The Citadel Ordered to Admit Woman to All-Male Cadet Corps

A federal judge Friday ordered a woman admitted to the all-male corps of cadets at The Citadel.

U.S. District Judge C. Weston Houck’s order would make Shannon Faulkner the first woman to take part in full military training in the school’s 151-year history.

The judge said the state school must admit Faulkner immediately, then develop plans for accommodating other women who want a military education. He gave the state until the fall of 1995 to implement that plan.

The state has suggested it might create a parallel program for women at another school, similar to what Virginia has done in a case challenging the Virginia Military Institute’s all-male policy.

Houck’s ruling followed a 10-day trial in May of Faulkner’s sex-discrimination lawsuit against the school. The Citadel and VMI are the only two state-supported all-male schools in the nation.

Faulkner, 19, applied to The Citadel last year after asking her high school guidance counselor to delete references to her sex on her transcript. The college accepted her, then rejected her upon learning she is a woman.

Faulkner then sued.