Applications from women flood VMI

   More than 3,200 women have already inquired about becoming members of Virginia Military Institute's second coed freshman class, the class of 2002, according to the latest quarterly report VMI filed in U.S. District Court.

    That just about doubles the number of inquiries from women for the current freshman "rat mass" at VMI. About 8,850 men have inquired about going to VMI next year, the report said. A total of 10,488 men inquired last year.

    VMI officials have said for several months that one benefit of the media attention regarding the school's transition to coeducation is a larger applicant pool.

    VMI is under a court order to update the court every three months on its progress in assimilating women into the corps of cadets. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 1996 that VMI could not be both state-supported and all-male.

    The 10-page report contained little information that has not been released before, save for a sentence noting that classroom desks at the institute were resurfaced during the summer to hide offensive graffiti.