we are the aggies, the aggies are we

i remember that morning, waking up to my mother telling me i needed to turn on the news. the images were horrific and surreal. just the week before i'd been in college station, taking pictures with my friend amanda in front of bonfire. our visit had convinced me there was no other school for me and that i was destined to be an aggie. even with that faint knowledge of the school, i still felt like it was my family trapped on stack.

going to school and listening to the tasteless comments from some of the guys about aggie engineering absolutely made my blood boil. how could a person make fun of the tragic deaths of so many young people? screw rivalries, just try being a good human being for a while. at the same time, their comments reinforced my feelings of unity with the aggie family. i just wanted to be at my school as soon as possible.

since being here, some of my feelings of pride and loyalty have faded for this school. reality has a way of doing that. i think it's also partly because this is a different school than it was before 11-18-99. from what some former students have told me, there was a spirit about campus that died the day we lost those twelve students. it's sad, but it's gone. however, this one day briefly gives me back that vibrant yet naive sense of school pride.

bonfire will never return to campus and i don't think it should. it would never be the way it was before and would create a split in the university. the administration made the right move by creating such a beautiful tribute in its place. the bonfire memorial is something that is definitely worth seeing if you are in college station. it's simple yet powerful and captures the essence of those who are gone. God bless them and us.