Luke Henne | Editor-In-Chief
Aug. 25, 2022
On June 23, 1972, Title IX of the Civil Rights Act was signed into law by President Richard Nixon. The law, made up of 37 words, laid the foundation for a path toward a more-equal future.
“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, 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,” the law reads.
This past summer, the law reached its 50th anniversary. Where Title IX has had arguably its most notable impact is in the world of collegiate sports at universities, both public and private, that receive federal financial assistance.
The NCAA lays out that the law requires “that women and men be provided equitable opportunities to participate in sports. Title IX does not require institutions to offer identical sports but an equal opportunity to play,”
On April 19, Duquesne University announced that the school will add three new varsity sports in the coming years: women’s triathlon (targeted for fall 2023), women’s golf (targeted for fall 2024) and women’s acrobatics and tumbling (targeted for fall 2024).
“Duquesne is strongly committed to achieving both the letter and spirit of Title IX in regard to opportunities for student athletes,” Harper said during the April announcement. “We are adding additional women’s sports to ensure we are balanced with the right proportion of available activities for our campus.
“Besides creating more opportunity, the sport additions will also support an overall enrollment strategy of growing the undergraduate population with highly-qualified students with strong leadership skills.”
Joella Baker, who was named head coach of the women’s triathlon team on July 26, is eager to get to work, knowing that her position was made possible due largely to the principles of “making sure that women are included” and the “fairness” sought out by Title IX.
“I’m super excited about it. It was several years ago that I had the opportunity to meet with Mike Scerbo (Duquesne’s associate athletic director) and talk to him about bringing triathlon on at Duquesne,” Baker said. “I ran and swam at Duquesne, so I was a collegiate athlete there, and I loved my time there.
“I couldn’t be more proud. I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve met with so many people from the athletic department already, and they are just so welcoming. They really want to work with me, and they want to see this program grow and be successful. What more could you ask for?”
Jody Fetterhoff, who has served as the women’s bowling coach since its inception in 2016-17, has become a model of what a successful women’s program can do. She knows that having the opportunity to participate in sports was her only feasible path.
“I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you if it weren’t for Title IX. I’m a huge sports person. I played everything growing up,” Fetterhoff said. “I have an older brother, so I wanted to do whatever he was doing
“For me, [playing sports] was my avenue because I wasn’t good at other things. For this to be my career is just an amazing thing…I worked my way up from a GA (graduate assistant) to Division III to now Division I head coach. [Title IX] has opened the doors for me and allowed me to do amazing things.”
Despite having led the program to its first NCAA Championship appearance in 2021 and earning rankings of 12th or better in each of the past three end-of-season NTCA (National Tenpin Coaches Association) rankings, Fetterhoff emphasized that, in all reality, women’s sports are still not always getting the equal attention they deserve.
“It’s ridiculous that we need a law in place for us to have these things. The brutal reality is that we’re nowhere close to having all colleges be compliant with it,” Fetterhoff said. “Women’s sports just haven’t grown enough, and I think it’s partly because we don’t get the exposure.“…We put in just as much work as every other athlete, every other coach on campus. We just want to be given the opportunity.”
Hanna Everhart, a graduate student who completed her final season as a member of the school’s swimming and diving team in February, didn’t take her time as an athlete for granted.
“Title IX was the first time women could compete equally in a sport at my level, and it provokes pride, as well as honor,” Everhart said. “I’m doing just as well as any other player, and that means a lot to me.”
Everhart, who was nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award in July, attributes her success to those before her who had a vision for the future.
“I give all my credit to [being given an equal chance],” Everhart said. “Without the opportunity, I couldn’t even do the things that I’ve been doing this past year or the past four. My success, I would give to those people that considered Title IX to ever be established.”
Everhart also added that while things have gotten much better, the landscape needs to keep progressing.
“I think funding for female sports can be more touched upon, but I know that Title IX does a great job with that,” Everhart said. “There’s so much we can do, but how to do it is a topic that needs to be addressed…”
Although Title IX has often become synonymous with equality in sports, another important element of the law is its connections to sexual harrassment and discrimination.
This was made possible largely due to the 1980 Alexander v. Yale case. The case used Title IX to assert that sexual harrassment of female students could be interpreted as sex discrimination, which Title IX has sought to eliminate.
Alicia Simpson, who has been at Duquesne since March 2021 and serves as the university’s Title IX coordinator and director of sexual misconduct prevention and response, knows that the law is one that’s consistently changing in tandem with a progressing society.
“I think evolving is the word I would use [to describe Title IX], since 1972,” Simpson said. “I think for a lot of people, it just started out with equity in sports. Since 2011, it’s really kind of grown with every presidential administration change.
“I think now the understanding is not just equity, but [also] a safe and healthy campus culture that we provide to make sure that we are doing everything that we can to educate, prevent and respond to sexual harrassment on campus.”
In her short time at the university, Simpson noted that speaking up and speaking out can prove to be valuable for those impacted.
“I think that what we strive to do at Duquesne is, in conjunction with our mission, provide respect and dignity for everybody around us,” Simpson said. “With the statistics that we’re working with, we like to see a higher number of reports. Is that necessarily a bad thing?
“We know that most matters aren’t reported, and we want people who are impacted by this to access help and resources and support that they need…It’s important that they know that my office is here to help.”
She also indicated that fellow students and faculty can be an ally in the fight toward eliminating such discrimination.
“One thing I talk to in a lot of my training with students is being a good bystander,” Simpson said. “What that means is intervening in a situation that you perceive as potentially harmful to affect, in a positive way, to make a positive outcome.
“Really looking out for each other and trusting our instincts when something doesn’t feel right, getting involved in a way that you’re still safe and you’re still protected, but making sure that that other person maybe can get away from that situation safely as well.”
“I give all my credit to [being given an equal chance],” Everhart said. “Without the opportunity, I couldn’t even do the things that I’ve been doing this past year or the past four. My success, I would give to those people that considered Title IX to ever be established.”
Everhart also added that while things have gotten much better, the landscape needs to keep progressing.
“I think funding for female sports can be more touched upon, but I know that Title IX does a great job with that,” Everhart said. “There’s so much we can do, but how to do it is a topic that needs to be addressed…”
Although Title IX has often become synonymous with equality in sports, another important element of the law is its connections to sexual harrassment and discrimination.
This was made possible largely due to the 1980 Alexander v. Yale case. The case used Title IX to assert that sexual harrassment of female students could be interpreted as sex discrimination, which Title IX has sought to eliminate.
Alicia Simpson, who has been at Duquesne since March 2021 and serves as the university’s Title IX coordinator and director of sexual misconduct prevention and response, knows that the law is one that’s consistently changing in tandem with a progressing society.
“I think evolving is the word I would use [to describe Title IX], since 1972,” Simpson said. “I think for a lot of people, it just started out with equity in sports. Since 2011, it’s really kind of grown with every presidential administration change.
“I think now the understanding is not just equity, but [also] a safe and healthy campus culture that we provide to make sure that we are doing everything that we can to educate, prevent and respond to sexual harrassment on campus.”
In her short time at the university, Simpson noted that speaking up and speaking out can prove to be valuable for those impacted.
“I think that what we strive to do at Duquesne is, in conjunction with our mission, provide respect and dignity for everybody around us,” Simpson said. “With the statistics that we’re working with, we like to see a higher number of reports. Is that necessarily a bad thing?
“We know that most matters aren’t reported, and we want people who are impacted by this to access help and resources and support that they need…It’s important that they know that my office is here to help.”
She also indicated that fellow students and faculty can be an ally in the fight toward eliminating such discrimination.
“One thing I talk to in a lot of my training with students is being a good bystander,” Simpson said. “What that means is intervening in a situation that you perceive as potentially harmful to affect, in a positive way, to make a positive outcome.
“Really looking out for each other and trusting our instincts when something doesn’t feel right, getting involved in a way that you’re still safe and you’re still protected, but making sure that that other person maybe can get away from that situation safely as well.”