Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 19, 1965)
Freshman Edition The Battalion COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 1965 r————^ Section Three I I Traditions Play Vital Role At A&M SYMBOL OF THE SPIRIT OF AGGIELAND [ A glowing symbol of the renowned Spirit of tion, this year’s will be Aggieland is the massive bonfire ignited each year on the night before the annual Thanksgiving Day football clash with the University of Texas. According to tradi- your” bonfire as incoming freshmen. The annual bonfire, the world’s largest, is the culmination of many hard hours of cutting, hauling and stacking the huge logs used to build it. For the past 89 years customs and traditions have come and gone at A&M, some remaining only a few weeks while others have lasted throughout the school’s history. Probably the first tradition and one of the more im portant ones is “Once and Aggie always an Aggie.” The class of 1880, first to graduate here, is said to have inauguarated it to promote school spirit. As Aggies of today travel around the country they often meet one of the A&M men from older classes who inevitably greets them as long lost brothers and goes all out to make them feel at home. THIS CUSTOM of sticking together is now world known, and wherever two Aggies meet, no matter what their ages, there is sure to be much handshaking and backslapping. Another well-known custom at Aggieland is speaking to and meeting everyone you come in contact with. This custom isn’t as old as most may think. F. J. Mikeska, ’28, now ar engineer in Shreveport, La., says when he went to school here nobody spoke as they do now. This has changed, however, and the familiar “howdy” rings out all day long across the campus. THE TRADITION of class distinction stems from the military training at A&M. The adage “rank hath its priv ileges,” is very true here. The senior is top dog and his word is law. The junior enjoys some prestige over the sophomore, and the “Fish” are low men on the totem pole. By the way, “Fish” is the name given freshmen by one of the classes of the 1880’s. The “Fish” catches all the messy jobs and lives only for the next year. Corps Trips are another tradition of long standing. To day the trips are made by automobile to watch football games, but in the old days the school would rent a train and the entire Corps would pile in and chug away to the game. One of the most widely known traditions involving Corps Trips is the Twelfth Man. It started in 1922 when the Aggies played a football game against Centre College in Dallas. Top opponents were tearing the Aggies up and the re serves on the A&M bench were fast dwindling away. When the coach was down to his last reserve a young sophomore named King Gill, who had worked out with the team several times, dashed out of the stand and suited up. GILL DIDN’T get to play but his gesture gave the school its famous tradition and today during a football game the entire student body, dates and anyone who happens to be in the Aggie section stand while the team is on the field, ready to go in as the Twelfth Man. Still another time-honored tradition at Aggieland is the Midnight Yell Practice. In addition to the two regular after supper yell practices held each week during football season, the band and student body participate in midnight affairs before each home game. At 11:30 p. m. the band leaves its dorm and marches up and down the streets of the campus, gathering members of the student body and dates in its wake. THE MARCHERS arrive at Kyle Field at midnight and a lengthy yell practice begins. Another of the much-publicized customs at A&M is the tradition of kissing one’s date when the Aggies score in a football game. According to the code, any touchdown, extra point or field goal warrants a “movie love scene” type kiss. When A&M wins a football clash on Kyle Field students converge on the yell leaders, hoist them up on shoulders, and carry them to the fish pond across campus near Sbisa Hall for a dunking. Two other famous traditions are annual ones, the Aggie Muster and the Aggie Bonfire. The muster service is held every year on April 21 to honor the Aggies who have died since the previous muster. Their names are called out and for each one a comrade an swers “here”. Muster ceremonies are observed all over the world and this is reserved as the day of reunion for all A&M students, past and present. The famed bonfire is the world’s largest and is set off the night before the annual Thanksgiving Day game with Texas as a symbol of A&M’s flaming desire to “beat the hell out of TU. The incoming freshman will soon discover that the cus toms mentioned here are but a few of the many he’ll adhere to during the next four years. Extra-Curricular Activity AGGIE MUSTER CEREMONIES The annual campus muster ceremonies are wide and muster has even been held on held in front of the Systems Administration battlefields. When names of the Aggies Building on April 21 to honor the Aggie who have died since the previous muster are dead. Observance of the tradition is world- called, living comrades answer, “Here.” This section is designed to in form the incoming freshman of some of the extra-curricular facets of life at Texas A&M. Some of the Aggie traditions and customs are discussed and shown pictorially. There are al so stories dealing with activi ties, organizations and entertain ment at A&M. Student government, the Corps of Cadets, the Aggie Band, local churches, student publications, and recreational facilities are among the topics reviewed in this section. THE TWELFTH MAN Aggies rise at the beginning of each football game and re main standing throughout the contest as a symbol of their readiness to enter the game if needed. The tradition was bom in 1922 in a game against Centre College when so many Aggie players were injured that an A&M student was called down from the stands as a substitute. The Aggies shown here are “wildcatting” as a yell is finished. A POLISHING FOR SULLY Though they don’t get the same amount of publicity, the great number of smaller, day-to-day traditions make A&M one of the most unique schools in the world. A group of enthusiastic freshmen is shown here polishing the statue of Lawrence Sullivan Ross before a big campus weekend. We Exist for the Purpose of SERVING YOU • Wide Selections • Fair Prices • The Profits Are Returned to YOU THE EXCHANGE STORE "IN ITS 58TH YEAR... SERVING TEXAS AGGIES"' STORE HOURS DURING REGISTRATION Your Exchange Store will be open until 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 16 & 17 ... and all day Saturday, Sept. 18.