Civitas Conversation on LGBTQ issues with Karis Agnew of PROMO
 On Saturday, April 10 (11:00 AM - 12:00 Noon), Civitas will host online Karis Agnes of PROMO for an interactive presentation and conversation on LGBTQ issues. What, if any, issues exist at your school? Is it different when you're ZOOMing to school rather than there in person? What other challenges do members of the LGBTQ community face elsewhere in their local communities.
Karis will present, question and respond to your questions. There will even be a breakout activity. Karis works with legislators in local communities as well as Jefferson City and Washington, DC. She's a great presenter; it will be a very engaging morning.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!
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Saturday, April 10; 11:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
Conversation on LGBTQ issues at schools and in your communities. What legal battles remain? Our guest presenter will be Karis Agnew of PROMO.
Click here to register
Saturday, April 17; 11:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
Jesse Lawder; working in U.S. Department of Labor for President Biden
Click here to register
Tuesday, April 20; 6:30 - 7:30 PM
Hear from the STL Moms Who Awakened the United Nations Commission on Human Rights About the Westlake Landfill in nearby Bridgeton
Saturday, April 24, 11:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
Christine Nobbe, aka “Space Girl,” talks about Mars, Artemis program, and more!
Click here to register
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Middle School Model UN General Assemblies in full swing!
After months of class visits, research, and resolution writing, middle school students across the STL region are gearing up for their General Assemblies. Students at Maplewood-Richmond Heights Middle, Lafayette Prep Academy, Christ Prince of Peace, and many others are submitting resolutions doing last minute prep for their big days!
We will be posting resolutions as we receive them, so check the Middle School Hub for more details!
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Civitas Welcomes Jesse Lawder on Saturday, April 17 to share his journey from Performing in Plays to Playing in Politics
“I may be the only person in the current Biden administration with a BFA in Musical Theatre,” Jesse Lawder shared recently, reflecting on his years leading up to his new job. After working a while as an actor, Jesse joined the Obama campaign in the spring of 2008, which landed him a job with the Obama administration for the following eight years. With Trump’s election, he returned to St. Louis where he worked as the vice president at Planned Parenthood, learning a lot about Missouri voters, some of which may surprise you. When Joe Biden was elected president, Jesse was offered another opportunity to work for the new administration in Washington D.C. in the Department of Labor.
Join us on Saturday, April 17th from 11:00 am until 12:00 pm to hear more about Jesse’s journey. He also wants to hear from YOU, so it will be an hour of mostly dialogue about the politics in our state and country.
Click here to sign up!
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How is the United Nations Involved with the toxic landfill in nearby Bridgeton, MO?
 In March of 2013 Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel founded JustMomsSTL, a non-profit organization that educates the community about the hazards and health risks surrounding the West Lake Landfill, a site used to dump radioactive waste from the Manhattan Project in Bridgeton, MO. The toxic area is adjacent to the Bridgeton Landfill where a subsurface smoldering fire burns. In fact that fire is dangerously close; only about 1,000 feet separate the two areas.
Join Civitas and UNA-STL via Zoom on Tuesday, April 20 from 6:30 pm-7:30 pm for an update from Dawn and Karen about the issue. Ongoing goals include advocating to relocate people in homes near the landfills, continuing outreach to inform and educate others, addressing the odor issues, getting assistance from the EPA, and more. There will also be a connection made to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and how we can all advocate for supporting these goals by reaching out to elected officials.
For more information, here’s a YouTube link to the Atomic Homefront Documentary that explains the history of the waste dumping and its lingering effects:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duEMr4VbqbM
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High School Teachers ... Are you interested in having Pulitzer journalists ZOOM into you classroom to discuss with your students "Profits Before People? COVID-19 and the Meatpacking Industry"
Chadde and Bagenstose work respectively for The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting and USA TODAY. They are excited about the prospect of ZOOMing into St. Louis area classrooms to meet with teachers and students. If you are interested in scheduling an appearance, please e-mail arthur@civitas-stl.com. It's an under-told story that is most enlightening about what is happening in distant corners of the Midwest.
Photo above: Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Waterloo, IA, on Sept. 17, 2020. Image by Kelly Wenzel / The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. United States, 2020.
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Christine Nobbe Returns to talk about SPACE!
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Exploring Moon, Mars and Beyond
Christine Nobbe, aka “Space Girl,” but also an educator and director of gifted Education for DESE, will be joining us again at Civitas on Saturday, April 24 from 11:00 am-12:00 pm to provide a space progress update. She will share the latest on the Mars Perseverance rover, the Artemis project, the Moon Village, #dearMoon, the search for life, and the importance of space settlement. Whew! That’s a lot of information, but Christine will touch on basics and provide plenty of time for questions and discussion during the hour timeslot that will “Zoom” by. Since we’ll be virtual she won’t be able to pass around her incredible collection of space objects, but she’ll provide plenty of visuals.
Here is a terrific piece from last Sunday's 60 Minutes on the new race to the Moon and beyond, with major leadership from women.
Click here to register.
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 A remote-controlled robot takes a throat swab at a hospital in Tanta,Egypt, on Saturday, March 20. The robot prototype is part of a project to assist physicians in testing patients for Covid-19, Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images |
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This past week at the United Nations
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