Issuu

BATT

Cosplayers Porsha Taylor, Megan Hipchen and university studies ag leadership sophomore Andrew Truong attended AggieCon this weekend.

THE

THE BATTALION | THEBATT.COM

COMMUNITY, CREATIVITY COLLIDE AT AGGIECON

Brian Okosun — THE BATTALION

World’s oldest student-run fan convention celebrates shared passions for entertainment By Luke Henkhaus @Luke_Henkhaus

hether you’re a dice roller, demon slayer, button masher or binge watcher, this weekend was full of opportunities for excitement and adventure. From Friday to Saturday, the Brazos County Expo hosted the 48th annual AggieCon, the world’s oldest student-run multigenre fan convention, an event during which fans and creators of animation, comic books, games and other genres of entertainment come together to meet each other and celebrate a shared passion for these pastimes. AggieCon is organized by Cepheid Variable, a student organization devoted to the support of fiction, fantasy, horror, anime, science and technology genres. This year’s AggieCon included an array of creators, performers and panelists, and

offered hours of entertainment through games, live shows, animation and more. The convention brought together fans and enthusiasts from across a wide variety of activities and media, according to nuclear engineering sophomore and director of AggieCon 48 Andrew Hoertt. “We try to touch on a little bit of each bit of nerdom,” Hoertt said. “We have anime, video gaming, tabletop [gaming], we have dealers selling comics, dice, jewelry and all kinds of art, so we really try to get every little bit of the spectrum, so we make sure everyone is included.” For the first time at AggieCon, attendees also had the opportunity to experience various virtual reality (VR) video games through systems like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, courtesy of the Texas A&M VR Club. Engineering freshman and vice president of TAMU VR Alex Arze said AggieCon provided a great chance to show how this technology is impacting the world of video gaming. “It adds an extra dimension in the sense that you’re physically moving around your space,” Arze said. “You’ll see that people who are in the HTC Vive or the Oculus are walking

around their space, physically grabbing for things and interacting with them in ways that you would never be able to in other video games.” The theme for this year’s AggieCon was “It’s Dangerous to Go Alone,” a popular phrase from the 1986 video game The Legend of Zelda that, according to Hoertt, helps truly explain what AggieCon is all about. “‘It’s dangerous to go alone,’ so come here and make friends,” Hoertt said. “Everyone here is like-minded, they have similar traits, they have similar interests and this is where people can make friends. That’s really what I want people to get out of this — I want people to come out here and make memories and make lifelong friends.” In addition to fostering interactions between fans within the B-CS community, the convention also included an assortment of special guests, including voice actors, artists and internet personalities. Biomedical science sophomore and guest relations officer Mallory Morris said AggieCon offers fans the potential for closer interaction with guests from their areas of interest. “One thing I like about this Con is it’s a really small AGGIECON ON PG. 3

Local non-profit volunteers advocate for welfare of abused, neglected children

Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION

Hanna Hausman — THE BATTALION

Business honors junior Hannah Walsh (left) and community health senior Kara Musgraves (right) plan upcoming events for Voices for Children and CASA volunteers.

By Ana Sevilla @AnaVSevilla With limited time and piles of paperwork, child abuse caseworkers are sometimes unable to facilitate enough communication between neglected children and the court, but one volunteer group works to bridge that gap. Voices for Children, Inc. is a non-profit organization which advocates for the welfare of abused and neglected children. The organization’s volunteers, known as Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, dedicate their time to serving the best interests of children who are often separated from their families in child abuse cases. Caseworkers are frequently unable to dedicate extra time to a single case, and the state has a 12- to 18-month time frame to find a home placement for a child. According to The Austin American Statesman, more than 30 percent of child abuse caseworkers leave each year, and often those who stay are so overwhelmed by paperwork that only 26 percent of their time is spent with children and families. VFC’s CASA volunteers step in during this time in hopes of catalyzing the case through means of providing additional communication between the court and children.

“Each CASA volunteer accepts one child or one sibling group, one case at a time,” Rike said. “They not only visit with a child at a minimum of a monthly basis, but they also meet with teachers, therapists or doctors, any service provider for the child, CPS, caseworkers, also biological families to find out if there are any relatives the child may have a bond with that could serve as a placement for the child — either short term or long term.” With more than 100 CASA volunteers, the non-profit actively serves 200 to 225 children in the county, said Susan Smith, Board President for VFC of the Brazos Valley. Rike said CASAs use their training and casework to form calculated recommendations and relay those in court for future placement of the child. Rike said CASAs work on cases no fewer than 15 to 20 hours a month and undergo a rigorous selection process before their first case. “We basically recruit, screen, train and then support volunteers in their CASA roles. CASA is a pretty complex role, they’re an officer of the court. Our CASA volunteers complete 30-hour training based off of the CASA national curriculum, and they are sworn in by the judge as an officer of the court.” Ben Crouch, retired Texas A&M administrator and former sociology professor, has been a CASA since 2012. CASA ON PG. 2

INDIAN AGGIES CELEBRATE HOLI Holi, or “The Festival of Colors” or “Festival of Love,” is a Hindu festival celebrated in India. The Indian Graduate Student Association (IGSA) hosts a Holi celebration at Texas A&M each year on Simpson Drill Field.

Kevin Chou — THE BATTALION

Health sophomore Megan Banowsky was one of the more than 21,500 students who participated in Big Event.

Big Event student volunteers aid in 2,300 projects By Kenya Robinson @_KenyaJ This weekend more than 21,500 Aggies dedicated their Saturday to volunteering in the Bryan-College Station community as part of the 35th annual Big Event. Students were able to aid residents in more than 2,300 projects. Computer science senior and Big Event director Dalton Harris feels he owes it to the Aggie family to give back. “I came in as first generation Aggie, didn’t really know a lot of people here, and throughout my experience here lots of people accepted me,” Harris said. “The Big Event was the best way to give back and acknowledge those individuals who accepted and loved me.” Industrial distribution senior and Big Event outreach executive Eric Lan said this student-led event shows that all Aggies are willing to take them to serve. “One project that I specifically enjoyed spending time on was working with Ron Crozier at Twin City Missions and the Texas A&M football team,” Lan said. “The football team and coaching staff serve at Twin City every year and they continually make the place better by constructing playgrounds, cleaning the facilities and interacting with the residents there. It is very encouraging to the student body to see that even some of our favorite athletes find time in their busy seasons to serve our community.” In addition to the football team, members of student group Minorities in Agriculture and Natural Resources believed it was important to attend the Big Event as well. Agricultural leadership and development senior and MANR member Jelisa Fields said Aggies owe it to the residents of the community to give back. “I think Big Event is important because we need to make an impact in the community,” Fields said. “The students come here and take up a lot of space in College Station and Bryan, so it’s important for us to give back.” In order for student organizations to participate, the Big Event executive staff had to commit countless hours of hard work to ensure as many residents as possible could be served. Accounting graduate student and operations BIG EVENT ON PG. 2