Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 14, 1990 TAG: 9005140043
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ANNAPOLIS, MD. LENGTH: Medium
The culprits were punished with demerits and loss of leave time because the elite academy's administration decided the incident was a good-natured exchange that got out of hand and didn't merit stronger punishment, The Capital reported.
The incident involving Gwen Marie Dreyer was not an isolated one, according to Dreyer's father, a 1967 academy graduate.
Dreyer resigned last month, dissatisfied with the investigation of the Dec. 8 incident, the Annapolis newspaper said.
Gregory Dreyer said his daughter was intimidated by classmates who warned her not to testify at a formal disciplinary hearing.
Midshipmen 2nd Class John Hindinger and Tom Rosson were punished with demerits and loss of leave time, The Capital said.
The academy ruled that the assault, in which Dreyer was dragged from her room, wasn't premeditated and therefore couldn't be considered hazing, which can lead to dismissal.
"Don't get me wrong, I was bowled over when I heard about this," said academy Superintendent Virgil L. Hill Jr.
"But this escalated from a snowball-throwing incident minutes earlier," Hill said. "So what started out as a good-natured exchange got out of hand."
Dreyer declined to comment when asked by the paper. But in her letter of resignation she said resentment expressed toward women at the academy crushes their spirits, according to the newspaper.
"There still are large cliques of men who want to make it a men's school again," said Lt. Barbette Lowndes, a 1980 academy graduate.
by CNB