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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 2015)
NEWS The Battalion IS 15 2 Senior Boot Bag Price Includes Logo and Name (More logos available) Shop for Little Aggies to an Aggie Xmas: etsy.com/shop/aggiesandbows by Charlotte, Reveille’s Seamstress Store Location: A&6 Seif Storage 1701 N Earl Rudder Fwy Bryan, TX 979-778-2293 charboeg@yahoo.com Second Location: Craft and Antique Mall CS 2218 Texas Ave. South College StatioN, TX 979-255-8905 M'* Brazes Natural Foods “A Wti/ld nf Healthy Pr&dxicte We Carry Probiotics Garden of Life J arrow Renew Life Natural Factors Eden Bi-Fa 15 and morel Gtikthratiutg 26 nf Serving the &r;vte>* Vntfcy! If You Have Something To Sell, Remember Classifieds Can Do It! Call 845-0569 the battalion TWO LOCATIONS TO DONATE AT! {SIB} 315-4101 I 314-3672 4223 Wellborn Rd 700 University Dr E., Ste 111 Bryan, TX 77801 | College Station, TX 77840 LAST CALL FOR ORDERS Eligibility Chock Deadline: Feb. 12 Older Deadline: Feb 13 Aggie Ring Day: April 17, 2015 HOW TO GET YOUR AGGIE RIIUG ON APRIL 17, 2015: If you meet the requirements after Fall 2013: 1. Log in to AggieNetwork.com by February 12 to check your Ring eligibility. (You will need to create an account on this website.) • Your records will be reviewed and your eligibility status will be displayed online instantly. 2. If eligible, schedule an appointment online to order your Aggie Ring at the Aggie Ring Office. • Select from available order dates between Feb. 2 - Feb. 13. • If you are unable to order in person, submit an order to the Aggie Ring Program prior to the deadline. 3. On your appointment day, visit the Aggie Ring Office to find your Ring size (with official Aggie Ring sixers) and pay for your Ring. • FULL PAYMENT IS DUE AT TIME OF ORDER. » Pricing is available online. • Ring Loans are available to qualified, currently enrolled students at the Short Term Loan Office. Visit AggieNetwork.com/Ring for full details. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT REQUIREMENTS: 1. 90 cumulative completed undergraduate credit hours. 2. 45 undergraduate resident credit hours completed at TAMU. 3. 2.0 cumulative GPR at Texas A&M University. 4. Must not be on academic probation, suspension, dismissal, expulsion, or on honor violation probation from the university. GRADUATE STUDENT REQUIREMENTS: Master's Thesis Option 1. Defended Thesis Due to ordering deadlines, you may order at the beginning of the semester you will graduate. Your Aggie Ring wili be delivered on Aggie Ring Day if you have defended your thesis prior to the deadline set by the Office of Graduate Studies, if you do not defend your thesis prior to this date, your Aggie Ring wiil be heid until the qualification is met. 2. Must riot be on academic probation, suspension, dismissal, expulsion, or on honor violation probation from the university. Master's Non-Thesis Option 1. 75% of coursework completed for degree program at TAMU. 2. Must not be on academic probation, suspension, dismissal, expulsion, or on honor violation probation from the university. Ph.D. Students 1. Accepted as a Ph.D. candidate at TAMU. 2. Must not be on academic probation, suspension, dismissal, expulsion, or on honor violation probation from the university. The Association OF FORMER STUDENTS* TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY* AggieNetwork.com Visit www.AgghNetmori.com/fiing for comolete details or cal! the Aggie Ring Program at S4S-105O. The last lap Business senior and sprinter Deon Lendore is the first Aggie man to be awarded the Bowerman, the track equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. Senior sprinter looks to cap off accomplished collegiate career By Seth Stroupe Deon Lendore knows a few things about races. He’s been winning the majority of them since he started run ning competitively at 16. The sprinter’s journey at Texas A&M has been a fruitful one that encompasses four years of individual honors, a team national championship in 2013 and an Olympic medal ceremony in London. And it all began with a YouTube video. “One day in high school, a friend and I were watching YouTube videos when I first saw Texas A&M run the 4x400 meter relay,” Lendore said. “It was a video of the 2010 team that won the NCAA championship in the event. I was amazed. I got in contact with Texas A&M, came up to visit, saw the envi ronment and how the people were, how great the track team was — all of that just grabbed me. From that point on, I knew that this was the place.” Lendore, a business senior, was never scouted in person by Texas A&M be cause he grew up in the small island nation of Trinidad and Tobago, a state located seven miles off the coast of Ven ezuela, a location that makes recruiting visits logistically difficult. “Growing up in Trinidad is a totally different atmosphere,” Lendore said. “It’s a smaller island so you grow up knowing just one main culture. It’s not like the U.S., where there are so many different cultures. But growing up on an island was a lot of fun. You think about the Caribbean, we enjoy ourselves and we have a good time. We love to party.” In 2012, Trinidad had its best show ing ever in an Olympics, bringing back a record four medals from London. One of those medals was a bronze in the 4x400 meter relay, for which Len dore was the anchor leg, the country’s second-ever medal in the event and the first since 1964. “The race was at night and walking out into the stadium all you could see was the flashing lights in the stands,” Lendore said. “I tried not to look up or get too scared. I was only 19, running with the best in the world. I was run ning against some of my idols. There’s a lot of pressure and it’s hard trying not to let it get to you. But I think running in the Olympics is the best thing that’s ever MANZIEL CONTINUED the draft. Manziel was taken No. 22 by the Cleveland Browns, flashing his signature “money” sign as he walked across the stage to shake the commissioner’s hands. As the season ended, Manziel said he should have worked harder in his first year. “I’m not the Johnny Manziel that came in here a year ago,” Manziel said. “It’s been a year of growing up for me. This is a job for me now. I have to take this a lot more seriously than maybe I did at first still going home and doing whatever I was doing in the offseason.” The A&M athletics department expressed its support in a statement Monday. “Johnny will always be an Aggie, and we wish him well in another step in his jour ney,” the statement read. Manziel fans like ocean engineering ju nior Chase Lucia wonder if he can find the NFL success most Aggies expected of him. “I think [Manziel] is messing up too roy ally,” Lucia said. “I mean, the Browns came to his house because he missed his treatment appointment for his hamstring. He just needs to use the rehab so that people will see that he’s progressing. If he messes up after this, he’s done.” International studies junior Kevin Bittner said Manziel has all the skills, but needs the mental discipline necessary to succeed at the NFL level. “I think that Johnny has everything it takes to be the Browns starting quarterback except for the mental discipline,” Bittner said. “I think rehab is a great step toward Johnny becoming a respected NFL quarter back.” happened to me. It really helped me out for the rest of my college career. After something like that, you learn how to cope with the big stages.” Lendore’s coach credits his workman like approach above everything else. “The guy just works,” said head track coach Pat Henry. “There isn’t a work out that I put in front of him that he doesn’t put out total effort in order to accomplish. I’m going to put workouts in front of guys from time to time that are very, very difficult, but he does his best to get it done every day. In four years, he’s probably missed only four or five training sessions. His consistency is the biggest part of what’s helped him be come successful.” That same consistency and work eth ic is what propelled him to the highest honor in his sport, the Bowerman Tro phy. “They have one award in track and field, so it’s really our Fleisman,” Henry said. “The thing you have to remember about track and field is that it accounts for 30 percent of all athletes in NCAA. It’s huge. There are 20-plus events under the track umbrella, but there’s only one award.” Lendore was well aware of the im plications when he first appeared on the BATS CONTINUED Kyle Field may kill some of the bats and force those remaining into other campus buildings. “Any bats that cannot find a suit able roosting site that provides the right thermal conditions will likely die,” Lacher said. “I expect a signifi cant number will be looking for spots near Kyle [Field] and those will be campus buildings.” Early removal ef forts in 2013 resulted in the infestation of 1,000 bats in Cain Hall, right across from Kyle Field. The university responded by sealing poten tial entry points and building bat houses around campus to re locate the population. To some critics, these steps are not enough. Lacher said it often takes several years for bats to become accus tomed to new roosts. “A lot will depend upon the de sign of the bat houses and how easy they are for the bats to find,” Lacher said. Conservationists are concerned what the reduced bat population might mean for the surrounding area. Shelby Vega, president of the Texas Bowerman watchlist. Still, he ignored the pressure and proceeded to go unde feated in his junior campaign, winning 14 consecutive races and sweeping the indoor and outdoor NCAA champion ships in the 400 meters en route to be coming the first Aggie man to win the Bowerman. “People put you on the list, but you have to stay on top of your game,” Len dore said. “You can’t really lose any races. I’m very thankful that I was able to be the Bowerman Award winner for 2014. I would love to be there again next year, but I know that’s going to take a lot of hard work.” This is his last semester at Texas A&M, and like most seniors Lendore wants to make the most of it. In May, he’ll graduate with a degree in business management. The professional circuit beckons, as does another shot at Olympic glory in Rio. The world outside of college can be terrifying and full of uncertainty, but it’s also full of limitless possibilities. “I think Deon knows what he’s done to this point, and I think he knows what he can accomplish,” Henry said. “There’s a lot more in the tank for Deon Lendore.” A&M chapter of the Society for Con servation Biology and wildlife and fisheries sciences senior, expressed concerns for undesired effects. “All bats do good for people as far as insect control and it is important to remember that,” Vega said. Lacher said the impact on the in sect population would be significant if the relocation process fails to pro tect the bats. “The 250,000 bats in Kyle Field were consuming from 50 to 150 million insects each night,” Lacher said. “Many of these are agricultural pests, so that could be a significant loss of free control of crop dam age.” Vega said Texas A&M should look for a way to better coex ist with the bats. “If they could figure out a way to collect their waste they could have a very sustainable source of fertilizer,” Vega said. “Bat guano is very high in nitrogen and makes an excellent fertilizer.” Whether the preventative and relocation efforts are successful will only be known when the bats migrate back to College Station from Mexico in the spring. In the meantime, Ray said the removal will continue. Tanner Garza —THE BATTALION Bat homes have been placed around campus as relocation sites. Over $65,000 in weekly cash prizes ! 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