This is my response to the irresponsible act of journalism written by Chris Bellamy:
Mr. BellamyFirst of all I have to acknowledge the fact that you have the right to your own impression of College Station as a town. That being said though, I think you have shown yourself to this small town of 60,000 to be not only ignorant, but an irresponsible journalist. As a third generation Aggie I have lived my entire life aware and appreciative of the traditions that make A&M unique. This school has shown in the past that we act as a family does- we remain loyal to tradition and to one another. In any section of the world when two individuals wearing Aggie rings happen to meet, there is an instant connection. My family has even been stopped in a small town in Germany by a fellow Aggie who saw my fathers class ring.
Every spring all over the world groups of A&M students come together for Aggie Muster. In this ceremony, the Aggies remember those classmates past and present who have died during the year. We care, we remember. I know when I eventually do pass away that they will remember my life at that ceremony. This is the tradition and loyalty you call cultish. If you had bothered to learn anything about Texas A&M, you would not have made yourself look so ignorant. Apparently research is not something your paper requires.
This school has survived attacks in the past by those individuals that do not possess the capacity to understand us. You were not at the memorial service in 1999 when we lost 12 Aggies in an accident and, at the completion of the service, the entire arena of Aggies put their arms around each other simultaneously to sing amazing grace. The same action you saw at midnight yell. This is kind of spirit we have. In a nation so completely fragmented by class, race, gender and religious beliefs, we choose to value each other as a family. Why this would threaten you I do not know. D you also criticize individuals who are patriotic together or who worship together? Criticizing what you don’t understand is much more “Hitler like” and narrow-minded then the actions that seem to have so offended you here in College Station. We will not apologize for being the Aggie family.
Jennifer HallClass of ’01, ’04