A&M runs deep in Texas souls

11/23/99 Dallas Morning News

By Ann Melvin

Like most Texans, I have strong and deep ties to Texas A&M. Aggies are our sons, our fathers, our next-door neighbors. When the great logs of the '99 bonfire came grinding down last week, killing 12, they struck us, too.I saw in those young people the faces of my father, my uncle, my grandfather, my sons and, yes, my daughters. In the days to come, news analysts will dissect what went wrong this fateful '99. But today, I am more inclined to think about what has gone right about the Aggies.

My grandfather, who served the university for much of his life, told me something of the early years. As an assistant county agent, he would traverse the small, rutted roads of back country Texas - and most of it was back country back then. "I'd see an old boy plowing with one mule, and I'd stop my car, get out and walk across the furrows to where he had stopped to wipe his brow. 'How old are you, boy?' I'd ask." "Seventeen, 18, 20." "You want to go to college?" "Yes, sir, but I can't afford it." "Well, yes, you can. We've got a college down on the Brazos, at College Station. We'll pay you to go to school and be in the Corps. We'll help you buy books. There'll be no limit to what you can learn there." "Well, sir, it won't do no good. I can't afford even the clothes for college." "It doesn't matter, son. We'll give you a uniform and a bed to sleep in." And so the boys of Texas left their plows and their fathers' shops, sawmills and cotton fields; they left the day-to-day ordinary poverty of a rural Texas and went to Texas A&M, then called the Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College. They became the proud and mighty Corps, educated men of pride, strength of mind and dedication to the college that helped form them, the fruit of a rural Texas fixing to change. They learned modern ways of farming and ranching; they became veterinarians and engineers, builders and shakers and down-home boys with money in their pockets.

My dad was an Aggie. A boxer, a football player and a pretty good engineer. I have a picture of him graduating in his smart, dark uniform, his Calvary pants and tall, shiny boots, the honor sword at his side. He married, and I was born. And when World War II came, he followed his military duty set by the Corps and went to war. After five years, he came home a hero and, putting that behind him, went to building roads and bridges in a rural Texas that was riding the wave of postwar prosperity into the technological era.

Sometimes on a Saturday, I will flick through the football games and hear, "We are the Aggies," and, to me, the faces of the Aggies are those young, brave men who went to war. They were my heroes. Life has rocked on. Texas A&M has become a university. And bright, young people of every stripe have come to school there. They have become our teachers, oil men, lawyers, doctors, farmers, veterinarians and computer experts. There was no limit to their learning. They are our sons, our daughters, our neighbors, our friends. And when the great logs of the old traditional bonfire came tumbling down, they rolled across the state and the nation, crushing for a moment every Aggie and every mother, daughter, son, father, grandchild and friend of an Aggie in the chest. I struggled for a day to regain my breath from this tragedy, which, though unique, is, after all, a tragedy like every other: It takes someone precious from us. In the days of mourning that followed, I realized that those young people who went down under that pile of rubble had the faces of my heroes of World War II and the heroic faces of Texas' children I have known ever since. Young, raw, loyal, optimistic and brave. They are a part of us forever.

We are the Aggies.

Texas A&M To Establish Special Scholarship At UT

11/28/00

Texas A&M University has established a $50,000 scholarship at the University of Texas at Austin in remembrance of the spirit displayed by UT Austin students and faculty following the 1999 Bonfire tragedy. Announcement of the scholarship, which officially will be known as the "1999 Bonfire Unity Endowed Presidential Scholarship," was made at halftime of the Texas A&M-Texas football game. It will be available to a UT Austin junior or senior who meets certain academic standards, is involved in student activities and who displays a clear commitment to the ideals displayed by the University of Texas during Texas A&M's Bonfire tragedy. Texas A&M President Ray M. Bowen said, "We are most appreciative of the support of everyone associated with the University of Texas at Austin regarding the 1999 Bonfire tragedy, and we thought an appropriate manner to demonstrate our appreciation would be to endow this scholarship. Its name specifically includes the term 'Unity' to underscore that our two universities are indeed unified in matters of utmost importance, and that certainly includes concern for students and families at both of our institutions. Although we are fierce competitors on the athletic field, we share common values. We extend special thanks to Regent Robert H. Allen and his wife, Judy, for their generous financial support in making possible the endowment for the scholarship.

Who Dat ??

Dat Nguyen !!

1998 LOMBARDI AWARD WINNER

"NATION'S TOP COLLEGIATE LINEMAN"

1998 CHUCK BEDNARIK AWARD WINNER

"NATION'S BEST COLLEGIATE DEFENSIVE PLAYER"

1999 DALLAS COWBOY ALL PRO

BEAT THE HELL OUT OF TU!!!

"I WILL CUT OFF THE HORNS OF ALL THE WICKED..."
PSALMS 75:10

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