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Show The Daily Utah Chronicle PINION Monday, January 13, 2003 ffcoFSSo3. VIEW THE CHRONICLE'S Progress in Utah. Is a Good Thing The U gets a in-sta- te cation. Salguero moved from Mexico to the United States in 1997, attended and completed high school, graduating in 2000. She attempted to go to school directly after high school, but she could only find funding for tuition, $5,000 of her books and fees. As she works helps her mother with the house payment and aids in the care of her younger siblings, Salguero couldn't afford to go to full-tim- te e, OsxX TKES TO KEACU C&Z Tfe MASSES'-- ' ' IF IS ) 6tcft i&ArtOrMJF. I'M school lot of in the media. it's about sports or guns. Right now, however, the U is grabbing headlines and getting airtime for something that Utah isn't normally associated with. Progressive politics is becoming the new thing in Utah's higher education. Specifically, the allowance of children of undocumented workers to go to school and pay tuition. The state has passed the law, and even though the federal government has yet to do so, U President Bernie Machen has taken the initiative and made it so that students like Silvia Salguero can get a college edu- out-of-sta- STtt But, thanks in a large part to Salguero sharing her story and making the cost of tuition- - a statewide issue and Assistant Attorney General Bill Evans' opinion stating allowing in such students was OK, students of undocumented workers can attend the U while paying instate tuition, which is about one-thiof tuition. Media such as USA Today, Telemundo, KSL and the Deseret News have or will soon feature Salguero, and while other children of undocumented workers currently attend the U, Salguero deserves the recognition that she is receiving because she has brought the issue to the forefront. Allowing Salguero and others that fall in the same residence category shows that Machen is indeed embracing the diversity within the state, and helping everyone in the state attain their goals of higher education. The U's administration and the Attorney General's Office need to be commended, and, for once, the rest of the nation needs to quickly follow the U's example. rd out-of-sta- te LETTER Editor: i expect university papers to present and explore topics of the day in a more comprehensive manner than one comes to expect from the mainstream media of this country. 5 defamatory to an Individual or group because of race, ethnic background, gender, appearance or sexual trill be edited or will not be published. ori- EDITOR Coverage Unfair Israel-Palestin- e Unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of The Daily Utah Chronicle Editorial Board. Editorial columnt and letters to th editor are strictly the opinions of the author. The forum created on the Opinion Page is one based on vigorous debate, while at the same time demanding tolerance and respect. Material entation TO THE The Chronicle's page two story on Jan. 6, "Two Suicide Bombers Kill 23, Wound 100," which was provided by the Associated Press, unfortunately reflects the limited understanding Americans have of the Palestinian-Israe- li conflict. The attacks, described in a very active voice on behalf of the victims, appear to have broken a period of "relative calm." The question should be "calm for whom?" Certainly not fc r the Palestinians, who have suffered m causalities, 26 of whom were children, in the last two months. Maybe the Associated Press does not count Palestini- - ans on the list of human victims in its understanding of the situation. conflict is a cycle of violence, The Palestinian-Israe- li and a brutal in motion set illegal 35- - year occupation by by is It lands. not a neat set of events Israel of Palestinian "started" by a suicide bombing attack and "finished" by an Israeli response. As Americans, we finance this occupation and give Israel the political cover it needs to avoid the natural consequences of its brutality. We should all demand from our media a harder look at' the conflict and the evils it engenders. And as an "educated" segment of our society, we should be savvy about how the media can manipulate readers and viewers. MAHA BARRANI Alumna Title IK Creates Widesnre ad So cial ChoMoc In a letter in The Chronicle of Higher Educa- MICHAEL YOUNG Chronicle Opinion Columnist The U.S. Department of Education established a commission to examine status and effects of Title IX. The law, which mandated greater gender equalistudent athletics, has come under fire for unjustly discriminating against men. However, Title IX has merely righted a wrong that existed for a long time. By giving greater opportunities to women, the law has created larger social 1971 ty in change and greater gender equality. In order for social change to occur in any society, two things are necessary. First, the law has to be altered. Second, social norms and attitudes of people generally have to make progress. The debate over which type of change has to come first can become somewhat silly, a sort of glorified argument over the chicken or the egg. Traditionally in areas of discrimination and civil rights, change has started at the legal level because of deeply rooted racist or sexist prejudices. Title IX was passed in order to eliminate gender discrimination. Recently there has been debate over whether Title IX has been enforced properly, or whether the original intent of the statute has been distorted. Is there really a question as to whether the passage of Title IX was a good thing or not? Unfortunately, for many there is. tion, University of Minnesota Twin Cities wrestling coach J. Robinson wrote that "the law has been hijacked by feminist radicals." Robinson and other critics of Title IX say the statute has only provided opportunities for women at the expense of opportunities for men. Robinson cites the fact that "more than 400 wrestling teams have been eliminated over the past 20 years, or the equivalent of 12,000 opportunities for men to wrestle." He claims that this in and of itself is a form of discrimination. This argument seems to be somewhat of a sleight of hand by Title IX opponents. The elimination of programs in the past is not a direct result of Title IX. According to a report released by the Department of Education in 1997, "It is important to recognize that there is no mandate under Title IX that requires a college to eliminate men's teams to achieve regulation is intended to expand opportunities for both men and women." This is exactly what has occurred since the statute's com-pliancc.t- he passage. The overall number of men's programs across the country has increased since the passage of Title IX. A report released by the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Edu- cation, showed that between 1981 and 1998 36 men's teams were added, not to mention that male athletes at NCAA institutions received 36 percent more money for scholarships. Whether or not certain programs exist at any institution is a decision made solely by the institution itself. The reality is that many wrestling teams have been dropped in order to free up more CHRONICLE OPINION EDITOR JOHN MORLEY money for football, basketball and hockey. Opponents of Title DC have also attacked the way in which the statute has been implemented. A major part of the courts' assessment of schools' compliance with Title IX is based on the proportionality standard. The standard requires that the number of athletes at an institution of a certain sex must be proportional to the number of students at that institution of the same sex. In other words, if 50 percent of the students at a university are men, men can only make up 50 percent of the athso-call- ed letes as well. They won't start banging on the gymnasium doors until they know they're unlocked. Charles M. Neinas, former executive director of the College Football Association, argued in a Chronicle of Higher Education article that "It has been well established that male students are more inclined to 'try out' or 'walk on' that is, participate in a sport without receiving financial aid than female students." According to Neinas, "An analysis of male participation versus female participation in similar sports illustrates that fact, as does an evaluation of intramural and club sports." For Charles Neinas and others, applying the proportionality standard to students that are LETTERSCHRONICLE.UTAH.EDU not equally interested in sports is illogical. It makes no sense to cut men's programs where there is a high level of interest in order to create women's programs where interest may be minimal. Neinas' argument may seem appealing, but it doesn't reflect what happens in the real world. In a report issued by the U.S. General AccountAthletics, the total ing number of female college athletes has increased dramatically in the past 30 years. In 1971 there were 31,837 female collegiate athletes. By 1994 that number had grown to 103,337. Such dramatic statistics make it hard to believe that women have no interest in playing sports. In fact, it proves the opposite to be true. Neinas' argument is flawed because it misses the purpose of Title IX entirely. The law was designed precisely to change the situation he described. Women and girls will only take interest in sports if opportunities exist. They won't start banging on the gymnasium doors until they know they're unlocked. Discrimination is wrong, regardless of how long it's been around or how wide its effects have become. Already, social norms are catching up with the legal changes made bv Title IX. More and more women are seeing themselves as athletes. So rather than discussing the effectiveness of Title IX, perhaps the commission should focus on helping people grow out of their "no girls Office-Intercollegia- te allowed" clubhouse mentality. Golf at Augusta anyone? Michael welcomes feedback at myoungchronicle.utah.edu. Send letters to the editor to lettcrschroniclc.utah.edu. 581-639- 7 |
