image via The AP

Constance McMillen, who has become a gay-rights poster child for wanting to take her girlfriend to prom, was awarded $35,000 from the Itawamba County School District, reports the Associated Press. The school district canceled its prom rather than allow a same-sex couple to attend the dance. The ACLU filed a discrimination lawsuit on the 18-year-old’s behalf, demanding reparations and that the prom be reinstated.

Although the judge would not force the high school to hold prom, he did rule that McMillen’s rights had been violated. As part of the agreement, the school also agreed to follow a new policy not to discriminate based on sexual orientation in any educational or extracurricular activities.

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Jarretta Hamilton with her husband and daughter. Image via AOL news.

Fourth-grade teacher Jarretta Hamilton found herself jobless after requesting maternity leave, reports AOL News. Hamilton admitted to school authorities that she conceived before her April marriage. In a letter explaining her termination from Southland Christian School in St. Cloud, it states that she was not fired because of her pregnancy, but because of “fornication, sex outside of marriage.” They felt that Hamilton had violated the school’s values, which all teachers hired at Southland Christian must agree to uphold.

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A few weeks ago a swastika graffiti was found in a library bathroom at Lewis & Clark College. The student body and faculty at Lewis & Clark College were very upset about the graffiti.

Last week, another liberal arts college, Reed College, published a satirical article about the issue in their humor-based-newspaper, The Pamphlette.

The article claimed that students had killed all Jews on their campus. The opening paragraph states:
“In what is being called a ‘tragic, but all too predictable’ event, the staff of The Leaphlette, a student humor publication at Lewis & Clark College, have been accused of rounding up and gassing all of the Jews on their Portland, OR, campus.” Read the rest of this entry »

Benedict College in South Carolina, one of the Historically Black Universities, has been accused of racism by three former Caucasian professors. They claim race was the reason they were either let go or didn’t receive promotions. A settlement has been reached between the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Benedict – each teacher would receive $55,000 and the school will remind its staff about its non-discrimination policy.

The allegations include a 2004 report that art instructor Argiri Aggelopoulou applied for the position of art history professor, but that instead went to a black professor; and a 2008 report in which contracts were not renewed for Aggelopoulou, art professor Michael Hale and associate English professor Katherine Mille. Read the rest of this entry »