The Battalion: June 30, 2010

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thebattalion

news for you texas Coast preps for tropical storm Parts of coastal Texas are under hurricane warnings in case Tropical Storm Alex gains strength and heads for the state. The National Weather Service said a hurricane warning was in effect Tuesday for Cameron, Willacy and Kenedy counties.

● wednesday,

june 30, 2010

● serving

texas a&m since 1893

● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2010 student media

business

Generation

gap

Former governor Briscoe dies at 87 Former Gov. Dolph Briscoe Jr., who presided over Texas from 1972 to 1978, died Sunday, according to his family. He was 87. During his time in office, Texas enjoyed increasing oil and gas revenues, and Briscoe kept his campaign pledge of no new taxes. Gov. Rick Perry has ordered flags to be lowered to halfmast out of respect for Briscoe.

CEOS and students differ in business interests

T

he Millennial Generation has been accused of many things from entitlement to egocentrism, but a recent international survey conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value reveals a higher percentage of college students place emphasis on sustainability, global awareness and social responsibility than experienced CEOs. Student leaders in Mays Business School share what values they think today’s businesses should uphold in an increasingly technology-dependent and globalized world.

lowest gas price

$2.49 H-E-B at 1900 Texas Ave. S. and Holleman Drive.

Jorge Montalvo — THE BATTALION

www.texasgasprices.com

Angela Washeck | The Battalion

nation &world BP gives financial help to suppliers Oil giant BP PLC is floating a financial lifeline to the owners, operators and suppliers of the gas stations around America that bear its name and have been struggling because of boycotts prompted by the Gulf spill. The company is informing outlets that they will be getting cash in their pockets, reductions in credit card fees and help with more national advertising.

Google continues battling China Google Inc. said Tuesday it will stop automatically routing users in China to its Hong Kong site after Beijing threatened the company with the loss of its Internet license after it expires Wednesday. Google shut down its China-based search engine March 22 to avoid cooperating with the communist government’s Internet censorship. Staff and wire reports

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campus

environment

Honors Programs recruiter moves to College of Education

Student trespasses on beach damaged by oil

Casey Ricketts, a national competitions and academic scholarships recruiter with the Honors Programs office at Texas A&M for the past four years, is moving to the College of Education and Human Development. “I will miss the challenges that were present in national recruitment,” Ricketts said. “Having to go up against other high-profile universities and show off A&M to potential students in comparison to other top 10 percent universities in the nation was exciting.” Ricketts’ new position will be focused on the college area, especially recruiting students who want to be teachers. There is a need for teachers

Patrique Ludan

at the high school and elementary level across the nation and filling that void is important, Ricketts said. Although he is still getting to know the ropes to his new job, he said he is ambitious for what is to come. “From the A&M standpoint, the College of Education isn’t as well known as the Business or Engineering Colleges, but this is where my new challenge lies: showing students how great our program is here and how they can be successful in the future,” Ricketts said. Sarah Ammerman, staff writer

architecture

Professor serves on design committee Jessica Funke The Battalion Wei Yan, assistant professor in the Department of Architecture, was elected in April to serve on the Steering Committee of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture, the oldest academic organization focused on the research and education of computer-aided architectural design. “Computer-aided architectural design has come a long way, from drafting to now modulation. We can now use it in all steps from conception to schematics to documentation to construction and operation.” Yan said. Yan said he will serve a two-year term on the committee. His term will begin in October at the association’s annual peer-reviewed conference, which will be held this

Samantha Forde — Special to THE BATTALION

Wei Yan, assistant professor in the architecture department, uses new computer technologies to aid in the architectural design process. year in New York City. As well as assisting with the conference, the Steering Committee sets research and education agendas and provides guidance over the association’s policies and objectives, controls the

budget, allocates resources and makes decisions regarding large expenditures. The committee is made up of nine to 10 experts from different universities across the U.S. in the field of See Yan on page 3

The Battalion With little more than his car, some protective gear and a camera, Jesus Mares, senior ecological restoration major, set out to see for himself the devastation that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused. No less than an hour after venturing onto one of the beaches affected by the oil, he was detained and arrested. Mares said he did not know the initial reason for his arrest. Mares said he wished he could do something, so he went to the beaches and had a look for himself. “I started around 6 in the morning to collect oil samples from the affected beach areas,” Mares said. His initial plan was to travel along the Gulf coastal regions, picking up samples while capturing what he observes on photographic film. He soon found photos were the only item he was allowed to take back with him. Born in Mexico, Mares became a citizen of the U.S. when he was 18 and came to A&M as a biology major. He changed majors after a few years in order to work with environmental issues. “There is a lot more field work in environmental restoration,” Mares said. “I wouldn’t want to sit in a lab all day.” Despite the lack of manpower and little backing Mares possessed, he still ventured onto a contaminated beach. He said the initial response from the beach workers he encountered was concern that he was a part

Courtesy Photo

Jesus Mares, senior ecological restoration major, took this photograph of an oil-covered stick while walking on the beach in Jefferson Parish, La. of an unspecified organization. “A majority of people I saw on the beach were wearing BP ID badges,” Mares said. After the initial encounter, Mares was told to stay on the ocean side of the protective boom, which is where the majority of the oil contaminants resided. Mares said he continued down the beach to take more pictures and attempt to gather a sample. After more time passed, Mares began to see more and more people populating the beach, picking up trash and other duties that were assigned to them to help abate the ecological disaster the spill is causing. “Two men on an ATV veSee Oil spill on page 3

6/29/10 5:05 PM


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