TURMOIL IN UKRAINE
Annabelle Hutchinson The Battalion
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s tensions in Ukraine have captured international attention over the last few months, A&M professors analyze and interpret the conflict and its implications. Protests in Ukraine began in November when the recently ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych rejected a trade deal with the European Union due to pressure from Russia. The conflict turned deadly when the Ukrainian government cracked down on protestors, resulting in up to 100 deaths. Since then, the Ukrainian president has fled the capital after his security forces refused to repel protestors and the Ukrainian Parliament removed him from power. Gabriela Thornton, senior lecturer at the Bush School, said the biggest mistake Yanukovych made was authorizing the use of force against protestors. “When you start cracking on
Understanding the Eastern Europe culture crisis people in daylight, that is a mistake,” Thornton said. “In my interpretation, maybe if [Yanujovych] would have stayed away, that protest would have died away.” Larry Napper, former ambassador and senior lecturer at the Bush School, said the heart of the conflict lies between those who wish to increase their ties with the European Union and those who want to keep their historical connection with Russia. “Ukraine is what we call a classically divided state,” Napper said. “It is divided along lines of ethnicity and language and culture. The eastern part of the country is where the majority identify themselves as
Western-identifying Ukraine Russian-identifying Ukraine
William Guerra — THE BATTALION
ethnically Russian, prefer Russian as their first language and watch Russian TV. In the more western parts of the country, it is exactly the opposite.” Although most of the protestors are assumed to be pro-European, Thornton said they represent many different ideologies, including radical and nationalist parties that are not considered pro-European. Napper said Ukraine is struggling with creating an interim government because three conflicting political parties are vying for the position.
Thornton said Ukraine is a long way from establishing a responsible democracy that is able to successfully manage the problems Ukraine is facing. “Western media portrays constantly this as a democratic movement or a democratic revolution, but I myself have some doubts,” Thornton said. “Ukraine is not going to become a democracy overnight. Americans are very enthusiastic about this movement — we all
w. basketball
sustainability
Jones notches A&M’s 3rd-ever triple-double
Crowd-sourcing site fuels Howdy Farm expansion
Aggies drop Arkansas on senior night Tyler Stafford The Battalion
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wo Aggies have ever recorded a triple-double — Jordan Jones makes three. The sophomore point guard had a career night with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as a crowd of 6,631 — including hundreds of Corps members — watched the No. 18 Texas A&M women’s basketball team defeat the Arkansas Razorbacks 77-54 on senior night at Reed Arena on Wednesday. Jones came into the game shooting just 8-of-46 from behind the arc on the season, but made 4-of-5 attempts Thursday.
In their last regular season home game, the Aggies jumped out to an early lead, opening the game with a 13-0 run including two threepointers from Jones. A&M led by as many as 15 points in the first half and would go to halftime up 43-32. Sophomore forward Courtney Williams led both teams with 14 points at halftime and would finish the game with 18. A 10-0 Aggie run in the second half opened the lead to 25 points and the Razorbacks never recovered. Senior center and College Station native Karla Gilbert scored seven points in her last scheduled game at Reed Arena. Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar, who is an SEC champion in both soccer and tennis, is the only other senior on the 2013-14 A&M squad. For the full story, visit thebatt.com
Tanner Garza — THE BATTALION
Sophomore guard Jordan Jones recorded the third triple-double in A&M history Thursday in Reed Arena.
are enthusiastic about movements like this, but democracies entail a lot.” In the meantime, Napper said Ukraine is facing huge economic problems. “Meanwhile, the country is in economic free fall,” Napper said. “They are facing imminent default and the collapse of the Ukrainian currency. The estimate for what they need just to get to the end of
Kadie McDougald The Battalion
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s a big finish in its weeklong campaign, Howdy Farm is launching its own fundraising page Friday on a new website, AggieFunding.com. Members of Howdy Farm have “planted” seeds in the hands of students on campus this week with the hopes of watching them grow and turn into positive, agricultural action on the behalf of students. The 5,500 seeds passed out were part of the Howdy Farm’s campaign “Plant a Seed, Watch it Grow!”— a project to raise awareness of the farm, what it does for the campus and community and where it wants to go with the help of Bryan-College Station. Jessica Newman, public relations officer for Howdy Farm, said the campaign wanted to get Howdy Farm’s name and purpose out to more people. “The Howdy Farm just does great things and it goes unnoticed,” Newman said. “We’re very small-scale right now so this is super important for us to expand. Bigger land means a bigger impact and reaching more people.” Matt Rogers, senior recreation, park and tourism sciences major and founder of the AggieFunding.com, said the website was created to help various student organizations like Howdy Farm in their fundraising efforts, putting them all together on one site. “[AggieFunding.com] is a kick-starter for the Aggie network — we help stu-
See Ukraine on page 4
inside dance | 3 Perpetual Motion The A&M dance program showcases performances.
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Tiger Brides Professor Valerie Hill-Jackson presents and screens documentary.
Crossfit Jenna Rabel — THE BATTALION
dents raise money without limits,” Rogers said. “Howdy Farm is one of the most beautiful places on the Texas A&M campus. It is one of the most serene places you can go. It’s like a hidden gem on campus that people need to know about.” The Howdy Farm’s goal is to raise $45,000 through its page on the Aggie Funding website. The funds will go toward a number of projects the Howdy Farm would like to begin, Newman said, including four gardens and a sustainability building that will begin construction in May. Newman said the sustainability building would host educational workshops, such as a compost class. Corey Wahl, head field manager for Howdy Farm, said plans for student hous-
ing on West Campus forced the farm to relocate in the fall, but the members of Howdy Farm are ready to build the farm up to where it can fully support itself again. Howdy Farm will use area behind the Horticulture Building, Walh said. The field behind the Horticulture Building will be used to host the planned gardens and sustainability building. The gardens include a zen garden of sand and tropical plants and a flagpole garden, used to support a local brewpub, Blackwater Draw Brew Company. Wahl said Howdy Farm wants to honor A&M’s background in agriculture in everything it does as well as bring a fresh concept of farming to the campus and surrounding community.
A&M students train for the 2014 Crossfit Open.
AFIL
Seminar focuses on Asian current issues Thursday in Rudder Tower.
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Cadets share Turkish experience in seminar Corps members reflect on international similarities Homer Segovia
The Battalion s part of the Turkey: Tradition and Transformation 2014 conference on Friday, members of the Corps of Cadets
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will discuss the insight they gained from their trip to Turkey in January. The presentation “Current Perspectives on Turkey” will focus on research conducted on the DIMER acronym — diplomacy, information and media, military, economy and religion and culture — during their 11 day visit to the Republic of Turkey. This is one of the three International Excursions that the Corps conducts
throughout the year to allow cadets to learn about the various diplomatic, military, informational economic, religious and cultural issues that affect foreign countries and how those issues are of importance to the U.S. Andrew Abbott, senior petroleum engineering major, will open the presentation with an overview of the research the group of cadets conducted. He said the most interesting part of his experience in
Turkey was seeing how it remains a secular republic despite religion permeating through every part of Turkish culture. “Religion has so much influence on the rest of the culture because religion permeates through the way you do politics, the way PROVIDED your economics and business work, the way you do education, Andrew Abbott, senior petroleum the way you view other people,” engineering major, and Taylor Rammrath, senior construction science major, view See Turkey on page 3 the Bosphorous Strait in Turkey.
2/27/14 10:59 PM