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The story goes that when Texas A &M was an all -male
military college in 1907, cadets often invited ladies
from Texas Woman's University to visit College Station
to attend Aggie football games. According to legend,
during one football game the Aggies were being out-
scored so badly the ladies threatened to leave the
game. To prevent this, the upperclassmen ordered the
freshmen, or "fish," to find a way to entertain them. The
freshmen raided a janitor's closet and changed into the
white coveralls they found there, and began leading the
crowd in yells from the track in front of the stands. The
freshmen got so much attention from the ladies that it
was decided that only upperclassmen would be allowed
to participate in this entertainment in the future,
because fish shouldn't be privileged for this.
The history of the Aggie Yell Leaders is one that would
take much longer to recollect than a simple article,
but over the past century there have been significant
changes to the Yell Leader selection process. At different
times, to accommodate student body growth, returning
veterans and other mandates all shaped the election
process and team of five upperclassmen: three seniors
and two juniors. Dating back since the late 60's, student
body elections are held annually to choose the Aggie
Yell Leaders. This past election year more than 11,000
students casted votes for the 25+ candidates for Senior
Yell Leader and 15 +candidates for Junior Yell Leader.
Traditionally, the Yell Leaders are members of the Corps,
in keeping with A &M's military history, though officially
in 1946 - the official number went from 4 leaders to 5,
creating a veteran Yell Leader position. In 1951, as the
number of veteran's on- campus decreased, the position
was then mandated as a "non- corps" position.
In September 1952, Mr. Jimmy Tyree ran for Junior Yell
Leader, a decision he made his freshman year although
he was a good year and a half away from the election,
and he remembers it clearly: "...That was in the spring
of 1952 when I entered my name as a candidate. It
was a stark campus of 6500 students - -- an all male,
military school. Everybody wore a uniform. "Up and
at `em" at 6 AM when the bugler sounded "Reveille."
We marched to chow three times a day and there
wasn't much time for extra curricular activities." Mr.
Tyree knew that getting elected would take work, he
couldn't just wait around and hope to become a Yell
Leader - -he needed to grab their attention. He says, "I
put on my thinking cap and remembered the "cowboy
version" of the slogan being used by Coca -Cola at the
time -- "The Pause that Refreshes" -- immediately his
mind was churning thinking about when cadets have
time to pause, and it clicked - the bathroom. Males
have to pause several times a day at a urinal. 90% of the
voters lived in the concentrated 12 dorm area known
on campus as the Quad. Each dorm had 4 stories with
4 urinals on each floor: 12 dorms, 16 urinals per dorm
- -- 192 opportunities to display his name. Mr. Tyree
found an office that had an mimeograph machine and
printed 200 signs on 8 1/2 x 11 white typing paper with
the following:
WHEN YOU TAKE A "PEE"
THINK OF ME
JIMMY TYRES
1R. YELL LEADER
Using Scotch tape, he taped one of these signs on the
wall in front of the 192 urinals. The signs got the voters
attention while each paused momentarily to refresh
themselves - -- and consequently, Mr. Jimmy Tyree
found himself elected as Junior Yell Leader for th�
following school year.
Now with over 49,000 students on campus, campaigning
isn't what it use to be. Today, campaigning has evolved
so much so, an Election Commission was formed to
regulate campaigning methods (not just for Yell Leaders
either). With budget limitations, fines for campaign
violations, and countless forms and regulations,
campaign groups have to be organized and are held to
a high accountability. Signs, Facebook and internet
videos, campus rallies and many other ways are used
to promote the different candidates -- nothing like it
was in the 50's or even as late as the 90's and the past
10 years. Nowadays, the guidelines and regulations
for campaigning are strict and numerous. While
running for Yell Leader could be as "simple" as filing
the candidacy form and other required paperwork with
WWW.CORPSOFCADETS.ORG the Guidon 1 19
the Election Commission, the Corps takes a different
approach. The Corps corporately nominates the
candidates they wish to run for Yell, promoting unity
and tradition. The Yell Leader candidate nomination
process within the Corps has varied throughout the
decades, be it "secret meetings ", being solely chosen
by the current Yell Leaders, or nominated by peers;
however it happens, one thing holds true for all - -that
the Corps wants the best candidates to represent them.
Since the non -corps position mandate was passed
and even further extended to the group of 5 positions,
there have been about 30 non -corps candidates
elected, most of whom were elected while the official
veteran or non -corps position was mandated. More
recently "5 for Yell" has been the campaign slogan to
encourage Aggie student voters to vote for all 5 of the
Corps nominated candidates -- otherwise known as
"the block'.
Formally called "Corps block" and "Butt block" - -this
is now an official pre- determined time held to give
current sophomores and juniors the opportunity to
get to know each other, specifically their classmates
who are interested in running for Yell. During the
week of "Corps block" sophomores spend the evenings
hanging out and bonding, sometimes going to dinner,
other times at someone's house. For the juniors, "Butt
block" lasts a couple of days, since 1) they only have
to choose one additional Senior candidate and 2) they
were able to get to know each other during the previous
year's Corps Block. The final night, both classes vote
from all cadets interested in running, down to the top
10 then top 5, who then proceed to the review board
of about 30 zips and bulls for interviews and the final
selection of the two Junior candidates and one Senior
(aka "the 3rd Wheel "). Normally, the current Junior Yell
Leaders run as incumbents, so the five cadet nominees
then register as co- candidates with the Election
Commission to run as "5 for Yell ".
Campaign Week, now only 5 official days, is a grueling
week of meetings, talks and promotion. The five
candidates select a group of 5 -7 ladies to run their
campaigns. The ladies who are chosen as campaign
managers are typically selected based on their
experience, dedication and knowledge of campaigning.
In Ryan Smith's case, she says, "a series of ironic events
led to my involvement in campaigning my freshman
year - -it was really a fluke" In her experience, this
was not typical, nor did she realize what she was
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getting herself into almost four years ago. Prior to the
start of her freshman year, Ryan attended a freshmen
camp, IMPACT where Weston Wilcox, then current
Junior Yell Leader class of `10, was her group leader.
Additionally, she joined a Christian sorority and her
small group leader was the current campaign manager -
-so consequently, Ryan was recruited to help. For the
past two years, Ryan '12, a Sociology major, has led the
"5 for Yell" campaign. She says at this point "it's a well
oiled machine" especially with all
the rules, policies and regulations
to adhere to from the Election
Commission. Each girl on staff
has a specific job or task assigned.
Campaign preparation typically
begins in late November prior
to the upcoming election in the
Spring. The first meeting consists of
"the boys "(Yell Leader candidates)
and "the girls" (Campaign staff)
discussing new regulations,
changes to existing policies and
strategy. This year was especially
difficult. In years past, both Corps
Block and Butt Block are held
during the Fall so that prior to the
end of the semester, the candidates
are selected by the Corps
officially and then can select
managers to work on printing
materials, preparing signs and
banners over Christmas break.
This year Corps Block wasn't
held until the spring semester,
so they were rushed to get
things in order as the Junior
candidates weren't selected
E %AS q prior to December. When asked
' about campaign design she said
"Tradition and simplicity!
the Corps is the foundation of
campus, so we stick to maroon
and white, focusing on unity and
tradition- -the values the Corps
is built on - -it makes sense."
In her experience, Ryan has
found that in person meetings
are key to winning an election.
While Facebook and videos
are effective, it ultimately boils
down to the voters knowing their candidates. "Students
want to know the Yell Leaders. They want to feel a
connection and be part of the experience, so that's what
"the boys" focus on-- getting out there on campus to
meet people and tell their story and communicating
why they should be elected." On a typical day during
the five days of official campaigning, the morning will
start at about 0720 hours and volunteers will disperse to
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WWW.CORPSOFCADETS.ORG the Guidon 1 21
their designated spots to hold sheet banners
from 0800 to 1700 hours. Amidst going
to class and other commitments, the boys
spend their time talking and promoting.
At 1730 hours is when the campaigning is
put in full force and "the boys" are stretched
to their limits -- showing real dedication to
each other. On a given night, "the boys"
will visit 25 -35 student group meetings
to rally, promote and recruit additional
support, endorsements, and volunteers.
Once the meetings have finished, it's then to
a campaign staff meeting - -to debrief from
the day, put of any "fires" out so to speak,
address the group and prepare for the next
day, making sure that there are enough
volunteers, typically ending around 0100
hours. Ryan commented, "it's like a business
operation, yet also a family. Everybody is
there for "the boys" and is committed. They
know their jobs and put in the work', which
shows, as the "5 for Yell" campaign has
claimed victory for a majority of the past
elections.
Despite lots of changes and difficulties,
"5 for Yell" won the victory. Cadets David
Benac '12, Head Yell Leader; Patrick Ivey
'12, a economics major from Richardson;
Austin Walker'12, an industrial distribution
major from Houston; Nelson Ingram '13,
a business major from Tuscola; and Josh
Light '13, a chemical engineering major
from Abilene will lead the 12th Man as the
Fightin' Texas Aggie Yell Leaders. While the
campaign process and even the corporate
Corps nomination process may change and
has evolved from something as simple as 8.5
X 11 signs to online videos, web content,
staffs of many volunteers, and perhaps a
lot more hours. It still holds true that the
cadet candidates are taking the position of
Yell Leader seriously and are committed to
the Corps, its student body and Texas A &M
University - and ultimately they represent
us well as we support our Aggies to achieve
victory.
22 1 the Guidon
TEXAS AGGIE CORPS OF CADETS ASSOCIATION