Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 2001)
VARSITY FORD www.varsityflm.com Check out our specials on Focus, Mustangs, & our entire stock of Trucks (all rate, rebate, and inventory information is updated weekly) PRE-OWNED SPECIALS ARE CHANGED WEEKLY College Grad and 1st Time Buyer Program for Internet Users Questions? - e-mail us at ross@varsityflm.com Page 4 AGGIELIFE h i Jay, Fcbruai} I5,20( THE BATTALION Friday, Diversity in Aggieland International students use campus services, adjust to life atA&k Class of 2004 Class Council Seeking Class Secretary!!! Applications available this week only! Set them in the Student Programs Office on the Second Floor of the MSC in the Fish Council Cubicle. Application Deadline is Friday February 16,2001 Turn applications in where you picked them up. By Brooke Corso The Battalion The world is now a global village, with technol ogy sophisticated enough to connect people from even the furthest reaches of the globe. With these advancements, there is growing demand for inter national and intercultural skills in today’s workforce. Students, please join us to celebrate the opening of our new Academic & Career Resource Center. Date: Wednesday, February 21, 2001 Time: 5:00p.m. - 7:00p.m. Location: Student Counseling Service Henderson Hall, Room 114 LJ Texas A&M is working toward meeting the demands of the global village by diversify ing its student population and offering educa tion and support services for both foreign and U.S. students. There are 3,205 international students- en rolled at Texas A&M this spring, Suzanne Droleskey, executive director of the Interna tional Program for Students, said the majority are from Far East countries such as India. Ko rea. China, Taiwan and Indonesia. A good num ber are also from Middle East countries, like Turkey, and Central America. Droleskey said the International Program sends students to local schools during Interna tional Week. “International students talk to five or six hun dred schoolchildren and share experiences from their native countries,” Droleskey said. Currently, there are more than 40 organiza tions geared toward international students and international programs. There are clubs based on students’ ethnicities, clubs for students who study abroad and foreign intern clubs. The International Student Association (ISA) welcomes foreign and U.S. students and gives them the opportunity to exchange ideas and expe riences from their own cultural backgrounds. Monica Pena, ISA president and a senior industri al engineering major, said ISA is deeply commit ted to supporting A&M’s international population. “ISA provides a hostel in the summer when most students arrive from overseas, because many have not found an apartment or housing yet,” Pena said. “We even have volunteers who drive vans for students needing to go grocery shopping or run errands.” ISA sponsors International Camp, similar to Fish Camp but geared toward foreign students. It is a mandatory orientation that teaches stu dents about Aggie traditions and history and campus life. “We have to remember that'these interna tional students are confronted with two cultures: the broader American culture and the culture of Texas A&M,” Pena said. According to Pena, ISA’s biggest event is International Week, held Feb. 26 through March 2 this year. Nearly all the international and cultural organi zations will have a booth or exhibit on display, and they each compete for prizes. "These students take their k cultural displays very seri ously,” Pena said.“They . even ask for cultural items and decorations from the foreign con sulates in Austin and Hous ton to improve the authen ticity of their displays.” An International Buffet is held Wednesday and is the most popular event. Foreign ' movie festivals are held throughout February. At the week's end. a talent show and dress parade is held, displaying students in their na tive finest. Students start preparing for the tal ent show as far back as November, and their per formances demand more work anti effort than any event held that week. There are many on-campus programs for in ternational students. There are also several off- campus resources for students and their families. Currently, 95 percent of international stu dents live in the University-owned apartments. Maria Clark, program coordinator for Univer sity Apartments, develops programs for the stu dents, their spouses and children. “With the majority of foreign students living here, and 300 to 350 children of these students on average, we need programs for the entire family,” Clark said. There are professional development semi nars for students to work on resumes, English proficiency classes and fitness programs. Uni versity Apartments offer free baby-sitting, arts and crafts, and cooking classes specializing in American and international cuisines. University Apartments had suffered from a lack of space to house these .activities. An KRISTI HINES/Thi Battalion 1,800-square foot community center wasbuij recently. It has a full kitchen, meeting room programming offices, a study room with« puters and laundry facilities. The centers: also have classes on American cultureandi?; versational English. “A&M students have been wonderfulm.c; tributing to the new center,” Clark said."lb dence Life sponsored a garage sale in [tied® which netted over $200 to be spent on toys: the children at the apartments.” As foreign students make an effort to b the ways of the American world, Antericaost dents are also exposing themselves tote cultures. A&M teaches classes in French,Spr ish, German, Italian, Russian and Japaneses offers study abroad opportunities in thesect tries. Many A&M students have mastered?: or more of these languages and strive tot;, others do the same. Kristin Kruse, a senior political sciences German major, has taken German classessl junior high and is a teacher's assistant forde man classes at A&M. “I want to inspire A&M students to 01 learn another language and also exposeth® other countries,” Kruse said. Kruse works at the English Language!m tute in the Center for Language Learning: Research (CELLAR) of the AcademicB. ing. The CELLAR contains magazines,k. papers and movies from countries all ovL world for students to come in and look at. “Most students who come in the CELL are first-year language students and inter tional students eager to read or watch somec from their home country,” Kruse said. The CELLAR also has conversational, guage sessions in which internationalsttni:' teach A&M students. For students hoping to work internatioi. the International Center at the Bush Librat fers programs and services in intercultura richment for faculty. U.S. students and to., students. The Academy for Future Intematic Leaders offers seminars, mentoring and: ternships to select students from each colli: Kruse is working on a project this spri which students interview internationalstndi: , concentrating on social, economicand;i ical topics. “Social questions involve family straw religion and gender roles, whereas econe questions are on class structure and way of . Kruse said. Whether offering programs for internat;:’ students to share their cultures with thel: sity, providing foreign students and their:'; lies with support, establishing centers for guage studies, or educating future leader international awareness, Texas A&M eessfully contributing to today’s globalvil Sta Sweet recent tir formance to love ar release d, could be 1 year. If yc well couh Superf this film i false and 1 and powe Nelsor ecutive or bles. Intrij he met at cides to n ■ must speii I him how 1 I journey fo Superb I given wor I bring to I if I his acting: I string of e I perfection S will probal Theron ■ years hav< i with such s I subtleness. Directei 1 Friends), tf I that fits bot I to tug at th< ■ person wIk Sweet A Iment in fill lor toward r jingly origii Imiss this fii No, this JAMAICA • ANTIGUA • ST. LUCIA • BAHAMAS THE CARIBBEAN'S #1 U&.TITA AE.K.-HNICt.lJtSlVK’^ LUXURY RESORTS FOR COUPLES ONLY. / ^\.GGie«VORL» V'''- VdVEMTURES presents Sandal’s Night Sat. Feb. 17th 5:30-6:30 pm Holiday Inn Express, Maroon Room, on University Dr. E. * Free Pizza & Drinks * Free Slide Show & Brochures -Honeymoon Discounts up to $ 150 - Available for Attendees. -Sandals Area Rep will be present to answer questions. 'U For more information call 696-5000 Remember - No Service Fees, Ags! o/v/o/ C^/'C'/iewf/'a HEAR THE VOICE OF RUSSIA With roots as far back as 1776, Russia's Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra is a tradition that has truly stood the test of time. Combining the award-winning voice of Irina Rubtsova with a repertoire including Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky and others, the Bolshoi Symphony brings an incomparably powerful and distinctive sound to American audiences. FEBRUARY 27, 2001 • 7:30 P.M. • RUDDER AUDITORIUM CALL 845-1234 or toll-free 888-890-5667 MSC OPAS WANT TO LEARN MORE? Join us prior to the performance for a Patricia S. Peters Lagniappe Lecture in the MSC Forsyth Center Galleries at 6:30 PM. Sponsored by the OPAS Guild. moviegoer made a littl Health Professions Symposium Free! Meet over 60 representatives from Medical, JDental, Physician Assistant, Physical Therapy, Nursing, and Other Health Professions Programs from around the world! MSC Flagroom FEBRUARY 20 10:30 A.M. - 2:30 P.IVI Alpha Epsilon Delta Biomedical Science Assoc. Microbiology Society PreMedical Society Beta Beta Beta Genetics Society PreDental Society American Medical Studen DOWN TO EARTH (P 12:35 2:50 5:15 7:50' RECESS: SCHOOL'S 12:25 2:40 5:00 7:25 i SWEET NOVEMBER 1:204:10 7:10 9:55 1! CAST AWAY (PG13) 12:153:20 6:45 9:45 I CROUCHING TIGER, DRAGON (PG13) 1:104:25 7:15 10:101 FINDING F0RRESTEI 12:40,3:45 7:05 1 0:00 HANNIBAL (R) 12:05 3:10 6:30 9:30 I 12:50 4:00 7:00 1 0:05 HEAD OVER HEELS 2:30 7:35 12:50 Multicultural Assoc. Of PreHealth Aggies Texas A&M University Executive Council of Health Organizations