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Wednesday, October 3, 2001
BATTALION
S ‘Years
Page 3
Tradition Bound by Spirit
GUY ROGERS • THE BATTALION
Tradition sets A&M aside as the oldest
institution of higher learning in Texas
By Maureen Kane
THE BATTALION
When David Leeftink, Class of 2000, was
asMby a visitor at Texas A&M this weekend
wtiafGig ’Em” meant, Leeftink said he thought
shoutit but was not sure. He is not alone — Gig
’Em is one of many traditions that Aggies hold
dear but cannot explain, said Paige Smyth, a
Traditions Council member and sophomore bio
medical science major.
“1 think that Gig ’Em is one of the traditions
that people don’t know the origins of because it is
such an everyday thing,” Smyth said.
Gig ’Em was coined by Pinky Downs at a yell
practice before the 1930 Texas Christian
University football game. Smyth said gigging
frogs — poking them with sticks — was a com
mon expression at the time, and when Downs was
asked what the Ags were going to do to the TCU
homed frogs, he said, “We’re going to Gig ’Em!”
Giving a thumbs up and saying “Gig ’Em”
became the first hand sign of the Southwest
Conference and remained so until the University
of Texas created the “Hook ’Em Horns” hand sign
25 years later.
“Gig ’Em” remains a popular expression and a
universal sign of approval and support, Smyth
said.
Students may hear “Gig ’Em” all over campus,
but one place that they will definitely hear it is at
Midnight Yell Practice — the place it originated
and where it has become part of a yell.
Led by yell leaders, the Midnight Yell tradition
began around 1920, said Sam Seidel, head yell
leader and a senior animal science major. He said
the first Midnight Yell consisted of “a bunch of
cadets who were real excited about the next day’s
game and went around campus picking up people
and the band, and brought them to the YMCA
building.
At that yell practice, the yell leaders got up on
the steps of the YMCA building and started mak
ing up yells and had a yell practice at midnight.
Yells changed from week to week, depending on
who they played, so they had a Midnight Yell
practice so everyone would
know the yells for the next
day’s game.”
The yell leader position
was created in 1907, said
Kevin Graham, a senior yell
leader and marketing major.
“The cadets had dates
come in from Texas
Women’s College, but
since the Ags never won
any games, the ladies
threatened not to come
to Kyle (Field). The
upperclassmen told the
fish to keep the ladies
entertained,’’ Graham
said. “They got their
hands on white jani
tors’ uniforms and
waved their hands to
keep them entertained.
After a while, the upper
classmen took the role on
for themselves.”
Among the most visi
ble and ubiquitous sym
bols of Aggie tradition is
the Aggie ring, said John
McFate, chairman of the
Traditions Council and a
senior biomedical sciences
major. To earn an Aggie
ring, a student must have
completed 95 credit hours
and have senior standing.
McFate said the only
change to the design of the
Aggie ring since its creation in
1894 has been the change in name
from the Agricultural and Mechanical
College of Texas to Texas A&M
University in 1963.
“There is a lot of symbolism on the ring,”
McFate said. “The shield symbolizes the protec
tion of our alma mater. Inside the shield are 13
stripes representing the 13 original colonies. Inside
the shield also are five stars representing the five
stages of development we go through here: mind,
body, spirit, emotional poise and integrity of char
acter. On top of the ring is your class year.
“When you get your ring, the year faces you.
At ring dance, you turn your ring around so the
year faces outwards. This means you are ready to
face the world, McFate said.”
A more solemn tradition, and one that Aggies
of any classification can participate is Silver Taps.
Held on the first Tuesday of the month follow
ing the death of a current student. Silver Taps is a
ceremony held in honor of the student or students
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
who have passed away. During the day, flags on
campus are flown at half-staff, and the students’
name, class, major and hometown are posted at
the base of the flagpole in the Academic Plaza.
At 10 p.m., all lights on campus are turned out,
McFate said, and hymns are played from Albritton
Tower, ending with “Amazing Grace” and “How
Great Thou Art.”
“At 10:30 p.m., the Ross Volunteers march into
Academic Plaza at a slow cadence and fire a 21-
gun salute,” McFate said. “After that, a special
rendition of ‘Silver Taps’ is played from atop the
Academic Building to the north, south and west.
Not the east because the sun will never rise on that
Aggie again.”
Another tradition that honors fallen Aggies is
Muster.
Smyth said Muster was first held in 1883 by an
association of former cadets who read a roll call
and said, “In reunion, we meet and live over again
our college days, to victories and defeats won and
lost upon the drill ground and classroom. Let
every alumni answer at roll call.”
The most famous Muster occurred on
Corregidor Island in 1943, led by George Moore,
Class of 1908. Amid flying bullets. Aggies read a
roll-call for the present, Smyth said.
During the 1980s, the Corps of Cadets was
invited to the San Jacinto Battleground for a re
enactment of Texas’ fight for independence.
Smyth said that the Corps was to play the
Mexican Army while the state guard played the
Texans.
“Since Aggies don’t like to lose, when they
staged the battle, Mexico won, and so the Aggies
were not asked to return,” Smyth said. “That was
April 21, so Muster began to be held on April 21,
with all sorts of field days and fun stuff.”
The Muster tradition has developed into an all-
day affair. Members of the 50-year reunion class
are invited to celebrate their anniversary, there is a
flag-raising ceremony at sunrise and at 7 p.m. the
Muster ceremony occurs.
At the Muster ceremony, a speaker addresses
the reunion class and students and there is a roll
call for the absent — Aggies who have passed
away in the last year in the College Station area.
“Friends and family answer ‘here’ to symbol
ize that although the Aggie has fallen, they are still
with us in spirit,” Smyth said. “After that, the
Ross Volunteer firing squad fires a 21-gun salute,
and ‘Silver Taps’ is played for the fallen Aggies.”
From the solemn to the amusing, Aggie tradi
tions are fairly well-known, even if not all of their
origins are understood by students, Smyth said.
But, she added, these traditions are the reason
many students choose A&M.
“I think that most Aggies have a general under
standing of all of our traditions as far as history
goes,” Smyth said. “Most Aggies have a general
idea of all traditions, most Aggies value all tradi-
1 NIGHT
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Memorial Student Center, The Association of Former Students, Aggie Moms & Action Wear Plus
to oroci'to a
world
university
is exhausting.
It’s definitely time for a
Northgate study break.
Congratulations from the
Northgate District Association