Why ‘Self-Identifying’ Is Different From Coming Out; New York Times, 12/29/15

Wesley Morris, New York Times; Why ‘Self-Identifying’ Is Different From Coming Out:

"Two to three times a month, I sit in a barber’s chair for a haircut. It takes about half an hour, which is enough time to overhear and participate in conversations about everything from sexy women, financial solvency and the American presidency to why the dust at the bottom of a bag of Doritos is so good. Some of those conversations veer into comically incorrect presumptions about gay life. Some veer into the abject homophobia of certain comedians’ stand-up routines. In nearly 40 years of haircuts, I’ve heard the word ‘‘faggot’’ a lot.

Part of what got me down about Bill Kennedy’s situation is also what moved me. He traded a useful job protection to advocate for other gay people in sports to feel safer while doing their job. It’s easy to hate whom you can’t see and harder to hate whom you can. I’m gay. But I’ve never self-identified to a barber or the men in the shop. Nor have I seen any other man do the same. We should."

90-Year-Old Gay Man Recalls Long Struggle With His Sexuality; NPR, 12/24/15

NPR; 90-Year-Old Gay Man Recalls Long Struggle With His Sexuality:

"SHAPIRO: But what I hear you say is that you might have some regrets about some choices that you've made. But you do not regret the life that you lived, even though you only really came out at age 70.

BLACK: I don't really because I think a lot of that - it's a weird thing to say, but I really think that suffering can be - it certainly isn't always by any means - but it certainly can be a way of understanding other people, opening. You know, Mother Teresa said, Lord, break my heart so completely that the whole world falls in. I can't say that. You know, that's - but I really am grateful that my heart has been broken a good many times because it does help me to love."

Robert Spitzer,' Most Influential Psychiatrist,' Dies at 83; Associated Press via New York Times, 12/27/15

Associated Press via New York Times; Robert Spitzer,' Most Influential Psychiatrist,' Dies at 83:

"Gay-rights activists credit Dr. Spitzer with removing homosexuality from the list of mental disorders in the D.S.M. in 1973. He decided to push for the change after he met with gay activists and determined that homosexuality could not be a disorder if gay people were comfortable with their sexuality.

At the time of the psychiatric profession's debate over homosexuality, Dr. Spitzer told the Washington Post: "A medical disorder either had to be associated with subjective distress — pain — or general impairment in social function."

Dr. Jack Drescher, a gay psychoanalyst in New York, told the Times that Spitzer's successful push to remove homosexuality from the list of disorders was a major advance for gay rights. "The fact that gay marriage is allowed today is in part owed to Bob Spitzer," he said.

In 2012, Dr. Spitzer publicly apologized for a 2001 study that found so-called reparative therapy on gay people can turn them straight if they really want to do so. He told the Times in 2012 that he concluded the study was flawed because it simply asked people who had gone through reparative therapy if they had changed their sexual orientation."

Coming Out as Gay Superheroes; New York Times, 12/23/15

George Gene Gustines, New York Times; Coming Out as Gay Superheroes:

"When the mutant superhero Iceman came out last month — thanks to a one-two punch of his prying telepathic teammate and a time-travel visit from his younger self — he immediately became the most prominent gay comic book character. But his revelation was far from the only story line involving gay, lesbian and transgender characters in the fast-evolving world of comic-book narratives.

In October, Alysia Yeoh, a transgender friend of Batgirl, and her girlfriend Jo were married in a simple ceremony unmarred by super-villainy; Peter Parker, perhaps better known as Spider-Man, attended the wedding of Max Modell, his scientific mentor and gay colleague; and Wiccan and Hulkling, a superpowered gay couple, joined a division of the Avengers along with Hawkeye and Songbird. In August, Wonder Woman officiated a lesbian wedding, and since June, fans have been treated to the monthly adventures of Midnighter, who is out about his heroic identity and his sexual orientation. That month also saw the first issue of “Stripling Warrior,” which features superheroes that are gay and lesbian — and Mormon."

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director: 'Unconscious bias' in tech exists; Politico, 12/10/15

Eliza Collins, Politico; U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director: 'Unconscious bias' in tech exists:

"Michelle Lee said Thursday there is an “unconscious bias” in tech, but it isn’t just specific to women.

Lee was speaking at POLITICO’s Women Rule event.

Lee, the undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, challenged leaders to make sure they’re giving equal jobs to men and women.

“Unconscious bias applies to both men and women,” said Lee, the first woman to serve as director of the Patent and Trademark Office."

Doonesbury; GoComics.com, 12/20/15

GoComics.com; Garry Trudeau, Doonesbury: [Pronoun Preferences]

Trump brings bigots out of hiding; Washington Post, 12/18/15

Dana Milbank, Washington Post; Trump brings bigots out of hiding:

"A couple of weeks ago, I wrote: “Let’s not mince words: Donald Trump is a bigot and a racist.”

I cited a long list of incidents in which he targeted women, Latinos, African Americans, Muslims, Asians and the disabled. Here’s what I heard from Trump’s defenders..."

Is There Any Evidence Trigger Warnings Are Actually a Big Deal?; Science of Us, 12/15/15

Jesse Singal, Science of Us; Is There Any Evidence Trigger Warnings Are Actually a Big Deal? :

"What the conversation has lacked is any sort of solid information about how common trigger warnings, or debates about trigger warnings, really are on campuses. No one really knows whether the few anecdotal reports about truly ridiculous trigger-warning requests (a student in a class on rape law saying the term violate triggers her, for instance) are indicative of a bigger problem, or merely isolated instances that shouldn’t be spun into grand arguments about the decline of higher education, or the fragility of millennials, or whatever else.

Now we at last have some numbers. Last week, the National Coalition Against Censorship released the results of a survey about trigger warnings. The organization teamed up with the Modern Language Association and the College Art Association to ask those groups’ members to fill out a survey about their experiences with trigger warnings. The survey included both standard multiple-choice response items and chances for the respondents to write in their own responses.

It’s important to note that, as the NCAL itself acknowledges, this wasn’t a scientific survey — the organization didn’t conduct the usual, rigorous (and oftentimes expensive) procedure one would need to get a sample of respondents that’s approximately representative of the national population of college professors. (For one thing, the sample consisted, by definition, entirely of professors who study the subjects covered by the MLA and CAA."

Most Professors Fear, But Don’t Face, Trigger Warnings; fivethirtyeight.com, 12/10/15

Leah Libresco, fivethirtyeight.com; Most Professors Fear, But Don’t Face, Trigger Warnings:

"The vast majority of professors surveyed (85 percent) said students had never asked them for trigger warnings. Thirteen percent of professors had gotten a request once or twice, and only a tiny proportion of professors polled said they received trigger warning requests several times (1.4 percent) or regularly (0.3 percent). The professors reported even fewer student movements; 93 percent of professors said they were not aware of any student-led efforts to adopt a trigger warning policy at their school.

Students may not be making many requests of professors personally, but they are broadly in favor of trigger warnings. A survey commissioned in September by the William F. Buckley Jr. Program at Yale found that 63 percent of students favored professors using trigger warnings, and only 23 percent opposed the practice. (The survey asked about “use” but did not ask respondents how they felt about requiring warnings.)

Although very few professors who responded to the National Coalition Against Censorship survey had experience with trigger warning policies, most said they were worried about the effect warning policies would have on their classroom. Professors who said they would expect a negative effect on classroom dynamics from trigger warnings outnumbered those who said they would expect a positive effect (45 percent to 17 percent). The pessimism was even more pronounced when professors were asked about the effects trigger warnings would have on academic freedom. Nine times as many professors said the effects would be negative as positive (63 percent negative, 7 percent positive)."

Star Wars Trigger Warnings: These are the microaggressions you are looking for; Reason.com, 12/15/15

Zach Weissmueller, Austin Bragg, & Justin Monticello, Reason.com; Star Wars Trigger Warnings: These are the microaggressions you are looking for:

"Before seeing Star Wars, read the trigger warnings.""

Mustaches Outnumber Women Among Medical-School Leaders; Chronicle of Higher Education, 12/17/15

Steve Kolowich, Chronicle of Higher Education; Mustaches Outnumber Women Among Medical-School Leaders:

"Q. There’s an absence of female leaders in many professions. Are there reasons specific to the medical field that explain why there aren’t more women in charge?

A. Our data show that there is variation based on type of specialty. There are certain specialties that have fewer women — many of the surgical specialties, for example. There are several steps that department leaders can take to address these issues. In addition to policies that limit sexual harassment and allow for maternity leave, there are two really strong, evidence-based solutions that we make.

One is ensuring that people doing the hiring have well-defined, very specific hiring criteria. Unconscious bias is well documented: When interviewers and recruiters are making hiring decisions, they tend to favor the male candidate and then excuse or explain their decision in retrospect. Having very clear, a priori criteria makes them more likely to make a fair decision.

The second thing is that women are penalized for taking short breaks off for childbearing when jobs are structured in a way that reward long, continuous hours. So giving more control over where you work and how you work really helps women’s advancement."

The ‘Benefits’ of Black Physics Students; New York Times, 12/17/15

Jedidah C. Isler, New York Times; The ‘Benefits’ of Black Physics Students:

"The fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, known as STEM, are a messy tangle of experiments, misunderstandings, dead ends, insights, collaborations, accidental discoveries, desperation, triumph and the rest of the human saga focused on understanding the world around us.

And physics isn’t just about the dry acquisition, memorization and regurgitation of equations. Think about something as basic to physics as Newton’s laws. Before they can be understood, they must be conceptualized.

Instead of stating “force equals mass times acceleration” and moving on, a good instructor will ply her students with real-life examples of how the application of force to a mass produces acceleration. Students must create relatable examples that allow them to practice and perfect their use of these tools before expanding them out into the larger, untested world.

By suggesting, and sadly litigating, that diversity — and more important, inclusion and equal opportunity — aren’t paramount to the production of new scientific information, we wrongly imply that the most important part of scientific discovery is in the classroom.

The purpose of the classroom is to build a tool kit and to understand what we know in the hopes of uncovering something that we don’t. It’s the door through which we create new physicists. Closing that door to students of color unless they can justify their presence is closing the door to the kinds of creativity that can be shown only after a student has mastered basic skills."

Malala Shuts Down Donald Trump In The Most Elegant Way Possible; Huffington Post, 12/16/15

Ed Mazza, Huffington Post; Malala Shuts Down Donald Trump In The Most Elegant Way Possible:

"Yousafzai was shot in the head and nearly killed in 2012 because she went to school and advocated for girls to receive an education. Despite the attempt on her life, she continues to promote these causes.

Education, not discrimination, is the key to stopping terror, she said.

"If we want to end terrorism we need to bring quality education so we defeat the mindset of terrorism mentality and of hatred," Yousafzai said at ceremony in England marking the first anniversary of a Taliban assault on a school in Pakistan, which left 134 children dead."

The One Question This Brilliant Physicist Wants People To Stop Asking Her; Huffington Post, 12/15/15

Lila Shapiro, Huffington Post; The One Question This Brilliant Physicist Wants People To Stop Asking Her:

"In Eileen Pollack’s recent book, The Only Woman in the Room, she talks about how isolated she felt in the physics department at Yale, and how she never received the academic support or encouragement of her male colleagues. Does this resonate with your experience at all?

This sort of thing certainly does still happen. Whether inadvertently or deliberately, people tend to support others like themselves. Women at universities therefore don’t always receive the same type of support that men do. And almost all women know they are more likely to be interrupted (and that when they do the interrupting it is far more obvious).

But there are measures of success beyond what your immediate colleagues say. Like people inviting you to speak on your research or referencing it. I was at one point the most cited theoretical physicist over a five-year period, which is incontrovertible proof that scientists are paying attention to my work -- whether I received immediate encouragement or not.

So if you focus on the facts and not a few dismissive remarks, it’s pretty good actually. Yes, there are times you might feel isolated but there is also an entire community out there with similar interests, which is actually pretty wonderful. And many of my colleagues are great."

NBA referee Bill Kennedy comes out as gay after Rajon Rondo confrontation; Guardian, 12/14/15

Guardian; NBA referee Bill Kennedy comes out as gay after Rajon Rondo confrontation:

"Bill Kennedy, an 18-year veteran who has refereed more than a thousand regular-season games and five NBA finals contests, made the revelation to Yahoo Sports’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday night.

“I am proud to be an NBA referee and I am proud to be a gay man,” Kennedy said. “I am following in the footsteps of others who have self-identified in the hopes that will send a message to young men and women in sports that you must allow no one to make you feel ashamed of who you are.”

Kennedy’s announcement came less than two weeks after the NBA suspended Sacramento Kings point guard Rajon Rondo one game without pay for “directing a derogatory and offensive term towards a game official”."

Has politically correct culture gone too far?; Guardian, 12/14/15

Dave Schilling, Guardian; Has politically correct culture gone too far? :

"The internet is a choose-your-own-adventure of hateful, aggressive speech on all sides of the political spectrum, but no matter who you are – from a nobody calling out an athlete to an intellectual debating the merits of second-wave feminism to an audience of 30 white-wine-drunk adjunct faculty – there’s always the off switch in the corner of your computer or smartphone.

When this alleged censorship migrates into the physical realm, it becomes a bit trickier. It manifests itself in the real world through the manufactured structure of the American higher education system. Students at the University of Missouri recently began expressing their desire for “safe spaces” on campus in the wake of controversies over racism at the school. Student protesters turned a patch of lawn into a sanctuary free of dissenting opinions and journalists. Sometimes, they enforced this safe space through physical means. The protesters were caught on video pushing a photographer for ESPN out of their area, which naturally sent vomitous outrage machines like the New York Post into fits of hysterics. Conservative critics of young people are even more vitriolic in their hatred of PC culture than their liberal counterparts."

Angela Merkel Calls Multiculturalism 'A Grand Delusion'; Huffington Post, 12/14/15

Ryan Grenoble, Huffington Post; Angela Merkel Calls Multiculturalism 'A Grand Delusion' :

"In comments The Guardian translated into English, Merkel said refugees will have to make an effort to assimilate into German society. She also dismissed the idea of multiculturalism, which in parts of Europe is associated with a policy of encouraging distinct cultural groups to live in separate communities.

"Those who seek refuge with us also have to respect our laws and traditions, and learn to speak German,” she said. “Multiculturalism leads to parallel societies, and therefore multiculturalism remains a grand delusion.”

Earlier this month, Merkel was named Time magazine's Person of the Year, partly for her work managing Europe's refugee crisis and the Greece debt crisis.

"

Facebook adjusts controversial 'real name' policy in wake of criticism; Guardian, 12/15/15

Amanda Holpuch, Guardian; Facebook adjusts controversial 'real name' policy in wake of criticism:

"Facebook unveiled changes to its controversial “real name” policy on Tuesday after criticism from transgender people and victims of domestic abuse.

The social network bans anonymity and has insisted people use their birth names on their accounts. The policy has caused problems for people who used different names from the one they were born with, including transgender people and victims of domestic violence who use aliases to hide from their abusers...

Critics grew to include rights groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union of California and Human Rights Watch. They formed the Nameless Coalition to protest the policy because it “has facilitated harassment, silencing, and even physical violence towards its most vulnerable users”."

The Hidden History of Gay Purges in Colleges; Huffington Post, 12/11/15

Margaret A. Nash, Huffington Post; The Hidden History of Gay Purges in Colleges:

"During the 1940s, at least three public universities expelled students and fired faculty who were presumed to be homosexual. The cases at Texas, Wisconsin, and Missouri open a window onto a little known aspect of the history of higher education in the United States. Although we know in a general way that homosexuals were discriminated against during the 1940s, there is scant documentation about the treatment of homosexuality on college campuses.

A paper on this topic that I co-authored with one of my former graduate students, Jennifer Silverman, was just published in the journal History of Education Quarterly. The paper, "'An Indelible Mark': Gay Purges in Higher Education in the 1940s," builds on a small amount of existing literature on the history of homosexuality and campus life...

The history of gays and lesbians on campuses, as either faculty or students, in the pre-McCarthy years has yet to be written. Our research is beginning to change that."

Wisconsin Regents Back Free Speech; Associated Press via New York Times, 12/12/15

Associated Press via New York Times; Wisconsin Regents Back Free Speech:

"The University of Wisconsin has become the latest university system to officially affirm the right to free speech and academic freedom for all students amid concerns that academia is trying to protect students from being offended by classroom lectures and discussions.

The system’s Board of Regents voted 16 to 2 on Friday to adopt a resolution stating that the university should not shield people from ideas or opinions they find unwelcome or offensive.

“These are not just pretty words we are going to put in a brass plaque,” said a regent, José Delgado. “You’ve got to be able to listen hard, even if it hurts.”

Civil rights advocates are concerned that universities are trying to limit free speech to protect students from feeling offended. Civil liberties supporters have also raised concerns over the use of “trigger warnings” to alert students about uncomfortable course content. On some campuses, groups have demonstrated against or canceled appearances by contentious speakers."

The Lie About College Diversity; New York Times, 12/12/15

Frank Bruni, New York Times; The Lie About College Diversity:

"Is that where diversity was supposed to lead us?

I don’t think so, and I think we’re surrendering an enormous opportunity by not insisting that colleges be more aggressive in countering identity politics, tamping down partisan fury, pulling students further outside of themselves and establishing common ground.

They’re in a special position to do that.

“College is a place where trust-fund kids, Pell Grant kids and all these people who would not normally be together in our society are living in very close proximity, and we need to take advantage of that,” Carol Quillen, the president of Davidson College, near Charlotte, N.C., acknowledged.

How?

Davidson is coaxing campus organizations and even using off-campus trips to orchestrate conversations between white and black students, between religious students and atheists, between budding Democrats and nascent Republicans. By prioritizing these kinds of exchanges, the school sends the message that they matter every bit as much as the warmth and validation of a posse of like-minded people."

IUP president calls for campus-wide discussion following racist photo; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 12/10/15

Bill Schackner, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; IUP president calls for campus-wide discussion following racist photo:

"Fallout from the photo is being felt across campus and beyond, including IUP president Michael Driscoll, who told the campus this week he already had grown uneasy this fall about “how we talk about and treat each other” on the campus of 14,000 students.

In a campuswide e-mail sent a day after the photo surfaced on social media, Mr. Driscoll announced that a series of campus discussions will occur during spring semester. He urged the community to take stock over the upcoming holiday break of what can be done.

“My concern is not about a single incident or some specific sequence of events. It is not just about free speech, stereotypes, civility or prejudice -- although all of those are important parts of the discussion,” he said. “Rather, it is about how we come together as a family to challenge ourselves to grow individually and as a collective.”

Michelle Fryling, an IUP spokeswoman, said Thursday that the photo’s source was a female student, whom she declined to identify. She would not comment on prospects that the woman would be disciplined, but when asked about campus rules in general, Mr. Fryling said: “If you read the student code (of conduct) there are very clear guidelines about civility, about harassment or ethnic intimidation, which follow a lot of state and legal guidelines.”

Ms. Fryling said the photo was sent on a private Snapchat account not controlled by IUP. She said without elaborating that the student since has faced threats.

In recent months, a number of U.S. campuses have become flash-points over race, ethnicity and inclusion, sometimes due to events within their boundaries, and other times over broader national debates about such topics as police use of deadly force, immigration and events overseas."

Online Classes Appeal More to the Affluent; New York Times, 12/4/15

Sindya N. Bhanoo, New York Times; Online Classes Appeal More to the Affluent:

"In a study published in the journal Science, Mr. Hansen and his colleagues reported that people living in more affluent neighborhoods were more likely to register and complete MOOCs. Each increase of $20,000 in neighborhood median income raised the odds of participation in a MOOC by 27 percent, the researchers found.

Yet the vast majority of MOOC participants are not the very affluent, who are comparatively small in number. Mr. Hansen said that it ought to be possible to adapt or redesign online courses so that they are more appealing and accessible to lower-income people.

“Just because it is free and available online, it does not necessarily mean that the chief beneficiaries or users are going to be the less advantaged,” Mr. Hansen said."

'Brokeback Mountain,' 10 Years On; Huffington Post, 12/9/15

Maxwell Strachan, Huffington Post; 'Brokeback Mountain,' 10 Years On:

"Proulx, who wrote the original short story, was particularly irritated after the film came out, telling The Paris Review years later that she wished she had never written the story at all because of how people wished to see it, particularly men.

“They can’t understand that the story isn’t about Jack and Ennis,” she said. “It’s about homophobia; it’s about a social situation; it’s about a place and a particular mindset and morality. They just don’t get it.”

But the effect of the film was undeniable. Maxwell remembers comforting a weeping man she didn’t know when she first watched the film. McRobbie received letters from fans around the world saying how profoundly the film affected them.

“I think the movie meant a lot to a lot of people and certainly to myself,” Lee said. “I’m glad people are still thinking about it 10 years later.”

The social landscape has changed immensely in the decade since. Americans have become more accepting of the LGBT community. The Supreme Court ruled in June that same-sex marriage is legal under the Constitution. Whether "Brokeback Mountain," a film about two gay cowboys, played any role in that shift really depends on who you ask.

“Well, I’m going to ask you a question,” said Maxwell, herself a gay woman. “Is anybody 10 years later doing an article about 'Crash'?”"

The Rise of Hate Search; New York Times, 12/12/15

Evan Soltas and Seth Stevens-Davidowitz, New York Times; The Rise of Hate Search:

"The human capacity for rage and anger will never disappear. But there is a huge difference between this flare-up of hatred and those from decades past. We now have rich, digital data that can help us figure out what causes hate and what may work to contain it. That might offer some hope to Muslim Americans who see a country that right now appears more prone to fury than understanding."

Hate is Nothing New, But Our Response Should Be; Huffington Post, 12/11/15

Judy Chu, Huffington Post; Hate is Nothing New, But Our Response Should Be:

"The proper response to an attack is unity. We are stronger when we stand together. Others want us to forget that and turn a suspicious eye on those around us, dividing Americans along faith lines. This is wrong for our country and for our safety.

We need to fight against the fear and anger directed at Muslims and others. We need to resist the dangerous prejudices of our past that gave us the Jim Crow laws, the Chinese Exclusion Act, Japanese incarceration during World War II, and jobs offered with the caveat that Irish, Italians, or Jews need not apply.

Anything else is reckless endangerment."

Santa's Powerful Message For Boy With Autism: 'It's Okay To Be You'; Huffington Post, 12/10/15

Dominique Mosbergen , Huffington Post; Santa's Powerful Message For Boy With Autism: 'It's Okay To Be You' :

"“Santa sat him next to him and took L's hands in his and started rubbing them, calming them down. Santa asked L if it bothered him, having Autism? L said yes, sometimes. Then Santa told him it shouldn't. It shouldn't bother him to be who he is,” Johnson wrote in her post.

Landon told Santa that he sometimes “gets in trouble at school and it's hard for people to understand that he has autism,” but that he's “not a naughty boy.”

“You know I love you and the reindeer love you and it’s OK. You’re a good boy,” Santa told WOOD-TV, recalling the exchange with Landon. “You’re a good boy, you know.”

Johnson said she was incredibly moved by Santa's thoughtful words.

“This stranger in a red suit told my son the same message I've been trying to get through to him for a while now -- that he's special and I love him just the way he was made,” the mom told Today.com. “Seeing Landon's face light up in that moment was just incredible. I couldn't stop crying.”"

Obama Calls for End to Bigotry, in Implicit Rebuke of Donald Trump; New York Times, 12/9/15

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, New York Times; Obama Calls for End to Bigotry, in Implicit Rebuke of Donald Trump:

"resident Obama on Wednesday called for Americans to reject “bigotry in all its forms” and keep pressing for equality “no matter what ugliness might bubble up,” appearing to use the 150th anniversary of the constitutional amendment abolishing slavery to challenge the incendiary anti-Muslim politics espoused by Donald J. Trump.

At a ceremony at the Capitol attended by congressional leaders and civil rights activists, Mr. Obama sought to place the end of slavery in the broader context of the nation’s troubled history, saying the issue “was never simply about civil rights; it was about the meaning of America, the kind of country we wanted to be.”

But he also made subtle reference to the roiling political debate that is consuming the 2016 presidential race, implicitly rebuking Mr. Trump, the Republican front-runner in the polls, who has proposed temporarily barring foreign Muslims from entering the United States."

Diversity Makes You Brighter; New York Times, 12/9/15

Sheen S. Levine and David Stark, New York Times; Diversity Makes You Brighter:

"Our findings suggest that racial and ethnic diversity matter for learning, the core purpose of a university. Increasing diversity is not only a way to let the historically disadvantaged into college, but also to promote sharper thinking for everyone.

When it comes to diversity in the lecture halls themselves, universities can do much better. A commendable internal study by the University of Texas at Austin showed zero or just one African-American student in 90 percent of its typical undergraduate classrooms. Imagine how much students might be getting wrong, how much they are conforming to comfortable ideas and ultimately how much they could be underperforming because of this.

Ethnic diversity is like fresh air: It benefits everybody who experiences it. By disrupting conformity it produces a public good. To step back from the goal of diverse classrooms would deprive all students, regardless of their racial or ethnic background, of the opportunity to benefit from the improved cognitive performance that diversity promotes."

Chicago's first LGBT retirement center: 'Here, people would come to my aid'; Guardian, 12/1/15

Zach Stafford, Guardian; Chicago's first LGBT retirement center: 'Here, people would come to my aid' :

"In the US, many organizations are preparing for what has been dubbed the “silver tsunami”, referring to the the ageing of the Baby Boom generation. As a result, senior-living and affordable-housing sectors face a large influx of people in need, creating strain on these services.

And within this tsunami, a rainbow has emerged: a realization that to be both LGBT and elderly is to be potentially more vulnerable to health barriers, isolation and homelessness compared with non-LGBT elders. In response culturally sensitive facilities, like the Town Hall apartments in Chicago, are opening."

A Thanksgiving Miracle - SNL; NBC via YouTube, 11/22/15

[200th post of 2015: diversity and inclusion-themed 11/22/15 Saturday Night Live (SNL) skit] NBC via YouTube; A Thanksgiving Miracle - SNL:

"There's only one thing that can keep a family (Beck Bennett, Jay Pharoah, Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant, Matthew McConaughey, Kate McKinnon, Vanessa Bayer) from fighting at Thanksgiving: Adele."

A reservation town fighting alcoholism, obesity and ghosts from the past; Guardian, 11/22/15

Chris McGreal, Guardian; A reservation town fighting alcoholism, obesity and ghosts from the past:

"An 18-year-old student at Blackwater high school, Darius Jackson, was chosen as the reservation’s representative to a White House summit on American Indian youth last December.

“Youth suicide is an upcoming issue in my tribal community,” he told Arizona public broadcasting. “Young people are taking their lives at a young age, and we’re trying to get that to decrease.”

The Obama administration launched a Hope for Life day in September to “raise awareness in Indian country about suicide prevention”.

“Native communities suffer from a suicide rate that is more than twice the national average,” said the administration’s assistant secretary for Indian affairs, Kevin Washburn, in launching the initiative. “There is no greater tragedy in Indian country.”"

Clarion play cancellation generates national discussion on diversity, casting decisions; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 11/18/15

Bill Schackner, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Clarion play cancellation generates national discussion on diversity, casting decisions:

"Just over a week before the performance was to open tonight, playwright Lloyd Suh demanded that Clarion recast the parts in his play or halt the production. The university opted for the latter.

In the days since the Post-Gazette first reported the cancellation, an emotion-charged debate has ricocheted through social media. At the core of the dispute: should theater productions be 'color blind' in casting, an increasingly common practice over the last few decades? Or is that approach sometimes an excuse for inequity because, as Mr. Suh put it, "The practice of using white actors to portray non-white characters has deep roots in ugly racist traditions?" And just how should theater departments in out-of-the-way places such as Clarion, a small state-owned university whose enrollment is overwhelmingly white, be expected to make choices on picking plays, balancing diversity and challenging a homogenous community against adhering to the intent of the playwright?

Report gives some Pittsburgh companies high marks for LGBT policies; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 11/18/15

Joyce Gannon, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Report gives some Pittsburgh companies high marks for LGBT policies:

"A new report gives a handful of Pittsburgh-based companies high marks for their inclusion policies for employees who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.

American Eagle Outfitters, PNC Financial Services Group, and law firms K&L Gates and Reed Smith received the top ranking possible in the survey released today by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation...

The foundation’s corporate equality index ranked businesses on categories including non-discrimination policies, employment benefits and corporate accountability to LGBT diversity. “While support for LGBT workers is growing in the U.S. and around the world, too many companies still fail to guarantee basic, vital workplace protections that allow employees to bring their full selves to work,” said Chad Griffin, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign.

20 People Found Refuge In A Famous Paris Bookstore During Attacks; Huffington Post, 11/14/15

Ron Dicker, Huffington Post; 20 People Found Refuge In A Famous Paris Bookstore During Attacks:

"A famous Parisian bookstore turned into a makeshift shelter Friday, housing 20 customers who waited out the attacks, according to Twitter users.

Patrons at Shakespeare and Company, the Left Bank literary institution opened in 1951 by American George Whitman, watched from darkened windows as police raced by. They called friends and relatives, and checked on the news, Harriet Alida Lye told The Guardian...

Author Jamie Ford, who recently visited the store, was one of many to tweet about Shakespeare and Company. He told The Huffington Post: "There's a communal spirit about that place, so the idea that they would take in strangers (in need or otherwise) wasn't a huge surprise, but was definitely a much needed reminder of how beautiful humanity can be on a terrible night.""

We Are All Parisians, Again; Huffington Post, 11/13/15

Howard Fineman, Huffington Post; We Are All Parisians, Again:

"Once again, we are all Parisians.

Once again, the ideals of freedom and peace are under attack on the very streets that helped give birth to the idea that you can’t have one without the other in modern life.

Once again, President Barack Obama went to a podium in Washington to declare American solidarity with France -- and to vow that an attack on French society was an attack on the very ideas of decency, modernity and sanity.

And once again, the world -- or that part of it that doesn’t love murder and hate peace -- must rise up and say, simply: Stop."

Mizzou, Yale and Free Speech; New York Times, 11/11/15

Nicholas Kristof, New York Times; Mizzou, Yale and Free Speech:

"More broadly, academia — especially the social sciences — undermines itself by a tilt to the left. We should cherish all kinds of diversity, including the presence of conservatives to infuriate us liberals and make us uncomfortable. Education is about stretching muscles, and that’s painful in the gym and in the lecture hall...

My favorite philosopher, the late Sir Isaiah Berlin, argued that there was a deep human yearning to find the One Great Truth. In fact, he said, that’s a dead end: Our fate is to struggle with a “plurality of values,” with competing truths, with trying to reconcile what may well be irreconcilable.

That’s unsatisfying. It’s complicated. It’s also life."

LGBT group returns to Duquesne; Duquesne Duke, 11/5/15

Zachary Landau, Duquesne Duke; LGBT group returns to Duquesne:

"After more than a year of inactivity, Duquesne’s gay-straight alliance is functional once again.

The group, also known as Lambda, held its first meeting since 2013 on Oct. 22. Co-Presidents Hunter Ackley, 19, pharmacy student, and Rachel Coury, 20, psychology major, are thrilled with the response they have received thus far...

Originally founded in 2005, the group experienced a decline in leadership until it ceased operations in 2013, according to member Niko Martini.

“I almost think that maybe [Lambda] was dormant because people are intimidated by the fact that they’re on a Catholic campus,” Coury said, “but it hasn’t been an issue now that we’ve formed.”

According to the co-presidents, Lambda’s goal is to create a positive and supportive environment for LGBT students at Duquesne, where they have faced adversity in the past...

Lambda’s co-presidents said they would like to team up with other gay-straight alliances in the area, such as the University of Pittsburgh’s GSA, to find ways to support their members."

Understanding the Free Speech Issues at Missouri and Yale; HuffingtonPost.com, 11/11/15

Geoffrey R. Stone, HuffingtonPost.com; Understanding the Free Speech Issues at Missouri and Yale:

"How should we think about the free speech issues in the recent controversies at the University of Missouri and Yale? In my view, universities have a deep obligation to protect and preserve the freedom of expression. That is, most fundamentally, at the very core of what makes a university a university...

In my view, a university should not itself take positions on substantive issues. A university should not declare, for example, that abortion is moral, that undocumented immigrants have a right to remain in the United States, that the United States should abandon Israel, or that a flat tax is the best policy. It is for the faculty and students of the institution to debate those issues for themselves, and the university as an institution should not intrude in those debates by purporting to decide on the "correct" point of view.

On the other hand, a university can promote certain values both to educate its students and to foster an intellectual environment that is most conducive to the achievement of the institution's larger educational goals. To that end, a university can appropriately encourage a climate of civility and mutual respect. It can do this in a variety of ways, as long as it stops short of censorship. More specifically, a university can legitimately educate students about the harms caused by the use of offensive, insulting, degrading, and hurtful language and behavior and encourage them to express their views, however offensive or hurtful they might be, in ways that are not unnecessarily disrespectful or uncivil."

Iceman’s Gay, Thor’s a Lady, and Captain America’s Black: The Constant Culture Shifts of Comics Continue; Reason, 11/6/15

Scott Shackford, Reason; Iceman’s Gay, Thor’s a Lady, and Captain America’s Black: The Constant Culture Shifts of Comics Continue:

"Thor has recently lost his hammer, and it has been picked up by occasional romantic interest Jane Foster. Captain America is no longer blond bohunk Steve Rogers. Former sidekick Sam Wilson, who is African American, has taken his place, abandoning his codename of Falcon. Ms. Marvel is now the name used by Muslim Pakistani-American teen Kamala Khan.

It’s easy to dismiss this all as a marketing ploy. Well, yes, it is, but superhero comics are a popular culture form of entertainment that partly lives or dies based on successfully understanding its audience and marketing to them.

And it’s absolutely not new. Marvel has made gestures toward cultural diversity for ages. Comic fans know full well that part of the metaphor of the X-Men—mutants whose powers originate from genetic abnormalities—was about cultural diversity, civil rights, and fear of the “other.”"

In Houston, Hate Trumped Fairness; New York Times, 11/4/15

Editorial Board, New York Times; In Houston, Hate Trumped Fairness:

"While the defeat of HERO is a painful setback, it is encouraging that the broader quest for equality for gay and transgender Americans is advancing steadily. On Monday, the Department of Education backed a transgender student in Illinois who is fighting for the right to use restrooms and locker rooms on campus like any other female student. It was the federal government’s latest action in a civil rights movement that is redefining how the nation views, and treats, transgender Americans.

When that movement achieves irreversible momentum — and it is a matter of when, not whether — people like Mr. Woodfill, Mr. Abbott and Mr. Patrick will be remembered as latter-day Jim Crow elders. Their demagogy is egregious because it preys on some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

As opponents of the ordinance celebrate their victory this week, transgender people across the country are understandably reeling. They should take comfort in knowing that history will not be kind to the haters who won on Tuesday. In time, the bigots are destined to lose."

Original 'X-Men' Character Iceman Confirms He's Gay; HuffingtonPost.com, 11/4/15

Curtis M. Wong, HuffingtonPost.com,; Original 'X-Men' Character Iceman Confirms He's Gay:

"Iceman's coming out, however, is noteworthy given that the character was one of the five original "X-Men" members, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963.

Marvel Comics Editor Daniel Ketchum told The Huffington Post that he was particularly proud of the new issue, calling Iceman's character just another example of how the franchise has always strived to reflect "the human experience."

"As a young person reading comics, starved to see my own life experience reflected on the page, I remember thinking it seemed only possible for that to happen as a one-off story relegated to a D-List character," he said. "I don’t know that I would have believed it if I was told that years later, this story would be presented in the flagship 'X-Men' title, featuring an A-list character who has been a mainstay of the franchise since the beginning.""

Marvel’s Iceman Cometh Out; New York Times, 11/5/15

George Gen Gustines, New York Times; Marvel’s Iceman Cometh Out:

"Mr. Alonso said the feedback has been largely positive. On one side are the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender readers “who are looking to see their reflection in our characters,” he said. But there are also critics. “Some readers see this as opportunism, but I can assure you it is not,” he added.

Comic books are no strangers to gay heroes. When the mutant hero Northstar came out in 1992, the news was praised in an editorial in The New York Times: “Comics have often explored new terrain, conferring hero status on groups that society in general had stereotyped in peripheral roles.” Since then, many more gay, lesbian and bisexual champions have been introduced.

With this turn of events, Iceman may be the most high-profile gay hero, though that can be like debating who is stronger, Thor or Superman?...

Iceman’s first appearance was in 1963. “He is a perennial character,” Mr. Alonso said. And one with significant exposure outside of comics, including an animated series with Spider-Man and portrayal in the popular X-Men films.

“This fulfilled our mandate to reflect the world outside the window,” Mr. Alonso said. “We wouldn’t have done it if it didn’t make sense.”"

Here's What "Uncanny X-Men's" Iceman Coming Out Scene Got Right; ComicBookResources.com, 11/4/15

Brett White, ComicBookResources.com; Here's What "Uncanny X-Men's" Iceman Coming Out Scene Got Right:

"I've been out out -- meaning to my family and online to all of my followers who are definitely sick of seeing pictures of my crushes -- for just over four years now. Turns out you kinda have to come all the way out if you're going to start writing about what gay representation means to you. And now here we are, with a gay Iceman. A teenage gay Iceman and an adult gay Iceman. Two different versions of the same character going through two different coming out experiences. They aren't perfect, they won't be for everyone, and that's all right. But I can't deny that this story, this issue, this week, means the whole gay world to me.

Thanks Bobby, Brian and Mahmud. And also, I guess, thanks Jean -- but like, really try to cool it on the invasive mind reading, okay?"

George Takei Guides ‘Allegiance,’ a Musical, Not a Starship; New York Times, 10/27/15

Laura Collins-Hughes, New York Times; George Takei Guides ‘Allegiance,’ a Musical, Not a Starship:

"During the war, the government relocated about 120,000 West Coast Japanese-Americans to internment camps in what Mr. Takei called “an act of pure, irrational, mad, racist hysteria.” Raising awareness about the issue is his “life mission,” he said in that smooth baritone, so familiar from Starfleet chatter aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise...

He still chokes up when he recalls a vicious bit of adolescent venom for which he never apologized: accusing his father of leading the family “like sheep to slaughter by taking us into the internment camp.”

But his father didn’t want an alienated son with a victim mentality, Mr. Takei said; he wanted a child who was engaged in shaping American democracy. So he took young George down to Adlai Stevenson’s presidential campaign office and had him volunteer to help. He’s been a liberal activist ever since, viewing various forms of bigotry as all of a piece."

Has ‘Diversity’ Lost Its Meaning?; New York Times, 10/27/15

Anna Holmes, New York Times; Has ‘Diversity’ Lost Its Meaning? :

"How does a word become so muddled that it loses much of its meaning? How does it go from communicating something idealistic to something cynical and suspect? If that word is ‘‘diversity,’’ the answer is: through a combination of overuse, imprecision, inertia and self-serving intentions...

When the word is proudly invoked in a corporate context, it acquires a certain sheen. It can give a person or institution moral credibility, a phenomenon that Nancy Leong, a University of Denver law professor, calls ‘‘racial capitalism’’ and defines as ‘‘an individual or group deriving value from the racial identity of another person.’’ It’s almost as if cheerfully and frequently uttering the word ‘‘diversity’’ is the equivalent of doing the work of actually making it a reality...

Adding to the ambiguity is the fact that the definition of ‘‘diversity’’ changes depending on who is doing the talking...

Bragging about hiring a few people of color, or women, seems to come from the same interpretive bias, where a small amount is enough. It also puts significant pressure on the few ‘‘diverse’’ folks who are allowed into any given club, where they are expected to be ambassadors of sorts, representing the minority identity while conforming to the majority one...

DuVernay herself hinted at this when she, too, admitted that she hates the word. ‘‘It feels like medicine,’’ she said in her speech. ‘‘ ‘Diversity’ is like, ‘Ugh, I have to do diversity.’ I recognize and celebrate what it is, but that word, to me, is a disconnect. There’s an emotional disconnect. ‘Inclusion’ feels closer; ‘belonging’ is even closer.’"

Star Wars: The Empathy Awakens; ComicBookResources.com, 10/22/15

Brett White, ComicBookResources.com; Star Wars: The Empathy Awakens:

"Fast-forward a few decades to literally a month ago, and I experienced another, similar Big Star Wars Moment -- one that came about because of the recent push towards diverse leads. Being obsessed with Star Wars again, I thought I might check out Chuck Wendig's "Aftermath: Star Wars"; when I learned that one of the leads was a gay man, I changed that "might" to "oh it's already on my iPad that happened quickly." Wendig gave me something that I never thought I would get from Star Wars, something I didn't even know I needed from Star Wars: Sinjir Rath Velus, an ex-Imperial officer that's quick with his wits and quips as well as his fists. He's scruffy, usually a little bit drunk, and he's gay. He's gay Han Solo. He's gay Han Solo. My heart jumps into my throat just reading that, it means so much to me.

I never saw gay characters like myself anywhere growing up; it's why I kept trying to date girls through to my senior year of college. If the original post-"Return of the Jeid" novel "Heir to the Empire" had had a Sinjir in it, I know that my life would have been changed. I love that character because he's the Han Solo archetype that I've repeatedly geeked out over since I was six, but he means even more to me because he, being gay, validates my metaphorical place among the ranks of the Rebellion. There are parts of America where I do not feel comfortable being an out homosexual, but Sinjir's existence makes me feel finally, truly welcome in Star Wars -- a thing I love and a safe space I return to over and over again."

NYCC: Liu, Whitley, Watters & More on the Importance of Pushing Comics' Boundaries; ComicBookResources.com, 10/11/15

Ben Kaye, ComicBookResources.com; NYCC: Liu, Whitley, Watters & More on the Importance of Pushing Comics' Boundaries:

"The Push Boundaries Forward: Gender, Diversity, and Representation in Comic Books panel at New York Comic-Con opened with a quick but illuminating crowd poll. Moderator David Brothers asked how long people had been reading comics, and the loudest response was for only five years, an answer that spoke to how the market's current wide-range of comics is attracting new readers.

"I don't know what we're going to talk about exactly because there are so many things that we can cover," Brothers said as he introduced the panel of Darryl Ayo, Jeremy Whitley, Marjorie Liu, Amber Garza, Joey Stern and Shannon Watters. To open, he shared a scene from Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's "New X-Men" in which Emma Frost says, "The whole world is watching us now. We must be nothing less than fabulous," a quote Brothers feels well-represents diversity in comics. "Diversity is fundamentally about including everyone and everything, but because we're having this conversation, we're trying to actively include people as opposed to having included them from the beginning… Diversity in the industry comes from the top down, but in the culture, diversity comes from us.""

France in Stalemate With Vatican Over Nomination of Envoy Said to Be Gay; New York Times, 10/15/15

Aurelien Breeden, New York Times; France in Stalemate With Vatican Over Nomination of Envoy Said to Be Gay:

"The dispute between Paris and the Vatican has simmered quietly since January, when France put forward its nominee for ambassador to the Holy See, Laurent Stefanini, the chief of protocol for President François Hollande.

Nine months later, the Vatican still has not said whether it would accept Mr. Stefanini’s credentials. Nor has it provided a public explanation for the delay.

The French and Italian news media have reported that he is gay and speculated that the nomination has been given what is widely being interpreted as a pocket veto, though neither Mr. Stefanini nor the French government have confirmed his sexual orientation. The French government has not denied it either, citing respect for his privacy.

Other factors, analysts say, may be the Vatican’s displeasure with France’s legalization of same-sex marriage, or the fact that news of Mr. Stefanini’s nomination had leaked before it was announced.

In any case, French news reports now suggest that the French government has lost hope that Mr. Stefanini will be accredited, even as French officials insist that the process is continuing.

The daily newspaper Libération, quoting anonymous government officials, reported last week that the French government had taken note of the Vatican’s silence and had interpreted it, as many analysts have, as a refusal."

More Companies Say Targets Are the Key to Diversity; Wall Street Journal, 9/30/15

Rachel Feintzeig, Wall Street Journal; More Companies Say Targets Are the Key to Diversity:

Realizing that simply voicing support for diversity initiatives won’t lead to meaningful change, big companies are setting discrete goals for hiring and retaining women. These include mandating that diverse candidates are interviewed for jobs, and ensuring that new hires get interviewed or vetted by someone other than white men.

J&J, Intel Corp. , BASF SE and many others say putting hard numbers around diversity and tying those numbers to pay and performance helps ensure real progress when it comes to advancing women. Data suggest that the approach makes a difference. But it remains controversial in the U.S., where companies must battle the stigma associated with quotas as well as risks of unintended consequences."

ONE OF THE GUYS; OutSports.com, 9/15/15

Cyd Zeigler, OutSports.com; ONE OF THE GUYS:

"In the coming weeks various players asked Darrow if the rumor was true. While he'd rejected the notion from the guys in high school, he didn't hold back with his fellow Tigers.

Jack Knight, a fellow offensive lineman from North Carolina, is now his roommate. Knight hadn't been friends with a gay person before he met Darrow. He didn't believe the rumors about Darrow being gay before he heard it straight from his mouth.

"He's a great guy," Knight said. "I live with him now. I've known him for three years. I see what he does off the field in the classroom. I know what he does on the field. I know he's a very accountable person. He's a hard-working person. And I know when I'm out on the field making a block that he'll be right there with me making a hit as hard as he can."

Slate's outward acceptance had empowered Darrow, and the reaction of each subsequent teammate was more water for the germinating seeds of his courage. The clear message that nothing was going to change - Thursday nights would still be full of fried mozzarella and video games - was the most powerful one he could have received, echoed by every teammate with whom he opened up...

"Here at Princeton, if we can't handle this and say, 'we're supportive of everybody no matter what their background, religion, race or sexual orientation,' then we don't have the right guys in the locker room," Surace said.

"We're going to support Mason 100%.""

Kapow! The unstoppable rise of female comic readers; Guardian, 9/18/15

David Barnett, Guardian; Kapow! The unstoppable rise of female comic readers:

"Much of the growth in female comic readers can be put down to the fact that there are far more women working in comics these days – Gail Simone, Kelly Sue DeConnick, G Willow Wilson, Tula Lotay, Ming Doyle, to name a handful. And comic books from Marvel and DC featuring women characters are proliferating – for instance, the all-female Avengers A-Force, Captain Marvel, Ms Marvel, Harley Quinn, Batgirl, Catwoman, Spider-Woman and the forthcoming Patsy Walker, AKA Hellcat.

There is also the rise of digital comics, which can be bought from home without having to step foot across the threshold of the local comic shop."

Class of 2019 is most diverse ever; University Times, 9/17/15

University Times; Class of 2019 is most diverse ever:

"The University welcomed 4,872 new undergraduates to the Pittsburgh campus this fall: 4,054 freshmen and 818 external transfer students.

This fall’s freshman class is not only larger than expected, it’s more diverse than ever, with the class of 2019 hailing from 44 states and 1,312 high schools, plus 17 other countries. The proportion of nonwhite freshmen — 26.2 percent — is a record for Pitt, with 1,061 minority students among the class, said Marc Harding, chief enrollment officer.

The average SAT score for freshmen held steady from last year at 1297.

Sixty-four percent of freshmen come from within Pennsylvania, while 36 percent are from out of state. Of the in-state freshmen, 13 percent are from Allegheny County; 51 percent come from elsewhere in Pennsylvania.

Most out-of-state freshmen — 83 percent — were drawn from 10 states: New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, California, Illinois, North Carolina and Connecticut."

Upcoming survey will examine diversity in Pittsburgh workforce; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/18/15

Ed Blazina, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Upcoming survey will examine diversity in Pittsburgh workforce:

"Pittsburgh Today and Vibrant Pittsburgh want to hear opinions from CEOs, supervisors and low-level employees about diversity in the local workforce and their experiences with diverse colleagues.

The two groups, part of a team of agencies and organizations working to improve workplace diversity, are conducting an on-line survey as the second step in a process to address the situation. A study by the group released earlier this year showed the Pittsburgh area’s workforce ranked the lowest among 15 comparable regions with blacks, Hispanics and Asians and others making up less than 11 percent of the workforce...

“This is really an opportunity for everyone to share their voice,” said Melanie Harrington, president and CEO of Vibrant Pittsburgh. “We want to hear from CEOs and the people who do the hiring to find out the problems they face and the diverse people in the workforce to find out what their experience has been.”...

Pittsburgh’s challenge is that because its diversity level is so low, “We have a bigger hole to dig out of,” Ms. Harrington said. And the region has an aging workforce that is expected to need another 140,000 workers in the next few years to replace those who are between 55 and 65 years old."

Tim Cook Tells Stephen Colbert The Real Reason He Came Out As Gay; HuffingtonPost.com, 9/16/15

Ron Dicker, HuffingtonPost.com; Tim Cook Tells Stephen Colbert The Real Reason He Came Out As Gay:

"Apple CEO Tim Cook, who came out as gay last year, told "The Late Show" host Stephen Colbert Tuesday he made the move out of social responsibility...

Cook gave a thoughtful answer.

Citing a quote about the importance of doing for others by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Cook then told Colbert: "It became so clear to me that kids were getting bullied in school, kids were getting basically discriminated against, kids were even being disclaimed by their own parents, and that I needed to do something.And that where I valued my privacy significantly, I felt that I was valuing it too far above what I could do for other people. And so I wanted to tell everyone my truth.""

G.O.P. Anti-Gay Bigotry Threatens First Amendment; New York Times, 9/12/15

Editorial Board, New York Times; G.O.P. Anti-Gay Bigotry Threatens First Amendment:

"This past June, in the heat of their outrage over gay rights, congressional Republicans revived a nasty bit of business they call the First Amendment Defense Act. It would do many things, but one thing it would not do is defend the First Amendment. To the contrary, it would deliberately warp the bedrock principle of religious freedom under the Constitution.

The bill, versions of which have been circulating since 2013, gained a sudden wave of support after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. It is being hawked with the specter of clergy members being forced to officiate such marriages. This is a ploy, as the bill’s backers surely know: There has never been any doubt that the First Amendment protects members of the clergy from performing weddings against their will.

In reality, the act would bar the federal government from taking “any discriminatory action” — including the denial of tax benefits, grants, contracts or licenses — against those who oppose same-sex marriage for religious or moral reasons. In other words, it would use taxpayers’ money to negate federal anti-discrimination measures protecting gays and lesbians, using the idea of religious freedom as cover."

Obama Thinks Students Should Stop Stifling Debate On Campus; HuffingtonPost.com, 9/15/15

Tyler Kingkade, HuffingtonPost.com; Obama Thinks Students Should Stop Stifling Debate On Campus:

"President Barack Obama wants college students to hear the arguments of people they disagree with, not try to block them from speaking...

"I've heard some college campuses where they don't want to have a guest speaker who is too conservative or they don't want to read a book if it has language that is offensive to African-Americans or somehow sends a demeaning signal towards women," Obama said. "I gotta tell you I don't agree with that either. I don't agree that you, when you become students at colleges, have to be coddled and protected from different points of view."

The president said that when he was in school, listening to people he disagreed with helped to test his own assumptions and sometimes led him to change his mind.

"Sometimes I realized maybe I've been too narrow-minded, maybe I didn't take this into account, maybe I should see this person's perspective," Obama said. "That's what college, in part, is all about...""

"Part of what a college education is for is to be real people, to be citizens -- not to protect them from discomforts of life," Stone told The Huffington Post...

The professor theorized that students have been "indoctrinated" by their parents that they are "entitled to be safe and comfortable."

"The consequence, I guess, of parents that are hovering all the time and telling everyone they're the best," Stone said."

A Constitution Day Panel: Marriage Equality and Beyond; University of Pittsburgh School of Law, 9/17/15

University of Pittsburgh School of Law; A Constitution Day Panel: Marriage Equality and Beyond:

"Marriage Equality and Beyond: An Armchair Discussion of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Fight for Marriage Equality, and the Future of the LGBT Civil Rights Movement

Moderator: William M. Carter Jr. Professor and Dean, University of Pittsburgh School of Law

Please join us for a special Constitution Day program, featuring attorney Evan Wolfson, who often is credited with being the founder and leader of the same-sex marriage movement. Wolfson, along with Pitt Law Professor Anthony Infanti, will discuss the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges; the history of the effort to attain marriage equality for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community; and what legal and social challenges lie ahead for the community. Rounding out the discussion will be PA Representative Dan B. Frankel who represents the 23rd District.

Evan Wolfson is founder and president of Freedom to Marry, the campaign to win marriage equality nationwide. He wrote his Harvard Law School thesis in 1983 on gay people and the freedom to marry, served as cocounsel in the historic Hawaii marriage case that launched the ongoing global movement for the freedom to marry, and has participated in numerous gay rights and HIV/AIDS cases. Citing his national leadership on marriage and his appearance before the U.S. Supreme Court in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, The National Law Journal in 2000 named Wolfson one of the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America. Newsweek and the Daily Beast dubbed him “the godfather of gay marriage,” and TIME magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2004. In 2012, he received the Barnard Medal of Distinction alongside President Barack Obama.

This program is free and open to the public."

Pitt Constitution Day event explores gay rights movement; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/17/15

Kim Lyons, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Pitt Constitution Day event explores gay rights movement:

"With the Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges ruling in June, same-sex marriage advocates celebrated a victory that was a long time coming. But there are still smaller obstacles to be met in the quest for marriage equality, said Anthony Infanti, a professor at University of Pittsburgh’s School of Law.

“It’s the lesser-known things, issues of discrimination, that will take longer,” Mr. Infanti said.

There already has been pushback, most recently from a clerk in Kentucky who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on religious grounds, he said.

“There will always be the Kim Davises and other resistance and other kinds of backlash. But there are also a lot of heteronormative issues to think about, especially looking through a legal lens.” One example he gave from his own experience: Having to cross out “mother” and “father” and write in “parent and parent” on his daughter’s school forms.

To commemorate Constitution Day, which marks the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, the Pitt law school is presenting a discussion on same-sex marriage issues tonight, featuring Mr. Infanti and Evan Wolfson, founder and president of the Freedom to Marry campaign. The talk will look at the history of the marriage equality movement and the challenges that lie ahead for the LGBT community...

Tonight’s event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 412- 648-1418."

This Broadway Season, Diversity Is Front and Center; New York Times, 9/10/15

Michael Paulson, New York Times; This Broadway Season, Diversity Is Front and Center:

"In the intervening years, America has become steadily more multiethnic, while Broadway, generally lagging behind both film and television, has followed suit in fits and starts. But the theatrical season now getting underway is noteworthy not just for the diversity of its casts — a dramatic change from the largely monochromatic season just ended — but also for the ambitious, and risky, effort by producers and writers to make big commercial musicals out of uncomfortable chapters of history.

There is a new musical, “Allegiance,” about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, and a stripped-down revival, “The Color Purple,” about the difficulties of black women in rural Georgia of the 1930s. The season opened with “Amazing Grace,” which highlights the depravities of slavery as it tells the story of an early British abolitionist, and it will close with “Shuffle Along,” about an early jazz musical born of the black vaudeville circuit."

Star Wars novelist strikes back at gay character slurs; Guardian, 9/11/15

Alison Flood, Guardian; Star Wars novelist strikes back at gay character slurs:

"But on his blog, Terrible Minds, Wendig hit back at readers who accused the author on Amazon of “blatantly pushing a gay agenda” and suggested that the franchise was no longer “children friendly”.

“If you’re upset because I put gay characters and a gay protagonist in the book, I got nothing for you,” Wendig wrote. “Sorry, you squawking saurian — meteor’s coming. And it’s a fabulously gay Nyan Cat meteor with a rainbow trailing behind it and your mode of thought will be extinct.”

“You’re not the Rebel Alliance. You’re not the good guys. You’re the fucking Empire, man. You’re the shitty, oppressive, totalitarian Empire. If you can imagine a world where Luke Skywalker would be irritated that there were gay people around him, you completely missed the point of Star Wars. It’s like trying to picture Jesus kicking lepers in the throat instead of curing them. Stop being the Empire. Join the Rebel Alliance. We have love and inclusion and great music and cute droids.”

He later told a reader who attacked his confrontational approach to his critics that he would not engage in a conversation on the issue. “Because on this, I am not interested in conversation,” he wrote on his blog. “If your problem with the book is only the inclusion of gay characters, then no conversation is possible. Because that’s homophobia, that’s bigotry, and there’s nothing to be done or said. Someone wants to talk to me about the writing style or whatever, sure, I can have that discussion. On this, no.”"

Super: Where is the LGBTQ Ms. Marvel?; ComicsAlliance.com, 9/10/15

Andrew Wheeler, ComicsAlliance.com; Super: Where is the LGBTQ Ms. Marvel? :

"Few groups need heroes more than young people learning to accept queer identities in a world that’s often hostile to that experience. Queer kids are unusually vulnerable, as rates of suicide and homelessness illustrate. Even their own families can’t be counted on to support them, and their world is full of true villains. As I write this, a woman in Kentucky is being celebrated for her willingness to deny happiness to same-sex couples. That’s a clear manifestation of the background radiation of hate that LGBTQ kids have to grow up with.

And these kids specifically need teen heroes, because teen heroes can speak to their experiences and dramatize their doubts and fears. LGBTQ youth need stories of self-discovery, first love, and growing responsibility."

A Prescription for More Black Doctors; New York Times, 9/9/15

Nikole Hannah-Jones; A Prescription for More Black Doctors:

"Historically black colleges like Xavier have written the guidebook on how to educate the nation’s neediest students, but they have always done so with less, and many of these schools are now struggling to survive. Though federal law required states to treat them and predominantly white colleges equally, states never did. Lawsuits over the years have argued that states still fail to do so. In 2004, Mississippi agreed to pay three historically black colleges $503 million when it settled a 30-year-old lawsuit accusing the state of discrimination in how it funded and supported its black public colleges. Alabama settled a similar case in 2006, and in 2013, a federal judge found that Maryland discriminated against its historically black colleges. Louisiana is home to three public, four-year historically black colleges. Last year, the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education published a study showing that while these three colleges awarded 40 percent of all bachelor’s degrees earned by black students at the state’s public universities, they bore the largest percentage of state funding cuts.

As they have fought to get their equal share of government funding, these colleges have also struggled to build endowments. Nationally, black students are the most likely to borrow money to pay for school, and they also graduate with the highest student-­loan debt. That means it takes them much longer before they can write checks to their alma maters instead of to their loan holders. Although the colleges helped build the black middle class, the black middle class is often not in a position to give back."

Older People Are Invisible in Key Data, Study Warns; New York Times, 9/9/15

Rick Gladstone, New York Times; Older People Are Invisible in Key Data, Study Warns:

"Vast gaps in data on older people threaten to undercut new goals established by the United Nations for raising living standards over the next 15 years, advocates for the aging said in a report being released on Wednesday.

Poverty rates among older people, a rapidly growing segment of the global population, are missing from data in at least 93 countries, many of them among the least equipped to compile this information, according to the report, the 2015 Global AgeWatch Index. It is created by HelpAge International, a nonprofit organization that calculates an index of the best and worst countries in which to grow old. But the index is based on data from only 96 countries, including all of the most developed and affluent.

“The big story this year in the index is that millions of older people are invisible, living their lives in countries where information on the quality of older age is missing from international data sets,” Toby Porter, chief executive of the organization, said in releasing the 2015 ranking. Of 54 countries in Africa, he said, there was enough data available to include only 11 in the index."

Back-to-School Worries for Gay Parents; New York Times, 9/7/15

Roni Caryn Rabin, New York Times; Back-to-School Worries for Gay Parents:

"Although decades of research have found that children of gay and lesbian parents aren’t different from children of heterosexual parents in terms of developmental, social and academic milestones or sexual orientation, studies also show that most children of gay parents still endure remarks like the one aimed at Mia. It’s a type of slight that researchers call a “microaggression.” These comments may not be malicious or constitute overt bullying or harassment, but they still single out children and make them feel different.

In a new study, researchers found that by the time children of lesbian and gay parents were 11 years old, 58 percent of them had experienced slights or microaggressions focused on their families. The findings were presented in early August at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in Toronto."

One woman's mission to photograph every Native American tribe in the US; Guardian, 9/7/15

Hilal Isler, Guardian; One woman's mission to photograph every Native American tribe in the US:

"hree years ago, Matika Wilbur sold almost everything she owned, left behind her apartment in Seattle, and set out on the open road. The former high school teacher had one goal: to photograph members of each federally recognized Native American tribe in the United States.

Wilbur’s photographs are mostly black and white. She shoots on a Canon EOS 7D digital, and a Mamiya film camera. When she finishes Project 562 (named for the number of federally recognized tribes at the time Wilbur began her work), she plans to compile the photographs and share them with the public through various publications, exhibitions and curricular material...

Today, Native Americans comprise a little under 2% of the US population or, according to the latest Census data, about 5.2 million people."

Gay Veterans Push for Honorable Discharges They Were Denied; New York Times, 9/6/15

Dave Philipps, New York Times; Gay Veterans Push for Honorable Discharges They Were Denied:

"When the Army discharged Pvt. Donald Hallman in 1955 for being what it called a “Class II homosexual,” the 21-year-old was so scared of being an outcast that he burned all his military records, save for a single dog tag he hid away.

Mr. Hallman, a coal miner’s son who sang in a church choir in rural Alabama, says he never mentioned his military service again. He married a woman he had met at work, had children and wore a suit and tie to work each day...

“I’ve gotten to a point in my life where no one can hurt me now,” he said. “I don’t care who knows, and I want to show I was an honorable person.”

He is one of a steady march of older veterans who were kicked out of the military decades ago for being gay, and who are now asking that their less-then-honorable discharges be upgraded.By some estimates, as many as 100,000 service members were discharged for being gay between World War II and the 2011 repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Many were given less-than-honorable discharges that became official scarlet letters — barring them from veterans’ benefits, costing them government jobs and other employment, and leaving many grappling with shame for decades."

Now, emboldened by the gay soldiers serving openly in the military and the same-sex couples finding broad acceptance in civilian life, they are increasingly seeking amends.

“After all these years, I want to tie up loose ends,” said Jim Estep, 80, a retired professor in Buffalo, who was given a less-than-honorable discharge in 1964. “It’s a way of getting the government — that faceless entity — in some way to acknowledge the authenticity of my life and my contribution to the country.”"

60 Real Women Front The Limited's 'New Look Of Leadership' Campaign; HuffingtonPost.com, 9/4/15

Jamie Feldman, HuffingtonPost.com; 60 Real Women Front The Limited's 'New Look Of Leadership' Campaign:

"The brand called upon 60 diverse female leaders in business, education, government, healthcare, technology and entertainment to star in its "The New Look Of Leadership" campaign.

In an effort to redefine what it means to be a leader today, Diane Ellis, chief executive officer of The Limited, said the idea sparked from conversations with clients...

Gabrielle Bernstein, a New York Times best-selling author and one of the 60 powerful women included in the spread, explained to The Huffington Post why being included was so meaningful to her. "I am deeply passionate about inspiring women to own their leadership power and rise up. I'm grateful that The Limited is bringing the empowering message of women and leadership to the forefront. Fashion and leadership go hand-in-hand when it comes to making an impact, leading with confidence and owning your power," she said."

There Are No Gays On The History Channel; Daily Beast, 9/3/15

Justin Jones, Daily Beast; There Are No Gays On The History Channel:

"Shows like Glee, Empire and How to Get Away With Murder created shows that both featured LGBT-inclusive characters and were casted by a high number of people of color within that community.

“This milestone highlights real change across the media landscape—especially considering that the network received a “Failing” grade in the NRI’s first two editions,” GLAAD CEO & President Sarah Kate Ellis said in a press release...

Out of 362.5 of original programming hours, History failed to feature a single LGBT impression. While GLAAD says that The History’s Channel’s content may not easily lend itself to diverse storylines, they are urging the cable network to expand into historical-based or period dramas that also include LGBT characters... With this year being the final chapter for the Network Responsibility Index, the organization will begin focusing on their “Where We Are On TV Report,” which works to increase the diversity of LGBT images on TV, as well as its film-focused “Studio Responsibility Index” and “Transgender Images on TV” reports."

Why Is Science So Straight?; New York Times, 9/4/15

Manil Suri, New York Times; Why Is Science So Straight? :

"Underrepresentation is just one factor that reduces visibility. Unlike women and minorities, whose status is usually obvious, sexual orientation is a hidden characteristic. The fact that a sizable proportion of the L.G.B.T. STEM work force is closeted (43 percent, according to a 2015 estimate) further deepens this effect.

There is a another, more insidious factor at work. STEM culture is very problem-focused. Conversations, even over lunch, typically remain restricted to work matters (which is very different from what I’ve noticed in arts and humanities settings)...

In another interview, a chemical engineer working for a multinational oil company describes the atmosphere as “almost militaristic in terms of how they manage people” and said that they don’t even think diversity is an issue. To cope, many gays and lesbians must learn to suppress crucial aspects of their personalities and compartmentalize their lives...

Although there has been a concerted effort to make STEM fields more diverse in terms of gender and race, L.G.B.T. participation has received comparatively scant attention or resources. An exception is a recent grant by the National Science Foundation to address prejudice against sexual minorities in academic engineering departments. Grass-roots organizations like Out in STEM and the National Organization for Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals are taking the lead to provide mentoring and networking — activities that have proved indispensable in the retention of women and minorities.

An essential step is to break self-perpetuating patterns of concealment. Teachers must come out not just to colleagues, but to students — some of whom will need role models, and all of whom must get used to visible L.G.B.T. professionals to prepare for future workplace settings.

More critically, STEM culture must rein in the pressure to separate professional and personal identities. It should view its workers more holistically, welcoming their interests and differences as sources of enhanced resourcefulness."

Silicon Valley, Seeking Diversity, Focuses on Blacks; New York Times, 9/3/15

Patricia Leigh Brown, New York Times; Silicon Valley, Seeking Diversity, Focuses on Blacks:

"Having grown up in a single-parent home with an absent father who was frequently incarcerated, Mr. Young, 33, can identify with other young black men he now calls “hidden geniuses” — the promising male teenagers who grow up in challenging circumstances mere miles away, but light-years apart, from Silicon Valley’s tech money machine.

That experience led Mr. Young to found the Hidden Genius Project two years ago. The program immerses high school men of color in coding, web and app design, team building and other skills intended to give them a leg up in the tech economy. Mr. Young says he focused on young men because similar groups existed for young women, and because young males face particular challenges in school and their communities.

His project is one of a multitude of grass-roots efforts that have sprung up recently to address one of Silicon Valley’s most acute diversity problems: the scarcity of African-Americans in the tech industry."

Billy Porter: I'm finally at home in my own hometown; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/1/15

Billy Porter, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Billy Porter: I'm finally at home in my own hometown:

"Being black, gay and Christian in Pittsburgh during the 1980s made me a target for the kind of oppression that literally kills people and destroys humanity. Government and religion-sanctioned homophobia permeated the culture here.

From the moment I could comprehend thoughts and ideas, the well-intentioned adults closest to me — loved ones, preachers and educators — took turns trying to silence me. Sometimes unconsciously (or so I tell myself). Always aggressively. “Abomination” was the word most used to describe me in the structure of my family and religion. “Faggot” was the term of choice in most other circles.

Then there was the time a family friend threatened me with death if I ever “turned gay.” Or the time I was fag-bashed only a couple doors down from the stage door of the Benedum Center as I headed into Pegasus, a Downtown gay bar.

You see, I represented something that made people feel uncomfortable. My ministry and very presence awakened something in people around me that begged a conversation nobody was ready to have. The only way I knew to save myself was to get out of Pittsburgh until they could. So I did. And I didn’t come home for decades. I put blinders on and simply put one foot in front of the other — staving off, as best I could, all negativity in my path.

It’s fascinating to me that sometimes, when one is in the trenches, focused and fighting for so long, the very fruits of that labor often go unseen because the fight becomes the normal. I am amazed now that Pittsburgh has shown me that we live in a time of a “new normal.”"

What Should First Year College Students Read?; New York Times, 8/31/15

New York Times; What Should First Year College Students Read? :

"Many colleges and universities require first year students to take a “great books” course that introduces them to the classic works. But critics say the reading lists for these classes don’t reflect historical or literary diversity — often, almost all of the authors are white and male. At Columbia University, students lobbied for a more inclusive selection of texts on their mandatory Literature Humanities course, which resulted in the addition of Toni Morrison’s “Song of Solomon” to their curriculum.

Which authors and books should be included on these kinds of college reading lists?"

Mainstream music embraces LGBT perspective; USA Today, 8/30/15

Sara Moniuszko, USA Today; Mainstream music embraces LGBT perspective:

"From Bette Midler and Madonna all the way through Lady Gaga's Born This Way, performers courting gay audiences and incorporating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender themes into their songs is a pop music tradition.

But increasingly, it's more than just big-voiced divas tapping into the LGBT community: Just as Gaga’s 2011 hit was dubbed a LGBT anthem for its messages of self-love, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ Same Love made waves in 2012 with strong statements against homophobia and for acceptance.

Although the idea of including these themes into songs isn’t new, the recent and often more explicit interest of mainstream hitmakers is."

Architect Sought for Obama’s Presidential Library Complex; New York Times, 8/26/15

Julie Hirschfeld Davis, New York Times; Architect Sought for Obama’s Presidential Library Complex:

"The foundation overseeing the development of Barack Obama’s presidential library began a global competition on Wednesday to select the architect who will design the elaborate Chicago complex.

The start of the selection process is the latest step in Mr. Obama’s quiet but painstaking planning for his post-presidential initiatives, which his advisers say could cost as much as $1 billion.

The library, to be located on the South Side of Chicago, where the president had his political start as a community organizer, will be the crown jewel of the effort, a high-technology take on the traditional archival presidential library that will include space for innovation labs, a community garden and sports...

“We think there’s a real value to having a diverse group of participants in every element of this process,” Mr. Nesbitt said in a conference call Wednesday. “We feel really good about the group that has been invited to respond.”

The firms have until Sept. 16 to submit statements of interest in the project, including company profiles, résumés of their staff members, photographs and drawings of past projects, and examples of their diversity efforts."

Business Workshop: No discrimination based on sexual orientation; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 8/25/15

Elaina Smiley, Meyer, Unkovic & Scott; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Business Workshop: No discrimination based on sexual orientation:

"The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has clarified that employees are protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act from workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Many employers and employees have been unsure about workers’ legal protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation because it’s not specifically mentioned in Title VII...

Employers should treat complaints involving sexual orientation the same as other types of discrimination complaints and clearly communicate that they will not tolerate any type of discriminatory remarks, actions or harassment, including based on sexual orientation."

Bonfire of the Assets, With Trump Lighting Matches; New York Times, 8/26/15

Thomas Friedman, New York Times; Bonfire of the Assets, With Trump Lighting Matches:

"Normally, when your main geopolitical rivals are shooting themselves in both feet, the military manual says step back and enjoy the show. But I take little comfort in watching China burning money and Russia burning food, because in today’s interdependent world we’re all affected.

I also find no joy in it because we Americans, too, have started burning our most important source of competitive advantage — our pluralism. One of our two political parties has gone nuts and started following a pied piper of intolerance, named Donald Trump...

This is not funny anymore. This is not entertaining. Donald Trump is not cute. His ugly nativism shamefully plays on people’s fears and ignorance. It ignores bipartisan solutions already on the table, undermines the civic ideals that make our melting pot work in ways no European or Asian country can match (try to become a Japanese) and tampers with the very secret of our sauce — pluralism, that out of many we make one.

Every era spews up a Joe McCarthy type who tries to thrive by dividing and frightening us, and today his name is Donald Trump."