Student Union
US Congress Wants App Ideas From Young Developers
Take it to the U.S. Congress.
The Congressional App Challenge offers the opportunity to present your application to participating members of Congress. Participants win prizes, have their work displayed in the Capitol Building in Washington and receive recognition for their work.
“The Congressional App Challenge’s mission is to inspire, include, and innovate efforts around STEM, coding, and computer science education,” the competition’s website says in its mission statement.
The challenge, first launched in 2015, hosted 2,150 students, with winners from 123 districts last year. One winner, Trisha Prabhu, developed her app at 16 and later presented her idea on "Shark Tank," a popular television program where entrepreneurs compete for venture funding.
The app, called ReThink, filters out negative messages to prevent cyberbullying and allow users to rewrite their messages before sending them.
“Cyberbullies hide behind their screens and use mean, tormenting and humiliating words every day to bully others,” Prabhu said during her pitch on the show. “ReThink stops cyberbullying by stopping hurtful messages before the damage is done.”
Other competitors developed applications meant to help users with unique challenges. Sneha Malineni and Suzanne Bonamici won in their district for presenting Forget Me Not, an app that helps Alzheimer’s patients remember the names of the important people in their life. Other winners created platforms that could teach the public about recycling, public safety and entrepreneurship.
The complete list of winners and their explanations for their winning product can be found here.
This year students will have from July 26 until November 1 to submit their entries. Teams can consist of up to four people, and winners must submit three-minute videos detailing what their app does and how to use it.
Panels of local judges evaluate the apps on their creativity, design quality and the level of programming skills required.
Rachel Décoste, the new director of the Congressional App Challenge, said in a press release that she was looking forward to work for a cause that encourages young people to pursue STEM fields and develop their own talents. Her career in coding included coding air traffic control systems for the Federal Aviation Agency.
“Learning to code as a teenager opened the door to a fantastic career for me. I hope the Congressional App Challenge will be a catalyst for the next generation of tech leaders,” Décoste said.
“I’m excited to join a team of people who are passionate about increasing STEM among America’s youth and connecting the U.S. Congress with their local tech communities.”
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Trump administration opens antisemitism inquiries at 5 colleges, including Columbia and Berkeley
The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.
It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.
In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.
Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.
Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.
"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.
The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.
An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."
House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."
Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.
Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.
The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.
"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."
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