Sunday, August 30, 1998 'THE VMI HONOR CODE STANDS STRONG' VMI PANEL UPHOLDS EXPULSIONS The cadets were drummed out after they lied about an unauthorized disciplinary system. By MICHELLE MIZAL THE ROANOKE TIMES    The Virginia Military Institute Board of Visitors voted unanimously Saturday to uphold the school's Honor Court decision to expel six cadets convicted of lying about their involvement in an unauthorized disciplinary system.     On Friday, the Board of Visitors' appeal committee listened to a four-hour closed-door presentation from lawyers representing seniors Phantamith Prompol and Donald J. Evans of Alexandria and Jason Rodriques of North Dartmouth, Mass., and freshmen Brandon Michael Crane of Evansville, Ind., Arnold Jesse Gore of Chesterfield and Terence Milton Redmond of Hockessin, Del.     The cadets were convicted by the Honor Court in May for violating VMI's honor code when they denied taking part in a "whacking" system. In the system -- officially forbidden at VMI -- freshmen were struck by their senior mentors or "dykes" with belts for "violations" such as spilled drinks and bad grades.     After the freshmen were spanked by their mentors during last year's ratline, student investigators roused all six from their beds and interrogated them, the cadets said. The cadets said investigators demanded immediate statements about the "whacking" incidents.     Initially, the six cadets denied taking part in the whacking ritual. Later, they recanted.     Under the VMI honor code, there is only one penalty for lying, cheating or stealing -- immediate expulsion.     Bernhardt "Bernie" Wruble, who helped represent the freshmen, told committee members Friday the freshmen were caught between two precious VMI systems -- the mentoring system and the honor code. Wruble said they were forced to choose between protecting their mentors and incriminating them.     "VMI created a situation where they maximized probability of not telling the truth," Wruble said Saturday.     Wruble said he referred to a passage from the VMI "rat bible" in his argument Friday. The passage reads, "You are entering a new world, a world in which your previous system of values is neither valid nor influential." Wruble used the quote to argue that the VMI system is un-American, and that the institution acknowledges that.     Attorney Bowlman T. Bowles Jr., a VMI alumnus from Richmond who represented senior Prompol, said VMI violated a longtime school tradition -- standing up for friends, not telling on them and taking the heat.     Bowles noted that Gen. George Marshall -- a Secretary of War known for his role in drafting the Marshall Plan -- did not get expelled for remaining silent when asked about a hazing incident during his freshman year.     Bowles said the Fifth Amendment rights of the seniors were violated by the investigators' midnight inquisition. In their statements, the cadets said they were told they did not have to incriminate themselves; but they would get kicked out of school if they remained silent.     The VMI educational mission is to help cadets succeed, Bowles said, "not put them in conditions where they fail."     Nevertheless, after the 16 members of the VMI Board of Visitors reviewed committee reports, they voted unanimously Saturday to let the convictions stand.     Board members had no comment on their decision. But board president Bruce Gottwald addressed the VMI honor code.     "I think this shows that the VMI honor code stands strong even though it's been questioned by every possible angle," he said.     Wruble and Bowles said they may take the case back to federal court, where they initially appealed the expulsions. U.S. District Judge James Turk previously declined to intervene before the cadets exhausted their appeals through VMI.     Although they were allowed to complete their final exams, the three seniors will not receive their VMI diplomas.     Bowles said Prompol, a computer science major, finished his exams with A's and B's and was ready to take a job in Washington D.C., with a defense firm after graduation. Now he will have to finish his degree elsewhere, Bowles said.     Wruble said only that the freshmen are looking at other schools where they can earn their degrees.     Staff writer MATT CHITTUM contributed information to this story.