THERE ARE THREE MAIN TOPICS THAT I WILL TALK ABOUT THIS AFTERNOON: THEY ARE 1. BACKGROUND ON SHANNON FAULKNERS ADMISSION 2. THE LEGAL BATTLE 3. THE FUTURE OF THE CITADEL OK LETS GET STARTED… IN JANUARY 1993 SHANNON FAULKNER, AN 18 YEAR OLD SENIOR AT WREN HIGH SCHOOL IN SOUTH CAROLINA APPLIED FOR ADMISSION TO THE CITADEL, THEN A 150 YEAR OLD ALL MALE INSTITUTE.
SHANNON KNEW THE CITADEL WOULDN’T ACCEPT HER AS A FEMALE BUT WANTED TO SEE IF SHE MET ALL THE OTHER QUALIFICATIONS. SHANNON ASKED WREN HIGH SCHOOL OFFICIALS TO DELETE ALL PARTS OF HER TRANSCRIPTS THAT REFERRED TO HER GENDER. FAULKNER WAS A “A” STUDENT, DRUM MAJOR AND A ATHLETE AT HER SCHOOL. FURTHER SHE WANTED TO GO TO SCHOOL IN HER HOME STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. SHANNON WAS DELIGHTED WHEN ON 22 JANUARY 1993 THE CITADEL WROTE HER WITH AN ACCEPTANCE LETTER THAT SAID IN PART AND I QUOTE: “DEAR MR. FAULKNER: IT IS MY PLEASURE TO INFORM YOU THAT THE FOURTH CLASS ADMISSIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE CITADEL HAS GIVEN YOU PROVISIONAL ACCEPTANCE FOR ADMISSION.” END QUOTE…
THE PROVISIONAL ACCEPTANCE WAS PENDING THAT SHANNON FIRST GRADUATES, PROVIDE A FINAL TRANSCRIPT, PASS MEDICAL TESTING AND CONSENT TO DRUG TESTING. A SHORT 19 DAYS LATER THE CITADEL WROTE AGAIN: I QUOTE AGAIN… .” YESTERDAY WE RECEIVED INFORMATION FROM YOUR HIGH SCHOOL THAT YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR ADMISSION TO THE UNDERGRADUATE DAY PROGRAM… THE CITADEL DAY PROGRAM IS A SINGLE GENDER COLLEGE PROGRAM FOR MALES.” END QUOTE…
WITH THAT LETTER, THE LEGAL BATTLE BEGAN. NOW THAT WE ” VE DISCUSSED SHANNON FAULKNER’S ADMISSION HISTORY, LET’S DISCUSS HER LEGAL BATTLE. ONCE IT BECAME PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE THAT THE CITADEL HAD REJECTED SHANNON FAULKNER BASED ON GENDER THERE WERE NOT SHORTAGE OF LAWYERS READY TO LEND HER ASSISTANCE. FOR FREE. ONCE HER LEGAL TEAM WAS ASSEMBLED THEY CAME UP WITH A SIMPLE STRATEGY. CHALLENGE THE CITADEL A STATE RUN SCHOOL UNDER THE GROUNDS OF GENDER DISCRIMINATION BASED ON THE 14 TH AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION THAT DICTATES THAT NO SINGLE INDIVIDUAL MAY BE DENIED OPPORTUNITY ON ACCOUNT OF RACE OR SEX.
SHANNON FAULKNER WON THE FIRST BATTLE WHEN SHE WAS ADMITTED TO THE CITADEL AS A DAY STUDENT. HOWEVER SHE WAS STILL UNABLE TO JOIN THE CADET CORPS. DURING THIS TIME HER LAWYERS CONTINUED TO FIGHT HER BATTLES IN THE COURTS. IN JULY OF 1994 A FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT RULED IN HER FAVOR AND SAID SHE COULD ATTEND THE CITADEL AS A FULL FLEDGE CADET IN AUGUST OF 1994.
AN APPARENT VICTORY… HOWEVER, IN EARLY AUGUST A APPEALS COURT GRANTED THE CITADEL A STAY PENDING ARGUMENTS WHICH WOULDN’T TAKE PLACE UNTIL DECEMBER 1994… TOO LATE FOR SHANNON TO ATTEND REGULAR CLASSES. DURING THE APPEAL, THE COURTS ACCEPTED THE ARGUMENT THAT THE CITADEL’S “ADVERSATIVE” STYLE OF EDUCATION, IN WHICH MEN ARE SUBJECTED TO INTENSE PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAINING WITH NEXT TO NO PRIVACY, WOULD NOT WORK WITH FEMALES. THE STIPULATION OF THIS ARGUMENT WAS THAT THE CITADEL COULD CONTINUE TO EXCLUDE WOMEN ON THE STATE CREATED COMPARABLE PROGRAMS FOR WOMEN. AN APPARENT VICTORY FOR THE CITADEL.
THE CITADEL TRIED IN VAIN TO ESTABLISH A COMPARABLE PROGRAM AT THE ALL FEMALE CONVERSE COLLEGE BUT FAULKNERS LAWYER’S NOTED THAT THAT PROGRAM WAS NOT BASED ON THE ADVERSATIVE STYLE AND DID NOT HAVE THE CLOUT OR PRESTIGE THAT THE CITADEL HAD. THE COURTS ONCE AGAIN ORDERED THE CITADEL TO ADMIT FAULKNER. ANOTHER APPARENT VICTORY FOR FAULKNER. THE CITADEL STILL NOT WILLING TO GIVE UP. APPEALED TO THE SUPREME COURT AND ON AUGUST 11 TH 1995 THE SUPREME COURT REFUSED THE CITADELS APPEAL. THE VERY NEXT DAY FAULKNER REPORTED TO THE CITADEL A TWO YEAR PLUS LEGAL BATTLE HAD ENDED AND SHANNON FAULKNER WITH A ARMY OF MEDIA AND FOUR FEDERAL MARSHALL’S ASSIGNED TO PROTECT HER REPORTED TO THE CITADEL.
AFTER THE FIRST DAY OF TRAINING, SHANNON REPORTED TO THE INFIRMARY WITH A UNDISCLOSED AILMENT. SHE REMAINED THERE FOR ONE WEEK, FINALLY EMERGING AND ANNOUNCING SHE WAS WITHDRAWING FROM THE CORPS OF CADETS. SOME SAY SHE WAS A POOR CHOICE TO BREAK THE GENDER BARRIER BECAUSE SHE WAS OVERWEIGHT. HOWEVER, IT COULD BE ARGUED THAT IF THE CITADEL WOULD OF ACCEPTED SHANNON WHEN SHE ORIGINALLY APPLIED SHE MIGHT OF MADE IT THROUGH.
OVER TWO YEARS OF HIGHS AND LOWS, UNCERTAINTY, AND MEDIA ATTENTION HAD PUT UNBELIEVABLE PRESSURE ON SHANNON. BEFORE YOU PAST JUDGMENT ON SHANNON YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT A MAN, ARGUABLY MUCH TOUGHER THAT SHANNON ALSO HAD QUIT THE CITADEL. THIS INDIVIDUAL WAS SO TOUGH THAT HE WAS AWARDED THE MEDAL OF HONOR FOR THE INSPIRING WAY HE ENDURED NORTH VIETNAMESE TORTURE WHILE A POW DURING THE VIETNAM WAR. HIS NAME WAS ADMIRAL JIM STOCKDALE AND WAS PRESIDENT OF THE CITADEL IN 1979.
DURING HIS PRESIDENCY STOCKDALE BECAME DISGUSTED WITH THE BRUTISH AND POINTLESS HAZING. ONE EXAMPLE… CADET WHO GAVE BLOOD… ADDITIONALLY, STOCKDALE EXPELLED A CADET WHO TERRORIZED THE BARRACKS WITH A PISTOL… BUT HE WAS OVERRULED BY HIS BOARD… DISGUSTED…
HE QUIT IN 1980. SHANNON FAULKNERS TWO YEARS OF FIGHTING HAS PAVED THE WAY FOR OTHER WOMEN TO ATTEND THE CITADEL. CURRENTLY THERE ARE FOUR WOMEN WITH THIS YEARS CLASS AND VIRGINIA MILITARY ACADEMY, THE COUNTRY’S ONLY OTHER ALL MALE STATE SUPPORTED SCHOOL PLANS TO ADMIT 30 FEMALES WITH NEXT YEAR’S CLASS. OK LETS SUMMARIZE… IN CONCLUSION, THE CITADEL COULD OF SAVED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS AND MUCH EMBARRASSMENT IF THEY HAD ADMITTED SHANNON FAULKNER WHEN SHE ORIGINALLY APPLIED. SHANNON FAULKNER MIGHT BE REMEMBERED BY SOME AS A FAILURE, BUT FOR ME AND THE MANY WOMEN THAT WILL FOLLOW IN HER FOOTSTEPS SHE, LIKE JIM STOCKDALE, IS A HERO…
THANK YOU.