Stating “we know women love to clean,” Gen. Yuri Glazkov predicted that female astronaut American Shannon Lucid will clean up and brighten up the Russian space station Mir during her five month stay expected to begin Saturday (3-22). Speaking at a NASA news conference, Glazkov, deputy commander of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, then stated […]
A judge denied a 12-year-old girl’s plea to be allowed to join the Boy Scouts while her legal case against the group process. Katrina Yeaw of California applied to the Boy Scouts in April 1995 because she, like her twin brother, wanted to learn canoeing, camping, and other outdoor skills. She was upset to be […]
On Monday (3-19), the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a University of Texas admissions policy is unconstitutional and that public universities may not justify affirmative action programs based on the benefits of racial diversity. The decision will affect virtually all institutions of higher education taking racial diversity in account in admissions. The […]
In a 3-2 decision Tuesday (3-19), the state Supreme Court of Connecticut ruled that the military cannot recruit at the University of Connecticut Law School because its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy violates a state anti-discrimination law. Citing the military’s “current discrimination against gay men and lesbians,” the ruling upheld a 1994 Superior Court judge’s […]
University of California Santa Cruz professor Angela Davis called “outrageous” claims made by UC regent and California businessman Ward Connerly. In a letter mailed to Davis and faxed to reporters, Connerly, also chair of the self-titled “California Civil Rights Initiative” to ban affirmative action in the state, accused Davis of using her position at the […]
Inaugurated February 14, 1996, the Emergency Contraception Hotline had received over 6000 calls in its first three week, according to a March 8 update by its sponsors. The hotline provides callers with information about emergency contraception and the names and telephone numbers of health care providers who can prescribe it. Operated by the Reproductive Health […]
After an admission last week that well-connected status plays a role in who gets accepted into the University of California system, officials said yesterday (3-18) that a campus fund-raising officer plays an important role in reviewing applications from such candidates at UC Berkeley. A story in Saturday’s Los Angeles Times (3-16) indicated that UCLA has […]
The Supreme Court decided Monday (3-18) to Review Limits on Anti- Abortion Protests. The Court also sent a case back to a federal appeals court in which Arkansas officials attempted to deny Medicaid-funded abortions for women impregnated by rape or incest. The 8th Circuit Court had wrongly invalidated all of an amendment to the Arkansas […]
A jury found John Salvi guilty on two counts of first-degree murder in what is called the worst case of anti-abortion violence in U.S. history. Salvi will spend a mandatory life sentence in jail with no chance of parole. The jury of six men and six women was sequestered upon completion of five weeks of […]
Chair of the Oregon Citizens Alliance Lon Mabon made a surprising move last week to file GOP primary candidacy papers for a U.S. Senate seat minutes before the deadline. Mabon will compete with former ally Gordon Smith in the May primary to replace retiring Sen. Mark Hatfield. Some of Mabon’s opponents indicate his bid signals […]
On Monday (3-18), the Supreme Court agreed to review attacks against limits on anti-abortion demonstrations in Buffalo and Rochester, NY. Responding to criticism that the 15-foot buffer zone imposed in 1994 is a violation of free speech rights, the court decided to hear an appeal by Rev. Paul Schenck and Dwight Saunders. The Feminist Majority […]
Fauzia Kasinga, a woman who escaped from Togo in 1994 to avoid being forced into circumcision and a polygamous marriage, is currently detained in a Pennsylvania prison after being told by one U.S. immigration judge that her story is unbelievable and irrational. Kasinga had avoided the standard tribe practice of female genital mutilation because her […]
One of NASA’s original female astronauts will board the shuttle Atlantis Thursday (3-21) to dock with the Russian space station Mir on March 22. Shannon Lucid, 53, will become the first American woman to live on Mir and the first woman to fly in space five times. A biochemist with two children, Lucid made her […]
At a fund-raiser Friday (3-15), EMILY’s List and the Democratic Party launched a multi-million dollar campaign to increase voting among women. According to Democratic National Committee chair Donald Fowler, “Women are key to Democratic Victory in 1996.” EMILY’s List, a political fundraising group for pro-choice Democratic women candidates announced it will spend $10 million through […]
On Wednesday, the Washington Post published an article which described the history of a sexual harassment case against Richard L. Frazier, a construction analyst at the Housing and Urban Development office in Hartford, Connecticut. An investigation that took almost a year ended in Frazier being suspended for two months without pay for “sexual harassment and […]
In the murder trial of John Salvi, the case went to the jury Friday (3-15) to decide if the avowed gunman is insane or guilty of first-degree murder. The prosecution stated that regardless of Salvi’s supposed odd beliefs or eccentric personality, his plans against the clinics were too well thought-out for Salvi not to know […]
University of California officials confirmed Friday (3-15) that politicians, regents and wealthy donors often use their UC contacts to grant special consideration for the children of friends, relatives, and constituents. Although UC president Richard Atkinson insisted that no special slots are actually reserved for well-connected applicants, critics say the practice constitutes a preference for people […]
Several developments in the world of welfare reform surfaced Thursday (3-15). On a national level, Republican governors turned the former bipartisan governors’ welfare overhaul into partisan issue by announcing their work was finished. Democrats were left out of the statement and said that many problems have still not been resolved. While Democrats criticized the premature […]
To fight back punitive anti-woman policies, the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) and the Center for Women Policy Studies (CWPS) announced their “Contract with Women of the USA” on March 7, the eve on International Women’s Day. The Contract contains twelve principles and commitments to shape policies that advance women’s equality, economic security and […]
Students protested Tuesday (3-12) at the University of California San Diego to oppose the state initiative on the November ballot that would outlaw affirmative action, and to oppose the banning of affirmative action programs in the University of California system. Students were hoping that the Board of Regents would consider a repeal of their July […]
