Rejecting the Citadel

SF Sate student let down by fraternity atmoshere

When The Citadel's first woman cadet Shannon Faulkner left the academy in August, she got on national television. When Chris Land left two weeks later, he got on a bus.

Disappointed by The Citadel's intimidating, immature student-leaders and unchallenging instructors, Land silently slipped away from the academy. Unlike news reports of Faulkner's possible return, he won't go back.

"If a person jumped out of a house that was on fire, you could say he wasn't tough enough to withstand the fire, or you could say he was smart enough to get out," he said.

Having spent two years in the Army Reserve, he said The Citadel is more like a college fraternity than a military academy.

"The things they said were disgusting -- they broke brooms in front of people's faces, broke windows, kicked in doors, breaking them off their hinges, and would punch in walls behind people, just missing their faces," he said.

Land, 20, had been accepted to the South Carolina military academy after high school, but decided to stay in his home state and attend SF State instead. A year later, however, he enrolled in The Citadel. After three weeks, he was back in the SF State dorms. A criminal justice major, Land wants to go into federal law enforcement. The respect and order in the military appeal to him, he said. The chaos he saw at The Citadel doesn't.

"The old Marine film, "Full Metal Jacket," that would be a good example of what Citadel is like."

Land said there's a big difference between the real military and The Citadel. He said knobs (first-year cadets named for their shaved heads) are not shown respect until their first year is over.

"In the Army, you have basic training for eight weeks and that's the closest you get to being a knob, and it's hard. Once it's over, you're a solider and you're given the respect of a solider," he said.

As a chubby, unconfident teenager, Land was empowered by military values when he attended a 5-week aviation camp the summer before high school. At the camp he learned to fly airplanes and realized the importance of physical fitness.

For the past 5 years he has participated in a similar program, the Civil Air Patrol. The U.S. Air Force auxiliary holds summer basic training camps and ongoing aviation instruction.

As a Cadet Major for CAP, Land said he tries to be the leader he expected to have at The Citadel, using teamwork -- not intimidation.

"We improve leadership abilities, enhance the personalities and the character of people, expose them to aerospace education, and prepare them for military careers," he said.

His girlfriend, Amy Simpson, is also a leader in CAP. It was she he called when he knew he wanted to come home.

When Land told her about the hazing mentality of "hell week," the first week of training, Simpson said she knew he could handle it. But the practices of hell week never ended, he told her.

He complained to her that the many dining hall rituals allowed only 10 minutes to eat, even though an hour was allotted.

For example, knobs had to serve upperclassmen first. Once a knob had his food, he would have to sit at attention, putting down utensils between each bite. At the same time, officers asked them questions, which knobs had to answer without their mouths full, he told her.

"Chris is 6 foot 4," Simpson said. "In three weeks he lost 4 inches off of his waist -- and he was in good shape when he got there."

Although the academy was rated third among Southern colleges by a 1994 U.S. News & World Report survey, Land said he learned more at SF State.

SF State criminal justice instructors changed the way he thought about the law. The Citadel didn't.

"At The Citadel, when I studied political science I was taught 'this is the system of law, this is what power is, government is power.' Here (at SF State) we ask, 'Is government power? Is government authority? What is authority?' Here, we question the assumptions The Citadel teachers gave you," he said.

Stephen Hawkins, spokesman for The Citadel and recent graduate, said those who leave The Citadel often come up with excuses.

"A lot of people quit because it's tough, so they have to justify why they quit," he said. "I graduated in 1993, and most of my instructors went to Ivy League schools. It's a top-rate faculty."

Academy records show at least 52 first-year cadets have left The Citadel since mid-August. Hawkins said the attrition rate is average, compared to the last two years.

Land's decision to leave The Citadel was supported by most of those close to him. He said that aside from an uncle in the military who thought he'd regret leaving, every other officer he looks up to in the armed services thought he did the right thing.

It may not be as easy for others to leave as it was for him, he said.

"Even some upperclassmen wanted to leave, but they didn't want to go home and face the shame," he said. "If you're from the South and you realize the school isn't providing you anything, you can't go home."

During his time at The Citadel, Land said he never came into contact with Faulkner, and cadets were ordered not to speak to her. Prior to attending the academy, he didn't think there was a legal basis for keeping women out. After arriving, he noticed that everything from the exercise routines to the communal showers were set up for men. If the college was going to keep admitting women, it would have to be restructured from top to bottom, he said.

"If it had a separate battalion set up for woman, training could continue," he said.

As soon as Faulkner left the academy, cadets were ordered to cheer and bang on tables, Land said.

What Land describes is similar to what Pat Conroy wrote in his book "Lords of Discipline." Conroy exposed The Citadel's harsh practices, racism and sexism prevalent when he was a student there more than 30 years ago. Land said nothing has changed.

"When Shannon left, we were ordered to sing a chant that usually went, 'Here we go again, same old stuff again. Walking down the avenue, nine more months until we're through.'"

However, the chant was changed in celebration of The Citadel's return to the way it was before she came, the way it wanted to be, Land said.

All were ordered to sing proudly, "Here we go again, all male again..."

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[ Golden Gater Online September 26, 1995 ]

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