Jtiursday - January 29, 1998
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DINING PORCH
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ENTRY PORCH
:r
y Stephen Wells and Travis Hopper
Staff writers
f a man’s home is his castle, a student’s
"home is his fallout shelter. After a hectic
day of sitting through lectures dum-
5(1 inded and dismayed, visions of “Saved by
' ve ; Bell” reruns and generic-brand corn
pyecome overpoweringly enticing.
501 The backyard and the patio are living ar-
; too frequently overlooked in their utility
the average student. The usefulness of a
tio far outweighs the portion of the rent a
•dent pays for it, offering everything from
comforting solitude to a prime spot for a wild,
carnal, keg-standing bacchanal.
• Making the outdoors snug ’n cozy
For many students, the great outdoors is
just the space between the air conditioning
inside their car and the air conditioning in
side their home. With the close living condi
tions most students deal with, making the
best use of the room they have involves some
unorthodox living anangements.
Desiree Young, a sophomore journalism
major, found one good solution for the lady
who has everything but no place to put it.
“Living in a house with three other girls, a
lot of our closet space is taken up with
clothes," Young said. “Therefore we have to
store some our stuff in the balcony closet and
on the patio.”
Others are not so tidy. For many students,
garbage days are few and far between. So,
they deal with it in typical college student
fashion. Cary Labrenz, a junior biomedical
science major, is a second-hand sufferer of
the “Sanford & Son” syndrome.
“It’s not like home when people put those
big trash pits outside,” Labrenz said. “It’s just
kind of disgusting. It’s not too hard for them
to walk to the dumpster.”
For others, the serenity of the outdoors or
the chance to chat with a neighbor brings
them outside.
Mike St.Clair, a sophomore mechanical
engineering major, goes outside to unwind
without making enemies of his roommates.
“I play the guitar, and when my room
mates are trying to study, I like to just go
outside and play,” St.Clair said. “It’s nice to
just sit outside and play and forget about
school sometimes.”
Others are more AbFab-esque while
spending their quality relaxation time. They
prefer to spend time outside in full Gener-
ation-X splendor, working awfully hard at
not working.
Tiffany Gremillion, a senior speech
communications major, said there is noth
ing quite like just taking time to watch the
grass grow.
“You can’t really tell our yard is a yard, be
cause we never really mowed the grass,”
Gremillion said. “Most of the time when we
go out to the front porch we just sit and
drink wine.”
• “I was at this great party... ”
More than any other room in the house,
all the craziness that occurs outside begins
with the phrase, “We were drinking, and....”.
One almost universal truth every student
quickly learns is that the backyard or the bal
cony make a handy substitute bathroom
when time is not on their side.
Things like keg parties make omnipresent
backdrops for varying displays of public em
barrassment, some of which become matters
of public record.
For some extra-special occasions (Mar-
di Gras comes immediately to mind), the
balcony becomes a ritualized stage where
the exploits of boozed-up twentysome-
things can be forever remembered in a
bead-induced haze.
For some overzealous party-goers, the
pain of a hangover is dwarfed by the embar
rassment caused by fr iends who refuse to tell
one what they did but admit it was funny.
“We had a big party at our house, and the
bathroom was being occupied, so this guy
that had to puke just ran to the balcony and
did it over the edge,” Young said. “We had to
go apologize to the downstairs neighbors the
next day.”
• Taking home away from home
For many students, one of the biggest
shocks when they get to school is that Mom
is not always around to be there for them.
The adjustment from framed pictures and
pancakes to sticky-tacked posters and a
Coke on the run forces students to develop
their own tastes.
Kristin Tuttle, a junior biomedical science
major, prefers the minimalist approach to ex
terior decoration.
“We don’t do anything to the outside,” Hit-
tie said. “It’s too cold in the winter so we go
inside. In the spring we put out our plants,
but that’s all we do.”
Just because many students have little or
no backyard, that doesn’t stop them from be
ing the typical All-American and having
cookouts on the weekend.
“We put our plants outside,” said Labrenz.
“A lot of people have their chairs and barbe
cue pits outside, but we take ours inside. We
don’t barbecue that much anyway.”
Other students like show their creative
side by decorating for the holidays. A patio
can go from a den of slack to a festive holiday
haven with just a little light.
“Our balcony at our house isn’t a real pret
ty place, so around Christmas we like to dec
orate it up with lights and bows,” Young said.
“Most of the year though it just has our plants
and lawn chairs.”
The student’s patio and backyard are
his jack-of-all-trades. A good patio can
serve as a garbage chute, hall closet, bi
cycle rack, and smoker’s lounge with no
effort expended on the part of its owner.
This flexibility makes every student’s life
a little less complicated, freeing up valu
able brain cells for more “Saved by the
Bell” and corn chips.
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By April Towery
Staff writer
r jbe men who comprise this local rock band don’t
look like they would be friends, much less spend
several hours a week together supporting a com-
interest. Such a reckless and random sample of five
S@' ;n could only be brought together by... destiny.
“Wc met by accident,” said vocalist and guitarist J
L i°Bn. “I was in Copasetic Cafe, and my shirt got
\ L agged on Mark’s wheelchair. I don’t believe in coinci-
nces, so we started talking. We jammed the next night,
d the night after that we played Fitzwilly’s.”
|XCi ■ Reckless Panhandlers, as they call themselves, formed
t Oc t ober and recently recorded its debut album, Mojo
tty, jat Harry O’s in Wheelock, Texas.
The band will be performing songs from Mojo Kitty at
i^feet Eugene’s Friday at 10 p.m.
Since the band’s formation, things have fallen into
ice as the members combined their different back-
mnds to form a “jazz to funk to punk to folk” sound.
Bassist Andrew Asare brought a reggae and ska sound to
the band all the way from Ghana. Mark Sterle, who plays
harmonica for the band, added a twist of Grateful Dead
and a background in horn-playing. Guitarist and backup
vocalist Mark Thomas lists Alice Cooper and Led Zep
pelin as influences. Drummer Will Nunez earned a de
gree in music at the University of Southern Mississippi
and drummed along Bourbon Street for awhile.
This unique combination of sounds produced an al
bum which Goodin describes as “a gamut of emotions.”
“We start with off with a song that’s really dancey
and poppy, but really bitter,” Goodin said. “Bitter with
out being hateful.”
Sterle, who has been exposed to the B-CS music scene
for 17 years said, in spite of his bias, he thinks the Pan
handlers have what it takes to go professional.
“We all have a good ear for music and add styles
and rhythms that are appropriate for the songs,” he
said. “We are able to get a crowd up and dancing with
original music.”
Promotions and booking agent Flakie Van Zyl also
is looking to the future and considering scheduling a
European tour for the band.
“There is a lot of moving involved with this band,” she
said. “The name of the band evolved from a quote about
hitchhiking. The music is the bus they’re all getting on.
They’re all traveling, all on the highway. The songs are
about transformation. There is always a ready growth.”
Part of the growing included a realization that this
was to be their career, something to take seriously.
“We’d give up our day jobs in a heartbeat for this,”
Goodin said. “If the band never takes off, I may be living
in my car when I’m 40, but I’ll still be playing music.”
Thomas added that, even with outside work, music
continues to consume their everyday lives.
“Without it, it’s like being dead,” he said.
The Panhandlers have proved that the band is very
much alive, as concert dates have been scheduled across
the area for the upcoming months.
Band members anticipate unity among the bands of
Bryan-College Station, and hope to be a part of the histo
ry-making Brazos Bash at Reed Arena May 2. The Panhan-
mu
dlers are living proof that any person with any personal his
tory can find common ground with other musicians.
“We jam together because of our love of music,” Good
in said. “It’s a five-way partnership.”
Goodin laughs and looks at the other band members
and says what everyone is thinking.
“We want to be described as a kick-ass rock ’n’ roll
band, in a nutshell.”
01
‘00
Mm
lAP
Jan. 29 - Feb.8
The Class that inhales the most pizza will
win a FREE PIZZA PARTY on Feb. 11th
Eat @ the George Bush Dr. location
OR Call 696-DAVE for delivery!
May the best class win!
Sponsored by the Class Councils ‘98
MSC Film Society
. . .
The 5th Annual
THE USUAL
SUSPECTS
Who is Keyset Soze?
Saturday, Jan 31
9:30 p.m.
Tickets: $3.00 at the door or $2.50 in
| advance at the MSC Box Office (845-1234) |
Aggie Cinema Season Passes can be
purchased at the MSC Box Office for only
$ 15.00. (Docs not include the Texas Film Festival)
All films shown in Rudder Theatre Complex.
Questions? Call the Aggie Cinema Hotline
(847-8478).
^ Persons with special needs call
845-1515 within 3 days of the showing.
4rWebsite: http://films.tamu.edu
TEXAS
FILM
FESTIVAL
Feb 18-22
TICKET INFORMATION
Festival Pass
$20.00
provides access to all screenings,
special receptions, workshops
& hospitality room
Individual Tickets
$3.00
Student Festival Pass
$17.50
Same access as festival pass. Available to anyone with valid student J.D.
Brotherhood of Christian Aggies
B C A
Spring Selections 1998
Date
Event
Time
Jan. 29
Informational
Meeting @ MSC 226
9-10 p.m.
Jan. 31
Recreational Day
Olsen Grove Pavillion
1-4 p.m.
Feb. 1
Recreational Day
Gibbons Creek Reservoir
1:30-5 p.m.
Feb. 3
Shirt and Tie Mtg.
C.S. Conference Center
7:30-10:30 p.m.
For more information please contact:
Selections Chain Ben Stover 764-0097
President: Davy Barrett 764-0097
FISH CAMP
' 1998
ii
I COUNSELOR
I APPLICATIONS
AVAILABLE JANUARY 20-FEBRUARY 3
ROOM 131 KOLDUS
(FISH CAMP OFFICE)
REQUIREMENTS:
* 2.0 GPR
J* No Experience Necessary
|* Desire to Challenge Yourself!
APPLICATIONS ARE DUE BY:
FEBRUARY 4TH AT 12:00 P.M.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT
THE FISH CAMP OFFICE AT 845-1627
Auditions
Singing Cadets
‘The l/oice of SUggieCand
j?.
Open to All Male Students
JAN. 20 - JAN. 30, 1998
Room 003 MSC (Downstairs) 845-5974
Please stop by for appointment
The TAMU Buck Weirus Spirit Award
1997-1998
Sponsored by the Association
of Former Students
Buck Weirus Spirit Award Applications are now available for
undergraduate and graduate students in the following locations:
President’s Office, 8th Floor Rudder
The Association of Former Students Reception Desk
Vice President for Student Affairs, 10th Floor Rudder
Office of the Dean of each College
Office of Graduate Studies
Student Activities Office, Suite 125 Koldus Building
Multicultural Services Department, Suite 137 MSC
Commandant’s Office, 102 Military Sciences
MSC Student Programs Office, 216 & 223 MSC
This Award recognizes students for outstanding contributions to the
student quality of life program at A&M and honors Richard “Buck”
Weirus ‘42 Industrial Education. Highlight accomplishments of Mr.
Weirus, Executive Director Emeritus of the Association of Former
Students: Served as Executive Director of APS from 1964-1980,
established the first computerized alumni association in the country,
established the Century Club, the initiation of the President’s Endowed
Scholarship program and the Visitor Information Center, was an active
member and past president of the San Antonio A&M Club.
Applications Due by 5:00 p.m., February 9, 1998 at the Clayton
Williams Alumni Association Reception Desk. Gook Luck.