Hasta La Gadget!

By any standard, USA Olympic gymnast John Orozco has had a difficult 16 months. In February of last year, Orozco’s mother, whom he considered his best friend, died unexpectedly on Valentines Day. Then, in June, Orozco tore his Achilles tendon for the second time in his career. 

He felt like the everything was against him. “[M]y family life, my career, and my spirit seem to all be falling apart and crumbling into pieces,” Orozco wrote on Facebook at the time.

For a moment, it seemed as if Orozco, who was so good in during the 2012 Olympic trials that he automatically qualified for the games, might not be able to make the cut for the Rio Olympics this summer. But on Saturday, at the Olympic trials in St. Louis, Missouri, Orozco overcame all the overwhelming adversity he has faced to just squeeze in. 

According to NBC, it was his impressive high bar routine that led him to finish in the top five, securing a spot on the roster.

Shortly afterward, a very emotional Orozco spoke to the media.

“I can’t put it into words,” he told NBC. “The past year and a half that I’ve had, and all the people that doubted me — I finally found the strength within myself to just go out there and do it.”

“My mom was there the whole time and I know she’s looking down on me and she’s so proud,” he said. “And if you can hear me, mom, I love you.”

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By Yoga Journal

Want to help cultivate better communication, focus, and coping skills in students of all ages? We turned to Rina Jakubowicz from Superyogis’ Schoolhouse for advice on adapting yoga to a school setting.

1. Create a daily silent moment to teach kids to regroup and reflect.

This will be a cinch for some students–maybe not so much for others, and that’s okay. “Instead of making it a stressful silent moment, have fun with it,” says Jakubowicz, who will neither acknowledge nor reinforce rowdy behavior with a scolding. Instead, she’ll turn the moment into a game. “I say, ‘Okay, let’s see who can be quietest longest.’ I always use this trick, and it always works. It’s also nice to cultivate imagination, so afterward sometimes I’ll ask them to share what they saw during the silent moment.”

2. Cultivate their intellect and curiosity–not in the way you think!

Encourage students both to ask questions and to try answering them, with the goal of getting the class comfortable with the idea that sometimes there are multiple answers and that it’s okay not to discover even one answer. While this won’t apply to arithmetic, it can spur a great discussion on the motives of a book’s main character or why someone colored her cat blue.

“I’ll keep asking different students the same question: ‘What do you think it would be?'” says Jakubowicz. “When a kid chimes in with one answer and another student says something else, they start to process that sometimes there is more than one answer, which is empowering.”

It’s a method lifted from the self-investigative approach of jnana yoga, says Jakubowicz. “Your yoga practice ultimately sheds your layers and discovers the truth of who you are by asking questions and reflecting on what we are and what we are not, not just what we know as the single truth.”

Also, two things that you, as a teacher, aide, or parent, may want to shed: The phrase “Because I said so” and the pressure to feel like you should know everything. In the former case, use the question “why” as an opportunity to turn the question on your student. “Why do you think I asked you to get ready for snack break?” In the latter, collaborate with a, “Let’s figure it out.”

3. Losing out to restless students? It happens. Channel energy into a yoga game that helps them focus and have fun.

“Kids are so fixated on what’s happening in a single moment, so use their excitement and distraction as a plus!” insists Jakubowicz. “Yoga Freeze Dance is most effective in getting that energy out.”

To try out Jakubowicz’s go-to game, have a plugged-in playlist handy, press play, and instruct them to strike a yoga pose as soon as you hit pause. As the kids start getting the hang of it, you can call out the yoga pose they should land in. Finally, don’t forget one crucial ingredient: “Join in so they feel like it’s a collaborative effort,” she says. “The more adults get involved, the more kids feel like they are connecting with you.”

In fact, accessing your inner child is a big part of teaching kids yogic principles. Learn more here.

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Photo credit: Livelyhoods

This is a guest post by Liz McNeil, Managing Director of Last Mile.

Walking into the Kawangware branch of iSmart on the first morning of my visit really set the tone for the entire trip to Kenya. A group of young sales agents was being led by one of their peers in a morning exercise to get energized before starting their team meeting. A poster on the wall at the front of the room read “Turn I wish into I will.” This branch is led by Lilian, who started as an iSmart sales agent herself.

Recently, I was lucky enough to be connected to Livelyhoods through Segal Family Foundation‘s Active Partnership Learning Visit program. Livelyhoods is the organization behind the iSmart brand, which has been growing across slum communities in Nairobi since 2011 and has recently expanded into Mombasa. As its name suggests, this organization creates livelihoods by training and equipping youth to sell “life-improving goods,” such as clean-burning cook stoves, while earning a commission on sales.

As the entrepreneur behind Tanzania’s Last Mile, a Kilimanjaro-region start-up social enterprise with a similar model and objectives, visiting Livelyhoods was the clear choice for this learning visit. I set out from Moshi to Nairobi with the hope that I could bring some knowledge, inspiration, and renewed energy back to Last Mile.

Photo credit: Livelyhoods

During my visit, I was able to spend time with people from all levels of the organization. While interviewing members of the executive team brought a great amount of insight, it was the time spent in the branch offices and with sales agents that led to the most influential learning moments. Participating in the morning team meetings, selling with sales agents in the market, and shadowing an interview and orientation session for new recruits was when I really saw the Livelyhoods vision come to life.

I learned very quickly that most of the branch managers, trainers, and even regional operations managers had started themselves as sales agents. They truly engaged with these young agents because they started in their exact position; they had experienced firsthand how this organization can change lives because it had changed theirs. They could coach and support agents through challenging times and celebrate successes meaningfully because they have been through it all themselves. They could inspire the belief of success because they themselves were proof that you can succeed.

What Livelyhoods has really exceeding at–and what I hope to emulate in the development of my own organization–is identifying and nurturing talent internally. By investing in their people, Livelyhoods has created a culture of aspiration. The operations of the organization are led by people who have experienced the transformation that can happen when someone believes in you and you are motivated each day to create that same chance for others.

While my start-up environment is different from this established organization, the lesson still stands: you can be successful if and when you truly believe that success is possible. Believing that your goals can be achieved, whether that goal is to be promoted to branch manager or to create a sustainable social enterprise, gives you no other option than to keep moving forward even on the most difficult days. And the best way to keep that belief alive is to surround yourself with people who share in that belief and determination. As they would say in Swahili, “Songa mbele” (move forward).

Photo credit: Livelyhoods

This visit gave me a glimpse into what is possible if you surround yourself with the right energy, core values, and, most importantly, the right people. It will take a while for a new organization to develop this kind of team, yet finding the right people with whom to start the journey is a good first step. As Last Mile undergoes its own changes and transformations, the timing for this realization could not have been more perfect. It also led to ongoing talks with Livelyhoods about opportunities for collaboration down the road–looking ahead has never felt more exciting!

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“A lot of my job is just reassuring women that abortion is actually one of the safest medical procedures that exists out there.”

“This is not just a numbers game. There are emotions involved in this.”

“The people that come to us for services are not typically comfortable going into a clinic or hospital. … They may not smell their best. They may not look their best.”

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Title IX has been brought to the spotlight due to sexual assault survivors stepping up to tell their horror stories of not only rape, but also a secondary rape of sorts. Many of these victims have to face their rapists every day due to the failing of universities and their complete inability to adjudicate these rape cases properly. How is it possible that this amount of life altering power has been handed to untrained university administrators?

The stories from college rape victims are absolutely heart-wrenching, and they are stories we all need to hear. However, there is another side to complaints that you may not have heard of. The other side is rarely spoken about because it implies that a woman may have lied about being raped.

According to some, just the mention of these cases causes victim shaming. The other side of facts can be a double-edged sword that could silence the next victim from coming forward to report the attack. The other side of facts and evidence will actually show you that sometimes the wrong person is accused, incidents can be filed without the knowledge of either party involved, sometimes complaints are filed out of vengeance, some are filed because “all drunk sex is rape”, and occasionally, a false report is made.

When any injustice occurs a victim is created. This series will tell you stories you may not have heard about, or may not have known that these victims even existed. Please keep in mind, that is not the basis for this series. This series is intended to show readers how incredibly inept colleges and universities are when it comes to rape complaints on their campuses. Also, hopefully sharing these stories will bring enough light to the severity of the issue, that a change might be inspired.

Title IX and Rape. I am sure there are some people reading this who had no idea it was even an issue. I mean Title IX is supposed to ensure that sexual discrimination is prohibited in any federally funded education program or activity, right? Why is the word rape even associated with Title IV? In 2011, The Office for Civil Rights put into place the “Dear Colleague Letter” which expands discrimination to include the following, “Sexual harassment of students, which includes acts of sexual violence, is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title IX.” The letter also states:

“Police investigations may be useful for fact-gathering; but because the standards for criminal investigations are different, police investigations or reports are not determinative of whether sexual harassment or violence violates Title IX. Conduct may constitute unlawful sexual harassment under Title IX even if the police do not have sufficient evidence of a criminal violation. In addition, a criminal investigation into allegations of sexual violence does not relieve the school of its duty under Title IX to resolve complaints promptly and equitably. A school should notify a complainant of the right to file a criminal complaint, and should not dissuade a victim from doing so either during or after the school’s internal Title IX investigation. For instance, if a complainant wants to file a police report, the school should not tell the complainant that it is working toward a solution and instruct, or ask, the complainant to wait to file the report. Schools should not wait for the conclusion of a criminal investigation or criminal proceeding to begin their own Title IX investigation and, if needed, must take immediate steps to protect the student in the educational setting.”

What this says in short form is that non-campus police don’t matter to the university. Non-campus police evidence or lack thereof is irrelevant to a college or university because the standard of proof of guilt is not “beyond a reasonable doubt” instead by a “preponderance of truth”. The standard of proof is lower because they aren’t finding individuals guilty or not guilty of rape with criminal consequences. Due Process is a thing of the past thanks to the “Dear Colleague” letter. The university has a lower standard of proof because what they are adjudicating isn’t actually impeding on anyone’s actual freedom. That is what we are told. Until you dig deeper.

Take for instance the Title IX case of John Doe v. Boston College. The incident is described and documented in a Complaint filed in Massachusetts District Court. The Title IX case came to fruition after Boston College students were on a casino boat event for school in 2012. According to the complaint, security guards on the boat detained him until they got to pier. At that time, state police arrested him on the spot and placed him in handcuffs with bags on hands to preserve any evidence. He was arrested and put in jail for the weekend, and later released on bail. He was charged with indecent assault and battery and pleaded not guilty. A female student on the boat accused him of walking by and lifting her skirt, and putting two fingers in her anus.

His parents hired an attorney and a private investigator. It was forensically proven through both surveillance and DNA, as well as polygraph, that he was innocent. (It was allegedly another man who was walking directly in front of him). All charges criminally were dropped against John Doe and also erased from his record.

However, at the school level he was immediately suspended and kicked off campus. According to the complaint, no real investigation was done. No one was allowed to testify on his behalf, the school would not take his statement, allow the private investigator or attorney to speak or introduce the evidence. He had been suspended from school pending the outcome at the same time his due process rights were stripped. He had no way to prove his innocence without the facts of the case being presented.

The school found him responsible of sexual misconduct. He appealed and was denied. He was suspended from school for TWO years. His official transcript stated “Suspended for Sexual Misconduct”, he had no option but to wait out the imposed sanctions, as no other school would admit him with the branded record.

He went back to Boston College and graduated after serving his sanctions. At graduation, his father spoke with college officials, (also noted in complaint) who stated they would do a re-examination of the case. That promise was not held up and John Doe was branded a sexual predator, which every possible employer sees when they ask for his transcripts.

His life has forever been altered because of the inability of the college to follow through effectively or accurately. While technically he still has his “freedom”, his reputation and future employ-ability are absolutely tarnished with a sexual misconduct brand; when according to actual evidence, he did nothing wrong.

Let me state again, I found 140 cases like the one above. The accused had his or her life ripped apart and destroyed by college administrators due to their mandate that has proven to be a complete sham. There are cases and cases of wrongful sexual misconduct brands on accused individuals that will follow them for life printed on their college transcripts, “Suspended for sexual misconduct” or “Expelled for Sexual Assault.”

One Title IX Complaint filed says that after the accuser admitted to filing to a false incident report because she was “pissed off” when she realized that John Doe had rebuffed her, and because she thought John Doe was “just another douchey frat dude.” The school continued to prosecute John Doe. He was suspended for three terms for sexual misconduct and had to sue to the school under Title IX in order to any sort of fair resolve. His case was eventually settled out of court.

Lawsuit after lawsuit show that women’s rape allegations are rarely actually investigated by colleges. Lawsuit after lawsuit also shows that when they are investigated, more harm is done than good. The harm of course first is to the victims. The majority of reporting statistics show that universities only pursue 1 in 12 cases of rape allegations. The victim’s cases that aren’t pursued are beyond appalling. However that data isn’t readily available, because either the incidents aren’t reported to the university or the university drops the ball completely.

One experienced attorney stated to me, “Title IX needs to be repealed in its entirety, because the Department of Education had twisted its reach far beyond its limited legislative intent. In the meantime, these due-process cases need to be pursued.”

This blog is part one in a series outlining the horror stories caused by campus adjudication and clear lack thereof. These stories are very important to clarifying the extreme injustices happening on our college campuses. I hope you will continue to read the series.

If you have a story to add or input you would like included, please feel free to contact me.

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