2017-08-15

The Citadel and Shannon Faulkner

The Late Pat Conroy and Shannon Faulkner
Trailblazers often catch a lot of flack. When you become "the first" at anything there is likely to be resistance and various forms of impedence ... particularly when you encroach of institutions of one kind or another.

Such was the unsuccessful advent of Shannon Faulkner as first female in the corps of cadets at The Citadel. Her adventure in bucking the system began while I was with Bechtel as a support analyst learning the true meaning of "valuelessness" and ended for all practical intents and purposes for about a week prior to the advent of preparation for the litigation which was to follow.

Yes, on this day in 1995, Shannon Faulkner joined the corps of cadets at The Citadel. Having won a legal battle to enroll she completed about 4 hours of military training before reporting to the infirmary where she stayed for the rest of the week. She rsigned afterwards claiming psychological and emotional abuse in conjunction with physical exhaustion.

There was a celebration by the remainder of the corps of cadets upon her departure.

An interview two years later with a prominent Charleston newspaper stated that her departure was precipitated by threats to kill her parents by a person present on her first day.

Author Pat Conroy provided her with funding for her education upon her departure from The Citadel. She became a middle school teacher and The Citadel has graduated hundreds of female cadets since she was run off by that relentless raging fury that slathers itself upon those considered outcasts from the that cadre known as The Military College of South Carolina.