Virginia Military Institute - Bomb Yearbook (Lexington, VA)

Page 289 text:

Needless to say, he is always prepared for whatever the instructor might ask of him. Granted, there may have been a few distractions the night before, but gener- ally the cadet ' s room is steeped in an atmosphere of concentrated study. Leaving .studies beiiiiid, wi- can iiinJ, in the Corps, men who pfj.s5es.s other talents besides tho.se of an ac-ademic nature. There is the occasional militarv fanatic . Ik and there is, of course, the tlevil-may- care, easy to please individual who asks only for the simpler joys of life. But life in barracks is not that hard. There are times when a cadet is given certain comforts when he is in the proc- ess of performing his daily duties. There are those unscheduled inspections which occasionally take us by surprise, but these are to be expected :ifter all.

Page 288 text:

To outsiders, the Virginia Military Institute may, or may not, be impressive. After all, the military impresses some: others would rather not have anything to do with it. But, as cadets, we know what li -ing under a militarv svstem means and . . . For example: While other students in other colleges are awakened in the morning by a gentle tinkling of an alarm or a friendly rap on the door by the house mother, we have a series of bugle calls to tear us from our slumber. Well, actuallj ' , this isn ' t too irritating because some- times we can still manage to catch a few winks later on; that is, unless you are a Rat. To be in the hay after First Call means to be late off the stoop. This also means that he is liable to suffer at the hands of an upperclassman later on. Anyway, after a hearty breakfast in the I ' X, and under the friendly supervision of the Corps own housemother, the cadet finds himself in the pursuit of knowledge in his classroom.

Page 290 text:

w ' A Vt!im ' ' Admittedly, barracks can be- come crowded, and sometimes dull. To circumvent this, the cadet may de- cide to take an evening off. He leaves barracks to jjarticipate in some festive occasion with a companion or two. Things do not always go as ex- pected, however, and he ma, - find that someone has called while he was awav. IJut nothing is l(jst. lie finds the message I hat has been left for him, and he answers it promptly. So, perha|)s il may be said that this is ySll in a nutshell. Exciting, invigorat- ing, and a valuable experience for all of us I Yeah.