Anti-social

Often times when I tell someone I'm from the Air Force Academy the next question is, "Oh do you know so-and-so?" Most of the time, my response is, "no, never heard of them." There is a small possibility I know Cadet Smith from Squadron 38, but it is very unlikely I know Tammy from Long Island. Now I consider myself a fairly sociable person, I have a good number of friends and my personal hygiene is at least above average. So then why do I know so few people at a school of only 4,400 students?

One of the reasons is our small class sizes. While the quality of education is top notch, it also limits day to day social interaction between peers. There are even people in my own major in my graduating class that I probably don't even know.

The institution also does a fine job of keeping us isolated and anti-social. Some of the key rules which accomplish that mission are that freshmen can't hang out with upperclassmen, and as a freshman you have to stay in your squadron area. You are allowed extremely limited interaction with other freshmen who aren't in your squadron up until Recognition. You have seen that guy's face before in a mass briefing, but you definitely don't know him by name. Also, the institution does not provide any sort of public transportation for cadets. Besides going into all of the DUIs minor public transportation could deter, introducing cadets to the local community would be beneficial for the public as well as the cadet population.

Another thing is the lack of quality hangouts around campus. Sure there is the church-sponsored Oasis lounge with a coffee machine and big-screen TV, but for most cadets that is the only place in a 20 mile radius (see Parking rant) that you can sit down and chill out with friends. There's also a mentality that when cadets do go off campus the last people they want to hang out with is other cadets. And this is a very strange and perplexing sentiment I'm not able to fully grasp. The closest movie theater to campus is right out the South gate at Chapel Hills mall. The prices are the lowest in town, parking is easy to access, and the movie picture quality is always the best. But when cadets go out to the movies they prefer to go out to the movie theater on Powers Road way on the other side of town if they can spare the time. For some reason cadets don't like hanging out near other cadets because . . . they . . . well . . . there really isn't a concrete reason. Some may say cadets remind them of the open-air prison they go to school at, and some may claim that all cadets have annoying Type-A fighter pilot personalities, but the fact is there really isn't a reason we should automatically act hostile toward one another. If anything we should have each others' backs in the outside world. It's a strange sentiment but everybody feels it, automatic hatred when there is another group of short haired guys eating in Rong Cheng's.