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Photos by Sam Dean
The Roanoke Times
Sam Dean won the Award of Excellence in the International Pictures of the Year competition in the News Picture Story category with this entry.
After 157 years of utter and total maleness at Virginia Military Institute, the Supreme Court ruled that VMI could not be both state-supported and all-male.
On Aug. 18,1997, the first 30 women enrolled at VMI, bringing the school into compliance with the ruling.
Some said women couldn't survive the ritual abuse of the "Rat Line" training regimen, which is defined by what one administrator at the school called a brutal "intolerance of human frailty."
Others say the school will never be the same, even though most of the women made it through the ratline.
After 4 years of proving themselves, VMI's first class of female cadets graduated May 18, 2001.
In these pictures you'll see:
Cadets Melissa Williams (left) and Kelly Sullivan clown around as they pose for a class picture.
The crudely made signs segregated the genders in the barracks.
Senior Angela Winters' dress uniform is touched up by a junior cadet before one of her final parades.
Erin Claunch, the second-highest ranked cadet, revived the institute's equestrian club.
The female cadets worked out, ate the same chow and survived with their "brother rats."
We also see Rachel Love in parade dress with other cadets. As she fixed her hair as any college woman might anywhere, she had to be sure it also complied with VMI standards.
The 13 women found themselves the center of media attention during most of their years at VMI.
But in the end, the hugs and camaraderie show that real bonds were forged as the deep chasms were crossed.
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