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The Buck Weirus Spirit Award
honors up to 55 students who demonstrate high involvement, create positive experiences
throughout the Aggie community, impact student life at Texas A&M and help enhance the Aggie
Spirit. Unlike other awards, the Buck Weirus Spirit Award recognizes those students who make
contributions to the university by participating in student organizations, Aggie traditions and
university events. Email SpiritAward@AggieNetwork.com for more information.
E
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Involvement
Experiences
Impact
Spirit
Online applications
available now at:
AggieNetwork.com/BuckWeirus
and are due
by 11:59 pm,
February 2, 2015.
Application Workshops
Tuesday, January 20
3:30-4:30 p.m.
Koldus Building
Room 144
Thursday, January 22
7:00-8:00 p.m.
Koldus Building
Room 144
Monday, January 26
6:00-7:00 p.m.
Koldus Building
Room 144
Wednesday, January 28
6:30-7:30 p.m.
Koldus Building
Room 144
The Association
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
aE*
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
The Aggie
Band, Parson's
Mounted
Calvary and
The Ross
volunteers
were some of
the student
groups who |
participated in I
the Inaugural
Parade.
Shelby Knowles —THE BATTALION
INAUGURATION CONTINUED
The parade attracted visitors from all over
Texas. Jennifer Hancock, Class of ’93, had
traveled all the way to Austin to see her son
represent Parson’s Mounted Cavalry in the
parade.
“Seeing the Aggies take part in such a big
event is really a great representation of Texas
A&M,” Hancock said. “I came out to see my
son and to be part of history.”
Along with the Aggie Band and Parson’s
Mounted Cavalry, the Ross Volunteers also
participated in the inauguration. The Ross
Volunteers were chiefly tasked in providing
a saber arch at the Oath of Office ceremony.
Agricultural science junior Garrett Hancock
said being invited by the governor to march in
the parade and represent Texas A&M was one
of the best experiences he has had in college.
“Halfway through our march I started to
get goosebumps,” Hancock said. “This parade
was the first time A&M has had a citable pres
ence in Austin since the last TU game.”
Hancock said his involvement was special
in that participating in such an event has not
happened since Perry’s first election.
“I think [Abbott] is going to do a really
good job. He has good ideas and is deter
mined,” Hancock said. “Texas is ready for a
change. ”
VIEWS
Eyes on Austin
State lawmaking is tedious and at times boring — but it's worth paying attention
Jpgik Jennifer Reiley
B @jreiley1
The Texas Legislature is now in session, but
you won’t see any bills being passed immedi
ately.
While not every student has extreme inter
est in politics, learning a bit about how the sys
tem works can at least impress your political
science professor. The session officially started
on Jan. 13, and this year marks an important
shift as Texas welcomes a new governor into
the office after 14 years of Pick Perry.
For 140 days, Texas goes through the pro
cess of adding and refining laws. This hectic
time happens every two years, and 2015 wel
comes in the 84th legislative session. However,
before bills actually become laws, a number of
steps have to be checked off.
Before a bill is even introduced onto the
House or Senate floor, it has to go through
committee. You know the School House
Rock song about the bill on Capitol Hill.
Same rules apply on the state level. (If you
don’t know what Schoolhouse Rock is,
educate yourself.) The committee heads are
assigned by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and speaker
Joe Straus. Each bill is assigned to a committee
based on subject matter, where it is reviewed,
amended and sometimes stopped from ever
entering the floor.
The Texas Constitution dictates that the
first 30 days of session are for the introduction
of bills, and the second 30 ciays is for public
hearings on each bill. What that all means is
that no bill, other than those marked as urgent
by Gov. Greg Abbott, won’t be discussed on
the floor until early March.
T here are a number of bills that directly
affect college students. Some involve tuition.
There’s a bill on file that would give a sale tax
exemption for textbooks, something I think
we would all appreciate. After the passage of
Student Senate’s Personal Protection Act, bills
dealing with concealed carry and handgun
licenses have new relevance for Aggies.
While there’s still a little more than a
month before bills reach the floor, there are
ways students can get involved. Most of the
action actually takes place within the commit
tee. Find an issue that you feel strongly about
that has a bill on file. You can write to your
representative or senator to let them know
your stance. The members of the legislature
are meant to represent and serve their constitu
ents. However, if they have no communica
tion from the constituents, they’re limited to
their own opinions.
Members of the public can express their
opinions at bill hearings. Guests are also wel
come to visit the Capitol and sit in the gallery.
If you’ve never witnessed a day in the life of
the Texas Legislature, I would encourage you
to do so. While 90 percent of the time it may
seem boring and most of the conversations will
go over our heads, watching the government
at work does give a new perspective.
Aggieland2015
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