TheBattalion02272012

● monday, february 27, 2012 ● serving texas a&m since 1893 ● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2012 student media

thebattalion

Texas A&M staff members, faculty and students packed Rudder Audi-torium Friday morning to hear from University administration about plans to outsource non-academic services to private firms.

Rodney McClendon, A&M vice president for administration, stood at the podium in front of 717 employees, 211 of whom work for dining servic-es. He began by saying decisions sur-rounding the situation were made by A&M System Chancellor John Sharp.

According to an official memo is-sued by Sharp, Texas A&M will send requests for proposals to private com-panies in an attempt to secure ven-dors for building maintenance, food and dining, custodial and landscaping services. According to Steve Moore, vice chancellor of marketing and com-munications for the A&M System, the requests will ask for quotes on sys-tem components, and added that this meant Sharp, rather than University President R. Bowen Loftin, was the proper person to initiate this process.

The proposals will then be evaluat-ed and appraised by the companies and

a cost budget returned to the school. By employing outside vendors, the University plans to increase the effi-ciency of work while alleviating bud-get constraints.

“As we consider the proposals, our employees, their benefits and salaries will be kept firmly in mind,” said Mc-Clendon, quoting from Sharp’s memo.

According to McClendon, Uni-versity administration plans to take no more than two to three months to de-cide on vendors, but said it could take up to a year.

McClendon finished by apologizing for the way the information was leaked

to the public, and said it was not the University’s intention for workers to find out Thursday evening, before the administration could address the issue.

“You all deserve our respect and loyalty, and we are all regretful of the way the issue was brought to light,” McClendon said. “You deserve better.”

After the statement, McClendon opened the floor to concerns and questions. Many offered words of ap-preciation for holding this meeting for them, saying it did much to assuage

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Voting opens MondayStudent body election primary voting begins at 8 a.m. Monday and continues through 5 p.m. Tuesday. Primary results will be announced Tuesday at 8 p.m. in Academic Plaza. Students can vote by visiting vote.tamu.edu.

Josh McKenna — THE BATTALION

A&M employees hold a banner asking, “Are we still ambassadors?” while Rodney McClendon, vice president for Administration, speaks Friday.

A&M administration addresses outsourcing plans

Help wantedChase CarterThe Battalion

insidevoices | 2Candidate ideasThe six student body president candidates explain what innovative ideas they each bring to the race.

voices | 3mailcallStudents and former students voice their opinions about campus issues and opinion columns published in The Battalion.

sports | 7Big 12 champsThe A&M men’s and women’s track and fi eld teams and the women’s swim and dive team grabbed Big 12 crowns during the weekend.

Aggie one of seven Marines killed in helicopter collision

Seven Marines died Wednesday during a military training exercise, including former Texas A&M student Capt. Nathan Anderson. Two helicopters from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing collided in a remote portion of the Yuma Training Range Complex near the Arizona-California border. According to a press release by the Marine Corps, the aircrafts, an AH-1W “Cobra” and an UH-1Y “Huey,” were conducting routine training operations at about 8 p.m. Anderson, Class of 2002, is one of 26 Aggies to die while serving in the military since the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Three of the 26 fallen Aggies have died during training exercises or while in transit from one base to another. Wednesday’s incident at the Yuma Training Range Complex is currently under investigation.

Trevor Stevens, staff writer

The phrase “opposites attract” might be a cliché, but political com-mentators James Carville and Mary Matalin couldn’t be on more oppo-site ends of the spectrum, and inci-dentally, they are married.

The 600-seat auditorium in the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center was filled to capacity with an-other 250 in a nearby overflow room when James Carville, democratic strategist and political commentator, and Mary Matalin, Republican strat-

egist and political commentator, sat down to discuss a subject close to the

hearts of many college students: social media.

Carville, sometimes referred to as the “Ra-gin’ Cajun,” worked as the lead strategist for Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign and was awarded campaign manager of

the year in 1993 for his efforts. He is the former co-host of CNN’s Cross-fire and now works as a political sci-ence professor at Tulane University in New Orleans, La.

“When I was in college, if you wanted to read The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal you could go to the library — [the paper] came four

days late — and you read on a stick,” Carville said.

Matalin is a Republican strate-gist who worked on the campaigns

of Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush. She is currently the chief editor of the conservative publish-ing company Thresh-old Editions and co-wrote the book “All’s Fair: Love, War, and

Running for President” with husband James Carville.

“The negative [of the information age], as chronicled by Columbia Uni-versity’s studies, is that there are ex-

Jake Walker Special to The Battalion

Polar political pair argues election points

politics

Carville, Matalin disagree about GOP prospects

Defense officials lead national affairs conference

In uncertain times, many look toward the next gen-eration to solve the pressing issues facing our nation. In an effort to better prepare these future leaders, students host the Memorial Studenc Center’s Student Conference on National Affairs, or SCONA, each year.

SCONA aims to bring together students from across the nation to discuss the issues national leaders will con-front in the post-college world, inviting participants to identify solutions for these problems. The conference, running Thursday through Saturday, boasted 115 del-egates. Though many were Aggies, students from other universities, including the University of Oklahoma, the University of Texas, West Point and others, made the trip to College Station for the conference.

Sam Hodges, junior political science major and conference chair of SCONA, discussed the difficult

Rachel BishopSpecial to The Battalion

See SCONA on page 8

campus

Courtesy photo

SCONA chair Sam Hodges greets Adm. James Winnefield, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Aggies seek rivalry win vs. No. 1 Bears

The No. 11 Aggies have hosted 13 opposing teams in Reed Arena this season, send-ing 12 of those teams home with a loss. But none of those teams match up with No. 1 Baylor, who will take the floor in Reed Monday at 6 p.m. in the biggest home matchup of the season.

Baylor has won 29 games in a row, losing its last game in the Regional Finals of the NCAA National Champion-

ship Tournament to eventual national champion A&M. One of those Baylor wins came in a revenge match in Waco as the Lady Bears drubbed the Aggies 71-48 just over two weeks ago.

The Aggies have won six in a row on their home floor, however, including a 79-51 rout over Texas Tech Satur-day in which the home team led by as much as 32.

After the game, A&M head coach Gary Blair said his

Mark Dore The Battalion

women’s hoops

See Outsource on page 8

Matalin

Carville

See Lecture on page 8

See Baylor on page 7

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‘Over 70 Health Professions Programs-Medical, Dental, Pharmacy,

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The The Executive Council of Health Organizations (ECHO) and

Professional School Advising (OPSA) present

22nd Annual Health Professions Symposium

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Rudder Exhibit Hall

10:30 am – 2:30 pm

Texas A&M University

THE BATTALION (ISSN #1055-4726) is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and Monday through Thursday during the summer session (except University holidays and exam periods) at Texas A&M University. Periodicals Postage Paid at College Station, TX 77840. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, Texas A&M University, 1111 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-1111.News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in Student Media, a unit of the Division of Student Affairs. News offices are in The Grove, Bldg. 8901. Newsroom phone: 979-845-3313; Fax: 979-845-2647; E-mail: [email protected]; website: http://www.thebatt.com.Advertising: Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by The Battalion. For campus, local, and national display advertising, call 979-845-2696. For classified advertising, call 979-845-0569. Advertising offices are in The Grove, Bldg. 8901, and office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fax: 979-845-2678.Subscriptions: A part of the Student Services Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pick up a single copy of The Battalion. First copy free, additional copies $1. Mail subscriptions are $125 per school year. To charge by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express, call 979-845-2613.

thebattalion THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT VOICE OF TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893

Robert Carpenter, Editor in Chief

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various authors and forum participants in this paper do not necessarily refl ect those of Texas A&M University, The Battalion or its staff.

MAILCALL GUESTCOLUMNSMake your opinion known by submitting Mail Call or guest columns to The Battalion. Mail

call must be fewer than 200 words and include the author’s name, classification, major and phone number. Staff and faculty must include title. Guest columns must be fewer than 700 words. All submissions should focus on issues not personalities, become property of The Battalion and are subject to editing for style, clarity and space concerns. Anonymous letters

will be read, but not printed. The Battalion will print only one letter per author per month. No mail call will appear in The Battalion’s print or online editions before it is verifi ed.

Direct all correspondence to: Editor in chief of The Battalion

(979) 845-3315 | [email protected] voices2.27.2012thebattalion

EDITOR’SNOTE

page2

Naila Dhanani: Demand effective leadership

Your voice, your vote

I n last year’s elections for student body president,

12,704 students voted in the primary elections

while 7,387 voted in the run-offs.

That’s about 27 percent of the total student body for the primary and about 16 percent for the run-offs. These numbers are devastatingly low and underlie a dangerous apathy students possess.

The student body president is the face of our school. He’s often the first person in-coming freshmen, transfer students and pro-spective students see at Fish Camp, T-Camp or at high schools. He represents us.

For those of us that are Class of 2013, next year will be our last year here. It will be our last opportunity to be represented and I hope we elect someone we trust will represent us well.

But if only a quarter of us vote in elec-tions, we can’t ensure we have the best person to represent all 50,000 of us. We’ll only be able to ensure we elect someone to represent about 13,000 of us. And that’s not enough.

We claim we attend the best school in the nation. And we do. But if we want others to see what we see, we need to vote.

It’s important to vote for the student body president this year more than ever. This will be our first student body president to

represent our school in the South-eastern Conference; we’re heading into legislative year; we will finally have the MSC again after three long years. We need someone to lead us there.

But not just anyone. We need someone who loves our school,

someone who will put the well-being of our University ahead of absolutely everything, someone with integrity, someone we can count on.

Someone who has the support of the stu-dent body behind him.

Aggieland is a special place. Our tradi-tions are instrumental in forming the Aggie Spirit, in forming our loyalty to our school, in forming our integrity and respect for oth-ers as well as for Aggieland. I want others to see what I see. So I’ll vote to make sure the student I want representing me and my school wins.

You should do the same.Unfortunately, in recent years it’s become

our tradition to be apathetic. When candi-dates campaign, students, for the most part, ignore what’s going on.

Ask yourself what’s important to you?

Naila Dhanani is a junior biomedical sciences major and opinion editor

Autumn Rizzo — Special to THE BATTALION

What role should the student body presi-dent take? Lobbying the state legislature for increased spending for higher education or exempting students from the voter ID bill, ensuring we maintain our sense of identity when entering the SEC, whatever it is, vote for the person you feel best represents you and your vision for A&M.

All of us are part of the Aggie community and in order to fully support the person who will be representing us, we need to vote for him.

Voting timesVoting begins Monday. Students can vote from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday. Students can visit vote.tamu.edu to cast their vote.

Question: What idea do you bring to the race that distinguishes you from the other candidates?

Candidates speak candidly

Drew Barberbeforbarber.org

The most exciting policy goal that I bring to the table is IT integration with Google. This would give students a more user-friendly system, without the financial strain of having to constantly upgrade servers. We would get to keep our @tamu ad-dresses for life while using an already popular email plat-form, in addition to accessing numerous Google applica-tions to improve our online experience. Outsourcing the servers will lower our IT fee, reducing the financial burden on students, while allow-ing the IT department to do more practical improvements for students, such as upgrad-ing computers on campus.

John Claybrookcountonclaybrook.com

As a campaign, we decided early on to treasure every in-teraction we have with every Aggie. We hope our actions have proved that the people we meet are more than just votes — they are a valuable part of this Aggie family. We have done our absolute best to reach out to groups that aren’t typically reached from an SGA standpoint. Our initiative to take a different international organization to each Midnight Yell or Silver Taps proves our commitment to building relationships all across campus. With a focus on the individual, we look forward to another year of growth through collaborative relationships at Texas A&M.

Sam Hodges humpitwithhodges.com

As a student who has served in many areas across campus, from the MSC to SGA to our Fightin’ Texas Aggie Corps of Cadets, I bring to this race a unique vision for Texas A&M University that builds upon our core. With my experience as a student leader I understand the im-portance the cost of educa-tion plays in everyday living. As such, one of my goals as SBP is to lobby the Texas Legislature to establish a way for a portion of the city sales tax revenue to be contrib-uted to A&M. These funds would replace the current student services fees and be spent in ways that mutually benefit the community and students.

Thomas McNuttgonutsformcnutt.com

If you want an experienced student body president who has a proven record of bringing positive change to campus and one you can personally talk to every week at Sbisa then you should look our way. I have a passion for representing students who need someone to fight for them. I have success-fully advocated for issues that have improved our lives on campus — from fighting fee increases to getting the new ordering system in Ag Cafe. In everything I do next year, I will put you first. Please join us in voting this week.

Brody Smith brodysmith4sbp.posterous.comService has been the key-stone of my campaign and emphasizing this next year will be crucial. I want to coordinate the Student Government Association to support a major student-sponsored charity at every home sporting event on campus. This will give us the opportunity to showcase the best of what Texas A&M has to offer to our SEC visi-tors. I want to work with the MSC to use the living room of campus to showcase service and excellence to present Aggies and the Class of 2016. Aggies are service. This next year, I will prove it as student body president.

Jose Zelaya facebook.com/joseluisinspires

I believe I bring passion and experience to the race. I have been able to set a tutoring program, worked with more than 30 organizations in order to make Texas A&M a more welcoming and safe environment for all Aggies. I also bring inspiration and the idea that everything is pos-sible if we believe it is and if we work hard to obtain our goals. After experiencing so many obstacles and over-coming them, I believe my life experience speaks high of the things that I can and will achieve as student body president. I bring inspiration.

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thebattalion

voices page 3

monday 2.27.2012

From Robert Jacobson, mathematics graduate studentI am disgusted at the lack of moral fi ber displayed by the editor of The Battalion in publishing last week’s opinion piece against women (“Preserve all-male yell leader tradition,” Feb. 22). Would The Battalion publish an opinion piece about why black people shouldn’t be yell leaders? I would like an explanation as to how The Battalion managed to give platform to this kind of bigotry, and I would also like to know what steps will be taken to make sure the kind of misogyny displayed in the piece will never be published in The Battalion again.

From Kelly Leibham, sophomore accounting majorI am very frustrated about The Battalion’s biases in the recent edition concerning the possibility of a woman becoming a yell leader (“Preserve all-male yell leader tradition,” Feb. 22). There is only one section defending that the yell leader tradition should remain male and it is written by a male. There are plenty of women on campus that would be happy to express their opinions on not tampering with one of our precious traditions. To not display this in your articles showed a clear and slanted bias. Next time a controversial issue is discussed in your paper, please ensure that it includes a fair representation about what our student body truly thinks.

From Jeffrey Jones, junior economics majorI agree with the opinion article about preserving all-male yell leader tradition (“Preserve all-male yell leader tradition,” Feb. 22). I believe that if asked point-blank, most students, particularly male students, would fear saying they would not vote for a female yell leader because of the backlash of being called a sexist. I’m not suggesting that women shouldn’t be allowed to run for yell leader. I just feel that the student body came to Texas A&M because of its many time-honored traditions.

From Frank Cox, 1965 head yell leaderThe girls on The Aggie Dance Team that perform at basketball games are obviously very cute, disciplined in dance and in great shape. No doubt many of them love Aggieland and want to contribute as they probably did during their high school days. I know some of the girls’ family and know they are proud of them. I, too, am proud that they want to be involved. However, I am not proud of the way they are used by the Athletic Department and their Dance Instructor. Here are some MAJOR problems:(1) The dance team kills momentum. Just be honest — watch what happens at basketball games.(2) Many of the dance movements are suggestive and vulgar. I fault the Dance Team Instructor and Athletic Department for this use of our lovely girls. (3) Regarding the possibility of the dance team’s involvement at football games, what music will they dance to? Are they going to shut down the Twelfth Man, yell leaders and Aggie band to play a dance tune over the loud speakers like they do in basketball? Let’s just be honest — some in the Athletic Department want cheerleaders instead of yell leaders. They want us to be like other schools. Yet, even TV Sports Announcers consider us to have the best atmosphere in College Sports. Yell Leaders and the Corps are not a hindrance to those who want to be Aggies. Let us be Aggies and the SEC will be in for a real treat!

From Dan Kiniry, Class of 2006I cannot agree with the opinion column written in support of requiring a picture ID in order for one to vote (“Protect Texas’ future,” Feb. 19). I have personally known many, many people who do not have photo IDs who are American citizens. All of these people are poor and struggling. I do not believe that people without the right to vote are sneaking into voting booths, what a silly idea! There are only two reasons to support a voter ID bill: extreme paranoia

and the will to disenfranchise the poor. From my experience of working with the poor and homeless for the last four years, I would estimate that there are hundreds of people in our county and millions across the nation who would be disenfranchised by voter ID requirements. Close to 100 percent of these people are poor. Conservatives, who represent the interests of the rich and powerful, have a vested interest in taking away the right to vote from the poor and destitute, most of whom are not gullible enough to believe that denying them access to healthcare is good for them. Let’s not take a step backwards towards the days when you could only vote if you were a white male landowner.

From Paul Shaw, junior construction science majorI was surprised and dismayed to see that in an opinion column discussing problems caused by abortion (“Gendercide,” Feb. 13), the author still managed to defend the practice. I take issue with the logic behind any set of values that defends the practice of abortion with one side of its mouth, yet calls for the end of the ‘gendercide’ of baby girls in China with the other. “Women in every single culture must be valued,” says the column. Does it not follow that all people in all cultures should be valued? The author refers to 160 million baby girls missing from China, but fails to mention the 55 million children that have been killed in the U.S. since Roe v. Wade. It seems that abortion proponents want to decide when it is convenient for a baby to count as a person and when he or she is only an embryo. The problem in China is very saddening, but until the underlying moral problem is addressed, nothing will change, and women’s rights advocates will continue propagating the contradictory ideas that women in the U.S. should have the right to choose, yet women in China should have the right to live.

MAILCALL

Allie Pausky: Using “like” reflects poorly

on students

Wasted words

I ’ve recently noticed that our student

body has been using “like” as a filler

word more than ever. While sitting in

my philosophy class, I struggled to follow a

student’s thoughts through a sentence filled

with “likes.” By the end of lecture, I

had counted the word “like” 37 times dur-

ing his responses. I’m sorry, but really?

I know students don’t notice when they say “like,” but it’s a bigger issue than we make it out to be. My father, who works at the A&M Career Center, has made a point of either tapping his Aggie Ring on the table when I use “like” as a filler, or even just repeating it after I say it, both of which are VERY annoying. An issue I remember him talking about after returning from work when I was younger was his frus-tration while helping students with their résumés and prepar-ing for interviews when they couldn’t even form a sentence without using “like.”

We’re enrolled at this wonderful university to get an education, but what are we really saying about that diploma when we graduate and still talk like a bunch of 16-year-olds? Our job right now is to be students, but as soon as we’re done with this, we have to fend for ourselves. I can guarantee that a company would hire an applicant with less experience before one with experience, but whose speaking repertoire is full of “likes.”

We’ve been told over and over again to think before we speak, but we probably need to think while we’re speaking, too.

Because if we don’t, it could, like, really affect our futures.

Allie Pausky is a sophomore agricultural leadership and development major.

GUESTCOLUMN

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STUDENT BODY ELECTIONS

The Association encourages you to cast your vote.

vote.tamu.edu

Word SquareComplete the following and try to fit them into the word square:

a. San Antonio ____b. ____ Majorc. ____ Madridd. ____ for sure

Siddharth Kumar — THE BATTALION

Friday’s solution:

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4/2 and 5/2 houses, CS, availableAugust, updated, all appliances,great backyards, large livingrooms, W/D, close to campus, nopets.www.brazosvalleyrentals.com979-731-8257

4/3, 3/3 &3/2 Houses, Town-houses, Duplexes &Fourplexes,1250-1700sqft. Very spacious,ethernet, large kitchen, extrastorage, W/D, great amenities, onbus route, now pre-leasing, excel-lent specials. 694-0320.www.luxormanagement.com

4/4 University Place condo, tileand wood plank flooringthroughout, W/D, pool, on shut-tle, $395/room, cable paid, avail-able August, 361-816-1224.

4/4 University Place condo, W/D,private bath, pool, on shuttle.$300/mo. Call 979-690-8213 or979-422-9849.

4/4.5, like new. High ceilings,huge closets, large front porch,tile floors, all appliances, manyextras. $1750/mo. Preleasing forAugust. 979-229-6326. See photosand info atwww.texagrentals.com

4bd/2ba house. Close to campus,wood floors, tile floors, ceilingfans, granite countertops, W/D,fenced yards. 979-776-6079.www.aggielandleasing.com

4bd/3.5ba House. 2-blocks Southof campus. Big-backyard, quietand safe neighborhood ideallysuited for girls or college-family,recently renovated withgranite-countertops, upgradedappliances, internet and TV con-nections in every bedroom, util-ity-room with W/D included. Rentis $475/each of 4 renters, pre-leas-ing for August. Renters pay utili-ties. If interested, [email protected]

4bd/4ba houses. Brand New,great size, great location, AAF979-693-4900.

4bd/4ba Waterwood Townhomeavailable August, $1760/mo, gran-ite counter tops, new appliancepackage, a&m bus route. [email protected] 903-539-9957

AggieLandRentals.com For allyour rental needs. Open 7days/week. 979-776-8984.

August Leasing. 4bd/2ba house.Close to campus, wood floors, tilefloors, ceiling fans, W/D, fencedyards. 979-776-6079.www.aggielandleasing.com

Balcones Apartments, 3/2, avail-able now, fully remodeled, inter-net and water included, $895/mo,979-703-8282.

FOR RENT

BRAND NEW 4BDRM/4BTHHOUSE, CS, walk or bike, on shut-tle, fenced yard. GREAT LOCA-TION! DON’T MISS! $2300/mo.979-229-4222.

Brand new luxury condos, granitecountertops, tile flooring, greatlocation. 979-693-4900.

C.S. 4bdrm Houses, updated,fenced pets, ok. Starting at$1295/mo. AggieLandRentals.com979-776-8984.

DON’T MISS! 4/2 House. Great lo-cation, walking distance fromcampus, on shuttle, fenced yard.Rent $1350/month.(979)229-4222.

Fabulous 5-year old house,approx. 3-miles south of campus(Edelweiss Gartens). Greatfloorplan w/many amenities.Located in a quiet neighborhood.Granite counters, ceiling fans,alarm system, fridge and w/d.Available 8/1. Contact BrianBenton, 469-877-1184.

Free cable/internet access! Onemonth free rent! Spacious2bd/1ba. Close to campus, onshuttle route. Large kitchen withfull appliances. W/D connections.Front and back patios. Ceilingfans. Hillstone On The Parkway,528 Southwest Parkway.979-693-6102. Open 8:30-5:[email protected]

Free ethernet and cable, paid wa-ter, Campus shuttle. Preleasing,Great Prices.AggieApartment.com,979-693-1906

Gleissner Hall, Northgate area.Walk to campus. Water, sewer,garbage paid. 1/1 $555/mo., 2/1$665/mo. 979-846-8981.

Large 2bdrm/2ba, 3204-CougarTrail, Bryan. Water, sewer, &trashpaid. Everything’s new inside.$675/mo. 5 month special,$100/mo. discount.979-822-1616.

Large 3bd/2ba, walk to campus,fenced. 3903 Oaklawn. $1350/mo.979-693-5885.

Luxury townhome. Gateway Vil-las. 4bd/4bth, 1800/mo. Pre-leasesummer/ fall 2012. 979-229-6935.

Nice 4/2! Available Aug-1st.$1500/month. 2010-Rayburn.Call/text Scott at 979-229-5007.

Nice! 4/2 2013-Rayburn.$1500/month. Available Aug-1st.Call/text Scott at 979-229-5007.

Northgate. New apartments 3/3,2/2, and 3/2. House for rent.aggievillas.net 979-255-5648.

Now Leasing and pre-leasing forAugust! 4bdrm/2bth houses. Spa-cious floorplans. Great Location.Close to campus, wood floors, tilefloors, ceiling fans, w/d, fencedyards, refridgerator,icemaker,lawncare.979-776-6079,www.aggielandleasing.com

Oak Creek Condos, high-speedinternet and basic cable.2bdrm/1.5ba. As little as$515/mo. Water, sewer, trashpaid. Fireplace, icemaker, pool.979-822-1616.

Pre-lease 4 and 5 bedroomhouses, available August, greatfloor plans, close to campus, up-dated, W/D, all appliances, nopets.www.brazosvalleyrentals.com979-731-8257

FOR RENT

Pre-leasing for August 2,3,4,&5bedroom houses andtown-homes. Updated, fenced,pets ok, on shuttle route. Aggie-LandRentals.com 979-776-8984.

Prelease available now! Large2bd/2ba duplex. Walk-in closets,W/D connections, large fencedbackyard, on shuttle. UniversityOaks. $775/mo. 979-693-1448.

Prelease for May or August !Large 2bd/2ba duplex. Walk-inclosets, W/D connections, largefenced backyard, on shuttle. Uni-versity Oaks. $775/mo.979-693-1448.

C.S. 3/1.5/2carport, Updated,Fenced, biking distance to cam-pus, on shuttle, pets ok. $750/moAggieLandRentals.com979-776-8984.

Spacious 3/2 duplex available inMay. W/D, $895/mo.979-693-0551.

Townhomes 2/1.5+Half, on shut-tle, W/D connections, fencedpatio, $775-895/mo, ask aboutstudent discounts, 979-703-8282.

HELP WANTED

Athletic men for calendars,books, etc. $100-$200/hr, upto $1000/day. No [email protected]

Cleaning commercial buildingsat night, M-F. Call 979-823-5031for appointment.

Computer Systems Technician,20-30hrs/wk, $12/hr, flex sched.Real world, hands-on experiencewith high-end tech at an Aggie100 company headquartered inBCS. Learn more and apply atwww.k2share.com/careers

Lawn crew member needed,$9/hr. Hrs Monday, Wednesdayand Friday 11-6, experience re-quired. Students only.979-224-2511.

Little Guys Movers now hiringFT/PT employees. Must be at least21 w/valid D.L. Apply in person at3209 Earl Rudder Freeway.979-693-6683.

Part-time job helping handi-capped. Male student preferred.$360/mo. 5-10hrs/wk.979-846-3376.

PT Secretary, 20+ hours/week.Possible FT for summer. Small of-fice in College Station. Must havegood driving record. Needs com-puter experience and good phoneskills. Fax/send resume to979-695-8136 [email protected]

Ranch Hand, PT for maintenance.Perferably freshman/sophmore.Work approximately 15-20hr/mo.$10/hr. Located in Wheelock area.Must have own transportation.Call 979-589-3142.

STUDENTPAYOUTS.COM Paid Sur-vey Takers Needed In College Sta-tion. 100% Free To Join. Click OnSurveys.

Summer Employment- Fun ValleyFamily Resort, South Fork, Colo-rado needs students for all typejobs: kitchen, dining-room, house-keeping, stores, maintenance, of-fice, horse wrangler. Room/Board,salary, bonus. For informationand application write to StudentPersonnel Director, 6315 Westo-ver Drive, Granbury, TX 76049.

HELP WANTED

The Battalion Advertising Officeis hiring an Advertising SalesRepresentative. Must be availablethis summer, both sessions. Mustbe enrolled at A&M and havereliable transportation.Interested applicants should dropoff resume at The Grove, Building8901, Advertising Office from8am-4pm.

Tutors wanted for all subjectscurrently taught at TAMU/ Blinnand Sam Houston State startingat $8.25/hour. Apply on-line @www.99Tutors.com,979-268-8867.

Varsity Ford: Part-time fileclerk/receptionist/runner neededMon, Wed, Fri from 12pm to 8pmand every other Saturday from9am to 6pm. Hourly rate dependson qualifications. Please contactGenie at (979)694-2022 or fax aresume to (979)693-1744.

MISCELLANEOUS

Free Rent for the Summer! I needa house sitter from 5/1-8/15; allutilities paid including wirelessInternet/cable. Yard will be main-tained. Need a responsible petlover to care for my cat (pet doorso no litter box duties!) If inter-ested [email protected] orphone after 4pm 979-571-8823.

MUSIC

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REAL ESTATE


B/CS. Sell/Buy/Invest! MichaelMcGrann TAMU ‘93 Civil Engi-neering 979-739-2035,[email protected] McGrann 979-693-1851,Town & Country Realty.

ROOMMATES

2-female roommates needed.Large updated townhouse offS.W. Pkwy. Bus-route, W/D,1/3-utilities. Large room$350/mo., smaller room $250/mo.,or both $550/mo. 979-204-9788.

Roommate wanted. $300/mo. Allbills paid. Fully furnished.979-777-4445.

TUTORS

For best tutoring in Math/Physicscall Raj. 979-571-8978. (40 yearsof teaching) Or visit www.oneup-tutor.com.

Need a Tutor? Friendly, helpfulone-on-one private tutors for allsubjects at TAMU/Blinn and SamHouston State. Check us out atwww.99tutors.com, 979-268-8867.

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the

thebattalion 2.27.2012 page6

Pg. 6-02-27-12.indd 1Pg. 6-02-27-12.indd 1 2/24/12 1:52:35 PM2/24/12 1:52:35 PM

MISCELLANEOUS

Free Rent for the Summer! I needa house sitter from 5/1-8/15; allutilities paid including wirelessInternet/cable. Yard will be main-tained. Need a responsible petlover to care for my cat (pet doorso no litter box duties!) If inter-ested [email protected] orphone after 4pm 979-571-8823.

MUSIC

Peter Block Mobile DJ, profes-sional 22+yrs. experience. Special-izing in weddings, TAMU func-tions. Mobile to anywhere.979-596-2522.http://www.partyblockdj.com

REAL ESTATE


B/CS. Sell/Buy/Invest! MichaelMcGrann TAMU ‘93 Civil Engi-neering 979-739-2035,[email protected] McGrann 979-693-1851,Town & Country Realty.

ROOMMATES

2-female roommates needed.Large updated townhouse offS.W. Pkwy. Bus-route, W/D,1/3-utilities. Large room$350/mo., smaller room $250/mo.,or both $550/mo. 979-204-9788.

Roommate wanted. $300/mo. Allbills paid. Fully furnished.979-777-4445.

TUTORS

For best tutoring in Math/Physicscall Raj. 979-571-8978. (40 yearsof teaching) Or visit www.oneup-tutor.com.

Need a Tutor? Friendly, helpfulone-on-one private tutors for allsubjects at TAMU/Blinn and SamHouston State. Check us out atwww.99tutors.com, 979-268-8867.

Pg. 6-02-27-12.indd 2Pg. 6-02-27-12.indd 2 2/24/12 1:52:41 PM2/24/12 1:52:41 PM

If three Big 12 championships in one day doesn’t send a message, what will?

The championships in men’s and women’s indoor track and women’s swimming were not only won, they were won handily. They were not won by pesky usurpers, but by established programs continuing to perform at an elite level.

Winners of six national titles in three years, A&M head coach Pat Henry’s track teams have taken the world of

college track by storm. They repeat-edly knock heads with America’s best, yet consistently prevail. The men’s 20.5-point and women’s 28-point wins are a testament to their perpetual com-mitment to dominance.

Their victory on Saturday at the Gil-liam Indoor Track Stadium, however, was special for a few reasons.

A sweep of the Big 12 indoor cham-pionship meet, in which both men and women were victors, had eluded the Aggies since 2006. Holding the 2012 championship meet in its home stadium, A&M was able to win in front of the Twelfth Man. Finally, the Aggies were able to seal the deal in their final run through the Big 12, a capitalized oppor-tunity Henry said he would savor.

“Anytime anything is the last one, it will be fun to look back and know we won the last Big 12 Indoor Champion-ship we were part of,” Henry told re-porters after the meet. “It’s a big cham-pionship for us to win.”

The A&M women’s swimming team, meanwhile, thoroughly wrecked the competition. Another established pow-

er in its respective sport, A&M’s final championship in the Big 12 represented its fourth in six seasons.

Eleven of 19 events were claimed by this season’s Aggies, not a small feat. They finished with a whopping 1,019 points — 146 above nemesis and runner-up Texas, an opponent that de-feated them in a head-to-head meet only weeks prior.

Yes, A&M proved once again it isn’t going away as an athletic presence any-time soon. The Aggies, off to a slower overall start in 2012, rebounded with a vengeance. They will take this much-needed momentum into their new con-ference, the athletically astute SEC.

It’s about time Aggieland received some good news. They received it threefold.

thebattalion

sports page 7

monday 2.27.2012

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Attention Class of 2013, 2014, and 2015!Are you interested in becoming a Class Officer?

We currently have applications available for Vice President,

Secretary, and Treasurer, which can be found online at

classcouncils.tamu.edu.Applications are due at Koldus 223 by 5:00pm on March 5th.

If you have any questions please contact the

Class Center at 979-845-3534.

2ND ANNUAL ORATORICAL PROGRAM:

By Any Means Necessary

MSC WBAC

Wed, Feb 29th at 7:00 - 9:00 PM

in Geren Auditorium

CLASSIC SERIES PRESENTS:

The Blues Brothers

MSC Aggie Cinema

Thu, Mar 1st at 7:00 - 10:30 PM

in Rudder 601

Arts Awareness Week

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FREAKY FASTDELIVERY!

©2011 JIMMY JOHN’S FRANCHISE, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

FREAKYFASTDELIVERY!

(if you haven’t)

order your 2012 yearbook today.The 110th edition of Texas A&M University’s official yearbook — the Aggieland — will chronicle the 2011-2012 school year: traditions, academics, the other education, sports, the Corps, Greeks, campus organizations, and seniors and graduate students.

By credit card go online to http://aggieland.tamu.edu or call 979-845-2613. Or drop by the Student Media office, Bldg. #8901 in The Grove (between Albritton Bell Tower and Cain Hall). Hours: 8:30 A.M. to �4:30 P.M. Monday–Friday.

W ith the tumult of

conference realign-

ment issues, football

debacles and men’s basket-

ball woes stealing headlines,

Saturday gave Aggieland,

the Big 12 and the SEC a

much needed reminder —

A&M athletics remains a

force worth notice.

Big 12 champions

AGGIE ATHLETICS

The A&M men’s and women’s track and field teams and the A&M women’s swimming and diving team celebrate receiving their Big 12 championship trophies in their final run through the conference.

team is better prepared for the Bears.

“We’re going to be ready to give Baylor a whole lot better game than we gave them at their place,” Blair said.

Center Brittney Griner has become synonymous with the success of the Lady Bears basketball team. The 6-foot-8 junior leads the conference in scoring with 22.6 points per game, nearly five points more than the nearest competitor to go with 9.7 rebounds per game. Griner leads the nation in blocks per game by a wide margin, swatting an average of 5.31 per game.

After his team lost in Waco, Blair said that Griner has im-

proved since last season.“She’s a better free throw

shooter, she’s 20 pounds heavier and she’s a lot better on the offensive boards this year,” Blair said. “She can play 40 minutes a game every game and she never takes a play off. To me, Griner is the best player that’s ever played the game.”

Griner’s presence inside opens shooting opportuni-ties for her teammates, in-cluding sophomore guard Odyssey Sims (14.4 points per game), Destiny Williams (10.0 points per game) and Kimetria Hayden (9.5 points per game). Sims leads the conference with 3.17 steals per game and knocks down a Big 12-best 39.7 percent of her attempts from beyond the three-point arc.

In the last matchup be-

tween the two teams, A&M senior guard and leading scorer buoyed the Aggie of-fense with 18 points — one of only two Aggies to reach double figures in scoring — but was dwarfed by the stat line of Griner, who posted 21 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks.

For the Aggies to be able to trump Baylor at home, they will likely need to lean on their conference-leading numbers in offensive re-bounding and turnover dif-ferential while knocking down their outside shots.

Carter said after this sea-son’s loss in Waco the Ag-gies will have to match

Baylor’s aggressiveness.“You can’t be scared

when you’re playing a team like Baylor,” Carter said. “They’re always going to have that fire when they play us because I think that we have a respect both ways.”

The Lady Bears have al-ready secured the Big 12 regular season title and the number one seed in the Big 12 conference tournament, while the Aggies currently hold sole possession of sec-ond place. If the Aggies hold on for second place, the next time these two teams meet could be in the Big 12 con-ference championship.

BaylorContinued from page 1

Things to know◗ The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2

◗ Student admittance to Reed Arena will be free.

Chandler Smith is a sophomore commu-nication major and sports editor.

Chandler Smith: Finally, some good news Winners keep winning


thebattalion

newspage 8

monday 2.27.2012

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IT’S NOTTOO LATE

schedule the conference pres-ents its participants, who are given the task to tackle a given issue and present a solution in proposal form two days later.

“On Thursday, we break the students into groups de-pending on their selected is-sue, … and Friday is when we hit the ground running,” Hodges said. “The students work hard all day, leaning on the speakers and facilitators for direction and advice, and draft the proposal. Saturday morn-ing is set aside for polishing the policy papers.”

William Collopy, professor in the history department at A&M and retired marine col-onel, was the acting judge on the final proposals submitted by each group. He said he had previously questioned wheth-er students across the nation were sufficiently engaged in topics of political debate as they represent the nation’s fu-ture; he expressed how these concerns were quieted after Saturday’s presentations.

“When I first looked into the program, it reassured me that, yes, [young people] are paying attention and, more importantly, they’re coming up with solutions. This pro-gram is terrific,” Collopy said.

SCONA’s topic changes each year, keeping current in the nation’s most pressing is-sues. This focus of this year’s conference, “Reviving An Exhausted America,” with special attention put towards energy security, national de-fense, economic growth and stability and foreign affairs.

The special areas of focus

were especially stimulating for Joshua Pomeroy, a student at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

“Never before had I viewed energy security as a national security issue. I’ve been given new insights on [many aspects] and that’s what I love about this conference,” Pomeroy said.

SCONA scheduling cel-ebrated leaders in a variety of topics to speak to the students. Among the five speakers was Navy Adm. James A. “Sandy” Winnefel Jr., vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Rebecca McDavid, senior political science major and vice-chair of SCONA, said that being involved with the organization allowed her to gain more than just knowl-edge on political issues.

“I’ve gained tons of lead-ership experience. Working with students on a professional level has really helped me de-velop communication skills, as well. But … I would say I love the skits the most, as it shows the friendships the [students] have made,” McDavid said.

The skits are the final part of the conference and are prepared by the groups af-ter they finish the proposal. They demonstrate, in a more light-hearted, humorous man-ner, the reasoning behind the proposals.

“This is where the release comes in and we’re reminded we are still college students,” Hodges said. “While we have worked on the complex is-sues facing our nation, it’s an important reminder to real-ize and remember when we become adults, we can’t lose our humor.”

Pomeroy also believes the skits, friendships made and unity found in working with his fellow students to be the most important take-aways from the conference.

“I believe that the people involved in this conference are going to be leading our country, and to be able to look across at someone in the future and say ‘We’ve come to agree-ments before and we can work together on this issue’ — that’s exciting,” Pomeroy said.

SCONAContinued from page 1

Roger Zhang — THE BATTALION

Students who participated in the Student Conference on National Affairs conference act out their proposal.

ponentially more outlets and there are fewer news stories,” Matalin said.

Another contemporary change to the way people use social media, Carville said, had to do with how people choose which stories to read.

“People use information for validation, not illumina-tion,” Carville said. “You can spend every day of your life, every hour of your waking moment, reading people you agree with.”

Yale Fu, senior chemistry and economics double ma-jor, said Carville brought up a good point.

“I find myself a little bit

guilty of that, because I do get my media from a lot of dif-ferent sources,” Fu said. “It’s a point that we could all learn from.”

For discussions in his class, Carville randomly assigns stu-dents different sides of an is-sue to argue regardless of their own opinions, challenging them to understand both sides of an issue.

“Young people, particu-larly at a very terrific univer-sity like this, need to be made aware of the dangers of just being validated as opposed to being challenged,” Carville said.

Carville and Matalin also discussed how campaigning is so much different today due to social media.

“In the 1992 campaign we had a ‘blast fax,’ and we could

fax 100 people with one but-ton,” Matalin said.

The GOP race was another topic the couple discussed. Both Matalin and Carville joked at the brutality of the debates, and Carville said the only candidate with a chance to be nominated is Mitt Rom-ney. He said he doesn’t think Romney will win the presi-dency, though, because the last time there was a vulner-able democratic incumbent was in 1980.

Matalin disagreed, ac-knowledging the fact that the debates have been rough, but also maintained confidence in her party.

“When there’s a head-to-head, the fundamentals of this race are a very difficult terrain for President Obama,” Mata-lin said.

LectureContinued from page 1

the apprehension and fear many felt for their jobs since the leak.

A group of women from the custodial department un-furled a white sign that simply asked, “Are We Still Ambassa-dors?” referring to a statement made by McClendon to the workers. His intention was to highlight the services they do and how it is the campus’ key to success. The sign brought the auditorium to its feet in applause.

McClendon responded with an “unequivocal yes.”

Other questions high-lighted the expected savings of the move, of which there are currently no reports, and the mixed results this sort of outsourcing achieved on other campuses.

Many said they were con-cerned their voices on the

matter would be filtered up the chain of command and none of the proper authorities would hear their takes on the controversial move. Some just wanted to know ahead of time if the campus planned to cut jobs and referred to the round of layoffs in response to budget restrictions in 2010.

McClendon responded by assuring the crowd that layoffs are the last thing he wants.

“The people are the Uni-versity,” said McClendon. “But if it does come to letting someone go we’ll strive to do it as compassionately as pos-sible.”

A student stood up to give his personal support of the staff workers.

“We will not accept a loss of jobs in any manner,” the student said. “They are as much a part of the Aggie fam-ily as anyone.”

The sentiment echoed across the auditorium as others stood up to discuss the poten-tial layoffs.

“He stated that we were ambassadors, but now he just wants to get rid of us,” said Blanca Pinalez, a custodial worker and a member of the group that held the sign. “This is just wrong.”

Not all were outwardly against the plan, but Michael McConnel, office manager for Custodial Services, said he hopes the University will exercise wisdom and restraint going forward.

“The best thing to do is re-search and find as many differ-ent vendors as we can,” Mc-Connel said. “I don’t want my workers getting the short end of the stick in this exchange.”

Among all the complaints and concerns voiced during the meeting, Pinalez had a question specifically for Sharp.

“Where was he today? Why didn’t he come speak to us?” Pinalez asked. “I want to personally ask Chancellor Sharp [to] answer our ques-tions, hear our voice.”

OutsourceContinued from page 1


TheBattalion02272012

Documents

university administration

rodney mcclendon

vice president

university president

student student id

university plans

student mediathebattaliontexas

vice chancellor of marketing