Values and Respect

31 July 2006

Dear Fourth Class Parents,

On August 18, 1969, I left my family and my home in Jacksonville, Fla. to attend The Citadel. During those first weeks and months I experienced a wide range of emotions, similar I’m sure to those of thousands of other 18-year-olds who were leaving home for college.  

At times I wondered why I chose The Citadel. As the months passed, I felt great pride in our accomplishments as knobs. I developed a strong bond with my classmates. My roommate and I lived together for four years and we have maintained a strong relationship throughout our professional careers.

After a very rewarding 32-year career in the United States Air Force, I had the great honor to return to my alma mater as the 19th president of The Citadel. This is the place where I met my wife Donna, who is from Charleston. This is the place where we were married (Summerall Chapel). This is the place where our youngest son joined the long gray line in 2003. So you can see that for us, The Citadel is a family affair. I really hope it becomes that sort of place for your family too because cadets in the Class of 2010 need their families.

Why do I stress the importance of family support for freshmen? While we do have thousands of very fine colleges and universities in this country, we know they are not sanctuaries. Rather, they are largely a reflection of our society. And that is also true at The Citadel.

The new-found freedom that college students experience brings new challenges... serious challenges. The most critical challenge that entering students here and elsewhere face is alcohol. The misuse of alcohol often leads to impaired judgment with very serious consequences. Another challenge they face is how to understand and treat other college students. Unfortunately, the national news frequently carries reports of students mistreating other students, even at the high-school level. Finally, those entering The Citadel face the challenge of being academically honest in a very demanding intellectual environment – an environment where there is no tolerance for cheating.

Entering college students must learn to make good decisions and use sound judgment when we are not there to help them.

First, you can discuss these challenges with your son or daughter. Our campus is a unique environment that is characterized by a strong cadet chain of command. Our junior and senior leadership share the responsibility for the well-being of your fourth class cadets. They share that responsibility with everyone at The Citadel, from the Board of Visitors to the junior members of our support staff. All of us want to join you in a partnership that will continue the wonderful work that has brought your son or daughter to this point.

For our part of this partnership, we are taking new steps to help entering students – indeed, to help all cadets – make good choices. These steps are collectively part of our Values and Respect Program, so named because it focuses on our core values as the foundation of our leadership training. We must strengthen the culture of respect within the Corps – that means self respect as well as respect for others.  A culture of respect means that there is no room for mistreating others. A culture of respect means that cadets treat their classmates as brothers and sisters. The Values and Respect Program includes an education program to help cadets to make good leadership choices and to influence their classmates to do likewise.

We need your assistance. I ask you to discuss the following trademarks of our Values and Respect Program with your son or daughter right away:

• Do your best.

• Show respect for yourself and others.

• Be intelligent about alcohol.

• Avoid fraternization with upperclassmen.

• Assist other classmates in making good decisions.

• Adhere to the Honor Code.

• Resist peer pressure to make poor decisions.

 As you discuss these trademarks, let your son or daughter know that I am personally committed to a climate in the Corps that is challenging, supportive, fair and consistent and holds everyone accountable for their actions. The cadet leadership as well as the faculty, staff and administration shares my commitment to creating an environment that encourages cadets do the right thing. Please tell your cadet that he or she should inform the cadet leadership or a faculty or staff member if they observe any situation that is contrary to our core values or the values your family upholds.

In addition to discussing these points with your son or daughter, I want to encourage you to join us in holding our cadets accountable for their actions. Accountability includes attending classes – an action which The Citadel considers a duty. Another aspect of accountability is academic performance. Your son or daughter will receive grades at the midpoint and end of each term. I encourage you to discuss these grades with your cadet each semester.

As we form a vital partnership to continue the development of this precious resource you have entrusted to us, I know that I can count on your family for support. It is critical. With all of us working together, our cadets will achieve great things!

Donna and I are really excited about the beginning of this new academic year. We look forward to welcoming the approximately 650 members of the Class of 2010 to The Citadel. We hope to see you on Saturday, August 12.