In a House hearing on campus sexual assault last week, Polis stated that a student should be expelled if there is a 20% chance he is guilty.

Polis also stated that the standard used should be lower than "preponderance of the evidence."

Polis added, "If there are 10 people who have been accused, and under a reasonable likelihood standard maybe one or two did it, it seems better to get rid of all 10 people."

Tell Rep. Polis (CO-2) that expelling innocent students is unacceptable advice, and wrongful accusations are damaging. Our representatives should instead be advocating for more due process in the campus kangaroo courts.

Call: (202) 225-2161 
Email: https://polis.house.gov/forms/writeyourrep/default.aspx

Tell a Congressman that student rights matter.

Gina Lauterio, Esq., Policy Program Director
Stop Abusive and Violent Environments
www.saveservices.org

Article here. As predictable as snow in New England! Excerpt:

'A campaign has been launched calling for a ban on the development of robots that can be used for sex.

Such a use of the technology is unnecessary and undesirable, said campaign leader Dr Kathleen Richardson.

Sex dolls already on the market are becoming more sophisticated and some are now hoping to build artificial intelligence into their products.

Those working in the field say that there is a need for such robots.

Dr Richardson, a robot ethicist at De Montfort University in Leicester, wants to raise awareness of the issue and persuade those developing sex robots to rethink how their technology is used.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'It shouldn’t be a surprise that I’m not fond of comments sections. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find many female writers who are. On most sites – from YouTube to local newspapers – comments are a place where the most noxious thoughts rise to the top and smart conversations are lost in a sea of garbage.

There’s a reason, after all, that the refrain “don’t read the comments” has become ubiquitous among journalists. But if we’re not to read them, why have them at all?

I wasn’t always a comments-hater. When I started a feminist blog in 2004, I was thrilled to finally be able to talk with other young feminists online and was open to chatting with detractors. I saw the comments section as a way to destabilize the traditional writer/reader relationship – no longer did audiences need to consume an article without a true opportunity to respond. Comments even made my writing better those days; feedback from readers broadened the way I thought and sometimes changed my mind.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Perpetrators of domestic and family violence can expect to be monitored more closely, Tony Abbott has flagged during question time.

“We need to ensure that men with a predisposition to violence against members of their families are better monitored, better tracked, so that the instant there is any suggestion of harm the police can act,” the prime minister said.

Earlier this year, the government put forward a proposal to the Council of Australian Governments (Coag) that high-risk domestic violence offenders be tracked via ankle bracelets in the same way that sex offenders in some states are monitored.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Standing out among all the politicians with recent foot-in-the-mouth misogynistic comments, Union minister for women and child development, Maneka Gandhi, on Monday, claimed that "all the violence is male-generated" leading to an onslaught of criticism for her sexist remark.

During a scheduled public interaction on popular social media platform, Facebook, Maneka said that the role of men in gender sensitisation was critical as they are responsible for all the violence.

This digital interaction spewed controversy on yet another social networking site, Twitter, as people slammed the BJP politician for encouraging ‘misandry’ with such anti-male sentiments.

“Misandry is as bad as Misogynistic views. Violence comes from within irrespective of gender or race. #maneka Gandhi” tweeted one Susan Paul.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'In Cedar Falls, Clinton told the crowd that one in five women report they were sexually assaulted in college, a statistic often cited by politicians that is also a source of debate. “Think of the impact on their lives while they’re trying to manage the emotional, the physical, sometimes the educational, financial fallout,” said Clinton. “They miss classes, some drop out, some never finish their education.”

She also suggested that she would propose policy changes to the criminal justice system — and encourage schools to do the same to their own disciplinary procedures — to "ensure a fair process."

“Rape is a crime wherever it happens,” she said.

Before her speech, Clinton met with about 15 students and local activists to discuss the ideas, an aide said, and to encourage feedback. “There are good smart solutions," she told the crowd in Cedar Falls. "We just need more of them."'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Hillary Clinton claimed on the campaign trail in Iowa on Monday that one-in-five women in college have been sexually assaulted, though the ratio she cited has been debunked by many scholars who believe it overstates the problem of campus sexual violence.

“This is a special time and a special place to be talking specifically about an issue that effects one-in-five women on campus,” Clinton said during a “Hillary for Women” event at the University of Northern Iowa.

Clinton’s remarks were timed with the release of a three-pronged policy proposal to help combat the “epidemic” of campus sexual assault. The plan aims to provide a support network for survivors of sexual assault. It also proposes to increase focus on university disciplinary proceedings for accusers and the accused. She also addressed providing sexual violence prevention programs for students earlier in school.'

Article here. We keep hearing from feminists that feminists do not hate men and that feminism is not about misandry. This article, from my home country in the U.K., does little to convince me to the contrary. We keep hearing over and over from feminists that they don't hate men. Yet, we keep hearing over and over from feminists how much they hate men. Excerpt:

'In the feminist world, Bindel’s views are far from isolated and she’s just the latest in a long line of high profile feminists to propose either imprisoning all men or even eliminating or exterminating all or the vast majority of the male population. Bindel’s fellow travellers in this regard include author of the “Scum Manifesto” Valerie Solanas, “academic” Mary Daly (for whom Bindel wrote a glowing obituary) and also Sally Miller Gearhart, an author who also worked at San Francisco State University. Nor is this an isolated incident in terms of Bindel’s behaviour, for example in 2006 she wrote a Guardian column titled “Why I hate men”  and her writing regularly attacks men as a whole falsely paints violence and abuse as gendered, something done by men to women, rather than by people to other people.

Article here. Excerpt:

'It’s the time of year called the Red Zone: the weeks between new student orientation and Thanksgiving break when college students are at the greatest risk of sexual assault. According to statistics, one in five women will be sexually assaulted while she’s at school — usually by someone she knows — and a disproportionate number of those attacks are happening right now.

Several factors contribute to this disturbing trend. First year students are meeting new people and trying new things. Many of them are newly independent, living without parental support for the first time. And, they’re in a new place, adjusting to an unfamiliar and often bigger environment.

A first year student at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington put a fine point on it: "Since we're in a new place, we're all really vulnerable and uncomfortable with our surroundings for a while. People can tell if someone's a freshman."

Article here. Excerpt:

'Monday in Iowa, Hillary Clinton will promise to crack down on sexual assault on college campuses — broadly embracing policy ideas supported by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and a bipartisan set of US senators — according to a campaign official.

The preview of Clinton's plan, which was scant on details, broke down her aims into three main buckets that largely reflect policies incorporated in a bill Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) introduced in late July.
...
The campaign official noted that Clinton's ideas are in line with Obama's efforts to combat sexual assault on campus. Last September, the president unveiled the "It's on us" campaign to raise awareness about the issue, with Biden, the author of the Violence Against Women Act and a potential Clinton primary rival, at his side.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'The hypermasculine image that vape marketers are selling is a self-fulfilling prophecy that could lock vaping out of the mainstream if the community can't overcome the stigma.
...
"The non-vaping public sees vaping the same way they see fedoras," Avery said. "They associate it with this awful MRA [men's rights activist], neckbeard culture."
...
If vaping wants to go mainstream, it needs to include women. A handful of surveys and research papers show that women are anywhere from 1.27 to 2.05times more likely than men to try vaping. But in terms of advertising? The disconnect should be obvious by now: Men are 1.25 times as likely to see a vaping-related advertisement.

"Everybody in the vaping community has the same blinders on, thinking that they need to target this young male population," Avery said. "The industry itself is doing a good job of keeping that reputation as well: a young shitty male activity."'

Article here. Excerpt:

'NKU Director of Public Relations Amanda Nageleisen provided the following statement to Campus Reform correcting an inaccuracy in the Northern Kentucky Tribune article cited in this story:

"The protest in question was NOT organized by the Norse Violence Prevention Center; it was organized by a group of students. A NVP staff member did attend to provide support to any student who may have been triggered by the protest.
...
Several students at Northern Kentucky University participated Thursday in a “mattress girl”-themed demonstration organized by a group funded by federal grants.

A week after one female NKU student spent a day carrying a mattress on her back to protest the school’s handling of her sexual assault complaint, a laEmma Sulkowicz, several other students gathered outside the student union bedecked in bedsheets to demonstrate in support of the survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence,The Northern Kentucky Tribunereported Thursday.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Is Congress waging a war on college men? It’s starting to look like it.

Last week, Rep. Jared Polis, a Colorado Democrat, suggested that even innocent students should be booted from campus if they were accused of sexual assault. According to Polis: "If there are 10 people who have been accused, and under a reasonable likelihood standard maybe one or two did it, it seems better to get rid of all 10 people."

So one of the longstanding traditions of American law — that it is better to let 10 guilty men go free than to imprison one innocent — has now been turned on its head. Under the Polis standard, it’s basically the other way around.

Article here. Excerpt:

"First-year Megan Meadows, while recognizing the importance of having programing geared towards men, noted that the Women’s Center’s involvement seemed odd.

“It’s kind of difficult for women to define what a man is for men,” Meadows said.

Senior Rebecca Shaw said men on Vanderbilt’s campus may not want to attend programming led by the Women’s Center.

“If it's aimed towards men I could see how it could be a deterrent like ‘why is this woman telling me how to be more masculine?’” Shaw said.

However, junior male Jason Thome sees it differently — he thinks the Women’s Center’s background in issues of gender and stereotypes equips them to lead masculinity week. Thome, a Student VUceptor, noted that some of his favorite sessions during VUcept training were lead by representatives from the Women’s Center.

“I think if anyone's equipped, it’s the people who have dedicated so much of their lives to breaking down stereotypes and barriers, so I support that 100 percent,” Thome said.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Just when you thought the everyday etiquette of how men are expected to integrate with women couldn’t get any more confusing, Dame Helen Mirren has announced, of all things, that cuddling is sexist.

Speaking yesterday to the Mail On Sunday’s You magazine, Mirren, 70, said: “It annoys me when I see men with an arm slung around their girlfriend’s shoulders. It’s like ownership. Of course, when you’re young, you want the guy to take your hand and look after you.

“But when I see girls being leaned on, I want to say, ‘tell him to get his damned arm off your shoulder’.”

Now, regular readers will know I collect “sexism is everywhere!” stories like a sheep attracts ticks. I try not to, but I just can’t seem to stop picking them up. But even I didn’t see “teenage cuddling: it’s a tool of the patriarchy!” coming.'