To the editor:

Reading Chuck Woodling’s column April 7, I started getting angry. At first I was just angry at him. Angry for comments like, “a boathouse would be nice, but the KU rowing team has existed for 11 years as a varsity sport without one.” That comment belittles all of the athletes, like me, that have competed proudly for the Kansas women’s rowing team over the past 11 years.

Once I got over feeling personally insulted, I realized that it wasn’t really Woodling that I should be angry with; it was the university. A boathouse is not a luxury for a rowing team, it is a necessity. Just ask the University of Cincinnati about the importance of building equal facilities in order to comply with Title IX. Their rowers recently sued the school AND WON in their battle for a boathouse.

Equality between the genders does not just mean having an equal number of men’s and women’s names on a roster. The athletic department pays lip service to Title IX compliance, but when it comes to PAYING for it, they pass the bill on to students.

As Woodling’s headline implied, “begging” the students to pay for the athletic department’s shortcomings in complying with Title IX is wrong. With all of that said, I hope the students do come through and show their support for women’s sports since the athletic department is not giving the financial support that it should.

Laura Hubert,

Lawrence