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?bruary 5, !9S
The Battalion
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1j I Jr Hi
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Wednesday • February 5, 1997
challenge to convenience
tudents once depended on trains. But many now say the railroad tracks pose a nuisance and a threat.
he railroad bisecting the Texas A&M
University campus has played a cru
cial role for the university and Bryan
follege Sation.
But Tyenise Tarrant, a junior marketing
fiajor, said she is just about fed up with it.
"I think it is an inconvenience,” Tarrant
. "Whenever you’re late, you have to
[ait 10 or 15 minutes. 1 think the railroad
at James, The Uattao Should be moved.”
ade up of disablec I ® ut ^ le ra ^ roa d- which runs parallel to
lec Center Tuesck
Wellborn Road, was here before the first
cadet ever set foot on campus or the first
quarterback ever threw an interception.
In fact, the railroad is the reason College
Station is College Station, noted Gary
Basinger, manager of business develop
ment for Bryan-College Station’s Chamber
of Commerce.
“The name derives from the railroad,”
Basinger said. “One of the reasons the state
put A&M here is because it was on the rail
road route.”
In 1871, a state commission selected
what is now College Station to be the site of
the Agricultural and Mechanical College of
Texas. The site lay on the Houston & Texas
Central Railroad, which ran from Houston
to Bryan.
The railroad stop was referred to as “Col
lege Station” even before a railroad depot
was established in town, in 1883.
“It was instrumental in the growth of
College Station, bringing students in and
taking them home,” Basinger said. “It had a
major impact on College Station.”
But time passed and things changed.
The last railroad depot was razed in 1966.
Passenger trains that once carried students
to and from the college turned into cargo
trains hauling limestone and caliche
through a growing city.
As the University expanded, the railroad
intersected the campus. The University
grew west, constructing buildings and
parking lots on West Campus.
And that is where the problem lies, stu
dents say.
Regina Castillo, a junior accounting ma
jor, said the presence of the trains makes
getting to classes on time difficult.
“It’s worse when you’re on the bus,”
Castillo said. “It’s pretty inconvenient.”
Rony Angkriwan, The Battalion
Texas Department of Transportation
public information officer Denise Fischer
said 28 trains per day run through campus.
But this a cold comfort for many A&M
students, some of whom would prefer the
train to just disappear.
“They should find a way to build an over
pass or something,” Tarrant said.
In fact, the city of College Station has
considered building underground tun
nels for students to walk through,
Basinger said.
See Train, Page 4
Texas A&M visual artists explore boundaries
Highs &Lowii The f. Wayne Stark Galleries feature a new collection
of artwork by College of Architecture faculty and staff
day’s Expected Hi
59°F
light’s Expected Li
42°F
By Karen Janes
The Battalion
imorrow’s Expecti
High
55°F
Tomorrow Night
Expected Low
44°F
m courtesy of TAMSfl 1
Krogersi
J.J.’sPackaji
Store
tuple horses, “morphed” pres
idents and green men now
can be seen in the Memorial
udent Center.
From now through March 12, the
IWayne Stark Galleries in the MSG
defeaturing an exhibit titled “Ex
ploring Boundaries.” The exhibit is
?collection of new artwork by fac-
Ity and staff members in the Col-
ige of Architecture.
Catherine Hastedt, curator for
JBniversity art exhibits, said the 16
Available at r (i sts (including two teaching as-
” ’ slants) contributing to the exhib-
represent the architecture and vi-
■talization labs.
“The exhibit has a wide variety of
rawing, painting, photography
nd computer animation and ma-
pulation,” Hastedt said.
"The Green Man” by Kevin
omason is a short animated
deo combining computer anima-
.on and hand-drawing.
In the film, the main character
has green skin, while everyone
around him is purple.
The green man deals with his
difference by coloring himself
purple, but one day his disguise is
revealed.
“‘The Green Man’ is a statement
on tolerance,” Hastedt said.
Ergun Akelman’s two exhibits
also incorporate both cartooning
and computer science. He said he
turned to computers while look
ing for an easier way to draw
his cartoons.
Akelman uses trajectories of
differential equations to program
the computer to draw figures. He
also uses a computer to morph ac
tual photographs of U.S. presi
dents, making them appear de
formed and cartoonistic.
Dick Davison’s work depicts ob
jects’ actual sizes.
“Davison’s work is a surrealistic
combination of architectural ele
ments and pieces of junk,” Hast
edt said.
Both of Joseph M. Hutchinson’s
paintings are autobiographical and
QQ ©
portray members of his family. “A
Portrait of My Father as a Young
Man” shows his late father riding a
horse. Hutchinson said the painting
reflects mortality.
Catherine May’s work is the only
of its kind in the exhibit. May, a
book artist, displays several of her
most unique creations in “Explor
ing Boundaries.”
Some of her book covers are
hand-embroidered, one is deco
rated with coffee bean imprints
and some of the books fit into
matching boxes.
May said she gets inspiration
from other art forms and things she
learned while earning her degree in
the book arts program.
Chang-Shan Huang’s works took
as little as an hour to complete. His
pencil drawings are field sketches of
landscape architecture.
“Field sketches capture the
essence of a space,” Hastedt said.
“They are better than taking a photo.”
Dave House, The 1
See Stark, Page 5 Robert Schiffhauer's "Organic Remains" is at the Stark Galleries. Alan Stacell's "Bentlow Stairs" is shown
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381 7 E. 29th Street • Bryan, Tx. • 268-1328
TAMU CHINA
CLUB
presents:
Chinese (Spring
Festival Celebration
Time: 7:30 pm
Date: Feb. 8,1997 ((Saturday)
Location: MSC 201