re: Explain Texas A&M weirdness like I’m 5

I’ve got no problem with people not getting most of it. It’s an intentionally different experience, and much of it born out of the all-male, all military past. (A requirement that was changed by probably the only Aggie who could do it. James Earl Rudder was President of A&M in the 60’s, and he’s the one who made the change. He was also a complete badass on D-Day.)

Where I do get defensive is when people run down the Corps. Sure, you can question why anyone does it if they just go D&C for their last two years and are not contract for military service.

Before your junior year, you have to decide whether you are committing to that, just like at service academies. Unlike the academies, though, you can still be in the Corps but it just be an extracurricular activity. By that point, your buddies are your tribe, so many want to stick with it.

The cadets that do contract (usually just under half) are committing to serving as officers in the military, and A&M has a long history of supplying more officers than any school outside the academies. They are one of (and the largest of) six official Senior Military Colleges, as per the DoD.

I don’t even have a problem with mocking the unique traditions and stuff of the Corps. Where I do take offense, though, is belittling the ones who do decide to take the service path.