Spring Break
Former senator: Title IX at risk
Christopher Barrett
Issue date: 11/9/05 Section: News
Bayh said it was a lady in his life that inspired him to draft Title IX.
Bayh said his first wife Marvella Bayh dreamed of attending the University of Virginia.
"The application was returned, 'Women need not apply,'" Bayh said. "It was because of Marvella Bayh that I had the privilege of introducing Title IX."
He also credited his father with inspiring him to afford women the same opportunities men had in sport.
He urged students upset with athletic opportunities at their schools to put pressure on administrators for change.
"Most universities and colleges have their own student organizations so if I were doing it I would start there," he said. "Then I'd visit the president. I might even spend a lot of time in the president's office until he saw me."
In response to questions from the audience, Bayh spoke about President George W. Bush.
Audience members asked Bayh, who served on the Senate Intelligence Committee, what went wrong with American intelligence apparatus that showed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction - a finding that now appears false.
"We had the head of the CIA when asked by the president [about weapons], he said it was a slam dunk," Bayh said. "I think if you're in Congress you give the president a benefit of doubt."
He added, "I don't really think [Bush] was told in the quiet of the Oval Office that there were [weapons]."
Nonetheless, Bayh said the country now appears stuck in Iraq.
"I think a good case can be made once we're there. We need to stick it out though this [Iraqi] election period," Bayh said. "If we pulled out of Iraq, that stabilization force, I think there'd be a shootout."
Bayh also spoke briefly about his son Evan's future political ambitions. The younger Bayh is now serving as a U.S. Senator from Indiana and is rumored to be considering a presidential run.
"As far as Evan is concerned, I gather he is thinking about it," Bayh said. "Having sniffed around the same rose bush myself, I understand why he might do it."
Bayh sought the Democratic nomination for president in 1976 but lost to former president Jimmy Carter.
Bayh said his first wife Marvella Bayh dreamed of attending the University of Virginia.
"The application was returned, 'Women need not apply,'" Bayh said. "It was because of Marvella Bayh that I had the privilege of introducing Title IX."
He also credited his father with inspiring him to afford women the same opportunities men had in sport.
He urged students upset with athletic opportunities at their schools to put pressure on administrators for change.
"Most universities and colleges have their own student organizations so if I were doing it I would start there," he said. "Then I'd visit the president. I might even spend a lot of time in the president's office until he saw me."
In response to questions from the audience, Bayh spoke about President George W. Bush.
Audience members asked Bayh, who served on the Senate Intelligence Committee, what went wrong with American intelligence apparatus that showed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction - a finding that now appears false.
"We had the head of the CIA when asked by the president [about weapons], he said it was a slam dunk," Bayh said. "I think if you're in Congress you give the president a benefit of doubt."
He added, "I don't really think [Bush] was told in the quiet of the Oval Office that there were [weapons]."
Nonetheless, Bayh said the country now appears stuck in Iraq.
"I think a good case can be made once we're there. We need to stick it out though this [Iraqi] election period," Bayh said. "If we pulled out of Iraq, that stabilization force, I think there'd be a shootout."
Bayh also spoke briefly about his son Evan's future political ambitions. The younger Bayh is now serving as a U.S. Senator from Indiana and is rumored to be considering a presidential run.
"As far as Evan is concerned, I gather he is thinking about it," Bayh said. "Having sniffed around the same rose bush myself, I understand why he might do it."
Bayh sought the Democratic nomination for president in 1976 but lost to former president Jimmy Carter.
