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Battalion/Page 3
November 15, 1982
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by Elaine Engstrom
Battalion Staff
Will van Overbeek is quick to
point out that his new book,
“Kggies: Life in the Corps of
ffladefs at Texas is quite
different from the January 1981
Bexas Monthly article on the
■endingflJ ( orps.
inforcesdB “They (Texas Monthly) made
ave tobeJ-A i'A e of the magazine story,”
lifted—t0(B veI 'beek sa id. “The hook is not
In 1982 il a .)"b e - The hook is a t rue story.”
. rp .... i'- ■Overbeek took the pictures
... ' i)i the article which poked lim
nijustk ■ (heCorps. His hook — which
: nusmessjicpntains some of the same pic-
ir P- chairm lues as the article — is a collec-
firm’s iglon of 80 black and white
acquire )!> photos accumulated during
's done liKf 66 y ears (,f photographing
cannib# e C( ’ r l )S -
“When you shoot for a maga-
Ine, you do what they tell you.
1th the book, I had control,”
[e said.
Overbeek, 27, graduated
lom the University of Texas in
1978 and began work as a free-
Ince photographer for maga-
icsts quite il i nes an( | advertising agent ies.
“therthei sa ‘ ( * book is his first ma-
businessel" anistic P ro J ect -
. .. ■ “Thehook isan attempt to tell
>hiIosopks|L at ifs i ike t() be a cac |et()ver-
ig-term resHpeg sa j ( | “Cadets symbolize
tmic uncenB&M."
less leadeisM But Overbeek said he was un-
aith in nine about doing the hook after
business» |)e magazine article,
best and™ “Alter the magazine article, 1
ence, oncel 10 !'^ 11 w ‘ )U,(IlV * , be " ek< ' me< l
Hack. But Aggies have a great
fuse of humour. They can
lugh at themselves, unlike most
eopfe, he said.
Overbeek also said his work
ith the Corps has given him a
teat deal of respect for the
adets and their dedication and
CTseverance.
"When I was in college, 1 was
ke any other student. 1 got up
He and just generally messed
(round until I graduated,” he
[aid.
But, he said, students in the
lorps are different.
“The fish get up early, work
jard, learn discipline and learn
Ifo operate under pressure. 1
lamed to admire what the
[orps was doing,” he said.
Overbeek — the son of a for-
“A
0JD
flE
"ED
Mils.
city cas»
property
met Texas A&M faculty mem
ber — said cadets make wonder
ful subjects.
“They get so intense about
what they’re doing; they don’t
worry about the camera,” he
said. “They didn’t constantly
mug for the camera.
“f got to he a fly on the wall,
people got so used to my being
there.”
Overbeek concentrated his
photographic efforts on Squad
ron 2 and documented their
participation in various Corps
activities. He lived in Austin and
travelled back and forth to cover
the events.
“Taking the pictures was an
honor,” he said. “I got to witness
very important and private
events in their lives.”
Overbeek said that even with
the pictures of crap-outs and
quadding, he thinks the Corps
will love the book.
“I think they (Corps mem
bers) will love the book. They’re
proud to be Aggies in the
Corps,” he said.
“There’s a tendency in Col
lege Station not to tolerate any
discouraging words; it’s a defen
sive attitude. But, the Corps isn’t
all pretty. I’ve always wanted to
make pictures that move people
and I think these do. 1 wanted to
get at the gut feeling.”
Pictures of female cadets also
are included in the book and
Overbeek said he learned a lot
about them.
“Publicly, most male cadets
disapproved of Waggies, but
privately even the most ardent
Waggie-haters admired them
for what they put up with.”
Would Overbeek have liked
to be in the Corps? Definitely
not, he said.
“I wouldn’t want to be in the
Corps. I couldn’t handle the dis
cipline.”
But what does the Corps
think of the book?
Kevin Smith, commander of
Squadron 2, said that if they had
it to do over again, more con
sideration would he given to any
request to take pictures.
“He’s a nice guy and it’s not a
terrible hook,” Smith said. “I just
don’t think it told the whole
story.”
Now you know
United Press International
A study by the Educational
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201 DOMINIK
The book, a photographic
essay, does not include much
text or written material.
“There’s deep meaning be
hind what the Corps does,”
Smith said. “We’re building
leaders. A book explaining the
Corps would need to he three or
four times longer and include
more text. We thought it would
he a book with some pictures in
it.
“From a personal viewpoint,
it’s neat to be the subject of a
book,” he said. “From a public
relations standpoint, it lacks
something in telling what the
Corps is about.”
Smith said he thinks the book
may result in unnecessary pub
licity about the Corps.
“The Corps has some big sec
rets, like the traditions sur
rounding dropping handles
with the freshmen,” Smith said.
“For a fish, half the excitement is
doing something for the first
time. We don’t want them to
know about it beforehand.
“All outsiders need to know
about the Corps is the number
of officers we graduate each
year. T hey don’t need to know
the day-to-day activities. All they
need to know is that the system is
working.”
Texas Monthly Press, the
book's publishers, offered
squadron members the chance
to sell the hook at the University,
hut they declined.
Gene L. Munn, the 1st Wing
Commander and a past member
of Squadron 2, said they didn't
sell the books because they
didn’t care to have their name
associated with them.
Smith said that while movies
like “Taps” and “An Of ficer and
A Gentleman” may have in
creased public interest in the
military, the Corps isn’t in
terested in being made public.
“We’ll keep it (knowledge ab
out the military) to the movies
and fiction,” Smith said. “We’re
already under constant scru
tiny.”
Assistant commandant, Ft.
Col. Donald J. Johnson, said no
one in the commandant's office
had seen the hook vet.
Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M
by Will van Overbeek
staff photo by David Fisher
Author Will van Overbeek discusses his in the Corps of Cadets at Texas
recent pictorial book, “Aggies: Life A&M.”
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