The Battalion — April 21, 2022

THURSDAY, APRIL 21 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2022 STUDENT MEDIA

MUSTER

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SURROUNDED

BY SPIRIT

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REFLECTION DISPLAY

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KEYNOTE SPEAKER

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Abbey Santoro — THE BATTALION

Let Comrade Answer, ‘Here’ The Texas A&M Foundation proudly supports this year’s Muster and every Muster to come.

NEWS

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The Battalion | 4.21.22

Students, community to gather in Reed Arena to remember fallen Aggies in campus Muster ceremony

Surrounded by spirit

By Michaela Rush @Michaela4Batt

I

n one of Texas A&M’s oldest traditions, the Aggie family will gather to remember all the Aggies who have died in the past year during Aggie Muster, on Thursday, April 21 at 7 p.m. in Reed Arena, with doors opening at 5 p.m.

During Aggie Muster, a Roll Call for the Absent is read, and a candle is lit for each honoree. Following each name, attendees will say “Here” to symbolize that even those who are no longer physically present will always be a part of the A&M community.

The first Aggie Muster was hosted in 1883, by former students, and eventually turned into a campus event in 1924. In addition to the celebration in Reed Arena, former students around the world will host 258 local versions of the remembrance ceremony.

This event is run entirely by students on the Muster Committee, which works yearround to connect with families who have lost loved ones, as well as the returning Class of 1972 celebrating their 50th reunion. Political science junior Marcus Peña, programs executive on the committee, said this ceremony is what solidified his decision to attend A&M. “It was [a] local Muster that started things for me; I went to my local Muster senior year of high school,” Peña said. “That was the craziest experience ever for me, because I already felt so connected to the school I was attending, and I was the first Aggie in my entire family. It was a really ethereal experience, and when I came to campus I knew the first thing I wanted to do was join the Muster Committee and give back.”

For biology senior Addison Blakemore, external relations coordinator, Muster is all about bringing people together and celebrating their part in this community.

“The most important part of Muster is the people, not only the people who put it on but the people it brings together, the former students, the current students and the future students, as well as their families,” Blakemore said. “Muster provides an event where everyone can come together and have that comradery.”

Biomedical engineering senior Rachel

Abbey Santoro — THE BATTALION

Muster will be held in Reed Arena on April 21 at 7 p.m. honoring 1,420 fallen Aggies.

Greve, awareness executive for Muster Committee, said the event has something for everyone, and can provide great comfort.

“The most important parts of Muster to me are the comfort and compassion you feel going into it, so Muster is one thing where we welcome in a diverse group of individuals, both Aggies and non-Aggies. Muster is for everyone,” Greve said. “Muster meets you wherever you’re at, and everyone takes away something different from the experience. It’s something you may not realize you needed, but you walk away feeling the power of the Aggie family and the comfort and compassion, the outpouring of love on the night of Mus-

ter.”

Blakemore said seeing the way this campus unites for Muster helps make the massive scale of A&M much less intimidating.

“The most rewarding thing is seeing how big a network can come together,” Blakemore said. “What scared me coming to A&M was how big it was, how many people there were here and it was a scary change ... There’s a lot of people connected to A&M as a student or faculty member or family of someone who goes to A&M. You are a part of that Aggie family, that Aggie Spirit and you get that sense of community.”

Despite the long-standing nature of Muster,

Peña said it still manages to be a different experience each year, which is why it’s important for students to continue to attend.

“Not everyone is there to celebrate, but not everyone is there to grieve as well,” Peña said.

“People are there for different reasons, and it’ll be different every year as well. I think it has people wanting to come back next year. That unity that comes out of it will provide emotions students haven’t felt as Aggies yet.”

During the day, the committee will also host a barbecue, free to all students, aiming to connect current students to the returning Class of 1972, at Kyle Field Plaza on Thursday, April 21 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

CONGRATULATIONS! The Buck Weirus Spirit Award honors 55 students each year who demonstrate high involvement, create positive experiences throughout the Aggie community, impact student life at Texas A&M and enhance the Aggie Spirit.

CONGRATULATIONS to the 2022 Buck Weirus Spirit Award recipients!

Jacob Abell ’22

Ariana Gonzalez ’24

Staci Rende ’19

Yovanka Gonzalez ’22

Mati Rigsby ’23

Alexia Hernandez ’22

Kayla Roberts ’22

Celina Hernandez ’23

Chesley Rowlett ’23

Bridget Higgins ’22

Sami Schramm ’22

Nicholas Hines ’24

Eric Shields ’22

Samhita Anapu ’23

Woods Johnson ’22

Peter Simmons ’22

Pranav Batra ’23

Laura Key ’22

Mikayla Slaydon ’22

Kyle Beck ’22

Sunjay Letchuman ’22

Nimisha Srikanth ’23

Meg Camele ’21

Helena MacCrossan ’23

Erin Steglich ’22

Lisa Cantu ’24

Theron McAdoo ’22

Danaleigh Stiles ’23

Miles Cook ’24

Hope McFarlin ’24

Luke Tillman ’22

Anne-Marie Datcu ’23

Rachel Mondragon ’22

Noble Udoh ’22

Breiana DeGrate ’22

Cole Murphy ’23

Isabelle Vinten ’23

Lauren Devenzio ’22

Riley Murray ’21

Simon West ’24

Courtney Duran ’23

Mikayla Nasis ’23

Michael Whittaker ’21

Courtney Eeds ’22

Christian Newton ’24

Ryan Williamson ’24

Víctor Ferro ’23

Aketch Osamba ’22

Grayson Winchester ’23

Matthew B. Francis Jr. ’22

Peter Park ’23

Caitlin Garcia ’22

Hannah Payne ’22

Christopher Given ’23

Lauren Ramirez ’22

Sponsored by:

The Association of Former Students congratulates the 2022 Gathright Phi Kappa Phi Outstanding Junior Award recipients for their outstanding academic performance at Texas A&M University.

2022 AWARD RECIPIENTS

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE & LIFE SCIENCES Clayton Elbel ’23

MAYS BUSINESS SCHOOL Leah Kincaid ’23

COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE

TEXAS A&M SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Tyler Eutsler ’24

Matilin Rigsby ’23

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

COLLEGE OF NURSING

Layla Rushing ’24 TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY AT GALVESTON

Lauren Early ’23 COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING Courtney Gasser ’23

Jentzen Hartsell ’23 COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE OF GEOSCIENCES

Allison Nors ’23

Kerry Abernethy-Cannella ’23 TEXAS A&M COLLEGE OF DENTISTRY

The Houston A&M Club

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE

Lexie Potts ’22

Raj Patel ’22 TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY AT QATAR

Presented by:

Student Activities DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS

COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES Lizabelle Russell ’23

Beena Rani Debnath ’23

NEWS

3

The Battalion | 4.21.22

Cameron Johnson — THE BATTALION

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (left) and Texas A&M System Chancellor John Sharp (right) were two of the attendees at the Class of 1972 reunion.

Class of 1972 returns to Aggieland for 50th reunion Former students return to campus to reconnect, remember college

By Aubrey Vogel @aubrey_vogel From the election of former President Richard Nixon to the launch of Apollo 8, the Texas A&M Class of 1972 saw a unique set of historic events during their years in college.

Fifty years after their graduation, over 500 class members and guests have gathered in College Station, for one of the largest 50-year reunions, to attend Campus Muster in Reed Arena and reconnect with old classmates. The reunion featured class get-togethers including various dinners and receptions, a golf tournament, tours of the Memorial Student Center, the Quad and Music Activities Center, with continued activities on April 21 for the 2022 Campus Muster.

The group was history-making for the university, with the first two African American cadets in the Ross Volunteer group, the first Black female graduate and one of the first female Naval Aviators.

“We attended A&M during an unconventional time in our nation’s history. In September 1968, we arrived with 3,343 of our fish

buddies on a campus with an enrollment of 12,733,” organizers said in a release. “1968, a leap year, proved to be a seismic, watershed year with the increasing protests of the Vietnam War, racial unrest, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy; simply put it was difficult to attend A&M during these turbulent times.”

Serving as the last stand-alone reunion before the class is inducted into the Sul Ross Group for their 55th anniversary in 2027, Louis Rodriguez, Class of 1972, said he wanted to be sure to attend a reunion with his class after not being able to attend years before.

“It is a wonderful feeling [to be back alongside my classmates],” Rodriguez said. “I’ve always wanted to make a reunion and I saw this was the last one officially and I said, ‘I gotta make it.’”

Rodriguez said he has seen so much change in Aggieland since his time in college through his daughter Helena Rodriguez, a visualization graduate student, who accompanied him to the event. Though a lot has changed with new construction and a whole new group of students, Louis and his daughter have had the privilege of having the same professor for a photography class, who they plan to get together with while they are here.

On Wednesday, April 20, the class gathered

for a dinner hosted by A&M System Chancellor John Sharp, Class of 1972, filled with many A&M celebrities including Reveille X, former women’s basketball coach Gary Blair, football coach Jimbo Fisher and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Class of 1972.

With having his classmates back in town the past few days, Sharp said he was happy to have one of the most active classes back in Aggieland.

“This is a class [who] come[s] back a lot, this is a pretty active bunch,” Sharp said. “These reunions, especially a big one like this, are a lot of fun.”

Fisher provided an update on the football atmosphere, including a look at new recruits, and fielded questions from the class, many of whom told Fisher they were looking forward to the upcoming season and were ready for another national championship.

“There’s not a fan base in the world that deserves more than y’all,” Fisher said. “I say this all the time: we have tremendous assets — we[‘ve] got tremendous facilities, we got everything here. The key components, an important thing [are] the people. I’ve never been around a genuine honest group of people who sincerely love their university more than y’all.”

Another guest speaker for the group was

Blair, who just completed his final season as the head women’s basketball coach, and proposed a challenge to the class to find their ‘why’ and encouraged them to continue to give back to their communities, wherever that may be.

Though he did not attend A&M, Blair is a part of Texas Tech University’s Class of 1972, after experiencing setbacks during his college journey causing him to graduate later than anticipated.

“It’s now time for us to figure out this last chapter of our life,” Blair said. “I’m gonna keep giving back to this university and I’m gonna keep giving back to this community, and I want you to do the same thing, wherever your community is.”

Additionally, a group of Fish Camp crew members joined the dinner to showcase the Silver Taps and Muster programming which is presented to freshmen at Lakeview each summer.

The Class of 1972 will hold a private Muster ceremony on Thursday morning for classmates who have been lost since their last reunion and also will be in attendance at the Campus Muster in Reed Arena to pay tribute to Aggies lost during the 2021-22 year.

LIFE&ARTS

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The Battalion 4.21.22

Gone, but not forgotten Muster Reflections Display honors lives, legacies of fallen Aggies

By Myranda Campanella @MCampanella_ A pair of senior boots, a Bonfire pot, an Aggie Ring, a diploma.

And photographs upon photographs.

These mementos and more line the tables of the Stephen Horn ‘79 Flag Room, showcasing the lives of those whose names will be called this Thursday at 7 p.m. Open from April 14 to April 21 at noon, the Muster Reflections Display is set up annually in the Memorial Student Center to give families of honorees the opportunity to share pieces of their loved ones with the Aggie community.

At Jason Robert Gentry’s display, there’s handwritten notes from his two young kids, Elisabeth and Samuel.

A Baylor Scott & White RN badge hangs on Miranda Elizabeth Meckel’s display.

The first display on the west side of the Flag Room showcases a Texas Senate Proclamation in memory of Neil Ross Gurwitz, Class of 1950, for his service to the Bastrop community.

Three United States patents are stacked on the display for former biomedical engineering professor James Machek.

The display for former Vice President of Communications for the Association of Former Students Kathryn Greenwade, Class of 1988, is filled to the edges of the table with a number of personal mementos, awards and recognitions, including a saber presented by the Corps of Cadets Company C-2 for her 13 years of service as an academic advisor.

These, and more, are the stories of the Aggies lost in the past year.

For Abby Kite, co-coordinator of this year’s Reflections Display, these displays share more about the memories and legacies of the fallen Aggies than just their names.

“I think the Reflections Display is a really great way to personalize your experience with Muster,” Kite said. “A great thing to do is pick out two or three of the names [on the Muster], go to the Reflections Display, learn more about them … and really keep those people in your mind and in your heart throughout Muster. Then when you say ‘Here’ for them, there’s no way you can’t feel that connection.”

Political science senior Katrina Leslie, who is serving as a Muster host this year, said the Reflections Display allows the community to put a face to Muster.

“I think a lot of people can be distant from the tradition of Muster in that, you show up and hear a name that you’ve never heard of, but you’re saying ‘Here’ for them,” Leslie said. “I think [the Reflections Display] really makes it more of a personal connection for people, especially when I go to Muster and I say ‘Here,’ I know more of who the people are, who the Aggies are, that we’re actually honoring and what their life meant to their loved ones.”

As a graduating senior, Kite said she’s glad she got involved with Muster Committee during her final year at Texas A&M, and that being involved with the Reflections Display has given her the chance to reflect on her own family.

“Being able to directly impact a family’s experience and be a part of aiding their grieving process or giving them a moment to breathe I think is something that really resonates with me,” Kite said. “Grief is a very complicated thing. A lot of times the best thing you can do is show up for someone.”

In the back corner of the Flag Room is a display which Kite said stood out to her the most this year: A standing memorial for Earl Clifford Butler IV, Class of 2021, with digital photographs, a cowboy hat, his diploma and more, which his wife Lisa reached out to Muster Committee about displaying back in September.

“It’s this huge standing display, [and it’s] electrical. They engineered it, it took them six hours to build,” Kite said. “I think that show of love and that display really ties into being able to create an experience for the families that allows them to show their love.”

For kinesiology freshman Kayla Crutchfield, who is also serving as a Muster host this year, the Reflections Display is her favorite aspect of the tradition.

“You can remember, ‘Oh, I looked at that person’s reflection display and I got to see their family,’ and you get to know their story before you just say ‘Here’ for them,” Crutchfield said. “It’s more meaningful.”

This year’s display, Kite said, truly embodies the spirit of the 12th Man. “You can just feel the love when you walk into the room,” Kite said.

Robert O’Brien — THE BATTALION

Memorials for Joseph Stanley Britton Jenkins, Class of 1965, (top) and Miranda Elizabeth Menkel, Class of 2023, (bottom) are among the dozens located in the Flag Room this year.

SPORTS

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The Battalion | 4.21.22

Cameron Johnson — THE BATTALION

Senior pitcher Makinzy Herzog (No. 24) winds up for a pitch in Davis Diamond on Friday, Feb. 18.

A&M softball set to host No. 2 Alabama Aggie softball to face toughest opponent yet at Davis Diamond

By Tyler Dupnick @TDup25 With about three weeks remaining in the regular season, Texas A&M softball currently holds a 24-17 record overall and a 3-12 record in SEC play. The Aggies’ conference record mostly symbolizes their struggles against ranked competition, as they are 3-16 versus ranked opponents in 2022.

The good news for A&M is that its schedule lightens up down the stretch. However, before the grass gets greener, the Aggies face their toughest test yet. Following a series loss to then-No. 21 LSU and a demoralizing series sweep at the hands of then-No. 14 Tennessee,

the maroon and white will finish off a ninegame gauntlet at home against No. 2 Alabama.

The Crimson Tide will roll into Aggieland sporting a 38-6 record overall and a 13-5 record in SEC play. Alabama also owns a 10-3 record on the road this season, something the Aggies will hope to combat with their 20-6 home record behind the 12th Man at Davis Diamond.

A&M and Alabama both boast powerful lineups that look to keep the basepaths busy.

The Aggies have scored 254 runs this season, but only 74 have come in conference play.

Alabama has scored 261 runs this season and 94 in conference play, albeit with three more games played.

The Aggies have three starters who possess an OPS north of .900 in conference play — senior catcher Haley Lee, 1.493, sophomore second baseman Rylen Wiggins, .987,

and freshman catcher Katie Dack, .954. The Crimson Tide have five starters who possess an OPS higher than .900 in SEC play — senior third baseman Ashley Prange, 1.186, sophomore shortstop Bailey Dowling, 1.178, senior catcher Ally Shipman, 1.009, junior left fielder Jenna Johnson, .912, and graduate first baseman Kaylee Tow, .910.

Alabama has pitched better than the Aggies in SEC play, as its quartet owns a 3.61 ERA in 124.0 innings pitched compared to the A&M quintet that owns a 5.09 ERA in 97.2 innings pitched.

The Crimson Tide will lean heavily on junior rightie Lexi Kilfoyl and senior rightie Montana Fouts. The two right-hand players have logged the bulk of the innings in conference play, with Kilfoyl compiling a 2.66 ERA and Fouts compiling a 3.34 ERA. The Aggies will rely on senior right-hander Mak-

inzy Herzog and freshman left-hander Emiley Kennedy to carry the load, as both pitchers have recorded more than 30 innings pitched in conference play with sub-3.50 ERAs. Kilfoyl and Fouts have combined for 12 complete games for Alabama, and that in conjunction with the Crimson Tide’s significant team ERA advantage gives them the edge in the circle.

A&M will have to outslug Alabama in order to have success against one of the best teams in the country. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. on both Friday, April 22 and Saturday, April 23. The series finale is set for a noon start on Sunday, April 24. Games 1 and 3 can be viewed on SEC Network+, and Game 2 will be aired on the SEC Network.

NEWS

6

The Battalion | 4.14.22

‘The beating heart of Aggieland’

Provided by Mark Guerrero

Retired Gen. Mark A. Welsh III will serve as the 2022 Muster Speaker. Welsh has served as dean of the Bush School of Government & Public Service since 2016.

Dean of Bush School Gen. Mark A. Welsh III to deliver Muster keynote

By Caroline Wilburn @Carolinewilb Dean of the Bush School of Government & Public Service and retired Air Force Gen.

Mark A. Welsh III has been selected as the Campus Muster Speaker for the 2022 Muster Ceremony.

According to a March 15 press release, Welsh has served as dean of the Bush School since he retired from the U.S. Air Force in August 2016.

Welsh said he is humbled to be chosen as this year’s Muster Speaker.

“It’s an incredible honor and a little scary,” Five of my six siblings are Aggies. We’ve spent Welsh said. a lot of time around A&M over the years, and After Welsh’s speech, the “Roll Call for the my wife Betty and I’s four children are all AgAbsent” will take place to honor the Aggies gies. We believe in the place, we believe in who have died in the past year. Welsh said what it does for people, we believe in what it he is most looking forward to attending the prepares you to go do and we believe in the Muster ceremony, not just giving the speech. values that it reinforces and every member of “I love this entire event,” Welsh said. “I our family has attended. I’m just kind of an have a pretty small piece and the important unabashed fan of the place.” piece comes at the end. I’m really looking forEvery year as Muster approaches, Welsh ward to that. The Roll Call is just a phenom- said he finds himself thinking about his father, enal, phenomenal experience each and every Class of 1946, and his sister, Class of 1982, time.” who were previously honored.

Because he is not an Aggie, Welsh said he “It’s really remarkable to me that each and brings a unique perspective and said he be- every year, an incredibly dedicated team of lieves it can be beneficial for Aggies to see current Aggie students do everything in their themselves and Muster through another’s eyes. power to make this experience, for everyone “I think it’s important that people under- who attends Muster worldwide, such an instand how great this university is,” Welsh said. credible success,” Welsh said. “It’s happening “It’s important, I think, for Aggies to under- on main campus, and the Association of Forstand how great they are in so many different mer Students has a group that’s making this ways and why that matters. I think it’s im- happen for Aggies around the world. It’s just portant for everybody to just kind of remind another example of the power of the network themselves annually how important Muster is in the Spirit of Aggieland and it’s a special, to being an Aggie and to being connected to special thing to say.”

Aggies everywhere. It’s a remarkable, remarkable tradition.”

Welsh said he believes no one, not even Aggies, can fully understand Texas A&M without attending Muster.

“I’ve always felt that Muster is the beating heart of Aggieland,” Welsh said. “Every Muster ceremony refreshes the Aggie Myranda Campanella, Editor-in-Chief Spirit. It connects former Julia Potts, Managing Editor Cori Eckert, Design Editor & students with current Lauren Discher, Audience Engagement Business Manager students and it connects & Special Sections Editor Casey Stavenhagen, Sports Editor today’s Aggies to their inRobert O’Brien, Photo Chief Kay Naegeli, Asst. Sports Editor credible legacy, and that Ishika Samant, Asst. Photo Chief Jordan Epp, Asst. Sports Editor connection is what makes Aubrey Vogel, Co-News Editor Caleb Powell, Opinion Editor Michaela Rush, Co-News Editor Nathan Varnell, Asst. Opinion Editor Texas A&M Aggies so Kyle McClenagan, Multimedia Editor Kathryn Miller, Life & Arts Editor special.” & Asst. News Editor Caroline Wilburn, Asst. L&A Editor Welsh is the son of an Grant Gaspard, Asst. Podcast Editor Aggie, brother to five Aggies, father of four Aggies THE BATTALION is published Thursdays during the 2021 spring semester (except and grandfather of a soonUniversity holidays and exam periods) at Texas A&M University, College to-be member of the Station, TX 77843. Offices are in Suite L400 of the Memorial Student Center.

Class of 2026. Although News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M he himself didn’t attend University in Student Media,a unit of the Division of StudentAffairs.Newsroom phone: A&M, Welsh said he is 979-845-3315; E-mail: editor@thebatt.com; website: http://www.thebatt.com. part of a quickly growing line.

Advertising: Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or “Texas A&M has blessendorsement by The Battalion. For campus, local, and national display ed my family, I think is the advertising call 979-845-2697. For classified advertising, call 979-845-2697. Office best way to say it,” Welsh hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Email: battads@thebatt.com. said. “My dad loved Texas A&M. He exposed all Subscriptions: A part of the University Advancement Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pick up a single copy of The Battalion. First copy free, additional copies $1. of us to it early and often.

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OPINION

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The Battalion | 4.21.22

And nothing else matters

Opinion columnist Zach Freeman reflects on his mother’s life and importance of loved ones Zach Freeman @ZachAtBatt I wouldn’t be here without my mom.

This should be pretty obvious, but it’s one basic truth that just doesn’t occur to most people going about their day. The extent, effect and duration our birth-givers have in our lives varies, but we all came from somewhere.

My mother and I’s relationship began, unsurprisingly, on the day I was born at Campbell’s Memorial Hospital in Weatherford, TX. We started off on the wrong foot after I rewarded her nine months of carrying me around and her hours of hard labor by pooping while being born.

This messy situation forced my mom into taking antibiotics for a few months, delaying breastfeeding, which I credit with half of all my failings and shortcomings today. When you gotta go, you gotta go.

The rocky start to this relationship was foreshadowing for our future dynamic.

Sometimes I’d be a little shit and sometimes she would be, but despite all that, we’d never throw the baby out with the bathwater.

I look back at my early childhood through rose-colored glasses. The first six years of my life might as well have been perfect. But at age six, everything went downhill. My parents divorced, and fearing she’d lose custody, my mom tried to run away with me and my two siblings to the Great White North of Canada.

We made it as far as Kansas.

You might be thinking, “No one in their right mind would try something like that,” and you’d be right. My mom struggled with a methamphetamine addiction beginning in her early teenage years. She could go years without relapse, but eventually something would always give. Hard times and bad company were often where it reached its crux.

During these times, I saw firsthand how the illegality and stigma surrounding hard drug use forces people into the periphery of society. Often, the people drug users are forced to trust, rely on and relate to are other users.

Through a long series of bad decisions and worse luck, my whole family has had trouble with the law for almost as long as I can remember. My dad and grandma were legally robbed at gunpoint by the police for music equipment and steak knives.

By far, my mom got the worst of it.

Her addiction and association with other addicts put her in the scope of local law enforcement more than once. In one instance, she managed to flee on foot after being stopped one rainy night. The police caught up to her, knocking her unconscious and breaking some ribs in the process.

The next day, my mom woke up in the hospital with her truck impounded.

Afraid to leave, she was sure the cops would be coming for her in the hospital.

A nurse assured her if the police wanted her, they would have been waiting for her when she woke up. She never reported the incident, mostly because she was grateful to not be back in jail and didn’t want to push her luck. That wasn’t her first bad run-in with the police, but it was one of the worst. She was always much more afraid of encountering police after that. What was supposed to be a symbol of safety instead made her heart drop. Today, blue and black uniforms still remind me of times when

a prepaid phone call was the only way I could reach her.

Part of why she was jumpy enough to have fled that night was because she had been arrested not long before, after a passenger in my mom’s car had magic mushrooms in her purse. The charges were dropped because of negligence on the arresting officer’s part.

The passenger was a woman who my mom had invited into her house while she got on her feet. This was a common occurrence throughout her life. She knew what it was like to go through hard times, and this gave her exceptional empathy and compassion toward strangers in need, even at risk to herself. When times weren’t as hard, she was an active member of the church. The connections she made there can attest to her sense of self-sacrifice. Anyone who encountered her knew she wore many hats — a foster parent, volunteer at the community caring center, animal-lover and so much more. She was always willing to help out anyone or anything who needed it.

Despite not being able to rehabilitate herself, she was always happy to take on kids, strangers, wild rabbits — you name it — all in the hope that she could leave them better than she found them.

She dabbled in just about everything, from dog grooming to car repair. She was a bit of an eclectic eccentric and had an unmatched curiosity and a genuine thirst for life. As a result, surviving and making do in hard times was her speciality. A former step-dad of mine described her as a hustler in that regard.

She’d learn and adapt on a dime and was always trying to teach others — though I was less than receptive to most of these lessons.

Her grit came in handy when, at the age of 13, I was diagnosed with a germ-cell brain tumor, which I credit with the other half of my shortcomings and failings. She stuck by me every step of the way, every chemotherapy and radiation session, every doctor’s appointment. I just couldn’t shake her, no matter how hard I tried. I was exhausted from the constant attention. Though, looking back, I now realize that without her, I’d have been lost. She was my rock throughout that whole experience. Most people would hesitate to call themselves a momma’s boy — not me, for good reason.

My mom loved music. So much of my childhood was spent listening to my mom sing along to the car radio, coming up with sillier versions of the lyrics or just genuinely jamming along. She was constantly drawing and writing notes for herself everywhere, and she displayed intense emotion and purpose when expressing herself, no matter how trivial.

Her calling card, in the sense that she plastered it in the margins of anything she could get her hands on, was three hearts, one for each of her kids. A moment that sticks out in my mind: during a rough patch, she wrote the lyrics of “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica on a stand-up mirror in her room. I’ll always remember how she sang that song, like it was made for her specifically. She didn’t care how silly that made her look.

In fact, she reveled in it.

She was a free spirit, to say the least.

She isn’t going to see me graduate in May, but I know she’d be proud of me.

I wouldn’t be here without her, so when I walk across that stage, I’m walking on behalf of both of us. She also deeply cared about her family, making sure her kids ended up better off than she was.

Provided by Zach Freeman

Opinion columnist Zach Freeman shares his meaningful relationship with and reliance on his mother.

She pushed me toward higher education when others in my life discouraged me.

She didn’t go to college herself, thus I’d become the first in my family to do so, and she was always my biggest supporter in everything school related. She brought me to Texas A&M for my New Student Conference. Of course, she immediately broke rule No. 1 of any college campus and made a B-line to feed the squirrels outside Sbisa Dining Hall.

“It’s so freaking cute!” she said, inches from the terrible jaws of the bucktoothed hellion. Being the spoilsport that I am, I tried to dissuade her with a half-hearted, “You probably shouldn’t.”

Everything wasn’t all cute squirrels and sunshine, though. You’ve probably already realized that this isn’t strictly a happy story. Before starting my first semester at A&M, my mom was diagnosed with uveal melanoma, a rare eye cancer — just our luck. My mom didn’t have health insurance and was only able to qualify for Medicaid if she didn’t have a job. She was single and supporting herself at this point in her life. Cancer is something you can never really plan for, and being forced to jump through hoops while making no money didn’t help the situation. She did manage to receive experimental treatment in Houston while working under the table to support herself. Her wide variety of skills paid off — she was grooming dogs, collecting copper and doing odd jobs to keep herself afloat. Months passed and we were hopeful. She had always been one of the strongest people I knew, and cancer couldn’t stop that. But, the experimental treatments didn’t work as well as doctors had hoped. Eventually, she just kept getting shuffled between hospitals in Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth because they couldn’t figure out what to do with her.

No matter how sick she got, I thought she was invincible. Part of me always thought she would recover and bounce right back, because that’s what she had always done. She’s the strongest person I’ve ever known. Tough as hell, she had been likened to a cockroach for her resilience, and she took that as a compliment.

In December 2019, just after Christmas, she was admitted to the hospital.

The cancer had spread to her liver. Even then, as doctors told her that her odds were slim, I still didn’t really believe them. I got to pay her back for all the time she spent with me in the hospital, sticking by her side for just about every day of her stay. She died holding my hand.

Reality didn’t set in until her heartbeat became too faint to detect as each breath became more staggered than the last. I’m not sure how, but the moment she breathed her last, I knew. My world was shattered. All the doubt and denial that had been shielding me for years was chipped away in minutes. The dam had burst, and in that moment I had no idea what I was going to do. My rock was gone. The one phrase I could muster over and over: “I’m not ready.”

I guess you never really can be.

Despite how hard it was, looking back, I’m glad I was there for her in the end.

The last few years of her life were pretty unstable. Addiction had crept back in, as it tends to do, and I was one of the few members of my family that stuck with her even as life was at its hardest. Some in my family felt that cutting off contact and showing tough love would snap her to her senses. Others just did not feel that she was worth the time and trouble.

I knew better. For many people, addiction is just a fact of life.

Despite the seemingly unshakable label, what we call an addict is a million other things as well. When you think of them in terms of their disease, you can lose sight of their humanity. The world we create in our minds is often populated by headlines and statistics instead of real people. For many, strangers are just flimsy casts made to fill a mold for whatever an individual wants to believe about the world. The good, the bad and everything in between can’t be done justice posed as a cardboard cutout.

I’m glad for all the experiences I got to have with my mom and for who she was as a person, worts and all. As much as she disappointed me, she inspired me tenfold. When I grow up, I want to be more like her. I like to think I already am. I’ve picked up lots of sayings, songs, puns and other mannerisms that she used to be so fond of. Her free spirit, creativity and compassion for others have become active goals for me to reach toward. Often, I catch myself copying her old mannerisms. I’m not sure exactly when this started, I used to be embarrassed and exhausted by them at times.

But now, they act as little reminders for when I miss her the most. It’s cliche, but you never really know what you’ve got until it’s gone.

My mom had always been very upfront about death. She had always said she wanted a party instead of a gloomy funeral — a celebration of her life. I was determined to make sure her wish was carried out. Fittingly, I was the most responsible out of all of our family in planning the funeral. I’d like to think I made good on her wish. It was certainly upbeat and colorful, by funeral standards. I left at the end of the service with a mountain of food made by church grannies to take back to College Station to start my sophomore spring semester. I know she wouldn’t have wanted that any other way.

In a way, she’s not really gone — I’m here. Everything she’s ever taught me, intentional or otherwise, is a real and measurable part of who I am today. We live on through our impact on others and by the mark we leave in the world. My mom’s impact is far from over because she’s got me to carry on her legacy. The moral of the story is far from, ‘Life is sad, then you die.’ To unapologetically carry on with the cliches, it isn’t about the destination, it’s about the journey, and the people that help you along the way are always the highlight.

When it comes down to it, she’s not just going to be remembered as an addict, a cancer victim or even just my mom. Because she was more than all those things. She touched so many lives and left a lasting impact on everyone she touched.

My final thoughts: Take the same approach to the people that you meet in your life. Take the good with the bad, the light with the dark. People aren’t going to fit your ideals. We need to give them the freedom, tools and support so we can help each other make the best of it. Stigma and ostracization often do just as much harm, or more, than drugs ever could. In the end, we’re all here for each other, for better or worse. So, be there for the ones you love.

And nothing else matters.

Zachary Freeman is an anthropology senior and opinion columnist for The Battalion.

NEWS

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The Battalion | 4.21.22

One generation to the next

Provided by Rick Thurman

Industrial distribution senior Luke Thurman is the current Muster Committee chair and son of Leannah Thurman, former chair and Class of 1985, and Rick Thurman, Class of 1984.

Luke Thurman continues his family legacy as Muster Committee chair

By Kathryn Miller @KathrynMiller0 Industrial distribution senior Luke Thurman is serving as this year’s Muster Committee chair and, with his team, has been preparing to honor fallen Aggies this Thursday at Reed Arena.

Thirty-seven years after his mother Leannah Thurman, Class of 1985, Luke is serving as Muster Committee chair. Leannah said seeing Luke as Muster Committee chair years after her makes her a proud mother.

“I’m proud of him in general for persevering through all he’s gone through,” Leannah said. “Getting to this point with the Corps [of Cadets] and academics and keeping it all together, he’s done a great job with that. Just the fact that he wanted to become a part of [Muster] made me feel proud. When he told us that he was applying for Muster Committee back his freshman year, I told him, ‘I was Muster chair when I was a senior, and I would love it if you continue on the committee, whether you get to be a chairman or not.’”

Luke said he realized how special Muster was and he wanted to be part of the ceremony after a senior in his outfit, who was part of the Muster Committee, encouraged him to apply his freshman year.

“I really wanted to be a part of it to be able to give back to the university that, even just in one year, had given me so much,” Luke

said. “I applied for Muster Committee not really thinking about my chances, given that I was only a sophomore, but they gave me a spot on the committee and ever since that, I’ve come back every single year … with the same mindset and attitude of wanting to give back to the university that’s given me so much and give back to those families that have gone through so much.”

Luke said, as committee chair, he serves as the representative and liaison to most of Muster’s outside partners, including the Association of Former Students, the president’s office, people outside the university and acts as the figure head of the committee, working with them on projects and tasks.

“Our first committee meeting, to Muster itself, is [over] a 205-day span,” Luke said.

“We work fall and spring to get ready for this ceremony. There’s a lot of stuff we’d like to try and get done ahead of time because, as you might imagine, April is our crunch time. This week, we’re going on all cylinders. When getting an event together that involves getting over 10,000 [people], you want to make sure you get it right.”

The best part of being on the Muster Committee is seeing the event come together after a year of planning and preparing, Luke said.

“Thirty students, including myself, work toward a common goal of making Muster the best it can be to honor the families who have loved ones on the roll call,” Luke said.

“Seeing how passionate people are about it, how they come from all different walks of life and backgrounds, all with one common goal in mind working together, it’s always really

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fascinating and impactful to me and to see it all come to fruition on April 21.”

As a former Muster chair, Leannah said Muster is important to her family because of the unifying and soul-satisfying experience it provides.

“Just the tradition itself really pushes on that whole community aspect because it doesn’t matter where you are, how old you are, how young you are. If you’re part of the Aggie family, Muster is a part of your life, and that is a very unifying feeling,” Leannah said.

“I’ve had quite a few events in my life since then, but that community is probably what I would have to go back to and tie everything together with. Just the fact that I was a small piece of the puzzle that put Muster on, and all of us working together in that with that common goal of getting Muster put on for the families that were represented on the roll call that year was unifying, very soul-satisfying.”

Leannah said she has enjoyed seeing Luke follow his family’s footsteps — serving as Muster chair and studying industrial distribution like his mother, and wearing his father’s, Class of 1984, senior boots.

Luke’s father Rick Thurman, Class of 1984, said Luke serving as Muster chair not only allows him to have an effect on the university but on everyone involved in the Muster ceremony.

“He has had an opportunity not only to have that impact, but to be in a leadership capacity,” Rick said. “It’s one of the top student leader positions on campus, and it’s a pretty significant responsibility and a good opportunity for him to grow individually.”

Even though both Rick and Leannah are Aggies, Rick said they didn’t have a set agenda for Luke and his siblings to attend A&M, much less to be involved in Muster.

“All of our kids had an opportunity to visit various colleges. Ultimately, he chose to go to A&M and he decided to join the Corps which, in and of itself, is a challenge. His outfit, Squadron 17, is an outfit of impact,” Rick said. “One of the things they encouraged the freshmen to do is to become a Fish Aides [member] and that’s where he really started looking at Muster. I remember when he was interviewing for Muster, he completely forgot that his mom was Muster chairman — we thought that was pretty funny. But once he got involved with it, that’s when we started helping him fully understand the impact of what Muster is above and beyond what he was getting as a member of the committee.”

Rick said he also has a strong connection to Muster through the Aggie Band, Singing Cadets and serving as a Muster Speaker at a local A&M chapter. Rick said the blessing of Muster is that the university recognizes the person who has passed and the family gets one final memorial of their loved one.

“A&M is unique in the fact that they go back and say, ‘You know what? We want to honor the fact that your loved one was a student at A&M, and we’re going to call his or her name out one more time and recognize them for the fact that they were a part of the Aggie family,’” Rick said.