Campus Progress spoke with some young attendees about what compelled them to attend this years conference, which featured speeches from high-profile conservatives and panels on everything from health-care reform to dating.

The alleged mistreatment is only the latest story of police officers abusing and harassing trans people, and particularly trans women. From the Stonewall riots to Occupy Wall Street, trans people have been singled out for police violence and brutality; even when legitimately arrested, they are often subject to mistreatment in police custody.

A scathing Amnesty International report [PDF] in 2005 found numerous reports of “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of LGBT individuals,” and faulted U.S. authorities for both failing to prevent widespread abuse at the hands of the police, and falling behind the rest of the world in advancing LGBT rights. 

“Many transgender people are fearful of spending time in detention because they are often at heightened risk of torture and ill-treatment at the hands of both guards and other inmates,” the Amnesty International report reads.

Many transgender people interviewed for the investigation reported being housed in cells according to the sex they were assigned at birth, putting them at risk of assault by other detainees; they also reported verbal abuse and both physical and sexual assault from officers.

Breslauer alleges that the same thing happened to her.

When she was arrested, she says, she gave the desk sergeant a note from her doctor explaining her transition and asking that she have safe access to gender-appropriate facilities. Instead, the officers allegedly sat her on a bench six feet in front of the men’s detention cell and chained her arm above her head in an uncomfortable position. The lawsuit says she was forced to sit there for 28 hours, all while enduring verbal abuse from male detainees and from police officers, who reportedly called her a “he-she” and a “faggot” and asked about her genitalia and sexual practices.

This lawsuit is the second high-profile report of alleged abuse of transgender detainees in four months. In October, transgender advocate Justin Adkins was arrested at an Occupy Wall Street protest. He told Bilerico that he was painfully handcuffed to a pipe, rather than housed in a cell, and that police officers mocked him for the 8 hours of his detention.

There has been a long campaign against NYPD discrimination and harassment of transgender people, including a list of demands given to the department in 2009 by a number of advocates [PDF]. All of them have pointed out this: When an institution ostensibly there to protect and serve instead becomes a force of brutal discrimination, it frequently targets those least able or likely to protest the abuse. Those people, in turn, are victimized by the institutions that are supposed to keep them safe.

It’s worth remembering that police brutality against sexual and gender minorities sparked the Stonewall riots and birthed the Gay Rights Movement. Breslauer’s lawsuit is proof of the distance yet to go. 

Lawmakers voted to kill the bill despite emotional testimonies from several college students, including 20-year-old Carla Montes. Montes described how she cried for three days after being denied in-state tuition because her undocumented parents couldn’t afford the out-of-state tuition rate, which is three times higher. Under U.S. law, children born in the country to undocumented immigrants are American citizens, called “birthright citizenship.”

Unmoved, Republican legislators interrupted Montes multiple times as she told her story, attempting to refute the notion that their ruling was unfair.

“As a U.S.-born American citizen I can vote, I pay taxes, I attended school in Florida, ” Montes told the committee.

“No, no, no, we’re talking about your parents,” barked Sen. Steve Oelrich. “That’s how we establish residency in the state of Florida, by the status of your parents.”

Montes shot back: “With all respect, the person who is sitting in the classroom, the person who’s giving back to this economy is me, not my parents.”

One after another, student testifiers were interrupted and ridiculed in front of the committee before being forced to watch the crucial legislation die before them in the committee chamber. The bill, SB 1018, would have closed a loophole in Florida law that excludes citizens from in-state tuition benefits due to the residency status of their parents. Its defeat stunned Florida students and immigration advocates nationwide.

“We were shocked,” said Beatriz De La Espriella, a senior at the University of Florida involved in several pro-immigrant student groups including Chispas. “We thought [passing the bill] would be easy because the students are U.S. citizens.”

De La Espriella said that the fight was not over and that student groups plan to continue protesting at the state capital.

The decision by the Florida legislature is part of a recent trend in which some state officials have taken tough stances against undocumented immigrants, regardless of how law-abiding citizens could be affected. Last year, Arizona, Alabama, Indiana, South Carolina, and Utah all passed controversial anti-immigrant laws that faced intense scrutiny from federal courts.

Georgia could soon follow suit. The Peach State is considering a law that would ban undocumented students from attending any Georgia public college. Dozens of undocumented students attended a hearing by the state’s House Higher Education Committee and stood silently in protest.

“This is about dreams; it’s about goals,” said one emotional Georgia student. “I really hope that this state government doesn’t stop and halt dreams.”

These hardline approaches by state governments are likely to continue. Policies that appear to be cracking down on undocumented immigrants have generally garnered widespread public support, and lawmakers facing tough re-election battles have realized the strategic value of taking tough—if not unfair—stances against such immigrants.

But Florida and Georgia students have shown no signs of giving up.

“This is not going to stop us,” warned De La Espriella. “This is not the end.”

The group, One Million Moms, called on JC Penney to fire Degeneres, saying the company should remain “neutral in the culture war.”

But JC Penney CEO Ron Johnson said Thursday he won’t replace Degeneres. On CBS, he stood behind the new spokesperson:

We stand squarely behind Ellen as our spokesperson and that's a great thing, because she shares the same values that we do in our company. Our company was founded 110 years ago on The Golden Rule, which is about treating people fair and square, just like you would like to be treated yourself. And we think Ellen represents the values of our company and the values that we share.

This isn’t the first time One Million Moms has pulled these kinds of stunts. Last fall, they campaigned against Macy’s for selling a wedding cake topper with two men. One Million Moms is a part of the American Family Association, which has attacked Home Depot recently for participating in gay pride events; they also take credit for successfully pressuring Lowe’s to pull advertising from TLC’s All American Muslim series.

In a statement, One Million Moms argues that JC Penney should remain “neutral in the culture war.”

“Degeneres is not a true representation of the type of families that shop at their store,” the statement says. “The majority of JC Penney shoppers will be offended and choose to no longer shop there.”

On her show this week, Degeneres celebrated the news that California’s Prop 8, which banned gay marriage, was declared unconstitutional by a federal appeals court, and she brought up the JC Penney controversy.

 “My haters are my motivators,” Degeneres said, poking fun at One Million Moms and thanking her supporters. The talk show host said she was happy that JC Penney was standing behind her.

“Honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you want to be treated, and helping those in need,” she said. “To me those are traditional values; that’s what I stand for.”

Degeneres even got an unlikely supporter—conservative talk show host Bill O’Reilly.

During a segement on the boycott on his show The O’Reilly Factor, O’Reilly wasn’t able to find a spokesperson from One Million Moms willing to talk. Instead, he brought on another anti-gay commentator.

The commentator, Sandy Rios, agreed with One Million Moms’s issues, saying they’re “seeing homosexuality so embedded in our culture in alarming ways” and claiming that JC Penney is trying “to mainstream something that is not acceptable.”

O’Reilly argued that the One Million Moms boycott effort is comparable to McCarthyism, calling it a “witch hunt” and saying it “isn’t the spirit of America to fire her.”

On Thursday, Degeneres thanked O’Reilly, saying: “You didn't really make it clear if you were going to shop at JC Penney or not, but if you do, you can use my employee discount any time you want. That's for you Bill. Thank you so much.”

Fighting Sioux to Fight for “Racist Moniker.” The University of North Dakota is petitioning to keeping its school mascot, the “Fighting Sioux,” by holding a statewide vote. Most schools changed mascots while a few got permission from the respective tribes to keep them after the NCAA issued new sanctions, which UND is protesting. One of the state’s Sioux tribes has approved the existence of the nickname, but the other has declined to say either way. A fight that has been going on and off for seven years might be reaching its zenith, as university officials and the state Board of Higher Education debate whether they should go to court over the issue. [Press of Atlantic City]

Education Campaign Makes Bank. Stanford University brought in $6.2 billion through a five-year fund-raising campaign called “The Stanford Challenge.” It is the largest sum ever collected in a single campaign by a higher-education institution, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. The money will be used to renovate campus buildings, provide $250 million in need-based, undergraduate scholarships, and fund staff endowments and graduate fellowships. The challenge’s goal was a mere $4.3 billion but, because of some $50 million donations from Silicon Valley executives, the school was able to push well past their goal. [The Chronicle of Higher Education]

The DREAM Keeps Expanding. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn announced that the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) would be extending scholarships for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Fund Commission. The Illinois DREAM Act, signed in law in August, works to provide scholarships for undocumented immigrant and first-generation students and this commission from the ICIRR will help it reach more aspiring college students. Quinn also vowed to donate $1,000 to the scholarship fund. [Windy City Media Group]

During the call, Biden talked about the importance of ensuring families can afford to pay for higher education, saying that accessibility to higher education is one of the essential elements for reaching the American Dream.

“Any country who out educates us, out competes us,” Biden said, adding that other countries looking to compete economically with the United States aren’t cutting funding for education.

Biden highlighted elements of the president’s higher education plan, including ensuring many students won’t have to pay more than 10 percent of their income toward their federal loans. He also reiterated President Obama’s call for a “Race for the Top” type accountability system that holds universities accountable by withholding federal aid to institutions that do not actively seek to make changes to their school to allow for lowering tuition costs and increasing the quality of education.

The vice president also voiced his support for a federal DREAM Act , which would give undocumented students a pathway to citizenship if they’re pursuing higher education. Obama also called on Congress to pass such legislation during his State of the Union, saying he’d sign it.  

During the call, Biden called the young people enrolled in college “the greatest generation,” citing their propensity for giving and service and thanking the young men and women serving in the military.

“Roland Martin’s tweets were regrettable and offensive. Language that demeans is inconsistent with the values and culture of our organization, and is not tolerated. We have been giving careful consideration to this matter, and Roland will not be appearing on our air for the time being.”

Roland Martin’s twitter page has been noticeably less controversial since Super Bowl Sunday, and his blog this afternoon had a post promoting awareness about an anti-gay hate crime. 

CNN has not announced when Martin will return to the network.

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CNN anchor Roland Martin is in some hot water after several controversial tweets he made about a Super Bowl ad featuring a nearly-naked David Beckham.

Swedish fashion retailer H&M introduced its “Beckham Bodywear” line with a 30-second spot during the big game that placed the soccer star-heartthrob front and center in nothing but his underwear.

Reaction to the ad was mixed, but most viewers moved on to the next entertaining Super Bowl commercial. Martin, however, couldn’t seem to let it go.

Immediately after the ad aired, Martin tweeted: “Ain’t no real bruhs going to H&M to buy some damn David Beckham underwear! #superbowl”

So maybe Beckham’s new clothing line just wasn’t to Martin’s liking, and the tweet was an innocent way of expressing that? The political commentator upped the ante in another tweet two minutes later:

If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham’s H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him! #superbowl.

Martin faced immediate backlash for the tweets. One Twitter user asked if it’s acceptable for him to define masculinity for everyone else, to which Martin responded, “Yes. Deal with it!”

While Martin claims his tweets weren’t anti-gay, a quick look at his Twitter page suggests otherwise. Earlier Sunday he tweeted: “Who the hell was that New England Patriot they just showed in a head to toe pink suit? Oh, he needs a visit from #teamwhipdatass” And several weeks ago he tweeted: “Ladies, if your man don’t like sports, send his azz back to the factory. He came to you defective! #rolandsrules.”

In a video shot during the 2008 presidential campaign, Martin said that the Democrats had to make room in their party for anti-gay evangelicals, saying that gays had too much influence over Barack Obama.

There are several more tweets and comments that we could include here, but the point is clear. Even though some of the remarks were made in jest, Martin continues to imply that there’s something wrong with men who aren’t masculine enough by his definition. LGBT advocacy groups, including GLAAD, have already launched an online petition calling for him to be fired.

Martin has since backed off, claiming his tweets about the Beckham ad were anti-soccer and not anti-gay.

That claim is almost as laughable as Martin’s own fashion endeavors. 

The Champions for Change White House program is seeking individuals and organizations that have spent the last two years teaching others about the benefits of the Affordable Care Act. Since its passage, the legislation have provided coverage for more than 2.5 million more young Americans and helped ensure those with preexisting conditions can afford coverage, among other benefits.

The White House wants to highlight these “champions” for their efforts in raising awareness about what the Affordable Care Act has done for Americans over the past two years. If you know an individual or organization that has been educating their community on the benefits of health-care reform or helping others benefit under the Affordable Care Act, nominate them using this form by Feb. 16.

The Affordable Care Act was signed by President Obama on March 23, 2010.

Progress at Penn. The University of Pennsylvania saw a significant increase in the amount of applicants identifying as LGBT in the early decision round for the Class of 2016, reinforcing the school’s status as the most gay-friendly college in the United States. “Penn consistently, and more recently, has been seen as an environment that is supportive and welcoming across the board of LGBT students and allies,” said Dean of Admissions Eric Furda. Though the Common Application doesn’t include a check box for applicants to indicate sexual orientation, many students choose to self-identify as LGBT through their essays and other written material.  [The Daily Pennsylvanian]

Not Going Quietly. Florida students protested outside the offices of state legislators in the wake of a resounding defeat in the state Senate of a bill that would have extended in-state tuition rates to U.S. born children of illegal immigrants. Though it failed in the upper house, the bill is also making its way through the state House of Representatives. The House version would also extend tuition benefits to undocumented students. “We reside here in [Florida],” said one such student. “We pay taxes, we belong to this community.” The activists say they’ll continue to protest in the coming days.[The Ledger]

Out Of This World. High school senior Erin King celebrated her acceptance into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology by sending her acceptance letter on a space mission. Students admitted into MIT follow a tradition where they do something creative with the capsule containing the letter, and the Georgia teen sent hers 91,000 feet into the atmosphere. King produced a video documenting the feat and was remarkably able to recover the capsule after it returned to Earth by using two GPS-equipped radio transmitters. Looks like she’ll do just fine at MIT. [Huffington Post]

MTV recently released My College Dollars, a financial aid application on the popular social networking site that helps students fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms and gives them information on other available scholarships.

The app provides students with star-studded informational (and inspirational) videos—starring Jason Derulo, for instance—with information about state and federal aid; it also automatically alerts students about scholarships based on their Facebook information

My College Dollars is not replacing governmental services, but is working to bring the information and resources to more people. The app provides FAFSA information and contacts for more assistance, as well as a thorough explanation of the processes of FAFSA, scholarships, and other aid programs.

The scholarship listings number in the hundreds, from general art and science scholarships to major-specific awards. A student majoring in aerospace, for example, would find results on both general science scholarship and ones related to aerospace on My College Dollars. Some searches will still garnish 250 results, but the app links to College Board where such a search can be further refined.

Both high school graduates and current college students can search scholarships by state, minority status, and gender. The options for minority status however are not completely inclusive: there is no option for multiracial students.

Other problems exist in an “ethnic background” box where nationalities such as Chinese and Japanese are named but not others like Korean or Thai. Like any new site, there are always ways to improve. My College Dollars could take a few straightforward steps to make the app more inclusive and appeal to a greater audience.

My College Dollars must be able to truly make a difference in the lives of students who use the app, if it fails to provide results, future aspiring college students will have look for help elsewhere. It’s great that a major company like MTV is investing in America’s next generation—especially when so many students don’t even know how to access the resources to apply for college aid.

My College Dollars will work to help expand the reach of federal aid. By reaching more students, and providing them with resources to help them attain higher education, MTV could move the bar set by College Board and college prep companies up a notch.

College assistance has now flowed into the social networking stream—whether My College Dollars succeeds or not.