thebattalion
thursday Aggie basketball The Battalion previews the upcoming season with a special insert.
● wednesday,
construction YMCA renovations continue In March of 2010, Vaughn Construction began a renovation of the YMCA on campus designed by QuimbyMcCoy Preservation. Part of the building was demolished and rebuilt and part of the building was renovated. “The west wing is being remodeled … The total budget for this project is $15,000,000 and construction is scheduled to be complete in August of 2011,” said Daniel McGuire, the architectural project manager. The west wing will be remodeled, but the east wing is being completely demolished and will be larger and more prominent. “The most obvious renovation is the demolition then reconstruction of the entire east wing,” said Ben Crouch, executive associate dean and professor of sociology. “That new wing will be a bit larger and boast a more prominent entrance than the original.” The renovation is hoped to restore a heritage campus building. The vice president for marketing and communication, the faculty senate, the office of the dean of faculties and the department of philosophy will be housed in the building. “One might say the goal is to bring a heritage campus building back to functional service in a manner that both meets current needs for space and retains many original architectural elements,” Crouch said. The “reading See YMCA on page 6
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Adam Gallant, sophomore general studies major, won the first place title for the Men’s Individual Championship for archery in China.
Sophomore wins individual world archery championship Haley Lawson The Battalion Bows, limbs and blinds take on different meanings in the world Adam Gallant lives in. Shooting arrows is something Gallant has done since preschool, and after much practice, archery has led him across the nation and overseas. Gallant, a sophomore general studies major, won the first place title for the Men’s Individual Championship for archery at the World University Archery Championship. The championship was this past week in Shenzhen, Guangdong China.
“Adam Gallant won a first place title in the Men’s Individual Championship and was a member of the U.S. Men’s Team and the U.S. Mixed Team, both of which came home with first place team titles,” said Kelly VonDerhle, RecSports communication coordinator. Gallant was the only member of A&M’s archery team to attend the championship and was one of two students who qualified to attend. “Adam qualified for the tournament based on his performance at the United States intercollegiate archery cham-
pionships held on our campus in May,” said Bill Coady, archery coach. Gallant was on the U.S. team with 11 other men and women from around the country that went to China. “The team was comprised of 12 archers from across the U.S., six male and six female. Six shoot recurve bows and six shoot compounds bows like Adam,” Coady said. Gallant has been involved in archery since he was young and has attended many competitions. Courtesy photos
See Gallant on page 4
Gallant stands with the U.S. Mixed Archery Team.
b-cs area
on campus
Annual Chamber of Commerce banquet welcomes Chuck Norris
Paul Mezier — THE BATTALION
Students mill around the display set up in the Academic Plaza by the Pro-Life Aggies and Center for Bio-Ethical Reform. The display features images of the conflicts in Rwanda and Darfur in an effort to compare abortion to genocide.
Pro-life advocates visit A&M with no-holds-barred imagery Katie White The Battalion Orange signs warning students about graphic images greeted students walking through Academic Plaza Monday afternoon as the Pro-Life Aggies teamed up with the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform for a display advocating anti-abortion ethics. Stephanie Gray, spokeswoman for the Center, said the mission of the display was to make abortion unthinkable. The organization travels across the country setting up displays of larger-than-life images of aborted fetuses. The pictures sit next to images of genocide such as mass graves from the Holocaust. “We attempt to show denying the personhood of the unborn is parallel to denying the personhood of people throughout history,” Gray said. The display aroused different actions from students and a “Free Speech Board” allowed
Day one
them to write their feelings about both the display and the issue at hand in an anonymous and non-confrontational way, said Veronica Arnold, senior biology and Spanish major and Pro-Life Aggies president. “The board makes it easier for people to not get so upset,” Arnold said. “It is a way for them to say what they mean without being intimidated.” Arnold said the decision to invite the Center for Bio-ethical Reform to campus was debatable because “pro-lifers” split when it comes to whether they think showing graphic images of aborted fetuses is appropriate or not. She said some members feel the images further push away opposition and women who have undergone abortion before. “We do other things to reach out other than this display,” Arnold said. “We try to teach students who are torn between going to college and being a parent that they can See Abortion on page 2
The Battalion If it hadn’t been for the Kickstart Kids program, some young teens would either be in jail or dead. At least, that’s what the participants of the program told Chuck Norris, martial artist, actor and keynote speaker at the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce annual banquet. Chuck Norris and his wife Gena spoke at the banquet Monday and told attendees the Kickstart Kids foundation has been the greatest accomplishment in his life. The program seeks to help at-risk children by giving them positive affirmation, confidence and encouragement through martial arts. The program began in Houston with one school Chuck Norris and has now grown to 45 schools in 13 school districts statewide. “The Kickstart program shows school districts that we are here to aid them in making our students successful by teaching students things like discipline, respect and self control. We are able to work with school districts, principals, parents and teachers to hold children accountable and teach them things they might not normally learn at home,” said Derek Stinson, instructor and former graduate of the program. Students are given the option of taking karate as an alternative to physical education, as an elective or after-school program and can continue the program from middle school through college. “Our goal is to develop character and leadership skills, to enhance resilience, to resolve conflict productively, to avoid gangs, to choose drug-free lifestyles and to remain in high school until they graduate,” Stimson said. The program has had positive feedback and results, leading to greater aspirations to continue to grow through the help and support of local communities. At the event, the Chamber of Commerce also awarded Mike Conner, class of 1985, the Volunteer of the Year award because of his persistent
service to the community. Glenda Hoon was awarded Ambassador of the Year for accumulating the most ambassador points through her volunteer services. In past years, ambassadors have volunteered more than 3,000 hours to help the Chamber with numerous activities and programs. Norris told Chairman of the attendees the Board of Directors Tap Kickstart Kids Bentz awarded J.J. foundation Ramirez, founder of has been the Save Our Streets the greatest Ministries, the Citizen accomplishment of the Year award. in his life. “The purpose of this award [Citizen of the Year] is to recognize individuals who have made significant civic contributions to the development and quality of life of this community through their own personal efforts. Their actions, by their very nature, serve as a model to those presently involved in community enhancement and business development and inspire others to bring about a better business climate and quality of life to Bryan-College Station,” Bentz said. Bentz told the audience of 500 that the founder of Save Our Streets Ministries, J.J. Ramirez, has ministered on streets for 27 years to bring the gospel to gangs, gang leaders, drug dealers and drug addicts. Ramirez started his ministry after being freed of the lifestyle himself. Save Our Streets Ministries provides an opportunity to turn lives around, and through his gang intervention and mediation, Ramirez has won the respect of the community. He serves as a positive, relevant role model and is the definition of community service. A congratulatory standing ovation was given to Ramirez. “There are a lot of people that I truly have to thank for this award, the Chamber, the community, this is truly an honor and I am very humbled. But there is no way I can receive this by not giving all the glory to my Lord and savior,” Ramirez said.
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