citfiliaiMlwifh ivincwoil 1 ,,, <iMA( '
The Battalion
r 1, 1997
■Monday • September 1, 1997
atro
Aggie freshmen invited to
test their campus savvy
ocal residents, merchants adjust to students’return
H
owdy, fish!
FED'I
Mell
By Marujm Mohiuddin
Staff writer
tis crowded.” “It is uncomfort
able.” “There is too much traf
fic.” These statements are often
by Texas A&M students return-
j|to the Bryan-College Station area
; ;|)egin the fall semester.
However, beyond the dorms and
tains of the University lies a city
dty of people, many of whom
ivenothing to do with A&M. Every
these residents experience
lyinconveniences as 40,000 stu
nts pour into Aggieland.
Laurinda Lin, a sophomore biology
jor, has experienced life in the
ran-College Station area during
summer and fall terms.
The fall is serious and very struc-
, so it keeps me very busy,” Lin
“However, the summer atmos-
ereis perfect. There are less peo-
i, it is laid back, and I am not as
tssed out.”
‘The campus was empty, and it felt
mierand more personal,” tin said.
Lin said she would take the bus to
ipus and found it to be a calmer ride
at during the regular school year.
‘It felt like I was being chauffered to
house,” Lin said. "During the sum-
a. everyone was nicer and relaxed.”
Lin said with fewer students at-
tding school during the summer,
nas many of her friends were in
mto socialize.
Sasha Cooke, a sophomore at A&M
asolidated High School, said for Col-
!?e Station natives, the start of the
aoolyear means big changes.
‘The city does get crowded,” Cooke
*iLIt becomes difficult and uncom-
SON
OF
Michael
Schaub
columnist
fortable to move around in the town be
cause of the enormous flow of students.
On the other hand, A&M provides valu
able education and interaction be
tween the two campuses.”
Pamala Wells, a College Station resi
dent and mother of two, said she has a
unique perspective on the massive stu
dent return.
She said when the fall semester is in
full swing, she has to leave earlier in the
morning to beat the 8 a.m. rush to class.
She also said she comes out of her
house at “odd times” to do school shop
ping for her children to avoid traffic cre
ated by students.
Despite the many inconveniences
returning students pose to the com-
QUATRO OAKLEY/The Battalion
munity students bring economic ben
efits to the area.
David Herrick, assistant manager of
the College Station Kroger’s, said with
the return of students, sales increases
30 to 40 percent.
Herrick said Kroger adjusts the size
of its staff to acommodate the fluctuat
ing student population. The students
leaving for the summer allows the
Kroger’s staff to take summer vacations.
This is a valuable amenity for Bryan-
College Station residents.
The students are an asset to the com
munity. The natives realize this town is
for the students. Nevertheless, residents
say they love to see them come, and they
love to see them go.
OK. That was a trick. If
you said — or even
thought — “howdy” in re
sponse, you are lost. Put
this down now.
For those freshmen left
— those of you who sur
vived Fish Camp with san
ity intact, those of you
who can hear someone
say “2001” without throw
ing your hands in the air and shouting “Ayyy!”
like a football referee with a Macarena fetish —
welcome to Texas A&M.
A&M, by any reckoning, is a pretty swell
place. Many national magazines rank this insti
tution among the 25 finest in the United States.
Others rank it right above Bob’s College ’n’ Ribs
in Kansas City (“Come for the brisket, stay for
the history department”). But no matter.
If you are going to make sunny College Station
your home for the next four or five or 17 years, you
have to be prepared.
So herewith is a little “true or false” quiz. No
Scantron necessary.
1. Aggie blood runs deep maroon.
2. The Corps of Cadets is the pulse of the
beat of the veins of the blood of the heart of
Aggieland.
3. The Dixie Chicken is a swingin’ place to
hang with your homeboys.
4. The Battalion is a communist, liberal rag
that advances subversive, un-American ideas.
5. “Two-percenters” are the minority of
A&M students who do not participate in Aggie
traditions.
6. The Aggie “Code of Honor” is, “Aggies do not
lie, cheat or steal nor tolerate those who do.”
7. Highway 6 runs both ways.
8. Dropping a coin at the feet of the Sul Ross
statue will give you good luck.
9. That “little school in Austin” is full of hip
pies and drug addicts.
10. Steers and queers — no place but t.u.
Time’s up. Pencils down. Here are the answers:
1. TRUE. Incidentally, everyone’s blood runs
deep maroon. Actually, it’s more crimson, but
let’s not quibble over vocabulary.
2. FALSE. Nothing like hazing and assault
charges to ruin your PR.
3. FALSE. In: Friendly coffee shops. Out: Urine-
soaked, Confederate-themed faux honky-tonk
dens of intoxicated urban cowboys.
4. FALSE. This lie makes me so mad, I could
down an entire bottle of Absolut vodka and
plot the violent overthrow of the bourgeoisie.
5. FALSE. Every semester, some would-be
true believer whines to Mail Call: No one says
“howdy” anymore, liberals are taking over, no
one goes to cut for Bonfire. It’s beginning to
seem like only two percent of students here do
participate in traditions — so, dammit, they’re
the real “two-percenters.”
6. FALSE. They do. They just blame the media.
7. TRUE. And if you were brainy enough to
wangle the necessary SAT scores to get here,
you’d realize that most highways do, indeed,
run both ways.
8. FALSE. Only if you’re a slave owner.
9. FALSE. The only difference between their
student body and ours is no one in Austin will
give you directions. Bastards.
10. FALSE. This charming little homophobic
bumper sticker ignores studies that have
proved many universities — including this one
— have cows and homosexuals. Rumor has it
A&M has some homosexual cows, but the
dean of agriculture denies it.
To be frank, you will run into plenty of stri
dent “super-Ags” who may be eager to exclude
or mock you in the name of tradition.
But you know what? Screw ’em. You paid tu
ition. You paid $362,000 in fees so engineering
students could use extremely complicated
computers.
This school is yours, and it has plenty of
room for everyone, from the red-ass tradition
hound to the perpetually bored, apathetic
daydreamer.
And it is not just a school for the conservative,
the traditional, the heterosexual. So if you want to
learn all the words to the “Aggie War Hymn,” great.
If not, great, too. And if anyone has a problem
with that, remind them that Highway 6, like all
highways — ah, you know.
Jm
J
What’s
THE
PRINCETON
REVIEW
EE OR DIB*
GRE
IENIR.
© score?
irchases.
Space is
Limited -
Classes
filling now
Welcome Back
AGGIES !! !
The GRE is moving to
a new format - the
computer adaptive test
- or CAT * There are
only two pencil-and-
paper tests left and
one of these is on
November 1st. This is
your last chance to take
the kind of test you’re
used to ... if you’re
graduating in Decem
ber or your application
deadlines are in early
Spring. Do yourself a
favor - CALL US.
*The CAT shouldn’t be let out of the bag just
yet. Ask us about prepping for the pencil and
paper GRE in November
THE us @
W PRINCETON 409 / 696-9099
r REVIEW 800/2REVIEW
(iet An Edge!
THE fNH us @
PRINCETON 409 / 696-9099
REVIEW 800/2REVIEW
OK©
Phi Kappa Theta
Give, Expecting Nothing Thereof
1997 Fall Rush Schedule
Sept. 1 • Pool Shoot Yesterdays Pool Hall
Sept. 2: Informational Kyle Field Press Box
Sept. 3* Lasertag TJ. s Laser Tag
Sept. 4: Formal Dinner.... Crazy Cruzs Cajun Restaurant
••• All events are from 7:00 - 9:00 PM •••
Sept. 5 : Bid House Systems Building
••• Time to be announced •••
For questions call Peter Shukis: 693-1885
or BJ Danek: 696-7969
### For All the
Right Reasons