Ex-UC student files Title IX complaint

This article originally appeared in the the March 15 edition of the Charleston Gazette, and is reprinted with permission.

By Veronia Neff, staff writer

A former University of Charleston student, who filed a federal gender-inequity complaint against the university in 2006, has filed another complaint following delays in improvements to a softball field.

Stephanie Kuhn said she re-filed a complaint with the federal Office of Civil Rights, which regulates Title IX compliance, in mid-February after a visit to Watt Powell Park Annex revealed no construction had taken place on the team's field.

"[UC] failed to meet the requirements of the first agreement," Kuhn said.
"They were supposed to provide a field for the team by the spring of 2008."

UC President Ed Welch said unforeseen engineering problems forced the university to delay construction of the field. He said the university will have to raise the field 30 inches and build a retaining wall around the perimeter of the field.

Kuhn filed her initial complaint with the OCR on May 19, 2006, and the office began an investigation in August of that year. The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program that receives federal financial aid.

In October, UC and the OCR agreed to a settlement and the university announced it would revamp the city-owned annex by the start of the spring 2008 season. The season started this month.

"We had to wait for several reasons. One, it's not our property. We're not going to go in there and tear up someone else's property without knowing what that means to the property owner and what that would do to the university's funds," Cleta Mae Harless, vice president of administration and finance at UC, said.

"Number two, once we did understand that we had an elevation problem at the site, you have to consult with the right people. By the time we knew what we were faced with, it was winter time and [it's] not a good idea to start digging and making mud pies in the middle of winter unless you absolutely have to," Harless said.

Construction would have also interfered with the team's season, Harless said. Welch said the university has been in contact with the OCR and has updated them about the delays.

Officials from the OCR could not be reached for comment.

"If all goes well and we stay on our project timeline we should start construction in August," Harless said.

In 2002, UC's softball team lost their field, which was originally located at Blackwell Field, to make way for the university's football program, Kuhn said. In 2005, the field was renamed after Triana Energy of Charleston, which donated $1 million to convert the football field into a soccer field and upgrade the baseball field, she said.

Upgrades to the baseball field included lights, a grass infield, a press box and an elaborate entrance, she said. Meanwhile, the softball team is still playing in the city-owned park, which has no scoreboard, no dugouts, no lights and minimal seating and parking, she said.

"It's not pretty," Kuhn said. "They haven't done much, and I think that is the biggest frustration that they haven't put anything into at all."

Harless said the university had originally intended to invest about $1 million to add artificial turf, new dugouts, bleachers, fencing and restrooms. She said she could not comment on the costs the university will incur because of the additional construction until it receives bids from contractors.

On March 3, Charleston City Council members approved a revised agreement with the university to share the use of the annex. The agreement will allow the university to sell naming rights to the field.

"We will upgrade the field and as a result they will have use of the field for our softball league and the city will have the field for [minor league] football and church softball teams," Welch said. "We're upgrading the field for the benefit of the entire community."