Female Cadet Must Undergo Head-Shave

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A federal judge Wednesday turned down Shannon Faulkner’s second request to be spared the shaved-head haircut that all cadets receive when they enter The Citadel.

U.S. District Judge C. Weston Houck, who ruled earlier that the military school’s all-male admissions policy was unconstitutional, had said Faulkner would have to get the “buzz cut.”

Her attorneys and the U.S. Justice Department asked him to reconsider, arguing that she should be given a short bob like women in the military receive.

After the hearing, Faulkner said she fought the haircut order to benefit women who may follow her at The Citadel.

“I have said before I will have my head shaved,” she said. She said she won’t like it, but “I’m not planning on backing out. I have never, ever thought of backing out.”

Faulkner is to become the first woman to enroll in the corps Monday, although the state military school has asked a federal appeals court to keep her out.