The Battalion — October 6, 2022

Student Senate condemns CSPD’s Northgate proposal

Proposal including midnight closing, mandatory searches opposed by Student Senate

By Ana Renfroe @aeoenia1

The new Fate of the Gates Bill publicly opposes the College Station Police Chief’s proposed changes to the Northgate District.

On Sept. 21, at the 75th session of the Texas A&M Student Senate, The Fate of the Gates Bill was presented by Off-Campus Caucus Senator Karime

Ramos and Community Relations Chair Jessica Williams.

The bill was primarily authored by Ramos and sponsored by Williams and Off-Campus Caucus Senator Andrew Applewhite. The bill passed by a vote of 26-0 on Oct. 5.

According to the bill, College Station Police Chief Billy Couch had met with College Station City Council in August, primarily to discuss safety concerns in the Northgate District. These concerns included, but were not limited to: a high number of Emergency Medical Service calls, crime, police dispatches and arrests.

Couch proposed an ordinance that would include several changes to the Northgate District. The ordinance proposed requiring cameras within bars, removing outdoor speakers, wanding patrons for weapons upon entry and changing the last call from 2 a.m. to 12 a.m.

According to The Fate of the Gates Bill, Couch also proposed environmental changes to Northgate, including limiting the number of bars in the district, rezoning and increased planning, temporary road closures, installation of speed humps and building a wall along University Drive.

After learning about the controversial proposed changes to Northgate, Ramos said she felt encouraged to speak on behalf of students through this legislation.

Although not a member of the Community

Freshman class president resultscontested in SGA Judicial Court

By Caroline Wilburn @Carolinewilb

Unofficial results for the fall 2022 Student Government Association election were announced on Friday, Sept. 30, with agribusiness Freshman Class President candidate Colton Whisenant receiving 550 votes, the most votes for freshman class president. However, Whisenant was disqualified by the Election Commission, resulting in the unofficial election of forensic investigative sciences freshman Briani Plancarte-Saenz.

According to Whisenant, the Texas A&M judicial court has not released the details or information regarding his petition to the public. Whisenant said when the court chooses to do so, he will freely discuss his petition but, until then, wants to respect the court and their process.

After being disqualified during the first round of the vote count, Whisenant did not receive any additional votes. During 11 runoff rounds, the remaining candidates continued to receive votes, and Plancarte-Saenz was unofficially announced as the freshman class president with 454 votes.

Whisenant then filed a petition for writ of certiorari, or re-

Relations Committee, Ramos took initiative to create the bill.

“This is a little out of what I usually work on, but since I do serve as an off-campus caucus leader, it is an off-campus issue,” Ramos said.

The Fate of the Gates Bill opposes almost all of the proposed changes to Northgate, especially changing the time for last-call and limiting the number of bars in the district.

“The bill is advocating for the integrity of the Northgate district because a lot of students and small businesses there don’t want it to change and be rezoned. [It] advocates against change but also for safety,” Ramos said.

However, Ramos clarified that the bill is not against all of the suggested safety measures, such as completing unfinished sidewalks and additional .

“We’re not against safety, we’re just against rezoning,” Ramos said.

The bill also advocates for College Station City Council to consider other safety improvements, such as safe ride and safe word programs.

“The Community Relations Committee is charged with anything that is more than the university and less than the state,” Williams said.

Williams said it is the committee’s responsibility to advocate for students’ interests within the community and local government.

What’s next for the Aggies?

City council acts to counteract climate change

By Amanda Hare @AmandaHare_11

With an effort by the city to lessen College Station’s hot weather, residents can expect to see more trees in park areas in the upcoming years.

At the Thursday, Sept. 22, City Council meeting, Director of Planning and Development Services Michael Ostrowski presented a five-year urban heat mitigation plan that will include planting trees and giving seedlings to residents to plant themselves.

The council asked staff to begin research in September 2021, and the staff prepared and presented a five-year plan in April 2022, and the council asked them to increase the number of trees. The staff presented an updated five-year plan on Sept. 22, and now the city will move forward with finding a way to fund this plan.

Over five years, the program will plant 4,787 trees costing $3,213,850. The plan also includes a residential planting program that will provide 2,500 trees costing $216,386 throughout the five years.

“The planting areas we mainly looked at were on city-owned or controlled properties,” Ostrowski said. “What we wanted to do was look at those areas first, to look at what the potential that we could have for the number of trees that could be planted there. The second part was creating a residential program where the city would purchase around 500 trees and then be able to distribute them to homeowners within the city so that they could plant on their residentially-owned properties.”

To find planting areas, the staff first looked at the hottest areas of the city.

Aggies head to Tuscaloosa in rocky conditions with hopes to repeat upset over Alabama

By Grant Gaspard @grant_gaspard

Heading into Week 6 of the college football season, Texas A&M football finds itself in a situation that wasn’t expected by anyone following the team over the offseason, not even the players.

However, the Aggies must look past the 18-point loss in Starkville, Miss., and look toward their next matchup

on the road in Tuscaloosa, Ala., against the No. 1 Crimson Tide.

Here’s what we learned at the press conference the following Monday:

Bracing for Bama

On Oct. 8, Alabamians will be flooding into Bryant-Denny Stadium, which holds a capacity of about 101,000, to witness their Crimson Tide seek revenge against a maroon and white squad that upset them nearly a year ago to this day.

Senior tight end Max Wright said playing at Kyle Field,

Keeping the ‘Ag’ in Aggies

By Jack Lee @JackTheBatt

Texas A&M University’s AgriLife research group is looking to fight climate change by putting atmospheric carbon into the ground.

Julie Howe, Ph.D., professor of soil sciences, and Nithya Rajan, Ph.D., associate professor of crop physiology and agroecology, are leading a new $65 million United

States Department of Agriculture-funded research project to develop “climate-smart” agriculture practices. The group, which includes over 30 members of the AgriLife faculty, will investigate ways to both develop more climate-smart agricultural practices and incentivize producers to put those practices into action. Howe said climate change, the longterm shifts in temperatures and weather patterns caused in large part by gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide blocking heat from escaping into space, has become a more pressing issue than ever. Historically high temperatures in Texas this summer have caused a variety

“First, we identified the eight Priority Planting Areas that showed higher levels of heat, and we had recommended that those areas would be first,” Ostrowski said. “Most of those areas were in city parks. When the council asked us to go back and take a look [in April]. We looked at additional city parkland, we looked at cemeteries. We also looked at right-of-way areas within the roadway areas that are adjacent to that.”

The two hottest Priority Planting Areas are Edelweiss Park and Sandstone Park. While not confirmed now, the city may in the future look into planting at the Harvey Road corridor, Barron Road corridor and Graham Road corridor.

The Texas A&M Forest Service offered the city $15,000 per year for two years and 250

of problems for not just agricultural producers, but consumers all over the state.

“This is a great year to start thinking about climate change because we just had three months of unprecedented heat?” Howe said. “Going forward, there will be more droughts and less reliability of food and fiber.”

With climate change threatening to prevent food from reliably making its way to Texans’ tables, Howe said she and her team are looking into ways working lands can not only limit their carbon footprint but help reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. Howe said her main area of interest is investigating the ability of crops and soil to work together to absorb carbon dioxide, keeping it from trapping heat as it floats in the atmosphere

Texas A&M football coach Jimbo Fisher answers questions during a press conference at Kyle Field on Aug. 25, 2022. Robert O’Brien—

BATTALION

A greenhouse behind the Horticulture/Forest Science

A&M professors develop climate-friendly practices

“Pearl,” “Hocus Pocus”

“House of the Dragon”

Aggies prepare for

Tide in Tuscaloosa

CHALLENGE CONTINUED

quest for judicial review, with the judicial court alleging the Election Commission misinterpreted the Election Regulation Code.

Four justices voted to grant Whisenant’s writ of certiorari — a decision on the appeal is expected to be made sometime next week.

Due to the appeal, the chief justice is currently unable to certify the freshman class president election results until the conclusion of all appeals, in accordance with the Elections Regulation Act. Evidence for the appeal must have been submitted by Oct. 5 with scheduled oral arguments to come.

Following the oral arguments, the Judicial Court will begin their deliberation and a decision will follow. Based on the decision, the chief justice will certify the election results.

“I’m lucky enough to attend a university which allows me to dispute choices made by the Election Commission,” Whisenant said. “I’ve filed this case because I know I had the largest share of votes, and I believe I was wrongly disqualified from the freshman class president election.”

Following the press release, The Battalion contacted the SGA Election Commission who was unable to comment on proceedings at the time of publication.

Positive peer pressure

your journey together can really make a difference academically.”

Civil engineer sophomore Mercedes Villena-Cassal said she started using the APMs as a freshman to learn effective study habits.

COOLING CONTINUED

seedlings. The city also earned a spot in the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Climate Communities Technical Assistance Program.

By Emma Lawson @ELawsonAtTheBatt

Students who need academic assistance from fellow students can turn to academic peer mentors, or APMs, for help.

APMs juggle many different responsibilities on campus, including holding one-on-one academic coaching, hosting programs and being a resource for academic success, according to the APM website. Students can stop by Hullabaloo 125 or Commons 102 during office hours for help or can sign up for academic checkups, or ACUs, for a more personalized experience.

As students themselves, APMs focus on helping students succeed overall more than focusing on individual subjects like science or math, differentiating them from tutors.

Architecture and urban planning junior and APM Laura Gonzalez said she was interested in the job because she wanted to help students.

“I wanted to help mentor students that are going through the same thing that I was going through,” Gonzalez said. “We’re students going through the same journey as well.”

Gonzalez said her favorite part of the job is holding ACUs with students and they can help with a variety of issues.

“When we meet with a student one-onone, we really get to know them,” Gonzalez said. “Then, we can help with whatever is needed, whether that be study tips, time management skills, how to study for an exam or even if they want to get involved on campus.”

The APMs are an underutilized resource, Gonzalez said, and she recommends students sign up if they need help or a friend.

“I think a lot of people don’t really know about the APM program,” Gonzalez said. “Just having a buddy who can help you in

“I never had to study in high school, and then, bam, I had to study here. I didn’t know how to do that,” Villena-Cassal said. “They helped me a lot with study tips and other issues.”

According to Villena-Cassal, the APMs are flexible with their meeting times and places, so if a conflict does arise, meetings can be easily rescheduled.

Villena-Cassal said she appreciates having a peer to talk to about academics and is still continuing to meet with her APM.

“It’s a friend, but it’s also someone who can guide you,” Villena-Cassal said. “I just mentioned that my test went bad, and the first thing [my APM] said was, ‘We can help you with that.’”

Forensic investigative sciences senior and APM Ashleigh Haughey said there is a distinct difference between tutors and APMs.

“A tutor focuses specifically on an academic subject like math, biology or chemistry,” Haughey said. “We focus on more general skills for college students.”

APMs also focus on hosting large programs, called RevTalk, that are open to all students and feature important information for their college career, Haughey said.

“We choose a specific topic, and we ask a group of panelists to come and answer questions about that topic,” Haughey said. “We just had one about FAFSA, scholarships and financial aid.”

Haughey said she enjoys her time as an APM and students who are interested in joining can apply online.

“Being an APM is a fun job,” Haughey said. “We’re all friends, so it’s a really good environment to work in. We’re also going to be hiring in the spring for next fall if anyone is interested in being an APM.”

ey’re more than a good pair of boots.

Looking for breathable footwear to work all day in and go two-stepping afterward?

Look elsewhere. These handcrafted boots weren’t made for walking so much as they were for marching. But for the cadets who wear them around campus, they represent years spent working hard, learning to lead and building friendships that last a lifetime. It’s always possible to tell when an Aggie just got their senior boots—no one stands taller.

Through impactful scholarships, Texas A&M Foundation donors support thousands of Texas A&M University students as they march into their careers. Learn how you can help build a brighter future for Aggies today and tomorrow at txamfoundation.com.

Mac Martin, partnership coordinator for the Texas A&M Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Program, said that in addition to offering funding and seedlings, the organization is happy to offer technical resources and training information.

“This is a way that is going to be accessible to the entire community to be able to experience cooler temperatures through the shade that trees provide, but also through the evapotranspiration process, which is cooling breezes throughout the community,” Martin said. “It’s going to be able to not just benefit the community through [heat mitigation], but it’s also going to provide energy savings. There’s a lot of ecosystem services that the trees provide. It’s gonna give all these other great services to the community.”

College Station is a heat island, which is an urban area experiencing higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas.

NORTHGATE CONTINUED

“Our bill is formalizing the students’ opinion on Northgate and what type of reforms we believe are necessary for safety,” Williams said.

Williams said having a formal document is critical when student government leaders, especially the student body president, meet with city officials to discuss the interests of students.

The Fate of the Gates Bill was voted out of committee on Sept. 28 and was read in the Student Senate meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 5. After the bill was read, it was up for debate, allowing for senators to propose amendments.

Legislative Relations Chair Pat Englehart proposed to amend the legislation by taking a stance on whether or not to require security cameras within bars. Englehart said that, especially in cases of sexual assault and patrons having their drinks spiked, having video evidence

“There’s been some studies that show the Bryan-College Station area is six degrees warmer than the outlying areas,” Ostroski said. “The reason why that occurs is a lot of the impervious surfaces and lack of vegetation covers. So, as you have parking lots or certain types of roofs on buildings, that leads to additional heat within the community. Finding additional vegetation and doing cool roofs instead of your standard roofing materials can help with that effect.”

The council was in unanimous support of the plan at the Sept. 22 meeting.

“Whatever you think about climate change, it’s here to stay,” council member John Crompton said at the meeting. “This is going to be an increasingly challenging place to live. There’s really only one thing we can do, and that is increase vegetation and planting. It’s a tremendous investment, and the key to this is go big or go home. We’re going to learn about this as we go, we’re going to tweak it. My hope is that when we get to five years, we’ll double the scale of this. Our mission here is to protect the health, safety and welfare of our residents.”

would be helpful in criminal cases. Englehart clarified that the security footage would belong to the bar owners, and the police would have to subpoena videos to be used in court.

Geosciences senator Joshua Benson initiated an ensuing debate about what the senate’s stance should be about constructing a new wall along University Drive. Benson shared his personal concerns, saying that there are often students partying in Northgate that wander too close to the street. The amendment was passed by a vote of 18-3.

Off-Campus Residencies senator Corbett Armstrong agreed with Benson, saying that the senate should be working to improve the safety of the area. Armstrong said that the temporary inconvenience or aesthetic issues of construction were negligible to the safety of students. The amendment was passed by a vote of 26-0.

Senior

KANM: Transcending stereotypes, genres

Student radio provides inclusive enviroment oncampus for music lovers

By Shea Kissell @sheakissell

In the ever-expanding population of the Texas A&M campus, there’s one organization that seems to attract the goths, punks, alts and indie-goers more than any other: KANM. The collective of some of the most cultured Aggies on campus also hosts its very own ra dio station, which is accessible online at kanm. tamu.edu and listenable 24/7. On top of that, the station has made an undeniable impact on the music scene of Aggieland.

KANM originally started out as the stu dent-led radio club formed long before any current students can seem to remember. Since then, the station has been moved from the ra dio waves to the internet, electrical engineer ing junior and ‘zine Editor-in-Chief Joshua Reyes said.

“We’re an alternative, college radio station [focusing] on indie, underground music you wouldn’t normally hear on the FM radio,” KANM’s music director and history senior Jannah Burgess said. “KANM provides a space for anyone who doesn’t feel like they fit into the mainstream culture of A&M.”

Each member of KANM can apply to be a DJ for the station, where they are allotted one hour per week to play music they like or

while also storing it in the soil, which in creases the fertility of the soil. However, the grant will include crop, animal and forest commodities.

“[Plants’] primary food is carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,” Howe said. “Let’s think about plants: They photosynthesize, they take in carbon dioxide and then they turn it into sugars and starches and all kinds of stuff. That carbon goes into the plant and when the plant dies, it leaves that carbon in the soil. I think soil is a really underappreci ated resource. Carbon is an amazing element, because in the soil, it actually improves water dynamics and water holding capacity. It holds nutrients, and it recycles nutrients.”

Howe said trapping carbon in soil is not only good for the environment offers advan tages to agricultural production, producers are often reluctant to grow crops with the intent of carbonizing their soil due to the startup in vestment.

discuss topics they’re passionate about. Reyes runs “Maison Music,” a show that can be heard between 5 and 6 p.m. on Thursdays.

“I like to market it as a fashion show, but it’s more than just that. It’s a general lifestyle show,” Reyes said.

His hour of airtime alternates between play ing music of his choice and segments where guests have the opportunity to talk about their own takes on fashion.

“I bring on guests, we talk about fashion … The conversation meanders about,” Reyes said. “We’re bigger than that. We’re the com munity for those that enjoy music, and that doesn’t mean explicitly that we only talk about music. We talk about a lot of other things. People just hang out.”

KANM can provide a place for those of all types of interests and tastes to express their love of all kinds of media, not just music. Ar chaeology senior and assistant programming director Harmon Patriquin said that the orga nization serves as a common ground for every kind of music, movie, book and fashion lover.

“KANM is a place for the people at A&M who need to go against that current of every thing else at A&M,” Patriquin said. “[It’s] a counter-cultural crowd, a lot of goths, a lot of punks and sometimes people who just love music and don’t feel like they’re part of any of that group.”

Even after offering a platform for those who go against the mainstream, KANM still leaves plenty of room for those who maybe don’t have as niche of tastes. Public relations director and architecture junior Eren Rudd says that

“Usually those benefits take a couple of years to get going,” Howe said. “A lot of pro ducers don’t want to adopt it because it takes so long for them to see those benefits.They don’t want to pay for the practices while it’s not benefiting them financially.”

In order to motivate producers to adopt climate-friendly practices, Howe said the AgriLife team is looking into how different economic incentives and marketing strategies might make those practices more appealing. Two proposals, Howe said, was to evaluate carbon markets in Texas, where corporations compensate farmers for putting carbon in the ground.

“Let’s say, you know, a Silicon Valley tech company, if they want to reduce their climate footprint, they can buy carbon that somebody else stored to offset whatever emissions they have,” Howe said. “It’s kind of like, ‘I don’t want to emit any CO2 into the atmosphere, but I know that my business is going to do it, so if you can store some, I’ll buy what you’ve

every person can share their voice at KANM, whether you listen to unknown artists with less than 100,000 monthly listeners, or what ever happens to be on the charts.

“If you like music, you’re welcome here … We have members from literally all walks of life,” Rudd said.

Outside of the borders of campus, KANM’s impact can still be visible in the local music scene because of KANM’s annual “Save the Music” concert, Rudd said. Rudd said “Save the Music” is a student-run concert that hosts a number of local bands and is held at The

stored to cancel out what I’ve emitted.’”

In order to facilitate a carbon market, Rajan said, we need to accurately account soil car bon storage and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Rajan’s research focuses on using the latest sensor techniques to reliably measure greenhouse gas emissions from large agricul tural fields.

“When we work with producers who implement climate-smart practices, we need to know if it is working. So we’re going to select a few farmers’ fields in Texas to make greenhouse gas emission measurements con tinuously,” Rajan said. “Currently, such measurements are rarely made due to the high cost of instrumentation. Through the Texas Climate-Smart Initiative, we will have a unique opportunity to collect one-of-a-kind data to verify emission reductions due to cli mate-friendly agricultural practices.”

Cliff Lamb, Ph.D., director for A&M AgriLife research, said a key element of the project is the extensive collaborations with

101 in Bryan.

“[Save the Music] makes people more aware that there is stuff like that out there, here,” Burgess said.

There are plenty of bands that originate right here out of College Station, and KANM, through their Save the Music concert, helps get their name out and songs played.

“As part of the broader A&M community, we’re an outlet for creative people,” Reyes said. “I don’t know any other clubs that en compass the arts as we do.”

institutions across the state.

“We have partners in AgriLife Extension, the Texas Forest Service, Prairie View A&M, Tarleton State and U[niversity of] T[exas] Rio Grande Valley,” Lamb said. “There’s a tremendous amount of nationally and inter nationally recognized experts in this space. I think that what made this grant so appealing to the USDA is the fact that we were willing to partner with so many different entities to be able to get this done right.”

Jeffrey Savell, Ph.D., vice chancellor and dean for agriculture and life sciences, said he believes that AgriLife scientists, working with the institutions that they have partnered with, can deliver improvements in both the efficiency and environmental impact of agri culture for the entire state of Texas.

“This isn’t just research that just lives in the university,” Savell said. “It’s partnering with the entire agricultural and forestry sector of Texas to create meaningful solutions for peo ple across the state.”

EARN CASH FOR CLOTHES

Aggies!!

Wynn Wynn and Camille Borja, host the radio show The Highs and The Lows, in the KANM recording studio on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022.

Cameron Johnson— THE BATTALION

Newsamedragons, throne

happened and contradicting each other, which gives us as adaptors an incredible amount of leeway because we have no idea what happened.”

Approaching the source material as a historical text allows the adaptors to play into those inconsistencies and divulge from the text, creating shocking moments for the audience to talk about until the next episode. Evidenced by increasing audience numbers every Sunday, this has generated buzz matched only by Thrones at its best.

[SPOILERS AHEAD UP TO EPISODE 6]

Alicent, a woman who has abided by the ethical conduct given to her by society, nurtures “a sense of moral superiority exist[ing] only in her own mind.” This is in conflict with her own stepdaughter Rhaenyra, a woman who flouts her society’s ethics, feeling “entitled to pursue her own happiness.” Alicent campaigns for her son’s claim to the throne per primogeniture despite the King having named Rhaenyra as his successor years before.

Powerful women within a patriarchy form the crux of the dramatic conflict, but the series is not so simplistic as to give us a Hollywood ending. Hess further explained how survival bias factored into their historical approach of the material.

scathed. Laenor chooses the coward’s way out, leaving his wife to bear the consequences of both their actions. Rhaenyra then changes course.

“As your Princess and the heir to the throne,” Rhaenyra proclaims. “You are commanded to remain in King’s Landing and at my side.”

These are fighting words. This is a display of power not unlike Daenerys announcing herself as First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Mother of Dragons, Breaker of Chains, the Unburnt, etc., before laying waste on her enemies. Allison Herman, reviewing the show for The Ringer, praised this complexity.

“To the show’s credit, it avoids equating marginalization with the moral upper hand, a simplistic trap endemic to popular feminism,” Herman writes. “Just because Rhaenyra lacks one form of power doesn’t mean she can’t feel its corrupting influence in other ways.”

One cannot help but hear echoes of one of the greatest scenes from the original series: Petyr Baelish slyly declares that knowledge is power, alluding to his knowledge of Queen Cersei’s indiscretions. In response, Cersei commands her guards to slit his throat before immediately reneging. “I’ve changed my mind,” Cersei says. “Let him go.”

By Rashid Eldoma @rashideldoma

Women can be warlords, too. “House of the Dragon” hammers this point home in a “Game of Thrones” prequel that feels more like its spiritual sequel.

HotD takes place nearly two centuries prior to the events of Thrones and narrows the scope of the series. Whereas Thrones gave us a mosaic of different characters, banners and causes to root for, along with the eponymous game at its core, HotD concerns itself primarily with one powerful family, the ruling Targaryen dynasty, as they play that same dangerous game. The key players are Queen-Consort Alicent Hightower and Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, heir to the Iron Throne.

Fire & Blood, George R.R. Martin’s 2018 book on the history of House Targaryen, provides the source material for HotD. Adapting high fantasy is no easy task, much less high fantasy from what equates to a textbook. The book differs drastically from the main series in terms of storytelling, scope and worldbuilding: An immersive, character-driven experience over the course of many chapters and different points of view in Martin’s main series is condensed to dry accounts relayed after the fact by a fictional scholar in “Fire & Blood.” In short, Martin wrote the series’s source material as a mere worldbuilding exercise. Could showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik pull it off? Could they make engaging TV with such dry material? We sat on the edge of our seats.

The show’s biggest victory is in turning the perceived weakness of the source material into a strength. In the podcast accompanying the show, Executive Producer Sarah Hess explains how.

“[Martin]’s very, very clear in writing the book that it is an unreliable narrative,” Hess said. “So nobody in that book actually knows what happened, it’s three separate reporters saying what they think might have

“One of the themes that we ran with was that history is written by the victors, history is written by … men.” Hess said.

Building upon Martin’s lore, HotD further clarifies the themes at the core of Thrones, the human heart is in conflict with itself, good people do not always make good rulers and actions have consequences.

“I’ve always taken … as a code William Faulkner’s Nobel prize acceptance speech,” Martin said in a TIME interview. “Where he said the human heart in conflict with the self was the only thing worth writing about.”

While we may be tempted to root for progress and empowerment by supporting Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne, change is never met without resistance. In Rhaenyra’s case, change leads to the “Dance of the Dragons,” a civil war of succession which leads to the extinction of dragons and eventual fall of the Targaryen dynasty. The resulting war underlines the great cost we have had to bear for the sake of progress. Martin pressed on the significance of class structures in play.

“The class structures in places like this had teeth. They had consequences,” Martin said. “People were brought up from their childhood to know their place and to know [the] duties of their class and privileges of their class. It was always a source of friction when someone got outside that thing. And I tried to reflect that.”

HotD narrows in on women as a class. One scene from “The Princess and the Queen” seems especially illustrative of Martin’s point: Rhaenyra, played by Emma D’Arcy, begs her husband, Laenor Velaryon, played by John Macmillan, to stay at her side after finding themselves at risk of being exposed for bearing three bastard children. Laenor wishes to sail the high seas once more and continue “fuck[ing] the lustiest boys.” Per their marital arrangement, each spouse is free to bed whomever they desire but Rhaenrya stands to lose everything upon exposure while Laenor can emerge un-

In case the point did not come across, Cersei clarifies: “Power is power.”

HotD shows us, perhaps more tastefully than Thrones, that beneath self-professed high ideals and stories of human progress are flawed human beings, each with their own personal allegiances, petty grievances and self-interest in mind.

People don’t watch event television for ideas, but these messages are conveyed just the same and pose the risk of miscommunication. I point this out only because while Thrones tried to tell a similar story through Daenerys, audiences evidently failed to realize until the series’s end that her humble come-up did not justify the wanton pyromania in her wake. Let’s not forget that during Thrones’ eight year-run at least 3,500 girls were named either “Daenerys” or “Khaleesi,” or their numerous possible misspellings.

The noble intentions of one person do not always triumph over the grim reality of the world. As Rhaenyra will learn in the weeks to come, history is not always kind to its losers and history has not also been kind to women.

By a different way of summation, I offer you this:

If what drew you to Thrones were the quiet conversations in palatial rooms preceding Shakespearean tragedy, the first six episodes of Dragon delivers in spades. The showrunners took a piece of text even dryer than the Gospels and made 10 passion plays to be delivered in weekly installments. Make no mistake about it: event television is back.

If what drew you to Thrones was its spectacle and bloodshed, HotD still has a chance to deliver in the season’s remainder. With two times the budget of the last season of Thrones, only time will tell whether HBO learned from its past mistakes or whether this buildup gives us epididymal hypertension, once again. War still looms around the corner for our characters. The dragons have not yet danced.

Criticism: ‘Pearl’ Review

montage of chopping up a body while a German lullaby was sung by the main character’s charred mother.

By Caitlyn Porras @caitlyncarole

“Pearl” is a farmhouse horror film that revolves around a young woman passionate for the spotlight, yet caged by the strictness of her German mother and disease-ridden father. While impatiently waiting for her husband to return from the First World War, Pearl, played by Mia Goth, slowly spirals into the psychopathic killer we see in “X,” the first chapter of Ti West’s horror franchise which had its theatrical release only seven months prior.

The 102-minute horror movie was, at most, underwhelming. With a plot that seemed to be at a standstill until the last, and goriest, murder scene, there was no true notable experience besides the ticket clerk asking if I was old enough to view an R-rated movie and the

‘Hocus Pocus 2’ casts another spell

One should see “X,” a slasher about a group of actors who fight for their lives while making an adult film in 1970s Texas, to truly experience the craft Goth puts into both “Pearl” as the titular character and Maxine in “X” — dual roles of murderous women both played by Goth. The number of references placed throughout the film can be enjoyable for “X” fans to dive deeper into how sociopathic the farmgirl villain came to be. From the farmhouse that became a tether between the two movies, to the similar, violent drive for becoming a star between Pearl and Maxine, the experience is more rewarding when watching “X” and “Pearl” as a double feature.

Goth, who played the main role in both “Pearl” and “X,” is emerging in the horror film world with her characters. Previously seen in 2020’s “Emma,” a rendition of Jane Austen’s romantic comedy, the British actress has done a full 180 and became the face of West’s horror vision in under a year. Her doll-like features, realistic southern accent and unreliable temper allow for both Pearl and Maxine to come to life in an entertaining way that keeps the audience hooked on her in every scene, unsure of what the next kill will look like.

With that said, the latest release is a much easier

the adolescent love story in favor of instilling values of sisterhood and female empowerment. The protagonist is an independent young girl with no love interest, Becca. Her best friend, Izzy, accompanies her.

watch compared to the franchise’s debut film. The second part of the slasher trilogy is filled with the physiological horror that comes with being isolated and surrounded by the sickness of the Spanish flu while the latter is filled with many sexual themes to the point of being tasteless. After experiencing “X,”the audience would have expected the same level of caution when entering “Pearl,” yet the film had a completely different tone, almost as a love note toward early Hollywood and the film era that shortly follows the invention of the projector.

The score, orchestrated by Tyler Bates and Timothy Williams, painted “Pearl” to be a trip to Oz like West intended, very different from the darker, more sexual original film that gained its inspiration from “Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” The nod to the “Wizard of Oz” can be best seen from the way Pearl longs for a life outside of her secluded farm. She continuously uses her bike as a way to feed her hunger for wanderlust by attending the local theater against her mother’s wishes and forms a relationship with the “Wizard,” or the projectionist, played by David Corenswet. The scenes were filled with dramatic, fantasy-like notes that one would hear during the 1939 musical that starred Judy Garland.

“Pearl” is still in theaters and will be available for DVD and Blu-ray on Nov. 8.

failure. Through seasonal exposure around Halloween on Disney’s television programming, the film managed to garner a cult following. The film’s stars have only gone on to shine brighter in the following years.

By Rahid Eldoma @rashideldoma

Lock up your children, the Sanderson sisters are back. “Hocus Pocus 2” attempts to recapture the magic of the original while updating the story for the 21st century.

“Hocus Pocus 2” begins with a cold open in 17th century Salem, Mass. This opening sequence calls back to the original, except instead of the witches terrorizing children, this sequel shows the witches as the terrorized children. The flashback reveals the circumstances of their banishment from Salem, how they came into possession of their monocular grimoire and sets up a Chekhov’s gun in “magicae maxima,” a forbidden spell which grants the spellcaster supreme power at a supreme cost.

Never one to alter a winning formula, the sequel more than tracks the original; the sequel seems to be a response to revisionist analyses of the Sanderson sisters and an attempt to modernize the protagonists.

The Sanderson sisters are deliciously despicable and, to our benefit, the movie makes little attempt to humanize their caricaturish characterizations. Even as a child, Winifred is horrid, and her sisters, stupid. The cold open also serves to establish a theme not alien to Disney’s oeuvre: the centrality of family.

In updating the protagonists, the script swaps out

Instead of finding love, the pair reconnect with her estranged friend Cassie. The friends have felt estranged since Cassie entered into a relationship, a familiar adolescent tale. The three friends talk it out by the end, but the film fails to raise the stake enough for it to truly pay off. Even when Cassie becomes a damsel in distress at the penultimate hour, it does not wrench the heart like Dani’s final kidnapping in the original.

From creating civilian war propaganda during the Second World War all the way to the bachelorette Elsa’s ascension to the throne of Arendelle, Disney has constantly monitored the zeitgeist and found safe, profitable bets. While initially relegated to direct-toDVD bins near Walmart checkout lines, sequels and remakes of existing intellectual property have been the safe, profitable choice in a more risk-averse Hollywood. Disney, with its ubiquity and longevity as a cultural institution, therefore offers us a way of comparing our mores with those of yesteryear by comparing remakes and sequels.

While “Hocus Pocus” was by no means edgy, the film had both heart and bite to it. Max, the protagonist, spent the entire film getting made fun of for being a virgin, and was often the butt of the joke. This provided further levity to the script whenever the Sanderson sisters were not present, helping to temper the cartoonish antics of the Sanderson sisters with more mature humor. In contrast, the sequel seems to rest on its laurels by relying on nostalgia in order to cater to its adult audience.

It’s easy to forget that “Hocus Pocus” was not always a classic. When the film was released, it was a box office

While the original film boasts marquee names like Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker, the film also marked the introduction of Kenny Ortega, a director who would prove invaluable to the film’s endurance and to Disney in the 21st century.

Kenny Ortega made his directorial debut in “Hocus Pocus.” A stage actor and choreographer before venturing into directing, Ortega would go on to create such classics as “Cheetah Girls,” “High School Musical” and “Descendants,” ushering in a new era of Disney Channel Original Movies. Through its kitschiness, campiness and musicality, Ortega’s directorial imprint courses through “Hocus Pocus.” The sequel hits those same marks, but with less commitment.

That is not to say director Annie Fletcher does a bad job. Fletcher also has a background in choreography and creates an engaging mise en scene, but the script simply does not surpass the original screenplay. The sisters still make for entertaining comic villains, but that seems a testament to the actors’ bewitching performances, something that can also be said of the original.

The end of the film leaves open the possibility of a trilogy. The grimoire passes onto Becca, revealed to be a budding witch, and she forms a coven with her two best friends. The Sanderson sisters pass on to the afterlife, foreclosing their possibility of return.

In Hollywood, success begets success. A successful sequel paves the way for a trilogy. Despite this more than adequate sequel, the jury’s still out whether the franchise can thrive without the Sanderson sisters at their core. Will the witches return for a third time? After all, witches do like to work in threes.

OPINION:

Head-to-head: Beto For Texas

Beto brings balance

Ana Sofia Sloane @anasofiasloane

BBQ, sweet tea and football. Sounds like Texas, right?

Now, how about this:

Every morning, parents hug their children tightly and send them off to school with a troubled smile. Will they buy candles to decorate their fourth grader’s birthday cake this weekend, or go to light a vigil in their memory due to another school shooting? For many families in Uvalde, it was the latter.

An 18-year-old girl quits her job and drops out of real estate school because she’s pregnant with twins; the exhaustion and nausea are overwhelming. She wanted to get an abortion, but the “heartbeat” act was passed two days after she discovered her predicament. The nearest clinics available to help were in New Mexico.

This is also Texas.

Simply put, our state has devolved into a muddled mess of private interest and radical conservatism. From bodily autonomy to safety in schools, even the simplest concepts are distorted by the agendas of those in office.

Thankfully, change is within reach.

This November’s upcoming gubernatorial election pits incumbent Greg Abbott against former U.S. representative Robert “Beto” O’Rourke. Although Texas is a decidedly right-leaning state, Beto has proved himself to be a worthy opponent with high poll numbers and undeniable enthusiasm — the race is bound to be tight.

All I’m here to say is, Beto is our best bet.

To begin, let’s consider one of the largest crises in Texas: gun violence. After the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, our governor didn’t take proactive action to prevent it from ever happening again. No, the same night of the shooting, Abbott attended a fundraising event for his campaign. What words of comfort did he offer the victims and their families?

“It could’ve been worse.”

The disrespect and insensitivity in those four words is astounding. To have someone in a position of power that prioritizes the right to yield a firearm over innocent lives, especially those of child victims, is sickening.

In contrast, Beto has reprimanded the inaction of lawmakers in our state. In the same press conference where Abbott said Uvalde “could’ve been worse,” Beto confronted those on stage with the simple truth: “You are doing nothing.”

If voted into office, Beto vows to fight irresponsible gun ownership by repealing permitless carry and other initiatives. These reforms are the steps of progress we need. I don’t want to see new headlines about shootings every week, fear for my life in classes or mourn for those who were killed anymore. Enough is enough.

This applies not only to gun violence, but also issues surrounding minorities in Texas.

Personally, I appreciate Beto’s endeavors

to reach the Hispanic community. As an Ecuadorian woman, the narratives that ignorant politicians perpetuate about Latino people are tiring and insulting — no, we are not all illegal immigrants trying to sell smuggled drugs and steal hardworking Americans’ jobs.

This is why, when I attended a Beto rally a few years ago, I was taken aback when Beto began to speak in Spanish. Though the American accent was heavy and grammar was lacking, the effort is what stood out to me.

Instead of regarding Latinos as agenda points, Beto has tried to connect with and empower our community throughout his campaign for governor. It’s the bare minimum, I know, but when other politicians set the bar six feet underground, actions like this matter.

Why is the bar so low? Well, for instance, in place of making meaningful inroads with the Latino community, Abbott deems it fit to use them as political pawns. Just last month, he bussed 100 migrants from Texas to Washington D.C. in an effort to pressure Vice President Harris and President Biden to “step up and do their jobs to secure the border.”

Dehumanizing migrants and using over 12 million taxpayer dollars just to make a point?

We need someone who realizes minorities are more than a usable demographic. Only once we establish this respect can legislation be created to solve border and immigration issues in a humane manner — no more families ripped apart or children caged behind metal bars.

But what else can be expected from someone who doesn’t defend basic rights?

Abbott recently passed Senate Bill 8, or SB8, which bans abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. There are no exceptions to rape or incest.

The violation of female bodily autonomy and safety enabled by the bill is frightening. I should not possess less rights over my own body than a woman living in 1970s America.

As Beto himself said, “[SB8] is essentially a referendum on whether we’re going to go back half a century, or whether this state is going to move forward.”

By voting for Beto, who stands for abortion accessibility and the right to choose, we stand a chance at making Texas a safe place again for the women of today and future generations.

Not to mention, have we forgotten that Abbott outspokenly defends banning samesex marriage? Everything’s bigger in Texas, that’s for sure. Bigotry included.

However, what’s imperative to consider is the uncertain future that these issues paint. Body autonomy, guns … What’s next on the agenda? How many more liberties will be infringed upon, lives lost and threatened, due to inadequate political leadership? I don’t want to find out.

For the sake of Texan children, women, minorities, schools and so many other matters that I didn’t cover, vote conscientiously. I will be voting for Beto this November. I hope you do too.

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

Return of the Texas Iron

Charis Adkins @Charis_Batt

I got a little story for ya, Ags.

On April 16, 2022, we students entered Sbisa Dining Hall like normal, blissful in our ignorance, only to find our beloved Texas-shaped waffle makers ripped from us with neither warning nor condolence.

On April 26, in response to this horrific obstruction of justice, your favorite opinion writer at The Battalion published an article lamenting the loss of the Texas Irons.

On April 27, I received an email from Big ‘Bisa himself, Aggie Dining, asking to meet to discuss the article. At this meeting, I was informed that A&M was suffering from those ever-present Texas-shaped waffle maker supply chain issues, but that our beloved Texas waffle makers would be replaced come fall.

At the start of the fall, we returned to Sbisa, (wa)full of hope in our naivete. University leadership had assured us of the return of our Texas Irons, and we had no reason to disbelieve them.

Oh, wait. Right.

Anyway, we entered Sbisa and what did we see?

Still, our Texas Irons were replaced by simplistic, unpatriotic circles. Still, this Yankee leadership bourgeoisie played us for fools.

As the days after the waffle maker’s continued disappearance stretched into weeks, students like engineering sophomore Hunter

Cassidy began raising questions about A&M’s commitment to their students’ basic needs.

“‘An Aggie does not lie, cheat or steal,’ or so I am told, but I was informed that the Texas waffle irons would be returned after summer,” Cassidy said. “I’m dismayed to see that they are still missing four weeks into the semester.”

That sounds an awful lot like a lie to me. Philosophy sophomore Jonathan Posadas shared his sentiment.

“I’m devastated, heartbroken even,” Posadas said. “There’s a big giant Texas-waffleiron-shaped hole in our hearts, and we absolutely need it to return.”

The weeks dragged on. The university ignored our pleas. In the face of the immense frustration presented by the waffle makers’ continued disappearance, engineering sophomore Jason Reynolds summed up students’ feelings best: “Simply where they at, though?”

It was at this point that Katherine Banks attempted what can only be called a perfectly (w)awful cover-up. She teamed up with Big University and tried to sweep the whole Texas waffle fiasco under the proverbial maroon and white rug.

I am, of course, referring to the recent merging of the Liberal Arts and Sciences colleges.

“But the merger’s been planned for over a year,” you might be saying. “There’s no way!”

Let’s take a closer look, shall we?

The consolidation was first announced publicly in fall 2021. There’s no way anyone chosen to run this grand university of ours would be so out of touch to think this unifi-

Out with O’Rourke

Ryan Lindner @RyanLindner12

On Sept. 28, 2022, Robert Francis O’Rourke, who likes to call himself “Beto,” came to campus to give a speech on his plans to turn Texas blue. As he was hitting on standard Democrat talking points such as gun control, abortion and the Texas power grid, one question came to mind — is this the best Democrats have to offer?

If there is one thing we know about Beto, it’s that he is no stranger to defeat. In the “blue wave of 2018,” Beto lost to the unpopular Senator Ted Cruz by about 2.6 points. Desiring another humiliating defeat, Beto entered the presidential race. After multiple gaffes, “The View” accusing him of “white privilege” and some awful polling numbers, Beto dropped out.

Once again, Beto is hurtling towards another political buzzsaw in the form of Gov. Greg Abbott. The RealClearPolitics polling average currently shows Abbott with an 8-point lead and FiveThirtyEight’s election forecast has Beto losing in 95% of possible election scenarios.

At first glance Beto’s unpopularity is surprising. Democrats have been gaining steam in Texas after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the tragic Uvalde mass shooting. However, Texas is still a fundamentally red state in a year that should be favorable for Republicans. President Joe Biden is unpopular, a majority of Americans think the country is on the wrong track and a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll shows 74% of Americans think the state of the economy is poor. With Democrats facing severe problems on the national level, state and local Democrats will have to work harder to earn voters’ trust.

There is also the problem of Beto’s noticeable lack of principle, which has turned him into the political equivalent of a pretzel.

While running for president, Beto staunchly advocated for severe gun control. During a Democratic primary debate in 2019, he famously quipped, “Hell, yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47.” Now that he’s running for governor of Texas, a state with more registered guns than the population of Wyoming, he’s trying to make everyone forget his enthusiasm for confiscating one of the most commonly owned rifles in the country.

“I’m not interested in taking anything from anyone. What I want to make sure that we do is defend the Second Amendment,” Beto said at a campaign stop in February.

So when running for president, seizing legally owned firearms is acceptable, but when running for governor, it’s not? How stupid does he think we are?

Since his flip flop on gun confiscation, Beto has endorsed universal background checks, raising the minimum age to buy rifles, such as the AR-15, to 21 years old and implementing red flag laws. While well-crafted red flag

cation was a good idea.

This leaves only one possibility: They’d been planning the confiscation of the Texas Irons for much longer than we thought. They were holding the merger until it was absolutely necessary to draw students’ attention away from the “de-Texification” of the university, one waffle maker at a time.

They waited until we were at their wits’ end about the Texas Irons before officially announcing the merger. It was nothing more than a calculated distraction.

But all in vain.

I have good news for you, Ags — as of Wednesday, Sept. 28, the waffle makers have been reinstated in Sbisa! We did it!

Do you know what this means?

This proves that Banks and the rest of the university leadership aren’t completely disconnected from student needs. They listened! Surely, now that there’s no need to distract us from such a grievous offense as the seizure of our Texas Irons, it’s only a matter of time before the consolidation is rescinded.

I have complete and utter faith in university leadership, and Banks especially, to continue listening to students! They’ve been doing such a good job so far!

I got a little story for ya, Ags!

Old Rock, the good Ag, walked into his favorite dining hall one day to find his beloved Texas-shaped waffle maker missing.

But, he and the rest of the student body united! Together, with cries of “Remember the Texas Iron!” they brought about the return of their favorite waffle maker, despite a poorly executed cover-up attempt by Big University!

We did not go gentle into that Texas-shaped-waffleless night.

laws may have some merit, Beto’s “solutions” are unlikely to substantially reduce gun violence or prevent the next mass shooting. The reasoning is simple: All of this reduces the rights of law-abiding citizens and ignores the law-breakers.

Not one of Beto’s proposals would get criminals off the street nor make it harder for them to obtain a firearm. According to the Department of Justice, in 2019, only about 10% of would-be criminals received a gun from a licensed dealer. Of the 10% that do, a majority passed the background check without a hitch. It’s clear the problem of gun violence isn’t the fault of lawful firearm retailers.

Suppose Beto cares about reducing gun crime in Texas. In that case, I suggest he look for ways to go after the criminals who subvert our legal system instead of demonizing Americans who lawfully exercise their Second Amendment right to own a gun.

In addition to Beto’s ineffective gun policies, his position on abortion is significantly more extreme than most Americans, much less the average Texas voter. In March 2019, Beto declared he wouldn’t get in the way of a woman getting an abortion even during the third trimester. Since then, Beto has refused to say whether he thinks any restrictions on abortion would be acceptable.

I’ll admit that abortion polling is complex because, for most Americans, the question of when an abortion should be legal or illegal isn’t black and white. However, the polling is remarkably clear regarding late-term abortion — 80% of Americans are against it, and for good reason. During the third trimester, the baby’s bones are almost fully developed, and the mother will begin to feel their baby stretching and kicking in their womb. The miracle of life is unquestionably visible in this stage of pregnancy, but for Beto, killing the baby should still be an option.

I’m unapologetically pro-life, but from a purely political perspective, Beto’s radical position on abortion is beyond the pale even to more liberal voters.

For the past six years, the liberal media ecosystem has lauded Beto to be the man who would turn Texas blue. From gushing Washington Post columns clamoring about “Betomania” to the adoring front pages of magazines such as Vanity Fair, Beto is implied to be the great Democratic savior of the South. Yet, by all available metrics, the man from El Paso is destined for another humiliating defeat in November.

If there is anything to learn from Beto’s failed campaigns and the millions of wasted dollars, it’s that politicians will do anything besides get a real job.

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

We rallied. We fought. And we won. And that’s exactly what we’re gonna do to ‘em.

writers Ana Sofia Sloane and Ryan Lindner discuss Beto O’Rourke

his

Texas

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

Taking on Tuscaloosa

Beatdown Aggies look

Crimson Tide

By Neomi Brown @neomib_03

The rematch the entire college football fanbase has been waiting for has is finally here.

Unranked Texas A&M heads to Tuscaloosa, Ala., this weekend to take on the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide on its home turf one year after defeating them last season at Kyle Field at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. This marks the 15th meeting in the teams history with the Crimson Tide holding a 11-3 lead in the new rivalry.

Before last season, the Aggies had an eightgame losing streak dating back to 2013. The Crimson Tide has dominated the team, outscoring them 353-173 over those last eight losses. Last season changed the tide after the maroon and white were able to secure a 41-38 win when former kicker Seth Small made the game-winning field goal.

Heading into this matchup, the Aggies are coming off a tough 42-24 loss to Mississippi State and the chance of A&M leading the SEC West this season is now slim to none. Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide has been taking care of business and are coming into this game with a perfect 5-0 record, its most recent win being Arkansas with a 49-26 score.

“They’re an outstanding team,” A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher said. “Of course Nick [Saban]’s a tremendous coach. He’s got great players, they’re coached well, playing well, doing everything there and got to go on the road and play again. So like I said, you’ve got to move on … We’ve got to work this week and make the adjustments and make the corrections and get better.”

With the loss to the Bulldogs last week and a slow performance in a win at the Southwest Classic against Arkansas, there isn’t too much momentum for the Aggies going into this game, but the team can still draw off experience, Fisher said.

“You live off your experiences, but at the time, we went out the next week and had tremendous practices and prepared well and went and played well,” Fisher said. “Those are the things I keep going back to right now. You’ve got to go prepare well in practice. To have an opportunity to go play a team like Alabama, to have a chance to play well against them, you have to practice well. We’ve done

that before, but hopefully we’ll do it again this week.”

One of the most important things to note going into the widely talked about game is junior quarterback Max Johnson could possibly not make an appearance after exiting against Mississippi State last Saturday. However, former sophomore QB1 Haynes King has handled his demotion well and will be ready to play if needed, Fisher said.

“He’s been excellent,” Fisher said. “He stepped right in the middle of a drive and took us down. Him and Max [Johnson] work hand in hand every day. They sit together, go over plays, go over concepts, talk about ideas.”

Going up against a quarterback like Heisman-winner Bryce Young means the defense must put more priority on the pass rush after allowing the Bulldogs’ junior quarterback Will Rogers to put up 329 yards and three touchdowns.

“I think we just need to win our one-onones in the pass rush and just come off harder,” sophomore defensive lineman Fadil Diggs said. “We just haven’t been winning our oneon-ones. We need to execute better in the schemes we’re running and just have got to provide more pressure on the quarterback.”

Serving up success

A&M hosts Fish Camp, Mental Health Awareness matches against Mississippi State

By Emily Godsey @emgodsey

Texas A&M’s volleyball team looks to bounce back from its failed comeback attempt against Georgia last week and defeat Mississippi State in a two-game series on Friday, Oct. 7, and Saturday, Oct. 8, at Reed Arena.

With an overall season record of 10-6 and a conference record of 2-3, the Aggies will be taking on the Bulldogs in an attempt to snap their three-game losing streak and gain momentum within the SEC standings. Currently seated behind Mississippi State in rankings, the even matchup this weekend could have a major impact for the maroon and white — whether positive or negative will depend on

which has a similar capacity, has prepared them for this road trip.

“Playing in Kyle Field prepares you for other atmospheres,” Wright said. “Kyle Field is one of the loudest atmospheres in the world. That definitely helps us playing

the results of the sets.

“It comes down to our consistency and how we compete,” head coach Laura Kuhn told 12thMan.com. “We love the grind, but we need to be playing — we need to compete consistently together.”

Since the 2020 season, A&M has gone 0-4 against the Bulldogs, according to 12thMan. com, so the upcoming matchup will test both teams in terms of how they have adapted and improved in the offseason and first half of SEC play.

While A&M has strong offensive power with its hitters and defensive power with its liberos, the pair of losses against Georgia showcased the Fightin’ Farmers difficulties climbing back from a deficit and maintaining their defense during gameplay — some issues the team hopes to resolve by the start of the games this weekend.

“That’s been our focus this week, we had to work on our transition defense,” Kuhn said.

The team has been working on its defensive strategy this week and spending time at-

on the road.”

In Alabama’s 49-26 win last week against Arkansas, junior quarterback Bryce Young left the game with an apparent shoulder injury that allowed redshirt freshman Jalen Milroe to come in and show his skills.

“[Milroe] is very athletic, strong and has a strong arm,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said.

On A&M’s side of things, the offensive line has been a huge focus for the team — as the past five weeks haven’t produced the best results — and going up against the ninth-best rushing defense could cause problems. However, there has been a jump in improvement, Fisher said.

“You go back and watch, we ran the football very well,” Fisher said “We were averaging almost nine yards per carry on the first three series of the game running the football. And, we had two pick-ups inside that we come off a twist where they didn’t come on pass pro, and that’s where the sacks come from. But running the football, I thought we were excellent. And for the most part, most I mean, we had a couple of screw ups in there on the twist game … but they did progress.”

The Aggie defense will have its work cut out against them at Alabama and it’s critical that A&M force more turnovers and put points on the board because of them, junior defensive back Antonio Johnson said.

“We knew going into that game that we needed to get turnovers, and we had a few opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on,” Johnson said. “I feel like those could have been a turning point of the game. That’s in

tempting to master the dominant, tone-setting energy they hope to bring to their sets against the Bulldogs. To Kuhn, it is one of the most important elements of the game.

“We need to be better at setting the tone,” Kuhn said. “The way you secure the vibe of the match and the rhythm — we need to set that rhythm.”

Following the incomplete comeback in Athens, Ga., the maroon and white will be returning to Reed Arena to take on Mississippi State, and playing in front of the home crowd in College Station may be what it takes for the Aggies to reclaim the season and put the string of losses behind them.

The beginning of the month of October denotes a period of high-intensity SEC gameplay for the Aggies, meaning the team has more than enough time to fix the errors and work on the skills necessary to make it to the NCAA championship in December.

“We’re going to become who we are in this month, and that’s what is so special about October,” Kuhn said.

The game on Friday, Oct. 7, will begin at 6 p.m. and is designated as the Fish Camp Match, while the game on Saturday, Oct. 8, is set to start at 4 p.m., during which fans are advised to wear green for Mental Health Awareness.

“He was a guy we were recruiting at the time … He’s an outstanding athlete.”

Junior defensive back Antonio Johnson said he is prepared to face whoever starts at the position.

“We have to prepare for both Bryce [Young] and what’s his name … We have FISHER ON PG. 8

the past now. So next game, we’ve just got to win those opportunities.”

With all of the hype surrounding this game, A&M will enter a relatively hostile stadium with Alabama fans hungry to get revenge after last year’s upset.

“It’s loud,” Diggs said. “It’s loud in every stadium, and playing in Kyle Field will actually help us with that a lot. We just need to communicate and get our signals in better, because like you said, it’s a crazy atmosphere. So, we just need to get our signals in and communicate up front and in the back end.”

Despite all of the history between the Aggies and Crimson Tide, the most important thing is making sure the entire team is on the same page and can continue SEC play with a win, Johnson said.

“Right now, it’s all about just making sure everybody’s in the right headspace going into this game,” Johnson said. “I feel this is a good teaching point for the team. We were in the same spot last year. You know, it’s all about just finishing the season. Each week, just go out, work hard each day, practice hard and go into the game with the mindset to just play for each other.”

It’s like ube r, but

r lo nger dist a

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young (9) is pressured by the Aggies during A&M’s game against the Crimson Tide in Kyle Field

Sophomore L/DS Brooke Frzier (3) serves the ball during the Aggies’ game against Hawai’i in Reed Arena on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022.

I’m surfing the Tide on this one.

Too many coincidences.

to prepare for both,” Johnson said. “No matter who plays this game, you just have to go out and execute and play.”

Another QB competition

In last week’s loss, junior quarterback Max Johnson left the game with an injury to his throwing hand, allowing sophomore quarter-

back Haynes King to retake his spot with a chance to prove he still has what it takes to hold the keys to the offense.

“[King’s] decision making was good,” Fisher said. “Unfortunately, he had a couple breaks where the ball got tipped. He was doing the right things.”

With Johnson still being evaluated, the problem of who is the starting quarterback in Aggieland is back in the equation with a

potential freshman from Bridgeland being a potential solution.

“We give [Conner Weigman] reps every week,” Fisher said. “He takes reps with the 2s every week. He’s very knowledgeable.”

Is beef settled?

When A&M finished less than a point ahead of Alabama coach Nick Saban and his

Crimson Tide in the 247Sports Composite recruiting ratings with the highest-rated recruiting class of all time, Saban said Fisher “bought every player.”

Fisher did not hold back when news erupted in the media and called Saban a “narcissist” along with a few other things.

All of a sudden, the feud has been squashed.

“We’re in good shape, and we’ve moved on,” Fisher said.

Mr. Field is my father, call me Kyle.

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Facing the Tide

By Luke White @lukewhite03

While the Texas A&M football team’s defense, or lack thereof, garnered most of the attention after a 42-24 drubbing to Mississippi State last week, the Aggies’ offense quietly had one of its better showings of the season versus the Bulldogs.

The unit scored its second-most points of the year in Starkville, Miss., marking its highest total since the season opener, when it put up 31 points against Sam Houston State.

Junior running back Devon Achane wwas typical Devon Achane, racking up 111 yards on the ground on 16 carries, good for an average of 6.9 yards per rush. Junior quarterback Max Johnson continued a string of solid outings before leaving the game with a hand injury, passing for 203 yards and a touchdown while completing 19 of 26 attempts.

A&M fans were introduced to sophomore wide receiver Moose Muhammad III, who caught six passes for 119 yards and a touchdown. After a season-ending injury to senior wideout Ainias Smith during the Arkansas game on Sept. 24, Muhammad and the team’s receiving corps must step up to cover for the team captain’s production and leadership.

Freshmen wideouts Evan Stewart and Chris Marshall each had efficient performances, with Stewart reeling in five passes for 56 yards, while Marshall had four receptions for 27 yards.

Saturday’s loss also showed that the offense still has plenty to improve upon as conference play gets into full swing. The maroon and white were turnover-happy against Mississippi State, losing two fumbles in the red zone to kill otherwise promising drives. Sophomore signal-caller Haynes King also threw two interceptions after entering the game in the fourth quarter when Johnson left with an injury, including one returned for a touchdown. To be fair, one of the picks was tipped directly off Stewart’s hands and into the outstretched arms of the defender.

“Sometimes when you’re young and you’ve got young guys in critical positions, sometimes they just want to try too hard,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. “We talk to them every day, give them confidence. We do it in practice every day and just have got to relax and play.”

The offensive line’s struggles continued as well, as both A&M quarterbacks were consistently forced to get rid of the ball quickly and make desperation throws, while Johnson was sacked four times over the course of the day for a loss of 32 yards. Five games into the season, sophomore offensive linemen Bryce Foster and Reuben Fatheree II and junior offensive lineman Layden Robinson have yet to live up to their preseason All-SEC honors. A cohesive and productive unit in the trenches will be key to success for the Aggies’ offense.

“I know their ability is there, their want-to is there, their habits, their work habits, all the things are there,” Fisher said of the offense as a whole. “They’re tremendous kids. And we have to do a good job of coaching them and put them

there. And just my time being here, and knowledge of doing it and having done it for many years. And I believe in our players 100%.”

Additionally, Johnson’s status remains unclear entering this weekend after Fisher said he “banged his hand” versus the Bulldogs. Fisher listed Johnson as day-to-day and signaled his openness to starting King or freshman quarterback Conner Weigman while he recovers.

“[King] has been a tremendous, tremendous human being, handling the situation as well as any human can ever be expected to, and actually was a benefit and a help to Max Johnson on the information and things that are going on,” Fisher said. “We give [Weigman] reps every week. He takes reps with the 2s every week. He’s very knowledgeable … I think he’s going to be a very, very good player.”

Nonetheless, the Aggies appear to show progress as the season wears on, but they will face their biggest test of the year when they take on top-ranked Alabama on Saturday, Oct. 8, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The matchup at Bryant-Denny Stadium will pit A&M against a Crimson Tide team that has limited opponents to an average of 11 points per game, good for fifth in the country.

Last week, Alabama took down Arkansas 49-26 on the road, giving up 377 yards to the Razorbacks. For comparison, the Aggies gave up 415 total yards to Arkansas in a 23-21 win to kick off conference play.

Alabama junior linebacker Will Anderson Jr. has established himself as a Heisman Trophy candidate and arguably the top defensive player in the country with 27 tackles, nine tackles for loss and five sacks, while fifth-year linebacker Jaylen Moody and senior linebacker Henry To’oTo’o lead the Crimson Tide defense with 33 tackles

apiece this season while tallying at least 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack each.

As a whole, Alabama’s defense ranks fourth overall in the nation, allowing an average of 3.61 yards per play and 236.4 yards per game. The reigning SEC champions have given up just five touchdowns all season, three of which came against Arkansas.

“Texas A&M has a really good team, a really good offensive line, a really good quarterback, and it’s going to be a great challenge for us,” Anderson said.

As is the case against any great opponent, the Aggies will have to play a virtually mistake-free game in order to compete with the Crimson Tide, and quality preparation will be key to their success. However, as last year’s 41-38 win proved, nothing is impossible when a two-loss A&M team, coming off a loss to Mississippi State, too, takes on a topranked Alabama squad.

“To have an opportunity to go play a team like Alabama, to have a chance to play well against them, you have to practice well,” Fisher said. “We’ve done that before, but hopefully we’ll do it again this week. I think the want-to of our players and everything else is there. [They have a] great attitude, we just have to go practice well.”

Bracing the Tide

Durkins’ defense looks to rebound performance against Crimson Tide

By Zoe May @mayzoella

It’s time to compare notes: in Texas A&M’s last game against Mississippi State on Oct. 1, the Aggie defense racked up a grand total of 73 tackles with the highest performer being junior defensive back Antonio Johnson with eight total tackles. The team landed no sacks and no interceptions despite being handed multiple opportunities and gave up a season-high 42 points.

On the other hand, in Alabama’s most recent game on the same date against Arkansas, the offense placed 49 points on the board despite playing with its backup quarterback, redshirt freshman Jalen Milroe, for most of the game. On top of that, the team totaled a net 317 yards rushing and 238 yards receiving.

Looking at the statistics side-byside, the Aggies’ chances of putting a stop to a seemingly uncompromising Crimson Tide offense are slim to none. So, the question arises, what will the Fightin’ Farmers have to do to stop the roll of the tide?

One unit within the A&M defense that will need to shift against Alabama will be the defensive line.

Until Week 4 against the Razorbacks, the Aggie defensive linemen had managed to keep a lid on the opposition’s run game, only allowing 107, 181 and 175 yards against Sam Houston State, Appalachian State and Miami, respectively. Then, the line cracked slightly to allow 244 rushing yards from Arkansas and then ultimately reforged against the Bulldogs, holding them to 136 net yards rushing.

However, with the Tide putting up 317 yards on the ground and five rushing touchdowns last week, the Aggies will need to withstand the pressure test from Alabama’s star-studded offensive line and high-performer junior running back Jahmyr Gibbs to plug any open holes and halt the run game.

The offensive line’s second mission will be working on getting to the quarterback. The team was unable to sack Mississippi State junior quarterback Will Rogers last week and only had six total sacks in the four games prior. With Milroe being the likely signal caller to return to the pocket, the maroon and white will need to find a way to keep him from getting comfortable while he’s in it.

While the pass game did take a backseat in Alabama’s game against Arkansas once Minroe was sent on the field, the Tide’s performance in the air was nothing to scoff at. Freshman wide receiver Kobe Prentice locked in with three receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown and was closely followed by another freshman wide receiver, Isaiah Bond, who had two receptions for 76 yards. So, while Alabama might not be throwing on every play, it is not afraid to go

for the deep passes. However, A&M defensive coordinator DJ Durkin’s current strategy of playing more guys in the backfield than on the line could keep Alabama from finding those long passes.

However, what may be the biggest deciding factor of the game will be A&M’s ability to capitalize on Alabama’s potential offensive mistakes. In the Tide’s matchup against Arkansas they had one interception and three fumbles, all of which they were able to recover. In a similar, but different vein, the Aggies had multiple interception opportunities within the first half to grab a turnover and were unable to reel them in, but did come away with a fumble recovery.

The back-and-forth tug-of-war between the possibility of Alabama offensive mistakes and A&M’s chances to take advantage of them may result in the yank that pulls one team over the line and the other into the mud.

“We knew going into that [Mississippi State] game that we needed to get turnovers, and we had a few opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on,” Johnson said. “I feel like those could have been a turning point of the game. That’s in the past now. So next game, we’ve just got to win those opportunities … I feel like if we would have made those plays, it probably would’ve been [a] different outcome of the game.”

While the Crimson Tide may sit at No. 1, they are not immune to slip-ups, but if the now unranked Aggies can’t find a way to shut down Alabama’s offensive prowess on the ground and in the air, A&M will find itself drowning in the rush of the Tide.

Sophomore DB Jardin Gilbert

Alabama

Jameson

Kyle Field

Junior RB Devon Achane (6) runs for a gain during Texas A&M’s game against Alabama in Kyle Field on Oct. 9, 2021.

Texas hockey gets pucked

A&M hockey takes at-home rematch victory, breaks glass, fights, saws ‘em off on the road

By Zoe May @MayZoella

The first game of the weekend served as the home opener for the Aggies who played in front of a sold-out crowd. Texas A&M and the University of Texas put on an aggressive showing for the crowd, highlighted by a broken glass screen.

The first period started off slow for both the Aggies and the Longhorns, as neither team could capitalize on scoring opportunities. Senior goalie Jake Sirkis blocked multiple attempts from UT to keep the match scoreless and with 1:46 left in the first, a goal attempt by A&M was declared no good. So, as both teams returned to their respective locker rooms, the pressure was on to get the first goal of the game, and tensions were rising.

Those tensions and pressure culminated in the second period as the Aggies and Longhorns returned to the ice with a renewed aggression and desire to steal the momentum of the game. That opportunity arrived at the maroon and white’s doorstep as a pass from freshman forward Nicholas Leone allowed senior defenseman Matt McBride to slap it into the goal and place the Aggies on the board first.

“It was wonderful,” McBride said to tamuicehockey.com. “Plus the fans are amazing — it’s great that they made it against t.u., the environment is wonderful, and it gets everyone excited.”

The goal also served to electrify A&M’s morale and on, the flip side, further aggravate Texas. As the tempo increased, so did the number of body checks and fights instigated. The Aggies managed another goal from junior forward Robby Sours, but it was ultimately waved off by the referees. As the time wore down in the second period, Sirkis and the defensemen held the orange and white back through aggressive saves, letting A&M return to its locker room leading 1-0.

As the last 15 minutes began ticking down in the third period, the play between teams became so aggressive that — loaded with body checks into the glass on both sides — the glass barrier surrounding the arena behind the Texas goal cracked, causing an impromptu stop to the game.

When play returned, the maroon and white took advantage of an opportunity as Texas sacrificed their goalie in order to put pressure on A&M’s net. Junior forward Christian Spearman scratched another goal to add to the Aggies’ lead.

The previously rumbling 12th Man went silent when sophomore defenseman Jack Alexander went down with injury following contact with a UT player. Alexander was carried off the ice and when play resumed, the Aggies came out with a chip on their shoulder. Multiple players from both sides of the ice spent time in the penalty box, the aggression reaching its climax.

A&M held onto its 3-0 lead until 11 seconds were left in the game, and UT managed to slip a puck in the net to end the game 3-1.

AROUND

By Shanielle Veazie @shanielleveazie

Missouri @ Florida

Saturday, Oct. 8 — Ben Hill Griffin Stadium — Gainesville, Fla. 11 a.m. on ESPNU

Both Missouri and Florida come into this matchup with a 0-2 record in SEC play, so someone is going home with its first SEC win of the season after this game. The Tigers have lost their last two games while the Gators are on a redemption tour, picking up the win last week against Eastern Washington, after a loss in Week 4 to No. 11 Tennessee.

The Gators proved they have depth in the quarterback position against the Eagles when sophomore quarterback Anthony Richardson went out of the game in the

second quarter with a

and redshirt

Kitna

and one touchdown. Though Richardson later returned, Kitna’s performance made

mark. Richardson threw 8-for-10 on completions for 240 passing yards and finished with two touchdowns.

Missouri has the defense to slow Florida down after recording nine tackles for loss, two sacks and one forced fumble in last week’s match against No. 1 Georgia.

Arkansas @ No. 23 Mississippi State

Saturday, Oct. 8

“In the past couple of years, we’ve beaten them by a lot of goals,” captain senior forward George Colts-Tegg said. “It was a little closer than we were expecting, but it was still a win.”

With a win under their belt from Game 1, the Aggies traveled to Austin to face the Longhorns in the second game of the weekend at Chaparral Ice Arena. Despite no longer having the help of the Aggie crowd, A&M rode steadily to a 5-2 victory on the road.

Period one finished with the Aggies holding a 1-0 lead, but by the end of the second period, the orange and white had taken a 2-1 edge. However, A&M dominated the last period of play, adding four more goals to their score — one from freshman forward Jacob Smith, one from freshman forward Ethan Chen and two from Leone.

The win leaves the Aggies at a 4-0 record and undefeated so far this season following their win against Oklahoma State the previous weekend.

A&M will return to the ice on Oct. 14-15 to face the Baylor Bears at home in Spirit Ice Arena.

No. 8 Tennessee @ No. 25 LSU

Saturday, Oct. 8 — Tiger Stadium — Baton Rouge, La. 11 a.m. on ESPN

An entertaining matchup is set between the Tigers and the Volunteers. Tennessee is currently undefeated, sitting at a perfect 4-0 for the first time since 2016. The team looks to continue its win streak after a bye week. LSU is 4-1 and has been on a four- game win streak, after losing one game in Week 1. The Tigers were down 17-0 against Auburn last week when senior safety Jay Ward capitalized off of a 23-yard fumble return. Junior quarterback Jayden Daniels joined in on the momentum switch when he ran in a 1-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit

to 17-14. LSU came up with the big play and a final touchdown with 3:32 left in the fourth quarter, defeating Auburn 21-17. It’ll be an offensive battle on both sides, as Tennessee redshirt senior quarterback Hendon Hooker had an explosive performance last week against Florida. Hooker completed 22 of 28 passes for a season high 349 yards and two touchdowns. If Hooker is able to connect with sophomore running back Jaylen Wright and junior running back Jabari Small, the Vols will create successful scoring opportunities.

Prediction: Tennessee 34, LSU 23

South Carolina @ No. 13 Kentucky

Miss. 11 a.m. on

Davis Wade Stadium

The Bulldogs are currently 4-1 while the Razorbacks sit 3-2 overall. Mississippi State is coming off of a big win, defeating the Aggies 42-24 at home. The unranked squad proved that they are not to be counted out. Arkansas took a loss to the Aggies in Week 4 and a loss to, then No. 2, Alabama last week. The team will be looking for redemption in the matchup against Mississippi State.

It is no secret that redshirt quarterback

KJ Jefferson leads a solid offense for the Razorbacks. Jefferson’s season high is 19 of 31 passes for 385 passing yards and two touchdowns.

This one will be a close fight and worth the watch.

Saturday, Oct. 8 — Kroger Field — Lexington, Ky. 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network

Kentucky is coming off a close loss to Ole Miss in Week 5. Currently 4-1, the team is expected to pick up the win against South Carolina this weekend as the Gamecocks have been unsuccessful in SEC play, sitting at 0-2 in conference and 3-2 overall.

Wildcat senior quarterback Will Levis knows how to set his team up to make plays. The quarterback threw 18 of 24 completions against Ole Miss for 220 passing yards and two touchdowns.

Senior running back Chris Rodriguez could also make an impact offensively after missing the first four games of the season. Rodriguez’s presence was known against Ole Miss as he had 19 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown.

Redshirt sophomore Marshawn Lloyd has been a key player for the Gamecocks with a total of 324 rushing yards this season with six touchdowns.

A&M’s match against Texas at Spirit Ice Rink

It’s like uber, but for longer distances.