thebattalion ● monday,
january 13, 2014
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texas a&m since 1893
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William Guerra — THE BATTALION
munized is one that affects more than the individual, said CDC spokesperson Jamila Jones, as someone who does not get an immunization could potentially put people with health conditions at greater risk. “Everyone should get a flu shot,” Jones said. “By getting the flu vaccine, especially college students, it helps prevent spreading flu to friends and family who are at high risk. So even if we were in a regular season where H1N1 wasn’t the predominant strain, you could still be a risk to people who are at high risk and may have complications such as grandparents, younger siblings, people you live with in the dorms who have other ailments and conditions including asthma and diabetes.”
Homer Segovia The Battalion
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new semester can offer more experiences, more activities and more chances to catch the flu. Dr. David Teller, associate director for medical services at the Beutel Health Center, said when students choose to not get immunized against the flu it leads to a decrease of something known as herd immunity. “Many students at TAMU have historically chosen to not be immunized against the flu,” Teller said. “This loses some of the herd immunity benefits — this is where everyone has been vaccinated so there are fewer that will contract the flu and therefore less likely to spread the disease. The peak months for the flu are January and February so there is still time to get immunized. We still recommend that students get the flu vaccine.” The decision to get im-
Tony Rojas, junior psychology major, said his whole family recently caught the flu. “It can be difficult to concentrate on homework or study when you are congested, tired, etcetera,” Rojas said. “I did not have a flu shot because I did not feel it was necessary. I figured rest, hydration and over-thecounter flu medicine would suffice. I do wish I had gotSee Flu on page 3
Degree’s return nets positive response
Peak flu months a cause for concern Beutel offers flu vaccinations, appointments available online.
Journalism back after decade-long hiatus Lindsey Gawlik The Battalion
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fter removing the degree a decade ago, Texas A&M University will reestablish the journalism major as part of the University Studies program and will be accepting students for the Fall 2014 semester. In order to foster competitiveness and sustainability, the College of Liberal Arts plans to only accept 25 freshmen into the major per year, but admission will also be open to current students who are still under the hours cap for changing majors and have completed journalism courses, said Dale Rice, head of Texas A&M journalism studies. Rice said the response has been overwhelmingly positive and he has already been contacted both by incoming students and current freshmen and sophomore journalism minors about the possibility of entering the program. “I think there has been a very high interest among students,” Rice said. “It’s going to make us very attractive to students who were not considering A&M because they wanted a journalism degree in the liberal arts area and they weren’t able to get the degree [through A&M].” Rice said the smaller numbers will help ensure that the program does not grow too large to be maintainable, a problem that contributed to the journalism degree program’s elimination nearly a decade ago. Rice said the curriculum will build on the existing journalism minor and include additional courses. The degree will also require students to have two minors — one from the College of Liberal Arts and one from another college. Mallory O’Sullivan, sophomore telecommunication media studies major, said she was surprised the University reinstated the journalism major because she thought the journalism minor was already successful. “On one hand, I feel like it was a smart decision because students may bypass A&M for a journalism school,” O’Sullivan said. “Now they can receive a journalism degree while still attending a large
Graphic by William Guerra, photo by Jenna Rabel — THE BATTALION
THE NEXT GENERATION Clay Koepke: National title hopes don’t follow Manziel out the door
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eing an Aggie fan throughout the early 2000s was not the easiest task. Overwhelmed by an immense amount of Texas T-shirt fans, the fans of
Texas A&M, young and old, waited patiently for their time. Insert Kevin Sumlin and Johnny Manziel. See Manziel on page 2
Bryan Johnson — THE BATTALION
Quarterback Johnny Manziel will forego two years of eligibility and declare for the NFL draft.
See Journalism on page 2
faculty senate
Meeting to refine core curriculum John Rangel The Battalion
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he Texas A&M Faculty Senate will meet to discuss core curriculum changes prompted by revisions to Texas state education law in the first meeting of the Spring 2014 semester. This meeting marks the beginning of a semester agenda that will include discussion on the selection of a new Texas A&M president and the construction of several new oncampus parking garages, said Walter Daugherity, Faculty
Senate speaker “[Monday’s meeting agenda] is occupied primarily in approving new core curriculum courses since the state changed the rules on core curriculum,” Daugherity said. The changes to Texas A&M’s core curriculum under consideration were prompted by a 2009 report to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board that recommended the first revision of Texas’ core curriculum since 1998. According to the coordinating board’s website, universities such as Texas A&M
have until Fall 2014 to implement the revised core curriculum for incoming freshmen. Monday’s meeting will include several special consideration items. Thomas Linton, executive committee member and professor at Texas A&M Galveston, said one of the items he will be advocating for would create a Master of Maritime Administration and Logistics Distance course at Texas A&M Galveston. “By 2020, world trade is expected to double and the need for maritime professionals will
significantly increase,” Linton said. “The Galveston campus is the Maritime Academy for the State of Texas and the only one in the Gulf of Mexico. We’re training quarterbacks here to manage the world [trading] fleets.” In addition to curriculum changes and discussing new presidential candidates, Daugherity said Faculty Senate members will consider several proposals to build new on-campus parking garages and possible parking fee increases as the semester progresses.
John Stallone, past Faculty Senate speaker, said Faculty Senate’s current activity is typical of its mission statement. “The TAMU Faculty Senate is the sole representative body for all University faculty and their interests,” Stallone said. “Two key roles that the Faculty Senate plays are in the process of shared governance in the operation of the University and in the formation and revision of the student course curriculum.” The meeting will be Monday at 3:15 p.m. in Rudder Tower 601.
thebatt.com
A&M prof to lead workshop Jan Hughes to share research theory on the effect of child play on academic development Monday at St. Thomas Learning Center.
Gungor to perform The Grammy nominated collective, Gungor, will perform at 7 p.m. Monday at the Grand Stafford Theater in Downtown Bryan.
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