In the Company of Men: A Woman at The Citadel

In the Company of Men: A Woman at The Citadel is Nancy Mace's 2001 memoir of her four years as a cadet at The Citadel, from August 1996 to graduation in May 1999. She was the first woman ever to graduate from The Citadel's four-year program. The book is Mace's own account, in her own published words, of the sexual harassment, hostile-environment abuse, gendered discrimination, and institutional hostility she endured. It also contains her contemporaneous letters and her pointed criticism of her two female roommates, Kim Messer and Jeanie Mentavlos, who left the school and later sued The Citadel.

The memoir is a primary source. Every factual claim on this page is drawn from Mace's own text, public court records, or contemporaneous news coverage. Quotes are verbatim. Page numbers are the printed page numbers from the original edition.

Book Metadata

Field	Detail
Full title	In the Company of Men: A Woman at The Citadel
Author	Nancy Mace with Mary Jane Ross
Publisher	Simon and Schuster (hardcover, 2001); Simon Pulse imprint (paperback, September 2002)
ISBN (hardcover)	0-689-84002-0
ISBN (paperback)	0-689-84003-9
Pages	260
Dedication	"To my mother for her strength, courage, and support to withstand all storms; and to my father who taught me that hard work and determination can overcome any challenge, but also for never letting me forget my sense of humor in the process."
Endorsement	Pat Conroy (fellow Citadel graduate and author of The Lords of Discipline): "provocative, hilarious, illuminating and true"
Library of Congress call number	U53.M25543 2001
Catalog description	Mace, Nancy. Women military cadets. Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina.

Chapter Structure

Chapter	Title	Page
Preface	(untitled)	ix
Brief History	Brief History of The Citadel	xii
Prologue	Remembrance	xvi
Chapter 1	Battle Cry	1
Chapter 2	1800 Bulldogs and 4 Bitches	15
Chapter 3	Nancy the Knob	29
Chapter 4	The Haze Maze	37
Chapter 5	Hell Night	52
Chapter 6	Survivor	66
Chapter 7	Stormy Weather	73
Chapter 8	Parade Rest	86
(Photographs)		96
Chapter 9	Going the Distance	110
Chapter 10	Brotherhood	128
Chapter 11	Hair of the Dog	142
Chapter 12	Promises to Keep	149
Chapter 13	Holiday Blues	159
Chapter 14	Star Performer	173
Chapter 15	Recognition Day	183
Epilogue	Wearing the Ring	191
Appendix	Personal Memorabilia and Correspondence from the Citadel Years	213
Photo Credits		235
Acknowledgments		246

Background: Mace Before The Citadel

Mace grew up the daughter of Brigadier General Emory Mace, described in the book as "The Citadel's most decorated living graduate." Her early life was marked by frequent moves as an Army family, difficulty fitting in socially, and an undiagnosed attention deficit disorder (ADD) that made academics a source of "frustration and shame." (p. 6)

She describes her father as emotionally distant:

"My father was gone much of the time and paid little attention to me when he was home. I sometimes wondered if he even loved me." (p. 24)

By high school she was socially isolated, bullied, and the target of false sexual rumors. She describes being treated "like the town slut":

"Some of the football players would purposely bump into me or press me up against the walls and make lewd comments." (p. 27)

After her friend was killed by a drunk driver, she describes a depression so severe she required antidepressants to function. She was eventually diagnosed with ADD, switched to home schooling, took community college classes, and began to recover. She decided to enroll at The Citadel in 1996 after watching news coverage of the Board of Visitors' vote to admit women.

"If I could survive as a woman at The Citadel, I could survive anything." (p. 9)

Academic Achievement

Despite the hostile environment, Mace describes consistently strong academic performance. By senior year she had earned:

The Citadel Gold Stars (the college's highest academic distinction)
Placement on the Commandant's List

She was the only one of the four women who entered in August 1996 to complete the four-year program and graduate.

The Four Women Who Entered in 1996

On August 24, 1996, four women entered The Citadel as the first female cadets in the school's 153-year history, one year after Shannon Faulkner became the first woman ever admitted (Faulkner left after one week without taking the cadet oath):

Nancy Mace (Band Company) - graduated May 1999, the first woman to complete the program
Kim Messer - Mace's roommate; left after one semester; later sued The Citadel with Mentavlos
Jeanie Mentavlos - the other named female cadet; left after one semester; later sued The Citadel
A fourth female cadet (not named by Mace as an accused or accuser in the book)

Comprehensive Quote Catalog

The following quotes are verbatim from Mace's memoir, cited to page number. They are organized by theme and subject. OCR scanning artifacts appear as-is.

On Her Own Purpose and Identity

"I am a general's daughter. I know a battle when I see one. I never dreamed, however, that the battle to graduate a woman from The Citadel would turn out to be mine." (p. 1)

"I did not come to the college to destroy its tradition. I came to fulfill it." (p. xi)

"I do not think of myself as a pioneer; I think of myself as a cadet, like the thousands of male cadets who preceded me." (p. xi)

On the Museum's Unequal Treatment

"The appreciative commentary that characterizes my groundbreaking predecessor is conspicuously absent. The silence speaks volumes." (pp. xi-xii)

Context: The Citadel museum placed Mace's photo below that of the first Black graduate. The Black graduate's note praised his achievement warmly. Mace's note listed only her awards with no such commentary.

On Her Father

"My father was gone much of the time and paid little attention to me when he was home. I sometimes wondered if he even loved me." (p. 24)

"In his eyes, I was just another cadet, and the one time I walked into his office without an appointment, he threw me out in wrath." (p. xiii)

"I could not be prouder of the changes he has made." (p. xiii)

On the Shannon Faulkner Situation

"I remembered the media circus that had followed the Shannon Faulkner disaster four years earlier." (p. 230)

Note: Mace makes no accusation of wrongdoing against Faulkner. The word "disaster" refers to the surrounding media coverage, not to Faulkner's conduct.

On the Bumper Sticker Culture Against Women

From a description of public opposition before she enrolled:

Posters and bumper stickers began popping up all over the country with SAVE THE MALES and 1800 BULLDOGS AND ONE BITCH pasted on the back of every pickup truck in town." (p. 15)

On Being a Knob (Freshman)

"The room was small and white, filled with battered tan metal furniture. To my right was a double rack with two thin mattresses and a wool blanket, Citadel blue. The room smelled of shoe polish, mildew, and tobacco spit." (p. xvi)

"I stood rigidly at attention, chin pressed against my throat, eyes straight ahead, forehead fixed in a frown." (p. xvi)

On Cadet 1st Sgt. Rawlinson's Targeted Harassment

"For no apparent reason, except that I was the only female in Band Company, Mr. Rawlinson already had me pegged as a 'gaudy knob'... he began racking the piss out of me... Finally, he blew up, leaping out of his chair, overturning it in fury." (pp. 65-67)

Context: At her first mess, Rawlinson singled her out for interrogation, lost his temper, then set up a physically impossible task (refilling a suction-balanced glass) and punished her for the "clumsiness" she could not avoid.

On Mr. Jones's Discriminatory Racking

"Nearly twenty of us had been part of the conversation... yet Mr. Jones chose to rack only me. He had not said a word to my male classmates. I did not believe it was a coincidence." (pp. 94-95)

On Mr. Wizeman Calling Her Unwelcome

"...the operations sergeant who had told me the week before that I was unwelcome at The Citadel." (pp. 45, 84)

Note: Mace adds that his attitude later turned supportive.

On Mr. Hood's Intimidation

"Under Mr. Hood's constant pressure, I couldn't even think straight." (p. 64)

Context: Hood loomed close with "hot breath exploding in my face" during her uniform fitting.

On the Anonymous "Go Home, Bitch" Vandalism

"I'd already had several anonymous e-mail threats, and one morning I'd gotten up to find GO HOME, BITCH written in shaving cream on the door to my quarters." (p. 145)

On Anonymous Nighttime Shouts

"You are a shitbag, you know that, Mace?... I hate you, do you hear me? I hate you!" (p. 153)

Context: One cadet followed her alone at night hissing this. Other voices from galleries shouted "Whore!", "Dyke!", "Get out of our school!" on various occasions.

On the Obscene Anonymous Email

From pp. 132, addressed to "Bitch": Mace describes receiving an email calling her an "ugly bitch," "slut," and "disgrace."

On the Corps' "Love/All Male" PT Run

"We love girl-last class / All male" [chanted during a PT run through the barracks, lasting more than fifteen minutes, documented at p. 142]

After it ended, 1st Sgt. Rawlinson knocked on her door and said: "As the highest-ranking junior of our company, I apologize for my class." (p. 142)

On Mr. Schuler and the Hat

"Tossing my hat into a trash can filled with dirty water, he swished it around until it was soaked, then crammed it back onto my head." (p. 138)

On the Drunk Football Players at Games (Alumnus)

"He would intentionally step on my feet, wiping his muddy soles on my carefully polished leather shoes until they were smeared and dirty. Then he would laugh and point at my feet, telling me that I was a disgrace to the uniform. Afterward, he would lean into my face, his breath stinking of alcohol, and whisper a steady stream of obscenities into my ear. I was the little slut who was 'fucking my way through the ranks' and 'ruining his school.'" (pp. 135-136)

Context: Mace says this drunk alumnus came to every game obsessed with her. No other cadets helped. Bystanders did nothing.

On Charleston Society Women in the Stands

"I was astonished at what came out of the mouths of these perfectly groomed women. So much for the famed gentility of the Southern Belle. I knew who the real bitches were." (p. 135)

Context: Mace says the worst public abuse often came from affluent Charleston women, sometimes called "SOBs" (south of Broads Street), who called her ugly, butch, a slut, a whore, and a "dyke" from the stands.

On a Well-Dressed Alumna at Parents' Weekend

[A well-dressed alumna] "grabbed her arm at Parents' Weekend and abused her in front of her mother as 'the bitch that ruined The Citadel.'" (p. 149)

On the Sexual Harassment by a Classmate (January 1997)

This is the most explicitly documented sexual harassment episode in the book:

"Another knob had stood behind me and simulated having sex with me from the rear. I was mortified and furious... When I told Mr. Schuler what had happened, he promised to take the matter to the next level of the chain-of-command. Both cadets were punished, and eventually they came to me and apologized. The damage had been done, though. It was a long time before I felt comfortable with my classmates again." (p. 195)

Context: The incident occurred at a squad room study session. Classmates "denied everything" when she first confronted them. Mr. Schuler called it "sexual harassment, which was illegal." After the two cadets were punished, one came to her quarters privately and called her a "fucking liar." (p. 195)

Complication: Mr. Dye later told her the classmate who harassed her had been named to the Commandant's List as "the best knob in Band Company." (p. 196)

"I felt my heart break." (p. 196)

On the Platoon Sergeant and the Men's Bathroom

"On one of my trips into the men's room to refill a trashcan, the platoon sergeant made me pop off as loud as I could, just because he thought it was hilarious to hear a female voice shouting in the men's bathroom." (p. 107)

Context: A cleaning duty was originally named "Douche Detail" and later renamed "Hydro Detail" to drop the sexist term.

On Corporals Kaufman and Ingram's Menacing Threat

"Finally, one of them leaned in close and told me that they were going to make me 'all theirs.' I felt sick to my stomach. Everybody knew that knobs were sometimes 'claimed' by upperclassmen for intensely abusive relationships. It wasn't supposed to happen, but sometimes it did. It was bad enough when they got ahold of a male knob. What would they do to a female?" (p. 143)

Context: The two Band Company corporals (Kaufman and Ingram) cornered her alone on her way back from the library, called her the worst knob in the company, told her Colonel Lackey had called her the worst-looking female knob, and then made this possession claim. She notes: "though they continued to rack me now and then, they never repeated their threat to make me 'their knob.'" (p. 144)

On the Ex-Boyfriend Who Destroyed Her Property

"Eventually destroying my personal property and leaving disturbing notes in my quarters when I refused to go out with him anymore." (p. 214)

Context: Her ex-boyfriend was described as "one of the highest ranking cadets in the Corps." After she tried to end the relationship, "against my strong protests, my boyfriend resigned his position to be with me." He then refused to accept the breakup and left threatening notes. She says she went from being called "the bitch" to "the whore" in the eyes of the Corps after this.

On the Anonymous Hate-Mail Letters to Her Mother

"What kind of coward sent a letter like that without signing her name?" (pp. 34, 228)

Context: An anonymous woman sent repeated vicious and "vaguely threatening" letters to Mace's mother for nearly three years. Near graduation, the writer "hinted that something might happen to me at graduation."

On Fear of a "Fanatic" at Graduation

"Citadel administrators, fearing a fanatic might try to stop me from graduating, had shown me how to recognize a letter bomb." (p. 228)

On Campus Sexual Gossip

"According to campus gossip, I'd had several abortions and more than one illegitimate child. I had been called ugly, stupid, bitch, whore, and worse, more times than I could count. Those who knew me realized that the rumors weren't true, and that the names were cruel and unjust, but still, it bothered me that people I would never meet still smeared my reputation far and wide. It was humiliating, and it was unfair." (p. 215)

On the Ring Ceremony and Class of 1999 Hostility

"Loud hissing began to fill the air... suddenly sounded like a roomful of angry snakes... Their venom filled the air." (pp. 221, 226)

Context: When she received her ring, the families of the Class of 1999 cadets hissed at her. The hissing repeated at the Ring Hop.

"Mr. Sharp made it quite clear that they did not want me with them. He wasn't about to have a female who had once been his knob sharing his ring celebration with him." (p. 223)

On the "Old Guard" Miniature Ring Scheme

"The Citadel old guard wanted to give senior female cadets miniature rings, tiny replicas of the male ring identical to those given as love tokens by male cadets to their girlfriends." (p. 216)

Context: Mace fought for and obtained a full senior ring.

On Her Ring Form Being Tampered With

At pp. 216: "Someone pulled her paperwork and exposed the private inscription she had ordered." The book says her ring form was tampered with by an unknown party.

On Major Day's Initial Opposition

"Three years earlier, this man had told me he regretted the Corps' admission of women." (p. 232)

Context: Mace notes that by graduation day, Major Day reversed his view.

On the Citadel's Settlement with Messer and Mentavlos

"Messer and Mentavlos sued the college alleging verbal and physical abuse... The Citadel settled out of court with a monetary payment to both plaintiffs" [while admitting no guilt]. (p. 190, footnote)

Sexual Harassment: Episode-by-Episode Reference

Episode A: Classmate Simulates Sex Act (January 1997, pp. 194-196)

What happened: During a squad room study session, a male knob (freshman cadet) stood behind Mace and "simulated having sex with me from the rear" in front of others. When she confronted classmates, they "denied everything."

Chain-of-command response: She reported to platoon sergeant Mr. Schuler, who explicitly called it "sexual harassment, which was illegal" and took it up the chain. Both the harassing cadet and his roommate were punished. Both later apologized.

Aftermath: One of the punished cadets came to her quarters and called her a "fucking liar." (p. 195) Later, the cadet who committed the act was named to the Commandant's List as "the best knob in Band Company." (p. 196)

Mace's words: "I felt my heart break." (p. 196)

Episode B: Platoon Sergeant Forces Her to Shout in Men's Room (September 1996, p. 107)

What happened: During "Douche Detail" (a cleaning assignment later renamed "Hydro Detail"), a platoon sergeant made her shout at full volume inside the men's bathroom "just because he thought it was hilarious to hear a female voice shouting in the men's bathroom."

Episode C: Corporals Kaufman and Ingram Threaten to "Make Her Theirs" (mid-October 1996, p. 143)

What happened: Two Band Company corporals cornered her alone at night, berated her, told her Colonel Lackey had said she had the worst appearance of any female knob, then made a possession threat: "they were going to make me 'all theirs.'"

Mace's reaction: "I felt sick to my stomach. Everybody knew that knobs were sometimes 'claimed' by upperclassmen for intensely abusive relationships. It wasn't supposed to happen, but sometimes it did. It was bad enough when they got ahold of a male knob. What would they do to a female?"

Outcome: The threat was not repeated after Mr. Wizeman observed the aftermath.

Episode D: Drunk Alumnus Repeats Sexual Harassment at Every Football Game (Fall 1996, pp. 135-136)

What happened: A drunk alumnus came to every Citadel football game "roaring drunk" and made a point of finding her. He stepped on her polished shoes with his muddy soles and whispered that she was "the little slut who was 'fucking my way through the ranks' and 'ruining his school.'" She adds: "when he poked me, I always wondered where his fingers would land next."

Bystander response: "The other cadets in my company just sat there, pretending they didn't see a thing." Occasionally Mr. Dye politely escorted the man away.

Episode E: Ex-Boyfriend Destroys Property and Leaves Threatening Notes (sophomore year, 1997-1998, p. 214)

What happened: After she ended a relationship with a high-ranking cadet, he refused to accept the breakup, resigned his cadet position, then "eventually destroying my personal property and leaving disturbing notes in my quarters when I refused to go out with him anymore."

Consequence for Mace: She went from being called "the bitch" to "the whore" in the Corps' eyes.

Episode F: Campus Smear Campaign on Sexuality and Reproductive History (ongoing, p. 215)

What happened: Campus gossip accused her of being a drunk, a drug addict, a "dyke," and a slut. The most extreme smear: "According to campus gossip, I'd had several abortions and more than one illegitimate child."

Episode G: Charleston Society Women's Taunting (recurring, p. 135)

What happened: At games, affluent female Citadel supporters called her ugly, butch, a slut, a whore, and a "dyke" from the stands. Mace says: "The worst abuse in public usually came from other females."

The M&M Lawsuit: Messer and Mentavlos

Kim Messer and Jeanie Mentavlos were two of the four female cadets who entered with Mace in August 1996. Both left after their first semester, citing hazing and sexual harassment. They later sued The Citadel. Their case is documented in public court records and contemporaneous news coverage.

Allegations by Messer and Mentavlos (from their lawsuit, reported by news outlets):

Clothing set on fire while wearing it (multiple times; a cadet named Edward Bohm was identified as responsible for at least one fire)
Forced consumption of tea until they became ill
Forced confinement in a closet
Photographs digitally altered to show explicit sexual content and posted online
A cadet entering their room in only underwear
A cadet pressing himself against them
Forced exposure to explicit images
Cadets telling Mentavlos "the first freshman to have sex with her would become an honorary upperclassman"

What The Citadel did: One male cadet was dismissed, three resigned, and ten others received lesser punishments. Approximately 14 male cadets were disciplined in total. Prosecutors declined to file criminal charges.

Legal outcome: The Citadel settled out of court with a monetary payment to both plaintiffs while admitting no guilt. Mace notes this in a footnote at p. 190.

Court record: Mentavlos v. Anderson et al., 249 F.3d 301 (4th Cir. 2001).

Mentavlos's statement to the press: "I'm seeking justice. The major goal here is to make sure that it doesn't happen to anybody else."

Interim President Clifton Poole's warning after the incidents: All cadets would face expulsion if they harassed or hazed female cadets.

Incoming President John S. Grinalds's statement: "I don't believe there has been anything that has been covered up."

Mace's Published Criticism of Messer and Mentavlos

Mace's book is sharply critical of both roommates. Her criticism appears in both the narrative and in contemporaneous letters she reprints in the appendix.

On Kim Messer

"She not only went back on her word almost immediately, but worse, she lied about it... It made me furious. I hate to be lied to." (pp. 45-46, 146)

Context: Messer had promised not to smoke in their shared room and broke that promise immediately, then lied about it even when Mace found cigarette butts in the trash.

Additional charges Mace makes against Messer: left the room in a mess that got Mace written up and punished; stayed up all night on the computer violating lights-out policy; came back from leave smelling of alcohol; came back one weekend too drunk to stand and vomited on herself; and impulsively shaved the back of her head against orders, then pressured Mace to do the same, triggering a national media scandal for which Mace was scolded despite refusing to participate.

On Jeanie Mentavlos and Both Women

From a letter Mace wrote at the time and reprints in the appendix:

"A bunch of you know what's, wusses... They are bags looking for excuses to leave. Well, all and total respect lost for them and their families... they have been losing their glow for some time now, with Jeanie's behavior." (p. 249)

Context: This was a private letter from Mace that she chose to republish in her own book.

Character Index

All named individuals who appear in the memoir in connection with events described here. Page references are to first or most significant appearance.

Name	Role	Pages	Context
Brigadier General Emory Mace	Nancy's father; Commandant of Cadets	pp. 1, 24, 214	Described as emotionally distant in childhood; later became Commandant; expelled her from his office when she visited without appointment
Kim Messer	Mace's roommate, Band Company	pp. 45-46, 146, 163-164, 168	Left after one semester; sued The Citadel; Mace criticizes her sharply
Jeanie Mentavlos	Fellow female cadet	pp. 168, 249	Left after one semester; sued The Citadel; subject of Mace's harshest published letter
Shannon Faulkner	First woman admitted to The Citadel (1995)	pp. 15, 29, 230	Left after one week; no accusation of wrongdoing by Mace
Mr. Rawlinson	Cadet 1st Sgt., Band Company	pp. 65-67, 142	Singled out Mace at first mess; later apologized to her on behalf of his class
Mr. Jones (cadet)	2nd Battalion Commander	pp. 94-95	Racked Mace alone out of 20 cadets in a group; she calls it discriminatory
Mr. Schuler	Platoon sergeant	pp. 138, 195	Dunked her hat in dirty water; later explicitly acknowledged her sexual harassment complaint as "sexual harassment, which was illegal" and acted on it
Mr. Kaufman	Band Company corporal	p. 143	With Ingram, cornered her and threatened to make her "all theirs"
Mr. Ingram	Band Company corporal	pp. 141, 143	With Kaufman; notorious for excessive racking on laundry runs
Mr. Butler	Upperclassman	pp. 165-167	Repeatedly ordered her back to the barber over a haircut that already met regulation
Mr. Sharp	Cadet	pp. 104, 223	His racking was cited as extreme; later pointedly excluded her from the ring celebration
Mr. Hood	Tailor Shop cadet	p. 64	Loomed close with "hot breath exploding in my face" during her uniform fitting
Mr. Wizeman	Company operations sergeant	pp. 45, 84, 144	Told her she was "unwelcome at The Citadel"; his attitude later turned supportive
Mr. Dye	Supportive officer	pp. 196, 136	Delivered the painful news that her harasser made the Commandant's List; also occasionally escorted the drunk alumnus away at games
Colonel Lackey	Officer	p. 143	Reported by corporals (unconfirmed by Mace) to have said she had the worst appearance of any female knob
Major Day	Officer/administrator	p. 232	Had told her three years earlier he regretted the admission of women; reversed his view by graduation
"Echo Company psycho"	Unnamed cadet, Echo Company	p. 142	Threatened to body slam her; was eventually expelled for aggression
The drunk alumnus	Unnamed; Citadel alumnus	pp. 135-136	Came to every game to step on her shoes and whisper sexual obscenities in her ear
Anonymous hate-mail writer	Unnamed woman	pp. 34, 228	Sent vicious unsigned letters to Mace's mother for nearly three years
Anonymous ex-boyfriend	Unnamed; "one of the highest ranking cadets in the Corps"	p. 214	Refused to accept breakup; destroyed her property; left threatening notes
Edward Bohm	Named cadet (M&M case, not Mace's own account)	Court records	Identified in Mentavlos's lawsuit as having set Mentavlos's clothing on fire
Board of Visitors "old gentleman"	Senior official, unnamed	pp. 165-167	Complained about Mace's regulation haircut; order to thin her hair "from above the [Citadel] president"
New York attorney	Unnamed; counsel for another female applicant	p. 32	Mace says he "accidentally" announced her name and hometown in open court, triggering media attention
Unnamed freelance photographer	Press	p. 55	Slipped past press ropes to photograph Kim Messer's tears during the haircut; was ejected

Thematic Sections

Sexual Harassment

Mace documents multiple distinct sexual harassment episodes over her four years. The most significant:

A male knob simulated a sex act behind her in January 1997 (pp. 194-196). Her platoon sergeant called it "sexual harassment, which was illegal." Both accused cadets were punished. The aggressor was later honored as the "best knob in Band Company."
A platoon sergeant forced her to shout inside the men's bathroom for his amusement (p. 107).
Two corporals made a menacing possession threat, telling her they would make her "all theirs" (p. 143).
A drunk alumnus whispered sexual obscenities in her ear at every game throughout the fall 1996 season (pp. 135-136).
An ex-boyfriend who was a high-ranking cadet refused a breakup, destroyed her property, and left threatening notes in her quarters (p. 214).
Campus gossip accused her of multiple abortions and an illegitimate child over the course of four years (p. 215).
Affluent alumni women called her a slut, a whore, and a dyke from the stands at games (p. 135).

Hostile Environment

The memoir documents systemic gender-based hostility beyond individual incidents:

Anonymous nighttime shouts of "Whore!", "Dyke!", "Get out of our school!" from galleries (p. 153)
"Go home, bitch" written in shaving cream on her door (p. 145)
Obscene email addressed to "Bitch" calling her "ugly bitch," "slut," and "disgrace" (p. 132)
A cadet who followed her alone at night hissing, "You-are-a-piece-of-shit! Leave-my-school!" (p. 153)
A coordinated PT run through the barracks with cadets chanting "We love girl-last class / All male" (p. 142)
Total social isolation in class: no one would sit near her; whispered mockery from classmates (p. 98)
The Class of 1999 and their families hissing at her "like a roomful of angry snakes" at her ring ceremony (pp. 221, 226)
An anonymous woman sending vicious letters to her mother for nearly three years, hinting at violence near graduation (pp. 34, 228)
Citadel administrators teaching her to recognize a letter bomb before graduation (p. 228)

Academic Achievement Within This Context

Mace frames her persistence against this environment as her central achievement. Despite ADD, the physical demands of cadet life, sleep deprivation caused by her roommate, a stress injury to her pelvis (p. 138), and constant psychological pressure, she achieved Citadel Gold Stars and placement on the Commandant's List.

Women's Policy and Institutional Reform

The book traces Mace's participation in committee work on women's issues, sexual-harassment education, and policy reform at The Citadel during her four years. She describes working within the system to change it from inside, rather than through litigation or public agitation.

The memoir documents several concrete institutional failures and their remediation:

The renaming of "Douche Detail" to "Hydro Detail" (p. 107)
Interim President Poole's warning that cadets faced expulsion for harassing female cadets
Establishment of a harassment reporting chain that actually resulted in punishment (the January 1997 episode)

The M&M Lawsuit and Mace's Position

Mace's book occupies an unusual position relative to Messer and Mentavlos. She documents the same hostile environment they documented in their lawsuit, makes no accusation that their claims were false, and in a footnote records that The Citadel settled with a monetary payment (p. 190). At the same time, her narrative and her reprinted letters are sharply critical of both women personally, calling them "bags looking for excuses to leave" and saying she lost "all and total respect" for them (p. 249).

Reflections on Groundbreaking and Isolation

The Preface (pp. ix-xi) describes visiting the Citadel museum and finding that her photo, placed near the first Black graduate's photo, carries only a factual list of achievements with none of the warm appreciative commentary given to her predecessor:

"The silence speaks volumes." (p. xii)

She does not characterize herself as a "pioneer":

"Journalists have repeatedly asked me how it feels to be a pioneer. I wouldn't know. I do not think of myself as a pioneer; I think of myself as a cadet." (p. xi)

Publication and Reception

Original publication: Simon and Schuster, 2001. The book was marketed to both general audiences and young adult readers, leading to the simultaneous hardcover (adult imprint) and paperback (Simon Pulse, the young adult imprint) editions.

Pat Conroy endorsement: Conroy, himself a Citadel alumnus and author of The Lords of Discipline (a novel about Citadel-style abuse), called the book "provocative, hilarious, illuminating and true." His endorsement carries particular weight given that The Lords of Discipline documented abusive hazing culture at a fictionalized version of The Citadel decades before Mace enrolled.

Library classification: Catalogued under women military cadets, biography, and The Citadel; also classified for juvenile literature, reflecting its dual marketing.

Contemporaneous news context: The book was published four years after the Messer-Mentavlos hazing scandal broke publicly (December 1996-January 1997) and two years after Mace's graduation (May 1999). By 2001 the Citadel had already settled the Messer-Mentavlos lawsuit.

Congressional relevance: A 2012 NBC News article referenced the memoir in connection with Mace's early advocacy on military sexual assault legislation, noting her Citadel background as context for her congressional work on survivor protections.

Broader Citadel context: A Citadel survey (released mid-2000s, referenced in public reports) found approximately one in five (20 percent) female cadets reported experiencing sexual assault since enrollment, underscoring that the environment Mace described was systemic.

Sourcing and External Links

Primary Source (Memoir)

Amazon: In the Company of Men: A Woman at The Citadel (Nancy Mace and Mary Jane Ross, Simon and Schuster, 2001)
Simon and Schuster publisher page
Goodreads: reader reviews and ratings
WorldCat: library catalog record
Publishers Weekly review

Court Record (M&M Case)

Justia: Mentavlos v. Anderson et al., 249 F.3d 301 (4th Cir. 2001)