West Point now requires female cadets to take boxing class

The United States Military Academy at West Point is now requiring female cadets to take its boxing class in an attempt to complete gender integration in the U.S. Army.

Boxing was previously off-limits for all female students ,but West Point officials recently decided to make the course a requirement for all approximately 1,000 students in the Class of 2020, beginning this fall.

The Washington Post explained why the change was made:

"The move follows the Pentagon’s historic decision last year to fully integrate women into all combat roles for the first time, and allowing women to box marked the fall of one of the last barriers to women being allowed to do anything they are qualified to in the U.S. military."

While there has been a lot of debate over whether boxing should even be a part of service academies, as long as it is, female and male cadets will be expected to have equal participation in the class.

“The issue is men and women doing the same thing,” Brig. Gen. Diana M. Holland said. “Now, whether boxing should be a requirement for anybody is a different discussion.”

According to The Post, this year's course "incorporates graded two-minute bouts in which women face women, and controlled sparring in which men and women can be matched up against each other."