Hi... As the author of the case, I wanted to bring it up simply because I wanted to gauge opinion (among other things) about where a TD/official can draw the line with respect to fostering an environment appropriate for academic competition. The subject does hit the topic of sexual harassment, which I know is a sensitive topic in society in general, but lawsuits against firms in sexual harassment in recent years have placed the top of the bureaucracy as being part of the suit. If such an instance were to happen for a competition, the university and the club could technically be named in the suit. I need not mention that such behavior also reflects badly on a team as a whole rather than just the person himself/herself. Obviously, the scenario is inherently unfair because (agreeing with Dorri), men don't usually wear clothing that makes them appealing in a similar vein. Men don't dress that way when they go clubbing or go to formals, and so far as I know, women don't oogle men who wear tuxedos. However, I cannot deny human behavior; as previous discussions have mentioned, behavior that can be construed as harassment does occur, whether it's because of dress or other reasons. This is only one such situation I intended to bring up. As for talking to me about a man's style of dress, I have had occasion where people (coaches) complain to me about the appearance of certain male players (mostly for HS comps) at certain tournaments. The most interesting incident involved a (male) person with blue hair, a ratty T-shirt, and ripped blue jeans for Academic Decathlon, but for the most part, it was commentary on how people were dressed inappropriately for a competition. The question then goes to what you consider constitutes "appropriate." Please discuss the premises whether you believe to be incorrect, but I know that such scenarios do occur in the workplace where there is much more liability. It sometimes even occurs at conferences (such as the one I'm at)... but that's another story. As for me, I know I have my preferences on how people should dress for a competition. But should a TD be "policing" dress, if such dress were provocative, or just plain disrespectful, considering one wants to maintain an atmosphere devoid of the potential for harassment? Reporting from Atlanta, --- etc.
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