About 75 female cadets are enrolled at The Citadel this year

VIDEO CNN's Brian Cabell reports on the issue of female cadets at The Citadel today (August 30th) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

August 30, 1999
Web posted at: 11:21 p.m. EDT (0321 GMT)

In this story: Judgment could cost school millions RELATED STORIES, SITES

From Correspondent Brian Cabell

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (CNN) -- Classes begin this week at The Citadel, a military college that admitted only males for a century and a half. About 75 female cadets are enrolled this year, four years after a federal court forced the school to admit its first woman.

"Roll it back! Get your chin in! You're a freakin' knob!" Mandy Garcia screams at one new cadet.

As an upperclassman, Garcia now dishes out -- rather than receives -- the verbal abuse, or the "correction," as The Citadel prefers it.

She is tired of the media focus on women at The Citadel.

"We're already integrated, and to stress that point every year is just ridiculous," said Garcia. "Let's just get on with school."

It's not quite so simple, thanks to the case of former cadet Jeannie Mentavlos. She's suing The Citadel in federal court, alleging sexual harassment. Mentavlos says the abuse by male cadets in the fall of 1996 was constant and frightening:

Garcia, a female cadet at The Citadel, is tired of the media focus on women

"They lit two holes, one on each side of my breasts, and it burned through the T-shirt, and they gave me permission to move to put it out," said Mentavlos. "At that point, my hat was also lit on fire."

The Citadel claims Mentavlos was treated no differently from the male cadets. She concedes males were harassed as well, but not like her.

A cadet "took out all my bras and panties and said, gee, look how small her tits are, and look how big this girl's tits are," Mentavlos said.

Mentavlos and her attorneys insist authorities at The Citadel knew of the abuse but did little to stop it.

Judgment could cost school millions

The United States Supreme Court, in a recent Georgia case, ruled that a local school district was liable if school officials failed to act on reports of sexual harassment by one student against another.

In the Mentavlos case, a judgment for the plaintiff could be in the millions of dollars.

Mentavlos is suing The Citadel, alleging sexual harassment

"Unfortunately, that's the only way you gauge justice in this courtroom," Mentavlos' attorney, Dick Harpootlian, said.

Mentavlos says she just wanted The Citadel to stop the abuse and admit its negligence.

Opposing attorneys claim her motivation is money:

"I don't think this civil suit is here to rectify principle," said Sandy Senn, an attorney representing two of the male cadets accused of harassing Mentavlos."

"I mean, obviously, she's made a damage complaint, and she wants the big bucks," said Senn.

Mentavlos' former roommate, Petra Lovetinska, who's graduating this year, said Mentavlos should give up the court case and accept the fact that she just wasn't right for The Citadel.

"Well, I think she ought to let it go because obviously there was a mistake in her as opposed to the system," said Lovetinska. "Because if other females could make it through, there's no reason she couldn't have."

Lovetinska says she's enjoyed every minute of her Citadel education, even her first year.

Mentavlos' case is scheduled to go to trial in November. But at any time before then, the two sides could reach a mediated settlement, or the judge could decide to dismiss the case on its merits.

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