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7/12/2004
Last fall, in the wake of court rulings on gay marriage and anti-sodomy laws, University of Minnesota Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Programs Office director B David Galt noticed that something was happening on campus. The high profile of gay issues in the mainstream media spurred a backlash by opponents of gay rights, as well as a new sense of nervousness among GLBT people. Complaints about harassment and discrimination poured in—four times more than the previous spring. "It was an avalanche," Galt says. "There were incidents in the student unions, in residence halls, in classrooms, a constant barrage of attack in the student newspaper." A review of the University's 1993 commitment to create a safe and inclusive environment for GLBT people on campus was under way, but the tensions gave it a new urgency. A September 2003 report showed there had been progress and a strong continuing commitment from the central administration (this fall, the Board of Regents will consider a proposal to establish a GLBT studies minor) but that much remained undone. In April, the Coalition for a Respectful U—a collection of student groups, religious organizations, and University units formed in response to the tensions on campus—ran a series of ads in the Minnesota Daily. The "I am U, Stand with Me" series put a face on GLBT students, faculty, families, allies, and others while encouraging reflection on the issues surrounding harassment. At the end of April, the task force reviewing the U's commitment had a friendly and upbeat meeting with administrators and presented a set of new recommendations, including creation of a standing systemwide commission on GLBT issues. "The recommendations are in line with everything the president and the rest of us in administration hope to accomplish in terms of having a free and open marketplace of ideas on campus," says Jerry Rinehart, vice provost for student affairs. "We are absolutely committed to having a safe environment where everyone feels welcome." But in May, U administrators settled a suit filed by the Maranatha Christian Fellowship, a University student group that argued that abiding by the U's nondiscrimination policy, which includes sexual orientation, violated their right to religious freedom. U attorneys felt it was a case they could not win and reached a compromise that requires all U student groups to allow equal access to their programs, but that permits religious groups to have leaders and voting members pledge to live by the dictates of their faith instead. Galt is concerned that the settlement opens the door for broader discrimination. "What about a religious group that feels women should be seen and not heard?" Galt asks. "What about a religion that wants to discriminate based on race?" But U associate general counsel Tracy Smith believes that will not be the case. "There's no history to suggest that this will open up the doors to widespread discrimination," she says, adding that even with about 50 religiously affiliated student groups each year, the issue has only come up twice in U history. "If it does become a slippery slope, where people are using this as a loophole rather than for sincere expression of their religious beliefs, then certainly we will revisit it." She adds that the agreement "does not at all suggest a lessening of the U's commitment to equal treatment for GLBT people," but rather is the price of the ideal of open access to all voices. "It is these outlier groups that test the values that the University stands for. Sometimes groups have views that others find abhorrent, but that's part of the mix." Although disappointed by the University's decision to settle, Galt also feels the agreement may rally new supporters concerned about the implications of allowing a loophole for discrimination. He also worries that next fall emotions might be even higher and the debate even angrier—on both sides. "This past year has been very hard on GLBT people and their allies with the intensity of the hate," he says. "[But] we have to remain committed to our vision of inclusion and respect for everyone." Discoveries Fine Female Fishers Female chimpanzees learn fine motor skills more quickly than males, implying that gender-based learning differences have an ancient origin, according to researchers from the University of Minnesota. By observing chimpanzees in Gombe National Park in Tanzania, researchers found that young chimps learn to termite fish—threading sticks or grass into termite mounds to draw out the insects—from their mothers. But females pick up the skill more quickly, spend more time doing it, and catch more termites with each try. Researchers theorize that evolution may play a role—females need to be better fishers because when pregnant or raising babies they have less time to hunt and must rely on the protein-rich termites for food. Young males, meanwhile, tended to spend more time playing and swinging around—behaviors that could help them in hunting and struggling for dominance. Because this learning pattern is similar to published research on gender-based differences in human fine-motor learning, researchers theorize that the phenomenon may date back 5 or 6 million years to the last common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans. The study was published April 15 in the journal Nature. Pool's Parasite A deadly intestinal parasite with no known treatment is one step closer to being brought under control. University researchers completed sequencing the genome of cryptosporidium parvum, an organism that resists conventional antiparasitic drugs. In sequencing the genome, researchers discovered that cryptosporidium lacks the biochemical targets that most antiparasitic medicines rely upon to kill other parasites. Knowing the genetic makeup will allow researchers to develop methods for early diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. Cryptosporidium is spread through feces and results in an acute case of diarrhea in humans and animals. Most adults with an intact immune system recover after several days; in young children, the elderly, or patients with immune deficiencies, severe dehydration and death can result. The parasite also is highly resistant to chlorine treatment of community water supplies and other prevention methods. The results were published in the journal Science on March 25. Lifelong Consequences of Violence Being a victim of violence as an adolescent has profound effects on a person's entire life, as measured by education and socioeconomic status. Assistant professor of sociology Ross Macmillan and a colleague reviewed a 1976 random national survey of more than 1,700 youths to find that almost half of respondents had been assaulted in some way between the ages of 13 and 17. They also found that victimized adolescents had significantly lower grades and levels of education. These were consistent with a lack of educational self-efficacy, which Macmillan defines as "being able and willing to invest, psychologically and behaviorally, in education." By comparing 1976 figures with a 1986 follow-up survey and controlling for numerous gender, race, and family variables, researchers found that victimized adolescents had a 51 percent greater chance of unemployment in young adulthood, twice the rate of public assistance, and lower hourly wages than those not victimized. Macmillan concludes that the disruption of educational self-efficacy is the most significant consequence of violence, in that it sets the stage for lifelong socioeconomic shortfalls. The findings were published in the June issue of the Journal of Research on Adolescence. Overheard on Campus "[Race] is only one among many factors, and it's never the controlling factor. We never sacrifice academic criteria to meet enrollment goals. . . . We seek to enroll an academically capable, diverse student body that will enrich the academic experience." —Wayne Sigler, University director of undergraduate admissions, on how his office takes race into account in admissions decisions. A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling allows race to be considered, but not to be the deciding factor. "Some of the responsibility for narrowing wealth inequality must rest with the black community. But responsibility also rests with industry and government that share some of the culpability for racial gaps in credit markets and entry points to acquisition of wealth." —University economist Samuel L. Myers, Jr., in the 2004 National Urban League's "State of Black America" report, which showed the persistent gap between whites and blacks in home ownership and net worth. "I don't think students realize how much fun it is for instructors to have the chance to get to know students outside of class." —Richard Hermes, an English graduate instructor, on being taken out to dinner by a student under the College of Liberal Arts' Student Board-sponsored Food for Thought program. The board pays for up to 100 students per semester to take faculty to dinner, both to recognize them as great teachers and to allow students to get to know them. "The same temperament that can make for a criminal can also make for a hot test pilot or astronaut. That kind of little boy—aggressive, fearless, impulsive—is hard to handle. It's easy for parents to give up and let him run wild, or turn up the heat and the punishment and thereby alienate him and lose all control. But properly handled, this can be the kid who grows up to break the sound barrier." —Psychology professor David Lykken, a behavioral geneticist, arguing in Psychology Today that parents make a difference in raising children, despite increasing feeling among his colleagues that genetic makeup is of primary importance in child development. Outstanding Internationals The University's Office of International Programs announced the 2004 recipients of the Distinguished Leadership Award for Internationals this spring. The annual award, introduced last year, recognizes outstanding achievements in institutions or in public service by international alumni, former students, and friends of the University. Lahsen Ababouch (Ph.D. '82) Morocco A food science and nutrition graduate, Ababouch has directed the fisheries division of the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome for almost four years, implementing projects in Asia, Africa, and the Pacific region that have helped develop safe and sustainable fish industries. He was formerly chair of the Department of Food, Microbiology, and Biotechnology at Morocco's Institut Agronomique and Veterinaire Hassan II. (No photograph of Ababouch was available.) Andres Gil (Ph.D. '93) Uruguay Credited with helping eradicate foot-and-mouth disease from Uruguay, Gil's veterinary epidemiology work has helped his country increase world trade in agricultural products and led to technical cooperation with numerous other countries. He is leading a unit in Uruguay's agricultural ministry and head of the Biostatistics and Informatics Department at the Universidad de la Republica in Montevideo. Obioma Nnaemeka (Ph.D. '89) Nigeria Nnaemeka is founder and president of the Association of African Women Scholars, which has hosted conferences in Nigeria, the United States, and Madagascar on issues of gender and human rights. She currently directs the women's studies program at Indiana University. She is internationally known for creating connections across disciplines, national borders, and cultures. Hyeoun Ae Park (M.S. '83, M.S. '86, Ph.D. '87) Korea A nursing faculty member at Seoul National University, Park has been instrumental in creating ties between her school and the University of Minnesota. She has revolutionized nursing education in Korea by introducing statistical and computer labs into the curriculum. She is also an international leader in nursing informatics and represents Korea on international nursing councils. Shigeo Tashima (M.S. '55) Japan Tashima serves on numerous national farm councils in Japan and was a faculty member at two large universities for many years. He was director of the Division of Agricultural Education and Science at UNESCO in Paris in the late 1960s, and was actively involved in international education and agricultural training efforts. Good Horse Cents The horse industry generates nearly $1 billion in economic activity in Minnesota each year, according to a University of Minnesota report. Minnesota ranks ninth among U.S. states in number of horses with 155,000, and sales, care, and other aspects of raising horses accounts for $930 million in economic activity. Brian Buhr, an associate professor of applied economics in the College of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences, says the economic impact of the horse industry would be increased if more emphasis were placed on raising show horses and race horses. Show horses generate about twice the economic impact of pleasure horses, while race horse have closer to five times the impact. | |||||||||||||||
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