Barack Obama: Transfer Student

January 22, 2009 in Access, History, Politics, Students | by | Leave a comment

When Sarah Palin was nominated for vice president, her college transcripts got a lot of attention — she’d attended four (or was it five? six?) different schools on the way to her degree.

But Palin’s experience wasn’t as unusual as some made out. Multiple-transfer students aren’t common, but they’re growing less rare all the time, and these days almost a third of all undergraduates transfer at least once before earning their degree.

As a recent article points out, Barack Obama was a transfer student himself, as were six presidents before him. Jimmy Carter was a multiple transfer — he enrolled at Georgia Southwestern College and Georgia Tech for a year each before landing at the US Naval Academy.

US News Piece on LGBT High Schools

January 22, 2009 in Access, Administration, High School, History, Sexual Orientation, Youth | by | Leave a comment

Quick link: US News & World Report has a long article out on high schools that have been established to serve lesbian and gay student populations, particularly students who have been victims of bullying in school.

Columnist Nick Kristof: “Join Me In Africa”

January 21, 2009 in Labor, Media, Sweatshops | by | Leave a comment

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, whose beat includes poverty, sex trafficking, and disease in the developing world, is holding a contest to find an American student to join him on a reporting trip to Africa.

He’s done this twice before, taking a journalism student to the Central African Republic and a medical student to Rwanda and the Congo. That second trip resulted in a documentary, “Reporter,” that will be shown on HBO later this year.

You can learn more about the contest in Kristof’s column and in his blog. Instructions for entering can be found here.

Update: Kristof recently wrote a column arguing that “sweatshops are only a symptom of poverty, not a cause,” and that “the best way to help people in the poorest countries isn’t to campaign against sweatshops but to promote manufacturing there.” Critiques of his stance can be found in letters to the editor here, as well as in this piece at TPM. Kristof expanded on his argument a bit further in this blogpost, which has attracted a bunch of comments.

York Strike Update: January 21

January 21, 2009 in Access, Campus Protests, Faculty, Finances, Labor, Litigation, Politics, Students | by | 1 comment

As we noted yesterday, the CUPE membership has rejected York University’s contract offer, and York has announced that they will not be returning to the bargaining table.

This morning comes word that Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty is sending his top labor mediator to Toronto to “bang some heads” and find an agreement.

McGuinty is reportedly opposed to bringing forward back-to-work legislation in the Ontario legislature, fearing that CUPE would challenge any such law in court, further extending the strike.

2:36 pm Update: Today’s Excalibur article has material from York president Mamdouh Shoukri’s press conference last night that I haven’t seen elsewhere. They quote him as saying that the university’s rejected offer will be “the basis for any future settlement, and that York “will not resume bargaining until we see a significant move” from CUPE. He also said that the university “have not asked for government intervention, nor has it been offered.”

4:34 pm Update: Click here for some background on the strike.

Obama Speaks at the Youth Inaugural Ball

January 21, 2009 in History, Media, Politics | by | 2 comments

Here is the text of President Barack Obama’s remarks at the youth inaugural ball, from a transcript provided by MTV:

“I’ve been looking forward to this ball for quite some time because, when you look at the history of this campaign, what started out as an improbable journey when nobody gave us a chance was carried forward, was inspired by, was energized by young people all across America.

“I can’t tell you how many people have come up to us and said, ‘I was kind of skeptical, but then my daughter … she wouldn’t budge. She told me I needed to vote for Obama.’ ‘Suddenly, I saw my son and he was out volunteering and getting involved like never before.’ And so a new generation inspired a previous generation and that’s how change happens in America.

“It doesn’t just happen in the election and campaign. It’s happened in service all across America. As this is broadcast all around the world we know that young people everywhere are in the process of imagining something different than what has come before us. Where there is war they imagine peace. Where there is hunger they imagine people being able to feed themselves. Where there is bigotry they imagine togetherness. The future will be in your hands if you are able to sustain the kind of energy and focus you showed on this campaign.

“I promise you, America will get stronger and more united. You are going to make it happen, and we thank you from the bottom our hearts. God bless America. Hit it, band.”

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StudentActivism.net is the work of Angus Johnston, a historian and advocate of American student organizing.

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