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Preserving knowledge Graphic by Turner Harbert — THE BATTALION

Texas seeing fewer severe weather events Texas A&M professors explain drop in number of hurricanes, tornadoes By Marina Garcia @MarinaIsACoolB1 Recent findings show a decrease in severe weather in Texas this year. So far, the number of tornadoes and hurricanes occurring on Texas soil in 2018 have been well below average. Different factors contribute to the low number of severe weather events happening this year, according to regents professor of atmospheric sciences John Nielsen-Gammon. Since 2000, Nielsen-Gammon has served as Texas’ state climatologist. “With tornadoes, the weather patterns weren’t favorable,” Nielsen-Gammon said. “We had various severe droughts within the Texas panhandle and parts of North Texas. That’s usually where that weather occurs.” Though a similar lack of tornadoes has occurred before, Texas has seen fewer tornadoes this year than in any year on-record, said assistant professor of atmospheric sciences Christopher Nowotarski. “If you look at 2017, last year we were slightly above average for tornadoes,” Nowotarski said. “[Over] the last five to 10 years, we’ve been a little bit below average for tornadoes.” This trend of fewer tornadoes varies across other states. The Weather Channel reports that while states like Wyoming and North Dakota are exceeding their average tornado count, Texas is behind its yearly average by 90 tornadoes. Hurricanes are not a yearly trend in Texas, but across the Atlantic, the number of hurricanes are reaching the average number this year. “Nothing has hit Texas this year,” Nielsen-Gammon said. “That’s a good thing considering what happened last year [with Hurricane Harvey.]” This year, the storms that do become major hurricanes are causing more damage, Nielsen-Gammon said. “Heavy rainfall [from hurricanes] is increasing and also, because of sea level rise, hurricane storm surges are higher,” Nielsen-Gammon said. WEATHER ON PG. 4

TRADITIONS

MUSTER SPEAKER NOMINATIONS One of the most time-honored traditions at Texas A&M is the annual Muster Ceremony, which remembers all Aggies who have died over the past year. The Aggie Muster Committee selects a speaker who embodies the core values of A&M to deliver an address at the Campus Muster Ceremony. This year, the committee is inviting current and former students to send in nominations for the upcoming 2019 Campus Muster speaker. Nominees should reflect the Aggie Spirit and values, and should be submitted for consideration by Friday, Oct. 19. To nominate a speaker, visit tx.ag/2019SpeakerNominationForm.

Photos by Brandon Holmes — THE BATTALION

The Texas A&M Preservation and Conservation Laboratory maintains the university’s collection of books and artifacts.

Students and staff help restore and maintain A&M’s books and artifacts By Salvador Garcia @SalGarJr The Texas A&M Preservation and Conservation Laboratory works diligently to ensure library materials are preserved for the future. The lab is tasked with maintaining the university’s collections of books and artifacts for long-term accessibility. The lab is located on the fourth floor of the Evans Library Annex, where staff and student-workers

handle general circulation collections along with rare items from the various A&M libraries. Although the space is for staff and student-workers only, tours can be given to groups upon request. Conservator Jeanne Goodman said the type of work done in the lab is dependent on each item’s state and purpose. Books meant for everyday use are repaired with functionality in mind. “These are books that circulate; they’re not rare items,” Goodman said. “These are books that are going to go in backpacks; they’re going to go in book drops; they’re going to be open completely flat [for] students [to] look at. [The work of the lab]

protects them better and makes them easy to handle.” Rare items require specialized care to maintain the original structure so that scholars can draw conclusions by experiencing the items as they were meant to be used. “When we think of special collections, we think of it more as an artifact as opposed to a functional item,” Goodman said. “We have to make sure that we’re making contextual decisions with the item and not changing some of that artifactual knowledge.” Goodman said the lab takes every precaution — such as controlling humidity and PRESERVATION ON PG. 4

FILE

The city’s anniversary celebration will include educational booths where attendees can learn about College Station’s history.

City celebrates eight decades in Aggieland College Station prepares for 80th anniversary festivities next week By Kenedi Kruger @kenedikrug The City of College Station is set to celebrate its 80th anniversary on Oct. 21 at Richard Carter Park, the original homesite of one of the first settlers of the town. There will be booths and activities for attendees with information regarding College Station’s history, environment and culture. Organizations contributing to the celebration include the Historic Preservation Committee, A&M Garden Club, La Villita Daughters of the American Revolution, Monarch Gateway, Brazos Valley Master Naturalists and the Children’s Museum of the Brazos Valley.

Gerald Burgner, chair of the Historic Preservation Committee, said his committee took part in initiating the celebration and hopes there will be similar events in the future. “Our role was to get it started,” Burgner said. “The Historic Preservation Committee are the ones who came up with the idea. We did the 75th anniversary five years ago.” Burgner said he hopes the celebration can become either an annual event or be hosted every five years. Burgner said he encourages the public to come out and enjoy the festivities. The event presents a unique opportunity for local organizations to come together, said Jane Cohen, coordinator of the celebration. “Several groups will have historic information, and [the event] is at the homesite of the earliest settler, Richard Carter,” Cohen said. “We do have a descendant of the Car-

ter family [who will be attending.]” Cohen said there will be many activities to celebrate the city of College Station, including a table presenting Native American legends about the local plant life, a map of monarch butterfly migration and a craft table where the Children’s Museum will help children make Native American dolls. Andrea Howard, chapter secretary for the Master Naturalists, said she is excited for the group to take part in the event. The Naturalists will have a booth focusing primarily on urban wildlife. “The 80th-year anniversary will be an event where we are likely to educate the public on natural topics,” Howard said. The celebration will be free and open to the public. Cohen said many students from Texas A&M will serve as guides throughout the event.