Month: March 2013

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Homophobia & harassment in student athletics

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning (LGBQ) student athletes are two times more likely to experience harassment than their heterosexual teammates, a new report has found, reports Huffington Post.

“Campus Pride’s 2012 LGBTQ National College Athlete Report, which was produced in conjunction with the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation, revealed a number of other eyebrow-raising statistics.imgres-5 The poll, which surveyed the experiences of 394 individuals who identified as LGBQ, also found that only 18 percent of LGBQ student athletes competed in a featured collegiate sport (as defined by each campus) compared to 27 percent of heterosexual athletes.

“One in four LGBQ student athletes said they were pressured to be silent about their sexual identity among teammates, while 21 percent said they were the target of derogatory remarks via email, Facebook, social media and other electronic means — almost double that of their heterosexual counterparts, according to the report.

“All students deserve the assurance of safety and inclusion in both the classroom and on the field,” Shane L. Windmeyer, Campus Pride’s Executive Director (and aHuffPost Gay Voices blogger) writes in the report’s executive summary. “Now is the time for all campuses to play to win. LGBTQ inclusion does not just benefit the LGBTQ student athletes, coaches and fans. It benefits everyone in college sports.”

More at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/18/lgbtq-college-report-campus-pride-_n_2902427.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

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The rise of women in college

imgres-4March is women’s history month. So what better way to honor women than by taking a look at one area in which they are leading the way: education.

Women now outnumber their male counterparts in college and earn more bachelor’s degrees by a 30% to 22% margin, according to the October Bureau of Labor Statistics. MSNBC reports that “In 2011, more than30 million women received. While women have achieved parity in fields such as medicine and the law, they lag far behind men in engineering and physical science degrees. Continue reading “The rise of women in college”

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Local news going the way of print

With shorter stories and scarce coverage of politics and government, local television newscasts in the United States, like local newspapers before them, are suffering from “shrinking pains,” according to the Pew Research Center.imgres-2

The diagnosis comes in the center’s 10th annual State of the News Media report, which will be published on Monday. The New York Times reports that “the report, covering 2012, describes cutbacks in the reporting ranks of newspapers and television networks and a surge in efforts by politicians, corporations and others to tell their own stories.

“This adds up to a news industry that is more undermanned and unprepared to uncover stories, dig deep into emerging ones or to question information put into its hands,” the report’s main author, Amy Mitchell, wrote in an introduction. Continue reading “Local news going the way of print”

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Madonna versus the scouts, again

imgres-1Madonna lived up to her reputation for courting controversy and fighting for gay rights when she appeared on March 16 in New York City at the 24th annual Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Awards, the first of three events to be held this year to honor the best representations of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the media.

Dressed in a Cub Scout uniform, the pop star told the audience, “I wanted to be a Boy Scout but they wouldn’t let me join… I can build a fire. I know how to pitch a tent… Listen, I want to do good for the community. Most importantly, I know how to scout for boys!” Continue reading “Madonna versus the scouts, again”

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Men to live as long as women

The gap between male and female life expectancy is closing and men could catch up by 2030, according to an adviser for the Office for National Statistics.imgres

“Prof Les Mayhew said the difference between the sexes peaked at nearly six years in the 1970s. Life expectancy is going up all round, but the rates for men are increasing faster.

“Plummeting smoking rates in men are thought to explain a lot of the change. Prof Mayhew, a professor of statistics at Cass Business School, analysed life expectancy data in England and Wales. He was working out how long 30-year-olds could expect to live. Continue reading “Men to live as long as women”

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Heteronormativity in school

It’s commonly thought that teenagers these days are so much more hip about gender and sexuality than their parents ever more. But this perception can obscure the facts that concepts of “normality” and  “fitting in” still drive much of the culture of the young, As discussed today in Huffington Post:

“Popularity in middle and high school operates as a heterosexist reward system. Who “fits in” and who does not has a great deal to do with heterosexuality and gender conformity, which makes it difficult for LGBTQ kids to engage in the school social scene. For adolescents, school is (significantly) about social connections, social possibilities, social hierarchies and navigating through them. A great deal of school social life is about reinforcing the “normalcy” of heterosexuality and marking those considered to not measure up as “weird” or “less than” in some way. Continue reading “Heteronormativity in school”

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Revising video games to empower girls

imgres-2The world of video games has a long history of damsels in distress. It’s the go-to framework for endless heroic adventures where fabulous male heroes journey to save [insert female captured by villain here].

One of the earliest of these is the classic tale of a plucky, mustachioed plumber on a vertical, girder-climbing quest to save his lady Pauline from the barrel-throwing primate Donkey Kong, reports NPR today. ” It was the game that would set the stage for a long series of Mario adventures where his princess would continue to be captured and wind up “in another castle.” Continue reading “Revising video games to empower girls”

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Those online courses really do count

Legislation will be introduced in the California Senate on Wednesday that could reshape higher education by requiring the state’s public colleges and universities to give credit for faculty-approved online courses taken by students unable to register for oversubscribed classes on campus, reports today’s New York Times.

“If it passes, as seems likely, it would be the first time that state legislators have instructed public universities to grant credit for courses that were not their own — including those taught by a private vendor, not by a college or university.

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“We want to be the first state in the nation to make this promise: No college student in California will be denied the right to move through their education because they couldn’t get a seat in the course they needed,” said Darrell Steinberg, the president pro tem of the Senate, who will introduce the bill. “That’s the motivation for this.” Continue reading “Those online courses really do count”

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The House I live In – The “War on Drugs”

Over the past 40 years, the War on Drugs has cost more than $1 trillion and accounted
for over 45 million arrests.

The U.S. holds 25% of the world’s prisoners, yet accounts for
only 5% of the world’s population.imgres

Black individuals comprise 13% of the U.S. population and 14% of drug users, yet they are 37%
of the people arrested for drug offenses and 56% of those incarcerated for drug crimes.

As America remains embroiled in conflict overseas, a less visible war is taking place at
home, costing countless lives, destroying families, and inflicting untold damage upon
future generations of Americans. In forty years, the War on Drugs has accounted for
more than 45 million arrests, made America the world’s largest jailer, and damaged poor
communities at home and abroad. Yet for all that, drugs are cheaper, purer, and more
available today than ever before. Continue reading “The House I live In – The “War on Drugs””

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Changes in gender and addiction

imgres-1The worse women have it, the better off they are. This is the lesson we might draw from looking at one (and only one) global trend: addiction.Salon.com reports that “Worldwide, women have always had lower rates of drug and alcohol use and dependence than men. Butas women’s access to opportunities grows along with a nation’s affluence, this gender gap begins to close. In fact, just as women often outstrip men in the classroom and office if given the chance, they have already forged ahead in the abuse of certain substances. It may not be the most celebratory way to mark International Women’s Day (March 8), but the fact is, equal rights have their penalties.

Continue reading “Changes in gender and addiction”

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Elizabeth’s fabulous posibility

imgres-1Queen Elizabeth II is expected to sign a new charter for the Commonwealth, a document which many have interpreted as a nod to gay rights, reports Huffington Post.

“On Monday, Queen Elizabeth will sign the Commonwealth Charter which lays out the core values of the 54 member states, NPR notes. One particular line in this document is making headlines around the world because people have interpreted it as the first time Queen Elizabeth will openly support gay rights in her 61-year reign. Continue reading “Elizabeth’s fabulous posibility”

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Gun ownership lowest in 40 years

The share of American households with guns has declined over the past four decades, a national survey shows, with some of the most surprising drops in the South and the Western mountain states, where guns are deeply embedded in the culture, reports the New York Timesimgres

“The gun ownership rate has fallen across a broad cross section of households since the early 1970s, according to data from the General Social Survey, a public opinion survey conducted every two years that asks a sample of American adults if they have guns at home, among other questions. Continue reading “Gun ownership lowest in 40 years”

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Mormons, race, and history

A newly released digital edition of the four books of LDS or Mormon scripture—the Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, the

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Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price—includes editorial changes that reflect a shifting official view on issues like polygamy, the Church’s history of racism, and the historicity of LDS scripture, reports Salon.com

“Perhaps the most significant is the inclusion of a new heading to precede the now-canonized 1978 announcement of the end of the LDS Church’s ban on black priesthood ordination:

“The Book of Mormon teaches that “all are alike unto God,” including “black and white, bond and free, male and female” (2 Nephi 26:33). Throughout the history of the Church, people of every race and ethnicity in many countries have been baptized and have lived as faithful members of the Church. During Joseph Smith’s lifetime, a few black male members of the Church were ordained to the priesthood. Early in its history, Church leaders stopped conferring the priesthood on black males of African descent. Church records offer no clear insights into the origins of this practice. Church leaders believed that a revelation from God was needed to alter this practice and prayerfully sought guidance. The revelation came to Church President Spencer W. Kimball and was affirmed to other Church leaders in the Salt Lake Temple on June 1, 1978. The revelation removed all restrictions with regard to race that once applied to the priesthood.

 

“Church leaders have long maintained public ambiguity about the history of the ban and its end; they have rarely acknowledged the ordination of early African-American Mormons nor have they cited anti-racist teaching in the Book of Mormon in connection with the Church’s own troubled history on race. The new heading historicizes the ban (suggesting the influence of a robust Church History department) and depicts it as a contradiction to the original impulses of the faith, not corrected until 1978. The heading does, some commentators have noted, offer continuing cover to Brigham Young, whose on-the-record racist statements to the Utah legislature suggest his influence in the evolution of a non-ordination policy. Commentators also note the absence of reference to the fact that black women were not historically admitted to LDS temple worship until the 1978 announcement.”

 

Full story at:  http://www.salon.com/2013/03/09/changes_in_mormon_scriptures_to_reflect_shifting_views_partner/

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Is criminality inherited?

The nature versus nurture debate is welling up again with the arrest of a Bin Laden relative, and talk about the inheritability of genetic criminality.

In a nutshell, the current consensus of about genetic dispositions for most behaviors is that at beast we can inherit a potential for certain behaviors, imageswhich can be encouraged or discouraged by upbringing, culture, and other influences – all fo which can continue to shift and change throughout life. Or as Andrew Solomon put it, the “issue is how we nurture our nature.” Continue reading “Is criminality inherited?”

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Clinton sends his doma regrets to high court

Say what you will about our old freind Bi,, h still hs his moments. as in this Op-Ed in the Times ‘.  “In 1996, I signed the Defense of Marriage Act.images“Although that was only 17 years ago, it was a very different time. In no state in the union was same-sex marriage recognized, much less available as a legal right, but some were moving in that direction. Washington, as a result, was swirling with all manner of possible responses, some quite draconian. As a bipartisan group of former senators stated in their March 1 amicus brief to the Supreme Court, many supporters of the bill known as DOMA believed that its passage “would defuse a movement to enact a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, which would have ended the debate for a generation or more.” It was under these circumstances that DOMA came to my desk, opposed by only 81 of the 535 members of Congress. Continue reading “Clinton sends his doma regrets to high court”
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Museum merger mania in Los Angeles

This has been a rough couple of years in the Los Angeles musuem world, replete wiht power struggles, board rebellions, curators euphemistically resigning, and the public wondering what the hell is going on. At least the city gained one very huge rock. From outside the LA bubble, the New York Tmes put it this way:imgres-1

“The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, which has been battered in recent months with defections of board members, criticism of its direction and precarious finances, would merge with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art under a proposal by the latter museum.

“Lacma’s director, Michael Govan, and its board’s co-chairmen, Terry Semel and Andrew Gordon, proposed the union in a letter dated Feb. 24,according to The Los Angeles Times. Were the two institutions to merge, it said, it envisioned Lacma’s keeping its two downtown locations and operating under MOCA’s name. Continue reading “Museum merger mania in Los Angeles”

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Justin Bieber’s breath of fresh air

imgres-2Over 35-million Twitter followers of Justin Bieber went into a panic when the Biebs lost his breath on stage and had to be rushed off stage in London.

Ironically, the breathing problem occurred at a concert  London’s “O2” Arena. Spokesperson Melissa Victor told reporters the Canadian singer took a 20-minute rest before returning to the stage to finish the show. The BBC reported that “The 19-year-old star was performing the third out of four nights at the venue. Earlier this week he was criticized for keeping fans waiting after coming on stage late for Monday’s performance.

“Ms Victor said after the concert: “[Justin’s] heading to the doctor now. He fainted and took a 20-minute reprieve and was given oxygen.”In a video posted by a fan on YouTube, Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun was seen on stage during the show giving the audience an explanation as to why the show had come to a temporary halt. He told fans: “Justin got very light of breath, the whole show he’s been complaining. He’s backstage with the EMTs [emergency medical team] and the doctor. Continue reading “Justin Bieber’s breath of fresh air”

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Sobering talks at the United Nations

Who knew about all of the drinking at the United Nations?

It seems that cocktails have been key ingredients in helping a lot of those diplomatic negotiations get done. imgres-1But now it seems to party is winding down, as the New York Times reported today:

“When the United Nations began renovating its Manhattan headquarters in 2009, one of the first casualties of the construction was the storied Delegate’s Lounge, where for decades the delicate work of diplomacy was aided by a good stiff drink. The loss of the bar led to protest from diplomats and their staffs, and a temporary outpost was soon established.That bar is also now gone, but the thirst for liquor at the United Nations is apparently still strong. Continue reading “Sobering talks at the United Nations”