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CONJURING UP Provided by Michael Torregosa

Physics Circus performer Rhys Thomas balances a juggling club on his chin as the audience looks on with amazement.

Celebrating science Experiments displayed at annual Physics and Engineering Festival By Chad Anderson @Chad_Anderson24

C. Morgan Engel — THE BATTALION

Crowd participation vital for Aggies’ midweek matchup with rival Texas By Ryan MacDonald @Ryan_MacDonald2 On April 16, 1989, the Texas A&M baseball team hosted a doubleheader against the University of Texas. The Aggies lost the first game in the series the night before and were seeking their first win of the series over the Longhorns. That day, Aggie third baseman John Byington hit a walk-off home run in each game to defeat the Longhorns and maintain the Aggies’ No. 1 ranking. And thus, “Olsen Magic” was born. Since then, the Aggie baseball fandom has grown exponentially. The growth was catalyzed in the early 2000s, riding the momentum of the Aggies’ fourth College World Series appearance. Though the fans came out in large numbers, the enthusiasm wasn’t

there and the atmosphere of the crowd was flat. This changed in 2015, when a resurgence occurred and people started coming to the games on a more consistent basis, allowing them to get more routine in their chants. The consistent following prompted the creation of the “Section 203” Twitter account, named after the number of the section where students sat for the better part of A&M baseball history. The account is managed by section organizer Robert White, Class of 2014, and is used to grow the student section at Aggie baseball games. The account tweets out updates on the team, humorous tweets to opposing teams, as well as instructions for how to perform certain heckles. “The sections were renumbered when Blue Bell Park expanded, but we maintained the name. 203 is not so much a section as it is a state of mind,” White said. “It represents our undying passion to support Aggie base-

ball and create one of the toughest atmospheres in college baseball.” The momentum within the ballpark was augmented when the section’s infamous heckle, the “Ball Five” chant, caught the attention of national media outlets in the 2016 Super Regional. The chant starts after the opposing pitcher throws four straight balls, with no strikes on the count and continuously gets louder as the pitcher throws more consecutive balls. “Ball Five” is just one of the many chants that can be heard coming out of Section 203. The section keeps a few of the most popular heckles but adds some on the fly, according to White. “There are many staples such as ‘The Rifleman,’ Get in/out of the Box, heckling the first base coach/pitcher and of course the infamous ‘Ball 5,’” White said. “Other than that, most heckles are pretty on the spot and

From building a Lego pendulum, to blowing bubbles, to making a watermelon explode by wrapping thousands of rubber bands around it, nearly 200 experiments were on display at the 16th annual Physics and Engineering Festival. In one experiment, 11-year-old Arlan Izaguirre from Dickinson, Texas, watched in awe as he crushed a soda can with an electric current in a demonstration called “The Can Crusher.” Others like Izaguirre traveled with their families and classmates from all over the country to take part in the annual event. “Though the weather has been cold and rainy, people still want to be drawn in and we have a crowd coming in for our experiment every 15 minutes, which makes it truly enjoyable, especially for the kids,” physics senior Cameron Rozean said. Rozean operated the Depth Charge experiment, also known as the liquid nitrogen explosion, which is one of the most popular demonstrations of the festival. The experiment works by submerging a sealed two-liter bottle of liquid nitrogen inside

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Inspiring speakers in the spotlight

Annie Lui — THE BATTALION

Lou Hodges has been teaching at Texas A&M for almost 50 years in the recreation, parks and tourism sciences department.

Parks and rec success Abby Collida — THE BATTALION

TEDxTAMU speaker Dustin Kemp shared his unconventional journey to graduation in his talk, ‘Grits.’

TEDxTAMU presenters speak about building a better world By Matt McDowell @MattMcDowell43 Students, faculty and interested members of the Bryan-College Station community gathered in Rudder Theatre Complex for the TEDxTAMU presentation, centered around the theme of meliorism — the philosophy that the world can be improved through concentrated human effort. One of the speakers, Regina Rowley, said she actively believes in this philosophy and through her own nonprofit, I Am Priceless, seeks to help individuals out of unhealthy patterns such as abuse and addiction by helping them to believe in their own self-worth. “What I have been learning is the importance of the thoughts and feelings and how those habits directly impact the life I live,” Rowley said. Rowley herself is a survivor of abuse and assault, and she aims to help

others make a similar journey in their own lives through meditation, reflection and, most importantly, creating a support system fall back on. Shayla Rivera, Class of 1983, had her own take on meliorism. Rivera, whose family moved to America from Puerto Rico when she was a child, said the difficulties of making the move greatly strengthened her work ethic and prepared her for the abrupt and difficult changes she faced in her adult life, such as going from an aerospace engineer to a stand up comedian. “Pain is necessary, but suffering is optional,” Rivera said. “You have to ask yourself how are you choosing to see your life and how are you choosing to see your world.” According to Rivera, the best way to truly make a difference in the world is to first change your own mindset and use your imagination to find your purpose. “Imagine on purpose, imagine for yourself, imagine for other people, imagine for the world,” Rivera said. Andre Thomas, visualization lec-

turer, chose to discuss education in his lecture, focusing on drawbacks of the current public education systems and the vast potential of video gamebased learning. “Students are willing to play games to get better, and will achieve mastery in a subject … and for many students these traditional methods of learning are doing nothing but a disservice,” Thomas said. According to Thomas, game-based learning not only helped to increase understanding, but some students enjoyed learning subjects they had traditionally not excelled at. Thomas cited a case study on elementary age students in Italy, which found a 20 percent increase in comprehension and an entire letter grade improvement from previous semesters with the addition of a game-based supplement. Thomas provided details about two classes with game-based curriculum which will soon be offered for onehour credits at Texas A&M. “We are [now] allowing students to TED TALKS ON PG. 4

Hodges focuses on student development By Samantha Mahler @mahlersamantha With his service to students in the classroom for almost five decades, it would be difficult to find someone who embodies the Aggie Spirit as impeccably as Lou Hodges. A 1965 graduate of Rice University, Hodges chose to obtain his Ph.D. from Texas A&M in the university’s first-ever recreation and parks program. Once he graduated in 1971, Hodges took a position as assistant professor and has worked in the department ever since. Though he was a double major in anthropology and biochemistry at Rice, Hodges said he wasn’t happy with his career prospects in either field. Things finally began to make sense for him when he began taking agriculture classes at A&M. “I enjoyed what I was doing for probably the first time since

I got into college,” Hodges said. “It built a lot into my strengths, and so when I got offered a position as an instructor here, I accepted it.” During his career at A&M, Hodges has taught courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Today, he teaches computer courses in the recreation, parks and tourism department, such as Computer Applications and Park and Tourism Applications. Hodges said while he enjoys working with computers, it is meaningless if he isn’t involved in the classroom. “I enjoy being in the classroom,” Hodges said. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t still be here.” Katie Guerra, recreation, park and tourism sciences junior, is currently taking Hodge’s Computer Applications class. According to Guerra, Hodges is understanding and adaptable in his teaching style. “He wants you to be able to understand the assignments and help you through them step by HODGES ON PG. 2