Opinion > November 29, 2007

Lack of women’s coverage in Hoops Preview discouraging.

I am frustrated with the coverage of women’s basketball. I thought that gender equality in sports was established in Title IX. I thought that sports that are successful would naturally get equal coverage to celebrate their success. I must have been mistaken. To be honest I usually don’t follow men’s sports, but the blatant discrepancy in the sports insert section of the Old Gold & Black was impossible not to notice. The title of the section was “ACC Hoops Preview 2007-2008,” but perhaps it should have been “Men’s ACC Hoops Preview 2007-2008.”

I read through Section C, noting the entire pages devoted to the glory of full picture power play and a full article praising each of the players of the men’s basket­ball team. I continue to look through the new hope of men’s basketball, all celebrated with individual pages for 17 pages. Then, I encounter four pages of information and blurbs of play­ers and coaches from other men’s teams, until finally on the last three pages, after delving through 21 pages of men’s basketball, I have finally arrived upon an inadequate two page article on the women’s basketball team with the schedule following it. Men’s basketball has 21 pages, yet women’s basketball barely has 21 paragraphs. There are no full page biogra­phies, a tiny box with a highlight on the coach, no individual pictures with blurbs or articles, not a single interview with a women’s basketball player; yet with all five starters returning, promising new freshmen and a coach that had his 400th career win last February, the women’s team has high potential for the upcoming season. The men’s team has a new coach, only two returning starters and its own promising freshmen.

Both teams have dominated in their exhibition games and have high potential for the season to come. But why would I think that equal success or potential would result in equal coverage in our own school news­paper? Why should the women’s basketball team get less recognition than we give men’s teams from other schools?

I took for granted that, after the first time the unequal coverage was pointed out, it would be amended. I thought that the second time the unequal coverage was pointed out it would be amended. I hope that the third time will produce results.

Kelly Chauvin

Senior