Issue date: 9/10/04 Section: News

By Brandi Dunn

As a freshman coming into the Corps of Cadets, Roxie Pranglin, Class of 1978, didn't know what to expect. The problem was, neither did anyone else.

In 1974, Pranglin and 70 other women made A&M history as the first women to be admitted into the Corps. Thirty years later, Pranglin said being one of the first females in the Corps was an experience that changed her life.

"I don't think anyone knew what was going to happen that first year," Pranglin said. "People say, 'I don't know how you could ever do that,' but you would be surprised at what you can do."

Pranglin joined the Corps to follow in the footsteps of her dad and uncle, both members of the Corps in the 1940s.

"All my life, all I wanted to go to was A&M, and for me A&M was the Corps," Pranglin said. "At freshman orientation, they announced that we (women) could join, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to be involved in a group."

Pranglin said the friendly atmosphere at orientation didn't prepare her for the challenging year that was to come in outfit W-1, which was created solely for female cadets.

"I didn't realize what was going to happen," Pranglin said. "The people at orientation were fairly polite. It wasn't until school started and we formed as a unit when the harassment began. It wasn't just other male cadets that didn't want us there. We got comments from other students, both male and female, saying that we didn't belong, that we were breaking tradition and ruining the Corps."

Pranglin said the first year was the most challenging for the female cadets. She said women didn't get uniforms or a dorm on the Quad until the second semester and were forced to spend the entire fall semester wearing regular clothes with nametags, and commuting to the Quad every day for afternoon formation and dinner at Duncan Hall. At the end of the fall semester, the number of female cadets had dropped to 25.

Pranglin said that although the first year was difficult, 10 W-1 male upperclassmen helped the female cadets get through it, especially W-1 commanding officer S. Don Roper, Class of 1975.

"Because this was the first year women were allowed in the Corps, we had to have some male upperclassmen to lead us and instruct us," Pranglin said. "They all volunteered to help us and they were an extremely important part of our success that year. For all of those hardships and all of those struggles, we always had 'Don, Mr. Roper, Sir.' He was everything that was positive about the Cadets."

Continued...

Page 1 of 4 next >

Article Tools