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The Battalion
Page 3 • Thursday, July 29, 2004
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ifter leading 2 y 000 cadets, commanders say student leadership of Corps crucial
By Teresa Weaver
THE BATTALION
When students first join the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets as
ffeshmen, they are the lowest-ranking cadets, without any privi-
ijses. With most of their freshman year consisting of blindly fol-
v ijwing orders, the idea of being in charge themselves may never
doss their minds.
In fact, every year a senior cadet is chosen as Corps commander,
rjsponsible for overall command of the organization. Maj. Joseph
“ )oc” Mills of the Office of the Commandant said the commander
lercises command authority over the entire 2,000 members of the
dorps of Cadets with the help of 26 upperclassmen in Corps staff.
Jiey help the commander with recruiting, training, discipline and
olher responsibilities expected of any command. Mills said.
I After leaving A&M, most cadets go on to bigger and better
tlings, and former commanders agreed that the leadership skills
tl ey adopted as commander helped them later in life.
I Mike Gentry, Class of ‘78, was the Corps commander his
senior year. He was a cadet in 1-1 with an Army contract and went
law school at the University of Texas before becoming a JAG
icer for the military.
Most people see the Corps as authoritarian,” Gentry said. “Just
ecause you are Corps commander and you tell your senior bud-
es they’ve got to change the way they do business, that doesn’t
ean they’ll do it.”
Gentry is now a lawyer and has lived in College Station for the
st 15 years with his family. Being so close to the campus, Gentry
8»»s been able to watch the Corps change through the years.
“In some ways A&M has changed and in other ways it hasn’t
■lianged at all,” Gentry said. “Anything done for three or four
[ears becomes a tradition and most students think it’s been
oing on forever.”
As Corps commander, Gentry helped start Corps traditions like
arch to the Brazos in the spring and Freshman Orientation Week
the week before school starts in the fall.
1 “The biggest job of the commander is representing the Corps
jothe rest of the student body and administration of Texas A&M,”
jentry said. “The Bill of Rights for cadets is the right to have time to
tudy, sleep and eat. If those things are true, the rest comes easy.”
Matthew Poling, Class of ‘90, was a member of Squadron 10
efore becoming Corps commander in the fall of 1990. Poling
elped create the Fish Review at the end of the FOW week and
Iso helped start the annual Corps/Fraternity baseball game in
e spring.
meirl
31.
skiecii:
“The Corps commander should have fun with his job,”
Poling said, “but at the same time recognize the impact his
job performance will have on current and future cadets.
You are the first among equals and you must have a vision
of what you want to do to be successful.”
Poling went on to medical school and now is a family
practice physician in College Station. Although he went on
to hold other leadership positions such as president of his
medical school class, he said nothing was really as chal
lenging as being commander for one year.
Poling said the changes being made by the current
commandant, Lt. General John Van Alstyn'e, are good
for the Corps.
“The new commandant is completely on the right track
as far as what he is trying to do with leadership develop
ment,” Poling said. “The changes I have seen in a year and
a half have been very positive.”
Weldon Kruger, Class of ‘53, is another former com
mander who has made College Station his home. Kruger
was Corps commander his senior year when the campus
was still called the Agricultural and Mechanical College
of Texas and all students were required to be a part of the
Corps of Cadets.
“Being Corps commander was an intense experience,”
Kruger said. “You are charged with a lot of things. You
need to have intelligence, a good personality and integrity
to be a good commander.”
Kruger was a member of Squadron 10 and received
a master’s in petroleum engineering before joining the
Air Force. He is now retired and has lived in College
Station for the past 15 years. He works with the Corps
Development Council at A&M to help raise funds for the
Corps of Cadets.
Kruger said one of the most important differences
between the A&M Corps of Cadets and other military
academies around the nation is that A&M students have
a major role in running the organization.
“I have visited other military academies and the cadets
there can’t run their own affairs because they are over
looked too closely by professional personnel,” he said.
Poling agreed that having students run the Corps is
crucial.
“There might be more mistakes made, but the purpose
of the Corps is to develop your leadership opportunities,”
Poling said. “To do things imperfectly is what makes it a
great training center.”
Top: Dr. Matthew Poling at Scott
and White Clinic; above right: Mike
Gentry, an attorney, at his office;
above left: Weldon Kruger at his
home in College Station.
Brian Wills • THE BATTALION
EEL-T
Ashlee Simpson
Autobiography
Geffen Records
Review by Carrie Pierce
On Ashlee Simpson’s debut album “Autobiography,” rather
lian try to copy her pop princess sister Jessica, the 19-year-old
I oes for an edgier pop punk sound. At times, however, it seems as
— i she is almost trying too hard to sound like Shirley Manson or
M lourtney Love. Crooning about boyfriends, flirting and her child-
ood, Ashlee’s sound and lyrics aren’t as mature as these veteran
hick rockers, which makes the title of her album almost ironic,
'erhaps she should have saved the title “Autobiography” for her
lird or fourth album, if she’s lucky enough to make it that far.
Vith 12 songs she co-wrote, it’s also questionable whether this is
eally her autobiography.
. With her regular role on the show “7th Heaven” and her own real-
^ ty show that chronicles the making of this album, Ashlee has gone
bout her path to stardom in a slightly reversed way in comparison to
ier sister. In Ashlee’s song “Shadow,” she sings “I was living in the
shadow of someone else’s dream,” but this rising star is definitely
no longer living in the shadow of Jessica. The 19-year-old said in an
MTV interview, “We’re into totally different bands and artists.” The
album has the same producer as Sheryl Crow, Michele Branch and
Alanis Morissette, providing for the mix of rock, punk and pop.
“Surrender” sounds like a Garbage B-side; “Giving It All Away”
is a slower version of a Hole song, and “Shadow” is a pop ballad
that Jessica would probably be more comfortable singing. At times
Ashlee even crosses into Avril Lavigne territory with her slightly
angst-filled songs. The album is basically a mix of every woman
rocker from the past 10 years mimicked by a singer who might be
more respectable once she finds her own style.
The most original and powerful song on the album is the first
single, “Pieces of Me,” which steals the show with catchy lyrics that
sound like they might actually be Ashlee’s creation. It is less moody
than the rest of the album and a lot calmer. Singing “I can hardly
catch my breath, I hope it lasts/ It seems like I can finally rest my
head on something real,” the song offers a breather from the rest of
the album’s throatier singing.
The only time the album is autobiographical is on “Shadow”
where she bemoans that she’s “living in a nightmare” because her
big sister became a star first. Throughout the entire song she com
plains about her “broken life,” confusing one at the end by scream
ing “don’t feel sorry for me.”
In “La La,” Ashlee unconvincingly coaxes her lover to do
naughty things in the kitchen, the back of the bus, on the floor and
on airplanes. Maybe Ashlee is playing the rebellious little sister card
a little too hard.
Although slightly juvenile, a little too whiney at times and not
very original sounding, “Autobiography” still has redeeming quali
ties for when you are driving with the windows down and belting
out lyrics. This is the perfect album to purchase after failing a test,
breaking up with a boyfriend or when your blonde bombshell sister
makes it bigger than you ever will. a a a \ a
ATake it stop, my ears are bleeding!!
Don't waste your hard drive space
*#§&> Download it
wwwuv Burn your friend's copy
Spend the dough, buy your own
Buy it, burn it, tell a friend
iyj&V- - x'- - ■
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