Gay People Around the World Face Bias, Abuse and Violence, a Study Reports; Reuters via New York Times, 12/15/11

Reuters, New York Times; Gay People Around the World Face Bias, Abuse and Violence, a Study Reports:

"Gay and transgender people in all regions face discrimination and violence, including killings, rape and torture because of their orientation, and risk the death penalty in at least five countries, the United Nations said Thursday. In its first official report on the issue, the United Nations said that in addition to spontaneous “street” violence, people perceived as being members of a sexual minority may be targets of organized abuse, “including by religious extremists, paramilitary groups, neo-Nazis and extreme nationalists.”"

U.S. Urges Creativity by Colleges to Gain Diversity; New York Times, 12/11

Sam Dillon, New York Times; U.S. Urges Creativity by Colleges to Gain Diversity:

"The Obama administration on Friday urged colleges and universities to get creative in improving racial diversity at their campuses, throwing out a Bush-era interpretation of recent Supreme Court rulings that limited affirmative action in admissions.

The new guidelines issued by the Departments of Justice and Education replaced a 2008 document that essentially warned colleges and universities against considering race at all. Instead, the guidelines focus on the wiggle room in the court decisions involving the University of Michigan, suggesting that institutions use other criteria — students’ socioeconomic profiles, residential instability, the hardships they have overcome — that are often proxies for race."