<p>West Point is eighty-five percent male. I know a lot of you have no concept of this, so here are a few examples. The next time you go to class, sit down, look around at the other seventeen people in the room. Now, imagine yourself the only woman. Next time you get a B on a test, all the points you got, they have Y chromosomes. All the ones you missed? They dont. Think of your closest ten friends. Are eight of them male? They are now. This can be fun. This can be scary. But its a fact here, and something everyone gets used to. First proverb of the post The odds are good, but the goods are odd. </p>
<p><strong><em>Dating</em></strong>
As a plebe, youre allowed to date other plebes. I would suggest you not date within your company. Its too easy to break the rules and get caught and get in some serious trouble. Also, if the two of you break up, its easier to move on when you dont see each other and interact every day. I have seen this work out though, our company couple is getting married after grad, so YMMV. </p>
<p><strong><em>How to</em></strong>
Plebes watch a lot of movies, go to sporting events or the plebe club, grab dinner together, and hang out. Join a club together and go on trip sections. Remember though, if the two of you break up, only one of you gets to keep the friends if you cant be amicable.</p>
<p><strong><em>The Rules</em></strong>
West Point has a lot of rules governing male/female interaction. PDAs, which include holding hands, hugs, and kissing hello are not allowed. In the barracks, if a guy and a girl are alone in a room together, the door has to be open ninety degrees. You cant share the same horizontal surface. Before you even think, oh, well, if were on the bed, and if Im lying on top of him, hes technically on the bed, and Im technically not, dont even go there. Sex in the barracks is not allowed. Should you choose to indulge while on pass, or decide to take walking privileges into town and get a hotel room, practice preventive maintenance. Go see Dr. Yavorek at the Health Clinic and choose a birth control method. Grab some free condoms from the pharmacy or continue getting stuck with the Depo-Provera shot I mentioned earlier. Dr. Y also deals in the Nuva ring and several variety of the pill. She does not do IUDs or Norplant. </p>
<p><strong><em>Pregnancy</em></strong>
If you get pregnant, you will be sent to a medical board and they will send you home on medical leave until you are no longer pregnant. This does happen, probably at least once a year. Some people go home and sign the child over to their parents after birth. Some people go to Planned Parenthood in Newburgh. Im not going to touch what you should do, Im just giving you some of the options that people I know have exercised. Dr. Y can also help you with this, and the counselors over at the Center for Personal Development are excellent. </p>
<p><strong><em>Roommates and Lady Casanovas (casanovettes?)</em></strong>
At the beginning of the school year, set some guidelines with your roommates. If youre comfortable with both of them sitting on her bed when youre there, thats fine. When someone knocks, hed better move pretty quick though. If youre not comfortable with her sitting on his lap while youre in the room, say so. No one should ever put you in a situation where you feel uncomfortable, especially in your own room. Remember, you can always take your books and go to the study room, or the library, or go visit other friends
which means the door has to be opened and all the Academy rules have to be followed. On the other hand, realize that letting them nap together might not be the best idea. If they get caught because your TAC NCO knocks and the door is opened before theyre both presentable and alert, youre all going to get fried because you let it happen. </p>
<p>If you just want him to go away so you can have a chat with your roomdawg about their behavior, stretch, yawn, and mention a nap or going to bed if its late. He should take a hint, and she may go with him, but you can talk later. At that talk, renegotiate, and set up some new limitations if necessary. Mention her going to visit him if they spend excessive amounts of time in your room. Suggest that he always leave by ten, or some other acceptable time. If he drops by a lot when shes not there, give him her class schedule. We have a saying West Point is all about cooperation, because with three people in the room, you can shut the door. Cooperation works both ways. If theyre having a fight, pull out your headphones and kill some hearing cells. This gives them privacy not only from you but from the rest of the company. If youre both dating and shes not showing the same considerations youre showing her, discuss that too. It may only be a semester, but plebes dont choose their roommates and you may end up together again. Its almost always better to talk out problems as they occur. </p>
<p><strong><em>Home team, away team</em></strong>
Although some subscribe to If theyre not in the same area code, its not cheating, I dont. If he has a girlfriend back home, step away and find someone else. The same goes for you. If you’ve still got a boyfriend back home, don’t ditch him just because you’re fishing in a bigger pool now. I really don’t have any experience as a 2%er, but one of my girlfriends is, so I’ll see if she can throw together a post about staying together for the whole 47 month experience.</p>
<p><strong><em>Frat</em></strong>
As I mentioned earlier, plebes can date other plebes. Plebes cannot date upperclassmen, or, really, have any social interactions with them. If youre in a club together, you can be friends when youre doing club stuff. When youre in the company area, doing duties or delivering laundry, youre not friends. Youre a plebe, he or she is an upperclassman. Do not try to attract the attention of any upperclassmen. The upperclass women will see it and will deal with it in their own fashion. The male firsties are probably not interested
they want to graduate. The cows know that next year, youll be legal. The yearlings are your team leaders and should see you as protégées. However, there are an unscrupulous few who will actively seek out your company. Realize, though, that they are doing this because you are new and they have been turned down by every other female in the Corps. It is NOT a good idea to engage in frat. The consequences are rather severe. He will probably be stripped of his rank, and you will both be on the Area for a very long time. If hes a good dude, remind him of these things, and that youll be around next year. He should understand and back off. After Buckner, consider the relationship again.</p>