THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 15, 1995 TAG: 9509150518
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BRUCE SMITH, ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CHARLESTON, S.C. LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
Shannon Faulkner, saying she was battling an ``emotional catastrophe'' when she withdrew from The Citadel, said in court papers Thursday she might want to return to the military college.
``I do not believe the gates of The Citadel should be shut on me for trying to accomplish the impossible,'' she said in an affidavit. In the document, she asked to remain as a plaintiff in the lawsuit she filed 2 1/2 years ago.
Faulkner became the first female Citadel cadet last month but left school after a week because of the stress of the court fight and her isolation on campus. She spent most of her time on campus in the infirmary.
``I recognize now that it was an impossible task to require myself to perform under the world's spotlight in surroundings where I did not even have a person to confide in,'' she said in the document. ``I felt stranded, isolated and hated.''
If other women were present, ``I would definitely consider reapplying to finish my degree,'' she said. ``I do not want to be alone again.''
In other filings Thursday, attorneys for The Citadel argued it's too late for another woman, Nancy Mellette, to take Faulkner's place.
Mellette, a senior at a North Carolina military prep academy, wants to intervene in the case.
The motion said the case is now between the state and the federal government and that the U.S. Justice Department will adequately represent her.
Citadel spokesman Terry Leedom said Thursday that Faulkner's request would be decided in court in November.
``It sounds like her lawyers are doing everything they can to stay alive, because they haven't been paid any fees, the case has not been resolved and their horse has dropped out of the race,'' Leedom said.
Faulkner's father, Ed, in an accompanying affidavit, said he had never seen his daughter ``as emotional and irrational'' as she was in the infirmary before she left.
He said the school would not allow her medical leave to consult another doctor about stomach pains. And he said Clifton Poole, the dean of the college, kept asking what they wanted to do while his daughter was ``hysterical.''
After she had been in the infirmary for almost four days, she was cleared by the college doctor to return to her company, but she didn't want to go, Poole said. Instead, she called her family to take her home.
Poole said her father and attorney Suzanne Coe tried to persuade her to stay. At one point Ed Faulkner told him that his daughter was ready to return to her company, but Shannon Faulkner stood behind him, shaking her head ``No,'' Poole said.
The college sent Faulkner to Roper Hospital the previous day for tests. The tests turned up nothing.
``She was under stress, there's no doubt about it,'' Poole said. But after the decision to leave was made, ``I saw her physical condition improve precipitously. I saw a lot of relief on her face and her eyes.''
The other motion said if Mellette enters the case, it will only cost more time and money. A November trial is already set on whether a women's leadership program at Converse College is an acceptable alternative to women at The Citadel.
The motion said the case should not be made a class action because only two women have wanted to get involved.
And it questioned whether Faulkner's attorneys should represent Mellette or any other women.
It cited recent press statements by Faulkner and her mother ``criticizing Faulkner's former counsel publicly for using Faulkner to achieve their litigation objectives without regard to her educational or emotional needs.'' MEMO: HAMPTON ROADS ROUNDTABLE
Four panelists discuss the explosive issue of women at The Citadel and
Virgini Military Institute. Hear the discussion today at 1 p.m. on
public radio station WHRV, FM 89.5, and watch for it Sunday in the
Commentary section of The Virginian-Pilot. A full text is on the News
page of Pilot Online at the Internet address http://www.infi.net/pilot/
ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
Shannon Faulkner
by CNB