Aggie Spirit Lacking on Today's Campus

The Battalion ^ | December 6, 2002 | Cody Harris

[Mister Magoo]

Aggie spirit lacking on today's campus

December 06, 2002

My first semester as a fish has been somewhat discouraging. Everyday I walk around campus and I can't believe what I see. Aggies are supposed to be students of respect and honor, and at least once a week I see fellow Aggies walking on the grass at the Memorial Student Center.

Rarely will I get a reply when I throw out a friendly "Howdy!" -- not even an acknowledgement. It seems like no one knows about the significance of the Century Tree anymore, or even knows what it is.

I see people carelessly walking under it every day. I don't understand what has happened to the 12th Man.

Fortunately I was blessed with the opportunity to be at the last Bonfire in 1998, and I saw the true Aggie Spirit.

Hundreds of students crossing University at Northgate sounded off with a thunderous "Whoop!" as my brother blew Hullabaloo on his horn.

Neither a Farmers Fight Festival nor anything else could ever take the place of Bonfire. The thought of that experience sends chills running down my spine.

One of the main reasons I chose this great university was for the Aggie traditions that I thought would still be here.

Now there are only a handful of true Ags. Just this past weekend I was talking to my brother, Clint Harris '00, about his experiences while at A&M, and he told me that everyone said howdy, and every time a professor would mention an upcoming exam the whole class would hiss, and whoop when they mentioned holidays or breaks.

He, too, was disappointed when I told him how it is now. He said exactly what I was thinking: It's like going to school with a bunch of t-sips!

Now I ask you, Ags, why has it changed? It is up to us to rekindle and keep that Fightin' Texas Aggie Spirit.

So when you leave class today, say "Howdy" to the people you pass, hiss at the students wearing burnt orange, and wildcat when something motivates you. Be Aggies!

Cody Harris

Class of 2006

[JFC]

aggies are strange. they go on and on about their freaking traditions and now this with the lack of traditions. they put their dead dogs in the ground but in view of the score board. the go to the dixie chicken to dip their ring in a pitcher of beer and have their parents and family all come see this huge event. they act ugly at other peoples stadium and then get in fights and blame it on the other team. aggies are nothing but a bunch of weirdos.....

Go Red Raiders!!!!!

[Texaggie79]

Oh no! A self worshipping, never made it, couch jockey who ran away from JIM EVERETT like a p@$$y says that he doesn't like Aggies!!!! What is an Aggie to do?!

[Texaggie79]

Exactly. They never look at the big picture and understand that they should sometimes put their college or country in front of their own selfish needs.

[cweese]

...hey, was it jim rome who kept calling Jim Everett "Chris Evert"? if so, i remember how great it was watching Jim Everett jump out his chair and open a can of whipa$$ on rome...

[Gunrunner2]

Pilot training 1980:
Class of 66, over half were freshly minted 2Lt.s from A&M.
Time to choose our pilot training class patch.
About a half dozen designs submitted for a vote.
Some pretty darned good, as one of the students was a real skilled artist.
The lone Aggie submission was a goofy looking winged Pegasus with a red and white pitot tube sticking out of his forehead.
Aggies block voted for the Aggie submission.
Every single Aggie voted for the butt-ugly patch.
A fair number even said they hated it but were voting for the ugly patch only because a fellow Aggie drew it.
A year of pilot training staring us in the face and the Aggies insisted upon setting themselves apart from everyone else.
Right. Nice way to become a single class---not.
We were stuck with a patch that was the laughing stock of the base.
We discovered there were fellow pilot training students and there were Aggies.
True story.

[Bryan24]

Dennis Franchione is taking the life out of your school.

[tamu]

How do you think Aggieland will fare under Gates? When I heard he would take the helm, I thought the school could use a guy with that kind of admin mgt under his belt. But, after seeing his 'five year plan' or whatever it was called in the Aggie Monthly, I am fearful of what the next few years will bring. Why, if you want to increase the school's stature, so you obsess about the melanin levels (and not the academic records) of its students??

[msdrby]

To you I give an official horse laugh from one of the Fightin' Texas Aggies of the Class of '93. WHOOP!

[Texaggie79]

Yup. Got his azz handed to him by "Chrissy" Everett.

[Texaggie79]

Being out of state, I haven't been able to follow closely with goings on. I felt confident about Gates with his background. I love the new direction with the athletic dept. I was saddened on his stance on the bonfire, but I realize the legal pressure he was under. As far as academics, I haven't kept up much....

[luckystarmom]

"It seems like no one knows about the significance of the Century Tree anymore, or even knows what it is."

I'm an Aggie Class of '84, and I don't know what the Century Tree is.

"he told me that everyone said howdy, and every time a professor would mention an upcoming exam the whole class would hiss, and whoop when they mentioned holidays or breaks."

Everyone didn't say howdy when I went to A&M, but most everyone was friendly.

We never hissed or whooped in class, that was saved for the football field.

I think this guy is missing the point of Aggie Spirit. Aggie Spirit is the loyalty Aggies have for each other and our school. My dearest friends are the ones I met at A&M.

While I loved and I miss Bonfire, it still wasn't the end all be all of my time at A&M. It was about a fellowship of like-minded individuals: a true kinship with my fellow Aggies.

[luckystarmom]

When I went to A&M in the 80s it was the Red Raiders fans that threw beer cans at the Aggies when we were playing them. I've never heard of Aggies ever doing that to an opposing team.

[msdrby]

Humorous? Good grief this man has no sense of humor. Jim Rome is filled with diarrhea of the mouth. If you can't take it, don't dish it out.

[jimbo123]

Aggy spirit always seemed to consist of upperclassmen CT's raping and/or sexually molesting their freshmen CT's and then trying to cover up their sick doings. They treat their sheep better than their freshmen CT's when it comes to Aggy romance.

[jimbo123]

Aggy "spirit" on display...

[DrewsDad]

That is no more representative of Aggie Spirit than an intoxicated frat boy running off a cliff is representative of t.u.

[DrewsDad]

The point is: We all respect West Point, Annapolis, The Air Force Academy; however, nobody respects the Corp.

Well, someone who knows a bit more about fighting a war does.

"Give an army of West Point grads and I win a battle, give me a handful of Texas Aggies and I'll win a war."
- General George Patton

If you want to carry guns and beat up civilians, move to Israel.

Or politics for that matter.

[DrewsDad]

Here is an Aggie Tradition Webpage

[American Blood]

[mountaineer]

ping