Cadets can take 'at ease' literally
Something new added to their day — sleep
The Citadel's lexicon includes MREs, IEDs and, starting this year, NAPs.
That's right. Citadel students can now take siestas.
Col. Greg Stone, the commandant of cadets, said The Citadel changed a policy this year that prohibited cadets from sleeping during their free time during the day.
School leaders decided after an "internal institutional look" while preparing for an accreditation review that cadets needed more opportunities for rest, Stone said.
He also said that rest is especially important for freshmen, who must endure a grueling military training program in addition to challenging academics.
The new policy also allows cadets to go to sleep earlier, he said. In the past, someone knocked on cadets' doors at 11 p.m. to make sure they were in their rooms. Cadets who wanted to go to sleep earlier than 11 p.m. often were awakened by the knock, he said.
Now, cadets who want to go to bed before 11 p.m. can simply place a red card on their doors indicating that they don't want to be disturbed.
The school wants cadets to be able to get seven uninterrupted hours of sleep at night, Stone said. Most cadets get up between 5:30 and 6 a.m., he said.
Bill Woolsey, chairman of The Citadel's Faculty Council, called the change "a great idea."
"It's a long-standing concern of the faculty that cadets don't have enough time to sleep," he said. It affects how well they learn and how much they remember, he said.
Stone said that unlike other college students, cadets are on a 24-hour schedule. They must take classes, study and participate in the military elements of the program, so they work many hours each day, he said.
Cadet Alexander Johnson, a senior, said he thinks the change is a good idea and will help first-year students.
He said he gets between five and seven hours of sleep each night, and that's enough for him. Cadet William Nall, also a senior, agreed, and said it's all about learning to manage time well.
But, Nall added, "If I need to stay up, I'm going to do that. If I don't get eight hours of sleep every night, my world isn't going to come crashing down."
Gregory Belenky, director of the Sleep and Performance Research Center at Washing- ton State University, said getting about eight hours of sleep in each 24-hour period is important for most people, including college-age adults. That's what it takes for the body to recuperate from the day, he said.
Belenky, who conducted research on sleep and performance for the U.S. Army for more than 20 years, said The Citadel's policy change is progressive. Students can take a nap when they don't get seven hours of sleep at night, he said.
And that's important because students who get enough sleep before a class learn better in that class, he said. And those who get enough sleep the night after a class remember better what they learned.
And, he added, anecdotal evidence indicates that sleep deprivation plays a role in friendly-fire accidents in the military.
Only about one person in 20 can function well on less than eight hours of sleep each night, Belenky said. "You can't build an army or an undergraduate class out of those people," he said.
Reach Diane Knich at 937-5491 or dknich@post andcourier.com.
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Cid95 (anonymous) says...
The reality on the ground at the Citadel during my time there was that upperclassmen slept in their rooms in the afternoon if they wanted to and weren't in class. As knobs, we just slept at our desks in our rooms in the afternoons if we had time (which wasn't often) and counted on waking up quickly if someone walked in.
"Do not disturb" placards on the door...well I guess it goes along with air conditioning and locks and girls and other stuff.
As every Citadel grad will tell you, the last year of the "Old Corps" (meaning the real hardcore Citadel) was the year he, or now she I suppose, graduated. :)
September 18, 2008 at 1:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
froglegs (anonymous) says...
The next Clemson!!!
September 18, 2008 at 7:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dogwoodroad (anonymous) says...
Why not start Wonderful Wednesday's, too? When my mom was in college at Emory, they only had classes Mon, Tue, Thurs and Fri....
September 18, 2008 at 7:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
swillis (anonymous) says...
The Toolshed and the Rack Monster on the same side - what is the world coming to? What is now acceptable behavior used to get you weekends at the Quad and Gun Club. What's next, optional parade and SMI's?
September 18, 2008 at 7:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mlittle212 (anonymous) says...
I'm looking forward to the turn down service and chocolates on my pillow!!!
September 18, 2008 at 8:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
beenya_toolong (anonymous) says...
Early, it's sense, not "since". I wouldn't worry about "becoming a wimpy ass nation". We should be concerned with our becoming a STUPID ASS NATION!
September 18, 2008 at 8:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
icbmman (anonymous) says...
Wow, things just get more embarrassing for Citadel alumni like myself. A "Do Not Disturb" card for knobs?!?! What kind of horses--t is that?!!?
And people wondered why our school wanted to prevent women from getting into the Corps of Cadets. The main overall reason is that once women were admitted, most alumni knew that the corps would be operated under a more politically correct sense. Standards would be lowered as well as expectations for knobs to perform at stressful levels. I can say without any doubt that our predictions have indeed come true.
Indeed Early, things like this are transforming our nation into pansies. We are becoming a nation of wimps and pushovers.
September 18, 2008 at 9:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
gunlover (anonymous) says...
It is about time that the citadel took a good hard look at the corps of cadets, their studies and how they do in class.
I have to agree with one comment about lack of sleep and friendly fire in the military, it works the same way in the classroom, if not fully awake, the student will miss something important.
September 18, 2008 at 11:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
desspec (anonymous) says...
What's next ... room service?
September 18, 2008 at 11:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mrcitadel2008 (anonymous) says...
Wow,
This comes as a real shock huh? God do I hope Colonel Dorton is elected to the BOV and he personally sends Stone back to New York. I remember when they issued the "Do Not Disturb" cards to the knobs last year. My roommate and I personally confiscated these red cards and told them that if they were in bed before Lights Out they would be up long before sun up. Needless to say there is no honor in raising half-assed knobs. With that said I know last years freshmen averaged 6 hours of sleep and all of ours maxed the PT test and made Deans List or above. Naps are for the afternoon Stone! I sat everyone of my "Sleeping in Rack" punishments and don't see why they shouldn't either. And once more, Leave My School Stone!
September 18, 2008 at 11:38 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hammertoes (anonymous) says...
Get out of the rack nasty legs! Besides there are more creative places to sleep...like on top of the full press.
95' The Last Class.
September 18, 2008 at 11:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DanniD (anonymous) says...
I like to take a nap, but I must say that this is ridiculous!! How are the going to allow do not disturb cards? Everyone should know what they are getting into if they decide to attend the Citadel. If they they do not like the idea of being able to sleep whenever they want, than they should not enroll. Duh.
September 18, 2008 at 12:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Edwin435 (anonymous) says...
Pretty soon El Cid will be like Texas A&M...those that want the cadet life and the rest of them...Its come a long way since 89 and most of its bad...There are no breaks in the real world...I wish I could tell my boss and clients that I cant get back to them right now because I am taking a nap and before the bleeding hearts say that I dont pull those kind of hours now you had better rethink that. I still pull regular 18 hour days and have to be on my game. Whats next? No shirt tucks and bracing ????
September 18, 2008 at 12:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mrcitadel2008 (anonymous) says...
Bracing! Ha! I doubt if they even know what "get your f'n chin in means anymore." I credit my great posture and terrible back problems to Brace Parties on behalf of my Junior Cadre.
Halloween is gone, The Fat nasty females grow their hair as long as they want, and its no longer proper to "Yell or Curse" at a Knob. Timeouts are for football, Sleeping is done under the rack on the hardwood floor or on Guard at 6 am on a Saturday Morning after a long night in the Holy City. I shutter to think of what my 1SGT would have done to me if he caught me sleeping Knob year though. I def. wouldn't have been here to write this comment. How does one get elected to the Board Of Visitors?
O8 The Great, The Last of the New Old Corp
"Ladies Love Lima"
September 18, 2008 at 1:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
GG (anonymous) says...
As an older woman who has mucho problems with getting ANY sleep, I have to say the idea of giving anyone the chance to get refreshing sleep is a good idea, especially these guys who are supposedly under the gun more than students at a traditional college.
However, as a recently retired educator, I also wonder if the motivation for the administration at the Citadel isn't the fact that today's young people feel such a sense of entitlement. "I should be able to sleep in my free time and who are you to say I can't!"
September 18, 2008 at 1:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
VMI90 (anonymous) says...
This is really much ado about nothing. As cid95 stated earlier, this has been going on for years at all of the military schools. We would sleep on the floor in the mornings if we didn't have classes, and sleep in our racks after lunch roll call- we technically weren't allowed to, but everyone did it, and no one got in trouble. What a waste of a story.
September 18, 2008 at 1:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
icbmman (anonymous) says...
VMI90 and Cid95, good points. My main point is that knobs should "suck it up" and not get special treatment like "do not disturb" cards. Yes, of course when we were knobs, we would find ways to get a nap that were out of the ordinary. I actually took a nap under the bleachers in Deas Hall a few times during my knob year!
That's part of being a knob. Having the system allow knobs to sleep just coddles them more.
September 18, 2008 at 2:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
VMI90 (anonymous) says...
I agree about the special treatment, however. As a rat, I found places to go snooze also. As a rat at VMI, you are teamed up with a first classman- he shows you the ropes, is a mentor, and sometimes helps you out of a jam. In return, you are essentially his slave- you have to do anything he asks, from errands, to picking up his laundry, to cleaning his room from top to bottom. Pretty sweet deal as a senior, sucks as a rat. But as a rat, I would sometimes sleep in his hay when he was in class.
September 18, 2008 at 2:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
fockerout (anonymous) says...
SOFT...the Citadel and the Military, what's next, peticures?
September 18, 2008 at 2:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
VMI90 (anonymous) says...
focker, as I stated, this has been going on for years- they have just "made it standard operating procedure". I will agree however we had it much more spartan "back in the old corps".
...and it's spelled pedicures.
September 18, 2008 at 2:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Satanssybil2007 (anonymous) says...
OK this is the very reason why I will not let my son enter to Corps of Cadets. they let women in and the true Corps went to hell. Hey I think they should intergrate maid service for the cadets!!!! I mean what the hell the citadel was ruined the day they opened the gates to women!! And yes I am a female!!! I am a native charlestonian and have been pro el cid since i was a little girl. did the citadel summer camp dances and all. Dated a couple of cadets while going to the CofC and so hoped if i had sons i could send them there. It is nothing but a powder puff college now i would be ashamed to have my son in there!
September 18, 2008 at 3:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zoomru (anonymous) says...
Maybe that is what the PASSENGERS of flight 93 should have done !! HOLD UP timeout CARDS to the TERRORISTS !!!
MY BACKSIDE !!!!
Maybe....OUR troops should have been equipped with these cards while they were TAKING HAMBURGER HILL !!!
MY BACKSIDE !!!!
Maybe Our Sailors should have had cards on Dec 7 TH....WHEN??? !!!
MY BACKSIDE !!!!!
MAYBE OUR TROOPS SHOULD have had cards for ..D-DAY !!!!
MY BACKSIDE ...!!!
DO you think OUR troops that were PINNED down in BASTOGNE would have approved of OUR Relieving troops having TIME OUT CARDS ???!!!
GENERAL.......first you beg at County Council and NOW THIS !!!??? DO you think a CARD makes a difference in DJIBOUTI, AFRICA in 130 degree heat ?? WELL....do YOU ???? Do you think Heat such as this shows any MERCY ??? AND BY GOD ....did those 9/11 terrorists show any MERCY for a ...CARD ?!!! or ....LIFE !!!
My BACKSIDE !!!!!!!!!
September 18, 2008 at 5:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
zoomru (anonymous) says...
DIANE..............
YOU ARE BANISHED to the MOSCOW....P&C Office with IVAN !!!!
September 18, 2008 at 5:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Cid95 (anonymous) says...
To be clear, it's not the sleeping part that bothers me. You have to do what you have to do to keep yourself going.
We all did it and took the risks. It's the fact that things have changed to recognize that now it's just fine and dandy, go ahead and take a nap and forget the standards of the generations before you.
The reason for this relates very heavily to The Citadel having the largest freshmen class in 40 years or so - RETENTION = REVENUE & making it easier = retention. It's just business.
September 18, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
shothci (anonymous) says...
Well there goes the citadel,pull-ups next? what happened
to weeding out the weak or is it money? are to just shame us all? this strong school is turning into wimps. who ever is making this changes in the citadel needs to resign.
this is the south the tough the strong the leaders of
our future and they are taking naps. so so sad!!!!!!!
September 18, 2008 at 6:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
magoo (anonymous) says...
this is another way to keep their attrition rate down.
September 18, 2008 at 10:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ConfidentialSource (anonymous) says...
Let's analyze this from a few different angles; I'll try to keep this civil, as I don't want to come off as irrationally perturbed, but I cannot say that I agree with the new policies here and still retain my honor (yes, I said "here," where I am currently in the middle of Evening Study Period.)
It has long been a sort of "conspiracy theory" among the cadets here that the new administration is putting revenues from tuition above the ideals of honor and discipline upon which our beloved institution was founded. I know we're a publicly-funded institution and not a get-rich quick scheme for military retirees, but I can't help but wonder if Gen. Rosa's $150,000 raise last year could have been better spent perhaps renovating Capers Hall, or ordering new books for the embarrassingly short-handed Daniel Library. That's enough money to give full-ride scholarships to *two* cadets from South Carolina, all the way from Matriculation to Graduation. From another angle: Have YOU donated $150,000 or more to the Citadel in a single given year? Because if you haven't, then you can reasonably assert that every penny you gave went to General John Rosa, and not the upkeep of our beloved institution.
September 18, 2008 at 10:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ConfidentialSource (anonymous) says...
Upperclassmen, especially those on the cadre, are almost afraid to interact with knobs, due to the increased measures and regulations regarding hazing. I know of one particular horror story where an entire cadre was threatened when a knob quit because he had legitimate financial trouble and couldn't afford to stay at The Citadel. However, a situation so obviously out of the hands of upperclassmen doesn't prevent those upperclassmen from coming under the heat of hazing allegations, no matter how unfounded or fabricated they may be. I know that we as a cadre are held to a strict standard of professionalism, but I'm also Army prior service. I've seen professionalism in the form of Drill Sergeants, First Sergeants, and Officers. I can say without a doubt that some of the men that have served on the school cadre have been unquestionably more professional and more vigilant against hazing than any E-7 I had in AIT.
I have witnessed first hand numerous cases of the administration taking the inconsistent stories of outprocessing (quitting) knobs who are looking for excuses to explain to their fathers why they quit over the solemn word of honorable cadets. I have been instructed not to yell at any knob, nor to perform "corrective PT" more than three times per day. I have been told that knobs cannot unbuckle their belts to have them inspected, as that constitutes sexual harrassment. I have been told that bending down to look at a knob's shoes or brass is also harrassment. I have been told that knobs can neither be talked to nor approached during ESP hours, and I've been threatened by a battalion religious NCO with tours if I attempt to train knobs anytime between dinner and ESP on Mondays and Thursdays ("religious activities period.")
September 18, 2008 at 10:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ConfidentialSource (anonymous) says...
The Administration altered the Hell Week schedule to include two one-hour blocks of drill per day for 5 days. In conducting that drill, I was personally reprimanded, in front of my knobs, 3 times by the Administration's Sergeant Major Bauer for "conducting squad drill when it should have been individual drill," or for not correcting one detail of marching when I was trying to rush through a far more complex total task. If I were not limited to 120 minutes per day to teach knobs everything from the position of attention to counter-column march, I might have been afforded the luxury of following the Administration's guidelines a little closer.
Knobs (who are, by the way, allowed to have cell phones during the first semester now as part of Col. Stone's [extremely expensive] Bulldog Alert protocol,) walk unabashedly downtown, calling girlfriends, parents, or sending text messages in what I was always taught were blatant breaches of military bearing (using a phone in uniform, when in public.)
I can tell you that the Administration means well, but in that endeavor we are pandering to the pressures of our peers in the field of military education. And in the end, is that not what our school is most wholly against? Shouldn't we be standing tall and proud against what society feels satisfied with, and taking for ourselves, by our steadfast determination, that Golden Band of glory and honor reserved for only the most hardened cadet? Why should we be forced to accept mediocracy as our standard, and allow our expectations to droop as our matriculating classes grow to larger and larger numbers? Is The Citadel openly advertizing to high school seniors nationwide that if you have enough money to pay for your tuition, we'll lower our standards for you? And it may seem fine now, since the excuse is to "increase our academic performance," but what happens when the academics become too rigorous for the average cadet? How much will The Citadel's Administration sacrifice in order to pass "society's standard?"
I am a proud cadet, but today, as in many days past, I feel like less of one; I feel that on the day I receive my Ring, I will still be dwarfed in the shadow of those generations who have gone before me. They say the Ring never changes, but the spirit of the Band of Gold lies with the experience that IS The Citadel. For that simple truth, I know the spirit of my Ring will sadly not be the spirit its legacy deserves.
I am a distraught Cadet.
And in this, I am not alone.
September 18, 2008 at 10:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mrcitadel2008 (anonymous) says...
Confidential Source,
Just keep doing what you were doing, keep doing what was done to you! As a Human Affairs member for 3 years I know it is not the schools approach, but it's the historical one. The only way to keep up our history is by continually upholding what we feel the Citadel is. My roommate was sent to the 8th floor of the bell tower in PT barracks for a semester for making a Marine Red Badge knob put dip in his mouth and do 20 push-ups when the knob stated he was allergic to dip. I bet the Post and Courier never heard that story. He paid over 80 thousand dollars to attend here out of state and they sent him to a room with no windows that required 8 flights of stairs just to be traversed to use the bathroom or make formation! Unfortunately, that same Cadet is in our company to this day and ironically dips chewing tobacco. I wish they knew the feeling of achievement and pride one gets when you receive the band of gold and leave the gates forever. It is sad that they will not get the most out of their experience and parents money. The whole purpose of the Citadel is to prove yourself and man up and take the bs. I think its terrible that it is coming to this.
September 19, 2008 at 10:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Der_Fuhrer (anonymous) says...
This day was bound to come. Fortunetly, this policy was in place last year, but as is true this year--knobs sleeping was not allowed by those whom still believe in the school. The day they let women in the school they had to also, in turn, let in girly men. Every year it gets weaker and weaker. The only response that is fitting and MUST be done is for the alumni who really love this school to only continue funding the school with contributions under the stipulation that the school cease it's gradual slide into weakness. Also, alumni who care and want to see the school continue to be a school who produces men of fine character, need to find a place on the BOV and end the slide into mediocracy (ie. College of Charleston ROTC unit aka what used to be the Citadel).
Until alumni stand up for their school and not take no for an answer the school will continue her slide. Amercia as a country has allowed correctness to destroy her from within, shockingly with almost no support from the masses. These masses tend to stay the silent majority and let these changes citing, "it's on a small change." These small changes though add up and before long something we all took for granted exists no more or something that would be unheard of becomes the norm. On a small scale this also applies the Citadel. Many if not most are disgusted with what the school is turning into, but for some unknown reason refuse to step up and change it. This will be the downfall of our institution.
September 19, 2008 at 2:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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