<p>Hi... I am a junior a highly selective boarding school and I am really interested in west point. My parents are both a little worried though about being happy at west point. can anyone tell me about the rules of west point (when you can leave, how often, can you date?) ALso there has been a lot in the news about rape and sexual pressure at west point. is this very common for women there.
if you get a chance could you also tell me about the application process (medical and physical to be exact)</p>
<p>Your plebe year isn’t exactly going to be enjoyable. Plebes and second-years have pretty restrictive rules about when they are allowed to leave campus.</p>
<p>The rules for fraternisation are also rather restrictive. When I was hosting a West Point Cadet (upon whose experiences I’m basing most of my answer), he talked about something like a formal, written request to date someone. I think it’s fairly tricky business within your own company. However, your COs know that their charges are men and women in the prime of their youth, and that to a certain extent, college students will be college students.</p>
<p>I don’t think that there’s been much in the news about sexual violence in the Academy recently, but the Department of Defence is beginning to take sexual violence within the military very seriously. Moreover, the service academies place a very high priority on honourable and ethical behaviour. They are supposed to be producing the finest people in our military, and they take instances which threaten that image very seriously.</p>
<p>The military is a boys’ club, there’s no doubt about that. Moreover, given the disciplinary policies at the Academy which prohibit carnal relations on campus and look very poorly upon intoxication, women who find themselves victim to sexual violence may have a significantly harder time seeking justice and recovering from the trauma than women at civilian institutions (that is based purely on conjecture, and not on knowledge of the procedures for dealing with sexual misconduct at the academies. I could very well be mistaken). But that doesn’t mean that you won’t be taken seriously by your male peers, professors, or COs, and it doesn’t mean that you’ll be mistreated. Regardless of your gender, you’re going to come out of West Point having people required to salute you, and you are accorded the respect becoming of that reality. Moreover, in the contacts I’ve had with service academy midshipmen and cadets, I’ve met nothing but high-calibre men and women who have both the enthusiasm for life and learning becoming of their age, as well as a profound maturity, sense of purpose, and commitment to selfless service.</p>