Why The Cadet really closed in 2016 – It's not what you've been told!

Editor's note: The Cadet staff wishes to specifically thank the 2016 Editor-in-Chief, and a faculty advisor of The Cadet for their first-hand accounts of the event resulting in closure of The Cadet in 2016. We also wish to express our appreciation to 2LT James Mansfield who not only withstood great pressure from the administration to keep The Cadet publishing independently during the 2021 – 2022 School year, but singularly located The Cadet historical documents essential to setting the record straight in this article. Links in our online version of this article provide access to actual records and documents for our readers. In various official Virginia Military Institute (VMI) notifications, letters and other publications, as well as recent articles in the media, VMI's Director of Communications, Col. William Wyatt, and Superintendent Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins repeatedly defended their actions against The Cadet and its supporters with a consistent narrative of the newspaper's history. A cornerstone of these is their statements The Cadet ceased publication in 2016 due to lack of interest by cadets; The Cadet operated as a club under a "Permit" and a "Publications Board"; and that the Institute always funded the newspaper. To address these, The Cadet conducted an in-depth investigation of its own past, including interviews with the Editor-in-Chief and a Faculty Advisor of the last printed version of The Cadet in 2016. The results conclusively prove the official statements by Col. Wyatt and Maj. Gen Wins, as well as the associated Cardinal News and other media reporting, without verifying their statements, are inaccurate at best. More than just mis-statements, the official VMI version of The Cadet closing in 2016 covers up a history of the Institute's deliberate, institutionalized suppression of freedom of speech, from those years that continues, in other forms, to this day. The administration's current intent to return The Cadet to club status, permitted under a publications board-like structure, and funded exclusively by the Institute under its proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) would both re-instate these violations, but impose more controls on free speech. The Publication's Board Referring to the 2016 and prior iterations of The Cadet in his response to a series of questions from The Washington Post on the Virginia Press Association Journalistic Integrity and Community Service Award won by The Cadet, Col. Wyatt wrote, "The Cadet was published by the Cadet Publications Board, an oﬃcial entity of the Virginia Military Institute." [emphasis added] Maj. Gen. Wins consistently made the same representation regarding past publications boards, or board-like, approach VMI seeks to revert The Cadet to operate under today. In his response to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and Student Press Law Center (SPLC) joint Warning Letter to VMI for its First Amendment violations against The Cadet, Maj. Gen. Wins wrote, "The current iteration of The Cadet newspaper published by The Cadet Foundation has no affiliation with The Cadet newspaper published by VMI as a member of the VMI Publications Board between 1907 and 2016." [emphasis added] Maj. Gen. Wins also wrote to FIRE and SPLC, "When The Cadet was affiliated with the Institute as a member of the VMI Publications Board, cadets who worked on the paper were subject to a 'permit' that provided privileges to allow them the time and space to complete their newspaper responsibilities." [emphasis added] Finally, in his same response to FIRE, Maj. Gen. Wins wrote, "The masthead of previous iterations of The Cadet newspaper clearly identifies the publication as a 'member of the Publications Board which serves as the supervisory body for all cadet publications.'" [emphasis added] These statements on the publications board and The Cadet are, at the least, misleading and, in many cases wrong. The Cadet newspaper was not published by the VMI Publications Board between 1907 and 2016. As documented in the first Editos Princeps published by the May 2021 and its update published August 21, 2021 that documented the intent of The Cadet Founders who, in 1871 clearly stated, "We believe the cadets and alumni should support alone a magazine published ostensibly in their interests." The first mention of the administration's attempt to control The Cadet, and other cadet publications by a Publications Board located during The Cadet's reserach, comes from Dr. Eugene "Skip" McDannald '61 who worked on The Cadet for all four years of his cadetship rising to the level of Business Manager in his second and first Class years. According to Dr. McDannals's '61 first hand account in his 2023 letter to The Cadet, "Fall 1960 –> Spring 1961. "New Supt[erintendent] and New Com[mmandant] tried to force publications committee on The Cadet and The Bomb. We refused --- and Won! Remained independent for editorial and articles. Paid for advertising and profits." The Bomb, once the first independent college yearbook in Virginia, is now under the editorial control of the VMI Commandant's staff with a "Cadet-in-Charge". While there were attempts to implement a Publication Board in the late 1960s, and a Board of some configuration operated in the 1970s and for some time after, cadets always had control of their publications and the "Board" with faculty advisors to assist but not control them until approximately 2013. In his letter to the VMI Class of '74, Maj. Gen. Wins alleged The Cadet Foundation, that currently supports The Cadet's independence as its publisher, lacks "a proven track record of a solid management structure, internal controls, accounting practices, investment management, compliance, and audit capability" of the VMI Alumni Agencies. Maj. Gen Wins based this accusation on his further accusation that, "The Cadet Foundation is currently made up of two people occupying three director seats with two people serving as non-voting officers – one recent alumnus and one non-alumnus who is an employee of the foundation president. The alumnus, who is a member of the Class of '79, controls two of the voting director seats while a current cadet is the other voting member. This gives the alumnus complete control of every aspect of The Cadet Foundation." The Cardinal News and Washington Post articles challenging the VPA awards to The Cadet echoed the VMI administration's theme that alumni, and not cadets, control the newspaper and The Cadet Foundation. By its most recent charter and corporate documents, the Board of The Cadet Foundation consists of the current cadet serving as the Editor-in-Chief, the previous year's Editor-in-Chief, an Alumnus servings as the President/Treasurer, and a non-alumnus volunteer who serves as the non-voting Secretary. Maj. Gen Wins' allegations appear to challenge the common practice for small and start-up non-profits fully accepted by the Virginia State Corporation Commission and Virginia statute (§13.1-872) where two or more offices may be held by the same individual. The corporate structure of the VMI Publications Board Maj. Gen. Wins and Col. Wyatt continue to advance to the VMI Family and the media as the best example, gave complete control of The Cadet, and its content, to the VMI administration. The Publications Board recent Cardinal News and Washington Post reports cast in a positive light, while negatively viewing The Cadet Foundation, registered on March 25, 2009 as a Virginia Nonstock Corporation (same as The Cadet Foundation). According to the Publication Board's articles of incorporation, and other corporate filings, the officers who exercised complete control of the VMI Cadet Publication Board, Inc. in 2016-2017 consisted of a Member of the Commandant's staff as President, a VMI administrator as Vice President, and the VMI Director of Communications as both the Secretary and Treasurer. The "Members" of the Corporation were also the "members of the Board of Directors." Cadets had no role or authority in the Board's operations or its oversight of The Cadet. Also according to Publications Board Corporate documents, the Board Members served "as long as they hold the positions designated…" so their terms never expired. Replacements came from the Superintendent or his Chief of Staff who had control of the Board's composition, not cadets. The VMI superintendent held complete control over who served on the Board according to documents, "Any member can be removed by the Superintendent or Chief of Staff for cause." This included meetings as noted in December 16, 2016 email from Col. Stewart MacInnis, Director of Communications at the time to the other Publication's Board Members , "According to the bylaws, we should have had an annual meeting yesterday or before. If I'm reading the bylaws correctly, the annual meeting is required for member of the Board of Directors, but we are not obligated to open the meeting the cadets." [emphasis added]. The Publication Board interviewed and selected The Cadet staff, in contracts to operations now under The Cadet Foundation, where cadets choose staff and their positions. The Board exercised complete editorial control over The Cadet's print and proposed online content per their proposed online transition documents to the VMI Superintendent at the time, Gen. Peay. "All articles, editorials, cartoons, and letters to the editor will be reviewed by a member of the Board prior to publication to ensure they meet journalistic standards." [emphasis added] "The staff of the Cadet Newspaper develop and the Board approve policies concerning editorial guidelines for the publication. [emphasis added] "The newspaper staff adhere to publications standards established by the Office of Communications and Marketing. [emphasis added] "The Board is further directed to monitor the Cadet Newspaper and use its discretion to suspend online publication in the event of a violation of the above provisions or for any action that brings disrepute to the newspaper or to the Institute." [emphasis added] In his August 6, 2021 letter to the VMI administration advising them of cadets rights for their newspaper, the SPLC Senior Legal Counsel wrote, "In addition to the solid line of First Amendment cases protecting public college student media, Virginia lawmakers last year doubled down and passed a state law that explicitly protects the rights of Virginia college student media and makes clear that "a student journalist has the right to exercise freedom of speech and the press in institution-sponsored student media…." VA Code § 23.1-401.2. It is perplexing for some that the Washington Post, as a major international publication and advocate for free speech through its motto, "Democracy dies in darkness", as well as Cardinal News, a highly regarded regional publication, would advance the VMI administration's strategy on this issue unchallenged in their articles challenging the VPA's awards to The Cadet. The Cadet did not close due to lack of cadet interest The official statements from VMI's administration to the media and the VMI Family on the reason The Cadet ceased publication in 2016 have been forceful, consistent, and specific. In his response to a series of questions from The Washington Post on the Virginia Press Association Journalistic Integrity and Community Service Award won by The Cadet, Col. Wyatt wrote, "The previous iteration of The Cadet ceased publication in 2016 due to a lack of interest on the part of the cadets." [emphasis added] In his 30 September 2022 response to the Warning Letter VMI received from the FIRE, Maj. Gen. Wins made the official statement, "However, VMI ceased publishing The Cadet newspaper in 2016 due to a lack of interest from cadets." [emphasis added] In his letter response to the VMI Class of '74 dated February 1, 2023, Maj. Gen. Wins wrote, "Make no mistake, the newspaper you knew as The Cadet was last published in 2016 after cadet interest in producing the paper disappeared over the years." [emphasis added] Col. Wyatt confirmed to The Cadet Maj. Gen. Wins wrote the letter to the Class of '74. In its reporting challenging The Cadet's recognition by the VPA, Cardinal News published the same administration assertions The Cadet closed due to lack of interest, as fact, stating, "The Cadet operates independently of VMI. A previous VMI-sanctioned newspaper of the same name shut down in 2016 due to what the school describes as a lack of student interest." [emphasis added] Cardinal News, the Washington Post, other media, used VMI's statements and, and the VMI administration distributed them to the entire VMI Family of alumni, cadets, parents, faculty and staff by various means without checking their accuracy, as they are wrong, given The Cadet's research to date. The Cadet's eventual closure in 2016 started as early as 2013 when the administration implemented very much the same approach the current administration seeks to impose on the current iteration of The Cadet. According to a member of The Cadet management staff at the time, The Cadet Editor-in-Chief, Holmes Laughton and Francis Bush, a faculty advisor at the time of The Cadet's last print edition in 2016, representations The Cadet closed due to lack of cadet interest are false. According to their first-hand accounts, cadets at the time fought to keep The Cadet in publication as well as transition it to a state-of-the-art online publication as it is today. Official documents support their position. In their March 7, 2017 Decision Paper to then-Superintendent Gen. J.H. Binford "Binne" Peay III, the cadets laid out four Courses of Action (COA) to save The Cadet that was, by that time, financially troubled due to the facing the headwinds of printed newspapers surviving in the digital age. They completely rejected COA 4, "Cease Publication", stating, "The leadership has considered ending the publication of a student paper at the Virginia Military Institute. None of the stake holders want to see The Cadet, published for over 100 years, terminate operations." [emphasis added] There is no question, that the stated reason presented by VMI and media to cadets, alumni, the BOV, and the public that The Cadet closed due to lack of interest by cadets is wrong. The cadets in 2016, recommended COA 2, to "Publish The Cadet on a professionally-designed digital platform. This option will transform The Cadet into an appealing, accessible twenty-first century publication. (Platform Description, Tab D) The staff has determined that online advertisement will support, sustain, and grow the publication. A professional online publication will also help cadets develop relevant and marketable skills in online journalism". The Decision Paper included a detailed Platform Description and Business Plan eventually uses as a basis used to re-start the current iteration of The Cadet. Personal accounts from those involved, and the documentation available to The Cadet show the newspaper was closed by the VMI administration using the Publications Board it controlled. After the cadets made repeated efforts to gain administration approval to expand The Cadet online in order to financially save it, Publications Board Secretary/Treasurer and VMI Director of Communications Col. MacInnis, wrote fellow Board members in a December 15, 2016 email, "We tried to move forward with a decision paper on going digital, but I haven't seen anything. So, no approval from Smith Hall on doing that, and, again, dead in the water. If we need to wind down operations of the paper, I'd prefer we do it straight-out and so I can deal with the paperwork." Later, in a December 16, 2016 email, he wrote, "The Corporation may be dissolved at any time by recommendation of the Board of Directors and approved in writing by more than two-thirds (2/3) of the members and the VMI Superintendent." Finally, in an email to his fellow Board member on the Commandant's staff the Communications Director wrote, "The members of the Board of Directors are the three of us. So, two of us with the superintendent can bring this to an end." The administration, not cadets, thus ended The Cadet. An obstacle for the current VMI administration is that this scenerio cannot happen with The Cadet's current legal and other protections. As SPLC wrote to VMI in their August 6, 2021 letter informing administration of The Cadet's rights, "It is indisputable that the constitutional and statutory protections afforded students working on The Cadet are strong. Added to that, however, is the fact that The Cadet has reformed itself as 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, which creates even more significant legal and practical barriers to administrative interference and establishes the newspaper as an independent publication — outside of the reach of VMI administration — produced by VMI students." The Cadet "club" In his official statement on The Cadet, approved by Maj. Gen. Wins and posted to the VMI Website, VMI Chief of Staff, Col. John Young, presented, as fact, The Cadet at VMI was always a club activity. "In addition," Wrote Young, "the paper has no affiliation with the previously published 'V.M.I. Cadet' or any newspapers published by the Virginia Military Institute as a cadet club activity between 1871 and 2016." [emphasis added] In his letter to the VMI Class of '74, Maj. Gen. Wins wrote, "Prior versions of The Cadet were completely run by cadets who operated within the terms of a club permit." [emphasis added] and in his response to the FIRE's First Amendment Rights Warning Letter, Maj. Gen. Wins wrote, "However, VMI has offered on multiple occasions to provide accommodations to The Cadet and its staff members as a club activity." [emphasis added] These administration statements on The Cadet also made it into Cardinal News and other reporting. Quoting from one such article in Cardinal News questioning The Cadet's VPA Awards, "VMI has offered to give The Cadet club status, but only if the cadet in charge certifies students have full editorial control and a faculty adviser, according to a spokesperson there." The statements about The Cadet previously operating as a club at VMI are wrong and for VMI to require The Cadet to have a faculty advisor in order to operate is against the SPLC legal findings previously provided to VMI in 2021. A detailed search of VMI archive records could not produce a single example of a "Club Charter" for The Cadet at any time in its history. What The Cadet's research did identify is that, as far back as 2017, the Commandant's staff received legal advice that the concept of a "club" under control of the administration violated Cadet First Amendment rights. The notes of April 2017 include "Journalism Club?", the same approach VMI attempted to have cadets sign a club charter for in 2021 and continue to push today, followed by, "First Amendment rights of Cadets", "Club or Independent paper not independent oversight," "Lawyers concerns that VMI oversight violates Cadet's First Amendment Rights." [emphasis added] The option to re-start The Cadet annotated in the notes include, "Conceive a VMI publication or cut the group lose as mostly independent entity." [emphasis added]. The issue of club status with VMI hinges on the administration's past and present intent to retain some control. The current effort to separate The Cadet, and the cadets themselves, from The Cadet Foundation and its protections given legal decisions to the Supreme Court level since 2016, could carry serious legal risks for the administration and the Board of Visitors (BOV). Contrary to recent reporting in the media and statements by the administration, The Cadet has a proposed permit, approved by FIRE and the SPLC that would resolve this issue. The Institute's control of money and the 2016 closure of The Cadet Another significant contributing factor leading to The Cadet ceasing publication in 2016 was economic. Again, in his response to the FIRE First Amendment violation-warning letter, Maj. Gen. Wins asserted The Cadet was always funded by VMI, "You are also incorrect to assume that previous cadet run newspapers were independently funded. Prior to its discontinuation, the VMI-affiliated newspaper was supported through funding and resources provided by VMI and through advertising sales." [emphasis added] Here again, the history of The Cadet, and associated documentation, prove this statement to be misleading, at best, or wrong several aspects. Under the Publications Board VMI did control all the funds used by The Cadet, but the newspaper was required to be self-sufficient by advertising and other means from which the income was given over to the administration for management by the Director of Communications as the Board's Treasurer. As per his Feb 28, 2017 email to close The Cadet Col. MacInnis wrote, "My name is on the account and I have no desire to be more exposed than I am." The correct history of the cadet in these areas echoes the August 21, 2021 Editos Princeps Update: "The independence of The Cadet is similarly grounded in its creation by those same Cadets and Alumni who, in 1892, firmly established the operating principle for the publication that: 'We believe the cadets and alumni should support alone a magazine published ostensibly in their interests.' The financial independence of The Cadet in its current form continues the vision of The Cadet's creators over 100 years ago when, quoting the same Editos Princeps Update: "…[W]e enjoy the unique distinction of being the only college journal in the United States, so far as we know, which is not wholly or in part supported by the college itself." The Cadet's series on freedom of speech and correcting the record will continue in future issues.