Fair play? James Madison University's decision to eliminate 10 sports teams--mostly men's--to comply with a federal "gender equity" law is the latest chapter in the debate over the fairness of Title IX.After an especially good meet in September, Dave Rinker, the coach of James Madison University's men's and women's cross-country teams, gathered his athletes and shared the bad news. The university would be eliminating men's cross country and track, along with eight other, mostly men's sports. The reason cited by school administrators: to bring the Virginia school into compliance with Title IX, the controversial federal gender-equity law. "Title IX was created in 1972 to prevent sex discrimination, and it was needed," said Jennifer Chapman, senior captain of JMU's women's cross-country team (which is not being cut), as she led a protest rally of 400 students on campus a few days later. "But look what's happening now. We rode the bus home from Pennsylvania for four hours, 14 guys and 19 girls all crying together. How is that supposed to have been Title IX's intent?" Across this placid plac·id adj. 1. Undisturbed by tumult or disorder; calm or quiet. See Synonyms at calm. 2. Satisfied; complacent. [Latin placidus, from campus in the Shenandoah Valley Shenandoah valley, part of the Great Valley of the Appalachians, c.150 mi (240 km) long, N Va., located between the Blue Ridge and the Allegheny mts. The valley is divided into two parts by Massanutten Mt., a ridge c.45 mi (70 km) long and c.3,000 ft (915 m) high. , the quads, walkways, and classrooms have been filled with similar questions surrounding Title IX, posed by both male and female students. "It was a difficult thing to do, but we were out of compliance with the law," says JMU's president, Linwood Rose. "Part of our mission statement talks about a community of educated and enlightened citizens. I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. how you create a model for citizenship if you are blatantly in violation of the law." This year marks Title IX's 35th anniversary. Signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 bars sex discrimination in schools and colleges that accept federal funding (which is virtually all schools). Title IX has been widely credited with significantly expanding sports opportunities for women. But the law's implementation has been the subject of fierce debate. Citing examples like JMU JMU James Madison University JMU JMTK Utilities Segment , Title IX's detractors charge that in practice, it has been unfair to men. TITLE IX'S IMPACT There is little question that female participation in school athletics programs has grown since Title IX was enacted (see graph, p. 10). One in 27 girls played on a high school varsity team In the United States and Canada and UK, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, or high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of in 1972. Today, that figure is one in 2.5. At the intercollegiate in·ter·col·le·giate adj. Involving or representing two or more colleges. Adj. 1. intercollegiate - used of competition between colleges or universities; "intercollegiate basketball" level, female participation has gone from 30,000 to nearly 170,000. Supporters also say that Title IX has been partly responsible for the growth in women's professional sports Professional athletes are distinguished from amateur athletes because they're paid. Women's professional sports leagues are relatively new and most common in very economically developed countries, where investors are available to buy teams, and businesses can afford to sponsor them in recent years. The WNBA WNBA Women's National Basketball Association WNBA World Ninepin Bowling Association WNBA Wannabe Nasty Boys Association WNBA Women's National Book Association, Inc. WNBA Warszawski Nurt Basketu Amatorskiego has been drawing fans for 10 years, and athletes like Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams, (born September 26, 1981) is an American former World No. 1 ranked female tennis player who has won eight Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal in women's doubles.[1]. and Michelle Wie Michelle Sung Wie (Korean Wie Seong-mi Hangul: 위성미 Hanja: , born October 11, 1989 in Honolulu, Hawaii)(IPA pronunciation of surname: [wi][1]) is an American professional golfer. , who came of age post-Title IX, have achieved as high a profile in tennis and golf as their male counterparts. "If it weren't for Title IX, I would not have been able to reach the level of play that I was able to achieve on and off the soccer field," says Julie Foudy Julie Maurine Foudy (born 23 January 1971 in San Diego, California) was a midfielder for the United States women's national soccer team from 1987 through 2004, finishing with a remarkable 271 caps. , former captain of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. "Title IX is among the most profound civil rights laws of our time." Today's critics of Title IX generally don't argue with its intent, but with its application, claiming that it has been transformed into a de facto [Latin, In fact.] In fact, in deed, actually. This phrase is used to characterize an officer, a government, a past action, or a state of affairs that must be accepted for all practical purposes, but is illegal or illegitimate. quota system Quota System can refer to:
"Unfortunately, Title IX has become an engine for eliminating men's athletic opportunities," says Jessica Gavora, spokeswoman for the College Sports Council. "Just this past year, 26 men's teams [at the college level] have been eliminated." HOW SCHOOLS COMPLY Most schools, including JMU, try to comply with Title IX by aiming to achieve "proportionality," which means that the ratio of male and female athletes must be roughly equivalent to the overall proportion of male and female students. (A school can also comply by showing that it is expanding its sports programs for women or by showing that its women's sports program "fully and effectively" accommodates the interests of female students.) JMU's student body of 17,000 is 61 percent female. To boost the proportion of female athletes to 61 percent from about 50 percent, JMU eliminated seven men's sports (swimming, cross country, indoor and outdoor track, gymnastics gymnastics, exercises for the balanced development of the body (see also aerobics), or the competitive sport derived from these exercises. Although the ancient Greeks (who invented the building called a gymnasium , wrestling, and archery archery, sport of shooting with bow and arrow, an important military and hunting skill before the introduction of gunpowder. England's Charles II fostered archery as sport, establishing in 1673 the world's oldest continuous archery tournament, the Ancient Scorton ) and three women's sports (gymnastics, fencing, and archery). When the cuts take effect in July, the school will have 12 women's sports and 6 men's sports--10 fewer than previously offered. Eleven coaches will lose their jobs, and 144 athletes will be without a varsity team. Women's cross-country captain Chapman, who is also president of the student athletic advisory council, has helped galvanize gal·va·nize tr.v. gal·va·nized, gal·va·niz·ing, gal·va·niz·es 1. To stimulate or shock with an electric current. 2. alumni, parents, and donors to help save the doomed sports. In November, more than 100 student-athletes, mostly from JMU, rallied for Title IX reform outside the Department of Education in Washington. Chapman questions the motives of JMU's leaders, saying the cuts were a ploy ploy n. An action calculated to frustrate an opponent or gain an advantage indirectly or deviously; a maneuver: "A typical ploy is to feign illness, procure medicine, then sell it on the black market" to focus on a core of high-profile men's sports like football, basketball, and baseball. 'YOU BETTER PLAY FOOTBALL ..." "Athletic departments have become a business run by accountants, not a place of opportunity run to educate students," she says. "What are you saying to young boys involved in youth sports when you offer only six college sports for them? You're saying, 'You better play football or basketball, because if you run track or swim, you don't matter.'" Jeff Bourne Bourne, town (1990 pop. 16,064), Barnstable co., SE Mass., crossed by Cape Cod Canal; settled 1627, inc. 1884. Bourne Bridge (1935), across the canal, made the town an entry point to Cape Cod and a resort and commercial center. , the athletic director Athletic director (commonly, "athletics director") is a position at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, which oversees the work of the coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic , says that saving money was not a factor in the decision. "These 10 sports cost us about $550,000 in a sports budget of $21 million," he says. "There's no way we're going to take all this heat and cause all the negative feelings for those affected athletes over $550,000." Critics often point to football as a factor in a university's decision to cut lower-profile men's sports: With huge budgets and 100 or more players on a team, football skews the Tide IX numbers, they say. But few at JMU fault football in the recent cuts. "You can't blame any one sport," says Dan Rylands, a javelin thrower on the men's track team. "It's the people who made the decision. It's the out-of-whack implementation of the law." Ellen Staurowsky, an expert on Title IX issues and a professor of sport management at Ithaca College The college offers a curriculum with over 100 degree programs in its five schools:
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , defends the fairness of JMU's actions. She says this sort of athletic department streamlining is part of a national trend, and compares it to "corporate restructuring." "It puts the focus on the sports that will most likely bring distinction and potentially bring fewer headaches," says Staurowsky. "So they do away with so-called lesser sports." DROPPED, AGAIN Jacob Torok, a sophomore on the men's swim team who transferred to JMU, sat in the assembly room in September when officials announced that men's swimming would be one of the nine sports eliminated. Eight months earlier, as a freshman at the University of New Hampshire New Hampshire, one of the New England states of the NE United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts (S), Vermont, with the Connecticut R. forming the boundary (W), the Canadian province of Quebec (NW), and Maine and a short strip of the Atlantic Ocean (E). , Torok had received similar news when officials there did away with the men's swim team in a wave of Title IX-related cuts. "This time, I thought I was having a nightmare and I'd wake up," says Torok, who rejected scholarship offers from two other schools when he transferred to JMU. "But now I wonder how this can keep happening." BACKGROUND Title IX bars discrimination based on sex in schools accepting federal, aid. The most well-known result has been the huge increase in female participation in high school, and college sports. But critics say that eliminating boys' teams (one of the ways schools try to comply with the law) is unfair to boys. CRITICAL THINKING * Ask students whether they think men and women today have equal access to educational programs, including athletics. Then remind them that until the late 1960s, many private colleges still did not even admit women. * What does today's debate about Title IX say about the difficulty of maintaining a fair and equitable society? [Note that Jacob Torok, at the end of the article, has been on two teams that have been cut to accommodate Title [X.] STUDENT POLL * Ask for a show of hands a raising of hands to indicate judgment; as, the vote was taken by a show of hands. See also: Show : How many students think schools should field the same number of men's and women's sports teams, even if that means cutting some men's teams? DISCUSSION QUESTIONS * Do students think Title IX has raised the profile of women in sports? If so, does that help women in general? * Do students agree with Julie Foudy that Title IX is "among the most profound civil rights laws of our time"? WRITING PROMPT * Assign students to write a five-paragraph essay in which they argue for or against cutting men's teams to make room for women's teams. FAST FACT There is a popular misconception mis·con·cep·tion n. A mistaken thought, idea, or notion; a misunderstanding: had many misconceptions about the new tax program. that Title IX applies only to women and girls. In fact, its provisions apply equally to male students. WEB WATCH www.womensportsfoundation.org The Women's Sports Foundation The Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) "is a charitable educational organization dedicated to ensuring equal access to participation and leadership opportunities for all girls and women in sports and fitness. provides background on Title IX. Click on "Links," then on the Title IX link. 1. One way that schools are complying with Title IX is to ensure that a the number of female athletes equals the number of matte athletes. b the number of male athletes does not exceed the number of female athletes by more than 1 percent. c the percentage of male and female athletes matches the school's ratio of men to women. d traditional, female sports, such as field hockey field hockey: see hockey, field. field hockey or hockey Game played with curve-ended sticks between two teams of 11 players. It is played on a field 100 yd (91.4 m) by 60 yd (55 m) in size. , receive funding equal to that of traditional male sports, such as football. 2. Another way that schools and colleges can comply with the legal provisions of Title IX is by a promising to do better in the future. b demonstrating a continuing practice of expanding women's programs. c having fewer men's programs. d reducing the budget for sports that are traditionally played by men. 3. Critics of James Madison University's plan to cut some men's teams said the decision was really meant to a focus on high-profile sports like football. b direct more resources toward academics. c portray sports that were cut as unpopular. d persuade the federal government that James Madison was complying with Title IX 4. Some critics of Title IX say it has been transformed into a a training program for women's pro teams. b social engineering experiment. c de facto quota system. d civil rights program. 5. Which of these seems to be a national trend? a streamlining athletic departments b a decline in the number of matte athletes c declining attendance at sports events d lessened enforcement of Title IX rules IN-DEPTH QUESTIONS 1. Explain why you believe--or do not believe--that women's sports need the protection of a law like Title IX. 2. Do you think that men, in general, are more interested in sports than women? Should such questions affect the debate over the number of matte and female sports teams? 1. [c] the percentage of matte and female athletes matches the school's ratio of men to women. 2. [b] demonstrating a continuing practice of expanding women's programs. 3. [a] focus on high-profile sports like football. 4. [c] de facto quota system. 5. [a] streamlining athletic departments By Bill Pennington in Harrisonburg, Va. Bill Pennington covers sports for The Times; additional reporting by Elizabeth Mayer Elizabeth Mayer (1884 - 1970), German-born American translator and editor, closely associated with W. H. Auden, Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears, and other writers and musicians. In the 1940s her homes in Long Island and New York served as an artistic salon for many emigré writers. .
Participation in School Sports Since Title IX
FEMALE MALE
HIGH SCHOOL
SCHOOL YEAR
1971-72 294,015 3,666,917
2005-06 2,953,355 4,206,549
SOURCE: NATIONAL FEDERATION
OF STATE HIGH SCHOOL ASSOCIATIONS
COLLEGE
(NCAA member institutions)
SCHOOL YEAR
FEMALE MALE
1971-72 * 29,977 170,384
2004-05 166,728 222,838
SOURCE: NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
* DATA INCLUDES RECREATION PROGRAMS
Note: Table made from bar graph.
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