News item,
Norwich Bulletin, 4-4-10:
The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference will have a new executive director in January. Karissa Niehoff, the principal of Lewis Mills High School in Burlington, was chosen by the executive committee on Thursday to replace Michael Savage, who is retiring.
WAS SHE FORCED OUT?
still liable for seizure / suppression
of free-speech t-shirts
&
other violations of Bill of Rights ...
Suppressed Free Speech T-Shirts
Verboten In Douchebagville
BACKGROUND
Judge José A. Cabranes
Drives Stake In Heart
Of Douche Bag School Bosses' Phony Defense:
"I'm having trouble understanding how wearing of T-shirts is going to cause disruption ... I think we're all having difficulty following this line of reasoning."
ALSO
Manchester, Ct Paper Runs Free Speech Op-ed
HEADLINE
Avery Doninger:
Standing up for all of us
Avery Doninger, Now A Student
@ Eastern Connecticut State University,
On Duty For AmeriCorps
CIAC's
HISTORY OF PISSING
ON
THE BILL OF RIGHTS
In this context, Niehoff is an appropriate choice.
Cool Justice Editor's Note:
Many years ago - when the Litchfield, CT Public Schools violated the civil rights of young women by refusing to field and fund a girls soccer team - CIAC boss Mike Savage was absolutely useless. By his refusal to support equal rights for girls sports, Savage allied himself with then Litchfield High School Principal Suzi D'Annolfo. There were four boys' teams and no girls' teams at the time. "This is not a Title IX issue," D'Annolfo said. "There will not be a girls' soccer program this fall; I never promised that to anyone."
Cool Justice
File Those Title IX Complaints
By ANDY THIBAULT, Columnist
Law Tribune Newspapers
August 28, 2000
An old rule in journalism goes something like this: If your mother says she loves you, get a second source.
Here's a new guideline, not just for journalists, but also for parents, athletes and their lawyers: When school administrators say, "We're in compliance with Title IX," don't believe it for a second.
Chances are they don't have a clue and are just hoping you will go away. Instead, document the facts, and the interest in participating in certain sports, then file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights in Boston.
Title IX violations occur when:
1. School systems intentionally deny to female students athletic opportunities that are equivalent to those available to male students.
2. The benefits and facilities available to female athletes are inferior to those available to male athletes.
Such inequities in the access to and quality of athletic opportunities violate female students' Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection rights. This type of gender-based inequality also violates Conn. Gen. Statute 10-15c.
Besides all that, it's just plain wrong. The issue goes beyond high school sports to opportunity for college scholarships, earning power and long-term self-esteem. Among the phenomena since Title IX took effect in 1972 are adult basketball and baseball leagues for women, increased opportunities in the business of sports and a sense of social justice.
Woe to those who stand in the way. When local government fails, big government can play a positive role through civil rights enforcement.
In New Britain this year, junior softball player Whitney Chase and her teammates had the guts to ask the local school board for help. She presented a number of inequities, but the most important one had to do with inferior playing fields. The New Britain High girls' softball team had to postpone its first home game because neither the school system nor the city could provide an adequate field.
The boys' baseball team, meanwhile, enjoyed their season at professional quality Beehive Stadium.
Athletic Director William Lesinski was quick to say the school had not violated Title IX. Let's hope Lesinski and company are quick enough to get a safe field ready for girls' softball before opening day next year.
If all this sounds familiar, that's because similar situations crop up around the state whenever girls' teams start to develop and the bureaucrats stonewall equal opportunity.
In Canton several years ago, a Title IX case resulted in two new soccer teams for girls.
At Litchfield High School in 1995, girls were rebuffed by the principal when they tried to organize a team. There were four boys' teams and no girls' teams at the time.
"This is not a Title IX issue," said then-Principal Suzanne D'Annolfo, who now works in another district. There will not be a girls' soccer program this fall; I never promised that to anyone."
Young girls in New Britain, Canton, Litchfield and throughout Connecticut are learning they can stand up to intractable administrators and win.
A Title IX complaint forced the Litchfield local school board to begin a girls' soccer program in 1996.
The team won its first game last year. Gov. John G. Rowland declared November 17, 1999, Litchfield High School Girls' Soccer Team Day, citing the team as "a model, not only for girls' sports, but also for all youngsters faced with tough odds and huge obstacles."
Also published
in
Law & Justice In Everyday Life,
Chapter Six,
Civil Rights And Freedom of Speech,
page 74
MORE
BACKGROUND
Law & Justice In Everyday Life by Andy Thibault at Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble
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