Woman Becomes Top Cadet at the Citadel for First Time in College’s History

Sarah Zorn took the post as the Citadel’s regimental commander, the military school’s top cadet, on Friday afternoon—making her the first woman to hold the position in the school’s history, according to The New York Times. “I think that women are fully embraced as cadets here,” Zorns said. “You hear a lot of times from fellow cadets, and even from alumni, that having women here has even improved the college.” Commandant of Cadets Geno Paluso said he’s only received one negative phone call about Zorn’s rise to the post. He said he “called the guy a Neanderthal... come on. It’s 2018. She’s the best qualified cadet. So get over it.” The Citadel’s very first female student, who was admitted in 1995, was bullied and harassed so much that she dropped out a week later. Since then, the school claims that women are thriving there and obtaining higher GPAs than males on average. Women are also more likely to graduate, according to the school.