Issue date: 4/11/03 Section: Opinion

Hendrix students might seem somewhat apathetic when it comes to things like Honor Codes or Senate elections. However, their uncaring attitude in these departments is made up for in a big way with the complete enthusiasm directed by many toward another aspect of campus life: intramural sports. And rightly so. Intramurals are great fun; they give people who would never in their life try out for a sports team a chance to compete, and they allow for interaction among people on opposite ends of the social spectrum. For a small part of their day, students get to forget about organic tests and twenty-five-page papers and devote all their attention to just playing. In particular, coed intramurals introduce that rare and interesting situation involving men and women competing against each other in the realm of athletics.

Now, while John and Jane Doe will take the exact same MCAT and LSAT, pass the same driving test and compete for the same job, they will almost never be on the same team in any high school, college or professional sports. The novelty of this situation in coed intramurals has led to a sexist attitude on the part of many male players. I'm not suggesting that any sensitive, politically-correct guy from Hendrix would make some Neanderthal comment along the lines of "boys rule, girls drool" while pounding his chest and grunting. Yet, in more subtle ways, there is some definite discrimination going on, be it on the softball field or basketball court. While I believe that it is often unintentional on the men's part, it needs to be addressed, simply because it takes the fun out of playing intramurals for many women.

First of all, I've overheard several guys gripe about the fact that there are different rules that apply to women playing coed games. In basketball only women can enter the lane, and in softball we play with a different sized ball, etc. These guys assume that as liberated, strong-minded women, we would want equality in these areas instead of rules that give us an advantage. Of course there are wonderful women basketball players, many who could kick any man's ass at a game of one-on-one; however, on average most girls do not have much of a chance to score or rebound in a lane full of men who are usually taller and stronger than they are. But the reality of the situation is such that these rules are necessary for women to be able to fully participate and enjoy intramurals. They don't discriminate, they take into account that most men and women are physically different and and they see that women have a fighting chance.

Continued...

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