CUER

Two articles from the AdHoc are worth reading. The first on Columbia’s efforts in diversity (or lack thereof):

If Columbia’s recruiting process results in a disproportionate representation of white males, then Columbia is missing out on talented women and minority candidates. Part of the unpleasant truth, however, is that thanks to historical inequalities in American education, there simply are not as many women and minorities to draw from in certain fields. This should not be an excuse for complacency. If women and minorities are not represented in “hard” sciences like physics and mathematics, for example, then the University needs to reach out to them by actively cultivating a more democratic academic culture. When they see professors of their own gender or race in a field, students will be more likely to recognize that they can succeed in that field, too.

The other is on “Civil Rights Outside the Gender Binary”

There is a general lack of vocal support for trans rights by non-queer and non-trans identified people. By contrast, the issue of gay marriage has garnered political attention even from those who do not identify themselves as part of this group. Comparing homophobia to racism, or gay rights to civil rights, requires an assumption that same-sex attraction is somehow visible and an inherent characteristic of an individual. Homophobia is blamed for the discrimination that is directed towards LGBTQ (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer) identified people, but homophobia is not solely about sexual orientation. One must account for verbal or physical assault on one who may be heterosexual, but whose attackers associate the victim with a sexual orientation based on their perception of the victim’s gender. Gender is visible to the public, while the sex of the person or persons one is attracted to is not. Therefore, many hate crimes are perpetrated based on a tight association of gender with sexuality.

Both articles are available online at http://www.adhocmag.com.