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Egberg – IWC Attire Guidelines

Winona State University faced an issue from proper attire guidelines that were posted Monday

Oct. 15 at the fitness center in the Integrated Wellness Complex.

Some examples of what was not appropriate were sports bras, mesh backed shirts, and even

sleeveless shirts if the arm holes came below the elbow.

Phone calls were made as well as social media posts in response to the posters. One post received

a lot of attention with hundreds of shares and likes. However, it was later taken down by the user

because of negative comments that came with the post.

The posters were taken down two days later.

However, there was a protest was planned for Thursday.

It was to take place on the second floor of the IWC’s Fitness Center. A group of students were

planning to take over the floor in whatever they felt comfortable working out in.

The plan was to meet at the gazebo around 4:45 p.m. Then at 4:54 p.m. they would start walking

to the IWC’s fitness center in coats, pants, and sweatshirts. Once they got to the second floor,

they would take off the extra layers and start working out.

Although only four participants showed up to the protest, they still wanted to make a stand. All

wore sports bras, a clear violation to one of the guidelines in the fitness center. However, no one

approached them and they were able to finish their hour-long workout.

Jennifer Manglos, a member of FORGE, which is a student organization that stands for Fighting

for Our Rights and Gender Equality, said, “The policing of bodies contributes to rape culture and

seeing our school perpetuate that is something we are not OK with and definitely needs to be

addressed.”
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Egberg – IWC Attire Guidelines

According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, “In the U.S., one in three women

and one in six men experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime."

Although the IWC directors did not mean for it to be taken that way, Manglos said, “I know

there was some talk about it being a health measure, but then where does that come into play

with the maintenance of the equipment and the cleanliness of the equipment. That’s a much more

effective way to handle the situation than to try to control what people wear.”

But even after the posters were taken down, there still seemed to be confusion as to why they

were hung up in the first place. Was it because of complaints? Was it for sanitation reasons?

According to IWC front desk assistant Katie Hanson, 20, and a junior at Winona State, “We’ve

always had these rules.” Apparently, they just weren’t posted for everyone to see.

Yet, when people look at the poster of what is acceptable and what is not, five women and two

men are shown. Other pictures of articles of clothing are shown as well, but the actual people

shown are in disproportion to each other. An argument made by one of the directors was because

people who wear women’s attire have more options, that is why more female bodies are on the

poster.

In the acceptable photos, two women are shown and zero men. On the inappropriate portion,

there are three women and two men. With the two men wearing similar shirts with cut off

sleeves.

When someone is found in violation of these guidelines, “no one really gets in trouble,” Hanson

said. The person who is working will have a polite conversation with the person who is in

violation. They will inform them of the guidelines that are posted, and should be kept in mind for

next time.
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Egberg – IWC Attire Guidelines

Kate Noelke, the director of Integrated Wellness, sat down and spoke on this issue Monday, Oct.

22. An open forum would also be held at 6 p.m. because of the miscommunication between the

IWC and the students. As it was found out, the posters were hung up to prevent the spread of

germs.

Noelke, along with the other directors of the IWC, were surprised to see the outcome of the

posters. They were not expecting to have such a negative reaction as they were viewing it mostly

as a health concern.

When it came time for the open forum, 24 people attended the forum including three IWC

directors.

The open forum was held so that participants could share their thoughts and opinions on the

situation as well as for the directors to explain their side of the story.

The directors said the posters were made from compiling and looking at other schools’ attire

guidelines such as the University of Minnesota and North Dakota State University. The directors

and students at Winona State who were involved in these decisions did not realize there would be

a surge of complaints as they were looking at it from a sanitary perspective. The directors

stressed that the posters were not to aid or promote gender-based violence, but they did come to

realize why it was taken that way.

A complaint that was brought up by a student during the forum was that in the fitness center,

they would see people on the basketball court playing shirts vs. skins (no shirts). So, if there are

attire guidelines, why can men have their shirts off while women must cover up?

Well, it is important to note that the fitness center does not include the basketball court on the

second floor of the IWC. That is operated by intramural sports. The fitness center only includes
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Egberg – IWC Attire Guidelines

the first-floor weight room, the cardio portion of the second floor, and the third-floor track.

Although the basketball court is connected to the second floor of the fitness center, there is the

potential for different rules as they are funded slightly different and run by different directors.

The conclusion of the meeting was that the posters were hung up because of a mixture of

complaints as well as for sanitary reasons. However, the directors did acknowledge that the

situation was handled poorly.

As of now, there are no guidelines for the fitness center. The directors said that there will be

more open forums and better communication with the students when they make future decisions.

“I will commit to our students,” Noelke said.

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