FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          CR
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1996                       (202) 616-2777
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888
STATEMENT BY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL DEVAL L. PATRICK ON THE DECISION BY VMI TO ADMIT WOMEN

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Virginia Military Institute (VMI) today decided to admit qualified women by the fall of 1997. Deval L. Patrick, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights issued the following statement:
"We are pleased that the leadership of VMI has decided to open its doors to qualified women. "We trust the school will now begin encouraging and accepting applications from women looking to enroll in next year's entering class. We will work with school officials to ensure that women are successfully integrated into VMI, as they have been in the military academies for many years. "After 6 years of litigation, we are gratified that women will now be able to benefit from the unique educational opportunities that VMI has long offered to men."
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