The Battalion- August 7, 2018

TUESDAY, AUGUST 7 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2018 STUDENT MEDIA

Full speed ahead Junior running back Trayveion Williams has a career total of 1660 rushing yards and 262 receiving yards for 14 touchdowns.

The importance of research pg. 3 Gabe Bock: The voice behind TexAgs pg. 4 Yell Leaders on Layne’s vs. Cane’s debate pg. 6 Meredith Seaver — THE BATTALION

ANSWERS

to todays puzzles

Taylor Fennell, Editor in Chief THE BATTALION is published every other Tuesday during the summer session (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. Newsroom phone: 979-845-3315; E-mail: editor@ thebatt.com; website: http://www.thebatt. com. For campus, local, and national display advertising call 979-845-2687. For classified advertising, call 979-845-0569.

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SCITECH

2

The Battalion | 8.7.18

Fighting the r e s i s t a n c e Aggie research tackles herbicide challenges

By Ashley Cardenal @adcardenal New technology advanced by Texas A&M scientists aims to tackle the growing challenges of herbicide-resistant weeds, making fertilizing technology more environmentally-friendly.

Keerti Rathore, professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, studies genetically modified organisms (GMOs). A recent paper published by his group in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America details an innovative new

strategy for confronting herbicide resistance.

“There is a problem in agriculture,” Rathore said.

“Almost 40 different weeds have developed resistance to Roundup and other herbicides, so farmers are suffering.”

The research employs a unique strategy: rather than killing the weeds with chemical reagents, the researchers aimed to deprive the weeds of nutrients, while still allowing the crops to thrive.

“In collaboration with Mexican scientists, they came up with the idea of using this gene ptxD,” Keerthi said. “The function of the gene is that when its expressed it codes for phosphite dehydrogenase. This

enzyme converts phosphite to orthphosphate. Plants and most other organisms can use only the form orthophosphate as a source of phosphorous. If this gene is expressed in organisms then the plant can take up phosphite and convert it to orthophosphate and use it as a source of phosphorous.

Since the weeds do not have this gene, they will not be able to utilize the phosphite and their growth will be suppressed.”

LeAnne Campbell, a research associate who has

been a member of the group for 19 years and was chiefly involved in the early stages of project by transfecting the cotton plants with the ptxD gene, discussed her motivation for continuing her work at Texas A&M. “We keep finding these projects that mean so much,” Campbell said. “That makes it really hard to leave. You want to see where the project ends up. You want to see how far you can take it.”

MORE AT THEBATT.COM

Soil and crop sciences professor Keerti Rathore studies herbicide resistance in plants including cotton.

Meredith Seaver — THE BATTALION

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NEWS

3

The Battalion | 8.7.18

Research round-table Mark Barteau says good research pays for itself through economic and societal changes

By Jake Metzler @jjakemetzler The vice president for research says there is more to university research than people realize.

Mark Barteau has been the vice president for research at Texas A&M since February and attended a round-table on the subject of the economic impact of fundamental research in late June. At the conference, he said good research will always bear returns, whether those be economic or societal.

Barteau has been to round tables before, but said he always loves to see what other universities are doing.

“I think it’s really fun to see the range of research that other institutions are doing, and the things that they emphasize as their strengths and their mission,” Barteau said. “It’s always interesting with groups like this to listen to what other institutions are saying and realize some of them are coming from similar places that we are, and others, not so much.”

Barteau talked at length about the subject matter of the round-table, explaining the challenges of funding and economics in the modern field of research.

“I think one of the challenges across the board [on this issue] is that the U.S. investment in fundamental research has not kept up with the rest of the world. We’ve been losing ground, we started out with a big lead but other countries are catching up fast,” Barteau said. “We live in such a technological society, consumers are used to having a new iPhone appear every year without doing anything, but the realization that you have to keep feeding the goose that lays the golden eggs is something important.”

Barteau said members of congress often overlook the developments that universities come by, not realizing their importance.

“There are the things that often look frivolous to congress,” Barteau said. “One of my favorite examples of this here at A&M is the work of one group in [Agriculture] that’s been gluing tiny transmitters to kissing bugs. You can imagine how much fun you could make of that, but they’re measuring how far that they travel, and given that they are carriers of Chagas disease, if you really want to understand the epidemiology,

Texas A&M Vice President for research says congress forgets the discoveries of universities, including Aggie research on kissing bugs and the Chagas disease.

Courtesy

how fast this disease might spread, knowing how far the bugs move each day is actually a critical piece of information, but congress sometimes likes to mock [projects like this]. They really don’t appreciate the connection to the broader field of science and how it potentially affects people’s lives… The real value in a lot of research is in preventing catastrophes.”

Barteau emphasized the importance of a balance between applied research with immediate economic value,and fundamental research which may not have much economic value.

“I think you have to look at it as the broad portfolio,” Barteau said. “We need fundamental research, we need applied research as well. The payoff times on some of these things are short, some are long, and some never will be. You have to look at it as the entire portfolio and the investment in that returning to us as a society in a way that we think it needs to.

I think that’s clear cut. If you look at all the estimates of return

Notice of University Student Rule Revisions Additions, deletions and changes to the University Student Rules may occur over the course of the year.

The following student rules have been revised: Rule # 10

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on investment in academic research, there’s some slop in there, but all of them are in the double digits. 10 to 20 fold return on investment.”

Barteau attributed some of this success to the United States’ acceptance of immigrant researchers, and said concern over research leaking back to other countries might be exaggerated.

“I think [a major part of the success] is the attractiveness of the country. The U.S. has been winning ‘the brain drain game’ from the rest of the world for about 80 years now… There’s been a huge influx of talent and it’s attractive because, not only of the nature of our society and the freedom we enjoy, but also because of our historical levels of support for research and knowledge creation,” Barteau said. “We aren’t worried about what may leak back to other countries. I would argue that keeping a strong influx of the best minds in the world into the U.S. will far outweigh anything that leaks back the other way.”

Notice of University Student Rule Revisions Additions, deletions and changes to the University Student Rules may occur over the course of the year.

The following student rules have been revised: Rule # 8 20.1.2.3.8 28

Rule Date Student Rule Website Updated Examinations 06/14/2018 Violation of College, Program, Departmental or Course Rules 06/25/2018 Student Conduct Files and Records 06/11/2018

Each student has the responsibility to be fully acquainted with and to comply with the Texas A&M University Student Rules. Student Rules can be found at http://student-rules.tamu.edu.

SPORTS

5

The Battalion | 8.7.18

Former student continues radio career covering Aggie athletics

By Chad Anderson @Chad_Anderson24 Gabe Bock dreamed of filling the ears of sports fans since he was a little boy.

From covering Texas A&M events to producing sports talks shows, he is now the director of broadcasting for TexAgs, an independent website that covers A&M athletics, and is the host of TexAgs Radio.

A native of Denison, which is an hour north of Dallas, Bock has always been around sports, growing up with the Texas Rangers and the Dallas Cowboys in the legendary Texas Stadium.

“I grew up loving sports,” Bock said. “I wanted to be an athlete playing professionally and once that dream died, I knew I wanted to work in sports. Everyone has that expiration date in something that they’re doing and once that happened as an athlete, I just had to ride out the journey.”

Bock majored in journalism and was in the last class that graduated from the program at A&M after the College of Liberal Arts stopped offering the major in 2004. He stayed hungry for opportunities in the Bryan-College Station area, looking for media jobs from radio to newspapers. Eventually, Bock landed a gig as a board operator for the sports radio station 1150 The Zone.

“With my fiancée at the time, I was a year ahead and we never really thought that we would be in College Station forever but I picked up extra assignments and things at the radio station progressed so fluently,” Bock said. “It was almost like a puzzle that fell into place.”

On weekends, Bock would head down to Houston to produce talk shows and work as an Aggie insider, reaching out to the public on what’s been going on behind the scenes of A&M sports.

“I had to do whatever it took to make a living to make life pleasant for me and my wife,” Bock said. “I would work weekdays at The Zone, waiting on tables at Chili’s at night, and then working in Houston on the weekends for free, trying to get Houstonians the inside scoop on Aggie sports,” Bock said.

Bock got his big break at 1150 The Zone, which would change his career route on broadcasting. Host Chip Howard called in sick at the last minute and Bock filled in, making his radio debut.

“I’ll never forget filling in for Chip Howard’s show, and I had a caller call in and he blasted me on air because I said ‘uh’ too much

On-air

Taking the field

Left: Kellen Mond continues to battle for the starting quarterback job.

Right: Defensive lineman Kingsley Keke has played both tackle and end in Fall Camp.

Meredith Seaver — THE BATTALION

Meredith Seaver— THE BATTALION

Meredith Seaver — THE BATTALION

Gabe Bock, Class of 2003, serves as the host of TexAgs radio, a weekday radio show that covers Texas A&M athletics.

and that was something you just had to just take in with a grain of salt, knowing you’re going to mess up, but you can work on your craft as you go,” Bock said.

After his first run on airplay, Bock began to get more opportunities, including The Zone reports at the station. Eventually, media insider Billy Liucci, now the executive editor of TexAgs, liked the talents of Bock and the two paired up to bring more subscribers to the website.

“When Billy and I paired up, it was a tough time,” Bock said. “There were times early on when we had a tough time even making payroll, so we had to get creative to really get TexAgs rolling.”

In 2011, things started to look up. A&M moved to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) which increased revenue across A&M. Then, 1150 The Zone created a deal with TexAgs to do a radio syndicated morning show with CRM Sports.

“We were working out of this little build-

ing in Bryan,” Bock said. “With the SEC movement in 2011, that was the catalyst for everything to follow, and then Johnny Manziel coming in 2012 both greatly impacted TexAgs and the radio show as well.”

Johnny Manziel led the Aggies to their best record, 11-2, under Kevin Sumlin, and Manziel was the first Aggie to win the Heisman Trophy since John David Crow in 1957. Subscribers flooded the TexAgs domain, paying for subscriptions as the site had up to million views per day.

“I was having football legends calling into the radio show to the likes of Joe Namath, Andre Ware, Bart Starr and Archie Griffin all wanting to give their insight and talking about Johnny,” Bock said. “When we got to cover Johnny’s Heisman moment, I knew that was something special and a big moment for TexAgs. I also knew that this was just the next step in building TexAgs into what it is today.”

Six years later, Bock still occupies the radio waves of morning sports talk in College

Station, looking to spark the interest of the everyday Aggie sports fan. TexAgs has grown greatly, having its own radio, video and photography studio, where material is cut and edited for the website’s premium subscribers to read and interact daily. Forums are ran and stories are written to keep fans informed, along with media outlets reeling in over 100,000 followers on social media websites such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

“I don’t know if this is the top, but I am truly grateful for where I am at in my life,” Bock said. “I could’ve never imagined this to grow as far as we’ve been able to grow to make this what it is today. It’s something special. It’s all about having that mindset, wanting to get better to where you’re really developing your own craft in what you have to offer.”

Editor’s note: Chad Anderson was a TexAgs intern this summer.

Aggies open Fall Camp, begin preparation for 2018 season

By Alex Miller @AlexMill20 Football is back in Aggieland.

Texas A&M opened its Fall Camp last Thursday and has conducted five practices since.

Here are some of the major storylines surrounding the Aggies as they begin preparing for the 2018 season: Quarterback competition continues As August rolls around, Kellen Mond and Nick Starkel continue to battle for the starting quarterback job, which head coach Jimbo Fisher described as a “dead-even race” after the first practice.

The two have been splitting reps evenly with the first team offense. Fisher did not say there was one thing in particular he is searching for in his QB1, but said his starter must win the team.

“They’ve got to win the team and get the team have confidence in them, that’s who

they want to be their quarterback and play with great consistency and make plays with the ball and take care of it when they need to,” Fisher said.

From a player’s perspective, running back Trayveon Williams said he wants to see consistency from his starting quarterback.

“A guy that can consistently go out there and lead the team as a leader that can be the best leading us offense and defense,” Williams said. “The quarterback affects the whole game, the whole tempo, a guy that controls the whole team. We’re looking for that guy and whoever emerges so be it.”

Clemons out with foot injury Following A&M’s third practice, Fisher revealed that projected starting defensive end Micheal Clemons is out with a foot injury.

However, Fisher did not put a timetable on Clemons’ return, saying he expects him to be back soon.

“He’s got a little bone that out there, we might have to go in there and put a screw in it,” Fisher said of Clemons’ injury. “He may be out for a little bit of time.”

With Clemons out, Fisher said defensive tackle Kingsley Keke, who has lost 20 pounds

this offseason, could get a look at defensive end, as well as freshman Bobby Brown. Keke lined up at end with the first team defense during media availability on Sunday.

“We’ve got guys we can move around,” Fisher said. “Kingsley can go out there and play in two seconds. He’s 285 pounds and Tre Brown’s out there and all these young guys.

We’ll build and work around it.”

Movement up front A notable change in the offense was on the offensive line with Erik McCoy lining up at right guard and Colton Prater anchoring at center during the Aggies first three practices.

Fisher said he was pleased with the progress Prater has made this offseason and praised McCoy for his flexibility.

“He’s a tough guy,” Fisher said of Prater.

“He’s smart, and McCoy does a great job at guard or center and gives us some versatility at both places.”

The change was no surprise for McCoy, although he did serve as the snapper for the first team offense in 11-on-air drills on Sunday.

“Prater’s doing an excellent job, but I anticipated it,” McCoy said of his position change.

“Kid’s smart, he can play and he’s just been

doing an excellent job.”

Perimeter playmaker search Wide receiver is arguably A&M’s youngest and most inexperienced offensive position group. In fact, the Aggies have just one receiver who has started in a game – sophomore Jhamon Ausbon, who got the nod at outside receiver in all 13 games last season.

With the likes of Christian Kirk and Damion Ratley departed, Ausbon & Co. are still searching for the next perimeter playmaker.

“No one has a set spot, so that’s really what the competition is this Fall Camp,” Ausbon said.

Where A&M lacks star-power at receiver, it might have an answer for the passing game at tight end. Jace Sternberger has carried over his spring success through the summer and now has extra support in graduate-transfer Trevor Wood.

“It takes more pressure off the receivers on the outside and they’re great route runners, great blockers,” Ausbon said of the tight ends.

“They’re balanced tight ends, so it’s going to be a great combination this year.”

OPINION

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The Battalion | 8.7.18

B AT T A S K S : Layne’s or Cane’s?

“I gotta go Layne’s. The price is a huge factor and Layne’s has a great bang for your buck that you really can’t beat and it does have that homey atmosphere that you don’t get with Cane’s.”

“It’s hard for me. I want to love Layne’s because it’s a hometown restaurant and everything, but the Aggie Angels give us these free Cane’s cards when Aggies score a certain amount of points, so I get a free box of Cane’s and it’s really good. So I would have to say Cane’s; you can’t beat that deal.”

Gavin Suel, university studies senior

“In my heart, I’m a Layne’s fan. I just ran the Layne’s Challenge and we didn’t win, but I’m pretty sure we’re still record holders from my freshman year.”

“There’s two aspects to it. Layne’s — I love the tradition and I love how it’s College Station and everything about that. I just love walking in and the atmosphere. However, I do believe Cane’s has better food … but I can get over that. So Layne’s.”

“I think that depending on the circumstances, if you want more of a peppery kind of sauce, then go for Layne’s and it’s cheaper and it’s better bull. But if you’re in a rush, you can get Cane’s. I’d like to say I’m indifferent. I came into this university hard gung-ho Cane’s, but Layne’s has definitely grown on me.” ”

Reid Williams, business administration junior

Karsten Lowe, industrial distribution junior

Blake Jones, industrial distribution senior

Connor Joseph, agricultural economics senior

Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION

7

The Battalion | 8.7.18

Tears of

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Players like Brian Urlacher are the reason why Angel Franco keeps telling stories Angel Franco @angelmadison_

S

aturday was an emotional day. Brian Urlacher, the player I grew up watching for my favorite team in the entire world, the Chicago Bears, was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

I watched Urlacher’s full speech and let me tell you, I am in tears. Here’s why: Growing up I fell in love with football watching the Bears play. That love fueled my passion for sports and ultimately sports journalism.

I grew up watching Brian dominate the field. When I was little, I was gifted my very first Bears jersey, and it was Brian’s. That thing fit me so big that I wore it for years, to the point where the painted numbers faded away and had to be retired.

Throughout the years, my love for the team only intensified and grew stronger each season. In high school, I had a wall dedicated to the Bears and all the things I had been gifted throughout the years because my family knew me too well.

On May 22, 2012, Urlacher announced he was ending his 13-year career in the NFL. I cried. Mostly tears of joy.

For the past 21 years I have bled navy and orange. My dad, who became a fan in 1985 after they won Super Bowl XX, is probably the only person more passionate than I am.

He even has their logo tattooed on his neck.

Which brings me to today. Sitting in Nashville a week from completing my summer internship, I watched Brian’s speech and found myself crying because of all the memories I have with my dad watching him play as I grew up.

Through it all, my dad has always been on the other side of the conversation. Consoling me through tears of sadness when they lost to the Green Bay Packers, through frustrations of narrow losses and through tears of joy when they beat the Packers in November 2013. He was on the line just a few minutes ago as I called him crying because of Brian’s speech.

Players like Brian Urlacher and bonds like the one I share with my dad are why I decided to become a sports journalist. I want to be able to tell these stories about the players on the field and the fans off of it.

Angel Franco is a telecommunication senior and sports editor for The Battalion.

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