The serendipitous path to equality

Title IX, a portion of the Educational Amendments of 1972, was enacted 40 years ago today, and most Hawaii residents here at the time can easily name its most assertive champion in Congress: the late Patsy Mink.

The legislation is usually associated with assuring gender equity in athletics, but the language isn’t that specific, simply barring gender discrimination "under any education program or activity."

Mink’s own close encounter with discrimination against women, in fact, had nothing to do with sports. Though she ended up in law school, that came after her original academic goal, to get her medical degree, was frustrated in 1948, when none of the 20 medical schools to which she applied accepted women. Regardless, the medicine Mink applied to the nation’s ailing educational policy was just what the doctor ordered.

Look! Up in the sky! It’s NOAA!

Aerial drones have earned a pretty scary reputation recently for being a weapon in America’s war against terrorists abroad. There is also great unease about plans by local law enforcement agencies and even the military to use them for domestic surveillance and control.

On the other hand, a use for drones that few could worry about has come to light, and Hawaii is involved: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been testing drones off Oahu’s North Shore for possible use in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to monitor ocean wildlife. If all goes well, up to three of these drones could be deployed soon. So next time you’re floating around in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, consider looking up and smiling, as you might be on candid camera.