l thursday, november 21, 2013 l serving texas a&m since 1893 l first paper free – additional copies $1 l © 2013 student media

thebattalion

Students manage fund to benefit startups

aggie business

Video competition expresses Muslim creativity

religion

thebatt.comAddressing EducationLuis Fraga explains the President’s Advisory Council on Educational Excellence

for Hispanics’s findings and proposed plans to enable the Hispanic population to succeed in higher education in the face of changing national demographics.

Research Valley Fund, an investment group based in Bryan-College Station, announced

on Nov. 1 the creation of Maroon Fund I, an angel fund to be managed by students at Texas A&M.

An angel fund, such as Maroon Fund I, provides venture capital for high risk, but high reward, startup businesses.

Texas A&M drew Research Valley Fund’s at-tention as the place to start Maroon Fund I because of the campus research environment and its focus on the medical, oil and technology fields, said Ro-berto Cepeda, senior finance major and a founding associate of Maroon Fund I.

James Lancaster, fund manager at Research Val-ley Fund, said he looks forward to the energy that enthusiastic students will bring to the table.

“I may learn as much as the students in some ways because there’s different skills and techniques taught in schools than when I came out of school,”

Bradley D’Souza The Battalion

See Maroon Fund on page 4

In an effort to explore faith in a creative way, the Muslim Students’ Association

will hold a video competition. With four videos on the docket and

$100 awaiting the winner, the “Muslim Voices Film Competition” will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday in Room 1400 of the MSC.

“As the name suggests, we want to give our students a platform to express them-selves,” said Ziad Syer, event coordinator and accounting graduate student. “People love movies, so we figured this would be a fun event.”

As this is the first video competition of its kind on campus, Syer said the guide-lines were vague, but association members were given a month to create a film rang-

Aimee Breaux The Battalion

William Guerra — THE BATTALION

ing from five to 20 minutes.In her month of filmmaking, Nim-

rah Riaz, association member and junior health major, combined efforts with a few friends to create “Hijab (Un)Veiled: An Aggie Perspective,” in which she asked various students on campus about their thoughts on Islam.

Riaz said the constant questions she gets asked as a Muslim woman prompted the film.

“Muslim women, such as myself, of-ten get asked questions like, ‘Why do you wear that?’ ‘What is it called?’ ‘Who can see you with it off?’” Riaz said. “So we decided to turn the tables and ask the Aggies if they knew the answers to these questions.”

While most people interviewed re-ferred to Islam as a culture, not a religion, Raiz said she and her fellow film crew members were surprised by the knowl-edge the Aggie population had about Is-lam and the hijab. Raiz said some people even knew of more than one reason why Muslim women wear a hijab.

“[One person we interviewed] went on stating that she doesn’t understand how women who wear American flags as bikinis is okay and a Hijab isn’t,” Raiz said. “Another person we interviewed, a member of the Corps [of Cadets], said since Texas A&M University is a multina-tional, diverse campus, everyone has the

Midnight premier sparks hunger in adoring moviegoers

entertainment

The fans, the costumes, the trivia games, sodas and popcorn — with tonight’s

premiere of, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” looming, fans are gearing up after a year and nine months of waiting.

With three popular novels and one suc-cessful feature film, “The Hunger Games” has become a cultural hit.

With the midnight premiere so near, fran-tic rereading of the books has taken prece-dence over studying for some students. Sarah Zimmerman, senior English and sociology major, said midnight showings bring back fond memories of her childhood experiences.

“To prepare, I reread the book and fin-ished it in my sociology class,” Zimmerman said. “I decided to see it at midnight because I love midnight premiere experiences. They remind me of all the fun ‘Harry Potter’ pre-mieres of my childhood.”

For others, the midnight movie-going ex-perience has become a tradition.

“I went to the midnight premiere of ‘The Hunger Games’ my freshman year, so I am continuing the tradition,” said Hannah Wat-son, senior international studies major. “I’ve read all the books in the series and Jennifer Lawrence is my home-girl, so I am really ex-cited for this movie. I just hope I can still

Alex Slaughter & Mackenzie MullisThe Battalion

On-campus food bank opens to provide for students, faculty

THE MAN WITH A CAN

Texas Aggies Making Changes will strive to make sure fewer people aren’t going hungry this Thanksgiv-

ing when it opens The 12th Can, A&M’s first on-campus food pantry, Wednesday and Thursday.

A partner of Brazos Valley Food Bank, The 12th Can was created to serve students and faculty in need. This week marks the grand opening of the pantry and Texas Ag-gies Making Changes will hand out food from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Room 119 of the Mail Services Building on Agronomy Road.

Whitney Pearson, facilities coordinator for Texas Aggies Making Changes and se-nior psychology major, said the food will be distributed in premade bundles, focusing as much on quality as on quantity.

“We sat down and went through a list of products and came up with what we thought would be a variety and also a nutritious,

healthy combination of things,” Pearson said. “So they have a pretty standard bag that in-cludes dry food, pastas and grains and things like that. We try to balance that with fruits and vegetables and proteins so they have a big variety.”

Because The 12th Can is intended for stu-dents and faculty only, visitors must present an A&M ID and fill out two client intake forms upon the first visit. Pearson said it is a quick and easy process.

“It’s really simple,” Pearson said. “If they

Homer Segovia The Battalion

AUG 28 @

SEP 6

SEP 13

SEP 20 @

SEP 27

OCT 4 @

OCT 11

OCT 18 @

OCT 25

NOV 1

NOV 8 @

NOV 15

NOV 22

NOV 27

OPEN

OPEN

Will

iam

Gue

rra

— T

HE

BA

TTA

LIO

N

Dee Huggan — THE BATTALION

See MSA on page 3

Adrienne Fleck, junior international studies major and member of Kappa Alpha Theta, holds up the District 12 salute.See Hunger Games on page 3

2014 Football Schedule

Shelby Knowles — THE BATTALION

Sophomore communication major Jessica Newman, junior psychology major Whitney Pearson and freshman spatial science major Jordan Beier help organize the 12th Can pantry to give back to the community.

The need for food for students is alarming. I never

really looked at that side of campus that doesn’t have food.”

— Mary Gallander, senior communication major

See 12th Can on page 2

BAT_11-21-13_A1.indd 1 11/20/13 9:03 PM

thebattalion

newspage 2

thursday 11.21.2013

OPEN FORUM

Monday, November 255:30pm

Memorial Student CenterRoom 2300E

REGARDING FALL 2014 TRANSIT ROUTE CHANGES

Routes 31, 33, 34, 35, 36

Preview proposed changestransport.tamu.edu

How are youHow are youImpacted?

Century Club gifts of less than $5 a month help the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band travel to away football games.

AggieNetwork.com | /AggieNetwork | @AggieNetwork

thebatt.com

The BaTTalion is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer session (except University holidays and exam periods) at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Offices are in Suite L400 of the Memorial Student Center.

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. Newsroom phone: 979-845-3315; E-mail: editor@thebatt.com; 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 979-845-2687. For classified advertising, call 979-845-0569. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Email: battads@thebatt.com.

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.

thebattalion The IndependenT STudenT VoIce of TexaS a&M SInce 1893

Jake Walker, Editor in Chief

Although snow is at least 30 degrees from the

forecast, Aggieland has had a white, downy layer of cotton blowing onto campus as farm-ers have their product hauled out of the field and onto the road.

After being harvested and baled, the cotton must be transported to gins and the cotton lost off of trucks could be what students are finding on campus, said Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service state cotton specialist Mark Kelley.

“The cause of cotton on campus is more than likely a result of transferring cotton through College Station as it’s transported from cotton fields to the cotton gins,” Kel-

ley said. “The last few cotton fields are currently being har-vested and transport trucks are probably losing some cotton from the trucks.”

Several students have no-ticed the cotton on cam-pus, especially while passing through areas around the MSC, Kyle Field, in between Main and West Campus and along George Bush and Well-born.

“Lately, I’ve seen TAMU service workers picking it up around West Campus when I’m walking to class,” said Sadie Summerlin, freshman agriculture leadership and de-velopment major. “I’ve been wondering where all this cot-ton has been coming from.”

Since cotton harvesting is nothing new in the area, Kel-ley said the recent appearance of cotton on campus could be due to changes in transporta-tion routes.

“These transport trucks usually take FM 2818 or By-

pass 6 around Bryan-College Station,” Kelley said. “How-ever, maybe some road con-struction or traffic delay made

the drivers to choose an alter-native route through Bryan-College Station.”

Cotton comes to campus

Samantha LattaThe Battalion

agriculture

Seasonal transportation cited as source

have families, like a graduate student that has a family, they can put down that they have dependents and they get more food.”

Mary Gallander, senior communi-cation major, said she was not aware of the need for a food pantry until last year when then-Student Body President John Claybrook approached Texas Ag-gies Making Changes with the idea of creating one for A&M.

“The need for food for students is alarming,” Gallander said. “I never re-ally looked at that side of campus that doesn’t have food. It’s a really great thing we can do for our fellow Aggies so we’re really excited.”

A year of planning and logistics fol-lowed Claybrook’s request, which Gal-lander said will help establish The 12th Can for the long run.

“Hopefully it will be around forever to help our fellow Aggies,” Gallander said. “We took a lot of time to try to make sure everything was aligned before we opened. That’s why it’s taken us so long to open it. We want it to have a good foundation so that it can grow and it can become this big part of A&M to help students.”

Yashwant Yvas, public relations coor-dinator of Texas Aggies Making Chang-es and junior electrical engineering ma-jor, said a need was particularly seen with international students who may fall on hard times and not be able to benefit

from one of the area food banks.“Many international students do not

qualify at the food banks here,” Vyas said. “Unfortunate things happen in peoples’ lives. Something unexpected comes and that is what gives rise to this need for a food pantry like The 12th Can.”

Vyas said The 12th Can follows a hi-erarchy that begins with the Houston Food Bank, which will ensure a certain level of quality.

“We have a contract that we have signed with Brazos Valley Food Bank and they operate under the main branch,

the Houston Food Bank,” Vyas said. “Whatever standards the Brazos Food Bank follows, we are supposed to follow the same.”

The 12th Can will next be open Jan. 8-9 and then the first Wednesday and Thursday of each month after that, but Pearson said the grand opening will serve as a test run to see if the pantry can be open more often.

“We’re just going to see how this first time goes and then after that we’re hop-ing that we can be open two to three times a month, maybe once every other week or even once a week if we can handle taking in that much food and putting out that much food in that short amount of time,” Pearson said. “I’m just really excited to see how it goes and to contribute back to a community that’s given me so much.”

12th CanContinued from page 1

Jenna Rabel — THE BATTALION

Cotton lost off trucks falls to the side of Wellborn.

Shelby Knowles — THE BATTALION

Jordan Beier and Jessica Newman prepare food to be distributed Wednesday and Thursday.

Hopefully [12th Can] will be

around forever to help our fellow Aggies. We want it to have a good foundation so that it can grow and it can become this big part of A&M to help students.”

— Mary Gallander, senior communication major

BAT_11-21-13_A2.indd 1 11/20/13 8:16 PM

express themselves the way they would like. We were very pleased with these re-sponses.”

Mixing comedy and dra-ma, Pervez Agwan, senior petroleum engineering ma-jor, said he and his friends created a parody of Friday Night Lights called, “Jum-mah Night Lights.”

Agwan said the title comes from the word Jumu’ah, a congregational prayer Mus-lims hold every Friday just after noon instead of dhuhr,

one of the five daily prayers of Islam.

“It’s a mixture of comedy and drama, but it’s mostly a situational comedy as we de-pict our MSA members and the struggles of their flag foot-ball team,” Agwan said.

Agwan said he was drawn into the competition by the fact that it gives him a chance to participate in one of his fa-vorite pastimes.

“I’ve been making mov-ies with my personal SLR camera because I enjoy mak-ing short films,” Agwan said. “It’s a great way to get to-gether with your friends and come up with something and

put it into film format. All of my films are very amateur and not professional at all, but it’s a hobby of mine.”

Syer said while the compe-tition is new, it is in line with some other projects put on by the association.

“The MSA has been working on encouraging cre-ative expressions among our members,” Syer said. “At the beginning of November, we had a Lyrical Art Night where we had a Muslim poet from Houston present his spoken word poetry and we had a couple of MSA members perform at this event as well.”

thebattalion

news page 3

thursday 11.21.2013

make it to my 8 a.m. Friday morning.”The midnight premiere is not the only op-

tion students have in seeing the movie early.“I’m going to the double feature [on] Thurs-

day at 5:20,” said Varvara Marmarinou, junior anthropology major. “I might have [dressed] up like a character. Probably Katniss or Johanna, but since the double feature is early we don’t really have time.”

Many sororities rented theaters Wednesday night for an early screening. Megan Davis, se-nior English major and member of Kappa Kap-pa Gamma, attended the screening.

She said the success of the books and movies is due in part to a plot that differs from other young adult novels.

“I just like how different they are — kind of the dystopian storyline that there is,” Davis said. “It’s kind of different from all the other teen novels that I’ve read. I liked how it was kind of a play on the government.”

While fans await the film, movie theater workers express their own excitement for the midnight showing. Jimmy Dulke, Class of 2012, works at Cinemark Movies 18 and said midnight premieres are something he looks forward to.

“[My favorite part is] the oncoming rush of people,” Dulke said. “It gets really exciting to see people all dressed up. The best part is just seeing people come out and have fun.”

Antonio Gusebio, freshman business major at Blinn and Cinemark employee, said the peo-ple make the midnight premieres enjoyable.

“There are so many people and there is a lot of socializing,” Gusebio said. “If I’m not work-ing, I dress up for midnight premieres.”

With the release of the second film, the fear that it will be different from the novel is always present in the minds of fans.

“I think they’ll stick pretty close like they did with the first movie, but there will obviously have to be changes made,” Marmarinou said. “The biggest addition will probably be during the games because there are limitations to what movies can bring to life.”

Hunger GamesContinued from page 1

MSAContinued from page 1

Dee Huggan — THE BATTALION

Madeline Conrad (from left), Kathrine Weathers, Claire Metzger, Kelly McKeon and Adriana Nelson, members of Kappa Alpha Theta, attend a “Catching Fire” screening Wednesday.

BAT_11-21-13_A3.indd 1 11/20/13 8:29 PM

Lancaster said. “Also, I think that there are some entrepreneurs that will like the chance to work with young stu-dents as well. The student fund has that similar mindset of providing capital for local entrepreneurs.”

Cepeda said students will be respon-sible for doing research on possible startup investment opportunities for the student-managed fund. However, instead of mak-ing the actual investments, students will present viable investment opportunities to those providing capital for the fund.

“We can’t take the money and say, ‘Oh, this is a good deal, lets do it,’” Cepeda said. “Our principal investors are the ones who are going to have a vote and all agree upon a certain investment. We’re doing the leg work.”

Cepeda said being able to manage a fund provides a unique opportunity for students, especially since those hoping to make a career in venture capitalism won’t be able to perform similar functions until many years after graduation.

“It is invaluable experience to the

student to be able to do something like that,” Cepeda said. “That is something that doesn’t come to the students in-volved until five-plus years into their ca-reer if they’re looking to go into venture capital or private equity. It makes you more marketable.”

There are currently four associates managing Maroon Fund I, but Cepeda said they are looking to expand and in-clude more than just finance students.

“Right now there’s only finance ma-jors in there, but there’s not only going to be students from Mays Business School, there’s also going to be students from oth-er majors,” Cepeda said. “We’re going to be investing primarily in tech, energy and

medical and those other students would be helping to perform the due diligence.”

As the fund is new, the main focus for the rest of the semester will be raising the money. Luisa Davis, junior finance major and a founding associate, said the process of raising capital requires reaching out to potential investors. In the spring they will begin to look for good investments.

“We’re responsible for raising capital,” Davis said. “That includes reaching out to alumni and any other possible inves-tors [and] reaching out to our mentors for possible contacts. We’re responsible for raising those funds, the capital.”

Davis said her opportunity to help manage a fund as an undergraduate has two aspects. While the opportunity al-lows her to gain valuable experience, Davis said there is a large responsibility to make sure the program is sustainable.

“Since this is the first semester we’re doing this, and since it is such a new pro-gram, we’re also responsible for creating a program that can be repeatable,” Da-vis said. “This is a long-term fund and we’re only going to be here for another year and a half at the most. We’re lay-ing the ground for a long-term program at A&M.”

FREE COUPONS APP

Text SAVEto 42767.

TODAY’S BEST DEALS, ALL IN ONE

PLACE.Saving you money anD time to cram.

thebattalion

newspage 4

thursday 11.21.2013

10:20am SundaysSimple. Relational. On a Mission.

lifechurchonline.net

AggieNetwork.com

Private Party Want ads

$10 for 20 words running 5 days, if your merchandise is priced $1,000 or less (price must appear in ad). This rate applies only to non-commercial advertisers offering personal possessions for sale. Guaranteed results or you get an additional 5 days at no charge. If item doesn’t sell, advertiser must call before 1 p.m. on the day the ad is scheduled to end to qualify for the 5 additional insertions at no charge. No refunds will be made if your ad is cancelled early.

Place an adPhone 979.845.0569 Suite L400,Memorial Student CenterTexas A&M University

When to call8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through FridayInsertion deadline: 1 p.m. prior business day

SPEC

IAL

classifiedssee ads at thebatt.com

puzzle answers can be found on page 2

AUTO

I buy vehicles; working, nonwork-ing, or wrecked. 979-778-1121.

BED AND BREAKFAST

Romantic Getaways & Engage-ments, secluded cabin suites. AllDay, All Night. www.7flodge.com979-690-0073.

BUSINESS OPPS.

Insane Media Web Design. Localweb design services for any typeof business. 979-830-3536,http://insanemediaworks.com

FARM/RANCH

Aggieland Alfalfa. 50lbcompressed Alfalfa bales, 50lbcompressed Timothy bales. Callor text orders to 806-683-2916.

FOR RENT

1bdrm. sublet, The Heights,available mid-December.Furnished, female only, bus-route.$534/mo. 865-898-9282.

2bd/1ba available now,$525-$650/mo. 2-blocks to cam-pus, pets okay, semester leasesavailable. 979-574-4036.

2bd/1ba duplex, $600/mo,, busroute, fenced yard, W/D hookups,no pets, 979-422-948.

3/2 duplex. 5-minutes fromcampus, fenced yard,allappliances, $850. Call469-233-4653.

3/3,3/2 Houses, Townhouses&Apartments, 1250-1400sqft.Very spacious, ethernet, largekitchen, walk-in pantry &closets,extra storage, W/D, great ameni-ties, marble and granite, on mul-tiple bus routes, now pre-leasing,excellent specials. 979-694-0320.www.luxormanagement.com

FOR RENT

3bdrm Deacon Condo, availableJan.1st, W/D included, onbus-route, safe neighborhood, nopets, $1200/mo. 979-451-2819.

4/3, 3/3 &3/2 Houses,Townhouses, Duplexes&Fourplexes, 1250-1700sqft. Veryspacious, ethernet, large kitchen,extra storage, W/D, greatamenities, marble and granite, onmultiple bus routes, now pre-leas-ing, excellent specials.979-694-0320.www.luxormanagement.com

FOR RENT

Close to campus, 2bd/1ba,$900/mo, $900 deposit, fencedyard, hardwood floors, availableJanuary 1st, broker Jim979-255-0931.

Duplex, CS, nice 2bd, 3-minutesfrom campus, W/D, remodeled,fenced backyard, beautiful withmany extras, one week free. NoSmoking. 832-646-2329.

FOR RENT

Just available! Close to campus,College Main and Eastgate areas.2bd/1ba., some w/dishwasher,1-fenced, some bills paid.$325-$450/mo. 979-219-3217.

Looking to sublease, 2-year oldhouse, walking distance to cam-pus, $600/mo, separate bed/bath,three other roommates,senglish@tamu.edu

Northgate. Newer 1/1, 2/2, 3/3and 3/2. Washer/Dryer. Walk tocampus. aggievillas.net Call979-255-5648.

Spring lease, $1200/mo,2bd/1.5ba, built 2011, close tocampus, call 979-255-2488.

Sublease at The Reserve in Col-lege Station. Male roommatewanted. 600/MO., water/cablepaid, private shuttle includedwith residence. Contactgrammklein@gmail.com

HELP WANTED

Athletic men for calendars,books, etc. $100-$200/hr, upto $1000/day. No experience.aggieresponse@gmail.com

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

FUN JOB installing Christmaslights with a Christian company.Need 3 men immediately, mustwork full days and climb roofs.$11.50/hr. Send resume tolightscapesoftexas@gmail.com

Help wanted at Brazos Bingo,shifts available: 5:00P.M. -10:00P.M. Daily; and 1:00P.M. -4:00P.M. Wed. and Fri. Call(979)774-7266 for an interview.

Help wanted kitchen staff atBrazos Bingo, shifts available:4:00P.M. - 10:00P.M. Daily; and12:00P.M. - 3:00P.M. Wed. and Fri.Call (979)776-8135 for aninterview.

Jimmy John’s now hiring deliverydrivers and sandwich makers. Ap-ply at 200 University Drive or 2002Texas Avenue.

HELP WANTED

Newborn hospitalPhotographer/Sales-Associateseeking independent contractorsearning sales commission on apart-time basis. 4-2 days a week,experience preferred not re-quired, must passbackground/credit/drug testw/updated vaccinations. Contactinfo@babybloomphoto.com;www.babybloomphoto.com

Small business opportunity. Intel-ligence, integrity, and depend-ability required, 214-682-3776.

STUDENTPAYOUTS.COMPaid survey takers needed inCollege Station. 100% free tojoin. Click on surveys.

TECH SUPPORT, Friends alwaysasking for IT help? Let us do thework. Earn $250-500+ /mo refer-ring 24x7 Helpdesk services forPC, Mac, mobile phones & tablets.Users call our hotline, you getpaid. More info:aTmTech@insignisbpo.com

VOLUNTEER COACHES NEEDED!The City of College Station isseeking positive, enthusiastic andmotivational youth basketballcoaches. The season begins earlyDec. and runs through March 6.Learn more at cstx.gov/sports orapply today atcstx.gov/sportsvolunteer

REAL ESTATE

B/CS. Sell/Buy/Invest! MichaelMcGrann TAMU ‘93 CivilEngineering 979-739-2035,mike@aggierealtor.comNadia McGrann 979-777-6211,Town & Country Realty.

TUTORS

Private tutoring available, $30/hr,flexible time and location, call214-682-3776.

We’ve got yournumber2013-2014 A&M Campus DirectoryListings of departments, administrators, faculty, staff, and other information.

Departments: You may charge and pick them up

at the student media office in suite L400 of the msC. Cost is $4 per copy. please bring a student media Work Order. Deliveries on request. Call 845-2646 for information.

stUDents and others may purchase directories for $4

plus tax each in msC L400 (by cash, check or credit card). Hours: 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

the battalion

If You Have Something To Sell, Remember Classifieds Can Do It!

Call 845-0569

Maroon FundContinued from page 1

This is a long-term fund and we’re only going

to be here for another year and a half at the most. We’re laying the ground for a long-term program at A&M.”

— Luisa Davis, junior finance major

BAT_11_21_13_A4.indd 1 11/20/13 8:20 PM