The Battalion, March 22, 2018 by The Battalion

Cassie Stricker— THE BATTALION

Texas A&M men’s basketball will take on Michigan in the third round of the NCAA tournament.

Men’s basketball capitalizes on improbable journey The Aggies have made an unforeseen run to the Sweet 16, their second trip in three years By Angel Franco @angelmadison_ Graphic by Nic Tan — THE BATTALION, FILE

The Big Event takes place all around the globe in places like China, Pakistan and Germany.

The worldwide reach of selfless service The Big Event goes global with service events around the world By Jordan Burnham @RJordanBurnham The Big Event is known for having an impact on the Bryan-College Station community, but its reach has not stopped there. The Big Event takes place annually and helps the surrounding community through service projects fulfilled by participating students. Since the tradition began at Texas A&M, other universities noticed the impact Big Event was making and began reaching out to A&M about starting their own service days. Now, The Big Event has spread to over 100 universities around the world.

In 1998, students from other universities in Texas reached out to A&M’s Big Event executives about starting their own day of service, according to Madeline Saiter, current outreach director and supply chain management senior. “It really just was word of mouth, and as Big Event started making bigger news, other schools started to catch on,” Saiter said. “A lot of schools’ student governments have a service branch, so that was kind of an easy way for them to start a Big Event.” Big Event takes place abroad in Pakistan, China, Germany and Spain. As the service event continues to spread, its execution may not be identical to A&M’s Big Event, according to Trent Armstrong, Big Event director and accounting senior. “They don’t always look like it

does here in College Station,” Armstrong said. “Some are working with non-profits around the city they’re in, some are working with local churches or food banks and some are residential homes.” When other schools reach out about starting their own event, Big Event doesn’t set any specific rules, according to Armstrong. “All you really need is a group of people willing to serve their community,” Armstrong said. “From some schools, it’s professor driven or even university driven. So whatever outlet you see fits under the scope of your school, it doesn’t matter to us, it’s just about helping people.” Twelve years ago, A&M began hosting the One Big Thanks Conference,

LOS ANGELES — When unranked Texas A&M opened its season with a 23-point victory over then No. 11 West Virginia at the Ramstein-Miesenbach Air Base in Germany, many were surprised A&M had defeated “Press-Virginia” so lopsidedly. Sunday evening, when sophomore forward Robert Williams prepared to slam yet another windmill dunk as A&M cruised past reigning national champion North Carolina 86-65, many were stunned. However, this shock was for a completely different reason. A&M’s improbable run to the Sweet 16 is partially fueled by the fact that 10 weeks ago, it seemed as if the Aggies were on the verge of not making the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. The Aggies had suffered their fifth straight conference loss. Before the five-game skid, the Aggies were ranked No. 5 overall in the nation and were firing on all cylinders. Then came the suspensions, illnesses and injuries. Junior forward DJ Hogg was suspended from the first two games of conference play for violating team policy. In the same time frame, junior guard Admon Gilder was recovering from a knee injury he suffered during the Aggie’s non-conference schedule. It wasn’t until the fifth conference loss A&M head coach Billy Kennedy finally had his team back together. M. BASKETBALL ON PG. 4

AROUND THE WORLD ON PG. 2

C. Morgan Engel — THE BATTALION

Freshman point guard Chennedy Carter scored 37 points in the win over DePaul.

Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION

Students and volunteers will perform activities like yard-work, house maintenance and more at the Big Event.

Annual Big Event to be held March 24 Aggies will spend Saturday morning giving back to the community in Bryan-College Station By Megan Rodriguez @MeganLRodriguez Over 20,080 students across Aggieland are currently signed up to spend their first weekend of spring serving the community during the Big Event on March 24. The Big Event is the nation’s largest student-run one-day service project, where Aggies will complete a variety of tasks requested by community members. This year’s kick off ceremony begins at 8 a.m. in front of the John J. Koldus Building and will feature Texas A&M’s head football coach, Jimbo Fisher, as the keynote speaker. Free food will be available before volunteers set off to their 2,388 local jobs. Even though registration for Big Event closed in February, students are permitted to register the morning of the event.

There are many ways participants can prepare for a successful day of volunteering, according to Trent Armstrong, Big Event director and accounting senior. “Be cautious with that many people, pay attention to parking signs … if they have any questions they can reach out,” Armstrong said. “Some advice is to plan ahead. Know what your group is doing, where you’re meeting and just have fun.” Students should always keep the people they are serving as their top priority, according to Reese Svetgoff, Big Event development executive and business honors junior. “The reason we’re doing this is because service is important and to get to know the residents and those families,” Svetgoff said. “It’s really cool when you get to know them because it really feels like you’re in touch with the community. … It’s a really cool way to show someone that you care about them, even if you don’t necessarily know them.” BIG EVENT ON PG. 2

Women’s basketball has the mindset of winning two games Aggies have bounced back from last year and are prepared for deep run with star players By Ryan MacDonald @Ryan_MacDonald2 After the 2017 season, in which the Aggies were outed in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Texas A&M head women’s basketball coach Gary Blair made bold proclamations about raising the bar for the 2018 season. “Last year we didn’t have an impact player, but we went as far as our talent let us,” Blair said prior to the season. “This year, that’s not acceptable. We want to push ourselves to that next level.” Blair was so confident in the returning talent he had he said he would be to blame if his team didn’t make the NCAA Tournament. “This year, it will be unacceptable if we don’t make the NCAA Tournament, they better fire the coach or something,” Blair said. The returning Aggies corps of stars — junior Anriel W. BASKETBALL ON PG. 4

FROMTHEFRONT

The Battalion | 3.22.18

COURTESY — THE BATTALION

The Big Event has spread to over 100 universities worldwide, including similar events at the University of Texas and Mehran University of Engineering and Technology in Pakistan.

AROUND THE WORLD CONTINUED

Cassie Stricker— THE BATTALION, File

Over 20,000 Aggies will serve the community in over 2,000 different locations across the Bryan-College Station area.

BIG EVENT CONTINUED Kelsey Jones, agribusiness freshman, is participating in Big Event with a group of students in Aggie Rotaract, an on-campus organization focused on community service. Jones said it is her love for volunteer activities and service background in her hometown which encouraged her to get involved. “I like how we can give back to College Station and our community, all Aggies together in one day,” Jones said. “When I do community service, I like knowing that I can help people and better their lives, and that’s partly why I do Big Event.” Armstrong said students should be enthusiastic about a chance to participate in this annual campus tradition. “Get out of your comfort zone and build your relationship with that resident,” Armstrong said. “Build that relationship with the people you are serving alongside. Be mo-

tivated because you go to a school where 20,000 people would give up their Saturday morning to help out their community. Be proud of that. Participate in what it means to be an Aggie and take advantage of every opportunity you have on this campus to really live out those values that we all hold very dear.” While the Big Event will conclude at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Armstrong said the principles behind the project should remain with students at all times. “It’s an honor and it’s special that we get to do this crazy thing every year,” Armstrong said. “It reminds me that the Big Event is much more than a one-day project. It’s about going out, and doing something for somebody else, saying thank you and doing the little things each and every day that ultimately can make the big difference in people’s lives.”

which brings schools that have Big Events to College Station together in order to share the best practices, according to Saiter. “We are helping a lot of schools do what was done for us a lot of years ago,” Saiter said. “As it’s the 36th year of the Big Event, a lot was paved the way for us, and so to get to help other schools do the same is awesome.” Samiullah Khokhar, current director of Big Event Pakistan and former Mehran University of Engineering and Technology student, was studying abroad in Kansas in 2013 when he participated in Big Event for the first time. “I really find this project very inspiring as university students come out of their homes without getting anything in return, so I decided to bring this tradition back to my home university,” Khokhar said. The first Big Event Pakistan took place in 2015 and was sponsored by the United States embassy in Pakistan. Big Event Pakistan is based out of Mehran University, but invites students from all schools and nonprofits to participate, according to Khokhar. Big Event Pakistan is currently experimenting with an expansion to a national outreach program in hopes to begin projects at schools where Pakistani students are studying abroad, according to Khokhar. “In this way, I think it is going to incorporate our image of Pakistan as a peaceful and understanding nation before the world, as our

students are not only serving the people in their own countries, they are also trying to be helpful and caring when they are studying abroad,” Khokhar said. Some service days take different names, such as The Project at the University of Texas. The Project is approaching its 20th anniversary and hopes to continue to increase student participation, according to Dante Romano, the project’s administrative director. “We are trying to go out there and really push for more volunteers, more desire to learn about the community,” Romano said. “Something about The Project that I like to think separates us from most service organizations is that we don’t just go out there for The Project. The actual body of The Project spends a whole year learning about the situations that are going on in the community and becoming active in the community.” Armstrong said seeing Big Event expand gives him a sense of hope that people across the nation, and across the world, truly care about others. “People can see the heart behind the Big Event, and see how helping people transcends cultures, transcends location and the acts of selfless service, anyone can get behind,” Armstrong said. “Anyone can see the value of giving back to your community and instilling that mission of selflessness in your peers and the camaraderie that comes along with serving others truly can transcend cultures and time zones. It’s incredible.”

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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.

HOURS: MON - SAT 9 am - 6 pm harboeg@yahoo.com well to a library environment, according to Zinn. “A&M students have their own way to approach things, make studying more convenient for students so even if we see something be successful somewhere else, By Hannah Falcon sometimes when we bring it here, it doesn’t work, it just THE TEXAS A&M STUDENT MEDIA BOARD @hannahfalcon_ doesn’t fit culturally,” Zinn said. “Some things you just don’t INVITES APPLICATIONS FOR know until you try.” The second floor of Sterling C. Evans Library and the Susie Goodwin, chair of Evans Library, said one goal fourth floor of the Evans Library Annex were revamped during the renovation of the second floor was to give stuto make studying on campus more convenient for students dents the opportunity to arrange the furniture, rather than and staff, as new study spaces were unveiled in a grand open- feeling tucked into the library’s arrangement. ing on March 20. “We noticed on this floor, a lot of students would gather Qualifications for editor-in-chief of the Aggieland The renovation of the second floor of Evans Library con- for group study and all we had were these long, ugly tables yearbook are: centrated on adding outlets and creating a more open floor that couldn’t move, and we wanted to create a space where REQUIRED plan to allow for more versatile study spaces. This task was students could gather individually or pull tables together and • 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) tackled by adding a raised floor to allow for electricity to work together,” Goodwin said. during the term of office (unless fewer credits are required to be transported underground and by knocking down walls The fourth floor of the Annex is meant to be a technology graduate); that had formerly blocked off the map room. On the fourth center, according to Goodwin. Computer labs were updated • 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 floor of the Annex, computer labs were added and additional to include desktop computers which can flip under the table, a graduate student) in the semester immediately prior to the technology was made available. allowing them to be used as an empty desk. The floor also has appointment, the semester of appointment and semester during Although the makeover of the second floor of Evans Li- media centers available to students for green screen recordthe 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 brary began around February of 2017, other renovations ing, podcasting and computers with digital editing software. that semester; started in 2010, when the first floor of the main building “The fourth floor is our tech floor where we wanted to PREFERRED was revamped to create a more open and accessible study add a lot of computer labs where we could put in a dual • Have completed JOUR 301 or COMM 307 (Mass Communication, area. According to Patrick Zinn, director of marketing for purpose,” Goodwin said. “We do a lot of in-library instrucLaw, and Society); • Have demonstrated ability in writing, editing and graphic design university libraries and class of 1986, the student response to tion, so teachers and their students would come in with their through university coursework or equivalent experience; the new first floor were so positive they wanted to continue classes to learn about the library. We wanted to have space to • Have at least one year experience in a responsible position on to renovate the library as budget allowed. accommodate that, but also have space for students to come the Aggieland or comparable college yearbook. “During all of our planning we do a lot of outreach to in and use when not occupied by a lab.” Application forms should be picked up from and returned students to get input, because we want the students to help Amberly Carson, kinesiology freshman, said she apprecito Douglas Pils, Student Media General Manager, in Suite guide us so that it’s not just us deciding what needs to be ates the renovations that have been made. L410 of the MSC. Deadline for submitting application: 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 28, 2018. done, but letting students tell us what we can do to make it “I like that the second floor now has nice table booths better for them,” Zinn said. that are good for working in groups and convenient rolling Zinn said they took inspiration for the makeover from chairs,” Carson said. “It also has a decent amount of outlets off-campus locations where students tend to study. How- and dry erase boards.”

Editor

Aggieland 2019

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BATTALION THE

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Abby Collida— THE BATTALION

Freshman outfielder Zach DeLoach rounds first base as he looks for a double in the Aggies’ 7-6 win over Northeastern State.

A&M baseball to face Ole Miss Rebels After a disappointing start in SEC, Aggies look to recover By Abigail Ochoa @AbigailOchoa1 The No. 12 Texas A&M baseball team, coming off a 13-4 win against Rice, will play their second SEC team of the season when they face off against the No. 5 Ole Miss Rebels Thursday through Saturday at Blue Bell Park. The Aggies, with their latest win against Rice, move to 18-4 (1-2 SEC), while Ole Miss’ latest win against New Orleans move them to a 20-2 (2-1 SEC) record. The Rebels became the first college baseball team in the NCAA to hit 20 wins this year after defeating New Orleans 9-4. Sophomore catcher and outfielder Thomas Dillard led Ole Miss on the plate, going 2-for-4 on the day with four RBIs and a home run. Senior outfielder Will Golsan was close behind, also going 2-for-4 on the day and finishing with a RBI double and triple. The mound was led by sophomore Houston Roth, who finished with seven strikeouts and only allowed three runs in the five innings he pitched. A&M made big plays on both offense and defense to secure the 13-4

win against Rice on Tuesday. Freshman pitcher Chandler Jozwiak went five full innings with only two hits and no runs. He would finish his reign on the mound with only four runs on six hits, all of which collected in the sixth inning. Jozwiak pitched 5.1 innings, making this game his longest on the mound and most strikeouts with eight. Junior second baseman Michael Helman was the star at the plate, going 4-for-6 against Rice. He contributed to the fourth and seventh innings, when the Aggies scored six runs in the sixth and four runs in the seventh. Helman ended the night leading A&M with three RBIs, two runs and one home run. Freshman right fielder Will Frizzell and sophomore designated hitter Hunter Coleman weren’t far behind Helman, adding two hits each to the matchup. Helman said his hitting against Rice was a continuation of the team’s approach. He said the team is looking to keep their strong at-bats into the weekend against Ole Miss. “I just try to stay with our team approach — look to the other side of the field,” Helman said. “I had a slap hit the other way late in the game and we got two runs out of it. I’m trying to stay flat even though the wind was blowing out. Overall, we had great at-bats today. We’re looking to carry that into

this weekend.” Despite winning against Rice, the Aggies are looking to bounce back from their SEC opener against No. 9 Auburn last weekend, where they fell to the Tigers twice during their threegame series, in which A&M struggled defensively. The Tigers won the first two games 4-1 and 11-5, with a breakout eightrun inning in the second game. The Aggies secured a win in the last game of the series at 5-1, in which theyseemed to get back on track defensively and were led by junior pitchers Mitchell Kilkenny and Nolan Hoffman on the mound. A&M head coach Rob Childress said the series against Auburn was tough on his team, but he was glad they were able to show their fortitude in the last game of the series. “I’m really proud of the team,” Childress said. “It’s been a long, tough week for us and things haven’t gone our way, but the team showed a lot of toughness and it started on the mound with Mitchell [Kilkenny]. He had a great start and we played great defense behind him.” A&M will return to Aggieland as they kick off a three-game series against Ole Miss on Thursday at Blue Bell Park. First pitch is set for 6:02 p.m.

PREFERRED • Have completed JOUR 301 or COMM 307 (Mass Communication, Law, and Society) or equivalent; • Have at least one year experience in a responsible editorial position on The Battalion or comparable daily college newspaper, – OR – Have at least one year editorial experience on a commercial newspaper, – OR – Have completed at least 12 hours in journalism, including JOUR 203 (Media Writing I) and JOUR 303 (Media Writing II) or JOUR 304 (Editing for the Mass Media), or equivalent.

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, March 28, 2018.

THE TEXAS A&M STUDENT MEDIA BOARD INVITES APPLICATIONS FOR

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BASKETBALL

The Battalion | 3.22.18

M. BASKETBALL CONTINUED

Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION

Sophomore Robert Williams logged 13 rebounds, eight points and two blocks in the win over UNC.

W. BASKETBALL CONTINUED Howard, junior Danni Williams and senior Khaalia Hillsman, were just as phenomenal as expected in the beginning of the season. However, a star emerged in freshman point guard Chennedy Carter. Carter came in as the No. 6 player in the 2017 class by espnW HoopGurlz and took the reins right away, starting in the season opener. Carter’s phenomenal start to the season raised eyebrows across the nation on December 15, when she netted 46 points against USC. The returning starters and electric addition of Carter led the Aggies to a 12-3 record and a No. 22 national ranking entering SEC play. The Aggies started SEC play with a two-point loss to the defending national champion South Carolina Gamecocks on New Year’s Eve. The maroon and white notched wins over Kentucky and Auburn before defeating No. 6 Tennessee in overtime, which gave them momentum. A&M rode the momentum and finished SEC play with an 11-5 record, their only losses coming against Mississippi State (twice), South Carolina, Georgia and LSU, all of which received top six seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Being the No. 5-seed in the SEC Tournament, the Aggies posted two wins against Arkansas and No. 24 LSU before they were knocked out by defending national runner-up Mississippi State in the semifinals. The 24-9 (11-5 SEC) record A&M held at the end of the season was enough to receive a four-seed in the NCAA Tournament, allowing them to host the first two tournament games at Reed Arena. Led by Carter and Hillsman combining for 48 points, the Aggie offense erupted in their first game of the NCAA Tournament, lifting A&M over Drake, 89-76.

The Aggies then went on to win two games, lose two, win four, lose three and finally finish out the season with threestraight wins. Before the final push in the last three games of the season and after the Aggies 93-81 loss to Mississippi State, the team took it upon themselves to have a players-only meeting. “We just felt like everyone was kind of branching out when things started falling apart, they were doing their own thing,” Williams said. “So we just had to buy into, ‘We’re all here for each other.’ Letting the coaching staff know, too, along with the players, we’re here for a mission.” With two of A&M’s three leaders in and out of the lineup, junior center Tyler Davis was the only player to start every game. Davis said despite the inconsistent lineup, controversy and shaky play throughout such a turbulent season, he never doubted A&M’s ability to reach the stage they are at right now. “I never lost track and my confidence definitely didn’t drop in my guys,” Davis said. “We had a great summer; the young guys did a great job of stepping up during those games. We lost a couple, but I thought we had a great practice leading up to those games, a great effort in the games as well. So, I think we handled the ups and downs as best we can.” Through it all, Kennedy remained true to many of the values A&M is known for. Kennedy preaches the importance of having a clean and honest program, which is why he suspend-

The Aggies found themselves trailing 43-28 at halftime against DePaul in their second round matchup. Carter scored 32 points, including the game-winning three-point shot with 2.8 seconds remaining, to give the Aggies the fourth-largest comeback victory in NCAA Tournament history. “I’m part of history, I wrote the book, I’ve seen it all. I’ve been coaching from 1973 on and it was one of the best performances in women’s basketball history,” Blair said of Carter’s performance against DePaul. The No. 4-seed A&M women’s basketball team will travel to Spokane, Washington, on Thursday to take on Notre Dame in the Sweet 16 on Saturday. The two teams have faced offonce since the Aggies upset the Fighting Irish in 2011 to win the National Championship; however, Blair said he thinks the Irish will still have a bitter taste in their mouths and be very motivated to knock his team out of the tournament. “I know Notre Dame is going to bring up 2011, that we took their championship away from them. We didn’t take their championship, we won that game,” Blair said. “There’s no doubt we were the better team that day and now we’ve got to come in and be the slight underdog against a very good team and well-coached team and we’re going to give it everything we have.” The A&M-Notre Dame matchup will tip-off on Saturday at 3:00 p.m CT. The game will be televised on ESPN. If the Aggies win Saturday, they will play Monday night against the winner of Central Michigan-Oregon. “We’re going to Spokane to win two ball games, not just one, but we’ve got to take care of Notre Dame first,” Blair said.

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2017 AGGIELAND YEARBOOK The 2017 Aggieland Yearbook is a photojournalistic record of the 2016-2017 school year. The 115th edition of Texas A&M’s Official Yearbook.

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Go online to aggieland.tamu.edu or call 979-845-2613 to make your purchase. Skip the mail fee and come by Suite L400 in the MSC to purchase your book.

ed so many players despite the struggles the team had on the hardwood. “We had knee injuries, we had suspensions, unfortunately,” Kennedy said. “But our culture is very important to us and doing the right things and growing as a program is very important to us.” Kennedy said the adversity the team faced throughout the year was necessary to prepare them for the postseason. “Sometimes you [need] to go two steps backwards to go one step forward,” Kennedy said. “Fortunately, our guys bought in and grew up some, and that’s why we’re in this position today.” Now as the Aggies prepare to take on No. 3-seed Michigan on Thursday night at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, A&M is ready to move past the trials and tribulations they faced throughout the season and focus on the Wolverines. “Our goal is to get to San Antonio, and whoever is in our way is what we need to be prepared for next,” Kennedy said. “But we’ve done a good job of putting that behind us and getting focused on the next challenge [in Michigan], which is a very well-coached ... basketball team.” No. 7-seed A&M will face No. 3-seed Michigan on Thursday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Tip-off is set for 6:37 p.m. CT.

C. Morgan Engel — THE BATTALION

Head coach Gary Blair is making his 11th appearance in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

Don’t forget to preorder your copy of the 2018 Aggieland yearbook, a photojournalistic record of the 2017-2018 school year. The 116th edition of Texas A&M’s official yearbook. Distribution will be the Fall 2018. Go online to aggieland.tamu.edu or call 979-845-2613 to make your purchase.

$75.00 + Tax (Includes Mail Fee)