What news lately seems crazy to you?

In fairness the pregnant women sitting directly behind them could have just ignored their vaping, fondling one another, cursing, singing loudly, taking flash photos, waving arms, obscuring views and likely bad odor. That last one I just added😀

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Exactly. It happens at hs all over the country. It’s a huge problem - and we’ve seen physical attacks on the elderly and others. Let’s stop denigrating a school or region - because look in the mirror - it’s happening in your part of the country too.

It’s shameful - no matter where it happens. I hope we will do better as a society. Unfortunately I know we won’t.

Another thought - It’s also crazy to me that the UAW is striking . I don’t know if they are right to. I do know they are being offered huge raises and benefit increases. And that a strike fund won’t cover what they’ll lose. I also know that over time others - at auto companies, parts suppliers and car dealerships will lose their jobs including and I can’t imagine - but someone like me - although I’m hopeful my company isn’t impacted by shared suppliers who might be forced out.

It’s mind blowing that reasonable people can’t agree because today there are no winners - only losers.

It’s also mind blowing in most key decisions in life - people react vs being proactive.

On a happier note Lee Corso is 88 and just picked his 400th game with his famous mascot head. Late 80, past a stroke - this FSU Phys Ed major has done more than alright. Take that I’vy Leaguers :). Kidding. Kidding. It’s a fun story for a fun guy - with The Rock on hand to celebrate today

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Since the economy has been trending toward giving more of the rewards of growth to capital, most people (whose income is mainly from labor) are seeing a zero-sum or even negative-sum game in the economy. No surprise that people are more disagreeable when any gain for you is a loss for someone else, rather than being able to agree to a win-win solution of sharing the overall gain in a positive-sum game.

It is not surprising… especially when the risk of something bad is underestimated, or difficult to estimate.

This most recent event reminded me of your statement above @jym626 regarding what took place at Bama, calling for accountability. Apparently you are in agreement with Mattison’s agent who responded to the event as follows…

“These types of messages hit these players inboxes all the time. This type of hate, vitriol has no place in our society, period.

“Universities, stadiums, teams should ban anyone that uses such language for life. There’s no place in our world for that disgusting behavior and there’s certainly no place in sports,” LaBoy said.”

I know the University of Alabama condemned the event.

Anyone know if they identified, banned or took any further action against the offenders? Hardly representative of all but a super small minority such that I hope the school acts decisively to send a message.

Completely agree!!

Great choice of words :wink:

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Probably a mistake to try to understand where a racist is coming from, but it seems strange those fans were making racist comments to the Texas players, given that the vast majority of their beloved Crimson Tide roster is composed of African Americans. I don’t get sports fanaticism to begin with, but obviously this was beyond the pale.

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I am NOT condoning reprehensible behavior. BUT these days you have to remember that not everything is always as it appears. Not every protester is actually part of a local group, not every tweet came from the source it claims come from and some people are just hateful and jump in at every chance to create chaos.

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Two things football related.

  1. Mel Tucker being fired. I’m not dismissive of what he did and who was on the other end but it was in private time and we don’t know the details of the conversation, etc. I’m not sure there was evidence to do this but they didn’t want to pay $95 mil and they stink and maybe that played a part - escaping

  2. Travis Kelce plants in the media he wants to be with T Swift. Then she’s in his box and they left together from the game. Wow.

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Hazing, forced drug use and explicit racism on campus seems crazy to me…

“H.B. was repeatedly punched, sprayed with a water hose, told to yell a racial slur at a nearby Black student and hit in the head with a basketball, which caused him to lose consciousness, see stars and suffer a traumatic brain injury.”

“H.B. was instructed to “snort a white powdery substance.” Afterward, he was forced into a basement where six fraternity members beat him.”

The degree of abuse and racist behavior is particularly troubling!!

Here is excellent reporting about the Mel Tucker situation: Mich. State's Mel Tucker made false claims in sexual harassment case.

Gender discrimination. So wrong.

Thanks for sharing. It says it still comes down to he said she said

I’m not a victim. I can’t know what she was thinking or why she didn’t hang up or what he was thinking.

I’m not saying he’s not a creep.

I was just surprised they had enough to terminate. I could be wrong but I’m guessing his egregious salary played a part.

I mean cnn didn’t fire Jeffrey Toobin and he was on camera in front of many.

Its an issue that is being appropriately addressed by the college. Concerning, yes. But “crazy”, no. President Bradley addresses it well:

Office of the President
I am writing to address as openly as possible the Vassar family—in its entirety—concerning the pay equity lawsuit.

I am enormously grateful to you for your faith in Vassar—in good times and in challenging times, too. Given that Vassar is one of the foremost liberal arts colleges in the country, and one founded originally to educate women, I know the news of the recent lawsuit is unsettling and has left some feeling confused, angry, or hurt.

The faculty members who made these claims are highly valued members of our community and integral to the quality of education at Vassar. I am grateful for their ongoing commitment and dedication to the students and to their education and research activities. The matters raised by the lawsuit are important.

Vassar is fully committed to gender pay equity and has always been committed to gender equality, seeking to promote equity in all that it does.

Due to the pending litigation, the college cannot address the matter in detail. I know this makes it very difficult for all of us. Still, I am committed to communicating with you on behalf of the college in the most transparent way possible. I will do my best, working within the limitations that we have.

First, on salary itself. Recent media reports have identified differences in Vassar’s average faculty salaries for women as compared to men; however, as is so often the case, averages do not tell a complete story. At Vassar, as at many colleges and universities, faculty salaries are determined by several factors. These can include, for instance, academic field, years in the position, and peer evaluations of performance. Average salaries do not account for these factors and therefore can be misleading.

Second, it is also important to understand that, at Vassar, annual faculty salary increases are guided by a faculty-led peer-review process. This process is detailed in the Faculty Handbook and in our Governance.

Third, we must continue to make informed progress. To that end, I have invited our Faculty Compensation Committee to participate in selecting a third-party compensation analysis firm to use our data and assess pay equity relative to our salary policies and practices, making recommendations for adjustments if needed. In addition, I would like the firm to work with us over the longer term on considering a new approach to establishing annual faculty salary increases. The academy has learned much about inclusive pedagogy that fosters thriving in every student, using varying and creative approaches to learning. We are also continuously learning about equity in recruitment and hiring. The faculty salary policies and practices were designed forty years ago and would benefit from a re-examination, although by the college’s Governance, this process must be undertaken and approved by the faculty.

Vassar has long fought against all gender-based disparities in society. It is a basis for our being. We remain profoundly committed to this work.

While resolving this matter will take time, my hope is that we will learn along the way and may emerge as an even stronger community. I firmly believe we are a community that can disagree and still work effectively together on our shared purpose—to provide the highest quality liberal arts education in a diverse and inclusive environment. We will continue to provide a remarkable experience for students, faculty, administrators, and staff.

Thank you for your support and please reach out to me if you have additional questions or reflections.

Elizabeth H. Bradley, President
VASSAR COLLEGE
Poughkeepsie, NY 12604
@EHBVassar

As an alum I was disappointed but proud that the administration is seemingly addressing the issue proactively.

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Yep, you and me both. It was alarming to see the accusation, and disappointing at a formerly womens’ college, but pleased to see how it is being addressed, and a dialogue opened. Thats anything but “crazy”.

Wow - never saw this there or on the website. Didn’t know this was possible.

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After caskets, I’m not shocked about anything Costco decides to sell. :laughing:

But people reselling Costco cakes by the slice?! Lining up at the store to grab a cake to resell? That is nuts.

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/costco-cake-resellers-in-mexico-net-up-to-1700-over-four-days/

Not that it’s news but this study looks at where youth drinking is most prevalent. If I had to guess I’d have gotten it wrong. New England states.

Why is it a surprise that northeastern states tend to have higher youth drinking rates?

That finding is consistent with what https://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/sites/cdp/files/documents/082-Presley.pdf found about regional differences in colleges with high/medium/low heavy episodic drinking.

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I was thinking southern states, heavy Greek culture. But the study was 12-20. I’ve never seen a study on this. But Northeastern states do better on education and the South not - so I would have tied the two together.

But apparently it’s not the case.

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