thebattalion ● wednesday,
september 5, 2012
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2012 student media
Photos by Trevor Stevens — THE BATTALION
Jose Arredondo and Cody Bailey pertner to perform extensive renovation on the historic Downtown Bryan landmark.
Encore performance Local duo renovates historic Grand Stafford Theater Alec Goetz The Battalion
T
he University of Texas at Austin has always had an advantage over Texas A&M in its access to the state capitol’s music culture. Aggies who prefer their tunes with a little less twang and a little more anything else are usually looking at a twoplus hour drive to Longhorn country or Houston for their live music fix.
“College Station is great for Texas country, not so much for other genres. It’s kind of disappointing for a college town,” said senior English major Madelyne Adams. “It would be nice to see something being
promoted that’s not Josh Abbot or Roger Creager.” Enter the Grand Stafford Theater—the latest revision of Downtown Bryan’s oldest venue—which makes its debut this week with promises of injecting new life into Aggieland’s music scene. “With The Stafford we are trying to bring a big city music experience to Bryan,” said Jose Arredondo, class of 2011
and managing partner at the Stafford. “There’s hasn’t been anything like this place in the area for a long time. We wanted to change that.” Built in 1913 as a singlescreen movie theatre and performance venue, The Grand Stafford Theatre is one of downtown Bryan’s oldest structures and is known as See Stafford on page 3
The Grand Stafford Theater is slatted to open its doors Thursday, after being closed for more than a year.
sports
student government
Coaches talk A&M-Florida
Student Stenate begins sessions Wednesday
Michael Rodriguez
File Photo
Texas A&M faces the University of Florida Saturday at Kyle Field.
The Battalion The countdown to kickoff has begun for the highly anticipated game between the 23rd ranked Florida Gators and the Texas A&M Aggies after the weekly press conference was held in the Bright Football Complex Tuesday afternoon. “We’re ready to get things rolling,” said senior linebacker Sean Porter. The Aggies are making their SEC debut against the Gators who under second season head coach Will Muschamp, boasted the seventh ranked defense in the country. Needless to say, the true test for the Aggies will be when their veteran offensive line, anchored by Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthews, faces the violent Gator defensive line. “We’re going to find out how good [the ofSee Football on page 5
New business includes mandatory meal plans, student fees, MSC hours Jake Walker The Battalion The 65th Session of the Student Senate will meet Wednesday night for the first meeting of the semester to deliberate various issues regarding the student body. Student senate will cover several issues, beginning with a bill targeting the operating hours of the Memorial Student Center, and ending with an amendment to the student senate constitution regarding the
protection of religious expression. The first order of business on the senate’s agenda is the MSC 24-Hour Bill. Currently, the MSC is open to students until midnight on weekdays, and 1 a.m. on weekends. The bill requests that the MSC be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “The MSC is the living room of campus,” said Maci Hurley, executive director
campus
inside life | 5 Field fashion
Aggie historians share wealth of knowledge Barrett House The Battalion Texas A&M University is a living, breathing example of a constant recognition of the past and what it means for the present and future. Students present in the Flag Room Tuesday had the opportunity to hear the campus’ extraordinary history from authors who often experienced that history first hand. Tuesday served as the Memorial Student Center Grand Opening’s Tradition Day. Four Aggie authors — John Adams, John Hoyle, Henry Dethloff and Col. James Woodall — gathered to share their experiences and knowledge. Adams, author of Softly Call the Muster: The Evolution of a Texas Aggie Tradition and several other books, Class of 1973, was one of the authors to address the crowd. Adams gave tidbits of historical trivia about
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Students dish about current gameday attire.
inside campus | 7 Memories like elephants
nation | 6 DNC begins Get a look at what hapened at the Democratic Convention on Tuesday.
Old Ags share stories about their time at Texas A&M. the University. For instance, Adams said it’s possible A&M’s official color is maroon because it rhymed with a distinguished Aggie’s last name of Moran. Reveille was named Reveille because one morning as the mascot was walking across campus, she began barking at the trumpets as they played “Reveille,” the morning formation call for the Corps of Cadets. Outside of giving students the opportunity to learn about the Aggie traditions and history they partake in daily, the event was an attempt
See SGA on page 4
Aaron Cranford — THE BATTALION
The MSC Grand Opening Celebration continued in the Flag Room Tuesday afternoon. to recognize the work of these Aggie historians. “I think it is a good first attempt to recognize historic work of Aggie professors,” said John Hoyle, professor of education administration, future studies and Class of 1957. Hoyle, author of Good Bull, has been at A&M for 35 years.
“People tell stories, you hear stories. My wife told me to put them in a book,” Hoyle said. The authors represent hard work and dedication, and a sense of pride in the annals of Aggie history. It’s a distinguished history worth the effort, See Authors on page 7
campus Health architects The Architecture Health Visiting Lecture series continues Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. in Langford Architecture Center.
9/5/12 12:58 AM