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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 1995)
The Battalion esday 1 ' •\ugiist 29,1995 )Urc 6S. ^ J of " Iment,' Atr&ielife 3 CAMP TIMh nent is I to vie ouldbec i imposst;. have exi id] thef •ould be I he resotl don’t sefi nue tokl ling ini ir than i tudents. ty of sti| erlandsif r of the; ne to Ail -Camp offers Aggie experience to transfers By Amy Protas The Battalion xen students think about their first introduction to A&M, Fish Camp usu ally comes to mind. But not everyone bnters as a freshman. Some people come after attending junior colleges or other major univer sities. The student YMCA realized this in 1987 /hen it developed Transfer Camp, or T-Camp. Courtney Mayfield, director of public rela tions and marketing for T-Camp and a speech communications graduate, said the founders felt that transfer students were missing out on apportunities other orientation camps provided. “T-Camp is geared to people who have had the college experience before, just not the A&M experience,” Mayfield said. “The campers have seen other institutions of higher learning.” Two weeks before school starts, the campers are whisked away for three days to Camp Hoblitzelle in Midloathian, just south west of Dallas. The camp’s three sessions hosted over 600 campers, 200 counselors and 50 co chairs and directors. Mayfield said T-Camp has fundamental differences that distinguish it from Fish Camp. The counselors are not dealing with students who just graduated from high school, so they do not try to explain to campers what college will be like. Most people do not understand that coming to A&M can be hard for transfer students be cause they are used to the academics, atti tudes and surrounding town of their former school, Mayfield said. T-Camp’s main goal is to let the campers leave with the feeling they have made friends so they will not start school without knowing anyone. See T-CAMP, Page 4 -Camp eases culture shock for international students By Amy Collier The Battalion Ti Stew Milne, The Battalion E-2 sophomore Jeff King spoke to the interna tional students at 1-Camp about Reveille VI. "aking on Texas A&M with all its tradi tions can be a big adjustment for new students, especially if they’re from a for eign country and have not mastered the Eng lish language. The International Student Association made the transition for some international students easier by sponsoring the second an nual International Camp (I-Camp) on Aug. 19, when 150 students from all over the world were united to learn about the univer sity they now call home. Magali Hinojosa, a senior marketing and international business major and president of See l-CAMP, Page 4 Freshmen find Aggie Spirit at Fish Camp By Amy Uptmor The Battalion A t a secluded campsite in East Texas, hordes of new students are running around, screaming, with their arms in the air. They are being led around by older and apparently wiser students wearing matching shirts and overalls covered with, among other strange symbols, fish. Suddenly, the leaders call the new students together with an odd hand signal that is passed through the mass es. All bend over and chant in unison. It sounds like a strange pagan ritual, but the trained Aggie eye will recognize it as just another day at Fish Camp. Fish Camp has become the premier rite of initiation into the culture of Texas A&M for incoming freshmen since it was started in 1954. Approxi mately 900 students serve as directors, staff, counselors and crew for the sake of welcoming freshmen and preserving Aggie traditions. Amy Bigbee, a junior chemical engi neering major and second-year coun selor, said working with Fish Camp is the most rewarding activity she’s ever participated in. “Being a counselor is a chance to help change lives,” she said. “Freshmen come to camp bewil dered and leave confident about college. It’s the most amazing thing to be a part of.” Emilie Winn, a junior elementary education ma jor, said she became a counselor because she want ed to give something back to A&M. “I love seeing the freshmen get excited about the traditions and spirit of A&M that they see in the Stew Milne, The Battalion Freshman Kristen Kirby "humps it" during a yell practice at Fish Camp. counselors,” she said. More than half of the incoming freshmen are able to attend one of the five four-day sessions of Fish Camp. While at camp, freshmen participate in group discussions to ask questions about what to expect during their first year in college. Craig Ilschner, a freshman computer science ma jor who attended session B Fish Camp, said time See Fish Camp, Page 4 Ms ExCEL gives new students insight into multiculturalism on campus ipecte By Jan Higginbotham s The Battalion ,eo pi' : •. A t a school of more than 42,000 students, it is easy for students ]° 'B intimidated and fall * en ^' through the cracks. This can be espe cially true for minority students com- to Texas A&M. kExCEL, which stands for Excel- ■ Ijjnce Uniting Culture, Education and jlj leadership, is a program sponsored by the Department of Multicultural ■irvices, designed to make entering ■nority students feel more at home. KCEL is a two-day welcoming or cel- ^ebration hosted the weekend before ^school starts. ■ “It is a time for new students to Diet meet other ethnic minorities and to iheet new friends,” Chantelle Free- ; 1 than, executive conference chair of Casm ExCEL, said. “The whole idea behind „ ExCEL is to start the idea of diversity pth these students before they actu- start school.” If Although ExCEL targets ethnic mi- florities. Freeman said all races fi|re encouraged to participate in the program. | New students participating in Ex- EL are divided up into teams of about 10 freshmen. Two team leaders, who were selected last spring, work with the new students and help them adjust to the challenges of college. While in their groups, freshmen participate in programs which intro duce them to A&M traditions. The program also offers Club Ex CEL, a mixer for the new students, and a culture extravaganza which introduces the students to some of the multicultural performance groups on campus. "The whole idea behind ExCEL is to start the idea of diversity with these students before they actually start school." — Chantelle Freeman executive conference chair of ExCEL A separate program is offered for the parents of minority students, which is designed to help parents rec ognize some of the problems students might experience in their first year of college. “We want to let them know that the Department of Multicultural Ser vices is here to help,” Freeman said. ExCEL continues through the school year with ExCEL Plus, which offers workshops twice a month. Workshops focus on studying, room mates, relationships, the difficulty in going back home for the first time and other issues that challenge fresh men students. “I know that A&M is a big family,” Freeman said, “but sometimes minor ity students don’t see that. ExCEL gives these students resources that let them know they’re not alone.” Rodney McClendon, coordinator of student retention and development and adviser to ExCEL, said the pro gram is one of the most attractive fea tures of the Department of Multicul tural Services. “This is one of the best mecha nisms to help students and parents make the transition from high school to college,” McClendon said. Texas A&M has the highest minor ity retention rate of Texas schools, but McClendon said that should not be taken for granted. “ExCEL is the main mechanism through which I will try to boost our retention,” he said. “This is a success program, not a remediation program.” Amy Browning, The Battalion Primetime Posse was one of the multicultural groups introduced to the students during the ExCEL weekend. rnsen.li* ;an an Higf el 8ar ni ( Erin8 : r, Brian lex Mii 5 in Wi* Callo" 1 re; Sro* house ). is •sity in' illarx) ,e paid' e, Texas Radney Foster Sept. 1st Confederate Railroad Sept. 15th Kenny Chesney Sept. 22nd .emm * tamonds Mioiennor ©IPIBQIAIL© • WEDNESDAY NIGHT RETRO NIGHT - Music From The 80’s pA LONGNECKS gUC Wel1, Wine ’ Draft ’ & Shots r of Schnapps 6 - 10PM * THURSDAY NIGHT DAISY DUKES CONTEST -Hottest Short Shorts in Aggieland LONGNECKS Well, Wine, Draft, & Shots of Schnapps 6 - 10PM 500 Terri Clark Sept. 29th Tickets On Sale Now at DENIM 8 DIAMONDS and CAVENDER’S BOOT CfTY Denim and Diamonds reminds you to always drink responsibly. 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