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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 17, 2015)
if 2 ■•■*,■*Z'l'K-'Jk- ?r-m -4, 'III ^ I w ''?^-t-i'A> T ,. V "■ K+x^'&S' x » v - , ^ '-7 ^W%J|fc ju "W' ^ “w- * - % Vr^ v^ - ^ *. * * . SL^ -4^ f ■■ ! ■ '.«#* f ^ ^ s in,* -j^ ^ Shelby Knowles — THE BATTALION REMASTERED: The Battalion follows the Aggie Ring PASS IT DOWN: Some families choose to pass i repair process from the Austin Balfour factory. down Aggie Rings from generation to generation. BEYOND BEER: Aggies weigh in on a few ring jknk alternatives for those who want variety. Over 5,000 to claim Aggie gold Tmturoi finish CT/ antique fmh 2T/ £L Ap Reagan Brunsvold — THE BATTALION By Jennifer Reiley ggie Ring Day con tinues to break records with the 2015 April order of 5,436 — the largest to date. On Friday, 4,811 of those or ders will be Aggies in College Sta tion who will celebrate their se nior status by receiving their Aggie Ring. Kathryn Greenwade, vice president of The Association of Former Students, said the Alumni Center is prepared for 30,000 people between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. “We’re seeing some people bring two people with them, some people bring 20 people with them,” Greenwade said. “It kind of averages out to about six guests per person.” Greenwade said Ring Day became the celebration people consider it today in 2000, and the ceremony has since continued to exceed its original expectations. “It’s very gratifying to see that it’s become what it should be,” Greenwade said. “It has become this celebration and this milestone and I think it’s grown to more than we ever thought it would be. We thought it would be an excit ing day for the students. I don’t think we ever envisioned the mul tiple generations that would come together.” Several changes will be in place this year. The Ring Plaza will only be open to the group receiv ing their ring and the “on deck” group, Greenwade said. The Haynes Ring Replica will not be available for photos on Friday. There will also be three delivery areas within the Alumni Center to which students will be designated. Greenwade said the changes were made to better funnel students and guests through the building. “We had to make these changes to be able to ensure safe entry and exit for everybody,” Greenwade said. “The crowd is get ting so large that we needed to put those controls in place.” In the April order, the span of class years among the rings is large. The oldest ring in the order is a 1970, and the youngest is a 2018, Greenwade said. For all years, Greenwade said the significance of Ring Day lies in part with the fact that all Aggies receive similar rings. “My ring is not that much dif ferent than my grandfather’s ring was,” Greenwade said. “And it’s a rite of passage when we earn our ring. We now have earned the right to wear the family crest. We have a very visible representation of Texas A&M that we wear, and proudly wear.” OTHER CAMPUSES ■ Galveston: 154 ■ Qatar: 38 ■ School of Law: 74 FILE Cole Bedford (left) and Turner Larkins fist bump as Larkins heads to the dugout. Arkansas visits A&M team that has yet to lose a series By Andre Perrard Texas A&M has not dropped an SEC weekend series all season, and this weekend the Ag gies’ full attention will be on the Arkansas Razorbacks, a team that is starting to come together. A&M and Arkansas are the only two teams in the SEC to have won each of their last three conference series. Arkansas (22- 16, 7-8 SEC) won its last series at Kentucky last weekend, and comes in on a three-game win ning streak. Andrew Benintendi is the Ra- zorback leader in the lineup, ac cumulating 41 RBIs with a .356 average and 14 home runs to his name. He is also a threat when on the bases, going 15-for-18 in steal attempts. Tyler Spoon is another hitter to keep an eye on, with 32 RBIs and four home runs. The combination of Spoon and Ben intendi are hitting .464 with 23 RBIs in April. For the Aggies (34-3, 11-3 SEC), Logan Taylor has been one of the main offensive super- stars. On Wednesday, Taylor’s RBI single in the seventh inning BASEBALL ON PG. 8 MM H '-r rJ P) if [ USjJDjXLj-j \ f ,. vs ARKANSAS razorbacks TONIGHT | 6:30pm I BLUE BELL PARK SATURDAY | 7:30pm I BLUE BELL PARK SUNDAY | 3:00pm I BLUE BELL PARK