Tuxis Evolves: Culver Addresses Harshness in Tuxis/Rank Relationship

Welcome to Part Three of GoCulver.com’s four-part Summer 2006 Preview in which we continue our walk through the announcements sent to Upper Camp Sr. Counselors by Tony Mayfield, Director of Summer Schools and Camps on March 8, 2006. In this installment, as promised, we’ll be talking Tuxis.

(For some background on the program check out the Tuxis Culverpedia Entry I started. If you’d like to add to this entry you can do so as a GoCulver.com member).

Tucked neatly amidst his announcements for the Naval and Aviation programs, Mr. Mayfield had this to say about the Tuxis Program:

"Tuxis is being tweaked to play a greater role for those campers wanting to attain the highest levels of leadership. If you don’t earn your Tuxis each year it doesn’t mean you can’t be promoted, but it does mean that an individual will only be able to go so far with rank and leadership positions."

That the Tuxis program is to be "tweaked" should come as no surprise to those familiar with the program’s recent history. Indeed almost every recent summer has brought some new wrinkle to the program. Among the more recent:

• A move of the Tuxis testing site from the ground floor of the Eppley Hall of Humanities (The "A" Building) into the then newly-renovated Naval Building Classrooms.

• That same summer the Tuxis office was moved from Eppley into a classroom on the second floor of the "C" Building across the courtyard next to the scheduling office.
• The number of Tuxis tests offered for Tuxis points seems to have decreased significantly from when I was a camper in the late 90’s. I remember taking tests on the Indiana DNR Boating Regulations and soccer rules that, to the best of my knowledge, are no longer on offer. If I’m wrong on this, tell me in the forums.
• Last summer, rather than award all Tuxis medals to students during the camp session, Culver handed out all the medals they could and then mailed many more to students’ homes in the fall. I have heard from a few who never received their medals but I believe they’ve all been taken care of now (if you earned your medal and are still waiting for it to be mailed to you let me know). While I expect this was a one time situation brought on by an ordering issue, let’s hope this doesn’t become the norm. I think everyone wants to see campers wearing their Tuxis medals during camp.
• The quality of the medals themselves has deteriorated a bit over recent summers. My Tuxis medals from the late 90’s have extra pieces of backing ribbon on them that help hold the medal straight and prevent it from flopping around excessively. The newest medals appear more cheaply made. While this could be a cost-saving measure, it’s also possible the vendor Culver uses for the medals has changed the product it supplies.

However the most noteworthy change, and the one addressed in Mr. Mayfield’s comments above, was the removal of the Tuxis banner from the boys and girls achievement curriculums.

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