Zoë Corbyn at The Guardian interviews neuroscientist BethAnn McLaughlin. Assistant professor of neurology and pharmacology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, she is a leading campaigner in the fight against sexual assault and harassment of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. In 2018, she launched the #MeTooSTEM website to give women a place to tell their stories. An excerpt:
You began campaigning against sexual misconduct in science following an incident in 2015 in which you say you witnessed another faculty member at your university issue threats against a student who had filed a lawsuit against him and the institution (though the faculty member has denied any misconduct and was never found guilty of sexual harassment or retaliation). What clicked inside?
Like most women in science, I had witnessed gender discrimination and seen sexual harassment – but I’m embarrassed to say I laughed it off [before the incident]. The way we treat cases of sexual misconduct on university campuses is an enormous problem. People found guilty can maintain their positions, keep their funding, get promoted, train students and go to off-campus meetings. It’s totally unacceptable and unsafe.
Does science have a particular problem?
A National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report on sexual harassment released last year tells us that more than half of women have been sexually harassed by their colleagues in their science careers. Harassment of women in Stem is the worst of any sector outside of the military. We can’t have these conversations – why are there no women in tech, why are there not enough female professors? – and pretend we don’t understand that sexual harassment happens to most of them. Too many women have to run the gauntlet of abuse and leave. [...]
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On this date at Daily Kos in 2007—Baghdad in the Midwest:
We've spent a lot of time laughing at John McCain's safe stroll through the Shorja market in Baghdad, but today it's Rep. Mike Pence's turn to be mocked for his asinine remark describing their shopping spree, complete with 100 American troops, 3 Black Hawk helicopters and 2 Apache gunships, as:
...like a normal outdoor market in Indiana in the summer time.
From today's Los Angeles Times, Baghdad in the Midwest cornfields, the story of a typical Indiana family enjoying a trip to the market:
My wife came into the living room wearing a Kevlar vest, helmet and night-vision goggles.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Have you completely forgotten, silly head? We're going to the market." [...]
Carol helped the boys get ready, putting on their sneakers and body armor. I phoned the Indiana National Guard so that they could radio the 434th Special Air Wing at Grissom Air Force Base, which in turn scrambled two F-14 Tomcats. Then we hopped in the wagon. [...]
The F-14s flew by low. Each of us activated our earpieces and hand-held mini walkie-talkies, agreed on a frequency, and I slowed the car to 15 mph as Carol and the boys opened the doors and rolled out, taking cover under shrubbery near the Bibb lettuce stand (the boys love salad!) [...]
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Below is the second round of a poll first taken here on March 9, 2019.