Center for American Progress’ Campus Progress Launches New Iraq Campaign and Film Project

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Campus Progress, the campus arm of Washington-based think-tank the Center for American Progress, has just launched two new programs, the Iraq Campaign and the Iraq Film Project, both geared toward changing the course of the war through advocacy and education. Campus Progress is offering grants of $200-1,000 to students working on Iraq advocacy and education campaigns on their college campuses. The group is sponsoring the Iraq Film Project, whereby Iraq movies can be screened on campuses nationwide, “as a means of intensifying and enhancing [the] debate on the war, and engaging young people in a search for the right course going forward.” They are dedicated to assisting students who want to plan an event and have award-winning films available, like The War Tapes and Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (read the Mojo review of the film here), as well as speakers available for the events. Several schools including Lehigh, Princeton and Amherst have already planned screenings for their schools. To get involved or for more information, click here.

For a comprehensive look at the situation in Iraq, read Mother Jones‘ new report, “Iraq 101” in our current issue. And for a look at other activism happening on campuses nationwide, check out our 13th annual roundup of campus activists here.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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