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Breakdown
Stress causes problems in students* lives, but there
are ways students can prevent and deal with it
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By Crystal Dobson
THE BATTALION
Every year, the pressure of col
lege life builds. It may seem as if
professors think their classes are
the most important and managers
believe their employees should
I work more hours. In addition,
j| friends may not understand
k\ // that school must come first.
| \ ' ' After all, education is is the rea-
I son students attend Texas A&M.
■kv Jr ^ With so much going on in their
‘ lives, it is important for students to
learn how to manage stress.
According to the MSN Health Website, the body’s stress
areas are the brain, heart, lungs, vessels and muscles. When
stress persists, these parts can become chronically over- or
under-activated. If this occurs, physical or psychological
damage can accumulate over time.
The Website said that sleep plays a major role in dealing
with stress. Eight hours of sleep each night is important to
keep the body well-rested. By maintaining a regular sleep
schedule, students are better able to deal with stress.
However, unresolved tension from stress can cause
insomnia, which will keep a
stressed person awake or cause
them to wake up during the night.
To maintain a stress-free year, it
is necessary to keep the body healthy
by eating the right foods. The Website
said that a diet rich in a variety of
whole grains, vegetables and fruits is
important. Tbings to avoid are exces
sive alcohol, caffeine and tobacco.
According to the Website, stress
has a significant effect on the brain,
especially the memory. A typical vic
tim of severe stress suffers loss of
concentration and may become
inefficient in their work and will
be more accident-prone.
Learning to control
stress is a life-long process, and it will con
tribute to better health but also to a greater
ability to succeed with one’s goals.
Some students prefer to make a “to-do” list.
“When I get overwhelmed, especially when I am
studying, I make a list of all the things I have to accom
plish,” said Katie Dove, a junior marketing major. “1 do this
so I can allocate my time better, and when I finish things, they
get crossed off my list so that I feel
much more productive.”
There are stress-management pro
grams to help students develop meth
ods to manage their stress. Student
Counseling Services will hold a
“Beat the Hell Outta Stress!” man
agement program Wednesday
from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the
Memorial Student Center Flag
Room and Rudder Fountain
area. The program will include an
information segment, a question
answer panel and a free screening for
anxiety disorders.
The Website states that some evi
dence exists that stress-management
and
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programs reduce the risk of heart
problems by up to 75 percent in peo
ple with heart disease.
Some students emphasize leader
ship activities to avoid stress.
“What makes me stressed is the
thought of a test coming up and putting
off studying until the day before,” said
Nick Luton, a senior civil engineering
major. “I deal with it when 1 realize
there is a lot more you can leam from
college than what you get out of a book.
Stuff that will make you a better person
in whatever you do and that if you build
yourself up in leadership roles, then
that time is much better spent than
putting your nose in a book.”
The Website said that cognitive-behavioral
methods are effective ways to reduce stress.
This includes identifying sources of stress,
restructuring priorities, changing one’s
response to stress and finding methods for man
aging and reducing stress.
This is accomplished by first identifying the worst
possible outcomes of a project. For example, a major is
paper is due and the day before, the student’s computer
crashes. Students should rate the like
lihood of this outcome happening. It
is not very likely the computer will
randomly crash. Students should
envision the favorable result of turn
ing the paper in early and receiving
an ‘A.’ Then, students can devel
op a specific plan to achieve the
‘A’ on the paper or any other
positive outcome.
Freshmen who never have
experienced managing time on
their own need help in realizing
the importance of starting assign
ments early. Freshman architecture
major April Schneider said she wishes
she knew what lie ahead when she
arrived at Texas A&M.
“I had no idea the scale of studying required when arriv
ing at school,” Schneider said. “But now, I have pin-pointed
how to maintain satisfying grades which will help me have a
successful college career.”
Student Counseling Services employees are ready to
assist students who need someone to talk to or advice.
Dr. Andrew Smith, associate director of counsel
ing, believes that most of the stress is caused from
time pressures students create
for themselves.
“One of the challenges
students face, especially
freshmen, is how to manage
their time,” Smith said. “Planning
ahead and managing time will help
to reduce the stress. Another thing
that helps is learning how to take care
of yourself and acquiring healthy
habits, such as a sufficient amount of
sleep and a well balanced diet. It also
is very important to recognize and
predict when something is stressful
and turn it into positive; keeping
these things in mind should
help a student to maintain a
great semester.”
AMEY BHAN • THE BATTALION
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Open 3:00 p.m. -1:00 a.m. Everyday
693-4136
120 Walton Dr.
Eastgate Across from Main Entrance to Texas A&M
Is Colleoe Life
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Screen in q Program
, .r mm h&m Ueiversfty
October 3 r 2001 4:00-6:00 p.m.
MSC Room 226
uro
Da Fat Rat Wit Da Cheeze
Atlantic Records
Lil’O is the rapper who
“comes knee-drunk, ice-grilled,
flexin' a flame.” He is straight
out of Houston, or affectionate
ly, H-Town. The first track lets
people know they are listening
to “Da fat rat wit da cheeze."
This track is somewhat typical of
rap albums. It defines his
prowess and lets listeners know
he is controlling the box and that
he shuts it down.
The second track, “The
Throwdest,” is nothing special
and has some not-so-nice things
to say about women.
At this point, listeners can skip
ahead to “Beg, Steal and
Borrow." This is the bass power
house of the album. Beyond
that, it is a lament about the cor
rupt world and how he must “do
what I got to, cause who is
gonna feed me?"
These types of songs are all
over the rap scene. It is reminis
cent of Tupac's “Changes." The
song talks about a horrible
street situation, and Lil’O tells
the kids, “If you ain't in these
streets, stay the f-k away from
these streets because these
streets are nothing to play with;
you feel me?"
This track is sad, and Lil’O
begs the question, “What hap
pened to the rules of the Lord?
‘Thou shall not kill,’ Thou shall
not steal.’ ’’ Then Lil’O exclaims,
“We need to pray to Christ ...
cause I know everybody’s tryin’
to get ’em some wealth ...
always got the plan, but the plan
always fails, and we always end
up dead or in jail."
Clearly this is an inspired
track that carries political under
tones and is socially identifiable.
Next, listeners hear the lines
that ha\|e been grooving crowds
all sumffler, “Back, bajfk. Back,
back, llrnme 50 felt." This
song is an instant hit. Songs like
this crop up once in a while in
the Bryan-College Station area
and are usually from Houston.
This is Lif Troy’s “Wanna Be a
Balia" from 1999, Lif Flip’s “I
Can Do That” from 2000 or St.
Lunatics “Midwest Swing" from
last spring. These songs fill the
dance floors, and everybody will
be moving their head to the snap
of the snare. The best part is the
bridge at 2:47. There is a pro
longed hum in the background,
and Lil’ 0 begins, “I keep my
game face on when I’m ridin’ on
chops ... lookin’ like a snail
crawlin' slow through the lot.”
Throughout, this is a solid
album with plenty of hits for
dancing, cruising or just mack-
ing, with driving beats and nice
flow via Lil’O, H-Town represen
tative. (Grade: A)
— Kevin Burns
Static-X
Machine
Warner Bros. Music
Static-X rushes into a Pantera-
like furor on the first track, “Bien
Venidos.” In the tradition of
Ministry and Sepultura, lyrics
are indecipherable and come
out as caveman ono
matopoeias: grunt, urgh, ger-
rahh, ahurh.
Everything about this album is
hardcore and relentless.
Listeners may want to break
something — a television, a car
window or their own thumb.
There are nihilistic forces under
pinning the bar cords and
upbeat 128 beats-per-minute
drumming. The bridges, howev
er, are softer.
Some listeners may have trou
ble handling the dark tones
spawned, no doubt, from a
murky self-existence. But, this is
quite possibly a first CD choice
for a short roadtrip to Austin or
Dallas. With “This is Not” blar
ing in the background, listeners
may find themselves thinking, “I
an von
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