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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 22, 2001)
Monday, August J IfEDNESD AY AUGUST 22, 2001 IT PS Texas A&M University 2 SECTIONS * 16 PAGES Celebrating 125 Years NEWS IN BRIEF l )( )th doctors on no outbres I diseases, dy treated pat: ''t rapes causti ’rts, along vsi bos given a ■uninnarvte- j related ,1, Volunteers on hand him to act f° r Welcome Day ■ More than 350 volunteers, people illuding Texas A&M President Dr. Ray Bowen, will be on hand „, ‘ to help students move into )u .’ Musc 4ns®i r residence halls during ’ I . vou can( i | Bshman Welcome Day. •tors, gettingt B "Moving in can be hectic :en excel lent «d confusing, especially for py. Immeni|oming freshmen, and this i their jobs Asrarn is designed to help oblems with’B n 8 s run more srno °1 h| y ar| d L ,L,,®ke new students and their ■rents feel welcome, said 'i tCr j • i i ■ )n Sasse, director of ’ 1 ;Ul1 ' Re ;idence Life. )pened,”Miisc* The volunteers will wear dis- ■ctive T-shirts so they can be ilso started [iwsily recognized and will be ;. Barit said helping students move belong- bish hiswasheaP int0 their rooms and assist- scan’s old o!i' in “ with an y problems. Bowen Tid his team will be stationed Ithe Southside residence hall Rea. Refreshments also will be emned, but he jacent buildin be back in available. iter. ime, both saytt firing a right-b n closer, it together,it, it of it together lat he is,” lays two ome form of lift!cult as I Parking in the area will be istricted, and some streets Will become one way for the duration of move-in. Some tem- lorary parking will be allowed bile students unload; howev er. PITS officers will then direct vehicles to other parking areas. I Sunday and Wednesday are the busiest move-in days, Sasse said. | He added that PITS has |eserved extra space in the University Center, Central and Northside Parking Garages for faculty who park in lots near residence halls. “Each year, we work to /rate the whole operation go more smoothly, but there will be some difficulties. We real ly appreciate the patience ,; 8nd courtesy of the entire ommunity during this hectic Sasse said. PUBLIC EYE Parking citations issued by PTTS s: O 10 0 OJ — Some may boast ... • Students should take advantage of all that A&M has to offer WEATHER HIGH 101° F LOW 75° F HIGH 100° F LOW 75° F V v TOMORROW -v] yM, v V V SERVING THE TEXAS A& COMMUNITY SINCE 1893 Volume 108 • Issue 1 College Station, Texas www.thebatt.com • 90.9 FM Walk this way Fish Camp closes with Session F this week, departs today By Sommer Bunce THE BATTALION Nicholas Anthis’ first glimpse of life at Texas A&M was through aqua- colored Fish Camp glasses. A freshman biochemistry and genetics major, Anthis pulled up to the Olsen Field parking lot for Session A of Fish Camp 2001. He found himself amid costumes, yelling and whistle-blowing camp counselors. As part of the first ses sion’s aqua camp, Anthis was taught to be bleed maroon — with an aqua- blue tinge, his camp color. After driving the two hours to Fish Camp’s traditional site at Lakeview, near Palestine, for the rest of the four- day camp, the freshmen “just kind of yelled a lot,” Anthis saidi • “I would have to tell anyone who’s going to Fish Camp that you’re going to have a blast,” Anthis said. “The most important point for me was meeting people. But you get to know A&M, and you get a chance to adjust to college life before you get there.” Fish Camp was first created in 1954 to introduce new A&M stu dents to campus traditions and to aid in the transition from high school to college. Almost 4,300 students — or about two-thirds of the freshman class — % registered to attend this year, said Seth Sullivan, assistant Fish Camp director and a senior industrial distribution major. The camp program is split into six different sessions differentiated by color, each lasting four days. The first See Freshmen on page 2A. mJL* ™ WkWIi VP HP HJHRL No place like home Holly Rhea, a senior journalism major, stands in the showcase of a local bookstore and paints a “welcome home” message. This week, STUART VILLANUEVA • THE BATTALION thousands of Aggies will return to College Station in preparation for the beginning of classes next week. Freshman cadets learn ropes of Corps life By Courtney Stelzel THE BATTALION “Whip out, fish!” shouted the sophomores. And it began. For the next five minutes, the hallway in Dorm 8 was filled with the shouts and sweat of the new freshman cadets, as they “whipped out,” or met, their sophomore trainers for the first time. “Their faces were intimidat ing, and they [sophomores] were getting all pumped up and spitting in your face and “staring you in the eye,” said Tucker Smith, a freshman cadet in Company D-2 and construction science major. Freshman Corps of Cadets members are learning the in’s and out’s of Corps life during Freshman Orientation Week (FOW), which began Sunday. New cadets learn how to shine their shoes, eat in Duncan Dining Hall, make their beds in a military fashion and address their upperclassmen in an often intense atmosphere. “At first I was pretty scared and pretty nervous,” Smith said. “I was wondering what was going on here. It took more than a full day to get adjusted.” The orientation week began in 1977 to help incoming Corps freshmen adjust to cadet life before school starts. “FOW is a chance to bring the freshmen in early and get them adjusted to life in the Corps,” said Trevor Voelkel, Corps public relations officer and a senior finance major. Adjusting to Corps life is not the only focus of the week, he said. As part of the week-long activities, the new “fish” are taken to buy their books, adjust their schedules and meet with academic advisors. “We have the scholas tic officers bring their freshmen into one of the rooms. We sit down with them on their level and have a question and answer session in a relaxed environment,” said Corps Scholastic Officer Jay Stanley, a senior biomedical sci ences major. “We address whatever ques tions they may have because we want them to be prepared for school.” Call to Quarters (CQ), a required study time held Sunday to Thursday nights during the aca demic semester, will begin on Sunday. But the Corps is beginning to pull away from regimented study time, Stanley said. “We are strongly encourag ing the freshmen to go to the libraries to study, to attend sup plemental instruction and tutor ing options available to them,” Stanley said. “We want them to learn how to study.” The Corps keeps track of cadets’ academic progress by requiring grades to be posted on their doors, Stanley said. FOW is also a time for Corps freshmen to learn about Texas A&M traditions, as well as the Corps’ traditions. “It is kind of like another Fish Camp,” Voelkel said. “The friendships they build this week and throughout the year are very strong. Automatically [fresh men cadets] have to lean on someone for support during the adjustment period of leaving their parents and the way of life they might have been used to.” FOW is set to end this Saturday, following Freshman Review on the Quad from 1:30 See FOW on page 2A. GUY ROGERS • THE BATTALION Fish Brod, of Squadron.2, takes a sip of "sky” during FOW exercises Tuesday afternoon. New fish participate in numerous exercises throughout the week. CHAD MALLAM • THE BATTALION Flood victim honored Funds raised for Houston Red Cross By BRANDIE LiFFICK THE BATTALION Organizers of the Chad Garren Memorial Flood Relief Fund raised more than $4,800 to honor the Texas A&M sen ior who died in Houston during the aftermath flood of Tropical Storm Allison. Garren, who was a summer intern at Houston-based Enron, was killed when he was swept underwater during the flood ing. Garren would have gradu ated in December. Allison hit South Texas June 8, causing 22 deaths in Texas and Louisiana. A dinner and silent auction held Aug. 16 raised the money for the memorial fund, which will be donated to the Greater Houston Area American Red Cross to aid in flood relief. Stuart Hutson, Class of 2001, and Mark Passwaters, a senior political science major, said they organized the event to give back to the communi- fhe people of Hous ton tuere the first to turn out and help us after the Bonfire col lapse, and it tuouldnt have been right to not return the favor when we could. — Mark Passwaters event organizer ty that offered its support dur ing the 1999 Texas Aggie Bonfire collapse. “The people of Houston were the first to turn out and help us after the Bonfire col lapse, and it wouldn’t have been right to not return the favor when we could,” Passwaters said. /. Donna Rybinski, director of marketing and communications for the Houston Red Cross, said Red Cross served approxi mately 2 million meals and snacks to displaced residents the first month after the flood. “The Red Cross spent over $25 million in serving meals, transporting people and help ing families replace the essen tial items that are needed in a See Fund on page 2A.