Story here. Excerpt:

'The Columbia University senior who has won national notice for carrying a mattress to protest the school’s failure to punish her alleged rapist attended the State of the Union address Tuesday to promote legislation aimed at stopping sexual assaults on campus.
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Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) invited Sulkowicz to the speech in an effort to highlight a bipartisan bill that would force colleges to step up collection of information on sexual assaults and adopt tougher, standardized processes for dealing with sexual assault.
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Sulkowicz, a Manhattan native, is carrying a mattress around the school as both a protest and a senior thesis called “Carry that Weight” and “Mattress Performance.” She said the dorm-room mattress symbolizes the weight she and other rape survivors carry.
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The alleged attacker, Paul Nungesser, blasted Gillibrand.

Article here. Excerpt:

'The University of Virginia will pay more than $500,000 for separate reviews of its response to a since-discredited fraternity gang rape claim and the school’s sexual assault policies, but many lingering questions could go publicly unanswered.

Recently signed contracts obtained by The Daily Progress show that an international law firm will be paid $500,000 to probe the university’s handling of “the specific allegations in Rolling Stone,” while, separately, Philadelphia attorneys will assess school policies and procedures. The contract for the latter work includes a clause stipulating that the attorneys “maintain all communications as confidential.”

A university official did not respond to questions about what might be made public from the second evaluation, which, according to the contract, does not contain a cap for fees or expenses.

Article here. Excerpt:

'The Columbia University student who drew national attention for carrying a mattress around campus to protest her alleged rape will now be taking her mattress to a new venue: the United States Capitol.

Emma Sulkowicz claims that in August 2012 she was raped by a fellow student in her dorm room, and since last fall she has been hauling a mattress around campus as a senior art thesis dubbed “Carry That Weight” while demanding that her alleged rapist be expelled. The campaign drew national attention and imitators across the country.

Now, Sulkowicz has been invited to attend President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night as the special guest of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.
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Whether Sulkowicz was actually raped, however, remains up for debate. She herself admits to prior sexual encounters with the student she accused, Paul Nungesser, and even says her alleged rape began consensually and only turned into sexual assault when Nungesser became violent with her.

Article here. Could've written this one myself! Excerpt:

'Hillary can’t win, and that’s why she won’t run. She may not know that yet herself, but a lot of Democrats want her because she’s all they’ve got. The Republicans are counting on her to run because they think she’s the candidate they can beat in what looks from here like it could be a Republican year.

Lady Macbeth has the resume that makes her plausible, which a lot of pundits and normal other people confuse with “inevitable.” Everybody recognizes her name. She doesn’t hear the music but she recognizes the words and knows policy, and likes to talk about it. She’s a woman, and that should help with the ladies. (It might hurt, too).

She has had to carry a lot of Bubba’s baggage, and people usually pity the wronged wife. Nobody is comfortable as the object of pity, but political widows have often exploited it. Political wives, not so much. Hillary has successfully used it, probably because she has thrown the occasional lamp. People like people who fight back.
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Against every positive, there’s two or three negatives. Everyone has a list. Many women like her, some women worship her. Most men despise her. She reminds them of their ex-wives. Life is not fair. Men, a wise man said, are assumed to be competent until they prove otherwise; that was Mr. Obama’s good fortune in 2008, when nobody looked at him closely. Women are thought to be incompetent until they prove otherwise, as many women in politics and business do every day. Getting credit is not easy.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Nowadays, you can’t suggest that a woman watch her drink, avoid getting blackout drunk or to walk in well-lit areas without being accused of victim-blaming. But why is it okay to claim that students falsely accused of sex crimes somehow deserved to be falsely accused?

The most recent example of this form of victim-blaming, where the men who were falsely accused are the real victims, can be seen in the University of Virginia’s ham-handed response to an uncorroborated but explosive allegation of a brutal gang rape at one of its fraternities. U.Va. responded to the allegation by banning Greek social activities until Jan. 9, and only allowing fraternities and sororities to resume such activities if they sign new contracts. Those contracts are of course much more stringent for fraternities and have led to two campus organizations refusing to sign.

And remember, those new contracts were announced after the Washington Post discovered significant faults in the original rape allegation. The fact that the accuser made up a story about having a date or even being invited to a fraternity party by that fantasy date should have made U.Va. officials think twice about rushing to judgment and condemning Greek life on campus.

The university still wants fraternities to sign the agreements and accept punishment, even though local police found “no substantive basis” for the allegation that the rape in question occurred at Phi Kappa Psi. Instead of punishing just Phi Psi without evidence, U.Va. decided to punish all fraternities without evidence — the stated reason being that past behavior at fraternity parties warrants such restrictive punishment.

Article here. Excerpt:

'An autistic student, previously expelled from his college for mistakenly hugging a stranger, has been reinstated.

Brian Ferguson, a 20-year-old with autism attending special-needs classes at Navarro College in Texas, had been expelled for sexual assault. But what he did that constitutes sexual assault will leave you scratching your head.

Ferguson is 6’5” and gives hugs to his friends with a kiss on the top of their head since he towers over them. A week ago, that got him expelled. The problem arose when Ferguson thought he saw a woman he recognized and gave her one of his trademark greetings — except that the woman was a stranger.

"And then [the school] labeled it 'sexual assault' because of the kissing,” Ferguson’s mother, Staci Martin, told NBC. “They said a kiss is considered an assault."
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When she found out that Ferguson had been expelled over the incident, she thought it was "ridiculous."

Article here. Excerpt:

'Common understandings of rape tend to involve force, coercion, or victims who are passed-out drunk. Many students have come forward in recent years to share such experiences. Last summer The New York Times published a front-page article on an alleged rape at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in which several people looked on as a football player assaulted a young woman bent over a pool table.

Other cases are less clear. Sexual interactions can be ambiguous, especially if students have been drinking but aren’t incapacitated. Research shows that women engage in sex they don’t want for a variety of reasons—including to avoid conflict, because they don’t want to be labeled a tease, and because they feel obligated. A response to the Total Sorority Move story on the website Her Campus says rape is "a big word," but "‘less rapey’ situations" should still be acknowledged.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Governor Andrew Cuomo today announced that Christine Quinn [link added], former City Council speaker and, more recently, face of the Women's Equality Party [link added], "is the newest member of the Cuomo administration."

Quinn will serve as "special advisor" to the administration.

She'll be part-time until her Harvard fellowship ends in April, and full-time thereafter. A Cuomo spokeswoman said she did not immediately know how much she will be paid.

Quinn will help Cuomo take "affirmative consent"—a "yes-means-yes" standard for sexual activity at college—statewide. Late last year, SUNY adopted "affirmative consent" at his suggestion.

"It has to be an affirmative consent by the woman," Cuomo said today, at a press conference held at New York University. "The female has to affirmatively consent to any sexual acts."'

Story here. Excerpt:

'New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today a proposal to expand the so-called "yes means yes" legislation to protect college students against rape.

Cuomo proposed a law to extend protections against sexual assaults that are already in place on the campuses of the state's public colleges and universities to the state's private schools.

"One out of four women will be a victim of a sexual attack during their academic years," Cuomo said today at a news conference at New York University. "That is breathtaking."

The rule, which is already in place at the state-funded State University of New York (SUNY) schools, creates a safer environment for students by outlining expectations of responsibility, he said.

Former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, now a special adviser to the governor's office, said the new law will give every school in New York a uniform definition of consent where "yes means yes"--requiring participants to explicitly agree to any sexual activity.

Article here. Excerpt:

'First came mansplain, a word to describe male windbags who can't help but preach at women. Then we got manspread, the habit some men have of taking up too much space in public places. And now we have manslam, "the sidewalk M.O. of men who remain apparently oblivious to the personal space of those around them ," as well as "manterrupt" and "bropropriating."

Oh man. Enough.

It's time to stop man-izing all problematic behavior.

Beyond the obvious reason — that it's annoying as hell — there are a number of reasons everyone, feminists included, should start blanket-banning these words from their lexicons.

Article here. Excerpt:

'The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is $34.4 billion in debt, but it somehow managed to scrape up more than $75,000 to fund an advertising campaign in New York City aimed at instructing male subway riders to keeps their legs together while sitting.

The Washington Free Beacon reports that the MTA "hired Edison Lithograph and Printing Corp. to print thousands of posters and placards, which will appear in 2,600 subway cars" to the tune of $76,707 taxpayer dollars. ...

In a press release, the MTA announced that the new program "highlights behaviors that are both encouraged and discouraged for the benefit of everyone," and that "the messaging largely reflects complaints and suggestions from riders."

Other MTA-funded ads promoting good etiquette will discourage people from "primping" on public transportation, blocking doors, and using safety poles for performance purposes.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'Members of a fraternity kicked off the San Diego State University campus for allegedly waving sex toys at anti-rape demonstrators said Thursday that the charges were exaggerated, based largely on an 18-year-old member's "immature and stupid" actions.

The school's Delta Sigma Phi chapter was suspended last month for at least two years after the anti-rape activists alleged frat members waved dildos and shouted obscenities during a November demonstration. The university also charged the fraternity with alcohol and hazing violations. The fraternity's national office didn't defend the SDSU chapter.

Editorial here. It urges that child support go to the kids instead of to the government. Gosh, what a novel idea. I'm no fan of the current child support system, but at the very least the money should go to the kids, not some bureaucrat. Excerpt:

'It may come as a surprise to some, but that isn't the case in Colorado now. The child support money goes into the greater government maw — not to the typical mom getting Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) who is raising kids alone.
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First, it would directly increase the meager household income for these single-parent families. These are the poorest of the state's poor families.

Second, it would help strengthen ties between the kids and their biological parents.

Non-custodial parents would have an additional incentive to pay child support if they knew it would go directly to their children and not into a big, amorphous government pot.

Third, there is a question of fairness. If a father is paying child support, the child should benefit. It's that simple.'

Article here. Excerpt:

A legion of the politically correct who make a living from the alleged oppression of women were gleeful and almost goofy with proofiness this week. The incident is a window into how statistical myths are created.

Charles Seife, a journalist and a professor at New York University, coined the term proofiness as a corollary to an earlier term coined by comedian Stephen Colbert: truthiness. Truthiness was defined as "the quality of preferring concepts or facts one wishes to be true, rather than concepts or facts known to be true." It became the American Dialect Society's 2005 Word of the Year because it embodied a cultural zeitgeist that haunted the socio-political narrative of our time.

Article here. Excerpt:

'A “study” conducted by “researchers” at the University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University (“Denying Rape but Endorsing Forceful Intercourse: Exploring Differences Among Responders“) and published in the journal Violence and Gender claims to find that almost one in 3 college men would commit rape “if nobody would ever know and there wouldn’t be any consequences.” Oy vey, where to begin on this one?