NEWS The Battalion I 3.5.15 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&B Self 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 THIS WEEK walk in to have your free portrait taken for Texas A&M University's 2015 Aggieland yearbook. ALL CLASSES: 9 a.m-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday in MSC Suite L400. March 12 will be your last chance. It's your yearbook. Be in it. PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM IN BIOTECHNOLOGY TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Jump start your life sciences career right here in Aggieland! Enroll in the unique Master of Biotechnology program at Texas A&M University. Attention, Science and Engineering Majors! The Biotechnology Industry Needs Science Managers! Learn cutting-edge biotechnology techniques in the lab. Earn Certificates in Business and/or Entrepreneurship with courses from Mays Business School. Complete a professional industry internship. Call (979) 8451448 for details or contact larissap@tamu.edu http://ppib.tamu.edu TWO LOCATIONS TO DONATE AT! (979)315-4101 I (979)314-3672 4223 Wellborn Rd 700 University Dr E.. Ste 111 Bryan, TX 77801 | College Station. TX 77840 Hold onto a piece of Aggieland It S Dot tOO late to order your copy of the 2015 Aggieland yearbook. The 113th edition of Texas A&M’s official yearbook will chronicle the 2014-2015 school year - traditions, academics, athletics, the other education, the Corps, Greeks, residence halls, campus organizations, and student portraits. Distribution will be in Fall 2015. If yOU Haven t, pick up a copy of the award-winning 2014 Aggieland yearbook that is a 520-page photojournalistic record of the 2013-2014 school year. By credit card go online to http://aggieland.tamu.edu or call 979-845-2613. Or drop by the Student Media office in Suite L400ofthe MSC. BAT 7 Mark Dore, Editor in Chief Aimee Breaux, Managing Editor Katie Canales, Life & Arts Editor Jennifer Reiley, Asst. Managing Editor Carter Karels, Sports Editor Lindsey Gawlik, News Editor Shelby Knowles, Photo Editor Samantha King, Asst. News Editor Allison Bradshaw, Asst. Photo Editor Katy Stapp, Asst. News Editor Meredith Collier, Page Designer John Rangel, SdTech Editor Claire Shepherd, Page Designer THE BATTALION is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer session (except University holidays and exam periods) at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Offices are in Suite L.400 of the Memorial Student Center. News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in Student Media, a unit of the Division of Student Affairs. Newsroom phone: 979-845-3315; E-mail: editor@thebatt.com; website: http:// www.thebatt.com. Advertising: Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by The Battalion. For campus, local, and national display advertising, call 979- 845-2687. For classified advertising, call 979-845-0569. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Email: battads@thebatt.com. Subscriptions: A part of the University Advancement Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pick up a single copy of The Battalion. First copy free, additional copies SI. 2 VIEWS ACTIVISM Council for Minority Student Affairs vice president Gabriels Castillo (right) and other student advocates in the march across campus to show their support of DREAMers. Tim Lai — THE BATTALION Student advocates march across campus in support of the Texas DREAM Act By Katy Stapp Chanting “Si Se Puede†— “Yes We Can†— and with “Undocu mented†printed across their black T-shirts, close to 70 students and sup porters marched Wednesday morning across campus to draw attention to a brewing legislative battle over fees for undocumented student. Local DREAM Act advocates marched at 10:30 a.m. from Rudder Plaza to Simpson Drill Field to show their determination to keep the act a part of Texas’ law. The DREAM Act allows undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates if they graduated from a Texas high school or received a GED in Texas, and if they sign an affidavit indicating they seek legal resi dency. The act was adopted in 2001, but the Texas legislature has the act’s advocates readying to fend off attempts at a repeal. The marchers held signs stamped with, “We have earned it†and, “Edu cation, not deportation.†The march, hosted by the Council for Minority Student Affairs, concluded at Simpson Drill Field with a press conference. Gabriela Castillo, vice president of CMSA and political science junior, said the march was the first of its kind and intended to bring awareness to the community about participants’ de termination to fight the repeal of the DREAM Act. “We wanted to reach out to the community and let them know that we are aware of these proposed legisla tions, willing to fight them, and willing to go far out of our comfort zone to do so,†Castillo said. “We want them to know that we are keeping a watchful eye on Texas legislation.†The efforts to repeal the DREAM Act center around House Bill 360, filed in November by Republican Rep. Mark Keough, which would deal a blow to the DREAM Act by requir ing applicants for in-state tuition to be citizens at the time of application. Roxann Lerma, CMSA public rela tions representative and biochemistry senior, said the march was scheduled at an ideal time to combat efforts to repeal the DREAM Act. “We knew these bills were about to start rolling,†Lerma said. “We want ed to make our statement at the right time.†Castillo said the march also intended to advocate for DAPA, or Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, which was recently ruled unconstitutional by U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen. DAPA is a form of immigrant relief that essentially extends DACA, or De ferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, to include eligible parents of United States citizens. To qualify, the indi vidual must have been physically pres ent in the U.S. since Jan. 1, 2010 and have a child who was born on or before Nov. 20, 2014. Castillo said the march was success ful and received a lot of attention. “People saw us and were cheering us on. Some even joined in to march with us,†Castillo said. “It was refresh ing and powerful.†Lerma said one of her hopes for this event, which was named the National Day of Action, is that it will encourage other universities to advocate for those who enter the U.S. illegally. “What we want is for other uni versities to start marching like this as well,†Lerma said. “Universities like the University of Texas and the Uni versity of Texas Pan-American — we want them to join us in the fight.†Yell Leader revote to be announced at E. King Gil statue By John Rangel The results of A&M’s Yell Leader revote will be announced at 6 p.m. Thurs day next to the new E. King Gil statute, barring any rule violation allegations. The revote comes after this year’s Senior Yell Lead ers nullified the Student Government Association’s Yell Leader election process. Faculty and staff were able to access the ballot, but Ryan Trantham, special election commissioner and MSC pres ident, said non-student ballots are not tallied. Trantham said while the online ballot is open to faculty and staff, the computer system only tallies student ballots af ter a validation system com pares cast ballots with a list of current students. “Faculty and staff can go in and fill out a ballot, but that ballot won’t be validated,†Trantham said. David Sweeney, director of A&M’s Information Tech nology department, said it is •typical for faculty and staff to be able to access the online ballot for student elections. Sweeney said the system en sures only student ballots are counted once the voting clos es. Enabling ballot access to anyone with a Net ID and a UIN makes the system easier and cleaner from a program ming standpoint, Sweeney said. Trantham said he was op timistic the revote would be successful, but is prepared to postpone the election an nouncements if violation al legations are brought forth. “If for whatever reason there are allegations of rules violations that do get sub mitted before the deadline of [Thursday] at noon, myself and my student appeals pan el will have to review all of those different allegations and then any appeals that would come from our rulings prior to announcing any results,†Trantham said. The deadline to submit al legations to the special elec tion commissioner is noon Thursday. REACTOR CONTINUED reactor inside was used to teach students about opera tional materials and safety techniques. “The nuclear reactor is a five watt reactor that has about enough power to power a light bulb, but never theless it is a nuclear reactor,†said Tell Butler, manager of engineering facilities. Butler said the university will take every precaution to safeguard the reactor. A special utility system will be put in place to ensure the reactor has the same level of stability and power that it had when the building was fully operational. Access to the reactor area will be restricted to the nuclear reactor supervisor, a federal nuclear commission agency and a group of consultants hired to look after the area. The reactor area will also be under video surveillance in addition to being guard ed by police at night. The reactor is the only piece of equipment to re main in Zachry as construction crews ready for the eventual renovation. All other pieces of equipment have been removed from the building and taken to new locations, Butler said. “To move that equipment appropriately, we brought in the manufacturers of that equipment and they actually disassembled it, packed it for moving and when we put it in the new locations they came in and reassembled it,†Butler said. All of the pieces of equipment moved out of Zachry will remain in their new locations, Butler said, and new equipment will be brought in for the Engineer ing Education Complex when it is completed. Much of the equipment that has been removed from Zachry is mainly used by graduate students, but the Engineer ing Education Complex will focus on undergraduate education. The new equipment that will be brought in will be smaller scale, simulation-based equipment Butler said. Butler said the process of emptying Zachry for construction has been ongoing for nearly a year but was completed in the first week of February. Zachry’s renovation into the Engineering Education Complex will begin during spring break with the abatement of any hazardous materials, such as asbestos.