What other college students have to say about the Academy

I just went back and reread the article - the link above doesn't work by the way.....

What does she have to retract?? Honestly, she didn't realize he could actually be in the US Navy until after he went - so what?

She is getting used to the idea of her brother in the military? Good for her - perhaps she has never had a family member in the military before. Or never known anyone to go into the military. If anything she expresses a fear that her brother could go to war and die.

I didn't see where she was "spouting off" about the military and honestly I thought the part where she called the Academy to "get him out" was hysterical if misguided.
 
peskemom said:
Winston Churchill is quoted as saying:
If you're in your 20's and not a liberal you don't have a heart
but
if you're in your 40's and not a conservative you don't have a brain.
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I love this! I guess I have a heart and a brain!
 
Another piece of bad judgement on the part of the author of the article - what right did she have to drag her brother into the public spotlight? He didn't ask for that. I'm sure his shipmates are supportive of him but everybody now knows that he's got an idiot for a sister. No, he probably didn't need that.
 
Well, for some of us the article is no big deal. Liberals at 20. Yep. The Thursday night the last Iraqi war started, I had one son on CNN sitting on catapault 3 for the first Navy launch of the war while my other son was being interviewed on FOX as a participant in a college peace vigil where he was quoted to say that there are much better ways to solve world problems than with F-14s. Even though they didn't speak to each other for about a year, I love them both.
 
The Churchill quote is appropriate to the situation. Let's all agree that the young woman is, at the least, naive. As been stated many times in the responses to her article, she is a Barnard College student not a student at Colombia University. The Seven Sisters have a history of attracting, not an open mind, but an insulated mind. They think alike, they walk alike and at times they even talk alike. I don't want to give Colombia absolution. For all of you old Geezers (myself included), you will be happy to know that the SDS chapter at Colombia has recently been reactivated as an active "on campus" chapter. AHH, Travis AFB, Homecoming, Lest we forget.
 
Actually will be interesting to see what she posts in the next 3 parts of her 4 part editorial.

The article is still there but the link has changed, perhaps when they fixed whatever caused the website to crash recently.

http://www.columbiaspectator.com

I didn't store it, but if you use this link and do a search on her name or a specific phrase in the article, it does pop back up. (Apparently their entire website is devoted to Iran today, so none of the regular material is there).

Since she is a senior in college and has written articles before, it does seem that anything entitled "The Truth about.......", even if an editorial, carries a responsibility for the author to do their research and at least be factually correct about statements being made.
 
Since she is a senior in college and has written articles before, it does seem that anything entitled "The Truth about.......", even if an editorial, carries a responsibility for the author to do their research and at least be factually correct about statements being made.
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hmmmmm maybe I missed something - but what statements, specifically, were not factually correct?
She seemed to get it right in the end -
 
Here's a look at a Liberal Arts College.

Yesterday, I sent my son a cut and paste copy of Ms. Leppla's article as an FYI and asked him to jot down his thoughts. He's currently attending college at an old, esteemed college of 'Liberal' education in Lancaster Pennsylvania, attempting another shot at an appointment to Annapolis. He called me back this evening with an interesting story. He is taking a course that deals 20th century American History. He had a paper that had to
use supportive evidence to answer the question of how the automobile changed the history of the United States between 1900 and 1920.

He did a great deal of research, using the Internet as a source to access the libraries of several mid-western universities for their compilations of old news reports. With a long bibliography and copious footnotes, he developed the theme that the automobile had an immense effect on the society of the very disparate farm communities of the mid-west. In fact, he wrote, the automobile, in a very large part, was responsible for the creation of community and the development of entrepreneurial enterprise and economies where none would have existed. He supported his conclusions with factual examples from that period.

Want to guess what the "right" answer was to the question? Yes, the introduction of the automobile is responsible for Global Warming. He received a B for research and a B for content. Other papers from other members of the class contained no evidence of fact but were filled with emotion about the destruction of the world by the internal combustion engine. He said that Ms. Leppla's paper would have received an A+ for both content and evidence by his professor.

When the pinhead academics speak of the open minded search for truth, remember that it is their "truth" alone that they are interested in being open minded about.

If that's not enough, ask me about the countdown calender that hangs in the living room of a tenured, full professor and department chairman. Yeah, it counts down to the day George Bush leaves office! In a way, I'm glad that my son is getting first hand experience with people that aren't wired the same way he is wired. He's still reeling that not everyone on campus is a football fan! He was flabbergasted when some twit called him a "Nazi Football Brut". I laughed so hard I almost wet myself!

As hard as it is for us to understand the Liberal mind, at least we have the ability to articulate our search for understanding. They won't try to understand anything that doesn't fit between their very narrow view of the world and will readily reject that which they can't comprehend.

Ms. Leppla has just taken her first step in understanding that she is not immune from being wrong and that not everyone on earth thinks like she thinks. She probably doesn't realize it but she has taken the first step away from the dark side and into the Light! (Star Wars pun intended!)
 
Rather than rehash the article, there are over 700 comments at the Columbia website that are overwhelming negative about her article.

A few of my favorite mis-statements in here article include:

"....the lieutenant, he finally called me back, at which point he informed me that my brother would have to go through 13 exit-interviews to be dismissed, including an interview with the head of the Navy." (Those more familiar with the exit process state that you never talk to the 'head of the Navy' and mids can and do leave for a variety for reasons prior to their 3rd year).

"....When I asked him whether this might intimidate him out of leaving, the lieutenant reminded me that my brother had signed an oath legally binding him to the Navy. When I reminded the lieutenant that he had signed that oath after he had been yelled at all day"......(misleading....The oath is actually signed at the very start of I-day just to avoid this potential conflict of interest.)

"When they talked of courage and bravery, they showed a video of a Navy marine rounding off an unlimited supply of ammunition.".....(Those who attended I-day this year say no such movie was ever shown)

"During my brother’s plebe summer (his first summer), he could not talk to us for more than a few minutes once a week for fear that we might unduly influence him.".....(half-truth.....plebes get limited calls home and are told that ahead of time, the reason why....'unduly influenece him' is her interpretation of that).

Anyway.....I think you get the idea why some find the article so annoying.
 
Subsquid - you lucky dog!

Next time you visit your son in Lancaster you must eat at Mazzi's in Leola. The osso buco is fabulous as is the spinach and salmon ravioli. Ask for the featured red wine - it is served in an enormous wine glass.

Symposium in Centerville is a good, well-priced nouveau Greek restaurant w/ live music. Your son would like it.

And then there's Haydn Zug's in East Petersburg - ancient building, wonderful traditional cuisine - a bit dressy.

Ichiban has the best sushi I've ever had and Blue Pacific has an excellent cooked menu as well as sushi.

And if you're in need of the company of warm, lovely people who are pro-American, pro-military and of general goodness you can drag your son to (huge) Calvary Church on Sunday.

Then you won't have to focus on your son's class at F and M. Incidently, one of the best human beings I've ever met in college admissions works in the admissions office at F and M.
 
time2 said:
A few of my favorite mis-statements in here article include:

"....the lieutenant, he finally called me back, at which point he informed me that my brother would have to go through 13 exit-interviews to be dismissed, including an interview with the head of the Navy." (Those more familiar with the exit process state that you never talk to the 'head of the Navy' and mids can and do leave for a variety for reasons prior to their 3rd year).

"....When I asked him whether this might intimidate him out of leaving, the lieutenant reminded me that my brother had signed an oath legally binding him to the Navy. When I reminded the lieutenant that he had signed that oath after he had been yelled at all day"......(misleading....The oath is actually signed at the very start of I-day just to avoid this potential conflict of interest.)

"When they talked of courage and bravery, they showed a video of a Navy marine rounding off an unlimited supply of ammunition.".....(Those who attended I-day this year say no such movie was ever shown)

"During my brother’s plebe summer (his first summer), he could not talk to us for more than a few minutes once a week for fear that we might unduly influence him.".....(half-truth.....plebes get limited calls home and are told that ahead of time, the reason why....'unduly influenece him' is her interpretation of that).

Anyway.....I think you get the idea why some find the article so annoying.
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The way I figure, there are 12 people in his chain of command, any and all who have a right to discuss his resignation: squad leader, platoon leader, company commander and officer, battalion commander and officer, regimental commander and officer, brigade commander, Commandant, and Supt. Throw in the Admissions Dept and you have 13 possible exit interviews. Not unreasonable at all.

He TOOK the oath at the end of the day.

I am sure somewhere on the Yard, maybe at the visitior's center, maybe a presentation the Marines had set up somewhere for the parents, there was a Marine video available to watch. And I would bet the Marine video showed shooting.

The phone calls sound rather accurate.

I have seen professional journalists, Bradley Olson of the BS for example, misrepresent the Academy much worse than she.
 
Dear Sealion;

Thanks for the dining tips in and around Lancaster.

I've eaten at Zug's numerous times.

Sonny Boy and I have eaten at Ichiban's a couple of times and found their sushi okay. We'll try Blue Pacific soon.

Never occured to me to eat Greek in the middle of Pensylvania Dutch Country but will add Mazzi's and Symposium to our "eats" list.

Kid has actually gone to St. John's on Chestnut a few times since he's been in Lancaster, without anyone dragging him.

Oddly enough, I saw no intergalatic aliens in Admissions. Imagine my surprise when they all turned out to be humans from Earth! My son and our family have a special fondness for Ms. Randolph in admissions who helped reestablish his acceptance status at her college after he was one of the 474 triple quals with nominations that didn't make the cut for 2011 at USNA.

My entry was an anecdote ment to highlight the liberal bias of Academia in the post secondary educational system in America. My son forgot the most important lesson about a college education. Always pay strict attention to the professor during class interactions or lecture. They will always indicate their personal motivations and beliefs. Then, always include those passions in assignments and exams. Yeah, I know, its all politics but it's always wise to understand the motivations of the people that hold you accountable for the work you produce. Perhaps Ms. Leppla learned this lesson and thought that she was preaching to the choir.

P.S.

Here's a list of colleges in Lancaster:

ALBRIGHT COLLEGE
EASTERN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY
ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE
EVANGELICAL SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
FRANKLIN AND MARSHALL COLLEGE
HARRISBURG COMMUNITY COLLEGE - LANCASTER
LANCASTER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
MESSIAH COLLEGE
MILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITY
PENN STATE - LANCASTER CENTER
 
SubSquid - what's up with the "List of colleges in Lancaster?"

Uhhhhhhhhhhhh half of them are not in Lancaster, nor Lancaster County - am I missing something here???


By the way --- I hope you have had the pleasure of "fine" dining at Shady Maple Smorgasborg!! Pennsylvania Dutch Dining at it's best!
 
JAM

That's the "Official List" as generated by the Lancaster, PA visitors site. Yeah, Penn State (satellite campus) Albright (learning center?), HCC are all a stretch. Point was to sealion that his F and M (actually F&M) guess might have been inaccurate.

Been to Miller's, will have to put Shady Maple on the list. Kid not too fond of Smorgasborg; too much like the school cafeteria cuisine! What road is Shady Maple on?
 
Sheesh, subsquid it's easy to trip your wire! Ouch! Now don't go gettin' your tighty whities in a twist.

Well, anyway that list of colleges was too funny. It's just that you said an "old and esteemed college of Liberal education."

I dunno - but HACC? Millersville? Penn State Lancaster? E-town? Okay, maybe Lancaster Theological. You got me there.

Thanks for the pointer on F&M vs. F and M. Got it.

I still stand by Ichiban. Did you eat at the sushi bar?
 
SubSquid said:
JAM

That's the "Official List" as generated by the Lancaster, PA visitors site. Yeah, Penn State (satellite campus) Albright (learning center?), HCC are all a stretch. Point was to sealion that his F and M (actually F&M) guess might have been inaccurate.
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Albright - is in Reading (Berks Co) - , Messiah in Grantham, E-town is in - well - Elizabethtown, but at least Lanc Co., HACC is legit.- they actually have a campus there. That list is too funny!

Now honestly - Franklin & Marshall is the finest school down there! Not a stretch at all to make an accurate guess! An obvious guess for a future USNA Midshipman! I hope History goes better for him and he has a great year! His "problem" with the class/prof is the very reason I hated Liberal Arts classes, too subjective. As one with a Math/Science brain, I like everything black and white, right or wrong!!



Been to Miller's, will have to put Shady Maple on the list. Kid not too fond of Smorgasborg; too much like the school cafeteria cuisine! What road is Shady Maple on?
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Shady Maple - is an experience. Go on an EMPTY stomach. Save room for desert. Plan to spend several HOURS. Put any worries about cholesterol, saturated fat, excessive carbs on the back burner! Excercise it off the next day.:wink:

It is at the intersection of Rt 23 and Rt 897. You have to go at least once!

Someday - make it a leisurely trip and travel out Rte 30. The ride is gorgeous, just watch out for the horse & buggies!
 
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