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Graphic By Quatro Oakley / The Battalion
! ish Camp creates friendships,
aches students Aggie spirit
live
|on. (
twas 1:00 in the morning be
fore I was to leave for Fish
^mp 1996. I was still debat-
jhether
Juld go,
nsidering
> A&M
djersity
l|he last
ice I ever
fnyself
!to col-
Meredith
Might
columnist
Having
[n up in
|n, the
j thing I
r about
s were the jokes I heard
with the punch lines usual-
iphasizing the limited intel-
ce of those attending Texas
I envisioned people with
country accents and cow-
|hats. I had no idea what to
;Ct from Fish Camp. Attend-
'&M turned out to be one of
est decisions of my life, and
Camp became a large part
at.
J finally did decide to go to
1 Camp, and quite honestly,
| st ’ f thought my worst
i tmare was coming true.
[le it was not a bunch of
try folk, it was unlike any-
■81 had experienced before. I
'ed at Olsen Field greeted by
He counselor with two huge
>ons attached to his chest
■cting traffic. I was a little
BWhelmed, to say the least.
i Ve eventually loaded the bus-
■Pt the sweaty two hour bus
11° Palestine, Texas. Once we
|e all herded off the bus, we
|t into Copeland, the large
f hog room where all of the
PPs gather for the various
I8 r ams offered at Fish Camp.
■ a P otusic was pulsating and
(..ors were up on the stage
P'og us all in some crazy
I 106 -1 stood there frozen, sur-
| ln g the room to see if any-
.] J , se thought this was ab-
ih i nuts ‘ Apparently,
I ,y e fse did, and I stood
, t f °oking like a complete id-
l a counselor came up
f, '' lter turned out to be one
p Discussion Group lead-
^ L’ a ^ d offered to teach me the
I P dance. Afterwards, we met
I Qur Discussion Groups,
r commonly known as DGs.
slowly warmed to Fish
Camp, mostly because of great
DG leaders who were dedicated
to their freshmen. Over the
course of four days, I learned all
about Aggie traditions, how to
jitterbug, the Mayo Man, deal
ing with academics in college,
and getting accustomed to a
large environment.
After the experience was over,
I was glad to go home, but also
glad I went. It was my first
glimpse into the Aggie spirit.
And although I had not com
pletely embraced it yet, I was be
ginning to understand what it
meant to be an Aggie.
My freshman year was proba
bly pretty typical of most other
college freshmen. Except for that
at this huge university, on my
first day walking around cam
pus, there were familiar faces,
thanks to Fish Camp. And my
DG leaders kept up with us,
which helped me to feel like less
of a number.
I decided to try out for Fish
Camp Counselor, which turned
out to be the most rewarding ex
perience I have had at A&M. Be
ing a counselor last year and this
year has taught me invaluable
lessons about what being an Ag
gie truly means.
Fish Camp, completely stu
dent run, is a unique organiza
tion for two reasons:
It promotes unconditional
acceptance of all the people in
volved and it cannot be imitat
ed because it is blessed by the
Aggie Spirit.
As a first year counselor, I was
befuddled at the instantaneous
friendship formed when I met
my fellow counselors and co-
chiairs for the first time. (Each
camp is led by two co-chairs). It
seemed a little unrealistic that
everyone in the camp could get
along so well. I came to discover
in August, though, after we met
our freshmen, that the process of
getting to know your fellow
counselors was similar to meet
ing your freshmen.
Counselors are called to un
conditionally love their fresh
men, whether they are shy or
outgoing, come from small
towns or large cities, are ath
letes or academians. Making
the freshmen feel accepted for
who they are as they enter into
Texas A&M is the purpose of
Fish Camp. This kind of accep-
Richard
Paddack
columnist
A s we grow older, we are
forced to take on a little
more responsibility than
the day be
fore. These
new respon
sibilities help
us grow. They
open our
minds to new
possibilities
and help illu
minate our
capabilities.
These new
challenges
can help to
build our
self-esteem
or they can allow us to see our
faults and weaknesses.
From the first day we could
walk and talk at the same time
and discern between hot and
cold, a majority of us were hand
ed down the responsibility of
taking out the trash. This taught
us cleanliness and marked the
beginning of chores. Then we
were forced to learn how to
study, and this was our parents’
way of ensuring we would not
waste their money when we got
older. Yeah, right.
We thought the time would
never come when we would fi
nally be allowed to drive. This
taught most of us that we did not
want to be police officers when
we grew up.
Among those few monumen
tal responsibilities, almost every
person at one point in his or her
life acquires a pet. Raising a pet
while in college can be the ut
most educational and rewarding
experience.
As we embarked on our fresh
man year in college, we were fi
nally forced to take care of our
selves. Many of us embraced this
new experience with open arms
while several of us regretted hav
ing to learn how to feed our
selves, groom ourselves and
keep our living spaces livable.
Now throw another living
creature into the equation and
you have the ultimate starter kit
for the real world.
Raising a pet at home can be
challenging, but a student’s
parents usually foot the bill for
the veterinarian and the food
and the many other miscella
neous toys and supplies, as well
as helping with other responsi
bilities necessary to raise a
healthy pet.
Owning a pet while in college
opens the door to many more re
sponsibilities than most of us ex
pected. Caring for something
other than ourselves that is sole
ly dependent upon us for its sur
vival can teach a lot about our
selves and if we have the skills
necessary for possibly raising a
child in the future.
Obviously a pet is not half as
challenging or expensive as
raising a child, but there are
similarities. Raising an animal
requires patience, time and
above all, love.
As a college student, one of
our biggest challenges is learn
ing how to manage our time, and
fitting a cat or dog into our
schedules can be tricky. Pets re
quire a lot of attention and food,
especially in their younger years,
and this really can conflict with
class time and studying. Espe
cially if you have a test in five
hours and your cat will not let
you sleep because it wants its
back scratched.
Growing pets tend to eat and
drink a lot as mentioned before,
just like a child, and teaching
them where to put it after they
are through with it can be trying
at times. Potty training can be
the deciding factor if you are re
ally ready for a pet or the excuse
you have been waiting for to
check your pet into the pound.
Like a child, a pet can be pretty
expensive. I don’t care if you want
a bug for a pet — even a bug has to
have somewhere to sleep and
something to eat. Pets require
food, which can add up depending
on the size of the animal.
Pets need constant entertain
ment or they will make your life
a living hell. That is why pet
owners need to buy lots of toys
for when they are not around to
play. Probably the biggest ex
penses are for veterinarians,
shots, medicine and yearly
checkups.
Aside from all the furniture
they will chew and the carpets
they may ruin, the rewards from
owning a pet while in school
tend to outweigh everything
else. They may be expensive and
take up a lot of time, but they
can be an excellent teacher and
a best friend.
Richard Paddack is a junior
journalism major.
N\\Ke hldp/idl fflru^(j®TrnrnoHg>
tance begins with the counselor
relationships.
Fish Camp is also one of the
most diverse organizations. It
does not revolve around one
common interest and is not lim
ited to one type of person. The
only prerequisite is the desire to
help freshmen. There is no
stereotypical counselor, because
there is no stereotypical fresh
man. This diversity promotes an
atmosphere of acceptance.
Secondly, Fish Camp is the
awesome success that it is be
cause of Aggies. A program of its
magnitude cannot be found at
any other college. This
year, 1,500 students applied for
the privilege of being a coun
selor. There were only 900 spots
available. Unfortunately, Fish
Camp typically has to turn away
one-third of the incoming fresh
man class because there just not
enough space to accommodate
all of them.
Why is this program in such
high demand? Because the Ag
gie spirit is alive and well at
Fish Camp.
Whether a freshman is scared
to death of coming to A&M, as I
was, or a fourth generation Ag
gie, he or she cannot help but
feel the vibrancy of what this
university has to offer.
Through Fish Camp, fresh
men experience what may be
their first yell, their first intro
duction to Muster and Silver
Taps, and all the other great tra
ditions that make A&M an in
credible institution.
I admit it, I do not bleed ma
roon. I do not whoop automati
cally every time I hear 2000.1
still have not been to a t.u. vs.
A&M football game.
But Fish Camp is a cherished
tradition to me because it truly
encompasses everything A&M
has to offer. The amazing stu
dents, the rich history, and all
that it means to be an Aggie.
The opportunity to welcome
the Class of 2002 to A&M Univer
sity is an honor, and the ability
to help them to make their
dreams become reality as Aggies,
not just students at A&M, is a
privilege. That is what is at the
heart of Fish Camp.
Meredith Might is a junior
journalism major.
VIAGRA SIDE EFFECT.
Movie audiences derive sick
pleasure from death, suffering
mople talk about the sadness
of losing a loved one, of
death
April
Towery
opinion editor
in general,
but it does
not stop
them from
deriving
pleasure by
watching
someone die.
Soon, the
26-second
video depict
ing the assas
sination of
John F.
Kennedy will be available to the
voyeuristic public for $19.98.
It is sick and twisted the way peo
ple get off on other people’s misery
and suffering. People line up at the
theaters to watch brutal slayings
and shootings in movies such as
Scream, Natural Born Killers and
Pulp Fiction.
It’s disgusting. OK, so maybe it’s
just a movie. But this happens
every day in real life. Death always
is not random and accidental. And
even though most of us were not
personally acquainted with JFK, it
is exploitation to watch and enjoy
as the former president’s head is
blown off.
My great uncle was a White
House reporter for the Dallas Morn
ing News at the time of the assassi
nation. He was in the car behind
Kennedy when the former presi
dent was shot. The experience was
somewhat traumatic for him and
more meaningful than it would be
to me. Watching a video recreating
the experience affects him. It’s not
entertainment for him.
It’s got to be disturbing for him
to see people lining up to purchase
a bag of popcorn and video of
JFK’s assassination when the expe
rience changed his life.
Television’s “Cops” is an actual
depiction of crime scenes. These
people are not actors.
It blows my mind that people
sit at home kicking back a beer
and turn on the television to watch
some gross, dirty old man beat his
wife senseless.
People are getting off on other
people’s suffering without even re
alizing it.
Death, especially brutal mur
der, is not something to sit
around and laugh at. People are
getting too much pleasure out of
other people’s pain. Reporters
love the publicity of a good death
story, such as the recent killing in
Jasper. Movie-goers clap and
cheer in movies like Basic Instinct
when a woman stabs someone
with an ice pick.
In Faces of Death, true-to-life
executions are shown as well as
persons falling out of an airplane
with a defective parachute.
Internet Web sites show photos
of mutilated aborted babies and
people who have been run over by
a truck.
This is repulsive. It is not funny.
It is real.
When students pull up those
disgusting pictures on the Inter
net, they’re forgetting that is some
one’s child, a human being. It hits
a little closer to home when people
take into account the way it affects
their lives.
Last week, an acquaintance of
mine was hit by a car. He went fly
ing through the air and was
knocked unconscious by the im
pact of the vehicle as his body
slammed into another car.
He is not a relative or even a
close friend. I doubt I’ll even keep
in touch with him in the future,
but the fact that someone I know
was so close to death makes it real.
And it makes my stomach turn
when I turn on a television and see
actors bouncing off cars as their
heads become bruised and bloody.
Another acquaintance was
raped and stabbed when we were
in high school. I’d only had a few
conversations with her, but I still
think of her when I see Drew Bar
rymore’s gutted flesh in Scream.
People do not realize the seri
ousness of murder and death. It
has been used as entertainment
for years and will continue to be.
People have got to wake up and
understand watching someone die
is not funny. After all, it could hap
pen to anyone.
April Towery is a senior
journalism major.