VMI Update: Gender and the Virginia Military Institute

Of the 1,500 cadets on the campus of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) this fall, only 126 are women - - - a dozen years after the United States Supreme Court, in its landmark opinion United States v. Virginia, ordered VMI to change its male only admission policy.

Yet the small number of female cadets is not the reason that the VMI is again subject to a federal investigation, although the small number may be a contributing factor.  

According to a report in The Roanoke Times in August:

A copy of the complaint -- obtained by The Roanoke Times through a Freedom of Information Act request -- sheds little light on the complainant's identity. Large portions of the document were redacted. Among the few readable sentences: "The language and terminology that is used and considered acceptable by VMI in the barracks reflects a climate and culture that is derogatory and discriminatory toward the women that are required as cadets to live in the barracks." And: "A male VMI graduate is almost always given preferential treatment."

According to a report November 22 in The Baltimore Sun, the "ongoing investigation of a sex discrimination complaint at the small, state-supported school" has  "taken nearly a year and a half — three times longer than usual."

VMI issued a statement on its website here.

For those thinking about a forthcoming constitutional law exam, this might be worth a look.

RR

(with thanks for the tip to Jen Hogg, CUNY School of Law, class of 2012)