Giant black fence

From USAFA Folklore

The Giant Black Fence was erected around 2004-2006 due to security concerns brought up by the attacks on September 11, 2001. The previous level of security allowed almost anyone to either get into, or get close to, the Cadet Area. The only security was from coded locks on the bottom floors of the buildings and from Security Forces Entry Control Points (ECPs), added in ____ [after 1980]. Proximity Badges were issued to get into buildings and get through the gates on the new black fence. The fence surrounds the entire cadet area.

The fence is a joke to most cadets. Since there are card readers on both sides of the fence, cadets joke that the fence is intended to keep cadets in just as much, and maybe more so, as it is to keep everyone else out. Some cadets joke that sniper towers, machine gun nests, and even turrets will soon be added to the black fence, but will all be pointed inward. The gates at ECPs are sometimes, rarely, closed, but when they are closed a distracted teacher, AOC, or AMT can accidently crash into them with a loud bang. It has happened before, surprising many cadets that were nearby waiting for Zoomienet food, pizza, or a ride.

Going OTF now has a more literal meaning as on can now actually go "over the fence." This sometimes becomes a necessary reality when snow and ice block the gates from opening. The same snow and ice tends to prop gates open as well, leading some to see the fence as ineffective and a waste of money. On occasion snow plows or deer actually break parts of the fence and leave holes or break gates, which are then stuck open and unlocked. The black fence now has an additional, smaller fence surrounding it in some places. This small fence consists of posts and a metal cable that is at about knee height and a few feet away from the larger fence. This is an additional security measure and is probably the butt of even more cynical jokes.