Page 6C THE BATTALION WtOAY. SEPTEMBER 3. 1979 Students g&t qn^carnpus voice Organization works for off-campus involvement By ROBIN THOMPSON Battalion Staff The organization designed to meet the needs of over 20,000 stu dents who live off-campus at Texas A&M University is the Off-Campus Aggies. Bruce Martin, an active member of the Off-Campus Aggies, said the main goals of the organization are to "educate students to off-campus life and get them involved in the uni versity. “Off-campus students are too iso lated, Martin said, “We offer someone to speak for them — a voice.†The Off-Campus Aggies are rep resented by a member on all Memo rial Student Center committees and the traffic appeals board, Martin said, and, in addition, works with the Texas A&M administration con cerning problems such as parking and bus routes. It has divided the Bryan-College Station area into four districts, with representatives from each district. "Anyone living off-campus is rep resented by a member of the Off- Campus Aggies,†he said. There will be a meeting Sept. 10 for old members and those who are interested in joining the Off- Campus Aggies. They will hold the annual Off-Campus Night on Sept. 12, in the Grove. Martin said at Off-Campus Night there will be representatives from Student Activities, the Memorial Student Center, intramurals, the Better Business Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce and the University Police to "show students what is going on in these respective areas.†Tentative speakers, Martin said, are Dr. Jarvis Miller, president of Texas A&M and Dr. John Koldus, vice president for student services. Afterwards there will be a dance from 8:00 p.m. until midnight. Martin said one of the first projects for the Off-Campus Aggies this fall will be to organize cutting and bonfire crews and especially get more women active in the construc tion of the bonfire. The Off-Campus Aggies is a newly-formed organization, the re sult of the merger last spring of the Off-Campus Students Organization and Hassle-Free. Glenna Witt, student develop ment coordinator and advisor to the Off-Campus Aggies, said the Off- Campus Aggies will be more effi cient and more effective this year because of the merger. “The O.S.A. was mainly dealing with university committees, while Hassle-Free dealt directly with the students,†Witt said. “We’ve com bined this.†The club also attempts to inform students of services available to them on campus like the student legal advisor and the Off-Campus Center, she said. “We want to make students more aware by getting them involved,†Witt said, “We want to make things better.†Off-campus entertainment I Off-campus Ag| learn survival from center By ROBIN THOMPSON Battalion Staff Of the over 30,000 Texas A&M University sti who will arrive in the Bryan-College Station areij September, only about 9000 of them will liveonj A&M campus. The rest will be on their own, for a place to live off-campus. One place to look for an apartment, house or dupl is the Off-Campus Center, located in the PunJ Lounge on the A&M campus. The O.C. publishes a list of all available apartni in the B-CS area, a list of their prices and the Campus Living Survival Manual’. The list of ava apartments is updated every two weeks. Jan Winterford, off-campus coordinator, saidi feels the purpose of the O.C. is to make the off-cai student feel more like a part of the university com^ nity. “There hasn’t been a whole lot done with I the past,†she said. “It’s tough when a freshman comes here,†she$ “It’s expensive, he feels like he is alienated. Wej want to ease that if we can. †Although most students secure an apartment! the end of the spring semester, Mike Gibson, st adviser at the O.C., said there are still some apartments. “They may not be exactly what they (the studeij want, hut there are plenty of apartments availabl Gibson said. Gibson said the available apartments may be i expensive than the student planned for or they mayj be close to campus. The O.C. can refer students to the legal advisi they are having problems with their landlords orcan| over leases with students to help them unden them. However, Gibson said the main problems that si dents have are: not getting involved with campusJ tivities and not getting along with their roommatesl Winterford said that helping students find a placel live is only a small portion of what the O.C. does, f To kick off the fall semester, she said, the O.C.i sponser a brown bag lunch on September 6, at 12;C the drill field. There will be entertainment providedj the Basement. Some other plans, Winterford said, include starl car pool system. The system will be a referral sen with students filling out cards and matching themj with other students who need rides or can give thei Other plans, she said, are to expand programm for example, holding a workshop on car repair. Winterford said the O.C. will also expand servij this fall. “Right now we focus on the predoraii apartment complexes. We want more houses andd lexes,†she said. She said the O.C. would like to maintain moreo tact with landlords and civic leaders. “We want^ students to have a better position in the communis she said. “The off-campus student has to make a special ( to come to campus,†Gibson said. He advised news dents to attend the MSC Open House on Septemb and check out the school organizations. Scott Perry plucks a few notes on the banjo while enjoying a quiet morning outside the State apartments in Bryan, where he lives. Perry is a senior mechanical engineering major from Houston. Battalion photo by Robin Thompson Jump in and get United Press International PORTLAND, Ore. — There’s a new dimension in education in downtown Portland — the rush hour masters degree. Academic offerings at Portland State University in the city’s downtown area used to be scheduled during the traditional eight-hour work day with a few classes at night to give lip service to its urban setting. But between 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., it was a desert — empty halls, classrooms, offices, reading rooms. Th en five years ago, came a memo titled: “How To Get An Edu cation On The Way Home During The Rush Hour. Directed only to a few of the faculty, it outlined the availability of a new class time — 5:15 tcr6:29 p.m. two nights a week for three credit hours. The 5:15 w as chosen as the logical time to catch commuters. And 6:29 was selected because it would stand your car your master s out on the schedule and giving the impression of being earlier than 6:30. Peogje who worked in downtown Portland could come to the univer sity immediately after work, park and be in class within minutes. There was virtually unlimited parking. By 6:29, Portland’s freeway system would be almost empty so students could arrive home just a bit later than usual but with ease and still have the evening before them. By having classes two nights a week the commuter might miss now and then without fear of losing a whole week’s lectures. There also was the chance of cramming in 18 credits in one term by taking night classes which (by de sign) dove-tailed with the twilight courses and doing it in just four days of a regular work week. Friday nights still would be free. The rush hour period thus would allow a worker (who could stand the pace) a chance at tinishing gree in record time without k to give up a full time job. For the newly divorced p working anywhere in the tb county area of the Portland ropolitan district, a short exta of the babysitter’s time would; a return to the university anc possibility of a degree andab job in the future. Schoolteachers too could mi a class or two on the way < without crowding their schedts Portland State now has near courses available in rush b) Summer school too has hooket the commuter trade student! by moving its night classes a begin at 5:30. Finance, math, business, pb 1 engineering, anthropology, science and urban studies offc zens of different courses now* new time. In fact, it nowispn« to get a Master’s degree durint rush hour.