| Blog and Media Roundup - Monday, January 4, 2016; News Roundup | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 4 2016, 05:16 AM (118 Views) | |
| abb | Jan 4 2016, 05:16 AM Post #1 |
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FOCUS ON CRIME: Durham DA Roger Echols aware all eyes are on him Keith Upchurch Updated 13 hrs ago DURHAM — Increasing the number of prosecutors who handle violent-crime cases and aggressively prosecuting DWI offenders were top priorities for Durham County District Attorney Roger Echols in 2015, his first year as the county’s top prosecutor. |
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| abb | Jan 4 2016, 05:25 AM Post #2 |
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https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/01/04/bill-cosby-charged-assaulting-then-employee-temple-u Cosby Charged in Case of Temple U Employee University faces renewed criticism over its refusal to revoke honorary degree. January 4, 2016 By Scott Jaschik Pennsylvania authorities in late December filed criminal charges of felony indecent assault against Bill Cosby in regard to an incident involving a former employee of Temple University. While many women have publicly accused the comedian of raping them, most of the allegations involve interactions for which statutes of limitations have expired. Pennsylvania, however, has a longer statute of limitations, so prosecutors were free to charge him -- at least before the new year. Cosby is a Temple alumnus and longtime donor and trustee (although he quit that position amid the recent scandal). The victim in the case, Andrea Constand (who has spoken out about her charges), formerly was director of operations for Temple's women's basketball team. She met Cosby several times between 2001 and 2004, and she said Cosby contacted her at her office to discuss university-related matters. The statement with the charges said they met several times, and that she considered Cosby, 37 years older, to be a friend and a mentor. The accusations largely stem from an incident in early 2004 in which Constand said she went to Cosby's home, at his invitation, to talk about her career. She said that Cosby gave her pills and wine and told her to relax and take the pills. She then remembers feeling "blurry" and "nauseous" and being unable to move, and that Cosby fondled her, penetrated her vagina with his fingers and put her hands on his penis. She says that she did not consent to any of these activities, but was unable to move much after taking the pills. Constand reported the case in 2005 to authorities, who investigated. At that time, county officials said, Cosby described the encounter as consensual, but admitted to giving Constand one and one-half pills. At that time, authorities did not charge Cosby, but the case was reopened after reports of affidavits in which he admitted to giving women pills and then having sex with them. Many colleges this fall have revoked honorary degrees they awarded years ago to Cosby, who for decades was a popular comedian and philanthropist and a regular on the college commencement speaking circuit. For some colleges, this was the first time they revoked an honorary degree. Temple, however, has resisted calls that it do so. In December, the Faculty Senate passed a resolution calling on the university to revoke the degree it gave Cosby. The resolution also condemned Patrick O'Connor, Temple's board chair, for representing Cosby 10 years ago when he was sued by a woman. Faculty leaders said it was a conflict of interest for O'Connor to represent Cosby when both were on the board together, potentially making it unlikely that the board would rethink its ties to Cosby. In December, a Temple spokesman, Ray Betzner, suggested to The Philadelphia Inquirer that the resolution did not reflect the views of all professors. "With fewer than 40 faculty attending, many of whom were not elected representative senators, it raises questions about whether the resolutions passed can be considered representative of the opinions of a significant portion of the more than 2,000 full-time Temple faculty," he said. In an email to Inside Higher Ed shortly after the charges against Cosby were announced Wednesday, Betzner said that Temple had no comment at this time. Renewed Calls for Temple U to Act The charges led to renewed calls for Temple to revoke Cosby's honorary degree. "We don't understand why the Board of Trustees and administration haven't faced the issues squarely. Sexual assault on campus is a real issue, Temple has a policy about it, and even trustees have been subject to it," said Art Hochner, president of the faculty union, the Temple Association of University Professionals, which is part of the American Federation of Teachers. "We hope that justice is done in this case and that Temple's leaders will finally take the actions that the members of the Faculty Senate recommended." UltraViolet, a women's rights organization, issued a statement asking about Temple's responsibilities to respond to the accusations. "Bill Cosby still holds an honorary degree from Temple University -- the same university where he is being charged for drugging and fondling a former employee," says the statement. "And Patrick O'Connor, who previously served as Cosby's lawyer defending him against rape allegations, continues to serve as chairman of Temple University's Board of Trustees. Despite a clear conflict of interest, the university continues to have a relationship with both Cosby and O’Connor. This is outrageous. Instead of continuing to support an accused abuser, Temple should stop ignoring sexual assault by cutting all ties with Cosby and revok[ing] his degree." |
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| abb | Jan 4 2016, 05:27 AM Post #3 |
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http://www.westfieldtimes.com/local/uw-madison-beneath-evaluate-for-dealing-with-of-three-sexual-assault-complaints/117294/ UW-Madison beneath evaluate for dealing with of three sexual assault complaints A federal complaint against the University of Wisconsin-Madison about its handling of a sexual assault report — one of three such complaints filed against UW-Madison in 2015 — alleges the victim was subjected to a sexually hostile environment because the university failed to respond promptly and equitably. When the woman “expressed her concern about the many inequalities in UW-Madison’s procedure via her advocate, (redacted) explained: ‘We are locked into a system based on the rights of the accused,'” says the heavily redacted complaint obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel through a Freedom of Information Act request. The UW System has been in the process of securing changes to state statute to bring the nonacademic misconduct code into compliance with the landmark “Dear Colleague” letter issued by the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights in 2011. The letter was intended to guide universities and colleges across the country in the handling of sexual violence complaints under Title IX, the federal law prohibiting gender discrimination. Among the biggest changes in the UW System pipeline is giving the complainant the same right that the accused currently has to appeal the final decision about sanctions. UW-Madison in late 2013 or early 2014 adopted its own temporary policy to grant equitable appeal rights. The federal complaint released to the Journal Sentinel is the second of three complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights against UW-Madison. This complaint involves the report of a sexual assault in September 2012, when both parties were sophomores. Opening a complaint for investigation “in no way implies that OCR has made a determination with regard to its merit,” says a letter sent to UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank last fall, notifying her of the complaint and seeking extensive information, including copies of all correspondence, memorandums, electronic mail messages, meeting notes and other documents concerning the allegations. Colleges need only a “preponderance of evidence” showing it’s more likely than not that a crime occurred to justify meting out punishment. That’s a lower standard than the burden of proof in a criminal court. University officials in Wisconsin and elsewhere have raised concerns that they are being asked to determine guilt without the legal authority to compel evidence, and they could be sued by an accused student punished under the lesser burden of proof. Many have questioned whether disciplining students in cases of reported sexual assaults is the role of a university. According to the 2011 : “Conduct may constitute unlawful sexual harassment under Title IX even if the police do not have sufficient evidence of a criminal violation.” A criminal investigation does not relieve the school of its duty under Title IX to resolve complaints promptly and equitably, according to that letter. Only four universities in the country have as many active investigations of Title IX compliance for sexual violence complaints as UW-Madison. Stanford, Kansas State and St. Mary’s College of Maryland each have four to UW-Madison’s three. A total of 159 postsecondary institutions had open federal investigations as of Wednesday. In the complaint obtained by the Journal Sentinel, the woman alleged that she not only lacked the right to appeal a settlement the university reached with the student she accused of raping her, but the settlement wasn’t listed among possible sanctions in the misconduct code. The settlement was reached a week before a scheduled hearing. The accused agreed to be expelled from UW-Madison and suspended from the other UW System campuses. Under the current code, both suspension and expulsion are to be in effect systemwide. A student may petition to be readmitted under either scenario. “Greater public attention to the issue of sexual assault and awareness of the Office for Civil Rights has led to a significant increase in Title IX claims across the country,” UW-Madison spokesman John Lucas said in a statement “UW-Madison is cooperating fully with the Office for Civil Rights as it investigates complaints from three of our students.” The university this fall took part in a national survey that produced a range of recommendations for making its programs “even more effective,” Lucas said. “Sexual assault and misconduct are unacceptable and we are committed to responding with thorough, fair investigations,” he said. |
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| abb | Jan 4 2016, 12:19 PM Post #4 |
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http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/variety-critic-names-the-hunting-ground-among-worst-films-of-2015/article/2579507 Variety critic names 'The Hunting Ground' among worst films of 2015 By Ashe Schow • 1/4/16 11:20 AM Entertainment magazine Variety asked its movie critics to name the worst and most overrated films of 2015. The only female critic to provide for the list, Ella Taylor, listed "The Hunting Ground" as a film that received "empty prestige." "Speaking of shoddy journalism," Taylor wrote after naming "Truth," the film that attempted to vindicate Dan Rather, the worst film of the year, "the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has succumbed without a murmur to 'The Hunting Ground,' placing on its documentary feature shortlist a loaded piece of agitprop that plays fast and loose with statistics and our sympathy with victims of campus sexual assault." "With death-defying leaps of logic on the basis of skimpy and distorted evidence, Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering's film does violence to both the legitimate fight for women's rights and the honorable cause of advocacy filmmaking," Taylor wrote. The Washington Examiner has previously detailed — rather extensively — the problems with "The Hunting Ground." The film uses debunked statistics to claim that 1-in-5 women will be sexually assaulted while in college. The number comes from self-reported surveys, a notoriously dubious way to collect facts and a dangerous way to create public policy. The film also relies on another shoddy "study" and the "expertise" of researcher David Lisak, who claimed that most rapes on campus were perpetrated by a small number of repeat offenders. Lisak used the research of his students to create his own study, which didn't even focus on college campuses but has somehow been used to illustrate an alleged rape "epidemic" in higher education. Beyond the statistics, "The Hunting Ground" failed to do basic journalism by not fact-checking the accusations it presented in the film. It ignored the credibility problems and false statements made by the accusers in the film in an attempt to malign the accused. The film didn't even attempt to contact the accused students or anyone who could speak for them in order to get the other side of the story until after the film was sent for Sundance consideration. In an email to the attorney of one of the accusers, Amy Herdy, an interviewer for the film, acknowledged that the filmmakers were not acting as journalists but as advocates. This "shoddy journalism," as Variety's Emma Taylor called it, received scorn from the president of Florida State University (my alma mater), John Thrasher, and 19 Harvard Law professors. The two schools were featured in the film for not finding accused students responsible. Because that's what this is really all about – not the truth but about finding male students responsible based solely on an accusation. Even if that accusation doesn't hold up. The filmmakers even worked to edit Wikipedia pages to conform to the film's narrative, and promoted the film on other pages dealing with rape. The filmmaker's response to criticism has been, essentially: "Nuh uh, anyone who disagrees with us is pro-rape." Back in October, Variety predicted "The Hunting Ground" would get on the shortlist for an Oscar nomination — and they were right. Though I don't have high expectations, I hope the Oscars will see through this work of propaganda and take a pass. At least one film critic saw the film for what it is. |
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| abb | Jan 4 2016, 01:27 PM Post #5 |
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https://kcjohnson.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/findlay-complaint.pdf |
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| abb | Jan 4 2016, 04:46 PM Post #6 |
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http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/theres-more-to-the-college-footballrape-study-than-is-being-reported/article/2579550 There's more to the college football/rape study than is being reported By Ashe Schow • 1/4/16 4:28 PM Like any study on campus sexual assault, there is always more to the story than what is reported in the media. The media, especially those committed to the narrative that sexual assault is rampant on college campuses, love to report "shocking" numbers and little else. They certainly don't like to ask questions or apply even a modicum of critical thinking. And the headlines and narrative surrounding the latest study are no different. "College Football, Parties and Rape" read the headline at Inside Higher Ed. The Huffington Post was even more dramatic, with an article titled "Reported Rapes Go Through The Roof On Game Day At Big Football Schools." The articles by these outlets and others offered little information from the study beyond the introduction, and raised no questions that weren't already answered in the study itself. This, of course, leads one to conclude that college football games lead to increased alcohol consumption and therefore more rapes. This is not what the survey found, however. The study focused on reported rapes, and we don't have any ideaif those reports were substantiated or not. Maybe some of them led to arrests and convictions, maybe some of them were hoaxes. Perhaps most of them were ambiguous hookups where it couldn't be determined one way or the other. We don't know and the researchers don't either — and that's important. In an email to the Washington Examiner, Jason Lindoone, of the study's authors and an associate professor of economics at Texas A&M University, wrote that he and his fellow researchers "have not at this point in time" looked into the outcomes of the reported rapes. The researchers compare the increase in rape reports on or around college football game days to the increase in arrests involving alcohol-related incidents. This is also important, as we are now comparing actual arrests to mere accusations. The report also looks at the number of rape reports on non-game days, but Lindo stressed that there was more to the study than such a simple comparison. "If we were to make such a simple comparison, we would be conflating the effects of game days with the effects of Saturdays (the day that most games take place) and the effects of all the things associated with the fall semester (which coincides with the football season)," Lindo wrote. (Emphasis original.) "We can address these specific issues by considering the degree to which reports of rape increase on non-game Saturdays relative to the rest of the same week and by examining the degree to which reports of rape are elevated during different times of the year," he added. "The effects that we identify are over and above such day-of-week effects or time-of-year effects." Lindo also listed other ways he and his fellow researchers made sure they weren't simply comparing game days to non-game days, including checking if similar spikes occur at other times of the year (they don't) and concentrating the research on college-aged students (although the report found only one-third of the reported rapes were from this group). That being said, the usual problems with campus sexual assault studies aren't evident in this one. The study doesn't rely on self-reported surveys, but rather numbers from the National Incident Based Reporting System, which are collected by the FBI. It is a voluntary program, however, so the reports aren't perfect — but nothing ever is. Here's what the researchers found: Reports of rape increased on or around the days when a college football game took place. But the breakdown of who reported and who was accused doesn't back up the prevailing narrative of campus sexual assault. Just one-third of reports were from those aged 17-24, the usual age range for college students. The accused were "split fairly evenly" across multiple age groups including 17-20, 21-24, 25-28 and others. Of the college-aged victims, 60 percent knew the accused. Other studies have found that number to be significantly higher. The researchers note that their findings still indicate that incidence rates "are low." The researchers suggest this is due to the many reasons people do not report rapes, such as a "fear of retaliation," "uncertainty about whether the incident constituted a crime" or "uncertainty about the perpetrator's intent." This leads to the possibility that at least some of the reports may have been regretted hookups. One possible conclusion not addressed by the researchers is that perhaps accusers feel more comfortable coming forward if the incident is linked to a football game, given negative attitudes toward athletes and tailgating events. Because this study looks at reported rapes, one cannot know whether rapes actually increase on game days or if people are more likely to report. Lindo wrote to the Examiner that could be a possible conclusion, but suggested other factors would lead to decreased reporting. "It could go in the direction that you describe; however, the increased likelihood that alcohol is involved could contribute to victims' uncertainty in a manner that leads to reduced reporting," Lindo wrote. Another thing not spelled out in the report is the number of actual reports. The percentage increase of reporting during game days is included, but not the actual numbers. One table included in the report displays the baseline reporting numbers from the National Incident Based Reporting System, which amounts to less than 1 rape report per day. A 58 percent increase among college-aged accusers sounds frightening, but when the baseline is 0.051 reports per day, the problem looks less like an "epidemic." It's also far from the "through the roof" claim used by Huffington Post. Lindo wrote that the calculations were based off of data finding one reported rape every 12 Saturdays. That's one reported rape every 84 days or so. Lindo also suggested his study implied that college football games accounted for 2-5 percent of rape reports to law enforcement among 17-24 years-olds at the studied schools in the fall semester. That's a fraction of a fraction of reports. Nevertheless, the researchers provide a "back-of-the-envelope calculation" based on their estimates to conclude that "football games cause between 253-770 additional rapes per year across the 128 schools participating in Division 1A [athletic division in the National Collegiate Athletic Association], depending on the degree to which one attributes the larger effect of home games to heightened partying or to changes in the number of potential victims and/or perpetrators in town or policing efforts." A "back-of-the-envelope calculation" is essentially a calculated guess, an informal calculation performed on scrap paper and far less accurate than using a calculator or statistical models. The researchers, despite including a complicated formula in their paper, relied on what amounts to a calculated guess to claim that football is devastating to college students. They also suggested that these increased rapes (remember, they guessed that football increased the number of rapes, when they were actually studying reports, which may or may not be accurate), led to "an annual social cost" of between $68 million and $205 million. You'd have to buy their "back-of-the-envelope calculation" to believe that. And, of course, unscrupulous media reporters did. It's another reminder always to look beyond the headlines, especially when dealing with research papers that fit an already established media narrative. |
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| abb | Jan 4 2016, 05:37 PM Post #7 |
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https://kcjohnson.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/ga-tech-concession.pdf KC Johnson @kcjohnson9 2m2 minutes ago Westbrook, ME Unintentionally entertaining brief by @GeorgiaTech, as univ goes out of its way to concede defeat ungraciously: |
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