Later this year, the city of College Station will finish construction on its 56-acre acre memorial cemetery. At least 20 acres of the plot will be reserved for the Aggie Field of Honor, a memorial marketed to former Texas A&M students and faculty. Although for some the option to spend eternity amid fellow Aggies is appealing, charging exorbitant fees to rest in an Aggie Field of Honor cheapens proud A&M traditions by placing a price tag on them. Whereas a local municipal cemetery plot costs only $950, a plot at the memorial cemetery costs $2,000.
The Aggie Field of Honor has been conceptual idea since the late 1970s. College Station’s need for a municipal cemetery finally combined with the vision of an Aggie resting ground in 2006. The cemetery is designed to be a city project first, with provisions to reserve a certain area for A&M. The memorial will include large stone walls, columns and ceremonial gateways. Buyers can reside in a prominent columbaria, with a commanding view of both the A&M campus and Kyle Field.
Certainly the Aggie Field of Honor seems to be a serene option for those wishing their final resting place to have a connection to the University that was such an important part of their lives. The problem arises from the asking price to be imbued with this honor. The plots in the allotted field cost at least twice as much as a standard space in the municipal cemetery. However the $2,000 asking price for a standard grave does not prevent A&M from receiving an endowment fund for upkeep on the facility. Our beloved University is whoring itself out like a PBS telethon in an effort to squeeze as much money as possible out of former students.
The traditions of A&M are one of the major reasons behind many students decision to attend the University instead of another. Charging larger fees for an A&M plot and its upkeep is not in itself the issue. The monuments and view of the University will add to the serenity of the resting place, and for many will be worth the extra price. But while this is a wonderful idea, calling the cemetery the field of honor is deceitful. No particular honor is being bestowed on those buried there, and were the cemetery named the Aggie cemetery, few would take offense at the University continuing usual operations and wringing out a few more bucks.
The University should respect those proud traditions, instead of manipulating students love for them to cash in on a few dollars. If this is truly to be a field of honor, we should reserve spaces for accomplished something worth honoring. Either that or the University needs to change the name to something similarly respectful, but more honest.