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7: Huddling for Reform
But
it is the cuts in men’s athletics – not the scarcity of
women’s coaches – that is garnering national attention through
protests and petitions on campuses throughout the country.
The opposition has grown so strong, it has made its way
to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
LeSher’s Iowans Against Quotas gathered 25,000 signatures
on a petition encouraging politicians to do away with the
proportionality prong of Title IX.
LeSher said their influence went "from the caucus level
to the county level to the district level to the state level
and up to the national convention, resulting in the following
statement on the Republican Party platform: "We support
a reasonable approach to Title IX that seeks to expand opportunities
for women without adversely affecting men’s teams."
But according to education officials, the Bush administration
has no specific plan for Title IX reform or stricter enforcement.
"Nobody has discussed any possible changes," said Roger
Murphy, a spokesman for the Department of Education. "There’s
nothing to report at this time." Nonetheless, LeSher said
his organization helped Bush see its side of the issue.
Though Bush did not sign the petition that his Republican
counterparts Steve Forbes and Alan Keyes did, LeSher said
he is optimistic Bush will bring a new interpretation of
Title IX to Washington.
"We definitely had an impact on him about the issue," LeSher
said.
Others familiar with the issue say it would be difficult
for Bush to institute change.
"We’d be surprised if OCR or the new administration tried
to tamper with long-standing policies of Title IX that virtually
every court in the nation has upheld," said Neena Chaudry,
counsel for the National Women’s Law Center in Washington.
"I know there’s groups out there trying to undermine the
law. But these are longstanding interpretations that have
been held up in court."
"There should be greater enforcement," said Chaudry. Opponents
of the way Title IX has been enforced say Bush’s intervention
is needed before it’s too late.
"The collegiate athletic system in the United States is
the envy of the world," said Eric Pearson of the National
Coalition for Athletics Equality. "It is arguably one of
the great vehicles for personal development offered by any
culture to its citizens since the beginning of civilization.
However, this uniquely American system is under attack by
the Office of Civil Rights."
LeSher cautioned, "You’ll see the death of every male Olympic
sport at the college level in approximately ten years" if
Title IX is not changed. "All Olympic sports will become
club sports that only the rich or the incredibly talented
will compete in."
Despite naysayers, most agree regardless of what has happened
in the nearly 30 years since its passage, Title IX is, in
essence, good legislation.
Even LeSher, who is active in trying to reform Title IX,
is quick to say his group is "totally in favor of the original
Title IX as it was enacted."
Senator Kohl-Welles remembers well the days when she "played
half-court games of basketball in middle school because
the girls were not viewed as strong enough." She herself
could only dream of growing up to be a professional baseball
player. Today, she said, girls enjoy full-court basketball
games as well as the privilege of joining in everything
from wrestling to ice hockey. Much of this, she says, is
due to Title IX, whatever its limitations or undesired effects
may be.
"It’s really a revolutionary piece of legislation," she
said.
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