DCA Update November 20th

Extracurricular Clubs

Competitive Clubs

Equestrian:

• On 15 Nov, the West Point Equestrian team traveled to Westampton, NJ to participate in two Western shows
• All cadets put in a great effort and both of the shows were a success
• CDTs Shawna Moore and Alex Vincent placed 1st in their respective classes of Class 14 (open) and Class 1 (walk/jog)
• CDTs Madeleine Arnold and Vanda Niemi placed 2nd in their respective classes Class 12 and Class 1 (walk/jog)
• CDTs Alex Moore, Danielle Diulus, and Caroline Harris placed 3rd in their respective classes of Class 13 (walk/jog/lope) and Class 1 (walk/jog)
• The team competed against Centenary, the Univer-sity of Delaware, Rutgers, Temple, Villanova, Kutz-town, Bloomsburg and Washington College

Climbing (Mountaineering):

• On 15 Nov, the West Point Climbing Team attended a competition at “The Cliffs of Long Island City” climbing gym
• Attending were 25 members of the West Point Climbing Team, accom-panied by Coach Dawes Strickler and MAJ Tim Mitroka
• “The Cliffs of Long Island City” is the largest indoor climbing gym in the region located in Queens, NY
• The purpose of this trip was to introduce new members of the team to the environment of competitive climbing by conducting an intra-team com-petition
• Each climber worked hard to conquer the absolute five hardest climbs that they could complete
• This was a learning experience for less experienced climb-ers, and a great training opportunity for everyone in prepa-ration for next semester’s competitive season

Academic Clubs

Native American Heritage Forum:

• From 14-15 Nov, cadets of the Native American Heritage Forum and their OIC traveled to Orlando, FL to attend the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) National
• Conference as part of West Point Office of Diversity outreach
• The AISES National Confer-ence has become the premier event for Native American Science, Engi-neering and Math (STEM) professionals, and students attracting over 1,600 attendees from across the country
• The AISES National Conference was a three day event convening high school junior and senior students, undergraduates, graduates, teachers, workforce professionals, and corporate and government partners
• At the conference the cadets and OIC set up a West Point booth and spoke with many of the attendees to share with them the STEM opportunities that are available at West Point

Debate (Model Arab League):

• On 16 Nov, the cadets of the West Point Model Arab League traveled to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg, VA to compete in the Appalachian Regional Model Arab League
• This conference pits students from regional colleges and universities against each other as delegates from members of the League of Arab States in parliamen-tary debate
• The cadets performed superbly in their first regional conference of the year
• Individual honors went to CDTs Araceli Sandoval and Antonio Gray for out-standing delegates in political affairs, CIC Ian Myers and cadet Derek Fossi for outstanding delegates in Palestinian af-fairs, CDTs David Lane and Rocky Dubinas for out-standing delegates in joint defense, and CDTs Blaze Bis-sar and Sarah Holzworth for honorable mention in eco-nomic affairs
• Representing Algeria, West Point was named overall outstanding delegation for the conference, an accom-plishment made even more notable in that five of our delegates were competing for the first time in regional parliamentary debate

Debate Team:

• The Army Debate team travelled to West Virginia University this past weekend to compete in the last tournament of the season
• Cadet Barlow closed out the tournament when he won the top speaker award (1st) for the Open (varsity) division; his partner Cadet Caston, also won the 7th place speaker award
• The pair won the tournament in the open division, picking up every single ballot along the way
• The novice team of CDTs TJ Collins and Matt Watts, continued their unprecedented success by coming in 2nd place which marks a top 3 finish in every tournament this semester
• CDTs Gulbis, Collins, and Watts also won speaker awards in the Novice division
• Cadet Watts won the 8th speaker award

The Army Debate Team is proud to report that MAJ Adam Scher, the current OIC and former Army De-bater, is the 2014 recipient of the Peter Borsay Memo-rial Award The award goes to a military veteran who has contrib-uted to debate

Diversity Clubs

Cultural Affairs Seminar:

• On 14-16 Nov., nine cadets from the Cultural Affairs Seminar partici-pated in an Exchange Program with Cadets from Howard University
• As a part of the trip section the USMA ca-dets spent two days at the historically black Col-lege and University, sharing ideas, history, cul-ture and tradition
• The cadets also participated in joint field training exercise with the Howard ROTC cadets and Georgetown ROTC ca-dets
• The USMA cadets enjoyed their experi-ence and were able to cultivate a positive relationship with their peers at Howard and Georgetown

National Society of Black Engineers:

• On 14 –16 Nov, three cadets from the NSBE went to Pittsburgh, PA to give a presentation on leadership
• The presentation was very well received by the students and teachers that were in attendance
• Cadets also had the opportunity to judge several competitions that took place

Military Clubs

Tactics:

• On 15 Nov, the Law Enforcement Tactics Club conducted training with the New York Police Department’s Emergency Services Unit
• The cadets were exposed to specialized operations and equipment used by civilian law enforcement personnel
• Cadets received an overview of the NYPD headquarters operations, such as how Police Intelligences feeds op-erate
• The cadets also received a site tour of One Police Plaza
• Cadets then saw a demonstration of ESU’s capabilities such as, K9, bomb squad and special tactics
• Afterwards, the cadets received one on one instruction in the use of law enforcement centric tactics
• From this experience, cadets gained better understanding of how troop-leading procedures apply to law enforcement opera-tions in both military and civilian settings

Support Clubs

Glee Club:

• The Glee Club capped off a very busy week in which they performed in seven different events that supported the West Point community, the USMA mission, and USMA Outreach to the NYC Region
• On 12 Nov, 25 select members of the Glee Club traveled to NYC to participate in the 30th annual meeting of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. at the Midtown Hilton
• The Glee Club performed the national anthems of Japan and the United States in front of more than 2,000 lead-ers of business and industry in the New York region, effectively representing West Point and it’s cadets to this important metropolitan population
• On 14 November, the club sang on stage at Eisenhower Hall with country music superstar Trace Adkins as he kicked off his 2014 Christmas Tour
• In front of a crowd of nearly 2000, the Club performed one selection (Comfort and Joy) on it's own
• Mr. Adkins then sang, as an encore, his signature piece “Til the Last Shot’s Fired” with the Glee Club as back up

Pipes and Drums:

• On 14 Nov, the Drum line of the West Point Pipes and Drums accom-panied the Hellcats during the Trace Adkins concert in Eisenhower Hall
• The Pipes and Drums were part of a joint performance with the Hellcats and members of the Spirit Band during a Trace Adkins music set
• Some of the back up musicians of the Trace Adkins band are very much into their Celtic heritage and sport highland wear (kilts) during their performances

Parachute:

• On 15 Nov, in preparation for the Collegiate Nationals Skydiving Competition, the West Point Parachute Team went on their final training trip to the Sky Venture Wind Tunnel in Nashua, New Hampshire.
• The training focus was on the yearlings and cows for 2-way and 4-way respectively
• This was the first tunnel trip for the yearlings with their RW suits
• Each 2-way got 40 minutes of time in the tunnel to work on their random and blocks, the yearlings were even able to do their first 4-way in the tunnel, which is a major accomplishment

DCA Happenings

Cadet Publications:

• Cadet Publications held their second annual opening for the 2014 Circle In the Spiral Art Exhibit in Eisen-hower Hall.
• More than 60 cadet contributors and their cadet guests enjoyed see-ing each other’s artwork, photo-graphs, narrative, and poems dis-played in the Class of ‘29 Gallery.
• The Cadet Strings also performed.
• The exhibit will be open Monday through Friday during regular busi-ness hours and prior to all show per-formances.

Cadet Programs:

• The Class of 2016 has begun placing their orders for the 500th night memento, a class beverage stein
• On Friday, 21 Nov., 1st Regiment will host Thanksgiving Fest in Legion Square
• Friday, 21 Nov., 3rd Regiment will host a Branch Celebration in Eisenhower Hall (Ike’s Café) with music provided by “Mama Fried”
• On 18 Nov., class officers sampled banquet food at a taste test in the mess hall to assist them in select-ing a menu for their class weekend banquets.
• On 16 Nov., the Cadet Hostess conducted an eti-quette briefing to the Class of 2015 in preparation for their 500th Night Reception, Banquet and Hop. The event will be held on 17 Jan., with a Reception and Banquet in Washington Hall, followed by a Hop in Cullum Hall featuring the Benny Haven’s Band.

Cadet Hostess:

• Company G-2 Underclass Social Develop-ment Officer, CDT Justin Reeves ‘16 (far right) coordinated an etiquette training session for his company plebes on 17 Nov. in Cullum Hall. The Cadet Hostess reviewed the basics of social development, dining etiquette, table manners, as well as reception and buffet etiquette. This activity helps Plebes present them-selves in the best light while on holiday this Thanksgiving.