ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, August 29, 1996              TAG: 9608290073
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: C-3  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER

MUM'S THE WORD AFTER VMI, LAWYERS MEET SCHOOL MOVES FORWARD WITH `MINIMAL CHANGES' PLAN

Members of the Virginia Military Institute Board of Visitors had no comment Wednesday after huddling with lawyers for four hours to discuss the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that opens the state-supported school to women.

VMI Superintendent Josiah Bunting III said his staff is moving forward with a plan that, while complying with the court edict, would result in "absolutely the minimal changes" in the school's harsh discipline and physical standards.

Bunting also confirmed that alumni continue to explore the option of taking the school private, thus preserving its all-male tradition.

The VMI Board will announce its plan at a Sept. 18-21 meeting in Lexington.

VMI's measured response to the June 26 court ruling meant that no women were among the 392 freshmen that began classes Wednesday. By contrast, The Citadel in South Carolina admitted four women this semester.

At VMI, the attitude has been that women would be given no quarter from the humiliating "Rat Line" experience, which seeks to break down cadets' individuality so they can rise together as a unit.

Bunting said the VMI plan would comply with both the letter and spirit of the Supreme Court decision, which found that a state-supported school cannot exclude students on the basis of gender.

When pressed to explain the VMI contingency plan for women, Bunting reached into his briefcase for a photocopied excerpt from Plato's "Republic."

A highlighted passage reads: "It follows that one woman will be fitted by nature to be a Guardian [soldier]; another will not.

" ... It follows that women of this type must be selected to share the life and duties of Guardians with men of the same type, since they are competent and of a like nature, and the same natures must be allowed the same pursuits."

Bunting added, "If I am ordered by the board to prepare for women, we will do it in such a way that brings great credit to the university. We will do it well."

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