Posted on 09/18/2007 9:12:45 AM PDT by zendari
I know why I chose Columbia: the campus is magnificent, the education is top-tier, and my peers are intelligent. I could look at a stranger, tell him or her that I went to Columbia, and hear the predictable, “Wow, you must be smart.”
When my brother was getting ready to go to the Naval Academy, everyone ooohed and awed about how brave he was. Aunts and uncles would say, “John, you must be one of thousands of kids who wanted to go—you must be so smart!” When he appeared unsure about whether he wanted to choose Navy or University of California, Berkeley, one uncle who works on Wall Street said, “John, businessmen love hiring people from the academies. You will be set for life.” With that kind of promised prestige, my brother found it tough to give up a spot at Navy. So in June, my family dropped him off in Annapolis.
My brother ended up liking Annapolis and he has decided to stay. While it has been difficult for me to accept that I have a brother in the military, I must allow him to pursue whatever path he is drawn toward, and he has admitted to me that he feels called to being there. However, for anyone else out there considering a career in the academy, let it be known: the U.S. Naval Academy is not an elite college; it is first and foremost a branch of the U.S. military and the prestige comes at a big price—it taxes parents, siblings, and participants if they do not understand what they were signing up for.
(Excerpt) Read more at columbiaspectator.com ...
BTTT (Barf To The Top)
The first sentence reeks of nauseating elitism. The author has no concept of duty, honor, sacrifice in the defense of freedom. He looks as service academy students as he would the garbageman.
She. The author attends the Jewish Theological Seminary at Barnard, which is a women’s school.
Hmm, I guess school integration does have its benefits.
So her brother’s a hero and she’s a tick turd.
That about sum it all up?
Sorry. Displaying my ignorance. Guess I’d never get admitted to Columbia. My loss. /sarc/
“The bottom line here is that your brother is a better man than you any day of the week. It is people like him who keep wimps like you free and able to write the garbage you float out there. Be glad he has rescued your family name from anonymity.”
Not sure if this was just an internet visitor or someone from Columbia (with some sense) reacting to this article. If this did come from a Columbia undergrad or graduate, it takes away my general disgust after reading this opinion piece... Taking the good with the bad. In the meantime: a big salute to the young Midshipman (sp?) and I hope his family’s shame will recede over time.
Of course. Preparing for a law school application, and will likely use the Columbia + law school pedigree to run for office or in some other activist capacity. One of the biggest ironies is that no where else in the world do liberals have more freedom to be liberals than in the US, and that is because of the sacrifices of those in the military who defended that freedom. Universities have become ‘stamping factories’ where students are all cast into the same die molds and replicatively stamped into being uncreative liberals. The concept of universities being the places you go to to learn how to be open-minded and think objectively and creatively is no longer applicable.
“I know why I chose Columbia: the campus is magnificent, the education is top-tier, and my peers are intelligent. I could look at a stranger, tell him or her that I went to Columbia, and hear the predictable, “Wow, you must be smart.””
Typical leftie, first they must convince you of their superior intellect.
“The reality of sending my brother to the Naval Academy began to set in: this was not a school; this was the military. While they boast a first class education, the main goal of this institution was to get my brother “combat ready.” During the first two “induction days,” the head of the Navy openly admitted that their goal was to transform these boys into men who would willingly die defending our country.”
And this really throws her into a tailspin. The thought there is something more important than self. This poor author’s head must have been ready to explode at this point after realizing her self-absorption had not infected her brother. Clearly the principles of duty and self sacrifice for the good of others are just a bit too abstract for her comprehension.
FYI about Columbia...
[From Horowitz’s book ***The ProFessors; The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America***]
Guess which university has more of these lib-loons than any other?
That is the most shallow statement imaginable. I can't imagine carrying one whit about what a stranger may think about me and where I went to school. Unlike this weakling, I don't need the constant reassurance of those around me to know my intelligence level.
The fact that the name refers to the United States Navy might have given someone with an IQ over room temperature a clue that this was the case. I guess Barnard students don't make that cut.
She begged me to call a naval lieutenant Monday morning to start the out-processing forms for my brother. After leaving countless messages for the lieutenant, he finally called me back, at which point he informed me that my brother would have to go through 13 exit-interviews to be dismissed, including an interview with the head of the Navy. When I asked him whether this might intimidate him out of leaving, the lieutenant reminded me that my brother had signed an oath legally binding him to the Navy. When I reminded the lieutenant that he had signed that oath after he had been yelled at all day and that his hair had just been shaven off during his first day there, he comforted me that John was not at all forced to sign the oath.
Had she really read the catalog as she claims she would know midshipmen can withdraw without incurring a service obligation before they start their junior year. I guess reading comprehension isn't a strong suit at Barnard, either.
Dollars to donuts her brother likes Annapolis, doesn't want to leave and doesn't share sis's leftist aversion to the military.
> “So her brother’s a hero and she’s a tick turd.”
Well put !!!
If I ever owned a large business I would tell human resources department that anyone who has a degree from a service academy would get an interview for whatever job they was applying for.
I would also inform them that any applicants from schools like Columbia may be given an interview in spite of their education if they have other things in their favor.
Tammy Bruce wrote that she was in a Columbia journalism class when Reagan got shot and the teacher and students cheered the news.
Dimes to donuts he went into the military to get away from the females in his family.
A little like Casey Sheehan.
I'm sure they're very disappointed they weren't able to emasculate him before he escaped their grasp.
He did well, specially in understanding techie nerd teaching assistants from China with an infirm grasp of English. However, no matter what the curriculum one follows at these places, the bend to the left is still quite pronounced.
The deranged authoress of this piece, one "Idris Leppla" should have an American Flag tattooed to her posterior and beg her brother (whose naval career she has probably sunk) for forgiveness.
Her brother must have been real happy with his idiot sister calling up and trying to get him out of the military bacuase she found out after the fact there were guns there.
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