thebattalion ● thursday,
september 27, 2012
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2012 student media
Diplomatic discussion Professors deliver commentary on Middle Eastern unrest, sanctions Annabelle Hutchinson The Battalion
T
he possibility of Iran going nuclear and the crisis in Syria were hot-button issues discussed by former ambassador and Bush School professor Larry Napper and Bush School professor Mohammad Tabaar during the first installment of the Great Decisions Discussion Series.
The discussion also covered the Arab Spring protests, rivalries between Turkey and Iran and the U.S. relations with Turkey and Iran Wednesday night at the George Bush Presidential Library. The focus — Iran becoming a nuclear power — has been an ongoing issue in American politics and continues to be pertinent in the upcoming national election, though Napper said the resolution of the issue is unclear. “The answer to that is that I don’t know,” Napper said. “I don’t think anybody knows yet how all this is going to play out.” Napper said the pressures and sanctions are ratcheting up on Iran because it has not aborted its nuclear arms program. He said there are in-
Roger Zhang— THE BATTALION
Retired Ambassador Larry Napper, left, introduces Wednesday night’s discussion on the topic of Turkey and Iran relationships with Syria. creasing military pressures as well. “The international community wants Iran to abandon enrichment or to at least restrain it,” Napper said. Tabaar also commented on Iran’s nuclear arms program. He said, according to U.S. intelligence, Iran has not made the decision to go all the way to acquire nuclear weapons.
howdy farm
Campus farm sprouts student involvement
Tyler Hosea — THE BATTALION
Students plant seeds Wednesday afternoon at the Howdy! Farm on West campus. The student-run farm is offered as a hands-on experience for students.
Micah Mills Special to The Battalion The Howdy! Farm — an Aggie student run and operated organic farm on West Campus — is growing a vision for the future of A&M to enrich student’s time spent at school. Howdy! Farm is an experimental learning lab established in 2009 by Brady Grimes, Class of 2012. Grimes wanted to create an environment that offered hands-on experience in agriculture and felt there was no avenue to administer sustainable agriculture in a classroom setting. The farm’s goal is to promote organic research in the state of Texas, connect people of the local community to their food source, serve as a location for hands-on learning and help make A&M a more sustainable campus. Through the Aggie Green Fund, the Howdy! Farm received a grant in 2011 for $50,000, and this past spring received an additional $96,000. With this new money, the Howdy! Farm is hoping to implement a new plan to involve a larger part of the student body with interaction in agriculture through the creation of the Howdy! Farm Suitability Center. The grant describes a project that would be designed by students in the College of Architecture and constructed by students in the De-
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partment of Construction Science for use by all Aggies. Lindy Reese, senior English major and Community Supported Agriculture director, said the farm is in a transition phase and hopefully will expand within the next couple of years. “The directors are working on a project to expand the students’ views on the Howdy! Farm,” Reese said. “The farm is an experience all students can take part in.” The Howdy! Farm directors envision the farm to be something that is part of the Aggie experience for students, not just for horticulture or majors dealing with agriculture. Matt Weintrub, senior horticulture major and Howdy! Farm field director, said there is a vision for the future of the farm expansion. “We have a vision for the Howdy! Farm to create a board and expand the farm’s resources and people,” Weintrub said. “It’s my hope that it can ultimately become an interdisciplinary program for students that spans from different majors ranging from marketing to poultry science.” The academic adviser for Howdy! Farm — a position currently held by Kevin Crosby, associate professor of horticultural sciences See Howdy Farm on page 3
inside state | 3 Dead wood As a result of the 2011 drought, Texas lost 301 million trees with Brazos Valley having the highest mortality in the entire state. Burl Carraway, head of the Department for Texas A&M Forest Service Sustainable Forestry, chimed in on the issue.
sports | 5 Moving football a bad idea Forcing home football games outside of Kyle Field would have devastating results with local businesses, students and the football program as the victims. Student jobs, the sustenance of local business, student experience and the advantage of the 12th Man could be jeopardized.
life | 4 Reptile round up Texas A&M herpetology club makes a variety of reptiles accessible to students at meetings coordinated through the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Tabaar said he is not sure whether nuclear weapons will increase security for Iran or for the regime. He said one problem is if Iran goes nuclear, it is likely that other countries — such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt— will also try to go nuclear, something, that would not be in Iran’s interest. Napper closed the discussion on Iran’s nu-
clear program by saying solutions exist for the nuclear problem such as repurposing the uranium held by Iran. Another hot-button issue discussed was the unbridled civil war waging in Syria and its effects in the U.S., Turkey and Iran. See Napper on page 6
campus
Roger Zhang — THE BATTALION
Sidney Gardner is the new GLBT Resource Center coordinator after the previous coordinator, Lowell Kane, left to Purdue University.
UM graduate fills GLBT Resource Center position Jessica Smarr The Battalion Even on a campus rich in tradition, times still change and the clock marches on. Sidney Gardner recently accepted the position of Program Coordinator for the Texas A&M GLBT Resource Center and is focusing on maintaining the past and improving the future. A Texas native, Gardner graduated with her undergraduate degree from Texas Women’s University. She then attended the University of Minnesota in Mankato to complete her master’s degree in women’s studies. There she held a graduate assistantship in the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual
Center. Gardner said this is where her love for working within gender and sexuality resource centers began. After completing her work at the University of Minnesota, Gardner worked professionally at the Metropolitan Statue University in St. Paul in the Gender and Sexuality Services Center. She assisted in forming an alliance of individuals who worked with the GLBT community and their allies in the area. What was formed, Gardner said, was essentially a Minnesota GLBTA campus alliance. “We started what ended up becoming a non-profit organization in the state of See GLBT on page 6
critical childhood studies
Students debate corporal punishment Micah Mills Special to The Battalion The use of corporal punishment on children is a topic that has historically sparked numerous debates, studies and social-activist groups across the nation, and is still capable of the doing the same thing today. The Melbern G. Glasscock Center Critical Childhood Studies met Wednesday in the Memorial Student Center to discuss the specificity of corporal punishment use on children at state, federal and international levels. Both Critical Childhood Studies and
Amnesty International led the discussion. Critical Childhood Studies is a group interested in prompting the question: “What is childhood studies?” The first topic of the group’s discussion series focused on corporal punishment. Critical Childhood Studies is composed of members from different backgrounds and have an interest in discussing children and how to raise awareness on issues involving children. They meet once a month and each meeting has a different discussion See Corporal on page 3
9/27/12 12:43 AM