A&M was about farmers before it was about the military. As a former student with a degree in agriculture I'd like to point out that the corps would not be here if not for the farmers. We are even prominently discussed in one of the more interesting two word (repeated)yells, "Farmers Fight".

The tradition of farming goes back several thousand years, much older than the tradition of organized military. Hookers, who are also revered from a historical perspective came next. We both have traditions that are mighty grand in comparison to the fine corps traditions. In fact, most people, corps, non-regs, prositutes and greeks all take part in our thrice daily tradition of eating food raised by other people. You all have become so reliant on our tradition that I suspect you would fall over dead without it.

So, as you can see, the college of Agriculture represents the real keepers of the spirit. Everyone else can STFU.

Oh yeah. ESL. A tradition for people who were at A&M before any of you current CT's had jacked off for the first time.

im all for agriculture! WHOOP!

This thread is getting of hand. I am a proud of being a Corps grad, but some of the comments made by CT's and non-regs both are starting to make this thread a waste of time.

Aggies are aggies. It doesn't matter if you were a non-reg or cadet. I hire either if they come in my office. The non-reg vs. corps rivalry is fun during college (especially at bonfire), but in the end it is all good-bull, and we end up getting along.

If you are in the Corps, be proud of what you do but don't walk around saying that you are better than everyone else. Also, non-regs should stop making underhanded comments about the corps. End the end, you graduate with an Aggie Ring.

Ol' Army '01

^ bingo!

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Do you realize how often they update that website? it hasn't been updated in 5 years. Also what I said earlier is not bull**** I can asure you of that. That page says there are 2,000 cadets. I know for a fact that that number is wrong.

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So are arguing that commission rates have gone up since the Iraq war? Brilliant. Otherwise, you are telling me it's lower than 33%.. In addition, do you think they would keep up a lower number than than a current one if it is higher?

Keeping that 2000 number is a result of being self-serving, rather than a lack of updating.. They don't want to have the Corps look like it is shrinking.. This especially leads me to believe the 33% number is suspect on the high side & nowhere near 40% that a Corps dude mentioned, which you acted as if it was a given like "landing on the moon"..


[This message has been edited by Aston04 (edited 4/3/2006 4:19p).]

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Hookers, who are also revered from a historical perspective came next.

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I thought hookers came first.

My Grandmother once dated an Aggie...in the 1880s. She had some old pictures where the cadets were forming a belt line. She said the story was that at the end of the week, the freshmen would be run thru the belt line and had to leave campus until Sunday night, at which point, they would reverse the process and run the belt line again to get back onto campus. True story? I don't know, I was not there at the time.

The point is that the Aggie experience is and always has been different for every Aggie that stepped on Campus.

There have been times where the cadets have as a unit or a class been diciplined for infractions of the rules or got into conflict with the administration over some situation or other.

Was the cadet corps really on the way to blow up Baylor? Or is it a tall tale.

We are Aggies. True to each other as Aggies can be.

As for the Non-Reg/Corps issue, by 1965, there was over 10,000 corps members... and about 50 non-regs. And the President said that we were going to change. And all 10,000 of us marched to the President's house to protest.

And were not a match for a true American Hero, Earl Rudder. Without appearing to raise his voice, we all hear his reply, in a supurb example of a command voice. He talked for about a half an hour. That A & M needed non-regs, needed female students.... or A & M would die. That he knew it would mean certain changes, even changes we or he could not fortell. But that it was necessary.

After that, 10,000 chasened and humbled Aggies turned and went back to our dorms. General Rudder was right. And I am proud that my degree has his name on it... and that he handed it to me and gave me a hand shake.

Yes, we have our own set of 2%ers, well maybe 10%ers now, but seventeen and eighteen year old students grow up, and at some point, for most, the spirit of A & M grabs them and makes them a better person than they were. I welcome ever person who decided that A & M was the better place to go to school. It still is better than some other choices. it's the only place with the Howdy, and Gig'um, Silver Taps, and Bonfire, a real bonfire.

Non-Reg yell leaders? As this thread indicates, there have been quite a few, over many years. I knew Gary Mauro, he was one. The qualifications is the leadership and spirit that you bring to the position.

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Keeping that 2000 number is a result of being self-serving, rather than a lack of updating.. They don't want to have the Corps look like it is shrinking.. This especially leads me to believe the 33% number is suspect on the high side & nowhere near 40% that a Corps dude mentioned, which you acted as if it was a given like "landing on the moon".

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Look chief; they give a briefing each year at the begining of the year and when the spring semester starts up where they go through numbers i.e. strength of force, commisioning data, grades, etc. But of course this should all be considered suspect also since it comes from the comandant's office. Also I'm sorry that I don't have the powerpoint slides on my computer to share with you. I realize you won't believe this either so I'm done because I hate arguing with stupid folks.


[This message has been edited by texaggie2007 (edited 4/3/2006 5:25p).]

then quit arguing

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Since non-regs are by definition generally non-conformists (just read the posts here for proof...) you might as well have gone elsewhere, such as Cooger High, Tech, t.u., Sam, etc., etc...... In fact, why didn't you??

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Lol! Someone who doesn't join an organization that makes up a tiny fraction of the student body is a "non-conformist."

You need a new dictionary!

and i wonder how many of the corps people on here are from a while back...we are talking about the corps of current times...not the good ol days back when you were in it....

i guess what i should have said when i said "i respected" the corps was that i respect what the corps is about and what they stand for as a whole and i respect a few individuals i know on a personal basis who have earned my respect......

i do not however, automatically respect you because you are in the corps...for the most part i do not respect indiviuals in the corps until they have personally given me a reason to.....

i know a lot of people in the corps who are glad buck won and there was even a Senior in the corps helping run buck's campaign...

dont know if anyone is still reading this thread, but i dont care. I love this university and i wanna say my piece.

To all those who might just be lurking, there are quite a few extremist on this board. Sometimes the saying about the village idiot in the internet era is true.

I guess it is like a requirement or somethign to list my affliations first so that the extremes to both sides can discredit me. I am a nonreg. I think that is all that matters at this point.

To those who are anti-corps: i really think you are developing a stereotype based on a limited experience with the corps. Stereotypes are based in reality, but to say for certain that your assumption is universally true is premature. And honestly, it just sounds really dumb when you talk about the corp as "pimply idiots" or "overgrown boy scouts" or whatever. Fundementally the corps is a unique organization that strives to build leaders of character. And i personally think that is a goal that every aggie should strive for whether living a regimented lifestyle or not. Honestly it is my opinion that sometimes corps members get a little caught up in the prestige and seem a little "holier than thou." I mean if i wear a damn uniform that sent the girls swooning all the time, i would definitely have to fight back the self-infatuation. But if a person can honestly admit they have never been arrogant and selfish, you are a robot. Overall, the corps is a crack organization, and i commend them. This Universtiy would be nothing without you, and I think it is an honorable institution. But i have always liked to maintain the good bull ribbing btw nonregs and those DAMN CT'S ;-)

To those in the corps that honestly feel you are better aggies: i respect you, but maybe if you spent less time thinking how much i should respect you, take some time to respect me. The Aggie spirit is obviously very rooted in patriotism and American ideals as evidenced by our unusal dedication to our country's military service. Probably one of the most American ideals is that, as citizens we are all granted inalienable rights. period. I personally feel the same concept can apply to being an Aggie. Some have always said that just because you go to school here doesnt mean you are an aggie. I disagree. You can be a really bad aggie, but you are still an Aggie. The second that you take that "Aggie" identity away from someone is the second that being an Aggie becomes subjective....which pretty much turns into a giant pissing match where everyone brags how good of an aggie they are.....kind of like this board sometimes. The corps has always been a faithful guardian of the aggie spirit, but to say that they are the only keeper of the aggie spirit is false. Traditions only exist because there are people who practice them. You cannot deny me, and other nonregs, who have poored our heart into aggie traditions, status as a fully fledged aggie. Your experience might be different. I have no desire to have a career as a military officer. But i honestly think that being an aggie is just as important in my life as it is in yours. There are nonregs who have spent more effort in conforming to the aggie ideals of honor and character than some cadets. In the end, that is what being an aggie really means. Being a person of character.

The Aggie Spirit is both MY challenge and MY heritage, just as it is for everyone else that attends this school. I will be D@MNED if i wont make the most of it.



------------------------

Aggies Never Give Up!!



[This message has been edited by BillBraskyAg (edited 4/3/2006 11:49p).]

Good luck to Buck!!

I am going to send him an email (where can I get his email address?) and ask him to use what influence he has to do the following:

1. Stop doing "Farmers Fight" like it had a question mark at the end.

2. Stop doing A-G-G-I-E-SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS, just do A-G-G-I-E-S, period.

3. Stop doing "Military" where you raise the pitch of your voice and drag out "Squads LLLLEEEEFFFFTTT" etc.

These Yells were designed by an AG/MILITARY complex and should be done crisply, MILITARILY, with a crisp, sharp cutoff.

Do any of you in the Corps now even know what I am talking about? Do you think the way Yells are done now reflects a military bearing?

Also, there is this issue about uncovering for Yells. Please Buck let's do something about this non-existent "tradition." I have never found anyone who knew when this got started or why.

[This message has been edited by Jim Benson 63 (edited 4/3/2006 7:08p).]

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Look chief; they give a briefing each year at the begining of the year and when the spring semester starts up where they go through numbers i.e. strength of force, commisioning data, grades, etc.

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OK, sport. I'll take your word for it.

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I realize you won't believe this either so I'm done because I hate arguing with stupid folks.

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Brilliant addition to your argument. I'm sure adding that in convinced everyone that you know what you are talking about, Mr. Internet Tough Guy.

[This message has been edited by Aston04 (edited 4/3/2006 7:06p).]

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Do any of you in the Corps now even know what I am talking about?

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yeah, we practiced it that way at every yell practice this year (short 's' on a-g-g-i-e-s, farmers fight instead of fiiiiight) there just aren't enough students that show up to yell to be in the know on gameday. amazingly when we do it at yell the right way it sounds badass... the echo is a lot louder off the west side of the stands.

as a freshman last year in FAST (freshman aggies spreading traditions, which Buck was a counselor for) we were taught the proper way to do the yells, and were told to tell as many people as we could to do them the right way. It's too bad I don't know every student.

EDIT: wow i just realized you can use smileys IN a post.

[This message has been edited by mazag08 (edited 4/3/2006 9:15p).]

I can't beleive we're still talking about this....move one. It's over. get exited about aggie spring football

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Also, there is this issue about uncovering for Yells. Please Buck let's do something about this non-existent "tradition." I have never found anyone who knew when this got started or why.

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I have a witness that it was being done in 79, and two others from the 90's

And now we get 8 more pages on uncover vs cover

Congrats to Buck again!

Too bad he's a senior - it would have been fun to go through this again next year (assuming he would have been re-elected).

BillBraskyAg.......Thanks for an absolutely great post! You are mature beyond your years.



Mark Riser ' 71

Agreed great post. Hopefully everyone can (and should) agree with that..

I was a bit afraid to open this thread back up, but am glad I did ... I could have potentially missed a few great posts.

I actually heard the 40% statistic this year for the 1st time during Corps recruiter training, so I know he (whoever that was) isn't making things up.

Just a sidenote (sincerely not hoping to stir anything up): the purpose of the Corps is to produce leaders for our state and nation. As non-regs know more than anyone else, you don't have to be in a military organization to contribute to your community. I was part of the 66.66% (or 60% ... ha!) that did not pursue a military career, but I do not regret my time in the Corps (nor did I intend to join the military upon graduation when I joined). Anyway, when people question the validity of the Corps by using a %age of people that pursue a military career as a gauge, it's an unfair and inaccurate tactic. Our school was begun with the promise that our students would receive military training, and all the Corps members still receive that today. OK, I'm done.

[This message has been edited by aggiealphamale (edited 4/3/2006 11:35p).]

{towelie}What's going on in here?{/towelie} Good post about the leadership thing. I was a non-reg and my brother was in the Corps and that made for some fun times at A&M but when you get out of school, none of that matters anymore. Regarding the uncover thing, why is there a long "S" at the end of "A-G-G-I-E-SSSSSSSSSSSS" now?

"mean if i wear a damn uniform that sent the girls swooning all the time, i would definitely have to fight back the self-infatuation"

i'm not trying to be funny at all, but do any remotely cool, good looking girls seriously go after a guy in corps for the uniform? unless things have changed since 03, i don't buy it. about what, 10-15% of the kids in the corps are sharp, good looking kids. the rest of seriously tough to look at.

Buglerank and Mazag

I am glad to hear that the Yells are being at least taught the right way. I does sound better, doesn't it?

I don't know what the solution is, but it has to come from the present students and Yell Leaders and I will send Buck an email encouraging him to do what he can.

I'm an old Ag and supported A&M long before becoming a student at A&M. I've always been a major supporter of A&M tradition. However, in my opinion, some traditions can be modified without altering the spirit of the tradition and the spirit of A&M. For example when women joined the Corp and became members of the fighting Texas Aggie band, did any traditions collapse, did the world come to an end. Both my daughter and my college roommate's daughter went to A&M and graduated with honors and are true A&M die hards. The money I paid to Texas A&M for her eduaction was just as good as any one else's money. My daughter had no desire to be a yell leader. But if she had wanted to, I would have supported her whole heartedly because she had the right to just like everyone else. Would the world come to an end if a woman was elected to yell leader? Of course not. Would A&M traditions die? No. Would our Great University be minimized in any way. Definitely not. When I was at A&M there were no women on Campus; only around 500 were enrolled. In my view the greatest thing that has happened to A&M in recent times is the admission of women to the University. If it was still an all male school, what do you think our athletic program would be like. I'm proud of the fact that my daughter is an Aggie Graduate and I hope my grand children go to A&M. Who knows my grandaughter my be the first female A&M Yell leader. GIG EM'