Vmi Woman Feels Picked On

At least one of the women in Virginia Military Institute’s first coed class has complained about being singled out for unfair treatment.

Senior Class President Kevin Trujillo said Saturday the woman felt she was being picked on by the cadre, the upperclassmen who train the freshman class known as “rats.”

The woman, who was not identified, plans to stay at VMI, Trujillo said.

One other woman has been called before the Rat Disciplinary Committee. Trujillo said Angelica Garza of Fort Belvoir “popped off a little attitude with an upperclassman.” Her penalty will be calisthenics.

Except for a few members of the bellowing training cadre who “got a little hot” and had to be told to back off from yelling at the freshmen, no inappropriate behavior toward females has occurred, Trujillo said.

The 158-year-old school chose to go coed after a 1996 Supreme Court ruling that it could not be both state-supported and all-male.

As of Sunday, two of 30 women have dropped out since arriving on campus last month. Twenty-seven men also dropped out.