Hazing
First off I want to thank Michael for calling my attention to 'Aboslutely American' by David Lipsky describing the new four class system at West Point. It does seem that the article by LTC Fromm cited by Tom Rick is irrelevant, very much a red herring. Plebes have a much different experience now than when Fromm was there (as noted by others). Of course, it is widely agreed that the physical abuse which has been uniformly banned for decades is bad. There does seem to be some disagreement whether the pyschological challenges which were an integral part of the fourth class system had redeeming value. As I read 'Absolutely Amercian' I concluded that the changes were for the better (whether you call the previous process hazing or not). One issue of interest is whether they have made the Academy too easy. In my class we started with just under 1,400 cadets and graduated with just under 850. Now days they start with 1,200 and graduate 1,000. One could argue that the new graduates are not as good as they are not weeding out the weak and inadequate, but I would argue the reverse. In the 1970's the military was not very popular and West Point's reputation was in the crapper (at least by comparison to now). I believe that much better candidates apply for entrance today and that the selection process is much better, eliminating many of the candidates who would likely not be able to graduate. I personally doubt that the person I was then would be accepted today. My own conclusion is the graduates today are more qualified to lead, in general, than the graduates in my era (class of 75). From what I have read about the new four class system, Plebes only get the equivalent of our Beast for one day (complete with reporting to the Cadet in the Red Sash). After that, there is not the same yelling, insults, threats, and punishments. Instead there are more physical challenges; after they have a long march with gear, they set up tents and stay the night in the field. I remember often carrying my field gear and setting it up for inspection, but I never remember actually using it. What a novel idea! Further, I wonder if the yelling, insults and punishments are the best way to motivate cadets. I remember in Beast getting back late from a class, already late for lunch SI. We rushed to SI and were yelled at because we looked like crap and what was the point of having SI if we looked like crap.... Next time we got back late, we quickly brushed off our boots and went to SI and were again yelled at, this time for being so late (as our squad leader completed brushing off his boots). Of course all 'old corps' graduates have had similar experiences, but for me, that incident eliminated any credibility I might have had for my squad leader and I simply ignored all his yelling and rants as noise. There were regularly situations where we could not possibly meet requirements and were sure to get into 'trouble'. Another thing I learned from such lose lose situations was to do the absolute minimum in each assignment to minimize the amount of trouble and it seems many of my classmates learned the same. Once the pressure of Plebe year was over, things were pretty easy as we were always graded on a curve and with most everyone doing the minimum, the standards were pretty low. Also, within weeks of my arrival at West Point I had concluded that I wanted nothing further to do with the Army beyond getting my education and serving my obligation. That certainly colored my attitude to much of the experience. I personally did not enjoy being yelled at nor did I relish the idea of yelling at others. It does make me wonder how things would have been had I been able to experience the four class system. So I ask other 'old corps' grads how they think they would have reacted if they had been exposed in their Plebe year to leadership who helped them work as a team to succeed at tough but well specified, reasonable challenges. Further, how would our leadership skills been impacted if as upperclassmen we were expected to teach and motivate the lesser classmen rather being encouraged to yell at and insult Plebes? It was my experience that even the worst screw ups at West Point were actually bright and motivated individuals; when they were treated with respect, honesty, clear and reasonable expectations and appreciation, they responded very well (indeed the 'screw ups' responded best to such treatment). I personally am happy to hear that the Academy has adopted a more positive approach to training and leadership development.Addendum: Happiness
As suggested here, I recently read David Lipsky's 'Absolutely American' describing the new Four Class system. Lipsky claims that cadets are the happiest group of college age kids he has ever met. Psychologists now have a pretty good handle on measuring happiness I would love to see whether Lipsky's observations are supported by actual studies of the relative happiness of cadets versus other college kids. Of course, many here would say that cadets being happy is because they have made the new Four Class system to easy, but I propose that they are happier because the 'Higher' at WP are doing a better job of recruiting and selecting successful candidates. ;-) I have also recently read a couple of books based on cognitive psychology about happiness; in particular Sonja Lyubomirsky's "The How of Happiness" and Barbara Fredrickson's "Positivity". My take away from these books is that happiness breeds success and success breeds happiness, but there are a lot of subtleties to this. While about half of person's relative happiness is genetic (yikes!), most of the rest is dependent on choices we make, like choosing to meditate, develop close relationships, acts of kindness, etc.. My guess is that West Point recruits and selects candidates who are successful in positive ways. For example, being successful through undermining your competitors generally does not lead to happiness, but focusing on a particular goal and excelling does promote happiness. By carefully selecting the candidates to West Point they are also choosing a comparitively happy group. So many interesting questions. Click here to see the next rambling tale.This page was last updated on February 4, 2012