Corps class privilege plan considered

By Jakob Hosmer
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

Scott McKay took the rank of Regimental Command Sergeant Major in the Corps of Cadets with the hope that he could help the Corps grow in a positive direction.

The new position, he hopes, will offer him the chance to play an important role in setting up a policy that he and many others feel will be one of these changes for the better.

According to McKay, 20, a junior chemistry major from Laplata, Md., the upper chain of command wants to bring back a class privilege system, whereby cadets gain privileges with each year they move up in the Corps of Cadets.

The policy would mostly pertain to what cadets are and are not allowed to keep in their rooms. It would also be implemented in order to more clearly define the class years.

"In talking with other military schools, we've found that sophomores having all the same privileges make them think they're equal to seniors, which in reality they are, but in the sense of the Corps they are not," McKay said. "Seniors have been here longer, so they deserve more, much like in the military the longer you're in the service the more you get paid."

Cadet Col. David Cedarleaf, 22, a senior political science major from Fairport, NY, has also taken an active role in helping other members in the upper chain of command in the Corps solidify plans for the class system.

"We want to shy away from adding privileges. Instead, we'd like to start to wean away some privileges instead of starting with everything at once," Cedarleaf said.

Scheduled to go into effect as early as next year, Cedarleaf said the plan will be to give out a list of what certain classes can and cannot bring back with them at the end of this year, and then mail out the same list this summer.

"That way, people won't come back with the wrong stuff," he said.

"A committee made up mostly of selected juniors will make a list of privileges for each class along with a way to implement it, and the final plan will be presented to the commandant's staff," McKay said.

"The commandant's office is really good on trusting our judgment," Cedarleaf said.

The new policy will not be a change as much as it will be the reinstatement of an older policy that was discontinued in the fall of 1999.

According to Cedarleaf, it's a plan that's been off and on in past years. He said that during his sophomore year the upper command had some very strong ideas, but the senior cadets grew tired of it and didn't enforce it, anymore, because it was too difficult to keep up with.

"This would be a good example of the Corps running the Corps, as long as people are willing to take an active role and responsibility and take it seriously," Cedarleaf said.

"If you're putting the policy out and you're the Corps leadership, you need to take responsibility for your actions. If you want it to happen, you need to make it happen," Cedarleaf said, "we need the active participation of the people."

The prospect of such a policy has gained mixed reactions from cadets from different class years.

"I don't see how it would help the Corps. I don't think it would change anything," said Nicole DeBrauwere, 20, a sophomore international studies major from Los Angeles, Calif.

"I think they should bring it back, because it gives people something to look forward to and defines the classes," said Chris Brackett, 21, a senior communications major from Los Angeles, Calif. In addition to this, Brackett adds that a class system is also in keeping with traditions of a military school.

"I think there should be a class system, limited though, just so your class will mean something. That way seniors and juniors are respected not because they have rank, but because they've been here," said James Blume, a junior civil engineering major from Hamden, Mass. "On the other hand, I'm going to be a senior next year, so I don't really care, anyway."

The juniors and other chain of command maintain a positive outlook on implementing such a system. While helping with such tasks as defining classes and having a progression in the Corps, McKay thinks it will be accepted well.

Back to Guidon index