TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2015 I SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 I © 2015 STUDENT MEDIA I ©THEBATTONLINE
HIGH AND TIGHT
Eighty years later, barbershop
still trimming up cadets' hair
By Wade Feielin
ince 1935, Northgate Barber
Shop has provided haircuts for
members of the Texas A&M
j Corps of Cadets while bearing
witness to a transforming cam
pus.
Barbershop manager Sue Caceres has
been at Northgate Barber Shop since
2002 and said she knew nothing of the
Corps of Cadets before she began work
ing.
“I was still in training and they came
in and swarmed the entire shop,” Ca
ceres said. “It was a lot of fun, but a lot
of nerves.”
Barbershop owner Jennifer Baker said
these Corps rushes are much different
between the fall and spring semesters.
“In the fall, they tend to hit us at the
end of the week before the game,” Bak
er said. “In the spring, they spread out
throughout the week, with Monday and
Wednesday being the busy days.”
Each Corps classification has its own
distinctive cut that has remained the
same as long as the shop has been in
business, Caceres said.
“The higher rank you are, the more
hair you get to keep,” Caceres said.
“The freshmen come in and get a 2x5,
then when you become a sophomore
you get a 4x4 and as a junior you get a
three-finger.”
Baker said seniors pretty much choose
how they want their hair cut as long as it
is nice and clean.
“You can sometimes find a senior
coming in wanting a high-and-tight,”
Baker said. “Well, he can really have
a litde bit on the sides so they can do
what they want as long as it is within
the regulations.”
Cadet and communication sopho
more Wallis Blake Harvey said it’s taken
awhile to get used to having his head
shaved.
“It’s really, really short and I don’t
BARBER ON PG. 4
CORPS OF CADETS
LGBT
Shelby Knowles — THE BATTALION
Supporters of same-sex marriage will await the Supreme
Court's decision on marriage equality.
Supreme Court
to hear same-sex
Full Corps dorms facelift in swing marriage cases
Renovations to
eventually encompass
entire Quad
By Josh Hopkins
Thousands of Aggies
have passed through
Texas A&M’s Corps of
Cadets dorms since before
World War II, but now
the Quad is targeted for a
nearly $200 million dollar
renovation project, which is
scheduled to renovate all 12
dorms by August 2017.
Will Schrank, assistant
commandant of logistics,
said the renovations will
eventually encompass the
entire Quad. Three dorms
and two Leadership Learn
ing Centers are complete
and five more dorms will
be renovated during the
2015-2016 school year. The
remaining four will be fin
ished during the 2016-2017
school year. Two more
LLCs will be constructed in
2015. The Quad’s interior
will also be re-paved and re-
landscaped.
“All 12 dorms on the
Quad are being gutted and
completely renovated to in
clude new plumbing, elec
trical and HVAC [heating,
ventilation and air condi
tioning],” Schrank said.
Schrank said the four
LLCs will be the largest
changes to the Quad. Each
will be 25,000 square feet of
study rooms, computer labs
and other educational facili
ties. The construction was
made possible due to dona
tions from former cadets.
Jessica Knowles, modern
languages sophomore and
cadet, said the renovations
will be a welcome change.
“I like the old dorms but
at the same time it will be
good for upcoming classes
to have the new dorms,”
Knowles said. “They will
have their own laundromats,
which will be super handy.
It’s just the new style of the
new dorms, in the rooms,
they are oriented differently
than the old Corps dorms,
which is really weird.”
David Trigg, Corps com
mander, said the transition
will be difficult but the
Corps is prepared for the
move.
CORPS ON PG. 4
Long-anticipated ruling
could be on the way
By Nikita Redkar
In what could be a mon
umental decision, the Su
preme Court agreed earlier
this month to hear cases that
could lead to a resolution on
the hotly debated subject of
marriage equality.
Justices will take on cases
from Michigan, Ohio, Ken
tucky and Tennessee to con
solidate a nationwide rule on
same-sex marriage. They will
listen to cases from each state
and are expected to reach
a decision by the end of the
Supreme Court session in late
June. While 36 states and the
District of Columbia have le
galized same-sex marriage —-
through court decision, state
legislature, or popular vote —
its presence on the national
stage is still a big question.
This spring’s case will assess
whether LGBT-identifying
people have a constitutional
right to marry or whether
states have a right to recognize
the practice.
Meg Penrose, professor at
the Texas A&M School of
Law, is an expert in the law
and policy surrounding this is
sue. She said if this court rules
broadly, it will either be a sig
nificant victory for same-sex
couples or for states’ rights.
“If the Supreme Court
finds there is a fundamental
right for same-sex couples to
marry, states will be required
to grant marriage licenses ...
despite democratically passed
legislation finding such mar
riages void,” Penrose said. “If
the Supreme Court finds there
is not a fundamental right ...
then only those individu
als currendy residing where
same-sex marriage is legal will
be able to obtain a marriage
license.”
The benefits that would
MARRIAGE ON PG. 4
The Corps
dorms are
scheduled
to complete
a $200
million dollar
renovation by
August 2017.
M. BASKETBALL
W. BASKETBALL
Aggies prepare for
Auburn matchup
By Conner Darland
A four-game winning
streak has nudged
the Aggies into shouting
range of the top 25. That
won’t last if they can’t
continue their recent win
ning streak.
After receiving two
votes in the AP poll
Monday, the Texas A&M
men’s basketball team
heads to Auburn, Ala., for
an SEC matchup with the
Auburn Tigers at 8 p.m.
Tuesday.
“We’re back on the
road again and going into
a hostile place at Auburn,”
head coach Billy Kennedy
said. “They’re a team that
has played really well the
last couple of games. They
present us with a lot of
problems with their guard
play and one of the better
big [men] in the [confer
ence]. Our guys are con
fident and hopefully we
can continue to get bet
ter, which we’re going to
have to do in this game.”
The Aggies (13-5, 4-2
SEC) started 0-2 in con
ference play with losses to
Alabama and Kentucky,
but have not dropped a
game since. Junior for
ward Jalen Jones said he
believes things are turning
around because everyone
is buying in and playing
their part on the team.
M. BASKETBALL ON PG. 3
Top-ranked South Carolina too much for A&M
Provided by the Daily Gamecock
Senior forward Achiri Ade led A&M with 15
points in the loss against the Gamecocks
Monday.
By Cole Stenholm
The No. 12 Texas A&M wom
en’s basketball team dropped its
matchup Monday night with No. 1
University of South Carolina 79-61
at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia,
South Carolina.
The loss marks two consecutive
defeats for A&M and moves them to
5-5 in its last 10 games.
The Aggies (16-5, 4-3) and the
Gamecocks (19-0, 7-0) commenced
their nationally televised Monday
night showdown . exchanging buck
ets for most of the first half in which
there were nine lead changes and four
ties through the first 14 minutes of
play. Senior forward Achiri Ade led
the charge for the Aggies with seven
points on 3-of-5 shooting along with
four rebounds and one block in the
first half.
However, a 14-0 run by South
Carolina spanning from the 7:40 to
the 2:46 mark was enough to give
them a 39-31 lead heading into the
break.
The lead would prove to be in
surmountable for Texas A&M in the
second half despite four players scor
ing in double figures, led by Ade’s 15.
South Carolina, one of the nation’s
two remaining unbeatens, routinely
spaced the A&M defense, accumulat
ing several layups and taking advan
tage of 30 free throw attempts to put
the Aggies away. Freshman forward
A’ja Wilson and junior guard Tiffany
Mitchell led South Carohna with 18
and 16 points, respectively. Wilson
added nine rebounds.
The Aggies return to College Sta
tion briefly Sunday to continue SEC
action against Auburn University
prior to hitting the road for their next
two conference games against Mis
souri Feb. 5 followed by Mississippi
State Feb. 8.