9
iday • November 4, 1997
Lifestyles
Texas A&M programs help international students make cultural adjustments
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By Travis Irby
Staff writer
A Texas A&M student has a test at 8 a.m.
covering over 400 pages of material —
not uncommon for most students. Now
add the fact the student is in an unfamiliar
place, a couple of thousand miles from home
and inexperienced with the language.
This might not be as common to many
A&M students, but a sizable number of in
ternational students go through this adjust
ment every year.
International students, representing a va
riety of nationalities, cultures and religions,
help give credence to the University’s phrase
“world-class.”
Suzanne Droleskey, director of Interna
tional Student Services, said students who
come from abroad know there is a big adjust
ment to be made.
“Most international students do very well,"
Droleskey said. “They know they’re coming to
another country. They’re risk-takers, and they
do very well.”
Droleskey said there is a broad base of re
actions to A&M by international students.
“I think there are some surprises — many
pleasant and some not so pleasant,”
Droleskey said.
A&M tries to make those surprises positive
by offering programs and organizations to help
ease international students into campus life.
One such program offered is Internation
al Camp, or I-Camp. It is held before school
starts and helps introduce international stu
dents to A&M traditions and other academ
ic emigres.
Nandan Dharwadker, an I-Camp director
and an electrical engineering graduate stu
dent, said I-Camp is an important first step for
many international students to take at A&M.
“I-Camp is important because it is the first
and maybe last time you have to meet friends,”
Dharwadker said. “The students are away
from parents and home, so it is important to
establish some links here.”
Dharwadker said students from abroad are
fascinated with Texas A&M and its traditions.
“We have yell leaders, a football team and
campus leaders come out and talk to the new
students,” Dharwadker said. “They all get a
crash course in A&M and what it is about.”
Dharwadker said the most important thing
attendees get out of I-Camp is meeting stu
dents from other countries.
“People have a tendency to associate with
those from their home country,” Dharwadker
said. “I am from India, and there are many In
dians here, so I could have just hung around
with them, but I made it a point to meet dif
ferent people.”
Norberto Chaclin, a junior chemical engi
neering major from the Netherlands Antilles,
said introducing one’s self to other students
is necessary.
“I come from a small country; there was no
one here from my home,” Chaclin said. “So I
had to meet new people.”
Chaclin said one of the best things an in
ternational student can do is to live on campus.
“I would recommend it [living on cam
pus]; I lived in Moore Hall, and I met lots of
people, including my current roommate,”
Chaclin said.
Kae Takenobu, a senior journalism major
from Japan, lived on campus when she first ar
rived at A&M.
“At first it was hard because I just wasn’t
used to America yet, but my roommate and
the people at my dorm were very nice,”
Takenobu said.
Meeting new people is not the only chal
lenge international students must face —
mastering a new language and learning a new
culture can also be difficult.
Chaclin said there are problems which can
arise from language differences.
“In some areas of study like math and sci
ence, it can be difficult to translate it into Eng
lish,” Chaclin said. “In classes like history, it is
not much of a problem.”
Chaclin said most international students
understand English perfectly.
“It can be a hard language to speak; most
students understand it and learn it in school,
but there are so many nuances and dialects to
pick up,” Chaclin said.
Please see International on Page 4.
Iiree-man band looks to revitalize local music scene
-ByChris Martin
Staff writer
Tost songs on the radio today
are the polished products of
Lwork-for-hire session musi-
|igh-profile music producers
usand-dollar-a-day studios,
nthat kind of money and
He pressure is involved, it
iileave much room for artist
Ion and experimentation.
alBelteau, a senior environ-
iesign major, knows a little
igabout music production,
i summer Belteau’s band,
aRest, released its first al-
kms From the Fire, which
iten, produced and record-
sly by the band.
?au said producing their
asicallows the band to keep
sic fresh.
(lit now, radio has made
crity a cool thing,” he said.
"There are bands out there playing
with three strings on their guitars.”
Autumn Rest is a three-man pro
ject consisting of Chad Belteau, his
brother Kevin Belteau, a junior bio
logical engineering student, and
former student Joey Landry.
Chad Belteau said the band was
formed with the intent of playing as
a five-piece live band.
“Initially we wanted to play live,”
he said. “We worked with several
drummers and singers, but we nev
er found anyone who wanted to do
what we wanted to do musically.
Since I’d been around Joey and
Kevin so long, we all had the same
influences and ideas.”
The band’s failure to organize a
live show resulted in a devotion to
exploring and experimenting with
their sound through home record
ing. The result was an eclectic blend
of progressive rock, industrial, goth
ic and ambient music.
tz)
?7
Parents’ Night Out
free babysitting service for the faculty, staff, & students of
““ Texas A&M University provided by the members of
Alpha Phi Omega
will be
Friday, Nov. 7, 1997
6:30 - 10 p.m.
in 301 Rudder Tower
QUESTIONS?
Call Us!!
Alissa 847-1336
Troy 846-9239
Texas A&M University Student Publications Board
is accepting applications for
Ider
The Battauon
(including radio and online editions)
Spring 1998
Ter /
Spring '98 editor in chief will serve from Jan. 12 through
^ 3,1998.
vilifications for editor in chief of The Battalion are:
Sea Texas A&M student with a minimum 2.0 overall and major GPR at the
lime of appointment and during the term of office;
floveat least one year experience in a responsible editorial position on The
ilion or comparable daily college newspaper,
-OR-
| Hove at least one year editorial experience on a commercial newspaper,
-OR-
pave completed at least 12 hours journalism, including JOUR 203 and 303
■ (Mia Writing I and II), JOUR 301 (Mass Comm Law) and JOUR 304
j Editing for the Mass Media), or equivalent.
location forms should be picked up and returned to Francia
I e in the Student Publications office, room 012 Reed McDonald
* iing. Deadline for submitting application: 5 p.m. Wednesday,
1^12,1997. Applicants will be interviewed during the Student
otherj tations Board Meeting beginning at 1 p.m. Monday,
— -jfcernber 17, 1997, in room 221F Reed McDonald Building.
litymg P 1 *-
fcrest at
jil within 90
1997 is on equal opportunily/affirmative action employer. The Student Publications Program
pikd to increasing diversity and urges people from under-represented groups to apply.
The diverse nature of the music
came from the various tastes of the
band members.
“I always looked up to the ‘guitar
gods’ like Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malm-
steen and George Lynch [of
Dokken],” Chad Belteau said. “As
time went on, we started listening to
more industrial-type music, like
Stabbing Westward and Skinny Pup
py; they influenced us as well. Even
people like Enya and ambient bands
—We’re pretty open-minded.”
Chad Belteau said the songs
changed as the band’s priorities shift
ed from playing live to recording.
“The first songs we wrote were
more in a band style, with live
drums and more guitar,” Chad Bel
teau said. “Joey started doing some
of the drum programming, and it
ended up being more keyboard-ori
ented than we initially thought it
would be.”
Kevin Belteau said working with
out a live drummer was ultimately
beneficial to their musical direction.
“It would have been a lot harder
to record a drummer with the way
we recorded all of our own music,”
Kevin Belteau said. “We didn’t actu
ally go into a studio to record. We
recorded the CD at our house
through a computer.”
Chad Belteau said the band de
cided to record at home after figur ing
out the cost for going into a studio.
“There’s a lot of pressures in a
studio,” Chad Belteau said. “If you
can’t get something right, you’re
costing everyone money. When I
have that much pressure, it’s prob
ably going to make me play worse.
At home, there’s no pressure.”
After experimenting with several
recording methods, including the tra
ditional cassette tape four-track, the
band decided to utilize the flexibility
of computer-based digital recording.
Please see Autumn on Page 4.
FUTURE TEACHERS
Study in Italy with TAMU for
Summer Session I ‘98
Your international experience could be your
students , first look at the world!
Students will receive 6 hours of TAMU credit:
EDAD 489: Future Studies
Prof. John Hoyle
INST 322: Foundations of Education in a
Multicultural Society
Prof. John Hoyle
For more information, please call:
Prof. John Hoyle
532 HECC
845-2748
e-mail: jhoyle@tamu.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday 3-5 • Wednesday 1-5 • or by appointment
Off Campus Aggies
Bowling Night
Tuesday November 4th
8:30 p.m.
at the MSC Bowling Alley
OCA would like to thank the following
sponsors of its Halloween Bash:
Pro's Choice
Sam Goody
Walden Books
Eddie Bauer
T Bone Jones
Freebirds
Wings n' More
On the Border
Fuddruckers
Dixie Chicken
NEW!
Local Radio News
■ glM ■ from the newsroom of
if flif :-qm
campus and community news
8:04 a.m.
Monday through Friday
during
NPR Morning Edition
on KAMU-FM 90.9
College Station / Bryan
The members of Autumn Rest, a local band, describe their music as an
eclectic blend of progressive rock, industrial, gothic and ambient styles.
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