Author Archives: Alison Hughes

A beautifully crafted sombrero featuring intricate gold and white embroidery on a rich blue background with ornate patterns and decorative details. The hat is displayed on a stand and partially obscures a guitar in the background.

An Unusual Dress Code Violation

Work appropriate attire?

What happens when you wear a Mariachi suit to work? Ask former CNN studio technician William Kane who was fired from CNN in June 2013, allegedly as a result of wearing “flamboyant” outfits. Mr. Kane “claims he was discriminated against and fired for being gay and for wearing extravagant clothes that included mariachi outfits, yellow track suits and cowboy hats” (Algar, New York Post, 2014).  Apparently these vibrant outfits were determined incompatible with the workplace. In return, Mr. Kane has officially filed a $65 million Brooklyn federal lawsuit against CNN for the discrimination. Mr. Kane, who worked for CNN as a technical operator from 2002 to 2013, became well-known for his flashy garb – even with some of the more popular news anchors such as Piers Morgan and Christiane Amanpour. One day while wearing a black mariachi suit, he caught the attention of Ms. Amanpour who asked Mr. Kane to a take a photo with her; the photo was posted directly to her Twitter page in October 2012 (Algar, New York Post, 2014).

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J.K. Rowling Sues The Daily Mail

House of lies?

As the Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling, rose to fame over her hit book and movie series, rumors surrounding her earlier life became a hot topic in multiple news sources. Some of these sources speculated on how Ms. Rowling began writing the series, questioning if she actually wrote the series on napkins in cafes. Other sources, however, speculated about her personal life as they reported on her previous relationships and life as single mother. One such source that publicly discussed her single-parenthood was the British newspaper, Daily Mail, who published an article on September 27, 2013 suggesting that Ms. Rowling “told a false ‘sob story’ about being stigmatised by churchgoers” (BBC, 2014). The Daily Mail’s report was in response to an article that Ms. Rowling posted on Gingerbread charity’s website (www.gingerbread.org.uk) about her realities of being a single parent. Read More

Classroom with wooden desks and chairs arranged in rows facing a large blackboard on one wall. The room is well-lit, and the floor is covered with light-colored tiles.

Hearing to Follow What He Heard at School

Finally Taking a Stand

With bullying awareness on the rise in our nation, many students and families are trying to take a stand. A young student at South Fayette High School finally had enough when he decided to record bullying incidents directed at him during class. Using an iPad, the boy made an audio recording of the attacks to use as evidence in his case. The 15-year old boy alleged that he had been harassed daily for several months before finally making the iPad recording. Shea Love, the boy’s mother, told reporters that “they were calling him some really bad names, talking about pulling his pants down” (WPXI, 2014). Despite these allegations, the young boy who made the recordings was eventually charged with disorderly conduct, had to pay fines, and was forced to delete the recording. In response to these charges from South Fayette District Judge Maureen McGraw-Desmet, the family hired an attorney and they are filing a civil suit.

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Empty supermarket shelves with only a few items left, indicating a lack of stock. The shelves are long and extend down the aisle, under bright fluorescent lighting.

An “All-Natural” Lawsuit

Spaces Available

When consumers peruse the aisles of their favorite grocery stores, they will see a variety of labels plastered onto food products – anything from 100% Organic to Non-GMO to Non-RBST. Despite the somewhat ambiguous meaning behind these labels, this wording can assist consumers with understanding the quality of their potential purchases. However, these labels also affect consumer buying patterns, and this is an influence known by food companies and advertisers alike. The latest of lawsuits regarding food labels and misleading advertisements comes from Debbie Banafsheha, a California woman who is claiming that Heinz “All-Natural” Distilled White Vinegar “can’t be considered natural at all, because it’s made with GMO corn” (Renter, Natural Society, 2014).

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A person is sitting at a table displaying a GoldieBlox kit, which includes a booklet and a construction set. A sign with illustrations of diverse girls is visible, promoting the engineering toy. The tablecloth is purple.

A Musical Nuisance

A toy with a price

Concluding an ongoing legal battle over a toy company’s potentially illegal use of a hit song created by the musical group Beastie Boys, the two parties have officially settled the lawsuit. According to a spokesperson for GoldieBlox, the settlement includes “the issuance of an apology posted to GoldieBlox’s website, [and] payment by GoldieBlox, based on a percentage of its revenues, to one or more charities selected by [the] Beastie Boys that support science, technology, engineering and mathematics education for girls (Blistein, Rolling Stone, 2014). The Beastie Boys song “Girls,” was first released in 1987 and included lyrics such as “Girls to do to this dishes…Girls to do the laundry” (Blistein, Rolling Stone, 2014).  GoldieBlox altered the catchy song’s original lyrics to help promote the company’s incentive of empowering young girls to become more involved in the sciences and engineering industries. GoldieBlox’s video for the Princess Machine was eventually removed from the internet but not before the video went viral and garnered over seven million views.

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