clarification We’d like to clarify a story about outsourcing that ran June 5. The recommendations for facilities services are still under discussion and the decision will be made at the system level, according to sources close to the discussions. We welcome 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.
thebattalion ● thursday,
june 7, 2012
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2012 student media
campus
Circus comes to town Kalee Bumguardner The Battalion Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey will perform “Barnum Bash” in Reed Arena Friday through Sunday. Circus acts include acrobats, clowns, gymnasts, a strong man and, of course, animals. “All the acts are very impressive, but I’d have to say the animals are my favorite,” said Virginia Tuells, one half of Duo Fusion, a hand-balancing act. “A performer has to do difficult stunts, but when you see the animals, it adds an extra ‘Wow.’ And, I have to say, we have a clown from Russia and he’s taking the audience all through the show, doing very funny things. I love his act.” Tuells and her husband, Ihosvanys Perez, have been gymnasts since they were chil-
Photos by Roger Zhang — THE BATTALION
R. Bowen Loftin is only the fifth former student to be president of Texas A&M University.
thebattalion asks
Putting
students Loftin journeys from classroom to president
See Circus on page 6
first
Q:
If you could ask President Loftin one question, what would it be?
Naila Dhanani The Battalion
R COURTESY PHOTO
Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey has been entertaining the audience since 1907.
sports
Aggie teams on track
Born and bred in a small town in Texas and a product of this University, Loftin has solidified his legacy as a president for the students. Loftin was born in Hearne, grew up in Navasota and is a member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Class of 1971. “I grew up nearby so I was very familiar with Texas A&M, living 20 miles or so from the campus,” Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin said. “I made trips to campus for sporting events. I came to the campus from time to time. When I was beginning my senior year in high school and looking where to go to college, Texas A&M was an obvious choice.” Despite having an ‘obvious choice’, Loftin applied to schools other than Texas A&M — Rice University and the University of Texas. Although A&M was far closer to home than the other two schools, location wasn’t the only factor that swayed Loftin’s decision to attend A&M. Finances played a deciding role. See Loftin on page 3
Matt Robinson Special to The Battalion The A&M track and field team kicked off the NCAA Tournament Wednesday at the University of California at Los Angeles in hopes of gaining its fourth consecutive national title. Both the men’s and women’s 400-meter relay team qualified for a chance at titles after the preliminary rounds. Freshman Deon Lendore qualified for a championship run with a 45.19 seconds 400-meter dash. South Central Region’s male Track Athlete of the Year Prezel Hardy Jr. finished on the cusp of qualifying for the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.11 seconds. On the women’s side, sophomore Ashley Collier was a hundredth of a second from the final qualifying 100-meter dash sprinter. In the field, freshman Dalton Rowan placed eighth in the discus throw. This earned 1 point for the Aggies marking the beginning of the title defense. The Aggie track team will complete the preliminary round and start preparation for the final events on Thursday. The men’s field team will go after the javelin throw and high jump; and the women will compete in the hammer throw and long jump.
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What his stance on how state funds should be spent on primary and secondary education to prepare students for college?
Bowen Loftin is the 24th president of Texas A&M University, yet only the fifth Aggie to assume the role.
Michael Kuitu, Graduate water management hydrology science major
Loftin was accepted to three Texas universities – Rice University, Texas University, and Texas A&M University.
How many bow ties does he have? Weston Dial, junior nuclear engineering major
EDITORIAL
Support president who puts students first
A
s rumors surfaced regarding University of Texas President Bill Powers’ possible termination, an outpouring of support from the campus community occurred and rightfully so. A blog post by Paul Burka, a senior executive editor at Texas Monthly, claimed UT System Board of Regents had plans to fire Powers. These allegations stem from perceived dissension between Powers, who wanted a tuition increase, and the regents, all appointed by Gov. Rick Perry, who insisted on a tuition freeze. Although UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa released a statement denying plans to fire Powers, Burka later posted, subsequent to the chancellor’s statement, his source “continued to stand behind the information.” Administrators at Texas A&M are, at the very least, not unfamiliar with the battle over the cost of higher education between a president and a university’s regents. It could be assumed there was a political struggle regarding tuition after University President R. Bowen Loftin
surprisingly changed his plans to increase tuition. Back in February, the plan appeared to be a 3.95 percent increase in tuition to fund much needed faculty merit raises, per the recommendation of the Tuition and Fee Advisory Committee. In a sudden change of events, Loftin proposed that tuition remain flat, but not without the approval of a “student success fee.” Tuition didn’t increase. The average cost to students still went up, but in a more subtle fashion. The idea behind the student success fee is to liquidate fee money to fund different initiatives related to “student success.” Perhaps it is a lack of support for Loftin that influenced him to create the student success fee instead of raising tuition, which should be a lifeline for student success initiatives instead of a “student success fee.” The amount of power the board of regents holds, including, but certainly not limited to, tuition rates and the firing of university presidents, is troubling given the boards’ background. Regents, mostly businessmen, are often accused
of worrying more about the bottom line than the quality of our education. There is no question the president must be held accountable, but the board must act in interests of students. In a recent interview with The Battalion, Loftin noted every job has a boss and everyone is held accountable to someone or some thing. Loftin said, “I don’t mind being held accountable. You can always judge me, and people do so all the time. But you have to recognize, in this kind of job, there’s no permanency to it.” These are exciting times at Texas A&M University. We have a president who puts students first. In everything he does, he does for students. Although there have been no public allegations of discord among the regents and Loftin, students and faculty members should keep a close eye on the administration and ensure the president who puts students first is well supported. Naila Dhanani Editor in chief senior biomedical sciences major Trevor Stevens Assignments editor senior English major
6/7/12 12:29 AM