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In recent years, the California University System has faced a series of scandals related to sexual misconduct. These incidents have not only tarnished the reputation of the universities involved but have also had a profound impact on the victims and the overall campus climate. It is crucial that we address this issue head-on and take concrete steps to create a safer and more inclusive environment for everyone.
Understanding the Problem
Sexual misconduct encompasses a wide range of behaviors, including sexual harassment, assault, and rape. These incidents can occur between students, between faculty and students, or even within university staff. The consequences of such misconduct are far-reaching, affecting not only the immediate victims but also the entire campus community.
It is important to recognize that sexual misconduct is not limited to any particular university or demographic. It is a pervasive problem that exists in institutions across the country. However, the recent scandals in the California University System have shed light on the urgent need for action.
Creating a Safer Environment
Addressing sexual misconduct requires a multifaceted approach that involves education, prevention, and support for survivors. Universities must prioritize the safety and well-being of their students and take proactive measures to prevent such incidents from occurring.
Educating Students and Staff
One of the key steps in combating sexual misconduct is educating the entire campus community about consent, boundaries, and healthy relationships. This education should be an ongoing process, starting from orientation programs for new students and continuing throughout their academic journey.
Additionally, faculty and staff should receive training on recognizing and responding to signs of sexual misconduct. By equipping everyone with the knowledge and tools to address these issues, we can create a culture of accountability and support.
Preventing Misconduct
Prevention is always better than intervention. Universities should implement comprehensive prevention programs that address the root causes of sexual misconduct. This can include bystander intervention training, workshops on consent, and creating safe spaces for open discussions on these topics.
Furthermore, universities must have clear policies and procedures in place to handle reports of sexual misconduct. This includes providing survivors with confidential resources, conducting thorough investigations, and taking appropriate disciplinary action against perpetrators.
Supporting Survivors
Supporting survivors of sexual misconduct is crucial for their healing and recovery. Universities should establish confidential reporting mechanisms and provide survivors with access to counseling services, medical support, and legal assistance. It is essential to create an environment where survivors feel safe and supported, free from victim-blaming or judgment.
Working Towards Change
The recent scandals in the California University System have brought the issue of sexual misconduct to the forefront. While these incidents are deeply troubling, they have also sparked a renewed commitment to change. Universities are now taking significant steps to address the problem and ensure the safety and well-being of their students.
By implementing comprehensive prevention programs, educating the campus community, and providing support to survivors, we can create a safer and more inclusive environment for everyone. It is through collective efforts and a commitment to change that we can overcome the challenges posed by sexual misconduct and build a brighter future for our universities.
Let us stand together and say no to sexual misconduct. Together, we can create campuses that are free from fear and full of opportunities for growth and learning.
California faculty at largest US university system launch strike for better pay
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Faculty at California State University, the largest public university system in the U.S., kicked off a series of one-day strikes starting Monday across four campuses to demand higher pay and more parental leave for thousands of professors, librarians, coaches and other workers.
Hundreds of faculty members picketed at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, also known as Cal Poly Pomona, to launch the latest push by the California Faculty Association to fight for better pay and benefits for the roughly 29,000 workers the union represents across the university system’s 23 campuses.
The union is seeking a 12% salary raise and an increase in parental leave from six weeks to a full semester. They also want more manageable workloads for faculty, better access to breastfeeding stations and more gender-inclusive restrooms.
“What we’re doing is in the spirit of maintaining the integrity of what the public education system should be for,” said Maria Gisela Sanchez, a counselor at Cal Poly Pomona who picketed Monday. “Public education belongs to all of us.”
The union also planned strikes this week at San Francisco State University; California State University, Los Angeles; and California State University, Sacramento.
The California State University chancellor’s office says the pay increase the union is seeking would cost the system $380 million in new recurring spending. That would be $150 million more than increased funding for the system by the state for the 2023-24 year, the office said.
Leora Freedman, the vice chancellor for human resources, said in a statement that the university system aims to pay its workers fairly and provide competitive benefits.
“We recognize the need to increase compensation and are committed to doing so, but our financial commitments must be fiscally sustainable,” Freedman said.
She said the chancellor’s office respects workers’ right to strike and would prepare to minimize disruptions on campuses.
Cal Poly Pomona leadership said the campus would remain open and that some faculty would still hold classes. Instructors participating in the strike notified students about cancellations and gave them instructions to prepare for the next class.
Kate Ozment, an English assistant professor and assembly delegate for the union’s Cal Poly Pomona chapter, said the only reason she could afford to take her job at the university after earning $18,000 annually as a graduate student in Texas was because she is married.
“That’s what we’re seeing is that people who are two-income households or have generational wealth are the ones who can afford to take these jobs,” she said. “That’s not actually what the CSU is supposed to be about.”
On top of salary concerns, Ozment said without an increase in parental leave, she can’t afford to have a child. Only having six weeks of parental leave as opposed to a full semester disrupts classes when professors have expertise in niche topics in which other teachers do not, she said.
Beyond the faculty union, other California State University workers are fighting for better pay and bargaining rights. The Teamsters Local 2010 union, which represents plumbers, electricians and maintenance workers employed by the university system, held a one-day strike last month to fight for better pay. In October, student workers across the university system’s campuses became eligible to vote to form a union.
Jason Rabinowitz, secretary-treasurer for Teamsters Local 2010, which plans to strike in support of the faculty union, said skilled workers have been paid far less than workers in similar roles at University of California campuses.
“Teamsters will continue to stand together and to stand with our fellow Unions, until CSU treats our members, faculty, and all workers at CSU with the fairness we deserve,” Rabinowitz said in a statement.
The strike comes during a big year for labor, one in which health care professionals, Hollywood actors and writers, and auto workers picketed for better pay and working conditions. It’s all amid new California laws granting workers more paid sick leave, as well as increased wages for health care and fast food workers.
Last year, teaching assistants and graduate student workers at the University of California went on strike for a month, disrupting classes as the fall semester came to a close
California State University faculty launch strike for better pay
Faculty at California State University, the largest public university system in the U.S., will hold a series of four one-day strikes starting Monday across four campuses to demand higher pay and more parental leave for thousands of professors, librarians, coaches and other workers.
The one-day rolling strikes will begin at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona on Monday. On Tuesday, the strike moves to San Francisco State University before being held at the California State University Los Angeles campus Wednesday. The last labor action will be held at the Sacramento CSU campus on Thursday..
The strikes are the latest push by the California Faculty Association to fight for better pay and benefits for the roughly 29,000 workers the union represents.
The union is seeking a 12% salary raise and an increase in parental leave from six weeks to a full semester. They also want more manageable workloads for faculty, better access to breastfeeding stations and more gender-inclusive restrooms.
Anne Luna, president of the faculty union’s Sacramento chapter, said these workers need a boost in pay and benefits at a time when the cost of rent, groceries, child care and other necessities have gone up in recent years.
“They can afford to provide fair compensation and safe working conditions,” Luna said in a statement. “It’s time to stop funneling tuition and taxpayer money into a top-heavy administration.”
The California State University chancellor’s office says the pay increase the union is seeking would cost the system $380 million in new recurring spending. That would be $150 million more than increased funding for the system by the state for the 2023-24 year, the office said.
Leora Freedman, the vice chancellor for human resources, said in a statement that the university system aims to pay its workers fairly and provide competitive benefits.
“We recognize the need to increase compensation and are committed to doing so, but our financial commitments must be fiscally sustainable,” Freedman said.
She said the chancellor’s office respects workers’ right to strike and would prepare to minimize disruptions on campuses.
San Francisco State University released the following statement:
SF State respects our employees and their labor rights. All labor negotiations are handled centrally at the CSU Chancellor’s office. We remain hopeful that the CSU reaches an agreement with the CFA as they have done with other unions.
Beyond the faculty union, other California State University workers are fighting for better pay and bargaining rights. The Teamsters Local 2010 union, which represents plumbers, electricians and maintenance workers employed by the university system, held a one-day strike last month to fight for better pay. In October, student workers across the university system’s 23 campuses became eligible to vote to form a union.
Jason Rabinowitz, secretary-treasurer for Teamsters Local 2010, which plans to strike in support of the faculty union, said skilled workers have been paid far less than workers in similar roles at University of California campuses.
“Teamsters will continue to stand together and to stand with our fellow Unions, until CSU treats our members, faculty, and all workers at CSU with the fairness we deserve,” Rabinowitz said in a statement.
The strike comes during a big year for labor, one in which health care professionals, Hollywood actors and writers, and auto workers picketed for better pay and working conditions. It’s all amid new California laws granting workers more paid sick leave, as well as increased wages for health care and fast food workers.
Last year, teaching assistants and graduate student workers at the University of California went on strike for a month, disrupting classes as the fall semester came to a close.
Hunter Biden’s attorney claims indictments would not have been brought if he was not related to the president
Hunter Biden’s attorney said Thursday that his client would not be facing charges out of Delaware and California if he was not President Biden’s son, saying the charges would not be brought if his last name was “anything other than Biden.”
Earlier Thursday, Hunter Biden was indicted in California on nine tax charges over $1.4 million in taxes he owed between 2016 and 2019. Special Counsel David Weiss has been using a federal grand jury in Los Angeles to gather evidence of possible criminal tax charges against Hunter Biden.
The charging documents filed in California accuse Hunter Biden of spending money on personal expenses including drugs, luxury hotels and exotic cars. “[I]n short, everything but his taxes,” prosecutors wrote.
If convicted, Hunter Biden could face up to 17 years in prison.
HUNTER BIDEN FACES NEW INDICTMENT IN CALIFORNIA
Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, walks with family members in Nantucket, Massachusetts, U.S, November 24, 2023. (REUTERS/Tom Brenner)
This comes after Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty in October to federal gun charges in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware in connection with Weiss’ years-long investigation.
“Based on the facts and the law, if Hunter’s last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware, and now California, would not have been brought,” defense attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement. “First, U.S. Attorney Weiss bowed to Republican pressure to file unprecedented and unconstitutional gun charges to renege on a non-prosecution resolution. Now, after five years of investigating with no new evidence — and two years after Hunter paid his taxes in full — the U.S. Attorney has piled on nine new charges when he had agreed just months ago to resolve this matter with a pair of misdemeanors.”
“I wrote U.S. Attorney Weiss days ago seeking a customary meeting to discuss this investigation,” he continued. “The response was media leaks today that these charges were being filed. All these issues will now be addressed in various courts, the first to occur this Monday when the prosecutors knew our motions to dismiss their first set of questionable charges would be filed.”
Lowell said all of Hunter Biden’s back taxes were paid in full more than two years ago and that he has since been up-to-date with his filings and taxes. Lowell also said his client was suffering from a serious drug addiction during the period of unpaid taxes.
HUNTER’S EX-BUSINESS ASSOCIATE BLASTS BIDEN’S NEW CLAIM ABOUT SON’S BUSINESS DEALINGS
Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, walks with his wife, Melissa Cohen, in Nantucket, Massachusetts, U.S, November 24, 2023. (REUTERS/Tom Brenner)
Additionally, Lowell pointed out that millions of Americans fail to file or pay their taxes on time each year and that it is uncommon for someone to be charged for not filing or paying their taxes on time. Lowell said it is especially rare for a person who paid the taxes, interest and penalty afterward to be charged.
Thursday’s indictment comes ahead of an expected vote from House Republican leaders next week to formally initiate an impeachment inquiry into President Biden over possible ties to his son’s overseas business dealings. The White House has maintained that President Biden had no knowledge of his son’s business dealings.
House Republicans have also said they would move to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress if he does not appear for a closed-door deposition on Dec. 13. But Hunter Biden has said he would only testify before the House if it is in public because information from closed-door testimonies is selectively leaked and used to “manipulate, even history, the facts and misinform the American public.”
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