In a brave act of civil disobedience, University of Utah student Tim
DeChristopher disrupted the auctioning off of public land in Utah. This
auction was designed to give away more than one hundred thousand acres of environmentally sensitive lands for fossil fuel development for a fraction of its true cost to taxpayers and its true value as a natural resource. DeChristopher posed as a bidder, and won the contracts for 22,000 acres of land. In order to make sure this land is protected, and to give him a better chance of staying out of federal prison, DeChristopher is trying to raise the $45,000 needed to hold the parcels of land that he won at the auction. Click here to learn more and donate.

Tell U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to put protections for students before bail outs for student loan companies. Secretary Paulson ‘s plan to prop up private student loan providers as part of the $700 billion dollar economic bailout package is misguided and would be harmful to students and borrowers. We should not spend taxpayer dollars to help CEO’s while students are denied the right to discharge their education loans in bankruptcy if they run into financial hardships. We need to demand that any bailout for student loan companies is matched by common-sense protections for borrowers. Write to Secretary Paulson urging him not to sell out students while bailing out lenders.

Ask Obama for Strong Action on the HIV Pandemic With the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day past us, HIV/AIDS remains a devastating global problem. Take this year’s theme of World AIDS Day, Lead, Empower, Deliver, to the new administration, your campus, and your community. Ask President-elect Obama to take a stand against the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. Click here to sign the petition.

Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Mass., has revived legislation aimed at forcing the military to eliminate the policy preventing homosexual service members from being open about their orientation. Meehan said he expects the House Armed Services panel to hold hearings on the issue. Click here to email your representatives and urge them to support Representative Meehan’s proposal.

In the past 10 years, Congress and state governments have wasted more than $1.5 billion on dangerous abstinence-only programs that deny young people vital information about birth control and responsible decision making. The Responsible Education about Life (REAL) Act will provide funds for medically accurate, age-appropriate sex education. It has been introduced in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, and it needs your support. Click here to take action now!

There is a right-wing movement that has introduced legislation in thirty states that would curtail the exchange of ideas between faculty and students. These groups believe that ideas like feminism and fields like peace studies are too controversial for “impressionable” college students. Join Campus Progress as we work with the Free Exchange on Campus coalition to protect the critical dialogue between and among students and faculty that makes higher education what it is. You can help by signing up as a Free Exchange supporter, or by organizing an event on your campus.

With Power Vote, a non-partisan campaign spearheaded by Energy Action Coalition, we will build a youth voting block 1 million strong to elevate the issue of climate change, hold our elected representatives accountable, and we work together on our campuses and in our communities to usher in a clean and just energy revolution. Check it out here.