drill sargeant

Dozens of teens dressed in uniforms provided by the US Marines stand at attention in the gym of a Chicago public high school as a drill sergeant goes through a list of the day's do's and don'ts. Bring your books to class. Come for extra help if you need it. And wear your uniform with pride.

While visiting Beihua University in Jilin City in the northeast of China in September 2006, I had the privilege of witnessing, on several occasions, some of the activities that freshmen students are routinely subjected to during their three-to-four-week military training that takes place at the beginning of the academic year all over the country.