Tuesday, August 19, 1997 Crowds see historic day being made Parents and children say goodbye to their childhood By BETTY HAYDEN SNIDER THE ROANOKE TIMES Bill Bryan and Lou Mullineaux stood out among the throngs of people - mostly parents and the media - who gathered at Virginia Military Institute Monday for the arrival of the school's first female cadets. It might have been the bright yellow pants. Both men wore the eye-catching trousers to show their VMI spirit. Bryan and Mullineaux, a pair of white-haired gents from Roanoke, wanted to see this memorable first day first-hand - even though neither of them attended the school. "It's a day in history," Bryan said. "I want to be part of history." He and Mullineaux, a longtime friend and former business partner, plan to be there for at least the first few days of this chapter in VMI's history. Mullineaux brought his camera, and like the professional photographers around him, said, "I'm looking for a photo op." His best opportunity might have come early in the afternoon at Jackson Memorial Hall where parents and friends said goodbye to the rats, a tradition Bryan didn't want to miss. "I want to see the parents let them go," Bryan said. "That's the moment." He speaks from personal experience: He let his son, Buddy, go 30 years ago, and he and his wife cried. Buddy is now vice president of the VMI Foundation. "It's awfully traumatic," said Mullineaux, who had a similar experience with his son at the Naval Academy. When he and his wife saw their son three months later, he had dropped 40 pounds. "Let's take him home," his wife urged at the time. Such drastic measures didn't seem necessary Monday as parents and cadets spent most of the day together. Many seemed upbeat and positive about the difficult transition that lies ahead. "There are no minefields, so it's safer than Bosnia," said 23-year-old Ronald Fiocca of Boston, who has some Army experience behind him. The parents did normal first-day-of-college stuff. Lots of families stopped in front of Cameron Hall to snap photos under a large "Welcome New Cadets" banner. Dads were seen carrying red plastic shopping bags from the campus bookstore. There was laughing and hugging and crying, and there was cheerleading. "We're very confident," said Kyle Muston of Novi, Mich. Her son, Brad, received a lacrosse scholarship. "We were very reassured," said Kyle's husband, Doug. "We're looking forward to four years of turning a boy into a man." Several parents had a sense of humor about what their child was about to face. "I'm not nervous," said a jovial Joe Cowan of Prince George, as his son hurried to the barracks. "He should be." Jeanie and Tom Drake of Dallas had an advantage over most of the parents because they have done this before. An older son graduated from VMI in 1990, and they are proud Christopher Drake decided to join the VMI family. Jeanie Drake philosophically opposes the admission of women, but she harbors no ill will toward the women who have enrolled. "They've taken diversity and choice away from all Americans," Drake said. "I'm all for the women who are here. I wish them well." She thinks VMI will succeed despite its initial opposition. "VMI will be the best coeducational military school there is."