People saying they should be expelled:
1. They are mostly first years (this was a Calculus 1 course).
2. They will go through rehabilitation
3. West Point instituted second chances in 2015, not just for this group.
4. Together implying that they will have plenty of time to prove that this was a one time thing, or not.
Compassion and vulnerability are also important parts of leadership: leaders that can admit they made a mistake, perhaps even acted selfishly, and reflect on that behavior and avoid it in the future are better than those who cannot. This is the "new" way of leadership now, and personally, I am all for it, compared to the "old" style of pure hierarchy, repressed emotion, violence + fear as motivators, etc.
Given that turnbacks and rehabs have been a thing for years, it is probably working out the way the Army hopes.
I got in trouble a few times in the Army and there was a lot of effort to "rehab" me. When I got in trouble as an NCO, the whole point of my punishment was to make me a better NCO. That's what they said and it seemed that's what they were trying to do.
Compassion and vulnerability are also important parts of leadership: leaders that can admit they made a mistake, perhaps even acted selfishly, and reflect on that behavior and avoid it in the future are better than those who cannot. This is the "new" way of leadership now, and personally, I am all for it, compared to the "old" style of pure hierarchy, repressed emotion, violence + fear as motivators, etc.