Campus briefs
Alumnus to make Super Bowl history as first black referee
Mike Carey, Class of 1971, will become the first black referee in Super Bowl history. Carey, in his 18th year as an official, was notified by the NFL office this week that he has the assignment for the Feb. 3 game in Glendale, Ariz.
The officials at the Super Bowl are chosen on merit, with the highest ranked at each position getting the assignment. Carey, who in his private life runs a skiing accessories company, has been among the NFL's top crew chiefs for a decade and has been a Super Bowl alternate, but has never been the referee.
While attending Santa Clara, Carey played football for four years up to the point when an ankle injury left him on the sidelines.
In addition to speaking at the university convocation this past fall, Carey has kept ties to the university as a member on the Board of Regents from 1992 to 1996, and by currently chairing the Student Affairs Committee on the Board of Trustees.
Carey's career as an official began 35 years ago working for Pop Warner football games in San Diego. He officiated three Bowl games in the Western Athletic Conference in 1985, and was hired by the NFL in 1990 as a side judge. Five years later, he was promoted to referee, which at the time made him the second black NFL official to become a referee.
"Wearing No. 94 on the back of his zebra jersey, Carey is known throughout the NFL for his meticulous pre-game preparation, professionalism on the field and unequivocal sense of fair play," stated a university press release promoting his convocation speech in fall 2007.
Black officials have been increasing in number over the years. This season, there were 26 on the 17 crews, a single-season high.
Black officials also have been well represented in the Super Bowl at other positions, starting with Burl Toler, a former player, who was involved in several of the early games.
Myth of the Third World woman to be discussed today
This afternoon, author Melissa Wright will lead a discussion on the myth of the Third World woman at an event in Sobrato Commons hosted by the women's and gender studies program.
"Everyday around the world women who work in the Third World factories of global firms face the idea that they are disposable," begins the description of Wright's book, "Disposable Women and Other Myths of Global Capitalism," on the Routledge Sociology Web site.
Wright, a geography and women's studies professor at Pennsylvania State University, will explore the plight of Third World women in global factories and in cities surrounding northern Mexico and southern China.
"These innovative responses illustrate how a politics for confronting global capitalism must include the many creative ways that working people resist its dehumanizing effects," the book's description states.
The event begins at 3:45 p.m., and refreshments will be provided.
The next event hosted by the women's and gender studies program will feature a lunch lecture on "Individualism and Gender in 19th Century French Socialism" with professor Naomi Andrews on Feb. 7. For more information, contact Jessica Gagnon at (408) 554-4461.
From staff reports. The Associated Press contributed to these reports. E-mail news@thesantaclara.com.