Link here. Excerpt:

'The first-ever WiSci Girls STEAM Camp begins tomorrow, July 25, at the Gashora Girls Academy in Rwanda. The camp is a public-private partnership designed to advance and expand Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) opportunities for girls. The program will empower participants with the knowledge and skillset to enhance their competitiveness during a time of rapid technological development, by providing them with access to high-tech resources, like-minded peers, business connections, and inspiring mentors.

Story here. Excerpt:

'American hero Buzz Aldrin came under fire today from prominent feminist Linda Thump, who claimed that the astronaut’s pride about being the second person to walk on the moon was little more than “cissexist white male privilege.”

Speaking on Twitter, Thump said Aldrin’s “constant braggadocio and toxic masculine preening” was the worst ex‎ample of sexist ignorance in the sciences today. “I mean why would we even want to go to the moon? Have you SEEN how white that thing is? Why not focus on Mars as a testament to the brave struggles of the indigenous American peoples.”

“Are we even sure he went there? I read online that the whole thing was probably faked anyway, and it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that the patriarchal Establishment is seeking to consolidate its chokehold on women with fabrications and frauds,” she explained. “As any gender studies major can tell you, scientific progress is an illusion invented by sexist pigs to keep women down.”

Article here. Excerpt:

'The College Fix thought it had uncovered all of the most ridiculous microaggressions leftist minds had drummed up.

What, with declaring “America is the land of opportunity,” “There is only one race, the human race,” “America is a melting pot” and “Everyone can succeed in this society if they work hard enough” offensive microaggressions – that’s a hard list to top.

Yet, never underestimate a liberal’s ability to see racism where there is none.

A University of Missouri list of so-called “environmental microaggressions” cites one example as “a college or university with buildings that are all named after white, heterosexual, upper class males.”'

Article here. Excerpt:

'From Jerry Lewis' Chinese chef to Dan Whitney's Larry the Cable Guy, playing on stereotypes has long been an integral element in the fabric of comedy. The reason is simple: It's easier to deliver a quick punchline about a shared preconceived notion rather than explain a lengthy set-up.

No Straight White Guys, a monthly comedy show at Foam Coffee & Beer, attempts to place a mirror in front of cultural and gender assumptions promoted within humor. In the process, however, they may have unintentionally raised questions about stereotypes in the world of comedy itself.

Though hosted by local comedians Amy Milton and Milly Naeger, ironically the show was conceived by Jeremy Hellwig -- described by Milton as "a pretty straight, extremely white man." Aware that he couldn't host the show himself, Hellwig turned to Milton and Naeger, who he described as having "some of the funniest, most original voices I've seen in comedy, and I don't just mean in St Louis."
...
For Kirkwood native Nikki Glaser, however, this was never a problem. Glaser, one of the most successful comedians to emerge from the area over the last decade, says she had no problem starting out on open mics that were dominated by men.

"Male comics are a mostly docile, socially anxious group," Glaser says. "They were never mean." If anything, she explains, "It was another woman who made my few first years of comedy the hardest. Saying that I had slept with comics for stage time and material. I was a virgin at the time. It was straight out of Mean Girls."
...
Yet as the show embraces an agenda of social progress through laughter, there are those that have taken offense to the show's exclusionary title. Mikey Manker, a Chicago comedian with St. Louis roots, was taken aback when he passed a poster for the show last month.

Article here. If you get a paywall, Google the text of the first paragraph and click the link that takes you to The Legal Intelligencer site. Excerpt:

'There is no dispute that the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt is essential in criminal cases where one's liberty is at stake. The clear and convincing standard is rarely used in civil proceedings, and only when significant liberty interests are at stake, such as termination of parental rights, deportation, and commitment to a mental institution. The preponderance standard is appropriate for civil rights actions, civil actions, and school disciplinary proceedings that result, rarely and at most, with school expulsion.

Civil remedies are commonly available to victims of crime. Is the editorial board suggesting that civil remedies not be available to any victims of crime or is it limiting this objection to victims of sex crimes, thus eliminating a remedy for sexual assault victims (who are mostly women) while providing an unparalleled shield of protection for the accused student? Is it also suggesting that campus disciplinary proceedings should not be used to address student conduct that also might be criminal in nature (e.g., other assaults, arson, robbery, vandalism) or are they just singling out sexual assault?

Article here. Excerpt:

'Hillary Clinton is touting her gender as among the factors that voters should consider when judging her qualifications for the presidency.

"Clearly, I'm not asking people to vote for me simply because I'm a woman. I'm asking people to vote for me on the merits," Clinton said while on the campaign trail in West Columbia, S.C., according to CNN.

"I think one of the merits is I am a woman. And I can bring those views and perspectives to the White House."

Clinton was reportedly responding to a questioner who said his daughter had told him that men have had the presidency for "long enough."'

Another great book review by J Steven Svoboda. This one's of Helen Smith's Men On Strike. Snag the review here. Excerpt:

'As a long-time reviewer of books about men and masculinity, I continue to marvel at the ability of new authors to come along with fresh energy and new things to say. Dr. Helen Smith, a Knoxville, Tennessee psychologist specializing in forensic issues and men’s issues, is no exception in her book Men on Strike. Smith and I would probably not completely agree on all aspects of the gender wars, but who cares—her heart is in the right place and she is full of compassion for all of us. “There truly is a war on men going on in our society, and the average man knows it full well.” It strikes me that Dr. Smith is writing for a newer phase of the men’s movement, with us already having enjoyed at least the limited success of getting our basic message across to “the average man.”

Article here. Excerpt:

'The law is “horribly unrealistic” because it misunderstands how the average sexual encounter works for college students and ignores the common presence of drugs and alcohol, which can impair judgment and sometimes communication, according to John Banzhaf, a law professor at George Washington University.

“The opportunity for misunderstanding is much greater with ‘Yes means Yes,’” Banzhaf said, using the informal term for affirmative-consent standards, partly because consent can’t be inferred between two partners with a consensual sexual history.

“The way to deal with this problem is to have a law that says ‘no means no,’” he said.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Earlier this month, a California trial court judge ruled that the University of California at San Diego must reverse the suspension of a male student whose due process rights UCSD officials violated during a hearing over allegations he assaulted a female student.

The lawsuit is a rare win for accused male students who turn to legal action after having been found responsible for sexual misconduct. While the lawsuit is unlikely to set any true legal precedent unless the university appeals, some experts say that the case could provide a road map for other suspended or expelled students looking to challenge the way universities adjudicate allegations of sexual assault against them.

Story here. Excerpt:

'A high school teacher accused of having sex with six male students has a brain condition that left her defenseless to the students' aggressive behavior, her lawyer said Tuesday.

Nicole DuFault, 36, of Caldwell, pleaded not guilty in April to aggravated sexual assault and child endangerment charges. DuFault was a language arts teacher at Columbia High School in Maplewood before she was arrested last September.

Authorities have said the victims were 14- and 15-year-old boys and the assaults occurred numerous times between 2013 and 2014. Some of the sex acts occurred on school property and in DuFault's car, they said.

Her attorney, Timothy Smith, told NJ.com that the teacher suffers from "frontal lobe syndrome," a condition that experts say is associated with socially inappropriate behavior. It also leaves them unable to control their impulses, among other symptoms.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'The Obama administration disclosed Tuesday it first learned about Rolling Stone’s ill-fated story on campus rape in Sept. 2014, about two months before it was published, when reporter Sabrina Rubin Erdely called seeking information on the government’s investigation of the University of Virginia’s handling of sexual assaults.

The revelation from the Department of Education came the same day that a media watchdog group asked congressional oversight committees to start an investigation into what the administration may have known about the story before and after it was published and what it did to address the concerns raised in the article.

Article here. Excerpt:

'As written about here previously, Nobel prize winning scientist Sir Tim Hunt of the United Kingdom lost his reputation and several affiliations and titles in the wake of joking incorrectly and crossing feminist outrage mobs in June.

Several weeks after the uproar, started by one activist academic in attendance at the toast, which Hunt gave to a room full of journalists in Seoul, other accounts began to surface suggesting his objectionable toast about women in the science fields had in fact been an obvious joke, not a serious assessment. In fact, in telling the joke, he had referred to himself as a “chauvinist monster” to satirize the very environment in the sciences that feminists used his words to bemoan.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'An Italian university has banned Sir Tim Hunt from speaking at a conference because of “some hazardous occurrence” threatened by a local group of feminists. The silencing of the renowned scientist follows a recording of his now infamous toast finally surfacing in which laughter is heard following the joke, confirming that it was taken in jocular spirit.

Sir Tim was due to speak at a conference of the Italian Society of Anatomy and Histology in Ferrara later in the year. However, in an e-mail seen by The Times, president of the organising committee, Silvano Capitani, apologised to the scientist before writing:

Article here. Excerpt:

'A preponderance of the evidence suggested that John Doe, a male student at Amherst College, raped his girlfriend’s roommate, Sandra Jones, according to the college’s sexual assault adjudication process. But text messages sent between the alleged victim and other Amherst students point toward the opposite conclusion: that Doe did nothing wrong.

He was expelled anyway—and Amherst has utterly refused to take a look that text messages that might acquit him.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'RAPE ON college campuses has finally begun to get the national scrutiny it deserves, with lawmakers across the country attacking a problem that has plagued schools for decades. Unfortunately, bad policy can nullify even the best of intentions. That’s certainly the case for D.C. Council member Anita Bonds (D-At Large), who introduced legislation this week shortening the city’s leash on local universities when it comes to their sexual assault policies.

Ms. Bonds’s proposal misfires on multiple counts. The heart of the bill — a mark on the transcripts not just of those found responsible for sexual assault on campuses, but also of those who have been accused and then withdraw from school — flips legal codes on their head by ignoring due process and presuming guilt rather than innocence. And many of the bill’s other provisions, while sensible in theory, are actually unnecessary given the status quo.'