thebattalion09152011

Featuring

MATT MAHERmattmahermusic.com

Comm+unity Presents

The Love In Between Tour

AtChrist United Methodist Church

SEPT 16th @ 7PMFor Tickets go to itickets.com

or visit Christ-UMC.org

● thursday, september 15, 2011 ● serving texas a&m since 1893 ● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2011 student media

thebattalionthebatt.com¡Caliente!

event attracts students Free food, live music and dancing attracted large crowds at The Zone at Kyle Field. The Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA) promoted Hispanic heritage at Texas A&M with their ¡Caliente! avent Wednesday evening. Watch a video of event at thebatt.com.

campus news

Residents evacuate due to fi reA brushfi re started in Grimes County at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, causing 20 residents to evacuate their homes. According to Sheriff Donald Sowell, the cause of the 68-acre fi re is unknown. “Residents saw a lot of smoke and fi re that started in the pasture on the east side of FM 244, getting really close to their houses and the local day care center,” Sowell said. No injuries were reported and residents were allowed back into the area at about 2:15 p.m. after fi re response teams from the Texas Forest Services and volunteer fi re departments fl ooded the scene.“Fire resources were on it extremely quickly,” Sowell said. “One airplane dropped fi re retardant on the area and two helicopters collected water from the lakes and dropped it. It’s been extremely dry, and Grimes County just recovered from a recent fi re that sparked on Labor Day — the fi remen have been real busy in our area.”

Natalee Blanchat, Staff Writer

Shuttle hauls students to Northgate

Northgate has a new addition to its fleet of transit services. Among numerous taxis and 15-passenger vans, students have an-other option to get to and from Northgate: Rockin’ J’s Night Shuttle.

Rockin’ J’s runs much like the daily buses that bring students to and from campus. The shuttle leaves from Northgate and follows Transportation Services’ Route 36, “Cotton Bowl.” The shulttle travels on Wellborn, George Bush, Marion Pugh and Luther, and loops back through Wellborn to rest in front of Paddock Lane Bar on Northgate.

The official term for the Night Shuttle is a “jitney” — a vehicle used to carry many passengers, distinct from a taxi, which only carries a few. James Byrne, class of 2008, owns and operates Rockin’ J’s. He said the

Kevin Smith The Battalion

idea is implemented elsewhere effectively. “I’ve traveled a lot outside the coun-

try and it seems that everywhere but here knows how to do public transportation right,” Byrne said.

Bryne said he always thought about bringing these ideas back to College Station

A&M partners with Foursquare

Texas A&M is changing how they interact with students through social media.

In July, the social network-ing site Foursquare designated A&M as a launch partner for their location-based “Universi-ties 2.0” network program. The partnership introduced custom university badges for A&M and 19 other schools. The A&M badge, “I’m a Fightin’ Texas Aggie,” can be unlocked by us-ers who check into 25 venues across campus.

Universities don’t reveal the specific locations required to obtain the badge, but they give hints along the way.

Amid stiff competition, Foursquare has carved a niche

for itself in the increasingly crowded online networking scene. The site allows members to post updates about their cur-rent whereabouts by “check-ing in” at locations including restaurants, public parks, cam-pus buildings, libraries, schools, athletic venues, airports, park-ing lots and historical monu-ments. By doing so, participants earn points and various badges.

“Foursquare isn’t offering a site to compete with Facebook or Twitter as much as it is a dif-ferent kind of social network-ing experience,” said Michael Green, senior visualization ma-jor. “Those networks focus on telling your friends what you are doing. Foursquare focuses

Alec Goetz The Battalion

Kevin Smith — THE BATTALION

See Foursquare on page 5aSee Shuttle on page 5a

business social media

University sets sights on Vision 2020, aiming to become one of the nation’s 10 best public universities

“I am pleased to say that we have made significant progress in both of these ar-eas,” said Bowen Loftin, current Univer-sity president.

Following the strategic plan for Vision 2020, administrators first identified which public universities were setting the stan-dard for the remainder of the country, and why. They used two standards to ap-proach the issue.

The first approach was to consider six institutions that were highly ranked in two popular collegiate ranking systems, the U.S. News & World Report and the National Research Council, and compare their strengths and weaknesses against those of A&M. Administrators decided to use three University of California System schools — Berkeley, San Diego, and Los Angeles — along with Michigan, North

Carolina — Chapel Hill, and Wisconsin — Madison.

The second approach pooled “leading academic counterparts” — schools that share many of A&M’s characteristics in-cluding student population and emphasis in research, engineering, the sciences and other academic disciplines. Among these schools were Georgia Tech, Illinois, Penn State, Ohio State, Florida and Texas.

In addition to drawing comparisons, University administration has prioritized periodic reviews of the progress being made on specific goals and benchmarks of Vision 2020.

“One of my first actions after being named president was to initiate a mid-term review of Vision 2020 that will guide us during the remaining decade of this comprehensive effort,” Loftin said.

“More than 200 faculty, staff, students and friends of Texas A&M served on teams that helped refine our benchmark-ing process and update the framework by which we can achieve the highest possible impact in our teaching, research and ser-vice missions.”

In addition to the mid-term review, other initiatives have been taken to en-sure the University’s progress towards the primary goal of Vision 2020 — to be one of the top 10 public universities in the nation. Currently, A&M sits 19th among public institutions, tied with public uni-versities Florida, Connecticut, and Pitts-burgh, according to the recently released U.S. News and World Report rankings.

“These efforts included the Academic Master Plan, which, with input from the

Vision check

See 2020 on page 4a

Jordan WillifordThe Battalion

V ision 2020 has been the driving force be-

hind the improvements and changes made to

Texas A&M University since the concept’s

conception in 1999. Then-University President

Ray Bowen proposed that Texas A&M venture to

achieve a culture of excellence and become one of

the nation’s 10 best public universities.

insidevoices | 5bWhat 2020 means for students Former Speaker of the Student Senate Hilary Albrecht gives her opinion of Vision 2020 and explains why this university needs students to start paying attention.

Source: U.S. News and World ReportChristina Fuentes and Evan Andrews

— THE BATTALION

James Byrne’s night shuttle offers a transit option.

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page1b09.15.2011thebattalion

musicb!

ACL lineup To see the full list of artists for the weekend, visit http://www.aclfestival.com/

ACL is king. Constantly boasting one of the most robust and exciting festival line-ups across the country, Austin City Limits has enough great music

to please the concert-goer in everyone. 2011 is an especially great year for the festival; huge acts such as Coldplay, Kanye West, Arcade Fire and Stevie Wonder are among the musi-cal royalty present. So, put on your most ironic band tee, pack up your Ray-Bans, and get ready for the greatest musi-cal adventure you’ll likely experience this year.

Friday◗ Foster the People: Did you jam to “Pumped Up Kicks” this summer? A perfect fi t if you want to savor the fading fringes of summer.

◗ Delta Spirit: A heartfelt, melodic slice of Americana. These guys know how to both tone it down and kick it into overdrive, channeling Bob Dylan and The Strokes.

◗ Bright Eyes: The band released a new album this year, The People’s Key, which expands upon their folky angst with jangling 80s guitars and buzz-saw synths. This may be Bright Eyes’ final touring cycle, so see these legends before they’re gone.

◗ Kanye West: Need I say more? It’s Kanye, people. Go see a genius in action.

◗ Coldplay: The band consistently makes music audience’s love. An arena-sized spectacle if there ever was one, Coldplay is one band you can’t miss.

Saturday◗ City and Colour: Band leader Dallas Green, a hardcore-rocker turned folk singer, will entertain with his emotional songs set to delicately strummed acoustic guitar.

◗ Young the Giant: Huge, catchy rock seemingly made for the radio, but not in a bad way. Catch them before they hit it big.

◗ Fitz and the Tantrums: A fun, funky throwback to the 70s. Absolutely guaranteed to be s fun sets to experience this weekend

◗ Iron & Wine: Organic, lush and introspective. If you’re in the mood to be blown away by expertly intricate folk ballads, this is your band.

◗ Skrillex: Dub-step is the latest phenomenon in the realm of electronic music and Skrillex is carrying its banner. If strobe lights, heart-shaking bass and mind-bending electronica are your thing, go see Skrillex.

◗ Stevie Wonder: The man has twenty-two Grammy’s. Go see this legend in action; you won’t be disappointed.

Sunday◗ The Head and the Heart: Three part harmonies balanced by acoustic instruments with pop sensibility.

◗Chiddy Bang: The rapping half of Chiddy Bang, Chiddy Anamege, recently broke the Guinness World Record for longest freestyle rap (9 hours, 16 minutes, 22 seconds).

◗ Randy Newman: You’ve got a friend in Randy Newman. This veteran has scored dozens of fi lms, recorded over ten albums, and is a living musical legend.

◗ ◗ Fleet Foxes: From their self-titled debut album to this years’ Helplessness Blues, Fleet Foxes all but solidifi ed their place on top of the indie-folk world. Go for the beautiful, soaring harmonies and lush instrumentation. Stay for one of the best bands ACL has to offer.

◗ Arcade Fire: Who is Arcade Fire? Millions were asking after the band took the 2010 Grammy award for album of the year. When a band has sold out Madison Square Garden two nights in a row, you should probably see them whenever you have a chance — the grand fi nale to an epic, music-fi lled weekend.

Owen Herterich,senior visualization major

Fleet Foxes

Young the Giant

Coldplay

Stevie Wonder

Christina Fuentes — THE BATTALION

130-band music fest keeps Austin weird this weekend

Pg. 1b-09.15.11.indd 1Pg. 1b-09.15.11.indd 1 9/14/11 10:57 PM9/14/11 10:57 PM

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Proposition Number 1 (SJR 14)

SJR 14 would amend the consti-tution to authorize the legislature to provide the surviving spouse of a 100 percent or totally disabled veteran with an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market value of the surviv-ing spouse’s residence homestead as long as the surviving spouse has not remarried, the property was the residence homestead of the surviving spouse when the qualifying veteran died, and the property remains the residence homestead of the surviving spouse.

The proposed amendment would appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market value of the resi-dence homestead of the surviving spouse of a 100 percent or totally disabled veteran.”


SJR 4 would amend the constitu-tion to authorize the Texas Water Development Board to issue ad-ditional general obligation bonds on a continuing basis for one or more accounts of the Texas Water Development Fund II, with the restriction that the total amount of bonds outstanding at any time does not exceed $6 billion.

The proposed amendment would appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment providing for the issuance of ad-ditional general obligation bonds by the Texas Water Development Board in an amount not to exceed $6 billion at any time outstand-ing.”


SJR 50 would amend the constitu-tion to authorize the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board or its successors to issue and sell general obligation bonds on a continuing basis for the purpose of financing educational loans for

students, subject to certain con-stitutional restrictions, including a restriction as to the maximum principal amount of bonds out-standing at any one time.

The proposed amendment would appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment providing for the issuance of gen-eral obligation bonds of the State of Texas to finance educational loans to students.”

Proposition Number 4 (HJR 63)

HJR 63 would amend the consti-tution to authorize the legislature to permit a county to issue bonds or notes to finance the develop-ment or redevelopment of an unproductive, underdeveloped, or blighted area within the coun-ty, and to pledge increases in ad valorem tax revenues imposed on property in the area by the county for repayment of such bonds or notes. The amendment does not provide independent authority for increasing ad valorem tax rates.

The proposed amendment would appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to permit a county to issue bonds or notes to finance the develop-ment or redevelopment of an un-productive, underdeveloped, or blighted area and to pledge for repayment of the bonds or notes increases in ad valorem taxes im-posed by the county on property in the area. The amendment does not provide authority for increas-ing ad valorem tax rates.”


SJR 26 would amend the con-stitution to authorize the legisla-ture to allow cities and counties to enter into interlocal contracts with other cities and counties without having to assess an ad valorem tax and set aside a speci-fied amount of funds for the pay-ment of costs under the interlocal contract.

The proposed amendment would appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment

authorizing the legislature to al-low cities or counties to enter into interlocal contracts with other cit-ies or counties without the impo-sition of a tax or the provision of a sinking fund.”

Proposition Number 6 (HJR 109)

HJR 109 would amend the con-stitution to increase the amount of principal that is available for withdrawal from the permanent school fund each year and would also clarify certain references to that fund in the constitution. Increased access to the princi-pal of the state public education trust fund would be based upon HJR 109 granting the author-ity to consider alternative market calculations when determining the amount of principal that is available for distribution to the available school fund. HJR 109 would also provide authority to distribute to the available school fund annual revenue from school fund land or other properties up to $300 million per year.

The proposed amendment would appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment clarifying references to the per-manent school fund, allowing the General Land Office to distribute revenue from permanent school fund land or other properties to the available school fund to pro-vide additional funding for pub-lic education, and providing for an increase in the market value of the permanent school fund for the purpose of allowing increased distributions from the available school fund.”


SJR 28 would amend the consti-tution by adding El Paso County to the list of counties authorized to create conservation and recla-mation districts to develop parks and recreational facilities fi-nanced by taxes.

The proposed amendment would appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to permit conservation and reclama-tion districts in El Paso County to issue bonds supported by ad valorem taxes to fund the devel-opment and maintenance of parks and recreational facilities.”


SJR 16 would amend the consti-tution by requiring the legislature to provide for taxation of open space land devoted to water stew-ardship purposes on the basis of its productive capacity.

The proposed amendment would appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment providing for the appraisal for ad valorem tax purposes of open-space land devoted to water-stew-ardship purposes on the basis of its productive capacity.”


SJR 9 would amend the constitu-tion to authorize the governor, on the written recommendation and advice of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, to grant a pardon, reprieve, or commutation of pun-ishment to a person who success-fully completes a term of deferred adjudication community supervi-sion.

The proposed amendment would appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment authorizing the governor to grant a pardon to a person who success-fully completes a term of deferred adjudication community supervi-sion.”


SJR 37 would amend the consti-tution by extending the length of the unexpired term that causes the automatic resignation of cer-tain local elected officeholders if they announce candidacy or become candidates for another office from one year to one year and 30 days.

The proposed amendment would appear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment to change the length of the unex-pired term that causes the auto-matic resignation of certain elect-ed county or district officeholders if they become candidates for an-other office.”

Published by Secretary of State

Hope Andrade, www.sos.state.tx.us,

1-800-252-VOTE (8683).

PUBLIC NOTICEBrief Explanatory Statements of ProposedConstitutional Amendments

Special Election November 8, 2011

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

For updates go to thebatt.com ● Facebook ● Twitter@thebattonline thebattalion 09.15.2011

fully equipped

2 The future of higher

education Ohio State University president E. Gordon Gee will talk about the future of higher education at 5 p.m. at Rudder Theater.

1 Aggies pick up

their ringsThis Friday is Aggie Ring Day, when many Aggies will pick up their rings to

show that they are part of the Aggie

Network.

pagetwocourtesy of NOAA

Todayslight chance of thunder-

storms High: 95 Low: 70

Friday partly sunny high: 93 low: 70Saturday partly sunny high: 95 low: 71Sunday chance of storms high: 95 low: 71

3 Aggies play Baylor

A&M’s soccer team will compete against Baylor. The game will take place at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.

newsNASA unveils powerful rocketWASHINGTON (AP) — To soar far away from Earth and even on to Mars, NASA has dreamed up the world’s most powerful rocket, a behemoth that borrows from the workhorse liquid-fuel rockets that sent Apollo missions into space four decades ago. But with a price tag that some estimate at $35 billion, it may not fl y with Congress. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and several members of Congress on Wednesday unveiled the Obama administration’s much-delayed general plans for its rocket design, called the Space Launch System. Associated Press

Students connect with companies

Jay Kapadia — THE BATTALION

Students Engineering Council put on the Fall 2011 Engineering Career Fair Tuesday and Wednesday for more than 350 companies. The high standard of ‘Aggie Engineers’ attracts more companies to recruit every year.

Jay Kapadia — THE BATTALION

David Sutikno, senior industrial engineering major, meets Frito-Lay recruiter William Guajardo. Frito-Lay was one of the companies attending the engineering career fair.


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 845-0569 or Fax 845-2678 The Grove, Bldg. #8901Texas A&M University

WHEN TO CALL8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through FridayInsertion deadline: 1 p.m. prior business day

SPEC

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thebattalion 9.15.2011 page2b

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COLLEGE STATION: 2/1 4-PLEXES, UP OR DOWNSTAIRS AVAIL, WALKING/BIKING DISTANCE FROM TAMU, ASF 825, ALL APPL, W/D CONN, CENTRAL A/H! $495-$515/mo 979.764.RENT(7368)www.twincityproperties.com

BRYAN: 4/2 TOWNHOMES, ASF 1600, PET FRIENDLY, ALL APPL, F/P, BALCONY, SOME HAVE FENCED YARDS, 2 LIVING AREAS, QUIET NEIGHBORHOOD! $995-$1075/mo 979.764.RENT(7368)www.twincityproperties.com

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HAIR LOSSVolunteers ages 18-49 are needed to participate in a 8 month long research study with an investigational topical medication for Hair Loss. All eligible volunteers will receive at no cost: • Study Related Examinations by a Dermatologist • Study Related Medication • Compensation for time and effort

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The 110th edition of Texas A&M University’s official yearbook will chronicle traditions, academics, the other education, sports, the Corps, Greeks, campus organizations and seniors and graduate students. Distribution will be during Fall 2012. Pre-order cost is $75, plus tax. 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.

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4/3, 3/3 &3/2 Houses, Townhouses,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

4bd/2ba 2-living, +study. Avail-able now, 1112 Berkley. Close tocampus. Completely remolded!Short-term lease available. Nopets. $1100/mo. 979-731-8257.www.brazosvalleyrentals.com

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

FOR RENT

4bd/3ba house. New carpet. W/D.Southern Trace. $1150/mo. CallRose 979-218-0441.

Available now. Flexible leasingterms. $999/mo. 3bd/2.5ba duplexw/fenced yard. Pets ok.979-255-3280.

Big 3/2 duplex, w/d, tile, lawncare, ready for move-in. $875/mo.979-324-5835.

College Station duplex. Spaciousunit W/D, Furnished, $795/mo.979-693-0551.

Condos, lofts, &Effeciencies: 309Mobile #3&4, 1/1 efficiency, $515,w/s pd. 309 Mobile #6&8, 1/1 loft,$650 w/s pd. 1501 Stallings #44,2/2.5, $900. 2920 Kent St. #106,2/1.5, $650. 1001 Krenek Tap Rd#1405, 4/4, $1600. 1425 VillaMaria #401, 3/3.5, $1475.Alpha-Omega Properties,979-774-7820, Broker.

Country rental. Wellborn area.3bd/2ba. Horse friendly w/fee.Large covered porch, W/D connec-tions. $999/mo. Call Michelle979-255-5763.

Duplexes for lease: 1008-1010 Na-varro, 2/1 $625. 3520 PalomaRidge Dr.., 3/3 $1100. 819 San Be-nito, 2/1 $650. 920 Sun Meadow,2/2 $875. Apla-Omega Properties,979-774-7820, Broker.

Houses for lease: 2300 Colgate,3/2 $1400. 301 Rosemary, 4/2$1200. 505 Gilbert, 3/3 $1050. 601Maryem, 3/1 $800. 1013 San Be-nito, 3/2 $1200. 2901 McLaren,4/4.5 $1475. 3907 Sioux, 3/2$1000. 4003 Southern Trace, 4/3$1300. 4107 McLister, 4/4 $1500.2009 Angelina, 4/2 $1300. 3812Old College, 2/1 $750.Alpha-Omega Properties.979-774-7820, Broker.

Huge 3/4bd/2ba house! Walk tocampus, W/D, fenced. Normally$1450/mo., now $975/mo.979-693-5885.

Location, location, location! Fullyfurnished 2bd/2ba Callaway Villas,sub-lease, $679 individual leases,bus route #36, full-sized kitchen,24 hour fitness, billiards, theatreroom, and more! www.callaway-villas.com 979-695-2300.

Now Leasing! 4bdrm/2bth houses.Spacious floorplans. Great Loca-tion. Close to campus, woodfloors, tile floors, ceiling fans,w/d, fenced yards, refridgerator,icemaker,lawncare.979-776-6079,www.aggielandleasing.com

HELP WANTED

Assistant for Chiropractors office.Apply at 3733 East 29th StreetBryan.

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.

COACHES & BUDDIES WANTED:Our challenger soccer program (aprogram for mentally and physi-cally challenged participants) islooking for people to provide apositive experience as a volun-teer. Call 979-764-3424.

Hallmark Cleaners hiring counterhelp. Apply in person 3611 S.Col-lege Ave.

HELP WANTED

Help Wanted Part Time, BuildingAttendant for the Brazos Center.$10.10 hourly. Work schedule willvary from 12-20 hours a week.Janitorial duties and customerservice. Must be reliable. Apply:Brazos County HR Dept. CountyCourthouse. Visit our website formore info. @ www.co.brazos.tx.us

Kolache Rolf’s now hiring PT/FTcashiers. Apply within 3525-FLongmire or 2307 S. Texas Ave.Great hours, fun atmosphere!

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

Local Fall Political-Internshipsavailable-campaign experience tobuild your resume. 512-508-2148.

Park Cleaners now accepting ap-plications for P/T help. Apply inperson 314 George Bush.

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

Part-time warehouse helpneeded. Flexible hours. Businesshours are M-F 7:30-5. Apply atValley Supply 3320 S. College Ave.Bryan, TX. 979-779-7042.

Personal Assistant. Assistant andcooking preperation, shopping,review bills, internet price com-parison, outdoor work, someheavy lifting, lawn mowing, land-scaping, and trips to bank or postoffice. Must be professional ontelephone and in person. Punc-tual, friendly, able to completeassignments in a timely fashionand possess good organizationalskills. Email:[email protected]

Prepbooks.com, is hiring campusrepresentatives for part-time posi-tions. Apply on website under ca-reers.

PT help needed. Local huntingclub needs PT guides. Freshmanand Sophomore only. Average 1-2weekends/month in offseason;2-3 in Fall and Winter. Limitedhunting privileges. Applicationsat www.yardbirdhunting.com

Sales/PR door to door, leads fur-nished, good pay, bonus,fax/email [email protected]

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

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.

VOLLEYBALL COACHES WANTED!We need enthusiastic, positive,motivational volunteer coachesfor girls volleyball. Call979-764-6386.

HELP WANTED

VOLLEYBALL leagues are formingnow! For team or individual regis-tration information, visitcstx.gov/sports or call979-764-6386.

Web Designer/Programmer.Veros Systems verossystems.comFT & PT. Knowledge or experi-ence in PHP, MySQL, JAVA Script,CSS2, HTML, and XML is required.Python, Java, C/C++/C#, Flash,Photoshop desired. EOE. Sendresume to [email protected]: 877-295-9803.

Web developer Ag owned com-pany looking to hire entry leveland advanced web developers.Experience with html and css amust. php, xml, drupal [email protected]

LOST & FOUND

Found 2 male Chihuahuas in Well-born area on 9/12. 979-777-0916

MISCELLANEOUS

Do you want to lose 3 dress sizesin 10min? 281-901-9463.

JUNK IN THE TRUNK BCS ResaleShop, 1909 S.College Ave., Bryan.Used Furniture, Appliances, TV’s,Home Decor, Antiques, Cool&Unique Stuff, cheap!979-224-2462.www.junkinthetrunkbcs.com

MUSIC

Best deal in town- DJservices/audio rentals. RDM Audiodoes it all! Weddings, parties,band set ups, PA systems, EventLighting, 979-260-1925. rdmau-dio.com

Now enrolling for Do-Re-Me Mu-sic and Dance. Music for specialneeds [email protected].

MUSIC

Party Block Mobile DJ- PeterBlock, professional 22yrsexperience. Specializing inWeddings, TAMU functions,lights/smoke. Mobile toanywhere. Book early!!979-693-6294.http://www.partyblockdj.com

REAL ESTATE

2/2 1997 Clayton mobilehome tobe moved. Shingle roof, porchand AC. $1300. 979-255-0664.

B/CS. Sell/Buy/Invest! Re/Max,Michael McGrann. TAMU ‘93Civil Engineering. 979-739-2035,Nadia McGrann, 979-693-1851.aggierealtor.com

ROOMMATES

1-room for rent w/private bath,all bills paid, cable/internet in-cluded, fully furnished. $550/mo.Non-smoker. 956-536-4357.

TICKETS

I need Ag football tickets!713-436-6244 (office) or713-454-9776 (cell).

TUTORS

Math, Physics, Mechanical Engi-neering, $35/hour, $20/half-hour,monthly/group rates available,[email protected]

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.

Tutor needed to prepare 12thgrader for science TAKS re-take9/26-10/17; 2-3hrs/week$15-20/lesson. Science major pre-ferred 979-492-9661.

Wanted English tutor for SATcritical reading and writingpreparation, three hours a weekc o m p e t i t i v e p a y , c a l l979-204-2561 or 713-852-7018.

the battalion

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Saturday, September 24th through Sunday, October 2nd

Join us at the Waller County Fairgrounds where we invite you to “Kick Up Your Heels” and have some fun!

Our fair features many different choices of entertainment:

or call us with any questions:979-826-2825

th

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Shenandoah

TAKE A PIECEOF A&M HISTORYWITH YOUReserve your 2012 AggielandThe 110th edition of Texas A&M University’s official yearbook will chronicle traditions, academics, the other education, sports, the Corps, Greeks, campus organizations and seniors and graduate students. Distribution will be during Fall 2012. Pre-order cost is $75, plus tax. 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.

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For information, call845-0569

business thebattalion 09.15.2011

page3a

Career fair | Seventy-four businesses

will join the Sciences Career Fair Thursday

from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Rudder Tower.

Admissions deadline | Prospective

MBA students need to complete admissions

by today for the first round of decisions.

Meeting | Center for Human Resource

Management Advisory Board meeting

at 8 p.m. today in the Wehner Building.

Lawmakers probe solar company loan WASHINGTON — House Republicans questioned Wednesday whether the White House rushed approval of a half-billion-dollar loan guarantee for a now-bankrupt solar panel manufacturer once cited as the kind of renewable energy company worthy of federal stimulus money.

Wildfi re protection half-funded in TexasSAN ANTONIO — Long before this month’s historic wildfi res in Texas, the state’s forest service came up with a $20.4 million plan to stop the fl ames from starting or tamp them out before small blazes grew deadly and destructive. Three years later, the plan is still only half-funded — a decision one offi cial calls a “dereliction of duty” by lawmakers who almost always prefer to spend money after a crisis has unfolded.

Associated Press

Indestructible bikes break chains

With the hustle of fall classes under-way, students can turn to a revolution-ary mode of transportation — one that doesn’t involve air.

Vince Denais, a former mechani-cal engineering student who attended A&M for two years before transferring to the University of Houston, has returned to College Station to intro-duce a new breed of bicycles: Maroon Bikes.

Denais said he has worked for more than a decade taking the original Rug-ged Cycles bike model and making it commercial, providing the campus with proper cruiser-style bikes. Now, Denais operates out of an edgy, mini-malist shop on University Drive with the company slogan reading, “World’s first airless, chainless bicycle.”

Denais, who found himself in tech-nical sales at refineries along the gulf coast after leaving Texas A&M, said his product is not just a bike but rather a sustainable transportation machine because it cannot be broken and pos-sesses a lifetime warranty.

“I just noticed the terrible condi-tions of the bikes at the refineries,” Denais said. “They are the main source of transportation within the plants and refineries and yet they seemed to al-ways have some sort of repair issue, be it with the tires, brakes, or the strength of the bike itself. I thought to myself, this has to change.”

Living in the humid conditions created by the coast, Denais said he quickly realized that in order for bi-cycles to be durable, the fragile chain-driven system of traditional bikes had to be scrapped.

“My bikes are gear-driven and thus nothing rust-prone due to the ele-ments is left exposed. The bearings are sealed in aluminum alloy,” Denais said.

Denais explained that his bikes are also airless, fashioned of stainless steel and accompanied with a marine-grade

epoxy-based paint coating as further protection against rust.

Doug Dickson, junior recreation, parks and tourism sciences major, said he was drawn to the Maroon Bikes display on Church St. behind the Di-xie Chicken and became intrigued.

“I love seeing really good ideas come to fruition. Mr. Denais had his experiences in the industrial areas and saw how much they were spending on bikes, constantly either repairing them or buying new ones due to their bad quality. He noted the problem, at-tacked it and came out with an amaz-ing solution,” Dickson said. “There’s no chain to malfunction, break, or for your shoelaces, jeans, or the like to get caught in. Safer is always better,”

Denais, said the bicycle’s only drawback is its $1,190 price tag — but added that he has mitigated the issue by providing interested students with a leasing price plan. A number of bikes are available to lease for $1 per day.

Denais’ son and Maroon Cycles marketing manager, Andre Denais’, said the original Rugged Cycles bike was designed in the 1800s and it was time for an upgrade.

“The bike is cool mostly because it’s like a massive improvement of something that already exists,” Andre said. “I’d say our bike is sort of like what Steve Jobs did with the iPhone. We’ve completely revolutionized the idea of it.”

Denais said another factor that prompted change was “bike bone yard” — a local impound lot with more that 2,000 unclaimed bicycles — and the lack of sustainability in the biking community.

Denais’ said he hopes that Maroon Bikes will one day become the official bike of Texas A&M.

“I have no problem calling this the most reliable and durable bicycle, due to its design,” Denais’ said. “I’ve worked at making it unbreakable and I pride myself on that.”

Krystal NimigianThe Battalion

Living in the humid and salty aired conditions along the coast, Vince Denais realized that in order for bicycles to be durable, the fragile chain-driven system of traditional bikes had to be scrapped.

Krystal Nimigian — THE BATTALION


thebattalion

b! page 3b

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comics

Tim Issac — THE BATTALION

The script follows a broken Pennsylvanian family as they try to overcome financial hardship, betrayal and years of stress-building separation.

Ex-marine Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy) returns home after 14 years in search of his once drunk-for-a-dad, Paddy (Nick Nolte). Undefeated as a high school

wrestler, Tommy enlists the help of his dad to

train for SPAR-TA, the “Super Bowl” of mixed

martial arts with a winner-takes-all $5 million prize.

Tommy’s older brother, Brendan (Joel Edgerton), a former UFC fighter and now high school physics teacher, faces the foreclosure on the home of his wife and two kids. Much to the “I’m not going to watch you die in the ring” dismay of his wife, Brendan turns to his former trainer in a last ditch effort to come up with the necessary cash.

These two brothers — each with their own decade of hardship since having last seen one another—unknow-ingly walk the same path to-ward inner redemption. Their father binds them together as he tries to mend old wounds in the hopes of forgiveness.

Tommy is pensive, cold and every bit the emotionally damaged Iraq War veteran he should be as he mauls through one opponent after the next.

Directed

and co-

written by

Gavin O’Connor,

‘Warrior’ has more

of an emotional

impact outside

of the cage than

within, refusing to

tap out in the face

of its fighting movie

clichés.

You feel his pain—his un-yielding anger.

As the family man under-dog, Brendan is easily the more likeable of the brothers. He’s infinitely less brooding. You want to see him uphold his pride and overcome adversity.

It doesn’t hurt that Bren-dan has an entire high school backing him; the students love Mr. C.

Somehow, neither of the two is ultimately easier to cheer for in the end. Brendan has his two adorable daugh-ters and Tommy has own his fallen comrade motivations for stepping into the cage. Much like their father, the audience must watch the Cain and Abel matchup to decide not only who is the best fighter, but if even the most shattered of families can be saved.

It’s not all family drama though. There are plenty of pay-per-view quality matches to be had as O’Connor’s Atlantic City fight scenes are tight and fast paced. The

‘Warrior’ packs tearful punch

Upcoming releases ◗ Sept. 23‘Moneyball’ Brad Pitt/Jonah Hill

◗ Sept. 28‘The Double’Richard Gere/Topher Grace

◗ Sept. 30‘50/50’Joseph Gordon-Levitt/Seth Rogen

COURTESY PHOTO

Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy face off in ‘The Warrior.’

Cinemark Hollywood ◗ Thursday12:30 3:50 7:00 10:15pm◗ Friday12:25 3:30 7:00 10:05 11:15pm

Premier Cinema ◗ Thursday1:00 4:25 7:50pm◗ Friday1:00 4:25 7:50 11:00pm

throw downs will rock you, and the thrill of an opponent’s submission will have you fist pumping in celebration.

Guys, be ready to get your

Jared Baxter

senior media studies major

man-cry on. I wasn’t alone in walking out of the theater asking how I could be so pumped and saddened at the time.

It’s a tear-jerker of the best kind. Go to war and check out this main event.

3 out of 4 Gig ‘Ems

Showtimes


thebattalion

business/newspage 4a

thursday 9.15.2011

Want to be part of a 9-Time National Championship Team!?

Tryouts

Informational meeting on the team and tryout sign ups!

Where:Burkhart Auditorium, Northwest Corner of Kyle Field When: Wednesday, September 28th at 6:00 pm Who: Full time TAMU female Students with advanced experience in western horsemanship or reining, as well as hunter seat equitation on the flat or hunter seat equitation over fences

For more information go to www.aggieathletics.com/equestrian

Texas A&M University celebrates

In honor of the 224th anniversary of the signing of United States Constitution on September 17, 1787, Texas A&M University is joining thousands of citizens, teachers, and students nationwide in celebrating Constitution Day. Join the celebration by participating in the activities planned for the Texas A&M campus and the Bryan-College Station community.

The following is a list of activities planned for Constitution Week.

Saturday, September 17, through Friday, September 23, 2011

Exhibits on the U.S. Constitution will be located in the Sterling C. Evans Library, the West Campus Library, the Medical Sciences Library, and the Policy Sciences and Economics Library.

Saturday, September 17, 2011, Constitution Day

12:00 Noon—KAMU-TV & KAMU-DT Constitution Day programming

ORIGINAL INTENT: The Battle for America Original Intent is the judicial philosophy promoted by Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Originalists believe the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted in the way the Founding Fathers understood it in 1789 – an era when only white men were allowed to vote and slavery was legal. Others believe the Constitution was crafted in broad, open-ended language and that its meaning evolves over time. With George W. Bush’s appointments of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, the balance of the Supreme Court shifted to the right and many laws that are considered fundamental rights could be overturned, particularly laws that protect civil rights, voting rights, affirmative action, reproductive rights, privacy, and sexual freedom. Three months after President Barack Obama’s inauguration, Supreme Court Justice David Souter announced he plans to retire. More vacancies are anticipated on the court. In his nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama stated, “I view empathy…as an essential ingredient for arriving at just decisions and outcomes.” Do the originalists promote a fair and neutral way for judges to interpret the U.S. Constitution or does the meaning of the U.S. Constitution evolve over time?

KAMU-TV can be seen at: KAMU-TV 12.1, Suddenlink ch.4 & ch.700, DIRECTV ch 15, Dish Network ch. 12, Live Stream http://kamu.tamu.edu “Watch Now”

3:00 p.m.—Texas A&M University’s Albritton Tower Carillon will play the patriotic music as part of ”Bells Across America.”

Halftime—Texas Aggie Football—A&M v. Idaho—The Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band will include a tribute to the Constitution in the band’s halftime performance.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

6:30 p.m.—Wiley Lecture Series Constitution Day Forum, ”Too Big to Curtail?: The powers of Congress and the Federal Reserve to budget and take on debt,” Koldus 111. Speakers to be announced.

For further information about any of these activities, please contact Nancy Sawtelle at 845-4016 or [email protected].


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Aggieland Inn reconciled its abandoned appearance with its status earlier this month and closed its doors. Located near the intersection of Texas Av-enue and Holleman Drive in a building formerly managed by Ramada Inn, the location closed its doors indefinitely as the A&M-SMU football weekend approached, remov-ing 200 beds from the visitor pool and leaving several fami-lies without notice or a place to stay.

The 10 most recent user comments on Trip Advisor, an online forum for user-generat-ed reviews of hotels, insensi-tively foreshadowed Aggieland Inn’s demise. Reviewers cau-tioned future guests with com-ments such as “awful,” “don’t stay,” “atrocious” and “not as bad as we had been warned.”

“If a place has that many bad reviews, then it is obviously poor in quality,” said Dylan Browning, freshman biomedi-cal science major.

Shannon Overby, executive director of the Bryan-College Station Convention and Visi-tors Bureau said Aggieland Inn’s reviews reflected its rep-utation in the business com-munity.

“We have had numerous complaints on this property for almost a year,” Overby said. “So approximately six months ago we removed them from our hotel listings. We have tried to reach the owner in the United Kingdom to no avail. We have no way of knowing

Austin AdamsThe Battalion

Hotel closes doors without notice

Without any forewarning, Aggieland Inn shuts its doors on potentially one of the busiest weekends in Aggieland, the football season opener.

Kendall Kolker — THE BATTALION

how to reach those who have reservations.”

Overby said the Bureau actively monitors online re-views to better understand the condition of the community’s hotels. This is in addition to the Bureau’s quarterly visits and responses to unsolicited complaints.

Overby added that the clo-sure could be good news for B-CS and its visitors.

“We try to make sure the hotels have a good image. It really does hurt our commu-nity to get that kind of public-ity,” Overby said.

Kindra Fry, also with the Bureau, mentioned one guest in particular whose wed-ding reception was planned at Aggieland Inn for later this month.

“Her initial reaction was panic,” Fry said. “We im-mediately started offering her with other ideas and places and that we would, in the mean-

time, try to get in contact with the owners to get her deposit back.”

Fry said the bride-to-be is now in contact with the own-ers and that they are managing the situation in an attempt to make amends.

“They are definitely trying their best to make it up to the guests,” Fry said.

Fry went on to say that the circumstances surrounding Aggieland Inn’s abrupt closure were reminiscent of the Plaza Hotel’s closing last year.

“We were not sending people to the Aggieland Inn because it was so uncertain,” Fry said. “Very much alike to the Plaza Hotel, real quick the doors were closed. They were not answering their phones. Just like in the Plaza’s case, it was shock I guess.”

Attempts to contact Ag-gieland Inn management were unsuccessful.

colleges and other divisions of the university, guided Texas A&M in the development of our University Strategic Plan, Action 2015: Education First,” said Karan Watson, Texas A&M provost.

Action 2015 is one of the benchmarks set by administra-tion to gauge University prog-ress toward Vision 2020, with an academic emphasis.

At the time, Vision 2020 was conceived, more than 250 stakeholders were involved creating ideas, benchmarks and goals used to measure the progress throughout the 20-year period. The measures and ideas these stakeholders generated are embodied in the “twelve imperatives” of the mission.

The imperatives include

improving undergraduate and graduate programs, diversify-ing the A&M community, supporting the arts and sci-ences and enhancing the un-dergraduate experience.

While the overarching goal of Vision 2020 is generally agreed upon, those involved say there have been spirited debates on specific impera-tives.

According to Tanner Wil-son, speaker of the Student Senate, the student legisla-tive body has historically taken issue with imperative 10, “Demand Enlightened Governance and Leadership.” The imperative demands re-sponsible leadership from the Board of Regents, System administration and University administration, but fails to in-clude student leadership. Wil-son said previous senates have taken the stance that students should be included in Univer-sity governance. As the im-

perative is written, there is no mention of student leadership.

“While there are disagree-ments on specifics of some of the imperatives, everyone seems to get along on guid-ing principle of being in the top 10 nationally,” Wilson said. “That guiding vision is important for the financial in-vestment [students] have made in their degrees.”

In his Convocation ad-dress on Friday, Loftin will discuss Vision 2020. Accord-ing to Loftin, Vision 2020 will make a degree from Texas A&M more valuable for cur-rent students and the more than 360,000 former students around the world.

“There is still work to be done to reach our goal, how-ever, and we cannot let up,” Watson said. “We continue to believe that Vision 2020 is es-sential to enhancing students’ educational experiences.”

2020Continued from page 1a


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thebattalion

sportspage 4b

thursday 9.15.2011

Things are looking good for the Texas A&M women’s vol-leyball team, who will test their 9-0 start to the season as they travel to Ann Arbor for the Michigan/adidas Invitational.

“We see the number stats of the teams we will be playing and they seem to be very quick teams and very efficient,” head coach Laurie Corbelli said. “They are going to be tough matches and definitely a huge challenge.”

The Xavier Musketeers are slated as the first contest for the Aggies on Friday with a team hitting percentage of .239. They are 6-3 on the season and have several players that can be a threat.

A defensive threat for Xavi-er is junior libero Stephanie Vorherr, who was named the Atlantic 10 Libero of the Year in her first two seasons and will continue to dig anything that comes her way.

Offensively, sophomore outside hitter Sarah Brown is averaging 3.34 kills per set and was named the Atlantic 10 of-fensive player for this week.

For A&M, senior outside hitter Kelsey Black received the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week award on Monday, which will set up a highly com-petitive and talented matchup.

On Friday night, the Aggies will face the Toledo Rockets, a team with a losing record but a lot of fight on the court. The Rockets are hitting .244 this season, however they al-low their opponents to hit .255. Although the record may not show it, Toledo has some weapons of its own.

Sondra Parys is swinging for 3.27 kills per game but no other Toledo player has num-bers to match. Five players are averaging over two kills per game, so the offense is spread evenly among several players.

Courtney Nelson The Battalion

Stephanie Leichtle — THE BATTALION

Volleyball set for Michigan/adidas tourney

In A&M’s last game of the tournament, the Aggies will play the undefeated home team — No. 18 Michigan. The Wolverines have several of-fensive players who can get the job done.

Alex Hunt, a senior outside hitter, earned tournament MVP honors last week and leads Michigan with 3.48 kills per set. Several other Wolverines are hovering around the three-kill mark, including senior Court-ney Fletcher and redshirt junior Claire McElheny.

Both the Aggies and Wol-verines are hitting .297, are undefeated, and have explosive offenses. Michigan will most likely be the toughest match of the season thus far, but ju-nior Alisia Kastmo said A&M is prepared.

“There’s definitely a lot more experience with our team this year,” Kastmo said. “We used last year to improve and move a lot of things around.

This year we are just so much more comfortable with each other and working together.”

With much-needed ex-perience on both offense and defense, Corbelli knows the improved Aggies can compete with anyone.

“Kastmo and Lindsey Miller getting better position with the ball and getting more quality looks really has been one of the biggest x-factors for our team,” Corbelli said. “Also Tori Mel-linger has been excellent on the outside with her power and knowledge of the game.”

A&M volleyball instruc-tor Bill Coady said the Ag-gies will be a challenge for any team in Ann Arbor with their positive attitudes and tremendous abilities.

“This is such a talented team with experience and guts,” Co-ady said. “They all listen to the coaches so well and really take criticism and utilize it to their best abilities.”

Junior libero Megan

Pendergast sets for

an attack.


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thursday 9.15.2011

on telling them where they are.”Users with the most check-ins at a location

in the past 60 days are appointed “Mayor”, a title that can come with perks of its own. Users can also add tips and information about venues and create lists of things to do when visiting a place.

As the leader of Texas A&M’s student-driven Foursquare initiative, Green and his coworkers run the University’s account and have access to the site’s metric data. They make decisions based on how people are us-ing Foursquare around campus.

Green is also responsible for much of the school’s initial involvement with Foursquare. When the network first went online two years ago, he said he saw potential.

“The gaming aspect was a part of it, but the thing I liked the most was that people couldn’t use it sitting at home in front of their comput-ers,” Green said. “They were telling users to get out into the real world and letting them interact with each other online in a way that was different from how other networks were operating.”

Green employed the help of Diane Mc-Donald, director of A&M’s Social Media and Marketing. Together, they established an early partnership with the newborn social network — the third school to do so after Harvard and Stanford.

“Foursquare had only been around for a few months when Michael approached me with the idea,” McDonald said. “He saw something special in Foursquare and thought that the school might be interested in seeing what they could do with it.”

McDonald said A&M has capitalized on their partnership with the network in a num-ber of ways. Students are encouraged to check-in at notable areas on campus and compete for mayoral standing. Users are also able to take

advantage of a number of lists of tips composed by the school, which give information for the campus’ landmarks and unknown areas.

“The lists are an important part of what we’re doing on Foursquare,” McDonald said. “People can use them to take a tour of campus at their own pace and learn more about what makes the school special.”

The network has doubled as a marketing tool for A&M, as well. Members who obtain the new University badge are eligible to re-ceive special offers, a practice that many busi-nesses have been experimenting with as a pro-motional tool. The University has also used the network in promotional events, including last year’s social media scavenger hunt.

The event gave students clues to solve which led them to the far corners of the campus, then told them to use Foursquare to check-in to the designated areas. The top teams earned prizes through a partnership with the university’s li-censing department.

Currently, Texas A&M’s Foursquare page has approximately 14,500 followers. In com-parison, the University’s Twitter page has 18,000 followers and nearly 300,000 “likes” on Facebook. Still, not everyone remains con-vinced of the network’s usefulness.

“I remember seeing signs from some of the liberal arts organizations about Foursquare this year during Gig ‘Em Week, but I guess I never really understood what the point of it was,” said senior political science major Reed Wil-liams. “If I want my friends to know where I am I can just text them or post about it on the sites I already use.”

Similar services from competing web com-panies, like Facebook and Google Latitude, have difficulty emulating Foursquare’s suc-cess. A recently released study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project claimed that while 23% of American adults use location-tracking for information about local business-es, fewer are comfortable with using them to explicitly share their location. Even so, Four-square has a user base of more than10 million followers and is growing.

FoursquareContinued from page 1

because there was such a huge need for it. Hai-ley Lunsford, senior political science major, said she agrees with that vision.

“One of the problems we have in College Station is a lack of parking, and transportation seems to always be an issue so I think it’s a wonderful and easy option,” said Hailey Lun-sford, senior political science major.

There are 56 tickets available each night, purchased in advance. These tickets guarantee a ride home. Those who do not pre-pay for tickets can flag the bus down to board and ride, but are not guaranteed a spot.

“Ideally, the customer gets his or her group together and buys the tickets online before they go out. Then they show up to the bus

stop and I hand them a wrist band and the transaction is done for the whole night,” By-rne said. “I wanted to make sure that I pro-vided a high level service to my clients, and the best way to do that is cater to less people in an attempt to excel in quality.”

Rockin J’s has also incorporated iPhone and Android apps to make the process more college-friendly. The shuttle’s location is up-dated in real time with the Google Latitude app. Byrne said this app eliminates the stress in guessing if the bus is there to pick you up, or if you have an extra five minutes.

Other services such as Cowboy Cab, Ed-die’s Barpool taxi, Maroon Shuttle and free services like Carpool still run and shuttle many students to and from Northgate.

“You might pay more money but I think it would be quicker than using Carpool,” said Nick Price, a junior business major.

ShuttleContinued from page 1

Kevin Smith — THE BATTALION

James Byrne stands in front of his Rockin’ J’s night shuttle.


‘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] voices09.15.2011thebattalion

EDITOR’SNOTE

page5bGUESTCOLUMN

free parking gone?

From Marlan Scully, distinguished professor of physics and of chemistry I would like to give you my take as an academic who has spent his life wandering between the Ivy Leagues (Yale, MIT, Princeton) and the southwestern frontier (Texas A&M, New Mexico, Arizona). In a word, Texas A&M is an excellent public institution of science and technology, and it is getting better and better. Just as one example, since 2000, Physics has added two Nobel Prize winners and four members of the National Academy of Sciences. A large

part of the credit for this must be given to our forward-looking administration. For example, it was former Chancellor Michael McKinney and President Bowen Loftin who helped us hire Nobel Prize winner David Lee. We especially note that President Loftin is to be congratulated on his excellent stewardship and leadership; for example, the below testimonials which were solicited by Texas A&M physicist George Kattawar on the occasion of his receiving the Texas Distinguished Scientist of the Year Award. We should indeed encourage our leaders as they

take us to the next level of excellence.

George Kattawar, recognized scientist: “It is truly a privilege and pleasure serving under a university president who has the ability to deal with current problems and the vision necessary to take us to the next level.”

H. Joseph Newton, College of Science dean: “It is my great pleasure to add my voice to all those honoring George Kattawar… I would also like to pay tribute to President Loftin, who has been a great force

for publicizing the many accomplishments of the college of science.”

Provost Karan Watson: “Dr. Loftin is fi rmly committed to a culture of excellence that warrants national and international admiration.”

Regent Morris Foster: “President Loftin is guided by an unwavering moral compass, a commitment to academic excellence and a belief that education is the lynchpin of creating a Texas of opportunity.”

MAILCALL

T he other day I was at the Engineering Physics building

trying to get some homework done. Unfortunately, I

cannot afford a parking pass on campus to park in any of

the parking lots.

The only solution for students like me is to park at the garages or pay at the parking lots with the meter at the entrance. I paid the rate for one hour, which is $2 per hour before 5 p.m. and $0.50 per hour after 5 p.m. At the northside garage, you pay at arrival, and are forced to guess how much time you will be staying. I stayed longer than I originally thought, so when I walked up to my car, predictably, there was a ticket on my wind-shield.

The parking situation on campus is becoming ridiculous. And the students I’ve spoken with agree.

“Pricing is a little steep because we are already paying enough with tuition,” said Ankit Wadhwa, senior environmental geosciences major.

With the rates for parking permits ranging from $88 to $400, parking at Texas A&M is becoming a siz-able investment. Every year during registration, students are asked to choose a parking lot or garage in which they choose to park. If the lot that the student desires is not available, then it’s to the unforgiving

waiting list. But what do they do in the

meantime? Students will spend money at the

parking garages or park away from campus at the park-and-ride loca-tions, from which they can catch a bus to school, if there’s room.

So… wait. The University has an option where we can drive further from campus — spending money on gas — then ride the bus back to campus? We already pay a trans-portation fee (which has increased because of the cost of gas). How is this solution to the problem? With the number of incoming freshman reaching new highs every year, I think I see a growing issue.

Now, let’s say you’re in a posi-tion like my earlier example, where something keeps you from your car a bit longer than expected. Because you couldn’t predict the future, you return to your windshield to find a $40 ticket when it’s only $0.50 to pay for an extra hour.

Campus security needs to real-ize that students need to park on this huge campus. Sometimes, we

have no option but to park quite a distance from our destination. It’s difficult to make the long trip to feed the meter, and it’s a $39.50 dif-ference we are talking about.

With prices and frustration high, the university should spend some time investigating parking solutions. I believe that there should be at least one free parking lot — Lot 100 would serve best — for a first-come, first-served basis, without a permit. This way, students can have at least one area where they will not be badgered by security and expensive tickets.

This parking issue should be looked at and students should offer feedback. If the school would hold open forums about this issue, they would notice that students grow weary of high parking prices and unreasonable ticketing policies.

Now, if you folks can excuse me, I must book-it. The meter must be fed yet again.

Michael Rodriguez is a senior indus-trial engineering major.

Vision 2020 has become one of those buzzwords students hear around campus, but

no student seems to be sure what the document stands for for.

Since its creation in the late 1990s, Vision 2020 has un-dergone changes in how it is per-ceived and utilized on campus, and the past couple of years have seen the document become more open to externalities.

For many, the question has been why there is an increased focus now both internally and externally, and how that focus changes the way the imperatives drive campus initiatives. Maybe this renewed focus has come from outside pressures and a changing external environment, and maybe it’s just this stage in the process toward Vision 2020. In any case, thoughts on higher education and its state today are changing, and without proactive plans like Vision 2020, Texas A&M will fall behind.

As stakeholders of Texas A&M, students need to re-frame the argument on higher education through increased involvement in matters like Vision 2020. The problem is, a lot of the document is rather vague, which leaves much to be desired. There’s page upon page of eloquent language and detailed dreams involving the various imperatives, and some debatable quantitative measures for how to measure success. This leaves stu-dents and others without tangible ways to get from where we are to where we want to be.

Also of concern is the lack of the mention of students in the document. All of the imperatives can be said to at least indirectly affect students (elevating faculty, building liberal arts core, etc.), but they aren’t directives geared specifically toward students. It’s difficult to get students involved when it seems like students aren’t a priority in planning toward the University’s future.

There is always a need for more accountability and transpar-ency, and that’s more apparent now than ever.

Past actions have left many students, former students and faculty disenchanted with the course the University has taken,

Vision 2020 needs student input

Tim Isaac — THE BATTALION

Michael Rodriguez: I see a growing problem and others do, too

and it’s time for those who are directly affected and have a passion for A&M to stand up, specifically students. Students attend A&M for a relatively short period of time, while Vision 2020 is a long-term objective. However, since students are the driving force behind a university, they need to take a more active role in the conversation.

Without student involvement the argument is largely faculty-driven and faculty-focused, which lends itself to a distorted discussion of University issues. Then, controversies break out and students are upset with administration actions. If students were more proactive rather than reactive voicing disagreement with certain policies, they might have a greater say in outcomes.

Higher education fosters an environment geared toward challenge and learning. Change always occurs, even on a campus as enriched with tradition as ours. Some changes should be embraced and others left behind, but overall change is about pro-pelling Texas A&M forward, and Vision 2020 is as well.

When most current students are long gone from Texas A&M, I think Vision 2020 will have completed much of what it set out to do, and will have added value to my degree from Texas A&M and enhanced the aca-demic atmosphere for students. It all comes down to trust: trust in our leadership to act in what is believed to be our best interest; trust in our faculty that they are doing their part educating us and giving added value to our degree; and trust in our students that we, too, have an idea of what’s best for our education and what we believe will best serve all of us.

Hilary Albrecht is a senior political science major and

ome one s students us, but e what r.

Where has all the

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Marion Pugh & Luther StreetA P P L Y O N L I N E @ U C L U B T O W N H O M E S . C O M

L E A S I N G O F F I C E O P E N I N G O C T O B E R 5

2-story townhomes • resort-style amenities • leather-style sectional sofas • huge walk-in closets • washer & dryerfull kitchens with stainless steel appliances & quartz stone countertops • hardwood-style floors • pet friendly

amenities & renderings subject to change.

N EW ST U D E N TTOW N H OM ES

O P E N I N G F A L L 2 0 1 2

SCAN & LIKE

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