<p>Could someone explain in detail this mutiny thing. I'm still confused lol.</p>
<p>Ok. You talk from now on usna09mom. LOL Ya know, when you've been outta school for a while and you read stuff like this, it is absolutley fantastic. And yep, that 13 page letter is indeed a treasure. He writes so very well that he brought the whole thing to life for us. He just got put into an essay contest by his prof. for a paper he'd written. He'd played with idea of becoming a history teacher like you. Euro history. We're always asking him some trivia trying to stump him. </p>
<p>I agree with oiixxg 110%. As Mids, you represent the Academy and what you say or do reflects on the institution itself. And what you feel during Plebe Summer is not a good base for you to use in an open public forum as what the academy is about. When you sign those papers, you belong to something above & beyond yourself. Take care not to give fodder to those who would seek to use your words against you.</p>
<p>jq722,
sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just getting kind of cranky because my mid is thousands of miles away and my vacation is drawing to a close. I'm glad you're listening to your history teacher. Good luck in the application process. You sound like a delightful young person. :)
usna09mom</p>
<p>jamzmom,
gee, I wonder where your son got the gift of self-expression??? :) His travels will certainly add another dimension to his studies and truly bring history alive!<br>
Are foreign languages offered at Kings Point? There was an interesting piece on NPR yesterday about the federal government allocating millions of dollars to universities, with preference given to U.S. service academies, for the study of critical languages, i.e., Mandarin Chinese and Arabic. My daughter hopes to major in history and minor in German (already has 10 years under her belt). One of her roommates is fluent in French already and plans on adding another language.
usna09mom</p>
<p>usna09mom, sadly USMMA only offers Spanish and as an elective in later years at that. Jamz has 4 yrs of German with no chance of polishing those skills for travel. I do hope the academies are in line for some of those funds. Its sorely needed. So I guess it may be Spanish I for him. I feel strongly that languages should be offered in our public schools at earlier ages. Think about the speech patterns and the wonders teaching could do for a 6 year old. Congrats on your daughter. Bet she'll have a lifelong love with history. I got Jamz involved in history during a two year period of research on a book I'd written on WWII LSMs in the Pacific (Landing Ship Medium). It was a fabulous project and I'm still in contact with some of the guys who sailed in WWII. LSM's were the Navy's expendable little ships used in logistics. Funny Jamz is now in logistics and your daughter in history. Strong Influences maybe? :)</p>
<p>Self-expression? Where ever did you get that idea? I'm just hyperactive. :D</p>
<p>Hey JM - did you research anything about Kwajalein for your book? (Lived there as a kid).</p>
<p>Our son took 4 yrs of Latin - I don't think that will help him much for a language requirement or validation at USNA. Guess he'll eventually figure out if he'll need to start from scratch w/ another language (and what that will be). I suppose everyone taking Arabic or Chinese starts from scratch anyway...</p>
<p>Hey, about flags...</p>
<p>does it HAVE to be the American flag, or can it be a Puerto Rican flag (i'm 95% puerto rican, except for the 5% spanish)</p>
<p>or, if it has to be an American flag, can a Puerto Rican flag be displayed alongside the American flag? After all, that is the regulation for displaying flags in federal buildings here...</p>
<p>bz- yes I did. One of the LSMers I interviewed was blown out of the water on his LSM in the battle there. He was re-assigned, upon returning to NY, to another LSM and spent two more years in typhoons & island hopping ending up at Okinawa. He lives in NY now, a retired tug boat Captain. Fascinating stuff! He's a crusty old salt & I love the guy with all my heart. All of the shipmates had sea stories for Jamz. Some I couldn't put into the book LOL Do you have many memories of the island and when were you there? </p>
<p>Oooo vcm, what a tough question. Surely someone can answer for sure??</p>
<p>I suspect that you shouldn't display ONLY the Puerto Rican flag... that may suggest mutiny in itself... but I'm sure it will be fine alongside an American flag.</p>
<p>JM- memories of Kwaj? Well it was the early 70's and I was in Jr, High. No cars, no t.v. The island was 3 1/2 miles x 1/2 miles. Cool snorkeling w/ lots of WWII debris (even ships & jeeps) scattered around the lagoon, lots of japanese bunkers & even an underground hospital on nearby islands. Witnessing some of the missile testing was awesome. Temps were like 75-85 degrees year round. Wish I could get back there but the security clearances involved are OTT.</p>
<p>I'm amazed that a thread that started out as a discussion about blogging turned into this! From what I've seen tho', that isn't too unusual around here!</p>
<p>oh, bz, trust me, it isn't unusual.</p>
<p>thanks, D<em>b</em>H! i was thinking that only a PR flag would be mutiny. </p>
<p>so um, i kinda got lost, and i think i may have skipped the chapter in the Candidate Handbook...but what constitutes mutiny? and would be a result of it? what exactly would happen to a rebellious soul and his mateys?</p>
<p>Mutiny is simply where there are more Plebes in a room than racks (or beds). If an upperclassman catches Plebes in this case then they can issue punishment for attempt at mutiny, but if there is an American flag displayed there can be no punishment issued. It's just a tradition.</p>
<p>Oh, cool. And by punishment, I would imagine a plebey punishment, such as making a plebe run around riding a broom and wearing a witch hat? </p>
<p>or would it be worse? like a "shower detail"?</p>
<p>thanks.</p>
<p>No problem. I don't know the specific "punishments" because I'm not there yet. Others probably know.</p>
<p>I actually had a full-size Cuban flag hanging in my room 1/C year.</p>
<p>My CO dropped by one day and asked me to put it somewhere other than the window that opened onto T-Court! :D</p>
<p>He was SO cool! :D</p>
<p>So I ended up hanging it from the rack above mine. </p>
<p>"Hey Lou, is that a Puerto-Rican flag?" was a sure fire way to get under my skin, which my loving friends used frequently, the little bastards! :D</p>
<p>Yes, both my parents came from Cuba.</p>
<p>yeah...the Cuban and Puerto Rican flags get mistaken a lot...they are of the same format, after all. and use the same colors, just switched around. </p>
<p>the Puerto Rican flag has the sky blue triangle (contrary to popular belief, it is NOT NAVY BLUE!), where as the Cuban flag has the red triangle.</p>
<p>Zaphod, your last name is Mulet, right? I actually have a friend who's Cuban and his last name is Mulet...Jorge Mulet...maybe some type of relation? Who knows.</p>
<p>That's great about the new DoD emphasis on languages; if I go to USNA I definitely want to minor in Chinese, since I've taken it for four years. Also want to take Arabic. Too bad those six years of Latin and two years of Ancient Greek won't be much use...</p>
<p>quick, n00b question about languages:</p>
<p>to study a language at USNA, do you have to have some background knowledge with the language, or can you be a complete know-nothing at it?</p>
<p>From what I've heard you can start what you want. The languages that they want people to learn the most aren't commonly taught in most high schools, like Arabic, Chinese and Russian. (I'm really glad that my school DID have Chinese). Right now, if you're in one of the Humanities majors, there's a language requirement, but you can make it a minor with additional courses. The cool thing is that with the "harder" languages, i.e., Chinese, Arabic, and Russian, I believe you only have to take two additional courses above the requirement to make it a minor. For the other languages, I think it's four additional classes. But yeah, from what I've been hearing you can start fresh with anything. Previous education would just help you personally.</p>
<p>Does anyone know, of the three: Chinese, Arabic, and Russian, which is the easiest to pronounce (closest to the sounds we already know)? I have a feeling none of them... hehe, but I think I want to learn Russian anyways. I will definitely minor in French, but I might be able to test out of some of it and finish my minor early and start another one... assuming I test out of other classes too.</p>