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Student elections begin A&M students can vote in student body elections today and Thursday. Positions on the ballot include student body president, senior and junior yell leaders, class council presidents, class agents, student senators and Residence Hall Association executives. The results will be announced at 8 p.m. Thursday in front of the Sul Ross Statue. Run-off elections will be held for any race where one candidate did not receive at least 50 percent of the popular vote. Runoff campaigning will continue through the week with voting next week. “Here’s the real reason why the student body president is an important position and why a student vote is key: this person can influence University decisions on behalf of students as well as impact state funding, and the cost of tuition and fees for all students,” said Student Body President Kolin Loveless. Melissa Appel, staff writer Polls open at 9 a.m. today and close at 5 p.m. Thursday. Students can access the polls at http://vote. tamu.edu.
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Candidates share concerns SBP hopefuls discuss tuition, budget cuts, top tier status Watch SBP debate online
Melissa Appel The Battalion The three student body president candidates expressed devotion to Texas A&M University and platform objectives for the upcoming school year at the student body presidential debate Tuesday. Matt Okeson, junior agribusiness major, Jacob Robinson, junior leadership studies major, and Bryan Sims, senior industrial distribution major, voiced a commitment to pursue higher levels of excellence for the University,
View video clips of Tuesday’s student body president debate at thebatt.com.
a promise to advocate for student opinion and an emphasis on communication among students, student government and the administration. “[We need to look at] finding the best communication possible,” Robinson said. “It’s finding different avenues to communicate with current students and former students alike, as well as with future students.” J.D. Swiger — THE BATTALION In comments and discussion, the candidates Jacob Robinson, Matt Okeson and Bryan gave the qualities and job characteristics of the Sims discuss campus issues at a debate prime student body president. Tuesday afternoon in Koldus . See Debate on page 4
Suit taken to federal court ■ Former diving coach sues A&M for wrongful termination Robert Carpenter The Battalion
Jonny Green — THE BATTALION
Chris Chapman, Derrick Roland, Bryan Davis, Donald Sloan and Shawn Schepel await final home
Aggie seniors take moment to look back Beau Holder The Battalion History will remember the 2009-2010 Texas A&M Aggies for a select group of reasons: foremost for one, perhaps the most poignant, which cannot be recorded as a statistic or recounted as a single play. It’s a story about a group of guys, and what could have been. “I could already see it in my mind after he went down,” said senior guard and All-Big 12 defender Donald Sloan. “Teams saying ‘Oh, Derrick Roland got hurt, from A&M,’ and ‘OK, well that’s two wins, against A&M,’ and when a team loses depth and athleticism
like that, why not say that’s two wins, why not think it’s going to be hard for them to come together?” Bank of America Arena in Seattle, Wash. was the stage when Roland fell beneath the basket early in the second half of the Dec. 22 loss to Washington, snapping his tibia and fibula. Head Coach Mark Turgeon hurried to the hospital with him after the game. The team, which had been No. 19, dropped from the next week’s poll. “When D-Ro got hurt it took a lot out of us,” said senior forward Bryan Davis. “It See Seniors on page 5
Free student admission Head Coach Mark Turgeon is welcoming all Aggie students to the basketball game at 8 p.m. Wednesday free of charge. Students must show a valid student ID.
Bidding farewell
See Lawsuit on page 4
Tokyo-based music group AURA-J, whose members play contemporary music on traditional instruments, will perform Wednesday in Rudder Theatre.
A&M Commerce will not take action against coach, editor says
this day in
rld wohistory
March 3, 1847 Telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Bell and his father were involved in teaching deaf persons to speak. Bell developed an interest in the vibrating membrane as a method of electrically transmitting sounds. His very first sentence spoken on the newly invented telephone on March 10, 1876, was to his assistant, “Mister Watson, come
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Former Texas A&M diving coach Kevin Wright has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the University. Wright served as head diving coach at A&M for 17 years (19922009). During his tenure with A&M, he was 12-time conference Coach of the Year. In the lawsuit, Wright Wright said his employment with the University was wrongfully terminated in September 2009 because he raised concerns regarding compliance with Title IX gender equity statutes. Title IX is a federal law that requires that educational programs, including collegiate athletics, not discriminate or deny benefits on the basis of sex. The lawsuit was originally filed in state courts under the Texas Whistleblower Act, which protects state employees who report violations of law, but has since been moved to the federal district court in Houston because of similar protections under Title IX.
Sam Smith — THE BATTALION
Aggie seniors, accompanied by their families, were honored Tuesday night before their 78-55 win over OU.
Women win big on Senior Night Mike Teague The Battalion On Senior Night and in the final home game of the 2009-2010 season, Texas A&M’s No. 15 women’s basketball team blew out No. 11 Oklahoma Tuesday, 78-55. The Aggies finished the season 12-2 at home and have compiled a 55-5 record at Reed Arena in the last four seasons. “I want to be that hot team going into the tournament,” said Head Coach Gary Blair. “Tonight, we made some very good decisions. There was a lot of loose balls and everything going around, but all of a sudden we were coming up with more. We took it to them early and our kids were not going to back down.”
With the victory, the Aggies (21-7, 9-6) became the first of four teams in a tie for fourth in the Big 12 standings to pick up a win this week. A&M will hold onto a half-game lead over Baylor, Texas and Oklahoma State until those teams play Wednesday. In her final game at Reed Arena, senior guard Tanisha Smith made it a night to remember. Smith hit 8-of-17 from the field and scored a team-high 19 points with her mother in attendance. “This is a momma’s girl,” Blair said. “She loves to play in front of her mom and it’s just a very special relationship that she has. Tanisha thinks about basketball, education and her mom back in Kansas City.”
Following a career performance at Colorado, sophomore forward Adaora Elonu added her first-career doubledouble to her resume. Elonu totaled 17 points and 10 rebounds and was 8-for-15 shooting from the field. “I’m just relaxed and playing the game that I know I can play,” Elonu said. “In games before, I was just thinking too much. I was trying to run the plays without reading what the defense was doing. Now, I feel more relaxed and am just playing basketball.” Smith and Elonu were two of four A&M players that scored in double figures Tuesday. Junior center Danielle Adams and sophomore guard Sydney See Oklahoma on page 5
James Bright, editor-in-chief of The East Texan, met with the president of Texas A&M University - Commerce and the athletic director Monday to discuss the issue of the football team stealing newspapers from stands. The University decided to take disciplinary action against players, but no action will be taken against football Head Coach Guy Morriss, Bright said. At the meeting, Athletic Director Carlton Cooper said he was misquoted in the police report compiled by Lt. Jason Bone in which Cooper was quoted as saying he did not believe the team was smart enough to steal the papers on their own. Morriss also said Bone’s report took his statement out of context. “I made the request that [The East Texan] receive a public apology,” Bright said, “and open access to the athletic department.” Bright also asked for the lost funds of the papers amounting to $1,516, which all conditions were agreed to. The amount lost by The East Texan could be classified as a felony level charge. “I am still waiting for everything to pan out to see if I will prosecute,” Bright said. Vicky Flores, staff writer
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