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Wildfire relief efforts Delta Tau Delta will be collecting donations and selling Robert Earl Keen CDs this week for wildfire relief efforts. Students can stop by from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. today at Koldus Plaza, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday at Wehner Plaza and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at West Campus Library. There will also be a donation drop off during the same times in front of The Lofts at Wolf Pen Creek. Amber Jaura, Staff Writer
● wednesday,
september 14, 2011
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2011 student media
Aggies gone global Across the pond
An African adventure O’Dell Harmon O
Katie Marie Pogue
The Battalion T
The Battalion Jonathan Christ, a senior international studies and French double major, spent his summer exploring regions of France, experimenting with French cuisine and avoiding the London riots, all while interning at the American Embassy in Paris. After an application and interview process, Christ received the opportunity through A&M’s Public Policy Internship Program. While PPIP traditionally sends students to intern in Washington, D.C. or
coming thursday
Improving A&M Vision 2020 has been a dynamic force in A&M policy for 12 years. Find out what it includes, how it has affected the University and if it is a realistic objective.
Caitlin Red, a senior international studi studies major, has taken her collegiate sp specialization to heart in the island nation of Madagascar. “I “I’m interning with a Chr Christian ministry called Operation Op Mobilization,” Re Red said. “They have a missions team here in M Madagascar,” Red said. ““And I’m doing some ccommunications work ffor them. It’s kind of like a journalism position.” Caitlin’s study abroad ttrip started with visits to SSouth Africa and Zambia, w where she got to know th the locals before starting
See Paris on page 4
See Madagascar on page 2 Se S
Engineering abroad
Lessons in linguistics
inside religion | 3 Bluecollared gospel
Luz L Lu z Moreno-Lozano
John Tee The Battalion The summer of 2011 has gone and school has started. For David Glasheen, a senior history and Russian double major, it was a summer to remember. Glasheen traveled to Russia with CIEE, a nonprofit organization that organizes student sudy abroad trips. Requirements included at least one year of Russian language classes because students had to interact with the locals who speak very little English. “You had to have at least some Russian. We had placement tests,” Glasheen said. Much like the language, Glasheen
Popular Catholic musician Matt Maher is visiting College Station this weekend. Learn about Maher’s journey to the top of the charts and what he thinks of true American worship.
voices | 5 Student senate in session
See Russia on page 4
Senate convened last week for the first time in months. Columnist Naila Dhanani weighs in on what she saw at the meeting and what students should expect from their elected representatives this semester.
COURTESY PHOTOS
Medical memories Luz Moreno-Lozano The Battalion Gabriela Pina, junior school health major, traveled to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic this summer in a five-week program. The Memorial Student Cecneter’s L.T. Jordan Institute offers the Internship Living Abroad Program that gave Pina the opportunity to work in a hospital and receive a one-hour course credit for her experience.
“I wanted to study abroad to get that type of exposure,” Pina said. Working at the “Hospital Infantil Dr. Robert Reid Cabral,” a hospital for infants and young children, Pina interned with five others, rotating between three different services: emergencies, surgery and consultation. Pina said coupling an international experience with See Dominican on page 2
The T he Battalion For five weeks this summer, C Chris Standley, a senior aerospace engineering major, studied abroad in Brazil where he visited Sao Paulo, Rio de Janiero, Petropolis, Manaus, Campinas and Foz de Iguacu. “I have never traveled outside the country, and I figured this was my best opportunity to do so,” Standley said. “We also got 12 hours of class credit from our two classes, rocket propulsion and material failure modes, as well as six hours of ICDs [international cultural and diversity credits].” Standley said Brazil has many different customs and is mostly famous for its culture, music and food. “Some of the music was the exact same as ours, mostly in pop culture, but we also went to a samba club to take See Brazil on page 4
engineering
Career Center welcomes busy semester Justin Mathers The Battalion Engineering majors crossed the railroad tracks in droves Tuesday, headed for Reed Arena and day one of the engineering career fair. It was the first of three days of career fairs on campus this week, with the engineering fair continuing Wednesday and the science career fair Thursday in Rudder Tower. With these events now in full swing,
it is open house at the Career Center. Leigh Turner, Career Center executive director, greets students who stop by with a smile and a small koozie filled with information about the services that her organization offers students. She also has good news for students: despite the economy, recruiters are flocking to A&M. “We’re absolutely swamped with students looking for career advice and
employers looking for potential employees,” Turner said. “We’re spread out all over campus working to meet all the demand. And with all of the career fairs coming up soon it’s only going to get busier around here.” The career fairs, many of which have been running more than 13 years, continue to attract top multinational companies. More than 100 employers and graduate schools sent representatives to
the fair, and 74 are scheduled to participate in the science career fair. The fairs are a staple of the Career Center’s annual activities, introducing students to hiring businesses. Officials said making these connections and bridging gaps is a central mission for the Center. Patricia Barron, career coordinator for Liberal Arts majors, has been pleased See Fair on page 8
campus news
Equality bus rolls into town O’Dell Harmon Jr. The Battalion The “On the Road to Equality” bus tour stopped in G. Rollie White Plaza Tuesday to address gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights Tuesday. GLBT Aggies worked with a nonprofit group, the Human Rights Campaign, to bring the bus tour to town. The event included free frozen yogurt, prizes, support material and guest speakers from
around the country who told their stories. “The Human Rights Campaign has been around since the 1980s as an organization, but this is the first time we have ever done a bus tour,” said Candace GingrichJones, youth and campus outreach associate director for the Human Rights Campaign. “We’ve done polling, the research, we know anecdotally that there is support out there; it’s just about engaging people publicly about that sup-
port.” Event organizers stopped students walking through the hightraffic area to talk about equality for GLBT students and the importance of ending hostility toward GLBT students. Camden Breeding, senior electrical engineering major and GLBT Aggies president, said he was there to help and offer support. “The whole point of the Road See Equality on page 3
Comm+unity Presents
The Love In Between Tour Featuring
MATT MAHER
mattmahermusic.com
Pg. 1-09.14.11.indd 1
Roger Zhang — THE BATTALION
Students sign petitions supporting marriage equality for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders Tuesday afternoon near G. Rollie White Coliseum.
At Christ United Methodist Church SEPT 16th @ 7PM For Tickets go to itickets.com or visit Christ-UMC.org
9/14/11 12:14 AM