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THURSDAY, APRIL 3

@THEBATTONLINE

SPORTS Coach Buzz Williams leaves: Where does Texas A&M men’s basketball turn now? B1

TRADITIONS Four editors receive their bling as Aggie Ring Day celebrates 25 years of gold A4-5

PARENT’S WEEKEND APRIL 4-6 Welsh rejects adding class to A&M core curriculum WGST 205’s attempt to fufill social science credit was denied By Nicholas Gutteridge Editor-in-Chief

Ashely Bautista — THE BATTALION

Volunteers walk up an ambulance ramp during Disaster Day at Disaster City on Friday, March 28, 2025.

Disaster Day: Expecting the unexpected By Joshua Abraham Opinion Writer When tragedies like Hurricane Harvey and the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred, society turned to law enforcement and medical professionals. People relied on their expertise to help solve these unfathomable situations. However, disasters are never expected. When events like these happen, professionals must adapt to their surroundings and make the best of it, even if they don’t know how to deal with the situation. This is why Disaster Day was created: To practice the unexpected. “There was a nursing student who was involved in Disaster Day who moved to Las Vegas,” international affairs and public health graduate student Amanda Munene, a member of the disaster response leadership team, said. “When they had the nightclub shooting there, she was the only one in her emergency room who had received some sort of training like this.” Disaster Day is an annual event that trains medical and nursing stu-

dents, athletic trainers, pharmacy students, public health students, dental students and members of the Corps of Cadets for disasters. As the largest student-led interprofessional emergency response simulation in the country, they aim to allow student teams to diagnose, treat and care for volunteer patient populations. Taking place at Texas A&M’s Engineering Extension Service’s Disaster City, a facility housing training resources for emergency responders, this was the event’s 17th year running. The day’s theme

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ally happened to these individuals.” With over 700 participants, Disaster Day volunteers were vital in making the event a success. Many were volunteer patients, acting out their trauma and injuries, pushing the healthcare workers to give them the right care. Forensic and investigative sciences senior Kaitlyn Hale found out about this volunteer opportunity through her internship at the University Police Department. “My supervisor informed us about this, and she thought it would be a great learning experience about what training first responders do in

That’s why I’m here, to learn and grow as a medical practitioner. Ashwin Mathew First-Year Medical Student

was a train derailment that resulted in an oil spill that led to patients being contaminated or injured. “One lady, half her leg got cut off,” third-year pharmacy student Alwyn Joseph said. “Somebody had a heart attack, another was blind. It’s just some cool scenarios that you’re able to find out what actu-

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A&M event prepares medical, military, law enforcement students for future emergencies

mass casualty situations like this,” Hale said. “I’ve never thought about how EMTs, medics and first responders trained for stuff like this, and I just got a cool [patient] case where I have blood all over and a metal rod in me.” Two simulations are done throughout the day to compre-

hensively prepare students to work in different areas of disaster relief. Students, such as first-year medical student Ashwin Mathew, anticipated the event and the implications it may have on their professional lives. “It was something that I was called upon,” Mathew said about his decision to enter the medical field. “That’s why I’m here, to learn and grow as a medical practitioner.” Mathew and his team retrieved injured volunteer patients who were portrayed as hurt in the derailment, many of them covered in mock blood with pieces of glass or rods stabbed into their bodies. They evaluated the patients based on injury severity in triage before being escorted to field hospitals for further evaluation and procedure. Along with three different field hospitals, there were also pharmacy tents for obtaining medicine. Military cabins were even stationed and a medical evacuation helicopter was also present for extracting volunteer patients for more medical care. “There’s a lot of stress even though it’s all simulated,” first-year medical student Ethan Green said “People are screaming and there’s chaos everywhere.” But it’s the collaborative nature that allowed students to work in these settings and get the training they need for their future careers.

Farmer’s Fight Night returns to A&M

The Aggie Boxing Club will hold second annual event at Bryan Texas Legends Event Center By Kynlee Bright Design Editor

Twenty-two boxers will compete on Thursday, April 3, at the second annual Farmer’s Fight Night. Running from 6:30-10:30 p.m., the event held at Bryan Texas Legends Event Center will crown 11 victors. Founded as a way to showcase boxing in a safe atmosphere, the Aggie Boxing Club has partnered with United Way of the Brazos Valley, a local, nonprofit organization.

For $12, students and members of the Bryan-College Station community can attend the event, which serves as a fundraiser to give back to the local area. “Every dollar that gets raised at the Fight Night is going to United Way,” international affairs graduate student and Aggie Boxing Club President Chase Johnson said. “We do our best to raise sponsor money and to run ads during the event to cover the event costs. We’re close enough now where effectively every dollar this year will go straight to United Way.” Last year, the event raised roughly $43,000 in revenue for United Way, and this year, the organizers hope to increase that number to $60,000.

BOXING ON A3

Ani Tummalapalli — THE BATTALION

Light middleweight boxers Francis Cristal and Frank Chiu throw crosses during Farmer’s Fight Night on Thursday, April 4, 2024, at Reed Arena.

Last February, Texas A&M President Mark A. Welsh III rejected a request for a course focused on LGBTQ+ studies to fulfill the university’s social and behavioral sciences core curriculum credit, according to a memo obtained by The Battalion. It’s the first time Welsh has vetoed a course recommendation approved by the Faculty Senate and provost’s office since he stepped in as president two years ago. Welsh denied core curriculum certification to WGST 205, a course in the Women and Gender Studies program titled “Introduction to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Studies.” The class is described as a “survey of the histories of and theories regarding” LGBTQ+ identities and communities and discusses several topics, including “institutional ways in which homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia are systemically deployed.” A&M lists social and behavioral sciences courses as those that “focus on the application of empirical and scientific methods that contribute to the understanding of what makes us human” and “involve the exploration of behavior and interactions among individuals, groups, institutions, and events, examining their impact on the individual, society, and culture.” “As a state-funded institution of higher education, Texas A&M’s core curriculum is meant to provide a broad, introductory knowledge base to ensure students are well rounded and equipped with the skills needed to be successful, productive citizens in alignment with state guidance,” a university spokesperson said in a statement to The Battalion. “After reviewing the recommendation regarding WGST 205, the president determined that it was not necessary to add this course to the core curriculum.” The recommendation document included proposals approved by the Faculty Senate and provost’s office. On the memo’s final page, the line requesting WGST 205’s certification was crossed out, and a note that said it was “[n]ot approved” was added below with an accompanying handwritten “MW,” the president’s initials. Welsh has approved hundreds of proposals that have passed through officiating bodies in the past, according to a further 17 memos obtained and reviewed by The Battalion. The documents show WGST 205 as the only request not approved. WGST 205 was the base course for the LGBTQ+ studies minor, which stopped enrolling students last year due to low enrollment. The rejection also comes amid a string of university and A&M System decisions relating to sexuality and gender issues, including the regents’ on-campus drag show ban in February and the end of gender-affirming care at the A.P. Beutel Health Center in June 2024. Theresa Morris, the WGST program’s director, did not respond to a request for comment.

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