during the first six months at vmi, new cadets are called "rats," the accepted term (since the 1850s) for a new cadet. the vmi ratline is a tough, old-fashioned indoctrination-system which dates back to the institute's founding. all "rats" refer to their classmates, male or female, as "brother rats." the term "brother rat" is a term of endearment which lasts a lifetime amongst vmi graduates. legend has it that when washington college (now washington and lee university) students and vmi cadets drilled together in the 1830s, the students called the cadets "rats" perhaps because of their gray uniforms. the cadets responded in kind calling the neighboring students "minks" perhaps because many of them were from wealthy backgrounds. the purpose of the ratline is to teach self-control, self-discipline, time-management, and followership as prerequisites for becoming a vmi cadet.