Burnt Orange Report

A&M is a bastion of conservative thinking that, more or less, pumps out Republican clone zealots. This may seem like a rather skewed perspective on the College but I live in the area and known many, many students that go there that seemed to have learned the same neo-con ideology that seems so popular today.

Well... since I graduated with a political science degree from A&M, I'm pretty qualified to speak on the subject of its Republican leanings.

And I'm not going to waste my time explaining it to you t-sips liberals. =)

Whoop to this news story!

As another Dem - and a queer Dem, at that - former TAMU student still living in BCS, I pretty much agree with ACH. But there are liberal pockets here, like anywhere else, and I don't think we quite deserve to be written off yet. Just like we get pissed off when the DNC ignores Texas, it's disconcerting to always have BCS and TAMU put down by the Texas Dems.

I heard once from an old Aggie that the voting box that includes where the Cadets live is the most Republican box in the state.

Brazos County used to be a split ticket area voting for Phil Gramm but also state Senators Kent Caperton D-Bryan and Jim Turner D-Crockett. But is is a GOP stronghold, although Chet Edwards will surprise some people and do well there.

College Station is a complex place. It is all that is great and wonderful about being Texan (friendly folks, cheap beer, fierce independence, and a sense of history) and also all that is deplorable (hyper-conservative, nostalgic to a fault, fearful of outside influence, a tendency to follow the flock) wrapped up in one place. Sort of the same way Texas is to the US.

I remember going to Dudley's on election night in 1994, wearing my "Ann Richards For Governor" t-shirt. The bartender took one look and handed me 2 pitchers of Shiner, saying "You're gonna need this". So being liberal in Aggieland isn't _all_ bad.

And honestly, you haven't tested your political mettle until you've been in the mouth of the beast for a few years.

This is actually quite misleading: (A) A lot of people are/were nostalgic for Ronald Reagan in Texas overall, even at UT. (B) As an Aggie, I can tell you that the biggest political group on campus is not the Republicans nor even conservatives. The largest group is composed of normal, indifferent college students. A lot of people just don't give a damn, which is a problem at every college campus. Sure the area votes Republican overwhelmingly, but how many students actually vote? When I was there, I voted back in my parent's precinct in near San Antonio rather than in Brazos County. How many students did that? The YCT's at A&M are a small but extraordinarily vocal group who make all of us seem like throwbacks to the antebellum South. Don't let your picture of A&M get clouded by

Anyway, your blog is great, and keep fighting for Texas!

Posted by: Ryan (in CA) at August 17, 2004 01:23 PM

Well Cooper... I'm just saying that as far as the UT / A&M thing goes, UT is the liberal oasis for the state, while A&M is well... As much as I like to bash A&M though, we're counting on the folks there to help carry Chet Edwards to victory this November.

I think OU beat UT and A&M by a combined 142-13 last year.

let us talk about sucking when you boys have something to suck on.

It is easy to be nostalgic for Ronald Reagan when you're stuck with George W.

As for A&M being conservative, that may be true but it is still a great school with lots of good people. Remember that the only way you are going to grow the Democratic Party is by persuading non-Democrats to join up and you don't do that by telling them that they suck.

I started out voting Republican at A&M, but by my senior year I think I was the only member of the Corps who was also in Aggie Democrats and Students Against Apartheid.

Russ and Mike are right. A&M is a big school, and even if it is mostly conservative, there's still gonna be a lot of non-conservatives there. I know I don't like it when non-Texans condemn our entire state because of some high-profile idiots. The rest of us shouldn't do the same to A&M.

Write the date and time down. This may be the first time I've defended the Aggies. Publicly, yet. :-)

I went to A&M but I am an avid Dem and a big fan of your site. I must say that apathy is really the strongest party there at TAMU. Sure, you met Republican zealots, but I was very fortunate and readily able to find Dems there that felt the same way I did. Especially in my own political science world. I've found the most close-minded and scary Republicans here in Washington - but never at A&M did I find the same to be true.
However, I agree with the earlier post - Who didn't like Reagan back in the 80's? Wes Clark readily admits he voted for Reagan back in the day, and I still like and respect his opinions very much. To be nostalgic for Reagan is one thing...he wasn't as bad as the awful Republicans we have now. If TAMU was most nostalgic for another 4 years of Bush, however, this is when I would have to torch my degree.
Love the blog - it's wonderful!

OU SUCKS!

http://oustillsucks.tripod.com

www.cafepress.com/utworld

FUCK TEXAS.

Faggots.

I'm a current Senior Engineering student at Texas A&M. I have been living here for four years. It is the most conservative town imaginable. The police are NAZIS, and the judicial system will swindle you out of so much money that by the time you leave you will have learned to hate everything about the law.
That is why we don't have a law school here. If you want a DUI or a few MIP's I'm sure that can be arranged in a weekend's visit. Or maybe you can escape a little bit lighter when some bike cop comes in your back yard while your grilling dinner to hand your younger brother an M.I.P. and haul you off to jail for contributing alcohol to a minor. Or if you want to see some serious artillery, let the police catch wind of you or a friend having pot. They will be sure to bring out their S.W.A.T. team to arrest you, and then expel you from the University.

Now, I don't party too often because of my grueling major. But when I do, I leave this hell hole. This place is BORING unless you want to pretend like you’re an old man with nothing better to do than drink beer and play dominoes at the same hole in the wall bar every weekend.

The irony of this is that I love beer and I love to play dominoes. But, that is all there is to do! There is no culture here at all unless you chew tobacco and love jacked up trucks. I don't give a shit about integrating the schools. But everybody is exactly the same. It is like we're fucking clones.

Now as for the school..... I wasn't one of those dumb asses that went to Blinn for two years and am now just appreciative of the fact that I finally got in to A&M. I have been here for 4 years now. It is a nice school. It is clean. It is hard. And the there is plenty of competition in the engineering school to keep me constantly pedaling. But, we have some of the dumbest traditions and some of the lamest close-minded people here. I can't stand to go to the football games! Literally, I can't stand that long. If you have ever sat in the student section at one of our home games you know exactly what I am talking about. For all of you who have not, we stand up the entire game on these bleachers that are constantly rocking while some drunk guy behind you is yelling about god knows what while failing to keep his balance on the bleachers and falling on you and your friends. This is not an isolated incident by the way. Then on top of that, we have guys for cheer leaders who are leading these yells about desecrating UT's mascot whenever we are playing a completely different school. We must have at least 3 fight songs that we sing every game about how much we detest UT. Personally, I think UT is a great school, and I have many friends that go there. Furthermore, Austin is by far a much better place to live. I understand rivalries and traditions, but why dwell on a school that keeps beating you every year in the same game. p.s...I don't need a history lecture on our record against UT for those of you who want to rebuttal my post.

And what about the corps? Did you ever know anybody in high school that was in the R.O.T.C. that was cool? Me neither. Well we have the biggest R.O.T.C. ever, and it is called the corps. Most of these guys got into this school not on personal merit, but because they were willing to join this "wanna be G.I. Joe" club. We are supposed to be one of the states flagship Universities, but everything about our image needs updating. Personally, I will never wear my ring around after I graduate. I think it is right up there with those rap stars having gold teeth and wearing all those ridiculous chains. People really think that if they can just graduate from this school, there will be an awesome job with a $50,000 pay check waiting for them just because they're Aggies. I have news for all of you that do. One of my best friends is two years older than me and graduated December 2003. He is still a delivery boy for a burger joint in town. The power of the Aggie ring hasn't done anything for him but lighten his pockets. About the only "cool" and "unique" thing about school is our Rec Center. I'm not going to expand on this much; it's just a cool place to go work out.

As for the Greek system here at A&M, it is a joke as well. First of all, 80% of the school hates anyone in a fraternity or sorority and labels them "paying for friends". Now I am not in a fraternity, but I don't think it is a bad idea to join one. It is just that the ones at A&M are pathetic. But, you can't blame them. If somebody farts too loud at one of their parties, you are going to have trouble with the local police. Then, you will probably get kicked off campus for hazing.

In closing I must say that the academic education I have received here has been good. But, this town has left a terrible stain in my mind that won't come out with ordinary bleach. It is a cotton field that somebody decided to make into a school. Then a few celebrated people went here and it became a well-known University. I know that some alumni are going to find this painful, but this place has become the armpit of Texas. The school has grown, but is still the same. I'm sorry to any of you who are die hard Aggies to give such a grim report. I realize that it was not always like this. I was once told my freshman year that with the death of bonfire, came the death of "FUN" at this school. Since there is no better way to end this note, let me just say that I wrote this on a Saturday night at 8:00 p.m., and I'm still wondering why I didn't escape to Houston this weekend.

why haven't you posted my comments on A&M?

I graduated from Texas in May of 2003 and moved to College Station. Why? At the time I figured it was cheap (Austin was lacking jobs), close to my family (in Houston) and being a college town it would be an okay place to hang out before moving out of state for law school.
Now, I was not a hard core UT fan, so I didn't buy into all of that rivalry nonsense. In fact, there aren't too many people at UT who do, except for just before, during and after the UT-A&M football game. I had never been to College Station before, but there were some friends of mine who went there and they weren't douchebags so I figured it would be at least tolerable. How very wrong I was.
I have been in College Station for two years now and I can not imagine a worse place to live. Everyone looks, acts, dresses, speaks and thinks the same! I feel like I'm surrounded by pod people driving giant maroon trucks. It only weirded me out at first, but as time wore on it just got to be depressing.
Also I didn't expect people here to be so damned wrapped up in this idiotic rivalry. I mean, who cares? Evidently Aggies do - with a vengence. Being at UT for four years I had accumulated a good number of free t-shirts (you know, the ones clubs are always giving out on the west mall...), so of course I wore these shirts all of the time as they made up the majority of my wardrobe. Have you ever been hissed at by a group of white kids with buzz cuts while walking in the mall? I have. Just for wearing a shirt that said something about UT on it. How rude and pointless. I've had old and young people alike come up to me in parking lots, at the grocery store, at the post office, etc. to tell me that I'm wearing the "wrong shirt". I find this absolutely, unequivocally retarded. Just the fact that someone actually cares enough about what my ratty t-shirt says to come up to me and say someting about it is just plain sad.
I feel like these people need to find something else to live for, because in a lot of ways it is pathetic how much they care about their traditions. And the fact that they sing about "beating the hell outta TU" during every sporting event regardless of whether or not they are actually playing Texas is even more asinine. I know there isn't anything decent to do around here but for the drinking and staring at ancient deer heads at the Dixie Chicken, however the impressions left on people not of Aggie origin are anything but positive.
I have told some of the people I work with about my feelings about College Station and they (Aggies, of course) always respond with "It's for insiders to know and for outsiders to never understand". Well, if being an "insider" means being the same as everyone else around me and being rude to complete strangers for no reason then please count me out. My parents raised me better than that. Thank God I am starting law school this fall and can leave this terrible place forever.
Like I said, I never cared about UT in the traditional capacity, but since living here I am grateful every day that I chose Texas.
Hook 'Em Horns!