Editor:
I frankly think that Denise Frank (³Faulkner broke spirit of all women, Aug. 29) has absolutely no idea what spirit is. Shannon Faulkner won a battle against injustice when she was finally accepted (albeit unusually) into the Citadel, she opened the doors of, as Ms. Frank puts it, ³the Billionaire Boys Club,² but during her first week there, she passed out from exhaustion and spent most of her time in the infirmary, and then she withdrew from the Citadel.
These are the facts. However, Ms. Frank has completely ³dissed² Shannon Faulkner for not being ³prepared.² First of all, what the hell would you know about military life Ms. Frank? I got a firsthand experience in military life when I was in ROTC last semester. Although ROTC here on campus is not as hard as it is at the Citadel, it certainly makes me more an expert on writing a column about Shannon Faulkner than you. Like Shannon Faulkner, I withdrew from ROTC because I discovered it was not what I wanted to do with my life. Should I be considered ill-prepared as well?
The truth is Shannon Faulkner wanted to have the chance to get into the school she wanted to go to, not unlike every high school senior who goes to college, but unlike most colleges and military schools, the Citadel doesnıt have an affirmative action policy (which is another editorial). Shannon Faulkner finally got into that school, after many legal battles, and then discovered that life in the military was not what she had thought it was, like many college freshman find out college life isnıt for them.
Shannon Faulkner had to go through extreme physical harships (which most cadets at the Citadel were already used to, making an unfair disadvantage for her) and the feeling of being all alone, with no one to talk to, and enemies all around her. Have you ever been in that position Ms. Frank? If the answer is no, then you donıt have the right to criticize Shannon Faulkner for hacking it at the Citadel. Shannon Faulkner should be praised for trying, not remembered for failing, and if that is all Ms. Frank can remember, than she doesnıt have a clue as to what spirit is.
Melissa Meister
Molecular and Cellular Biology
Sophomore