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TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2015 I SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 I © 2015 STUDENT MEDIA I ©THEBATTONLINE
TW C
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BATT
THE BATTALION I THEBATTCOM
(Left) Michael Murtha listens in during
Monday's trial. (Center) Election
commissioner Emma Douglas consults
team during the trial. (Right) Joseph
Benigno defends his position as SBP-
elect.
Photos by Vanessa Pefia—THE BATTALION
STUDENT AFFAIRS
SBP contenders trade blows at trial Two names
SGA Judicial Court hearing concludes,
decision expected in next 72 hours
By Wade Feielin
^ At the heart of the Monday night J-Court
^ trial that could decide the next student
body president were the questions of whether
fines should be levied against the SBP-elect
and who has the right to assess them.
At the Murtha v. Benigno & Douglas trial
hearing, all parties presented their arguments
regarding SBP-elect Joseph Benigno’s alleged
violations of Election Commission rules in a
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
campaign video, titled “Go(Pro) With Joe.”
A decision is expected within 72 hours,
and if J-Court elects to assess fines that exceed
Benigno’s campaign budget, he could be dis
qualified. In that case, Michael Murtha, who
finished second in the Feb. 19-20 election,
would assume the position.
Murtha’s counsel began with the argument
that the misapplication of election regulations
to both parties violated the student Bill of
Rights, which states SGA statutes and regula
tions must apply equally.
Murtha’s counsel said the Election Com
mission violated this clause by fining SBP cariy .
. Tim Lai — THE BATTALION!
Kasey Kram (left) speaks with COSGA
delegates at a reception Monday.
COSGA sparks
talk between
student reps
across globe
By Lindsey Gawlik
The annual trek of student representa-
^ rives from universities across the world
to College Station just got larger.
The Conference on Student Govern
ment Associations, COSGA, is in its 34th
year at Texas A&M. Saturday through
Tuesday, COSGA — with more than 40
schools, 350 delegates, 110 A&M under
graduate staff members and a $90,000 bud
get — celebrated its largest conference to
date, said director Julie Craig.
COSGA invites members of student
governments to Texas A&M, where SGA
delegates discuss ways to approach campus
issues while also showing delegates around
College Station.
Some of the subjects touched on this
year included concealed carry and growth
and visibility of student governments, all of
which fit within the overarching theme,
“Ever Onward: Define Your Vision, Im
prove Continuously, Forge Your Legacy.”
Daniel Beard, programming executive
and industrial engineering junior, said the
theme fit well with the goals of student
leadership.
“That’s kind of like the process I believe
that every organization has to do — they
have to have some type of vision for how
they want to accomplish their goals,” Beard
said. “And then once they have those goals
they need to improve continuously because
if you have a goal but you can’t execute it,
it’s a hallucination basically.”
Trey Foster, construction science senior
and COSGA host, said one of the most
interesting ideas he heard from delegates
this year was a “Meet the Senate Day,” in
which campus senators make themselves
available during the day to visit with their
student constituents.
Connie Song, international studies se
nior and promotions committee member,
said she sat in on a roundtable discussion
about concealed carry, in which members
of North Dakota State University talked
about how their campus allows them to
carry firearms on campus under special cir
cumstances.
Concealed carry has also been a recent
topic of.interest at Texas A&M, as Student
didate Isaiah Tsau, but not Benigno.
“Ms. Douglas offered no support from elec
tion regulations, SGA code or the university
constitution that what she did by not fining
Benigno is not supported in any language in
any law,” economics senior Clayton Cromer
said on Murtha’s behalf.
Election commissioner Emma Douglas said
she considered severity and intent with the fine
levied against Tsau.
Douglas argued the intent of Tsau hold
ing a banner in the MSC was to garner votes,
and because the MSC is a high-traffic area on
■ ■■L SBP ON PG. 2
......... '.: y-.V-' ...... ^, S f
FOOTBALL
■ T-' ciu
IT BEGINS
The A&M football team began spring practice Monday.
Coaches get first look at
roster at spring practice
By Andre Perrard
Aggie football is back for
spring workouts as the
team began its 2015 campaign
Monday.
The practice marked the
first time out for some new
Aggie coaches as Dave Chris
tensen and John Chavis made
their debuts Monday for
A&M.
Head coach Kevin Sumlin
said Chavis, his new defensive
coordinator, is fitting in to the
new job and environment.
The two had a moment to
talk on the field before prac
tice began.
“[Chavis] has been excited
since he’s been here,” Sum
lin said with a grin. “He was
looking around at the white
helmets and told me, ‘Coach,
I can’t tell you how excited
I am for today.’ And I said,
T can’t tell you how excited
I am, too.’ It’s good. We’re
just trying to get better as a
team. I think there are some
things fundamentally that
we’re doing that makes sense.
He brings a lot of experience
not just in this league but
overall. Think right now it’s
one of those situations where
guys are learning. It’s a new
defense. Few days before we
scrimmage. We’ll see where
we are but I’m real pleased
with the energy right now.”
The team has its fair share
of injuries. Mike Matthews
and Otaro Alaka are two of
the handful of players who
are not participating at all this
spring due to injury. How
ever, Sumlin said he does not
dwell on the issue, but uses it
FOOTBALL ON PG. 3
put forward
for VPSA
vacancy
By Katy Stapp
^ After a national search, the Division of
Student Affairs announced two final
ists for the vice president for student affairs.
The two finalists, David W. Parrott
and Daniel J. Pugh, will interview this
month and conduct an open forum with
the public. ^
Four.ipnderg^iduati£,,, s.erved on the
search advisory committee that sifted
through the applicant pool. Student Body
President Kyle Kelly, a committee mem
ber, said the opening drew wide interest
and the candidates reflect the quality of
the search.
Coming alongside a transition to a new
university president in Michael Young, a
new VPSA will be part of a “new era of
leadership at A&M,” Kelly said.
Parrott, executive associate vice presi
dent and chief of staff in the Division of
Student Affairs at Texas A&M, previ
ously served as associate dean of students
at A&M. Pugh serves as the vice provost
for student affairs at the University of Ar
kansas as the senior student affairs officer.
The A&M position is occupied by
Tom Reber, who has served as interim
VPSA since April 2014.
Pugh’s campus visit will take place
March 12-13, with the open forum
from 1:30-3:30 p.m. March 13 in MSC
2300A. Parrott’s campus visit will take
place March 26-27, with the open forum
from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on March 27 in
MSC 2406.
M. BASKETBALL
Aggie road
schedule
closes with
Florida
By Lawrence Smelser
w After winning its 20th game of the
season — a first for the Aggies un
der head coach Billy Kennedy — Texas
A&M hopes to secure its 12th SEC win
Tuesday against the Florida Gators.
The previous matchup between A&M
and Florida was a 63-62 thriller. Fifth-year
senior post Kourtney Roberson led the
Aggies with a season-high 20 points, and
junior forward Jalen Jones helped seal the
win for Texas A&M by sinking two free
throws with about a minute remaining.
As the teams prepare to meet again,
Texas A&M (20-8, 11-5 SEC) sits in third
place in the SEC behind undefeated Ken
tucky and one game back of Arkansas.
In its last game, Texas A&M beat
Auburn by a whopping 25 points —
its largest margin of victory in SEC play.
Four of Texas A&M’s players scored
BASKETBALL ON PG. 3
High-speed rail advocates: B-CS still benefits
COSGL4 ON PG. 2
Proposed Houston-to-Dallas route
to bypass College Station after all
By Nikita Redkar
Texas’ high-speed rail initiative took a
step forward, but Bryan-College Station
is left unsure of its place along the proposed
route.
Officials at Texas Central Railway recom
mended a route in mid February for the high
speed rail connecting Houston and Dallas that
places the rail’s sole stop-over .20 miles from
College Station.
Local high-speed rail advocates say the
stop-over’s proximity to Texas A&M could
still reap substantial benefits if the rail is ulti
mately built and if the community finds a way
to close the 20-mile distance.
RAIL ON PG. 4
If proposed route stands, the new high-speed rail will not run through College Station.