thebattalion l tuesday,
March 5, 2013
l serving
texas a&m since 1893
Corps calls Echo Taps
l first paper free – additional copies $1 l © 2013 student media
w. basketball
Slump threatens SEC, NCAA tournaments James Sullivan
The Battalion eading into the final five games of the season, Texas A&M women’s basketball was poised to make a run at the Southeastern Conference regular season title and a possible No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. With an SEC-best eight-game winning streak and a No. 10 national ranking, A&M looked to knock off conference leaders No. 7 Kentucky and No. 8 Tennessee. Instead, A&M finished by losing four of its final five games, falling to No. 19 in the polls and the No. 4 seed in the SEC tournament. For A&M head coach Gary Blair, the rough stretch has given his team insight into where improvements must be made. “We looked like we were Coach Blair in the light-weight division and we were playing the heavy weights, and that’s what it looked like to me,” Blair said after a 67-52 home loss to LSU in the season finale. “We were just not physically able to stay with them in one-on-one situations. I should have coached better, but by gosh, we had a great game plan going into this game, and we were going to be in transition, and we were going to run, and we were going to do everything,
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See Blair on page 3
campus
Photos by Roger Zhang — THE BATTALION
During Echo Taps, a bugler plays “Taps” followed by a second buglar, echoing at the other end of the Quad.
2 cadets honored on the Quad after accident Sarah Gibson The Battalion
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tudents gathered with the Corp of Cadets for an Echo Taps ceremony Monday night to honor two freshmen cadets from Company B-1. Amy Pacheco and Miguel Hernandez were in a car crash Sunday on the way back to College Station after a JROTC drill meet in Houston. A Mustang traveling the wrong way on Highway 290 collided with Pacheco’s vehicle, killing Pacheco, Hernandez and the driver of the Mustang, as well as injuring freshman cadet Francisco Campos. Amy Pacheco was a construction science major.
“[Pacheco] was always smiling and was always willing to help others,” said Daisy Echeverria, junior psychology major. “She had such a positive attitude and was so excited to be here.” Echo Taps is a long-standing A&M tradition similar to Silver Taps, though it is less known to those not in the Corps. Echo Taps is held on the Quad the night following the death of a cadet. The entire Corps dresses in “midnights” on the day of Echo Taps to honor its fallen comrade. One bugler plays a rendition of “Taps” at the end of the Quad and a second bugler at the opposite end of the Quad echoes it shortly thereafter. Immediately following the ceremony, the cadets return to
their dorms in silence. Miguel Hernandez was a general studies major. “[Hernandez] was one of the first friends I had here at A&M,” said Oswaldo Tejada, freshman forensics major. “I never saw him not smiling. He had a way of unifying people. Last semester our focus group wasn’t getting along because we were all from different backgrounds, but he brought us together.” Campos was transported to a Houston hospital after the accident and underwent surgery Monday. Pacheco and Hernandez will be honored at Silver Taps next month.
Organizers extend Student Research Week deadline Ashe Matocha
The Battalion tudent Research Week organizers are calling on students to submit and present research at the event that students say gives researchers real-world experience. Undergraduate and graduate students can participate in Student Research Week, SRW, by presenting a research project, original work, class project or class paper. SRW includes expert panels, resource tables, research symposiums and keynote speakers to recognize and celebrate student research. The deadline to sign up for Student Research Week, SRW, was Monday but has been extended to March 11. Vineet Bhambhani, biotechnology graduate student and student research director, said SRW is a great place to practice presenting and see how judges organize research. “It’s very applicable to the real world,” Bhambhani said. “Whether it’s engineering or any other topic, it helps students out with real-life skills that they’ll need in the work force.” Jenny Gvillo, agriculture economics graduate student and judge coordinator, said judges can range anywhere from faculty to graduate students to industry professors and
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See Research on page 4
Kirsten Salerno
Stephen Byrne
Sept. 22, 1984 - Feb. 7, 2013
April 15, 1953 - Feb. 11, 2013
Role model dedicated her work to help veterans
Doctoral student taught at his alma mater Chris Scoggins
Jospeh Puente
The Battalion riends and family remember Kirsten Allison Salerno as a woman whose passion, enthusiasm and commitment came from serving veterans and improving their well-being. “The kind of work that Kirsten did was profound in the truest sense of the word, and it may best be exemplified by the words of one of her long-term patients when she said to me, ‘Kirsten saved my life,’” said Jerry Gonzales, a friend, classmate and co-worker of Kirsten. Kirsten, counseling psychology doctoral student, was a woman dedicated to helping veterans battling post-traumatic stress disorder. Kirsten obtained her undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Malta and then completed her master’s degree in counseling psychology from the University of North Florida before arriving in College Station. Gonzalez described Kirsten as a woman who made a profound difference in the lives of her patients. “She was highly respected and considered a role model by her peers because she was very well-rounded as a psychologist trainee and outstanding as a student,” Gonzales said. “She had unlimited potential because she was gifted as a clinician, researcher and supervisor, but was humble and grounded in her Christian faith.”
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F Salerno
“Kirsten is a role model and inspiration to all who knew her. She will be dearly missed, and always remembered.”
See Salerno on page 2
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The Battalion tephen Patrick Byrne was a man known by his friends and family as a great teacher, a good man, a loving father and husband and — from his time as an undergraduate in the 1970s or his stint as a senior construction science lecturer — an Aggie. “He was very committed to A&M,” said his wife, Penny Byrne. “When the opening came for him to teach at his alma mater, he jumped on it.” Before pursuing his doctorate at A&M, Stephen received a bachelor’s degree in construction science at A&M in 1975. He then went on to receive his master’s degree in 1977. Stephen, whose father also went to A&M, knew he would be an Aggie from a young age. “He can remember hearing the Aggie War Hymn as early as three years old,” Penny said. “When it was time for him to start thinking about college he knew there was only one place he would come, and that was A&M.” Stephen was always a sports fanatic. Not only as an athlete in his younger years playing for his high school’s football and swim teams, but also as a proud supporter of Aggie football and baseball. “He was a big-time Aggie,” professor of construction sciences Jim Smith said. “He
silvertaps when 10:30 p.m. Tuesday
where Academic Plaza
taps An honor guard from the Ross Volunteer Co. will march down Military Walk, where its members will fire three rifle volleys to honor the memory of the student. Buglers from the Aggie Band will play a special arrangement of “Taps.”
Byrne
“When it was time for him to start thinking about college he knew there was only one place he would come, and that was A&M.”
See Byrne on page 2
3/5/13 12:43 AM