MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2016 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2016 STUDENT MEDIA | @THEBATTONLINE Hanna Hausmann — THE BATTALION
(Left to right) Kaitlyn Kellermeyer, Russel Geyer, Tyler Wooten and Ashlyn Pedersen came together to create an alternative way for students with visual impairments to navigate campus.
NAVIGATING CAMPUS STUDENTS CREATE 3-D BRAILLE MAPS OF TEXAS A&M’S CAMPUS
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By Kylee Reid @CoastalAg
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aking the university more accessible for everyone — that was the idea mechanical engineering sophomore Tyler Wooten had when he began his first draft of a 3-D printed campus braille map last year. Since then, Wooten has grown his team
and his reach by establishing a non-profit and growing his concept to further help the university and other campuses around the country. “Assistive Mapping Project,” a non-profit created by Wooten, aims to increase accessibility on campuses nationwide. The group is lead by Wooten, Ashlyn Pedersen, telecommunications and
media studies sophomore, Russell Geyer, mechanical engineering sophomore and Kaitlyn Kellermeyer, economics senior. The idea for the project began when Wooten took a 3-D printing class his freshman year. Wooten said that after taking the class he wanted to find a way to combine what he learned with a way MAPS ON PG. 2
FUNDRAISING
A member of Gamma Phi Beta performs during Songfest. The group’s theme was “The Twilight Zone.” Laura Haslam — THE BATTALION
Noah Siano — THE REFLECTOR
Mississippi State wide receiver Malik Dear slices through the A&M defense after making a catch. The Aggies allowed 574 yards of total offense in the game.
UP IN SMOKE
Aggies’ playoff hopes evaporate with disappointing loss to Mississippi State By Kevin Roark @Kevin_Roark
A few missing key players brought Texas A&M more problems than it expected in Starkville Saturday morning. With their best offensive and defensive playmakers on the sideline, the Aggies’ season quickly began crumbling around them. “I don’t think energy or focus was the problem,” quarterback Jake Hubenak said . “I think we just didn’t execute and they had a better game plan than we did.” The Aggies’ day was disrupted with a few gaping holes in their game plan due to injuries. Junior defensive end Myles Garrett has been battling an ankle injury for the majority of the season. Clearly not at 100 percent against the Crimson Tide, Garrett stayed off the grass in last Saturday’s matchup against New Mexico State. He started Saturday morning but soon re-aggravated his injury and was clearly hindered in his performance and only came in on third down situations. The Aggies were without cornerback Priest Willis while defensive tackle Daylon Mack and safety Armani Watts also left the game early. This made for a virtually non-existent pass rush on Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald. The man under center is certainly one to use his legs to bring down defenses. Without pressure he wasn’t forced to attack through the air and therefore made the Aggies suffer on the ground. While just completing 18 of 31 pass attempts, Fitzgerald threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns through the air while carrying the ball 20 times for 182 yards and two scores. A&M conceded a season-high 365 yards rushing this weekend. “We couldn’t stop the run today and we couldn’t run it,” head coach Kevin Sumlin said. “Those are the numbers. We didn’t stay on the field either. Basically it came down to that [Mississippi State] dictated play today. [Fitzgerald]
played extremely well. He ran it but he was also extremely accurate when he threw it. This was more of a lack of execution. They ran it and we couldn’t stop them from running the ball. We weren’t consistent enough offensively to win a game.” That inconsistency was mostly attributed to the loss of signal-caller Trevor Knight. The quarterback exited the game for a good portion of the first half with a shoulder injury. He sat out the next possession before returning for two mediocre drives and eventually returning in the second half with his arm in a sling. Junior Jake Hubenak took the reins in Knight’s absence. While not playing necessarily poorly, Hubenak completed 11 passes on 17 attempts for 222 yards and two touchdowns. However, it was his lack of mobility that had Aggie fans missing Knight under center. Hubenak scrambled seven times for two yards, to Knight’s five rushes for 54 yards and a score. “We get equal reps with both quarterbacks,” wide receiver Christian Kirk said . “Jake can’t run the ball like Trevor can but he still did a great job. I’m so proud of Jake just with the way he’s able to handle adversity. He’s thrown in some big time games and just when we’re down he always finds a way to bring us back.” The Aggies will return to College Station next weekend as they take on Ole Miss. Sumlin says they will have to reevaluate players before deciding who the lead man is going forward. “Obviously it’ll be important to get guys healthy again,” Sumlin said. “[Hubenak]’s been up and down throwing the football as a young guy and you know he’s getting better. He’s got a live arm, he’s a big guy and a really really good athlete. He was highly accurate today…. He was the best player on the field today. His demeanor lends itself to these situations. To come in with cowbells ringing and down by two touchdowns, to play the way he did ... That’s pretty good for a guy that was just standing on the sideline without a helmet. We have confidence in Jake going forward, we’ll see what happens with Trevor [Knight] injury-wise.”
38th annual Songfest features 26 organizations Chi Omega hosts annual event to raise money for charity By Jena Seidemann @jena_seidemann For 38 years, Texas A&M Chi Omega’s Songfest has brought the campus together through song, dance and skits to raise money for philanthropic causes. This year’s Songfest featured 26 student organizations who took the stage Friday and Saturday in three shows. Songfest chair Sarah Bailey, interdisciplinary studies senior, said this event was a cumulation of all the hard work and dedication Aggies have for improving their community around them. “I just hope people get to see how hard working Aggie are by nature and how hard working everyone involved in Songfest is because they care,” Bailey said. “They care about looking good, they are about putting their best foot forward, but this year we were trying to refocus it on why we even put on Songfest, and that is because every participating
act’s philanthropy can get something out of it not just a show, which is my favorite part — this is a show with purpose.” This year, Bailey said they added an additional matinée performance on Saturday to allow more people to come to the show, and that without walk-ups they sold more than 5,000 tickets for Songfest. In addition to adding another show, the event was held weeks earlier than the previous year, but Bailey said her team was prepared. “Having less time in the fall was sometimes tricky, but we knew that was going to be the case since last December, so my team was so prepared and really on top of it. That was the challenge and the reward. We had a lot of big changes even with it being earlier and the third show,” Bailey said. Part of the money raised will go towards Chi Omega’s annual donation of $7,300 to Make-A-Wish, which will help Diana from Katy accomplish her dream of visiting Disney World. Each participating organization is awarded SONGFEST ON PG. 2
RING DAY Nearly 3,000 Aggies received their Aggie Ring Friday. Check out our online slideshow to see some of the special moments.
MORE AT THEBATT.COM Leah Kappayil — THE BATTALION