Story here. Excerpt:

'Experts say the differences between university sexual assault hearings and criminal trials are intentional. Forcing a student to testify in the same room as his or her attacker can be traumatic. It can also have a chilling effect on victims, who may be hesitant to report rape if they have to confront their attackers face-to-face.

"Whenever you are talking about something as sensitive and intimate as sexual violence, it behooves schools to be sensitive to their students, to make sure that the process is fair and comfortable and they are not putting victims in a position of feeling blamed and shamed and having to confront directly," said Neena Chaudhry, senior counsel at the National Women's Law Center.

Given that risk, said John Foubert, a professor in the school of educational studies at Oklahoma State University, many college administrators feel it’s unnecessary to match the protections given to a criminal defendant.

Story here. Excerpt:

'In Karen Keller’s kindergarten classroom, boys can’t play with Legos.

They can have their pick of Tinkertoys and marble tracks, but the colorful bricks are “girls only.”

“I always tell the boys, ‘You’re going to have a turn’ — and I’m like, ‘Yeah, when hell freezes over’ in my head,” she said. “I tell them, ‘You’ll have a turn’ because I don’t want them to feel bad.”

Although her approach might anger some parents, Keller is sticking to her guns: It’s all part of a plan to get girls building during “free choice,” the 40 minutes of unstructured play time embedded at the end of every school day.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'If women are dominant in certain academic disciplines, don’t call attention to it.

The University of York learned that gender equality is a one-way street, when it said in a press release last week that it would mark International Men’s Day this Thursday. (It’s cached on the Internet Archive.)
...
He went on to claim that “female candidates have a higher chance of being appointed than men” in academic staff appointments, as well as in professional support services and academic support staff, “with some departments [in the latter] employing no men at all in these roles”:
...
That provoked about 200 students, staff and alumni to sign on to anopen letter to the school excoriating it for pointing out the hardships of men:'

Article here. Excerpt:

'York University statement:

Earlier today the University issued this statement.

"We have withdrawn the original statement about International Men's Day, and do not propose to mark this event formally. In gender equality, our main focus has been, and will continue to be, on the inequalities faced by women, such as under-representation in the professoriate. At the same time, we will not neglect other aspects of equality, and will take a balanced approach to all nine protected characteristics as defined in the 2010 Equality Act. Our overriding goal is to strive to treat every member of the University community with dignity and respect."'

Article here. Excerpt:

'A row has broken out at York University after plans to mark International Men’s Day on Thursday were cancelled following an outcry from staff and students.

The university had signed up to the event, which aims to highlight issues affecting men and boys, including the high male suicide rate, men’s shorter life expectancy and “the struggles that boys can face in getting an education”.

It has since been cancelled at York after students, staff and alumni signed an open letter to the university objecting to the event. However, a number of students are campaigning to reinstate the day, and accuse the university of sending out a message that “men’s rights are not important”.

A petition has been launched, which states: “It is important that we recognise men’s day just as much as women’s day. True feminists should be fighting for gender equality for both men and women. To cancel men’s day is simply hypocritical. Equality is not just for women and should concern both genders.”'

Link here. Excerpt:

'Thirty leaders from foundations across the U.S. gathered at The White House Friday for a daylong forum on “Advancing Equity for Women and Girls of Color.” The forum focused on issues that plague women and girls of color and highlighted the launch of “Prosperity Together,” a $100 million, 5-year funding initiative aimed at improving economic conditions for low-income women, specifically women and girls of color.

Article here. Excerpt:

'The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has opened three investigations this year into Texas universities — Texas A&M University, the University of Houston and Trinity University — over how they handled allegations of sexual violence on their campuses, documents obtained by The Texas Tribune show.

Such federal inquiries have generally been spurred by accusations that universities didn’t do enough to punish students accused of rape or harassment.

Article here. Excerpt:

'We must reform how colleges handle sexual assault cases but requiring survivors to report their assaults to police is the wrong approach.

— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) November 16, 2015

Is it, Senator? Is it?

.@sengillibrand Exactly right. Accused rapists are best judged by a revolutionary tribunal of women's studies professors.

— Susan (@shoshido) November 16, 2015

@SenGillibrand FTR, if I'm ever murdered on a college campus, I want the student council to handle it instead of the police.

— Na[Cu(NT)2(H2O)] (@smittie61984) November 16, 2015'

Article here. Excerpt:

'A so-called documentary about campus rape, The Hunting Ground, is set to air Thursday on CNN, which co-produced it. But a newly available e-mail from an investigative producer of the film spectacularly belies its pretensions to be honest, balanced journalism. Instead, the e-mail adds to the large body of evidence that that the film is highly misleading if not dishonest.

In the December 21, 2013, e-mail from Amy Herdy (billed in the film as working with independent director Kirby Dick and producer Amy Ziering), Herdy sought an interview with Erica Kinsman and her lawyer about her highly publicized rape accusation against Jameis Winston, the Heisman Trophy–winning, first-NFL-draft-pick former Florida State quarterback.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Earlier this month, the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity chapter on the campus of the University of Virginia filed a $25 million defamation lawsuit against Rolling Stone and its disgraced reporter Sabrina Rubin Erdely.

Here’s the complete lawsuit — all 339 pages:

Phi Kappa Psi lawsuit against Rolling Stone'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Mary Curnock Cook, the head of the admissions service, Ucas, said she was “very worried” about the decline in the proportion of young men applying for places on degree courses.

The trend has significant implications for society because university graduates are expected to earn far more than workers without degrees, the Commons business select committee was warned.

Ms Curnock Cook intervened as it was disclosed that 14 universities had targets to recruit more men. The initiative is part of a drive to train more men as primary school teachers to provide role models for young boys.

So far this year 80,000 more women have applied to universities in the UK than men and the trend is likely to grow, according to Ucas figures.'

Believe it or not, in this week approaching Thanksgiving, we in the United States are faced with a second challenge to Prostate Cancer screening using the PSA test.  Malecare wants you to know.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is asking for pubic comment on a clinical quality measure that would probably lead to financial penalties for providers (your doctor) who order a PSA screening test.  The measure is based on the PSA screening recommendations of the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF).

The USPSTF is the organization responsible for the recommendation against prostate cancer screening.  Their May 2012 recommendation reads:

"The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends against prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening for prostate cancer."

This recommendation has caused massive controversy throughout our health care system.  

Whether you agree with their 2012 finding or not, Malecare feels that our prostate cancer community needs to be heard. The potential for provider penalties for offering the PSA test for prostate cancer screening could hurt tens of thousands of men who might never know that they have advanced prostate cancer until they are months away from death. 

Fortunately, the call for comments is a simple one, where you post your thoughts about PSA screening in just a few sentences.

Unfortunately, the method to post your comments will likely be the most complicated thing you ever do online.  My hair is now fully gray after attempting to comment...but, I feel I have done something important in making my voice hear...I hope that you will feel the same.

Here are the step by step instructions for posting your comments:

Your goal is to post a comment for:

Electronic Clinical Quality Measures for Non-Recommended Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA)-Based Screening

Go to: http://jira.oncprojectracking.org/login.jsp

Article here. Excerpt:

'Bloomfield Hills High School hosted an offseason FIRST Robotics Competition for girls on high school robotics teams Saturday afternoon.

Thirty-two all-female teams from across Michigan and one team that traveled from Indiana to participate.

Fans cheered for their classmates as robots went head-to head in the arena. The machines were designed, built and driven exclusively by female students.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'A Catholic elementary school principal in Cincinnati suspended a 6-year-old boy for three days late last week because he used a pretend bow and arrow on the playground at recess.

The imaginative first grader attends Our Lady of Lourdes School, reports local NBC affiliate WLWT-TV.

The recess incident that led to the suspension occurred on Thursday. The unidentified boy drew back a bow he had invented purely in his mind. He took aim with this nothingness at a friend. He then released a completely nonexistent arrow from some make-believe quiver.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Almost a third of universities are now running outreach activities targeted at young men as they try to tackle the growing gender gap in student applications, according to the Office for Fair Access. They are being offered taster subject sessions, talks with role models and mentoring through local football clubs to encourage them to consider a university degree.

Young women were around a third more likely than men to enter university in 2014, according to Ucas, the universities admissions body, and female applicants dominate entrance to courses in medicine, law and biology.'

Also see: The gender gap at universities: where are all the men?