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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 1998)
ESTHER Today Tomorrow len|QH INSIDE ® p ? r * s •" see ?, afie f ■ 11 hr Opinion ...see Page 5 TOMORROW Aggielife: Brazos Valley Animal Shelter helps students turn unwanted animals into lifelong friends. E(4 th YEAR • ISSUE ISO • 6 PAGES tization | by its | |6, but :! ne^t TEXAS ASM UNIVERSITY - COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS WEDNESDAY • JUNE 10 • 1998 |rd. inn er -t'!,; lable m<t re It fel ( k cor ngttttt'i pram Y 9 e [j tl: H# ng t or - emtf' Out Service Story by Amber Benson Photos by Ryan Rogers Twin City Mission is just one charity organization in the Brazos Valley suffering a loss of volunteers with the onset of summer. sy$i ; Non-profit organizations lose human resources when Aggies leave between semesters B y the time heat and humidity takes its toll on Bryan-College Station most Texas A&M students have already taken off. But as the student body leaves behind their books and re sponsibilities, they also leave behind a communi- I ty, a community whose needs are often fulfilled by student volunteers. Carla Piedrahita, director of health education and staff development for Brazos Valley Commu nity Health Services, which runs AIDS Services and Elder Aid, said her organization finds itself in need of manpower when summer rolls around. Lit#' Mg fpqmill 1 i*<! iammT -•is? mmmrn- j Fisfi ... ~ ) Michael Braggs,a resident of the mission since last Wednesday, relaxes while watching TV. Currently employed, Braggs is only residing at Twin City Mission until he finds a permanent place to live. "The first weeks of summer are always diffi cult," Piedrahita said. "Because so much of what we do is outreach, we can't get things done with out the volunteers." Mark Weedon, director of programs at Twin City Mission in Bryan, agreed. "The loss of students affects us heavily," Wee don said. "Not only do our volunteer hours drop, but there are no students to shop in our resale store - that's a large source of our income." Twin City Mission is also the recipient of thousands of dollars of fundraising money from Greek and other student organizations through out the year. Although the mission does not rely on that money, it is missed when students pack up for the summer. Piedrahita said opportunities for outreach ac tually increase during the summer months. "More people are hanging around on the streets," she said. "There are more chances to ap proach people about their health decisions." Both Weedon and Piedrahita said that a fear of the unknown often keeps people from volunteer ing their time. While programs such as Phoebe's Home, a shelter for victims of domestic violence, draw a steady stream of volunteers, other programs have a more difficult time. "Lots of people have a soft spot for women and children," Weedon said. "It's much more difficult to get people to volunteer at the homeless shel ter." Weedon said students often have stereotypical ideas of why people are at homeless shelters. "Homeless people are just people who have lost their support system," Weedon said, "but they have the same kinds of needs, wants and desires as everybody else." While BVCHS has positions open for people with medical backgrounds, both they and Twin City Mission accept volunteers without any pre vious volunteer experience. "You don't have to know much to know how to help somebody," Weedon said . WANT TO HELP? • Brazos Valley Community Health Services will be having a meeting June 11 at 6 p.m. for new volunteers at their headquarters in the Sunnyland Shopping Center at 1702B South Texas Ave, Suite 202. Opportunities are available for volunteers interested in medicine, as well as general volunteers. • Twin City Mission is located at 500 Main Street in Bryan. Volunteers can contact the mission at 822-7511. '’Music festival features hssian conductor By Shatera Kennedy Staff Writer not*' or y our listening pleasure, the Texas A&M College of Liberal Arts Ind the Music Program in cooperation with the University of Hous- Moores School of Music present the 1998 Texas Musical Festival |ncerts for the month of June. he summer programs include chamber music performances on nday evenings (June 15, 22, 29) and the gala appearance of the Fes- [al Orchestra on Friday, June 12. The highlight of the festival is the appearance of the famous Russ- b conductor Maxim Shostakovich with English cello soloist Icholas Jones on June 12. JShostakovich is expected to conduct the orchestra in his father's, 1,1 E late Dimitri Shostakovich, "Introduction to the Age of Gold Op. 1” on Friday. r Other performances include violist Karen Ritschen and cellist La- Varga who have selected favorite works that will emphasize their Jecific artistry. The orchestra members are students from around the country to auditioned for a chance to study under the internationally iown artists. General admission for individual concerts is $10 for adults, $8 for nior citizens (65+) and $5 for students. Season tickets can also be purchased providing an opportunity to Tive shows for the price of four. All tickets may be purchased at the Rudder MSG Box Office or by 'one at 845-1234. Parking is available in the University Center Parking Center rage. Rudder Theater is handicapped accessible. MSC Visual Arts plans museum field trip By Patrick Peabody Staff Writer On June 13, the MSC Visual Arts Committee is hosting a tour of San Antonio's Art Museums. This tour is open to all students and non-students. The tour will leave at 8:30 a.m. on June 13, and return to College Station at 7:30 p.m. The McNay Art Museum and the San Antonio Mu seum of Art. Participants wi 11 be able to view all types of art, from all different time periods. There will also be many 19th and 20th century decorative pieces. There will also be a number of antiquities on dis play at the museums. When asked why this trip was held during the summer, a representative of the Visual Arts Com mittee commented that students usually have more flexible hours during the summer, and are more likely to want to go, than if it was during the spring or fall semesters. The cost of this trip is $10 for students and $20 for non-student participants. For students $8 must be paid at sign-up and bring $2 with them on the trip for admission. Non-students must pay $16 and bring $4 with them for their admission. committee News Briefs Transportation for the trip will be in vans, with 12 students to a van. Tomorrow is the last day to sign up for this trip. There are only six people signed up for the trip so far, and at least 12 people are needed. The Visual Arts Committee does not un derstand the low turnout of interest in this summer's trip. In years past there has been a much larger turnout of interest, mostly for students, but this summer a majority of the six participants are non-students. Those interested in signing up for the trip should go to the Forsythe Gallery across from the U.S. Post Office in the MSC, and sign up with Sheila Thornton, the registrar. "It will be an educational and cultural trip and we'll have a blast," Thornton said when asked what she thought of the trip. Architecture professor receives preservation award David G. Woodcock, professor of architecture and Historic Resources Imaging Laboratory Director at Texas A&M, received the 1998 Truett Latimer Professional Award. The award was presented to Woodcock by Preservation Texas Inc. at the annual meeting of the Texas Historical Commission held earlier this year in El Paso. Woodcock was honored for outstanding commitment to preserva tion in teaching, research and service. Theoretical physics director awarded for research on lasers Marian O. Scully, director of Center for Theoretical Physics and the Institute of Quantum Studies at Texas A&M, received the 1998 Charles Hard Townes Award. Scully's award is based on work expanding on his previously formed theory on the laser, including his role in laying the theo retical foundation for laser science, free electron lasers and lasers without inversion. The Charles Hard Townes Award was established in 1981.