sports opinion | 3Dueling columns: Manziel and social mediaControversy is once again surrounding Johnny Manziel, who tweeted late Saturday night that he
wants out of College Station. After deleting his comment and noting how much he enjoys being an Aggie, is it time for Manziel to move on from Texas A&M to bigger and better things or are the critics once again
too harsh on the star Aggie quarterback with two years of eligibility remaining?
movie review | 5‘Man of Steel’ disappoints
The Superman reboot leads the weekend box office by a landslide over comedic runner-up “This Is The End” but it wasn’t enough
for our critic who says a lack of character development and a wealth of special
effects watered down the film.
This summer, those on the “outside looking in” will be able to gain a fur-
ther insight into Aggieland from fellow and future peers.
The Division of Marketing and Com-munications has organized a summer-long contest involving incoming students and the use of the mobile photography platform, Instagram.
“New Student Conferences are the start to [new students’] college memories,” said Diane McDonald, executive director of marketing and social media for the Division of Marketing and Communications. “We thought [the contest] would be a fun way to welcome Aggies to campus.”
Krista Smith, communications coordina-tor helping administer the contest, described the contest as having a “wonderful response so far,” with almost two hundred photos in collection.
To enter the contest, students are encour-
aged to first follow @Tamu on Instagram. Then, the new students can upload and share photos using the hashtag, #NSCTAMU. The image should express either some fa-vorite aspect of a New Student Conference, creative photos of campus, or any moment that captures the Aggie Spirit. After the last conference, one photo will be selected and the winner will receive a “#2” Aggie foot-ball jersey.
Although targeted with new students in mind, participation in the Instagram contest is extended to any incoming, current or for-mer student.
Daniel Suda, co-chair of the Aggie Ori-entation Leadership program, said the con-test is a useful way for students to view the
experiences their friends are having before their arrival at their own conference later in the summer.
“It’s allowing students to connect in more ways than before,” Suda said. “Seeing Aggies being able to post on Instagram is great because a picture can often be worth so much more than words.”
This summer’s contest is only one of the many recent initiatives to promote the “brand” of Texas A&M. The summer of 2012 featured a contest involving Pinterest.
“We are looking to create a relationship with the students,” Smith said. “We are helping get a lot of user-generated content about Texas A&M into the social media
Century Tree seedlings raise over $100,000 for scholarship fund
The giving tree
The Century Tree has remained a cherished piece of Texas A&M’s history and traditions since the early days of the University. Well
over 100 years old, it has seen thousands of students bustling to classes, lounging in academic plaza and even wedding proposals — hundreds of wedding pro-posals.
Now, throughout the southern U.S., this famous tree is spreading its reach, sprouting new generations of trees across the nation all in thanks to Andy Duff-ie, Class of 1978. His goal of sprouting trees from the acorns of the Century Tree has led to a Presi-dent’s Endowed Scholarship of more than $100,000, all of which will help an incoming freshman pay for his or her educations.
In 2008, Duffie started a small project without knowing where it would take him.
“This actually started as an experiment,” Duffie said. “I was on campus in September of 2008 for my 35th class reunion. We were walking past the Cen-tury Tree and noticed that it was laden with bunches of acorns so I picked some off the tree and put them in my pocket to take home. I was just thinking how cool it would be if I could get some of them to sprout. Unfortunately, not a single acorn sprouted.”
Duffie said he later learned that acorns aren’t ma-ture until they drop from the tree, normally in early October. He came back the next year and picked up about 50 acorns and repeated the process. He said of those 50, only about 10 sprouted.
After another year, Duffie came more prepared, bringing an ice chest that he filled with 3,000 acorns
Mackenzie MullisThe Battalion
COURTESY PHOTOS
See Century Tree on page 2
Alice Chang — THE BATTALION
Instagram contest offers opportunity for students to show Aggie spirit
new student conferences
Allison Rubenak The Battalion
See Instagram on page 2
We are looking to create a relationship with the students. We are helping get a lot of user-generated content about Texas A&M into the social media sphere.”
— Krista Smith, communications coordinator for the Division of Marketing and Communications
The Aggie center for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics welcomed its
batch of 6-11th graders to its fourth annual sum-mer camp that lasts from June 10-22.
The camp features four main activities: bridge construction, electronics such as wiring a house, bacterial growth and robotics along with other activities such as seed germination, making lip gloss and creating iPhone apps, all of which are taught by professors from A&M.
“[The STEM summer camp] just seemed per-fect for me since I am looking for a future career or major in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, the STEM program,” said Linnea Sill, a soon-to-be high school senior.
Niyazi Erdogan, camp coordinator, is a graduate student at Texas A&M pursuing his masters of education and helped staff previous STEM summer camps with the help of other
graduate students. “The courses depend on how many students
we have,” Erdogan said. “This year, we were expecting more students than last year. So, we came up with more activities.”
There are three camp options available to students: day camp only (middle school and high school students), day camp plus activities (middle school and high school students), and full camp including residence (high school stu-dents only).
“It was only [full camp including residence] at the first [STEM summer camp], but we thought maybe we should advertise this to see if other students from the Bryan-College Station area would like to come,” Erdogan said. “Now, half of the students are coming from the Bryan-Col-lege Station area.”
The other options of the camp were put into place last year.
Summer camp provides real-world STEM experiences and education
science&engineering
Sarah Hoffschwelle The Battalion
See STEM camp on page 6
inside
Andy Duffie (far right) poses with Rodney and Ann Boehm, who have ordered four of Duffie’s trees, in front of the Century Tree in Academic Plaza. Duffie grew 540 Century Trees (bottom) from acorns he gathered to sell to former and current Texas A&M students for The Century Tree President’s Endowed Scholarship.
BAT_06-18-13_A1.indd 1 6/17/13 11:20 PM
hoping to get around 500 to sprout.
“I thought other Aggies would find it cool to have one of these trees growing in their yard and I figured I could sell them and use the funds to create a President’s Endowed Scholarship. So doing the simple math, if I had 500 trees I would charge $200 per tree, which is a pricey amount, but it would allow me to raise $100,000.”
With this price tag in mind, Duffie knew that the quality of his product would matter.
“I raised these acorns that had sprouted into trees for two years in my backyard,” he said. “I had to water them 2-3 times week, transplant them and fertilize them, the whole nine yards. But it was kind of a labor of love that went on for two years. I was able to mar-ket my trees via Facebook and through word of mouth and I pre-sold them to Aggies all over the state of Texas and the southern part of the United States in regions where live oaks can grow.”
Eventually he settled on a price and sold trees individually for $250 and in bulk for $200 apiece.
In August of 2012, Duffie began shipping his trees across Texas and across the nation — from Virginia to Louisiana and everywhere in between.
The following September, Duffie packed up several trucks and personally drove his trees to buyers across the state, setting up drop off points with fellow Aggies through-out Texas.
Duffie was able to sell 540 trees and raised more than his $100,000 goal. Every bit of his profit went straight to funding The Cen-tury Tree President’s Endowed Scholarship through the Texas A&M Foundation.
“The first award for the scholarship will be awarded in the fall of 2014 to an outstand-ing entering freshman,” Duffie said. “Usually a student maintains the award for the Presi-dent’s Endowed Scholarship for four years and then after they graduate, someone else is awarded the scholarship. This is a perpetu-ally awarded scholarship, the interest from the endowment is about $5,000 a year and it will be awarded to a student from each year from now on.”
Jody Ford of the Texas A&M Foundation has met and worked with Duffie to establish the scholarship fund.
“I got contacted by Andy when he first started the project,” Ford said. “After two years, he started to sell the trees, so I assisted him in creating the scholarship and the de-tails. I helped him work out what kind of scholarship he wanted to do, which ultimate-ly was a President’s Endowed Scholarship, which is pretty much the University’s flag-ship academic scholarship program that has been around for decades, well over 50 years.”
Through the entire process, Duffie said the best part was getting to meet all of the Aggies who purchased the trees.
“I have met lots of really neat Aggies, it’s been a wonderful experience meeting them and presenting them with the trees,” Duffie
pagetwothebattalion 6.18.2013
Double QuickDaiquiris to Go
Convenient Drive ThruFlavors Include:
Long Island Iced Tea (stronger than Locos)
Strawberry • Blue Hawaiian • Pina Colada Sex on the Beach • Margaritas • Sugar Free Margarita
40 Other Flavors To Choose FromFor your parties, come pick up a gallon of your favorite flavors
Cherry Bombs & Jello ShotsIce cold beer and great wine selections!
www.doublequickdrinks.com Find us on facebook at: facebook.com/doublequick.bcs
979-846-2237 4501 Wellborn Rd., 1 mile north of Kyle Field
University Dr.
Wellborn
Cafe Eccell
Double Quick
A&M Campus
Church
Natalie
Monday &
Wednesda
y
Extra
Shots
Half-Price
ALL DAY!!
Take a piece of a&M hisTory wiTh you· Reserve your 2014 Aggieland
The 112th edition of Texas A&M University’s official yearbook will chronicle traditions, academics, the other education, sports, the Corps, Greeks, ResLife, and campus organizations, and will feature student portraits. Distribution will be during Fall 2014. Go to the optional services box in Howdy when you register for fall. For info, call 845-2696.
sphere.” McDonald said Instagram was the media platform of choice due
to its accessible nature. The Division of Marketing and Communi-cations featured a successful “soft launch” of the Instagram contest during Big Event back in March, in which students were encour-aged to take photos at their job sites.
McDonald said working with student leaders during the launch was a great learning experience.
“It was a neat way for us to see how the students were using Instagram,” McDonald said. “We believe in engaging where our audience is engaging. It was appearing Instagram was the place.”
McDonald said, in addition to a growing follower base on Ins-tagram, Texas A&M has the greatest number of followers on Pin-terest as a university. She also said Texas A&M holds a ranking as the third largest nonprofit university on Twitter with more than 75,000 followers.
Century TreeContinued from page 1
InstagramContinued from page 1
said. “About 100 of my trees were purchased by Aggie couples who were engaged under the Century Tree at one point or another over the years.”
Duffie has a Facebook page, where he said he encourages those who purchase his trees to upload pictures of themselves and family members posing in front of their tree.
Some of Duffie’s trees were purchased by people who wanted to donate a piece of Aggieland to deserving recipients. Bluebell Creamery in Brenham, owned by an Ag-gie family, is home to Duffie’s trees, as well as San Antonio Aggie Park and the Texas A&M–Galveston campus.
“Most recently, one of the trees was planted at the governor’s mansion in Austin, donated by one of my classmates,” Duffie said. “This is a neat story because it shows where the trees have gone. They are planted all over Texas.”
Duffie said even though he did the labor, having the credit was not why he did it. He said he did it for the school.
“The scholarship is named for the tree and not for an individual that donated the money because it was kind of a group effort,” he said. “This would not have been possible without the good will of the many Aggies that purchased these trees and basically pro-vided the funds for me to make available the funds for the scholarship.”
Ford said what Duffie was doing is honor-able and that he just wanted to give back to the University that gave so much to him as a student.
“He wanted to give back to A&M and found that this was a great way to do that,” Ford said. “Just like most Aggies that choose to give to Texas A&M, it shows their char-acter that they value the education they re-ceived at Texas A&M both in the classroom and outside. It shows that he cares greatly about the University. Someone could have just sold those trees and made money off of them personally but instead he turned around and gave all that money to the Texas A&M Foundation to create a scholarship.”
Branson Rogers, senior political science major, said this project could bring nothing but positive results to A&M.
“The fact that [Duffie] took something as trivial as an acorn and turned it into a large sum of money to help other Aggies is quite admirable to me,” Rogers said. “I am proud that someone would not only be resource-ful enough to use acorns to raise that much money to help fellow Aggies, but that some-one would put that much value on acorns fallen from the Century Tree.”
Duffie said he takes pride in the fact that he was able to give a piece of Aggieland to others who are too far to be around the Cen-tury Tree.
“I call these trees little pieces of Aggieland that are now spread all over Texas and the southern United States,” he said. “It’s really a neat keepsake and souvenir from the campus. It reminds you of your days as a student and directly ties you back to Texas A&M.”
(Clockwise from top left) Justin and Katie McGee pose in front of their planted Century Tree sapling on their front lawn in McKinney. David Eisenlohr, center, donates a Century Tree sapling to Gov. Rick Perry, right, with Wayne Fleenor at the Governor’s mansion in Austin. Vikki Goates, alongside her two daughters Mallory and Caroline, pose next to their Century Tree sapling in their front yard in Mount Pleasant.
COURTESY PHOTOS
campus news
Eastbound lane on George Bush to be closed until SeptemberA three-month lane closure of the right eastbound lane of George Bush Drive near the Penberthy Road intersection will be begin Tuesday as part of the Jones-Butler Road Extension Project. The lane is scheduled to re-open Sept. 13. The project will extend Jones-Butler Road from Luther Street to George Bush Drive and will include a four-lane concrete road with bike lanes, sidewalks and street lighting. Completion of the project is scheduled for June 2014. The extension was approved by voters in the 2008 bond election and will provide direct access to Texas A&M’s west campus and also expand the transportation network in that part of the city.
Staff report
howtoapplyIf you are interested in writing or contributing content in The Battalion, print an application from thebatt.com and bring it to the newsroom in the MSC, Suite L400. The newsroom phone number is 845-3315.
The Battalion welcomes any Texas A&M student interested in photography, graphics, multimedia or writing news, sports and features to apply. We particularly encourage freshmen and sophomores to apply, but students may try out regardless of semester standing or major. No previous journalism experience is necessary.
correctionsThe 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 [email protected].
BAT_06-18-13_A2.indd 1 6/17/13 11:11 PM
thebattalion
opinion page 3
tuesday 6.18.2013
Sean Lester: Manziel wants out of College Station. Time
to let him.
Johnny, be gone
Texas A&M quarterback John-ny Manziel is, once again, at the center of the sports
world’s attention.
This time though there’s little sympathy and fewer people on his side. Johnny Football has finally made an uncalculated mistake that will have ramifications.
Late Saturday night Manziel tweeted, “[Expletive] like tonight is a reason why I can’t wait to leave College Station … whenever it may be.”
Monday morning his tweet was the focus of SportsCenter’s centerpiece story. His message also made the front pages of Yahoo!, ESPN and countless other websites.
Being just the latest stunt he has pulled since the last football season ended, Manziel has an-swered the questions we’ve all wondered. He wants out of College Station and out of Texas A&M en route to what he deems bigger and better things.
It’s time to send Johnny Football down the proverbial one-year hallway in the house that is Texas A&M and straight out the front door.
Manziel’s tweet suggested something happened to make him think this way. He quickly deleted the tweet and responded with, “Don’t ever forget that I love A&M with all of my heart, but please please walk a day in my shoes.”
A day in Manziel’s shoes would equal a lifetime for many of us “regular” people. His affection for the school will not go unnoticed, but with this latest headline it’s time to begin looking at life without the only freshman to win the Heisman Trophy.
For months critics have bantered back-and-forth on Manziel’s NFL status. Because he was redshirted in his first year at A&M, he can declare for the NFL after this coming football season.
He could also stay at A&M for as many as two more years.
So the debate raged on as summer ap-proached. Manziel wouldn’t stay both years, but if his draft stock is less than promising next April then maybe he’ll stay one more year.
Those hopes were all but crushed when he opted to tweet after midnight on a Saturday, which is surely a bad idea in the unwritten Twitter rulebook for people with more than 1,000 followers. Manziel has 368,000.
All of this does not mean that as fans, stu-dents and faculty we cannot appreciate what he has done. It is due in large part to Manziel’s Heisman-winning season that the A&M foot-ball program is more relevant than it has ever been in more than 100 years of activity.
Coach Kevin Sumlin has the top recruit-
ing class in the nation and he is able to sell those recruits on the fact that they too can win a Heisman Trophy wearing the Maroon and White.
University President R. Bowen Loftin and the A&M marketing team is using this success to promote the school academically and applica-tions are at an all-time high.
A&M will begin construction several months from now on a $430 mil-lion renovation to Kyle Field. The new stadium will feature statues sur-rounding the walkways and one can believe Manziel may have one of his own someday.
His accom-plishments are noted but no matter the outcome of the promis-ing 2013 season it is time to watch Manziel ride off into the sunset. Johnny Football wants out and as a selfish observer, I want him out as well.
I want to know if he can succeed in his second season, trying to live up to the hype. From there I want to see if he can be the latest Aggie taken in the NFL draft. I’m interested to see what Manziel can do as a professional quarterback.
But most importantly I want to see how Kevin Sumlin and the other 100 players on the Texas A&M roster prove that all of this wasn’t just the Johnny Manziel show and that A&M as a program can contend for years to come.
Sean Lester is a senior agricul-tural communications and jour-nalism major, and assignments editor for The Battalion
Guest Column: Try walking in his shoes, Manziel deserves to
be left alone.
Stop the hating
As I laid there at 3:30 a.m. on June 16, observing a bar-rage of Twitter and Face-
book “hate” feeds targeting Johnny Manziel, a burning urge in the pit of my stomach
compelled me to give my thoughts on this entire fiasco stemming from Manziel’s tweet.
Since my childhood, I was captivated by Texas A&M and the Aggie tradition and
love that Aggies such as my father, had for their school. It had been a lifelong dream of mine
to attend A&M and last year that dream became a reality when I transferred in. From a football standpoint, it could not have been a more excit-
ing time to be an Aggie. As many Aggies
know, our beloved school had been in a “football drought” for many years. The Aggie football program was the butt of all jokes, not having a consistency
of good years since my father’s time in school during the Jackie Sherrill
days. However, 2012 brought with it a completely new chapter: the move to the Southeastern Conference, a new coach in Kevin Sumlin and an unbelievable talent in Johnny Manziel.
Out of the aforementioned mix came the magic which was the 2012 Aggie Football Season. Recently, however, many have seemed to forget how far we have come and to whom much of this credit is do. I find it necessary to bring to light a few matter of fact points to put any issues and concerns to rest about our quarterback and fellow Aggie, Johnny Manziel.
It seems that Manziel’s success has been overshadowed by the stardom that has followed him. Now, media and fans follow his every move. They critique anything from his travel to his tweets. His life has been turned upside down to the point where the guy can’t even attend classes on campus without being bombarded by his fellow students. Then, when the solution is to take online classes we bash him for it. Nor can we forget the constant bashing he gets for his sporting event appearances, or hunting trips, or how about concert appearances? If God has blessed a person financially because of a family’s hard work, can we be so jealous or judgmen-tal as to frame this as a character flaw? Should it even be any of our concern? Shame on us. Shame on anyone who has the nerve to be as judgmental as they have been without truly knowing an individual for who he is. After Satur-
day night’s Twitter blurt I feel it neces-sary to address why it is I’m writing.
I’m writing about this issue to defend a fellow Aggie for the simple reason that I too had doubts about how much of an ego I thought he had. That all changed this last Thursday when I met Johnny the person.
I had just gone back to my apartment to take care of some paperwork at the front office. There I ran into two girls I knew, apparently waiting for an op-portunity to take a picture with Johnny who happened to be at our pool. Agreeing to take their photo when he got back, we waited. Several minutes later he came back helping a friend carry a cooler and some sodas and just as he’s breaking ice the girls interrupt for a photo op. Although caught off guard, he took a quick second for the picture.
Being the day of the Spurs-Heat Game 4 of the Finals and knowing he was a LeBron fan, I jokingly apologized about the Tim Duncan jersey I was wearing while taking the photo.
I met Johnny completely by chance and our conversation about the NBA Finals couldn’t have lasted over a min-ute but it was at that point I saw the kid that I think most people don’t see. He was by the pool with his buddies like the rest of us, trying to enjoy some sun-shine but every other minute bothered by people for a picture. Not only was he genuine, but you could tell the man wanted his life but also hates ever feeling like he’s disappointing his peers. It’s a quality that makes him down to earth. I’d like to see anyone gain the fame he has and be nearly as grounded.
It’s unbelievable how quickly percep-tions can change about a person based on social media, etc. In regards to his most recent tweet that seems to have gained so much attention all I can say is, lay off. Mistakes are bound to happen, especially over Twitter. He has nothing against Aggieland or his school, but sim-ply the drama that fans and media can cause. I think he said it best, “... please walk a day in my shoes.” I guarantee if anyone did they’d have a little more decency than to put our friend on blast the way they have.
And Johnny, if you come across this know that any true Aggie has your back. From a football standpoint, sure there is a lot to thank you for, but at the end of the day you’re an Ag like the rest of us and I hope the rest see that as well, and I mean that as a friend and brother.
Damen Smien is a junior international studies major
FILE
PH
OTO
The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various authors and forum participants in this paper do not necessarily reflect those of Texas A&M University, The Battalion or its staff.
MAILCALL GUESTCOLUMNSMake your opinion known by submitting Mail Call or guest columns to The Battalion. Mail call must be fewer than 200 words and include the author’s name, classification, major and phone number. Staff and faculty must include title. Guest columns must be
fewer than 700 words. All submissions should focus on issues not personalities, become property of The Battalion and are subject to editing for style, clarity and space concerns. Anonymous letters will be read, but not printed. The Battalion will print only one letter per author per month. No mail call will appear in The Battalion’s print or online editions before it is verified.
Direct all correspondence to: Editor in chief of The Battalion
Better clinic.Better medicine.Better world.Everybody counts on having safe, effective medicine for anything from the common cold to heart disease. But making sure medications are safe is a complex and careful process.
At PPD, we count on healthy volunteers to help evaluate medications being developed – maybe like you. You must meet certain requirements to qualify, including a free medical exam and screening tests. We have research studies available in many different lengths, and you’ll find current studies listed here weekly.
PPD has been conducting research studies in Austin for more than 25 years. Call today to find out more.
\
Men and Women18 to 50
Up to$2500
Healthy BMI between 18.5 and 29.9
Fri. 21 Jun. through Mon. 24 Jun.Fri. 26 Jul. through Mon. 29 Jul.
Outpatient Visits: 25 Jun. & 30 Jul.
Men and Post-Menopausal or Surgically Sterile Women
Men and Postmenopausal or Surgically Sterile Women
18 to 50
Up to$2500
Healthy & Non-Smoking
BMI between 19 and 30 Weigh at least 110 lbs.
Wed. 26 Jun. through Mon. 1 Jul.Outpatient Visit: 5 Jul.
Age
Men and Women 18 to 55
Up to$2000
Healthy & Non-Smoking
BMI between 18 and 34Weigh between 110 and 220 lbs.
Thu. 27 Jun. through Sun. 30 Jun.Thu. 11 Jul. through Sun. 14 Jul.
Outpatient Visit: 19 Jul.
Men and Post-Menopausal or Surgically Sterile Women
18 to 45
Up to$3500
Healthy & Non-Smoking
BMI between 18.5 and 32
Wed. 26 Jun. through Mon. 1 Jul.Wed. 10 Jul. through Mon. 15 Jul.
Multiple Outpatient Visits
CALLAWAY HOUSE CALLAWAY VILLAS
see office for details
NOW HIRINGCOMMUNITYASSISTANTSfree room & board
APPLY ONLINE ATSTUDENTHOUSING.COM
OR IN PERSON AT EITHER PROPERTY
Want more info? Join us for an informational session on June 19 or 20
at 5pm at Callaway Villas.
SuperSummer Savings
caffé capriFREE appetizer
(1 per table with meal purchase) Expires 07/01/13
not valid with any other offer
222 n. main, downtown bryan • (979) 822-2675
www.theplaceforitalian.com
Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdaysafter 5pm with Student ID
$5 You Call It Pizzas** Not including Spicy Shrimp
$1.50 Domestic Longnecks$2.50 Imported Longnecks
1613 University Dr. East • 979-268-3300
thebattalion
newspage 4
tuesday 6.18.2013
Another round of protests shake Brazil
SAO PAULO (AP) — Protesters massed in at least seven Brazilian cities Monday for another round of demonstrations voicing dis-gruntlement about life in the country, raising questions about security during big events like the current Confederations Cup and a papal visit next month.
Authorities had hoped to avoid the sort of bloody confrontations that shocked Sao Paulo last week and the outpourings of dissent were mainly peaceful. But small bands of protest-ers broke glass trying to get into the main congressional building in Brasilia, and some demonstrators clashed with police in Rio de Janeiro.
The unrest initially was set off last week by anger over a 10-cent hike in public transport fares, but protesters have moved beyond that issue to tap into widespread frustration in Bra-zil over a heavy tax burden, politicians widely viewed as corrupt and woeful public educa-tion, health and transport systems.
Police commanders had said publicly that they would try to avoid violence Monday, but warned they could resort to force if protesters destroyed property.
Officers in Rio fired tear gas and rubber bullets when a group of protesters invaded the state legislative assembly and threw rocks and flares at police. Police in the capital of Brasilia, however, did not use force when about 200 demonstrators broke from a crowd of 3,000 and climbed up to the roof of the Congress building after shattering glass walls trying to get inside.
Tens of thousands of people turned out for a peaceful protest in Sao Paulo, where riot po-lice had charged into another calm crowd on Thursday firing rubber bullets and tear gas and beating some demonstrators. Some protesters turned out in clown costumes complete with red rubber noses. Samba percussion circles, in-cluding one led by a drag queen with a blond wig and oversized dollar-sign earrings, pound-ed out competing rhythms.
Most of the thousands who protested in Rio did so peacefully, many of them dressed in white and brandishing placards and ban-ners. Many people in the city left work early to avoid traffic jams downtown.
In Belo Horizonte, police estimated about 20,000 people joined a peaceful crowd pro-testing before a Confederations Cup match between Tahiti and Nigeria as police heli-copters buzzed overhead and mounted offi-cers patrolled the stadium area. Earlier in the day, demonstrators erected several barricades of burning tires on a nearby highway, disrupt-ing traffic.
Protests also were reported in Curitiba, Belem and Salvador.
Marcos Lobo, a 45-year-old music produc-
er who joined the protest in Sao Paulo, said the actions of police during earlier demonstra-tions persuaded him to come out Monday.
“I thought they [the protests] were infantile at first because of my preconceived notions,” Lobo said. “Then I saw the aggression.”
Another protester, Manoela Chiabai, said she wanted to express her dissatisfaction with the status quo.
“Everything in Brazil is a mess. There is no education, health care — no security. The government doesn’t care,” the 26-year-old photographer said. “We’re a rich country with a lot of potential but the money doesn’t go to those who need it most.”
In a brief statement, President Dilma Rousseff acknowledged the protests, saying: “Peaceful demonstrations are legitimate and part of democracy. It is natural for young people to demonstrate.”
Ariadne Natal, a professor at the University of Sao Paulo whose research focuses on vio-lence, said protesters want to “take advantage of this moment when we have foreign visitors, when the world’s press is watching, to show-case their cause.”
“The problem we’ve seen is that the police action is trying to prevent these protests,” she said. “What we need to figure out is how the protests as well as the big events can be carried out democratically.”
Brazilians have long accepted malfeasance as a cost of doing business, whether in business or receiving public services. Brazilian govern-ment loses more than $47 billion each year to undeclared tax revenue, vanished public money and other widespread corruption, ac-cording to the Federation of Industries of Sao Paulo business group.
But in the last decade, about 40 million Brazilians have moved into the middle class and they have begun to demand more from government. Many are angry that billions of dollars in public funds are being spent to host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics while few improvements are made elsewhere.
Protests are routine in Brazil, but few turn violent. Security experts say the demonstra-tions aren’t the main danger for the hundreds of thousands of visitors who will descend on Brazil from now through the Olympics in 2016.
However, Joe Biundini, whose FAM In-ternational Group provides security details to executives attending the Confederations Cup, said there is a danger of escalating violence from the protests if authorities don’t negotiate with demonstrators.
“If the government doesn’t sit down with them it could get worse in future matches,” Biundini said.
BAT_06-18-13_A4.indd 1 6/17/13 8:31 PM
thebattalion
movies page 5
tuesday 6.18.2013
puzzle answers can be found on page 6
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 Suite L400,Memorial Student CenterTexas 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
FARM/RANCH
Aggieland Alfalfa. 50lbcompressed Alfalfa bales, 50lbcompressed Timothy bales. Callor text orders to 806-683-2916.
1 and 2 bedroom apartments-$495 and $525/mo. Great loca-tion, on Holleman near AndersonPark.www.HollemanbythePark.com fordetails
1bed/1bath apartment right offGeorge Bush-across the streetfrom Kyle Field. www.100George-Bush.com for details.
2-Brand new 4bdrm/5.5 ba.homes less than 1-mile fromcampus. $2300/mo per house.Contact John 979-587-2794.
2-story 3bd/1.5ba. 1mi. to campus.$840/mo. for two., $960/mo. forthree. 979-777-2849.
2bd/1.5ba w/study. Fenced, cov-ered parking, pets ok, W/D, up-dated. 1604 Leona. On shuttleand biking distance to campus.$750/mo. 979-776-8984.aggielandrentals.com
2bd/1ba apartment, 800sq.ft. Newappliances, carpeting and tile.W/D. bus-route. $600/mo.210-391-4106.
3&4 bedroom houses, Now pre-leasing, updated, W/D, petfriendly, aggielandrentals.com979-776-8984.
3/2 Duplexes, prelease August,very nice, 5mins to campus, W/D,lawn care, security system,$950/mo. 979-691-0304,979-571-6020.
FOR RENT
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 multiple bus routes, nowpre-leasing, excellent specials.979-694-0320.www.luxormanagement.com
3/2 with big bedrooms Garageand fenced yard. Near park andbus stop-less than a mile fromTAMU. $1150/mo. 979-209-0123for details.
3/2, nice cul-de-sac house forlease. Avail in August. Garageand fenced yard. Directly on busstop. 1507 Arctic Cr. $1150/mo.Call 979-209-0123 for details andshowing.
3bd/2ba home, walking distanceto campus, fenced backyard, veryclean with updates, ceiling fansthroughout, discount for faculty,grad students, or medical stu-dents, available August 1st,979-693-0036.
FOR RENT
4/2 near Sorority Row- $1200/mo.See 979rent.com for details.
4/2/2 available August. 1208Hawk Tree. $1295/mo. W/D, up-dated, great floorplan, outdoorpets allowed with pet deposit.979-731-8257,www.BrazosValleyRentals.com
4/2/2 house, 1203 Westover. Avail-able August. Close to campus &multiple bus routes. Recently up-dated, large fenced backyard.Pets OK. $1275/mo. 979-255-9432.
4/3, 3/3 &3/2 Houses,Townhouses, Duplexes&Fourplexes, 1250-1700sqft. Veryspacious, ethernet, large kitchen,extra storage, W/D, greatamenities, on multiple bus routes,now pre-leasing, excellent spe-cials. 979-694-0320.www.luxormanagement.com
Big 2/2 in 4 plex, upstairs, bal-cony, big bedrooms. W/D, onshuttle. $650/mo. 979-324-5835.
FOR RENT
Big 3/2 duplexes, W/D, lawncare$900-$1050. 979-324-5835.
Bike to campus. 2/1 CS duplex,available in August, pets allowed,privacy fenced backyard, tilefloors, blinds and ceiling fans,W/D connections, lawncare andpest-control included, E-Walkshuttle route, $650/mo,979-218-2995.
CS, 2/2, Fox Run on Luther Street,over looks pool, minutes fromTAMU, $1150/mo, 979-696-1787.
Horse Lover’s Dream. 3bd/1ba,covered carport on 4acres withpond and horse facilities. Min-utes from TAMU. Recently up-dated all appliances includingW/D. Pet and livestock friendly.Available July. Rent $1399/mo.aggielandrentals.com979-776-8984
HUGE ROOMS, LOW PRICE. 4/2less than a mile from campus.LOTS of parking, fenced yard.Granite in kitchen. $1795/mo.979-209-0123 for showing and de-tails.
Large 4/2/2, fenced backyard withdeck, new carpet, 1217 Berkeley$1500, 979-777-9933.
Seeking someone P/T who can de-velop a marketing package withprograms such as photoshop.979-574-7474
The Battalion Advertising Officeis hiring an Advertising SalesRepresentative. Work aroundyour class schedule. Must beenrolled at A&M and havereliable transportation.Interested applicants should dropoff resume in the MSC, Suite 400,from 8am-4pm.
The Corner now hiring all posi-tions for all shifts. Come by inperson to apply.
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.
Take a pieceof a&M hisTorywiTh youReserve your 2014 AggielandThe 112th edition of Texas A&M University’s official yearbook will chronicle traditions, academics, the other education, sports, the Corps, Greeks, ResLife, and campus organizations, and will feature student portraits. Distribution will be during Fall 2014. Go to the optional services box in Howdy when you register for fall. Pre-order your 2014 Aggieland yearbook and save more than $10. For info, call 979-845-2696 or drop by the Student Media office, Suite L400 in the Memorial Student Center. Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday–Friday.
Emily Villani: Run away from ‘Man of Steel’ faster than a speeding bullet
Super letdown
Despite a progressive portrayal of women and minorities and some powerful acting performances, the exhausting torrent of fight scenes in “Man of Steel” crowded out opportunities for decent character
development, while failing to conceal plot lines with loose ends.
Throughout the film, minorities and women are cast in positions of influence — a refreshing respite from the traditional white-male hegemony of superhero movies.
General Swanwick and Daily Planet editor Perry White are played by African-American actors Harry Lennix and Laurence Fishburne, respectively. Female actress Antje Traue plays the role of menacing Kryptonian soldier, Faora-Ul, whose strength rivals Superman’s.
Even Lois Lane, played by Amy Adams, doesn’t adhere to the damsel-in-distress ar-chetype. She goes behind her editor’s back to leak a news story about Superman and boldly explores subterranean ice caves at night.
Another high point of the film is Russell Crowe’s performance as Superman’s Kryp-tonian father, Jor-El. In spite of his limited amount of screen time, Crowe brings more depth to his character than perhaps any other actor in the movie.
Unfortunately, these are some of the film’s only merits. One major downfall of the film was its failure to readdress seemingly significant plot points.
At one point in their epic duel, Faora-Ul, one of Superman’s Kryptonian enemies, tells Superman that his morality is what makes him weak. I expected this to come into conflict later in the movie, but it was never readdressed.
Another sub-plot that never resolves begins when a young Clark Kent saves one of his classmates from drowning. There are a couple of instances after this scene when director Zack Snyder shows us a shot of this classmate as an adult, making the audience think he will repay Superman in some way by the end.
But he never does. The closest encounter he has
with Superman in his adult life is when Faora-Ul hurls Superman through the wall of the IHOP where he works.
With its overwhelming special effects and under-whelming character development, “Man of Steel” is only a shadow of the Superman from the comic books.
Gone is a wholesome sense of soda-pop wonder, and in its place is just another overcharged action movie with the shadow of a great storyline.
Emily Villani is a senior communication major and staff writer
for The Battalion
COURTESY PHOTOS
Laurence Fishburne and Amy Adams co-star with Henry Cavill as Superman in “Man of Steel.”
BAT_06_18_13_A5.indd 1 6/17/13 7:48 PM
1 Eligibility subject to approval. Students must provide proof of enrollment at Texas A&M University College Station or Galveston when the account is opened. $50 minimum opening deposit required to open a new account. The Wells Fargo College Checking account is part of the College Combo® checking package. Opening deposit may be waived if student opens the account at a Bryan-College Station banking location and enrolls in online statements. The enhanced Aggie Bucks Unlimited debit card is a Visa® debit card issued by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.Information contained in this document is subject to change.
Show your Aggie Pride with the Official Aggie Bucks Unlimited debit card
Texas A&M University General Services Complex (GSC)Student Business Services 2nd Floor, Suite 2801750 Agronomy RoadCollege Station, TX 77841979-268-3238University Drive321 University DriveCollege Station, TX 77840979-691-8366Southwest Parkway200 Southwest Parkway EastCollege Station, TX 77840979-695-3266
Exclusively for Aggies — the Aggie Bucks Unlimited debit card:• Custom-designed debit card just for Texas A&M students• Make purchases and pay bills worldwide at participating retailers
and service providers — including online or by phone• Free access to your cash at 15 Wells Fargo ATMs in Bryan — College
Station and more than 12,000 Wells Fargo ATMs across the country
Get your card when you open a Wells Fargo College Checking® account1:• Waived monthly service fee when linked to your Aggie Bucks
Unlimited debit card• Direct deposit of financial aid refunds and/or paychecks• Banking on the go with Wells Fargo Mobile® Banking• Around the clock account access with Wells Fargo Online® Banking
For more information about the Aggie Bucks Unlimited debit card:call 1-866-360-3007email [email protected]
Get your Official Aggie Bucks Unlimited debit card at these banking locations:
Rock Prairie1801 Rock Prairie RoadCollege Station, TX 77840979-776-3266Harvey Mitchell Parkway501 North Harvey Mitchell ParkwayBryan, TX 77807979-821-3120Briarcrest3000 Briarcrest DriveBryan, TX 77802979-776-3277
Starting at ONLY $529Check out our Great Look & Lease Specials!$200 OFF 2nd Month Rent + FREE 32” LCD TV!!!
Mention this ad and we will waive your admin fee!!!
Call Now for a Tour! 979-822-54503200 Finfeather Road Bryan, TX 77801
FAIRWAYSapartment homes
NewlyRenovated
“A World of Healthy Products for Your Family!”
4303 S. TexaS aT RoSemaRyBryan • 979-846-4459
Mon–Fri 9 to 6 • Sat 9 to 4
Great Sale on
New Products
Celebrating 22 Years of Serving the Brazos Valley!
RAW EnzymesRAW Probiotics
RAW Fiber
Celebrating 24 Years of Serving the Brazos Valley!
BADGERSUNSCREEN
.
. ON SALESPF 30+ Unscented Natural Sunscreen
SPF30+Non-Nano Zinc OxideBaby Sunscreen
SPF30+ Sunscreen & Anti-Bug Insect Repellent
ANSWERSto todays puzzles
Over $65,000 in weekly cash prizes !
1805 Briarcrest Drive in Bryan Across from Bryan High
Doors Open At 5:00 pm, 7 Days A Week (979)776-0999 www.brazosbingo.com
Brazos Bingo supports the following charities: Brazos Valley Elks Lodge #859, Brazos Valley Council on Alcohol and
Substance Abuse, St. Joseph Catholic Church St. Joseph Catholic School and Bubba Moore Memorial Group, Inc.
thebattalion
newspage 6
tuesday 6.18.2013
Erdogan said the mission of the camp was to make STEM subjects more at-tractive to those students, make them choose the STEM pathway for their future and make them motivated and interested in STEM subjects.
Erdogan also talked about the composition of students and attempt-ing to attract girls as well as boys to STEM fields.
“Every year, our camp population is growing,” he said. “This year we have 63. Some come from Houston while others come from the Bryan-College Station area. At the moment, we have more girls than boys but it is close. We try to make [girls] interested in sci-ence subjects or math subjects by hav-ing activities such as making their own lip gloss.”
Andres Morales, a soon-to-be junior in high school, talked about the courses offered at the summer camp, saying that they helped prepare them for their col-lege future.
“[The camp] provides a good college experience,” Morales said. “The classes are composed of different areas of en-gineering; it’s what an engineer would do. I’m here to get an idea of what col-lege is like. We are visiting a college,
living the life a student would live.”Sill said her interest in A&M is grow-
ing because of the STEM summer camp.“I’ve always been interested in go-
ing to A&M but [the camp] has further stimulated my interest in the school as well as STEM areas,” she said.
The summer camp provides learn-
ing experiences for not only students but also other teachers. Erdogan said there are 16 teachers who attend the classes to observe the classroom envi-ronment and discuss with the A&M professors afterward.
STEM campContinued from page 1
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA has eight new astronauts — its first new batch in four years.
Among the lucky candidates: the first female fighter pilot to become an astro-naut in nearly two decades. A female helicopter pilot also is in the group. In fact, four of the eight are women, the highest percentage of female astronaut candidates ever selected by NASA.
Monday’s announcement came on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the launch of the first American woman in space, Sally Ride. She died last summer.
The eight — all in their 30s — were
chosen from more than 6,000 applica-tions received early last year, the sec-ond largest number ever received. They will report for duty in August at John-son Space Center in Houston and join 49 astronauts currently at NASA. The number has dwindled ever since the space shuttles stopped flying in 2011. Many astronauts quit rather than get in a lengthy line for relatively few slots for long-term missions aboard the Interna-tional Space Station.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said these new candidates will help lead the first human mission to an asteroid in
the 2020s, and then Mars, sometime in the following decade. They also may be among the first to fly to the space station aboard commercial spacecraft launched from the U.S., he noted. Russia ferries the astronauts now.
“These new space explorers asked to join NASA because they know we’re doing big, bold things here — de-veloping missions to go farther into space than ever before,” Bolden said in a statement.
Nicole Aunapu Mann, a major in the Marines, is an F/A 18 pilot serving at the U.S. Naval Air Station in Patuxent Riv-er, Md. Army Maj. Anne McClain is a helicopter pilot. The two other women, Christina Hammock and Jessica Meir, are scientists.
All four men have military back-grounds, including one who is a for-mer emergency room physician, Dr. Andrew Morgan. The others are Josh Cassada, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Victor Glover and Air Force Lt. Col. Tyler (Nick) Hague.
Sarah Hoffschwelle — THE BATTALION
Campers of the Aggie-STEM summer camp take a quiz over the material they learned throughout the day. The camp runs through Saturday.
