New women’s sports are being added to the athletic program, and additional bylaws have been drafted for Dixie State University’s clubs to ensure DSU remains compliant with Title IX.
Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in sports and activities. If DSU was found to be noncompliant with Title IX, the university could lose its federal funding. Clubs like the X Club and the SHE Club were clubs that previously only accepted members of one sex, but the new bylaw says they now cannot deny membership to anyone based on sex.
New sports for women are also being planned for the future. These sports will include women’s swimming, track and lacrosse, Athletic Director Jason Boothe said.
“Because there are more females than males at DSU, we needed to look at adding more opportunities for women,” Boothe said. “In order to remain compliant with Title IX, we need to make sure the opportunities and funding for both genders are proportionate to the number of male and female students we have on campus.”
Boothe said because football takes up so much funding, the new women’s sports will be added to compensate.
Brogan Crockett, a junior integrated studies major from St. George, is DSU Student Association’s vice president of clubs and organizations and recently met with the presidents of the X Club and the SHE Club to inform them of the changes.
“The clubs will continue to keep their names and continue to market and recruit like normal, but [they] cannot deny membership to someone based on gender,” Crockett said. “The [DSUSA] advisement and clubs branch is doing what we can to make sure that we are compliant [with Title IX]”
Andrew Jensen, a senior biology major from Providence, is the X Club president. Jensen said the X Club will continue to function the same as before, but it will now review all club applications the same regardless of sex.
If the X Club and SHE Club refuse to conform to the changes in the clubs’ bylaws, they could risk being shut down.
“We plan on abiding by the changes that the school has put forth,” Jensen said. “[The X Club] is the oldest club on campus, and we plan on staying around.”
Cynthia Kimball-Davis, the Title IX compliance director at DSU, said making sure DSU remains compliant with Title IX is an ongoing process.
“DSU has committed a lot of resources to ensure that we’re compliant,” Kimball-Davis said. “We strive always that our organizations and clubs are welcome to all. And if they’re out of compliance, we can bring them into compliance.”
