November 02, 2006
Student Athletes Rally For Title IX Reform
Note to Off Wing readers: Things have gotten pretty busy around here, so I've recruited some extra help from my alma mater, Catholic University.
Starting today, CU students Kate McGovern and Ann Scrimenti are joining Off Wing as interns. Kate will be working as a photographer, while Ann will be an editorial assistant. Earlier today, a group of students organized by the College Sports Council came to Washington to lobby Congress to reform the enforcement mechanisms used to apply Title IX to college athletics. Ann filed the following report and Kate brought her camera. I'm looking forward to see more from these two.
Students from the greater Washington area schools gathered for a rally today to demand improvements to Title IX, a Civil Rights Amendment Act that prohibits gender discrimination for education programs and activities that receive federal aid. Parents, coaches and advocacy groups stood with the students outside the Department of Education, while the James Madison University (JMU) men's and women's track teams ran five miles side by side around the Department. The JMU swimming, archery, fencing, wrestling and gymnastic teams were also a large presence at the today's rally.
Because many of the local institutions do not have a balance of teams for both men and women, federal funding of sports programs has been cut. Students seeking an alternative to cutting programs have been granted a meeting with Department of Education officials immediately following the rally at which they will be delivering a letter detailing specific reforms, with several hundred signatories, according to the College Sports Council.
Tari Rossitto-VanWinkle (pictured left), mother of male JMU gymnast Stirling Van Winkle, said that a solution to this problem is "multi-faceted." She said she believes JMU should "immediately breakup the timetable to 2010." Both parents and students alike are seeking reform from the Department of Education because of the "clear violation of Title IX. It was never intended to cut women's and men's sports," she said. Rossitto-Van Winkle flew from Tallahassee, Florida today to encourage her son to speak out.
For a full gallery of photos from the event, click here.
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.ericmcerlain.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/6696
10:31 PM