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File, Grapgic by Hayley Douglas — THE BATTALION
A timeline of the events surrounding the scheduled white lives matter protest on campus, which was canceled later that week.
THE WEEK OF WHITE NATIONALISM An analysis of the planned and canceled white lives matter rally at Texas A&M University By Josh McCormack @_joshmccormack
A
s chaos began to erupt in Virginia during a “Unite the Right” rally on Aug. 12, a press release was sent to Texas journalists titled, “Today Charlottesville, Tomorrow Texas A&M.” The events that followed would result in a spotlight, yet again, being pointed in Texas A&M’s direction. As statements were released, counter-protests planned and a rollercoaster of information reported by local and national news sources, the university and its students would find themselves at the forefront of an issue gripping the American people — white nationalism.
Courtesy of The Eagle
Preston Wiginton is the “alt-right” organizer who had planned the white lives matter rally.
Law professor: Wiginton has a case By Brad Morse @bradsmorse53 Following the cancellation of his planned white lives matter rally, Preston Wiginton said he is weighing his options, which includes filing a lawsuit against the university. Wiginton said that he and his lawyers do plan on initiating legal proceedings. “We do plan on legal action, we do plan to continue forward,” Wiginton said. Wiginton said the cancellation of his rally violated his First Amendment rights.
What started it all The press release, sent out at 11:57 a.m. on Aug. 12, described a white lives matter rally that would be taking place on Sept. 11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in front of Rudder Fountain. Preston Wiginton, an “alt-right”organizer, was the author of the release and planned the rally. Soon after the press release’s announcement, A&M would come under criticism by students, both current and former, for allowing another white nationalist event to take place. Around 1:15 p.m., Amy Smith, executive vice president of marketing and communications, responded to the planned rally, reiterating the comments the university made last December during Richard Spencer’s speech. “His views and those of the group he represents are counter to the core values of Texas A&M,” Smith said. “While he has the right of free speech, so too do we have the right to refute those views and get on with the daily business of a world class university.” Smith’s statement illustrated the conundrum A&M found itself in with Spencer’s speech last December and again this past week: A public university trying to balance the weight of the constitution and the core values they promote. As news began to spread, student leaders began to respond to the situation that was unfolding. Student Body President Bobby Brooks gave his thoughts in a statement.
File
Demonstrators gathered outside the Memorial Student Center on Dec. 2, 2016 to protest Richard Spencer speaking on campus.
Students react to rally and cancellation By Savannah Mehrtens @SJMehrtens On the same day that white nationalists gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia for the “Unite the Right” march that ended in three deaths and at least 34 wounded, Preston Wiginton announced that he had planned a white lives matter rally at Texas A&M on Sept. 11. A day after this announcement, Wiginton also added that Richard Spencer, a white nationalist figure who spoke at A&M last December, would be returning to A&M for the rally. THE WEEK OF WHITE NATIONALISM ON PG. 4
Aggie athletes speak up through sports By Angel Franco @angelmadison_
A A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin said he was proud of the university’s decision to cancel the white lives matter protest on campus.
fter the announcement of a planned white lives matter rally in the heart of campus, Texas A&M officials canceled the event in the days following the initial press release. A&M head football coach Kevin Sumlin spoke Saturday night following practice on the decision to not allow a white nationalist event on campus. “I’m really proud of that,” Sumlin said. “I was thankful and very, very proud of Chancellor Sharp and our president to put an end to it. That’s the only way I
Alex Miller — THE BATTALION
can put it without going in depth about it. When leadership like that comes to the front and our leadership did that. We’ve talked about it as a team too and our appreciation for our leadership to step in this situation is big from players, big from our coaching staff, it’s big from everyone.” These comments come at a time when athletes — collegiate and professional — are speaking out on current social events. Current Seattle Seahawks and former A&M defensive end Michael Bennett has been noticeably outspoken on social issues. Most recently, he decided to protest by sitting on the bench throughout the playing of the national anthem. In an interview with CNN, Ben-
nett said his intentions of sitting during the national anthem are not to disrespect the flag or the country, but to instead preserve what it stands for. “I’m not protesting the flag,” Bennett said to CNN. “I’m actually trying to honor what we’re supposed to be honoring, the freedom of America, the equality of America, the justice for all and the liberty. Those are the things that I’m trying to remind people that we all fought for, the forefathers. We said we would fight against terrorists, domestic and foreign, and right now there’s whole bunch of domestic terrorism, domestic hate going on.” ATHLETES SPEAK UP ON PG. 8
Senior Boot Bag Senior Boot Bag Josh McCormack, Editor in Chief
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THE BATTALION is published Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during the fall and spring semesters and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer session (except University holidays and exam periods) at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Offices are in Suite L400 of the Memorial Student Center.
Looking forward to the changes ahead Managing Editor Gracie Mock discusses the upcoming year for The Battalion
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DISCOVER A GENEROUS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.
@g_mock2 Classes start up next week and with them comes a new semester for The Battalion as well. You might have already noticed some new aspects, like our Maroon Life magazine. Another change we have implemented is our paper will once again have our full name, The Battalion, included in masthead. This came from hours of consideration with our editorial board and we decided to leave “The Batt” behind to honor our history and the tradition of this award-winning paper. The Battalion has been around since 1893 and has covered topics such as U.S. presidents coming to campus, the ups and downs of our sports teams, the tragedy of the Bonfire collapse, the first female Corps Commander and so much more. While we like The Batt, the decision to return to The Battalion stems from the proud tradition and values we want to uphold with our paper and the legacy we want to leave for future staffers and readers. The Battalion is also excited to announce the addition of our Social Media Desk, the purpose of which will be to provide our readers with an additional avenue to view our content in a convenient way, and create a sense of community with our readers. Expect to see more interaction with the student body, whether it is through our main Twitter or desk Twitter accounts, our Instagram or other social media platforms. Like many other news outlets across the country, The Battalion has had to adjust to the growing popularity in online content and we will be reducing our print days to only Monday, Wednes-
day and Friday. However, the quality and quantity of our stories will be maintained. This reduction comes with something we were already working towards — a more online-oriented focus. Content will be uploaded to our website on a daily basis to ensure our readers are as informed as possible with all the news of Texas A&M. This year The Battalion will be focusing on four new goals: becoming a digital-first minded paper, focusing on our social media content, becoming more engaged with our campus and building lasting relationships with leaders, organizations and administration. The editorial board feels this is the direction that will most strengthen The Battalion and make our paper fitting with the times. We will continue our regular goals with new fervor. We will continue reporting the news honestly and accurately, informing our readership comprised of the students on campus, those abroad and our Ol’ Ags by producing stories that matter. Our goal is to go beyond our comfort zone to bring new angles and ideas to the paper. To present the stories that will make readers think, and at times challenge the status quo. Our editor training took place at the end of last week and our board left with these words in mind — The Battalion as a newspaper is the fourth estate, the fourth and indpendant branch of democracy. The editorial board believes the purpose of a newspaper is not solely to provide reading material, but to present an unbiased look into issues that matter, a belief many in today’s society might think is old fashioned. We plan to uphold these values, to provide you with a well edited and published paper. Gracie Mock is a communcations senior and managing editor for The Battalion.
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AGGIELAND YEARBOOK
It’s not too late to order your copy of the 2017 Aggieland Yearbook, a photojournalistic record of the 2016-2017 school year. The 115th edition of Texas A&M’s
Official Yearbook will be available before the holidays. Go online to aggieland.tamu.edu or call 979-845-2613 to make your purchase.
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Don’t forget to preorder your copy of the 2018 Aggieland yearbook. The 116th edition of Texas A&M’s official yearbook. Ordering can be done online at aggieland.tamu.edu, or by calling 979-845-2613. Distribution will be the Fall 2018.
2016 Aggielands and previous yearbooks are now on sale. Stop by room L400 in the MSC or call 979-845-2613. $40.00 + Tax (Includes Mail Fee)
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The Battalion | 8.21.17
Around the world: A look at Aggies studying abroad Students and faculty spend the summer away from B-CS By Sarah East @saraheeast18
Mariah Colon — THE BATTALION
Aggies have the chance to study abroad at a number of places across the world and can benefit from the experience.
If you have to take notes, it might as well be at the Colosseum. This past summer, many Aggies chose to give up their summers in order to travel, gain new cultural experiences and earn college credit all over the world. Business administration sophomore Brooke Bossier spent the summer abroad in Greece with excursions to Rome and Israel, studying humanities, culture and the Bible. “I think there’s a huge advantage to studying in a different culture and just being in a different place,” Bossier said. Bossier said she believes that Greece was a perfect choice for studying abroad in regards to her major. “Since I’m studying business I have to really understand the economy and how businesses work,” Bossier said. “Since Greece’s economy is bad right now, understanding the different routes they could be taking to better their economy is helping to broaden my understanding of business.” Agricultural economics senior Landon Woods studied abroad for two weeks in Accra, Ghana, earning credit towards a certificate in interna-
tional trade and agriculture. “In my major, we believe in the value of the free market system,” Woods said. “In a country like Ghana where their democracy is less than 30 years old there’s still a lot of hiccups that prevent them from engaging in a free market system.” Woods and his classmates were able to interact with industry experts and policy makers while gaining credit towards a certificate in international trade and agriculture. “Our professor had a lot of connections in the government and parliament in Ghana,” Woods said. “We had opportunities to sit down with members of parliament and the supreme court who could shed a little more light on what’s going on in the country as opposed to just riding around on the tour bus.” Political science sophomore Morgan Gimblet spent the summer abroad in Galway, Ireland to learn more about political communication. “I think taking classes abroad is better because you get more of an experience in the culture and it’s so different than just taking classes at a community college in your hometown,” Gimblet said. Gimblet’s professor in Ireland urged his students to spend time immersing themselves into the culture while they are abroad. “He tells us to go to bars and that people will talk to us if they know
that we’re American or not Irish,” she said. Gimblet said she studied in Ireland as her destination for academic and personal reasons. “I chose Ireland because this program is specifically for my major,” Gimblet said. “They did have others for political science, but they didn’t focus on one country, which I didn’t care for because I wanted to stay somewhere and really experience it. Plus my grandpa was from Ireland and he was my favorite, so I had more of a connection to going to Ireland.” Communication senior Patrick Sheridan also spent the summer in Ireland taking courses for his major. However, instead of solely earning class credit, Sheridan spent the second half of the summer in an international internship. “I’m going to work for a company called The Production People, and they cast extras in other companies’ ads,” Sheridan said. “Two of the companies they work closely with are Apple and Google.” Like Gimblet, Sheridan said he chose to study in Ireland for academic and personal reasons. “I had a semester of funding left because I am graduating early, so I had the financial opportunity and the program was good,” Sheridan said. “My family has Irish roots and I’ve always wanted to go.”
Gateway Program gives students helpful transition into A&M
For almost two decades, the Aggie Gateway to Success Program has allowed a select number of students to transition into college in an alternative way. Courtesy of Aggie Gateway to Success Program
A&M Gateway facilitates the move from high school to college By Tenoch Aztecatl @tenochaztec
F
or approximately the last 20 years, the Aggie Gateway to Success Program has transitioned high school seniors CGP-MD-01_PAD_PI DDamian 160829-F from their traditional high school setting to college life in just one summer session. Texas A&M freshman applicants are selected into the Gateway Program by the office of admissions, which typically selects anywhere from 300 to 400 students year to DiscoveResearch, Inc. per (PI school DDamian) join. Date: 08/29/2016 The Gateway Program was created in an
effort to ease the transition from high school life to college life while also offering students a way of being admitted to the university in certain situations. Associate director of transition academic programs Sherrice King heads the Gateway Program, and said she enjoys the opportunity to help students adjust to the university. “We’ve enjoyed being able to offer something like this to students,” King said. “We function as somewhat of a bridge between highschool and college.” Aggie Gateway students are typically required to take a total of six hours of courses during the second summer session before their freshman class typically arrives. Students like geographic information science and technology junior Logan Dunbar were able to gain
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helpful experience as to how college operates before most other college freshman would arrive at the university in the fall. “Gateway wasn’t terrible,” Dunbar said. “You had lots of free time, it was a good introduction to freshman year because I kind of got some study habits that I would not have had.” The Gateway Program has a relatively high completion rate, as the qualifications are more focused on transitioning students rather than enforcing a heavy workload. “We generally stay between 90 to 95 percent all the time,” King said. “However, recently it’s been 95 to 98 percent. Successful completion of the program requires a D or better in 6 hours of courses.” Psychology junior Melissa Perez also completed the Gateway Program, and said she has
reaped many benefits as a result of her experience, such as knowing where her classes were to having established study routines for her first fall semester. “When I ended Gateway it was definitely exciting and sad,” Perez said. “When I transitioned into actually being a freshman, I knew what the school had to offer and I was actually able to help other freshman who didn’t know what to do.” Since students in the program are selected through the office of admissions, applying to the Gateway Program is not possible. However, students in the program typically had a full list of high school extracurricular activities that made them a suitable fit in the Aggie community.
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The Battalion | 8.21.17
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ANALYSIS CONTINUED
commenting on issues surrounding free speech. Later that day, at 5:39 p.m. Texas A&M University released a press brief officially announcing the event’s end. The administration cited three main reasons behind denying the white lives matter rally access to speak on campus: Safety concerns, disruption of classes and their policy change following last year’s white nationalist speech in which speakers cannot host events at A&M without the backing of a student group. Student leaders responded with pride concerning the school’s decision. Adam Key, BTHO Hate organizer, who planned one of the original counter-protests, said he and his organization felt the Aggie Spirit come alive when the BTHO Hate response was announced. “We applaud the university’s decision to cancel the event for the safety of all involved,” Key said. “At the same time, File we are touched by the support and dedication of the members Demonstrators gathered on campus to protest Richard of the Aggie community and beyond. We plan to keep that Spencer speaking in the Memorial Student Center. momentum going by holding our own event.” Eighteen hours after A&M canceled the event, Wiginton celed events put on by white nationalists. sent his own response announcing his plans to pursue legal Wiginton sent out one last release stating his intention to action against A&M and the potential of marching on a street not move forward with his plans of marching through a public next to campus. street near A&M’s campus. However, Wiginton said he still plans to move forward with plans to take A&M to court over Where we are and what is to come this issue. A&M’s decision was both swift and controversial. Although Yet again, A&M was forced to enter into a national converit garnered support from the public, there are those who be- sation surrounding free speech, white nationalism and how a lieve canceling the rally and denying their speech could be public university handles hate groups coming to campus. a step towards fueling the white nationalist fire and their atWhile it is unclear how the situation will unfold going fortempts to recruit young people to their cause. ward, The Battalion is committed to reporting what will come Since A&M’s cancellation, Southeastern Conference schools next. University of Florida and Louisiana State University both can-
“I will never know what it is like to be a student of color at Texas A&M University and in this world, but I acknowledge that this rally, offensively hosted on September 11th, signifies hatred,” Brooks said. “As Aggies, we are better than people who attempt to derail our safety and our right to receive an education.” Brooks would voice the words most students were writing across all social media platforms. His ideas were not contained to current students. Kathryn Greenwade, vice president of The Association of Former Students would go on to tell The Eagle that The Association received about 50 to 100 phone calls from former students condemning the event. “They don’t want this group associated with Texas A&M,” Greenwade said. At 4:52 p.m. on Aug. 13, Wiginton again broke news by sending out a release stating “alt-right” leader Richard Spencer would return to Texas A&M for the rally. The events that followed The next day, Aug. 14 around noon, the Texas House of Representatives would call on A&M administration to cancel the event. This would give A&M administration the backing needed to securely and confidently cancel this rally. Three hours later, Texas A&M System Chancellor John Sharp announced the school would not host the rally. As the public waited for an official comment from the university, current students celebrated the cancellation of the event on social media. However, there were a few students
File
Legal ramifications of A&M’s decision to cancel the white lives matter rally may continue over the coming weeks.
LAW CONTINUED “What they’ve said is the First Amendment doesn’t apply to white people,” Wiginton said. “We are in a new era of civil rights and it will be white people fighting for their rights.” In a press release from Aug. 14, the university cited concern over the safety of the public as the reason for the cancellation. Texas A&M University School of Law professor Lynne Rambo, who specializes in constitutional law, said that if Wiginton were to file a suit, his case could be valid. “I think he has a relatively good argument, because I’m not confident that the university can rely on the violence that happened in Charlottesville as a given,” Rambo said. Rambo stated that under the First Amendment, you cannot punish a speaker for the listener’s reaction, the exception being unless the speaker used words that would push the average person to violence. “The important part is that fighting words can only happen if they are directed at the hearer,” Rambo said. “The type of words spoken in Charlottesville were probably fighting words,
STUDENTS CONTINUED Two days after the announcement, Chancellor Sharp barred the white lives matter rally, a decision made due to safety concerns. In its place, BTHO Hate will be turned from a counter-protest to a rally to signify that hate is not welcome at A&M, whether it be through acts of racial violence or hatred in the everyday lives of Aggies, according to a press release by communication doctoral student and organizer Adam Key. “Now that that has been canceled, we want to keep the momentum going to speak out against hate on campus, but do so in our own rally,” Key said. “We plan on bringing in speakers from underrepresented groups to talk about their experiences and overall just encourage diversity and inclusion, but also bring people to be more aware of the hate that people experience in their everyday lives.” Before Monday’s cancellation of the white lives matter rally, Key had planned BTHO Hate to serve as a counter-protest, similar to the original event in December of last year. “The first BTHO Hate happened in December when Richard Spencer came here, we had close to 1,500 people, by some estimates, come out,” Key said. “It was Saturday, and I was just watching the horrific events happening in Charlottesville, Virginia and that’s when I got the text that they were coming back.” Key said he immediately took action. Within 30 minutes, he was preparing the next BTHO Hate event with the previous organizers. “Within about half an hour I was on the phone talking to the people who helped organize the [last BTHO Hate event] in December about getting this going again,” Key said. Political science senior and Feminism 4 Aggies President Veronique Placke said that the cancellation of the white lives matter rally was the right decision based on reflections of the events that occurred in Charlottesville. “I think it’s great that the school canceled the event,” Placke said. “I think that’s definitely what they should have done, not because people’s freedom of speech should be censored or anything like that, but because the acts in Charlottesville were very violent - why wouldn’t that necessarily happen this go around?” Interdisciplinary studies senior and Feminism 4 Aggies social officer Hayley Peters said she shared the same viewpoint as Placke. “I think A&M did the right thing,” Peters said. “I think that a lot of people are claiming that its censorship of speech, but if they hadn’t been violent in Virginia I think they’d have been allowed to come to our campus, and so I think they got their own foot in their mouth. I think free speech is allowed, but there will be consequences to your free speech.” Placke said that remaining silent is not the way to handle any acts of white supremacy, and is in support of the BTHO Hate rally. “Being silent is not the answer,” Placke said. “That only lets their message reach who it needs to reach in order for them to grow in numbers.” Placke also said “maybe every day should be ‘BTHO Hate’ day because that’s what we should be doing.” Prospective graduate student Madeline Kasper said on Mon-
but to qualify legally, fighting words must be directed at a specific audience.” It appeared that a large portion of the university’s worry came from Wiginton’s press release for the rally, which he titled “Today Charlottesville, Tomorrow Texas A&M.” The press release was sent out around 11:57 a.m. on Aug. 12, before major violence broke out in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia. Rambo said that the title could not be considered “fighting words,” as it was directed at a general audience, not a specific group. Rambo said that unless the university could prove that violence was almost absolutely certain, the court would have a hard time upholding the lawfulness of A&M’s canceling of the rally. “Preventing speech before it happens, as opposed to punishing it after it happens, is prior restraint and the courts presume that such restraints are unconstitutional,” Rambo said. Rambo said that the court will want to know that violence will occur, and what the university plans to do to prevent it, because if the court didn’t demand that, anytime the state didn’t want anyone to speak, they could claim ‘fear of violence.’ Rambo said the case would be a close call, assuming an unbiased court. “It’s a really close call,” Rambo said. “To put it in terms that litigators often say, [Wiginton] has the law, and the university has the facts.” Rambo added that the university could settle out of court, but does not believe they would. “I don’t see what the university has to gain by letting the rally go forward, although it might talk settlement just to get logistical control over the rally participants,” Rambo said. Original reports said that Wiginton had considered marching through campus anyway, but on Aug. 14, he stated he no longer planned to do so. Rambo said that if Wiginton were to march on campus anyway he could be faced with criminal trespassing charges. “Criminal trespassing could be a problem for him,” Rambo day that she read the news on Facebook about a second event at A&M involving white supremacist groups, and chose to cut A&M from her list of potential schools to attend. Kasper said that although A&M was never at the top of her list, this rally and last year’s events with Spencer caused her to reconsider enrolling at A&M. “I just think the main thing is that I don’t want to go to an institution that this has happened twice at,” Kasper said. “I don’t want to go to a school that has anything to do with white supremacy.” Kasper said even though it has been shown that a large portion of Texas A&M is against the ideals of white supremacy, she stands strong with her decision. After learning about changes made to forbid white lives matter rally, Kasper said she would still consider A&M although it was never high on her list of graduate schools. “It was more the fact that the other campuses that I’m looking at haven’t had such white supremacist or white lives matter rallies before, and the fact that Texas A&M was going to have a second one was just like the nail in the coffin as to why I was like ‘Okay, maybe I should just take it off,’” Kasper said. “Now that they’ve completely canceled in, even in the face of criticism of free speech, that is, I think, a step in the right direction.” Kasper said the university’s reaction may move her to be more likely to seriously consider A&M for graduate school. “Especially right now, the big argument is free speech versus progressive civil rights, and it’s nice to see that people won’t take free speech as penultimate, especially when it hurts an entire group of people or individual people, so to see a school that could be highly criticized by it’s actions, kind of really protect moving forward, and thinking more about racist and hate groups, and how they can affect potential students like me, it’s nice to see, and I will be much more likely to consider Texas A&M because of that,” Kasper said. Kasper said she is more concerned with the students supporting the white lives matter rally than she is the school’s perspective. “I mean, it’s hard because I know the school itself is probably against it, but the fact that there will probably also be Texas A&M students going to this and supporting what these people say is also a scary thought,” Kasper said. “And I know you have your freedom of speech, and your freedom of thought and your freedom of opinion, but I don’t want to go to a place where hatred exists.” Laura Reid, class of 2016 was agitated when she heard that there may be a second white nationalist rally on campus. “I was extremely upset that Texas A&M would allow another white supremacist event to happen on this campus, especially after all the incidents that have happened, even in recent history at Texas A&M,” Reid said. Once the rally was canceled by Sharp, Reid still thought that it was too late for the school’s reputation to be fully redeemed and left her skeptical of the future of A&M’s reactions to such events. “I think that it was important and the right thing to do for A&M to cancel that rally, but I do worry that it’s too little too late again,” Reid said. “I’m worried that it’s saying ‘no’ now but that it won’t in the future, and that Aggies on campus will
said. “That’s generally what the violation is if someone has given you a distinct warning to not be on the property, and you violate that. What would happen is that the First Amendment thing would not be in play [for the criminal trespassing charge].” Regarding the issue of A&M being a public forum, Rambo said that it’s more complicated than yes or no. “Universities are not just public forums at large,” Rambo said. “But space on universities can become a public forum if they allow people to use it for speech. If it’s not considered a public forum, then the university has a much lower standard of proof, with respect to banning the speech.” Rambo went on to say that with these facts, the case would come down to whether A&M’s decision to cancel was based on concerns of violence or not. “Even so, on these facts, the case will come down to whether the university’s decision is based on real concerns about violence and disruption on campus that it truly cannot prevent, or on disapproval of the viewpoint expressed by the white supremacists,” Rambo said. Rambo said that, at the end of the day, if A&M makes a case for not being able to prevent violence, she does not believe a court would make A&M allow the rally to happen. “I suspect that a court would not make a university endure violence on its campus,” Rambo said. Rambo also said that the case would come back to if there was reasonable proof that violence would occur. “At some point, someone is going to have to find a limit to that, so that people don’t get stripped of speaking freely,” Rambo said. Rambo said any case brought would be brought in federal court because the free speech issue presents a federal question. If the suit were to be filed, it would be an injunction under U.S Code Title 42, Chapter 21, Subchapter 1, Section 1983, which deals with the issues regarding free speech. Rambo said that this is the most common action taken regarding a state constitutional violation. The Texas A&M legal team declined to comment.
File
Over the past week, many students have voiced their opinions on the events planned and canceled on campus.
continue to fear for their safety because they have to worry about consistency from their university.” Reid said the legal bounds of the rally are not a legitimate reason to allow a hate group on campus. “Nonviolent compromise requires both sides to respect each others rights and humanity,” Reid said. “So, there is no such thing with compromise with white supremacists. You either support or enable them, or you’re purposely fighting back. I think that it’s heinous to frame genocide and ethnic cleansing as legitimate political decision. As long as we frame the violence of oppressed groups fighting back as being just as bad as violence perpetrated by oppressive groups, we are never going to move forward in this country.” Based on the values Aggie’s follow every day, Reid said she does not want to see Aggies to begin condoning white nationalist ideals. “I would like the university to tell Aggies which Aggie value says that we support white supremacy, because I’m not aware of one,” Reid said. “I think that if A&M wants to use it’s ‘Be fearless’ motto then that needs to include being on the forefront of saying there are certain things that are not okay, and
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The Battalion | 8.21.17
Former students host “Saving Galveston,” rebuild historic Galveston homes Couple saves local houses through their own busniess “Saving 1900” By Tenoch Aztecatl @tenochaztec
Special to The Battalion
The first historic home renovated by “Saving 1900” is now owned by a local Novelist Ann Weisgarber.
Two former Texas A&M University at Galveston students, Michael Cordray, Class of 2006 and his wife, Ashley, Class of 2009 have returned to Galveston, Texas to reclaim and showcase the island’s history in their HGTV pilot, “Saving Galveston.” From working corporate jobs just a few years ago to officially starting their company, Save 1900, the Cordrays are no strangers to taking risks to achieve their goals. Before officially opening Save 1900, Michael was often encouraged by his wife to quit his corporate position in order to chase their dreams. “Ashley probably asked me everyday for about a year or year and a half when I got home from work, if I quit my job today,” Michael said. “I don’t know many wives that ask that.” Shortly after establishing their company, the calls and messages began to come from production companies affiliated with HGTV. “Finally I just decided to quit the
job because we wanted to start working on more,” Michael said. “And then just two, three weeks later, one of the production companies called. We were talking to 15 to 20 production companies in a week, out of the blue.” HGTV production companies were in search of coastal homes selling for less than $500,000, which can only typically be found in specific regions of the United States. “It’s really limiting on the east coast and the west coast,” Ashley said. “So I think it really drove [HGTV] down here and we got a ton of calls that week.” The show follows the couple throughout their creative process of planning and restoring historic Galveston homes, while also sharing useful tips for home restoration. Galveston is also home to one of the largest concentrations of pre-1900 built homes in the nation. Will Wright, director of communications and special events for the Galveston Historical Foundation said that efforts such as “Saving Galveston,” bring attention to Galveston and all that it has to offer and are finally giving the city the recognition it deserves. “[Saving Galveston] is a great way to educate people or showcase to people
outside of Galveston what all is down here,” Wright said. “It’s the kind of thing that advertising can’t buy.” Since “Saving Galveston” is still aired as a pilot, the couple will know the status of their show sometime in mid to late August. If the show receives the “green light,” it will be aired as a full series on HGTV. In the meantime, Ashley and Michael Cordray will continue to grow their company and restore homes throughout Galveston. They are currently working on three projects throughout the city and have five or six projects pending, should they receive the “green light” from HGTV. Whether the couple is able to continue airing “Saving Galveston” or not, the exposure from the show has presented a number of opportunities for both “Save 1900” and the city of Galveston. “It’s all about just making the town as good as it possibly can be,” Michael said. “It’s all about Galveston. The attention from the show could really be great for Galveston.” Michael said that if they are able to continue the show, viewers will definitely be seeing some maroon and white on their TV, but for now he will just have to settle for flashing his Aggie Ring.
Rachel Grant — THE BATTALION
The different indentions found on Red Solo Cups mark various measurements for types of alcoholic beverages.
Alcohol prevention in Bryan-College Station Programs offer assistance to those under the influence By Kylee Reid @CoastalAg
Meredith Seaver — THE BATTALION
Redshirt freshman Nick Starkel (left) and senior Jake Hubenak (right) continue to battle for the starting quarterback spot.
Putting the pieces together Aggies still forming two-man depth chart ahead of season opener By Alex Miller @AlexMill20 Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin has been consistent in announcing a starting quarterback around the same time in previous seasons, but with under two weeks to go until kickoff against UCLA, the Aggies’ starting signal-caller has yet to be named. Sumlin said after Saturday’s practice the change in preseason schedule has played a part in the delay. “Somebody will run out there against UCLA,” Sumlin said. “We’ll figure it out, I think we have a pretty good idea of where we’re out right now. When the time’s right we’ll do that.” The Aggies have also yet to release a two-deep depth chart, but Sumlin said that it too will be announced soon as the team completes its fourth scrimmage Sunday night. “Right now, we’ve got a pretty good feel for that. I want to give these guys another real open scrimmage [Sunday] to really get everybody off the field, get into Kyle Field,” Sumlin said. “Last Sunday we went 126 plays, so that was a big one, which is a lot.” After going 60 plays in a condensed scrimmage this past Thursday and 70 the Thursday before,
Sumlin gave an idea of how the final evaluation session would be scripted. “I would anticipate [Sunday] night being somewhere in between, it won’t be 120 something, but it won’t be 60,” Sumlin said. “It’ll give us a last real evaluation of guys for what they’ve learned from installation and how they’re playing, then next week start to move onto really the 65-70 guys that are going to be travelling.” Heading into the fourth scrimmage, however, Sumlin said he and his staff know where the majority of their players stand. “We really have a good idea right now who those guys are going to be, who those back-ups are and what the plan is to rotate them and live with,” Sumlin said. The key moving forward will be getting the back-ups inclined to play decent amounts of plays in hopes of not wearing down key players as much. “Instead of just Armani [Watts] playing 70 plays a game. If he can get back to 50 and we get some snaps out of that second group and have confidence in putting them in,” Sumlin said. “You take your best guy out, you put a young guy in there and you’re always nervous, but you’ve got to do that because game 8, 9, 10, he’s played 5,000 plays if he’s playing 50 snaps a game. If he’s at game 10 and he’s playing 70, it just adds up.” A&M kicks off its season against UCLA on Sept. 3 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
I’ve only had a few drinks — I’m fine. Words like these can lead to bad situations. Tickets, arrests, long court battles, injuries even death. While this may not be what comes to mind when thinking about a night out, they can be very real outcomes if a person is not careful and does not plan ahead. Watch UR BAC, a program through Texas A&M Agrilife Extension and funded through TxDOT, is trying to educate individuals about alcohol awareness. Their main focus is educating adults and youth about blood alcohol concentration, or BAC, and the effects it may have on the body. Watch UR BAC program manager Bobbi Brooks said the program revolves around the concept of friends watching out for friends, especially in terms of drugs and alcohol. “Whether it be designating a sober driver, knowing what your BAC is and in that knowing what’s in a standard drink, we want people to know what a standard drink looks like,” Brooks said. “Just because it’s in one container does not mean it’s one drink.” Brooks said an aspect the program tries to push is the danger of alcohol poisoning and the existence of the 911 Lifeline Law, designed to allow minors to report incidences of alcohol poisoning. According to the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission, the 911 Lifeline Law prevents a person under 21 from being charged by the police for possessing or consuming alcohol if they take a person to receive emergency treatment or call 911 due to possible overdose of alcohol. To be protected by the law, the minor must be the first one to request emergency medical assistance for the possible alcohol overdose (either themselves or another person), stay on scene until help arrives and cooperate with authorities. “It’s not a ‘Get Out of Jail Free card’ for everyone there,” Brooks said. “It’s simply designed to reward the person
who did the right thing and help save lives.” In addition to driving while intoxicated and alcohol poisoning, the issue of public intoxication is also prevalent among college students. University Police Department Lt. Bobby Richardson said that public intoxication is defined as the point of intoxication during which you are either a danger to yourself or others. “Sometimes we find them in weird places,” Richardson said. “Sometimes they don’t know where they’re going, usually it’s in large groups right around 2 a.m. when the bars close.” Richardson said for law enforcement officials, there are not a lot of routes officers can take when dealing with an overly intoxicated individual. “The law only allows us to do a couple of things in these situations — we can arrest you, we can release you to a sober individual or we can take you to a treatment facility,” Richardson said. “So essentially we’re going to arrest you or release you to a sober individual. That’s our only two choices.” Richardson said that one of the biggest tips he can offer is to stay with a group when you are intoxicated. “What we see a lot of is a drunk person by themselves and our only choice is to arrest them,” Richardson said. “So stay in groups, stay with a sober individual and plan a ride ahead of time.” With planning rides ahead, services like Texas A&M University CARPOOL provides students and members of the Bryan-College Station community with options for a free ride home. CARPOOL deputy director of public relations and health senior Leticia Hernandez said that CARPOOL is a non-profit that provides a free, safe and nonjudgmental ride home on Thursday, Friday and Saturday between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. during the fall and spring semesters. “We’re not here to judge,” Hernandez said. “All we care about is that people are safe, responsible and don’t get behind the wheel when they’re intoxicated.” For more information on Watch UR BAC or other alcohol or drug safety related topics, visit watchurbac.tamu.edu or call 979-693-9905.
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The Battalion | 8.21.17
Texas A&M to mandate sexual assault training for all students The university will require all students to complete new online training program known as Haven By Savannah Mehrtens & Brad Morse @SJMehrtens & @bradsmorse53
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ew for 2017, Texas A&M will require all students, at all levels and at all campuses, to complete an online sexual assault training program called Haven. Haven is an online training module for students, faculty, and staff to help educate about and prevent sexual assault. Program Director at Sexual Assault Resource Center Tracey Canalog worked together on the training as part of the sexual assault survivors services committee led by Kristin Harrell. Haven training modules teach what students should do in the case that they see something happening or they themselves are involved in such events and follows the Green Dot training modules already on campus. “A lot of people don’t know what is really available to them, they don’t know the rights that victims of violent crimes have...so part of this training is to let the students, faculty and staff know that there are resources both on and off campus,” Canalog said. Heaven follows about the resources available to them and how to help their fellow Aggies. “There’s a lot of great things happening on campus to reduce risk, but also
these are some things you can do as a friend,” Canalog said. “That way if they turn to you and say ‘this is what has happened to me, I don’t know what to do’ that you as their friend would be able to point them in the right direction as well.” Haven is just one of many sources on campus for sexual assault awareness, prevention and assistance. “One of the great things about this training is that we are putting a lot of the myths out there to rest,” Canalog said. “This whole module was put together collaboratively by various organizations and leadership from different parts of A&M, and the collaboration that has happened to make this possible is overwhelmingly amazing for these survivors to have...that is
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definitely showing one of those Texas A&M is taking a stand against all of the harm that is being done to people.” Title IX Coordinator Jennifer Smith said that all students will be required to take the training, including graduate students, and law students. The training is given in two parts, with a mandatory 30-day break between the two sections. The first section must be completed by Sept. 22, and the second one by Nov. 17. If a student fails to complete the training, a registration hold will be placed on the student’s account. “The university has the authority to set behavioral expectations and to uphold them,” Smith said. “This training is our way of communicating what those expectations are to our students. In other words, if students don’t know or understand the behavior that we are trying to prevent, then we won’t be very effective at preventing it. So this is our way of making sure that all students are aware of what our expectations are.” Harrell said that while students can request an exemption from the training, each request is handled on a case-by-case basis. Students reaction has been mixed, with some saying they are in favor of it, while others say it is superfluos and criticize the difficulty of getting an exemption from the training. Feminism 4 Aggies public relations officer and psychology junior Marina Castañón-Villarreal said that she hopes to see the lessons learned through the program will stay with future A&M graduates and students.
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Grounded in History A background on Texas A&M’s buildings and statues By Brad Morse @bradsmorse53 JOHN DAVID CROW STATUE
FRANCIS HALL
Brad Morse — THE BATTALION
Austin Patterson — THE BATTALION
Twelve feet tall and cast in bronze, the statue of John David Crow, Class of 1958, stands in front of the north side of Kyle Field. Shaped by Steven Whyte, an artist based in California, the statue was dedicated in 2010 and originally stood in front of the Bright Complex, before being moved to in front of Kyle Field in 2015. Crow became the first Aggie to win the Heisman in 1957. Crow played for the Aggies from 1955-57, then played in the NFL for 11 years. After his playing career, Crow entered coaching, but returned to A&M in 1983, when he served as the assistant athletic director from 1983-88, and athletic director from 1988-93. Crow was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1976. Crow passed away on June 17, 2015, in hospice care in Bryan, Texas, at the age of 79.
Francis Hall, built in 1918, was originally the primary building for the School Of Veterinary Medicine. The building then fell vacant, and the university chose to repurpose it. Francis Hall now holds the university’s construction science department. Facilities include a safety lab, student lounge, conference room and exposed structural systems to provide examples of construction to students. The building is noted by its historical marker for its “distinctive Romanesque style” and its exterior “Doric and Ionic capitals.” The building underwent a multimillion dollar renovation in 2014, and reopened in January of 2015. The building is named after Mark Francis, who served as a veterinary sciences professor, and later as dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine.
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The Battalion | 8.21.17
Religious locations in the Bryan-College Station area
The All Faiths Chapel is one of many Religious worship areas located on and around campus. Austin Patterson — THE BATTALION
An overview on churches and worship centers avaliable to residents By Mariah Colón @Mariahcolon18 For incoming students, transitioning to a new worship location in a new city can feel like a huge leap. However the many religious locations on campus and around the College Station area can help make the transition as smooth as possible. On Campus: All Faiths Chapel The All Faiths Chapel is staffed by various ministers, rabbis, priests and other religious leaders from 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The chapel can be found next to Beutal Health Clinic and is avaliable for all students to use. More information on staff and cahpel hours can be found at studentlife.tamu. edu/sas,campusministry Prayer and Meditation Room Located on the fifth floor in Evans Library, the all faiths prayer and meditation room is a place for students to think, meditate and pray on campus. The room houses a variety of religious texts, chairs and prayer rugs for student use.
Breakaway Held every Tuesday on campus, Breakaway is a non-denominational worship practice that connects students to local churches and other community members. For schedules and more information about Breakaway visit breakawayministries.org. Off Campus: Calvary Fellowship and Central Baptist Church Calvary Fellowship has service Sundays at 10 a.m. and prayer meetings Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. More information on can be found at www.calvarybryan.org. Central Baptist Church has service Sundays at 9:45 a.m. and a 24-hour prayer line at 776PRAY. More information can be found at centralbcs.org. Grace Bible Church Grace Bible Church has service Sundays at 9:15 a.m. and 11 a.m. More information can be found at grace-bible.org. St. Mary’s Catholic Church Boasting the largest Catholic student population in College Station, St. Mary’s Catholic Church has mass Saturday at 5:30 p.m., Sunday at 8 a.m., 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. More information can be found at aggiecatholic.org.
First Christian Church Disciples of Christ and Brazos Valley Church of Christ First Christian Church Disciples of Christ has service Sundays at 10:45 a.m. More information can be found at firstchristianbcs.org. Brazos Valley Church of Christ has service Sunday at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. More information can be found at brazosvalleychurchofchrist.com. St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church and St. Thomas Episcopal Church St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church has various service times that can be found at www.standrewsbcs.org. St. Thomas Episcopal Church also has various service times that can be found at stthomasbcs.org. Texas A&M Hillel and the Congreation Beth Shalom Texas A&M A.I. & Manet Schepps Hillel Center offers various services to worshipers. More information can be found at tamuhillel. org. The Congregation Beth Shalom has Shabbat services twice a month and religious school Sunday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. More information can be found at cbsbcs.org. Bethel Lutheran Church and Holy Cross Lutheran
Bethel Lutheran Church has various services that can be found at blcbcs.org, and Holy Cross Lutheran has various service times that can be found at holycrossbcs.org. Covenant Presbyterian Church Covenant Presbyterian Church offers Sunday school at 9:15 a.m. and has service at 10:30 a.m. Sundays. More information can be found at covenantpresbyterian.org. A&M United Methodist and Aldersgate United Methodist Service times for A&M United Methodist can be found at am-umc.org and service times for Aldersgate United Methodist Church can be found at aldersgatecs.com. Islamic Community of Bryan-College Station The Islamic Community of Bryan-College Station (ICBCS) welcomes the Muslim population living in the B-CS area as well as anyone interested in Islam. The ICBCS hosts events year round but prayer schedules and Weekend Islamic School times can be found on the ICBCS website at icbcs.org. Friday khutbah takes place at 1:35 p.m. and a second khutbah takes place at 12:10 p.m.. This brief list of worship centers does not cover all of the places of worship offered in the Bryan-College Station area.
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The Battalion | 8.21.17
ATHLETES CONTINUED to watch the events unfolding in Charlottesville, Virginia without doing or saying something about it. His intentions with his actions are to use his platform to create a dialogue. “I want to bring up those issues and create those conversations and get people off their butt and go out and try to act and fix the problems and go out and work with people of different races, different colors, different sexes, different genders, whatever it is, just go out and try to find out how to help instead of being a problem and sitting back and being silent,” Bennett said. “I think at this point, if you’re silent right now, you’re being dishonest about the truth of what’s going on.” There is sentiment by some people across the nation that not standing for the national anthem is a disrespect to current and former service members. Bennett said that he and his brother Martellus, also a former Texas A&M football player, have several family members in the military, including their father and mean no disrespect. “I would say I honor the military every time I see them, and at this point, like I said, I’m actually not dishonoring the contributions that they made if somebody loses their life,” Bennett said. “I’m actually trying to honor that. I’m honoring the freedom and liberty that they’ve fought for to be able to have that. That’s the thing I’m really trying to honor. I’m not trying to dishonor the flag. I’m more about the principles, honoring the principles that America was built on and it’s the liberty, freedom and justice.”
Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION
Former A&M quarterback Trevor Knight spoke on behalf of the student athletes at Aggies United last December.
al In the Seahawks’ second preseason game, Bennett once again sat during the national anthem, this time with teammate Justin Britt standing next to him in solidarity. When asked about it, Britt simply stated he wanted people to notice. “That’s kind of the purpose: to make people notice you and make them not ignore it,’’ Britt said. As for Bennett, he said he will continue to sit until he sees equality and freedom across the country.
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“With the new generations of people coming in hopefully it will just be eradicated, hopefully on all college campuses but maybe just at A&M,” Castanon said. “I think even if it helps one person or a small group of people understand what sexual harassment really is and how they can help other people and prevent it, I think in my opinion that’s awesome, even if it just helps one person.” Aerospace engineering senior Angel Castrellon had a different view of the training, saying that while wasn’t in favor of the training, he understood why the school is doing it. “It’s the school’s way of covering their bases in case something does happen, so they can say ‘we told them not to and we have stuff in place to prevent and address situations like this’,” Castrellon said. Castrellon criticized the training, saying he feels that the school is putting its own agenda in place, without the student body getting a say. “The idea is completely benign. The school can apply whatever requirements they deem necessary, and the employee has the freedom to go elsewhere,” Castrellon said. “The only potential I would see for contradiction is if taxpayer money is going toward this, then I would be more interested in the content of the course.” One of the common student complaints was the language of the announcement, which indicated that returning students did not need to complete the training. Despite that, all students are required to do so. “We realized the language was misleading, but we knew that we were going to send another email out closer to fall, and we will clarify it then,” Harrell said.