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Student locker rooms for one, student locker rooms for all

Men and women have very different roles and expectations in the sports world. Title IX, the Education Amendments Act of 1972 published in the United States Code of Laws, was introduced as a problem solver, but nevertheless, the unequal treatment between genders still exists.

Title IX states, “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."

For sports here at Central York High School, it seems as though the athletic department does its best to try to make sure each team is treated fairly. Unfortunately, one thing that every sport does not have is a locker room to itself.

A locker room can be very beneficial to a sports team for several reasons. It allows the team to have a place to go to build camaraderie, it can be used as a place to change, especially when practice is after school and it is also a safe place for the team to go during inclement weather.

I decided to look into the reasons why a locker room is not provided for each sport team here at CYHS and the reasons why every sport should have one.

Athletic director Marty Trimmer says, “It certainly would be very nice if every team sport had a locker room. Unfortunately, budget restraints are not going to allow that, so we have to use what we have available and make the best of it as we can.”

Building a locker room for all sports would fall under the capital reserve budget for the district, and the high school. For the 2019 school year, the capital reserve account for the district holds around $380 thousand and around $60 thousand for the high school specifically.

If a change was needed for a construction project, such as building locker rooms, a chain of events would then begin.

“I would make the suggestion along with the administrators at the high school if they thought that something was needed, then that would go to the school board and they would make the final decision.” said Trimmer.

Not having a locker room or any affordance given to one genders program and not the other falls under Title IX’s, “ being denied the benefits of,” I asked Trimmer how he felt about this.

“I am very cognizant of Title IX both on the girls side, and on the boys side. If somebody wants to do something for one program, I always look to see is that going to affect another one. I know that the Title IX issue can be very touchy both ways, to the girls or boys. I always take a look at those things.”

I believe that all sports here at Central should be able to have a locker room. It is something that is essential for each sport to have. Head football coach, Joshua Oswalt, and the football team have their own locker room at the stadium. For them, their own space provides numerous benefits.

“It's almost like a refugee, it's something that we can have outside of the playing field. It gives them a time to be with their teammates and continue to grow,” Oswalt said.

Although having a locker room would provide many benefits, it can come with some disadvantages

“The biggest con would have to be keeping the locker room clean,” said Oswalt.

The same reasons that a locker room are beneficial for the football team are the same reasons why a locker room could be beneficial for every sports team here at Central.

I understand that budget restraints are an issue, but I hope that one day, every sport here at Central will be blessed enough to have a locker room to call its own.

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