● tuesday, february 21, 2012 ● serving texas a&m since 1893 ● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2012 student media

thebattalion

House minority leader advises women to take initiative

Pelosi talks service, politics

Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives, joined Andrew Card, former Republican White House chief of staff and Bush School acting dean, on the Texas A&M University campus to discuss the role of women in politics.

Pelosi spoke Monday at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center at the George Bush Presidential Library Center. The first woman speaker of the House and California native made the trip to Texas on Presidents Day at the invitation of the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation.

Roman Popadiuk, executive director of the George Bush Presidential Library Founda-tion, explained the Bush Foundation’s desire to encourage meaningful dialogue through speaker invitations.

“One of the goals of the Library Center is to bring to public attention various views and opinions on the challenges facing our nation,”

Popadiuk said. “In this regard, Leader Pelosi was invited by the Bush School to share her views on the current situation in Washington. Given the Bush School’s commitment to pub-lic service, Leader Pelosi … also discuss[ed] the importance of public service, which is a core belief of the A&M student body.”

Card moderated the conversation with Pe-losi. Also present in the audience were former

Robby Smith The Battalion

SBP candidates outline academic initiatives

Academic issues are often a central part of student body pres-ident candidates’ agendas. Text-book prices, library hours and Q-drops are all concerns of the candidates.

One major issue all the student body president candidates plan to address if elected is the cost of textbooks. Education gradu-ate student Jose Zelaya said he knows many students who have spent hundreds of dollars on textbooks, but barely needed the resource during the semester.

“It’s very important to have a conversation with teachers and ask them that they only make students buy what they’re going to be using,” Zelaya said.

Senior finance major John Claybrook said one of his planned initiatives involves encourag-ing professors to start using open source textbooks.

“It’s our hope that we can en-courage professors to either write their own open source textbooks or find open source textbooks that are quality that students can learn from,” Claybrook said. “If we could get professors to start

using those, we can save stu-dents hundreds of dollars each semester.”

Open source textbooks don’t have copy write protection, meaning students can access the information free of charge.

Sam Hodges said he hopes to implement a textbook adoption policy.

“The adoption policy requires a class to use the same textbook for six consecutive semesters,” Hodges said. “The school’s not having to restock the shelves, so

Emily Davis The Battalion

candidate perspectives

See Pelosi on page 4

Photos by Jay Kapadia — THE BATTALION

insidesports | 3Baseball back in actionThe Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks take on the Aggies Tuesday at Blue Bell Park.

campus news

Big Event deadline nearsFriday is the deadline to sign up to participate in the Big Event. Now in its 30th year, the Big Event is the largest single-day, student-run service project in the nation, and will serve the Bryan-College Station community on March 24. For more information or to register, visit bigevent.tamu.edu.

Texas A&M University has seen a record enrollment of students for spring 2012. This semester, 46,721 students are officially en-rolled at the University.

Spring semester enrollment is usually less than the fall semester because of the large

number of students who graduate in De-cember. The enrollment for fall 2011 was also a record at 49,861 students. This num-ber placed Texas A&M among the top six institutions nationally in student body size.

Not only are both fall 2011 and spring 2012 record enrollment years, but both of Texas A&M’s branch campuses have also seen record enrollments. Texas A&M Uni-versity at Galveston reported 1,882 students and Texas A&M University at Qatar re-ported 524 students for spring 2012.

While the student population is currently the largest it has ever been, the numbers

keep rising. So far, 31,600 prospective stu-dents have applied for fall 2012.

Texas A&M has a history of large chang-es in enrollment. Lane Stephenson from News and Information Services at Texas A&M said 1963 was an important year that brought many new students to the Univer-sity.

“In 1963, women could enroll at Texas A&M on a limited basis,” Stephenson said. “They could enroll if they could not pursue their desired course of study anywhere else

Michal Ann MorrisonThe Battalion

University enrollment continues to surgeCampus livingCurrent capacity for on-campus living is 7,380 students, approximately 16 percent of total enrollment.

See Enrollment on page 6

candidates

Spring 2012 semester sees record number of students

See SBP on page 2

◗ This is the fi rst installation of the four-part Candidate Perspectives series, introducing the student body president candidates by discussing election hot-topics with three candidates per article.

◗ Look for the next installment of the Candidate Perspectives series on Wednesday, featuring candidates Brody Smith, Thomas McNutt and Drew Barber.

◗ Check out thebatt.com to get to know candidates Drew Barber and John Claybrook through video interviews. The Batt Online will publish videos of the remaining four candidates on Wednesday and Thursday, with video release dates determined alphabetically by last name.

Nancy Pelosi, above and second-from-right, speaks at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center at the George Bush Presidential Library. The event was moderated by Andrew Card, far right.

A student, right, dressed as the grim reaper protests legislation supported by Pelosi.

It really is urgent that

women take responsibility for

leadership and the decisions

that have to be made for our country.”

— Nancy Pelosi, House minority leader

Pg. 1-02.21.12.indd 1Pg. 1-02.21.12.indd 1 2/21/12 1:07 AM2/21/12 1:07 AM

LARGE NON-SMOKING ROOM

Great Food • Security • Unlimited Pull & Event Tabs and Much More!

Event Packages

& Planning Available774-7266

OVER $60,000 won weekly• Monday thru Saturday 1st Session 6:30, 2nd Session 8:00• Sunday - 1st Session 6:00pm, 2nd Session 8:00pm• 1/2 price paper on Thursday• $10.00 1/2 price FortuNet Electronics• Thurs. - Free Beer (limit 2)• $2500 session play• 1/2 price full pay Monday, Wednesday and Friday

www.brazosbingo.com

1805 Briarcrest, Bryan

(corner of 29th St. & Briarcrest)

979-776-0999OPEN

7 DAYS A WEEK!

Dealing withAllergies?

“A World of Healthy Products for Your Family!”

Neti PotsXlear

BioAllers Sinus & Allergy Nasal Spray

and many more!

We Carry

Celebrating 22 Years of Serving the Brazos Valley!

4303 S. TEXAS AT ROSEMARYBRYAN • 979-846-4459

MON–FRI 9 TO 6 • SAT 9 TO 4

Celebrating 23 Years of Serving the Brazos Valley!

Friday-Sunday, March 2-4Rudder AuditoriumSpecial Prices for Students!

MSCOPAS.org

Sponsored by

®

®

Photography

crea

tive n

on-fi

ction

digi

tal

art

Call for Creative Works! Be it poetry, literature, art, music, design graphics,

photography, a critique, thoughts, or anything creative and unique that you have done, Explorations the Texas

A&M Undergraduate Journal welcomes your submis- sion. All forms of creative pieces are welcome!

Please, visit explorations.tamu.edu to review our submissions guidelines.

Deadline for submissions: March 7, 2012 Questions? Explorations@tamu.edu

drawing

Poetry

SCULPTURE

Are Dance painting

YOU Creative?

®

THE BATTALION (ISSN #1055-4726) is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and Monday through Thursday during the summer session (except University holidays and exam periods) at Texas A&M University. Periodicals Postage Paid at College Station, TX 77840. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, Texas A&M University, 1111 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-1111.

News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in Student Media, a unit of the Division of Student Affairs. News offices are in The Grove, Bldg. 8901. Newsroom phone: 979-845-3313; Fax: 979-845-2647; E-mail: metro@thebatt.com; website: http://www.thebatt.com.

Advertising: Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by The Battalion. For campus, local, and national display advertising, call 979-845-2696. For classified advertising, call 979-845-0569. Advertising offices are in The Grove, Bldg. 8901, and office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fax: 979-845-2678.

Subscriptions: A part of the Student Services Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pick up a single copy of The Battalion. First copy free, additional copies $1. Mail subscriptions are $125 per school year. To charge by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express, call 979-845-2613.

Robert Carpenter, Editor in Chief

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT VOICE OF TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893thebattalion

battalionthe pagetwo

thebattalion 02.21.2011

courtesy of NOAA

Todaymostly cloudy

High: 93 Low: 66

Connect online

Wednesday patchy fog high: 77 low: 61

Thursday 40% chance of showers high: 78 low: 49

Friday sunny high: 64 low: 40

Cold victory

COURTESY PHOTO

Aggie Men’s Ice Hockey Team celebrates after scoring in an 8-3 victory against Texas Saturday in Austin. The Aggies are undefeated against U.T. this season, 6-0.

correctionsIn the caption of a page 1 photo on Monday, senior infi elder Jacob House hit the fi rst home run at Blue Bell Park during the Aggies’ Friday season opener against the University of Illinois — Chicago.

clarifi cationsIn a page 3 opinion column on Monday, “Protect Texas’ future,” Charles Samuelson is the executive director of the ACLU in Minnesota.

The Battalion welcomes readers’ comments about published information that may require correction. We will pursue your concern to determine whether a correction needs to be published. Please contact us at editor@thebatt.com.

howtoapplyIf you are interested in writing or contributing content in The Battalion, apply at thebatt.com, or call 845-3313.

it’ll keep prices down.” Hodges said for upper-level

classes, it’s important to keep up-to-date information, so the adoption policy for those class-es would be three consecutive semesters.

Claybrook said he learned of another major issue while liv-ing on campus: library hours.

“A lot of times there’s re-sources on campus with the computers and books that we don’t have at our houses, and

SBPContinued from page 1

Al-Qaida’s decision to formally extend its terror franchise to what once was a nationalist movement in Somalia may only be a desperate joining of hands to prop up two militant groups that are both losing popular support and facing increasingly deadly military attacks, analysts said Friday. On Thursday, al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri formalized the relationship by giving “glad tidings” that al-Shabab had joined al-Qaida. Al-Shabab, which began as a movement to oust Ethiopian troops from Somalia some six years ago, has long been using terror tactics like suicide bombings and car bombings against the weak Somali government and African Union troops in Mogadishu.

Associated Press

worldLink between Somalia militant group, al-Qaida

ASSOCIATED PRESS

A Kenyan army soldier carries a rocket-propelled grenade launcher as he patrols in Tabda, inside Somalia on Monday.

the only place we can do our work is on campus,” he said. “It’s our hope to keep the An-nex open until 11 o’clock on the weekend.”

During the week, Evans Library closes at midnight, leaving remaining students to study elsewhere. Most stu-dents walk across to the An-nex, which causes crowding, making it difficult for some students to concentrate on studying, he said.

“It’s our hope that during the week, we can open the first three floors of Evans until 2 a.m. every night to allevi-ate some of the crowdedness from the Annex,” Claybrook said. “It wouldn’t require a ton of staff from Evans. We think that the cost is absolutely worth the benefit there.”

Zelaya and Hodges plan to implement a mentor sys-tem within majors if elected. Seniors and juniors would be mentors to freshmen in the same major to give them an idea of what to expect in the coming years.

“I talked to a lot of students and when I asked them how many of them had changed their majors, almost every-body raised their hands,” Ze-laya said. “Many of them said it would have helped them if they knew somebody in their first major.”

Zelaya said he has already started mentoring unofficially in the College of Education, but hopes to expand the idea across other colleges in the University.

“I plan to work on this whether I get a position or not,” Zelaya said.

Hodges’ plan for a peer-mentoring program is based on the Freshman Business Ini-tiative within the Mays Busi-ness School.

“I would like to see the cre-

ation of more peer mentoring in every college so all students have that available if they want to utilize that resource to have a little more insight as to what the next couple of years will look like from an actual student’s perspective,” Hodges said.

Claybrook and Zelaya plan to address issues concerning freshman grade exclusions and Q-drops if elected.

“The way it works right now, Q-drop day is the 50th day of class. That’s gener-ally before students have taken enough tests to know whether or not they’re going to pass that class,” Claybrook said. “It’s our hope to be able to push an agenda that will get that Q-drop date pushed back to the 60th day of class to give students time to decide whether they have a chance of passing that class or not.”

Zelaya said that right now, a class that has been fresh-man grade excluded shows up as an F on a transcript, and while that F doesn’t average into a student’s GPR, it can negatively impact their abil-ity to get accepted to graduate school.

Budget cuts were another major issue for candidates and students. Hodges said he wants to work with the state legislature to put an end to budget cuts.

“We want to take the of-fensive with the state legis-lature so they know we’re serious about higher educa-tion and we’re going to keep students at the forefront of their minds and their agendas, as well, so higher education isn’t the first thing to get cut,” Hodges said. “A&M is always on the rise with education and academic initiatives so I think we’re in a good position and we’re moving forward.”

Pg. 2-02.21.12.indd 1Pg. 2-02.21.12.indd 1 2/20/12 10:58 PM2/20/12 10:58 PM

GREAT DEALS EVERY TUESDAY IN THE BATTALION

SUPER SAVER

COUPONSTUESDAY

$2.00 OFF any Adult EntreeLimited 1 per guest ticket

(Not applicable on other offers)

THANK YOU

Brazos Valley for voting

us Favorite Mexican

Restaurant

2009, 2010, & 2011!

VISIT US AT OUR NEW EXPRESS LOCATION!

FULL BAR AT OUR DOWNTOWN BRYAN LOCATION!

at 448 Southwest Pkwy E. College Station, TX

Now Hiring!

st nd Friday: Live Music

caffé capriFREE dessert(1 per table with meal purchase)

Expires 3/14/12not valid with any other offer

www.theplaceforitalian.com

Top Nails Complete & Professional Nail Care

(979) 693-4101 (next to Harvey Washbangers)

We accept Credit Cards!

We use Autoclave to sanitize all instruments

Mon.-Fri.: 9am-8pmSaturday: 9am-7pmSunday: 12-6pm

Appointmentand Walk-In

Welcome

Manicure & Spa Pedicure

$26.00Not valid with any other offer.

(Original) Solar Set

$5.00 OFFNot valid with any other offer.

Jacuzzi Spa

$17.00Not valid with any other offer.

Deluxe Pedicure

$30.00Not valid with any other offer.

Full Set of Acrylic Nails

$19.00Not valid with any other offer.

Eye Brow Wax

$6.00Not valid with any other offer.

Reg.$30.00

Reg.$35.00

Reg.$21.00

Reg.$35.00

Reg.$23.00

ADULT HAIRCUT(Reg.$12.95)$ 3OFF

ANYCOLOR SERVICE

(excluding Color Camo)

$ 10OFF

Sun.- Thurs. Fri.-Sat. 11am-midnight 11am-1am

1741 University Dr.979-846-3600

1740 Rock Prairie Rd. 979-680-0508

Delivery or CarryoutExpires 2/27/12

2 Medium 1-Topping Pizzas13.99$

Expires: 3/15/12

Solar Set$1000 OFF

Pedicure$500 OFF

Shellac Manicure$1000 OFF

2212 Texas Avenue979-703-1959

Across the street from Copy Corner!

NAILS

thebattalion

sports page 3

tuesday 12.21.2012

The No. 5 Texas A&M baseball team is coming off a 3-0 sweep of Illinois-Chi-cago as the Aggies prepare to play Stephen F. Austin at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday at Blue Bell Park.

The highly anticipated 2012 season kicked off Friday night with the grand opening of Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park. The Aggies led 7-0 in the top of the sixth inning be-fore inclement weather post-poned the game to Saturday afternoon. The Aggies shut out Ill-Chic., 10-0.

The Aggies went on to beat the Flames 9-2 Satur-day night and 7-0 Sunday afternoon.

Senior first baseman Jacob House hit his first two home runs of the season, both of which occured during the first inning Friday and Satur-day. Junior left fielder Bran-don Wood also hit his first home run of the season Fri-day night.

The Aggie pitching staff was dominant across the board through each game.

Junior All-American Mi-chael Wacha got his first opening day start, striking out eight batters through 5.1 innings. Senior All-Ameri-can Ross Stripling followed on Saturday, also striking out eight batters through seven innings.

Sophomore Rafael Pineda closed out the weekend with an impressive career-first start, pitching a no-hitter through eight innings.

“Pineda pitched incred-ibly,” said Texas A&M head coach Rob Childress. “He got us into the eighth with-out giving up a hit, pounded the strike zone and had early contact. You talk about three years of grinding through in-jury and getting into college pitching ... he wouldn’t let us take him out. We’re very proud of the way he came out and competed today.”

With the first three games behind them, and a perfect

3-0 record, the Aggies pre-pare for a 0-2 SFA squad Tuesday night.

The Lumberjacks were shut out 0-11 in their season opener against Portland in the Lamar Tournament in Beau-mont, Texas.

Game two of the tourna-ment against Arkansas State

James Solano The Battalion

No. 5 A&M to battle SFALumberjacks look to upset Aggies in new ballpark

Roger Zhang — THE BATTALION

Junior pitcher Michael Wacha allowed only one hit and threw for eight strikeouts in 5.2 innings on opening day.

Game preview ◗ First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. at Blue Bell Park

◗ The Aggies outscored the Illinois-Chicago Flames 26-2 in three games.

◗ A&M allowed only 11 hits in its fi rst three games.

◗ The Aggies garnered 32 hits against the Flames in that same time frame.

◗ Stephen F. Austin’s previous visit was in 2011. The Aggies won, 7-5.

was canceled due to inclem-ent weather. SFA resumed play on Sunday with a 5-10 loss to Portland.

Though the Lumber-jacks dropped their first

two contests of 2012, they are coming off a program best 37 wins in 2011, just one game shy of an auto-matic berth into the NCAA tournament. They are now

poised for a big season with All-Conference pitchers re-turning.

In the last meeting with the Lumberjacks, the Aggies won a close 7-5 contest.

Pg. 3-02.21.12.indd 1Pg. 3-02.21.12.indd 1 2/20/12 7:11 PM2/20/12 7:11 PM

President George H. W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, former College Station Rep. Chet Edwards, and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston.

The sold-out event commemorated Pe-losi’s 25th year of service in the House of Represenatives representing San Francisco, California. Pelosi is the first woman in Ameri-can history to lead a major political party in Congress.

Before the event started, students from Texas Aggie Conservatives stood outside the conference center to protest legislation ad-vanced by Pelosi. They were outside as Pelosi and event attendees arrived. The protest in-volved street theater and protest signs with the goal of labeling Pelosi as a job killer.

One student, dressed as a grim reaper, held a poster reading, “Pelosi, Job Killer.”

“We aren’t protesting her coming or the Bush Foundation’s decision to invite her,” said Cary Chesire, protester and sophomore political science major. “We just want to en-gage her in a dialogue.”

As Card introduced Pelosi, he emphasized her family’s commitment to public service and Pelosi’s response to an invitation to run for her congressional seat in a special election after the illness of a friend.

“I may not share the partisanship or her philosophy,” Card said. “But I share the ser-vice she represents.”

Pelosi spoke about the courage it takes to be a leader and a public servant. She refer-enced President Bush, Gen. Earl Rudder, Robert Gates, Chet Edwards and other Aggies — notably the Aggie engineers whose work saved lives at the World War II battleground of Pointe Du Hoc.

The conversation focused on Pelosi’s ascent into the political world, her life as a wom-an in politics and as a representative of San Francisco.

In 2002, when Pelosi took her seat at a White House meting in the cabinet room, she said she finally realized what she was representing.

“I could hear [all of the women who have come before me] say, ‘At last, we have a seat at the table.’” Pelosi said.

Pelosi encouraged confidence and sharing individual perspective.

“Young women, be ready. Have confi-dence in who you are because no one is like you,” Pelosi said. “It really is urgent that women take responsibility for leadership and the decisions that have to be made for our country.”

The audience pre-submitted questions for Pelosi. The only question Card selected chal-lenged the leader’s stance with contraception, faith and the Health and Human Services Act. Several student protestors held pro-life posters when Pelosi arrived at the event.

“The issue is about women’s health. Not contraception,” Pelosi said. “Family size and timing is an issue of each person’s conscience.”

Pelosi said 98 percent of Catholic women in childbearing years use contraception.

“There is a sisterhood of an understanding of this issue amongst women,” Pelosi said. “Everybody knows that the management of a family should respect the discretion of the mother. Why should the federal government enforce something that the church couldn’t even enforce?”

Students from the Bush School in atten-dance said they were pleased with the candor of Pelosi’s message.

“I was pleasantly surprised,” said Taylor Davis, public service and administration grad-uate student said. “I don’t agree on her policy, but as a woman, she is very inspirational.”

Sarah Saunders, international affairs gradu-ate student, said it was a great opportunity for the Bush School to be highlighted in this event with a person of a different ideology.

“As a woman wanting a career in public service, she really made it seem possible to still have a family. She was a wife and a mom first,” Davis said.

Got the fever? Play for high score! Enter your communications power pellets

and eat up the competition!

The 2012 Brazos Bravo Awards are here.Enter by Feb. 27th and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

For more information and the Call for Entries, visit:

bv.iabc.com/2012/bb2012cfe

"AFFECTING AND PIERCINGLY TRUE… FASCINATING."

- THE NEW YORK TIMES

"THE BAND IS SWINGING, THE MOOD DEVIL-MAY-CARE…

EXQUISITELY POLISHED AND VERSATILE."- NPR ALL THINGS CONSIDERED

"ABSOLUTE PERFECTION"- LA TIMES

MAX RAABE & THE PALAST ORCHESTER

ONE NIGHT ONLY! MONDAY, FEBRUARY 277:30 PM • Rudder Auditorium

BE WHISKED AWAY TO THE HIGH STYLE AND MUSICAL GLORY OF THE 1920S AND 30S! ALREADY A HIT IN

EUROPE, MAX RAABE & THE PALAST ORCHESTER ARRIVE ON THE OPAS SEASON AFTER RECEIVING RAVE

REVIEWS IN THE STATES (INCLUDING THREE STANDING OVATIONS IN THEIR CARNEGIE HALL DEBUT).

STUDENT TICKETS ONLY $15MSC Box Office • 845-1234 • MSCOPAS.orgLimited number available at this price. Available at MSC Box Office only.

Not valid on web or tickets already purchased. Student ID required.

SPONSORED BY

thebattalion

newspage 4

tuesday 2.21.2012

Pelosi

Continued from page 1

Students protest outside the George H.W. Bush Library Complex Monday evening against policies championed by Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi. During the event, Pelosi fielded a question about her faith and policies regarding contraception.

Photos by Jay Kapadia — THE BATTALION

Former First Lady Barbara Bush enters the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center Monday evening before Nancy Pelosi discussed her experience in politics.

texasDead woman found in Houston

HOUSTON — The woman’s nude body was found fl oating in the muddy Brazos River in 1975, her features unrecognizable save for her fl awlessly painted scarlet fi ngernails and fl owing yellow hair. But after 37 years, the 22-year-old mother has been identifi ed by Harris County forensics experts as Gloria Faye Stringer,

opening an investigation into her possible murder and infl aming the long-held suspicions of Austin County Justice of the Peace Dennis R. King, a man committed to the case for decades. “The only thing worse than dying in a strange place is being lost at the same time and never fi nding your way home,” King said.

worldGreece receives additional bailoutBRUSSELS — After more than 12 hours of talks, the countries that use the euro reached an agreement early Tuesday to hand Greece €130 billion ($170 billion) in additional bailout loans to save it from a potentially disastrous default next month. The deal is expected to bring Greece’s debt

down to 120.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2020 — that’s around the maximum that the International Monetary Fund and the eurozone consider sustainable. The euro surged as the news of a deal broke early Tuesday.

Associated Press

nationPresidential candidates discuss gas pricesTULSA, Okla. — Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is dangling the prospect of gas as low as $2 a gallon if he’s elected. The former House speaker has spoken in the past of gas dropping to $2.50 a gallon under a Gingrich administration. Monday’s prediction, coming as Gingrich campaigned in

Oklahoma, contrasts sharply with rival Rick Santorum, who told an Ohio audience that big-city Americans should brace themselves for $5-a-gallon gas. Both candidates are citing new sensitivity over rising pump prices to push for relaxed regulation on domestic oil production.

Pg. 4-02.21.12.indd 1Pg. 4-02.21.12.indd 1 2/21/12 12:53 AM2/21/12 12:53 AM

WWW.UBSKI.COM 1-800-SKI-WILD • 1-800-754-9453

SKI SPRING BREAK 2012!

Vail • Beaver Creek • Keystone • Arapahoe Basin

20 Mountains. 5 Resorts. 1 Price.

breckenridge

plus t/s

FROMONLY

AggieNetwork.com

STUDIES IN PROGRESS

J&S Studies, Inc.979-774-5933

1710 Crescent Pointe Parkway, College Station, TX 77845www.js-studies.com

FACIAL ACNE STUDYVolunteers ages 12-40 years old, with moderate facial acne are needed to participate in a 12-week clinical research study with an investigational topical medication. All eligible volunteers will receive at no cost: • Acne Evaluations by a Dermatologist • Study Medication • Compensation up to $200.00 for time and effortVolunteers will need to make 4 offi ce visits over the 12 week period.

For more information please contact:

RED DRY SCALY PATCHES OF SKINATOPIC DERMATITIS STUDY

(ECZEMA)Volunteers ages 18-65 are needed to participate in a 6 week long clinical research study with an investigational topical medication for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (RED, DRY, SCALY PATCHES OF SKIN). Eligible volun-teers will receive at no cost: • Study Related Cream • Study Related Assessments of your Eczema by a Dermatologist • Compensation up to $850.00 for time and effort

For more information please contact:

Word SquareLOWEST - Use the alphabets in the given word (multiple times is allowed) to form words which are:

an enemy of fast, an American shop (chain), Magic World messengers, a Direction

Siddharth Kumar — THE BATTALION

Monday’s solution:

M

NNCT

AA I

I

NEONOEN

puzzle answers can be foundonline at www.thebatt.com

PRIVATE PARTY WANT ADS

$10 for 20 words running 5 days, if your merchandise is priced $1,000 or less (price must appear in ad). This rate applies only to non-commercial advertisers offering personal possessions for sale. Guaranteed results or you get an additional 5 days at no charge. If item doesn’t sell, advertiser must call before 1 p.m. on the day the ad is scheduled to end to qualify for the 5 additional insertions at no charge. No refunds will be made if your ad is cancelled early.

PLACE AN ADPhone 845-0569 or Fax 845-2678 The Grove, Bldg. #8901Texas A&M University

WHEN TO CALL8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through FridayInsertion deadline: 1 p.m. prior business day

SPEC

IAL

classifiedssee ads at thebatt.com

AUTO

I buy vehicles; working, nonwork-ing, or wrecked. 979-778-1121.

BED AND BREAKFAST

Romantic Getaways & Engage-ments, secluded cabin suites. AllDay, All Night. www.7flodge.com979-690-0073.

FARM/RANCH

Aggieland Alfalfa. 50lb com-pressed Alfalfa bales, 50lb com-pressed Timothy bales. Call or textorders to 806-683-2916.

FOR RENT

$395 Available now and prelease1/1, 2/1, 2/2. FreeWiFi/water/sewer. On Northgate,on shuttle. Short-term leases ok.Call Maroon & White Manage-ment 979-422-5660.

1,2,3,4 bedroom apartments. Fur-nished or unfurnished. AvailableMay or August. 979-693-4900.

2,3,4 and 5/bdrm. CS duplexes.Very nice, garage, on shuttle, tile,fireplace, w/d, fenced, lawn serv-ice, pets o.k. Available August.Details and photos available on-line.http://arduplexes.cominfo@arduplexes.com979-255-0424, 979-255-1585.

2-3/bedroom apartments. Somewith w/d, some near campus.$175-$600/mo. 979-219-3217.

2/1 CS duplex, available May andAugust, pets allowed, privacyfenced backyard, tile floors,blinds and ceiling fans, W/D con-nections, lawncare included,E-Walk shuttle route, $650/mo,979-218-2995.

2/2 duplex. W/D, on bus route,large fenced yard. 308 Bren-twood. $700/mo. 979-690-0384.

FOR RENT

2/2 fenced yard, covered deck,pets ok, tiled living and kitchen,hardwood bedrooms, availableJune 1st, 979-204-1950.

2bd/1.5bath, W/D included, waterincluded, bus route, $780/mo, call713-594-6205.

2bd/2.5ba unique floorplansw/balcony views of Kyle Field.Brand new luxury apartment con-dos. Fullsize stainless steel appli-ances, W/D, designer ammenitiesgranite/wood/tile, bus stop. Only36units on Holleman at Wolf Pen.www.broadstoneranchat-wolfpen.com, www.aggie-landleasing.com, 979-776-6079.

2bd/2ba 4-plex. Spacious floor-plan, W/D connections, close tocampus. $550/mo.www.aggielandleasing.com979-776-6079.

2bd/2ba unique floorplans w/bal-cony views of Kyle Field. Brandnew luxury apartment condos.Fullsize stainless steel appliances,W/D, designer ammenities gran-ite/wood/tile, bus stop. Only 36u-nits on Holleman at Wolf Pen.www.broadstoneranchat-wolfpen.com, www.aggie-landleasing.com, 979-776-6079.

3 rooms available for male stu-dents in 4/4 condo, SouthwestParkway, W/D, pool, on shuttle,$395/room, cable paid, availableAugust, 361-816-1224.

3/2 Duplex on shuttle, updated,fenced, fireplace, W/D connec-tions, pet friendly, 802 San Be-nito, $850/mo.AggieLandRentals.com979-776-8984.

3/3,3/2 Houses, Townhouses&Apartments, 1250-1400sqft.Very spacious, ethernet, largekitchen, walk-in pantry &closets,extra storage, W/D, great ameni-ties, on bus route, now pre-leas-ing, excellent specials.979-694-0320.www.luxormanagement.com

FOR RENT

3bd/3ba. Duplexes. Close to cam-pus, Great backyards. Fairly New!979-693-4900.

4/3, 3/3 &3/2 Houses, Town-houses, Duplexes &Fourplexes,1250-1700sqft. Very spacious,ethernet, large kitchen, extrastorage, W/D, great amenities, onbus route, now pre-leasing, excel-lent specials. 694-0320.www.luxormanagement.com

4/4.5, like new. High ceilings,huge closets, large front porch,tile floors, all appliances, manyextras. $1750/mo. Preleasing forAugust. 979-229-6326. See photosand info atwww.texagrentals.com

4bd/2ba house. Close to campus,wood floors, tile floors, ceilingfans, granite countertops, W/D,fenced yards. 979-776-6079.www.aggielandleasing.com

4bd/4ba houses. Brand New,great size, great location, AAF979-693-4900.

AggieLandRentals.com For allyour rental needs. Open 7days/week. 979-776-8984.

August Leasing. 4bd/2ba house.Close to campus, wood floors, tilefloors, ceiling fans, W/D, fencedyards. 979-776-6079.www.aggielandleasing.com

Balcones Apartments, 3/2, avail-able now, fully remodeled, inter-net and water included, $895/mo,979-703-8282.

Brand new luxury condos, granitecountertops, tile flooring, greatlocation. 979-693-4900.

C.S. 4bdrm Houses, updated,fenced pets, ok. Starting at$1295/mo. AggieLandRentals.com979-776-8984.

DON’T MISS! 4/2 House. Great lo-cation, walking distance fromcampus, on shuttle, fenced yard.Rent $1350/month.(979)255-8637.

FOR RENT

Duplex, rent 2bd/1ba. Beautiful,quiet! Remodeled, all new, manyextras, drapes, in College Station.Convenient toeverything! Fenced backyard.One week free. 979-422-3427.Call for specials.

Fabulous 5-year old house,approx. 3-miles south of campus(Edelweiss Gartens). Greatfloorplan w/many amenities.Located in a quiet neighborhood.Granite counters, ceiling fans,alarm system, fridge and w/d.Available 8/1. Contact BrianBenton, 469-877-1184.

Free cable/internet access! Onemonth free rent! Spacious2bd/1ba. Close to campus, onshuttle route. Large kitchen withfull appliances. W/D connections.Front and back patios. Ceilingfans. Hillstone On The Parkway,528 Southwest Parkway.979-693-6102. Open 8:30-5:30Monday-Friday.hillstoneonthepkwy@yahoo.com

Free ethernet and cable, paid wa-ter, Campus shuttle. Preleasing,Great Prices.AggieApartment.com,979-693-1906

Gleissner Hall, Northgate area.Walk to campus. Water, sewer,garbage paid. 1/1 $555/mo., 2/1$665/mo. 979-846-8981.

Large 2bdrm/2ba, 3204-CougarTrail, Bryan. Water, sewer, &trashpaid. Everything’s new inside.$675/mo. 5 month special,$100/mo. discount.979-822-1616.

Nice 4/2! Available Aug-1st.$1500/month. 2010-Rayburn.Call/text Scott at 979-229-5007.

Nice! 4/2 2013-Rayburn.$1500/month. Available Aug-1st.Call/text Scott at 979-229-5007.

Northgate. New apartments 3/3,2/2, and 3/2. House for rent.aggievillas.net 979-255-5648.

Now Leasing and pre-leasing forAugust! 4bdrm/2bth houses. Spa-cious floorplans. Great Location.Close to campus, wood floors, tilefloors, ceiling fans, w/d, fencedyards, refridgerator,icemaker,lawncare.979-776-6079,www.aggielandleasing.com

Oak Creek Condos, high-speedinternet and basic cable.2bdrm/1.5ba. As little as$515/mo. Water, sewer, trashpaid. Fireplace, icemaker, pool.979-822-1616.

FOR RENT

Pre-leasing for August 2,3,4,&5bedroom houses andtown-homes. Updated, fenced,pets ok, on shuttle route. Aggie-LandRentals.com 979-776-8984.

Prelease available now! Large2bd/2ba duplex. Walk-in closets,W/D connections, large fencedbackyard, on shuttle. UniversityOaks. $775/mo. 979-693-1448.

Prelease for May or August !Large 2bd/2ba duplex. Walk-inclosets, W/D connections, largefenced backyard, on shuttle. Uni-versity Oaks. $775/mo.979-693-1448.

C.S. 3/1.5/2carport, Updated,Fenced, biking distance to cam-pus, on shuttle, pets ok. $750/moAggieLandRentals.com979-776-8984.

Spacious 3/2 duplex available inMay. W/D, $895/mo.979-693-0551.

Townhomes 2/1.5+Half, on shut-tle, W/D connections, fencedpatio, $775-895/mo, ask aboutstudent discounts, 979-703-8282.

HELP WANTED

Apartment Clerical/Marketing,part-time, f lexible hours.979-822-1616.

Athletic men for calendars,books, etc. $100-$200/hr, upto $1000/day. No experience.aggieresponse@gmail.com

Child care worker needed. FirstUnited Methodist Church, Bryan.Apply at 506 E. 28th Street, Bryan.Application can be found onlinewww.fumcbryan.org/jobs

Cleaning commercial buildingsat night, M-F. Call 979-823-5031for appointment.

Computer Systems Technician,20-30hrs/wk, $12/hr, flex sched.Real world, hands-on experiencewith high-end tech at an Aggie100 company headquartered inBCS. Learn more and apply atwww.k2share.com/careers

Fish Daddy’s and Cheddar’s nowinterviewing all positions. 1611University Drive.

Lawn crew member needed,$9/hr. Hrs Monday, Wednesdayand Friday 11-6, experience re-quired. Students only.979-224-2511.

Little Guys Movers now hiringFT/PT employees. Must be at least21 w/valid D.L. Apply in person at3209 Earl Rudder Freeway.979-693-6683.

Part-time apartment maintenanceand make ready, flexible hours,no experience necessary. Con-struction Science major a plus!979-822-1616.

PT Service Technician for a safetycompany. Clean Driving Recordnecessary. Email resume toindustrialsafety07@yahoo.com

HELP WANTED

Sales Reps needed, flexiblearound school, PT/FT bonuses andcommissions paid weekly,979-255-2303, www. jtr247.com

STUDENTPAYOUTS.COM Paid Sur-vey Takers Needed In College Sta-tion. 100% Free To Join. Click OnSurveys.

Summer Employment- Fun ValleyFamily Resort, South Fork, Colo-rado needs students for all typejobs: kitchen, dining-room, house-keeping, stores, maintenance, of-fice, horse wrangler. Room/Board,salary, bonus. For informationand application write to StudentPersonnel Director, 6315 Westo-ver Drive, Granbury, TX 76049.

Tutors wanted for all ages andsubjects starting at $16/hour.Send resume to:mwren@tutordoctor.com979-694-5306.

Tutors wanted for all subjectscurrently taught at TAMU/ Blinnand Sam Houston State startingat $8.25/hour. Apply on-line @www.99Tutors.com,979-268-8867.

MUSIC

Peter Block Mobile DJ, profes-sional 22+yrs. experience. Special-izing in weddings, TAMU func-tions. Mobile to anywhere.979-596-2522.http://www.partyblockdj.com

REAL ESTATE

4/4.5, like new. High ceilings,huge closets, large front porch,tile floors, all appliances, manyextras. $1750/mo. Preleasing forAugust. 979-229-6326. See photosand info atwww.texagrentals.com

B/CS. Sell/Buy/Invest! MichaelMcGrann TAMU ‘93 Civil Engi-neering 979-739-2035,mike@aggierealtor.comNadia McGrann 979-693-1851,Town & Country Realty.

ROOMMATES

Roommate wanted. $300/mo. Allbills paid. Fully furnished.979-777-4445.

TUTORS

Excellent one-on-one private tu-tors for all subjects. Free Consul-tation. Visit Tutor Doctor at:www.collegestationtutors.com979-694-5306.

For best tutoring in Math/Physicscall Raj. 979-571-8978. (40 yearsof teaching) Or visit www.oneup-tutor.com.

Need a Tutor? Friendly, helpfulone-on-one private tutors for allsubjects at TAMU/Blinn and SamHouston State. Check us out atwww.99tutors.com, 979-268-8867.

thebattalion

news page 5

tuesday 2.21.2012

NEW ORLEANS — As Carnival builds toward its out-of-control crescendo of Fat Tuesday, Barry Kern and his team of float-builders and artists are already preparing for next year’s parades.

One of the biggest free parties in the world fuels a multimillion-dollar industry for the city of New Orleans and the lifeblood of business-es like Kern’s studio, which has been operating for more than 50 years and makes or repurposes some 400 floats a year, or roughly a float a day, Kern said.

The Mardi Gras season, which includes weeks of pa-rades, fancy balls and parties

leading up to the big day, draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to New Orleans each year, said Kelly Schulz, spokeswoman for the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau. Schulz said a recent study conducted by Tulane University estimated the direct economic impact of Mardi Gras at $144 million.

Some studies estimate the economic impact at more than $500 million, said Arthur Hardy, a Mardi Gras historian.

“There’s no way to know for sure because we don’t sell tickets,” Hardy said. “Mardi Gras started small, in private homes and private balls, and it’s evolved into this festival

Mardi Gras floats ready a year in advancethat some estimate produces more than a half-billion dol-lars a year.”

In the weeks leading up to Mardi Gras, more than 100 parades roll into New Orleans and its suburbs. The big parading clubs, like Rex, Zulu, Bacchus, Endymion, Orpheus and Muses, hire Kern’s studio to build the

floats. Smaller clubs make their own by decorating trailers with everything from paint to crepe paper.

“It’s a money-maker for the city, but that’s not why we do it,” Hardy said. “We do it be-cause we like to celebrate. It’s a free party we give ourselves and our guests.”

Associated Press

ASSOCIATED PRESS

A Mardi Gras float is moved into position after heavy rains near the start of the Krewe of Endymion parade on Saturday in New Orleans.

Pg. 5-02-21-12.indd 1Pg. 5-02-21-12.indd 1 2/20/12 7:49 PM2/20/12 7:49 PM

thebattalion

newspage 6

tuesday 2.21.2012

Jorge Montalvo — THE BATTALION

in Texas, but that really was the start of en-rollment and opened the door for women to come study in any field.”

While the addition of women changed the traditionally all-male student population of A&M’s earliest years, the male-to-female stu-dent ratio now makes A&M unique. Women now account for about 46 percent of overall enrollment, and in some fields they are the majority.

With the student body population growing, the campus has been forced to make changes to provide for more students. Several con-struction projects are currently in progress to serve the student body, including the Memo-rial Student Center, a new Liberal Arts build-ing, additional facilities for the Department of Health and Kinesiology and a major student housing project.

The student housing project is meant to provide on-campus living accommodations for the increasing student population. Brian McDonald Residence Hall Association presi-

dent said the new residence halls will add room for several hundred students.

“Currently, we have capacity for 7,380 students to live on campus,” McDonald said. “The new residence hall is about 600 extra beds, and it would bring the on-campus ca-pacity for non-Corps, on-campus residents up to around 8,000.”

Annie Johnston, a graduate student in cur-riculum and instruction, has noticed changes on campus because of the increasing student population.

“Some of the things that I have noticed is the increase in traffic as well as construction, and there’s been a lot of buildings built since I’ve been here.” Johnston said. “It’s made the commute to campus longer.”

Johnston also said the increased student population is detracting from the Aggie ex-perience.

“I’ve … noticed a decline in school spirit a little bit,” Johnston said. “Now everyone is on their phones when they walk around on campus. In that sense, there’s less community on campus than there was when I was a fresh-man. People used to be a lot more open about saying, ‘Howdy,’ and being friendlier.”

EnrollmentContinued from page 1

After record enrollments for the fall and spring semesters, Texas A&M is ranked the sixth largest univeristy in the nation.

Texas A&M reaches record enrollment

Pg. 6-02.21.12.indd 1Pg. 6-02.21.12.indd 1 2/21/12 12:43 AM2/21/12 12:43 AM