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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 9, 2015)
THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2015 I SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 I © 2015 STUDENT MEDIA I OTHEBATTONLINE ■ 1 BATT THE BATTALION I THEBATT.COM Ryan Palmer tees off at The Masters with high hopes Maroon on WILEY LECTURE SERIES Child abduction survivor to speak on campus Activist Elizabeth Smart to talk empowerment By Bradley D’Souza ^ Elizabeth Smart will share her story of abduction and em powerment on campus Thursday. Smart was abducted as a child in 2002 and subjected to physical and sexual abuse for nine months. Fol lowing her rescue, she published a book detailing her experiences and 'has advocated for child abduction recovery programs. Smart’s presentation is hosted by Maggies and the Wiley Lecture Series. Adrienne Biyant, Maggies’ program coordinator for the lec ture and psychology senior, said she was initially inspired by Smart’s story after reading her book. Bry ant said she was particularly moved by how Smart was able to thrive after her experience, and wanted to help spread that message to stu dents on campus. Haley Mathews, director of symposia for MSC Wiley and po litical science senior, said she hopes those attending will be inspired by Smart’s story. “I think that the most important thing to take away from her story is that when we go through a .hard time or trial, there are ways to take it, and that you can better your own life,” Mathews said. “It’s go- 1 f '%•: Elizabeth Smart is set to speak about her 2002 abduction Thursday. ing to be a conversation about empowerment and perseverance, and 1 think that that’s going to be irm portant for students to take away. Her experience is ex treme, but its the principle of persevering through hard times, turning it on it’s head and using it to empower your life.” Mathews said many aspects of Smart’s story will be received by A diverse audience with a broad range of interest. SMART ON PG. 4 By Lawrence Smelser AN ANTONIO — It has been three years since Ryan Palmer’s last Masters appearance, 10 since his first showing, 15 since his gradua- tion from Texas A&M. And as one of golf s most prestigious and historic events, The Masters, prepares to start Thursday in Augusta, Georgia, the Aggie said he feels good about his chances. “I’m excited about Augusta,” said Palm er, who sits No. 23 in the world and will enter The Masters for the first time since 2012. His best of four previous finishes came in 2011, when he tied for 10th. “I haven’t been there the last two years, so I’m looking forward to it — especially the way I’m playing. It sets up good for me, and it’s nice going to majors when you’re playing well.” His journey hasn’t always been an obvi ous one. Palmer said the idea of becoming a professional golfer didn’t occur to him until late in high school, and he played a year at the University of North Texas before transferring to A&M. A&M’s head golf coach at the time, Bob Ellis, said Palmer reached out to him and it was clear he was determined to play for the Aggies. “At a tournament in Mexico, he showed a strong desire that he wanted to come to Texas A&M,” Ellis said. “Ryan always wanted to PALMER ON PG. 2 TENNIS Freshman Catanzariti makes splash on SEC circuit for streaking Aggie men Q&A Koresh: The artistry and outreach of dance The Koresh Dance Company is known for its performances as well as its outreach dance programs. By Alex Scott w AJ Catanzariti last lost more than ^ a month ago, has won 11 straight matches and is the back-to-back-to-back SEC freshman of the week. The Pittsburgh native has spent less than a year at Texas A&M, but already he has staked a leading role on the young, talented A&M tennis team. His uncon ventional path to College Station began when he first learned the game of tennis, following the trend set by his older sister. “I picked up a racket when I was three and started playing competitively when I was around seven,” Catanzariti said. Coming from Pittsburgh, head coach Steve Denton said it would have made sense for Catanzariti to attend a more northern school recruiting him, like Il linois or Ohio State, both of which are closer to home. After a campus visit, though, he came away with the connec tion he needed. “Thankfully for us, he chose [A&M],” Denton said. “Maybe he wanted to get out of the cold and come to a warmer place.” Catanzariti’s freshman campaign has been nothing short of impressive. He is on an 11-match singles winning streak and is 32-8 this season, 9-2 in the SEC. He has also been part of 17 doubles matches, losing only two. As a team, A&M is on a nine-match CATANZARITI ON PG. 4 m Cody Franklin —THE BATTALION For three straight weeks, AJ Catanzariti has been named SEC freshman of the week and has won 11 straight matches. Ihe Academy of Visual and Performing Arts is bringing the Philadelphia-based Koresh Dance Company to Rudder Theatre at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Battahon Life & Arts editor Katie Canales sat down with the company’s artistic director Ronen Koresh to discuss Koresh’s outreach program, touring lifestyle and dance techniques. THE BATTALION: You're stationed in Philadelphia. What does your company do for the community? KORESH: We have a big, big school in Philadelphia and the center city. We cater to chil dren's classes from the ages of two and a half, three to the age of 17 and then we also offer classes to people who are adults and also for aspiring professionals and nonprofes sionals. And then every day, seven days a week, we do a lot of outreach programs. We go to schools in the area for underprivileged kids and we actually give classes. It's part of our mission. So I think we deal with four different schools that we go to and we're hoping eventually to have it part of the curriculum that we will be teaching them on a continuous basis, not just offering classes randomly as opposed to having it. If you're in a certain grade, the next year you can have the class and continue studying. So it becomes part of what you do in the school since there's hardly any art and culture in the schools these days.That's just part of what our mis sion is. And when we're on the road we do lectures and demonstrations or masters classes and lectures and performances so we're really KORESH ON PG. 2 HISTORY Civil War statues to join local memorials in Veterans Park By Evan Flores A statue depicting the end of the Civil War for opposing sides will join the ranks of American war memorials in Brazos Valley Thursday. The statues are brought to the community by the Bra zos Valley Veterans Memo rial. The newest memorial will depict two soldiers go ing their separate ways — a Confederate soldier going south and a Union soldier headed north, symbolizing the return home after the war, said Steve Beachy, proj ect leader and BVVM board member. “We wanted to focus on the end of the war,” Beachy said. “ [The soldiers] that sur vived had to go home and rebuild their lives and then help rebuild the country.” The newest addition is part of the half-mile trail on the Lynn Stuart Pathway at Veterans Park lined with memorials dedicated to con flicts the United States has faced over the last 200 years. Beachy said these additions to Veterans Park are a con tinuation oT works done by citizens of the Bryan-College Station area. The statues to be unveiled Thursday were created by local artist J. Payne Lara. CIVIL WAR ON PG. 3 The statue will depict both a Confederate soldier and a Union soldier going their separate ways to symbolize their return home after the war.