thebattalion ● tuesday,
september 7, 2010
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2010 student media
Silver Taps May 9, 1991 — May 13, 2010
Nov. 5, 1991 — April 25, 2010
Aug 9, 1991 — May 13, 2010
Dec. 27, 1982 — June 11, 2010
Tanner Ferris
Kimberley Kenyon
Nathan Shearod
YiChun Yang
Katie White | The Battalion
Ryan Seybold | The Battalion
Tanner Lloyd Ferris, a member of the Corps of Cadets and the Class of 2013, died May 13, in Bastrop while driving home to Vidor with Nathan “Shawn” Shearod from a river trip with the Corps. He turned 19 four days prior. Ferris had finished his freshman year at Texas A&M, majoring in general studies. His mother said he l o v e d history and science and getting into long debates about the two.
Kimberley Michaela Kenyon, 18, died April 25. The freshman biology major from Houston was born Nov. 5, 1991, in Mandeville, Jamaica. In Jamaica, she attended primary and preparatory school before moving to Texas at age 10. She attended middle and high school near Fort Worth, and excelled in academics, as well as athletics and music. “She was an exceptional young lady; the
Nathan Vashawn “Shawn” Dominique Shearod, a member of the Corps of Cadets and class of 2013 died May 13, in Bastrop while riding home with Tanner Ferris after a river trip with the Corps. He was 18. He was a 2009 graduate of O’Connor High School in San Antonio and he finished his first year at Texas A&M majoring in physics. Shearod was a cadet in the B Company of the Corps of
Born on Dec. 27, 1982, in Taipei, Taiwan, YiChun “Dulcie” Yang was always a straight A student. She completed her undergraduate work at Taiwan’s National University. In 2005, YiChun left her native Taiwan for Texas and began her graduate work at the college of science in the biology department. Her dedication to her work and studies earned admiration from her fellow students and advisers. She died unexpectedly on June
See Ferris on page 5
See Kenyon on page 5
See Shearod on page 5
See Yang on page 5
Katie White | The Battalion
Ty Petty | The Battalion
Unique tradition honors fallen Aggies Matt Woolbright The Battalion An austere atmosphere permeates Academic Plaza the first Tuesday night of every month when Silver Taps commences. Hundreds of students converge amid the trees and darkened light posts, fellow Aggies packing tightly together, within arm’s reach in every direction. Yet there is a silence unlike any other. The deliberate steps of the Ross Volunteers resonate across the Plaza, as they march in to fire three volleys, honoring fallen Aggies. Silver Taps is a tradition with military origins that honor, current students who have died since the last Silver Taps. Tonight’s Silver Taps will honor four Aggies who died since spring semester.
“It really connects the Aggie family on campus in a way that no other tradition does. It’s a way to honor people that are in the same shoes as you. They probably walked across campus and went to the football games. It says a lot about Aggies in general. No other university does anything like Silver Taps,” said Lesa Teer, a senior agriculture communication and journalism major and Traditions Council Chairwoman. One oddity of the tradition honored more than 100 years is the weather. While countless tears have been shed during ceremonies, rarely does the sky open up and pour down on Aggieland while the Bugler plays. “I’ve never been to a Silver Taps ceremony at which it rained,” said Lane Stephenson, di-
rector for news and information services, “but I’ve missed a few over the years. It would certainly be a rarity if it were to rain during a Silver Taps.” Stephenson’s continuous tenure in Aggieland dates to 1966. Current students, born more than two decades after Stephenson’s hiring, still understand and appreciate the value of A&M’s Silver Taps Ceremony. “It makes me feel special to know if something were to happen to me, that many people would be there who care,” said Madison Hart, a sophomore international studies major, “and it’s nice to see all Aggies come together for each other.”
When: 10:30 tonight
Where: Academic Plaza Lights are dimmed on campus and Aggies walk in silence to Taps to honor the fallen students.
J.D. Swiger — THE BATTALION
Allies’ event to raise awareness
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and most of the cadets live off campus. “We’re pretty much on our own system where we pick our level of involvement,” Gorrell said. “Most of us are at least 22, and being prior military, and being on our own for awhile, we don’t need the structured lifestyle that a freshman coming straight out of high school would.” The outfit still participates in the March-In before football games, wears their uniforms
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The Battalion Unlike most combat boots seen walking around campus, the boots worn by the members of Delta Co. have seen combat. Delta Co. is an outfit within the Corps of Cadets for student veterans who are interested in participating in the ROTC program. “We had a lot of guys coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan that were going to be in the ROTC program and become officers,” said David Alexander, 1 Sgt. of Delta Co. and a junior political science major. “Taking a guy that had just come out of Iraq or Afghanistan and putting him in a normal Corps outfit didn’t seem like a good idea to anybody, and they started Delta Co.” The outfit began in 2006 with a few
members but now averages about 25 students each semester. Members said they hope to continue growing, though they don’t employ the typical recruitment methods used by the Corps of Cadets. “We have different recruiting methods,” said Gary Gorrell, Delta Co. commander and senior agricultural leadership major. “We kind of [have] to just push it through word of mouth and try to appeal to the large number of veterans that are on campus and try to get them in. We’ve definitely come a long way from where we first started, but we’re definitely not near where we would like to be.” While Delta Co. is a fully functioning integrated unit in the Corps, it is not the typical Corps experience. All of the students are older than the average freshman cadet,
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Brandi Tevebaugh
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Student veterans join Corps company
At 5:30 p.m. today Aggie Allies will have the annual Allies Across Campus event at Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy Hawking Auditorium. Speakers will include Brad Dressler, Aggie Allies Chairman, Christine Stanley, vice president and associate provost for diversity, Lowell Kane, program coordinator of the GLBT Resource Center. “Allies Across Campus is a gathering of individuals at Texas A&M and in our community who are friends to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender population,” Kane said. “Everybody is welcome to attend this event to learn about the organization and events planned for this year.” Haley Lawson, special to The Battalion
9/6/10 11:06 PM