Aggie softball sweeps Baylor The No. 16 Aggies beat the No. 25 Bears 10-2 Tuesday to capture a 3-game season sweep in the final conference series between the rivals.
thebattalion ! wednesday,
april 25, 2012
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Rich foundations
college station
Student helps deter Walmart robbery Trevor Stevens
The study revealed that A&M’s endowment grew 22 percent in the past year, tied with the University of Texas System for the largest percent increase among schools in the top-30 endowments. A university endowment fund is an investment fund set up by an institution in which regular withdrawals from the invested capital are used for specific purposes. They are normally funded by donations, but A&M and UT benefit from another source. The Texas A&M University System is primarily funded from two endowments: the Texas A&M Foundation and the Per-
The Battalion One man died as a result of an attempted robbery at the College Station Walmart on Friday. There could have been more deaths, however, according to an employee involved in the struggle to disarm the suspect: a photo lab technician, also an Aggie. “I was the other individual that stayed behind to help disarm the individual,” said education graduate student Christopher Williamson. When it became clear that a shoplifting suspect who had been taken to a back room had a gun, everybody ran from the room, Williamson said. But Williamson turned back to assist the remaining loss-prevention officer. Due to his prior experience as a police officer, he said the reaction was “automatic.” “As a cop you’re always involved in stuff,” he said. “What I was thinking in the situation was how to resolve it without anybody getting hurt.” The graduate student, husband and father of two sustained minor injuries to his hand during the struggle with the suspect. Williamson said he acted out of impulse in a critical situation. “You do a lot of things you don’t know you’re doing, but your body tells you it’s right because of prior experience,” he said. Williamson said it was when he realized the loss-prevention officer was alone with the suspect that he turned back to help him. “He needed help … my sole intention was to help a person in need. Also there was a concern for the customers in the store,” he said. “Anytime somebody has a firearm — anybody — there’s a lot of people in danger.” Nothing mattered except that the loss-prevention officer who remained saved lives, Williamson said. After earning an undergraduate degree from A&M in 2005, Williamson started his law enforcement career as a jailer. He was then sent to the police academy, after which he became a deputy for a municipal police department in Hector County, Texas. But he couldn’t see himself in that career long-term. “I realized that environment was not conducive to a wife and kids, so I came back to
See Endowment on page 3
See Walmart on page 2
Talya Lazerus — THE BATTALION
The Texas A&M Foundation, headquartered on campus at the Hagler Center (above), supports A&M programs and education through an endowment exceeding $1 billion. Other endowment funds come from the state.
A&M System endowment 10th-largest in nation, leading four of eight Ivy League schools but trailing UT System Justin Mathers The Battalion
W
hile tuition and student fee levels steadily rise with each passing year, many people may be surprised to learn that colleges across the U.S. are sitting on mountains of cash. Many more may be surprised to learn that of these colleges, the Texas A&M System currently lays claim to the 10th-highest mountain. In a comprehensive study, the National Association of College and University Business Owners evaluated the 2011 endowment funds for 839 institutions. Of these, 75 have more than $1 billion in the bank. Harvard University ranked No. 1 in the
study with just over $31 billion, Yale took second with $19 billion and the University of Texas System ranked third with slightly more than $17 billion. The Texas A&M System endowment registered at approximately $7 billion.
research
campus
Faculty reconsider US energy policy
Student group pushes freedom agenda on campus
Report says ethanol subsidies do more harm than good
Allison Linder
Maegan Valdez
The Battalion Researchers at Texas A&M concluded that U.S. energy policy mandating an increase in ethanol production is failing to reap the benefits lawmakers initially expected, with consequences for global food prices. The legislation in question is the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, originally the Clean Energy Act. James M. Griffin, director of the Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics and Public Policy, led the study at A&M with the help of Mauricio Cifuentes Soto, graduate student in public service and administration. According to the report, lawmakers anticipated that by increasing the use of ethanol, Americans would see lower gas prices, U.S. energy security would improve and greenhouse gas emissions would decrease. Griffin and his team found
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Corry Dobson — THE BATTALION
Senior spatial science major Miguel Villarreal pays before filling his car with ethanol-enriched gas at a Shell station. that, while all three of these benefits did occur, the impact of the policy thus far has been small. “We have gotten some positive effects, but the positives aren’t near as big as we thought they were going to be,” Griffin said. Currently the blend of gasoline is E-10 — 10 percent ethanol. Automobiles are able to travel
farther per gallon of ethanol-free gasoline than per gallon of ethanol-enriched gasoline. However, the refining costs of making the E-10 blend are lower, saving the consumer about six-and-a-half cents per gallon. After correcting for federal subsidies to ethanol blenders, the See Ethanol on page 5
Special to The Battalion After a major Christian conference for college students highlighted the pervasiveness of human trafficking, a student-led campaign known as the Freedom Movement took flight on the Texas A&M campus with one mission: to help eradicate all forms of human slavery. Human trafficking, both sex trafficking and trafficking for forced labor, is tied with the illegal arms industry as the second-largest criminal industry in the world, and is the fastestgrowing, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Freedom Movement is an effort by college students with the aim of providing not only a voice but also the resources needed to liberate the approximately 27 million enslaved individuals worldwide. Since the creation of the Freedom Movement campaign, more than 25 universities across the nation have joined efforts. “The Freedom Movement is a call to moving the masses, re-shifting perspectives from a selfish perspective to a selfless perspective,” said John Amini, junior business management major and Freedom Movement director. Monday was the beginning of a week-long See Freedom on page 2
Silver Taps discussion The Traditions Dialogues continue Wednesday as the Traditions Council considers ways to increase reach and attendance for Silver Taps. The discussion begins at 5:15 p.m. in Rudder 302.
Curriculum in question State-mandated changes to the core curriculum altered requirements for kinesiology credits beginning fall 2014. The Core Curriculum Council is weighing options and invites student and faculty feedback during forums at 5 p.m. Wednesday in Blocker 149 and 11:30 a.m. Friday in Rudder 404.
4/24/12 11:03 PM