Citadel: Time brings change

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Graduations

Lowcountry colleges celebrating graduations Saturday included The Citadel and the College of Charleston.

Ashley Thompson didn't have any siblings at The Citadel, but she felt like she had brothers and sisters in her classmates.

It didn't matter that Thompson was female or that it's been just 10 years since the first female cadet graduated from the military college. The Citadel was a place Thompson belonged.

"(Being female) hasn't been something I was constantly reminded of," said Thompson, an Awendaw native who graduated Saturday with a degree in psychology. "The guys look at me as one of them. It's not a bad thing. We just don't care. We hang out, we go out, we talk and it's just one of those things, to me, it's not an issue."

In 1999, Nancy Mace made history by becoming the first woman to earn her diploma from the previously all-male college, and this weekend marks the 10-year anniversary of that milestone.

A total of 205 women, including the 29 who graduated this weekend, have received a Citadel diploma, and the college's female cadets make up 6 percent of the 2,100 student body.

The Citadel initially fought hard against accepting women, and even after abandoning the lawsuits, many of its alumni continued to protest the decision to allow women. Some of the school's first female cadets alleged gender discrimination and sexual harassment.

Time has passed, and many say it has brought change.

Mace's memories of her graduation remain strong, as do her ties to the institution: She has served as a district director for the school's alumni association, and she returns to campus for parades and football games.

She's seen progress since she left the Long Gray Line. More people are accustomed to the presence of women, and issues such as the size of women's class rings, hair length and uniforms have been overcome, she said.

"It's definitely different, as I think it should be," Mace, who lives in Atlanta, said by phone.

Her hope for the next decade is that the school environment will be as fair as possible to female cadets, and that any lingering aversion to women being there would be gone. There's nothing she would change about the school to welcome or encourage more women to be there because "you don't want The Citadel to bring the wrong type of women there. It takes a unique individual to want to go to a place like that, and you don't want people there for the wrong reasons."

Thompson agreed that she wouldn't change anything because she feels good about the direction the school is heading. She respects and commends Mace and other female cadets for being pioneers that enabled her to be there and say that the college has changed.

"It's on the right path," Thompson said. "The vision (the leadership) has is good, and I think it's going to change for the better."