Let me start by saying the Service Academies are fantastic opportunities for the nations young men and women. They provide unique opportunities and challenge those selected to attend in many ways. Mentally, physically, and even morally.
However, in the past two weeks my faith in the quality of the institutions has been shaken, specifically USNA. During the past two weeks I have heard thru parents the recounting of several stories regarding behavior in Bancroft Hall that at any civilian school would result in fines, eviction, disenrollment, or even criminal charges. Sadly, the source of these stories and the discussion around them consider it humorous and "entitled" because the Midshipmen are giving up all other social life.
Let me start with the first incident. On a night highly anticipated by the Firsties, service selection, it was reported the rest of the Brigade was instructed to remain in thier rooms, doors locked, until the rancor settled. This was apparently from around 9pm until nearly 2am. During this time the large carts in the hallways were used to ram doors of underclassmen, bulletin boards were torn up and other "vandalism" took place. One mids Mom said her daughter feared leaving the room to even use the bathroom because of the comments being yelled thru the door.
The second incident was during Army Week. While the Brigade was "locked down" it was too late. After an act of vandalism in one of the Company wardrooms resulted in water damage exceeding $100,000 dollars at what point does adult supervision have to step in earlier to ensure the protection of facilities. This was not unique. There have been multiple times where I have seen pictures this year of rotting food and debris completly covering stairwells to the point is was impassable. These pranks exceed what could remotely be considered acceptable. The USNA protects Tecumseh with rules about what is allowed and it is always cleaned up. Yes, even the halls and stairwells are cleaned up but there is no accountability. Sure, it might be a conduct violation but just don't lie and take your lumps and the Mids are fine. Funny joke. There are better, non-destructive ways to prank. I pulled pranks in "regular college" but never did you cause damage to your "home." Anything like these actions would have resulted in significant consequences the first time, let alone the two or three occurances this semester.
The third item is what I understand to be the "running of the plebes" where the male Plebes run the halls of Bancroft in shoes and a jock strap or only a sock. By the end of the event they are usually only in the shoes. Really? In today's society? Didn't the Navy learn anything from Tailhook (google Tailhook scandal if you don't know what it is). Not to mention the military as a whole has a WELL DOCUMENTED issue with sexual assault and there are MANY OF US who are currently in the military who annually attend the mandatory training on how to recognize and prevent. This action and the acceptance is what is called an "enabling" event. How can accepting this behavior help teach the future leaders in the Navy to RESPECT each other? Is this "tradition" done by all companies? Seriously, USNA has some really great traditions but this shouldn't be one of them.
Not looking to start a bashing of USNA, just want to know if this is widespread behavior in all the Companies or if it is limited to just a few.
However, in the past two weeks my faith in the quality of the institutions has been shaken, specifically USNA. During the past two weeks I have heard thru parents the recounting of several stories regarding behavior in Bancroft Hall that at any civilian school would result in fines, eviction, disenrollment, or even criminal charges. Sadly, the source of these stories and the discussion around them consider it humorous and "entitled" because the Midshipmen are giving up all other social life.
Let me start with the first incident. On a night highly anticipated by the Firsties, service selection, it was reported the rest of the Brigade was instructed to remain in thier rooms, doors locked, until the rancor settled. This was apparently from around 9pm until nearly 2am. During this time the large carts in the hallways were used to ram doors of underclassmen, bulletin boards were torn up and other "vandalism" took place. One mids Mom said her daughter feared leaving the room to even use the bathroom because of the comments being yelled thru the door.
The second incident was during Army Week. While the Brigade was "locked down" it was too late. After an act of vandalism in one of the Company wardrooms resulted in water damage exceeding $100,000 dollars at what point does adult supervision have to step in earlier to ensure the protection of facilities. This was not unique. There have been multiple times where I have seen pictures this year of rotting food and debris completly covering stairwells to the point is was impassable. These pranks exceed what could remotely be considered acceptable. The USNA protects Tecumseh with rules about what is allowed and it is always cleaned up. Yes, even the halls and stairwells are cleaned up but there is no accountability. Sure, it might be a conduct violation but just don't lie and take your lumps and the Mids are fine. Funny joke. There are better, non-destructive ways to prank. I pulled pranks in "regular college" but never did you cause damage to your "home." Anything like these actions would have resulted in significant consequences the first time, let alone the two or three occurances this semester.
The third item is what I understand to be the "running of the plebes" where the male Plebes run the halls of Bancroft in shoes and a jock strap or only a sock. By the end of the event they are usually only in the shoes. Really? In today's society? Didn't the Navy learn anything from Tailhook (google Tailhook scandal if you don't know what it is). Not to mention the military as a whole has a WELL DOCUMENTED issue with sexual assault and there are MANY OF US who are currently in the military who annually attend the mandatory training on how to recognize and prevent. This action and the acceptance is what is called an "enabling" event. How can accepting this behavior help teach the future leaders in the Navy to RESPECT each other? Is this "tradition" done by all companies? Seriously, USNA has some really great traditions but this shouldn't be one of them.
Not looking to start a bashing of USNA, just want to know if this is widespread behavior in all the Companies or if it is limited to just a few.