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By jumping out of planes or scaling rocks, A&M students
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By April Towery
The Battalion
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Gene Kim, a senior mechanical engi
neering major, said he has been rock
climbing for about three years and en
joys the thrill of seeing things from a
different perspective.
“I had a friend who was climbing and
so I tried it out, and when I got to the
top I saw a really cool view,” Kim said.
“It’s so exciting to see God’s creation
from the top of a mountain.”
Rock climbing and skydiving have
become more popular with their in
creased availability at Texas A&M.
The Student Recreation Center offers
a one-hour rock-climbing orientation
class for $10. Participants receive a
sticker allowing them to climb anytime.
Many have taken the class aside from
A&M students, from young children to
older adults.
There are usually two experienced staff
members supervising the rock climbing
activities at the Rec Center, but it can still
be dangerous if one is not careful.
“It really depends on how you climb
and if you’re leading or top roping,” Kim
said. “It can be as dangerous as sitting
in your kitchen or jumping off a two-sto-
ry building and hoping you live. It’s not
dangerous at all if you do it right.”
Although climbing at the Rec Center
is popular, Kim said it is nothing like
actually climbing a rock in The Valley
or Tahoe.
“There’s really no comparison,” Kim
said. “Climbing at the Rec is only good
for training. I usually travel to Austin,
Reimers or Green Belt.”
Kim, who has also been mountain bik
ing and bungee jumping, said rock climb
ing is one of his favorite adventures.
“When I was 700 feet up in The Valley
hanging off the side of a wall, I was just
like, Wow,’” Kim said. “It really hits you
when you’re seeing everything so differ
ently from how it is seen on land.”
Kim said he would like to climb at a
variety of places worldwide.
“I’ve heard so many good things
about Joshua Tree and Red Rocks,” Kim
said. “I think they would be really great
places to climb because of the scenery.”
"It's so exciting to see God's
creation from the top of a
mountain."
— GENE KIM
senior mechanical engineering major
Although many rocks have been
damaged because of people’s careless
ness, Kim said rock climbers are not re
sponsible for the damaged rocks.
“Climbers are usually really environ
mentally conscious,” Kim said. “When a
rock is spray-painted or defaced, it is
usually done by campers or teenagers,
not the climbers.”
Jillian Stewart, one of Kim’s rock-
climbing buddies, recently went skydiv
ing with Aggies Over Texas.
Stewart, a sophomore biomedical
science major, said skydiving is a
great opportunity.
“We took a six-hour training course
and learned the different parts of the
parachute and gear,” Stewart said. “We
also learned what to do if problems
arose, such as the parachute not open
ing, and the various landing situations.”
Skydiving is generally looked upon
as a risk-taking activity, and although a
lot of people say they want to do it, few
actually take the chance.
“It’s kind of one of those things
where you have to put your money
where your mouth is,” Stewart said.
“You’ll never be able to get that
kind of rush again. It is scary at first,
but once your canopy is open, it’s a lot
of fun.”
Strangely, Stewart has never been
fond of heights, but she said she wanted
to try skydiving to prove to herself she
could conquer her fear.
“It really helped me get over my fear
of heights,” Stewart said. “You see a dif
ferent view of everything.”
Static-line skydiving begins around
3,000 feet in the air, and the rip cord
pulls itself when the diver falls. Free
falling is a jump with two instructors
holding onto the diver from up to 10,000
feet. In free falling, the diver pulls his
or her own rip cord.
Although skydiving magazines say a
large number of deaths occur, Stewart
said there are not many skydiving
deaths per year.
“The most common injury is a
sprained ankle,” Stewart said. “And
that’s usually self-inflicted from land
ing wrong.”
Stewart said the wind has a large ef
fect on a person’s ability to skydive.
“I wasn’t able to skydive on the day
of my training course because it was too
windy,” Stewart said. “The parachute
only goes 15 miles per hour.”
Stewart said the instructors teased
her because she was practically sitting
in the pilot’s lap when it was her turn to
make the jump.
“It was so scary looking down. I was
like,’Why am I doing this?’” Stewart
said. “But then once I started floating,
it was the coolest thing. There’s no oth
er experience like it.”
Pat James, The Battauon
Shawn Weber, a sophomore microbiology major, practice his rock climbing skills at
the Student Recreation Center.
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KISS OF DEATH
Now, I'm all for staying young at heart
. . but these people have gone too far.
I remember how bad
ly KISS scared me
when I was young.
Their crazy makeup,
black leather outfits, py-
romania and outra
geously long tongues
practically gave me nightmares.
AMY
UPT/NAOR
Columnist
Editor
Brandon
ggins ,
r.ancis &
2 rnandez
leinroth,
• Jeremy
Student
«js, local
offices
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Master-
=sters
=am
//
Still, I was amused by KISS, and as I grew
older, I gained some appreciation of the contri
bution the band made to the world of music —
no matter how, um, unusual they were.
Then came my opportunity to cover the KISS
reunion concert in Houston. After suffering
through the hordes of annoying, tacky fans, the
Houston heat and a barely amusing opening set
by Austin’s Pushmonkey, the frightening four
took the stage.
My conclusion is this: I’m still scared of KISS.
I’m not so much scared of the band anymore.
KISS was, to say the least, an interesting band
to see live. The costumes and fire added to the
imagery of these monsters of rock.
The crowd, however, was a little reminiscent
of being in a live “Beavis and Butthead” episode,
and that’s what scared me.
What KISS revolved around in their heyday,
as best as a 22-year-old can estimate, was rebel
lion. It defied the traditional image of a band,
even of music. And the fans loved it — as they
still do. Unfortunately, I’m afraid most of them
still believe it’s 1976.
Now, I’m all for staying young at heart and
partying like a rock star, but these people have
gone too far. Saturday night, I was exposed to
women my mom’s age showing more skin than I
do at pool parties, drunk old men headbanging
to the point of whiplash, frosted eye makeup,
teased hair, and classy phrases such as, “Forty
bucks? Jeez, why don’t you just take my left
nut?” (referring to the outrageous ticket prices,
not the astounding beer prices at the Summit)
These people are the reason Jenny Jones
has a career.
These are the people who beat up my dad in
high school.
What started out as simple rebellion
through music has turned into a way of life,
making me wonder whether reunion tours are
such a good idea.
Good music grows even better with nostalgia
and memory, which only come with time. Such
See KISS, Page 5
Travolta, Sedgwick add
reality to Phenomenon
ZW-" „
Phenomenons^
Starring John Travolta, Kyra
Sedgwick and Robert Duvall
By Amy Uptmor
The Battalion
Phenomenon is the story of
George Malley (John Travolta),
a slightly dimwitted, middle-
aged mechanic and amateur
farmer who can’t seem to keep
a pesky rabbit from eating his
lettuce plants.
One night, George sees the
light — literally — and realizes
that if he sets the rabbit free, it
will leave his lettuce alone and
his problems will be solved.
This simple metaphor leads
George through life after his “ex
perience,” which both scares and
amuses his small-town friends,
who long to hear wild stories of
alien abductions and previews of
the end of the world from their
gifted and changed friend.
George’s newfound powers
help him win the heart of the
woman who owns his affection,
Lace (Kyra Sedgwick).
Lace doesn’t want any confu
sion or complications in her life,
hence she doesn’t want to be in
volved with a man ever again.
But George’s sweet, naive
view of his intelligence and al
most supernatural powers show
her that loving him couldn’t be
less of an inconvenience, and she
finally gives in.
Travolta brings sincerity and
charm to the role of George, the
quintessential misunderstood
genius who doesn’t even really
understand himself.
Travolta is convincing as a
man who has been blessed with
a capacity of knowledge never
before seen in a human being.
Travolta gives an intimate por
trait of someone who uses his
newfound capacity to help him
self and others.
Sedgwick is equally impres
sive in the way she develops the
character Lace from a mistrust
ing, jilted woman to an under
standing and loving
partner for George.
Her down-to-earth
acting makes Lace a
lovable character who
is easy to relate to.
Robert Duvall and
Forest Whitaker pro
vide excellent support
to the leads as George’s
father-figure doctor and
slow-witted best friend.
They play the two characters
from George’s past who stand by
George and still recognize him as
a person, despite his “powers.”
See Phenomenon, Page 5
As a result of an extraordinary occurrence, George Malley's (John
Travolta) seemingly unremarkable life takes a wondrous turn.