Dr. Gates, thank you for the recent e-mail attempting to explain your “caving in” to criticism regarding A&M’s legacy policy, and your arbitrary abolition of same. Apparently, in your brief tenure at my beloved alma mater, you have failed to grasp the concept of “The Spirit of Aggieland” and “The Twelfth Man.” I cannot explain it to you, but I have lived it since I showed up on the banks of the Brazos River in September 1967. We are unique. What other university has anything like Aggie jokes? No one laughs harder at this form of humor than we do. We pity the jealous non-Aggie joke-teller for having had to attend an inferior university.
To paraphrase former President Bush, whose library adorns our campus, “read my lips,” Dr. Gates. It’s all about tradition. Many former students patiently await a decision on our most hollowed symbol, the Bonfire, because, Texas A&M’s lifeblood is traditions. Is it your intention to make A&M non-unique?
Your message stated that you “consulted” each member of the Board of Regents. Did you really mean “consult,” or would “advise of your decision” be more accurate?
Legacy, whether official or not, real or imagined, has always been a part of A&M’s rich lore and tradition. This uniqueness makes us proud to wear the school’s crest on our ring fingers, and to be a member of a Former Student’s Association next to none. There have been many A&M presidents since I first heard the late General Earl Rudder tell us about the Normandy beach landings at freshman orientation.
I will always be a proud, ring-wearing former student who bleeds maroon and white. However, Dr. Gates, I question whether or not I should continue my membership and annual contributions to the Century Club. Does this unique group threaten any of your plans of “non-uniqueness,” or, is the Club on your “tradition” chopping-block?
If the Texas A&M legacy policy counted only one-tenth of one-hundredth of one-thousandth of a point, this unique tradition would live on. If you’ve ever listened to the words of “The Spirit of Aggieland” you would have heard: ‘After they’ve boosted all the rest, they will come and join the best, for we are the Aggies, the Aggies are we, we’re from Texas AMC.’ I trust that you will reconsider your actions, in light of the deep traditions, highly revered by both the student body and the former students.