Youse guys! (eye roll) I thought the term "Dyke" in regards to 1st Class senior mentorship of Rats was universally understood on this board. You'll be amused to know, the parent's group on Facebook is having FB censorship issues on any such discussions, so they've started typing D*ke or other permutations.
Also, due to increasing rates of COVID within the Corps, 1st Classmen are no longer permitted to interact with Rats in person, no Rats allowed on 1st stoop. Cats & dogs / mass hysteria / what a sh*t show. The Institute is doing an excellent job of managing the COVID situation and working within all of the restrictive government regulations. Bless them, it's got to be a giant headache.
I will try to offer some additional detail without oversharing. I think this is really important for this info to be recorded here, for future Rats & parents reference. When one sends an 18yo into the challenge that is VMI, one reassures oneself that even though you won't have any contact or communications with your kid, there is this one person keeping an eye on them: their Dyke. He is there to encourage the Rat, explain how things work and offer guidance, offer a pep talk or an *** chewing as needed. How the Rat endures and succeeds or fails at VMI is on the Rat... but they are still an 18yo man-child who needs his ears boxed or a big hug from time to time.
What happened in my Rat's case? The Rat & Dyke didn't hit it off, didn't make a good connection. Then the Rat got himself into trouble. The Dyke told the Rat not to contact him unless it was an emergency and he needed his phone to call home (Dykes hold onto Rats' phones through the Ratline period). Communication ceased. It is the Rat's fault and responsibility that he became a problem, got himself into trouble. I am not making any excuses for his behavior. But he really, really needed the guidance from a mature peer advocate. When he needed the Dyke the most, he was shunned.
Other than mentioning this in conversations with the Chaplain's office, I have not involved myself. I came here to ask you guys for advice, because I know there is a VMI alumni presence here... and it is a more anonymous forum that the Facebook parent's group. I encouraged the Rat to stop being a problem, stop being aloof, swallow his humiliation and reestablish contact with the Dyke. He is fearful and cannot or will not.