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7 Thursday, March 15, 2012The Calvert GazetteNewsmakersLocal Inducted intoMaryland Woman’s Hall of FameBy Corrin M. HoweStaff WriterLocal resident Margaret Dunkle receivedhigh honors from the state when shebecame one of six Maryland women inductedinto the Women’s Hall of Fame for2012. She is being recognized for her workon the federal law that made it illegal to discriminateon the basis of sex in governmentassisted educational programs.Dunkle said she is excited about beingincluded in the Hall of Fame, meaning“Title IX” will once again receive somespotlight.Forty years ago, on June 23, 1972, U.S.Congress passed legislation commonlyknown as Title IX without much hoopla, accordingto Margaret Dunkle.“No person in the United States shall,on the basis of sex, be excluded from participationin, be denied the benefits of, or besubjected to discrimination under any educationprogram or activity receiving Federalfinancial assistance…” reads Title 20 UnitedStates Code Section 1681-1688.Two days after the law passed, Dunklestarted her job at the Association of AmericanColleges. One of her first tasks was tostudy “What would equality in college athleticprograms look like?”“We didn’t have Google, Internet orcomputers back then. I had an electronictypewriter and a mimeograph machinewhich sometimes worked,” Dunkle said.Her team collected any pieces of paperfrom college newsletters and other sourcesthey could find or others would send tothem. They also brainstormed any inequitiesbetween boys’ and girls’ sports thatthey could think of or heard about.For example they discovered there wasa prohibition against giving athletic scholarshipsto girls. “A girl from a lower incomefamily with some athletic ability couldn’tget a scholarship, but her brother could,”said Dunkle.The analysis found at the time theUniversity of Michigan had $1 million inthe budget for men’s sports, but zero forwomen. The University of Texas had $1.5million in the budget for men and $43,000for women.Men’s programs received full or significantfunding while in women’s collegeathletics the women coaches were volunteerand not paid, the girls had bake sales to raisemoney for uniforms, equipment and travelexpenses, according to Dunkle.“It was the normal and legal prior toTitle IX. Now it is illegal,” she said.Further discrepancies came out. Whilewomen’s participation in sports at the highschool and college level has improved tenfoldover the last 40 years, their numbers arestill lower than men’s participation levels in1972.Over the years, Dunkle has found thatsome of the biggest Title IX supporters arefathers of girls. Although she didn’t specificallyreference the opponents of the implementationand court decisions regarding thelaw, she did say. “The law doesn’t say whatyou have to do, just that you can’t discriminatein how you do it.”She used the example of how when shewas in high school, boys could not sign upfor home economics classes.After her work in the 1970s, she laterdid a study on how high schools were discriminatingagainst pregnant students,making them take classes at different timesor in different rooms while not requiring thesame of the males who fathered the child.In today’s environment, discriminationagainst males could look like schools settingup daycare for children of moms tryingto finish school, but not allowing children offathers in the same situation.The Maryland Commission for Womenand the Women Legislators of Marylandestablished the Woman’s Hall of Fame in1985. Since that time more than 138 womenhave been inducted. Names of previoushonorees include: Harriet Ross Tubman,Clara Barton, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, andNancy Grasmick, Ph.D. (former Superintendentof Maryland State Department ofEducation).The only other Calvert County residentin the hall is Harriet Elizabeth Brown,a school teacher who took the county Boardof Education to court over inequitable pay.Thurgood Marshall represented Brown inthe 1937 case. Fifteen years later he wouldstand before the U.S. Supreme Court for thelandmark Brown vs. the Board of Educationof Topeka.“I’m honored to be in the company ofthe previous Hall of Fame members,” saidDunkle.Calvert County Board of CommissionerSusan Shaw rode up on the chartered busto Annapolis.“It is a very big deal. Only five or sixwomen from all over the state are inductedeach year. And usually there are very spiriteddiscussions when going through the selectionprocess,” said Shaw.HOUSEHOLDHAZARDOUSWASTECOLLECTIONDAYSaturday, March 248 a.m. - 2 p.m.Mt. Hope Community Center104 Pushaw Station Road, SunderlandRain or ShineDispose of common household materials that arecorrosive, toxic, poisonous or flammable: gardenand pool chemicals, automotive products, cleaningchemicals, oil-based paints, solvents, explosives, etc.NOT ACCEPTED: 2-4-5 TP silvex • 30-, 50- and 85-gallon containerswithout prior approval • Asbestos products • Dioxin • Ketones• Infectious waste (needles, syringes, etc.) • PCBs• Radioactive materials (incl. old glow-in-dark watches, smoke alarms)NOTE: Latex paint is NOT hazardous; once dried it may be put with trash.Visit online for a full list of materials accepted. Limited to Calvert Countyresidents; proof of residency (driver’s license, tax or utility bill or leaseagreement) required. Commercial businesses are prohibited.Margaret Dunkle is the second Calvert County resident to be inducted into the Maryland Women’s Hallof Fame. She is shown here with Gov. Martin O’Malley.Sponsored by the Calvert County Division of Solid Waste410-326-0210 • www.co.cal.md.us/residents/waste