Christmas dinner was on Thursday, and it is packed full of traditions. The Plebes(freshmen) decorate the tables and get cigars for everyone else. The entire Corps shows up in “Full Dress,” eats a little bit of food, stands on the chairs to sing “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” then goes outside to smoke cigars. The day of the Army/Navy football game is the single most important day in West Point Culture. The game happened on Saturday. I elected to take a bus with several hundred other cadets to and from the game (affectionately called The Boomerang Buses), but a lot of people get hotels and stay near the game. I woke up at 4:10 to […]
Branch Night
Branch Night is one of the biggest things that happens as a cadet. It is when the Firsties (seniors) find out what their job will be after graduation. You rank your preferences and do some interviews then West Point works with the army to decide what job you get. The process is based mainly on class rank, so people at the bottom of the class often get put into their lowest-choice branch because West Point has to fill a quota. Like many things here at West Point, there is a lot of tradition that goes with Branch Night. The best part about Branch Night is what happens to the Firsties’ rooms while they are at […]