Editorial

Who would turn down the opportunity for free publicity of both academics and athletics while at the same time helping a student get scholarship money?

Ohio University would.

Ohio cheerleader Angela Heck was selected from a pool of more than 100 applicants from 70 schools nationwide for a special cheerleading episode of the Weakest Link. NBC requires all contestants to wear their cheerleading uniforms. But OU refuses to let Heck wear the uniform, making her ineligible to play for scholarship money.

The university says Ohio athletes only can wear their uniforms at athletic events and other functions that serve the university’s mission. Apparently, OU does not perceive a game show as part of their mission. The university also fears it will be giving up licensing rights of the Ohio logo by allowing Heck to wear the uniform.

By allowing Heck to play on the game show, the university will show off a dean’s list student who participates in extra curricular activities while promoting the school itself.

The university’s staunch stance against releasing the cheerleading uniform and logo to NBC is baffling. This is a win-win situation. The university gets free publicity, and Heck gets the chance for scholarship money.

While it is too late to allow Heck on the show, the university needs to reconsider its position. When opportunities such as this come up in the future, the university needs to think of all the benefits —not just for the institution, but also for the student.

Title IX gave women the opportunity to participate in sporting activities.

But now, some claim Title IX is taking away men’s chances to play on sports teams. Title IX, ratified in 1972, was done so to prohibit colleges that receive federal funding from discriminating based on sex in sports or academics.

Coaches and athletes filed suit against the U.S. Department of Education claiming sports such as wrestling and track in low-profile colleges are being discriminated against because of a 1996 clarification of Title IX. The clarification says actual athletes instead of spots allotted to women’s teams would be counted, thus diminishing the total number.

So it does not count if a school has spots open for a women’s rugby team — it must have actual athletes for it to count toward Title IX. If they do not have the regulated number of women’s athletes, they lose federal funding.

Instead of recruiting more women athletes now, some schools are cutting men’s programs to compensate. And this is where the lawsuit comes into play.

Schools must come up with a better plan than to short-change male athletes because they do not have enough female athletes. Those suing the education department have a genuine claim. By cutting male sports, the schools are just in much of violation of Title IX as if they would have cut women’s programs.