WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2020 STUDENT MEDIA
BONFIRE REMEMBRANCE ON PG. 3
AROUND THE SEC ON PG. 4
Texas A&M reports seventh COVID-19 cluster Kappa Alpha Theta confirmed as third sorority cluster since August By Myranda Campanella @MCampanella_ Texas A&M reported another COVID-19 cluster at the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority on
Friday, Nov. 13. This is the third A&M sorority to report a cluster, following Kappa Kappa Gamma and Delta Delta Delta in August, and the seventh overall cluster reported. The Kappa Alpha Theta cluster was reported via A&M’s COVID-19 cluster notification requirement webpage, which is required by the U.S. Department of Education’s Clery Act.
A&M uses three variables to identify clusters on campus: The number of individuals who test positive for COVID-19 in relation to population size, the activities in common among the COVID-19 positive individuals and the mitigating factors, or lack thereof, that had taken place to prevent the spread of the virus, including social distancing and face coverings.
A&M reported 488 total positive cases in the week of Nov. 8-14, making it the largest number of cases reported in one week. In November, the testing positivity rate has been around eight percent with over 10,500 total tests performed so far this month. There are currently 397 active cases reported as of Nov. 14.
PUBLICATION NOTICE Next week’s edition of The Battalion will be printed on Tuesday, Nov. 24 in preparation of students leaving for Thanksgiving break. The Battalion’s last edition of the semester will be printed on Monday, Dec. 7. Over Thanksgiving break, readers can follow The Battalion on our social media feeds and on thebatt.com for breaking news and updates.
Remembering the 12 Meredith Seaver — THE BATTALION
The 2020 Bonfire Remembrance Ceremony occurred at 2:42 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18. The following week, Student Bonfire Burn will take place at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 24 and will be live-streamed.
Student Bonfire showcases Aggie Spirit, continues to honor victims of 1999 Bonfire Collapse two decades later By Lauren Discher @lauren_discher
A
s the anniversary of Bonfire Collapse approaches, students remember those who passed away in the tragedy and share how, after two decades, Bonfire still strives to embody the spirit of those fallen Aggies. At 2:42 a.m. on Nov. 18, 1999, the Aggie Bonfire collapsed, killing 12 Aggies and injuring 27. This was a time of mourning for not just members of the Aggie family but for onlookers all over the world. This year, on the 21st anniversary, many will make their way to the Bonfire Memorial to remember their loved ones or honor fellow Aggies. Bonfire began as a tradition showcasing
the Aggies’ burning desire to beat their football rivals, the Texas Longhorns. Now, Student Bonfire is no longer affiliated with Texas A&M University, but still describes itself as “the undying flame of love that every loyal Aggie carries in their heart for the school.” Student Bonfire member and recreational parks and tourism sciences junior Samantha Wright said their organization is one of the few environments where students can still get an “Old Army” feeling. “Bonfire before 1999 carried a lot of the spirit of what Aggieland was back then,” Wright said. “Everyone was a part of it, every dorm had a crew, the whole state of Texas knew what it was. Now, we do our best to carry on the spirit, but with a lot of new safety measures.” Student Bonfire member and bioenvironmental science senior Keagan Hathorn said as a result of the tragedy the organization emphasizes new safety precautions. “There’s a lot of similar hierarchy and leadership, but one of the biggest differences is that we make it a priority that every log
Meredith Seaver — THE BATTALION
A variety of COVID-19 testing locations are available for students around campus.
University urges students to test for COVID-19
included in Bonfire touches the ground,” Hathorn said. “Before, Bonfire was assembled like a wedding cake with a lot of layers that made it super tall. This looked cool but was ultimately unsafe.” On the day of Remembrance, Student Bonfire shuts down all operations. Wright said the organization encourages members to attend the Bonfire Memorial Ceremony in lieu of assembling logs. “We don’t work from the night of the 17 to the morning of the 18,” Wright said. “We go to the ceremony without anyone wearing Student Bonfire apparel because we don’t want to make it about us in any way.” Hathorn said it’s especially important to remember the young individuals who passed away because they show that life can’t be taken for granted. “There were 12 people that passed away and six of them were freshman,” Hathorn said. “They were only here for three or four months at that time. They were people just like us who had hopes, dreams, aspirations
Texas A&M is encouraging all students to get free testing for COVID-19 at any of the eight on-campus locations available this week. The university sent this information in a university-wide email on Nov. 16, following spikes in student cases and recent clusters identified in the Corps of Cadets, Emergency Medical Services and a sorority. The email stated that students should complete an online pre-registration form even if they are not on campus, test off-campus, have already tested positive or do not wish to take the test for other reasons. Chief Medical Officer for Student Health Services Tiffany Skaggs said testing is very
REMEMBRANCE ON PG. 2
TESTING ON PG. 3
Eight free COVID-19 testing options available before Thanksgiving break By Julia Potts @juliaapotts
SEC postpones A&M-Ole Miss A&M has second game delayed as some players complete quarantine protocol Staff Report
Kaylee Cogbill — THE BATTALION
Several positive COVID-19 cases and quarantine protocols within the A&M football program have caused the Nov. 21 game against Ole Miss to be postponed.
After having its Nov. 14 game at Tennessee postponed to Dec. 12 due to several positive COVID-19 cases within the football program, No. 5 Texas A&M’s Nov. 21 matchup with Ole Miss has also been postponed. The postponement is a result of the “continued quarantine of individuals within the Texas A&M football program,” according to a release from the SEC. Following the Aggies’ Nov. 7 game at South Carolina, one player and one staff member tested positive for COVID-19. Sophomore safety Demani Richardson had tested positive the week prior to the matchup. A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said during his press conference on Monday that the team currently has only one active case as one player has already been cleared of COVID-19. Though the Aggies haven’t been able to
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have a regular practice since before the South Carolina game. Fisher said he isn’t concerned about the team regressing. “They know they have a chance to have a very good season, are having a very good season, and guys like to play and push themselves when things are going well and hopefully when things aren’t going well,” Fisher said. “That’s a testament to who you are. Life is about changes, it’s about adaptation it’s about making the best out of situations. I think this is a great lesson for them in life.” While the past week has been challenging for the team, the Aggies have found a way to stay productive in preparation for the rest of the season, senior offensive tackle Carson Green said. “Last week we didn’t know if we were playing, then we found out we weren’t playing,” Green said. “The main things we’re doing now is working out and studying a lot of film just on us individually.” For Green, this week’s postponement is just another obstacle in an already bumpy year. POSTPONED ON PG. 4
TRADITION
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The Battalion | 11.18.20
REMEMBRANCE CONTINUED and had done things in high school that made them stand out as leaders. They never got the chance to live out their lives and never got to reap the benefits of going to A&M; so it’s our responsibility to do so.” Student Bonfire member and English senior Haley Wingate said the collapse shook Aggieland to its core but shaped the student body in a way that has never been seen before. “Tragedies shape us as humans, they make us face our own mortality and they change us,” Wingate said. “Our culture here at Texas A&M is built upon the idea that once an Aggie, always an Aggie, and not even death can stand in the way of that bond.” Though many people think of football and yells when they think of A&M, Wingate said these are not the only things that make the school special. “It’s the care and honor, the camaraderie and loyalty not just to our school, but to each other,” Wingate said. “When one of our own falls, we stand in honor for them and never let them fade from memory. The tragedy is held in our minds in the same way that we see the death of every Aggie we honor at Silver Taps and Muster: death isn’t the end, their spirits live on through us.” For those interested in visiting the Bonfire Memorial but will not be on campus, a virtual tour is available. The tour gives an in-depth look at the history of Bonfire and the lives of the 12 Aggies that passed away in its collapse.
Brady Stone, Editor-in-Chief Camryn Lang, Managing Editor Julia Potts, News Editor Myranda Campanella, Asst. News Editor Hannah Underwood, Sports Editor Jennifer Streeter, Asst. Sports Editor Shelby McVey, Life & Arts Editor Bec Morris, Life & Arts Editor Maroon Life Editor
Meredith Seaver — THE BATTALION
Henry Mureithi, Opinion Editor Joshua Howell, Asst. Opinion Editor Cole Fowler, Arts Editor Meredith Seaver, Photo Chief Kaylee Cogbill, Asst. Photo Chief Mitchell Beddingfield, Multimedia Editor Annie Wells, Asst. MM Editor Cori Eckert, Page Designer
The Bonfire Memorial is located off of New Main Drive. The memorial has 12 portals, representing each Aggie lost and extending in the direction of their hometowns.
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THE BATTALION is published Thursdays during the 2020 fall semester (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. News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in Student Media,a unit of the Division of StudentAffairs.Newsroom phone: 979-845-3315; E-mail: editor@thebatt.com; website: http://www.thebatt.com. Advertising: Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by The Battalion. For campus, local, and national display advertising call 979-845-2687. For classified advertising, call 979-845-0569. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Email: battads@thebatt.com. Subscriptions: A part of the University Advancement Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pick up a single copy of The Battalion. First copy free, additional copies $1.
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Mays Business Fellows Group XXXIX The Association of Former Students congratulates the 2020 Gathright Phi Kappa Phi Dean’s Excellence Award recipients.
2020 AWARD RECIPIENTS
College of agriCulture & life SCienCeS Dylan Sione ’24 Mallory Moorefield ’23 College of arChiteCture Abigail Steudtner ’23 College of eduCation & huMan deVeloPMent Alyssa Akomer ’24
Gray Beasley Kyle Beck Madeline Bookout Daisy Bousquet Bryce Boyd Robert Cantwell Travis Cantwell Emily Carlson Hojun Chae Gabriella D’Souza Lila Dineen Jonathon Dudgeon Jack Fisher Amir Harris Rachel Hutto Avery Lemmons Madelyn Luera Justis Morales
Julieta Munoz Ellie Parker Katie Patrick Jordan Puig Aabid Razvi Cecilia Reis Zachary Skrehot Abby Smith Doraime Soriano Sarah Sriram Landry Strawbridge Maggie Taylor Sergio Teague Seth Terry Zachary Turman Annie Wagner Evan Walker Trae Weber
College of SCienCe Suicide Awareness & Prevention Office
Katherine Weaver ’24 Michael Pitonak ’23 College of Veterinary MediCine & BioMediCal SCienCeS Emily Leeke ’24 Mariana Cantu ’23
ASKING ABOUT
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College of engineering Bora Oztekin ’24 Vivie Tran ’23
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NEWS
3
The Battalion | 11.18.20
Harrison Cain — THE BATTALION
The Bonfire Remembrance ceremony takes place each year at 2:42 a.m. on Nov. 18.
Bonfire Remembrance, reconfigured Aggies attend annual ceremony with added COVID-19 precautions By Julia Potts @juliaapotts On Nov. 18 at 2:42 a.m., people gathered both virtually and in person, to honor the 12 fallen Aggies of the Bonfire Collapse. Similar to Texas A&M traditions such as Silver Taps, the Bonfire Remembrance ceremony was moved from solely online delivery to online and in-person. According to Remembering Bonfire, the Bonfire Memorial was erected in 2004 in remembrance of the 12 A&M students killed in the 1999 Bonfire Collapse. The memorial includes many features such as lights along the path to the collapse site that mark each year Bonfire burned, as well as personalized portals for each collapse victim and a marker for each of the 27 people injured in the event. The Bonfire was built originally as a celebration before the University of Texas football game each year, but grew to be a tradition valued by students, according to the Remembering Bonfire website. “From its inception as a scrap heap in 1907 to the more familiar stack of vertical logs, the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Bonfire symbolized every Aggie’s ‘burning desire’ to beat the University of Texas
in football,” the website reads. The A&M Traditions Council website states the traits that went into the Bonfire Memorial embody what the tradition meant to the students. “The Spirit Ring surrounds the site of the 1999 Bonfire and represents the Aggie Spirit that unites individuals into something greater than themselves,” the website reads. “The 12 portals are oriented toward the hometowns of those who perished in the collapse. From different backgrounds, communities and beliefs, these students converged on this field, along with many of their fellow Aggies to celebrate the Aggie Spirit.” Bonfire Remembrance Committee Chair Kate Wynn said since the creation of the Memorial, a ceremony has taken place every year on the anniversary of collapse to honor the fallen Aggies. “It’s a very unique ceremony; it’s very moving and it’s a really cool part of what it means to be an Aggie, just to see how they lived out that Aggie Spirit in such a phenomenal way, and the really amazing way that we can honor them and their families,” Wynn said. Among the changes to the ceremony due to the COVID-19 precautions put in place, students were only able to stand outside of the circle containing the 12 portals, called the Spirit Ring. “We made the final decision this past week with approval to hold it in per-
son, but this year we are incorporating masks and social distancing,” Wynn said. “The most major change this year will be that the Spirit Ring will be reserved exclusively for the families of the 12.” Student Bonfire Board Member Dion McInnis, Class of ‘03, said he sees students memorializing the lost Aggies in multiple ways. “True memorial is an act,” McInnis said. “We find it in the actions of Aggies who put themselves in the boots of Aggies we lost to know them through shared experience, to live their memory, and so keep that memory alive. And we find it in the actions of Aggies who take time every year to mark the passing and honor the lives of these beloved Aggies lost. It is through these students’ actions now that the memory of each of the 12 truly lives to this day.” Below is a list of the 12 Aggies lost in Bonfire Collapse: Miranda Denise Adams ‘02 Christopher David Breen ‘96 Michael Stephen Ebanks ‘03 Jeremy Richard Frampton ‘99 Jamie Lynn Hand ‘03 Christopher Lee Heard ‘03 Timothy Doran Kerlee, Jr ‘03 Lucas John Kimmel ‘03 Bryan Allen McClain ‘02 Chad Anthony Powell ‘03 Jerry Don Self ‘01 Nathan Scott West ‘02
Kaylee Cogbill — THE BATTALION
A&M’s COVID-19 testing kiosks do not require an appointment and are open for the general public.
TESTING CONTINUED important for the university to stay updated on the state of COVID-19. “If we don’t test, we will always be at the mercy of this invisible virus until we get a vaccine or effective treatment,” Skaggs said. “If we are diligent with our testing, tracking, isolation and quarantining today, we can protect our health and opportunities tomorrow and beyond.” To prepare for COVID-19 testing, please follow the instructions below: Please pre-register at the Texas A&M COVID-19 Student Testing Program website to save time at the testing site, and bring your email verification with you or have it ready to show on your mobile device. Come to your COVID-19 test hydrated, but do not eat or drink anything 20 minutes prior to testing. If you are sick or think you might have COVID-19, please schedule your test immediately with Student Health Services or go to any walk-up Curative kiosk on campus. If you are younger than 18 years of age, please go directly to any walk-up Curative kiosk on campus. If you have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 10 days, you do not need to be tested during this testing period. The testing locations are as follows: • Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Texas 47 Campus Curative Van • Southside Dorms: Pop-Up Testing Tents • Student Rec Center, 187 Corrington Drive, Courts 5&6 • Fan Field • Maroon Kiosks: Aggie Express Commons, Mays Business School, Memorial Student Center • A.P. Beutel Health Center, Testing Tent in Parking Lot 27
Aggies have
FOUR BILLION REASONS TO BELIEVE IN TOMORROW because...
The Corps of Cadets has a new Quad. Get immersed in all things Corps of Cadets on The Quad, which underwent a major renovation during the Lead by Example campaign. The project included renovations to dorms 1 through 12, landscaping and paving, and the opening of four Leadership Learning Centers. These 17,000-square-foot facilities provide cadets with state-ofthe-art features, including group and individual study rooms, computer labs, tutoring rooms, lounges and even a Starbucks. The centers were funded through more than $20 million in private donations, including lead gifts from Susan and Michael J. Plank ’83, Stephen C. Ash ’87, H. Grady Ash Jr. ’58 and Tony Buzbee ’90. By providing a true living and learning community for cadets, the renovated Quad gives Aggies four billion reasons to believe in tomorrow.
Learn more about the campaign’s impact at leadbyexample.tamu.edu.
FOOTBALL
The Battalion | 11.18.20
AROUND THE SEC
4
A LOOK AT THE CONFERENCE IN WEEK 9
By Ryne Ryskoski @rusty_ryskoski_
SEC football returns after just three games were played last weekend after four were postponed due to COVID-19. Three ranked teams will stay at home while Florida travels to Nashville to play Vanderbilt. Meanwhile,
South Carolina will play its first game post-Will Muschamp era after it ended on Sunday when the two sides decided to part ways.
LSU (2-3) at Arkansas (3-4)
Tennessee (2-4) at No. 23 Auburn (4-2)
Saturday, Nov. 21 – Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium – Fayetteville, Ark.
Saturday, Nov. 21 – Jordan-Hare Stadium – Auburn, Ala. 6 p.m. on ESPN
11 a.m. on SEC Network The Razorbacks went into Gainesville last weekend and lost to the Gators 63-35 without head coach Sam Pittman, who did not travel with the team after testing positive for COVID-19. Still, the offense performed fairly well as quarterback Feleipe Franks threw a pair of touchdowns to receiver Michael Woods, whose two catches went for 129 yards. Running backs Trelon Smith and Rakeem Boyd combined for 20 carries and 174 yards with two touchdowns. Virtually no team in the country can handle Florida’s offense, so the Razorbacks should have their heads held high when they host LSU this weekend. Meanwhile, the Tigers
have yet to play a game since Halloween when they were on the bad end of a 48-11 blowout against Auburn. They will be well-rested, but in the grand scheme of things they’ve shown no promise of improvement. They’ve had a turnstile at the quarterback position all season, which is a stark contrast to a year ago, and their defense gives up 34 points per game which ranks fourth worst in the conference. The Razorbacks get their head coach back for a home game against the defending national champions, have more momentum and have been steady over the last month.
Other than a shocking upset to South Carolina and a loss to Georgia, the Auburn Tigers have looked fairly well especially coming off of two straight wins against Ole Miss and LSU. In his last two games, quarterback Bo Nix has thrown for nearly 540 yards and four touchdowns and has hit six different targets in each game. His good play bodes well for Auburn as the Tigers host Tennessee, who has lost four straight games since starting the year 2-0. The Volunteers have allowed 38 points per game in their four losses with the most recent one coming against Arkansas. Shockingly the Volun-
Prediction: Arkansas 27, LSU 16
POSTPONED CONTINUED “2020 has been a hell of a year,” Green said. “When spring ball [was canceled] some people were sad, some people were like, ‘Okay, no spring ball.’ Then we were like, ‘It won’t
last to the season.’ We were talking about the rollercoaster of emotions because we went from, ‘There’s no way we’re playing’ during July to ‘Oh my God, we’re going to play,’ to that one little scare when the two conferences backed out and everyone was freaking out that the SEC might crumble.”
teers’ defense sits around the middle of the pack in the SEC statistically, but Auburn’s is a tad more consistent. Tennessee played three different quarterbacks in its last game, so it’s hard to know what to expect out of that group, but running back Eric Gray is coming off a 123-yard performance against the Razorbacks, so perhaps he could be a spark plug that gives Auburn some fits. The Tigers’ next two scheduled games are against Alabama and A&M though, so don’t expect them to let Tennessee hang around for too long this Saturday, especially at Jordan-Hare. Prediction: Auburn 37, Tennessee 21
In what has been a challenging year, Fisher said getting the chance to play at all this season has been positive for the team. “Anytime you get to play ball, that’s a silver lining,” Fisher said. “Anytime you get to play and finish out your season. We were at a point this year where we didn’t think we
were even going to get to play a game. We were wondering if we were even going to have football.” According to a release from the conference, the rescheduling of this weekend’s game will be “evaluated” since A&M’s matchup with Tennessee has been moved to Dec. 12.
RINGDAY
5
The Battalion | 11.18.20
The winding road to my Aggie Ring Life & Arts writer Jacob Gauthier says his college journey gives his ring a unique meaning Jacob Gauthier
A
@StoryweaverJRG
s I look back on my time at Texas A&M, and more broadly, my time spent living in Texas, I realize how different my life has become from what I expected. I spent the first 11 years of my life in Connecticut, a land where you can experience four seasons and there are these things called mountains. I loved growing up in Connecticut, but a promotion for my mom meant our family was whisked down to Texas at the start of my seventh grade year. I decided to attend A&M because 17-year-old me thought he wanted to go to school for biology, and then go on to attend vet school. One semester in, I realized that was not the plan for me given that I hated lab work which is fundamental to a science degree. So, I entered my next year as a general studies major, desperately trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Accounting? No. Economics? No. Psychology? Maybe? Suffice it to say, I was very lost and confused by the time my sophomore year was coming to a close. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, and my time in general studies was about to expire. Finally, I decided to do what I should have done a long time ago: I asked God what path He wanted me to take. And funny enough, He answered me the day I asked. Agricultural communication and journalism. A major I had never known existed, but somehow was one that I could still get into this late in college and graduate on time. God knew exactly what He was doing.
Now here I am, only a semester away from graduation. I still don’t have all the answers or even know what my first job will be once I graduate, but I know the God who provided a way once will provide again. Getting my Aggie Ring has never actually been that big of a deal to me, probably to the horror of most Aggies. In my personal opinion, why would I want to spend a bunch of money on something I probably won’t wear that often because of how gigantic it is? But even as I write this column, I’m beginning to see getting my ring in a new light. It’s a symbol of the winding road of my college career. It’s a symbol of a turbulent time in my life, where I’m still discovering things about myself that I wish were different. But, I guess it’s also a symbol of the faithfulness of God. He’s been with me every step of the way, whether I was aware of His presence or not. Joshua 1:9 is a verse I felt like God highlighted to me for this year: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” It seems pretty fitting, given everything happening this year in both the world and in my personal life. So, when I get my Aggie Ring this Friday with one of my best friends and I look down at the piece of metal I spent an inordinate amount of money on, I can look at it in a different light. I can look at it and see the physical symbol of a promise that I never walk this journey alone. Jacob Gauthier is an agricultural communication and journalism senior and Life & Arts writer for The Battalion.
PROVIDED
Agricultural communication and journalism senior Jacob Gauthier will receive his Aggie Ring on Friday, Nov. 20 at 10 a.m.
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6
The Battalion | 11.18.20
OPINION
Aiden Shertzer — THE BATTALION
Columnist Caleb Powell considers how people can maintain relationships with others of different ideologies.
How we begin to heal Columnist Caleb Powell outlines how the U.S. can start healing from its political division
Caleb Powell
M
@calebpowell23
y best friend is Catholic. I am not. I am a person of color. She is not. She is a conservative. I am a progressive. In this day and age, our relationship would not work on paper. However, we have managed to set our political differences aside and couldn’t be closer as friends. I am thankful petty ideological disagreements don’t stand in our way, given that political polarization is increasing. Between 2004 and 2014, Republicans and Democrats saw a sharp increase in the number of people who saw the other party as a threat to the nation. Even though many news outlets have announced Joe Biden as the new president-elect, more than 80 percent of Republicans said he didn’t win legitimately according to the Economist. Even though there is still significant animosity surrounding the election, I believe we can still salvage our relationships with family, friends and coworkers. As Aggies, the best way for us to begin
healing is by expressing three of Texas A&M’s Core Values: respect, integrity and leadership. Respect is potentially the most significant of the Aggie Core Values. In the age of social media, 20 percent of American adults read most of their news on networking sites like Twitter and Facebook according to Pew Research. Concerningly, these sites often employ algorithms that prevent us from seeing conflicting viewpoints. Our inability to understand those who are different makes demonizing them all too easy. As such, many Americans have lost respect for people on the other side of the political spectrum. The first step to ameliorating this issue is understanding that people are more than their political beliefs. When I met my best friend for the first time, she was decked out in her orange and white Houston Astros jersey. Although I will always be a Red Sox fan, we swiftly bonded over our love for baseball. Even better, we’re both gigantic Star Wars nerds and Harry Potter fans. People who have different political affiliations are not our enemies. Recognizing where we have common ground is the first step to humanizing others and treating them with respect.
At some point, those good old political dinner conversations will slither back into our lives. As such, integrity will also be essential for preserving our relationships. My best friend and I have had many of these discussions over coffee. Shockingly, we still have yet to raise voices, slam doors or spit curse words at one another. I think we both go into these discussions without any expectations of changing the other’s mind. That being said, what’s most important is that we talk, not debate, in good faith. While my friend and I have a set of unspoken rules, setting guidelines for political discussions can go a long way. Furthermore, some suggest placing more of an emphasis on values and ideas rather than candidates. These steps can help turn vitriol-fueled spitting sessions into meaningful discourse. Lastly, leadership will be necessary for helping those around us heal from this divisive election. Repairing our nation isn’t something that can happen on just an individual level — we need to heal as a community. Going beyond simple discussions with family and friends, we have the tools to implement widespread change. Employers can help facilitate healthy discussions as almost 80 percent of
Americans discuss politics in the workplace according to the research firm Gartner. Furthermore, suppose your friend group starts a charged political argument. In that case, you can step in as a mediator and ensure everyone talks in a respectful manner. Setting an example is one of the most effective leadership methods, whether for our friends, coworkers or children. We show kids today that a better path can help future generations stitch the fabric of our nation together. Americans preach tolerance, and it is up to us to demonstrate it as well. My best friend thinks I’m wrong 80 percent of the time regarding politics, and vice versa. Nevertheless, she’ll give me a hug, send me memes to make me laugh and share videos on TikTok. To me, she’s more than just her conservative beliefs. She’s the girl that made me obsessed with The Last Airbender, who watches the Mandalorian with me and stands by my side no matter what. I pray more Americans can build the same interpersonal relationships and help our country start to heal. Caleb Powell is a biomedical engineering sophomore and columnist for The Battalion.
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the
ANSWERS
Athletic men for calendars, books, etc. $75-$150/hr, up to $500/day. No experience. aggieresponse@gmail.com
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Native Tombstone wording One parent in the UK Less typical Loose hemp or jute fiber City on the Mohawk Aqua ___ ___ fide (in bad faith) One year in a trunk On the safe side, at sea D.D.E.’s command Much spam
GET A FREE COVID TEST 7 TESTING LOCATIONS ACROSS CAMPUS Texas A&M is asking ALL students to get a free COVID-19 test on campus this week. With cases spiking in the U.S., Texas, and within our campus community, you can get a quick, free test to keep yourself and others safe.
AGGIE EXPRESS COMMONS
OUTDOOR KIOSK
BEUTEL HEALTH CENTER
SOUTHSIDE DORMS
POP-UP TESTING TENTS
RUDDER FOUNTAIN OUTDOOR KIOSK
MAYS BUSINESS SCHOOL OUTDOOR KIOSK
FAN FIELD
STUDENT REC CENTER
SOUTHSIDE DORMS
STUDENT REC CENTER
POP-UP TESTING TENTS
187 CORRINGTON DRIVE, COURTS 5 & 6 SOUTH SIDE (GEORGE BUSH DRIVE)
WALK-UP, NO APPOINTMENT Wednesday, Nov. 18 | 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
WALK-UP, NO APPOINTMENT Wednesday, Nov. 18 | 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
BEUTEL HEALTH CENTER TESTING TENT IN PARKING LOT 27 BY APPOINTMENT
FAN FIELD DRIVE-THRU, NO APPOINTMENT
Friday, Nov. 20 | 7:00 a.m. - noon
TX.AG/COVIDTEST
Thursday, Nov. 19 | 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 18 | 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19 | 9 :00a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20 | 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
MAROON OR BLUE OUTDOOR KIOSKS AGGIE EXPRESS COMMONS | MAYS BUSINESS SCHOOL | RUDDER FOUNTAIN WALK-UP, NO APPOINTMENT Monday through Friday | 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Miranda Denise Adams ‘02 · Christopher David Breen ‘96 · Michael Stephen Ebanks ‘03
Jeremy Richard Frampton ‘99 · Jamie Lynn Hand ‘03 · Christopher Lee Heard ‘03
Timothy Doran Kerlee, Jr ‘03 · Lucas John Kimmel ‘03 · Bryan Allen McClain ‘02
Chad Anthony Powell ‘03 · Jerry Don Self ‘01 · Nathan Scott West ‘02
We Remember
Will Nye — THE BATTALION