Daughter surprises dad with Aggie Ring
MONDAY, APRIL 10, 2017 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2016 STUDENT MEDIA | @THEBATTONLINE
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Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION
Junior Marcela Falck-Bados surprised her dad, José Falck-Zepeda, with a Class of 1988 Aggie Ring this weekend.
Marcela Falck-Bados spent 2 years saving to buy her dad the ring he couldn’t afford in college By Lauren McCaskill @lemoct21
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ore than 6,200 Aggies received their rings this weekend at the largest Ring Day to date. Classes that were represented ranged from 1950 to current students, but there was one ring that was long overdue and well deserved. Marcela Falck-Bados, international studies junior, received her ring on Friday and has been planning and saving money for the past two years to present her father, José Falck-Zepeda Class of 1988, his Aggie Ring. “My father came to this university as an international transfer student from Honduras. He showed up with just two pieces of luggage and could not get his ring when he earned his hours,” Falck-Bados said. “I know he deserves this more than anyone.” Unfortunately, Falck-Bados’ plan to surprise her father on Ring Day was interrupted by northern storms that canceled her family’s flight from Washington, D.C.
on Thursday, so Marcela presented the ring to her father Saturday at her women organization’s, Aggie Keys, family weekend event. “We were so upset that we weren’t going to make Ring Day and that they weren’t going to get their rings at the same time, but I think this was very special today,” said Marcela’s mother, Rina Bados-Sierra. After a tear-filled presentation, Falck-Zepeda said he was glad to have the ring. “This is a wish that I always had. I wanted the ring, but I could never afford it as a student. As time went by, other priorities came into our lives. It is an unfulfilled wish that came true today,” Falck-Zepeda said. Marcela and her mother found it very difficult to get Falck-Zepeda’s ring size without giving away the surprise. “My father doesn’t wear a lot of jewelry, just his wedding ring and he never takes it off,” Falck-Bados said. “So one day my mom and I told him we were going to get his wedding band cleaned and she ran into my room for me to trace the shape of the ring.” They were worried that the sizes may be different since they were measuring his left hand and his wedding band has been worn for a long time. RING DAY ON PG. 3
FILE
Shack-A-Thon takes place in Rudder Plaza where organizations raise money to build a house for a family in need.
Annual Shack-A-Thon to lend hand to local family Habitat for Humanity volunteers build home for homeless family, raise awareness of homelessness By Ryan Brown Throughout the course of April 10 through 13, organizations on campus will build shelters in Rudder Plaza and take shifts living in them in order to raise awareness for homelessness in the Bryan-College Station community. Shack-A-Thon is an event conducted by Texas A&M’s campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity, a nationally recognized non-profit organization that works to fundraise and build a home for a local family in need, as well as advocate for affordable housing. Jesse Norris, nuclear engineering senior, serves as the president of Aggie Habitat. Norris said Shack-AThon localizes a global topic. “Shack-A-Thon was started over a decade ago,” Norris said. “The goal was to provide a unique fundraiser and advocacy event to help other organizations at A&M learn more about substandard housing in America, around the world, and even right in our backyard in the Bryan-College Station area.” Shack-A-Thon’s participation will include several Freshmen Leadership Organizations, or FLOs. Austin Lee is a management sophomore and the Aggie Relations chairman for Freshmen Leaders in Progress. Lee said student organizations can get involved with Shack-A-Thon through a donation and a bit of manual labor to build each organization’s “shack.” “We made a donation, acquired a plot in Rudder Plaza and then built a shack,” Lee said. “We spent a couple of weeks constructing our shack and on Monday, we will put it up in Rudder Plaza and we will have one person living in it at all times from Monday to Thursday.” Lee said success in this event starts at raising awareness by means of campus involvement. “I think it’s a great way for everyone to be involved,” Lee said. “Since it’s in the main part of campus, people will pass through and be intrigued by what’s happening and find that our proceeds go towards benefitting SHACK-A-THON ON PG. 2
Cassie Sticker — THE BATTALION
The third annual Jazz Festival featured an array of jazz bands from Bryan and College Station over two days.
First Friday ends on high note By Madeleine Brennan @madkathbren Finger snapping, foot tapping fun happened this weekend at the Palace Theater in Downtown Bryan. The third annual Jazz Festival, put on by the College Station Noon Lions Club, featured jazz bands from across the Bryan-College Station area for two days, a total of 16 hours, dedicated to the celebration of jazz music. As a fundraiser, the Jazz Festival goes to support the College Station Noon Lions Club’s local charities, including Fun For Playground in College Station and Lone Star Eye Bank. The festival brought in high school students, college students and professional jazz musicians and vocalists to showcase local jazz talent to the B-CS communities. Friday night showcased two jazz bands of A&M, including the Aggieland Orchestra, a small ensemble of jazz musicians and vocalists that are a part of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band and perform in the Band’s jazz ensemble during the spring semester. History Senior Elizabeth Clark, a vocalist for the Ag-
gieland Orchestra, said part of her love for jazz comes from performing with fellow musicians. “I love the music and watching from behind the scenes during the performances,” Clark said. “We, the other singers, second pianist and myself, are standing in the back, in the corner, and while someone else is out there singing, we’re dancing and singing along.” Brian Brubaker, a mechanical engineering senior who plays tenor saxophone for Texas A&M’s Jazz Band II, said he has enjoyed seeing the Jazz Festival flourish more and more each year. “We’ve been in the band here at TAMU for four years, and we were actually here at the first year this festival started three years ago,” Brubaker said. “It’s been incredible to see how this festival has grown and how much more support it’s getting. It’s just so great that the house was packed tonight, even at 10 pm.” Another saxophonist for the Texas A&M Jazz Band II, Joey Gabriano, said that performing jazz music acts a way to escape the stress of school and have fun with JAZZ ON PG. 2
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The Battalion | 4.10.17
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Masters student Joey Gabriano performances a solo on the saxophone during Jazz Festival.
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of the Jazz Festival’s coordinators, Dick Phelps explains the beauty behind jazz and its revival amongst younger players. “Jazz is an American art form, the freedom of composition in the moment. It comes from the blues, which were pre-instrument, a feeling then a thought and then released as an idea, either verbally or through an instrument,” Phelps said. “I love going to these schools and seeing jazz being played by young kids, whose talent and discipline in jazz is growing and inspiring a greater appreciation for jazz.”
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Students who participated in last year’s Shack-A-Thon build one of the many shacks located in Rudder Plaza.
SHACK-A-THON CONTINUED someone in this community. And to me, that’s just awesome.” Chemistry freshman Abe Van Helmond said he is eager to participate in his first Shack-A-Thon and looks forward to the rewarding experience and also holds philanthropy in a high esteem. “I grew up being taught to always give back to those who needed it, so service has always been important to me,” Van Helmond said. “The FLO that I’m in, ASSIST [Aggies Selflessly Serving in Shaping Tomorrow], is a community service based FLO, so it made sense to do Shack-A-Thon. And I’m really glad to be able to surround myself around people who think likewise while at Texas A&M.” Zach Huebschman, political science sophomore, serves as the Give-Back chair for Freshmen Leaders Advancing in Service and Honor. Huebschman said the ultimate mission and goal of Shack-A-Thon can be
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obtained with a strong sense of campus unity. “It’s not even just about FLO participation, it’s about the Aggie community coming together to solve a problem that’s growing exponentially,” Huebschman said. “Homelessness is a really big problem around the world and we’re trying to use Shack-A-Thon to allow our freshmen to give back while understanding the need for affordable housing. Organizations should come together and help one another to give back whatever we can in order to make the world a better place.” Huebschman encourages the student body to visit the “shacks” and speak to the students participating in order to learn about homelessness in the area. “Come and check it out, we’ll have speakers throughout the week,” Huebschman said. “I’ll be out in Rudder Plaza, come knock on the shack, say hello, and take pictures, it will help raise awareness for this great cause so come and learn more about it.”
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RINGDAY
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The Battalion | 4.10.17
RING DAY SPRING 2017
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Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION
1. More than 6,200 Aggies received their Aggie Rings this weekend. 2. Cheryl Ratcliff places a ring on son Chase Ratcliff’s finger. 3. Civil engineering junior Kyle Swank celebrates after his mom places his ring on his finger. 4. Finance senior Lauren Spikes looks at her Aggie Ring for the first time.
RING DAY CONTINUED “My father doesn’t wear a lot of jewelry, just his wedding ring and he never takes it off” Falck-Bados said. “So one day my mom and I told him we were going to get his wedding band cleaned and she ran into my room for me to trace the shape of the ring.” They were worried that the sizes may be
different since they were measuring his left hand and his wedding band has been worn for a long time. “My husband hasn’t taken off his wedding ring much in 26 years. I kept thinking about how we were going to find his ring size. We took the paper with the tracing to the jeweler to find out his size and went up a size from that,” Bados-Sierra said. Marcela’s father came to Texas A&M in
1986 to study animal science after previously studying agronomy in Honduras for three years. Falck-Zepeda said he did not attend his graduation because he already had a job by the time his classes were over his senior year. Falck-Zepeda went on to earn his masters degree and Ph.D. in agricultural economics at Auburn University, where he stayed for his post-doctoral degree.
“This is important to me because my dad has worked so hard to be where he is today. This is the goal that every student is working toward and he didn’t get it to enjoy that. I wanted him to have that feeling of excitement,” Falck-Bados said. After waiting years to receive his Aggie Ring, Falck-Zepeda said he was thankful. “I know it sounds a little bit corny, but wishes do come true,” Falck-Zepeda said.
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