Scuba diving opens doors to underwater world
exas offers diving sites
o enthusiasts on budgets
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c.
y SEAN FRERKING
Of The Battalion Staff
I Scuba diving is a great way
to get your feet wet and spend
spring break.
I Tom Meinecke, a lecturer in
the physical education depart
ment and instructor of the
scuba class offered at Texas
A&M, said scuba divers can
discover a new, exciting world
hidden under water.
I However, before students
fan dive into the sport, they
must complete a two-week
aining course.
Meinecke said several agen
cies around the area provide
I he Flower Garden is
absolutlely the best dive in
Texas.”
— Tom Meinecke,
A&M scuba instructor
spectus,
chains
or
; madeasU
ne (rust cAt
otter ar*
gmar* of
aining that will enable stu-
lents to obtain their divers’
cenification cards.
I After 28 hours of class and
five open-water dives under
the supervision of the class in
structor, any adequate swim
mer can get certified, Mei
necke said.
| The scuba class usually con
sists of 14 hours of in-class
ibcture coupled with 14 hours
in the pool. It costs anywhere
! from $100 in the United States
to $350 in the Caribbean.
1 In class lecture, beginning
divers learn how to care for
! their equipment and what to do
in case of an emergency. Time
spent in the pool tests swim
ming ability and emphasizes
techniques important in scuba
diving, Meinecke said.
I Those enrolled in the course
complete their training with
the supervised dives and then
are issued a certification card
which is good for life, Mei
necke said.
Once students receive their
certification, they can begin
their odyssey into the sea,
Meinecke said. They can pur
chase diving gear, fill their
scuba tanks and charter diving
boats for off-shore excursions.
“However, most divers use
their certification cards to rent
their gear unless they dive a
lot,” Meinecke said.
Adventure is the major rea
son for most dives, he said,
and Texas can provide finan
cially limited divers with some
interesting places to go.
The A&M Scuba Club often
travels to the Blue Lagoon in
Huntsville. Old ships have
been sunk in the abandoned
stone quarry for divers to in
vestigate. Meinecke said the
water is incredibly clear at the
lagoon.
Another area frequented by
the scuba club is Lake Travis
near Austin. Meinecke said
the lake is great for scuba div
ing. He also said Canyon Lake
is a good spot for scuba enthu
siasts.
For the adventuresome di
ver, the best spot in Texas is
the Flower Garden, a coral
reef 118 miles south of Gal
veston and on the continental
shelf.
“The Flower Garden is ab
solutlely the best dive in Tex
as,” Meinecke said.
Some people even
around non-active oil
Meinecke said.
dive around those rigs,” he said. an incredible spectacle
rigs, For those with a bigger bud- beauty, Meinecke said,
get, Belize, Cozumel, off the
coast of the Yucatan penisula “Almost anywhere in
The spear fishing is good and the Caymen Islands, offer Caribbean is amazing,”
of
the
he
Photo Illustration by Fredrick D.Joe
said.
Meinecke said scuba diving
gives people a different per
spective of their world and is a
great experience to try.
Specialist warns: water, alcohol bad combination
Students
work for
vacation
Substitute teach during
spring break for cash
By STACY E. ALLEN
Of The Battalion Staff
While many students are
heading for the sunny beaches
of South Padre or the slopes of
Colorado for spring break,
other students are opting for
something more constructive
— making money.
One way students can make
money over spring break is by
substitute teaching.
Ken Ballard, a senior jour
nalism major at Texas A&M,
substituted last spring break in
the Deer Park Independent
School District and recom
mends it to students who will
be home for the week.
“It’s fun and I made money
instead of spending it,” Bal
lard said.
Pay can range anywhere
from $35 per day in the Kill
een Independent School Dis
trict to $50 per . day in Deer
Park and the Bryan Indepen
dent School District.
Most school districts require
that a student have 60 college
credit hours to be considered
for a position as a substitute
teacher, but there are excep
tions to this.
Paula Chambers, a person
nel clerk with BISD, said stu
dents who want to substitute
teach must have completed 60
college credit hours and be
available to teach at least two
days a week.
To apply, fill out an appli
cation and schedule an inter
view with the administration
of special services.
If the interview is approved
by the director of personnel,
the applicant’s name is put on
a list of substitute teachers to
be called. Chambers said the
process takes anywhere from
two days to one week to com
plete.
This process may seem sim
ple, but requirements do get a
little stiffer in some districts.
racers
■est
■itin
By KATHERINE COFFEY
Of The Battalion Staff
863
i Drinking and swimming elicits the
■ame advice as drinking and driving:
don’t do both at once, an American
Red Cross water safety specialist said.
I Martha Nix, one of 10 appointed
Specialists in Texas, said it’s not rea
listic to tell people not to drink be
cause students are going to anyway,
but taking precautions while swim
ming could save someone’s life.
I In an American Red Cross Basic
Water Safety Book, the Red Cross
said there are four major causes of
drowning in the U.S.: alcohol and
drug use while participating in water
recreation, accidents involving small
boats, overestimation of ability and
Stamina while swimming, and diving
into unknown or shallow water,
f Nix, who is also manager of the
Texas A&M Swimming Pool, said
when spring breakers get in the sun,
drink alcohol and then swim in cold
water that they aren’t used to, it be
comes very dangerous.
Reaction time is slowed, and they
overestimate their abilities, she said.
When a crisis occurs, someone might
not know what to do and could panic,
and this is when it could become fatal,
she said.
STAY
SAFE
Graphic by Norzaini Mufti
Nix, a lecturer in the health and
physical education department, said if
people are going to drink then they
need to designate a person who will
not drink to watch over people who
are swimming and drinking, she said.
According to the National Safety
Council, she said, about 6,000 Ameri
cans drown every year. Many of the
drowning victims are reported to have
been good swimmers, she said.
“If someone was going weightlift
ing or jogging, they wouldn’t drink
before they began,” Nix said. “When
it comes to swimming, people don’t
realize the physical exertions it de
mands and therefore don’t take it as
seriously as they should.”
Boating and water skiing are other
water sports that people don’t think
are dangerous, she said.
Boats are as dangerous as cars and
should be used with the same precau
tions, she added.
“People see boats as just fun, but if
you are hit, your chances of being
thrown into the water are great, and
you could be knocked unconscious
when thrown,” she said.
Nix said that there are precautions
to take before going on spring break:
• If you drink alcohol or use
drugs, do not go into the water.
• Don’t drink and drive, whether it
is a car, boat or wind-surfing board.
• Pay attention to how long you
have been in the water.
• Don’t swim far from the shore or
boat.
• Wear a life jacket or at least a ski
belt while boating and skiing.
• Know specifically about the wa
ter you are near: how deep the water is
and where the currents or tows are that
may be under the surface.
• If you can’t see the bottom of the
water, don’t dive.
• Never swim or boat alone.
• Swim in an area where supervi
sion, such as a lifeguard, is available.
“People need to respect water and
the reasons why water accidents hap
pen, because it could happen to you
this spring break,” Nix said.
In the College Station dis
trict, students need not apply
because a four-year college
degree is required.
Dorothy Adkinson, person
nel clerk for Deer Park ISD,
said in addition to 60 college
credit hours. Deer Park re
quires an applicant to pass a
12-minute, 50-question test of
general academic knowledge
before they can be considered
for a job. If the prospective
substitute passes the test, an
interview process takes place.
Although substitute teach
ing may not seem like the most
glamourous way to spend
spring break, Ballard said, it
does have its advantages.
“It’s a good experience be
cause it gives you the chance
to decide if you ever want to
go into teaching while you’re
still in college,” Ballard said.
“There aren’t many college
students home over spring
break, so you usually get
called every day and make
good money.”