler's removal as an owner from the league. Basketball icon Sheryl Swoopes tweeted, "WNBA MUST do better." She's absolutely right. We need to stand with the WNBA in their bold support of the Black Lives Matter movement, especially when a U.S. Senator is trying to intimidate the women's basketball league to fall in line with President Trump's racist view of BLM. SOURCE: "Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler critical of WNBA's Black Lives Matter initiative," ESPN, July 7, 2020 https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/29424379/dream-co-owner-kelly-loeffler-critical-wnba-black-lives-matter-initiative

All black lives matter. No person shall be discriminated against based upon the color of their gender, sexual orientation, skin tone, economic status, social status, religious beliefs, or location. Everyone deserves adequate resources in order to live and thrive. Speaking out and standing against injustice is an essential human duty. There is a mutual duty to serve and protect between the community and its members. Acknowledge, respect, accept, and celebrate differences as well as commonalities. Believe in the power of words and their impact.

The Chinese government is not only oppressing hundreds of thousands of members of the minority Uighur population in the Northwest Xinjiang region (placing them in concentration camps and under surveillance), it is also now being reported that they are forcefully sterilizing some of their women so that they may not grow their families and expand their population!! This gross violation of human rights and dignity is beyond shameful and heinous, but beyond any doubt, we as an individual consumers (and business leaders) can put an end to this by discontinuing our support of Chinese industry!! Money talks (and even more loudly among the wicked) and with enough pressure, The Ruling Communist Party will elect to liberate and end their persecution of the Uighurs rather than suffer severe economic hardship!! This boycott of Chinese products may be initially inconvenient and costly for us as consumers and businesses, but indeed, it will prove less costly than allowing evil and wickedness to continue to flourish throughout the earth!! We are all one one family, and as one body, none of us can reach our full potential and live our happiest and most fulfilling lives all the while ignoring the sufferings and hardships of our fellow brothers and sisters. Please be strong everybody!! Buy American, European, Japanese, or whatever, just don't buy Chinese, PLEASE!!

If we want reform we need to have police that are joining for the right reasons. A chief who’s not only a black woman herself but mother to a black son and grandchildren who’s spent most of her life in Richmond in the community making a difference is the leadership we need, not just in Richmond but in every goddamn community. Can you imagine what a police force full of Carols would be like? I can. George Floyd would be alive. Tamir Rice would be 18 right now. The chief of police should be a mother who’s children have grown up in a system that is racist and cruel. Someone who wants, “police need to change their mindset from warrior to guardian; it’s not us (police) Verses them (the people), we as police are part of the community, we are one. “ Richmond, tell Mayor Stoney we don’t need another macho man. We need a WOMAN who truly cares about the community as she’s part of it. We need a chief with a career like Carols. If we can’t truly abolish police then let’s change what sort of people become police. There should be no greater honor then serving your community, we’ve had enough of police ENFORCING their power, we need to flip that to truly serving and working for the people. We need kindness. We need selflessness. We need love. Tell Stoney Richmond should have a say in who is in charge of the folks who SERVE the community. And in my opinion it’s time for a woman to do the job men can’t.

Target has been positioning itself as a champion of its employees--getting public praise for supporting diversity and inclusion and increasing wages and benefits in response to the pandemic. But the truth is that those benefits leave out a shadow workforce of tens of thousands of people, many of whom are Black and Brown women, --who power Target's growing and profitable grocery delivery service, Shipt. Shipt has seen demand increase so much that the company has hired 100,000 people in the last few months to keep up, as the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed how people shop for groceries. Increasingly, consumers are relying on home delivery services, and home delivery service is a major reason that Target's revenue is up during the pandemic. But shoppers working for Shipt do not get the paid family and medical leave they need to care for a sick family member or recover from extended illness. Even for shoppers who get sick, Shipt only offers 50% sick pay for two weeks if they have a positive COVID-19 test or a mandatory quarantine order. Now, Shipt announced that they’re also cutting pay--in the middle of a pandemic. That’s why Shipt shoppers announced that on Wednesday, July 15, they’re going on strike. UltraViolet and PL+US (Paid Leave for the United States) are working together to demand that Target do better. If enough people speak up, we can pressure Target to ensure that Shipt shoppers get the same paid family and medical leave benefits that Target employees receive. Will you sign the petition?

This is important because racism and discrimination should be eliminated and the only way to do that is to allow Americans to be equally represented by someone who can relate to their struggles and advocate change for the better. This is important because it will allow the opportunity for non whites to be in highest position in the government. It will break the repetitive cycle of a white male always being elected for President. It is importance because it will solidify change and give equality to black and brown Americans.

Tom Tiffany is not a team player! He is concerned about Tom and what Tom wants ONLY. It is time to get rid of Toxic Tom and protect Wisconsinites. It is time to show FULL Support for the Governor Wisconsinites elected. It is time other politicians respect and work with the man WE the Citizens of Wisconsin elected. Mr. Tiffany is only one example of those who refuse to work with officials that Wisconsinites elected. This is unsafe for Wisconsin. We need a government that works together for it's citizens.

America faces an emergency on three primary fronts: a public health pandemic, economic insecurities, and long-standing structural and institutional racism. Working families need job security, economic stability, and freedom from systematic oppression. That is, we must address the racial barriers from COVID-19 and the racial oppression that African Americans and people of color are facing. Furthermore, we must stress the importance of the HEROES Cares Act. So, please sign on and join us for this tel-town hall Wednesday, June 24th, at 6:30 pm, for the tel-town hall call-in number (866) 976-6355. Speakers for this event will be NC Senator Erica Smith-Ingram Dr. Michelle Laws- Department of Health and Human Services Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin Action NC member Tarsha Gunn

Survivor has produced 40 successful seasons over 20 years by telling the stories of people who represent a wide array of human experience within the context of a game of social strategy, physical challenges, and survival. Representation matters. One of the most important ways we can embrace our diversity and evolve is to represent that diversity responsibly, equitably and fully. A commitment to the afore-mentioned actions would have a huge impact and move us toward a more fair, just, and equitable society.

I recently relocated to Georgia from Florida to work as the Georgia State Director for Planned Parenthood Southeast. In that role, I advocate for reproductive health and rights and help organize and mobilize voters, and fight for free and fair elections — because when voting rights are under attack, all of our rights are at risk. But despite the fact that I spend much of my time turning out voters, I was unable to vote in the Georgia primary. I sent in my voter registration weeks before the deadline, followed up multiple times by phone, and my mom even called on my behalf while I was at work to ensure my registration was processed. But come election day, I was not registered. Multiple county officials told me on the phone they were “still processing” all the voter registrations, but by June 9, an untold number of people, including me, were still unable to vote in the election. There were other problems too - voting machines didn't work, lines were up to eight hours long, and some mail-in ballots never appeared or were mailed out unusable. Black voters' ability to vote was severely obstructed by Georgia's dysfunctional election system, at the same moment that Black people and allies are taking to the streets in historic protests. We do not have the power to choose elected officials who will fight for the changes we need to defend Black lives unless we have the power to vote. Georgia elected officials must not allow this to happen again in five short months for the general election in November. Secretary of State Raffensperger has proven that he cannot be trusted to run a safe and fair election. We need more funding and support for all county boards of elections, expansion of voting by mail, and adequate training for poll workers. It is time to hold Secretary of State Raffensperger accountable because Georgians deserve better!

The life-saving Affordable Care Act (ACA) has made a world of difference to LGBTQ Coloradans. The ACA has provided access to care and strengthened protections for millions of Americans, including transgender people and the broader LGBTQ community. Before the passage of the ACA, being transgender was considered a pre-existing condition, and LGBTQ folks could be charged more for the same service as non-LGBTQ adults. The ACA extended health insurance coverage to more than 600,000 Coloradans through the public health exchange and Medicaid expansion, eliminated pre-existing conditions and transgender-specific exclusions, established cost parity, clarified that spousal benefits must apply to same sex couples, and removed limits on annual and lifetime spending for people with chronic conditions. Colorado’s uninsured rate dropped significantly as a result of the ACA. A survey by One Colorado found that the uninsured rate for LGBTQ Coloradans was cut in half between 2011 and 2018. Insurers in the individual market could no longer drop, deny, or charge more for coverage because of a pre-existing condition. That’s particularly important for the nearly 2.4 million Coloradans living with a pre-existing health condition. An estimated 65% of LGBTQ adults have a pre-existing condition. Despite the successes of the ACA, it is still at risk— and we need our leaders, like Senator Cory Gardner, who has voted seven times in his career to repeal the ACA, to start defending it. Sign this petition and tell Senator Cory Gardner to protect the ACA for LGBTQ Coloradans.