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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 26, 2015)
V ) Aggieland2015 NEWS The Battalion I 3.26.15 2 Senior Boot Bag Store Location: A&B Self Storage 1701 N Earl Rudder Fwy Bryan, TX 979-778-2293 charboeg@yahoo.com Price Includes Logo and Name (More logos available) Shop for Little Aggies to an Aggie Xmas: etsy. com/shop/aggiesan dbows by Charlotte, Reveille’s Seamstress Second Location: Craft and Antique Mall CS 2218 Texas Ave. South College StatioN, TX 979-255-8905 It's not 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. By credit card go online to http://aggieland.tamu.edu or call 979-845-2613. Or drop by the Student Media office in Suite L400 of the MSC. Aggieland2015 Over $65,000 in weekly cash prizes ! ENCLOSED Security * Unlimited Pull Tabs & Evert Tabs N0N~SliOlK!NC5 TSurssSay Is ASOiE m Wee Wper S, 2 WES Asfett SECTION!! $40,09 - 4/2 Prise Foriumt Electron tes (tzi muwt} Jmvizy. ttwmS&y, Saiantey & Sanday 1805 Bfiarcrest Drive in Bryan Across from Bryan High Poors Open At 5:00 pm, 7 Days A Week (979)776-0999 www.brazosbingo.com Brazos Bingo supports the following charities: Brazos Valley Council on Alcohol and Substance Abuse, Bubba Moore Memorial Group, Inc. College Station Professional Firefighters Association Texas Local 4511, St Joseph Catholic Church, St. Joseph Catholic School and Scottys House Brazos Valley Child Advocacy Center, Inc. c; c; l ^ services for education Congratulations to SSC’s Associate of the Month Rosie Sanchez Associates that receive this award are recog nized for going above and beyond their normal duties to promote teamwork, unity, a positive attitude, kindness and exceptional customer service. Thank you, Rosie, for all your hard work and dedication to the Grounds Management Team! THE TEXAS A&M STUDENT MEDIA BOARD INVITES APPLICATIONS FOR Editor Aggieland 2016 Qualifications for editor-in-chief of the Aggie/and 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 1406 of the MSC. Deadline for submitting application: 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, 2015. THE _ BAT! Mark Pore, 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 L400 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 $1. | CAMPUS | Ex-transportation director encourages bipartisanship Lahood says political change is based on positive relationships By Wade Feielin Ray LaHood, the 16th secretary in the U.S. Department of Trans portation, lectured at the 2015 Cono- coPhillips White House Lecture Se ries at the Bush School Wednesday. The lecture, hosted by Mosbacher Institute for Economics, Trade and Public Policy, focused on the chal lenges of governing in a highly par tisan political environment and of fered solutions for fostering more meaningful interaction in the White House by means of bipartisanship and compromise. With 36 years of experience in public service and myriad improve ments made to many aspects of the transportation sector during his ten ure, LaHood was also presented the Mosbacher Good Governance Award in commemoration of his efforts. LaHood said through interactions with White House figures such as SBP CONTINUED relationship there is what matters. His willingness to listen is based on our relationship and his respect or under standing of where Tm coming from.” Throughout campaign season, ways the university could embrace diversity and promote underrepre sented groups on campus became a chief topic of discussion. Benigno said focusing on what each person has to offer brings diversity in its truest sense. “I said this at the debate and I stand very firmly behind this quote — ‘Di versity for the sake of diversity is fool ish, but diversity for the sake of fair ness and equal opportunity, that’s the goal,”’ Benigno said. “What I want is that everyone gets a fair oppormnity to be part of whatever they want to be a part of. I could not care less about race or gender, religious background or anything like that. As long as the character is there and the love for Texas A&M, people will be qualified to serve in their positions.” As far as goals go, Benigno said the structure of his entire administration — applications for which are now open — is built around the idea of “preserving the best of our past and promoting the best of our future.” In preserving the past, Benigno said they want to keep the focus on the spirit, traditions and core values of Texas A&M through continuing to promote these and by setting up an endowment for families to be able to attend Silver Taps. Additionally, Benigno said he wants to send student representatives to different Muster ceremonies held around the state. “I think this would be a great way to reach out to those former students and show them that traditions mat ter to us still and they’re very impor tant,” Benigno said. “Not only could they give a speech, they could also just serve as kind of a unifying bridge between former students and current students. They could update them on events on campus, like the new president, the new stadium, the new Tim Lai —THE BATTALION- Former secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Ray LaHood, spoke about bipartisanship and compromise Wednesday at the Bush School. former President George H.W. Bush and President Barack Obama, he has learned the importance of strong, positive relationships for political progress. MORE AT TX.AG/BATT22 conference — all those things have changed. We want to show them that through that change, the things im portant to us are still the same. We’re changing on the outside, we’re get ting ‘new clothes,’ but the ‘person’ of Texas A&M is still the same.” To promote the future, Benigno said his administration wants to re vamp the TAMU mobile app, ad vocate for tax-free textbooks in the Texas state legislature and create a new cabinet position that would act as a representative of the student body to the City Council of College Station. “Obviously Texas A&M and the university system affects a lot of col lege life for students here but not all of it because some students live off campus,” Benigno said. “Things like construction and everything the city offers affect us as well. We want to make sure our needs are being heard. ” With a deep-rooted love for Texas A&M, Benigno said the overall inspi ration for pursuing the position of stu dent body president was his favorite tradition — the Aggie family. “That, to me is, the ultimate tradi tion — it’s the foundation for Mus ter,” Benigno said. “Wliy do we have Muster? To honor our family that we’ve lost, and the same goes for Silver Taps. That’s why we stand in Kyle Field. We stand together as an idea that we are one group of people. That’s why we say ‘howdy.’ For The Big Event, we give back to this group of people and say thank you to people who have supported our family. It’s just really great once you think about it in terms of the Aggie family with everything branching off from it. Ev erything seems to come together as a very clear picture of Texas A&M.” Benigno said he doesn’t think he will be able to grasp the significance of this position for years to come. “I couldn’t be more thankful for the people around me and how the Lord has blessed this campaign and my life through Texas A&M,” Benigno said. I’m extraordinarily humbled and proud to serve such a fine institution.” ISLAMIC STATE CONTINUED ing in might perversely appealed,” Crocker said. “For more normalized in dividuals, they will turn them away, so I would say it’s a mixed bag.” Sahar Aziz, professor at the Texas A&M University School of Law, said she does not feel footage shown on U.S. news channels has done much for the re cruiting efforts of the Islamic State group. However, she said it does get the shock factor across that the group could be aim ing for. “They are recruiting on their own us ing social media and chat rooms and web pages, and people who are watching it on television tend to be those who will not be recruited,” Aziz said. Crocker said he thinks the group’s ac tions could only increase Islamophobia in countries that already have a strong prejudice and sense of muslims as “the other.” “Here in the U.S. I think we’re in a better position — Muslims are very well integrated into Muslim society, they’re part of our political, social and cultural fabric, and we don’t have the divisions and barriers that exist in many places in Europe,” Crocker said. “So with that background I wouldn’t really think the recruiting campaign by the Islamic State in the West is going to affect attitudes very much in this country.” Salman Munir, president of the Texas A&M chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Student Association and biology sopho more, said he feels Islamic State recruit ment actions in the West have been in creasing Islamophobia around the world, and he understands why people in the West may be fearful about the recruit ment efforts spreading. Munir said he thinks this is a scary situation, which is why he is trying to get the word out that ISIS is not a rep resentation of Islam and that he believes people around the world have a right to be afraid — but they also have a right to get the correct answers about the true nature of Islam. Munir said the group is the first large extremist group that has access to social media as a tool for recruitment and is us ing this technology to gain an audience throughout the world. “One of their biggest things is using social media to try to brainwash indi viduals here in the West and try to bring them over,” Munir said. “When you see the kid next door and all the sudden he’s over there fighting, it kind of opens a lot of people’s eyes. It’s really scary, and I re ally do think it’s increasing Islamophobia around the world; I really do think it’s becoming a growing issue really fast.” Adam Nadeem, vice president of AMSA and university studies senior, said finding a solid way to shut down global Islamic State recruitment is not possible. “I don’t think that you’re going to be able to stop ISIS from recruiting on any part of the world, because they are a ter rorist organization so they are going to obviously have the impact wherever they are,” Nadeem said. “Unless the govern ment or someone is able to shut them down, they are not going to stop.” Nadeem said Islam is a peaceful reli gion, and said that every terrorist act has been conducted by somebody in an ex tremist group. Munir emphasized that the root word of Islam means “peace,” and Islamic State fighters are not promoting Islam — they are trying to push a political goal while declaring it under Islam simply to get more support from the Middle East. “A lot of leaders in ISIS and especially in different organizations on that part of the world — they’re just trying to fulfill their own political agendas, and they use Islam,” Munir said. “It’s an easy way to manipulate a large group of people in that part of the world.” <C a> Tickets $5 Students $10 General Admission Available at the MSC Box Office Call 979.845.1234 P A IB Fflrmfbimation. call 979.847 2787 ♦ awpa@taimi c&i ♦ 3cadcmyarts.tarnii.o*i ♦ wwAvfaccbook conVAVRtaiTAMU THE TEXAS A&M STUDENT MEDIA BOARD INVITES APPLICATIONS FOR Editor-ir*-Chief BATT The Independent Student Voice or Texas A&M snce 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.
