THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 30, 1996 TAG: 9609280010
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 27 lines
Sept. 21, 1996, will forever be a dark day in Virginia's legacy. When the Virginia Military Institute board voted to admit women they perpetuated the systematic destruction of the single-gender education option by a minority group with a majority voice. The last, greatest military school has fallen victim to the whim of a vicious few.
What is their point, exactly? If they want a military-style education, women can attend virtually any military school in America. So that's not it. Well, some profess to want the same ``VMI experience'' the men endure. With the very first inevitable change, regardless how small, the very experience they're after will die.
Does anyone out there really believe that any graduate of VMI would stand up and wholeheartedly applaud this decision? Stonewall Jackson, perhaps? Hardly. No, our greatest loss is the heart and soul of the institute. It is forever changed, its foundation shaken.
Congratulations to the graduating class of 1996. You are the very last of the very best.
CYNTHIA R. MANN
Gloucester, Sept. 21, 1996 by CNB