IRVINE, Calif. (AP)—If campus activism still brings to mind peace signs, a sea of White faces and liberal strongholds like Berkeley, meet Jesse Cheng.

Cheng is a third-year Asian-American studies major at the University of California, Irvine, a campus less than five decades old in the middle of Orange County, a place of strip malls and subdivisions that gave birth to the ultraconservative John Birch Society. He is part of a growing movement of minority students rallying around a new cause—fighting a budget crisis that’s undermining access to higher education at a time when students of color have become a stronger demographic force.

Environmental Protection Agency Director Lisa Jackson could have celebrated the 40th anniversary of Earth Day anywhere, but she decided to do so with children from the Heinz Boys & Girls Club here on Pittsburgh’s North Side, talking about conserving natural resources and improving the environment.

THANK YOU—EPA Director Lisa Jackson shakes hands and thanks the children for taking part in the live webcast of Earth Day celebrations from the Sarah Heinz Boys & Girls Club on the North Side.

The town hall-style discussion, which also included questions asked by children from around the country via computer link, was held at the Sarah Heinz House Boys & Girls Club April 21 and was carried live on the Internet in advance of Earth Day so it would be available on the EPA website.

About 200 children took part in the celebration, both asking and answering questions.

This summer, rising middle school students in the Pittsburgh Public School District have been invited to a free five-week summer camp. The day-long camp, funded through stimulus dollars, will be focused around literacy.

“We are fortunate to be able to use the American Recovery Reinvestment Act funds for this,” said Allison McLeod, project manager. “What a great way to invest in our kids and keep kids learning in the summer. It’s a great time to do some fun activities and enrichment learning.”

The camp is another component of the district’s push to prepare students to take advantage of the Pittsburgh Promise, which provides scholarships for students pursuing secondary education. With literacy curriculum in the morning and educational extra circulars in the afternoon, the district hopes students will begin to develop a stronger passion for education.