Nov. 30 2009 The Battalion Print

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thebattalion

Volleyball makes NCAA tourney The Texas A&M volleyball team concluded its 2009 fall season with a sweep against Missouri Saturday at Reed Arena. The Aggies (18-6) received an at-large bid Sunday into the Omaha Regional of the NCAA Tournament and will play at 5 p.m. Friday against Arizona.

● monday,

november 30, 2009

● serving

texas a&m since 1893

● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2009 student media

Riding the

Roller coaster

Couple donate $5 million to Corps An anonymous Aggie couple has given $5 million to the Corps of Cadets to endow Corps 21 Scholarships and benefit the Cadets Leadership Excellence Program and Sanders Corps Center. The scholarships provide a yearly $5,000 stipend for four years to recipients chosen for outstanding academic and leadership success. The funds allocated for the Sanders Corps Center will go toward staffing, exhibits, operations and maintenance of the privately funded museum and visitors’ center. The money set aside for the program will meet needs of the cost and operations of the program, such as faculty salaries, seminars and programs. “The Corps of Cadets Leadership Excellence program is designed to help teach leadership skills through the classroom and practical experiences through the Corps,” said Corps of Cadets Director of Development Brian Bishop. The Class of 1953 graduate, who said a scholarship allowed him to attend A&M, gave to encourage participation in the Corps and reduce financial burden. The couple previously donated $450,000 to Texas A&M, funding a Presidential Endowed Scholarship and past Corps 21 Scholarships.

J.D. Swiger — THE BATTALION

Leading the team Texas A&M junior quarterback Jerrod Johnson carries the ball in the Aggies’ 49-39 loss against Texas Thursday at Kyle Field.

Texas 49, A&M 39

Aggies struggle to contain McCoy

We’re heading in the right direction

In the highest scoring game in the rivalry’s history. Texas A&M and Texas traded punches back and forth as the Longhorns narrowly left Kyle Field with their undefeated record intact. Check out the game story at

thebatt.com

W

ow. It’s four days after the fact, and all I can say following Thursday’s 4939 Texas victory over Texas A&M at Kyle Field is, well, wow. Thursday was, without a doubt, this sportswriter’s greatest sporting experience. Ever. It was one of, if not the best game of the entire 2009 college football season. But more than anything, Thursday evening, like A&M’s season, was the ultimate roller coaster ride full of hills, peaks and sudden emotional plummets. When Aggie receiver Jeff Fuller sent an echo through the entire Brazos Valley with the first of his three touchdowns on the third play of scrimmage, it became fairly obvious the Aggies weren’t going to be pushovers for No. 3 Texas. And after 60 minutes, the Aggies proved something to not only their in-state rivals, but also the rest of the country. They proved that, thanks in part to their quarterback, A&M football may be on the brink of restoring the winning tradition that was prevalent throughout the late 1980s and 1990s.

David Harris

Thursday’s game proves A&M is on the brink of restoring the winning tradition Now, let me preface this argument by saying I am not accepting or endorsing loss. The Aggies finished 6-6. They played .500 football against a very mediocre schedule. In the end, the record is all that matters. But it’s something Johnson that quarterback Jerrod Johnson said in the press conference immediately following his epic quarterback duel

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Rolling over No. 22 Minnesota

What’s next

Derrick Roland scored 19 points to lead Texas A&M to a 66-65 victory Sunday over No. 22 Minnesota in the 76 Classic. Nathan Walkup added 11 points while B.J. Holmes and Donald Sloan scored 10 points apiece.

Women at 6 p.m. Wednesday against Stephen F. Austin and men at 8 p.m. Wednesday against Prairie View A&M.

sports | 5

See Column on page 4

Katy Ralston, staff writer

Moon water poses research insights

Former student sues A&M over bad academic advising As a freshman she said she was told to fail courses rather than Q-drop

Melissa Appel The Battalion A former student is suing Texas A&M University in response to misleading academic advising she received. Jennifer Temple, who entered Tex-

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as A&M as a freshman in fall 2007, said the advice of her adviser damaged her grade point ratio and hindered her efforts to continue her education. During her freshman semester, Temple was enrolled in both a calculus course and a computer programming course. Temple said her instructors had difficulty speaking English and were hard to understand. As the semester progressed, her grades dropped, and she considered Q-dropping the two courses. See Suit on page 2

H2O on lunar body a ‘big surprise to most astronomers,’ A&M lecturer says ■

Melissa Appel

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Feral felines The student organization Aggie Feral Cat Alliance of Texas provides care to feral cats on campus.

The Battalion Forty years after space exploration first placed a man on the moon, scientists are still uncovering new insights into the lunar body. A mission by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration fired two spacecraft into the surface of the moon on Nov. 13 and discovered a substantial amount of water in a polar crater. These results followed an experiment

in September when three spacecraft used light spectrum to show evidence of water on the moon surface. The equipment worked by picking up the wavelengths of light reflected by the molecules and matching it to a known water molecule fingerprint of spectrum. This experiment was a joint effort featuring NASA’s Cassini spacecraft and Deep Impact probe alongside India’s Chandrayaan-1 satellite. This information shows possibility and intrigue for scientists in the field. “We used to think that the moon couldn’t possibly have any water, so this finding is a big surprise to most astronomers, including me,” said Texas A&M See Moon on page 2

11/29/09 9:21 PM


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