ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 11, 1997 TAG: 9703110104
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLESTON, S.C.
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tim Kulp, Jeanie Mentavlos' lawyer, said he still wants to know who in the administration knew what about the behavior of the cadets, and when.
A male cadet at The Citadel was thrown out of school and nine others were given lesser punishments in the hazing and harassment of two female cadets, the military school said Monday.
One cadet was cleared, and the FBI and state investigators continue to look into the women's allegations for possible criminal charges.
``The college made mistakes and individuals broke rules,'' interim President Clifton Poole said. ``We have gotten the facts. We have heard the evidence, and we have punished those cadets who have violated regulations.''
Of 15 male cadets who faced discipline, one was dismissed and one was given the next-most severe punishment: He is restricted to campus for the rest of the semester and must do 120 hours of marching with a rifle in the barracks courtyard.
Eight of the cadets received lesser punishments, ranging from shorter marching tours and demerits to confinement to the barracks.
Previously, three implicated cadets left school and one received marching and demerits.
Cadets Jeanie Mentavlos of Charlotte, N.C., and Kim Messer of Clover said their clothes were set on fire and cleanser was put on their heads. They also said they were forced to drink tea until they became ill, made to drink alcohol and forced to stand in a closet while being shoved and kicked last semester.
They didn't return to the state military school for the spring semester. The Citadel still has two female cadets. It began accepting women last June after a court battle.
``Hopefully this will bring to a conclusion a most painful chapter in our history,'' Poole said. ``With these punishments, The Citadel has exhausted the remedies available to it under the college's published rules.''
The school did not identify the punished cadets. The dismissed cadet can apply for readmission after a year.
The disciplining of the 11 cadets came after private hearings held by school officials on March 1. The results were not released until Monday.
Tim Kulp, Mentavlos' lawyer, said he still wants to know who in the administration knew what about the behavior of its cadets, and when.
``The administration was not trout fishing in Montana last semester,'' he said. ``They were there and there are those who say they let it happen.''
Paul Gibson, Messer's attorney, said the fact that nearly all the cadets implicated were disciplined ``substantiates the allegations that have been made by our clients and shows that they are true.''
Three of the 11 cadets could have been expelled, the most severe penalty possible, which would not have allowed them to reapply for admission. Those remaining in school must take sensitivity training.
``I hope what we teach them is what we failed to teach them last time,'' Poole said. The training was part of the college's plan for admitting female cadets.
Cadets facing the more serious charges appeared before commandant boards made up of two retired military colonels and a cadet officer. Less serious charges were heard by a retired colonel.
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP File/November 1996. Citadel cadets Jeanie Mentavlosby CNB(front center) and Kim Messer (front right), photographed at a
football game last fall, did not return to the school in the spring.
color.