thebatt.com
thebattalion ● friday,
march 11, 2011
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2011 student media
Aggies battle Tigers The No. 21 A&M men’s basketball team took on Missouri in the Big 12 quarterfinals Thursday in Kansas City. Prior to the game, the Aggies had defeated the Tigers in seven consecutive games.
community
Blinn College president resigns Daniel J. Holt stepped down from his position as president of three years at Blinn College Thursday. Holt said that his resignation is effective immediately and is partially due to Blinn’s new budget cycle that allows a new president with new ideals to take charge. While Holt said he plans on staying within the field of education, he resigned in order to spend more time with his family. “It has been in the making for a while now, it is time to seek other opportunities and look after things at home,” Holt said. “My family is dealing with a lot and I need to pay more attention to that.” In the time that Holt was president, he initiated several building projects on Blinn and Brenham campus. The Blinn board plans to find a replacement by the beginning of August, allowing the executive council of six vice presidents to carry out Blinn’s daily functions. Sarah Smith, staff writer
b! inside
sports | 4 Gerald Phiri The senior sprinter gears up for the Indoor National Championships but considers life off the track as the most important aspect.
scene | 3 Rock band hails from Midwest Iowa-based band happygolovely is headed to Texas to perform on March 17 at The Stafford in downtown Bryan as well as make an appearance at the annual South by Southwest festival in Austin.
Pg. 1-03.11.11.indd 1
Courtesy photos
Justin Jones, a sophomore electrical engineering major, trains for and runs half marathons with his father.
Going the distance Aggie father-son duo runs half marathon Christine Perrenot The Battalion Texas A&M University is a school with many different kinds of people with different hobbies and goals. Justin Jones, a sophomore electrical engineering major and his father have found their interests and hobbies through their hard work and time in the Corps. “Justin told me last summer he wanted to run, and I advised him based on his fall schedule versus the training regime and experience that this year a half marathon would be best,” said retired Lt. Col. David Jones, class of 1984 and Justin’s father. Justin and his father completed
the Austin 13.1 mile half marathon on Feb. 20. Justin’s goal is to run a full marathon, 26.2 miles, with his dad in 2012. “I started training for the Corps and running was a strong point for me,” Justin said. Training for the Corps as a freshman made Justin realize how good it made him feel to run. “Last summer Justin told his dad he wanted to train to do a marathon, so they began their training,” said Jeanna Jones, Justin’s mother. After spending a lot of time running, Justin discovered that he enjoyed it and that it was a physical activity that came easily to him. “I know how hard they have
worked and trained for this goal, and to see that come to completion is a pure joy for this wife and mom,” Jeanna said. Being in the Corps has been a way for Justin to gain confidence in his running. “It helped me discover that running was something I loved to do and helped prepare me mentally and physically,” Justin said. Exercise and fitness has been important to the Jones family and have been a way for them to spend time together. “This is great opportunity to promote family esprit de Corps, fitness, Texas A&M and the Corps of Cadets,” David said.
Jeanna and her youngest son, Bryan, who will be a freshman marine transportation major at Texas A&M University at Galveston in the fall, watched as the father and son duo completed the half marathon together. “Justin proudly wore his Corps of Cadets shirt and got lots of ‘gig’em Aggies’ along the route,” Jeanna said. The completed half marathon is just the beginning of many more to come for this Aggie family. “It is great to go out in the community and show pride in your school,” Justin said. See Marathon on page 6
NCAA championships
Track team gears up for championship Adrian O’Hanlon The Battalion Don’t blink because you might miss the fastest athletes in the nation this weekend as Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium and the Texas A&M track team welcome the 2011 NCAA Indoor Track Championships. Athletes from across the nation have trained to show off their best at these championships, including the A&M team consisted of 10 men and six women. Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry
expressed confidence in the preparation of his team for the meet and the chances of bringing home the hardware. “This is where you find out if you can do that,” Henry said. “On each side there are five or six teams that can potentially win [the title]. I hope that team is one like ours, who does things right and has the consistency to win. If you have consistency in the way you treat the event that leads to success.” The Aggie track athletes have been consistent all season, but face stronger competition as Track & Field News
predicts the men will finish third behind Florida and LSU, and has the women in fourth behind first-place Oregon, Arkansas and rivaled-Texas. The Aggies have built off of record performances and personal bests all season, as the men brought home their first Big 12 title and the women placed a promising second at the conference meet. Henry credits much of the success to the experience and leadership of the senior group of athletes. “You have to have been there to know what it’s like and how to win
a title,” Henry said. “The women’s side ran out of bullets at the Big 12 meet [but] this senior group has good maturity and experience. The way our seniors lead by example gets our young guns to step up and perform well.” Gerald Phiri, senior world-class sprinter, leads by example not only in his work ethic at practice and execution on race day, but also through his confidence leading up to his final chase for a national title. See NCAA on page 6
transportation
sports
Construction changes campus bus routes
Aggie cricket team heads to nationals J.T. Sampson
Austin Burgart The Battalion Texas A&M has been steadily growing and maturing into one of the largest universities in the nation. With the increase in enrollment, the University has responsibilities to its students to provide and maintain the level of service offered. While many students see the constant construction on campus as an obstacle on their way to class, they may fail to see the bigger picture of the Vision 2020 plan coming into action. The current construction on Ross Street where it intersects Spence Street is part of an ongoing facelift along the street. Beginning this fall semester, Ross Street will be closed off to outside traffic between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.; during this time Ross will become a designated bus corridor to ease congestion on the street.
Stephanie Leichtle — THE BATTALION
Construction will help open up roads on campus to aid buses in avoiding traffic. “All the way down Ross from Fish Pond to Spence Street is too busy,” said Eric Avila, a freshman general studies major. “It’s just a massive buildup of people and vehicles anytime I walk past.” A proposed change in bus routes accompanies this project to allow buses to utilize the new road; all existing routes will still remain intact with only three receiving minor alterations. The three routes along University (Bonfire, Yell Practice and Gig Em’) will be redirected to run through campus See Construction on page 2
The Battalion An internationally diverse organization, the Texas A&M cricket team is gearing up for the national championship tournament, which takes place over spring break. A&M’s team was recently selected as one of 31 teams in the nation to participate in the 2011 American College Cricket Spring Break Championship. These Aggies will enjoy a trip to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., to compete from March 15-20. The cricket team has incorporated A&M’s legendary 12th man tradition into its own practice. A twelfth player always stands by in the event that any of the 11 players on the field get injured. “Cricket at A&M started in 2002 when a group of dedicated individuals decided to play cricket during the week-
Sign-up
◗ If you are intrested in joining the team, contact Pradeep Gudlur, president of the Aggie Cricket Club at 979-450-1472 ◗ Find them on Facebook at “Aggie Cricket Club.”
See Cricket on page 6
3/10/11 6:30 PM