MONDAY, JANUARY 29 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2018 STUDENT MEDIA
The new recreational facilities would be located near the University Drive and The Quad.
Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION
Students to vote on proposed recreation expansion New facilities on north and south side would increase recreation fee by $39 By Savannah Mehrtens @SJMehrtens In 1987, a 67 percent majority of students voted to pay $106 in addition to their current tuition and fees to build a recreational facility that would support the student population of the time, according to Dennis Corrington, executive director of Texas A&M Rec Sports. Eight years later on the Saturday before the semester began, the Rec opened its doors. Since then, the student population on
A&M’s main campus has increased by about 20,000 students, 80 percent of which use the Rec, averaging over 500 entries per hour, sometimes even over 900. Vote Rec is an ad campaign designed to motivate students to vote once again to increase fees for the Rec by $39 starting in the fall of 2020. This time the fee would be used to build two new satellite facilities located on south side near the golf course parking lot and the other on northside near the College of Engineering to alleviate the overcrowding of the main facility. Each satellite location will be complete with everything the current facility has to offer and a closer proximity to students who would normally have difficulties through travel and
time commitment to reach the Rec. “Our goal is to make recreation more available on campus and in closer proximity to where most students are located or a large majority of students are located, and give them multiple options to recreate,” said Jerrod Jackson, director of intramural sports at Texas A&M Rec Sports. Grace Grindstaff, facilities coordinator for Texas A&M Rec Sports, said the population increase on campus was a major part of the decision to propose the two new facilities. “I think ultimately having more space for the amount of students we have is always going to be a huge benefit for the students,” Grindstaff said. Corrington said the overcrowding of the
current facility and access to parking, as well as simply having the time to go to the Rec are the top issues students have, according to a stratified random sample survey. “Locating facilities in neighborhoods like we are attempting to do now really saves students time, it puts more time in the recreation calendar and less time in the travel calendar,” Corrington said. Jackson said the vote keeps students in control of whether or not the plans to create these two facilities will go forward. “I would say the good part of this campaign is it’s completely up to the students,” Jackson said. “It is their decision. If they want REC VOTE ON PG. 2
The last all-male dorm standing A&M residence officials discuss non-coed dorms By Hannah Falcon @hannahfalcon_
Jesse Everett — THE BATTALION
Les Appelt Hall was built in 1989 and is located on the south side of campus.
On-campus housing is one of the many aspects of Texas A&M that has changed over the years. What was originally an all male campus, Texas A&M is now down to only one all-male residence hall. Last year, Residence Life announced that Walton, a traditionally all-male dorm, would become a coed freshman dorm beginning Fall 2018. Former Walton residents filed a Title IX gender discrimination complaint last year in response, but the ruling did not go in their favor. The Title IX complaint is-
sues by the residents was on the grounds that there would be multiple all-female halls but only one all-male hall. While Walton is the lowest price point for on-campus housing, the remaining all-male hall, Appelt, is one of the highest price points. “The basis of our Title IX complaint was lack of affordable all-male housing,” said Nadir Pozegija, electrical engineering junior and former Walton Hall Council President. “Walton has always been kind of a place for people that were maybe lower on the socioeconomic ladder that still wanted to be on campus and still wanted to have a college experience, but at an affordable price point.” Director of Administrative and Support Services for Residence Life Carol Binzer ex-
plained the change to more coed housing was made with enrollment numbers in mind. As more women come to Texas A&M, Residence Life has to make room for women on a campus that started as an all-male university. “One of the other issues about Walton changing to coed was, my two lowest priced halls are Walton and Hart and if one is all male and the other is coed. I’m disadvantaging women in giving them an opportunity to live with my cheapest rates,” Binzer said. All-male dorms create a bond between the residents, according to Pozegija. He said the tradition of brotherhood at Walton made him feel comfortable and at home on campus. The friends he APPELT ON PG. 3
Aggies fall to Jayhawks 79-68 Men’s basketball continues to struggle following loss on road against Kansas By Alex Miller @AlexMill20 Texas A&M was unable to overcome a strong surge in the final 10 minutes of the first half by No. 5 Kansas, falling on the road to the Jayhawks 79-68 Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. After having their lead cut to 20-18 with 11:41 remaining in the first half, Kansas jumped all over the Aggies (13-8, 2-6 SEC) ending the half on a 25-9 run that left the Jayhawks with a substantial 45-27 halftime lead. “[They came out] on fire, I guess that’s what you could say,” A&M forward Robert Williams
told reporters after the game. “They came out aggressively and they obviously wanted it more than us in the first half.” The run was much in part to the Jayhawks’ strong three-point shooting, making nine of their first 13 attempts from behind the arc. For the game, Kansas was 12-of-26 from deep. “It just seemed like every bounce, every play, they made it, and that’s the mark of a really good team,” A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said. “They shared the ball, fought better in the first half. We did a better job in the second half adjusting to some of that.” Svi Mykhailiuk led the way for Kansas, scoring 24 points—including 17 in the first half. A&M had a hard time marking up the dynamic 6-foot-8 guard, who was solid off of the dribble, but was Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION
MEN’S BASKETBALL ON PG. 4
Sophomore forward Robert Williams currently averages 10.4 points per game.
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