Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license.
Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat.
We can research this topic together.
Texas A&M University is a former featured article. Please see the links under Article milestones below for its original nomination page (for older articles, check the nomination archive) and why it was removed.
This article appeared on Misplaced Pages's Main Page as Today's featured article on September 30, 2009.
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Higher education, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of higher education, universities, and colleges on Misplaced Pages. Please visit the project page to join the discussion, and see the project's article guideline for useful advice.Higher educationWikipedia:WikiProject Higher educationTemplate:WikiProject Higher educationHigher education
Please add the quality rating to the {{WikiProject banner shell}} template instead of this project banner. See WP:PIQA for details.
This article is within the scope of WikiProject United States, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of topics relating to the United States of America on Misplaced Pages. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the ongoing discussions.
This talk page is about the article only. To make suggestions related to Texas A&M related articles as a whole please comment on the
Texas A&M WikiProjecttalk page.
It would seem that the rankings template people have completely remade the template. i am deleting all unnecessary rankings, but I figured I would save the numbers here:
{{Infobox US university ranking
|USNWR_NU =61
|USNWR_Bus =29
|USNWR_Eng =13
|USNWR_Ed =40
|ARWU_W =91
|ARWU_N =55
|ARWU_SCI =43
|ARWU_ENG =34
|ARWU_SOC =45
|THES_W =137
|THES_N =48
|CMUP =32
|Wamo =1
}}
Informal review
Buffs has asked me to review this article as a volunteer FAC mentor. I'd like to offer the following comments for consideration, noting at the outset that as an Australian I have only a vague awareness of this university:
"It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity"" - seems a bit obscure/detailed for the lead, and doesn't flow from the previous sentence
"Enrollment climbed to 258 students before declining to 108 students in 1883" - when did it hit 258?
"by 1918, 49% of all graduates of the college were in military service, more than any other school" - what explains this?
"with the college producing 20,229 combat troops" - no it didn't. The Army trained them. Sailors and airmen aren't "troops" either.
"Of those, 14,123 Aggies served as officers, more than any other school and more than the combined total of the United States Naval Academy and the United States Military Academy" - the USNA and USMA are elite institutions, and trained relatively small numbers of officers, so this comparison is misleading and basically boosterism. If this is going to be highlighted, the reason for this should be noted as well.
"until his death and burial on school grounds in 2018" - did he really die on the university's grounds? The article on him says he died at home in Houston.
The history section doesn't note when women were re-admitted, only when this was approved
Or mention desegregation
The para starting with 'In 2017, the status of the statue of Lawrence Sullivan ' is awkwardly worded, and seems to be trying to dodge a few issues.
Some of the statistics in the 'Student body' section look dated (e.g. the 2019 stats)
The 'Research' section could have been written by the university's PR team. It should describe the university's areas of research focus in a more flat way, noting areas of weakness as well.
"Texas A&M leads the Southwestern United States in annual research expenditures, including research on every continent alongside formal research and exchange agreements across the globe" - as above.
"Since 1876, over 285 Aggies have served as generals or flag officers, as of 2021." - does this really need five citations?
" These drills must be drawn by hand as computer marching programs return errors without disabling safety features; their calculations require two people to be in the same spot at the same time" - hard to follow, and seems like trivia
I presume that there has also been opposition to the Corps of Cadets? (for instance, in the Vietnam War). The whole institution seems to have a decidedly military aspect to it, and it would be good to explore this thematically: I imagine it attracts some students and repels others.
"Aggie students founded the largest one-day student-run service project in America known as The Big Event..." this para also reads like promotional material
"and consume the substance to obtain a feeling that they have earned the ring" - bit clunky
"To symbolize their "readiness, desire, and enthusiasm", it is traditional for students in attendance to stand throughout the sports game" - how does this work in the modern era for students with mobility issues?
"The Aggies are a member of the Southeastern Conference of the NCAA for all sports as of 2012" - can this be updated?
The three notes need supporting references.
More broadly, and this is a bit of a tricky comment to action, the article seems to be written from the perspective of the university administration. The experiences and views of students and teaching staff and how they've changed over time don't really come through. For instance, what did the first women and non-White people to enter the university in the 1960s experience, and how has this changed over time? How is the university viewed by potential students and staff given it seems to promote a rather old fashioned culture? What proportion of students adhere to this tradition? (for instance, if only 20% live on campus, do the other 80% turn up at the various traditional events held after classes?) Nick-D (talk) 09:32, 30 March 2022 (UTC)
Similar to the above, I was asked to review the article. I hope there's no overlap with the above.
I hate to ask, but is there a reference for note3 - "Public" schools in the United States are generally funded by the state
"Under the leadership of President James Earl Rudder in the 1960s, A.M.C. desegregated, became coeducational, and dropped the requirement for participation in the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets and enrollment began to rapidly expand." - I feel like this could be split up. Maybe like - "Enrollment expanded again in the 1960s under the leadership of President James Earl Rudder. The college desegregated, became coeducational, and dropped the requirement for participation in the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets."
I notice a lot of refs in the lead. There shouldn't be refs there unless anything is particularly controversial, as the lead is supposed to reflect the content in the article. Does the lead need all of those references?
"over 5,500 acres (22 km2)" - it might be nice to have the same style of unit, using mi2 along with km2, because I'm not sure people can grasp what 5,500 acres looks like. Then again, IDK if people know what 8.5 square miles looks like.
I notice you mention the student body being the largest in the US, and you also mention that one-fifth lives on campus, but you never mention the size of the student body in the lead.
"But after working through initial faculty resistance" - you're not supposed to start a sentence with "But"
" With the backing of State Senator William T. "Bill" Moore, also known as "the Bull of the Brazos" and "the father of the modern Texas A&M University." - I was gonna mention the nicknames as being unnecessary for Sul Ross, but he has a statue, whatever. But I don't think we need to know Moore was the Bull of the Brazos. Maybe just say who considered Moore to be the father, rather than having an unattributed quote?
In general in the history section, it would be nice if the paragraphs were closer in size to each other.
"With the backing of State Senator William T. "Bill" Moore, also known as "the Bull of the Brazos" and "the father of the modern Texas A&M University", in 1963, the 58th Legislature of Texas approved Rudder's proposal for a substantial expansion in its physical plant construction, facilities upgrades, diversifying and expanding its student body by admitting women and minorities and making membership in the Corps of Cadets voluntary. " - similar to the lead, this bit seems a bit rushed, as it seems like one of the more important historic events at the university.
"In the following 35 years" - from Rudder's death in 1970?
"one of thirteen American presidential libraries operated by the National Archives and Records Administration" - the presidential library article says there are 15
Is it worth mentioning that the Aggie Bonfire continued unofficially after it was stopped? Also, should the bonfire get mention in two separate parts of the article? Seems overkill.
"With strong support from Rice University and the University of Texas, the Association of American Universities, the leading academic association of America's top research universities, inducted Texas A&M in May 2001, on the basis of the depth of the university's research and academic programs." - this could be a lot clearer
Is it worth mentioning Covid in the history section? That seems a bit more important than a statue's non-removal.
The university and colleges are generally accredited - eh?
Ref 8 doesn't seem to cover - "Texas A&M was the largest public American university"
"The institution self reports, that in 2019, the school had a four-year graduation rate of 59% and a six-year graduation of 81.7%." - is this figure pre-Covid for a reason?
The school is rated as "more selective" by US News & World Report - what does this mean?
"In 2016, the university was targeted by animal rights group PETA, who alleged abusive experiments on dogs. Texas A&M responded that a video had been posted by PETA with insufficient context, and it said that the dogs had a genetic condition that also affects humans, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, for which there is no cure. "The dogs, who are already affected by this disease, are treated with the utmost respect and exceptional care on site by board-certified veterinarians and highly trained staff. The care team is further subject to scientific oversight by agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, among other regulatory bodies." - this seems a bit too much detail
" In 2013, geographic researchers named the largest volcano on Earth, Tamu Massif, after the university." - since this isn't directly related to the research by the university, this should be in the "history" section
"Texas A&M leads the Southwestern United States" - Texas is Southwest?
"Texas A&M owns three international based facilities, a multipurpose center in Mexico City, the Soltis Research and Education Center near the town of San Isidro, Costa Rica, and the Santa Chiara Study Abroad Center in Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy." - I think some more syntax is needed. I believe it would be "international-based", but double check on that. Also, I'm not sure if it should be a colon : or a dash or something else after "facilities". Lastly, any more details on these facilities?
The campus is part of Qatar's "massive venture to import elite higher education from the United States" - it's not good to have unattributed quotes. Can't you just describe this without the quote? If not, list who said it.
"Instead, Texas A&M opened a $6 million marine biology center in Haifa, Israel." - when?
"The Corps Arches, a series of twelve arches that " the spirit of the 12th Man of Texas A&M", mark the entrance to the Quadrangle." - I'm not sure what you're linking with the 12th Man of Texas link.
" Reveille, the Aggie mascot, lives with her handlers in the Corps in the Quad." - is it worth mentioning that Reveille is a dog?
Under "Activities", I found the coverage of the GLBT organization to be odd. You say: GLBT Aggies, the descendant organization of Gay Student Services (GSS), successfully sued the university for official recognition in the decision Gay Student Services v. Texas A&M University, in which the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that the First Amendment required public universities to allow students the freedom to assemble. So you mention the group suing, but not that the organization has been around since 1985, and that it exists beyond just a lawsuit.
"W5AC broadcast the first live, play-by-play broadcast of a college football game, at Kyle Field, in November 1921." - was this station affiliated with the college? Or did it just happen to broadcast the play-by-play here? Considering it was a first, I think a bit more context would be nice.
"when 25 Aggies "mustered" during the battle for the island of Corregidor." - see, the "mustered" quote doesn't help because I don't know what happened!
To symbolize their "readiness, desire, and enthusiasm" - I'm noticing a pattern in the article of some unnecessary quotes that are unattributed
The Hall of Fame section isn't that long, so I think that would work best at the beginning of the sports section, so that way the sub-categories are about different types of sports.
"The women's team has been coached by Gary Blair since 2003." - needs updating, their season is over and he is now retired.
The school has 20 sports, of which football and basketball get a section, and only women's soccer and volleyball get an "also" mention. I think you should list all of them here.
Aviation pioneer Fred Weick did much of his post war research at Texas A&M. - should it be "post-war"?
I guess I expected a mention of the current college president somewhere in the article outside of the infobox.
One random thing that came to mind after finishing reading. How many buildings make up the main campus?
Having all of the images on the right looked visually boring. Maybe switch it up?
Those are my comments from my first read-through. The article does a good job at being current and thorough.
In 2021, President Banks released the plan for the reorganization The Path Forward. It lists that the new Texas A&M University College of Arts and Sciences would be formed and fully operational by September 1st, 2022 from the previous College of Liberal Arts, College of Geosciences, and the College of Science. I hope this can be listed on the article somewhere. I created a list of the current colleges/schools of the University. It’s adapted from one that was on the page until a little over a year ago.
Another note, I brought back the once-deleted article about the College of Liberal Arts and made some changes. Some editors are attempting to delete it again.
To-do: E · H · W · RUpdated 2009-10-02