New softball and track stadiums, Campus Carry implementation and renovations for the Engineering Education Complex are in Texas A&M’s near future.
The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents met for open session Wednesday in Bethancourt Ballroom to vote on allocating funds to new building projects, the proposed limitations to Campus Carry and to honor the service of members of the Texas A&M System.
The regents approved University President Michael Young’s 14 recommendations for campus ‘gun-free zones,’ including sporting events, research centers and laboratories, healthcare facilities and locations where administrative hearings and investigations take place. The regents emphasized that no Texas A&M campus will allow open carry.
Aaron Mitchell, speaker of the 68th Student Senate and economics senior, spoke to the regents about the details of Senate Bill 11, which will introduce Campus Carry to public college campuses in August. The bill notes that college campuses may establish “reasonable rules and regulations” about campus locations where concealed carry will be permitted.
“We are very pleased with the outcome of the proposal. For this, I would like to thank President Michael Young and our university leadership,” Mitchell said. “As you know, the Texas A&M Student Senate was one of the only student senates to advocate for concealed campus before it became law.”
Construction of new additions to Texas A&M — including a $28.6 million softball stadium and a $39.8 million track stadium — were also approved by the regents and are expected to begin building soon. Regent Anthony G. Buzbee argued that the five-year capital plan for these projects was not sufficiently approved, and that money for each one was not mentioned prior to Wednesday’s meeting.
“I’m looking at these projects and I’m seeing that at least 40 percent of them are asking us to amend the capital plan,” Buzbee said. “Why don’t we just decide we’re not going to have a capital plan? We have to quit pretending we have a capital plan, or amend it.”
The Gardens at Texas A&M — an outdoor horticulture learning facility — was also approved to begin construction in 2016, with a projected finish in 2020 and a budget of $48.1 million. A revised scope and budget for the construction of the new Engineering Education Complex was approved with a budget of $168.9 million.
