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life | 3 Spring TV
With the start of a new semester comes the return of many hit sitcoms to the TV lineup, sure to bring the procrastination bug to many college students.
tech | 4 NASA research Two Texas A&M aerospace engineering professors have been awarded a grant by NASA to assist in research of rotor blade aircrafts.
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nalysis of the nine mid-year additions to the A&M football team reveals that this batch of recruits — like the Heisman Trophy and several recent departures — is a symptom of success.
clubs | 5 Aggie advocates
See story on page 5
COURTESY
Clockwise from bottom left: Jeremiah Stuckey, Reggie Chevis, Cameron Clear, Tommy Sanders, A.J. Hilliard, Alex Sezer, Brett Wade, JaQuay Williams and Jordan Points.
economy
Farmers Fight, an agricultural advocacy movement, strives to teach Texas A&M students and the community how to care for animals, the land and the importance of producing safe, nutritious food for the world.
breakaway
Adviser parallels college degrees and long-term investments Chris Scoggins
The Battalion It is a nightmare that plagues the dreams of many young adults. Work — or rather the lack of it, in an economy teetering close to another recession — is affecting the lives of undergraduates and turning a bad dream into a waking reality for graduates and young job seekers.
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Students across the country are facing increased difficulty finding employment after college, a trend that has been prevalent since the beginning of the economic recession in 2006. Recent college graduates are fighting for jobs against a shrinking workforce. Josh Armstrong, Class of 2012, graduated last May with a Bachelor of Science degree and is currently unemployed. Life after graduation for Armstrong is filled with an air of uncertainty. “Life is just at a different pace now,” Armstrong said. “It’s you trying to find out what you want to do. You wake up every day without knowing what’s going
to happen.” The millennial generation, the group of young Americans age 18 to 29, is facing 11.5 percent unemployment, according to a December’s millennial jobs report by national, non-partisan organization Generation Opportunity. This number does not take into account the declining labor force participation rate, which additionally has created 1.7 million young adults that are not counted as unemployed because they are not in the labor force. This means that 1.7 million young Americans have given up looking for work altogether due to the lack of jobs, according to Generation Opportunity. If the 1.7 million is factored, the millennial unemployment rate would be 16.3 percent. For students such as Armstrong, this is not encouraging news. Some students believe continuing school may be the best option to market themselves. “You learn a lot during your undergraduate,” Armstrong said. “Any graduate program is a professional program. Being out of school and [the] See Millennial on page 4
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Jenna Rabel — THE BATTALION
Pastor Ben Stuart emphasizes a point during his message at Breakaway, which takes place Tuesday nights in Reed Arena.
Ben Stuart inspired by faith in B-CS area Elise Brunsvold
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olored his has lenges eration Thomas Storey — THE BATTALION
In addition to the 1.7 million young adults not counted as “unemployed” by the U.S. Department of Labor because they are not in the labor force, the total unemployment rate for 18-29 year olds for December was 11.5 percent.
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The Battalion Ben Stuart has become something of a celebrity on campus. Known for his inspirational talks and witty sense of humor, Stuart’s ministry has attracted thousands of students to Breakaway every week, furthering both his message and work in the college world. A former youth pastor and student at Dallas Theological Seminary, Stuart became the executive director of Breakaway in 2005. Since then, his talks and ministry have become a mainstay at A&M,
with Breakaway recently hitting the 10,000 mark for attendees. Though it is a huge part of his life now, Stuart admitted that he initially declined the position at Breakaway. He said coming to the A&M campus and visiting with students changed his mind. “I would come [to campus] and fill in to speak,” Stuart said. “Every time I came down and met with students and saw what was happening [at A&M], I saw that God was moving and that it would be crazy to not get involved.” See Stuart on page 3
1/15/13 12:56 AM