When thinking of equality, many minds instantly think of women’s rights. The same thing happens when the topic of Title IX is brought up. In 1972 an amendment was made to the Constitution of the United States prohibiting certain discrimination based on gender. This is referred to as Title IX.

Today, 45 years after the enactment of Title IX, this amendment still affects students’ daily lives. Title IX relates to schools, including high schools and colleges, which are supported by Federal funding. Within these schools, this amendment illegalizes the discrimination against any student due to gender.

Women are not the only people protected by Title IX. Any and all persons can be discriminated against, therefore all people, men and women alike, are considered.

However, women’s rights are largely thought of when considering this Constitutional addition, and especially women’s rights in sports.

Basketball season is quickly approaching for high schools. Chanute High School has two basketball teams: men’s and ladies’. Before Title IX there was no requirement for a high school to have any women’s sports teams. Either the occasional girl played on the men’s team, or they didn’t play at all- either not allowed to or unwilling to.

“Basketball’s been a pretty big part of my life,” sophomore Makayla Schoenhofer said. “But I would not play [if there wasn’t a girls team].”

There is also the concern of student athlete graduates. When students graduate high school and plan on continuing their athletic careers in college, high schools are required to help with the student athletes recruitment unbiasedly.

Along those same lines is that all athletic scholarships during college must be proportional to the athletes abilities and participation. Not dependent on gender, student athletes must also have equal access to facilities, such as housing, dining, medical, and training facilities. Along with this, tutoring, therapy, and coaching opportunities must also be available impartially.

“[If there was no girls basketball team] I would be mad that boys would have more rights than girls for playing a sport where girls can be just as good or even better than boys at what they do,” freshman Mattilyn Cranor said. “…I would probably still play with the boys because… some girls can show up guys.”

Junior Tori Busse finds herself playing sports as a stress reliever. Without basketball, she believes she would be under a lot more stress. She also says she’d “be really out of shape.”

Cranor’s case is quite similar. If there were no basketball opportunity for Cranor, laziness would take over as a routine. A skill basketball has given Cranor would also be lacking.

“I’d probably sit at home and be really sad and [also] I wouldn’t be able to communicate as well I am now, because on the court you need to communicate a lot,” Cranor states.