UNDER CONSTRUCTION
b! coming thursday
thebattalion ● Wednesday,
September 21, 2011
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2011 student media
Dubstep crosses cultures The loud bass and distinctive sounds of Dubstep are starting to turn heads. What started in the Jamicas in the 1950s has now infilitriated the mainstream. Popular acts like LMFAO and Britney Spears are incorporating the techno genre into their music. We’ll dive deeper into the this growing music scene Thursday.
thebatt.com
Student shares trip tales
Kendall Kolker — THE BATTALION
Wellborn tunnel to unite Main and West Campus Roland Ruiz The Battalion Students might consider the onset of construction across campus to be a nuisance. With traffic inside and outside campus, and different sections of the University blocked off, the intersection of Wellborn and Old Main will be add to the number of construction sites interfering with pedestrian and vehicle crossings. The Wellborn Road Grade Separation project, a $34 million plan, will reroute Old Main as it crosses under Wellborn Road. The grade separation will involve creating two bridges: one for Wellborn Road and one for the railroad track. Once completed, traffic will avoid the train tracks, preventing delays crossing between West and Main Campus. Bob Appleton, director of transportation, planning and development of the
Texas Department of Transportation Bryan District, said the project was developed by the University as a result of federal earmark funds. “This project will enhance the growth on campus and provide efficiency and safety to people traveling through Wellborn and Old Main,” Appleton said. “In addition, the project will reduce conflicts between the railroads and people commuting through the area.” Texas A&M’s Facilities, Planning and Construction Unit received bids last week in which design engineers provided drawings and specifications on behalf of competing firms. The Wellborn Road Grade Separation construction could begin as early as November or as late as January 2012. James Riley, director for Utilities and Energy Management, said the project will dramatically improve the connection be-
This project will
enhance the growth on campus.”
Department of Transportation Bryan District
tween main and west campus, merging the two into one continuous campus. “This project will provide the means for vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians to traverse underneath both Wellborn Road and the railroad tracks much more easily and safely,” Riley said. The University received $23.8 million for the project from a federal grant,
MSC renovations honor the past
Lecture features China
Michael Dror
Check out thebatt.com to read about a lecture series, “Architecture for Health,” focusing on improving health care in countries with growing populations, specifically China.
Taylor Wolken — THE BATTALION
voices | 3 You’ve been punk’d Republican Congressman and former student Louie Gohmert files legislation titled “American Jobs Act,” stealing Obama’s jobs plan’s name. Mr. President, you’ve been punk’d.
Pg. 1-09.21.11.indd 1
A&M suffered $39 million in budget cuts this summer. Grab a Battalion Thursday to find out how A&M can afford to continue campus construction projects.
See Wellborn on page 4
thebatt.com
Guest columnist Andrew Roblyer shares his experience as a supporter of the GLBT community on campus.
despite cuts
— Bob Appleton, director of the Texas
Check out thebatt.com to read about senior civil engineering major Guillermo Ramos’s study abroad experience in Florence, Italy.
inside voices | 3 Like a scarlet letter
◗ Funding
The Battalion Once home to thousands of meandering students and more than half a century of tradition, the Memorial Student Center has stood bare and empty for the last three years due to the $100 million MSC Expansion project. When it opens on April 21, 2012, students and visitors will experience a new MSC, merging immortalized memories with state-of-theart utilities of the modern era. First opened on Muster in 1951, the MSC has been the center of a number of traditions, many of which renovation authorities hope will continue when the building reopens.
Since the summer of 2009, the Memorial Student Center has remained under timely renovation and is ahead of schedule. The center is due to reopen on April 21, 2012 — to coincide with Muster.
See MSC on page 6
campus
sports
Homeland Security chief visits Bush School
Pac-12 commissioner not interested in UT, OU Adrian O’Hanlon III
Robbie Smith The Battalion Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano visited the Bush School Tuesday to discuss homeland security ten years after Sept. 11. Speech “The idea is to homeland video connect security with what is Miss the event going on in our colTuesday evening? leges and universities No problem. because I believe that Catch clips of the students are the Napolitano’s future of our securispeech online at ty,” Napolitano said. Nathaniel Hickwww.thebatt.com. man, a graduate student at the Bush School, said he liked the focus of Napolitano’s speech. “She laid it all out and asked us the questions, because we’re the future,” Hickman said. “I think it’s great to put the responsibility to help solve these problems on ourselves.” The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created in response to the 9/11 attacks. Napolitano reminded students of
Jay Kapadia — THE BATTALION
Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, spoke Tuesday to students and faculty at the George Bush School. the ongoing and ever-evolving risks the country faces daily, but emphasized that the U.S. is safer now than ten years ago. “Terrorism did not begin on Sept. 11, and it did not end with the death of Osama Bin Laden,” Napolitano said. “Terrorist threats are real, constantly evolving and need our constant attention.” Among the many problems faced by DHS, Napolitano said, is that threats are coming not only from without, but also See Napolitano on page 4
The Battalion The Pac-12 athletic conference announced Tuesday that it will not extend invitations to any institutions, despite widespread rumors of league flirtations with Big 12 members Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech. Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement that the league preferred to maintain its 12-team status to benefit students and uphold television contracts. “While we have great respect for all of the institutions that have contacted us, and certain expansion proposals were financially attractive, we have a strong conference structure and culture of equality that we are committed to preserve,” Scott said. This leaves Oklahoma and Texas to with disagreements about the Longhorn Network — namely, the airing of high school game highlights. OU has demanded reform of the
contract before it will commit to the Big 12. The Atlantic Coast Conference also made a splash in the conference realignment tsunami during the weekend after it raided the Big East Conference, stealing member institutions Pittsburgh and Syracuse. ACC president John Swofford told ESPN in an interview that he is happy with 14 members but will not rule out further expansion. “We are very comfortable with the addition of Syracuse and Pitt,” Swofford said. “We’ve landed in a good spot, I think, with 14. We’re not ruling out 16. We’re not philosophically opposed to 16, but we’re happy where we’ve landed with 14.” Swofford explained that the additions strengthen the conference as a whole because the two institutions have a desired balance between academics and athletics. He went on to say See Conference on page 4
9/21/11 12:17 AM