University of Virginia Library

Total Outcast

Pelosi was reinstated, and
the Honor Committee
promptly imposed "The
Silence," which reduced the
cadet's social status to that of a
total outcast. He roomed alone,
ate alone, and was deprived of
any sort of social of even
casual conversation.

But that is not all. He was
the subject of malicious
catcalls. He had rocks thrown
at him. His mail was torn into
pieces. He was threatened with
physical assault if he wore his
class ring. His possessions were
vandalized.

All by fellow cadets.

***

While it would be
presumptuous to pass on the
original guilt or innocence of
Pelosi, several thoughts about
his case come to mind, none of
which say much for the type of
man or lifestyle the Point
spawns.

To begin with, the offense
itself hardly seems
reprehensible. If an Honor
System is going to be
that nit-picking, that rigid, it
would appear to have no room
for human imprecision or
misjudgment and thus should
be abolished.

Secondly, is any honor
violation so dastardly that such
inhumane treatment as
silencing is warranted? That
Pelosi lost 26 pounds in the
first month or two of his
punishment is a point of fact;
what mental suffering he
endured or what long-range
effects his year and a half of
ostracism might have on him is
conjectural.

But, above all, the entire
episode makes us question, not
Pelosi's integrity, but the
integrity of the Academy in
general.

What in the hell is an officer
(of all people) doing writing a
note trying to influence the
Honor Committee? And what
is the Honor Committee doing
tolerating – and perhaps
allowing itself to be influenced
by – such outside, unsolicited
advice? It strikes me that the
officer's actions were much
more dishonorable than
Pelosi's alleged infraction.

And, finally, while military
academies are famous breeding-grounds
for self-righteous
behavior, that displayed by the
West Point cadets during
Pelosi's ostracism is both
ludicrous and disturbing.