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The last time the Aggies (15-5-2) advanced to the Big 12 Tournament championship game was in 2009, falling to OSU, 0–1. The Cowgirls (19-1-2) finished the regular season undefeated, but needed a double-overtime, 1–0 victory against Texas on Friday to ad- vance to its third final in as many years. In October, the Aggies and Cowgirls squared off in College Station, where the defensive battle resulted in a 0–0 draw. The two teams exchanged saves and fouls throughout the match without a goal. Freshman goalie Jordan Day had three saves at goal, and the OSU keeper had four. A&M was called for 18 fouls in the game, three more than OSU’s 15 and similar to the physical match the two teams played in October. But after 89 minutes of scoreless soccer, the Aggies made one final offensive push. Freshman forward Kelley Monogue beat three Cowgirl de- fenders and screamed a shot past the OSU goalie. The ball struck the crossbar and ricocheted in front of the goal, eventually finding the feet of senior midfielder Megan Majew- ski. After controlling the ball, Majewski sent a low shot through the box into the back corner of the net, sealing the victory for the Aggies with 9 seconds remaining in regulation. “It feels fantastic to be Big 12 Champions,” ular ded tory ad- s nd ollege ve battle Agg F Mon fend O c of feet of s ski. Afte sent a low monday, november 7, 2011 serving texas a&m since 1893 first paper free – additional copies $1 © 2011 student media the battalion Photos Courtesy of The San Antonio Express-News The Aggie soccer team celebrates after winning the Big 12 Championship tournament against top seeded Oklahoma State on Sunday in San Antonio. Majewski’s score with 9 seconds remaining captures Big 12 Championship Last-minute heroics James Solano The Battalion See Champs on page 5 T he Texas A&M women’s soccer dethroned the No. 1- seeded Oklahoma State Cowgirls Sunday in San Antonio, 1–0, to claim the Big 12 Tournament championship. Oklahoma Bell-dozes A&M 41-25 ASSOCIATED PRESS Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Blake Bell, nicknamed “Bell-dozer,” runs in for a touchdown against Texas A&M in the first quarter Saturday in Norman, Okla. The Aggies trailed 13-10 going into halftime before allowing 28 unanswered points in the third quarter. See page 5 for sports editor Adrian O’Hanlon III’s thoughts on the game. Students have stake in Propositions 1, 3 More than four months have passed since the state Legislature adjourned, marking the end of the regular and special legislative sessions. With the beginning of November comes College Sta- tion’s local election, when stu- dents and constituents can vote on how the changes made during the State’s legislative sessions will directly affect them. On the local ballot will be Texas Prop. 3. If approved by Texas voters, the bonding au- thority of the Texas Higher Ed- ucation Coordinating Board will be extended to $1.86 billion in order to finance a greater number of low-interest student loans. According to Amir Barzin, stu- dent board member on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the debt obligations of the program do not count toward the state’s overall debt limit because the obligations are not paid by taxpayers, but rather by students through loan repayments. “The state is able to keep in- terest rates purposefully low be- cause the program answers to tuition-payers,” Barzin said. “If passed, Proposition 3 will sig- nificantly extend the reach of the program to serve more students than ever before.” Voters have extended the College Access Loan (CAL) pro- gram’s capacity in six elections since its establishment in 1965, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board website. CAL has served more than 340,000 students with $2 billion in student loans. By voting “for” Prop. 3, vot- ers will increase the amount of bonding authority given to the Texas Higher Education Co- ordinating Board at no cost to taxpayers. “In terms of where the Legis- lative Relations Committee and Jordan Williford The Battalion See Proposition on page 4 bryan-college station Freshman forward Annie Kunz launches into the air to block a kick against Oklahoma State on Sunday. inside research | 4 Hot crops A&M researchers are protecting the Texas biofuel industry from drought. Get the details inside. sports Nittany Lions face scandal The Penn State board met Sunday following the weekend announcement that criminal charges were filed against retired defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky that accused him of sexually abusing young boys. Two top university officials also were charged in the case for failing to report to state authorities. Associated Press thebatt.com Exhibition victory No. 6 Texas A&M women’s basketball defeated Oklahoma City 84-63 on Sunday. Read the game recap online at thebatt.com. Do we care? One A&M political science professor says students need not bother with local elections. See what student leaders and candidates had to say about the topic on page 3. Pg. 1-11.7.11.indd 1 Pg. 1-11.7.11.indd 1 11/7/11 12:44 AM 11/7/11 12:44 AM
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Page 1: TheBattalionNewsletter11072011

The last time the Aggies (15-5-2) advanced to the Big 12 Tournament championship game was in 2009, falling to OSU, 0–1. The Cowgirls (19-1-2) finished the regular season undefeated, but needed a double-overtime, 1–0 victory against Texas on Friday to ad-vance to its third final in as many years.

In October, the Aggies and Cowgirls squared off in College Station, where the defensive battle resulted in a 0–0 draw.

The two teams exchanged saves and fouls throughout the match without a goal. Freshman goalie Jordan Day had three saves at goal, and the OSU keeper had four. A&M was called for 18 fouls in the game, three more than

OSU’s 15 and similar to the physical match the two teams played in October.

But after 89 minutes of scoreless soccer, the Aggies made one final offensive push.

Freshman forward Kelley Monogue beat three Cowgirl de-fenders and screamed a shot past the

OSU goalie. The ball struck the crossbar and ricocheted in front

of the goal, eventually finding the feet of senior midfielder Megan Majew-

ski. After controlling the ball, Majewski sent a low shot through the box into the

back corner of the net, sealing the victory for the Aggies with 9 seconds remaining in regulation.

“It feels fantastic to be Big 12 Champions,”

gular ded tory ad-s

nd ollege ve battle

AggF

Monfend

Oc

of feet of s

ski. Aftesent a low

● monday, november 7, 2011 ● serving texas a&m since 1893 ● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2011 student media

thebattalion

Photos Courtesy of The San Antonio Express-News

The Aggie soccer team celebrates after winning the Big 12 Championship tournament against top seeded Oklahoma State on Sunday in San Antonio.

Majewski’s score with 9 seconds remaining captures Big 12 Championship

Last-minute heroicsJames Solano The Battalion

See Champs on page 5

T he Texas A&M women’s soccer dethroned the No. 1-

seeded Oklahoma State Cowgirls Sunday in San Antonio,

1–0, to claim the Big 12 Tournament championship.

Oklahoma Bell-dozes A&M 41-25

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Blake Bell, nicknamed “Bell-dozer,” runs in for a touchdown against Texas A&M in the first quarter Saturday in Norman, Okla. The Aggies trailed 13-10 going into halftime before allowing 28 unanswered points in the third quarter. See page 5 for sports editor Adrian O’Hanlon III’s thoughts on the game.

Students have stake in Propositions 1, 3

More than four months have passed since the state Legislature adjourned, marking the end of the regular and special legislative sessions. With the beginning of November comes College Sta-tion’s local election, when stu-dents and constituents can vote on how the changes made during the State’s legislative sessions will directly affect them.

On the local ballot will be Texas Prop. 3. If approved by Texas voters, the bonding au-thority of the Texas Higher Ed-ucation Coordinating Board will be extended to $1.86 billion in order to finance a greater number of low-interest student loans.

According to Amir Barzin, stu-dent board member on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the debt obligations of the program do not count toward the state’s overall debt limit because the obligations are not paid by taxpayers, but rather by students through loan repayments.

“The state is able to keep in-terest rates purposefully low be-

cause the program answers to tuition-payers,” Barzin said. “If passed, Proposition 3 will sig-nificantly extend the reach of the program to serve more students than ever before.”

Voters have extended the College Access Loan (CAL) pro-gram’s capacity in six elections since its establishment in 1965, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board website. CAL has served more than 340,000 students with $2 billion in student loans.

By voting “for” Prop. 3, vot-ers will increase the amount of bonding authority given to the Texas Higher Education Co-ordinating Board at no cost to taxpayers.

“In terms of where the Legis-lative Relations Committee and

Jordan Williford The Battalion

See Proposition on page 4

bryan-college station

Freshman forward Annie Kunz launches into the air to block a kick against Oklahoma State on Sunday.

insideresearch | 4 Hot crops A&M researchers are protecting the Texas biofuel industry from drought. Get the details inside.

sportsNittany Lions face scandal The Penn State board met Sunday following the weekend announcement that criminal charges were fi led against retired defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky that accused him of sexually abusing young boys. Two top university offi cials also were charged in the case for failing to report to state authorities.

Associated Press

thebatt.comExhibition victory No. 6 Texas A&M women’s basketball defeated Oklahoma City 84-63 on Sunday. Read the game recap online at thebatt.com.

Do we care?One A&M political science professor says students need not bother with local elections. See what student leaders and candidates had to say about the topic on page 3.

Pg. 1-11.7.11.indd 1Pg. 1-11.7.11.indd 1 11/7/11 12:44 AM11/7/11 12:44 AM

Page 2: TheBattalionNewsletter11072011

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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.

Robert Carpenter, Editor in ChiefJared Baxter, Managing EditorEmily Villani, Planning EditorTrevor Stevens, City EditorJoe Terrell, Lifestyles EditorAdrian O’Hanlon III, Sports Editor Taylor Wolken, Opinion Editor

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

Kalee Bumguardner, Research EditorJason Syptak, New Media EditorEvan Andrews, Graphics ChiefJosh McKenna, Photo ChiefJay Kapadia, Photo Chief

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Students camp out in front of The Zone at Kyle Field on Sunday waiting to pull tickets for the Thanksgiving Day football game between A&M and UT.

sportsMissouri joins SECThe Missouri Tigers’ move from the Big 12 to the SEC is offi cial as of Sunday morning, making Missouri the 14th member to join the conference. The move confi rmed rumors that have been circulating for a month since the Missouri Board of Curators gave Chancellor Brady J. Deaton the permission to change leagues. Missouri is scheduled to start SEC participation in all sports, beginning fall of 2012. “The presidents and chancellors of the Southeastern Conference are pleased to welcome the University of Missouri to the SEC,” Florida and SEC board president Bernie Machen said in a statement. “The University of Missouri is a prestigious academic institution with a strong athletic tradition and a culture similar to our current institutions.”

Madeline Burns, staff reporter

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Missouri will officially join the SEC effective July 1, 2012.

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Page 3: TheBattalionNewsletter11072011

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monday 11.7.2011

To vote, or not to vote? That is the question for many Texas A&M students as Tuesday’s Bryan-College Station elec-tions approach. But politicians, students and faculty are not in agreement about the importance of the student vote.

Harvey Tucker, political science pro-fessor, said it isn’t important for students to vote, largely because they are unedu-cated about local issues.

“Students get their political informa-tion from The Colbert Report and The Daily Show, and those national media don’t cover state and local elections,” Tucker said.

Perhaps stemming from a disinterest in local issues, student participation in elec-tions has been historically low. Participa-tion has dropped to the point that Jeff Pickering, student body president, said the City of College Station has discussed taking away the on-campus voting loca-tion because of low voter turnout.

“If we continue on the current path we’re on, a path where fewer and fewer students vote in the City of College Sta-tion municipal elections, city officials will continue to explore taking away our on-campus voting location,” Pick-ering said.

Tucker added that another problem with students voting is the time horizon. The typical student is a local resident for only four or five years, and the issues on a given ballot have lasting impacts that temporary residents have less incentive to consider.

Tucker expanded this concept to in-corporate campus issues, as well.

“The general problem with politics is that we know who is here now, but we don’t know who is going to be here in four years or more,” Tucker said. “This is a problem with such things like vot-ing for local bonds or with Dr. Loftin’s plan for seeking input on a new parking garage on campus. The people who care are future Aggies, but he doesn’t know who they are yet.”

This ballot will also decide the the Texas House District 14 representative, replacing former representative Fred Brown who stepped down following the summer legislative session.

The winner of this special election will only fill the office for five months, and will not participate in any legislative session. There will be another race in March 2012 for the House seat.

Tucker said Tuesday’s victor will have a slight edge in March because of incumbency, but will likely face another stiff challenge.

Overall, Tucker said this special elec-tion is not important.

“Should students vote because they think [this election] is important? No,” Tucker said. “Because the person who wins will not be making decisions in Austin that are important. They’ll have to run again before there is even one leg-islative session.”

Candidates John Raney and Rebecca Boenigk disagreed with Tucker, each saying it is important for students to par-ticipate in local politics.

“Students live in the community

and they are participants whether they choose to be or not,” Raney said.

Boenigk emphasized the importance of voting in this election because the higher education issues at stake, particu-larly Proposition 3. If passed, this state ballot initiative would restructure one of the state’s student loan programs to expand the availability of low-interest student loans.

Amir Barzin, student member on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, said students should vote in favor of the proposition because it will make college affordable for an increased num-ber of students in need.

“At a time when financial aid programs and family budge are more strained than ever, this program has the potential to offer a low-cost alternative for students.”

Boenigk said voting in favor of Prop-osition 3 is important because it will en-courage socioeconomic diversity within the student body.

“If students don’t vote for [Proposi-tion 3], it is going to change who gets to go to A&M next year and the diverse make-up of A&M,” Boenigk said.

Jordan Gross, sophomore history ma-jor, doesn’t think voting in this election is important because the municipal issues on the ballot are relatively minor.

“I don’t think anything in this city re-ally effects me that much to vote for it,” said Gross.

Students can vote on-campus in Rud-der 501, and a sample ballot can be found at brazosvotes.org, along with alter-nate voting locations around town.

Robby Smith The Battalion

Value of student vote questionedbryan-college station

nation&world4.7 earthquake hits Oklahoma SPARKS, Okla. — The U.S. Geological Survey reports that a 4.0 magnitude earthquake has rattled central Oklahoma, the latest in a series of temblors to rock the state over the weekend. A magnitude 5.6 earthquake on Saturday night was centered 44 miles northeast of Oklahoma City and could be felt as far away as Tennessee and Wisconsin. The Survey also said a magnitude 4.7 quake early Saturday was felt from Texas to Missouri and that numerous aftershocks followed. There were no immediate reports of serious injuries or major damage from the quakes, but there were reports of cracked buildings and one buckled highway and a chimney collapse.

Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Oklahoma earthquakes were the strongest yet in a state that has seen a dramatic, unexplained increase in seismic activity.

Pg. 3-11.7.11.indd 1Pg. 3-11.7.11.indd 1 11/6/11 11:38 PM11/6/11 11:38 PM

Page 4: TheBattalionNewsletter11072011

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Non-Traditional Student Appreciation Week

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Don’t forget about our vets!

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Support your fellow Aggies. Support non-traditional students.

thebattalion

newspage 4

monday 11.7.2011

nation‘60 Minutes’ honors passing of RooneyNEW YORK — 60 Minutes has paid tribute to the late Andy Rooney with a rerun far sooner than anyone wanted to see. The former commentator died Friday night from complications after minor surgery. Only a month ago, the 92-year-old curmudgeon gave his fi nal commentary after 33 years on television’s favorite newsmagazine. On Sunday, veteran correspondent Morley Safer gave a short introduction about Rooney’s death. Then, 60 Minutes reran Safer’s interview with Rooney that aired Oct. 2. It was fi lled with clips from Rooney’s essays over the years. In his introduction, Safer said Rooney “had the special gift for speaking for every man.” In Rooney’s fi nal essay, he said that he’d lived a life luckier than most and wished he “could do this forever.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CBS News producer and correspondent Andy Rooney poses for photos in his New York office in 1978.

PropositionContinued from page 1

the Student Body President and his cabinet stand, we are highly supportive of Prop. 3. With the increased costs of higher edu-cation, passing this will keep relative costs down for education and [allow] more ac-cessibility to higher education for students in Texas,” said Bryce Bender, A&M Stu-dent Government Association (SGA) vice president of legislative relations.

Additionally, constituents will have the opportunity to vote on a solely-local prop-osition, College Station Prop. 1.

During the state regular session, the leg-islature passed a bill that has since caused cities and counties across the state to re-structure and change the dates of local elec-tions. These changes stem from require-ments put into place by the federal Military and Overseas Voting Empowerment Act, passed by Congress in 2009, to allow more time between primaries, elections and run-offs. These changes were deemed necessary so that men and women serving overseas or stationed out of their home districts would have more time to ensure their votes are counted.

Currently College Station holds elec-tions every May. In order to comply with the state and federal laws, College Station has two options.

The first option is to move elections to May of odd-numbered years, which would change term limits from three to four years — this option is “for” Prop. 1.

The second option is to move elections to November, and share local with state and federal elections, which have histori-cally higher turnouts than strictly local — this option is “against” Prop. 1.

“We are opposed to Prop. 1 and moving elections to every other May because No-vember is a better option. Also, it is easier for students to vote if it is in November,” said Matt Cope, SGA vice president of community relations.

Cope said November is the more cost-effective option.

State Rep. Van Taylor, sponsor of the House Bill that moved Texas’ election dates into compliance with the Military and Overseas Voting Act, said many cities have already moved to November elec-tions. He also said a move to November elections would make sense for Brazos County, primarily because of its size.

“The overarching goal is to make sure our men and women in uniform have the opportunity to vote — without these changes they cannot participate in our elections,” Taylor said. “With the chang-es being made to local election sched-ules, men and women in harm’s way can finally vote.”

student life‘Puss in Boots’ wins weekend box offi ce“Puss in Boots” pounced on “Tower Heist” and “Harold & Kumar” at the box offi ce. The DreamWorks 3-D animated fi lm, distributed by Paramount Pictures, earned $33 million in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. The PG-rated fi lm centering on the swashbuckling feline voiced by Antonio Banderas from the “Shrek” series surprisingly toppled the weekend’s two new releases, bringing its total haul to $75 million.

Associated Press

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Page 5: TheBattalionNewsletter11072011

Majewski said after netting the game-winner. “There’s nothing better that we could have done in this tournament than to end on No. 1. It was a little surreal to see my shot go in. It was a great feeling.”

Head coach G Guerrieri credited the victory to the team’s “never-say-die” attitude.

“I’m so proud of the girls,” Guerrieri said after the win. “That was a great individual effort by Kelley Monogue to beat the three players and knock the ball off the post, and that was great composure by our senior, Me-gan Majewski, to bury that thing into the back corner.”

The Aggies entered the tournament with the No. 2 seed, but had to come from behind in the quarterfinals Wednesday to defeat No. 7 seed Kansas 5–3 in penalty kicks.

The Jayhawks (11-8-1) struck first in Wednesday’s match, stunning the Aggies with the first two goals and taking what seemed to be a commanding lead. But the Aggies retali-ated in the second half, scoring three goals in five minutes to go up 3–2 with 20 minutes remaining. A late Kansas goal tied the game at 3–3 and sent the match into overtime.

“We’ve talked to the players about how postseason and tournament time brings out some crazy situations,” Guerrieri said after the game against Kansas. “It was just a crazy, crazy game.”

Senior Merritt Mathias and freshmen Annie Kunz and Kelley Monogue scored the Aggies’ three goals in regulation.

Neither team was able to find the back of the net against the two freshman goalkeepers in two 10-minute overtime periods, leading to a penalty-kick shootout.

Freshman Allie Bailey led A&M in penalty kicks, zipping the ball pass the Kansas goalie for a swift 1–0 lead. Kunz, freshman Megan Streight and sophomore Rachel Lenz also netted shots, but so did three Kansas players.

With the game on the line, A&M freshman goalie Jordan Day made a diving save to hold on to the Aggies’ 4–3 lead. Mathias solidified the shootout victory with a fifth goal, sending the Aggies to the semifinal round with a 5–3 win to face No. 6 seed Missouri on Friday.

“We’re traditionally a great penalty kick-taking team,” Guerrieri said. “I don’t think we’ve ever lost a game on penalties and that crosses a lot of generations of goalkeepers and great shooters. I thought that all five of our shots were on-the-money and Jordan pulled off a great save there in the corner to win it.”

The Aggies avenged their 1–0 road loss to Missouri earlier this season by blanking the Ti-gers 3-0 on Friday. The sure-footed Mathias put the Aggies on the scoreboard early, scoring from the 18-yard box to put the Aggies up 1–0.

Freshman standout Monogue then gave the Aggies a 2–0 edge as she scored her 18th goal of the season. But a Kunz goal that put A&M up 3–0 was the final straw, and the maroon and white advanced to the championship game to take on Big 12 regular season champion Oklahoma State.

“It’s a good result, especially knowing that this is a team that we lost to just a month ago,” Guerrieri said after defeating Missouri. “We feel good about it. We’ve got a mighty task ahead of us to be able to go up against an undefeated team [OSU] and try to win another title.”

The Aggies were up to the “mighty task,” and closed their Big 12 legacy with one final conference championship.

sports thebattalion 11.7.2011

page5

thebatt.comA&M falls to KSUThe Texas A&M volleyball team lost at Kansas State during the weekend in fi ve games. Read the full recap online.

women’s hoops | Read the

recap of No. 6 A&M’s 84-63 win

over Oklahoma City online at

thebatt.com.

men’s hoops | The Aggie

men tip off the season at 7 p.m.

Wednesday against Liberty at Reed

Arena in the 2K Sports Classic.

football | Texas A&M and

No. 17 Kansas State are set to

kick off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in

Manhattan, Kansas on CBS.

SAN ANTONIO NEWS EXPRESS-NEWS

Sophomore defender Rachel Lenz uses her head in the Big 12 title game Sunday. The selection show for the 2011 NCAA Tournament is set for 3:30 p.m. Monday.

All-Tournament teamGK Adrianna Franch, Oklahoma StateD Melinda Mercado, Oklahoma StateD Carson Michalowski, Oklahoma StateD Meghan Streight, Texas A&MMF Merritt Mathias, Texas A&MMF Kristin Cummins, TexasF Kelley Monogue, Texas A&MF Kristin Lopez, Oklahoma StateF Annie Kunz, Texas A&MF Megan Marchesano, Oklahoma State

Off ensive Most Outstanding PlayerKelley Monogue, Texas A&M, F

Defensive Most Outstanding PlayerAdrianna Franch, Oklahoma State, GK

Of course, it’s the football tradition and winning record that takes the cake at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, but I was pleasantly surprised by something that often goes by the wayside when talking OU foot-ball — the atmosphere.

Upon first glance, the sight wasn’t really anything to write home about. The tailgate scene certainly wasn’t to the caliber that you’ll find in other football-rabid college towns like Oxford, Miss., or Baton Rouge, La., yet you could tell that the loyal Sooner fans were present in full force.

The stadium structure wasn’t quite as imposing as you’ll see at Kyle Field, though the listed capacity remains about the same at 82,000. Once in the stadium two things struck me.

The first was how much closer to the field the seating was than at Kyle. The sec-ond, surprising to me though not necessarily against their reputation, was how classy the fans were to the visiting team, even within the teeth of the Sooner student section.

Thirty minutes, a Sooner Schooner, a band performance, a fireworks show and a kickoff later, the fans remained classy yet instantly rowdy once the Aggie offense took the field.

Though former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach listed Kyle Field as the loudest stadium in the Big 12 in his book “Swing Your Sword,” he did acknowledge OU was near the top of that list. The Sooner fans did nothing to disclaim his observations and were quite raucous on almost every defensive snap.

There was one thing I’ll say, however, that bothered me to no end.

The Oklahoma Band. From start to finish, the Sooner band

would play incessantly. So much that you could hardly breath before the next down-beat of “Boomer Sooner.” And you’d think context would matter? Nope. Good, bad or indifferent the band would play.

First down OU? Boomer Sooner.Fourth down OU? Boomer Sooner.

Landry Jones sacked in the backfield? Boomer Sooner.

On and on they went with not just Boomer Sooner, but any song. Bob Stoops takes a swig of water on the sideline? Hell, let’s play Boomer Sooner.

The band aside, the Sooners were classy winners and the Oklahoma Memorial Stadium experience was a memorable one.

SEC chants rained down in the third quarter after Landry Jones and the rest of the Sooners lit up the Aggies with 28 unanswered points, but that’s about as bad as it would get from what were otherwise a solid bunch of fans.

After the game, we tripped to OU’s famous “Campus Corner” — a must see for visitors — and then proceeded farther into town to eat and watch the Alabama-LSU football game. Campus Corner, with locales such as “Hide-away” among others, has great eateries, bars and hangouts for post-game festivities.

And it didn’t hurt watching the Crimson Tide and Tigers duke it out in the game of the year.

Chandler Smith is a junior communication major

W hen one goes to Norman, Okla., on a foot-

ball Saturday, few tend to comment “Wow, you’re going

there!?” And if you are, it’s probably because your team

has little to no chance of coming out in one piece.

Chandler Smith: OU has classy fans, annoying fight song

A&M fans gave the football players those same kinds of looks after the collapse to Missouri last week.

Players said in the following Monday’s press conference that they failed to “push

themselves” in the second halves of the three collapses this season.

The same players went on to say they needed to put forth extra effort to avoid those same kinds of let downs, lead-ing one to believe something would change against No. 7 Oklahoma.

Then the Aggies put up another goose egg and allowed 28-straight points in the third quarter of the 41-25 loss to Oklahoma on Saturday.

The loss was somewhat expected as Oklahoma is one of the best teams in the nation and is known to explode after halftime. But another low-scoring second half and yet another loss to the Aggies’ record makes it hard to believe that the players made a conscious effort to

“push themselves” for redemption against the Sooners.

Now fans — and hopefully the players — realize the season is done and that this team will not produce the first football title since 1939. It was fun while it lasted, but it’s time to stop glorifying the guys that set the

NCAA record for “almost a top-10 team” votes this year.

Senior quarterback Ryan Tannehill en-tered the season as a top NFL prospect with the potential of topping the all-time list of A&M quarterbacks. He is the first player in NCAA history to reach 3,500 passing yards and 1,500 yards receiving but his legacy has stalled after leading his team to mediocrity.

Tannehill’s a charming and smart guy — he plans to be an orthopedic surgeon — that will undoubtedly take some NFL snaps and will succeed in his future career. He may turn out to be the best statistical athlete to don the maroon and white. But he seemed to lack the drive of a champion against the Sooners.

Other NFL-caliber athletes on the team have also faltered this season; losing fumbles, dropping passes and failing to wrap up on tackles. When players are predicted as first-round NFL draft picks, doesn’t that mean they are supposed to continue playing as such?

Instead, A&M is getting pedestrian effort, lackluster performances and no leadership from its most-talented class since the 1998 Big 12 Championship team that produced NFL players Rocky Bernard, Seth McKin-ney, Jason Webster, Dante Hall and the beloved Dat Nguyen.

Those days of fanatical effort and deafen-ing Saturdays at Kyle Field are over and those players have moved on.

Sure, fans will still support the kind-hearted Aggie football players — people have been camped out in front of the Kyle Field ticket office since Saturday night — and A&M will make it to a bowl after beat-ing Kansas — knock on wood.

But at this point it’s a disappointing season that has the fans, athletes and coaches hanging their heads in shame, pondering “what ifs.”

Adrian O’Hanlon III is a senior agricultural communication major and sports editor

at The Battalion

I t’s not the aggravated shouting or the spankings

you remember most after getting in trouble as a kid. The un-

forgettable look of disappointment on a parent’s face saying ‘I

can’t believe you did it again’ is what sticks with you forever.

Adrian O’Hanlon III: A&M football disappoints yet again

Gameday atmosphere: Oklahoma Sooners

Letdown in Norman leaves players guessing

ASSOCIATED PRESS

A&M head coach Mike Sherman calls plays during the OU game Saturday.

AGGIE ATHLETICS

The A&M soccer team poses with the Big 12 trophy after beating OSU 1-0 Sunday. This marks the Aggies’ twelfth league championship.

ChampsContinued from page 1

soccer

football

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Page 6: TheBattalionNewsletter11072011

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IF YOU did not order the 2011 Texas A&M University yearbook (the 2010-2011 school year), a limited number are available at the Student Media office, Bldg. #8901 in The Grove (between Albritton Bell Tower and Cain Hall). Hours: 8:30 A.M.–4:30 P.M. Monday–Friday. $85 plus tax. Cash, check, VISA, MasterCard, Discover and American Express accepted.

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the battalion

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thebattalion page 6 11.7.2011

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Page 7: TheBattalionNewsletter11072011

thebattalion

research page 7

monday 11.7.2011

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Texas has experienced one of the most severe droughts in its history this year, and A&M researchers are already preparing the state for future dry spells.

Due to the lack of rainfall, the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Department is developing a crop called sorghum (pro-nounced “sawr-guhm”) that is tolerant to heat and drought and is valuable to farm-ers and the energy industry.

Sorghum is a species of grass native to sub-Saharan Africa, which is primarily grown as feed grain, food grain and live-stock forage. AgriLife Researchers are de-veloping sorghum to be used in produc-ing bioenergy. Many types of sorghum are efficient producers of sugar, starch and cellulose, all of which are, or can be used to produce biofuels such as ethanol.

Bill Rooney, professor of Plant Breed-ing and Genetics for the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, said because the amount of corn that the U.S. can use to produce ethanol is limited, the next gen-eration of ethanol has to come from cel-lulosic sources such as switchgrass, mis-canthus and sorghum.

Rooney said the two characteristics in-volved in developing bioenergy sorghum are productivity and composition.

“These characteristics manifest them-selves in a plant that is quite tall and grows vegetatively,” Rooney said. “With these two characteristics combined, the sor-ghum crop can produce high-yield poten-tial and accumulate significant amounts of cellulose, which can convert to ethanol.”

But Rooney qualified his optimism with difficulties that accompany sorghum production.

“Some of the challenges that we face with sorghum, or any biomass source, are being able to produce the crop as a biomass source, and then converting the biomass to a fuel that can be sold at an ec-onomically competitive price,” Rooney said.

Travis Miller, associate department head and extension program leader for the Department of Soil and Crop Sci-ences, said sorghum has a huge number of different genetic variations that gives a sorghum breeder a lot to work with.

“What our department is trying to do is take the new technology to the field in order to improve Texas agriculture

through technology transfer,” Miller said. “But we can’t develop sorghum like we have with corn due to the lack of tech-nology.

Stephen Searcy, professor for the de-partment of agricultural engineering, said his department is involved in putting to-gether machinery to collect the sorghum and deliver it to a facility that can process the sorghum at a cost that is economi-cally viable.

Searcy said the project is heading in the right direction, though it is still in early stages of development.

“Through our computer simulations, we’ve compared different logistic systems of how to collect, store and deliver the sorghum and discovered we can achieve our projected goals,” Searcy said.

Searcy added that funding is an issue as the research team tries to progress with the project.

Miller said the sorghum crop holds a lot of potential due to the adaptability of different weather conditions.

“Sorghum in an important crop for a lot of Texas farmers,” Miller said. “This crop shows a lot of potential, but has yet to be discovered further.”

Roland RuizThe Battalion

COURTESY PHOTO

Heat-resistant crop produces biofuels

The Texas A&M AgriLife Research Department works to develop drought-tolerant crops.

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Page 8: TheBattalionNewsletter11072011

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