TAMU Traditions 8

never rise on that Aggie again. After the last note is played, the one thing you can hear is the shuffling of feet as students return silently to their lives.

Silver Taps has been occurring for over 100 years. The first Silver Taps was in 1898. At Silver Taps, you stand where Aggies have stood for generations. You are connected to those who have come before you. This tradition is unique to Texas A&M, as no other university in the world honors their students in this way. bonfire

Students used burning Bonfire as a pep rally where speeches were made and yells were led, often outlasting the actual burning of the fire. The first Bonfires in 1909 were built with trash and other scraps around campus. It wasn’t until 1912 when logs started to become the standard for building Bonfire.

Starting in the 1950s, building Bonfire became more organized while each class strove to make it bigger and better than the ones before. The tallest Bonfire was built in 1969 and was about 109 feet tall with a 105-foot center pole.

Ninety-two years after bonfire first began, almost to the hour, on Nov. 18, 1999, at 2:42 a.m., the Bonfire stack collapsed and took with it the lives of 12 of our fellow Aggies and injured 27 others. The Bonfire collapse was quite possibly the most trying event in the history of Texas A&M, but it also allowed us to better understand the true meaning of the Aggie spirit. Many of us believe that Bonfire did burn that year when 90,000 Aggies, friends and families gathered at the Polo Fields on the night Bonfire was to burn to silently hold candles together. musTer

Muster represents the Aggie spirit that binds Aggies to their school and to one another. It is more than a ceremony; it is a responsibility that is handed down from one generation to the next. Muster is a way for Aggies to renew their loyalty to their school and their friends.

Aggie Muster is a special time set aside to honor members of the Aggie family. Aggie Muster traces its roots back to San Jacinto Day, which was a Texas holiday in the 1840s that celebrated Texans’ defeat of the Mexican Army in the battle of San Jacinto.

In 1899, the cadets decided to hold a San Jacinto Field Day on April 21. It was a day of fun and activities without class.

During the world wars, this tradition of meeting on April 21 evolved to include a memoriam for those who were absent. In World War I, Aggies met all over the trenches of Europe and at army posts all over America. The most famous Aggie Muster was held during World War II in 1942 on the small island of Corregidor in the Philippines. Major General George Moore, ’08, led a group of recently commissioned Aggies in a moment to honor the valiant Aggies who had died, hold a yell practice, and sing the War Hymn with all their strength, all under heavy enemy fire.

In 1924, the first campus Muster was held in Guion Hall, and Muster has been held on campus since. Campus Muster is now the largest of the over 300 Musters held worldwide.

The most important and moving part of the Muster ceremony is Roll Call for the absent. The Roll Call lists the names of every local Aggie who has passed during the year, as well as missing members of the 50 year reunion class. As each name is read, a candle is lit, and the family and friends answer, “Here,” to symbolize that while that Aggie has fallen, they are still with us in spirit. reveille

Reveille is Texas A&M’s beloved mascot and the First Lady of Aggieland. She has been mascot since 1931, when some cadets found her wounded by the side of the road in Navasota and snuck her into their dorm. All Reveilles since Reveille III have been Rough Collies. Miss Rev leads the football team onto the field at every game, and is attended by a sophomore in Company E-2 of the Corps of Cadets.

aGGie rinG

The Aggie ring is a unique representation of achievement by an Aggie. Aggies take pride in earning their little piece of gold from the greatest university in the world. The Aggie ring is unlike any other because students cannot design their own class ring or order it at any time. The Aggie ring can only be ordered when an Aggie completes 90 hours, 45 of which must be from Texas A&M University.

The top of the ring features a shield that symbolizes the protection of the good reputation of the alma mater. There are 13 stripes in the shield that symbolize the 13 original states and Aggies’ intense patriotism. The five stars found in the shield refer to the five phases of Aggie development: mind or intellect, body, spiritual attainment, emotional poise and integrity of character. The eagle on the top of the Aggie ring symbolizes agility and power and ability to reach great heights and ambitions.

One side of the Aggie ring holds a large star encircled with a wreath of olive leaves joined together by a ribbon near the bottom of the ring. The large star symbolizes the seal of the State of Texas authorized by the Constitution of 1845. It is encircled with a wreath of olive leaves, symbolizing achievement and desire for peace and live oak leaves, symbolizing the strength to fight. The leaves are joined at the bottom by an encircling ribbon to show the necessity of joining these traits to accomplish one’s ambition to serve.

The other side of the Aggie ring contains an ancient cannon, saber and rifle, symbolizing that the citizens of Texas fought for their land and our determination to defend our homeland. The saber stands for valor and confidence, and the rifle and cannon stand for preparedness and defense. On both sides, the United States and Texas flags are crossed to symbolize the dual allegiance to nation and state.

Texas A&M players celebrate their NCAA quarterfinal match victory over Florida State. (Texas A&M athletics department photo)

Texas A&M University

By ROBERT CESSNA • robert.cessna@theagle.com

WoMen’s sporTs

Women’s sports at Texas A&M had a landmark year on and off the field in 2021-22.

The golf team reached the semifinals of the NCAA Championships for the best showing in program history. The tennis team hosted an NCAA tournament super regional for the first time, beating Vanderbilt 4-0 to cap a 21-0 season at the Mitchell Tennis Center. The Aggies also bid farewell to a pair of Hall of Fame coaches.

Women’s basketball coach Gary Blair ended his career by having his name put the floor at Reed Arena. He’s just the third women’s basketball coach so honored, joining Tennessee’s Pat Summitt and North Carolina State’s Kay Yow. Unfortunately, what happened on the court last season was very much unlike the rest of Blair’s career as the Aggies were 14-15. It was only the second losing season in his illustrious career, the other coming in 2003-2004 when he started rebuilding the Aggie program, which at the time was the Big 12 Conference’s worst.

He led the Aggies to the 2011 national championship and in 2021 won the program’s lone Southeastern Conference regularseason title. A&M that year climbed to a program-high No. 2 ranking, but in Blair’s final season the Aggies slipped to 4-12 in league play. A&M lost to Vanderbilt in the first round of the SEC tournament, ending Blair’s run of making 15 straight NCAA tournaments.

It also was a tough year for softball coach Jo Evans, who didn’t have her contract renewed after 26 seasons. Evans made a trio of Women’s College World Series appearances, including a national runner-up in 2008. She was 987-502-2 at A&M with 23 NCAA tournaments.

A&M’s highlights in her final season was taking two of three from second-ranked Alabama at home and beating South Carolina 5-3 in the first round of the SEC tournament, the program’s first victory after seven straight losses in the event.

A&M also made the NCAA tournament for the 20th straight time, battling top-ranked and eventual national champ Oklahoma on even terms in their first matchup in the Norman Regional with the Sooners holding on for a 3-2 victory. It was all OU in the rematch as the Sooners won 20-0, scoring in every inning en route to the most-lopsided victory in NCAA tournament history. It was the third straight time A&M failed to advance past regionals after making the Women’s College World Series in 2017 and coming within an out of returning the following season.

Volleyball was another women’s sport that struggled last season, failing to make the NCAA tournament for a second straight year.

On the flip side, the track and team field added to the women’s spring success with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA championships. Lamar Distin won the high jump and fellow sophomore Charokee Young was second in the 400-meter run. Senior Deborah Acquah was second in the long jump. It was the 15th time in the last 16 NCAA championships the Aggies finished in the top 5 under veteran coach Pat Henry.

The golf team showed signs of building a similar program under first-year head coach Gerrod Chadwell who did wonders after taking over a team that didn’t even make the NCAA tournament last year.

The Aggies defeated Florida State 3-2 in the quarterfinals of match play in the NCAA Championships as freshman Adela Cernousek birdied No. 16 to square the deciding match, and then sank a winning par putt on the 19th hole.

“How about a freshman beating out one of the top players in the world in extra holes to get us to the semis?” Chadwell said.

The magic didn’t continue as Oregon grabbed a 4-1 victory in the semifinals, but the sting was softened by how far A&M went with production from the majority of players who will return.

Sophomore transfer Zoe Slaughter and junior Blanca Fernandez GarciaPoggio also had match victories against Florida State and junior transfer Jennie Park had the 36-hole medalist lead at the Franklin (Tenn.) Regional. “I think that’s the exciting thing; this is just year one,” said Chadwell, adding that A&M held up battling