US / West Point West Point Boss Demands Hymn Changes for Her Lyrics' 'men' and 'sons' are out of date, chief argues By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff Posted May 16, 2008 10:25 AM CDT Copied West Point graduates from the class of 2007 toss their caps in the air at the end of their graduation ceremony Saturday, May 26, 2007 at West Point Military Academy in Highland Falls, NY. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) The head of West Point is calling for changes to the military academy's two most beloved songs to represent thousands of female graduates, the Times Herald-Record reports. References to "men" and "sons" in the Alma Mater and the 1902 hymn The Corps should be switched to something more gender-neutral, Lt. Gen. Buster Hagenbeck told a congressional committee. Female officers are "buried in our cemetery," said Hagenbeck. "When are they going to be recognized for what they're doing?" (More West Point stories.) Report an error