Article here. Excerpt:

'Siding with a minority of liberal Democrats, Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) yesterday vetoed alimony-reform legislation that Florida’s GOP-controlled legislature had passed by a margin of nearly two-to-one, even though it was supported by 70% of Floridians. Scott’s veto was unfair, anti-family, and anti-small-business. But it thrilled some wealthy divorce lawyers, who hired high-paid “lobbyists with close ties to Scott” to lobby him to kill the bill.

Scott vetoed the bill even though sponsors of the legislation removed the very provision in it that led Scott to veto an earlier version of the bill in 2013 (the fact that it would have applied to pre-existing alimony awards, rather than just those set in the future). The bill would have “eliminated permanent alimony,” replacing it with a more nuanced “formula, based on the length of marriage and the combined incomes of both spouses, for judges to use when setting alimony payments.”

Article here. Excerpt:

'A print ad appearing in Harvard University’s student newspaper on Saturday has a controversial message for students: The trauma of trying to get school administrators to take sexual assault seriously is becoming a routine part of the collegiate experience.

The ad buy is timed to coincide with the school’s accepted students weekend, when many high school seniors who are considering attending Harvard in the fall visit the campus. Styled like an acceptance letter that lets a prospective student know they’ve been admitted, the ad makes the case that sexual assault may be one of the college memories in store for them.

“We know that you will make lifelong friends and memories here on campus,” the mock letter reads. “We’re sorry that one of these memories will include being raped by someone you thought you could trust… The claims you will make against your rapist will be ignored, much like your right to feel safe at school.”'

Article here. Excerpt:

'April 14 is Equal Pay Day — a day devoted to raising awareness of the pay gap between men and women — and one restaurant is making efforts to narrow the disparity. In response to the troubling statistic that women earn just 79 cents to every dollar a man earns, a New Hampshire restaurant called The Works is only charging women 79 cents to the dollar, or 79% of their total bills. (Men will pay full price.)

New Hampshire Public Radio reports that women who visit the chain’s locations in Concord, Keene, Portsmouth and Durham today will receive this cheeky 21% discount.

“It’s been a problem that’s been around for a really long time, decades I would say,” Don Brueggemann, manager of The Works in Concord, told NHPR. “And I think many of us thought it would kind of work itself out but it has been very persistent over the years. We’re feeling like this is a way to highlight that issue.”'

Story here. Excerpt:

'Two women face charges after an infant was left in a hot car outside of a strip club in Tennessee as the child's mother was onstage for an audition, according to multiple reports.

Kelsey McMurtry, 24, was auditioning at Deja Vu Showgirls in downtown Nashville while her daughter sat outside in a car with the windows rolled up around 4 p.m. Thursday, police told WKRN. Passersby noticed the girl and called authorities.

In a warrant, officials said it was 72 degrees outside when officers arrived and temperatures inside the car had likely topped 100 degrees. The girl was wearing a heavy coat and drenched with sweat, WKRN reported. Witnesses estimated she spent at least 30 minutes in the car.

She was taken to a hospital for treatment, where the Tennessee Department of Children's Services responded to care for her.

Article here. Excerpt:

'A male student scored a major victory in his lawsuit against the University of Southern California, which kicked him off campus for a remarkable non-crime: failing to de-escalate an orgy. This was a crazy case, and the decision in his favor impugns not just USC, but the federal government’s entire strategy to combat rape by making colleges deal with it.

Over the past five years, the Obama administration’s Education Department has instructed universities to take sexual harassment and violence more seriously as part of their obligation to obey Title IX, a little-known gender equality law. While that all may sound like a good thing, the policies universities have been forced to put in place are shockingly illiberal, leading to routine violations of students’ due process rights, their right to free expression, and even their right to sleep together.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Since 2011, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has blatantly violated college students’ rights to free speech and due process. Congress has done nothing to fix this abuse of power. Its members are, in fact, currently entertaining President Barack Obama’s proposal to increase OCR’s budget by $137.7 million of funding for the 2017 fiscal year.

When do we, as students, say enough is enough?

The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights is responsible for enforcing Title IX at federally-funded colleges and universities. Title IX is a federal statute that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in educational programs that receive federal funds. The Office for Civil Rights has authority over almost all of the nation’s colleges and universities because almost all of them receive federal funds for their educational operations.

Story here. Excerpt:

'A Wisconsin high school teacher allegedly had sex with a student on the night of her fiancé's bachelor party, according to a news report.

Sara Domres — a 28-year-old former teacher at New Berlin West High School — has been charged with two counts of sexual assault of a student by school staff, Waukesha County court records show.

Domres pleaded not guilty to the felony charges on Friday, according to court records.

The teacher has been charged in two incidents in March 2015 and October 2015, court records show.

News station WISN reports that the male student, 16 at the time of the incident, told police that he and Domres had sex at least 10 times.

The pair had sex several times in a parking lot and a motel during a period in which Domres and her now-husband were planning their wedding, according to the news station.

On one occasion, Domres had sex with the teenager while her then-fiancé was at his bachelor party, the news station reported.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Ride-hailing companies catering exclusively to women are cropping up and raising thorny legal questions, namely: Are they discriminatory?

In Massachusetts, Chariot for Women is promising to launch a service featuring female drivers picking up only women and children. Drivers will even have to say a “safe word” before a ride starts.

Michael Pelletz, a former Uber driver, said he started the company with his wife, Kelly, in response to instances of drivers for ride-hailing services charged with assaulting female passengers.

He believes their business plan is legal, and he’s prepared to make his case in court, if it comes to that. The couple had planned an April 19 launch but now say they’re pushing it back to the summer to make sure their app can handle demand they say has exceeded expectations.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Jackson Katz, educator, filmmaker and creator of the gender violence prevention program, Mentors in Violence Prevention, spoke to students about gender violence in society Thursday evening at the University of Wisconsin Chemistry Building.

In the talk called “The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help,” Katz discussed many topics such as a man’s role in gender violence, the use of language when addressing gender and the role of bystanders and media in gender violence.
...
Katz first focused on sexual assault as a problem for men and women in society. He said men’s lives have been vastly improved by the leadership of women. Gender violence also affects men who have experienced domestic violence when they were young, which then perpetuates a cycle of abuse, Katz said.

Article here. Excerpt:

'A male student scored a major victory in his lawsuit against the University of Southern California, which kicked him off campus for a remarkable non-crime: failing to de-escalate an orgy. This was a crazy case, and the decision in his favor impugns not just USC, but the federal government’s entire strategy to combat rape by making colleges deal with it.

Over the past five years, the Obama administration’s Education Department has instructed universities to take sexual harassment and violence more seriously as part of their obligation to obey Title IX, a little-known gender equality law. While that all may sound like a good thing, the policies universities have been forced to put in place are shockingly illiberal, leading to routine violations of students’ due process rights, their right to free expression, and even their right to sleep together.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Members of the oldest all-male club at Harvard have almost never spoken publicly about the organization since its founding in 1791. This week, that silence was broken when an official with the group, the Porcellian Club, said that admitting women could increase the chances of sexual misconduct.

“Forcing single-gender organizations to accept members of the opposite sex could potentially increase, not decrease, the potential for sexual misconduct,” Charles M. Storey, the president of the club’s alumni group, wrote on Tuesday in a letter to The Harvard Crimson, the student newspaper.

As news of the comments, which came in the midst of an effort at Harvard to prevent sexual assault, spread around campus on Wednesday, so did criticism and satire, including an article titled “Club of Wealthy White Men Comes Out in Support of Status Quo.”'

Article here. Excerpt:

'A woman has been charged in Great Falls after she allegedly filed a false rape report because she was angry at her boyfriend.

According to court documents, Jennifer Rima True claimed that on March 9 she had gotten out of her boyfriend's vehicle near the Frontier Inn and when her boyfriend left two men pulled up in another vehicle and tried to "pick her up."

She said that she then ran across the railroad tracks and fell and hit her head, and the men tried to force prescription pills into her mouth.

She claimed that one of them had a knife and cut her numerous times. She also said that her purse, which contained her prescription medicine, was stolen.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Toronto men's rights group at Ryerson University is suing the student union for allegedly discriminating against the group's right to free speech.

First reported by The Eyeopener, the lawsuit was launched by the Ryerson Men's Issues Awareness Society (MIAS) founder Kevin Arriola and social media coordinator Alex Godlewski last week. It cites how the Ryerson Student Union (RSU) denied legitimacy to the men's right group as reason for concern, and it also asks that the university give the group official status on campus.

"As members and executives of MIAS and students of Ryerson University, we feel excluded from the Ryerson community. The allegations levelled against us by RSU have caused us to be ostracized by fellow students and have sabotaged our confidence and desire to engage with our fellow students," an affidavit from Arriola reads.

Artice here. Excerpt:

'Almost 60 percent of UNC's undergraduates are women, making the chances of adding another men’s sport low because Title IX compels universities to create more opportunities for women, who are considered underrepresented, in order to achieve gender equality.

“Since our undergraduate student body is primarily women, men are already overrepresented for participation opportunities,” said Barbara Osborne, a UNC exercise and sports science professor specializing in sports law. “Title IX is not measured on a sport by sport comparison. You’re comparing all of the opportunities men have to participate against all of the opportunities women have.”

While it would be difficult for UNC to add another men’s sport, athletic departments at other universities have chosen to goes as far as cutting money for men’s sports in order to make funding more proportional between men's and women's athletics.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Four of the seven questions that Mabus took were about women in combat. Others were more interested in his thoughts on Iraq and the future size of the Marine Corps.

One questioner asked for his thoughts on drafting women. He said he supports the idea but it's a decision for Congress. Another wanted to know how quickly women would be fully integrated into combat jobs.

"I think it won't happen all in one day," Mabus said. "It'll be relatively gradual but the decision's been made."

Gunnery Sgt. Janet Marrufo, 31, said Mabus' simple message was effective.'