The Log Cabin Republican; New York Times, 9/28/13

Frank Bruni, New York Times; The Log Cabin Republican: "The university president, Karen Whitney, said that the warm reception she and her partner had received in their community had convinced her that a big part of progress in rural America depended on gays and lesbians showing up, sticking around, weaving themselves in. “People meet you and they don’t immediately change their stereotypes, but they do have to adjust,” she said. That’s what Fleck is hoping for and counting on, an adjustment. If it proves to be too much to ask and he’s defeated in the primary next May, he said he would nonetheless feel that he had accomplished something, noting that many closeted gay men in rural Pennsylvania had sought him out for counsel. He recalled one in particular. “I had a Mennonite drive two hours to my house to ask if I thought he could still go to heaven,” Fleck told me. Before last December, that man wouldn’t have known where to turn. He wouldn’t have found an ear and solace in an overgrown log cabin on Fleck Road."

It's another bad week to be gay; Guardian, 9/27/13

Nancy Goldstein, Guardian; It's another bad week to be gay: "Sometimes it really does suck to be gay. In addition to the usual hard work – the recruiting of innocents, the destruction of the institution of marriage, compulsory brunch – there's been an unusually high volume of international bigotry and bad news to put up with this week."

Gay senior seeks University of Pittsburgh Homecoming King title; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/22/13

Mackenzie Carpenter, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Gay senior seeks University of Pittsburgh Homecoming King title: "With the help of a counselor, he made the decision to reveal his sexual orientation -- something that was completely accepted by members of his fraternity Sigma Chi, "a real brotherhood," he said. In fact, Sigma Chi's president, Andrew Hansen, was the first to suggest that Mr. Patton run for Homecoming King. As president of the school's Fraternity Council, Mr. Patton, who is majoring in philosophy and communications, hopes his candidacy will also send a message that fraternities are inclusive places -- "not the stereotype out of 'Animal House,' " he said."

Bob Moritz, on How to Learn About Diversity; New York Times, 9/14/13

Adam Bryant, Corner Office, New York Times; Interview with Bob Moritz, chairman and senior partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers: Bob Moritz, on How to Learn About Diversity: "In my sixth year, I went off to Japan for a couple of years. It was amazingly difficult, and it taught me big lessons that I actually have developed into a leadership style. Q. Please walk me through them. A. First, it taught me about diversity. Over there, I was the minority. I was the guy outside of the circle. I couldn’t speak the language. I was the guy who was discriminated against. So it gave me a different perspective of diversity, and it influenced the diversity agenda we have now. The second thing it taught me was about diversity of thought and cultural diversity. In Japan, you respect titles. You respect age. And you don’t challenge authority. If you’re going to do your job in Japan, how can you ask challenging questions to get the right answers without making people feel threatened? In the role I’ve got today, diversity of thought is hugely important. How do you get people to understand global business practices and do it in a way so that people feel good and not threatened? How do you set that tone and that environment?"

Russia Is Persuaded to Alter Statement to Call for Inclusion; New York Times, 9/14/13

Mary Pilon, New York Times; Russia Is Persuaded to Alter Statement to Call for Inclusion: "The controversy was over a rough draft of the truce that mentioned a promise to include “people of different age, sex, physical capacity, religion, race and social status,” according to documents reviewed by The New York Times. It made no mention of gay or transgender people, a particularly sensitive omission given the uproar in the West over a Russian law that has been criticized as antigay. United Nations representatives from around the world spent weeks pushing Russia to amend the language to include gay people, according to interviews with representatives from eight countries. This week, after extensive negotiations behind the scenes, Russia altered the truce’s language to say that it would “promote social inclusion without discrimination of any kind.”"

Homophobia and Hip-Hop: A Confession Breaks a Barrier; New York Times, 9/13/13

Jon Caramanica, New York Times; Homophobia and Hip-Hop: A Confession Breaks a Barrier: "Mister Cee’s confession comes in the middle of a stretch that has seen the gradual easing of hip-hop’s internalized homophobia. Over the last couple of years Frank Ocean, the soul singer and affiliate of the hip-hop crew Odd Future, openly discussed his love for a man; ASAP Rocky and Kanye West have loudly disavowed homophobia (though Rocky visibly struggled at the MTV Video Music Awards when put on stage next to the openly gay basketball player Jason Collins), and Jay-Z voiced his support for marriage equality. This reflects a generational shift in attitudes, a slight class shift in hip-hop’s mainstream, as well as a broadening of hip-hop’s fan base. Anti-gay sentiment has long played a part in hip-hop, but as hip-hop becomes more central to pop culture, its values are evolving. A decade ago this scenario would have probably been unthinkable. But there was Mr. Darden assuring Mister Cee, “There’s nothing wrong with being who you are,” and at one point encouraging him by exclaiming, “You’re free, Cee!”"

A Few Takes On How To Fix The Tech Industry's 'Bro' Problem; NPR, 9/13/13

Elise Hu, NPR; A Few Takes On How To Fix The Tech Industry's 'Bro' Problem: "The tech industry's sometimes sexist "brogrammer" culture came into focus at least , making it as good a time as any to highlight the running conversation about how to constructively change the systemic, entrenched issues that allow for offensive apps like Titstare, which was presented at a tech industry hackathon."

Class Is Seen Dividing Harvard Business School; New York Times, 9/9/13

Jodi Kantor, New York Times; Class Is Seen Dividing Harvard Business School: "Is class a more divisive issue at Harvard Business School than gender?"