You learn to hate the checkerboards very early as a Cadet.
Freshmen, aka "knob, smackhead, doowilly, maggot, load, tool and other names your Mom never used, were sometimes used as chess/checkers men by the Seniors. I always hated checkers as you had to leapfrog other men and it was really tough when you had been kinged.
As for women at The Citadel...my oldest daughter was looking at colleges at the same time the Shannon Faulkner fiasco was in the news.
When someone would ask her if she was considering going to her Father's alma mater her reply was quite gratifying.
"Why should I give up the very best thing about being a woman to go through the very worst thing about being a man?"
Both daughters are Columbia College alumna.
Father/Daughter dances there were great with Beach Music and The Shag! Their Freshmen year they saw the dance and heard the music and asked, "What is that, I like it?" I replied, "It's your heritage."