Scandal at Colorado Springs

"It hit me as a real shock," said Roy Etnyre, athletic director of New Trier High School in Winnetka, Ill. "It's like somebody dying," murmured Seattle Lawyer Archie Greenlee. They had a right to be shocked: both men are parents of cadets who were suddenly dropped from the roster of the U.S. Air Force Academy last week in the wake of the widening, deepening stolen-exam scandal. At Colorado Springs, academy officials sealed off the grounds as tightly as a SAC base on alert, while special investigators from Washington grilled an estimated 700 members of the 2,500-strong cadet wing. By the end of the week 93 students had resigned from the academy -- and before the investigation is completed, anywhere from 100 to 300 more cadets may be bounced back to civilian life.

Without question, the Air Force scandal is something far worse than the 1951 cribbing uproar at West Point, where 90 cadets (including 43 football players) were expelled for exchanging exam questions. That involved an informal, illegal help-your-buddy system. But the ugly Air Force incident at Colorado Springs was a clear case of common, profit-motivated theft.

Doolies Blew the Whistle. Shortly before the post-Christmas exams, a still unidentified upperclassman stole a key to the locker where the tests were stored. He copied and returned them, then hired as salesmen ten cadets who earned 10% commissions on a sale price of about $10. Fortnight ago, two "doolies" (freshmen) discovered the ring, briefly pondered their obligations under the academy's honor code, then blew the whistle. Within days, the organizer, his sales force, and 18 other cadets--most of them football players--had been bounced from the academy. In Washington, Secretary of the Air Force Eugene Zuckert immediately ordered a complete, closed-door investigation of the scandal. As tensions rose, one Air Force official recorded a common cam pus conversation: "Are you clean?" "Yes, unless they ask me."

What made the scandal possible was the academy's rigid honor code--and, perhaps, the high-pressured tempo of a relatively new institution still on shakedown maneuvers. Academy exams, like those at approximately one-fifth of the nation's colleges, are conducted on the honor system, without proctors. At Colorado Springs, students may take the same tests days apart. As potential officers and gentlemen, cadets are expected not to cheat. Those who fail to report a cribber are subject to the same stiff punishment (expulsion) as the cheater himself.* The cadet manual warns that "there will be no shading, no equivocation, no quibbling among honorable men."

The cadet's code is far harsher than rules at civilian schools, explains Brigadier General Robert F. McDermott, dean of the faculty, "because if our cadets were to cheat and carry this attitude into the service, the consequences could be a tragedy of national or international scope." But the life of Air Force cadets, most of whom were academically tops in high school, is harder in other respects as well. Many carry 146 credit hours, compared with the 120 hours required by most state universities, are encouraged while undergraduates to take extra courses leading toward a master's degree.

Demanding & Rigid. Discipline at Colorado Springs is regarded as even more demanding and rigid than at the other academies, largely because of the junior service's desire for instant excellence. Air Force graduates have won nine Rhodes scholarships, seven National Science Foundation grants and six Fulbright awards. But another result of the academic and disciplinary pressure is the dropout rate, which is considerably higher than at the other military schools. Two years ago, 93 cadets resigned in a mass protest against certain rules; in 1964, another 90 tried to withdraw for reasons never made public.

Last week Secretary Zuckert as much as admitted that there might be a need for reform by appointing a special five-man board to review the "fundamental programs" of the academy. But if changes are made, they will come far too late to help any of the cadets involved in the scandal. Those who simply failed to report the cheaters will probably be given honorable discharges; the exam salesmen may be subject to courts-martial and dishonorable discharge.

Zuckert will not review the cases for another two or three months. Until then, cadets returning home are still considered members of the Air Force; all have been given strict orders not to discuss the scandal, which left parents and friends in doubt over whether they were cheaters or had only tolerated cheating by others. The Air Force labeled the investigation "classified"; students who talked were threatened with dishonor able discharges and denial of the right to transfer their academic credits to an other school. It was, as one cadet parent put it, "a pretty strong weapon" -as well as a good way to guarantee that full details of the scandal will remain hidden for a long time to come.

* West Point has the same requirement, but the Annapolis honor code does not compel midshipmen to be informers.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.