The Student News Site of Texas A&M University - College Station

The Battalion

The Student News Site of Texas A&M University - College Station

The Battalion

The Student News Site of Texas A&M University - College Station

The Battalion

The intersection of Bizzell Street and College Avenue on Monday, Jan. 22, 2024.
Farmers fight Hurricane Beryl
Aggies across South Texas left reeling in wake of unexpectedly dangerous storm
J. M. Wise, News Reporter • July 20, 2024
Duke forward Cooper Flagg during a visit at a Duke game in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Flagg is one fo the top recruits in Dukes 2025 class. (Photo courtesy of Morgan Chu/The Chronicle)
From high school competition to the best in the world
Roman Arteaga, Sports Writer • July 24, 2024

Coming out of high school, Cooper Flagg has been deemed a surefire future NBA talent and has been compared to superstars such as Paul George...

Bob Rogers, holding a special edition of The Battalion.
Lyle Lovett, other past students remember Bob Rogers
Shalina SabihJuly 15, 2024

In his various positions, Professor Emeritus Bob Rogers laid down the stepping stones that student journalists at Texas A&M walk today, carving...

The referees and starting lineups of the Brazilian and Mexican national teams walk onto Kyle Field before the MexTour match on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Kyle Heise/The Battalion)
Opinion: Bring the USWNT to Kyle Field
Ian Curtis, Sports Reporter • July 24, 2024

As I wandered somewhere in between the Brazilian carnival dancers and luchador masks that surrounded Kyle Field in the hours before the June...

Mail Call – Bonfire tradition worthy of all Aggies’ respect

The fact of the matter is that Bonfire was important to many people. Although based on an “over-hyped rivalry,” it had become something else to a large portion of the students and alumni. To them, it was a way to meet people, interact and work toward a common goal. It was a focal point for fall events and dorm activities, a time to join together, relive the past and even celebrate. Alcohol was a part of it for some, but only for some.? Thousands attended and participated without drinking a drop. Bonfire was a ritual, a tradition like any other found throughout the world’s varied subcultures.
To many people it may seem silly, even to some fellow Aggies. But then again, all traditions seem silly to someone. Many, such as the running of the bulls, are dangerous. However to the cultures in which they exist, they have meaning, and continue to this day. We should recognize that these silly things may in fact have value to their participants, and be tolerant of others’ traditions. When you attack something people value, you attack them and their memories. Please try respecting others’ traditions regardless of the value you perceive them to have, because in all likelihood, someone has done the same for you.

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