thebattalion l thursday,
february 27, 2014
l serving
texas a&m since 1893
l first paper free – additional copies $1 l © 2014 student media
texas
Judge rules gay marriage ban unconstitutional Lindsey Gawlik
The Battalion he Texas ban on marriage for same-sex couples was declared unconstitutional at the national level Wednesday by a federal judge but remains in effect pending a ruling by an appeals court. In a 48-page opinion, Judge Orlando L. Garcia of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in San Antonio wrote that the amendment made in 2005 to the Texas Constitution banning same-sex marriage, along with similar ones made in 2003 and 1997, degraded gay couples for no
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legally-founded reason. The opinion states that the ban violates the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause under the 14th Amendment and issued a preliminary injunction after two gay couples filed for marriage recognition. Garcia wrote that there is no legitimate governmental purpose in the state’s ban of same-sex marriages and that there is no room for inequality in this nation under the U.S. Constitution. Since this decision is pending ruling in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, Garcia’s ruling will have no
immediate repercussions until further rulings are made. Texas A&M law professor Mary Margaret Penrose said she prefers to see legislation at the state level on this issue and that part of what Garcia’s opinion did is define the constitutional right to marry in a way that will make it very difficult for Texas to legislate in this particular area. Penrose said Garcia ruled on three different issues. “One’s this fundamental right to marry that basically says ‘Texas, unless you can demonstrate a really important reason to
prohibit same-sex couples from marrying, then you are going to have to allow them that right because under the U.S. Constitution, individuals have a fundamental right to marry,’” Penrose said. The second issue, Penrose said, was that if we treat one group different than another group, we have to have an undeniably valid reason for doing that. In this case, the Texas court previously argued the only valid reason for marriage “is Artist’s name — THE BATTALION for child rearing” and “for procreation,” but See Marriage on page 4
THESE ARE MY
CONFESSIONS
Anonymous sites, apps offer veil for student secrets Victoria Rivas
The Battalion tories of nightlong partying escapades, declarations of love for classmates and tales of the bizarre ironies and hypocrisies of one’s personal life are subjects that many college students would never think to admit to their friends and classmates — until recently. A trend of anonymous confession pages on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and even through smartphones apps has sparked a change in the way people interact with one another behind social media. With the rise of this trend in confession pages, users are able to admit their secrets to an audience of thousands, even millions, of view-
S William Guerra — THE BATTALION
ers and still maintain their anonymity. These confession pages have entered the social media community at Texas A&M, sparking both the interest and criticism of students in the Aggie community. One such page is Texas A&M Crushes. With more than 2,000 followers on Facebook and almost 3,000 on Twitter, the page is rising in popularity among students across campus. Sunny Goklani, Class of 2013, is an administrator for the page. Goklani said he was not a founding member of the page, but just a follower on the Facebook page. He became an administrator for the page after messaging the page asking to join and work. See Confessions on page 4
campus
liberal arts
Aggies respond to letter from California student
Department of English to revise 3-track curriculum
Jennifer Reiley
The Battalion
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letter received from a fifth grader in California has sparked an Aggie movement. Signed “Preni,” the letter explains how Preni is writing a report about Texas and is requesting information about Texas A&M for her project. Cami Steele, social media and marketing intern for the student activities office, was given the letter by an office manager and asked if she wanted to do anything with it. She posted it online and it gained popularity from there. Some Aggies said they will send Preni posters, shirts and stuffed Reveilles. “We told everybody to send the stuff to our department in
Koldus and then we’re going to gather it and send it to her home address,” Steele said. Steele said her post went on the Facebook page at 3 p.m., and within two hours it had 15,840 views. She said the post has been shared on Twitter and also picked up by the Aggie Network page. “I think it shows how much the Aggie family cares,” Steele said. “This a fifth grade student. She’s not from here, she’s probably never visited here and it just shows how people want to show how cool A&M can be and how we embrace everybody.” Students interested in donating items can drop them off at the student activities office in Koldus by Monday.
Kadie McDougald The Battalion
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ecent changes made by the Department of English to the English major degree plan have created rumors around campus, concerning and confusing students. Nancy Warren, English department head, said the revision to the English major curriculum is the result of a two-year process involving multiple committees and faculty members. She said the areas of rhetoric, literature and creative writing, the tracks in which students previously had to choose to specialize, will now no longer be mandatory and will instead be considered concentrations. Warren said the new degree plan still will allow students to study the three areas, just without mandating students to choose one of the three as a track.
Tanner Garza — THE BATTALION
The English department, housed in the Liberal Arts and Humanities Building, will alter its degree plan and eliminate mandatory tracks. “The new degree plan has a required ‘approaches’ course that provides students with an introduction to the discipline and grounds them in the writing and analytical skills that
will help them succeed in the major,” Warren said. After the ‘approaches’ course, See English on page 3
w. basketball
Crowd to bid farewell to seniors Patrick Crank
The Battalion o. 17 Texas A&M women’s basketball team will play its final home game of the season at 7 p.m. Thursday against the Arkansas Razorbacks inside Reed Arena. The senior class will be honored as part of Senior Night. The game will mark the third time in three seasons the Aggies (217, 11-3 SEC) have played the Razorbacks. A&M holds the advantage 2-0, including a 61-59 win in the second round of the 2012 NCAA tournament. Arkansas (18-9, 5-9 SEC) enters College Station fresh off of a 57-53 upset of the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge. The Razorbacks came back from a 15-point deficit to pull off the road win.
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See Arkansas on page 2
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inside sports | 2 SEC Championships
The nationally ranked men’s and women’s track and field teams will host the SEC Championships beginning Thursday.
Let’s be Friends
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opinion | 2 Power surge
A&M’s powerful bats have been on display this year and are on pace to eclipse last year’s home run total.
voices | 3 ‘Jerry Maguire’ inspiration to speak
Heran Guan — THE BATTALION
Senior center Karla Gilbert will be among the seniors honored Thursday against Arkansas.
Leigh Steinberg, the inspiration for the film “Jerry Maguire,” will speak to students Friday on such topics as longterm career sustainability and success.
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2/26/14 9:40 PM