Starting today, Central Michigan University students can make their feelings known about gender equity in campus athletics.

The Gender Equity Survey will be available for all Central Michigan University students in an online process when they register for fall courses.

Steve Smith, director of media relations, said the survey will run through the end of August.

“In short, the survey is designed to gather student interest on how the university is meeting its athletic activities standards between the genders,” Smith said.

Westland junior Blaise Badynee said the Gender Equity Survey is a good idea, especially given the recent news about the women’s basketball coach Sue Guevara.

Guevara and the university are the target of a lawsuit brought by former player Brooke Heike, alleging the coach displayed sexual bias when she revoked Heike’s scholarship.

“Hopefully it will help students figure out where they stand on the gender issue, or even better, give the university ideas for how to improve,” Badynee said.

The survey also is known as the Title Nine Model Survey and was created by the federal Department of Education, said Mary Roy, assistant university general counsel.

“The Title Nine Survey is used as a tool to measure compliance,” she said. “The survey helps determine if the abilities of the undermined sexes, in this case women, are being met at the university.”

She said the survey will be administered to the entire student body online.

“The survey will be at the end of the registration process so every student will see it,” Roy said.

The survey is convenient, Roy said, and takes less than five minutes to complete.

“It’s not an annual thing. The survey will only be done once, and based on the results it probably won’t have to be done again for several years,” she said.

Badynee, a member of the Infusion club dance team, said both men and women are capable of being great dancers.

“Gender shouldn’t matter in athletic activities, and if a survey will help people figure that out, then it’s definitely a good thing,” she said.

metro@cm-life.com

E-mail the author: Chelsea White