thebatt.com
Calling all hippies The next potentially big Texas music festival, UTOPiAfest, is fast approaching. Steve Wells, music blogger for The Battalion provides a lo-down over at thebatt.com.
coming tuesday
Bicycle patrol The bicycle police have been out in force the first several weeks of school. Pick up a copy of The Battalion to find how you can avoid a $140 citation this semester.
thebattalion ● monday,
october 3, 2011
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2011 student media
Wrecking who?
If I felt like our defense was playing a little bit better, I probably would have gone for it ...
If this had been last year — probably would have.” — A&M head coach Mike Sherman on why the offense punted twice on fourth down and short
inside sports | 5 Volleyball spikes it A&M volleyball ended Kansas State’s winning streak and soccer split its road games during the weekend. Details about the weekend of sports inside.
voices | 6 Major changes Many majors with low enrollment are being streamlined into single majors which contain specialized tracks in attempt to improve efficiency.
news for you texas Border patrol mounts up MCALLEN — The U.S. Border Patrol is returning to its roots in the lower Rio Grande Valley, training six wild mustangs to carry agents in mounted patrols. The patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector adopted the horses from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s wild horse relocation program. The Border Patrol has trained them for riding and on remaining calm when there are loud noises from helicopters, allterrain vehicles, patrol dogs and gunfire. Mounted unit supervisor Mary Olivares told The Monitor that the horses “allow the agents to work in areas that are not accessible to other vehicles.” Associated Press
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Samantha Virnau — THE BATTALION
Arkansas receiver Jarius Wright fights for yardage against four Aggie defenders. Wright tied a school record with 13 catches.
A&M needs serious heart-to-heart after second straight collapse
I
n the words of former NFL head coach Bill Parcells, “You are what you are.” And right now, Texas A&M is a football team that doesn’t know how to finish games. It’s hard to win when you don’t score in the second half, and it’s even harder when you allow opposing quarterbacks to break school records for passing yards in consecutive weeks. For all of A&M’s first half brilliance running the ball — Christine Michael went berserk — the team could only muster a field goal after halftime. How does a team rush for 381 yards and fail to control the outcome? I have no concrete answer. Neither did A&M head coach Mike Sherman, who said
History repeats itself ◗ Texas A&M second half defense, last two weeks:
vs.
Jared Baxter senior media studies major and managing editor for The Battalion
Points allowed Total yards Comp.-att. Pass yards
vs. 27 299 30-37 286
25 297 16-17 239
◗ Arkansas went from giving up 404 yards in the first half to 224 in the second half.
he could not remember ever losing a game after amassing such a rushing total. Sherman struck the offensive balance he said was ideal, and yet running the football 54 times still didn’t feel like enough. It wasn’t enough to go for it on crucial fourth down situations, and it wasn’t enough to keep Arkansas receiver Jarius Wright off the field. Like a video game money play, Wright ran up middle seam of the defense and caught pass after pass. He broke Arkansas’ record for
◗ A&M’s losing streak against SEC opponents spans seven games and 16 years. ◗ The Aggies are 0-4 at Cowboys Stadium. ◗ A&M hasn’t forced a turnover in 15 quarters. ◗ Before Saturday’s game, A&M had never lost while rushing for more than 200 yards.
See Football on page 4
campus
state
Water bottle filling stations help raise green awareness
Republican candidates to debate in Rudder Justin Mathers
Megan Nolan The Battalion Students who stopped by any of the five bottle filling stations around campus last week met members of the Environmental Issues Committee, who distributed free refillable water bottles to increase awareness of new green initiatives. “The Environmental Issues Committee of SGA is dedicated to increasing awareness of opportunities for sustainable living,” said Environmental Issues Committee co-chair, Amanda Cernovich “This being said, EIC’s role is to promote the use of the refill stations and reusable water bottles as an alternative to one-time use plastic water bottles.” Carol Binzer, director of administrative and support services for Residence Life, said the stations are able to satisfy any thirsty student tired of cycling through disposable containers. “The drinking stations are retrofitted onto existing water fountains and provide refrigerated, filtered water at no cost to the filler,” Binzer said. Binzer said using the stations is extremely easy, and helps make Aggieland more environmentally and health conscious. “They are intuitive; put your bottle un-
Kolin Loveless — THE BATTALION
One of the five water bottle filling stations found across campus. der the facet and the sensor starts filling,” Binzer said. “The stations keep plastic bottles out of the landfill, make healthier lifestyle choices, are more attainable and offers an alternative to soda or other drinks.“ Cernovich said each station is equipped with a counter that tracks its usage. “The counters track how many plastic water bottles have been saved for each individual station,” Cernovich said.”This helps students realize what a difference they See Water on page 5
The Battalion Students will have the opportunity to hear from seven Republican candidates who are campaigning to fill the U.S. Senate vacancy left by Kay Bailey Hutchison, who announced she will not run for re-election in 2012. The A&M College Republicans worked alongside several Republican organizations in the Brazos valley to bring the candidates to A&M. The debate will start at 6 p.m. and continue to 8 p.m. Monday at Rudder Auditorium. Susan Laue, a member of the Republican Women of Brazos Valley, said the event will educate attendees about candidates’ stances and show Texas politicians that the Brazos Valley and its students are paying attention to national issues. “We believe the greater the attendance, the more credence these candidates and future statewide candidates alike will accord the citizens in our region. We have a substantial electorate that deserves respect and consideration,” Laue said. Student government was also instrumental bringing this forum to A&M. Bryce Bender, senior industrial distribution major and SGA legislative relations commissioner, said he hopes to have a second debate next semester. “We reached out to the Democratic party and are planning on doing something with them in January, that way we will have both parties represented on campus,” Bender said. “Essentially it’s bringing the See Candidates on page 2
10/3/11 12:15 AM