West Point: The Cheating Incident

West Point: The Cheating Incident

Jason A. Meyer

MBA 615

Bellevue University

Description:

        “West Point's role in our nation's history dates back to the Revolutionary War, when both sides realized the strategic importance of the commanding plateau on the west bank of the Hudson River. General George Washington considered West Point to be the most important strategic position in America. Washington personally selected Thaddeus Kosciuszko, one of the heroes of Saratoga, to design the fortifications for West Point in 1778, and Washington transferred his headquarters to West Point in 1779.” (A Brief History of West Point ) On May 19, 1976 the Superintendent of this Military Academy was faced with important decisions surrounding an incident that had occurred a month earlier. As many as one hundred classmen were suspected of cheating on an electrical engineering exam. Cheating was of course a violation of the Cadet Honor Code. Students found guilty of such violations were expelled.

        General Sidney Berry would soon find out that an additional 135 cadets may have cheated as well. Berry had to decide whether the investigation into this incident would be performed by the standard Cadet Honor Board or substitute a quicker and more systematic method of investigation. He wanted to make certain that this incident would not undermine the long term viability of West Point and the training of U.S. military officers. There were questions about dissolving the Cadet Honor Board and what affect this would have on the future of the organization.

        Being the oldest military academy in the United States, existing for almost two centuries, this academy has produced military leaders such as Scott, Lee, Jackson, Sherman, Pershing, Eisenhower, MacArthur, Patton, Bradley, Grant, Haig, and Ridgeway. The long standing traditions helped to shape and mold the minds of what many consider to be the greatest of Americas military leaders, but perhaps these traditions as they continue into the future are not helping to shape the kinds of individuals America hopes to have serving our country in the future. (Zambello, 1981)

Diagnosis:

        Important things to note concerning the selection process into West Point Military Academy. Student selected are between the ages of 17 and 23. The typical cadet has a B+ average in high school, was also a letterman in a sport, and had an average of 600 on the scholastic aptitude test. The average student in 1976 for a male student received an SAT score of 511 and for females a 508. (Average SAT Scores, 1972–2007) The first students enter “Beast Barracks” which is a summer training program just prior to their first school year. During this time they are introduced to the Academy’s life style and philosophy, and are taught to be humble and submissive to officers. Students describe this time as a time when they are watched constantly and disciplined readily upon any sign of not performing properly. Punishments are carried out by upperclassman and in a humiliating manner. Cadets are required to respond in the appropriate manner and survival becomes the main goal. During this time, groups of students will form together and become close knit groups to support each other. (Zambello, 1981)

        Everything in the lives of a cadet is dictated and controlled by the academy. They cannot leave the campus without permission. Each individual is required to comply with a large number of regulations, discipline codes and traditional laws. Cadets may even be instructed to use only certain types of shaving cream and color of toile articles. “It is nearly impossible for an individual to comply with all of them all of the time.” A former cadet noted:

                        “Many cadets go through West Point virtually alone, almost in silence. My                 personal experience was exactly the opposite … but the lasting profound                                 friendships I formed at West Point were born of rebellion against the system,                         not brotherhood within it.”

        With a strict honor system, a long list of traditions, rules and regulations coupled with the high expectations of achievement, it became more valuable for students to risk dishonor and cheat to pass a test rather than accept failure.

        Within a rigid set of rules and regulations a cadet is judged and punished by other higher ranking cadets which may have been the exact formula needed for such a massive cheating incident to occur. Under this condition students will remain fearful of reprisal from upper classman along with fear of being reported for even minor infractions. As stated earlier by a student: “It is nearly impossible for an individual to comply with all of them all of the time.” Under a system like this, secrets will be kept to avoid being punished from major and minor infractions. This honor system becomes easily perverted in a high stress environment where expectations are unreasonable and failure is unacceptable.