Texas A and M University - Aggieland Yearbook (College Station, TX)

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The past few years have brought many changes to campus. Larger students ranks lead to greater de¬ viation from the traditional conser¬ vative image. This offers A M a little ‘The extra publicity invites a flex of new, diverse students. Look at the liberal arts program, it’s blown up in our faces. —Mike McKenna senior history major Diversity Texas A M has long been viewed as a conservative, unchang¬ ing university attracting students with agricultural, technical, or military interests. Our image portrays a school not of the stereotypical collegiate mainstream, where student bodies study the classics and take stands on political issues. Yet with enroll¬ ment increasing to levels where the Board of Regents has capped the future members, the A M student body is exper¬ iencing change at much quicker rate than in the past. Mike McKenna, senior history major, attributes the changes to A M’s success on the gridiron and behind the microscope. “The extra publicity invites a flex of new, diverse students. Look at the liberal arts program, it’s blown up in our faces.” The new faces seem apparent. More foreign tongues seem to be spoken beyond the Academic Building, and Nguyen is more popular than Jones. Linda Longoria, senior education major, noticed “when I first came to A M I met people from Plainview and Cold Springs . . . now I meet Houston and Dallas people.” The make up of the student body is diversifying, and while many think A M is a new world now, others think it is not progressive enough. Sean Smith, senior journalism major, feels that “there may be diversity among a homogeneous set, but there is no diversity here.” He views progress as slow and our image in accordance to outside perspectives, Jason Sessom, senior marketing major, points out that progressive groups are “few in number, yet they do exist.” In spite of the conservative image the university has had for some time, students are attracted here. While the Texas econo¬ my has had its problems, more people have entered school with interests to make a better place for themselves in this world. With this interest comes new faces, ideas, attitudes and lifes¬ tyles inherent to A M’s future. The outlook is more fitting of a collegiate mainstream. We can only speculate that the class of 2000 will be like in light of A M’s strong traditions which are experiencing changes now. Changes may not be as rigid in the future. By Yollie Lopez Members of Phi Delta theta lounge by the Chemistry Building fountain between

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the University’s policy for quite some time. In 1985, however, fraternities became recognized student organizations, and the Interfraternity Council began setting guidelines for member frats. Although sororities remained unrecognized by A M, they too had a governing organization, Panhellenic. As Greeks became more accepted, chapter houses began to appear. A M had a well-established sorority row because of the large number of initiates and strong backing from the national offices. 1988 saw the beginning of a fraternity row on Wellborn Road — Alpha Gamma Rho moved into a $711,000 house in the spring and Sigma Chi bought land for a house. IFC’s adviser, Charles Goodman, thought fraternity row was an important development that would succeed. “The future of our fraternity system is a Fraternity Row,” he said. And the future looked bright: More students went through both Fall and Spring rush, which Goodman said made it easier for chapters to finance houses. A M’s Greek system did concern itself with issues other than fraternity row and the traditional parties: Several student lead¬ ership roles were filled by Greeks, indicating their increased prominence. Student Senate Speaker Kevin Buchanan, Fish Camp ’88 Director Jeff Tallas and Aggie fullback Matt Gurley all were members of Kappa Alpha fraternity. Fourth Battalion Commander David Benadof and Aggie Twelfth Man starter Dean Berry were members of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. And Greeks saw advantages to growth. Scarlet Roeder, a senior member of Zeta Tau Alpha, said being Greek can help later in life. “You meet people with similar ideas and goals,” Roeder said. “You will work with many of these people later in the business world.” “Being Greek is another facet to life at A M that allows for new opportunities,” said senior Delta Zeta member Holly Gat¬ lin. As they grew, fraternities and sororities worked to fit their -g traditions into those of A M. Phi Delta Theta member Dan | Buchanan thought they had succeeded. “I think people have finally realized that Greeks are as proud f to be at A M as everyone else,” Buchanan said. Features 25

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Above: A study in contrast. Bruce Babin, senior me¬ chanical engineering major, and Stacey Douglass, ju¬ nior agricultural economics major, go over class notes together. Left: Veronica Stewart, a freshman from La¬ redo, provides an alternative to the usual coed style. Friends, calling them¬ selves the “Super Tuesday Lunch Bunch,” gather in front of the Academic Building every Tuesday at noon to enjoy lunch. Features 27