Issue date: 4/8/09 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Jeremy Northum Matt Altendorf, a freshman international studies major, faces into the Quad while Christian Everson, a senior mechanical engineering major, faces out. [Click to enlarge]

Since I have been at this University, there has been a division between Aggies who aren't in the Corps and those who are. With the election of a non-reg yell leader, this schism is about to burst open. I have no problem with someone not in the Corps being a yell leader, as long as they are doing it for the right reasons. Many cadets, however, consider the election of a non-reg yell leader as a slap in the face.

Why do cadets vote strictly for Corps candidates anyway? One of the most obvious reasons is cadets are mostly alike. We share the same ideals; many of us share the same aspirations, the same outlook on life. But it's more than that. Going through the Corps teaches us about the University, about its history. It teaches us about the monuments on campus and the reasons they're there. As freshmen we learn the how, the when, the why; and in our humble opinion, this puts us in the best possible situation to represent Texas A&M as a yell leader. When someone asks a yell leader any number of things about our history or traditions, members of the Corps know the answer immediately because it is pounded into our skulls from day one of freshman year. But there is also something else.

As members of the Corps, we are honor bound to uphold the traditions and Spirit of A&M. With each passing year, we watch as it dies out. Howdy has been relegated to a greeting between Corps members and a failed attempt for a week every semester to spark it anew. Every month, as the year goes on, attendance at Silver Taps dwindles to members of the Corps and those who knew the student. We boo at football games, leave early, and how many people even know the words to the song we sing after our team runs out of time? Slowly but surely, A&M as it was is dying. When a fellow member of the Corps runs for any position, we vote for them because they have gone through and witnessed the same things we have.

Continued...

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