Female Cadets Adjusting Well at VMI

Erin Claunch is proof that women can do what men can do--sometimes even better.

Three years after she and several other women broke gender barriers at Virginia Military Institute, Claunch has risen to battalion commander, the second-highest student military post.

“I just wanted to blend in and be a good cadet,” said Claunch, 20, who will lead half of the 1,200-member cadet corps during her senior year this fall.

The assimilation of women, who first enrolled at VMI in 1997 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the school’s all-male policy unconstitutional, appears to be going smoothly. Last month, a federal judge said he is inclined to close the 10-year-old case that forced VMI to admit women.

On her way up the ranks, the 5-foot-4, 125-pound Claunch even outperformed men on the school’s stringent physical fitness requirements.

“Not a day goes by that you don’t read something about how there should be changes in certain standards for men and women,” VMI Supt. Josiah Bunting III said. “But this young woman and the others in her class said, ‘Judge us as cadets and recognize us if we achieve on your system.’ And she has.”

Under an agreement between VMI and the U.S. Justice Department, the school would file more extensive reports on its transition to coeducation through May 2001, after which U.S. District Judge Jackson Kiser would dismiss the case.

Today, there are 53 women among the 1,200 cadets at VMI, less than 5% of the student body. All four of the school’s classes will be coeducational for the first time this fall.

Ebony McElroy of San Diego, who entered VMI with Claunch, said she was surprised a woman climbed the ranks so quickly. But she wasn’t surprised it was Claunch.

“She’s an all-around nice person, who’s not opposed to helping out if anybody needs it,” McElroy said.

There have been a few problems, including instances in which male and female cadets were caught in compromising situations. And in 1997, VMI’s highest-ranking cadet, Jerry B. Webb II of Casper, Wyo., was expelled after being accused of demanding sex from three female cadets.

Claunch said she’s never experienced sexual harassment or discrimination but admits rumors of the torturous first year at VMI made her nervous.

VMI freshmen endure a harsh system of discipline to test their physical, mental and emotional limits. Every year, several freshmen cadets leave VMI. Six of the 29 women who enrolled with Claunch quit during their first year.

Claunch plans to use her new leadership post to help women improve their performance on physical fitness tests by organizing early morning workout groups.