One-way Ross Street construction is a much needed tradition on campus
By: Chris Hokanson
Issue date: 6/14/07 Section: Opinion
Ags, a beloved Texas A&M tradition is dying right before our eyes. We sit back and congratulate the administration for actively trying for many years to rid the campus of a landmark that was part of our daily lives. We walk right past the heartbreaking sight with little more than a glance. It's tragic.
What precious A&M landmark is being torn apart as you read this column? Ross Street.
A&M officials claim they are "fixing" Ross Street, that mystery underground utility lines must be replaced and that eventually they will re-pave the once unuseable side of the street that runs along the Reed McDonald, Halbouty, and Doherty buildings. But they must stop.
For decades, construction barrels and broken concrete have lined Ross Street. Year after year, incoming freshmen and their parents walked by the street wondering what exciting new construction was in the works. But year after year, Aggies came to love the torn-up road.
Battalion records indicate that the Ross Street closing we became accustomed to has been in place since 1996, but many Aggies who were here in the 1970s and 1980s remember the road being under some sort of construction during their education.
Aggies are all about tradition. We fill football stadiums, sing about harming livestock and "hiss" instead of "boo." Just like complaining about the fact that "no one says 'Howdy' anymore" has become more of a tradition than actually saying "Howdy," speculation on why Ross Street is blocked off has become a campus mainstay. We cannot allow the permanently under-construction Ross Street to go the way of the Hotard Hilton.
What precious A&M landmark is being torn apart as you read this column? Ross Street.
A&M officials claim they are "fixing" Ross Street, that mystery underground utility lines must be replaced and that eventually they will re-pave the once unuseable side of the street that runs along the Reed McDonald, Halbouty, and Doherty buildings. But they must stop.
For decades, construction barrels and broken concrete have lined Ross Street. Year after year, incoming freshmen and their parents walked by the street wondering what exciting new construction was in the works. But year after year, Aggies came to love the torn-up road.
Battalion records indicate that the Ross Street closing we became accustomed to has been in place since 1996, but many Aggies who were here in the 1970s and 1980s remember the road being under some sort of construction during their education.
Aggies are all about tradition. We fill football stadiums, sing about harming livestock and "hiss" instead of "boo." Just like complaining about the fact that "no one says 'Howdy' anymore" has become more of a tradition than actually saying "Howdy," speculation on why Ross Street is blocked off has become a campus mainstay. We cannot allow the permanently under-construction Ross Street to go the way of the Hotard Hilton.
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