TheBatt04-29-2013

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thebattalion l monday,

april 29, 2013

l serving

texas a&m since 1893

l first paper free – additional copies $1 l © 2013 student media

city

CS City manager dies at 48

Simpson

Josh Mckenna — THE BATTALION

Katharine Banks, A&M vice chancellor and dean of the Dwight Look Collge of Engineering, said the 25 by 15 initiative and an effort to “change the conversation” could help with current gender underrepresentation in STEM fields.

Balancing the equation Leaders focus efforts against engineering gender inequality in search of quality candidates John Odom

The Battalion orty-seven percent of Texas A&M students are female, but the classrooms in the Zachry Engineering Center and other familiar campus math and science destinations remain predominantly male. To this day, the trend of underrepresentation of women in fields of science, technology, engineer-

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ing and mathematics (STEM) endures. Women currently compose around 20 percent of STEM and around 18 percent in engineering, according to Chris Kaunas of the Texas A&M Advance Center for Women Faculty. Efforts from The Dwight Look College of Engineering and its female leadership, outreach programs aimed at sparking science and math interest in young girls and a movement to change perceptions surrounding the fields seek to push against

disproportionate gender representations and meet the demand for engineers in the job market.

25 by 25

The 25 by 25 initiative, announced in January, has the stated goal of increasing the college of engineering’s student population from 11,281 to 25,000, partially by utilizing the historically underrepresented female population in STEM fields See STEM on page 3

Softball claims series at Ole Miss James Sullivan

The Battalion he Texas A&M softball team battled through a hostile road crowd to secure a 2-1 series victory over Ole Miss in a three-game Friday through Sunday series. The Aggies, who had been swept by Georgia the weekend prior, dominated the Rebels in the final two games to earn their first SEC series win since the March 15-17 sweep over Arkansas. During Sunday’s series decider, No. 15 A&M (37-13, 8-12) subdued Ole Miss early, scoring twice the top of the second inning off a RBI double by junior Taran Tyler. The Rebels responded in the bottom of the third inning with a run, putting the score

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inside trends | 3 Chicken and Sweat The Layne’s challenge tested both the cardio and stomach of capacities of participants.

sports | 5 Casting a line Ben Paschal, class of 2010, began his career as a fishing guide after his freshman year and has since opened his own business.

at 2-1. The Aggies launched a counterattack in the fourth inning behind senior Meagan May’s solo home run, taking a 3-1 lead, before clinching the victory in the sixth with juniors Cassie Tysarczyk’s RBI single and Jenna Stark’s sole home run, earning A&M the 5-1 win. During Saturday’s bout with Ole Miss (23-31, 3-21), A&M was able to break its four-game losing streak with an 8-4 victory. Freshman Cali Lanphear highlighted the start of the game with a two-run home run, giving the Aggies a 2-0 advantage. In Friday’s series opener, home runs by Lanphear and junior Nicole Morgan were unable to slow down the Rebel offense, which secured Ole Miss the 8-4 victory.

Courtesy of The Daily Mississippian

Teammates congratulate Texas A&M’s Jenna Stark after a home run.

Julie Blanco

The Battalion ollege Station City Manager Frank Simpson died Saturday of an apparent heart attack. Simpson, 48, collapsed at his home while doing yard work and was taken to College Station Medical Center, College Station Mayor Nancy Berry said. Simpson, Class of 1986, had served as College Station city manager for less than a month. He previously worked as the city’s deputy city manager for two years before being named interim city manager in January. Before coming to Texas A&M, Simpson served as city manager of Missouri City and Webster, and as assistant city manager of La Marque. “His long-term desire was to get back to College Station as a city manager,” said Allen Owen, Missouri City mayor and friend of Simpson. “He got just what he wanted out of life, and that was to finish his career at A&M.” Owen said Simpson was a dedicated family man and a very caring person. “The thing I remember most about him is his laughter, just joy for life,” Owen said. Simpson is survived by his wife Kelly and three children. “We are all deeply shocked and saddened by the news of Frank’s passing,” Berry said in a press release. “While he had only recently started his tenure as city manager, Frank’s passion for this community was evident every day. He will be sorely missed by our council, city staff and all who knew and worked with him.”

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TEDx will keep academics in spotlight, director says Jeffery Musser gives a TED talk titled “The Influence of Milk on Developing Countries” at the inaugural TEDxTAMU event organized by MSC ALOT.

Sarah Hoffschwelle

Special to The Battalion

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hree A&M professors, one high school teacher and one artistic director spoke Saturday for TEDxTAMU — a student-organized Technology, Entertainment and Design conference with an A&M twist. Event organizers from MSC ALOT, the freshman leadership organization that orchestrated the event, said the speakers for the sold-out event were “phenomenal.” “Their talks were incredible,” said Dillon Thomison, junior engineering technology major and a director of TEDxTAMU. “It was diverse and multidisciplinary like we had planned.” Jenna Ingram, junior accounting major and a director of TEDxTAMU, said every speaker was an exceptional part of the first-ever TEDx at A&M. “I could not have asked for a better group of speakers, much less a better first group of speakers for the first TEDx event like this,” Ingram said. Ingram said nearly all of the speakers have some connection to A&M, making this TEDx unique from others. Three are current A&M professors while John

COURTESY

Story, management and marketing chair at the University of St. Thomas, is Class of 1991. “We tried to stick with some kind of connection with A&M [when choosing speakers],” Ingram said. “We’ll continue to make that a tradition to keep it

within not only A&M but the A&M community that can be extended to bring that spotlight to A&M.” Ingram said the timing of the conference was important. See TEDx on page 4

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