Voters,
Let’s try to visualize Tuesday, November 8, 2016.
What time are you going to wake up?
What are you going to have for breakfast?
Will you go to the gym? Yoga?
What will you do at work?
Who will you speak to on the phone?
What will you have for dinner?
Oh, and…
Where and when are you going to vote?!
This week’s paper, unsurprisingly, is heavy on the politics. But maybe for the last time?
Just for this week, or maybe we’ll see how it goes, we’ve added a new, depressing segment — campus climate.
This Harvard soccer team story is just gutting.
All I can wonder about is that, since at least 2012, five years and counting, and not one of 100+ young men on the teams felt strongly enough, or uncomfortable enough, or felt whatever it was that would have empowered them to either bring it to light or stamp it out? Coaches, trainers, relatives, friends didn’t know? Didn’t care? About a co-authored, widely shared document longer than most of the college papers they would be asked to write at Harvard University? One detailing imagined sexual identities, preferences, and a grading of physical attributes more offensive, invasive, derogatory, and predatory than anything we’ve seen this election season?
This was not some heinous bunch of people. Meaning, though we probably don’t know any of them personally, in another sense these are young men — people — we know very well. Nice, smart, well-brought up. They are the kids of the kinds of people we know well. They are our own kids. They are our summer interns. We work with the grown up versions of them. We live with them.
ICYMI, here is a brief excerpt from the first Crimson article, which quotes from the Boys’ document:
Six members of the women’s soccer team wrote a fair-minded and well-articulated letter essentially saying “we’re not surprised.” It has been lauded as the voice of reason and high-mindedness. I agree. But has all the outrage and anger been sapped? It seems that way.
The men, in their apology note, written only after the rest of their on-the-road-to-a-championship season was cut short, wrote the following:
- “we sincerely apologize for the harm our words and actions have caused women everywhere, and especially our close friends on the Women’s Soccer team.”
“sincerely”? “close friends”? i don’t know about that.
- “We want to affirm that the scouting report did not and does not reflect our view of the members of Harvard Women’s Soccer or of women in general.”
obvious question: what exactly does it reflect, then?
- “When our current coaches took over the program in 2013, they sparked a massive culture change.”
this is a massive change from what? real life Game Of Thrones in your locker rooms and frat houses? or were your ‘current coaches’ just on year 5 of a 25-year rollout plan?
- “Over the course of the previous week, we have been devoting our attention to this problemas our top priority.”
as opposed to…what to be for Halloween?
- “…and our meetings as a team and with University officials have yielded a few specific proposals to educate ourselves….”
yeah I have a few specific proposals, too.
By the way, when the story broke, and the document had been revealed, the director of athletics — the head of the entire athletic department at Harvard University emphatically (eye-roll, ie *not*) stated:
- “We need a little bit of time to just think about it and not rush to anything,”
Okay, well. I actually don’t need much more time to think about some things, including voting. On Tuesday morning I will, in fact, rush out to VOTE! I hope you do, too.
Lots else to cover, as we still go far and wide into the meaty stories by and about women in business, tech, arts and pop culture. For more news during the week follow me on Twitter @LZSundayPaper.
Keep sending anything of interest — or your questions/comments: here.
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Really, really cannot believe that next Sunday will be a very different feeling in the air, no matter what.
LZ
POLITICS:
The Double Standard Women Face In Politics And Business via The Globe And Mail
The Problem For Women Is Not Winning, It’s Deciding To Run via The New York Times
These Teen Girls Are GIving Donald Trump A Piece Of Their Mind via The Cut
Why Blame Huma Abedin via The New York Times
The Weird Familiarity Of 100-Year-Old Anti-Feminism Memes via The Atlantic
CAMPUS CLIMATE:
Stronger Together: The Women’s Soccer Team Responds via The Harvard Crimson
An Apology From Harvard Men’s Soccer via The Harvard Crimson
What The Alec Cook Sexual Assault Case Tells Us About Rape Culture via The Progressive
Vanderbilt Football Player Sentenced To 17 Years In Prison Over Campus Rape via The Guardian
NEWS: BUSINESS, TECH, MEDIA, & INTERNATIONAL:
Why Do Men Treat Megyn Kelly Like A Malfunctioning ‘Westworld’ Host via The Daily Beast
Anita Hill Backs Probe Against Clarence Thomas via Salon
ARTS, FASHION, SPORTS, LIT & POP CULTURE:
From “Hitch” To “Say Anything:” How Rom-Coms Undermine Women via The Atlantic
How Female Fans Made ‘Star Wars’ Their Own via The New York Times
Amy Schumer Has A Tormented Relationship With Criticism via Slate
‘The Fall,’ Season 3, Is A Slow But Mesmerizing Story via Vulture
AND WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT:
The LZ Sunday Paper™ launched at the dawn of 2014. We expose and recirculate interesting content that is about, and frequently by, women in business, with a dose of ultra-relevant culture. We think that culture comes high and low, not much in between. Our audience is vast and not gender-driven. Every week we expect to deliver at least one good laugh. Send suggestions, clips, or names of people you think might enjoy this toLZSundayPaper@gmail.com.
