In case you missed it, IWF’s Carrie Lukas had a great piece on the recent Title IX cuts at James Madison University over at Townhall.com on Friday. Carrie points out that fairness is a casualty of Title IX enforcement:
“Fairness: it’s one of the most prized values in American society. In our education system, fairness requires that schools and universities judge students on their merits and offer equal opportunities to all students. Yet fairness becomes a different measuring stick when it’s applied to gender issues on campus: one that’s used to prod women toward greater achievement and whack men. James Madison University’s (JMU) recent decision to eliminate ten sports teams is the latest example of the bizarre world of gender fairness on campus.
“For more than three decades, colleges across the country have struggled to comply with the federal statute, Title IX, which banned discrimination in athletics. The law’s purpose was to encourage schools and universities to ensure that women, like men, had the opportunity to participate in sports. That’s a goal that Americans whole-heartedly support. It’s only fair, after all, that women enjoy the many pleasures and benefits of athletic participation.
“Yet, in practice, Title IX now does more to squelch men’s athletics than to encourage female athletes. Consider that JMU’s athletic roster was already 50 percent men and 50 percent women before the recent cuts that were designed to comply with Title IX. Equal numbers of men and women athletes certainly sound fair. The problem for JMU is that 61 percent of their student body is female. To meet Title IX’s proportionality test-the most incontrovertible standard and therefore the least likely to yield a lawsuit-requires that at least 6 in 10 student-athletes be female.
“James Madison University plans to eliminate seven men’s teams (archery, cross country, indoor and outdoor track, gymnastics, swimming and wrestling) and three women’s teams (archery, fencing, and gymnastics) in July. Just six men’s teams and twelve women’s teams will remain and the combined athletic rosters will magically become 61 percent female.”
Read the whole article here. And, if you’re in the DC area, attend our Title IX press conference and rally on Thursday.