Admiral Worley speaks to NY parents' club

<p>Admiral Worley addressed the NY parents' club last night. He answered questions that had been submitted to the president of the club by the parents. Topics covered were:</p>

<p>Toilet paper – contrary to popular belief, there is not a shortage of toilet paper at the Academy. Due to a procedural misunderstanding about stocking toilet paper in the dorms, the students, believing that there wasn’t enough toilet paper to go around, began hording it. This misunderstanding has been cleared up.</p>

<p>Food – The Admiral assured parents that the mids were getting enough to eat.</p>

<p>Mission Statement of the USMMA – While the language in the mission statement remains intact, the Admiral felt that the order should be changed. He has therefore placed the wording regarding the commitment to graduating licensed officers for the United States Merchant Marine in the beginning of the Mission Statement as a point of emphasis and primary importance. He assured the group that Congress understands the vital role of the merchant marine to the economic and strategic interests of our nation.</p>

<p>Financial problems at the Academy – According to the Admiral, Congress is extremely upset with the Academy over past practices involving moving dollars between categories in the Academy’s budget. A report is expected shortly from the GAO detailing the extent of the problems at the Academy and the Admiral expects that the findings will not be flattering. He told the parents that these financial problems were responsible for his being the new superintendent. But he also made it clear that these past irregularities did not involve any personal gain by any individual. Some Congressmen are so upset with the Academy that the Admiral has had difficulty making appointments to see these legislators. On an upbeat note, the new Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood has met with Admiral Worley and was very enthusiastic about having the USMMA under his department and was anxious to form plans for future improvements at the Academy, especially plant improvements. As a former educator himself, Secretary LaHood is totally supportive of the Academy’s mission and the Admiral believes that the Secretary will be avid advocate for the Academy. Additional improvements such as dining and sports facilities will be sought in the next few years. Again, the Admiral is confident that Secretary LaHood will be a strong voice for the Academy and will fight for sorely needed budgetary dollars.</p>

<p>Capital improvements – Admiral Worley stated that the pier is in terrible condition and supply trucks are no longer allowed to drive on it. Supplies and equipment must be hand trucked or carried to the vessels. It is a main priority to get the pier replaced by a concrete structure.
Murphy Hall, one of the dorms, is currently under renovation, but is not expected to be completed by July, 2009 when the new plebe class of 2013 joins the Academy. As a result, students will have to triple up in rooms where there were normally two students. The rooms in the older dorms are being equipped with additional computer Ethernet connections, a difficult process in buildings made of concrete and block and constructed during World War II. It is hoped that the new dorms will be ready for the 2nd trimester in November 2009, thereby allowing students to spread out. The shortage of space will require that the incoming class be limited to about 272 plebes, smaller than the 307 that entered as the class of 2012.</p>

<p>Setbacks – While setbacks have been allowed for many years for academic problems, Admiral Worley believes that setbacks should be reserved for students who were either sick or hurt during the semester and therefore unable to attend their classes. Although the Admiral did not state this directly, the parents were led to believe that very few setbacks would be granted in the future and that the result of academic failure of two subjects without overriding circumstances would be disenrollment.</p>

<p>Class schedule changes – In order to fit an extra class period and lab period in the daily schedule, classes now begin at 7:45 a.m. Colors and lunch muster will continue as they always have. The school instruction day will end at 4:00 p.m. for everyone, thereby allowing all students to participate in athletics, since 70%+ of the mids play on some sports team. Studying time will be from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Upperclassmen will be asked to keep sleep disruption activities to a minimum.</p>

<p>Liberty – The administration is considering reducing the amount of liberty given to each class. For example, liberty for plebes would be limited to Sunday afternoons only. Also, generally, there would only be 5 liberties per semester. First, second and third classes would also see a reduction in their liberty as compared to what had been former practice. Of course, the first class would receive the most liberty, but the Admiral believes that the first class also has regimental responsibilities to the underclassmen and that their presence is needed on campus. Any change in liberty now being considered would be instituted in July, 2009.</p>

<p>The Pub at Land Hall – The Admiral responded to a mid’s question regarding closing the Pub. The Admiral stated that every college struggles with the “alcohol problem” and that too many students at many institutions die or get hurt needlessly due to inappropriate use of alcohol. He believes that he has a responsibility to keep students as safe as possible. Since the Pub is a long standing tradition at the Academy, it will stay open, but with important changes. First classmen will now have to request in writing a date to open the Pub, for example for the Super bowl. The Admiral’s prescription for the consumption of alcohol is 0 0 1 3 – that is, no alcohol for underage students, no alcohol if a student is driving, 1 drink per hour for legal aged students and 3 drinks total per event for those students. Kegs will no longer be used at the Pub and drinks will be served in containers only.</p>

<p>What parents can do for the Academy – Federal employees cannot directly solicit funds from Congress, but parents are free to write their congressmen to encourage representatives to help the Academy. Local representatives are especially aware of the economic contributions an institution with a $61 million budget has on the local economy.
Issues the Admiral will look into as raised by the parents:
• Questions about the health insurance covering the students while at the academy
• Questions regarding the attitude and helpfulness of the staff handling sea year questions and arrangements and their interaction with parents and mids.</p>

<p>I'm curious as to what his plans are to booste moral at the academy considering all these sudden changes.</p>

<p>some of these changes effect students half way through their college career. (such as the change to the setback policy). are the current students grandfathered in?
normally when an college/university makes changes that can effect the students path, the student is only bound by the policies that were in effect the first month of their freshman year. (that's why they tell you to keep your first catalog- no matter what changes, that first catalog tells you what you have to take to graduate, personal policies etc).
it sounds like the new admiral is not doing that. That does not bode well for the institution.</p>

<p>Good info 2012kpmam</p>

<p>So as parents we write our congressmen. What specifically are we to tell them? They are not out of TP, they have plenty of food. We need some specifics. My kid says he does not want to complain (now he did say there was limited food, six chicken patties for a table of 10). We need some hard cold facts from those in charge currently. I know my son is in one of those WWII dorms with no air and furniture falling apart. The gym at Beat Retreat should not even be used for due to the heat. Now we know the pier is unsafe. Please give us more specifics so when we contact our Congressmen we have valid points, the adminstration can back up when (if) they come to visit. </p>

<p>Are there specific congressmen over the academy funding? Send me a PM if necessary. I would love to get the word out to get enough money to properly run this Academy of the United States of America. Should Congress not want display a proper example of what we've got? After all they loved parading us at the Inaugural. New uniforms to show off.</p>

<p>The New York Chapter of KP parents should have some details about what can be done to be most effective when contacting our legislators. E-mail the president and ask. A Congressional visit is being planned and hopefully will take place in the near future.</p>

<p>Ollie says you should read the Academic Policies Handbook..nothing of substance has changed in the past 6 years..except that Joe Stewart has left the building...</p>

<p>Ollie has the sense to realize that RADM Worley is trying to RESTORE the academic standards that Steward worked so hard to lower.</p>

<p>Ollie:
Do you then think that setbacks, for example have no place at the Academy? Obviously, with 100% passing the Coast Guard licensing exam last year, several graduates included setbacks. If it takes a little longer to get through, does that somehow diminish the Academy or the KP reputation?</p>

<p>great job on keeping everyone informed on the latest from the new admiral.</p>

<p>I agree 100% with Admiral Worley's academic policy regarding set-backs and that they should be reserved for sickness or injury. If the mids/plebes who were set back spent more time studying and doing homework instead of playing video games the number of set backs would drop substantially. Perhaps the new standards will weed out those who are playing around.</p>

<p>Do the other academies disenroll students as a result of failing a class? Not sure this is good use of taxpayer funding?</p>

<p>"Do you then think that setbacks, for example have no place at the Academy?"</p>

<p>Absolutely, 100%. </p>

<p>I would say that the lower standards at this school have nearly everything to do with the setbacks. </p>

<p>"some of these changes effect students half way through their college career. (such as the change to the setback policy). are the current students grandfathered in?"</p>

<p>Haha, nice try, but no. You should have done your work the first time. If you can't hack it, then this isn't the place for you.</p>

<p>If you want to see my detailed response you can check out "the other" message board. </p>

<p>I can't believe I am actually going to agree with something OliverDrab is saying :) I was a sophmore when Admiral Stewart came in, and although I consider him to be one of the best leaders I have ever served under I do agree that the academic standards have dropped a bit since his arrival. The number of set backs has increased greatly from what I can tell, but I think some of this was due to pressure from above to have a higher graduation rate. </p>

<p>Set backs do have a place at the school; however, they shouldn't be handed out like candy and should be for "deserving" cases. </p>

<p>As to SupportMom's assessment of the gym: yes it's hot for Beat Retreat, but that gym has some serious character and I would miss seeing it if it were to go.</p>

<p>The air conditioning in the dorms is a huge bonus, but for those in the old dorms, I say suck it up. Over twenty thousand midshipmen, myself included, graduated from the school without having air conditioning, it's not that much of a sacrifice, put a fan in the window and things are fine. The old furniture is pretty bad, but I liked it because it could be rearranged. I was actually the first midshipman (well I guess my roommated would also be included) at the school to try out the new furniture during my 3rd class year.</p>

<p>Yes the gym has tons of charm and history. Could it be air conditioned or a fan system installed? Is Beat Retreat the only time there is a problem. Two years ago I watch three guest pass out due to the heat. One was a child about 10 years old. </p>

<p>As for the dorms. Oddly enough my son started out in a dorm with air and new furniture. He loves the character of the old dorm he was moved to. It just seems to me the playing field is not even when 3/4 of the students do not have to deal with the extreme heat while studying. I don't know, is there a differnet in GPA scores of those students in dorms with no air vs students in dorms with better studying conditions? Maybe it is a mute point.</p>

<p>To be honest I actually do think Beat Retreat is the only time that it's a problem. I've been in the gym when it was packed during a sporting event and it wasn't too bad. This; however, may be due to the fact that two of the big sports that play in there are during the winter. Volleyball during the fall had decent support, but never packed. </p>

<p>It really isn't that hot in the dorms that don't have air conditioning. The other option is to go to the ACE, library, or any number of other air conditioned spaces to study if it got too bad. I don't think it's that big of an advantage; I graduated cum laude without any AC and several in my class had over 3.7's so I think it would be a stretch to blame that.</p>

<p>I'm just glad that the capital improvements are getting done, it is a huge testament to the power of the alumni and will be a very prominent example of what Admiral Stewart was able to accomplish during his tenure.</p>

<p>At the KP baseball game on Saturday, Admiral Worley was a man of his word and clarified the coverage for the midn. He will be posting the coverage on the website in near future.</p>

<p>kpparent, what coverage are you referring to?</p>

<p>Sorry Suzannegra, I was refering to the health insurance that was discussed at the NY parents association meeting.</p>

<p>A recent case came up where a midshipman was forced to go to a hospital to be given a spinal tap and was given morphine while there. Afterward, he was given a perscription for percocet by the Doctor at the hospital.</p>

<p>When he came back to KP, the person at Patten took his perscription and gave him ibuprofen, telling him "it says to take 2, but you can take 3."
When he asked if he could have his perscription back so he could buy it himself, they told him no.</p>

<p>There is something seriously wrong going on here.</p>

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<p>I want that doctor :)</p>

<p>Recognize the class of 2012!!!</p>