NEWSHIGHER EDUCATION

Teen mothers are expected to fail. Just ask Bee Lavender, who, after she became pregnant at 18, remembers a swift and merciless change in the way most people treated her:

"It was a profound shock to go from being the good kid, the honours student, the girl who talked about youth leadership on television, to being perceived as human detritus," Lavender wrote in The Guardian.

Lavender dropped out of college and moved back home. But you wouldn't know it today if you met her. An acclaimed writer and activist, her books include a memoir about danger titled Lessons in Taxidermy and the anthologies Breeder and Mamaphonic. She's the publisher of the website Hipmama.com and is the founder of Girl-Mom.com, an advocacy project for teen parents. She's also taking a stand today for another teenage mother, Kymberly Wimberley of McGehee, Arkansas.

For 48 years, thousands of North Carolina's brightest students have come from all around the state to gather for the summer - to devote themselves to their studies and to learn from each other - for six weeks on college campuses. But if the state budget doesn't change soon, this program - the North Carolina Governor's School - will end after this year.

"If the North Carolina General Assembly shuts down the Governor's School on its 50th year of existence, with it dies the beauty of quality education. With it dies the ability to foster a student's desire to become a life-long learner," says Joseph DeChristina, 16, a former Governor's school attendee who started a petition on Change.org to save the program.

When you saw the news reports last week of a man being SWAT teamed for not paying his student loans, you may have wondered: are they coming for me next?

Well, worry no more. The team from the film Default: The Student Loan Documentary started a petition on Change.org to end this rampant confusion about whether or not students with outstanding loans could be criminally prosecuted. And they're declaring victory today, as the Department of Education released a statement, saying that defaulting on your school loans is not a criminal offense.

Sara Gast, spokesperson for the Department of Education, made the distinction. Students can be arrested for criminal activity like fraud.  But not being able to pay your loans back isn't something you'll be thrown in jail for.

"Generally, defaulting on student loans is not itself a crime," said Gast. "However, there are a number of circumstances surrounding defaults that are criminal, such as trying to obtain federal student aid while in default, or getting a loan with no intention of going to school and then defaulting with no intention of ever repaying."

The student loan crisis is huge, says Kyle McCarthy, part of the team behind the film Default: The Student Loan Documentary. With one in five students now defaulting on their school loans and student loan debt surpassing credit card debt, the problem isn't going away anytime soon.

But there's one thing he's asking for - one thing that could make the situation better, almost with a stroke of the pen.

United States Department of Education, could you make one thing clear, to Kyle and to all American students: you're not going to SWAT team our homes if we can't pay our student loans, right? McCarthy and the team at Default started a Change.org petition, asking the Department of Education to come out with a strong statement, letting students know they won't be criminally prosecuted for unpaid debt.

Earlier this year, students on college campuses around the world demonstrated against a spate of hefty tuition hikes, from the University of California to the University of London.

But a new 230 percent tuition hike for some Arizona community college students comes with a new, disturbing twist: xenophobia.

The Maricopa County Community College system - the largest in Arizona - announced in March a 230% tuition hike for out-of-state students. The kicker? Unlike some college tuition increases, this one isn't about tighter budgets - it's a veiled attempt to shut out undocumented students from college classes.

At one time, the bill to allow Texas college students to carry a concealed weapon on campus seemed inevitable. Senator Jeff Wentworth, who authored the bill, had the governor's support and more than half the Texas House sponsored the bill. At one point, he called it a "slam dunk."

But now, many are saying the measure has been shot down. Just yesterday, Wentworth was supposed to bring the measure up for a vote on the Senate floor. But without the votes to suspend the rules to do so, he didn't even try. And he wouldn't say if he would try again.

"I'm hopeful this is a bump in the road," Wentworth said, to the Statesman. "I don't have a very clear crystal ball."

Just last week, Wentworth had the votes he needed. But an unexpected change of heart came from two Texas legislators - Senators Eddie Lucio and Mario Gallegos. Gallegos said he originally supported the bill, but heard from so many constituents that were against it that he changed his mind.

Every morning across the country, Muslim students tell their parents they're scared to go to school -- because they'll be beaten and taunted for practicing Islam. Politicians flog fears of "the other" to drum up votes and campaign donations. Peaceful American citizens are branded as "terrorists" because of their skin color or their faith.

But on Friday, a student movement against blind Islamophobia scored a major victory -- UCLA's Islamic Studies program will re-open this fall after being frozen since 2007.

Last fall, students rallied, demonstrated, and attracted more than 5,400 signatures from the international Change.org community who called on the UCLA administration to bring back the program. These activists, led by student Ilona Gerbakher, argued that the fate of UCLA's program was a matter of national importance.  As we at Change.org blogged about - and publicized - their campaign, students kept the petition updated and finely-targeted, marshalling national support to show UCLA administrators that this was far larger than a campus issue.  

When she graduates, Ana Teresa Bagatella will be the first in her family to graduate from college.

But she may have to consider dropping out. Why? If Congress cuts Pell grants in the 2011 budget, Bagatella won't be able to afford school. Her dream of helping her community combat obesity and diabetes will be cut short.

Bagatella's is a story of American opportunity. The oldest child, Bagatella helped her single mom raise her younger sister while her mom worked two and sometimes three jobs. But even thought she did all the housework and took care of her sister, she dedicated herself to her studies.

Students who don't want guns on their campuses aren't keeping quiet while the Texas legislature attempts to pass a bill allowing concealed weapons at college and universities. Over 150 students, faculty and survivors of violence showed up last Wednesday at a hearing on SB 354, outnumbering the proponents of the law five to one.

John Woods was one of those who came and spoke. His girlfriend, Maxine Turner, was killed in the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, and since that tragedy, Woods has become an activist against guns on campus.

"My feeling is we have a Second Amendment in this country for a reason, but as the Supreme Court has said very clearly, that doesn't mean that you can take your gun with you anywhere you want," said Woods, to the state committee on criminal justice.

Last year's shooting at the University of Texas at Austin, where a 19-year-old opened fire on students before killing himself, has gotten students riled up. Scott Lewis, part of a group called Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, says he and his classmates aren't safe.

"We're basically fish in a barrel," said Lewis. "This is about changing the odds."

Fish in a barrel? Sitting in class? University of Texas at Austin grad student Aron Weinberg says concealed weapons won't make students any safer, but rather, will only bring more danger onto college campuses. Weinberg started a petition at Change.org against the new law which has been passed out of committee in the Texas House, allowing concealed carry on campus.