Author: Staff Writers

Meghan Downey of Chatham protests as U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announces federal policy changes in rules for investigating sexual assault reports on college campuses.. Lawler Duggan/For The Washington Post via Getty Images Heather Hensman Kettrey, Clemson University and Martie Thompson, Appalachian State University Ten years after a federal law required colleges and universities to offer sexual assault prevention programming to students, only about half of them are doing it. Without a national database containing standardized measures of campus sexual assault over time, it is difficult to determine whether campus sexual assault has decreased since this prevention programming requirement went…

Writer Ursula Parrott, pictured with her son, Marc, in 1935.ACME Newspapers Marsha Gordon, North Carolina State University In 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald published “The Great Gatsby.” Four years later, Ursula Parrott published her first novel, “Ex-Wife.” I probably read “The Great Gatsby” a dozen times between junior high school and my late 20s. But I had never even heard of Ursula Parrott or her 1929 bestseller until I stumbled across a screenplay adaption of one of Parrott’s short stories. Fitzgerald, in fact, had been hired to write that screenplay. Even though “Infidelity” was never produced because it was deemed too…

Molly Tuttle is a rising star in American roots music.Amy Harris/Invision/AP William Nash, Middlebury Jason Aldean’s song “Try That In A Small Town” extols small towns as bastions of conservative values standing up against a litany of violent big-city bogeymen. The song, and the backlash against it, threatens to strengthen popular conceptions about the inherent conservatism of country music. As an American Studies professor who teaches courses on country music, I am interested in the genre’s competing “liberal” lineage. For example, I have written about country musicians’ compassionate responses to the opioid crisis. Another group of songs casts light on…

PFAS concentrations were discovered in almost all of the paper and bamboo straws tested.Sia Footage/Shutterstock Ovokeroye Abafe, University of Birmingham Drinking straws that are made from materials like paper and bamboo are often promoted as more eco-friendly than their plastic counterparts. However, a new study has found that these supposedly sustainable straws contain potentially toxic chemicals called polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These substances, commonly known as “forever chemicals”, are a large group of over 4,000 synthetic chemicals that are used in a wide range of products due to their water- and fat-repellent properties. They can be found in everyday…

Teaching sex and gender more accurately can counter gender stereotypes and encourage all students to study STEM.Iurii Krasilnikov/iStock via Getty Images Plus Sarah Eddy, Florida International University Across the U.S., legislators are debating how and when sex and gender should be discussed in the classroom and beyond. Specifically, these bills are considering whether anything beyond male or female can be included in library books and lesson plans. These bills are part of a larger debate on how to define and regulate sex and gender, and there are no immediate answers that satisfy everyone. Many of the bills draw on science…

[ad_1] For many Libyans, the collective grief over the more than 11,000 dead has morphed into a rallying cry for national unity in a country blighted by 12 years of conflict and division. In turn, the tragedy has ramped up pressure on the country’s leading politicians, viewed by some as the architects of the catastrophe. The oil-rich country has been divided between rival administrations since 2014, with an internationally recognized government in Tripoli and a rival authority in the east, where Derna is located. Both are backed by international patrons and armed militias whose influence in the country has ballooned…

[ad_1] The Pennsylvania prison where inmate Danelo Cavalcante scaled a wall to make his great escape is making some changes to prevent a similar escape from happening again. Honchos in Chester County tell TMZ … prison officials made short-term upgrades to beef up security at the facility, including a new barrier blocking access to the prison roof. Play video content 8/31/23 Danelo crab-walked up a brick wall, dove through barbed wire and booked it across the roof to make his escape .. and we’re told the new barrier prohibiting roof access is behind the razor wire. Prison guards were in…

[ad_1] As the Taliban closed in on Herat in the summer of 2021, Gulnar* was living with her mother and sister in a rented house in the city. Her mother, who worked as a street vendor, worried about the future of her daughters, especially Gulnar, who was 18. She feared that the Taliban might take her daughter by force. At the same time, a neighbour introduced them to the family of 22-year-old Fawad.* Soon, they raised the idea of a marriage between their son and Gulnar. Thinking this could solve her concerns, Gulnar’s mother happily accepted the idea.  Gulnar tells…

[ad_1] As we close in on the first anniversary of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, a new poll suggests that OTCs have yet to gain any traction, much less attract many buyers. That leaves people with hearing difficulties going untreated and in need of more education. The national polling commissioned by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) suggests that 2% of American adults ages 40 and older who have hearing difficulties reported that they have purchased the new hearing aids and only 4% reported that they are likely to purchase OTCs in the next year.’My hearing’s not good, but…’More than half of American adults aged 40 and…

[ad_1] DALLAS (AP) — Car shoppers are heading for a new round of sticker shock if the strike by the United Auto Workers doesn’t end soon, particularly for popular vehicles that are already in short supply. The number of vehicles on dealer lots will shrink the longer the walkout goes on. Dealers are likely to lose incentives that the manufacturers pay them to boost sales by cutting prices. And consumers might make things worse with panic-buying. Many analysts think it will take several weeks before dealer lots start to look a bit empty. Ford, General Motors and Stellantis built up…