With a mood of solidarity and solemnness, Aggie Muster reminded the 12,000 Aggies in attendance Monday what it means to be a part of the Aggie family.
Peter Rozanski, Muster Committee member and junior civil engineering major, said this year’s event went smoothly.
“I think [Muster] was a phenomenal combination of celebration and mourning,” Rozanski said. “I think Bill Youngkin’s speech reminded us of the camaraderie that we have as Aggies. I think that the roll call is powerful and it was nice getting to see the families’ different reactions while knowing they were loved by the Aggies surrounding them.”
Kayla Taylor, sophomore human resources major, said she attended to call “here” for her friend Christy Crow, Class of 2016, who died Wednesday.
“Muster was really hard knowing somebody whose name was called but it was a closing experience for me,” Taylor said. “She would have been here if she could. She was the definition of an Aggie.”
Muster speaker Bill Youngkin, Class of 1969, was head yell leader at A&M and is now an attorney in Bryan. Youngkin said many universities offer high-quality educations similar to A&M’s, but none have the unity and the spirit he saw in Aggies after the Bonfire collapse or during each Silver Taps. Youngkin said Muster embodied that spirit, showing how much of a family Texas A&M really is.
“Our traditions are what makes us a family and being a family is what makes us different from all the rest,” Youngkin said.