Given my writing skills and logical thought process, I've been thinking it would be a good idea to utilize social media to express why you should vote for my friend Drew Nelson for Senior Yell Leader. It's been on my mind a lot the past few days... so here's the reasoning I have behind all of this. Maybe you won't agree, but I really hope that you will. I can't explain my opinions to everyone by myself, but social media makes it possible for you to hear them if you want, so please listen up!
Growing up, I, like Drew, was indoctrinated in the ways of the Aggies pretty much from the time I left the womb. My dad was a member of the Corps of Cadets, and couldn't wait to be the father of not only a well-raised woman, but a Second Generation Aggie. When I decided to come to Texas A&M in the fall of '08, I was so excited to experience all of the traditions - Muster, Bonfire, Midnight Yell, 12th man, and of course, our own Fightin' Texas Aggie Yell Leaders (whoop). I got as involved as I could and made lots of new friends, branching out in ways that I never thought possible in high school. I changed a lot, and met a lot of people who were LEGIT and gave me a new perspective on life. Texas A&M was SO MUCH MORE than I imagined it could be. Voting for the new yell leaders came around my freshman year and I voted 5 for Yell. "Why?" you may ask. Well, I believed 5 for Yell to represent the traditions of this university (which I loved and had brought so much positive change through my life) as I am sure many of you may... I thought that if someone wanted to be a Yell Leader so badly, they should join the Corps... but I now believe otherwise, and I'm about to tell you why.
If there's one thing I've learned throughout my college experience, it's that tradition has to adapt to changes. It's amazing enough that we still have yell leaders, with all of the changes that have gone on, which people think is weird, but we keep it because of tradition, right? Now, many people argue that the tradition is within the Corps. Well, when you think about it, the tradition started when there were no students here BUT the Corps. When they started letting women in, people got upset, when they let greek life on campus, people got upset, and when they let non-regs in, people got upset (not necessarily in this order, but you get my point). BUT were all of these things worth it? Yes. Would we know any of the people we know today if these things did not happen? No. Should we have a candidate that reflects who we are as a student body today? I believe so, but I can't really tell you that until I go further, because the way you might think someone represents you must be established.
Still, many people would have argued not even 30 years ago that you didn't deserve to be here because of tradition. So if you are greek, female, non-reg, homosexual, african american, etc. Then based on the argument that non-regs shouldn't be yell leaders, you shouldn't be here either, because tradition says so. This argument is a self-defeating principle... do you not see that? It's a logical fallacy.
I believed this logical fallacy until I met Drew Nelson.
And I'm not saying if you believe this, you're any less of a person. Let's be real, yell leader is a relative thing. It's not a matter of life or death, even if we do think it's important.
Anyway... I met Drew during Fish Camp (an organization which upholds/teaches tradition...) my sophomore year, a year when I really wanted to branch out and form deep connections with friends. Drew and I started getting to know one another and really hit it off. I was in town for the first half of the summer, so it was great because we got to hang out a lot without the business of a normal semester with organizations and such. Drew was so kind to me, and really took the time to reach out to me as a friend. He took the time to help me move (more than once), only accepting a "thank you" in return. He wrote me encouragement letters while I was at summer camp (which is a difficult, taxing experience, if you've ever done it)... when I was at my breaking point, receiving those letters helped me serve those children when I didn't feel like it anymore. He helped me be a better person. At Fish Camp, he impacted freshmen and stood out as a leader, and was all around an AWESOME counselor because of his love for Texasw A&M. In fall of 2010, Drew told me he was running for Junior Yell. "I only vote for people in the corps," I explained, "because of tradition."
You may say I'm biased, but in the aforementioned situation, I was clearly not biased based on logic, but rather because I was naive. Yes, this is a biased article, but I believe it to be biased based more on logical ideas, which is why I believe my opinion is worth hearing.
Through his passion for this university and desire to be involved in the lives of so many different people, Drew won my support in his campaign and vote last year - NOT because he was a non-reg, but because he is the most deserving, hard-working person I have met in my life. I mean that. I am not kidding, he never sleeps. Those of you know know Drew, know this. But those of you who don't, may not comprehend how hard this person works, and how involved he is in the lives of many members of the student body through student organizations. I quickly figured out that he was too busy trying to make an impact on so many people in the student body that joining the Corps would have been counterproductive. I have never met a person who is genuinely able to be involved in so many peoples lives at once, but he does it. He just has that gift. He is the most self-sacrificing person I know.
If you had the opportunity to get to know him like I have, you would feel the same way. 20 years of "tradition" in your mind would gain a whole new meaning.
Now... another argument you may have, and this is where it gets tricky, is that the corps picks men that uphold the values of Texas A&M University. Well, my friends, sadly, that has not been proven to be the case throughout my college career (if it had, maybe I would still see them as better than Drew, but I do not). Looking at the facts, the Corps is not even officially endorsing 5 for Yell this year. That means that the values of the Corps are not reflected in their choice of candidates. I will not name names, but if you have been paying attention this year, there have been multiple scandalous things that have happened regarding the yell leaders. Nobody is perfect but there has been little said to address absences and other rumors to the student body, which says that they have SOMETHING TO HIDE. While I cannot base this on evidence, I can say that they haven't said anything to clarify... if there is nothing to hide, it follows that there would be no problem with clearing up rumors, am I right? And I haven't heard anyone doing that... Is that the kind of person who upholds the Corps' values of honor, integrity, discipline, and selfless service? You decide, but I don't think it is; someone who came clean about either the truth of the rumors of lack of truth to them would possess those qualities. Had certain individuals addressed their shortcomings, I would be willing to objectively consider voting for them, but covering everything up is not what this university stands for. It is not in our honor code, and it is not something our students do, either. I will not illuminate individual candidates' shortcomings, but if you'd like to find out more, look up stuff from the batt. www.thebatt.com
Please don't be deceived, I'm not trying to disrespect the Corps, or the individuals in it. I love the corps. My dad was in the corps, and my dad is one of my closest confidantes. I think that what the Corps is able to do is great, and I'm blessed that members of the corps go on to serve in whatever fields they go into. The military enables us to be free, and I'm thankful that the Corps serves as a place to get military training and comradery.
The fact of the matter is, when it comes to Yell Leader, I want to vote for someone who is going to uphold the VALUES of my university. Values supercede tradition; values are where tradition comes from, so without values, you cannot have tradition. Drew Nelson represents these values. I don't see another candidate who does, whether they're in the Corps or not is irrelevant.
You can research the other candidates for yourself, but for the final part of this post, I will attempt to express for you the ways in which he expresses those values, which are my reasons for believe he is the most capable of representing our student body, and upholding our traditions. These are both Texas A&M University's core values, and the values of the Corps of Cadets:
Honor-
Drew is an honorable man. He is honest and forthcoming. He has been involved in things such as carpool, to help save the lives of aggies. He is always at silver taps, to bring honor to those who have fallen.
Integrity-
Drew does what he believes is right, even when people aren't always watching him. During campaigning, he has held members of our team accountable to making sure we are not being hurtful to other candidates.
Discipline-
Drew is incredibly disciplined in his studies. He is a PPA student, which is a difficult program to get into without good grades and hard work. He's at every sporting even he can go to... that's a lot of sporting events.
Selfless Service-
Drew has helped me move a total of 3 times. That's pretty selfless. He's also been a part of organizations such as MSC Hospitality, which is a service organization.
Excellence-
Drew does everything to the best of his ability. This is evident in his organizational involvement, studies, and constant presence as part of the 12th man.
Leadership-
Drew has held leadership positions in MSC Hospitality, Reed Rowdies, and is a member of OL AGS, an organiation comprised of men in leadership. He leads even as a member, which is servant leadership... personally, I believe servant leadership to be the most important form of leadership, because it is leadership without credit.
Loyalty-
Drew grew up in College Station, and has always been an Aggie. He not only is a loyal member of the student body, but a loyal friend as well.
Respect-
Drew leads a respectful campaign. As members of his campaigning team, he asks that we be respectful of other candidates and opinions, and not do anything that would be perceived as hurtful or below the belt.
For more information on these values check out:
http://www.tamu.edu/about/coreValues.html
http://corps.tamu.edu/
The best way to adapt to the changing world is for the university to stick to its values. I know that if we do that as Aggies, the traditions will stick too. The logical choice, then, is to vote Drew Nelson for Senior Yell, because he's the best chance we've got at upholding the traditions we care so much about. Thank you for listening, and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
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