If you look at the numbers, it would appear Iowa State isn’t quite up to snuff when it comes to Title IX gender-equity laws.

The laws say percentages of varsity men and women athletes must be “substantially” proportional to the percentages of men and women in a college’s undergraduate student population.

During the 1996-97 school year, the student body was 56.7 percent men and 43.3 percent women. But athletic participation was 64.71 percent men and 35.29 percent women. At same time, athletic scholarships were handed out to 59.67 percent of the men and 40. 33 percent of the women.

Is this equal? Is this fair? Same would say no.

But in reality, not numbers, it is fair because more men want to participate in sports than women. Evidence shows approximately 60 percent of students from across the nation who want to play varsity sports are men. Should we punish the men who want to participate just because the numbers aren’t even? We don’t believe so.

ISU’s athletic department appears to be doing the right thing when it comes to gender equity by using common sense and not mere numerical formulas.

Men and women have different preferences, and more men want to participate in sports.

Intramural sports at ISU, where participation is open to everyone, are overwhelmingly dominated by men. Last year, there were 2,712 men’s teams, 440 women’s teams and 939 co-recreational teams.

If gender-equity laws were applied to other programs outside the high-profile athletic department, we’d have other problems. For example, women have a preference for aerobics. Last year, there were 1,477 women who participated in aerobics at ISU and 45 men. If we required gender-equity for aerobics, hundreds of women would not be allowed to participate.

Title IX was meant to improve the opportunities for women, but not create a strict numerical formula that doesn’t recognize the preferences of men and women. Though it is too bad ISU cut men’s gymnastics and tennis, and though the athletic numbers aren’t even with the student population, we still believe ISU’s athletic department is doing well when it comes to athletic opportunity.