President Messages
The Rudder Association Fall 2024 Update:
Is Texas A&M Better Off than it was Four Years Ago?
You’ve heard it said that “no news is good news”. But these days it seems “good news is no news”. Which makes some sense. After all, we should be focusing our attention on things that aren’t working and need fixing—and we will continue to keep you informed on such issues. But sometimes that can create a negative perception that promotes despair rather than positive action. With that in mind and in keeping with the political season, it might be helpful to ask the question, “Is Texas A&M better off than it was four years ago?”
I am happy to report that the answer is a resounding, “Yes!”
Do you recall a starting quarterback leading a mob of radicals against the statue of an honorable Aggie legend? A university president falsely accusing the Aggie family of racist beliefs? A Fish Camp which had become a place of progressive indoctrination and playground for sexual revolutionaries? DEI ideologies being enshrined into university policy? The student government pushing for transgender restrooms?
These were just some of the sad realities that The Rudder Association was confronted with at our inception. Four years later, the mobs are gone, followed by two presidents who failed to effectively confront campus wokeness. Fish Camp is reformed. DEI is defunded. The student leadership is populated by maroon-blooded patriots. No further “transgender restrooms” have been funded. In fact, due largely to our education efforts, Texas A&M is the first major public university to end the experimental practice of “transgender medicine” on its campus. TRA members weren’t the only ones standing for our Core Values and Traditions against these assaults, but we were on the front line–and have the scars to prove it.
We celebrate these successes even though TRA has an ironically counter-cyclical relationship with Texas A&M’s leadership. Our support grows when they fail to meet the high expectations of Aggies and it tends to wane when they get things right. But we are never going to resort to being a permanent opposition or employ any of the misleading “click bait” appeals that you may see from others. Like with the excellent selection of the new Bush School Dean, we are always going to give credit where credit is due–but we are not going to “go along, to get along”.
The Rudder Association believes we made an excellent addition to our team as well. Brian Beckcom '96 was nominated and approved as our newest TRA board member. Brian is from a distinguished Aggie family and distinguished himself as Wing Commander at A&M and as an honors graduate at tu’s law school. He brings a wealth of legal knowledge and experience and will provide much needed assistance to TRA’s chief legal officer JD Foster '10.
Despite the many successes we have seen, our mission requires eternal vigilance–and much work still remains. The curriculum continues to be contaminated with courses which waste taxpayer’s money and rob students of the education they deserve. The Corps of Cadets future remains in the balance and the next Commandant selection may be the most important in decades. The traditions which define us and create our unique spirit are always only a year away from being extinguished. Aggie Core Values must be fostered in each new generation.
In August you provided a dinner and round table discussions for more than 50 leaders of every major student organization on campus at the Third Annual Leaders and Legends event. They met with 12 legendary Aggie table hosts and heard an incredible presentation on leadership and family from former Head Yell Leader Mark and former Student Body President Brooke Rollins, both Class of '94.
We want to invite you to join us at our TRA Tailgate before the New Mexico State game on November 16th. Food and drinks will go out by 4 pm but you can stop by any time after 2pm. Look for the TRA banner in the tailgate area south of Reed Arena. This is free for TRA members. Non-members can join on site or a $15 dollar donation. Email TRA Chair David Dean ‘76 at ddean1976@live.com to RSVP for you and your guests and receive the pinpoint location. There is also a map on the TRA website homepage: Home Page.
If you can’t make the tailgate, we hope to see you at Aggie Bonfire the night before the game with tu. We were proud to donate our new Howdy t-shirts to them and other student orgs and have been feeding the Student Bonfire workers who are keeping the tradition alive–all thanks to your support.
To keep this and other Aggie traditions and values alive, we need you to renew your membership at TheRudderAssociation.org and help us spread the word to other Aggies to the Core.
Gig ‘em!
- Matt Poling '90
President, The Rudder Association
Message from the President
“True inclusion is the inclusion of the individual into the Aggie family and its values and traditions—not segregating Aggies into affinity groups. We stand ready to promote a culture of merit and commonality to replace the one of racial preferences and division which we intend to vanquish from our campus.
Already, we are seeing campus bureaucrats attempt to undermine the spirit of the law and the will of the citizens of Texas regarding DEI practices. The campus needs a watchdog to ensure that the ideology is reformed and not reborn. TRA does not have to be an attack dog, but we certainly will not be another campus lap dog.
Another concerning development on our campus is the concept that administrators should only listen to faculty and no other stakeholders. This ideology is ironically called “shared governance” and was brought to the nation’s attention in the summer of 2023. The ill-considered attempt by campus “experts” to impose their new journalism department head candidate directly contradicted the will of the citizens of Texas as just expressed in SB 17. The public’s faith in the profession of journalism is at an all-time low and Texans deserve better than more filtering, bias, and racialized news. By standing up for Aggies and all citizens of Texas, we triggered the wrath of the state and national media and were subjected to false and malicious allegations of racism from on and off campus. But we stood our ground as you can see in our press releases on our website.
We believe that public institutions belong to the public and Texas A&M belongs to all Aggies. We are willing to protect that belief because Texas A&M and its core values and traditions are worth it.
Over the past year, TRA has grown with the addition of David Dean ’76, Chairman of the Board, Lynn Robinson ’86, Bill Gutierrez ’91, Tom Owens ’00, and Lee Crawley ’70 each bringing their considerable leadership and business expertise to our board.
As we forge ahead, your support is paramount. The Rudder Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and your donations are tax deductible. TRA humbly requests your financial assistance so we can be your voice in Aggieland and to continue upholding the Aggie values and traditions we hold so dear.
Thank you for your dedication to Texas A&M University and we hope you join The Rudder Association. Together, we will make a positive impact.
Please consider sharing this message with fellow Aggies who share our commitment. Ask them to join The Rudder Association so we can be your voice in Aggieland. You can count on us to defend our traditions and core values because we are Aggies to the Core! We are just getting started, with your financial support we will be able to affect the positive changes you desire for Texas A&M University and higher education in the state of Texas.”
- Matt Poling '90
President, The Rudder Association