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Aggielife
The Battalion Page 3 • Tuesday, June 4, 2002
Geronimo!
By Lindsey Sage
THE BATTALION
Not many people would consider jumping out of
a 100 mph airplane at an altitude of 1,300 feet “nor
mal,” but for Carol George, a junior recreation,
park, and tourism science major, skydiving is a
craving that she satisfies almost every weekend.
“You get to the point where you don’t think
that you are jumping out of a plane,” George said.
Although she had always held an interest in
skydiving, George did not become active in the
sport until college.
“1 went with my roommate to MSC
Openhouse, and we got flyers for the Aggie
Skydivers,” George said. “She begged me to go
to the informational with her and that pretty
much won us over.”
George, who now serves as president of the
Aggie Skydivers, said the organization is labeled
as a social organization. The purpose is to pro
mote and educate the community about skydiv
ing, not to teach one how to skydive. Depenciing
upon the jump technique one chooses to use, a
potential jumper must endure anything from a
brief run-through to an eight-hour course from
the jump site.
George made the first of her 250 jumps at
Coulter Field the same day of a plane crash that
killed five skydivers.
“At first 1 was really excited.” George said.
“Then, in the plane, I started to get scared. 1
remember sitting there and 1 looked at my jump-
master and asked, ‘Am 1 supposed to be this
scared?’ He said, ‘You’re about to jump out of
an airplane, if you weren’t scared something
would be wrong with you.’”
Almost three years after that first skydive,
George is still jumping strong.
“It is my passion,” George said. “I feel that
everyone has something they just love, and
that’s what skydiving is for me,” George said.
“You’re so free, especially when you get up on
your skill level.”
Many people hold the misconception that
skydiving is just about jumping out of an air
plane, but, according to George, there is much
more to it.
“You have to learn to fly your body and move
in the air. There are so many different things you
can do,” George said. “It depends on what kind
of jump you do. The ones that are mainly used
here are static line, AFF (accelerate free fall)
and tandem.”
Static line is when one jumps individually
and the parachute deploys automatically. In
AFF, one experiences about 40 seconds of free
fall under the instruction of two jumpmasters.
In tandem, which is most beginners’ choice, the
jumper is strapped to the jumpmaster during
the fall.
According to Todd Spillers, owner of Skydive
Aggieland, the list never ends because there is
always something different you can do. He also
adds free flying, relative work (RW), skyboard
ing, and canopy relative work (CReW) to the list.
“A lot of people have misconceptions about’
it,” Spillers said. “They imagine the round para
chutes and think that you land like a sack of
potatoes, which is far from the truth. There are
risks involved, but, statistically, you have a
higher chance of dying driving out there then
you do jumping.”
Spillers, who became hooked to skydiving
after his first jump six years ago, recently
reopened the drop zone after he noticed the
tremendous support for it this past year. With the
increased interest for skydiving in the area,
Spillers said he not only gets his business from
students, but from “all walks of life.”
Michelle Nicol, a junior animal science
major, remembers walking out to the wing for
her first jump and seeing the sun behind the tip.
“It was gorgeous,” Nicol said. “I really don’t
remember anything after that though.”
Nicol was first attracted to skydiving because
it was something different. After she took her
first jump two years ago, she discovered that it
file photo • THE BATTALION
truly was a different world.
“It is a different world when you are falling by
the clouds. It is so relaxing,” Nicol said. “I still get
nervous and get butterflies in my stomach when I
go up, but the second I jump, it is all gone.”
Recently, Nicol, along with other skydivers from
A&M, participated in the National Collegiate
Championship in Florida where they received sixth
place. With the largest civilian team, A&M com
peted against other colleges a^ well as military
academies.
“There are so many different ways to compete,”
Nicol said.
One way is to form figures with your team in the
air by turning and grabbing onto the other mem
bers. For every figure the team creates in the air,
they receive a point. Another form of competition,
termed CReW, deals with using canopies in the air
to construct various figures.
Nicol said it depends upon the person and the
amount of time he will give to reach a competition
worthy level.
For Nicol, skydiving remains a hobby for now,
but she acknowledges that for many people it is a
way of life.
“It’s a big sport for a lot of people. For jump-
masters it is their life and their job,” Nicol said.
“You don’t really see anyone in between when it
comes to skydiving. They either are scared to death
or on a high and want to do it again. People get
addicted really easy because it is such a high adren
aline rush.”
George encourages anyone contemplating the
possibility of skydiving to try it.
“I would tell anyone who is thinking about it
to definitely do it. After the first jump, you know
if you will ever do it again,” George said. “It is
life changing.”
Music Review
After a moderately successful stint on the now-defunct Untertainment label,
Harlem lyricist Cam’ron became a free agent late last year and was quickly
signed by rapper Jay-Z, who also moonlights as an executive at Roc-A-Fella
Records.
The move surprised some who worried that bad blood might resurface from
Jay’s altercation with Untertainment CEO Lance “Un” Rivera in December 2000
when Jay stabbed Rivera after he allegedly bootlegged his music.
With the release of Cam’ron’s Roc-A-Fella debut, Come Home With Me, it
appears that business has won out over any grudges that may remain. Cam ion
drives this point home on quality tracks like “Welcome To New York City,” (a
duet with Jay-Z) produced by Just Blaze, who’s a regular around the Roc-A-
Fella crew. ,
Equally impressive is the creatively titled “The Roc (Just Fire), a song that
enlists Roc-A-Fella veterans Memphis Bleek and Beanie Sigel. Other notable
tracks include the party anthem “Oh Boy, a sequel to the diug-trafficking story
in the song “Losing Weight Part 2,’ that Cam began on his last album.
Also memorable is the amusing “Stop Calling, a song that linds Cam being
harassed over the phone by the boyfriend of one ol his mistiesses.
Unfortunately, the remainder of the UP suffers trom lushed pioduction and the
overall lack of vision that is becoming a hallmark ot Roc-A-Fella icleases.
While there are the obligatory party joints and hardcore tiacks, the beats as a
whole are inconsistent and leave much to be desired.
“Daydreaming” and “I Just Wanna” lack substance and make lame attempts to
be radio-friendly. “Live My Life (Leave Me Alone)” recycles a 2Pac beat and
enlists Daz but fails to live up to its predecessoi. Dead oi Alive taies slightly
better, but is followed by the horribly annoying “Boy Boy.”
The quickness with which this album was released suggests that many ol the
tracks were possibly throwaways from the last Jay-Z or Beanie Sigel records
Guest appearances by fellow Harlem natives McGruff Jimmy Jones, Juelz
Santana and Freeky Zekey can’t save the album from mediocrity. Fans antici
pating another great Roc-A-Fella LP to follow up The Blueprint may be better
off saving their money for Jay-Z’s next release in November.
° —Gabe Patterson
Full Collapse has been the center of attention in the eclectic post-punk music
scene since its release in late 2001.
With the second full-length release from the boys of Thursday, they have man
aged to provide a blueprint for the future of rock.
Hailing from New Brunswick, N.J., it’s no wonder these guys have gained such
recognition, as the Garden State seems to breed hardcore, punk and emo bands des
tined for stardom. In a music scene where the underlying theme for lyrics revolve
around the elusive guy-girl relationship, Thursday’s song ideas envelop a variety of
thought provoking ideas such as abuse, breaking down social barriers and self eval
uation.
With their first single “Understanding In A Car Crash,” Geoff Rickly, front man
for Thursday, sings about how a particular instance can make you rediscover your
life. He then moves into the song “Concealer,” which deals with the delicate sub
ject of child-abuse and how it can’t go ignored.
It is not only the lyrical content that sets this album apart from everything acces
sible right now.
Musically the band has entered another dimension. With a gaining popularity of
melodic sounds interwoven with riveting screams, Thursday has become the poster
child for a sound which no other band has managed to pull off to the degree
Thursday has.
On the fourth track, “Autobiography of a Nation,” the song is set in motion with
soft guitars and gentle drums, leaving the listener with the anticipation that the song
is on the brink of destruction. In a timely fashion, Rickly crosses the threshold with
aggression that’s strong enough to make your stomach turn.
As Rickly is belting out the lyrics, backing vocals are provided by Tom Schlatter
of the band The Assistant and Joe Darone of the band the Rosenbergs, piercing
through the song creating a meaning that’s ten fold. Needless to say, it’s an ‘on the
edge of your seat’ kind of song.
Thursday’s sweet aggression is apparent throughout the entire CD. If one is look
ing for an album with fresh insight and an uncharted sound, Thursday’s Full
Collapse is a foolproof purchase.
—Lycia Shrum
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