Being an Aggie is not for the faint of heart. For football games, we earn our spot in Kyle Field by skipping class, camping in the ticket pull line and braving Texas weather conditions. 

Well, that’s what I would say, but ticket pull has been completely revamped to be online and a shell of its former self. 

The changes made to ticket pull were controversial with Texas A&M students, and that is an understatement to say the least. However, it has certain merits. 

Ticket-pull conditions for the A&M vs. Texas football game were horrid, and many students faced unsafe conditions while attempting to obtain a ticket for the game scheduled to take place later that week. 

In a statement made by President Mark A. Welsh III announcing updates to the system, it was revealed that ticket pull would officially be converted to an online platform. This change directly aligned with student opinion, as an SGA poll found that 63% of A&M students would prefer an online ticket pull system.

But given what the new system looks like, I doubt that many students would say the same now.

This is a common occurrence throughout the A&M system: Students recognize that change needs to be made, they call on administrators to fix these issues and the solution created completely disregards what students actually want — making it even worse than before.

It’s a vicious cycle and does not go unnoticed. 

In a recent article, I discussed the failings of the new Howdy Portal and how the design of the website is not user-friendly and inconvenient for students who want to use it.

After it had been published, I was contacted by the Howdy Portal development team, who wished to discuss the problems I observed and areas for improvement.

As much as I hope the problems expressed during the meeting were heard and are being worked on, I fear it runs the risk of becoming another instance where hearing doesn’t equal listening.

After the meeting occurred, it struck me that there is an undeniable gap between the people who make decisions at A&M — such as the Howdy Portal developers — and the people who are affected by the decisions made. This is why when students demand change for ticket pull or an improved Howdy Portal, we receive subpar versions that don’t improve on the original.

This isn’t a surprise; many staff members at this university have to coordinate and make decisions that avoid large swaths of red tape. Currently, the A&M University System as a whole employs over 30,000 people at its 12 universities and eight state agencies. 

On top of having a large number of employees, A&M has an even larger number of students. There are so many students that, oftentimes, the best ways to gain feedback are through university-wide emails containing surveys and other forms of mass information gathering techniques.

These can be convenient for gathering a general consensus, but what about personal feedback to better understand the problems students have? 

Not everyone writes opinion articles for The Battalion, which has the access and platform to discuss with high-ranking decision-makers. 

A&M can show they care about improving the quality of services provided by giving students avenues to provide personalized feedback rather than saying they do occasional surveys. Be transparent about the changes being made to the systems in place before they occur, so students know that the work is being done. If I can see a task is being undertaken, I am much more confident in the final product.

Administrators shouldn’t fear when students dislike the services being provided. Think of it as a way for everyone to grow and become more aware of the needs that students and A&M staff have. 

As students, we also have a responsibility in making change. A&M cannot comprehend that a problem exists if the problem isn’t being exposed. If the past couple of weeks have taught me anything, being annoying is unfortunately the key to being noticed. 

As an Aggie, I find it difficult to accept change. However, change is often for the better. Students deserve to be listened to, and we can implement changes in our behavior to better understand and respond to necessary changes. 

At the end of the day, being an Aggie means more than enduring challenges. We can work together as a community of staff, stakeholders and students to improve A&M. 

Wyatt Pickering is a business honors and finance junior and opinion writer for The Battalion.