Academy: Lessons learned from color guard flap

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Academy: Lessons learned from color guard flap
By Philip Ewing - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Dec 7, 2009 18:42:59 EST

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The superintendent of the Naval Academy said Monday that last month’s flap over the racial makeup of a color guard that marched at the World Series had provided “some good lessons learned” for the Brigade of Midshipmen, and explained that the whole thing had been caused by a “misunderstanding.”

The academy’s color guard made arrangements to march at game two of the World Series in New York on Oct. 29 without vetting them with the administration, Vice Adm. Jeffrey Fowler told Navy Times. He said the administration often changes the makeup of groups that represent the academy — bands, glee clubs and color guards — to make sure midshipmen get equal chances to represent the school.

“We do it for a variety of reasons, whether their grades are good enough, whether it’s their physical fitness; ... if one certain group of people, even though they’re very good at something, ends up missing a lot of class — and even if they’re the best — we may say, ‘I don’t wanna send you anymore, you’ve already missed 10 days,’ ” Fowler said. “We want to spread the wealth and give everybody an opportunity.”

Academy officials removed two white, male members of a color guard that was to march at the World Series and replaced them with a white female and a Pakistani male, so the academy presented a diverse profile in the national spotlight.

But the male replacement, Midshipman 2nd Class Zishan Hameed, forgot his cover and shoes in Annapolis and couldn’t present the colors before the game, so one of the original members of the color guard, Midshipman 1st Class Aaron Stroud, re-took his place. The five men and one woman who finally marched all were white. Hameed and the other white male who’d been replaced watched from the sidelines.


Rest of article at: http://marinecorpstimes.com/news/2009/12/navy_colorguard_120709w/