The Battalion: February 21, 2018 by The Battalion

CANDIDATE CONVERSATION

Madeline Ramos — THE BATTALION

The six candidates for the position of Student Body President participated in a debate to educate their constituents and discuss the goals and visions of their incumbency.

Questions about policy, goals directed toward candidates By Luke Henkhaus @luke_henkhaus Six voices filled the MSC’s historic Flag Room Tuesday night, each hoping to become the new voice of Texas A&M’s student body. Candidates for 2018-2019 Student Body President addressed questions from the public and each other, discussing their policy goals and vision for student representation. Among the most talked-about issues of the debate were diversity and inclusion, student services and growth of the student body. In his opening statement before the debate, Ben Johnson announced his withdrawal from the SBP race and left the stage immediately. Johnson’s announcement came one day after a derogatory Instagram post he made in 2013 resurfaced online.

“The reason I wanted to run for student body president was to give 110 percent to bettering this university,” Johnson said. “I truly believe that anyone who is out there can do that and after much discussion with family, friends and campaign staff I believe it’s best if I withdraw my name from this race but I want to thank everybody for this opportunity. Thanks and Gig ‘em.” Keeping a proactive focus on the future will be critical to the next SBP’s success, according to Michael Zimmerman, who said simply reacting to issues as they arise leaves students facing issues that could have been avoided with additional prior planning. In particular, Zimmerman said the temporary relocation of student services from main campus to White Creek while a new service center is constructed has presented significant accessibility issues for students in need of disability, counselling and other services. “Ideally, we would have been able to prepare for this new student

services building previously,” Zimmerman said. “That way, we’re able to maintain the same quality that we have and give back to the students.” As a potential solution, Amy Sharp proposed the creation of student service satellite locations on main campus, helping reduce barriers to access as construction on the new center continues. “It is very difficult as it is having that issue that you’re dealing with and then on top of that having to go out of your way to the land of Timbuctoo to find the new student counselling services where it’s temporarily hosted,” Sharp said. “My plan would be to bring those services back to students. It’s a temporary fix because it’s a temporary problem. However, temporary means two years in this situation and I think that’s too long.” When it comes to cultivating a more diverse and inclusive environment at A&M, Zimmerman said the existing credit requirement for international and cultural diversity

(ICD) courses, can be enhanced to engage students and inspire broad commitment to a diverse community. “I think currently as it stands, students view it as a mandatory course that they have to take, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re going to get the full value of what an ICD course is,” Zimmerman said. “So one of the things I would work on doing and improving upon here at campus is making sure the ICD credit courses that we have here actually have meaning and value for understanding what international and cultural diversity is.” As the overall student population continues to grow, Sharp said she has been looking into the tangible impact of increased enrollment and what could be done to ensure that the quality of education received at A&M remains strong. Sharp said it will be increasingly important for students to understand what increasing enrollment really means for A&M, while working with admin-

istration to strike the right balance. “I made it my mission to start researching this issue so I can actually understand, at least from the administration standpoint, what this looks like,” Sharp said. “I think as the student body president, you’re not against administration, but your job is also not to agree with them. It’s to understand the students and to represent those voices.” According to Harrison Hancock, the ability to build and maintain relationships with key administrators is one of the most important qualifications a student body president can have. Hancock said a recent meeting with Vice President for Student Affairs Daniel Pugh, Sr. convinced him that tangible progress is possible through student-administration coordination. “Those are the relationships that we need, with administrators that genuinely want to have an impact and make a change on this campus,” Hancock said. “Because at the end DEBATE ON PG. 4

Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION

Freshman guard TJ Starks scored 19 points in Texas A&M’s 93-81 loss to Mississippi State University.

Third straight SEC loss Cristian Aguirre — THE BATTALION

(From left) Suzie Jaworowski, Daniel Vegas, Lenka Kollar, Sarah Camba Lynn and Taylor Haby discussed the further implementation of nuclear power in the United States.

Energy innovation panel Members of the office of Nuclear Energy in Trump’s DOE discuss future By Matt McDowell @MattMcDowell43 The Millenial Nuclear Caucus forum addressed the current state of nuclear energy, technology and future developments the industry might include. The panel consisted of senior members in the U.S. Department of Energy and three guests who work in the nuclear field, two of whom are Texas A&M graduates. The event took place in the MSC on Tuesday Feb. 20 and was hosted by the Department of Energy and U.S. Nuclear Infrastructure

Council, according to DOE’s website. Suzie Jaworowski, Senior Advisor to the Office of Nuclear Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy, moderated the panel and began the discussion by stating her position and responsibilities in the Trump administration. “I was one of the few people who were on the landing team with the Trump administration … my mission is to do educational outreach about nuclear technology,” Jaworowski said. The future of nuclear energy in the United States and around the world will include overall advancements, according to Dan Vega, Class of 2005. Vega currently works for the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy as well as serving as the NUCLEAR ON PG. 3

A&M men’s basketball lost at home 93-81 to MSU By Dylan Poitevint @Poitite In an important conference matchup Tuesday evening, Texas A&M hoped to get back to their previous winning ways after losing their previous two games. The Aggies faced a quick and dangerous shooting team in Mississippi State. However, the Aggies had trouble finding their footing and fell to the Bulldogs 93-81. Action started off hot in the matchup with the Bulldogs. The Aggies exploded on offense immediately, going on a 4-0 run and putting up seven points within the paint in the first couple of minutes of play. A&M was led by junior center Tyler Davis and sophomore forward Rob-

ert Williams as the Aggies cruised offensively and defensively, holding the Bulldogs to just five points going into the first time out. However, Mississippi State was silently building offense. Bulldog guard Xavian Stapleton hit two three-point shots, and fellow Bulldogs Aric Holman and Tyson Carter both hit a three each. The Aggies were playing defense well in the paint, holding the Bulldogs to under 50 percent from inside the arc, but could not defend Miss. State on the perimeter. Miss. State head coach Ben Howland praised his team’s shooting practice effort after the game. “They’re putting time in and they’re shooting really well, and we expect to shoot how we’ve been shooting,” Howland said. As the eighth minute in the half came about, the Aggies faced a large BASKETBALL ON PG. 3

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LIFE&ARTS

The Battalion | 2.21.18

Sampling a selection of the Brazos Valley’s best cuisine

Kiara Stewart — THE BATTALION

Foodies from around the area gathered at the Brazos County Expo Complex on Tuesday for A Taste of Aggieland, which featured a competition and food sampling for local restaurants.

Annual A Taste of Aggieland brought together over 30 local restaurants By Miranda White @Mirandakw Attendees of the annual A Taste of Aggieland event developed their taste buds as they received a portion of food from over 30 local restaurants. On Feb. 20, the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce hosted A Taste of Aggieland at the Brazos County Expo Complex and recruited 32 local restaurants to distribute their food, compete for prizes and provide samples to attendees. Local resident Christine McDonald said A Taste of Aggieland allows her to keep up with the expansion of restaurants in the area. “There is an explosion of restaurants coming to the B-CS area and it is so hard to keep up with all the new ones popping up, so I thought this was a great opportunity to try

some of the places we have not been able to get to,” McDonald said. Max Crawford, Class of 2013, said he has attended A Taste of Aggieland three years in a row. “Every time I drive up to the Expo for an event, I know I am coming into something fun,” Crawford said. “Taste of Aggieland is a great community event where you can come out and eat all you want.” The event both brings the community together and gives back to it, according to Jordan Prihoda, A Taste of Aggieland business coordinator. “A portion of our profits goes towards culinary sponsorships for high school students,” Prihoda said. “This event is really for the community members as it provides us the opportunity to give back to the community and to show our support.” A Taste of Aggieland recruits fundraising events to spread awareness for certain disabilities. Anthony Zachman, special projects coordinator, said he is promoting his annual

Dining in the Dark fundraiser. “On April 7, The Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living will host the annual Dining in the Dark fundraiser, which includes a mystery meal eaten in the complete darkness,” Zachman said. “Four course meals are delivered by servers who are typically individuals with blindness, or visual impairments.” Among the several awards A Taste of Aggieland presents, one allows for the inclusion of high school students. “We have a cooking competition with College Station High School and Rudder High School where local judges decide the winners,” Prihoda said. “Other awards include best burger, best entrée, best decorated booth, peoples’ favorite and more.” Chuck Wilson, owner of Wayback Burgers, said he hopes his old school burgers will win the best burger award. “It’s called Wayback Burgers because we make burgers how they used to be made, with 100 percent beef that has never been frozen and 80 percent lean,” Wilson said. “The Dou-

ble Bacon Burger is our best seller and it’s our favorite.” David Markley, Cotton Patch general manager, said a few years ago his restaurant won the best entrée with the chicken spaghetti and their famous Dr. Pepper chocolate cake. “We have participated in A Taste of Aggieland every year, and we enjoy getting our name out there and seeing the people,” Markley said. “Although we sell mainly homestyle foods, our most popular dessert is our Dr. Pepper chocolate cake due to its rich dark chocolate and the fact that we have been making it for 27 years.” Amanda Fortenberry, manager for The Village, said A Taste of Aggieland is great for businesses to come together and get to know each other. “It’s been fun being out here with other restaurants, because we get that feel of camaraderie with being in this industry,” Fortenberry said.

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CYBER CYCLING New program allows students to digitally search for and rent bicycles Over 4,000 ofo bikes will be released for use by Texas A&M students by the fall semester of 2018.

Forward Robert Williams jumps for the ball during the game against Mississippi State. Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION COURTESY

BASKETBALL CONTINUED 10 point deficit. The Bulldogs were shooting an impressive 50 percent from beyond the arc, and were 59.1 percent in overall shooting. Stapleton was shooting at 100 percent with 14 points at the 7:57 mark, and the Bulldogs were deadly on offense. Meanwhile, the Aggies were shooting efficiently at 58 percent from the field, and 100 percent from beyond the arc but had only scored 22 points to the Bulldogs’ 33. A major issue plaguing A&M was struggles at the free throw line. The Aggies were shooting 50 percent from the line, going 7-14. The lack of free throw efficiency cost the team valuable points, and the Bulldogs were able to use this to their advantage. A&M needed a spark, which they found in freshman guard TJ Starks. Starks, after a lackluster start of going just 1-4 in the first 16 minutes of the game, elevated his play in the last minutes of the half. He improved to 3-6 from the field, and hit a deep and contested three-point shot to close the half, cutting the Bulldog lead to just two points with a halftime score of 41-39. Williams and Davis started off the second half with a couple of lay-ups and solid rebounding from both. Davis hit a fouled shot to tie the Bulldogs at 41 points, but missed his free throw. Following this offensive production, it would be Starks once again who would get things going. Starks hit another deep contested three at the 16:15 mark and then immediately followed that with a lay-up in transition. With this kind of explosive start, the Aggies were looking to retake control of the game. Despite this renewed energy, the Bulldogs stayed in control. As the half continued, Miss. State seemed to have an answer for all of A&M’s success. Bulldog guard Quinndary Weatherspoon said he believed Miss. State’s quickness and agility were huge factors in the game. “I think we did a good job on both defense and offense of using our quickness to get to the basket,” Weatherspoon said. At the eight-minute mark in the second half, the Bulldogs led the Aggies 73-59 and never looked back, maintaining a deadly three-point game and solid play. Miss. State scored 44 points in the paint, with solid play from their forward and centers, including center Abdul Ado, who accounted for 16 points. The game came to a close in favor of Miss. State with a final score of 93-81. Davis said a lack of effort and lackluster rebounding contributed to the loss. “We just didn’t put in the effort on defense, and on the glass; they beat us by 13 rebounds,” Davis said. Poor defensive play from the Aggies, combined with blown scoring opportunities, were the eventual downfall of the team. The Bulldogs dominated the Aggies in areas such as bench production, points off of turnovers and free throw shooting, finishing 79 percent compared to the Aggies’ 56 percent. A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said defense was a struggle for the evening. “On the defensive end we need to do better, and that’s my job,” Kennedy said. After this game, A&M has now lost three straight as they go into the final three games of the season before the SEC tournament. Their record falls to 17-11 overall and 6-9 in conference play. The Aggies travel to Nashville, Tennessee this week to face the Vanderbilt Commodores this Saturday at 3 p.m.

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THE BATTALION is published Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays during the 2018 spring semester and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer session (except University holidays and exam periods) at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Offices are in Suite L400 of the Memorial Student Center. News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in Student Media, a unit of the Division of StudentAffairs.Newsroom phone: 979-845-3315; E-mail: editor@thebatt.com; website: http://www.thebatt.com. Advertising: Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by The Battalion. For campus, local, and national display advertising call 979-845-2687. For classified advertising, call 979-845-0569. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Email: battads@thebatt.com. Subscriptions: A part of the University Advancement Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pick up a single copy of The Battalion. First copy free, additional copies $1.

A new dockless bikeshare program will be unveiled in Aggieland on Feb. 27, providing a technological spin on a traditional system. Texas A&M Transportation Services partnered with ofo, the world’s largest bikeshare program, to bring 500 yellow ofo bikes to campus this month and will release another 4,000 by the upcoming fall semester. To use these bicycles, students can download an app which will display a map of all nearby bikes then unlock them using a QR code. Students can park the cycles at any bike rack on

campus as long as they lock them up before leaving. The program will be free until March 13th, then students can purchase the services for $.50 an hour, $9.95 a month or $34.95 a semester. According to their website, ofo is based in Beijing, China, and has over 10 million bikes in over 20 countries. ofo bike features include unique identification numbers for each vehicle, an LED headlight visible for up to 500 feet and a smart lock that is GPS enabled and mobile synced. This new program is similar to Zag-

ster, which allows students to choose from 75 cruiser bikes at 10 major locations on campus, including Academic Plaza, Sbisa, West Campus Library and The HUB. Payment for this program is similar as well, with both hourly and annual membership rates. An official launch event will take place in Rudder Plaza on Feb. 27 to allow students to practice using the new bicycles from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. More information can be found through the Texas A&M Transportation Services website.

— Staff Report

Cristian Aguirre — THE BATTALION

Lenka Kollar, director of business strategy at NuScale Power, speaks in support of small nuclear reactors.

NUCLEAR CONTINUED DOE’s federal chair of a bilateral forward processing group with South Korea. “I see a future in which we have a higher energy share overall, powered by advanced reactors that can come from both smaller smarter designs and improving the technology that we already have,” Vega said. Lenka Kollar, director of business strategy at NuScale Power, said the importance of small modular reactors cannot be overlooked. “At NuScale we are lucky to be working for a company that is on the forefront of innovative technology and

designing small modular reactors that are inherently safe and scaleable and can be used to meet the needs of a diverse energy ecosystem,” Kollar said. A question and answer session was open to the public and one audience member asked about the Trump administration’s commitment to nuclear energy, since the submitted budget for the DOE Nuclear Energy is 25 percent below the previous year. “The budget scenario of 2017 versus this year’s budget ask is different … the budget we have put out is mission focused ... supporting the existing fleet [of nuclear reactors] … and supporting infrastructure,” Jaworowski said. Jacob Mereut, nuclear engineering

junior, said he attended the event because of his interest in the panelists’ work. While in attendance, he asked the panel about the security of nuclear plants against cyber warfare, quoting statistics he read in a book. “In 2016, there were a reported 295 attacks on the energy grid, seven of which targeted nuclear reactors … so is there a future in nuclear cyber security or some other measures being taken to prevent these attacks, ” Mereut said. The panelists came to the general conclusion that even though there are not many digital aspects to nuclear plants currently being worked on, there are precautions that must be taken.

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The Battalion | 2.21.18

Bush 41 highlighted in political author’s new book

Jeffery Engel, director of the Center for Presidential History of Southern Methodist University, spoke at George H.W. Bush Library in honor of President’s Day. Alyssa Denson — THE BATTALION

Jeffrey Engel’s novel looks at behind the scenes work By Katherine Garcia @katiegarcia2018 In celebration of President’s Day, the George Bush Presidential Library hosted Jeffrey Engel, director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University, to shed a light on the library’s namesake and his handling of the Cold War, on Tuesday. Engel presented a synopsis of the former president’s career, and after a question and answer session, gave detailed context on Cold War-related topics including the Berlin Wall, NATO expansion and Chernobyl. Engel’s newest book, “The World Seemed New: George H.W. Bush

and the End of the Cold War,” focuses on the former commander in chief’s strategies and conversations before and during his time in office. Before his lecture, Engel emphasized the importance of work that might go unseen. Engel said most of what former president Bush did was out of the spotlight, yet he shaped loyal relationships with world leaders. Engel said by developing skills within high status positions for several years, Bush was able to handle the Cold War and Watergate with the use of careful speech. “The point I’m trying to make is that Bush recognized throughout his entire career the importance of arguing within and arguing behind the scenes, but speaking quietly in front and — I would argue — that made all of the difference in the world when he ultimately became

president in 1989,” Engel said. Engel noted Bush’s criticism of Ronald Reagan on several topics and stressed the importance of a unified voice by a presidential administration, especially during a extended period of time with high stakes, such as the Cold War. Engel said Bush’s tactics of speaking only at certain moments pushed forward U.S. democratic ideals in Soviet-U.S. relations. In contrast, Reagan’s strategy and frame of the Soviets was: “we win, they lose,” according to Engel. “Now I have taught strategy for 20 years, and I always tell my students, ‘That’s what we call an aspiration. That’s not a strategy,’” Engel said. “A strategy has tactics. A strategy has logistics. A strategy has something else that’s really important. A strategy answers the question,

DEBATE CONTINUED

Ben Johnson announced his withdrawal from the SBP race in his opening statement. Madeline Ramos — THE BATTALION

of the day, student body president has very limited power. But administrators can bring about massive change if they so choose.” John Jordan Feierabend said being a voice for the student body starts with listening to students as much as possible. One of Feierabend’s main policy goals is to give students more opportunities to engage in open communication with the student government. “You need to be able to consistently provide feedback on what is most important to you and you will then have the ability to hold your SGA accountable,” Feierabend said. “You will be waiting to hear from your SGA on how they’re handling those issues. It gives you the ability to let us know what is most important and it lets you hold our feet to the fire and say, ‘What are you doing to fix it?’” Andrew Michael Barocco’s campaign has focused primarily on his goal to bring back the tradition of Aggie Bonfire with an increased emphasis on safety. Barocco said his commitment

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‘What then?’” Michelle Bogart, archivist for the George Bush Library, said she often works with Engel to gather information for his publications. “We have all of the memorandums of conversations that President Bush had with foreign heads of state,” Bogart said. “Most of them are on our website actually, and they’ve been declassified. So sometimes [Engel] will go and pick information out of this that kind of tells the story, and it makes it real.” Bogart said a fascinating aspect of the archived conversations of high status documentation is the humanization of political figures and the ordinary relationships they created with each other. “There are some great stories that you see the world leaders are really people — that they have inside

to reviving the tradition came after visiting the Bonfire Memorial site. “After I left that place, I really gathered a spirit that our fellow fallen Aggies would not want us to mourn forever, but they would want us to come back in one day to rebuild and to prevent the reasons why that tragedy happened in the first place,” Barocco said. Michael Champion, who has called his run for SBP the “$50 campaign,” said he hoped to send a message that a student’s financial circumstances should never prevent them from making an impact on campus. “I come here as a representative of the 12th Man and a student who comes from a less than prosperous background,” Champion said. “And that’s what I believe the $50 campaign represents. That no matter where you come from, no matter your background, you have a chance to compete here. I believe that this campaign should not be decided on how many banners you have, how many fliers you have, how many t-shirts you can generate overnight, but on your strength of character, platform you stand on and true grit and determination.”

jokes with each other,” Bogart said. “And, to see the way George Bush when he had an issue, he would call someone on the phone. You know, he really cultivated those relationships.” Phil Granberry, Class of 1961, attended the discussion and said he considers Bush a man of conviction. “We were in a small group situation where he spoke on one occasion,” Granberry said. “This was at a time when race relations were moving forward, and some lady in the crowd asked him why he had supported the ability of blacks to move into white neighborhoods, and he basically said because it’s the right thing to do.”

John Feierabend hopes to give students more open communication with their student government. Madeline Ramos — THE BATTALION