| QUICK CLICKS: |
Table of Contents |
|
NEA Affiliates in Action
Union workers earn 32 percent more than those not in unions. The median weekly earnings for all full-time unionized wage workers were $659 in 1998, compared with $499 for their non-union counterparts. But the union wage benefit is most pronounced among women and minorities. In 1998, women in unions earned 39 percent more, African American union members 45 percent more, and Hispanic union workers 54 percent more than their non-union counterparts. For more, visit www.epinet.org. Students shut down Latin America's largest university, Mexico's National Autonomous University, for more then 10 weeks by striking and occupying buildings in protests over a proposed increase in yearly tuition from a symbolic two cents to $145. The administration has rescinded the proposed increase, but students continue to protest, demanding more of a say in how the university is run. A recent UCLA study shows that the transition period between high school and college is a particularly vulnerable time for teen girls to suffer depression. The study notes that 47 percent of the young women surveyed had one or more episodes of major clinical depression during a five-year period when they graduated from high school and many started college. The report in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that depression negatively affected girls in areas such as schoolwork, balancing the demands of school and work, and romantic relationships.
The votes took place over the past year and came after a 16-year fight between university administrators and graduate students over collective bargaining rights. The Los Angeles campus was the first to vote to unionize and contract negotiations are now underway at UCLA for a first contract. A feminist professor who refused to allow men in her classes has retired under protest from Boston College. Mary Daly told college officials she would rather retire than allow men into her classes. The college held her to her word, even after she said she never agreed to retire. A court has upheld the college's action.
Today, for instance, more than 620 institutions offer service learning programs, compared with only 120 campuses a decade ago. Leadership training and community service projects are also growing in popularity. These colleges and universities are hoping to do more than train students for a career. A Harvard University study finds that students with alcohol-related problems are more likely to own a handgun at college. The study revealed that 3.5 percent of students have a gun at school. That figure rose to 6.8 percent among students who reported drinking heavily and having behavioral problems while drinking.
|
