University of Florida:
The student hearing of football player Antonio Callaway went as predicted. The outside arbiter found him not guilty of sexual misconduct.The victim, protesting the use of arbiter who is an alum and contributes money to the football program, boycotted the hearing.
It is unclear whether the victim plans to take any additional action. Callaway is in action this Saturday against our local team, the University of Massachusetts. Interestingly, five of his teammates are not. They have been benched for various offenses including shooting BB guns in the residence halls and fighting during practice. Team culture...
One important clarification about this case. The media I read prior to my initial posting implied that using an outside arbiter (something I suggested might need review as a legitimate procedure for handling cases), was a common practice at UF. In fact, it is not. This was the first time UF had gone this route. This is eerily similar to Erika Kinsman's case at Florida State where a retired judge was brought in to conduct Jameis Winston's hearing and found him not responsible for sexual misconduct.
Kent State
The plaintiff who filed a lawsuit against the school in February 2016 alleging the school violated Title IX in the handling of her report of rape by her softball coach's son, has a filed a second lawsuit. This one is related to the university's failure to provide documents, including personnel records and student reviews of the softball coach, needed for the case. A judge has ordered this lawsuit to mediation. KSU has said the records requests from the plaintiff lack merit and specificity. It seems they are going down the dig-in-our-heels route.
California bill:
The bill initially proposed by state legislator Ricardo Lara has been amended after intense backlash from conservative religious organizations and schools. The initial attempt by Lara was to prevent these schools from discriminating against LGBT students by denying them exemptions. He changed the bill to mandate that religious colleges with exemptions reveal that fact (to whom or how is unclear based on media coverage) and that they report to the state when a student is expelled for violations of morality codes.
The bill and the ensuing controversy was mentioned in a recent Atlantic piece about the ongoing tensions between religious institutions, LGBT discrimination, and government funding of education.
The transfers issue:
Indiana State University took one day to dismiss from its football team a transfer from after they became aware of his alleged involvement in a sexual assault when he was at the University of Kansas. Though I remain suspect about the exchange of information that occurs in the transfer process, it does seem like ISU acted quickly. Perhaps it was just because a civil lawsuit against the player has been announced and ISU does not want to get caught up in the whole thing. In short, the decision was not very proactive, but it also was not as reactive (i.e., let's wait to see what happens) as we have seen in other situations.
Showing posts with label University of Kansas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label University of Kansas. Show all posts
Friday, September 02, 2016
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Recent sexual harassment and assault cases
A few cases of boys behaving badly recently have gained public attention and can be added to the data that suggest a correlation between male homosocial groups/behaviors and sexual violence.
Just a few months after a few upperclass boys on a Tennessee high school basketball team sexually assaulted a first year player, causing extensive damage to his colon and bladder, a high school football team in Pennsylvania has drawn public attention for its No Gay Thursdays. This was a weekly event at Conestoga High School and entailed sexual assault and harassment, apparently of a "gay" nature since it was initiated by and directed towards boys. The press calls it a form of hazing. (My thoughts on sexual assault as hazing can be found at the above link about Tennessee. They haven't changed much.) There seems to be something deeper at work here, though. To institute a day when behavior that would--under other circumstances--be deemed gay is permissible suggests more than a desire to initiate first-year students. This is more than hazing. The no gay/no homo phenomena among high school boys is causing serious damage.
This time that damage included sodomizing a first-year player with a broomstick. Three seniors were charged with the assault, which occurred in October. Unfortunately, the district attorney, Thomas P. Hogan, of Chester County, Pennsylvania has bought into No Gay Thursday as well and would not charge them with sexual assault. They were charged, as juveniles, with assault, unlawful restraint, and terroristic threats because, according to Hogan, "from our perspective, it's a physical assault and not a sex crime."
It is a sex crime. In most sexual assaults the goal of the perpetrator(s) is not sexual pleasure but demonstration of power that is enacted through a sexually charged act. These boys very deliberately chose this form of assault on a day they set aside for just this type of assault. It is undeniable that this is a sex crime. They should be charged with a sex crime.
No Gay Thursday is not a new event at Conestoga High School, either. Apparently it has been going on for three years and is a well-known secret. Three years. Hogan mentioned that this (sexual) assault is the result of "ignorance, violence, and a lack of supervision." To that I would add a culture of homophobia, male privilege, and silence--all of which are related/overlapping.
The head coach was initially suspended but resigned last week and the rest of the football staff has been fired. The reason provided for the loss of jobs has centered on the lack of staff supervision in the locker room where most of the hazing occurred. I would argue that the adults were also responsible for informing the culture on the team; a culture which should not include hazing of any kind and should also not perpetuate homophobia.
I am so frustrated hearing coaches say--in all of these cases of sexual assault and exploitation--from high schools in Pennsylvania to universities in Kentucky--that they knew nothing. Coaches are notorious micromanagers. They call players the night before games to make sure they are home. They establish and/or enforce training and diet regimens. They intervene when their athletes are performing poorly academically. Maybe they do not know--in some cases--the specifics; but they know what is happening on their teams.
Farther west, at the University of Missouri, a Title IX complaint has been filed within the university over a sexually offensive and threatening email that was sent by a member of a campus fraternity and directed at the women of a sorority. The fraternity and the student have apologized for the email which included the following: “Get your towels ready because it’s about to go down....[W]e get to stick our arrows straight up their tight little asses. Now don’t go be ass hats, go be as social as possible with our new friends.”
Interestingly, not all the news sources are actually posting what was in the letter. I found it here on the student newspaper's website.
The sender, Edward Lowther put the following apology on Twitter: "What I said was unprofessional on every level. I take full responsibility for my actions, and I will take steps to show that what was said in no way defines my morals or the morals of the men of Alpha Gamma Rho."
I don't think unprofessional is the right word here, because there was no professional context. What he said was aggressive and violent and misogynistic and to at least hint at his morals. The theme of today's post seems to be yes, this was wrong, but not wrong in the way you might think it's wrong. The University as well as the Greek community at MU seems to be taking it seriously, however, as they investigate the incident as sexual harassment and more than just unprofessionalism.
It has not been a good month for Mizzou. Anti-Semitic graffiti was found on campus a few weeks ago. And of course the school is no stranger to Title IX issues.
Finally, a few states over, parents of a University of Kansas rower are suing the university for false advertising and violating the Kansas Consumer Protection Act after their daughter was sexually assaulted in a residence hall by a football player. They were explicitly promised, they said, that the dorms were safe. This was also listed in the school's promotional materials. While that is going forward, the university also conducted an investigation after the student reported her assault a year after it occurred. A student conduct hearing based on the investigation is forthcoming.
While the lawsuit is a slightly differently and certainly unproven tactic, what these parents are really suggesting is that the realities of sexual violence are being hidden by the university. The lawsuit lists at least seven other incidents of sexual assault in the KU residence halls in a year and half period between 2013 and 2014. The parents say that if they had known about these, they would have reconsidered allowing their daughter to attend KU. They admit, however, that they did not check the university's Clery Act report, which actually shows more than the seven incidents cited in the lawsuit. This remains a case about transparency, and it will be interesting to see how a court interprets it.
Just a few months after a few upperclass boys on a Tennessee high school basketball team sexually assaulted a first year player, causing extensive damage to his colon and bladder, a high school football team in Pennsylvania has drawn public attention for its No Gay Thursdays. This was a weekly event at Conestoga High School and entailed sexual assault and harassment, apparently of a "gay" nature since it was initiated by and directed towards boys. The press calls it a form of hazing. (My thoughts on sexual assault as hazing can be found at the above link about Tennessee. They haven't changed much.) There seems to be something deeper at work here, though. To institute a day when behavior that would--under other circumstances--be deemed gay is permissible suggests more than a desire to initiate first-year students. This is more than hazing. The no gay/no homo phenomena among high school boys is causing serious damage.
This time that damage included sodomizing a first-year player with a broomstick. Three seniors were charged with the assault, which occurred in October. Unfortunately, the district attorney, Thomas P. Hogan, of Chester County, Pennsylvania has bought into No Gay Thursday as well and would not charge them with sexual assault. They were charged, as juveniles, with assault, unlawful restraint, and terroristic threats because, according to Hogan, "from our perspective, it's a physical assault and not a sex crime."
It is a sex crime. In most sexual assaults the goal of the perpetrator(s) is not sexual pleasure but demonstration of power that is enacted through a sexually charged act. These boys very deliberately chose this form of assault on a day they set aside for just this type of assault. It is undeniable that this is a sex crime. They should be charged with a sex crime.
No Gay Thursday is not a new event at Conestoga High School, either. Apparently it has been going on for three years and is a well-known secret. Three years. Hogan mentioned that this (sexual) assault is the result of "ignorance, violence, and a lack of supervision." To that I would add a culture of homophobia, male privilege, and silence--all of which are related/overlapping.
The head coach was initially suspended but resigned last week and the rest of the football staff has been fired. The reason provided for the loss of jobs has centered on the lack of staff supervision in the locker room where most of the hazing occurred. I would argue that the adults were also responsible for informing the culture on the team; a culture which should not include hazing of any kind and should also not perpetuate homophobia.
I am so frustrated hearing coaches say--in all of these cases of sexual assault and exploitation--from high schools in Pennsylvania to universities in Kentucky--that they knew nothing. Coaches are notorious micromanagers. They call players the night before games to make sure they are home. They establish and/or enforce training and diet regimens. They intervene when their athletes are performing poorly academically. Maybe they do not know--in some cases--the specifics; but they know what is happening on their teams.
Farther west, at the University of Missouri, a Title IX complaint has been filed within the university over a sexually offensive and threatening email that was sent by a member of a campus fraternity and directed at the women of a sorority. The fraternity and the student have apologized for the email which included the following: “Get your towels ready because it’s about to go down....[W]e get to stick our arrows straight up their tight little asses. Now don’t go be ass hats, go be as social as possible with our new friends.”
Interestingly, not all the news sources are actually posting what was in the letter. I found it here on the student newspaper's website.
The sender, Edward Lowther put the following apology on Twitter: "What I said was unprofessional on every level. I take full responsibility for my actions, and I will take steps to show that what was said in no way defines my morals or the morals of the men of Alpha Gamma Rho."
I don't think unprofessional is the right word here, because there was no professional context. What he said was aggressive and violent and misogynistic and to at least hint at his morals. The theme of today's post seems to be yes, this was wrong, but not wrong in the way you might think it's wrong. The University as well as the Greek community at MU seems to be taking it seriously, however, as they investigate the incident as sexual harassment and more than just unprofessionalism.
It has not been a good month for Mizzou. Anti-Semitic graffiti was found on campus a few weeks ago. And of course the school is no stranger to Title IX issues.
Finally, a few states over, parents of a University of Kansas rower are suing the university for false advertising and violating the Kansas Consumer Protection Act after their daughter was sexually assaulted in a residence hall by a football player. They were explicitly promised, they said, that the dorms were safe. This was also listed in the school's promotional materials. While that is going forward, the university also conducted an investigation after the student reported her assault a year after it occurred. A student conduct hearing based on the investigation is forthcoming.
While the lawsuit is a slightly differently and certainly unproven tactic, what these parents are really suggesting is that the realities of sexual violence are being hidden by the university. The lawsuit lists at least seven other incidents of sexual assault in the KU residence halls in a year and half period between 2013 and 2014. The parents say that if they had known about these, they would have reconsidered allowing their daughter to attend KU. They admit, however, that they did not check the university's Clery Act report, which actually shows more than the seven incidents cited in the lawsuit. This remains a case about transparency, and it will be interesting to see how a court interprets it.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Student Discplined for Off-Campus Conduct and Tweets Wins Appeal on Narrow Grounds
The Kansas Court of Appeals recently affirmed the decision of a lower court to dismiss a lawsuit by a student disciplined for sexual harassment and other offenseses, but in so doing, side-stepped the contentious questions about Title IX's applicability to off-campus conduct and its conflict with freedom of speech.
In 2013, the University of Kansas expelled Navid Yeasin for threatening and harassing a female classmate he had been dating, who is referred to in the case as "W." Yeasin and W. had had an altercation off-campus over what Yeasin perceived as W's infidelity. Following this incident, Yeasin used Twitter to post what seem to be reasonably interpreted as harassing and threatening tweets directed at W. After a disciplinary hearing, Yeasin was expelled for the off-campus altercation as well as the tweets, the latter of which violated the University's no-contact order and were found by the hearing panel to constitute sexual harassment: unwelcome and sufficiently severe to have interfered with W's educational opportunities.
Yeasin sued the university, arguing that the university did not have the authority under Title IX to discipline him for off-campus conduct or for constitutionally protected speech. The lower court, as well as the Court of Appeals, granted relief to Yeasin, but on narrow grounds. The university's sexual harassment policy by its terms only applied to conduct that occurs on campus or at university-sponsored events. For this reason, the university had no authority to expel Yeasin. The court did not reach the question of whether Title IX permits a university to discipline a student for off-campus conduct or whether Yeasin's tweets were protected by the First Amendment.
The take-away from this decision is therefore a narrow one: a university's authority to discipline a student for off-campus conduct starts with a clear and valid policy that asserts such jurisdiction. If Title IX or the Constitution provide outer limits to a university's authority in this regard, those limits can only be tested in a case where a university disciplines a student for off-campus conduct in reliance on its clear and valid policy.
Decision: Yeasin v. University of Kansas, 2015 WL 561617 (Kan. Ct. App. Sept. 25, 2015).
In 2013, the University of Kansas expelled Navid Yeasin for threatening and harassing a female classmate he had been dating, who is referred to in the case as "W." Yeasin and W. had had an altercation off-campus over what Yeasin perceived as W's infidelity. Following this incident, Yeasin used Twitter to post what seem to be reasonably interpreted as harassing and threatening tweets directed at W. After a disciplinary hearing, Yeasin was expelled for the off-campus altercation as well as the tweets, the latter of which violated the University's no-contact order and were found by the hearing panel to constitute sexual harassment: unwelcome and sufficiently severe to have interfered with W's educational opportunities.
Yeasin sued the university, arguing that the university did not have the authority under Title IX to discipline him for off-campus conduct or for constitutionally protected speech. The lower court, as well as the Court of Appeals, granted relief to Yeasin, but on narrow grounds. The university's sexual harassment policy by its terms only applied to conduct that occurs on campus or at university-sponsored events. For this reason, the university had no authority to expel Yeasin. The court did not reach the question of whether Title IX permits a university to discipline a student for off-campus conduct or whether Yeasin's tweets were protected by the First Amendment.
The take-away from this decision is therefore a narrow one: a university's authority to discipline a student for off-campus conduct starts with a clear and valid policy that asserts such jurisdiction. If Title IX or the Constitution provide outer limits to a university's authority in this regard, those limits can only be tested in a case where a university disciplines a student for off-campus conduct in reliance on its clear and valid policy.
Decision: Yeasin v. University of Kansas, 2015 WL 561617 (Kan. Ct. App. Sept. 25, 2015).
Thursday, September 04, 2014
Light punishments, heavy mattresses, and lawsuits: Campus sexual assault round-up
There have been a few stories over the past week or so about campus sexual assault that deserve a mention.
One that has been making the rounds in the press and on social media is the story of a Columbia University student who is protesting the fact that her assailant is still on campus by carrying around a mattress wherever she goes. This story has been picked up by multiple outlets and is about a student who has been part of Columbia's very vocal group of activists who have protested the way the university has handled reports of sexual assault. Emma Sulkowicz is the mattress-carrier. It is protest but it is also art. She is calling it Mattress Performance or Carry that Weight and it is her senior thesis. Read the piece on HuffPo for a description of the project and its meanings. We have seen some creative means of protest during this national movement, examples of students taking control when they feel their schools have failed them and making sure the issues remain in the public and community eye. Sulkowicz is also the student who, even though her rape occurred several years ago now, went to the police to file charges at the end of last semester feeling that she had to do something when the university did not. She will carry the mattress around, she said, until he leaves campus--either of his own accord or because of university action.
University of North Carolina is facing lawsuits from victims of sexual assault. In one, a student is claiming the university mishandled her complaint. from the facts provided, it seems they didn't handle it all with the complaint being lost in one administrator's inbox for weeks before he told the victim he was passing it on to another administrator who met with the victim and then passed it on to someone else who never got in touch with her. There was failure to follow through with the victim who was told things were a little confusing because the university was in the process of revising its policies. She left the school, but pursued the case and UNC eventually began an investigation which took far too long and was plagued by other issues.
The reasons behind OCR's investigation of University of Kansas which was announced in the middle of the summer have been revealed. A student who was raped by someone who admitted not stopping sexual activity when the woman asked for him to do so filed a complaint about the university's handling of her case. The woman, who went to a party with her assailant and who walked her home because she was intoxicated, actually went to the police first who spoke to the assailant who admitted his actions. Local officials have refused to pursue a criminal case despite the confession and have threatened the victim with charges of underage drinking if she pursued the case. She then went to university officials who did investigate the case but found not rape but "nonconsenual sex" had occurred. (This post on Feministing takes to task this and other euphemisms for rape.)
The university banned the assailant from campus housing, had him write a reflective essay, and required he go to counseling. They considered required community service but felt it would be too much punishment. They told the student, who appealed the light punishment, that his sanctions were in accordance with university policy. Could be true, but that doesn't mean the policy--for which university administrators are responsible--is a good one. That is what OCR will assess.
Light punishments are also at the center of two other complaints. A graduate of UC Santa Barbara filed a complaint in response to her rape. The university basically offered a pleas deal to her male assailant saying that he could agree to a two-term suspension or go through an investigation which could result in his expulsion. He chose the suspension, but was allowed to complete the term and his finals. And because the victim was graduating, he was actually allowed back to campus after only three months.
A University of Toledo graduate filed a complaint after her assailant who admitted that he heard her say she didn't want to have sex received probation, a $25 fine, and mandatory sexual assault education totaling ten hours.
One that has been making the rounds in the press and on social media is the story of a Columbia University student who is protesting the fact that her assailant is still on campus by carrying around a mattress wherever she goes. This story has been picked up by multiple outlets and is about a student who has been part of Columbia's very vocal group of activists who have protested the way the university has handled reports of sexual assault. Emma Sulkowicz is the mattress-carrier. It is protest but it is also art. She is calling it Mattress Performance or Carry that Weight and it is her senior thesis. Read the piece on HuffPo for a description of the project and its meanings. We have seen some creative means of protest during this national movement, examples of students taking control when they feel their schools have failed them and making sure the issues remain in the public and community eye. Sulkowicz is also the student who, even though her rape occurred several years ago now, went to the police to file charges at the end of last semester feeling that she had to do something when the university did not. She will carry the mattress around, she said, until he leaves campus--either of his own accord or because of university action.
University of North Carolina is facing lawsuits from victims of sexual assault. In one, a student is claiming the university mishandled her complaint. from the facts provided, it seems they didn't handle it all with the complaint being lost in one administrator's inbox for weeks before he told the victim he was passing it on to another administrator who met with the victim and then passed it on to someone else who never got in touch with her. There was failure to follow through with the victim who was told things were a little confusing because the university was in the process of revising its policies. She left the school, but pursued the case and UNC eventually began an investigation which took far too long and was plagued by other issues.
The reasons behind OCR's investigation of University of Kansas which was announced in the middle of the summer have been revealed. A student who was raped by someone who admitted not stopping sexual activity when the woman asked for him to do so filed a complaint about the university's handling of her case. The woman, who went to a party with her assailant and who walked her home because she was intoxicated, actually went to the police first who spoke to the assailant who admitted his actions. Local officials have refused to pursue a criminal case despite the confession and have threatened the victim with charges of underage drinking if she pursued the case. She then went to university officials who did investigate the case but found not rape but "nonconsenual sex" had occurred. (This post on Feministing takes to task this and other euphemisms for rape.)
The university banned the assailant from campus housing, had him write a reflective essay, and required he go to counseling. They considered required community service but felt it would be too much punishment. They told the student, who appealed the light punishment, that his sanctions were in accordance with university policy. Could be true, but that doesn't mean the policy--for which university administrators are responsible--is a good one. That is what OCR will assess.
Light punishments are also at the center of two other complaints. A graduate of UC Santa Barbara filed a complaint in response to her rape. The university basically offered a pleas deal to her male assailant saying that he could agree to a two-term suspension or go through an investigation which could result in his expulsion. He chose the suspension, but was allowed to complete the term and his finals. And because the victim was graduating, he was actually allowed back to campus after only three months.
A University of Toledo graduate filed a complaint after her assailant who admitted that he heard her say she didn't want to have sex received probation, a $25 fine, and mandatory sexual assault education totaling ten hours.
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Kansas in compliance
But there is still no men's swimming and diving team, much to the disappointment of Ron Neugent, an alum who filed a Title IX complaint in 2009 stating that male student-athletes were underrepresented based on the percentages of male and female undergraduates at the school.
Neugent argued that men were being discriminated against because they had proportionally fewer opportunities in athletics.
His goal was to get the university to add sports for men. But the university--agreeing that it would work on the situation but not admitting non-compliance--opted to achieve proportionality by looking more closely at team rosters and adding and subtracting roster spots.
And having done so, administrators recently filed paperwork stating that the school was in compliance.
Neugent, though, wanted Kansas to add, as mentioned, men's swimming and diving as well as men's tennis. But that seems like a lot of roster spots and KU was not grossly out of proportion. In 2007, two years before the complaint was filed, the university was told it had achieved substantial proportionality when it had a 1.8 percent gap. It seems that adding two men's teams would have required the addition of at least one women's team, which is always great--but expensive.
It also seems that Neugent was concerned not just with equity, but with his alma mater's position in a competition called the Director's Cup. The competition rewards a school for its success across 10 different men's and women's sports. Adding those two men's sports would help KU's standing in that competition.
But, as of now, KU has opted to closely monitor the numbers.
Neugent argued that men were being discriminated against because they had proportionally fewer opportunities in athletics.
His goal was to get the university to add sports for men. But the university--agreeing that it would work on the situation but not admitting non-compliance--opted to achieve proportionality by looking more closely at team rosters and adding and subtracting roster spots.
And having done so, administrators recently filed paperwork stating that the school was in compliance.
Neugent, though, wanted Kansas to add, as mentioned, men's swimming and diving as well as men's tennis. But that seems like a lot of roster spots and KU was not grossly out of proportion. In 2007, two years before the complaint was filed, the university was told it had achieved substantial proportionality when it had a 1.8 percent gap. It seems that adding two men's teams would have required the addition of at least one women's team, which is always great--but expensive.
It also seems that Neugent was concerned not just with equity, but with his alma mater's position in a competition called the Director's Cup. The competition rewards a school for its success across 10 different men's and women's sports. Adding those two men's sports would help KU's standing in that competition.
But, as of now, KU has opted to closely monitor the numbers.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
OCR and Kansas Reach Agreement Over Title IX Complaint
According to news reports, the University of Kansas and the Office of Civil Right have agreed that KU will document its Title IX compliance, in resolution to a complaint that KU violates Title IX by discriminating against men in the distribution of athletic opportunities. As we have mentioned, KU is one of the rare schools where the percentage of female athletic opportunities is greater than the percentage of women in the student body. (How much of a disparity is not entirely clear to me. The article cited here says there is a 5 percentage point disparity, while my calculations today based on 2008-2009 EADA reports shows a disparity of less than 2 percentage points, and my earlier blog post, presumably based on earlier EADA data, suggested that the disparity was 4 percentage points. As we have recently noted, EADA data is not always accurate.)
While the agreement between KU and OCR will resolve the complaint, the agreement does not suggest that KU currently is not in compliance with the proportionality prong, KU's chosen method of compliance. Rather, it requires KU to demonstrate compliance by taking the following steps: assess its participation rates and enrollment rates for men and women (by March 2011), submit a plan to demonstrate it is in compliance with the proportionality prong (by April 2011), and follow up with documentation it is in full compliance (by December 2011).
The men's swim club, on whose behalf the complaint was filed, hopes that KU's compliance plan includes adding men's varsity swimming back. But because KU is so close to proportionality already, it seems like it could demonstrate compliance by making minor adjustments to men's and women's athletic rosters, without adding a team. Depending on the numbers KU uses as the basis for its compliance plan, it could be that adding an entire men's team would swing the balance too far the other way.
News of this agreement also raises the question of what exactly it means that KU pledges to demonstrate compliance with the proportionality prong? Is exact proportionality required? Clearly, OCR thinks the existing disparity (whether it be 2, 4, or 5 percentage points) is not an example of substantial proportionality, otherwise this agreement would not have been necessarily. In fact, OCR has indicated in earlier policy documents (the 1996 Clarification) that proportionality compliance requires either an exact match in the percentage of students of each sex and the percentage of athletic opportunities for each sex, or minor (1 or 2 percentage point) disparities caused by fluctuation in enrollment. Perhaps OCR is using KU's case as an example to dispel the common misunderstanding that schools can demonstrate compliance with the proportionality prong as long as they are within 5 percentage points. I hope this is the case, though it is interesting to me that the mythical 5 percentage point rule is usually used to justify athletic imbalances that negatively affect women. Now that men are underrepresented, a stricter proportionality rule comes into play.
While the agreement between KU and OCR will resolve the complaint, the agreement does not suggest that KU currently is not in compliance with the proportionality prong, KU's chosen method of compliance. Rather, it requires KU to demonstrate compliance by taking the following steps: assess its participation rates and enrollment rates for men and women (by March 2011), submit a plan to demonstrate it is in compliance with the proportionality prong (by April 2011), and follow up with documentation it is in full compliance (by December 2011).
The men's swim club, on whose behalf the complaint was filed, hopes that KU's compliance plan includes adding men's varsity swimming back. But because KU is so close to proportionality already, it seems like it could demonstrate compliance by making minor adjustments to men's and women's athletic rosters, without adding a team. Depending on the numbers KU uses as the basis for its compliance plan, it could be that adding an entire men's team would swing the balance too far the other way.
News of this agreement also raises the question of what exactly it means that KU pledges to demonstrate compliance with the proportionality prong? Is exact proportionality required? Clearly, OCR thinks the existing disparity (whether it be 2, 4, or 5 percentage points) is not an example of substantial proportionality, otherwise this agreement would not have been necessarily. In fact, OCR has indicated in earlier policy documents (the 1996 Clarification) that proportionality compliance requires either an exact match in the percentage of students of each sex and the percentage of athletic opportunities for each sex, or minor (1 or 2 percentage point) disparities caused by fluctuation in enrollment. Perhaps OCR is using KU's case as an example to dispel the common misunderstanding that schools can demonstrate compliance with the proportionality prong as long as they are within 5 percentage points. I hope this is the case, though it is interesting to me that the mythical 5 percentage point rule is usually used to justify athletic imbalances that negatively affect women. Now that men are underrepresented, a stricter proportionality rule comes into play.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
OCR to Investigate Whether University of Kansas Athletics Discriminates Against Men
According to CollegeSwimming.com, the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights will investigate a complaint filed against the University of Kansas last month, alleging that the University's failure to offer a men's swimming and diving team violates Title IX. The complaint, filed by an alumnus who also swam in the 1980 Olympics, specifically alleges that the University violates all three prongs of the three prong test: that men are disproportionately underrepresented in the athletic participation opportunities; that the university does not have a history and continuing practice of expanding athletic opportunities for the underrepresented sex because the last men's sport added at Kansas was golf, 73 years ago; and that there is unmet interest and ability among the underrepresented sex, as demonstrated in part by a petition to bring back men's swimming & diving.
According to data submitted by the University and publicly available on the Department of Education's website, Kansas is a rare example of a university at which men are statistically underrepresented in athletics. The gender breakdown of the student body is very close to 50/50. Yet men receive only 46% of the athletic opportunities. Even though Kansas has a large-roster football team, it only offers a limited number of additional opportunities to men, in sports of track, golf, baseball and basketball. Women have opportunities in basketball, track, golf rowing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis and volleyball. Two issues will confront OCR in investigating whether this disparity violates the proportionality prong. First, whether Kansas is accurately counting athletic opportunities, as sometimes schools engage in roster management techniques that end up counting less-than-genuine opportunities or engage in tricks like adding students onto the roster after their official numbers are turned in. Assuming that Kansas's reported numbers are accurate, OCR will then have to figure out whether a 4 percentage point disparity is close enough for "substantial proportionality" required by the test. There is no bright-line test, but OCR has in the past accepted that five percentage point difference between the percentage of female students and the percentage of female student athletes still constituted substantial proportionality. The fact that this case involves underrepresented male athletes should itself make no difference to OCR's decision to rely on that particular benchmark.
The other interesting issue OCR's resolution of this complaint would have to address is whether failing to add a team in 73 years is tantamount to failing to add opportunities for men. Generally, football program rosters have been steadily increasing, and this could constitute evidence of a history and continuing practice of expanding opportunities for the underrepresented sex. Moreover, if men became the underrepresented sex at Kansas only recently, OCR may determine that this prong does not (or not yet?) apply.
In sum, OCR has the opportunity to address many questions about the three-prong test that have only been theoretical possibilities; namely, how the three-prong test applies when the balance of opportunities tips towards women.
According to data submitted by the University and publicly available on the Department of Education's website, Kansas is a rare example of a university at which men are statistically underrepresented in athletics. The gender breakdown of the student body is very close to 50/50. Yet men receive only 46% of the athletic opportunities. Even though Kansas has a large-roster football team, it only offers a limited number of additional opportunities to men, in sports of track, golf, baseball and basketball. Women have opportunities in basketball, track, golf rowing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis and volleyball. Two issues will confront OCR in investigating whether this disparity violates the proportionality prong. First, whether Kansas is accurately counting athletic opportunities, as sometimes schools engage in roster management techniques that end up counting less-than-genuine opportunities or engage in tricks like adding students onto the roster after their official numbers are turned in. Assuming that Kansas's reported numbers are accurate, OCR will then have to figure out whether a 4 percentage point disparity is close enough for "substantial proportionality" required by the test. There is no bright-line test, but OCR has in the past accepted that five percentage point difference between the percentage of female students and the percentage of female student athletes still constituted substantial proportionality. The fact that this case involves underrepresented male athletes should itself make no difference to OCR's decision to rely on that particular benchmark.
The other interesting issue OCR's resolution of this complaint would have to address is whether failing to add a team in 73 years is tantamount to failing to add opportunities for men. Generally, football program rosters have been steadily increasing, and this could constitute evidence of a history and continuing practice of expanding opportunities for the underrepresented sex. Moreover, if men became the underrepresented sex at Kansas only recently, OCR may determine that this prong does not (or not yet?) apply.
In sum, OCR has the opportunity to address many questions about the three-prong test that have only been theoretical possibilities; namely, how the three-prong test applies when the balance of opportunities tips towards women.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Kansas upgrading facilities
The University of Kansas, after undertaking an internal review on gender equity and review an external committee's report, has developed a master plan designed to improve the quality of women's athletics facilities at the university.
A new and improved boathouse for the crew team debuted this year already. Plans also include new soccer complex and volleyball stadium (of increased size so as to enable the university to host tournament games). Also slated for upgrade is the softball complex; a facility specifically cited in the external report. The report's verbiage is curious though:
“The softball facility should be of equal quality as the baseball facility but on a smaller scale.”
Not sure exactly what that means but the result will be a concession stand, grandstand, restrooms. I suppose what they are saying is "you don't have to have as many seats in the stands or stalls in the bathrooms; but they better be the same quality as what exists in the baseball complex."
What is a little more curious is that even though these improvements were cited as part of a gender equity/Title IX review the associate athletic director says they are Title IX compliant--that they just don't want to treat their female athletes like second-class citizens. Not sure what this misconception is based on. I think too many people believe that if you have satisfied one of the three prongs, you're good to go. They fail to see that meeting the interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex is only one component of compliance. Facilities is another (just ask all those high schools who are furiously trying to set their softball fields up to par after being threatened with--or subjects of--lawsuits).
All these facilities improvements are costly--probably $10million by the time they are done. But Kansas administrators say it will all be done through donations.
A new and improved boathouse for the crew team debuted this year already. Plans also include new soccer complex and volleyball stadium (of increased size so as to enable the university to host tournament games). Also slated for upgrade is the softball complex; a facility specifically cited in the external report. The report's verbiage is curious though:
“The softball facility should be of equal quality as the baseball facility but on a smaller scale.”
Not sure exactly what that means but the result will be a concession stand, grandstand, restrooms. I suppose what they are saying is "you don't have to have as many seats in the stands or stalls in the bathrooms; but they better be the same quality as what exists in the baseball complex."
What is a little more curious is that even though these improvements were cited as part of a gender equity/Title IX review the associate athletic director says they are Title IX compliant--that they just don't want to treat their female athletes like second-class citizens. Not sure what this misconception is based on. I think too many people believe that if you have satisfied one of the three prongs, you're good to go. They fail to see that meeting the interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex is only one component of compliance. Facilities is another (just ask all those high schools who are furiously trying to set their softball fields up to par after being threatened with--or subjects of--lawsuits).
All these facilities improvements are costly--probably $10million by the time they are done. But Kansas administrators say it will all be done through donations.
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