The Battalion - February 24, 2021

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2021 STUDENT MEDIA

T E A D G I U D I N D A E C

FRAWLEY

F E L DM A N

MARTIN

Online voting will be open at vote.tamu.edu from Thursday, Feb. 25 at 9 a.m. until Friday, Feb. 26 at 12 p.m.

N E WS O M

RYAN

Photo courtesy of AR Photography

PARKS

JUNIOR YELL SENIOR YELL CROSS

KNECHT

Photos by William Nye Candidate profiles by Julia Potts and Bec Morris Quotes in this package have been edited for length and clarity.

ARD

FERGUSON

JOHNSON

SALINAS

SBPCANDIDATES

2

The Battalion | 2.24.21

MATT

BLAKE

RYAN BUSINESS JUNIOR from Friendswood, TX

POLITICAL SCIENCE JUNIOR

WHAT QUALIFIES YOU FOR THIS POSITION?

from Fort Worth, TX

I served as the freshman and sophomore class president, and the reason I didn’t serve as the junior class president ... [was] because I was supposed to be doing a study abroad in Ireland. I have that experience as the president of the Class of 2022 of working with traditions [and] working with other organizations to help the university be the best it can be. Secondly, I’m a member of the Corps of Cadets, which is not only a military organization, but also a leadership organization. I have learned a lot by helping [freshmen].

Last year as a sophomore, you sort of have a direct relationship with the freshmen. So, I got to see my freshmen grow ... from a high school student to a college student and how they really transformed. You have that one-on-one relationship that’s really helpful.

WHAT IS YOUR PLATFORM? My platform is really about promoting unity at Texas A&M. I want to develop one unified Aggie family. Secondly, I want to promote mental health and how students can gain access to the resources they need. And finally, I really want to focus on traditions and bringing the Spirit of Aggieland back to its prime, and to promote and preserve those traditions we have.

IF YOU COULD HAVE DINNER WITH ANYONE, WHO WOULD IT BE? Probably Matt Damon. Matt Damon is my favorite actor, my favorite movie is “Good Will Hunting,” and he’s the lead actor there. It’s just such a great movie. I just want to ask him about his life’s story, because he ended up writing the movie himself, him and Ben Affleck, and they made it so great. And he just seems like a cool dude. I saw “The Martian,” he just seems so funny, and I would love to get to know him and see what he’s like.

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MARTIN

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WHAT QUALIFIES YOU FOR THIS POSITION? For all the students who are interested in voting for me: I’m experienced. I’m on [the] third brigade staff in the Corps of Cadets, I’ve held leadership positions in multiple organizations on campus. I’ve been a student senator, and I’ve really fought for student issues. We may differ on certain opinions. I’m certain that is something that we can have passionate debates over, but there’s nobody who’s stronger in fighting for student voices and I will bring that to the forefront of this campaign. If I’m elected student body president, I will put the students’ voices first and try to work with those people with whom we disagree sometimes. I think that there’s nobody stronger on that front for student body president.

WHAT IS YOUR PLATFORM? There are three main issues that I’d like to talk about: tradition, transparency and efficiency. Tradition is obviously the most important thing about being Aggies. It’s something that unites us — the values that we have at this university and the Core Values, such as excellence, integrity, leadership, loyalty, respect and selfless service … The second point that I’d like to bring up is transparency. I think obviously as students, we have a lot going on right now, and this year has been really tough with COVID-19 and everything. I’d like to start monthly town halls where students could come and speak with their candidates, with the student body president … Efficiency is one of the big ones to me. Having really good transportation is something I’d like to see. We’ve made improvements, but I’d like to continue to improve on this. Mental health is a big one right now as we come out of COVID-19, partnering with the community health centers out in Bryan-College Station, as well as giving CAPS the resources that they need to improve mental health conditions on campus.

IF YOU COULD HAVE DINNER WITH ANYONE, WHO WOULD IT BE? Since we are at A&M, James Earl Rudder. Rudder was, I would say, the greatest Aggie of all time. He’s someone who I look up to. He was a statesman, he was a war hero, and he also changed this university for the better, bringing in a wide array of people, people who weren’t just in the Corps but plenty of people, women [and] minorities as well. Bringing just a vibrant community that not only just reflects this university but reflects our country abroad. I think listening to him, his leadership skills, listening to all he could bring to the table, as an Aggie, that’s something that I would love to hear.

Full candidate profiles are available on thebatt.com including video recordings of each candidate’s interview.

Chase Newsom did not respond to interview requests, but will still be on the ballot as a candidate for student body president.

SBPCANDIDATES

3

The Battalion | 2.24.21

NATALIE

PARKS COMMUNICATION JUNIOR from Denton, TX

WHAT QUALIFIES YOU FOR THIS POSITION? I have been really involved on campus in my time here. Selfless service is my favorite Aggie Core Value, and I tried to make that known in everything that I do. From the second I set foot on campus, I knew I wanted to get involved. I started by joining a [Freshman Leadership Organization]. I was in Fish Council, which is the representative body of the freshman class so that’s an extension of Class Councils, so I’ve been in that since the beginning. I currently serve as the junior class president, which is my favorite thing that I’ve ever been able to do here, but also very involved in the Greek life side of things. I’m in a sorority, Kappa Delta specifically, where I served on the leadership council as the vice president of community service. Currently I’m serving as the executive vice president of Panhellenic, which is the governing body of sororities.

WHAT IS YOUR PLATFORM? My platform is built off the premise of creating a TAMU by You. After a long research period of figuring that stuff out behind the scenes, I narrowed everything down to three platform pillars, which are wellness, because wellness influences student success; inclusion, because I want to make it known that everybody has a place in Aggieland; and finally, tradition, because tradition is what connects us to the Aggie Spirit but also each other. All those things combined and all the action items beneath those pillars — because that’s also something that is super important to me is choosing platform pieces that are actually possible — so all of those just combine to create the TAMU by You vision.

IF YOU COULD HAVE DINNER WITH ANYONE, WHO WOULD IT BE? James Earl Rudder, the one and only, because without him, I would not be sitting here in front of you today. He helped to integrate Texas A&M from an all-male military school to having women and people of color and just contributed to creating the diverse community that we have on campus here today.

DOLLAR DAYS

SBPCANDIDATES

4

The Battalion | 2.24.21

CHARLIE

JOSH

FELDMAN FRAWLEY BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION JUNIOR

PUBLIC MANAGEMENT 3+2 JUNIOR from Fairview, TX

from College Station, TX

WHAT QUALIFIES YOU FOR THIS POSITION?

WHAT QUALIFIES YOU FOR THIS POSITION?

Being legislative relations chair for the Texas A&M Student Senate and a two-term senator already, I have a lot of experience with [Student Government Association]. I was on numerous selection committees, I’m on the current VP of Student Affairs Oversight committee, as well as a VP for [Interfraternity Council] executive board for two years now and also in different organizations, whether it’s as treasurer for [Order of] Omega and my past. I was an intern for over a year and a half for a congressman, so I have a lot of legislative experience, and I was an actor for around 8-9 years. I had a lot of public speaking, I have a lot of experience running my own business and running organizations as well as planning events.

I am very thankful for a variety of experiences that have grown me as a leader and helped me see areas for improvement and things of that nature that would help me in this role. Some of those experiences here at A&M, especially ones that have an emphasis on service, would include serving as a roll call coordinator for the Aggie Muster committee, serving as a co-director of development for the MSC Abbott Family Leadership Conference, serving as a[n] Impact counselor, as a mentor with Big Brothers, Big Sisters of the Brazos Valley and then serving as … Rec Sports coordinator for the Student Services Committee on the executive branch. Throughout [those] experiences, I have definitely learned what great leadership looks like, and I’ve also been able to [learn] from people’s mistakes, including my own.

WHAT IS YOUR PLATFORM?

WHAT IS YOUR PLATFORM?

Honor the Past is look at the traditions, look at what’s worked, look at exactly how we have grown in the past and make sure that we stay true to that. Adapt to the Present is look at the current challenges, look at what’s working, look at what’s not working, whether that’s ensuring diversity and inclusion is a major political point, whether that’s making sure organizational outreach is a big point, [graduate] student outreach is a huge point. Build for the Future is instituting that vice president [of engagement] role, making sure organizations are involved and creating initiatives to really focus in on each different organization to make sure they’re included and really building communication up.

IF YOU COULD HAVE DINNER WITH ANYONE, WHO WOULD IT BE?

Charlie Chaplin. He has a speech in the climax of [“The Great Dictator”] that talks about hate. As a Jewish person that was formerly very involved in film, that spoke to me. He speaks about how hate is growing and how we can’t give into the hate in our lives and that we need to grow to be bigger, stronger, more emotional, better people.

My campaign platform focuses on three [areas] that I think we, as Aggies, have done a great job at making progress in, but I think that there is also room for improvement as well; the first one being access to mental health support, the second being allocation of resources for all Aggies and the third being advancement in service. With all three of these areas, I would like to take advantage of and increase awareness of the opportunities that we already have and look for ways to expand in areas that would be helpful.

IF YOU COULD HAVE DINNER WITH ANYONE, WHO WOULD IT BE?

I think if I could have dinner with anyone, it would be my late great grandpa. His name was Charles Lamb, but his nickname was ‘Cordero.’ He passed away, unfortunately, before I was born, but my dad has told me so many different stories about him and just how much of an influence he had on my dad, which means that he indirectly had a great influence on me. And so, I would love to get to know him, to learn more about, like, where my family came from and just get to enjoy his presence and whatnot.

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YELLLEADER

5

The Battalion | 2.24.21

JUNIOR YELL CANDIDATES ZAC

CROSS CONSTRUCTION SCIENCE SOPHOMORE

Favorite yell?

“Farmers Fight”

Favorite Aggie tradition?

Singing the War Hymn

Favorite thing about Aggieland?

The sense of family

Why do you want to be a Yell Leader?

I want to be a Yell Leader because I want to be able to give back to the university that’s given so much to me. Being a Yell Leader is a great way to share that sense of family that I found here.

Tell us a joke!

Q: What do you call a quiet, Hawaiian laugh?

A: A low ha.

KIPP

KNECHT INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING SOPHOMORE

Favorite yell?

“15 for Team, Farmers Fight, Call it a Night”

Favorite Aggie tradition?

Why do you want to be a Yell Leader?

Saying “Howdy!”

I want to be a Yell Leader because when I first came to A&M I didn’t know anything about it, and I felt kind of lost. Then the first time I ever really felt like part of the Aggie family [was] when the Yell Leaders came out and led yells and stuff, so I want to give that same feeling to other kids.

Favorite thing about Aggieland?

The Aggies

Tell us a joke!

Q: Why did the chicken fall into the well?

A: Because he could not see that well.

Know t

h out. ac

igns. R s e e h

NOT ANOTHER

AGGIE tx.ag/suicidepreventiontraining

YELLLEADER

6

The Battalion | 2.24.21

SENIOR YELL CANDIDATES JONES

ARD

BIOLOGICAL AND AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING JUNIOR Favorite yell?

Why do you want to be a Yell Leader?

I want to be a Yell Leader because, as a first generation Aggie, I’ve kind of fallen in love with the school on my own accord. Knowing what that experience is like, I’ve really grown to love the school, and I just want to share that experience with every single Aggie that’s gone through. That’s what this whole journey is about — being able to share it with other students and lead by example.

“Aggies”

Favorite Aggie tradition?

Muster

Favorite thing about Aggieland?

The family community

Tell us a joke!

Probably the most well-known joke right now is the College Football Playoff committee.

NOAH

FERGUSON INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING JUNIOR Favorite thing about Aggieland?

Why do you want to be a Yell Leader?

I want to be a Yell Leader to give back and serve the university that has given me so much, and to pour myself out, and to give so freely [my] time, energy and passion to the love of my fellow man and the spirit that I hold so dear.

Favorite yell?

“Sit Down Bus Driver”

Core Values and the family feeling

Tell us a joke!

So, a guy walks into a pet store and he asks the guy at the counter, “Hey man, can I buy a fish?”

Guy at the counter says,“Yeah, sure. Do you want an aquarium, too?” And the guy buying the fish says,“Nah, the star sign of the fish doesn’t matter.”

Favorite Aggie tradition?

Silver Taps

WOODS

JOHNSON GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SCIENCE JUNIOR Favorite Aggie tradition?

Why do you want to be a Yell Leader?

I want to be a Yell Leader in order to give back to the university that’s given me a lot; given me a home away from home. Just to be able to serve, that just means so much at the highest level. And then to make people smile or make their day better, just from interacting with them just means a lot.

It would be a huge opportunity in order to serve in that role.

Favorite yell?

“Beat the Hell”

MEMO

SALINAS AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS JUNIOR

Favorite Aggie tradition?

Why do you want to be a Yell Leader?

I love Texas A&M a whole lot. I’ve dreamt of being a Yell Leader, but wanting to be a Yell Leader and actually doing the work are two completely different things. And this year ... having the challenges of a COVID[-19] year and still being able to fight through that and serve A&M, I can’t imagine what we can do with the group that we have.

Favorite yell?

“Beat the Hell”

Muster

Favorite thing about Aggieland?

How the family feeling makes the university seem small

Tell us a joke!

Q: How do ducks fly?

A: They just wing it.

Bonfire Remembrance

Favorite thing about Aggieland?

The traditions

Tell us a joke!

Q: What’s the best thing about Switzerland?

A: I don’t know, but the flag’s a big plus.

NEWS

7

The Battalion | 2.24.21

LET’S BE FRIENDS

THE BATTALION

@THEBATTONLINE

William Nye — THE BATTALION

@THEBATTONLINE

BATTALION MULTIMEDIA

The Texas A&M Student Government Association hosted a student body president panel on Feb. 22 via Facebook Live.

Diversity, tradition, mental health key topics at SBP panel Five student body president candidates gather for debate

By Brady Stone @bradystonex

Brady Stone, Editor-in-Chief Myranda Campanella, Managing Editor Julia Potts, News Editor Bec Morris, News Editor Hannah Underwood, Sports Editor Jennifer Streeter, Asst. Sports Editor Casey Stavenhagen, Asst. Sports Editor Shelby McVey, Life & Arts Editor Jessica Le, Asst. Life & Arts Editor Amina Butt, Maroon Life Editor

Joshua Howell, Opinion Editor Caleb Powell, Asst. Opinion Editor Will Nye, Photo Chief Abbey Santoro, Asst. Photo Chief Mitchell Beddingfield, Multimedia Editor Annie Wells, Multimedia Editor Cori Eckert, Design Editor

THE BATTALION is published Thursdays during the 2021 sprint semester (except University holidays and exam periods) at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. Offices are in Suite L400 of the Memorial Student Center.

News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in Student Media,a unit of the Division of StudentAffairs.Newsroom phone: 979-845-3315; E-mail: editor@thebatt.com; website: http://www.thebatt.com.

Advertising: Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by The Battalion. For campus, local, and national display advertising call 979-845-2687. For classified advertising, call 979-845-0569. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Email: battads@thebatt.com.

Subscriptions: A part of the University Advancement Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pick up a single copy of The Battalion. First copy free, additional copies $1.

Five candidates for 2021-2022 student body president appeared virtually on Feb. 22 at the SBP Panel hosted by the Student Government Association’s Election Commission.

Moderated by Angela Winkler, assistant director of Student Life, the debate consisted of opening statements, two rounds of questions — one with student-submitted questions and one with questions from other candidates — and closing statements. Candidates present at the panel included Matt Ryan, Josh Feldman, Blake Martin, Charlie Frawley and Natalie Parks. SBP candidate Chase Newsom was not present at the event, but remains on the ballot, Election Commissioner Cara Maxwell said.

To start the evening, each candidate gave opening remarks introducing themselves and their platforms and highlighting issues they would like to address if elected.

Business junior Matt Ryan’s experiences as freshman class president and in the Corps of Cadets are what he said sparked his love for A&M and inspired him to run for SBP. “What differentiates me from previous student body presidents is that I’m willing to work hard every single day,” Ryan said. “I think that together we can work and reach out to more stu-

dents across campus and we can work with more organizations. The students are what give this university life.

Through my campaign, we will work together with a lot of student organizations to create an inclusive and great place for all Aggies to have their opinions heard, [so] we can work together to make A&M a better place as well.”

Business management junior Charlie Frawley, a second-generation Aggie, said his path to campaigning for SBP was a direct result of how well he was treated upon arriving in Aggieland.

“Whenever I set foot on campus, I could not have imagined the type of impact that the Aggie Spirit would have on me,” Frawley said. “Because I was served so well, I seek to serve the student body in any way that I can.”

Frawley underlined access to mental health care, the allocation of resources to all students and advancements in service as the key focus areas of his campaign.

Throughout the debate, several candidates stressed the importance of university mental health services, Aggie traditions and diversity, equity and inclusion as subjects that should be preserved and improved upon.

On the topic of diversity, equity and inclusion, public management 3+2 student Josh Feldman said as SBP he would work to involve minority populations and graduate students in his decision-making.

“We need to create a larger commission with minority voices to give them a seat at the table,” Feldman said. “I

think the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission is a step in the right direction. Now, we need to create actionable differences, and the first step is to give people a seat at the table.”

Political science junior Blake Martin said if he is elected SBP, on day one, he will work with university administration to develop a course on the history of A&M that would be required for all freshman students.

“If we do this, this is one way we can solve the tradition problem and the identity problem,” Martin said. “We do not know who we are as a school right now, and we need to return to those Core Values. It would give [students] a sense of belonging, [and] it would give them a sense of history at this school.”

Communication junior Natalie Parks said she would begin working to develop a “TAMU by You” as SBP. If elected, Parks will be the fifth female student body president in the A&M Student Government Association’s 74year history. “[My campaign] envisions a campus that is made better because of you and your ideas,” Parks said. “My platform has been shaped by the input of real student voices, [and] our vision is based on action items pertaining to pillars of wellness, inclusion and tradition. From enhancing tradition outreach and education, to prioritizing our mental health as college students, to even providing more inclusive food options on campus, my vision will create a TAMU that is better for us as students.”

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NEWS

8

The Battalion | 2.24.21

‘Once-in-a-generation’

Rare snowstorm leaves many Texans without access to electricity, water

By Aubrey Vogel @aubrey_vogel

Last week’s winter weather was record-breaking for both the Bryan-College Station area and the entire state of Texas.

Between the heavy precipitation and freezing temperatures, meteorologists are calling it a once-in-a-lifetime weather event. When the snow came through late on Valentine’s Day, all 254 counties in Texas had a winter storm warning — a first for the state. However, that feat is not the only record that was broken in Texas, as many places reached record low temperatures.

With a thick blanket of snow and single-digit temperatures, this phenomenon was something many locals and Texas A&M students have never experienced. KBTX chief weatherperson and A&M lecturer Shel Winkley said this was “the coldest weather we have seen since the late 1980s” in the Bryan-College Station area.

“More locally, we had winter warnings in effect for the Brazos Valley that had never been issued before, and that was because we had wind chills below zero and that was historic in itself,” Winkley said.

Although the Jan. 15 snow was hard to measure due to the high winds, Winkley said KBTX is estimating that the average accumulation in the area was three to five inches over the various storms. However, there were snow drifts that were anywhere from seven to nine inches.

Winkley said KBTX is researching the record for the most snow in one year to determine if these winter storms have surpassed that mark, as it is very uncommon for the area to have multiple snowfalls in one year.

“That is probably the most snow we have seen in one year in quite some time, if not ever,” Winkley said.

With the storms, Texas has seen both electricity problems and damaged pipes due to energy overload and freezing temperatures.

These carried on throughout last week with 69,000 Texans without power through Jan. 20, demonstrating how impactful this storm

Valen Cepak — THE BATTALION

Historic low temperatures and severe winter weather caused week-long power outages for many Texans.

was on people in Texas.

“This was a once-in-a-generation storm. It was part of the polar vortex breaking free. We had a big warm high that was sitting basically on top of the north pole,” Winkley said.

“While it seems counterintuitive that this goes along with climate change and global warming — extreme weather events like this — there is still cold in the world, so extreme

weather events like this are caused by climate change. It has happened before, and it will happen again.”

As the storms begin to subside, both Gov. Greg Abbott and President Joe Biden are beginning to declare disasters for damages within the state while some are looking for assistance to help with problems that were caused by the snow. In a Feb. 20 statement from the White

House, Biden lists the assistance and funding that is available to those affected by the storm.

“Yesterday, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the state of Texas and ordered federal assistance to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe winter storms beginning on Feb. 11, 2021, and continuing,” the statement reads.

Yell Leader candidates share platforms at SGA panel

William Nye — THE BATTALION

The Texas A&M Student Government Association hosted a Yell Leader panel on Feb. 25 in which three of this year’s six candidates attended.

Yell Leader candidates discuss Aggie traditions, plans for position if elected

By Bec Morris @BecMorris With student elections opening Thursday, Feb. 25, the Student Government Association’s Election Commission held an online panel discussion for this year’s Yell Leader candidates.

The panel, which took place via a Facebook Live stream on Feb. 22, began with a statement by Election Commissioner and sophomore Cara Maxwell, followed by candidate introductions and two rounds of student-submitted questions presented by the moderator, assistant director of Student Life Angela Winkler.

Two of the candidates, junior Memo Salinas and sophomore Zachary Cross, are members of the Corps of Cadets’ Five for Yell cam-

paign. Junior Jones Ard, the third individual in attendance, is running independently for the position of senior Yell Leader. The other three 5 for Yell candidates, juniors Woods Johnson and Noah Ferguson and sophomore Kipp Knecht, elected not to participate.

Ard gave his introduction and a brief platform statement before he had to leave the panel due to prior arrangements. As an independent candidate, Ard is hoping to become a Yell Leader so he can spread the Aggie Spirit to all students on campus.

“As a first generation Aggie, I was able to fall in love with this university all on my own and really experience the whole process,” Ard said. “I want to share that with every single student that’s currently here and coming in.

One thing I want to emphasize in my campaign is that I know how much the Aggie experience has meant to me, and I want to share that with every single student at this university, of all diverse backgrounds, Corps

or non-reg.”

Salinas, who is currently a junior Yell Leader and member of Squadron 17, said he feels humbled to connect with those on campus and hopes to continue spreading the Aggie experience through everyday interactions with kids, fans and current and former students.

“I have the honor and privilege of serving as the first Hispanic Yell Leader at A&M. It means so much to other people to see that I have that ability to inspire somebody coming to A&M who may be Hispanic or whatever they may be,” Salinas said. “Getting to serve this past year in an unprecedented time, I think we did a great job of promoting and perpetuating the Aggie Spirit and tradition in a time that was very tough. Being able to see how we could adapt and overcome, and still continue to do our job ... I have full confidence we can accomplish anything.”

For Cross, a fireteam leader in Company H-1, being a Yell Leader would allow him

to give back to the university that gave him a family. He said he hopes to accomplish this through selfless service and bridging the gap between students and athletes, connecting them as people and fellow Aggies instead of distant figures entertaining fans.

“As a first-generation Aggie, I came here not really knowing what I was getting myself into, and I just really found a family here,” Cross said. “Selfless service is the most important [Core Value] because selfless service really embodies who an Aggie is. With this whole freeze that happened, I think this was perfectly shown this past week, with all the Aggies out there helping each other. Being in the Corps of Cadets, I learned that giving yourself to others, not only are you helping them out, but you’re ... just really making, not only yourself better but the world, too.”

Students can vote for junior and senior Yell Leaders at vote.tamu.edu on Thursday, Feb. 25 and Friday, Feb. 26.

OPINION

9

The Battalion | 2.24.21

OPINION

Creative Commons

Opinion writer Zach Freeman discusses how Texas politicians need to be held responsible for the power outages that occurred across Texas.

Wind turbines aren’t the problem, Texas politicians are Opinion writer Zach Freeman discusses how Texas politicians have used wind power as a scapegoat and need to take accountability Zach Freeman @ZachAtBatt

T

hroughout the last week, I have dealt with the rolling blackouts which plagued most of the state.

My power cycled on and off at one- to two-hour intervals for several days, and many Texans had it even worse. Some residents were without power for days. Near my hometown of Azle, temperatures got as low as negative two degrees on Tuesday morning.

Understandably, people wanted answers to why these outages were happening. Some of the first to point fingers were Texas politicians. Rep. Dan Crenshaw and Gov. Greg Abbott both attributed Texas’s power failures to frozen wind turbines. In a Fox News interview on Feb. 16, Abbott stated, “This [situation] shows how the Green New Deal would be a deadly deal for the United States of America,” blaming wind and solar power specifically.

Media figures like Tucker Carlson were also quick to jump on the bandwagon, and misinformation spread quickly. I first heard people were blaming wind energy when my dad claimed a DFW energy company, Tri-County

Electric, was telling customers on Facebook that frozen turbines were at fault.

In reality, wind power has proven to be just as effective for cold-weather energy production as other sources.

Southwest Power Pool manages electricity for most of the central United States and discovered wind energy was the only source that outperformed their expectations during the winter storm. Wind turbines in the Arctic circle and Antarctica prove that with proper management, they can produce energy at conditions below negative 30 degrees Fahrenheit.

The most important factor is that wind energy makes up as little as 7 percent of Texas’s energy capacity during winter.

Natural gas and other fossil fuels provide 80 percent of our expected energy capacity in winter months. This dependence on natural gas became an issue when more than half of our natural gas energy production went offline during the winter storm.

Natural gas, in and of itself, is not to blame. The real culprit is our state’s lack of winterization procedures. Texas has simply never put in the money or effort necessary for energy production during extreme winters.

It seems our politicians are happy to use renewables as a scapegoat. This misdirection protects their fossil fuel

interests while actually doing nothing to fix our problems.

Our electrical grid’s unpreparedness for severe winter weather is not a new phenomenon. Texas experienced similar winter blackout events in 1989 and 2011. Little was done to correct these issues, and recommendations to winterize our grid were largely ignored.

Like many, I was originally ready to throw the book at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Although they have their share of the blame, they can only work with what they’ve been given. There is a perfect storm of issues surrounding Texas’s strange, isolated electrical grid. The driving force behind it is a lack of accountability and decades of neglect.

This winter storm caught our politicians with their pants down. Instead of owning up, they’ve decided that wind energy and faceless acronyms make better bagholders.

As millions were forced to look at the empty skyscrapers shining above their darkened homes, our leaders were generating nothing but excuses. Texans suffered through below freezing conditions, with limited access to food and clean drinking water, while Ted Cruz was flying to Cancun. They tell us we’re not entitled to anything from them or

the electric services we pay for.

Those like Rick Perry, former Texas governor and current board member for Dallas-based company Energy Transfer, have stood as pillars of apathy in these trying times. Speaking on our behalf, Perry said, “Texans would be without electricity for longer than three days to keep the federal government out of their business.”

I don’t want the government in my business — I want it in your business, Rick Perry. The average Texan has no say in how our grid is run because it has never been our business. We just have to live with the consequences of your 15 years of inaction as governor while you benefit from skyrocketing electricity prices.

Dozens of Texans have died as a result of our leaders’ negligence. It’s vital that we don’t let them weaponize people’s grief with misinformation. The people of Texas need to be aware that our governors, state legislature and ERCOT have all let us down. It’s up to us to hold them responsible. Only then can we move forward with repairing and replacing our broken grid for the benefit of all Texans.

Zachary Freeman is an anthropology junior and opinion writer for The Battalion.

FOUR BILLION

REASONS TO BELIEVE

IN TOMORROW. After nearly a decade, the Aggie community successfully surpassed the landmark $4 billion Lead by Example campaign goal. As the largest fundraising campaign by a public university in Texas and one of the largest nationally, the achievement of this historic effort signals a bright future for Aggieland’s students, faculty and staff.

TH E ROAD TO $ 4 BILLION January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2020

$61.2 million 64%

903,658

of campaign gifts came from former students. #AggieNetwork

gifts were made by individual, corporate and foundation donors. Go Ags!

127

faculty chairs, professorships and fellowships were funded. Awesome!

560

was contributed by current and former Texas A&M faculty and staff. Thank you!

$1.1 billion

was committed through individuals’ estate plans. Whoop!

endowments were established for student organizations and college-based programs.

Gig ’em!

12 million

service hours were contributed by Aggie students. #selflesservice

2,677

scholarships and graduate fellowships were created for Aggie students. Yay!

$4.25 BILLION total dollars raised

Thank you for leading by example.

Learn more at leadbyexample.tamu.edu.