Sex in the Library

Exam season is upon us.  Students busy themselves revising all hours of the day in the libraries, often looking for distraction in the form of Facebook, Twitter, vending machines, idle gossip and - according to some San Francisco news columns - sex.

As if librarians didn't have enough to worry about already with the risk of drink spillages.  They now face the added threat from...well, you can imagine the rest.

SF Weekly picks up the story, including a link to the piece which kicked the online rumble off; a piece in the UC Berkley student newspaper in which a student wrote in favour of sex in the library.  This sparked some interesting reaction  - notably from one of the Berkley librarians.

Sex in University libraries is nothing new.  I've often observed in research talks on my own public sex research that websites in most international cities suggest college campuses - notably libraries - are where it's at.  Laud Humphreys - the Godfather of public sex research - devoted an entire article to the subject.

HIV and the Law: A US Inter-disciplinary Perspective

The Institute for Multimedia Literacy at the University of Southern California have released a series of wonderful videos.  These video-based digital arguments are the final projects  for a unique class that joined IML420: New Media for Social Change, with HP470: Case Studies in Global Health. Student teams consisted of students from both classes and they were required to create a short research piece that explored some facet of HIV and the law.  There are nine videos in total and you can watch them all below.

Project Bolo

I want to share a truly moving and important project with you.  The India-based Project Bolo is an LGBT oral history project, but given it operates in a country that regards homosexuality as a taboo - and whose recent attempts at decriminalisation are still stuck in the courts -means that the people who appear in these film are incredibly courageous.  The Project describes itself in the following terms:

''Project Bolo' records and documents individual profiles of LGBT persons who have, in their own way, stood up for what they believed in and challenged norms and stereotypes loaded on them by the society. They are also persons who have made a significant mark in their own professional areas of work, be it literature, filmmaking, law, activism, healthcare, journalism, IT, media, etc. Through these recorded interviews, 'Project Bolo' hopes to serve as an inspiration to the LGBT community and offer real-life role models.

This multi-generational oral history project, 'Project Bolo', hopes to serve as an inspiration to the LGBT community and reconstruct the unique history and progress of the Indian LGBT movement from the early 40s to the present day. Project Bolo in its first phase Vol 1, carried out during 2010-2011, recorded and documented oral histories of 20 LGBT persons in four cities - Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi and Lucknow : Aditya Bandopadhyay, Ashok Row Kavi, Betu Singh, Bindumadhav Khire, Dalip Daswani, Gauri Sawant, Geeta Khumana, Giti Thadani, Hoshang Merchant, Jehangir Jani, Lachi, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, Manvendra Singh Gohil, Nisha, Parmesh Shahani, R Raj Rao, Ruth Vanita, Saleem Kidwai, Shivananda Khan, Sunil Gupta. Project Bolo is produced by The Humsafar Trust in association with Solaris Pictures and supported by UNDP (India).'

The project has a wonderful website with transcripts and videos of the individuals who took part in phase one of the project.  Check it out here.   The ever brilliant Indian gay magazine, Gaylaxy also includes a piece looking at the project in their latest issue which you can view or download here.  There's also a rather brilliant piece about gay students coming out on college campuses.  Moving stuff.

Lives Online

Forgive some mild Law School publicity, but I accidentally discovered this today and think it's brilliant.  The University have done a Lives Online thing the last couple of years - following a student as they arrive, and progress through University life.  One of the participants this year is Dan Briscall who has just arrived to start an LLB at Sunderland.  I met Dan earlier today when I delivered a mooting workshop to freshers and he seemed a really great guy.  Academic bogs often focus on our own egos and brilliance, but it's nice to hear from the students who are on the receiving end.  So...follow Dan and see how he gets on with us.  I'm awaiting the "had a mooting workshop today.  it was awful" message.  I watch with trepidation...

Here's the full page for Dan, and you can check out his first full video below.

 

Same-Sex Marriage Animations

Inspired by the brilliant students and staff at Columbia Law School, I set my undergraduate students the task of creating animations around the subject of same sex marriage this week. Here are the really quite wonderful videos they came up with:

Robbie v Nana Betty

Richard's Rant

Uganda, Homophobia and a Privacy Victory

One of the great fronts in the battle for gay rights is Africa. It's therefore cheering to see this report in the Guardian today on a positive legal outcome in Uganda. The case concerned the printing of addresses and photographs of some of the 100 people it named as "Uganda's top homos" in a small circulation newspaper started by journalism graduates from Makerere University in Kampala The court found that the report violated their constitutional rights to privacy and safety and awarded the three plaintiffs in whose names the case was launched just over £400 each in damages. Although the newspaper goes by the name 'Rolling Stone', the US magazine was quick to distance itself from the Ugandan publication, branding the paper 'an imposter'.

Good news and a positive outcome but let's not get carried away. That this was started by a university newspaper should surely be a source of concern? A new generation of education Ugandans will be beginning their working lives in politics, law, and other state roles with a clear background in homophobia. A battle has been won, but the war has barely begun.

Death, Bullying and Homophobia

A storm of outrage, shock and anger is sweeping through America. The issue of homophobic bullying and its impact upon young people has been brought forward in the nations consciousness following the death of a College freshman last week.

18 year-old Tyler Clementi (pictured right) was a student at Rutgers University who killed himself last week by throwing himself off a bridge. His suicide followed the screening over the web of a sexual encounter between himself and another male. A webcam had been hidden in his room by his room-mate and together with another freshman, the room-mate transmitted the footage on the net. Two Rutgers students have now been charged and the full story can be read here.

Ellen DeGeneres, the out Lesbian actress, chat-show presenter and gay-rights campaigner has posted an extraordinarily powerful message on the Internet and you can view it at the bottom of this post expressing her horror at these events and challenging America to face up to them, and do something to prevent other young people dieing through homophobic bullying.

Her message is simple. Our culture - for yes we can't pretend we exist in a separate European ideal world - through it's tolerance of fear and prejudice, through its projection of sexual intolerance, is killing people. Young people are dying and Tyler Clementi is just the latest high profile casualty.

We can't go on like this. Yet, for us here in Britain, the forthcoming cuts in public expenditure will undoubtedly result in cut-backs to charities and community groups that have a vital role in our communities to protect young people. These are groups that offer a lifeline to people like Tyler and help prevent their deaths. When you hear of cuts to gay groups - as you will - don't just dismiss them, think what this means for the Tyler Clementi's out there.

The University Challenge

Stonewall have launched a new online guide on their site 'gaybydegree.org.uk'. Check out the site here. The 'University Guide' is, according to Stonewall 'aimed at lesbian, gay and bisexual 16 and 17 year olds who are choosing which university to study at'.

Luke Tryl, Stonewall’s Education Officer, said: ‘With the introduction of tuition fees, students are increasingly consumers and as such expect universities to cater to their needs. For the first time, students can now compare how gay-friendly every UK university is by browsing this groundbreaking new guide.’

Stonewall claims that the site measures how gay-friendly each university is based on a range of factors, including whether there is a student LGB Society, if LGB specific careers advice is offered, membership of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions Programme, policies and practices that counter homophobic bullying and specific events for LGB students.

You can pull up institutions by region or A-Z but there's no 'league table' as such. You simply have info on each institution reduced to a tick or cross. I've reproduced the criteria in full below - including the explanations (which do not appear on the institutions bit). I think it's a useful worthy guide. I do have some concerns though. Institutions are increasingly focusing on meeting this criteria (I know my own is) but this can be a mixed blessing. It means you can get more support for somethings but it also means the institution becomes focused on ticking the boxes. It's no good having all of this if staff are homophobic which on the basis of this criteria can still happen.

Let's take one example. Universities employ vast amounts of overseas staff in their academic ranks. many of whom still subscribe to very different cultural values. The challenge for universities is to address these. Universities are pretty good these days at providing spaces for worship (less good at broader spirituality) but what happens when those values clash with sexuality? Should a university confront a devout Christian and tell them they are wrong to hold homophobic attitudes? My view is "absolutely" but an institution that runs away from these issues could stills core very highly on Stonewalls system.

It's an important starting point - more than that actually, it's an important framework and Stonewall have taken an impressive lead on this issue, but Universities must come under pressure to do more, and make addressing issues of sexuality a deep policy, not just a box ticking exercise.

Here's the Stonewall criteria:

• A policy that protects lesbian, gay and bisexual students from bullying: Does the university have a harassment policy which makes explicit reference to homophobia? Does it indicate that there are appropriate sanctions for those who are homophobic? Is there protection for those who are victims of such bullying?

• Compulsory staff training on lesbian, gay and bisexual issues: Does the university train its teaching and support staff on lesbian, gay and bisexual issues as part of their diversity training? Is this training mandatory?

• Lesbian, gay and bisexual staff network: Is there a network group for lesbian, gay and bisexual staff which is supported by the university? Is this publicised so prospective students will know about it?

• Student lesbian, gay and bisexual society: Is there a specific student society for lesbian, gay and bisexual students which is active and provides a meeting point for lesbian, gay and bisexual students?

• Info for students on lesbian, gay and bisexual issues: Does the university or the student union provide specific information for LGB students, for instance in the form of a handbook or a DVD?

• Events for lesbian, gay and bisexual students: Does the university run specific events for lesbian, gay and bisexual students, for instance events during history month or social events for students?

• Explicit Welfare Provision for lesbian, gay and bisexual students: Does the university or the Student Union offer specific welfare support for lesbian, gay and bisexual students. This may be in the form of counsellors who are specifically trained in lesbian, gay and bisexual issues or in the form of LGBT society welfare reps.

• Consultation with lesbian, gay and bisexual students: Does the University ensure that it talks to lesbian, gay and bisexual students about their needs and include them in the decision making process within the University.

• Specific Career Advice for lesbian, gay and bisexual students: Does the University actively promote lesbian, gay and bisexual recruitment guides such as Stonewalls Starting Out? Or does it offer specific career advice for lesbian, gay and bisexual students either on their websites or through promotional events?