HomeMy WebLinkAboutCampus_PublicationsThe Battalion
It started with only a handful of cadets, just a small group of people who
wanted to publish a newspaper. Little did they know that the publication
they called The Battalion would evolve into a Texas A&M tradition.
On Oct. 1, 1893, these men published the first edition of Texas A&M’s
newspaper. It was a crude publication, to say the least. It was small,
about half the size of a piece of notebook paper. Its major stories were
the decline of the A&M baseball team and the soon-to-be-built electric
light and power house. Yet at the top of the page in their salutatory,
these cadets profoundly commented on their new creation.
“Boys, this paper is yours,” the section read. “Make it something. Lend
all your assistance possible. It is your duty, and should be your pleasure
to write something for every issue.”
Also in the salutatory, E.L. Bruce, The Battalion’s first editor in chief, was
given instructions that he and all succeeding editors would follow.
“He shall do everything in his power to make these pages lively,
interesting and instructive.”
More than 100 years later, the students no longer are all cadets, the
electric light and power house has been torn down, and The Battalion
looks far different from the form use by its founders. Yet this newspaper
has endeavored through the last century to provide the people of Texas
A&M with information that is lively, interesting and instructive. That is
the unfailing mission of The Battalion every time its hits the stands.
The Olio, Long Horn
Texas A&M's first yearbook appeared in 1895, published not long
after The Battalion ran several editorials calling for the creation of
a college annual. Until that time, the June issue of The Battalion
had played the role of college annual, printing articles and
pictures that recapped each school year.
The 1895 yearbook name "Olio" was chosen by the editors
because in England it was the name given to select collections of
music and literature. The book had 133 pages and was dedicated
to the cadets' mothers and fathers. Among the usual collection of
pictures of students, faculty and organizations was a photo of the
Red Headed Club, stating "All members shall be red headed, and
the redness thereof shall determine his standing in the club."
For reasons unknown, the second college yearbook did not
appear until 1903 when it was given the name “Long Horn” by an
English professor’s two daughters. The name remained until 1949,
when students voted for the change to “Aggieland,” a yearbook
that today averages more than 800 pages each year and remains
one of the largest yearbooks in the nation.
Descriptions courtesy of Aggieland Yearbook and Robert Wegener of Student Media at Texas A&M University. The Olio courtesy of the Dansby family, a
five generation Aggie family. The Long Horn courtesy of B.B. Holland of College Station. The 1894 Battalion courtesy of Sherry Frisk of College Station.