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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31

2024 Kamala v. Trump: Candidate Comparison on the Ballot: Voters Guide Election What’s Edition: Opinion: Which is the crowd for you?

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Election Day

Silver Taps

November 5th

Molly Nicole Sims 12/29/2004 – 9/28/2024 Alexander Thomas Bull 5/14/1999 – 8/31/2024

Ramirez announces Jan. 1 retirement Vice president for student affairs to step down in spring By Nicholas Gutteridge Managing Editor Texas A&M’s Vice President for Student Affairs Joe Ramirez Jr. announced he is retiring effective Jan. 1, 2025 in a Wednesday email. “I am extremely excited to start a new chapter in my life — one in which I can dedicate more time to my amazing wife Terry, our nine

children and eight grandchildren,” Ramirez wrote in the email. The retired brigadier general spent over a decade as the Corps of Cadets commandant before moving to his current role as vice president for student affairs in 2021, where he helps oversee one of the largest student bodies in the country. “I fell in love with Texas A&M the first day I stepped on the Quad as a naive fish in the Corps and Aggie Band in 1975, and those feelings have never subsided,” Ramirez wrote. Ramirez wrote that he made the

decision “with mixed emotions.” “I will continue to work alongside you and the students of Texas A&M every day until my retirement date, and I look forward to the last couple of months of interactions we will share together,” Ramirez wrote. “Thank you all for what you have done for me, professionally, and for [my wife] Terry and me personally. We are truly grateful for the opportunity to have worked with all of you and to have shared so many good times with you. We will never forget you and all that you do every day for Texas A&M University. ”

Adriano Espinosa — THE BATTALION

BG Joe E. Ramirez Jr. speaks at The Big Event’s opening ceremony.

Into the Wicked Woods Kappa Sigma’s halloween haunt By Shalina Sabih Features Writer

Abdurahman Azeez — THE BATTALION

Masked organizer poses with a chainsaw.

Abdurahman Azeez — THE BATTALION

Guide nuns take people into the woods.

Abdurahman Azeez — THE BATTALION

A clown slowly approaches participants In Kappa Sigma’s Wicked Woods on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024.

A stroll in the woods southwest of campus might end with a glimpse of trees, bushes and maybe a raccoon, but at Kappa Sigma’s seven-acre lodge, these trails turn downright terrifying during their annual Wicked Woods Halloween event. Each year, about 5,000 thrill seekers venture through uneven and bushy trails. Their screams pierce the night as corpse-like clowns, petrifying pigs and macabre monsters with chainsaws emerge from the shadows. Nuclear engineering junior Christian Smith was the Dr. Frankenstein of the event this year and had many different scares cooked up in his cauldron from Oct. 24 to Oct. 31. Smith is the philanthropy chair for the fraternity. “My role was probably one of the most important roles, as this is one of the largest philanthropy events in the nation for our fraternity,” Smith said.

Abdurahman Azeez — THE BATTALION

Organizers in masks stalk participants.

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Early voting numbers up in Brazos County, down nationwide total number of registered voters of early voting turnout since 2004, ing on the electronic device, they Brazos Votes is encouraging votTexas counties see clocking in at 18.6 million. With according to the Lubbock Ava- must scan the ballot in a separate ers to use its website to answer any current number of early votes lanche-Journal. device to cast their ballot. If voters questions they may have. For the record votes cast while the cast, 28.8% of all votes have already Nationwide, early voting num- leave without scanning the ballot, upcoming election, any questions been cast in the state. bers have been down compared to their vote will not be counted and not answered via the webpage may U.S. numbers drop

By J.M. Wise News Editor As election day inches closer, nearly 40,000 Brazos Valley voters have cast their ballots. In an election cycle that has seen shakeups from the top of both parties’ ballots, more Texans than ever are using early voting opportunities across Brazos County. In Texas alone, 5,370,515 mail-in and early in-person votes have already been cast. In the 2020 general election, data sourced from TargetSmart reported 9,615,419 early votes and mail-in votes by the end of the election. Out of the 133,382 registered voters in Brazos County, those that have already voted represent nearly a third of total voters. This trend is represented across Texas, with the

The number of registered voters in Texas has increased by 1 million since 2022, according to a press release from Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson. The release states that this increase has been in line with the state’s increasing population and interest surrounding this year’s presidential election. The two most demographically similar metropolitan areas to Brazos County, the Lubbock and Waco regions, have major universities as well, representing a similar demographic to College Station. Similar trends across those areas have also been reported, with over 42,000 votes being cast in McLennan County. Lubbock County, which contains Texas Tech, has had 31% of its registered voters visiting the polls in early voting. This number represents the highest percentage

2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged voters to come to the ballot box before Election Day. According to data sourced from CNN, Texas has 21.3% fewer early votes cast compared to the same time period four years ago. On Election Day, voters registered in Brazos County can vote at any listed Election Day voting center. All 28 centers around the county are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Anyone in line at the center by 7 p.m. will be able to cast their ballot. A sample ballot for Brazos County can be found on the Brazos Votes webpage. The special election section contains two propositions, both addressing the addition of a stock law to fence in cattle and other animals. Brazos County uses Verity Duo as the ballot marking device to count votes. Once voters finish vot-

they will not be allowed back into the voting center.

be addressed to the elections coordinator, Krystal Ocon.

Chris Swann — THE BATTALION