thebattalion ● monday,
april 20, 2009
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2009 student media
Protest
for protection Students wear empty holsters to demonstrate support for Texas bill Rebekah Skelton The Battalion
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n a national weeklong protest against state laws and school policies that keep students from carrying handguns on campus, students will wear empty holsters to demonstrate their desire to carry handguns on campus. The demonstration is part of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus’s third national Empty Holster Protest. On April 8, the Texas House of Representatives was presented with House Bill 1893, which passed through the House committee with a 77-vote majority. HB 1893 calls for concealed handgun license holders to be able to “carry a concealed handgun on or about the license holder’s person while the license holder is on the campus of an institution of higher education or private or independent institution of higher education in this state.” The bill is waiting to be voted on by the House. To receive a CHL, people 21 and older must take a 10-hour class,
which teaches when people can and cannot defend themselves. There are written and shooting tests that must be taken upon completion of the class. CHL holders must also pass state and federal background checks. The background checks do not allow for any felonies or domestic violence. To receive a CHL, the only offenses that can be present on the applicant’s recors is traffic tickets for the past five years.
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We are mindful that Texas A&M is, and has long been, an exceptionally safe place for students, faculty, staff and visitors; thanks in no small part to a well-trained and professional campus police department and to the caliber of the people who populate our campus.” — Elsa Murano Texas A&M University President
Roughly 314,000 Texans have CHLs, and statistics show license holders have a 5 percent lower crime rate than the average population. See Gun Control on page 8
Photo Illustration by Nicholas Badger — THE BATTALION
TS plans facelift for pothole-plagued Lot 30 Lot 30, the parking area around the Northside residence halls, will be closed in mid-May for a 90 day, $300,000 renovation project.
■ Northside lot to close for summer renovation Joaquin Villegas
Natasha Sankovich— THE BATTALION
KULA links A&M to plight of North Korea Event info For more on the Korean Undergraduate Leaders of A&M and LiNK, e-mail kula@kula. tamu.edu.
Jane Lee The Battalion April is Asian Heritage Month, and the Korean Undergraduate Leaders of A&M are spreading awareness of its culture and information about the philanthropy to the Texas A&M community. Angela Kim, founder of the organization, said she started KULA in 2008, when she realized how underrepresented Korean Americans were at A&M. “I saw how large the undergraduate Korean American population was, and thought it was time that we needed an organization to ourselves,” Kim said. Heeseon Choe, a junior biology major, presents a cultural lesson at every meeting. “Many Korean Americans feel detached from their homeland, so KULA makes sure that we bring awareness and acceptance to our unique customs and culture,” Choe said. Cultural lessons include the appropriate methods to wearing the traditional clothing, special days of the year and continuing the opinions of North Korea and
The Battalion With its dips, bumps and holes, the Northside Residence Hall parking area had gained a reputation as one of the most
Meet the parents Parents’ Weekend events included Ring Day, the Maroon and White Game, concerts and the Bevo Burn Barbecue.
scene | 3 Above: Greg Rensvold, a senior agricultural systems major, stands with his parents outside Friday at the Clayton W. Williams Jr. Alumni Center after receiving his Aggie Ring. Below: the Singing Cadets perform Saturday at their year end concert in Rudder Auditorium.
See KULA on page 10
decrepit lots on campus. Now, Lot 30 is getting a makeover. “Transportation Services did a complete condition assessment of all the parking lot facilities, and we felt like Lot 30 is not representative of a high quality university such as Texas A&M,” said Rodney Weis, executive director of Transportation Services. See Lot 30 on page 10
A&M wins international grant on African affairs ■ University receives funds to research regional issues with University of Namibia Joaquin Villegas The Battalion Texas A&M received an international accolade on April 14, earning a grant that pairs the University with the University of Namibia to address regional and national issues in the Sub-Saharan region. A&M was one of the winners of the Africa-U.S. Higher Education Initiative Planning Grant Competition, an event supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Higher Education for Development, HED. The applications were reviewed by panels of independent peers that based its decision on qualifications by the HED. The reviewers were chosen to represent a variety of regional expertise and were staff members of American institutions of higher learning. The competition pairs universities and colleges in the U.S. with institutions of higher education in Africa to create deSee Africa on page 8
Photos by Natasha Sankovich — THE BATTALION
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