THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 12, 1996 TAG: 9607120016
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 49 lines
William W. Berry, chairman of Virginia Military Institute's board of visitors, this week set what should be the tone of all alumni and cadets regarding the Supreme Court decision on admitting women.
``There is . . . a very small segment of alumni that say, `Shave her head. Put her in a rat line. She won't last long'. . . . That's emotion talking, not logic,'' Berry told The Washington Post.
``We should retain adversity in the system,'' added the former utility-company executive in a later interview. ``But I'm opposed to doing something where your objective is failure.''
Berry suggests that VMI's board will put off until at least September a decision on trying to transform the 157-year-old institution from a public to a private facility. In a three-day meeting that began last night, the board will review options with attorneys and start crafting a response to the court.
It will be wise if it heeds Berry's admonition to tone down the anti-women rhetoric and start dealing with the spirit as well as the letter of the Supreme Court's decision.
The standard in that regard was set at The Citadel in South Carolina. Within 48 hours of the Supreme Court's ruling that barring women from public educational institutions is unconstitutional, the board of visitors brought honor to defeat.
Speaking with remarkable resolve, the board announced: ``Effective immediately, The Citadel will enthusiastically accept qualified female applicants into the corps of cadets.''
If VMI's board elects to try the privatization route, that is its option. However, the odds against success probably are greater than even citizen-soldiers can surmount. The value of the buildings has been estimated to be at least $100 million. Even if such a debt load could be sustained, supporters would have to find a way to replace the one-third or so of the school's $32 million annual operating budget that comes from the state.
The Citadel may have been able to accept reality more quickly than VMI because it was further along in its transition. Shannon Faulkner, who challenged the school's all-male policy, spent four days there last August as a cadet. The sun still rose during that brief stay.
VMI stalwarts may need a bit longer to work through their grief. Swiss psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross identified five stages in dealing with profound and unwanted change: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.
Berry's comments suggest that at least some of the powers at VMI have begun to confront that obstacle course. Mastering it should be no harder than the grueling mental and physical training that VMI cadets have long endured. by CNB