Petition Tag - student

I am proposing a plan to obtain disabled accessible seating in the student section of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Currently, physically disabled students must sit in the accessible seating section for non student fans, including the fans of the opposing team.

A student section at a sporting event is one of the most visible and most vocal sections of the sports crowd. The student section is the most important part of the fan base and provides a significant advantage to the home team. Excluding students from participating in the student section is detrimental to the student's social growth and well being. Similar to students of different race, religion and political beliefs, disabled students suffer significant discrimination in many forms. By not including physically disabled students with their peers, is just one more form of discrimination.

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Since completing the Prince's Trust programme where I learnt many of skills, among them was Fist Aid and since learning this I have realised that I could have benifited from this skill from an earlier age.

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Greggory Savelio, a senior at Westwood College, was on his way to work on August 22nd 2009 at approximately 5:30 pm when he stopped to pump gas in Dekalb County at the Chevron gas station located at 2450 Candler Road, Decatur, Georgia. A man approached Gregg in a robbery attempt and he was shot and killed. The gas station did not have any outside surveillance cameras so the perpetrator was able to flee the scene. The killer later committed the same act with another innocent victim at a different gas station, but was eventually caught because this location did have outside surveillance cameras on property.

The Chevron did not have outside video surveillance at the pumps where Gregg was robbed and shot, and we believe if there had been a camera in place this would have helped find Gregg’s killers immediately, and possibly even deterred Gregg’s killers from targeting him. One of Gregg’s killers was apprehended but unfortunately, due to the fact that he was not apprehended immediately he was able to flee and commit another robbery and murder another man less than a month later in Richmond County Georgia.

Gregg’s murder was committed in broad daylight and had there been outside surveillance (of quality nature) Gregg’s killers would have likely been identified and arrested immediately.

Noticeable outside video surveillance at gas pumps would deter criminals from targeting patrons, and in the event a crime is committed, the surveillance would help the investigation in apprehending the criminal(s).

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Help us fight SUSI and get our courses/college recognised as eligible for student grants!

Although the issue of degree students not receiving grants has been raised over the last two years, students on the Media Production Management and Animation Degrees are NOT currently awarded grants and this won’t change unless we get your help.

Students on these courses this year are simply being fobbed off by SUSI (tendered to City of Dublin VEC) with some sample reasons for ineligibility including “course not approved – foundation course” and “course not approved – private college” both of which are incorrect. The degrees are accredited by Dublin City University and Dundee University respectively and are administered by BCFE - which is under the auspices of City of Dublin VEC. The City of Dublin VEC states that “we believe that education should be available and accessible to all...” However, without maintenance grants this is not going to be the case for many current and future students of BCFE that a blanket ban on receiving said grant affects.

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The Post Study Work Visa will be unavailable to students who have applied for their first student visa before 5 November 2011.

On the other hand, the occupations list for the Graduate Work Stream will be much shorter from 1 January 2013.

As a result, many students will be unable to apply for either the PSWV or the Graduate Work Stream, simply because they have commenced studies prior to the cut off date.

Why should students who commenced studies earlier be punished, particularly if they have completed the course they have come to Australia to study?

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Maryam Salehi, 24, a university student and resident of Tehran and a member of Mothers in Support of Human Rights in Iran in addition to several other human rights campaigns, was arrested early Wednesday, August 15 at her father's home in Arak.

Maryam Salehi's mother, Sedigheh Mahouri, told Melli-Mazhabi website that the forces who entered the Salehi home did not present a warrant or any form of identification. They treated the family in a very humiliating way and took some of the family's personal belongings with them.

Since her arrest, despite efforts made by Maryam Salehi's family and friends, no information about her detention location has emerged. Maryam Salehi's family remain concerned about her conditions and ask for help from human rights organizations.

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The parents of Iranian student Behnoud Ramezani, who was brutally murdered by Islamic Republic regime agents during the Fire Festival of 2011, have been sentenced to eight months in prison--for the "crime" of openly mourning for their son!! Similarly, his aunt has received a prison sentence of four months for the same "crime."

Behnoud Ramezani, born in 1992 and a second-term student at Noshirvani University of Technology in Babol, was killed on the night of the Iranian Fire Festival (ChaharShanbe Soori’s night) at the hands of the Basij forces in Tehran. His body was eventually delivered to his family two days after his death, under the condition that he be buried outside of Tehran. The two initial forensic reports described the cause of death as “multiple blows to the head by a hard object”. The “final” cause of death, however, was announced as a result of an “explosion of a hand grenade”. Security forces banned any burial ceremonies for Behnoud Ramezani in Tehran. He was finally buried on March 18, in his native village of Gharakhil in the province of Ghaem Shahr.

BEHNOUD'S FATHER RECOUNTS THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF HIS SON'S MURDER:
“Basiji thugs had broken my son’s legs and arms.…
They had crushed one of his testicle. All parts of his body was bruised. My son was beaten to death by Basiji thugs. They had hit him with club and baton. My son was a freshman in Babol University. He was studing Mechanical Engineering there. He had gone home for Nowruz. He was killed in the Narmak Square (22nd Sq.). His friends told me that motorbike riders came and without asking any question, they began to hit all of us. Behnoud was saying why?, and they hit him more than others. The Basiji bastards should say why they hit my son. The Basiji bastards should say why they killed my son. My son was a student of “Exceptional Talent” school. His mother has become mad. She could not accept what has happened. We were Muslim. We were Iranian. But the Basiji thugs killed our son. Their motorbikes had no registered number. The regime should tell us why they allow Basiji thugs to have unregistered motorbikes. Why do they kill Iranians? Why did they kill my son? why? why? “

http://iransnews.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/behnoud-ramezanis-tragedy/

A CLOSE FRIEND OF BEHNOUD'S RECALLS CONVERSATIONS WITH HIM ABOUT THE FUTURE OF IRAN:

"We both believed that everything should be based on humanity. Neither of us were particularly religious. In our discussions, we came to the conclusion that we want behave like decent human beings without harming anyone [in our actions]. Whenever we had discussions, we came to the conclusion that in this country we will never be able to do the things we like. There will always be obstacles and problems. There are always people who won’t allow us to live how we like to live. All in all, it is impossible to do anything here. Our thought was to study for four years and then leave the country. Behnoud and I had differing political views. Behnoud was completely against the current ruling government. He always watched the programs on satellite, even though I personally disliked some of these programs. There were times when we had lots of discussions. For example, we would argue every day for two weeks in a row. We would discuss how we should change this corrupt regime. We would talk about how lives would have to be sacrificed. My friend and I would explain that we were not willing to die for this cause. We wondered whether people would stand by us and follow in our path if we paid such a price. What if we paved the way and the people did not follow? Behnoud did not agree with our analysis and would say: “You may be right, but in the end lives have to be sacrificed, there has to be bloodshed…”

THIS SAME FRIEND RECALLS THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF BEHNOUD'S BRUTAL MURDER THE NIGHT OF THE 2011 FIRE FESTIVAL:

"The security atmosphere in Tehran was undoubtedly tense. At around 4:00pm, when we left Iran Pars Square, you could see security agents every step of the way. We later went to Narmak, because that neighborhood has approximately 150 to 200 squares and even if they placed 10 agents at every square they would need to deploy tons of agents. In any event, there were lots of motorcycle-riding security agents watching the neighborhood. We didn’t witness any particular political protests in the square. We had no intention of holding political rallies, not because we were against the idea of protesting, but rather because we saw our Iranian Fire Festival as a night for happiness, celebrations, and festivities.

At around 6:00pm, a number of motorcycle-riding agents filled the square. Those in front were fully equipped Basij’s, followed by special security forces who were covered in gear and also well equipped. We all ran away and about fifteen minutes later, we returned to the square. At around 8:00pm, the security agents once again attacked the square. The 22nd Square was very busy. There were approximately 40-50 of us young men in the square. Later on in the night, when the crowd dispersed and Behnoud and I were standing with a few others in the middle of the square, we noticed that a group of motorcycle-riding agents had entered the main street. They revved their motorcycles and drove towards us causing us to flee. After a few seconds, I turned around and saw a boy with a short beard running away. At first I didn’t think he was a Basij, but then I heard a women at the end of the street shouting: “They have killed someone! The Basij’s have attacked and killed someone!” Initially, I had no idea that it was Behnoud she was talking about. I saw two of the neighborhood boys running after the Basij who had jumped into a White Samand with the license plate “44-Iran-246S61″ and had fled the scene....

"A few of our friends who had witnessed what happened, explained that they first hit Behnoud from afar with an electric shocker (I must say that I am sure of this fact) and later Behnoud slipped. When I went to stand above him, I saw that Behnoud’s body and face were black and bruised. He had not even shed a drop of blood...

" I saw Behnoud’s body. Later the forensic experts confirmed the details in their report. The bone in his right thigh was crushed. One of his testes had exploded. His right or left hand was broken. His neck was broken, but an injury to the spinal cord does not lead to death. The cause of his death was the heavy blows to his head. It is unclear what caused the head trauma that led to the rupturing of an artery in his brain and cerebral hemorrhaging. He was taken to the Alghadir hospital by ambulance where he was declared dead."

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A new era is dawning in Australia with the introduction of the Centrelink Basics Card.

This card will strip people of their basic right of where they will be able to shop and spend their money.

http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/enablers/centrelink/income-management/basicscard

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Hi All,

As you know we are at a time where the future is in the hands of the NAB.

They are indicating to us that if we have enough numbers they will fund Mowbray College so we have a future.

Cheers

Mowbray Action Group

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Javad Alikhani, Veterinary Medicine student at Ahvaz's Chamran University, was first arrested in 2007 along with five other members of Ahvaz University’s Islamic Association. In September 2008, after spending eleven months in Sepidar Prison, Alikhani was released on a $50,000 bail.

Shortly thereafter, authorities sentenced Alikhani to five years in prison on the charges of “propagating against the regime,” “acting against national security,” and “blasphemy” and “insulting the Supreme Leader.” An appeals court later reduced his sentence to three years in prison.

On Monday, April 23, 2012 The parents of imprisoned student Javad Alikhani reported that they watched the guards at Evin Prison beat up their son. Authorities also prevented the family from having an in-person visit.

“We had taken heavy duty glue for Hossein to fix his broken eyeglasses. They give us so much hassle, so I hid the glue. They found it and told me that they would not allow us to have in-person visitation with him. They beat up my son, too, because he didn’t allow the guards to give him a body search. I am so upset. I have been crying since then,” Alikhani’s mother said about her visit on Monday, 23 April.

Alikhani’s mother passed out when she saw her son beaten inside Evin Prison’s visiting hall.

Javad Alikhani’s father, Zolfaghar Alikhani, told the Campaign that his son’s physical condition has deteriorated.

“Javad has lost a lot of weight during the recent months due to his illness. His conditions are dire. When he came to the visitation cabin, his mother and sister started crying at the sight of his conditions. I was so upset I did not go to see him. His mother was so upset and cried so much, she passed out. Families of other prisoners can testify to this. We were supposed to see Javad in person today, but because of a package of liquid glue, only his mother and sister were allowed to see him for eight minutes through a booth.”

Alikhani’s father alsoexplained to the Campaign that his family’s mistreatment in prison seemed to be a result of them speaking out about Javad’s arrest and condition:

When we entered the visitation hall, the head of the prison Intelligence Unit asked us, ‘Why do you keep interviewing and jeopardizing our reputation?’ I asked him, ‘Which of the things I said were lies? They called and asked me about my son’s conditions. And I spoke about his conditions, that he is ill and they would not take him to the doctor’s.’ I said, ‘I only spoke about my son to have someone take notice of our suffering.’ They then searched our belongings and found the glue. The guard called and all of a sudden a lot of forces came down on my head. I said, ‘What crime have we committed? Our only crime is possessing glue. Do we have alcohol on us? Do we have drugs? My son’s glasses were broken six months ago and you refuse to fix them. He is using a rope to hold it together. Now I have brought glue for him to fix the handle of his glasses.

On 28 May 2010, authorities arrested Javad Alikhani, a student activist and veterinary medicine student at Chamran University in Ahvaz. According to his family, he developed kidney disease several months ago and suffers from bladder bleeding, and his repeated requests for medical treatment outside prison have not been approved.

Zolfaghar Alikhani described the authorities preventing his son from seeing his family. “They had kept Javad behind the door of the visitation hall since 11:00 a.m. He was eventually told that he had to strip his clothes for an inspection. He told them that, ‘I would not allow a strip search. What could I possibly have inside the prison, which I would like to hand to my family? My hands are empty and my clothes have no pockets.’ They kept him there until 2:00 p.m. Then, when he realized that visitation time was ending and his family must be waiting for him downstairs, worried, he got into an argument with them and they threaten to send him to court and beat him up.”

“When they attacked me, I told them, ‘I am a 60-year-old man. I don’t have enough strength to engage with you. If you want to send me to prison, we are already in prison. If you want to send me to court, show me which court to go to. I am now your prisoner and you have power, you can prosecute me as you wish. But my only crime is possessing glue to fix the handle of my son’s glasses. I am so tired. My son has been in prison since 2007, and I have suffered so much, I don’t want to live any more,” Zolfaghar Alikhani added.

Zolfaghar Alikhani told the Campaign that his son will complete his three-year sentence on 25 June. “It appears they are looking for an excuse to keep Javad longer.”

“I am very worried for him. We have written several letters to Tehran Prosecutor’s Office, the Prosecutor General, and the Head of the Judiciary, we made suggestions, we criticized, we begged, we asked and insisted, but nobody answered us. We have nowhere to go but to God. I said, ‘On whatever religion you follow, please give my son furlough on bail, or send him to a doctor with a guard, we will pay for all the costs.’ But they didn’t do it. They only send him to the prison infirmary, and they only prescribe painkillers for him there, and then his pain resumes,” said Javad Alikhani’s father about his son’s illness.

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The University of Birmingham are proposing to change the terms and conditions of all support staff by cutting the pay of support staff for working bank holidays, closed days and weekends and making them compulsory for many. New administrative staff have been placed on a 'any 5 day in 7' contract.

UNISON believes that these changes undermine staff's work life balance, health and well being and that these are important to both staff and the student experience

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I’d like to thank everyone for their support. I never imagined that the petition would gain so much attention. However, this whole situation has been a large misunderstanding between myself and the administration.

I never meant to shed Paradise Valley in a negative light. PV is an accepting community of diverse students and staff. I have met with my principal and this situation has been resolved.

The misunderstanding was completely on my end of things. Again, thank you all for your activism and support.

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Crossing Anderton Road in Comox is dangerous for pedestrians particularly during peak traffic hours. Offending motorists are often seen being issued illegal passing violations during morning and afternoon commutes near and around Robb Ave where it crosses Anderton Road.

This crossing is of particular concern as it is the main route for elementary students commuting to École Robb Road Elementary.

With escalating traffic volumes it is imperative that a safe and effective pedestrian crossing system be employed.

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Earlier this year I completed a College Certificate Level 3 in Person-Centred Counselling, the course was changed at the last minute from an ABC Level 3 . The ABC course was 140 hours, 36 weeks + a Saturday a term for Personal Development (PD). The new course was 20 weeks, 60 hours to include the one morning allocated for PD . I am very aware of having a word count but let me list just a few of the many problems experienced by the first group through the course.

1. The course no longer being outside accredited resulted in a sense that the students had better please the tutor as she was solely responsible for grades, reports and future references. This had a detrimental effect on group process with students feeling it really was not OK to be themselves or to question anything. I however, took the risk, believing myself to be in a person-centred environment where authenticity and openness would be valued rather than imposed 'conditions of worth'.

2. By Week 15 ( 1 week before tapes were due in) we had had 5 sessions of skills practise, that is 5 minutes listening practise each, 25 minutes total and the tutor had not undertaken any observations. On Week 15 two people were observed and told they would have failed! I wrote to the college and 2 weeks later (!!) the tutor produced a booklet on: ' How to pass the tape part of your Counselling Skills assignment'.

The tutor became very defensive when questioned on her expectations saying: “Students always have this problem getting a tape in”. However, previous students had 60 Guided Learning Hours for Skills so if they struggled to get a tape what chance did we have with 5 weeks or 25 minutes of skills practise? The tutor said: “I am marking at a lower level than the ABC”. However, this simply was not the case, the ABC had a broad spectrum marking base for tapes which would not have resulted in students with 20 minutes of listening practise being told they would fail for a 21 minute tape that did not have 5 skills etc.. In the end the tutor adjusted her expectations and people who had been told their tapes would 'scrape through' or 'fail' ended up with Merits!

3. The course overlapped with the start of the Degree, we had been told we could run the two courses together. The Student Handbook said we had to have Merits or Distinctions in all assignments to get on the Degree + a placement. However, a student was accepted on the Degree with a Unit 1 Pass and a Unit 2 fail and no listening practise or a chance of getting a placement 10 weeks into a Level 3. Again I questioned the college and at this point the Assessment Criteria was changed to accommodate a student failing all assignments but getting on the Degree purely on the reference from the tutor. This resulted in the group feeling even less able to speak up or be themselves as whether they got on the Degree or a reference was solely down to the tutor not Assignments.

Throughout the course I achieved Merits and Distinctions for Assignments; I received positive affirmative written feedback from students and the tutor; I was appreciated within the group and despite the frequent e-mails to the college about various aspects of the course which resulted in course changing, I believed I had as good a relationship with the tutor as any other student.

College ended there was nothing to indicate I would get anything other than an overall Distinction; I have e-mails from students thanking me for all the changes my e-mails brought about and saying I should get a Distinction.


When my Certificate arrived however, I had been downgraded from Merits and Distinctions to a Pass/Merit and the tutor had written a dreadful report for which there is not only no evidence but plentiful evidence to the contrary.

I wrote to the college who should have immediately initiated an 'Appeals Procedure', to include an independent investigation; not only have the college refused to do this, but they said my overall grade was partly due to my use of the Facebook page. I have asked the college to what this refers as this was a private password protected page for Students, not tutors. This means a student must have breached confidentiality and taken something to the tutor which resulted in me being downgraded without either tutor or student speaking to me about this or even indicating there had been a problem. I have no idea what could be being referred to here in any case! However, if the Assessment Criteria had not been changed this could not have happened as clearly a students use of a facebook page had nothing to do with Assignments which is what the grades were supposed to allocated for. Don’t get me wrong I am delighted for the student with her 'pass' and 'fail' getting on the Degree, however, as a consequence I have been downgraded and made wrong for asking questions and left with no future in Counselling without trying to find another Level 3 course and starting all over again . Trying to find another Person-Centred Course I can afford has proven to be impossible.

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Coffee, tea and chocolate are essentials in the diet of all university students.

However, equally important is the right of those who produce these products to fair working conditions and pay.

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On 07/07/2011, York based student Francis Fernie was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.

Francis was involved in the anti-cuts protests that took place on March 26th in London.

When police attacked the crowd outside Fortnum and Mason, Francis was hit repeatedly (including over the head) by police batons.

In a moment of 'hot headedness', Francis threw two placard sticks towards a crowd of heavily armoured police officers.

It has not been proven that he hurt anybody.

Frank is a hard working student, with no previous offences, a solid background in voluntary and community work and to everyone that knows him, he is a brother.

Frank should not be in prison.

It is easy to see that Frank's sentence is disproportionate to the crimes that he has commited and his background is one of lifelong kindness.

The full story as reported by York's Press can be found on at the following link:

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/9128855.Talented_student_jailed_over_riot/

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A coalition is when two or more parties in government work together, either because of similar ideology or to achieve an elective majority, theoretically reaching compromises on important subjects to achieve a roughly even legislative record (issue #1 goes to party A, issue #2 goes to party B in exchange. It's not ideal, but both parties get something they want).

This coalition fails in both of those regards.

The Lib-Dems do not, and should not, have even a remotely similar political ideology to the Conservative Party. Similarly, the Tories have little to nothing in common with the Lib-Dems, and compromises on major issues have been non-existent. Instead, only a series of humiliating concessions have been made, and the Prime Minister has seen fit to lend his weight to sabotaging even these, as has been made clear with the referendum.

This is not a coalition, it is a Tory government masquerading as a coalition, pinning the blame for their actions on the Liberal Democrats whilst slowly eating their electoral base.

It is a state of affairs that cannot continue, and thus the Liberal Democrats must salvage what is left of their reputation and leave this ship of government before they are nailed to the mast. They do not deserve the criticisms aimed at them, and if they are to avoid decimation at the next election they must realise their mistake early, pull out, and assume a campaign of coordinated blocking of the government's supposed-reforms until concessions are made on major points of Lib-Dem policy and tangible results are produced as a result.

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The State Transit Authority are now disallowing student's who are employed to obtain a concession travel card.

This means that students who only work four hours a week are now ineligible for a concession card.

It is unacceptable for the right of concession travel to be taken from students on the grounds of employment as most working students are struggling to provide themselves with food and shelter whilst trying to complete their studies.

The government should be encouraging students to work rather than scrounging this money from them.

Without concession, it will cost students an extra $1020 a year in travel expenses, and it will mean that most working students will be working to pay for their travel to their educational institution rather than for necessities such as food, shelter or educational fees.

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On the 14th of February protestors took to the streets of Bahrain demanding the introduction of a constitutional monarchy and constitutional reform that promotes basic human rights, civil liberties, power sharing, equal access to employment, and the right to choose a new prime minister.

The government’s crackdown came to involve nighttime raids on the homes of pro-democracy protestors or anyone suspected of supporting them. Many were threatened, sexually harassed, raped, brutally tortured, arrested and even murdered. The regime's arrest campaign came to include women, children, doctors, teachers, human rights activists and anyone who could be a potential opposition member. This systematic intimidation campaign is continuing and a sense of despair seems to be engulfing the citizens of Bahrain wherever they maybe.

The invasion from neighboring Saudi and the United Arab Emirates has made the situation worst and a sectarian dimension has now been brought into the mix. Many Bahraini's are from the Shia majority and can’t help, but feel the brunt of the hate and utter disregard these occupying forces have shown toward their Bahraini brothers and sisters.

Students from Bahrain who are attending universities overseas are not in isolation from these events as many of them have family members or friends who were directly affected by the brutality of the regime. They are also saddened by the lack of media coverage of the severity of the situation and the way the plight of the people of Bahrain has been ignored by the international community and as a result some of them decided to demonstrate on their behalf.

As a consequence, the government of Bahrain has now started to indiscriminately target students studying abroad. Government sponsored students had their scholarships and financial support revoked by the government a few days after participating in demonstrations or writing comments on social networks. The termination of the scholarships with immediate effect is creating a dire financial need, as well as emotional and mental distress. They are all now living in fear for our safety and wellbeing and know that we are likely to be detained on our return to Bahrain. There are many documented cases of students disappearing on returning to Bahrain. The students of Bahrain really have no idea where this is heading for them and don’t know what will become of them.

Links: The Mule – government targeting Bahrain Students in Britain
http://manchestermule.com/article/bahraini-protestors-in-manchester-targeted
CNN Video on crackdown in Bahrain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WgyTR1oEZg&feature=player_embedded
Recent Report on situation in Bahrain from Amnesty International:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE11/017/2011/en/e8a103c8-4b20-4a8e-8340-e798ad731646/mde110172011en.html
Press TV on government suppressing students in Bahrain:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/173405.html

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The purpose of the petition is to raise support for a National Student Concession Card.

The reciprocal recognition of student concessions is a problem facing all students.

A National Student Concession Card is important because:

1. Students do not have universal access to concessions schemes (such as student public transport concessions) outside their home state;

2. A national concession scheme exists for those holding a senior or pensioner cards but currently nothing similar exists for primary, secondary and tertiary students;

3. The card would offer students another form of identity to use other than a state government issued ‘Proof of Age’ card. This is important as some student cards are very basic, vary in form and are not recognised as formal identification;

4. The card may be able to provide students with a range of third party benefits from students services, and potential recognition for Australian students travelling internationally.

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On the 22nd of March 2011 the University of Glasgow tried to evict the students occupying the Hetherington Building.

This was met with considerable resistance by those within the building and a large police presence was required to keep things under control.

After this, protesters moved to the Senate Rooms to begin a new occupation. The protesters have called police actions 'heavy handed'.

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Georgetown University conducted a study, estimating that 63 percent of jobs in the U.S. will require post-secondary education by 2018. Lowering the age requirement is not only going to help us get funding for an education and become smarter, but more and more jobs are requiring higher educated people to run their business.

Education is your survival tool in life. A college education sets you up to support yourself and family for the future. Furthering your education can be very expensive and factor a major burden if you are ineligible to receive financial aid, because your parents make too much money. With unemployment rates still through the roof, should your college education still be put on hold?

Robert Schwartz, a leader of the Harvard Graduate school reports that at the age twenty-five, twenty-nine percent have a bachelor’s degree, eleven percent had an associate degree, and sixty percent of twenty-five years had no degree. Could that sixty percent of twenty-five year olds with no degrees, be because they have to claim their parents income and receive no financial help to start an education?

It’s not fair that student’s education has to suffer, because their parents make too much money. With Oregon’s unemployment numbers at 10.5 percent, Oregonians continue to count on public services. Only having 4.5 percent of Oregon college graduates being unemployed, the odds favor more people having jobs, are the college graduates.

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I want to call attention to some legitimate issues with the NRMP match agreement. There is no better time to address these issues; the NRMP is once again moving to require 100% of PGY1 and PGY2 positions go through the match. Please sign the petition which is at the bottom of the page. For further information regarding the points of the petition, read below. This petition has no official affiliation with the NRMP, but their website is listed above for reference.

My first grievance is the ability of the NRMP to permanently ban an applicant from the match, and the low threshold at which the NRMP uses this power. With the vast majority of positions going through the match, the permanent ban gives the NRMP the power to effectively end a young physician's career before it has even started. Dishonesty or any other match violation, intentional or unintentional, should be punished, but ending a young physician's career goals is excessive. I believe the permanent ban should be reserved for very serious offenses or separate repeat offenses.

Second, I believe the NRMP should release all data on the number of waivers, respective violations, and the punishments received for each violation. Our judicial system is fair from case to case and not overly harsh because it is based on very public, past precedence. NRMP has a very tight lipped policy on this data citing “we do not want this data to be taken out of context." Making this data public would ensure a fair violation system and force the NRMP to justify the punishments it lays out for violations (ie the permanent ban). Once again, releasing this data would not reduce the integrity of the match. If anything it would increase the integrity because residents and directors would be more cognizant of the consequences of match violations.

My final grievance is the loose wording the NRMP uses in its match agreement. For example a sanction bans an applicant from “training” at an NRMP affiliated program. In the past the NRMP has interpreted training to mean anything career related, including research positions. The term “training” in the National RESIDENT Match Program contract, should only include residency training. Allowing sanctioned applicants to perform research would not reduce the integrity of the match, it would merely allow applicants to improve their resume and maintain their clinical knowledge base until their sanction is complete.

The NRMP was established in 1952 to protect medical students' rights. During this time, there were far fewer medical students than positions, and program directors used aggressive tactics to force applicants into a contract. Since that time, the NRMP has grown tremendously, and the once benevolent dictator, in my opinion has lost sight of its goals. Also, there are now far more medical students and applicants than open residency positions. The NRMP’s contract poses much more of a threat to your career than any aggressive program director. Those in a powerful position, like the NRMP, directors, and state license boards, should not hide behind legality, but should make decisions based on logic and a certain level of compassion. The Match Agreement does not require draconian career ending powers to maintain integrity. There is no logical reason for permanently banning one time violations, preventing sanctioned applicants from performing research, or concealing data pertinent to a transparent violation system. The NRMP is once again pushing for 100% of PGY1 and PGY2 positions to go through the match, which would put an end to signing outside the match. Medical students, you might not fully appreciate these points yet but they will affect you very soon. Residents, you have already gone through the match but please voice your opinion for the younger generation. Also, first comes the push for 100% of PGY1 and PGY2 positions, next comes 100% of fellowships. Most people survive the match unscathed, but we should make a point to help those who don’t.

The Match Agreement should insure match integrity but also perform its original objective, protecting medical students and applicants. Please sign this petition, pass it along to your friends, colleagues, residents, and attendings. Send it to contacts at other medical schools. If you are involved in the AMA, please support our resolution.

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Traffic on Michigan Avenue is extremely busy at most hours of the day, and this has become a problem for many Trinity students.

The Trinity Square is located across the street from Trinity Washington University, and although it shares the same name of the school, students have a hard time getting across the street to the square.

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Society's young people are the ones who have the drive and energy to help protect our threatened habitats, species and communities. They also have the most interest as it is they who will inherit the mess that the rest of society has created, globally!!

Society should encourage them but, instead, we seem to be committed to lumbering them with huge student debt for when they start their careers and this having sacrificed so many years in lost wages as they worked hard to achieve their qualifications - something that society benefits from as it makes our economy more competitive and dynamic.

They will persevere. they will continue to study and to achieve and they will take on the extra debt into their careers and, they will be successful, BUT, it is not fair!

It is also damaging to global society as our young people more so than any others on the planet are the ones who are capable of going out into the world, volunteering with our NGOs, and making change- to threatened habitats, species and communities. They WANT to do this BUT their increasingly burdensome debt commitments are making it simply impossible.

Society should support them! What this petition proposes is that young people volunteering with our NGOs can earn credit for their time which is then offset against their student debt. In this way we make it possible for our young people to continue to help, 'save the planet', and, as importantly, we, as a society, demonstrate our commitment, support and respect to them.

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After the election and the eruption of widespread anti-government protests, through intimidation and false promises, Iranian student Hamed Rouhinejad was forced to plead guilty in a show trials which resulted in issuing a death penalty by branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court. According to his father, Rouhinejad was initially charged with spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic. At his trial, he was accused of membership in the Association of Iran's Monarchy.

Rouhinejad has denied the charges. On Jan 2010 the death sentence of Hamed was reduced to 10 years of suspended imprisonment by the supreme court.

Hamed suffers from multiple sclerosis, and is in critical condition in Zanjan prison, northwestern Iran, where he is being held in solitary confinement. He has been denied visits and phone calls.

On Oct 19 2010 his father in an interview with radio farda said I visited Hamed 3 weeks ago on that occasion "He was in very poor health, physically and mentally."

He added that physicians at Evin prison and Imam Khomeini hospital have said that Hamed should be released from jail for at least three months for medical treatment, but neither the judge, nor the prosecutor agreed to that.

When he was transferred from Tehran to Zanjan, Hamed’s health deteriorated considerably due to lack of medical care. He is now at serious risk of dementia and death.

His Father added : I ask from all internal and international organizations, the Secretary-General of the UN, and Doctors without Borders to please examine my son’s situation. If they conclude that my son can endure being in prison under these conditions, there will be no objection. But anyone who sees Hamed just for a few minutes knows that he will not survive these conditions. I don’t believe my child will survive another month.

The barbaric human rights violations carried out by the Iranian regime cannot be allowed to continue.

Please do not stand by. Please sign this petition.

Hamed Facebook Page:
http://on.fb.me/99MibR

News Sources:

http://www.rferl.org/content/Iranian_Father_Worried_For_Jailed_Sons_Health/2194687.html

http://persian2english.com/?p=15308

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Heshmat Tabarzadi is an Iranian journalist and democratic activist. He was arrested on December 28, 2009, in front of his wife and son by agents who also seized his books, papers, and computer, and is currently being held at an unknown location.

Tabarzadi published an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal on December 17, 2009. In his op-ed, he wrote: "If the government continues to opt for violence, there very well may be another revolution in Iran. One side has to step down. And that side is the government—not the people.

On the evening of December 27, Tabarzadi was interviewed on Voice of America Persian, and said that the protests were the largest he had ever seen. He also called on protesters to keep the protests nonviolent.

Tabarzadi was viewed by the regime as one of the leaders of the student protests of July 9, 1999. He was arrested and spent nine years in Evin Prison, including two in solitary confinement, for his activities as a student leader.

On October 3rd Heshmatollah Tabarzadi Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison and 74 Lashes

According to the report, the 26th branch of the Revolutionary Court presided by Judge Pirabbas, has sentenced political activist and Secretary- General of the Democratic Party of Iran to 9 years in prison and 74 lashes.

He has been convicted of conspiracy and assembly to commit a crime against national security and insulting the Supreme Leader. Tabarzadi was detained on December 28th after the Ashura protests and transferred to solitary confinement in Ward 209 of the Evin Priosn. He was later transferred to the Rajaei Shahr prison for protesting the execution of the 5 Kurdish activists including Farzad Kamangar.

His first court session was held on June 9th and after the objections made by his lawyers, the charges of destructing the public property, espionage, and insulting Ayatollah Khomeini were dropped.

The barbaric human rights violations carried out by the Iranian regime cannot be allowed to continue.

Please do not stand by. Please sign this petition.

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MTA Long Island Bus N65 is school day service, which only operates peak direction between East Rockaway & Uniondale.

Toward Sacred Heart Academy in morning, and return trip to East Rockaway in PM Afternoon.

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We are future midwives. So needed. So close to qualifying. We need your help.

The UK is dangerously short of midwives. The midwives surviving the profession are dedicated and hard-working. The women giving birth to their babies need competent healthy and loving midwives alongside them at this precious and potentially dangerous and awesome event in their lives.

The tax-payer is spending many thousands of pounds preparing future midwives.

One of these future midwives is 4 months away from the completion of a 3 year course demanding 150 hours a month of placement and lectures plus many additional hours of personal study.

She is a mother of 2 very young children. She is a partner, daughter, sister and friend. She has been wonderfully mentored and trained by dedicated, overworked midwives. She has lived near the poverty line, suffered ill health and lost many nights sleep to fulfill her dream of becoming a midwife.

She has personally and safely ushered women and infants into motherhood. A privilege that she has dedicated her all to train for and a role that she has been assessed on and performs more than competently.

She narrowly failed an essay on the public health role of the midwife 3 times.

4 months before realisation of her dream she has been kicked off the course.

Please could you 'like' this page and sign our petition in support of her appeal for a chance to complete the course so that many more women to come can have the benefit of this loving dedicated future midwife alongside them. The UK so desperately needs dedicated midwives. So much has been given by the tax-payer, mentors, lecturers and students already. Kicking her off the course at this stage would be a tragic, heartless, short-sighted and wasteful act.

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Students are being denied transfer credits from a accredited summer course. Summer courses offered by Southern Vermont College aren't visually posted or told how to sign up for. There is little to no communication between students and advisors.

Advisors are signing students up for classes that they don't have the prerequisites for. Students don't have the necessary information or help to sign up for classes. The decreased ability for students to be student athletes (especially Nursing students).

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