Continental promo
||  News  ||
 
05/17/08-05/19/08

USMA Chief Wants Gender-Neutral West Point Songs

The head of the U.S. Military Academy thinks it's time to replace the ''men'' and ''sons'' in West Point's two most beloved songs with more gender-neutral lyrics.

Lt. Gen. Franklin ''Buster'' Hagenbeck, superintendent of the nation's oldest military academy, told a congressional oversight committee Wednesday that with more than 3,000 women graduating from West Point since 1976, the change is long overdue.

During a presentation Wednesday to the academy's board of visitors meeting in Washington, Hagenbeck said he wants to change the words to the military academy's alma mater and its companion piece, ''The Corps.'' Both songs date back about a century.

In ''The Corps,'' the proposals include changing ''The men'' to ''The ranks,'' and ''We sons'' to ''The corps.''

The superintendent said the changes aren't being pushed by female cadets, but it's a commonsense move considering the role women play in today's military.

''When are they going to be recognized for what they're doing?'' he said.

Hagenbeck said he got the idea for the revision two years ago at a ceremony commemorating the 30th anniversary of women being admitted to West Point. He listened as the female alums sang lyrics from the songs that included ''We sons of today, we salute you.''

Hagenbeck has spent the last few months discussing the possible changes with alumni, Army brass, and cadets. He said he'll make the final decision, possibly after graduation ceremonies on May 31 and before the class of 2012 arrives this summer.

The academy's board of visitors, made up of presidential appointees and members of Congress, voted unanimously to back whatever decision he makes. (AP)

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

  • Name: Paul Yarbrough
    Date posted: 2008-05-27 6:25 PM
    Hometown: Houston, Texas

    Comment:

    The Long Gray Line died a long time ago.


  • Name: Case
    Date posted: 2008-05-27 2:36 PM
    Hometown: Sallisaw, OK

    Comment:

    The PC parade of insanity rolls on... Total nonsense.


  • Name: Danayay
    Date posted: 2008-05-20 12:14 PM
    Hometown: Chi-town

    Comment:

    A Grad. The word god was not added to the pledge of allegiance until 1951 and not officially until 1954. And Christmas celebrations are only inclusive to one narrowminded religion, instead of all inclusive of the masses. I find that argument quite lacking.


  • Name: A grad
    Date posted: 2008-05-19 1:55 PM
    Hometown: Dayton, OH

    Comment:

    My sister and I, both female graduates, like the songs the way they are. Because they are traditional songs, they aren't offensive to us. USMA does a pretty good job of ensuring that any "new" customs and rituals are gender-neutral. To me, changing the Alma Mater or the Corps is akin to taking "God" out of the pledge of allegiance or banning "Christmas" celebrations in favor of "Holiday" festivals. Maybe we should gender-neutralize the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. I'm curious to know what the exact wording change would be. I can't imagine any gender-neutral change that wouldn't sound completely awkward.


  • Name: JP
    Date posted: 2008-05-17 5:51 PM
    Hometown: Issaquah, WA

    Comment:

    About damn time. I served, not in the Army, but was so tired to be in a group and be called "men" when "crew" could have worked as well. That is what I was, part of the crew.


Back to top

Submit a comment for this story:

*Type your comment here (Required, 1000 characters max. HTML formatting and hyperlinks are NOT permitted.):

Characters Left

*Name (Required): 

*Hometown (Required): 

*E-mail address: (Required, but will not be displayed)

Is this comment for publication? 
Yes   No

Daytime phone number: (Required for print publication only and will not be displayed)

Please enter the words you see in the box, in order and separated by a space. Doing so helps prevent automated programs from abusing this service.

  

If you would like to submit a comment for posting, please fill out the form above. 

All comments submitted via this form are subject to posting or publication. (To send a private letter to an Advocate editor or writer, please use the e-mail button at the top of the page, or use snail mail.) If you would like your comment considered for publication in The Advocate magazine, please include your full name, your city of residence, and a phone number where you can be reached during business hours so that we can confirm your identity. Your e-mail address and telephone number are strictly confidential and will not be shared or used for any purpose other than to contact you about your comment.

See the Contact page for sending comments for reasons other than responding to Advocate editorial and news stories.

Please note that comments sent by fax or snail mail are unlikely to be posted, although they will be considered for publication along with all letters received via e-mail or via this Web page. Comments that chiefly concern Advocate.com content will be considered for posting only on the Web site. The Advocate reserves the right to edit submitted comments for grammar, spelling, obscenities, or libel; we will, however, do our best to preserve the original comment's style and intent. Comments considered for publication in The Advocate magazine may also be edited for length.

More Exclusives
  • Brüno and His Discontents
    Sacha Baron Cohen's latest satire on Americans and their beliefs holds a mirror to society while making the handfuls of gays squirm in their seats.
  • Outfest Kicks Off at Orpheum
    Chaz Bono, Benjamin Bratt, Lisa Kudrow, Diane Lane, and others help Outfest kick off its 27th festival in Los Angeles.
  • View From the Hill: Legislatively Speaking
    LGBT legislation is finally on the move, with new developments on DOMA and DADT repeal, immigration reform, and more. Now the race is on to capitalize before the 2010 election.
  • The Hot Sheet
    Harry Potter is officially all grown up, gay actor Dan Butler falls in love with Karl Rove, and the Gay Men's Chorus of San Francisco pays tribute to Joan Baez.
  • Queen Margaret
    What happens when you drop foulmouthed comedian Margaret Cho in Peachtree City, Ga.? Suffice it to say Focus on the Family had better watch out.
  • NYC Prep vs. Miami Social
    It's the Preps vs. the Miamis as Dave White settles in for a totally shallow, extremely gay evening of cocktails, Botox, pedicures, and fakery with the latest in quality reality programming, courtesy of Bravo.
  • Brüno's Over-the-Top Deleted Scene
    Sacha Baron Cohen's Brüno is intended to raise eyebrows. But the most shocking scene of all was axed in test screenings. Out director Richard Bay saw the film with that scene in place -- and he was not amused.
  • Putrid Perez
    COMMENTARY: The latest scandal involving Perez Hilton presents an opportunity to ask the million dollar question: How has this half-literate typist become one of the most prominent gay people in the country?
  • Murphy Moves on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
    Rep. Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania officially became the lead sponsor on the "don't ask, don't tell" repeal bill on Tuesday night, but he’s been stepping up efforts to get the bill moving for months.