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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 1989)
Page 6E The Battalion Monday, August 28,1989 Tradition — the governing force of our meager lives “Texas A&M IS tradition.” How many times have those words rang in the ears of you stu dents who, like me, have been here since 19-whatever? How many times did you incoming freshmen hear something to that effect during your “indoctrination” at Fish Camp and orientation seminars? How many times have the local airwaves carried a commercial from some bookstore or eatery that claimed to be “an Ag gie tradition”? The song never seems to grow old, does it? Tradition was the aspect of A&M that really converted me to Aggieism during my first weekend in College Station. I saw the videos. I sang the songs. I yelled the yells. I stood in the Tines. It was like nothing I have ever felt before. And that’s the truth. I quickly developed the impres sion that the status quo was sacred at Texas A&M. That things were done the way they were because the stu dents here wanted to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors. That change just for change’s sake was unethical. Unholy, even. Those idealistic visions were Hal Hammons Of The Battalion Staff quickly and methodically demo lished before my eyes. I suppose practically none of you would know what I was talking about if I mentioned the “Albritton Tower scandal.” The tower in recent years has become just another pile of bricks on campus — with a bunch of bells in the attic that tell students they’re late to class during the day, and then tell them they’re still awake at four in the morning. It was much more in the fall of 1984, when I came on the scene. The Albritton Tower was the focus of intense debate from one end of campus to the other. Mr. Albritton, you see, had do nated some unbelievable amount of money to the school for the purpose of erecting a bell tower with his name on the cornerstone. Harmless, you say. Well, thousands of students and faculty members — including myself — were of the mind that there were plenty of good uses for Mr. Albritton’s money, like restock ing the library. Why should we erect a huge monument to some Old Ag’s ego when we could do something that was actually beneficial to A&M students and the world at large? But Mr. Albritton earmarked the money for a bell tower. And a bell tower he got. No other possibility was really an option, I suppose. After all, it was his money. But that didn’t keep people from bellyaching. The rumor, of course, didn’t help matters. The rumor that we were getting a bell tower because that . . . other school had a bell tower. But up it went. And semester by semester, The Battalion “Letters to the Editor” torrent slowed down to a slow trickle; and then acceptance reigned bn campus. And likewise, the “women in the band” issue died out. Oh yeah, that started in Fall ’84 also. Bit by bit, people grew used to the idea that the Aggie Band could include female members — once anathema — and still remain the Aggie Band. But that was a given, I suppose — no matter how many court cases our illustrious Board of Regents spent the University’s money on. Remem ber if you will that the Corps of Ca dets as a whole, and before that the entire University, wouldn’t admit women. A&M also was in court, if you will recall, to protect its stance on Gay Student Services. (What a semester that wasl) The regents were standing on the idiotic premise that GSS was a purely social club, kind of like a dat ing service. And it was school policy that social clubs (such as fraternities and sororities) could not be officially recognized. Of course, it was widely rumored that the regents were perfectly will ing to break with tradition by recog nizing frats, but refused because it would logically mean accepting GSS as well. Well, that ship sank in a hurry. And now greeks and homosexuals alike have the honor of knowing that the University higher-ups admit that they do, in fact, exist. And five years later, both groups exist in relative peace. Relative, I said. By the time I ran screaming out of my Biology 103 final that December, I had started to develop quite a new philosophy of tradition. It was, and is, hardly revolutionary. But it is somewhat modified. You can take it for what it’s worth. Tradition, it seems to me, is some thing to be accepted by each individ ual — not something to force upon another. One dorm, for example, has a “tradition” of not walking on the grass in front of the All Faith’s Chapel. Fine. And its residents have gotten extremely irate when nonre sidents have violated this tradition — which they may or may not have ever heard of. Not so fine. Individuals start traditions. Other individuals follow them. And down the line some more individuals may decide the tradition wasn’t such a great idea, and it dies. And through the say-so’s of A&M students through the years, various “never-say-die” traditions have fallen by the wayside, to be trodden underfoot by dozens of liberal arts majors in Sigma Phi Somei! sweatshirts. I’m terribly afraid that « clamor and fuss raised over die honor, or not to honor" dej we’ve forgotten what reallyw University apart f rom the others not the tradition — it’s the who keep (or don’t keep) the lion. Texas A&M is special because can walk across campus and am make eye contact with people they might not say, “Howdy, chances are very good thetl something. Especially if something first. It’s special because of the cat darie that exists between dassi and, indeed, total strangersv tend school together — and continues for a lifetime. It’s special because wedotoi cheat, steal or tolerate thosenhi — at least in theory, even if the does break down in practice: time to time. And those traditions — not catting, whooping or slammin; liberal rag campus paper—at traditions that make TexasAtlf my humble opinion, the jrc university in the world. Twelfth Man, ready to help, stands in support of team By Richard Tijerina Of The Battalion Staff Standing in the hot sun for three hours watching a football game may sound like punishment, but it’s a Texas A&M tradition that dates back almost 70 years. One of the most well-known Ag gie traditions, the Twelfth Man be gan in 1922 when A&M was playing Centre College in the Dixie Classic, the forerunner of today’s Cotton Bowl. A student named E. King Gill stood ready to play if the team needed him. The student body now stands from kickoff until the end of the game to show their willingness to help the team. Like Gill, they represent the Twelfth Man, ready to play for their team. It was a cold and dreary day in Dallas on the day of that Dixie Clas sic. A&M was a heavy underdog in the game. Worse, A&M Coach Dana Bible was faced with the problem of an empty bench, many of his players stricken with injuries. Gill, a basketball player and for mer football player, was called down to the field and asked to suit up by Bible. He was shielded by blankets as he donned an injured player’s uni form. Although Gill never entered the game, he stood ready on the sideline and his presence gave the Aggie team the confidence to upset Centre College 22-14. Gill wasn’t the only student to suit up for the football team that day and no one is sure exactly when the Corps of Cadets started standing at games, but now it’s a tradition that the entire student body stands and Gill is remembered as the original Twelfth Man. The tradition was taken one step further when former A&M Coach Jackie Sherrill in 1983 started the Twelfth Man Kickoff Team, using student volunteers with no athletic scholarships to cover kickoffs during A&M home games. The idea came to Sherrill in fall 1982 when he first visited the site where the Aggie Bon fire was being prepared. Gill died of a heart attack in 1976 at the age of 74. A monument of Gill in his 1922 football uniform stands near the entrance to Kyle Field. ^7" Ozfest marks golden anniversary of movie The dates of the five yell leaders put their arms around each other and sway to the music of “Saw Varsity’s Horns Off” at the 1988 Texas A&M-Louisiana Tech game. Fans at A&M football Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack games stand during the entire game to symbolize their will ingness to go onto the field and help the team if needed. This Twelfth Man tradition began in 1922. GHITTENANGO, N.Y. (AP) — It’s not exactly somewhere over the rain bow, but this central New York vil lage promises a resemblance to the magical land of Oz. About 20,000 people travelled to this community of 3,600 people, 15 miles east of Syracuse for its annual Ozfest Aug. 14, which this year cele brated the golden anniversary of the movie, “The Wizard of Oz.” It’s the biggest day of the year for Chittenango, the birthplace of Oz creator L. Frank Baum, said Ozfest Chairman Beverly Brickner. The day was marked by a parade and other entertainment, people dressed up as characters from “The Wizard of Oz,” and an appearance by the 73-year-old actor who played the Munchkinland coroner, Mein- hardt Raabe. The first Ozfest celebration was in 1978. “For seven or eight years nol here took it seriously, butnowev body realizes this is all worth she said. The village now has visible sf of its Oz connections: a yellow sidewalk in the business dit' signs featuring Oz charactersot edge of the village; and Oz-insp business names such as Auntfcl Kitchen (which sells Oz cream),iJ erald City Bowling, Over the M bow Crafts and Tin Man Consir»| tion Co. Baum lived in Chittenango or,!; few years after his birth in birthplace has burned do«! Brickner would like officials to? up a bronze plaque at the house* she has hopes of building an On 11 seum. “I’d like to even see us b Emerald City here,” she said. SHORT ON CASH? advertise with the Battalion classified ads 845-2611 we won't sell you short BOTHER’S BOOKSTORE Save Money on our Large Supply of Used Books! We have plenty of new and used books, paperbacks, school supplies, pens and pencils, paper, laboratory supplies, study guides and Reference books. Bring Your Schedule In We Do The Rest Full refund if you drop a class within the first two weeks of school OPEN LATE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL We Accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express 340 Jersey 901 Harvey Rd. Across from University Police Woodstone Shopping Center