Lee Hogan Knott, a mother who volunteers at the Head Start in Long Beach, Washington where her preschool-age son attends school got an unpleasant surprise when her son's teacher told her she could no longer breastfeed her 13-month-old baby in the classroom due to complaints from some parents and staff who felt uncomfortable around breastfeeding.
Knott had been told at the beginning of the school year that breastfeeding would be fine as long as she didn't do it at the table during snack time when the other children were eating.
Head Start is a national school readiness program that provides education, health, and nutrition services to low-income children and their families. The Washington State Association of Head Start and the related Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) provides "an intensive combination of education, health and nutrition screening and assistance, parent involvement and family support." The Head Start program emphasizes the importance of good health and nutrition throughout their literature.
According to Head Start Regulation § 1304.40 (c)(3): "Grantee and delegate agencies must provide information on the benefits of breast feeding to all pregnant and nursing mothers. For those who choose to breast feed in center-based programs, arrangements must be provided as necessary."
The teacher in this situation asked Knott to remove herself and her baby to one designated bathroom or the center's conference room for breastfeeding and that only in these areas would they permit breastfeeding. She said this would apply to all breastfeeding mothers. When Knott asked, "Would you make a bottle feeding mom go to the bathroom to feed her baby?," the teacher said no.
Knott asked if this was an official Head Start policy. The teacher said that it's to make other volunteers and staff feel comfortable and to prepare the children for public school where breastfeeding won't be allowed.
Knott informed the teacher that breastfeeding in public is a legally-protected right and that breastfeeding babies and witnessing normal, healthy breastfeeding relationships would support the Head Start philosophy of providing children with a good start nutritionally.
She took her complaint to the Head Start regional supervisor who backed up implementation of the policy to ban breastfeeding in the classroom to accommodate people who had complained about feeling uncomfortable.
Knott asked the regional supervisor, "If you had someone who couldn't eat properly, a volunteering parent who was missing part of their jaw, and it was making other parents uncomfortable, would you make the disabled person leave?" The supervisor said they would suggest that the person who felt uncomfortable should leave.
According to the Washington State Human Rights Commission and the Breastfeeding Coalition of Washington's Guide to Breastfeeding and Washington State Nondiscrimination Laws (pdf): Under the Washington Law Against Discrimination, RCW 49.60, mothers can legally breastfeed their babies at a time, place, and manner of their choosing while in a place of public accommodation, which includes government buildings such as schools. Breastfeeding mothers do not have to go to a special area and they do not have to cover up.
The Head Start representatives in this situation clearly violated the Washington Law Against Discrimination by asking Knott to remove herself to a special area and by treating mothers of breastfed and bottle fed babies differently. The issue has not yet been resolved.
Knott said, "I can't get over how nuts this is."
I can't either.
Discussion: Do you think Seattle is breastfeeding-friendly?
Update: Head Start says breastfeeding disrupts the workplace
Follow on Facebook: Seattle Breastfeeding Examiner
Comments
As a lactation consultant, mother of 3 and a breastfeeding advocate, I am appalled at the Head Start employees response to this breastfeeding mom and baby. The irony is that many babies/children transitioning into the head start program may have been on the WIC program, which is trying to be very supportive and pro-breastfeeding here in WA. So what a horribly mixed message we are sending to families that participate in these health programs! I applaud the mother for knowing her rights but the fact that they were infringed upon to begin with is ridiculous. One quote that stood out for me was this one, "Knott had been told at the beginning of the school year that breastfeeding would be fine as long as she didn't do it at the table during snack time when the other children were eating." Oh, so the hungry baby has to relegated to the bathroom to eat his snack so as not to offend the preschoolers (who should learn how baby's normally eat...)??? I hope breastfeeding education will become routine for all head start employees. Perhaps when they teach the class children about mammals they can hone in on the fact that human are also mammals...our main defining feature is that we have mammary glands for feeding our young!!!
I echo your comments Melissa including your profile. I would like to add that I feel we are still sending a mixed messages when we discuss breastfeeding to the public. As breastfeeding advocates we know it is the norm. So if in fact it is the biological norm than there are NO benefits to breastfeeding, it is just normal. The message we need to get across is that there are detriments to artificial feeding. The only way to normalize breastfeeding is to have it so out in the open that it doesn't make anyone uncomfortable. I think the children in that classroom and their future children are lucky to have this experience. For them it will be normal.
I totally agree with Melissa. I am obviously biased since I am a La Leche League Leader with more than 25 years experience. I, too, am really appalled by this incident. How can Head Start possibly be educational in nature if they aren't allowing her to nurse her baby there??? There is such a vast difference in health benefits for the breastfeeding baby vs the formula fed baby. I just don't get it. We are really a backwards nation.
I can't believe this sort of thing is still going on. When my first child was 3 and in nursery school, I had a similar experience when I breastfed my newborn at the school. I was told that some mothers had complained.
That left me suspecting everyone! I was a La Leche League leader and nursed very discreetly. It happened to me 34 years ago! Oh, we've come so far......not!
I am appalled by the reaction of this Head Start program as well as to any human being who feels uncomfortable with a breast feeding mother, what has the world come to?
Weird society where Brittany Spears and Madonna make out and show every inch of their flesh and that's okay, but the minute you try to breastfeed your baby it's a huge deal!
Everybody is so uncomfortable with breasts being used for their god given reason!
I think they need to put this story all over, including the national news, it needs to be heard and more support needs to be given to breastfeeding mothers.
I totally agree with your comment.
Why is it wrong to offer a breastfeeding mother another place to breastfeed other than the classroom? This article is totally titled wrong. They did not say she couldn't breastfeed end of story. They just said she couldn't do it in the classroom and gave her two options, the meeting room or the bathroom. Obviously the bathroom is not ideal but what is wrong with asking a mother to breastfeeding in a quiet meeting room away from distracting a classroom? A classroom is for learning and for education, I as a breastfeeding mother would totally understand if I was asked not to breastfeed in the classroom where I could be a distraction. By law they have to allow a place for breastfeeding mothers and they did just that! Again I am very pro-breastfeeding and would be very upset if they told this woman she had to leave the building and breastfeed elsewhere. But this is not the case. Such drama!
What if someone told you that you couldn't leave the classroom to breastfeed? That you had to sit at the snack table and do it? No one has a right to tell you where to go or what to do, as long as you are not hurting anyone or doing anything illegal.
The teacher and her supervisor violated Washington nondiscrimination law by requiring mothers to go away to nurse. It's appropriate to provide a special place to breastfeed for women who want the privacy, but it's not okay to require it, especially when bottle-feeding mothers can still feed in the classroom.
Yes, Jessica, they would learn the best way for a baby to be fed. It would become easier for all breastfeeding moms to see lots of women nursing. we are so hypocritical-it is ok when women are mostly naked on magazine covers but show a baby at breast-horrible!
Jessica,
It is wrong because they are violating her LEGAL right to breastfeed her child in a public area, which by law, includes public schools. They do not have the right to ask her to leave to another room or to the bathroom. How is this mother nursing a quiet baby a distraction? Cleary, this has been allowed up until now so this classroom is used to seeing this. Therefor it has become the norm for these children, as it should be. Breasts were made to feed babies. As a nursing mother myself, I would not leave to another room as if feeding my child was a shameful, secret act. I believe the only way it will become normalized in our society is by individuals actually witnessing it, without shame. Nor would I feed my child in a dirty bathroom..just as I would never expect you to eat your sandwich in a bathroom. This "drama" is very much warranted and I, for one, will be writing a letter. I am very proud of this mother for standing up for her and her babies rights. She deserves an apology whereas HS staff deserve some education on the matter of the legality of breastfeeding.
I agree with Jessica. I was a nursing mom of 3. I nursed them all for 14 months. As long as the mother/baby was completely covered in the classroom i think it is fine. But if she was like she is in the picture I think she is to reveeling for children and should do it in a quieter place. I do not feel just because she is nursing it is ok to expose her breasts to young children. Nursing does not give us the right to expose ourselves and make others uncomfortable. When I nursed my children in public no one could even tell I was doing it so no one was uncomfortble. I saw other mothers who would completely uncover themselves and that is not right. If that mom was not nursing she would be arrested for indecent exposer, nursing does not make exposing yourself ok. If it was in a room of adults who could leave if they were uncomfortable it would be different but these are children we are talking about. Nursing is wonderful but be respectful of those around you!
They recommended she nurse in a bathroom, a place where human waste is disposed of. Would you feed your baby in a bathroom?
Learning comes in all forms, not just books.
You said "A classroom is for learning and for education..." I think that children should learn that breasts aren't just for sexual use, and be educated as to just how a mother's body is designed to best care for her baby. For heaven's sake, we pass out condoms, one school was passing them out to first graders until people started objecting. There is nothing distracting about BFing, as long as the mother is discreet. It's not like we're jumping around with our parts hanging out yelling "Coooooooome and get it!" She should not be forced to leave the room, it's just another version of segregation.
We need to create a society where it is NORMAL to see a breastfeeding mother at the table. As an elementary teacher, I say a classroom is for learning -- learning that that is how babies eat. Women should not be made to feel like second class citizens or abnormal when they are breastfeeding. I hope Ms. Hogan Knott will fight this all the way with our support!
You know if a dad or mom walked into the room and was an EMT, police officer, in scrubs, etc. the teacher would most likely tell the kids in the class a little about the job.
None of them would be asked to leave. They would not be "distracting from a learning experience" - they would be adding to it and the teacher would be happy for the few minutes distraction.
If the parent came in in uniform/work clothes every day, it would lose the novelty.
The same opportunity is there with a mother nursing her baby. A few minutes on how mommies make milk for babies and it is the best food for babies. Then it loses the novelty and it's just a parent in the classroom giving baby a snack.
This example is awesome.
Well put. A great example.
Agreed! what a wonderful learning opportunity for the parents who feared breast feeding for one reason or another. Perhaps it is not too late. The parents who questioned the appropriateness can still be educated on current laws, health benifits, and the archaic beliefs that limit us from giving our babies what is truly best for them.
I imagine the mom in question was well prepared as she fought back. how aften does this happen with moms who themselves are on the cusp, and mearly comply with such demands
My mother, who witnessed the struggle for me to breastfeed and the subsequent 2 1/2 years of breastfeeding say to me when i read her this story, "She should go to the bathroom or stay home...What right do they have pushing their believes on the children- its just like religion" I almost died. This is what where dealing with people- complete delusion about the purpose of our bodies, our history as a species and some twisted ideas about what behaviors are modest/normal.
As a former teacher, if I had aides or parents in the room who were uncomfortable with breastfeeding, I would refer them to the counselor. If they see breastfeeding as sexual, I don't want them around the kids.
I am so disappointed in Head Start; this flies in the face of their goals, their history, their own mission statement. Sad. My sister married a guy who thought breastfeeding was disgusting. He turned out to be one creepy guy and their kid's been in therapy since she was four, on anti-depressants since she was nine.
I have breastfed for a total of 6 years nad 7 months of my life. More than twice the lengh of time I was pregnant. I fed my kids everywhere. Nobody ever said a word. I was discreet and unobtrusive. I REFUSED to feed in bathrooms. The thought made me sick.
That comment about preparing kids for public school where breastfeeding isn't allowed gives me pause. Who says breastfeeding is illegal at public school either? I discreetly feed my newborn baby when volunteering at my children's public elementary school and nobody(teachers, parents, or students)'s ever batted an eye.
Washington State LAW: Anywhere the mother and child otherwise have a right to be, there they can breastfeed. Period. That's why it is an issue.
why werent the people who were "uncomfortable" asked to leave. after all, it is due their own ignorance and stupidity that they WERE uncomfortable. what the hell is wrong with those kind of people?
Sex is a natural act. So is labor. But I wouldn't want to watch anyone do it. Breastfeeding is natural, yes. But this is a society that's already filled with sexuality. We're talking about a bunch of confussed preschoolers. It could be a learning experience to the mothers who are uncomfortable for themselves, but what about all the now boob-obsessed little boys (and girls sometimes) running around. I can't help but think of my little cousin. He's already a boob man. He doesn't need any help. Blame society for it's sexual objectification. Pro-breastfeeding but I don't wanna watch. Breastfeeding is beautiful, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Jus sayin'
And besides. You wouldn't want some perv staring at your boobs would you? Or your husband staring at some big hooters flopped out in a restaurant or anything.
You aren't particularly bright, are you? I don't blame society. I blame YOU and other idiots like you. Children NEED to be exposed to breastfeeding. You're revolting.
Let's not lower ourselves to name calling. Like I said, and maybe it's my fault for not being very clear because I was on my phone. I never said I was against it. It's wrong to have to leave the room period. Bathrooms are gross, it's her right... I agree. But we should be modest. I don't know the particular situation. None of us do. We weren't there. Maybe she was covered, maybe she wasn't. I just think that exposing yourself for the cause isn't going to change the way society percieves breasts. I've breastfed in public places and in front of preschool aged children. I know from experience. And unless the child's parents are there to talk to them about it and help them understand (which did not happen in my case because of ignorance), it will be in vain. I know that's not what she was trying to do. She was just feeding her baby, but you can't expect children to take all that in and still not view boobs as sexual. I tried explaining it to them and when their teacher calls home wondering why they were telling everyone on the playground about seeing some woman's boobies, it's not really working.
Here we go, another one who compares breastfeeding to sexual acts. Breastfeeding is just that: FEEDING. Yes we blame society for sexual objectification...but attitudes like yours keep it going. If you don't want to watch other moms, don't look. I'm sure they don't want you staring at them. Did you look away when you were breastfeeding your own child? And for crying out loud, they're PRESCHOOLERS. They don't understand sexuality. And that's why they need to learn what "boobies" are for- feeding a baby.
Associating sexual contact with breastfeeding is a learned idea in this culture. I'm somewhat shocked to hear that children as young as preschoolers have picked up this idea.
I suspect that we would have less "boob men" if more preschoolers witnessed breastfeeding as a normal way of feeding and caring for babies.
Why is it wrong to ask a breast feeding mother to seclude herself from the rest of society to feed her baby, in a totally natural way?
Well, why was it wrong to ask African Americans to sit at the back of the bus, or keep them separate but equal? I mean they still got to ride the bus, drink water, and go to school. Right??
What if we started demanding that tall people to only sit in the back rows of movie theaters, concert halls, stadiums, because they were tall? That would be OK, because hey they are taller and will still be able to see.
This is the same line of thinking, and it's all wrong, BECAUSE it's discrimination. That is what the issue is here. It's a lack of understanding, appreciation, and a skewing of how we view the female breast.
I can appreciate that some people are uncomfortable, but where does that feeling come from? It comes from misunderstanding and proliferation of the idea that breasts are sexual. Just like keeping people separated because of the color of their skin was proliferation of the idea that a person is different because of how they look. What happened with that? Our society was taught to think a different way, to admit that our view was wrong.
This is why this issue is so important. We need to stop the incorrect thinking that a breast is first and foremost sexual. It is not! It is first and foremost a gland that produces sustenance for continuing the human race. This stand that Lee is taking is beyond just wanting respect for her choice and legal right ... it is about ushering in a new way of thinking. A new way of appreciating a mother and child.
Lastly, it may not seem harmful for some to ask someone to leave, but let's examine the underlying feelings that are being passed on to a mother when she is asked to leave a public place, for a private one:
We are telling that mother that what she is doing isn't "normal" and that other people don't want to be around this abnormal act. (Obviously, if it was normal, no one would ask her to leave.) Also, we are telling her that her choice has repercussions, and that is that she has to be alone to feed her child because she chose the breast over the bottle. No one wants to be pushed aside for any choice that they are making. Should I ask the Hindu lady to sit in a far corner because she is wearing a Tika and it is not normal in my classroom, and it is "distracting" to my students? Is that appropriate, to isolate her because she is showing a choice that isn't usual?
What message are we sending new, young mothers when we tell them that they need to go to a special area to feed and cannot just feed their child anywhere that a bottle feeding mother can? What would you tell your daughter, if she were feeding her child in public and someone asked her to leave? Would you support that person; or, would you support your daughter and tell her that people have been nursing their young for (*smile*), literally, EVER and stand behind her choice to feed when, where, and however she wanted? Tell me you would ask her to leave, to be alone, to appease those who weren't familiar with the practice. Tell me that you would let her feel isolated, abnormal, and ashamed to bare a little breast.
**To those who are trying to claim that those who breast feed are indecently exposing anything, I say that you are making breastfeeding mothers out to be some kind of showgirls. Yes, the breast and nipple have to come out, but the baby immediately covers most of the whole "picture." I, and no other breast feeding mother that I have witnessed, take our breasts out, shake them about, or anything that could remotely be considered "indecent exposure." To lump me, and other mothers, in a category with flashers, streakers, and other perverts is offensive. Be careful with the things you say, people are listening, and they may even be trying to learn.**
!VIVA LA INFORMACION AL GENTE! ! VIVA LA FUERZA A LA MAMA!
BEAUTIFULLY said. Thank You!
Well stated! I couldn't agree with your comment more, Sajru.
Exactly right Sajru. I have an interesting part of the conversation that didn't make it in the article that shows the marginalization and misunderstanding of what this thinking does:
The supervisor said that we can't "hit people over the head" with breastfeeding in public or they won't ever change their minds.
And I said that "so we should tolerate racists and bigots because they won't change their minds if we confront them with their beliefs?"
Exactly! The issue is goes way beyond whether breastfeeding is culturally acceptable in mixed company. I feel uncomfortable when I see formula feeding. We could just as easily turn the discrimination around and insist that formula feeding only take place under blankets or in back rooms.
The comment made by Stephanie: " But if she was like she is in the picture I think she is to reveeling for children and should do it in a quieter place. I do not feel just because she is nursing it is ok to expose her breasts to young children. " shows how misleading some articles can be, simply by putting an anonymous picture next to the article... because the picture isn't of Lee and her one year old. Lee isn't too revealing when she nurses. And her right to breastfeed in this public space is what the issue is about. Head Start is simply *wrong* to have told her to leave the room. Period.
What I think is ridiculous, is that the woman in the picture is thought to be "exposing her breasts". People need to wake up and realize that most people see a hell of a lot more skin in ads and when women wear skimpy clothes than when a woman is nursing. So we either need to go back to the days when no skin could be exposed or people need to shut up
Not to mention, the woman in the photo (actually a video) is not even breastfeeding. She's just cradling a doll while talking about breastfeeding rights.
I am the mother the article is about.
Thank you all of you who wrote such beautiful and succinct replies. I am proud there are so many women who know their rights.
It is not matter if a woman is what you would consider revealing or not. She is doing an act protected by human rights, and doing what is best for our society and our babies. If you have a problem with a breastfeeding mother, you are the one with the issue. Plain and simple. It is your preconceived notions of what a woman is for and what a breast is for that is making you uncomfortable, not what the woman is doing. It is an opportunity for you to become more than what you are. Take it.
If anyone would like to write those directly involved here are their contact information:
Ellie Martin-The person that I talked to on the phone, regional supervisor, same address as below.
Doug Lehrman-Executive director
dougl@eocfwa.org
PO Box 82110
Vancouver, WA 98682-0025
You can also send letters directly to the teacher who started the whole issue:
Emily Bianco
Emily.Bianco@eocfwa.org
2611 Pacific Ave N, Long Beach, WA
And for state wide administrators:
Executive Director: Joel Ryan
joel@wsaheadstarteceap.com
Washington State Association of Head Start & ECEAP
345 118th Ave SE, Suite 220
Bellevue, WA 98005
Please cc: me on anything that you send so I have a stack of letters able to be delivered to whomever I may need to.
You can email me at breastfeedingislegalwa@gmail.com
Certainly seems like there is a major disconnect between branches of the federal government! CDC says breastfeed, local Head Start (federally funded) says no-no. Same situation has happened with WIC agencies forbidding peer counselors from bringing breastfed babies to work or meetings. Seems like someone at a high level needs to get this all straightened out. If you are a federally funded organization, moms (employees or volunters) may breastfeed their babies. NEVER in the bathroom!
I nurse at my daughters' public elementary school. I usually go to the volunteer room, but that is in the center of the school and has windows on all sides. lol Kids, parents, and teachers see me nursing all the time, I don't use a cover or a blanket and no one has complained. I nursed my son during a PTSA meeting. It's sad that an educator could be so ignorant.
This was the response from the executive director:
Dear Ms. Knott,
I am the executive director of EOCF, parent organization for Long Beach Head Start. I want you to know that you have raised a very interesting and thought provoking issue for us to grapple with this week. I have been researching, as has our Human Resources Administrator, with the help of our legal counsel, Washington State law on breastfeeding.
Our initial response to you was based on concern for disruption of the workplace through what, for want of a better term, we are calling “open” (uncovered”) breastfeeding in a workplace situation and concern for whether that was making our employees uncomfortable and disrupting the workplace. We believed that we had the correct response based on our initial understanding of Washington State Law and our obligations as an employer.
After two days of legal research which included discussions with the Washington State Human Rights Commission (who, by the way, agreed that this is not clear cut legal territory and that there is “murkiness” in this area), our attorney advised us that we are, in fact, a “place of public accommodation” which means that we do need to accommodate “client/customer” breastfeeding in our workplace.
As another part of our response to the issues you have raised, we will be examining, at the advice of our Head Start Program Specialist in Seattle at the Office of Head Start for Region 10, our policies and practices with regard to whether parent volunteers can or should be bringing siblings to the Head Start Center while they are volunteering in the classroom. That is an issue that we will be conferring with our newly elected Policy Council about as we move into the new calendar year 2011. We will also be seeking peer consultation, training/technical assistance, and/or advice from our Program Specialist as we grapple with that issue.
I am planning to meet with Ellie Martin (our manager for Head Start), Vern Nickelson (our director of Child and Family Services), and Cheryl Hamilton, (our Human Resources Administrator) next week to begin to discuss areas of policy and practice which we need still to shore up with regard to parent volunteers.
Please understand that we are, in fact, an agency that promotes breastfeeding as the natural and healthy parental choice for feeding young children. At issue here were considerations of workplace decorum and what is appropriate in a workplace for both employees and volunteers. I think you will agree that there is still cultural debate about the appropriateness of “covered” vs. “uncovered” breastfeeding in public places, regardless of what breastfeeding advocates are espousing. It is our attempt to be sensitive and balanced in our approach, considering all viewpoints as well as the rights and obligations that we have as an employer, that causes us to give careful consideration to our practices and to not automatically do whatever any given advocate suggests that we do. We have to take a measured and cautious approach to culturally sensitive areas such as public uncovered breastfeeding. Despite the good work of your advocacy organizations, I think you will agree that public uncovered breastfeeding does not yet have full cultural acceptance in the wider society which we must be accountable to as a community organization. Please notice that I did not say that I think that public uncovered breastfeeding is wrong (my personal views do not really matter but you should know that I am an enthusiastic breastfeeding advocate who has been frequently consulted by my daughter-in-law for support with respect to the issues of lack of support she has gotten from her own mother and from her employer for breastfeeding my grandchildren…..she is NOT an advocate for uncovered public breastfeeding, as it happens, which illustrates that there is not unified opinion about this issue even among ardent advocates for breastfeeding)….I simply said that the larger culture is not of one mind on this issue and may not agree with the position taken by various advocacy associations. That being said, we will follow Washington State Law as interpreted to us following our consultation with our legal counsel.
I would respectfully appeal to you to consider taking the approach with your advocacy association and on the blogs which you have unleashed that are now critical of us here at EOCF, to consider communicating that we at EOCF have taken your concerns seriously, are modifying our approach to the issue of whether parent volunteers can do public uncovered breastfeeding, and are examining what else we need to do to assure that we are adequately communicating our embracing of breastfeeding as the healthy and natural choice for feeding of young children. I’m certain that we agree upon more than we disagree upon. We all have the well being of children and families as our core mission and values. We are all on a learning journey together. I look forward to meeting you soon and for the opportunity for more dialogue about this issue.
Thank you for this opportunity to present this information and my views about the situation.
If you wish to speak with me, you may call me on November 29 or after at the number below or e-mail me at the address below. I am on vacation until November 29.
Sincerely,
Doug Lehrman
Executive Director
Ms. Hogan-Knot is a perfect example of a militant range rover hippie who will choose conflict over compromise in every situation. Clearly she has no ability to acknowledge the fact that everyone does not share her values and rather than respect that and find a solution she chooses to place her value system on all around her. Obviously she can't be wrong?
Chuck: Why should the breastfeeding mother be the one to acquiesce? Hippies are peaceful protesters, no? What's wrong with breastfeeding? Obviously to us all, not everyone shares her values. Otherwise, she would not be in this position. Perhaps uncomfortable folks could find somewhere else to look?
I think this is just more evidence that the state is trying to separate children from their parents as soon as possible so that the children can be indoctrinated through repeated trauma.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!