Town Square

Inequity in women’s sports – it’s more than just about equal pay

Posted on · We've come a long way, but the recent situation with Olympic champion Brittney Griner being detained in Russia shows there's still more to be done for equal treatment of women in sports.

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Transgender Rights Challenges: Tuesday’s Show (August 30, 2016)

Posted on · Last week (Aug. 22, 2016), U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor of Texas ruled the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education exceeded their authority when they applied Title IX’s ban on gender discrimination in public schools to policies regarding transgender students’ use of facilities, like locker rooms and bathrooms. The federal agencies had concluded — and […]

Houston Matters

Are Sexual Assaults on Campus Up — Or Are More of Them Being Reported?

Posted on · According to an annual report colleges and universities are required to submit about — among other things — sexual assaults on campus, the number of such cases at Rice and the University of Houston has risen. Why? We ask Malkia Hutchinson, Program Coordinator at the Women and Gender Resource Center at the University Houston, and […]

Houston Matters

Report: Heavily Minority Schools Offer Fewer Opportunities for Girls in Sports

Posted on · A new report from the National Women's Law Center and the Poverty and Race Research Action Council indicates heavily minority schools in Texas tend to offer less options for girls of color to play sports than heavily white schools. Why? We ask one of the report’s lead authors, Neena Chaudhry, director of Equal Opportunities in […]

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Online Voter Registration: Thursday’s Show (May 7, 2015)

Posted on · The Texas House Elections Committee recently considered bills to make Texas the 21st state to allow citizens to register to vote online. The committee left both bills pending after hearing criticism primarily from Harris County, including Tax Assessor-Collector Mike Sullivan, Ed Johnson from the County Clerk's office, and Alan Vera, who chairs the Ballot Security […]

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Sexual Assault on Campus, Foreign Exchange Students, and the Tontons: Houston Matters for Thursday, October 23, 2014

Posted on · Two former University of Houston students are suing the school claiming they were denied due process after being expelled following an investigation in connection with an alleged sexual assault on campus. In November 2011, Ryan McConnell's girlfriend Natalie Plummer recorded video of him cheating on her with another female student. Both McConnell and the other […]

Houston Matters

What Could Colleges Do Better in Handling and Preventing Sexual Assault?

Posted on · This month, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released a list of colleges being investigated for possible Title IX violations concerning how they handled complaints of sexual violence and harassment. Most of us are familiar with Title IX’s provisions for equal opportunities for women within college athletics, but the law which prohibits […]

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Sexual Assault on Campus, Houston’s Consulates, and Chef Chris Shepherd: Houston Matters for Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Posted on · This month, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights released a list of colleges being investigated for possible Title IX violations concerning how they handled complaints of sexual violence and harassment. Most of us are familiar with Title IX's provisions for equal opportunities for women within college athletics, but the law which prohibits […]