The Battalion - April 4, 2019

THURSDAY, APRIL 4 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2019 STUDENT MEDIA

Former assistant basketball coach to become Aggie head coach after success with Hokies

By Brian Bass @brianbass4 After nearly three weeks of anticipation, Texas A&M will name Virginia Tech’s Buzz Williams as the new men’s basketball coach this afternoon.

According to CBS Sports, A&M basketball players have been notified that Williams will be the next head coach at A&M. “As we began our search, it quickly reaffirmed to us what we all know — the A&M brand is powerful, as the depth and breadth of the candidate pool was incredible,” A&M athletic director Scott Woodward said in a statement. “We kept our focus on finding an elite basketball coach, a developer of talent, a tremendous recruiter, a tireless worker and someone who fits Texas A&M.” The Van Alstyne, Texas, native had previous ties to A&M through his role as an assistant coach under Billy Gillispie from 2004 to 2006 before taking the head coaching position at New Orleans.

Woodward said Williams is the perfect fit to help guide the Aggies to the top of college basketball prominence.

“I have no doubt that Buzz will take our basketball program further than ever before and will make Aggies everywhere proud,” Woodward said. “It is an exciting day as we welcome Buzz and his family back to Aggieland.”

Williams coached the Hokies to each of the last three NCAA Tournaments, including a trip to the Sweet Sixteen and a 26-9 overall record this past season. In his five seasons with the program, he led Virginia Tech from an 11-22 season to four straight 20win campaigns.

COACH ON PG. 2

BUZZ IS BACK

Left: Courtesy of Ahmed Mustafa — COLLEGIATE TIMES Right: Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION

Buzz Williams will become the Aggie basketball team’s 23rd head coach in program history. Williams and his family arrived at Easterwood Airport in College Station on Wednesday afternoon and were greeted by representatives from Texas A&M athletics.

PROVIDED

The 2019 Chilifest Music Festival is this weekend in Snook. Chilifest celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2016.

PROVIDED

Part of the proceeds from Run the Ramps will go toward the April 27 Kyle Field Day.

Aggies set to ‘Run the Ramps’ MSC FISH to hold fourth annual fun run fundraiser in Kyle Field on Friday

By Meagan Sheffield @mshef350 Hundreds of students and community members will gather in Kyle Field to participate in an athletic event that’s not football.

MSC Freshmen in Service and Hosting will hold the fourth annual Run the Ramps on Friday, and races will begin in five-minute increments starting at 7:30 p.m. A 5k, 3.5k, and a 1.5k fun run will give participants a chance to run up and down the ramps and finish on Kyle Field.

Check-in will start at 7 p.m. on the southeast end of Kyle Field, and free parking will be offered in Lot 62. Registered participants can pick up their packets anytime from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Grub Burger Bar. Communication freshman Hannah Hastings is on the MSC FISH marketing development committee. Hastings said that after the race, there will be music and Grub will cater

food for the runners.

“It can be competitive, or it can be super casual,” Hastings said. “If people just want to walk it, that’s great.”

Hastings said participants can register on the day of, but she recommends that they register as soon as possible.

Registration is $25 to $35 per participant, depending on their preferred distance, and includes a T-shirt, race bib, medal and opportunity to win door prizes. Runners will also have access to their timing results and race day photos. More information and a registration link is available at fish.tamu.edu/ run-the-ramps.

Hastings said the money raised from the races will go toward next February’s MSC Waves leadership conference and the upcoming Kyle Field Day on April 27 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Kyle Field Day is another MSC FISH event that hosts around 50 local organizations in service booths that give students an opportunity to participate in small-scale service projects.

Last year, Run the Ramps had 500 RAMP RUN ON PG. 3

Celebrating safely Sober ride options, rule adjustments aim to help Chilifest run smoothly

By Giselle Warren @GiselleWarren16 For months, Texas A&M students have been preparing for this weekend’s Chilifest. As the event approaches, organizers and police have recommendations and resources that students can keep in mind to stay safe while having fun.

Chilifest is providing transportation between Post Oak Mall and Snook for the music festival. Additionally, cabs and the ride program Carpool, will be available at the mall at the end of the day to take Chilifest guests back home safely.

To ensure participant safety, Chilifest is also hosting third-party vendors to make sure no one under 21 is consuming alcohol. The Chilifest organizers also revoked the bring your own beer policy this year, so the official vendors are the only ones allowed to distribute alcohol.

According to newly elected Interfraternity Council President Jack Moody, fraternities participating in Chilifest make it their priority to keep people safe.

“We have to make sure as a chapter that we are following our own risk management

policies as well as the A&M student rules,” Moody said. “I think some of the ways chapters mitigate risks ... is making sure they are aligning with the university policy for alcohol consumption and alcohol distribution.

Something else all fraternities are required to do is have free non-alcoholic beverages, as well as have free non-salty foods available for guests.”

While it is essential to take advantage of all of the resources available, guests should also remain vigilant and aware of their surroundings. General studies freshman Ally McInnis is not using the free shuttle buses that Chilifest is offering, but she has arranged a safe mode of transportation.

“I’m only going on Saturday, but I am splitting my ticket with a friend, and she’s going on Friday, so I am her transportation there and back on Friday, and on Saturday she’s my transportation,” McInnis said.

“Also, traffic is going to be bad that day, so the day I do end up going, I am not going to stay the whole time so I can leave early before everyone is on the roads.”

According to Lt. Craig Anderson, public information officer for the College Station Police Department, Chilifest’s additional rules and regulations has increased the overall safety of the event in the past couple of years CHILIFEST ON PG. 4

A spectrum of voices in Rudder TEDxTAMU invites speakers to share personal perspectives at weekend event

By Camryn Lang @CamrynLang This weekend, Aggies can get a glimpse into the diverse backgrounds of College Station through stories from unique members of the university and community.

On Sunday, the TEDxTAMU event titled “Gradient: Different Backgrounds Blending Together to Create Something Beautiful” will host 16 speakers in Rudder Forum beginning at 9 a.m.

Sponsored by the Aggie Leaders of Tomorrow, the conference includes four sessions that each

include four different speakers from the Texas A&M or College Station community that were nominated and selected for their unique perspective. Tickets cost $10 and can be purchased online through the MSC Box Office.

There will also be a performance in each session

by A&M entertainers. The performers include Apotheosis, Aggie Wranglers, Salsa Fusion Latin Dance Company and Fade To Black. A gallery near the reception area will showcase the top 12 winners of the TEDxTAMU art contest, in which the artists created what they believed represented the word gradient.

Engineering freshman and member of the Aggie Leaders of Tomorrow Kayla Lotz was on the committee that selected the title of the TEDX ON PG. 4

FILE

Dustin Kemp, Class of 2007, spoke at TEDxTAMU in 2018. Sixteen speakers will be featured at the event this year.

SPORTS

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The Battalion | 4.4.19

Meredith Seaver — THE BATTALION

Junior offensive lineman Carson Green has started in 16 games.

Shoring up the Aggie trenches Green says A&M offensive line is adjusting well to coaching changes, new strategies

By Brian Bass @brianbass4

Photos by Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION

Texas A&M athletic director Scott Woodward has hired four head coaches including two at major programs for Aggie athletics.

Offensive lineman Carson Green has seen both a new head coach and a change in position over the past two seasons, but that hasn’t stopped the junior from being positive during spring practices.

“It’s going good, going really good,” Green said on Wednesday. “It’s a grind right now, but I’m having a good time. I think everyone is having a good energy to it. They want to work every day, get better, and you know we all go out there saying that it’s going to be a great day.”

Green has been an integral part of the offensive line in his first two seasons in Aggieland, starting 16 of the 25 games he has played in.

In year two of the Jimbo Fisher era, Green said there hasn’t been much change after the switch to a pro-style offense last spring.

“We have a lot of the same guys on offense coming back,” Green said. “Some of the young guys, they’re having to learn pretty quick, like Baylor [Cupp]. He’s doing a great job of it, same with Glenn Beal. The tight ends are doing a really good job.”

Following the exit of former offensive line coach Jim Turner to the Cincinnati Bengals in early February, Fisher hired Oklahoma State offensive line coach Josh Henson to the same position.

Despite Turner’s departure, Green said assistant offensive line coach Lee Grimes has eased the transition for Henson and the line.

According to Green, Henson is emphasizing the importance of having a solid technique as well as playing psychological games with the defensive line, which will help this coming fall. “[Henson] made a big emphasis that he didn’t want to change the entire offense,” Green said. “There’s like 20 of us and one of him, so he’s kind of readjusted learning all of our stuff.”

Leadership changes on the offensive front have also led to significant adjustments after the departure of Eric McCoy and Keaton Sutherland to the NFL draft this year.

Green said Colton Prater, Ryan McCollum, Dan Moore and himself were the most experienced on the line, and the younger player will have to step up this season.

“I think we’re going to be a really good offensive line,” Green said. “Like last year, everyone was kind of saying the same thing, that we have a lot of young guys, and sure, we’re losing two veterans. They had a lot of game experience and helped us on the offensive line as leaders, but now it’s just our turn for us to step it up.”

The Aggies will host the annual Maroon and White spring game at Kyle Field on April 13. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m., and the game will be televised on SEC Network.

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Sports editor Angel Franco says Williams’ return proves Aggies’ desire to find success Angel Franco

T

@angelmadison_

exas A&M athletic director Scott Woodward has done it again.

On Wednesday, A&M finally did what everyone across college hoops expected would happen weeks ago.

At 9:22 a.m. the A&M athletic department announced that Buzz Williams would be returning to Aggieland as the Aggies’ new head basketball coach. Williams served as an assistant coach under Billy Gillispie from 2004 to 2006.

What makes Williams’ hiring incredible is that Woodward has been able to go out and get another coach who had consistent success in other programs.

In his five years at Virginia Tech, Williams turned the program around, taking them to back-to-back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances. Just a few days ago, Virginia Tech and Williams suffered a loss in the Sweet 16 to No. 1-seed Duke after the Hokies’ last-second shot to tie the game missed the mark, ending their season in a heartbreaking fashion.

A year and a half ago, thousands

COACH CONTINUED Before his tenure in Blacksburg, Williams held the same position at Marquette, guiding the program to a 139-69 record.

In five of the six seasons that he coached in Milwaukee, the Golden Eagles went to the NCAA Tournament, including an Elite Eight appearance and two Sweet Sixteen appearances.

AGGIELAND 2018

Senior Boot Bag

Woodward makes yet another blockbuster hire of people across the College Football world were ‘shook’ by the fact that Woodward was able to land Jimbo Fisher as the Aggies’ new football coach.

Many were astounded by the contract Fisher was given, which was fully guaranteed.

According to Jon Rothstein, CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated college basketball insider, Williams is set to sign a multi-year deal that is valued at $3.5 million a year.

Once the contract is signed, Williams will be the fourth head coach Woodward has hired in the last two years. In each of those cases, Woodward has gone after one person and one person only.

Rothstein also said A&M athletics had no secondary candidates when looking for a new head basketball coach.

Looking at it from afar, it could be considered reckless to go all in on one person. But that’s the way Woodward does business. He is a fearless and calculating man who only goes after the best coaches available — and does it in full force.

When the women’s golf team needed a new head coach, he went and got one of the most successful coaches in the game and did so without a hitch.

He did the same with volleyball.

Woodward has said time and time again that A&M will have the best of the best to compete with the best of the best in the SEC. However, winning games isn’t enough — at least not for Woodward and an A&M fanbase hungry for success in the SEC. “We kept our focus on finding an elite basketball coach, a developer of talent, a tremendous recruiter, a tireless worker and someone who fits Texas A&M,” Woodward said in a statement. “Buzz Williams is all that and more.”

While Williams’ hiring wasn’t as secretive or filled with Christmastree-in-the-front-yard stalking as Fisher’s was in December of 2017, it still has the same effect. It creates a ripple in the SEC — causing others to notice and begin to take A&M a lot more seriously.

Yes, we are just hours into the ‘Buzz is back’ era, but based on Woodward’s track record of making blockbuster hires, this hire should change A&M basketball for the better.

At A&M, Williams is expected to sign a multi-year contract worth more than $3 million a year, according to CBS Sports.

“I am so humbled and honored to return home to Texas A&M, and proud to lead the Aggies,” Williams said in a statement to the athletic department. “I’d like to thank Chancellor Sharp, President Young and Scott Woodward for this incredible opportunity. This is our home, and we are ready to join with the 12th

Man to win championships, graduate our players and represent this world-class university with integrity.”

In his 12-year career as a head coach, Williams has posted a 253-155 overall record.

Williams will be officially introduced Thursday afternoon at Reed Arena. The event — which is open to the public — is scheduled to start at 4 p.m.

here

Texas A&M University Vol. 116

2018AGGIELAND It’s not too late to order your copy of the 2018 Aggieland, a photojournalistic record of the 2017-2018 school year. The 116th edition of Texas A&M’s official yearbook.

Angel Franco is a telecommunication senior and sports editor for The Battalion.

Megan Rodriguez, Editor-in-Chief Luke Henkhaus, Managing Editor Jordan Burnham, News Editor Sanna Bhai, Asst. News Editor Henry Mureithi, Asst. News Editor Kathryn Whitlock, Life & Arts Editor Hannah Falcon, Life & Arts Editor Samantha Mahler, Life & Arts Editor Jane Turchi, Special Sections Editor

Angel Franco, Sports Editor Abigail Ochoa, Sports Editor Cassie Stricker, Photo Chief Meredith Seaver, Asst. Photo Chief Daoud Qamar, Video Editor Kevin Christman, Video Editor Brady Stone, Page Designer Sydney Clark, Page Designer

THE BATTALION is published Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays during the 2019 spring semester (except University holidays and exam periods) at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Offices are in Suite L400 of the Memorial Student Center.

Go Online to aggieland.tamu.edu or call 979-845-2613 to make your purchase.

News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in Student Media, a unit of the Division of Student Affairs. Newsroom phone: 979-845-3315; E-mail: editor@thebatt.com; website: http://www.thebatt.com.

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Come by office L400 of the MSC and skip the mail fee charge.

Subscriptions: A part of the University Advancement Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pick up a single copy of The Battalion. First copy free, additional copies $1.

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The Battalion | 4.4.19

PROVIDED

The fourth annual Run the Ramps is on Friday and check-in begins at 7 p.m.

RAMP RUN CONTINUED participants and raised $4,000. Hastings said her goal for this year’s Run the Ramps is to have 700 participants.

“It’s a great opportunity to experience Kyle Field in a new way,” Hastings said. “I encourage anyone on campus, off campus or anyone in the community who is also passionate about leadership and about our community to participate in this event.”

Management junior and MSC FISH executive director Kara Bramhall oversees the sophomore assistant directors and the freshmen in the development committee. Bramhall said planning for each year’s Run the Ramps starts a year in advance once the new officers are selected.

“I am very passionate about the work that FISH does, its mission and how it changes the lives of our freshmen and impacts the lives in our community through the programs we put on,” Bramhall said.

Mechanical engineering senior Chris Walker was the MSC FISH executive director of development last year and was a freshman when Run the Ramps began. Walker said the first races were early in the morning during the weekend, and the event was shifted later this year to create a “Friday Night Lights” theme. Last year, Run the Ramps started a partnership with the Atlas Racing Series to provide timing results.

“Kyle Field is a really unique Aggie landmark,” Walker said. “You get to see the stadium in a way you normally wouldn’t see it. I think it’s a good thing for people to challenge themselves.”

Creative Commons

Woody Harrelson and Kevin Costner star as Texas Rangers hunting down Bonnie and Clyde in Netflix’s “The Highwaymen.”

‘The Highwaymen’ is tedious Latest Bonnie and Clyde story exploits conservatism Cole Fowler @thecolefowler

I

n 1967, Arthur Penn’s film “Bonnie and Clyde” captured the American obsession with the infamous lovers on the run and cemented the cultural narrative of their legacy.

Bonnie and Clyde’s youthful freedom depicted on the big screen resonated with Americans across the country and has placed Penn’s film among the classics of the era. However, John Lee Hancock’s latest film, “The Highwaymen,” attempts to provide a counternarrative to the Bonnie

and Clyde story by choosing to depict the duo of Texas Rangers, Frank Hamer and Maney Gault, that tracked and killed the criminal couple.

Despite Hancock’s creative decision to depict the “lawful” side of the Bonnie and Clyde story, his film succeeds only in raising more questions about the ambiguity of law enforcement, rather than the struggle between good and evil. Hancock has no issue proposing counterpoints to the media’s obsession with criminals, but his overt attempt to undermine this cultural phenomenon proves his inability to assess the story objectively. Each beat of the film panders directly to the blind conservative support of law enforcement officers.

The film picks up the Bonnie and Clyde story toward the end of their infamous run from law enforcement.

Hamer and Gault — played by Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson — are recruited by Texas Governor “Ma” Ferguson (Kathy Bates) to hunt down and kill the criminal duo. Hancock quickly passes directly over the apparent issues of state-sanctioned murder, and while he reminds the audience in a few more scenes throughout the film that Hamer and Gault are essentially hired killers, he never dissects this obvious moral contradiction.

Hancock’s film presents many issues in his determination to pander to his obvious audience, but he will no doubt lose that very audience with his lack of filmmaking ability.

The narrative struggles to keep its audience engaged throughout the runtime, and beyond the exposition of the story and the introduction of the characters, the story is tedious and overlong. Each scene is injected with groan-inducing dialogue and forced, unnecessary conflict that adds excessive length to an already dull film.

The movie is not short of acting talent by any means. However, Bates is entirely underutilized and is severely limited by her lack of screen time.

Still, the most surprising aspect of this film is the lack of screen chemistry between Costner and Harrelson. Both are fantastic actors in their own right, but they fail to provide the audience with a believable friendship on screen together.

“The Highwaymen” is yet another example of a project that Netflix resurrected and pumped an unnecessary amount of money into. Hancock’s past work and his apparent conservative pandering is on full display throughout the runtime, and with the outrageous $50 million budget that Netflix provided him, it’s no surprise that this is another failed project.

Hancock had the opportunity to offer a sharp critique of the American obsession with criminals, but he merely depicted the opposite end of the spectrum. In the current polarization of cultural and political opinions, this film’s existence is no surprise.

Cole Fowler is an English junior and columnist for The Battalion.

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The Battalion | 4.4.19

Olivia Treadwell — THE BATTALION

The Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History exhibit “Rocks: Earth’s Magestic Building Blocks” is open until July 27.

‘Interesting, different, beautiful’ Exhibit looks to showcase earth’s rocks and minerals

By Hollis Mills @sillohsllim

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In celebration of Grand Canyon National Park’s 100th anniversary, the jagged history of rock and mineral formation is uncovered in the latest exhibit at the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History.

“Rocks: Earth’s Majestic Building Blocks” is an exclusive in-house showcase displaying rarely-seen rock and mineral specimens from the museum’s collection, alongside additional samples borrowed from the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Texas A&M Department of Geology and Geophysics. With an array of vibrant crystals, stones and sediments, BVMNH encourages interaction with rocks beyond cobblestone walkways and concrete walls.

Deborah Cowman, executive director at BVMNH, said she is extremely proud to be showcasing “Rocks” because it focuses on basic geologic principles and highlights them with eye-catching specimens.

“One of the things that I’ve always thought is that rocks are so accessible,” Cowman said. “A rock can’t run away from you. They’re interesting, they’re different and they’re beautiful. It’s a whole world of curiosity, and I think the average person is drawn toward rock for some of its basic beauty.”

The exhibit is organized according to each stone’s classification and physical properties, from the hardened magma of igneous to the eroded clumps of sedimentary and the highly pressurized metamorphic. With over 5,000 documented minerals on the planet, Cowman said the museum has taken a boulder-sized task and weathered it into pebbles.

“I’m just drawn to the intricacy, the variety, the beauty and the utilitarian aspects,” Cowman said. “It’s just so much, and that was one of the challenges of this exhibit because it’s such a big topic. Our whole goal is to break these things into bite-size pieces so that everybody can enjoy them. As a natural history museum, that’s part of our mission — to make the natural world more accessible to everyone.”

“Rocks” displays obsidian arrowheads alongside banners illustrating the long history of stoneworking. Some of the methods featured date back as early as the 13th century when Ancestral Puebloans carved dwellings out of the face of a sandstone cliff, which are still standing today at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.

Stone carving is still common practice today, which is why among the geodes and quartz specimens the exhibit displays the meticulous work of local memorial artist Tony Watson, owner of Watson Signs & Monuments.

“I always laugh whenever I read ‘handcrafted,’ because now the new thing is to go back to the old-school way of doing things, but that’s all we

TEDX CONTINUED conference. She said the event is a chance for students to delve into other’s worlds and learn from their experiences.

“Different life stories can impact the way you live your life, your beliefs and how you see the world,” Lotz said. “For students at such a formative point in our growth and exploration of the world, gradient is a theme that can help us have a broader perspective of the world and even our fellow peers at Texas A&M.” Conference director and chemical engineering sophomore Andrew Hebert said the intimacy the audience experiences during the event is what makes TEDxTAMU so impactful for students.

“Coming to TED is something that would really supplement the students’ education here,” Hebert said. “Most of the time we don’t get to witness people expressing their ideas in front of us — especially in a forum where you’re five feet away from the

CHILIFEST CONTINUED and made the experience all the more enjoyable for everyone involved.

“The security agency that they’re using with the volunteers has really helped to keep it manageable and enjoyable for everybody

ever do,” Watson said. “You can’t make machines that produce stonework the way it used to be produced.

Stone will always be the stone, and the stone will always work the same way, but you’re not going to get the same thing out of it.”

Watson, who recently concluded his work on A&M’s Spirit Plaza between the YMCA and Coke buildings, said the museum’s exhibit will usher in a new perspective that he is happy to contribute to.

“What we want people to realize is that stone is so multifaceted,” Watson said. “It’s not just flooring and countertops. It’s not just boulders, and it’s not just monuments in a cemetery. It’s artwork. Stone will educate and ease pain, and it solves all kinds of problems.”

According to visiting professor of petrology Joseph Balta, rocks have always played an instrumental role in humankind’s existence, and the latest BVMNH exhibit helps capture it.

“Geoscience really is fundamental to decisions that almost everyone makes on a daily, weekly or monthly basis,” Balta said. “There’s a number of people who have written articles saying ‘We think that every student out there should have a chance to take a geology class,’ because it’s not just that you’re interacting with it so suddenly on a daily basis; sometimes you’re even interacting with it in a huge way whether you realize it or not.”

“Rocks: Earth’s Majestic Building Blocks” is on display through July 27.

speaker. You really get touched by that.”

Finance freshman Morgan Bush plans to attend one of the sessions and said the event allows participants to understand a point of view that they may not have previously considered.

“I chose to attend TEDx because I think it’s really interesting to hear people whose perspectives may differ from your own,” Bush said. “[The speakers] challenge you [to] think about the different situations people grew up in and how that’s affected who they are today.”

According to Hebert, the event is intended to represent the diverse values that A&M has and inspire students to share their perspectives.

“People going in, watching these talks, understanding these values and ideas, and going out and spreading their own is the most valuable thing,” Herbert said.

For more information on the TEDxTAMU conference, visit tedxtamu.com.

in attendance,” Anderson said. “On our end, we haven’t had as many DWI’s as we have had in the past, so by them making the event safer and establishing good rules and regulations, it has really helped us out on the back end as far as not having as many DWI offenses.”

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@THEBATTONLINE