CSB should add a wrestling team

During one of the first wrestling tournaments of the season, there was also a women’s tournament happening at the same time. This is becoming more and more common throughout the country. CSB should follow suit.

Wrestling has steadily been rising as a popular sport, especially among women.

Adding a women’s wrestling team to the list of varsity and club sports that CSB offers may be one solution to the enrollment problem that our schools are facing.

Sports are often a factor for many when choosing a school; I know they were for me.

Having a new team will draw many more out-of-state students where women’s wrestling is more common and increase our student count.

Plus, sports are empowering. My time on various sports teams throughout my life has made me feel more confident, empowered and strong than any other aspect of my life.

Adding women’s wrestling to our roster has the potential to increase women’s empowerment and be a leader in this movement.

Also, if women’s wrestling is added, it will join rugby as one of two full contact sports on the CSB campus. Full contact in women’s sports has always been a topic of conversation and upholds gender norms and ideas that are not true. Women are not as fragile as people thought. We can take hits and get back up.

These gender issues are much more nuanced and require a lot of time to fully get through, but adding women’s wrestling could be a pivotal step toward reducing this idea.

Adding a women’s wrestling team will also help bring more attention to CSB sports, something that has been a topic of conversation among Bennie athletes. It’s already a struggle to get people to show up to Bennie athletic events, but the addition of a new team in a sport that has historically been very male-dominated, might draw more people to these events.

This not only creates a more exciting atmosphere for Bennie athletes but it also draws people to campus, increasing visibility and potentially increasing enrollment.

CSB also has the opportunity to further redefine or even break gender norms. Wrestling has been and still is a very male-dominated sport—one that requires a great amount of strength and determination, traits that are typically associated with men. Women getting involved with the sport redefines these traits.

Redefining these traits can act as a step toward redefining the gender dynamics of our campuses and bring our schools closer to being and acting like one institution.

Especially with the new joint president, CSB/SJU can continue taking steps toward becoming one institution.

Diversifying the sports on campus is one way to do just that.