Mr. Obama Goes to College Station

President Obama was in town yesterday for an event on volunteerism with George H.W Bush. The event itself was by invite only, so the only students that were able to attend were "student leaders." But I was OK, because I didn't want to have to wait in line for 3 hours anyway.

In the afternoon, as I was working in my office, our career services guy came around and said there was going to be an informal leadership event with Bush 41 and Defense Secretary and former Aggie president Bob Gates. Going to events with 41 happens every so often around here. It was at the Corps of Cadets dining hall, which meant a bunch of them would be there, but I decided to attend despite that, with a number of classmates of mine.

We got to the dining hall, where we were feted with cookies and lemonade in faux fancy cups. We could see the Secret Service people making their preparations. But then, a gaggle of media showed up, elbowing and jockeying each other to get into position (they were actually quite aggressive). I thought that was odd, since Bush is always around, meaning it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Then a convoy with flashing lights pulled right up to the door of the dining hall, and Obama himself walked into the room, to the whoops of the assembled crowd.

Here's a story about the event, with video. He gave a short spiel honoring Bush and Gates, talked about public service, then went around the room shaking hands. I missed out on a handshake by about 6 feet or so. If I would have yelled "socialist!" or "you lie!" he totally would have heard me. It was a neat experience.

After this, I walked through the designated protest area. Although most protesters had dispersed, there were some remnants. I saw a lot of senior citizens walking back to their cars, signs in hand. I don't really think of old people as the protesting type, but I guess they are. There were also a lot of non-conservative protesters, like the Lyndon LaRouche people (they were the ones with the Obama/Hitler signs. Don't blame Republicans). There were also some signs about how the Federal Reserve is bad. As far as I can tell, the protesters took heed of the entire morning's worth of obnoxious Facebook admonitions imploring Aggies to not embarrass the University at these protests, so people should be happy about that.

The Beav Plays Ball

On Monday the Beav's baseball camp started. I took an early lunch break to get him there on time and we go sign in. I stole a glance at his schedule before he headed in and see that he is playing a game at 8pm, right before I pick him up at 9:15. So I ask if I could come and watch. The guys says "Sure, there will be lots of other moms there."

My external reply: "Great, thanks"
My internal reply: "What! You think I'm his mother? Do I seriously look old enough to have a high schooler? I know we live in crazy times but I think 8 is a little young to have a kid. Even if I had he was just barely old enough for camp and I had him at 16, I would still have to be 30."

I might be worried that at the ripe old age of 24, I am beginning to look old and haggard had I not recently been in a conversation where someone expressed disbelief that I was in a certain homegroup because "Isn't that for couples? You're not old enough to be married are you?" Apparently, I look old enough to have a 15 year old but not old enough to be married.

Anyway, I head over to watch him play that evening. I grab my camera and get in my stealthy picture taking mood so as to be assured great pictures and a non-embarrassed brother. The sun was setting. The light was perfect. The grass was green and bright. The boys were out in the field with the Olsen field sign right behind them and Kyle field behind that. I really couldn't have imagined a better place for a Aggie sister to take pictures of her brother playing ball. And you will have to imagine it as well because as soon as I turned the camera on, the battery died.

But it was still a nice night. By 8:30 it has cooled down to 90 and there was a bit of a breeze in the stands. It was the first time I had been comfortable outside in a number of weeks. And I did get to watch him play which I rarely get to do so I left happy and he left tired...and hungry. I forgot how much teenage boys eat, especially when the eat "dinner" at 4:00 and play 4 more hours of baseball.

Last night he finished up camp so we get to get to hang out this morning then head back to the airport. He will be flying home while Craig and I start our little summer vacation. It would be an understatement to say that I haven't seen a whole lot of Craig this summer so I am super excited about having 3.5 days for just the two of us. Unfortunately, life has been pretty crazy for me lately so I have no posts saved up. You'll just have to wait until next week to hear all our crazy adventures in ....

It's a fun campus, really it is.

The Beaver arrived on Friday. After spending the 4th of July at my aunt and uncles, we headed home. I wanted to show him around campus and when I emailed the Hospitality department, they said that there weren't any official tours this Sunday but they would be open from 12-4. So we ate a quick lunch and headed out so could get there in time. Except when they said the visitors center would be open from 12-4, I guess they meant every other weekend. On this weekend, the one I asked about, it was closed for the holiday weekend.

Oh, well. I know the campus fairly well, having spent more of my life living here than pretty much anywhere else in the world, so I just made it up as I went. We walked all around, seeing Sul Ross, Sbisa, the Rec, Kyle Field, Rudder Tower, the Century tree, Fish Pond, G. Rollie White, some dorms and the Bonfire Memorial. It only took about an hour and a half which was long enough because we were both hot and I was beginning to get sunburned. It would have been nicer to go in the evening but remember, we hurried so we could make it to the visitors center. I still think he enjoyed it but I tried to get across the fact that normally, there are actually people here. But it is a Sunday afternoon on a holiday weekend in the summer so the only people we saw were a couple of campus police men giving us funny looks.

Afterwards, I was going to take him out to eat at the Dixie Chicken but we didn't feel like a big meal (we'll try to get to it later this week) so I thought frozen custard from Shakes would be fun. It probably would have been except Shakes is also closed on Sunday. Geez, you would think I was back in Utah. In theory I like it when places are closed on Sunday but it is less than pleasant when you don't remember that and drive all the way down University to not have ice cream. We ended up at Dairy Queen. It's not the coolest place in College Station to show him, but you can't really beat two dipped ice cream cones for $3.

Gone like a freight train

Well, A&M President Murano resigned. The official meeting should take place in about an hour, but she beat them to the punch when she announced her resignation yesterday.

A friend got the text when we were all out to lunch after church. I've been reading the headlines about what was going on but didn't really obsess over it. I liked Gates, he was great. I didn't like Murano, and nobody else really seemed to either. Now that she is gone, perhaps they will retract that stupid rule saying we have to keep our thermostats at 75 all summer to save energy.

The Batt was amusing this morning though, on the second page was a big picture of Mike McKinney and Elsa Murano hugging at the 2008 Convecation. This is the first and probably only time I will be able to say this but "Well done, Batt."

Although as soon as I started reading what was on the page, I wanted to take back my props. They compiled student reactions found on Twitter and Facebook. I won't give my opinions on the journalistic integrity of that, but I will say that only one of the eleven reactions was in favor of her leaving. The reactions they did include range from A&M is racist and sexist and despite her intelligence and accomplishments she couldn't possibly have succeeded to self-proclaimed conspiracy theories about how Perry is behind it all. I'm not so sure how representative of the University population they are, though, because of all the faculty, staff, and students I've talked to, I've yet to talk to one person in favor of her. The opinions range from against her to apathetic.

But it's just another piece of evidence supporting our theory - whatever the Batt says, believe the opposition and you'll be right.

So what do y'all think. Sad day, good riddance, or who cares?

Two Signs A&M is Going to the Dogs

1. A "flash rave" was held in the MSC by some idiots. What disrespect.

2. Students voted no in a referendum on concealed carry on campus. Is Texas A&M going to end up liberal like every other University?

Another Aggie Tradition

For the third time, I have voted for the student body president candidate that ended up in last place (not counting write-ins). What does it say about the student body at A&M that its view of what kind of candidate should be elected SBP is so different from mine? I think there is cause for concern.

Hot Ticket in Town

Object permanence

It's the understanding that things don't disappear just because you can't see them. I took a child development course where I learned that babies typically learn this concept by 8-9 months of age. Mothers might recognize that as the time when peek-a-boo becomes fun.

Well, apparently the concept of object permanence isn't just unknown to newborns, some college students don't get it either.

I am auditing a course on the University where I work. It's a grad level course and to be honest, quite boring. It is also held Wednesday/Friday afternoon from 3-5 which adds to the difficulty one has staying awake. But I, along with the other students in the class, manage to make it through each week at least looking like we are paying attention. However, there are a few students from Galveston, taking it by videocast, who don't even try. There is a camera on them and two projectors (one behind the professor that the students can see, and another behind us that the professor can see) that give us a nice close shot of them. They are aware of it's presence and will look at the camera when asking a question, but most of the time they put the microphone on mute and forget about it. I have entertained myself for quite a while just watching them talk, goof off, give each other high fives (for completing a crossword puzzle perhaps?), etc, all the while waiting for their shenanigans to bite them in the butt. And Friday they did.

We had a guest speaker who didn't quite know how the system worked but was doing his best. One of the students took the mic off of mute to ask a question which caused a shhh should to emanate from the speakers. This is normally the cue for the professor to pause and/or ask if anyone had a question but the guest didn't know that so he kept talking for about a minute. Just when someone on our side was about to tell him that there was a question, we hear the other student in Galveston, quite loudly, say, "WHAT is he TALK-ing about." The first student then quickly asks his question and mutes the mic again but it is too late. We are all now staring at the loud mouth student, just in time to see her mouth "Oh ****" and turn red. It was quite entertaining. Tomorrow is our first class since then and I am wondering if she will be up for a game of peek-a-boo yet.

A&M Leadership Controversy!

A brouhaha has erupted on campus and in the campus media this week. To distill the main events, an alternative A&M publication that has produced two issues, the Anthem (site currently down, more here), reported that Texas A&M President Elsa Murano made the choice to go through with her controversial hire of a new VP for student affairs before conducting any kind of communication with students. She later did take feedback and conduct focus groups, but if the report is correct, this was merely a dog-and-pony show meant to appease students without giving them even minimal input. Here's a timeline:

• June 27, 2008 - VPSA Dean Bresciani "resigns." (He was fired).
  
• July 1 - new VPSA, Gen. Joseph Weber, offered job (the revelation of this offer is the basis of the above story).
• July 7 - focus groups with students held during this week.
• July 17 & 19 - communication between student body president Mark Gold and Murano about importance of student input in VPSA hiring process.
• July 21 - Murano's puts offer to her VPSA choice "on hold." (The Anthem did not mention, and apparently did not have, this letter, but questions its authenticity. The Batt provides authenticating material.)
  
• July 31 - Date Weber was to be presented to Board of Regents
• Aug 15 - Date Weber was presented to, and approved by, Regents.

The Anthem presented this news in a sensational manner, with the large, stark headline "Murano Lied." The next day, A&M's official student newspaper, the Battalion, responded in a way that I thought was reactionary, and also gave the appearance that the paper was a shill for Murano. It mimicked the Anthem's headline with one of its own, "Truth." It also ran an editorial decrying the Anthem's damage to the institution of journalism due to its failure to quote defenders of Murano (this coming from a newspaper that is not exactly a paragon of journalistic quality. Reporter, heal thyself). It seems like the Battalion is overly obsessed with the Anthem, when in reality it should not see the little publication as a threat. Was the Battalion mad it got scooped? In its haste to respond, it looks completely partial towards Murano, which I assume is not something its editors desire.

The basis of Murano's defense of her actions, referred to by the Battalion as "truth," was this:

The process began July 1, 2008, when Murano extended an offer to Weber for the position of VPSA. The offer did not hire Weber as the VPSA.

"It's a first step, and all of it is not binding until the president, me, moves forward and seek approval from the Board of Regents," Murano said, "So, presidents cannot hire a vice president just like that."

This is very weak, and strikes me as a distinction without a difference. The July 1 letter says, "I am pleased to extend to you the offer of VPSA at Texas A&M." That's pretty straightforward to me. This story does not refute the Anthem's charge that Murano made her decision before discussing it with students, and then gave lip service to student input having already made up her mind. Furthermore, this process was conducted in the summer, when few students were around. Even if you don't care what students think about the position, at least pretend, and do so before you make the hire. There's also the question of Weber's close ties to Gov. Rick Perry, who is said to have played a role in getting Murano hired (her selection was controversial, too). Quid pro quo?

Now, I don't really know who these Anthem people are. Maybe they like to cause trouble, and maybe their plan to get Murano charged with violating the Honor Code is over the top. And I'm not one to get up in arms over this. I'm not sure what university vice presidents do all day, and if it has any effect on me. I like, however, to see arrogant university adminstrators who treat students as subjects rather than customers get their comeuppance. And this issue is apparently quite serious (statement from SBP Gold here). So keep an eye on this, all you Aggies out there.

Emergency Practice

I participated in this active shooter exercise Thursday. I died. The point of the activity was to train local law enforcement and EMTs on how to react to a situation like that at Virginia Tech. Due to the fact that I was in pretty bad shape, according to the card around my neck, it took a long time for the police, rubber guns in hand, to pick me up off the floor. They took care of all the less-injured people first. I was kind of surprised it took so long. I was also surprised that they felt the need to handcuff and keep an eye on the "shooter" (some mannequin), even though he shot himself in the scenario. But I guess you have to be sure.

Presidential Briefing

In one of my classes, we just completed a policymaking simulation. The subject of this annual exercise for first years was Pakistan, a timely, multifaceted, and difficult issue. Our class was divided into teams and assigned to play different departments of government (State, Treasury, Defense, etc.) My team, the National Security Council, coordinated the effort. The Senate grilling I received Monday was part of this.

Today, our exercise culminated with a briefing of the President on our proposal. The President was played by a guy who knows that role well: George H.W. Bush, namesake of my school here at A&M. One of my NSC teammates briefed him on our final proposal. From time to time Bush interjected with questions for her or the agencies in the audience. It was a low-key, collegial affair with none of the belligerency of Monday night.

After the presentation, Bush talked a little about the operation of the NSC during his term, with Brent Scowcroft (who speaks here Monday night) as the National Security Adviser. Scowcroft's strong point, according to Bush, was his role as an honest broker who presented the opinions of each agency without inserting his own views, unless he was asked to do so. Bush also discussed the importance of the chief of staff in being a gatekeeper and scheduler.

Bush also went into the importance of politics, calling it a "noble calling." He said we shouldn't be turned off by the process, but rather get involved instead of "sitting around with a few cold ones complaining about how nothing gets done." He said that loyal friends are necessary to get elected, and he had many of them from his Yale days who supported him without even knowing his specific political views, because they trusted him as a person. He talked a little about the 1980 campaign, in which he started out as an asterisk in the polls before going on to win the Iowa caucuses. Bush mentioned that he called GOP rival John Connally a "bad name" during the campaign, which he said was a mistake. I can find no record of what that was.

One other interesting statement from the former President was that "Jeb may still have that political zest." Hhhmmm......

With that, Bush departed, shaking hands (including mine) and greeting students on the way out. It was a memorable experience for the Class of 2010.

Here's a photo, in case you don't believe me.

Egg on Whose Face?

You may or may not have heard about the egg-throwing political event that the Young Conservatives of Texas held here last week. Basically, the students threw "nest eggs" at a big photo of Obama to protest his policies. This continued for awhile until protesters apparently forced the event to shut down. This event created national news.

There was a flood of indignation after the event. Here's a sample of letters in the student paper. A lot of people whined that the event was "immature" or that it hurt the school's reputation. A lot of the letters included the phrase, "I support free speech, but..."

These people desperately need to relax. Yeah, this event was dumb. But if you just walk away instead of standing there and getting angry, this whole thing is a lot less newsworthy. And if you think that your reputation will be tarred forever because you went to the school at which this occurred, then you need to figure out how to carve out your own identity in life.

The administration of Texas A&M does deserve a little credit here. Usually, universities are quick to shut down offensive speech, and for most universities, conservative = offensive. A&M, however, did not shut this down. Plus, the president sent out an e-mail that merely asked for "respect," rather than condemning the students. YCT subsequently had a make-up rally where they threw eggs at a list of Obama policies, rather than the candidate himself. People were still indignant, however.

I would like to give special lily-liver recognition to the A&M College Republicans for this letter to the student newspaper:

While the College Republicans acknowledge the freedom of speech for all students, our organization has played no role in the YCT demonstrations in Rudder Plaza throughout the past week, nor do we endorse these events. Our organization remains dedicated to elevating political dialogue on campus, increasing civic participation and promoting Republican values in a constructive and respectful manner.

I went to an A&M CR meeting once, and it was incredibly boring. It featured an endless parade of candidates for dogcatcher, county judge, and other local offices. The job of a campus political group is to advocate an ideology and bring like-minded people together, not to advocate for local offices that nobody cares about, and that most A&M students can't vote for, since they are registered back home. For CR to completely throw YCT under the bus wins them nothing. At least YCT was trying to promote dialogue and draw attention to their views. While the event might have been juvenile, at least it wasn't staid and boring. I don't think CR likes the competition.

Visit From the Congressman

My current Congressman, Chet Edwards (D-TX) just happened to stop by one of my classes today. As you may recall, he was mentioned as a potential running mate for Obama before Biden was selected. Edwards brought this up during his visit, stating he was one of Obama's top 4 choices and relaying this story, which is also found in the linked article:

"Caroline Kennedy called me on August 10 to let me know my name would soon be leaked to the press," Edwards said. "It was a fascinating experience for my family."

Much to his misfortune, there was another "Edwards" making national news at the same time. John Edwards, former democratic vice presidential nominee, started a major media wave when he admitted to having an extramarital affair that ended two years ago.

"Senator Obama said it would cause too much confusion to have two 'Edwards' in the headlines at the same time," Edwards said.

It's quite unfortunate for him that the John Edwards thing broke when it did. Of course, it could have broke much earlier, and spared Chet the damage, if the media had done what it normally does when there are rumors of infidelity by politicians. That is, pursue the story instead of burying it. This arguably would have helped Clinton in Iowa too, where she was edged by Obama in a close three-way race. But back to the story: it's too bad for Rep. Edwards, but the way he brought up his "final four" status right away in his remarks to us seemed rather self-aggrandizing.

He went on to discuss leadership (which was the class he was visiting), stating that its not the general who barks the loudest who is the best leader, but the one who can inspire his troops to follow him.

He opened the floor to questions, and a student asked about the beginnings of his political career. Edwards cited the civil rights movement as something that drew him to politics, and he discussed getting a job with his congressman out of college. Shortly thereafter, he ran for that man's seat when he retired. In the primary, he was pitted against his old professor at A&M, none other than future Senator Phil Gramm (then a Democrat), who narrowly beat him.

I seized the next questioning opportunity, and I asked him what his approach to getting things done in the House is, what with 434 other Congressmen trying to pursue their own goals. He said it is important to focus on 3-4 key issues, and become an expert on those issues. His stated that his main issues are veterans, education, securing the world's nuclear weapons, and church/state separation.

(As an aside, this is the second Congressman I've grilled. I was able to subject Rep. Bishop of Utah to a tough question about earmarks last summer).

The last question to Edwards was one about a difficult political stance he has taken. He spoke about opposing a Constitutional amendment to require prayer in schools. He said he was called "un-American and un-Texan" for his stance.

With that, he headed off to some Rotary meeting. It was pretty neat for him to stop by, and as a bonus, it preempted our class.

Freak Show

I'll admit - I am intrigued by freaks of nature. I wish I had been around in the 1930's to go to state fairs and see Lobster Boy, Gorilla Girl, etc (even though many of them were fake). But alas, those days are gone. However, I did stumble across a freak show of sorts on campus the other day, on the second story of a veterinary building. Take, for example, the horse with hydrocephalus:


Note also the two-face calf on the left. Or the two-headed lamb:


Finally, I will leave you with two lambs with one head, which surely is a rarity. I guess the technical term is "diprosopus," or craniofacial duplication, although the photo below doesn't seem to match the Wikipedia entry.


I'd love to have seen the look on the face of the taxidermist when these specimens were brought into the room. Was it shock, horror, or delight?

Hurricane Day

That's right, school is canceled today due to Ike. That bad boy is supposed to reach this area during the overnight hours tonight. We are far enough from the sea that we would merely be hit with tropical storm conditions. The current forecast says we will get rain and about 50 mph winds. Of course, when Rita came in 2005, they predicted 10 inches of rain and 60 mph winds, and we didn't get much of anything. We were prepared, though, although our window-boarding skills were called into question.

Although things should be fine today, school was still called off, as a "precautionary measure." Non-essential employees also got the day off, and MacKenzie is apparently non-essential, in the eyes of the University. There are some evacuees rolling into town, so I suspect cancellation was done in part to keep people off the roads, although the University's action will allow some people the opportunity to drive home, and others (like me) the opportunity to go shopping or something. The University offered off-campus students lodging in a gym on campus if they are freaked out by all this. I think I'll decline that offer.

The exciting part of the hurricane is that I can pull out my neat emergency radio. It operates via hand crank, and has a light, siren, and cell phone charger. It receives AM/FM, TV, and weather band signals. You should get one.

1st day of school

Championships for the Taking

I learned this from Wikipedia yesterday:

While 1939 is the only national title that Texas A&M recognizes, retroactive polls have awarded Texas A&M national titles in 1917, 1919, and 1927. The 1917 team finished 8-0-0 and unscored upon, earning a retroactive national title by 1st-N-Goal and James Howell.^[4] The 1919 team finished 10-0-0 and unscored upon, earning a retroactive national title by ten selectors, including the Billingsley Report and National Championship Foundation.^[5]. The 1927 team finished 8-0-1, with a tie against TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, earning a retroactive national title by the Sagarin Rating and the Sagarin ELO-Chess.

I say A&M should go ahead and recognize those championships. Especially since USC has been interloping on our 1939 glory since 2004.

USC now will recognize its 1939 football team as a national champion, giving the Trojan program 10 national titles in the sport, Trojan athletic director Mike Garrett announced.

Excessive Dog Search

UPDATE: Pictures should work now. That's what I get for posting while away.

Texas A&M, one of my alma maters (almas mater?) has a live dog mascot. I'm not a fan of live mascots; I think they're boring. I mean, what's more exciting and entertaining,

or

Clearly the latter. Anyway, A&M is looking for a new dog, and they're serious about it, according to an e-mail I received from the school:

Reveille VII, the current keeper of Texas A&M’s decades old mascot tradition, will formally retire later this month at the conclusion of the spring semester. As many of you know, shortly after her retirement plans were announced, a 16-person study committee was formed with the support of President Elsa A. Murano to make recommendations on the type of dog that might best serve as the university’s new mascot. Those invited to participate in the committee included students, faculty, staff, former students and representatives of the Corps of Cadets, Athletics and the Federation of Texas A&M Mothers’ Clubs. The committee also included a Texas A&M veterinarian who is a nationally known animal behavior expert.

Quite the committee there, huh? Here are the qualifications they came up with:

1. Medium to large size
2. Healthy
3. Outgoing personality (upbeat)
4. Likes people and is at ease in crowds
5. Not afraid of noise
6. Not highly reactive
7. Positively motivated

Also, they decided the mascot shouldn't be a puppy. I really feel like I could have come up with this list on my own, without the need for a committee. And I don't really know much about dogs. But that's how universities work, I guess. They're big on bureaucracy and committees.

Now we move on to the next step in the search:

As we move forward in our effort to select a new mascot, we will immediately begin an extensive nationwide effort to identify and evaluate potential canine mascots.

The e-mail didn't say how they'll do this, but I smell a reality TV show. Reveille Idol? Who Wants to Be Reveille? A&M's Next Top Reveille? This show could air on Animal Planet, or maybe the USA network, after the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. If you have a dog that you think could fill this role, let A&M know (they prefer collies and golden retrievers).