The Battalion April 5, 2017

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Graffiti that read “Rape is inevitable may as well enjoy it — Clayton Williams” was spray painted on the Haynes Ring Plaza around 4 a.m. Monday.

Graffiti reading “Rape is inevitable may as well enjoy it — Clayton Williams” was spray painted on the Haynes Ring Plaza around 4 a.m.

Tuesday.

THE BATTALION | THEBATT.COM

Brian Okosun — THE BATTALION & Noelle Bellow — KBTX

UPD investigating vandalism at Alumni Center Graffiti message references rape comment made

by Alumni Center namesake Clayton Williams Jr.

By Savanna Mehrtens and Luke Henkhaus @SJMehrtens and @luke_henkhaus

A

round 3:50 a.m. on April 4, the Clayton W. Williams Jr. Alumni Center was vandalized with a spray-painted message on the Haynes Ring Plaza, according to both the official statement released

by Kathryn Greenwade, the Association’s Vice President for

Communications, and University Police Department Lt. Bobby Richardson.

In black spray paint, the quote “Rape is inevitable, might as well enjoy it — Clayton Williams” was written in front of the Aggie Ring Statue on the plaza, with two arrows pointing toward the Alumni Center building.

The vandalism references a comment Williams made during his 1990 campaign for Texas governor. Speaking with campaign workers and reporters while preparing for an event on his west Texas ranch, Williams compared a period of inclement weather to sexual assault, saying “If it’s inevitable, just relax and enjoy it,” according to a New York Times article pub-

lished March 26 of that year. Williams said the statement was meant as a joke, but later apologized for insulting survivors of sexual violence.

After reviewing video surveillance of the area, UPD is working to identify three individuals shown leaving the graffiti, Richardson told The Battalion at time of press.

“We may be asking for the public’s help or we may ask for witnesses,” Richardson said.

In her statement, Greenwade said the evidence is in the hands of UPD and further comment will be provided once the GRAFFITI ON PG. 3

FILE

A&M’s a capella group HardChord DynaMix is made up of student from varying majors and backgrounds.

A&M a capella group finishes out year with semifinals appearance

By Tyler Snell @Tyler_Snell2 Rachel Grant — THE BATTALION

A&M’s mixed a cappella group, HardChord DynaMix, recently had the opportunity to compete in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella semifinals and while they may not have advanced to the finals, they certainly ended their year on a high note.

Over spring break, HardChord DynaMix competed in the ICAA semifinals in Los Angeles. The group placed second and advanced to the wildcard round where contestants film a performance for the judges to select one group to travel to New York City for the finals.

HardChord DynaMix received news on Sunday that they did not advance in the competition. However, president and accounting senior Reid Akers said the group exceeded their expectations.

“We only wanted to return to semifinals, and this year we far surpassed what we wanted to do,” Akers said. “When I was a freshman and a sophomore, we didn’t even place at quarterfinals.”

HardChord DynaMix made history as the first a cappella group from Texas to advance to the wildcard round.

“Coming from A&M where we don’t even have an established music program shows that it is more about dedication and hard work as opposed to reputation and the name DYNAMIX ON PG. 2

A&M researchers encourage public to be more active in bee species conservation

By Paige Rivera @PR1vera The rusty patched bumble bee was recently added to the list of endangered species — making it the first endangered bee species in the continental United States — and A&M researchers are devising a way to help preserve the remaining bee population.

Juliana Rangel is the head of the A&M Honey Bee Lab, which consists of Rangel and four graduate students who work with local bee species on projects like determining toxicology and pathology of the Texas honey bee populations, and developing a breeding program to create better adapted queen bees. Placed under the protection of the Endangered Species Act on March 21, the rusty patched bumble bee joins seven endangered bee species from Hawaii and 700 total species close

to extinction in North America.

Rangel said the addition to the endangered species list could potentially have positive consequences for bee habitats.

“Hopefully this means there will be an improvement in provided habitats and an increase in the funding for native pollinators,” Rangel said.

Rangel believes the misfortune of the rusty patched bee will encourage the public to become more active in bee conservation, especially locally.

“There are many ways to get involved,” Rangel said. “The Texas Beekeepers Association provides courses and workshops, and once a year there is a school in Brenham of the Central Texas Beekeepers Association that is available for beginners and intermediates.”

BEES ON PG. 2

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A&M’s a capella group HardChord DynaMix advanced to the wild card round of the International Championship of Collegiate A Capella before they were disqualified this weekend.

DYNAMIX CONTINUED

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of the school,” treasurer and business junior Ben Ikwuagwu said. “We went there just to have fun honestly, but we exceeded our expectations by a lot.”

The group began preparation for the competition in June and July, but music director and communication junior Arianna Bauersfeld said the most fun is actually getting to compete.

“You put in a lot of preparation for it but when it comes down to it, it is about the execution on stage,” Bauersfeld said. “We get to do it with this group, and it is so great because of the family bond we have with each other.”

The a cappella group was a young group this year with only eight returning members, and Akers said main-

BEES CONTINUED One of the A&M Honey Bee Lab projects is the creation of Aggie Honey, which is produced at the John G. Thomas Bee Facility Research Apiary on the A&M Riverside Campus. All proceeds from the sales of the honey go toward funding the research program.

Ellie Muetzel, English junior, was introduced to Aggie Honey in fall 2016

taining a high standard was the biggest challenge.

“Building a new group up from the ground was a huge challenge because you are used to one thing,” Akers said.

“Sometimes it would get really frustrating because you would remember how it was the previous year and then we would look at it this year and say, ‘Wow. We aren’t where we were last year.’ But we just couldn’t get discouraged, and it turned out much better.”

HardChord DynaMix is done with competitions for this year but has its spring concert at the end of April. Ikwuagwu said the group members have the talent but must continue believing in themselves to make it even farther next year.

“We had the talent and the arrangements, but it was about understand-

ing we can do this,” Ikwuagwu said.

“I think next year that will help out a lot because now that we realize we can compete, we will be more confident next year and have higher expectations.”

Wrapping up his final year with HardChord DynaMix, Akers said he feels a mix of emotions, one of which is excitement about the group’s future.

“It’s a mixture of emotions because there is nothing but joy knowing it was my last year, and we got to go the farthest we’ve ever been,” Akers said. “It’s also really sad because there is so much momentum moving forward then who knows in the next couple years we could go even farther into finals. I’m sad but excited for what is to come for them.”

and has become a big fan of the product and what it supports.

“It is such a great way to fundraise,” Muetzel said. “Bees are core pollinators, and it is through pollination that we get flowers and plant life, without which we wouldn’t be here, so it is cool that our school is doing something to help. Plus it tastes great.”

Maybe it is the prevalence of bee activity in the news or perhaps there is just something in the honey, but Aggies have started to pay attention, said En-

glish senior Courtney Delaney.

“While I find [bees] to be a nuisance outdoors, I believe their fast rate of extinction will quickly become critical, especially when you think about how heavily we rely on them,” Delaney said.

“We take for granted the fruits of their labor — honey, food, flowers. They are an integral part of our well-being and though you never want something like this to happen, hopefully it will make people take notice.”

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The Battalion | 4.3.17

More than 8 words

Williams’ comment reflective of an issue that is still relevant 20 years later

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derestimated or brushed off.

After I was raped, I stopped attending my classes, I dreaded social encounters and I threw myself into my job to avoid my emotions and feelings of worthlessness. Aside from the actual encounter, the most difficult moments were reporting to the school and the police, facing my rapist during the student conduct violation process and hearing a full year and a half after I reported it from the Bryan Police Department that the district office wasn’t going to pursue prosecution.

What’s so important to me about the Step In Stand Up campaign is that it encourages students to be involved in their friends’ and other students’ experiences and be aware of what they may be going through.

The small moments that were so encouraging to me were the times my friends prompted me to go out and be social; listened and believed me when I told them what happened; drove me to the hospital and sat with me when I was getting a rape kit; made me pasta and let me sleep on the couch when I couldn’t bear to be by myself; empowered me to persevere when I had given up hope; held my hand and passed notes when I turned my fear into anger.

These seemingly small acts can be really big to someone going through this.

So don’t let this act of vandalism or the 20-year-old words of an ignorant politician and businessman detract or distract from the tangible, productive efforts of Step In Stand Up and Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Let it motivate you and remind you of the importance of being there for survivors.

The vandalism in the Haynes Ring Plaza was cleaned up around 12:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Brian Okosun — THE BATTALION

GRAFFITI CONTINUED investigation is finished.

“Surveillance footage of the individuals committing this act has been provided to the Texas A&M University police for investigation,” Greenwade said. “We believe the best way to allow our university police to find the individuals responsible for this act is to allow their investigation to be completed before commenting further.”

The vandalism has reignited much of the debate and discussion surrounding Williams’ controversial 1990 statement.

Students are taking to social media to express opinions on the implications of Williams’ comment and the role the vandalism played in bringing this topic back into the public consciousness.

Psychology junior Madilynn Rutherford said she did not find Williams’ 1990 comments funny.

“I think quotes like that, people who say

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things like that — they need to be taken more seriously,” Rutherford said. “Too often stuff like this is just brushed under the rug, because people are like, ‘Oh, but he’s a good guy,’ and they don’t really think of anything else. ‘That was just one quote from 20 years ago, not a big deal,’ but it is a big deal, and words have an impact, and it hurts sexual assault survivors and it also just perpetuates a rape culture that we already have.”

Rutherford said she believes the vandalism was timed specifically to line up with April being Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

“I do think it was a great idea to do it during this month, just because there are already so focused on sexual assault and sexual assault prevention, so I think that was just like an even better way to bring attention to this issue,” Rutherford said. “If it had been done in any other month I’m sure it would have still gotten our attention but this just kind of doubled it.”

Editor’s note: The Battalion does not publish the names or identifying information of rape or sexual assault victims.

SPECIAL

“I

f it’s inevitable, just relax and enjoy it.”

Black spray paint contrasted against the tan pavement of the Association of Former Students Plaza, emblazoning former Texas gubernatorial candidate Clayton Williams Jr.’s jarring words from a March 1990 interview at his West Texas cattle ranch.

It’s no coincidence this vandalism took place days before Ring Day and Parents Weekend during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, making the almost 20-year-old words of Williams known to the Aggie family. The words themselves and the vandalism that was used as a means to communicate them have caused outrage on my Twitter and Facebook feed and across campus.

But there’s more to this conversation than the eight words scrawled crudely on the pavement outside of the Clayton Williams Jr. Association of Former Students building. Rather than just anger at the words said 20 years ago from a place of privilege, students should be angry that not much has changed in 20 years. His comments are still reflective of a campus culture that will end with 15 percent of female students being sexually assaulted before they graduate.

We can focus on what a man who lost the Texas governorship to Ann Richards said in 1990, or we can focus on rape today going unreported, district offices not going forward with prosecution and flimsy sentences for individuals who are convicted of rape.

According to a 2015 survey conducted by the Association of American Universities, only 23 percent of women on our campus who were sexually assaulted while they were a student reported their assault. As a survivor myself who did report her rape — only to have it thrown out by the attorney — I think I can understand some of the remaining “77 percent’s frustration and feelings of helplessness.”

According to the same survey, these respondents listed feelings of shame, embarrassment or worry of emotional difficulty as the main reasons for not reporting.

That emotional difficulty should not be un-

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