Loading... Please wait... Loading... Please wait...
A special issue of The Pointer, the magazine published by cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point. In 1979, the Academy attempted to co-opt what had been traditionally an entertainment and satire magazine created by cadets for the cadets' own enjoyment, and use it as a platform for official information. The result, after two or three issues, was a steep decline in readership, many cancelled subscriptions and angry letters from cadets and graduates all over the world, which showed that such a magazine would not reach the audience for which it was intended.
In a bid to restore faith in The Pointer, the staff proposed a more even balance between satire and serious features. However, there was much ground to be regained, so to signal the return of humor to the publication, they brainstormed to come up with something big, eye-catching, and above all, fun.
At the time, Playboy was riding high among the readers of the same demographic, and was already controversial in the public mind. So a parody of that magazine was a natural. With the relatively new presence of female cadets in the Corps, this issue was sure to ignite some controversy of its own, but to ensure that the women were not totally relegated to the role of cheesecake, the pictorial section featured male cadets in fictionalized profiles that were designed to turn the idea of eye-candy on its head.
The ploy worked like a charm. Soon, subscriptions were up, the world was fun again, birds were singing and Plebes took big bites. There was even a request from Playboy to send them an issue, which was featured in that magazine's "The World of Playboy" section.
The magazine has now been scanned and turned into a PDF for anyone to download. Enjoy!
NOTE: The interface may be a little clumsy. You have to click on the "Download Files" link and any further links that look like that, including the final one that includes the name of the product as a link. That should finally initiate the download.
Posted by Geoff S on 12th Jan 2025
This is a scan of a classic issue of the Pointer, the student authored humor magazine of West Point. It's a clean, high quality scan. There is a lot of inside humor, so it may appeal mostly to cadets and graduates of West Point.
Posted by Thom Rafferty on 6th Sep 2023
I did not have a lot of fun during my first year as a West Point Cadet (1978-1979). However, when this edition of "Pointer" was unexpectedly delivered to my room, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Also, it made me feel more a part of the Corps of Cadets because I understood the inside humor. The Areaton Cigarette ad was funny to me because I had walked the area. It's a shame that no female cadet played the role of "Liza Wakeatnight." But, they were all under such scrutiny, I'm sure that was the last thing they needed. I thought of this magazine often over the years. Thanks for uploading it.
Posted by Dave Olwell on 5th Jul 2022
A must have for the library of any grayhog.
Posted by John L Wolf on 25th Jun 2020
This brings back great memories of many of the things that were a unique part of cadet life in our Firstie year. Also a reminder of how talented many of our classmates were even then.
