Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 31, 1995 TAG: 9501310113
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
If the U.S. Justice Department doesn't appeal last week's 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling to the Supreme Court, or if it does and the high court won't hear it, the venerable public men's military academy finally settles the issue.
Next fall, the Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership will open at Mary Baldwin College. VMI will stay all-male.
Apart from how one might feel about whole issue regarding gender equality, the setup does correct an inequity regarding the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets. The corps, 400 strong, won't have to pay roughly $500 each for their uniforms anymore.
And in an echo of the VMI case, it also settles an internal inequity among Tech's men and women cadets, because women's uniforms cost $568 -about $68 more than the men's.
Under the legal scenario that created the women's institute, all three schools join together as the Virginia Corps of Cadets. Tech offers the coed contingent to the single-sex schools, thus rounding out the state's diversity of offerings.
And everybody gets to split the Unique Military Appropriation paid by the state to VMI for nearly 10 years - budgeted this year at $1,900 per student. That's $2.28 million now, with an additional $950,000 for everybody next year if the General Assembly approves.
It pays for uniforms, and military-style things like obstacle courses (VMI has one; Tech does not) and administration.
"The UMA for VMI just started in 1985," said Gen. Stan Musser, who heads Tech's corps. "Prior to that, all the VMI cadets were paying for their uniforms, too."
How VMI got the appropriation, Musser didn't know. But Tech tried to get in on it two years ago, to no avail, he said.
Exactly what else the Virginia corps will do remains to be seen. Musser has some ideas.
"We will probably end up having parades together or competitions with each other that we have not had in the past. Get that competition going -we've lost that. Used to be, VMI and the old VPI, that was a big rivalry in the state. Since we've gone big-time football, we've lost, in my mind, that spirit," said Musser.
For the record, 63 Tech cadets are women.
"Our women cadets do as well as the men do. In fact, some cases better and some cases, worse. Just like the real world." Musser said.
by CNB