Appointee in trouble with the law

navig8r

5-Year Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2010
Messages
76
This is a very weird question and this is probably not the right spot on this forum to post it but from a parent's perspective it bears asking somewhere.

In our community a high school senior was arrested recently in connection with a planned attack on his high school. It was big news and all over the newspapers. Then, a friend from another school was also arrested as some sort of accomplice. Although the names were not released because of the students ages, there were loads of comments posted online (again - it's a pretty small community) so it was not any big secret who the kids were.

The second student was allegedly already accepted to West Point and had already locked in a nomination. I am sure none of this has gone to court yet and the outcome could easily prove the innocence of either or both kids. And, frankly, it's none of anybody's business what the details of THIS incident are.

But it did make me come back to a "what if" sort of scenario. My question is this - if a students gets an appointment to any SA, am I safe in assuming that any kind of trouble the student could get into is going to seriously jeopardize their chances of attending that school?

It's one of those questions that is coming back to me for the second time now that I have a boy in this position. A boy in my older daughter's class received an appontment to the Naval Academy. His mom and I were casual friends and she would not allow her son to do ANYTHING once he got that appointment. No prom, no graduation party, nothing. And her rationale to me was that if, God forbid, ANYTHING happened - even if her son was innocent - it would not jeopardize his appointment.

I thought she was maybe overreacting, but in light of the recent news stories, maybe she was on the right track. My son is a great kid, has never been in any kind of trouble and makes very good decisions. On the other hand, he's an 18 year old boy. What are the things that will get your appointment yanked (just because I need something else to worry about)?

Can anyone weigh in on this?
 
If you break the law, before you go to a service academy, you could very easily lose your spot. I had a classmate who's record came back to bite him, and he was marched out before the school year began.
 
I'm not exactly sure what you're asking here...its sort of obvious that any trouble with the law will get your appointment/other college acceptance revoked.
 
I think navig8r is asking whether we agree with the other mother's perspective, considering what could happen.

I understand why the parent has cause for concern, however, her son needs to grow up. He can't do that if she's suffocating him from things most seniors in high school do. To grow up, we have to make mistakes and learn from them. She should be there to support him and offer advice and constructive criticism. He doesn't need to be bottle fed any more.
 
I think navig8r is asking whether we agree with the other mother's perspective, considering what could happen.

Well I agree with armybratkl then. If a person is qualified enough to get an appointment to a service academy, I highly doubt he/she would be irresponsible or careless enough to get in that kind of trouble.
 
I think her son should be allowed to make his own decisions (to an extent, since he is likely still underage and living with his parents).

Well I agree with armybratkl then. If a person is qualified enough to get an appointment to a service academy, I highly doubt he/she would be irresponsible or careless enough to get in that kind of trouble.

You would be surprised. :rolleyes:
 
:unhappy: well then good riddance! I dont think the Army or WP wants troublemakers, so natural selection can get rid of such people and appoint other qualified students
 
Planning an attack on the school...
Just the fact that they were involved in such at all is a good indicator that they do not belong at a service academy (or any university, for that matter!) Until properly psycho-analysed, because that's how events like Virginia Tech happen! I.E, The signs being there and people saying "Oh, they pleaded innocent, soo..."

Now of course my heart goes out to those in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that's life, so-to-speak. Like your friend's mother encouraged, stay out of those types of situations... ach.
 
Well I agree with armybratkl then. If a person is qualified enough to get an appointment to a service academy, I highly doubt he/she would be irresponsible or careless enough to get in that kind of trouble.

There seems to be a myth that students who get into service academies are above reproach. They are still human, and thus capable of falling into a myriad of temptations. I have heard stories about "near saint-like" behavior and behavior that is so very far from that. :eek: Don't kid yourself; these students can and will behave in irresponsible and careless ways. Not all; not most...but some will. Take the cadets off the pedestal--they do not deserve to be there, nor do they want to be.
 
I have to admit that the months before my son left for WP were nervewracking for me and I had to resist the bubblewrap approach. I was more worried about a sports injury of some sort rather than him getting into trouble. (Although the warning he got for speeding a couple of weeks before he left sure gave us a scare). But I think you have to just let go and hope for the best. Our relationship would have really suffered if we had acted like your (IMO) WAY overprotective friend. We sat him down and impressed upon him the consequences of his getting into some sort of trouble or getting hurt but, ultimately, the decisions had to be his.
 
We sat him down and impressed upon him the consequences of his getting into some sort of trouble or getting hurt but, ultimately, the decisions had to be his.

EXACTLY what this parent should be doing. Her son either is, or is about to turn 18. Whether he goes to the Naval Academy or not, he will soon be out of the house. If she can't trust him to at the very least attempt to make the correct decisions, how on earth is she ever going to let him move out on his own?
 
Thank you to everyone for your comments.

My original post may not have been as clear to everyone else as it was to me when I read it over-but then, I knew what I was trying to say.

In my own situation, my son has already had that serious talk from mom and dad about just how much of his future he would be screwing up at this point by doing any number of things - from letting his GPA slip to making a decision to get into a car with someone he doesn't know and totally trust to a million other things.

From all indications, he gets it - in a very big way. And if he makes the wrong decision, he will live with the consequences-whatever they may be. I don't make his bed or his choices anymore and, as has been echoed by many on this forum, he will be making his own choices in another environment in just a few months. I have every confidence that I have done my job well and he is ready to dedicate himself to his own future and will be just fine.

The question I wonder about is "just what gets you sacked by the service academy that has already offered you an appointment?" In the example I used in my original posting, the situation seemed pretty darn serious, if it was accurate (and I have no idea whether it was). And regardless of how it all shakes out in court, does this kid lose his spot because he was arrested (not convicted)? Does the academy make you wait until your case is disposed of in court (in which case, do you wait until the following year, need a new nomination, etc.)? It just seems like the mere act of getting arrested (whether you really did anything or not) has the potential to just completely screw up everything you had to do to get yourself into that academy in the first place.

I tend to think that totally innocent kids would be hard pressed to get themsleves arrested for no reason, but I suppose anything's possible.
 
There seems to be a myth that students who get into service academies are above reproach. They are still human, and thus capable of falling into a myriad of temptations. I have heard stories about "near saint-like" behavior and behavior that is so very far from that. :eek: Don't kid yourself; these students can and will behave in irresponsible and careless ways. Not all; not most...but some will. Take the cadets off the pedestal--they do not deserve to be there, nor do they want to be.

True, I agree it would be burdensome and awkward for people to over-praise cadets or would-be cadets, but I still think that more should be expected of them. I mean, they're potential future Army officers! How much higher can the standards get if it doesnt stop with them? They didnt get appointed for nothing...I'm sure that those who apply and get accepted are the brightest and smartest group of students out there and it just beats me to even imagine such people making critical mistakes. Sure, they're human, but even so I would assume that any mistakes they make would be much less severe - breaking the law is very serious and its not something even the average high school student would do.
 
:unhappy: well then good riddance! I dont think the Army or WP wants troublemakers, so natural selection can get rid of such people and appoint other qualified students



Haha, the Army regularly "waives" some of the disqualifiers for trouble makers. The hope however is that they do not remain trouble makers. :thumb:

Let the kid make his own decisions. If he's been good up to this point, he likely want good of the deep end. I was a senior and TPed (rolled) a house of a friend of a friend...my parents were not happy with that decision, as it could have been a problem if someone had made a big deal about it. Luckily no one did.

I was much more worried about sports injuries....rolled my foot and felt a pop at soccer practice. Then I played on it that night in ice hockey.....


Foot got better, but I still had a little tiny fear, that did NOT affect the way I played, in the back of my mind.
 
but I still think that more should be expected of them.

Concur, they are getting a fine college education at the expense of the tax paying public. Those tax payers should expect "more" from their investment. And they generally get it.
 
No offense to the original poster, but I have to wonder if her real question is if she herself should call up WP and share the news that one of their appointees is not quite what they thought. Her son is competing against this kid for a spot at WP and WHY should the trouble maker be allowed to take a spot, correct? As I said...NO OFFENSE...because I am right there with ya! I recently found out that someone competing against my son got in some trouble with the law and very few people know about it. Yes, it will bother me if that kid gets an appointment and my son does not. Life is not always fair but it is what it is....
 
Innocent until proven guilty.

If he/she IS guilty, they'll pick it up on the background check.
 
Replying to riroka:

No offense taken. But let me be very clear that my son is not in competition with the boy who was arrested and never was.

My son has an appointment to a completely different SA. And I am sure - having lived through the entire application/appointment process (even though it was a different school), that WP must be aware of what's going on and if it affects this particular young man's appointment.

In any case, it is certainly not my place (or any other parent's place-whether their child is in "competition" or not with the kid in question) to approach WP with this info.
 
Back
Top