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Freshman
 
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Last Login: 8/3/2008 3:28:01 PM
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Much of the information you seek is in the EADA report.
For example, the percentage of women students (47%) vs. that of women athletes (about 35%). According to Title IX, that's a violation of the first component.
Recruiting budget-the caveat says women's teams don't recruit walk-ons. I thought that's what a "walk-on" is-an unrecruited athlete. So why are they spending money to recruit someone they aren't giving a scholarship to?
You can look at the coaches' salaries and see the difference in pay. Once again in a caveat, WIU says they're paying the women less than the men because that's the way it is in the Summitt Conference. So that may mean all the schools are possibly violating Title IX when it comes to salaries for women coaches.
More information is in the letter by the former athlete that was sent to and published by the Macomb Journal and Women's Center newsletter (Dec/Jan issue). In it, she brings up WIU dropped 3 sports (field hockey, badminton, gymnastics) and added 2 (golf, soccer). In fact, golf was dropped and reinstated. The number of women athletes decreased also as a result of those sports being dropped and added. That's a violation of the second component of Title IX.
From reading the letter, it's clear this former athlete is very much against the dropping of the Westerwinds name. Since it seemed as if it was a violation of Title IX because the women were being forced to drop their name and the men weren't, she looked to Title IX as a possible legal way to fight the proposal. She ended up finding out about all the other inequities that were possible violations, and filed a complaint.
The proposal was the catalyst. The real issue became the Title IX violations with the name change as one subarea to be investigated.
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Last Login: 8/26/2008 9:01:34 AM
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| Thank you for the information, and, candid discussion. A somewhat sensitive issue. I hope it can get resolved, so everyone can move on down the road.
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I know that WESTERN has a "Compliance" specialist that works in the Athletic Department.
I am wondering if that person only deals with compliance with NCAA regulations ???
How else can you explain WESTERN's non-compliance with Title 9 Requirements ????
I guess it all goes back to a question of "leadership".
One WESTERN. All Leathernecks !!
Go Leathernecks !!
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Freshman
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[quote]WIU712 (6/23/2008)
I know that WESTERN has a "Compliance" specialist that works in the Athletic Department.
I am wondering if that person only deals with compliance with NCAA regulations ???
How else can you explain WESTERN's non-compliance with Title 9 Requirements ????
I guess it all goes back to a question of "leadership".[/quote]
That's a very good set of questions and comments. It does make you wonder what's happening in the Athletic Dept. when it can operate for all this time, evidently with violations of Title IX, and not have anyone notice.
From what I've been told by people on campus familiar with the some of the goings on in the Admin., those responsible for this area seem to be more concerned with trying to get around the law and hide non-compliance than finding ways to comply.
I don't know, not being on campus myself. But it does seem someone's falling asleep on the job.
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Western Illinois University's women athletics traditionally are very competitive. Many institutions in the State of Illinois and beyond would envy the success of all the womens sports at Western. Someone should come up with a list of schools in Illinois that have better women athletes than Western, I would think that to be a short list.
Western Illinois University does not have some of the best womens sports in the state by neglecting the programs and ignoring the rules.
This supposed title IX grievance needs to go away.
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Freshman
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Just because a school does well in women's sports doesn't automatically mean everything's fine in the dept. It probably means the coaches are able to recruit well despite the inequities.
But there are problems in WIU's program-the numbers bear that out. Underrepresentation of women based on components 1 and 2 of Title IX shows this. 47% of the student population are women, but around 35% of the athletes (men-53% students, 65% athletes). Women's sports that had enough for jr. varsity teams have been cut in the past, replaced by fewer sports and fewer athletes.
Then there's the publicity aspect. Regardless of the Westerwinds proposal, the name has been in use for 30 years. Yet there's a very visible lack of publicity of the Westerwinds as the women's name.
Part of the reason stems from the elimination of a Westerwinds logo in the mid-'90's, supposedly due to budget cuts. Once that happen, it became much easier for the Athletic Dept. to cut back on and virtually ignore marketing and promotion of Westerwinds athletics.
Look around campus. Even where women compete, like the track, there's no mention of Westerwinds. There's no Westerwinds items for sale in the bookstore, even though people have requested them.
This is another aspect of the OCR investigation. Even if WIU is found to be in compliance with the abilitities and interests component of Title IX, they may be found in non-compliance with this.
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So, after reading everything that has been written, having printed and read the article from the women's newsletter, and having watched across the miles hosted by my buddy, Gordy Taylor, along with having lived the 70's and the "women's movement" here is what I think!
I am very grateful for Title IX! Because of it, even though both of my children are of the female gender, I was able to watch them compete, play, and benefit from the same types of athletic activities I benefitted from as a youngster growing up in what has become the northwest suburbs of Chicago. My older daughter is in a wheelchair so she was not able to participate although she enjoyed going to the games I coached as a child. My younger one played basketball, volleyball, and softball..........softball became her first and finally her only love and to tell you the truth she was awfully good. I had the opportunity to coach her for four years, and the chance then to watch her for another 4 as she traveled around the USA (Denver, Michigan, etc.) playing against some great competition. 6 of the players at the Regional at Northwestern she played against in travel ball or high school ball. She could have played in college, but the knee got in the way, and she called it quits. But the lessons she learned, the confidence she gained, the friends she made can never be lost. That said...
I have always thought there was some sort of rub between the men and the women's athletic programs at WIU. Gil Peterson said that the women initially did not want to get that involved with that level of athletics......WIU had two different AD's one for the men and one for the women.........two different programs I guess, but not really, the colors are the same, and then I guess someone thought, we can't all be Leathernecks.........and the Westerwinds were created. But why??? What was the reason? The real reason? There are females in the Marine Corp! At my school the mascot is the Rams, but the girl's teams are not called the Ewes!!! The University of Georgia teams are not called the Bulldogs and the Bitches (which is a common American Kennel Association term for female canines!) Why Leathernecks and Westerwinds? Why the need for a division????? Obviously it came about because of "personal" feelings!!!!! And that same situation exists today, but only for the individuals that lived through WIU athletics in the 70's.
Why no cups and glasses with Westerwinds, or ties???? Marketing!!!!!! So lets violate the old rule of "supply and demand!" Lets print up 1000 glasses with Westerwinds and Leathernecks and lets put them out on the counter at homecoming and see what sells best! Wanna guess???
My daughter, a senior, has no clue what the fuse is about! I am a Leatherneck dad! Me too! I am into WIU women's softball, track, cross country, basketball, along with football, men's basketball, and baseball. They all wear purple and gold! Anyone really know why? (colors of the prairie cone flower, but that came about along time ago and no one really cares!) As 712 keeps saying, "one Western, all Leathernecks!" Makes sense to me.
So if we are in violation with Title IX over the marketing of the Necks and Winds, I have a suggestion!!!!!!! Just call all the teams the Leathernecks and this will no longer be an issue. No one in the state or national government can force WIU to have two names!!!!! Its our decision. So in order for us to be in compliance, we need to have just one! The Leathernecks!!! Sounds like a great idea to me!
jc
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