Forty-Nine Flags

 

I read Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island in my early teens. It left me with a burning desire to become a pirate. I knew this career might mean I’d end up with an eye patch, a peg leg or a hook. But those were small concerns compared with the promise of treasure and the lure of the open sea. Alas, my buccaneer dreams never saw fruition. Maybe I was just born too early. Since the fall of 2011, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has offered a pirate certificate for undergraduate students who complete specific physical education courses, including archery, fencing, pistol shooting, and sailing. MIT is quick to point out the certificate is not a stand-alone credential and does not grant license to engage in piracy or related activities. The pirate program has a waitlist, but well over 300 students and alumni are already proud recipients. Matt Damon received an honorary certificate after the movie, The Martian.