Rooks spent many hours this semester planning for the events at Parents Weekend, held Oct. 14-17.
“All week they were notified about the events for Parents Weekend, they spent the majority of their nights and their free time painting their banners and also as a platoon and individually they practiced their drill and ceremony to for both competitions,” said Madison Dupouy, a 21-year-old junior physics major from Greenfields Center, N.Y.
Parents Weekend is a Norwich tradition when rooks get a small break and see their families and friends. It’s a time for them to show their families how they have changed and are becoming part of the Corps of Cadets.
Parents Weekend is also the first time since August that rooks see their families and are allowed to leave campus.
Michael Burgess, an 18-year-old mechanical engineering major from Lynn, Mass., said the weekend broke the monotony and was “beyond relaxing and comforting.” He was excited to see his family.
The rook class competed in several competitions on Saturday before the football game.
“The events started at 0930; there was a platoon marching competition that was graded by the drill team,” said Erika Schueler, 20, a communications major from Hampton, Va. “There was the banner competition and the banners were hung up in Plumley.”
The banners were judged by the regimental staff. Each platoon had to choose its own mascot that represented it.
The rooks met and choose how they will decorate their banners. On them must be the four branch seals, their chain of command and more. The banner must be colored and filled. They have a couple of weeks to work on the banners.
Thomas Carson, 18, a freshman computer security and information assurance major from Winthrop, Maine, said his platoon’s mascot was a raptor or a prehistoric bird of prey. His cadre had an eagle as its mascot and wanted the rooks to carry on the tradition but not use the same bird.
Burgess said that his platoon used a cheetah, a shark and an eagle to represent “land, sea and air.” This is a reference to the four branches of the military.
The rooks also had an individual knockout competition. The rooks made a facing movement that was judged by the drill team. Whoever failed was eliminated from the competition.
The cadre trained the rooks for weeks during sergeant’s time. The cadre trained them in all the facing movements they needed to know and how to properly execute them.
Rooks marched around the UP and behind Goodyear with their cadre closely watching and mentoring them. They drilled during their free time as well.
After the football game, which began at 1 p.m., the rooks got leave Saturday afternoon. They were also allowed to leave Friday but had to be back Saturday morning.
“They got to leave Friday after their last class; however, they had to be back for all the competitions on Saturday and the march down and Sunday they got completely off until pass down,” said Eric Obochowski, 21, a senior studies of war and peace major from Detroit, Mich.
Some rooks went home; others went to hotels and inns in the surrounding area.
“After the football game I’m going to meet up with my mom and go out to eat somewhere,” said Adam Goforth, 18, a freshman computer security information assurance major from Oak Harbor, Wash. “Sunday I plan on waking up and going to church with my mom and go back to the room and sleep some more.”
Those rooks whose parents couldn’t make it were taken in by their rook buddies for the weekend. That’s another tradition at Norwich – that no rook gets left behind.
“I took two rook buddies but they were from different platoons, one was from 1-3 the other was from 4-1,” said Alexander Foskrarino, an 18 year-old freshman computer security information assurance major from Downy, Calif.
Besides going off campus the rooks were also given a set of new privileges. Parents Weekend marks a part of the rook’s road through Rookdom.
“They were given the privileges: not wearing white name tapes on their robes, talk quietly in the latrine and allowed to have a small picture on their desks,” said Dupouy.
These privileges are designed to help the rooks during a stressful first year. It makes life slightly easier for them.
Mike Muradyan, 18, a freshman communications major from Houston, said that he likes the new privileges. Talking in the latrine is his favorite because they “don’t get yelled at.”
One freshman platoon leader had this to say about Parents Weekend: “This is really for you guys; make sure it all stems from you, this is specifically for you and your parents.”