Title IX Celebrates 50th Anniversary

By Cindy Lazo

This June will mark the 50th anniversary of the historic passage of Title IX, a law which has offered many opportunities for students of different academic institutions.

Title IX, which states that no person be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance, was originally enacted and signed into law on June 23, 1972 and has opened doors for female students, most particularly in college sports that were previously male dominated, that was once considered unlikely.

On their website, the Kean University Athletics Department states their commitment to promoting equity and diversity to facilitate personal growth while fostering a competitive  environment inclusive of anyone’s race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, socioeconomic status, veteran status, citizenship status, ability or age.

“Title IX, I feel, has really paved the way for a lot of female athletes,” Lorin Tredinnick, Managing Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Development, said.  “To be given the chance to actually play a sport and develop those leadership skills and time management skills, and just really gave a lot more opportunities, I think, than some prior generations.”

Tredinnick, who was a varsity tennis player for four years, feels lucky to have been able to play a sport and attributes it to seeing more strong female models, especially women of color.

“And I think you’re starting to see more females in higher positions, really that representation matters, we’re seeing them in more administrative roles, in coaching roles, we’re seeing some who are referees on the field now,” Tredinnick said. “I still think we have a long way to go but you’re starting to see some of the positive impacts from Title IX opening those doors.”

She also said that while having not seen anything in her near two months here at Kean, there has been works in developing more initiatives that includes supporting transgendered athletes and that building stronger policies, more opportunities, more education, that is something that the Athletic department want to work on.

Back in 1995 (when Kean University was known as Kean College) the university faced issues of Title IX compliance from the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) for not having a fair proportion of female athletes in varsity sports, which was covered by Chris Cannella and Leah Karnatski of The Independent (the former student newspaper).

“I think we have made significant strides,” Tredinnick said. “One of our coaches here, Leslie LaFronz, the field hockey coach, was actually talking about her experience as an athlete and really seeing the changes of Title IX over her career.”

Brian A. Beckwith, Director of Affirmative Action Programs and Title IX Director, said that the university fosters a non-discriminatory environment through the Office of Affirmative Action Programs (OAAP) and is responsible for investigating complaints of discrimination and reviewing and investigating all Title IX complaints.

“We take every complaint seriously and work to resolve all matters fairly and impartially,” Beckwith said. “The office also works to ensure that the University has a diverse pool of qualified candidates for faculty and staff positions that is reflective of the University’s student body.”

He also added that the university ensures that every student is aware of the various services available to them by providing information in the student handbook, on the Kean website, and mandating that information regarding Accessibility Services, Title IX and Affirmative Action are placed in each class syllabus. 

In recent years, Title IX has become a response in combating on-campus sexual misconduct that includes sexual harrassment, violence and assault, despite no mention or inclusion in the law.

“This was, in part, because sexual harassment was considered a matter of course in most professional settings throughout much of the 1970s,” Abigail Perkiss, a professor of the History Department, said. “This began to change in 1977, when the DC Circuit Court of Appeals held that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, prohibiting discrimination in places of employment, applied to a claim of quid pro quo in the workplace—that is, a supervisor seeking sexual favors from an employee in exchange for a promotion.”

Perkiss, who co-authored the Changing the Game: Title IX, Gender, and College Athletics game book that is used in her Emergence of Law class and has her senior seminar class researching on the topic, explained that within that same year a group of Yale University students made the argument that sexual harrassment and violence constituted discrimination against women.

“Absent a university protocol for addressing such grievances, the women sued the school, claiming that the lack of such a policy was a violation of Title IX,” she said. “While the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ultimately held that the plaintiffs failed to prove their case, the justices did recognize that sexual harassment constituted a form of sex discrimination under Title IX.”

Perkiss added that the 1998 Davis v. Monroe County Supreme Court case saw the outcome that a school can be liable for student-to-student offenses, which if the school is aware of the situation and chooses to ignore it, the institution is liable for claims made by victims.

“One of the less recognize pieces of Title IX is a lot of people do not realize that Title IX protects people from gender based violence—so harassment, stalking, sexual violence,” Tredinnick said. “And I think that we still need to do a lot more education around that component as well.”

Beckwith said that sexual harassment and any other forms of misconduct regarding sexual orientation and bias that is in violations of Title IX are taken very seriously and students can make complaints either in person the Office of Affirmative Action Programs in room 116 Townsend Hall, email afiract@kean.edu or via the Kean University website by selecting either the Title IX Violation Reporting Form or the Title IX formal complaint form.

“Equity, respect and fair treatment for all are at the core of Kean’s mission and are a priority of President Lamont O. Repollet,” he said. “Title IX was a transformative law that changed women’s collegiate sports and codified important protections against sex- and gender-based discrimination, assault or harrassment.”

For Perkiss, as someone who grew up playing in sports like Little League and T-ball and is a former competitive swimmer, Title IX means a lot to her.

 “I have always identified as an academic, somebody who likes studying and exploring the past, but also an athlete and I think Title IX really has a lot to do with that,” she said.

Tredinnick believes that there’s always going to be people who do not always see eye-to-eye on the some of topics, like equal play for people who identify as transgender.

“I do not know if we’ll ever get to that point, but you see with every generation there is progress. Education is the first part of that, to really educate people on what those issues are that people who identify as trans are facing everyday, and how it impacts them not only competing in sports but how it impacts them to compete in their everyday life,” she said. “So I would hope we get to that point, but I do not think we’re going to get there any time soon.”

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