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january 27, 2014
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BIG EVENT GOES GLOBAL A&M tradition set to travel overseas this year
bush school
Lecture to focus on debt crisis Former White House official, senator talk national deficit Kadie McDougald
The Battalion he Bush School of Government and Public Service will host former White House Chief of Staff Erskine B. Bowles, and former U.S. Senator Alan K. Simpson, on Wednesday to discuss the nation’s debt crisis in an event titled “What Will It Take to Fix the National Debt?” The Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics and Public Policy will present the event through the Bush School as part of the ConocoPhillips White House Lecture Series. Simpson and Bowles have both been involved in working to solve the debt crisis and will give students insight as to why the problem is such a difficult one to tackle, said Lori Taylor, director of the Mosbacher Institute. “Both have come together for a very non-partisan discussion,” she said. “I think it’s a very big problem and that it’s important that we get beyond politics [to solve it.]” The U.S. national debt stands at just over $17 trillion. Taylor said the country has gotten into an “unfortunate pattern” that should be of concern to students. “When interest rates go back to nor-
T
William Guerra — THE BATTALION
Bradley D’Souza The Battalion
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fter over 30 years of impacting Bryan-College Station and the country at large, The Big Event is going global. Three Big Events are scheduled to occur across Europe, with another one planned at Mehran University in Pakistan. These international events will join more than 90 U.S. schools in giving back to their communities during a
one-day service effort. Kevin Brooks, outreach director for The Big Event, said that while the push to start Big Events in other countries began this year, Pakistan was not initially conceived as a potential location. “Pakistan fell into our laps,” Brooks said. “They heard that we were going abroad and they decided to jump on board. They contacted us and said, ‘We heard that you were doing this and we
love the mission of The Big Event. We want to do this in Pakistan.’” While the extension of The Big Event to such a far part of the world is exciting to everyone on The Big Event staff, Brooks said there are issues translating the message of selfless service to a different culture. Phone calls to Pakistan are expensive, reducing communication See Big Event on page 4
See Debt talk on page 2
service
Replant seeks funds to continue recovery mission Organization returning to Bastrop for second year Jennifer Reiley The Battalion
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ggie Replant will travel to Bastrop State Park again this February to take part in the Bastrop Lost Pines Recovery Campaign. Organizers hope to have 10,000 seedlings in the ground by the end of the four-day event and expect it will take about 600 Aggies to complete the job.
inside arts | 2 Art workshop Stark Galleries hosts Japanese and ghost story telling workshop with Sarah Lindholm, professional Japanese-to-English translator. The workshop was in conjunction with the Stark Galleries’ current exhibit, “The Floating World,” which will be on display until March 3.
sports | 3 Weekend recap
It was a busy weekend for Aggie sports with competitions for swimming and diving, tennis and track. See the results on page 3.
music | 5 Charity concert A benefit concert will be held Thursday in Rudder Auditorium to support local aftercare program for domestic minor sex trafficking victims. The concert will coincide with January, which is also National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.
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However, planting trees twice a year can be a financial challenge of its own. Olivia Olvera, sophomore wildlife and fisheries sciences major and fundraising executive for Replant, said Replant hosts events once each semester: Bastrop in the spring and Replant Day in the fall. Olvera said there are costs associated with each event due to the necessary trees and equipment. “It’s more expensive for Replant Day,” OlSee Replant on page 6
COURTESY
Replant 2013 volunteers give back to the environment by planting trees in Bastrop.
w. basketball
Aggies fall to No. 11 Tennessee, 76-55 A&M fails to recover from halftime deficit, ends win streak Tyler Stafford The Battalion
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espite a raucous crowd of 7,207 — the 15th largest ever to see a women’s basketball game at Reed Arena — the No. 17 Texas A&M women’s basketball team fell to the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers, 76-55, on Sunday. The Lady Vols scored the first basket just 15 seconds into the game, and never looked back. Texas A&M players wore shirts that said “We Back Pat” to show their support for the former Tennessee head coach, Pat Summit, who is fighting Alzheimer’s disease. The entire Southeastern Conference honored Summit and sought to raise awareness for the Pat Summit Foundation. Head Coach Gary Blair talked about the importance of Sunday’s game. “That was very important,“ Blair said. “Games come and go, but Pat Summit has meant more to this game than any other one person, present or past. So it’s our job to go in and raise awareness. This is a disease that we’ve got to figure out.” The Aggies were held scoreless for the first five minutes, allowing the Lady Vols to start the game on an 8-0 run. Sophomore point guard, See W. basketball on page 3
Tanner Garza — THE BATTALION
Senior center Karla Gilbert totals 14 points and 11 rebounds to record her fourth doubledouble of the season.
1/26/14 10:31 PM
news
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Workshop brings Yokai to Japanese Exhibit
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Anime translator visits campus art gallery
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s part of the exhibit “The Floating World: Ukiyo-e prints from the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art,” Stark Galleries held an all-ages art and storytelling workshop Saturday. Sarah Lindholm, a quality assurance translator with FUNimation Entertainment, presented stories, art and anime clips featuring “yokai,” or Japanese demons and ghosts. The exhibit featured examples of “ukiyo-e” woodblock prints. The term “ukiyo-e” means “images of a floating world” and the woodblock prints often featured images of courtesans, actors and other leisure themes. Lindholm said Stark Galleries contacted her because of her knowledge of Japanese-related topics that would coincide with the exhibit. “I wanted to do something that would connect to the exhibit, and the bridge that I thought of was the yokai,” Lindholm said. “They’re something that you see in the ukiyo-e, and I wanted to draw a bridge between the old ukiyo-e art design and what’s happening in the present.” Lindholm discussed well-known yokai, such as the Kitsune or “fox spirit” and the Kappa, a water spirit, as well as lesser-known yokai. She used clips from the anime “Yu Yu Hakusho,” anime pictures and ukiyo-e examples from the exhibit and other sources. “I thought it would be a draw, and the museum thought it would be a draw,” Lindholm said. “And it fits thematically with what we were talking about.”
Debt talk Continued from page 1
LAST CALL FOR ORDERS Eligibility Check Deadline: Feb. 6 Order Deadline: Feb 7 Aggie Ring Day: April 11, 2014 HOW TO GET YOUR AGGIE RING ON APRIL 11, 2014: If you meet the requirements after Fall 2013: 1. Log in to AggieNetwork.com by February 6 to check your Ring eligibility. (You will need to create an
mal, the burden will go back up substantially,” she said. “Students should be concerned because they’ll be the ones that have to pay for it.” Taylor said the series aims to achieve enlightenment in its audiences through the discussion of various political issues. “[The series wants] to bring these important policy issues to the fore and [point out] that there are not just problems, but also solutions,” Taylor said. Mary-Christina Riley, a graduate student in public service and administration and member of the Ambassadors, a student organization within the Bush School, said she will help to work the event with the organization and is looking forward to hearing from such “high profile” influential leaders as Bowles and Simpson. She said students have a lot to
Elizabeth Evans — THE BATTALION
FUNimation translator Sarah Lindholm (standing) discusses Japanese culture and art with freshman visualization major Megan McDaniel. A professional Japanese translator for 10 years, Lindholm has worked with FUNimation for the past five years. Students and attendees said they enjoyed the workshop, which included a Q-and-A with Lindholm and a drawing section where attendees were encouraged to channel their creativity and draw their own yokai. Attendee Leah Waig said she came to the workshop because the subject interested her. Waig was one of two raffle winners of a full DVD set of the anime “Yu Yu Hakusho.” “I heard about the workshop on Cepheid Variable’s Facebook group,” Waig said. “It was about anime, Japanese folk
lore and ghost stories, and all of that combined together was really interesting to me.” Megan McDaniel, freshman visualization major, learned about the workshop from Aggie SAMA, an anime, manga, art and Japanese culture fan group. She said the best part for her was seeing the diversity of ages in the room. “I liked seeing the age gap of people all interested in the same thing, learning the culture,” McDaniel said. The exhibit is on display in the Stark Galleries until March 23.
gain by hearing from both men. “These two men came together in a bipartisan way to address this problem,” Riley said.” It’s a huge issue that reaches every home in America. “ David Leclere, a graduate student in public service and administration and graduate assistant for the Mosbacher Institute, said the debt issue is relevant to students now because it affects many areas of study, especially those of government, where jobs may be limited for students unless the debt goes down, or science and research, which rely heavily on government funding to supply jobs. “Considering the debt continues to climb, reform will need to be had at some point, so the question is, ‘Who is going to end up paying for it?’ Us and our children and our grandchildren,” Leclere said. “The sooner we can come to some consensus in terms of reform, the sooner it will benefit everyone.” During the presentation, Bowles and
Simpson will be given the Mosbacher Institute’s Good Governance Award to recognize the political barriers they have broken to help solve the nation’s debt crisis, Taylor said. “The award recognizes the work that the public sector has done to promote high-quality decision making in public service,” Taylor said. “When it would have been easy to be partisan, [Simpson and Bowles] put the country first and have come up with [policies] — and that’s desirable. We identified early on that they would be excellent recipients and we’re very fortunate that our acting dean, Andrew Card, was able to get us in touch with them and sell them on the idea of coming to talk [at the Bush School.]” The event will take place at 5:30 p.m. in the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center. Although the event is free, reservations are required and can be made through the Bush School’s website.
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THE BATTALION is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer session (except University holidays and exam periods) at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Offices are in Suite L400 of the Memorial Student Center. News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in Student Media, a unit of the Division of Student Affairs. Newsroom phone: 979-845-3315; E-mail: editor@thebatt.com; website: http://www.thebatt.com. Advertising: Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by The Battalion. For campus, local, and national display advertising, call 979-8452687. For classified advertising, call 979-845-0569. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Email: battads@thebatt.com. Subscriptions: A part of the Student Services Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pick up a single copy of The Battalion. First copy free, additional copies $1.
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sports
page 3 monday 1.27.2014
thebattalion
COMMODORES FEND OFF AGGIES A&M drops third straight against Vanderbilt, 66-55 Conner Darland The Battalion
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he Texas A&M men’s basketball team (127, 3-3 SEC) suffered a 66-55 loss at the hands of the Vanderbilt Commodores (10-8, 2-4 SEC) on Saturday at Reed Arena. The loss marked the third straight game the Aggies have dropped, with the previous two coming from Mississippi State and Kentucky. Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said his players continued to pass up open shots and stressed the importance of the team members regaining their confidence. “We need to get in the gym, put some shots up and build our confidence back up,” Kennedy said. “When you have a team that struggles Courtesy of Aggie Athletics scoring, you’ve got to try and make some easy Freshman guard Shawn Smith drives to the hoop in Saturday’s loss to Vanderbilt in buckets.” The Aggies failed to find their rhythm as they Reed Arena. shot 19-57 on 33.3 percent shooting from the floor. Junior forward Kourtney Roberson came bounds and keep talking on defense. I tried to Junior guard Jamal Jones converted only one away with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while do all of that today.” shot on his nine attempts, he was perfect from adding 10 rebounds in the process, which toA&M next hits the hardwood against the the foul line — converting all four of his free taled his third double-double of the season. South Carolina Gamecocks at 6 p.m. Wednesthrows. “I talked to coach earlier this week and he day in Columbia, S.C. The previous meeting Freshman forward Davonte Fitzgerald only told me I need to get more aggressive and try between the two teams in Reed Arena ended played 13 minutes due to early foul trouble in and score more,” Roberson said. “He said with a come-from-behind 75-67 victory for the the first half. He never found his rhythm, miss- I needed to get back to getting offensive re- Aggies. ing all three of his shots.
W. basketball Continued from page 1
Jordan Jones, expressed her disappointment with the team’s early struggles. “We had great looks, they just weren’t falling,” Jones said. “Sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce our way, and tonight it did not. I feel like we settled a little bit and gave the Tennessee zone exactly what they wanted, which was make us settle on the outside perimeter and shoot jump shots.” The Aggies clawed back after the early deficit to pull within two before Tennessee went on an 11-0 run, going up 23-10 and staying at least 10 points ahead for the rest of the game. Tennessee was led by Meighan Simmons — a Cibolo, Texas, native — who scored a game-high 26 points. Simmons spoke about the emotion of playing in her home state. “It meant a lot, just the fact that my family was here,” Simmons said. “Being in front of family and friends is great, but it shouldn’t matter. No matter where I play, no matter where we play, it’s always good to come back home.” Tennessee put up 36 points on the Aggies in the first half while shooting 53 percent (17-32) from the field. The 16-point halftime deficit was the largest of the year for A&M. Tennessee dominated in transition, outscoring A&M 17-0 on fast break points. In the second half, the Aggies held steady with the Lady Vols, only being outscored by five, but the halftime deficit was too much to overcome. A&M was led by senior center Karla Gilbert and sophomore guard Courtney Walker. Gilbert had 14 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, earning her fourth double-double of the year, while Walker tallied a team-high 20 points. Walker’s 20-point performance marks her second-straight game scoring at least 20 points, and her fourth such game for the season. She also added two assists, a block and a steal. The Aggie defense forced just 10 turnovers for Tennessee, and was outscored 38-16 in the paint by Tennessee. The loss stopped A&M’s nine-game win streak while ending its perfect season at Reed Arena this season, dropping the Aggies home record to 10-1. “Like I told our kids in the dressing room, look in the mirror, pat the other team on the back,” Blair said. “That’s not going to be our last loss of the year, Tennessee probably has a few losses in front of them. That’s how balanced our league is. But right now, we’re in first place.” Texas A&M (16-5, 6-1 SEC) will next travel to Alabama on Thursday to take on the Auburn Tigers (11-9, 2-5 SEC).
preseason
Winter is here, baseball is coming
Tyler Stafford — THE BATTALION
Aggies hold first practice, scrimmage in icy conditions Tyler Stafford The Battalion
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ith ice still on the ground, the Texas A&M baseball team held its first practice and scrimmage of the year on Friday. Senior pitcher Jason Jester talked about the struggles of playing in the weather. “Some days it’s going to be just like this,” Jester said. “But it’s good for us, I think everybody’s attitude is good right now.” Jester went on to talk about his decision to come back to A&M, despite having a chance to leave for professional baseball. “For me it was a win-win,” Jester said. “I come back, get to graduate and get my Aggie Ring, or sign a major league contract and have a little money in my pocket.” The Aggies have a talented group of freshmen, as well as some junior college
sports news
Swimming and diving win meets After a narrow defeat to LSU last week, the Texas A&M men’s swimming and diving team ended its regular season of dual meet competition on Friday with a 143-100 victory over SMU. The Aggies placed first in 10 of the 13 total events in Friday’s win, bringing their overall record to 2-3 on the season. The Aggies’ next test will come on Thursday as they travel to Colorado Springs, Colo., for the Air Force Academy Diving Invitational.
Men’s tennis tops UTSA, Lamar The No. 11 Texas A&M men’s tennis team improved to 4-0 on the season after triumphs over UTSA and Lamar on Saturday at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. The Aggies finished the weekend with a 4-2 doubles record while winning 11 of 12 singles matches. The Aggies will be back in action on Sunday when they host SMU and Nicholls State.
Aggie track sweeps meet The Texas A&M track team completed a sweep of the team titles over LSU and Texas Tech at Saturday’s Triangular meet at Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium.
Ice collected on Olsen Field as the Aggies opened spring practice Friday.
transfers who will be competing for spots on the roster this season. Senior outfielder Krey Bratsen thinks the competition will be good for the team. “I’m really excited,” Bratsen said. “We’ve got a bunch of young guys looking to earn a spot, which is helping us older guys work harder to save our spot. Overall, everybody is pushing each other to have a good year.” On Saturday the Aggies unveiled their new video scoreboard, which sits in left field. A&M head coach Rob Childress praised the new addition, saying it may be one of the best in the country. “Magnificent is the only thing that comes to mind,” Childress said. “It’s as great a scoreboard as you can ask for. If it’s not the best at any collegiate facility in the country, it’s real close and it’s going to be for a long, long time.” The Aggies open their season against Northeastern at 6:35 p.m. on Feb. 14 at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
Former lineman to compete in strength challenge Former Texas A&M offensive lineman and 2013 Jacobs Blocking Trophy recipient, Jake Matthews, will participate in the 2014 Quicken Loans All-Star Football Challenge scheduled Matthews to air Tuesday at 8 p.m. on ESPN2. The competition will feature five individual events for college football’s brightest stars to display their talent. Matthews will be the sole offensive lineman in the event, competing against a duo of defensive lineman — Ra’Shede Hageman from Minnesota and Louis Nix III out of Notre Dame — in the Mercedes-Benz Lineman Strength Competition.
2014 CONOCOPHILLIPS WHITE HOUSE LECTURE SERIES & MOSBACHER INSTITUTE GOOD GOVERNANCE AWARD
What Will It Take to Fix the National Debt? FEATURING Alan K. Simpson, US Senator, R-Wyoming (1979-1997)
Erskine B. Bowles, President Bill Clinton’s Chief of Staff (1997-1998)
DISCUSSION MODERATOR
Andrew H. Card, Jr., President George W. Bush’s Chief of Staff (2001-2006)
Join us as Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, Co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (2010), speak about their innovative, bipartisan efforts to solve the national debt crisis; why Washington failed to adopt their solution; and what can be done now to fix this ever increasing problem.
ALAN K. SIMPSON
US SENATOR, R-WYOMING (1979-1997)
Wednesday, January 29, 2014 • 5:30 p.m. Annenberg Presidential Conference Center 1000 GEORGE BUSH DRIVE WEST, COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS
Acceptances only by January 27, 2014 Email • bushschoolmosbacher@tamu.edu Phone • 979.845.1927
ERSKINE B. BOWLES
PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON’S CHIEF OF STAFF (1997–1998)
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to emails that often have to be translated for both parties to understand. Additionally, because of University regulations, students at Texas A&M cannot travel to Pakistan to participate in this particular event, restricting it to students from Mehran. “The limitation with Pakistan is that it is under a travel warning, and according to Texas A&M rules, undergraduate students are not allowed to travel to areas under travel warnings,” said Jane Flaherty, director of the Study Abroad program. In Europe, The Big Event has partnered with Texas A&M’s Study Abroad program to help establish Big Events in Barcelona, Spain; Bonn, Germany; and Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy. Aggies currently enrolled in study abroad programs in those areas can sign up to perform community service in a process identical to that of The Big Event in College Station. Unlike The Big Event in Pakistan, these events are not affiliated with local universities and will be available to Texas
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A&M students. Flaherty said she hopes they will be able to expand these service projects soon. “We hope in the future to have students from other institutions participate as well,” Flaherty said. “In each of these locations, The Big Event is being set up by our partners who facilitate the study abroad programs. We are sharing Aggie selfless service in other communities in Europe just as we do here. In the future, we would love to see this grow.” Flaherty said the locations for these events were chosen based on existing partnerships with Texas A&M. “What we did was identify three places where we thought we would be able to launch this successfully,” Flaherty said. “The reason we picked those places is because there’s an infrastructure there in
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“It’s not an idea that’s confined to College Station, or even specific to Americans. It’s something that needs to be said worldwide. I think that selfless service is a great way to say thank you, and this push is connecting people worldwide through the spirit of service.” Jamie Cooper, sophomore agriculture and life sciences major, said she is excited that the ideals of The Big Event will now be shared internationally. “After my experience with The Big Event, and seeing how it touched the community around us, I think that taking that same idea and impacting the world is amazing,” Cooper said. “It makes me happy that other people want to help out others in this way because it allows us to broadcast the ideals that make Texas A&M special to the rest of the world.”
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PART TIME TEACHERS, Primrose School of College Station currently has several positions for qualified part-time teachers. All part time positions are 3:00pm-6:00pm Monday thru Friday. Excellent opportunity for education majors seeking part time employment. These positions require criminal background checks and FBI fingerprinting. Previous experience caring for children under the age of 5 years is required. Applications are now being accepted at the school. If you are qualified and seeking part-time employment in a rewarding environment, please visit the school to complete an application. Primrose School of College Station is located at 1021 Arrington Rd., just north of the HEB in the Tower Point Center, near Highway 6 and William Fitch. The school is opened Monday through Friday 6:30am-6:30pm, come by anytime during these hours to fill out an application. You are encouraged to bring a resume as an attachment to your application.
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each of those locations, either people who work for Texas A&M, or longtime affiliates who we’ve worked with for many years, who we knew we could ask to set up projects.” Forty-eight students are currently signed up with the European events. The projects in Italy, Spain and College Station will take place on March 29, with Germany’s on April 9. While Mehran University had not initially planned to host The Big Event until spring 2015, it recently decided to run a trial service project later this semester. Brooks said the additional locations for The Big Event will further enable the people of the world to show their gratitude to each other. “I think that saying ‘thank you’ to people is important anywhere,” Brooks said.
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Pepe's Mexican Cafe is now hiring smiling faces and friendly personalities to help make and serve the best tacos and burritos in town! We need mgmt., cashiers, & cooks for all shifts. Will work around class schedule. Apply 2-5pm at 3312 S. College in Bryan (1.5 miles from Campus!) PT help needed. Local hunting club needs PT guides. Students only. Average 1-2 weekends/month in offseason; 2-3 in Fall and Winter. Limited hunting privileges. Applications at www.yardbirdhunting.com Senior wanted for part-time office assistant work for oil field services company located in Bryan. Extremely flexible hours, $12-$14/hr, with an opportunity for full-time employment after graduation. Attention to detail is critical. Please send resume with schedule of availability to pkammerer@kapproservices.com. STUDENTPAYOUTS.COM Paid survey takers needed in College Station. 100% free to join. Click on surveys. Weekend merchandisers. Budweiser has immediate openings for part-time positions. Great pay! Pre-employment drug screen. Apply at Jack Hilliard Dist., 1000 Independence, Bryan, TX.
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walk in or schedule your free portrait sitting for Texas A&M’s 2014 Aggieland yearbook, if you didn’t last fall. Just walk in 9 A.M – 4 P.M. Monday – Thursday in the Student Media office, Suite L400 of the MSC. Or, for appointment email arphototamu@gmail.com or call 979.846.9690.
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Kristen Womac Management Andrew Wood Psychology Benjamin Wood Meteorology Dorothy Wood English Amber Woodin Biomedical Sciences
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Karen Zerda Communication Amanda Zietak Kinesiology Tamara Zuehlke Communication Michael Zurovec Mechanical Engineering Haili Zwiercan & Journalism Agricultural Communications
seniors & graduate students |
577
Managem
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ent Informat Kelli Adam ion Systems Emily ent Informat Adamcik ion Systems Seth Adams Spacial Sciences Joshua Aduddel l Health Teresa Aguilar Resource Developm ent Krystle Aguirre Interdisc iplinary Studies Omobola Ajao Chemica l Engineer ing Food ScienceTeresa Aldredge and Technolo gy Denise Commun Alex ication Monica Alexand er Kinesiolo gy Kimberl ee Allen Sara MorganEnglish Allen Agribusi ness Kiley Allred Biomedic al Science Brant Altenhof en Economi cs Matthew Biomedic Altman al Science Seetha Ram Amujula Ocean Engineer ing Justin Anchors Petroleum Engineer ing Kellen Ancinec Business Managem ent Agricultu ral Leadersh Clayton Anderso ip and Developm n ent David Anderso n Political Science Agricultu ral LeadershWhitney Anderso ip and Developm n ent Victoria Andrews English Maritza Wildlife and FisheriesAnguiano Sciences Julio Araiza Jr. Mathema tics Carolina Aramayo
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ng Arringto n English
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thebattalion
Benefit concert to support local restoration program Restore Her seeks to raise awareness for Human Trafficking Elizabeth Evans The Battalion
A
benefit concert will be held Thursday in Rudder Auditorium to help raise money for Restore Her — a program of Still Creek Ranch, a local boys and girls home. Jennifer Terry, Restore Her program director, is organizing the event to raise awareness about not just the program, but also the human sex trafficking that happens around the world and close to home. “The purpose is to raise awareness because January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, so it’s primarily to raise awareness of human trafficking,� Terry said. “Also it is to benefit Restore Her, which is a ministry of Still Creek Ranch, and to bring awareness to what Restore Her is doing to fight and end human trafficking locally.� For a year and a half, Restore Her has been housing female minors who have been trafficked in the United States. Terry called it a long-term restoration program. “We can house them and provide for them until graduation and we can also help them integrate into college and get them all the way through college,� Terry said. “When they graduate from our Christian Academy, they will get a free two-year scholarship to Blinn College.� Still Creek Ranch has been operating locally for the past 25 years, retrieving human trafficking victims and helping them get back their lives. Current executive directors Steve and Tracy Singleton founded the Restore Her program to help girls in particular. Still Creek Ranch features an accredited K-12 Christian academy on site, with a stateof-the-art arena, top equestrian program, agriculture program, credit recovery and athletics. The Ranch has plans to expand and is building a third home. Katy Cooney, junior psychology major, is the service chair for her sorority Chi Omega, and has been working with Still Creek Ranch since the spring of her freshman year. “After I went out to the ranch the first time, I was hooked,� Cooney said. “I fell so in love
God chose me to go through this and picked me up and loved me, and I want people to know that God puts them in certain situations for a reason and to show how much he loves them.�
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with the girls because of the mentor program we have between Chi Omega and Still Creek Ranch.� Cooney said most people don’t realize that most of the girls in the program are from Houston, only an hour and a half away from College Station. Cooney and her sorority have been working with the Christian anti-trafficking organization at A&M, FREE, to help with advertising and banners for the concert. Morgan Sumlin, senior communication major and executive of FREE said she is excited to attend the event and listen to the speakers, two girls from the Restore Her program. “I’ve never heard a girl in real life telling about her experiences,� Sumlin said. “I want to go and hear their stories. Also, some of the girls from the program will be working at the event and I want to interact and share with those girls the love we have for them.� One of the speakers, Kayla, who requested that her surname be dropped for privacy reasons, said she hopes that people attending the concert would not leave the event feeling sorry for her and the other girls in the program, but instead, find hope in her experiences. “I’m sharing how God allowed me to go through fire and come out of it loving Him,� Kayla said. “God chose me to go through this and picked me up and loved me, and I want people to know that God puts them in certain situations for a reason and to show how much he loves them.� The concert will be at 7 p.m. in Rudder Auditorium with doors open at 6:30 p.m. Bestselling Christian artist, All Sons and Daughters, will headline the show. Tickets are free for college students, $20 for adults. Tickets can be reserved online at restoreher. eventbrite.com.
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page 6 monday 1.27.2014
A Replant volunteer observes the effects of the damage caused by the 2011 Bastrop wildfires.
Replant Continued from page 1
Free Legal Advice Clinic For U.S. Veterans January 31, 2014
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A public service of the Brazos County Bar and the Houston Bar Foundation
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BAT_01-27-14_A6.indd 1
vera said. “We have to buy all our own trees from nurseries. We also buy the equipment and fund all the preparation.” Olvera said Replant budgeted just under $18,000 for the fall semester. The majority of the expenses were on trees and Replant Tshirts. Whatever money that is leftover funds the spring semester, including $7,000 for bus transportation to Bastrop. Replant began in 1991 as a way to offset Bonfire’s effect on the local environment, according to its website. The Bastrop initiative shares a similar purpose as it aims to repair the environmental damage left in the wake of a devastating 2011 wildfire that burned through much of the state park. “A goal is to help counteract the effects of the wildfire,” said Madeline Brown, senior industrial engineering major. “It was absolutely devastating for all of Bastrop, but we’re focusing on Bastrop State Park since 96 percent of Bastrop State Park suffered major damage from the burns.” The Texas Forestry Service provides the trees and equipment for the Bastrop event, reducing the amount of funding Replant needs to provide, said Katharina Moeller, sophomore environmental studies major and director of Replant. “For Bastrop, basically our only job is to get the people to Bastrop,” Moeller said. “Once we get them to Bastrop, we’re just kind of supervising and the Texas Forestry Service takes over. So for Bastrop our funding goes to snacks and water and things like that, and also toward the buses.” Olvera said while the organization receives funding from SGA, financing Replant projects can still be a struggle. “It’s almost always pretty tight when getting down to funding,” Olvera said. “We ask other organizations to help with funding, and we’ve never had a time, that I’m aware of, that we didn’t meet funding.”
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COURTESY
About $4,000 of Replant’s funding this year came from Student Senate allocations made at the start of the fall semester, making it one of the most funded SGA committees. Student Senate could allocate an additional $5,000 among SGA committees if they choose, and Replant is currently jockeying for a chance at extra funding, said Student Body President Reid Joseph. “In [their] bill, Student Senate said that they will retain this $5,000, and it will be allocated for programming request initiatives throughout the year,” Joseph said. “[Replant is] not asking for all $5,000, but the finance committee will be meeting on Wednesday to see how much will be funded, and then it will be voted on during [the Feb. 5] senate meeting.” Moeller said Replant also seeks other sources of financial support outside of SGA, such as Student Activities, the Leadership and Services center, and the Texas A&M Foundation. This year Interim University President Mark Hussey donated money to go toward Replant’s buses. Securing enough funding is often tied to name recognition and recruiting sponsors, activities Moeller said can be improved. “I think we definitely always need to do a better job in putting more of an effort into getting more people,” Moeller said. “Usually in the past, the senate has helped us a lot. Reid Joseph and a few people in senate have helped us get the word out. We’re always working on publicity.” Katie Oliver, junior psychology major, participated in the fall Replant day. She said Replant as an organization was a good opportunity for Aggies to assist in their community. “I find [Replant] to be a combo of demonstrating our values of selfless service and respect,” Oliver said. “Plus it is always fun to get out into the community and meet some of the residents of Bryan-College Station. You meet some really interesting and kindhearted people.” Replant will be traveling to Bastrop on Feb. 1, 2, 8 and 9. Applications are open until 5 p.m. on Tuesday through replant.tamu.edu.
1/26/14 9:04 PM