THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2015 I SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 I © 2015 STUDENT MEDIA I OTHEBATTONLINE
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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.