The Battalion: February 28, 2012 by The Battalion

thebattalion ● tuesday,february

28, 2012

● serving

texas a&m since 1893

undercover

Rhythm

Police sting crime in B-CS

Blue

Undercover operations target stolen property, narcotics, alcohol distribution

Blue Man Group brings colorful music to campus

Barrett House The Battalion Undercover operations are a weapon utilized by law enforcement in order to crack down on criminal activity across the globe. The Bryan-College Station area, with its own criminal element, is no exception. According to John Agnew, public information officer for the Bryan Police Department, undercover operations are used in order to break a cycle that criminals rely on, especially when dealing with the sale and distribution of stolen property. “Our goal when we do something like this is we’re trying to break the cycle that encourages the continued victimization of our citizens,” Agnew said. “If someone steals property from our citizens, and another person goes and buys it, they are creating a cycle and are reinforcing for the person who stole it that there’s a market for the stolen property.” Undercover operations are not merely limited to stolen property. The College Station Police Department also takes part in narcotics and alcohol distribution operations. “Most of the time our undercover operations are geared toward narcotics, or we have what we call ‘plainclothes assignments,’ which a person is working in plainclothes undercover operations,” said Sgt. James Woodward of the College Station Police Department. “And those are done on a regular basis in the bars in the Northgate area, trying to catch underage drinking.” Ryan Bray, junior technology management major, said he defends law enforcement’s ability to conduct undercover operations — especially since the rules are in place for people’s safety. “Most of the laws are convened for

Jennifer DuBose The Battalion

he Blue Man Group is coming to College Station, and they’re bringing a spectacle of art, sound and technology equipped to wow Rudder Theatre in an entirely new way. Bhurin Sead, one of the three blue men, said the show is more of a two-way sensory experience than a mere performance. “It’s hard to describe. [The show] is meant to be experienced,” Sead said. “There’s really no fourth wall between us and the audience, so they let us know where we want to take it every night. The blue men discover the audience and the audience gets to live in the moment and have fun — let go of everything else.” Each performance is tailored to fit Blue Man the crowd of the night. The show depends entirely on audience interGroup action and plays off the energy in the Performance room. For example, if an audience is particularly quiet, the musicians and times will alter the pace of the ◗ The Blue Man Group performers show to inspire excitement. will perform Thursday “The band is different for each through Monday. audience, but the show is scripted,” ◗ Additional information Sead said. “There are certain points that we have to hit every time in orregarding tickets der to reach the finale, but it’s how and show times are we hit them that changes.” available online at mscopas.org. See Blue on page 2

Basically, no show is the same. “Every city is really unique,” Sead said. “Everywhere we’ve gone, it’s been really receptive and that gives us something real and tangible to work with.” The performance itself revolves around three bald characters that exhibit a wide range of emotions while portraying a special sense of childlike wonder in the process. It’s about tapping into the inner kid and letting go of the constrictions of everyday life, not just for the audience, but for the performers as well. “When I put on the makeup, I get to be myself,” Sead said. “I get to get away with more stuff, like joking. The Blue Man is a heightened sense of what’s inside. I’m more myself than when I’m out of the makeup.” Clayton Bridge, freshman electrical engineering major, purchased Blue Man Group tickets for sentimental reasons. “I used to do taekwondo demonstrations to Blue Man Group music, so I’m attached to them in a way,” Bridge said.

See Undercover on page 6

Baylor 69, A&M 62

campus

Bears hold off Aggies

Renowned reporter promotes book at A&M Emily Villani

Mark Dore The Battalion The No. 11 Aggies pushed the undefeated No. 1 Lady Bears farther than any team has this season in front of 10,265 fans — the third-largest crowd in program history — coming back from 15 down to take the lead in the second half. But the top team in the country responded, outdueling the Aggies in a free throw heavy contest, 69-62. A&M (20-8, 11-6) trailed 25-10 out of the gate, allowing 6-foot-8 Baylor junior center Brittney Griner to have her way in the interior. Griner would check out of the game

Matthew Wong — THE BATTALION

A&M attempts to retrieve a loose ball from Baylor at Reed Arena Monday night. after recording her second personal foul well before halftime, opening a door the Aggies would seize to the tune of a 28-10 run spanning into the second half that allowed the Aggies to take their first lead of the game, 38-37. A&M head coach Gary Blair said that his team has improved since taking a 71-48 thrashing in Waco earlier

this season. “That’s the best basketball game that’s been in here this year,” Blair said. “We’ve gotten better since we got embarrassed in Waco. This is a team that’s a work in progress.” The Aggies were eventually undone by an inability to convert from

The Battalion Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times reporter Eric Schmitt will be on campus Tuesday to promote his new book, “Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America’s Secret Campaign Against Al Qaeda.” Schmitt’s career has involved reporting on the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and embedding with troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and Pakistan. Currently, Schmitt is a terrorism correspondent . “I’m down here at Texas A&M at the invitation of Gen. Weber, who I got to know in Iraq,” Schmitt said. Lt. Gen. Joe Weber, vice president of Student Affairs and retired Marine Corps veteran, said he and Schmitt got to know each other Schmitt

David Gardner’s Jewelers

◗Schmitt is the autor of Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America’s Secret Campaign Against Al Qaeda. ◗ Schmitt will discuss his book at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday in the Great Hall at the Sanders Corps Center.

See Schmitt on page 6

See Basketball on page 6

E N G A G E M E N T

‘Times’ reporter discusses book

R I N G

E V E N T

Friday & Saturday, March 2 & 3

where aggies get engaged www.whereaggiesgetengaged.com

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2/28/12 12:56 AM

Attention Class of 2013, 2014, and 2015! Are you interested in becoming a Class Officer? We currently have applications available for Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer, which can be found online at

classcouncils.tamu.edu.

Applications are due at Koldus 223 by 5:00pm on March 5th. If you have any questions please contact the Class Center at 979-845-3534.

Today 20% chance of rain High: 74 Low: 63 Wednesday mostly sunny high: 74 low: 61 Thursday partly sunny high: 78 low: 65 Friday thunderstorms high: 76 low: 47 courtesy of NOAA

Connect online

thebattalion THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT VOICE OF TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893

pagetwo thebattalion 2.28.2012

Big Event boasts big numbers By the time Big Event registration closed Friday afternoon, more than 17,200 students had registered for the one-day service project. “If one person spent 40 hours per week working in the BryanCollege Station community, it would take him an excess of 35 years to complete all of the work required at our job sites,” said Ben Bates, Big Event director. Students who missed the deadline but who want to participate can sign up on the day of the event, March 24. To ﬁnd out more, students can visit bigevent.tamu.edu Robert Carpenter, staff writer

Robert Carpenter, Editor in Chief Jordan Williford, Managing Editor Trevor Stevens, City Editor Joe Terrell, Enterprise Editor Nalia Dhanani, Opinion Editor Chandler Smith, Sports Editor

Jennifer DuBose, Lifestyles Editor Joanna Raines, Religion Editor Kalee Bumguardner, Research Editor Jorge Montalvo, Graphics Chief Roger Zhang, Photo/Video Chief

THE BATTALION (ISSN #1055-4726) is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and Monday through Thursday during the summer session (except University holidays and exam periods) at Texas A&M University. Periodicals Postage Paid at College Station, TX 77840. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, Texas A&M University, 1111 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-1111. 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. News offices are in The Grove, Bldg. 8901. Newsroom phone: 979-845-3313; Fax: 979-845-2647; E-mail: metro@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 979-845-2696. For classified advertising, call 979-8450569. Advertising offices are in The Grove, Bldg. 8901, and office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fax: 979-845-2678. Subscriptions: A part of the Student Services Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pick up a single copy of The Battalion. First copy free, additional copies $1. Mail subscriptions are $125 per school year. To charge by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express, call 979845-2613.

Violations insert drama into SBP race Robert Carpenter The Battalion Late violations submissions threatened to disqualify one student body president candidate Monday night. The Thomas McNutt student body president campaign submitted an expense report at 5 p.m. Monday totaling $1,310.51 in expenditures during the campaign process. Student body president candidates are not allowed to exceed $1,800 in expenditures, and if a candidate exceeds the amount, the candidate faces disqualification, per election rules. During the auditing process Monday evening, the election commission re-

viewed a transaction in which McNutt’s campaign received a discount for a product and did not account for the total value, and amended the campaign’s total expenses to $1,339.98. Still later, election commissioner Kyle Jackson said five candidates submitted a violation against the McNutt campaign regarding the reported price of his website, credited at $50 on his expense report. Jackson said the commission reviewed the McNutt website, including estimates from professional advertising firms and interactive design firms about a reasonable price at which the website could be maintained and developed, and agreed to that the McNutt campaign should have credited at least $500 for the site, to match the fair market value. After this decision, the commission added $450 to McNutt’s expense report, bringing the total to $1,789.98 — $10.02 short of the $1,800 limit. It was unclear whether there was possibility for more than $10.02 in additional penalties, which would disqualify the McNutt campaign, pending appeals.

Candidates are required to include the fair market value of all products and services rendered, even if provided at a discount. Sunday evening, McNutt told The Battalion that a friend, not a student, had volunteered to develop his website and that the friend charged McNutt $50 for the domain. Because labor is not includable in expense reports, McNutt said $50 covered the entirety of website costs. McNutt also said he spoke with Jackson before the campaigns started and that his website was approved. McNutt was not available for comment Monday night. Caroline Cyrier, campaign manager for McNutt, said she filed a writ of injunction with the student government judicial court so that McNutt could not be disqualified or removed from the ballot until all issues are resolved, if the total ends up exceeding. $1,800 at any point in the coming week. “We should be filing a [judicial court] case tomorrow. We actually sent an email to the commission from Thomas’ friend, Bryce, who did the website, saying that if labor

Blue Continued from page 1

All emotions aside, the Blue Man Group is also about exhibiting technology, color and music in ways that are not often seen. “There’s so much in [the show] — music, comedy, technology, scientific vibes,” Sead said. “The original Blue Men are heavily involved in the creative process. They surround themselves with different writers and technology to keep it fresh.” Students who are going should expect everything from paint to drums to various multimedia. The night will be anything but normal. “There’s a big finale that I love talking

was not OK to be donated … it would be $300, not this $450 number,” Cyrier, a junior history major, said. Cyrier said she and McNutt were disappointed this issue was coming to light now, two weeks after she says McNutt discussed the website issue with Jackson. Jackson said commission members who unanimously confirmed the $500 value had not seen the expense report submitted by McNutt, and that the value will remain unless McNutt is able to provide documentation or information that suggests the $500 value is not an accurate amount. Jackson said members who had previously seen McNutt’s expense report stepped out of the room while the remainder of the commission deliberated. At 1:15 a.m. on Tuesday, Jackson said the election commission closed the evening without any additional penalties to McNutt, keeping his total at $1,789.98. Primary voting closes Tuesday at 5 p.m., with the results announced at 8 p.m. in Academic Plaza. To vote, students should visit vote.tamu.edu.

about, but I don’t want to give away,” Sead said. “People see it and leave talking about it for days.” Jordyn Ingram, sophomore nutrition major, views the event as a much-needed stress reliever and plans to let go of the daily chaos. “It’s after my two hardest exams, so going to the show will be a celebration,” Ingram said. After the show, the blue men and the band will be available in the lobby for a brief meet and greet with the audience. The show will run from March 2 through March 4. Additional information regarding tickets and show times are available online at mscopas.org.

corrections The The Executive Council of Health Organizations (ECHO) and Professional School Advising (OPSA) present

The Battalion welcomes readers’ comments about published information that may require correction. We will pursue your concern to determine whether a correction needs to be published. Please contact us at editor@thebatt.com.

22nd Annual Health Professions Symposium Texas A&M University

Tuesday, February 28, 2012 Rudder Exhibit Hall 10:30 am – 2:30 pm Over 70 Health Professions Programs-Medical, Dental, Pharmacy, Podiatric Medicine, Physician Assistant, Physical Therapy, Optometry, Nursing, Chiropractic Medicine, Public Health, Health Care Administration

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howtoapply If you are interested in writing or contributing content in The Battalion, apply at thebatt.com, or call 845-3313. The Battalion welcomes any Texas A&M student interested in writing for the arts, campus, metro or sports staffs to try out. We particularly encourage freshmen and sophomores to apply, but students may try out regardless of semester standing or major. No previous journalism experience is necessary.

2/28/12 1:32 AM

sports

page 3 tuesday 2.28.2012

thebattalion

Photos by Roger Zhang â&#x20AC;&#x201D; THE BATTALION

Students celebrate after an Aggie score in the first half of Monday nightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s game against Baylor.

End of the line

Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey and A&M head coach Gary Blair watch their teams from the sideline.

Kim Mulkey and the Baylor Bears meet during a timeout in the first half. Mulkey is in her 12th season as Baylorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head coach.

TUESDAY

A&M head coach Gary Blair game plans with the team in a first-half timeout.

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