The Battalion — February 23, 2023

Honoring the life and legacy of George F. Bass

BASS ON PAGE 2

Baseball suffers unexpected loss against Lamar BASEBALL ON PAGE 6

One game behind

Reality of student homelessness

By Kalin Kerr JOUR203 Contributor

Since 2021, more college students are reporting housing insecurity like couch surfing, homelessness or not being able to meet rent or mortgage requirements, according to a #RealCollegeSurvey report. Between inflation and lease restrictions, more and more students are struggling, according to the report. Texas A&M students are faced with the same issues occurring across the nation.

One such student at A&M is university studies junior Jeremy “Jay” Rodriguez. Given his own struggle with housing, Rodriguez said many students have trouble asking for assistance.

“Homelessness is kind of embarrassing, so I would imagine that those struggling are probably ashamed of it or embarrassed to speak up and speak out,” Rodriguez said.

While staying on his friend’s couch for a whole semester, Rodriguez learned to swallow his pride and ask for help. Rodriguez said, by the grace of God, he is no longer homeless and now lives in an apartment, being able to pursue his education wholeheartedly instead of struggling with homelessness.

After win, A&M trails Alabama for No. 1 spot in conference

By Grant Gaspard @grant_gaspard

With an attendance of 12,989, Reed Arena came up a little over 1,000 people short of breaking the attendance record of 14,036 that was set last season on Jan. 19, 2022, against Kentucky.

According to the frequency counter in his head, Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams said

this was the loudest game he has ever coached in the maroon and white — and black — arena.

“I don’t think it’s close,” Williams said about the magnitude of the environment compared to other games. “I think the closest one would be Arkansas last Wednesday and the next closest one would’ve been Auburn. We are so appreciative [of the 12th Man].”

On Feb. 25, Texas A&M basketball hosted No. 11 Tennessee for a rematch of the SEC title game that took place on March 13, 2022, in Tampa, Fla.

To some athletes on the orange and white roster, this game still marinated in their

thoughts, sophomore guard Wade Taylor IV said.

“One of the dudes on the bench said, ‘Thank you for the ring last year in the tournament,’” Taylor said. “That stuck with me the whole game… Just to come out in front of our amazing fans, shout out to the 12th Man, and get the win for them and our team is huge.”

Statistically, Tennessee is the most intense defensive team in the nation. The Volunteers rank first in the nation in holding their opponents to a 35.8% field goal percentage, first in holding their opponents to a 24.9% 3-point

BASKETBALL ON PG. 6

“It was tough living out of my car,” Rodriguez said. “I had a duffle bag with eight outfits [and] two pairs of shoes.”

With a hard upbringing living in a single-parent household, Rodriguez said he doubted he would ever attend college. When he graduated in the top 10% of his class, his counselor encouraged him to attend a university. However, entering his freshman year at A&M, Rodriguez said he saw college as a party scene and started to hit rock bottom.

“I failed all of my first semester classes and literally Q-dropped all of them,” Rodriguez said.

Misses in MIS: Moving toward gender balance

gle and Microsoft — average a workforce of only 34.4% women. This initiative promotes females going into corporate workplaces, Director of the Center for the Management of Information Systems Della Whitcomb said.

at the conference last year and each student was provided with gifts and prizes from the sponsors. The tables had professionals and sponsors to represent their companies and network with the students in attendance.

technology industry and provides a direct avenue for mentorship and networking. It also brings students together and gives them the opportunity to start thinking about career aspirations and how to achieve them.

By Sneha Bhale @SnehaBhale

Beginning 23 years ago, the annual Women in Technology Conference helps female management information systems, or MIS, students network with professionals, advance their career and collaborate with like-minded peers.

This year’s conference will be held at the Student Recreation Center, or Rec, through the Annex, on Feb. 23 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This year’s theme is “We can do it!” and the conference is open to everyone, offering networking opportunities with professionals, free professional headshots, prizes, provided food and the chance to meet Reveille X.

This conference encourages women to enroll in the MIS program as the field is primarily composed of males. According to Forbes, five of the most powerful tech companies in the world — Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Goo-

“In terms of the ratio of female students to male students, females certainly are still a minority, but the numbers have increased significantly,” Whitcomb said.

For many, this conference has been instrumental for networking in a comfortable environment, management information systems graduate student Girija Iyer said.

“The best part of the conference was that there were three female leaders in IT and other related industries, and these leaders express their life journeys, their experiences and inspire women like me to prepare for a life like that in the coming years,” Iyer said.

Students will arrive around 8:30 a.m. and breakfast is provided. Everyone is assigned different tables with different table numbers where they rotate tables. This allows everyone to engage with each other and network, Iyer said. Some activities include: speed networking, speed mixers, giveaways and interactive games. Two scholarships were also given out

After her positive experience last year, she looks forward to attending this year as well, Iyer said.

Professionals at this conference also have the opportunity to learn about the variety of students in attendance and interact with students curious about the fields they represent. Some professionals have even attended in the past as a student and now are back to serve a different role, like General Motors representative Karly Quick.

“It has been beneficial for me to hear from other professionals and what they’re doing but also meet students and encourage them about their career,” Quick said. “Tech is so overwhelming with knowing what direction to go and I hope I can bring some peace to some of the women I talk to as I tell them about my experience and what General Motors has to offer.”

This conference allows students in attendance and professionals to connect over the

Out-of-this-world discoveries

Aggie astronomers analyze distant supernovae

By Jack Lee @jackthebatt

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, astronomers at Texas A&M are able to peer farther into the cosmos than ever before.

While studying supernovae, the explosions that occur at the end of a large star’s life, may seem trivial, professor of astronomy Nicholas Suntzeff said supernovae have been the subject of scientific attention in recent years due to their ability to act as benchmarks for time and distance in deep space.

“When a star explodes, it gets to a standard

brightness, like a 100 Watt light bulb … you can figure out how far away the light bulb is by how faint it appears,” Suntzeff said. “It’s the same with these exploding stars. As a star explodes in a galaxy, and in any one galaxy every 100 years or so a star will explode like this, we can measure the distance to a galaxy.”

As “standard candles” for distance of the universe, Suntzeff said each supernova provides more evidence that an unknown force speeds up the universe’s expansion.

“By looking at distant supernovae … we found the universe is not slowing down, it’s speeding up as if there’s an anti-gravity causing the universe to expand faster and faster,” Suntzeff said.

“We don’t know what it is. We just call it dark energy, but that’s just a name for ignorance.”

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Sophomore G Wade Taylor IV (4) celebrates after shooting two free throws with three seconds left on the clock pushing the score up to 68-63 during a game vs. Tennessee at Reed Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023.

Upcoming conference provides connections, job opportunities

A speaker at the 2022 Women in Technology Conference.

Courtesy of Delia Whitcomb

A photo of the James Webb Telescope in 2020. Northrop Grumman/Wikkicommons

Remembering the ‘father of underwater archaeology’

Famed archaeologist’s legacy lives on through national institute, relationships

By Richa Shah @WhoIsRichaShah

The late George F. Bass, Ph.D., was a researcher, an archaeologist, a diver, a teacher, a mentor and an opera lover. He dedicated his life to spreading his love and knowledge about the field of underwater archaeology.

Bass was born in 1932 and spent much of his life studying archaeology and conducting underwater surveys primarily off the Turkish coast. After graduating from Johns Hopkins University and University of Pennsylvania, Bass spent two years in the United States Army and then founded the non-profit Institute of Nautical Archaeology, or INA, in 1973. INA then became affiliated with Texas A&M three years later. Beyond his numerous accolades from organizations like the National Geographic Society and the Society for Archaeological History, Bass was awarded the National Medal of Science in 2002 by President George W. Bush.

Nautical archaeology program faculty member Cemal Pulak, Ph.D., was taught and

mentored by Bass. During the 1970s, Pulak and Bass dove and surveyed underwater sites together. Pulak said he intended to be an engineer until he met Bass, who encouraged his love for archaeology.

“It is because of [Bass] that I am in this field,” Pulak said. “I had no intention of going into this field — I just wanted to get it out of my system.”

Pulak said that he had taken archaeological and social science electives during his engineering coursework and had heard of Bass through books and articles published in National Geographic Magazine. Bass was also the one to establish the nautical archaeology program at the doctoral level at A&M with Pulak being one of its first students.

“It was like a dream come true to be able to [be accepted] into his fieldwork,” Pulak said. “One thing led to another and here I am — after 40 years — and I love every minute of it.”

Pulak said dozens of students, from elementary to the doctoral level would reach out to Bass about his work and be inspired by his life. Pulak said many even applied to the nautical archaeology program because of their exposure to Bass at an early age. Though Bass stopped teaching in 2000, A&M anthropology doctoral student Raul Palomino said he had many opportunities to connect with him.

“Even after his retirement, he was very active in [the nautical archaeology] program,” Palomino said. “He always loved to meet the new students, talk with them and support them.”

Similar to Pulak, associate professor Deborah Carlson, Ph.D., was also one of Bass’ students. Carlson first met Bass when he taught a seminar class she took during her graduate studies. She said Bass invited her to work as an associate director on a Turkish excavation because he was impressed by the final paper she wrote for his class. She then worked with him to excavate a fifth century B.C. ship over the course of three summers. After Bass retired, Carlson said she was chosen to fill the vacancy in the faculty. Less than a decade later, Carlson was elected as the president of INA.

“It was really important to me that we respect the vision [Bass] had for [INA],” Carlson said.

Carlson said Bass was a tough and intimidating professor. She explained Bass had an international reputation as the founder of underwater archaeology and his students worked hard to please him.

“[Bass’ seminar] was a competitive and difficult, [yet] healthy, academic environment,” Carlson said.

Doctoral student Olivia Brill was part of one of the last cohorts Bass was involved

with. Brill said Bass had been influential in the studies of most of the professors she and her classmates learned from, and Bass invited the entire cohort to his home for dinner at the beginning of the year and chatted with each student. Brill said Bass possessed great knowledge about nautical archaeology and his willingness to share those experiences.

“[Bass] was full of stories … [and] a wonderful storyteller,” Brill said. “It was delightful to be around him — really experience the beginning of nautical archaeology.”

Though recent A&M graduate Robin Galloso, Ph.D., also only had the pleasure of knowing Bass after his retirement, she said he often walked around the department and spoke with students. At the welcome dinner for her class, Galloso said Bass mentioned his weekly opera nights. Having a grandmother that sang for the opera, Galloso was intrigued and decided to attend one week. She said Bass would speak to each guest and give short introductions about the piece being shown that night.

“He was an opera nerd — in the best way possible,” Galloso said.

To learn more about Bass, visit the New York Times article about his contributions or the necrology — written by Pulak and Carlson — published in the American Journal of Archaeology.

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Photo courtesy of Institute of Nautical Archaeology

George F. Bass (second from right) studies an artifact, alongside other researchers.

HOUSING CONTINUED FROM PG. 1

When he couldn’t find a place to live, Rodriguez said he stayed in his mom’s garage in Hearne while still attending school, but when his mom kicked him out, he was out of luck.

“I would rotate [between] friends’ houses for two weeks after that and live out of my duffle bag because I didn’t want to tell anybody that I needed somewhere to stay,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez’s story is not uncommon, as outlined in the #RealCollegeSurvey report.

Respondents that reported housing insecurity were around 52% at two-year institutions and 43% at four-year institutions, according to the survey report.

One reason housing insecurity has reportedly increased is due to the “no more than four” housing law in neighborhoods across the nation, sometimes called a residential occupancy overlay. College Station City Council Place 4 representative Elizabeth Cunha said. The law states no more than four unrelated persons can live together, Cunha said.

“There’s a lot of pressure on [College Station Code Enforcement] to find houses that are not living under that four-person threshold,” Cunha said.

As part of The Fair Housing Act, authorized by the United States, the “no more than four” rule has existed for quite some time, allowing — but not requiring — property owners to place limits on the number of unrelated occupants. It was originally created to prevent boarding houses and overcrowding in neighborhoods, Cunha said.

“The reason the community wants the ‘no more than four’ rule is because they don’t want to live by students,” Cunha said. “It’s a way to lessen the amount of students that live in your neighborhood.” City of College Station Director of Com-

SUPERNOVAE CONTINUED FROM PG. 1

Due to the Doppler Effect, as distant objects are moving faster away from Earth than nearby objects, the wavelengths of light they reflect are stretched out and their energy diluted. Part of the reason why the JWST is so effective at observing at long distances, Suntzeff said, is that it observes forms of light that are redder, or lower energy, than the human eye can observe.

“JWST was built to allow us to look into the infrared part of the spectrum,” Suntzeff said. “You want to observe in this region because distant objects, their light gets red shifted as things get farther away … light, if it was emitted in the distant universe, would be in this part of the spectrum.”

The A&M team involved themselves with

munity Services Debbie Eller said, in an email to The Battalion, that the College Station City Manager’s Office and A&M Student Affairs are collaborating to give students information about city ordinances.

“Due to these discussions, the enforcement for ‘more than [four]’ has been set as a lower priority through May [2023],” Eller said. “It is hoped that increased information provided by TAMU to students along with the normal outreach done by the city will help students understand the requirements and reduce the number of tenant household violations.”

Previously, the local government enforced this rule by knocking on students’ doors and asking how many people live there and how they are related to each other, Cunha said.

“I think it’s creepy,” Cunha said. “I think it’s government overreach and it causes more stress than it needs to.”

Citizens have also enforced this rule by taking pictures of the number of cars parked outside of houses, Cunha said.

“I have so many issues with it,” Cunha said. “The idea to enforce this is they have people come and take pictures of how many cars are outside houses at any time of the day, including all hours of the night.”

Certain citizens sometimes present over 300 pictures at one time, the reason being that the community wants to further enforce the “no more than four” rule is because they don’t want to live by students, Cuhna said.

“When you move to a city whose name is ‘College Station,’ you might expect to live by college students, and the closer you live to the university, the more you might expect that,” Cunha said.

In Bryan and College Station, neighborhoods can now choose to limit housing to have no more than two unrelated persons living together, using a ROO.

“The city has a ROO, restricted occupancy overlay,” Cunha said. “A neighborhood can

supernova 2021aefx in the constellation Dorado, the number indicating the year of its discovery. As 2021aefx is extremely distant, the team wanted to confirm if its mechanisms were consistent with more nearby supernovae to support the use of supernovae as cosmic benchmarks.

“When you look at distant objects, you’re seeing them as they were billions of years ago,” Suntzeff said. “Maybe the younger objects … have some sort of slightly different characterization.”

Using the JWST’s ability to analyze the light that it observes to produce a rough analysis of the chemical composition of the supernova’s products, Suntzeff said the A&M team helped discover the star from which the supernova originated was likely a white dwarf, a small, dense star that is the remnant of a sun-

come together, and as long as they get [more than 51%] of signatures on a petition, they can change the rule to no more than two.”

Although being on the council can face many challenges such as these, Eller, in an interview, said it is her job to be a professional and help the council put policies in place. The council wants students to know the ramifications and to be able to recognize this is an illegal activity in order to avoid it, she said.

“It’s a really challenging topic because we all understand why it’s happening, but who should be punished for that?” Eller said. “Unfortunately, students are having to move in the middle of a semester because they’re learning about this.”

Landlords like Elianor Vessali, a managing partner for Vessali Family Ltd., are also affected by this rule. Vessali said she has been accused of criminal activity by residents.

“There is a specific group of residents who believe a lot of landlords are breaking that rule,” Vessali said. “That group of residents have gone on record at city council [meetings] and called us criminals because they believe we are renting more than four.”

Vessali believes the system is flawed because there is not any actual proof of breaking this law. Cars parked outside someone’s house do not prove anything, Vessali said.

“It’s unfortunate because certain properties are specifically being targeted and I do believe landlords and tenants are being harassed,” Vessali said.

Residents are concerned about property taxes because the values of homes around them are increasing, Vessali said. They believe it’s increasing because of the “no more than four” rule, but in Vessali’s view, it’s due to wealthy alumni buying houses in the neighborhoods, which pushes up taxes. It’s not the rental homes causing this issue, she said.

As apartments are being sold to developers, housing for students becomes limited, Charles

like star after all of its hydrogen gas has been exhausted. Scientists theorized 2021aefx was specifically composed of carbon and oxygen, a result that is consistent with a broader class of supernovae known as type 1a supernovae.

“Using JWST, we wanted to see what elemental lines are being emitted by the supernova … there’s cobalt, nitrogen, argon, nickel and all these elements that were not there before the stars blew up,” Suntzeff said. “The thing that blew up was the core of an old star which was made up of carbon and oxygen and when it blew up the carbon and oxygen were fused into heavier elements.”

Professor Emeritus of astronomy Kevin Krisciunas said while most white dwarfs lacked the requisite mass to turn into a supernova, if the white dwarf and another star are simultaneously orbiting each other, a white dwarf can

Coats, director of Homebuyer Services at B/ CS Habitat for Humanity, said.

“It could cause students to go elsewhere to Bryan or other places that maybe they wouldn’t have to otherwise,” Coats said. “This then takes housing stock away from some of these families that quite honestly don’t make enough to be able to afford something else.”

The reality is that these certain policies could in turn affect low-income families as well, Coats said. The Bryan-College Station homeless count in both low-income families and students has increased over the past few years, he said.

Rodriguez said the only reason he was able to escape his couch-surfing life was through the Division of Student Affairs. Without asking for help, he said he wouldn’t be where he is today.

“Yeah, it made me think: how many kids are actually struggling that don’t know [how] to reach out to these resources or the staff at A&M to receive that help?” Rodriguez said.

College Station, as well as A&M, have resources available to all students in need of assistance. These resources include contacting A&M’s Department of Student Affairs and reaching out to the local government to ask for tenant-based rental assistance.

Awareness of the growing homeless population of low-income individuals and college students is something that is really important, Eller said. Students need to know the options available to them and that it’s okay to ask for help, Rodriguez said.

“They can’t reach out for help because it’s seen as weak or embarrassing,” Rodriguez said. “It goes against everything the world says about pride and ego.”

Kalin Kerr is a communication senior and contributed this piece from the course JOUR203, Media Writing I, to The Battalion.

The full version of this story can be found on TheBatt.com.

absorb enough mass from its companion that it can collapse and create a supernova.

“Say you have a white dwarf with a main sequence sun-like star right next to it,” Krisciunas said. “As the sun-like star swells up to become a red giant, mass can pass from the sun-like star to the white dwarf … When it reaches 1.4 solar masses, it explodes. The sun cannot explode as any kind of supernovae. It doesn’t have a companion star to donate its outer atmosphere to so that the white dwarf reaches 1.4 solar masses.”

The end goal of supernova research, professor of astronomy Lifan Wang said, was to provide further clues to the dark energy mystery.

“The discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe gave [supernova research] a tremendous boost,” Wang said. “It is now very closely related to fundamental physics.”

TREN DY , D E SIGNER & VIN TAGE

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Opinion: What’s on our bookshelves?

It’s often said that to be a good writer, one must be a habitual reader. Here at The Battalion opinion desk, we couldn’t agree more. Priding ourselves on our bookishness, we can’t help but share our latest library finds with any poor unsuspecting person who will listen.

So, here it is; our reading recommendations; the books that have managed to win our affection, and hopefully, yours too.

“Discipline and Punish” by Michel Foucault

Do we really need prisons? Are our methods of punishment more humane than those that came before? What does the way we treat the incarcerated say about our society? Hard questions often yield uncomfortable answers — and these are no exception.

In “Discipline and Punish,” Foucault traces the origins of the modern prison back to an age when conviction meant torture or execution. The result is a captivating narrative which must be wrestled with by prison advocates, reformers and abolitionists alike.

Certainly not a light read, but rewarding nonetheless.

Opinion Editor Caleb Elizondo, @CalebElizondo7

“The Brothers Karamazov” by Fyodor Dostoevsky

“The Brothers Karamazov” follows the messy aftermath of the patricidal murder of Fyodor Pavolich. Through the lives of Fyodor’s three sons, Dmitri the sensualist, Ivan the intellectual and the ever-so-pious Alyosha, Dostoevsky uses the haunting narratives of insanity and depravity to explore the deepest crevices of human nature.

Throughout this gripping murder mystery, Dostoevsky weaves together themes of divinity, atheism, guilt and redemption, and directly confronts the age-old questions of the meaning of suffering and if there is no God, is everything permitted?

After reading this theological and philosophical masterpiece, you can’t help but

agree with Albert Camus that “the real 19th-century prophet was Dostoevsky, not Karl Marx.”

Assistant Opinion Editor Ryan Lindner, @RyanLindner12

“Elvis, Jesus & Coca-Cola” by Kinky Friedman

Have you ever wanted to read a book written by a Jewish cowboy living in New York? Likely not, but that’s the niche Kinky Friedman fills. It’s a hilarious, witty, decidedly not-PC narrative that feels somewhat like the fever dream you would have if you drifted off reading Oscar Wilde while Seinfeld played in the background.

I’ll leave you with a quote from chapter 18: “I showed the letter to the cat. The cat half closed her eyes, a sure sign of agreement, communication, or, possibly, ennui. It crossed my desk that at this moment there were, very probably, men masturbating in mental hospitals who, in their quite ample spare time, showed letters to cats.”

Opinion Columnist Charis Adkins, @Charis_Batt

“Where the Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein I received this book of poems for my fourth birthday and it still makes me smile 16 years later.

Whenever my brain feels numb due to endless textbooks and scholarly articles, I find myself drawn to this treasure of unfiltered imagination and eccentric wit. From cautionary tales to questionable recipes, each page is a journey of lyrical genius — think fever dream meets a slightly macabre Dr. Seuss. Ever wondered how to make “me-stew?” Or what a “Bloath” is? Silverstein tells all and does not disappoint. Don’t be fooled, however, as each unassuming quirk and quip masterfully conveys real-world lessons dealing with themes like morality and self-acceptance.

If you find yourself weary of the mundane, this collection of unconventional poetry provides the perfect escape.

Opinion Columnist Ana Sofia Sloane, @anasofiasloane

“The White Pill: A Tale of Good and Evil” by Michael Malice —

A sense of perpetual worry about whether the good guys will win has lived

in the minds of historians and political activists forever.

In this vivid telling of the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, Malice outlines the grueling, inhumane reality of Stalinist and Leninist Russia, but not without mentioning the stories of those who fought hard against the powerful totalitarian system.

“The White Pill” is a fascinating historical rollercoaster that’ll leave you with a glaring sense of government distrust, but hope in the goodness of people.

Opinion Writer Valerie Muñoz, @Val4Batt

“Verity” by Colleen Hoover

The new famed white woman writer of the year, Colleen Hoover struck again with her first attempt at a thriller through “Verity” in 2018. With her common tropes and relatable characters of lustful male protagonists catered to the female gaze, she stirs her female adolescent audience with an addictive suspense turned psychotic thrill.

This book had me hooked on the first chapter with an immediate death illustrated in a detail that was not quite Stephen King gore, but enough to make you uncomfortable. This continues to keep you engaged with that same dramatic suspense of unending crazy twist. “Verity” resurrected my love for thrillers and I will continue to favor this genre in future reads.

Opinion Writer Saanya Troutman, @Saanyalache

“The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas

Are you looking for a satisfying tale of justice, painful romance, swashbuckling adventure and fancy French people?

Then this is the book for you.

Set in Napoleonic France, this book tells the story of wide-eyed sailor Edmond Dantes who is wrongly imprisoned and, thus, cultivates a thirteen-yearlong plot of revenge along with the aid from a mysterious and obscenely wealthy count who shares a rather close relation to our young protagonist.

This story explores redemption and love, ingenuity and

self-transformation, but most importantly, the lengths one will go to enact vengeance, along with its price.

This book is basically Batman but French and better.

Opinion Writer Lilia Elizondo, @LiliaElizondo05

“Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom

This is a quick read almost anyone could knock out in a day or two, however, that doesn’t take away from how raw, intimate or tragic this memoir truly is.

Detailing the events of a young man who visits his former sociology professor every Tuesday as his weakened body slowly ebbs away offers a gateway into a subject most people have a hard time even discussing: death.

Making 14 different trips to professor Morrie’s house, Mitch takes the reader along with him as Morrie reveals a separate, yet equally valuable life lesson with each visit all while the inevitable ticking clock grows louder with each passing week.

Opinion Writer Benjamin Barnes,

Opinion: Crappiest commodes on campus

If you’ve been keeping up with The Battalion, you may have noticed an interesting article in last week’s issue entitled “Royal flush,” which ranked several men’s bathrooms on campus.

While entertaining, I don’t feel that the article accurately reflects current students’ interests. For one, no one goes to a public bathroom — especially on a college campus — just for funsies. You’re not going to be taking a tour of Texas A&M’s best lavatories before you decide to attend this prestigious university. At least, I hope not.

With this in mind, I feel that it would be in students’ best interest not to know which bathrooms to flock to, but which ones to avoid.

And, secondly, The Battalion is a paper with varied readership. Contrary to popular belief — and bear with me, I know this is going to be hard to believe for some of you engineers out there — women can read too. As A&M’s student news-

paper, we should be providing valuable information like this to both sexes. It’s time we saw the female side of things.

So, without further ado, I present to you A&M’s very worst ladies’ bathrooms, rated on a scale from “ew” to “I think I’ll hold it.”

Academic Building — Worst of the worst

Well, not really. The bathrooms themselves are actually pretty nice — very little foot traffic, usually smell decent, plenty of natural lighting. There’s a counterfeit “poo with a view” on the second floor, if you’re feeling adventurous, but it’s really just a sad look over the left side of Academic Plaza.

Despite this, I have to rank it as the worst because, when considering the view in the third floor men’s — and the more exciting, waist-high view on the second — I know what I’m missing out on.

Blocker — Just plain icky

As with most other things in Blocker, the bathrooms are poorly planned and barely maintained. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great bathroom — that is, if you enjoy sanitarium-inspired wall tiles and lighting that’s less

consistent than that goddamn train horn. Honestly, I didn’t know “depressing” was a color, but they nailed it.

With Blocker, as with most high-traffic restrooms on this lovely campus, timing is key. The bathrooms are tolerable until about 11 a.m. — after that, those Taco Bell breakfast burritos start making a reappearance, and the stalls become all but uninhabitable. So keep an eye on the clock!

Heldenfels — You’ll be happier if you ‘HELD’ it

On the other end of the smell spectrum, there’s Heldenfels. If you’ve ever wondered which would win in a fight, toilet fumes versus formaldehyde, then this is the place for you. Surprisingly it’s a very close match, the unpleasantness from both contenders at a stalemate among the tiny stalls and water-stained sink stations. This is somewhat to be expected, given that Heldenfelsis one of the primary lab buildings on campus, but suffice it to say that it still deserves to be avoided.

Animal Industries Engineering Building (AIEN) — Spookily smelly

The elevators aren’t the only thing haunted in AIEN. On the plus side, this bathroom is at least self-aware — after the first door, there’s a bit of a jaunt down a long, narrow hallway before you get to the second door that leads to the stalls. Really gives you time to wonder if you could just hold it or not.

When you do finally reach the stalls, the smell is best described as “dank” — and I don’t mean that as it refers to memes.

And speaking of the stalls, they really fulfill every student’s “I wish there was a stall small enough that I have to stand on the toilet in order to close the door” fantasy. At least you can work on your flexibility!

Memorial Student Center, Lower Level — Why?

As a whole, this bottom level restroom in the Memorial Student Center is relatively decent. Aside from the lunch and dinner rush hours, it’s relatively empty, and often cleaner than most.

However, the first stall in the women’s restroom is populated by the only female urinal I have ever seen.

Don’t get me wrong — it’s pretty cool, and the little plaque hanging behind it lets you learn

a lot about the micturating habits of women in the 1800s.

But, when I walk into a restroom, it’s not to learn a fun historical fact. Bathrooms are usually kept to business, not pleasure — as they should be, in my opinion. It seems like every time I set foot in this lavatory, I find myself face to face with this historical visage.

Cool, yes, but unnecessary.

In short, there are several bathrooms on campus which it would behoove you to avoid.

If, for some insane reason, you actually are looking for the best bathrooms on campus, let me give you a little jingle to help you on your way: “When you have to take a shit, go where offices are close-knit.” For obvious reasons, administration buildings and other locations with lots of offices have the nicest bathrooms. Places like Student Business Services and the Administration Building by the East Quad are your best bets.

It’s my hope that, somehow, this little guide will help you achieve a less smelly and more enjoyable tenure here at A&M.

Charis Adkins is an English sophomore and opinion columnist for The Battalion.

Charis Adkins

@Charis_Batt

BASKETBALL CONTINUED FROM PG. 1

percentage and third in total points allowed per game at 56.7 points.

Non-numerically, the Volunteers are not as dominant when it comes to creating turnovers, but nevertheless force opponents to take difficult shots and crash the boards, as they rank second in the SEC in rebounds per game at 26.1.

“We knew that going into the game,” junior forward Marble said about Tennessee’s interior defense. “We talked about it the last couple of days...We have to make sure we are just as physical as them because if we are not we will lose that game.”

This became evident to the Aggies when the game started on a slow note. They allowed a 7-0 run in the first three minutes of the game and forced four straight contested shots. This obligated Williams to use his first of four timeouts in the half.

“Tennessee is unbelievable and probably the most physical team we have played,” Taylor said. “They have the No. 1 defense for sure. It was very hard to get off a shot.”

With an and-1 layup from Marble, A&M finally found itself on the scoreboard with 16 minutes left in the first half. Shortly after, the Feb. 20 SEC Player of the Week followed Marble with his first and only 3-pointer of the night.

The two Dallas natives rotated the majority of the first half as the only maroon and white scorers with 20 points combined up until the three-minute mark. Then, junior forward Andersson Garcia hit his first 3-pointer of the season, on only five attempts of the season, to cut the deficit to three.

Senior guards Andre Gordon and Tyrece Radford would soon link up with their teammates and add on an additional five points, one 3-pointer and a layup, to gain the Aggies’

first lead of the night before freshman forward Tobe Awake scored a layup at the buzzer to tie the game at 31 to end the half.

In accordance with the theme of the season, A&M came onto the court in the second half with the goal of getting to the free-throw line. A team that is first in the nation in free throws made per game at 18.9 and second in the nation in free throw attempts per game at 25.1 did not fail to meet this goal.

Just six minutes into the second half, the Aggies found themselves in the bonus, which guaranteed a one-way ticket to the charity stripe for the rest of the game when fouled.

Unfortunately, A&M emerged on the other side of the whistle and had four players with

three fouls — all starters — and rewarded Tennessee with the bonus with 10 minutes left to go.

With a comfortable 7-point lead, the Volunteers refused to give up and would go on a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to three, managing to keep the game within one possession until the last 30 seconds.

With the ball in their hands, the Aggies just needed to pass the ball inbounds and secure it before the Volunteers would foul and gift them with two free throws.

Misfortune struck, and the victory would not come as easily as many thought.

Radford lost the inbound pass and allowed Tennessee to regain possession of the ball. No

longer than a moment later, Taylor stole the ball back and got fouled. He then looked at his teammate and nodded as if to say, ‘I got your back.’

“I was just being my brother’s keeper,” Taylor said. “I went over to help, No. 25 tried to pass and I just deflated it and caught it. I feel like we played pretty good defense the whole game.”

Taylor would sink the free throws, bring it to a two-possession game and get one final stop to solidify the Aggies’ third straight win against a ranked opponent and their eighth straight win in Reed Arena.

“It starts in practice,” Marble said. “The coaching staff prepares us for situations like this where you have to get a stop, or a turkey, in the last minute or two and we won the game. That’s what we echo throughout the team and we practice that all the time.”

Taylor finished the night with 16 free throws and 25 points total. Marble followed behind with 9 free throws and 21 points total.

The two reached a career-high in both free throws made and attempted.

“I’m trying to get a couple free throws a game and get the average up,” Taylor said about his free throw performance. “I just felt like attacking the basket. They were giving us a lot of angles. With [Marble], he had a tremendous game and the lane was wide open. Just going in there and trying to get fouled or throwing him the ball and getting him fouled.”

As a team, A&M surpassed the average shooting percentage Tennessee has allowed from the field and behind the arc by 3.3% and 1.8%, respectively.

A&M has two road games against Mississippi State and Ole Miss before its final home game of the season on Saturday, March 4, against No. 2 Alabama, at 11 a.m. in Reed Arena.

Fightin’ Farmers fall to Cardinals

By Zoe May @MayZoella

As cars packed the streets of College Station for what would be a night of Aggie court triumphs and diamond defeats, Texas A&M baseball took to Olsen Field for a midweek matchup against the Lamar Cardinals which ended in a 7-4 Aggie defeat.

“We got outplayed in every phase of the game,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said.

“We got out hit. They made better pitches than we made … Obviously, the three-run homer was a big play. I never felt like we really pressured them.”

As the first pitch was thrown by junior pitcher Wyatt Tucker, the Aggies looked in tough shape with the first at-bat ending in the first walk of the night. After a bunt by junior right fielder Jack Schell to get on base, three consecutive outs saved A&M and left two Cardinals on base. When the maroon and white hit offense, they faced a quick turnaround with a one-two-three performance.

The beginning of Lamar’s strategy to knock their way to a win one-by-one began with a bunt from senior second baseman Kirkland Banks to get on first. The Aggies’ first double-play of the game kept the Cardinals from getting on the board, but the momentum had already shifted to Lamar.

The bottom of the second began with freshman right fielder Jace LaViolette get-

ting walked on a 4-2 count. The momentum seemed to be teetering on the edge of a cliff when junior third baseman Trevor Werner stepped up to the plate, but a fielder’s choice kept LaViolette from reaching second and later senior center fielder Jordan Thompson’s at-bat was cut short by Werner getting thrown out at third.

The nickel-and-dime strategy continued into the third inning with a grounder to third base from Cardinal senior designated hitter Ben MacNaughton. The throw to first from Werner to junior first baseman Jack Moss was overthrown, allowing MacNaughton to get on base.

Tucker had his first strikeout of the night but immediately walked on the next at-bat causing assistant coach Nate Yeskie to come infield for a timeout. Freshman catcher Max Kaufield showed inexperience when a pitch to the dirt got behind him and second and third were stolen. Senior first baseman Josh Blankenship exhausted his at-bat with six fouls; Tucker finished the third inning with 43 pitches.

Thompson hit the brakes on the Cardinals’ momentum with a home run to left field to open the bottom of the third and set off the bubble brigade. Through the soapy haze, Kaufield came up to the plate and continued the pressure with a walk and a stolen base. Moss lifted a ball to center field to gain an RBI and send Kaufer home but ended the inning after a tag battle between first and second.

“I got a hanging slider and it felt pretty good off the bat,” Thompson said. “I knew it was gone from the get-go,

especially with the wind howling 30 miles an hour up there.”

By the end of the third, the hopes of the Aggie crowd returned as A&M held the only runs on the board. As the sky grew darker, the Cardinals shone brighter.

To start the fourth inning, Schell slammed a hit to center-left field that bounced off the scoreboard and was originally called a double by officials. However, a challenge from the Cardinals overturned the call and ruled it a home run to add a run for Lamar. The second double-play of the night for A&M came to get Banks and junior third baseman Ethan Ruiz off base. With two outs on the board, Lamar continued to pressure A&M until Tucker advanced junior center fielder Tanner Wilson on a hit-by-pitch.

After 3.3 innings, Tucker was pulled and replaced by freshman pitcher Ty Sexton, but the ball kept rolling in favor of the Cardinals. Wilson stole a base and then was sent home to add another run and tie the score.

The bottom of the fourth featured a Lamar pitching change to senior pitcher Landon Odom and a continuing lack of offense for the maroon and white. The Aggies got a break in the top of the fifth, with their second one-two-three inning. On offense, A&M found some footing as a hit-by-pitch, grounder and two walks got two Aggies home and built on their lead. However, two runners were left on base as the inning finished when LaViolette was struck out looking.

The sixth inning leveled both teams as neither dugout

was able to make any aggressive moves on defense or offense. In the seventh, the Cardinals slammed the nails into the Aggies’ proverbial coffin. The mound changed once more as senior pitcher Matt Dillard entered the game and immediately walked the first at-bat. After one strikeout and a pop-fly to right field that fell just right, Blankenship hit a grounder to third and an unsuccessful fielder’s choice sent one runner home and left runners on second and first. Dillard sat with two on base as Schell approached the plate once more.

The smack that came off the bat could be heard from the third-base bullpen, as the heads of the Aggie pitchers warming up whipped to the sound.

Schell launched a bomb to left field bringing in the runs and lofting the Cardinals to

a 6-4 lead. Schlossnagle was forced to pull another from the bullpen as Dillard was quickly sent to the dugout. The Aggies managed to close out the inning without sacrificing another run but Lamar’s brakes had already been cut.

In the bottom of the seventh and the innings that remained, A&M was unable to get things started on offense and the merry-go-round of Aggie pitchers gave up one last run in the eighth to cement the 7-4 loss.

“The only way to figure out who to trust in our bullpen is to throw them out there,” Schlossnagle said. “Sometimes they’re hard lessons to learn.”

The defeat stains A&M’s previous 3-0 record following its opening weekend series against Seattle University. While the Aggies did prevail

with a 9-3 victory in the 2022 season against Lamar, they did face challenges at the beginning of the previous season, going 7-4 in their first 11 games.

With four games until the Fightin’ Farmers will face other ranked opponents, Thompson said they plan to keep pushing forward.

“We know we’re gonna get punched in the face,” Thompson said. “We have a target on our backs from last year. So, one thing I learned is to keep on pushing because of all the hardships I know the returning guys went through last year.”

The Aggies will return to Olsen Field for the second weekend series of the 2023 season against Portland University. The first game will take place on Friday, Feb. 24, set to begin at 6 p.m.

A&M outhit by Lamar in mid-week matchup

Junior F Julius Marble (34) celebrates after dunking the ball during a game vs Tennessee on Tuesday Feb. 21, 2023.

Ishika Samant — THE BATTALION

Freshman INF Kaeden Kent (3) catches the ball as Lamar University senior INF Kirkland Banks (28) slides back to first.

Megan Williams — THE BATTALION

Aggies face Wildcats in final home game

Women’s basketball looks to tame Wildcats, end coach Taylor’s first season on high note

By Andrew Paredes @andrewparedesss

The 10-year rivalry lives on as Texas A&M welcomes the Kentucky Wildcats into Reed Arena for the maroon and white’s last home game of the season on Thursday, Feb. 23. Since the Aggies joined the SEC before the 2012-2013 season, they have a record of 8-5 against the Wildcats. The last matchup between the Aggies and the Wildcats was on Feb. 6, 2022, where the Aggies won 73-64. This season is one of disappointment, injuries and inconsistency as the Aggies currently have a season record of 6-17 and a conference record of 1-12. However, A&M looks to end this season on a high note. The Aggies have performed better offensively as of late and have had a good defense all season, but they haven’t been able to produce many wins.

Kentucky’s season has been similarly underwhelming, with an overall record of 10-16 and a conference record of 2-12. The Wildcats’ struggles have continued late into

the season as they lost five-straight heading into this game. Kentucky’s offense has been its strength this year, however, its defense has been unable to stop its opponents. Though the offense has been their brightspot, the Wildcats have fallen off a bit offensively, as their 70 points per game for the season has fallen to 57 points per game.

A&M have also found themselves in a tough stretch recently as they are currently on a six-game losing streak and their most recent loss was a 35-61 loss to the Missouri Tigers on Monday, Feb. 21; a game where the Aggie’s scored their second lowest total number of points the season.

Coach Joni Taylor told 12thMan.com that the team has struggled this year.

“Well, it’s been a challenge all year long,” Taylor told 12thman.com. “We knew it would be a challenge. We intentionally prepared them to make sure they’re all on the same page of playing hard and getting better. ”

During the maroon and white’s loss to the Tigers, they held the Tigers to their second fewest amount of points in a game this season. Unfortunately, the Aggies shot themselves into a deficit by going 4-28 for only 10 points in the first half to the Tigers 25 points.

Going into the game against Kentucky, A&M’s leading scorer is freshman forward Janiah Barker, who averages 12.3 points. Senior forward Aaliyah Patty is the team’s

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leading rebounder as she averages 7.3 rebounds per game.

Kentucky’s leading scorer is senior guard Robyn Benton with an average of 16.5 points per game shooting 38% from the field. Junior guard Maddie Scherr leads the Wildcats in

rebounds with an average of 5.3 rebounds per game. The showdown between the Aggies and the Wildcats will be televised on the SEC Network at 6 p.m. live from Reed Arena.

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