Q:
thebattalionasks
What are your thoughts on A&M possibly getting a law school?
“I’m surprised we don’t have a law school already.”
“I don’t see any problem with A&M starting its own program.” Stephen Brigaitis, senior accounting major
Dixi Patel, senior biomedical sciences major
news for you
“I think there would be a lot of competition. Texas has a few really good law schools already.”
“I think that A&M should establish a PreLaw Curriculum first to help prepare students.”
Jennifer Panahi, junior political science major
Michelle Bettisworth, senior accounting major
thebattalion
texas Regents meet today
● thursday,
july 21, 2011
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2011 student media
The board of regents will meet today and Friday to tackle a long list of items regarding the A&M system. One item creating significant buzz is the Big 12 Conference and the Longhorn Network. Other items include renewing Mike Sherman’s contract and the possible approval of another construction project. The project proposes tearing down and replacing Moore, Crocker and McInnis halls with one five story $68 million Northside Residence Hall. If approved construction would begin in August with a target completion date of 2013.
COURTESY PHOTOS
A sketch of the “house of the future” with its design that uses the earth’s natural elements to help power the house.
Taylor Wolken, staff writer
Building the future
Military lawyers lead case FORT HOOD — The Army psychiatrist who faces the death penalty in the Fort Hood shooting rampage will be represented by three military lawyers after he unexpectedly severed ties with his civilian attorney Wednesday. Maj. Nidal Hasan told a judge during an arraignment hearing that he had released his civilian defense attorney and wanted to be represented by three military attorneys, including two who already had been on his defense team.
Architecture students combine modern technology with housing
Associated Press
lowest gas price
$3.55 603 Harvey Road & Stallings Drive.
Mitchell Lab
O’Dell Harmon Jr.
◗ The goal of the Mitchell Lab was to imbed building systems into a surface in a way that exceeds engineering towards the ornamental, so that aesthetics and infrastructure can interface into irreducible composites, foiling the often black and white discussion of formal invention versus performative problem solving.
exas A&M architecture students created a prototype for a “house of the future” using technology and new architecture practices in the spring.
The Battalion
T
The architecture students started looking at ways to take existing technology and incorporate it into the construction of new buildings during an inaugural Mitchell Lab Visiting Designer Program and partnered with Emergent, an organization dedicated to architectural research based in Los Angeles. “This project was a housing prototype called ‘house for the future’ and the idea behind it was part of Mitchell Lab and [its] ways of investigating new technology with new ideas about architecture,” said Gabriel Esquivel, an assistant professor of architecture and project director. This project involved multiple A&M students who had the chance to design and work with big name companies in producing the prototype.
A view from the inside of the prototype helps the house’s designers envision the final product.
“It was a combination of several students; it was not only third year [students], it was a combination of second year students, third year students and fourth year students, so it’s a really vertical studio,” Esquivel said. “It was approximately six students from second year, 10 students from third year and four students from fourth year so it was a very large project.” Mitchell Rocheleau, class of 2011, worked closely with the Los Angeles firm and was a vital part in the project’s completion. “My part was to serve as a representative of the firm in Los Angeles that we worked with,” Rocheleau said. “I worked there previously and that was our partners that we did the project with.”
Students were grateful for getting a chance to work on something that could change house design forever. “What I liked about it was that no other sophomores, probably in the United States, at a undergraduate level were doing what we were doing. We were the emerging group of students from the University trying to put A&M on the map it was interesting,” said Dylan Weiser, a junior environmental design major. The house does not use common materials like wood, brick or steel for its construction. The architecture team at the University spent approximately seven weeks to complete the project, Esquivel said. See Future on page 4
www.texasgasprices.com
bryan-college station
sports
City cuts 27 jobs, saves $1.5 million Connie Thompson The Battalion In an effort to help save $1.5 million, the City of College Station is eliminating 27 jobs. “As you know, our city organization has faced serious budget challenges in recent years, and we have responded with significant reductions,” said City Manager David Neely in an email sent to city employees. “Over the last three years, more than $5.3 million were cut from the city’s operations and maintenance budget, which allowed us to avoid layoffs. Despite those efforts, this year it’s necessary to take some highly regrettable but unavoidable measures as part of a broader reorganization.” Neely said that out of the 27 eliminated positions, 13 of them are vacant and include part and
Pg. 1-07.21.11.indd 1
full-time position. Three of the jobs to be cut will be through retirement or an acceptance of a new position. The decisions do not reflect the job performance of the affected individuals, Neely said. “I genuinely appreciate and respect their dedicated service,” he said. “Our hardworking employees are our very foundation, and this difficulty action is taken only as a last resort after an exhaustive review of our entire organization. It is one of the saddest and most painful decisions of my professional career, but I firmly believe it is the right decision for our long-term fiscal health.” The filled positions that have See Jobs on page 4
thebatt.com
‘Captain America’ Get the early scoop on Captain America at thebatt.com.
System regents to discuss UT network in private Adrian O’Hanlon III
PARAMOUNT PICTURES
Captain America, starring Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell and Tommy Lee Jones hits theaters Friday.
The Battalion Seven months after ESPN and the University of Texas announced their 20-year, $300 million partnership to form an unprecedented 24-hour news channel called The Longhorn Network, A&M has shown little interest in striking a similar deal to step out of the shadow of its financially dominant rival. The future is grim for all Big 12 members not sporting burnt orange, but an added agenda item for the A&M System Board of Regents comes as a flash of hope for Aggie fans. Jason Cook, chief communications officer at the University, confirmed to The Battalion on Wednesday that the board of regents will be briefed on the legal matters pertaining to recent developments within the Big 12 Conference—presumably the formation of the menacing Longhorn Network. Cook verified that the agenda item is informational, where the board will discuss the item in executive session. He
Schedule ◗ The Longhorn Network is scheduled to begin programming Aug. 26 with a two-hour show from the UT campus. The $300 million partnership between ESPN, UT and IMG College and is signed for a 20-year deal.
See Network on page 2
7/20/11 7:36 PM