[IMC-US] a victory in virginia

[muna rva imc]

I just wanted to report a small victory for Indymedia. A couple months ago,
Richmond Indymedia ran with a story posted by an anonymous user featuring
photos of Virginia Military Institute cadets dressed up as Nazis, in
head-to-toe blackface, and mocking homosexuals.

Thanks to the entire Indymedia network and the resource of Indymedia in the
first place, this received national attention. And now the cadets have been
punished (albeit minimally), and issues involved pushed to high level of
scrutiny. You may have seen word of it on CNN's newsticker, seen it on a
regional TV afflilate, or read about it in one of the national papers... Below
is the local joke of a major paper's report.

Thanks, everyone.

X,
M.

5 VMI cadets punished
Objectionable costumes worn to Halloween party lead to civility training, other
steps
BY CALVIN R. TRICE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Friday, March 4, 2005

Virginia Military Institute punished five upperclassmen cadets with 1,000-word
essays, penalty tours and dorm confinement for wearing insensitive or
stereotyped Halloween costumes, the school said in a release.

The incident also led to civility training sessions conducted for the entire
1,300-member cadet corps, a school spokesman said.

The penalties followed a student-led investigation into photographs from a party
on campus that were posted on the Internet in January.

They showed one student dressed as a Nazi, another in blackface as an apparent
starving African and two winged fairies in pink lampooning homosexuals. Some
400 VMI students participated in the Oct. 31 costume party in the Barracks.

Publication of the pictures and national media coverage put the school in what
Superintendent J.H. Binford "Binnie" Peay III called "a poor light," VMI said
in a release.

The posting led to an investigation by the Officer of the Guard Association, a
cadet body that probes misconduct. The student General Committee then
recommended penalties to the administration, which reviewed them last week and
approved them, the school said.

VMI did not release the names of the cadets punished.

The essays, confinement and penalty tours -- walking for 50 minutes with a rifle
were the range of punishments given the upperclassmen, VMI said.

The written assignments were on the detrimental impact the cadets' actions had
on the institute. Cadets punished with Barracks confinement must remain in the
spartan dorm area when not attending academic or official duties for up to two
weeks. The school required as many as 25 of the mind-numbing walking tours for
offenders, the school said.

Seven freshman "rats" who were also investigated were not punished, but were
lectured by cadet leaders and attended training sessions on civility and
nondiscrimination required for the student body, said school spokesman Stewart
MacInnis.

The special training is in line with a wide range of civility instruction taking
place at the school. The corps will undergo another round of civility training
that was planned before the incident, MacInnis said.

"It's an ideal time to give them this training. They understand why they're
getting it, now," he said.

The civility training uses cadet leaders, institute personnel and outside
experts to address matters such as respect for others. The program also deals
with inappropriate behavior publicized at other colleges and universities, the
school said.

Peay said in a statement that the punishments were appropriate and commended the
students who handled the investigation.

"While this incident is regrettable, it has gained the attention of the cadets,"
the superintendent said. "We are taking advantage of this opportunity to
reinforce the principles of respect and civility that our cadets must learn if
they are to become truly effective leaders."