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