August Enewsletter Responses
The following are responses to the Question of the Month in the August 2005 edition of What's New @NU:
Looking back, do you think your unique identity as a civilian student at Norwich permanently affected any of your attitudes toward the military, cultural diversity, politics, gender relations, civic responsibility, etc.?
No, my opinion of the military was formed prior to attending NU. Fifteen years in the Army gave me a pretty good basis for forming an opinion. One thing I think you should teach the cadets who enter the military should be: "Before you make a fool of yourself, talk to your NCOs and find out how things are done and why." I have seen too many young officers who thought they had to prove that they knew everything get enlisted people killed or wounded because they were too proud or insecure to ask the people who really know the job.
Slippery Slim
I think being a civilian at Norwich was a great experience. It has made me have a greater respect for those who are serving in the Military in this day and age. I can understand that they are doing as they are told, and will do the best that they know how, even if they don't agree.
It is interesting to reflect that I also married someone who had a military background. He did not go to Norwich but was in the service while I was in school. I can understand many of the stories that he tells and understand a lot better than someone who has never been exposed to the military lifestyle.
Heidi Taylor aka Gordon, Class of 1994
I was a member of the last civilian class to live on The Hill until President Schneider arrived at the Wich. My sophomore year, the Iranian students were sent back, and Norwich was national news. But to me, it was my friends from the room across the hall and next door. I learned about international politics first-hand. I also learned that sometimes we may not agree with the decisions that our government might make, but that we must abide by the rule of law, with dignity and courage.
During my time at Norwich, I felt there was a double standard, Cadets versus Civilians. I learned later that real life is full of double standards, and my time there taught me to accept the rules. I was much better suited to cope with Corporate America, having learned a clearly defined chain of command. I learned to find alternative "acceptable ways" to work within a difficult system to effect change.
I feel a unique sense of pride (and fear) whenever our troops are ordered to a dangerous assignment. My classmates flew into Grenada and were in Panama when Noriega was taken down (and another civilian classmate was there with her husband and experienced it first-hand). Other classmates were the first ones into Operation Desert Storm. I was sick to my stomach the first weeks of the latest Iran war, and couldn't sleep, watching for names and faces that I knew to be listed.
Norwich has given me a tremendous amount of pride in our military, by putting names and faces into each of the service branches for me. It taught me that we are ALL the same, with the same talents, and love of country. And I thank God every day that there is a place like Norwich, where people with a desire to lead and serve have a place to get both an education and the training required, so that they can make a choice how best to serve the nation, whether in a uniform, or through good works and behind the scenes support.
The Norwich Community has given me a tremendous sense of self worth and continues to support me as I try to give back to both Norwich and my community at large.
Sheila Abbott, NU '82
My name is Jenn Carr. I am a class of 2000 graduate of Norwich, and I was also a civilian student. I feel like my college experience was enriched by attending Norwich. I talk to friends who went to traditional, all-civilian or "normal" colleges, and they still have a hard time totally understanding what my experience was like.
Being a civilian student in a military-based environment had its challenges. It was hard to be in the minority of people a lot of the time. And I was often faced with Corps members who had been taught to dislike civilian students, saying that it wasn't "my" school, and that I was in the way or didn't belong there. Attitudes like that came from upperclassmen and alumni who were afraid of change ... or had been taught that civilian students were ruining the training and environment they were used to, when, in fact, I always looked at it as a way the school was enriched.
Having both traditional college students and students who were members of the Corps of Cadets attending classes together and living on the same campus, I feel, made my college experience unique, challenging, and rewarding. I think I gained a greater understanding and sense of honor and pride in our United States military, because I went to school side by side with students who were training to serve our country. I also feel that the students who were in the Corps got a glimpse of what traditional college students were going through, as well.
Being a civilian in a primarily military-based environment was hard and fun at the same time. I wouldn't change my experience at all.
Thanks,
Jenn Carr, NU 2000
I went to Norwich to ski at the ski area and ski race in Vermont. I had a dorm on campus and a parade out front all the time. I had a wake-up alarm (the 7:00 AM cannon), so I was never late to classes. The band was great company downstairs and at football games. I learned to not walk on the grass and to respect freshman rooks before they were recognized. The ratio of men to women was 13 to 1, so I had dates for the balls.
In classes, I learned that I had about 20 more hours per week to study and read textbooks for assignments than my military counterparts. I choose to join the Dean's List and graduate on time with my class of 1979.
Guys at Norwich had short hair and taught me how to cut hair in public speaking class. That turned out useful in the future, when my husband joined the Navy Reserves. At 5 AM, my husband, a Navy Seabee, had to go to drills in the Navy Reserves. I would barber Keith's hair on drill weekends.
Guys at Norwich hunted as a sport, and that let me better understand Keith's desire to hunt deer in the fall. My husband bow hunts and has firearms. I will not hold a gun; that is why I never followed up on my criminal justice degree in the workplace.
Norwich ROTC and its history made me respect going to war. I was in grade school when the Vietnam War occurred and recall TV news media covering the war and peace marches on campuses. My husband, Keith Magovern, was called up to serve in the active Navy during the Persian Gulf War. He had orders to serve in Saudi Arabia. The peace was called the day before his unit was to leave Gulfport, MI. Keith served stateside in Mississippi and took A school military training. He was promoted in rank to EO-2 Petty Officer in the Seabees. I am proud of Keith.
Sincerely,
Linda L. Magovern, NU 1979, VC 1979,
Norwich MBA 2008 candidate
Norwich Ambassador
I was a non-traditional adult civilian student in Nursing, class of 1995. Norwich provided me with an excellent education, and I did not have time to develop any bias toward the military aspect of the University. I did not have a cultural bias before or after attending NU. I have been proud to tell those who ask, where I received my education.
I work with a person who applied to and is attending Norwich as a civilian this fall, based on my clinical knowledge and my educational background with Norwich. I have an eleven year old son, my youngest of three, who for the past two years has been determined to be in the military. I respect his focus and will encourage him to attend Norwich.
I believe there is a definite bias to the military in much of NU's communication. I do not attend alumni events based on this and my non-traditional status, with few NU connections. This has not prevented me from recommending NU to others.
Sincerely,
Anne Bosworth Sweet, NU 1995
