THURSDAY, APRIL 5 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2018 STUDENT MEDIA
Paralympic athlete and former student Andy Soule is in the running for Team USA’s Male Athlete of the Paralympic Games. Soule took home gold in the cross-country ski sprint and bronze in the 12.5 km biathlon. To vote, visit awards.teamusa.org/vote by April 6.
Blue Bell
Bounce Back
Aggies host No. 17 LSU in SEC showdown By Ryan MacDonald @Ryan_MacDonald2 The Texas A&M baseball team is nearly a third of the way through SEC play and the Aggies (3-6 SEC) are off to a less than ideal start. The Aggies will look to turn their fortunes around in their home SEC series against No. 17 LSU beginning Thursday. The Aggies fell out of the rankings in the latest D1Baseball.com poll released on Monday, after they lost two of three against Georgia last weekend. A&M was supposed to host the University of Houston on Tuesday, but the game was canceled to inclement weather.
“Defensively, offensively or on the bases, we need to be a little bit better in every area,” Childress said. “We’ve certainly done that all year long for the most part, we just haven’t done it the last three weeks on a consistent basis.” Despite their rocky start, the Aggies will continue to utilize the same pitching rotation they have in weeks past, with junior Stephen Kolek starting Thursday, sophomore John Doxakis on Friday and junior Mitchell Kilkenny taking the mound on Saturday. Kilkenny has seen the most success this season, boasting a 6-0 record and a 1.59 ERA. Childress said despite Kilkenny being the Aggies’ best pitcher thus far, the schedule doesn’t BASEBALL ON PG. 4
Junior pitcher Mitchell Kilkenny will take the mound for the Aggies on Saturday versus No. 17 LSU. C. Morgan Engel — THE BATTALION
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The 2018 TED Talk will be held in Rudder Forum on Sunday, focusing on the topic of meliorism.
Annual TED Talk making an impact at TAMU TEDx conference travels to A&M to discuss ways to improve the planet By Chad Anderson @Chad_Anderson24 TEDxTAMU, an independently organized TED event, is making its way to campus this Sunday. Meliorism is the theme of this year’s annual TEDx panel at Rudder Forum. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, meliorism is the belief the world can be made better by human effort.
The TEDxTAMU panel is in its sixth year at Texas A&M and looks to make even bigger strides than the previous year. Jon Williamson, executive of the TEDxTAMU staff and computer science and mechanical engineering sophomore, is in charge of coordinating this year’s panel. “My team and I really like the theme because we thought it was very applicable to today’s society, and what is going on this wide-spread in the world,” Williamson said. “We really like the idea that you can make a difference in people’s lives, and we wanted to share how you do that.” Williamson said the talks will reach a large audience, not only at the event, but through
online streaming. “The toughest part of managing the event is keeping TED Talks to its strict number cap,” Williamson said. “We’ve already had tickets sell out on all four sessions on April 3. We plan to reach over 500 people on the day event, and we will reach up to a few hundred thousand on YouTube when all of this is finished.” The event will host 16 speakers, broken down into four sessions with four speakers. Each speaker was chosen solely on the differences they have made in their life, according to Williamson. Some speakers have graduated from A&M, such as Anthony Hermes, Class of TED TALK ON PG. 2
A unique lake getaway Hero Water Sports provides a fun environment for families By Hollis Mills @sillohsllim Located 78 miles southwest of Aggieland is Lake Bastrop — home of the largest and only inflatable water park in all of the Lone Star State. Hero Water Sports rolled out the slip-n-slide red carpet last August, providing its water park patrons a one of a kind family and environmentally friendly experience. Hero Water Sports operates Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays, 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. According to Logan Mitchell, owner of Hero Water Sports and former collaborator with Texas A&M’s Institute of Nautical Archaeology, his park stays afloat by emphasizing one key value — heroism. “I like to think when you come out to my park, everyone can be a hero,” Mitchell said. “Some of the sections are quite challenging, so the kids are heroes by getting out there and getting over their fears. The parents can be heroes to their kids by spending time with them and getting really good exercise at the same
time.” Mitchell said his park forgoes the chlorinated pools and fiberglass slides of traditional water parks in favor of the clean waters of Lake Bastrop, offering an eco-conscious alternative for all patrons. Mitchell said the park offers sizable discounts to service members all year long, in addition to reduced entry fees for groups of 15 or more. “I haven’t had the opportunity to serve, so that’s why I wanted to give something back,” Mitchell said. “All the military, law enforcement and first responders work really hard and don’t get to spend the time with their families that others in a normal life might. This is a chance for them to get out and spend good quality time with their families without breaking their wallets.” At the end of a busy weekend, Mitchell said there is no better sight than a happy customer. “My true satisfaction is watching everybody come back to the dock after an hour of watching them go crazy,” Mitchell said. “They’re tired, but smiling and happy, and they’re waiting to go back out again.” Callen Crumbaker, head lifeguard at Hero Water Sports, said he WATER PARK ON PG. 3
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Hero Water Sports, located on Lake Bastrop, is the only inflatable water park in Texas.
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Miss Click shared her story at the 2017 Coming Out Monologues.
GLBT week on campus Free events going on to educate on social issues By Savannah Mehrtens @SJMehrtens GLBT Awareness Week, created by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center, occurs the first week of April to spread awareness and education about the LGBTQ+ community. The GLBT Awareness Week began Monday and will run through Friday with a variety of events, some of which are more socially oriented, while others are more academic and educational. The first week of April is also the historic week of the recognition of the first LGBTQ+ campus student organization at Texas A&M, which was a decision made by the Supreme Court in the 1984 case, Gay Student Services v. Texas A&M University. Chad Mandala, program coordinator for the GLBT Resource Center, said GLBT week is focused on learning and sharing experiences. “I think, in a lot of ways, this is sort of a way to open up around what the lived experiences of students, faculty and staff are on this campus and to really have an opportunity to be in community together as one big, authentic Aggie family,” Mandala said. “It’s a way to come out and participate in a variety of activities.” Mandala said the multitude of events during GLBT week are a way for people to open up to more ideas in a variety of environments. GLBT ON PG. 2