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Islam and Sharia law in U.S. Islam is misunderstood in America, says Joshua Howell, political blogger for The Battalion. Howell applies Sharia — Islamic law — to current events in the U.S. at www.thebatt. com.
● monday,
september 26, 2011
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2011 student media
EDING
Soccer scores The No. 17 Texas A&M soccer team scored two victories during the weekend against Iowa State on Friday night and Loyola-Chicago Sunday, both at Ellis Field. A weekend recap is available at www. thebatt.com.
SEC presidents welcome Aggies
Adrian O’Hanlon III
Softball smash A&M softball returns eight starters from a squad that advanced to last year’s Super Regionals. A preview of the 2011-2012 season can be read at www.thebatt.com.
Hole-inone The No. 6 A&M men’s golf team tees-off the season Monday in Washington with the highest ranking in school history. A season preview is available at www. thebatt.com.
Roger Zhang — THE BATTALION
Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon stiff arms an Aggie defender in A&M’s last Big 12 matchup against OSU Saturday. Blackmon caught 11 passes for 121 yards in A&M’s 30-29 loss.
Adrian O’Hanlon III: Aggies fail to capitalize on national stage against Oklahoma State
Thanks to Loftin, stability is in A&M’s future
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SEC party at the Zone Club SEC officials are scheduled to visit A&M to welcome the University into itd new Conference home at 6 p.m. Monday in the Zone Club at Kyle Field. The A&M administration said students are invited to attend.
coming tuesday
Graduate students lose funds Undergraduates found fewer class offerings because of budget cuts to be an annoyance. Many graduate students who lost teaching positons see the decrease as a threat to their academic aspirations. Pick up a Battalion tomorrow to find out how one lab is adjusting to the difficult change in circumstances.
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See SEC on page 2
EDITORIAL
ong-awaited rematch. Anticipated shootout. Biggest game in school history. SXC.HU
The Battalion Texas A&M’s athletic conference future appears to have gained clarity after SEC presidents voted unanimously on Sunday to accept the University. A&M will officially join the SEC on July 1, 2012, and A&M athletic teams will begin competition with the new conference in the 2012-13 academic year. University President Bowen Loftin said he was excited to join the “premier athletic conference” and reiterated his belief that the move will benefit A&M’s visibility as one of the nation’s top institutions. “The Southeastern Conference provides Texas A&M the national visibility that our great
These pregame tags for the A&M-OSU game stimulated the overwhelming excitement among fans filing into Kyle Field on Saturday. However, 27 unanswered second half points turned the rowdy Twelfth Man into somber statues, with unblinking eyes and towels held limply to the side in sorrowful silence. A&M led 20-3 at the half in what seemed to be a blowout game — cementing the Aggies’ place in the Top-10 for the remainder of the season. However, gaining a huge lead with such ease ironically cost A&M the game as it lulled the team and — just as dangerously — the crowd to sleep. Sure, the crowd jolted awake after a few potential gamechanging plays late in the game, but everyone not wearing construction worker orange nodded back to sleep when OSU responded with its own big plays. Aggieland awoke just in time
to see OSU’s Justin Blackmon run out of the back of the end zone as time expired. Blackmon carried the ball and A&M’s dreams about a national championship out of the stadium. The A&M secondary couldn’t contain Blackmon or OSU quarterback Brandon Weeden, who threw for four touchdowns and a school record 434 yards. This is not the Wrecking Crew that had fans chanting against Nebraska last year. Granted, Weeden is a mature and accurate veteran at 27 years old, but a defense playing on national TV for a passionate fan base needs to step up and deliver the goods. I’m talking about Alabama’s defense holding conference opponent Arkansas — A&M’s next opponent — to 17 rushing yards in this week’s 38-14 drumming. The Aggie defense was porous in the second half, alSee Game on page 3
uring halftime of the A&M-OSU game Saturday, University President Bowen Loftin told CBSsports.com and The Dallas Morning News the legal blocks between A&M and the SEC are “basically gone.” If it’s true that these obstacles are no more, Loftin and A&M’s legal team deserve commendation. After all, leaving the Big 12 was anything but easy. A&M’s departure threatened the Conference’s stability. Responding to this turbulence, Texas protected its investment in the Longhorn Network; Oklahoma had to avoid becoming collateral damage in the shake-up; and Baylor desperately held onto the Big 12 — its best hope for significant athletic revenue. Each of these objectives depended on A&M staying put. But the administration main-
tained a unified message throughout: A&M’s future lies with the SEC, where its national exposure and athletic teams have the greatest opportunity. Yes, the Aggies lost on Saturday to a Big 12 opponent. Yes, A&M football might struggle with SEC schools in future years. But the decision was always about the University’s long-term interests and never about a single football season — this or any year. The SEC is the country’s premier athletic conference, bar none. As first shown by the Nebraska and Colorado exits, and more recently by UT’s and OU’s Pac 12 scramble, the Big 12’s future is unpredictable. Given an option between the two, the optimal choice is simple. The administration has acted decisively and in the best interest of A&M’s national brand.
EDITORIALBOARD The Battalion’s editorial opinion is determined by its Board of Opinion, with the editor in chief having final responsibility. Taylor Wolken Emily Villani Jared Baxter Robert Carpenter Managing Editor Opinion Desk Editor Managing Editor Editor in Chief senior applied math senior media studies sophomore English senior economics major major major major
campus
Bookless classes becoming more common Emily Davis The Battalion Most college students probably wish that they could get back all of the money they spent on textbooks.. Some professors, however, are starting to offer classes that don’t require textbooks. Joe Kahlig, professor of mathematics, has stopped using textbooks in many of his Math 141, business math, classes. Kahlig said he feels that professors can provide their students with all the information that a textbook would offer without requiring students to make the purchase “Textbooks are useful for practice problems, but when I write my own practice problems, students can see my style of writing questions,” Kahlig said. Kahlig said that the math department has started
putting homework online, which makes students less dependent on a textbook, and he prefers teaching without a textbook because more students feel the need to attend class in order to obtain the information. Kahlig said he feels that almost any class can be taught without a textbook, depending on how many times the professor has taught that class. “I have all the resources, but if they gave me a new class, I’d need a textbook,” Kahlig said. But it’s not just for his own benefit that he has stopped requiring a textbook. “Textbooks are expensive, and prices go up every year,” Kahlig said. “It’s just a way of trying to reduce costs.” Eric Baken, a sophomore biomedical engineerSee Bookless on page 4
Osa Okundaye — THE BATTALION
9/26/11 12:18 AM