Cadet Ages, Marriages, & Pregnancies

Created by Ambassador Geminik Odar on Sun Jul 29th, 2018 @ 4:31pm

In a Nutshell:
• The main age group of cadets to be roleplayed on this sim is the young adult age range of 18-25 years. Exceptions made for Vulcans, we'll give them through their twenties. Exception for Tellarites as they are adults at the Terran age of 12 years.
• The maximum number allowed for 16 and 17 year olds to be roleplayed as freshman cadets is 2.
• The maximum number allowed for the majority age of cadets, mid-twenties to late thirties, to be roleplayed is very few. I'll base that on how many cadets we have that fit the premise years for the sim.
• The maximum allowed to be roleplayed for middle or even later years in age for cadets is 2.
• Although our main age group for cadets is considered the minority, when you consider the total number of students now, and more to come in the future, there is still large enough number on campus to roleplay groups and classes having a good number of this age group in the scenario. For the majority to be in the background. It doesn't contradict already written conversations about some of the cadets. It doesn't take away what we have already done, only adds in another element.
• No cadet marriages
• No cadet pregnancies
• All cadets are given contraception injections suitable for their species.
• Minimum age for Medical Academy cadets is 20 years.


Explained in detail below:

Cadet Freshman: 16+. I have put a lot of thought into this. I read somewhere, and I find myself agreeing, that while the Academy is much like a 'normal' university, it differs in that most new cadets are in their mid-twenties to into their thirties. Some have already gotten degrees from other universities (This sim's Dean Connor McKinney, Leonard McCoy) and some may have already served in Starfleet as enlisted crew (Janice Rand) or were civilians (as adults for a while, for a variety of reasons, such as Vulcan's continuing their education first on their homeworld), before deciding to attend Starfleet Academy. This makes sense to me, and it also explains why we see some older officers still as Lieutenants, even Ltjgs. I think this also works in role play with some having their commanding officers or department heads much younger than them. To me, it makes it less of a bigger deal of the 'why' for some people.

"Only a very, very small number of students attend promptly upon turning 18, and a large number that apply so young do not make it into SFA the first few times they try." The latter part of that sentence is canon. So, if it takes most applicants two, three, or more tries before they pass, before they are accepted, and it seems to me there would be time between each time they tried, this again puts the very young adults into the minority. I would think 16 and 17 year olds are even very much more rare. I would have it no older than 18 except canon sources say no younger than 16, or equivalent of for species other than human (Tellarites reach adulthood by the age of twelve Earth years.). Regardless, I am limiting how many cadets we allow to be 16 or 17 to two. "There is no max age limit to attend SFA and while it is less common, it is certainly not strange or unusual to see people in the middle or even later years of their life attending, so long as they are still physically and mentally capable of the demands of the school."

It's pretty much a no brainer that the Academy is harder to get into than a normal college, and that there would be more scrutinizing on who can join...including, such as, background checks being done. We already know that potential cadets have to go through a series of difficult test to even be allowed to take the entrance exam. I see more very young people turned away than being accepted.

I want to make clear that I am not discouraging the fact that right now all of our cadets are so young. On the contrary, as I think its a nice change to roleplay a young person just starting out on their own and going through the Academy. I am just seeing now that we are roleplaying more the minority than the majority. It's actually kind of cool.

What does this mean as far as married cadets, and/or cadets with children?

I am uncertain at this time.

So what does this mean for this sim?

I love the set up we have now of our young cadets as roomies with each other. As I have decided for this sim that the majority of cadets at SFA are in their mid-twenties to into their thirties, I am sure there are 'some' married cadets on the campus, possibly ones with children, and that there would be a separate dorm for them. Regardless, it just seems to me that most are still single, that they are career orientated, and didn't join the Academy to find their true love. For now, as of 1-25-15, I am going to state that cadets that are already married were so before joining the Academy. I will be deciding on a limit to how many we'll allow RPed on the sim. When this is to be initiated is yet to be determined, for now it is a 'paused' idea.

No marriages between our current roleplayed cadets. I'll put more thought into this. Right now I am not hip on the idea.

Cadet pregnancies will never be allowed. It's a fast way out of the Academy. Married cadets, when allowed, will be required to be on whatever birth control is effective for their species along with all the single cadets. All cadets: men, women, and dual gender species are required to be given contraception injections. This would have been a requirement explained and signed off on when given the required physical before taking the Academy's entrance exam.

Medical Cadets: 20+, having needed a pre-medical degree before joining. (medical cadets are not currently on the manifest)