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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (May 4, 2015)
MONDAY, MAY 4, 2015 I SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 I © 2015 STUDENT MEDIA I ©THEBATTONLINE Crash kills two students, one in critical condition By Katie Canales Two students were killed in a one-car accident around 1:10 a.m. Sunday while heading north west on FM 244, according to KBTX. Two more Aggies were in jured in the crash, with one in criti cal condition at the Temple Scott & White Memorial Hospital as of Sunday evening. Kinesiology junior Corinthia “Nikki” Williams and communica tion senior Alexis Emmou, the driv er of the car, were pronounced dead on the scene. History junior Rene Contreras, a passenger, is in critical condition at the Temple Scott & White Memorial Hospital and Tyra Preston, university studies senior, was treated at St. Joseph Regional Health Center in Bryan. D’Juan “DJ.” Johnson, sports management junior, said Williams, who was known as “Nikki Nikki Nikki” to her friends, was support ive and protective of those close to her. “She was a good friend,” Johnson said. “She was a real, true friend.” Esteli Nyampundu, interdisci plinary studies senior, said she knew Williams for four years. “Nikki was a very, very loveable person,” Nyampundu said. “When ever she walked in a room, best be lieve you’re about to laugh.” CRASH ON PC. 2 BATT THE BATTALION I THEBATT.COM Vanessa Pefta — THE BATTALION By Zachary Grinovich eeing isn’t necessarily believing any more. Due to technological advances, physicists can say with a high degree of certainty, that everything that can be seen in the physical world is less than five percent of what is actually there. The other ninety- five percent is a combination of dark matter and dark energy. Dark matter is still highly ambiguous but, thanks to an international collaboration, it may soon be discovered in part with instruments under development at Texas A&M. The Super Cryogenic ITark Matter Search, \or SCDMS, will be one of the biggest dark matter detection experiments in history. It aims to use detectors of unparalleled sensi tivity placed two kilometers underground to try and record dark matter for the first time. These detectors are being designed by a team of A&M physicists to determine the nature of dark matter. Rupak Mahapatra, physics professor, along with professors David Toback, Rusty Harris and Nader Mirabolfathi, are at the forefront in United States’ efforts to find dark matter. The search is tough — humans cannot see or feel dark matter because its particles don't interact with the observable world. “Dark matter has no electromagnetic in teraction,” Mahapatra said. “Of course they have gravity, but they also have a weak inter action. What this means is that if you pass a billion times a billion times a billion particles through your body, every once in a while, one will hit you.” It is not a concept that is easily grasped, but Mahapatra explained it in simple terms. MATTER ON PG. 2 Young steps into role as A&M head Tanner Garza —THE BATFALIGN President Michael K. Young met with media members during his first day at Texas A&M on Friday. By Mark Do re A revitalized Kyle Field is months from its ^ unveiling, enrollment continues to rise, con struction projects dot the campus landscape and a handful of new deans are in place. And now, one more change at a university full of them — the president’s office has a pennanent occupant. Seated around a large wooden conference ta ble in a conservative blue shirt and floral maroon tie, A&M president Michael K. Young spoke exclusively with The Battalion Friday morning about his first official day, his perceptions of the student body and his vision for the university’s future. His optimism for the path on which A&M heads is rooted in, among other things, the na ture of the students and the way he has been received. “The passion for the university it something I’ve never seen,” Young said. “When you have all these former and current students and tre mendous faculty supporters, all kind of galva nized behind this university, it really is unique.” Young, who was previously president of the universities of Utah and Washington, was put YOUNG ON PG. 2 Senior responds to needs of Nepal after earthquake Alli Bradshaw —THE BATTALION Biomedical sciences senior Jonathan Brewer will travel to Nepal after graduation to aid in relief efforts. By Sam King Jonathan Brewer has been eagerly counting down the days to graduation. But near the end of his countdown, a mas sive earthquake struck Nepal on April 25. Now, Brewer is count ing down to a different date. Along with a team of similar ly impassioned medical profes sionals through an organization known as International Medical Relief, the biomedical sciences senior will head to Nepal at the end of May to offer his help to the relief efforts. On April 25, Nepal was hit by a earthquake, and according to a tweet on Sunday from Nepal’s National Emergency Operation Center, 7,250 people have died and 14,267 people are injured. Brewer, who has been to Haiti three times to help, the first trip coming a year after the earthquake from which the is land country is still recovering, said he was sitting in class read ing about the earthquake when he felt a calling to go be a part of the relief. NEPAL ON PG. 2 Cadets wrestle during activities tied to the informal transfer of ranks during the March to the Brazos. March to the Brazos raises $113,000 Top fundraising units 1. E-1 2. Squadron 2 3. E-2 S 4. F-1 5.F-2 <60 0 WET* i, * Clair© Shepherd — THE BATTALION By Lindsey Gawlik ^ More than 2,200 from the Texas ^ A&M Coips of Cadets made an 18-mile trek starting and ending at the Quad Saturday for the 39th an nual March to the Brazos. This year, the Corps raised $113,000 for the March of the Dimes, a nonprofit that works to prevent premature births and aid children with birth defects. Becky Goss-Shepherd, March of Dimes division director for the Wa- co-Temple-Kileen and Bryan-Col- lege Station areas, said it was amazing to see the Corps, whose outfits com pete to raise the most money, come together at the March to the Brazos. “It’s amazing to watch them all come together because [we’ve] been working with them all as individuals and groups and that sort of thing, so this day is really more about the cel ebration of it,” Goss-Shepherd said. Breanne Gorbutt, community di rector of the Brazos Valley chapter of March of Dimes, said each outfit var ies in what they do to raise money. “Some send their guys out with their Corps boots and they go door to door in Houston or in Dallas and collect money that way,” Gorbutt said. “Some it’s just all parents, some hold barbecues — it’s just different for every outfit.” The March to the Brazos serves as the largest strident-run funding event in the nation for March of Dimes. This year, David Gardner’s Jewel ers contributed to' the competitive spirit among the outfits by donating a watch bearing the recently updated MARCH ON PG. 4