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“Our fans are better than the Aggie fans.” –Bo Pelini, Nebraska head coach
“We have to play and we have to get the Twelfth Man behind us. The advantage we need is the Twelfth Man.” –
november 19, 2010
No. 19 Texas A&M vs No. 8 Nebraska
Dat Nguyen, Texas A&M linebackers coach File photo
GUESTCOLUMN
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owdy Twelfth Man! First of all, let me thank you for all the support the Twelfth Man has given to the Aggies. Game after game, year after year, the Twelfth Man proves that they are the best fans in all of college football with their passion, commitment and loyalty to the Aggies. THANK YOU and well done! Saturday, the Aggies will face a huge challenge when the No. 8 Nebraska Cornhuskers come to College Station. We’ve played a bunch of good teams this year – Nebraska will be our fifth Top 25-ranked opponent in 2010 – but the Cornhuskers might be the best of them all! This game has all the trappings of an epic game, including our friends Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit from ABC/ESPN and a national TV audience. In 2006 Kirk Herbstreit declared our student section “the best student section in college football.” You all have an opportunity to revalidate this Mike statement Saturday night. Sherman Last week against OU, it looked like the Twelfth Man head football coach towel was back in the stands. When the towels are waving I know that it fires up our team on the field and is intimidating to the opponents. Bring your towels Saturday. That’s why I’m asking the Twelfth Man for a special effort, a FANATICAL EFFORT on Saturday. FANATICAL EFFORT is this year’s Aggie squad’s mantra. I demand fanatical effort from the players and my staff in all phases of the program from practice, to film sessions, to the field of play, and I know I can count on the Twelfth Man to take it to the next level! It will be Twelfth Man Day on Saturday at Kyle Field, and I’m told that we might have the largest crowd in the history of our stadium. The Twelfth Man has made a huge impact for us already this year – your energy and belief in your team helped us turn things around against FIU when we were trailing in the fourth quarter; the volume level at the Oklahoma game was the loudest I’ve ever heard at Kyle Field; and your support on the road last week made another team’s stadium into Kyle Field North. You are the Twelfth Man and I have no question you can and will play a major role in this game. We will be honoring our senior class before the game and it will be very emotional for me. These seniors were instrumental in the development of our team. They’ve been “in the boat” with us since the beginning, and they are some of the best Aggies in the world. I know this group of seniors, and our entire team, will leave it all on the field for the Twelfth Man on Saturday. It will be an honor to represent the Twelfth Man on Saturday. I hope to see you at Midnight Yell Friday. Thanks and GIG’EM!!
Harry Potter influences Texas A&M students Katie White The Battalion Kathy Kavanaugh unwrapped her first Harry Potter book on Christmas Day of the second grade. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” She had never heard of it before. Fast forward to last night, one minute after midnight. Kavanaugh has been in line since 9 p.m., because she wants decent seats to a movie she has been anticipating for months, years: the second-to-last installment of a series over a decade in the making. The lights dim and silence grips the audience. The anticipation is palpable as hundreds of souls all wait for a piece of their childhood to finally come to fruition in largerthan-life size. And then, the music, the oh-so-familiar song that millions of children have hummed in their
heads and screamed to in joy, starts playing and everyone still hopes that maybe one day they will receive a letter in the mail. Harry Potter sat in the cupboard beneath the stairs. He wore oversized clothes in an undersized room. Little did he know, a life full of adventure awaited him, and millions of children all over the world still wait to join him for the ride. J.K. Rowling first brought Harry to life in 1990 on the backside of a napkin in a coffee shop. In 1997, he sprung off the pages into the hearts and minds of children and adults alike all over the world, and they grew up alongside Harry throughout all of his adventures in the ultimate journey of good and evil. Josh Harms, a senior communiSee Potter on page 2
Graphic by Evan Andrews and Joshua McKenna — THE BATTALION
Student Senate upholds Robinson’s veto of immigration bill Katie White The Battalion The Student Senate upheld Student Body President Jacob Robinson’s veto of the Student Senate Bill 63-11 Wednesday night. Robinson said the bill did not pertain to the senate’s responsibilities. The student bill opposes Texas Senate Bill 1528, which allows students who are illegal immigrants to go through a process to be eligible for in-state tuition. The student bill did not have any effect on any local or state governmental bodies. The Student Government Association’s power involves representing the majority student body opinion about issues on campus. It is not a law-
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making entity. Robinson said this made SB 63-11 inappropriate for the Student Senate to pass. Justin Pulliam, college of agriculture and life sciences senator and an author of the bill, said the bill’s intention was to equalize students by asking that illegal immigrants not pay cheaper tuition than legal, out-of-state students. Robinson said 63-11 had nothing to do with the student body. The issues of residency and taxes belonged in the state legislature. Pulliam said the fact that the bill dealt with tuition made it pertinent to the student body. Clark Caperton, junior political science major and external affairs chairman in the student Senate, is not an author of the bill, however he is a
supporter of it. He said he disagrees with Robinson’s argument that the student Senate should not be discussing these matters. “Jacob got it wrong because he agreed to deal with a legislative agenda considering matters affecting students that would most likely be discussed in the [state] legislative session this spring.” Robinson said the measure should be left to the state legislature. He said the student Senate should be focusing on things such as budget cuts and faculty reduction because those things will have a larger impact on the student body. “This bill is not an issue for Student Senate. Take it to the right place, to the state legislature,” Robinson said. “Let’s leave politics out, it does
not give A&M a welcoming atmosphere.” Caperton said this bill has been the most publicized legislation all year for the Senate. Protestors attended the last two meetings to oppose the bill and speak out. Local, statewide and Fox News broadcasts have covered it as well. Caperton said the government has failed illegal immigrants who receive a higher education in the U.S. because they cannot use their degrees to work here after graduation. “Ultimately it comes down to that the state has failed them,” Caperton said. “It’s not a movement against these students, it’s against a movement that is unsustainable.”
11/18/10 8:57 PM