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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 1997)
3, vVednesday • December 3, 1997 Lifestyles one of the more thankless jobs on campus, bus drivers put up with broken-down buses, Bryan- College Station traffic and the occasional psychotic rider. > 9? Od c oo O 2 m 00 By Stephen Wells Staff writer I very day, the students of Texas A&M depend on the actions of people they fbarely notice. The janitors keep our yam pus clean. PTTS ensures every car is in »roper place. And the student bus drivers (ielp students make their classes on time. jThe Texas A&M Bus Operations is one of Te largest student employers on campus. Niach semester, 350 students find work dri- ^ ring 65 buses. iTrevor Hull, training coordinator for Bus ^lerations, explained the hiring process. «“Basically, we go through a pretty thor- ou Ji and professional committee inter view process,” Hull said. “This semester, we lad 160 applicants for 80 open positions, so we usually look at hiring half of the appli- Tnts. The application process is really good practice for the real world.” Several requirements are made for ap plicants to promote safety in the student lassing system. I “It’s required that applicants have a Class 1 commercial permit before they start Pfaining,” Hull said. “We also have our own purses on defensive driving and driving fopi Avery Schaeffer, a senior Community Health fmajor, has been driving buses for two years. Right! Kami Rapp, a junior animal science major, drives an on-campus route [Tuesday afternoon. Photography by Rony Angkriwan safety. The students spend about as much time in a [training] lecture as they do dri ving, and they are tested on eveiy part of the class. We take them out to Riverside cam pus to begin practice driving, then move up to neighborhood driving and night driving.” Jamie Wilson, a bus driver and junior molecular biology major, said the training is not hard work. “They just take you out and tell you to dri ve,” Wilson said. “It’s really not that difficult. You get to run a slalom course forward and backward, and in one of the practice drives, they make you slam on the brakes and jack knife a bus, which gets fun. The only bad part was that training took place over the Christ mas holiday which was a pain.” Bus Operations is completely run by stu dents except for two full-time positions: charter coordinator and manager. “It’s quite a challenge being responsible for that many people,” Hull said. “But I think our system works out best for the students.” The student bus drivers work 12 hours a week, working three, four hour shifts a week. The schedules are during class hours, so sometimes driving a bus gets in the way of classes. “You have to work 12 hours a week,” Wil son said. “Sometimes it gets really tedious. You just drive around for four hours, and the radio is your only entertainment if nobody talks to you. “Your shifts are supposed to work around your schedule, but sometimes they don’t. For example, I take a lot of classes that are offered at only one time, and I found scheduling to be a big hassle.” Beth Focht, a junior journalism major, said working as a bus driver is no different than working at any other job and demands the same sacrifices. “I could work at Target and have to work all night after class,” Focht said. “It’s always hard to work around a student’s schedule, but if you like to drive and can get used to the traffic around College Station, this job is easier than working at a department store.” Student bus drivers do not need to worry about a boss lurking over them all the time. “There’s nobody looking over your shoul der,” Focht said. “It’s really a trust thing. We only get evaluated once a semester.” Some bus drivers who drive the same route for a long time get to know their pas sengers better. “Most people just talk to you when they want their stop,” Focht said. “But there are a few people that I see a lot. I drive the Oak shuttle, and it’s a small bus that you can talk to people in. So we ask each other how we’re doing and how school is going. Once I walked into a bank, and one of my passen gers started pointing me out to his friends as his bus driver.” In keeping with Murphy’s Law as it ap plies to a college student’s life, bus drivers get their share of tough days. “My crazy days are always when my bus decides to break down,” Focht said. “Or when you hear all these people asking about Wehner and pronouncing it wrong. Once I got stuck at Fish Pond. Our buses have a sensor that locks the parking brake when the air brakes reach a certain pres sure. My bus did that, and I just sat there at Fish Pond for a while.” Sometimes life as a bus driver can deliv er some surreal exchanges with passengers. “Last year, I had a guy ask me what I would do if somebody walked on the bus, put a gun to my head and told me where to drive,” Wilson said. “Of course, this is late at night and he’s the only one who is on the bus with me. That was no fun.” Although it is socially acceptable to com plain about the bus system, Texas A&M is doing well when compared to other public transit systems. “We had an opportunity to work at the [Atlanta Summer] Olympics last year,” Hull said. “We brought about 30 or 40 drivers, and they were very impressed with the job we did. Other people kept coming up to us ask ing how we ran our buses. It’s nice to know we’ve set up such a successful system.” Graduating Soon? What an accomplishment! You’ve worked hard. Now it’s deci sion time and deciding where to work is not an easy one. 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Our excellent training program helps our employees learn how advertising can benefit our clients. Our customer center handles business own ers all around the United States. We’re looking for talented indi viduals who are able to communicate effectively, build business relationships, discover customers’ needs and help create busi ness solutions. We offer a competitive compensation program commensurate with education and experience including a bonus plan! Our flexi ble benefits program is one of the best in the industry. Include a fitness center, 401 (k), Partnership Shares, Pension Plan, all the rest and it adds up to a great career! So while you’re making the big decision, consider GTE Directories. Why not work with the best? Interested candidates should mail or fax resume to: GTE Directories, 5601 Executive Drive, Irving, TX 75038. Fax: (972) 518-8145. E-Mail: i.kuchar@gtedc.gte.com SB Directories An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V. eion Buy T GetOne ked w ■ootfiie FREE On Any Smoothie Our drinks put you on top of ^JWorld! expires 12-7-97 601 University Dr. W. • (409) 268-5888 termeion We're looking for a few good Aggies. ACE Volunteer Program Help students improve their study skills! Help students make decisions about majors & careers! Improve your communication and leadership skills! Make a difference in the lives of fellow Aggies! ~ ACE Academic & Career Educator Student Counsel Ing Service Application DEADLINE: Friday, December 5, 1997 Interviews will be held Monday, Jan. 12 through Friday, Jan. 23. Applications and brochures are available at 114 Henderson Hall. For more information, call 845-4427, ext. 108. Visit our website! http://www.scs.tamu.edu/volunteer/ a Department in the Division of Student Affairs !?( College of Education Student Teaching Office SPRING ‘98 STUDENT TEACHERS PLACEMENT INFORMATION SEND OFF CELEBRATION 9^ ^ e ’ >xA s December 15, 1997 6:30 P.M. Me, 7 Room 224 - MSC Visit with College of Education staff and School district representatives^ j Juniors & Seniors! LAND 340-500 Landscape Architecture in America (3 crs.) W 6:30-9:30 PM, ARCH C105 Instructor: Nancy Volkman Phone: 845-5041, email: nvolkman@archone.tamu.edu PREREQUISITES: None PLAN 370-500 Intro, to Health Systems Planning (3 crs.) MWF 3-3:50 PM, PSCY 338 Instructor: Don Sweeney Phone: 845-7888, email: dsweeney@archone.tamu.edu PREREQUISITES: Junior classification BROADLY EDUCATED INDIVIDUALS EXCEL IN LIFE Call or email for more information • Register today