MONDAY, MARCH 18 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2019 STUDENT MEDIA
TEXAS A&M STUDENT MEDIA RECOGNIZED At the 2019 Texas Intercollegiate Press Association conference, held March 13 through 16 in Corpus Christi, Texas A&M Student Media received 36 awards for their work throughout 2018. Among the awards, The Battalion, The Aggieland, thebatt.com and student media staff members received the following: • The Battalion won first place for overall excellence among newspapers. • thebatt.com won first for overall design and second place for overall excellence. • The Aggieland yearbook won first place in overall design and second place for overall excellence. • Battalion Photo Chief and page designer Cassie Stricker was named individual excellence designer of the year.
Meredith Seaver — THE BATTALION
Aggies celebrate after junior Braden Shewmake scores in the bottom of the seventh inning off of a Ty Coleman single.
Down go the Commodores No. 22 A&M takes series win from No. 2 Vanderbilt in SEC play By Brian Bass @brianbass4
Savannah Merthens — THE BATTALION
Marketing senior Jessamy Tomlinson is a part of the experimental marketing class that assisted with the Texas A&M [Power] House at South by Southwest.
Aggies in Austin
Starting right-handed pitcher Christian Roa led a defensive masterpiece from No. 22 Texas A&M en route to a 7-0 shutout over No. 2 Vanderbilt, clinching the series for the Aggies at
Olsen Field on Sunday. The sophomore threw seven strikeouts, three hits and allowed two walks in seven innings pitched. Sophomore Bryce Miller pitched the final two innings with three strikeouts of his own and allowed one hit. “It feels great,” Roa said. “Getting out there and getting a win for the team — we just played great today. It feels amazing punching back after a Friday night loss — there’s nothing better.”
A&M head coach Rob Childress put Roa in the starting rotation Sunday after freshman Jonathan Childress went down with an injury earlier this season. Rob Childress said he was impressed with Roa’s progress on the mound. “Just his maturity, throwing over the plate,” Childress said. “Numbers as far as logs to strike outs and hits to innings pitched are very good. He’s just really good at managing the game. He’s going BASEBALL ON PG. 4
Students gain real-world experience through data collection and planning for SXSW events By Hannah Falcon @hannahfalcon_ Anyone at South by Southwest 2019 could walk into the Texas A&M [Power] House and see concerts or sessions featuring experts during the three days it was open. However, not just anyone could not see the research and planning put in by Texas A&M students before and after the conference. A&M’s Division of Marketing and Communications teamed up with the Mays Business School to create an experiential marketing class centered around improving A&M’s presence at SXSW. The class created a way to collect data about guests entering and exiting the venue and will present their findings to the marketing and communications team. Michael Green, Class of 2011 and manager of emerging and interactive media, helped coordinate with Mays to put together the SXSW [Power] House. “This year being the third year of our presence at South by, we needed to step it up in a way,” Green said. “I think SXSW ON PG. 2
Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION
Billy Kennedy served as the Aggie men’s basketball head coach for eight seasons with a final record of 151-116.
Kennedy fired after eight seasons After 14-18 season, A&M parts ways with head basketball coach By Brian Bass @brianbass4 Texas A&M Athletic Director Scott Woodward announced Friday that men’s basketball coach Billy Kennedy will not return for the 2019-2020 season in College Station.
Kennedy’s firing comes days after a report from the Houston Chronicle that said a “person with knowledge of the situation” said Kennedy would be let go after the Aggies’ exit from the SEC tournament in Nashville. A&M had a 14-18 overall finish this season that included a 6-12 SEC record in 2018. “Billy’s tenure included some great memories and remarkable achievements,” Woodward said. “He repre-
sented our program and Texas A&M University with distinction. Without question, Billy Kennedy is a first-class person. On behalf of Aggies everywhere, my thanks to Billy and his family for his service to Texas A&M. I wish him the very best.” During his time at A&M, Kennedy led the Aggies to two Sweet Sixteen appearances in the NCAA tournament in 2016 and 2018 in addition to three KENNEDY ON PG. 4
Spreading the word
For 2019 Shalom Project, Breakaway partners with three organizations devoted to making the Bible more accessible
Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION
Spring graduation will be held at Reed Arena May 9-11.
By Kenedi Kruger @kenedikrug
Graduation guide A checklist for before, during and after the May commencement ceremonies for families, students By Savannah Mehrtens @SJMehrtens Before students headed out for Spring Break, Texas A&M released the dates and times of its upcoming commencement ceremonies on graduation.tamu.edu. Preparing for graduation can involve a wide variety of factors, including finding a hotel, seeking a place to host an event in town or just knowing places to eat in the Bryan-College Station area. GRADUATION ON PG. 3
FILE
This year, Breakaway Ministries is raising money for Elam, Seed Company and the Deaf Bible Society.
Breakaway volunteers are saying “shalom” to their annual project focused on sharing the word of God. Every year, Breakaway Ministries puts on the Shalom Project, based on the Hebrew word for peace and dedicated to positively impacting others. This year, Breakaway is partnering with three organizations with the specific goal of spreading the word of God to people across the world: Elam, Seed Company and the Deaf Bible Society. All of the organizations Breakaway is working with this year focus on getting different versions of the Bible to those who may not have easy or immediate access. Associate director of Strategic Partnerships Rachel Thweatt, Class of 2015, is the leader of the Shalom Project. “In answering ‘what is the Shalom Project,’ it’s important to first think about how to define Shalom,” Thweatt said. “One of our favorite definitions of Shalom is Shalom is not just the absence of conflict, but the presence of flourishing.” SHALOM ON PG. 3