The Battalion — September 8, 2022 by The Battalion

The Class of 2024 photo disaster

Aggies take on App State after chewing up Bearkats

PERSPECTIVE ON A5

SPORTS SECTION ON B1

6 HOURS & 3 MINUTES OF AGGIE FOOTBALL

Students speak out against MSC early voting location change Transportation services will not be provided for early voting Kyle McClenagan @KMccleanagan

their three kids all under the age of 13, we didn’t leave those games early,” Sanders said. “You don’t leave Aggie football early. I was planning to stay until they kicked me out.” Sanders said during the second half of the game she was impressed with the consistent loud sounds of Kyle Field. “After the delay, I didn’t want to get rained on, so I stayed up in the third deck,” Sanders said. “I wasn’t surrounded by everyone yelling, but I could still hear the volume level. It wasn’t anything close to what it normally is, but I definitely thought more people had left. I couldn’t see the first deck below me, but I’m assuming it was still pretty full because it was loud. I was really impressed by the amount of people that had stayed or come back.” Economics senior Walker Robison said his game day experience was overall great, even though there was initially unpredictability after the lightning delay was called, continued weather updates gave them hope.

s students returned to campus this semester, many were dismayed to discover the Memorial Student Center, or MSC, was not included as an early voting location for the upcoming November midterm elections. On July 5, the majority of Texas A&M’s student population was away when the Brazos County Commissioners Court voted 4-1 for the approval of early voting locations which, for the first time in several years, did not include the MSC. Instead, the new College Station City Hall took its place. In response to this decision, several A&M students attended the Aug. 30 commissioners court meeting to urge the court to overturn its July decision and reinstate the MSC as an early voting location. Biology senior Kristina Samuel was one of seven students to speak to the commissioners court during the public comment period of the Aug. 30 meeting to advocate for the MSC early voting location. “This decision will be disenfranchising hundreds of faculty, staff and, of course, students and their ability to vote early and easily,” Samuel said. “In 2020, 80% of Brazos County voted early. Students in particular enjoy early voting since we’re able to vote in between classes with much shorter lines.” Samuel, who is also the president and founder of the A&M chapter of Mobilize. Organize. Vote. Empower., or MOVE, said the first time she ever voted was as a freshman at A&M, and even with early voting the lines were still long. “I thought I had allocated plenty of time — three hours,” Samuel said. “Little did I know that that line would warp around the building several times. … I barely made it in time to vote and go to class.”

WEATHER DELAY ON PG. A4

MSC VOTING ON PG. A2

Robert O’Brien— THE BATTALION

The Aggies saw off Varsity’s horns in the rain after defeating Sam Houston State following a lengthy weather delay at Kyle Field on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022.

Despite three hour rain delay, 12th Man stayed in Kyle Field, passing time during storm By Kathryn Miller @KathrynMiller0

s the 12th Man gathered into Kyle Field Saturday morning for the first football game of the season, nobody expected the game to be finished six hours later in a mostly empty stadium. Texas A&M opened its 2022 football season against Sam Houston State on Sept. 3. Current and former students and other Aggie fans packed into Kyle Field to watch the long-awaited game and to see last year’s No. 1 recruiting class snap into action on the field. However, a lightning delay shortly after halftime sent many fans hurrying home or to their nearby tailgate tents to seek shelter

from the storms. Despite this, in the spirit of the 12th Man, some students remained at Kyle Field, waiting out the storms until the game resumed again at 4 p.m. Psychology sophomore Darby Sanders said she watched people stay for 30 minutes to an hour after the delay was announced, who then left as it started to heavily rain. “As more people started leaving and as it started raining on Kyle Field, people started trying to entertain themselves,” Sanders said. “There were about three separate groups of people leading yells, and I could just see across the stadium two people were standing and waving their towels the whole time. I was really impressed by them because they stopped eventually, but they went on for at least an hour.” The reason Sanders said she decided to stay through the full game was because, growing up as an Aggie, she was taught to never leave A&M games early. “I’ve gone to a few Texas A&M football games before I actually started going here, and even when it was like my parents with

Host of hosts: Aggie Park grand opening

Happy Birthday, Bush School

Samuel Falade — THE BATTALION

Cade Gossett — THE BATTALION

Visitors stand on the Plank Bridge at Aggie Park on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022.

The exterior of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum on Sept. 5, 2022.

Aggie Park officially opened to public on Friday, Sept. 2

Celebrating a quarter-century of higher education

By John Chapa @JohnDChapa After two years of construction, Aggie Park is complete and ready to serve Texas A&M’s current and former students. Aggie Park is the newest addition to A&M’s main campus. The $36 million dollar project, funded entirely by generous donations, includes features such as Wi-Fi, an outdoor amphitheater, water features, modern public restrooms and space for tailgating, recreation and entertainment. On Sept. 2, the night before A&M’s first home football game this season, Robert Earl Keen performed a free concert to kick off the park’s opening. A lightning delay didn’t stop the attendees from enjoying the show — An-

imal science junior Carlie Rogers said it was delightful to watch Robert Earl Keen on his last concert tour. “It’s heartwarming how Robert Earl Keen is an Aggie and decided to put on a show for his fellow Aggies,” Rogers said. “It means that we are more than a bunch of students. We are a family and we give back to the greatest university there is.” Rogers said she felt there were going to be many more special moments made at Aggie Park. “I think [Aggie Park] is another thing about our university that makes us so special and full of tradition,” Rogers said. “I believe that there will be many memories made, and the park goes to show how the alumni center cares about its students and how alumni love A&M.” On Saturday, Sept 3, the new park hosted tailgaters for the first Aggie football game of AGGIE PARK ON PG. A3

By Amanda Hare @AmandaHare_11 In honor of its 25th anniversary, the Bush School of Government and Public Service will host events for students from Sept. 6-10 as part of its year-long celebration. The events will feature a series of “The 41 I Knew” lunchtime talks with former colleagues and associates of the late former president George H.W. Bush. The school will also host a private ceremony dedicated to “Ride Home,” a 16-foot long painting depicting Bush’s funeral train. America’s VetDogs CEO John Miller will be at the Bush Library with Bush’s service dog, Sully, and Reveille. John Cronin and Mark Cronin, owners of John’s Crazy Socks, will sell unique sock

designs and talk about their relationship with Bush. Finally, there will be a watch party for the “41 on 41” documentary. “The goal of hosting these events is to celebrate that [the Bush School has] been going strong for 25 years and, throughout, we’ve been helping students engage with the broader policy and public management community,” professor and head of the Public Service Administration Department Lori Taylor said. “These events are kind of an example of some of the ways we’ve helped our students connect in the past.” As for how the Bush School was able to book speakers who knew Bush, and Robyn Small, marketing and communications director for the Bush School, attributed the school’s notoriety. “In the world of public service, the Bush School has a reputation, and I think a lot of people want to be connected to it in some BUSH SCHOOL ON PG. A2

* Available online

With 12- and 8-Week Courses 12-week classes begin Sept. 26 8-week classes begin Oct. 24

www.blinn.edu/fall

blinnbound@blinn.edu