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Time lapse Roger Zhang, photographer for The Battalion, developed a time lapse video of Kyle Field prior to the A&M-UT game and during halftime. See it online.
● monday,
december 5, 2011
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texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2011 student media
Coaching saga deepens and thebatt.com
Who’s next? Q: Who should A&M’s next head football coach be?
16%
Charlie Strong
25%
Kevin Sumlin
19%
Kirby Smart*
6%
Dustin O’Donnell — Special to The Battalion
Former A&M head football coach Mike Sherman addresses the media Friday at the Bright Football Complex.
Sherman speaks out at press conference, administration remains tight-lipped Adrian O’Hanlon III The Battalion Social media and leaked information made for an awkward firing of former Texas A&M head football coach Mike Sherman on Thursday. The calm and collected coach addressed the situation at a press conference Friday at the Bright Football complex, saying his dismissal was mishandled. “We live in a society today where people think it’s easier to change than to fix,” said Sherman. “My family had the oppor-
tunity to find out before I did because it was released sooner than I was told. That was disappointing, because I think we’re better than that.” In the wake of Sherman’s exit, A&M Director of Athletics Bill Byrne may be in the hot seat as well. An unnamed A&M source told the Houston Chronicle on Friday that Byrne’s possible dismissal stems from chief financial officer and senior associate athletic director Jeff Toole ridiculing Loftin online through an anonymous alias. Toole called Loftin a “putz,” “hope-
lessly underqualified puppet” and an “idiot” after identifying his position at A&M in an earlier post. Toole said he thought the posts were his “anonymous opinion” and said it “slipped his mind” that he previously identified himself on the site. Administrators did not remove Toole from his position and indicated the matter would be handled internally. The source said there is no timetable for Byrne’s dismissal but it could come within the next several weeks.
Larry Fedora*
28%
Chris Petersen
6%
Paul Rhoads See Coach on page 3
Out of 559 responses from Friday to Sunday *candidate added to poll on Sunday
campus
University reacts to report of armed robber on bus EDITORIAL
A&M needs to learn from scare
T Robert Carpenter — THE BATTALION
The FedStar Credit Union on Harvey Road in College Station was robbed at gunpoint Friday morning.
Officials say protocol followed after robbery Justin Mathers The Battalion An armed robbery of the FedStar Credit Union on Friday morning led to a small panic when students were notified that the suspect had possibly boarded a University bus. The incident provided an opportunity for the University to put into practice its safety procedures designed to keep students informed and out of harm’s way. Code Maroon is A&M’s primary warning system in the event of a safety concern. It distributes text messages and emails alerting students to possible danger, and provides periodic updates after an initial warning. The system was designed when the University reconsidered safety procedures after the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007. On Friday, several A&M students reported that they received the Code Maroon at 9:40 a.m., more than 30 minutes after the armed suspect allegedly fled the scene. See Robber on page 4
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controlled by the A&M Marketing and Communicahe scare Friday morning that an armed criminal tions staff, while Code Maroon is managed by emergenmay have boarded an A&M bus served as a valucy offices. If so, this is a bureaucratic divide that needs able stress test of Texas A&M’s emergency preparedness. Fortunately, it appears that the suspect neither to be bridged immediately. Allow the emergency offices access to all Twitter and Facebook accounts so that they boarded a bus nor posed an immediate threat to students. Unfortunately, if he had, the University may have can use the resource in case of threat to students. If the justification for the Facebook and Twitter been negligent of failing to do everything in its power to communicate with the student body and Transporta- silence was to avoid widespread panic, we would much rather see A&M’s phone lines jammed by worried tion Services may have unintentionally increased the parents than have any student walk into a dangerous situation’s danger. situation unaware. First was the Code Maroon text message, which Transportation Services’ response to the threat was represents the University’s primary medium of commuto temporarily discontinue bus routes. Drivers were nication with students in these situations. instructed to pull over and wait for authorities to arrive The first call to College Station police following the to search the bus for the suspect. Several students said armed robbery was at 9:04 a.m., a full half-hour before the 9:34 a.m. timestamp on the Code Maroon text mes- the buses pulled over, but did not open doors to let sage alerting students to the situation. Even if we assume passengers out. Our question is this: What if the armed suspect had been on one of the buses? By keeping the that police learned of the threat to students at exactly at doors shut, you’ve effectively trapped a desperate man 9:34 a.m., many students did not receive the message until eight-to-10 minutes later. Such a delay in this kind on a bus with a weapon and stolen cash. If he would have seen police approaching the vehicle, he could of situation can cost lives. possibly have pulled his weapon and engaged the police Chris Meyer, assistant vice president of the Office — endangering students — or used students as hostages, of Safety and Security, said the delay was due to the trapped on a vehicle with no exit. capacity of the wireless network, which is not meant to A&M administration should take this opportunity handle 40,000 text messages at once. He compared the to question whether current emergency protocol does process to “pouring a gallon of water through a straw.” everything possible to ensure student safety. But if the University was aware of the delay, why not take full advantage of more immediate communication avenues? Updates on Facebook and Twitter can instantaneously alert the student body to danger, but A&M’s Facebook page made no mention of the poten- The Battalion’s editorial opinion is determined by its Board of tial armed criminal, nor did A&M’s Twitter account (@ Opinion, with the editor in chief having final responsibility. TAMU). The University’s emergency Twitter account Jared Baxter Robert Carpenter (@TAMUCodeMaroon) did post an alert, but this Managing Editor Editor in Chief handle has a mere 7,600 followers, while the @TAMU senior media studies major senior applied math major account has almost 24,000. The A&M Facebook profile Taylor Wolken has more than 300,000 “likes.” Opinion Editor It is possible that the University’s official Twitter and senior economics major Facebook accounts were not utilized because they are
EDITORIALBOARD
12/5/11 12:54 AM