StudentNation

What You Need to Know About the Indiana University Strike

James Cersonsky and StudentNation on April 8, 2013 - 9:27 AM ET

Though Indiana University's March Madness is over, a generation of gutting and restructuring has left Hoosier country on its feet. This Thursday and Friday, the university will be the site of a statewide strike. As the Board of Trustees holds its annual meeting, many students and staff are expected to walk out of class and off the job.

As one poster states:

Students Take a Stand for Housing Justice

StudentNation on April 5, 2013 - 2:43 PM ET

NYU students demonstrate for housing justice
Members of NYU's Students for Economic Justice draw attention to the university's connection to home foreclosures.

New York University students rushing to class through the Kimmel Center on April 4 were surprised to discover a banner hanging overhead reading “Evict Chase,” while members of Students for Economic Justice (SEJ) distributed flyers and led a spirited round of chanting inside the student center.

Interns' Favorite Articles of the Week (4/5/2013)

StudentNation on April 5, 2013 - 12:44 PM ET

Sheryl Sandberg isn't the only one who's "leaning in" at others' expense—as blogger tressiemc characterizes her this week. The French won't stop colonizing Africa; the Brazilian government won't stop plowing over the environment (and indigenous rights); and debt collectors are putting employee data up for sale. Meanwhile, in this week's article roundup from Nation interns, Marx's ghost lives on.

— Alleen Brown focuses on education.

Ad Policy

Why the Climate Movement is Historically Unique

Chloe Maxmin and StudentNation on April 4, 2013 - 3:46 PM ET

Climate change protest in Melbourne
Demonstrators in Melbourne, Australia demand action on climate change. (Flickr/Takver)

The climate movement can’t be compared to any other social movement in history. Here’s why it’s unprecedented and why we need new strategies to transition from the current climate movement of the few to a vibrant worldwide movement of the many.

Ban the Box in New Jersey

Morgan Jerkins and StudentNation on April 2, 2013 - 5:09 PM ET

Imagine that Matthew, an eighteen-year-old college student, has just received a bid to his campus’s most popular fraternity and is on his way to another member's dorm room to celebrate. When he arrives at the get-together, liquor bottles are everywhere. Asked by one of his “big brothers” to drink, he did – heavily. When the fraternity decided to carry the party to a local bar in town, they were met by the city’s police. That night, Matthew and his fraternity brothers were arrested for public intoxication, disorderly conduct and destruction of private property.

Four years later, Matthew has graduated from college and is now searching for a job. Yet his chances for being employed are severely limited because he has to check a box on the application indicating that he has a criminal record. While Matthew’s past decisions reflect lapses in judgment and should be accounted for, how long should the mistakes he made in college hold him back? With this and similar questions in mind, many New Jersey state senators are now questioning the job selection process.

In February 2013, New Jersey Senate Majority Whip Sandra Cunningham (D-Jersey City) introduced The Opportunity to Compete Act which would shift inquiries into a candidate's criminal background to later in the application process. If a candidate meets the employer's standards and a conditional offer of employment is made, the employer can then conduct a background check. This legislation is important because New Jersey employers and potential candidates will recognize that a momentary lapse in judgment should not signal the end to their professional careers before they have even begun to bloom. We must not equate a person who makes a bad decision with a person who is ill equipped to carry out a certain job assignment. By conducting a criminal background check only after a conditional offer of employment has been extended, we can restore the future of our youth and stimulate the economy.

Dispatches From the US Student Movement: April 2

StudentNation on April 1, 2013 - 12:23 PM ET

Florida youth occupy the state capitol. (Dream Defenders/Diana Moreno.)

E-mail questions, tips or proposals to studentmovement@thenation.com. For recent dispatches, check out posts from January 18, February 1, February 15, March 1 and March 15.

Interns' Favorite Articles of the Week (3/31/13)

StudentNation on April 1, 2013 - 11:22 AM ET

While the rest of the country was agonizing over the vagaries of March Madness and the end of the Miami Heat's winning streak, Nation interns were keeping tabs on the ups and downs of activism and politics (while also trying to win the office NCAA pool). Their picks are full of protest and fighting words, from Chicago teachers' fight against school closings to the topless activists of Femen to the Canadian aboriginal youths who snowshoed 1,000 miles in support of Idle No More.

— Alleen Brown focuses on education.

PHOTOESSAY: Walls Speak in Argentina

Kiran Stallone and StudentNation on March 22, 2013 - 12:43 PM ET

With the election this month of an Argentine pope, Argentina was briefly put under an international spotlight. The news cycle has since moved on, but the political issues roiling the country remain, and they are narrated all over the country’s urban walls.

The word graffiti comes from the Italian graffiato, meaning “scratched.” In Argentina, graffiti puts politics in public places for public consideration, communicating present conflict as well as past grievances. With a bit of context, graffiti enables an informed viewer to bear witness to past and present political realities.

In the United States, a common form of graffiti is a “tag”—a painted inscription of the pseudonym of the graffiti artist onto a wall or any available surface. In Argentina, while tags exist, it is more common to see graffiti with a political message. The sheer quantity of political graffiti is shocking to any visitor to the country. It is literally everywhere: on public, private and government buildings; bridges; underpasses; and even across the front of people’s houses or on their windows.

Interns' Favorite Articles of the Week (3/22/13)

StudentNation on March 21, 2013 - 5:51 PM ET

This week, the drone debate continues, punctuated only by the tenth anniversary of another US power-play. Meanwhile, the Church got a new pope, AT&T and other networks pondered serious overhauls and a Canadian immigration raid was caught on reality TV (perhaps less inspiring than another must-watch: a rousing speech given by Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis).

— Alleen Brown focuses on education.

The Injustice of Consolidated Student Loans

Malissa Babe and StudentNation on March 21, 2013 - 3:46 PM ET

In December, 2002, I graduated from Kent State University with a BA in Secondary Education. I borrowed a total of $17,000 from federal loan programs. Later, I completed my Elementary Education certification/endorsement for greater employability and then, a few years later, my Masters in Curriculum & Instruction in Education. Because I didn’t wish to acquire additional debt, I paid cash for these added degrees. However, when I married and the payments were still high, my then-husband and I were approached to consolidate our combined loans as a couple at a lower interest rate and payment. We bit. Worst thing I’ve ever done.

In 2005, I divorced. Everything was split—everything, that is, except for these consolidated loans, which, I’m told, are against the law to split. Only my ex continued to receive mailings from these companies about making payments—I received nothing, even though we were separate entities. I contacted AES (the company that was then servicing these loans) about deferments and forbearances, filled out the paperwork and, at first, they habitually “lost” or “never received” it via fax, mail, e-mail, etc., and then later, the excuse was that my ex and I had to defer for the exact same reason or it would be denied, despite the fact that we had no contact with one another and, furthermore, lived in different states.

This went on for years, with penalties, fees and interest compounding. After moving from Las Vegas to Irvine, California, in 2008, I visited our local credit union to transfer a personal and car loan from Las Vegas. When the teller returned, she informed me that they could not service these loans because I had more than $250,000 in unpaid student loans and my credit score was 590 (in Las Vegas, it had been 800 and I had been approved for a $400K home loan). I was mortified, shocked and frustrated. I immediately phoned AES and they refused to divulge any information to me because my ex was listed as the primary account holder. I was refused any information, but they reported the debt as solely mine to the credit bureaus. This continued for almost a year.