2011 UH Cougar Watch-Playing Open Date

My University of Houston footballers are 6-0 for the first time since 1990, are 2-0 in the C-USA West Division and are getting a well deserved week off.

The 1973 Cougar squad also started 6-0 and only the 1979 SWC championship team and 1990 teams that started 8-0 had better pigskin season beginnings.

Even better is the news that they are already bowl eligible and the Big East is now casting glances their way as a possible expansion candidate.  

They also finally got some love in the polls for the first time this season.  They debuted in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll at number 22 and in the AP poll at number 25. It's also the first time since the 1989-91 season that the Cougars have been ranked for three consecutive seasons.  It also means that in the four season that Coach Kevin Sumlin has been at the helm of the program, they now have been ranked in three of them with their highest ranking coming in the 2009 season when they were ranked number 12 and in position to be a BCS buster team.

Signing Coach K to that contract extension in 2010 now looks like a genius move.

The Coogs return to action on October 22 at the Rob when they take on Marshall

UH SGA Passes GENDA Bill!

GENDA may not be able to get passed in New York State, but on the diverse campus of my alma mater it did.

The University of Houston's Student Government Association met earlier tonight in the UC's Cougar Den to consider the Gender Expression Non Discrimination Act.   Despite being named by US News and World Report as the second most diverse campus in the nation, currently the University of Houston does not provide any official protection in its non discrimination policy for its transgender students. 

The UH nondiscrimination statement does have sexual orientation language.  There was an effort made in March 2008 to add 'gender identity and expression language' to it that passed unanimously at that time, but that was also two months into the start of current UH president and chancellor Renu Khator's term as the 13th president of the school.

What is called the Lopez Memo carves out a modicum of protections for trans students based on the 2008 Lopez vs River Oaks Imaging case and reaffirms the University of Houston’s commitment to upholding the same standard of discrimination protections as those outlined in Lopez.   

A joint effort by former SGA senator Michael McHugh and the UH LGBT Advocates was started to amend the UH nondiscrimination policy to officially include Gender Identity and Gender Expression.   We earned that distinction as the second most diverse campus in the nation, now it's time to stand and deliver on it. 

The GENDA bill in addition to having the backing of UH LGBT Advocates also had the support of the Texas Freedom Network @UH, the Student Feminist Organization, the Council of Ethnic Organizations, Global, Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, Students for Personal Responsibility and the UH College Democrats.

The meeting started at 7:30 PM and led to GENDA being approved by the SGA on a unanimous vote.

Proud of you Cougars for standing up for the trans students on campus and this trans UH alum is proud of y'all for doing so.

As was said in the Facebook announcement James Lee wrote about tonight's UH SGA meeting, 

Above all, this bill is about protecting students! We call ourselves the second most diverse campus in the nation, now it's time to live up to our standard of diversity and advocate for the protection of ALL students!

Amen. I know this is only the first step in getting these protections in place but as a trans UH Cougar I want that to happen as badly as y'all do.

Eat 'em up!