A lawyer representing a group of nine Randolph College students challenging the school's decision to admit men argued this week for the Virginia Supreme Court to grant an appeal.

The lawsuit, which Lynchburg Circuit Judge Leyburn Mosby Jr. dismissed in January, alleges that the school breached an implied contract with students by adopting coeducation.

The students are seeking a decision that would reverse the school's coed decision until they graduate, said Wyatt B. Durrette Jr., a Richmond-based lawyer representing the group.

"I thought it went well," Durrette said of Monday's hearing. "The panel [of three justices] was engaged, and I got a number of questions. I was very pleased with that part of it."

During oral arguments for petitions for appeal, the side seeking appeal speaks to the panel for 10 minutes. The opposing side does not address the court.

Officials at Randolph College, formerly Randolph-Macon Woman's College, have maintained their confidence in the choice to go coed, which was largely a financial decision.

Usually, the court will deliberate whether to hear an appeal and announce its decision about three weeks after the oral argument, Durrette said.

The court also will decide in the coming months whether to allow another appeal challenging Randolph College's decision.

A group of seven students and donors assert in that case that the school's board of trustees may not use the college's assets to benefit men. The group contends that the school is a "nonstock, charitable corporation" that accepted donations from people during a time when its mission was the education of primarily women.

Mosby also dismissed that suit in January.

Durrette said if appealed, that particular case could have far-reaching consequences relating to colleges and their assets.

"This is not something that's about money," Durrette said. "It's about core values, and people care deeply."
Christa Desrets is a staff writer at The News & Advance in Lynchburg.