abbyjean:

South Africa’s gender row athlete Caster Semenya is too traumatised to take her university examinations, according to her trainer. “Her head is very tired,” Michael Seme told the Beeld newspaper.

The University of Pretoria, where Ms Semenya is studying Sports Science, has agreed to let her write her exams when she is ready, according to Mr Seme. “Fortunately, the university has a good understanding of her situation and made it clear to her that exams are the last thing she should worry about at the moment,” he said.

:( :( :( :( :(

2:46 am  •  24 October 2009

gender

racism

Australia’s excellent international education brand has been sullied by hysterical claims of racism and fraud. - Malcolm King

6:12 pm  •  28 September 2009

racism

from Radio National - Late Night Live

A discussion about the perceptions in Australia and India of the recent spate of attacks on Indian students, especially in Melbourne.

7:14 pm  •  22 September 2009

racism

The Indian media has been abuzz with the news about attacks on Indian students in Australia. These attacks have generated quite a bit of distrust in both India and Australia and have brought back memories of the infamous Monkey-gate episode. While the jury is still out on whether the attacks were racial in nature, I am reminded of my own three-month stay in Australia in 2005. From my personal experience, I can vouch for the fact that I have never faced any racial slurs or attacks during my stay in various Australian cities. In fact, many times, I got help from perfect strangers.

In the past three months, more than 25 Indian students have been at the receiving end of violence. The attacks have put a question mark on the future of Australia’s US$13 billion international education industry. There are about 95,000 Indian students in Australia at present. Indian students now make up almost 18 per cent of Australia’s total foreign student population, the second largest group after that from China, which represents 23.5 per cent of the total foreign student arrivals.

However, it would be unwise to see all these incidents as part of a deliberate attack on Indian students. One of the main reasons for the recent spate of violence could be the worldwide economic downturn. Many Australians have either seen their jobs vanish or have lost their jobs to someone sitting in Bengaluru or Hyderabad in India - someone who is willing to work for much lower wages (in other words they have been “Bangalored”).

2:25 pm  •  22 September 2009

racism

abbyjean:

Information obtained by the group Servicemembers United shows that nonwhite military personnel are more likely to be discharged under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy than their white counterparts. Racial minorities accounted for approximately 29% of active service members, yet 45% of the soldiers discharged under DADT in 2008 were nonwhite. “Lawmakers have a responsibility to address this problem immediately, and the president should hasten the appointment of a new undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness who is qualified and willing to deal with this issue” said Alexander Nicholson, a former U.S. Army interrogator and the executive director of Servicemembers United. (wow)

3:52 am  •  14 September 2009

racism