THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 12, 1996 TAG: 9608120043
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Briefs
DATELINE: CHARLESTON, S.C. LENGTH: 27 lines
A federal judge will hear arguments today on The Citadel's plans for its new female cadet corps - everything from dating to door latches to pregnancy.
At least three women were expected to enroll when school reopens on Aug. 24 - the first since the state-supported military school changed its all-male policy in June.
Last week, The Citadel filed a 21-page plan with U.S. District Judge C. Weston Houck outlining how women will be accommodated.
But lawyers for the women joined the U.S. Justice Department in opposing a plan to put latches only on the women's barracks, calling it discriminatory. They also oppose plans forbidding dating between freshmen and upperclassmen or dating within a chain of command.
Furthermore, lawyers said a proposal requiring pregnant cadets to leave school violates federal civil rights laws that say pregnancy must be treated as a temporary disability.
The Citadel agreed to admit women two days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the male-only admissions policy at Virginia Military Institute was unconstitutional. VMI still hasn't decided what it will do.
KEYWORDS: VMI CITADEL by CNB