activism

Grassroots campaigns have proven instrumental in bringing about political, social or environmental change; you've got to start somewhere-might as well start here.

How to Establish a Health Care Rights Protest
Health care is a hot topic in this time period. We have to start mobilizing health care protests. As in, we do not want them to put in the pre-existing condition clause again, which is flat out denying people coverage if they have so much as a yeast infection. The state of healthcare in the United States is appalling. I’m lucky I live in California. I have fabulous doctors whose orders I follow well. I’ve been alive for 37 years and out of the hospital since 1991.
By Iria Vasquez-Paez8 years ago in The Swamp
Sharks on the Brink
Most people wouldn't think of sharks unless reminded by Shark Week on Discovery Channel or reading the rare news of a shark attack. People are scared of sharks and often want to put them out of their mind—especially when vacationing on beaches—but they risk extinction if we don't think of them. Recently, more people have become aware of the shark finning industry and realizing the repercussions that this practice has had on the global populations of sharks.
By Cameron Ellis8 years ago in The Swamp
The Double Standard in America
Yes, believe it or not, there are double standards in America. We live with it everyday, yet we do nothing about it. We have cops killing unarmed African Americans, which we turn a blind eye to. We then have children murdering other children in school hallways. We get in an uproar then, but when it comes time to do something, we cling to our firearms for fear that some government official is going to walk in our house and take them out of our hands. When a person of Middle Eastern descent does something wrong, we automatically claim terrorism. When a white male does it, it's the cry of a troubled young man. Where do we find the happy medium?
By James Howell8 years ago in The Swamp
The Black Snake
This is a purely fictional story: Matoaka sat and stared up in childish wonder. Staring up at her grandmother in the warmly colored tee-pee, she eagerly listened to her retelling of the ancient prophecy. Her whimsical hand gestures and imaginative tone of voice were enough to transport Matoaka’s young and impressionable mind to the scenes her grandmother was describing.
By Bella V.8 years ago in The Swamp
Dear Reader: Imagine the Fear
Dear Reader, This piece involves mental imagery and imagination. Not the imagination that we are shaped to have, but an imagination that is full of grief and darkness. Unless you were homeschooled as a child, I assume most people reading this have experienced high school. Whether you were the “nerd,” “jock,” or “burn out,” you were part of a community. This community was invented to help shape young children into young adults. With structured schedules the children, of all different identities, were blended together.
By Risa M8 years ago in The Swamp
How You Should Prepare for Saturday's March
The tension in the political atmosphere is palpable, you could stick a fork in it. But, in spite of the growing rift between right and left, millions of people will gather on March 24, all over the country, and possibly the world, to draw attention to gun violence in American schools and communities and to honor the young people lost every day to it. We will march side by side, hand in hand, to tell our congressmen and president #Enough is Enough.
By Luna Love8 years ago in The Swamp
The Fight for Free Speech
Fellow Millennials, It’s come to my attention that whether you’re a die-hard Sanders socialism supporter, a defender of Clinton’s Liberal allegiances, or a rider on the Republican Trump train, we all want to have our opinions heard (and—optimistically—respected). However, if we intend to preserve any value we hold in our FIRST amendment rights, we have to foremost be open (although maybe not always accepting) to all other viewpoints that oppose our own in order to protect it. If you’re facing challenges on your campus, I’ve included a few tips below that I’ve learned from being involved in the battle for freedom of ideas, opinions, and any other form of speech at my university, Cal State Fullerton.
By Hannah Reams8 years ago in The Swamp
Protest for the Rights of the Homeless
Homelessness is a growing problem within The United States of America. It almost seems like there is an underground war between the state and the homeless. As the problem ever so slowly grows, large cities are making life more and more difficult. When will our society have programs that give desperate people options and hope?
By Jordan Martinez8 years ago in The Swamp
Things Trump Gets Wrong About Antifa
If there's one thing that we can almost all agree on, it's that we currently have one of the most ill-informed presidents in American history. Trump has misquoted facts to the press about a wealth of different points, or just flat-out lied.
By Skunk Uzeki8 years ago in The Swamp
I Marched in the National Student Walkout Against Gun Violence. Top Story - March 2018.
This morning, at 10am, I joined high school students across the nation in a walkout in solidarity with students from the Parkland shooting, and a call to congress for stricter gun laws.
By Rachel Brown8 years ago in The Swamp
Gun Control Is Everybody's Issue
My dad came to visit me in New York, and like every artistic kid who has business-minded parents, we never really agree on much. We have different opinions on basically everything. Of course, growing up under the regimen of Dictator Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, politics are a reoccurring topic in our conversations. We've argued and discussed anything and everything; the republican and democratic party, liberals and conservatives, and even that one time when the cast of Hamilton read their eloquent letter to Mike Pence when he was in their audience, about their fears and concerns of what it would mean to have Trump be our 45th President.
By M M8 years ago in The Swamp
University Students on Gun Violence
Richmond, Virginia— Karen sat alone in front of a scaling glass wall, overlooking the heart of Virginia Commonwealth University’s campus. She cautiously warmed her hands with a cup of hot coffee. “You guys have no idea who you just sat down with,” she said, contently. “I graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. I also went to Virginia Tech, where I survived a mass shooting in 2007.”
By Corrine Fizer8 years ago in The Swamp