TRIGGER WARNING: Discussion of sexual assault By now, most people will have read, or at least heard of, the Rolling Stone article that details the alleged gang rape of Jackie, a first-year student at the University of Virginia (UVA). The day I read her story, my reaction was similar to that of my female friends: […]
Author: Emily Shugerman
Emily Shugerman is a politics major at Occidental College and editor in chief of The Occidental Weekly. Follow her on Twitter.
We Heart: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Self-Proclaimed Feminist
As if his impressive acting chops and creative side projects weren’t enough, Joseph Gordon-Levitt gave us another reason to love him on Thursday when he proclaimed that he “absolutely” identifies as a feminist. In between chatting about his favorite directors and affinity for musicals, Gordon-Levitt told a Daily Beast reporter: I’d absolutely call myself a feminist. […]
NEWSFLASH: Federal Judge Blocks Alabama Anti-Abortion Law
U.S. District Court Judge Myron Thompson ruled on Monday that a recently passed law requiring abortion providers to obtain staff privileges at local hospitals places an unconstitutional, undue burden on women seeking an abortion. Thompson’s decision will block enforcement of the law until he determines whether to issue a permanent injunction. The new law would […]
States Prescribe Bad Medicine for Women Seeking Abortions
Days before senators testified on behalf of a bill to protect women’s health services, the National Partnership for Women and Families released a report detailing just how threatened these services are. Aptly titled “Bad Medicine,” the report focuses on a specific threat to women’s healthcare: laws restricting doctors’ professional discretion and mandating how abortions are […]
Students Challenge North Carolina Voter ID Laws
For years, civil rights organizations have successfully argued to overturn voter ID laws on the grounds that they disproportionately disenfranchise poor and minority voters. But this week, college students are having their say as well. Lawyers for seven North Carolina college students joined the NAACP, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Department of Justice to […]
Malala Yousafzai Honored with Liberty Medal
Malala Yousafzai, the 16-year-old Pakistani women’s rights activist who survived a Taliban assassination attempt, can now add the National Constitution Center‘s Liberty Medal to her growing list of awards. Established by Congress to raise awareness and understanding of the U.S. Constitution, the National Constitution Center annually awards the Liberty Medal to those who “strive to […]
Don’t Let SCOTUS Have the Last Word on Voting Rights
In the Freedom Summer of 1964, several hundred students from across the United States traveled to Mississippi to register black voters in the face of discriminatory voting laws. This year’s 50th anniversary of the Freedom Summer calls for a renewed focus on the obstacles U.S. citizens still face in securing the right to vote. Perhaps […]
What Was Achieved at the White House Summit on Working Families?
The White House convened a summit this week, co-sponsored by the White House Council on Women and Girls, the Department of Labor and the Center for American Progress, to address the concerns of working families in the United States. Besides casting a national spotlight on families in the workforce, the immediate result of the summit included […]
Rush Limbaugh Thinks Workplace Sexism is a Myth
The White House hosted a Summit on Working Families this week to discuss making the American workplace more family-friendly. Apparently, this was unacceptable to Rush Limbaugh. Particularly objectionable to him was the segment on women in the workforce. According to Limbaugh, sexism is a thing of the past—a long-defunct relic of the Mad Men era. […]
Will Peace Corps Volunteers Finally Receive Abortion Coverage?
The Senate Appropriations Committee recently approved a proposal to allow federal health care to cover abortions for Peace Corps volunteers in certain situations. The proposal is included in the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, which next moves to a full-Senate vote. The proposal mirrors the language of the Peace Corps Equity Act, a stand-alone bill […]