The Battalion: October 25, 2010 by The Battalion

thebattalion ● monday,

october 25, 2010

● serving

texas a&m since 1893

No. 6 Aggies win 11th Big 12 Championship Alex Welch The Battalion As the Twelfth Man counted down the final 10 seconds of the women’s soccer match, senior midfielder Rachel Shipley raised her arms in victory, hugged junior defender Rachel Balaguer, and the two raced toward the dog pile forming near midfield as the timeless “We Are the Champions” sounded throughout Aggie Soccer Stadium. With a 1-0 victory over No. 5 Oklahoma State Sunday afternoon in front of 2,500 Aggie faithful, No. 6 Texas A&M clinched the third Big 12 Championship in five years. In her last regular season home-stand, Shipley scored the lone goal of the game 20 minutes

into the first half. Cowgirl defender Melinda Mercado took down Aggie senior forward Whitney Hooper in the box and was subsequently issued a yellow card. Shipley stepped up for the penalty kick and drilled the ball past keeper Adrianna Franch and into the back of the net, for her ninth goal of the season. Oklahoma State pushed three forwards up top in the second half, but the solid Aggie defense proved near impenetrable. Several pin-pointed balls from Balaguer, senior midfielder Alyssa Mautz, and sophomore midfielder Raven Tatum split the Cowgirl’s backline and made their way to the feet of

sports

Showing signs of new life

See Soccer on page 6

Paul Mezier — THE BATTALION

Rockin’ out Quiet Company performs on the main stage during Rock the Republic on Thursday in downtown Bryan. Rock the Republic brought many bands to downtown Bryan Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

ansas is the worst team in the conference. They are one of the worst Football Bowl Subdivision teams in the country. And the team was the perfect tonic for a struggling Texas A&M team in a 45-10 dismantling Saturday in Lawrence.

Let’s get that out of the way before we heap praise on this 4-3 Aggie David Harris squad or senior economics anoint major, sports junior editor quarterback Ryan Tannehill as the second-coming. However, following a tumultuous, turmoil-filled week, Head Coach Mike Sherman’s team dominated a game the team simply had to have. His team eased the criticism and stopped the bleeding, if only for a week. Against an inferior opponent and in a non-pressure situation, Sherman made the move Aggies everywhere had been begging and imploring for. In replacing

Stephen Olmon — THE BATTALION

Singer and songwriter Suzanna Choffel performs at Rock the Republic Saturday.

Singer and songwriter Phoenix Hart performs at Rock the Republic Friday.

See Football on page 6

dining services

Senate unaware of proposal Travis Lawson

eventually late expense report, Pinkerton failed to comply with the regulations, leading to the disqualification. Pinkerton said he was unaware he needed to turn in a finance report because he had not spent any money or even campaigned during the run-off elections because he was busy doing Corps activities and was gone that weekend on a Corps trip. “One of the rules stated that you turn it in ‘when applicable’ so we just tried to say ‘when applicable’ is really ambiguous for a freshman who is in the Corps and really busy with other things. ‘When applicable’ could be ambiguous in the case that if I didn’t spend any money why would I need to turn in a finance report,” Pinkerton said. Pinkerton then filed an appeal to the SGA Judicial Court based on the claim of basis of miscommunication and ambiguous wording within the Election

The Battalion A bill opposing mandatory meal plans for on campus residents at Texas A&M passed through Student Government. The bill expressed concern with the proposal’s lack of student opinion, and the student senators rushed the signing. The plan, approved by Dining Services and the administration, would force students living on-campus, starting in 2016, to purchase a $1200 meal plan. Student Senate and the Residence Hall Association passed the Mandatory Meal Plan Opposition Bill by a vote of 48-4-7. The bill states that dining services solicited little student opinion and the on-campus community was disappointed with the rushed fashion in which the decision to implement the proposal was made. Hilary Albrecht, speaker of the Student Senate said no one on the Student Senate was informed until after the proposal had been signed. “To the best of my knowledge, nobody within Student Senate was contacted about the mandatory meal plan proposal until after the proposal had been approved by the administration,” Albrecht said. Robinson said he was unaware the administration was signing the proposal until he received an e-mail of the document two weeks later. “It was signed off on by all the administrators and then I actually received an e-mail with that document actually two weeks later,” Robinson said. “Never once did I have a meeting about it, did I know about it, did I sign off on it.”

See Election on page 6

See Meals on page 3

Jeremy Northum — THE BATTALION Jeremy Northum — THE BATTALION

campus elections

Pinkerton named class president despite disqualifications Katy Ralston The Battalion After an election marred by controversies and a series of disqualifications, court cases and resignations, Ben Pinkerton has been named the acting freshman class president. Despite two disqualifications from the Election Commission and Student Government Association, the class officer selection process leaves room for Pinkerton to be president. “He has been disqualified twice, by myself and by j-court, however through Class Council he can be appointed the freshman class president by Mark Alhenius,” said Cameron Medlin, election commissioner. During the fall elections for freshman class president, the 837 votes cast resulted in a run-off between the top two candidates Pinkerton and Ahlenius. Pinkerton got 29.51 percent of the vote with 247 votes and Ahlenius got 22.46 percent with 188 votes.

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The run-off vote was occurred Oct. 12 and 13 and Mark Ahlenius was announced the winner at 6 p.m. During the run-off election, Pinkerton got the highest percentage of the vote. Out of 568 freshman voters, Pinkerton got 61.44 percent of the vote with 349 winning ballots while Ahlenius got 38.56 percent of the vote with 219 votes. However, Pinkerton was disqualified from the race. “I had to disqualify him because he didn’t turn in his expense report,” Medlin said. According to the Texas A&M Election Regulations handbook on reporting, “all candidates must submit a finance report and all receipts from campaigning on the first day of voting for both general elections and, when applicable, run-off elections. Candidates failing to comply will be fined $25 the first day. Candidates failing to comply by the second day will be disqualified.” After repeated reminders and e-mails from the Election Commission about the soon-due and then

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Art race

The Amazing Aggie Art Race invites Texas A&M students to race around campus to interact with the visual arts and compete to ﬁnish. The race is from 3 to 5 p.m. on Thursday beginning at the Cushing Memorial Library.

Tuesday mostly sunny high: 87 low: 64 Wednesday partly sunny high: 87 low: 62 Thursday 20% chance of thunderstorms high: 81 low: 56

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thebattalion 10.25.2010 For daily updates go to thebatt.com ● Facebook ● Twitter@thebattonline

Texas A&M students encouraged to ‘drink water to give water’ for 10 days The Battalion

After 8pm with Student ID

Texas A&M student, staff, faculty and families are invited to a Halloween party from 6:30 to 8 p.m. today at the University Apartments Community Center.

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For most Aggies, clean water is just a faucet turn away. However, for 844 million people worldwide, the struggle for clean water demands their entire focus and sometimes their lives. The Wells Project at Texas A&M has made its mission to “change lives at Texas A&M and across the world through clean water.” “This should break out hearts,” said Valerie Whitt, director of events for The Wells Project. “While the 844 million are devastating numbers, you also think about the individual person who can’t get a good education because they are spending up to seven hours per day hauling clean water.” Started three years ago with three members, the Wells Project has grown to encompass an A&M team of nearly 50 members and 20 similar campus organizations and initiatives across the nation working to end the inequality in water around the globe. This year, The Wells Project has partnered with the non-profit organization Living Water International to create the 10 Days campaign to raise money for the building of wells in underdeveloped regions. The “10 Days” campaign challenges participants to “Drink Water to Give Water.” From Oct. 25 to Nov. 3, participants commit to making water their only beverage, save all the money they normally would have spent on beverages beside water, and donate that money at the end of the 10 days, said Eric Newman, a senior management major and president of The Wells Project.

“The difference in the way we live and how other groups of people live is sickening,” Newman said. “It’s really important one, to realize that, and two, to provide people and opportunity to do something about it. That’s what 10 Days is all about, realizing that disparity and giving you an easy way to do something about it.” Freshman general studies major Stephen Campbell said seeing disparity during the time he spent in Africa this past spring was the motivating factor for him to participate. “I actually got to see first-hand what the water looks like over there,” Campbell said. “It showed me how important it is for them to have clean water. That is the main cause of death over there, people die early because of drinking that water throughout their lifetime. So I am just trying to do what I can to help that.” Last year a similar campaign titled, “Two Weeks of Sacrifice,” raised $40,000 and funded four well projects in the countries of Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Ghana. The sacrifice affects not only the people of those countries, but here also, Whitt said. Whitt said she was changed by participating in the campaign last year; she saw how sacrificing so little could make so much of an impact. “It was eye-opening. For us it’s so hard to drink only water but they are just like literally dying for clean water, it’s powerful,” she said. Newman said Whitt’s story is a story that they both share with many other people. “I’ve really seen that just by walking through this journey and making this small sacrifice and realizing what a big impact that

can have on a different part of the world, makes you live a little differently afterward,” Newman said. This year the campaign is a lot more interactive, Whitt said. Those wishing to commit to the 10 days will be given a participants kit that includes information about the water crisis, tools to help you keep track of what you would normally spend, the official website of the campaign, and a “10 Days” wristband. The website is home to many other resources available to those participating. “It’s like an online living room. No matter what school you go to or what part of the country you are in, you can see daily updates and stories and student bloggers and daily devotional for somebody going through the ten days to help them through that journey,” Newman said. The Wells Project will have tables set up on campus today at the beginning of the campaign to pass out participant kits and well as the last day of the campaign to collect the donations. Donations can also be made, online starting Nov. 3, at www.10Day.cc. “For a long time, A&M has been known as one of the leaders worldwide in universities that get students involved in community service,” Newman said. “But the reality is its 2010, and our community isn’t just BryanCollege Station. We live in a global community so our neighbor isn’t just the person across the street, our neighbor is the person across that ocean, the person that lives in a different country, speaks a different language, looks differently. It’s definitely important to make an impact in your backyard, but the world needs us too.”

Congressman Edwards announces re-opening of World War II historic site Ryan Seybold

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The Battalion Pointe du Hoc is a historic spot in Normandy, France at which, during World War II, Earl Rudder and the second U.S. Army Ranger Battalion took out key Nazi artillery positions. Their actions contributed to the allied victory on D-day. “Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns,” said Rep. Chet Edwards Wednesday at the announcement of the coming re-opening Pointe du Hoc. The site’s connection to Earl Rudder has been an impetus for Aggies to push for its preservation and re-opening to the public. Pointe du Hoc’s preservation has been an issue because the cliffs that comprise it were predicted to break off and fall into

the English Channel. That would present some complications to the site’s preservation as a tourist spot. In September 2008, Edwards secured $6 million in funding from the American Battle Monuments Commission Edwards for the stabilization and preservation of Pointe du Hoc. Construction started in February of this year, and the scheduled formal reopening is in June 2011. Max Cleland, secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission said: “Pointe du Hoc is an iconic symbol of American courage and sacrifice. We are

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thebattalion THE BATTALION (ISSN #1055-4726) is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and Monday through Thursday during the summer session (except University holidays and exam periods) at Texas A&M University. Periodicals Postage Paid at College Station, TX 77840. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, Texas A&M University, 1111 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-1111. 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. News offices are in The Grove, Bldg. 8901. Newsroom phone: 979-845-3313; Fax: 979-845-2647; E-mail: metro@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 979-845-2696. For classified advertising, call 979-8450569. Advertising offices are in The Grove, Bldg. 8901, and office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fax: 979-845-2678. 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. Mail subscriptions are $125 per school year. To charge by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express, call 979845-2613.

grateful to Chet Edwards for his leadership in obtaining the $6 million appropriation that has enabled us to preserve this historic D-day battlefield and open it once again to the public. We all have a responsibility to tell its stories for generations to come.” A team of researchers from Texas A&M University went to France to assess the situation, and in 2007, they briefed the French government about the preservation efforts and their environmental implications. “Because of General Rudder’s leadership both at Point du Hoc and Texas A&M it holds a special place in the hearts of all Aggies. We felt privileged to field a team of Texas A&M experts to aid ABMC in efforts to save the Observation Post and its memorial to the brave men of the 2nd Ranger Battalion,” said Dr. Robert Warden, director of the center for Heritage Conservation at the Texas A&M College of Architecture.

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page 3 monday 10.25.2010

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Community health fair raises awareness, offers services Tim Bardin The Battalion Health care. For many people, especially college students or parents of low-income households, there are no two words more feared or despised. But for those without the resources to get tested or receive expensive care, health fairs are venues of information and free services. Christ United Methodist Church put on a Community Health and Safety Fair in south College Station, Saturday. Christ Church partnered with Millican United Methodist Church, First United Methodist Church, the Texas A&M University Health Science Center, the College Station Medical Center, College Station Fire Department and A&M Consolidated High School in offering the community-wide event. “Our purpose is to raise awareness about the resources available [for improved health],” said Reverend Tommy Myrick, pastor of Christ United Methodist Church and a coordinator for the event. A variety of organizations set up booths for the fair. The American Red Cross had a representative available to answer questions about donating blood

Meals Continued from page 1

attendees to the center’s body mass index and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease screening stations. Brown discussed the center’s role in the fair and what they do to improve health in the community. “We do a lot of marketing, through ads and commercials and things like that, but nothing beats one-on-one interaction,” Brown said. “[The health fair] is an opportunity to meet with people face-to-face, to answer their questions and get feedback [on the MED’s health programs].” “We also offer screenings as a preventative health practice. Some people come in not even aware that they have health problems, but after they get screened, they’re informed about the condition and know how to prevent it if they’re at risk or treat it if they have one.” The College Station Fire Department had several vehicles on-site for demonstrations. A passenger-restraint display was also set up to encourage childpassenger safety practices and warn about the consequences of not wearing seat belts. “Our desire is to improve community health and safety,” Myrick said.

Senate, were well aware of this proposal in its very beginning stages,” Johnson said. “Senate, maybe not all Senators, but yes, Senate was aware that this conversation was going on.” Johnson also said students were not informed until after administrators started putting their signatures on the proposal. “I think students found out about it once Loftin had signed it,” Johnson said. “I didn’t know that signatures had started to be put on that finalized proposal.” The proposal was signed and a poll of 550 students living on campus was taken. Forty-eight percent of students polled said they would not live on campus if the plan were in effect, while 49 percent said they would. Seven-

ty-one percent of students polled had meal plans. “After gathering student opinion on the matter, the Student Senate and the RHA passed legislation in opposition to the proposal,” Albrecht said. “It is the hope of the Student Senate that the administration will explore alternative measures that are more pursuant to student opinion.” The opposition bill expressed other concerns such as students who live on campus and choose not to purchase a meal plan because they cannot afford it. It says that requiring everyone to buy a meal plan would drive down the incentive of Dining Services to improve in quality and variety.

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Robinson said he supports the bill in opposition to the mandatory meal plan and has already put his signature on it. “My position will now be in opposition and wanting to look at other options with it,” Robinson said. Executive Vice President Konrad Johnson served as the Student Services Advocate last year while serving on the Dining Services Advisory Committee. Johnson said the plan was first discussed over a year ago. “Myself, along with the Student Services Chair from Student

and organizing blood drives, while several personal fitness groups, such as Innovative Fitness, marketed their programs. A catering service called D’Vine Cuisine, LLC, offered healthy catering options. “We are also offering free flu shots,” Myrick said. Participants who visited at least 10 booths could take their signed card to the back and receive the shot. Members of A&M Consolidated High School’s after-school club, Health Occupations Students of America, also had a set-up at the fair. The students took blood pressure and measured height and weight. They even calculated your heightto-weight ratio for you, which measured whether you were at risk for weight-related diseases. “Most of us [students] hope to go into health or the medical field someday or just enjoy medicine,” said Mona Reddy, one of the student members of Health Occupations Students of America. “We are trained in the basics and [as volunteers] help out and get practice using our skills.” The College Station Medical Center, also known as The MED, was represented at the health fair. Joe Brown, director of marketing for the MED, answered questions and directed

Photos by Heidi Ann Uhl

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thebattalion 10.25.2010 page4

This is the third in a six-part series of in-depth explorations of the cities and venues the 2010 Fightin’ Texas Aggie football team will visit away from the friendly conﬁnes of Kyle Field. Senior football writer Kyle Cunningham and sophomore sports desk assistant Beau Holder are set to travel across Texas and the Big 12 landscape following the team throughout the fall 2010 season. The pair will recount their adventures tailgating with opposing fans, exploring rowdy stadiums and entrenching upon the greatest eats other college towns have to offer.

Where the tailgating’s sure better than the team University of Kansas | Lawrence, Kan.

here’s no way to sugarcoat the fact that the drive to Kansas is absolutely excruciating, but for the souls brave or redass enough to make the trip, it’s worth it. Lawrence is a laid-back and pretty town; the people are friendly and for the true sports fan, you’ll find Beau Holder yourself in the shadow of legendary Phog Allen sophomore sociology major Fieldhouse. It’s definitely a basketball school though, which makes me really happy. The Ags won, too. So there’s that.

y first encounter with a Kansas fan was a young woman driving by us in her car. “Texas sucks!” she yelled. Who would have thought I would enjoy the University of Kansas and the city of Lawrence, especially after a start like that? Turns out she was the exception, not the rule. Everyone else we encountered was very friendly or at least relaxed. I joked Kyle Cunningham after mile 100 or so of Kansas Turnpike nothingness that senior sport “Lawrence is going to look like the Promised Land.” Turns management major out that little bit of sarcasm wasn’t too far off. I loved the town and enjoyed every second of it … except the “Texas sucks” part.

the Town

the Antique

Lawrence is a great place and an excellent college town. It’s more spread out than College Station and succeeds at providing a lot to do without being ﬂashy or crowded. The hilly neighborhoods are beautiful and quiet and the downtown is historic and inviting. Massachusetts Street is Lawrence’s version of Northgate, but about 10 times as long. It includes chains like Starbucks, Cold Stone and ... Spoons? We didn’t know it existed outside of College Station. The one here was, for some reason, called “3 Spoons.” Also featured are locally-owned stores and the Eldridge Hotel, which has quite a past if you’re interested in looking it up. The most awesome thing we saw was this sculpture. It’s called the Totemoticon, and it’s really cool up close. If you look carefully, the second from the top describes us prior to the game. The bottom one looks like us after the game. Check out the top one to see our faces if we lose to Tech. Yeah, you’re on notice, football team.

There are positives: the press box was spacious and the food good, the concourses were wide and clean, the field-turf showed up well under the lights and the practice fields are top-notch. There are some problems. The never-ending one deck, offblue paint job and track around the field were reminiscent of a higher-end high school stadium. Overall, while nothing was too special, the facilities are good and could be even better with upgrades. It’s old — as in, 1921 — and it shows. Most funding goes to basketball at KU, but we’re not complaining about that.

the Absentees Even with a bad matchup, even with a bad team, you would expect the stands to be more than two-thirds full for a school’s homecoming game. They weren’t. We guess an exception is in order though, since the game wasn’t at Allen Fieldhouse and the KU faithful probably had no idea the football program wasn’t disbanded with Mark Mangino’s termination. As harsh as that may seem, it got worse after halftime, when the fans whisked away to their tailgates. The stadium might have gotten loud once or twice.

the Tailgates The majority of Jayhawk fans know how to tailgate. We discovered a few expertly done-up vehicles, including this former ambulance. Many tents were set up on the hills overlooking the stadium, which added a unique perspective to the greatest of sporting activities. There were no less than 15 games of bean-bag toss — the Noble Men Out of Kyle’s favorite game — and a particularly friendly group took us in, fed us hamburgers, watched t.u. lose to Iowa State with us and explained the nature of the Kansas-Missouri rivalry. All that pales in comparison to the fact that they served bacon brownies. Yes. Short strips of bacon baked into brownies. Some middle-aged men talked with us for a while, allowing us to point out that one was wearing a College Game Day shirt from Feb. 3, 2007, when Acie Law led the Aggies to beat the Jayhawks. It led to a now-immortalized exchange in which he asked if KU actually lost that game and one of his buddies deadpanned, “It was the last game we lost in the Phog, dumb[expletive].” Maybe you had to be there.

the River

Styx

That’s what we’ve affectionately coined this drive. We headed to Stillwater, Okla., in seven hours on Friday and stayed overnight with the editor-in-chief of Oklahoma State University’s Daily O’Collegian. Okie State Cowboys are, as always, great people. Saturday morning, we drove another ﬁve hours to Lawrence. No speeding tickets this time. Maybe the 12-hour drive would be easier if there were more to see after Stillwater … maybe. The majority of Kansas, as seen from the Kansas Turnpike, is ﬂat and completely empty plains. It’s a nice landscape, but completely devoid of human presence. Then there’s the fact that the Turnpike expertly swindled us out of almost $10 just for making the mistake of driving into the state on it. Photos by Beau Holder — THE BATTALION Graphic by Josh McKenna — THE BATTALION

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the Rock,

Chalk

We’ll sum up KU’s pageantry thusly: Rock, Chalk. Jayhawk. Rock, Chalk. Jayhawk. Rock, Chalk. Jayhawk. It’s cool when you think of the tradition that comes with it, and at basketball games, but after the 10th time we couldn’t tell it apart from Texas Fight … or Raider Power … or Orange Power. The 10th time wasn’t the last, either. You get the idea. “The Waving Song” didn’t make a return, but KU does do the same waving part with their ﬁght song as well. Overall, there was nothing too original, but it was still fun.

the Hills The campus was by far the biggest plus on the trip through Lawrence. Lush green grass and trees covered the grounds, especially close to the stadium. The architecture was nice enough, if a bit varied, but the biggest plus for the KU campus was the hilly terrain — it seemed the only flat part of land was the football field. The new, upscale Oread Hotel was built on campus and resembles a castle. Phog Allen is a mustsee. Rolling up over the first hill and seeing both spread out before us was “wow”-inducing. Were the uphill walks a bit of a pain? Yes, but the view and the weather in Lawrence made the climb well worth it.

10/24/10 8:10 PM

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thebattalion

Special Olympics comes up to bat in Aggieland Meagan O’Toole-Pitts The Battalion Bottom of the third. Bases loaded. 14-8. Best Friends. Like most softball games, fans sit silent in anticipation of the last play. But what makes this game unique – every player is disabled. “By having our people that are intellectually disabled out [playing sports], we’re trying to get the world to accept them,” said Shirley Johnson, Best Friends of San Antonio head coach, “to see that they can do things.” The Special Olympics Texas Fall Classic came to BryanCollege Station this weekend, including bocce, golf, triathlon and softball games. Aquatic competitions were in Pearland. Best Friends beat the Fire Dowgs, also of San Antonio, 15-8, Saturday at Veterans Park. “We came out here and made a big victory, we’re going home with the gold medal.

That’s why we came all the way from San Antonio,” said DJ Nicholson, Best Friends center fielder. “So I’m glad we came out here, we got the gold, and we’re bringing home the gold.” The most exciting part of the games, Nicholson said, was the outfield catch he made. “I’m proud of me about that. I’m proud of my whole team,” he said. “They played real good. They helped me out. I helped them out. Our team played as a team.” Although Best Friends took home the gold medal, every team at the Fall Classic is a winner, said Marisa Maldonado ,Aggie Special Olympics Texas Volunteer and junior nutrition major. “Everyone gets a medal. Everyone gets placed first, second or third. Everyone gets a gold, silver or bronze medal,” she said. “Everyone’s a winner and that’s what keeps it fun.” Each season Special Olympics Texas has a competition, the Winter Games will be

in Austin Feb. 3 through 6. Athletes compete in a bevy of sports, from bowling and table tennis, to skiing and ice skating, Johnson said. “We start off – January’s basketball, then it goes to track and field in the spring, then it goes to softball, and then it goes into bowling,” she said. “We go non-stop year around.” The will and determination of athletes shows that disabled people have something to contribute, said Johnson, who’s been involved with Special Olympics for 42 years. “These athletes can do more than anyone ever dreamed they could do,” she said. “People think that a person that’s intellectually disabled can’t do much. You’d be surprised what they can do. Some of them are good enough to beat normal teams.” But Special Olympics doesn’t just teach athletic ability, Johnson said. “If we give them the chance and the training they can do it,”

TIME IS RUNNING OUT to have your graduation portrait made for Texas A&M University’s 109th yearbook

she said. “They can have jobs. They can work. They can be productive citizens.” There is no age limit for athletes, so everyone is included. Special Olympics can be a lifelong ambition for athletes, Johnson said. “Everyone from age eight to 100-plus. I had a boy one year who was 87 participate in softball. He did track, and he did bowling,” she said. “There’s something there for everybody.” The Fall Classic kicked off with a lighting of the torch, naming of the athletes, coaches and volunteers of the year and a victory dance Friday night at Rudder High School in Bryan. “We had about 300 volunteers and 400 to 500 athletes,” Maldonado said. “We had volunteers from ASOTV, APL, several FLOs, OPA and all the organizations we called to help. Every year we get about 200 to 300 student volunteers, and we also get adult volunteers from the community. It’s so exciting to see so many A&M students there.”

Dec ’10, May ’11, Aug ’11

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AGGIELAND 2011 Official yearbook of Texas A&M University

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Word Square Create a word square by forming four-letter words from the word below. (hint: a letter can be repeated multiple times in the same word.) PONDERS

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V A I N

A E R O

I R I S

N O S E

Siddharth Kumar — THE BATTALION

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10/24/10 8:04 PM

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monday 10.25.2010

Football Continued from page 1

CUIP!DBODFS!UBJMHBUF !!!!!!!!Kpjo!uif!UBNV!Dbodfs!Tpdjfuz!gps!GSFF!gppe!boe!epps!qsj{ft !!!!!!!!K Tbuvsebz-!Pdupcfs!41ui!gspn!:bn.3qn!bu!Tqfodf!Qbsl Dpnf!tvqqpsu!uif!dbvtf"

struggling senior quarterback Jerrod Johnson with Tannehill in the second quarter, Sherman altered course for the first time in 2010. “We just wanted to give Ryan a chance to show what he could do,” Sherman said following the win. “… I made the decision after last game… We just lacked consistency, and I thought shaking it up a little bit and getting some competition at the position would be a good thing.” He also ended talk of a quarterback controversy brewing in Aggieland. Because Tannehill needs to be the guy from here on out. With bowl eligibility still a major question mark and the

Election Continued from page 1

Regulations. The case was brought before the judicial court, A&M students in charge of cases under the Student Government Association Constitution and by-laws and Student Senate legislation, as well as cases that involve members of the SGA, with Pinkerton as the plaintiff and Medlin as the defendant. Pinkerton and Medlin were given the chance to present their sides to the judicial court. Monday, the Judicial Court ruled to uphold Pinkerton’s disqualification. “Pinkerton failed to submit a finance report for the race by the second day, and was disqualified in accordance with the Election

Soccer Continued from page 1

a pursuing Hooper whose deft footwork spun her way out of crowds of defenders and into one-on-one opportunities against Franch. A&M outshot Oklahoma State 14-10; Hooper leading the way with 4. “[Whitney] is a very technical player,” Head Coach G Guerrieri said. “Her ability to turn with the ball on a dime to bring it down under pressure with people on her shoulders is a skill that I think people overlook. She is so darn fast.” The final 45 minutes were back and forth with near even possession, but the Aggies were able to slow the Cowgirls’ attack and maintain the early lead through the final whistle.

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thebattalion brunt of the schedule still on the horizon, this team doesn’t have the slightest clue what they have in Tannehill. For that reason, and that reason alone, No. 17 should be under center for the duration of 2010. Could he be the spark that lights a fire under this team? Could he restore faith in this season and the direction of the program? Or could Saturday have been merely a mirage? Could he just be another average Aggie signal caller? Who knows? Sure he showed a strong arm, good decision-making, sound mechanics and poise in the pocket in a 155-yard, three touchdown performance. But, again, it was Kansas. It was a team that has been outscored 159-24 in three games. A team that lost to Football Championship Subdivision school North Dakota State in

coach Turner Gill’s debut. “I’ve waited a long time to get in there and finally got my opportunity,” Tannehill said. Seven games into 2010, these Aggies have been a major disappointment. Sherman’s reluctance to bench his starting quarterback has been bemusing. And the “opportunity” he gave his backup quarterback needs to be a permanent move. Because with rival Texas Tech, resurgent Baylor and conference powerhouses Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas still on the docket, the jury is still out: on the team’s resiliency; on Sherman’s job security; on Tannehill’s ability as a quarterback. For one week, the ship was righted. For one week, Aggie football isn’t crumbling before our eyes. These next five weeks, however, will tell the real story.

Regulations. The court saw no ambiguity in the cited clause of the Election Regulations, and communication between the Election Commission and candidates was more than adequate,” stated the court case decision by Chief Justice David Glasheen. Before the court case took place, Ahlenius approached Pinkerton with his decision to turn over the class presidency to the Pinkerton. “Immediately after the results came out I knew it wasn’t the right thing for me to take it. I did not win, and will not take office because of a technicality,” Ahlenius said. “Ben was disqualified because of a miscommunication [or] mistake. He had the majority of the votes, and so I will honor that.” In the case that Ahlenius

was to pull out of the race, the candidate with the third most amount of votes would have become president due to Pinkerton’s disqualification. However, Ahlenius and Pinkerton found a loophole in the Class Council policy that would allow Pinkerton to assume the presidency. “The policy is if a president resigns the standing vice president takes control. We already knew that would happen, so as long as I got the vice presidency spot I could then become president,” Pinkerton said. “But Mark was only one of the four interviewers so I still had to get the vice presidency spot fair and square.” Upon Pinkerton winning the vice presidency spot, Ahlenius resigned from the presidency Wednesday night and Pinkerton was named the acting class president.

“After two years, I’m glad that the girls won our trophy back,” Guerrieri said. “It feels good. It’s a big relief. Sometimes when you win championships, you think you’re always going to win them, and when you’re not the champions, you wonder if you’re ever going to do it again.” Texas A&M (15-3, 8-1 Big 12) improved the win streak to eight games and eight shutouts on the season. The losses have been dealt by No.1 North Carolina, No. 2 Portland and Colorado in the first week of conference play. Before Friday’s 2-1 double overtime victory over Oklahoma, the eight members of the 2011 Aggie Soccer class, Shipley, Hooper, Mautz, Kat Armstrong, Kristen Arnold, Kelly Dyer, Amber Gnatzig and Nicole Ketchum were

honored. Shipley tallied the first goal of the match with an assist by Hooper, and Mautz netted the golden goal. “It is so emotional and hard to think that [this time] is actually here,” Shipley said. “I know we talked about senior night for a while but it didn’t really hit me that [these were] my last two regular season games at home. It’s overwhelming. I’m not going to let it put any pressure on my game; I’m just going to enjoy every minute. That is all you can do, just enjoy it and play your heart out on the field and really cherish it, it has absolutely flown by.” Sunday’s win marks Texas A&M’s 11th Big 12 Championship. The Aggies lace up cleats for the last time in the regular season Friday in Austin as they take on the Longhorns (11-3-3, 4-2-2 Big 12).

10/24/10 9:03 PM