Going to a military academy is kind of like going to preschool: you don’t get to decide what time you wake up in the morning, you can’t leave without permission, and – perhaps most irritating – you don’t get to pick what clothes you’re going to wear that day. As you might recall from my very first post as The Claw of Knowledge , I went to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, in scenic New London, Connecticut. Like any military academy, it has a pretty rigid rank structure: freshman are the lowest (fourth class), sophomores are the second lowest (third class), juniors next, and so on. With each rank comes a new set of privileges that you didn’t get the year before, kind of like gaining a superpower. Y’know, if superpowers were all things that ordinary people do every day, like being able to slightly turn your head while in the hallway, or not having to stand up when other people come in your room. However, I'm completely powerless against your ability to give out demerits. ...