On the A&M official website it states, “Aggies do not lie, cheat or steal nor tolerate those that do.” However it seems that vandalizing is permissible. This past weekend I drove home to College Station to celebrate my Dad’s birthday. I went to my usual haunts, the same ones I’ve always been to growing up, including Sweet Eugene’s, Coco Loco’s and Blue Baker. At some point during the weekend the metal longhorn emblem secured on the back of my trunk was pried off using a metal object that left my car with deep gashes in the paint and me with a true sense of the so-called “Aggie Spirit.” Sadly, this isn’t the first offense. While driving, people have tailgated me, yelled at me, thrown objects at me, simply because I have an indiscreet emblem of my own school spirit. I’ve been told to “go back home to Austin, T-sip!” Funny thing is, I am home. I was born and raised in College Station. I’m afraid very few members of the A&M student body can compare. I do not consider four to six years of education and traditions, which are obviously wasted on petty people who clearly do not understand their implications, as grounds to claim this as your home. My parents are both Aggies, my father even teaches at the University; I know all the school songs and was raised to bleed maroon. Just because I choose a different educational path, one that is better for my career, does not merit expulsion from my own hometown and it surely does not entitle me to behaviors such as these. Until each and every student or fan is reminded of the real meaning of Aggie Spirit I will not be proud to call College Station home.