Gay Rights Lady To Ontario Premier: Hey, When Are You Going To Teach Anal Sex To School Kids?

CanWest – A gay rights group on Friday criticized Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty’s decision to shelve a retooling of the province’s sexual education curriculum.

Egale Canada’s executive director, Helen Kennedy, said McGuinty’s reversal on the policy, which would have introduced discussions on sexuality in Grade 3 and anal intercourse in Grade 7, was “very disappointing,” adding that “kids with same sex partners are being left out again.”

More From The “No Dick, No Problem” File

Ottawa Citizen – What a difference a week makes. Just days after that final ruling, the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA), which oversees high school sports, was forced to stand down on the same issue. OFSAA was advised it was about to lose a challenge before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal on its written policy denying girls the right to try out for boys’ teams if a girls’ team exists in the school.

Now, girls can play on a boys’ team in Ontario’s 860-plus high schools if they successfully try out. The switch is now sparking heated discussions about how to manage school sports everywhere.

Video: What They’re Studying At Harvard These Days

There’s no way you’ll watch the whole thing, but the first screen will do: “The Human Rights And Social Movements Program at the Carr Center for Human Rghts [sic] Policy.” Basically four well-to-do chicks bitching about life for 100 minutes.

The Human Right To Dorm Life

Times-Colonist – The University of Victoria’s efforts to evict a student who has lived in on-campus housing since 1991 could be heading back to B.C. Supreme Court.

Alkis Gerd’son claims UVic is violating his human rights because he has a mental disability. In 2004, the province designated Gerd’son as disabled, allowing him to collect monthly support, including a housing allowance and other benefits. His complaint goes before a B.C. Human Rights tribunal in June.

Gerd’son earned a bachelor’s degree in 1997 and has not completed classes since. The university has been trying to evict him since 1998.

University of Ottawa “Human Rights” Losers Completely Impervious To Irony

National Post – A Canadian human rights group is accusing the University of Ottawa of “spying” and attempting to stifle free speech after top university administrators considered preventing a well-known Burmese activist from speaking on campus.

Canadian Friends of Burma says it will ask the Ontario government to grant provincial ombudsman Andre Marin power to investigate the conduct of the University of Ottawa administrators in relation to the event.

vs.

Ontario Human Rights Commission: No Dick? No Problem

Vancouver Sun – Female high school athletes in Ontario will have the opportunity to crack the roster of boys’ teams next year after amendments were made to a provincewide policy following a human rights complaint.

The Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) said it will allow girls to try out for boys’ teams after Courtney Greer, a Grade 11 soccer player from Waterloo, Ont., a filed formal complaint.

Ontario Human Rights Commission: Business Is Booming

Toronto Star – Ontario’s newly streamlined human rights watchdog is swamped with allegations of sex, race and disability discrimination, the Starhas found.

“We are really overwhelmed by our volume of cases now,” said Katherine Laird, the senior official whose job it is to support people who say they are victims. “Our phones are ringing off the hook.”

The Ontario Attorney General created a new human rights system nearly two years ago, making it easier for people with claims to get a hearing before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario…

Ontario Human Rights Commission chair Barbara Hall believes only a small number of cases are ever reported. “This is the tip of the iceberg,” she says.

American Kids Apparently Still #1 In Math And Science

NJ.com – As a project for Women’s History Month, a teacher at the Maude Wilkins School in Maple Shade planned to have her students wear outfits showing how women’s clothing styles have evolved through history. Boys could wear pants or jeans and explain how those have been common for women at various times. In a letter to parents, the teacher explained that boys would “not have to wear a dress or skirt.”…

Another Stupid Memorial-Type Thing Headed For Canada

Winnipeg Free Press – Friday is the national Day of Silence across the United States, a day in which hundreds of thousands of students from more than 8,000 K-12 and post-secondary schools will take a vow of silence to protest homophobia.

It started in 1996, and has grown every year, says the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, which organizes the national Day of Silence with support from the American Civil Liberties Union.

It hasn’t reached Canada… at least, not yet.

We’re Betting None Of Them Could Name, Say, The Sixth Amendment Of The US Constitution

Bold ours.

Tampa Bay Informer – Youth for Human Rights Florida stepped out onto the streets on March 20th to create awareness against racial discrimination. March 20th was International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, a day when people around the world came together in their communities to work toward ending racism. The group, which promotes education of the 30 human rights based on the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, went to the people in the streets, gathering hundreds of signatures on a petition to get human rights taught in schools.

She Obviously Sucks At It If There’s Still Such A Problem

So Feminine – If one person from the EU Commission has made an impact, it’s Viviane Reding… ”This thing with me and gender equality goes way back,” she says. As a student feminist, as one of the youngest members of Parliament, then as rapporteur for women’s rights, and as president of the Christian Social Women’s Group, she was closely involved in the preparations for the World Conference on Women in Beijing. “So I know my stuff,” she says.

Regina Has A University?

Gazette – A call by professors at the University of Regina to scrap a scholarship for the children of fallen Canadian soldiers has turned the school into a battleground for debate over Canada’s role in Afghanistan.

Children Rejoice! The Human Right Not To Write Tests

Independent – Children primary schools are being robbed of their human rights by national curriculum tests, a teachers’ leader said today.

Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said constant testing of pupils was a breach of the UN Convention on the rights of the child which states children have a right to a broad education.

Dean Of Business Gets A Lesson In What School’s All About

CTV – Mr. Bates’ opponents, which includes most of the faculty, accuse him of bullying, harassment and intimidation, and say he has disregarded established academic rules and treated students like “customers.”…

The feud came to head last week when the university’s Office of Human Rights and Equity Services released a report on its review of the allegations…

Problems within the business school, named after retired Canadian businessman Michael DeGroote, aren’t new. The report said there had been a 20-year history of discord at the school, with deans being pitted against faculty members. Every dean ever except Mr. Bates served only one term and left in part because of the infighting, the report said.

Bummer

Heather MacLean, St. Mary’s University, The Journal – Love Your Labia, And Other Parting Words…Over the year, I have tried to show that feminism is not only relevant, but vital…It was a busy year: Fem Fest, an international conference on reproductive justice, The Vagina Monologues, and Capoeira, to name a few projects…I want to talk a bit about vaginas…

This is my final column…

The Human Right To Teach Homophobia And Heterosexism In High School

Vancouver Sun – The B.C. human rights tribunal will hear a complaint arising from the Abbotsford school district’s refusal in 2008 to offer a high-school course dealing with sexual orientation, gender identity, homophobia and heterosexism.

On That, We Can Agree

Sify News – A new book by a Binghamton University history professor examines the history of human rights…

She said: “To me, human rights is not about states taking on human rights.

“It’s about people devising the tools to influence the decision-makers.”

Task Force Wants To Save World, Prof Just Wants A Mac

Globe and Mail – Beneath the surface, Ryerson is a hotbed of racism and discrimination, where “racialized” (non-white) students are subtly oppressed by a Eurocentric curriculum that refuses to acknowledge “other ways of knowing.” A vast new bureaucracy and mandatory diversity education for all are urgently needed to foster an inclusive, racism-free environment.

So says the Taskforce on Anti-Racism at Ryerson. “Systemic racism” is pervasive, it concludes, and anyone who doesn’t see the problem is in denial…

Mr. Al-Solaylee is a brown-skinned Muslim who is openly gay. He thinks the entire exercise is a frivolous diversion. “There are things that I need from the university, but this isn’t one of them,” he says. “I need computers that don’t crash all the time. I want students who don’t have to hold bake sales to raise money for their graduate projects. There should be money for these things, not equity officers.”

Contravening The Human Rights Code? STFU

Oak Bay News – UVic pro-life group protests Students Society board decision…

A decision to revoke the club status of a controversial student group has members of Youth Protecting Youth fighting for their right to free speech…

Veronica Harrison, chairperson of the Student Society board, said two of the rules for harassment violations in the existing UVSS policy manual are in question.

They include behaviour that contravenes the B.C. Human Rights Code (which includes discrimination on the basis of sex, religion and sexual orientation), and behaviour that creates a hostile or intimidating environment.

They Grow Up So Fast

CNW – On March 9 & 10, the Ontario Science Centre and the British Council will co-host a live event connecting youth in Olympic host nations. They will discuss the challenges facing their countries as well as their hopes and proposed solutions for climate change…

In Toronto, sessions will be moderated by Nishin Nathwani a dynamic 17-year old human rights activist from Centre Wellington District High School in Fergus, Ont. and a panellist at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Stumped? Don’t Sweat It. There’s a Human Rights Act For Every Situation

Vancouver Sun – A task force has backed complaints from teachers-on-call (TOC) about the practise of classroom teachers selecting their own substitutes, saying callouts should be based on qualifications and seniority not personal preference…

“Refusing to allow someone to work on the basis of age would be a violation of the BC Human Rights Act,” says a report by the task force, which was struck last year to examine complaints about poverty from TOCs.The report was tabled at the BCTF annual general meeting Sunday but has not yet been debated.

Ottawa Prof Awards Entire Class A+ In Activism

[cnews] Rancourt went from making waves to rocking the boat when he did away with traditional grading, awarding an A+ to every student in his so-called activism course.

Fellow professors were outraged by Rancourt’s newfound “critical pedagogy” methods. Others in his faculty questioned his mental stability.

Tennessee Courts Get A Look At What Human Rights Bureaucrats Can Do

[Daily Times] Following an investigation into the complaint, Dr. Jane Morton — the school board’s human rights officer and complaint manager — sent Bailey a copy of an additional e-mail exchange that had allegedly transpired between Bailey and another teacher. These e-mails included comments by Bailey pertaining to sexual matters, and the school board deemed these comments inappropriate.

A Jan. 9, 2007, hearing concerning Bailey’s termination was held before a personnel hearing officer. Bailey chose not to attend this hearing and his attorney, Kevin Shepherd, appeared on his behalf, cross-examined witnesses and argued in his favor. The personnel hearing officer advised Bailey in a Jan. 18, 2007. letter that his termination would be upheld.

…

The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled on Aug. 27 that Bailey was entitled to a hearing before his dismissal. “By dismissing Mr. Bailey from employment before affording him the right to a hearing, the Board acted in clear and blatant derogation of the plain language of the statute,” said the ruling, written by Judge Sharon G. Lee. 

His termination was “somewhat like calling ‘timber’ after the tree has already hit the ground,” the opinion said.

New BC Curriculum: Don’t Become A Witch Just Because Of 9/11

Hey, Teach, um…who, exactly, is the “etc.”?

[National Post] Material: The Crucible by Arthur Miller “Some of this play’s themes [the dangers of rumours, fear mongering, and finger pointing] are certainly current today. The aftermath of September 11 is obviously still being felt. Blaming others out of fear and hysteria is an all-too-common reaction amongst people. One can see that any group can become the so-called ‘witches’ of the play: communists, terrorists, gays, Arabs, etc. Not understanding others or acting sanctimoniously or self-righteously will likely not bring about good will.”

So You Tell Us…Are Elected Officials Still In Charge Of British Columbia?

[National Post] Somewhere in the middle are Murray and Peter Corren. One of the first gay couples in Canada to marry, they almost single-handedly forced the topics of sexual orientation, gender identity and same-sex families into schools, launching a B. C. Human Rights Tribunal complaint against the provincial government.

The Correns said they had “much evidence” that the province’s Ministry of Education had, in the past, “taken active steps to suppress these issues from the provincial curriculum.” This was discriminatory, they alleged.

Rather than see the complaint wend through the human rights process, where a quasi-judicial panel might find in favour of the Correns and impose a far-reaching remedy, the province negotiated a settlement two years ago. It pledged to solicit feedback from “organizations or groups with expertise in sexual orientation, homophobia and other issues of inclusion of diversity in the curriculum” and then develop what has become the Social Justice 12 course.

…

Material: Paul’s Case by Willa Cather “Paul’s Case is about a boy who does not fit in. He is being pressured by his father to become what ‘all the other boys’ become.

Some young people feel that they do not fit in. Paul does not have any real friends. He is often bullied because other youngsters do not understand him. His teachers treat him cruelly because he makes them feel small and inferior. Have students research the correlation between adolescent suicide and homosexuality. What are the possible reasons for this statistic? (Note to teachers: Ensure students understand that homosexuality does not ’cause’ depression or suicide.)” – Course: English 12