University of Pittsburgh Nondiscrimination Policy Statement, 10/31/16

University of Pittsburgh Nondiscrimination Policy Statement:

[Kip Currier: Noteworthy to see "genetic information" included in Pitt's 10/31/16 Nondiscrimination Policy Statement, copied below. With advances in genome sequencing and the proliferation of DNA testing services for consumers, it makes sense that this would be included in organizational policies like Pitt's.]

"The University of Pittsburgh, as an educational institution and as an employer, values equality of opportunity, human dignity, and racial/ethnic and cultural diversity and inclusion. Accordingly,as explained in Policy 07-0l-03, the University prohibits and will not engage in discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, disability, or status as a veteran.

The University also prohibits and will not engage in retaliation against any person who makes a claim of discrimination or harassment or who provides information in such an investigation.

Further, the University will continue to take affirmative steps to support and advance these values consistent with the University’s mission.

This policy applies to admissions, employment, access to and treatment in University programs and activities.

This is a commitment made by the University and is in accordance with federal, state, and/or local laws and regulations."

RUCKA ON WHAT MAKES WONDER WOMAN SPECIAL: ‘ONE OF HER POWERS IS LOVE’; Comic Book Resources, 10/26/16

Albert Ching, Comic Book Resources; RUCKA ON WHAT MAKES WONDER WOMAN SPECIAL: ‘ONE OF HER POWERS IS LOVE’ :

"CBR: Greg, late last month, an interview you did with Comicosity that discussed Wonder Woman’s sexuality generated a lot of subsequent coverage. I don’t want to make this interview about another interview you did, but what was your take on how that story took a life on its own, and the reaction to your comments?

Greg Rucka: I think we saw the reaction of a lot of people who don’t know anything about the character, and are deciding this is yet another hill that they’re going to stand their ground on. I rate this in the same place as saying, “You did a Ghostbusters movie, and they’re all women! You ruined it!” Really? I mean, really?

I was asked a specific question at point blank. DC would not want me to lie, or prevaricate, and I am not serving the character well or doing my job if I lie or prevaricate. Representation matters enormously.

I honestly think, if we really want to drill down on this, at the heart of the negative response — and the negative response has been loud and vocal, but from a minority, and a very small minority — you’re seeing the response of people going, “I didn’t want to have to talk about that!” OK, but the people out there who need to hear it, I care far more about them. I guarantee you, if we lost readers over this, we gained more.

For people to go, “It’s a publicity stunt” — no, it’s not. You’ll see it’s just another element of the character. It’s like when we were talking about Kate way back in the day, and I was writing Batwoman. Yeah, she’s queer. She’s also got red hair and is Jewish. These are elements of character. These are not the definition of character."

DC superhero punching for gender equality to be honoured at her 75th birthday party, attended by Ban Ki-moon and ‘surprise guests’; Guardian, 10/12/16

Alison Flood, Guardian; DC superhero punching for gender equality to be honoured at her 75th birthday party, attended by Ban Ki-moon and ‘surprise guests’ :

"The United Nations is due to welcome a new honorary ambassador for the empowerment of women and girls: Wonder Woman.

According to website Comic Book Resources, the superhero will officially be given her new title at an event in New York on 21 October – the character’s 75th anniversary – at the United Nations headquarters. The announcement is due to be attended by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, DC Entertainment president Diane Nelson and, said Comic Book Resources, some “surprise guests”, who the comics site speculated would include the actors who have appeared as Wonder Woman over the years, including actor Lynda Carter.

The event will also mark the launch of the UN’s landmark global campaign supporting Sustainable Development Goal #5, which is to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”.

“Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world,” says the UN. “Providing women and girls with equal access to education, healthcare, decent work, and representation in political and economic decision-making processes will fuel sustainable economies and benefit societies and humanity at large.”"

‘The Great British Bake Off’ Changes the Way the British Bake; New York Times, 10/18/16

Melissa Clark, New York Times; ‘The Great British Bake Off’ Changes the Way the British Bake:

"Moreover, the bake-off, with its multicultural roster of contestants, has put forward a contemporary vision of Britishness that emphasizes diversity and inclusiveness.

Although the premise of the show is overtly nostalgic — all of the baking is done outside in a tent hung with cheery Union Jack bunting, alluding to the tradition of a village festival — the contestants are a culturally and ethnically mixed group...

There was Norman Calder from Portknockie, Scotland, with his haggis pie; Tamal Ray, an anesthesiologist of Indian descent from Hertfordshire, who used syringes to infuse syrup into pastries; and Jane Beedle, a garden designer from London, who perfected the lemon poppy seed drizzle cake. And, most prominently, there was Nadiya Hussain, the Season 6 winner, who was born in Luton to a family of Bangladeshi immigrants and who wears a hijab. Ms. Hussain triumphed with creations like cayenne gingerbread and cream puff towers in bubble gum and peppermint flavors."

Gay Mutant Iceman Gets His Own Marvel Comic Book; NewNowNext, 10/17/16

Dan Avery, NewNowNext; Gay Mutant Iceman Gets His Own Marvel Comic Book:

"Another LGBT superhero is getting his own comic book: Iceman, the mutant X-man who came out as gay last year, is getting a solo series from Marvel Comics...

The character (real name: Bobby Drake) was introduced more than 50 years ago in 1963’s The X-Men #1."

New U.N. Leader Sets Goals: Humility, Empathy, Empowering Women; NPR, 10/14/16

Malaka Gharib, NPR; New U.N. Leader Sets Goals: Humility, Empathy, Empowering Women:

"On Thursday, the U.N. General Assembly welcomed Antonio Guterres of Portugal as the new secretary-general of the U.N., replacing Ban Ki-moon.

In a short speech expressing his "gratitude and humility" to the assembly for the five-year term, he highlighted his priorities: humility, empathy for the underprivileged and the "empowerment of women and girls."...

What has made us immune to the plight of those most socially and economically underprivileged? All this makes me feel the acute responsibility to make human dignity the core of my work."

Full Transcript: President Obama’s Rally Speech for Hillary Clinton in Cleveland; Newsweek, 10/14/16

[Full Transcript] Michele Gorman, Newsweek; Full Transcript: President Obama’s Rally Speech for Hillary Clinton in Cleveland:

[Pres. Barack Obama] "Donald Trump’s closing argument is “What do you have to lose?” The answer is: Everything. All the progress we’ve made right now is on the ballot. Civility is on the ballot. Tolerance is on the ballot. Courtesy is on the ballot. Honesty is on the ballot. Equality is on the ballot. Kindness is on the ballot. (Applause.) All the progress we made that last eight years is on the ballot. Democracy itself is on the ballot right now.

So if you want to send a message, make it loud. Turn back the voices of cynicism. Turn back the voices of ignorance. Send a message of progress. Send a message of hope. Send a message by voting for Hillary Clinton, and show our kids and the rest of the world we remain the greatest country in the world."

Michelle Obama’s Speech: As Personal As Political Gets; BillMoyers.com, 10/14/16

Lynn Sherr, BillMoyers.com; Michelle Obama’s Speech: As Personal As Political Gets:

"Rush Limbaugh noted Trump’s comment that “when you’re a celebrity, they let you do anything,” and said, “How can there be assault if somebody’s granting permission? How can it be assault if they let you do anything?”

Newt Gingrich called the claims “30-year-old gossip,” saying “I don’t think it’s relevant.”

I do. And so does Michelle Obama. In her speech she destroyed the false equivalency of “he said/she said,” using her powerful platform to make it clear that what she said that afternoon was far more relevant than anything he or his cronies either said or could say in defense of such behavior. She didn’t just go high when he went low; she soared. And connected.

“I listen to all of this, and I feel it so personally,” she said, meaning it. “The shameful comments about our bodies. The disrespect of our ambitions and intellect. The belief that you can do anything you want to a woman. It is cruel. It’s frightening. And the truth is, it hurts. It hurts. It’s like that sick, sinking feeling you get when you’re walking down the street, minding your own business, and some guy yells out vulgar words about your body.”"

Salon Talks: Comics are becoming more inclusive, especially for women, but still have a long way to go; Salon, 10/11/16

[Video] Salon Staff, Salon; Salon Talks: Comics are becoming more inclusive, especially for women, but still have a long way to go:

"Last week on “Salon Talks,” Amanda Marcotte spoke to Ryan North and Erica Henderson, writer and artist for Marvel’s “Unbeatable Squirrel Girl,” respectively. The trio discussed the graphic novel, the role feminism plays in comics and New York Comic Con."

Poignant portraits show what it’s like being LGBT in China; Washington Post, 10/10/16

Kenneth Dickerman, Washington Post; Poignant portraits show what it’s like being LGBT in China:

"Despite being decriminalized in 1997, homosexuality is still heavily stigmatized in China. It was even considered a mental illness there until 2001, when it was finally dropped from a list of mental illnesses. Even with some of the strides made to get society to accept homosexuality, it is still difficult for many people to find acceptance. This is especially true in China’s smaller cities and rural areas. Because of this, many gay people move to bigger cities, such as Beijing, where they can live freer lives.

Photographer Teo Butturini traveled to Beijing to meet some of these people and tell their stories. With the help of the Beijing LGBT Center, Butturini found people and asked them to take him to a place that was important for each of them living as LGBT in the city. Here are some of those portraits and stories."

Many men talk like Donald Trump in private. And only other men can stop them.; Washington Post, 10/8/16

Shaun R. Harper, Washington Post; Many men talk like Donald Trump in private. And only other men can stop them. :

"I am fairly certain that hearing the vulgar words Trump spoke over a decade ago will compel many more women to vote against him next month. Electing the first female president will not end sexism, though, any more than electing Barack Obama ended racism. To make progress, men need to do more than vote against Trump. We must stand up to him and call out others who say things similar to what we heard him say on the video. We have to stop excusing the disgusting degradation of girls and women as “locker room banter.” Feminists and courageous others have done much to contest exchanges like the one between Trump and Bush. But it takes men like me to hold our friends accountable for things they say and do to objectify women. We must challenge their values, language and actions.

I have known Trumps far too long — they are my friends, my fraternity brothers and so many other men with whom I routinely interact. I understand now, more than ever before, that letting them talk this way about women makes me just as sexist. By excusing their words and actions, I share some responsibility for rape, marital infidelity and other awful things that men do. I want other men to recognize this, too — not only because they have mothers, wives, sisters, aunts or daughters – but because sexism hurts all women and men in our society."

After failing to seduce Nancy O’Dell, Trump reportedly tried to have her fired; Washington Post, 10/8/16

Ellen McCarthy, Washington Post; After failing to seduce Nancy O’Dell, Trump reportedly tried to have her fired:

"O’Dell released this statement on Saturday: “Politics aside, I’m saddened that these comments still exist in our society at all. When I heard the comments yesterday, it was disappointing to hear such objectification of women. The conversation needs to change because no female, no person, should be the subject of such crass comments, whether or not cameras are rolling. Everyone deserves respect no matter the setting or gender. As a woman who has worked very hard to establish her career, and as a mom, I feel I must speak out with the hope that as a society we will always strive to be better.”"

CHRIS CLAREMONT & MORE EXPLORE THE LGBT CHARACTERS OF THE X-MEN; Comic Book Resources, 10/7/16

Meagan Damore, Comic Book Resources; CHRIS CLAREMONT & MORE EXPLORE THE LGBT CHARACTERS OF THE X-MEN:

"On Thursday evening, “Uncanny X-Men” legend Chris Claremont, “X-Factor” scribe Peter David, “Jean & Scott” cartoonist Max Wittert and Marvel editor Daniel Ketchum took the stage at New York Comic Con to discuss the X-Men’s LGBT legacy. Additionally, the creators shared how they feel about the direction of Marvel Television, whether Marvel is becoming more diverse and more."

Donald and Billy on the Bus; New York Times, 10/8/16

Lindy West, New York Times; Donald and Billy on the Bus:

"If you have spent your career brutalizing and dehumanizing women legislatively rather than personally, you are no better. If you were happy to overlook months of violent racism, xenophobia, transphobia and Islamophobia from the Trump campaign, but now you’re mad that he used a bad word and tried to sleep with another man’s wife, you are no better. If you have derided and stigmatized identity politics in an effort to keep the marginalized from organizing, you are no better. If you snicker or say nothing while your fellow men behave like Donald Trump, you are no better.

The truth is that all of you have failed women for generations, and you deserve to lose our votes. Next month we will grab you where it hurts. By your ballots."

First Woman Sworn In As Librarian Of Congress; NPR, 9/18/16

Michel Martin, NPR; First Woman Sworn In As Librarian Of Congress:

"MARTIN: I was curious about what it means to her to be a first, to break these barriers.

HAYDEN: I started out in librarianship, and I was a children's librarian and then I realized - and it was very evident - that the top management of most libraries was male. And so to be the first female Librarian of Congress speaks to what Melvil Dewey said when he started the Library Association in 1876 and decided that women might be good for the profession because - and I love this quote - they had a high tolerance for pain and monotonous work and that it was time to let women into the profession of librarianship because there was a lot of work to be done. And so to be a female heading up the largest library in the world, I think Mr. Dewey might have something to say about that."

Big Week For WIPO Marrakesh Treaty On Access For Visually Impaired; Human Rights Side Under Focus; Intellectual Property Watch, 10/3/16

William New, Intellectual Property Watch; Big Week For WIPO Marrakesh Treaty On Access For Visually Impaired; Human Rights Side Under Focus:

"Prof. Laurence Helfer of Duke University Law School, one of the authors asked by the WBU to draft the implementation guide, said in an interview that the hope is the treaty “will not be seen as only an IP treaty, but also as an agreement that uses copyright to achieve human rights objectives. Marrakesh is thus one of the first treaties that is focused on the public interest side of IP law.”

Fellow guide author Prof. Molly Land, a human rights law professor at the University of Connecticut, said there is a connection between the Marrakesh Treaty and human rights treaties, such as the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). They are looking at how “ratifying and implementing the treaty is one way that states can fulfil their obligations under these other human rights instruments.”

“At the crossroads of human rights and IP, it’s really important to be able to see the treaty in light of both regimes,” she said. “Both in interpreting it, and also in implementation. States have commitments under both IP treaties and human rights treaties, and the guide is about how states can bring those together in implementation.”"

KA-POW! Pitt professor flips from poetry to comics; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/28/16

Marylynne Pitz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; KA-POW! Pitt professor flips from poetry to comics:

"In her Regent Square home, Yona Harvey occasionally awakens from a dream with an idea for a poem.

This year, her subconscious journeys led to Wakanda, a mythical technologically advanced place ruled by the Black Panther, a Marvel Comics character created in 1966. Over the summer, the University of Pittsburgh professor created a 10-page origin story for Zenzi, a revolutionary leader who appears in a Black Panther spinoff, “World of Wakanda.”...

She and feminist author Roxane Gay are the the first black women to write for Marvel Comics. In July, when Marvel announced that two white men would write an origin story about a black female Iron Man, social media exploded with protests.

Ms. Harvey’s visits to imaginary Wakanda began in June when her co-author Ta-nehisi Coates, a Howard University classmate and contributing editor to The Atlantic Monthly, asked if she was interested in writing for Marvel. Mr. Coates also is working with Ms. Gay on a story arc about Ayo and Aneka, two of the Black Panther’s elite female bodyguards.

“The big exciting thing is that there is a woman at the center of the story. I think just that alone is going to make it have a big impact for young women. When I was growing up, the women were the girlfriend. They weren’t the protagonist,” the 42-year-old poet said during a conversation in her tidy office on the Cathedral of Learning’s fourth floor."

This Badass Feminist Is Diversifying The Future Of Comics; Huffington Post, October 2016

[Video] Huffington Post; This Badass Feminist Is Diversifying The Future Of Comics:

"Feminist author Roxane Gay discusses becoming Marvel’s first black comic book writer and what it’s like to break the mold."

Dialogue with the Dean of Students; University of Pittsburgh on Tuesday, 10/4/16 at 7 PM

University of Pittsburgh; Dialogue with the Dean of Students:

"How can we work together to make Pitt a more inclusive campus? Register today for Dialogue with the Dean, part of the on-going conversation regarding diversity and inclusion on Pitt’s campus.

Join the on-going conversation regarding diversity and inclusion on Pitt’s campus: come to a round-table discussion hosted by Vice Provost and Dean of Students Kenyon Bonner.

RSVP is required.

Sponsored by the Office of Student Life and the Office of Cross Cultural and Leadership Development."