You have commented 358 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Government
West Point cheating scandal involved mostly athletes, including 24 football players on Liberty Bowl team
2020-12-30
[USA Today] WASHINGTON — The majority of the cadets involved in the worst academic cheating scandal at West Point in 45 years are athletes, including 24 members of the football team that is scheduled to play in a bowl game on Thursday, according to West Point officials.

In all, 55 of the 73 cadets accused of cheating on a calculus final exam in May are athletes, including 17 who remain on the football team, USA TODAY has learned.

A few have played in football games this season after having been accused of cheating. Some of those players could dress and play in the Liberty Bowl on Thursday, according to Army Lt. Col. Christopher Ophardt, a West Point spokesman.

They're allowed to play because West Point's superintendent in October suspended a policy that limited or prevented cadets found in violation of the academy's honor code from representing the academy in public, including athletes at sports events.

Lt. Gen. Darryl Williams, the superintendent, in an Oct. 23 memo, wrote to the faculty that the policy "has resulted in an inequitable application of consequences and developmental opportunities for select groups of cadets." USA TODAY obtained a copy of the memo.

Under the suspended policy, most of the cadets would not have been eligible to play after Nov. 30, the date they were found in violation of the honor code, Ophardt said. The academy is not naming the cadets. Their punishment will be finalized in January.

Williams has ordered a review of the policy. The timing of the Williams' decision was not related to the football season, Ophardt said.

"We didn’t cancel the punishment," Ophardt said. "We delayed it until final adjudication."

In a letter sent to faculty, staff and alumni on Wednesday, a copy of which was sent to USA TODAY, Williams attributed the incident in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, which dispersed the cadets from the academy and the influence of its faculty and staff.

"These Cadets chose the easier wrong over the harder right," Williams wrote. "As the Superintendent, I own this cheating incident. Furthermore, I and every leader at West Point own their role in developing leaders of character. The standards established by the Cadet Honor Code have not changed and the Honor System receives my personal investment of time and attention. West Point takes every Honor Code violation seriously."
Related:
West Point: 2020-12-22 West Point faces worst cheating scandal in nearly 45 years involving more than 70 cadets
West Point: 2020-09-28 CNN Meltdown: Civil War Unless Joe Biden Wins
West Point: 2020-06-09 General (Retired) Vincent Brooks 'Dismay and Disappointment‐A Breach of Sacred Trust'
Posted by:Besoeker

#14  Even worse. LTC Heffington:

"First and foremost, standards at West Point are nonexistent. They exist on paper, but nowhere else.

"The senior administration at West Point inexplicably refuses to enforce West Point’s publicly touted high standards on cadets, and, having picked up on this, cadets refuse to enforce standards on each other. The Superintendent refuses to enforce admissions standards or the cadet Honor Code, the Dean refuses to enforce academic standards, and the Commandant refuses to enforce standards of conduct and discipline.

"The end result is a sort of malaise that pervades the entire institution. Nothing matters anymore. Cadets know this, and it has given rise to a level of cadet arrogance and entitlement the likes of which West Point has never seen in its history. ...
Posted by: Waldemar Thud4835   2020-12-30 21:14  

#13  "Heffington says the Military Academy turned a blind eye to [openly Communist cadet Spencer] Rapone’s behavior...."

Aren't applicants vetted and/or require a letter of recommendation from a Senator/Congressperson?
Posted by: Clem   2020-12-30 20:59  

#12  The rot goes deep in the service academies.

Read this expose by LTC Robert Heffington, a disgusted, now-departed, USMA prof. And weep

Heffington says the Military Academy turned a blind eye to [openly Communist cadet Spencer] Rapone’s behavior and his “very public hatred” of West Point.

While this doesn’t mean leaders at West Point defend Rapone’s views, it means that West Point’s senior leaders “are infected with apathy: they simply do not want to deal with any problem, regardless of how grievous a violation of standards and/or discipline it may be,” Heffington writes.
Posted by: Slinetle Snusoting5108   2020-12-30 20:23  

#11  Ya never see White Elephant Sales much any more, do you?
Posted by: Frank G   2020-12-30 20:13  

#10  /\ No one has EVER talked much about that elephant. His presence however, is indisputable.
Posted by: Besoeker   2020-12-30 19:50  

#9  Me thinks there's an elephant in the room that nobody is talking about.....
Posted by: Bangkok Billy   2020-12-30 19:12  

#8   Black is now the privileged class, another example of rot that has grown out of diversity no matter what. Unum e pluribus. “Out of one many” How long before we see the shade of Bedford Forest ride again.
Posted by: NoMoreBS   2020-12-30 19:10  

#7  They didn't keep the 11th commandment - definitely not officer material.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-12-30 17:33  

#6  While I have never raised a standing army myself, I do think that honesty is a good value to cultivate in the cadets, just as a general principle.
Posted by: SteveS   2020-12-30 17:15  

#5  "These Cadets chose the easier wrong over the harder right,"

Really.

Because it looks like an the easy administrative decision to promote the football/athletics program by recruiting players who don't qualify academically.

And when that didn't work, the easy way of lowering character considerations. Then the easy way delaying punishment until after the Big Game.

I also think we may be seeing our first harvests of Common Core.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2020-12-30 17:05  

#4  Be real cool if the Orange Man called LTG Williams down to the WH and told him to drop his retirement paperwork tomorrow. Reason, a one liner ("I have lost confidence in your ability to lead, have a good day"). No further discussion - no exception.

Who knows, it might send a message.
Posted by: Besoeker   2020-12-30 17:03  

#3  "Inequitable application of consequences

Ooh! OOh! I know this one. It means too many black people in the target group.

It's the sort of thing people say before they do something morally specious.
Posted by: SteveS   2020-12-30 16:59  

#2  Black Knights Eyes
Posted by: Snusosh Lumplump3167   2020-12-30 16:48  

#1  Lt. Gen. Darryl Williams, the superintendent, in an Oct. 23 memo, wrote to the faculty that the policy "has resulted in an inequitable application of consequences and developmental opportunities for select groups of cadets."

Auhthank you, auhthank you General Williams. The old "Inequitable application of consequences..." again. Hmmmmm, I think I know where he's headed with that. Why am I not surprised? Oh WAIT! There's also a COV-19 angle.
Posted by: Besoeker   2020-12-30 16:01  

00:00