Final issue This is the final edition of The Battalion to be published until the first summer semester. For news updates during the break, visit thebatt.com, like The Battalion on Facebook or follow @TheBattOnline on Twitter.
thebattalion ● monday,
may 7, 2012
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2012 student media
Year of changes
Associated Press and File Photos — THE BATTALION
Students bring national movements to University Chase Carter The Battalion As a college student, it’s easy to become trapped in a microcosmic bubble of classes, friends, tests and homework. At times, the outside world can seem like a dream or some collection of surreal events taking place on television but not affecting the viewer. Aggies broke through that bubble in big ways this year, throwing their own brand of support and awareness behind movements such as Occupy, Kony 2012, and the Trayvon Martin incident. Far from the New York Stock Exchange, and with Austin rep-
resenting the closest metropolitan center, Occupy Wall Street and its myriad of offshoots seemingly didn’t affect College Station and the students attending Texas A&M. A small group of students stood on the corner of Texas and George Bush, brandishing signs and information, but since the overall abatement of Occupy in the popular media, protests have disappeared. That changed when a group of students, along with farmers, Occupy protestors and one Austin City Council candidate took to See Social movements on page 2
A&M progresses through turbulent 2011-2012 Allison Linder, Chase Carter & Kalee Bumguardner The Battalion One word to describe the 2011-2012 academic year: change. Students have seen the beginning of outsourcing at the University level, rallied with GOP candidate Ron Paul, dodged traffic cones around construction on Wellborn Road and taken a nap in a newly renovated Memorial Student Center.
Construction From building face-lifts to road construction projects on
campus
and around the Texas A&M campus, this year has been privy to construction. There were five construction projects that characterized the year: the Wellborn Road Grade Separation Project, the College of Veterinary Medicine Building, the new Liberal Arts & Humanities Building and two recently completed projects, the Memorial Student Center and Blue Bell Park. The $34 million Wellborn
Road Grade Separation Project that has forced Wellborn traffic into a daily bottleneck started Nov. 11 and is scheduled to be finished August 2013. “The purpose of the project is to eliminate the hazards of crossing the tracks and Wellborn Road by local University vehicular traffic and pedestrians,” said Bill Scott, construction project manager for the A&M System. “[It] will consist of two underpasses running parSee Campus on page 2
graduation
Divided regents approve fee increase Career Center director
says job outlook positive
Trevor Stevens The Battalion In a sea of suits, administrators and a sprinkling of students from across the Texas A&M System attended the A&M System board of regents meeting late last week in the MSC ballroom to set tuition and mandatory fees rates. The board held designated tuition flat at the System’s flagship university for the 2012-2013 academic year, but approved an increase in differential tuition for the College of Education and Human Development, four mandatory fees and the establishment of a “student success fee.” The nine voting members on the board of regents did not consider each case individually, but voted on See Regents on page 4
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Trevor Stevens
Roger Zhang — THE BATTALION
Members of the board of regents listen to public testimonies from A&M System schools Thursday afternoon in the MSC Ballroom.
The Battalion Graduating seniors are often forced to make a decision: apply for graduate school or gain work experience by through employment. Fortunately for Aggies, administrators say Texas A&M graduates have an advantage in the job market. “The thought of graduating didn’t really set in until my last day of finals,” said Landon Dickeson, senior psychology major. “People kept asking me how I felt, and then today it
To meet with a career adviser The Career Center is located in Koldus, Room 209, and students are welcome to drop by or schedule an appointment. just kind of hit me — I’m done with college. I’m a college graduate.” Dickeson said he doesn’t have concerns about finding a job after See Graduation on page 7
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