
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, January 21, 1994                   TAG: 9401210049
SECTION: NATL/INTL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHARLESTON, S.C.                                LENGTH: Medium

FIRST WOMAN JOINS CADETS IN CITADEL CLASS

Shannon Faulkner walked into a biology class at The Citadel on Thursday and made history. She became the first woman in the school's 151-year history to take a class with the corps of cadets.

"It wasn't like walking into any other class, when there are 30 guys in the class and you're the only woman," said Faulkner, who also celebrated her 19th birthday Thursday.

"My first day of class went well," she said. "The cadets have spoken to me. I don't think I'll be having any problems."

Well, she did have some. She got a $10 ticket for parking in the faculty lot. Faulkner said she thought school officials told her she could park there.

Faulkner, who had all gender references removed from her high school transcript, first was accepted by the school, then rejected when Citadel officials found out she is a woman. So she sued the state-supported military college last year, saying its all-male policy was unconstitutional.

A federal judge ruled she could attend day classes, although not as a cadet, while her lawsuit proceeded. The Citadel went to the Supreme Court to try to keep her out, but Chief Justice William Rehnquist on Tuesday said she could attend classes.

Faulkner walked alone through 25-degree temperatures and a horde of reporters to Duckett Hall for her 8 a.m. biology class, a 75-minute lecture on plant reproduction. Cadets watched from the courtyard and the windows of Stevens Barracks across the street, yelling as she passed by.

"It's real upsetting for a lot of the guys. But they have enough humor, enough spunk, to see it through," said John Johnson, a junior cadet.

State Law Enforcement Division officers trailed Faulkner through the day. Authorities said last week they were investigating unspecified threats against her and her family.

by CNB