Daily Toreador The
TUESDAY, MAY 7, 2013 VOLUME 87 ■ ISSUE 142
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Ammonium nitrate was explosive in West fertilizer plant blast
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Introducing: 2013-2014 SGA officers By MATT DOTRAY STAFF WRITER
student government, and this is a way for them to get involved in their community. The ambassadors will be the face of student government, he said, BERGER and be active both with the students as well as the community. “It’s completely its own entity,” Cotton said, “and we’re going to use them to go into the community and Texas Tech engagement type events. Things like ‘Pizza with the Athletic Director’ or football type things.” Because senators have a full workload, both in meeting with students and writing legislation, he said the ambassadors will be able to better engage with students. Another goal of his, Cotton said, is to promote undergraduate research. “I think we need to put the idea in fresh-
m e n ’s m i n d s very early so they’ll actually go through and do it,” he said. Another idea, Cotton said, is to revise the election code and talk to push the CRAIG addition of a walkway between the Rawls College of Business Administration and the Stangel/ Murdough Residence Complex. Following the legislation passed this semester, he said he also is going to encourage the implementation of a free-range campus, which would make all sidewalks usable for both bikes and pedestrians, except at Memorial Circle and theFree Speech Area. During the summer, Cotton said he is going to promote Safe Ride by placing the information on admission wristbands at local bars, and by getting organizations to participate in Recycle Mania, a nationwide
recycling competition. “I’d really like to get this year’s session, 49th session, really motivated to go out and meet with students out there and write pieces YATES of legislation that pertain to them,” he said. Jill Berger Berger, a junior marketing major and internal vice president, said her main goal is to increase SGA’s visibility. Instead of having only office hours in the SGA office, she said every other week senators will go talk to students. With mobile offices, which involve senators spending time in their respected colleges, talking to students, Berger said students will have a better understanding of the role of SGA.
AUSTIN (AP) — Officials have determined that ammonium nitrate stored at a Texas fertilizer plant is what exploded on April 17, killing 14 people and injuring hundreds. The finding was expected, and officials had said they were focusing their investigation on the explosive chemical used in many fertilizers. But State Fire Marshal’s Office spokeswoman Rachel Moreno says it’s still undetermined what touched off the ammonium nitrate. She said findings on what caused the blast on the outskirts of the small town of West will be delayed. They had been expected Friday Moreno said a spot that is now a 90-foot-wide crater was where the ammonium nitrate was stored. Also, federal emergency officials have begun offering shelter for West residents whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged. About 70 homes were damaged or destroyed.
The recently elected executive student government officers have many plans for the next academic year. Luke Cotton Cotton, an energy comCOTTON merce major from League City, said his list of things to do as president of Student Government Association has grown since entering office. SGA has already hosted “Pies with the President,” which is an event Cotton said he hopes to host regularly as a way to get more students involved. One of the major projects, which he said he will continue to work on during the summer, is creating SGA ambassadors. A lot of students, Cotton said, don’t feel like they have the time to be active in
Senate passes bill letting states tax online sales
TAB hosts relaxation, rest night for students
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has passed a bill that could end tax-free shopping on the Internet for many shoppers. The Senate voted 69 to 27 Monday to pass the bill, sending it to the House where it faces opposition from some lawmakers who regard it as a tax increase. The bill would empower states to require businesses with more than $1 million in out-of-state sales to collect taxes for products they sell on the Internet, in catalogs and through radio and TV ads. Under the legislation, the sales taxes would be sent to the states where a shopper lives. Under current law, states can only require retailers to collect sales taxes if the merchant has a physical presence in the state. As a result, many online sales are tax-free.
OPINIONS, Pg. 4
Rodriguez: Comfort isn’t always best zone
SGA continued on Page 3 ➤➤
By MIKAEL GONZALES STAFF WRITER
The Texas Tech Activities Board and Student Union and Activities hosted their annual Rest and Relaxation night to give students an occasion to have fun before finals at 4 p.m. Monday in the Red Raider Lounge. Committee members at the event handed out free blue books, scantrons and pens, as students were encouraged to eat free food, sign up for free massages and color in coloring books. McKenzie Hopson, a sophomore public relations major from Gatesville and new special programs coordinator for TAB, said people usually have a great response to the event. “People usually like it,” she said. “This is kind of a low-key event and so everybody loves the free scantrons and other stuff.” Hopson said this was her first event as special programs coordinator and TAB has a lot of exciting events coming up next year. “We’ve got a lot of really great stuff on the calendar for next semester so everyone needs to be looking out for our calendar at the beginning of the year,” she said. Matthew Martinez, a junior marketing major from Arlington and special programs committee member, said the event this semester has seen a better response from students than previous years. “This year’s actually been better
PHOTO BY EMILY DE SANTOS/The Daily Toreador
SAMANTHA SYPTAK, A freshman nutrition major from Wichita Falls, gets a massage from Kay Nash, an employee of the Robert H. Ewalt Student Recreation Center, during Rest and Relaxation Night on Monday inside the Student Union Building. Tech Activities Board hosted the event.
than previous years,” he said. “We’ve done better marketing strategies and we’ve reached out in different ways and we’ve gotten more students to come to
these events.” Martinez was special programs coordinator for TAB last year and said it usually has video games at the event, but decided
to substitute the games for a new addition called duct tape bowling. RELAXATION continued on Page 3 ➤➤
Spirit program announces new cheer squad members By LIANA SOLIS STAFF WRITER
Welding Work-- NEWS, Page 2
INDEX Classifieds................7 Crossword......................2 Opinions.....................4 Sports.........................6 Sudoku.........................6
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The Texas Tech cheer squad is one of the main groups that help motivate audiences during sporting events at Tech. The spirit program hosted its annual cheer tryouts Saturday for students to showcase their abilities in hopes of being on the team. Bruce Bills, head cheer coach, said 106 men and women showed up to the tryouts. “This is usually the number of students we get every year for tryouts,” he said. “We had 40 girls come out for the all-girls team, 40 girls come out for the co-ed team and 26 males come out for the co-ed team.” The coaches first hosted a clinic Friday afternoon to answer questions and
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have an open gym, Bills said. “We had this time so new students can get any questions answered they need answered, and so they can all have a place to practice in,” he said. The tryouts Saturday were split into three separate sections, Bills said. “The first thing we do is our game-day spirit section where we teach them the fight song cheer and some other chants,” he said. “The next thing we do is look at the different kinds of tumbling they can do. The last thing is to look at stunts and what each person can personally bring to the team.” The only other requirement besides being able to showcase these skills, Bills said, is admission to the university. “We don’t look at GPA or classification when looking for new members,” he said. “If they make the team they have to
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keep a 2.0 GPA, but most of our girls have at least a 3.0 so we don’t usually have to worry about that.” Some years the judges also have had a personal interview session with some or all of the students, Bills said. “This year, we just didn’t think that would be necessary,” he said. “We already knew most of the girls there and the rest we got a good feel of what they were like at the clinic on Friday.” According to the spirit program’s Web page, out of the 106 students who auditioned, 32 students made the co-ed team and 14 women made the all-girls team. “For the co-ed team, about half of the girls and guys made the team for the first time,” Bills said. “For the all-girls team, we have nine new members and five veterans returning to the squad.” He said he and the other judges were
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impressed at the talent that showed up to tryouts this year. “We had some really talented boys and girls this year who were all very impressive and skilled packed,” Bills said. “Everyone who auditioned did an amazing job, which made our job of choosing the team member even harder.” The cheer squad makes more than 150 appearances at sporting events and other competitions year-round, according to the spirit program’s Web page. “I’m most exited just for the whole package of what next year is going to bring for us,” Bills said. “I’m excited for the girls to get started and so are they. We have talented members who have a good attitude all across the board. It is an allaround exciting team that continues to make my job much easier and more fun.” ➤➤lsolis@dailytoreador.com
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