Health care and other essential service workers have become sick and some may die over the lack of preparedness, even though these masks were changing hands and flying back and forth between countries since January of 2020

This week, Politico reported that there is “contentious debate” over whether or not companies should be allowed to use taxpayer money from the relief funds to lobby Congress. This is utterly absurd. Any companies receiving federal relief money must be banned from using it to lobby Congress. The lack of a strict ban on using relief funds to lobby Congress was a gaping hole in the original stimulus. Congress must act urgently to close this loophole. Source: https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-influence/2020/04/01/corporate-america-might-need-more-money-from-congress-786576

As we just recently learned, The Sage Colleges has made the decision to cancel commencement and all related events for the undergraduate and graduate class of 2020. The President of The Sage Colleges, Christopher Ames, announced that the college will be developing an "online tribute" to students as a form of virtual-graduation. We are devastated by the decision to cancel graduation rather than postpone it to a time when there is not a threat of COVID-19. This pandemic has already taken so much from us. We have been unable to finish classes in person, health science majors have been denied the ability to do senior capstone clinicals in hospitals, and we have not been able to say goodbye to some of our closest friends. As students, we have dedicated four years of our lives and four years of tuition to The Sage Colleges. We have worked hard for our education, spent countless hours staying up late studying, getting up before the sun to commute to classes or clinicals, and for many of us we have even cried over classes. Although we were given the option to come back and graduate with the class of 2021, we deserve to be recognized with our friends and peers as the class of 2020. Both undergraduate and graduate students deserve to be honored for our hard work in an in-person commencement ceremony during the late summer to fall months, or when it is safe to gather. Parents, family, and significant others have also been by our side for the last four years supporting everything we accomplished. They deserve to watch us graduate and celebrate with us as we reach a crucial milestone in our young lives. I encourage ALL undergraduate students, graduate students, family, and students of future graduating classes to sign this petition and show President Christopher Ames that we are "Sage Strong" and we demand an in-person commencement.

Millions of college students have been laid off due to the COVID-19 virus, but under government regulations do not qualify to receive a stimulus check if they are claimed as a dependent by their parents for school. This act excludes thousands of working college students, with real bills, with no aid in paying their bills during this Pandemic. Sign this petition if you believe a working college student that pays their taxes and has other living expenses ie: rent, phone bill, car insurance ect. should be eligible in receiving some type of financial aid from the U.S. Government during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

We are working to expand access to free menstrual products (pads, tampons, liners, etc.) for all students who need them, including trans and non-binary students. We plan to work with on-campus resources to allow community members (students and faculty) free access to these necessities. Menstrual product access is a basic necessity for more than half of our student body. Currently, free menstrual products are provided in the Student Health Services building where you can only take two at a time, but nowhere else on our campus. Our campus lacks menstrual product dispensers in all bathrooms, therefore the only place to access these essential products is in the Student Health Services building. This does not assist anyone in need of these products during an emergency. Expanded access to these products is necessary to ensure the safety of students and faculty because this is an issue of hygiene.

The health, safety and economic stability of our residents is a main concern for me addressing the public and calling on our legislators to advance impactful legislation to assist with recovery efforts from COVID-19. In particular, our senior residents and business owners need direct assistance and support during this time of economic uncertainty. As a candidate for Southampton Village Trustee, I urge the Town of Southampton to explore and develop local legislation addressing tax remediation during the COVID-19 epidemic.

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.

U.S. has until recently had a strong and healthy air transportation industry. Having multiple carriers providing service on same routes encourages competition. Competition improves quality and convenience and reduces prices, all of which benefit the consumer and passengers. On March 31, 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a show cause order (see docket DOT-OST-2020-0037) proposing air carriers offering scheduled passenger service and all-cargo carriers maintain a defined schedule of flights to communities they served prior to March 1, 2020, through September 30, 2020. This is nonsensical as the demand for service does not exist. The airlines have requested to be able to consolidate their passengers onto flights between cities rather than sending five passengers on Delta and five passengers on United. Alternatively, air carriers could reduce the number of flights flown between cities and anti-trust regulations could be furloughed and scheduling could be allocated based on current demand and recent year's marketshare. Perhaps air carriers could each be allocated days or week or specific dates which they are the service provider between specific markets. (For example, American on Mondays and Thursdays, Delta on Tuesdays and Fridays, United on Wednesdays and Sundays, and Southwest on Saturdays.) This would not be much different than how during the 1970s oil crisis people were allowed to purchase gasoline based on their vehicles license plate number. Considering the energy (electricity, water, fuel) cost and health risks (increased number of persons reporting to work as ticketing, gate agents, maintenance service, air traffic controllers, TSA agents, janitors) to operate vast more planes, terminals, and gates than is necessary to service passengers and nationalizing air carriers will result in reduced competition in the future, the USDOT order is ill-conceived and will be costly for U.S. taxpayers. First, there is the $50 billion bailout. Second, many of the airlines will be forced into bankruptcy. Third, to maintain service it will be necessary of the government to takeover ownership (i.e., nationalize) bankrupt airlines, assets (i.e., landing/takeoff rights, gate rights) will be consolidated, and competition will be reduced. Consider last recession. Ford remained private, survived and flourished. GM was nationalized and survived, and near dead Chrysler was resuscitated by private equity funded acquisition by Fiat. Did government improve GM or Chrysler products or services or pricing for customers??? (No.) Let's not let this happen to air carriers in the United States. Yes, some may flourish and some may fail, but let's not force the stronger air carriers and taxpayers drown by being forced to prop up other airlines. Tell the U.S. Department of Transportation to work with air carriers to allow them to consolidate passengers and air cargo and reduce the number of daily flights between cities immediately while fostering survival of multiple air carriers servicing same markets.

Tens of thousands, perhaps millions, will die if this petition is not answered positively.

Without a working healthcare system, entire communities will collapse -- healthcare workers, patients and their families will be affected. Not that one can put a monetary value on human lives, but our economy will never recover from a healthcare collapse.

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.

President's Trump's treatment of PBS correspondent Yamiche Alcindor as she fulfills her professional obligations during a national crisis is unacceptable. Recently, during COVID-19 conferences, he told her, “Be nice. Don’t be threatening,” and called her questions “nasty.” Consider the messages he is sending the world about Black women and girls. Trump has a long history of mistreating people of color, women and the press. His aggressive attitude toward Alcindor is a culmination of these biased, undemocratic and dangerous behaviors. As the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and Journalism & Women Symposium (JAWS) recently pointed out in a joint statement: “As far back as November 2018, Trump leveled verbal abuse at Alcindor along with fellow Black women journalists Abby Phillip of CNN and April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks… Both groups have noted the president’s pattern of using demeaning language toward women journalists of color and other journalists.” Sources: NABJ and JAWS statement: https://jaws.org/2020/03/31/jaws-and-nabj-stand-against-unacceptable-treatment-of-yamiche-alcindor/ Examples of Trump’s racism: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-racist-examples_n_56d47177e4b03260bf777e83 Trump attacks the press: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/17/business/trump-calls-the-news-media-the-enemy-of-the-people.html Women who accuse Trump of sexual assault: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/a-running-list-of-the-women-whove-accused-donald-trump-of-sexual-misconduct_n_57ffae1fe4b0162c043a7212