I would like to write this letter of condolence to everyone this year that has had something stolen from them. I feel the anger and the pain that you're in.

Personally I know what you are going through. Before Christmas break, 35 of my DVDs were stolen.

This made me very upset, but being the bigger person, I didn't try to get back at anyone, but I just got smarter. I informed security, and the Northfield Police Department got involved.

Words of advice to anyone that has anything valuable here on campus, don't trust anyone, not even your own roommate. You never know; they might be your friend in your face but behind your back they are plotting to get you.

Always lock your room door, even if you are going to the bathroom; don't leave anyone in your room while you run around doing other things. You are just playing right into their trap; it just gives them time to plan how to steal you stuff.

Even with the HONOR CODE that this school has, people lie, steal, and cheat just to get by at Norwich.

Be smart and don't forget, DON'T TRUST ANYONE ON THIS CAMPUS; TRUST YOURSELF.

Ronnell Daniels

I would like to congratulate everyone involved in publishing the story about National Condom Day in the last issue of The Guidon. Despite all the emphasis and publicity that has been placed on condoms, many students still don't use them.

Most of the people I know say that they never use protection when having sex.

I know of one person who recently told me that he had herpes. He will have this for the rest of his life, and there is nothing that he can do to get rid of it. If he would have been wearing a condom, then chances are he wouldn't have it right now.

I also know of a girl that had a baby because of unprotected sex, a practice she continues today.

Unprotected sex is a big problem here at Norwich, and the more publicity that it gets the better.

With conditions being as they are, it would be very beneficial to have condoms distributed for free in the infirmary.

However, just because of the ultra-conservative views held by the university, students shouldn't just ignore sexual health issues. Students need to take more initiative to protect themselves.

If the possibility exists that you could contract a disease that has no cure and may kill you, you should go out and invest in protection and be very careful about who you have sex with. It's definitely worth the hassle to keep from having a bigger hassle that could last for the rest of your life or even end it.

Gordon MacFarquhar

While attending school here in Vermont I feel that it is necessary for winter jackets in the Corps. In the past, members of the Corps had jackets that were suitable for the blustery cold winters of Vermont. The jackets that we now use are called summer cadet jackets, which should explain the reason for wanting a warmer coat.

The winter season seems to affect us longer than the spring. It is colder here during most of the school year. We are the most northern military school, and we don't even have winter coats. While we are freezing here in Vermont, cadets at West Point are warm in their wool coats down in New York.

This past winter was one of the coldest, with chilling temperatures of close to negative 30. As you walk outside to reveille formation, your muscles tense up, and exposed parts of your body go numb.

The number of colds and flus here on campus skyrockets during the winter months, because no one is dressed or prepared for the cold. The infirmary is always booming with cadets looking for medicine to cure them of the common head cold.

If the school would at least give the cadets an option of ordering a coat on their own, it may improve the health of the Corps. There may not be people that want the winter coats, but it could be a great improvement.

Lizz Gregory

For the past three years I have never had a problem with the issue I am about to discuss, but this year it has gotten to the point where it is almost unbearable. It has nothing to do with the Corps, academics, sports or even Marriott; but my issue is with the hot water, or lack thereof in the showers.

This year, I live in Alumni Hall, where the number of cold showers I have taken vastly outweighs the number of hot showers. I am mainly talking about the single female latrine on the third floor of Alumni Hall. At first, I thought my timing was off, so instead of showering during the peak hours of the morning, I showered in the afternoons and evenings. No such luck. The water is generally colder than the drinking water we are provided here at Norwich. And if someone else in a totally separate latrine is showering, too, well then, you're better off just using ice cubes to clean yourself.

After several weeks of this, I wrote complaints to facilities, not really sure of whom to contact about this, but unsuccessfully; I am still waiting for hot water. It has now been just about five months, and instead of letting my complaints go noticed, we have developed a system: the only way to achieve hot water is to have a friend stand there and constantly flush the toilet while you take the quickest shower possible. This can get to be very amusing, but very time consuming for your friend.

Sometimes, if no one is around to flush for us, we find that running the cold water in our single sink helps to make the shower water a bit warmer. This doesn't work, because it leads to our sink over-flowing. I really don't know what the solution to this problem is; I don't even know if this is the only latrine affected, but I do know that I am not paying over $20,000 a year to start off my day with a cold shower.

Sincerely,
Hilary J. McElroy
NUCC 01

Back to Guidon index