MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2017 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2017 STUDENT MEDIA | @THEBATTONLINE
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Election results draw controversy on SBP front Spencer Russo — THE BATTALION
Five for Yell candidates and 2017-2018 Yell Leaders (from left to right) Connor Joseph, Ian Moss, Ken Belden, Cooper Cox and Gavin Suel await yell leader results in Academic Plaza Friday night.
After disqualification of Robert McIntosh, Bobby Brooks wins race, 5 for Yell sweeps yell leaders By Battalion Staff @ TheBattOnline
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n the 2017 student elections, Five for Yell swept the yell leader positions and Bobby Brooks grabbed the Student Body President seat after the initial winner, Robert McIntosh was disqualified on two separate charges. At time of press, the results are still unofficial and pending certification by the Judicial Court. McIntosh, who initially won the SBP race, was first disqualified Friday evening after 14 reports of voter intimidation were reported to the Election Commission, who voted unanimously to disqualify the university studies senior. The McIntosh cam-
paign filed an appeal to the Judicial Court Saturday afternoon, but Sunday afternoon McIntosh received another disqualification-caliber charge — failure to report a campaign expense. The McIntosh campaign said they would similarly be disputing this second charge as well. The reports of voter intimidation, which can be read in full at tamuelection.com, detailed how McIntosh and various campaign members and supporters approached student voters, asked them to pull out their phones and vote on the spot and then watched as the student voted. Some reporters shared images and video of the violation occurring. For the expense report charge, McIntosh failed to account for some glow sticks seen in a campaign video posted to Facebook Feb. 19. Candidates are required to turn in receipts for all materials used in any campaigning effort, according to Article VII, Section 1 of the election regulations. McIntosh’s campaign expense report does not account for the glow sticks seen in the video.
McIntosh’s disqualification led to a delay in the results, but Saturday evening it was announced that Brooks won after the votes were reconfigured. “I am ready to get to work,” Brooks said. “Texas A&M is built off of hard work, dedication and loyalty to character — I’m very excited that I have the opportunity to uphold this.” Brooks’ campaign manager and senior class president Claire Wimberly said she is proud of the campaign the team ran. “I am proud to have been associated with this campaign — the message, incredible team members that worked so hard and Bobby’s passion for serving Texas A&M,” Wimberly said. On the Yell Leader portion of the ballot, the election results ran smoothly and without controversy. Elected junior leader and kinesiology sophomore Gavin Suel said it is an honor to represent the Corps of Cadets as a Yell Leader. “Day one in the Corps we are called to embody the ELECTIONS ON PG. 3
No. 18 softball upsets No.1 FSU By Angel Franco @angelmadison After three days of grueling play, No. 18 Texas A&M softball returns to Aggieland with a perfect 15-0 record. The Aggies spent three days in California at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City. On the last day of the Classic, the Aggies faced two nationally ranked teams to close out the tournament. A&M defeated No. 23 BYU on an offensively charged game as the Aggies scored the most runs this season. Sophomore Riley Sartain and junior Erica Russell both homered in the slugfest which included 10 Texas A&M hits and two stolen bases. The Aggies faced No. 14 Michigan for the final game of the tournament. The Aggies took the lead in the bottom of the first inning after sophomore Keeli Milligan scored off an RBI single from junior Ashley Walters. Junior Kristen Cuyos added to the Aggie lead in the bottom of the third inning after hitting her third home run of the season to defeat the Wolverines 3-0 and go undefeated for the third-straight weekend. The Aggies were able to jump to a 3-0 start at the Classic after a series of strong victories Thursday and Friday. A&M defeated Long Beach State and No. 1 Florida State on day one. A&M rolled past LBSU to a 5-0 victory in the first game of the classic. The Aggies were the first to score in SOFTBALL ON PG. 2
Morgan Engel — THE BATTALION
Braden Shewmake had a team-leading five hits at Sunday’s game.
Carlie Russell — THE BATTALION
Sophomore Samantha Show struck out a career high batters in her shut out victory over FSU.
High-speed rail plan faces opposition By Sanna Bhai @bhaisanna Despite efforts by staunch opponents against the high-speed rail, Texas Central continues to move forward in its plan to build a rail between Dallas and Houston. Last week, a group of Texas congressmen moved to file a slate of bills that would challenge Texas Central Railway’s plan. The bills were filed to address issues faced by landowners in the 10 counties between Dallas and Houston subjected to eminent domain if the high-speed rail is built. State Representative Leighton Schubert said in a press release he would continue to oppose the current high-speed rail plan. “This group of foreign investors is threatening to seize family farms, physically divide the state of Texas, and have a gravely detrimental impact on the citizens I represent,” Schubert said. “At a minimum, the people of Texas deserve reasonable reassurances that their private property rights will be respected and that they will not be left holding the bag if this ill-conceived project fails.” However, this has not halted the process of construction, according to Texas Central. “The Texas Bullet Train continues to progress on many fronts, including infrastructure engineering design, development of world-leading safety practices and rules, design of the interior of the trains, best practices for the customer/rider experience, minimizing environmental impact and more,” a Texas Central representative said. “[We have] reached option agreements on about 30 percent of HIGH-SPEED RAIL ON PG. 2
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The high speed rail would connect Dallas to Houston with a stop in College Station to connect them.
Aggies take series following 10-6 win over Pepperdine By Matt Koper @MattKoper One day after the pitchers’ duel between No. 20 Texas A&M (6-1) and Pepperdine (4-2), the Aggies had no problem scoring runs and defeated Pepperdine 10-6 in the series finale at Olsen Field Sunday afternoon. So far this season, the Aggies have relied heavily on their freshmen and Sunday’s game was no exception. Logan Foster, who got the start at DH, led off an offensively charged day with his first home run of his career in the bottom of the first to put A&M up 1-0. Before the day was over, Foster would add another solo home run late in the 8th inning to help hold off Pepperdine. Second baseman Braden Shewmake got on base with an RBI double in the third base line and ended the day 5-5, with a home run and three RBI with a .469 batting average. “It’s good to come back like a night like last night and hit the ball, we had 15 hits,” Shewmake said. “So, everybody was swinging it, so it’s really nice to come back and play our brand of baseball.” After Foster put A&M on the scoreboard in the first inning, the Waves responded in the top of the second. Ben Rodriguez led off the inning with a triple and Austin Bernard brought him home off a single from the Aggies’ right-handed pitcher Mitchell Kilkenny to tie the game 1-1. Kilkenny lasted 4.1 innings while scattering five hits and giving up two runs. Pitching BASEBALL ON PG. 2