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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 1987)
Wednesday, November 25,1987Arhe Battalion/Page 5 State and Local &M junior finds time for more hem just attending his classes Aggie Bonfire Committee Bonfire Posters (as seen in MSC) $5. Special Push Price Look for them at Duncan Field TONIGHT, behind the stage. buy THE HELL OUTTA BONFIRE POSTERS! orms ^ain By Richard Williams Reporter Talking to Vince Palasota is like liking to an athletic Richie Cun- ingham of the TV show “Happy lays.” Palasota, a junior agricultural eco- lomics major at Texas A&M, is a nember of the 12th Man Kick-off earn, a fraternity president, has a ,3 grade-point ratio, pays for his ducation expenses and also pays for large part of his sister’s college ex- nses. If there were 25 hours in a day, alasota would probably be doing imething for 26 of them. He has an air of confidence about One of his roommates, Joe Lucas, ampares Palasota to the little en- ine that could, and says he has al- aysbeen like this. “Vince always does everything he ;tshis mind to — he doesn’t quit,” |ucas says. “He believes he can do lything he wants.” Palasota, from Mexia, gets things complished no matter how hard icymay seem, he says. Palasota is a self-described confi- ent— not too cocky — person. He Imits he .vas cocky when he first ar- vedat A&M, but says coming from 'lass 3A Mexia High School to a niversity the size of A&M knocked tost of the cockiness out of him. In high school, Palasota played uarterback and cornerback on the lotball team, as well as shortstop for ic baseball team. He was named to eall-district baseball team. He was tied “Most Likely to Succeed,” dost Handsome,” “Most Intelli- tnt,”as well as “Most Conceited” by I classmates. After talking about his past ac- limplishments, he is quick to add lat those things happened in high S hool and really don’t mean much tymore. "When I was playing high school lorts at Mexia, I was everybody’s era,” he says. “I walked around iwn and everybody said ‘Hi.’ The ical paper would never print any thing bad about me.” Itis the things he’s doing now that Count, he says. “It’s not a good thing to rest on we coul k past too much,” Palasota says, i success Mien anyone rests on the past, rj 0 f wan fey tend to forget the future.” renton Dlogist rology , ’'OPEN SUNDAY 12:30-5:30^ I fltSVENSEKS ! wit cm if f THE | 4- $ k i i Photo by Sarah Cowan Vince Palasota plays for Texas A&M as a member of A&M’s 12th Man Kick-off Team. WORLDS BIGGEST! SALE e lie it is morf ady whet Palasota had the chance to attend veral different junior colleges on ihletic and academic scholarships, successful 11 decided he could get a better ed ition by attending a university. At 5-foot-7, Palasota says he just itoryhoi geneti e not onl> rate opies of i hat helps mple, ^ the cow realized he couldn’t make a career out of athletics. An education, Palasota says, is more important in the long run to anyone. The 20-year-old says he wanted to attend a school that would provide a good education. “I went to the A&M vs. Texas game where we got beat bad, and af ter the game all the students stayed for yell practice,” Palasota says. “Nowhere else would they do that. I figured that if the students sup ported the school that much, A&M had to be good.” Palasota wanted to continue play ing sports once he arrived at A&M. He tried out for A&M’s baseball team and survived several cuts, but was finally cut. He then tried out for the 12th Man squad in 1986. After surviving several cuts, Pala sota was finally let go from the 12th Man team, but he stayed on as a walk-on. Being a walk-on was not always fun, Palasota says. One of his jobs during that year was to don a burnt-orange jersey, the color for the University of Texas, and run back kickoffs against the 12th Man team. He says running back kickoffs was something he didn’t mind, because it helped the team, and as for the burnt-orange jersey, all he says is that it didn’t exactly make him happy to wear that color. Last year, Palasota didn’t play a single down during a game and he still has not played this year. But he has several reasons for suffering through 16 to 20 hours of practice a week and still not getting to play. “I like helping out the team each week and I like football,” he says. “Ego could have something to do with it, too,” he adds quietly. For helping the team last year, Palasota now wears a Southwest Conference Championship ring. He’s a take-charge kind of person, but says he likes to do so without tak ing over. As president of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, he has to provide leadership, but says his philosophy of leadership might be different from others. His job is to lead — not to command, he says. “Everybody runs the fraternity, not just the president,” Palasota says. His fraternity office also takes up a lot of his time. “Being president is a big responsi bility,” he says, “Everybody looks to you when something is happening. Sometimes they look for you to make things happen. I like that.” The fraternity also provides Pala sota with help in his classes. “A lot of people think that a fra ternity has to hurt your grades,” Pal asota says. “It doesn’t have to. Every body in Alpha Gamma Rho has an interest in agriculture. I have other members in a lot of my classes, and a lot of members have taken the classes I’m in now before — that helps.” The fraternity puts a large amount of pressure on him, he says, but he also says he enjoys being un der pressure. The fact that the fra ternity will be moving into a new house in January adds more pres sure, he says. Pressure is something Palasota thrives on — he really doesn’t know any other way. ocker room surveillance causes controversy AUSTIN (AP) — Southwestern lectric Power Co. violated the pri- cow mi icy of employees at a Northeast aterialiit exas plant by making secret locker- r it occn )om videotapes, Rep. Lloyd Criss arly. ^ Tuesday. " the mo! “I think this type of action is rep- ” he saif Sensible, and I think this company than gtf as violated the civil rights of the sople who are working for it,” e-prodm no the d ,r «o« ■ Coupon Itural — ^ V action : the vain products .rket vaf i was Si robably Mon: Burgers & French Fries Tues: Buttermilk Pancakes Wed: Burgers fie French Fries Thur: Hot Dogs fie French Fries \ Fri: Beer Battered Fish Sat: French Toast Sun: Spaghetti fie Meat Sauce which f its rtO assure f ensure will not ;uperint £l ent Sch“ apolog and - force to'- of raci* -eprin# from ’t hapP* d out londay ademti INTERNATIONAL <y fANCARESp v; BESTAURANT Criss, D-La Marque, said. At a news conference with Jim Harrington of the Texas Civil Liber ties Union and labor union rep resentatives, Criss said he is seeking an attorney general’s opinion on the legality of the videotaping. SWEPCO, which serves parts of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas, hired a company to videotape em- $2.99 ployees in the men’s locker room at the Welsh Power Plant in Cason for 30 days, Criss said. The taping be gan Dec. 3, 1986, said Michael Whitehurst of Longview, business manager of the International Broth erhood of Electrical Workers. Criss said the round-the-clock, se cret videotaping included employees who were nude. It began after one worker reported that $40 had been stolen from his unlocked locker, he said. Whitehurst, whose union rep resents the workers, said two em ployees were disciplined as a result of the surveillance, which involved as many as 100 workers. 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The book is available for $24.95 in hardcover in the Pattio Bookshop and comes lavishly illustrated with more than 150 full-color photographs. ! $ $ n I m a ■ ® COLORED Wranqler cowboy BRAND ^ MEN’S—22.99 LAPIES’-24.99 SPECIAL GROUP 3X BEAVER FELT HATS 49.99 RESISTOL & STETSON FELTS . $10-30 OFF LADIES’WESTERN WEAR . .20% OFF CAVENDER’S LONG SLEEVE SHIRTS REG. 20 14.99 REG. 25 ... 16.99 LEVI’S SADDLEMAN BOOT JEAN.... 17.99 LEVI’S KNIT JEANS 19.99 LEVI’S PREWASHED 501 JEANS 22.99 COLORED 24.99 GREAT SELECTION ROCKY MOUNTAIN JEANS!!! MEN’S LARRY MAHAN WESTERN SPORTCOATS REG. $150 ... 110.00 Open 9am-9pm Mon-Sat MasterCard VISA 1400 Harvey Road (Next to Post Dale Mall) 696-8800 ^ OPEN SUNDAY 12:30-5:30 Ameri<! “ Call Battalion Classified 845-2611