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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 1992)
The Colorado College We've packaged one of Colorado's favorite ski areas just for our collegiate friends who love to ski. Page 8 The Battalion Thursday, February 13,1 Thursday, Student author describes inspirations for poetry Ski Break $37.99 Loveland's Colorado College Ski Break Package includes lodging and lift tickets for $37.99* (4 per room). We also have a 5 night special Ski Package for $423.00 that includes airfare, lodging and lift tickets. A great ski area and a great bargain all in one pack age. For a free Loveland brochure, current ski condi tions or reservations, call : by Timm Doolen The Battalion Life is an unjustified maze. The answers He in the dark. The walls an obstacle to avoid, To overcome, to leave your mark 1-800-225-L0VE *Some restrictions apply CAMP DAY Summer Jobs William Miller, a sophomore English major, has left his mark on life at the age of 19 - a book of his poetry has been published. Before Miller even began tak ing classes at Texas A&M, Van tage Publishing had agreed to put the poems written while he was in high school into book form . A year and a half later, the words of his rough manuscript are printed in hardback, and will soon be distributed to bookstores. Miller was fortunate to be ac cepted by the first publisher he sent his work too - an amazing feat in the cutthroat world of pub lishing. The lines above are from "The Maze of Life," a poem representa tive of the entire book, which tries to explain aspects of life, while at the same time admitting there are more mysteries than solutions. "Maze" is typical of the other 47 poems in the book - a romantic and often emotional look at vari ous areas of life. Miller sees both bright and dark aspects of our ex istence, and often times puts them in terms of how man strays from his Creator. Even the title of the book, "From the Valley, I Couldn't See the Sun," refers to times in Miller's life when he has strayed from HUY NGUYEN/The BatD: William James Miller, a sophomore English major from Houston, is author of “From the Valley, I Couldn’t See the Sun/ato of poems with romantic and theological themes. The books was published in January, and should appear in bookstoressoo 1 Monday, February 17, 1992 MSC Rooms 226-231 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Camp Representatives from Texas and the Nation will interview God. He readily admits, in his po etry and when talking to him, that he has strong affections for God. "God is a big part of my life," he says. "When I need help in any aspect of my life, he is there. Hes a role model, a guide for me." But religion is not the main subject of his poetry. He hits on topics as diverse as love. South Africa, the homeless and death. "There is no one place I get in spiration - it just happens," he says. "At any second I can get an inspiration and write it down." His inspirations have allowed him to finish a second book of po etry titled "Raping the Soul" which he is currently working to get published. "It's about how the thoughts of the mind, the feelings of the heart and the temptations of the body work together and against each other at the same time. Although his new book takes a look at darker aspects of life, he says this is not necessarily a bad thing - sometimes darkness can be as beautiful as light. "There are some aspects of life people don't like to talk about," he says. "Some of the darknesses need to be looked into." Since coming to A&M, he says his writing skills are improving. "A&M has helped me grow in literature, because of the teaching staff in the English department," he says. Despite A&M's reputation as an overly conservative school, which seems at odds with the lib eral nature of many literary arts groups, poetry and the creative arts are alive at Texas A&M. Miller used to belong to the MSC Literary Arts Committee, which dissolved due to censorship conflicts. But he feels censorship issues are a concern everywhere, and A&M is not unique in having problems with a lack of accep tance for creative, and sometimes unpopular, ideas and expressions. "Most of my colleagues or friends are a little more liberal than me," he says. "But I'm not as conservative as my writing might indicate. I tend to sway between the two. I don't see the conserva tive aspect of A&M or the liberal aspect of the English department or literary groups as a problem" . His writing also seems tosiv, between two extremes - inavai ety of ways He looks at both the liglii(|[ and darker sides of life: the mantic and the realistic, consen.- tive and liberal, life and deal: worship for God and strayia from Him, looking for answe: and finding more mysteries,Hi the conflicts between these idea and concepts don't detractfror his poetry, but rather enhanceth dualistic nature of life itself, as4 picted in his words. Possibly life's only consisted factor is that it is inconsistent,ani Miller seems to have captured sev eral examples of this disparity, "From the Valley, I Couldn't See the Sun" will soon be available as an example that local creative talent can sometimes shine. "Betv two frien magic ar words, L< album, p works of I sheer pov and "Soi was sonri' | could kec With the Loss," the is at the h album co with the worked s two albun Using two of hi starting ] song cycle found inn life throuj with canc tertaining Musii Informatit nightclubs Texas A&M students for summer staff positions. 'Come feel the Heat' Miss Texas A&M No Appointment is Needed | P a S eant planned for Saturday night Sponsored by the Department of Recreation, Parks & Tourism By Atlantis Tillman The Battalion MSC Political Forum presents A. Whitney Brown The BIG Picture You’ve seen him on Saturday Night Live! Where else can you learn to speak "Texan" and hear a former recording artist in one night? The 1992 Miss Texas A&M University Scholarship Pageant promises a unique mix of inspirational music and comedy in the talent competition. Tricia Vail, one of the contestants, will per form a comedy monologue entitled "Talkin' Texan." Vail will lecture on what she calls "Basic Southern Speech 101," concentrating on words and phrases of Texas origin. "My first example is the word 'Ahmoan,' as in 'Ahmoan' get me some pie, want some?" defines Vail, a sophomore speech communica tion major from Colleyville. "So far, everyone who's seen it has liked it," said Vail, who admits her biggest fear is that no one will laugh Saturday night. The talent competition will take a more tra ditional form when Carmen Tisch, a senior marketing major from Spring, takes the stage. Tisch has been singing since the sixth grade when she signed a five-year record contract with Silver Burdett to sing on children's records, that were distributed to schools all over the country. Tisch will sing "Somewhere Out There" from the movie "An American Tale." "I love inspirational songs," Tisch said. "I try to get people emotionally involved by sometimes acting out the song." Tisch said she. chose the song because of her strong family ties and religious beliefs. In the Coll versity Dr. ted. Call ( Thursday Tomahaw cover. Friday, Sa Starts at 8 At Post C mitted. A tion, call ( Thursday Starts at 1 Friday - I p.m. $3 ( Saturday 9:30 p.m. On FM 28 For more ii Thursday - at 8 p.m. ($1 off with Friday - I- Starts at 9 cover. Saturday - HUY NGUYEN/The Battalion Stacey Hendrix, a contestant in the Miss Texas A&M University pageant, rehearses for the competition ( Saturday night. Twelve contestants will compete in sportswear, talent, personal interview and evening wear competitions for more than $4,000 in scholarships. The winner will receive a $1,500 scholarship, a $500 wardrobe al lowance and the opportunity to represent Texas A&M in the Miss Texas Scholarship Pageant in July. Runners-up will receive $1,000, $600, $400, and $300 scholarships, re spectively. The contestants agreed that the most diffi cult aspect of the pageant is the time con straints that result from participating. "This week I have two tests, a paper and a quiz; that makes the week before the pageant the most difficult and demanding. I have all of my school work and the pageant to work on every day," said Alecia Biondi, senior account ing major from College Station and another pageant contestant. The pageant also teaches self confidence, said two contestants. "The hardest thing for me was learning not to compare yourself to others and to do your own thing," said Trisha Lee Morris, junior journalism and marketing double major from Sugarland. "With 11 other girls around you with ev ery thing in the world going for them, you have to be very secure in yourself and be confident in who you are," Vail said. The pageant kicks off at 7 p.m. on Saturday Motive startin Famili Now see him in person here at Texas A&M! 1992-93 UNI VERSITY UNDERGRADUATE FELLOWS PROGRAM CALL FOR STUDENT RESEARCH PROPOSALS February 14, 1992 Rudder Auditorium 7:00p.m. Tickets: $3 person $5 couple Tickets available at the MSC Box Office. For information call 845-1234. The Fellows Program offers a two semester independent research experience which culminates in a Senior Honors Thesis. It is the most prestigious research opportunity available to undergraduates at Texas A&M and provides participants with opportunities usually extended only to students pursuing graduate degrees. The Fellows Program features a close, master- apprentice relationship between student researcher and faculty advisor and involves both students and advisors in periodic interdisciplinary group meetings to encourage the development of a scholarly community. ELIGIBILITY: Outstanding Juniors who have completed nine hours of Honors coursework before the 1992 fail semester begins and who have at least a 3.25 overall grade point average. Meet A. Whitney Brown! He will be signing his book The Bia Picture at The Texas A&M Bookstore in the MSC. 2:00-4:00p.m. February 14. TIME TABLE: An informal meeting concerning the 1992-93 Fellows Program, open to faculty as well as students, has been scheduled for 5:30 P.M. ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18th, IN ROOM 206 MSC. Research proposals will be due Monday, March 30. Students admitted will be notified during the fall semester pre-registration period in April. The views presented in this program do not necessarily reflect the views of MSC Political Forum, the ' Memorial Student Center, the Texas A&M Bookstore, or Texas A&M University. For more information contact Julie Cowley, Program Coordinator in the University Honors Program, 103 Academic Building, 845-1957. Vale ■J iV yrmuntTabieT 1600
