The American Civil Liberties Union has issued a letter to superintendents in Utah informing them it is unconstitutional to ban same-sex couples from attending school events.

A female high school student was asked to leave a school dance because she brought a girl as a date. Equality Utah instructed the student to contact the ACLU. Based on previous court precedence under the First Amendment banning a same-sex couple is a violation of equal rights.

Allowing high schools students to bring same-sex dates to school dances has been a highly contentious issue over the last few years. Last week the first lesbian homecoming king and queen couple in the US  received hate mail after receiving national media coverage for their titles. One step forward, one leap back. Read More »

Dear Tuffy Luv,
I’m going back to college in the fall and I wanted to re-invent myself, still stay the same but have a total new outlook on life and a new attitude. Back as a freshman guys would make fun of me and torture me, and it was horrible. I wanted to go back in the fall as a new person, and have those guys who made fun of me not know what hit them. Also, I had a friends with benefits situation with one of my guy friends, and when I had asked him why he hooked up with me, he said along the lines of, ‘We’ll I was bored and I knew that you’d hookup with me.’ It was something much worse along those lines but it’s too embarrassing to disclose. SO, I wanted to know how do I show my ex-hookup buddy and those other guys that I’m tougher than ever and started a brand-new attitude?

Thanks for your help in advance,
Looking to find a new me

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The United States of America is kind of divided on the whole homosexuality issue.

A new study produced by the University of Chicago surveyed public opinion across the country to find out which regions are more accepting to gay people. The country averages show that overall opinion is fractionated. While 44% of people surveyed said that homosexuality is “always wrong,” a close 41% said it’s “not wrong at all.” The opinions of the unaccounted for 15% weren’t made available, though Jezebel speculates that it could be those who are okay with acts of homosexuality if the two individuals are hot (*cough*most guys when girls make out*cough*)

Having an outside (Canadian) perspective the results aren’t all that surprising. The worst tolerance was found in the South Central states, with a whopping 73.7% of adults saying it’s always wrong in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. This is followed closely by 68.1% of people in the Western South Central Regions. Read More »

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. Sometimes with mean words. We love a strong woman (unless she happens to be charging at us with her fists raised), so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like whether the first date is dead!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

There has been a lot of controversy lately over sites like RateBU, where pictures of girls are posted online and people vote on whether or not they’re hot. Yeah, I only wish I’d made that up. Regardless of whether you think this kind of thing is just fine or is a pathetic excuse for shallow douchbaggery, the question that a lot of schools are facing is – should this be allowed to happen? The question’s on the table ladies, let’s get to it!

Side A – We’re not talking about consensual sites here, where people post pics of themselves for others to judge. What we’re talking about is random people finding photos of others and posting them for the world to rate. Is it just me, or hasn’t cyber-bullying been one of the big hot button issues of the last few years… and isn’t this pretty much exactly the same thing? Whether the girls get rated well or not, it’s still submitting them for judgment and potential ridicule without their knowledge or acceptance. And particularly when these websites are affiliated or related to colleges, shouldn’t they be required to shut down this kind of content and punish the offenders the same way they would if someone, say, put up derogatory posters about someone else all over campus?

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Whether you’re a member of a sorority, sports team, or even a more unofficial group, think twice before you haze – it’s way more serious than it seems at first glance. Some people see hazing as a rite of a passage, a tradition, or something that will make people stronger and more committed. In reality, hazing is dehumanizing, cruel, and potentially dangerous…not to mention illegal. Considered “adult bullying,” hazing at a college level is punishable by law.

Get the facts before you participate in any hazing rituals.

What is hazing? By definition, hazing is “”any activity expected of someone joining a group that 
humiliates, degrades, abuses or endangers, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate. This does not include activities such as rookies carrying the balls, team parties with community games, or going out with your teammates, unless an atmosphere of humiliation, degradation, abuse or danger arises.”

Hazing can be as simple as withholding rights, or as severe and serious as burning, assaulting, or drugging another person. And while the more innocent forms of hazing may seem inconsequential, these are often considered misdemeanors – even if the victim is consenting. The power structure of hazing is dangerous in and of itself; a younger person or someone who is a position of inferiority often feels too threatened by possible punishments to speak out, so even if someone doesn’t seem bothered by your actions, it’s still considered hazing. Read More »

YouTube trends range from the adorable (kittens and babies, anyone?) to the grimace-worthy (FAILblog’s YouTube channel has over 1 million subscribers). Recently, though, a trend has popped up that is downright inspirational- the It Gets Better Project.

I didn’t hear about the campaign when Dan Savage, a gay columnist and activist, first started it a month ago in response to Billy Lucas’ death. Lucas, a 15-year-old high school freshman from Indiana, hung himself in his grandmother’s barn when the endless name-calling and physical abuse by bullies at his school became too much. Savage had a message for any gay teenager who was considering similar action- it gets better. The feelings of loneliness, worthlessness, and confusion fade away, and so do the close-minded bullies. He and his partner posted a video describing their life together to try to show teens that a happy, gay lifestyle is attainable, even if it seems impossible now. Read More »

As far as people go, I am rather intolerant.  I am intolerant of people who do not clean the coffee maker after they use it.  I am intolerant of couples that walk too slowly together on the sidewalk and therefore block all of the people behind them.  Mismatched outfits and too much eye makeup make my blood boil. And don’t even get me started on people who don’t know how to parallel park.

However, I’ve always felt that I exemplify a very accepting society when it comes to the bigger issues. Things like racial inequality or sex discrimination. I’m all about equal rights for everyone, regardless of race or gender. In fact, when my professor made me argue for school segregation and against gay marriage last week as a class exercise, I started laughing because I literally had nothing to say.

Why wouldn’t we want everybody to be happy?
Doesn’t everyone feel this way?
Doesn’t the law basically say just live and let live?

Yeah, apparently not. The events of the past couple of weeks have informed me that I am completely wrong about the world and the people living in it. Turns out, my tolerance isn’t the rule, it’s the exception. And minority groups, especially the gay population, have to put up with way more than I realized. Read More »

Throughout my sophomore year at college I’d pretty steadily hooked up with this guy, let’s call him Blake. Despite the fact that we were on good terms and friends outside of the bedroom, our hook ups only occurred when I was drunk. I’d never really wanted things to go any further with him; he was a sweet kid, but really only as a drunk hook up and fun guy to goof off with.

Things ended when he moved out to L.A. after graduation, but we kept in touch online and through Facebook ever since.

So when I clicked on my Facebook event notification and saw that he’d be back in town in a couple months, my first instinct was to accept the invite to the party in his honor.

That is, until I saw the Facebook wall.

One of his buddies, whom I’ve never met in my life, wrote on the wall: “Hey Blake, you should call that Melanie chick. That alcoholic nympho will probably get so excited she’ll bust a clasp on her straight jacket.”

Wow. What?!

Directly following Doucheface’s comment, Blake responded with a nice “hahahaha.”

Shocked, embarrassed and angry, I confronted Blake about the whole thing. He fed me some baloney about his friend “taking stories and blowing them out of proportion” and brushed me off like it was no big deal. I was not amused. I mean, this was not some private issue; my name was being slandered in a very public place. Read More »

You got a question? Tuffy’s got an answer! To have your question featured (and answered!) in the Tuffster’s weekly column, email her at TuffyLuv@collegecandy.com!

Dear Tuffy Luv,

I’m a high school junior who’s been having a bit of a problem. I sit in class with 5 guys in my chemistry class who constantly tease me. I’m the only girl on the left side of the room. Sometimes I don’t say anything, and they just start making fun of me. I get the fact that high school boys are immature, and that girls tend to be more mature at the age of 16.  Sometimes I try to defend myself, but no one can hear it over the 5 guys that are laughing in my face. All of my friends tell me they like me, but I don’t trust their judgment. Are they really making fun of me, or are they just doing it to grab my attention? Do I seem like someone vulnerable to them as a person to make fun of? How do I make them see me in a different light?

Thanks, Tuffy!

-Private Prep Girl

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Although the President of a college or university is the top administrator in charge (on campus – the Board of Trustee’s usually has equal power, in general), they are usually the last person to hear about a problem.

Proper protocol is usually required to get to the bottom of a situation. Sometimes you have to start with an RA or the Dean of Students; each issue has its own designated driver to get to the bottom of what’s going on. However, when you reach the end of the line and nothing is solved, going past the usual set of rules and skipping to the top becomes the only option if you want action!

After going all freshman year without much success from the Dean of Students and the Housing and Residence Life, my mom and I decided to set some time aside to schedule a meeting with the President of my university in hopes to get everything sorted out. Eager to put an end to the continual issues that beleaguered me throughout my first two semesters in college, I expected results and an apology from my university’s president.

Before going into the meeting I compiled a list of all the things that happened and how they were handled. I remember looking down at the list as we walked into her large office thinking that it really was one thing too many. As my mother and I spoke openly about my experience at Hollins and the issues that I have seen on campus such as bullying, harassment, and the roommate debacle I survived, President Gray (a very cheerful, articulate, and warm woman) sat across from us with a look of disbelief on her face. In telling her about the botched responsibilities of the Student Life administration, she spoke about not knowing these issues beset her campus. Apologizing for the terrible experience I have had on the campus, President Gray looked forward to making my university a better place with input on how to improve. Read More »