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Spencer: Feminist lawyers put different spin on Title IX
 
Gil Spencer , Times Columnist  11/16/2003
 
Delaware County's Barclay Surrick ascended to the federal bench just in time save the West Chester University women's gymnastic team from discriminatory elimination. But if it hadn't been him it probably would have been some other federal judge. It was a pretty simple case.

After all, the legal facts were all on the side of the gymnasts.

Facing a budget shortfall of close to $100,000, WCU's athletic department was ordered to make some cuts. It could have cut the men's lacrosse team, which it did, and say, the men's basketball team, which it didn't. Instead, it cut the women's gymnastics program.

Big mistake.

Maybe Athletic Director Ed Matejkovic thought he was being even-handed by cutting one men's team and one women's team. But he should have known better.

Even though the number of male and female varsity athletes at West Chester is substantially the same, there are a lot more women attending the school than men. Today, some 61 percent of WCU's students are female. That means (if my math is correct) men now make up only 39 percent of the student body.

See the problem?

No? Well, according to a decade's old interpretation of the 1972 anti-sex discrimination act in education, known as Title IX, the gender breakdown of varsity athletes should be "proportional" to their numbers in the student body. So, if 60 percent of a student body is female, 60 percent of their varsity athletes should be female as well. Get it?

I know what you're asking. You're asking what if, on a percentage basis, fewer women than men want to go out for varsity sports?

It's a fair question. In fact, survey after survey has shown this to be true in most places.

But the courts that have heard these cases have routinely dismissed that consideration as being basically irrelevant. If the U.S. Department of Education wanted to use "proportionality" as its rule, judges weren't going to say it couldn't.

Never mind that the original law written in 1972 seemed to have prohibited exactly this sort of quota mongering when it stated:

Nothing (in this act) shall be interpreted to require any educational institution to grant preferential treatment to the members of one sex on account of an imbalance which may exist with respect to the total number or percentage of that sex participating in or receiving the benefit of any federally supported program or activity, in comparison with the total number or percentage of persons of that sex in any community, state, section, or other area.

Essentially, the feminist lawyers pushing proportionality instructed federal judges to ignore this section of the law, and the judges, judges like Barclay Surrick, meekly complied.

In the West Chester case, Surrick found that the school not only failed to comply with the proportionality test, but also failed to show a "history and continuing practice" of adding women's sports; or "fully and effectively accommodating the athletic interests and abilities" of female students.

Again, never mind that when the school cut the women's gymnastics program it added a (more cost-effective) women's golf team. And never mind too that today the school offers 11 varsity sports for women but only 9 for the men.

I called the school Friday to ask Dr. Matejkovic about all this but he was out of town. I was told he was away attending the women's soccer team's game in New York. Yesterday, I was told, he was going to attend the WCU's women's basketball tournament. He's a busy man.

Last week, he was quoted in another newspaper, "Whatever we're told to do by the judge, we'll do."

I imagine reinstating the women's gymnastics team will do for starters. That will bring the total number of varsity sports for females up to 12, a full one-third more than there are for men.

Over the past 10 years, nationally, some 400 college men's sports programs have been axed specifically so that universities could comply with this patently unfair interpretation of Title IX.

A recent commission of mostly liberal, well-meaning academic types was set up by the Bush administration to look into this ongoing slaughter. But it quickly found that standing up to feminist lawyers' well-publicized but phony claims that they were out to destroy athletic opportunities for little girls everywhere was too emotionally and politically difficult to withstand.

So until a federal judge somewhere decides to interpret the 1972 law as written instead of as twisted, slapped around and stood on its head, more rulings like Barclay Surrick's can be expected.

In any case, it's hard not to be happy for the young women on the gymnastic team. All they ever wanted to do was compete. And none of this is their fault.

But a quick question: 61 percent of WCU's student body is female. Where is the proportionality in that?

Gil Spencer's column appears Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail [email protected]
 

This is a message from a mailing list, [email protected]
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Good People & People of Faith:

This message contains information on:

1. Murtari in Jail - Your support welcome.
2. Events in Syracuse - Your FEEDBACK.

1. Murtari in Jail - Your support welcome.
---------------------------------------------------------

As many of you already know, John Murtari is presently serving a 35
day jail sentence.  He was found guilty on 5 out of 6 counts of
trespass in a complaint filed by the US Attorney's Office.  For full
details and history, see http://www.akidsright.org/actionc_syr.  Your
support is encouraged and you are welcome to write to him in jail.
His mailing address is:

John Murtari
555 South State Street
POD 3B-41
Syracuse, NY 13202

John was very thankful that US Magistrate Judge DiBianco timed the
sentence so that John would be able to have his Christmas vacation
with his son, Domenic. He will be released on December 15th and has
plane tickets for the 17th to fly out West and pick up his son for
the holiday back in New York.

One of the goals of our NonViolent actions is to generate public
support and awareness of our cause.  Any actions any of you can take
to help increase public awareness are welcome.  Our thanks to Chuck
DeHart, whose message appears below.


2. Events in Syracuse - Your FEEDBACK.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Recent feedback regarding the ongoing NonViolent Action in Syracuse:

--- Chuck DeHart (Chuck DeHart)

> Wendy McElroy,
> (cc: Views at foxnews)

> Thanks for your article on Batman, the father's rights activist in
> London.

> Did you know it is against the law to walk in a federal building all
> by yourself with a sign with your son's picture on it and words
> requesting a meeting with your US Senator?

> Please be sure to educate yourself on the plight of Mr. John
> Murtari, estranged from his son and living in the Syracuse New York
> area. John has been arrested by the complaints of staff of
> Sen. Hillary Clinton (the so called family
> politician...bullonie!). His "crime"...carrying a picture of his
> son, all by himself, in the Syracuse federal building. His agenda,
> to have a meeting with the Senator to begin hearings on civil rights
> for families. Hillary's staff have complained about John's silent
> protest, carrying his sign, and had him arrested on several
> occasions. John just got 35 days in jail from a federal judge.

> Too many of our federal representatives see domestic law reform as a
> state issue, the same thing they did before racial and gender rights
> became a federal matter. Kids need protection from the divorce
> industry NOW!

> Get up to speed at this website:
> http://www.akidsright.org/actionc_syr/.  Read the message of love
> for our kids.  Please write more about the plight of American
> fathers engaging in civil disobedience for their kids.

--- [email protected] (Robin W.)

> My congratulations to the man who had the guts to bring some light
> into a very dark place, publicly.  While many call it insane, etc.,
> it was a plan that worked to bring some attention to this sad plight
> in our family law.  I want to add: I am a mother.  Everything you
> have protested for, stated, re: fathers, applies to my plight. It
> happens to fathers more, that I will vouch for, except in
> Sacramento, CA.  In the capital of Ca., there is such corruption you
> would not believe it.  I even started support groups--most of which
> were men.  That this happens at all, male, female, is WRONG!  There
> should be some permanently binding agreement before marriage on
> raising kids.  I had sole custody for 9 yr.., voluntarily by him,
> then he decided he wanted one. He went on an 11 year obsessed,
> vindictive, abusive campaign of PAS, slandering me, using the kids
> as tools, to the point of robbing them of mental health(they had to
> pick his way or he didn't find them worthy enough to love.  How
> healthy is it to be taught to hate, disrespect, undermine, mom? ) He
> abducted the kids, 4 times, each time getting child support thrown
> out "because they are living with him".  He then booted them out and
> they would be back living with me sans support. He has the money to
> pull an OJ---get away with murder, in his obsession to prove himself
> authoritarian and superior and punish me.  He had stated that I
> would pay for not returning to him and he kept his word.  I will
> include an article I found and my own update to a reporter who never
> did shed a light, or become involved.  Hang in there, all of
> you-----all we have is the hope that one day our fighting efforts,
> even if in Spiderman form, will allow us our God given rights to
> parent our kids Vs becoming one of walking dead.  Robin W.
> [email protected]

--- [email protected]

> I guess the Constitution should say instead that "Judges have a
> right to send people to jail if those persons petition our members
> in Congress."

--- Sondra ([email protected])

> Unfortunately, when one becomes (thinks) they are powerful, they
> want you to beg.  The game is not to beg, but, to holds one's
> dignity, an display GOD's Name, and, keep displaying his name, in
> anyway, shape, or any display.  I am sick of these so-called
> Politicians.  Thank GOD, President Bush, stood up.

--- Jahlul ([email protected])

> It does my spirit good to hear that someone is standing up for
> father's and children's rights. I am a father that has been trampled
> by the unjust system that is now in effect. It punishes the father
> and child and gives the power to the mother and whoever she is
> with. The dna of the child does not change when the mother changes
> partners. I pray that more people will follow your steadfast effort
> to balance the law in this matter. I pray that you will be
> successful in court . It will help more than yourself, millions of
> children and fathers.