THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 25, 1995 TAG: 9508250669
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: CHARLESTON, S.C. LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
The Citadel has asked a judge to remove Shannon Faulkner from the lawsuit she pursued for 2 1/2 years, saying that her dropping out means ``no other woman is entitled now to admission.''
Faulkner, 20, left the state military college Aug. 18 after less than a week as the first female cadet, saying the stress and the isolation took too great a toll on her health. She spent most of that time in the school infirmary.
``I thought that I was strong enough to take everything and not need anybody else,'' she said Wednesday night on ABC's ``PrimeTime Live.''
``I just realized it was a burden too big for anyone to bear alone. I just realized that too late,'' she said.
If Faulkner is dropped from the lawsuit, the lawyers who mounted the challenge of the all-male policy also would be removed, Citadel attorney Dawes Cooke said. That would leave just the Justice Department in the case, in which legal fees have reached an estimated $5.5 million.
Faulkner's attorneys are looking for other women to become plaintiffs.
``I kept thinking that if there was just one other woman there for me to talk to . . .,'' Faulkner said. ``I didn't feel like I could trust anybody at the school to talk to them.''
Few of the male cadets associated with her before she went into the infirmary. She was assigned to a room that had locks on the door and closed-circuit television cameras outside.
One of Faulkner's attorneys, Val Vojdik, said two other women who want to be cadets are ready to enter the case. She expected court papers to be filed today, although the court will be asked to keep their names secret. ILLUSTRATION: Faulkner
by CNB