5th woman, 42nd man leave VMI

A fifth female "rat" left the ranks of Virginia Military Institute's first coed class Tuesday, the first to leave voluntarily since Sept.1.

    Twenty-five female rats remain at the school.

    Public Relations Director Mike Strickler would not say why the Northern Virginia woman left, but said it was not because of any particular incident or unusual circumstance. She was being processed out of the institute Tuesday, with plans to leave with her parents.

    The same day, another male rat announced plans to leave, bringing the total number of men to quit the "ratline" to 42.

    This year's attrition rate of 10.2 percent is slightly lower than this time last year, when it reached 10.9 percent, Strickler said.

    The last woman to leave VMI was Angelica Garza of Fort Belvoir, who was suspended Sept.9 for two semesters after being accused of punching an upperclassman.