MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2016 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2016 STUDENT MEDIA | @THEBATTONLINE
TAMU administration, students respond to ‘Sharps Army’
Pugh, Sharp comment on sexual messages about family of SBP By Brad Canon @bradcanon1 The comments allegedly made by some past and former students of Texas A&M’s student senate in a GroupMe message board, from which screenshots surfaced last week, received a response from administrators, student leaders and hundreds of past and current students via social media. Vice President of Student Affairs Daniel Pugh said his office is standing behind Wimberly and her family. He said he is personally up-
Cain Garage to officially open Monday New garage will relieve oncampus parking pressure
set about what was said by a few members of the Student Senate, but that commenting further would interfere with an ongoing investigation being done by the university. “Our office is here to support Hannah and her family and we will continue to do that,” Pugh said. “I’m deeply troubled by the actions of some of our senators. I don’t want to comment much
Former and current students took to social media to voice their opinions of messages allegedly exchanged between student senators about SBP Hannah Wimberly’s family. FILE
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more beyond that because we will take a look at that from a conduct standpoint.” Despite allegations which have been made, A&M System Chancellor John Sharp said he was unaware of this alleged group of student senators naming the GroupMe after him — named “Sharps Army” — and that he is not associated with the group at all, according to Laylan Copelin, vice chancellor of marketing and communications. “Chancellor John Sharp was unaware of ‘Sharps Army’ and has no connection to it,” Copelin said. Amy Smith, senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer said the disciplinary process for the two senators will
consist of an investigation conducted by the Student Government Association that administration will not be involved with. The university will conduct its own investigation under Title IX jurisdiction to decide what, if any action will be taken against the student senators. “Investigation into action is taken in two areas, one is through the SGA code of conduct and regulations and will proceed through SGA,” Smith said. “Additionally, the university will review this situation under our code of conduct rules which include Title IX legislation.” The investigation into whether or not disciplinary action from the university will be conducted by the SENATE ON PG. 2
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PERFECT SCORE A&M DEFENSE PLAYS CRITICAL ROLE IN 38-45 DOUBLE OVERTIME VICTORY OVER VOLS
Leah Kappayil and Noah Simpson — THE BATTALION
Cain Garage opens Monday and will be able to house 1,400 vehicles.
By Brooklyn Figueiredo @brooklyn_fig With more than 1,400 parking spaces and five levels, Cain Garage opens Monday. Cain Garage, which was built on the lot where Cain Hall once stood, will offer new navigational technology, which intends to allow for easier and more efficient parking. Cain Garage is accessible for all students and visitors and hopes to help ease campus congestion on game days and other high-profile campus events. Peter Lange, associate vice president for Transportation Services said the new garage is different than the other existing garages on campus both inside and out, and serves as a new model for future buildings and garages to come. “The exterior of the facility is designed to complement the surrounding campus infrastructure, including the picturesque Memorial Student Center,” Lange said. “A CAIN GARAGE ON PG. 2
Defensive end Myles Garret sacks Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs and forces one of the Volunteers’ seven turnovers. Lawrence Smelser — THE BATTALION
By Angel Franco @angelmadison_
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ith the national spotlight focused on College Station, Kyle Field was host to two teams ranked within the top 10 teams in the country. Both the Aggies and the Tennessee Volunteers met on the gridiron to decide who would face Alabama with one loss on their record. Tennessee marched into Aggieland with several comeback victories under its belt. Saturday’s game almost had the same ending,
but the A&M defense had the last say. After senior quarterback Trevor Knight ran for a touchdown to give the Aggies a 45-38 lead, it was up to the defense to stop the magic that seems to follow the Volunteers, seen most clearly in their Hail Mary victory over Georgia the week before heading to Aggieland. On the first play following the Knight touchdown, senior quarterback Josh Dobbs looked to once again lead the Vols to another comeback victory. But as Dobbs went through his progressions and looked for an open receiver, junior Armani Watts was
steadily watching and anticipating his throw, which he would go on to intercept, effectively end the game and give the Vols heir first loss of the season. “We had seen that play earlier in the game,” Watts said. “[The receiver] was wide open but he dropped the ball. So they came back to it thinking it was open again; I had a great play and executed.” Although Watts’ play was one of the most important plays of the game, there were several defensive stops that contributed to A&M being able to walk out of Week 6 undefeated. The Aggies caused a
total of seven turnovers, including five fumble recoveries and two interceptions. Last week, the Aggie defense was without its star, junior defensive end Myles Garrett, because of an injury he suffered in Arlington when the Aggies faced the Arkansas Razorbacks. Garrett said no matter how physically hurt he was, there was no doubt he would sit out this game and in his eyes let his teammates go to battle without him. “Those are my brothers,” Garrett said. “I’m going to give it all I got till I can no longer go.” Texas A&M head coach Kevin FOOTBALL ON PG. 5
Number of women in STEM increases A&M ranked first in Texas for women in STEM fields By Sanna Bhai @bhaisanna
Alexis Will — THE BATTALION
Although A&M is ranked first in Texas and 12th nationally for women in STEM, STEM program administrators say there is still progress to be made.
Since 1980, the percentage of women in the engineering field has increased by 8.2 percent, according to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, resulting in an increase of female students enrolling in A&M’s STEM program. Texas A&M University ranked first in the state of Texas and 12th nationally for women in STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics. A&M’s STEM program is a collaboration between
the College of Human Development and the Dwight Look College of Engineering. It provides research-based education in hopes of preparing students for future professional careers. Katherine Banks, vice chancellor of engineering and dean at the A&M College of Engineering, said she’s pleased with the ranking and the outlook for the future of women in this field. “I am extremely proud to be a part of it,” Banks said. “I believe that this institution — in terms of my experience — is an unbelievably welcome, open, inviting and supportive environment for women in STEM. Hopefully we will continue to increase our numbers
of women in science and technology.” Adele Mouna, engineering freshman, conveyed her gratitude toward the school for giving her an equal opportunity and supporting her dreams. “Knowing that I attend a universally known university which makes it their mission to recruit young women and give them an equal opportunity within a male-driven industry gives me a beneficial motivational factor to pursue my career goals, as I know that TAMU acts as my support system,” Mouna said. Daniel Collins, chemistry professor, said although this is a good STEM ON PG. 4