sports Tech weekend Breaking down the Aggie’s game with the Red Raiders
Jeff Fuller The record-breaking Aggie receiver learned a lot from his father page 7
thebattalion ● friday,
october 29, 2010
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2010 student media
Aggieland locked down
Tyler Hosea — THE BATTALION
The central part of Texas A&M’s campus, near Rudder Tower, was locked down for an hour and a half Thursday while police searched for a gunman reported going into Rudder Tower. BELOW: Students gather across the street from Rudder Auditorium on the east end, waiting to know what had happened with the reported gunman.
Matt Woolbright— THE BATTALION
Students wait inside G. Rollie White Coliseum during the partial lockdown of Texas A&M’s campus Thursday.
Faux gunman spooks campus on eve of Halloween weekend Travis Lawson & Ty Petty
Matt Woolbright— THE BATTALION
The Battalion Texas A&M stood still Thursday afternoon while police searched for a reported gunman in the heart of campus. In the end, it was just a student walking to his car with a replica weapon; there was never a danger. In light of the recent shooting at the University of Texas and an incident at Sam Houston State University, the A&M alert system, Code Maroon, issued a warning to students and faculty that there was an armed subject on campus immediately after receiving the initial reports.
At about 3:30 p.m., University Police responded to a call about an armed suspect entering Rudder Tower located in south central campus. The Code Maroon alert was sent out to subscribers of the alert service around 4 p.m. University Police Assistant Chief, Mike Ragan, said police received reports of a man with an AK-47 entering Rudder Tower. “What we have is a report originally from a bus driver that a college-aged white male with a backpack with what appeared to be a real AK-47 was seen walking into Rudder,” Ragan said. “Officers re-
Code Maroon Code Maroon is Texas A&M’s emergency notification system. To make sure you are on the list to receive Code Maroon alerts, visit http:// codemaroon. tamu.edu.
See Lockdown on page 2
halloween
campus
Tricks to having your candy and eating it too
Students spend night with Corps of Cadets
T
he evolution of Halloween has proven to be drastic. The little Celtic folk, centuries-old, would be traumatized if they saw the candy-crazed eyes of the miniature Avatars and Lady GaGa’s running rampant through the streets of suburbia on All Hallow’s Eve. The result of this candy obsession is nasty; people begin counting calories and exhibiting minor life crises if their waist size grows. So instead of following the crowd and closing the door on Halloween this year, you might want to reconsider. If you follow a few tricks and spooky swaps, you can have your candy and eat it too. Trick #1: Wait ’n’ Hate Many make the mistake of buying candy too early and mindlessly chow down on favorites in preparation for Halloween. Jenna Anding of the nutrition department at Texas A&M said this is the No. 1 mistake many people make during Halloween season. “It seems that even before the first day of school, stores start putting out the Halloween candy,” Anding said. “Odds are if you buy the candy too early, you may be the one eating it.” Spooky Swap? Wait until the day-of and buy a bag of your
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least favorites. Trick #2: Double Down Full-size candy bars are the number one way to tank Sarah your diet. Smith Spooky freshman Swap? Go funinternational sized. While a studies major normal-sized Twix contains 280 calories, the fun version is only 80. Trick #3: Go Bananas! Chocolate, caramel and peanut — the horror stories are endless. This Halloween, it may be time to open up a few new, less frightening doors. Spooky Swap? Go fruity. At around 25 calories, a Lemonhead or Jolly Rancher will suffice as a good alternative. Karen Beathard, lecturer in the nutrition department, said she also enjoys thinking outside the box when it comes to Halloween goodies. “Try swapping non-traditional treats such as small packages of pretzels, peanut butter crackers, trail mix, nuts, raisins or other dried fruit, cereal bars or sugar-free gum,” Beathard said. “Roasted pumpkin seeds See Candy on page 6
Tim Bardin
Photos by Tyler Hosea— THE BATTALION
High school students came to campus Thursday to spend the night with the Corps. Corps members talked to the students about day-to-day life as a cadet.
The Battalion “Spend the Night With the Corps,” SNWC, is a recruitment program run by the Corps of Cadets that occurs almost every weekend during the academic school year. Participants spend a night and a day observing cadets in their normal daily life, attending class, formations, meals and other activities with the cadets. The program, which takes place about 30 times a year, is targeted to eligible junior and seniors in high school who meet the minimum admission requirements set by the University. The program is also open to current students and prospective transfer students. “We do have multiple current A&M students and prospective transfer students who attend the SNWC program, just to learn more information about the Corps,” said Gerald R. Spencer Jr., senior history major and commander of the Maj. Gen. T.G. Darling Recruiting Company, which organizes all the Corps recruitment programs at the University and across Texas. “It is open to the A&M stu-
dent population.” In addition to observing Corps activities, prospective students also meet with admissions counselors. Participants learn about the admissions process and the University’s admissions requirements, financial aid and scholarship options and other academic support services offered by the University. According to retired Air Force Col. Jon T. Hall, class of 1976 and the assistant commandant for recruiting, SNWC has a two-fold focus: prospective students and their parents. “We want the students to know what they have to do to get into A&M and stay here, which … is not easy to do, and what we offer in the way of academic support and leadership development,” Hall said. “We also want them to take away an understanding of what the Corps is really like — a sense of ‘yeah this is what I’m looking for’ or a ‘this is not me’ and that’s OK.” Hall said he would prefer prospective students to discover that the Corps is not for them during SNWC than See Cadets on page 6
10/28/10 9:29 PM