The Battalion, April 4, 2018 by The Battalion

Paralympic athlete and former student Andy Soule is in the running for Team USA’s Male Athlete of the Paralympic Games. Soule took home gold in the cross-country ski sprint and bronze in the 12.5 km biathlon. To vote, visit awards.teamusa.org/vote by April 6.

Blue Bell

Bounce Back

Aggies host No. 17 LSU in SEC showdown By Ryan MacDonald @Ryan_MacDonald2 The Texas A&M baseball team is nearly a third of the way through SEC play and the Aggies (3-6 SEC) are off to a less than ideal start. The Aggies will look to turn their fortunes around in their home SEC series against No. 17 LSU beginning Thursday. The Aggies fell out of the rankings in the latest D1Baseball.com poll released on Monday, after they lost two of three against Georgia last weekend. A&M was supposed to host the University of Houston on Tuesday, but the game was canceled to inclement weather.

“Defensively, offensively or on the bases, we need to be a little bit better in every area,” Childress said. “We’ve certainly done that all year long for the most part, we just haven’t done it the last three weeks on a consistent basis.” Despite their rocky start, the Aggies will continue to utilize the same pitching rotation they have in weeks past, with junior Stephen Kolek starting Thursday, sophomore John Doxakis on Friday and junior Mitchell Kilkenny taking the mound on Saturday. Kilkenny has seen the most success this season, boasting a 6-0 record and a 1.59 ERA. Childress said despite Kilkenny being the Aggies’ best pitcher thus far, the schedule doesn’t BASEBALL ON PG. 4

Junior pitcher Mitchell Kilkenny will take the mound for the Aggies on Saturday versus No. 17 LSU. C. Morgan Engel — THE BATTALION

PROVIDED

The 2018 TED Talk will be held in Rudder Forum on Sunday, focusing on the topic of meliorism.

Annual TED Talk making an impact at TAMU TEDx conference travels to A&M to discuss ways to improve the planet By Chad Anderson @Chad_Anderson24 TEDxTAMU, an independently organized TED event, is making its way to campus this Sunday. Meliorism is the theme of this year’s annual TEDx panel at Rudder Forum. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, meliorism is the belief the world can be made better by human effort.

The TEDxTAMU panel is in its sixth year at Texas A&M and looks to make even bigger strides than the previous year. Jon Williamson, executive of the TEDxTAMU staff and computer science and mechanical engineering sophomore, is in charge of coordinating this year’s panel. “My team and I really like the theme because we thought it was very applicable to today’s society, and what is going on this wide-spread in the world,” Williamson said. “We really like the idea that you can make a difference in people’s lives, and we wanted to share how you do that.” Williamson said the talks will reach a large audience, not only at the event, but through

online streaming. “The toughest part of managing the event is keeping TED Talks to its strict number cap,” Williamson said. “We’ve already had tickets sell out on all four sessions on April 3. We plan to reach over 500 people on the day event, and we will reach up to a few hundred thousand on YouTube when all of this is finished.” The event will host 16 speakers, broken down into four sessions with four speakers. Each speaker was chosen solely on the differences they have made in their life, according to Williamson. Some speakers have graduated from A&M, such as Anthony Hermes, Class of TED TALK ON PG. 2

A unique lake getaway Hero Water Sports provides a fun environment for families By Hollis Mills @sillohsllim Located 78 miles southwest of Aggieland is Lake Bastrop — home of the largest and only inflatable water park in all of the Lone Star State. Hero Water Sports rolled out the slip-n-slide red carpet last August, providing its water park patrons a one of a kind family and environmentally friendly experience. Hero Water Sports operates Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays, 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. According to Logan Mitchell, owner of Hero Water Sports and former collaborator with Texas A&M’s Institute of Nautical Archaeology, his park stays afloat by emphasizing one key value — heroism. “I like to think when you come out to my park, everyone can be a hero,” Mitchell said. “Some of the sections are quite challenging, so the kids are heroes by getting out there and getting over their fears. The parents can be heroes to their kids by spending time with them and getting really good exercise at the same

time.” Mitchell said his park forgoes the chlorinated pools and fiberglass slides of traditional water parks in favor of the clean waters of Lake Bastrop, offering an eco-conscious alternative for all patrons. Mitchell said the park offers sizable discounts to service members all year long, in addition to reduced entry fees for groups of 15 or more. “I haven’t had the opportunity to serve, so that’s why I wanted to give something back,” Mitchell said. “All the military, law enforcement and first responders work really hard and don’t get to spend the time with their families that others in a normal life might. This is a chance for them to get out and spend good quality time with their families without breaking their wallets.” At the end of a busy weekend, Mitchell said there is no better sight than a happy customer. “My true satisfaction is watching everybody come back to the dock after an hour of watching them go crazy,” Mitchell said. “They’re tired, but smiling and happy, and they’re waiting to go back out again.” Callen Crumbaker, head lifeguard at Hero Water Sports, said he WATER PARK ON PG. 3

PROVIDED

Hero Water Sports, located on Lake Bastrop, is the only inflatable water park in Texas.

FILE

Miss Click shared her story at the 2017 Coming Out Monologues.

GLBT week on campus Free events going on to educate on social issues By Savannah Mehrtens @SJMehrtens GLBT Awareness Week, created by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center, occurs the first week of April to spread awareness and education about the LGBTQ+ community. The GLBT Awareness Week began Monday and will run through Friday with a variety of events, some of which are more socially oriented, while others are more academic and educational. The first week of April is also the historic week of the recognition of the first LGBTQ+ campus student organization at Texas A&M, which was a decision made by the Supreme Court in the 1984 case, Gay Student Services v. Texas A&M University. Chad Mandala, program coordinator for the GLBT Resource Center, said GLBT week is focused on learning and sharing experiences. “I think, in a lot of ways, this is sort of a way to open up around what the lived experiences of students, faculty and staff are on this campus and to really have an opportunity to be in community together as one big, authentic Aggie family,” Mandala said. “It’s a way to come out and participate in a variety of activities.” Mandala said the multitude of events during GLBT week are a way for people to open up to more ideas in a variety of environments. GLBT ON PG. 2

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THE BATTALION is published Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays during the 2018 spring semester and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer session (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 Student Affairs. 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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Left: Itzia Medrano gave a talk at the 2017 Coming Out Monologues. Right: Speakers line up on stage following the 2017 Coming Out Monologues.

GLBT CONTINUED “There’s all sorts of ways to showcase the variety of experiences that exist in the LGBT community that I think is often lost behind a monolithic image that we paint of folks in the community,” Mandala said. Courteney Youngs, psychology senior, said GLBT Awareness Week is important to her because of the progress A&M has made towards being a more accepting campus. “For me, considering that last year was the first year A&M got taken off

the [list of] top 10 unfriendliest campuses for GLBT people in the nation, there is a long way to go for our university in accepting queer people and just being friendlier and being a good place, a good safe-haven for queer Aggies,” Youngs said. Youngs said she believes campus becoming a safe place for people in the A&M LGBTQ+ community is an important step in the right direction. “There’s no reason we should feel unsafe at a college that talks so much about being an Aggie family,” Youngs said.

TED TALK CONTINUED 1986. Hermes is a mechanical engineer who has worked for over 31 years in various manufacturing industries. He now resides in Victoria, Texas, while working for Dow Chemical Company. Dustin Kemp, Class of 2007, is another speaker who will be at the panel. Kemp began taking classes at A&M in 2003, then left to travel the country and pursue a life of music. He joined an Austin based band called Suite 709, which hit big success, appearing on television shows such as Nashville, and was featured on sites such as Google+ and Billboard.com. Kemp then left the music world to return

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Andrew Tarvin, author and presenter, spoke at the 2017 TEDxTAMU conference.

Students interested in participating in the GLBT Resource Center beyond GLBT Awareness Week can access the GLBT Resource Center from Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the Student Services Complex at White Creek, which is open to all students. “I think that GLBT Awareness Week and the GLBT Resource Center are for everyone, not just folks that identify as part of the community,” Mandala said. “The resource center is here to support every Aggie, regardless of how they identify.”

to school and Kemp now works as the Capstone Program Assistant for Launch at A&M. Other speakers include Emmy award winning visual storyteller Eduardo Angel. Angel received his bachelor’s degree in architecture from Los Andes University in Bogota, Columbia, and has taught at some of the biggest and most notable art and design schools in the world, while also working with Fortune 500 companies such as Canon U.S.A., Adobe and Time Inc. Haley Jircik, member of the speaker relations committee and animal science freshman, said she wants viewers to relate to the speakers. “The one thing I want people to take away from this event, to know not only the people that are up there speaking their wisdoms and experiences, that these are basic people too,” Jircik said. Jircik said her favorite part of TED Talks are when the session is over and the speakers get to interact with audience members. “There’s nothing like seeing someone on stage, reaching out to thousands of people and feeling inaccessible and knowing afterwards you can have that interaction is pretty amazing,” Jircik said. Weston Nakahara, sponsorships chair of the event and mathematics sophomore, said growth each year is a goal of hosting TEDxTAMU. “The one key is we want [is] to make this event grow and be more accessible every year,” Nakahara said. “We want the word to get out and have the differences shown to have an impact on the Bryan-College Station area.” The TEDxTAMU Talks will take place Sunday, April 8 at Rudder Forum. The first session will begin at 9 a.m. and the last session will finish at 6 p.m. Though all the event tickets have been sold, the event’s livestream will up be ready to view on YouTube.com “I believe there’s a lot of good Aggies do, and I believe there is always room for improvement to bridge those ideas we’re presenting to everyone,” Williamson said.

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HELP WANTED Work around your class schedule! No Saturday or Sundays, off during the holidays. The Battalion Advertising Office is hiring an Advertising Sales Representative. Must be enrolled at A&M and have reliable transportation. Interested applicants should come by our office located in the MSC, Suite 400, from 8am-4pm, ask to speak with Joseph.

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Retired Air Force Gen. Robert Foglesong will speak at the panel about the threat of North Korea’s nuclear missiles.

Discussing the nuclear threat Leaders to approach the subject of North Korean nuclear weapons By Katherine Garcia @KatieGarcia2018 A mix of current and former diplomatic and military leaders will delve into the case of North Korea as a nuclear threat to the United States on April 6, at 7p.m. in Rudder Theatre. MSC Wiley Lecture Series will host “Confronting a Nuclear North Korea,” an event where panelists will discuss the response to the relations between the Trump administration and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The ability to eloquently and briefly discuss a controversial and complex topic, such as a nuclear threat to the U.S., is a priority for selecting speakers, according to Joshua Ratta, history senior and MSC Wiley Lecture Series chair. “That’s one of the things we look at when we screen for our speakers, is how they are able to communicate,” Ratta said. “So we look at reviews of past speeches, because past speeches tell, ‘OK, can these speakers talk — which I’m sure they could stand on top of that stage and talk for hours and hours — but can they bring it down into 12 to 15 minute speech to get a concise point and give their opinions?’” Ratta said students can benefit from attending the upcoming discussion because of the panelists’ opportunity to disclose their opinions without any external framing. “Bringing these speakers here directly to A&M allows the students to hear personally from that person and their unfiltered, unbarred opinion,” Ratta said. “And we tell them that we’re trying to promote the discussion. We’re not wanting to read oneway. We’re just wanting you to tell your story, your experience, your thoughts and so that allows for this free wielding discussion that the students, I think, benefit a lot from.” Retired Air Force Gen. Robert “Doc” Foglesong is one of the panelists who will be speaking on Friday. He said students are building a foundation to operate a complex

world, especially through vehicles such as the MSC Wiley Lecture Series. “Courses like calculus, literature, biology, etcetera, are tools that prepare us all to successfully operate at a tactical level in our chosen careers,” Foglesong said. “The Wiley Lecture series is another tool, but it’s aimed at the next level of preparation where policy decisions are formulated and decided — and that’s where the rubber meets the road at the national level.” Foglesong said North Korea’s nuclear weapons have created a set of circumstances and borders for U.S. military leaders to gauge and plan accordingly. He said he hopes to grasp a deeper understanding of how U.S. military and diplomatic leaders address these circumstances with such dynamics. “The introduction of nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula has a major impact on how war planners formulate the way ahead, with respect to military operations and how to allocate war fighting resources — especially during the initial stages of a conflict,” Foglesong said. “I hope to better understand the complex challenges that face our policy makers in Washington [D.C.] as they determine the way ahead on the Korean Peninsula — which is especially tough as circumstances seem to change daily.” In regards to addressing the commander in chief’s diplomacy and military strategy during the panel, Foglesong said he serves the president and U.S. citizens. He said he will continue to serve President Donald Trump’s plans through his status in the military. “With respect to my personal view of how to address the support/actions of the commander in chief, when you join the military, we have the honor to serve the citizens of the greatest nation in the world and take orders from the commander in chief,” Foglesong said. “At senior levels, we serve at the pleasure of the president. When either the president or a senior officer can’t accept the relationship, the president or the senior officer can terminate the deal. Until that happens, we owe the commander in chief our loyalty.”

Notice of University Student Rule Revisions Additions, deletions and changes to the University Student Rules may occur over the course of the year. The following student rules have been revised: Rule # 24

Rule Student Conduct Code

Date Student Rule Website Updated April 4, 2018

Each student has the responsibility to be fully acquainted with and to comply with the Texas A&M University Student Rules. Student Rules can be found at http://student-rules.tamu.edu.

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WATER PARK CONTINUED has enjoyed taking part in the park’s upbringing, from its earliest moments as a newspaper ad to the destination it is now. “Working here is great because you always meet new people and watch them have fun at a park we created,” Crumbaker said. “Really, that was our goal, to provide people with something to do. It’s a lot of fun.” Creating an avenue for new experiences is the gift that keeps on giving, according to Crumbaker. “We respect these people and wanted to create a safe place for them to have fun, as well as anybody else who wants to come out and enjoy the lake,” Crumbaker said. “I think that really is the most satisfying part, just getting a place for the people where they can hangout and have fun with their friends and make new ones.” Amidst the inflatable fun, Hero Water Sports also offers a hero challenge course,

which is a timed route through the entire park for anyone willing to put their skills to the test. Laurie Krupala, who previously visited the park, said her family enjoyed their experience there. “During spring break, we usually go out of town, but we were looking for something different,” Krupala said. “I liked what [Hero Water Sports] had to say, that anybody can be a hero. My kids and I decided this is one of our definite go-tos for the rest of the summer.” Krupala said time spent at Hero Water Sports is all about having fun with family and getting away from our modern distractions. “In this day-and-age, we spend as much time photographing our fun as we do having it, and sometimes that just takes away from the whole experience,” Krupala said. “When you’re out there in the water you don’t have time for technology, you just have time for fun.”

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C. Morgan Engel — THE BATTALION

Junior infielder Michael Helman ranks sixth in the nation in hits (48).

BASEBALL CONTINUED

Texas A&M University Rudder Theatre April 20, 2018 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM