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.

A failure by the university administration to divulge their contingency plans has contributed to a growing sense of uncertainty, raising the concern that thousands of students will not be able to complete their academic terms, and the loss of already paid tuition.

There is only one right answer and that is a resounding YES. PUT CAMERAS IN special needs CLASSROOMS. YES, please, for the sake of good teachers and vulnerable children everywhere. Cameras… YES.

A wonderful lady documented these incidents you are about to read. She calls bad teachers "MONSTERS".

The monster teacher was morbidly obese, had restricted mobility and the simple act of standing often made her have to stop and catch her breath. I have also changed the names of the students involved to protect their identity. Because I felt helpless, I felt like all avenues of help for these kids were being closed on me, I was advised to document the incidences in as much detail as I could. These are my actual notes… the way I wrote it in that moment. I am not writing this from memory. The boy I call “C” actually has a behavior plan in place but the monster teacher refused to comply with it because it took too long.

September 1 @ 9:18 a.m.:

C (the student) would not comply, would not go to his group. He was yelling loudly and refusing to comply with directions. The teacher bellowed LOUDLY, caught him by the NECK and seemed to apply pressure to the back of his neck. He screamed. Using her hand gripped on his neck, she steered him back to his seat and into a sitting position and then directed him to listen to the teacher’s aide running his small group. He sat for a few minutes.

(When I asked her about her methods, since I was new to her classroom, she explained to me that if you do put your hands on a child, you should request an IEP meeting that same afternoon but in her class she has special training in pressure points so she does not call. I could not find this caveat in ANY standards book the State of California holds.)

C got back up and left his seat again and she again grabbed him by his neck and sat him back down. C was then very compliant.

September 1@ 11:28

The teacher went to a grade level meeting and when she returned C was laying on the floor in the back of the classroom. His socks and shoes were off. The teacher asked him to get up and he refused and she bellowed (I consider bellow well beyond yelling) at him. While he was still lying on the floor, she reached down to where he was on the floor, put her hand into his hair and appeared to pull his head up by his hair to get him upright. When he was up, she grabbed his neck and forced him with her hands squeezing the back of his neck to sit down in his seat. The other aide passed out math fast facts. C refused again. The teacher then stood behind him, leaned in and over him until her weight was fully squeezing him between her body and the edge of his desk. C began to scream and she took her hand and COVERED his full mouth so he couldn’t yell…all the while still pushing the full weight of her morbidly obese body against him and the hard edge of his desk. While still covering his mouth with one hand, she then grabbed his hand with her other hand and placed a pencil in it. She squeezed his hand and forcibly began to write the answers on his page. He then began to comply and she released her grip. He then continued to cry that he didn’t want to come to school.

September 1 @11:55 a.m.:

The teacher was trying to get B’s attention but he was not paying attention. She used her thumb and forefinger to thump him hard two times on the back of the head.

September 1 @12:05:

C was not complying. She went over to him, grabbed him by the back of the shirt so that the front of his shirt is cutting into his neck and she then used the shirt in that constricting position to steer him to his seat. When he started to utter silly words, she grabbed his mouth, squeezed hard and told him, “I don’t want to hear it anymore.”

This was just ONE DAY. The aides who work in her class have been with her for many years and they do nothing. They are as scared and paralyzed as the students. Fearing for their jobs and pensions more than they were worried about the students. It is also noted that the monster is so savvy about her abusive tactics that she only grabs children in non bruising areas.

September 7 @ 10:10

The students were in small groups. C didn’t want to read the page we were on. He then screamed and howled and left the table. When he returned, he began to scream and shriek and howl again. The teacher came over and sat/stood beside him and wrapped her arm around his head until her hand landed on his mouth and was fully covering his whole mouth. She held it there while he screamed until he stopped. She then informed me that this kind of restraint was not appropriate if I was being evaluated or if someone else was in the classroom. She said she needs to call his parents and inform them of what strategies are being utilized.

No calls to my knowledge were made.

September 8 @8:31

C is reading a book at the book shelf by the cubbies. The book was open, C’s hand was sitting on one page. The teacher asked him to put the book away. C ignored the directive. The teacher came back to the book shelf, shouted, “NO! It is not time for books.” She then SLAMMED the book closed with his hand still inside and then put her hand and her morbidly obese weight down on top of the book with his hand still inside….She did this until he screamed and then she reprimanded him AGAIN.

Student A is sitting in small groups. He was not working. He was complaining and finally fell off his chair and on to the floor. The teacher asked him to get up. He did not respond. The teacher went over to him put a hand on each ear and then grabbed each ear hard and pulled until he screamed out in pain. She then pulled each ear in unison in an upward fashion until he screamed out in pain more and stood up and complied. He then sat in his seat.

I know, take a deep breath. It’s hard stuff to read about. It was hard to be there and then to feel helpless because no one would do anything. Edmund Burke said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing,” and that hit home hard for me. So many staff and admin who are paid substantial salaries and retirements do NOTHING to protect these children…but CAMERAS WILL.

Let me say, this unfortunately goes on and on. And, sadly, this teacher is not the only one, she is simply the first time I realized how truly vulnerable our kiddos are and how there are teachers who use their positions of power for abuse. It was the first time I realized that there are teachers who use their tenure and reputation to take the easy road because they are tired and lazy and don’t really enjoy teaching but really want the paycheck and retirement. It was the first time I realized that teacher’s and admins have their own so called blue wall and they will close ranks to protect the monsters in order to preserve reputations and retirement at the expense of children.

Cameras in special needs classrooms are necessary.

Cameras WILL prevent teachers from becoming Ogars and Monsters and beasts because they have proven that they will behave ONLY when the paycheck signers are watching them. And, truly, it’s not always that your child is going to be beaten or raped, sometimes it’s that they are going to be humiliated day in and day out, mildly abused, verbally and physically, day in and day out and they can fall victim to an abuser who defeats their want to learn and destroys their sense of well being and the very self esteem you have worked so hard to build. Children who are already communication impaired are easy targets. They cannot defend themselves nor can they explain to you what went on. They simply withdraw and act out even more and the teacher makes them the scapegoat for the teacher’s own evil. When teachers turn to Monsters because no one is looking, children are in jeopardy of being bruised both skin deep and soul deep. All children deserve a safe and nurturing environment in which to learn and kids with special needs NEED this in order to reach out and try to connect. Cameras WILL ensure this happens and will weed out the teachers who are unwilling to commit to this and who perhaps got into teaching for the WRONG reasons.

CAMERAS…YES!!!…It’s a no brainer, my friends. Be a super hero every single day by standing up for children! Cameras protect our most vulnerable members of society from our most depraved and evil monsters. Cameras should be MANDATORY in ALL special needs classrooms.

The Chancellor has agreed to meet ALL FIVE demands. The work doesn't stop here. Continue to apply pressure. More information on the situation here:
https://www.chronicle.com/article/tensions-over-campus-sexual-assault-roil-u-of-arkansas

Yet again, the University of Arkansas has failed survivors of sexual assault and harassment. Instead of going to court, the University chose to pay a man their own Title IX office found guilty of assault $20,000--an amount larger than most of the scholarships provided by the institution. This decision was made without consulting or notifying the survivor.

On March 31, 2021, Chancellor Joe Steinmetz signed a proclamation stating: “it is important that everyone shares a strong conviction that sexual violence is unacceptable and is contrary to our values as members of the University of Arkansas community and larger public.” Just 12 days later, Chancellor Steinmetz signed the $20,000 settlement. The statement also called upon campus community members to “speak out against sexual violence and support efforts within Arkansas to assist people who are survivors.” We are speaking out.

The University of Arkansas's message is clear: Money is more important than students. Administration has a responsibility to act, and they must do so quickly.

Relevant resources for students:
UARK RESPECT - https://respect.uark.edu/resources/
RAINN - https://www.rainn.org/resources OR 800-656-4673

Daniel Castorena Garcia came to Canada as a refugee claimant from Mexico in 2007, and is a student at Parkdale Collegiate Institute high school, a member of the student co-op program, and a volunteer and parishioner at St. Casimir's Church.

“Daniel's PRRA application was incorrectly filled out after his previous lawyer died”, says lawyer Karin Baqi. “He was the victim of bad advice and was in the middle of rectifying his immigration situation.”

Daniel filed a refugee claim seeking protection after his family faced threats to their lives in Mexico, and his sister's partner was murdered without police intervention. Daniel was also attacked and forced to leave Mexico to save his life.

As of the time of his arrest, Daniel had not received a decision on the application to stay his removal. “I was walking down Parkdale, when the Police showed up, demanded to see my ID for no reason, then their system told them that there is an Immigration warrant for me”, says Daniel Garcia, who is presently being held at Rexdale Immigration Holding Centre. “I was so surprised, because I'd been waiting for my decision all this time, I really want to stay in Toronto.”

Upon arrest, the Canadian Border Services Agency claimed that they had mailed Daniel a decision on his file a month ago.

“Daniel is an integral part of my ESL E class. Deporting him now would cause him to lose the credits that he is striving for through considerable hard work, and it would also deeply upset his classmates and friends", says Hillel Heinstein, Daniel's teacher. "I also fear that his safety will be in danger. I believe that Daniel should be allowed to properly file his PRRA, for he has received insufficient legal help through no fault of his own."

“Daniel is a dear friend, and a great student”, says 16 year old Akira Kato-Mckerr, Daniel's classmate. “We want Daniel's deportation stopped."

Freedom and Status for Daniel! Status for All!

Presently, in order to accommodate students and teachers with permanent and temporary mobility issues, handicap transportation operations are employed to relocate them from their neighborhood or assigned school, I.S.34, to another school with an elevator. This is both disruptive to the student or teacher and expensive.

One case-in-point is the September 2013 enrollment of John Hudson Dilgen at I.S.34. Young John is afflicted with Epidermolysis Bullosa, a genetic malady that prevents him from being able to climb steps. Like other children with mobility impairments, John has to restrict a lot of his childhood activities that others take for granted. School is one of the things our handicap children can lean on as normal childhood activity. That includes friendships developed along the way and the continuity of those friendships from elementary school to Intermediate School and beyond.

Cleveland's A-Choir placed 1st in the Portland Interscholastic League Choir Festival on April 9, 2015 which automatically qualified the choir for the state competition to be held at George Fox University.

Participating schools had till April 18 to submit their online registration. Cleveland complied on April 10, but because of some unfortunate miscommunication between colleagues, not all the necessary information was submitted.

On Monday, April 20, Cleveland's Choir Director was on the OSAA website and noticed Cleveland was not on the list of participants. Cleveland immediately contacted the OSAA and was informed that they were disqualified from the state competition because of the incomplete registration. Cleveland tried appealing this decision, but was denied by the OSAA and most recently by Hearings Officer Mary J. Deits who found there was not sufficient evidence to overturn the OSAA ruling, but Mary Deits' footnote states that the OSAA should clarify their rule to avoid future "misunderstandings". How unfortunate that this "misunderstanding" has cost 62 Cleveland High School students the chance to perform with the best choirs in the state.

Why should these kids be punished because of a clerical error, bureaucratic stubbornness and poorly written "rules"? This is supposed to be a celebration of our state high school choirs which these days are too few in number. When did art disappear and bureaucracy take over?

The OSAA could have contacted Cleveland before the deadline to point out that their registration was incomplete but they did not. Shouldn't they help each and every school complete necessary registration requirements no matter what the activity? Isn't that what they are there for? Since when did the registration process become part of the competition? Very mean spirited.

We all know that life isn't fair, but this is something that didn't have to happen. I implore you to bring this story to the forefront and let the public know about this ridiculous ruling.

Just let the kids sing!

The Wake County School Board is working to offer parents more choices in the education of their children.

The University of London proposes:
- to make all Wardens and Vice-Wardens redundant
- for the management of Senior Members to be transferred to the Halls' administration staff

The proposal will:

- Threaten the healthy and enjoyable community and social life from which IC residents currently benefit.

- Be harmful to the welfare of more vulnerable students.

- Cause a loss of an effective disciplinary presence in each hall.

The UoL argues that other higher education institutions have Senior Members (or something similar) reporting to administration staff, without dedicated Wardens.

However, because IC residents are from many different institutions, located sometimes miles away from the halls, the IC are unique. IC aren't part of a campus with trained counsellors; have no college authority to back them up on discipline; and have no campus student union.

So in IC, Wardens have to manage all social, community, welfare, and disciplinary matters internally. IC residents don't necessarily know each other from their course or college, so Wardens have to find ways of encouraging interaction within the halls. These functions are precisely what the Wardens are for; they're experienced, they're dedicated to student welfare, and they were selected because they demonstrated the right attitude and aptitude in the skills needed.

Whilst the Bursars and their staff are very competent in their administrative, financial, and managerial duties, they were not selected for their ability to provide student support, arrange social events, or conduct a student disciplinary meeting. They don't have the attitudes, skills, or time required to safely and effectively take over the Wardens' roles, especially given that they'd be operating in a vacuum, without the extensive support services available to administrators in single-institution, campus-based residences.

Many students specifically choose IC (rather than single-institution halls provided by their own colleges) precisely because of the range of community, social, and welfare services provided, which are far superior to those in most college-owned residences.

Some choose IC because they're very sociable and IC are places where they'll enjoy meeting lots of people - with help from the events organised by the Wardenial team and Residents' Club. Others choose IC because they're more reserved and hope it'll be easier to meet new people. Still others value the idea that there's someone around to help, independent from the Hall's financial and facilities management.

Many parents of students – especially those of international students – are relieved to find that there is someone in Hall to keep an eye on the welfare of their daughter / son. Without a support structure that is perceived to be adequate, some international students or their families will be deterred from choosing London to study.

This proposal comes at a time when Hall fees are set to rise by well above inflation next year, and English students will soon start paying up to £9,000 for tuition.

In this financial climate, with more privately-owned halls of residence opening all around London, students will be demanding more and better services, and a wider range of accommodation options, not less.