No one likes spam. E-mail users will do whatever it takes to stop it.

Last Tuesday, a phishing scam was sent to Creighton students asking them for their net IDs and Blue passwords. Student services soon responded with a warning to all students to ignore the fraud. With so much of our lives floating in our inboxes, even a small disturbance can have large consequences.

Now, the Creighton community has the chance to use the power of the mass e-mail for something other than a movie showing or a car wash.

Right now, the Nebraska state legislature’s judiciary committee is considering a proposal, LB 307, that would restructure prison time for juveniles who are convicted of murder.

Currently, when someone under the age of 18 commits a first-degree murder, he or she, if convicted, will be sentenced to life without parole, no questions asked.

While this predicament is an obviously failed attempt at deterrence and a gross violation of international law, it says something else about our nation’s children: some of them are beyond hope.

The vast majority of countries ban the practice, and the U.S.’s extreme position has led to more than 2,500 prisoners sentenced to life without parole before their 18th birthday, according to Human Rights Watch.

If passed, LB 307 would restructure juvenile sentences for felonies by imposing a maximum sentence of 50 years on first-degree murder. A person convicted of murder when a juvenile will be eligible for parole after 15 years.

The bill’s author, Sen. Brenda Council, spoke at Creighton on Monday, and the event emphasized how e-mail can pass this bill through.

First, less than 30 people showed up to listen to Council talk about her legislative initiatives. This is not surprising. How many students will make the trek down to the Harper Center to listen to a state legislator for an hour and a half?

Second, the bill is stuck in committee and will remain so until it can get the required five votes to pass it to the floor. Council wanted everyone to fill out a petition to Sen. Brad Ashford who is the most likely to be the fifth vote.

I hope 30 petitions is enough. If it’s not, Council suggested using another method to voice our concerns: e-mail.

Ashford has an e-mail account – what type of message would it send if we could flood the senator’s inbox with letters of support for LB 307?

I sent one to Ashford on Wednesday. His e-mail is [email protected].

Looking at Council’s speech where she addressed issues like affirmative action, the death penalty and illegal aliens, I understood why some may call our generation politically removed, but maybe we’re the politically efficient.

Petitions are so last year’s political activism. E-mail lets us get our daily dose of democratic participation while we type a paper and wait for a YouTube clip to load.

Now, the debate in the Nebraska legislature is an ample opportunity for us to flex our new technology muscles.

It took me 55 seconds to send my e-mail.

Don’t worry, the Facebook wall will be there when you get back.