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Honoring Deceased Found to be Great Inconvenience

By Bacon & Ags , in Special Occasion , at February 2, 2016 Tags: , , , ,

As students begin to accept that the spring semester is indeed in full swing, the Aggie schedule is moving at full speed. On Tuesday night, Aggies once again gathered in Academic Plaza to honor those students who have passed away, through the sacred and somber tradition of Silver Taps. For some, Silver Taps is a special time to demonstrate the unity and support of the student body for fellow members of the Aggie family. For others, Silver Taps is something you do with your FLO or camp once or twice, or just something that you do because Ben Stuart said you should. It is widely agreed that attending one is sufficient, and if you’ve been to one, you’ve been to them all.

Others, who claim to see the importance of the event, but still do not attend, are able to come up with a myriad of excuses for missing the sacred ceremony. Many students find themselves unmotivated to stand in the cold for forty-five minutes on a Tuesday night. Who can blame anyone for having tired legs after standing up for a straight 7 hours of banner holding by the MSC? Organizational PR is, after all, a much easier and more convenient way to express your support for Texas A&M, compared to Silver Taps.

Other examples for staying home instead of going to Silver Taps have much stronger bases.

“I just have a lot to study, that’s all. First round of exams start tomorrow and I’m already way behind,” dedicated students say. These are often the same diligent students found spending uninterrupted hours scrolling through Instagram or streaming Making a Murderer while in the library on Tuesday afternoons.

“It’s just too late. By the time Silver Taps rolls around, I’m too tired to make my way to campus and stand around for an hour in the middle of the night,” the over-involved explain. This is the typical answer of a student, who, at least weekly, has no problem running two miles at midnight after their committee meeting gets out especially late.

Some have blamed the twenty-one gun salute for being too loud, or too jarring. Others have claimed the ceremony is “boring”. “What am I supposed to even think about while all that’s happening? The precious fragility of life? The love, unity, and sorrow that we, as members of the same student body, should show each other in such a gentle time for mourning? No thanks, that’s too much for me. Can’t stay focused for that long.”

It is true that being there for your fellow students and the families of those grieving the loss of a young Aggie means facing the staggering discomfort of standing in the cold for less than an hour once every month, but–as difficult as that may be–isn’t it worth it?

 

-Bacon & Ags

 

Howdy:

Silver Taps will be held at 10:30pm in Academic Plaza.

Please take the time to attend to show respect and support for the families that are grieving. This is what makes Texas A&M unique, let’s keep it that way.