thebattalion l monday,
september 9, 2013
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Crackdown on ’Bama ticket sales Caroline Corrigan
Spike in ticket demand leads to steps against resold sports passes
Special to The Battalion ith the increase in sports option privileges for the demand for tickets duration of their Texas A&M to this week’s game career. against Alabama, there also “We, unlike anywhere else, comes an increased crackdown make sure that A&M students on students re-selling tickets. have good seats,” Wagner said. In stressing the seriousness of “We want to make sure the 12th the issue, Skip Wagner, Presi- Man is present. We don’t want dent of the 12th Man Founda- students to try and make a profit tion, said the foundation will off of the tickets, that’s not why be actively checking websites they should be buying them.” such as Craigslist and Facebook Student tickets are heavfor students re-selling tickets for ily subsidized by season-ticket profit, an act holders to prohibited by keep student thebattalion the University ticket prices as well as the low, accordasks foundation, ing to an and any stuemail from dents who are Jennifer MarPage 2: How do you caught will be feel about students tin, director penalized. of marketWagner also not being allowed to ing for Texas said if the resale sell tickets for profit A&M athletof tickets for or pull guest passes? ics. profit becomes “It would a trend, the be different foundation will reconsider how if we were pricing something at much tickets are subsidized. the market value, their opinion “Eventually if there is enough would be much more reasonable greed within our students, they to me,” Wagner said. “But these will not only hurt the athletic students know they are getting department but they will be something deeply discounted. hurting themselves,” Wagner They purchase our passes knowsaid. “If this rule continues to be ing what our rules are, then they broken in the future, the 12th make that decision.” Man Foundation will reconsider Luke Yanker, senior conthe pricing for the students.” struction science major, said Penalties for students who are with ownership of these tickcaught selling sports pass tickets ets comes the ability to do as include the cancellation of sports options, cancellation of tickets See Tickets on page 2 already pulled and the loss of
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Graphic by William Guerra — THE BATTALION
50 years of inclusion
breakaway
Astronaut to launch commemoration celebration
Students arrive early to Breakaway on Tuesday night to secure seating close to the stage.
A&M welcomes first black female in space Bradley D’Souza
COURTESY
Bible study relocation shows campus reach
Special to The Battalion
M
ae Jemison, the first African-American woman to travel in space, will speak on campus on Tuesday for the University’s kickoff event in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the admission of women and African-American students to Texas A&M. Jemison’s address titled, “The Sky is Not the Limit: A Conversation with Dr. Mae Jemison, the First AfricanAmerican Woman Astronaut,” will take place at 9:30 a.m. in Rudder Auditorium. The event is free and open to all members of the A&M faculty, staff and student body. No tickets will be required and members from the College Station-Bryan community are welcome to attend the event. Becky Pettit, associate vice president for Diversity and the chair of the committee heading the 50th anniversary commemoration program, emphasized the particular wisdom Jemison has to offer the University in light of the 50-year milestone. “Dr. Jemison herself is an early pioneer,” Pettit said. “She is the first African-American woman in space and she is also an engineer and a physician. The committee looked at someone who exemplifies being one of the first, breaking down barriers. Her message is going to be about the importance of inclusion, the importance of persistence.” Victoria McLaughlin, freshman Blinn Team student, said she was excited to attend
BAT_09-09-13_A1.indd 1
Growth has Breakaway searching for suitable home
The committee looked at someone who exemplifies being one of the first, breaking down barriers. Her message is going to be about the importance of inclusion, the importance of persistence.” — Becky Pettit, A&M associate vice president for diversity the event because of Dr. Jemison’s history of breaking new ground. “She paved the way for something new in the workforce for women,” McLaughlin said. “I just think that our having the opportunity to listen to her would inspire us and encourage us to go beyond what we think our limitations are.” Jemison’s address to B-CS is just the first in a line of events designed to commemorate the
Jennifer Reiley
Special to The Battalion
D
ue to the space concerns that have accompanied attendance growth, the next Breakaway will be held Tuesday at Simpson Drill Field. Breakaway, a nonprofit Bible study that has taken place at A&M since 1989, usually takes place every Tuesday night at Reed Arena, but in recent years, Breakaway has looked to draw in more attendees with a larger venue, said Lydia Irion, office manager of Breakaway Ministries. “In the last few years, the program has grown a lot,” Irion said. “In the first week of this semester, about 10,100 came to Breakaway.” Irion said Breakaway received per-
mission from the Corps of Cadets to use the drill field and had a number of meetings with campus officials about logistics and making students on campus aware of what was happening. “We were given permission because of Breakaway’s reputation on campus and the way that our volunteers have behaved at events,” Irion said. While Reed Arena has the capacity to hold about 13,000 people, Breakaway does not use the entire stadium for the weekly event. Ben Stuart, Breakaway’s main speaker since 2005, said the limited capacity of Reed Arena presents a potential problem for Breakaway. “Besides Reed Arena, there are only a few venues that can hold more than a few thousand people,” Stuart said. “Kyle Field is going to be closed for renovations soon and Simpson Drill Field is the next best place.” Besides the size of the field, Stuart said he is very excited for the oppor-
tunity to reach more students even if it means facing the challenges of working with an outside venue. Christopher Edgar, Breakaway volunteer and junior chemical engineering major, said the increased visibility is something to be excited about. “I am really excited,” Edgar said. “It’s the middle of campus. We’ll get to be super loud for everyone to hear and not be hidden away in a corner of campus.” Breakaway volunteer and junior chemical engineering major, Nidia Selwyn, said the move could increase diversity for the event. “Different people will be able to come,” Selwyn said, “People who don’t know about [Breakaway] can come and learn.” Adam Cohen, senior molecular and cell biology major, said the logistical problems of the move make it an im-
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Sports weekend rewind An opinion piece in which Sean Lester argues Texas may soon belong to the Aggies, Sunday soccer coverage and football defensive analysis.
See Breakaway on page 6
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See Astronaut on page 4
9/8/13 10:38 PM