American Notes ARMY

Standing at attention while they eat, remembering how many ice cubes upperclassmen like in their drinks and memorizing large amounts of trivial information are a traditional form of initiation for West Point plebes. Cadet John Edwards was able to take the hazing as a freshman, but as a second classman (junior), he would not dish it out. "I couldn't treat other plebes the way I had been treated. It was absurd and dehumanizing," said Edwards last week after he had been expelled from the U.S. Military Academy.

Edwards, 24, ranked academically near the top in his class of more than 1,100 cadets last semester, but he failed to perform adequately in military development, which requires upperclassmen to test the ability of plebes to endure the rigor of West Point training. In part, Edwards' disdain for hazing stems from his earlier Army experience: before entering the academy, he spent nearly three years as an enlisted man.