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Title IX: An Overview One of the landmark laws of the 1970s was Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX states that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal assistance.” (US Department of Labor, pg. 1) This law provided the framework for the beginning of equality in education. In fact, Title IX was the first comprehensive federal law to prohibit sex discrimination against students and employees of educational institutions. Usually, when someone mentions Title IX, the first response involves athletic equality – the same number of opportunities must be available for male and female athletes. While most of the publicity surrounding Title IX does involve athletics, it actually encompasses much, much more. Title IX covers recruitment, admissions, …show more content…
However, when Title IX is reviewed, the only debatable subject is equality in athletics. It’s not even a question whether or not there are benefits or negatives to equality in education between sexes. If one can argue that it’s improper to have equality when it comes to sexual harassment, they should be dismissed without much thought. In regards to athletics, I have always been a proponent of equality as long as there is equal desire. For example, I don’t think it is fair to cut a boy’s basketball team if there aren’t enough interested participants for a girl’s field hockey team, yet the population is even. Title IX seemingly ignores the “interest factor”, which is one that I feel, is a major factor. If population and interest are even, then I feel that all teams should have equal opportunities and facilities – it just makes sense. If you want all of your teams to perform well, why short change one in favor of