Privileges

Well, things have been going alright in the Corps so far. In fact, we've done well enough that we've earned some new "privileges". In the Corps, privileges work differently than the name implies. They're not things you can do, they're things you must do. It's also really good "bull" to get them done. Dont' worry that's not an obscene reference, it refers to good times with the upperclassmen. Usually good bull is between the fish and the seniors or juniors, and almost never with the sophomores.

So, this weekend we earned the "right" to do our first class set of pushups. For us, the class of 2012, a class set is 112 pushups. It's really hard, but they don't have to be perfect pushups. By doing our first class set, we earned our first slapboard. A slapboard is a wooden board hanging from the ceiling with mottos written on them. We have earned the slapboard closest to the stairs on the north end of the dorm. The idea behind a slapboad is that you slap it whenever you pass beneath it. It's a lot bigger deal than it sounds.

The other set of privileges we earned was a temporary set of junior privileges. We won our fish football game this weekend, so whoever showed up got the same privileges that a junior would have, such as the right to be out of uniform in the hallway, the right to walk in the hallway, and other related things. Temporary privileges are awarded based on some kind of good behavior, or (apparently) can be bargained for with a piece of upperclassmen's property (known as a recon). Another example of temporary privileges is if we catch a squirrel and bring it back to the dorm without hurting it, we get senior privileges for a week. So it's not uncommon to see fish chasing squirrels around.

I'm still doing pretty well personally. I'm enjoying being done with my history paper and I'm almost certain I aced my physics exam. I also have a math exam on Thursday, so I'm studying hard for that. I'm also likely to pass the next physical fitness test I take, shich is a big deal because I couldn't when I got here. I'm a lot better at pushups than I once was.