ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, June 30, 1996 TAG: 9607010080
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE AND JAN VERTEFEUILLE STAFF WRITERS
NOTE: Above
IN THE EYES of what could be VMI's first generation of female applicants, the Supreme Court's decision is one firm step in the direction of equality.
Soon after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Virginia Military Institute must admit women, Christiansburg High School senior Kathy Kreye joined a gym.
"If I can meet all the [physical] standards of VMI, I'm going to apply," she said.
The tall, athletic, varsity soccer goalie said she wants to work on her arm strength. "I don't want people to think I got an easy ride," she said.
Kreye is one of what may be a growing number of teen-age girls starting to picture themselves at VMI.
As prospective college freshmen in the next few years, teen-age girls will likely be the group most affected by last week's court ruling. But as legal observers and women's groups hailed the ruling as a clear victory for women, local girls don't all view the change as a triumph for them.
Kelly Cassell, a 17-year-old who recently graduated from Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, disagreed with the Supreme Court, citing VMI's "heritage."
"It's been fine like that for so many years," she said. "Why? Why ruin something? Think of all the taxpayer money that's going to be spent on facilities [for women]."
Taxpayer money is exactly the reason to make the school coed, Blacksburg High School senior Rachel Barker said.
"If it should go private, that's fine. But if everyone in the state is paying for it, everyone should be allowed to go," she said.
The 17-year-old, who helped organize a women's studies group at her school this year, said she can understand why VMI students would want to keep the all-male tradition. She said she might apply to an all-women's college because she sees so many girls who don't speak out in class and allow boys to call the shots at school activities.
"I might like to go to a school where [women] wouldn't feel dominated," she said. "I'd like to feel that sisterhood - which is, I guess, the same thing the guys feel about the brotherhood at VMI."
For Kara Moretz, a sophomore from Northside High School in Roanoke County, the court's decision was an important signal.
"Everyone's supposed to be created equal, right?" she said. "If we can get something like this tradition changed, [girls will believe] we could get other things changed, too."
Kreye said she would be pleased if her decision to apply to VMI helps open doors for other women, but her choice is personal as well. She started her search for colleges by trying to find an all-women's military school, but couldn't.
The more she learned about the Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership, she said, the more disappointed she became. The court ruled that VWIL, the program designed by Mary Baldwin College as an option for women, was not a satisfactory alternative to the rigid, military regimen provided by VMI.
"There's not the prestige or respect [at VWIL], no rat line, no discipline," she said.
"I don't want to be in the party scene - I'm a very career-oriented person. With a strict schedule I'll be able to keep my studies on track."
Though Kreye's mother supports her interest in VMI, her stepfather worries that she'll get hurt.
To top things off, her boyfriend will attend VMI in the fall.
"He thinks I have the right to be there," Kreye said, "but he worries that if his class has women in it they'll lose respect from the older guys. If I do go, we've already decided we'd just ignore each other and act like we aren't dating."
Would she shave her head, a rite of passage for freshman "rats"?
"I wouldn't want to, but if I had to, I would do it," she said.
The Supreme Court opinion makes it clear that VMI does not have to make any concessions for women. Only those who qualify under existing requirements must be admitted, it says.
Northside sophomore Lee Ann Douglas agreed that women who enter VMI shouldn't get any breaks.
"See, like Shannon Faulkner, she got extra minutes to get ready in the morning," she said.
Douglas' father was a Marine and has encouraged her to join the military. But she said he disagreed with the VMI decision.
Her friend, sophomore Brett Newman, believes the decision is good for women, but doesn't fully support it.
"I don't think many girls are willing to sacrifice," she said. "They're trying to help, but I think in the long run, it's just not going to work."
Frasha Carter, a 17-year-old rising senior at Patrick Henry, also disagreed with the ruling. Even though she plans to join the Navy after high school, she doesn't think VMI should be forced to admit women. She thinks there would be sexual harassment problems.
"Most boys don't know how to behave with girls."
Her stepsister, Kira Walker, disagreed.
"I'm not the military type, to tell you the truth," the 14-year-old said. But, "I think it's cool girls get the same opportunities boys do."
LENGTH: Long : 103 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. ALAN SPEARMAN/Staff. Kelly Cassell, 17, a lifeguardby CNBat Fallon Park, says the court's ruling on VMI will ruin the
institution's heritage. 2. ALAN KIM/Staff. Kathy Kreye, a rising
senior at Christiansburg High School and a goalie for the soccer
team, says she's considering applying to VMI. 3. ALAN
SPEARMAN/Staff. Lee Ann Douglas, 14, listens to her friend Kara
Moretz, 14, talk about the VMI decision. Moretz thinks that women
ought to be able to attend. 4. LISA APPLEGATE/Staff. Rachel Barker,
a senior at Blacksburg High School, concurs with the Supreme Court
ruling on VMI. color.