Embarrassing

Let it be known that I love Texas A&M University and am a proud former student. However, a little bit of that pride dies when I hear about the ignorant, close-minded students that A&M is unfortunately famous for.

President Obama will be giving a talk on community service on campus tomorrow with former President Bush (daddy Bush), and apparently this is just too much for some students (and even former students) to handle. Do they see this as an honor that Texas A&M University was chosen as an institution that encompasses the spirit of community service? No. Instead, they see this as a chance to hold protests and embarrass this fine university in front of the rest of the world. It's crucial to point out, however, that when the latest President Bush spoke at the December 2008 graduation, no one made a sound. How strange. The Young Conservatives of Texas, also known as a filthy stain on the fabric that is A&M organizations, are of course captaining these protests. Do they have the right to disagree with Obama's policies? Of course, it's a free country. But what they cannot see is that they are causing more harm than good. In the end, they are only going to make themselves look like idiots and portray A&M as a classless, close-minded university.

I will admit that when I first entered A&M, I hated how conservative it was and I moped around and felt sorry for my liberal self. Through my four years, however, I saw a marked change in the political atmosphere at A&M. Sure, the majority of students were still conservatives, but the fanatacism wasn't as obvious and everyone had RESPECT for each others' views. I was even pleasantly surprised to see so much support for Obama amidst all the hateful t-shirts worn by McCain supporters during the election. But now I am afraid that this progress is being overshadowed by pure ignorance and disrespect.

Texas A&M is an amazing university, and I owe my happiest memories to it. Conservative, liberal, black, white, everyone respects one another because we are all Aggies. So why not show that respect to our president, regardless of whether or not you voted for him? To have a sitting president visit your university is an HONOR. So come on Aggies, show some class and disprove that conservative/ignorant/close-minded stigma that surrounds us. By giving a bad name to this university, you are only hurting yourselves. And plus, do you really want to be seen on CNN as the crazy college student from Texas who couldn't even muster up enough respect for the leader of our country? Grow up.