WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM
NEWS
TITLE IX
Athletics department te analyze gender equity in cnming repnrt
Continued from page I
"For an athlete, gender equity means no
disparity in how they are seen by others,"
said Mailekoff.
For an institution to have complete
gender equity, players should be able to
reverse roles in terms of medical, facilities
and support, and not experience a disparity.
"Are we close enough to master gender
equity? That's not for me to decide," said
Malekoff.
In order for institutions such as Guilford
to remain Title IX compliant, two of three
criteria must be achieved. Schools must
provide opportunities for men and women
in nuiTibers proportionate to its enrollment,
schools must show a history of program
expansion that is responsive to women and
existing programs must be in line with the
interests of the student body.
The most challenging issue, according to
Malekoff, concerns finding quantitative and
qualitative data on perceptions of gender
inequity in Guilford's sports.
"It is not possible to Imow if everyone will
perceive their teams as being equitable,"
said Malekoff. "Some things are not a matter
of gender and are occasionally understood
wrongly."
However, some student athletes have
cited inequity concerns they perceive have
been overlooked by Guilford's Athletics
Department.
A female basketball player, who wished
to remain anonymous, told The Guilfordian
that the more a team wins, the more gifts
they receive, which hasn't been happening.
"We've been very successful this season
and yet we haven't been provided the extras
that the men's basketball team have," she
said.
Some women's players also say they have
to share locker room space where the men's
teams have a dedicated space for each sport.
Walters told The Guilfordian that gifts
and locker room space is not motivated by
gender, but rather space and donations.
"When the sports facility was built,
there were only seven teams and we are
doing the best we can with limited space,"
said Walters. "We can't tell people where
to donate their money, especially if the
donations are earmarked—and in instances
like waiting to play music for a particular
team, we ask ourselves if the practice is
commonplace or situational."
Footb^l player Kyle Ennis, a junior
criminal justice major, said that teams are
treated fairly where practice times are
concerned, though some teams are provided
frills while other teams receive nothing.
'The men's basketball team gets an
advantage when it comes to equipment,"
said Ennis. "They have towels with their
names on them, personal shower shoes, and
free shirts and shorts as well as book bags."
Lacrosse player E'leyna Garcia, a
sophomore psychology major, told The
Guilfordian that there was no differing
treatment.
"Male teams are treated the same with
practice time and facilities," said Garcia.
"We alternate practice times and both
practice in the same facility. As far as gear, I
think it depends on the team."
Walters said that at times inequity is a
matter of perception. However, he thinks
having a self-study is good for the college.
"I don't know if there is gender inequity
or Title IX violations happening at Guilford
College," said Walters. "The study will iron
that out."
Palombo told The Guilfordian that
though his office receives few complaints
about Title IX violations and gender
inequity, his office will strive to correct
issues that occur.
"We feel like we are doing the best we
can," said Palombo. "If the study shows
there are areas that need improvement, we
will certainly take the appropriate actions to
make ourselves better."
Guilford is working
to ensure that all
teams experience
complete gender
equity. However,
some players claim
they do not receive
the same rewards as
the opposite-gender
team, no matter how
good their record is.
Guilford is currently
conducting a self-
study to look for any
violations ofTitle IX.
Community Senate Update
Stuff we did
PASSED: Opposition to
NC Amendment One;
$ 100 Student Activity Fee
Increase
Following up on
tonight's decisions.
Stuff we're doing
Stuff we're
ponna do
' Talk about chairs, take a
I breather, watch a movie
I ® about chairs, talk about
# furniture.Add accountability
measures to the Student
Activity Fee money. Popcorn!
100% natural, additive-free,
send similarly made ideas to
Senate i
at senate@guilford.edu!
Senate meets in Boren ^
Lounge every Wednesday @
Stuff you
wanna
see done
7 p.m.
By Yahya Alazrak
Community Senate President/Clerk
Lions and tigers and protesters — oh, my!
By Sarah Welch
Staff Writer
"Elephants never forget." Signs like these were directed
at circus participants this past week, when animal rights
activists protested in response to nine Ringling Bros, shows
at the Greensboro Coliseum.
'The questions being asked today are what are the 'rights'
of animds and what constitutes cruelty," said Jim Hood,
professor of English, who conducted research on animal
rights for an FYE class he taught last semester.
Animal activists argue that the stress of performing circus
tricks can lead to injury.
"During performances, elephants stand on their hind
legs, something they don't do in the wild," said Matt Bruce,
an assistant campaigner for PETA. "The elephants often
develop arthritis, wHch is the number one reason they are
put down."
Activists are also upset over the state in which the animals
travel for the circus. Jeannie Deibel, an animal rights activist,
said that there are records stating that Ringling Bros, travels
25,0(X) miles a year.
'The animds are confined the majority of the time,"
Deibel said. "They are social beings but they travel alone ...
in chains. ... They don't get enough exercise either. In the
wild an elephant might walk 30 miles a day."
Janice Aria, director of animal stewardship at Ringling
Bros., spoke to The Guilfordian about the activists' concerns.
"For their safety, elephants are tethered during travel, just
like you would wear a seat-belt while traveling," Aria said.
'The animals can lay down and they can turn degrees."
Aria also spoke about the nourishment the animals receive.
'The idea of denying food or water to an animal is
unthinkable," Aria said. "We base our training on establishing
trust with the animals. The elephants trust us for food, water,
safety and care — why would we want to break that trust
and possibly endanger ourselves?"
However, animal rights activist Wolfgang Palanz told
The Guilfordian that part of the USDA fine against Feld
Entertainment, Inc. (Ringling Bros.) was for deprivation of
food and water. In November 2011, the USDA fined Feld
$270,000 for violations of the Animal Welfare Act, the biggest
paid fine in circus history.
According to the USDA, "Feld waived the opportunity
for a hearing and agreed to develop and implement annud
AWA compliance training for all employees who work with
and handle animals, including trainers, handlers, attendants
and veterinarians.... All Feld employees who will work with
and handle animals must complete the training within 30
days of when they are hired."
Aria said that the USDA settlement consisted of citatiors,
not violations, from 2007-2011, which mainly dealt with
paperwork, the state of their fences, etc.
"Ringling is inspected by the USDA more than any other
traveling show," said Aria. "Yes, this is the biggest fine ever
paid, but we are also the biggest traveling show, so it makes
sense that there are more inspections and the fines are bigger."
On Feb. 11, circus attendee Angela Langdon enjoyed her
first circus experience.
"I've spent most of my life around aramals and several
years working in a vet office and I noticed that the animals
seemed a little bored for doing the same tricks over and over,
but they were well-behaved and weren't treated badly while
I was watching," Langdon said via email.
But Bruce still thinks the circus mistreats its animals. He
said that the animals are viewed as a commodity, which
means comers are going to be cut. Aria sees it differently,
however.
"(People) have totally encroached on wild animals'
territory," said Aria. "There is no longer a traditional wild,
so we can't return the elephants to the wild. We all have to
be stewards of the earth. ... Ringling's main concern is to
conserve the Asian Elephant."
Animal Activist Steven Lanz still believes that the circus
commits acts of animal cmelty, though he believes that
Ringling is not purposefully being cmel to animals.
"People generally don't consider how unnatural the circus
is for the animals, but if dogs were put in a setting that is that
unnatural there would be an outcry for change," said Lanz.
As Hood pointed out, it seems that what is cmel is still up
for debate — chances are it won't be decided before the next
circus comes to town. _