ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Monday, January 15, 1996               TAG: 9601150084
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: A-5  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE 

MILITARY WOMEN SAY VMI NEEDS TO BE COED

If VMI went coed, the men would live through it just fine.

That's the opinion of Danna Maller, U.S. Military Academy, Class of '80, who joined with other military women - some veterans of wars, one Persian Gulf War POW - in a "friend of the court" brief to the U.S. Supreme Court insisting that VMI be required to admit women.

"Women, who have participated in every American armed conflict ... have demonstrated with their lives that they can withstand the stress of combat situations, the challenges of military leadership and the physical challenges of mobilizing a fighting force," say Maller and her female military colleagues.

Maller decided to apply for West Point's inaugural coed class on a whim, after her father read that the academy would start admitting women.

"Logically, I knew there would be some opposition to us being there," Maller said. "I didn't have any idea the extent of it or how it would feel. I don't think you can ever be prepared for something like that.

"Most cadets were more concerned about their own survival than the whole [coeducation] issue. A vocal minority was opposed, and they made that clear to us on a daily basis."

Maller was a helicopter pilot for five years after graduation, working alongside men. Now, she's a marketing director for a finance company.

She's worried that VMI isn't preparing its graduates for the real world.

"What are we producing here?" she asked. "Part of the problem is, a lot of the men develop strange attitudes toward women. Their education is sorely lacking. These are very formative, important years. I would argue their education as leaders is missing a big component."

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