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Citadel to put locks on barracks doors
By Slab
The Citadel will install locks on all cadet rooms by next semester, a break with tradition that stems from concerns about safety in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings.
The Citadel and VMI both have a tradition of unlocked doors. Those who have been through the Ratline can attest that this is often a serious concern for young Rat Ties trying to grab an unauthorized nap under their desk. It also makes a great way to get their attention, although more than a few upperclassmen have had to pay to fix doors after their foot went completely through.
However, nostalgia aside, I'm not following the Citadel's reasoning for this measure. The students at Virginia Tech had lockable doors, that didn't prevent the shooting in the dormitory. I suppose it's not an unreasonable measure, but the Honor Code and the absence of locks was one of those small intangibles that truly distinguished VMI and the Citadel from the rest. Don't be fooled by the uniforms and barracks, it is such things as a much stricter observance of personal honor that truly set us apart. Certainly putting locks on the doors in their barracks will not turn the Citadel Corps of Cadets into a raging mob of thieves, their honor system will probably remain as strong as ever, but it was one of those little things you could brag about to your friends from other colleges: "I don't even have a lock on my door, but when I leave for a weekend, nothing will be touched when I get back."
Perhaps I am being overly nostalgic, but it's hard to describe the pride you can take in such a small, seemingly minor thing. I guess I'm just a bit disappointed, and I hope that VMI does not follow suit. I really do not see that it will enhance cadet safety beyond the measures already in place.
Besides, what is the RDC going to do when Rats lock their doors before a sweat party? Huff and puff?
John says: HEY WHY DON'T THEY JUST PUT THE FIRING PINS BACK IN THE 4-5 M14s PER ROOM!
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Comments
Agreed about the firing pins.
The cadet rooms at VPI have, like all other dorm rooms, locking doors. However, the regulations when I was there were that they could only be locked at certain times (such as when both the room's occupants were absent).
Interesting you mention sweat parties. My BRs(I was on guard at the time) decided to barricade themselves in their respective company rooms before a sweat party. The RDC did not the "huff and puff" but tried kicking the doors harder. When that didn't work they went through the transom and when that failed they started breaking windows. When they finally got us out, thanks largely in part to the Commandant's staff, the penalty we payed was huge, even delayed Breakout because of it. Heck, even those of us on guard got to do the sweat party, and boy was marching first relief tough that night.
Good memories, though. Wouldn't trade them for the world.
Interesting you mention sweat parties. My BRs(I was on guard at the time) decided to barricade themselves in their respective company rooms before a sweat party. The RDC did not the "huff and puff" but tried kicking the doors harder. When that didn't work they went through the transom and when that failed they started breaking windows. When they finally got us out, thanks largely in part to the Commandant's staff, the penalty we payed was huge, even delayed Breakout because of it. Heck, even those of us on guard got to do the sweat party, and boy was marching first relief tough that night.
Good memories, though. Wouldn't trade them for the world.
Instead of locks on the doors, why not put the firing pins back in their M-14’s?
Issue an alarm box in each room with a loaded clip. A gunman comes in the barracks and you’ve got thousands of armed responders ready to go.
John Mc, Citadel Class of 1991
That might make the Third's hays safer as well. Don't see it happening, though.
lol Slab....
I don't suppose you remember us tossing 02's out during that rainy fall day in '99??
Man they were pissed. I got a random RDC send up, my only RDC send up, as a result.
Well, one of the very last Rat Riots of the Rat Mass of 07+3 was just that, locking ourselves up in our rooms.
Every company barricaded themselves in their company room, using desks, racks, and stereo cabinets to ensure the RDC was not able to enter our rooms prior to the sweat party.
When VMI Officers finally persuaded us to open them, we definitely paid the price for our actions.
In response to the idea of putting the pins back in the M-14's and having loaded clips in the rooms, what happens if the shooter is a cadet? I mean at Tech, it wasn't some random guy who walked onto campus and started shooting, it was a student. What if, by putting the pins and rounds into every room, you just armed a shooter with a powerful weapon. Not to mention, everyone wears a uniform and holds the same weapon... how does having 1300 armed, high strung cadets shooting each other help?
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Having been through a 4 year degree at a regular university and now 3 years into an enlistment, I think that civilian schools are far more likely to foster a spree killer than a military environment like one of the academies.
The thing that really amazed me when I got into the military was that people really do depend on each other and they really do help each other out. In universities there are endless programs and counselors and such that claim to be there to help you, and there are lots of student organizations, but they amount to little more than paperwork and hand waving. A counselor's primary incentive is to go through a predefined set of motions and then get you out of her office. Your professor has no idea what it's like to hold down a job while attending school because he paid a fraction of the tuition you're paying. And you'll be someone else's problem in a few months.
An NCO has to work with you for the next few years and his success is tied to your successes so he's got a far bigger incentive to really help you with your problems. And in most cases he's lived through something very similar to what you're going through.
One last note: yeah, we have locks where I work. There are always a few guys who are O2 thieves and won't do a bit of work unless I'm looking over their shoulder. Even so, if there had been a couple of those guys at VT they would have stopped that shooter instead of cowering in fear.