Packing Kyle Field Monday’s student ticket pull was the largest in Texas A&M’s history. The 13,678 tickets pulled beat the record from the week of the 2007 Texas game by 68. The total to-date is 20,111 student tickets pulled. The record for students at a college football game is 28,100.
Greek Life suspension ends Thursday The suspension of new member activities and social events for 56 chapters of Greek Life at Texas A&M will end Thursday, after a week of no social events. The restrictions on the presence and use of alcohol will continue until Nov. 24, according to Greek Life’s website. The moratorium was not the result of an isolated event, officials said, but rather problems that have existed for up to the past five years and have increased in volume this year. The numbers are much higher this year and there were five credible reports of hazing, said Nick Zuniga, assistant director of Greek Life at A&M. “In past years our students have followed the rules,” Zuniga said. “This year we have seen a change in the attitude of our students.” There is a town hall meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday in Rudder Theatre for Greeks to discuss the moratorium and grow from the experience, Zuniga said. “This was for the safety and security of the Greek students,” he said. Many students were upset with the wide-reaching aspect of the moratorium, saying all should not be punished because of the actions of a few. In an article published in The Odyssey, a newspaper produced by Greek students, Ilissa Nolan of Zeta Tau Alpha said not all students are punished when one breaks the Aggie Honor Code, and that the moratorium will not change things. “What does the Greek Life office expect to happen?” Nolan, a senior agricultural leadership and development major, wrote. “Pledgeships will continue, alcohol use will continue and chapter rituals will continue.” Multiple students have been hospitalized for overuse of alcohol. “Rituals are secret and sacred, and are none of the Office of Greek Life or Texas A&M’s business,” Zuniga said. National policy for the rituals is that no alcohol is involved, because most students joining a chapter are underage, Zuniga said. There is no expected widespread punishment, but rather each incident will be addressed separately, an A&M official said. Matt Woolbright, editor-in-chief
Textbook rentals available during registration In efforts to help purchasing books easier and cheaper the Chancellor’s Student Advisory Board has been fighting and researching the concerns of high textbook prices. The group has been looking for a way to help address this problem and open up options for students. Jacob Robinson announced the board decided to use a program that allows students to rent textbooks for less than 50 percent of the cost of buying books. The program begins when registration begins on Thursday. “The new program is simple to use,” Robinson said in his campuswide e-mail. “After you register for classes, just connect to another link that allows you to purchase and reserve your copy of the correct book or have it shipped to you all in one step. This is the first semester for the new program, and I could not be more excited about how it will help you - the student body. I highly encourage you to rent or purchase your textbooks online for next semester.” Luz Moreno-Lozano, staff writer
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thebattalion ● wednesday,
november 17, 2010
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2010 student media
run, aggies,
n u r
Student runs New York Marathon, Aggie encourages him to finish race
Haley Lawson| The Battalion
T
he Aggie family can be found all over the U.S., including the New York Marathon, where these common bonds drove Alex Coleman, senior environmental design major and member of the Corps of Cadets, to finish the most physically demanding challenge of his life. Coleman ran the New York Marathon Nov. 7 with his dad, Malcolm Coleman, class of 1980. While at the marathon, Alex ran into a fellow Aggie from the class of 1999 who invited him to run with him. See Marathon on page 2
Graphic by George Montalvo — THE BATTALION
MADD victims speak to Aggies Joanna Raines The Battalion Kathy Bell-Shexnaider said she doesn’t want anyone to live the life she’s lived. The women who shared haunting stories at the MADD victim panel in October described the devastation of losing a loved one to a preventable epidemic. Drinking and driving has shattered the hearts of these women, but they are taking a stand to save moms around the world from experiencing the pain they fight on a daily basis. MADD stands for Mothers Against Drunk Driving. It is a nonprofit organization that seeks to stop drunk driving, underage drinking and support the victims of drunk drivers. Wanda McGill is a speaker with advocacy training, which she uses to help other hurting mothers. A drunk driver killed her only son, Matthew, 18. He was a mile and a half from home. In the emergency room, the man who victimized Matthew, Gregorio Lozano, left the hospital even though he was under arrest. He has been in hiding ever since the accident, and there is a $2,000 reward for bringing him in to custody. It has been eight years since the accident, and still Lozano walks free. “He won’t stand up and take responsibility for what he did,” McGill said. “It’s like an open wound for me that is continuously having salt pored into it.” Bell-Shexnaider has been involved with MADD for 20 years and is currently the senior victim advocate for MADD in Beaumont, Texas. Her husband was killed when a drunk driver hit him while he was doing yard work. Bell-Shexnaider saw her husband’s body wrapped around a tree, and listened to the only sound he could make, a “death gurgle.” Her oldest son was also there to witness the events. BellShexnaider asked the driver if he had
learned anything. “He said he didn’t know what the big deal was. And that I needed to get a life,” Bell-Shexnaider said. The driver bought a new truck the next week. Kathy Hernandez is a speaker for MADD. She lost her daughter Casey, because she chose to drive drunk. Casey’s friends attended the seminar to remember her, and support Kathy. Casey’s decision to drive drunk paralyzed a man in the other vehicle involved from the waist down. “In order to live without Casey, I had to find an opportunity to give,” Hernandez said. It was almost unbearable to live without her daughter, she said. “My heart felt nothing after that. My heart just broke. It had to be God holding my hand.” Day-to-day life for these women is a struggle. “When people say how many kids do you have? Something that seems so insignificant, do you have three kids or do you have four?” McGill said. It is hard for students to imagine the heartbreak that comes with losing a child, the women said. “As a mom, there’s nothing worse than feeling helpless when it comes to your child,” Hernandez said. These women made it clear their lives will never be the same. Being a part of MADD brings back the pain of the loss, but it is a cause they see as worthwhile. “It’s not easy to stand up here and do this … [but] it’s worth it if I can open their eyes,” McGill said. Hernandez spends much of her presentations begging the students in the audience to refrain from drinking and driving. “I don’t want to see your mom standing next to me, telling your story,”
No. 8 A&M 87, UALR 41
Daniel Crump — THE BATTALION
Driving to an opening victory Behind a stellar effort from forward Danielle Adams, the No. 8 Aggies cruised to victory in its season-opening game at Reed Arena.
Making the pass Junior forward Skylar Collins played an intricate role in A&M’s victory over Arkansas Little-Rock.
sports | 7
Paul Mezier — THE BATTALION
See MAAD on page 4
11/16/10 10:38 PM