TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2016 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2016 STUDENT MEDIA | @THEBATTONLINE Hanna Hausman — THE BATTALION
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The “Mannequin Challenge” video posted by TAMU Gymnastics got more than 13 million views on Facebook.
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GYMNASTICS GOES VIRAL TAMU Gymnastics team’s ‘Mannequin Challenge’ receives 13 million views
By Josh McCormack @_joshmccormack
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reparing to jump off the springboard into a vault, saluting post-dismount on the beam, chalking hands and even the legs of someone who failed a flip — all captured, frozen in time.
Program aims to mitigate asthma severity in South Texas
The Texas A&M gymnastics team went viral Nov. 9 with its rendition of the popular Internet trend called “The Mannequin Challenge.” Participants in the challenge post a typically minute-long video of a group of people holding completely still in the middle of doing an activity. “Our PR officer found the Mannequin Challenge from BYU and
she tagged a couple of us in it,” said marketing junior and TAMU Gymnastics webmaster officer Morgan Moore. “She said, ‘Morgan, it would be cool if we did this,’ and she was kidding, but I took her seriously and said, ‘Okay we’re doing it Monday night at 6:00. We had about 15 people show up and it only took us two takes.”
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The video went on to become extremely popular on various social media outlets, racking up more than 13 million views on Facebook. The video was shared by Texas A&M, Crossfit America and even the United States Olympic Gymnastics Team, among thousands of others. “It’s going everywhere,” Moore said. “People from all over the world
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lasting impact
Hanna Hausman — THE BATTALION
Asthma triggers include pets, scents, smoking and dust mites.
The 10 Day campaign will donate all money raised to the Rwanda Program.
By Sanna Bhai @bhaisanna
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10 days,
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The severity of asthma has inspired an outreach program at A&M that provides educational interventions on asthma control to parents and children in the Rio Grande region. Mission Breathe is an outreach educational intervention program through the School of Public Health which educates parents and children between the ages of 3 to 14 about the simple methods to reduce the severity of asthma and the importance of being prepared to avoid frequent emergency room visits. Gustavo Elizondo, public health graduate student, said asthma is a disease that can be both objectively and subjectively measured, making it a top choice for this outreach program. “Since asthma is caused by inflammation, we are able to detect different biomarkers of inflammation and detect our effectiveness,” Elizondo said. “We will be able to compare that with these surveys and also the pre and post-tests will help us see whether they have learned something and the areas we need to focus on.” Oluwatosin Bewaji, Mission Breathe program manager, said the program is taking place in the Rio Grande region of South Texas due to the high prevalence of this disease. This educational intervention is a simple method to reduce the severity of asthma with the resources at hand, Bewaji said. “A lot of the areas, due to the socioeconomic status, going for the high-tech medical intervention for asthma may not be very feasible,”
are messaging me on Facebook saying, ‘Cool video.’ This morning I got [a message] from somebody in Nepal and Saudi Arabia … It blew up more than we could’ve imagined.” The video was a collaborative project that allowed each member of TAMU Gymnastics to show off
TAMU Wells Project aids clean water initiative for Rwanda By Meredith McCown @meredithrhoads
Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION
Sophomore forward DJ Hogg scored 12 points in the second game of the Aggies’ 2016-2017 campaign.
A&M moves on to 2-0 with 76-53 victory over American University By Kevin Roark @kevin_roark College Station was the site for the Aggies to notch their second home win and maintain their stance in the top 25. The fast-paced American University squad now drops to 0-2 on the season after falling to No. 25 Maryland on Friday. “I was really concerned with how we’d play against that style of play,” Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said. “I think our length and size in the paint gave them problems but I was worried
about how our guys would respond defensively. The first half was pretty good and they made some adjustments in the second.” Efficiency put the Aggies ahead early in the first half and they never looked back. While struggling inside due to American’s low and fast pace, the Aggies had to rely on their outside shooting and passing to stay on top. Freshman Eric Vila and sophomore DJ Hogg provided outside jumpers that allowed A&M to out shoot American 56.7 percent to 29.6 percent. “It’s nice to be able to run the ball through the front court and have the big guys in there,” Hogg BASKETBALL ON PG 4.
About 663 million people in the world lack access to clean water, and one organization is challenging students to spend 10 days trying to mitigate the issue. The average person spends about $50 on drinks other than water within the span of 10 days. From Nov. 7 to Nov. 16, the TAMU Wells Project, partnered with Living Water International, is hosting the 10 Days campaign, which challenges students across college campuses to drink only water for 10 days. The money students save by only drinking water will go toward the Living Water International Rwanda Program, which primarily aims to implement community-based water solutions in Rwanda. So far the A&M chapter has raised more than $30,000 from 885 individuals, including offline donations. Donations are accepted after the 10 Days as well. The campaign took off Nov. 6 with a concert featuring Colony House at the Grand Stafford Theater in Bryan. According to the TAMU Wells Project, last year the 10 Days campaign at A&M raised $30,000 which ultimately supplied 286 Rwandan families with clean water. The goal of the initiative this year is to raise $50,000. “The way I always like to explain the 10 Days is that I love the idea of sacrificing our comfort for someone else’s life,” Andrew Winker, 10 DAYS ON PG. 2