Mom to mom, I have a question for you. My son has received 4 ROTC scholarships - VMI, The Citadel and two civilian colleges. By JAN. 3, he has to let ROTC know which scholarship he will accept. VMI was his first choice. We have visited the school and we all thought it was wonderful. Son said he could really see himself there if he did not get in WP ( he has an LOA and nomination but is waiting on a medical waiver). However, on this forum, someone mentioned about VMI and the Citadel having a "bad rep." Below are this persons comments when asked about this statement:
"Well, all the reports coming out of VMI and the Citadel about racism, klan glorificaiton, insane hazing, the nazi glorification, and experiences that my brother (a cadet at USMA) has had with a citadel grad who was supposedly the norm in terms of behavior for citadel grads as a whole, i just don't want to go to either of those."
As a Mom, this greatly concerned me, so I started doing a little research. Looked at youtube and did some Googling. I found evidence to support the hazing reputation. Most disturbing was an article I found by a Richmond newspaper about VMI hazing and showed pictures. I showed these pictures to my son and he said that he did not want to go there anymore. VMI has now moved to the bottom of his list. Believe me, he is aware of what being a Rat is like (as much as you can without actually experiencing it). He is not put off by that. But there is a fine line between being mentally and physically challenged and hazing. Of the many tenants of a SMC, two that are important to my son are honor and discipline. These pictures do not represent honor or discipline. What goes on behind closed doors should be just as honorable and disciplined what goes on outside. Can you shed any light on this? I would like for him to reconsider if we had any good information regarding VMI and hazing. You have a child there. What have you heard, what has your child heard or experienced? We are short on time here. Jan 3 deadline is definitely looming! As a Mom, I could not stand the thought of my child being hazed. Worked hard past exhaustion, OK. But mistreatment and humiliation, no. I guess it is hard for me to believe that a great school like VMI has this going on. I know it is not tolerated by administration. But what goes on behind closed doors tends to stay behind closed doors for fear of retribution.
I really appreciate your input!
BTW, 1st choice is one of the civilian colleges. We have heard much worse about The Citadel.
"Well, all the reports coming out of VMI and the Citadel about racism, klan glorificaiton, insane hazing, the nazi glorification, and experiences that my brother (a cadet at USMA) has had with a citadel grad who was supposedly the norm in terms of behavior for citadel grads as a whole, i just don't want to go to either of those."
As a Mom, this greatly concerned me, so I started doing a little research. Looked at youtube and did some Googling. I found evidence to support the hazing reputation. Most disturbing was an article I found by a Richmond newspaper about VMI hazing and showed pictures. I showed these pictures to my son and he said that he did not want to go there anymore. VMI has now moved to the bottom of his list. Believe me, he is aware of what being a Rat is like (as much as you can without actually experiencing it). He is not put off by that. But there is a fine line between being mentally and physically challenged and hazing. Of the many tenants of a SMC, two that are important to my son are honor and discipline. These pictures do not represent honor or discipline. What goes on behind closed doors should be just as honorable and disciplined what goes on outside. Can you shed any light on this? I would like for him to reconsider if we had any good information regarding VMI and hazing. You have a child there. What have you heard, what has your child heard or experienced? We are short on time here. Jan 3 deadline is definitely looming! As a Mom, I could not stand the thought of my child being hazed. Worked hard past exhaustion, OK. But mistreatment and humiliation, no. I guess it is hard for me to believe that a great school like VMI has this going on. I know it is not tolerated by administration. But what goes on behind closed doors tends to stay behind closed doors for fear of retribution.
I really appreciate your input!
BTW, 1st choice is one of the civilian colleges. We have heard much worse about The Citadel.