1000 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(09/18/12 1:46am)
On Aug. 28, 2011, Tropical Storm Irene tore through Vermont, destroying bridges, washing out roads, taking houses and even six human lives with record-breaking winds and floods.
Now, one year into recovery, communities all across Vermont have come together to remember the flood, to mourn all that was lost and to celebrate the spirit of generosity and resilience that marked the weeks following Irene's devastation.
Vermont State Governor Peter Shumlin spent the four days leading up to Irene's anniversary travelling to some of the hardest-hit towns in the state to congratulate communities on their heroic recovery efforts.
"Vermonters have a lot to celebrate on the one-year anniversary of Irene," said Shumlin in a press release concerning his visits. "But we also need to recognize that many people and communities still need our help."
Vermont's Irene Recovery Officer Sue Minter echoed these sentiments.
"Number one, we've come a long way.," said Minter. "We've been able to accomplish so much because of this "˜Vermont Strong' spirit ... The other part is that we do have a long road ahead. While for the vast majority, things are starting to get back to normal, there are still a large number of people in very difficult situations."
Here in Middlebury, it is easy to miss these struggles that continue in other parts of the state. Horticulturist Tim Parsons wrote in a blog post that the Middlebury Campus Weather Station reported just 3.21 inches of rain during the tropical storm --– a significant amount, but much less than the four to eight inches reported by the National Weather Service in some of the harder-hit communities.
Middlebury farmer Spencer Blackwell recalled the rainfall during Irene.
"That's a lot of rain to get all at once and nothing that we would welcome, but it was not catastrophic by any means," said Blackwell.
Other towns were not so lucky.
Greg Joly, longtime resident of Jamaica, Vt. and volunteer organizer in the aftermath of the storm, told a very different story from Blackwell.
According to Joly, "Jamaica was the worst hit in the state.
"We couldn't drive here into our valley for almost four weeks," he said. "Our whole valley was washed out."
While Joly's home did not see any damage due to its high elevation, many in his community expereinced severe flooding and he wasted no time in getting out to assess the damage and help those in need.
Minter also emphasized this selflessness that brought communities together to share the support and resources they had.
"Literally people fed one another; they had homeschooling on the [Pittsfield Vt.] town green. It was really amazing," said Minter, referring to the overwhelming neighborly support given in Pittsfield in the wake of the storm. "The way in which people came together – I don't think it happens everywhere. I think we have a special place right here."
When asked what pressing issues remain in Jamaica a year after the storm, Joly replied, "The big one that people are waiting on is the remediation buyouts."
These buyouts are made by the state and by the Federal Emergecy Management Agency (FEMA): 75 percent of the home value comes from FEMA (under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program) while 25 percent comes from the state government.
The program kicks in when a town and a homeowner agree to a buyout, based on the assumption that the property is at risk of future flooding and is thus a potential cost to taxpayers down the line. The homeowner applies to the state, the state reviews the application, and if it's acceptable, the state passes the application along to FEMA where it is reviewed again. If FEMA approves, the homeowner is reimbursed for the value of the home prior to the flood.
While it sounds promising, the turnaround is often lengthy.
"In February the state reviewed all of these applications," said Minter. "In March they sent them to the federal government."
Of the 108 applications filed by the state in March, only 17 have been accepted and processed by FEMA to date, leaving 91 families not just waiting on money a year after the storm, but actually waiting for the decision on whether or not they will be awarded the money at all.
In the interim, many of them are paying taxes and even paying off mortgages on these homes that now exist only on paper.
Of these 91 washed-away homes, four of them had been located by the river in Jamaica where, as far as Joly could see, the owners are running out of patience.
"Those folks with the four houses were told that the money would come in March, then they were told June, then August, then September and now maybe Christmas," said Joly.
"It has been extremely challenging and frustrating for many Vermonters," said Minter, "to be waiting over a year to know whether or not they're going to get money from the federal government to help buy them out and move on with their lives."
According to a news release from FEMA concerning buyouts made in other parts of the country, this process could take up to two years.
When Shumlin made his way to Jamaica to connect with some of its nearly 1,000 residents on the anniversary of Irene, only one person was there to greet him.
As Joly put it, "people felt like the governor was coming on a meet and greet tour during an election season."
"We didn't need to be told we were "˜Vermont strong,'" he said. We needed help."
Outside of Jamaica, many other towns across Vermont also still have families –particularly low-income families – living in temporary housing, waiting for money to come through. According to Minter, "there were 7,000 Vermonters who applied for funding from FEMA ... now we know of at least 700 of [them] still have significant needs. We know of people living literally in tents [while] building their houses."
When asked how long it will be until people can expect to see Vermont fully put back together, Minter sighed.
"If I look at infrastructure, [I think we'll be able to say] in another year or definitely in two years [that] we've accomplished recovery from Irene. But when I'm dealing with peoples' lives and how they're going to get back to normal when they've lost everything, or farms, or small local economies ... those are much longer term effects. We're just going to have to keep working and thinking."
In the meantime, she added, "we need volunteers, and students are the best kind."
SerVermont is the organization putting volunteers to work. More information is located at www.vermontstrong.vt.gov.
(09/18/12 1:40am)
"The Green Poodle," a website created this summer, seeks to improve coordination amongst green-focused student organizations on campus.
The site contains a running blog with current events, a page with contact information for each organization and a calendar that will sync to the organizations' individual meeting schedules. As the site gains followers, organizers Jake Nonweiler '14 and Hannah Bristol '14.5 are hopeful that group leaders, alumni and faculty will also post information about green-focused internships, jobs and conferences.
"I want the GP to be a resource that people recognize," said Nonweiler. "I would love for people to think of the GP as the resource for all environmental information on campus."
Last February, Bristol and Nonweiler became aware of a lack of cooperation amongst student clubs and organizations on campus. Seeking to remedy this problem, the two established The Green Poodle – deciding upon a name that combined the moniker of two of the campus' servers (Portal and Moodle) and drawing inspiration from an image of a green Poodle that they had seen online.
Over the summer, the two students asked environmental groups to join the website, and received very positive responses. To date the site contains bios and contact information for 12 student organizations.
Stu Fram '13, co-leader of Eat Real – an organization that promotes food sustainability on campus – will serve as his organization's liaison with The Green Poodle. Fram is excited about the potential for collaboration amongst student groups.
"Without generating environmental relevancy to ostensibly disparate areas, I think we're just going to keep spinning our hybrid-powered wheels," Fram said.
Fram hopes that The Green Poodle will serve as more than a mere directory, and will encourage broader discussions about environmental sustainability on campus.
Bristol and Nonweiler are hopeful that the site will gain traction with students in September, allowing incoming students to find the groups that match up best with their interests.
"We hope that this will allow us to continue pushing Middlebury forward on environmental issues and to be more effective in various projects through collaboration," said Bristol.
(09/18/12 1:38am)
His Holiness the Dalai Lama will visit the College in October and will give two speeches on Friday, Oct. 12 and Saturday, Oct. 13, as part of his tour of several U.S. colleges and universities.
His speech on Friday, Oct. 12, "Educating the Heart," will be open only to students, faculty and staff, and will be an opportunity for the Dalai Lama to tailor his remarks to an audience comprised of only members of the college community. The doors of Nelson Arena will open at 11:45 a.m., and will be closed to further entry at 1:15 p.m. for security reasons.
Current students each are entitled to one ticket to this event free of charge, and students began reserving tickets at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 12. Faculty and staff tickets for the first lecture will be available online and at box offices beginning Friday, September 14 at 6 a.m, with a limit of two per person.
The Dalai Lama's second speech, "Finding Common Ground: Ethics for a Whole World," will be held on Saturday, Oct. 13 and will be open to the general public. The doors will open at 7 a.m. and be closed at 9 a.m. Ticket sales for the Oct. 13 talk will open online and at the box offices at 6 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 27. These tickets are $20 for the public and $15 for alumni, faculty, staff, students and parents of current students.
Accommodations will be made for those that do not secure tickets. While the event will be held in Nelson Arena, there will be live video feeds of the talks broadcasted at Dana Auditorium and McCullough Social Space. Free seating will be provided at these alternate locations.
This will be the third visit to the College for the 14th Dalai Lama, who has previously visited the campus in 1984 and 1990. He returns this year at the request of the College, which he respects particularly for its environmental consciousness, among other reasons.
The preparations for this year's visit began in 2009, when Venerable Lama Tenzin Dhonden, personal emissary for peace to His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited the College to give a lecture. Chaplain Laurie Jordan said that during Lama Tenzin's talk "all the chairs were full, and people were seated on the floor around the edge of the room."
He explained that the popularity of this lecture led to discussion of a future visit from the Dalai Lama. Lama Tenzin offered to hand-carry a formal invitation back to the Dalai Lama and to guide the College through future arrangements if the invitation was accepted, says Jordan.
By August of 2010, a formal invitation was drafted, and the Dalai Lama accepted the College's invitation in the fall of 2011. The Dalai Lama will also visit Syracuse University, the College of William and Mary, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University and the Lincoln Center in New York City while in the United States.
A steering committee has been working on logistical arrangements associated with the Dalai Lama's visit, Jordan reports. This committee has also worked with faculty and students to create supplementary events to the Dalai Lama's visit. The organizers hope these events will spark conversations about global interconnectedness and the role of religion in the world, amongst other topics.
The Dalai Lama's message has changed with each visit to the College. This time, his message will echo the theme in his recent book, Ethics for the Whole World: Beyond Religion. This new message will be particularly pertinent in a world that is struggling with a global financial crisis and religious differences. As to what his exact insights will be, "the Dalai Lama usually does not speak from a text so it will be difficult to know for sure" says Jordan. Following his remarks, the Dalai Lama will answer selected questions that have been submitted in advance.
The arrival of His Holiness is a highly anticipated event at the College this fall as students and community members look forward to this unique occasion.
(09/18/12 1:36am)
Eight members of the College faculty were granted tenure by the Board of Trustees at its meeting in July, following the recommendations made by President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz and the board's Educational Affairs Committee.
The newly promoted professors are Associate Professor of Music Jeffrey Buettner; Associate Professor of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Environmental Studies Molly Costanza-Robinson; Associate Professor of Psychology Kim Cronise; Associate Professor of Spanish Juana Gamero de Coca; Associate Professor of Theatre Cláudio Medeiros; Associate Professor of Mathematics Emily Proctor; Associate Professor of Philosophy Jack Spackman and Associate Professor of Classics Christopher Star.
While tenure is an important topic on college campuses, many students are uninformed about the actual process in which professors are granted tenure.
"There are three criteria that are used to evaluate faculty members: teaching, scholarship and service to the institution," said James Davis, associate vice president of academic affairs and professor of religion. "Of these three, I think it's safe to say that the first two are the most important."
The first step of this process is putting together a tenure dossier – a compilation of the professor's work up to that point. The dossier includes syllabi from past-taught courses, publications, grants and a self-evaluation.
Once this is completed, members of the Promotions Committee and senior faculty in the department sit in on the candidate's classes. In addition, letters of evaluation from students and peers are required.
"There's very good reason for all of this effort," said Davis. "The College wants to have as much data as possible before the Promotions Committee, so their recommendation to [President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz] is as informed as it can be."
"I think it's healthy for the College to regularly evaluate whether our standards for tenure reflect what we consider most valuable in a Middlebury faculty member," he said.
There is an emphasis on research in the tenure process; however, recently tenured Professor Star said, "I'd say the culture at Middlebury does a good job balancing teaching and research. Having a full year of research leave before tenure is very helpful."
It is the Promotions Committee who makes the recommendation for tenure to Liebowitz, who in turn makes his recommendations to the Board of Trustees. Ultimately, it is the Board of Trustees who grants tenure to faculty members.
Job security is perhaps the most significant benefit of receiving tenure for the newly promoted professors.
"Tenured faculty are in the best position to think innovatively about their teaching, to chart new territory in their research and to provide provocative intellectual leadership in issues of public importance, because tenure assures them that their jobs won't be jeopardized simply because they articulate unpopular positions or experiment with unconventional teaching," said Davis.
While the granting of tenure does grant job security, most professors say that it does not change their day-to-day life.
"I don't believe having tenure will affect how I go about my daily work," said Star. "I am looking to extend my research and teaching into new areas and I feel that now is a good time to do some exploration and take intellectual risks."
Tim Spears, vice president for academic affairs and professor of american studies, acts as an administrative support during the tenure process and helps aid the Promotions Committee.
"The review process itself can be quite stressful," said Spears. "The stakes are high, and candidates go through a period of months when they are under scrutiny and must await the outcome."
Buettner, a recently tenured professor, discussed the benefits of being tenured, calling tenure "an honor in its own way."
The tenure system is not only an important topic at the College, but also throughout the world of academia.
"In my own opinion, at a time of unprecedented political and economic pressures on higher education, the tenure system remains an essential protection for academic freedom," said Davis.
For the eight members of faculty who were granted tenure this year, Dean of Faculty and Philip Battell/Sarah Stewart Professor of Biology Andrea Lloyd said that now is a time for professors to exhale after a long year full of stress.
Lloyd was granted tenure in 2006.
"I was hit with a "˜What next?' moment," she said. "And for me, that was wonderful – I found it liberating to be able to think about my teaching and research as long-term endeavors, and to be able to plan things that might not bear fruit for years."
Looking back on the process of the past year, Buettner said, "I had a positive experience ... I'm also quite happy that it's over."
Star concurred.
"At the risk of sounding flippant, at present the most exciting aspect is having the process be over," he said.
(09/18/12 1:33am)
Renovations are underway to convert two formerly single-gender, multi-stall restrooms in the McCullough Student Center into gender-neutral facilities.
The McCullough pilot project, an initiative designed to create more universally accessible facilities for all members of the college community, will cost the College approximately $10,000.
In the formerly male-designated multi-stall restroom across from Midd Express, tiles and urinals have been removed and large partitions have been erected between stalls in order to convert the formerly single-gender facility into a gender-neutral space. The sign on the formerly women's-identified restroom has also been changed to indicate an all-gender facility.
"We wanted to do the washrooms in a pair," wrote Special Assistant to the Dean of the College, Senior Advisor for Diversity Initiatives and one of the key administrative voices in the project Jennifer Herrera in an email.
"If we just changed the signs, and kept the urinals in the men's washroom, it's likely that the bathrooms would have kept their gender designations," she wrote.
The changes represent phase two of the gender-neutral housing project, an initiative de
signed to bring the College's facilities more closely in line with its non-discrimination statement – a policy that adheres to state and federal guidelines ensuring non-discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression.
"We did not want to decrease the number of options for students, staff and faculty who might be uncomfortable with this project," said Timothy Spears, vice president for academic affairs. "We wanted to provide more choice and flexibility, without taking options away from other individuals."
While other buildings, including McCardell Bicentennial Hall and the Axinn Center at Starr Library, were considered for the pilot, McCullough was chosen both for its prominence in the lives of all students – a feature that administrators hope will prompt feedback from the college community – and because of the high concentration of restroom facilities in the building.
In Spears' role as one of the chief administrators of the project, his team worked with members of the President's Staff, the Community Council, the Faculty Council, the Space Committee and the Staff Council to weigh the many considerations of members of the community.
"We recognize that there are individuals with religious beliefs that will prohibit them from using the space," said Spears. "We also know that there are members of our community who are simply uncomfortable with the idea, but we believe that the change will provide more options for transgender students, as well as those members of our community who have young opposite gender children and those individuals with disabilities who have opposite gender caregivers."
The push toward the establishment of greater access to gender-neutral facilities is just one of the many initiatives that have grown out of a review of student life issues facing transgender students in 2010.
The report, completed by J.J. Boggs, associate dean of students for student activities and orientation, and Mary Hurlie, associate director for alumni career services, suggested work to be done with respect to the College's documentation procedures, housing arrangements and campus facilities.
With respect to facility conversion, phase one of the project resulted in the conversion of seven of the College's single-stall, single-gender facilities into gender-neutral spaces. The changes required little more than an alteration in signage outside the restrooms and were completed in 2011.
According to Sarah McGowen, special assistant to academic affairs and one of the staff members who played a prominent role in the changes, the first phase of construction was well-received by the college community – a reception that prompted the committee to consider the groundbreaking multi-stall pilot project.
"We've been really pleased with the way the College has moved on this," said Tony Huynh '13, former MOQA president, and one of the students who consulted with Boggs and Hurlie in 2010.
"Sometimes it takes a long time to get projects moving, but the administration really worked on this issue," said Huynh. "I'm really pleased with the progress. They've shown that they really care about this issue."
According to Herrera, the McCullough renovations place the College at the forefront of gender inclusivity in colleges across the country.
Though other colleges have created gender-neutral restrooms from single-stall facilities and have implemented multi-stall gender-neutral facilities in many dorms, very few have committed to the conversion of multi-stall facilities in public spaces.
Spears explained that if the multi-stall pilot project is successful, administrators will consider the conversion of additional restrooms on campus.
(09/18/12 1:29am)
This past May, administrators approved a new policy that offers professors the opportunity to teach courses in which student evaluations are not given to administrators for review.
The policy, effective this fall, allows professors to teach one course every two years with this option at their disposal.
Traditionally, evaluations are first read by administrators, including a promotions committee and reappointments committee, and then given to the professor to read over. The policy change eliminates these steps. Though students will continue to complete the evaluations, only the professor will read them. Professors are not obligated to inform students that their evaluations will not be read by the administration.
Supporters of the policy hope that the policy changes will give professors greater freedom to experiment in the classroom.
Former Provost and Executive Vice President Alison Byerly, who is on academic leave this year as a visiting scholar in literature at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, spearheaded the policy change. Last year, Byerly appointed the Task Forces on Curricular Innovation to consider pedagogy and decisions related to the overall curriculum at the College.
"In listening to faculty discussion ... it became clear to me that for many faculty, fear of the possible negative consequences of taking chances in the classroom could stand in the way of curricular experimentation," wrote Byerly in an email.
Dean of Faculty and Philip Battell/Sarah Stewart Professor of Biology Andrea Lloyd chaired one of the task forces.
"As a task force we really wanted to think about removing as many barriers to innovation as possible, and this seemed like a pretty simple place to start," wrote Lloyd in an email.
She cited her own experience in reworking her biology class, with the predictable bumps and adjustments that had to be made afterward, as an example for why she believes this policy change is important.
"That experience is not uncommon: teaching takes some trial and error," wrote Lloyd. "There is no way around that – it is really something inherent to the art of teaching. But that trial and error can be nerve wracking – particularly for junior faculty – if you feel like you are going to be judged on those first attempts to do something new and different."
While Byerly said that many
faculty and administrators were supportive of the new policy, others raised questions about whether or not having a course go unrecorded in the course response form would affect the evaluation of a candidate's teaching.
Ellis Professor of English and Liberal Arts John Bertolini questions the impact this policy will have on the process of professors gaining tenure.
"Student evaluations are a key element in the decision to grant or not grant tenure," wrote Bertolini in an email. "[I do not understand] how reading, in effect, a censored version of student evaluations helps the decision."
Byerly does not think that the evaluation of a professor's teaching will be diminished.
"The Promotions Committee and the Reappointments Committee were very supportive because they know from reading many files that in fact one or two courses don't make as big a difference as many faculty think," wrote Byerly.
"In reading [course response forms], they look for patterns across time, and across different course types."
C. A. Dana Professor of English and American Literatures David Price feels indifferent toward the policy change, though he recognizes the importance of student evaluations.
"It's an interesting assumption [that retaining student evaluations from administration would increase creativity in the classroom]," said Price. "I don't even think about student evaluations. Each class has different students with a different chemistry, and that's what I focus on."
Byerly said that the recent approval of Pass/D/Fail courses for students, which allow students to take a course and pass, receive a D or fail, influenced her thinking in regards to evaluations of professors' performances.
"It seemed to me that if we were asking faculty to trust that students would work hard in a class even when they are not receiving a letter grade, we should trust faculty to do their best as teachers even when they are not being formally evaluated," wrote Byerly.
Students seem supportive of the change for professors as well.
"It is a fantastic idea," said Chelsea Edgar '13. "I think everyone in the college community stands to benefit when professors feel empowered to get more creative with their syllabi."
The policy will be effective immediately, allowing professors to teach courses without student course evaluations sent to administration this fall semester.
(09/18/12 1:25am)
On Thursday, Sept. 5, a video produced by students from the improv comedy group Otter Nonsense debuted on mtvU, an online offshoot of MTV that focuses on college life and interests.
The video is part of a series mtvU calls "College Quickies," which features a different comedy sketch produced by college students each week. The Otters video, featuring Ben Orbison '12.5 and Greg Dorris '13, is called "Worst Driving Instructor Ever."
MtvU discovered Otter Nonsense when they competed at the College Improv Tournament last year. They won the regional tournament in Boston and went to Chicago to compete in the national tournament. MtvU judged the competition in Chicago and afterward contacted the Otters and various other schools, asking them to submit video clips for a series they were looking to put together.
Dorris, Orbison and Adam Benay '13.5 had already made a few shorts together, which they submitted and then began to make more.
"It became this thing where we realized we can just grab a couple of cameras, and go to the gym and goof around for an hour and a half and bother everyone in the gym," said Dorris. "It was this great opportunity where we had the three of us all together, and we began producing a lot more videos."
After producing and submitting many clips, mtvU asked them to make a video that followed a very specific set of guidelines.
After Orbison and Dorris shot "Worst Driving Instructor Ever" and sent it to mtvU, Orbison was contacted over the summer by the company. Out of over 1,000 clips sent in by groups across the country, mtvU offered to license their video. Groups from New York University and Northwestern University were also offered the same deal from mtvU.
The group was paid $100 for the licensing agreement, which has been put into funding for the Otters.
"[Associate Dean of Students for Student Activities and Orientation] J.J. Boggs helped us out a great deal and got the right people [at the College] to look at the agreement and make sure it was all cool," said Orbison.
"The Otters seem to have launched themselves into the national spotlight over the last year," wrote Boggs in an email. "I think this latest agreement with mtvU is an exciting opportunity for them to showcase their work to a global audience."
Dorris said that in addition to Bogg's help, various administrators had to also watch the video in order to give approval, as it is presented on the website representing the College. The same process must be followed for every video the Otters submit in the future.
In "Worst Driving Instructor Ever", Dorris is a nervous teen trying to get his license and Orbison is a drowsy, gaseous and potentially homicidal driving instructor.
The group explained that while most of their videos are made with the three of them together, inspiration occasionally strikes when one, in this case
Benay, is missing.
"I was playing croquet with our suitemate, and these guys came up, one in a suit, and had a samurai sword and said they were going to go film something," said Benay.
After the video was made, all three signed off on the video before it was submitted to mtvU.
"Whenever we make a video, the test to see whether or not it's going to go to air, or at least be submitted, is if we all give it the thumbs up," said Dorris.
After accepting the group's first sketch, mtvU is now looking to license more of their videos.
The threesome hopes in future videos they will be able to bring in more people, such as Tom Califra '13.5. Califra is in Middlebrow, the College's other improv comedy group, and is good friends with Dorris, Benay and Orbison. All four live in Voter together this year.
"Tom is somebody that we love and that we're always with and it totally [makes] sense to pull him into this thing," said Orbison.
"Luckily there are a lot of funny people on this campus that we happen to know through improv in our own group and other groups," added Benay.
In addition to making videos for mtvU, Orbison and Benay spent much of the summer doing comedy acts at a club in Burlington.
Due to their efforts, the entire Otter Nonsense group has been asked to perform at the club on Sept. 30th, and may have a monthly gig there.
"I'm excited because it's such a different venue," said Dorris. "It just is a much different feel and much more intimate than doing McCullough – being on stage, far away from 250 friends, the most supportive people."
(09/06/12 12:20am)
(09/06/12 12:08am)
(09/06/12 12:08am)
(09/02/12 1:06pm)
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla ac arcu velit, id rutrum nisl. Donec quis massa et nibh tincidunt aliquet. Fusce neque magna, euismod non bibendum nec, dictum nec augue. Maecenas sed nibh sapien, quis euismod orci. Proin a pulvinar elit. Morbi ut nibh felis. Nulla id est vel augue placerat vehicula ut nec velit. Nulla semper imperdiet commodo. Vivamus pellentesque elementum laoreet. Cras vestibulum, neque in commodo sollicitudin, felis eros tristique diam, aliquet malesuada lacus neque ac augue. Morbi a risus at lacus dapibus convallis eleifend non leo. Suspendisse tincidunt nulla vitae justo aliquam sed vehicula dui tincidunt. Donec aliquet aliquam sem, ut feugiat justo imperdiet quis. Vestibulum pretium venenatis ornare.
(08/19/12 8:26pm)
Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Praesent a dolor at magna pharetra tincidunt. Vestibulum eleifend blandit mattis. Cras placerat erat ac leo congue non malesuada dui dapibus. Etiam turpis mi, rhoncus id pulvinar id, molestie sit amet ante. Donec at commodo nulla. Ut ac mi ipsum. Pellentesque rhoncus mattis eros, nec luctus magna semper nec. Nulla facilisi.
(08/19/12 8:25pm)
Ut tempor accumsan nisi, faucibus ultrices erat congue eu. Praesent dolor nibh, auctor et feugiat sit amet, auctor nec nulla. Aliquam erat volutpat. Nunc cursus vehicula sem sit amet rutrum. Donec in augue magna, mollis congue risus. Vivamus vel ante lorem, vel scelerisque lorem. Pellentesque viverra, mi vel imperdiet posuere, justo tortor viverra arcu, et molestie nulla lectus et risus. Praesent vitae dignissim ante. Suspendisse libero felis, accumsan et vestibulum ut, venenatis vitae lectus. Curabitur mollis auctor felis, eu aliquet leo tempor quis.
(08/19/12 8:25pm)
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Cras eu metus at odio sollicitudin cursus vel eu quam. Donec lacus dui, pretium at rutrum in, ullamcorper a orci. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Sed sed libero odio. Cras nisl odio, dictum sit amet pharetra et, egestas vel augue. Nunc at purus mi. Fusce sit amet adipiscing mi. Aenean interdum, ligula vitae ultrices fermentum, sem justo porta dui, vestibulum dapibus ligula lorem ac erat. Etiam interdum eleifend purus sit amet pellentesque. Etiam iaculis, libero ac auctor fringilla, tellus justo molestie ante, eu tincidunt ipsum purus in mauris. Nam rutrum neque erat, ut euismod velit. Cras sagittis orci eget quam bibendum lacinia. Donec lectus metus, congue vel dapibus eu, tincidunt gravida lectus. Sed est mi, convallis a sagittis at, scelerisque vitae leo. In venenatis mollis ligula, ac semper ipsum hendrerit nec.
(08/19/12 8:23pm)
Maecenas id tellus eu dui faucibus pulvinar. Vestibulum iaculis, diam ut faucibus scelerisque, tortor dui gravida ligula, eget sollicitudin nisi arcu in purus. In metus nibh, ultricies eu sollicitudin in, venenatis id leo. Quisque nunc nisl, placerat ac interdum vel, aliquet tincidunt est. In pharetra rutrum ante, ut sagittis dolor condimentum quis. Praesent ac lorem arcu. Fusce nulla risus, molestie non aliquam vitae, facilisis vitae risus. Aenean varius molestie nisl vel porta. Aliquam facilisis ipsum ac mi aliquet congue. Sed laoreet scelerisque mi, ut euismod nisl porttitor non.
(08/19/12 8:22pm)
Pellentesque vulputate justo ut tellus sagittis ut eleifend ipsum condimentum. Praesent lobortis tellus non quam tempor blandit. Donec sodales elit non nulla blandit luctus. Etiam non risus eu enim suscipit tempor. Aenean at quam sem. Suspendisse eu tortor eget mi malesuada tempus id ut lacus. Vivamus in libero dui, quis posuere libero. Mauris sodales felis ut nulla consequat malesuada. Proin consectetur lectus at eros vestibulum et congue arcu tempus. Aliquam in odio metus, ac ornare felis. Cras vehicula dapibus lectus, facilisis tristique massa tempus faucibus. Cras eget purus vel tortor fringilla suscipit nec in erat.
(08/19/12 8:21pm)
Proin mi dolor, sollicitudin vel facilisis eget, adipiscing sit amet magna. Curabitur viverra nisi et lacus mattis ornare. Aliquam a neque orci. Duis pellentesque hendrerit rutrum. Sed eu porta mi. Aliquam tincidunt est eu ligula convallis ac venenatis elit egestas. Morbi vestibulum lobortis orci, ac lacinia nulla placerat nec. Etiam metus eros, facilisis id viverra nec, dapibus sit amet lorem. Nam lorem ante, euismod non aliquam in, semper ac orci. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Morbi adipiscing justo id lorem pellentesque ac molestie sem condimentum. Donec et metus purus, in posuere sem. Integer id felis ac lorem auctor convallis eu sit amet erat.
(08/19/12 8:21pm)
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Cras feugiat faucibus dolor a facilisis. Vestibulum feugiat, massa in dapibus ullamcorper, leo justo molestie felis, sit amet elementum dui tellus vitae sapien. Donec tortor sem, fringilla in aliquet quis, lobortis quis orci. Aenean mollis risus faucibus lorem rhoncus at euismod arcu elementum. Nullam non risus augue. Pellentesque est elit, aliquam eu faucibus quis, ultrices id leo. Morbi sem justo, interdum sit amet fermentum ut, facilisis ut diam. Curabitur ac erat vel odio consequat tincidunt eget eu leo. Donec ultrices erat ante.
Integer adipiscing rhoncus arcu non interdum. In venenatis, tellus vel elementum convallis, nulla odio dictum orci, quis porttitor odio tellus id sapien. Cras faucibus venenatis ornare. Aliquam ultrices, nulla vitae mollis facilisis, dolor leo suscipit dolor, quis consequat nulla nulla et urna. Aenean ullamcorper tempus ligula at porta. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Sed sapien turpis, tempus eget lacinia quis, congue non ipsum. Pellentesque vestibulum diam ut turpis rhoncus pharetra.
In cursus sodales ultrices. Sed vulputate augue nec quam pharetra malesuada. Fusce congue dolor ut risus posuere viverra. Suspendisse aliquam urna sit amet metus ultricies vel tincidunt purus dapibus. Vestibulum et ipsum mi, a euismod purus. Cras porttitor turpis vehicula purus pellentesque convallis eu eget diam. Donec congue ipsum ac eros ultricies sagittis. Morbi vulputate lorem sollicitudin mi aliquet vel vehicula tellus viverra. Donec tincidunt, diam sit amet sollicitudin dignissim, mauris eros sollicitudin justo, nec dapibus arcu diam a turpis. Suspendisse sagittis, magna eget scelerisque porta, metus justo placerat odio, et tristique justo urna quis ante. Praesent tincidunt interdum lectus, in posuere neque pulvinar ut. Donec ultrices, lorem quis venenatis elementum, felis augue cursus odio, eu hendrerit ipsum leo in nibh. Aliquam erat volutpat. In bibendum augue eget massa imperdiet gravida.
Quisque iaculis eleifend est, eu mollis ipsum aliquet a. Morbi volutpat venenatis nulla, vitae consectetur est pulvinar sit amet. Donec lacinia lobortis nibh, adipiscing commodo velit faucibus quis. Nunc dignissim dictum cursus. Suspendisse eleifend aliquam interdum. Duis varius convallis neque, at elementum purus vehicula ac. Phasellus laoreet felis id dui porttitor scelerisque. Proin congue, orci vitae porta vehicula, eros mi molestie sapien, dignissim volutpat dolor velit at urna. Sed eleifend condimentum felis non aliquet. Vivamus diam ipsum, ultricies sed pretium ut, gravida dapibus erat. Proin vulputate elit eu felis semper ullamcorper. Quisque at est augue, euismod pretium libero. Duis ac nisi leo, eu consequat leo. Phasellus laoreet suscipit sagittis.
Integer ut ligula magna, a vulputate orci. Integer non enim magna, sed lobortis nibh. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer metus magna, faucibus imperdiet congue sit amet, gravida non felis. Cras turpis ante, vestibulum sit amet laoreet vel, tincidunt at felis. Quisque leo felis, pretium scelerisque ultricies in, faucibus ut nisi. Morbi id libero in orci mattis ultricies sed convallis urna. Maecenas pulvinar tellus quis nunc faucibus tempus molestie nisl luctus. Aliquam ligula leo, sollicitudin sit amet aliquet vitae, vehicula at nisl.
(08/19/12 8:20pm)
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque non pretium erat. Vivamus vitae diam eros, eu semper eros. Cras turpis velit, consequat non interdum ac, facilisis eu dolor. Proin condimentum mattis porta. Vivamus ac nisi non erat iaculis laoreet. Donec rhoncus pharetra lacus, at luctus quam cursus vitae. Cras vel augue in diam placerat aliquam. Praesent ullamcorper elit ut nisi accumsan eget fermentum urna gravida. Ut aliquam pretium sapien, ac vestibulum quam vestibulum in. Donec eu elit eu erat volutpat semper ut ac quam. Suspendisse venenatis eros quis eros facilisis at placerat velit dapibus. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Integer libero lacus, euismod id dignissim nec, fringilla non odio. Vestibulum sed magna quis urna sodales elementum.
(05/07/11 6:02pm)
As the recent diatribes by Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and Atlanta Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell show, homophobia is still a major issue in sports. And one that does not get nearly enough attention. In the past month Bryant was fined $100,000 for yelling a homophobic slur at an official after being called for a technical foul that he did not agree with. Bryant’s slur was caught on camera and immediately circulated throughout the Internet. When asked about what he yelled, Bryant claimed that, though he used the slur, he was not expressing homophobic sentiments; rather, he said he used the slurs as an outlet for his frustrations. Regardless of Bryant’s intent, his slur demonstrated an ignorance towards the issues that face the gay community and society as a whole. Unfortunately Bryant’s ignorance is just a scratch on the surface of the attitude in sports towards the LGBTQ community. Though Kobe has shown appropriate contrition since he was severely reprimanded by the media and has gone to lengths to work with gay rights groups to spread awareness, cases like Roger McDowell’s demonstrate that the scope of the issue is much greater than just ignorance.
Before a recent game against the San Francisco Giants, McDowell asked three fans in the stands if they were in a homosexual relationship and then used a baseball bat to make lewd suggestions directed towards them. In the stands another man with his family told McDowell that his actions were inappropriate and that there were kids in the crowd. The Braves coach then turned on the fan and began threatening him instead. After the game the fan reported the incident and Major League Baseball reacted swiftly by suspending McDowell for two weeks without pay.
While the NBA and MLB have taken strict measures to demonstrate that they have no tolerance for such behavior, both leagues, and athletic atmospheres in general, are notorious for fostering homophobic feelings. This is best demonstrated by the fact that there isn’t a single “out” player currently active in any of the big three leagues.
Think about that for just a moment. There are nearly 5,000 athletes between the NFL, NBA, and MLB and not a single one of them is openly homosexual. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t gay athletes at the professional level, but it would suggest that tens if not hundreds are still closeted.
A few years ago John Amaechi became the first NBA player ever to come out as openly gay. Shortly after Amaechi came out, former player Tim Hardaway made disparaging comments about Amaechi saying that he never would have played with Amaechi had he known he was gay during his playing career.
While these are just three examples of the abuses that homosexuals face in sports, many more take place behind closed doors or out of the earshot of reporters and the sightlines of cameras that are never reported. Nor is it rare for players to have their sexuality openly questioned without merit.
Each occurrence of homophobia acts as a deterrent to the next generation of athletes feeling comfortable with their sexuality. And something needs to be done about it.
In 1999 two gay men, Cyd Zeigler and Jim Buzinski, founded a website dedicated to raising awareness about the presence and experiences of gay athletes in sports. The site includes many articles written by the athletes themselves on their decisions to tell or not to tell their teammates about their sexuality. Zeigler and Buzinki’s goal is to provide a forum of support for gay athletes.
Recently Zeigler and Buzinski considered discontinuing outsports.com but a rash of suicides by gay teens made them reconsider. While hopefully the words of Bryant and the actions of McDowell will not have a similar effect, they demonstrate an ugly truth about sports. Homophobia is still extremely prevalent.
Outsports.com has done a great job raising awareness and supporting teens in need. But as this past month has shown, we can always do more.