Call it: 'All in good fun'

Air Force Academy cadets dig into "Mitch's Mountain" during a 100s Night dining-in in Mitchell Hall Feb. 16, 2011. The dessert is made from different flavors of ice cream plus nuts, whipped cream and cake. Cadets received their first duty station assignments during the event, which is approximately 100 days out from Graduation. (U.S. Air Force photo/Megan Davis)

100s Night 2011: File under "All in good fun"

Published March 2, 2011
By David Edwards
Academy Spirit staff writer

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- While the members of the Air Force Academy's Class of 2011 were spending their 100s Night finding out where they'll call home after graduation, their campus "homes" were being lovingly trashed by four-degrees.

If afterward the seniors' dorm rooms looked like they had been the scene of a tornado followed by an all-night bender, well, that was generally considered desirable.

"We had one firstie actually who said, 'If I have to go to school on Tuesday, I'm going to be mad,' because he wants his room to be that destroyed," said Cadet 4th Class Lindsay Johnson of Cadet Squadron 02. "But we've been told that if the room that we do is too destroyed, that we have to help them clean it up. Which, in all honesty, I don't care; it's worth it."

The things young folks will do in the name of tradition! But considering the stress level cadets endure during their four years, officially sanctioned party time is welcome any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Cadet Johnson and her squadron mates planned to carry out their dirty deed by means of balloons. Inside the balloons would be cat litter, glitter and other mess-making contents suitable for the occasion. One senior, who had the habit of referring to mistakes in Basic Cadet Training as "sandbagging," was destined to have his room turned into a flood zone -- minus the water.

The four-degrees' mantra was that the level of destruction reflected on how well-liked the room's occupant is by the freshmen. Cadet Johnson was intimately familiar with her squadron's plans.

"Our main goal is to have this whole room probably up to my shoulders in balloons so when they walk in and open the door, all the balloons fall out. We're also planning on cinder-blocking the front of their door so they honestly don't even know where their door is. That's another challenge for them."

Images from 100s Night are available for viewing at an Academy Facebook page near you. As an added bonus, they don't cost $19.95 plus shipping and handling.