November 12, 2008 - Siena College basketball players Kenny Hasbrouck and Katelyn Dooley visited Shaker High School recently to talk about gender issues in college sports and what it’s like to be a college athlete.

Dooley and Hasbrouck spoke to students in Joe Rispole’s two Sports in Literature classes and spent more than an hour discussing Title IX and how it has affected college athletics.

Title IX is a federal education law that requires colleges that receive federal funding to provide men and women with equal opportunities for extracurricular activities. Title IX became law in 1972 and since then has vastly expanded athletic opportunities for women. However, not everyone has been happy with the results, arguing that the law spurred colleges and universities around the country to cut hundreds of men’s athletic programs.
 

Dooley and Hasbrouck also shared their favorite collegiate memories and discussed what it’s like to be a college athlete, including the rigorous schedules that athletes must follow. The pair then signed autographs and posed for pictures with students and faculty.
 

Dooley, a Lansingburgh native, graduated in May and played for the Siena women’s basketball team for four years. She was consistently among the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s leading scorers and was named the team’s co-captain as a senior. She now works for the college’s Sports Marketing Department at Siena.
 

Hasbrouck, a senior, is co-captain of the men’s basketball team and was recently named the MAAC’s preseason player of the year by coaches and sportswriters. He looks to lead the Saints to another NCAA Tournament berth in March and hopes to continue his playing career in the NBA next year.