Here's a link to an aggy trying to convince folks A&M is special while admitting it's a cesspool.
https://glasstire.com/2015/06/07/the-cult-of-memory-at-texas-am-2/
If universities project their sense of identity through their campuses, the usual image is one of gravitas, beauty, and intellectual openness (university shares the same root as universe, after all). Think stately, gracious, ivy-covered buildings of stone or red brick. By contrast, Texas A&M is a fortress: a sturdy, solid, no-frills series of beige bunkers that convey something of a siege mentality. It projects intellectual safety, rather than intellectual openness. At A&M, you get the sense that sharing in the experience of the group is more important than striking out on one’s own as an individual.
The place is also covered with bronze statues, plaques, and other memorial signifiers. I’ve heard there’s more bronze at A&M than at any other university in the country (unverified, but could be true). Every brick has a name. Every bench has a plaque. Almost nothing that can have been given a veneer of meaning has been left untouched. While it’s true that all universities have their traditions and memorials, A&M takes this notion to a whole other level.