THURSDAY, JANUARY 20 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2022 STUDENT MEDIA
Win for West Campus via MSC WBAC
Keynote speaker Molefi Asante invented the idea of Afrocentricism.
15th annual MLK Breakfast honors activist’s legacy Afrocentricity theorist Molefi Kete Asante to speak at MLK Breakfast By Myranda Campanella @MCampanella_ Every year since 2007, Texas A&M students, faculty and distinguished guests have gathered in celebration of the Black community and reflected on Martin Luther King Jr.’s global impact. The 15th Annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast will be hosted on Wednesday, Jan. 26 from 9-11 a.m. by the Memorial Student Center’s Woodson Black Awareness Committee, or MSC WBAC. Moderated by Lt. Col. Stephen G. Ruth, Class of 1992, in the Bethancourt Ballroom, attendees will hear a keynote address from Molefi Kete Asante, Ph.D., while honoring King’s legacy of activism. JJ Torres, a sociology graduate student and The Village Sub-Committee director for MSC WBAC, said Asante was chosen among five candidates for this year’s breakfast for his influential ideas and impact on the Black community. Asante is known for developing his theory on Afrocentricity, which inspired a movement across the United States in the 1980s. Torres said he’s looking forward to hearing Asante share how King inspired his work. “Most people view Afrocentricity kind of with a stereotype,” Torres said. “When it was concepted it kind of blossomed a whole early ‘90s, late ‘80s movement about Afro-positivity, positive Black images. [Asante] was very influential in that ideal … [and King’s] legacy moved those ideas of justice into the mainstream.” Political science senior and MSC WBAC chair Matthew Francis, who has been involved with the MLK Breakfast since his freshman year, MLK BREAKFAST ON PG. A3
Robert O’Brien — THE BATTALION
Copperhead Jack’s is one of the new dining options available in the two-story West Campus Food Hall.
New dining location features Copperhead Jacks Houston Street Subs, soon to open third campus Chick-fil-A By Aubrey Vogel @aubrey_vogel
M
ore dining options are coming to West Campus. After seeing a need for more food options for students who frequent Texas A&M’s West Campus, the Board of Regents approved the two-story West Campus Food Hall in May of 2020 for the area located behind the Biochemistry/Biophysics building. The project will now open its doors for the first time at the start of the spring semester on Tuesday, Jan. 18 with two restaurants: Copperhead Jack’s and Houston Street Subs. More vendors will continue to open as construction finishes throughout 2022. University Dining district marketing manager Stephanie Denson said the goal of the new center is to provide a bridge between Main Campus and West Campus, and to allow for students who frequent the area to have a place to dine and hang out. “Places like this are so important to Texas A&M and college campuses in general,”
Denson said, “In order for students to have a place they can gather together, whether that is to have a meal and have college bonding experiences or to have a time for them to go to study. It’s a different atmosphere from places around campus, where you have lots of dining options in a fun and energetic atmosphere.” With no large area to gather and study on West Campus, Denson said their hope is that students can use the hall to serve as not only a place to dine, but also a place to gather with friends and study at the many outlets located near the seating area. “The seating here is actually the same amount of seating available in the food court area of the Memorial Student Center,” Denson said. “People will be able to come over here to have breakfast, lunch and dinner.” Denson said University Dining conducted student and faculty surveys to determine which restaurants would be a good fit for the area. “We encourage all of the campus community to come here because we [will] have a little bit of our national brand chains like Chick-fil-A [but] also have what we call ‘Aggieland favorites,’ like Houston Street Subs and Copperhead Jack’s, which we only have [on campus].” Copperhead Jack’s will offer new breakfast options exclusively at the West Campus location, including burritos, bowls and tacos. “Previously, Copperhead Jack’s was only
on the northside [of campus],” Denson said. “It’s our Tex-Mex concept where you can get burritos, bowls and salads. It was created by our own executive chefs and campus, and it’s a type of cuisine you can’t get anywhere else. Copperhead Jack’s will be introducing breakfast this year, which we are super excited about.” Until the new Chick-fil-A location opens in February, Denson said the food hall will have adjusted hours, with Copperhead Jack’s serving Tex-Mex favorites from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Houston Street Subs offering fresh sandwiches from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. At a later date, the hall will also have a Shake Smart. In addition to this project, the former Ag Cafe, located in the Biochemistry/Biophysics building, will sport a full Starbucks with market and a sushi location in the fall of 2022, Denson said. Students like animal science sophomore Rileigh Mabry said they are excited for the addition to West Campus. “It’s gonna help a lot of people, just convenience-wise,” Mabry said. “I’m very positive that people would go to Main Campus [to grab some food] and if their schedule had time, they could do that. But not everybody does, so if they just want something quick, that’s right there. They don’t have to go far. It’ll help out quite a few people.” Mabry said she is excited for the inWEST CAMPUS DINING ON PG. A2
Spring semester surge begins University health officials assess omicron risk in College Station By Aubrey Vogel @aubrey_vogel
Aubrey Vogel — THE BATTALION
Beginning the fall semester of 2021, COVID-19 positivity rates on Texas A&M’s campus staggered between under 1% to nearly 7%.
Since the start of the spring semester, the omicron variant has lurked in the background of campus’s day-to-day operations. Beginning the fifth semester since the outbreak of the “novel coronavirus,” Texas A&M, alongside the rest of the world, has learned to adapt and trek on as SARSCoV-2 continues to evolve. Recently, the omicron variant, which was first reported in Botswana and South Africa on Nov. 24, was confirmed in the Brazos Valley on Dec. 20. The World Health Organization has called omicron “a variant of concern” with increased risks of reinfection. Before the start of classes, the campus population had a positivity rate of 23.4% for the week ending Jan. 8. Student Health Services, or SHS, director Dr. Martha Dan-
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nenbaum said in an email to The Battalion that with the return of classes and students on campus, they expect the increase in cases on campus and in the surrounding areas. “With the return of students and faculty, we expect there to be an increase in the raw numbers of individuals who test positive for COVID-19 and influenza, just based on the large increase in the numbers of people who will be testing,” Dannenbaum said in the email. “We typically see an increase in respiratory infections from all of the various viruses after the winter break. Many of us have traveled and/or spent significant time outside of the local area, which allows us to be exposed to viruses that may be more prevalent in other parts of the country or world.” The Brazos Valley has an 8.11% positivity rate and 3,286 active cases as of Jan.18, according to the county COVID-19 dashboard. Brazos County Health District Workforce Development coordinator Mary Parrish said the county is also expecting a OMICRON ON PG. 8