Shannon Faulkner

Shannon Faulkner, born in Powdersville, South Carolina, United States, graduated from Wren High School in 1993, was the first female cadet to enter day military Cadet Corps portion of The Citadel. Faulkner enrolled after a successful lawsuit against the military academy. She joined an otherwise all-male corps of cadets class on August 15, 1995 under the escort of United States Marshals. After four hours of the military indoctrination training, she spent the remainder of the first week in the infirmary before voluntarily resigning, citing emotional and psychological abuse and physical exhaustion. After her departure, the male cadets openly celebrated on the campus.

Writer Pat Conroy paid for Faulkner's education after she left the Citadel, and she became a middle school teacher in South Carolina. By December 2009, The Citadel had graduated 205 female cadets since Faulkner's admission.

Faulkner is mentioned indirectly in the King of the Hill episode "Jumpin' Crack Bass". In the episode she is referred to as "that pushy gal who's tryin' to get into The Citadel".

Garry Shandling makes reference to Faulkner in Season 4, Episode 8 of The Larry Sanders Show, entitled "Nothing Personal".

Lisa Simpson's experience in The Simpsons' 8th-season finale, The Secret War of Lisa Simpson, broadly resembles Faulkner's.

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