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thebattalion ● monday,
october 10, 2011
Indie rock cannot be ignored any longer. Steve Wells, music blogger for The Battalion, gives a spin to the newest self-titled, extended play album release from local musicians: The Lonely Hunter. Check it out at thebatt.com.
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bryan-college station
MuSECCfest to benefit charities Paige Kuznar
The Lonely Hunter
● serving
Special to The Battalion An evening of festive entertainment — including live bands, a performance by the Aggie Wranglers, silent auctions and other activities — is coming to College Station for a good cause. “I went to MuSECCfest last year and it was a great atmosphere,” said junior sport management major Brandon Hollek. “It is for a good cause and the music was great. I plan on going this year as well.” The event will raise funds for Brazos Val-
ley charities, including Voices for Children, Scotty’s House, Cancer Research for Children and Project Sunshine. These charities share a common purpose: supporting youth who are suffering from disease or recovering from abuse. For the past six years, Texas A&M has participated in the State Employee Charitable Campaign. Departments compete to raise the most money for these charities. The instructional technology services department, in-line with many other departments, began by having bake sales,
taco sales and silent auctions, raising a few hundred dollars each year. In 2010 the department decided to try something new that would bring in more money and have a greater impact on the community. MuSECCfest was the result. In 2010, MuSECCfest generated more than $1,000. The name MuSECCfest comes from “SECC,” which stands for State Employee Charitable Campaign. The campaign raises money for Texas charities, but donors can
Want to go? The Texas A&M MuSECCfest begins at 2 p.m. Friday at the Wolf Pen Creek Amphitheater.
See MuSECCfest on page 7
inside sports | 3 Soccer downs Tech A&M soccer shut out Texas Tech Friday in Lubbock. See which Aggie freshman jumped to the top of the Big 12 scoring list inside.
Keeping it ‘classy’ Tech fans threw objects at visiting Aggie fans and vandalized A&M buses before the football game Saturday. Read the grimy details from a student who attended the game.
Josh McKenna — THE BATTALION
Parking presents issues for many student drivers, who face tickets, parking boots or tow trucks if their cars are found in the wrong lot. Students’ whose cars are towed can face fees in excess of $100 to reclaim their vehicles.
Aggies towed Students share their experiences with B-CS towing Tori Blanchard Special to The Battalion
M voices | 5 Editorial After an eventful weekend in Lubbock and as A&M prepares for Baylor’s visit on Saturday, let’s remember to end this rivalry with class and dignity.
any students fear coming back from a night out with friends to discover that their car is gone.
Yet some students still risk having their vehicle towed in order to snag the perfect spot. The McDonald’s across from Blocker? Towing enforced there. The bottom few floors of the University Center Garage? There, too. The United Methodist church parking lot on Northgate? Sophomore international studies major Taylor Pharis discovered that location is a hot spot for towing as well.
“I was just a freshman, and it was my first time on Northgate,” Pharis said. “I went to see my brother perform at a club with the Aggie Fiddlers and I parked at the United Methodist Church. My roommate goes there and she thought it would be OK.” Upon returning to the lot, Pharis discovered that her car was missing, and flagged down a nearby tow truck. That particular towing company did not take her car,
A&M blocks Tech comeback, 45-40
as she learned, but the man driving the tow truck pointed to a sign with the phone number of another company that could have towed her car. “I freaked out. I couldn’t even call my parents because it was like 1:30 [a.m.] and no one would be awake,” Pharis said. “I called the number on the sign and I felt kind of bad because it sounded like they were sleeping, but then again, they towed my car, so I didn’t feel all that bad.” Similar to Pharis, it is often very late by the time students realize their car was towed — too late to call and bother roommates or parents about what to do. Junior interdisciplinary studies major Reagan See Towing on page 2
campus
Pulitzer finalist to speak about post-traumatic stress disorder Emily Davis
Kolin Loveless — THE BATTALION
Junior corner Dustin Harris blocks a field goal in the third quarter of the A&M-Tech game Saturday, leading to a touchdown by senior corner Terrence Frederick (not pictured). Read about the game atmosphere on page 3.
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Jay Kapadia — THE BATTALION
Restaurants like Chopotle use inventive signs to warn drivers.
The Battalion For the past nine years, America has been at war. When soldiers return from overseas, they often face a second struggle, this time not with an identifiable enemy. Author David Philipps studied the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder on soldiers. In his book, “Lethal Warriors: When the New Band of Brothers Came Home,” Philipps analyzes the effects of post-traumatic disorder on one battalion of soldiers returning from the Middle East, and will discuss the issue at 7 p.m. Monday in Rudder Theater. “If you told most ROTC students that it’s a book about post-traumatic disorder they would roll their eyes and never read the book,” Philipps said. “It’s a book about one battalion that had a murder rate that was 100 times the national average.” Philipps said he became interested in the subject of post-traumatic disorder af-
ter working on an article for the Colorado Springs Gazette that made him a Pulitzer Prize finalist. “The prevailing wisdom was that in any population there’s going to be some bad apples. I was ready to believe that,” Philipps said. “But when I crunched the numbers and saw that it Philipps wasn’t the normal murder rate, I had to figure out what the story was. It’s a very important story that’s deep below the headlines; it happens to ordinary folks people think are disposable.” With Texas A&M’s rich military history, Philipps said it was a natural place to come and speak. “Texas A&M has so many potential young officers,” Philipps said. “I plan to give the University a side of the war in Iraq See Philipps on page 6
10/10/11 12:12 AM