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Mark Dore, Editor in Chief
Aimee Breaux, Managing Editor
Jennifer Reiley, Asst. Managing Editor
Lindsey Gawlik, News Editor
Samantha King, Asst. News Editor
Katy Stapp, Asst. News Editor
John Rangel, SciTech Editor
Katie Canales, Life & Arts Editor
Carter Karels, Sports Editor
Shelby Knowles, Photo Editor
Allison Bradshaw, Asst. Photo Editor
Meredith Collier, Page Designer
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 L400 of the Memorial Student Center.
News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas
A8iM University in Student Media, a unit of the Division of Student Affairs.
Newsroom phone: 979-845-3315; E-mail: editor@thebatt.com; website: http://
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Subscriptions^ 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 $1.
TRAPEZE CONTINUED
the swinging.”
Challicombe said it does not take
long to get the swing of trapeze and that
by the end of the first class, people tend
to feel like they can conquer the world.
“A good saying that’s been passed
down through everybody is, ‘First time
for fear, second time for fun,’” Chal
licombe said. “So by the second time,
you’re getting quite comfortable, you’re
a litde less scared and you’re able to lis
ten to instructions a litde bit better.”
Challicombe said the hardest part of
trapeze for many people is stepping out
side their comfort zones. He said he has
the most fun teaching people who are
not great at trapeze the first time, but
come back two or three times because
of how much they enjoyed it.
“They came back — they loved
swinging, they loved the trapeze as
much as I did, and I wanted to teach
everything I could and help them in any
way,” Challicombe said.
Alex Powell, health senior, started
trapeze in May and is a student at the
academy.
Powell recendy got out of lines,
which means she is no longer strapped
to anything while she swings. Powell
has never been afraid of heights and said
the instructors are patient with begin
ners.
“They start you off real slow and
then they slowly build you up to a
higher, more advanced level and then
they teach you how to swing and then
when you get your swing down, they’ll
take you out of the lines when they feel
comfortable with it,” Powell said.
Challicombe said at Lone Star Acad
emy they begin with groundwork and
stretching. They demonstrate and prac
tice tricks on the low bar before ascend
ing the ladder.
“So we’ll practice on the low bar
what’s going to go on,” Challicombe
said. “Then we’ll harness you in, give
you a safety belt, send you up the ladder
... Then you’ll get to the platform in
Health senior Alexandria Powell swings from a trapeze at the Lone
Star Trapeze Academy.
which one of the instructors will hold
you, and you’ll grab the bar with both
hands and jump off and swing through
the air.”
Powell said trapeze is something ev
eryone should try at least one, despite
fear of the sport.
“Even if you’re scared of heights
there’s nothing to worry about; you’re
strapped in,” Powell said. “So I’ve seen
people like off of the wrong spot and
they catch you — they slowly lower
you to the net, so it’s not scary.”
Erin Ginsberg, marketing graduate
student, is also a student at the academy
and has been doing trapeze for about
two years. She originally learned how
to swing at Island Lake, a circus camp
in Pennsylvania.
“When I moved back from camp,
ironically they opened up [Lone Star],”
Ginsberg said.
Ginsberg said her favorite part of tra
peze is the learning aspect of it, as there
is always room for growth.
“The best thing about that is while
you’re learning you’re getting stronger
too,” Ginsberg said. “So you’re building
strength and you’re figuring something
out like a puzzle ... There’s a lot more
to it than I would’ve ever thought.”
Ginsberg said trapeze is enjoyable
because of her tendency to try differ
ent things.
“It’s just exhilarating jumping off of
a platform and landing in a net,” Gins
berg said. “And really every time you
go is a new experience, because you’re
always working on something.”
TEXTING CONTINUED
when HB 80 was in com
mittee.
“Studies have shown that
individuals perceive the risk
of having an accident due to
cell phone distraction is less
for themselves than it is for
their peers on the road,” Fer
dinand said. “In other words,
we have more confidence in
our own abilities to safely op
erate a car while texting than
we do for others’ abilities.”
A number of the studies
referenced come from Texas
A&M, including the Texas
A&M Transportation Insti
tute, where Christine Yager,
associate transportation re
searcher, worked on one of
the first published studies in
the United States to examine
texting while driving.
The study, which in
cluded driving simulations,
showed that texting while
driving doubles the reaction
time behind the wheel from
one to two seconds to three
to four. In five seconds, a car
traveling at 30 mph will trav
el approximately 220 feet.
“Texting in the traditional
sense requires the use of your
hands and eyes — com
pared to say, talking on a cell
phone may only require your
hands,” Yager said. “The
more that you divert atten
tion and resources — eyes,
mind or hands — away from
driving, the greater your risk
of a crash.”
Still, the critique remains
that a ban on texting while
driving in Texas is a violation
of a driver’s freedom, cited by
Perry when he vetoed Crad-
dick’s original legislation.
With Gov. Greg Abbott
in office, Craddick said there
may be a higher chance of
passing the bill this session.
“The governor’s people
have been at the hearings
we’ve had, they came to the
would have to look at closer,
although he said he still had
concerns of the state estab
lishing too many laws to re
strict Texans.
“I want to see the dan
gers posed by texting while
driving addressed,” Abbott
said in the interview. “One
death, one injury, because of
texting while driving is one
too many. At the same time I
don’t want to turn Texas into
a nanny state. This is a law I
will have to take a very close
look at if it passes.”
Other critics of the bill
"Our findings indicate that the
presence of these laws and attempts
made by law enforcement are serving
to compel drivers to refrain from
texting while driving when they
otherwise would not."
Alva Ferdinand, assistant professor
press conference we origi
nally had and I think they’ve
offered an amendment that
we’re going to take, and
hopefully if we pass it in the
House and Senate he’ll sign
it,” Craddick said.
Abbott stated in 2014 that
he would likely veto a bill
to ban texting while driv
ing. However, in an inter
view with WFAA Sunday,
he said it was something he
claim that policing the pro
hibition will not be effective.
To this, Craddick said people
have been shown to change
social mindsets when laws are
established.
“Statistics show that 95
percent of the people, if you
make a law, they respond it
and obey it,” Craddick said.
Ferdinand said her team
saw this change of mindset in
their research.
“We were not expecting
to see that states with texting
laws have seen significant re
ductions in crash-related fa
talities relative to states [like
Texas] that don’t have such
laws,” Ferdinand said. “This
was because laws requiring
changes in behavior, such as
seat belt laws, have histori
cally taken several years to
become truly effective. Our
findings indicate that the
presence of these laws and at
tempts made by law enforce
ment are serving to compel
drivers to refrain from texting
while driving when they oth
erwise would not.”
Ferdinand said if the bill is
passed and signed, the next
step would be to involve
several players to ensure these
critics’ prediction doesn’t be
come the case.
“Given that several states
have seem improvements
following the implementa
tion of texting-while-driving
bans, it wouldn’t be surpris
ing if the state of T exas made
efforts to reach out to agen
cies and law enforcement in
other states to learn about the
pitfalls and best practices for
effective implementation,”
Ferdinand said.
After a time of adjustment,
Yager said the law would
likely become part of the ev
eryday function of the state if
passed.
THE TEXAS A&M STUDENT MEDIA BOARD
INVITES APPLICATIONS FOR
Eclitor-in-CIhief
BATT
The Independent Student Voice of Texas A&M since 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);
• 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) 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 II)
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
A Editor
AgGIELAND 2010
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.
THE TEXAS A&M STUDENT MEDIA BOARD
INVITES APPLICATIONS FOR '
Editor-In-Chief
BATT
The Independent Student Voice of Texas A&M snce 1893
Fall 2015-Spring 2016
(The fall and spring editor will oversee print and digital editions,
and serve Aug. 16,2015, through May 14,2016)
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);
• 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) 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 II)
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.