The Battalion — November 3, 2022

Basketball bounces back into Reed

By Matthew Cobb @MatthewCobb_

The Texas A&M men’s basketball team is mak ing its return to Reed Arena on Friday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. The Aggies will play Texas A&M-Kingsville in an exhibition that is free to the public.

Friday’s exhibition is the first return to action

since the Aggies’ run in the NIT Tournament in March. Despite being left out of the NCAA Tour nament, A&M made it to the NIT championship where they ultimately lost to Xavier 73-72.

The Aggies started off their season 15-2 last year before losing eight straight games. With the season looking like a lost cause, the Aggies inexplicably finished 10-2, made the SEC Tournament finals and later the NIT championship.

It is safe to say, then, that most do not know what to expect out of the Aggies this season. A&M coach Buzz Williams will try to build upon the success in the SEC and NIT tournaments and play with more consistency.

“I hope that we can somewhat begin this year the way the momentum carried us the last 14 games of last year,” Williams said.

Williams will certainly miss guard Quenton Jackson, who graduated and was signed as an un drafted free agent to the Washington Wizards. Jackson led the Aggies down the stretch, as the super senior averaged 14.8 points per game. Losing his most dynamic player, and best scorer will be tough for Williams to navigate.

“We’ll miss his competitive character,” Wil liams said. “We’ll for sure miss his speed and his skill. I thought over the last month of the season,

Shapiro degrades LGBTQ community at Rudder

troversial topics and criticism of leftwing politics.

Shapiro opened his speech criti cizing gender-affirming healthcare, claiming transgender individuals up hold unethical values.

Shapiro discussed the rise of “transgressivism” by the transgender community, but he did not define the term during his speech. Shapiro also blamed a rise of suicide in young children on the “indoctrination” by the LGBTQ+ community, citing a song by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus that states “we’re coming for your children.”

der-affirming healthcare lowers, rather than increases, suicide rates in transgender youth, though The World Professional Association for Transgender Health does not rec ommend hormone therapy until adulthood.

Shapiro said it is up to state and local governments to prevent the abuse of children and fight transgen der ideas politically and personally.

Vaccination information: COVID-19, flu for winter season

By Madison Umphrey @u_madison

Flu cases continue to rise in the United States resulting in community health challenges.

As flu season approaches there are specific things to be conscious of when it comes to illness. Infection can be prevent ed by washing hands frequent ly, social distancing and staying hydrated. The COVID-19 vac cine and flu shots are available on campus and the surrounding Bryan-College Station area.

Workforce Development Co ordinator of the Brazos County Health District Mary Parrish said the best thing individuals can do to stay healthy is to get their flu shot and COVID-19 immuniza tions and boosters.

“Staying up to date on those will be the best thing for you,” Parrish said. “Not only do they prevent disease, but if by chance you do get sick it greatly short ens the amount of time you’re sick and will give you much less severe complications.”

Student Health and Services family nurse practitioner Ellie Leal recommends getting the flu shot before the spike, as peak in fection months begin.

“Hopefully before December, January [is] when we start to see spikes,” Leal said. “Ramping up to December through January is when we start to see [a] kind of peak flu season … We tend to be a few months behind Eu rope and the new COVID[-19] variant B4 [and] B5 is starting to peak in Europe so we can expect it to peak over here in the next few months”

Parrish said there has been a huge rise in flu cases this past month.

“We had 800 cases of the flu for the month of October com pared to last year,” Parrish said. “We had 489 cases. That is al most double the amount we had [last year].”

According to Baylor Scott & White’s website, the flu shot cannot cause the flu.

By Caroline Wilburn @carolinewilb

In a line stretching down Mili tary Walk, students waited to hear a speech from one of the nation’s most

“There’s no question that ‘trans gressivism’ targets kids,” Shapiro said. “They have to because here’s the thing if you wish to disrupt the society, you have to start with a crowd of people who have not been shaped and molded by the institu tions.”

Reports have shown that gen

“More importantly, we have to reinvigorate a deeper sense of iden tity that used to characterize West ern civilization, we have to get away from the idea that the real you is just your feelings, that the real you is who you choose to have sex with,” Sha piro said. “That the real you is ev erybody reflecting back at you what you feel about the world. That is not reality, it is not healthy, it is not good for society, it is not workable and it is not reasonable.”

“Some people may experi ence a little soreness or swelling when they receive the shot, but it goes away in a day or two,” according to Baylor Scott & White. “Serious problems from the flu shot are rare. Sometimes a person who gets a flu vaccine can get the flu, but it will often be milder than without the flu vaccine.”

Parrish said it can often be difficult to tell the difference between COVID-19 and the flu symptoms, and recommends seeing a healthcare provider to get tested for both.

Campus dining expands

Dining Hall

changes,

By Madison Umphrey @u_madison

Texas A&M dining plans to expand and help maintain an easier dining experience.

The A&M dining options are to be expanded throughout the year to allow a more accessible way for students to grab and go with less wait time. These inno vations are in the process and will contin ue to grow throughout the school year. There will be more food options on West Campus, mobile ordering and self-check

out kiosks will be at multiple locations.

Marketing Director for Aggie Dining Brittany Coker said the new technology was launched at the beginning of the fall semester.

“We have our self-order kiosks at most of our retail locations and at most of our convenient stores as well,” Coker said. “A lot of scan grab and go makes it a lot faster for students to get in and out, especial ly when they’re late to class or they have tight deadlines they need to get to.”

Communications senior Mary-Helen Schuricht said it’s convenient to eat on campus.

“Dining dollars allow for me to pur chase food on campus quickly and effi

ciently without having to bring food from home with me to class,” Schuricht said. “It is also nice that I can just swipe my student ID in order to pay instead of having to pull out cash or a credit card.”

Coker said some of the innovations have had a positive impact on students.

“We have noticed that students use the kiosks when they can just zoom right through, which has been great,” Coker said.

Coker said there are other innovations besides self-order kiosks that allow stu dents to grab and go meals in a more con venient way.

“We launched mobile ordering in Sep tember. This is through the transact mo bile ordering app,” Coker said. “We have them right now at a lot of our internal

controversial political commentators.

Hosted by Texas A&M Young Americans for Freedom, Ben Shap iro spoke to hundreds of students on Nov. 1 in Rudder Auditorium.

The host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” editor-in-chief of The Daily Wire and four-time New York Times bestselling author is best known for his conservative viewpoint on con

Jonathan Taffet — THE BATTALION

Two students eat outside of Sbisa Dining Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022.

Basketball returns to the hardwood on Friday against Kingsville, highlights additions

The 2022-2023 Texas A&M Aggies men’s basketball team celebrates coach Buzz Williams’ 300th win over Oregon during the National Invitation Tournament at Reed Arena on Saturday, Mar. 19, 2022.

Robert O’Brien— THE BATTALION

Political commentator Ben Shapiro speaks in Rudder Auditorium on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022.

Local options for student voters

Students share voting plans for midterm elections

By Emma Lawson @ELawsonAtTheBat

Many college students are now able to vote for the rst time; all they have to do is nd a way to get to the voting booth.

More college students voted in the 2020 election compared to the 2016 election with 59% of rst-year students voting, according to the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education.

Due to the Memorial Student Center, or MSC, no longer being o ered as an early voting location, students have to nd alternative locations. Not every student has access to a car on campus, making o -campus voting sites di cult to access.

The Texas A&M chapter of Mobilize. Organize.Vote. Empower. or MOVE, and Mothers Against Greg Abbott, or MAGA, have organized buses to transport students to the College Station City Hall for early voting, with hopes of encouraging students to continue engagement in the community and using their vote as a method of change.

Computer science junior Aadith Thiru-

vallarai is the social director of the A&M chapter of MOVE Texas and said he previously voted at the MSC because it was easily accessible as a student, but he had to change plans for this year.

“The MSC was so much easier to work with, especially when I don’t have a car to drive,” Thiruvallarai said. “But now, because it’s at College Station City Hall, there’s a lot of added planning that goes into it.”

Thiruvallarai said that it is essential to encourage students to vote and give them the resources to do so to encourage civic engagement.

“It’s important for students to have a say in the political world,” Thiruvallarai said. “It starts with having an understanding of what’s going on, and then getting more involved in protests, voting, talking to local representatives, statewide representatives or national.”

Donors helped MOVE Texas raise enough money to organize transportation with the Aggie Spirit Buses, Thiruvallarai said.

“My hope is that everyone can go because we now have this resource,” Thiruvallarai said. “Now the biggest obstacle is making sure people are aware of it and getting the word out.”

Marketing senior Ishika Shah is the

project manager at the A&M chapter of MOVE Texas and said her personal voting plan is to drive to city hall.

“I’ll go in the morning before school because I live a minute from city hall,” Shah said. “So, because I have a car, it’s convenient for me.”

MOVE Texas hopes to provide students with the opportunity to vote by having the Aggie Spirit Buses available and running during early voting for students needing transportation to city hall, Shah said.

“We’re hoping that lots of students get out to the polls since we’ve put in a lot of e ort toward organizing these early voting shuttles to make voting possible,” Shah said.

There will be a bus every 20 minutes, or three buses every hour, and due to early voting being typically less crowded, it is predicted to be a exible option for students who want to vote in between classes, Shah said.

“It’s directly from campus to city hall and city hall to campus, so there’s no stops in between,” Shah said. “The ride should be 10 minutes, and during early voting, the wait time for the polls is signi cantly lower.”

In hopes of helping students with the process, MOVE Texas hopes to provide students with the tools needed to maintain

political awareness and become involved by voting, Shah said.

“So we just try to make that information more accessible, because it is important for students to show up and have a voice in these elections,” Shah said.

Biochemistry and genetics junior Nushrat Rashid is a member of the Students for a Democratic Society, or SDS, and said she plans on voting at MSC on Election Day.

“I did early voting here last time, so I’ll probably just come again on Election Day,” Rashid said.

Although Rashid said the buses are a great resource for students, removing the MSC as an early voting site is a huge problem that students should speak up on.

“It feels like a bandage on the issue,” Rashid said. “The fact that they would take [the MSC] away for early voting is beyond frustrating and will hurt students’ ability to vote.”

As a member of SDS, Rashid said it’s important for students to take an active role in their community by utilizing the resources available.

“I think a lot of people have cynicism over the situation, but we need to do something about it,” Rashid said. “Use what you can.”

It’s more than an old ring.

All its polish and ornate details may be gone, leaving only an amorphous wad of gold, but its owner sees it differently. For him, this old ring represents a special place and time where he learned who he was and what he could become. Neither he nor this ring looks the same as they did then, but they both still shine, nevertheless.

Since 1953, donors to the Texas A&M Foundation have helped provide life-changing scholarships and support for Texas A&M University students earning their Aggie rings. Learn how you can help build a brighter future for Aggies today and tomorrow at txamfoundation.com.

College Station City Hall on Texas Avenue in College Station, Texas on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2022.

Samuel Falade— THE BATTALION

Directly following his speech, Shapiro took questions from the majority student-filled au dience.

Industrial engineering junior Michael Har ris asked Shapiro, a Jewish-American, his views on the antisemitic comments Ye, for merly known as Kanye West, has made re cently in the media.

“I’m not sure what there is to say about that,” Shapiro said. “The only thing I might add is he’s pretty obviously bipolar, and I would think that right now he looks like he’s in the middle of a manic episode. I only say that because I have members of my family who have been bipolar or had manic episodes. One of the characteristics of a manic episode is that everything that comes out of your mouth you think is a wonderful idea, even when every one around you is telling you to stop, which seems pretty obvious because he continues to destroy his career and his wealth based on his own foolishness.”

Following a question regarding the Daily wire’s impact on the current divisive political state of the U.S., Shapiro said the openly con servative publication is not to blame.

“Number one, is my company engaged in the depolarization? No,” Shapiro said. “We’re a conservative company. We are an openly conservative company, we print a lot of con servative articles.”

When asked how young men can combat what some view as a trend of demasculiniza tion, Shapiro said men have a responsibility to

brands [like] Copperhead Jack’s, 1876 Burg ers, Houston Street Subs and Rev’s.”

Business administration freshman Jessica Cervantes said there is room for improvement to allow for a great number of students to eat on campus. “I would like to see more Mexican food and dessert options available on campus,” Cer vantes said.

Coker said there is a new transformation happening with one particular on-campus food option.

“Wild Blue Sushi is on campus and makes fresh sushi every morning, every single day and then that sushi goes out to all our con venience stores at all of our locations,” Coker said. “In the spring we will be getting a live counter so that students can actually see them making the sushi.”

Cervantes said the convenience provided by existing dining hall options could be im proved.

“I would say there could be some improve ments with how late they stay open on week ends,” Cervantes said. “It becomes an incon venience if you miss the dining hall hours.”

Coker said with the new improvements,

serve their country, community and family.

“Either men are going to channel their ag gression and their testosterone into the pursuit of defending things that are worth defending, or they’re going to tear down society,” Shap iro said. “What we are seeing right now is the latter. Then the leftists are sitting there appar ently laughing at that and yelling at Jordan Pe terson for having these narratives to tell young men [to] take on responsibility.”

Referencing research that shows similar ge netic markers in gay men, an audience mem ber questioned Shapiro’s opinion that increas es in individuals identifying as LGTBQ can be attributed to primarily social factors.

“There is a trendiness to certain behavior,” Shapiro said. “There’s a trendiness to identify ing in a certain way. It’s happened before and it will happen again I’m sure — social conta gions are a thing.”

Studies have shown links between the trans gender community and a social contagion, like Shapiro references, to be false. The CDC has also shown a decline in adolescents identifying as transgender from 2017 to 2019.

Shapiro concluded his speech by answering a question about how to spread conservatism within the Jewish community.

“We have to get more Jews to take the To rah seriously,” Shapiro said. “If people want Jews to actually be more conservative, then Jews need to believe in a more conservative worldview which tends to identify and cor relate very strongly with traditional Judaism as opposed to a weakened form of Judaism or no Judaism at all in practice and in theory.”

convenience could make more students likely to take advantage of the dining hall options.

“I think the biggest thing would be the convenience aspect of it,” Coker said. “They don’t have to worry about going off campus [and] how much time it takes getting on and off campus or just having to plan their sched ule around getting back to campus.”

Schuricht said on-campus dining options are useful for students with busy schedules.

“I use my dining dollars almost every single day on campus to buy coffee or lunch in be tween my classes,” Schuricht said.

Coker said Sbisa Dining Hall won a spe cial award recently for being eco-friendly and A&M is the first university in Texas to receive this award.

“Sbisa Dining Hall was rated ‘Certified Green Restaurant: 3 stars’ which is the first university dining hall in Texas to reach a 3-star level,” Coker said. “This is all related to sus tainability and our sustainability efforts.”

Coker said there are many ways to keep in touch with the new updates continuously growing with Aggie dining.

“We do have a website dining.tamu.edu, we are very active on our social media @ag giedining on Instagram on Tiktok and Face book,” Coker said.

COVID CONTINUED

“One of the biggest differences between the two is that most COVID[-19] patients will have much more noticeable respiratory issues,” Parrish said. “Most people would de scribe [flu] as a tightness.”

Parrish said there was a sharp decrease in the number of flu cases during the pandemic era.

“It wasn’t because people weren’t getting tested, it was because people were being very diligent on washing their hands, wearing masks, social distancing and all these things,” Parrish said. “These are still good practices to upkeep.”

Leal said there are antiviral medications that can benefit those who have a weak immune system or additional medical risks.

“There are antiviral medications like Pax lovid for COVID[-19] and Tamiflu for influ enza that can potentially shorten the duration and lessen the severity of the symptoms,” Leal said. “We typically only prescribe these to people who are at risk categories which are people with chronic illnesses.”

Parrish said the Brazos County Health Dis trict offers free COVID-19 vaccines and flu shots.

“You don’t have to have insurance or an

appointment. All you have to do is show up to the front desk and ask for [a COVID-19 or flu shot],” Parrish said. “We would be more than happy to set you up.”

Leal said the COVID-19 boosters and the flu vaccine are free to all students at the clin ic and pharmacy provided by Student Health Services.

“Anyone can get online or call and schedule an appointment to schedule a COVID[-19] booster or flu vaccine or both, they are safe to get together,” Leal said.

According to Baylor Scott & White, the COVID-19 vaccination is safe and effective even after getting sick with COVID-19.

“Yes. People who have gotten sick with COVID-19 may still benefit from getting vac cinated,” according to Baylor Scott & White.

Baylor Scott & White’s website demon strates who is eligible to receive the vaccina tion.

“The COVID-19 Pfizer and Moderna vac cines are now eligible for those six months of age and older,” according to Baylor Scott and White. “The Johnson & Johnson onedose vaccine is authorized in those ages 18 and older.”

Halloween Candy: Ranked

Whoppers are the worst Halloween candy, and Rainwater said he finds the quality of the malt balls to be absolutely terrible.

By Emma Lawson @ELawsonAtTheBat

Halloween, full of scares and spooks, wouldn’t be complete without a little some thing sweet as well.

The amount of Halloween candy sold has steadily increased since 2020 and consumers have bought $3.1 billion worth of Halloween candy in 2022, according to Statista. While favorite candies are purely personal, some candies sell better than others. Reese’s Pea nut Butter Cups sell the most candy across America, but in Texas, Starbursts are the most popular candy, according to Candy Store. Not every candy is a winner, and some of the most hated Halloween products include candy corn, circus peanuts and Smarties.

Business freshman Caden Rainwater said Skittles are the highest value candy with many positives, including taste and amount.

“It takes longer to eat than a classic candy bar,” Rainwater said. “There’s also plenty of quality in every Skittle. There is no Skittle that is shorted out.”

As a business major, Rainwater said he en joys candy with both quantity and quality.

“I’m an efficient man and that’s what I’m looking for in my Halloween candy,” Rain water said. “I want bang for my buck.”

“I’m not trying to walk miles on a Hallow een evening for a brick the size of a choco late ball,” Rainwater said. “And that’s what a Whopper is.”

Nutrition freshman Caroline Stacy said her favorite Halloween candy is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups due to loving peanut butter.

“Peanut butter is good for you. It does have certain nutrients that are good for your body,” Stacy said. “The chocolate, not so much, but it just tastes so good.”

When it comes to least favorite candy, Stacy said her least favorite is candy corn, but she also dislikes candy with whole peanuts.

“I think candy corn has a weird texture,” Stacy said. “And people are probably going to come for me about this, but I also don’t like Snickers. The texture of whole nuts is also not my thing.”

On Halloween night, Stacy said she’d trade her least favorite candy, Snickers, for any type of fruit candy or anything with peanut butter.

“If there were any type of suckers, like Dum-Dums, I would definitely trade for those or Reese’s,” Stacy said. “But if I had a Snick ers, you can have it. No need to argue about it.”

Agricultural leadership junior Owen Darden said, while they aren’t his favorite, he does enjoy candy corn and enjoys eating them when they hit shelves in fall.

“I don’t think candy corn is that bad, which might be a controversial opinion,” Darden

A variety bag of Halloween candy on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022.

When trick or treating in the past, Darden said his neighborhood would often give out non-traditional treats.

“They were handing out hand sanitiz ers once,” Darden said. “And when we got caramel apples at one point, they were really messy. Especially when you’re a kid with a

pillow sack and the wrapper was homemade.”

Cameron Johnson — THE BATTALION said. “I like to eat it at this time of year.”

Darden said the chocolate candies are not the same in quality and Snickers are superior over other chocolates.

“My least favorite would be the lower tier chocolates like Three Musketeers and Milky Ways,” Darden said. “I don’t think they really stand up to Snickers.”

The Battalion receives national awards, accolades

Honorable Mention: Best Advertising Supplement/Special Section: Maroon Life 2022 New Students’ Guide to Aggieland Honorable Mention: Best Infographic: Gabrielle Shreve, Contraceptive Guide

By Michaela Rush @Michaela4Batt

This weekend, Oct. 27-30, The Battalion earned two national recognitions and 16 na tional awards from the Associated Collegiate Press, or ACP, the College Media Associa tion, or CMA, and the Student Press Law Center, or SPLC.

Four members of The Battalion staff attend ed MediaFest22, the national collegiate jour nalism convention, hosted by CMA, ACP and the Society for Professional Journalists, SPJ.

On Thursday, Oct. 27, the staff earned eight Pinnacle Awards from CMA, honoring “the best college media organizations and in dividual work.”

Honorable Mention: Best Newspaper Front Page: Cori Eckert, Print’s Not Dead Third Place: Best Photo Illustration: Robert O’Brien, The Rudder Association Second Place: Best Column: Zach Free man, And nothing else matters First Place: Best Editorial: Staff, Print’s Not Dead First Place: Best Special Section-Four Pages or Less: Staff, Roll Tears Roll First Place: Best Sports Section: Staff

On Friday, Oct. 28, the staff earned the inaugural Student Press Freedom Award from SPLC. This award recognizes college journalists for “brave advocacy on behalf of a free student press,” given specifically for The Battalion’s advocacy for the print edition in

February of 2022.

Also on Friday, the staff earned four ACP Awards, honoring the best individual colle giate journalism work of the year:

Honorable Mention: Story of the Year, In-Depth News Story: Casey Stavenhagen, Nathan Varnell, The Rudder Association

Honorable Mention: Story of the Year, Column: Zach Freeman, And nothing else matters

Honorable Mention: Advertisement of the Year: Newspaper Special Section/Ad vertising: Maroon Life 2022 New Students’ Guide to Aggieland

Second Place: Photo of the Year: Sports Game/Action Photo: Ishika Samant, Flying High in Reed Arena

The Battalion was also recognized as a fi nalist in the online and newspaper categories for ACP’s Pacemaker Awards, the premiere award for collegiate journalism. The Battalion

was named a 2022 Pacemaker in the newspa per category.

The Pacemaker, Pinnacle and other awards received honored work from the 2021-22 ac ademic year, but The Battalion also received two Best of Show awards from ACP.

Tenth Place: Feature Magazine (four-year campus): Staff, Maroon Life, Fall Sports 2022

Tenth Place: Newspaper/Newsmagazine (four-year campus with more than 15,000 stu dents): Election Guide 2022: Oct. 20, 2022

In addition to various accolades, students attended professional development and net working events, and three keynote speeches from The Washington Post’s Dave Jorgenson, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein as well as the newest SPJ fellows. During the induction ceremony, Roland Martin, Class of 1991, was named an SPJ Fellow. Martin was inducted in 2008 into the Former Journalism Students Association Hall of Honor.

Political commentator Ben Shapiro in Rudder Auditorium on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022.

Jonathan Taffet — THE BATTALION

The Battalion takes home over a dozen national collegiate awards from MediaFest22

Students lambast Whoppers, candy corn, praise Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Student groups,

Worth mayor urge students to vote

uents’ concerns in mind.

By Rashid Eldoma @rashideldoma

Texas A&M student organizations and the mayor of Fort Worth encourage students to get out the vote.

Ahead of the November 2022 midterm elections, Texas Aggie Democrats have done plenty of work to encourage students to vote.

Political science senior Victoria Fajardo, secretary of Texas Aggie Democrats, said her organization partnered with other student groups to increase voter turnout.

“We’ve actually partnered with other orga nizations on campus like [Mobilize, Organize, Vote and Empower, or] MOVE Texas [and] Students for Beto,” Fajardo said. “We have done voter registration drives, we’ve held a number of those over the fall semester up until this point, we have also had candidates come speak to our organization … Just anything we can to get the word out.”

The exclusion of the Memorial Stu

dent Center, or MSC, as an early voting site brought with it accusations of student voter suppression. Fajardo anticipates this may have the opposite effect than intended.

“Locally with what recently happened with the MSC, I’ve seen a lot of people come out and be more involved now that they’re hearing about the issues that are happening,” Fajardo said.

Voting is not supposed to be a political issue, however, but rather a civic duty, and Fajardo said all A&M students should vote, despite the added burden of distance at the new polling location, at the College Station City Hall.

“Regardless of what you believe and where you lie on the political spectrum, it is important for you to go out and vote; that is your right to go out and do and this was just very out of nowhere but also just very deliberate, and especially to college students,” Fajardo said. “It seemed deliberate because the MSC, in the 2020 presidential election, voted Democratic whereas the new location skewed more Republican. So that just looks a little bit sketchy.”

North of the College Station campus, Tex as A&M School of Law student organizations like the American Constitution Society are also trying to get out the vote in Fort Worth. Ny’esha Young, a second-year law student,

worked in state government before law school. Her experience impressed upon her the im portance of voting at the local level.

“People have to vote in their local elec tions,” Young said. “People often think, ‘Well, my congressman is my party.’Your mayor, your local city council, those are the people who really matter and are all too often forgotten. If they’re up for election, I’ll definitely vote for that.”

Elections have consequences far beyond their term, and Young encourages students to look at the larger picture, one that spans gen erations.

“Voting is important because it’s the only way for people to make a change that’s not [just for a] term,” Young said. “When you put something into law, when something has been in law for a long period of time, it impacts multiple generations going down the line.”

Mattie Parker, mayor of Fort Worth, has done her part to encourage people to vote.

“As mayor, I get the opportunity to speak in front of groups of residents on a daily basis,” Parker said. “No matter who the audience, it’s always a time to talk about the importance of voting and use my platform to encourage voter turnout.”

When asked about the most important is sues on the ballot box, Parker has her constit

“Constituents I hear from are consistently concerned with the local government issues that impact their daily lives, such as public safe ty, inflation and cost of living and managing growth and infrastructure,” Parker said. “Ul timately, which elections issues matter most is personal for each individual voter. That’s why it is so important to get every single person out to vote so they are making that heard to their elected leaders.”

A&M students have the opportunity to be heard in state and local elections, so Parker encourages young people to get out the vote.

“Your voice matters. When you vote, you are investing your voice into your communi ty, and someday you all will be the leaders of these communities,” Parker said. “Start leading today, and that includes voting in your local, state and federal elections.”

From elections at the local level to recent decisions from the highest court in the land, Young said student voices matter now more than ever.

“Once something’s in law, it’s really hard to repeal it,”Young said. “If you don’t get the first bite at the apple, the next bite may not come for generations down the line.”

EARN CASH FOR CLOTHES

Graphic by Haylea Keith

Aggies beyond College Station encourage peers to vote, remain civically engaged

By Kenzie Finch @kenzie nch6

With little time left for early voting, numbers are around half as much as prior general elections.

Early voting began on Oct. 28 and will continue until Nov. 4. After the Memorial Student Center, or MSC, was not selected as an early voting location, Texas A&M students will have to vote elsewhere. The closest location for students to vote early is at College Station City Hall. The official Election Day is Nov. 8.

The numbers so far for the 2022 general election are significantly lower than past years. Out of the 126,123 voters registered in Brazos County, only 23,075 people have participated in early voting as of Nov. 1.

In comparison to previous years, the 2018 general election had 42,052 voters during early voting despite having fewer numbers of registered voters.

As of Nov. 1, here are the current poll numbers:

Registered voters: 126,123 Cumulative in-person voting: 21,368 Cumulative mail-in voting: 1,707 Total: 23,075

Overall percentage of early voting: 18.3%

For comparison, here is the 2018 general election early voting numbers:

Registered voters: 114,377 Cumulative in-person voting: 39,135 Cumulative mail-in voting: 2,917 Total: 42,052

Overall percentage of early voting: 36.77%

Editor’s note: The final three days of early voting numbers were not yet available, at time of publication.

Sheriff’s Office, non-profit collaborate to confront human trafficking

Federal grants awarded to two local organizations

By Madison Umphrey @u_madison

The Brazos County Sheriff’s Office and Unbound Now were awarded $1.5 million to put an end to human trafficking.

The Brazos County Sheriff’s Office and Unbound Now are collaborating as a team to limit human trafficking occurrences in the area. Unbound Now is an organization that supports survivors and educates the community on human trafficking in Bryan-College Station and is affiliated with the Antioch Community Church.

Public Informations Officer Deputy David Wilcox explained how the money will be divided between the two agencies.

“The way that the grant was awarded $750,000 was given to the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office and $750,000 went to Unbound [Now],” Wilcox said.

Wilcox said they are looking to create a task force for the Brazos County Sheriff’s Office.

“We are going to have investigators that are trained and get the resources and funding needed to make this a priority,” Wilcox said.

Director of Development and Communications for Unbound Now Bryan-College Station Katie Humphreys said Unbound Now’s mission is to support survivors and the community to fight human trafficking.

“We really do this through three main areas,” Humphreys said. “The first being prevention awareness, professional training and survivor advocacy.”

Wilcox said the two groups will work together to provide assistance to benefit the community.

“It’s going to be two sides of the same coin,” Wilcox said. “One is going to be focusing on getting the offenders put in jail and the justice served on that side. Unbound [Now will] provide the resources for those victims.”

Wilcox said the Sheriff’s Office is appreciative of Unbound’s resources.

“Our partnership with Unbound [Now] is extremely valuable because they are going to provide all sorts of victim advocacy resources,” Wilcox said. “They will be there on scene to help

victims through this crisis.”

Humphreys said the two agencies work together when investigators have received a human trafficking incident.

“They call us when they identify a human trafficking victim, and we service a victim service provider there,” Humphrey said. “They of course focus in the justice component of human trafficking and the crime. We are really excited to have applied for this joint grant with [The Brazos County Sheriff’s Office].”

Wilcox said it is important for community members to reach out even if they are hesitant because it could save someone’s life.

“My suggestion to the community is if you see something or hear something, say something,” Wilcox said. “Human trafficking can be hard to detect sometimes. If you see something that catches your attention, we want you to call us.”

According to therefugedmst.org, 83% of U.S. sex trafficing victims are U.S. citizens. The site also states that the pandemic led to an increase in sex trafficking.

“Online forms of sex trafficking increased by more than 45% during the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to Polaris Project.

Humphreys said that Unbound Now can provide 24hour assistance to victims.

“Unbound Now is the only organization right now that has a 24-hour staff-run crisis line in the entire Brazos Valley,” Humphreys said. “If it’s not us, it’s no one in this community to respond on scene to human trafficking

survivors.”

Humphreys said she is excited to partner with the Sheriff’s Office.

“They have been longtime partners of ours,” Humphreys said. “The Brazos County Sheriff’s Office runs our Juvenile Justice Center that we have partnered with since 2018.”

County turnout remains low as Election Day approaches

Data showing trends in the percentage of early voters in Brazos County before early voting deadline.

Data from the office of The Texas Secretary of State

Opinion: Yes to Governor Abbott

Ryan Lindner @RyanLindner12

In choosing the next governor of Texas, voters are faced with a simple choice. On the one hand, there is Robert “Beto” O’Rourke, a political opportunist whose beliefs change as frequently as the Texas weather. On the other, Governor Greg Abbott, who has helped preserve Texas’ reputation as an economic powerhouse while simultaneously defending resident’s individual rights.

With Tesla, Samsung and dozens of other companies moving into Texas, it’s no secret that our state has one of the most resilient economies. Although there are many contributing factors to Texas’ economic performance, the greatest is arguably not what Abbott has done, but what he hasn’t. Namely, sticking the government’s big nose where it doesn’t belong. By not indulging in economically backward policies such as rent control, raising the minimum wage or tax increases, Governor Abbott has kept Texas an attractive place for businesses and residents. According to the Texas Workforce Commission, Texas added 16,400 non-farm jobs in August 2022 and has been setting new employment records for 10 consecutive months.

Aside from keeping taxes relatively low, the governor has cut burdensome regulations that stifle innovation and, at times, lock out thousands of workers from the labor market. For instance, in 2019, Abbott ordered state agencies to reduce unnecessary licensing fees and regulations that limit competition and drive up prices. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he waived license renewal requirements for Texas nurses so they wouldn’t have to jump through the red tape. After serving on the front lines of a pandemic, the last thing a nurse should have to deal with is being harassed by bureaucratic paper pushers.

There’s a reason Texas is consistently No.1 in Chief Executive Magazine’s annual ranking of the best states for conducting business: The free market policies endorsed by Abbott over the past seven years encourage entrepreneurship and investment.

Compare Abbott’s free market principles to Beto’s desired policies; the difference is black and white. Beto has previously advocated for increasing the top marginal tax rate, increasing the corporate tax rate and instating a capital gains tax. Simply put, Beto believes the government knows how to spend your money better than you do.

Aside from economic policy, Abbott has done much to safeguard individual rights. During the COVID-19 pandemic, local governments pressured churches to shut down

while allowing secular businesses such as liquor stores to remain open. After signing an executive order to ensure churches could remain open in 2020, Abbott signed the Freedom to Worship Act in June 2021, prohibiting the government from forcing “places of worship” to close.

Abbott has also signed multiple bills protecting Texans’ Second Amendment rights into law. Most famously, the governor approved a constitutional carry law allowing individuals to carry a firearm without begging for “permission” from the government. While some may say this would increase gun violence, there are currently 24 states with constitutional carry, and available data shows no increase in crime.

Finally, according to the Texas Politics Project, immigration and border security is the most important issue to Texas voters, and it’s no wonder why. For the past two years, illegal immigration has been straining law enforcement resources resulting in a severe humanitarian crisis. This year alone, the Department of Homeland Security has had more than two million encounters with undocumented persons and record levels of smuggled fentanyl.

The problems at the border are many. From a lack of immigration judges, poor federal policy and limited federal funding, Abbott has been forced to use every tool in the toolbox to get a handle on the border. While some

of Abbott’s policies have been deeply flawed, others, such as Operation Lone Star and bussing migrants to other states, are supported by a majority of Texans.

After serving as Texas governor for two terms, Abbott has proven his ability to be an effective leader and the prudence to understand the correct role of limited government — enforce the law, protect citizens’ rights and not get in the way of the free market. It seems that Abbott’s philosophy is working. People all over the country are voting with their feet and moving to Texas. I don’t blame them — there’s no place like Texas.

When evaluating any politician, it’s important to keep the perfect from becoming the enemy of the good. I don’t deny there are valid criticisms of Abbott, yet more often than not, he comes down on the right side of most issues. With Abbott, we know what we’re getting. There is no mystery. There is no question about where he stands. In comparison, Beto has no problem changing his positions depending on the political climate — hardly the quality of a strong leader.

The principle behind voting for Abbott is simple. Things have been pretty good in Texas. Let’s not mess it up.

Ryan Lindner is a political science sophomore and opinion writer for The Battalion.

Opinion: Turning 20 — thoughts and concerns

Ana Sofia Sloane @anasofiasloane

The passage of time is a peculiar thing.

Fresh in my mind are the days when I would walk to school hand-in-hand with my mom, excited to play tag with friends at recess and color butterflies on construction paper before nap time. It seems like just a couple of years ago that I stood outside my locker in seventh grade, trying to fit as many tacky wallpapers and magnetic decorations in the metal contraption as possible. I swear it was yesterday when I sang along to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” on repeat, feeling like the lyrics were personally written for my 17-year-old self.

But here I am, countless seconds, minutes and days later, facing a troubling reality: I turn 20 in less than a week.

My family and friends insist that starting

this new chapter is nothing to fear — age is just a number, I’m still young and nothing will change after the clock strikes 12 a.m. on Nov. 5. Nonetheless, it feels like I’m standing at the edge of a precipice. Behind me are the comforting and what seemed to be eternal teenage years; in front of me lies a chasm of uncertainty, responsibility and expectation. Taking the inevitable step forward is difficult.

Entering this new decade feels like a safety net has been stripped out from under me.

As a teenager, there’s a degree of freedom that accompanies every word and action. Questionable choices and unwise behavior — like staying up till three in the morning, using confusing slang or making dumb mistakes — are expected and written off as an outcome of juvenility. However, the narrative is different when “twenty” is the prefix for one’s age. Though still young, adulthood looms ominously, making all things more serious.

For instance, the 20s are a time of great

change in terms of career and self-determination. Jobs are chosen, first-time apartments are rented, relationships become serious … the list goes on. Gone are the days of childhood innocence and teenage foolishness.

Do I feel prepared to live up to these expectations? Not really. To be honest, I barely feel 18 most of the time.

I don’t know where my major will take me. I don’t know what city, let alone what country, I want to end up living in. I don’t have a favorite color, animal or music artist. Half the time I can’t even choose what I want to eat for dinner. With so many unknowns, the shoes I have to fill feel far too big.

The one thing that offers me solace is growth.

My transition from high school to college was a time fraught with fears, insecurity and discomfort. I switched my college choice at the very last minute, was doubtful of my ability to succeed in collegiate classes and didn’t want

to move out of my childhood home or leave behind my family and friends. I had absolutely zero idea what the next few years would look like, and that scared me.

Looking back now, I smile. Over the course of one year, the frightened freshman I once was is gone. Though college certainly hasn’t been easy, every high and low has shaped me into the stronger person I am today — someone I know my high school senior self would be proud of.

With this in mind, I know my grievances about turning 20, which seem insurmountable at the moment, will work themselves out in the end. In fact, I’ll probably look back at my 19-year-old self and laugh. Because what comes after 20? 30.

Ana Sofia Sloane is a political science student and opinion writer for The Battalion.

for more information.

Throughout his tenure, Governor Greg Abbott has proven he has what it takes to remain governor of Texas.

Saying goodbye to her teen years, opinion writer Ana Sofia Sloane reflects on the changes which surround turning 20

Dodging the death roll

By Grant Gaspard @grant_gaspard

Texas A&M’s conference home opener against No. 11 Ole Miss displayed a series of events on the offensive side of the ball that filled the stands with aspiration and excitement for the future of Aggie football.

In the 31-28 loss to the Rebels on Oct. 29, freshman quarterback Conner Weigman lived up to the hype and showed the nation why he was a five-star recruit. The Cypress native threw for the most passing yards in a game since A&M started conference play this season with 338. More impressively, no other quarterback this season on the Aggies’ roster has thrown more than three touchdowns until Weigman stepped on the gridiron and threw for four.

“He has a feel for things and an instinct that is very natural for the game,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. “I’m extremely happy, and I love coaching the guy. He’s extremely fun to coach.”

This has been a long and agonizing ride for Fisher on this journey to finding and con structing the next Kellen Mond, or even the next Jameis Winston, if you will. It is safe to say his time in the workshop with red shirt sophomore quarterback Haynes King has proven unsuccessful, forcing him toward a true freshman who has inspired hope in a longing fanbase.

This offense’s search to find its identity has hit quite a few roadblocks, especially with the suspension of one of its highly recruited re ceivers, a loss due to an ankle injury with its most versatile player and a significant amount of bumps and bruises at its forefront. Fisher has yet to figure out the solution and to get this maroon and white train rolling again be fore the chance at competing in a bowl game disappears.

“You always want to go to a bowl game,” Fisher said. “That’s always one of the goals you set. It gets you 15 more practices.”

For starters, this offense has been switching up its playcalling all season long. In the first two games of the season, Fisher called a bal anced offense that featured 35 pass plays and 32 rush plays against Sam Houston and 20 pass

plays and 18 rush plays against Appalachian State. In the next two games against Miami and Arkansas, Fisher relied more on the run as he called only 20 and 21 pass plays against the opposing teams to the 34 and 31 rush plays. This offensive rushing attack didn’t last long because, in the last four games, Fisher relied heavily on the passing game as he averaged 44.25 pass plays to 28.25 running plays.

Nothing has seemed to work for Fisher, and handing off the playbook to a new offensive coordinator in the offseason seems like the best option. Despite the impressive numbers from the last game against the Rebels, the Aggies still left the game with another loss in the col umn and need to find their consistency before it’s too late.

The wide receiver duo of freshman Evan Stewart and sophomore Moose Muhammad III has been dominant recently and looks to continue this as the season nears its end. Combined, the two young stars have aver aged 11.8 receptions for 165.8 yards and have accumulated at least one touchdown in the past four games. With Weigman controlling the offense, look for these two receivers to play a major role in this next conference game against an opponent who has given up, on average, 332.5 passing yards and 2.5 passing touchdowns.

When asked about Muhammad’s latest per formance, Fisher said he is very pleased with how he’s been taking control of the opportu nities he’s been given.

“He’s getting more opportunities and is a very gifted guy with gifted hands,” Fisher said. “There’s still another level he can get to, though.”

As for the Aggies’ rushing attack, it has been dominant with the load on the back of one individual all season long. Junior running back Devon Achane is coming off a monster perfor mance on his home turf as he tallied 138 yards on 25 carries, which averages out to 5.5 yards a carry. Achane sits third in the SEC in rush ing yards with 765, which is 93 more yards than junior tailback Jahmyr Gibbs at Alabama. Despite his workload getting cut in half over the past four games, watch as this track star continues to set the tone against a defense that has given up 173 rushing yards per game.

After winning only two conference games in the 2021 season, the Florida Gators decided to fire then-head coach Dan Mullen and hire University of Louisiana Lafayette coach Billy Napier, who hasn’t had the ideal first season. With him, he has brought safety specialist

and current co-defensive coordinator Patrick Toney and hired defensive line specialist Sean Spencer to help Toney run the defense.

In the season before, Spencer was the de fensive line coach for the New York Giants and helped the team achieve 34 sacks in the 2021 season. Spencer also coached at Penn State where he helped recruit stars such as Dal las Cowboy Micah Parsons, New York Giant Saquon Barkley and Washington Commander Jahan Dotson. During his reign as a coach, he has trained professionals out of Kansas City Chief Chris Jones and Tampa Bay Buccaneer Carl Nassib.

Napier has been dealing with situations in Gainesville, Fla., that are quite similar to the ones in College Station. Redshirt junior Bren ton Cox was a linebacker in Napier’s defense who played a huge role in causing chaos in the backfield. However, Cox was suspended in definitely after his actions in the loss last week, punching senior Georgia running back Kenny McIntosh after he scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Napier didn’t just dismiss

him because of this but due to a “cumulative effect” that has been occurring all season. Cox tallied 35 tackles, two sacks and nine quarter back hurries for the Gators and is an essential loss to the blitz game.

Now for players that will be available for this conference matchup, senior linebacker Amari Burney, sophomore safety Rashad Torrence II and sophomore cornerback Jaydon Hill are the three names you need to watch out for come Saturday morning.

Burney leads the team in interceptions, sacks and forced fumbles this season while sitting top five in all three categories in SEC rankings. Burney has two interceptions and forced fumbles while also having four sacks this season. Hill is tied with Burney in inter ceptions with two, both coming in their 24-17 win against Missouri. As for Torrence, his ball presence is similar to that of junior defensive back Antonio Johnson. Torrence is fourth in the SEC in total tackles with 66 for the season and leads the team in the same statistic.

Aggies hope to contain Gators on the ground

tempts for 76 yards and one touchdown, re spectively, showing Florida’s prowess with the ball on the ground.

By Zoe May @mayzoella

With the match on Saturday, Nov. 5, serv ing as the final straw for both Texas A&M and Florida’s football season, defines the showdown between sophomore quarterback Anthony Richardson and the Gator offense and defensive coordinator DJ Durkin and the Aggie defense. More importantly, this game will determine whether the challenges found within each team will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

For the Gator offense, the 2022 campaign has been full of ups and downs. Starting the season with a win against the then-No. 7 Utah Utes, Richardson went 17-for-24 in comple tions and threw for 168 yards, but he didn’t manage to complete a passing touchdown. All four scoring drives ended with run plays that brought the Gators into the endzone. Rich ardson and sophomore running back Montrell Johnson Jr. led the game with 11 attempts for 106 yards and three touchdowns and 12 at

“You’ve got to be physical up front,” A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher said regarding handling the Florida offense. “They’re good up front. They’re going to try and run the football, multiple formations, unbalanced for mations, different motions, constant motions, getting them stopped, fitting the gaps. And then when you rush [Richardson], you’ve got to get him to throw, you’ve got to hit him when you can hit him legally and do those things.”

However, what appeared to be a superpow er in Week 1 quickly exposed itself to be the Gators’ kryptonite. As the season progressed, teams such as then-No. 20 Kentucky and then-No. 11 Tennessee quickly discovered that once Florida’s run game was plugged, they struggled to find any flow on offense. The Gators’ first receiving touchdown didn’t arrive until Week 4 in their 38-33 loss against the Volunteers. Before that, in Florida’s Week 2 match against Kentucky, the Wildcats cut the Gators’ total rushing yards by over half of what they managed against the Utes.

“Struggle is healthy,” Florida coach Billy Napier said. “I think most of the growth in my life … comes from adversity, comes from

challenge. There’s failure along the way, and I think the key is that you capitalize off of those things. You learn your lesson from those things, and you adjust, you adapt, you grow and that’s what we’re doing.”

Since the early weeks of the season, Flor ida snagged a couple of wins against Eastern Washington and fellow SEC opponent Mis souri before dropping its last two conference matches against LSU and No. 1 Georgia. Nev ertheless, one thing remained consistent: the Gators’ prioritization of the run game, stacking up a grand total of 954 rushing yards on 133 attempts throughout their last four weeks of play, averaging 7.17 yards per attempt.

Though the Gators may favor keeping the ball on the ground and in the hands of John son, freshman running back Trevor Etienne or even Richardson — who stands with 414 rushing yards so far this season — Florida is not without talent in the air. Redshirt junior wide receiver Justin Shorter leads the team this season with 471 receiving yards this season and a standout performance against the Volunteers with seven receptions for 155 yards. Shorter is followed up by sophomore wide receiver Xzavier Henderson who led in receiving yards in Week 9 against the Bulldogs.

On the other side of the field, the A&M defense has also had its fair share of highs and

lows so far this season, starting its season with a 31-0 shutout against Sam Houston State. In spite of the shutout win, the overall defen sive performance suggested the struggles that would soon fall upon the Aggies: The highest total tackle numbers stalled at five total tackles.

However, those fears were put on pause when, despite a lackluster offensive perfor mance that resulted in a loss to Appalachian State, the A&M defense posted stats in line with some of top performances in the 2021 season. Junior defensive back Antonio John son tallied 13 total tackles in the game, closely followed by senior linebacker Chris Russell Jr. who totaled 11 tackles and half a sack. Despite in-game missteps, the Fightin’ Farmers man aged to make it through weeks 3 and 4 against then-No. 13 Miami and then-No. 10 Arkansas holding both opponents to 21 points or lower.

The cracks began to show during the team’s matchup against Mississippi State. While the three-man front managed to hold MSU to 144 rushing yards, the Aggie secondary fell apart, giving up 329 receiving yards and 42 points — the highest so far in the season. A&M’s defense forced 11 third-down conversions but allowed the Bulldogs to complete five of them, and MSU also completed both fourth-down con version attempts.

Since the Week 5 matchup against Missis sippi State, the maroon and white struggled to find their footing, contributing to a four-game losing streak as they head into Week 10. In the contest last week against Ole Miss, Durkin and the defense showed promise in their abili ty to adapt, shifting lineman strategies after the Rebels managed a scoring drive in just seven plays. The Aggies succeeded in slowing down the Ole Miss run game, preventing the Rebels from reaching the end zone for the remain der of the first quarter, however, as the match progressed, holes began to open in the defen sive line. Despite 16 forced third downs, the Rebels were able to convert on seven of them, with sophomore quarterback Jaxson Dart us ing his legs for many.

“We just have to do a better job at keep ing the pocket contained,” freshman defensive lineman Albert Regis said about what went wrong against Ole Miss. “We were doing a good job at collapsing the pocket, but you have to be able to collapse the pocket and also keep containment at the same time. And for him to be able to run around and extend plays, it’s because we lost our containment.”

If Florida wants to secure a win against A&M, it is going to need to build up its passing game in order to spread out the Aggie defense. Alternatively, the maroon and white will need to find and close any gaps on the line to pre vent a Gator run game if they want a chance to break their four-game losing streak. By mid-afternoon on Saturday, one team’s path toward bowl eligibility will be easier and the other’s will be steeper.

A&M young offense returns to old form, capitalizes on ascending performance

A&M looks to rebound after Week 9 defensive struggles against rushing attack

Robert O’Brien— THE BATTALION

Sophomore WR Moose Muhammad III (7) is tackled after completing a pass from freshman QB Conner Weigman (15) during Texas A&M’s game against Ole Miss at Kyle Field on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022.

Robert O’Brien—

BATTALION

Senior TE Max Wright (42) runs after completing a pass from freshman QB Conner Weigman (15) during Texas A&M’s game against Ole Miss at Kyle Field on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022.

AROUND THE SEC

By Luke White @lukewhite03

No. 2 Tennessee @ No. 1 Georgia

Saturday, Nov. 5 — Sanford Stadium — Athens, Ga. 2:30 p.m. on CBS

This one may not just be the top game of the day, but the game of the year. College football fans will be treated to the sport’s first regular season No. 1-No. 2 matchup since LSU battled Alabama in 2019. Much like the Tigers’ 46-41 win over the Crimson Tide, this one is expected to be an offensive shootout.

Tennessee and Georgia rank first and second in the nation in yards per game, with 553 and 530.1, respectively, while the Volunteers boast the top scoring offense in the

country with an average of 49.4 points per game. Redshirt senior quarterback Hendon Hooker looks to bolster his Heisman campaign, but it won’t be easy against a Georgia defense that has only allowed 10.5 points per game this season, good for second-least in the country. Much like Tennessee’s contest against Alabama, expect the Vols’ explosive offense to give them the slight edge over the Bulldogs in a nail-biter.

Prediction: Tennessee 42, Georgia 38

No. 6 Alabama @ No. 15 LSU

Saturday, Nov. 5 — Tiger Stadium — Baton Rouge, La. 6 p.m. on ESPN

While America’s eyes will likely be glued to the game above, this isn’t a matchup to sweep under the rug. Before taking last week off, both teams recorded big wins over the Magnolia State, as Alabama overpowered then-No. 24 Mississippi State 30-6 while LSU upset thenNo. 7 Ole Miss 45-20.

Much like Tennessee-Georgia, both sides have been successful defensively this year, with the Crimson Tide and LSU allowing a mere 16.62 and 21.12 points per game,

respectively. However, the offensive firepower on both sides might be too much and could dictate this game.

Prediction: Alabama 45, LSU 31

No. 23 Liberty @ Arkansas

Saturday, Nov. 5 — Razorback Stadium — Fayetteville, Ark. 3 p.m. on SEC Network

Arkansas wraps up one of the nation’s toughest non-conference schedules with a date with Liberty, led by a familiar face in coach Hugh Freeze. The former Ole Miss coach has led the Flames to a top-25 ranking and a 7-1 record, with the only loss coming to then-No. 18 Wake Forest by a 37-36 margin. Redshirt sophomore running back Dae Dae Hunter anchors the running game with 825 rushing yards along with eight touchdowns, while junior running back Shedro Louis has added seven scores.

The Razorbacks will look to complete their non-conference slate

with a perfect 4-0 mark, as well as gain momentum before taking on LSU and Ole Miss the following two weeks. Sophomore running back Raheim Sanders continues to be a force for the Hogs, leading the SEC in rushing with 1,041 yards while adding seven touchdowns. Redshirt junior quarterback KJ Jefferson, meanwhile, has thrown for 15 scores and has used his physicality to run for six touchdowns. The Flames and Razorbacks run similar offenses, but expect Arkansas’ homefield advantage and experience to carry them to a win.

Auburn @ Mississippi State

Does anyone know what’s going on at Auburn? Asking for a friend. The Tigers find themselves in the midst of a four-game losing streak and are clawing at a bowl berth with a 1-4 mark in SEC play. Oh, and they fired head coach Bryan Harsin this week after a 9-12 mark in just 21 games, with running backs coach Carnell Williams taking over as interim head coach in the meantime.

Auburn will have its hands full against Mississippi State’s pass-happy offense, anchored by junior signal-caller Will Rogers. The Bulldogs’ defense isn’t to be taken lightly either, with graduate linebacker Jett

Johnson and redshirt senior linebacker Nathaniel Watson combining for 140 total tackles, the most of any duo in the SEC. Having lost it’s past two games, Mississippi State looks to get back on track before upcoming meetings with Georgia and Ole Miss.

Prediction: Arkansas 35, Liberty 27

Saturday, Nov. 5 — Davis Wade Stadium — Starkville, Miss. 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2

Prediction: Mississippi State 49, Auburn 21

Aggies hope to bite back

Aggies prepare for Saturday matchup against Florida Gators

By Brad Bennett @brad_bennett13

Last week’s 31-28 home loss to No. 11 Ole Miss continued Texas A&M football’s four-game losing streak, but there were some promising developments that showed light at the end of the tunnel for the 3-5 program.

Newly promoted starting quarterback Conner Weigman played great in his first career start with four touchdown passes and 338 passing yards. Coach Jimbo Fisher said the true freshman’s preparation and intangible gifts led to Saturday’s performance.

“[Weigman’s] a hard worker, and he has a natural knack to do things,” Fisher said. “He has a feel for things, an instinctive part of the game. He’s really natural at what he does. He’s accurate in what he does. Again, he’s played one game. Listen, let him be a freshman and play his second game, and let him keep playing. I’m extremely happy, and I love coaching the guy.”

Unfortunately for A&M, the team did pick up a number of injuries against Ole Miss. Fisher said it’s something that is out of A&M’s control and comes with the game.

“There have been [injuries], and it’s different injuries,” Fisher said. “It’s a physical game, and you’re playing a heck of a schedule. Sometimes I’ve had them, it’s just the way it is. And unfortunately, sometimes it goes that way. That’s football … they’ve been dif-

ferent injuries. I mean whether it’s ankles, knees, shoulders, it’s a physical game, and most everybody’s been a game injury, almost. Probably 95% of them have all been in games. That’s just the nature of the beast sometimes, unfortunately.”

Freshman defensive lineman Albert Regis said the

he was one of the better perimeter players in the country.”

The Aggies also lost third-year guards Marcus Williams and Hassan Diarra. Williams took a leave of absence mid-season and ended up entering the transfer portal, and Diarra never fully took over a starting spot.

Junior center Henry Coleman, senior guard Tyrece Radford and sophomore Wade Taylor IV highlight important returners for the Aggies. Coleman, Radford and Taylor were huge for the maroon and white down the stretch and will have to be again for a successful season. Williams ran a different style of offense late in the year which appeared to give a spark and aid in the late season turnaround.

“A lot of good things happened down the stretch that we liked, and then we’ve tried to adapt relative to our new guys to add to what we were doing toward the end,” Williams said. “Building off of what worked last season, and supplementing in new ideas that complement new players seems like a recipe for success for the Aggies.

The Aggies will get the opportunity to try out new things in their exhibition match with A&M-Kingsville. This will be the fourth consecutive year where Kingsville played A&M before the season.

“I think this will be the last year of that. That will be our fourth year of playing Texas A&M-Kingsville,” Williams said. A&M-Kingsville not only has a familiar name, but it is a familiar face to Williams as he is good friends with head coach Johnny Estelle.

Texas A&M-Kingsville finished 18-11 overall, and 6-7 in conference play, in the 2021-22 season. This will be Year 9 under Estelle as the Javelinas compete in Division II in the Lone Star Conference. Last season the Javelinas made the Lone Star Conference Tournament and earned a spot in the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament where they lost in the first round.

Though a Division II team, Kingsville is certainly formidable, and the exhibition will be very valuable to both teams.

Fans will anxiously await to see if the Aggies can make their NCAA Tournament debut under Williams this year. However, it will all start on Friday where the team will gain invaluable live action.

The return to Reed Arena has been long awaited, and the team being back on the court this Friday should spark some excitement around College Station.

losses are a learning experience for the team. With some many young players, there’s a lot to be learned from losses in the SEC. The hope for A&M is the team will learn from this season’s struggles as the program looks toward the future.

“After every game, there’s always something to build on,

and every week it collectively adds up in a positive way,” Regis said. “Yes, we don’t want to come out of a game with a loss. But you take your losses like your wins, your wins like your losses and you learn from everything. After every game, we take what we learn from it, we work on it and then we try and fix it to

the best of our abilities and execute.”

Up next for A&M is a home matchup against the similarly struggling 4-4 Florida Gators. With both teams still within range of qualifying for a bowl game, the matchup on Saturday, Nov. 5, is vital — something has got to give for either team. One of

these teams will walk out of Kyle Field with an important conference victory.

Fisher said a potential bowl game is still crucial for the maroon and white.

“It’s always important,” Fisher said. “You always want to go to a bowl game. I think it always helps. That’s one of your goals which you set. And that gives you 15 more practices. As much as anything, that, before you even go to the bowl game … that’s time for your guys. Anytime you play, you get better. You always want to be [in] a bowl.”

Florida is coming off a 42-20 loss to No. 1 Georgia. The team showed fight in the matchup by battling back to within 8 points in the second half after falling behind 28-3 — look away Matt Ryan — early in the first half.

Saturday’s matchup will mark the sixth game between the two programs, with A&M holding a 3-2 edge. Currently, A&M is on a two-game winning streak against Florida dating back to 2017.

Sophomore Florida cornerback Jaydon Hill said he expects a raucous environment at Kyle Field on Saturday based on prior experiences at the stadium.

“If I’m not mistaken, that was [the COVID-19] year,” Hill said. “[A&M] probably [had] the most packed stadium out of everywhere we went that year. I just know since there are no restrictions it will be pretty rowdy.”

In spite of all of the losing streak, A&M knows the 12th Man will be behind them on Saturday against Florida. All A&M can do is bring the same energy as its fans and hope it leads to a victory.

It’s like ube r, but f o r lo nger

a nces.

uber, but

distances.

Sophomore G Manny Obaseki (35) celebrates during Texas A&M’s game against Wake Forest at Reed Arena on Wednesday, Mar. 23, 2022.

Ishika Samant—

Freshman QB Conner Weigman (15) scrambles for a first down during Texas A&M’s game against Ole Miss at Kyle Field on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022.

Robert O’Brien— THE BATTALION