Some "Aggies" have a problem with people who don't exactly think as THEY do, or do as THEY do...that is why THEY have a "term" to call these people.....the "dreaded" 2%.

While I participated in most, but not all, traditions while I was in school, I never felt less an Aggie. The opportunity to participate in these traditions, and the brotherhood offered to participate, is what made me feel most like an Aggie. It isn't taking a list of every Aggie tradition, and checking them off, one by one, when I participated in them, that made me feel like an Aggie.

Alot of you are making it sound like if you missed roll call on any of the myriad of traditions, you should turn your ring in. And you guys wonder why we are sometimes referred to as "cultish".

[This message has been edited by DK (edited 2/11/2007 7:22p).]

And you will never feel the REAL SPIRIT unless you participated in original A&M (which included women in 1876). Change is fine but only if it is for a better purpose. Not being unique and wanting everything to be like high school is simply copying others.

If you refer to the north forty as anything other than t.u. or 'sips, you are not an AGGIE.

I think that saying that not participating in certain traditions or all traditions is a little too broad of a definition. In my opinion being a 2%er is all about attitude. Most of us, while we may not take part(or even like) all traditions, have great respect for our institution, what it stands for, and "Aggie-ness". A 2%er doesn't have those qualities. A 2% not only doesn't take part in traditions, but has no respect for them(and maybe even HATES them). To me, that is the key.

According to some, a 2%er is one who doesn't support Fran.

DK, you're not a 2%er if you did anything outside of class with student groups. After all, one can't be everywhere and interested in everything... or running around observing every tradition like it is on a checklist. 2%er is a term that for me is mostly reserved for people who not only just got to classes and don't do anything outside of class related to the university, but also take the time and effort to criticize and lampoon and mock those students who want to participate in various activities and traditions.

I think it is unreasonable to expect everyone to want to do everything, and there are always disestablishmentarians that have to go against the flow as part of their ethos, or to coddle their individualism. There's no problem with that. (I'm a mostly a libertarian, so that philosophy is not alien to me.) But there's also no need to stick it in other people's faces, or extend individualism to proactive criticism of the traditions and the individuals undertaking them just for the sake of establishing your individualism. That, to me, is a 2%er ....

wasa,

Nice tarpon, where was that caught and how much did it weigh?

My buddy caught one that weighed 195lbs off the Texas City Dike back in the early 80's.

i caught it on google.com

obviously, 2%-ers aggies that are less fatty.

______________________________________________________
no longer actually tacking on an extra year. i had to get a real job.

Several years back when I was still in school I took a stat class and filled out a rather lengthy survey at the beginning of the semester. We used the data collected from that semester as well as data on the same survey from previous semesters (I think is was like 3 years with a class size of 300, which would be roughly 1800 people). It showed that 40+ percent did not participate in any Aggie traditions at all. I don’t remember the exact number, but was not surprised by it at all.

quote:

---

Just out of question, if people want to attend A&M but not participate in traditions, do they not have a right to do so?

---

Certainly they have the right to avoid participating. But that doesn't mean they are free from criticism for their decision.

majority opinion seems to be that it is intended to reflect a portion of the total population. so...

1) was it ever really that low?

2) what is the percentage now?


note: i am not proposing retiring the term "2-percenter" since "30-percenter" or "51-percenter" would not make for near as effective an epithet.

DK is not a 2% Aggie, he simply is not an Aggie at all

hth

quote:

---

Just out of question, if people want to attend A&M but not participate in traditions, do they not have a right to do so?

---

Certainly. However, I do reserve my rights to urinate on said person, said person's clothes, and said person's pet (unless that pet is a dog).

cjo8:

Very insightful comment. Are you the Grand Wizard of the Aggie Grand Order? Idiot.

Graduate from A&M, and then you may be taken seriously. Blinndergarten doesn't count as A&M.

[This message has been edited by DK (edited 2/13/2007 8:52p).]

I think it's safe to assume that when Texas A&M was an all-male all-military school ... you had a lot more participation in everything (and 2% was probably pretty accurate).

jeez ... too much *****in and moanin goin on in this thread ... let's settle this fair and square ...

if you like 2% milk, you're a 2%er ... if you like your steaks well done with no pink inside, you're a 2%er ... if you take the skin off of fried chicken, you're a 2%er ... if you spend all your time on texags whining about what a 2%er is, guess what ... you're a 2%er

quote:

---

Just out of question, if people want to attend A&M but not participate in traditions, do they not have a right to do so?

---

No.

Next.

[/sarcasm]

Do you have a right to come to A&M and not participate in any traditions? Sure you do. If you want to enroll, go to class, come home, study, go to bed, and do it all over again, that's your choice. But you'll get nothing out of A&M except a degree. That's pretty lame if you ask me.

BUT, those that GO to Ag functions (i.e. football game, basketball game, or any other gathering where Ags are present) and NOT participate in at least SOMETHING that is a tradition? Or, those who bi**h and moan about the traditions and this and that not being politically correct, or those that go against the mainstream? THAT'S where you should be labeled 2%.