thebattalion l wednesday,
september 18, 2013
l serving
texas a&m since 1893
l first paper free – additional copies $1 l © 2013 student media
football
Fish spurs and thier iconic sound are a daily reminder on campus of traditions surrounding the Corps of Cadets and football.
Sumlin, A&M refocus after loss Aggies move past Alabama defeat, target visiting SMU
Bottle cap tradition unites freshmen cadets
James Sullivan
The Battalion uesday’s press conference with Sumlin and company revealed that Saturday’s 49-42 loss to topranked Alabama has already been forgotten by the Texas A&M football program. Texas A&M’s formerly perfect record (2-1, 0-1 SEC) may have been tarnished with an 0-1 SEC stain, but head coach Kevin Sumlin said the team has already moved past the loss and is instead focusing on Saturday’s home matchup against Southern Methodist University. “[Monday], we had a chance to watch the video — [by positions] and as a team,” Sumlin said. “My message was, ‘After we’re done with that, we’re not talking about it anymore.’ That was the message, win or lose. We’ve got nine more games. That’s been my approach wherever I’ve been, whether they’re big games or what. It doesn’t matter whether you’re mad or you’re ecstatic, the next week you’ve got to move on,
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See Presser on page 3
Tanner Garza — THE BATTALION
‘SPUR THE PONIES’ Jennifer Reiley
Special to The Battalion reshmen cadets are sporting fish spurs for their original purpose this year in preparation to “spur the hell outta the Ponies” at Saturday’s football game against Southern Methodist University. Fish spurs have been embedded in freshmen cadet tradition at Texas A&M since the 1960s, but few “non-regs” know about the tradition behind fish spurs or why it is a part of the Corps.
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Corps Commander Eric Gil, senior industrial distribution major, said fish spurs began in the heyday of the Southwest Conference when A&M’s rivals were the University of Texas and SMU. Gil said the Corps wanted a good rallying cry for the game against SMU, whose mascot is a mustang. “At the time, the students were predominately farmers,” Gil said. “So the motto for the fish spurs was ‘Spur the Ponies.’” Gil said the purpose of making fish spurs and honoring the tradition is to bring the freshmen
cadets closer to their outfits. The current freshmen have known each other for about a month, so the experience is good opportunity for the cadets to get to know each other, Gil said. “It’s a good chance to build bonds among the class,” Gil said. “It creates memories for years and links different classes across time.” Mary Godwin, sophomore philosophy major, said the late night spent making the spurs with her unit last year was a way to learn See Fish spurs on page 5
campus news
Student Senate to meet Wednesday Student Senate will convene at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Koldus 144 for a general meeting. During this time, senators will either confirm or reject SBP Reid Joseph’s nomination for chief justice as well as his nominations for associate justices to the SGA Judicial Court. Any student may attend and an open forum will be held at the start of the meeting.
inside
thebattalion asks
Q:
Page 2: What do you like about living in Hullabaloo Hall?
research | 4 Apps go religious Three Ph.D. students researched nearly 500 apps pertaining to Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism to explore the modern-day relationship between technology and religion.
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residence life
Ceremony to recognize Hullabaloo Hall
Bradley D’Souza
The Battalion ceremony will be held Friday to dedicate Hullabaloo Hall, the newest residence hall on campus. The ceremony will also honor the three residence halls that Hullabaloo replaced. Kasey Kram, president of the Residence Hall Association, said the dedication will commemorate the building itself and the buildings there before it. “It’s basically to recognize the building and honor
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the three residence halls that were there before,” Kram said. Three residence halls — Crocker, McInnis and Moore — were demolished to make way for Hullabaloo Hall. As a tribute, three small memorials were constructed in the courtyard from the bricks of these buildings. The first floor also houses a fireplace built using bricks from the buildings. The ceremony will in-
Hullabaloo Hall, located on the north side of campus, gives students the opportunity to live near Northgate while being only walking distance from their classes.
See Hullabaloo on page 5
Tanner Garza — THE BATTALION
Ronald Sievert speaks on the constitutionality of drone warfare at the Wiley Lecture series Tuesday night in the MSC.
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Drones and the Constitution
tudents and community members were given constitutional food for thought Tuesday in the MSC at the Wiley Lecture Series forum, “Drone Warfare and the Constitution.” The event strategically took place on the 226th anniversary of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution and featured remarks from Ronald Sievert; professor of law and director of the Center for Military Law and Policy at Texas Tech; and Richard Rosen, director of the Advanced International Affairs Program at the Bush School. In their
speeches, both professors prompted students to consider whether drone warfare violates the due process clause of the Constitution. “The question here tonight that I have been asked to answer is whether the drone warfare that we’re conducting implicates the due process clause of the constitution, and the simple answer is no,” Rosen said. “The people we are attacking, especially those who are alien enemy combatants, have no constitutional rights at all.” For the full story, visit thebatt.com
Photos by Bryan Johnson — THE BATTALION
Started at EY. Went everywhere. “I may have started small. But the future’s looking big.” © 2013 EYGM Limited. All Rights Reserved.
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9/17/13 10:50 PM