Varsity players are not given varsity privileges

Aurora sports has its own prestigious reputation on the regional level along with a few sports teams on the state level. The time and commitment AHS athletes put into practice, pushing themselves to the limit in every game while drowning out the cries of the adoring fans in the stands, they truly have the right to wear their Varsity Letterman Jackets with their accomplishments pinned to their chest and forearms.

Winning is only half of the battle, therefore every successful team, the ones with CVC champs written on banners hanging proudly in the varsity gym, value the importance of training on and off the field.

During the fall, AHS has 21 sports teams: varsity, junior varsity and freshmen. Of those 21 teams, 12 are girls’ teams. There are 5 girls’ varsity teams who should share the Varsity locker room equally. Unfortunately, full access has been granted to the volleyball team, varsity, junior varsity and freshman teams and has been restricted for the other varsity teams. Obviously, this is unfair to the other female varsity players in other sports.

Why can’t the handful of varsity players change in the Varsity locker room? Why try to fit 10 teams into the JV locker room (where there is barely enough room for 5 teams) while volleyball gets an entire locker room to themselves? Shouldn’t all varsity players have the option to change in the clean, newer Varsity locker room?

Most athletes scour the building for open bathrooms to change in in order to get to practice on time leaving the old, run down JV locker room semi less populated. They dare not go to the Varsity Locker room for fear of being kicked out by the volleyball team.

Half way through the season, custodial staff and gym teachers complained about the overflow of bags lying in the JV locker room due to bags getting in the way of gym students changing for gym class.

Athletic Director Paul Power’s solution was to open up the locker room attached to the girl’s JV locker room used only for visiting football teams and allow both girls soccer teams to use it in efforts to reduce clutter in the locker room. However, instead of granting permission for the varsity soccer players to use the Varsity Locker room, he only opened up yet another bathroom for the teams to use.

Along with limited space, the plumbing in the JV locker room is subpar. With horrendous smells coming up through the drains, most likely a result from the waste from the boys’ JV locker room, girls are left clenching their noses, gagging for fresh air. The volleyball team has never experienced these horrors.

If varsity athletes want to be viewed as equal, shouldn’t their amenities be equal?

The JV locker room should be for JV and freshmen teams and the Varsity locker room should be open to any varsity player regardless of sport. If a varsity player chooses not to use that locker room, no problem; however, the Varsity locker room should not remain exclusive to volleyball athletes but to varsity athletes in general.