West Point pillow fight turns bloody, tradition gets 30 cadets injured
As part of its traditions, West Point held a mass pillow fight on campus to give the freshmen a chance to get wild after a whole summer of tough basic training. The annual traditional event turned to chaos as violence seared in.
Held on August 20, the pillow fight left 30 members of class of 2019 injured. The injured cadets were given medical attention and 24 of them suffered concussions, academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Robert L. Casen Jr. said in a statement.
Some injured students had broken noses, dislocated shoulders, and hairline fractures of cheekbones. Caslen said all students have now returned to duty, despite the event that supposedly gave freshmen some time to enjoy.
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Lt. Col. Christopher Kasker clarified that upperclassmen who were appointed to oversee the fight were tasked to require the freshmen to wear helmets, but it appears that many of the cadets did not have any helmets on.
According to The New York Times, some plebes used pillows that contained hard objects, while Caslen did not detail how the injuries were obtained. An investigation was reported to have started since.
"While these spirit events do occur, we never condone any activity that results in intentional harm to a teammate," Caslen said. " Although the vast majority of the class appears to have maintained the spirit of the event; it is apparent that a few did not."
A YouTube video showed over a hundred students running toward the courtyard and swinging pillow cases in what seemed like a disorganized pillow fight.
Taking full responsibility for the violence that gained the attention of some parents and social media users, Caslen noted that the academy is and always will be committed to its aim of developing leaders with character and they will continue to investigate, "ensure accountability, and reinforce with the Corps that we must all take care of our teammates."
