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INSIDE THIS EDITION

Thursday, November 5, 2026

LIFE & ARTS: Montelongo’s Fine Jewelry provides Aggie Ring accessories

SPORTS: The Daily Gamecock weighs in on A&M’s game against South Carolina

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PUBLICATION NOTICE

Thursday, November 12, 2026

REUTERS/via SNO Sites/James Talarico via X

Texas Senator-elect James Talarico and Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa, both Democrats, cheer with drinks while being surrounded by supporters at Whataburger in Austin, Texas, US, in this picture released November 4, 2026. James Talarico via X/Handout via REUTERS

TEXAS TURNS BLUE

Talarico, Hinojosa lead wave of victories in Democratic sweep By Ian Curtis Senior Enterprise Reporter

After decades of Democratic efforts, Texas has turned blue. For the first time since 1994, Democrats have been elected to statewide offices in Texas as part of a seismic shift across the Lone Star State just two years after President Donald Trump carried the state by 14 points in 2024. Led by state Sen.-elect James Talarico’s victory in his race against Attorney General Ken Paxton and Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa’s upset of incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott, Democrats swept every statewide office up for election in Texas, breaking Republicans’ seemingly unshakeable hold on the state as part of what’s been described by national media outlets as a once-in-a-generation “blue wave.” “This win is for every Texan who has ever wondered if anyone is ever listening,” Talarico, who garnered an estimated 55% of the state’s vote, said in his victory speech. “I heard you. We heard you. And tonight, the world hears you.” In her victory remarks, Hinojosa — who defeated Abbott by just over seven percentage points — said that it was time to look forward toward Texas’ future. “The nation will look at Texas and say we won something far more important than an election,” Hinojosa said. “They will look at Texas and say that faith in government has been restored. They will look at Texas and see the power of a government that lifts every single person up and never punches down. We will build a government more honest, more just and worthy of the people who call Texas home. And we will never forget the simple truth that brought us here tonight: Texas belongs to the people of Texas.” Both Paxton and Abbott publicly conceded on Tuesday evening — as did other Republican candidates. “I love our state,” Abbott said in his concession speech. “It’s been an

honor to serve it, and know that we are leaving Texas in far better shape than it’s ever been.” Locally, Brazos County — which Abbott said “is red” in his visit to the county’s chapter of the Republican Party last month and was +25 in favor of President Donald Trump in 2024 — swung in favor of both Talarico and Hinojosa, opting for the former by six percentage points. It’s the first time since 1982 that Brazos County has voted a Democrat for governor — part of a shift both statewide and nationwide that saw Democrats elected to positions that they haven’t held in decades. “We’re seeing a wave,” Texas Comptroller-elect Sarah Eckhardt told The Battalion before Talarico’s rally at Texas A&M on Oct. 30, which featured multiple downballot Democrats. “We’re seeing an incredible level of enthusiasm that’s infectious. And frankly, it’s not about just one candidate. We’re seeing a political realignment. It’s not about party. It’s about having a state government that actually represents all Texans instead of just the wealthy donor class.” Legislature results Democrats also gained control of both houses of Congress, earning at least 54 senate seats with a substantial majority of house seats with the senate races in Mississippi and Alaska yet to be called by the Associated Press at time of publication. Republican Chris Gober ‘01 narrowly defeated Democrat Caitlin Rourk in Texas’ 10th Congressional District, winning the race to succeed Rep. Michael McCaul, who did not seek reelection. Gober — a lawyer for Elon Musk’s America PAC, among other clients — told The Battalion before his primary election that his goal in office would be to focus on issues including AI and economic competition with China. “So many of those things are going to come to a head and

need to be dealt with over the next four to six years and that could really set the stage for maybe a millenium,” Gober said. “ … I feel like I maybe missed a very critical moment in history if I do not do this, and at a time where I think that we need a new generation of leadership.” In the state legislature, incumbent Republican Charles Schwertner defeated Democrat challenger Paul Thomasson in Texas’ Senate District 5. But in Texas House District 14, Democrat Janet Dudding held a lead of just 315 votes over incumbent Republican Paul Dyson, with just absentee and mail-in votes remaining. Regardless of Dudding’s result, Democrats broke Republicans’ twodecade-long hold on the Texas House, the Associated Press reported on Nov. 4. “We are holding steady and waiting on the last votes to land,” Dudding told The Bryan-College Station Eagle on Tuesday evening with the race in a dead heat. “We’ve run this race on a platform of ethics and accountability, and the closeness of this race shows that those are values that resonate. We are cautiously optimistic and grateful for all of the grassroots support that brought us this lead.” The aftermath and blame game The historic result quickly prompted both celebration from Democrats and infighting amongst the Republican Party. Trump — who repeatedly told voters to “pretend I’m on the ballot” — took to social media to critique Abbott and other Republicans on election night, calling him a “Republican in name only.” “If Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, hadn’t become a

RINO in the last six months of his Political Life, he wouldn’t have lost,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “He went back to his original formula, and it wasn’t pretty!” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican seeking a fourth term in office alongside Abbott, was ousted by Lt. Gov.-elect Vikki Goodwin and turned his sight toward the future as he conceded. “Going into 2028, the Republican Party of Texas has serious work to do to begin the process of taking our state back from Democrat control,” Patrick wrote in an election night statement. “Their democratic socialist policies will fail, as they have in every country in the world.” But some defeated Republicans quickly resorted to finger-pointing. “I blame this on Greg Abbott, I blame it on Dan Patrick,” Republican Texas Comptroller Don Huffines — who lost his reelection bid to Eckhardt after being appointed to the role of comptroller mere months ago — said at his election night watch party. “ … People are tired of the Republicans being in office. They couldn’t campaign on a policy issue. If they campaigned to lower your property tax, guess what? All that did was remind everybody you didn’t do it 12 years ago.” Meanwhile, Talarico said that he will be focusing on “bipartisan service,” citing his record as a state representative. “I look forward to being a senator for all 31 million Texans — including Ken Paxton, including the Texans who didn’t vote for me,” Talarico said in an interview with CNN on Wednesday morning. “I want to serve them, too. I want to fight for them, too. I want to make their lives easier and better and less stressful. I am not going to Washington to represent the Democratic Party. I am going to Washington to represent this beautiful state and every person who lives here.”

NEWS

11.05.2026

Rainer Fries Theater screens political documentary honored as 2026 sity System] Board of Regents and all the Following the screening, a panel converAttendees believe film mirrors other Gov. Abbott appointees. [It’s] not the sation was held, including A&M’s AAUP American Physical Aggie Spirit.” Chapter President Leonard Bright, Ph.D, changes at higher Before the screening, in collaboration associate professor of sociology Joan Wolf, Society Fellow ongoing with SEAT, a movement of young people former New College professor Amy Reid, education institutions in Texas A&M physics professor recognized for work in nuclear theory By Jun Pak News Reporter Nuclear physicist Rainer Fries, Ph.D., was named a 2026 Fellow of the American Physical Society, or APS. The prestigious organization recognized Fries for his “foundational contributions to the theoretical description of hadronization,” according to the APS Fellows archive. APS Fellows are selected under the 0.5% rule: Only 0.5% of members, excluding students, can become fellows each year, according to APS guidelines. The fellowship conventionally awards mid-to-late-career researchers for their larger body of work rather than for a singular finding, Fries said. “The Fellow of the APS is almost like a lifetime achievement award, I mean, I’m not retiring,” Fries said. Fries, a theoretical physicist who joined Texas A&M in 2006 as an assistant professor, is the university’s 29th physicist to become an APS Fellow since 2000. He is a faculty member at the Cyclotron Institute and the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The A&M Department of Physics and Astronomy congratulated Fries on the award. “The recognition celebrates Fries’ contributions to understanding the fundamental building blocks of matter and highlights Texas A&M’s continued excellence in nuclear physics research,” the department said in an article. Fries’ research in nuclear physics is complex, including exploration of how atoms react under extreme conditions, such as those in the sun. In such a state, protons and neutrons essentially melt to become what are called quarks and gluons. “If you go up much higher, to about a trillion degrees, then you actually melt the protons and the neutrons, which are really the constituents of the nuclei,” Fries said. “It’s hard enough to do that.” Fries believes his particular contribution is in correctly describing hard-to-understand data. Early in his career, Brookhaven National Laboratory had created quark-gluon plasma at very high temperatures. “Tons of great data,” Fries said. “In fact, that’s what inspired me really to come into this field and contribute.” Fries eventually helped partially solve the question that inspired him. His research contributed conclusions that the patterns apparent in the data were indeed because of quarks and gluons. In October, he was surprised when APS emailed confirmation of his fellowship a week before it became public.

READ MORE HERE

Laurie Potter — THE BATTALION

Attendees watch a screening of the SXSW 2026 documentary “First They Came for My College” as part of the SEAT Campus Freedom Tour at Star Cinema Grill on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026.

Rec Sports proposes West Campus facility 2 possible sites identified to address overcrowding complaints By Jolie Jackson News Reporter Amid complaints of overcrowding Texas A&M Rec Sports is proposing an additional West Campus recreation facility. The proposal, which would increase student fees by $30 a semester, will need a student majority vote on the spring ballot. According to the 2024 Capacity Study Report, West Campus was identified as a “priority area for expansion.” The report recommended “additional on-campus housing, expanded dining and recreation, new academic and support spaces and improved mobility infrastructure.” The 2025 West Campus Development Plan, an addendum of the 2017 Campus Master Plan, addressed these issues with outlined objectives. The proposed location is near Fan Field and Research Parkway, according to Rec Sports. Executive Director of Rec Sports Jeffrey Huskey said a new facility would help counteract the overcrowding issues at existing facilities. “As our enrollment has gone up, our participation has gone up in our facilities,” Huskey said. “We saw over 2 million visits to our facilities last year. And when you look at national standards about space, we do not have enough recreation space on our campus to serve our population. We’re

starting to see a lot of issues and complaints about it being crowded.” The current fee for A&M recreation facilities is $145 per semester. To accommodate the expansion, the fee would increase to $175. Rec Sports sent out a survey to 8,000 students last week asking whether or not they would be willing to pay the fee increase, with survey results still processing. Additionally, Associate Director for Special Projects Stephanie Legako, Ph.D., said the department utilized focus groups over the summer to get opinions from student workers regarding the expansion. “Right now, with the focus groups and other survey feedback that I’ve received, students are saying it’s too crowded,” Legako said. “They’re not coming when they

want to because of how busy it is. And we do what we can to mitigate that, but to have more space available would give more opportunity for students to come when it’s most convenient.” Legako said her data also showed that students receive many benefits from recreation facilities. “We find that students who are regular users have a higher GPA overall,” Legako said. “They have a higher retention rate from first year to second year and find friends across different interests that they wouldn’t otherwise have found. There’s so many positive benefits outside of physical activity, and if we can just get more space for them, then we can do so much more.” Huskey said the overcrowding issues have made it difficult for off-campus students to

utilize Rec facilities. “The [main student recreation] facility’s fantastic, but when there’s a basketball game, baseball game or any other major event in Reed Arena, all the parking lots around here get gobbled up,” Huskey said. “So, being adjacent to Fan Field parking would be very helpful for a lot of our off-campus students to be able to get to it.” Huskey said in addition to the location of the new recreation center, the inside of the facility would also be designed to cater to off-campus students. “When you look at the Southside Rec Center, it has a certain personality to it,” Huskey said. “That facility was intentionally built to serve the students who live in The Commons. The amenities in the new facility need to be attractive to off-campus students, so it has to have study space, lounge space, food service, larger locker rooms, maybe cold lockers for food storage. So it will definitely have a different personality than the Southside Rec Center has.” The department is planning fundraising opportunities to aid the expansion. Huskey stressed that the department wants to lessen the financial burden for students as much as possible. “We don’t want to just put the load on the backs of the students,” Huskey said. “Faculty staff rates would be raised as well, and we plan to do naming opportunities to potentially name this building, so we can get several million dollars to offset the cost of building this next facility. If students want it, then we will pursue it. If students vote against it and they don’t want it, then we’re not going to do it. It’s really quite that simple.”

11.05.2026

LIFE & ARTS

Photos by Rocio Salgado — THE BATTALION

Clockwise from left: Montelongo’s Fine Jewelry on University Drive on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. A Ring Guard and Aggie Ring at Ring Guards-A Montelongo Company on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026.

Montelongo’s bedazzles Aggie tradition Aggie-owned jeweler sells Ring Guards, other luxury pieces By Tejas Murali Life & Arts Writer For over three decades, Montelongo’s Fine Jewelry has been an Aggie-owned and Aggie-serving business, selling various types of luxury jewelry. In recent years, the business debuted one of its most memorable products: Ring Guards, a dedicated accessory to the Texas A&M signature Aggie Ring. The Ring Guard, which consists of two diamond bands that wrap around the Aggie Ring, was first custom made by Co-Founder Jesse Montelongo ‘91 out of a student’s late mother’s wedding ring. “She said, ‘I am not going to wear my mom’s wedding ring, but I want to have a piece of my mom with me,’” Montelongo said. “So she asked me to pull the diamonds out of [her] mom’s ring and make two diamond bands that go around [her] Aggie Ring. So I custom made a set in 1993, and that became the Ring Guard. But we didn’t market it or think that it would ever become as big as it was.” While developing Ring Guards, Montelongo’s encountered a competing patent from another business selling similar “RingWraps” — ran by the very customer they created the first Ring Guard for in

1993. After settling the patent concerns with their lawyers, the two businesses learned how to coexist, with RingWraps having a greater online presence and Ring Guards remaining a well-known local business. The Ring Guards, however, are a relatively recent product for Montelongo’s. Montelongo co-founded the business with his wife, Kim, in 1993 while both were working in jewelry retail. “We would go to school from 8 a.m. to noon, and then I’d play golf from noon to 5 p.m. every day, and I would then go to work from 6 to 10 p.m.,” Montelongo said. “I started at Sears, and I went on to work for Service Merchandise in their jewelry departments, and I really enjoyed it. I met my wife while I was working at Service Merchandise; she was also working in the jewelry department. As we started thinking about opening a jewelry store, I think it helped that she worked in the jewelry business and she knew what the business was like already.” Montelongo’s saw significant growth upon opening in part from a 24-karat golddipped rose marketed as the “Yellow Rose of Texas.” “We would sell between 400 and 1000 roses a year through Texas Monthly,” Montelongo said. “Because it was dipped in 24-karat gold, it made it relatable to a jewelry store. We sold the heck out of them, and that money was used for growth inside the store and to buy more inventory and be a better-quality jeweler in the Bryan-

College Station area.” According to Montelongo, the economic unrest caused by the real estate bubble popping in 2008 led to a turning point in his business, solidifying Montelongo’s as a luxury jewelry store. “Everybody said that you need to make sure you’ve got low price points, and I don’t know why, but I felt that was not the case for me,” Montelongo said. “I wasn’t going to buy less expensive items, and so I said that I can gear my business towards a higher end and specialize in luxury goods. That was the pivotal moment of our business because that was a big success, and we grew astronomically once we found that we could sell really specialized things at larger price points.” For Montelongo, being in the jewelry sector has been a long-time passion strengthened by the relationships and community associated with his business. “I was the first generation to graduate from a university, and it meant a lot to me and my parents,” Montelongo said. “It gave me the strength to feel like I could open a business and tackle the challenges that would come up, and my passion for the jewelry industry has proven that I still love it as much as I did then. This business is probably one of the most rewarding because you get to work with so many great people, and it’s probably one of the most challenging because you’re constantly buying and marketing and trying to establish your presence with the community,

the alumni base and everybody else.” With its symbolic design and cultural significance at A&M, the Aggie Ring has a 94% purchase rate among qualifying undergraduates and is the largest collegiate ring program in the country. This creates significant demand for Ring Guards. “There’s so much pageantry, so much nostalgia going into getting your Aggie Ring and the tradition of what the Aggie Ring means, and all of it is just so much grander, and I love it,” Montelongo said. “It’s a wonderful testament to the work that they put in to get their Aggie Ring and to be a part of the Aggie community. It’s like joining a university fraternity or sorority or some type of club. You’re official once you get your ring.” According to Montelongo, Ring Guards are meaningful for women in that they are akin to putting their mark on one of A&M’s most significant symbols, especially for a university that was originally all male. “One of my favorite things is asking the girls when they come in what they’re getting their degrees in,” Montelongo said. “When you used to ask girls what they were getting their degrees in, it was all business, sociology, psychology and a lot of different things. But now you’re starting to hear aerospace and mechanical engineering and some of these things that you didn’t see as many girls active in, and it’s been nice to hear how proud they are and how great they’ve done. It’s really neat to hear where they’re going in life.”

Students bring ‘Reality Check’ to campus

Steve Carrasco IV — THE BATTALION

“Reality Check” directors communication senior Callie Bekker and theatre senior Kat Bertagnoli pose for a photo inside The Battalion Studio atz the MSC on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026.

Theatre seniors Kat Bertagnoli, Callie Bekker create upcoming student-run production By Mandy Rychlik Life & Arts Writer Images of flickering screens and televisions sparked an idea in the retrospective mind of theatre senior and Co-Director Kat Bertagnoli to build a play from nothing but a vision. Kat’s vision became a concept exploring the screens that surround us, forming the upcoming production “Reality Check.” Over the past year, Bertagnoli’s vision of a “wall of retro TVs” developed into “Reality Check.” The student-led production explores Gen Z’s relationship with technology through striking images of what technology can do for us, both the good and the bad, Bertagnoli said.

While Bertagnoli developed the concept of “Reality Check,” communication senior and Co-Director Callie Bekker helped bring her vision to life. With Bekker’s skills in performance, acting and directing and Bertagnoli’s strong suit in devising, the two blended together to create the production. “I brought on Callie because she’s just insanely talented, very creative, and I’m gonna flex because she is just amazing,” Bertagnoli said. “She’s also my best friend and we work really well together, we blend together.” Before coming together in the Texas A&M Theatre program, Bekker and Bertagnoli were individually exploring their passions for theater that began at a young age. Both girls found ways to bring performances to life for their own audiences back then. “When I was really little, my little brother and I would perform shows for our parents,” Bertagnoli said. “I think subconsciously it was kind of myself telling me, ‘Hey, the future you, you should do theater.’”

Bekker also expressed her passion and creativity through performances put on at home. “I’m not a singer, but I would perform for my parents or my brother and I would play made-up games,” Bekker said. “I would always really get into it.” For years, they both continued pursuing theater, eventually stepping into directing roles, taking a pivotal turn from performing on stage. With Bertagnoli naturally gravitating to the behind-the-scenes roles and Bekker being a regular performer, directing was a new approach for both leading up to co-directing “Reality Check.” “I took a directing class in the spring, and I wasn’t super confident because I’ve really just been a performer,” Bekker said. “Taking that class and seeing maybe I can do this made me realize maybe I could codirect.” Still, Bekker described the production as both a new challenge and a different approach to directing. With the production being a devised theater piece, Bertagnoli and Bekker built the show from the ground up. Rather than working from a finished script and idea, the two relied on their actors to create material, which they then shaped into a show. “With devised theater there is a pretty big difference between normal directing,” Bertagnoli said. “For us, we started with nothing, we had to leave the actors to create material for the show and start piecing it together. It’s a challenge.” As of Spring 2026, “Echoes of Justice” remained the first and only student-led production to premiere within the A&M Theatre program. Now, “Reality Check” will be the second student-led production to premiere, making their production process an opportunity to prove just what students can do, Bertagnoli said. In two months of casting, creating a script, building a set and planning music and lights, Bertagnoli and

Bekker created the production. “We had two months to create a show from scratch,” Bertagnoli said. “Our show is very technical and we have amazing lights and costumes in the set.” The production’s technicality was another way for both girls to challenge expectations of what a student-led production can accomplish. “There’s ideas that are thrown into the show that you wouldn’t really see from a student production,” Bertagnoli said. “We wanted to push that line of, ‘Hey we’re students but we can still do it just as much as a faculty member could.’” After months of crafting and pushing the boundary of student theater, both women are excited to see how people will receive what they and the crew have made, Bekker said. Bertagnoli and Bekker said they hope that audiences capture the main message, which reflects on their own relationships with technology. “We want the audience to have their own type of reality check in this performance,” Bertagnoli said. “We explore different aspects of how technology affects our lives.” Rather than presenting technology as either good or bad, the production encourages viewers to find a balance. It pushes audiences to step outside their lives and assess whether they control technology or it controls them, Bekker said. “We want to push the personal balance for some people watching this show,” Bertagnoli said. “We want them to reflect on, ‘Hey, maybe I’m doomscrolling too much and maybe I do need to walk outside.’” Bekker and Bertagnoli continue to work in production before opening night. “Reality Check” will premiere at the Liberal Arts and Humanities Black Box Theater on Thursday, Nov. 5-7, with tickets available through the MSC Box Office.

11.05.2026

LIFE & ARTS

Former students craft award-winning beer Mark Norman ‘15, Dylan Byerly ‘16 run Lago Vista brewery By Ava Loth Editor-in-Chief As members of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets over a decade ago, Mark Norman ‘15 and Dylan Byerly ‘16 turned an unlikely friendship into a business venture neither one imagined pursuing. Now, the former students are solidifying their place in the brewing industry one beer at a time. “I was a freshman, and Mark was a sophomore,” Byerly said. “And the first time I met Mark, he blew cigar smoke in my face. But yeah, I don’t know, I hated his guts for a year, and then when I became a sophomore, I was like, ‘Oh, man, he’s actually a really nice person, and he doesn’t have to be mean.’” Following graduation, the two went down seemingly parallel journeys, each navigating careers of their own. Norman worked as a teacher while also maintaining a part-time job at a local brewery. It wasn’t long until the brewery asked him if he wanted to join the team full time, to which he replied with “Yes.” A series of saying “yes” led him to a position as head brewer at that same brewery in Marble Falls. The two kept in contact while Byerly pursued a career at a big ag company, gaining experience in beef processing. The idea of owning a business was not their vision when they graduated from A&M. It wasn’t even an option until a single phone call caused their once parallel paths to merge. “I think, about seven years before we opened the doors, [Norman] called me and said, ‘Hey, do you want to quit your job and start a brewery?’” Byerly said. “And I said, ‘Yesterday.’” Coming up with the idea was the easy part; configuring plans to execute their goals presented an entirely different challenge. “Everybody’s got this idea of what it’s like to work for yourself, and you really have no idea what that is until you actually do it,”

Byerly said. “It was not in my plan, that’s for sure. … You meet somebody that you really respect and admire, and you decide, ‘Okay, this is a big risk, but I know I’m not alone. So, let’s make the jump. Let’s do it.’” Working day in and day out, the pair finally broke ground, opening a brickand-mortar store in 2020. With that, Lago Vista Brewing Company came to fruition, extending a unique identity that boiled down to the products and environment they offered to customers, as well as reflecting the identity of those who stood behind it.

“We say ‘Howdy’ to everyone that comes up to the bar, and I just thought that it was a really fun name,” Norman said. “The name was floated out there, kind of mixing the Oktoberfest with, you know, our identity, our personality.” The unique spin quickly paid off. Gaining traction on the national stage, Howdyfest won bronze at the World Beer Cup, the world’s most prestigious beer and cider competition. Shortly after, the brew earned silver at the Great American Beer Festival, a large-scale competition with entries coming

Photo Courtesy of Mark Norman

Their standout brew in particular, Howdyfest, offers a twist on a traditional German Märzen, mirroring qualities of a classic Oktoberfest beer. The name, however, is derived from the shared roots they once had planted in Aggieland.

from almost every American brewery. “I think that’s why it’s done so well,” Norman said. “It’s the unique spin on it, while also being a high-quality product.” The recognition carries major weight as the World Beer Cup — often referred to as

the “Olympics of beer,” draws entries from across the globe, including some of the most established names in the industry. In addition, running their own operation comes with the benefit of experimenting with new things, allowing them to fully embrace the creative side of the business as often as they can. Beyond their widely known brews, the menu features a variety of unique and rotating spouts so that customers can taste something new every time they come in. “We can come in every week and say, ‘What do we want to brew?’” Norman said. “‘I don’t know, what do we have?’ When we can be, we allow ourselves creativity.” For both owners, the ability to run a successful business, as well as lead a small team, stem from shared values as part of a foundation built while at A&M and, more specifically, in the Corps. “We learned all that at A&M, on how to take care of people and how to push them towards a singular goal,” Byerly said. “We definitely use that every day with our crew.” The same drive they pride themselves on internally within the company extends to the community they hope to reach. Norman and Byerly described wanting to create an inviting space at the brewing company that is welcoming and where people can connect over a meal or drink. “We try to be that family-friendly community place that, you know, everybody’s got three places, or everybody’s got two places: your home and your work,” Byerly said. “We’re trying to be that third place that everybody wants to go.” For Norman and Byerly, their goals stretch further than what goes into each glass. Norman said they want to bring authenticity to their product, reflecting who they are, both as individuals and as Aggies. “Especially being in the industry we are, where, you know, one of our biggest things is people want to buy a product not from a faceless corporation,” Norman said. “People want to know the owner because then you feel invested, and you feel like I’m buying this from Dylan. I’m buying a product from Mark; Mark made this. And you get an emotional connection.”

Engineering success on international stage Texas A&M Formula Electric’s annual journey to built-fromscratch electric racing car By Adhithi Shankar Associate Life & Arts Editor Every summer, over 100 collegiate teams from around the world gather in Brooklyn, Michigan, with their studentbuilt formula-style electric racing cars. With each team vying to race to the top, in both performance around the track and in various judging events, these cars go head to head in competitions such as acceleration, autocross, efficiency and endurance. In 2026, with a top speed of 87 mph, Texas A&M Formula Electric placed 12th overall at Formula SAE Michigan. The road to competition, however, starts the year before. According to mechanical engineering senior and Formula Electric Project Manager Thomas Sepanski, the team is formed in July, designing the car until the fall semester. Then, the manufacturing stage begins, focusing on welding, motors, battery packs and more. “We run on a one-year design cycle, which is pretty unique for a lot of the teams that show up to the competition,” Sepanski said. “A lot do a two-year design cycle where they’re basically reusing the old design and adding to it. We design the entire thing from the ground up every year.” Testing is conducted in April and May so that the team can prepare for the competition held at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn in June. According to Sepanski, this testing stage can be crucial to the car’s readiness for competition, as only about 30 to 40 out of 100 registered teams get the opportunity to compete in high-speed dynamic racing events. “We have really rigorous technical inspections before we can even compete,” Sepanski said. “ … There’s an over 150page rule book … that we have to follow, and they inspect us based off of that.” A wide variety of technical knowledge is required for the construction of the car to come together successfully. The team that represents A&M at Formula SAE Michigan encompasses students from a large scope of backgrounds such as electrical engineering, manufacturing and mechanical engineering technology, industrial distribution, finance and more. Electrical engineering sophomore and Chief Electrical Engineer Gregory Narinian says that, despite the vastly different focuses

Photo courtesy of Thomas Sepanski

of each subteam, they communicate so that team members get the opportunity to gain technical knowledge from multiple fields. “[Cross-disciplinary communication] helps us understand what kind of data the [other] subteams want,” Narinian said. “And for knowing how to integrate it and [making] sure the data we get is actually usable for analysis that we can present in competition, I would say that having some mechanical knowledge is still very relevant.” This focus on interdisciplinary learning allows students from one major to explore concepts relevant to other fields of study. Sepanski, for example, though not an aerospace engineering major, hopes to pursue a career in the aerospace industry and gained technical experience by serving as Formula Electric’s previous aerodynamics lead. “The aerodynamics subteam has the goal of producing downforce, which allows us to … come out of corners faster,” Sepanski said. “So we’re doing a lot of fluid dynamic

simulations to test the downforce of the vehicle. … And then we run that on the campus supercomputer cluster to get us faster compute time. Then, in the spring, we do all the carbon fiber manufacturing ourselves.” As the technical side of the car comes to fruition, the marketing team is hard at work as well. Formula Electric’s marketing lead and materials science and engineering junior Victoria Haider spearheads the public relations, digital media and traditional media subteams. “[The PR team are] the ones that are helping write newsletters and get publicity so that we’re able to get sponsors,” Haider said. “Most of this car is funded by our sponsors, and we’re very grateful for them. … It’s a very expensive car. It costs over $100,000.” In addition to technical and business skills, Formula Electric members also get the chance to boost their career trajectories through close relationships with industry

sponsors. “[Formula Electric] gives you a huge opportunity for skills development and also recruiting,” Narinian said. “A lot of sponsors recruit just from our club. That’s how I got my internship secured for Summer 2027.” Additionally, Haider, who hopes to work in the automotive industry, said that skills from Formula Electric have helped her at her summer internship working with Toyota. “I have really liked staying on [the business] side,” Haider said. “Everyone talks about the soft skills, but [it’s about] also learning how to sell yourself and problem solve and a lot of things that I never thought I would have needed. I don’t think I would have gotten the job … if I wasn’t able to learn how to speak with people and talk about what I was doing in my classes on a level that can kind of be understood by anyone.”

11.05.2026

OPINION

Opinion: Not everything needs a reboot Please, Glee-ave it alone By Bethany Mann Opinion Writer I’m a Gleek. It’s true. While not something I should be admitting publicly, I absolutely love the most camp TV show ever created. The Fox series “Glee,” which aired from 2009 to 2015, produced six seasons of masterful television. From questionable music arrangements to incredibly inappropriate jokes to Sue Sylvester’s endless collection of tracksuits, “Glee” could have only existed in its time period. After Co-Creator Ryan Murphy hinted at a possible reboot in late September, Disney+ and Hulu announced on Oct. 21 that a reboot — or “Gleeboot” — is officially underway. While an official cast has not been announced, several actors from the original series, including Lea Michele, Heather Morris and Jane Lynch, have hinted at returning. As much as I love “Glee,” though, I have absolutely no desire to see it come back. My biggest concern with the reboot is that three major cast members — Cory Monteith, Naya Rivera and Mark Salling — have passed away since the show aired. While the show is an ensemble cast, these three characters were central to what made “Glee” so memorable, and their absence would be impossible to ignore. The reboot just won’t be the same without them. In fact, after Monteith passed away in 2013, the show noticeably shifted when his character, Finn Husdon, died. Beyond the missing cast members, I just don’t think the “Glee” we knew could exist in today’s political climate. While being incredibly progressive for its time, the show was also politically incorrect, wildly offensive and extremely ridiculous — which is exactly what made it so entertaining. “Glee” was a product of its time that only ages well when taken unseriously. The reboot will either recreate the

original show’s humor, inevitably facing backlash, or it will water down everything that made “Glee” worth watching in the first place; and I don’t care for either option. Unfortunately, “Glee” is just the latest victim of the entertainment industry’s inability to leave a successful television

show alone. Disney and Nickelodeon have been guilty of this for the last decade, reviving shows like “iCarly,” “That’s So Raven,” “Boy Meets World” and, most recently, “Victorious.” The issue with these revivals is how

Graphic by Tanner Brown — THE BATTALION

little time the industry gives audiences to actually miss something. Revivals should at least wait a generation — something I could watch with my kids or be an actual adult to relate to the characters. I grew up watching “iCarly,” and there was a reboot of it with the cast as adults before I even graduated high school. Even when a reboot manages to be entertaining, there’s no guarantee audiences will get a satisfying conclusion. Take the recent reboot of “Frasier,” for example. As someone who enjoyed the original sitcom, I loved the reboot as well. It introduced new characters and developed interesting storylines while maintaining some of its original charm, but it was canceled after only two seasons. So, after getting invested in an entirely new set of characters, I was left with an unfinished story that arguably didn’t need to exist in the first place. Not only do reboots risk ruining our memories of their original series, but they can also ruin canonization by changing character development and leaving audiences with half-baked endings. At some point, the entertainment industry needs to recognize that not every successful television show needs to be brought back. Unfortunately, I can’t entirely fault studios for continuing to produce reboots. They’re banking on audiences like me, who will inevitably tune in to see what happened to the characters I have grown to know and love. Familiarity sells more than creativity, and it didn’t take the entertainment industry long to realize that. But just because I’ll inevitably end up watching the “Gleeboot” doesn’t mean I think it should exist. Some shows are successful because of the time and environment they aired in, and trying to recreate that success years later hurts their legacy. You can only rely on nostalgia for so long. So, please, Murphy, leave the New Directions in peace. We’ve already stopped believing. Bethany Mann is a history junior and opinion writer for The Battalion.

Opinion: Clock your ‘time personality’ Watch out for the subjectivity of time — every second counts By Maeva Elizabé Opinion Editor She’s not a control freak or high-strung, merely time anxious; he’s not disorganized or intentionally rude, only time blind. We all see the same numbers on the clock and track the same two or three hands around the dial, but our perception of time isn’t necessarily the same. This discrepancy constitutes each person’s unique time personality — an important distinction to keep in mind when making snap judgments about others’ behavioral intentions and navigating your personal schedule, especially as we all adjust to the end of daylight saving time that set our clocks back one hour just this past weekend. In short, there are four primary personality types that can be characterized under the time umbrella: optimist, anxious, bender and blind. Time optimists consistently underestimate how much time tasks take, an oversight that results in them frequently running behind schedule, while their time-anxious counterparts conversely arrive excessively early to most functions because they anticipate every worst-case scenario and thus allot significantly more time than necessary to each undertaking. Time benders thrive under pressure, tending to be time-crunch adrenaline junkies, and those who are time blind, as hinted at by their moniker, have an internal clock that’s essentially functioning on spent batteries, meaning they can’t seem to get a solid grasp on the passage of time. Of course, the timepiece populace could also just be collectively plotting against you, speeding up and slowing down erratically to mess with your punctuality. That incessant ticking that sends all rational thought into the winds of time? A mere crafty ploy. But really, there’s no need to listen to those champions of violence who tell us to beat the clock — they obviously don’t understand that attempting to tear it limb from limb will amount to nothing, nor are its hands made for throwing. It’s not the poor ticker’s fault you missed your lunch date or, on the flip side, were left fiddling with the tablecloth and counting the prongs on your fork to occupy yourself. Your concept of time is the true culprit. Though that’s not to say your time sense is criminal, that how you manage the passing minutes and hours is inherently wrong — there is no “right” way, what with each person’s time personality determined by a unique blend of neurobiological wiring, cultural norms and lived experiences. You shouldn’t be jailed for being late — but

running a red light to make up for your tardiness is fair game. Which is why determining your time tendencies, and working with them accordingly, is so important. If you’re a time bender, you might find that breaking up larger projects into more manageable workloads effectively creates more checkpoints, giving you that same deadline “rush” and productivity boost without you actually risking a late submission; cutting down the ambitious and ever-lengthening to-do list, instead incorporating “buffer” periods in daily plans, could keep time optimists’ tasks from bleeding into one another and help time-anxious individuals breathe easier knowing they’ve expected those unexpected setbacks and are ready with a contingency plan. More external constraints in addition wouldn’t hurt, either, including setting alarms that alert you not just when you need to start a new task, but when to end the current one. Once you familiarize yourself with, well, yourself, it becomes much easier to work with the clock rather than against it, and

suddenly your professors are running your essays through the AI checker thrice instead of twice and calling the anonymous tip hotline to report a case of body-snatching. This newfound — and likely warranted, let’s be honest — suspicion sparked by such an uncharacteristic surge in timeliness may slow your roll to some extent, but improving your time management will ultimately have you dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s with a deliberate, elegant flourish rather than a rushed hand wired on caffeine. Not only can identifying your time personality aid in relieving that stress you pay overpriced pilates membership subscriptions to alleviate — saving time and money in one go — but you’ll be able to produce higher-quality work and form better relationships, becoming known as the reliable friend instead of the flaky, overbearing or missing-in-action, checktheir-location-to-verify-signs-of-life friend. But does this mean that you can necessarily only have one type of chronological perception? Of course not. And while wearing two hats — having a hybrid of

two time personalities, if you will — it’s certainly possible to stay ahead of schedule, you just have to make sure they’re on right. Leave wearing the hovering backward cap to the frat boys; they’ve earned it. Having Fridays off is tough. When your pendulum swings back and forth between multiple states of mind, being able to recognize which instances evoke which personalities is just that much more crucial and, really, it gives you a greater amount of material to bolster your resume with under “problem-solving” and “organizational” soft skills, even if it’s a minute enhancement. So I’m not chronically late — I’m just a time optimist. Though you’re probably still just a procrastinator, not a time bender. Yes, there’s a difference, and that difference counts. Maeva Elizabé is a neuroscience senior and chemistry minor and opinion editor for The Battalion.

Illustration by Alejandra Yepez — THE BATTALION

SPORTS

11.05.2026

Crossing bySEC midseason report card lines: South Conference grades are in Carolina Sitting down with The Daily Gamecock’s John Davis as Texas A&M football heads east By Ian Curtis Senior Enterprise Reporter As Texas A&M football hits the road to take on No. 23 South Carolina this week, it’ll be a battle between teams with opposite trajectories. While the Aggies have seemingly collapsed in the midst of a 1-4 start to Southeastern Conference play, the Gamecocks are in a revival, entering the AP Poll for the first time since Week 3 of the 2025 season after starting 0-3 in the SEC. To get an idea of what the 12th Man can expect as the Maroon and White travel east, I sat down with John Davis, the sports editor of The Daily Gamecock, the student newspaper at South Carolina. Davis, who transferred to South Carolina by way of Old Dominion and described the Gamecocks’ football program as a “rollercoaster,” said that the win streak has rejuvenated a fanbase that was ready to call for head coach Shane Beamer to be fired earlier in the year. “It’s an entirely different feeling in Columbia [South Carolina] compared to three weeks ago,” Davis said. “And people are excited. This team is hot. [Senior quarterback] LaNorris Sellers is hot. The defense is hot. … The way in which this team has rebounded, I think, has reminded everyone of exactly the brand that both Shane Beamer and South Carolina football have.” LaNorris Sellers’ success A key part of the Gamecocks’ recent success has been Sellers’ improvement over the past several games as he’s settled into offensive coordinator Kendal Briles’ system. “[In] that loss to Mississippi State, that loss to Alabama, he looked bad,” Davis said. “Then against Kentucky, even though it was a 17-0 lead for South Carolina at one point and they blew it, Sellers played excellent. … It’s like ‘Well, you can’t blame him for that one.’ Ever since that game, he’s just had a fire lit under him.” Davis pointed out that Sellers has played for three different OCs in his three years as the starter in Columbia, South Carolina, and he said that Sellers — who ranks sixth in the SEC in both passing and rushing yards — has looked more comfortable as the Gamecocks have relied on his legs. That’s something they’ll have to do even more than usual this week after it was announced that junior running back Matt Fuller would likely miss the rest of the season due to an ankle injury he suffered last week in South Carolina’s win over Oklahoma, Davis said. “He’s make your read, maybe make your second read, and run,” Davis said. “ … All you need him to be is a college quarterback. He doesn’t need to be a pro quarterback for college, and I think South Carolina realized that.” Dylan Stewart: Defensive X-factor Davis said that as junior edge rusher Dylan Stewart goes, so too does the rest of the Gamecocks’ defense. While Stewart — a 2025 Second Team All-SEC honoree and projected first-round NFL draft pick — has only recorded two sacks this year, Davis said that part of that has been as teams have been forced to scheme around his presence, leaving other opportunities open. “I think the level of value that a true X-[factor] at edge rusher does for a defense, I don’t think I’ve ever actualized till this year,” Davis said. “No team I’ve ever followed has had such a dominant presence on the outside that genuinely changes the way teams prepare and the rest of the defense is able to do their job.” While he acknowledged that some fans may be tempted to look at this week’s matchup as a trap game for South Carolina, Davis said he believes that the Gamecocks’ momentum will be too much for the Aggies to overcome. “South Carolina, the entire time that I’ve been here as a student, has been able to fall victim to trap games and play down to opponents,” Davis said. “The manner in which this team is playing now, I don’t believe that’s going to happen. … They’re so reliant on capitalizing on the momentum, and I think that’s what they’re going to do this Saturday.” And for any members of the 12th Man making the trip to Columbia, Davis offered a key local recommendation: Village Idiot Pizza. “It’s a remarkable pizza, but it’s a better environment,” Davis said. “ … It is such a college bar environment, but it’s also affordable. The pizza is really good, and I always go there every Wednesday after our newspaper meetings. It’s incredible.”

By Elon Jent Sports Writer

The Southeastern Conference’s first two months produced a crowded championship race. Georgia and Kentucky shared the conference lead, while six teams reached 6-2 overall. These grades cover the season through Oct. 31, weighing results, consistency and performance relative to preseason expectations. Alabama (6-2, 4-2 SEC): B+ Alabama followed five straight wins with consecutive SEC losses. The preseason No. 13 Crimson Tide scored a combined 27 points in losses to then-No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs and then-No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers. Alabama responded by beating Texas A&M, 31-20, giving head coach Kalen DeBoer’s squad yet another SEC win going into their bye week. A 45-17 victory at Kentucky remained a notable result, but two SEC defeats left Alabama behind the conference leaders despite winning 6 of its first 8 games. Arkansas (3-5, 1-4 SEC): CArkansas found a foothold in SEC play, but conference victories remained scarce. Picked last in the preseason league media poll, the Razorbacks beat the Vanderbilt Commodores, 31-21, for their first conference win. Arkansas also stayed within seven points of then-No. 15 Tennessee. However, losses to A&M and then-No. 23 Missouri came by a combined 51 points, leaving Arkansas with only a single SEC victory through five attempts and a 3-5 overall record at the cutoff. Auburn (4-4, 2-4 SEC): C+ Auburn’s 27-24 victory over then-No. 1 Georgia handed the Bulldogs their first loss, but consecutive defeats followed. Auburn surrendered 83 combined points against then-No. 18 LSU and then-No. 12 Ole Miss, returning head coach Alex Golesh’s squad to .500. The win in Athens, Georgia, supplied a breakthrough for a team projected to finish 12th in the preseason SEC poll, though Auburn surrendered 4 losses through 6 conference games.

Adriano Espinosa — THE BATTALION

Defensive tackle DJ Hicks (5) and linebacker Ray Coney (21) celebrate a tackle for loss during Texas A&M football’s game against Kentucky at Kyle Field on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026.

Florida (5-3, 3-3 SEC): B

LSU (6-2, 3-2 SEC): B+

The Jon Sumrall era began with both breakthroughs and growing pains. No. 25 Florida beat then-No. 4 Ole Miss and then-No. 7 Texas after opening outside the preseason AP Top 25, giving it victories over two teams that entered the season with massive expectations. Between those victories, Florida lost to then-No. 25 Missouri and South Carolina. A 27-8 defeat against then-No. 3 Georgia left Florida with three SEC wins and three conference losses.

Head coach Lane Kiffin’s first LSU team brought points to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The preseason No. 11 team scored 51 points against Clemson before No. 15 LSU beat then-No. 23 Texas A&M, then-No. 16 Mississippi State and Auburn by at least 21 points apiece. Both losses came on the road against then-No. 8 Ole Miss and Kentucky, including a one-point overtime defeat in Lexington, Kentucky.

Georgia (7-1, 5-1 SEC): ANo. 2 Georgia paired seven victories with one conference setback to share the SEC lead through Oct. 31. After beginning No. 3 in the preseason AP poll, Georgia earned a 20-17 victory at Alabama before losing, 27-24, to Auburn. The Bulldogs responded by beating then-No. 17 Florida, 27-8, and keeping it scoreless through three quarters. That result returned Georgia to the win column and left it tied with Kentucky atop the league standings. Kentucky (7-1, 5-1 SEC): A+ The Will Stein era began with No. 8 Kentucky climbing beyond its preseason projection. Picked 14th in the SEC media poll, the Wildcats won six straight matchups to share first place in the conference. Kentucky won against then-No. 9 Texas A&M and South Carolina, and it beat then-No. 10 LSU in overtime. Its only defeat came against then-No. 12 Alabama in September.

Mississippi State (4-4, 2-4 SEC): C+ Mississippi State’s season split into two stretches. Picked 15th in the preseason SEC poll, Mississippi State opened 4-0 with wins over South Carolina and then-No. 19 Missouri. Four straight losses followed. The Bulldogs allowed 56 points against the then-No. 7 Crimson Tide before scoring 18 combined against the then-No. 22 Tigers, Sooners and then-No. 11 Longhorns, erasing September’s cushion. Missouri (6-2, 3-2 SEC): B+ No. 19 Missouri added substance to its preseason No. 25 AP ranking. It defeated then-No. 8 Florida, 45-17, and Texas A&M, 27-6, before beating Arkansas, 3410. In that last victory, the Tigers converted four takeaways into 24 points.