TheBattalion05072012
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● monday, may 7, 2012 ● serving texas a&m since 1893 ● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2012 student media the battalion Year of changes Students bring national movements to University As a college student, it’s easy to become trapped in a microcosmic bubble of classes, friends, tests and homework. At times, the outside world can seem like a dream or some collection of surreal events taking place on television but not affecting the viewer. Aggies broke through that bub- ble in big ways this year, throw- ing their own brand of support and awareness behind movements such as Occupy, Kony 2012, and the Trayvon Martin incident. Far from the New York Stock Exchange, and with Austin rep- resenting the closest metropoli- tan center, Occupy Wall Street and its myriad of offshoots seem- ingly didn’t affect College Station and the students attending Texas A&M. A small group of students stood on the corner of Texas and George Bush, brandishing signs and information, but since the overall abatement of Occupy in the popular media, protests have disappeared. That changed when a group of students, along with farmers, Oc- cupy protestors and one Austin City Council candidate took to Chase Carter The Battalion See Social movements on page 2 A&M progresses through turbulent 2011-2012 One word to describe the 2011-2012 academic year: change. Students have seen the beginning of outsourcing at the University level, ral- lied with GOP candidate Ron Paul, dodged traffic cones around construction on Well- born Road and taken a nap in a newly renovated Memorial Student Center. Construction From building face-lifts to road construction projects on and around the Texas A&M campus, this year has been privy to construction. There were five construc- tion projects that characterized the year: the Wellborn Road Grade Separation Project, the College of Veterinary Medicine Building, the new Liberal Arts & Humanities Building and two recently completed projects, the Memorial Student Center and Blue Bell Park. The $34 million Wellborn Road Grade Separation Project that has forced Wellborn traffic into a daily bottleneck started Nov. 11 and is scheduled to be finished August 2013. “The purpose of the project is to eliminate the hazards of crossing the tracks and Well- born Road by local University vehicular traffic and pedestri- ans,” said Bill Scott, construc- tion project manager for the A&M System. “[It] will consist of two underpasses running par- Allison Linder, Chase Carter & Kalee Bumguardner The Battalion See Campus on page 2 Divided regents approve fee increase In a sea of suits, administrators and a sprinkling of students from across the Texas A&M System at- tended the A&M System board of regents meeting late last week in the MSC ballroom to set tuition and mandatory fees rates. The board held designated tuition flat at the Sys- tem’s flagship university for the 2012-2013 academic year, but approved an increase in differential tuition for the College of Education and Human Develop- ment, four mandatory fees and the establishment of a “student success fee.” The nine voting members on the board of regents did not consider each case individually, but voted on Trevor Stevens The Battalion Career Center director says job outlook positive Graduating seniors are often forced to make a decision: apply for graduate school or gain work experi- ence by through employment. For- tunately for Aggies, administrators say Texas A&M graduates have an advantage in the job market. “The thought of graduating didn’t really set in until my last day of fi- nals,” said Landon Dickeson, senior psychology major. “People kept ask- ing me how I felt, and then today it just kind of hit me — I’m done with college. I’m a college graduate.” Dickeson said he doesn’t have concerns about finding a job after Trevor Stevens The Battalion Roger Zhang — THE BATTALION Members of the board of regents listen to public testimonies from A&M System schools Thursday afternoon in the MSC Ballroom. See Graduation on page 7 See Regents on page 4 campus graduation Associated Press and File Photos — THE BATTALION To meet with a career adviser The Career Center is located in Koldus, Room 209, and students are welcome to drop by or schedule an appointment. Final issue This is the final edition of The Battalion to be published until the first summer semester. For news updates during the break, visit thebatt.com, like The Battalion on Facebook or follow @TheBattOnline on Twitter. Pg. 1-05.07.12.indd 1 Pg. 1-05.07.12.indd 1 5/7/12 12:31 AM 5/7/12 12:31 AM
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TheBattalion05072012
Transcript of TheBattalion05072012
● monday, may 7, 2012 ● serving texas a&m since 1893 ● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2012 student media
thebattalion
Year of changes
Students bring national movements to University
As a college student, it’s easy to become trapped in a microcosmic bubble of classes, friends, tests and homework. At times, the outside world can seem like a dream or some collection of surreal events taking place on television but not affecting the viewer.
Aggies broke through that bub-ble in big ways this year, throw-ing their own brand of support and awareness behind movements such as Occupy, Kony 2012, and the Trayvon Martin incident.
Far from the New York Stock Exchange, and with Austin rep-
resenting the closest metropoli-tan center, Occupy Wall Street and its myriad of offshoots seem-ingly didn’t affect College Station and the students attending Texas A&M. A small group of students stood on the corner of Texas and George Bush, brandishing signs and information, but since the overall abatement of Occupy in the popular media, protests have disappeared.
That changed when a group of students, along with farmers, Oc-cupy protestors and one Austin City Council candidate took to
Chase Carter The Battalion
See Social movements on page 2
A&M progresses through turbulent 2011-2012
One word to describe the 2011-2012 academic year: change. Students have seen the beginning of outsourcing at the University level, ral-lied with GOP candidate Ron Paul, dodged traffic cones around construction on Well-born Road and taken a nap in a newly renovated Memorial Student Center.
ConstructionFrom building face-lifts to
road construction projects on
and around the Texas A&M campus, this year has been privy to construction.
There were five construc-tion projects that characterized the year: the Wellborn Road Grade Separation Project, the College of Veterinary Medicine Building, the new Liberal Arts & Humanities Building and two recently completed projects, the Memorial Student Center and Blue Bell Park.
The $34 million Wellborn
Road Grade Separation Project that has forced Wellborn traffic into a daily bottleneck started Nov. 11 and is scheduled to be finished August 2013.
“The purpose of the project is to eliminate the hazards of crossing the tracks and Well-born Road by local University vehicular traffic and pedestri-ans,” said Bill Scott, construc-tion project manager for the A&M System. “[It] will consist of two underpasses running par-
Allison Linder, Chase Carter & Kalee Bumguardner The Battalion
See Campus on page 2
Divided regents approve fee increase
In a sea of suits, administrators and a sprinkling of students from across the Texas A&M System at-tended the A&M System board of regents meeting late last week in the MSC ballroom to set tuition and mandatory fees rates.
The board held designated tuition flat at the Sys-tem’s flagship university for the 2012-2013 academic year, but approved an increase in differential tuition for the College of Education and Human Develop-ment, four mandatory fees and the establishment of a “student success fee.”
The nine voting members on the board of regents did not consider each case individually, but voted on
Trevor Stevens The Battalion
Career Center director says job outlook positive
Graduating seniors are often forced to make a decision: apply for graduate school or gain work experi-ence by through employment. For-tunately for Aggies, administrators say Texas A&M graduates have an advantage in the job market.
“The thought of graduating didn’t really set in until my last day of fi-nals,” said Landon Dickeson, senior psychology major. “People kept ask-ing me how I felt, and then today it
just kind of hit me — I’m done with college. I’m a college graduate.”
Dickeson said he doesn’t have concerns about finding a job after
Trevor Stevens The Battalion
Roger Zhang — THE BATTALION
Members of the board of regents listen to public testimonies from A&M System schools Thursday afternoon in the MSC Ballroom.
See Graduation on page 7See Regents on page 4
campus graduation
Associated Press and File Photos — THE BATTALION
To meet with a career adviserThe Career Center is located in Koldus, Room 209, and students are welcome to drop by or schedule an appointment.
Final issueThis is the fi nal edition of The
Battalion to be published until the fi rst summer semester. For news updates during the break, visit thebatt.com, like The Battalion on Facebook or follow @TheBattOnline on Twitter.
Pg. 1-05.07.12.indd 1Pg. 1-05.07.12.indd 1 5/7/12 12:31 AM5/7/12 12:31 AM
