United States Naval Academy

Student Life

The Naval Academy is most different from other schools of higher education in the area of student life. The most important social unit is the company, whose members eat, study, drill, play, and compete as teams together. The midshipman's day is strictly regimented, and he is expected to be present for reveille, meals, classes, formations, sports, and training at precise times. Three-and-a-half hours are allotted every day for study, and plebes must be in bed an hour before everyone else. (And that's assuming you haven't gotten into any trouble: A midshipman "on restriction" is forbidden to leave campus for anything other than sports competitions and is required to report to superiors five times a day in an inspection-quality uniform.)

Time is allotted, however, for extracurricular activities. Midshipmen can join musical groups like the gospel choir or the Drum and Bugle Corps; recreational groups like the amateur radio and scuba clubs; academic organizations like the astronomy club and the forensic society; brigade support clubs like the cheerleaders and the silent drill team; and others. All midshipmen must participate in athletics, in the form of either the 21 varsity sports for men and 9 for women or at the club and intramural level. All sports teams have a fierce rivalry with the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and the annual Army-Navy football game is televised nationally and scrutinized endlessly at The Yard.

The Brigade Activities Committee also sponsors social events on weekends, including the annual International Ball with young guests from foreign embassies in Washington. The highlight of each midshipman's social calendar is Commissioning Week in May, with its five days of dances, garden parties, parades, concerts, sailing, and a Blue Angels flight demonstration leading up to graduation and commissioning of the senior class.

A revered Naval Academy tradition is the Herndon Monument Climb, an occasion held at the end of each class's first year. At the sound of a cannon blast, 1,000 screaming plebes dash towards a 21-foot stone obelisk and attempt to climb to the top. Complicating their task is about 200 pounds of lard that is smeared on the monument by upperclassmen prior to the ceremony. The resulting mess is described in lurid detail on the Academy's website: "The smell of the melting lard permeates thousands of cheering spectators. Bodies turn red with beads of sweat dripping down the tower of people. Agony shows on the faces of those at the bottom of the pyramid as they support upon their shoulders three or four tiers of muscular bodies. As the crowd yells in anticipation, the class gets excited and 'They're gonna make it' is heard all around. Crash. The bodies collapse like dominoes."

Midshipmen on leave or liberty often take advantage of the city of Annapolis's recreational venues. In warm weather, the city dock is the scene of concerts, boat shows, and festivals that mix midshipmen and local citizens with thousands of tourists. Annapolis also boasts restaurants, boutiques, art galleries, museums, and a repertory theatre. Midshipmen can also make the 30-mile trip to Baltimore for some big-city R-and-R.