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Kelley v. Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois Kelley v. Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois is a court case pertaining to the cut of the men’s swim team at the University of Illinois in regards to Title IX. Some men on the swim team felt that by their team being cut and not the women’s swim team also being cut that it was a violation of Title IX. Those men then took legal actions against the University. Female participation at the University of Illinois has always been disproportionate to the female undergraduate enrollment. So, when the school was faced with a $600,000 athletic budget deficit the school decided to cut some sports programs. The school cut four teams- men’s swimming, men’s fencing, and men’s and women’s diving. While the University’s decision to cut athletic programs was motivated by budget considerations, other considerations- including the need to comply with Title IX- influenced the selection of particular programs to be terminated. The men on the swim team argued that â€Å"if a university is required by Title IX to eliminate men from varsity competition†¦, then the same Title IX should require the university to eliminate women from the academic departments where they are over-represented and men from departments where they have been over-represented. Such a result would be ridiculous.† The plaintiffs believe that the substantial proportionality test contained in the agency’s policy interpretation of that regulation establishes a gender-based quota system. The plaintiffs also argued that the university’s decision to eliminate the men’s swimming program while retaining the women’s program denied them equal protection of the law as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. Plaintiffs contend that the applicable rules allow â€Å"the University to†¦ improve its statistics without adding any opportunities for women†¦,† an outcome they suggest is unconstitut... Free Essays on Legal Free Essays on Legal Identity is socially constructed in contemporary American society, it’s important to establish the clear meaning for constructionism to understand it. Identity is constructed through social, political, legal, scientific, and other practices. From this traditional perspective, differences and stereotypes among people are created through social processes. Identity is a very important part of today’s society. For example, in the school environment, if we humanize the students to find common threads that bind us together, and respect the differences in each of our cultures, students will feel empowered to continue exploring their own identities and weave it on. Traditional notions of identity are explained in depth in Jorge Duany’s article entitled, â€Å"On Borders and Boundaries: Contemporary Thinking in Cultural Identity.† He talks about the intense ideological and emotional overtones of the question of national identity in Puerto Rico and elsewhere. In the reading there is a quote that talks about identity being derived from history, culture, and language. This is what is thought to be the traditional way of seeing identity. Identities are constructed in a certain formation rather than fixed from birth or through an individual’s life cycle. This notion is challenged, and I believe that â€Å"structuralist thinkers view the construction of cultural identities as a process of erecting symbolic boundaries and narrating stories to represent the self and the other.† A perfect illustration of identity as a social construction is with the artist Shakira. She just crossed over into mainstream American entertainment, this is a business where you have to look a certain way all the time and act a certain way. There are many people that will argue that they preferred Shakira when she just sang in Spanish and had her dark hair with red streaks. Now that she crossed into the mainstream, her image has changed completely; s he is the d... Free Essays on Legal Kelley v. Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois Kelley v. Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois is a court case pertaining to the cut of the men’s swim team at the University of Illinois in regards to Title IX. Some men on the swim team felt that by their team being cut and not the women’s swim team also being cut that it was a violation of Title IX. Those men then took legal actions against the University. Female participation at the University of Illinois has always been disproportionate to the female undergraduate enrollment. So, when the school was faced with a $600,000 athletic budget deficit the school decided to cut some sports programs. The school cut four teams- men’s swimming, men’s fencing, and men’s and women’s diving. While the University’s decision to cut athletic programs was motivated by budget considerations, other considerations- including the need to comply with Title IX- influenced the selection of particular programs to be terminated. The men on the swim team argued that â€Å"if a university is required by Title IX to eliminate men from varsity competition†¦, then the same Title IX should require the university to eliminate women from the academic departments where they are over-represented and men from departments where they have been over-represented. Such a result would be ridiculous.† The plaintiffs believe that the substantial proportionality test contained in the agency’s policy interpretation of that regulation establishes a gender-based quota system. The plaintiffs also argued that the university’s decision to eliminate the men’s swimming program while retaining the women’s program denied them equal protection of the law as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. Plaintiffs contend that the applicable rules allow â€Å"the University to†¦ improve its statistics without adding any opportunities for women†¦,† an outcome they suggest is unconstitut...