The Battalion - October 29, 2018

MONDAY, OCTOBER 29 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2018 STUDENT MEDIA

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Task Force 1 has been deployed to assist flood victims for the past three weeks.

Rescues amid rising rivers Texas Task Force 1 activates in response to state-wide heavy rains

By Savannah Mehrtens @SJMehrtens Due to historic flooding in Texas that started the week of Oct. 7, Texas Task Force 1 was deployed to stand guard and protect those affected by the weather.

Texas Task Force 1 was founded in 1997 by the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service with members from across the state. Their training facility and headquarters are in College Station, but teams in each region of the state are gathered and deployed during dangerous weather events. Teams work closely with local authorities and jurisdictions to assist when needed.

Throughout its history, Texas Task Force 1 has been involved in a wide variety of rescues said Stephen Bjune, public information officer for Texas Task Force 1.

“We’ve done search and rescues for the state since 1997, ranging from tornadoes in the Valley, the Aggie Bonfire collapse, the Columbia shuttle, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ike [and] Harvey,” Bjune said. “We’ve responded all across the country.”

Randy Prestage, a Texas Task Force 1 squad leader with the Gainesville Fire Department, said his squad was activated the morning of Oct. 16 and drove from Gainesville to Llano as part of the western region package sent out to the WATER RESCUE ON PG. 2

Megan Cusick — THE BATTALION

Curriculum and instruction graduate student Cassie Brawner (right) takes a customer’s order at The Junction Market and Cafe.

Caffeinating campus Cafe at Texas A&M hotel welcomes students, offers Aggie-themed drinks

By Kenedi Kruger @kenedikrug The Junction Market and Cafe offers a variety of caffeinated creations, using coffee from a former Texas A&M football player’s company.

Located in the Doug Pitcock ‘49 Texas A&M Hotel and Conference Center, The Junction offers both hot and cold beverages, along with food items such as tortilla soup and caesar salad. The cafe uses coffee from

Last Shot Xpresso, a company created by former A&M defensive back Floyd Raven after his two seasons in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cafe manager Geoffrey Candia said The Junction can function as a quick grab-andgo spot or a place for people to sit down, relax and eat. Candia said Raven often comes to visit and brings new ideas to the cafe. “[Raven] is here once or twice a week,” Candia said. “He put all of his energy into his coffee company, and he gets coffee beans from South America.”

The Junction is typically open every day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., though Candia said the cafe will sometimes stay open later on

game weekends.

Candia said he encourages people to utilize the cafe for group and individual study sessions because he believes it provides a welcoming atmosphere for students. The cafe also plans to offer discounts through the popular food and drink app Hooked.

The Junction is planning a signature coffee contest in which the cafe will take outside suggestions for new drinks. The top three drinks will be voted on by team members, and the highest selling drink will be featured on the cafe menu with the winner’s name.

JUNCTION ON PG. 2

Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION

Senior linebacker Otaro Alaka led the defense in total tackles with nine against Mississippi State.

Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION

Blocked by the Bulldogs A&M falls 28-13 against Mississippi State in Starkville for second road game loss

By Hannah Underwood @hannahbunderwoo The Aggies entered the Davis-Wade Stadium on Saturday looking to further their three-game winning streak and dispel any rumors of a late-season collapse. Their chances were dashed by one man: Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald notched four touchdowns, including two on the ground, and garnered 241 passing yards

to lead the unranked Mississippi State team in the 28-13 upset of the No. 16 Aggies. This comes one week after the senior play caller threw four interceptions in their loss to LSU, leading to speculation that he would be benched in favor of sophomore quarterback Keytaon Thompson. “[Fitzgerald] played a good game tonight,” A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher said. “He had some big throws when he had to. He made a big run or two [and] had some scrambles. He’s a really good football player and he played well against us tonight.”

Fresh off a bye week, A&M went to Starkville FOOTBALL ON PG. 3

Early voting for midterm elections lasts until Nov. 2. Election Day is Nov. 6.

Addressing apathy Professor offers insight on what motivates young voters

By Henry Mureithi @HenryMureithi5 This fall, college students and their fellow Americans have the opportunity to have their voices heard in elections across the country.

Though there has been much media

discussion as to who and how many will show up on Election Day, a lot of uncertainty still remains, especially pertaining to perennially low turnout among younger adults.

According to assistant professor of political science Ben Ogden, whether someone actually decides to vote can depend strongly on how they feel about their favored candidate and the VOTING ON PG. 2

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VOTING CONTINUED opposing candidates. “[The determinants] are basically how much they like the candidate that they would vote for if they vote — what we would call positive affect — or how much they dislike the candidate that they would vote against if they don’t vote — which is negative affect,” Ogden said. “One thing that’s interesting though is that we do know that Republicans and Democrats behave differently on this. Democrats tend to be more driven by positive affect, so to the extent that [college] students are more liberal than the general population, they tend to be driven by how much they like the candidate they are voting for.”

Ogden said the competitive United States Senate race between Rep. Beto O’Rourke and Sen. Ted Cruz is a good illustration of this dynamic. Much of the media attention surrounding O’Rourke has focused on his popular appeal, including a Vanity Fair profile that compared him to the Kennedys.

“Democrats, and to a degree liberal leaning college students, are going to be more driven by how much they like Beto O’Rourke, which is a reason why Ted Cruz to some extent has taken the strategy of trying to make O’Rourke look unlikable,” Ogden said.

Low participation among college-age voters has been a long-standing matter of discussion, with efforts from places such as MTV Rock the Vote to address what is usually perceived as an intractable problem.

Some organizations like FairVote — an advocate for electoral reform — argue that the problem is a structural one, due to issues with the ease and accessibility of voting. Others such as Voter Smart say the problem stems from a lack of voter education. Polls of young adults usually reveal a general sense of apathy toward politics.

Some of these sentiments were expressed by computer science junior Cody Maffucci, who said he has no plans to vote in the upcoming elections.

“I just don’t really know much about [the election],” Maffucci said. “I’m not that interested in it honestly. Other

people have more time to research that kind of thing and will probably make a better a decision than I will.”

Ogden said efforts to provide more information about the issues and candidates involved could lead to higher turnout among student voters.

“To some extent, if you are trying to get students to vote more, it makes more sense to kind of feed them with information about politics, because the more informed you are … the more you’re probably going to care about the candidates and where they stand on issues and therefore the more you’re likely to decide it’s worth it for you to turn out and vote,” Ogden said.

Political science Ph.D. candidate Niels Appeldorn recommended students start by learning about the topics they are most passionate about and go from there.

“Find a handful of issues which are really important to you,” Appeldorn said. “If you were to say ‘these are things that define me and should define my candidate as issue positions’ — find those and compare those.”

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THE TEXAS A&M STUDENT MEDIA BOARD INVITES APPLICATIONS FOR

Editor

Aggieland 2019

Qualifications for editor-in-chief of the Aggieland yearbook are:

REQUIRED • Be a Texas A&M student in good standing with the University and enrolled in at least six credit hours (4 if a graduate student) during the term of office (unless fewer credits are required to graduate); • Have at least a 2.25 cumulative grade point ratio (3.25 if a graduate student) and at least a 2.25 grade point ratio (3.25 if a graduate student) in the semester immediately prior to the appointment, the semester of appointment and semester during the term of office. In order for this provision to be met, at least six hours (4 if a graduate student) must have been taken for that semester; PREFERRED • Have completed JOUR 301 or COMM 307 (Mass Communication, Law, and Society); • Have demonstrated ability in writing, editing and graphic design through university coursework or equivalent experience; • Have at least one year experience in a responsible position on the Aggieland or comparable yearbook.

Application forms should be picked up from and returned to Douglas Pils, Student Media General Manager, in Suite L410 of the MSC. Deadline for submitting application: 5 p.m. Wednesday, November 7, 2018.

Megan Rodriguez, Editor in Chief Luke Henkhaus, Managing Editor Taylor Fennell, News Editor Anthony Pangonas, News Editor Jordan Burnham, Asst. News Editor Kathryn Whitlock, Life & Arts Editor Hannah Falcon, Life & Arts Editor Samantha Mahler, Asst. Life & Arts Editor

Angel Franco, Sports Editor Abigail Ochoa, Asst. Sports Editor Cassie Stricker, Photo Chief Jesse Everett, Asst. Photo Chief Daoud Qamar, Video Editor Kevin Christman, Asst. Video Editor Sanna Bhai, Special Sections Editor

THE BATTALION is published Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during the 2018 fall semester and 2019 spring 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.

Megan Cusick — THE BATTALION

Recreation, park and tourism sciences sophomore DeLanie Allen studies at The Junction on her lunch break.

JUNCTION CONTINUED David Young was part of the opening crew for the hotel and is now the lead bartender at Block T Bar, which works collaboratively with The Junction employees.

Young said he has enjoyed working at the hotel, and the employees are some of the nicest people he has worked with.

“We all work together to ensure a goal for all of us,” Young said. “We work with The Junction to come up with drink ideas.”

WATER RESCUE CONTINUED flooding site.

“We’ve just been monitoring ongoing situations as far as rainfall, the river rise and falls, whether it be minor, moderate, significant flooding,” Prestage said. “We just have teams positioned throughout the bottom two-thirds of the state of Texas for assistance so we can go out and support the local jurisdictions.”

There are about 800 members on the task force, consisting of Texas Task Force 1 based out of College Station, Texas Task Force 2 from the Dallas-Fort Worth area and Texas Task Force 1 region 3 in south Texas.

“Our teams have been deployed since pretty much Oct. 7 in response to heavy flooding and heavy rain across the state of Texas,” Bjune said. “It started with the rain out in Junction, Texas on the Llano River which caused historic flooding. Several RV Parks and homes were washed away and so we did the eventual rescues for the people that were swept away in it. Then we went back the next week with search teams to do recovery for the unfortunate four people who were missing still to find their remains so we could bring closure to the families.”

Texas Task Force 1 has also done swift water rescue, floodwater rescue and evacuations as far north as the Denton

THE BEST OF

AGGIELAND 2019

Junction barista Jalisa Johnson said she has learned a lot about the art of making coffee since being hired. The employees are always coming up with new drinks and experimenting to create new recipes.

“The Cam Special is good, and a lot of people get the Nutty Professor, which has butterscotch and dark chocolate mocha,” Johnson said. “I just tasted the Monster Mash Frappuccino. They just came up with that one.”

With the hotel located in the heart of campus, Johnson said she’s always encouraging students to visit and try something new.

area and as south as Brownsville. They have also gone as far west as Carr County and as far east as Walker and Trinity counties. In some places, it only takes half an inch of water to make it into flood conditions, according to Bjune.

“The Trinity River, the Brazos River, the Colorado River, the Oasis River and the Rio Grande River — all huge rivers with large populations that live near them have all been in various levels of flood stage because we just keep getting rain and then immediately followed by more rain and more rain,” Bjune said. “All the reservoirs and the rivers fill up and the ground gets saturated. There’s just no place for the rain to go and it just starts flooding almost immediately.”

Palmer Buck, a water group supervisor for Texas Task Force 1 from the Austin Fire Department, is responsible for managing one or more boat squads when his team goes out on missions or deployments. Buck said in the last three weeks there have been three deployments to the Texas Hill Country due to flooding, one of which was from the events in Junction.

“Turn around, don’t drown,” Buck said. “Don’t get out and travel, don’t drive through the water, that’s when you get yourself in trouble. It’s very rare that we actually have people that are actually killed in their homes. Usually it’s when they get up onto the roads and get out. It’s when they get in their cars and drive.”

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The Battalion | 10.29.18

Tide tips the scales

Aggie volleyball team falls to Alabama in fifth set of match

By Yuritzi Elizondo @aightyuri

The Texas A&M volleyball team was bested by the Alabama Crimson Tide in another five-set SEC contest at Reed Arena on Friday evening. With a third consecutive loss, the Aggies fall right behind the Crimson Tide to seventh in SEC standings.

The Aggies (12-10, 5-5) were able to lead out with a 12-7 start in the first set of the match. After the Crimson Tide (18-6, 5-5) was able to pull within two points, junior outside hitters Hollann Hans and Brookah Palmer contributed with back-to-back kills to push the Aggies out to a 20-16 lead. With effective passing and an offensive show between multiple players, A&M claimed a 25-19 win in the first set.

Through the second set, the Aggies were unable to manage defensive consistency, which allowed the Tide to take advantage offensively. After Alabama took control of a 21-11 lead, freshman middle blocker London Austin-Roark led a three point run with two blocks and a kill for what would also be the last points for the Aggies in the set.

With A&M allowing three straight errors, Alabama was able to capture the 25-14 set win.

The Crimson Tide went into the third set the same way they fin-

ished the second, with an early 7-0 advantage over the Aggies. A&M was still unable to generate effective passing and Alabama was able to control offensively to earn the 25-16 set win.

In the fourth set, the Aggies quickly found offensive momentum while establishing a 4-0 upswing, forcing the Tide to call a timeout.

With a 10-2 run led by back-toback service aces from Hans, A&M was able to rush out to 15-5.

After splitting six points, the Aggies further buried Alabama with kills from Palmer and sophomore middle blocker Makena Patterson.

A service ace from junior setter and defensive specialist Haley Slocum soon followed, and an Alabama attack error closed out the 25-14 set win for the Aggies, forcing a deciding fifth set.

A&M responded to Alabama’s early 7-2 stretch with a four-point run led by back-to-back kills from Austin-Roark and Hans to reach within one point. A kill from Patterson halted the Tide’s offensive streak, but the Aggies would fall back down to a 14-8 match-point after allowing errors and defensive faults to get in their way Despite kills from both Patterson and Austin-Roark, the Aggies were ultimately unable to fight off the match point as an Alabama kill sealed the win for the Tide.

The Aggies set out to face the Missouri Tigers for the first of three consecutive road games on Oct. 28 at 1:30 p.m. in Columbia, Missouri.

FOOTBALL CONTINUED with a 5-2 season record and a 3-1 record against conference opponents.

The Aggies struggled to get things moving on the ground against the Bulldogs, accumulating only 61 rushing yards. The passing game fared better, though it was plagued by dropped passes. Sophomore quarterback Kellen Mond completed 23 of 46 passes for 232 yards.

It was those missed opportunities that hurt the Aggies in the long run. “[Bulldogs] took advantage of their opportunities,” Fisher said. “We didn’t make the plays. On the night, we probably had anywhere from seven to 10 dropped balls and you can’t do that. We didn’t play well enough. That’s the bottom line.”

The Aggie run defense, which ranked first in the SEC and fourth in the nation going into the game, allowed 143 rushing yards, 88 of which came from Fitzgerald. The defense also allowed seven third-down conversions by the Bulldogs, despite being ranked second in the nation in third-down defense.

Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION

Freshman middle blocker London Austin-Roark (right) leads the team with .95 blocks per set in SEC matches.

“It’s pretty frustrating,” senior defensive lineman Landis Durham said. “There was one play, the long pass they had on third down that I could have countered back, maybe got a sack. There’s just things that we have to look at as a whole, whether it’s DBs holding their coverage or D-Line making that last move to finish the play off.”

Mississippi State scored the only points of the first quarter with a 12-play, 79-yard drive that Fitzgerald capped off with a 25-yard pass to junior wide receiver Stephen Guidry, who ended the game with 130 total receiving yards on only three receptions.

The Aggies bounced back in the second quarter with a 34yard field goal by freshman Seth Small and a 34-yard pass from Mond to sophomore wide receiver Quartney Davis to lead 10-7 into halftime.

However, A&M lost its momentum as Mississippi State opened the second half with a one-yard touchdown run by Fitzgerald. Small booted a 41-yard field goal at the end of the third quarter to give the Aggies their last points of the night.

The most outstanding play of the night came at the end of

the third quarter when Fitzgerald tossed an 84-yard bomb to Guidry to convert on third-and-21. A&M junior defensive back Larry Pryor pulled Guidry down on the two-yard line, but it didn’t seem to matter as Fitzgerald capped off the 6-play, 75-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run three plays later to put Mississippi State up 21-13.

“We thought we were going to get the ball back,” Fisher said. “Then they hit the play and go all the way down to the two and score a touchdown. That’s a huge play in the game.

They hit three big third and longs and that’s where you have to finish.”

The Aggies had a chance to tie the game at the end of the fourth quarter with a stand on the 10-yard line, but the Bulldog defense shut down the effort with an eight-yard sack and an interception in the end zone.

Mississippi State then sealed the win on the resulting drive from their own 20-yard line, as Fitzgerald dashed for a 76-yard touchdown run.

The Aggies will finish off their slate of road games on Saturday at Auburn.

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The Battalion | 10.29.18

VISION

2020

1. Elevate our facility and their teaching, research and scholarship 2. Strengthen our graduate program 3. Enhance the undergraduate academic experience 4. Build the letters, arts and science core 5. Build on the tradition of professional education 6. Diversify and globalize the A&M community 7. Increase the access to intellectual resources 8. Enrich our campus 9. Build community and metropolitan connections 10. Demand enlightened governance and leadership 11. Attain resource parity with the best public universities 12. Meet our commitment to Texas Photo illustration by Anthony Pangonas and Brandon Holmes

Twelve imperatives are outlined in the Vision 2020 plan, which is available at vision2020.tamu.edu.

Surpassing vision Texas A&M admin reflects on campus-wide initiative

By Keegan Hottinger @HottingerKeegan In 1999, a task force composed of university faculty, community members and students created Vision 2020, an initiative to guide Texas A&M’s efforts over the decades that followed.

The mission statement of Vision 2020 was to “enhance the global value of Texas A&M,” outlining 12 key objectives which would be pursued to meet this statement. The outcomes of the program and goals of its upcoming successor program are important topics in understanding how the university has transformed since 1999.

Michael Benedik, vice provost and chief international officer, said Vision 2020 has helped to positively shape the university.

“Vision 2020 was really a document with the intent of transforming the university,” Benedik said. “It laid out a path and a set goals for changing A&M from what was really a good regional teaching place to coming out as a top-tier university.”

Benedik said while Vision 2020 wasn’t created with the intent of meeting specific milestones, the university has met many of the general aspirational targets set by the plan.

“Vision 2020 was a set of aspirations, not goals,” Benedik said. “If you look at what the university was like 20 years ago and look at what it’s like today, you’ll see that Vision 2020 was a success.”

Benedik said the improvements A&M has made since 1999 might not be immediately noticeable, but there is a dramatic difference in the university’s environment.

“Our faculty is stronger, bet-

ter known and more accomplished,” Benedik said. “[We have] strengthened our undergraduate and graduate programs.

The university has become more diverse than it was and pays more attention to diversity.”

The currently-unnamed successor program setting objectives for the 2020 to 2030 period is under development by administration with community and student representatives. Several students suggested subjects they would like the initiative to focus on.

Kinesiology senior Matthew Nino said the next phase should focus on strengthening the undergraduate experience, an aspiration that was also included in Vision 2020.

“For any program, they should just focus on the quality of the degree and the coursework,” Nino said. “This will enhance the quality of life for students because if they have a positive experience, they will be more likely to absorb the material.”

Wildlife and fisheries sciences senior Jorge Maldonado said A&M has done well, but suggested including increased student engagement and involvement in administrative decisions.

“A&M could take more student input on different things,” Maldonado said. “I think it is something A&M needs to think about. They need to find out what is best for the student and take that into account.”

While the next initiative’s aspirations will not change significantly, Benedik said A&M will seek to improve on the foundation laid by Vision 2020.

“It is going to be a mission statement, because the imperatives in Vision 2020 remain true, so there isn’t a reason to rearticulate that,” Benedik said.

“It will have real aspirations on what it means to be a great university and to keep getting better.”