LEXINGTON, Va. – Virginia Military Institute alumna Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy said she is disappointed by the allegations of racism at VMI.
In an interview with 10 News, she said she went through ‘even more egregious instances’ of discrimination when she was at VMI. However, she did not wish to get into specifics in order to focus the attention on the climate at the school for current cadets.
“You would think, over the years, that they would make changes to the policies and procedures to ensure it’s a more welcoming and diverse institute, but it appears that that has not happened,” said Carroll Foy, D- 2nd District.
The allegations in a Washington Post article cited threats of lynching and a professor speaking fondly of their family’s ties to the Klu Klux Klan.
Carroll Foy said racism is a problem across the country, but added that VMI needs to acknowledge the problem at the institute.
“That is absolutely wrong. It flies in the face of personal accounts of cadets of color. In order to change, you have to admit that there’s a problem," said Carroll Foy. “Racism, discrimination, sexism, bigotry has no place in the ranks of VMI."
Carroll Foy, who’s running for Virginia’s governor, also laid out a seven-part plan for improvements she’d like VMI to make.