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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 17, 2002)
AGGlEj rH F- bait* igeant preseii A(.CIELIFE THE BATTALION 5A Tuesday, September 17, 2002 Making that dollar v erS ifc^5 fi n d creative ways of making fast cash By Lizette Resendez the battalion XN[ ^ cm A., When the plectromcs, guns, slot machines and ica contestant r ' n 8 s are aniong the many items the runway noth ta l en * nto P awn shops, according to Rob they will repre the district manager at College cross-sectior Station Pawn. ‘■ a in acompentK y ot everything from the $5 item to -ver been a moi the eouple of thousand dollar items,” veness. -^p^Biitlock said. “Anything from jewelry, s Alaska ^ toils, musical instruments and appli- an in an j. antes.” t. Miss South Di ' Whitlock said 50 percent of his cus- ^ 5honbull isiL, toners are students looking for fast cash. Miss Delaware' A We're designed for short-term loans. Parekh is 0 f [Sfudents| vs ith roommate problems, stu- t Six contestaa dents who need weekend money, or ’be comp; maney for books and tuition,” Whitlock and >ind lamly. it ii> c. but then a has nocr te i anything.wfe sty les. fashwiitt. ?lsc.“ said Ai a former pt ind author of : The Drear . hosted by a bba said. "Maybe their friend got a little ram- thc first timeevf bunctious last night and they need to get tnulticulturabe him [out of jail].” ly recent foeicp i For those who need a little more than v ent that fornxr; weekend cash, Whitlock said some stu- excluded m dints have been willing to pawn their Aggie ring. However, he said there are many laws that prevent thieves from binging in stolen rings. ■ "The only way we take [Aggie rings] is f it has your name on it,” Whitlock said. ”A wife can’t bring in her hus band’s.” I Whitlock said the laws change every year, and the police obtain a copy of every item brought into pawn shops. ■ "If you bring in something that's not yours, they’re gonna find you,” Whitlock said. “We have cameras and your signature.” I Eighty percent of Whitlock’s cus tomers pay back their loan and retrieve their items. Like many of Whitlock's cus tomers, students looking for a little extra cash have found other unique ways to earn extra dough. I Tressia Carr, a program analyst at the USDA, decided to keep her belongings and put her typing skills to work instead. I “I needed the extra money,” Carr said, ‘f yping is something I really enjoy, something that comes easy to me,” Carr said. I Carr has been advertising her typing skills for three months and has since typed up papers on civil engineering, chemistry and biology. Carr said her clients simply give her their written pages and she types up their final product, which may be put into different journal formats. Her longest paper was 50 pages long. E Carr, who typically types 80 words per minute, has had repeat customers among students and professors due to her accura- c> and speed. I “1 guess it’s probably frustrating because they’re not familiar enough with word processing or their speed is just not up,” Carr said. “They want to get it done faster than they actually can do it.” it started i] post-Labor Dr tint un the A ardwalk. the Pageant has&i >r diversity. 1950s, Ruk" it contract . nils must be d of ttx‘ whjlTi > were cuiit s. too. first half of 3. pageant use s to chaflfc around tw* rre barred fr '■ i the fire .kp: gratingmiftr/^ roke that fowl started doing it. pleased when Miss Amenta* but m the (»• an. it wasicff- !e for blacks to? said fr orth. a kT of the NAAb ity chapter. , Cheryl Bn** 1 '' me the par- :ontestant. W' Vanessa 'Mb’ y as the first b crowned Jennifer Sigler, a senior modern lan guages major, offers her skills in German and Spanish to students who need help in their classes. Sigler, who spent two years in Germany, received three phone calls after having posted her ads for only 30 minutes. Sigler said she has been fascinated by foreign languages since she was young. “When 1 was a little kid I would hear people speaking different languages, I would think it sounded like a secret code and I thought that was really cool,” Sigler said. Sigler, who was originally a photogra phy and graphic design major at a West Virginia college, decided to transfer to Texas A&M after realizing she could obtain a degree in modern languages. She has since studied Spanish for four years and German for three years. “When 1 started taking Spanish I real ized that 1 wanted to be able to express myself in different languages and read books in those languages,” Sigler said. She now charges $15 an hour but said she is willing to work extra hard for those who need extra attention and is also will ing to lower her price for students with financial aid. “If somebody is only on grants and scholarships then I’ll lower the price for them, or they can bring another friend, and I’ll tutor them both for $15 and they can split the cost,” Sigler said. Sigler said she enjoys giving students in a large university the extra attention they need to learn a foreign language. “I have one girl who needs it at least three times a week,” Sigler said. “Classes at a state university are so large, people really need one-on-one attention. They JOSH DARWIN* THE BATTALION need people to explain everything in detail.” While Sigler helps people increase their mental ability, David Bailey helps increase their plasma supply. Bailey, a sophomore general studies major, has donated plasma about 10 times. “I had a friend of mine tell me about it, and I saw the stupid commercial,” Bailey said. “So 1 began donating during the summer. Now I just go back whenever I can.” Bailey said the first time he donated, he was given $15 and every time after that, his payment was increased by $5 increments. Despite many students’ reservations about needles and blood, Bailey said he has not had any bad experiences while donating plasma. “A lot of people are scared of doing it because they think it’s a painful proce dure," Bailey said. "But it’s just like giv ing blood, except you get paid for it. The people that work there are very cool and it’s a relaxing atmosphere, but they’re still very professional and I haven’t had a bor ing experience. They keep me entertained. It’s not nerve-wrecking anymore.” Bailey now tries to donate blood twice a week. However, he warns that some donors may become vulnerable to alco holic beverages and strenuous activities. “After you give plasma you can drink one beer and be drunk,” Bailey said. “I felt fine the first time I gave. I went and played volleyball, but it’s different for different people.” Since Bailey began donating, several of his friends have decided to join him. “My friends think it’s a pretty cool and easy way to get money,” Bailey said. Lab Solutions quantumcow.com Chemi stry/Organic/Physics 260-COWS /^ E< % Redefine Your World Today 37 Aggies are serving. Are you next? Talk to former Volunteer & TAMU Recruiter Dr. Nelson Jacob at the TAMU Career Center, Koldus Bldg, Room 209: • Monday and Wednesday, 3 to 4:30 p.m. • Tuesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. • Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. • or call (979) 862-7966 or e-mail peacecorps@tamu.edu Stop by the Peace Corps Information Table on Tuesday, September 17, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Engineering Career Fair, inside the Reed Arena. www.peacecorps.gov • 1-800-424-8580 ENTS IS to ton FBC www.aggieministries.org Sundays ■ 9:00 a.m. Shuttle Bus pick up {Fish Pond, Commons, Quad) ■ 9:30 a m. Contemporary Worship/College ONE Bible study ■ 10:-55 a.m. Blended Worship/College TWO Bible study • 8 p.m. Chapel (I: TAMU All Faiths Chapel Ct rm a tio p Wednesdays ■ 8 p.m. High Points Bible study Thursdays • 11-1 pm. Lunch Bunch @ 12th Man Cafeteria — Got First Yell? TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW MSC BOX OFFICE, REED ARENA, TKKETMASTER Hungry? Fill vour bellv and vour brain. Dinner Discussions You and six other students meet at a professor's home three Sunday evenings during the semester to discuss current events over dinner. APPLICATIONS ARE ONLINE AT: CONVERSATIONS.TAMU.EDU due: 9/20/02 For additional information contact us at conversations@msc.tamu.edu Qulzno's, subs CIAffSICK Tuesday * & r hur St i ny , s BUY ONE REG. or LARGE COMBO GET ONE FREE Of equal or lesser value - after 4:00 p.m. Not valid with any other offer or coupon. Dine in only. 110 College Main 846-7000 This store not affiliated with Texas Avenue location. NOW AVAILABLE FOR THE 1 st TIME! SATELLITE TV P for EVERY ROOM OF your house Connect Up To 4 TVs, One Low, Upfront Cost did? 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