Food fights, poetic duals and drinking chocolate-wasabi concoctions would be forbidden during a military banquet under normal conditions. But every year the Air Force ROTC detachment lets loose to celebrate the quirky traditions of Dining In.

The 105 Air Force cadets joined together Friday evening, from 4:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. to take part in an exclusive event that has been a military ritual since Roman times, according to detachment commander Lt Col Chris Froeschner.

“Dining in originated with Roman legionaries as a way to celebrate military victory and it’s evolved throughout the ages,” Froeschner said. “We picked it up through the British. There are rules to the mess [dinner portion] and different things the cadets do, but it’s to learn military traditions. When I was a cadet, I learned the same budget.”

According to Stephenson, the preparation of Dining In kept him awake many late nights, but as the activities unfolded Friday, he calmly enjoyed the orderly flow of events.

After their field exercise, cadets joined their appropriate flights to partake in skits that lampooned current political issues, intra-detachment affairs and military traditions. Fifteen to twenty cadets comprise a typical flight, and flights are divided among seniority.

After skits, the detachment left the Court of North Carolina and headed back to Reynolds Coliseum, where cadets and cadre shared a meal in the gymnasium. During this time, flights competed for dominance through a series of heated verbal exchanges all in rhyme.

“There are rules to the mess and if you are caught violating those rules, people will confront you, or call you out, speaking in rhymes,” Captain Tony Baczkiewicz, education flight commander, said. “Sometimes you can rebut or retort some of those infractions and try to bring people with you or get out of your violation all