The march is a marked departure from the climb up the muddy hill, which is fraught with its own kind of symbolism. Throughout the year, the rats' lives are complicated by upperclassmen who quiz them on VMI history and compel countless calisthenics from them. Those same upperclassmen impede their progress through the mud. But in the end, the rats are embraced by the upperclass and helped up the hill, just as they are accepted as full-fledged members of the corps of cadets after breakout. Clark said the march is much grander on a symbolic level, connecting the rats to their predecessors who fought and died at New Market.
Some alumni agree.
It's going to help us get back to our roots, if you will. Besides, the ratline changes constantly, including breakout. Before the hill ritual began in 1981, rats had climb barracks stairwells that were greased and clogged with ropes, furniture and upperclassmen. In another incarnation of breakout, rats ran through a gantlet of seniors armed with paddles and coat hangers. The march seems to meet that requirement, he said.