Editing Charles Whitman (section)

==University life==
In September 1961, Whitman entered the [[mechanical engineering]] program at UT Austin. He was initially a poor student. His hobbies included [[karate]], [[scuba diving]], gambling, and hunting.<ref>{{harv|Cawthorne|2007|p=72}}</ref> Shortly after his enrollment, Whitman and two friends were observed [[poaching]] a deer, with a passerby recording his license plate number and reporting them to the police. The trio were butchering the deer in the shower at Whitman's dormitory when they were arrested.<ref name="leduc"/> Whitman was [[fine (penalty)|fined]] $100 (${{Inflation|US|100|1961|r=-2|fmt=c}} in {{Inflation-year|US}}) for the offense.<ref>{{harv|Lavergne|1997|p=20}}</ref>

Whitman earned a reputation as a practical joker in his years as an engineering student, but his friends also noted he made some morbid and chilling statements. In 1962, he remarked to a fellow student, "A person could stand off an army from atop of [the [[Main Building (University of Texas at Austin)|Main Building]]'s clock tower] before they got him."<ref name="Mass Murderers' p. 46">{{harv|Time-Life Books|1993|p=44}}</ref>

===Marriage===
[[File:Wedding Photo of Charles and Kathleen Leissner Whitman.jpg|160px|thumb|Whitman and Leissner at their wedding in 1962]]
In February 1962, 20-year-old Whitman met Kathleen Frances Leissner, an education major three years his junior.<ref name="Lavergne 1997 11–12">{{harv|Lavergne|1997|pp=11–12}}</ref> Leissner was Whitman's first serious girlfriend; he briefly dated actress [[Deanna Dunagan]] just prior to beginning his relationship with Leissner.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://observer.com/2017/09/interview-deanna-dunagan-on-playing-yet-another-unlovable-mother-in-the-treasurer/|title=Deanna Dunagan on Playing Yet Another Unlovable Mother|author=Harry Haun|date=September 29, 2017|work=[[The New York Observer]]|access-date=September 18, 2021|archive-date=September 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918220827/https://observer.com/2017/09/interview-deanna-dunagan-on-playing-yet-another-unlovable-mother-in-the-treasurer/|url-status=live}}</ref> They courted for five months before announcing their engagement on July 19.<ref name="Lavergne 1997 11–12"/>

On August 17, 1962, Whitman and Leissner were married in a Catholic ceremony held in Leissner's hometown of [[Needville, Texas]].<ref name=freelance>
{{cite news|title=Profile of a Sniper: Easygoing and Cheerful|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IflNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1019,6416474|newspaper=The Free Lance-Star|date=August 2, 1966|page=2|access-date=2015-11-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209004712/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IflNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bIsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1019,6416474&dq=leissner+charles+whitman&hl=en|archive-date=2015-12-09|url-status=live}}</ref> The couple chose the 22nd wedding anniversary of Whitman's parents as the date for their wedding.<ref name="Mass Murderers' p. 46"/> Whitman's family drove from Florida to attend the event, and his younger brother Patrick served as [[best man]]. Father Leduc, a Whitman family friend, presided over the ceremony. Leissner's family and friends approved of her choice of husband, describing Whitman as a "handsome young man" who was both intelligent and aspirational.<ref>{{harv|Lavergne|1997|p=12}}</ref>

Although Whitman's grades improved somewhat during his second and third semesters, the Marines considered them insufficient for continuation of his scholarship. He was ordered to active duty in February 1963<ref>
[http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fwh42 "Handbook of Texas Online."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130311035028/http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fwh42 |date=2013-03-11 }} tshanonline.com. Retrieved: November 2, 2010.
</ref> and went to [[Camp Lejeune]] in [[North Carolina]], for the remainder of his five-year enlistment.<ref>{{harv|Mayo|2008|p=372}}</ref>

===Camp Lejeune===
Whitman apparently resented his college studies being ended, although he was automatically promoted to the rank of [[Lance Corporal#United States|Lance Corporal]]. At Camp Lejeune, he was hospitalized for four days<ref name="findings">
[http://alt.cimedia.com/statesman/specialreports/whitman/findings.pdf "Deranged tower sniper rained death on UT campus."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708154238/http://alt.cimedia.com/statesman/specialreports/whitman/findings.pdf |date=2011-07-08 }} ''Houston Chronicle.'' Retrieved: November 2, 2010.
</ref> after single-handedly freeing another Marine by lifting a [[Jeep]] which had rolled over an embankment.<ref>{{harv|Time-Life Books|1993|p=48}}</ref>

Despite his reputation as an exemplary Marine, Whitman continued to gamble. In November 1963, he was [[court-martial]]ed for gambling, [[usury]], possession of a personal firearm on base, and threatening another Marine over a $30 loan (${{Inflation|US|30|1963|r=-2|fmt=c}} in {{Inflation-year|US}}) for which he had demanded $15 in interest. Sentenced to thirty days of confinement and ninety days of [[hard labor]], he was demoted from lance corporal (E-3) to private (E-1).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://alt.cimedia.com/statesman/specialreports/whitman/findings.pdf|title=Report to the Governor, Medical Aspects, Charles J. Whitman Catastrophe|date=September 8, 1966|publisher=alt.cimedia.com|page=3|access-date=June 16, 2006|archive-date=December 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215181220/http://alt.cimedia.com/statesman/specialreports/whitman/findings.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>