It’s time for me to speak up about the girl who was asked to leave the College of Charleston gym because of her outfit. Most women are standing behind the girl in question, but I am actually on the other side of the fence---I stand with CofC. Woah---shocking, right? Well let me tell you why.

Being someone who has not only worked in gyms but also someone who has actively been working out in gyms for the last three years, I have several personal reasons why I believe the College was right in asking the girl to leave, which are also backed up by cold hard facts.

For starters, while in the picture posted on Facebook the outfit is all nice and pulled together to show as little skin as possible, it’s still a crop top. I know many of you disagree, but that's not proper gym attire. It's hardly proper attire in general, despite my love for crop tops. In all my years of being a part of the gym scene, I have never seen a woman working out in something that's basically a sports bra, like this one. In fact, most gyms probably don't allow the bearing of midriffs. Especially a small one like the CofC gym. It’s a matter of respect in my eyes.

Speaking of respect, I absolutely understand other girls being uncomfortable with crop tops being worn in the gym. Personally, I’m not concerned with other girls bodies, but for some it could make them feel insecure or uncomfortable to see other, more in shape girls, walking around showing off their goods. I feel like that’s understandable, and I also feel like it should be respected.

Now, to the facts. Fact number one: while many protested that there wasn’t a sign stating the kinds of clothes that should be worn in the gym, there is. I can hear you now… “But Madison, it really only says ‘workout clothes’ and lists some examples. And, it’s in such small font that no one sees’s it anyway.” Well, here’s what I have to say to that. It’s up to the gym to distinguish what they think is appropriate or not. It’s up to the employees and the managers - not you. It says “t-shirts,” therefore if the employee in question decides your shirt doesn’t fit the description, then that’s for the employee to distinguish.On the same note, some employees are stricter than others when it comes to the rules. While a girl could have worked out a week ago wearing something similar, the person working may not have noticed or cared, but a different employee might. It depends on how they choose to enforce the rules.

Finally, there are sanitary concerns. Flat out, the school is trying to reduce skin-to-machine contact as much as possible. If your stomach or back is touching the machine---that’s asking-to-machine contact, which just isn't allowed---and this applies to both male and female.Yes, sometimes people get by without being noticed, and that happens with everything, but the rule remains the same regardless. I'm sorry that this happened, but it has really been blown out of proportion. The CofC student who was asked to leave was not being disrespected or anything like many believes, but she was simply asked to leave because of the clearly displayed rules. Then when she resisted, things escalated. Next time, just wear a t-shirt to the gym... it's not not that big of a deal.