MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2015 I SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 I © 2014 STUDENT MEDIA I ©THEBATTONLINE
BATT
THE BATTALION I THEBATT.COM
Allison Bradshaw — THE BATTALION
New technology could make
space travel more affordable
By Katie Fuller
■■■■1 he future of spaceflight
might include reusable
rocket components, if a
private company’s engi
neering gamble pays off.
Space Exploration Technolo
gies, or SpaceX, hopes to develr
op a way to land and refurbish a
rocket’s first launch stage. A Janu
ary attempt came close to success,
but a planned second attempt last
Wednesday was scrubbed due to
bad weather. Industry experts say
the technology could make space
operations much more affordable
and would boost space operations,
if the capability is proven.
January’s attempt saw SpaceX’s
signature Falcon 9 rocket suc
cessfully deliver supplies to the
International Space Station while
its first stage attempt to land on a
remote-controlled ocean barge.
The rocket maneuvered itself to
the target but crashed when it ran
out of hydraulic fluid.
SPACE ON PG. 3
BASEBALL
INTERNATIONAL
SOFTBALL
First
baseman
Logan
Nottebrok
hits during
Sunday's
6-1 win
over Holy
Cross that
completed
the
weekend
sweep.
Ttm Lai —THE BATTALION
Runs pour in as A&M
starts hot with weekend
Holy Cross sweep
Aggies score 41 runs in three
games on opening weekend
By Andre Perrard
The Texas A&M baseball season
had quite the start this weekend,
sweeping Holy Cross and scoring 41
runs in the process.
Ronnie Gideon led the charge,
ending the three-game sweep with
11 RBIs. He tallied just seven all of
last year.
Game three mirrored the first two
outings as the Aggies won 6-1 Sunday
behind junior pitcher Matt Kent.
Kent pitched for seven innings,
only allowing four hits and zero
earned runs, while also recording
three strikeouts.
“That’s what he did to our hitters
all fall long and through January and
Febmary,” head coach Rob Childress
said. “That’s why he earned the right
to be in our rotation. He certainly
didn’t disappoint today.”
Turner Larkins and Andrew Vin
son came on in relief to finish the
Crusader attack. Vinson struck out
two of the final three batters to seal
the deal.
BASEBALL ON PG. 2
Muslim group
addresses ISIS,
stigmas of Islam
I
Shelby Knowles — THE BATTALION
Senior Sana Rahman is one of the founders of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Student Association.
By Josh Hopkins
In response to the Is
lamic State group’s
continued actions in the
Middle East, an event
Monday will address radi
calism and extremism in the
Middle East.
Salman Munir, biology
sophomore and president
of Ahmadiyya Muslim Stu
dent Association, the group
hosting the event, said
“Stop the Crisis” aims to
condemn the Islamic State
group’s actions abroad and
address the domestic issue
of Islamophobia.
Munir said he wants to
make clear that Muslims as a
whole condemn the Islamic
State group’s actions, which
have a negative effect on
Muslims everywhere.
“Before ISIS really came
into the picture you already
had a lot of Islamophobia
in the world,” Munir said.
“But now you see ISIS —
AMS A ON PG. 4
Student body president debate to be held Monday
Three candidates will hit
on campus issues
By Sam King
On the campaign trail for
student body president, can
didates will face off in a debate
Monday evening.
The three candidates will an
swer questions asked by mod
erator Matt Josefy, former A&M
student body president and Class
of 2004, that have been submitted
via Twitter and on an anonymous
online form, said Emma Douglas,
election commissioner and busi
ness sophomore. Candidates will
also answer questions from one
another.
Douglas said Josefy’s experi
ence is an asset to the debate.
“Mr. Josefy has significant ex
perience with SGA and has mod
erated debates in the past,” Doug
las said. “We are confident that
the debate is in good hands with
Mr. Josefy.”
Hannah Wimberly, SGA pub
lic relations vice president, said
the debates are a great way for the
candidates to get in touch with
the voting body and to clarify
their platforms.
“The debate is going to be a
great way for students to find out
about the issues that their poten
tial SBPs are passionate about,”
Wimberly said. “I hope that it
will clarify for students that are
undecided or wanting to know
more about certain issues.”
The debate will be at 7 p.m.
Monday in the MSC’s Hag
Room. Voting for positions such
as student body president, yell
leader and student senator will be
Thursday and Friday, and results
will be announced Friday eve
ning.
A&M caps 4-win
weekend with
Sunday victory
By Milkyas Gashaw
Despite the strain of playing five games
^ in three days, the A&M softball team
continued to roll Sunday.
The No. 23 Texas A&M softball team
(7-3) completed the Aggie Classic with a
4-1 record after a 2-1 victory Sunday over
Missouri State.
Sunday’s game followed doubleheaders
on consecutive days for the Aggies, whose
only loss came Saturday night in an extra
innings thriller against Penn State.
Sophomore April Ryan and freshman
Tori Vidales continued their scorching
play with Vidales hitting a double in the
first inning to bring in Ryan. A deep shot
to centerfield by junior Breanna Dozier
brought in the final run for the Aggies.
Senior Rachel Fox continued her dom
inance on the mound with allowing one
run and striking out seven in a complete-
game effort.
Head coach Jo Evans said Fox displayed
her dominance throughout the entire
tournament.
“[Fox] threw a gem against Eastern
Michigan,” Evans said. “It was really a
work of art. She threw 58 pitches in six
innings, not once throwing more than 12
pitches in an inning. That’s the goal as a
SOFTBALL ON PG. 2
Junior Cali Lanphear walked three
times Sunday, scoring once in the
2-1 win.
~ pfLesefm
an evening n!
>
V
I
THIS THURSDAY NIGHT!
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