THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2015 I SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 I ©2015 STUDENT MEDIA I ©THEBATTONLINE
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BATT
THE BATTALION I THEBATT.COM
Sumlin keeps
signing day hot
streak alive
pages 3 & 4
HI i
Vanessa Pefia — THE BATTALION
POLITICS
Meeting in
the middle:
Legislature
day for
A&M, UT
Annual Orange and Maroon Day
brings rival universities together
By Jennifer Reiley
^ AUSTIN — The start of a new lob-
" hying season for state funding be
tween Texas A&M and the University of
Texas kicked off Wednesday with pleas
antries at the annual Orange and Maroon
Legislative Day.
A crew of roughly 100 Aggies, includ
ing both former and current students,
attended OMLD to sit in on legislative
sessions and visit with Texas representa
tives. In the morning, both the House of
Representatives and the Senate passed a
resolution officially recognizing the day.
Jennifer Reiley—THE BATTALION
Texas A&M Student Body President Kyle
Kelly and University of Texas Student
Body President Kon Rady visit Austin on
Orange and Maroon Legislative Day.
Representative John Raney, Class of
1969 -and author of one of the resolutions,
said the teaching and research at both uni
versities benefit the state by driving eco
nomic prosperity through technology and
educating future leaders.
Despite the cordial and at times light
hearted atmosphere, interim A&M Presi
dent Mark Hussey said the importance of
the day could not be forgotten. Hussey
said the opportunity for students to inter
act with legislators gives them the chance
to share what A&M means to them.
“That’s the key part because my expe
rience in working with the legislature is
when you bring people in who can tell
their own stories and tell what something
means to them personally, whether it’s
a former student telling what A&M has
meant for them in their career or a cur
rent student being able to talk about the
excellence that they’ve been able to expe
rience at A&M, that’s absolutely the very
best thing that can happen,” Hussey said.
After both resolutions, visitors met
with legislators to discuss the impact both
schools have had on them. Hussey said
OMLD ON PG. 5
And not voiceless.
State legislators look to appeal DREAM Act,
could affect undocument student education
By Katy Stapp
■■■he Texas A&M Council for Minority
V Student Affairs, an organization that
■ advocates for the rights of undocu-
B mented citizens, has taken up arms
against Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s movement to
repeal the Texas DREAM Act, which offers in
state university tuition to chil
dren of immigrants who have
come to the United States il
legally.
Patrick took a firm stance
against in-state tuition for un
documented students early on
in his campaign for lieutenant
governor. In a debate in April
2014 with San Antonio Mayor
Julian Castro, Patrick addressed
the concerns he had toward the
act.
“We have limited resources
in this state ... I appreciate the
fact that DREAMERS didn’t
come here on their own,
someone brought them here. I
appreciate the fact that they finished high school
and want to better their lives. But if there’s one
seat left at the University of Texas, and the dif
ference is that student or someone who is actu
ally a citizen of the state — if I have to choose
between the two ... I will stand up for the citizen
of Texas ... the fact is I have to put American
students first.”
Roxann Lerma, biochemis
try senior and public relations
representative for CMSA, said
this sentiment is unfair to chil
dren of undocumented citizens.
“These kids know the
Pledge of Allegiance and they
know the Texas flag — they’re
Texans. And some don’t even
know that they’re undocu
mented,” Lerma said. “But
Dan Patrick said that undocu
mented students are not Tex
an, and that people in Kansas
are more Texan than undocu
mented students are. That’s
not fair.”
INSTATE TUITION ON PG. 5
Y7
"What upsets me
most is the fact that
such issues that can
affect so deeply
the lives of people
is being used as a
political issue."
Gabriela Castillo,
political science sophomore
VIEWS
Waking from
the DREAM
and facing the
realities
Jennifer Reiley
@jreiley1
The Texas DREAM Act is under
scrutiny this legislative session, and
with the majority of the Texas Leg
islature leaning to the right, things
could soon change.
To recap, the DREAM Act is
a law that allows undocumented
immigrants to pay in-state tuition
if they follow a number of stipula
tions. To qualify, applicants must
have graduated from high school or
received their GED in Texas, have
DREAM ACT ON PG. 5
M. BASKETBALL
Jones, House slump as A&M streak snapped
Ole Miss too much on road
as Aggies fall, 69-59
By Carter Karels
The run is over.
Texas A&M’s six-game winning
streak was snapped with a 69-59 loss
to Ole Miss Wednesday night.
The Aggies (15-6, 6-3 SEC)
committed 16 turnovers, and Dan-
uel House and Jalen Jones were
limited to single-digit scoring each.
The duo together haven’t gone un
der the 10-point mark since A&M
faced No. 1 Kentucky, a game in
which Jones did not play because of
injury.
With 4:25 left in the first half,
Aggie junior guard Alex Caruso
made a 3-pointer, ending an 0-for-
5 drought for the Aggies outside.
Ole Miss (15-7, 6-3 SEC) started
sluggish as well, shooting 0-for-12
from 3-point land in the opening
16 minutes. The Caruso bucket
temporarily shifted the tempo to a
quicker pace, giving the Rebels an
advantage and a 4-for-5 hot streak
from three in the halfs remaining
stretch.
A&M’s struggles continued when
Ole Miss began the second half
7-for-ll shooting, while the Aggies
remained cold. Early in the second
half, senior post Kourtney Rober
son headed to the locker room with
an apparent injury. Taking his place
was Tavario Miller, who finished
with 13 points and six rebounds.
Roberson only saw flashes after get
ting hurt, and sat for the final few
minutes.
It looked like the game was slip
ping away when junior guard Stefan
Moody knocked down a jumper to
put his Rebels up 50-38.
However, the Aggies were re
charged when Danuel House hit a
step-back 3-pointer from the right
wing, bringing it within single-
digits. Roberson subbed in shortly
after, making two quick buckets to
cut it to 53-49.
A&M was unable to get inside
of five in the closing minutes due
to missed opportunities with turn
overs and Ole Miss’ crisp free-throw
shooting, finishing 15-out-of-20 for
the game.
Stefan Moody led the Reb
els with 19 points, but senior MJ.
Rhett led the second half surge with
all of his 11 points coming in the
final 20 minutes.
The loss resulted in the Aggies
facing a three-way-tie for second
place in the SEC with Ole Miss and
Arkansas. LSU could join the trio
if it takes care of business in Auburn
Thursday.
Columbia, Missouri, will play
host for the Aggies next matchup
against Missouri, which they de
feated 62-50 on Jan. 24.
‘ J- .*■* 1 '
Danuel House