Ultj
Nfi-r
t|
0W3 v
&
Thursday, October 20,1988
The Battalion
Page 7
Off Campus Center reorganizes
to keep up with changing needs
By Melissa Kennedy
Reporter
The Off Campus Center staff is reor
ganizing programs to meet the changing
needs of off-campus students.
“Next year, due to new residence
halls, we will be seeing fewer freshmen
and will have more time to focus on up
per-class students,” Mary Ann Rausch,
off-campus student adviser, said.
The OCC plans to implement an out
reach program to students moving from
the dorm to off-campus homes.
Past efforts to reach students while
they still live on campus have not been
extensive, Rausch said.
“Last spring, we spoke to a couple of
halls about what to look for in a lease and
how to deal with high pressure apartment
managers,” Rausch said. “It was suc
cessful primarily because resident direc
tors and advisers saw a need for it and
were willing to put effort into it,” she
said.
Rausch said she believes speaking to
dormitory residents who plan to move
off campus is important because many of
them don’t realize the responsibilities
that come with living away from the Uni
versity.
“I have talked to quite a few students
already who don’t necessarily draw the
clear connection between signing their
name on a lease and being bound legal
ly,” Rausch said.
After a recent statewide conference fo
cusing on commuting students and adult
students, the OCC staff began discussing
ways to let the University know about
those students’ special needs.
The staff learned that working around
regular business hours can pose prob
lems for commuting students.
“Many students schedule classes in a
block so they can go to work, attend
classes and go back to work or to their
families,” she said. “Many times it is
hard for these students to get to offices
between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.”
Rausch said solutions such as partial
workdays on Saturday or swing shifts
from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. are unlikely due
to strong resistance in many institutions.
“These solutions are much more com
mon in community colleges or technical
schools which aim specifically at adult
and part-time students,” she said.
Rausch said the OCC also is consid
ering establishing an area specifically for
off-campus students.
She said the OCC would like to desig
nate a lounge area for commuting or off-
campus students.
“The MSC partially fulfills this func
tion, but students aren’t really aware of
locker facilities around campus and they
certainly have no place to store a bag
lunch,” Rausch said.
Although the OCC staff is focusing
more effort toward upper-class students,
new programs for freshmen also are be
ing developed.
Rausch said the OCC has an opportu
nity to speak with incoming freshmen
during the freshman student conferences.
“We’ve just finished a video in the Da
vid Letterman-type style,” Rausch said.
“It is entertaining and the freshmen get a
lot of basic information. We end with a
question and answer period and strongly
suggest they visit the OCC for additional
information.”
Another growing segment of the
Texas A&M student population consti
tutes minority students.
The Center staff attends and speaks at
minority-student orientations and pro
vides a roommate referral box at the
Multi-cultural Center.
“That is as specialized as we get at the
Multi-cultural Center,” Rausch said.
“We’d like them to come to the OCC for
the rest of their housing resources.”
This year, the off-campus population
comprises almost 75 percent of the A&M
student body.
To effectively answer the increasing
number of inquiries about off-campus
living, the Center has begun a program
called SHARE (Students Helping Aggie
Residents Everywhere).
The volunteers in SHARE are trained
by the OCC staff in the laws and rights of
managemers, owners and residents.
The volunteers also are trained to ad
dress roommate conflicts, safety and se
curity.
The SHARE volunteer phone numbers
are recorded on the OCC answering ma
chine, printed on fliers in the Center list
ing room and posted at some apartment
complexes.
“Off-campus housing doesn’t just end
with finding a roommate,” Rausch said.
“The demand for Off Campus Center
services is cyclical,” she said.
Before a semester begins, those visit
ing the OCC are looking for information
on apartment availability and prices as
well as roommates and subleases, she
said.
“We try to orient people on the infor
mation available and what to look at in a
lease and in an apartment,” Rausch said.
“Many days we’re just out there talking
all day to people as they come in.”
As the semester progresses, the OCC
staff takes an advisory role.
“Now. I am quite frequently helping
studnets who have problems with their
lease, management or their roommate,"
she said. “In November, we’ll begin get
ting questions regarding problems with a
roommate moving or the penalties for
breaking a lease.”
While the OCC is continuously updat
ing their programs to meet the needs of a
changing student body, its primary goal
is to help students become educated
housing consumers.
“There is so much to know, but the
key is to know the things that will get
you through with a minimum of wor
ries,” Rausch said.
“There is enough red tape in the world
and students certainly don’t need to go
through it trying, for example, to get a
manager to make repairs.”
Parties campaign for
open seat in Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrat
Bill Sarpalius trails his Republican oppo
nent, Larry Milner, in fund-raising and
campaign spending in what both sides
paint as a down-to-the-wire race for
Texas’ only open seat in Congress, the
Panhandle’s sprawling 13th District.
Reports filed with the Federal Election
Commission this week show Milner
raised $135,490 between July 1 and
Sept. 30, while Sarpalius’ campaign
brought in $95,805. For the same period,
Milner spent $ 125,418 to the $91,020 in
campaign spending by Sarpalius.
Milner had $28,684 cash on hand at
the end of September to the $22,237 in
Sarpalius’ warchest. Both campaigns
had debts and outstanding expenses —
$37,894 for Milner, $20,876 for Sarpa
lius — at the close of the reporting pe
riod.
A targeted race by both the national
Republican and Democratic parties, the
seat in the rural district opened up when
Republican Rep. Beau Boulter chal
lenged Democratic Sen. Lloyd Bentsen’s
re-election bid for a fourth term.
Since the first of the year, Milner has
raised $311,076 and spent $292,393,
while Sarpalius has raised $177,828 and
spent $186,952.
Faculty goes overseas to teach
Program gives opportunity to travel
:empoi
ka.Hxl
By Holly Becka
Staff Writer
People who have the desire to travel, see foreign
lands, experience different cultures and meet new peo-
^ple don’t have to join the Armed Forces. For some
Texas A&M faculty members and students who have
taught overseas, teaching is the profession that is be
coming an adventure.
I The Study Abroad Office has many pamphlets and
)ly » ' : Jbooks for A&M educators and students interesting in
teaching overseas. The publications describe the pro-
.■™grams by their location and their prerequisites for ap-
t* I plication.
AH Joseph Hutchinson, a professor of architecture who
[has taught in Europe three times, participated in the
I Study Abroad program last summer.
I He spent more than a month overseas teaching a
Ithree-hour arts and civilization class to Aggies who
|traveled to England and Paris. David Anderson, an as
sociate professor of English, went to Europe with Hut-
ichinson to teach British literature.
I “There are lots of opportunities for faculty and stu-
idents to travel overseas if they want to,” Hutchinson
■ said.
I He said he and Anderson began preparations for the
trip a year and a half in advance.
“Colleges across campus were notified by Study
Abroad that proposals for courses overseas were being
taken,” he said. “We wrote a full proposal that in
cluded the trip itinerary, lectures, textbooks and as-
lltil s ’g nments ”
UK| Study Abroad Director Mona Rizk-Finne said that
each college evaluates proposals and decides which
i to include in the Study Abroad program.
L uH T* 16 Interdisciplinary Committee on campus re-
views them and makes recommendations, and the
Coordinating Board in Austin has the final say in the
proposal,” Rizk-Finne said. “The course needs to jus
tify why we should teach a course in ‘x’ location.”
She said that usually two courses are taught together
overseas. “The courses should be complementary and
not compete with each other,” she said.
|f hut
ive - J
not®*!
as I
becaitf®
isaidf
Hutchinson said that when the proposal was ap
proved, he and Anderson recruited students to take the
trip.
“Thirty students from study fields across the Univer
sity went and there were about a half a dozen on the
waiting list,” Hutchinson said. “In Spring 1988 we of
fered a one-hour preparatory course for the students
who were going to England and Paris. It was an orien
tation to the program and to Europe. We told them how
to act and how to adjust to a different culture and made
sure everyone got their passports and visas.”
He said that as a teacher and as a visitor to a foreign
country, he thought the experience was wonderful.
“I got to lecture in cathedrals, museums and English
manors, and when we went to Canterbury, David (An
derson) lectured about Canterbury Tales by Chaucer,”
he said. “Going to London and to Paris was a cross-
cultural experience. It was wonderful to compare the
two.
“We had a terrific time,” he said. “I don’t think the
students slept two hours a night — they were con
stantly on the go.”
David Ekroth, associate professor of architecture,
has spent a total of five years teaching overseas in Asia
with the Peace Corps, at the University of Science in
Malaysia and most recently, at the Institute of Tech
nology in Malaysia.
“I was hired by the Texas International Education
Consortium and the Malaysian government to teach ar
chitecture to Malaysian students who would come to
America if they passed two years of rigorous study,”
Ekroth said. “There were seven faculty members from
all over the state who taught 230 students.”
Ekroth said he found out about the program when an
associate dean of architecture sought interested faculty
members for the project.
He was willing to go to Malaysia because of his pre
vious experience there and because he could adjust to
the different lifestyle more easily because he had lived
abroad.
“There are lifestyle adjustments you have to make,”
he said. “You can’t just go to a foreign country and
carry on business as usual. You have to adapt. Until
you get used to it, it might be a little difficult.”
He said he thinks A&M faculty members should
take advantage of teaching overseas.
“I think it promotes A&M’s involvement in work
abroad,” Ekroth said. “It’s pretty important because
we have 3,000 international students on campus and
because the University has the notion of wanting to
move into the international arena.”
Mary Beth Butler, a graduate student in English,
participated in a Study Abroad program in Great Brit
ain as a assistant teacher in Spring 1987.
“I taught literature, tutored students in English and
helped them with papers and essays and did basic trou
bleshooting,” Butler said. “It was the greatest thing
that ever happened to me. I would definitely recom
mend it — it was a great teaching experience.
“On a personal level, I didn’t even believe Britain
was there,” she said. “You know how sometimes you
have to see something to believe it? Teaching overseas
was a really valuable experience. I did some great re
search at the British Library. The culture difference
was also an experience. You bet I’d love to do it
again.”
Rizk-Finne said that very few students get to serve
as teaching assistants.
Butler said assistant teaching is a matter of whether
funding and a position — are available.
A&M English and French major Andrew Gardner
got his job teaching in Brazil in an unconventional
manner.
“My brother knows a guy in a private language
school in Brazil,” Gardner said. “The director of the
school was looking for a native English speaker to help
teach students and teachers. As an English major, I
know grammar, so the job worked out pretty well.
“In Brazil, if you know English you can get ahead in
the business world. Most students who want to get
ahead take English from a private school. The English
program in the high schools usually aren’t too great.”
Gardner said he stayed with the director of the
school and was paid the same salary as the other teach
ers.
“It was a great experience,” he said.
IM-l
shD 1
its
i#'
pa^
ical^
iplof't
c# l! :
8*
SCIENCE AND
ENGINEERING
MAJORS!
The Air Force has open
ings for men and women in
selected science and engineering
fields. To prepare you for one, you can
apply for an Air Force ROTC scholarship.
See what it can do for you. Contact the cam
pus Air Force ROTC representative today
CART KEVIN GAMACHE
845-7611
Leadership Excellence Starts Here
f,OT
i#J
Go With Battalion Classified
845-2611
Notes-N-Quotes
846-2255
112 Nagle St.
FREE PARKING
x
LET US HELP YOU
MAKE THIS A
GREAT SEMESTER
Study Guides
BANA217, BOTN 101
Lecture Notes
Cliff Notes
Scantrons/Bluebooks
Professor Course Packets
Binding
Copying
Laser Printing
Resume Packets
Club Printing Discounts
Colored, Bond, ll”xl7” Paper
pF
MSC
Political
Forum
TrCection '88:
f Te?(as Candidates Series
presents
BEAU
BOULTER
Senatorial Candidate
Monday, October 24
7:00 p.m.
701 Rudder
Free Admission
Reception to follow
This program is presented for educational purposes,
and does not constitute an endorsement for any speaker.
4C
SOMETHING’S
BREWING!
happy hour
friday 2-6
movie rental
over 5,000 titles
$1.99 feature films
99< TUes. & Wed.
Children’s 99< Everyday • Adult & New Releases $2.49
$2.00 off
all IP’s and
cassettes $8.98 and up
all CD’s
$13.98 and up
all books
25% off
(excludes remainders
and sale books)
T
OPEN: Sun.-Thurs., 10-10 Fri. & Sat. 10-11
25% OFF 30% OFF
Paperback Bestsellers! Hardback Bestsellers!
EVERYDAY EVERYDAY
Hastings
Something’s Always On Sale!
College Station • Culpepper Plaza
• Music • Books • Movies • Video • Music • Books •
A Night at
Think Before You Drink!
Reduced cover - $1.00
Non-alcohol and alcohol drinks
Free Food!
Door Prizes!
When: Thursday, October 20
Where: Graffiti, 313 S. College Ave.
Time: 8:00 pm - close
Sponsored by Alpha Phi Omega, Graffiti,
Mission Jewelers, Garfield’s, Putt-Putt
Golf, Popabilities and
Kt “
f Choices
o/ a new
jene ration
National CoIIef late
Alcohol Awareness Week
1988
For more information, call the
Center for Drug Prevention and
Education 845-0280