Wednesday, September 10, 1997 She reportedly struck upperclassman Woman 'rat' suspended from VMI No other rats have been suspended for striking upperclassmen this year, but it has not been uncommon over the years for rats to lose control. "It happens," says a VMI official. "The ratline is stressful ..." By MATT CHITTUM THE ROANOKE TIMES    One of the first female "rats" at Virginia Military Institute -- a woman from Northern Virginia -- has been suspended from the school for two semesters for striking an upperclass cadet.     VMI did not identify the woman in a news release, but Pete Garza said Tuesday night that his daughter, Angelica Garza, had been suspended. He would not reveal what caused the suspension, but said VMI handled the situation appropriately.     "VMI is a tremendous institution," he said. "They have supported Angelica tremendously."     Garza is the same woman Senior Class President Kevin Trujillo said last week had complained of being picked on and "popped off a little attitude" at an upperclassman. VMI officials would not say if that's the incident that got the woman suspended.     VMI Public Information Director Mike Strickler said the incident occurred sometime after classes began on Aug. 26, and that there is no evidence the woman was sexually harassed. Pete Garza confirmed that the altercation happened during normal ratline activities.     Angelica Garza can return to VMI next fall, but she will have to start over in the "ratline," VMI's intense freshman-training ritual.     The suspension was recommended by a committee of cadets, called the Executive Committee, which heard the case Monday evening. It was upheld by Superintendent Josiah Bunting III. The woman was off campus by Tuesday afternoon.     "I hate to lose any of our cadets, almost for any reason, but our system does not tolerate any cadet striking another," Bunting said in the news release.     Garza is a graduate of Hayfield High School in Lorton, the same school as Trujillo, who was serving as her "dyke," or upper class mentor.     As senior class president, Trujillo is chairman of the committee that heard the case. Trujillo could not be reached Tuesday.     The executive committee is made up of the president, vice president and historian of the sophomore, junior and senior classes, and the president of the Officer of the Guard Association, which investigates the charges.     The committee's purpose is to "enforce and improve the standards of appearance and conduct of the Corps of Cadets," according to the Rat Bible, which all freshman must study and practically memorize.     The Executive Committee typically handles the most serious charges made at VMI, including hazing and drunk and disorderly behavior. It has the power to recommend dismissal of a cadet.     No other rats have been suspended for striking upperclassmen this year, but it has not been uncommon over the years for rats to lose control. Suspension has become the usual penalty, Strickler said.     "It happens," he said. "The ratline is stressful ... and it's supposed to teach you how to handle stress without losing your temper."     Three other women have dropped out of the ratline of their own volition so far, along with 32 men.     Thirty women entered the ratline Aug.20. VMI waged a seven-year court battle to keep women out of the institute, but in June 1996 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-1 that the school could not be both state-supported and all-male.     After the board of visitors voted the following September to go coed, VMI launched a detailed plan to assimilate women into the corps of cadets, hoping to do so without incident.     The formerly all-male Citadel in South Carolina admitted four women last fall, but has endured a public relations nightmare since two of them left amid allegations they were sexually harassed and had their clothes set on fire by upperclassmen.     The assimilation of women at VMI, though, has so far been touted as smooth and successful.     "We knew there were going to be some bumps in the road, but this is an unusual one," Strickler said. "This may have been one that I didn't necessarily think about."