Number of Deferred Action Applicants Surge; Ithaca Students Protest Fossil Fuel Investments

Ohio University Student Union Protests Talk of Tuition Hike.  The OU Student Union, a new grassroots organization on campus descended on the Ohio University Board of Trustees' meeting Nov 16 to protest talk of a possible hike in tuition fees in order to balance the university's budget. Student demonstrators held up signs that read, "College is a Dream, Debt is a Nightmare," and "Baby It's Cold Outside, Freeze Tuition!" Tuition for the 2012-2013 academic year was increased by 3.5 percent after a decision made by the trustees last April. Board members say they are working with student representatives to make sure that all voices are heard concerning the new potential tuition hike. [WOUB]

Ithaca Students Protest College Fossil Fuel Investments. Ithaca College students urged their school's president, Tom Rochon, to divest from "socially and environmentally irresponsible" fossil fuel companies, and planned a protest for Nov. 16.  Student-run Environmental Leadership Action Network, (ELAN) hopes to have a written agreement with the college stating that the college will divest in fossil fuel companies by 2015. ELAN's next step is to reach out to students' families over Thanksgiving break. "When students get loud, the administration has to listen...And we're going to get loud again," the President of ELAN said. [The Ithacan]

Texas Education Board Reconsiders End-Of-Course Graduation Requirement. In Abilene, Texas, members of the Independent School District Board of Trustees met to discuss the overuse of standardized testing in the city's public schools. In Texas, students must pass 15 end-of-course State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exams—which constitute 15 percent of their overall GPA— in order to graduate. While community and business leader in Abilene agree that the testing over-burdens children, STAAR exams and other Texas mandated standardized tests also take a toll on teachers. Teacher evaluations overly reliant on students' ability to pass the STARR exam forces them to teach-to-the-test instead of focusing on giving students a well-rounded education. "There's a distinction between aiming high and aiming in the wrong direction. I think we may have overshot and need to correct our course of action," said the associate executive director of the governmental relations for the Texas Association of School Boards. [Reporter News]

Number of DACA Applications Flies Through the Roof. 53,273 undocumented immigrants have received deportation deferrals as of Nov 16—a huge jump from last month's 4,591 approval number.. This drastic acceleration, brought on by increased attention during the presidential race, "has been a model of government efficiency," said the Washington director of the National Immigration Law Center. Since Obama's re-election, application numbers are expected to continue to surge as more undocumented youth feel gain confidence in the administrations commitment  to creating a more efficient immigration process. According to a Department of Homeland Security report, 10,101 applications were incomplete and have been rejected, and more than 273,000 applications are just steps away from approval. [The New York Times]

Jennifer Hicks is a Communications Intern for Campus Progress.

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