On Wednesday January 20, first-year student Grace DiChristina was asked to leave Malley Fitness Center because her shirt revealed too much of her midriff. She was asked to leave for two reasons cited by staff: to prevent MRSA and because Santa Clara University is a Jesuit institution.
MRSA, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, is a form of the staph infection. It is commonly spread through skin-to-skin contact or a skin-to-skin contaminated object, such as sweaty workout equipment. What this means is that any exposed skin, including legs and arms, is just as susceptible to spreading MRSA as an inch of an exposed stomach.
A muscle tee with long arm holes exposing the chest and obliques is one of the go-to workout attires for men. “If you walk into Leavey Center, the first thing you notice is that the gym is filled with muscle-tee clad men sweating directly onto the equipment, but they aren’t asked to leave and change,” Grace said.
In her Facebook post addressing the issue at hand, Grace said the religious affiliation of the university does not dictate the dress code of the gym. “I don’t go to the gym to be sexualized or looked at.”
She added, “If we are truly focused on preventing an outbreak of MRSA, information about the infection and its symptoms should be readily available instead of singling women out to cover their stomachs or forcing them to leave.”