Student Who Stands Up for Gay Rights Gets School Policies Reversed

Tyler Johnson, 17, was selected as a “Senior Spotlight” for his school’s January newsletter. He was asked about his biggest challenge and how he’d overcome it. For him, that challenge was growing up gay and overcoming bullying in his life.

But his principal and school superintendent disallowed his comment, saying that religion, sexual orientation or illegal drugs couldn’t be included in the school newsletter.

Johnson took his situation to TicTok, and the policies of his school district have been changed.

https://www.syracuse.com/schools/2022/01/a-cny-gay-teen-shares-his-biggest-challenge-schools-response-sets-off-a-storm.html?fbclid=IwAR2TQFZOBeLuQsy9FNoDjY-ykshx3dLpj2AkcXSKhvtexD-9VQh_uSiEsvM

In Oregon, Airbnb has Less of a Chance to Discriminate

Airbnb is going to stop revealing guests’ names on its platform until a booking request is confirmed, but the change is only going to be implemented in the state of Oregon.

The change stems from a lawsuit that was brought against Airbnb in 2019 by three Black women who lived in the Portland area. The lawsuit claimed by requiring guests to disclose their full names and photographs, Airbnb was allowing hosts to discriminate against Black users. That would be in violation of Oregon’s public accommodation laws. 

In response to the lawsuit, in late December Airbnb announced that Oregon hosts would start seeing the initials of guests in place of their first name until a booking request is confirmed. Once confirmed, the guest’s name will then appear.  

The changes are set to take effect Jan. 31 and remain in effect for at least two years.  

https://thehill.com/changing-america/resilience/smart-cities/588036-n-one-state-airbnb-moves-to-stop-racial?fbclid=IwAR0yIy1qRKP62D4ekPiYQAKkeMNelSjkg2nbeZFoTpvTl9R59v4sHoXrg-M

Republicans Holding Republicans Accountable?

Is the top of our hierarchies going to be held accountable? 

A Republican organization aimed at holding GOP lawmakers accountable for spreading misinformation and the events of Jan. 6 is rolling out a new ad targeting five members of Congress on the anniversary of the Capitol attack.

The Republican Accountability Project, which also has worked to counter support for former President Trump, announced it would be launching a six-figure ad campaign targeting Republican lawmakers including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (Wis.).

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/588347-anti-trump-group-targeting-top-republicans-on-jan-6-anniversary?rl=1&fbclid=IwAR1fdAhDl4wMddRaq0zCy2panpmeE9AeGxqafaYSyEvu8A6Fy1IVZC6E_mo

Women 32% More Likely to Die after Operation by Male Surgeon, Not Seen with Male Patients

Female patients found to have 15% more chance of a bad outcome from surgery if the surgeon was a man than if the procedure was performed by a woman.

Women who are operated on by surgeons who are men are much more likely to die, experience complications and have to be readmitted to the hospital compared to when a woman performs the procure. In a study of 1.3 million patients, women are 15% more liable to suffer a bad outcome, and 32% more likely to die if a man performs the surgery. 

The study found that men who had operations had the same outcomes regardless of whether their surgeon was a woman or a man. Women fared better with female surgeons. There were no gender differences in how surgery went for either men or women operated on by female surgeons.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/04/women-more-likely-die-operation-male-surgeon-study?s=09&fbclid=IwAR1LnZUJW--czK1wkpFoAwHF4DCgn-KVW_nYITZzT2KrRA8MSdwgrsvoXqk

New York City Council Majority Women for First Time

For the first time in the city’s history, New Yorkers elected a City Council with a majority of seats (31 out of 51) occupied by women. 

The new Council, which is also a historically diverse group, is the result of several factors: the pandemic’s devastation of working-class communities of color; the city’s matching-funds program, which gives candidates $8 for every $1 they raise from any city resident, amplifying the effect of small donations; and the new ranked-choice voting system, which encouraged more candidates to run in party primaries and gave average New Yorkers more influence over who wins.

On December 8, right after new­-member orientation at City Hall, the women noticed that while the men’s bathroom is inside the Council chambers, the women’s is outside. “I said, ‘We should just put a sign on it and call it a gender-neutral bathroom,’” says Sandy Nurse, 37, a Panama-born carpenter and community activist representing Brooklyn’s 37th District. “And we’ll just take it over.” It will start there, with “simple things,” she says. And eventually, “we’re going to do things that the city hasn’t seen before.”

https://www.curbed.com/2022/01/nyc-city-council-women.html?fbclid=IwAR2BS57G8tpiYXjkvsGU4UeimOPMYli9Bu-ZPTHsQgqAsSymXZ56--JyaIQ