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Junior Gentill Abdulla is a founding member of Ciaspora.
Cristian Aguirre — THE BATTALION
Breaking silence online Aggie classmates use technology behind bitcoin to create system for reporting campus sexual assault By Hannah Falcon @hannahfalcon_ Three Texas A&M students have teamed up to combine their knowledge of business with their dedication to combating sexual assault. Ciaspora, founded by physics junior Gentill Abdulla, finance junior Princewill Imouokhome and management junior Michael Jordan, is a blockchain company for reporting sexual assault. Lotus Protocol, the program designed for reporting assaults, is slated to be released the beginning of summer 2018. A blockchain is an electronic, continuously updated list of records useful for collecting and securely storing data from a vast network of users. Most widely known as the technology behind bitcoin and other digital currencies, it is now being applied in a wide variety of other areas where access to quickly shared, tamper-resistant data is useful. “It’s essentially creating a system that is what is now called decentralized,” Abdulla said. “So that you have
just as much power as everybody else has.” Abdulla believes blockchain technology is underutilized in the social sector. He explains that the use of blockchain evens the playing field for all users so that no one person controls the information put out. “Kinda think of it like Google Docs,” Jordan said. “You have a group project and everybody shares with the people within the group. Every time somebody logs on it’s always being updated. So you see the changes that another person makes, they see the changes that you make.” Lotus Protocol, Abdulla said, is a self regulated system. Users may choose to report anonymously or not and they must police themselves with honesty in reporting attacks since it is not associated with the legal system. Jordan explained that one of the short term goals for Lotus Protocol is to release an initial coin offering, an unregulated campaign to raise funds for cryptocurrency based projects, so they can CIASPORA ON PG. 2
Abby Collida — THE BATTALION
Junior center Tyler Davis led the Aggies with 14 rebounds in Saturday’s win over Mizzou.
Texas A&M rolls over Mizzou at Reed Aggies defeat Tigers for A&M’s second straight conference win By Ryan MacDonald @Ryan_MacDonald2 With ample help from their supporting cast, the Aggies showed their depth and defeated Missouri, 6049 Saturday afternoon at Reed Arena. The Aggies (13-6, 2-5 SEC) played stout defense throughout the game and held Mizzou (13-6, 3-3 SEC) to just 15of-52 from the field. A&M was also able to contain Mizzou’s big duo of Kassius Robertson and Jordan Barnett, who combined for just 16 points on 3-of-17 shooting. “We were real conscious of Rob-
ertson and Barnett,” A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said. “We tried to take both of those guys away and force their young guys to beat us. I thought Admon Gilder did a good job on Robertson most of the game.” The Aggies were also able to limit their turnovers in the game, coughing up the ball just four times, a huge improvement from the last two games where the Aggies had 10 and 17 turnovers, respectively. One reason the turnovers were limited was careful play from freshman guard TJ Starks. After sitting out in A&M’s last game against Ole Miss, Starks provided the Aggies with an electric presence off the bench in the second half, netting 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Mizzou head coach Cuonzo Martin
said Starks looked phenomenal on the court and his incredible handles caught his attention. “TJ played like a star,” Martin said. “He played very well, he drove the ball and has a very strong frame.” Starks came off the bench in the first half and Billy Kennedy decided to give fifth-year senior Duane Wilson a rest, giving Starks the majority of the minutes in the second half. Starks played a career-high 24 minutes in the contest, including 14 in the second half, finishing the game with 11 points. “I was ready for the moment,” Starks said. “I had been in and out of the gym day and night so I feel like this was my time to step up and shine. I just want MEN’S BASKETBALL ON PG. 4
Building blocks for future success Local kids put imagination to work in Lego competition with Texas A&M volunteers By Katherine Garcia @katiegarcia2018
Courtesy of Claire Rowan
The first Lego League qualifier was held on Saturday in Bryan.
Young students dressed in colorful t-shirts, costume hats and even capes took over Sam Rayburn Intermediate School to display their robots and moving Lego structures for a worldwide STEM competition on Saturday. Fifteen Central Texas teams participated in the First Lego League (FLL) Qualifier, a Lego robot and structure building competition for young students. The competition was hosted by Sam Rayburn Intermediate School in Bryan and presented by A&M’s College of Engineering and Aggie volunteers.
FLL is a STEM program for students ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade. This year’s challenge was hydrodynamics. Students were required to build a structure or robot, depending on their age level, that could solve a real-life water-related issue such as a lack of water conservation or contaminated water. The criteria for a high score in FLL is not only creating a working, useful robot or structure. It also requires students’ display of professionalism by presentation to judges, and an entire section of the final score involves students’ display of cooperation as a team. Vikas Potluri, electrical engineering junior and FLL volunteer, said he has been involved in robotics since he was in first grade. Potluri said a major aspect of the program is its push for team-building in its competitions. “In the real world, you don’t want to have just pure
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CIASPORA CONTINUED
Cristian Aguirre — THE BATTALION
Ciaspora hopes to launch the app during the summer of 2018.
LEGO CONTINUED competition,” Potluri said. “You also want to have [instances] where companies come together to create a better product, because that helps the consumers in the end.” Potluri said the competitors research solutions used in the industry and translate their observations into their own robots. “It’s not like they’re coming up with something out of the blue,” Potluri said. “I think [the students’ projects are] too abstract to be able to come up with something that can actually be implemented, but I think there’s also an influence by what’s already out there going on in the real world. They’re just extending those ideas as well.” Malini Natarajarathinam, associate professor in the department of engineering, spearheaded the event. She said students who are exposed to competitions such as FLL have a less difficulties in future endeavors. “The longer you take to introduce kids to that, then it just becomes something that they have to do as an after part sometimes, but when it’s done really young, it’s something that they do naturally always,” Natarajarathinam said. “The earlier the better.” Claire Rowan, public health sophomore and FLL volunteer coordinator, has participated in similar competitions since high school. She said the young age of the participants is not a limiting factor when it comes to engaging with STEM programs. “The most important part to me, about getting these kids ex-
posed to something at this age, is because things like robotics and engineering are accessible to all of them, and it doesn’t matter that they’re pretty young,” Rowan said. According to Rowan, the competition has exploded in the past 10 to 15 years after starting at a very small scale. She said students like herself have benefited from the exposure to experiences such as FLL in deciding on their future disciplines. “People are seeing how valuable this is to the kids,” Rowan said. “There are teams all over the world. You can see more people are going into STEM subjects and things like that. They’re actually passionate going into it, and even then people in the program go into all different fields.”
raise funds for cryptocurrency based projects, generating the funding to get the program distributed. However, Jordan said they hope to make Lotus Protocol easily accessible to college students everywhere. “My goal for [Lotus Protocol] is for it to be an app such as Code Maroon or the Texas A&M app,” Jordan said. “Just like, ‘Hey, this happened to me at this time, this location, boom, boom, boom, here’s the suspect.’” Ciaspora got off the ground with help from the Aggie Network. Former students Paul K. Stafford, Class of 1990, Sherman Wright, Class of 1992 and Adekunle Adepoju, Class of 2016, are also working with the current students on the Lotus Protocol. “We really reached out to the Aggie Network and just saw who we could find and who could help and who was really passionate about what we were doing,” Abdulla said. Imoukhome said the three students each had their own ideas for starting companies, but soon realized they all had similar goals. “Each of us had our own future aspirations to start a company and we happened to be friends,” Imoukhome said. “There was a certain point during the summer that we
were going through certain sources of news and we were just shooting ideas off each other. We were all converging in this one spot and that’s when we decided that we want to enter this venture together.” Through the use of the Lotus Protocol program, Ciaspora hopes to give a voice to sexual assault victims who feel powerless. Imoukhome said he believes centralized institutions are the reason why so many cases of assault go unreported. “Ninety-five percent of all sexual assault instances on college campuses go unreported,” Imoukhome said. “Institutions or other powers are trying to push these things under the rug so we want to open these things up so people know the full truth of what is going on in their communities.” Jordan said he believes Ciaspora can make college communities a better place and empower students. “You as a student shouldn’t come here to this great facility to be an Aggie just to feel like you can’t speak up about yourself,” Jordan said, “We don’t need people walking around here committing certain acts as if they’re scot-free. No, that’s not what Texas A&M is about.”
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“The different cultures, seeing everyone coming, know that there are a lot of things that a lot of people don’t know about. It gives a good feel of A&M’s diversity, because I feel like that’s a huge thing A&M has that maybe a lot of universities don’t.” Clarissa Garcia, civil engineering junior, Mexican Student Association representative at MSC Open House Compiled by Luke Henkhaus and Jesse Everett
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Defining moments: A look at Donald Trump’s first year as president of the United States Since taking office one year ago, Trump has dominated the headlines. From the near constant news coverage of this unprecedented administration, there are a few key events that stand out.
Compiled by Luke Henkhaus @luke_henkhaus
“YOU’RE FIRED” — High Profile departures of Trump’s first year Jan. 30, 2017: Sally Yates, Acting Attorney General [FIRED] Feb. 13, 2017: Michael Flynn, National Security Advisor [RESIGNED] May 9, 2017: James Comey, FBI Director [FIRED]
Jan. 20, 2017: Inauguration
Jan. 21, 2017: Women’s March on Jan. 27, 2017: Travel ban Washington
May 17, 2017: Mueller appointed counsel in Russia investigation
Donald J. Trump takes the oath of office and begins his term as 45th president of the United States. During the ceremony, Trump places his hand on two Bibles held by First Lady Melania Trump, one given to him by his mother in 1955 and the other used in the inaugurations of Abraham Lincoln in 1861 and Barack Obama in 2009 and 2013.
One day after the inauguration, hundreds of thousands of protesters take to the streets in Washington D.C. to advocate for the rights of women and other historically marginalized groups. What started as a Facebook event posted days after election night becomes, by many estimates, one of the largest protest events in U.S. history, with sister marches taking place in major cities across the country and abroad.
Four months into the president’s term, the Justice Department appoints former FBI director Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials. The decision comes just eight days after the president’s firing of FBI director James Comey, who had previously led the investigation.
Trump signs an executive order temporarily suspending immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries as part of a vetting program the president described as being necessary to prevent the spread of terrorism. This marks the beginning of a long legal battle over the president’s authority to enforce such an order, as the ban and its later iterations are challenged and blocked by federal courts across the nation.
May 30, 2017: Mike Dubke, June 1, 2017: Paris climate accord Communications Director withdrawal [RESIGNED] Trump backs out of the Paris climate accord, an agreement aimed at July 21, 2017: Sean Spicer, Press combating climate change by regu- Secretary [RESIGNED] lating greenhouse gas emissions and increasing investments in renewable July 28, 2017: Reince Priebus, Chief energy. The president hails the of Staff [RESIGNED] withdrawal as a major economic win, saying the pact imposed unfair July 31, 2017: Anthony Scaramucci, restrictions on American industry. Communications Director [FIRED] Aug. 18, 2017: Steve Bannon, Chief Strategist [FIRED] Trump’s three promises kept in his first year 1. Lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying for foreign governments 2. Nominating a Supreme Court Justice to replace Antonin Scalia
July 26, 2017: Transgender military ban
Aug. 11-12, 2017: Charlottesville protests
Sept. 5, 2017: DACA rescinded
Dec. 19, 2017: GOP Tax Bill passed Jan. 20, 2018: Government shutdown by House and Senate
In a series of tweets, Trump announces that openly transgender people will be barred from serving in the military, catching military leaders off-guard. Trump cites “tremendous medical costs and disruption” as justification for the ban, but a federal judge in Washington later disagrees, moving to uphold a block on the ban and ensuring transgender eligibility starting Jan. 1, 2018.
Violence erupts between white nationalists and counterprotesters, resulting in 34 injuries and the death of a young woman. President Trump makes a statement condemning the “egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides,” drawing the ire of public figures on both the left and the right for not taking a stronger stance against white supremacist groups involved.
Trump ends Former President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program providing protection from deportation as well as opportunities for work and education to roughly 800,000 young, undocumented residents brought to the country as children. Trump challenges Congress to pass a replacement before DACA recipients’ protections begin to expire.
The Republican party’s sweeping tax reform bill passes after a lengthy period of negotiation and revision. Major cuts to the corporate tax rate and temporary lowering of individual tax rates are hailed by Trump and top Congressional Republicans as a victory for the U.S. economy, while Democratic leaders accuse the bill of catering to America’s wealthiest while increasing the federal debt.
Frustrated by the GOP’s refusal to concede on a number of issues — including an effective replacement for DACA — Senate Democrats block consideration of a short-term spending measure, prompting the first federal government shutdown since October of 2013.
3. Withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trump’s three broken or incomplete promises in his first year 1. Releasing tax returns 2. Building the wall (and making Mexico pay for it) 3. Cutting the number of tax brackets (from 7 to 3) Information compiled from the New York Times and the president’s Twitter account (@realDonaldTrump). Photos from Creative Commons.
AGGIELAND YEARBOOK It’s not too late to come purchase your copy of the 2017 Aggieland Yearbook, a photojournalistic record of the 2016-2017 school year. The 115th edition of Texas A&M’s Official Yearbook. Ordering can be done online at aggieland.tamu.edu, or by calling 979-845-2613. Avoid the mail fee and purchase your yearbook at our office, located in Suite L400 of the MSC.
Don’t forget to preorder your copy of the 2018 Aggieland yearbook, a photojournalistic record of the 2017-2018 school year. The 116th edition of Texas A&M’s official yearbook.
Application Workshops Wednesday, January 24 Koldus Building, Room 144 5:00-6:00 pm Thursday, January 25 Koldus Building, Room 144 4:00-5:00 pm Monday, January 29 Koldus Building, Room 144 6:00-7:00 pm Tuesday, January 30 Koldus Building, Room 144 3:30-4:30 pm
The Buck Weirus Spirit Award honors up to 55 students each year who demonstrate high involvement, create positive experiences throughout the Aggie community, impact student life at Texas A&M and enhance the Aggie Spirit.
Apply online at:
Distribution will be the Fall 2018.
AggieNetwork.com/BuckWeirus Application due February 5 by 11:59 pm
Go online to aggieland.tamu.edu or call 979-845-2613 to make your purchase.
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The Houston A&M Club Presented by:
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Josh McCormack, Editor in Chief 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.
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Freshman guard Chennedy Carter leads the Aggies with 426 points this season.
Aggies look to take control in the paint against LSU Women’s Basketball to host bayou Tigers Monday night at Reed Arena By Ryan MacDonald @Ryan_MacDonald2 In a loaded SEC women’s basketball conference, no game can be overlooked. The No. 16 Aggies (15-5, 4-2 SEC) understand the importance of playing the best game possible no matter the opponent and currently hold a 14-1 record against unranked opponents after defeating Alabama (13-6, 2-4 SEC), 73-54 on Thursday night. Prior to the game, Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair preached that an area of emphasis the Aggies needed to improve on was their shot selection and avoiding contested shots. The Aggies executed that well, making the extra pass, which often meant finding senior Khaalia Hillsman open in the paint. Hillsman dominated at the goal and led the Aggies in scoring in the first half with 12 points. Hillsman was also key in extending possessions as she grabbed five offensive rebounds in the first half alone. The Aggies shot 51.9 percent (14of-27) from the field and held a 35-27
lead over the Crimson Tide at halftime. Hillsman continued her domination in the second half, with help from freshman guard Chennedy Carter, who had a monstrous half. Carter found success driving to the basket, as she was often fouled and was able to try to draw an and-one play. Carter had 14 points on (3-of-6) shooting and made six out of seven free throws. “This team is a whole lot better than earlier in the year,” Blair said. “I think we’ve gotten better through trial and error or failure and I think that’s why we’re a better team.” The Aggies were stout defensively, which due in part to Alabama’s loss of leading scorer Ashley Williams, who was out with an injury. Also working in the Aggies’ favor was A&M forward Jasmine Walker, who notched a career-high 11 rebounds, all on defense. The Aggies will now play LSU (125, 4-2 SEC), who come into the match after a win over Auburn. The Tigers are led by guards Chloe Jackson and Raigyne Louis who are averaging 16.6 and 15.9 points per game, respectively. Despite the threat these two guards pose, especially from behind the arc, Blair said the key to the game will be ensuring the Aggies dominate the paint.
“We have to win the battle inside,” Blair said. “We’ve got more seasoned kids inside with [Anriel] Howard and Hillsman. We have to win that battle.” A&M will return home for the matchup, where the Aggies have fared well and currently hold a 10-3 record. “It would be nice to come home and show our fans at home that we can play against another top-level team like LSU, who’s tied with us (in SEC play) and play the type of game that we have on the road about four or five times this year,” Blair said. The Aggies were ranked No. 14 in the first Women’s Basketball Committee tournament rankings revealed on Thursday. “They had us ranked as an easy No. 14 due to our strength of schedule, our win over Tennessee and our no fear about playing top teams in the country,” Blair said. “I think when we played South Carolina and Georgia as well as we did, we showed people what we were all about.” The Aggies game against LSU will be televised on SEC Network. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. at Reed Arena.
Check Ring Eligibility: Jan 5 - Feb 12 Order Dates: Jan 9 - Feb 13 Aggie Ring Day: April 13 & 14, 2018 HOW TO GET YOUR AGGIE RING ON APRIL 13 & 14, 2018: If you meet the requirements after Fall 2017: 1. Log in to AggieNetwork.com by Feb 12 to check your Ring eligibility. (You will need to create an account on this website.)
• Your records will be reviewed and your eligibility status will be displayed online instantly. 2. If eligible, schedule an appointment online to order your Aggie Ring at the Aggie Ring Office. • Select from available order dates between Jan 9 - Feb 13. • If you are unable to order in person, submit an order to the Aggie Ring Program prior to the deadline. 3. On your appointment day, visit the Aggie Ring Office to find your Ring size (with official Aggie Ring sizers) and pay for your Ring. • FULL PAYMENT IS DUE AT TIME OF ORDER.
Abby Collida — THE BATTALION
• Pricing is available online.
Freshman guard TJ Starks played a career high of 38 minutes in Saturday’s game.
• Ring Loans are available to qualified, currently enrolled students at the Short Term Loan Office. Visit AggieNetwork.com/Ring for full details.
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UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT REQUIREMENTS: 1. 90 cumulative completed undergraduate credit hours. 2. 45 undergraduate resident credit hours completed at TAMU. 3. 2.0 cumulative GPR at Texas A&M University. 4. Must not be on academic probation, suspension, dismissal, expulsion, or on honor violation probation from the university. GRADUATE STUDENT REQUIREMENTS: Master’s Thesis Option 1. Defended Thesis Due to ordering deadlines, you may order at the beginning of the semester you will graduate. Your Aggie Ring will be delivered on Aggie Ring Day if you have defended your thesis prior to the deadline set by the Office of Graduate Studies. If you do not defend your thesis prior to this date, your Aggie Ring will be held until the qualification is met. 2. Must not be on academic probation, suspension, dismissal, expulsion, or on honor violation probation from the university. Master’s Non-Thesis Option 1. 75% of coursework completed for degree program at TAMU. 2. Must not be on academic probation, suspension, dismissal, expulsion, or on honor violation probation from the university. Ph.D. Students 1. Accepted as a Ph.D. candidate at TAMU. 2. Must not be on academic probation, suspension, dismissal, expulsion, or on honor violation probation from the university.
Jesse Everett — THE BATTALION
AggieNetwork.com Visit AggieNetwork.com/Ring for complete details or call the Aggie Ring Program at (979) 845-1050.
Sophomore forward Robert Williams ended play with 13 points and nine rebounds in the game against Missouri.
time to step up and shine. I just want to thank Coach Kennedy for believing in me.” Another strong presence coming off the bench was senior Tonny Trocha-Morelos, who played one of his best games as an Aggie, finishing with 14 points and four rebounds. Trocha-Morelos also found success from behind the arc, which is uncharacteristic of his game. “Tonny’s been really good in practice,” Kennedy said. “He’s playing like a senior, he’s talking on defense, he’s doing a lot of things besides making shots. But he made shots yesterday
[in practice], so I thought he would play well today.” The Aggies seem to have done a full 180 since dropping their first five SEC games, and look primed for a strong finish to conference play. “We’ve just got to be patient, stick to the game plan, listen to our coaches and stay determined day in and day out,” Starks said. “I believe that we will start something new again and that we’re just beginning.” The Aggies will look to build off of the new life and sense of urgency on Tuesday on the road against LSU. The game will be televised by ESPNU with tipoff at 8 p.m.