The Battalion
Monday • September 1, 1997
:ember 1,1997,
torials Board
lelen Clancy
Editor in Chief
imes Francis
Opinion Editor
flandy Cater
itant Opinion Editor
KS
Hungs to
know as a
freshman
As'
LI was
/ Xmov-
tig into my
dorm room
■Jiisyear, 1
italized
to explore* 111 " 5
line last
niversitiesfcp 3 '
sess when recruit|amnowa
nts. liophomore.
re foremost oiltad, it was
nee most minoriliinlyby tlie grace of God that I sur-
) not come fronitivedlast year to become tlieun-
;s. lilerclassman I am today. The trials
minority studenpd tribulations of the previous
ns in high school^have left me older, wiser, and
college, and wiliiinosmall way more attractive
i nancial stabilitJ to 1 was as a newly-minted fresh-
college offers aP' But ' it was a hard road U P-
t r pr rpntpr nil At night, 1 still wake up remem-
! 1 s tang those ten ifying days when I
tg the detrimentajf avvare thal l J} ad no
ood, t he University 1 ^ 1 ^\ re ' 11
beeun a re c r uiti Mlbergetnn8losl u y |n « to ^ et 10
^ . jkPavilion from the Academic
d^hfdv^'^^^soneofmy
aentooay friends froni home t0 teach
s will visit niglfch ow t 0 do laundry along with
uade them t0 re 'hanynioreembamissing mis-
While this mighfcs. How I wished that some
the dramatic de- ie;d|grizz | ed vete
ran of past
o recruit are hol-Ugoi years would take me aside
“ bargaining povv-!, 1( j| e i| nu > tlu- important things 1
ps. |;teded to know. And so, as a public
11 cause universilmicetothe little Fishies, I present
is A&M to lose the® itemized list of helpful hints:
ninority students! 1. White clothes should be
ersities. Potential placed in hot water; darks go in
d their niche ahold water.
he aftershocks ofj 2. Bleach socks and underwear,
st. |)o not bleach T-shirts,
edy, especially fori 3. Get to know your teachers,
that prides itselpey're more likely to help a stu-
world-class" uni-jM who they think cares,
velcome minority} You can survive by setting
iversity program^’ 0111 ^ ann t0 fi ve minutes before
iral conferences] da * but y° ur grat1es wil1 suf Ter. At
? funds to back it; k® 1 ™ 116 c h ( l-
f ut jj e I ).PTTS is like your parents:
{riifj’seem to be eveiA^vhere, know
tombing and they fofik for op
portunities to punish you because
builds character."
6. Get used to coffee.
7. Don’t make fun of the nice
eople wearing all khaki.
8. Texas A&M is not a universi-
it’s a religion.
9. Learn the yells before Ye\\
tactice.
10. Take a date to Yell Practice,
ik, wink. Nudge, nudge.
11. Officially, there is no hazing
I A&M.
12. 1:30 a.m. is notr/iaf late.
13. Officially, there is no under-
gedrinkingat A&M.
14. Don’t do your homework in
tefive minutes before class. It's
ard to write legibly while sprint-
g across campus.
15. Ramen, ramen and more
imen.
16. Officially, there is no bu-
eaucracyatA&M.
17. Eveiy time they raise your
ft, they really are strapped for
ash.
18. Officially, dining on campus
tn, and it tastes good.
19. PTTS is like Monty Python’s
panish Inquisition: Nobody ex
acts them, and their main
ftpons are surprise, fear and a
nthless efficiency.
20. Staying up all night is a ne-
«sity, not an option.
This, of course, is by no means a
oniplete list. There is an entire
®$t of knowledge remaining like:
Don’t make fun of your RA’s
oyfriend/girlfriend” or “Never
ftte a quarter anywhere but in a
ashing machine.” Not to men-
i: “Studying and television do
at mix. You forget what happened
'the show and the book” and
hake sure you have all registra-
an materials handy before you
1,including, but not limited to:
>ur schedule, several alternate
t hedules, a pillow, a pot of coffee,
"ice long book and a chair with
'od back support.”
College is a great experience,
'ethat is designed to help you
"winto a better person. We are
're to learn to think, question and
'alyze our way to a better future.
I talent is wasted deducing die
seding patterns of our favorite
Moon shirt or who’s sleeping with
lose illegitimate half-sister-in-law
'our favorite study soap. Howev-
ifyou follow these tips and prac-
h then one day, yes, one glorious
gyou will be as cool as the class-
'vho have come before you.
m
Chris Huffines is a sophomore
speech communications major
Learning the ropes
Freshmen must discover the ups and downs of the first year in college
Mason
Jackson
columnist
S o, you thought
I was gone just
because my by
line last year said I
was a senior. Ha.
Like sands in an
hourglass, so are
the years of my col
lege career. But for
some, the trek is
just beginning.
Once again mil
lions, possibly even
thousands of lost
freshmen are roaming around campus
with their little maps and their high
hopes. Isn’t it cute?
But unfortunately, even those who went
to the obnoxious spirit-fest that is Fish
Camp didn’t learn everything they need to
know about the intricacies of college life.
To make the assimilation easier, all re
turning students should take it upon
themselves to provide guidance for our
bewildered (and I use that term affec
tionately) freshmen. I would like to illus
trate the better side of what might at first
glance appear to be major drawbacks
about college life at this university.
Drawback: Some bookseller, let’s just
call him “Of Army Mason,” sells you a
textbook for $90, buys it back three
months later for $16 and then resells it
for $90 again the next semester.
Upside: You get a jump on your eco
nomics classes by having seen first-hand
how a cartel works.
Drawback: This applies primarily to
male freshmen — Come Bonfire season,
those of you living on campus will be
awakened on weekends at five in the
morning by a group of inbred, letter
headed, red-ass rednecks wielding axes,
cursing your family and questioning
your sexuality in an attempt to get you
to help them cut down and drag around
a bunch of trees.
Upside: After hearing your horror sto
ries about the first weekend of cut, any
halfway reasonable girl would be more
than happy to let you bunk with her on
the weekends. Maybe.
Drawback: The bar and club scene in
the “twin cities” could only be consid
ered exciting by one of those really cool
people from Utah.
Upside: Can you say road trip?
Drawback: You have to be cautious in
everything you do, because around
every corner is another chance to break
some Of Ag tradition.
Upside: Around every corner is anoth
er chance to break some Of Ag tradition.
Drawback: Your friend from high
school who is a football team walk-on at
North Southeastern Boon County Com
munity College says he thinks his team
has a good chance of beating us this year.
Upside: Nobody likes a bully.
Drawback: As a student at a state
school in a country that devalues culture
as much as ours does, all liberal arts
classes will be held in the ugliest, most
dilapidated buildings on campus.
Upside: That homey "West Bank/Gaza
Strip feel.”
But all of this is only the tip of the
iceberg. Everyone has to do their part
to make the freshman class feel wel
come. Because if they don’t think they
have some friends, they might do
something desperate like join a cult. Or
a frat.
Remember, if you haven’t gotten a
ticket for contributing, then you haven't
taken one for the team.
Mason Jackson is a senior marketing major
Students must differentiate between stress and pressure
(( ome may boast of prowess
^^bold... Of the school they think
so grand... But there’s a spirit
can ne’er be told — It’s the spirit of Ag-
gieland.” Indeed.
As campus is inundated with the
wide-eyed class of’01, one is reminded
of another spirit that often occupies the
air in Aggieland. That of confusion,
mayhem and stress.
Legendary NBA coach Rick Pitino,
when asked about the stress of play-off
basketball, once said, “Stress! I don’t feel
stress. Stress is for those that are ill-pre
pared for the tasks that lie ahead of them. We all have pressure,
I thrive on pressure.”
This adage should be applied to students at Texas A&M.
Pressure is unavoidable and can be better handled through
adequate preparation.
For freshmen the rude awakening is looming on the
horizon like an evil storm cloud. Each freshman has been
chosen and given a chance to succeed at one of the world’s
premiere universities.
The cost of success will be great, but the rewards will be
even greater.
Freshmen face the dreaded “weed-out” classes specifi
cally designed to narrow the herd. The professors that
teach these courses thrive on their ability to make young
scholars’ lives miserable.
Teaching is a necessary evil for some professors, who are
researchers at heart, and genuine interest in one’s pupils is ap
parently not important to some.
These are the classes that could, if allowed to, promote the
development of stress in a young freshman’s life.
The goal of every new student should be to determine a
regimen that allows for some academic progress each day. The
idea being to stay ahead (or at least current) with the course
syllabus. This way one never really has the chance to get into a
frantic situation — no doubt an idea that will be firmly em
braced about two seconds after the professor announces the
first pop quiz of the semester.
The college years are the time to (yes, party our proverbial
asses off) but also to develop the patterns and habits that will
allow us to be comfortable and healthy while succeeding in
today’s fast-paced and demanding world. Most of all, these
years are the time to develop a certain resiliency to stress.
If one takes the time to people-watch during move-in and
move-out on campus, one would see numerous faces twisted
and contorted into some sort of painful-looking scowl. This is
due to succumbing to stress and not handling the minor pres
sure associated with having to deal with A&M’s bureaucratic
environment. The class and study room pressure is much
worse. One might wonder what will become of these poor
souls who have allowed the A&M housing situation (or their
parents) to get them flustered during their first few moments
in beloved Aggieland.
It becomes apparent at times that some people have never
developed the ability to be responsible for more than one task
at a time — a deficiency that could cause the pre-degree death
of a college career. Life at this university can be an overly com
plicated and prolonged juggling act.
Freshmen face other campus ills as well. Each year more
and more dissenters join our ranks. These students are not
proud to be Aggies, nor are they interested in the proliferation
of Aggie ideals or practices. To these students A&M is not spe
cial, it’s just another school.
It has become apparent that, in a way, freshmen are the
life blood of a university such as this one. The traditions that
some hold so dear could change and subside if new classes
choose not to follow them or invent new traditions. Re
member “sit down bus driver?” In the same right the
“prowess” of our institution will diminish if new classes do
not learn to temper themselves into being patient and dili
gent in demanding situations.
For freshmen, these are the enchanted times. Experiences
are still new, every weekend brings some new revolution and
lectures bring new and sometimes interesting text.
Freshmen bring a different perspective and a certain nu
ance to our campus. Each new freshman class should be
lauded and appreciated for the new life and spirit that it
brings to campus.
Welcome and good luck freshmen, you’ll need it.
Len Callaway is a junior journalism major
Len
Callaway
columnist
Mail Call
Sororities deserve
support of students
In response to Mandy Cater’s August
29 column:
We have all come to Texas A&M
for one reason: to be an Aggie. What
extracurricular activities an individ
ual chooses to participate in, Greek
life, the Corps of Cadets or Student
Government, is his or her own
choice.
In order to continue growth with
an organization, each group has its
own way of recruitment, whether it
be right or wrong in the eyes of oth
er individuals. At the same time,
every organization has room for im
provement. We, as the Panhellenic
Council, see room for our own im
provement. At the present time, we
are working toward betterment.
The A&M Panhellenic Council
represents 12 sororities on campus.
These 12 sororities offer women a
chance for involvement and leader
ship on campus, academic en
hancement and education on is
sues that women face daily.
At the same time, the 12 chapters
spend many hours volunteering for
Scotty’s Home, The Still Creek Boys’
Ranch, Mental Health and Mental
Retardation and the Ronald Mc
Donald House just to name a few.
Chapters also raise anywhere from
$8,000 to $16,000 a year for their in
dividual philanthropies.
Panhellenic and the entire Greek
community strive to support other
groups on campus and we hope to
receive the same support in return.
The support shared between differ
ent individuals and organizations is
what it means to be an Aggie.
Jennifer Burns
Panhellenic President
Class of’98
Robin Morgan
Panhellenic Vice President
The Battalion encourages letters to the ed
itor. Letters must be 300 words or less and in
clude the author’s name, class, and phone
number.
The opinion editor reserves the right to edit
letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters
may be submitted in person at 013 Reed Mc
Donald with a valid student ID. Letters may also
be mailed to:
The Battalion - Mail Call
013 Reed McDonald
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
77843-1111
Campus Mall: 1111
Fax: (409) 848-2647
E-mail: Batt@tamvml.tamu.edu