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

[msdrby]

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


Oh man, don't get me started....

[Diddle E. Squat]

As a Longhorn I'm laughing my patookus off at that Jim Rome diatribe. He may be a phony and a blowhard, but that's a funny piece. Does he have Texas roots or Texan writers? Too many nuances for a non-Texas to have written that.

It was almost as funny as reading a Red Raider criticizing Aggies on fan behavior. TTech has a good coach, but I swear every time he's on TV I wonder if he used to run a chop shop. I also get the mental image of him and his team sitting on the bench with cigarettes danglin' from their mouths.

[AbsoluteJustice]

I have finally found someone that actually gets it and can enjoy the humor. My favorite college is OSU as I am from Ohio. If something similiar were written like this about Ohio I would be rolling just as hard as I was here. Great great laughs.

[AbsoluteJustice]

Like I would send ONE MAN from A&M into a hot spot in the world to bail my A$$ out of a hairy situation. Although I do not agree with his Israel bit on carrying guns and what not I still enjoy the humor in it.

[1L]

Ignorant claptrap from someone who's never been to A&M nor College Station. Why is it these idiots think they know more than those of us who've lived there and been a part of the Aggie spirit?

[1L]

I'm not an Aggies, but a Red Raider.

By the 4th word, it was obvious what you were.

[1L]

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.

Do you have a specific, factual, example in mind? Would you like to hear about the several hazing deaths that have occured at the University of Texas over the last 15 years or so, or are you only interested in what you can find to rail A&M with?

Don't be an idiot. I've been there. You obviously haven't.

[1L]

they act ugly at other peoples stadium and then get in fights and blame it on the other team.

The only fights that I can recall Aggies participating in were ones started in Lubbock. Perhaps you think, like a typical Red Roach with an SAT score south of 800 who probably flunked out of Tarlton, that the Aggies instigated the 2001 football situation by forcing the Roaches to tear down their own goal post and march it across the field.

Jealousy rears its ugly head from a fan of a wannabe, but never will be, "school" (and I use that term, even in quotes, in the broadest possible way).

[AbsoluteJustice]

How do you know Jim Rome has never travelled to College Station or A&M?? He is a sports analyst and I have a hard time believing that Jim Rome being such has never ventured the campus to check things out if not the sports program. How is it you know he has never been there?

[AbsoluteJustice]

Become an Ohio State fan and you will never have to worry about fighting :))

[1L]

How do you know Jim Rome has never travelled to College Station or A&M??

For one thing, I can tell by reading the article. He states, "If you feel that life doesn't get any better than the Dixie Chicken, and enjoy being stuck in a never ending "Dukes of Hazard" episode, then move there." First of all, any idiot can name drop the Dixie Chicken. In reality, most Aggies and residents of B/CS know of the Chicken, have been there, but don't hang out there. Most of the people that I knew that wanted to go somewhere like that and drink beer went to a place called Dudleys' Draw right next to the Chicken, and many just went to a lot of other places. Anyone that's been down there for more than a few hours knows this. The Chicken is only a status symbol to those who've never been to CS. Also, nobody there calls it the "Dixie Chicken." It's just called, "The Chicken."

And CS resembles Hazzard County as much as New York City resembles Waltons Mountain. One can argue whether B/CS is a good place to live or not. This sentence proves that rome hasn't been anywhere close to there, and I'd bet I could count on one hand the times he's even been to Texas.

I don't know where romes pure hatred of A&M comes from, but I've read this same article before, written by anti-Aggies with some stupid agenda. Never are any of the articles factual and never do they make sense.

Further, since Rome never said he had been there, I could turn the question back on you -- how do you know he has?

[1L]

Become an Ohio State fan and you will never have to worry about fighting

I don't have to worry about it now.

I'm unclear on what your comment means. Perhaps I missed something.

[IowaHawk]

What do you call an Aggie 5 years after graduation? "Boss!"

As in: "hey boss, get your mop. Spill in aisle 4."

[AbsoluteJustice]

I am not the one proclaiming that he has not or has. But you still cannot tell me just from assumption that he has or has not.

[AbsoluteJustice]

LOL just something that was said earlier about fans fighting is all.

[Prof Engineer]

This hugh mistake is vey series.

[outinyellowdogcountry]

Hubby and I are Texas Tech graduates. I've had more than enough comments from oldest aggie brother about TT being on our clothes. Ha Ha. But my daughter and friend attended the last Aggie-TT game at Lubbock. They sat with the Aggies because they want to go there. They were disgusted at the treatment they recieved and observed from drunk TT tailgaters. Our whole family went to the game at Lubbock before that when Tech fans took down the goal posts. I was embarrassed at that and how the group acted-probably also drunk. Aggies would not deface their property. So who is rude? Goes both ways.

[Prof Engineer]

As in: "hey boss, get your mop. Spill in aisle 4."

ROFLOL

BTW, my better half is an Aggie. We're both having a blast with this thread.

[Destructor]

Thank you for a truly enlightening article! Hook 'em Horns!!!

[Destructor]

Thank you for a truly enlightening article! Hook 'em Horns!!!