Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 14, 1994)
hursday, April 14, 1994 The Battalion Helping One Student To Succeed Area volunteer program aims to help at-risk youth By Nicole Cloutier The Battalion A ggies are among hundreds of area resi dents who volunteer with the H.O.S.T.S. program to help at-risk children. For a second year, the Bryan Independent School District has sponsored H.O.S.T.S. (Helping One Student To Succeed), and its success has surpassed everyone’s expectations. The program utilizes close to 300 volun teers — from Texas A&M students to senior citizens — who devote a little of their time every week to help at-risk children in Bryan schools. The volunteers come in for a mini mum of 30 minutes a week to tutor a child in reading and spelling. “It’s not all education majors that we get,” said Trish Barkley, one of three directors for the program at Navarro Elementary School in Bryan. ‘We have business people, and just about the entire district attorney’s office comes in to help.” But Barkley said the group would like to recruit more male volunteers. "We need a little help getting fellas in here,” she said. “We have tons of girls, and they’ll bring their boyfriends with them, and sometimes there will be a child whose tutor didn’t make it. I will ask them if they would mind helping out and then they are hooked. It is incredible to see them so involved once they start.” In an effort to attract Aggies and make it as convenient as possible, the program is tailored to the college student’s schedule, Barkley said. The program stops for spring break, and doesn’t start after Christmas until A&M starts school again. Many times these tutors, as well as the stu dents, become very attached and committed to each other. “The kids will be there with their eyes glued to the door, waiting for them to walk See H.O.S.T.S./Page 6 William Harrison/The Battalion Amy Denton, a senior community health Elementary School in Bryan. Denton is major from Houston, helps nine-year-old working at the school as part of the Helping Chris Green with his drawing at Navarro One Student To Succeed program. Page 3 Mormon H nghes/Special to The Battalion Graduate student Maria Mouzes and senior Mark Woodings lock hands as they parachute with the Texas A&M Skydiving Club. A&M s' f “ ‘ v club to give demonstration jump Sunday By Paul Neale The Battalion Members of the Texas A&M Skydiving Club said their fa vorite pastime is a rush — about 120 miles per hour worth. Senior biology major Mike Morris said skydiving is a com bination of one’s first true love, a first car and a roller coaster. Although Morris’ first skydiW ing experience was in response to a dare, Morris didn’t stop. “I did it because somebody said I couldn’t,” Morris said. “But it’s instantly addicting. There’s nothing like bailing out of a plane and forgetting your troubles.” Morris said he enjoys the social atmosphere the skydiv ing club provides. “We have all kinds in the club,” he said. “And it brings a lot of people together.” Understandably, some peo ple have qualms concerning the safety of the sport. However, Morris emphasizes its safety. “We take every precaution possible,” he said. “And the reserve (parachute) is guaran teed — for life.” Michael Inabinet, a senior civil engineering major, also cited the social rewards of the skydiving club. He said he’s made many friends while jumping out of planes. “Skydiving is a really social thing,” Inabinet said. “We’re just out here to have a good time.” When Inabinet saw an ad in The Battalion for bungee jump ing, he promptly received his father’s disapproval at the men tion of it, he said. So he went skydiving instead. “Once I made my first jump, I was hooked,” Inabinet said. “Skydiving is a better rush than bungee jumping and the price isn’t that much more.” Inabinet, last year’s presi- See Skydiving/Page 5 Carnegie Park hosts free lunchtime concerts By Traci Travis The Battalion Grab a sack lunch and cop a squat as the Bryan Main Street Project taunts your ears with a myriad of music. Every Thursday at noon during April and May, Carnegie Concerts in the Park brings locals to downtown Bryan for brown-bag entertainment. Shannon Lee, Main Street Project assistant, said the purpose of the weekly concerts is to bring people to downtown Bryan. The free concerts are taking place in Carnegie Park located at 1 1 1 Main Street right next door to the former Carnegie Library. “We want people to become more aware of the shops in down town Bryan,” Lee said. “It is a great alternative for lunch.” Carnegie Concerts in the Park is a semi-annual event which takes place every fall and spring bringing with it a variety of artists. The concerts are part of an ongoing effort to ren ovate the Bryan downtown area, Lee said. The city is sponsoring several promotional events including the re modeling of the old Palace Theater. “There are more downtown busi nesses than ever before,” Lee said. “We can see the growth by the worsening traffic on Main Street.” “Th ere are more th ings happening in downtown Bryan. We just encourage people to come out and see what we have to of fer.” -Shannon Lee, Main Street Project assistant Lee said a wide variety of artists are scheduled to appear during the month of April. During the first week, the park played host to rock artist Eugene-Eugene. Week two will feature country and rock performers such as Ty Southerland and Joe Orsak. And classic rock music from Bob French Kyle Bumett/7Vie Battalion Local musician Ty Southerland is scheduled to play a lunchtime concert today in Carnegie Park. will close out the month of April. The month of May begins with a special concert by a local Tejano band in honor of Cinco de Mayo, Lee said. The Bryan High Jazz Band, a string quartet, and the Brazos Barber Shoppers are scheduled to entertain throughout the month of May, Lee said. Students are encouraged to come out and take advantage of the alter native eating atmosphere. “It’s a .good overview of the tal ent we have in the area,” said Ty Southerland, who is scheduled to perform today. The makeover of downtown in cludes more family-oriented busi nesses with later hours, Lee said. With these changes, the Main Street Project is expecting the aver age turnout of approximately 100 people to grow each year, she said. And turnout is usually better in the spring because of the better weather. Lee said the reaction of visitors to the Bryan downtown area is more positive as changes to the atmos phere produce a safer environment for everyone. “There are more things happen ing in downtown Bryan, ’ she said. “We just encourage people to come out and see what we have to offer.” Alternative Sexuality Group tees on member bonding Kyle Burnett/TTxe .Ba^a/ion The local Alternative Sexuality Group discusses unorthodox sexual practices for consenting adults. Whips, hand-cuffs and a stockade are some of the tools of the trade. By Nicole Cloutier The Battalion Due to the sensitive subject matter, some names have been changed. Hmmm. Sporting goods, toy stores, the produce section, saddle shops and any various hardware store. According to the members of the local Alter native Sexuality Group, you can forget the “unique” shops on Sixth Street or Westheimer for your “bedroom” needs. With a little cash, creativity and a whole lot of guts, you can go into any of these stores to really enhance your intimate adventures. It’s part of the educational goal of the newly-developed Alternative Sexuality Group, which meets on the first Satur day of each month. The group, formed last July, is an outlet for open and intellectual discussion on alternative sexu ality for consenting adults. This can elaborate beyond the latest how-to’s to delve into the deeper philosophies and rea soning of these relationships. Among the topics the group discusses are the legalities of these alternative practices, how to influence legislation and the roots of some common fan tasies and their parallels in so ciety today. Their April meeting origi nated at Java City in downtown Bryan and progressed to a pri vate movie viewing at the home of one of the members. There, members enhanced their understanding of sado masochistic practices by watching a documentary; and later, “The Story of O,” a movie capturing the transgression of a dominance and submission re lationship. Although the peak atten dance at this meeting was 1 7, reportedly the Austin chapter has up to 68 registered atten dees. The informal leaders of the College Station group said they hope to increase atten dance by moving the meetings to Java City. Eric, the group’s unofficial founder, said initially, the meetings began at Two Pesos with people who had met by computer. They were then moved to the back of Dud- dley’s, but members said they felt a little intimidated and afraid to open up. “We really want people to realize that just because people are thinking about doing these things, that does not mean that they are weird.” -John, Alternative Sexuality Group member Although the group’s lead ers were concerned about how the meetings would reflect on her business, Melanie Mack, the owner of Java City, said she believes Java City has the per fect atmosphere for such a group. “It fills a niche,” said Melanie Mack, the owner of Java City. John, an Alternative Sexuali ty member, said, “We really want people to realize that just because people are thinking about doing these things, that does not mean that they are weird. They are not the only ones doing it, as much as everybody in this area would like to think.” Though the members agree that S&M (sadomasochism) is the most common of the alter native sexual practices, some of the lingo isn’t so common. Just a few of the terms that float through their discussions include references to “breed ers” (heterosexuals), “scenes” (the actual sex play), and “vanilla” sex (intercourse that we consider non-alternative.) The members said although they don’t consider themselves politically active, they are baf fled by some of the laws that bind their private activities. “If I don’t have to tell my mommy what I do in the bed room, then why should I have to tell the government?” Eric said. Some of the lesser-known laws the group discusses in volve the illegality of possess ing six or more vibrators. Members said doing so would imply that you are selling them. Safety of the practices is also emphasized among the mem bers. They exchange ideas on techniques, new inventions, great books, (they strongly rec ommend “S&M 101” by Jay Weisemin, for the novice) and movies. At this meeting, they even passed around a suggested negotiation sheet for pre-sexu- al agreements. Though members describe these forms as “an attorney’s approach” to S&M, they do ap preciate the precautions that partners should take when par taking in these activities. It en sures that both partners know See Altemative/Page 6