October

Texas A&M football coach Mike Elko and his team improved to 5-1 after routing then-No. 9 Missouri 41-10 on Oct. 5. Weeks later, the team’s 38-23 victory over LSU after swapping starting quarterback Conner Weigman for Marcel Reed moved the latter into the starting role Weigman later transferred to Houston after being benched for several games.  

As one of the largest research institutions in the nation, Texas A&M has hundreds of projects and initiatives scientists are pursuing. One is staffed by graduate students Veerakit Vanitshavit and Junior Nabeeha Ali at the Veterinary Research Lab, where they research a strain of E. coli bacteria that can be used to combat antibiotic-resistant urinary tract infections. 

Sen. Ted Cruz visited College Station on Oct. 18 during a campaign stop against Rep. Colin Allred, a Texas representative who challenged the junior senator for his senate seat. One week later, Vice President Kamala Harris made one of her only campaign stops in Texas, visiting Houston’s Shell Energy Stadium on Oct. 25 with singer and songwriter Beyoncé to discuss abortion rights.  

The month closed with the Texas A&M Mark A. Welsh III Presidential Investiture on Oct. 25. Welsh,  appointed as permanent president nearly a year prior, spoke in Rudder Theatre before hundreds of students, faculty, administrators and guests to celebrate Aggieland and the years ahead.