Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 19, 1995 TAG: 9508210059
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CHARLESTON, S. C. LENGTH: Medium
Faulkner said the stress of the long fight to get into the school took its toll and that she felt isolated in the all-male corps.
``I don't think there's any dishonor in leaving,'' Faulkner, near tears, told reporters in a driving rain outside the school. ``I think there's dis-justice in my staying and killing myself just for the political point.
``Maybe it would have been different if there had been other women with me,'' she said.
Faulkner, 20, had been taken to the infirmary with heat exhaustion Monday, the first day of rigorous drills and marching during what freshmen call ``hell week.'' She never returned to duty.
School spokesman Terry Leedom said he knew of no cadet who had missed the crucial first week and then went on to graduate. Twenty-three other cadets also dropped out of the freshman class this week.
When news of Faulkner's decision spread around campus, other cadets cheered and horns sounded.
The decision ended a week of speculation about Faulkner's fitness that began when she was taken to the infirmary, suffering from the exhaustion caused by drills in 100-degree heat.
She spent most of her first week in the infirmary, and was treated for dehydration and had trouble keeping food down, her family and a school spokesman said. She was taken to a hospital for tests Thursday and cleared to return to duty Friday.
But she again missed activities Friday morning after infirmary staff said she was not ready.
``Monday, I thought I did very well,'' Faulkner said. ``If you ask any member of the cadets, I was keeping up with everyone. Unfortunately, I began to have some difficulties physically.''
Heat illnesses are not uncommon at the college. One cadet was taken on a stretcher from a physical fitness test Wednesday for treatment of heat stress, officials said. Two others were taken to the hospital Thursday for treatment.
Faulkner has been under continual stress since early 1993, when she launched her court fight.
She had been allowed to take classes at The Citadel before this week but was not allowed to take part in the military training. A federal judge ruled last year that the college's all-male admissions policy was unconstitutional.
As a way to keep women out of The Citadel, South Carolina wants to create a separate women's leadership program at another college. But plans for that program have not been approved by the courts.
Faulkner said she did not know what she would do next.
``Today has been the hardest day of my life,'' she said. ``The past 21/2 years came crashing down on me in an instant. ... I know my life is going to be miserable for a while.''
A lawyer for Faulkner, Val Vojdik, said the fight to break The Citadel's all-male tradition will continue. Since Faulkner began her fight, The Citadel has received more than 200 letters from women interested in joining the corps, he said.
Regardless of what's happening at The Citadel, 42 freshmen are expected Tuesday at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, where Virginia will open its alternative to admitting women to public, all-male Virginia Military Institute.
The Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership, approved by a split federal appeals court and funded by the state and the private VMI Foundation, may be back in court this fall. That's when the Supreme Court is expected to say if it will consider arguments about whether the separate institute is an acceptable alternative to admitting women to VMI.
Staff writer Allison Blake contributed to this story.
Keywords:
INFOLINE
by CNB