Welcome parents and families!

&emsp;&emsp;The Cadet is the Voice of the Corps and is written for the Corps of Cadets, whether it is voicing their opinions or reporting their news. It is rare that I get a chance to write something to others, but considering that this is Parents Weekend, it only feels right to speak to all of you. With all the parents coming in this weekend, I spent ample time trying to find the perfect thing to say. But I would be remiss not to take this time to write specifically to my own parents, who are unable to make it up from Texas for this weekend's festivities. Mom, I know I don't call nearly as often as you would like or talk for quite as long as you might like, but don't let that make you think I don't love you. I know that often my calls home are just me rattling off whatever it is I did that week, but know that I do all I do for you. Dad, I know we haven't always seen eye to eye on everything, but know that I have always looked up to you. You may sometimes worry if you have been a good enough role model for me. So, let me put your minds at ease by saying I couldn't have asked for better parents. I love you both dearly and I try to honor you in all that I do. &emsp;&emsp;Now, I cannot say that I speak for every Cadet here, though I believe I speak for most, when I say that our parents are, by far, our greatest support. Whether near or far, your infallible loving words of encouragement keep our hearts full of courage, and push us to do our very best. As our parents, you know more than most the challenges we face daily at the 'Mother I'. The long phone calls we've spent ranting to you of our ordeals have made sure you, at the very least, understand our frustration. It is true that only those who have attended VMI may truly understand what it is like to survive the Institute, but no one comes closer, or tries the hardest to understand, quite like you, our parents. &emsp;&emsp;I was pondering this fact, and about what I would speak of in general, when an excellent metaphor unfortunately came to me. Living on the back side of New Barracks and sleeping next to the window, I experience much of the weather outside through little cracks and crevices in the framing. Amid the high winds and rain we received from hurricane Ian, I felt the window and the wall brace against the impending destruction. I imagined for a moment what would have happened if that wall faltered and broke. I surely would have been crushed, but the frame stood as formidable as it had ever been. Without that support, Barracks would have surely crumbled under the weight of all that external pressure, but just as our family provides us the support to face adversity, the window frame kept Barracks from being destroyed. &emsp;&emsp;I do not know what you have heard from your Cadets, from the news, from the Administration, or from the alumni. I imagine that the rumors are running rampant just as much as they are in barracks. So allow me to shine a light through the darkness. We are without a doubt under attack from the modern world. VMI and its traditions are under threat of disappearance. The values of honor, courage, honesty, selflessness, tact, and prudence, the overall desire for challenge, brotherhood, duty, and purpose, are all absent and often shunned in the modern world. In spite of this, they are taught and encouraged here at VMI, and that will never change. Your Cadet embodies these ideals through and through, and with your encouragement and your support we will succeed in our time here at the 'Mother I.' So the wind will continue to blow against our Barracks, and the outside world will erode and chip away at the Institute, but worry not, for your sons and daughters, your cadets, will forever embody what is good about the Virginia Military Institute.