A junior yell leader candidate dropped out of the 5forYell campaign after charges of DWI and possession of marijuana surfaced.
Cody Howdeshell, senior finance major, was charged with a DWI Aug. 24, 2008, and possession of marijuana Sept. 28, 2008.
Howdeshell has resigned because he said he is not the right person for the job.
“The figurehead of Texas A&M should be a person of character, integrity and morals. Some of my past actions have not displayed these traits. I am therefore stepping down as a candidate for junior yell,” Howdeshell said in a statement to The Battalion.
He was not completely truthful in the selection process, Head Yell Leader Lans Martin said in the statement. He said the position of yell leader is one of the utmost integrity and honor.
“Because our standards have not been kept, our decision is to respect Cody’s intent to withdraw from the campaign,” Martin said. “We recognize that we all make mistakes, but that our actions have consequences. We will resist the temptation to cast judgment.”
The candidates were chosen through block yell leader candidate selections, in which Corps members vote for the peers they think will best represent them. The Corps decided to select John Busch, a junior business major, for Howdeshell’s candidacy.
“If everything had been known about my past, the person who would be running in my place is an outstanding guy named John Busch,” Howdeshell said.
He commended Busch, a member of Company E-2 and Mascot Corporal, on being a responsible man of character, and said that he is the one who should have been chosen initially.
“We feel that he is the best representative of the ideals of our organization and this great University,” Martin said.
Busch will be a write-in candidate to complete the 5forYell campaign.