NEWS
The Battalion I 1.20.15
5
Freedom March celebrates
community and equality
^ mjk StOUTHETA SOKORIT V, !Vc.
Celebrating the life
and Legacy of
\ Dr. Martin l-irtber
Allison Bradshaw—*THE BATTALION
The 19th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom March drew
more than 500 people to Downtown Bryan on Monday.
By Amanda Talbot
Community members
commemorated the life
and legacy of Martin Luther
King Jr. with a march from
Sadie Thomas Memorial
Park to Kemp Elementary
School.
More than 500 attended
the 19th Annual Dr. Mar
tin Luther King Jr. Freedom
March on Monday morning,
hosted by the Delta Sigma
Theta Sorority, Inc. Brazos
Valley Area Alumnae Chap
ter.
Danny Ray Perkins Jr.,
construction science senior,
participated in the march
for the first time. He said he
hopes even more people will
participate next year for the
common goal of equality.
“Not just African Ameri
cans — you know, whites,
blacks, Hispanics, Asians —
because Dr. Martin Luther
King fought for the equality
for all of us, not just black
people,” Perkins said. “So
I really would love to see
more people come out and
more people walk for a com
mon goal and that’s equality
for all.”
Perkins said he was at
tracted by the community
aspect of the march, as peo
ple from across Bryan-Col-
lege Station attended.
“I really enjoyed actually
the walking part where we
were walking down Martin
Luther King Street — just
the sense of community,”
Perkins said. “It was an awe
some experience for me. I
really enjoyed that the most
—just interacting with peo
ple in the community and
whatnot all toward a com
mon goal.”
Megan Henderson, bio
medical engineer and Span
ish junior, is the treasurer of
the Omicron Omega Chap
ter of Delta Sigma Theta So
rority. She said the march is
meant to emphasize similari
ties rather than differences.
“We have a lot more in
common than the differenc
es we all focus on and I think
that was one of the messages
Dr. King spoke on,” Hen
derson said. “And that’s what
our alumnae chapter is trying
to bring back with its march
they host every year.”
Reuben May, speaker
at the march and sociology
professor, said he encour
aged the audience to “up
grade the dream” and “think
like a boss.”
“We need you to be bet
ter people to make a better
place for all of us,” May said.
May said the opportuni
ties people have today should
be recognized and honored.
“How important it is to
respect all the sacrifices of
people like Dr. Martin Lu
ther King Jr.,” May said.
“Lots of people have died
for the opportunity for us to
take advantage of. ”
GAS PRICES CONTINUED
growth and steadily impede economic
growth.
“In Texas, you’ll see a decrease in employ
ment in the producing regions as well as the
construction areas,” Hallermann said. “Oil
rigs are shutting down and the Texas-Louisi-
ana gulf coast is suffering.”
Texas is not the only region that may suf
fer. Hallermann said many oil-producing
countries accustomed to high oil prices,
such as Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, will see
a greater strain on economies and national
budgets.
“Venezuela is experiencing more unrest
and political strife because of this,” Haller
mann said. “Russia’s economy is vastly de
pendent upon oil and their currency has just
reached a record low.”
Ray Mentzer, lecturer at the Mary Kay
O’Connor Process Safety Center with an ex
pertise in oil and gas production, said many
oil and gas companies have made significant
decisions to keep up with the rapid decline
of oil prices.
“[Oil and gas companies] are cutting back
on their capital expenditures and projects
while some have announced layoffs,” Men
tzer said. “One can expect an impact on hir
ing by many companies in this industry.”
Mentzer said many graduates go on to
work for oil and gas companies and ongoing
research through the university is funded by
the industry:
Petroleum engineering professor Ruud
Weijermars said he does not expect the cur
rent trend of decreasing gas prices to last long.
“It is very hard to continue producing oil
at such low costs,” Weijermars said. “This is
a very exceptional trend. By this summer, we
will be back to the normal oil costs.”
Mentzer said the oil price per barrel will
work its way up again in six months.
“The cyclical nature of crude prices is not
new to the energy industry,” Mentzer said.
“It remains a continued challenge for manag
ing the long-term business.”
MEDICAID CONTINUED
loss of billions of dollars.
“Opting out of Medicaid expansion
would mean that Texas will lose out on an
estimated $100 billion in federal funding to
cover Medicaid expansion over the next 10
years,” Dar said. “In addition, an estimated
1.2 to 2 million uninsured individuals who
could have otherwise obtained coverage
will remain uninsured.”
There will be other repercussions as well,
Dar said. Hospitals will continue to foot the
bill for an estimated $5.5 billion in annual
uncompensated costs, and Texas will remain
on the list of states with the highest percent
age of uninsured residents.
Lori Taylor, associate professor at the
Bush School, director of the Robert A.
Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics
and Public Policy and co-author of “The
Takeaway,” said another problem with
Texas opting out is Texas taxes won’t go
toward helping Texans.
“One of the problems you run into is that
there are federal programs out there that
will at least temporarily fund an expansion,”
Taylor said. “And if Texas chooses not to
expand, then ... that results in our tax rev
enues being redistributed to other states. So
there are downside risks to Texas to hold
ing the line and not expanding the income
eligibility for Medicaid, which is that our
tax revenue gets redirected to other states.”
With states like Utah and Arizona accept
ing Medicaid expansion under special alter
native plans, Morrisey said many are hoping
Abbott might do the same since he has said
he is open to a block grant.
Laura Dague, assistant professor at the
Bush School, said the reason states like Tex
as might be drawn to block grants is they
tend to have more flexibility.
“States tend to be in favor of block grants
because they would give them more flex
ibility, but again, you know, the federal
government controls the broad credentials
of the program and it’s unlikely they would
just give a state the blank check, so it’s hard
to say without knowing exactly how that
would be implemented,” Dague said.
Looking for a FUN JOB?
‘ . ' ——
INTRAMURALS
Be a Rec Sports
INTRAMURAL OFFICIAL!
To learn more, attend an Info Meeting:
Meetings are held in Rec Center room 281
BECOME AN ASSISTANCE DOG TRAINER
Love dogs? Passionate about improving the lives of
people with disabilities? Canine Companions for
Independence® invites you to start a fulfilling career.
Career development to become a certified assistance dog instructor. Careers begin
in Northern California with positions in any of our six training centers, located in
California, Florida, Ohio, New York and Texas.
Rec Sports is
NOW HIRING
y ji wm jmi
‘ ||Ij| ’ g
inn. ill
Applications are available online at
recsports.tamu.edu
Turn in applications to Rec Center room 202
by Monday, January 26.
Applicants must participate in a skills screening
and must he currently certified in Lifeguard Training,
CPR/AEO for the Professional and First Aid from
the American Bed Cross or equivalent organization
to fee considered for employment.
For more details, contact:
mdantism@rec.tamu.edu, choney@rec.tamu.edu or
eshannon@rec.tamu.edu
:
X
HI
REC SPORTS
@tamu_Aquatics
Aggielar»d2015
It’s not too late
to order your copy of the
2015 Aggieland yearbook.
The 113th edition of Texas
A&M’s official yearbook will
chronicle the 2014-2015
school year - traditions,
academics, athletics, the
other education, the Corps,
Greeks, residence halls,
campus organizations, and
student portraits. Distribution
will be in Fall 2015.
By credit card'go online to
http://aggieland.tamu.edu
or call 979-845-2613. Or
drop by the Student Media
office in Suite L400
of the MSC.
Aggieland2015