''The Battalion'' (''The Batt'') is the student newspaper of

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

. Started in 1893 as a monthly publication, it continues to this day, now as a weekly print and daily online paper. ''The Battalion'' is entirely student-run and covers the university and surrounding Bryan-College Station area.

History

Origins

The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now known as

), had two

literary societies A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of writing or a specific author. Modern literary societies typically promote research, publish newsle ...

, the Calliopean and the Austin. The societies collaboratively published a literary magazine, ''College Journal'' from 1889 until 1893. The ''College Journal'' appeared monthly, describing the activities of the college and its students in "the flowery prose of the time." ''College Journal'' ceased publication in 1893 when the two societies collaborated on a newspaper, called ''The Battalion''. Vol. 1, No. 1 was published on Sunday, October 1, 1893. In th
first issue
s salutatory, it reads: This new publication used a more journalistic style as it covered campus events, and even included photographs; however, early issues still strongly resembled prose, and included sections of poetry, humor and essays. June editions originally acted as a

yearbook A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a type of a book published annually. One use is to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school. The term also refers to a book of statistics or facts published annually. A yearbook often ...

before one was officially adopted by the university in 1903. While women weren't allowed to officially attend A&M until 1963, starting in 1893 women could enroll in classes and participate in student organizations. This included ''The Battalion''; Ethel Hudson — the first woman to enroll in A&M courses in 1893 and an honorary member of the Class of 1895 — helped edit the annual yearbook issue. Women have served as reporters, writers and editors of ''The Battalion'' throughout its publication.

Early 1900s

In 1904, ''The Battalion'' began publishing weekly. Around the same time, the Austin and Calliopean Literary Societies handed publication over to the Association of Students, causing a stylistic shift from literary writing to news coverage.

The A&M College Trouble of 1908

While there had been turmoil in years prior about university restrictions, unrest between the students, newspaper and faculty came to a head after

University President A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

Henry Hill Harrington ordered history professor Charles W. Hudson and his family — including a popular son and current A&M student — to be confined to their campus home after Hudson's grandchild developed

whooping cough Whooping cough, also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common cold with a runny nose, fever, and mild cough, but these are followed by two or ...

. The decision overruled

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

guidelines from college physician Dr. Joe Gilbert, interpreted as disrespecting Gilbert and questioning his competency. This angered students since Gilbert "had something of a hero image."Class president T.J. Beesley and the senior class of 1908 petitioned Texas' governor to remove Harrington from office. A month later, when the board of directors fully exonerated Harrington, roughly half of the student body left campus in protest; the walkout made national headlines at the time. Students slowly returned to A&M, but two months later ''The Battalion'' ran an article disputing Harrington's stance on the protest. He claimed there were no more problems between students and faculty, which the article contested. A&M's board of directors responded by directing Harrington to establish order — seven junior Battalion editors were suspended and an order put in place to censor future publications. Protest against Harrington continued throughout the summer. As a result, Harrington resigned as university president in August. Censorship rules remained on the books for ''The Battalion''; however, they were almost never enforced and eventually forgotten.

World Wars era

As the main local source of news at the time, ''The Battalion'' broke the news of America declaring war and joining

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

to much of the Bryan-College Station community. The below images are reprinted from ''The Battalion.'' Texas A&M was heavily involved in the war effort and had a larger percentage of graduates enlisted than any other university;. in September 1918, the entire senior class enlisted. File:Ww1 two.png, Members of the Signal Corps putting up equipment on the drill field. File:Ww1 five.png, Morse code training for cadets in 1917. File:Ww1 three.png, The Horse Cavalry during a drill in 1917. File:Ww1 six.png, Officers of the Corps conducting Sabre Drill on the main drill field. File:Ww1 one.png, A 1917 tent pitching practice put on as a corps-wide class by the Military Department. File:Ww1 four.png, Retreat formations held on Military Walk before marching into Sbisa Hall for evening dinner in 1917. File:Ww1 eight.png, The Fightin' Texas Aggie Band of 1917. File:Ww1 seven.png, The Battalion's caption reads, "The latest model of military tractors pulled the old howitzers along with the cadets sitting at attention on the cassions." File:Ww1 battalion collection.png, A collection of headlines and stories describing A&M's involvement in World War I. File:May 3 1917 battalion.png, Article describing a training camp set up for senior cadets during World War I, about a month after the United States entered the war. File:Leon springs battalion.png, Article covering A&M juniors enrolling in World War I military training in Leon Springs, TX. File:Screenshot 2024-04-14 231216.png, Article describes the enlistment of seniors after spring 1917 graduation. In the 1920s and '30s, the editor-in-chief and business manager were elected annually by the A&M student body. At the same time, ''The Battalion'' gained its own campus office. The only time ''The Battalion'' ceased publication was during World War II, when it was suspended for a period of time to conserve paper and supplies.

Mid-20th century

1954 staff walkout

In February 1954, the Student Life committee voted for a special committee to oversee student publication. The entire staff of ''The Battalion'' quit in protest the next day. The staff announced the

walkout In labor disputes, a walkout is a labor strike, the act of employees collectively leaving the workplace and withholding labor as an act of protest. A walkout can also mean the act of leaving a place of work, school, a meeting, a company, or an ...

on the paper's front page, saying: The rest of the four-page issue, in addition to typical news, featured

letters to the editor A letter to the editor (LTE) is a letter sent to a publication about an issue of concern to the reader. Usually, such letters are intended for publication. In many publications, letters to the editor may be sent either through conventional mail ...

from resigning staff. Each explained their grievances and why they chose to quit. At the time, ''The Battalion's'' walkout made headlines. “Censorship is hidden with advice and assistance,” Holder and Bennett said in a press statement. “To us, it still means the same thing. This committee has been set up to stop ''The Battalion'' from printing the truth about things at A&M which are embarrassing to some individuals.” A new staff was announced one month after the mass resignation, featuring many protesting writers returning in new roles. The two new co-editors, Harri Baker and Bob Boriskie, were formerly the campus and sports editors, respectively; Baker and Boriskie sought ''Battalion'' staff approval before taking the positions. Walking out worked as intended and no oversight committee was formed.

Push for coeducation

In 1958, A&M's student body voted whether or not to implement coeducation at the university. ''The Battalion'' began writing editorials to encourage coeducation leading up to the vote. A comic declared coeducation "An evolution, not a revolution." Copies of ''The Battalion'' were burned in the Quad in protest, and Editor-in-Chief Joe Tindel's dorm was "Batt bombed," or filled with crumpled issues of ''The Batt.'' A month later, the Student Senate demanded Tindel resign. The coeducation resolution was later defeated by students, and women weren't admitted to A&M until the 1960s.

Present

In February 2022, Texas A&M University administration unsuccessfully attempted to cease ''The Battalion'' weekly print release, despite the organization's independent status. This led to significant backlash from the publication, as featured in their "Print is not dead" edition, and started a student movement, #SaveTheBatt. The publication continues to print weekly, each Thursday, and distributes across Texas A&M's campus and the Bryan-College Station community.

Kathleen McElroy hiring controversy

On June 13, 2023, former A&M student Kathleen McElroy was hired to lead A&M's new journalism program at an official signing ceremony. She began meeting with journalism faculty and staff of ''The Battalion'' soon after to plan for the upcoming year. However, on July 11, Elroy announced she would remain in her position as a

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

professor due to undiscussed changes to her contract. Two days after McElroy's official hiring, ''Texas Scorecard,'' news page of conservative advocacy group

Empower Texans Empower Texans was a conservative advocacy group in Texas that was active from 2006 to 2020. It was affiliated with Texans for Fiscal Responsibility and the Empower Texans Foundation. Empower Texans was based in Austin with operations in Dallas, H ...

, published "Aggies Hire NY Times 'Diversity' Advocate to Head Journalism Program." The article was written by a former opinion writer for ''The Battalion'' and discussed McElroy's work in diversity, equity and inclusion. Its publication led to criticism of her hiring, and on July 6 the Texas A&M Board of Regents met to discuss the decision. On July 7, McElroy said she spoke on the phone with José Luis Bermúdez, then-interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and that he advised her to stay at UT, saying her hiring "stirred up a hornet's nest." Bermúdez later resigned from the position, citing the controversy. On July 9, McElroy received a one-year contract that varied from the original agreement and included a clause about " at-will termination." She was originally offered

tenure Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...

, which then-University President M. Katherine Banks told the faculty senate was still on the table on July 19. Banks resigned as university president on July 21 as a result of the McElroy controversy.

Traditions

* '' Silver Taps'' - when a student passes away, they're honored by a Silver Taps ceremony; the week of the ceremony, a write-up of the student's life and who they were, typically with quotes from their friends and family, appears in that week's print edition of ''The Battalion'' * ''BTHO papers'' - for major sporting events, ''The Battalion'' publishes a BTHO, or "beat the hell outta," poster, featuring the phrase "BTHO pponent that spectators hold up during the game * ''Batt bombing'' - typically done to freshmen by upperclassmen in the

Corps of Cadets A corps of cadets, also called cadet corps, was originally a kind of military school for boys. Initially such schools admitted only sons of the nobility or gentry, but in time many of the schools were opened also to members of other social classes. ...

, Batt bombing involves filling a cadet's dorm room with crumpled up copies of ''The Battalion'', with the goal being to take up as much of the room as possible * ''Swan Songs'' - graduating ''Battalion'' staff have the option of writing a Swan Song column, which reflects on their time at A&M * ''Ring Day columns'' - similar to Swan Songs, Ring Day columns are written when a staff member earns their Aggie Ring

Distribution

''The Battalion'' is published on Thursdays during the fall and spring semesters, and on dates corresponding with New Student Conferences during the summer sessions. The print version is distributed throughout the Texas A&M campus to interested students, faculty and staff. Many places throughout College Station, such as restaurants and apartments, receive copies to distribute to their customers. A&M's Cushing Memorial Library keeps an incomplete archive of past ''Battalion'' print issues. ''The Battalion'''s page on

Issuu Issuu, Inc. (pronounced "issue") is a Danish-founded American electronic publishing platform based in Palo Alto, California, United States. Founded in 2004 as a Danish startup, the company moved its headquarters to the United States in 2013. ...

has a print archive going back to 2009.

Honors

Princeton Review The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981. and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,0 ...

'' named ''The Battalion'' as the twentieth best college newspaper in the nation in its 2008 edition of ''The Best 361 Colleges''. Along with four other university newspapers, ''The Battalion'' received honorable mention in the 2004 National College Newspaper Convention held by the

Associated Collegiate Press The Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) is the largest and oldest national membership organization for college student media in the United States. The ACP is a division of the National Scholastic Press Association. It awards the newspaper, mag ...

. In October 2022, ''The Battalion'' was recorded as having an average of 116 shares per article and was ranked 8th in the U.S. for most consistent engagement per article.

National Pacemaker Awards The National Pacemaker Awards are awards for excellence in American student journalism, given annually since 1927. The awards are generally considered to be the highest national honors in their field, and are unofficially known as the "Pulitzer ...

(past 30 years) * 1996 Pacemakers - finalist * 1997 Pacemakers - finalist * 2008 Pacemakers - ''winner'' * 2012 Pacemakers - finalist * 2019 Pacemakers - ''winner'' * 2021 Pacemakers - finalist * 2022 Pacemakers - ''winner'' * 2023 Pacemakers - finalist * 2024 Pacemakers - finalist

Aggieland yearbook

''The Battalion'' has been involved with production of Texas A&M's yearbook since its creation. Originally, the June issue of ''The Battalion'' served as an unofficial yearbook. In 1895, the ''Olio'' became the first separate production, printed after a series of ''The Battalion'' editorials arguing for a college annual to be created. The next yearbook wasn't printed until 1903, under the name the ''Longhorn''. This has no affiliation with Texas A&M's rival school

University of Texas-Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

or their mascot the Longhorns, since UT didn't adopt longhorn cattle as its mascot until 1916. The ''Longhorn'' published each year from 1903 to 1948, except for 1943 to 1945 when

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

interrupted publication. In 1949, students voted to change the name to ''Aggieland'', which the yearbook has used until present. The 2000 edition of ''Aggieland'' was named an ACP Pacemaker finalist for its coverage of the

1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse The 1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse occurred at approximately 2:42 a.m. on November 18, 1999 in College Station, Texas, United States. The annual Aggie Bonfire at Texas A&M University collapsed during its construction, killing 12 people and in ...

. In 2004, 2007, 2014, 2015 and 2018, it was listed as a finalist as well. ''Aggieland'' won the 2008 and 2013 Yearbook Pacemakers. ''Aggieland'''s office is located at the front of ''The Battalion'''s office in the Memorial Student Center. Both productions fall under Student Media in the Texas A&M Division of Student Affairs. ''Aggieland'''s current editor-in-chief i
Emily Escobedo

Battalion staff

Notable past editors and writers

Ernest Lynwood Bruce (1876-1949) was the first Editor in Chief of ''The Battalion'' in fall 1893. He graduated with a degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

in 1894, then attended the

University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin. Texas Law is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools in the United States and is highly selective—registering the 8th lowest ac ...

and became a prominent attorney in

Orange, Texas Orange is a city and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,324. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Houst ...

. From 1913 to 1917 Bruce represented Texas' 14th District — then covering

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

and Orange Counties — as a Democratic state legislator. Singer-songwriter and actor

Lyle Lovett Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957) Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Active since 1980, he has recorded 13 albums and relea ...

wrote for ''The Battalion'' as a journalism student in the late 1970s. Lovett has won four

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

, including Best Male Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Album. Journalist Cathie Anderson served as ''The Battalion'''s first Black editor-in-chief in 1986. She is currently a reporter for ''

The Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...

'' and previously worked for the

Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

and

Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internation ...

. In 2024, the Former Journalism Students Association of Texas A&M inducted Anderson into its Hall of Fame. A plaque of Anderson hangs in the newsroom of ''The Battalion''.

Current editorial staff (Spring 2024)

Zoe May
- editor in chief
Caleb Elizondo
- managing editor
Ana Renfroe
- news editor
Hilani Quinones
- assistant news editor
Luke White
- sports editor
Hunter Mitchell
- associate sports editor
Kylie Stoner
- associate sports editor
Sydnei Miles
- life and arts editor
Amy Leigh Steward
- assistant life and arts editor
Ryan Lindner
- opinion editor
Ana Sofia Sloane
- associate opinion editor * Kyle Heise - photo chief
Chris Swann
- assistant photo chief
Sophie Villarreal
- social media manager * Pranay Dhoopar - video/graphics editor * Nikhil Vadi - design editor
Anna Deardorff
- special sections editor * Emma Moser - finance manager * Hayden Arevalo - advertising manager * Emily Pritchard - distribution manager
Spencer O’Daniel
- general manager and adviser

Notes

External links

*
List of all-time ''Battalion'' editors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battalion, The Student newspapers published in Texas Texas A&M University student organizations Newspapers established in 1893 Weekly newspapers published in Texas