Recently, I learned that a female student dropped out of Virginia Military Institute. Her name was Angelica Garza.
"So, what's the big deal?" I can hear some of you ask.
To those of you who are unfamiliar with VMI, let me give you a little bit of history.
VMI was one of the last remaining all-male military institutes left in the United States.
Many of you, perhaps, are familiar with the Shannon Faulkner incident involving the Citadel.
Before Faulkner bullied her way into it — with the help of NOW, ACLU, etc., the Citadel also was one of scant remaining all-male military institutes.
Needless to say, when the Citadel caved to Faulkner's pressure, the only remaining all-male institution was VMI.
This all-male status at VMI would be quickly changed, however.
A few girls thought they wanted to be big and bad, so they followed in Faulkner's footsteps and took on VMI, hoping to make a name for themselves.
This brings us up to date.
As I stated earlier, Garza recently dropped out of VMI.
Faulkner, likewise, dropped out of the Citadel after only two weeks!
Why, pray tell, would a girl after so much effort to get into an institution, drop out?
Speculation would lead one to believe that Faulkner and Garza were simply in it to make names for themselves.
Perhaps, they woke up one morning with ambition to apply to an all-male military institute, just so they could go down in the annals of history as "great women who challenged and beat the system."
Did they, though?
Had Faulkner or Garza graduated from these institutions, then perhaps they could claim to have beaten the system.
However, the fact that they "couldn't hang with the men" demonstrates that they didn't and that there is, indeed, a reason for these institutions being all-male.
These institutions are designed for an all-male atmosphere.
Hence, the likelihood that women will thrive in that environment is quite slim.
Why did Faulkner and Garza have to apply to these particular institutions, anyway?
Certainly, they knew that the institutions were all-male.
What was the point?
Did they want to serve their country in a military sense?
Why, then, did they not apply to a military institution that accommodates women such as the U.S. Air Force Academy or West Point?
There are plenty of coed military institutions to which these women could have applied to.
Honestly, there was no good reason for them to apply to these all-male institutions.
They simply desired to make waves in society and become famous.
If they were really in it to serve their country, they would certainly not have dropped out of the institutions.
They would have gritted their teeth and endured the rigor.
There were reasons for these institutions being all-male.
The Citadel and VMI were set up so as to create men that could operate rationally in any — and I mean, any — situation.
As an all-male military institute, there is not the distraction of the opposite sex to "deter these men from their missions."
Let's face it, the college-age person is a walking hormone factory.
Obviously, the presence of a member of the opposite sex is going to create distractions in one's mind.
Thus, to eliminate these unnecessary distractions from the minds of men whose sole purpose is to serve this great country, it is necessary to set up single-sex institutions like VMI or The Citadel.
These institutions prepare men for war!
War is not a game, nor is the military an organization in which social experiments should be carried out.
When a man goes into the battlefield, it would greatly behoove him if he didn't have the distractions of the opposite sex on his mind.
His mind should be focused on one thing — pumping the enemy's guts full of lead.
It's just that simple.
Also, people often wonder why there is all this sexual harassment in the military.
Let's face it, the military is man's invention.
That is why there is a much greater percentage of men than women in the military.
It's not because of sexual discrimination.
It's simply due to the fact that not very many women are interested in the military and war games.
Now, I stated earlier that college-age people — who also make up most of the lower ranks in the military — are walking hormone factories.
Is it any wonder that when a woman shows up on the set of a male-oriented institution, there is a lot of sexual harassment?
For Pete's sake, here's a bunch of guys who see few, if any, women all day.
They're hurting for "some action."
Of course, that doesn't justify the behavior, but when that behavior occurs, it certainly shouldn't surprise anyone.
This is just something to think about.
Don't be misled into thinking that I'm against women in the military.
If a woman wants to serve her country by joining up with the military, then more power to her.
If she wants to enroll in a military academy, then by all means, let her.
However, these all-male institutions have very specific reasons for being so.
Perhaps, they will one day return to such status.
Let women go to military institutions that accommodate them, but leave the all-male institutions alone.
david roberts is an aerospace mechanical engineering senior from okmulgee.