inside Movie reviews of “Tangled” and “Love and Other Drugs” lifestyles | 5 Kyle Cunningham and Beau Holder traveled to the game against UT and recount their experiences in Austin.
sports | 3
thebattalion ● monday,
november 29, 2010
● Serving
Texas A&M since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2008 Student Media
The Return A&M 24, UT 17
Sixth straight win gives Aggies relevance
I J.D. Swiger — THE BATTALION
Junior running back Cyrus Gray became the first Aggie to run for more than 200 yards since 1995. Gray’s 223 yards on 27 carries were the most yards by an A&M running back against Texas in the 117 game history of the rivalry.
It was the completion of a dumbf the Florida founding six-game winning streak, International the anointment of senior “joker” Von Miller as the country’s best win was “The defensive player, the arrival of juComeback,” the nior Cyrus Gray as an upper-echOklahoma State elon running back and the conclusion of the Wrecking Crew’s heartbreaker was as one of the country’s David Harris resurgence “The Giveaway” top-10 defenses. economics major “This game had nothing to do and the Oklahoma and sports editor with Texas,” Head Coach Mike and Nebraska Sherman said. “This win was about maintaining our progression upsets were “The and continuing to win. Coming off the NeStatements,” then Thursday’s braska game, we weren’t focused on beating the Texas Longhorns. We were focused 24-17 victory over Texas must be “The Culmination.” See Culmination on page 2
J.D. Swiger — THE BATTALION
Sophomore receiver Ryan Swope leaps to catch a pass above the outstretched arm of Texas safety Blake Gideon. Swope finished the game with two receptions for 20 yards.
Meagan O’Toole-Pitts — THE BATTALION
College women at risk for date rape
Former student works to reduce veteran suicide Katie White The Battalion Edgar Villarreal says there was a personal pull that brought him to his work. He never went into active service, but his brother is a captain in the Army and his best friend is currently on his second tour of Afghanistan. Villarreal always had an interest in trauma research, but he decided to dedicate his psychology doctoral thesis to research on veteran counseling after working at the Denver Veterans Affairs medical center the summer of his second year. The center specializes in suicide prevention for veterans. Current statistics from the Department of Defense state one soldier currently active in service commits suicide every 36 hours. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 18 veterans commit suicide every day. “When you look at the characteristics of a veteran population and look at the risk factors for suicide, they tend to coincide,” Villarreal said. Villarreal, a former member of the Corps of Cadets, graduated in 2007 but never went into active duty because he decided to attend graduate school in psychology. He said even though he did not go into the service, many of his friends
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from the Corps did and inspired some of his research. “Veterans are at an increased rate for suicide. They are such a complex population to deal with because of all the issues they struggle with,” he said. Villarreal said veterans are at risk for mental illness, particularly because many struggle with trauma and substance abuse. Veterans at risk include both those returning from active duty and those who came home decades ago. “Our field has pretty much established that veterans are at risk for PTSD and traumatic brain injury,” Villarreal said, “which have been identified as signature wounds, the most prevalent, in the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Symptoms from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and traumatic brain injuries can tend to overlap, Villarreal said, which leaves psychologists in a difficult position regarding diagnosis. Traumatic brain injuries are caused by blast injuries occurring when there is a nearby explosion, which causes a change in atmospheric pressure. This change can damage the brain in a way that cannot necessarily be detected in scans. “Some people are starting to hypothesize that the advances in technology in headgear might exacerbate the atmospheric
Rebecca Hutchinson The Battalion
Joshua McKenna — THE BATTALION
This artwork hangs in the Pavillion in the Veterans Services office, which handles financial aid for veterans. change,” Villarreal said. This could mean that advances in technology to help prevent shrapnel from injuring a soldier could cause as much damage, if not more, internally. “From the brain injury side of the house, symptoms include loss of memory, inability to concentrate and depending on what size of the brain is affected, ability to control mood,” Villarreal said. “PTSD symptoms include hyper-arousal and startled response. Furthermore,
if they have suffered from a traumatic brain injury, altered brain function may not allow them to deal with the trauma, may make PTSD worse.” Veterans with PTSD and traumatic brain injury are more likely to be suicidal, Villarreal said, so his research focuses on finding the symptoms of suicidal veterans. His research will help identify signals of a suffering veteran to improve the See Veterans on page 4
College-aged females are the highest demographic for victims of sexual assault, but the majority of them are afraid to report the incident, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. In Texas, one out of five women and one out of 20 men are victims of sexual assault, but only 20 percent of victims report it, according to the Texas Association against Sexual Assault. The ‘Date Safe Project’ helps to educate students and faculty on how to prevent and deal with issues pertaining to sexual assault. “It has always been an issue, but in the past two decades people have really come out and started talking about it. We still have a long way to go but more and more people are talking,” said Mike Domitrz, founder and executive director of the Date Safe Project organization. Domitrz started this program in college after he learned his sister was raped. It was an experience that made him aware of the lack of available resources. The Date Safe Project, Inc. produces and publishes educational materials and programs that address topics such as how to ask for consent, bystander intervention in alcohol-facilitated sexual assaults and how to properly support survivors
Need help? ◗ The Student Counseling Services HelpLine can be reached at 979-845-2700. of sexual assault. Traveling to about 80 cities in North America per year, 60 college campuses and about 30 to 40 high schools, middle schools and military academies, Date Safe, Inc. presents “Can I Kiss You,” designed for students and “Going All the Way … With Sensitive Issues on Campus,” for faculty, staff and educators. “Can I Kiss You” is a one hour show performed by student volunteers who role-play verbal communication during intimacy. “Hardly anyone asks for a kiss, because they think it’s dorky and will ruin the moment, but when they see the show they realize it’s a lot more romantic and easier to know what you want and what the other person wants. It takes out the guessing and the games,” Domitrz said. A number of female students interviewed said the fear of being raped is often in the back of their minds when men give them unwanted attention while walking alone at night or when they are out with friends. One student, whose name is being withheld, refuses to file a police report because she does See Safety on page 4
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