Second Negative

The Bubba W. Shrub Library

The common adage about Aggieland is that “from the outside looking in, you can’t understand it, and from the inside looking out, you can’t explain it.” I’ve always been inclined to believe that, for reasons both good and bad. The school is not nearly as conservative and close minded as the reputation suggests, but neither is it as progressive as some would have you believe.

There are times that members of both groups can come together and share in a mutual befuddlement regarding the actions of the Board of Regents. The Battalion reported today that the school continues to be “very” interested in landing the George W. Bush presidential library. Somehow, no matter how many times I say that last part, it never sounds right. If you wanted to name your restaurant the George W. Bush Chicken Shack, I could get behind that. Or perhaps, the Shrub School of Cheerleading. But any university that would consider adding “presidential library” after W. Bush has to seriously question their commitment to education. The stigma from an affiliation of that nature would do little to further A&M’s goals in regard to the Vision 2020 project, and would almost certainly hamper diversification initiatives.

I’m not terribly familiar with the whole process involved with presidential libraries, but I can make a few assumptions based on this news. Apparently you can be a complete dumbass, unsuccessful your entire life, lose an election and be appointed to the office by the Supreme Court, preside over an administration that is an utter disaster both internationally and domestically, and yet still have major universities fight over where you will keep your “papers”. Was that a run-on sentence?