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Six girl wrestlers from Hawaii honored

Advertiser Staff 7/29/2001

Six girls from Hawai'i yesterday were named to the first TheMat.com/Asics Tiger Girls High School all-American Wrestling Team.

Tanya Miyasaki, a senior-to-be at Castle High, was chosen on the second team and Cathy Migita, just graduated from Castle, was picked on the third team.

Honorable mentions were awarded to Kristen Fujioka, Castle graduate; DeAnna Lau, Punahou graduate; Anna Tong, Kaiser senior; and Elizabeth Torres, Kahuku junior.

The team was chosen by a nationwide panel and based on major postseason freestyle and folkstyle competitions as well as their high school achievements.

Miyasaki was the state high school 98-pound champion and placed sixth in the Senior National freestyle tournament. Migita went 38-0 in high school matches last season and won the state 121-pound title. Lau also was a state champion, at 114 pounds.

No wrestlers from three-time state champion Moanalua were included on the team. Coach Joel Kawachi said the reason his wrestlers were overlooked probably was that Moanalua did not go to the U.S. Girls national tournament this year in Michigan.

"We had the best team (in the nation), but we couldn't afford to go," Kawachi said.

Rankings

• Tong No. 1: Kaiser senior Anna Tong is ranked No. 1 in the nation at 138 pounds and five other Hawai'i girls are ranked in the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association preseason high school rankings.

The rankings are based upon results of non-seniors in the U.S. Girls high school nationals last March in Michigan. Tong took third place at 137 pounds.

The other Hawai'i girls in preseason rankings (with their finish and weight class in the nationals in parentheses):

One hundred pounds: No. 2, Elizabeth Torres, Kahuku junior (2nd, 111); No. 7, Shanel Vivas, Kahuku senior (9th, 111); 114 pounds: No. 3, Melissa Fukushima, Punahou senior (5th, 114); 130 pounds: No. 6, Jennifer Miyahira, Mid-Pacific senior (6th, 129); 165 pounds: No. 6, Ashley Gasper, Nanakuli senior (9th, 165).

Deanna Lau of Kane'ohe and Punahou was third at 122 pounds and Kristen Fujioka of Castle was fourth at 100 pounds in the national meet. They both graduated this year.

Hawai i was fourth in state scoring.

Correction: Ashley Gasper, No. 6 at 165 pounds in national pre-season rankings, will be a senior at Nanakuli High. Another school was listed in a previous version of this story.

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Shiela Lerit

Times Herald

The trophy was almost as big as her - and she didn't want to make an acceptance speech.

But she did, and Shiela Lerit was very grateful.

The 2001 Times-Herald Female Athlete of the Year stepped up to the podium, adjusted the microphone and thanked the people who helped her compete in four sports this past season for Vallejo High School.

She was honored - along with 28 Athlete of the Week winners - at the 23rd Annual Times-Herald Athlete of the Year banquet at City Lights Cafe and Catering in Vallejo on Friday night.

"I want to thank (Vallejo wrestling coach Mike) Minahen," Lerit said as she stood, shaking, during her acceptance speech. "For being my coach, my father and helping me get through everything. Lenci, I love you."

Lenci Landaker was Lerit's partner-in-crime on the wrestling mat.

As a junior, Lerit also competed in tennis, volleyball and badminton. She was the 109-pound state champion in girls wrestling and finished fourth in a national high school event. She then won the Monticello Empire League individual title in badminton. The Apaches took home the team title as well.

When she finished her speech, she took her trophy and returned to her seat, still stunned.

"Wow," she said. "It is nice to be in good company with these other good athletes. It feels great."

Good company indeed.

Other finalists for the annual award included Katie Layne, a softball pitcher from Hogan who was named the MEL Player of the Year. She will attend the University of Wisconsin in the fall with a full-ride scholarship.

Benicia's Jamie Hadenfeldt excelled in volleyball, basketball and softball. She was named to the All-MEL team in both volleyball and basketball and will attend the University of Connecticut with a full-ride scholarship in volleyball. Benicia's Stephanie Vallejos, a junior, was the MEL and Sac-Joaquin Section champion in tennis for Benicia.

"I didn't really know what I was up against," Layne said. "Some of these girls play more than one sport, once I knew that, I knew I didn't have a chance."

"It is hard to compare because our sports were so different," Lerit said of the other candidates. "We all do such different things, I can tell how it was hard to choose just one."

Minahen agreed, but his heart was with Lerit.

"She is like a daughter to me," he said. "All the girls that have wrestled for me have become like daughters. They are very endearing to me.

"I wasn't shocked that Shiela won, but I was pleasantly surprised."

Although disappointment loomed in some of the candidates, there was a mutual respect for what the winner accomplished.

"I respect Shiela, the right person was chosen," Layne said.

- Angela Good

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Identifying Potential Title IX Violations

05/01/2001

By James R. Seale, Attorney, Hill Hill Carter Cole & Black

Undoubtedly, every education professional has heard of “Title IX” at some point during his or her career. Since the passing of the “Educational Amendments” in 1972, Title IX complaints and lawsuits have become commonplace in school districts throughout the country.
But, how familiar are you with Title IX? Do you understand the legal foundation for the requirements of Title IX compliance? Are you familiar with the basic legal process by which Title IX complaints are reviewed? Can you determine if a Title IX violation has occurred in a particular fact scenario?

The Basics

The fundamental foundation for Title IX comes from the U.S. Constitution. The 14th Amendment guarantees every person equal protection of the laws. Essentially, it requires the entities of the states to administer laws in a manner that neither favors nor discriminates against any protected minority. Every state’s laws must be enforced equally.

The second foundational level of Title IX was laid with passage of the “Educational Amendments” in 1972. Contrary to their common title, these laws are not true Constitutional Amendments. Rather they are part of the U.S. Code, which is made up of the laws passed by Congress. Title IX of the Educational Amendments prohibits sex (gender) discrimination in any educational enterprise receiving federal funds. Since virtually all school districts receive federal funds in some form, Title IX’s application is enormous.

The third building block in Title IX’s foundation is found in Department of Education regulations. These regulations to a large extent govern its practical administration and can be found beginning in Section 106 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. These provisions address the specific situations to which Title IX may apply, and they provide specific principles which must be implemented or followed in each of the areas addressed. Each regulation is designed to prevent inequitable administration of school policies and rules based on gender differences.

Of the specific areas addressed by the regulations, school athletic programs have received the most attention. It is likely most school system’s first exposure to Title IX came in the context of a dispute involving the equal administration of school-sponsored sports. However, through the Department of Education regulations, Title IX also applies to many other school policies and programs.

The final layer of Title IX is formed by the cases which interpret the constitutional, statutory and regulative requirements which make up the first three layers of its foundation.

Every educator should be aware that Title IX’s provisions are not interpreted in the same way in each federal district court or state circuit court. If these inconsistencies, or “splits,” become too great, the Supreme Court may intercede to bring resolution and uniform interpretation.

Each of Title IX’s foundational levels must be considered when evaluating each complaint or potential violation. Further, each level provides a different and uniquely signi-fi-cant piece of the Title IX puzzle. Each contains a necessary inquiry to be used in determining if a particular fact scenario violates the protections provided students against gender discrimination.

Title IX Violation Identification Exercise

Section A of this exercise contains several scenarios taken from real cases in which Title IX lawsuits were filed. Using what you know of Title IX, evaluate each scenario and answer the question or questions posed at the end. The answers, based on the decision of the ruling court, are provided in Section B.

SECTION A

In a state that sanctions fewer high school sports for girls than boys, the state athletic association and state board of education refuse to sanction fast-pitch women’s softball in the state’s high schools. A group of high school girls files a suit against both entities asserting that Title IX has been violated. If the girls win, will the state automatically be required to sanction girls’ softball teams at each high school that wants to participate in the program?

A particular school has a girls’ volleyball team, but no boys’ volleyball team. The same school has a boys’ wrestling team but no girls’. Assuming that the school refuses to create any new sports teams, for either boys or girls, is it required to allow boys to try out for the volleyball team? Must the school allow girls to try out for the wrestling team?

Along with several classmates, a female student with the highest grade point average in a school is nominated for the honor society. The school takes great pride presenting the honor society members as role models to other students. When the faculty sponsor discovers the girl is pregnant (and unmarried), can he refuse to allow the girl to join the honor society?

A state university offers scholarships based on students’ performance on a newly devised standardized achievement test. The statewide results show that, for each of the first five years the test was given, the girls did not perform as well on the math section as did the boys. As a result, the girls’ overall scores generally were lower than the boys’. Can the school continue to use the test as the basis for awarding scholarships? Can the school system implement an extra math class for the girls in an effort to increase their scores to the boys’ level?
SECTION

In Horner vs. Kentucky High School Athletic Ass’n., 43 F.3d 265 (6th Cir. 1994), the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals held a school system is not required to pour more money into sports programs in order to comply with Title IX. The court found the school system has the option to reduce the amount spent on the over-represented gender while keeping programs for the under-represented gender stable. Thus, the school system in Question 1 will probably not be required to create any new girls’ sports programs but will probably be required to cut funding to boys’ programs if it doesn’t.

Under Gomes vs. Rhode Island Interscholastic League, 469 F. Supp. 659 (D. R.I. 1979), a school system which did not have boys’ volleyball teams was required to either provide boys’ teams or to allow the boys to try out for the girls’ teams. Therefore, the school would probably be required to allow boys to try out for the girls’ volleyball team.
However, in Barnett vs. Texas Interscholastic Wrestling Association, 16 F. Supp. 2d 690 (N.D. Tex. 1998), the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas found a school system without girls’ wrestling teams was not required by Title IX to provide girls’ wrestling teams or to allow girls to try out for the boys’ teams because wrestling is a contact sport which specifically is excluded from Title IX’s provisions. Although the court hinted the school system may have violated the 14th Amendment irrespective of Title IX’s provisions, the case was settled before a final decision on that issue was reached. As a result, the school could possibly refuse to allow girls to try out for a boys’ wrestling team even if there were not girls’ teams provided.

In Chipman vs. Grant County School District, 30 F. Supp. 2d 975 (E.D. Ky. 1998), the court found the plaintiff, an unwed, pregnant high school student, could not be barred under Title IX from membership in the National Honor Society because she was pregnant. The court found such a policy discriminatory based on the student’s gender. Thus, a school could not refuse membership in its honor society simply because the valedictorian became an unwed mother.

In Sharif by Salahuddin vs. New York State Education Department, 709 F. Supp. 345 (S.D. N.Y. 1989), the court found the use of the SAT as the sole criteria for New York’s scholarship program violated both Title IX and the 14th Amendments because female students consistently scored lower than males on the test. The court said the practice was prohibited because it had a discriminatory effect, even though there was no evidence of intentional discrimination. Thus, the school system could not continue to use the achievement test alone to award scholarships because that would have a discriminatory effect on female students.
Additionally, single-sex classes in co-educational schools are highly disfavored by Title IX. (See 34 C.F.R. 106.35.) Although there has been recent legislation which may allow voluntary single-sex classes in such an environment, it does not appear a school could ever enforce the closed-door nature of a single-sex class in a co-educational environment. Thus, the school system could not create a remedial math class exclusively for its female students, even if it were to equal out the achievement test’s gender-based inadequacies.

Conclusion

The single, and, ultimately, simplistic aim of Title IX is to create the equitable administration of the policies and programs of each school receiving federal funding. To that end, Title IX has a legal foundation which provides both its structural basis and its analytical basis. By understanding the foundation, you can more aptly identify and discern the result of the potential Title IX violations which you will inevitably encounter in your career as an educational professional.