Student Interest, Not Title IX Gender Quotas, Can Work

Now for some relatively positive news out of Santa Monica College (SMC): Men’s soccer may be added to the athletics program next fall. Although the addition isn’t certain, the Western States Conference has already approved it. And, the school has deemed that adding more opportunities for male student athletes is in compliance with Title IX by using prong three, or student interest, to determine what sports are should be offered.

The Corsair, SMC’s student newspaper, reports:

“Our goal is to continue to offer all of the sports that our students want to play that are available in the California Community College system,” said Cascio.

Mike Tuitasi, SMC Vice President of Student Affairs, said that SMC is in compliance with Title IX because men’s soccer has been the most requested sport by incoming students during the application process.“We have a lot of students that want to play and we’re trying to provide that opportunity for them,” said Tuitasi.

We’re pleased that SMC is reliant upon prong three and surveys to adequately pinpoint student interests. After all, what drives the size and offerings of athletic programs should be the students, not arbitrary gender quotas that completely disregard the needs of both males and females — whether that be sports, the arts or sciences.