Miki Fan — THE BATTALION

Transfer students face tougher hurdles

As Texas A&M December graduates walked across the stage and received their diplomas, they left behind a place they called home and an empty space in Aggieland that yearned to be filled. This spring that emptiness is packed with new Ags: transfer students.

Transferring into A&M is no easy task. Prospec-tive transfer students are selected through each indi-vidual college and department, while students with the higher grade point ratio and the most courses completed in the Degree Track for the selected ma-jor are given priority.

Transfer students for the spring semester made decisions for A&M early in the fall since the ap-plications were due Oct. 15. Students did not find

out if they were admitted until late November or early December.

The Office of Admissions works to ensure that all students who are prepared to handle the A&M academic environment are given the opportunity to attend the University. The office produces numer-ous initiatives to assist prospective students in the important decision.

The Office of Admissions and Records has the primary responsibility of disseminating admissions information and materials to prospective undergrad-uate students, acting as the catalyst in identifying the students who will be admitted to the University. Texas A&M University is dedicated to the discov-ery, development, communication and application of knowledge in a wide range of academic and pro-fessional fields. [We] are responsible for promoting

the visibility of the University to prospective stu-dents, high school and college counselors and the general public.

The Office of Admissions public relations ini-tiative has caught the attention of numerous trans-fer students, including Molly Tafreshi, a sopho-more who transferred from Blinn College for the spring semester.

“Growing up as a Longhorn fan, I never imag-ined myself attending Texas A&M,” Tafreshi said. “Thankfully, the Aggie Spirit got the best of me, and I am now a proud fightin’ Texas Aggie.”

As with new freshmen, transfer students are given numerous opportunities to get involved and learn what it means to be an Aggie. One of the first

Connie ThompsonThe Battalion

See Transfer on page 6

● monday, january 24, 2011 ● serving texas a&m since 1893 ● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2011 student media

thebattalioncampus news

Fire engulfs Campus View apartments A fi re broke out destroying two apartments and damaging several others early Friday morning at Campus View Apartments at 401 Harvey Road in College Station.College Station Fire Department responded to a report of a fi re at 2:12 a.m. and arrived at the scene at 2:14 a.m. The fi rst responders reported heavy smoke and determined apartment #92 to be the origin of the fi re. Evacuation of all apartment units in the building was carried out and crews able to enter the building established the fi re had spread to theattic area. Flames were contained by 3:45 a.m., but fi re squads remained on scene to continue extinguishing hot spots and to investigate the cause.According to the College Station Fire Marshal’s offi ce, the cause of the fi re was accidental. A freestanding lamp fell over and ignitedthe carpet. There were no reports of civilian injury and one fi refi ghter was treated for exhaustion. A total of 14 residents were displaced due to the damage and are receiving assistance from the College Station Community Action Response Team, the American Red Cross and TAMU Critical Incident Response Team.

Gayle Gabriel, staff writer

Students voice ideas for green fund spending

Ice hockey gears up for postseason

Students and faculty of Texas A&M have the opportunity to present sustainable ideas to the

Aggie Green Fund Advi-sory Board to determine how the $3 green fund paid by each Aggie will be spent.

In the spring of 2010, the $3 charge was imple-mented toward mak-ing the campus more sustainable. The charge was voted in by 57 per-cent support of the student population.

“In the spring of 2010, a consortium of stu-dent organizations led the charge to implement a $3 per fall or spring semester fee or a $1.50 summer semester fee,” said Robbie Chimmino, chairman of the Aggie Green Fund. “This fee will generate approximately $300,000 per aca-demic year for sustainability initiatives.”

Students can present ideas to the Aggie Green Fund Advisory Board to potentially be chosen for projects funded by the Green Fund.

“We are looking for students to come to the Aggie Green Fund as a great way to get their sustainable ideas funded,” Chimmino said. “We are a board of nine members [six students, three faculty and staff] who vote on grant proposals.”

Many Texas universities are implementing proj-ects similar to the Aggie Green Fund. Members of the Aggie Green Fund Advisory Board said they would like to keep A&M at the forefront of the sustainability movement.

“We hope that Texas A&M can continue to be at the forefront of Texas universities imple-menting similar projects, that other Texas school in Austin included,” Chimmino said. “Aggies

Haley LawsonThe Battalion

Submit ideas

To learn how to present your

sustainable idea or to learn about the green

fund itself, visit greenfund.tamuedu. Stephanie Leichtle — THE BATTALION

Students are encouraged to recycle plastic bottles and paper materials in the above bins throughout campus.

See Funds on page 2

environment club sports

Imagine the bone-crushing hits from foot-ball games, the speed and agility of basketball games, the sharp passing seen on the soccer field and the strategic defensive play of base-ball all combined into one team on skates striving to continue making history for Texas A&M. This is the scene of the A&M ice hock-ey club team preparing for another historic postseason run.

Nathan Banks, self-proclaimed big-hitting center and senior engineering technology ma-jor, explained the significance of carrying mo-mentum into the regional tournament. After posting a record of 18-7-0-1 in the first half of this season, the team gained a No. 8 ranking

in the region after an upset of the No. 1 Col-orado State Rams. He said the team thrives on working together and they can count on each other to continue the push to the na-tional tournament of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA).

“We’re pretty confident we’ll be making the trip to the tournament this year, and with a couple wins, we’ll make it to nationals,” Banks said.

Nick Xenakis, right wing and senior engi-neering technology major, expressed the sig-nificance of bonding with teammates off the ice toward manufacturing a premier team. Xenakis, team captain, said teammates study together on road trips, go out to eat together,

Adrian O’Hanlon III Special to the Battalion

voted to get this funding, now we want them to start spending it.”

The projects chosen by the board will receive adequate funding to execute the project. Many examples of projects are recycling programs, access to more local and organic foods and energy efficiency.

“Students can get involved by identifying environmental improvements that could be made on campus, formalizing their ideas and applying for funds to get them enacted. A few examples of projects that other schools’ have funded include energy efficiency improvements, expanding recycling programs, increasing local and organic food options and many more,” said Jason Wagner, statistics graduate student board member and marketing officer.

The fund will be intended to provide envi-ronmental and efficient improvements to the

The Texas A&M ice hockey team will face the University of Texas at 8 p.m. Friday at Chaparral Ice in Austin.

Courtesy photo

See Hockey on page 6

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THE BATTALION (ISSN #1055-4726) is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and Monday through Thursday during the summer session (except University holidays and exam periods) at Texas A&M University. Periodicals Postage Paid at College Station, TX 77840. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, Texas A&M University, 1111 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-1111.

News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in Student Media, a unit of the Division of Student Affairs. News offices are in The Grove, Bldg. 8901. Newsroom phone: 979-845-3313; Fax: 979-845-2647; E-mail: metro@thebatt.com; website: http://www.thebatt.com.

Advertising: Publication of advertising does not imply sponsorship or endorsement by The Battalion. For campus, local, and national display advertising, call 979-845-2696. For classified advertising, call 979-845-0569. Advertising offices are in The Grove, Bldg. 8901, and office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fax: 979-845-2678.

Subscriptions: A part of the Student Services Fee entitles each Texas A&M student to pick up a single copy of The Battalion. First copy free, additional copies $1. Mail subscriptions are $125 per school year. To charge by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express, call 979-845-2613.

Matt WoolbrightEditor in Chief

thebattalion THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT VOICE OF TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893

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fully equipped

3 Identity theftA workshop will

be from 12:45 to 1:45 p.m. Tuesday in room 236 of the Pavilion to help students learn how to protect their identity. For more information, call Money Wise Aggie: 845-3236.

1 Add/dropToday is the last

day to add or drop courses for the spring semester. For more information, contact the Offi ce

of the Registrar at 845-7117 or e-mail

registration@tamu.edu.

2 Money management

A Money Wise workshop will be from 1:50 to 2:50 p.m. today in room 236 of the Pavilion. The workshop will teach students the importance of establishing a written budget and how to prepare one.

Opening doors to new opportunities

Paul Mezier — THE BATTALION

Students and student organization members came together Sunday in the Student Recreation Center for MSC Open House. The event occurs at the beginning of every semester to showcase organizations to students looking to get involved.

From Jonathan Storm, senior computer engineering major The article about the UT network just bashed A&M for no reason. So we stayed in the Big 12; why not it is a great conference. All the article did was brag about how Texas is better than A&M. Everyone knows ESPN gives no love to A&M, we don’t need to hear it from an ATM student. How about you stop talking trash about A&M staying in the Big 12 and start supporting our athletic department. We went to the Cotton Bowl, which I’m sure the writer had us losing. We are a top 15 program in basketball which shows how great of a coach Turgeon actually is. Women’s basketball is top 5 and both track programs are phenomenal. Golf won a national championship as well. If you are not on the fi eld you cannot really talk so why not show support for the teams that play for us.

From Justin Kaspar, senior microbiology major David Harris’ recent article about the University of Texas’ deal with ESPN was fi lled with misinformation. It should be noted that Texas already had a deal in place with IMG for media rights close to $10 million a year; very similar to A&M’s media rights deal with Learfi eld Sports for $8 million a year. ESPN only enhanced the contract between all three parties to $15 million, an extra $5 million a year. I would hardly call that “an insurmountable level.” David also failed to mention that the channel can only feature one live football game and eight live Men Basketball games per year, so there are limitations to what they can broadcast. President Loftin, in an interview with TexAgs.com that can be easily seen on YouTube, has been on record to saying there were many hurdles A&M had to overcome in switching conferences; one of those is the state legislature that is currently meeting in Austin. One of the topics of discussion this session is A&M’s budget, which has already been cut back 10 percent. Does anybody think it’s a good idea right now to create a fi re storm when our most precious asset is being handled in Austin?

In response to the “Reality of gun control” printed in this past Friday’s edition of The Battalion: Despite the title of this opinion article, the idea that ubiquitous gun ownership will discourage or prevent gunmen determined to commit mass murder is in fact not based in reality. The scenarios presented in this argument do nothing to support loosening restrictions and everything to support the further regulation of gun ownership. Tragic shootings like the ones mentioned in this article should not be used to feed some fear driven call to arms for each and every citizen, this is not the Wild West. The article claims that gun control methods are ineffective because criminals can fi nd ways to outmaneuver gun ownership regulations. Following that logic, the U.S. should cease all its efforts to control illegal

activity because criminals are just too smart. Following that logic further, if criminals can fi nd ways to outsmart legislatures and policemen alike the public should just let any John Doe next to them tote a weapon and rely on that person for protection. What? No! As a responsible gun owner myself, the only thing tragedies like these described here convince me of is higher safety precautions and better funding for our nation’s police. Let’s focus on establishing better safety programs like A&M’s Code Maroon, or putting better equipment in the hands of trained law enforcement professionals and cutting down response times. Putting guns in the hands of minimally trained citizens is not going to win the fi ght against gun violence. Better laws and better law enforcement are what catch and deter criminals, not the deregulation of fi rearms.

From Morgan Rutherford, senior international studies major

FundsContinued from page 1

University and will work in accordance with House Bill 3353.

“The fund will be managed in accor-dance with House Bill 3353 and ulti-mately is designed to provide environ-mental improvements at the institution through services related to recycling, energy efficiency and renewable energy, transportation, employment, product purchasing, planning and maintenance, or irrigation; or provide matching funds for grants to obtain environmental im-provements described in Subdivision 1,” said Kelly Wellman, sustainability offi-cer and ex-officio member of the board.

Wagner said the board is looking forward to seeing what projects will be presented, and can visit greenfund.tamu.edu to apply and get more detailed in-formation.

US diplomacy embracing Twitter amid global crises WASHINGTON — The State Department is tightening its embrace of Twitter and other social media as crises grip the Middle East and Haiti, with offi cials fi nding new voice, cheek and infl uence in the era of digital diplomacy. Even as it struggles to contain damage caused by WikiLeaks’ release of classifi ed internal documents, the department is reaching out across the Internet. It’s bypassing traditional news outlets to connect directly and in real time with overseas audiences in the throes of unrest and upheaval. American diplomacy isn’t a newcomer to Facebook, YouTube, Flickr or Twitter, but it has stepped up online efforts as those networks play a growing role in events around the world.

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4 Texas country

showThe Texas country band Southern Echoes, based out of College Station, will play at 10 p.m. Saturday at Schotzi’s.

3 Cooking on a

budgetMoney Wise Aggies will have an information session on how to budget to spend less on food from 1:50 to 2:50 p.m. Wednesday in the Pavilion, room 236.

1 Green building

seminarJose Fernandes-Solis, assistant professor of construction science, will have two sessions of the “Green is Mainstream” seminar on residential green building technology from 2 to 5 p.m. today in Langford Building A.

2 Post grad

informationStudents graduating this May can learn how to overcome many of the common fi nancial challenges graduates face when starting their careers from 3 to 4 p.m. today in the Pavilion, room 236.

Thursday morning, the Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center overflowed, selling out seats with more than 300 students, community members and Texas A&M staff and faculty. Sponsored by the MSC Carter G. Woodson Black Awareness Committee, students celebrated the fourth annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast on campus.

Each year, a speaker is chosen to reflect on and honor the life of King. This year’s guest speaker, An-gela Davis, is an activist of social justice, an educator and fighter of gender, racial and economic equality. Davis lectures nationally and internationally on these issues.

“The MLK Breakfast is one of our premiere annual events. Whether you attended the event or not, the presence of Dr. Davis is one that cannot go unnoticed. There is no denial that Texas A&M is one of the most conservative campuses in the nation,” said Leah Wade, a senior University studies major and director of Black History Month for the MSC Carter G. Woodson Black Awareness Committee.

At the breakfast, Davis encouraged people to think critically about a system with global prison abolition.

“As college students, our purpose should be think critically, not just in the classroom. As we build the lenses in which we look at the world, we should be free and without restraint to have speakers from any political stance come and speak on campus,” Wade said.

Davis also spoke on racial and gender equality, as she fashioned the notion of a “prison industrial complex” to the crowd. She answered impromptu questions from the audience in a question and answer session toward the end of the event.

“Having someone such as Angela Davis speak at Texas A&M University was important for our campus community not just to promote an awareness of diversity in Aggieland, but to demonstrate the need for social activism,” said Jonathan Luu, a junior philosophy major.

Sharing her personal experiences as she lived and rallied through the civil rights movement and stories of fighting against racial discrimination, Davis left an imprint on the campus. The events of her past have truly influenced her scholarship, activism and lectures,

Gabrielle RoyalThe Battalion

Students learn of need to continue fight for social justice

A King remembered,

Gabrielle Royal — THE BATTALION

Above Students, faculty and community members gather Thursday morning in the Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center to reflect on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s contributions to the civil rights movement. Left Guest speaker Angela Davis shares her personal experiences of fighting against racial discrimination, urging students to question current issues of race, gender and equality in the U.S.

April Baltensperger — THE BATTALION

she said. Davis was on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted List.”

Some students said they found Davis’ political back-ground controversial, others said they found it to be a perspective that deserved to be presented to the cam-pus. Her lecture promoted people to build a dialogue about race across A&M, students said.

“Texas A&M University was never able to confront its own racism. It is interesting how the University community turns ecstatic when speakers such as Dick Cheney and Karl Rove come to campus, but when we have speakers such as Angela Davis who challenge their authority, the Aggie Spirit turns sour,” Luu said.

Davis has spent the past 15 years at the University of California at Santa Cruz as a professor of the history of consciousness; she has also published eight books.

“Dr. Angela Davis provided a greater understand-ing and calling for Martin Luther King’s actions in

calling for equality and change through all aspects of life,” said Joshua Garcia, a sophomore communication major. “She broadened my cultural lenses to recognize how times have gotten better, but that the need for change is still evident in many social systems.”

Overall, students said the MLK Breakfast served as a way to reflect on leaders, voices and efforts of people who fought and continue to fight for equality in the name of social justice.

“She was an excellent speaker; she truly helped further my understanding of diversity and equality,” Garcia said.

Students said attending her speech gave them an alternate view of the world regarding issues involving race, gender and problems with the prison system in the U.S.

“Our country must start thinking in more complex ways,” Davis said.

a movement continued

Pg3-1.24.11.indd 1Pg3-1.24.11.indd 1 1/23/11 5:59 PM1/23/11 5:59 PM

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Texas A&M Swimming and Diving

Photos by Joshua McKenna — THE BATTALION

Top left: Adam Ruiz, freshman diver, turns to flip in Saturday’s meet against LSU. Top right: Balaz Makany cools off after one of his races. Makany took many points for the men’s team and helped them remain undefeated with a 166-134 score against LSU. Bottom left: Melanie Dodd swims butterfly. The No. 8 Aggie women finished with 168-120 win and won 13 out of 16 possible events. Bottom right: Diver Janie Potvin took first place in the three-meter springboard with a score of 351.10.

Women’s water polo begins new season

With the spring semester now in full swing and students back in the classroom, the Tex-as A&M women’s water polo team will get back to work with practice starting today. Erin Kasperek, president and team goalie, has high hopes for the season after placing 13th at Nationals last year.

Kasperek, a senior political science major, is backed by fel-low seniors Michelle Horner and Chelsea Olson. The three seniors are lifelong swimmers and have been playing since high school. When speaking with the girls it is obvious there is a great sense of camaraderie between them.

“We’re such a close knit group. And I know every team says that, but I really think it’s true with us,” Kasperek said.

Recruited by an old high school friend who was already part of the team, Kasperek has been on the A&M squad since her freshman year. She has steadily risen through the ranks to become the leader.

Kasperek’s talent does not go unnoticed by teammates with Olson noting with great inflec-tion and confidence, “she is so good.”

Olson, who is also an officer for the team, took a brief leave of absence from the game her freshman year after suffering an injury in high school.

“I wasn’t ready to give it up,” Olson said.

Playing alongside Olson at the outside position, or “driv-ers,” is Horner, who actu-

ally played against Kasperek throughout high school.

After venturing on several recruiting trips, Horner, an aquatic conservation and ecol-ogy major, decided on A&M as her choice to continue playing the sport she loves.

And that’s a sentiment shared by the entire 25-member team.

“We have such a mix of peo-ple that played against each other in high school,” Kasperek said.

With players from numerous states and countries, the famil-iarity among them has led to many team members becoming roommates.

It is that developed trust and chemistry which leads Kasperek to believe this upcoming season will see a significant improve-ment in an already accom-plished program which won conference championships in 2008 and 2010.

The trio of seniors is look-ing to make their mark against longtime rivals when they host the first of three conference tournaments at the Student Rec Center on February 12-13.

They will especially be look-ing to take down University of Texas-Austin after losing a nail biter final game in 2009, which prevented a three-peat of con-ference titles.

“It always comes down to us two,” Kasperek said.

After the UT tournament, the women’s water polo team is scheduled to travel in late February to Notre Dame where they will compete against other highly talented schools.

For Kasperek and her team-mates, the new season cannot start soon enough.

Jared BaxterSpecial to The Battalion

Upcoming events◗ The Texas A&M women’s water polo team will have their fi rst match Feb. 12-13 in the natatorium.

club sports

Courtesy photo

The Texas A&M women’s club water polo team is one of the many club sports at A&M.

Pg4-1.24.11.indd 1Pg4-1.24.11.indd 1 1/23/11 7:20 PM1/23/11 7:20 PM

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sports thebattalion 01.24.2011

page5

equestrian | The Texas A&M

equestrian team will have their first show

of the spring season Friday against South

Carolina in Bryan.

track and field | The men’s and

women’s track and field teams will welcome

the SEC on Friday to the Gilliam Indoor

Track Stadium.

club sports | The Women’s

Volleyball Aggieland Classic will be

at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Student

Recreation Center.

The Texas A&M track teams made a statement this weekend in front of a crowd of 2,054, as both men and women defeated LSU on Saturday in a dual meet that produced many NCAA-qualifying performances. The No. 2 Aggie women clinched victory (91-57) after 13 events, while the No. 3 Aggie men squeaked out a win over No. 2 LSU (84-75) in the final event. Head Coach Pat Henry said the win con-firms the national relevance of A&M as a complete track team.

“We don’t just have sprinters and hurdlers, we have a track team,” Henry said. “It’s about a lot of individual ef-forts, but they make a team.”

Jessica Beard, senior sprinter, sup-plied one of those individual per-formances by winning the 200- and 400-meter runs. In what many con-sider the most competitive event of the meet, the 200-meter run produced three NCAA qualifying times by Beard (22.95), teammate Jeneba Tarmoh (22.975) and LSU’s Semoy Hackett (22.98). Beard said the meet helped compare the progress of A&M to that of other national contenders.

“It’s an okay opener for me, but I know I have a lot more left and my 400 can definitely improve,” Beard said. “I knew [Tarmoh and Hackett] were go-ing to be fierce competitors. Knowing I can be up there with them, that really boosts my confidence.”

Another bright spot for the Ag-gies was the return of women’s senior hurdler Natasha Ruddock after suffer-

Adrian O’HanlonSpecial to The Battalion

No. 2 Aggie women, No. 3 men qualify for NCAA’s

Teams sprint past LSUtrack and fi eld

Photos by Joshua McKenna — THE BATTALION

Senior sprinter Gerald Phiri races against LSU at Saturday’s meet.

Senior pole vaulter Laura Asimakis takes on LSU challengers.

Men’s track clinches victory against LSU.

ing a leg injury late last season. In her first race since having surgery in June, Ruddock showcased her determina-tion to return in top-form, winning the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.29. She said she enjoyed having supporters in the crowd to soothe the anxiety of returning to the track.

“It’s awesome, and I’m happy peo-ple are supporting me,” Ruddock said. “Everything happens for a reason, but I know God had a plan for me, so I just rebound and come back stronger.”

The A&M men’s team overcame a resilient LSU squad late in the meet. The Tigers controlled the field events, while the Aggies dominated the track events; highlighted by Gerald Phiri’s NCAA-qualifying performance in the 200-meter run (20.80) and meet-record performance in the 60-meter run (6.63). Phiri, senior sprinter, said he was confident in his preparation

and excited to face the championship-caliber squad from the prestigious LSU program.

“LSU’s a great program, [and] when it comes to competing for champion-ships, they’re always right there,” Phiri said. “Hopefully we proved LSU can be beaten. Football didn’t go so well in the Cotton Bowl, but LSU went down today.”

The Aggies triumphed over LSU of the Southeastern Conference, but will face competitors from the entire SEC and Big 12 this Friday in the Texas A&M Challenge. Coach Henry said the team needs to improve in some ar-eas to attain more overall balance and continue competing at the highest level.

“We’re searching for some addi-tional balance, but things are going real well,” Henry said. “If we continue to get better as individuals, we’re going to be a better team.”

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BED AND BREAKFAST

BBogart’s Casa Blanca B&B/Week-end Restaurant. Now bookingrooms for all University events.Gated 4 acres, 12 elegant roomswith private bath and heated pool.Green Parrot Bar. Hearty Southernbreakfast. (Hollywood in Texas).www.bogarts.org (936)825-1969.

COMPUTERS

Superior Teks. $59.95 for softwarerepair. $80.00 for hardware repair.Call 979-703-7963 or visitwww.superiorteks.net

FOR RENT

$1200 Available now, short-termleases ok. 3&4 bedrooms. W/D, petsok, near TAMU. Call agent Ardi979-422-5660.

$295 1-room in shared, furnishedapartment. All bills paid. Short-termleases ok. Call agent Ardi979-422-5660.

$375 Available now and prelease.1/1, 2/1. Free Wi-Fi, on Northgate,on shuttle. Short-term leases ok.Call agent Ardi 979-422-5660.

$400/mo. 1/1 in 2/2 apartment.1030sqft, free January rent, move inready, bus 22, pet ok, no deposits.832-334-1426.

2-3/bedroom apartments. Somewith w/d, some near campus.$175-$600/mo. 979-219-3217.

2bd/1ba apartment, 800sq.ft. Newappliances, carpeting and tile. W/D.Bus route. $550/mo. +$300 deposit.Available on, or before January.210-391-4106.

2bd/1ba duplex, recently remod-eled, new carpet, fresh paint on allwalls, new A/C inside/outside.$575/mo. $450deposit. Availablenow. 609-954-1550.

2bd/1ba in Northgate, $525/mo. Nodogs, cats ok. 6mo. lease.979-696-7266.

2bd/2ba 4-plex. Spacious floorplan,W/D connections, close to campus.$550/mo.www.aggielandleasing.com979-776-6079.

3bd/1.5ba for lease, close to cam-pus, newly remodeled, fenced back-yard, W/D, call 979-774-9181.

FOR RENT

3/2 Houses, Townhouses &Apart-ments, 1250sqft. Very spacious,ethernet, large kitchen, walk-inpantry &closets, extra storage, W/D,great amenities, on bus route, nowpre-leasing, excellent specials.979-694-0320,office@luxormanagement.com

3bd/2ba Nice house. Rock Prairieand Wellborn area. W/D, garage,backyard. $950/mo. Short-termlease through May/June. ContactMike 512-887-0318.

3bd/3ba duplexes. Great floorplans,fenced yards, W/D, tile floors, ice-makers, alarm systems.979-776-6079.www.aggielandleasing.com

4/3, 3/3 &3/2 Houses, Townhouses,Duplexes &Fourplexes,1250-1700sqft. Very spacious, eth-ernet, large kitchen, extra storage,W/D, great amenities, on bus route,now pre-leasing, excellent specials.694-0320.office@luxormanagement.com

4/4.5, like new. High ceilings, hugeclosets, large front porch, tilefloors, all appliances, many extras.$1750/mo. Preleasing for August.979-229-6326. See photos and infoat www.texagrentals.com

4bd/2ba house. Close to campus,wood floors, tile floors, ceiling fans,W/D, fenced yards. 979-776-6079.www.aggielandleasing.com

4bd/4ba house, 3526 Wild Plum, re-frigerator, W/D, huge backyard!$1,650/mo. 361-290-0430.

Bogart’s beautifully furnished bed-room w/bath. Run of the house,W/D, ground, &pool. Two great fur-nished apartments. 936-825-1969.www.bogarts.org

Cottage. Holik C.S. 2bd/1ba,1000sqft., W/D, Balcony, wooded.Private drive. Quiet. $600/mo.979-777-2472.

Fully furnished, luxurious 4/4Waterwood townhome for leaseAugust 2011. 1596 sf. W/D, 2-milesto TAMU, on bus-route. 1001Krenek Tap. $2000/mo. ContactStephen 512-694-3311.

Large 3bd/3ba Fox Run Condos.W/D, gated. $1600/mo. Utilitiespaid. Available now. 979-575-7343.

FOR RENT

Mobile home room to rent, onculdesac, quiet, furnished, W/D cen-tral A/C &heat, all bills paid.$400/mo. 210-288-5881.

New homes for rent. Close to cam-pus! 4bd/4ba, 3bd/2ba. Call today!254-721-6179. Broker.

Northgate, available now and pre-lease, new duplexes and fourplexes,1/1, 2/2, and 3/2, call 979-255-5648.

One room availabe in 3bd/3b apart-ment, close to Blinn and TAMU,$333/mo plus utilities, call Sara979-966-7597,a_brooks@verizon.net

Walk to TAMU! 2bd/2bth/office, allappliances, W/D, spacious, newlyremodeled, fenced townhouse.979-846-1887.

HELP WANTED

Artist needs female canvas subjects,body image project. $30/hr. callAlyssa 817-507-6140.

Cheddar’s Casual Cafe and FishDaddy’s on University Drive arenow accepting applications for serv-ers and hostesses. Come be a partof our friendly team! Apply inperson. EOE.

Cleaning commercial buildings atnight, M-F. Call 979-823-5031 forappointment.

COLLEGE STUDENTS! Part Timework. $16 base-appt. Flexible, con-ditions apply, all ages 17+. Callnow! 979-260-4555.

HELP WANTED

Commerce National Bank is seekingPart Time Tellers available to workeither a morning shift of7:15a.m.-1:00p.m. or afternoonshift of 1:00p.m.-6:00p.m. and alter-nating Saturday mornings. CNBTellers provide excellent customerservice while completing transac-tions such as cashing checks, receiv-ing deposits and making withdraw-als. Must have previous cash han-dling experience, strong interper-sonal and organizational skills. Visitwww.commercenb.com for applica-tion. Applications & resume may befaxed to 806-792-0976 or emailedto gmills@lubbocknational.com EOE

Experienced part-time lawn mainte-nance workers needed. $7.50/hr.Call Kirk, 979-324-2719.

Full-time medical technician forgrowing allergy practice wanted.4-year degree and 1-year commit-ment required. We are looking foran intelligent, positive, friendly per-son to join our team. We teachskills that are an asset for anyoneinterested in a career in healthcareand can help a candidate get intomedical school. E-mail resume todocmgr@yahoo.com

Have the summer of your life at aprestigious coed sleepaway camp inthe beautiful Pocono Mountains ofPennsylvania, 2.5 hours from NYC.We’re seeking counselors who canteach any Team & Individual Sports,Tennis, Gymnastics, Horseback Rid-ing, Mt. Biking, Skate Park, Theatre,Tech Theatre, Circus, Magic, Arts &Crafts, Pioneering, Climbing Tower,Water Sports, Music, Dance or Sci-ence. Great salaries and perks.Plenty of free time. Internshipsavailable for many majors. On-cam-pus interviews on Feb. 1. Apply on-line at www.islandlake.com Call800-869-6083 between 9-5 easterntime on weekdays for more infor-mation.

Little Guys Movers now hiring FT/PTemployees. Must be at least 21w/valid D.L. Apply in person at 3209Earl Rudder Freeway.

HELP WANTED

Have you seen the cool handles onboard the Spirit shuttle buses?HIGH FIVE ADVERTISING needs stu-dents on a part-time basis that havesome flexibility with their schedulesto sell advertising to the local busi-ness community to go on the han-dles. This is a great way for adver-tisers to get their messages in frontof the students. Please send yourresume to Gregg Brogdengregg@h5advertising.com

Help wanted part-time building at-tendant for the Brazos Center.$10.10hourly. Work schedule willvary from 12-20 hours/week. Jani-torial duties and customer service.Apply: Brazos County HR Dept.County Courthouse. Visit our web-site for more info atwww.co.brazos.tx.us

Hollywood Cafe Bistro at PremiereCinema, Grand Opening, Feb. 2011,wait staff, cooking, and coffee ba-rista needed, experience preferred,shift pay, movie tickets, and otherperks, call 713-291-2923 for infor-mation and interviews.

Now hiring bike or car delivery.Burger Boy Northgate. 311 Church.

Now hiring college sales agents forgoWiFi to sell WiFi to local busi-nesses. Earn up to $115/sale andmake your own hours. Seeking mo-tivated students looking to buildbusiness skills and make money. Noexperience necessary. Contactinfo@gowifi.com or visit gowifi.comfor more information.

P/T computer technician. Availableto work Tuesday, Thursday, Satur-day. employment@systekct.com

Part-time IT network help desktechnician. Commerce NationalBank is seeking individual to assistin daily support of CNB/LNB em-ployees by providing hands on andremote support of hardware andsoftware issues. Assist in researchand signature detection of emailspam, Internet Trojans, and variousother internet based threats as theyrelate to end-user awareness andprevention. Assist in software andhardware configurations and up-dates to end user workstations.Qualifications: Working ability totroubleshoot and work through awide variety of computer supportissues. Customer-service orientedand the ability to work with others.Written and oralcommunication/organization skills.Hours: 20hrs/wk- flexible schedule.Visit www.commercenb.com for ap-plication. Applications & resumemay be faxed to 806-792-0976 oremailed togmills@lubbocknational.com EOE

Part-time secretary/receptionist,counseling office, flexible hours, 6-8hrs/week. Call 979-255-2789.

PT help needed. Local hunting clubneeds PT guides. Freshman, Sopho-more, or Junior level workers. Aver-age 1 day/week in off- season; 2-3days/week in Fall and Winter. Lim-ited hunting privileges. Applica-tions at www.yardbirdhunting.com

HELP WANTED

P/T work cleaning pools, 15-20/hrs aweek, Spring semester and maybeSummer, 979-402-0878 or979-229-0071.

STUDENTPAYOUTS.COM Paid Sur-vey Takers Needed In College Sta-tion. 100% Free To Join. Click OnSurveys.

MUSIC

Best deal in town- DJ services/audiorentals. RDM Audio does it all!Weddings, parties, band set ups, PAsystems, Event Lighting,979-260-1925. rdmaudio.com

Party Block Mobile DJ- Peter Block,professional 22yrs experience.Specializing in Weddings, TAMUfunctions, lights/smoke. Mobile toanywhere. Book early!!979-693-6294.http://www.partyblockdj.com

REAL ESTATE

B/CS. Sell/Buy/Invest! Re/Max,Michael McGrann. TAMU ‘93 engi-neering. 979-739-2035,979-693-1851. aggierealtor.com

ROOMMATES

1 roomate 3 bed 2 bath.$425/mnth+utl. Contact email: ba-loo1515@yahoo.com

1-2 roommates needed. 4bd/4ba atWaterwood on SW Parkway. W/D,private bath, on bus route. Short orlong term leases available.$400/mo. includes utilities,cable/internet. Call 254-721-2716.

1-2 roommates wanted. 3bd/2ba1800 sqft house. Big backyard, W/D,next to Sorority Row. Close to cam-pus. Male preferred. $450/mo +utili-ties. 830-688-1472.

1-male roommate needed at ZoneApartments. 2bd/2ba fully fur-nished, W/D, bus route. $485/mo+electricity. 512-398-5787.

1-Male roommate needed for 1/2fully furnished condo. Close to cam-pus, on shuttle route, W/D. Nosmoking/pets. $450/mo.lmzachary@hotmail.com281-543-6263.

1-Male roommate needed in4bd/4ba condo. W/D, on bus route,bike to campus. $350/mo +utilities.Sublease through May or August.361-816-1224.

2bd/1ba Anderson Place Apart-ments. W/D, cable/internet, all billspaid. $360/roommate. Male. Bus-route. 979-224-4098.

Female roommate needed for ZoneApartments. February Free!4bd/2ba fully furnished, W/D.$460/mo +electricity. Bus route.Call/text Liz 979-450-8090.

Female roommate wanted,$450/mo. plus utilities, WoodbrookCondos. Call 281-795-4110.

Female wanted. 3bd/3ba Wood-lands. Private bed/bath, fully fur-nished, $650/mo, new custompaint/carpet. Workout facility, thea-ter, computers, study room, secu-rity on premises. 630-536-9001.

Male roommate needed forsub-lease. $300/mo. 3bd/2ba house.Contact 210-347-9604.

Two male roommates needed. Onbus route. $500/mo. Everything in-cluded. 817-739-3700.

TUTORS

Online math tutor. $8.50/hr.Calculus I/II, Trig, Business Math.http://JimmieMathTutoring.blog-spot.com

traditions new spring students are invited to experi-

ence is Howdy Camp.

“Howdy Camp is one of the most amazing pro-

grams I have ever been a part of,” said Ellie Mat-

suska, sophomore Howdy Camp Counselor. “I am

so lucky and excited to have the opportunity to wel-

come some of the most fun, brightest new students

to the Aggie family.”

Another opportunity for transfer students to get

involved is through the MSC Open House which

took place from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Rec

Center. This gave transfer students the chance to

find organizations to join and become active in the

Aggie family.

Whatever the reason might be for these transfers

to choose A&M over any other university, many

students are thankful they have chosen Aggieland as

their new home.

“I can’t wait to see all of these new Ag-

gies have a blast at Texas A&M,” Matsuska said.

“Welcome home.”

TransferContinued from page 1

and have an occasional Xbox

hockey tournament. Xenakis

pointed out the same chemis-

try used last year when the team

made history by becoming the

first team from Texas to make

the ACHA regional playoffs.

“With our success as a team,

other schools around here want

to build and compete with us,”

leading-scorer Xenakis said.

This week, the team focuses

on the next obstacle standing

in the way of the goal - the last

regular season series against the

team from Austin. A&M travels

to Austin for a home and home

series with the Texas Longhorns

beginning Friday (28th), return-

ing to College Station for the

final game against Texas on Sat-

urday (29th) at Arctic Wolf Ice

Center off Holleman at 5:45 p.m.

As the postseason draws nearer, Xenakis is weary of even the lowly Longhorns. He pointed out the importance of respecting each team and progressing from game to game in order to reach the postseason.

“We can’t, obviously, take any team lightly,” Xenakis said. “Every game from here on out is a must win for us to get to regionals, and they’re another team in the way.”

None of that success comes easy. Players, like Xenakis and Banks, must balance being full-time students, playing a 37-game regular season, practicing twice a week at 10 p.m., and having a so-cial life. When asked how hock-ey affects academics, Banks said the players get into study groups with teammates of the same ma-jor when traveling or after late practices. He said it brings them closer together and helps them to succeed in the classroom.

“Our teachers are great too,”

Xenakis said. Xenakis said the players also notify teachers in ad-vance of future absences for away games, and the teachers accom-modate justly and conveniently. Players are often given the task of completing homework, quizzes and tests early to maintain their grades and stay on schedule with other students.

“Having a lot of students [at the Texas game] gets us click-ing,” Head Coach Sean Boyle said. “The guys feed off the crowd a lot.”

Boyle said having students in attendance is important because the team plays ferociously, de-termined to get the crowd in-volved. He said that involvement comes from well-orchestrated goals, timely defensive play and big hits.

Banks said the atmosphere is always loud and electrifying, pushing the team to play more aggressively and efficiently. He said having big crowds excites

the players and pushes them to give the Twelfth Man every rea-son to stay up the entire game yelling for the team.

“Hopefully, we can put a big beating on them,” Banks said. “We see that burnt orange and we get a little quicker step.”

The origins of ice hockey at A&M trace back to the 1980s, when students played recre-ationally. Students formed a team in 1997 and traveled to the closest ice rinks in Houston or Austin for practices and games. The dedication of the players led to the Texas A&M ice hockey team becoming an official club sport of the University in 2001.

Now the team applies that same devotion to achieve new heights in its sport, thus con-tinuing the tradition of winning at A&M.

“We have the guys to make hockey what is should be [and] make other teams take us seri-ously,” Boyle said.

HockeyContinued from page 1

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302 W. 28th Street, Bryan 979.775.4DWI (4394)

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order your2011 yearbook

today.The 109th edition of Texas A&M University’s official

yearbook will chronicle the 2010-2011 school year — traditions, academics, the other education, sports,

the Corps, greeks, campus organizations,and seniors and graduate students.

By credit card go online to http://aggieland.tamu.edu or call 979-845-2613. Or drop by the Student Media office,

Bldg. #8901 in The Grove (between Albritton Bell Tower and Cain Hall). Cost is $64.90, including shipping and

sales tax. 8:30 A.M. to �4:30 P.M. Monday–Friday.

Drinking is growing problem on campus

Binge drinking is believed to be one of the most serious prob-lems on college campuses ac-cording to college administrators.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol-ism said that binge drinking is defined as a pattern of drinking that brings one’s blood alcohol concentration, BAC, to 0.08 percent or more. This typi-cally happens in men when five or more drinks are consumed within two hours; in women, when four or more drinks are consumed within two hours.

Studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that in the past 30 days 5 percent of the population drank heavily and 15 percent of the popula-tion binge drank.

Some studies show that binge drinking is more common than believed.

“One-fourth of adults binge drink,” said Dr. Dafna Kanny, senior specialist of the alco-hol program at CDC. “Binge drinking for the age group of 18 to 24 is getting worse. We found that approximately 35 percent of those surveyed binge drank.”

There are many risks associ-ated with binge drinking; one of the major risks is car crashes due to drunk driving. Accord-ing to the CDC, other risks include sexual assault, domestic violence and alcohol poisoning amongst many more risks.

The highest risk of binge drinking is death.

“About 1,700 college stu-dents die from alcohol-related injuries,” Kanny said.

According to Anna Williams, interim program coordinator of alcohol and drug education programs at Texas A&M, “the majority of the students I in-teract with are not what would be classified as alcoholics, they would fall into the category of substance abuser.”

The Student Counseling Services place student drinkers into three categories: social us-

ers, substance abusers and alco-holics. Social drinkers include most people; social drinkers drink responsibly and with little or no risk.

Substance abusers are defined as some people who drink al-cohol and/or use drugs and do so irresponsibly at some risk to themselves or others. People who are substance abusers ex-perience negative consequences associated with their alcohol use, but they are able to alter the way they drink to avoid a recurrence of those problems.

According to Williams, they get complaints about their be-havior and sometimes feel em-barrassed or remorseful about things they say or do when drinking or using. They of-tentimes use alcohol or drugs to medicate certain feelings, to change the way they feel about some aspects of their lives and/or change the way they feel about themselves.

For students who are sub-stance abusers, abstaining from alcohol might not be neces-sary, but changing their be-haviors of dealing with prob-lems is necessary. According to Anna Williams, “examples of the kind of problems, issues and situations that encourage one to abuse alcohol and drugs include depression and anxi-ety, anger and resentment, in-security, low self esteem, im-maturity and peer pressure.”

“Most binge drinkers are not alcohol-dependent. Only a small percentage, 10 percent, are alcoholics,” Kanny said.

Alcoholics are a small per-centage of people who drink alcohol and are dependent on it. They drink for any reason or no reason at all. They get com-plaints about their drinking but tend to resent, discount and/or disregard those comments.

There are some effective ways to decrease the amount of binge drinking.

“Increasing alcohol taxes will decrease alcohol consumption,” Kanny said. “Reducing hours and days sold and decreasing the availability will also help with binge drinking.”

Reginald ClarkThe Battalion

student life

Photo illustration by Stephanie Leichtle — THE BATTALION

Elana Prejean, a senior psy-

chology major, said there are

other ways to have fun besides

binge drinking.

“If they decide to drink,

they should drink responsibly

and shouldn’t be careless,” said

Prejean, who had to complete

a Texas Alcoholic Beverage

Certification program for one

of her former jobs.

There are resources for stu-

dents with substance abuse

problems in the Student Coun-

seling Services.

“There are substance abuse

counselors in Student Counsel-

ing that specialize in supporting

students with substance abuse

issues,” Williams said.

Students can also seek out

support from Alcohol and Drug

Education Programs by sched-

uling a meeting and receiving

advice on what programs are

the best fit for the student.

Pet center provides new home, awaits expansion

If you were to walk into the Stevenson Center on a regular afternoon, you could expect to be greeted by the smiling faces of the staff and Happy the Chihuahua, a resident pet at the Texas A&M University Stevenson Companion Animal Life Care Center.

While each pet has a unique story, the animals have a similar background. Animal residents of the Stevenson Center each had owners that “wanted their pets to live out their days here,” said Ellie Greenbaum, assistant to the director of the care center.

Some pet residents move to the center due to their owners’ hospitalization, movement to a retirement facility, or having an owner pass away.

All 36 pet residents moved to the center after Dr. Ned Ellett, former director of the Small Animal Clinic at Texas A&M University, received donations from Madlin Stevenson and the Luse Foundation in 1993 to bring his dream to life. Dr. Henry L. “Sonny” Presnal, is the director of the center.

The Stevenson Center was born from the dream that the pets are provided with all of their needs after being with an owner that is no longer able to care for them.

In 2003, the center under-went its first expansion and it was unveiled in August 2004. Currently, a new expansion is in the works. The center plans on expanding by 2,600 square feet, and the new part of the building will be ready later this spring. Once completed, the center will provide more than 11,000 square feet of space for all the furry friends living there.

The expansion will provide two more indoor canine areas and yards, two feline areas and outdoor porches and two addi-tional avian areas and porches.

Michelle LaRue, a second year veterinary student class of 2009, lives and works at the center. LaRue started by working at the center, and now lives there with other veteri-nary students. She initially be-came involved since she is “so interested in the best veterinary medicines and noticed what a great opportunity it was for both sides.”

Greenbaum said that this type of experience is “invalu-able to a student’s career choice and gives them a unique sense of compassion when they move on to a practice.”

Life at the center and the memories with the animal resi-dents will be an experience stu-dents take with them through their career. If there is a client with a problem, the student

Christine PerrenotSpecial to The Battalion

animals

Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are also held through the Texas A&M Chapter of AA. Information can be found at Texas A&M Chapter-Alcoholics Anonymous on Facebook.

might be able to understand the situation more from seeing it while living or working at the Stevenson Center.

Kim Muth, an animal care taker at the Stevenson Center, also loves animals and is respon-sible for the bathing, grooming and loving the animal residents. She monitors the health and personalities of the animals, and can tell if something is wrong. Kim said the animals have “af-fected her life tremendously. If I have a bad day and come in here, it puts me in the best of moods.”

It is hard to imagine all the dogs, cats, birds and the llama not having a good life after hav-ing to lose their former family. The center has open space and offers companionship between the animals and the owners. The care of these animals with-in a home makes the need for expansion more serious.

”There are so many animals, we need more space to spread out,” Muth said.

Greenbaum said the cen-ter’s main mission is to “care for these pets when owners no longer can within a teaching environment.”

With the expansion about to begin, Greenbaum and the staff said there could be more ani-mals coming in the future, and they want to be prepared.

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