E BATlAn
>ar with f 0r i
iikes on the
; of the lu
ities.
n Nook to;
1 this jobasi
ral Rudder. '
1 a non-act
nd basicalh'
' Universin
made thei
iatory, i
till keeping
in place!
I be done.ai
s ee if Icaij
is that I
Aggielife
The Battalion
Page 3 • Thursday, A ugust 1,
t with wkl
has degree'
d William
Universin
rved as the
ie George
ovemmen
from 1999
udents st>
student u
Jency.
is relative
e will be
ssions with
dammond
it interest o!:
art. I doni:
rquires gtx
tudents experienceHialian culture while
participating in the stiidy abroad program
dential $e;
the meetir
he three mi
■nee in all®:
»ing Univenj
•itten about:?
lis seledio-
; on improi.
and researdi
research exce
eriences in thi
cQe^tysMd 1
ie has tki
ised tl
ms.
' or gradua
to each loci
campuses
ti. Kingsvl
ently offer
hool, SRf
dents, Dors
come straif
•ogram, wlrj
with 15 to.
id. “The J
mid-60s.
tude!
7650
By Vanessa Gill
THE BATTALION
An array of study abroad programs are acces-
ible for students each semester. One increasing
ly popular program at Texas A&M is the sum
mer trip to Italy.
Seventy Aggies embarked on a study abroad
ourney to Italy during the first summer school
session, beginning May 24 and concluding on
July 3. The students, with an eclectic mix of
majors ranging from architecture to internation-
â–  al studies to journalism, lost their specific major
inhibitions and thrived when given the opportu
nity to study Italian music, art, archeology and
politics in their most pure settings in the quaint
medieval town of Castiglion Fiorentino.
Students were given a choice of three classes:
a music history class that allowed them to see an
opera in Verona, a rock art dating class that pro
vided a trip to see a prehistoric iceman in
Bolzano, or a political science class that con
trasted the differences between Italian and
American politics and brought in guest lecturers
for the students. The students were also required
to take a mandatory art history class that would
take them to famous churches and museums.
The students did most of their art research on
day trips to various surrounding cities as well as
spending mornings in the on-site classrooms at
Santa Chiara.
According to Sharon Jones, program coordi
nator at Santa Chiara, the program has been giv
ing study abroad students an innovative cultural
and learning experience since June 1989, when
A&M opened the Santa Chiara Study Center.
However, professor Paolo Barucchieri has pro
vided art history classes for A&M in Italy since
1%2. Barucchieri is also the director of Santa
Chiara and Italart, the non-profit cultural organ-
fZStion that administers services and activities at
thz study center.
The center’s other event coordinators. Garnet
Gott and Amanda Ross, put together a packed
program, sending students to Florence, Rome,
Siena, Assisi, Perugia and Venice.
Students were able to view the actual
“David” by Michaelangelo, and had an opportu
nity to gaze at the Sistine Chapel while visiting
the Vatican Museum. The group saw several
churches and museums adorned in art only pre
viously seen in books. Most weekends were left
free for students to plan their own adventures.
According to Katie Manship, a junior education
major, those free weekends had many students
fleeing for the beaches of the Italian Riviera.
Others endured a long train ride followed by a
ming
ferry and a bus ride up a winding hill to
see the shores of the breathtaking
island of Capri.
Throughout the overwhelm
ing experience, the students kept
journals of the places they vis
ited and the art they wit
nessed. Farah Chavez, a sen
ior international stud
ies major, found out
the Pope was speak
ing on theday the
class would be at the
Vatican museum in
Rome and organized an
alternative class trip for
those interested.
While all the learning
was being recorded in
school journals, other expe
riences were being record
ed in personal journal
entries.
“I am sitting in St. Peters
Square in the Vatican City
waiting to see the Pope,”
Chavez wrote in her journal.
“We got here around 9:15 and actu
ally got seats up close. We didn’t have to buy tick
ets or anything.”
Chavez, an art enthusiast, said she was learn
ing many interesting things about Italian art and
the different time periods, having so much fun
during school it seemed like a vacation.
Since students were in class or on day trips in
the morning, they would find themselves with
free time to relax and enjoy the beauty of the
Italian countryside or to take advantage of the
chance for a siesta. Also during down time,
many students would surrender to the solace and
simply update their journals of that day’s sights
and stories.
Nicole Ajutala, a senior computer science major,
recalls some of her most memorable moments.
“I went to a small town called Padova all by
myself after our class trip to Venice,” Ajutala
said. It was there she recalls there was no shop
ping, which many students sought on their free
weekends. Ajutala just wanted to take in the
scenery of the Italian college town that had not
yet been tainted by tourists.
“I was giddy there,” Ajutala said. “I could
feel the romanticism.”
She remembers there being no cars and the
feel of the extremely laid-back atmosphere.
She also took a trip to the Giotto Scrovegni
Chapel while in Padova, on her own time, and
saw the famous frescoes by the Italian painter,
Giotto.
“I walked in and saw the painting
of ‘The Last Judgement’ in front and a
painting of Jesus and God above and
that was it — the chapel was stripped of
everything else.”
She also visited Bo Palace, the sec
ond oldest college in Italy. It is
also the alma mater of the first
woman doctor. Although she
wasn’t ready to be back in
College Station yet, Ajutala
did appreciate returning
home.
Upon arriv-
ing back in the
LUKE CARNEVALE • THE BATTALION
States, stu
dents shared
their stories
and pictures
with friends
and family.
Although their
once in a lifetime
experiences have
concluded, they are
still able to re-live
the memories in
their journals and
reminisce on the relaxed
atmosphere in Italy.
“It is nice to know stores and
businesses are always open here in
America, but part of me was really
beginning to get used to just loung
ing in a cafe on the Italian coun
tryside in the lazy afternoons,”
Chavez said.
OPEN
mmm
m
MTUEMY
NOW
OPEN!
NO COVER
FOR LADIES
21 AND OVER
mime fan
mm
pmtes. book
YOURS TOW
$1.00
CALL IT
ALL NIGHT
THURSDAT/FRIDAV
ladiesnights
AUGUSTisr
$1.00
UNTIL 11PM
USO LONGNEOCS
ALL NIGHT
NO COVER FOR UDIES 21 AND OVER
k J
WEDNESDAY
$i.5o
mmm
Til 11pm
NO COVER
FOR LADIES
TIL 11PM
THE RI
CO
-8599 FOR AAOREr INJFO
Got Insurance?
for Students and Theirut-
'TVio
' HEAI S^w N Sm^ rS1TY
* —.T E UNIVERSITY
te xas ^.eoe station
TEXAS A&M UNWER® coM MERCE
TEXAS
TEXAS AAM . CORPUS CHRISTI
TEXAS AAM U^R^. galV ESTON
, TEXAS A&M U ^^ rsitY . KINGSVILLE
* TEXA ! university - texarka*''
K=>1 A *
UNIVERSITY
Contact us at (800) 452-5772
or via email at
office@a-i-p-i.com or
visit the web site:
www.associatedinsuranceplans.com/TA&M_System.htm