The Board of Regents chose not to seek student opinion before scheduling a Thursday meeting to consider honoring Gov. Rick Perry by renaming the Academic Building after him.
If they had, here’s a sampling of the voices they would have found in opposition: More than 330 comments on The Battalion‘s Facebook page, a rapid-fire Student Senate resolution and a petition with more than 7,000 signatures and counting. All this in less than two days during finals week, the busiest time of the year for many students.
More often than not, comments have mirrored this one: Perry might deserve campus recognition, but give him something — anything — other than the Academic Building.
Social media chatter rarely agrees on anything. But, overwhelmingly, students who have vocalized opinions online oppose the idea. It speaks volumes that a large portion of a campus ranked among the nation’s most conservative rejects naming the building after Perry — a conservative Aggie governor and former yell leader.
The absurdity of the idea goes well beyond the irony of putting Perry (and his well-documented sub-2.5 GPA) on A&M’s academic hub, which in 2014 celebrates its 100th birthday. The regents shouldn’t name the Academic Building after the governor. Not because he’s not qualified, but because no one is.
The building, built in 1914 for $200,000, has weathered generations of A&M history. It’s a centerpiece of campus lore. Countless have stood in its shadow in the cold, quiet dark to bear witness to fallen Aggies for Silver Taps.
An Aggie who sits in the governor’s seat for more than a decade deserves recognition. Perry is the most visible Aggie in the world not named Johnny Manziel. But some campus landmarks, such as the Academic Building and Memorial Student Center, are off limits.
The Board of Regents failed to recognize that in proposing the resolution. And if it’s passed, it will be testament to a board detached from the opinion and sentiment of the student body it claims to serve.
Campus has no place for the Governor Rick Perry ’72 Building — not at the cost of the Academic Building.