<p>We're getting ready for dd's graduation and going away party. I wanted to put out postcards for people to write on for me to send later, a few at a time (once we had the address). Is she going to get harassed about postcards? Should I plan on sending them in envelopes?</p>
<p>There will be no harassment concerning postcards unless they were published by a pronography studio.</p>
<p>Once you get your plebe's mailing address, go to USNA.org and get the "Go Navy, Beat Army" mailing label template. Fill in your plebe's address, (make a set with your return address too because they're very cool), print the mailing address on Avery labels, put the postcards in an envelope, seal it, and mail them throughout the summer. Most of the plebe summer cadre don't have a sense of humor. They pick up the mail/packages and distribute it in a group setting during Blue & Gold at the end of the day. Send letters/postcards daily. This is more important than packages. Also, stock up on individual packets of Gatorade and cram them in a water bottle. Keep your plebe supplied with them. Only h2O allowed in canteens, so you have to send a different container for Gatorade.</p>
<p>I have heard the no-gatoraide-in-canteens thing before- any idea why that is? just curious.....</p>
<p>Fermenting Gatorade in canteens might make plebes go over the edge...I was in the midstore two weeks ago and I saw those little tubs of Gatorade, but that wouldn't be practical for plebe summer because I think mids only get into the midstore once during the summer. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate...Annapolis in the summer is wretched...</p>
<p>Most of these are whitewater kayaking shots... ;-) So, we should send them in envelopes, NOT as postcards????</p>
<p>your plebe will only impress the cadre by knowing their rates and running at the front of the squad, not with exotic postcards ;)</p>
<p>Navy2010:</p>
<p>It's because once you put gatorade in a canteen (or any other semi-porous material) it will NEVER really leave it. You can wash it again and again, and it will still carry a gatorade aftertaste.</p>
<p>I went to backpacking at Philmont Scout Ranch in 2001 and had two Nalgene bottles. One for water, the other for gatorade. I can still taste the gatorade in that one, even though it's been years since I last put anything sweet in it.</p>
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So, we should send them in envelopes, NOT as postcards????
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<p>Again, unless the postcard is inappropriate (nudity, etc.), NO ONE WILL CARE.</p>
<p>You think upperclassmen have the time or inclination to go around looking at and evaluating Plebe mail?</p>
<p>A close friend of mine just finished plebe year at USMA...what if she sends me a postcard from West Point?</p>
<p>I can only imagine I'd get some kind of harrassment.</p>
<p>zaphod,
now that you mentioned it, I also saw some "soft porn" magazines in the midstore...gross :(</p>
<p>We had adressed stamped evelopes at LFWB's going away party and he got a lot of mail which helped things along during the summer.</p>
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A close friend of mine just finished plebe year at USMA...what if she sends me a postcard from West Point?
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<p>He'll be taken out behind Halsey Field House and shot. :rolleyes:</p>
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now that you mentioned it, I also saw some "soft porn" magazines in the midstore...gross
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<p>What, like Maxim and such?</p>
<p>Gross? :confused:</p>
<p>You put 4,000 young men in their prime into a crucible like USNA and you're surprised?</p>
<p>I'd rather have them reading that than what some of the "intelligencia" in this country claim to be "enlightened".</p>
<p>In my day, Mellow Mail and Penthouse came in in their own postal bins because there were so many of them. There was a rumor that the largest number of Victoria's Secret Catalogs that arrived at any single address was Bancroft Hall. </p>
<p>USNA is a military academy, not a monastery, and it is populated 100% by ADULTS. If we're going to ask them to get their brains blown out for us, the least we can do is not come down on them if they want to see Lindsey Lohan in a thong.</p>
<p>"You put 4,000 young men in their prime into a crucible like USNA and you're surprised?
USNA is a military academy, not a monastery, and it is populated 100% by ADULTS"</p>
<p>Zaph, its 4000 or so young men and WOMEN, and while it is definitely not a monestary it is most certainly co-ed. Unfortunately while 100% are adults, 100% do not always conduct themselves as such. In these times of heightened awareness to sexual harassment and sexual assault I am curious as to whether the kind of material discussed above is even allowed in a mid or cadets room? It most certainly can't be displayed out in the "open"--that type of thing isn't even allowed in the civilian workplace.</p>
<p>On the subject of postcards I can't speak about USNA but I would be careful about sending them to new cadets in Beast at West Point. Most mail will go to their PO Box and as such most likely isnt seen by the cadre unless they are observed while reading it, but sometimes mail gets delivered by the cadre when in the field and yes, they DO have the time to poke a few jabs at plebes with "pretty little postcards" :)</p>
<p>By the way, my daughter informs me that the only "military academy" is at West Point--the others are "driving schools" for people who want to fly and drive boats :)</p>
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Zaph, its 4000 or so young men and WOMEN, and while it is definitely not a monestary it is most certainly co-ed. Unfortunately while 100% are adults, 100% do not always conduct themselves as such. In these times of heightened awareness to sexual harassment and sexual assault I am curious as to whether the kind of material discussed above is even allowed in a mid or cadets room? It most certainly can't be displayed out in the "open"--that type of thing isn't even allowed in the civilian workplace.
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<p>Actually, it's 4,500 men and WOMEN. I used the number 4,000 SPECIFICALLY leaving the WOMEN out.</p>
<p>So, that said....</p>
<p>1) Am am sick to the teeth of EVERYONE having to pay for the sins of A FEW. I highly doubt that removing Maxim from the shelves will prevent some blockhead Mid from being a jerk or worse.</p>
<p>2) I am also sick to the teeth of a huge mass having to tuck tail and run because one or two people CLAIM to be "offended". Not "WRONGED", mind you (as in assaulted, harrassed, etc.), but mearly "offended". </p>
<p>Well, I find the bilge put out by Time, Newsweek, and the Washington Post to be un-American, seditious, and even treasonous. In short, "offensive", so I demand THEY be removed from the hall. Get back to me when THAT flies, despite the fact there is ZERO difference. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>3) I'm not calling for Mids to be able to decorate their rooms in Maxim du Jour. That is in bad taste (at best), and that was frowned upon by us sexist MALE M/C's even back in my day. Some clown in my platoon at NAPS thought it would be oh-so-salty to wallpaper the inside of his locker with Ms. <fill in="" the="" month="">. He caught all kinds of flak from US, not the girls, to the point we finally broke into his locker and ripped them all down. He got the hint quick after that. He didn't go on to USNA, BTW...</fill></p>
<p>Banning the magazine is rediculous. Following that logic, we should also ban such other non-pornographic magazines as Cosmopolitan, Ms., etc., which are just as racy, especially the articles. Oh, but those are for women, right? :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I'm also not calling for real pornography to be sold in the Mid Store. However, we're now back to the age-old cry, "Define Indecent!"</p>
<p>4) Since when has censorship ever worked? Anywhere? Besides, are we going to tell Midshipmen that they are required to DEFEND the right to free speech, but not PRACTICE it? Tell me how some Mid sitting in his room reading Penthouse ("reading" being used in its broadest possible sense, of course) going to be an impediment to good order and discipline? We brought those magazines in by the truckload in my day, and we had ZERO allegations of rape or sexual assault, so the alleged correlation fails.</p>
<p>5) If the women find Maxim, etc., offensive, THEN DON'T BUY IT. Isn't that what the other side always says about THEIR selected filth? As for the displays, have you LOOKED at the covers of WOMEN'S magazines lately?</p>
<p>Welcome to the world of adulthood. Learn to operate in it and not be "offended" so easily. We have rights, and not being "offended" isn't among them.</p>
<p>What's next? We're going to ban the Book of Esther? :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Sorry, but I just don't consider something to be "soft porn" simply because it elicits the reaction, "Ew, gross!" from someone. </p>
<p>Hell, I get that reaction from just looking at certain politicians or public figures (can you say "Madonna"?) <hack, hack,="" wheeeeeeeeezzzzzz=""></hack,></p>
<p>There is ONE thing I would recommend concerning mail, and this applies to the well-intentioned girlfriends...</p>
<p>Ask them NOT to douse their letters in perfume. Oh, sure! It's a hoot to receive those, but those literally call out for attention on their own.</p>
<p>As for anything else, unless it's openly racey or disgusting, don't worry about it. I'm serious: NO ONE CARES.</p>
<p>In short, if you're not willing to have everyone see it, then put it in an envelope. If it's normal, it won't raise any comments.</p>
<p>If there are any Mids still online, how does the mail get distributed these days? In my day, each company had a desk by the MOD's station, and the mail was brought up by the poor schmuck who had the Battallion Office watch. The MOD then sorted it into the mail cubbies on the desk, and each person went to said desk and got their own (and their roommate's, too, if you had a shred of decency). </p>
<p>I understand there are PO Boxes now. Does everyone go to a central location? How is THAT practical? Was there some major scandal with mail being stolen? (I had a classmate not only get separated, but also jailed for stealing credit cards and using them. This was in the days before controlled card activations. It didn't change the system, though.)</p>
<p>So........ Do you guys still sign your classmates up for mailings on erectile dysfunction as a prank, or is that limited to e-mail now? <evil :d=""></evil></p>
<p>A few years back, I received a complimentary subscription to Maxim. [I guess they thought I was within their targeted age range.]</p>
<p>I hate to admit it, once again, but Z and I are closer and closer in our thinking than either of us would care to admit. There is nothing "gross" about Maxim. Its just a stupid man magazine. He's got it right, it may be dumb humor and scantily-clad young women, but its a whole heck of a lot more fun than reading the Economist. [Well, I shouldn't pick on the Economist, but it is rather dry reading.] </p>
<p>I was kind of sorry when I quit receiving the magazine.</p>
<p>Rereading above: When I say stupid man magazine, I am the first to admit that men have relatively narrow attention spans, are easily distracted by beautiful woman, and, generally, are enterained by much that "enlightened" women find disgusting, stupid, or idiotic. For our younger female readers out there: The sooner you quit trying to change the man you have selected, the happier everybody will be. Whenever the magazine would come in, my wife would roll her eyes and make a comment regarding the "stupid man" magazine. I would just agree and go about reading the "stupid man" articles, tricks, goofy stuff, AND look at the pictures like the dirty ol' man I was becoming. [sort of like enjoying "The Man Show."] She figured it was cheaper than my secretly going to strip clubs. Ce' La Vie. That's why we have lasted together 20 years.</p>
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By the way, my daughter informs me that the only "military academy" is at West Point--the others are "driving schools" for people who want to fly and drive boats
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<p>Yeah, but the Army pukes spend the rest of their careers trying to make up for the error:</p>
<p>:D</p>
<p>"It most certainly can't be displayed out in the "open"--that type of thing isn't even allowed in the civilian workplace." shogun</p>
<p>Shogun's comment illustrates my point, that USNA is both a university and workplace for the mids. My mid made a comment just the other day about Bancroft Hall being unique because they work and live in the same place.</p>
<p>Also, the football player who is being court martialed for rape had 700+ pornographic images on his school computer. I think the academy was trying to determine if he downloaded them. Wonder if the service academies have written rules about this issue.</p>