thebattalion l tuesday,
april 15, 2014
l serving
texas a&m since 1893
l first paper free – additional copies $1 l © 2014 student media
SO LONG,
student government
GENERAL WEBER
VP to leave behind A&M position at month’s end
The Battalion
W
The Battalion
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See Weber on page 3
Jenna Rabel — THE BATTALION
A ‘thank you’ from student leaders “Thank you so much, on behalf of the student body, for your amazing service to the University over the past years and your commitment to students.”
“I would say thank you for your service and your commitment and loyalty to the student body and thank you for personally inspiring me to sign a Marine Corps contract.”
— Reid Joseph, student body president
— Ryan Crawford, head yell leader
“I would just want to say thank you for your service at Texas A&M. It takes a lot of time. Thank you for time and dedication to this University. I wish you the best of luck with your new job and hope that you find success there.” — Will Brooke, MSC president
service
Fish Aides member Brianna Bonilla speaks with custodians prior to a dance competition at the Big Banquet.
Banquet honors work of custodial staff A
BAT_04-15-14_A1.indd 1
faculty senate
Provost: President search duration ‘good sign’ Faculty, legislator differ over gun law
Former intelligence F agents talk spying
Aimee Breaux — THE BATTALION
The Battalion mid the music, food and dancing, hosts of the annual Big Banquet attempted to convey gratitude for custodians on campus — something organizers say students should consider more in their day-to-day lives. This year’s Big Banquet, hosted by the freshman leadership organization Fish Aides, was the largest yet, with 565 custodians invited. In addressing the banquet attend-
See Trial on page 4
The Battalion
The Battalion tudents and visitors caught a glimpse of the complex and deadly world of counterintelligence Monday evening at “Spy Games: The Art of Counterintelligence” as two espionage experts discussed security issues the U.S. faces at home and abroad. James Olson, former chief of counterintelligence at the CIA and senior lecturer at Texas A&M’s Bush School, and Michael Waguespack, former senior counterintelligence executive with the FBI, described how the U.S. faces a threat rarely seen or heard of by the public — spying. “There are friendly countries, but there are no friendly intelligence services,” Olson said. Olson and Waguespack described a world hidden from the public, where countries use sophisticated spy networks to steal U.S. political and technological secrets and to compromise U.S. spy networks abroad. Olson named China, Russia and Cuba as the primary threats in U.S. counterintelligence. “Never in my memory has our country been more in peril at home and abroad than it is right now,” Olson said.
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Aimee Breaux
hat began as an appeal to the Student Government Association’s Judicial Court regarding fair practices in senate morphed into an expedited trial Monday on the legal scope of the judicial branch. The trial was a response to an appeal claiming that Cary Cheshire, Student Senate finance chair, “evaded” requests for a funding hearing, specifically for the hearing where Fish Aides was to present its request for Big Banquet funding, an annual custodian appreciation luncheon. The appeal was authored by student senator Gracie Wood in hopes of obtaining court orders to move the allocation bill regarding Fish Aides to the Student Senate floor Wednesday, the last day that Student Senate may allocate funds. The prosecution argued that Cheshire, because of a personal bias against Fish Aides, made the request for a hearing to appeal for funding for the custodial banquet impossible. In the trial, Wood said Fish Aides did not want to submit the case, but felt there was no other option. Wood cited the appropriation portion of the senate bylaws, which state “the finance committee shall conduct hearings to consider any funding requests.” “We in fact will not receive a hearing without J-Court’s help,” Wood said. “That is against the
Homer Segovia
international
John Rangel
Hosts urge students to thank custodians
J-Court to decide whether to force funding hearing Jennifer Reiley
Kadie McDougald t. Gen. Joe Weber, vice president for Student Affairs, will leave the University later this month to become executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation. Weber, Class of 1972, said Student Affairs deals with everything students do outside of the classroom to set them up for success in the classroom. Whether that means providing students with a state-of-the-art Student Recreation Center or with disability and counseling services, Weber said the estimated 80 percent of time students spend outside of the classroom is a concern for him and his division. “The co-curricular piece is very important to complement the academic piece and that’s what Student Affairs is all about,” Weber said. “There’s another piece to that too. Maybe it’s the old Aggie in me, but it’s the nourishment of our traditions and spirit here that make us really special. The Division of Student Affairs is very involved in that.” Texas Gov. Rick Perry recommended Weber for the position at TxDOT. Weber said with nearly 14,000 employees and a $10 billion budget per year, he soon became interested in taking on the position. “[My friends] described to me that it was a large position and you didn’t have to have an engineering degree to apply for it — they were looking for someone with experience and leadership and it was attractive to me so I applied,” Weber said. “I thought it would be a great challenge to serve the people of the state.” Weber works closely with student leaders, said Reid Joseph, senior industrial distribution major and student body president, which has resulted in a relationship between the two.
Trial questions senator’s actions
ees, student body president Reid Joseph said he could not imagine another group on campus that more embodies the A&M value of selfless service than custodians. “What would this University look like without this group after one day, or what would this University look like after one week? It would not be a nice sight,” Joseph said. “We are so appreciative of what you do on a daily basis. You make this University what it is and are truly a part of the Aggie family.” While the event was hosted by Fish Aides, Garrett Notzon, co-director See Fish Aides on page 2
Jenna Rabel — THE BATTALION
Jim Olson, former CIA chief of counterintelligence, speaks at the Spy Games event hosted by TAMU GENT in Rudder Auditorium Monday. Olson said foreign intelligence agents use a wide variety of covers to seek U.S. intelligence, from business and diplomatic covers to student identities. Olson said the Chinese, for example, have gained access to U.S. nuclear weapons data and sophisticated technology that has allowed them to upgrade their combat aircraft and submarines to levels more advanced than their domestic technology would allow. “Where is the outrage? Where is the demand for action?” Olson said. More at thebatt.com
aculty Senate convened Monday to touch base on a variety of topics ranging from the search for the next University president to the switch from the Zimbra email server to google’s gmail. Provost Karan Watson said it is a good sign that the sworn-to-secrecy search committee is taking a long time to find the ideal candidate. “They have figured out a lot of things about what it takes to find a leader for a campus like this and that it’s better to get it right,” Watson said. Watson said interim University President Mark Hussey has made it clear he is not vying for the position of president. The Faculty Senate legislative affairs and outreach committee reported that a meeting with Texas Rep. John Raney brought to light a disconnect on the issue of gun control. John Coopersmith, associate history professor, said Raney supported concealed carry on campus, but said most faculty senate members are “vehemently opposed.” Coopersmith said faculty members should make their voices heard because the matter concerns their safety. Regarding the University’s transition to the use of Gmail, Watson said professors will be able to choose to stay with Microsoft Exchange or switch to Google Apps for Education. Faculty senators voted for a proposal to allow professional schools to continue using existing plus-minus grading systems, including the recently acquired law school.
4/14/14 10:17 PM