Alumni and Friends of VMI:
From the "I Wish I'd Said That Department": The
following letter to the editor recently appeared in US News and
World Report. Please note the eloquent response.
US News & World Report, 4 Oct 99; Letters
HOW DISTURBED I WAS TO SEE YOUR article in the September 6 issue
about ROTC scholarships as a means of providing funds for a
college education. The education associated with ROTC is a
contradiction to the academic freedom enjoyed at university
campuses; military training on college campuses, in fact, makes a
mockery of education. Far from taking a global view of learning,
ROTC encourages narrow patriotism and a philosophy of any means
(killing people and polluting environments) to the end. The
institutionalized mistreatment of gays and lesbians in the
military and sexual harassment of women are par for the course .
KATHERINE VAN WORMER
Professor of Social Work
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, Iowa
***********************************************
Dear Professor Van Wormer,
I just finished reading your letter to the editor in U.S. News
& World Report magazine (4 Oct) and was compelled to address
your shockingly prejudiced, obviously uninformed and frankly
laughable viewpoint on ROTC and the military in general. Your
unenlightened perspective belies a reckless if not tragic
ignorance that brings disrepute upon the institution that employs
you. It is a shame you felt obliged to comment on something you
apparently know so little about. I wonder if in your extensive
research in "Social Work" you ever encountered someone
who's actually served in the armed forces? The answer goes
without saying.
Allow me to be your first. It troubles me that you must be
reminded that the academic freedom you enjoy and cherish so
dearly was purchased with the precious lives and blood of many a
noble soldier on wretched battlefields here and abroad over the
past 223 years. Do you honestly believe freedom of any sort comes
without tremendous cost? Are you so willfully naive to think
you'd enjoy the same license if you were a professor in China,
Iran, North Korea, or the Sudan?
How many young men and women have you talked to lately who spent
their Christmas holiday patrolling some godforsaken minefield
like Bosnia, or their 5th wedding anniversary in a row at sea, or
the birthday of their first daughter stopping a madman from
achieving his goal of ethnic cleansing? Tell me. Do you really
think we acknowledge a call to the profession of arms so we can
"kill people and pollute environments?" To believe such
sophomoric rubbish demands some fairly sophisticated cerebral
blinders.
I have served in the U.S. Air Force for 11 years now, flying long
hours over countless global hot spots, and I have not once
encountered a fellow solider, sailor, or airman who subscribes to
a "narrow patriotism and a philosophy of any means."
Not one. Rather, they are ladies and gentlemen of highest
caliber, selfless devotion to the cause of freedom, and tireless
service to an often-thankless nation. Your mischaracterization is
so off base it borders on unforgivable.
It would seem to me that your Department of Social Work would
have whole syllabi devoted to the role of the military in the
field of social work. I can think of no greater social service
than an institution committed to risking the lives of its members
to preserve and defend the very citizenry from which it hails.
How many oppressed refugees, disaster victims, and starving
children have been mercifully delivered from their plight by the
military in just the last decade? Need we reflect on the fact
that the whole of Western Europe owes its freedom from Nazi
fascism to a valiant few in olive drab and khaki? Perhaps you
should invite a concentration camp survivor or a Kosovar Albanian
to give a guest lecture extolling the magnificent "social
services" they've benefited from at the hands of the
military.
Finally, I find it humorous that academics like yourselves who
indoctrinate our youth with the dogma of "positive
tolerance" for every aberrant lifestyle cannot find it
within yourselves to tolerate aninstitution to which you owe your
very peace, comfort, and well being. It is an amusing double
standard. My exhortation to you is to get out of th rarified air
in your office, walk over to your ROTC detachment in LangHall and
interact with the men and women in uniform and those aspiring to
wear it. Perhaps then you will wake up from your slumber of
conscious ignorance, join the ranks of the enlightened, and offer
a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the freedoms you take for
granted and those who sacrifice daily on your behalf to secure
it.
In Service To You,
Capt Jonathan Clough
Citadel Sex Bias Suit To Go Forward
.c The Associated Press
By JENNIFER HOLLAND
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A judge has ruled that The Citadel can be
held liable if it is proven that five former students harassed a
female cadet at the state-supported military college.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Anderson ruled Tuesday that The
Citadel can be tried for sexual discrimination since schools that
receive federal funds can be sued under Title IX if one student
sexually harasses another.
Jeanie Mentavlos, one of four women admitted to the formerly
all-male school in 1996, sued five former cadets, alleging she
was hazed and harassed before she dropped out after one semester.
Mentavlos, of Charlotte, N.C., also alleges that Citadel
officials violated her civil rights by failing to act against
male upperclassmen who were hostile about the admission of women.
The judge dismissed about half of her 34 complaints and ruled
that the former cadets should be tried separately from the
school. Anderson said there was evidence The Citadel may have
covered up the allegations, but did not say what that evidence
was.
The former cadets are scheduled to go to trial first, on Nov. 12.
Anderson said he does not want testimony from The Citadel to
taint the jury's decision against the men.
``The cadets had nothing to do with the cover-up by the school,''
he said. Anderson said he will make a written decision on claims
against the school pending the outcome of the former cadets'
trial.
The lawsuit claims Ms. Mentavlos suffered ``insults, indignities,
physical assault and humiliating treatment which went far beyond
any need to toughen, strengthen or acclimate plaintiff to the
rigors of military discipline.''
Attorney Dawes Cooke, who represents The Citadel, said Mentavlos
has presented ``a shotgun blast of numerous types of things.''
But Mentavlos' attorney, Dick Harpootlian, said he can prove a
pattern of harassment that the school did nothing to stop.
``The Citadel cadets prey on those who are different,''
Harpootlian said. ``Everything that was done was not because she
couldn't cut it, it's because she was a woman.''
Mentavlos, who graduated from Queens College in Charlotte, N.C.,
and is teaching sixth grade, had said earlier she looked forward
to a jury trial, but referred comment to her attorney after
Tuesday's hearing.
Shannon Faulkner became the first female cadet when she entered
The Citadel under a court order in 1995. She dropped out after
less than a week, citing the stress of the court fight and her
isolation in the corps.
Kim Messer, another female cadet admitted with Mentavlos in 1996,
settled a lawsuit against The Citadel last year for $33,750. In
May, Nancy Mace became The Citadel's first female graduate.
Meanwhile, the second beating incident at The Citadel in a week
has resulted in an injured cadet leaving the military school
Tuesday with 14 stitches over one eye and an injured head.
Another incident this month led to aggravated assault and battery
charges against James Edward Trabert, 23, of Bellefontaine, Ohio,
court documents said.
According to affidavits filed by four alleged victims , Trabert
allegedly punched them in the ribs and kidneys, slapped in their
face and hit them with a broom. Two were burned with a cigarette,
one on his back, the other on his hand.
VMI Through the Eyes of Others: I believe the
e-mail from a Plebe at the US Naval Academy speaks volumes about
the Institute.
Hi guys thought I'd pass on this an e-mail I got from my daughter
who is currently a plebe (Class of 2003) at the U.S. Naval
Academy. Its good to see "The I" get good press from
someone who is on the "inside". Sure made me proud to
be a part of VMI! {Well, I certainly hope that she's just a
little bit prejudiced.}
Check six!
JB
Dad-
I just want to tell you how impressed I was with a VMI cadet out
here today. I went to part of the Corbin seminar, which brings
students from each service academy plus VMI and the Citadel to
compare ideas, etc. During this session, one got up from each
school and gave us a run-down of privelages and anything else
they felt the rest of us should know. (It made me glad to be
where I am--Navy's the best!)
Anyway, a guy got up from VMI, and instead of going on and on
about how easy or hard his school was, the first words out of his
mouth were, "The most important thing at my school, above
anything else, is the Honor Concept." The room went
absolutely silent. No more chattering or snickering like there
were for the other speakers; complete silence. He was taken
seriously right away. He talked about that for a little bit, then
went on about the dyke system and some traditions, but he wasn't
bragging about how hard it was--he was stating the facts, and we
were all impressed. He "done good" representing ya'll.
Just thought you should know.
Love,
Trier
"Bone"
Recruiting Tip: Last night our local alumni chapter (Western Pa.) hosted a recruiting reception in Pittsburgh. Our program includes remarks by members of the Corps, the Alumni Association, various alumni, etc. However, one thing that has proven particularly effective is to have a VMI mom offer her remarks. We have moms of current or recently graduated cadets speak about their experiences as a VMI mom. The mom's don't pull any punches and they tell it like it is. They speak of anxious moments and worry and getting adjusted to the VMI terminology and traditions. What's really impressive is the uncontainable pride that they exhibit when offering their insights. For those planning recruiting receptions, you may want to include a VMI mom on your agenda. The impact is incredible.
VMI Class Rings: In attendance at our abovementioned recruiting reception were two second classmen. They have their Ring Figure coming up and I asked them about the size of the class rings. They indicated that the rings could be as big as 40 pennyweight. Now that's a chunk of metal. Smaller sizes are also available upon request.
The VMI Rugby Connection:
Huge Splash Across the Pond
Would-be NFL tight end Dan Lyle has taken up a new game -- and
reinvented it
Click here for more on this story
Posted: Tuesday September 28, 1999 08:58 AM
Lyle found the perfect outlet for his athletic skills. Jamie
McDonald/Allsport
By Grant Wahl
The son of a two-star Army general, Dan Lyle wants it known that
he loves his country, he really does. It's just that, by choosing
obscurity in England over glitz in the States -- the Bath Rugby
Club over the Minnesota Vikings -- Lyle surely violated some law
dating back to the Revolutionary War. "All my friends were
saying, Go to Minnesota, you idiot!" says Lyle, who weighed
simultaneous offers from the two teams in 1996. "But some of
the best experiences of my life had been in rugby, and one reason
I left football in the first place was that the turnover is so
high and the guarantees are so low. I finally decided if you
enjoy what you're doing, why spoil a good thing?"
Lyle told the NFL to take a hike, and three years later, on the
eve of next month's Rugby World Cup, he's the first American to
be considered among the best players on the planet. So smitten
with him is the London Sunday Times that last year it named Lyle,
28, to its World 15 international all-star team. "For a big
guy he has absolutely staggering athleticism, and his dexterity
with the ball is amazing," says Stephen Jones, the Times's
rugby correspondent since 1983. "He's probably one of the
most extraordinary players I've ever seen."
How could this happen? How in just five years could a part-time
Bennigan's waiter and aspiring NFL tight end take up rugby, sign
with the world's most storied club and redefine the number 8
flanker position? What's more, if Lyle could do it, how good
would the U.S. be if other talented football players -- Barry
Sanders, we know you're listening -- followed Lyle to the field
where sissydom is defined by helmets and pads?
In England, where the 6'4", 245-pound Lyle is both a marvel
and a Marvel Comics character (CAPTAIN AMERICA! screamed one
tabloid), his secret is simple. He combines the skills developed
in common American sports -- football, basketball and soccer --
with a blessed disregard for English stuffiness. Take kickoffs.
While most rugby teams allow their opponents to catch kickoffs,
Lyle barrels downfield and leaps for his own team's hanging boot
as though he were Jerry Rice. "Dan is universally regarded
as the greatest regatherer of kicks in the U.K.," says
Jones. Take pitches. Three or four times a match he will toss a
behind-the-back or over-the-head pass à la Larry Bird,
astounding the Brits. "To me it's a natural thing, but
they're so traditional," Lyle says. "They had never
really been exposed to Americans playing their sport, and they
didn't know how to react."
Add to that flair a soccer sweeper's defensive vision, a running
back's ability to break tackles and a basketball forward's 36
1/2-inch vertical leap (the better to catch line-outs, rugby's
inbounds play), and it's easy to understand why U.S. coach and
general manager Jack Clark says, "Athletically, Dan is a bit
of a freak."
Freakish is probably the best way to describe Lyle's rise through
the rugby ranks. It began in spring 1993, when he was living
outside Washington, working as a waiter and hoping for a call
from an NFL team. Lyle had gone undrafted despite his success at
Virginia Military Institute, where he was the third-leading
receiver in school history. On a lark one weekend his cousin Mark
Casey invited Lyle to play a match with the Washington Rugby Club
in Kenilworth Park. "It was the greatest thrill of my
life," Lyle says. "Here was a combination of every
sport I'd ever played, a sport that was all about attacking. In
college I had been a receiver on a wishbone offense, so I caught
only 30 balls a year. Now I could go get the ball."
It wasn't long before Clark, who lives in Berkeley, Calif., heard
the buzz about the football player who was terrorizing the D.C.
rugby scene on weekends. At a club tournament in Hartford that
summer, Clark met Lyle for the first time. "Word had gotten
out that I was looking for athletes who didn't necessarily have
much rugby experience," Clark says. "Dan looked very
much the business. His hands were twice the size of a normal
man's, and his body was clearly NFL material."
Without even seeing Lyle play, Clark invited him to the next U.S.
training camp in Riverside, Calif., where Lyle's first attempt at
catching a kickoff made his coach's jaw drop, cartoonlike, to the
turf. "On kickoffs you need to have great timing, sprinter's
speed and flypaper hands," says Clark. "Well, the first
time Dan ran down a kickoff he was better at it than anyone else
in the world. He didn't know anything else about what to do out
there, but it didn't matter. We could teach him all that."
After a couple of failed tryouts with the Washington Redskins,
Lyle began traveling with the national team, moved to Aspen,
Colo. (rugby's summer hotbed), and in October 1994 -- just 14
months after taking up the sport -- earned man-of-the-match
honors in his first game for the U.S., against Ireland. He won
them again in his second appearance as the Americans beat Canada
on the road for the first time, 15-14. In May 1996, he approached
a scout from Bath who had come to look at one of his U.S.
teammates. "I went up to him and said, 'I'll be the biggest,
strongest, fastest flanker you've ever had,'" Lyle says.
"You know, the whole Jack Nicholson thing. You want me on
that wall. You need me on that wall."
Rugby had just gone professional in England, and Bath, the
six-time national champion, took a look at the cocky American and
made him an offer: one year, $52,000, no guarantees. At the same
time the Vikings had another deal on the table: one year,
$116,000 base, no guarantees. As Lyle pondered his decision for a
month, Minnesota grew impatient. He had to choose, and he picked
Bath.
At Bath, Lyle's learning curve was "exponential, almost
inverted," he says. He was man of the match in his
first-team debut, a nationally televised showdown against rival
Harlequins, and soon took over as the starting number 8, a
position right behind the scrum that demands the skills of both a
fullback and a middle linebacker. At the end of the 1996-97
season he was named the English Premiership's newcomer of the
year and one of five finalists for player of the year. That was
nothing, though, compared with the following season, when Lyle
led Bath to a 19-18 victory over the French club Brive in the
European championship before 50,000 fans in Bordeaux, France.
Lyle's astonishing rugby feats have spawned wild-eyed conjecture
among the sport's American fans: What if more football players
took up rugby? "They all say overseas that whenever we take
this game seriously, we'll beat everyone, and it's true,"
says Lyle. "If I could get some All-Pros and train them in
rugby, we'd go out and kick ass. Hell, I'll take all those guys
who were second-team All-SEC but didn't make the NFL, guys who
don't want to work for $25,000 a year at Kmart when they could be
full-time athletes making $100,000, playing a sport that's pretty
damn fun."
That said, he won't have them for the five-week-long Rugby World
Cup, the world's third-most-watched sporting event (behind
soccer's World Cup and the Olympics). Besides Lyle, the only U.S.
player who was a football standout is French-born flanker Richard
Tardits, who became the alltime sack leader at Georgia and had a
four-year NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals and the New
England Patriots. Despite a recent 106-8 loss to England, the
Americans are optimistic. Ranked 17th in the world, they have
upset Canada, Fiji and Tonga this year, a remarkable feat for a
World Cup team that doesn't field an entire lineup of
professional players. (The unpaid players on the U.S. roster
include two landscapers, a substitute teacher, a miner and a
chiropractor.)
The Yanks have gone 1-5 in their two World Cup appearances, in
1987 and '91, and if they are to fulfill their goal of reaching
the second round this year, they'll almost certainly have to win
twice: against Ireland in their Oct. 2 opener -- in Dublin -- and
against Romania. (The Eagles' other opponent in the first-round
round-robin is Australia, a tournament favorite.) "We're
playing against guys who've played the game since they were five
and have every resource," says Lyle. "We don't have
that, but we do have a great will."
They also have a transcendent player, one who's making from
$200,000 to $250,000 a year and has no regrets about dissing the
NFL. "No one's going to offer me a million dollars to play
American football, and I'd never give up the experiences I've had
in rugby," says Lyle. Besides, he has at least two World
Cups in his future, and he points out that rugby may reappear in
the 2004 Olympics after an 80-year hiatus. "Did you know
we're the reigning Olympic champions?" he says. "Paris,
1924. I'll bet nobody in America knows that."
Nobody in America knows Dan Lyle, either. The way he's taking
over his new sport, that may be about to change.
"The first time Dan ran down a kickoff," says Clark,
"he was better at it than anyone in the world."
That's it for this week.
Yours in the Spirit,
RB Lane '75
Last Updated: October 11, 2009
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