THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 20, 1995 TAG: 9504200479
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CHARLESTON, S.C. LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
Any name that even suggests a female applicant seems to set off alarms these days at The Citadel, the all-male military school fighting the admission of a woman.
When Kristian Zoeller applied, the school quickly sent a rejection letter to the 16-year-old 220-pound high school football player from Newburyport, Mass., noting that the school is for men only.
The Citadel then forwarded his name to the Justice Department, which asked if he would like to join Shannon Faulkner's lawsuit to be admitted to the school's corps of cadets. The Justice Department has intervened on her behalf.
Last week, an appeals court ruled that The Citadel had discriminated against Faulkner and ordered the school to admit her to the corps or come up with a military-style program for women. She has been attending classes since 1994 but had not been allowed to take part in military training or wear a uniform while the case was being appealed.
Zoeller said he called the Justice Department to straighten things out and his parents called the school to complain.
``I called a couple of lawyers at the department and told them I am a guy and I have all the right body parts,'' Zoeller said.
Citadel officials apologized, and he received his application packet last week.
Zoeller has no problem with The Citadel's all-male policy. ``It's a tradition,'' he said. by CNB