Title IX

“Amber Cole,” has been been a trending topic on Twitter and much-discussed in the blogosphere after a video of a 14-year old girl engaging in oral sex with a male classmate, with another boy looking on, was posted online and immediately went viral a week and a half ago. (It turns out that her name is likely not actually Amber Cole; her real name has not been disclosed.) Sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube allowed the video to remain online for four days.

Amber quickly became the subject of online gender-based bullying on her Twitter page—people called her a “slut,” “ho” and other names and asked her for sexual favors. She had to change schools as a result of bullying and harassment. (Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in schools that receive federal funding, covers gender-based harassment and bullying, but it’s not clear how much of the bullying was done by classmates, as opposed to random jerks on the internet.) Read more »

The end of another week is upon us. It’s been testing at times, that’s for sure, but I promise that within this roundup are some encouraging stories mixed in with the not-so-happy ones. After the jump, more on National Coming Out Day, reflections on Anita Hill, the continued post-H.R. 358 onslaught, changing times in the UK, everyone’s favorite football-playing Homecoming Queen, and some awesome friendship in Congress. Read more »

How close does a school have to be to comply with the “substantial proportionality” prong of Title IX’s three-part athletic participation test? Can schools count cheerleading as a sport under Title IX? When does roster management turn into unlawful manipulation of athlete counts? Are you an inquiring mind who wants to know? Then check out the “friend of the court” brief we filed today, along with 20 other women’s and civil rights groups, in the Second Circuit case of Biediger v. Quinnipiac University. Read more »

The UConn Huskies women’s basketball team tied the UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team’s record for most consecutive wins last night. The top ranked Huskies blew out 10th ranked Ohio State and got their 88th consecutive win, a streak that started in April 2008. Read more »