The Battalion: December 12, 2016 by The Battalion

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AUBRE DEAN “I think getting to turn your ring around and the symbolism of being ready to face the world and coming together with your classmates probably was my favorite memory.”

THOMAS FULLER “My favorite Texas A&M memory comes from senior year. After finishing karaoke at O’Bannon’s, we went hammocking through the night in Academic Plaza.”

CHELSEA SIRACKI “My favorite memories are hanging out with friends before and after football games and on game days. We’d get here early and hang around late, and just Aggie football.”

DAVIS MCCRACKEN “That night [Muster], I remember sitting down with my friends and going through that night and just being blown away by the embodiment of the Aggie Spirit in that building.”

KAITLIN HESSE “I came to A&M with my cousin/ best friend as first generation Aggies. Since we got our rings on the same day, we were able to present our rings to each other at the same time.”

KATIE LANGFORD “My favorite memory is getting my Aggie Ring last year. My whole family was there and it was a really special moment, something I was looking forward to for awhile.”

JOSUE RAMIREZ “My favorite memory was when we did March to the Brazos with the Delta Company veterans. We were able to go and hang out together, which is something uncommon.”

REENA WEAVER “My favorite memory is going on Aggie Awakening and then being really involved with organizations oncampus and at St. Mary’s Catholic Center all through college.”

BRITTANY WITT “We knocked on the President’s house and explained our situation to a very amused and welcoming Dr. Loftin. He gladly invited us in to use his facilities and chatted with us briefly.”

This is the last printing day of the fall 2016 semester. We will resume publication Jan. 17, 2017. Coverage will continue through the break on thebatt.com.

BILL BECKER “I think my favorite memory at Texas A&M was going on a study abroad with Texas A&M Qatar to Nepal, where we got to volunteer in the Himalayas at a tiny little school there.”

BRODY BRITTEN “My favorite memory was three years ago and two days. Me and my fiancée were in All Faiths Chapel and she decided to play some John Denver songs on piano.”

AMANDA JONES “I met some of the best friends that I could have ever dreamed of meeting through Phi Lamb and it has just really pointed me on my walk with Christ, too.”

REBECCA REAP

ERIN DRINKWATER “I was running a race one weekend and [my professor] was at the race cheering me on. She recognized me. “

“‘You know what would be a great idea? Getting a hamster.’ So we all went and contributed to getting the cage and getting the hamster and getting a little ball for it.“

SARAH WYNN “My favorite memory was just walking into Kyle Field for the first time.”

MACY BARLOW “Between making friendships with the people that are in my camp to developing relationships with the freshmen and helping them to transition has been my favorite part.”

Compiled by Hannah Gerken @gerken.Hannah

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Brian Okosun — THE BATTALION

Santa’s Wonderland has more than 3 million lights.

December graduation will commence Friday and Saturday.

Aggie-owned holiday attraction open for business

4,600 Aggies to walk stage Friday, Saturday

Santa’s Wonderland, the largest Christmas park, to host thousands By Mariah Colón @MariahColon18 ‘Tis the season for holiday displays. From music to lights and everything in between, the Bryan-College Station area is well prepared for the festive season and is even home to the largest Christmas attraction in the state of Texas. More than 3 million lights welcome the attendees of Santa’s Wonderland. The Aggie-owned attraction opens every year from SANTA’S WONDERLAND ON PG. 2

Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION

Sophomore center Tyler Davis led the Aggies in scoring against South Carolina State Saturday, with 22 points.

A&M holds off South Carolina State 83-76 in close game By Alex Miller @AlexMill20 In a closer-than-expected game, Texas A&M fended off South Carolina State 83-76, as the Bulldogs used a strong offensive attack to stay in the game down the stretch before falling short to the superior Aggies. “You saw about 10 minutes of really

By Matthew Jacobs @mtj2203

good basketball and probably 10 minutes or more than that of bad basketball,” head coach Billy Kennedy said. “We’ve got to get to where we play at a high level for 40 minutes and we didn’t do that today. We played immature, we played like the game was over, especially in the second half.” Sophomore center Tyler Davis led the Aggies in scoring, dropping 22 points on the night and adding a team-high eight rebounds as well. Davis was one of

The student experience will be coming to an end this week for Aggies graduating this week, who will have their commencement ceremonies Friday and Saturday. Approximately 4,600 students will be walking the stage during the ceremonies, an all-time high for fall semester graduations, and about 100 more than last December. Among the graduates will be students from 13 academic colleges, and the Friday ceremonies will include the commissioning of 35 members of the Corps of Cadets as officers in the armed forces.

BASKETBALL ON PG. 2

GRADUATION ON PG. 4