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● friday, november 2, 2012 ● serving texas a&m since 1893 ● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2012 student media
thebattalion
Cultural tradition celebrates the life of the deaddía de los muertos
Afternoon interruption raises questions of concealed carry relevance
Loaded subject
Photos by Roger Zhang — THE BATTALION
(Above) University Police cruisers search for the armed suspect on campus Thursday afternoon near the Sanders Corps Center. (Top right) MSC faculty directs students into the MSC and away from windows. (Bottom right) Students sit in the MSC hallway while waiting for the all-clear message from UPD.
In the wake of a bomb threat prompting the evacuation of the Texas A&M campus and the concealed carry debate in the Student Senate, the University was shaken again as an individual with a firearm was reported to authorities.
The woman who reported the subject to the University Police Department said she ob-served a man with what appeared to be a hand-gun in the waistband of his pants walking by the Sanders Corps of Cadets Center at 4:30 p.m.
The first Code Maroon was sent at 4:36 p.m. UPD was immediately dispatched to the area but was unable to locate the suspect. Students
were told they could resume activities but to remain cautious at 5:29 p.m.
“The entire area was searched very thor-oughly, so we felt that there was no longer a threat to our students and campus community,” said Lt. Allan Baron of UPD. “That’s why that decision was made.”
This event prompted the discussion of a concealed carry bill currently going through the Student Senate. The bill calls for A&M to allow individuals with a valid concealed carry license to carry a firearm on campus and inside buildings.
Jose Luis Zelaya, curriculum and instruction graduate student, said concealed carry on cam-pus could create panic among the student body.
news for you
Power outage causes confusionThe city of College Station experienced a major power outage on Thursday until 4 p.m. A transformer at Post Oak substation shorted, resulting in the power outage. The city of College Station was able to bypass it and put it back online. “It took out a big area,” said Jane Sayers, energy coordinator for College Station Utilities. “We managed to get it back on so everything should be okay at this point.”
Evan Andrews — THE BATTALIONIO
Jake Walker The Battalion
“If one of the students is not careful and if their gun is seen we’re going to be having a lot of Code Maroons and panic would be really high,” Zelaya said. “Code Maroon would even lose its credibility.”
Zelaya said he felt more comfortable giving the responsibility of his safety to local law en-forcement and that concealed carry may cause confusion among students.
“How do you know who has a concealed license and who doesn’t?” Zelaya said. “Which one is the good guy and which one is the bad guy? That confusion would create a lot of reports.”
Cary Cheshire, author of the personal pro-tection bill, said Thursday’s event was not re-
lated to the purpose of the bill.“The anecdotal evidence, either way, isn’t
really what the personal protection bill or the idea of concealed carry on campus is about,” Cheshire said. “If concealed carry were a policy on campus I think we would have to handle that [event] differently, but I think it would still be handled quickly.”
Lt. Allan Baron said the issue of concealed carry would not have affected police protocol in that type of situation.
“If this individual weapon would have been concealed it would have never been seen,” Baron said. “One of the laws for concealed carry is that it has to be concealed. If it’s not concealed, it’s an issue.”
A cultural tradition that commemo-rates the life of a deceased loved one has become a part of the culture in main-stream America today, and with the ris-ing number of Mexican Americans liv-ing in the U.S., it’s apparent Americans have become more familiar with what many call “Day of the Dead” or “Día de los Muertos.”
In the U.S., the life of a deceased friend or family member isn’t always celebrated, but it is sometimes mourn-ed. While life on earth may seem short, the spirits of the deceased will always return to Earth during Día de los Muertos to visit their living relatives. In the Mexican culture, the fear of death isn’t something of concern but instead is recognized as a part of life itself.
“People remember the death of
a loved one, but Día de los Muertos is meant to honor the death and cel-ebrate their life,” said junior construc-tion science major and president of the Mexican Student Association Lauro Ramirez.
Originally, this tradition was cel-ebrated for a month long by the in-digenous people of Mexico such as the Aztecs and Mayans. After Hernán Cortés invaded Mexico, he tried to eliminate this month long tradition but had no success. Instead, the Spaniards embraced the holiday and merged it with the Catholic All Saints’ Day and All Souls Day in order to add spiritual-ity. Thus, Día de los Muertos is now celebrated every Nov. 1 and 2.
Many Mexican families first cele-brate by building an altar at their homes and surrounding it with ofrendas, or “offerings,” such as flowers, incense,
pictures, painted calaveras, or “skulls,” and even their loved one’s favorite food. Another popular tradition that takes place during these two days consists of decorating graves of the family members who have passed away.
“My grandpa passed away in 2000, and every Nov. 1 my fam-ily and I would go to his grave and decorate it with flowers and paint-ed skulls,” Ramirez said.
For students who may not be able to celebrate this tradition, the J. Wayne Stark Galleries on the first floor of the Memorial Student Cen-ter will be building an altar beginning Tuesday, and it will be on display until Friday if students would like to take part in the celebration.
Joseph PuenteSpecial to The Battalion
See Muertos on page 3
First Friday brings culture to B-CS
Just north of College Sta-tion, with its own culture sometimes completely differ-ent than that of its neighboring city, is Historic Downtown Bryan. Downtown Bryan is, to an extent, College Station’s bearded, hipster older brother.
Downtown Bryan is a small hub of cultural nuances, a budding artistic center that grows each year. The area
Hannah Meyerdirk Special to The Battalion
b-cs
Students act as Q-drop deadline approaches
With the deadline to Q-drop coming Friday, students may make a decision that could affect the rest of their college career.
With only three Q-drops permitted to each student, many wonder whether they should use the drop to save their GPR or if they can buckle down on studies to avoid using it.
When a student Q-drops a course they are no longer enrolled for the class and do not receive a final grade. The
course remains on their final transcript with a “Q” listed as the grade and is not factored into their GPR.
Christine Farris, under-graduate advisor for biology, said students should always visit their professor before dropping a class.
“Students should find out where exactly they stand in the class,” Farris said. “Find out if the instructor has taught the course in the past, if on the remaining exams [and] assignments do grades in general go up, down or
Amber Juara The Battalion
campus
FILE PHOTO
Bluegrass band Valley Junction played in front of Corner of Time Antiques & Collectibles Mall during First Friday in Downtown Bryan.
showcases its cultural artistry in an event on the first Friday of every month.
According to the First Fri-day website, the theme for this Friday is “Art Step,” the quar-terly event that brings together local artists and galleries to dis-play, share and sell their works
of art. The footsteps painted on the ground throughout Downtown Bryan will lead to the special art displays, events and shows.
Also on Friday, art will meet agriculture as local and student
See Q-drop on page 3See First Friday on page 3
coming monday
Lelei rises to the topSenior cross country runner Henry Lelei clinched the individual SEC Championship at the SEC conference championship meet. Read the story of his ascension Monday.
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Interested in Being an SI Leader Next Spring? The Student Learning Center will soon be accepting applications for Supplemental Instruction Leader positions for Spring 2013. Here are a few things you should know about the position:
1. SI Leader positions are paid positions! Leaders work 12 hours a week with a starting pay of $8.50
2. You don’t have to be a master of a subject in order to be a leader! Leaders are required to have good content knowledge (at least a B in the course they are applying for and also a 3.0 GPA) but we are looking for people with good interpersonal skills and a love for learning.
3. Each semester we employ about 70 SI Leaders. We are looking to hire SI Leaders for the following positions next spring:
We generally look for those interested in: BIOL, CHEM, ECON, GEOG, PHIL, and PHYS
We will be holding two informational meetings that will further explain the roles and duties of an SI Leader and any other questions you may have. If you are interested about joining the Supplemental Instruction program, then attending any one of these meetings is highly recommended!
November 5, 2012 HECC Rm. 204 Blocker Rm. 120
3:00 pm 8:00pm
We look forward to meeting you!http://slc.tamu.edu/supplemental-instruction/job/
Student Learning Center, 200 YMCA, 845-2724 http://slc.tamu.edu
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KIDS KLUB AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM ISSEEKING FALL SEMESTER COUNSELORS!
WALK IN 9 AM – 5 PM today (Nov. 2). See the photographer in Suite
L400 of the MSC.There is no charge to get your senior
or graduate student section photo in Texas
A&M’s 111th yearbook. It’s your book, be in it.
FINAL DAYto have your graduation
portrait made for theAggieland yearbook pagetwo
thebattalion 11.02.2012
Friday mostly sunny high: 86 low: 67Saturday 20% chance of thunderstorms high: 82 low: 61Sunday 30% chance of thunderstorms high: 78 low: 58
Very very merry unbirthday
Tanner Garza — THE BATTALION
Senior international studies major Keirsten Edwards and her sister celebrate “a very merry unbirthday” at a table covered in pastries and in full costume Thursday afternoon outside of Rudder Tower.
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. Offi ces 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; email: [email protected]; 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 979-845-2687. For classifi ed advertising, call 979-845-0569. Offi ce hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Email: [email protected].
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. Call 979-845-2696 for mail subscriptions.
whoweareThe Battalion staff represents every college on the campus, including undergraduates and graduate students. The leadership of The Battalion welcomes students to participate in the First Amendment in action as you utilize your student newspaper. We are students.
Editor in chief senior English major Trevor Stevens
Managing editor senior telecommunication media studies major Joe Terrell
City editor senior agricultural journalism major Jake Walker, [email protected]
City desk assistant senior anthropology major Barrett House, [email protected]
City desk assistant graduate student in political science with the Bush School, Robby Smith, [email protected]
Lifestyle editor senior English major Jennifer DuBose, [email protected]
Lifestyle desk assistant senior English major Alec Goetz, [email protected]
Sports editor senior communication major Chandler Smith, [email protected]
Sports desk assistant junior English major Mark Doré, [email protected]
Sports desk assistant senior industrial and systems engineering major Michael Rodriguez, [email protected]
Photo chief sophomore business major Roger Zhang, [email protected]
Photo desk assistant sophomore anthropology major Tanner Garza, [email protected]
Graphics chief Senior visualization studies major Evan Andrews, [email protected]
Copy editor junior biological and agriculture engineering major Luis Javier Cavazos
howtoapplyIf you are interested in writing or contributing content in The Battalion, apply at thebatt.com, or call 845-3313.
The Battalion welcomes any Texas A&M student interested in writing for the arts, campus, metro or sports staffs to try out. We particularly encourage freshmen and sophomores to apply, but students may try out regardless of semester standing or major. No previous journalism experience is necessary.
correctionsThe Battalion welcomes readers’ comments about published information that may require correction. We will pursue your concern to determine whether a correction needs to be published. Please contact us at [email protected].
Connect online
Keep up with campus news at thebatt.com.
Pg. 2-11.02.12.indd 1Pg. 2-11.02.12.indd 1 11/1/12 9:50 PM11/1/12 9:50 PM
thebattalion
news page 3
friday 11.2.2012
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PLACE AN ADPhone 845-0569 Suite L400,Memorial Student CenterTexas A&M University
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WALK IN 9 AM – 5 PM today (Nov. 2). See the photographer in Suite
L400 of the MSC.There is no charge to get your senior
or graduate student section photo in Texas
A&M’s 111th yearbook. It’s your book, be in it.
FINAL DAYto have your graduation
portrait made for theAggieland yearbook
“The altar will be there, and students or faculty who would like to pay a tribute to a loved one can bring photos, skulls, flowers and different kinds of nonperishable food items,” said curator of edu-cation for the Stark Galleries,Greg Phillipy.
“We will also be using small LED lights instead of candles to
illuminate the galleries so there can be more of a traditional feel-ing, but our big event will be on Thursday with the Hispanic Pres-idents’ Council,” Phillipy said.
On Thursday, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., the Hispanic Presidents’ Council will be celebrating the holiday by painting sugar skulls, crafting papel picado (“perforated paper”) and eating cultural Mexi-can food.
With bright colors and eccen-tric patterns, painted skulls have
MuertosContinued from page 1
stay the same.”Farris said an honest opinion from a pro-
fessor could be what is needed to help a stu-dent make a decision with confidence. She said students also have the option for fresh-men grade exclusion if they fear they may fail a course.
Freshmen grade exclusions only apply to students who entered school as an under-graduate for the first time at A&M, regardless of whether the student has acquired college-level credit through testing, advanced place-ment or summer enrollment.
The student who classifies may elect to drop a class in which he or she enrolled within the first 12 months of the first date of enrollment if a grade of D or lower was received. The grade is excluded from the student’s undergraduate degree and cumula-tive GPA calculation.
While excluded courses will not be fac-
tored into their A&M GPA, employers, pro-fessional schools and undergraduate schools may recalculate the GPA to include the dropped grade(s).
Farris said students who are considering using Q-drop or freshmen grade exclusion should also ensure that dropping the course does not affect their status as a full-time student.
“If students drop below 12 hours they could be in jeopardy of losing financial aid, scholarships, insurance, et cetera,” Farris said. “So that needs to be checked first.”
Christine Woods, junior computer sci-ence major, said she has never used a Q-drop. She said while it is tempting to escape a difficult class, she finds it more useful to avoid if possible.
“I don’t Q-drop because I know I’m go-ing to have to re-take the class,” Woods said. “I’m already more than halfway in the course and I don’t want to have to re-do the work. I know that if my grade isn’t where I want it to be, I need to work harder and push through.”
Q-dropContinued from page 1
artists participate in “Artist Harvest.” This at-traction is held in the alleyway between the Village Café and the federal building. Art will be on display from 5 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. and local musicians Tobin Redwine, agricultural leadership, education and communication graduate student; Tayler Slocum, sophomore A&M student; and Erin Briers, sophomore business administration student, will be per-forming around 9 p.m.
Lauren Friend, freshmen agriculture eco-nomics major and creator and director of the Artist Harvest event, spoke about the cre-ation of the event.
“My whole inspiration for this entire event was to not only connect people to their food source, but to tell the story of the agriculture industry as well,” Friend said. “What better way to tell your story but through the visual-ization of creativity?”
The artists who are participating in this
event have artwork inspired by agriculture. Friend said a metal artist attending the event was inspired by some of the parables pertain-ing to agriculture in the Bible.
There will also be an Artist Harvest Farm Dance, which is in celebration of the open-ing of the first garden in Downtown Bryan. The Distributive Urban Farming Initia-tive (DUFI) is a project dedicated to revo-lutionizing vacant lots in the downtown area and transforming them into scenic sites of vegetation.
Del Castillo and The Scooter Brown Band will be playing live at the Grand Stafford Theater at 8 p.m. Del Castillo is a unique blend of rock, blues, Latin, and world mu-sic. In contrast, The Scooter Brown Band, a country-driven group with similar sounds to Jason Aldean, will be preforming. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at grand-staffordtheater.com.
A theatrical comedy by Rick Abbott and directed by Evelyn Callaway, “Play On,” will be performed at the Center Stage at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10.
First FridayContinued from page 1
become symbolic during Hallow-een in America. In the Mexican culture, they are symbols of birth and rebirth and are considered as an ofrenda, for the altar of the deceased family member.
“We would like to bring this
tradition to Texas A&M Univer-sity and to have students familiarize themselves with the celebration as well as honor those who passed as it pertains to our Hispanic culture,” said Hilda Campos, senior bioen-vironmental sciences major and
executive director of the Hispanic Presidents’ Council.
For more information about the altar and questions regarding what offerings students can bring in the J. Wayne Stark Galleries, contact Greg Phillipy at 979-845-8502.
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Yes, you know the Republocrats Who continue to offer you nothing but the poor choice of which royal family will increasingly rule your life's choices.
Does it really make sense to keep voting for �the lesser of two evils"?
The hoped-for change with "the lesser of two evils" has never gotten us ahead�
Before you step into the voting booth take a moment to learn about Libertarian Presidential candidate Gary Johnson and Vice Presidential candidate Jim Gray.
Compare their principles with yours and vote your conscience.
FreedomAndLibertyPAC.com
MittR-BO FORPRESIDENT?
Libertarian Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson
Are you libertarian? Take a two minute test and find out today! www.theadvocates.org/quiz
YOUR ONLY REAL CHOICE IS LIBERTARIAN.
VOTE FOR GOVERNOR GARY JOHNSON FOR PRESIDENTAND JUDGE JIM GRAY FOR VICE PRESIDENT
Libertarian Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson
sports thebattalion 11.02.2012
page 4
thebatt.comTotal victory The Texas A&M women’s basketball team cruised to a 102-29 victory over Arkansas-Fort Smith.
men’s basketball | The
Aggies will clash with Incarnate
Word for an exhibition match
Saturday.
soccer | A&M defeated South
Carolina Wednesday, advancing to
the SEC Tournament semifinals.
swimming | The Aggies travel
to Florida Friday to face the men’s
No. 1 and women’s No. 11 Gators.
James Sullivan is a junior business major and sports reporter for The Battalion.
James Sullivan: The fates of two similar programs
hang in the balance come Saturday’s gridiron clash
T exas A&M has already proven its critics wrong.
Through six wins in just eight games, it has
shown how laughable many pundits’ predictions
were. The Aggies, entering into nation’s toughest con-
ference, have established themselves as a threat, a feat
unforeseen by even the most loyal fans and clairvoyant
of college football analysts.
Under first-year head coach Kevin Sumlin, a rebuilding A&M football program has gone into overdrive following a disap-pointing 6-6 finish in the mediocre Big 12. Almost every piece of the puzzle has fallen into place, from recruiting elite high school athletes to earning a state-best fourth con-secutive bowl berth, save for one — bring-ing home a signature victory.
Just 481 miles to the east, an eerily similar sequence of events has engulfed the college town of Starkville, Miss. A year removed from an underachieving 6-6 team, Mis-sissippi State has powered its way to a 7-1 record and a No. 15 standing in the latest BCS rankings.
Fourth year head coach Dan Mullen earned his team’s first division victory against a program other than storied rival Ole Miss
this season, picking up an early win over Au-burn. Now, Mississippi State seeks its long-awaited landmark win as it faces off against No. 16 Texas A&M this weekend.
“It’s pretty cool because you can relate to them,” senior wide receiver Uzoma Nwa-chukwu said of the Bulldogs. “They are try-ing to prove everybody wrong just like you are. They are not going to wait on anybody or take a backseat to anyone. They have a pretty similar mindset.”
Until last week’s decimating visit to Tus-caloosa to face the machine that is Alabama, Mississippi State stood as one of the sport’s remaining “unbeatens” and was 7-0 for only the third time in school history.
Put succinctly, this is a team unchar-acteristic given the program’s history and is looking to initiate a new era of football
prominence.Remind you of anyone?Entering the final stretch of the season,
both A&M and MSU are searching for their own watershed moment: a turning point the program can cite as a launch pad for future success.
Following this weekend’s game in Starkville, each squad has just one more scheduled matchup against a ranked op-ponent — Texas A&M at No. 1 Alabama and Mississippi State at No. 5 LSU, both on Nov. 10th. Neither team will be favored when taking on last year’s national title con-tenders, especially on the road in two of the nation’s most hostile environments.
The matchup between the two SEC West up-and-comers has evolved into a must-win for each team. According to senior wide
receiver Ryan Swope, the situation has not been lost within the Aggie locker room.
“They’ve got a good team. I tilt my hat to these guys,” Swope said. “They’re 7-1 so their record speaks for itself. We’ve got to be prepared to knock them down and we have to go up there and be prepared to play a physical football game.”
In what has developed into a fight for third in the embattled division, Texas A&M and Mississippi State both better buckle their chinstraps and tighten their shoulder pads.
It’s going to be a brawl.
Chase Krumholz — THE BATTALION STAFF — The Reflector
ImageMirror
Texas A&M redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel has impressed the college football realm, leading his team to a 6-2 record.
Mississippi State junior quarterback Tyler Russell has propelled the Bulldogs to an surprising 7-1 season and Top 20 ranking.
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