# I made a Freshman cry. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 28, 2001, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-a-freshman-cry/78440 "2001-08-28T00:21:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![king\_of\_spain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7cd45c/32.png) [@king\_of\_spain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/king_of_spain)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-a-freshman-cry/78440/101 "2001-08-30T17:27:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* > \*\*It was always meant to psychologically torment young people? \*\* As I understand it, it is common knowledge that the sort of behavior described in the OP goes on in the Corps of Cadets. If you consider that to be “psychological torment,” (and really, it may be a nasty thing to do, but “psychological torment?”) then don’t join. It’s very simple. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-a-freshman-cry/78440/102 "2001-08-30T18:21:46Z")
king of spain, I’ve been looking at the Texas A&M University site. e.g. [Corps of Cadets - Academics](http://corps.tamu.edu/academics.asp) [A day in the life of a cadet](http://corps.tamu.edu/cadetlife/CadetDay.asp) I still haven’t found the part where they mention that hazing is one of the educational “benefits” they offer. Could you perhaps find that for me? Or is it mentioned in the brochures? [Edited by Arnold Winkelried on 08-30-2001 at 01:23 PM] ---
**Author:** ![Spiritus\_Mundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c68b51/32.png) [@Spiritus\_Mundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiritus_Mundi)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-a-freshman-cry/78440/103 "2001-08-30T21:00:48Z")
I am suddenly reminded of a scene in _A Few Good Men_. “Can you show me, marine, where in the manual it directs you to the mess hall?” I think it is disingenuous to pretend that any significant portion of the entering class at a military (or pseudo-military) academy is ignorant of the demands of the environment. Now, I also find little value in this type of hazing, but I think that attacking it as an “unexpected consequence” of admission is the wrong tack. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-a-freshman-cry/78440/104 "2001-08-30T22:30:21Z")
Spiritus Mundi - let me then rephrase my question - why is this aspect of life at the school not mentioned at the website, for example on the page “a day in the life of a cadet”? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-a-freshman-cry/78440/105 "2001-08-30T22:34:57Z")
I’m afraid that the reason, Arnold, is because if it were…the main draw would be masochists and assholes. Not that I’ve been shown otherwise in the course of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2001, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-a-freshman-cry/78440/106 "2001-08-31T00:47:57Z")
Apparently, it’s impossible for a subject like this to survive in MPSIMS without getting into a shit slinging contest. Too bad. Can’t say I blame the OP, though, who merely related a story. Since he did so in MPSIMS, there’s no reason whatsoever to start calling him names et cetera. But of course, you knew that already, right? Anyways, there’s a Pit Thread in place already. I’m sure those who are interested will find it. This thread is closed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-made-a-freshman-cry/78440.md?page=5)