Of the 780 incoming cadets currently experiencing Freshman Orientation Week (FOW), 631 male fish are sporting new looks.
The new cadets began FOW last Wednesday and will continue training for Fish Review until Aug. 25, just two days before the fall semester begins. After having their heads shaved last Friday per Corps of Cadets requirements, the male fish faced an array of emotions, from shock, fear and excitement. While women in the Corps are not required to shave their heads, their hair must be kept in a bun as part of their uniform.
Once he saw his buzzed hair, kinesiology junior Alex Robertson had two concerns: his relationship and the weather.
“[I’m] a little scared, a little worried about what my girlfriend is going to think …” Robertson said. “Right now it’s weird feeling all this breeze.”
Unlike Robertson, technology management sophomore Ben Chase was thankful to have lost his locks.
“It feels good,” Chase said. “I can’t really see it too much, but it definitely feels a lot better and it’s cooler outside.”
With his fresh look, Robertson is looking forward to the upcoming year as a fish, saying he is finally living his dream of becoming a cadet.
“I totally believe it’ll be worth it,” Robertson said. “I really enjoy my upperclassmen so far … I believe truly that they respect us and they want us to get better at whatever we’re doing.”
University studies senior and head yell leader Gavin Suel reflected on his fish haircut as an experience he would never forget, thanks to Ryan Kreider, Class of 2017.
“I remember in FOW, seeing Ryan Kreider, he was part of the cadre, the welcoming committee for the freshmen,” Suel said. “He walked past my room a couple times, and I was like ‘Holy cow, that’s Ryan Kreider. That’s the guy who saved Reveille.’”
Just days later, it would be time for Kreider to shear Suel’s head.
“It came time to get our haircuts, and I sat down and Ryan Kreider was the guy who cut my hair for the first time,” Suel said. “He probably doesn’t remember it, has no idea that he was the guy, but it meant a lot to me because I knew that he was a former handler, and I thought that was super cool that he cut my hair and it was especially cool because I got to follow his footsteps as a handler, later.”
FOW has its struggles, however. Suel said his first mistake occurred when his first sergeant asked his name, expecting to hear “Fish Suel,” because freshman identities are simply “fish.”
“I was like, ‘It’s Gavin Suel. G-A-V-I-N.’ and immediately every upperclassman [was] just all over me in the hallway,” Suel recalled. “I had no idea what I had done wrong. They’re all yelling at me, I couldn’t understand what they were saying. And then it pretty much goes black from there.”
Despite the hardships, Suel said the Corps of Cadets is a life-changing opportunity that incoming cadets should remember to appreciate while they still can.
“Take advantage of your time in the corps,” Suel said. “It’s easy to get caught up in the day to day monotony … but just remember how much of a special opportunity it is and how much growth you’ve gone through and how much you will go through in the next three or four years.”