The Battalion — March 21, 2024

CAMPUS Student organization to host first-ever boxing fight night in Reed Arena for local charity. B1

Aggies square off against 8-seed Nebraska Cornhuskers in first round in Memphis

By Hunter Mitchell @HunterM1001

It’s tournament time.

No more worries about Quad1 wins and losses, NET rankings, strength of schedule or conference record. The fates of each college basketball team has been decided, and for Texas A&M men’s basketball, it is one of the lucky few who get to play for a chance at a national title in March.

The Aggies were living on the bubble for the latter half of the season thanks to a five-game losing streak that stretched the entirety of February, which included Quad-3 losses to Vanderbilt and Arkansas.

However, the Maroon and White willed themselves back into the tournament with a strong close to the season, going on a five-game winning streak, beating Georgia, Mississippi State and Ole Miss twice.

The final win in that stretch came against Kentucky in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals — the first time A&M has beaten the Wildcats twice in a season — and seemingly clinched the Aggies berth in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. This is the first time A&M has made the NCAA Tournament in consecutive years since 2010-11.

The Maroon and White may not have had to worry about reaching the Big Dance as much as initially

projected, as A&M’s No. 9 seeding put them an entire seed line above the play-in tournament, where they will face off against the 8-seed in the South Region, the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Both teams have history playing against one another in the old Big 12, where the Cornhuskers hold the all-time 12-8 record against the Aggies, but neither have met on the hardwood since 2011.

A&M women’s basketball returns to NCAA Tournament in Year 2 of Joni Taylor era

By Shanielle Veazie @shanielleveazie

Nebraska emerged as a surprise in the Big 10 this season, as the Cornhuskers were picked to finish 12 out of 14 teams. Instead, Nebraska finished third, tallying a 12-8 record with wins over tournament teams like Michigan State, Northwestern Wisconsin and Purdue along the way.

In last year’s NCAA Tournament, the Maroon and White had the unfortunate privilege of playing a red-hot Penn State team that took advantage of A&M’s biggest defensive weakness under coach Buzz Williams: 3-point shooting.

The Nittany Lions came into the game No. 3 in the country in 3-pointers per game and points from beyond the arch, No. 12 in 3-pointers attempted per game and No. 7 in 3-point percentage. Penn State routed the Aggies 76-59, sinking 13 3s on just 22 attempts to send A&M home early.

In a similar fashion to last season, the Maroon and White will have to face their demons once again, as — though maybe not at as high of a clip as Penn State — the Cornhuskers make their living from downtown. Nebraska is No. 29 in 3-pointers attempted per game and No. 21 in 3s made per game, all led by its break-

It’s all gas, no breaks for Joni Taylor and Texas A&M women’s basketball postseason.

The 11-seed Aggies will take on 6-seed Nebraska Cornhuskers women’s basketball team in the first round of the 2024 NCAA tournament on Friday, March 22 at 9:30 p.m. in Corvallis, Oregon.

A&M heads into Gill Coliseum for the Big Dance with much to prove, having lost four of its last five games, but ultimately improving from last year’s 9-20 campaign.

“Joni is relentless,” junior forward MJ Johnson said. “She told us last year when we had seven people that this is not the team that we will be next year and she spoke that life into us last year so we are so grateful to have our name called.”

Taylor has said that her team struggles to come out aggressively and put four quarters together. In SEC play against the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Aggies scored only 20 points in the first half — just 5 in the second quarter. However, the Aggies rallied and scored 53 points in the second half to send the Razorbacks back to Fayetteville with a 73-67 loss.

Ten Aggies owning the hardwood in scoring is what it took to get the job done, with double-digit scoring from senior guards Aicha

What’s it like to fly the president? Former Marine One pilot shares life as an aviator. B1

NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL

NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CAMPUS

No. 8 Nebraska No. 9 Texas A&M

Fri, March 22

5:50 P.M.

Coulibaly and Sahara Jones, sophomore F Janiah Barker and freshman G Solé Williams. This type of production will be needed for the Aggies against the Cornhuskers.

Getting Coulibaly going early will also be key for the Aggies. The Auburn transfer did not back down in the battle against No. 1 South Carolina during the SEC tournament, dropping a career-high 32 points with six rebounds, two assists and three steals.

“We always harp on letting everyone touch the ball,” Jones said. “When we have a high number of assists, we win games.”

No. 6 Nebraska No. 11 Texas A&M

Fri, March 22

9:30 P.M.

Trev Alberts departs from Nebraska, takes helm of Aggie athletic department

By Luke White @LukeWhite03

Managing the glass will also give the Maroon and White an edge. A&M is the No. 18 ranked rebounding team in the nation, notching 42.3 rebounds a contest, and are 14-1 this season when out-rebounding teams by 10 or more.

Last time the Aggies matched up against the Cornhuskers, it was the Huskers that took home a 74-63 win at Reed Arena in the second round of the 2013 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship. The Cornhuskers are 22-11 overall and 11-7 in Big Ten play for their highest seed since 2014. This season, they managed wins over Purdue and NCAA qualifiers Michigan State and Maryland at the Big Ten Tournament before falling short, 89-94, in overtime to No. 1 seed Iowa in the championship game.

Big Ten Freshman of the Year and F Natalie Potts had led the way, owning five double-doubles, including 15 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in the Big Ten quarterfinal win over Michigan State.

It takes a lot of convincing to get someone to leave a university where they’re ingrained in history.

For many years, Trev Alberts was Nebraska football. He was a star linebacker for the Cornhuskers in their prime in the early 1990s, earning the Butkus Award and unanimous All-American honors in 1993. Under legendary coach Tom Osborne, Alberts went from walking beans and detasseling corn on an Iowa farm to being the No. 5 pick of the 1994 NFL Draft.

That year, Alberts’ No. 34 was immortalized in Cornhusker lore with a speedy jersey retirement. Things came full circle in 2021 when Alberts, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, returned to Nebraska as the university’s athletic director and prodigal son.

Yet Alberts’ return to Lincoln, Nebraska didn’t last long, as Texas A&M came calling. The university leadership sought him out as the successor to athletic director Ross Bjork, and an introduction ceremony on Monday, March 18 kicked off his tenure as an Aggie.

“I just can’t begin to tell you how honored that our family is to be standing here,” Alberts said. “This is an elite institution that has unlimited potential. And the more I dug into

SPORTS

ALBERTS CONTINUED

everything about Texas A&M, the more I can see why all of you love this place like none other.”

For a man with as deep roots in Big Red Country as anyone, what brought Alberts to Aggieland? The athletic department believes it found someone special in a man like him, and special places attract special people.

“There’s no reason at a place like Texas A&M that you can’t win at everything,” Alberts said. “I just kept coming back to there isn’t any scenario that I can think of or imagine where this place doesn’t have the opportunity, with alignment in leadership, hard work and focus, and a little discipline and accountability, that they can’t be a leader. Not every institution can say that.”

That said, he hasn’t forgotten about his imprint on Nebraska or, more importantly, it’s imprint on him.

“I’ll always be a Cornhusker, and I appreciate so much what the University of Nebraska has done for me,” Alberts said. “That was a difficult part of this whole transition. I wasn’t looking to leave … that’s a place that changed my life. Other than my faith and my family, most everything I have today, I owe to the University of Nebraska.”

When it came to convincing Alberts to head to College Station, the university itself did most of the talking. We’re not necessarily talking wins or losses, but rather the direction of Texas A&M and its long-term future.

“I don’t think people understand how important momentum

on campus, enrollment growth, research expenditure, those types of things — while it may not seem like it impacts athletics, it does,” Alberts said. “Because part of that momentum and success cascades down into departments like ours … You look at the enrollment. You look at the research dollars. Look at where this institution is today. I don’t know of many institutions that are on the trajectory that Texas A&M is right now.”

Additionally, the draw of A&M started at the top with President Mark A. Welsh III, also in his first year leading the university. Leaders recognize leaders, and the duo of Welsh and Alberts looks to lead the school on the trajectory that the latter spoke of.

“When you’re sitting down there in the trenches, who is beside you?” Alberts said. “Wait a minute, general? A four-star general? And I started just reading a little bit more and watching more videos. And then as I had some interactions with General Welsh, I’m like, ‘Well, this is the real deal’ … When you go through tough times, you want to work with people that you can follow and you can trust and you can believe in.”

Dating back to his days patrolling the Cornhuskers’ defense, Alberts has the experience and insight of a student-athlete. He also brings to the position a business sense that is uncommon amongst athletic directors. Alberts earned his start in athletic administration at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, where he was tutored in the business world by leaders in the industry.

Over 10 years as a sports broad-

MEN’S CONTINUED

out guard, junior Keisei Tominaga.

The Moriyama Nagoya Aichi, Japan native leads the way for the Cornhuskers offensively, averaging 14.9 points per game on 37.2% shooting from 3, part of the reason he has been nicknamed, “The Japanese Steph Curry.” Tominaga has scored at least 18 points in each of Nebraska’s last four games heading into the tournament while scoring a season-high 31 against Illinois on Feb. 24.

Backing him up offensively in the paint is junior forward Rienk Mast. The Groningen, Netherlands native grew up playing korfball, a sport similar to netball, before transitioning to basketball, playing for Bradley University for four years before joining the Cornhuskers this offseason.

Six-foot-10 Mast is Nebraska’s answer down low, but that’s not the only place he can score from. Mast is shooting 34.2% from 3, and has made 41 this year to help push him to third in points per game for the Cornhuskers at 12.5.

The Aggies are tied for 226th nationally in 3-point defense, giving up 6.9 3-point shots a game. In losses to Florida Atlantic, Alabama and Florida, A&M gave up an average 16 made 3-pointers.

Where A&M holds the advantage over Nebraska is where it’s been better than everyone in the country the entire year: on the offensive glass. The Maroon and White are aver-

caster didn’t exactly prepare Alberts for the responsibilities of an athletic director, which, as he learned, weren’t all “[going] to games and occasionally [having] to hire coaches when they retired.” So, having little business knowledge, he surrounded himself with those that did.

“The coolest thing about Omaha, Nebraska, is the business leadership and philanthropy there take the meetings, no matter who you are,” Alberts said. “These are all names you would know, and I went and asked for help … [We] established a working group committee and we went to work. And for 16 months, they taught me business.”

That expertise is more important now than ever in the world of name, image and likeness legislation and the labor status of student-athletes. The direction of college athletics is uncertain, and having a strong sailor to steer the ship is imperative.

“I don’t think any of us know where it’s going, but the only inexcusable thing for us right now is to do nothing to adjust to wherever it goes,” Welsh said. “Something’s got to change, and we need to be at the front end of that change, not chasing it. And that’s one of the things I really liked about Trev and his conversation. He’s willing to make those hard decisions and take the risks that may be involved in keeping us moving forward.”

Alberts has a strong vision for the future that coincides with Welsh’s aspiration of building the No. 1 athletic department in the country. It’s easier said than done, although Welsh kept the plan to do so simple:

“Beat the hell out of everybody.”

aging 17.26 offensive rebounds per game and are No. 1 in the country in rebounds per game. This is due largely to the Aggies’ own international star, senior F Andersson Garcia.

The Moca, Dominican Republic native broke the A&M rebounds in a season record this year with 320, all while finishing second in the country in offensive rebounds, only behind senior Purdue F Zach Edey.

Nebraska is No. 15 nationally in defensive rebounding, but if A&M is to find an answer to the Cornhuskers’ offensive barrage, they will have to get second-chance points from its veteran backcourt in graduate Tyrece Radford and juniors Wade Taylor IV and Manny Obaseki.

While Radford and Taylor have been the offensive catalysts for the Aggies all season, averaging 16 and 18.9 points per game respectively, Obaseki has emerged late in the season as A&M’s third backcourt option.

The Allen native is averaging 15.8 points per game since being inserted into the starting lineup against Georgia. This includes a career-high 25-point performance on the road against Ole Miss.

A&M is looking to reach the second round of March Madness for the first time since 2018, while Nebraska is looking for its first-ever win in the NCAA Tournament. Tip-off is set for 5:50 p.m. on TNT, at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. The winner of this matchup will face the winner of Houston versus Longwood.

WOMEN’S CONTINUED

“They are shooters, real fundamental and screen a lot,” Jones said. “That’s a tough team right there but we are going to do the best that we can do.”

First-Team All-Big Ten center Alexis Markowski averaged 16.5 points, 11.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists in four conference tournament games, including 23 points and 13 rebounds in the Big Ten Championship.

Graduate G Jaz Shelley leads the Cornhuskers, averaging 20.5 points, five rebounds and 8.5 assists, including 16 points and a career-high 13 assists in the Big Ten Championship.

“We obviously have our hands full,” Taylor said. “[Nebraska] made it to the Big Ten Championship and lost in overtime to Iowa so that speaks right away to what they are capable of.”

The Aggies are making their first postseason appearance since the 2021 NCAA Tournament. If A&M were to advance, it would play the winner of No. 3 seed, and host school, Oregon State or Eastern Washington in the second round.

“Like the SEC says, it just means more,” Johnson said. “It just feels different in March for every basketball team across the nation.”

Adriano Espinosa — THE BATTALION

CJ Smith — THE BATTALION

Jaime Rowe — THE BATTALION

(5)

Left: Sophomore forward Solomon Washington (13) during

game against Ole

on

Jan. 27,

at

Arena. Right: Senior guard Aicha Coulibaly (5) approaches the net during Texas A&M’s game against Mississippi State on Feb. 4, 2024 at Reed Arena.

Left: Forward Andersson Garcia (11) runs into the band to fake-play the trumpet after Texas A&M’s win against Texas A&M-Commerce on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023 at Reed Arena. Right: Guard Sydney Bowles (00), guard Sahara Jones (24) and head coach Joni Taylor talk during Texas A&M’s game against South Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024 at Reed Arena.

Fans

at Reed

Show you’ve been waiting for

Inaugural Aggieland fight night to benefit charity, feature nine matches

By Ana Renfroe @aeoenia

In two weeks, 18 amateur Aggie boxers will duke it out at Reed Arena for charity.

Farmers Fight Night, or FFN, is set to host its inaugural high-prole charity boxing match at Texas A&M on April 4 at 6 p.m. Tickets are now on sale through the 12th Man Foundation website. General admission is $25, but reserved seats are available for $35-$50 per ticket. Pay-per-view live streaming will be available through the FFN website.

Reed Arena will be transformed for the event, and the oor will have an elevated boxing ring. Attendees can expect nine threeround matches, featuring intermission performances by the Aggie Dance Team, Aggie Wranglers and a karate demonstration from Kickstart Kids.

Additionally, businesses have donated free items to give away at the event through random seat drawings, such as a year’s supply of Community Co ee.

All pro ts will bene t United Way of the Brazos Valley, a Bryan-based nonpro t that assists residents with a ordable housing, healthcare access, reliable transportation and education.

While still subject to change until the day of the event, the matches are as follows:

Welterweight: 147 pounds

Tom Sengphet vs Charles Villegas

Light middleweight: 156 pounds

Francis Cristal vs Frank Chiu

Angelo Castro vs Christian Chavira

Light heavyweight: 176 pounds

Jake Young vs Glenn Peacock

Will Loftin vs Eric Wilhite

AJ Baird vs Emi Sanchez

Kim Peteros vs Jake Zawaideh

Cruiserweight: 189 pounds

Stadler Kirsten vs Edward Clark

Heavyweight: 203 pounds

Kobe Mora vs Chandler Banks

Senior biological and agricultural engineer Saryn Paulsen is the vice president of marketing for FFN. While its mission is philanthropy rst, its ghters just want to put on a good show.

Paulsen said the student-organized event has been in the works since 2023, when its boxers had little-to-no ghting experience in October. Undergoing four days a week of training, these ghters have been sharpening their skills with practice and sparring.

“[Our VP of training] says that just like the skill, the level of experience in the ring and their ability to have good boxing IQ is just night and day di erent from where they were six months ago when they rst started,” Paulsen said, adding that attendees can hope for solid, technical ghts.

Criminally hot temperatures

A&M academics unpack reasons behind suggested crime, heat correlations

By Stacy Cox @StacyCox05

a correlation between hot weather and crime rates,” Medina said. “I think crime rises not due to temperature, but due to socioeconomic status.”

In Bryan-College Station, there has been a rise in crime reports. The reported crimes include theft, where SWAT was involved, shootings and stolen rearms. These reports occurred when the hot weather in Texas was on the rise.

Sociology senior Sarah Medina said while there may be a correlation between crime and weather, there are other factors to be considered.

“I don’t necessarily think there’s

Sociology professor and director of graduate recruitment Robert J. Durán, Ph.D., said socioeconomics and living conditions must be considered.

“We see higher violent and property crime levels in hotter temperatures and hotter regions,” Durán said. “However, it has disproportionately impacted certain groups who may not be able to remove themselves from heat and

impact those with less access to these necessities.”

Durán said these groups, impacted mainly by the harmful effects of crime and heat, must be considered when deciding whether the two issues connect.

“I believe there is disproportionate impact in regards to race, sex and economics of the individuals as compared to other groups,” Durán said. “I think it’s not just one, but multiple factors besides weather that contribute to crime rates.”

Other factors to be considered include individuals who lack ac-

cess to the necessities needed to escape the heat. Durán said these individuals are more likely to be used as sources in these research studies.

“People that cannot remove themselves from heat are more likely to be monitored for these correlations between heat and crime,” Durán said. “Disproportionately, some people can stay indoors more than outdoors, so it would impact people and groups di erently.”

Sociology senior Stephanie Orozco said those who do not

How it feels to y Marine One

Exclusive interview with former Marine One pilot Col. Steve Taylor

By Mia Putnam @MiaBatt25

Every pilot faces the challenge of navigating di cult airways and delivering cargo to safety, but few compare to the Marine One pilots responsible for transporting the president of the United States. Retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. Steve Taylor was one of these select pilots for over 20 years.

Taylor became a pilot and eventually commander of the Marine Helicopter Squadron One, or HMX-1. Taylor served under Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.

One of the helicopters Taylor regularly ew found its permanent home at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum’s new pavilion. It is joined by the 4141 Locomotive, which also transported President George H.W. Bush during his time in o ce.

Taylor said his interest in aviation was rst sparked when he joined the Marine Corps in his 20s after an invitation from a friend to speak to a Marine selection o cer.

“It was my senior year, and I was getting ready to go o to law school …” Taylor said. “I initially resisted, but I rode down with him and we talked but he ended up not going and I ended up signing into the Marine Corps … It was kind of more random and accidental, but it turned out in the scheme of life to be a very good thing for me.”

Taylor said he initially signed up for a six-year commitment in 1975, but ended up spending over 28 years ying with the Marines.

“I was a pilot in the squadron of 75 pilots from 1983 to 1988 when Ronald Reagan was president and [George] H.W. Bush was vice president,” Taylor said. “As a young guy, I ew VP H.W. Bush a number of times on a couple of occasions. I then left the squadron and then came back in 2000 and commanded the squadron from 2001 to 2003, where I had several occasions that I ew President Bush in the helicopter that [the Bush Library] now has.”

Transporting the president was gratifying, Taylor said, but comes with responsibility.

“There are a hundred things that can go wrong every single day in that job, so the job is to be sure that things don’t go wrong and that the president gets where he needs to be on time,” Taylor said.

Taylor said his most memorable ight as a Marine One pilot was after 9/11 occurred.

“On Thursday, the phone rang and they said the president wanted to go to New York and be there on Sept. 14 … On Friday morning, President Bush ew in and we picked him, Governor [George] Pataki and Mayor [Rudy] Giuliani up at McGuire and took them up to New York City. We took them

Ethan Mattson — THE BATTALION

Ani Tummalapalli — THE BATTALION

PILOT CONTINUED

HEAT CONTINUED

have access to air conditioning are targeted and impacted by crime rates.

“I think already if you can’t a ord A/C that you are already stigmatized and targeted,” Orozco said. “Those that do not have access to A/C will tend to go into public spaces that do have that A/C, leading them to be charged with loitering, overall making the chance of being incarcerated higher.”

Durán said another factor contributing to the connection between heat and crime is the activities we tend to do during the hot seasons.

“Routine activities, which during summer, people are more likely to be out and about participating in their leisure activities around other people,” Durán said. “Uncomfortability and people around each other can cause people to be provoked more than they normally would.”

Orozco said for those who partake in warmer weather activities

of the public to view and visit on June 13, the day after what would have been Presi-

and went to the beach during this spring break, the crime in those areas de nitely rose.

“It’s almost the social norm in those coastal areas, there’s more expectations of certain age demographics, like college students to partake in certain activities that can lead to incarceration rates rising,” Orozco said. “I think that it would be really fascinating to see the data of very coastal and rural areas, to see if the same crime in other areas are still happening.”

To combat increases in crime, especially in economically disadvantaged areas, Durán said corporations contributing to climate change and rising temperatures should face consequences.

“Looking at crime rates in correlation to climate change, at some point, these massive corporations that cause climate change need to be held accountable and their corporate practices need to be monitored,” Durán said.

Corporations are not the only individuals that must be held accountable for contributing to crime, but Durán said political

BOXING CONTINUED

Compared to other sports, Paulsen said training to box is like preparing for a marathon. Aside from learning technical moves, Paulsen said the ghters have been completing lots of cardio alongside monitoring their nutrition. This semester, ghters have rened their knowledge with local boxing coach Carl Perry at BCS Boxing Club.

Paulsen said FFN is a new iteration of a past, impromptu boxing event that happened on the Corps of Cadets Quad.

“Some guys in the Corps just got an idea that they were going to throw up a boxing ring in the middle of Quad, and they were

dent Bush’s 100th birthday. There will be special events at the centennial commemoration on June 11-13, along with the opening of the new pavilion at the Bush Library.

Taylor said he hopes when students go to view the helicopter, they will think of the many im-

groups must be held responsible.

“Crime is impacted politically and politically favored no matter the party to be harsh on crime,” Durán said. “In the study of crime, there is a lot of fear of what causes it, and it is often used politically and policy-wise, which often doesn’t incorporate the research and knowledge on the topic.”

Durán said the research and data do not match what the public and politics perceive as correct.

“The data sources that we have say that crime has decreased, so our data sources have reported the opposite perception of public view,” Durán said.

Orozco said those collecting the data for these statistics target certain marginalized groups.

“I think that the statistic is stigmatized, and it bene ts people to target those that are less privileged in order to prove their statistic,” Orozco said.

When describing their own experience with the Texas heat, Medina and Orozco both said similar descriptions.

“Whenever the weather is hot,

gonna have people walk up, sign a waiver and step in and ght,” Paulsen said. “Obviously, the university kind of said, ‘No, you can’t do that.’”

However, the idea remained and morphed into an o cial event. Ironically, Paulsen said obtaining the venue was one of the easiest parts of planning.

Paulsen said hardest part has been obtaining donations to fund the event. She said FFN is still $510,000 short of its $30,000 goal, but local businesses have been chipping in to help.

Before the event, FFN is hosting Honor Night, an invite-only gala event and silent auction for members, family, friends and donors. Paulsen said Harley David-

portant people who have been in that place and the memories that come with it.

“It makes me happy that these helicopters, particularly this one, are going to a good home,” Taylor said. “There is tremendous history … every president since Nixon has own in those, and it is

I get agitated and annoyed,” Medina said.

It is no secret that heat is an evident issue, especially in Texas.

“I would describe the hotter weather in Texas as terrible, brutal and intense,” Orozco said. “I’ve noticed that when the weather is colder, and I go a duration without eating I think my mood is ne, but when we add in that other stimulant of the hotter weather, I think I de nitely get more annoyed because it's too many things all at once.”

Durán said the relation between hot weather and crime is evident.

“In terms of how high temperatures are, speci cally in Texas, it can get extremely hot, especially during summertime,” Durán said. “Who even wants to be out at some of these times of the day? Yet, Texas as a state usually has higher crime levels.”

Durán said the groups usually targeted for these crimes, which are used in the data to correlate weather and heat, are seen in Texas areas.

“In a study that I reviewed,

son, Aggieland Out tters, Community Co ee and more donated baskets to assist fundraising e orts.

Soon, Paulsen said FFN hopes to expand the event to include more matches and morph into the o cial A&M boxing club. Previously, there was a competitive boxing club, but it has remained inactive after COVID-19 restrictions. While a large part of its current membership is in the Corps, FFN hopes to recruit other high-impact groups, such as fraternities.

“Not only will we continue to do our big Fight Night, in the spring every year, but we’ll also have competitive boxers who compete on behalf of A&M,” Paulsen said.

important that they be on display and that people get a good view, but also relate to each of the presidents … that ew in each one of those helicopters.”

I read that crime is likely to rise as temperatures begin to rise, and this goes back to disproportionality in regards to race, sex and more vulnerable groups who have been impacted the most,” Durán said.“It is important to note that certain groups are more likely impacted, and it's not a general amount of everyone being arrested and sentenced to prison. It’s instead people who are more marginalized in society.”

Whether or not crime rises due to hot weather, Durán said this relationship and others are used to ignore the real issues.

“I think in the study of crime, there’s often an easy scapegoat to try and explain why we shouldn't have to handle all these other forms of inequalities in our society,” Durán said. “It becomes easy to blame the weather, mental health or an individual, especially when it is unequal across demographics.”

Fighter AJ Baird prepares for the second round during Farmers Fight NIght sparring practice on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, at BCS Boxing Club.

Ani Tummalapalli — THE BATTALION

I wasn’t the kind of person you would expect to see out with friends on a Friday night. So why, after a year sober from parties, was I suddenly surrounded by a group of guys blowing mullein smoke at midnight? The answer wasn’t what I expected.

They say we’re in the midst of a loneliness epidemic, that technology connects us but also isolates us. As the smoke curled into the air, I wondered if we’ve forgotten the simple rituals that used to bring people together.

The whole scene — the relaxed atmosphere, the easy flow of conversation — it felt like a throwback to a different era. As we stood outside, my friends explained the truth: smoking herbs wasn’t about getting a buzz, but about the buzz of a conversation. Think of it as a warm, portable bonfire we can all surround, anywhere. And then it struck me:

what if the answer to this loneliness epidemic isn’t another digital app, but a rediscovery of the past?

Herbs are something I’ve been familiar with for a while because I help my mom package and mix herbs she sells for her business. In fact, I already put most of the same herbs people smoke into my tea for the taste and health benefits. Some of the most common herbs people smoke are as ordinary as raspberry leaves, rose petals, blue lotus flowers and spearmint.

It seems simple, yet we live in a world where mental health concerns are at an alltime high, and our solutions often revolve around more technology.

Clips of teens in the 1980s hanging out at the 7-Eleven make a stark contrast to today’s world. That easy chitter-chatter at church, once a staple of community life, has faded into the silence of deserted group chats. Despite the ease of virtual connection, it doesn’t seem as natural to shoot the breeze anymore, leaving us with a lingering sense of emptiness.

When thinking about things to do with friends, our options also feel surprisingly limited. Sure, we could go for a walk, watch TV and maybe a couple of other activities depending on the type of person you are, but none of these place a focus on each other. The ease of sharing herbs with a friend — the impromptu talks, the comfortable silence — fills a gap that our usual social routines don’t seem to address.

It wasn’t until that night with my friends that I saw herbs in a whole new light. I knew they could be good for you, but I never considered them as a tool for connection. Now, it made me wonder: could the benefits go deeper than I’d ever imagined? Could my mom’s simple remedies hold the key to something bigger — to healthier communities, not just healthier bodies?

The path to well-being isn’t as complicated as we think. It starts with simple, wholesome interactions. The Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest of its kind, backs it up too. For decades, the study followed 724 men, revealing a powerful truth: the quality of our

relationships ultimately determines our health and happiness. In other words, positive connections truly make us live longer.

The Harvard study is decades in the making and suggests connections make us healthier, happier and even live longer. But knowing that and actually making it a priority are two different things. We don’t need scientists to tell us technology can be isolating. Yet, replacing real-life interaction with digital substitutes has become our default.

What if a simple shift, something as easy as swapping a screen for a shared smoke, could help us break that cycle? Advocating smoking sounds weird to say because of the negative connotation we’ve attached to smoking. It’s unconventional, sure, but it beats another night scrolling alone.

Eddie Phillips is an engineering senior and an opinion writer for The Battalion.