THE
BATT
THE BATTALION ! THEBATT.COM
Rescued from the
Everest avalanche r
Aggie tells her story
By Lindsey Gawlik
^ Danielle Banks, the 22-year-
^ old Texas A&M graduate
who survived the avalanche on
Mt. Everest caused by the earth
quake in Nepal, now awaits her
trip back to Texas at the U.S.
Embassy in Kathmandu.
Banks is set to leave Friday,
but in the meantime she is
speaking out about her experi
ence via limited Internet access.
Banks, who was in Nepal to
serve as a volunteer with the
human rights organization Sam-
rakshak Samuha Nepal, left the
Everest Base Camp just 30 min
utes before the quake with her
friend, Olivia Lewis. The two
met only a week prior and were
hiking unguided when Lewis
developed acute mountain sick
ness at the camp, Banks said.
Banks
“She had a moderate case but
couldn’t be evacuated because of
snowy weather,” Banks said. “So
after spending the night at Base
Camp at Everest ER we made
our way back to Gorak Shep in
hopes of reaching the next hos
pital in Pheriche, but that never
happened because [an hour and
a halt] later the earthquake hit,
causing complete chaos.”
Banks said seeing the earth
quake and avalanche happen
EVEREST ON PG. 2
RESEARCH
Tim Lai —THE BATTALION
Scott Mattison, biomedical engineering doctoral student,
runs experiments to create images of the sound of light.
Researchers find use
in ‘the sound of light’
Aggies' work could further
advances in medical field
By Zachary Grinovich
^ It is hard to imagine the
^ sound of light, but a group
of A&M researchers hope to do
just that — use light as a way to
acoustically image previously
unseen biological processes.
Brian Applegate, biomedical
engineering associate professor
and director of the Laboratory
for Optical and Molecular Im
aging, has developed a technol-
ogy to see things that are “on the
edge of possible.” Called “pho
toacoustic microscopy,” Apple-
gate and his team shine pulse la
sers on molecules, which absorb
the light and ultimately convert
it into sound that can be turned
back into an image.
The work of Applegate and
his team may one day allow
health researchers to not only
see how cells respond to differ
ent drugs, but how a cell’s indi
vidual components react to the
chemicals.
“We are trying look at differ
ent types of molecules that aren’t
currently possible to look at,”
Applegate said.
The photoacoustic effect,
which is the principle that the
technology is built on, was first
discovered by Alexander Gra
ham Bell in the 1880s. While
the technology has been vastly
improved, Applegate said the
effect still works the same way.
“If you shine a pulsed light
onto something that can absorb
RESEARCH ON PG. 2
NATION
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2015 I SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 I © 2015 STUDENT MEDIA I ©THEBATTONLINE
F arewell,
Miss Rev
The First Lady’s handlers sound off on her
character as campus prepares her send-off
Photos by Shelby Knowles. Sarah Lane and Jena Floyd — THE BATTALION
REV'S RETIREMENT CELEBRATION
what
Celebration of the service of Reveille VIII
where
Clayton Williams Alumni Center
when
4-6 p.m. Wednesday
Baltimore unrest a symptom of J over-poHced
and under-protected 7 community, prof says
By Nikita Redkar
Protests continued Tuesday in the
streets of Baltimore in response to
the death of Baltimore local Freddie
Gray, who died while in Baltimore po
lice custody, stirring unrest among the
city’s predominandy black population.
In Gray’s name, peaceful demon
strations took place over the weekend.
Some have now turned violent, result
ing in burned cars, cases of shoplifting
and police injuries.
Associate sociology professor Wen
dy Moore said she has seen a familiar
pattern of backlash across the United
States recently.
“What’s going on is similar to what
has been happening in other cities,
which is a reaction to the policing of
black communities,” Moore said. “The
people of these communities are very
under-resourced [and] have limited to
no access to jobs, good education and
transportation. The conditions of these
protests and the anger come along with
extreme deprivation and poverty.”
Moore said black people are “over
policed and under-protected.”
“Police have shown they are willing
to see blacks as violent threats immedi
ately,” Moore said. “They respond to
really anything — any actions from
blacks with violent force, often result-
’ T \
ing in injuries, deaths.”
God’swill Osa, molecular and cell
biology sophomore and member of
the Minority Association of Pre-Med
Students, said while anger at the looters
is expected, the unrest in the city has
been building for years.
“It doesn’t take a lot to have utter
disdain for die actions of looters and
those who destroyed businesses of
hard-working individuals,” Osa said.
“But the responses stem from decades
of systematic oppression of urban inner
cities. If you back an injured dog into
a corner, the dog is going to lash out
and hurt you — and maybe hurt itself
BALTIMORE ON PG. 4
By Nikita Redkar
A fter seven years of Kyle Field Satur-
/'■% days, campus appearances and photo
JL JLopportunities, the First Lady of Ag-
gieland will be the center of attention one
last time.
Reveille VIII will retire on May 9 at the
Corps of Cadets Final Review, but first a
Wednesday celebration will commemorate
her time on campus.
Those who worked closest with her re
member the mascot as well-mannered, spir
ited and ready for her retirement, which was
announced at the beginning of the academic
year after consultation with her veterinar
ians.
“She’s definitely tired and ready to re
tire,” said Ian Moss, Reveille’s newest han
dler and construction science freshman.
“I’ve been handling her for two weeks and
she gets exhausted pretty quickly. She also
prefers laying down instead of sitting.”
Reveille VIII was officially introduced
as A&M’s mascot and the highest-ranking
member of the Corps of Cadets in August
of 2008 when she was two years old. She has
since maintained an active campus presence.
“[Reveille] has about 12 events to attend
a week,” Moss said. “It generally averages
to about two per day. I try not to take her
to class when she has many events to attend,
seeing as she is such a busy dog.”
As per tradition, Reveille resides with and
is handled by a sophomore in Company E-2.
Reveille’s handler must go through exten
sive training, studying and must pass multiple
tests before being declared a handler.
“There’s a designated eight-week process
where we study a different Reveille every
week, learn about her and write an essay on
her,” Moss said. “We have to read a book on
tips on raising a healthy dog. [Rev’s handler]
has to be a good ambassador of the university
who represents his or herself well.”
Reveille’s day adheres to the schedule
of her handler, a cadet who must not only
manage his or her own schedule, but plan it
around Reveille’s needs.
“I wake up at 5:25 a.m. and we go work
out together,” Moss said. “Then I bring her
back to the dorm, feed her, brush her teeth
REVEILLE ON PG. 2
Reveille.
VIII, shown
in various
campus
events from
throughout
her seven-
year tenure as
mascot will
retire in May.
To celebrate,
an event
will be held
Wednesday.