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april 8, 2013
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student government
Senators plan to uphold veto
Aimee Breaux
of diversity. “Everyone is covered in paint,” Chaudry said. “After a while, you cannot tell who belongs to which race. Everyone looks the same, and we are able to forget our differences.” Hundreds of students smeared color on each other by hugging, making handprints on shirts and shooting toy guns full of colored water. Maggie Curtis, senior marketing major, said she regularly attends. “I’ve been to Holi every year since I started coming to A&M,” she said. “I always love being painted with color, and crowd surfing.” Tables advertising international internships and charities bordered the field. A student branch of Child Rights and You, CRY, a child rights advocacy organization, sold Holi T-shirts
The Battalion fter extensive media attention and controversy, senators said it’s time to put The Religious Exemption Funding Bill to rest. The executive and legislative branches of Student Government Association released a joint statement Friday after Student Body President John Claybrook announced his plan to veto the bill. The press release from Senate speaker Scott Bowen and Claybrook stated that a motion to postpone a veto override by Senate will be made at the April 17 Student Senate meeting — ending discussion on the bill and upholding Claybrook’s veto. The press release itself is unconventional in that it is usually not the Speaker’s place to step in and request no vote be made to override a veto, but Bowen said said in this case the issue is clearly over and the veto would not be overturned. “The [SGA] constitution requires we hold a vote, but there’s not the will on my part to re-litigate this anymore,” Bowen said. “Maybe it is me stepping a little outside my authority and I probably wouldn’t have felt comfortable doing that if it were a closer margin, but realistically it is just not going to work.” Speaker Pro Tempore Mariana Fernandez, senior political science major, said any more litigation would only add fuel to the fire. “I am glad they reached this agreement,” Fernandez said. “[The veto] was obviously not going to be overturned and accepting that is going to
See Holi on page 4
See Veto on page 4
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Matt Wong — THE BATTALION
Students celebrate the arrival of spring with the Holi Festival on Simpson Drill Field. Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, is celebrated with music and the throwing of colorful chalks and paints.
Color craze
Holi festival celebrates cultural diversity Lauren Simcic
Special to The Battalion ed, green, yellow, blue, orange, purple — a frenzy of Aggies colorsplattered from head to toe. Groups of people dancing, wrestling and crowd surfing with friends they had met only 10 minutes before. This is what a passerby might have witnessed Sunday at Simpson Drill Field for the Holi Festival. Holi is an annual event hosted by the Hindu Students Association, India Association and Indian Graduate Student Association. Also known as I-Color, Holi is the second of eight events presented by the International Student Organization as part of International Week. Anuj Chaudhry president and founder of Indian Graduate Student Association said Holi
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offers a sense of freedom. “Holi is a time to go crazy, dance like nobody’s watching, and that’s it,” the electrical engineering doctoral student said. “This is one time when people can act like there are no rules or regulations.” The inspiration for this festival rose out of a religious story involving the Hindu goddess Holika who is said to have burned up when the forces of good triumphed over evil. Veena Pawate, senior biology major and president of Hindu Students Association said over time, the purpose of Holi has changed — making it more inviting to non-Indian cultures. “Holi has turned into a celebration of spring. It is a time to forget about everybody’s background or beliefs,” Pawate said. Chaudry said Holi offers a unique experience
baseball
A&M downs Auburn, 4-1 James Sullivan
The Battalion ollowing a two-week stint as Texas A&M’s Tuesday starter, Rafael Pineda returned to the weekend pitching rotation in Sunday’s match against Auburn, notching a 4-1 victory over the Tigers to prevent a series sweep. The senior pitcher threw seven and twothirds innings, allowing only six hits and one run with three strikeouts. Pineda placed credit to his teammates, noting the group’s ability to bounce back after losses the previous two days. “It was a great game,” Pineda said. “We all grinded as a team. We needed to win. Coach [Brad Childress] told us the other day that our success was going to be determined by how we handled our failures. We didn’t split apart as a team. We all got after it today as a team and did our job.”
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Roger Zhang — THE BATTALION
Senior pitcher Rafael Pineda threw seven and two-thirds innings in the Aggies’ 4-1 home victory over Auburn on Sunday.
campus
A&M (20-13, 6-6) jumped to an early Baseball’s lead over the Tigers, 12th Man as sophomore Blake Allemand helped se- “Olsen Section 203” nior Mikey Reynolds plays a major role score on a sacrifice in A&M baseball’s fly in the first inning. success at Blue Bell Auburn retaliated in Park. Check out pg. the fourth inning, 2 for the full story. knotting the game at 1-1. Minutes later, in the home half of the fourth inning, Allemand led off with a stand-up double. Following two quick outs, sophomore Cole Lankford RBI tripled to bring Allemand home, giving A&M the lead. The Aggies tacked on insurance runs in the sixth and See Pineda on page 2
art
UPD chief retires after 42 years ArtFest winner thanks Luz Moreno-Lozano
The Battalion fter 42 years with the Texas A&M University Police Department, Police Chief Elmer E. Schneider Jr. retired Friday. He began his career with the police department in 1970 as a student dispatcher, not knowing it would turn into a life-long career. “I just was looking to pursue my agriculture degree [when I first started working],” said Schneider, Class of 1971. “This was just a natural progression. I started at a time of growth and it just changed my plans to teach vocational agriculture.” Schneider served in many positions in the department and was appointed chief in 2005. “Your most valuable resource is the human element and that’s what makes this University great,” Schneider said. “I work with a great group of men and women and it’s going to be difficult leaving.” Schneider’s last day of service was Friday. While he said he has no extravagant plans for his retirement, he is planning to spend more time with his family. Schneider gathered with his family, friends and colleagues for a retirement reception in his honor. University President R. Bowen Loftin said at the ceremony on Friday that he and Schneider have much in common. “Elmer [Schneider] and I have two important
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things that we share,” Loftin said. “First of all, we were classmates — we both came here in 1967 as freshmen. Second is that we both share a love for our students. Everything he does is for our students and not to our students.” Christopher Meyer, Elmer Schneider assistant vice president for safety and security, worked closely with Schneider. “Please know we appreciate the sacrifices you made,” Meyer said to Schneider’s family while holding back tears. Mike Ragan was the assistant chief of police under Schneider and will serve as interim chief. In his closing remarks, Schneider thanked those who helped during his time at the department. “I wouldn’t be here without the people who walked before me,” Schneider said. “It all starts with our people — people who I’ve stood with, behind and alongside. I have worked with some of the best men and women at this University and am very proud of that.”
University for nurturing talent
Mackenzie Mullis
The Battalion arah Stimson has called herself an artist since 2011 when she took her first drawing class at A&M, and has since impressed fellow students and professors with her creativity, natural talent and diligence to her craft. The most recent acknowledgement of Stimson’s talent came when she was awarded “Best in Show” for her painting, “Night Self Portrait II” at ArtFest, an annual juried student art contest held by the MSC Visual Arts Committee. Her piece now hangs in the MSC’s Reynolds Student Art Gallery along with the other contestants’ works. Stimson, a senior communications major, said it was nerve wracking
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to offer up such personal work to the eyes of the campus. “I am somewhat nervous to have people see my work,” Stimson said. “All my stuff is pretty personal, others may not interpret or recognize it as being so private. It is like putting my
diary out there. I created this piece with the thought in mind that no one would ever see it which makes it much more honest.” While Stimson is majoring in communication, she is also minoring in art. She credited her professors for See ArtFest on page 4
Aaron Cranford — THE BATTALION
Senior communication major Sarah Stimson stands with her painting, “Night Self Portrait II.”
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