Student athletes paid the price amid CTU strike
The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) strike has finally come to an end. Students will be returning to school Monday, November 4. There are a lot of positives we see coming out of this strike for teachers and students as a whole. It was necessary for schools to grow and become better environments for students, but it did leave a bad mark on students while classes were not in session.
Chicago Public School (CPS) athletes were disqualified from participating in any kind of competition due to the fact that they were not in school. The thought maybe miniscule, but the consequences were not.
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) does not allow teams whose district are on strike to compete in any competition.
The IHSA should not be the end-all-be-all what is right and wrong in prep sports.
Cross county student athletes at Jones Prep filed a lawsuit in order to gain access to competing in their state regional meet while their teachers and coaches were on strike.
Judge Eve M. Reilly denied the restraining order that the parents of Jones Prep’s proposed. She said in her ruling, "This court must balance safety above all other concerns," and if that restraining order would be granted, "schools would be forced to open...to accommodate sports teams without adequate staff to do so."
Reilly did mention that it is sad for those students who are seniors, and this will be the last chance at competition, but she declared that safety was the main issue at place.
Although CPS teams did miss regionals, they were allowed to move onto the next competition due to some help from a legal standpoint.
Later in the next week, Cook County Judge Neil H. Cohen ruled on Friday, November 1 that CPS cross country teams should be allowed to compete in state competition.
“I’m tired of adults making decisions that rob children of their childhood and their dreams; it isn’t going to hurt the IHSA to let these kids run,” Cohen told the Sun Times.
I think Cohen had the right idea. These kids are out of school for almost a total of two weeks and not only are they missing out on school—yes, for good reason—but they are also missing out in all their extra curriculars as well. Sports give students an opportunity to succeed outside of the classroom, and being denied of that opportunity after months of practice is strictly unjust.
Now, think of how many miles a day those kids run, some even run extra in the morning before school. What is so upsetting was judges like Reilly do not realize what these kids physically put their bodies through day in and day out to be able to compete at the state level or even realize how much this may mean for them.
As for safety, for all we know, school and sports could have been all that was keeping kids out of trouble. The Field Museum even offered a place for CPS students to go to. An individual practice away from school in a safe place with some adult supervision is not that hard to accomplish. Students do individual workouts all the time.
The CTU was striking for all things for the students—more social workers and fewer students to a classroom. The fight was much bigger than just the teachers. To make up for the two weeks the students could not participate in, the least the IHSA could have done was allow athletes to compete in statewide meets.
Opinions expressed by individual columnists in The Leader do not necessarily reflect those of the paper or its staff and are not intended to represent those of the college at large.