Title IX still helping to close gender gaps

Like seeing girls sports featured in newspapers? Have daughters that get the opportunity to compete in all type of sports? Like knowing that when you tell your daughter she can be exactly what she wants to be and know that the opportunities are there so she can?

You can thank Title IX for those opportunities and advancements. Title IX turns 40 today, and Schaumburg's American Association of University Women has been there every step of the way. AAUW was instrumental in the passage of Title IX in 1972. This historic legislation, co-authored by AAUW member Rep. Patsy Mink, a Hawaii Democrat, opened the doors of education to women, finally allowing them access to college and graduate school, after-school programs and, most famously, sports.

Ironically, most people don't know that sports are not even mentioned in the act. Title IX states, simply, "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."

Although women and girls have made great strides both on and off the playing field, challenges for women still remain. Nearly half of all middle school students are sexually harassed, women are underrepresented in the STEM fields, and occupational segregation still exists. The fight for equality for the sexes is still a battle that needs to be fought, but each step brings us closer to closing the gap.

Please take this opportunity to thank the people responsible for this act coming into law and relish in opportunities that you may have been a recipient of because of this law.

Barbara Garvin

Schaumburg

History could ease controversies

President Obama's extending a caring hand to young foreign-born residents has a historical counterpoint. In 1986, President Reagan signed an amnesty bill titled the Immigration Reform and Control Act. His loving GOP followers did not vote him down then.

For every "here and now" news event in our life, there is an analogous "there and then" happening. If this had been reported in the news along with President Obama's executive order, some of the negative wind might have been taken out of the opposition's sail. Doesn't the Fourth Estate have any sense of history any more? Maybe the Daily Herald could have a historical fact-checking desk to help reporters present a fuller "there and then" perspective to the "here and now."

Cal Claus

Arlington Heights

Include seat belt use in accident stories

In the June 20 Fence Post, John Zorns wrote about including information about helmets in news stories about motorcycle accidents. I think it is an excellent idea. While you are at it, why not write about seat belts in auto and truck accidents? Maybe someone will use theirs. I seem to remember a state patrol officer saying he has never unbuckled a dead person.

George Mahony

Arlington Heights

Student loan debate lacks proportion

Let's review some facts on student loans. The current interest rate is 3.4 percent. The rate is set to increase to 6.8 percent. The average student loan debt is $25,000. …