Affirmative Action Blog Spot

Northwestern "Blackface" Costumes Inspire Protest

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:03:00 +0000

Chicago TV
"Harvard of the Midwest" in classless act"

By DICK JOHNSON and SUSAN BALL
Updated 1:04 PM CST, Fri, Nov 6, 2009

Two Northwestern students who attended a Halloween party dressed in blackface have sparked a public outcry from the NU community.
The photos, posted on the students' Facebook pages, have prompted campus groups to organize a closed forum Tuesday to discuss the incident with students.
“While I fully support the principles of free expression, at the same time I am deeply disappointed to see any example of insensitivity that demeans a segment of our community,” said Northwestern President Morton O. Schapiro in an e-mail to the NU community.
One of the students involved in the incident reportedly dressed as Bob Marley, painting his entire body black and wearing a shirt with the word "Jamaica."
Two Northwestern students who attended a Halloween party dressed in blackface have sparked a public outcry from the NU community.

Full Story: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/Northwestern-Student-Dons-Blackface-for-Halloween-69286632.html

Remaining vigilant on civil rights

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:47:00 +0000

IndyStar.com
November 7, 2009
Indiana's latest cross-burning case illustrates challenge facing state and feds
By Jon Murrayjon.murray@indystar.com

Cross burnings may seem like a relic from a dark chapter in American history, but an incident in Indiana resulted this week in prison sentences of a year or more for three Muncie men.
At least two other Indiana cross-burning cases, in Muncie and Mishawaka, have been prosecuted in the past two years. All three were motivated by racism, federal prosecutors say.
During a Friday visit to Indianapolis, the top civil rights lawyer for the U.S. government pointed to those cases and increases in reported hate crimes as reason for vigilance. Thomas E. Perez, confirmed by the U.S. Senate last month as assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, cited a recent expansion of the federal hate-crimes law as an important tool.
"Recent history here in Indiana and across the nation reminds us that we continue to have people who, frankly, have issues with the diversity of our country and with the inclusion that is our nation's strength," Perez said during a news conference with other federal officials, including acting U.S. Attorney Tim Morrison.
The case that ended this week was spurred by a cross set afire in a yard in July 2008 as a black family slept inside their home in a Muncie neighborhood. Sentenced Thursday were Richard LaShure, 41; his son, Richard Logue, 20; and Aaron Latham, 20.

Full Story: http://www.indystar.com/article/20091107/NEWS02/911070358/Authorities+cooperate+to+battle+crimes+of+hate

IUPUI employee, student finally receives apology

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:20:00 +0000

Examiner.com
November 5, 4:02 PM
Indianapolis Statehouse Examiner

A janitor whom a university official accused of racial harassment for reading a book about the Ku Klux Klan has received a formal apology from the school. Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis chancellor, Charles Bantz, apologized to Keith Sampson in a letter dated Friday, saying the school is committed to free expression.The situation began last year when a co-worker complained after seeing Sampson reading Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan. The book’s cover features robed Klansmen and burning crosses on Notre Dame’s campus. The book gives an account of the 1924 riot between Notre Dame students and the Klan in which the students from the South Bend university prevailed. Sampson, who is in addition to working for the university is also a student majoring in communication students, said he tried to explain that the book was a historical account. “I have an interest in American history,” Sampson said. “I was trying to educate myself.”But Sampson says his union representative equated the book to bringing pornography to work, and the school’s affirmative action officer told Sampson his conducted constituted racial harassment. “You used extremely poor judgment by insisting on openly reading the book related to a historically and racially abhorrent subject in the presence of your black co-workers,” Lillian Charleston wrote in a letter to Sampson.

Full Story: http://www.examiner.com/x-19365-Indianapolis-Statehouse-Examiner~y2009m11d5-IUPUI-employee-student-finally-receives-apology

Big East Is a Big Loser in Web Accessibility for Disabled People,

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:20:00 +0000

The Chronicle of Higher Education
November 5, 2009

By Marc Parry
Denver – Big East colleges may shine on the basketball court, but they’re getting stuffed by the competition when it comes to the Web-accessibility battle.The Big East posted the most consistent problems in a new survey of how good a job universities are doing in making their Web sites accessible to people with disabilities. The survey of 80 universities, presented at the Educause conference here this week, pitted five athletics conferences against one another in an attempt to draw attention to the issue. The worst of the worst are Villanova University, Baylor University, and Providence College, says the study by Jon Gunderson, coordinator of assistive communication and information technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The study skewered those institutions and 13 others on a list called “Schools Who Need New Coaches.” The universities doing the best job of making their sites accessible are Illinois, Virginia Tech, and Michigan State, says the study, which crowned them as frontrunners in the “Sweet 16.” The Pac-10 posted the best performance over all.

Full Story: http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Big-East-Is-a-Big-Loser-in-Web/8737/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR AFFIRMATIVE ACTION Announces New Leadership for 2010 - 2012

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:01:00 +0000

AAAA News Release
November 5, 2009
Contact: Shirley J. Wilcher, 240-893-9475

AAAA Board of Directors reflects a wealth of experience in equal opportunity, diversity and affirmative action in higher education, government, private industry and law

Washington, D.C. - November 5, 2009 - The American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA), an association of equal employment opportunity (EEO), diversity and affirmative action professionals founded in 1974, announced the results of its recent membership election for the leadership whose term begins April 2010 and ends in 2012. "We are delighted to have such outstanding leaders in the field of equal opportunity and affirmative action to take the helm of this organization in the years to come," said current AAAA President ReNeé S. Dunman, Esq.

For president, the association elected Gregory T. Chambers, EEO, Affirmative Action and Diversity Manager, Delaware River and Bay Authority. Mr. Chambers was formerly with the Office of Management and Budget, Human Resource Management, State of Delaware. Chambers currently serves on the AAAA Board as Region III director. For First Vice President, Joni Baker, Ph.D., Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, The Texas A & M University System, was elected. Ms. Baker currently serves as Secretary of the Association. AAAA's new Second Vice President,Willyerd R. Collier, Sr., Esq., is the founding Director of the Office of Affirmative Action at the University of Arkansas located in Fayetteville Arkansas. Attorney Collier is presently a Member-at-Large of the AAAA board.

The new AAAA Secretary is Carmen Suarez, Ph.D., who recently joined the University of Idaho as the Director of Human Rights, Access and Inclusion. Ms. Suarez was formerly Director, Office of Diversity and Equity, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. The AAAA Treasurer is Melvin Williams, the current Director of Diversity and International Affairs in the Human Resources Department, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX. Mr. Williams is currently director of AAAA's Region VI. President Dunman, who is Assistant Vice President, Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity, Old Dominion University, will serve on the board as Immediate Past President in 2010.

The new AAAA officers will join a board with a diversity of backgrounds in higher education, government, private industry and law. Among the members of the board are Matthew J. Camardella, Esq., Jackson Lewis, LLP, Long Island, NY; Jo Bennett, Esq., Stevens and Lee, Philadelphia, PA; Julia Fuentes, PHR, CELS, Peopleclick, Inc., Metairie, LA; John D. Gonzales, JDG Associates, San Antonio, TX.; Harry Payne, CUNY- QCC, New York, NY; Huda Melky, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY; Marshall Rose, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH; Francesca Galarraga, Iowa State University, Ames, IA; Charles Batey, Metropolitan State University, Denver, CO; Sandra Lewis, SUNY Fredonia, Fredonia, NY; John Burnett, Ph.D., Texas A&M University, Kingsville, TX; Myron Anderson, Metropolitan State College of Denver, Denver, CO; and Inderdeep Chatrath, Ph.D., Duke University.

The Association recognizes the outstanding service and contributions of the outgoing leadership team including Alvin Bingham, First Vice President, State of Connecticut, Hartford, CT; Deborah Burris, Second Vice President, University of Missouri, St. Louis; and Andreen Neukranz-Butler, Treasurer, Chicago, IL.

For more information, go to www.affirmativeaction.org.

###
888 16th Street, NW, Suite 800 * Washington, D.C. 20006 *202-349-9855 ex 1857 *Fax: 202-355-1399 * www.affirmativeaction.org

U-Md. students protest official's firing

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:43:00 +0000

The Washington Post
Diversity post will become part time to cut costs, school says

By Daniel de Vise
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 6, 2009

Several hundred students marched Thursday to the administration building at the University of Maryland to protest the firing of a popular diversity officer in one of the largest demonstrations at the College Park campus since the Vietnam War era.
Protesters rallied in support of Cordell Black, associate provost for equity and diversity at Maryland's flagship state university. Black will lose his job at the end of the academic year to help the university cut costs in a difficult budget year, university officials said.
Black oversees the university's Office of Equity and Diversity. He is to be replaced by a part-time administrator. As a tenured professor, he can stay on the faculty.
The mood during the demonstration suggested that many students fear that the school is quietly retreating from its commitment to racial and cultural diversity in a desperate re-sorting of priorities brought on by a funding crisis. State support to U-Md. has eroded by at least 10 percent in the recession.
People on the grassy expanse that serves as the university's front lawn erupted in chants of "Bring back Black" and "No justice, no peace," although they stopped short of occupying the administration building. Instead, protesters filled the front steps, applauded speakers on bullhorns and taped handwritten appeals to walls and columns.
"We gather here today in response to the alleged budget crisis that the administration uses to buttress the removal of Dr. Black from his position," said Amber J. Simmons, president of the university's Black Student Union. "The same budget crisis that allowed for a quarter of a million dollars to be spent on rebranding the school," Simmons said, referring to a recent public relations campaign.
U-Md. spokesman Milree Williams said that university officials had no plans to retreat from their diversity goals, which are "in the fabric of the university." He said that diversity is "not just some numeric goal that we're trying to reach; it's who we are."

Full Story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/05/AR2009110502997.html

As Berkeley Enrolls More Out-of-State Students, Racial Diversity May Suffer

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:05:00 +0000

The Chronicle of Higher Education
February 4, 2009

Ever since California voters banned affirmative action by state agencies in 1996, the University of California at Berkeley has struggled to enroll more than a small group of black and Latino students. Four years ago, Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau called the university's low numbers "shocking" and said the situation was "a crisis."
But after making limited progress since then, Berkeley officials are now struggling to avoid another drop in the enrollment of underrepresented minority students, this time because of pressures from state budget cuts.
To save money, Berkeley plans to reduce the size of next fall's freshman class. The university intends to enroll about 15 percent fewer Californians, while at the same time nearly doubling its number of out-of-state and international students, who will generate millions of dollars in new revenue from higher, nonresident tuition.
The intended growth in nonresident students at Berkeley, from about 12 percent to 23 percent of the student body, comes as public universities everywhere are turning to out-of-state tuition to replace declining state support. But the enrollment changes have sparked deep concern on the campus that black, Latino, and low-income students will be turned away disproportionately.
According to rough estimates prepared by a university panel on nonresident enrollment, the number of Latino freshmen who enroll next year could decline by 18 percent, the number of black freshmen by 13 percent, and the number of first-generation freshmen by 15 percent. Those estimates, which are based on the composition of the 2009-10 freshman applicant pool, compare with a 5-percent cut in the size of the fall freshman class as a whole.

Full Story: http://chronicle.com/article/As-Berkeley-Enrolls-More/49049/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

A Female President Vows to Encourage Men -- and Faces Backlash

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:59:00 +0000

Inside Higher Ed
November 5, 2009

Some students at the University of Alberta are angry that Indira Samarasekera, the president, has expressed concern about the declining numbers of men on Canadian university campuses. In an October interview, Samarasekera cited figures showing that women make up 58 percent of Canadian university students and said that she worried that 20 years from now, "we will not have the benefit of enough male talent at the heads of companies and elsewhere." Further, she said she would be an "advocate" for young white men because, as a minority woman, she "can be." The Edmonton Sun reported that her comments irked some students, who felt she was suggesting that female students were somehow a problem, and for not focusing on disadvantaged students -- as opposed to men -- who may need help. Some of the students created posters showing a giant, King Kong-like woman walking over a university building. The caption: "Women are attacking campus! Only white men can save our university! Stop the femimenace."
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/11/05/qt#212505

The Year of Living Postracially

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:32:00 +0000

The New York Times
November 4, 2009

By COLSON WHITEHEAD
ONE year ago today, we officially became a postracial society. Fifty-three percent of the voters opted for the candidate who would be the first president of African descent, and in doing so eradicated racism forever.
How do I know? I have observed that journalists employ Google searches to lend credence to trend articles, so I compared recent hits on the word “postracial” with those of a previous year. There have been more than 500,000 online mentions of postraciality this year, as opposed to absolutely zero in 1982. Some say that’s because the Internet didn’t really exist back then. I prefer to think it’s because we’ve come a long way as a country.
There are naysayers, however, who believe that we can’t erase centuries of entrenched prejudice, cultivated hatred and institutionalized dehumanization overnight. Maybe we haven’t come as far as we think. That’s why I’d like to throw my hat in the ring for the position of secretary of postracial affairs. (I like postracial czar, but czars have been getting a bad rap lately.)
Call me presumptuous, but I’ve already bought three-by-five cards and jotted down notes. To wit: Sociologists say that racism is a construct, which means that our predicament is what we in the business world call a “branding problem.” Time and time again, attempts to reduce a wildly diverse community to an ineffectual blanket term have yielded diminishing results. “Colored” lasted 82.3 years, “Negro” less than half that. “African-American” was challenged by “People of color” after an even shorter reign. May I suggest “People Whose Bodies Just Happen to Produce More Melanin, and That’s O.K.,” or PWBJHTPMMATOK? It’s factually accurate, non-threatening and quite pithy. The N.A.A.C.P. says it’s on board if we pitch in for changing the letterhead.
Pop culture is the arena for our hopes, our fears and our most cherished dreams. It is our greatest export to the world. That’s why as your secretary of postracial affairs I’ll concentrate on the entertainment industry.
Some changes will be minor. In television, “Diff’rent Strokes” and “What’s Happening!!” will now be known as “Different Strokes” and “What Is Happening?” Other changes will be more drastic. “Sanford and Son” trafficked in demeaning stereotypes. In these more enlightened times, everyone knows that one person’s “junk” is another’s compulsive eBay purchase. A more postracially robust version features Sanford père as the genius behind a community-based auction site, with his son, Lamont, the reluctant Webmaster. Think of the opportunities for fleet-footed banter and sophisticated, pun-based aperçus. Like “Frasier,” but postracial.

Full Opinion: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/opinion/04whitehead.html?th&emc=th

A Job Too Big for One Man

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:25:00 +0000

The New York Times
November 4, 2009

By ORLANDO PATTERSON
IN the year since his election, as he has since he first appeared on the national stage, Barack Obama has embodied the fundamental paradoxes of race in America: that we live in a still racially fragmented society; that we share a public culture with an outsized black presence, but that in the privacy of homes and neighborhoods we are more segregated than in the Jim Crow era; that we worship more fervently than any other advanced nation, in churches and synagogues that define our separate ethnic identities and differences, to gods proclaiming the unity of mankind. Why are we this strange way? Is President Obama the ultimate expression of our peculiarities? Has he made a difference? Can he? Will he?
We became this way because of the peculiar tragedies and triumphs of our past. Race and racism scar all advanced nations, but America is peculiar because slavery thrived internally and race became a defining feature of personal identity.
Slavery was quintessentially an institution of exclusion: the slave first and foremost was someone who did not belong to and had no claims on the public order, nor any legitimate private existence, since both were appropriated by the slaveholder. The Act of Emancipation abolished only the first part of slavery, the master’s ownership; far from removing the concept of the ex-slave as someone who did not belong, it reinforced it. The nightmare of the Jim Crow era then extended and reinforced the public slavery of black Americans right up through the middle of the 20th century.
At the same time, the status of blacks as permanent outsiders made whiteness a treasured personal attribute in a manner inconceivable to Europeans. Whiteness had no real meaning to pre-immigration Swedes or Irishmen because they were all white. But it became meaningful the moment they landed in America, where it was eagerly embraced as a free cultural resource in assimilating to the white republic. In America race had the same significance as gender and age as defining qualities of personhood.
The great achievement of the civil rights movement was to finally abolish the lingering public culture of slavery and to create the opportunities that fostered the black middle class and black political leadership. This was a sea change. But Mr. Obama, by virtue of his unusual background as a biracial child reared by loving, though not unprejudiced, white caregivers, is acutely aware that the crude, dominating racism of the past simply morphed into a subtler cultural racism of the private sphere — significantly altered though hardly less damaging.

Full Opinion: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/opinion/04patterson.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

A Behavioral Leadership Approach to Workplace Problems

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:34:00 +0000

Workforce Management
April 2009

Commentary: Most organizations that are concerned about increases in litigation, EEOC charges and potential union organizing activity look at each area of new or enhanced risk and devise separate strategies to address them. But they often are attacking the symptoms, not the real and very common problem: leadership misbehavior. Here is a more holistic approach to the workplace issues that keep you up at night. By Stephen M. Paskoff

2009 is proving to be a time of intense trial for organizations and for the people who work in them. The worst economic climate in decades is intersecting with a new administration in Washington, whose intent it is to bring about greater workplace and business regulation. Even though this combination of forces brings great challenges, I believe that leaders can actively build upon the progress that their organizations have made and keep the commitments they have pledged for the future without disrupting operations or even incurring great expense. In fact, those commitments are more important than ever if leaders intend to weather the economic and legislative changes of the upcoming year.
The complex issues we face require leaders to do their jobs in a consistent and professional way. Of course, this will not just happen by itself. Organizations must adopt a simple, clear leadership behavior strategy. This strategy is as important as the individual steps leaders will take to review policies and communicate new standards as they arise.
In truth, many organizations have sorely tested the trust of their workforces in recent years, and employees are not only anxious about their jobs, but doubt that they can rely on their employers for honest communication and professional treatment. Employers can best deal with these perceptions if they communicate truthfully, listen carefully to employees’ concerns, address problems promptly and act professionally. None of these standards require financial outlay. Leaders must just follow clear, specific behaviors to fulfill them. The challenge lies in ingraining these behaviors in the organization so they apply to all the actions, initiatives and workday responsibilities of leaders at all levels. Only then can organizations prevent problems that can arise across an increasing range of the issues that are being invoked by the debilitated economy and the political changes that are now taking place and beginning to affect businesses nationwide.
2008’s financial meltdown continues to exert economic pressures, causing further job cuts and business contraction. Some people, in the midst of such crises, will search for means to protect themselves. Some will just try to get even. Charges and lawsuits typically rise in recessions. In fact, EEOC discrimination claims in 2008 were already at their highest level since 1992. The economy’s downward spiral, marked by steep unemployment and tanking financial markets, increases the odds that these claims will surge even higher. Furthermore, as a reaction to remote and disengaged leadership, union organizing efforts this year will be an increasingly attractive option for disaffected employees.
The Obama administration has stated its commitment to not only turn around the economy but to act swiftly to regulate business more aggressively than the previous administration. Regulatory developments will give employees new avenues for administrative and judicial relief that we have not seen for many years. At this moment, provisions are either already in place (Title VII, FMLA and ADA) or contemplated (FLSA) to strengthen existing laws.
Next up is the Employee Free Choice Act, which was reintroduced in the House of Representatives on March 9 and which President Barack Obama has indicated he will support, in some form. At this writing, its chances of passage are not certain, given that 41 Senate Republicans have indicated they will filibuster to prohibit a final vote. The measure went down in 2007 on such a move. But if the act is passed in any of the forms that have been discussed so far, it will greatly facilitate union organizing and increase the risk to employers who try to combat union drives in their workplaces. In other areas of business, from occupational safety to securities, increased regulatory provisions are being planned.

Full Story: http://www.workforce.com/archive/feature/26/37/42/index.php

Former U.S. Senator Edward William Brooke III receives Congressional Gold Medal---

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:33:00 +0000

UnityFirst.com
Business World Index
November 2, 2009

Former U.S. Senator Edward William Brooke III receives Congressional Gold Medal---

President Obama presented former U.S. Senator Edward William Brooke III with the Congressional Gold Medal for his unprecedented and enduring service to the Nation. The ceremony was held in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. The Congressional Gold Medal, designed and struck by the United States Mint, honors Senator Brooke's pioneering accomplishments in public service. Senator Brooke broke new ground at a time when few African-Americans held state or Federal office. He was the first African-American elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote, serving with distinction for two terms, from January 3, 1967, to January 3, 1979. During his first term, Brooke was appointed to the President's Commission on Civil Disorders, where his work on discrimination in housing served as the basis for the 1968 Civil Rights Act. Brooke began his career in public service as chairman of the Boston Finance Commission, where he established an outstanding record of confronting and eliminating graft and corruption. He proposed groundbreaking legislation for consumer protection and against housing discrimination and air pollution, and made state and national history in 1962 when he was elected Attorney General of Massachusetts. He also served in the U.S. Army's segregated 366th Infantry Regiment during World War II, attaining the rank of captain, and receiving a Bronze Star.
--Nancy Pelosi salutes Former Senator Edward Brooke--"In 1967, that was the year that Senator Brooke came to the United States Senate. At that time, Time Magazine wrote of him: 'He signals a new style and a new hope.' As the first African American popularly elected to the United States Senate, Senator Brooke ignited more than four decades of progress toward the American ideal of equality.

Full Story: http://www.unityfirst.com/ufthisweek.htm

Title IX Trojan Horse?

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:09:00 +0000

Inside Higher Ed
November 3, 2009

A federal investigation into possible bias against female applicants would, one might expect, be welcome news to groups that advocate for the education of women. After all, these groups have over the years urged tougher federal enforcement of anti-bias laws.
But factor in the politics of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which bars gender bias in educational institutions receiving federal funds, and things have a way of getting complicated. Namely, a new federal probe into the allegations that liberal arts colleges are unfairly favoring male applicants is seen by many Title IX experts as a sneak attack on an important law. They believe that in the name of gender equity, the commission is in fact trying to undercut gender equity.
At issue is a move by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to investigate liberal arts college admissions. The inquiry was begun based on reports that many private liberal arts colleges -- struggling to have anything close to parity between male and female students -- favor male applicants. Private undergraduate colleges generally are considered to have the legal right to do so, given an exemption in Title IX for their admissions policies. But much of the probe is directed toward the issue of athletics, with commissioners favoring the inquiry saying that it would be "preferable" for liberal arts colleges to add male athletic teams to attract more male students than it is to use admissions preferences, as is alleged to be taking place now.
The inquiry was planned without much consultation with advocates for women's athletes, and many of them -- just learning of what's going on -- are concerned.
The civil rights commission's investigation "seeks to allow schools to discriminate against women in order to attract more male students. Not only is this unlawful, it would be patently unfair," said Leslie Brueckner, a lawyer with Public Justice, a legal organization that has brought numerous suits on behalf of women's athletics. "Women should not be made to pay the price for the fact that fewer men are interested in seeking higher education. Surely, there are other ways to attract males to schools than to reinstate sex discrimination against women in sports."
Brueckner noted that the Civil Rights Commission's own analysis in deciding to kick off the investigation cited a variety of reasons that men these days lag in college enrollments: They are more likely than women to enlist in the military, to seek jobs in the building trades or to end up in jail. Given these large societal issues, she asked, why should a federal agency be assuming that the key problem with male enrollments is insufficient chances to be an athlete, and that this justified a shift in Title IX. If colleges are favoring male applicants, she said, the solution isn't to let them ignore the rights of female students who are athletes.
"The goal of this approach, as I understand it, would be to stop schools from discriminating in admissions by permitting them to discriminate in athletics," Brueckner said. "To this, I have only one response: Two wrongs do not make a right."

Full Story: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/11/03/titleix

The Power of Race

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:54:00 +0000

Inside Higher Ed
November 3, 2009
Is the glass half empty or half full?

Thomas J. Espendshade, a professor of sociology at Princeton University, used that question to answer a question about his new book, No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal: Race and Class in Elite College Admission and Campus Life (Princeton University Press), co-written with Alexandria Walton Radford, a research associate at MPR Associates. In fact, he could probably use the glass image to answer questions about numerous parts of the book.
While Espenshade and Radford -- in the book and in interviews -- avoid broad conclusions over whether affirmative action is working or should continue, their findings almost certainly will be used both by supporters and critics of affirmative action to advance their arguments. (In fact, a talk Espenshade gave at a meeting earlier this year about some of the findings is already being cited by affirmative action critics, although in ways that he says don't exactly reflect his thinking.)
Unlike much writing about affirmative action, this book is based not on philosophy, but actual data -- both on academic credentials and student experiences -- from 9,000 students who attended one of 10 highly selective colleges and universities. (They are not named, but include public and private institutions, research universities and liberal arts colleges.)
Among the findings:
Significant advantages and disadvantages exist for members of some racial and ethnic groups with regard to the SAT or ACT scores they need to have the same odds of admission as members of other groups. While advantages and disadvantages were also found based on economic class, these were far less significant than those based on race and ethnicity.
Just about every existing idea for reforming college admissions would not, by itself, preserve current levels of racial and ethnic diversity -- if current affirmative action policies were eliminated or scaled back.
Most undergraduates at the institutions studied do have significant interactions with members of different races and ethnicities, and these interactions result in learning about the experiences of different groups. At the same time, the data suggest significant gaps in the kinds of meaningful cross-race interactions that take place with some groups much more likely than others to have such interactions. (By far, the most common interactions are white-Latino, while the least common are black-white).
On measures of academic performance, graduation rates across racial and ethnic groups show only modest gaps at the institutions studied. But analysis of class rank suggests major gaps in academic performance. More than half of black students and nearly one-third of Latino students who graduated from the colleges studied, for example, finished in the bottom quintile of their classes.

Full Story: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/11/03/elite

President Obama Nominates P. David Lopez, EEOC General Counsel

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:14:00 +0000

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release October 22, 2009

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key administration posts:

P. David Lopez, Nominee for General Counsel, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

David Lopez has served at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for 13 years in the field and at headquarters. He began at the EEOC in 1994 as a Special Assistant to Commissioner Casellas. Currently, Mr. Lopez is a Supervisory Trial Attorney with the EEOC’s Phoenix District Office. During his tenure, Mr. Lopez has successfully tried several cases on behalf of the EEOC in a wide variety of legal bases. Before joining the Commission, Mr. Lopez served at the Civil Rights Division, Employment Litigation Section, at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. from 1991 to 1994. From 1988 to 1991, he was an Associate with Spiegel and McDiarmid. Mr. Lopez received a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 1988 and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Arizona State University in 1985, magna cum laude.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-announces-more-key-administration-posts-102309

OFCCP News: Veterans and Disability Issues to Top OFCCP Agenda

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:33:00 +0000

AAAA has learned that the Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) will emphasize veterans' and disability employment issues during the administration of Director Patricia Shiu. A civil rights lawyer from San Francisco, Ms. Shiu indicated that issues of equal pay will also receive major consideration.

In a celebration for retiring former OFCCP Deputy Director Leonard Biermann given by the National Employment Law Institute, former OFCCP officials gathered to pay homage to Biermann's contributions to the agency and to civil rights. The celebration occurred on October 29, 2009 in Washington, DC. Among the attendees were Susan Meisinger, former deputy under secretary of Labor, and former OFCCP directors Weldon Rougeau, Ellen Shong Bergman, Jaime Ramon, Charles James, Shirley Wilcher, and Carrie Dominguez. Other OFCCP and DOL officials who participated in the celebration included Harold Busch, Lorenzo Harrison, John Fox (who organized the event), Annie Blackwell, James Henry and Robert Greaux.

New OFCCP personnel include: Lorenzo Harrison, appointed OFCCP deputy director (career), former regional director for the New England and Mid-Atlantic Regions; Bruce Bohanan, Director of the Division of Program Policy and Planning and a former ETA and OFCCP official; and Patsy Blackshear, who has returned as Director of Program Operations, OFCCP National Office.

Three Issue Briefs from the DOL Office of Disability Employment Policy

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:09:00 +0000

Three Issue Briefs from the ODEP-funded National Technical Assistance and Research (NTAR) Leadership Center are now available.
Issue Brief No. 1: Entrepreneurship for Veterans with Disabilities: Lessons Learned from the Field examines entrepreneurship as a viable option for veterans with disabilities, particularly those returning from the present-day Middle East conflicts. This brief examines the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp (EBV) introduced at Syracuse University's Walt Whitman School of Management.
Issue Brief No. 2: Leveraging State Economic Development Resources to Create Job Opportunities for People with Disabilities highlights existing state regional, and local economic development resource tools and discusses ways in which states and localities can leverage traditional loan and financing programs that enhance job creation, provide access to local employment opportunities, or help support employment for residents, with and without disabilities.
Issue Brief No. 3: Collaborating and Coordinating with Employers examines the evolving relationship between disability employment initiatives and employers, and uses case illustrations of selected collaborations to demonstrate these characteristics, including implications for effectively formulating broad-scale promotion of disability workforce investment initiatives.
The NTAR Leadership Center is a collaboration of partners with expertise in workforce development, disability employment, economic development, financial education, benefits planning, and leadership development. Established in September 2007 through a grant from ODEP, the Center is housed at the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
http://www.dol.gov/odep/

PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS IN THE WORKPLACE AND THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:52:00 +0000

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION
PURPOSE
This technical assistance document provides information about Titles I and V of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and pandemic planning in the workplace.(1) It identifies established ADA principles that are relevant to questions frequently asked about workplace pandemic planning such as:
How much information may an employer request from an employee who calls in sick, in order to protect the rest of its workforce when an influenza pandemic appears imminent?
When may an ADA-covered employer take the body temperature of employees during a pandemic?
Does the ADA allow employers to require employees to stay home if they have symptoms of the pandemic influenza virus?
When employees return to work, does the ADA allow employers to require doctors’ notes certifying their fitness for duty?
In one instance, to provide a complete answer, this document provides information about religious accommodation and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT PANDEMIC INFLUENZA
A “pandemic” is a global “epidemic.”(2) The world has seen four influenza pandemics in the last century. The deadly “Spanish Flu” of 1918 was followed by the milder “Asian” and “Hong Kong” flus of the 1950s and 1960s. While the SARS outbreak in 2003 was considered a pandemic “scare,”(3) the H1N1 outbreak in 2009 rose to the level of a pandemic.(4)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO) are the definitive sources of information about influenza pandemics. The WHO classifies pandemic influenza into six phases(5) which describe how widely influenza is spreading around the world, but not the severity of the influenza symptoms. A WHO announcement that the world is in Pandemic Phase 6 (the highest phase) would indicate that there is sustained human-to-human transmission worldwide, and that the virus is no longer contained in a few geographic areas. It would not, however, automatically mean that the influenza symptoms are severe.
Pandemic planning and pandemic preparedness include everything from global and national public health strategies to an individual employer’s plan about how to continue operations. Comprehensive federal government guidance advises employers about best practices for pandemic preparation and response with respect to influenza, specifically the 2009 H1N1 virus.(6) This EEOC technical assistance document focuses on implementing these strategies in a manner that is consistent with the ADA.
RELEVANT ADA REQUIREMENTS AND STANDARDS
The ADA, which protects applicants and employees from disability discrimination, is relevant to pandemic preparation in at least three major ways. First, the ADA regulates employers’ disability-related inquiries and medical examinations for all applicants and employees, including those who do not have ADA disabilities.(7) Second, the ADA prohibits covered employers from excluding individuals with disabilities from the workplace for health or safety reasons unless they pose a “direct threat” (i.e. a significant risk of substantial harm even with reasonable accommodation).(8) Third, the ADA requires reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities (absent undue hardship) during a pandemic.(9)
This section summarizes these ADA provisions. The subsequent sections answer frequently asked questions about how they apply during an influenza pandemic. The answers are based on existing EEOC guidance regarding disability-related inquiries and medical examinations, direct threat, and reasonable accommodation.(10)
DISABILITY-RELATED INQUIRIES AND MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS
The ADA prohibits an employer from making disability-related inquiries and requiring medical examinations of employees, except under limited circumstances, as set forth below.(11)
Definitions: Disability-Related Inquiries and Medical Examinations
An inquiry is “disability-related” if it is likely to elicit information about a disability.(12) For example, asking an individual if his immune system is compromised is a disability-related inquiry because a weak or compromised immune system can be closely associated with conditions such as cancer or HIV/AIDS.(13) By contrast, an inquiry is not disability-related if it is not likely to elicit information about a disability. For example, asking an individual about symptoms of a cold or the seasonal flu is not likely to elicit information about a disability.
A “medical examination” is a procedure or test that seeks information about an individual’s physical or mental impairments or health.(14) Whether a procedure is a medical examination under the ADA is determined by considering factors such as whether the test involves the use of medical equipment; whether it is invasive; whether it is designed to reveal the existence of a physical or mental impairment; and whether it is given or interpreted by a medical professional.
ADA Standards for Disability-Related Inquiries and Medical Examinations
The ADA regulates disability-related inquiries and medical examinations in the following ways:
Before a conditional offer of employment: The ADA prohibits employers from making disability-related inquiries and conducting medical examinations of applicants before a conditional offer of employment is made.(15)
After a conditional offer of employment, but before an individual begins working: The ADA permits employers to make disability-related inquiries and conduct medical examinations if all entering employees in the same job category are subject to the same inquiries and examinations.(16)
During employment: The ADA prohibits employee disability-related inquiries or medical examinations unless they are job-related and consistent with business necessity. Generally, a disability-related inquiry or medical examination of an employee is job-related and consistent with business necessity when an employer has a reasonable belief, based on objective evidence, that :
An employee’s ability to perform essential job functions will be impaired by a medical condition; or
An employee will pose a direct threat due to a medical condition.(17)
This reasonable belief “must be based on objective evidence obtained, or reasonably available to the employer, prior to making a disability-related inquiry or requiring a medical examination.”(18)
All information about applicants or employees obtained through disability-related inquiries or medical examinations must be kept confidential.(19) Information regarding the medical condition or history of an employee must be collected and maintained on separate forms and in separate medical files and be treated as a confidential medical record.

Full Technical Assistance Document: http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/pandemic_flu.html

Benjamin Confirmed as Surgeon General

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:20:00 +0000

The Afro
by Afro Staff

(October 31, 2009) - Dr. Regina Benjamin was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Oct. 29 as the next U.S. surgeon general, making the Black Alabama physician the nation’s top doctor.“She will be an integral part of our H1N1 response effort, and America can expect to see her very soon communicating important information about how to stay healthy and safe this flu season,” Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.According to The New York Times, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, (D-Nev.) on Oct. 29 complained that Republicans were holding the surgeon general confirmation over unrelated issues. A subsequent voice vote elevated Benjamin to the post.Benjamin has a long history of public service as a family physician. She received the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights and a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant, and was the first Black woman to head a state medical society. Benjamin became nationally known for her struggle to keep her Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic on Alabama’s Gulf Coast open to serve approximately 4,000 residents there after the area was devastated by Hurricane Katrina and again by Hurricane Rita.Benjamin is the third African-American woman to be U.S. surgeon general. The first African-American woman to be appointed surgeon general was Vice Admiral M. Joycelyn Elders, who was confirmed by Congress in 1993. Elders was also the first African-American of either sex ever appointed to that position.

Full Story: http://www.afro.com/tabId/551/itemId/5123/Benjamin-Confirmed-as-Surgeon-General.aspx

Another Suit Filed over New Haven Fire Fighter Promotion Test

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:17:00 +0000

The Washington Afro
Civil Rights suit This Time Filed by a Black Firefighter
By AFRO Staff

(October 31, 2009) - A Black New Haven, Conn. firefighter has filed suit in federal court, claiming that his civil rights were violated by the way the city scored a 2003 promotion test.The suit, filed Oct. 29, is the second that New Haven has faced over that test, according to The New York Times. In 2003, the city had several vacancies for the ranks of captain and lieutenant and administered the exam, which included both oral and written portions, to 118 test-takers. But according to The Times, African-American firefighters at the time argued that they were underrepresented among the test’s highest scorers, and New Haven officials opted to disregard the test and issue no promotions.That decision led to a 2004 suit by a group of mostly White firefighters which claimed the city discriminated against their performance in refusing to make the promotions. The U.S. Supreme Court in June found in favor of the White firefighters, and the city said it would go forward with the promotions according to the results of the 2003 test.

Full Story: http://www.afro.com/tabId/551/itemId/5122/Another-Suit-Filed-over-New-Haven-Fire-Fighter-Pro.aspx

University race quotas row in Brazil

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:36:00 +0000

BBC News
Sunday, 1 November 2009
By Gary Duffy, BBC News, Rio de Janeiro

There are more people of African descent in Brazil than in any country outside the African continent itself, but the higher you go in Brazilian society the less evidence there appears to be of that reality.
Critics say part of the blame lies with a system which has often failed to provide equality of access to third-level education, though recent years have seen some improvements.
To try to address the problem, many Brazilian universities have adopted affirmative action policies or quotas to try to boost the number of black and mixed race students, or more generally those from poor backgrounds.

Gisele says the quotas system has given her a head-start
It is a controversial approach which some argue is necessary to end decades of inequality, while others fear it threatens to introduce racial tension in a society which has been largely free of such problems.
Gisele Alves lives in a poor neighbourhood in Nova Iguacu on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, and says she doubts she would have got to college without a helping hand from the state.
She is studying at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), which was one of the first to adopt quotas.
"I thought I was going to finish school, find work in a little shop, get married and pregnant and that would be it. I didn't expect much more than that," she says.
"But with the system of quotas I started to think I could go to university. My parents couldn't pay privately - if I wanted to study it had to be at a public university."
Giselle got her place in part due to Rio's controversial quotas system which sets aside 20% of public university places for poor black and indigenous students, and the same number for students educated in the much criticised public school system.

Full Story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8285350.stm

A Professor Proposes to Examine Gender Bias in College Admissions

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:31:00 +0000

Chronicle of Higher Education
November 1, 2009

Gail Heriot, a commissioner and law professor at the University of San Diego, proposed that the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights begin examining whether selective colleges are discriminating against women in undergraduate admissions. The commission voted at its August meeting to pursue the project. Here is the text of Ms. Heriot's proposal.

Draft—Statutory Report Proposal
August 6, 2009

Topic: Sex Discrimination in Liberal Arts College Admissions
Background: Title IX generally prohibits sex discrimination in higher education. It does not, however, prohibit sex discrimination in admissions by private, non-professional, undergraduate schools. Put differently, traditionally male and traditionally female liberal arts schools are legally free to discriminate in admissions. So are private, coed, liberal arts schools. But state liberal arts schools are not and neither are private graduate or private professional schools.
Recently, accusations have been made that some selective private, coed, liberal arts schools are discriminating in admissions in to order to maintain what they regard as an appropriate gender balance. Specifically, the accusation is that women applicants are being discriminated against in order to prevent the schools from becoming “too female.” Indeed, some commentators have called this an “open secret” and suggested the same may be occurring at state schools too (where it would be illegal).
Women dominate higher education generally. Approximately 58% of bachelor's degrees and 60% of master's degrees go to women. The dominance of women is particularly felt in community colleges and institutions that are non-selective or only somewhat selective. The reasons for this are complex and controversial, but no doubt part of the reason is that males who have recently graduated from high school are more likely than their female counterparts to prefer the opportunities available to them in the military or in the building trades. Incarceration rates are also higher for men than for women in this (or any) age group.

Full Story: http://chronicle.com/article/Full-Text-The-Proposal-That/49012/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Probe of Extra Help for Men

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:27:00 +0000

Inside Higher Ed
November 2, 2009

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has started an inquiry into the extent to which liberal arts colleges discriminate against female applicants -- in an attempt to minimize gender imbalances in the student body. On Friday, the commission agreed on a set of colleges -- primarily in the Washington area -- to investigate, but declined to release a full list.
The issue is an extremely sensitive one for many liberal arts colleges, many of which in recent years have worried about their gender ratios reaching points (60 percent female is commonly cited) where they face difficulty in attracting both male and female applicants. Generally private undergraduate colleges have the legal right to consider gender in admissions. They were specifically exempted from the admissions provisions of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
But despite that legal right, many at liberal arts colleges are uncomfortable about either the extent of admissions favoritism some colleges may engage in, or are embarrassed about it receiving public attention. Further, the Civil Rights Commission's inquiry is based on concerns about another part of Title IX -- its requirement that colleges provide equitable athletic opportunities to male and female athletes. A theory behind the inquiry, outlined in the proposal used to launch the probe, is that colleges may be favoring men in admissions because they are worried about gender-neutral changes they might otherwise use to attract more male students. Foremost among such strategies would be adding more male athletic teams, a move some colleges may be reluctant to make out of fear of the expense of then being required to add more women's teams.
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has members with six-year terms appointed by the president and Congress, and its members -- due to the timing of appointments -- still include officials who are much more skeptical of affirmative action than one might see in appointees coming from the current administration and Congress. The commission doesn't have power to order colleges (or other entities) to change their policies, but the commission can draw attention to issues, and prompt action from groups that have more legal options.

Full Story: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/11/02/admit

The Nobel for brisket goes to . . .

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:20:00 +0000

The Washington Post
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
By Ruth MarcusWednesday, October 28, 2009

"I bet he wasn't folding laundry."
-- Carol Greider, winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine, on what she was doing at 5 a.m. when the big call came, and her thoughts on learning of President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize.
Is there a woman around who read this quote and didn't smile with recognition? Greider's wry assessment encapsulates so much about the state of modern women: Nobel laureates but also -- if not inevitably, then at least overwhelmingly -- laundry-folders, school-lunch makers, play-date arrangers, schedule-managers.
This is less a complaint than an observation. In fact, to some extent women are reluctant to yield dominion over the home front even as they become the majority of the paid workforce.
"A Woman's Nation Changes Everything" is the title of a new report by Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress. It does -- and it doesn't. The "Battle Between the Sexes is over. It was a draw," Shriver writes. "Now we're engaged in Negotiation Between the Sexes."
True, but from an unequal start, and with an unequal appreciation of that disparity. "Both sexes agree that women continue to bear a disproportionate burden in taking care of children and elderly parents, even when both partners in a relationship have jobs," John Halpin and Ruy Teixeira write in one chapter of the report. Here's the interesting subtext, though: Fifty-five percent of women strongly agreed (and 85 percent overall agreed) that "in households where both partners have jobs, women take on more responsibilities for the home and family than their male partners." Just 28 percent of men strongly agreed, and 67 percent agreed. That's a pretty big perception gap.
Put President Obama down as a strong agreer. "Today's Obama family is obviously not typical," he told NBC's Savannah Guthrie. "Five years ago, six years ago, though, we were having a lot of negotiations, because, you know, Michelle was trying to figure out: Okay, if the kids get sick, why is it that she's the one who has to take time off of her job to go pick them up from school, as opposed to me? If, you know, the girls need to shop for clothes, why is it that it's her burden and not mine?"

Full Story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/27/AR2009102702842.html

Ruling Could Spur Hiring Bias Against Obese Workers

noreply@blogger.com (AAAA) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:27:00 +0000

Workforce Management
October 19, 2009

An Indiana state court’s ruling that would require a small business to pay for weight-loss surgery could make employers more cautious when hiring obese people, employment attorneys say.The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a workers’ compensation board ruling in August that pizza chain Boston’s The Gourmet Pizza would be required to pay for the weight-loss surgery of a former cook, Adam Childers, after doctors said the procedure was necessary to fix a back injury he suffered on the job in 2007.The ruling mirrored a similar finding in August by the Oregon Supreme Court in which an employer was told to pay for weight-loss surgery for an employee whose workplace injury required a knee replacement.The issue could lead employers—particularly small businesses—to think twice before hiring an obese worker, just as some businesses have enacted policies against hiring smokers, says Joseph Lazzarotti, a partner in the benefits group of Jackson Lewis. Weight-loss surgery can cost upwards of $25,000.“How do you deal with the fact that … hiring somebody could potentially bankrupt you?” Lazzarotti says. “As a small-business owner, people might think of that and weigh the risks of a [discrimination] claim because the alternative is they may be bankrupt.”Obese employees, like smokers, so far have had little success claiming they were discriminated against.Weight generally is not considered a disability covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act despite changes that went into effect in January broadening the definition of a disability, says Ramona L. Paetzold, a professor at Mays Business School at Texas A&M University.“We don’t know yet if [the changes to the ADA] will include people on the basis of weight,” Paetzold says. “If so, what will ‘obese’ be defined as, and will causes of obesity play a role?”

Full Story: http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/26/74/26.php