VMI Cadet. February 10, 2006

              Volume XGIX
Run independently by cadets since 1907
Friday, February 10th, 2006
$ 1 . 0 0
Issue 16
This Week
Features
Special Olympics
College Bowl
Opinion
Dozen
Mohommeds
Less Grand
Strategy
Straight from
the Sally Port
Sports
Baseball Wins
Wrestling Team
Entertainment
Surviving
Valentine's Day
Fun with
Hay Straps
Fun in
other Colleges
Humor
Flip Over and
Find Out!
VMI's Own Named to Advisory Board
By Lucas A. Gordon
(dAfiCili News Writer
General John P.
Jumper, VMI Class o f ’65
and former Chief o f Staff,
was recently appointed to
the Board o f Advisors for
PlatinumSolutions, Inc.
Currently, PlatinumSolutions
is a fast-growing and award
winning systems integrator
serving the U.S. government.
General Jumper, who
is retired from the U.S. Air
Force, will play a crucial role
in counseling Washington-based
PlatinumSolutions
management, especially as the
corporation seeks to expand its
services to the Department o f
Defense (DoD).
General Jumper’s
experience and qualities
will be put to good use by
PlatinumSolutions. Laila Rossi,
the Chief Executive Officer,
said “We are excited about
Gen. Jumper joining our team.”
Mrs. Rossi went further to state,
“He will be an asset by helping
us formulate a comprehensive
strategy to target new DoD
growth opportunities. His
experience, wisdom, and
insight will add a new
dimension to our outstanding
Board o f Advisors.”
PlatinumSolutions, Inc.
is located in Reston, Virginia,
and is highly respected in the
field o f systems integration
and collaborative solutions
for the government. In regards
to General Jumper’s qualities
and expertise, the company
will seek his advice in matter
of law enforcement, defense,
intelligence and homeland
security.
P l a t i n u m S o l u t i o n s
produces software that assists
in deciphering and monitoring
terrorist communications and
the arrestment o f aggressive
criminals. As a testament
to their success, it has been
placed 18th among Washington
Technology’s 2005 Fast 50
Government Contractors, and
landed first place in the Fast 50
Systems Integration category.
Jumper served as
Commander o f the Air Combat
Command from 2000 to 2001.
During the 1999 war in Kosovo
and Serbia he commanded U.S.
Air Forces in Europe and Allied
Air Forces Central Europe. He
served on the Joint Staff during
operation Desert Storm and led
the nation’s effort to bolster
biological warfare defense.
He also served as Senior
Military Assistant to Secretary
o f Defense Dick Cheney
and Secretary Les Aspin,
along with command an F-16 .
squadron, two fighter wings
and accumulated 5,000 flying
hours that includes more than
1,400 combat hours in Vietnam
and Iraq.
In 2005, he retired from the
US Air Force after an illustrious
39-year military career. General
Jumper’s last position was Chief
of Staff, in which served as the
senior military officer in the Air
Force commanding more than
700,000 military. Air National
Guard, Air Force Reserve and
civilian men and women.
In that position, he
administered annual budgets in
excess o f $ 100 billion. As Chief
o f Staff, Jumper was a member
o f the Joint Chiefs o f Staff
STP
Review
Summer
Under
for
' 0 6
By Andrew J. Czaplicki
(Habe® News Writer
For the past 18 years,
prospective cadets have been
able to accelerate their VMI
experience by attending the
Institute’s Summer Transition
Program. STP, as it is most
commonly referred to, has
been a valuable resource for
many cadets
that have
participated.
H o w e v e r ,
due to recent
issues, the
program has
been placed
under review
b e g i n n i n g
in early
October.
The program consists of
many experiences that prepare
the incoming cadets for their
VMI lives. STP encompasses
two o f the three “legs” o f the
“VMI Stool” - academics
and physical training. All
prospective cadets take one
course in either english, history,
mathematics, or chemistry.
Each course meets four and a
half hours each day, to include
two and a half hours in a
traditional classroom format
and two hours in a tutorial
session.
Taking one class allows
for an easy transition for
former high school students to
a college level education. The
tutorials are designed to offer
students alternative educational
approaches to reinforce
concepts and skills covered in
earlier classes.
This academic approach to
VMI has been a great source of
relief for the soon-to- be Rats.
Faculty enjoys the
opportunity to teach
the prospective
cadets in a more
academic-friendly
atmosphere
Cadet Phillip Wilkerson ’08
described his experience as “an
invaluable leg up and simple
introduction to the VMI system,
without having to learn the hard
way during cadre week.”
However, Col. Thomas
Baur ’75, the current head of
VMI Summer Session Program
and director o f the Summer
Transition Program, has been
researching
the effects
o f STP on
the cadets
and has
co n c lu d ed
in a study
o f the
“pros and
cons” of
the STP has
revealed that there is “no
distinct academic difference
between cadets that imderwent
the program and those who did
not.”
Faculty enjoys the
opportunity to teach the
prospective cadets in a more
academic-friendly atmosphere.
Col. Thomas W. Davis ’64,
professor o f history, has been
teaching at VMI since 1972
and has participated in the
STP only once. His single
summer involvement has been
“the best teaching experience
I ever had. Academically
and professionally most
rewarding...what a pleasure it
was to have 12 students for four
and half hours a day.”
Many faculty members
share the same adamant
enthusiasm that Col. Davis does
with regards to the program.
“It’s so wonderfiil to be able to
pick one topic and focus in on it
for the entire day and really be
able to discuss the topic to its
potential.”
The committee formed by
the VMI Board o f Visitors to
evaluate the program’s impact
on the VMI experience began
its research in October, and just
recently concluded its findings
and submitted their report
to the VMI Superintendent,
General J.H. Binford Peay III
’62 for fiirther review and a
final decision.
Col. Baur commented on
many o f the “pros and cons”
o f the program. Many o f the
“pros” are agreed upon by
the entire committee and the
faculty. “The program gives an
excellent opportxmity to cadets
who want to get a jump start on
their education.”
The committee also
highlighted several “cons” to the
program. One o f which being
the issue o f equity. As Col.
Baur described “the program
is completely voluntary, but not
everyone can afford to go to the
summer session. So we must
ask ourselves i f it is fair?”
The STP also brings up
another key issue which directly
impacts the implementation of
the VMI system. “When new
cadets arrive their first day o f
cadre week its primary purpose
is to reduce everyone down to
the same level...does having
the advantage o f being here a
month before, finding your way
around campus, learning the
rules, and meeting with faculty
make an impact on the cadet’s
first year?”
Also mentioned in the
report was the issue o f Barracks
utilization. “Not having STP
will provide the opportunity for
repairs and further maintenance
to be concluded in Barracks.”
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providing military advice to
the National Security Council,
Secretary o f Defense, and the
President. Currently, he and
his wife, Ellen, reside in Burke,
Virginia.
VMI Alumnus to Retire from Judgeship
By Ava Schultz
(dASiiiJ News Writer
Judge William R. Moore
Jr., VMI Alumnus, will retire
from the bench after 23 years
o f service. Moore specialized
in domestic relations and juve­nile
court affairs. He garnered
respect because o f the serious­ness
and dedication with which
he regarded his work.
Moore, at the age o f 70, is
required by Virginia law to exit
the bench, but will proceed to
adjudicate cases full time until
this session when the General
Assembly names his succes­sor.
Moore’s biggest struggle is
his desire to rehabilitate dam­aged
youths while being forced
to reconcile with the fact that the
resources are simply not there.
“My job is to rehabilitate these
kids,” Moore said. “My problem
is that I don’t have the tools to
do it.”
A noted participant in his
community, Moore attempts to
be present at as many positive
youth functions as possible.
The chance to “watch children
fly” helps him come to terms
with the juvenile delinquents
he works with every day. “The
p roblem I have is watching
children who can do, not do.”
Moore said.
A spike in the number o f
violent teen crimes is “harming
our nation,” Moore continued.
The resources to rehabilitate
these minors are quickly di­minishing.
Due to employment
shortages and funding cut backs,
programs such as crime deterrent
boot camps and drug counseling
have been terminated.
Born in June o f 1935,
Moore graduated from Maury
High School in Norfolk and
went on to graduate from VMI
with a degree in history and then
completed two years o f service
in the Army. He then earned a
law degree at Washington and
Lee University in 1962.
Later in life, with his w ife
Florine and children, he moved
to Smithfield and opened his
own practice. Moore was asked
to be the successor o f a retired
judge in Suffolk in 1982. Moore
has been working diligently ever
since in juvenile court to help
c ap ab le youths regain th e ir
direction in life. “You’re a hu­man
being with a responsibility
to help people. You have a job
to do. You’re not always going
to make the right decision, but
■you have to try.”
Moore dwells on the idea
th a t he affects people in an
extremely personal way. “He
dwells on those decisions, and
before he makes one, because
parents know the child better
than he does, he always offers
to let the parties settle it them­selves.”
said Suffolk’s juvenile
court clerk, Brenda McWil­liams.
Moore hopes to continue
improving the juvenile court
even after his retirement.
Fun Times in Londdn
By AJ Betts
(dABgoi News Writer
Not busy this summer?
Looking to finish off a few
credits and have a great
time doing it? The Virginia
Program at Oxford is a summer
experience unlike any other.
The Virginia Program at
Oxford has been a part of VMI
since the summer of 1984. The
Virginia Program at Oxford
takes 36 students from VMI,
W&L, Hampden-Sydney
College, Mary Baldwin College,
Roanoke College and Sweet
Briar College to study at Oxford
each year.
The VPO will take place
from late June until early
August, with a one-week break
halfway through for personal
exploration of Europe. The VPO
offers the attendees six credits
towards their GPA, and they can
“ 7h In fo rm th e VMI Cnnitnunit\>"
attend regardless of their major.
The VPO is taught in
the English tutorial system as
opposed to a large classroom,
which places two or three
students with an expert on
English literature or history
each week. In these groups,
the students discuss and debate
among themselves or with
professors how they interpreted
a certain part o f the reading.
Col. Tom Davis,
head of the program, strongly
encourages all cadets to apply to
attend. Davis said that a 2.5 GPA
will usually get a cadet accepted
to the Virginia Program at
Oxford. He says that most cadets
usually end up with decent
grades coming out of the VPO.
Davis believes that this
is not the easy classes but
something else that makes
cadets succeed at Oxford. As he
said, “There is something about
the Oxford environment that
makes people want to give the
extra effort.”
Michael Lokale, VMI Class
o f 2003, attended the Virginia
Program at Oxford in summer
2001 and is now a Rhodes
Scholar.
Lokale majored in biology
and was so enamored with
Oxford that he wanted to return,
and was offered that chance with
his Rhodes Scholarship.
The lifestyle of the
Virginia Program is usually a
welcome change to cadets. VPO
students have their own private
room.
Students do not have to be
to class until 9:30 A.M. Monday
through Thursday there is a 45
minute to one hour lecture by
a prominent literary or history
professor, and then students have
lunch and tea with the individual
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