The questions of justice outlined in this week’s feature notwithstanding, the Aggies are widely known for their idiosyncratic ways. There’s the incessant howdying. The keeping off the grass. The dog, a.k.a. Reveille, a.k.a. Miss Rev, ma’am, a.k.a. the highest ranking member of the Corps.
Make fun of them, and the Aggies will cite tradition, and there’s definitely something admirable in that. You gotta assume many of the customs make sense once you put them in context. For example, we have no idea what’s going on in the following video, but we’d love to find out.
Seriously, what’s the deal? Are they showing solidarity with the football team? Practicing birth control? Tuning up for a rendition of “The Nutcracker Suite”? We honestly don’t know. If there are any Ags out there, please enlighten us in the comments.
And then there’s the custom showcased in this next video:
We assume this one has a long and storied history. A little too long, perhaps. – Keith Plocek
This article appears in Jan 24-30, 2008.
