My freshman year of college I belonged to an organization known as ROTC. This organization focused on molding the everyday college student into potential officers in the military. Not only did ROTC require a lot of time and dedication but also physical and mental strength. Aside from physical training three times a week, in class studies, and group exercises; we were encouraged to join their team. This team was known as the Ranger’s and participated every year in a statewide activity called the Ranger challenge. This was a fierce group that forced every Cadet to push their limits to a new extreme. The Cadets that were part of the team were not only admired by their peers that stood on the sidelines but also in a way feared. The sense of fear…show more content… While we exercised, the Rangers were off in their separate group screaming and bullying the new recruits. The upper classmen made these recruits who were mostly college freshmen, do a series of extreme exercises with heavy equipment on their backs. In some occasions I was able to hear from across the football field a few of the upperclassmen order freshmen to yell “I am weak and will always be a weak piece of trash!” Astonished by all of the deindividuation going on within this group, I had no interest joining when they would attempt to recruit female Cadets. Also, in one occasion during a swimming drill, all males were given backpacks with a certain weight set for them and the females were supposed to have backpacks that were lighter in weight. Some of the Cadets in charge of the ranger team, decided to have the female Cadets wear the same backpacks as the males. This decision derived from group polarization almost caused a female Cadet to drown after several minutes of not being able to handle the extra…show more content… Freshmen were bullied for being the new kids on the block and females were given less credit than they actually deserved. If both groups decided to go against the negative aspects that were inflicted upon them, they would be using the minority influence technique. For example if all the freshmen decided to leave the team because of the mistreatment, the upperclassmen would had no option but to listen because the freshmen make up the majority of the group. Also, if the all the females decided to do the same thing they would also have to be heard because in order for the team to participate in the Ranger challenge they need females in the
