Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 15, 1994 TAG: 9402150134
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It was a smart move. Federal Judge Jackson Kiser referred to Astin's work in his 1991 ruling upholding the constitutionality of the admission policy.
The education expert was in Roanoke for Round 2 of the federal court battle that continued Monday, but he wasn't there to help VMI's cause.
Astin, director of the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, testified that a proposed leadership program at Mary Baldwin College would not offer women the same opportunities that men get at VMI.
Astin called the environment at the Staunton liberal arts college "radically different" from the surroundings at VMI's Lexington campus.
"It will not produce comparable outcomes or comparable experiences," he said.
The Justice Department concluded its case against VMI's alternative plan after Astin's testimony. Closing arguments will be heard today.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals told Kiser that the exclusion of women at the state-supported school is discriminatory, but left open the option of setting up a similar program for women.
The proposed Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership at Mary Baldwin College doesn't include the 24-hour military atmosphere of VMI. There would be no spartan barracks without privacy, and women wouldn't have to wear uniforms all the time.
The leadership program wouldn't work, Astin said, because "in many ways it is alien to what the institution has offered in the past."
Mary Baldwin College, with 650 students, does not offer engineering or science degrees, while VMI emphasizes engineering, science and physical education for its 1,300 cadets.
A fitness expert also testified Monday that the physical education program at VMI is far superior to the one proposed at Mary Baldwin.
"The programs are not comparable," said James Peterson, an instructor at the U.S. Military Academy for 19 years.
Women in the program would be required to participate in the Reserve Officer Training Corps, but after their freshman year, they would play tennis, golf and racquetball, while VMI cadets participate in boxing, football and karate.
Peterson said VMI offered a vigorous training program, while Mary Baldwin's "could best be characterized as a finishing school environment."
Astin also said the educations wouldn't compare, because cadets at Mary Baldwin would be influenced by the attitudes of their non-military classmates, or they could be shunned.
"They might regard themselves as pariah . . . as second-class citizens," the California educator said. "It's a dilemma - I don't see any way around it."
Astin declined an offer from VMI's lawyers to act as a paid expert in 1991, but they submitted his work as an exhibit.
One of four nationally prominent education researchers cited by Kiser in his 1991 ruling, Astin said during a break that he was upset that his work had been used by VMI's lawyers.
He said VMI is different from the schools he studied, because it is supported by tax dollars and the single-sex schools he studied were private.
"Four Critical Years," published in 1977, was based on research conducted in the 1960s and 1970s, when far more of the nation's top liberal arts and research colleges and universities admitted only men.
Astin testified during the trial that the government paid him $200 an hour for the time he spent preparing to testify against VMI.
Robert Patterson, VMI's lead attorney in the case, said Astin's change in views might be linked to pressure from women's-rights groups in California.
"It's a classic case of political correctness," he said.
by CNB