basketball
thebattalion
Men open season against Alcorn State A&M team begins the 20102011 season tonight at Reed Arena at 7. The Aggie men finished 24-10 and ranked in the final AP poll for the second time in four seasons in 2009-2010 but lost Donald Sloan, Derrick Roland and Bryan Davis. Forward Nathan Walkup and guard B.J. Holmes return as seniors on a team that includes junior Preseason Honorable All-Big 12 forward David Loubeau and junior point guard Dash Harris. A&M will tip off against the Alcorn State Braves from Lorman, Miss. Sophomore forward Ian Francis is the top returning scorer, at 9.5 points per game, for Alcorn State, which went 2-29 the past year and plays in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Students are encouraged to help white-out home games by wearing white T-shirts. General admission tickets cost $13 for those without all-sports passes. Head Coach Mark Turgeon and the players head into the stands to Saw ‘Em Off with the fans during the War Hymn for each game in which student turnout exceeds 4,000. Beau Holder, staff writer
campus
5k Relay to fund cancer research
● friday,
november 12, 2010
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper ffree – additional copies $1 ● © 2010 student media
A drop of
hope
I
magine living in a neighborhood with open sewers, no sanitary water supply, unpaved roads and no plumbing. It would be hard to believe that a scenario such as that could take place in America. Yet many people are unaware of the fact that millions still live without basic necessities like clean drinking water. Colonias are areas where people live in conditions like those of Third World countries. These dwellings have issues such as open sewers, lack sanitary water and drainage, unpaved roads and no plumbing. There are more than 1,400 Colonias in Texas alone. TAMU Water Project is a campusbased initiative at Texas A&M that provides Texas colonias and rural communities with affordable water filtration technology. Oscar Muñoz, deputy director of the Colonias Program in the Center for Housing and Urban Development and co-founder of the TAMU Water Project, shares the simplicity of how to make the water filtration vessels. “We will take whatever the natural resources are of where we are going to start developing the facility, and it is usually local clay and local sawdust. By volume, it’s 50 percent clay and 50 percent sawdust, and that’s where the basic formula starts,” Muñoz said. The simplicity in the filter’s design
Aggies provide clean water to Texans in need By Joyce Go | The Battalion
See Water on page 2
Photo illustration by Evan Andrews and Jeremy Northum — THE BATTALION
Connie Thompson The Battalion Many Aggies are affected by cancer, directly or indirectly. Relay for Life gives Aggies the opportunity to fight back against the disease while raising awareness. Saturday, Aggie Relay for Life will be putting on the second annual 5k Relay to raise cancer awareness. Walk-in registration and check-in begins at 8 a.m., and the race begins at 9 a.m. at the parking lot in Reed Arena. “5k for Relay is a great event that serves a dual purpose,” said Elyse Miller, Aggie Relay vice chairwoman. “It raises money for the American Cancer Society that goes towards cancer research and patient services and it’s a fun way for Aggies to come together to support a wonderful cause.” Money raised for the 5k will go directly to the American Cancer Society, which will then fund cancer research A&M and cancer programs in Bryan-College Station. Participants will receive a Tshirt, a runner’s bib and the opportunity to win one of 12 door prizes. After the event, free Red Mango will be offered while supplies last. But there are more reasons to attend the event than receiving the listed items. “Relay [for Sign up Life] is a lifechanging event ◗ that gives evRegistration eryone in comfees are $10 munities across per individual the globe a or $8 per chance to celebrate the lives person for of people who teams of have battled eight or cancer, rememmore. ber loved ones lost and fight back against the disease,” said Ruston Juneau, Aggie Relay for Life chairman. “Here at Texas A&M we do it bigger and we do it better.” In its sixth year, Aggie Relay has raised more than half a million dollars for cancer research. “I believe that if we work together, we can conquer [cancer],” said Hannah Winn, senior biomedical science major. “I want to contribute to those See Relay on page 5
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Class Councils decorate Quad to honor veterans Katy Ralston
Samantha Virnau — THE BATTALION
An Aggie Ring, pictured atop a rose, symbolizes the peak of an A&M student’s journey through their college years. Today’s ceremonies begin at 3 p.m. at the Clayton W. Williams Jr. Alumni Center.
More than 1,800 students to receive Aggie Rings today Katie White The Battalion The Aggie Ring is one of the most anticipated, if not the paramount, tradition in Aggieland. The Aggie Ring connects Aggies all over the world. Today, 1,865 students, some flanked by friends and family, will storm the Clayton W. Williams Jr. Alumni Center to receive a treasure 90 credit hours in the making. “Getting your Aggie Ring is almost bigger than graduation,” said Sophie Brandon, a senior environmental design major. “It’s something that marks all that I have accomplished in the past three and a half years, all of the amazing experiences I’ve had, and it cements my place in the Aggie Family.” Trey Spark, senior finance major, said he is most excited about the celebration and the environment of campus on Ring Day. He said he expects his mom to cry when she witnesses the Aggie spirit. “I’m quite sure she will cry,” Sparks said. “I’m cool with it. It’s a mom thing. The ring is everything that A&M stands for: hard work, community, tradition, achievement and integrity. It will forever be a reminder of the values that are important here at A&M.” The Official Senior Ring Commit-
tee established the qualifications to earn the Aggie Ring in 1933. Students must complete 90 credit hours with 45 resident hours at the University, while maintaining a 2.0 GPR in order to be eligible for an Aggie Ring. Jake Ross, senior visualization studies major, was studying in Germany the semester he became eligible for his ring and decided to wait until September for the entire Ring Day experience instead of picking it up at another time. “I’ve waited my whole life for that ring and the thought of finally getting it put me on a high,” Ross said. Students are allowed to bring family and friends with them into the room where the rings are presented to recipients. Parents often present the ring to the Aggie and then place it on their finger. “In the ‘70s, there was no official Ring Day with the celebrations,” said Jordan Mechell, class of 2008 and an Aggie Ring Program senior associate. “Students just picked them up from a booth in the MSC.” The celebration gradually evolved into what it is today, with performances from on campus dance troupes such as the Aggie Wranglers, Fade To Black and the Texas Aggie Swing Cats. Attendants also receive See Rings on page 5
The Battalion Red, white and blue decorated America Thursday in honor of Veteran’s Day. Aggies joined in showing their support for veterans by enstating Class Councils 11/11 Day. As part of the celebration of veterans, a table has been set up all week at Koldus for people to come by and write cards and letters of appreciation and encouragement for Aggie veterans and Aggies serving overseas. Diana Foster, Class Councils public relations director and senior communication major, said this tradition means a lot to her because it shows the soldiers that though they are far away from their own families, they are a present thought within the Aggie family. “11/11 Day is one of my favorite traditions Class Councils participates in because it has a much broader impact than our campus. This tradition extends Aggie appreciation to soldiers overseas,” Foster said. On the Nov. 11, Class Councils filled the Quad with tables,
banners, balloons and displays for the actual 11/11 event, which included free food, giveaways and handouts. There were also informational displays set up featuring some of the Aggie student veterans. They included information on their time of service and their transition to being a student veteran. Class Councils New Traditions Director Pristine Remolona, junior economics major, said the struggles the 600 student veterans have in making that transition is something they definitely wanted to emphasize in this year’s event. “I think in general a lot of people don’t realize how difficult it is for student veterans to make that transition to civilian life in college after being in the military,” Remolona said. “I think it’s really important to make students aware of their situation and create a more united campus with their knowledge of that need.” Not only are they student veterans, but they are student Aggie veterans, she said. This is the third year Class See Veterans on page 2
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A member of the Vermont National Guard Funeral Honors Team performs the flag presentation during the dedication ceremony for the Vermont Global War on Terror.
11/11/10 8:30 PM