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THURSDAY, APRIL 11

OPINION Opinion writer says although tattoos are losing their stigma, proceed with caution. A3

@THEBATTONLINE

SPORTS COVERAGE A&M student organization hosted nine charity fights in Reed Arena. B1

EVENTS IN AGGIELAND Chanticleer a cappella April 11 Save the Music concert April 13 Shipwreck Weekend April 13

Carson to visit A&M

Turning Point USA to host former presidential nominee, U.S. secretary By Cameron Gibson @cameronthebatt

CHILIFEST 2024 Adriano Espinosa — THE BATTALION

Fans cheer atop each other’s shoulders on Saturday, April 6, 2024, at Chilifest.

big event. temporary builds had discounted off, I couldn’t walk Day 2,” Grant Over 35,000 descend on the“Everyone’s prepping for Chil- pricing, merch, free drinks and food said. “It was all worth it … and I’d in College Station, and all these for those who bought from them. do it again.” Snook for annual music ifest businesses and vendors come out It’s also common for people to exTrial and error last year for festiand it’s just like people really plore the Snook grounds and go to val-goer Cade Vickers helped him festival, local tradition here, show up, and I just think it’s such other groups’ builds. After assem- come more prepared this year. The

By Theresa Lozano @theresaalozano With music booming through speakers and a chance of beer cans hitting heads, Chilifest Music Festival arrived in full swing on Friday and Saturday in Snook. With headliners such as Randy Rogers Band and Chris Young, vendors and the fortress-like structures fraternities create called “builds,” it’s no wonder the event attracts over 35,000 people each year, according to the Chilifest website. Filled with families, students from all over Texas and even babies, festival-goers made the most out of a beautiful and sunny Friday and the brutal wind and dirt on Saturday and let loose. Three-time Chili vet and former student Makyna Sparks said the festival is a fun thing for everybody to rally behind, although it can get rowdy and hectic. A fan of the Red Bull Skydive Team but not so much country music, Sparks was excited for Surfaces this year and said that the music is only just a little part of

an exciting thing to be a part of and see,” Sparks said. “People come here and they just wanna have fun.” Communication junior Sydney Angell said it feels like a tradition to go to the festival as a Texas A&M student. No matter who the lineup might hold, she comes for the atmosphere, ready to spin into the night. “I really do just like going late

bling small pieces at a time, frats and orgs will transport it to the Snook grounds to finish building, painting and put the final touches on their (mostly) multi-tier high wooden structures. New Sigma Alpha Epsilon member Matthew Hollingsworth said his favorite moment so far has been building their “Space Rodeo” themed build with his fra-

“People come here and they just wanna have fun.” Makyna Sparks Former Texas A&M Student at night when it’s dark and dancing with everyone at the front of the stage,” Angell said. “I like the builds, that’s fun, but I definitely like going out and dancing more, just hanging out.” Teams can sign up and bring drinks and food to enjoy during the weekend and use their tent or build as a “home base” to members in their party. Dominated by fraternities and organizations, the

ternity brothers. As she was “build hopping,” University of Houston student Regan Grant said although it’s only her second time at the festival, she’s turning it into an early tradition — calling it the best weekend of the whole year. Despite some foul moments in 2023, that didn’t stop Grant from returning this year. “I was standing on the bar, fell off; my toenail turned black and fell

Snook grounds are notorious for having spotty cell service — if at all. It’s become more common for large parties to bring walkie-talkies, especially if arriving with a party of around 20 like Vickers. “We kind of got in trouble and lost everyone because we didn’t have service,” Vickers said. “This year, we decided to bring about 12 walkie-talkies for all of our friends and we just kind of tell everyone to stick with someone with a walkie-talkie so we don’t leave anyone behind … it’s kind of genius, honestly.” With the crowd of thousands, it’s not sunshines and rainbows all the time with risk of ruining shoes or outfits, having beer-drenched hair, and breaking and losing items. Despite various obstacles, festival-goers keep up their streak of returning every year, finding excitement in different parts of what it has to offer. When asked if there’s anything Vickers would change about Chilifest: “Absolutely nothing. This shit’s awesome.”

Texas A&M’s Turning Point USA, or TPUSA, chapter will host an event with Ben Carson, who served as the 17th U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2017 to 2021 after running for the Republican Presidential nomination in the 2016 primary. Carson is also the founder of the American Cornerstone Institute, a conservative think tank. The event will start at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 18, and is free for all to attend. President of TPUSA at Texas A&M Crystal Amoles said Carson will speak about his experiences from childhood to today followed by a Q&A session with the audience. Amoles described TPUSA as “a pro-American organization that advocates for limited government, lower taxes, free speech and some other important things that we feel our members should be educated on.” Amoles said TPUSA’s regional director goes to A&M every week to help guide the chapter and make sure they represent themselves well as members of TPUSA and students of A&M. “Through her, we are able to directly talk to the Turning Point organization themselves, and they constantly help us out with grants and if we need money to host an event such as the Ben Carson event,” Amoles said. “They send us declarations to help out.” Amoles said the organization is open for anyone to join. Amoles said she wanted to highlight Carson “really wanting to come to A&M for a while because he believes in students and staff and the campus here. He loves it because there’s opportunity, there’s faith here, there’s tradition and family and I think A&M really prides itself on the good community that it has to offer all our students and staff.”

A&M researchers investigate cancer treatments ment due to the lack of comprehen-

veterinary medicine, medical phys-

and lung specialist … then I went to a breast cancer oncologist,” Pozzi said. “Treatment was 10 days of the highest radiation your body can take, from my brain stem all the way down to my [lower back].” The inability to access cutting -edge medication and treatments in Bryan-College Station is not unique to Pozzi, other cancer researchers remarked. A group of young researchers heading the Texas Regional Excellence in Cancer, or TREC, center initiative at the A&M Health Center of Excellence in Cancer Research are looking to create access for patients in central Texas and eliminate the burden of having to travel to major cities for treatment. Texas A&M’s wide-ranging research in biomedical engineering,

such as Shreya Raghavan, Ph.D, are more than willing to step up. Raghavan is using her grant funds to investigate a young field of cancer research: mechanobiology. “I started working in ovarian cancer during my [postdoctoral] in Michigan,” Raghavan said. “Then, I moved [to Texas] and I said, ‘How can we combine everything and see why some aspects of cancer escape our body’s immune system?’” Raghavan’s focus is eliminating metastatic cancers and training the next generation of research scientists. “Comprehensive cancer centers … have a critical mass of basic research that can go from the lab bench to the patient,” Raghavan said. “How do you make a therapy out of things we are doing in lab?

Professor shares battle, sive cancer care in Bryan and Col- iology and biosciences are included in the $6 million grant to create the works with local center lege“IStation. first went in for a neurolo- TREC Center. New infrastructure and once he determined it was will need to be built and more scienon experimental solution gist, cancer, he passed me onto a bone tists recruited, but young professors By J.M. Wise @j_m_wise25 It has been 20 months since Michelle Pozzi, Ph.D., of Texas A&M’s Biochemistry and Biophysics department was diagnosed with cancer. However, through a combination of radiation, cutting edge medicine and personal strength, her cancer is now inactive and she continues to teach. “I have ER [estrogen-receptor] positive breast cancer,” Pozzi said. “And, what made mine bizarre … is that when they determined I had it, it had already metastasized to every bone in my body, except my arms, legs, hands.” Pozzi had to go to the Houston Methodist Cancer Center for treat-

Photo courtesy of Weston Porter, Ph.D.

By linking mechanics to cancer progression, you are opening new ways to treat or prevent cancer.” Part of Pozzi’s treatment has involved participating in clinical trials and experimental drugs that may

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extend her life. “There is a medication right now called Verzenio [that I take] … usually [medications] only last so long until they stop working,” Pozzi said. CANCER ON PG. A2