Turkish President commends Andrew Cuomo for his proud, loud and blatant discrimination against Greeks and invites him to give an address at U VA about the need to suppress women and Greek Bettors.
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Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
ISTANBUL — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
on Monday used an international conference on justice and rights for
women to declare that women should not be regarded as equal to men and
that pregnancy presented an obstacle to equal opportunity in the
workplace.
Mr. Erdogan also condemned feminists for rejecting motherhood.
“You
cannot put women and men on an equal footing,” Mr. Erdogan said in an
address to the conference here, according to the semiofficial Anadolu
news agency. “It is against her nature — because her nature is
different, her bodily constitution is different.”
The
president, a Muslim who as prime minister until recently led the
Islamic-inspired Justice and Development Party that controls the
government, said that pregnancy and motherhood were sacred in Islam.
Some forms of work, he cautioned, are unsuitable for women.
“You
cannot make women work in every job that a man works at, as in
Communist regimes,” he said. “Give her a shovel and make her work — this
cannot be. It would primarily be against her delicate nature.”
Women’s rights activists stormed social media networks with furious responses to the address.
“The
Constitution, international agreements have all been crushed,” Fatma
Aytac, a member of KA-DER, a women’s group, posted on Twitter.
Ozlem Dalkiran, a human rights activist and advocate for gender equality in Turkey,
said in an interview: “There is an apparent effort in changes made to
the labor law to lock women indoors, and we should be aware of Erdogan’s
constant threat against us.
“What
he misses, though, is that the women’s rights movement in Turkey is a
very strong one, and his provocative statements are making us even
stronger.”
Turkey
ranked 125th out of 142 countries in an assessment of gender equality
in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2014.
In
his speech on Monday, Mr. Erdogan asserted that justice rather than
equality was what women needed. His remarks reportedly received loud
applause from members of the Women and Democracy Association, a
conservative nongovernmental organization that sponsored the conference
and whose board includes Sumeyye Erdogan, one of his daughters.
As prime minister, a post he held until being elected president
in August , Mr. Erdogan repeatedly called for Turkish women to bear at
least three children. He wanted to limit cesarean sections, arguing that
women who give birth that way usually cannot have more than one child.
He also sought to abolish most abortions.
All of those positions provoked an uproar among the country’s staunchly secular liberals.
The
president’s remarks on Monday came a week after he claimed that the
Americas were discovered by Muslims at least 300 years before Columbus.
ENLARGE
The University of Virginia, shaken by news of an alleged 2012
gang rape, will use the weeks during a suspension of Greek activities to
re-examine its approach to dealing with cases of sexual assault.
The Board of Visitors, which sets the university’s budget and policies, is expected to hold an emergency meeting Tuesday in the wake of complaints that both institutional and student cultures minimize claims of misconduct. Fraternity members at the school, home to a Greek party scene that is at the core of campus social life and that has been hit by several recent allegations of rape, have pledged to take a hard look at members’ behavior during social events.
UVA President Teresa Sullivan this weekend suspended Greek social activities until Jan. 9, a few days before spring classes begin. The university has also called for an independent investigation of its policies on sexual assault in the wake of a Nov. 19 Rolling Stone article about the alleged gang rape at a UVA fraternity house and sexual assault on college campuses.
The turmoil at UVA comes amid a federal crackdown on the failure of colleges and universities to adequately report sexual assaults. The number of reported sexual assaults on college campuses has increased by 50% between 2001 and 2011, according to the federal government.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has 88 pending investigations into the handling of sexual-assault cases on college campuses, the first of which was launched in 2011. UVA is among the schools being investigated. Officials are trying to ascertain whether the schools violated the federal antidiscrimination law known as Title IX in handling reports of sexual violence.
“This is a serious problem, to say the least,” said Helen Dragas, a member of UVA’s Board of Visitors, in a recent post on the university’s Facebook page. “We need to solve it.” Ms. Dragas, the mother of a current student, said she had recently learned that a classmate of hers was raped at a UVA fraternity house 30 years ago. “I was really shaken that women were being victimized then, and still are,” she said.
ENLARGE
The topic has dominated campus life recently at the
Charlottesville university, with protest marches along the Rugby Road
fraternity row and daily student and faculty meetings and forums.
“We recognize that sexual violence is a problem in our fraternities and we recognize that we the students can be catalysts for the solution,” said Tommy Reid, president of UVA’s Inter-Fraternity Council.
That view was echoed by Peter Smithhisler, president of the North-American Interfraternity Conference, who said the issue of sexual misconduct on college campuses isn’t limited to fraternities, which could be part of the solution. “We have the opportunity to work together to shift cultural norms,” Mr. Smithhisler said.
UVA students said the strife is particularly painful as it follows tragedy earlier this semester. Several students have died this fall, including second-year student Hannah Graham, who was missing for six weeks before her body was discovered.
“Now our school is being called UVRape, how do you move forward from that?” asked third-year student Julia Horowitz, a columnist at the student newspaper the Cavalier Daily.
One in five undergraduate women will have experienced sexual assault by graduation, the U.S. Justice Department said, although fewer than 5% of rape victims in college report the assault to law enforcement.
In September, California became the first state to enact a “yes means yes” law mandating that students ask their partners for “affirmative, conscious and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity.” That agreement, the law notes, is “ongoing throughout a sexual activity and can be revoked at any time.”
The focus on sexual misconduct has prompted nationwide scrutiny of the role of Greek life. Fraternal membership surged 39% to 257,672 members between 2006 and 2013, according to the North-American Interfraternity Conference.
Wesleyan University in Connecticut said in September that its Greek system must become coeducational; Clemson University in South Carolina suspended all Greek activity after a pledge brother fell off a bridge and died; West Virginia University suspended all fraternities and sororities last week after a student was seriously injured; and the Phi Delta Theta chapter at Texas Tech University was suspended after displaying a banner that said “No Means Yes, Yes Means Anal.”
The Dartmouth College faculty voted this month by a margin of 10 to one to abolish the school’s Greek system a few days after the school’s student newspaper published an editorial urging the same. The vote isn’t binding. Dartmouth is the middle of re-evaluating its social structure after applications there fell 14% last year in part due to a few highly publicized cases of sexual assault and allegations of antisocial behavior at fraternities.
At UVA, some fraternity members have temporarily moved out of their houses, citing protests and the potential for violence and vandalism.
UVA faculty members have signed letters and held rallies calling for a reordering of campus social life, particularly as fraternities are the predominant social outlet for students who are too young to go to bars and may not know students hosting parties in off-campus apartments.
“We don’t want to stop the party; we want the party to be safe,” said Susan Fraiman, an English professor who organized a Saturday night protest.
Dr. Fraiman said she expects the pressure on the administration to continue. “There is just incredible energy around this,” she said.
The moment is a critical one in the four-year tenure of Dr. Sullivan, who was forced out by the Board of Visitors in 2012 and quickly rehired after protests from faculty, students and alumni. Dr. Sullivan’s supporters had once praised her scholarly approach to thorny issues but some backers, including alumna Amanda Flaherty Doyle, said they were concerned that Dr. Sullivan’s initial response to the allegations seemed to focus on the negative depiction of the school.
Ms. Doyle said she is diverting her UVA donations to women’s groups until the administration makes systemic changes. “I think rock bottom can be the beginning of a beautiful story,” she said.
Write to Valerie Bauerlein at valerie.bauerlein@wsj.com and Douglas Belkin at doug.belkin@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has 88 pending investigations into the handling of sexual-assault cases on college campuses, the first of which was launched in 2011. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said the first was launched in 2013. (Nov. 24, 2014)
UVA to Tackle Sexual Assaults After Alleged Gang Rape
University of Virginia Suspends Fraternities, Aims to Re-Examine Campus Culture After Alleged 2012 Gang Rape
ENLARGE
Protesters gathered Saturday night at the Phi Kappa Psi
fraternity house at the University of Virginia, in the wake of a Rolling
Stone article about an alleged 2012 gang rape there.
Daily Progress/Associated Press
The Board of Visitors, which sets the university’s budget and policies, is expected to hold an emergency meeting Tuesday in the wake of complaints that both institutional and student cultures minimize claims of misconduct. Fraternity members at the school, home to a Greek party scene that is at the core of campus social life and that has been hit by several recent allegations of rape, have pledged to take a hard look at members’ behavior during social events.
UVA President Teresa Sullivan this weekend suspended Greek social activities until Jan. 9, a few days before spring classes begin. The university has also called for an independent investigation of its policies on sexual assault in the wake of a Nov. 19 Rolling Stone article about the alleged gang rape at a UVA fraternity house and sexual assault on college campuses.
The turmoil at UVA comes amid a federal crackdown on the failure of colleges and universities to adequately report sexual assaults. The number of reported sexual assaults on college campuses has increased by 50% between 2001 and 2011, according to the federal government.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has 88 pending investigations into the handling of sexual-assault cases on college campuses, the first of which was launched in 2011. UVA is among the schools being investigated. Officials are trying to ascertain whether the schools violated the federal antidiscrimination law known as Title IX in handling reports of sexual violence.
“This is a serious problem, to say the least,” said Helen Dragas, a member of UVA’s Board of Visitors, in a recent post on the university’s Facebook page. “We need to solve it.” Ms. Dragas, the mother of a current student, said she had recently learned that a classmate of hers was raped at a UVA fraternity house 30 years ago. “I was really shaken that women were being victimized then, and still are,” she said.
ENLARGE
Jalen Ross, president of the University of Virginia student
council, called the Rolling Stone article a ‘wake-up call’ for the
university at a news conference Monday.
Associated Press
“We recognize that sexual violence is a problem in our fraternities and we recognize that we the students can be catalysts for the solution,” said Tommy Reid, president of UVA’s Inter-Fraternity Council.
That view was echoed by Peter Smithhisler, president of the North-American Interfraternity Conference, who said the issue of sexual misconduct on college campuses isn’t limited to fraternities, which could be part of the solution. “We have the opportunity to work together to shift cultural norms,” Mr. Smithhisler said.
UVA students said the strife is particularly painful as it follows tragedy earlier this semester. Several students have died this fall, including second-year student Hannah Graham, who was missing for six weeks before her body was discovered.
“Now our school is being called UVRape, how do you move forward from that?” asked third-year student Julia Horowitz, a columnist at the student newspaper the Cavalier Daily.
One in five undergraduate women will have experienced sexual assault by graduation, the U.S. Justice Department said, although fewer than 5% of rape victims in college report the assault to law enforcement.
In September, California became the first state to enact a “yes means yes” law mandating that students ask their partners for “affirmative, conscious and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity.” That agreement, the law notes, is “ongoing throughout a sexual activity and can be revoked at any time.”
The focus on sexual misconduct has prompted nationwide scrutiny of the role of Greek life. Fraternal membership surged 39% to 257,672 members between 2006 and 2013, according to the North-American Interfraternity Conference.
Wesleyan University in Connecticut said in September that its Greek system must become coeducational; Clemson University in South Carolina suspended all Greek activity after a pledge brother fell off a bridge and died; West Virginia University suspended all fraternities and sororities last week after a student was seriously injured; and the Phi Delta Theta chapter at Texas Tech University was suspended after displaying a banner that said “No Means Yes, Yes Means Anal.”
The Dartmouth College faculty voted this month by a margin of 10 to one to abolish the school’s Greek system a few days after the school’s student newspaper published an editorial urging the same. The vote isn’t binding. Dartmouth is the middle of re-evaluating its social structure after applications there fell 14% last year in part due to a few highly publicized cases of sexual assault and allegations of antisocial behavior at fraternities.
At UVA, some fraternity members have temporarily moved out of their houses, citing protests and the potential for violence and vandalism.
UVA faculty members have signed letters and held rallies calling for a reordering of campus social life, particularly as fraternities are the predominant social outlet for students who are too young to go to bars and may not know students hosting parties in off-campus apartments.
“We don’t want to stop the party; we want the party to be safe,” said Susan Fraiman, an English professor who organized a Saturday night protest.
Dr. Fraiman said she expects the pressure on the administration to continue. “There is just incredible energy around this,” she said.
The moment is a critical one in the four-year tenure of Dr. Sullivan, who was forced out by the Board of Visitors in 2012 and quickly rehired after protests from faculty, students and alumni. Dr. Sullivan’s supporters had once praised her scholarly approach to thorny issues but some backers, including alumna Amanda Flaherty Doyle, said they were concerned that Dr. Sullivan’s initial response to the allegations seemed to focus on the negative depiction of the school.
Ms. Doyle said she is diverting her UVA donations to women’s groups until the administration makes systemic changes. “I think rock bottom can be the beginning of a beautiful story,” she said.
Write to Valerie Bauerlein at valerie.bauerlein@wsj.com and Douglas Belkin at doug.belkin@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has 88 pending investigations into the handling of sexual-assault cases on college campuses, the first of which was launched in 2011. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said the first was launched in 2013. (Nov. 24, 2014)
