NEWS
The Battalion I 3.24.15
3
KEENEY-KENNICUTT CONTINUED
Life is open, so anyone on the program can see all
this. They're really spaces on computer servers and
we had to buy the spaces.
THE BATTALION: Why is Second Life useful for
chemistry students?
KEENEY-KENNICUTT: So, originally I got into Second
Life because of the 3D nature and I love that about
the molecules. We did a study, and it actually
showed that students benefitted from working
with molecules in 3D. Or course it's always better
to maybe handle the molecules themselves, but
a lot of times you don't have access to them even
though you probably could use gumdrops and
toothpicks, the old fashioned way. It's very easy
to go in and build things. So Second Life is a good
place for looking at a good 2D representation of
a 3D molecule. You can see how the perspective
changes. People who go on in chemistry, pre-med
or pre-vet, they have a real hard time seeing 2D
pictures in a book and being able to see a 3D picture
in their heads. That's what chemistry is all about.
This program is a good lead into that and that was
the first part of what I did. Then I linked up with Dr.
Kurt Winkleman at FIT and he wanted some large
universities to help write this into an NSF grant to
see if we could actually do labs in Second Life. That
was the new project and that's been really fun.
THE BATTALION: You have students using this
program in an actual lab now; how does that
work?
KEENEY-KENNICUTT: Part of the problem with
working in Second Life is there's a learning curve just
on how to use the program. We take 100 students
and make four sections for lab each semester. The
labs are taught byTAs who have been trained in
Second Life as well. Every semester we had those
four sections for lab, and every other normal section
was the control group. This semester we're on
sequence for Chem 102 class, which is attached to
Chem 112 lab. There are four sections for the Second
Lenae Allen— THE BATTALION
Chemistry professor Wendy Keeney-Kennicutt
demonstrates Second Life.
Life lab, and 90-plus sections doing the control.
THE BATTALION: Who is involved with this study
within your department or faculty group?
KEENEY-KENNICUTT: I'm the only one from the
chemistry department. Other professors haven't
been really interested so far. They like looking at
it, they're interested in it, but with a lot of faculty
it's difficult to convince them that it would add
substantially to their class. Still, I have had other
people use it. It's very easy to do PowerPoint
presentations in Second Life. I knew a person in
engineering who would take classes in because now
there's a requirement'that you have to give talks
about communication and writing classes. So she
would take her classes into Second Life and have
them do PowerPoint presentations in Second Life.
They're in engineering, too, so it's always good to
learn about new technology.
THE BATTALION: What is one thing that you
hope students and faculty will continue through
Second Life?
KEENEY-KENNICUTT: I hope that people are willing
to maybe step outside their comfort zone, and look
at Second Life as maybe a tool that might work for
them. It's interesting — I really have enjoyed my
time in Second Life.
CONFEDERATE FLAG
CONTINUED
Philip Smith, history professor, said
the reasons behind the controversy in
volve more than the license plate, dat
ing back to the Civil War.
“I don’t think there is national
agreement as to what the Civil War
decided,” Smith said. “And I think it
goes back to the very beginnings of the
colonial period of the country and it is
very much entangled with the whole
slavery question. So the way slavery
ended is very much in contention still.”
Smith referenced quotations from
Confederate members discussing the
causes of the war. Secession commis
sioners said the South seceded to main
tain slavery. Smith said this shows the
war was about slavery, not states’ rights,
making the Confederate flag a problem
for many people today.
“This is what those commissioners
said to the legislatures ... and in ev
ery case it is all about slavery, it is all
about race, it is not about states’ rights,”
Smith said. “And it is very much based
on assumptions about white suprema
cy. And there is no way to avoid that,
that is what the flag represents histori
cally.”
Kirby Goidel, communication
professor, said the argument is a First
Amendment issue and the Supreme
Court will look at whether the Con
federate flags will fall under the “fight
ing words” exception to free speech.
“Typically that’s the argument for
why you shouldn’t allow racist speech
or other types of offensive speech, or
speech that might be interpreted that
way,” Goidel said. “In this case, I
think the Sons of Confederate Veterans
would argue that it’s not intended to be ,
racist speech and that’s other people’s
interpretation of what they are saying.”
Penrose said another question will
be whether license plates are consid
ered private or government speech.
“We know everyone has to have a
license plate, but what people put on
the back of their license plate, whether
it’s a vanity plate or a specialty plate, is
really a private decision,” Penrose said.
Penrose said assuming license plates
are ruled as private speech, the Sons of
Confederate Veterans are likely to win
the suit.
“Looking at that particular approach
to the First Amendment the state is
going to have to justify curtailing this
speech,” Penrose said. “I mean, there
are certain content restrictions that are
permissible, but can the state of Tex
as pick one viewpoint over another,
one speaker over another, can it cen
sor certain speakers? And the answer
historically and clearly under the First
Amendment is no.”
Conversely, Mason Wuthrich, his
tory senior, said he thinks the Texas
argument will win.
“I think it’s a confusion of the con
cept of free speech,” Wuthrich said.
“The government protects your right
to free speech but they don’t have to
provide you a platform for free speech,
and they certainly don’t have to make
government products a platform for
you to express whatever it is you want
to express.”
THE TEXAS A&M STUDENT MEDIA BOARD
INVITES APPLICATIONS FOR
Editor-In-Chief
BATT
The Independent Student Voice of Texas A&M shoe 1893
Summer 2015
(The summer editor will oversee print, digital and special editions,
and will serve May 17,2015, through Aug. 15, 2016)
Qualifications for editor-in-chief of The Battalion are:
REQUIRED
• Be a Texas A&M student in good standing with the University and
enrolled in at least six credit hours (4 if a graduate student) during
the term of office (unless fewer credits are required to graduate);
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student) and at least a 2.25 grade point ratio (3.25 if a graduate
student) in the semester immediately prior to the appointment, the
semester of appointment and semester during the term of office. In
order for this provision to be met, at least six hours (4 if a graduate
student) must have been taken for that semester.
PREFERRED
• Have completed JOUR 301 or COMM 307 (Mass Communication,
Law, and Society) or equivalent;
• Have at least one year experience in a responsible editorial position
on The Battalion or comparable daily college newspaper,
-OR-
Have at least one year editorial experience on a commercial
newspaper,
-OR-
Have completed at least 12 hours in journalism, including JOUR 203
(Media Writing I) and JOUR 303 (Media Writing li)
or JOUR 304 (Editing for the Mass Media), or equivalent.
Application forms should be picked up and returned to
Sandi Jones, Student Media business coordinator, in Suite
L406 of the MSC. Deadline for submitting application:
5 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, 2015.
THE TEXAS A&M STUDENT MEDIA BOARD
INVITES APPLICATIONS FOR
Aggieland 2016
Qualifications for editor-in-chief of the Aggieland
yearbook are:
REQUIRED
• Be a Texas A&M student in good standing with the University
and enrolled in at least six credit hours (4 if a graduate student)
during the term of office (unless fewer credits are required to
graduate);
• Have at least a 2.25 cumulative grade point ratio (3.25 if a
graduate student) and at least a 2.25 grade point ratio (3.25 if
a graduate student) in the semester immediately prior to the
appointment, the semester of appointment and semester during
the term of office. In order for this provision to be met, at least
six hours (4 if a graduate student) must have been taken for
that semester;
PREFERRED
• Have completed JOUR 301 or COMM 307 (Mass Communication,
Law, and Society);
• Have demonstrated ability in writing, editing and graphic design
through university coursework or equivalent experience;
• Have at least one year experience in a responsible position on
the Aggieland or comparable college yearbook.
Application forms should be picked up and returned to
Sandi Jones, Student Media business coordinator, in Suite
L406 of the MSC. Deadline for submitting application:
5 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, 2015.
Place an Ad
Phone 979.845.0569
Suite L400,
Memorial Student Center
Texas A&M University
When to Call
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday
Insertion deadline: 1 p.m. prior business day
VISA
Private Party Want Ads
$10 for 20 words running 5 days, if your merchandise is priced $1,000 or less (price must appear in ad). This rate applies only
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AUTO
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Newsday Crossword
TRIPLE TURNDOWN by Billie Truitt
Edited by Stanley Newman
www.stanxwords.com
ACROSS
1 Sneaker, for one
5 Celebrity poster
10 Raindrop sound
14 Take short
breaths
15 In unison
16 Traditional
knowledge
17 One-twelfth
of a foot
18 Allows to borrow
19 Assist in
wrongdoing
20 “Uh-uhl”
22 Corp. leaders
23 "Old MacDonald”
refrain
24 Misplace
26 Crunchy stalk
vegetable
30 Nebraska’s
largest city
34 Cleopatra's
snake
37 Poet’s “before”
38 Lost-package
inquiry
39 "Uh-uh!”
43 Decorates
44 Large coffee
server
45 Fabric
measures: Abbr.
46 Speedy
47 Takes the wheel
50 "Hey, you!”
52 False name
56 Pig food
59 "Uh-uh!”
63 Cab
64 “Welcome to
Hawaii!”
65 Weak, as an
excuse
66 Equally divided
67 Fragrant wood
10 Cafeteria tray
40 Holding firmly
68 Was in debt
liner
41 Finishes
69 Feeling of
11 Place for an
42 Mine product
hunger
earring
47 Illegally
70 Door handles
12 Three-layer
obtained
71 Untidy condition
cookie
48 Stadium shout
13 Dogs and
49 Zigzag skiing
DOWN
hamsters
event
1 Nutmeg or curry
21 Tip of a sock
51 Nosh
2 Capital of
25 Alphabetize
53 Very impressed
Vietnam
27 “Sure, I’m
54 Highest points
3 Perfectly timed
game!”
55 Gardener’s
4 Cultural, as
28 Slice of history
packet
cuisine
29 Show to be false
56 Dance move
5 Coconut tree
31 Feeling sore
57 Volcano
6 “That makes
32 Lettuce buy
outflow
sense”
33 and crafts
58 Plow animals
7 Forbidden thing
34 Miles off
60 Errand list
8 To an excessive
35 Bar mixer
heading
degree
36 Actor’s
61 Moby-Dick
9 Green pasta
accessory
captain
sauce
38 Melody
62 Autos
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ANSWERS
to todays puzzles
Li