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Before his death, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi had been living in the U.S.
‘Chilling effect’
A&M professors offer perspectives on murder of Saudi Arabian journalist By Katie James @kaytayjames
Josh Gleason — THE BATTALION
The paper used in Jenn Hassin’s “Respect” exhibit is made by hand from recycled military uniforms.
CREATING A COMMUNITY OF RESPECT Artist encourages reflection, interaction with exhibit in Langford’s Wright Gallery By Meagan Sheffield @mshef350 Air Force veteran and artist Jenn Hassin encourages the community to reflect on the meaning of respect in her newest art exhibit. “Respect” is on display in the Wright Gallery in Langford Building A until Oct. 29, featuring five separate pieces. Hassin rolls up handmade paper made from recycled military uniforms to create her art. The interactive piece “Intention” allows visitors to write what respect means to them, roll their paper up and add it to the piece. Hassin said she hopes her art will encour-
age others to live by a set of principles and work together with others. “It seems as though core values and respecting one another, no matter what your personal differences may or may not be, is kind of an afterthought [for many people],” Hassin said. “I wanted to take this opportunity of exhibiting my work and push this idea of respect, along with other core values, to the student body. I wanted to bring a platform for students to engage and think about respect for a moment.” Hassin said writing is an important part of her life, and she wanted to create something that others could contribute to. “I find that the practice of sitting down and putting my thoughts, wants, worries and wishes down on paper makes that invisible thought something tangible,” Hassin said. “By having individuals add to the piece, my
intention was to bring this practice up to those who participated.” Hassin was a dental technician in the United States Air Force. She attended St. Edward’s University and was working to become a dentist when she discovered her interest in art. “I took a ceramics class and instantly fell in love with the fact that I could take mud and then turn it into artwork,” Hassin said. “I was a natural at working with the material and decided to switch my major to art after that semester. I knew it was the right way for me to be able to make work with the intention of making a difference in this world that we live in.” Hassin’s other works have also centered around the military and government. Her piece titled “Letters of Sacrifice” is
After Jamal Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on Oct. 2 and never emerged, the Saudi government is offering an explanation that does not satisfy the rest of the world. A permanent U.S. resident, Khashoggi had been using his platform as a writer for The Washington Post to criticize the Saudi government. He visited the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain divorce papers that would enable him to remarry. His Turkish fiancée waited outside the consulate but never saw him again. The Saudi government initially denied that anything happened to Khashoggi in the consulate, but early Saturday, it released a statement claiming he had died in a fistfight and that 18 Saudi suspects had been arrested. They deny that the killing is connected in any way to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman or King Salman, according to the Associated Press. Gregory Gause, professor of international affairs and head of the International Affairs Department at the Bush School of Government and Public Service, said he was surprised to hear about Khashoggi’s death. “It’s uncharacteristic of Saudi Arabia to do something this high profile,” Gause said. “They are not kind to dissidents at home, but the JOURNALIST ON PG. 2
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Jesse Everett — THE BATTALION
Senior defensive lineman Kingsley Keke said facing Nick Fitzgerald will be a challenge.
Rested and ready Aggies look to earn their second consecutive SEC road game win By Abigail Ochoa @AbigailOchoa88
summer and said her projects required practical problem-solving skills. “For example, some customer is walking around Walmart and if there is some water on the ground, they might fall and break their leg,” Yuan said. “There are cameras on the ceiling so it will detect if there is water on the floor and it will automatically let the employees of the Walmart know and to remove the water so it will be safer.” Yuan said the goal is to help students through hands-on experience and develop useful tools that may also improve upon the work that Walmart is already doing. Walmart has also sponsored the Graduate AI course this semester and will provide the top 10 students in the course’s project competition with an interview for an
After a restful and rejuvenating bye week, the No. 16 Texas A&M football team is eager to show the changes it has made in practice and its ability to tack on another win on the road against a tough SEC opponent. The Aggies made the most of their off week, enjoying a Monday without practice and a weekend free of competing on the field. “I was able to go home,” tight end Jace Sternberger said. “I got to watch my little brother — they had a game Friday night. Then Saturday, I just watched football. [I got to] be a regular person for awhile. It was nice.” Despite the week of rest, A&M made sure to get back to the basics during practice, in hopes the team could clean up offensive and defensive errors made in the beginning of the season. “We did a good job as far as our work ethic and getting better on ourselves,” head coach Jimbo Fisher said. “We worked on our fundamentals — just going back to blocking, then stretch blocking, then zone blocking, then gap blocking and taking on blocks. All the things on offense and defense you don’t get enough time to do during the season.” A&M’s biggest issue on defense will be controlling Mississippi State’s veteran quarterback Nick Fitzgerald. He has 644 rushing yards on
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Walmart Dallas lab director Carlos Riojas (right) and professor Zhangyang Wang speak to Texas A&M graduate students.
Artificial intelligence on aisle two A&M researchers partner with Walmart on video surveillance tech By Henry Mureithi @HenryMureithi5 Collaborations between Texas A&M and the Walmart Technology Office in Plano are underway to introduce artificial intelligence technologies to the supermarket giant’s operations. Walmart hopes to find new techniques to build digital and analytical solutions that will improve current internal processes. This work is a continuation of previous joint ventures between A&M computer researchers and Walmart developers, said assistant professor of computer science Zhangyang Wang.
“Walmart would like to increase their visibility among students interested in [AI and Machine Learning] careers,” Wang said. “Walmart’s Dallas Lab has been collaborating with me for a while.” Wang is working with Ph.D. candidate Ye Yuan to write a paper focused on person re-identification, or person re-ID. This concept uses AI in video surveillance to detect and track whether a person of interest has been observed in another place and time by another camera. It could be used at Walmart to maintain public safety or obtain data through customer tracking. “[They are] computer vision projects,” Yuan said. “We collaborate with Walmart to help to Walmart to better serve the customers.” Yuan interned at Walmart’s lab over the