The Battalion: April 12, 2017 by The Battalion

Jasmine Wang (left) will serve as the 70th session’s speaker pro tempore, and Ja’Cory Clark (right) will serve as speaker.

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Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION

New faces of Senate leadership Ja’Cory Clark to serve as first black speaker in 42 years, Jasmine Wang to be first Asian-American pro-temp By Emily Bost @EmmyBost

he newly elected leaders of Texas A&M’s 70th session of Student Senate, Ja’Cory Clark and Jasmine Wang, are redefining the ideals and culture of the historically conservative legislative body. Ja’Cory Clark, history junior, was elected as speaker and Jasmine Wang, political science sophomore, was elected as speaker pro tempore of the 70th session of Student Senate on March 29. Clark is the first African American to hold the office of speaker in 42 years, since Fred McClure, speaker of the 28th session, while Jasmine is the first Asian-American to hold the office of speaker pro tempore. Together, Clark and Wang have a multitude of diverse experiences that will contribute to Senate’s student outreach and the efficiency of the legislative body, in order to produce legislation that will benefit students from every niche of campus. “Contrary to public opinion about diversity and leadership, the greatest attributes about these two is not the fact that they’re both minorities and not the fact that they represent minority populations,” said Jonah Chen, Bush School graduate student

and close friend to both Clark and Wang. “The great thing about them is that they care so much about the students and that when they go to sleep at night, they go to sleep thinking about policies, stances the administration has taken and what they can do to better supplement policy implementation.” Clark will oversee all operations of the legislative branch of the Student Government Association, chair Senate meetings and represent Student Senate to external bodies. Wang will serve as second-in-command of the Senate, after Speaker Clark, and the legislature’s chief administrative officer. “Ja’Cory is one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met, and I’m a little biased because we are such good friends, but I have never met someone who brings such warmth into a room when they walk into it and is so passionate about doing what’s right for the students … He brings an incredible myriad of experience that you couldn’t find anywhere else,” Wang said. “There’s no one more qualified or more passionate about the office of the speaker.” In addition to running for student council in grade school in Clark’s hometown of Sweeney, Texas, the election of former President Barack Obama is what inspired Clark to become involved in politics, because he saw that he could reach the highest rungs of his profession, he said. Clark began his time in Senate two years ago, after transferring from Stephen F. Austin State University, and has since gained experience through drafting legislation and fulfilling

various leadership roles, such as ad hoc campus climate and inclusion chair. “He went from someone who had some ideas about how to provide students with better student services all the way to becoming the speaker of the Student Senate and the only way you can do that is if you have a unitary character who has a considerable amount of integrity, honesty, respect and leadership and I believe he embodies all of those things,” Chen said. Wang was raised in a neighborhood in Houston that never made her feel like she was a minority in her community. Coming from a high school where Asians made up 42 percent of the population, A&M was a bit of a culture shock to her, as the Asian population is 3.3 percent on campus. Her role as a member of the community had changed, she said. Throughout her time in Student Senate, Wang has taken on various leadership roles and successfully passed bills and resolutions focusing on inclusion and sustainability issues. Some bills have even influenced administration to make policy changes, or implementations, on campus. “Jasmine was a brand new senator this past year, but you wouldn’t have known it by how she carried herself and how much work she really put into the body of the senate,” said Joseph Hood, Bush School graduate student and speaker of the 69th session of Student Senate.

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Student organization advocates for more pediatric cancer research funding By Brad Morse @bradsmorse53

Student groups form for multiple reasons, ranging from general interests to philanthropy. One student organization has made it its mission to increase the amount of funding that goes to pediatric cancer research. Founded in 2015, With Purpose hosts fundraising and awareness events throughout the year pushing for a larger portion of the federal cancer budget to be dedicated to pediatric cancer research. Currently the organization is working to increase student support for the “RACE for Children” act, a bill introduced to the United States Senate that would change how cancer drugs are tested for children. “RACE for Children Act allows the FDA to require different studies and researchers to test developing cancer drugs in childhood cancers,” said allied health sophomore Dylana Nguyen. “It is an updated version of the PREA, Pediatric Research Equity Act, in which companies developing drugs for adults with cancers are required to look at molecular targets and test them in matching or similar molecular targets that are found in childhood cancers. This will open doors

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Kristin Murray, Patty Fichera, Andie Edwards and Courtney McIlvoy (left to right) have worked with With Purpose, which raises funds for pediatric cancer research.

for childhood cancer treatments as children will be treated based on their molecular targets and not their specific cancers.” Were the RACE Act to be passed, the immediate effect would go beyond medical research, WITH PURPOSE ON PG. 3

Thunderstorm hits Brazos Valley Tuesday’s thunderstorm caused a live oak tree on campus to snap near Evans Library. The storms also led to flooding in some areas, and various other damages around town.

Spencer Russo — THE BATTALION

Laura Haslam — THE BATTALION

Earth Galley Farms brings locally sourced produce to the Brazos Valley area.

Aggie-owned company brings locally sourced produce to B-CS By Madeleine Brennan @madkathbren “Local” is the name of the game for Aggie-owned and founded Earth Galley Farms, an organic food distributor that works with local farmers and ranchers to provide the Bryan-College Station area with access to fresh and locally sourced produce, meats, salsas, eggs and more. Started by three Aggies, Earth Galley Farms works to not only educate and inform the public about the importance of eating locally sourced food, but also provide the community with avenues for doing so. With more than a dozen local partners, Earth Galley works collectively with local farmers, ranchers, egg producers and others in and out of the Bryan Farmers Market, to bring people budget friendly and accessible opportunities to eat healthier. As a food retailer, Earth Galley packages and delivers produce and meat to people’s homes right from the farms and ranches, eliminating the middlemen of industrial food production. Although a lot of the food used in Earth Galley’s grocery bundles comes from outside Earth Galley Farms, Earth Galley also grows produce on site, utilizing various organically sustainable methods, such as greenhouses and aquaponics. Aquaponics, a way to sustainably grow organic food, utilizes fish to generate nutrients for plants growing on top of the water. Sharon Wells, a co-owner of Earth Galley Farms and Class of 1987, explained the importance of eating local EARTH GALLEY ON PG. 3

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Internally in the legislative body, Clark and Wang hope to focus on how their positions can unify the senate to increase efficiency, effectiveness and overall impact of the body. Together, they hope to improve outreach to constituents among student senators, Wang said. “We are going to be a great fit together because we’ve had a relationship before,” Clark said. “We have an understanding with each other that we can be honest with each other about what our shortcomings are and what we are doing well. So it’s going to be a great relationship.” Since they first partnered about a year ago over their shared concern for diversity and inclusion on campus following racial slurs made to visitors on campus Feb. 9, 2016, they have continued to serve alongside each other as senators and remained close friends. They discovered in the 68th session of Senate they saw eye to eye on a lot of issues and became each other’s allies, Clark said. “I always jokingly tell people that he’s my work husband because we work so much together and we talk so much and we cooperate on the same issues,” Wang said. Among the most significant of their work was legislation denouncing white supremacy and encouraging free speech on A&M’s campus, when white supremacist Richard Spencer delivered a speech in the MSC. “I didn’t come into Senate to become a diversity and inclusion senator, but because of my position and because I’ve seen how people were being hurt at Texas A&M because of something that they truly can’t fix or truly can’t change. I decided that they needed somebody to fight for them,” Clark said. Combining the strengths of these two experienced forces will not only benefit the culture of the Senate, but will benefit the student body as a whole, Chen said. Both leaders are dialed into hearing the voices of the students who haven’t always been heard in student government or in the student body, Hood said. “Their ability to be unitary characters and their ability to work well with all levels of administration, all levels of faculty and all levels of student leadership, gives them the opportunity and ability to make sure that issues get addressed, and this is particularly important because of how large our campus is,” Chen said. During his time as speaker, Hood worked to push a culture change in Senate, and through his leadership he managed to transform the focus of Senate from ideological purity and strictly conservative values to fighting for what’s best for all constituents, Clark said. “We all know the history of A&M — that it hasn’t been as accepting to the people who are not in the majority, so it’s important for us to be more inclusive, because that’s how the world is today,” Clark said. “The world is more interconnected. It’s important for us to learn about different people and different experiences, because in a practical sense, we’re going to have to work with different people from different background.” As Clark takes on the new role as speaker, he hopes to continue on the positive trajectory that Hood put in place, and always fight to make students’ experiences better, according to Clark. “I think that [Clark’s] main thing is consensus building and bringing in different perspectives and different views and presenting those to the senate body and making sure those voices are heard, which I think is a very, very important quality for the Speaker of the Student Senate to have,” Hood said. The legislative process that Clark and Wang are aiming for during the 70th session involves wider campus outreach to students, with the intent to hear their experiences and desires for A&M, then turning that into practical legislation. They hope to consider the best options for all students on campus, rather than just an individual sector or group. “If we are going to say that we represent all the students of Texas A&M and we are writing and passing policies that only represent one voice, then you can actually create a policy that might be really positive for one group of students, but really damage and hurt another group of students,” Hood said. “That’s what is most important in the role of Student Government Association is making sure that all students’ voices are heard,

Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION

Sophomore Jasmine Wang (left) and junior Ja’Cory Clark (right) initially partnered due to a common passion for diversity and inclusion

whether we disagree or agree with them.” According to Hood, by focusing on a greater number of voices and conversations, a strengthened argument, or point of view, can be made when student senators begin to draft bills and resolutions that they believe will benefit their constituents. When student senators allow other voices to be heard, they are able to better articulate their argument which translates to better policy and better advocacy for students. “Their ability to be unitary characters and their ability to work well with all levels of administration, all levels of faculty and all levels of student leadership, gives them the opportunity and ability to make sure that issues get addressed and this is particularly important because of how large our campus is,” Chen said. Both Clark and Wang have focused their experiences in Senate around seeking out the voices that are underrepresented on campus, and will continue to do so in their new leadership roles. Their focus on diversity stemmed from the fact that it became a crucial matter that concerned a considerable amount of students, Chen said. “Diversity has always been a great love of mine, because it’s with the empowerment of other people that we can continue to move forward as a university and as a student body. It’s those people, from those different walks of life, that bring those new perspectives to the table that allow us to really flourish and grow,” Wang said. Wang hopes that her position in Student Senate might inspire other minority students to get involved in student government, without fear of societal obstacles or norms that are put in place at the university. Representation matters to students, so when they see an Asian American and African American in positions of influence, other underrepresented students will hopefully feel inspired to get involved as well, Wang said. “We really just want to encourage, not only minority students to feel comfortable and part of the Aggie family, but for all students to feel that they’re properly represented,” Wang said. Clark and Wang serving alongside each other in the 70th session creates a rare, new environment in Senate, Chen said. Both individuals are qualified, intelligent and empathetic and will shift the reputation of student government by taking student opinion seriously, Chen said. “Now that they’re both student leaders … I can see student government moving in a really phenomenal direction,” Chen said. “They are the individuals that make this campus better.” As Hood has worked hard to shift the culture of Senate in his role as Speaker in the 69th session, he has faith the Senate’s two newest leaders will carry on the shift and continue to fight for all constituents. “My hope for them is that they pick up and carry on the banner that we’ve worked on this last year, creating an SGA where all voices are heard, not just voices from one side of the aisle or the other,” Hood said. “Creating a Student Senate where the perspectives that were brought forward were oftentimes the perspectives that no one else was going to hear.

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With Purpose will hold a 5K race on April 23 to raise awareness for pediatric cancer research.

WITH PURPOSE CONTINUED said Courtney McIlvoy, management senior and co-founder of With Purpose. “The impact of the RACE For Children Act, if passed, would be felt immediately by pharmaceutical companies, which would then be required to begin testing their treatments for children,” McIlvoy said. “The executive directors of both With Purpose and Kids V. Cancer lost their sons at early ages and are now doing anything they can for kids who are fighting pediatric cancer and still have a chance at a full life. So, if the RACE Act were to be passed, it would not only give hope to kids and families who are currently dealing with childhood cancer, but would also give solace to families who are in mourning.” McIlvoy said the group is raising awareness by not only talking to students, but establishing themselves within the local community. “One of our primary strategies to raise awareness is obviously by speaking to students and faculty within the Texas A&M community,” McIlvoy said. “We have a Campus Advertising team that lets students know about our events and explains what we are all about. Additionally, our Community Outreach team works to create and maintain partnerships with entities such as MD Anderson, the Ronald McDonald House Charities and local schools to increase exposure of our cause and organization. It’s an evolving process; we are constantly pursuing feedback in order to generate a bigger impact and more awareness of the issue.” Communication junior and co-founder Cole Stenholm said the organization’s biggest method of raising awareness is through fundraising.

“In general, we raise awareness for childhood cancer research through our fundraising events throughout the semester,” Stenholm said. “We are all looking forward to our third annual Run With Purpose 5K on April 23 and highly encourage anyone interested in supporting this cause to sign up.” McIlvoy said at the time she joined With Purpose her freshman year, the nonprofit was still new and operated out of Minnesota. She and a team of 10 students in a public speaking class were asked to host a public campaign for With Purpose in the Bryan-College Station area. “With little instruction, we decided to host the first Run With Purpose 5K and partnered with Jamba Juice to do so,” McIlvoy said. “After our project was over, I approached the other students in my group and asked if they wanted to create an official Texas A&M student organization and continue our work. Most of them agreed and we are now completing our fifth semester in existence with four of the original co-founders still active members of the leadership team.” Biomedical sciences senior Megan Nicholson said one of the ways students can show support for the group is to attend the 5K and contact their government representatives. “All runners will receive a goodie bag that includes information about RACE and a link to a form letter that is automatically sent to representatives and senators,” Nicholson said. “We also are sharing this link on our social media accounts to encourage friends, family and fellow students to contact their representatives.” Additional information about With Purpose, including the sign up for the 5K, how to join and more details on RACE for Children, can be found on their website: with-purpose.org.

Laura Haslam — THE BATTALION

Earth Galley Farms allows customers to come out and see the produce as it grows.

EARTH GALLEY CONTINUED organic food. “Food’s nutrients start leaving it as soon as you buy it, so if you buy locally, all of the nutrients are still really well packed into the produce,” Wells said. “We want to encourage the local communities to eat healthier so they’ll feel better. It does make a difference what you choose to put into your body.” Earth Galley provides fresh produce by decreasing the gap between when and where the farmer harvests the produce and when the consumer sees it. With today’s industrial agriculture system, people rarely have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with where their food is coming from and how it’s produced, said Ben Howard, employee of Earth Galley Farms. “With our company, customers can come out and see what’s going to be their food in a few weeks, growing in the ground here,” Howard said. “That’s why the local aspect is so important — if you buy an ear of corn from us, you know it came from right outside.” Although the company is currently fulfilling upward of 100 orders each week, Earth Galley Farms still relies on decreasing the gap between producer and consumer in order to benefit local

farmers and ranchers as well as the community. Co-owner Kenny Closs, Class of 2015, said choosing to buy local over industrially produced food helps the community out. “We’re trying to cut out the middleman stuff to help farmers keep doing what they’re doing,” Closs said. “For example, by the time [industrial food producers] have harvested [lettuce] and it’s gone from their facilities to the distributor to the whole-sellers to the grocery store to the restaurant and then finally to your plate, it’s been a couple weeks before you have it. With our product, we’re harvesting right now to deliver tomorrow. It’s extremely fresh.” As a mobile farm market, Earth Galley Farms aims to bridge the gap between the community and its food’s origins. Their home delivery service allows singles and families to select packages of fresh produce and other items that will be delivered directly to their front door. “I want Earth Galley to grow within the community and expose everybody to the great food you can find in your backyard,” Closs said. “There really are a lot of interesting people that are a part of this farmer’s market community who I think consumers would be happy knowing grow their food. So we’re here and we deliver in order to connect people to where they’re getting their food.”

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