The training is conducted by members of the all-male senior class, but VMI officials hope to include female trainers next year when the first coed class becomes seniors. The training classes are broken into 10 groups of about 75 cadets each, according to military companies. VMI has held sexual harassment training for cadets since women were admitted to the school in 1997. But the latest program comes after VMI's highest ranking cadet, Jerry B. Webb II of Casper, Wyo., was expelled in May for allegedly demanding sex from three women cadets. The program was designed by a local agency, Project Horizon, a non-profit group that seeks to reduce sexual harassment and violence.
Peer trainers agree that allowing cadets to run the program has been more affective.
Cadets participating in the sessions asked a variety of questions including whether or not looking at pornography on the Internet in the barracks constituted sexual harassment if a female cadet was present. A number of male cadets said that they, too, can be victims of sexual harassment. Fraternization between the sexes has become a major issue at VMI since the U.S. Supreme Court in 1996 found the males-only admission policy unconstitutional. The high court's decision came after a six-year legal battle between VMI and the Justice Department. VMI has about 1,300 students, including 68 women.