Freshman Class

POTOMAC -- First things first. The name.It's Exree Hipp.That's right, Exree Hipp.He's got a sister, too. Her name? Exlee.The last name is a given, of course, and the first name is a family moniker that's been handed down through his father's side. It's a part of his Indian heritage -- the name Exree means "little brave.""His father's mother was full-blooded Cherokee," said his mother, Albertha. "You can see it in his cheeks."At 6 feet 7 1/2 , you can also see that Hipp, a senior at Harker Prep, is more than just a different name.

They are plebes no longer. It took two hours, 10 minutes and 13 seconds Tuesday for the freshman class at the U.S. Naval Academy to have one of its own knock a plebe's "dixie cup" hat from the top of the greased Herndon Monument and replace it with a midshipman's hat, symbolically morphing the group into 4th-class Mids. Andrew Craig, 19, of Tulsa, Okla., achieved the goal in the noisy and slippery event that drew between 800 and 1,000 plebes, officials said. Tradition holds that the student who caps the monument will be first in the class to reach the rank of admiral, though that has yet to happen.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Like many of Tom Huening's political crusades, the idea of fomenting a freshman class revolt among the huge new crop of congressional representatives who will be elected in November began as a long-shot, almost crackpot idea.Now, many of the more than 100 new representatives-elect from both parties may indeed be meeting for two days in late November at a Holiday Inn in Omaha, Neb., even before they get to Washington for their formal orientation. Their tentative agenda includes a call to chuck the seniority system, cut their own office budgets, and toss away many of the perks of office.

Bob Bost of Havre de Grace asks: Sometime back (maybe a few months) I read an article in the Sun on Sunday, regarding the placing of reef balls off Hart-Miller Island. I can't seem to fine the article or any information on the Sun's web page. However, if I was not dreaming and this did happen, would you have the GPS information for this new project? Outdoors Girl responds: No, you weren't dreaming. There's been a lot of activity over recent years by Boy Scouts, school science classes and other conservation-minded citizens who want to provide habitat on the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay to attract fish, oysters and crabs.

Due to incomplete information provided by Towson State University, an article in Tuesday's editions incorrectly listed the number of international students at the school. Including its undergraduate and graduate divisions and English Language Center, the university has 419 international students this semester, compared with 298 in fall 1993.The Sun regrets the errors.Pub Date: 9/06/96When classes start at 8 a.m. this morning at Towson State University, the largest freshman class in 15 years will be finding its way around campus.

WASHINGTON -- Sam Rayburn must be spinning in his grave.The stern, domineering former House Speaker from Texas believed freshman lawmakers should be patient and mostly silent until they learned the legislative ropes. But this week in the opulent, wood-paneled Rayburn Room, President-elect Bill Clinton stood before the large crop of House Democratic freshmen and urged the new representatives to be "agents for constructive impatience."They didn't need any prodding. The 110-member freshman class, the largest since 1948, was already starting to throw its weight around Capitol Hill.

A new enemy is on the loose at the Naval Academy, a menace so insidious that it has driven midshipmen to step on the toes of waltz partners, forget to write thank-you notes and - whither decency? - attack a salad with the wrong fork. So military leaders have summoned the special forces: she of the upswept hair and the gently wagging finger. Code name: Miss Manners. "She's a recognized expert in the field, so why not go right for the top?" says Cmdr. Bill Spann, the Naval Academy spokesman.

University of Maryland freshman Lexa Grobicki of Columbia didn't have far to go yesterday to get to College Park, but her mother wasn't taking any chances. With 400 more freshmen than usual arriving at the campus, Dana Grobicki figured the earlier her family drove down, the better. The only problem was, a lot of other people had the same idea. "I wanted to leave at 7, and we're just from Columbia. My daughter was eating cereal and reading the paper, and I said, `Don't you want to get going?

They are plebes no longer. It took two hours, 10 minutes and 13 seconds Tuesday for the freshman class at the U.S. Naval Academy to have one of its own knock a plebe's "dixie cup" hat from the top of the greased Herndon Monument and replace it with a midshipman's hat, symbolically morphing the group into 4th-class Mids. Andrew Craig, 19, of Tulsa, Okla., achieved the goal in the noisy and slippery event that drew between 800 and 1,000 plebes, officials said. Tradition holds that the student who caps the monument will be first in the class to reach the rank of admiral, though that has yet to happen.

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Air Force Academy has lost 25 percent of the freshman women in two of its last three classes, an attrition rate at least double that of Annapolis and West Point.Academy officials are uncertain whether there is any link between the high dropout rate and the widespread complaints of sexual harassment that have recently swirled around the school in Colorado Springs, Colo.However, Gen. Bradley C. Hosmer, the academy's superintendent, told the school's Board of Visitors at the group's annual meeting in Washington last week that female cadets may be leaving the school at higher rates because of the "pressures ** and tensions" of integrating women into a traditionally male environment.

The freshmen arrived in a flood, forcing the Johns Hopkins University to reopen a defunct residence hall, lease a nearby inn and create new sections of popular math and science courses. Those might sound like steps required in a robust economy, when a $54,500 annual price tag would be little impediment to students seeking a prestigious education. The twist is that all of it happened in the past three weeks. Conventional wisdom held that the deep recession might push students away from expensive private schools such as Hopkins to lower-priced alternatives.

One-and-dones leave void Memphis is certainly going to miss Derrick Rose. Same is true for Kansas State and Michael Beasley, Southern California and O.J. Mayo, UCLA and Kevin Love, Indiana and Eric Gordon, Arizona and Jerryd Bayless, Ohio State and Kosta Koufos, Syracuse and Donte Greene. But the coaches, teammates and fans of these preternatural talents who went straight to the NBA after one season are not alone. The sport will miss them, too, because this year's freshman class - and next year's, according to most reports - is simply not as good.

The number of minority students enrolling at the Naval Academy has increased steadily in recent years, a trend that college officials attribute to renewed efforts to recruit in urban areas. But the numbers fall below diversity goals, particularly for African-Americans, who make up less than 7 percent of the incoming class. The Class of 2012 that enrolled at the Annapolis military college this month includes 351 minority students - 28 percent - making it the most diverse freshman class in more than a decade, academy officials reported yesterday.

It was sunup yesterday when Naval Academy freshmen began the gauntlet of physical tests known as Sea Trials. And for 14 hours they came one after the other: races, tugs of war, rope climbing, swimming and boating, all over the Yard and on the banks of the Severn River. The event is considered the culmination of midshipmen's first year at the Annapolis academy. Obstacles are meant to challenge plebes in endurance, teamwork, problem-solving and teach leadership in times of stress. "If they go to war or go to sea, there will be days that last longer than this," academy spokeswoman Judy Campbell said.

In between his swearing-in and attending receptions, S. Saqib Ali was changing diapers and preparing baby bottles. For his first legislative session, the Democratic delegate from Montgomery County has moved his wife and 8-month- old daughter to Annapolis, and the 31-year-old software engineer said he thinks that being part of a young family can help him connect with many of his constituents. S. Saqib Ali But Ali's distinction as the first Muslim to serve in the General Assembly has garnered the most attention, somewhat to his chagrin.

Navy doesn't have a single senior in its rotation. The Midshipmen don't rely on one lead guard to get them into their offense, or a quality big man. That lack of name recognition - and just three conference wins last season - had Navy predicted to finish seventh in the eight-team Patriot League, but balance and a deep freshman class have Navy off to its best start since 1998-99. If the Mids (7-2) beat Pennsylvania at Alumni Hall tomorrow (8 p.m., CSTV), they should take a 10-2 record against Georgetown on Dec. 23. Their only losses have come at other Big East teams, St. John's and Villanova.

Reflecting what its chancellor called "the baby boom echo," the University System of Maryland has reported a 6 percent increase in freshman enrollment at its schools this year, the largest increase in more than a decade.Chancellor Donald N. Langenberg told the system's Board of Regents yesterday that the numbers show "that the baby boom echo has indeed begun to arrive on our campuses, much as we had predicted."System administrators see this year's numbers as the beginning of a trend that will last at least until 2005 or 2006, as children of the baby-boom generation move through their college years, fueling enrollment growth at the 13 state-funded colleges, universities and research institutions under the system's control.

It was sunup yesterday when Naval Academy freshmen began the gauntlet of physical tests known as Sea Trials. And for 14 hours they came one after the other: races, tugs of war, rope climbing, swimming and boating, all over the Yard and on the banks of the Severn River. The event is considered the culmination of midshipmen's first year at the Annapolis academy. Obstacles are meant to challenge plebes in endurance, teamwork, problem-solving and teach leadership in times of stress. "If they go to war or go to sea, there will be days that last longer than this," academy spokeswoman Judy Campbell said.

CAROLINA KUMBAYA, PART III In 1993-94, North Carolina added Jeff McInnis, Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace to four starters from an NCAA championship team, but dissension kept it from getting to the Sweet 16. In 2002-03, the Tar Heels brought in a freshman class of Raymond Felton, Sean May and Rashad McCants, but Matt Doherty couldn't get them to make nice and got fired after their sophomore season. Now North Carolina has Tyler Hansbrough (above) and most of the pieces back from one of the nation's surprise teams, plus a six-man freshman class, headed by point guard Ty Lawson, that is the recruiting fruit of their 2005 NCAA title.

According to the Chinese calendar, 2006 is the year of the dog. In the track and field community, it might as well be the year of the freshman. Rookies to the high school track and field scene are flourishing throughout the metro area. And while Atholton's Graham Bazell and Liberty's Andrew Cross are just a couple of the boys who enjoyed solid outings during the indoor season this past winter, it's the girls who are grabbing the spotlight. Hereford's Kristen Malloy captured the Class 3A-2A state championship in the 3,200-meter run. McDonogh's Jameice DeCoster's time in the 55 meters at the Montgomery Invitational is ranked in the top 35 nationally, according to dyestat.