Second female rat drops out

By MADELYN ROSENBERG
THE ROANOKE TIMES

The second of Virginia Military Institute's 30 female rats left the cadet corps Sunday night after a day of historic study and oath-taking at the New Market Battlefield.

The yearly trip to the battlefield is a VMI tradition and a chance for parents to see their children after the first intense week of training at the Lexington school.

"She left sometime after the picnic back here on the parade grounds," said Mike Strickler, head of public relations.

Two more of the school's 430 male rats also left Sunday evening, bringing the total number of dropouts to 25.

VMI's attrition rate totaled 5.4 percent for the first week, compared with 4.6 percent last year, "so there's not much difference," Strickler said. "The rate seems to be holding the line with previous years."

Technically, the two women accounted for 6.6 percent of the female rats at the institute, "but when you're dealing with low figures like that, one person is going to make the percentage jump up dramatically," Strickler said.