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Savannah Mehrtens — THE BATTALION

Oriana Koot will serve as MSC president for the 2019-2020 school year.

Unifying the MSC Next president sets sights on creating home for all Aggies

Meredith Seaver — THE BATTALION

U.S. Secretery of State Mike Pompeo speaks with political science junior and MSC Wiley Lecture Series Chair John Petroff Monday evening at an event in Rudder Auditorium. Pompeo discussed U.S. foreign policy and fielded questions from the audience.

Secretary of State visits Aggieland Pompeo talks diplomacy at Wiley lecture, reviews Corps of Cadets

By Savannah Mehrtens @SJMehrtens

By Jordan Burnham @RJordanBurnham

Incoming Memorial Student Center President Oriana Koot, biomedical science and psychology sophomore, will lead the 70th MSC executive team for the 2019-2020 school year. Koot started as an MSC officer at the beginning of her sophomore year as chair of the MSC Fall Leadership Conference. She spent her freshman year in MSC Aggie Leaders of Tomorrow, where she served as a staff member. Koot is a first-generation college student and said she found a home through her Freshman Leadership Organization, which eventually led to her new role as MSC President. Among other goals, Koot aims to help unify the 19 committees housed within the MSC and make the executive staff more approachable. Koot said she views herself as someone who can unite students in the MSC by bringing together different committees with diverse missions. “There’s around 1,300 MSC members in the 19 different committees, and each of the committees are so different and have such different mission statements,” Koot said. “I see my role as a person to unite those and bring all those different people together under the same MSC umbrella and really kind of give them a purpose to be in the MSC and see that bigger picture.” Now preparing for her role as a prominent student leader, Koot said the MSC remains a welcoming place for all students. For those who are not on a committee, Koot said events like this year’s performance by actor and comedian Hasan Minhaj present another opportunity for the MSC to offer representation and a sense of community. “We’re somewhere students can come to and just really feel like they have a home, really feel like they belong in one of the 19 different committees we have,” Koot said. “We also put on different programs to allow the students who might not be in the MSC to still feel like they are a part of A&M’s campus.” As she transitions into her new role, Koot said she is looking up to business honors senior and current MSC President Taylor Welch, as well as the entire MSC executive staff. “I never thought I would be able to be the MSC President, especially now, but they really believed in me, and they really encouraged me to go for it and saw something in me that I didn’t see,” Koot said. “Taylor Welch has helped me, since I got the position and even

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Texas A&M Monday evening to speak to students at an event organized by the MSC Wiley Lecture Series. Pompeo, who served as director of the CIA before his current appointment, ex-

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pressed the importance of American diplomacy and spoke about several important international policy issues on the world stage. After the lecture, Pompeo visited the gravesite of Barbara and George H.W. Bush and the Corps of Cadets conducted a marchin review, in which cadets marched across the Quad into Duncan Dining Hall, saluting Pompeo and Corps Commandant Brig. Gen. Joe Ramirez. In the first moments of Pompeo’s lecture in Rudder Auditorium, two attendees, one of whom was dressed in military uniform,

stood and began to speak to Pompeo, who continued to talk over the protesters until they sat down. As Pompeo continued to talk, he urged the crowd to join the diplomacy sector, saying it makes a difference in the lives of all Americans. “Diplomacy and military strike go hand in hand,” Pompeo said. “They are indeed intimately related; each relies on the other.” On April 8, the Trump administration, led by the State Department, declared Iran’s POMPEO ON PG. 4

Graphic by Nic Tan — THE BATTALION

The number of non-medical vaccine exemptions has risen from less than 5,000 in 2003 to nearly 45,000 in 2015.

Vaccine refusal drives measles outbreak Infected Chuy’s customer may have spread disease to College Station By Luis Sanchez @LuisSanchezBatt Customers who visited Chuy’s in College Station on March 29 are advised to continue checking for measles symptoms until Sunday, according to the Indiana State Department of Health. On March 29, a person from Indiana who

had the disease went to the restaurant on Harvey Road, potentially infecting others. As of April 5, there have been 15 confirmed cases of measles in Texas. Also known as rubeola, the measles is described by the Texas Department of State Health Services as “a highly contagious respiratory illness spread by contact with an infected person through coughing and sneezing.” By increasing MMR vaccinations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were able to eliminate measles in 2000, meaning there was more than a year without contin-

uous disease transmission. However, Arizona, California, Kentucky, New York, Oregon and Washington are just some of the states that have reported cases this year. Alistair McGregor, associate professor of microbial pathogenesis and immunology, said there has been a notable increase in reported cases of measles in the country. “Nationally, in the U.S, the trend is obviously upwards,” McGregor said. “And it’s MEASLES ON PG. 4

Camping out for Krispy Kreme Doughnut chain opens first shop in B-CS, offers prizes to first customers By Shreya Rao @Shreyarao_

Kaylee Cogbill — THE BATTALION

Krispy Kreme opened its College Station location at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

Students and community members camped out on Monday night to get a taste of College Station’s newest doughnut shop and a chance to win free doughnuts for a year. Krispy Kreme opened the doors of its College Station location at 6 a.m. on Tuesday. A campout was held the night before where guests could enjoy food, games and a DJ from 5 p.m to 9 p.m. Public health senior Myrian Anuna said her roommate rented a tent from Texas A&M’s Student Recreation Center and camped outside with her starting at 5:30 p.m on Monday.

“I’ve always been a Krispy Kreme customer, but the last time I had a Krispy Kreme doughnut was in Houston,” Anuna said. “I had the first one about 30 minutes away from our house, and after I tried the first doughnut, I’ve been a huge fan, especially compared to Shipley Do-nuts.” Approximately 140 people stood in a line that wrapped around the building. The store gave wristbands to the first 100 guests that arrived at the campout, allowing them to claim a t-shirt and free donuts at the grand opening. The first guest received a punch card allowing them to receive a dozen original glazed doughnuts for free each week for a year. The next 99 guests received a punch card allowing them to receive a dozen each month for a year. Guests who were not in the first 100 received a coupon for one free doughnut. KRISPY KREME ON PG.3