A mass of plebes try to summit Herndon Monument on Wednesday in Annapolis as part of an annual tradition for first-year students at the Naval Academy. Together, the plebes scale the monument, typically covered in vegetable shortening, and replace the Dixie cup with an upperclassman’s hat. After completing the climb, the plebes are referred to as fourth-class midshipmen. This year, plebes completed the monument climb in a time of 2:19:11.