THE BATTALION Page 3B
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 1976
rhe essence of an Aggie: honor, spirit, pride
By KEN STROEBEL
The ollowing article was taken
rpm an earlier issue of the Battal-
I. Ed.
I )r. Jim Syler, 1957 A&M
;rjduate, defined an Aggie as a
’f|ldier, statesman and knightly
tleman” who “rides hard, shoots
itiiight and lives his life in such a
ivav that he can look any man in the
eye and tell him to go to hell, if
Td be!”
I'he popularity or accuracy of that
dqinition is uncertain but it might
interesting to note what others
hate said about Aggies and A&M,
ring normal censorship.
iVhen I decided to become an
gie, my brother suggested my
plrents change their name and
m|ve to another city. He wrote
m, “Got your last letter and the
news that the world has gained
another Aggie. ’ And to me he
wfnte, “Glad to hear you’ve finally
fo|nd a place that deserves you,”
atever that means. That’s okay;
still thinks AMU stands for
atfmic mass unit.
hose who saw “Patton should
remember Gen. Omar Bradley
plyed by Karl Malden. The real
Gin. Bradley once said, “The men
■Texas A&M can stand up to any
pn in the world and compare
orably their education and train-
and leadership — leadership in
B pursuits of peace, and if it comes
to|vvar, leadership in battle.
A century ago then-Governor
Richard Coke said, “An Aggie does
not lie, cheat or steal nor will he
tolerate those who do; an Aggie’s
word is his bond.”
Robert Mitchum once told
Johnny Carson the worst movie he
ever made was about some two-bit
cow college in Texas in the ’40s.
And from the 1946 Daedalian, the
yearbook for Texas State College for
Women at Denton: “There’s a col
lege down near the Brazos strictly
for men; it’s a military college where
young boys fresh from high school
enter and graduate as men . . . it’s
called Texas A&M.” Whoop,
whoop.
More recently, like several bon
fires ago, John Denver hailed Col
lege Station as “the culture capital
of the South” and “gateway to
Snook. For a minute I thought he
was being sarcastic.
But it seems entertainers gener
ally like the reception they get here.
During a performance that
rocked G. Rollie White, the Nitty
Gritty Dirt Band’s Jeff’ Hanna ad
mitted, “It’s always a shot in the
arm to come down here to play
for you weirdos ’cause you’re all
crazy.’
John McEuen, who has probably
done more plucking than Col.
Snaders and Churches’ put to
gether, reaffirmed this backstage as
he picked away at Opus 36,
Clementi on the banjo.
“We always look forward to play-
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ing in College Station,” he said,
smiling through his beard. He
added the Band would rather play
for a crazy crowd like the Aggies
than a screaming bunch of “teeny
hoppers.”
And Henry Mancini’s comments
were also flattering. “We’ve had au
diences before but this is one of the
best we’ve ever had,” he said. “This
is quite a group you have here.”
Funny, I was just going to say the
same thing about him.
Two years ago Rod Serling un
leashed his nationally famous
glower through bushy eyebrows on
an innocent G. Rollie White audi
ence and said, “When I was a kid,
A&M was a power to be reckoned
with.” Considering his image, that
gives A&M quite a distinction.
Flattery from the outside, from
civilized people, is great but it’s
even better from a former student
who saw the error of his ways and
tried to do something worthwhile.
After his freshman year in the
Corps, Dan Jordan transferred to
the Air Force Academy for “a more
professional atmosphere. He re
turned to the scene of the crime
about a year ago to report, “I still
consider Texas A&M to be the best
military school in the country.”
Compared to A&M, he said, the
Academy “damned sure doesn’t
have class spirit.”
Two Apollo 17 astronauts were
awakened on the moon with the
strains of the Aggie War Hymn.
Eugene A. Cernan and Harrison H.
Schmitt had discovered orange dust
on the lunar surface earlier that
week and flight director Jerry Grif
fin, class of 1956, made that particu
lar music selection.
“He said that if you could find
some maroon dirt today, instead of
orange,” explained capsule com
municator Gordon Fullerton,
“you’d probably get a lot more
cooperation out of him.”
One of the better definitions of an
Aggie was one of those things which
mysteriously turned up in a quiz
file. It was titled “What is an Ag
gie?” and sadly sported no author
ship. It read in part as follows:
“After the security of childhood
and during the insecurity of second
childhood, we find a bunch of good
Joes’ whom we call Aggies.
“They can be found anywhere: at
drill, on leave, in love and always in
debt. Girls love them. Bryan toler
ates them, and the state supports
them. He dislikes answering letters,
wearing his uniform, up
perclassmen and the Corps. The
guy likes to spend most of his
money on girls, some on beer, some
goes back into the game, and the
rest goes foolishly.
“An Aggie is a magical creature.
You can lock him out of your liquor
cabinet but not out of your heart;
you can get him off your mailing list
but not off your mind.”
At All University Night last year,
yell leader Grif Lasley said, “If he’s
an Aggie, you re behind him. That’s
what an Aggie is.” And yell leader
Mark McLean added, “Deep in the
heart of every Aggie is a spirit that
can never be beat.”
Dr. Jack K. Williams couldn’t de
fine A&M that night but said it was
“identified by the friendship which
pervades this campus.” And Coach
Emory Bellard defined his Aggies as
“a fightin’ bunch of devils.”
To me an Aggie is the culmination
of a parent’s greatest hopes or worst
fears. He is the guy who walks
across campus in the rain to make
sure his P.O. box is still empty. But
defining “Aggie” is comparable to
defining “animal in the zoo” —
more comparable than I care to
think about. So until Funk & Wag-
nalls gets the word or until they
consider trying to take us seriously,
you’d best decide for yourself what
an Aggie is.
Old AirM rules tough,
hut seem familiar
By DON MIDDLETON
When we last left them, the first
Board of Directors had just set the
opening date for the new college.
Since all the directors were asked to
attend the ceremony, Governor
Coke seized the opportunity to hold
the third meeting of the Board.
If Coke expected better atten
dance due to the occasion, he was
disappointed. This time speaker
Bonner was absent, but previously
unheard from director, Charles De
Morse made a quorem for the meet
ing.
The Board waded through tons of
financial business and the four-day
affair contained little of lasting his
torical interest, with the exception
of one item of business — the estab
lishment of the Laws governing the
Agricultural and Mechanical Col
lege of Texas, affectionately known
in our day and time as the Univer
sity Rules and Regulations.
In drawing up the rules, the
Board first turned its attention to
admission standards. State law de
creed that no applicant for admis
sion would be considered unless he
was “of the white race.” (Earlier
that year, on August 14, the legisla
ture passed a bill establishing a
separate college for blacks.)
It was also decided that all appli
cants be at least 14 years old and
“satisfactory testimonials of good
moral character would be re
quired.
Upon acceptance, each student
was required to bring with him to
the college, among other neces
sities, seven shirts, seven pairs of
socks, seven collars and four pairs of
drawers (hmmmmm, only four?).
Students were also to bring enough
money to cover expenses for the
term, and a book in which to keep a
record of all purchases — to be ex
amined periodically by the Presi
dent. Can you imagine Jack
Williams going through 20,000
overdrawn checkbooks?
The Board laid down a lengthy set
of statutes governing curriculum
and examinations as well as disci
pline procedures for violators. Some
of the measures were fairly strin
gent by today’s standards.
For example, the policy towards
missed exams reads — “Students
absenting themselves from any
exercises of examination without a
satisfactory excuse, shall cease to be
members of the college.” Period.
No exceptions. Seems like a good
way to encourage attendance.
The conduct of students was of
paramount importance to the school
administrators. The wild-west town
of Bryan with its saloons and danc
ing halls was thought to be enough
of a negative influence that the
Board set down the following rules:
No student shall:
— Drink or have in their posses
sion wine, porter, or any spiritous
or intoxicating liquors, brandied
fruits, or viands.
— Go to places where such items
are served.
— Visit a. public hotel without
first receiving permission from the
President.
— Play cards, or any other game
of chance.
— Cook food or provide enter
tainment in dormitory rooms.
— Keep a waiter, horse, or dog.
— Send or accept a challenge of a
duel, or be the bearer of such a chal
lenge.
And the list goes on and on. The
thought of such a spartan existence
is enough to make any good Ag
shiver. Imagine not being able to
keep a waiter.
As for the military aspect of col
lege life, the orders are frighten
ingly familiar, from Call to Quarters
and noiseless study hours beginning
thirty minutes after the evening
meal to inspections, drills and guard
duty.
The cadets were required to prac
tice infantry drill every day, except
Saturday and Sunday, from the 1st
of March to the 1st of December
(while the college was in session)
and to be present every Sunday
morning for inspection on the main
drill field, weather conditions per
mitting.
Conduct in the mess hall was also
strictly defined. Each table had a
commanding officer whose duty it
was to see that the mess hall regu
lations were obeyed and to appoint
a carver for the table. Loud talking
while at the table was prohibited,
the carver being the only person al
lowed to call the waiters.
At no time, in the dining hall or
elsewhere on campus, was a cadet
allowed to use vulgar language or to
make suggestive gestures. Don’t
talk to me about Old Army.
Times may change but mess hall
food doesn’t. One of the articles
governing dining hall conduct
stated that “if any student shall con
sider any article of the fare provided
at the table to be tainted or other
wise unsuitable for use, he may re
port the fact to the superintendent
of the hall, who shall communicate
the report to the Commandant ol
Cadets.”
One final item of interest. Quote
— “No student shall throw water
from any room in the buildings into
the hall, or into the galleries, or spit
on the floor, or sit in the windows.
No object of any kind shall be
thrown from windows, doors, gal
leries, or halls, or at the buildings.’
Unquote. Waterfiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!
-rvVE. DIAIWru.
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