| Blog and Media Roundup - Thursday, February 27, 2014; News Roundup | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 27 2014, 05:58 AM (364 Views) | |
| abb | Feb 27 2014, 05:58 AM Post #1 |
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http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2014/02/tone-down-the-willingham-hatred Tone down the Willingham hatred TO THE EDITOR: I am extremely shocked and disappointed with how the media and other institutions are covering Mary Willingham’s research about literacy among student-athletes. Like many others, I find parts of her research to be unripe, but I believe that bashing her and undermining her hard work is contributing nothing to the actual problem. While there may be faults and mistakes in her research, let us not lose focus on the actual problem and the purpose of her research. I respect Willingham for her sacrifices taken to better our community and increase literacy among students. Instead of referring to her in such negative light, she should be referred to as a change maker. What she is doing is bettering our world today and for generations to come. We often lose sight of our goals when something unexpected occurs. I hope that Willingham and UNC will bounce back from this minor setback and remember that the fight to ensure that student-athletes read on an acceptable grade level is not over. We will better our fight if we quit doing immature things like pointing fingers and name calling. We must unite and push through this issue together. Student-athletes have been cheated of a great education for a while, but now is the time to give them what they deserve — superb athletics and a superb education. Andre Eugene Tyson ’17 Political science |
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| abb | Feb 27 2014, 05:59 AM Post #2 |
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http://www.wbir.com/story/news/local/2014/02/26/christian--newsom-families-meet-with-governor-lawmakers/5844161/ WBIR Staff, and Heidi Wigdahl, WBIR 2:05 a.m. EST February 27, 2014 The families of Chris Newsom and Channon Christian traveled once again to Nashville on Wednesday to meet with lawmakers and the governor about two bills they hope will change the way the state justice system works. The House Civil Justice Subcommittee unanimously voted both bills through. The young couple was carjacked, tortured, raped and murdered in 2007. Five people were convicted in connection with their deaths. channon and chris Channon Christian and Chris Newsom(Photo: Submitted) Their parents have worked with local lawmakers to draft two separate pieces of legislation that they hope will spare other families what they had to endure during the trials and two retrials of those responsible for the murders. The first bill is the Chris Newsom Act, which would effectively do away with the state's "13th Juror" rule, which says a judge must validate the receipt and acceptance of a jury verdict by signing a document. That rule was the reason two of those convictions were overturned and the families had to endure the trials and convictions once again. The second bill is called the Channon Christian Act. It would prevent defense attorneys from introducing allegations of previous behavior that calls into question the character of a victim. On Wednesday, the two couples met privately with Governor Bill Haslam. They said he supports the legislation. "He could see that as a father a lot of the things that drove me nuts would've affected him the same way. And I think he's behind us," said Gary Christian, after the meeting. They then testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee to encourage members to support the bills. "I still struggle daily with the fact that I couldn't protect my daughter," Deena Christian told the lawmakers. State Sen. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, and Rep. Ryan Haynes, R-Knoxville, are co-sponsors of the bills. Rep. Haynes got emotional while speaking to the committee members; he knew Channon Christian. "We obviously never wanted to do this until we were asked by the family and when they asked I was happy to do it," Rep. Haynes said. Now that the House Civil Justice Subcommittee voted unanimously in favor of both the bills, it will go to the full House Civil Justice Committee for a vote, then the House for approval. "That's about the best thing we can do to support the kids and remember the kids, and not forget the kids," Mary Newsom said. Hugh Newsom went on to say, "There's nothing for us to gain personally from it beyond the satisfaction that we can keep another family from having to go through that." The two bills have already passed unanimously in the Senate. The bills must pass both the full House and the Senate, before the governor could sign the legislation into state law. |
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| abb | Feb 27 2014, 06:03 AM Post #3 |
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Duke attracts unwanted spotlight over student’s work in porn By Jane Stancill jstancill@newsobserver.comFebruary 26, 2014 DURHAM — When “Duke” and “porn star” appear in the same headline, the university gets a public relations headache. Duke University has recently found itself in the national spotlight not for basketball glory or research prowess, but for the salacious story of a freshman who claims to be working her way through school as a porn actress. And once again, a sex story about Duke has taken on a life of its own, with nasty online commentary and fierce debate about the sexual climate and status of women on campus. The story first sizzled on the Internet, then spread to the network morning shows and gabfests. Cosmopolitan magazine’s website published this: “The elite North Carolina college has a heinous reputation for slut-shaming, double standards and overall sexual hostility towards their female students.” It seemed too far-fetched to be true. “Portrait of a Porn Star,” a story based on an anonymous interview, was first published in the Duke Chronicle on Valentine’s Day. The paper called the student “Lauren” (not her real name) and “Aurora” (not her real porn alter-ego). In the story, the student described herself as a bisexual Republican who leans libertarian, a feminist and a women’s studies and sociology double major. Lauren told the reporter she had given up a waitress job for porn to help pay the nearly $60,000-a-year tab at Duke. She said she was hired by Matrix Models and was flown to Los Angeles during school breaks for the porn filming. She said she had been outed by a male classmate who recognized her from her work, and then blabbed her identity to his fraternity. Soon she was flooded with friend requests on Facebook, and a college gossip website was electric with discussion about the freshman porn star. She told the Chronicle she felt victimized and harassed, not by the porn industry, but by the reaction online and at Duke. Lauren A. later told her story in her own words on a website called xoJane.com, writing, “I saw a way to graduate from my dream school free of debt, doing something I absolutely love. Because to be clear: My experience in porn has been nothing but supportive, exciting, thrilling and empowering.” She fought back against characterizations that she had participated in “rape fantasy porn,” calling it instead “rough sex.” The student described porn as “my love, my happiness, my home” but added that some sex workers have been abused and exploited in the industry. What Duke says Duke officials said they could not comment on any student’s specific situation and said they are committed to protecting students’ privacy and safety. “Whenever we identify a student in need of support, we reach out to them and offer the many resources that we have available on campus to assist them,” Duke spokesman Keith Lawrence said. And, he added, Duke’s financial aid program meets 100 percent of students’ demonstrated need based on a review of family circumstances. More than half of Duke students receive financial aid, he said, and students can request a review if their financial status changes. Every few years, it seems, Duke attracts attention for some students’ behavior. In 2010, an alumna’s 42-slide PowerPoint display detailed sexual dalliances with Duke athletes. The racy document ended up on the Internet. Unfairly demonized Chronicle student journalist Ellie Schaack wrote in a column this week that the porn star coverage had unfairly demonized Duke. She pointed out that the 2006 lacrosse saga – in which three players were accused of raping a stripper but were later cleared – still loomed large on the Durham campus. The university had taken on the early persona of the lacrosse players, she wrote: “The narrative that now makes sense is the story of the dominance of the Dukebag: the rich, white, smart-but-unintellectual misogynist unaware of his privilege.” It’s not a true characterization, she wrote, and the reaction would be no different if a porn star attended Yale or UNC or Brigham Young. Schaack told parents they shouldn’t hesitate to send their children to Duke. “There are a lot of screwed up norms on this campus – just like there are everywhere else,” she wrote. “We’re just lucky enough to be so infamous that we confront them regularly.” Stancill: 919-829-4559 Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/02/26/3656545/duke-porn-star-puts-university.html#storylink=cpy |
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| Quasimodo | Feb 27 2014, 07:56 AM Post #4 |
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Some day they may actually spend three days on the Duke campus... Edited by Quasimodo, Feb 27 2014, 07:57 AM.
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| Quasimodo | Feb 27 2014, 08:00 AM Post #5 |
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