It is 8 p.m. on a Tuesday night and darkness has covered the campus. The sidewalk lamps give off just enough light in Academic Plaza and a low rumble can be heard in the distance.
“Hump it Ags,” someone yells. “Farmers fight! Farmers fight! Fight. Fight. Farmers, farmers, fight. AAAAAAA. Whoop!”
On any other campus, this would not happen, but tonight, Chris “Buck” Buckner, a junior marketing major, has a goal in mind and is four hours from completing it. Buckner is holding a 24-hour yell practice to show his dedication to A&M and the Aggie spirit. It is election week, and he said he has dreamed of being a yell leader since his freshman year in high school.
Buckner was named senior yell leader Thursday at midnight, along with Grant Castleberry and Tyler Wellborn. The junior yell leaders are James Mulvey and Eric Reed.
Buckner said from the moment he won, he felt like part of the group.
“I could not believe that everything I had dreamed about up until that moment had finally come true in my life,” Buckner said. “(The other yell leaders) were a little upset that their buddy lost, but right away they made me feel like I was part of that group and filled that spot.”
For Buckner, being a yell leader is something he planned for and actively pursued. Buckner joined the ROTC in high school and participated in a fellow Aggie’s campaign to learn the election process.
Castleberry and Wellborn, however, had different experiences running for yell leader because they are members of the Corps of Cadets.
In the Corps, five members are selected to run, Castleberry said. Running for yell leader is something he and Wellborn thought about, but really had no control over, he said.
Wellborn said his sophomore year, the entire sophomore class spent every night together for two weeks straight getting to know each other. On the last night, every cadet who wanted to be a yell leader stood up. The sophomore class narrowed the students standing from 43 to four, and the four selected then interviewed with Corps seniors, Wellborn said.
“If the Corps and my buddies thought I was worthy of the position, that was important to me,” Wellborn said.
Castleberry, who was selected head yell leader, said he wants to focus on being the best group of yell leaders in A&M history.
“It involves two things: living a personal life of integrity and, as far as our yell leader positions go, serving Texas A&M,” Castleberry said. “Doing those two things right is important. Those are what we want our organization to be about.”
Although Buckner is not a Corps member, that should not be an issue for Aggies, Castleberry said.
“We are the yell leaders,” he said. “It shouldn’t be about that. We are representing Texas A&M.”
During the school year, in addition to attending athletic events, the yell leaders attend organizations’ meetings, the Panhellenic block party and special events like Relay for Life and the Big Event, Castleberry said.
“We strongly believe being a yell leader isn’t about doing yells, but rather about showing and conveying to others your passion for Texas A&M and teaching the traditions that make this school,” Wellborn said.