Tag: Virginia Military Institute
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VMI Investigation Provides Thin Gruel for Racism Allegations
by James A. Bacon Barnes & Thornburg (B&T), the law firm hand-picked by the Northam administration as an “independent” investigator, has delivered its final report on racism and sexism at the Virginia Military Institute. The report concluded that racial and gender disparities persist in how cadets are treated at the military academy. VMI’s “culture” reinforces…
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Educate Leaders, Not Snowflakes
by Donald Smith “My generation just had thicker skin. These young kids today are getting caught in the moment. They take it more personally,” Those are the comments of Ron Carter, the first Black battalion commander at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). Carter was a star basketball player for the Keydets. He was drafted by…
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Dishonoring the Dead
by Jake Spivey Earlier this month, the Virginia Military Institute Board of Visitors voted to “expand the symbolism” of the Virginia Mourning Her Dead statue that memorializes the 10 VMI cadets who died in the Battle of New Market to include all former cadets who have died in battle. The board also approved a motion to…
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The Case Against Structural Racism at VMI
Alternatively headlined: There Will Be Heat Death in the Universe Before You Read These Quotes in a Washington Post news article. Carmen Villani, Virginia Military Institute class of 1976, recently compiled a list of perspectives given by African-American alumni as well as actions taken by staff and professors that illuminate the military academy’s record on…
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Three Card Media
by William Moore Three Card Monte is a classic short con. The Dealer places three cards face down and the Shill, who is in on the con, attempts to pick the money card. They play boisterously, hoping to catch the attention of some poor sap, the Mark. Thinking himself quite good at following the money…
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The VMI Story You Haven’t Heard
by James A. Bacon The Washington Post and Northam administration have done a fine job of wrecking the reputation of the Virginia Military Institute. On the basis of a dozen anecdotes shorn from any context, the Post declared VMI guilty of “relentless racism” and elaborated upon the charge in more than 20 articles since. Declaring…
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Slater Resigns from SCHEV, Citing Political Interference from Governor’s Office
by James A. Bacon Thomas G. Slater, Jr., a prominent Virginia Military Institute alumnus, submitted his resignation from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) today, citing political pressure from the office of Governor Ralph Northam to bias the outcome of the VMI racism investigation by an outside law firm, Barnes & Thornburg.…
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Still Clueless After All These Years
by James A. Bacon In his latest hit job on the Virginia Military Institute, the Washington Post’s Ian Shapira weaves into his account responses to questions submitted to Governor Ralph Northam in writing. Northam, who served as president of the Honor Court and graduated from the Institute in 1981, comes across as totally clueless. “I…
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WaPo Reduces VMI to a Black-and-White Morality Tale
by James A. Bacon The latest blockbuster finding in The Washington Post’s jihad against the Virginia Military Institute: African-American cadets experienced racism four decades ago. According to interviews with 12 African Americans who attended VMI at the same time as Governor Ralph Northam around 1980, black cadets endured frequent racist insults. They were uncomfortable with…
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Wins Appointed as 15th VMI Superintendent
by James A. Bacon Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins will serve as the Virginia Military Institute’s 15th superintendent after a unanimous vote by the military academy’s Board of Visitors this morning. A 1985 VMI graduate and career military officer, Wins has served as interim superintendent since shortly after the November resignation of J.H. Binford Peay…
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What Does the VMI Board Have Planned?
by James A. Bacon The Virginia Military Institute Board of Visitors surprised the VMI community when it posted a notice Monday that it had scheduled a special meeting tomorrow, April 15, to notify the public of its intent “to vote on the selection of the next Superintendent of the Institute.” The widespread expectation was that…
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Maybe VMI Needs to Close on Our Terms
A modest proposal by Shaun Kenney The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a hallowed institution to many. VMI men have a certain command presence that is rooted in realism yet rarely if ever accepts impossible as a status quo. The things that make VMI such an institution are the intangibles. VMI’s storied Honor Code, her…
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The Rebellion Takes to the Air Waves
Don’t have time to read Bacon’s Rebellion’s full post about the Barnes & Thornburg questionnaire used to divine perceptions of racism at the Virginia Military Institute? Catch the highlights in John Reid’s interview of me on WRVA this morning. Click here to listen. — JAB
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The Resistance Gathers: VMI Edition
by James A. Bacon A group of Virginia Military Institute alumni have created a political action committee, The Spirit of VMI, to raise money to support political candidates who are friendly to the preservation of VMI institutions and traditions. “Our mission and objectives are to stop the decay of VMI caused by outside legislative influence,”…