Rat's arrive to join VMI's proud history

The new "Rat Mass" is scheduled to arrive on post this Saturday, August 17, 2024. The predicted number of Rats is scheduled to be 495. This is about 4 more than last years matriculation of 491 Rats. While the exact numbers are not available until after matriculation day, Maj. Gen. Wins provided some figures during the June BOV meeting. As June 24th of the 610 pre-strains appointed Virginia Military Institute (VMI) had 516 deposits paid with 410 of those categorized as "full reservations" meaning the pre-strain not only paid the deposit monies but met all the requirements for full admissions including medical and any other administrative requirements such as financial aid, etc. The number could be higher as Maj. Gen. Wins reported the admissions staff was tracking t 9 to 12 additional athletes who are pending deposit as well as 12 non-athlete applicants appointed off the waitlist that had yet to make a deposit. According to Maj. Gen. Wins during his presentation, "…about 44% of the students will be pursuing liberal arts degrees and about 30% engineering degrees and then the balance uh 26% in other stem Majors." He assured the BOV VMI was "…on track to meet or exceed the goal of 495 for this Academic Year." Those numbers have intimidated the members in Scott Shipp Hall as Lord knows, the last thing we need is any more science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM majors on post). To those Rats who chose to declare Mechanical engineering as their major, we will see half of you in the English department after the first semester anyways. If you're a Rat and reading this, don't give up. You and your family have committed a lot to get here. Whether you like it or not, after signing that matriculation book you have connected yourself to an Institute with hundreds of years of proud history. You made that decision for a reason, don't forget that. This is the first of a multi-part series of articles in which The Cadet will submit requests to VMI to provide matriculation agreements, contracts, memorandums, and other publications to investigate where VMI's liability lies in the execution of the Ratline. This article provides the history of the matriculation agreement that we, as Cadets, have all signed and are held by for the entirety of our tenure as a Cadet at VMI.The Cadet reviewed the matriculation agreements Cadets were, and are, required to sign over the years as a condition of matriculating into VMI. The review began with the first known such agreement in the VMI archives starting in 1911 and continued through the current agreement. In what appears to be an increasing trend in Institute documents not finding their way into the archives for preservation and, more importantly public review, the archives does not have the Matriculation Forms for 2019 (Class of 2023), 2021 (Class of 2025), 2022 (Class of 2026) or 2023 (Class of 2027). The Cadet only obtained the current agreement under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and furnished a copy to the archives.In 1911 cadets signed a "Matriculation Promise" that included the commitment, by state Cadets, to either teach in a Virginia School for two years, enlist in the Virginia National Guard, or the State Highway Commission. True to the VMI Board of Visitors' decision in 1885 to ban fraternities, Cadets pledged not to join any "secret societies" and also committed themselves to refrain from any hazing. I hereby engage to serve in the Virginia Military Institute for the term for which I have entered; and I promise on honor that, while I continue a member thereof, I will to the best of my ability obey all legal orders of the constituted authorities of the Institute and that I will discharge all of my duties with regularity and fidelity; and, if a State Cadet, I further promise to serve in the capacity of a teacher in some school within this state for two years after leaving the Institute or to serve an enlistment in the national guard of the state or to serve for a period of two years as an engineer on the State Highway Commission, after having received its benefits for two years as a State Cadet. I further promise that I will not join, promise to join nor affiliate with in any way, any secret society, and that I will not participate in nor countenance the practice of hazing in any form. The 1914 version retained the same promise, but in 1967, the year before VMI integrated, the "Matriculation Promise" changed to a more simplified "Matriculation Agreement". The new version mostly removed the original obligation of service to the state and remained unchanged following VMI's integration in the 1968 and 1969 versions:I hereby engage to serve in the Virginia Military Institute for a term for which I entered; and I promise that while I continue to be a member of the Corps of Cadets, I will, to the best of my ability, discharge all of my duties as a cadet with regularity and fidelity; and I will not join, promise to join, affiliate in any way with any secret society.By the 1975 version of the agreement added specificity that the punishment for failure to adhere to the regulations that underpin VMI's Corps systems of the Honor Code, Class, System, Ratline and Corps system could be as high as dismissal. I hereby engage to serve in the Virginia Military Institute for a term for which I entered; and I promise that while I continue to be a member of the Corps of Cadets, I will, to the best of my ability, discharge all of my duties as a cadet with regularity and fidelity, knowing that failure to comply with all regulations for the Virginia Military Institute as presently or hereafter adopted, promulgated and published may result in dismissal from the Institute, and I will not join, promise to join, affiliate in any way with any secret society. [emphasis added] While the 1984 and 1992 versions show the same language as 1975, Rats were required to answer a new question regarding their conduct: "Have you been charged with or convicted of a felony or misdemeanor other than a minor traffic violation since the time you signed the VMI Application for Admission form?"The Honor System scandal in the 1990s is reflected in the substantial change to put strict and absolute adherence to the Honor Code as central to the agreement. The only other slight modifications adjusted for the acceptance of women into the Corps: I hereby engage to serve in the Virginia Military Institute for a term for which I entered; and I promise on my honor, while I continue to be a member of the Corps of Cadets, to never lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those who do. I will, to the best of my ability, discharge all of my duties as a cadet with regularity and fidelity, and I will obey all legal orders and constituted authority of the Institute. I further affirm that I am an unmarried person; and that never, during the term of my cadetship, will join or affiliate with any secret society. [emphasis added] The current Matriculation Agreement now includes two behavior questions:Have you been placed on probation, suspended (including in-school suspensions) or dismissed from any school or college since the time you signed the VMI Application for Admissions Form or are any charges pending? lf yes, explain on the reverse side of this document.Since signing the application for admission, have you been arrested for or convicted of any violation of any local, state or federal law other than a minor traffic violation, or are any charges pending against you? lf yes, explain on the reverse side of this document.It further adds the condition the cadet will not incur family obligations in or out of wedlock. I hereby engage to serve as a cadet in the Virginia Military Institute for the term for which I have entered, and I promise on my honor, while I continue to be a member of the Corps of Cadets, to never lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do. I will, to the best of my ability, discharge all of my duties as a cadet with regularity and fidelity, and I will obey all the legal orders and constituted authority of the Institute. I further affirm that I am an unmarried person; nor have I incurred the responsibilities of parenthood to include custody, child care responsibilities, or legal support obligations and that never, during the term of my cadetship, will I join or affiliate with any secret society, fraternity or sorority. [emphasis added] Treatment of male and female cadets under this new language differs. According to "Regulations of the Virginia Military Institute, Part II, Chapter 12, "Upon receiving information that any cadet has fathered a child or caused a female to become pregnant, the Superintendent will conduct an immediate investigation to determine whether or not that cadet, by a preponderance of the evidence, has incurred the responsibilities of parenthood under these regulations." The male Cadet is dismissed.For female cadets, the same regulation states:, "No cadet shall be disciplined or separated from the Corps solely for becoming pregnant. However, being pregnant may effectively preclude a cadet (at a medically determined point in the pregnancy) from performing cadet duties and meeting the standards expected of a cadet. Thus, pregnancy shall be addressed in a manner similar to any other temporary medical conditions under General Order Number 61, Medical Leave and Medical Furlough Policy." Pregnant female cadets may remain until their pregnancy precludes them performing their duties when they are placed on medical leave or further and may return.The regulation concludes: "A cadet, male or female, shall be deemed not to have incurred the responsibilities of parenthood upon submission to the Superintendent of an order or other legal document entered by a court of any state establishing that an individual other than the cadet has temporary custody and legal guardianship of his or her biological child and the cadet has no child care responsibilities or legal support obligations for such child."The Matriculation Agreement has been a formal oath for Cadets since the inception of VMI to maintain the standards of the Virginia Military Institute and execute their duties with military bearing, regularity, and fidelity. It is the foundation for the requirements of the VMI Cadet in their duties, and empowers their development as citizen-soldiers of good character.