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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 1995)
Tuesday December 5, 1995 ^The Battalion Opinion Corps defends Aggie spirit Brian Beckcom Columnist A s I stood on Kyle Field Saturday watching the Ag gies snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, I wondered why it is that most of our former stu dents have such a distaste for Longhorns. After watching the postgame festivities and talking to some former students, I understand their animosity. I talked to my dad after the game, and asked him what it was like when he was an A&M student. He relayed a story that, quite frankly, made Sat urday’s skirmish look like a church recital. Back in the time when the Ag gie football team was lucky to get a first down, let alone a touch down, the students would never theless travel to Austin to cheer on the team. After the games, Aggie faith fuls would leave the stadium amidst taunts, jeers and flying beer bottles. My dad told me he wasn’t wor ried about getting out of the sta dium — he was worried about getting out of Austin alive. He would walk quickly across cam pus, dodging beer bottles, rocks and spit. What made this situation all the worse were the actions of the Austin police department. My dad vividly recalls the of ficers in Austin laughing at him and his buddies as they were spit on, laughed at and showered with projectiles. Everyone with any common sense realizes the fighting fol lowing the game was unfortunate. However, there is a small minori ty on this campus who are ashamed of the students’ actions after the game. 1 wonder if the two collective neurons they possess rubbed to gether and produced any rational thought about the events that took place. For critics who understand log ical argument, the irrefutable facts should be considered. First of all, I counted five announce ments from the public address system exhorting fans to stay off the field at the end of the game. I was in the middle of the sec ond deck, it was thunderously loud the entire game and I still heard the announcement. So we can be reasonably sure that everyone in the stadium heard the announcement too. Which brings me to my second point. Stadium regulations at Kyle Field prohibit alcohol. Anyone with even a modicum of common sense recognized that the t-sips weren’t drinking tea. Either the Texas fans drank enough liquor before the game to remain drunk for five hours — I’d like to know the brand of alcohol, if that’s the case — or they were drinking during the game, a clear violation of A&M regulations. Third, about 30 police officers formed a barrier between the Texas fans and Kyle Field. The officers were backed up by 30 senior cadets. The officers repeatedly told the drunken Longhorns to stay off the field. The cadets weren’t standing behind the officers for no reason. Even with the rules of the stadi um clear and the consequences obvious. Longhorns insisted on rushing the officers and cadets. The policemen and the cadets had two choices — stand and get attacked, or defend themselves. I was proud to see that not only did the cadets defend them selves, but a large group of stu dents came quickly to their aid. It was Ag gie spirit personified. The fourth important point is the noble actions of our yell leaders. As the Corps thoroughly pummeled the lawless Longhorns, the student body itched to join the fight. I was bursting with pride as I saw the reaction of the civilian students and yell leaders. What could have turned into an ugly mob scene was controlled with characteristic grace by our five yell leaders. They stood in the middle of the track and held a yell practice. As the drunken Longhorns fought with uniformed police offi cers and practically fornicated on the field. Aggies showed their class and supported our school. The issue here is a simple one that careless critics would do well to consider. Have the Aggies ever rushed the field in Austin after a victory? Did the Longhorns bla tantly break the law? The answer to the former is no, and the answer to the latter is a resounding yes. Saturday night was clear evidence of the ‘spirit that can ne’er be told’, and it made me proud to be an Aggie. Those who question the ac tions show little class and no common sense. It goes without saying that they have no spirit. To call them two percenters is an insult to the number two. For those Ag gies who did the right thing, who VUp'S supported the ' Corps, and who showed their pride, I com mend you. For those who slunk into the shadows and wallowed in their cynicism, I feel sorry for you. Being a student at Texas A&M doesn’t necessarily make one an Aggie, as they well show. It takes pride, spirit, and undying devotion to the institu tion, and I’m glad it doesn’t come easy. To the students — don’t listen to the baseless criticisms of those who know they will never be a part of the Spirit of Aggieland. . Brian Beckcom is a senior computer science major Tradition warped in Aggieland A ggieland is a world of its own. Most Ag gies will tell you that. It’s a source of pride for them. I think it’s great to have a sense of pride. But when your pride exceeds your senses, well, you have a problem. That is exactly what has happened to many otherwise fairly intelligent people on this campus. I must be honest. Whenever I heard peo ple say things like, “My heart bleeds ma roon.” I basically thought these people were just caught up in the affection of a moment — I didn’t really think they knew what they were saying. It always sounded like hyperbole to me. But the recent heat created by the Texas-Texas A&M game, proved me wrong. Many people see Aggie spirit as some thing that transcends ordinary school spir it. If someone questions their Aggiehood, it is the equivalent of questioning their patri otism to their country. They live and die by the Maroon and White. However, Aggie spirit is a sociological phenomenon. It is derived largely from the power of conformity. There isn’t anything holy about it. It isn’t anything to live your life by, like a religion. Yet, that is how many students treat it. Because such an importance is placed on tradition and the Aggie spirit, many negative incidents can and do result. Students who do not share the same be liefs as the majority of the student body are ridiculed, ostracized and sometimes harassed. Those who do not see the worth in Bonfire are considered by many to be “two-percenters” — they are told to leave be cause they will never be happy at Texas A&M. Another unfortunate occur rence when one puts too much importance in Aggie spirit is the shock that many students experience upon entering the real world to find, much to their surprise, that every thing is not tinted maroon. Students must realize that the Ag gieland they so want to attend is in some unreachable dimension. You will always come up empty by try ing to live your life in the Aggie-most way because “Aggieland” is an artificial envi ronment created by students kept alive by indoctrination. Former students who can’t let it die and just go on with their lives are too con sumed with living vicariously through the current student body and erecting statues to realize that this isn’t the same Ag gieland they once attended. Furthermore the Aggieland they attended wasn’t the place they thought it was. Texas A&M is a school. A place to re ceive an education. It also happens to be a place that many people are proud of. A place where follow ing tradition is somehow meant to pay re spect to those that went before us. But that’s the thing about traditions, if you follow them too religiously, you will never do anything original. You get stuck in a rut. Everybody is always talking about get ting back to the Old Army way of doing things. To borrow some Aggie terminology. Old Army was “red ass” because every thing it did was off the cuff. It wasn’t blindly following some dusty tradition from 1902. It was creating something new. That leaves me wondering, what are we going to be known for? Have we started any long-lasting traditions? How will the Class of 2050 remember us? They will probably remember the fountains we con structed and the statues we erected. I doubt they will remember us by the strides we took to establish racial harmo ny, or how we sat aside political beliefs to unite for a common good. I don’t want to give the wrong impres sion: I have met some of the nicest people at Texas A&M. I have even made friends with those whose political beliefs differ drastically from my own. But it seems like the power of numbers and the fear of not being accepted into a community pushes many students to do and say things they normally would not do. Kicking an fans of the opposing team in the head because they dishonored a memo rial is one example. When someone is overcome with tradi tion to the point of protecting it with their fists (and the majority of the campus sees no wrong in those actions,) that tradition has blinded the sector of the brain that oversees common sense. Many people will say that I am a bad Ag, and they might just have a point — if being closed-minded and irrational is what Aggie spirit is all about, then I will always fall short of bleeding maroon. Kyle Littlefield is a senior journalism major Kyle Littlefield Opinion Editor Kyle Field serves to memorialize Aggies I t can truly be said that even though we lost the game we sure as hell didn’t lose after it. It was incredi ble. The t-sippers lined up in there taunting formation ready to make their final assault. They knew Kyle Field was a memorial. They knew it would really piss us off if they stepped on it. But they did it anyway. Big mistake. What they didn’t know was that there were hundreds of fire- breathing cadets and non-regs ready to defend the sacred ground of our football stadium. And that’s exactly what it is — sacred. For those who dis agreed with the action taken by the Aggies allow me to ex plain something. Along time ago 55 us went to the most terrible place imagin able. A place where people come together with the sole purpose to kill each other. A place called combat. Those Aggies, who have walked on the same ground as the one we walk on today, met a violent death there. Never again will they take a breath of air, or see the dawn of morning or ever embrace their loved ones on this earth. They are lost to us — forever. I don’t care if some believe that their death was in vain. It doesn’t matter now. The fact re mains that these people are gone. One memorial to the memory these Aggies is Kyle Field.The sacred ground that stretches out before us every Saturday is there to remind us of their loss. When I look at the 55 flags surrounding the stadium I think of them. I don’t know their names but I know who they are. They are me and I am them. They are my buddies that I live with day in and day out. They weren’t any different from us. Just like us, they hat ed studying, loved to party and fall asleep to the rhythm of their girlfriends’ hearts. They we’re young. And when a bullet blew a whole through them on some forgotten battle field I only wish I could’ve been there and embrace them as their life slipped away. I wish I could bring them back. But it’s too late. What I do have, however, is their memory right in front of me every day. Kyle Field looms over the campus for all to see. This is why we did what we did last Saturday.We protect what is sacred. That is our way here at A&M. Oh sure, we could’ve been nice guys and let the t-sippers run amuck on our memorial.We could’ve let them tear down the goal post and prance around with their little horns in the air. But then, what the hell kind of memorial would that be? It damn sure wouldn’t say a lot for us. I mean, even Aggies aren’t allowed on the field un less their in football pads, have a tuba in their hand or their defending it. Kara Hultgreen, the first US female fighter pilot who was killed in October of 1994 went to t.u. If t-sippers were ever to have some spurt of unity and build a memorial in her honor, I guaran tee, you wouldn’t see a mob of Aggies trampling all over it. It’s just down right tasteless and demeaning. But that’s not the case with the orange and the white. You never know what they’ll do. It wasn’t enough that they beat us in football. No,they had to take it a step further. This time, however, it bit ’em in the ass. You know, you gotta wonder what they were thinking. We only outnumbered them 10 to one. But I guess it’s just like t- sippers to forget where they are. Yeah sure, it got nasty, and I’m sorry it did. But hey, our memorials will not be violated with impunity. It’s what makes us different. It’s what makes us Aggies. For those that don’t under stand this then they’re in the wrong place. I don’t care what anyone says about that day, the 12th Man did the right thing. So hats off to the defenders of tradi tion and the keepers of the spirit. Adam Hill is a junior history major Heated responses to postgame antics Being a freshman I had the ‘opportunity’ to sit next to the t.u. alumni during Saturday’s game. I was amazed at the t.u. alumni’s behavior and actions. Half of them were so drunk they didn’t know which side they were rooting for. The other half decided that they would mock A&M students by yelling out phrases such as, “Poor Ag gies! Poor Aggies!” I have never seen our alumni degrade themselves by mocking the opposing team’s students. Nor halve 1 seen them in a drunken stupor. I was embarrassed for them, and I think this shows us all what kind of material that ‘col lege’ produces. Wm. Bryan Campbell Class of ’99 Mail Call • The game started with a prayer. That doesn’t happen at very many schools. And it makes the violent post-script to the game more difficult to swallow. You could tell that something bad was going to happen as the UT students filed out of the stands before the game was even over. As we watched a UT student pulled to the ground and then covered by at least 30 Corps members, most of whom were punching and kicking him, we couldn’t help but think of the films of the people being beaten during the Los Angeles riots. And I couldn’t help but be as tonished that the Corps mem bers were not more civilized and honorable than that. The University of Texas stu dents’ actions were stupid and disrespectful. But in a civilized culture, we don’t meet stupidity with brutality. There were already hundreds of students on the field; the beat ing of a single student by 20 or 30 people made it clear the Corps was no longer trying to keep people off the field. They were looking for an excuse to unleash their aggression. How are we supposed to re spect the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets? Had they used non-vio lent means to protect Kyle Field, we would have respected them. If they had failed, what would have been lost? There may have been bruised pride, but this could have been replaced with pride for acting in an honorable manner. Only the University of Texas students would have looked bad. As it happened, we came away with feelings of disgust and dis may for the Corps members and other students who participated. What a disgraceful end to the Southwest Conference. Adrienne Means P. Niels Christensen graduate students • Jason Brown and Chris Stidvent, I hear that the Dallas Morning News is looking for a few new recruits to slam A&M at any opportunity. What happened Saturday after the game happened because of pride. The pride we have as Ag gies and in one another to watch each other’s backs. If any people should be em- barrassed and ashamed it should be the people who attend t.u. An Aggie was the victim of a hit and run Saturday night and the sorry t-sip that hit him or her did not even stop or even of fer any type of help. Unbelievable. Regardless of where you are enrolled, that is an other human being, and that takes precedence over any rivalry. Nothing happened on Satur day that caused me to feel shame or embarrassment for being an Aggie. If anything, the opposite occurred. An intruder to our home threatened the things we love and we protected it — nothing more, nothing less. And to the members of the Corps of Cadets and the yell leaders, I would like to tell them that their behavior Saturday should be commended. My pride in Texas A&M shines as bright as ever. A&M may have been outscored — not beaten — but we still have the most class. For those of you who don’t agree with what happened Satur day, I apologize, but you are most likely in the minority. Nathan E. Hodges Class of ’96 • After indulging myself in The Battalion’s gross account of Saturday’s postgame occurrences. I felt it necessary to retort with my own explanation. Being a proud member of the Corps, I understand the responsi bility of guarding Kyle Field. It is a responsibility we take pride in. Aggies, both Corps and non- reg alike, take great pride in the fact that we guard our field from destruction and mayhem. For Chris Stidvent to refer to Texas students as “unsuspect ing” is an affirmation of his igno rance. For the editorial to say that “the targets themselves ... [were] not being violent” is a pure fallacy. For example, the mother of my friend was repeatedly called an ‘Aggie bitch’ by UT students. A buddy of mine was spit on by a female Texas, and intoxicated Texas fans in the horseshoe threw bottles and trash through out the game, even knocking one freshman unconscious. And the list goes on. My only confrontation was with a Texas student who ap proached me and flashed a Hook ’em Horns hand gesture in my face and said, “Man, today is a good day to be a Longhorn fan.” I responded with a Gig’em hand gesture replying, “Mister, every day is a good day to be an Aggie fan.” For once, Battalion staff, I ask you to give the Corps its due respect for doing its job. Show some pride in us so that we may, in turn, be proud of you. Chris Clinkscales Class of ’9 7 accompanied by 344 signatures Pullig played poorly against UT I cannot begin to express my disappointment with the Ag’s performance against t.u. Simply put, the Ags were out-coached, not out-played. Perhaps the one positive thing I can see resulting from this game is that this is the next to last time I’ll have to watch the most overrated quarterback and quarterback coaching staff in the conference. Corey Ffrdlig has cost A&M a number of critical games in his career, and I cannot understand why the coaching staff does not have the vision to see that he just doesn’t have it, and never will get it ... seriously, four turnovers by himself? My only hope for next year is that not only will Pullig be gone but also the quarterback coaching staff, or whoever is responsible for keeping him in the line-up. Scott Carey Class of ’80