Texas A&M Cadets to be led by 1st black commander
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Nearly a half-century after African-Americans were admitted to predominantly white Texas A&M University, a black student has reached the pinnacle of one of its signature organizations.
Marquis Alexander next school year will become commander of A&M's Corps of Cadets, a high-profile post that involves establishing the cadets' dress codes for their military-style uniforms and setting their daily schedule, including physical training that can begin before dawn.
"I'm not going to lie. There is a sense of pride that's there," Alexander, 22, said Wednesday, standing in front of the "Corps Arches," an arched brick wall that marks the entrance to the dormitory area for the 2,100 members of the Aggie Corps of Cadets. "I look at it as encouragement to other people to get out and do whatever they want no matter what their background is."
Texas A&M is about 100 miles northwest of Houston where Alexander, the oldest of 10 children and the first to go to college, grew up. Despite recruiting efforts by the school, Houston's inner-city areas where Alexander was raised in the Third Ward and attended high school in the Fifth Ward typically don't produce future Aggies. Black students represent less than 4 percent of the 40,000 undergraduate students at the College Station campus.
"A lot of people from that part of town don't come here," said Alexander, who already spent a year and a half in the Marine reserves before enrolling at Texas A&M in 2009. "Everyone has their views and I knew what I was coming into when I came here, but it's been very positive."
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As a 2%er I'll say, "That took rather longer than it should have."
