thebattalion battalion ● friday,
march 28, 2014
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2014 student media
MANZIEL MANIA
Clay Koepke: Johnny Football wows at personal pro day
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rom a president to rap music, the sights and sounds of Thursday’s pro day were endless, and if you have ever doubted the circus known as Johnathan “Football” Manziel, you can now stop. Seventy-five officials from 30 NFL teams and one governor, along with former President George H.W. Bush and wife Barbara, poured into the McFerrin Athletic Center to witness the most anticipated pro day in NFL history, and they were not disappointed. Manziel did pro day just as he does everything else — his own way. Manziel put on a passing clinic during his throwing interview for NFL scouts — completing 61 of his 64 passing attempts — stating a strong case for why he should be selected with the No. 1 overall pick in May’s NFL Draft Following his workout,
Manziel’s competitive spirit was displayed as he expressed his disappointment in the missed throws because he was “striving for perfection.” Straying from the typical T-shirt and shorts, Manziel took See Opinion on page 4
(Above left) Former President George H.W. Bush attends Manziel’s pro day Thursday. (Right) Manziel walks with his pro day receivers, which included five former teammates.
Jenna Rabel — THE BATTALION
i-week
technology
Holi fest to splash Simpson with color
Aggies to attend UCLA Hackathon Students to represent A&M at LA Hacks Alexander Nelowet The Battalion
Hindu tradition accessible to people of all cultures
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Katie Canales The Battalion
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impson Drill Field’s large green expanse will be splattered with copious amounts of colorful powdered paint on Sunday when A&M hosts the Hindu tradition of Holi — the Festival of Colors. Rohit Rague, sophomore chemical engineering major, has experienced Holi in India and said the colors used in the festival symbolize the beginning of spring. “You use the dyes from the plants that you’d find in spring,” Rague said. “Each color comes from a different plant. That’s basically where it comes from. It signifies the harvest, similar to Thanksgiving.” Rague said an important characteristic of Holi is the elimination of class divisions. “During Holi, it doesn’t matter if they’re friends or if you just met them that day or something, everyone becomes friends that day,” Rague said. Though Holi was originally a primarily Hindu celebration, Rague said it has been adopted by people of all religious backgrounds. “This is one festival that everyone celebrates — Hindu, Muslim, Christian,” Rague said. “The actual festival is not religious at all. You’re throwing colors at each other. They come and celebrate with you. They don’t care — it’s a big party. There is religious meaning to it, but the big thing is that it’s the arrival of spring.” Neena Johnson, freshman biology major, said it’s normal for religious celebrations like Holi to evolve over time. It’s considered customary to treat Holi as a cultural event either as a substitute or in addition to a religious event, she said. “I’m actually Christian,” Johnson said. “That’s why it was never really instilled in me and my family. Usually if it’s a part of your religion, you have to go out of See Holi on page 3
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Jenna Rabel — THE BATTALION
Senior center Karla Gilbert heads to the bus for Lincoln, Neb., where the Aggies will play in the NCAA Sweet 16.
w. basketball
A&M departs for Lincoln Aggies to take on DePaul in NCAA Sweet 16 Saturday Tyler Stafford The Battalion
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he Texas A&M women’s basketball team left Thursday for Lincoln, Neb., to take on 7-seed DePaul in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division I Tournament. The Aggies won their first two games of the tournament by more than 15 points each game. A trio of sophomore stars — guards Jordan Jones and Courtney Walker and forward Courtney Williams — will lead head coach Gary Blair’s team into the third round. Jones, A&M’s single-season assists record holder with 253, was named to the SEC All-Defensive
Team and was Co-Defensive Player of the Year in the conference. She leads the team with 75 steals — 29 more than the next closest player. Jones leads all players with 13.5 assists per game so far in the tournament. With double-digit scoring efforts in each of her last 11 games — and 29 overall this season — Walker has averaged a teamleading 15.3 points per game and has scored 22 points per game in A&M’s four postseason matchups. After being selected to the SEC All-Freshman Team last season, Walker was named All-SEC First Team for the 2013-14 season. Williams, the Aggies second leading scorer, was named Second Team All-SEC earlier this year. She led all players with 23 points in A&M’s 85-69 victory over James Madison See Tournament on page 4
our Aggies will have 36 hours to show the world what they can do. A group of Texas A&M “hackers” will represent A&M at LA Hacks, a 36-hour hackathon at UCLA from April 11-13. The team will compete against 1,500 from across the country in Pauley Pavilion, the home of the Bruins. Robert Timm, team member and sophomore computer science major, said the team plans to create something groundbreaking that will win prizes at the upcoming hackathon, but said the idea has to stay under wraps until the competition. “Let’s just put it this way — our idea for the LA Hacks is going to change the tech industry forever,” Timm said. “We have devised a product that will revolutionize the way you live and are going to possibly be work-
ing with Kickstarter.” The team of Aggies competed against 25 different teams in Austin at a Facebook-sponsored hackathon, at which they created a web application called KidTag to take home first place. This victory also secured the team an invitation to the Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park to compete in the Facebook Global Hackathon Final in November. Eleni Mijalis, sophomore biology major, said she had never competed in a hackathon before the competition in Austin, but the team used her idea to win the competition. Timm said these events are not all about winning but more about working as a team and having fun while creating something amazing. The time crunch experienced at these events allows participants to showcase their best qualities, Timm said. “At first I thought these events were all about winning,” Timm said “But when you arrive at your first event and sit down and start hashing out a See Hackathon on page 2
Jenna Rabel — THE BATTALION
(From left) Sophomore Walter Pospick, sophomore Eleni Mijalis, junior Robert Timm and sophomore Rafael Moreno prepare for their upcoming hackathon.
3/27/14 9:43 PM