Newspaper Page Text
2B I Thursday, December 7, 2006 | The Red & Black Finals Edition
NEWS
Faculty complains about gender pay inequality
By KELLY PROCTOR
kproctor@randb.com
More than 100 faculty
members signed a letter of
complaint against a report
that congratulated the
University on beating the
national average for female
faculty pay.
The letter said the
University shouldn’t rejoice
because University women
still are paid less than men.
The faculty members —
both men and women — sent
a letter to Columns, a
University newspaper for fac
ulty and staff from the Office
of Public Affairs, after it
praised the University’s pay
equality for male and female
faculty members.
The Nov. 13 article report
ed on a study by the
American Association of
University Professors that
found women at all doctoral
universities nationally earn
78.1 percent of what men on
average earn for all faculty
ranks.
But University faculty fare
“significantly better,” making
85.2 percent of what their
male counterparts bring in,
Columns reported.
Chris Cuomo, director of
the Institute for Women’s
Studies, signed the letter and
called herself a “conduit” for
its compilation.
“I think we need to set the
record straight that the situa
tion is not good to boast
about, and it needs a lot more
attention,” Cuomo said.
The Columns article also
quoted University President
Michael Adams as saying,
“I’m pleased to see that UGA
fares well compared to our
peers. It’s an area that
deserves and will receive our
continued attention.”
But the professors’ letter
said they were angry there is a
pay gap at all, and asked
President Adams to clarify
his remark.
“A university president
must demonstrate that he
understands that gender
equality is crucial,” the letter
states.
University spokesman
Tom Jackson supplied a copy
of the letter Adams sent to
each of the professors that
assured them he thought
ensuring gender equity is
“the right thing to do.”
“It is clear from the letter
that my comment to
Columns has caused a misun
derstanding of my stance, an
unfortunate outcome given
my own conviction on this
important issue,” Adams
said.
Cuomo said she hopes
Adams and the professors
would continue to work
together positively to make
sure all faculty salaries are
equal.
Professors would like to
see further study and real
strategies for equaling faculty
pay, Cuomo said.
DRAMA: Protest caused traffic issue
>- From Page IB
Lumpkin, to raise awareness
of the problem.
Peach Pittenger, a tempo
rary assistant professor,
encouraged her students to
attend the demonstration at
about noon on Wednesday at
the corner of Lumpkin.
Pittenger dressed up as a
crossing guard and held a
flag with the word “stop” to
wave at cars while pedestri
ans were still crossing the
street. “Since we are the
drama department, we had
to play up the drama
aspect,” Pittenger said.
The demonstration drew
about 40 students and facul
ty members. The protesters
crossed the street every time
the light changed and waved
two large banners explaining
their actions.
Prior to the demonstra
tion, Saltz arranged for a
video camera to capture any
close encounters or acci
dents, expecting people not
to notice.
Passersby did take notice.
During the hour-long protest
several people in cars
honked their horns or yelled,
“Get out of the road,” from
their cars. Traffic started to
back up on Baldwin Street.
At one point Timmy
Baker, assistant manager of
operations for Campus
Transit, showed up with a
walkie-talkie to observe the
traffic holdup.
Two police officers from
Athens-Clarke County also
attended to make sure the
demonstration did not cause
any trouble.
Although the intersection
has a history of accidents,
ACC Police said they do not
keep records of pedestrian
accidents.
An April 28, 2004, a story
that appeared in The Red &
Black stated that the
University has been working
on the issue for some time.
Sarah Richmond, Farley
Richmond’s wife, said the
lights at those intersections
AJ PASSMAN | The Red & Black
i Cheryldee Huddleston, a
drama professor, partici
pates in a demonstration
on Baldwin Street.
don’t turn green until after
the crosswalk light has
turned red.
LAWSUIT: Discrimination
rule not always kept
>- From Page IB
which all student organiza
tions must do,” Jackson said.
The lawsuit alleges
that there are approximately
14 religious student organiza
tions at the University,
all which require their
leaders, and members to
“adhere to certain religious
beliefs.”
The suit also claims that
the University has not consis
tently applied its nondiscrim
ination requirement to other
student organizations, such
H
Heal Sports: Pratt, Network, Win.
Register TODAY to win a
FREE XBOX 360
/
www.sportsace.com
Everything for the Dawg
(Especially Big Cash for your Textbooks!)
We pay Top Dollar for your textbooks
and have
Great Dawg Gifts for Christmas
LOTS OF FREE PARKING • FAST SERVICE
TEXTBOOKS • SHIRTS • CAPS
JACKETS • SWEATS • POSTERS • MORE!
BAXTER STREET
BOOKSTORE
360 BAXTER ST. (ACROSS FROM THE DORMS)
549-3081
as the Baha’i Association or
the Crossway Fellowship
College Ministry.
Jackson said Vice
President for Student Affairs
Rodney Bennett offered to
make it mandatory that only
BYX members, not officers,
sign the policy, but the com
promise wasn’t acceptable to
the group.
For now, the Office of Legal
Affairs is reviewing the case
with the state Attorney
General, who is the
University’s official represen
tative in court cases.
The lawsuit names
University President
Michael Adams, Vice
President for Student Affairs
Rodney Bennett and
Director of Student Activities
and Organizations Ed
Mirecki, among others, as
defendants.
Timothy Tracey, litigation
counsel for Christian Legal
Society’s Center for Law &
Religious Freedom, said BYX
wants the University to do
three things:
>- Recognize their organiza
tion
>- Give them the benefits of
any registered student organ
ization
>- Allow religious organiza
tions to select officers and
members of their choosing.
Tracey said the College
Republicans and Young
Democrats require their
members share their political
beliefs.
“If those clubs are allowed
to do that, then we should be
allowed to,” Tracey said.
outrageous
daily special
get the next
for just .50 c !
318 E. Washington St.
Across from the Courthouse/Next to New Hilton