FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2015 I SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 I © 2014 STUDENT MEDIA I ©THEBATTONLINE
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Provided by GMTO Corporation
World's largest telescope rolls on
Giant Magellan Telescope nears
fundraising goals, construction
By John Rangel
H| he stars have never been closer
to Texas, as 2014’s final months
brought the world’s largest
telescope to the threshold of
construction.
The Giant Magellan Telescope will be
10 times stronger than the Hubble Space
Telescope when it sees first light in 2021,
surpassing any previous observatory.
Texas A&M and the University of Texas
are two of 11 international partners who
hope to start construction in the Chilean
desert before summer — a goal nearly
realized over the past six months with
millions in donations, a hiring spree and
infrastructure development.
The GMT’s latest contribution
came from the University of Arizona,
which received a $20 million gift from
TELESCOPE ON PG. 4
Provided by GMTO Corporation
Construction to house the 200-250 workers needed to
build the Giant Magellan Telescope has already begun.
A&M SYSTEM
Abbott wastes no time,
taps 2 new A&M regents
By Lindsey Gawlik
Newly inaugurated Gov. Greg Abbott ap-
^ pointed two new members to the Texas A&M
Board of Regents Thursday, according to a release
from the governor’s office.
The appointment of the two new regents, Wil
liam “Bill” Mahomes Jr., Class of 1969, and Robert
L. “Bob” Albritton, Class of 1971, is subject to Sen
ate approval and would be effective Feb. 1. Abbott
also reappointed current board chairman Phil Adams.
Albritton, who is the chairman of the Board
& CEO of RCL Services Group and co-founder
and CEO of Mayfair Petroleum & Minerals EEC,
said as a graduate from Texas A&M the thought
of coming back and serving on such a prestigious
Bob Albritton
REGENTS ON PG. 4
W. BASKETBALL
Georgia too much on
road for No. 10 A&M
Aggies fall 54-51, turn to No. 1 South Carolina
Staff report
The No. 10 Texas A&M
women’s basketball
team fell 54-51 to No. 22
Georgia on Thursday night
despite three Aggies scor
ing in double
figures at the
Stegeman Coli
seum in Athens,
Georgia.
Texas A&M
(16-4, 4-2
SEC) went
1 -of-2 from the
free throw line
while the Bull
dogs (17-4, 4-2) sank 13 of
their 18 shots from the char
ity stripe.
Courtney Walker led all
Aggies in scoring with 12.
Courtney Williams and Jor
dan Jones trailed shortly be
hind with 11 each.
A three-pointer by senior
Tori Scott gave the Aggies
their first lead of the second
half. However, the Bulldog
attack, led by leading scorer
Mackenzie Engram with 16,
proved to be too much to
handle for head coach Gary
Blair and the A&M squad.
Williams
brought the
Aggies to 52-
51 on a late
jumper with
18 seconds re
maining, but
Georgia’s Mar
jorie Butler
sank both free
throws on the
next possession to lead the
Bulldogs to the 54-51 final.
After the loss, the Aggies
will regroup and prepare for
their next game against No.
1 South Carolina. The away
match for A&M is scheduled
to tip at 6 p.m. Monday.
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Gary Blair
Civil rights activist Diane Nash: ‘Selma ’
marginalizes the march’s key players
By Lindsey Gawlik
^ Accurately depicting the
^ civil rights movement to
younger generations is crucial,
stresses 1960s activist Diane
Nash.
At the 8th Annual Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Breakfast, she tried to do just
that. She spoke about her
friendship with Martin Luther
King Jr. and the differences
between the reality of the civil
rights movement and the way
it is depicted in popular films
such as “Selma.”
Nash, who drew around
100 to 200 people for the
three-hour event Thursday
morning, was a founding
member of the Student Non
violent Coordinating Com
mittee and a member of the
Freedom Riders.
Nash said King Jr. was a
source of inspiration in her
life and she came to know
him well.
“I can say I have the dis
tinction of having double-dat
ed with Martin Luther King, ”
Nash said laughing. “My for
mer husband and I accom
panied him to Parella in the
Bahama Islands.”
Nash also said King Jr.
would often get annoyed with
her because she pushed him
when she didn’t think he w r as
moving fast enough.
“In terms with working
with him, I think I used to get
on his last nerve,” Nash said.
“I would be very outspoken
and kind of say, ‘This is what
I thought we ought to do.’
... We disagreed vigorously
about strategy.”
Still, she said they agreed
on the cause and tolerated
their disagreements out of
mutual respect.
As for her portrayal in “Sel
ma,” Nash said her character
was marginalized.
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Shelby Knowles — THE BATTALION
Activist Diane Nash said Thursday she used to
get on Martin Luther King Jr.'s "last nerve."
HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER
Dr. Ruth
Bush, vice
dean for
academic
affairs,
speaks
Thursday
about
healthy legs
and blood
circulation.
Mini Med School takes health to community
By Wade Feielin
With the goal of educating
community members, Mini
Medical School, put on by the
Texas A&M Health Science Cen
ter, tackles health-related topics
with weekly lectures.
Thursday’s lecturer was Dr.
Ruth Bush, vice dean for aca
demic affairs. Her lecture covered
the topic of healthy legs and blood
circulation.
“I think the important take
aways from this are that people
need to realize there are a lot of
different things that can cause
their leg pain,” Bush said. “As
I said in the beginning, I think
there’s a misnomer in saying that
I have generic circulatory prob
lems. People need to realize that
there’s different things that can
cause the arterial and different
things that can cause the venous
circulator)' disorders.”
In 2006, Brenda Long, director
of alumni and community rela
tions at the College of Medicine,
was approached by the dean about
creating this program through the
National Institute of Health.
“[The dean] wanted the com
munity to know that the College
of Medicine is here and he wanted
to bring people into the college to
showcase our faculty,” Long said.
The program takes place every
Thursday until Feb. 19. At these
sessions, Texas A&M lecturers
give presentations that are ap
proximately 45 minutes of lecture
followed by 30 minutes of ques-
tion-and-answer.
Long said the benefits of the
program show in the types of
questions people ask.
“The majority of our attendees
are retired community members,”
Long said. “They are like sponges
— they just soak everything in and
they’re worried about their health.
You can tell by a lot of questions
that they have gone through some
of these things personally or know
someone who has.”
Bush said the program gives
members of the community the
chance to spend time with some
body who’s an expert in the field.
“I think what it’s done is raise
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