The San Francisco Chronicle has joined the Martha Burk-Howell Raines crusade against Augusta National Golf Club, with an attack on a local Augusta member, the 82-year-old former Secretary of State George Shultz.
The Chron quotes Burk, chair of the National Council of Women's Organizations
"Every citizen has an obligation to fight discrimination wherever we find it," Burk told The Chronicle from her Washington, D.C., office.I sent the following e-mail to Chronicle reporter Brian Murphy, who wrote the story
I read with interest your article in today's paper regarding Martha Burk's comments on the Augusta National Golf Club.Can anybody guess what Burk's reaction might be? And how long will it be before the Boalt Hall Women's Association quietly removes the tell-tale paragraph from their web page, without changing the underlying policy?In the spirit of Burk's quote that "Every citizen has an obligation to fight discrimination wherever we find it." I thought you might be interested in looking into another exclusive club operating here in the Bay Area.
At the University of California Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law, the Boalt Hall Women's Association has a women-only member lounge. I quote from the description, which you may find in its entirety here:
"BHWA's Member Lounge is a convenient, private space just for women! ... The Lounge provides a safe, private place for women to relax between classes, nap, eat, and use the phone."
As far as I can tell there is no comparable lounge for men. To best of my layman's understanding, this may be a violation of Title IX. The Boalt Hall student body, by the way, is 60% female. At the very least, it seems inimical to the
function of a university to physically exclude 40% of the student body from a space where academic issues are likely to be discussed, and where career-building connections are likely to be formed.I understand that you are primarily a sports reporter, but if you've been covering the Augusta case, I think your readers would be interested in learning how serious Burk really is about "fighting discrimination wherever we find it", and if she feels that anti-male discrimination at a major public university is as significant an issue as the membership choices of a private golf club.
UPDATE (12/17) The Chronicle's Brian Murphy replies to my e-mail
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at December 12, 2002 11:34 AMYou're gonna make me have to read the comical again to keep track of this Burk clown,aren't you mr stefan?oh,well....as to the book on replies and retractions,I say no response at all from the chair and the paragraph will be defended in some obtuse way.I don't see them folding as quickly as the Rainbow clowns.So where and when is the Bay Blog Holiday party?
Posted by: mbruce on December 12, 2002 03:23 PMThe Harris poll has found sentiment for moving the Masters unless the Augusta National Golf Club admits a woman, like RIGHT NOW, OR ELSE!!
Who is asking/answering this ludicrous question?
The Masters can't be moved - only cancelled. By definition it must be competed on Bobby Jones' home course during the second week of April. Anything else is not and never can be the Masters.
Posted by: Ed Sebelius on December 29, 2002 12:46 AMi hate you you ----- burn in ----.
Posted by: annonimos on March 19, 2003 11:04 AM