The Citadel Still Holds

A last-minute federal appeals-court decision keeps Shannon Faulkner from becoming a cadet

Quiet satisfaction suffuses Big John's bar in Charleston, South Carolina, an establishment that caters to the Citadel, the town's revered military school. The Icehouse draft beer is flowing, and all's well with the world; or, more precisely, everything's in its place. The Confederate flag and the flag of the South Carolina secession are tacked next to Old Glory near the ceiling; the IMPEACH CLINTON sticker beneath the flags seems practically to glow; the cadets and their sweethearts are crowding the red vinyl-covered benches; and Shannon Faulkner's hair -- the proximate cause for the celebratory mood -- is still on her head.

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