ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 22, 1996 TAG: 9612240021
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B7 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHARLESTON, S. C.
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Citadel, facing scrutiny in the wake of hazing allegations by two female cadets, has been through this before.
Sixteen years ago, school President James Stockdale called for a review of the military college's rigid program of molding freshman cadets into strong leaders.
One result was a special committee report citing serious problems with the Fourth Class system, which is supposed to foster respect and dignity.
The review said the system had degenerated into one that tolerated and sometimes fostered immature routines inconsistent with the school's goal of developing the ``whole man.''
The committee issued recommendations to get the system back on track. Some were implemented, others were not.
Today, similar early warnings are ringing loud and clear at the school.
Lawyers for the two female cadets, Kim Messer and Jeanie Mentavlos of Charlotte, N.C., say they endured weeks of hazing, including being doused with nail polish remover and having their clothes set afire, because they feared that telling adults on staff might only make it worse.
Two male cadets have been suspended and five cadet officers relieved of their command duties.
The FBI and the State Law Enforcement Division are investigating.
Jimmy Jones, president of the governing board, says school administrators must take responsibility for the reported hazing. He also says the college will take steps to prevent abuse of any freshmen.
The first step is to provide safer barracks and re-examine the role of sophomores in disciplining first-year cadets, or knobs, he said.
When students return Jan. 12, each of the four campus barracks will have an adult officer assigned there overnight.
`We're not trying to treat the students like infants, but we do think having an adult in the barracks overnight is an overdue step,'' Jones said. ``It's one way to show everyone that we are serious about cracking down on misbehavior.''
Jones said the alleged abuse was the work of a few overzealous cadets who do not understand Citadel policy.
``My sense is that certainly these problems we're hearing about are not pervasive throughout the corps, but that there are a few cadets who are just mean-spirited people who feel like they need to take their anger out on others,'' he said.
Jones has asked interim President Clifton Poole to recommend either assigning faculty to the barracks or bringing in tactical officers who assist with military training.
The supervisors will not be guards, Jones said, but more like residence hall advisers.
The two female cadets were among the first four women admitted at The Citadel after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against an all-male admissions policy at Virginia Military Institute.
On Friday, VMI, which is going coed next fall, said male and female cadets will have identical physical challenges and get matching close-cropped haircuts.
VMI also plans to hold orientation sessions for all students beginning in February that will address how to treat men and women fairly.
``The institute recognizes that it must address concerns that may now arise for the first time as a result of interaction between cadets of opposite sexes, including fraternization and sexual harassment,'' the school said.
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