The Battalion — November 4, 2023

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2023 STUDENT MEDIA

After a historic 2022-23 season, A&M men’s basketball is back with a team ready to compete with the nation’s best

By Hunter Mitchell @HunterM1001 It’s time for heels on the hardwood to return to College Station.

Texas A&M men’s basketball returns to action on Monday, Nov. 6, just one season removed from finishing second in the SEC and making the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018.

The Aggies begin the season with the loftiest expectations they’ve had in Buzz Williams’ tenure, coming in at No. 15 in the preseason AP poll with preseason SEC Player of the Year, junior guard Wade Taylor IV leading the charge. A&M also returns the second-most production of any power-five school, 88.4%, and brought in three transfers in the offseason to help fill the gaps.

Joining Taylor in the backcourt is graduate guard Tyrece Radford, who returned to A&M for his final year of eligibility.

The Baton Rouge, Louisiana native averaged 13.3 points per game last season and earned an All-SEC second-team selection.

Also returning is junior guard Manny Obaseki. Obaseki missed 15 games of SEC play last season with a broken hand but will play a larger role this season.

The Aggies also added freshman Bryce Lindsay, a 3-star recruit from Bradenton, Florida, who will serve as Taylor’s backup.

Potentially filling Dexter Dennis’ spot are two transfers in junior UIC transfer Jace Carter and graduate Middle Tennessee State transfer Eli Lawrence. Carter, an All-MVC second-team selection, averaged 16.6 points last season and led the Flames with 53 steals.

Lawrence was an All-Conference USA second-team selection last season and led the Blue Raiders in PPG with 12.2 while producing career highs in assist, 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage.

Shaping up the backcourt is senior Henry Coleman III. The Richmond, Virginia native started in 31 of the Aggies’ 35 games last season, averaging 9 points and 5.7 rebounds.

Senior Julius Marble was expected to be a key returner for A&M, but his availability has been called into question after he missed A&M’s scrimmage against Baylor due to “an undisclosed university process,” according to coach Buzz Williams.

The Dallas native averaged 9.1 PPG and 4.1 RPG and was a SEC Player of the Week last season.

Potentially soaking up some of Marble’s minutes — however long his absence may be — is UMass transfer Wildens Leveque. While the senior may not have explosive numbers, only 5.5 PPG and 4.6 RPG, he has SEC experience, playing for the South Carolina team that beat the Maroon and White in Reed Arena two seasons ago.

Rounding out the bench are forwards sophomore Solomon Washington and senior Andersson Garcia, both of whom bring energy off the bench despite their relatively low stats.

Like prior seasons, the Aggies open their season with a warm-up game, this time against Texas A&M-Commerce, but quickly face their first test on the road against Ohio State.

The Buckeyes went 16-19 last year and lost key pieces in the offseason like Brice Sensabough and Justice Sueing to the NBA Draft. However, Ohio State was picked seventh in the Big Ten preseason poll and is projected to make the NCAA tournament.

Returning for the Buckeyes is sophomore point guard Bruce Thorton, who averaged 10.6 points per game last season. Ohio State also landed Minnesota transfer Jamison Battle and Baylor transfer Dale Bonner this offseason.

After one final tune-up against Oral Roberts, the Maroon and White then head to one of the strongest non-conference tournaments in the entire country, the ESPN Events Invitational.

Graphic by Pranay Dhoopar/The Battalion

With six of the eight teams in the event making the NCAA tournament last season, the Aggies will be squaring off against quality competition no matter who they’re pitted against in the bracket. One guarantee about the invitational is that A&M will get their chance at revenge against Penn State in the first round.

While making the tournament may have felt good to many Aggie fans, the 76-59 clubbing the Nittany Lions put on the Maroon and White last season surely did not. Despite the shot at redemption, it may not feel as sweet as hoped, as key players Jalen Pickett, Andrew Funk and Seth Lundy have all left the program, as well as coach Micah Shrewsberry.

Former VCU coach Mike Rhodes took over the program in the offseason and has assembled a crew composed almost entirely of transfers, including multiple VCU players in Ace Baldwin Jr. and Kick Kern Jr. The key player in the ESPN Events Invitational is the FAU Owls. After a magical Final Four run last year, FAU also only lost one player and returns more production in junior guards Johnell Davis and Alijiah Martin. The Owls are ranked No. 10 and could face the Aggies in the second round of the invitational if the Aggies beat the Nittany Lions and FAU beats Butler.

There is no reprieve after the ESPN Events Invitational, as A&M heads to Charlottesville, Virginia to take on the Virginia Cavaliers in the first iteration of the ACC-SEC Challenge.

Virginia is coming off of a heartbreaking first-round exit in the tournament last year, falling to 13-seed Furman in an upset on a last-second 3-pointer. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, they lost five of their top seven players this offseason and will be an unknown going into the season.

After a nearly two-week road stint, the Aggies then return home to face Depaul and Memphis. The Memphis Tigers managed to pull ahead of A&M in last year’s matchup, and lost players like Kendrick Davis and Keonte Kennedy, but filled the void with a whopping eight transfers, including Alabama transfer Jahvon Quinnerly.

In possibly the biggest game of the Maroon and White’s season to this point, the Aggies then go to the Toyota Center in Houston to face the Houston Cougars.

No. 7 Houston transitions to the Big 12 this season and has the capacity to immediately compete for the top spot in the conference. Making an impact will be Baylor transfer LJ Cryer, who averaged 15 PPG for the Bears last season.

In conference play, the Aggies open with another pair of Tigers in LSU and Auburn and then welcome the Kentucky Wildcats to town.

In what has been par for the course, Kentucky lost almost all of its production from last season but replaced it with the best recruiting class in college basketball, which includes the potential No. 1 NBA Draft pick, Justin Edwards.

PREVIEW ON PG. A3

SPORTS The Battalion | 11.04.23

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‘EARLY-SEASON GAUNTLET’ Sports writer says A&M is to face toughest non-conference schedule in school history

By Ian Curtis @Texiancurtis When asked about the most difficult part of crafting this year’s Texas A&M men’s basketball non-conference schedule on his weekly radio show, coach Buzz Williams summed up the challenge with a bit of humor.

“Not resigning,” Williams said.

It is easy to understand William’s stress. In 13 non-conference games, the Aggies will face eight teams ranked in the top 100 of the preseason KenPom rankings. Of those five nontop 100 games, one is against an Oral Roberts team fresh off of an NCAA Tournament appearance as a 12 seed and another is the Big East’s DePaul Blue Demons.

“That’ll be the most difficult challenge a[n A&M] team has ever played, whether I’ve been employed here or not,” Williams said.

“It’s easily the most difficult schedule I will have ever played.”

A&M will spend the majority of November and December away from the friendly confines of Reed Arena, only playing six non-conference games at home. Highlights from the road schedule include trips to Ohio State on Nov. 10, the ESPN Invitational in Orlando, Florida over the Thanksgiving holiday, Virginia on Nov. 29 as part of the ACC/SEC challenge and a game against No. 7 Houston at the Toyota Center on Dec. 16 and.

“It’s what I grew up wanting to do, but it’s all in one month,” Williams said of A&M’s November schedule. “I was thinking I’d do it Ishika Samant — THE BATTALION across four or five years, and we’re trying to Sophomore G Wade Taylor IV (4) celebrates after shooting a basket during a game vs. do it in four weeks.”

Vanderbilt on Saturday, March 11, 2023 in Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee.

It’s not hard to connect the dots between

PREVIEW FROM PG. A1 A key returner for the Wildcats is senior Antonio Reeves, who averaged 14.4 points per game last year and is a preseason All-SEC first-team selection.

Two big games for the Maroon and White are Arkansas and Tennessee, both of whom the Aggies handed a loss to late last season.

For the Razorbacks, they had to replace the production from Anthony Black, Ricky Council and Jordan Walsh, but did just that with the addition of graduate transfer guards in El Ellis from Louisville and Temple’s Khalif

Battle, as well as junior Tramon Mark from Houston.

Returning for the Razorbacks is a pair of All-SEC selections in sophomore Trevon Brazile and senior Davonte Davis, both of whom provide Arkansas some needed SEC experience.

Tennessee is in a similar boat as Arkansas, losing production and depth in Olivier Nkamhoua and Tyreke Key, who was replaced by explosive Northern Arizona transfer Dalton Knecht. A second-team All-Big Sky selection last year, Knecht averaged 20.2 PPG and 7.2 RPG.

FALL CONCERT SERIES BETCHA

All-SEC selections in junior Zakai Zielger and senior Josiah Jordan-James return for the Volunteers, adding to an already experienced backcourt with the return of senior Santiago Vescovi as well.

After an upset defeat at A&M’s hands last year, Alabama will have a chance at revenge against the Aggies as it welcomes them to Coleman Coliseum later in the season.

An apparent trend for seemingly all SEC schools this past offseason was having many key pieces depart and be replaced with transfers, and the Crimson Tide was no different.

Alabama said goodbye to lottery-pick Bran-

this year’s early-season gauntlet and the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee’s treatment of A&M the past two years.

In 2022, the Aggies entered Selection Sunday on a 7-1 tear, with their only loss coming to Tennessee in the SEC Tournament championship game. Many fans thought A&M deserved a spot in the Big Dance based on its late-season form, but the committee disagreed, sending the Aggies to the NIT, where they would go 4-1 and lose to Xavier in the final.

Part of the committee’s rationale was assumed to be A&M’s non-conference slate, which ranked 308th in the country.

In response, Williams and the A&M staff scrambled to improve last season’s non-conference strength of schedule, adding games against SMU, Boise State and DePaul at the last minute over the offseason.

“In my career, I have always felt like the conference tournament would be a part of invitations, and we learned that it wasn’t,” Williams said on his weekly radio show after the Aggies’ win over DePaul last season. “We had our non-conference schedule done before the season was over, and after the NIT we went back and changed three games.”

Last season’s slate ended up as the 253rd-toughest non-conference test in the nation, according to KenPom.com. The Aggies did make the tournament — despite underperforming early in the year with losses to Murray State, Colorado and Wofford — thanks to their 15-3 record in regular season conference play.

That year, the Selection Committee handed A&M a seven seed — to the surprise and ire of much of the college basketball world.

But for those who supported the selection committee’s decision, A&M’s non-conference slate was once again to blame.

This year, A&M isn’t taking any chances.

“Let’s just take all of the guessing out,” Williams said. “Does it matter? Don’t know.

We haven’t done it, so we’re going to try it.”

don Miller this offseason, as well as Charles Bediako, Noah Clowney and Quinnerly.

A senior from Devils Lake, North Dakota, North Dakota State transfer Grant Nelson is set to take on a large role for the Crimson Tide, averaging 17.9 PPG and 9.2 RPG last tear.

Graduate Hofstra transfer Aaron Estrada is also set to fill some of the gaps left behind by Miller and Quinnerly, as the Woodbury, New Jersey native averaged 20.2 points PPG last year for the Pride and was the back-to-back CAA Player of the Year.

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The Battalion | 11.04.23

AROUND THE SEC A LOOK AT THE CONFERENCE FOR BASKETBALL WEEK 1

Kansas 64

1

By Ian Curtis @Texiancurtis

2073

Duke 7

2

Georgia vs. Oregon

Morehead State @ No. 24 Alabama

Monday, Nov. 6 — 3:30 p.m. on TruTV T-Mobile Arena — Las Vegas, Nevada

Monday, Nov. 6 — 7 p.m. on ESPN+ Coleman Coliseum — Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Coach Mike White enters his second season at the helm of Georgia looking to make a statement in a crowded SEC. He’ll have a chance in Game 1, as his Bulldogs take on Oregon in the Hall of Fame Classic in Las Vegas.

Georgia’s got a new-look squad with a good showing so far, as the Bulldogs beat Eastern Kentucky 99-82 in a preseason scrimmage. Meanwhile, coach

Dana Altman and the Ducks have had a rough preseason due to multiple injuries, including 2023 All-Pac-12 first team selection senior center N’Faly Dante missing time.

Oregon’s injuries will limit its potential, and Georgia will surprise people by pulling off a season-opening upset in Las Vegas.

Prediction: Georgia 83, Oregon 71

If Morehead State senior guard Mark Freeman was healthy, this could have easily been an opening-night upset.

But the 2023 Ohio Valley preseason Player of the Year is out for the season after undergoing wrist surgery, so the favorites to repeat as champions of the OVC will have a tough test to begin their murders’ row of a non-conference schedule.

Alabama is rebuilding its roster after earning an SEC title and No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA

Tournament. The Crimson Tide will bring back senior guard Mark Sears, who started every game for Alabama a season ago and will be joined by a plethora of much-anticipated transfers including senior forward Grant Nelson from North Dakota State, who along with Sears earned preseason coaches’ AllSEC second team honors.

The Crimson Tide will get tested, but Nelson and Sears will lead Alabama to a win.

Prediction: Alabama 72, Morehead State 64

1958

Purdue 5

3

1847

UConn 6

4

1804

Michigan St 2

5

1751

Marquette

6

1640

Houston

7

1568

Creighton

8 Auburn vs. No. 20 Baylor

Mississippi State vs. Arizona State

Tuesday, Nov. 7 — 8 p.m. on ESPN Sanford Pentagon — Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Wednesday, Nov. 8 — 8:30 p.m. on Barstool TV Wintrust Arena — Chicago, Illinois

Auburn rolled to a 102-66 victory over Division II opponent Auburn-Montgomery in its preseason exhibition, but junior forward Johni Broome picked up a shoulder injury in the win. It shouldn’t matter in the long run, but that didn’t help as the Tigers initially struggled against an inferior opponent, shooting 3-for-16 from beyond the arc and racking up nine turnovers in the first half of the

scrimmage.

There’s no need for Tiger fans to panic, as the team should improve and eliminate mistakes as the season progresses. They won’t get that time before they run into the Baylor buzzsaw, however, as the ranked Bears will begin their quest for a Big 12 title with a win in South Dakota.

Yes, this game is actually on Barstool TV. Mississippi State starts its second season under coach Chris Jans with the weirdest broadcast situation in the conference. That’s not the biggest problem facing the Bulldogs though, as preseason AllSEC first-team graduate forward Tolu Smith will be missing most

of non-conference play with a foot injury.

The Bulldogs were able to beat Southern Miss in a preseason exhibition without Smith, but that won’t be enough against an Arizona State squad picked to finish sixth in the Pac-12.

Prediction: Arizona State 74, Mississippi State 69

1419

Tennessee

9

1328

Gonzaga

10

1283

Florida Atlantic

11

1232

Arizona

12

1221

Prediction: Baylor 67, Auburn 62 Miami (FL)

13

1036

Arkansas

14 New Mexico State @ Kentucky

Alcorn State @ No. 15 Arkansas

Monday, Nov. 6 — 7 p.m. on SEC Network Rupp Arena — Lexington, Kentucky

Monday, Nov. 6 — 7 p.m. on ESPN+ Bud Walton Arena — Fayetteville, Arkansas

Kentucky thumped opponents from the NAIA and Division II in a pair of preseason exhibition wins, which is par for the course considering this is Kentucky we’re talking about.

Picked to finish fourth in the SEC in the preseason, it’s sure to be solid. But for once, the Wildcats aren’t the most interesting part about this matchup.

Meanwhile, New Mexico State is the rare mystery team after having 100% roster turn-

over. After a hazing scandal canceled the end of the Aggies’ season, former Sam Houston coach Jason Hooten was forced to clean house — and proceeded to bring in transfers from every corner of the country.

Kentucky may have to plug in new faces of its own, but it’ll gel a bit quicker than a New Mexico State squad playing together for the very first time.

Arkansas had the biggest preseason exhibition win in the country, as it defeated No. 3 Purdue 81-77 in overtime to give the Razorback faithful something to be excited about.

They should have an easier time in their season-opener against Alcorn State. Upsets happen — but this is a ranked SEC team facing off against a SWAC squad.

Prediction: Kentucky 85, New Mexico State 64

Alcorn State is picked to finish third in the SWAC after regular season titles in both 2022 and 2023. Like many an underdog trying to pull off a massive upset, the Braves will have to rely on 3-point shooting to get past the Razorbacks, especially considering Arkansas’ size advantage — that and pray.

Prediction: Arkansas 89, Alcorn State 61

890

Kentucky

15

847

Texas A&M

16

749

Texas

17

686

San Diego St

18

665

Baylor

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The Battalion | 11.04.23

BASKETBALL EDITION

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2023 STUDENT MEDIA

Silver Taps Drake Barrett Hardison April 5, 2004 — Sept. 16, 2023 Dylan Kanoa Miyamoto Oct. 11, 2000 — Sept. 27, 2023 Britney Romero April 25, 2005 — Oct. 15, 2023

Pride Center rebranding File Photo By Jonathan Taffet

Aggie Corps of Cadets members singing the Aggie War Hymn during a game vs. UMass on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022 at Kyle Field.

Expanding early registration SGA pushes for priority scheduling for Corps of Cadets members

By Hilani Quinones @hilaniq Texas A&M’s Student Government Association, or SGA, is considering advocating for providing members of the Corps of Cadets priority registration for classes. Currently, legislation is in the works in the Academic Affairs Committee.

“I think this initiative will make a difference and let students know that their voices really matter, and if there are concerns, student government can do something about it,” SGA’s Academic Affairs Committee Chair Angelina Baltazar said.

Baltazar said providing Cadets priority registration would help members graduate on time.

“This project stemmed with my committee, as we realized that the Corps have a lot of extra classes required to be in the Corps,” Baltazar said. “[In] most cases, they graduate later because they move classes around and delay things so most end up graduating after four years.

We want them to accommodate their classes for appropriate times and graduate at a decent time.”

Baltazar said the Academic Affairs Committee sent out a survey to Corps members to see their thoughts and evaluate how registration has affected them, and will meet with A&M’s Registrar Office.

“We also let them know priority registration won’t solve everything, but after evaluating the data as a committee, we thought it was a good initiative to support,” Baltazar said “It will help a lot of people, and we feel our data is strong enough as is.”

This project will make a difference in showing Corps students are represented and improving A&M’s graduation statistics, Baltazar said.

“This will improve our retention and graduation rates as well as relieving financial burden, since the Corps only financially supports students for four years,” Baltazar said.

Accounting junior John Miles said he opposes providing priority class registration to members of the Corps.

“I oppose it because so many people already have priority registration, and it would be overwhelming,” Miles said. “I under-

stand the reasoning and rationale, but there are other people that should have it more. It would be pointless if more people kept getting priority registration.”

Miles said class registration would be more competitive among students.

“I’m a junior studying accounting so it doesn’t directly impact me, but you’re kind of screwing other people and causing sections to fill up fast, especially for engineering students,” Miles said. “There are a lot of engineering students. My friend is still in general engineering and is going to have a much harder time registering due to how fast the sections will fill up.”

Freshmen and sophomore Corps members could take advantage of this idea, Miles said.

“Even though there are downsides to this, I also think this idea could help freshmen and sophomores get away from upperclassmen to an extent because they can select a schedule that they want,” Miles said. “I can see them using it to try to waive Corps activities. It would be interesting to see which sides would take advantage of this.”

Miles said priority registration is a privilege that should not be easily

granted to so many students.

“Instead of trying to get more people in priority registration, make it a bit harder to get priority registration,” Miles said. “So many people getting it devalues the privilege of priority registration.”

Urban planning senior William Mohamad said there should be research that supports the need for this.

“I haven’t seen any research that would say they would need it,” Mohamad said. “If I was introduced to a new piece of information that shows a large percentage of Corps members being negatively impacted, I’d understand the need to grant them that. I don’t think the status of being a Corps member or nonCorps member should impact registration.”

Mohamad said there are larger issues that should be fixed to truly solve class registration issues.

“It’s already hard to compete for the best professors,” Mohamad said.

“I think putting bandaids on different groups doesn’t do anything for the competition that is class registration. Maybe there’s an issue as a whole that needs to be addressed — like having more classes.”

Student organizations adopt LGBTQIA+ events

By Nicholas Gutteridge @nico_gjc The Texas A&M Pride Center will be rebranded to the Student Success Center in the coming months, according to a Nov. 2 press release by the Queer Empowerment Council, or QEC. The QEC said the change is a consequence of SB 17, a Texas law passed in the last legislative session that prohibits diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at public institutions. The statement said that while the physical space will remain unchanged in the Student Services Building, LGBTQIA+ campus groups and organizations will be continuing activities and initiatives the Pride Center previously sponsored.

The QEC will be taking over multiple events the Pride Center previously hosted, such as the Lavender Graduation, a separate graduation ceremony for LGBTQIA+ students, the Coming Out Monologues, an event where participants told their coming-out story to an audience, and the Pride Mentors, a mentorship program that focuses on LGBTQIA+ students and community members. The QEC will also be hosting Draggieland in the spring, according to the statement.

PRIDE ON PG. B3

Classes take a toll on Aggies’ sleep schedules

A&M expert discusses best rest practices ByAshley Acuna @AshleyMAcuna

Aggies are experiencing sleep deprivation due to jam-packed schedules and days ticking by faster as finals approach next month.

According to a 2009 study in the Journal of Adolescent Health, more than half of college students need more sleep. Sleep tends to be on the backburner with students compared to studying, completing assignments and achieving desired grades.

Insufficient sleep, typically less than the recommended seven hours, weakens memory and cognitive performance, David Earnest, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics at A&M School of Medicine said. Earnest said students

need to have a consistent bedtime routine of going to bed at the same time every night to get adequate sleep.

“What most people don’t know … is sleep in terms of the period of sleep, its timing, is almost equally important as to when you get that amount of sleep,” Earnest said.

The demanding academic workload often leads students to irregular sleep schedules, Earnest said. Earnest said he recommends students get at least three to four hours of sleep a night and consider taking short naps.

“You can get good redemptive sleep and feel better when you wake up if you go for about a 2030 minute maximum nap,” Earnest said.

Instead of going to sleep early at night, physical education senior Hayden Haire said he stays occupied on his phone and gets less rest.

Even if he’s tired, Haire said his choices don’t change his obligations

to wake up at 5 a.m. every morning for student teaching for football.

“Sometimes I try to get coffee in the morning or energy drinks, but other than that, I try my best to stay awake,” Haire said.

When students become exhausted, they often resort to coffee or energy drinks. However, Earnest said he is against taking caffeine when tired because it only keeps a person from getting the rest they need.

“Caffeine is a mixed bag because … what it is doing is just keeping you awake,” Earnest said. “[Caffeine] is not providing an opportunity for you to have effective studying.”

Aerospace engineering sophomore Kaitlan Muras, who simultaneously juggles 17 credit hours and an 11-hour work week, said she Graphic by Selena Cosino/The Battalion relies on power naps to help her Planning to reach for another energy drink during your late-night cramming fatigue.

SLEEP ON PG. B3

session? Studies show students don’t get enough sleep due to their busy schedules, and Aggies are chiming in about their exhaustion.

SILVERTAPS The Battalion | 11.04.23

B2

Silver Taps April 5, 2004 — September 16, 2023

Drake Barrett Hardison

Provided

By Anna Deardorff

D

rake was a curious student who loved learning about the world and serving people around him.

Drake’s mother, Robyn, described Drake as a mischievous young boy, who would often get

reprimanded for having a little too much fun in the classroom.

“He had this really great friend in third grade who was hilarious … and Drake would laugh when he would do stuff, and then they would both get in trouble,” Robyn said.

“He was a little bit mischievous, but he was good. He was a good kid always, but he definitely had a sense of humor and he found lots of things funny.”

Robyn said despite her profession as a teacher, Drake would frequently inform her about a lot of things she didn’t know.

“One on one, he was really smart and engaging, and he could talk about … any subject,” Robyn said.

“He was just extremely bright and he read everything he could get his hands on, and he remembered that stuff later.”

Drake shared a love of music with his older brother Luke, Class of 2024, Robyn said. He attended several music festivals with him and sometimes with their father, Paul.

His favorite band was My Chemical Romance, and he could never get enough of the track “The Adults

Are Talking” by The Strokes.

“That was his favorite song, we played it at his service … at the very end,” Robyn said. “He really loved music, and he complained all the time that I listened to bad music in the car.”

Drake decided to attend Texas A&M because of the engineering program, but also because of the familiarity of having his older brother there, Robyn said. The two were roommates this year after Drake lived in a dorm his freshman year.

Throughout college, Robyn said he was most passionate about 3D printing and would make things for her.

“He 3D printed me a lucky cat — now the arm doesn’t move, it just stays up — but it was so cute, and he had to figure out how to do that,” Robyn said. “He also 3D printed me a nameplate to sit on my desk at school.”

High-end electronics had always interested Drake, and he was known for being the family’s go-to IT guy.

When he was around 10 years old, Drake and Luke accidentally fixed their grandmother’s broken computer.

“They divided up all the parts; they played with them for about a week,” Robyn said. “Then they decided to put it back together, and guess what? That thing fired up.”

In high school, Drake ended up building his own computer. When he wasn’t working on electronics, Robyn said he enjoyed volunteering at a local church program called Revive, where he would be assigned kids to entertain and make sure they had a fun night.

“He did that for several years,” Robyn said. “He liked kids to a degree.”

Drake was the youngest of three boys and was the hunter of the family. In the fall, the boys in their extended family would squeeze in a hunting trip to their deer lease, usually around Thanksgiving.

“They would go there and not really shower,” Robyn said. “Drake was like, ‘That shower is disgusting there,’ and so he would just wait until he got home, and they would all come home stinky, needing to clean up. Just a lot of fun.”

This spring, Drake took a trip to Europe with Luke and his dad.

Robyn said he liked Norway the best, partly due to his love of cooler weather.

“He always told me he was going to live abroad somewhere after he was done with school,” Robyn said. “I think he would’ve pursued that, trying out different locations, just seeing the world. But he got the chance to go to some cool places.”

Drake loved Mexican food — especially chips and queso. Robyn said she enjoyed watching movies and traveling with him.

“A couple of summers ago, we went to San Francisco, and he made me ride those Segways,” Robyn said. “It was a lot of fun, but I had to get out of my comfort zone a little bit to ride that thing. He kind of forced me to try some new things.”

Robyn said that he embodied the Aggie Core Value of Integrity the most.

“He just did things because they were right, whether anybody’s looking or not, and that’s what integrity is,” Robyn said. “Doing the right thing even when nobody’s watching.”

April 25, 2005 — October 15, 2023

Britney Romero

Provided

By Ana Renfroe

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right, radiant and unconditionally caring.

Britney always aspired to be an Aggie and was most proud to achieve her dream.

Born in San Marcos, Britney was a first-generation Mexican-American, and after she turned 1-year old, her family said they soon moved to Baytown. There, they planted their roots and welcomed Britney’s younger sister, Ivana, a few years later.

Both of her parents immigrated from Mexico in hopes of getting better opportunities for their children. While growing up in Baytown,

her parents taught Britney how important learning was, Ivana said.

“My parents came here to give us the best education,” Ivana said.

At age 4, her parents enrolled her in piano lessons led by a church member. Her parents believed music gave her a strong base for an education, and Britney loved learning. Eventually, Britney taught her sister how to play piano, but Britney also played clarinet and participated in marching band until her sophomore year of high school.

Earlier this year, Britney graduated Cum Laude as a National Honor Society member from Ross S. Sterling High School. Britney was smart, hard-working and high-achieving, her sister said. Britney won 27 awards from competing in a multitude of competitions and UIL events, competing in spelling bees, dictionary skills and poetry contests.

Ivana said Britney also participated in Sterling High’s Peer Assistance and Leadership program to mentor younger students at nearby middle and elementary schools and volunteer for other community service projects.

Ivana said she believed Britney wanted to succeed and set a good example for her.

“I think she wanted me to look up to her and to know if she could do something, then I could too,” Ivana said.

Growing up, Britney would often care for Ivana when their dad would go to work.

“She knew I needed someone to take care of me when I was younger,” Ivana said.

Ivana said some of her fondest memories were when Britney would cook for her.

One day in the summer, Britney introduced Ivana to her love of makeup after letting her practice with concealer and blush.

When she grows up, Ivana said she hopes to pursue beauty school to honor her sister.

“She introduced me to makeup,” Ivana said. “I always like to try to do my makeup like her because she was like a role model to me.”

When it came time for college, Ivana said Britney always wanted to attend Texas A&M and chose it over any other school. She was most excited about the type of people she would meet and the quality of education, her sister said.

“It was just a dream to be there because she worked so hard to get in there,” Ivana said.

Whenever she was choosing health as her major, Britney thought of pursuing a compassionate cause.

“She told me that she wanted to study health because she always wanted to take care of people and make them feel better,” Ivana said. “Whenever my parents were old, she could take care of them.”

After starting her first semester, Britney would call and visit home, sometimes sharing her favorite parts about A&M. Ivana said her sister enjoyed her newfound freedom, making new friends and interacting with so many nice students.

Britney forged many friendships through-

out her time at A&M and closely bonded with her roommate, physics freshman Brenda Vidal. Although her family never met Vidal, Ivana said Britney talked about how they got along so well. Ivana said her family felt relieved to know she had a friend like Vidal.

“It makes me feel happy because my sister had someone there to be happy with, to know that she was somewhere happy there and somewhere that she knew she could be herself over there,” Ivana said.

Ivana said many people were drawn to Britney because of her understanding personality.

“She always wanted to be a type of person that everybody could like and hang out with her easily and have her and talk to her no matter what the situation was,” Ivana said. “Because in my opinion, I think my sister was a very understanding person. And doesn’t matter whatever mood she was in, she would stay there and listen.”

While on campus, Britney was a member of the Mexican Student Association, which held a memorial in her honor on Thursday, Oct. 19. At the event, friends and peers spoke about the lasting effect she will leave on her loved ones.

Likewise, Ivana said her family and friends are grateful that so many people want to honor Britney’s memory.

“Whenever we still talk about her, they just laugh and think about all the memories that they had with my sister,” Ivana said.

October 11, 2000 — Septemeber 27, 2023

Dylan Kanoa Miyamoto

By Zoe May

P

Provided

ersonable, quick to smile, smart as a tack and forever missed from his family’s lives.

Though born in California, Dylan was raised in Maple Valley, Washington before moving to Kaneohe, Hawai’i during high school. Dylan always did well in school while

balancing his love for the outdoors.

Dylan’s family said he was always adventurous. He would often partake in biking, hiking, climbing, skiing and even parkour.

When it came time for Dylan to go to college, he applied only to Texas A&M. His family said Dylan was excited to be accepted into the engineering program and eventually pursued graduate school to study materials science and engineering.

Dylan could often be seen wearing his tan

shorts, a gray tee-shirt and five-finger trail shoes no matter if it was summer, winter, rain, sun or snow. Dylan’s family said his goto meal was pizza, but he still enjoyed cooking whenever he had the time. In his free time, Dylan played video games, rode his motorcycle and went camping.

NEWS

B3

The Battalion | 11.04.23

PRIDE FROM PG. B1 The QEC is a newly-formed council of LGBTQIA+ student organizations, including the Queer Graduate and Professional Aggies, Transcend, oSTEM at A&M, LGBTQ Aggies, FLAKE, PrideSVMC, MedPRIDE and the Bush School Pride Network.

“We will also act as a resource for the LGBTQIA+ population here at [A&M] and plan to release a collection of resources for

SLEEP FROM PG. B1 “You get through it because you have to,” Muras said. “Though when I sit down for a while, I [think], ‘Oh, I could be sleeping right now.”’

The risk of lack of sleep contributes to health concerns that can begin sooner rather than later in life if not fixed, Earnest said.

“Prolonged sleep deprivation or irregular sleep patterns is really going to have the potential for long-term effects,” Earnest said.

“If you already have risks for cardiovascular disease or metabolic disease [no sleep] is only going to accelerate the disease process.”

History junior Jonathan Ullman said he often stays up late studying and watching TV. Ullman said that he gets around five to six hours of sleep.

“I often stay up late so my sleep schedule floats around, and it is not the best,” Ullman

LGBTQIA+ students and community members to ease this transition,” the statement reads.

The Pride Center’s rebranding to the Student Success Center will be done no later than Jan. 1, 2024, according to the statement, as that is the latest date institutions need to be in compliance with SB 17.

Editor’s Note: The Pride Center was contacted but did not respond by time of publiation. said.

Aerospace engineering sophomore Nichole Music said she maintains a strict schedule, averaging around five hours of sleep per night.

“I use my calendar religiously, so I schedule everything during my day and then I usually stay at Zachry until 1 a.m.,” Music said.

Classics senior Megan Cockerham said she values the breaks that A&M gives since they allow her to recharge from her schedule of waking up most mornings at 6 a.m. and spending the rest of her day doing homework.

“I usually relax on the days off, and I do not tend to be very productive during the breaks,” Megan Cockerham.

Earnest said students need to recognize that sleep impacts more than the sensation of tiredness.

“Sleep problems are the greatest health risk certainly in the U.S. and probably in the world,” Earnest said.

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OPINION

B4

The Battalion | 11.04.23

Turn the tables on useless exams Opinion writer Isabella Garcia says there are better uses for standardized tests

Graphic by Corynn Young/The Battalion

Isabella Garcia @Isa_TheBatt As a teaching assistant, I’ve seen firsthand how the horror of exams has pushed unprepared students to do anything in the hopes of partial credit. My personal favorite exam I graded was left completely blank — except for their name, of course. But hey, at least they got their section number right.

Exams usually consist of regurgitating completely useless facts instead of actually learning real-life skills. No, I don’t really know how I’m supposed to get insurance or open a bank account, but the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. The high-stakes testing culture of the U.S. education system fosters a mode of instruction that fails to engage students at the cost of high-quality learning.

In light of these entertaining but slightly concerning observations, I began to wonder if we weren’t using testing to its greatest advantage. Here are some suggestions: Politicians should be required to pass a competency test It’s no secret that our dear President Joe Biden has received criticism for his old age.

Upon typing “Biden forgetting things” into a search engine, the top headlines include “Joe Biden completely forgets what he’s talking about and mumbles incoherently

at camera in excruciating press conference,” “Biden ‘Forgets’ Ireland” and “Joe Biden forgets what year it is.” You guys, I’ve watched the clips. They’re not joking.

This, coupled with 77% of Americans saying Biden is too old to run for office again, has led many to wonder if an age limit should be set on our politicians. However, there are several problems with this. Not only does it neglect that people begin mentally declining at different ages for various reasons, but it also doesn’t address the actual problem: competency.

Competency tests map existing capabilities against the capabilities needed to carry out a specific role. All of the skills needed to do a job well are broken down, and the extent to which you need to be an expert in a particular skill is examined.

Politicians have the responsibility of running an entire country. We should ensure they have the brain capacity for the job.

High school graduates and immigrants should be required to pass the same citizenship test What does being a citizen of the U.S. even mean? Basically, you can vote in an election and run for public office along with some other benefits. While this doesn’t seem like much, there are significant disadvantages to not being a citizen. You can get deported and lack access to healthcare and employment.

So, how does an immigrant become a cit-

izen? Per the Citizenship and Immigration Services, it’s an oral test wherein an immigration officer will ask up to 10 civics questions.

These questions include, but are not limited to, naming your U.S. representative, listing three of the original 13 colonies, the year the Constitution was written, etc. Considering only 15% of Americans can actually answer that last question, I think it’s safe to say this test is not an accurate measure of what it means to be a U.S. citizen.

If the foundational logic behind requiring this test — that you only get two attempts on — is to ensure immigrants have an “adequate … knowledge of U.S. history,” it is then implied that all citizens have this adequate knowledge. We don’t.

It’s only fair to hold all of us citizens to the same standard. Either we all have to pass the same test, or we don’t require the test at all.

Parents should be able to pass drug tests Let me preface this with no, obviously the government should not be able to keep its citizens from having children. However, that’s not to say that as a society we still shouldn’t be able to hold ourselves to a certain moral standard when it comes to raising the next generation of teachers, policemen, engineers and everyone in between.

Weed is not ‘Alright, alright, alright,’ and the same goes for any drug — including alcohol. You can mess up your own life all you

want, but the bottom line is you’re not the only one affected when you do drugs, especially if you’re a parent.

There is a strong correlation between drugs and crime. As of 2020, 80% of prison inmates abused drugs or alcohol. Over 80% of minors in state juvenile justice systems were under the influence of drugs or alcohol when committing their crimes, tested positive for drugs, were arrested for committing an alcohol or drug offense, admitted to having substance abuse or addiction problems or shared some combination of these characteristics.

Early drug abuse correlates with substance abuse problems later in life, and if you’re an impressionable young kid with a parent who does drugs, you’re going to have a significant disadvantage when it comes to socioeconomic status, academics and social settings.

Drugs, including alcohol, inhibit a parent’s ability to function in a parental role, facilitating abuse. How is any kid supposed to succeed in life when the ones who are supposed to be supporting them the most are busy worrying about their next fix?

Our education system forces us to prioritize passing tests without ever really learning what we’re tested on. Let’s end this absurd structure and instead put tests to better use.

Isabella Garcia is an economics sophomore and opinion writer for The Battalion.

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