Professors,studentsdiscusswomeninmilitary

by Paul Moser assistant sports editor

Women in the military: Is it a contradiction in terms? Some people seem to think so.

"I have some biases of women going into the military, but I think they should be treated equally" Kevin Mitchell, a firstyear-student, said.

A panel of professors met on Tuesday, Feb. 18, to discuss whether ot not women should be allowed to serve in every facet of the military.

The panelists in the open forum, which was held in the Grace Hall board room, were Dr. Jolyon Girard, political science department chair; Janet Lohmann, professor of sociology; and Dr. Sharon Schwarze, professor of philosophy.

The issue of women serving in the military has been a heated topic for years but the recent hazing incidents at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina have created more attention to what could be a neverending debate.

Cabrini College held a discussion to try to find some answers. Among the topics tackled were sexual harassment, women in combat and the Citadel.

There were many different thoughts on the issues.

The argument from many different men in the military is that do not have the physical ability to perform in hand to hand combat.

As Girard stated "Even with all the technical advances today, physical combat is the most physically and emotionally draining thing that someone can experience."

The way in which the Citadel made the institute co-ed also came to question. According to Lohmann, "The Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland made it a point to make 15 percent of its incoming first-year students female as opposed to the Citadel which only accepted four in its first year class."

The situation that occurred at the hazing at the Citadel forced two of the four women to transfer and has 11 cadets under investigation for the hazing.

Many feel that the Naval Academy has the correct solution for integrating women into these institutions.The issue of sexual harassment in the military has not been answered.

Recently the highest ranking soldier in the military, Sergeant Major Gene C. McKinney, was put on suspension for his activities in a sexual harassment charge.

One of the most thought provoking subjects was the issue of our country's perception of women in the military. Girard asked, "What would happen if half the amount of casualties killed in battle were women, do you think that we would accept those casualties?"

The general answer was that as a society we are more apt to see men die in combat. Therefore, we as a society would be affected more if a female were to die in combat as opposed to a male.

The debate did not succeed in finding conclusions to the topic of women in the military. However, it gave many possible solutions.