Visting my Rat at VMI

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ThatRatsMom

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My daughter has been accepted to VMI, we have already booked a full year of hotel stays for tailgating, parents weekend, etc. We were curious if visiting our Rat after hell week and before the first day of classes (that would be Rat Crucible Sunday) just to eat dinner with her or visit with what little time she may have, or is it frowned upon...we don't want to cause any undue attention from the Cadre...

thanks!
 
The time to visit- post matriculation & before Parents Weekend is when they visit and take the Oath at the New Market battlefield followed by the Rat parade thru the town of New Market. I believe that is the weekend of Sept 7th. You will have the chance to have lunch on the Battlefield with your Rat and should be able to take them out for dinner that night back in Lexington. It's a really well done event and well worth the trip if you can make it.
http://www2.vmi.edu/museum/nm/index.html
 
Congrats to your daughter. My son was accepted as well! :smile:

We are planning to attend the event in New Market. Since you brought up the question about visiting them other times besides parent's weekend, I had the same type of question. My son's birthday will be on Sept. 28th which is a Sunday. There is a football game on the 27th. I was hoping to not only get some time with him after the game that evening but to also be able to take him out on Sunday for his birthday. Do they allow that or do we have to wait until Breakout for them to do those sorts of things?

Thank you! :smile:
 
You should be able to sign him out for a few hours on a "Dine with family" permit on that Saturday after the football game and Sunday of his birthday. :thumb:

As an aside- for those of you who want to send goodies (Birthday cakes, cookies, etc... to your Rat in barracks, you might try these guys. We spent beaucoup bucks sending stuff from The Dancing Deer- it always arrived fresh and in one piece and went within about half an hour https://www.dancingdeer.com/
At one point the Parents Counsel had an arrangement for raising money with a similar bakery but I can't find that anywhere? Other parents of cadets, former cadets may have other similar favorite places to share.:wink:
 
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bruno said:
The time to visit- post matriculation & before Parents Weekend is when they visit and take the Oath at the New Market battlefield followed by the Rat parade thru the town of New Market. I believe that is the weekend of Sept 7th. You will have the chance to have lunch on the Battlefield with your Rat and should be able to take them out for dinner that night back in Lexington. It's a really well done event and well worth the trip if you can make it.
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Thanks for the info! We are so excited, we are even planning on spending a week for Thanksgiving to make sure those homeless Rats can have a place for a home cooked Thanksgiving feast!
 
+1 to Bruno, the New Market event is well worth the effort. If you have tailgating gear get there early, set up by the battlefield and be prepared to feed Rats (box lunches are provided but homemade goodies loved by all). We were able to have our Rat at hotel later that night to sleep and eat (bring casual gear so they can relax in room). www.ewbcadet.org is a site from which you can order birthday cakes, end of hell week packages, etc. and all proceeds go to VMI Engineers Without Borders. They deliver right to the cadet's room. Some class of 2017 VMI Parents formed a facebook page early on and it was a good source of info as several had upperclassmen in barracks as well. VMI is a grand adventure.
 
Wow, so much wonderful information. A million thank you's!

Yes, I hope to meet you as well ThatRatsMom! :smile: Is your daughter attending the STP? My son is planning to go. Sounds like a great idea to all of us.
 
DS is a fourth year, he attended STP last year and it made a major difference getting his first semester hard course out of the way and everything else discussed about STP. They formed the "stoop group" of about 7-8 cadets during STP, a study and hang out group. Later in the school year the parents became a tailgater and support group.
the ewbcadet site is great in that the cadet doesn't have to find time to go get a package from the mail room during the Rat line, he shows up to his room and it is already there.
be carful with facebook, more than once DS reported that Rats were getting boned for being tagged in pictures of them doing minor infractions posted by parents and significant others.
they won't call, they won't write, they will sleep most of the time when you are "visiting" them. You will send them encouraging emails, packages and prayers. You will swell with pride when you see them progress and grow outside of your perview. Trust the system, use the support avenues and good luck to us all.
 
zrxkuma said:
be carful with facebook, more than once DS reported that Rats were getting boned for being tagged in pictures of them doing minor infractions posted by parents and significant others.
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Ditto. If you are posting pictures of a cadet at ANY academy, military school, or ROTC program you shouldn't be tagging anybody. Same goes if your son or daughter is an officer or enlisted in the US military. You should ask permission before posting ANY details about your son or daughter, and your own FB should be locked down so that snoopers can't see who your FB friends are. Change privacy settings so that the only person who can see your friends list is you. Friends don't let friends (and strangers) have access to their friends list. And parents don't post pictures of their adult children without checking first.

Did you mean to say "getting boned"? Not sure what that means in your neck of the woods, but where I'm from, that's a reason to call the police.
 
I don't tag my son in Facebook pictures even now. I'm sure he doesn't want me to although we've never discussed it. I post pictures of him now and then (well both of my children actually) for far away family and friends to see but I never tag him or my daughter. I also never tag my friend's children nor do I post pictures of children that don't belong to me. Many people do not want their children's pictures out there no matter how old they are. That won't be an issue here. :thumb:

I like the idea of them getting their care packages delivered right to them. That will definitely make life easier for everyone. :smile:

Looking forward to meeting other parents and going on this journey with everyone.
 
I've learned "getting boned, dykes, ducks, and hays" mean something different at VMI than anywhere else :shake:
 
In the northeast at least "getting boned" is synonymous with the term "getting screwed (over)" So I'm assuming the person meant that the cadets who were tagged got in trouble in some way shape or form
 
If a FB page is set up definitely use it for info only. Some posting got too involved and it bit a few Rats. Low profile for the first six months, at least.
 
Getting "boned" is when a cadet is put on report and then gets demerits/ penalty tours. A "dyke" is a dual purpose word - it refers to the First classman who mentors a rat, or else from the same First Classman's perspective refers to the Rat. It comes from the old VMI term for different uniforms - the turnout would call out things like: "uniform for the assmebly is class dyke", or "sentinels will fall out in full guard dyke". The Rat's were called "Dykes" because they would help their FirstClassman put on their "Parade Dyke" -you can't do this by yourself, somebody needs to help you get the cross belts or wind your red sash on. "Ducks" are your white uniform pants, and your "hay" is your most cherished possession - your mattress. And your "rack" is what your hay lays on (ie - it is a wooden cot).

:wink:
 
trisnlanismom said:
Wow, so much wonderful information. A million thank you's!

Yes, I hope to meet you as well ThatRatsMom! :smile: Is your daughter attending the STP? My son is planning to go. Sounds like a great idea to all of us.
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She sure is, either Biology or Chemistry, waiting for the official start date for application process before they will help with answering questions...we got the trunk and are taking our time filling it!:thumb:
 
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