The Locker Room Issue

Picture from Pexels by Polina Tankilevitch

Bronwyn Rhoades

On October 12, 2022, the students at Hamilton High School experienced something that they have been preparing for since elementary school. From the loudspeakers, a voice directed students to walk to their assigned shelter locations to wait out the storm. Herds of confused students shuffled through the hallway to the windowless room that their class was designated to. 

I was in third hour AP Statistics when this announcement came and my teacher was, unfortunately, out sick. The class huddled around the emergency plans posted on the wall when someone yelled out “boys’ locker room.” In typical high school fashion, nobody questioned this and the entire class began to make their way through the school to the locker room. 

As I walked in, there were many things that could have been on my mind. Is there really a tornado? I wonder if my house has power? Where is my sister in the school? 

None of these things, though, were what I was thinking of at that moment. As my class and I walked into the locker room, my friend and I looked at each other in astonishment. The boys’ locker room was… nice? There were red-painted lockers, space, functioning bathroom stall doors, and extra benches to sit. My mind was quickly distracted from the potential natural disaster as my friend and I joked about the contrast between the boys’ and girls’ locker rooms. 

However, these jokes quickly turned into frustration. 

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 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.” In simple terms, this means that, if an educational system benefits from federal assistance, it must provide equal opportunities to each sex. Because Hamilton is a public high school, it benefits from federal funding and, therefore, must act in accordance with this act. This includes sports, clubs, classes, and any other Hamilton-affiliated bodies. 

The argument is not difficult to make that the female athletes at Hamilton are deprived of the same opportunities as male athletes. Male athletes have clean, large, and functioning facilities. In contrast, in the women's locker room, students must hold the stall door shut to use the bathroom and the showers are used for storage. Furthermore, in the girl’s team room, there is a urinal on the wall, displaying the run-down leftovers that the women were given, while the men received a new locker room. In fact, at Hamilton High School, there is a locker room in the basement, referred to as the “mud room,” that is exclusively for male students, and includes a shower, pool table, and office for male coaches. The mere existence of this locker room, and the lack of a similar women’s room, is in direct violation of Title IX. 

Yet, female athletes at Hamilton are expected to succeed at the same level as their male counterparts. Just this year, the girls’ rugby team at Hamilton placed second in their State tournament. The girls’ volleyball team, girls' soccer team, and girls’ golf team all achieved similar levels of success in years past. Time and time again, women's sports have drawn pride, honor, and school spirit to the district of Hamilton, with sports such as women's volleyball, soccer, and basketball drawing in large, cheering crowds. Just this year, students at Hamilton created Amplify, a club which aimed to increase attendance to women’s sports. It becomes obvious, through this club, that students see an issue with the unfair treatment of women’s sports. These athletes continue to excel on the same level as the boys, perhaps even better, despite the glaring issue of inequality within Hamilton facilities. Why wouldn’t Hamilton support teams that bring prestige to the school? Why are there still such obvious differences between women’s and men’s facilities? 

Title IX was implemented fifty years ago, and yet Hamilton High School deprives female students of adequate facilities necessary to play most sports. HHS had a budget of $65.4 million last year, and thus far there has been little to no movement to equalize the facilities at Hamilton. This school must attempt to trend towards equality, as it is simply not acceptable to maintain this disparity between young men and women in 2022.