05312012

thebattalion

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● thursday,

Shape up this summer

may 31, 2012

● serving

texas a&m since 1893

● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2012 student media

Time to step up

As summer begins, stay fit by reading The Battalion’s weekly health and fitness blog, published every Thursday.

campus news

Apple store open The Apple campus store is open in the Memorial Student Center, Room LL201. The store is operated

by MacResource Computers and offers Apple products, accessories and tech support.

FILE PHOTO — THE BATTALION

Aggie Green Fund awards grants

Junior infielder Mikey Reynolds will be expected to pressure opponents on the base paths as the Aggies vie for a super-regional.

The Aggie Green Fund Advisory Board gave more than $300,000 in grants to proposed projects designed to improve the environment.

Projects include an outdoor recycling program for Ross Street, a solar greenhouse and education facility project for the TAMU Howdy Farm and a recycling sticker project for on-campus housing.

T

Do or die for Aggies with College World Series on the line Chandler Smith & Michael Rodriguez The Battalion

his is what every ball player works and dreams to achieve.

All the sweat, blood and tears; the extra hours in the weight room, the extra sprints to get that much faster in an effort to make it here. In the postseason, teams rise above the odds with the eye on becoming a national champion.

The Texas A&M baseball team fell out of contention early from the Big 12 Tournament but remains a favorite to make a deep post-season run as the Aggies, looking for a rarified consecutive trip to the College World Series, host a regional Friday as a Top-16 NCAA seed.

The Aggies’ appearance in the NCAA Tournament is the 28th overall and sixth straight, a school record. Previous regular-season opponent and former Southwest Conference rival Texas Christian University joins the field as well as future SEC foe Ole Miss and Atlantic 10 conference tournament-winner Dayton.

A&M head coach Rob Childress lauded the competition in this season’s regional and praised Dayton, the No. 4 seed and the Aggies’ first opponent, for the aggression on the base paths.

“This tournament is going to be as good a challenge as any across the country. Dayton wins their conference tournament and, from an offensive standpoint, they’re See Baseball on page 2

College Station Regional No. 1

No. 2

No. 3

No. 4

Texas A&M

TCU

Ole Miss

Dayton

Day

Time

Friday

12:35 p.m.

1

Ole Miss vs TCU

6:35 p.m.

2

Dayton vs. Texas A&M

Saturday

12:35 p.m.

3

Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser

6:35 p.m.

4

Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner

Sunday

12:35 p.m.

5

Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser

6:35 p.m.

6

Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner

6:35 p.m.

7

Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser (if necessary)

Monday

Game

Teams

physics and astronomy

nation & world

Students can view rare Venus transit

Churches avoid missions to Mexico

For more info

◗ The viewing is scheduled from 5 to 8:30 p.m. in Rudder Fountain Plaza. The transit will be at 5 p.m. and last six hours. For more information visit: http:// transitofvenus.org/

Pg. 1-05.31.12.indd 1

Aaron Deering Special to The Battalion Every 105 years the Venus transit occurs, making it one of the rarest astronomical marvels this century.

On Tuesday, Texas A&M University’s Physics and Astronomy Department will have a viewing of the event.

The transit of Venus happens when Venus crosses between Earth and the sun, appearing as a dot gliding across the sun’s surface. This event is extremely rare. Since the invention of the telescope in the early 17th century, the transit has occurred seven times.

These transits occur in pairs eight years apart.

The past one occurred in 2004. After Tuesday night, the next transit will be in 2117.

Texas A&M astronomer Jennifer Marshall said in a press release this astronomical event has major historical implications. From 1761, scientists have used the Venus transit as a tool for measuring the size of the Solar System.

Students who want to view the event can attend the Physics Department viewing at Rudder Fountain Plaza. Multiple telescopes will be set up with reading material for viewers to look through and read while they observe this astronomical milestone.

Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy Kevin Krisciunas said Venus will be large enough to see without magnification as long as viewers have properly tinted eyewear. No magnification is necessary to see Venus cross the sun, but with the department’s solar-lensed telescopes, the spectacle can be seen more clearly.

Chen Li, petroleum engineering graduate student, said students are showing interest in viewing the event.

“It’s amazing. A great chance to see this phenomenon more clearly,” Li said.

Joanna Raines The Battalion At what cost is a Christian expected to “love thy neighbor?”

This question has been posed since biblical times, and still, answers vary. Some say the command applies to people you meet everyday, while others are propelled to love their neighbors across the world as full-time missionaries.

This question has become especially confusing for Texas, as its southern neighbor Mexico is notorious for criminal activity.

The response of the majority of members of the Christian Church is to abandon the cause.

According to Christianity Today, Mexico dropped from 2nd to 17th on the list of most popular destinations for short-term missions due to danger. Accord-

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Mexico has seen a decrease in short-term mission trips due to perceived danger. Mexican Army soldiers secure a dirt road after bodies were found nearby in Cancun, Mexico. ing to an article in the Houston Chronicle, the number of mission teams sent to the border by the Baptist church has decreased by 80 percent.

Local churches have re-

sponded to the violence, and sent teams elsewhere. St. Mary’s Catholic Center at Texas A&M University used to send a team to See Mexico on page 3

election

Texas Primary results lead to July runoffs Robby Smith The Battalion Results of the already delayed Texas primaries will be postponed further due to many races having no clear majority winner. The runoff election is on July 31 according to the Texas Secretary of State’s website.

For Tuesday’s contests, a majority is required by one candidate to declare a winner. If no candidate wins a majority, a runoff is between the top two candidates.

It will take a few days for the votes to be officially canvassed by the state, but preliminary counts are on the Secretary of State’s website.

At the federal level, Mitt Romney obtained the necessary number of delegates to be the GOP

nominee in the general election for U.S. president. Republicans in the Lone Star State gave Romney 68.98 percent of the vote. Ron Paul fell in second with 11.54 percent, followed by Rick Santorum with 7.96 percent according to vote counts by the Texas Secretary of State.

The Democratic vote was overwhelmingly in favor of Barack Obama.

The U.S. Senate primary for both parties will be determined in the July runoff. For the GOP, the candidates earning the most votes are Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and former State Solicitor General Ted Cruz. Dewhurst earned 44.60 percent of the vote while Cruz earned 34.23 percent.

See Elections on page 2

5/30/12 11:16 PM

EDITOR’SNOTE The Battalion will be published every Tuesday and Thursday. You can get more news at thebatt.com.

Friday mostly sunny high: 87 low: 67 Saturday mostly sunny high: 91 low: 72 Sunday mostly sunny high: 94 low: 72

Today 30% chance of t-storms High: 91 Low: 68 Connect online courtesy of NOAA

pagetwo thebattalion 05.31.2012

Elections

Taking a hit

Continued from page 1

For the Democrats, the top two candidates are attorney and former member of the Texas House Paul Sadler and Grady Yarbrough.

Sadler earned 35.11 percent of the vote while Yarbrough earned 25.83 percent. Yarbrough has been deemed a “perennial” candidate, having run in past elections as a Democrat and Republican.

In the GOP primary for the U.S. House, incumbent Bill Flores easily won his second term representing District 17, beating opponent George Hindman by a wide margin. Flores had 82.58 percent of the vote and has no Democrat opponent so far this coming November.

Candidates in the race for state representative from District 12 are also in a runoff. GOP candidates Tucker Anderson and Kyle Kacal will vie for their party’s support in the July election. The winner of this contest will face Democrat Robert Stem of Waco in November. Stem ran unopposed.

Anderson finished first with 29.54 percent of the vote. Kacal followed with 23.76 percent, but former College Station city council

Roger Zhang — THE BATTALION

Senior communication major Chris Miclot takes jabs at a heavy bag to keep in shape at the Student Recreation Center Wednesday afternoon. Miclot practices mixed martial arts, a form of martial arts that combines many styles such as taekwondo, karate, and judo.

Baseball Continued from page 1

very similar to us – they’ve got [more than] 140 stolen bases and they’re hot,” Childress said. “The other side of our bracket, Ole Miss and TCU, they’re perennial powers and both head coaches are doing amazing jobs.”

The Dayton Flyers’ 162 stolen bases are the most in Division I baseball, reflecting their will to perpetually apply offensive pressure on opposing pitchers. A&M, who plays a similar style, ranks fourth in stolen bases with 127. The Flyers, led by consistent sluggers Brian Blasik, Bobby Glover and Zach Stewart, rank 20th in hits, making their offense all the more potent.

A&M senior first baseman Jacob House said Dayton should arrive with confidence despite the significant leap in competition.

“I don’t think they’ll be intimidated. I think they’ll be ready to go,” House said. “So we’ve got to bring our A-game and throw strikes and be ready to compete with the bats.”

A&M’s Friday evening showdown with Dayton follows a 12:35 p.m. bout between TCU and Ole Miss. The winner will likely be the Aggies’ biggest threat in usurping A&M as the College Station Regional winner.

The Horned Frogs, who fell to the Aggies 4-1 in April, are not as formidable as in previous years.

They have the pitching, however, to give teams fits. TCU’s offense, a strength of the team in 2011, fell to mediocre levels in 2012. A No. 119 ranking in batting average and No. 136 ranking in scoring hardly intimidate, but a No. 27 ERA highlights the strength of the Horned Frog hurlers.

Ole Miss finished fourth in the SEC West division behind LSU,

Arkansas and Mississippi State, respectively, but has the offense to blow up pitchers on any given day.

A mirror image of TCU, the Rebels win with their offense. Their No. 34 batting average and No. 24 hitting rankings, led by Alex Yarbrough, are impressive. Their pitchers are avid strike throwers, but give up more runs on average.

Either way, the Aggies are going to have a stiff fight ahead of them.

Playing at home, however, will provide a much-needed edge as the stakes grow increasingly higher.

A&M is 30-10 on its own turf in 2012.

“It’s going to scare Dayton for sure. I bet they haven’t played in anything like this, ever. Ole Miss, who knows. It’ll be a little intimidating just because of our fans, not many places have a student section like we do,” said senior pitcher Ross Stripling. “It’s going to be a little challenge for them. They have to get through the nerves first… it definitely gives us an advantage early in games and early in the regional.”

Though A&M should be the favorite, Childress said he warned the team of complacency and looking ahead. A similar mentality led to an early exit á la the team’s swift departure Saturday from the Big 12 Tournament.

“The players certainly didn’t enjoy that bus ride home on Saturday and I didn’t either…it’s an eye-opener for how fragile a season is,” Childress said. “We need to get through this weekend and, who knows, somebody will get an upset out there and we’ll get the chance to play at home again. But [thinking about] those Top-8 seeds are for naught unless you take care of business the first weekend.”

From the first day the Aggies took the field, their sights have been set on Omaha, after making the trip last year only to fall to the

eventual national champion South Carolina.

“We returned a lot of people from last year’s run through the postseason so that’s going to be big,” Stripling said. “We have a lot of bats that returned a lot of pitching that returned. We need to play to our potential and just take it one game at a time.”

And so it begins. After all the ups and downs of a grueling regular season, this is make-or-break time for A&M. Win or go home. The Aggie players and coaches see the opportunity before them.

The time to step up is now.

FILE PHOTOS— THE BATTALION

Senior infielder Jacob House gets a hit on April 20 against Baylor. House, top, celebrates with teammates after a successful run on April 27 against Texas.

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member Chris Scotti came in a close third with 23.25 percent of the vote.

For state representative from District 14, incumbent John Raney won 81.48 percent of the vote while opponent Hal Hawkins won 18.51 percent. Raney will face Bryan resident Judy LeUnes in the general election in November in hopes of winning his first full term.

LeUnes ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Current State Rep. Charles Schwertner defeated Huntsville businessman Ben Bius for the District 5 state senate seat, replacing longtime Senator Steve Ogden.

Schwertner faces no Democrat opponent in November.

Though no official statement on the runoffs has been posted yet, it also looks like there will be a runoff to decide Brazos County district attorney. Longtime District Attorney and Democrat Bill Turner stepped down after serving since 1993. No Democrat ran to fill the seat.

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thebattalion THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT VOICE OF TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893

Naila Dhanani, Editor in Chief 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. Offices 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; E-mail: editor@ thebatt.com; 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 979-8452687. For classified advertising, call 979845-0569. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Monday through Friday. Email: battads@ thebatt.com.

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.

5/30/12 10:57 PM

news

page 3 thursday 5.31.2012

thebattalion

Downtown Bryan to kickoff First Friday The Battalion Bright, old-fashioned street lamps light the air over the streets of downtown Bryan, where people of all ages gather for Friday night entertainment. It’s First Friday.

Held in historic downtown Bryan, First Friday provides an outlet for members of the community to see and hear the work of artists and musicians, as well as choose from a variety of local cuisine.

The event has grown from a semi-annual art walk in 2005, to a monthly gathering that gives people the opportunity to explore the arts, crafts and goods of more than 30 local businesses and organizations. Along with the Arts Council of Brazos Valley, First Friday showcases artists and musicians who are willing to put their work on display.

“First Friday is really a great opportunity to see all the great things that downtown Bryan has to offer,” said Arts Council program director Logan Faron.

Greta Watkins, First Friday coordinator and long-time resident of the Bryan-College

Mexico Continued from page 1

Ateaga, Mexico every winter break.

“Because of the violence on the border, our bishop asked all of the churches in the diocese to stop making trips that would drive across the border,” St. Mary’s Catholic Center campus minister Rachel Cadena said.

Despite the warnings of danger, missionary Melvin High lives in a border city, and is living proof the church has not completely abandoned Mexico.

While most men his age are golfing and basking in retirement, 83-year-old High continues to travel across the border to Mexico to bring aid to churches in need.

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Station area, describes the event as a kind of open house for historic downtown, and people are encouraged to wander the streets and explore the different businesses downtown Bryan has to offer.

Those in attendance can expect to see free activities for kids, including a showing of the Pixar movie “Ratatouille,” and different art activities to engage any young Picasso. There is plenty for adults to see as well, from wine bars and a farmers market to a live art demonstration by local artist Hailey Herrera.

“We’re just encouraging people to come in and explore the businesses that are here, stop to enjoy some music and appreciate some art,” Watkins said.

The Queen Theater, with its sparkling bright renovations, will be the place to buy raffle tickets for a chance to win a porch swing, which is made from wood salvaged from inside the theater itself. The LaSalle Hotel, arguably made famous by a certain country singer’s “Front Porch Song,” will be hosting its own entertainment in the form of live music from singer-songwriter Joey McGee.

In his 49 years of service, High has encountered the drug cartels face to face. One night, he and his team stared down the barrel of a machine gun, and were saved by what can only be described as a miracle.

“We knew something was seriously, seriously wrong.

All of a sudden the Holy Spirit just jumped all over me,” High said. “There was a man, taller than me, with a long black trench coat and he had a machine gun. As soon as they saw me … they both ran, jumped in the car, and they sped off.”

While High doesn’t know the exact reason the men ran in fear, he attributes the miracle to God, who continually guides his path.

“We just thank God that God protected us,“ High said.

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First Friday offers art, music, food and movies at various hot spots in downtown Bryan coming this Friday.

For the college crowd, Village Café will be Participants will search downtown Bryan the venue for two indie rock bands: Second Lov- looking for clues and utilize a refreshments staers and The Ones That Got Away. tion to gather their thoughts and think about the Barbara German and Cynthie Hanks, the cre- case. Afterward, participants will be guided by ators of the unique “Art By Murder” event, will an artist, step by step, in creating a painting. This be promoting their new attraction at Square One painting will reveal the final clue behind the artStudio downtown, and passers-by are invited to inspired murder mystery. drop in.

“There is nothing like this out there,” Ger“It is part-tour, part-murder mystery, part- man said. “Anywhere.” scavenger hunt and part-art,” German said.

would consider reinstating their mission trips to Mexico if their bishop advised them it was safe to go.

Katy Wilson, senior nursing student at the Texas A&M Health Science Center, used to go on mission trips in Mexico during high school with her youth group at Central Baptist Church in College Station. It was a tradition for her youth group to travel to Piedras Negras, Mexico and assist a local church. But because of the continued

violence in Mexico, church leaders at Central Baptist decided to do a local mission trip this spring instead.

“There’s an aspect that you need to trust God, but I understand them not taking 5th and 7th graders to a violent city,” Wilson said.

There was a reported shooting in Piedras Negras the same week the youth group would have been there.

“Our church made the right decision, and God did protect them from

the violence in that city,” Wilson said.

Brittain Bost, incoming freshman, was part of the youth group this spring that didn’t go to Mexico.

“I think as a church, Christians should press on. There’s going to be a risk either way, anywhere you go,” Bost said.

“But if the Lord is calling you down to Mexico to help out, or if you see a need, I think you should trust and pray and have confidence.”

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“We were that close to being statistics.”

He said it is God’s guidance that has kept his team out of harm’s way, and he doesn’t plan on stopping his work anytime soon.

“You gotta keep going, as long as you have life,” High said.

Despite his passion for the people and churches, High in no way condemns those who have fled for safety. He said he has watched the decrease in missionaries firsthand, but has faith that as Mexico becomes less violent, God’s people will return.

Cadena said St. Mary’s

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URINARY TRACT INFECTION STUDY Female volunteers who think they might be experiencing a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) are needed to participate in a 2 day clinical research study of an investigational study medication for the pain that is associated with a UTI. Symptoms of a UTI include: Pain, Burning and Frequency when urinating.

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Pg. 3-05-31-12.indd 1

5/30/12 11:06 PM

page 4 thursday 5.31.2012

sports thebattalion

Stuck together Michael Rodriguez: A&M not separate from Big 12 after all

J

ust when you thought Texas A&M bid farewell to the Big 12, well not so fast.

TAKE A PIECE OF A&M HISTORY WITH YOU

· Reserve your 2013 Aggieland The 111th edition of Texas A&M University’s official yearbook will chronicle traditions, academics, the other education, sports, the Corps, Greeks, campus organizations and seniors and graduate students. Distribution will be during Fall 2013.

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The Big 12 and SEC have come to a five-year agreement that will pit the regular season champions of each league against each other in a new bowl game. The game will be played on New Year’s Day beginning in 2014 in anticipation of the new four-team playoff format.

SEC teams have won the past six BCS national championships, while both the Big 12 and SEC have had a top-four team in 11 of the past 14 years. Both conferences have combined for 11 of the 14 championships under the current BCS system.

Only twice have the top teams from each league faced each other. In 2009, the Florida Gators defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 24-14 in Miami, and Alabama defeated Texas 37-21 the following season. Each of the matchups were for the BCS National Championship.

Under the agreement, if the regular season champions from either or both leagues get selected for the new four-team playoff, the next available teams will take their place in the bowl game.

The motivation behind this move is to provide the nation an opportunity to see an annual matchup between the two strongest football conferences in the country. The real motivation though, is the extra publicity the two conferences will garner, not to mention the extra sponsorships each will receive.

Extensive details for the game, including the location, will be announced later.

This bowl game has a similar format to the Rose Bowl which matches the league winners from the Big 10 and the Pac-12 conferences.

The Rose Bowl is the oldest bowl game, having been played since 1902.

This bowl game provides oxygen for a Big 12 Conference that was on life support with departures from Nebraska and Colorado, moving to the Big 10 and Pac-12, respectively, and the announcement of both Missouri and Texas A&M moving to the SEC. With a new bowl game of this magnitude

FILE PHOTO — THE BATTALION

The Cotton Bowl annually pits the Big 12 versus the SEC in the postseason similar to the bowl agreement. and the additions of Texas Christian University and West Virginia, this may just be what the doctor ordered to keep the Big 12 Conference alive.

This bowl game is big for Texas A&M because — if history is any indication — the top teams from each conference will be going to the playoffs, leaving the door wide open for other teams to step into this game. For the Aggies it means they could face old rivals such as Texas Tech, Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and of course: Texas.

The top two teams of the conference will not play in this bowl game if selected to the playoffs. This bowl game should be an exclusive playoff between the Big 12 and the SEC. The Rose Bowl already matches up the winners of the Pac-12 and the Big 10. All that is needed is the Big East against the ACC, and the last bowl game pitting the top two nonautomatic qualifying teams to set up the top four teams for the playoffs.

This bowl game is a step in the right direction for a flawed and highly controversial BCS system. A showcase of the two top teams in the country is the way to go in order to finally obtain what this country has been asking for — a true playoff system.

Michael Rodriguez is a senior industrial engineering major.

5/30/12 10:21 PM