Presumed Guilty at Princeton

Article here. To bypass the login requirement, search on "Presumed Guilty at Princeton" at Google (or just use this link to get the necessary search results from Google), then click on the first result returned. The article page should then appear without a login challenge. Excerpt:

'Princeton University looks set to become the latest campus to curtail the due-process rights of students accused of sexual misconduct, including rape and other violent assaults.

On Monday the faculty voted to approve new disciplinary policies under which allegations of sexual offenses—but only sexual offenses—would no longer require "clear and persuasive evidence" to be considered proven. "Preponderance of the evidence," the standard used in civil lawsuits, would suffice. The new policy now goes to the Council of the Princeton University Community, which is expected to approve it Sept. 29.
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Universities are ill-equipped to investigate and adjudicate allegations of violent crime; that is why we have police, prosecutors, judges and juries. The pressure on universities to conduct such investigations, and to jettison due process, emanates from Washington, where the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights has imposed onerous demands on educational institutions in the name of combating sex discrimination.

Schools that refuse to adopt the preponderance-of-evidence standard, among other requirements, are threatened with the denial of federal funds, including student financial aid. Princeton has been under OCR investigation since 2010 for alleged lenience toward sex-offense defendants.

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The CDC’s Rape Numbers Are Misleading

Article here.  Excerpt:

'"CDC: Nearly 1 in 5 Women Raped.” “One in Five U.S. Women Has Been Raped: CDC Survey.” These alarming headlines were typical of the coverage of last week’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on sexual and intimate violence in the United States. The CDC study—the second in two years—seems to support a radical feminist narrative that has been gaining mainstream attention recently: that modern America is a “rape culture” saturated with misogynistic violence. But a closer look at the data, obtained from telephone surveys done in 2011, yields a far more complex picture and raises some surprising question about gender, victimization, and bias.
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And now the real surprise: when asked about experiences in the last 12 months, men reported being “made to penetrate”—either by physical force or due to intoxication—at virtually the same rates as women reported rape (both 1.1 percent in 2010, and 1.7 and 1.6 respectively in 2011).

In other words, if being made to penetrate someone was counted as rape—and why shouldn’t it be?—then the headlines could have focused on a truly sensational CDC finding: that women rape men as often as men rape women.
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Why Girls Get Better Grades Than Boys Do

Article here. Excerpt:

'As the new school year ramps up, teachers and parents need to be reminded of a well-kept secret: Across all grade levels and academic subjects, girls earn higher grades than boys. Not just in the United States, but across the globe, in countries as far afield as Norway and Hong Kong.

This finding is reflected in a recent study by psychology professors Daniel and Susan Voyer at the University of New Brunswick. The Voyers based their results on a meta-analysis of 369 studies involving the academic grades of over one million boys and girls from 30 different nations. The findings are unquestionably robust: Girls earn higher grades in every subject, including the science-related fields where boys are thought to surpass them.
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On the whole, boys approach schoolwork differently. They are more performance-oriented. Studying for and taking tests taps into their competitive instincts. For many boys, tests are quests that get their hearts pounding. Doing well on them is a public demonstration of excellence and an occasion for a high-five. In contrast, Kenney-Benson and some fellow academics provide evidence that the stress many girls experience in test situations can artificially lower their performance, giving a false reading of their true abilities. These researchers arrive at the following overarching conclusion: “The testing situation may underestimate girls’ abilities, but the classroom may underestimate boys’ abilities.”
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Clinton: Turn female economic issues into movement

Article here. Excerpt:

'Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that voters need to turn pay inequity and women's economic security into a political movement in the November elections and beyond, pointing to an issue that could animate a future presidential campaign.

Clinton, the Democratic former senator and first lady who is considering another presidential bid, said policy issues like raising the minimum wage, equal pay for women and providing families with access to quality, affordable child care need to be prominent in the upcoming elections.

"When we can turn an issue into a political movement that demands people be responsive during the election season, it carries over," Clinton said. "These issues have to be in the life blood of this election and in any election."

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What Drives The Angry Feminist Journalists Slating #GamerGate?

Article here. Excerpt:

'"Self-identified nerds are often so obsessed with their identity as cultural outcasts that they are willfully [sic] blind to their privilege, and for the sake of relatively-absurd fandoms — space marines, dragons, zombies, endless war simulations — take their myopic and insular attitudes to 'art' and 'culture' with tunnel-visioned, inflexible, embarrassing seriousness that often leads to homogeneity, racism, sexism and bullying."

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Bodybuilder Dani Reardon Attacks Boyfriend, Freaks Out In Patrol Car: Cops

Story here. Excerpt:

'She's a "Little Monstar" with a big attitude.

Award-winning bodybuilder Dani Reardon was liquored up when she beat up her live-in boyfriend and kicked in his windshield early Sunday, police say. The 24-year-old then allegedly bashed her head repeatedly into the cage of a patrol vehicle after her arrest in Orange County, Florida.

Reardon -- an Internet-famous power lifter known online as "Little Monstar" -- was charged with resisting arrest and domestic violence. She allegedly tackled and hit her beau, pulled out plants, cracked the truck windshield and screamed at Edgewood police when they arrived, according to the Sun Sentinel.

Her boyfriend, Ian Schofield, refused to press charges. But cops threw the book at her after her alleged breakdown in the back of the patrol car.'

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University requires students, faculty, staff to take "Title IX" training containing false sexual assault stats and solicits sexual history

Story here. Excerpt:

'Clemson University [link added] is requiring students to reveal how many times they’ve had sex in the past month and with how many partners.

In screenshots obtained exclusively by Campus Reform, the South Carolina university is asking students invasive and personal questions about their drinking habits and sex life as part of what they’ve billed as an online Title IX training course.

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"Why Doctors Should Start Screening Men To Spot Potential Abusers"

Article here. Excerpt:

'There’s been a lot of conversation about domestic violence lately, thanks to theongoing controversy over the way the NFL has responded to a surveillance tape of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee in the head. Public figures ranging from thenewly crowned Miss America to the president of the United States have weighed in about the fact that violence against women is never acceptable.
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An increasing number of medical groups— including the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which helps determine what services are covered under the health reform law — now recommend that doctors should screen all of their female patients for evidence of intimate partner violence (IPV). Since domestic violence leads to both short-term and long-term health problems, medical professionals are uniquely positioned to be able to spot the signs. The federal guidelines specifically apply to women of childbearing age, since they’re most at risk for becoming victims of domestic abuse.

But what if doctors shifted the focus and also started looking for potential abusers? Although very little work has been done in that field so far, the men who engage in IPV are regularly coming into contact with medical professionals, according to a new study examining the characteristics of abusers. It may be possible to teach doctors about the warning signs that suggest a male patient could be abusing his partner.
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Professors Must Defy Feds To Protect Victims

Article here. Excerpt:

'The federal government is in desperate need of both rape and sexual harassment victims. These victims are needed in order to justify sweeping nationwide changes to the campus judiciary. These changes include holding quasi-rape trials on college campuses using a preponderance of evidence standard, instead of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Also included in these changes is suspension of double jeopardy protection so that women can repeatedly try accused rapists until they achieve the desired result of conviction, regardless of actual guilt or innocence.
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Just how extreme are the changes in reporting practices? Here is what I’ve learned so far by questioning a couple of administrators here at UNC-Wilmington. If they are wrong about any of the following, that is problematic. (But if they are right, it’s even more problematic):

  1. No student can speak to a professor in confidence about an allegation of rape or sexual harassment. The professor must report the incident to his (or her, or its) supervisor who must then forward the information to the Dean.
  2. Warning students that they cannot talk to a professor about a rape or sexual harassment will not protect the alleged victim because the above rule also applies to hearsay. If the professor hears the story second-hand, or even third-hand, he must report it to his supervisor who will report it to the Dean. ...
  3. Even rape and harassment claims that a professor suspects or knows to be false must be reported by the professor.
  4. Even off-campus incidents must be reported. If you were raped in Alaska or sexually harassed in Russia it falls under UNC-Wilmington’s jurisdiction. Their jurisdiction is called “everywhere.”
  5. Incidents involving perpetrators from outside the university community must be reported to the university.
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Canada: Unprecedented effort to improve men’s mental health

Article here. Excerpt:

'Last year, for the first time in Canada, the Movember Foundation — founded 11 years ago in Australia and now in 21 countries — began to add men’s mental health to its focus on prostate and testicular cancer.

As a result, new Movember Foundation grants immediately surpassed the total amount of money all levels of governments across Canada have devoted to targeted mental health programs for men. 

Two University of B.C. professors — John Oliffe from nursing and John Ogrodniczuk from psychiatry — are co-leaders of a project funded by a Movember grant of $2.9 million (including the photo exhibit). 

The professors cite chilling statistics: The suicide rate for men and boys is four times higher than it is for girls and women. Yet few Canadians talk specifically about men’s mental health.
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“The $12 million that Movember Canada is spending on men’s mental health is unprecedented,” said Oliffe, explaining that it dwarfs what Canada’s government-funded health research bodies have spent in the field in the past 15 years.'

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Women More Likely to Commit Domestic Violence, Studies Show

Article here. Excerpt:

'Football player Ray Rice’s video-captured February attack on his then-fiancée has once again brought domestic violence into the public’s consciousness.
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Critics would say that while it has placed a spotlight on violence against women, that isn’t at all synonymous with “domestic violence.”

Because studies show that most domestic violence may actually be violence against men.

This has just been brought to light by Guardian columnist Glen Poole, who recently asked why British actress Kelly Brook has “got away with punching two men”? Complaining that there “is little room for the female perpetrator or the male victim in mainstream modern discourse around violence and [sex],” he goes on to point out:

"Women are committing violence against men and boys on a daily basis.... International research suggests that as much as half of domestic violence is committed against men, but in the UK, fewer that [sic] 7% of convicted perpetrators are female. So what can we learn from Brook’s refusal to take responsibility for her own celebrity violence? She is clearly no ordinary women [sic], but the gender script she is performing is predictably ordinary."

Yet not only is this information about sex and violence nothing new, some would say Poole is understating the case. For example, Sophie Goodchild reported in a 2000 Guardian piece on a study showing that women were actually more likely to initiate violence in relationships, writing:

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Men are amazing - how on Earth would we ever live without them?

Article here. Excerpt:

'As I said, I identify as a feminist because I believe in equality. And also as a feminist I love men. Seriously, why wouldn't I? I was a total Daddy's girl. I now have a loving husband, my brother is one of my best mates and I utterly adore my son.

Men are amazing - how on Earth would we live without them? Who would want to live without them?

So, I am a feminist because I want my son to grow up to be a better, fairer, happy and moral man. I don't want him to live in a world where he is judged solely on his physical prowess, his career or his income.

I want my son to live in a world where he feels comfortable taking time out to care for his family, where he respects men and women alike and where he has the moral courage to speak out against rape culture, discrimination and sexism.

I don't want him to grow up in a world where he feels second-rate or surplus to a woman's needs. I want him as a would-be father to feel that his opinion on birth and abortion are valued. I want him to have all the support he needs in a world where the male role is changing and where we are starting to understand that the old patriarchal system of man equals provider and woman equals carer are changing.

Which is why, when I go to meetings or conferences where these issues are being discussed, I am always surprised at the dearth of men attending them.

Are they not invited? Do they not feel welcome? Or don't they care?

Similarly, whenever I take part in media discussions about these issues, the panels tend to be all-female (for a change!) or occasionally may have the token man as a feminist concession.

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Mika [Brzezinski] Perpetuates Myth of Super Bowl Spike in Domestic Violence

Article here. Excerpt:

'What's next, Mika? Giant alligators in the sewers of New York City? On today's Morning Joe, Mika Brzezinski perpetuated the hoary twenty-year-old urban legend that domestic violence spikes on Super Bowl Sunday.

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Giving daddy a raw deal on child-support payments

Article here. Excerpt:

'In 1985, with feminism still at its height, U.S. sociologist Lenore Weitzman published a book,The Divorce Revolution, in which she claimed to have analyzed a sample of Los Angeles-area divorced individuals in the 1970s, and found that the living standard of the men increased by an average of 42% after their divorce, while the women’s living standard decreased by an average of 73%. Her methodology was flawed. Since then, more rigorous peer-reviewed studies have proven her conclusions false — she later admitted it herself — and that in fact both sexes are worse off after divorce.

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California rape law could backfire

Story here. Excerpt:

'It is impracticable for the government to require students to obtain consent at each stage of a physical encounter and to later prove that consent in a campus hearing. Under this rule, implications would be that a student could be found guilty of sexual assault and deemed a rapist simply by being unable to prove she or he did obtain explicit verbal consent throughout a sexual encounter.

The kicker to this law is that the college administration will become the judge, jury and the executioner of those students accused — along with many colleges not allowing students to have due process rights during the process.

There have been cases where the accused have been denied legal counsel, the right to call their own witnesses or to cross-examine the evidence against them, and they are convicted on the “preponderance of the evidence” standard, which only requires administrators to be 50.00001 percent sure of the verdict.

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