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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 12, 2003)
THE BATTALlj ildren inued from page i-generation firefighter. \s heartbreaking and warming when you ;ay, ‘My father, my mo: int,”’ said Betsy Part? me, N.J., whose bro: t was killed. “What’s he strength and resiliej ne family memberc ands to scoop up din I ; as a keepsake, slippr gs and empty water bo: my, it may provide thei their lost relatives; aut timate the remains of is 1,000 victims may te it i tied. crowd of thoiisi- ed a moment of silene Aggielife The Battalion Page 3A • Friday, September 12, 2003 From the outside driving in Commuter students face long distance challenges in pursuit of their degrees By Katie Wigginton THE BATTALION Sabahat Gulam wakes up at 8 a.m. She has packed her car the night before to save time. She has to leave soon or a sea of traffic wil1 lengthen her day. Every Monday morning, as she says good bye to her husband, Gulam embarks on a weekly three hour drive to Texa A&M in pursuit of a diploma An alarm goes of at 6:30 a.m Michelle Hook crawls out of bed and gets dressed in time ly fashion. Her first sched uled job is getting her son, Sammy, off to day care by 7:30 a.m. After kissing her husband goodbye. Hook is off to a job she loves almost as much as her family. .‘d into the North Towa sunset, two light be; ig skyward were to id on, evoking the imap: in Towers. remembrance exteoj yond lower Manha:: iters in Chicago joinec nent of silence, w i Milwaukee. el iued from page 'avid Dew'hurst after is used to stymie re; during the first spe, y seemed wan ' arguments in light ast month by the Juste nent that the Vot Act provision on gee jproval of changes^ npact minority vee t apply in this case, panel also seemed cat with an argument 1 Solicitor General It; .■presenting Republic ;, that the Democre court too soon bee® tricting has takenpte ■re has been no clef Nothing has been i uz said. m, English as a e, special educate® math and science pr.| 'ill also be implemeoie| College of ScietK set to gain 70newfac >ers within the nextt a major recipient ofc hirings, on said the he problem within; ent of enrollffi ig as faculty numb ge of Architecture ft- is Regan said five oft faculty members n in the fall of 2004. will not only int® ■nee of these special!# t they will also impiw Ity-to-student ratio,”;:; Bush School ent & Public Seru orized eight new po- r the next three year' lich will help ture programs, programs dealing w cement of internal® iblic service and ad® vill help the schools status,” said Richard dean of the ; calls the plan to a* a forward for A&M. will only happen oit; :hree lifetimes,”Ada ich is very exciting 8ATTAL10! ommer Hamilton Editor in Chief SN #1055-4726) is publish#;' i Friday during the fall and spi? donday through Thursday durinff' i (except University holidays it Texas A&M University. Perio# College Station, IX 77840. PO? address changes to 7he SaffiK rsity, 1111TAMU, College Statt’ ion news department is managet- ; A&M University in the Divisio' a unit of the Department' offices are in 014 Reed McD# om phone: 845-3313: Fa*: news@thebattalion.net; Web f- ittalion.net ication of advertising does not in indorsement by The BaltalU^ id national display advertising,!; assified advertising, call 845-# > are in 015 Reed McDonald, t- 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday thffi' 678. part of the Student Services^ s A&M student to pick up a 0 ion. First copy free, additional# ations are $60 per school yeaiA ig semester, $17.50 for tires# ith. To charge by Visa, Mastetf :an Express, call 845-2611. Commuter stu dents and faculty sacrifice more than their fair share to roam and work on the A&M’s campus. Some commute for the chance to receive well- deserved diplomas, while others commute in hopes of fulfilling their career goals. Either way, commuters to College Station endure a harder lifestyle than most to get to Aggieland for class every day . “I don’t know which one to call home,” said Gulam, a senior math major, who drives from Richardson, Texas, to sprint off the finishing 21 hours she needs to graduate. While sharing an apartment with two other room mates in College Station and a hus band in another apartment in Richardson, she said she can “feel the separation when everyday decisions need to be made.” Gulam lived on campus in Spence Hall for her first three years of college. Gulam recalls easy moments of walking to class in five minutes, anticipating the thrill of football games and every thing else that accom modates the typical Aggie experience. Now, Gulam’s experiences are anything but typical. She drives into College Station on Monday, her Tuesdays and Thursdays are spent in an endless chain of classrooms and she gets back late Thursday night to catch up with her husband, whom she has not seen in three days. Hook, along with her husband and son, reside in Bastrop, and she makes the hour-long commute everyday. “1 do feel like the outsider of the College Station community,” said Hook, a postdoctoral researcher from the psychology depart ment. “I wish I did more stuff with the people 1 work with in College Station.” u I still miss hearing about all the activities and taking part in the camaraderie. It just meant more to he with the community. Not all Aggies who commute drain a full tank of gas each time they need to attend class. Justin Kling, a senior business management major, was born and raised in College Station and currently lives beyond the south side of town. “I was always just the observer of the Aggie community but knew it was the school for me,” Kling said. Even though Kling has associated with the Aggie community since birth, he took it a step further and lived on campus to get even more involved in the realm of Aggieland. He lived in Cain and Hotard Halls for a semester apiece. “My parents wanted me to experience dorm life, and I loved it,” Kling said. “I found that I would vote in student elections more and become more involved on campus because 1 would hear about them through the dorms.” Eventually, living on campus and experiencing the other educa tion proved academically nega tive for Kling and his grades suf fered as a result. After trials of living in a duplex and private dorm, he realized that living at home was the best decision to improve his academic standing. “I feel 1 made the right deci sion at the right time, but I do still miss hearing about the activities and taking part in the camaraderie,” he said. “It just meant more to be with the community.” Such camaraderie that makes Kling and other Aggies beam is already an Old Army memory for Gulam. “I would like to go to the football games and show my husband what A&M is like,” she said. “But classes are the only thing to think about now.” In Hook’s perspective, balancing the roles of teacher, wife and mother, and not particularly in that order, is all about manageability. “I make the time for friends, and my family always comes first,” she said. Gulam smiles and still remains optimistic, hoping to find a sense of community in her new routine as a traveling Aggie. would like to meet more commuters to share common dia logue,” she said. Even though she still drives alone, Gulam gets home to her Richardson apartment and feels that her drive was worth it because it will ultimately mean receiving a diploma, with her name under the A&M seal. — Justin Kling senior business management major Discounted TAMU faculty/staff ticket prices made possible by TIAA-CREF.