Spring forward Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. on Sunday, costing an hour of sleep to start spring break. Don’t forget to set your clock forward one hour Saturday night.
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COURTESY
March 13, 2011
March 1, 2012
ASSOCIATED PRESS
(top) Encouraging messages from A&M students decorate a Japanese flag that was sent to Japan along with $25,000 in relief funds following the March 2011 tsunami. (below) The progress of Otsuchi town, Iwate, one year after a tsunami devastated the coast of Japan.
Waves of change Japan continues to rebuild one year after devastating tsunami Michal Ann Morrison The Battalion Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of the tragic tsunami that killed 20,000 people and caused widespread destruction along Japan’s Pacific coast. While tsunamis are common in Japan, this series of waves was caused by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake — one of the largest ever recorded. Two nuclear power plants in Japan were damaged by the earthquake, releasing radiation into the surrounding communities and environment, and entire towns were destroyed by the waves. The result for thousands of homeless was power shortages, food and water contamination, and debris
Masato Hirai, chemistry graduate student obstructing transportation. fairly quickly. The subway system was runAs much as 60 miles wide traveling as fast as ning in a very reduced form two days later from Japan, said his family felt the earthquake 500 miles per hour, tsunamis can be one of the and back up to functioning capacity by the in Tokyo, 250 miles from the epicenter. “My entire family lives in most destructive forces on Earth. Tokyo, and even though they However, recovery teams poured My didn’t see direct damage from into devastated areas, seeking to ... The magnitude of the hit the tsunami, the magnitude of rebuild what was lost. By the the earthquake hit the entire end of April, major roads had They had no idea it was coming. country. They had no idea it was been cleared, a stable food supply coming. It was really terrifying,” restored and several tourist re— chemistry graduate student Masato Hirai Hirai said. gions reopened. Hirai and other students with Kelsey Witt, senior genetics family in Japan were forced to major, was studying abroad in Japan at the time of the tsunami and said major next week. I believe most other rail lines that wait for half a day until phone service was improvements were made in the affected areas were stopped for a few days due to debris reinstalled before they could contact their on the tracks were also running soon after,” in a short amount of time. See Tsunami on page 2 “I did notice that Tokyo bounced back Witt said.
entire family lives in Tokyo. earthquake the It entire country. was really terrifying.
spring break
Officials warn of danger in Mexico Public Safety director says cartel violence ‘unpredictable’ Maegan Valdez
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Soldiers attend flag-lowering ceremony over silhouettes representing people allegedly killed by military members during Mexico’s drug war, at the Zocalo central square in Mexico City.
The Battalion For the second year in a row, the Texas Department of Public Safety warned spring beakers to avoid traveling to Mexico because of continued violence throughout the country. “The situation in Mexico today is significantly different than it was just a decade ago,” the department’s director, Steven McCraw, said.
“Many crimes against Americans in Mexico go unpunished, and we have a responsibility to inform the public about safety and travel risks and threats. Based on the unpredictable nature of cartel violence and other criminal elements, we are urging individuals to avoid travel to Mexico at this time.” Julietta Dasilva, sophomore international studies major from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, previously traveled to Mexico every year to visit family, but hasn’t been since spring break of 2010 because of safety issues. Dasilva said it is increasingly dangerous to travel across the border,
especially as an American with an American passport. Her family has experienced first-hand the randomized criminal activity of the cartels. Dasilva’s aunt was kidnapped last summer while waiting for a local bus. She didn’t have the money to pay her kidnappers, but family members gathered funds to give as ransom and her aunt was released. “Mexico is in a very unstable state right now. It’s really dangerous and I don’t recommend going, ” Dasilva said. According to the U.S. State See Mexico on page 2
thebatt.com
Kansas-83, A&M-66
baseball
Women’s hoops advances
Men’s basketball closes season with 17-point loss
Aggies take the field against No. 11 Titans
Austin Meek The Aggie women’s basketball team defeated Kansas, 78-63, on Thursday in the Big 12 tournament. A&M faces Oklahoma on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
Spring fashion Just in time for spring break, The Battalion’s style spectator blogs about the fresh season’s shift in wardrobe rules.
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The Battalion In the teams’ third meeting of the season, sixth man Elijah Johnson led the Kansas Jayhawks to an 83-66 victory in the second round of the Big 12 conference tournament. Johnson’s career high 26-point effort, in addition to Thomas Robinson’s 19-point, 10-rebound performance, proved too much for an A&M squad that had finished playing a game just 16 hours before tip-off. “I’m proud of our guys for competing, especially in the first half I thought we did some good things,” A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said. “But Kansas was very good today.”
Kansas converted on 61 percent of its field goals and put on a 10-for-15 shooting clinic behind the arc. “They demand so much help with Thomas Robinson and Jeff Withey that we left some guys open on the perimeter,” Kennedy said. “When they make ten threes and Robinson hits two threes, they’re a very difficult team to beat.” Johnson’s stellar performance was as impressive emotionally as it was physically. “His uncle passed middle of last week and services were Tuesday,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “So his family wanted him home. So he left Sunday and came back Tuesday night late. So he was away from the See Basketball on page 4
Chandler Smith
Jade Bedell— THE BATTALION
Sophomore pitcher Rafael Piñeda winds up during an A&M win against Michigan State.
The Battalion The No. 5 A&M baseball team (12-1), winners of its last seven games, will face its toughest test thus far when it takes on No. 11 Cal State Fullerton (8-4) for a three-day weekend series beginning 6:35 p.m. Friday at Blue Bell Park. The Aggies — coming off a momentous sweep of the defending Big 10 champions, Michigan State, and a 10-1 thrashing of Prairie View A&M — have looked the part of a top-10 squad fresh off a College World Series run. A&M currently leads the Big 12 in batting average at .314 and pitching ERA at 2.33 and will look to maintain that performance against the Titans. Cal State Fullerton enters the contest coming off a Big West championship run in 2011 and a pedigree of winning. Most recently, however, a seven game winning streak entering Tuesday was snapped after a 7-4 loss to USC. A&M head coach Rob Childress said he’s See Baseball on page 4
3/8/12 10:15 PM