February 17, 2011

Issue 194 | February 17, 2011

Aggies are making a global impact Page 16

Page 9

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News & Views Bryan looks to Save the Queen

By Megan Roiz As an Aggie, I have always had a distinct love for antiquities, historical landmarks and anything from an era before I was born.

The Bryan-College Station area is rich with history and old-time charm. One of the most prominent, iconic structures in our metropolitan area is the Queen Theatre in downtown Bryan.

The Queen is a beautiful, old theatre with a somewhat mysterious history. It was opened as the Exchange Hotel in the late 1800’s and transitioned into a theatre in the early 1900’s. The Queen went through difficult bumps like a rather dangerous fire in 1914, as well as a name change from “The Crystal” to the “Queen.”

Looking through archives of newspaper articles covering the Queen and its older counterparts, I see pictures of the iconic revolving, neon-lighted crown atop the marquee and an elephant and trainer in front of the building at the premiere of “Three Ring Circus” in 1954. One might stop and wonder how many people enjoyed the theatre before a sad, undue closure in the mid-late 1970’s. Since the Queen closed, it has been handed through a number of owners. This beautiful centerpiece of Bryan has suffered holes in its roof and rather pesky inhabitants like pigeons and rodents.

All of this is soon to change due to the hard work, passion and efforts of Ben Hardeman and the Downtown Bryan Association.

Mr. Hardeman, like myself, is a lover of old things and is also an Aggie, class of 1968.

He has lived in the Bryan-College Station area since he was only a year old, graduated from A&M Consolidated, and has continued to reside here since graduating from A&M. According to their website, the Downtown

Bryan Association is a “non profit organization created to revitalize and maintain the commercial and aesthetic viability of the historic district of Downtown Bryan.”

The Association works to achieve its mission by focusing on the economic development of Bryan through support of existing businesses as well as the active recruitment of new business, the support of arts and culture and building community awareness and participation in downtown. The DBA generates revenue through fundraisers, merchandise, donations and membership.

Members include a variety of supporters including community members, business owners, downtown property owners and merchants and professionals who call Downtown Bryan home.

Early last year, Mr. Hardeman became the Chair of the Downtown Bryan Association.

One of his first actions was to begin a campaign to buy and restore the Queen theatre. The owner at the time placed an ad, stating that the Queen was for sale for $200,000. With a bit of help from local Bryan-College Station citizens, the Association raised enough money in a six-week time period to put a down payment on the Queen and is well on its way to owning the theatre outright.

The current poor and unstable condition of the Queen Theatre has long been a topic of conversation of the BCS area citizens and council members. Most in the community agree that restoration of the building will be a cherry on the top of a very successful effort to rejuvenate and freshen up Bryan’s downtown in recent years.

The restoration of the theatre has begun with the exterior and will move inward.

Photos courtesy of Ben Hardeman

“We hope to have the exterior renovation done by the first of October, which is an ambitious timeframe, but I think we can have it done,” Hardeman said.

Preliminary plans are to mold the building into a community entertainment venue as well as the DBA’s offices. The end result should seat close to 200 people and will include tables and chairs, as well as standard theatre

restored Queen Theatre.

seating, a food preparation area on the old mezzanine level and offices in what was once the projection room of the old theatre on the third floor.

The renovation and restoration of the Queen Theatre will be the figurative and literal crowning for efforts toward beautifying downtown Bryan. With the already phenomenal reactions from the community, the DBA is already looking forward to a grand reopening of the Queen to celebrate the community’s commitment to the link between the past, present and future.

Since fundraising has begun, response from the community has been spectacular, to say the least. Since the Association wishes the project to be one for the community, individuals are not permitted to donate more than $1000 during the fundraising for the purchase price. The more individuals who take part in the effort, the more worthwhile the campaign will be, and more individuals in the community will be able to take pride in the finished, renovated and www.maroonweekly.com February 17 – March 2

MAROON WEEKLY | 3

News & Views

Relay for Life creates great opportunities

Photos courtesy of Relay for Life Committee

By Erica Pitman It is pretty safe to say that we all want a cure for cancer, and the Relay For Life is one way the American Cancer Society, along with millions of volunteers, takes action.

Starting in 1985, the Relay for Life began with one man, Dr. Gordy Klatt, a colorectal surgeon from Tacoma, Washington. He ran and walked around a track for 24 hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society’s benefit. Since then, the Relay For Life has exploded, and there are Relays for Life all over, one even in Aggieland.

“Relay for Life started in Aggieland six years ago,” Jose Arredondo, a senior telecommunication and media studies

4 | MAROON WEEKLY February 17 – March 2 www.maroonweekly.com

major said. “Since then, our Relay has really grown. We are 3rd in Texas and in the top ten for colligate Relays for Life, and this last year we received a five star Relay award as we went above and beyond all of the goals.”

Not having been affected by cancer personally or directly with close family members, Arredondo said his first exposure to the heartbreaking tragedy was in his senior year of high school.

“It was my good friend, Jeanna, who first exposed me to the horrors of cancer. It was in our second semester of our senior year of high school that she got diagnosed with Leukemia,” Arredondo said. “As the son of a doctor, I couldn’t fathom the idea that there wasn’t a cure. I felt like

News & Views Publisher Mick Maynard

something had to be done, but I was only a kid. What could I do?”

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Business Manager Andrea Maynard

Arredondo, who was heavily involved with music at the time, said he was devastated by having a close friend’s life be so drastically affected by cancer, and he responded the only way he could.

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Arredondo, who said he had just started his own production company booking concerts for him and his band, started raising money for Jeanna.

“I got involved the only way I knew how, I couldn’t just sit in class and wait. I had to do something. My band and I started doing benefit concerts for her,” Arredondo said. “We made and sold CDs, wrote a personalized song for her, and one concert in particular we raised $7,000 for her, as her insurance wasn’t helping her pay for most of her treatments.

“Before Jeanna, I didn’t have direct contact with cancer, I didn’t really know what it was all about.”

Since arriving at A&M, Arredondo has continuously stayed involved with the fight against cancer. He hasn’t stopped putting together benefit concerts, and he now works as the entertainment director of the Aggie Relay For Life.

“As I got involved with the MSC Town hall in 2007, I got to know Kevin Schmidt, a sound engineer,” Arredondo said. “He brought me to work with the Relay for Life, and showed me what it is all about.”

The Relay For Life is all about raising funds and awareness about cancer to save lives, and in Aggieland, participants show up to deliver.

“The Aggie response and turnout to the Relay shows a lot about what we, as Aggies, are all about,” Arredondo said.

“The Relay shows our integrity and our Aggie family, it brings people together for a cause and it shows how selflessness spreads.”

The Aggie Relay For Life will be taking place this April 1 from 7pm to 7am on April 2 at the Penberthy Intramural Fields.

“The

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Design/Layout Cara Matocha, C2-Studios Inc. writers Kassie Cessna Autumn Dawson Turner Dawson Mallory Dykowski Josh Howell Nichelle Jaeger Sarabeth Lacy Mara Minsberg

organization or group can make a team, and the number of people allowed on a team is unlimited. For $10 a participant, your team sets up camp for the event and there will be all kinds of entertainment and activities for the whole 12 hours.

At all times during the event one team member is to be walking around the track,” Arredondo said.

The whole night, the event is broken up into sections to celebrate, remember and fight back.

“The celebration section starts off the event at 7pm with the ceremony of the Survivors’ Lap where all of the cancer survivors present start the Relay,” Arredondo said. “On the second lap, we all join in celebrating them beating cancer.”

The second section of the Relay For Life begins around 11pm with the Luminaria Ceremony. Here a luminaria is dedicated and lit for every one of the participants’ loved ones who have died from cancer. As you can imagine, a ceremony like this is very emotional and there are many tears, Arredondo said.

At midnight, in true Aggie fashion, everyone in attendance BTHO cancer with a Fightin’ Texas Aggie Yell Practice. The Aggie Yell leaders come out to support the Relay by walking with and getting to know the survivors, and they lead the crowd in yells and in the Aggie War Hymn.

“We do the Relay For Life, but with an Aggie twist,” Arredondo said. “We saw varsity’s horns off with everyone surrounding the track, it is pretty sweet.”

The event closes with the Fight Back section just before 7am.

“This is the part where we take action,” Arredondo said. “This is our cue to keep going and to take the initiative to make changes. It is the preventative portion of the event.”

At the conclusion of the Relay For Life, informational packets are handed out for preventative measures, and as advertisements for the services the American Cancer Society offers, such as the transportation services, personal health managers, gift items, wigs, scholarships and so much more.

The Relay For Live strives to save lives through raising money for research and through helping those suffering from cancer.

To learn how you can help and become a part of this Aggie run Relay for Life visit aggierelay.tamu.edu and attend an informational meeting. Sponsorships and donations are still being accepted; it’s not too late to help save lives. Maroon Weekly will be putting a team together this year. If you would like to be a part of our team email us at Maggie@ maroonweekly.com

Sherrill Mogonye Gabrielle Nguyen Brandon Nowalk Erica Pitman Megan Roiz Ian Soares Ryan Stone Joey Trevino

Photographers Valerie Clark Steven Heger Distribution Kyler Dillon Andy Nguyen Becca Nelms interns Vladimir Amador

Maggie Dotson Ryan Frische Cameron Gott Lana Rothe

Maroon Weekly is an independent, student-owned publication and is not affiliated with A&M University.

Maroon Weekly receives no student fees or university funding.

Opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the editor, publisher or the newspaper staff. Maroon Weekly is not liable for omissions, misprints to typographical errors. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the express consent of the publisher.

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News & Views

Downtown Bryan opens Business Incubator

On campus clubs: Chess Club

By Sherrill Mogonye

By Joshua Howell

In 2007, Cody Marx Bailey developed The Creative Space in downtown Bryan. It is a coworking place for freelancers, consultants, and telecommuters. Since that time, Bailey has expanded this small idea into a large collaboration of individual workers, start-up companies and even Maroon Weekly.

Even to the uninitiated and incurious, the complexities of chess are generally well understood. Chess, as it was once bluntly put in a documentary, is the “smart person’s game.” The number of distinct board positions after seven moves per player is reported to be 10,921,506. After the initial seven moves, approximations and analogies become more useful than actual numbers. It is frequently and, it should be noted, hyperbolically stated to the point where it is occasionally confused for fact, that after forty moves, the number of possible chess positions exceeds the number of atoms in the universe. After a quick check from a person with even a rudimentary knowledge of mathematics, this story is blatantly false. However, its prevalence in popular discourse is, on some level, noteworthy.

The idea of coworking allows independent workers to share a work environment even though they are not employed by the same organization. This also allows freelancers to avoid isolation and work away from home. It is a creative hub for individuals to share ideas. Among these knowledge workers, there are website and software designers, math and tech workers.

“It’s like a gym,” Bailey said, “where you pay a membership fee to use equipment and space, except here you pay to use an office space.”

The Creative Space has grown over the past four years and holds 15 independent workers within its offices.

Bailey decided that The Creative Space’s next step was to grow. Dennis Goehring, an economic development officer for the City of Bryan, called Bailey to discuss his plans for the future.

He informed Bailey that a new space had just become available for lease within steps of his current office and Bailey said the offer was too good to pass up.

The new office building of 3,700 square feet is now the home of a business accelerator, known as a business incubator. This is a place for small business start-ups, a way to help them grow and develop.

“The business accelerator uses a Montessori approach,” Bailey said.

This idea comes from Montessori schools that have a different method of teaching. Students participate in a cooperative learning center, learning from each other, and this is how Bailey says the new businesses will operate. They will learn together and from each other.

Bailey goes on to explain the coworking and business accelerator environments. “It’s like crosspollination or the way an organism causes a cold,” he said. “It’s a way for ideas to spread.”

Six companies have already moved into the business accelerator since the offices were opened just a few weeks ago. These small employers are iphone application developers, branding companies and a microscope company. Each one has no more than five employees within the organization.

“This is not a new idea,” Bailey said. However, it is a new opportunity for the City of Bryan.

With conference rooms, ample working space, internet and telephones this office space is desirable for many small business who can split the costs with others sharing it, which is why Maroon Weekly jumped on the chance to join.

The Maroon Weekly staff and interns now have a new home among these other creative minds and tech savvy start-ups. It could not have been a better fit.

Cody Marx Bailey does not want to stop here. He has aspirations to expand by adding more businesses. This movement for tech and creative businesses in the downtown area is emerging and Bailey along with The Creative Space is at the forefront.

These complications, allow for the creation of many fascinating games and, even more intriguingly, distinct, yet equally, valid “styles of play.” Because of the numerous possibilities, players’ personalities will blatantly bleed into the game. Aggressive, type-A personalities tend to play very aggressive and attacking chess. More reserved players, will play more passively and slowly.

Last weekend, four Aggies dove into these complications at the Southwest Collegiate Chess Championship in Houston to modest results. Preparation for these tournaments is fairly intense.

In a recent article on the United States Chess Federation (USCF) website, the writer, a college chess player, wrote on the amount of work required to hold one’s own at collegiate tournaments by contrasting it to Model UN. “[Model UN] only requires you to be intense for a weekend, and then you can get away with not training for three months and still perform well when it matters. With chess, on the other hand,

playing a tournament sporadically here and there will not improve your game,” wrote Anna Ginzburg, who attends Columbia as a Political Science and Economics major.

“One strategy, however, that I did find really helpful throughout my time at Columbia, is to treat chess as you would a class. So for instance, if you pretend that you have ‘chess class’ every Monday from 6-8pm and treat it as an actual class.”

Add on to this observation that the chess team, save one, is entirely comprised of engineers (a field of study not particularly known for allowing copious amounts of leisure time), and that they must bear the burden of paying entry fees (the Southwest Collegiate Championship entry fee was $49), travel costs, and hotel costs themselves, the level of dedication is immense.

The chess team will be playing in two to four tournaments in the month of February alone, depending on the respective player.

Two of these tournaments are hosted by the A&M Chess Club, the other two are hosted in Houston and San Antonio respectively.

Texas A&M has not had a chess club for some time. Previously, there was an Advisor who oversaw the team for approximately twenty years. After leaving the university, the club became defunct. It was not until last semester that Nithej Pilli, a senior engineering student, re-founded the club.

The Texas A&M Chess Club hosts bi-weekly, USCF rated tournaments. On Sunday, February 6th, 2011, the club hosted their first tournament of the semester, a series of four games lasting a total of thirty minutes each (players use chess clocks, which give them fifteen minutes apiece).

The attendance, 26 participants, was the highest turnout they have garnered so far, no doubt because the club is gaining a certain amount of clout. As the semester continues, the chess team will begin to give lessons during their weekly, Sunday meetings in order so together they can improve their game.

www.maroonweekly.com February 17 – March 2

MAROON WEEKLY | 7

News & Views

Pi Beta Phi hosts Dodge the Arrow Pi Beta Phi has been working on planning a brand new Philanthropy event called “Dodge the Arrow,” which is going to be a dodgeball tournament for teams of 8-10 players, either all boys or all girls.

It is a double elimination tournament, so with an entry fee of $10 per player, they are

guaranteed at least 2 games, a Pi Phi Dodge the Arrow t-shirt, lunch, and possible prizes for “Best Dressed,” “Most Spirited,” “MVP,” and of course, the winners!

The event is to raise support for First Book and Pi Beta Phi’s local philanthropy; the Barbara Bush Parent Center, a local center for

parents that may need help in certain areas.

The Barbara Bush Parent Center offers childcare, GED classes, computer classes, and many more things to assist parents in need in the Bryan/College Station area.

The tournament is being held on Saturday, February 19th starting at 10:00 AM. Contact Kaitlyn Griffin at Griffin.

Kaitlyn@gmail.com or at 817-504-2230 with any questions or you can sign up at www.dodgethearrow.com

Be on the look-out for this sticker around town:

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Arts & Entertainment Maroon Weekly’s Artist Spotlight: Rodney Parker and the 50 Peso Reward

By Joey Trevino Maroon Weekly’s Artist Spotlight feature was created with the idea of bringing you, the people of the Brazos Valley, the best of the best when it comes to musicians. February’s second spotlight features one of Texas’s absolutely brilliant up and coming acts.

Rodney Parker and The 50 Peso Reward out of Denton have quickly taken the Texas Country music charts and scene by storm.

Lead Singer Rodney Parker is accompanied

by Zach Galindo on lead guitar, Brooks Kendall on bass guitar, Danny skinner on banjo, accordion and electric guitar, Hillary Early on pedal steel and string harmonies and Tony Spiro on drums.

Rodney Parker played many open mics and solo gigs before he was asked to play what can be called the group’s first official performance. Parker accepted an offer to play a birthday party in which the host wanted a full band. Although he didn’t have a group at that time, Parker called up a few other musicians, practiced a total of two times and played a three hour set.

This performance was the starting place of what we now know as Rodney Parker and the 50 Peso Reward. Since that time the band has released two full-length records as well as part one of a two part E.P. In 2004 the band released its first album entitled “Blow The Soot Out.” The elevensong release featured well-written and perfectly executed songs such as “When I Wake Up” and the popular “200 Acres.”

The band released their second full-length record “The Lonesome Dirge,” in 2008.

According to Parker, “The Lonesome Dirge,” was a start to the band finding the right formula when it comes to the structure of their music and the personality of the band.

“That [The Lonesome Dirge] was an important record for us because we were just figuring out how to write songs the way we wanted them to turn out,” Parker said, “ [it was] sort of coming into our own as a band.”

“The Lonesome Dirge” gave the band their first taste of radio success and included songs such as the exceptional cover of Bruce Springsteen’s classic song “Atlantic City” as well as “Tell Me What It Is;” which stands out for front man Parker who says since he wrote that song all he has been trying to do is write one better.

show is scheduled to start at 9. Check www. maroonweekly.com next week for a free download of their latest single. You can find

more information about the band at their website, www.rodneyparker.com, or follow the band on twitter, @rodneyparker.

In September of 2010, the band released a five-song E.P. entitled “The Apology: Part 1” and since its release it has gained tremendous popularity. The Lead single off the E.P. “Guitars” went to #10 on the Texas Music Chart and #9 on the Texas Regional Radio Report. “The Apology: Part 2” is expected to drop sometime soon and another full-length album is expected to follow that.

“Things are always getting better,” Parker said in regards to the future of the band, “and as long as that continues this band will be around for a long time.”

Rodney Parker and The 50 Peso Reward will be playing live in College Station February 23 at Church Street Blues and BBQ. The

www.maroonweekly.com February 17 – March 2

MAROON WEEKLY | 9

Arts & Entertainment

Village Café fosters local talent

Photos by Sarabeth Lacy

By Sarabeth Lacy I would experience little discomfort were I asked to wager a hefty sum of cash on Northgate’s popularity throughout all of Texas. Being a non-native myself, I liken it to Sixth Street in Austin. We all know that Texas (T.U.) students, with interests in libations often possess weekend plans on Sixth Street, just as A&M devotees with similar objectives can be located somewhere along University and Church Street.

Though I do not intend to contest Northgate’s well earned notoriety, I do wish to call College Station’s attention to the unsung heroes of Downtown Bryan. The two cities are rich in nightlife options, but so many students and residents default to College Station’s offerings and fail to experience a different sort of culture occurring right next door. Do not fret, though; potent potables and various genres of music await those who are courageous enough to break away from the herd.

The list of options is lengthy, consisting of Murphy’s Law, Revolutions, and the Stafford, just to name a few. For now, though, let us consider a rare opportunity for individualistic self-expression in a collective forum. Every Thursday the Village Downtown hosts a singer/songwriter night, and it must not be confused with a run of the mill open mic set.

You will not witness any swaying individuals, who have overly imbibed, slurring “Hurts so Good” into the microphone. Instead you will discover a diverse gathering of local musicians, who have congregated in order to demonstrate original songs with a few covers thrown in for fun.

Should you become a regular patron on Thursdays, you will become familiar with the likes of Chris Clonts, Chad Petty, the Imaginary Friends, and many more. The musicians’ personal stylings run the gambit from folk to blues, and of course you can always enjoy a bit of rock. In fact,

I suggest you venture across the tracks sometime soon, as Chris Clonts plans to depart on tour with the Lonesome Heroes in the near future. Upon asking Chris what tour destinations they have lined up, he responded, “Everywhere”.

You may still wonder what the draw is; we can hear live music at plenty of College Station venues, right? Such is true, but no other venue offers the opportunity to observe musicians in the process of developing their sound and writing skills. You can witness growth and maturation in each musician throughout the weeks, as they feed off of each other’s creative energy.

“I can actually hand my sheet music to someone and get an opinion from another musician,” Grant Brammer of the Imaginary Friends stated. “It’s unlike any other open mic venue.”

Brammer’s enthusiasm for singer/songwriter night runs deep, and he refuses to sit idly by as Bryan’s talent remains unnoticed. For the entire spring semester, he intends to record every Thursday night session with the intention of releasing a compilation CD this summer. Meticulously Brammer will select the best recordings from each musician in regular attendance and devote several tracks to him or her.

He noted to me his excitement about the

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diversity of personal sounds all held together by a common thread of group participation and collaboration, which will be featured via the compilation. “This is the only place where you’re asked to come up and play with another musician,” Brammer explained.

“They may ask you to play percussion, or they may need you to play back-up guitar.”

You need not be a seasoned musician by any means; all levels of musical talent and interest are invited to the stage with no pressure or expectations of a perfect performance. In fact, you need not be a musician at all. The café serves wine, beer, and coffee to those requiring complimentary wifi and free entertainment. Individuals of various ages and vocations frequent the Village Downtown every Thursday in order to enjoy the set.

Whether you are a burgeoning or sage musician in search of personal development or solely a music connoisseur, I strongly encourage you to take a night off from Northgate and immerse yourself in the melodious talent waiting for you just down the street. Who knows; perhaps Brammer could even locate a spot for you on the compilation CD if you start to participate.

Arts & Entertainment

book review the boleyn inheritance by Philippa Gregory

By Autumn Dawson This is one of those books that sneaks up on you, grabs hold, and won’t let go till the last page. It is the story of three women who shifted the tides for queens, and walked through one of possibly the most infamous courts in history.

While The Boleyn Inheritance certainly shouldn’t be taken as gospel, Gregory’s novel provides some interesting insight into a dangerous era in English history; in a time where the people were subject to the whims of a once golden prince, who had descended to the ranks of a tyrant.

The first perspective is that of Anne of Cleves.

Eager to escape her boorish brother, Anne arrives in England ready to prove herself a good queen, determined to do what she can to better the nation. Unfortunately for her, she unknowingly insults one of the vainest kings in history, and will have only her wits to survive on.

The second perspective is that of Katherine “Kitty” Howard, an empty-headed teen who is shallow but also pitiable. Kitty is a notorious flirt who thinks of nothing beyond counting her possessions and making every man she meets fall in love with her. This is not to say that she is a strictly unlikable character for I found it hard not to feel sorry for her when her uncle uses her to catch the eye of a vain and foolish king, who thinks himself her equal in looks and youth. When Kitty’s past comes to light, the king quickly grows disenchanted with her and the poor young woman will pay the ultimate cost for the follies of youth.

Of the three perspectives this story is told

from, perhaps the most intriguing character is that of Lady Jane Rochford, the woman whose testimony sent her husband, George, and his sister, the notorious Anne Boleyn, to the scaffold. Gregory makes quite a villain of Lady Jane, but her portrayal is also that of a woman determined to see to her own well-being and life, whatever the consequences and whatever the price.

Gregory makes the argument here that, while Lady Jane may not have been entirely in her right mind, she was also subject to the whims of the Duke of Norfolk, whose endless schemes ensured that no one was sacred in his endless struggle for power and position. Though Lady Jane isn’t exactly a sympathetic character, the duke almost makes her look like a kitten. But as a pair, these two can’t help but send a chill up the reader’s spine.

Gregory breathes life into the past, into the lives of three women fighting to survive in a world controlled by the will of men, and the whims of a king interested only in his own pleasure. If you love history and want a read that will send chills up your spine, don’t miss Philippa Gregory’s The Boleyn Inheritance. www.maroonweekly.com February 17 – March 2

MAROON WEEKLY | 11

Arts & Entertainment

book review

movie review

fire in the blood by Irene nemirovsky

The Mechanic

By Brandon Nowalk

By Gabrielle Nguyen It seems like with each passing day, life moves faster and faster. Each day consists of rushing around to finish tasks; yet, it doesn’t appear shorten the “To Do” list, and it certainly doesn’t seem to shorten the “bucket list”. It’s hard to remember a time when life was slower. Irène Némirovsky’s novel, Fire in the Blood, is set in and about that apparently standstill lifestyle.

Fire in the Blood takes place after WWI but before WWII in the Burgundy region of France, where farmlands dominate the landscape and wine and food are decadent.

The narrator, an older gentleman named Sylvestre, has retired from a life of travel, adventure, and spending his inheritance and now lives a quiet and solitary life. The people he is closest to are his cousins, Hélène and François, and their children, Colette and the boys.

When Sylvestre attends Colette’s wedding, he runs into people he hasn’t seen in his solitude… “…people sometimes not seen in years, but who suddenly turn up, like corks bobbing to the surface, each one awakening the memory of quarrels that started back in the mists of time, past loves, former grudges, engagements broken then forgotten, inheritances and law suits…”

It is with meeting those people that his narration reveals past and current loves, infidelities and scandals. In his telling, Sylvestre marvels at the vitality of youth, the “fire in the blood”, and qt how most people, as they grow older, forget they once had fire, too.

Written as if it were Sylvestre’s diary, the world really does seem to slow almost to a stop when you read this novel. You feel the coldness in your bones and the annoyance at the unexpected and unwanted visitor.

This quasi-stream-of-consciousness style also allows for artful and intimate revelations.

The characters of the novel seem to have grown from the landscape of Burgundy.

The farmers keep to themselves, mind their own business, and don’t welcome outsiders.

They distrust strangers and covet their land and their money. Often, they mistake peace for happiness and will go to great lengths to maintain the façade of peace.

Rich with imagery and evocative language, Némirovsky explores the capacities of human emotion and how difficult it can be to empathize with youth at times. Books similar to Fire in the Blood include Per Petterson’s Out Stealing Horses (an old man’s reflection on a series of pivotal events in his youth) and Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower (a first person narrative reminiscent of a stream-of-consciousness style).

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Hit man movies occupy a unique position on the cinema map. They’re movies about men— sometimes women, but let’s face it, mostly men—who kill for money, which necessitates a moral accounting that isn’t immediately apparent.

Cop movies have the law on their side—the righteousness of those laws is another question— and gangster flicks, as anyone in them will tell you, only have one ending. Then there are cowboys, who enter every scene with a revolver sagging on their hips. The best of these (like True Grit, still in theaters) grapple with the consequences of gunslinging justice. Not to do so, as in hit man pictures, tacitly complies with the rules of the universe, an amoral wasteland haunted by the spectral sociopaths. The Mechanic is such a picture.

It’s not evil, preaching the joys of violence, and I don’t see how you could get wrapped up in it enough not to realize the characters’ depravity considering it’s so boring. But it is absolutely amoral, neither siding with its stoic antihero—Jason Statham playing the Jason Statham character, robotically complying with characters’ emotions while betraying none himself—nor condemning him. As a universe built around and playing off of the biggest name in action franchises, it’s no spoiler to say this has sequel potential.

It’s just a shame the flick is so short on fun. The Mechanic could absolutely get away without a moral component if it weren’t so moody—at least it lacks the self-serious gravitas that drowns many B-movies—but because the film takes so much time brooding over the consequences of the hit man life, it’s asking for a judgment that never comes. A Sergio Leone style of titillating suspense and quick, expert gunplay would have suited this kind of film much better, and made for a rip-roaring action vehicle besides.

That picture is in The Mechanic, with its grindhouse sex scenes and occasional hints of a pulse, lost somewhere between the narrative folds. The plot begins an hour in, and there’s a good twenty minutes of amateurish filler. For instance, there’s an interlude after the first kill, where we spend four shots driving—director Simon West gets this across by filming a road, cutting to tires, cutting to windshield, and enduring a lens flare for no other reason than it’s kinda pretty—a shot or two brooding in silence, one or two on a laptop, some impressionistic bayou vistas, and then we’re back to where we started, all of which—the brooding, the mystery, the isolation—could have been conveyed in a single image, or better still, not at all, since all we (and West) care about is the action!

The hits are exciting, when you’re not thinking about how this is a film about two white dudes killing a bunch of minorities, but they’re kinda few and way too far between. The American’s the much better recent hit man movie, a bit obvious, but at least it juggles suspense, action, and an honest-to-goodness moral reckoning.

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www.maroonweekly.com February 17 – March 2

MAROON WEEKLY | 13

14 | MAROON WEEKLY February 17 – March 2 www.maroonweekly.com

Arts & Entertainment

Forsyth Gallery Brings Holocaust Survivor Photos to Bryan

By Chris Zebo The MSC Forsyth Gallery, in collaboration with Texas A&M Hillel and numerous underwriters, is currently hosting a powerful new traveling exhibit from the Holocaust Museum Houston.

“When They Came to Take My Father” photographs by Mark Seliger opened last Thursday night and features 20 of the acclaimed photographer’s black and white portraits of living Holocaust survivors accompanied by stirring first-person accounts of each survivor’s experience.

Seliger, most famous for his work with Rolling Stone (he shot over 125 covers for the magazine) is an Amarillo native currently living and working in New York. When he was 16 years old, he made a pilgrimage to Auschwitz and took a photographic journal (all images lost today) of his experiences.

Over the years, he carried the graphic emotional weight of the journey in his mind until he revisited the subject matter recently in photographs he took of over 50 Holocaust survivors, many living in the boroughs of New York, in Houston, and scattered throughout the US. The provocative exhibit examines, among countless other themes, how each survivor has carried, in their bodies and their minds, memories of death camp atrocities, of being stolen from their homelands, of being interned in ghettos. It examines the peculiar, irrational guilt of being a survivor when so many died. It also opens up new insights into cultural memory and the effects that genocidal trauma can bear upon a person’s identity. For example, many survivors disclose intimate, life-long struggles with selfimaging, such as renouncing or reclaiming the Jewish faith, hiding or redefining their cultural identities, emigration and the consequent stress of acculturation after the war, and even the anxiety of changing their

Photos by Chris Zebo

names--once years ago to escape the Nazi roundups and later to escape the unfathomable personal suffering attached to them.

One of the most poignant stories in the exhibit comes from Rosa Strygler, a survivor originally born in Krakow, Poland in 1928.

In the late 1930s, when Himmler decreed that “All Poles will disappear from the world,” Strygler and her family were taken to Auschwitz as part of the Nazi eradication of ethnic Poles program. She survived imminent death by narrowly escaping the Nazis one day by jumping from a train that was transferring her from Auschwitz to another camp. She was only 11 years old. She recounts a harrowing moment in Auschwitz before that day she leapt to freedom, an experience that must torment every day of her life: I shared a bunk with my mother in Auschwitz. Everybody knew that if you didn’t get up for roll call, they would take you to the gas chamber. One day, my mother wouldn’t get up. She wouldn’t talk…I was lying with her. In a way, I was extremely happy. I thought how nice it would be to die together. But when they said, “Last call,” I did something I never thought I would do. I left my mother, knowing that when I came back, she would not be there. And she wasn’t. I had [to] go on. I cannot explain it.

After the war, Strygler was selected for

Photos Courtesy of MSC Forsythe

adoption in the United States as a “firstpreference qualified orphan,” a status given to orphaned children under the age of 18 and also sole survivors of one concentration camp.

It’s impossible for viewers of the 20 photographs to discern the magnitude of suffering that each survivor endured.

And without being prefaced by the short personal accounts adjoining each image, each one resembles any normal person one might pass on the street any given day.

In conjunction with the exhibit, the MSC Forsyth has coordinated a three-day symposium to accompany the show. The symposium, “Human Suffering”, will take place Feb. 21-23 in the museum gallery.

The schedule is as follows (each symposium begins at 6:30pm): Monday, February 21 Rabbi Peter Tarlow will speak about the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions and their influence on latter-day

Europe.

Tuesday, February 22 Mustafa A. Sharif will speak on modern-day genocide in Darfur.

Wednesday, February 23 Adam Seipp will speak on the Holocaust.

The exhibit and symposiums are free and open to the public. The Forsyth and “When They Came to Take My Father” photographs

by Mark Seliger are open for viewing Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10am - 6pm (open until 9pm on Thursdays). “When They Came to Take My Father” photographs by Mark Seliger will be showing at the museum until March 26. For more information about the exhibit and other exhibits currently on view, you can visit MSC Forsyth Gallery’s website at forsyth.tamu.edu.

www.maroonweekly.com February 17 – March 2

MAROON WEEKLY | 15

Arts & Entertainment

Photos courtesy of Parental Care Ministries

Aggies making a global impact

By Nichelle Jaeger Bicycles, bovines and bucks describe how students in the college of Veterinary Medicine are helping aid the efforts of Parental Care Ministries USA, an organization that serves orphans and pastors in Uganda.

Through their travels, directors Mark and Monica Barret witnessed young orphans, which are defined as fatherless children, who were deprived of basic needs and were subject to abuse and witchcraft. Parental Care Ministries USA (PCM) is the vehicle that

allows the children to get their basic needs and for the Barrets to spread the word of God to under privileged nations.

“Without the love of Christ, kids experience a gamut of social ills,” Monica Barret said.

Leslie Easterwood, Assistant Clinical Professor in Veterinary Large Animal Clinical Sciences, introduced this giving opportunity to two student groups in the College of Veterinary Medicine: the Christian Veterinary Fellowship and the American Association of Bovine Practitioners. She challenged them to sponsor a cow, for $500, to feed hungry orphans. Then, she agreed to sponsor one bicycle, $100, for every cow they raised money for.

The students eagerly accepted the challenged and quickly designed a t-shirt to sell to raise the necessary funds. After

16 | MAROON WEEKLY February 17 – March 2 www.maroonweekly.com

only three weeks, they raised enough money to send five cows and five bicycles to Uganda.

The students even had enough shirts left to send each of the pastors a t-shirt. Now the Texas A&M Veterinary students are challenging the other 27 Vet schools to sponsor at least one cow. Mark and Monica Barret visited campus on Monday to thank the students for their selfless service.

“I’m always amazed with Aggies,” Mark Barret said.

The pastors in Uganda are spreading the word of God and helping PCM in its efforts.

The bicycles that PCM provided the pastors allow them to travel to the orphans and transport items.

“We want the help to be self-sustaining. A bike changes their world,” Mark Barret said.

The Barret’s daughter fueled the decision to start PCM after she wrote a Christmas letter

to her mom saying. “Dear Mom, I feel this Christmas we should be missionaries and help the poor. Jesus keeps pushing me to tell you. Merry Christmas!”

Since its founding in 2008, PCM has built three schools in Uganda and established a partnership with the pastors. Recently, PCM received a donation of 68 acres which will be the location of a new school. The plot of land has an existing banana plantation, fertile land for producing crops and the beginning structures of a Tilapia farm.

Construction of the school is expected to start this summer.

If you would like to learn more about Parental Care Ministries, visit their website at www.pcmonline.org/

Arts & Entertainment

Aggieland opens its doors to prospective students Texas A&M will once again open its campus to an estimated 10,000 prospective students and parents during the university’s annual “Aggieland Saturday” Feb. 19.

The popular campus-wide open house is held each year to help prospective students and their families learn more about the opportunities available at Texas A&M. Sponsored by the Office of Admissions and Records, “Aggieland Saturday” is open to all prospective students, including both high school students and transfer students.

While they are on campus for the day visitors can meet current students, tour the residence halls, visit libraries and computer labs and generally get a better concept about what Texas A&M has to offer. They also can learn more about its academic colleges and the majors they offer. A variety of group sessions will provide information about admissions, financial aid, student services, student organizations and student traditions, organizers note.

Because “Aggieland Saturday” is designed to be self-guided so participants can focus on their specific areas of interest, each academic college and several student services offices have planned fun and informational sessions throughout the day, they add.

University officials say “Aggieland Saturday” is open to prospective students, former students, their families and anyone wishing to learn more about Texas A&M. “Aggieland Saturday” activities are free except for meals and parking.

For more information, including registration and a schedule of events planned for the day, go to http://admissions.tamu.edu/aggielandsaturday/default.aspx or contact the Prospective Student Center at (979) 458-0427, or email admissions@tamu.edu

events Thursday, February 17 Original College Night @ Texas Hall of Fame Singer/Songwriter Night @ The Village Café Party on the Patio @ Ozona Grill and Bar (6pm) Karaoke @ Schotzi’s Ben Morris and the Boxcar Chorus @ La Bodega Carnegie Blues @ Revolution Friday, February 18 Tyler Cannon and Matt Beamy @ La Bodega Reckless Kelly w/ Rich O’Toole @ Texas Hall of Fame ($12) Cory Morrow w/ Dirty River Boys @ Hurricane Harry’s Plump @ Revolution Dewey Wayne @ Schotzi’s Saturday, February 19 Aggieland Saturday @ Texas A&M University Salsa Dancing @ The Village Café (10pm) Tyler Cannon @ La Bodega Jodi Nix @ Texas Hall of Fame ($10) Sideshow Tragedy and Vegabond Swing @ Revolution Dean Ferrell @ The Beer Joint Seth Canden @ Schotzi’s Sunday, February 20 Spring Bridal Show @ Brazos Valley Expo Complex, Bryan (11am-4pm) Obannon’s Pub Quiz @ Obannon’s Taphouse Mark Jungers and the Whistlin’ Mules, Slim Bawb & GatorBait @ Stafford Main St. Poetry Open Mic @ Revolution DJ Verros and DJ Drock @ Schotzi’s Monday, February 21 Jacob Asbil and Will Reynolds @ Revolution Open Mic @ Shotzi’s Tuesday, February 22 Absolute Karaoke @ O’Bannon’s Taphouse Mike Ethan Messick and Ben Morris @ Church Street BBQ J Goodin @ Revolution

Garrett Snowden @ La Bodega Cory Smith w/ Kyle Bennett Band @ Hurricane Harry’s Open Mic @ Revolution Push Water Band @ The Beer Joint Thursday, February 24 Claire Domingue @ La Bodega Party on the Patio @ Ozona Grill and Bar (6pm) Original College Night @ Texas Hall of Fame Boxcar Bandits @ Revolution Karaoke and Secret of Boris @ Shotzi’s Friday, February 25 Tyler Cannon @ La Bodega Cody Johnson w/ John Slaughter @ Texas Hall of Fame ($8) Andy MacIntyre @ Church Street BBQ No Justice @ Hurricane Harry’s Premier Screening of Honky Tonk Blood @ The Beer Joint Reagan Firestorm CD Release Party @ Shotzi’s Saturday, February 26 Salsa Dancing @ The Village Café (10pm) The Longhaul Band @ La Bodega Bobby Flores @ Texas Hall of Fame ($10) The Congomerate @ Church Street BBQ Chris Kliebar and Black Pistol Fire @ Shotzi’s Sunday, February 27 Obannon’s Pub Quiz @ Obannon’s Taphouse Jordan Minor and the Bottom Dollar Band, Pug Johnson, Nick Verzosa DJ Verros and DJ Drock @ Schotzi’s Monday, February 28 Open Mic @ Schotzi’s Tuesday, March 1 Absolute Karaoke @ O’Bannon’s Taphouse Two Tons of Steal @ Schotzi’s Wednesday, March 2 Comedy Night @ Schotzi’s

Wednesday, February 23 Salsa Lessons @ The Village Café Comedy Night @ Schotzi’s Check out maroonweekly.com for more info!

Make sure to submit your events at www.maroonweekly.com www.maroonweekly.com February 17 – March 2

MAROON WEEKLY | 17

Sports Aggies find some rhythm on the road in Big 12 play

By Turner Dawson The Texas A&M basketball team ended their three game losing streak this week as they went on the road and picked up two big wins. It took an overtime thriller in Boulder to take down the Colorado Buffaloes and another nail biter in Lubbock as the Aggies took down Texas Tech.

Against Colorado, the two star players for the Buffs, Cory Higgins and Alec Burks, gave the Aggies fits and were on fire on offense.

The two combined for 43 of the team’s 70 points and shot about 40% from the field.

But the Aggies did a pretty good job on the rest of the team. This was the first time in several weeks that the Aggies got back to playing the type of defense that helped them to the fastest start in school history to begin this year.

Nathan Walkup had a big time game against Colorado picking up 18 points and 8 rebounds including 4 on the offensive end.

But it all came down to the final shot as the Aggies were trailing by 3 with 4 seconds left. Colorado expected the Aggies to look for leading scorer Kris Middleton but senior B.J. Holmes got open and nailed a long three to send the game into overtime. The Aggies took control in overtime to pick up the much-needed win but it definitely took some luck. Better to be lucky than good at times.

After the big win in Boulder the Aggies headed to Lubbock on Saturday to take on the struggling Red Raiders. Tech got out to a fast start but the Aggies showed their toughness by battling back to take the lead by halftime. It was back and forth in the second half and the Aggies survived the last second shot by John Roberson to survive and win by three.

Nathan Walkup once again came up huge for the Aggies with 11 points and 13

rebounds including 5 on the offensive end.

Walkup has been such a valuable player for this team this season. He isn’t the most talented player but he works his tail off. He is one of the best offensive rebounders in the entire country and gets most of his point on put backs. B.J. Holmes also continued his streak of good play with 14 points and Kris Middleton added 16.

Photos courtesy of Glen Johnson/Aggie Athletics

The Aggies have two more big games coming up this week. They will return home from their road trip to take on the Iowa State Cyclones at Reed Arena. Iowa State has been a difficult team to figure out after they entered conference play with a record of 13-2. It looked like they were making big improvements but they have since gone 1-9 in conference.

The Cyclones are lead by Diante Garrett, who is one of the best guards in the Big 12 averaging 17.9 points per game. The Cyclones have 5 guys that average double figures in points but all five of those guys play at least 28 minutes per game. Their starting five are all pretty decent players but they lack depth. It will be crucial for the Aggies to try and wear down the Cyclones starting five.

If they get into foul trouble, they are in trouble. Typically the Aggies would benefit from referees that let some things slide but they would actually benefit from a tightly called game in this one. Ultimately, the Aggies are a much more talented team than the Cyclones and match up with them very well. They should win this game without much difficulty, but the Aggies have a way of always playing in close games.

On Saturday, the Aggies will travel to Stillwater to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Aggies beat the Cowboys 71-48 when they played at Reed Arena at the beginning of conference play. But they are still are very dangerous team. The

18 | MAROON WEEKLY February 17 – March 2 www.maroonweekly.com

Cowboys have been horrendous on the road this season and have yet to win a game on the road. But they are 4-1 in Big 12 play at home. The Aggies will be walking into a very hostile environment in Stillwater.

The Cowboys are led by guard Keiton Page with 14.1 points per game and big man Marshall Moses with 14.7 points per game.

Page is a dangerous shooter that can get hot and Moses is a very athletic big man.

It will be important for the Aggies to keep Page under raps and not allow him any open shots and they will likely have to double on Moses.

The Aggies have been pretty inconsistent lately on both ends of the court and have shown a propensity for mental lapses. It will be key for the Aggies to not have issues with turnovers and that they control the glass. At times the Aggies are a very good defensive team and at other times they are extremely poor. The Aggies have shown they can beat the Cowboys soundly but this is going to be a very tough game on the road. I expect

the Aggies to handle Iowa State without much difficulty. I think the Aggies are going to have some problems on the road against Oklahoma State. I don’t expect the Aggies to win in Stillwater but it wouldn’t shock me either. It would be a really big win if they do and would show that they have gotten things back on track.

www.maroonweekly.com February 17 – March 2

MAROON WEEKLY | 19

Sports Photos courtesy of Glen Johnson/Aggie Athletics

By Ian Soares The Texas A&M Softball team is coming into the 2011 season ranked no. 19 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason Poll. The team has a solid core of returning starters and one of the largest freshmen classes in recent years. But the item garnering the most attention lately is the fact that they also have one of the toughest schedules in the country. The first couple of tournaments boast several top 25 teams and their Big XII schedule features 5 teams in the top 25 (two of which are in the top ten.)

It goes without saying that this season will be full of excitement as it looks to provide a lot of great opportunities as well as challenges.

As I looked to interview a player that would embody the expectations for this upcoming season, I didn’t need to look any further than the team’s starting pitcher, Melissa Dumezich. The sophomore, from Whiting, Indiana is certainly up for the challenge.

In order to best understand her drive, I only had to begin with a simple question… “How would you describe yourself as a player?”

She takes a moment to think about that question and then very sincerely replies “I’m hard working.” She then pauses for a few more seconds, pondering that statement, and then adds something far more revealing. “I always want to win,” she says rather timidly. Then with the utmost confidence, she concludes, “I hate to lose!”

Melissa Dumezich doesn’t mind the HEAT 20 | MAROON WEEKLY February 17 – March 2 www.maroonweekly.com

In any other situation, statements like this would go unnoticed, but in this instance, no other self assessment could have rung more true. Melissa Dumezich absolutely refuses to lose; and she has the record to back that up.

Besides dominating the record books in her home state of Indiana, where she owns eight state records, she also led her team to two undefeated seasons and two state championships. When asked about those impressive feats, she becomes quiet again and deflects all inquiries by flashing a big smile and simply stating “Well, that was high school and a long time ago.”

Her high school records and achievements may have been left way back in 2008, but she obviously brought her skill and winning

Sports

determination with her to Texas A&M. Last year as a freshman she started in all sixty games and earned Big XII pitcher of the week honors twice.

According to Head Coach Jo Evans “She is a tremendous athlete,“ and as she describes Melissa’s abilities it becomes apparent that her desire and athleticism isn’t limited strictly to softball either. “She has to be the best at everything. She’s the best at ping pong, basketball, volleyball, she does it all.”

Fortunately for fans of the Texas A&M Softball team this attitude has carried over to wins on the field as well.

“She had a spectacular freshman year. She made it all the way to Regional’s having only lost one game. When the game is on the line you definitely want her on the mound,” Evans said.

But despite her many accomplishments, don’t expect to hear Melissa Dumezich talking about her own personal stats or wins any time soon. In fact, when asked about her most memorable game, in maroon and white, she promptly responds “That would have to be winning at LSU during Regionals last year.” She then goes on to explain, “that game stands out because it was so hot! It was also Regionals, and [fellow freshman] Meagan May hit a run to win the game 1-0.”

Of all of the things that stood out to her about that game, she fails to mention that it was the second game in a double-header and that she pitched shutouts in both games.

To drive the point home, Coach Evans adds, “She has a great personality and she’s really fun, but don’t expect her to say a lot. She doesn’t need to hear herself speak.”

That being said, don’t let her soft-spoken nature or her strong determination to always win lead you to assume that she is the quietintense-brooding type. She’s far from it.

decision to attend Texas A&M. Obviously she was highly recruited and could have attended practically any college of her choosing. But she narrowed her choices down to Texas A&M, Georgia, or Alabama.

When asked about why she selected those particular schools, she does not hesitate to laugh and say “the warm weather was a definite factor.”

She then offers up a little more insight.

“Right now, we’re playing softball [outside at night] while at home in Indiana there’s like 20 inches of snow.”

When asked to describe her own personality with the team, Melissa is far more comfortable opening up and stating, “I like to goof around and crack jokes.” She then dismisses any and all notions about her intensity by proclaiming “I’m laid back. I’m a chill person.”

There were a lot of other factors too. The coaches from A&M had a lot to do with it.

They had been recruiting her since her junior year of high school and during her visit to campus she was immediately won over by the atmosphere, players, and facilities.

Her fun-laid-back nature is evident in her

“When I came for my recruiting trip everyone

was so nice. The facilities are amazing here, and as far as academics; the Bright building is awesome.” But, just so nobody forgets, she emphasizes “I am definitely a warm weather person.”

When she’s not practicing or doing homework, she enjoys hanging out with her teammates and having cookouts and swimming in pools at the apartment complexes around town. This seems to have really helped the team bond too.

“This year we have really great chemistry on the team.

“I’m excited to start our games and see where our team is at,” she says with a look of true anticipation, “I think we’re going to be really good. I think as a team, we are lot better than we were even last year.”

The new players will certainly have an immediate impact on the team.

“They make practices really fun because [the incoming class is so big] we get to scrimmage almost every day. There’s also a lot of really good competition and that pushes every player to fight for their spot; making us that much better.”

Historically, the Texas A&M softball team has a tradition of freshmen stepping up in big ways. Players such as Melissa Dumezich, Meagan May, and Rhi Kliesing are certainly proof of that.

“We’ll get to see where we’re at real soon.

In our first tournament we will be playing a number of highly ranked teams including top ranked Arizona,” she said. “As a whole we’re all just really happy and optimistic right now. I think we’ll give everyone a run for their money.”

The Texas A&M Softball team’s first home tournament of the season will be the Aggie Classic starting on February 18th.

www.maroonweekly.com February 17 – March 2

MAROON WEEKLY | 21

Sports

Photos courtesy of Corps of Cadets

Corps of Cadets develops athletic program

By Sherrill Mogonye The Texas A&M Corps of Cadets has long been known for their military focus and uphold of traditions. Now, they are creating a new tradition with The Corps Athletic Program.

The Corps itself is made up of almost 1,900 cadets, many with competitive nature and great physical ability. The organization is dedicated to creating men and women of character and through the new athletic program they can achieve that goal through team building, leadership skills and hard work.

This new athletic program is composed of ten teams so far, one being the Men’s Corps Basketball Team. The team competes against club teams, intramural teams and ROTC teams at other colleges. They also compete in the Annual Notre Dame Flyin’ Irish tournament, which hosts over 50 ROTC teams throughout the nation. The A&M Corps team has been the tournament

champions for five consecutive years, and hopes to bring home their sixth trophy this month.

Another team creating a buzz with accolades is the Corps Triathlon Team. They were established in the Spring of 2009, but have already had several top three finishes. They compete in regional and national triathlons, including the Amica Championship Triathlon in Phoenix, Arizona. This agile group hopes to continue their dominant force in more triathlons this summer.

Although the Corps is mostly made up of males, there are currently two female teams in the program. The Women’s Corps Softball Team has just joined the National Club Softball Association where they will compete against other club teams across the state and nation. This team has just begun to develop, but there is high hope they will do well in the future. The Women’s Basketball Team is another way for women to connect within the Corps. In the last few years, they have competed in the

22 | MAROON WEEKLY February 17 – March 2 www.maroonweekly.com

intramural league on campus and plan to join additional leagues in years to come.

The Corps has a number of other teams, including a Powerlifting Team that competes in meets across the nation, winning numerous medals. The Soccer Team who participates in competitive leagues throughout the community and in intramurals continues to finish at the top.

The co-ed Corps Volleyball team also plays in the A&M intramural leagues each year.

The Bataan Team participates in the annual 26.2 mile Bataan Memorial Death March to honor soldiers who sacrificed their lives during WWII. Men and women in the Corps who love to run great distances are a part of the Corps Marathon Team. Their biggest annual races are the Houston and Austin Marathons. Last November, one member also ran the very demanding New York Marathon.

This year, over 80 cadets tried out for the Men’s Corps Baseball Team. After rigorous

tryouts, 30 players make up the team that competes in the National Club Baseball Association and against club level teams around the state. The team also participates in a popular annual charity event in the Corps versus Fraternity game during parent’s weekend.

The Corps Athletic Program has grown leaps and bounds in the past two years. They plan to continue this competitive tradition, and to recruit high school varsity athletes for the teams. This year, the Corps Athletic Program also partnered with the Corps of Cadets Association and Adidas to get new and improved uniforms. There is unlimited potential for the program which could bring new teams like wrestling, swimming and tennis. These club level teams are the beginning of a new and exciting experience within the Corps of Cadets.

Find out more on the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets Athletic Facebook page.

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MAROON WEEKLY | 23

Sports

Sports Calendar Thursday, Feb 17 All Day Men’s Golf Leilehua GC vs John A. Burns Intercollegiate at Wahiawa, Hawai’i

TBA Men’s Tennis vs TBD at Seattle, Wash.

All Day Men’s Swimming vs Big 12 Championships at Austin, Texas

All Day Men’s Swimming vs Big 12 Championships at Austin, Texas

Sunday, Feb 20 12:05 PM Baseball vs Le Moyne at COLLEGE STATION

All Day Women’s Swimming vs Big 12 Championships at Austin, Texas

All Day Women’s Swimming vs Big 12 Championships at Austin, Texas

TBA Men’s Tennis vs TBD at Seattle, Wash.

Thursday, Feb 24 5:00 PM Softball vs Washington at Cathedral City, Calif.

5:00 PM Softball vs Wichita State at College Station

Monday, Feb 21 TBA Men’s Tennis vs TBD at Seattle, Wash.

8:00 PM Softball vs Long Beach State at Cathedral City, Calif.

Saturday, Feb 26 8:00 PM Men’s Basketball ESPNU HD vs Baylor at Waco, Texas 2:05 PM Baseball vs Gonzaga at COLLEGE STATION

All Day Men’s Golf Leilehua GC vs John A. Burns Intercollegiate at Wahiawa, Hawai’i

All Day Women’s Golf River Wilderness CC vs Central District Invitational at Parrish, Fla.

6:00 PM Women’s Tennis vs Fresno State at College Station, Texas

12:00 PM Softball vs Northwestern at Cathedral City, Calif.

TBA Men’s Tennis vs TBD at Seattle, Wash.

Tuesday, Feb 22 7:00 PM Women’s Basketball vs Texas Tech at College Station

All Day Men’s Swimming vs Big 12 Championships at Austin, Texas

2:00 PM Women’s Soccer vs Prairie View A&M vs. Tulsa at College Station, Texas

Saturday, Feb 19 8:00 PM Men’s Basketball ESPNU HD vs Oklahoma State at Stillwater, Okla.

6:35 PM Baseball vs Prairie View A&M at COLLEGE STATION

All Day Women’s Swimming vs Big 12 Championships at Austin, Texas

5:00 PM Women’s Soccer vs Tulsa at College Station, Texas

Friday, Feb 25 6:35 PM Baseball vs Gonzaga at COLLEGE STATION

1:00 PM Women’s Tennis vs Washington at College Station, Texas

12:00 PM Softball vs Ohio State at Cathedral City, Calif.

TBA Track & Field, Cross Country vs Big 12 Championships at Lincoln, Neb.

Friday, Feb 18 6:35 PM Baseball vs Le Moyne at COLLEGE STATION 2:30 PM Softball vs UT Arlington at College Station

6:00 PM Women’s Basketball vs Oklahoma State at College Station 2:05 PM Baseball vs Le Moyne at COLLEGE STATION 2:30 PM Softball vs Wichita State at College Station 5:00 PM Softball vs UT Arlington at College Station

6:00 PM Softball vs Texas State at College Station All Day Women’s Golf River Wilderness CC vs Central District Invitational at Parrish, Fla. Wednesday, Feb 23 6:30 PM Men’s Basketball FSN SW vs OKLAHOMA at COLLEGE STATION

24 | MAROON WEEKLY February 17 – March 2 www.maroonweekly.com

2:30 PM Softball vs Georgia at Cathedral City, Calif.

TBA Track & Field, Cross Country vs Big 12 Championships at Lincoln, Neb.

All Day Men’s Swimming vs Big 12 Championships at Austin, Texas All Day Men’s Golf The Classic Club vs Wyoming Desert Classic at Palm Desert, Calif.

Saturday

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Wolfpen creek Amphitheater

DuckJam.org MUSIC

Retriever Series

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MAROON WEEKLY | 25

26 | MAROON WEEKLY February 17 – March 2 www.maroonweekly.com

Sports Calendar All Day Women’s Swimming vs Big 12 Championships at Austin, Texas

10:00 AM Women’s Equestrian vs Oklahoma State at Stillwater, Okla.

TBA Women’s Equestrian vs Kansas State at Manhattan, Kan.

1:00 PM Men’s Tennis vs LSU at College Station, Texas

Sunday, Feb 27 2:00 PM Women’s Basketball TV: FSN vs Texas at Austin, Texas 12:05 PM Baseball vs Gonzaga at COLLEGE STATION

All Day Men’s Golf The Classic Club vs Wyoming Desert Classic at Palm Desert, Calif.

All Day Women’s Golf English Turn G&CC vs AllState Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate at New Orleans, La.

6:00 PM Men’s Tennis vs UT Arlington at College Station, Texas

Monday, Feb 28 All Day Women’s Golf English Turn G&CC vs AllState Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate at New Orleans, La.

Wednesday, Mar 2 8:00 PM Men’s Basketball ESPN/ESPN2 vs Kansas at Lawrence, Kan.

All Day Women’s Golf English Turn G&CC vs AllState Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate at New Orleans, La.

Tuesday, Mar 1 6:35 PM Baseball vs Texas-Pan American at COLLEGE STATION

7:00 PM Women’s Basketball TV: FSN KC vs Kansas State at Manhattan, Kan. 3:05 PM Baseball vs Texas-Pan American at COLLEGE STATION

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Diversions

Red mango pleases the senses

By Mallory Dykowski With many frozen yogurt shops popping up around the area, how do you know which one is the best?

Red Mango, located at The Lofts at Wolf Pen Creek, opened in March 2010. It was the second frozen yogurt shop in town after Spoons.

In this self-serve frozen yogurt shop, it is just that. You go down an assembly-like line choosing your flavor of frozen yogurt and then deciding your toppings. Toppings range from fresh fruit to organic granola flakes to fruity pebbles and dark chocolate.

“One thing that sets us apart from the rest is the atmosphere,” Red Mango Manager Cam Bohannon said.

There are four flavors of yogurt that remain the same, but six others are changed out about every two days. Smoothies come in 23 flavors. Other items on the menu are fruit parfaits, Hot Chocolate Chillers, and Probiotic Iced Teas.

Bohannon strongly urges everyone to

sample every flavor, especially Red Mango’s original.

“Even people who have been here before still sample,” he joked.

Red Mango is the fastest growing retail yogurt franchise.

“We behave just like a local business,” Bohannon said.

He even does his hiring locally.

Bohannon said the goal is to match healthy lifestyles with what Red Mango stands for.

The location is ideal with Wolf Pen Creek Park and the great outdoor venue just outside their front door.

The yogurt is completely natural, fat free and even gluten-free.

Bohannon said Red Mango is a great place to replace a meal with a fruit parfait for under $5.00 and under 300 calories.

Eating at Red Mango offers something more than just yogurt to feel good about.

Non-profit organizations can team up with the Red Mango, on a Monday through Thursday from 7 pm to 10 pm, to help fund different charities.

Be sure to “Like” Red Mango College Station on Facebook. Their Facebook page has a new promotion titled, “T-shirt Treasure Hunt Tuesday.” Every Tuesday a hint to a voucher location, along with a picture, is posted on their wall. The idea is to figure out where the voucher is hidden around town. The winner receives an American Apparel V-neck Tee that says “Love.”

“It is a treat, but it is good for you,” Bohannon said.

By being a fan on Facebook, you are also in the know of the daily flavors and other news and promotions going on.

For only $0.39/ounce, even college students on a tight budget can afford to treat themselves now and then.

Club Mango is an email subscription suggested on the Red Mango’s Website.

With this, members reap the benefits of

upcoming promotions and coupons for the store.

Later this spring Red Mango hopes to join with Tutta Pasta and The Lofts at Wolf Pen Creek to host a spring concert series. Consumers will be able to utilize the great patio and outdoor space, while listening to their favorite local bands.

The yogurt shop is a great place to study or just relax with friends.

“Most people come in and just hang out for hours,” Bohannon said.

Bohannon is excited for all of Red Mango’s upcoming events and happenings. Stop in next time you’re around the area and give all the flavors a test drive and profit from the advantages of a healthy and delicious treat! More importantly, don’t forget to vote for your favorite frozen yogurt (as well as lots of other businesses) for Best of BCS. Voting is easy. Just go to www.bestofbcs.com and vote today.

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Diversions

A&M Stamp Fest

By Kassie Cessna The 12th Man Team Rewards program was created to encourage attendance to events other than football. For each event you attend you get a stamp, and when you get 12 stamps you get a plastic card, and a t-shirt. After your 12th event you get a scan on your card at each event you attend. At the marks of 24, 36 and 72 you get another prize, and they get larger and better at each mark.

In years past the 12th Man Team Rewards program had a week called “Stamp Fest” where there were multiple events within a short period and you could get around 12 or so stamps in a few days. But this year, this isn’t the case. Allow me to introduce you to: Stamp Madness.

During the whole month of March you can win extra prizes and get up to 30 stamps with the 30 events going on in Aggie Athletics. After you attend 12 events in March you will get a long sleeve Stamp Madness t-shirt, and be entered to win one

of four exclusive prizes that will be announced soon.

Also, on the 12th Man Team Rewards program’s Facebook and Twitter accounts they will have contests going where you can win even more prizes.

There are plenty of ways to win in March, and you don’t have to do anything outside of your normal routine.

Why not catch the softball team play Baylor on March 27th, or the Women’s Tennis team take on Colorado on March 18th. There are numerous baseball games during March as well. The last home Aggie Basketball game takes place March 5th, so you won’t want to miss that.

The National Indoor Track meet is in Aggieland this year, so be sure to stop by the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium on March 11 and 12 to see the best teams in the

country compete on the National stage for Indoor Track.

Between softball, baseball, women’s tennis, indoor track, women’s swimming, equestrian, and the last men’s basketball game of the year, the month of March has something for everyone to go watch, and you can participate in the first annual Stamp Madness at the same time.

The home field advantage A&M has makes the difference, so go out there and be a difference maker!

ch a rt 1

Wade Bowen Red Headed Woman (Smith Ent.)

18

Rosehill Midnight America (Cypress Creek)

2

Kevin Fowler Girl In a Truck (Kevin Fowler)

19

Bleu Edmondson No Room for Mercy (American Saint)

10

No Justice Just Get Going (Carved)

3

Brian Keane I’ll Sing About Mine (Independent)

11

Granger Smith 5 More Minutes (GS)

20

Jake Kellen If Love Was A Road (Horny Toad)

4

Josh Abbott Band Oh, Tonight (PDT)

12

21

Cory Morrow Brand New Me (APEX Nashville/Write On)

Sunny Sweeney From A Table Away (Republic Nashville)

Bart Crow Band Should’ve Stayed Away (Smith Ent.)

5

13

22

Casey Donahew Band Let Me Love You (Winding Road)

6

Turnpike Troubadours 7 & 7 (Onward Music)

Brandon Rhyder Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good (Reserve)

14

23

Mike McClure Band Halfway Out (BooHatch)

7

Fred Andrews/Honeybrowne Beautiful Waste of Time (Smith Ent.)

Jamie Richards Easier By Now (Winding Road)

15

24

Max Stalling Long Way To Get (Blind Nello)

8

Jon Wolfe Let A Country Boy Love You (Fool Hearted Prod)

Mark McKinney Home (Winding Road)

16

Deryl Dodd You’re Not Lookin’ For (Smith Ent.)

25

Reckless Kelly I Hold the Bottle, You Hold the Wheel (WepRoc)

17

Rodney Parker & 50 Peso Reward Guitars (Smith Ent.)

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9

Jason Boland & the Stragglers Outlaw Band (APEX Nashville/Proud Souls)

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Diversions to unload their couches at a low price.

Consider your transactions with care when making deals through Craig’s List: meet in a public place, bring a friend, and do your research. Just as with eBay, deals that seem too good to be true probably are. While it may be possible to get a fifteen-year old couch at a price of $25, it is far less likely that a hot-ticket item like a flat screen TV will be at that same low price. Use your common sense and search often for the best deals— listings are updated very frequently.

By Mara Minsberg Many of us opt not to shop around because we prefer not to part with another of our valuable limited resources: our time. We may rather pay extra cash for convenience in place of spending hours researching more cost-effective alternatives. Buying something gently used can be a good middle-ground alternative: these items are usually easy to find and at a very reasonable price point. The following are some starting point ideas for saving money buying lightly used merchandise: Consignment or Stores that Carry Gently Used Merchandise It is easy to be a bit squeamish about buying something marketed as preowned, but most reputable resellers have stringent standards for used merchandise.

For clothing, consider a store like Plato’s Closet that targets males and females in the 14-24 age range. Because many young shoppers tend to buy clothing and wear it just a few times before losing interest, the shoes, clothing, and accessories are usually in near-new condition at a fraction of the retail price.

For sporting goods, Play It Again Sports provides lightly used sports and fitness equipment at reduced prices. Once Upon a Child offers excellent prices on children’s clothing and toys, items which are usually outgrown in a single season. For media enthusiasts, Half Priced Books has books, records, CDs, DVDs, magazines, and games at a maximum of half of their original price.

Ebay The sheer variety of items available on eBay is truly incredible—enter a search term and you can find exceptional prices on everything from designer jeans to

convertibles. If you manage to be online at the right time for the right item, you can find some great deals. Though the magnitude of listings may be overwhelming, it generally works best to employ vaguer search terms and invest your time in combing through the listings for suitable deals.

Unfortunately, eBay is not without scams, so make sure to check the seller’s feedback for sales of similar items and pay through a secure service like PayPal. While there are some veritable once-in-a-lifetime deals, if you find an item in high demand at an impossibly low price, it may be too good to be true. If you exercise appropriate caution, eBay can be a great resource for overstock or gently used items.

Amazon or Half.com For books and DVDs, it almost always pays off to buy used. Whether you are looking for textbooks or leisure reads, both Amazon and Half.com are excellent starting points for your search. Because individual sellers choose their own prices, you can find a great variety of items priced to move.

Aside from the risk of a scratched DVD, these items usually have a naturally short time span of interest that leads people to recycle them after just one or two uses. Unless you are seeking recently released item, it pays to search online for better deals. In the case of textbooks, just make sure to double-check that the edition listed is the one required for your course.

Craig’s List Whether buying or selling, Craig’s List is an outstanding resource for items like furniture, video game consoles, and gift cards. The Bryan/College Station area Craig’s List can be an especially ripe market for furniture as students are frequently moving and looking

36 | MAROON WEEKLY February 17 – March 2 www.maroonweekly.com

Garage or Estate Sales It may be the old-fashioned way to buy used, but you can still often pick up some gems at a garage or estate sale. You may have to sort through a lot of junk, but since the items are priced to move you are likely to find some very good deals on items like toys, books, power tools, and furniture.

As a reminder do not buy used when: • You are shopping for a critical safety

•

•

item, like a crib, infant car seat, or bicycle helmet. Proper precautionary features and up-to-date safety standards are worth paying full price. Saving lives takes precedence over saving money.

The item in question has an inherently short lifespan, like a mattress. Experts recommend buying a new mattress every eight to ten years, so a used mattress is likely to have outlived its suggested lifetime. For sanitary reasons, consider purchasing mattresses and bedding new.

You are buying the most commonly used household appliances and electronics. Items like laptop computers or vacuum cleaners are often subject to overuse and abuse before someone would consider selling his or her current model. If repairing the item after buying it used will cost more than buying it new, it is advisable to buy a new or refurbished model still under factory warranty.

®

plus tax

710 University Drive East • 979-691-8501 • rosascafe.com

Cheap and easy Old Fashioned Beef Stew

By Autumn Dawson

This week’s delicious meal for the non-gourmet chefs, on the average broke college student’s budget: Old Fashioned Beef Stew.

As the name hints, this one epitomizes the saying: an oldie but a goodie. Sorry, I know it’s corny, but it’s true, and I haven’t had enough sleep this week to come up with something witty and original. So I’m just going to say it like it is. This recipe is fabulous, and well worth the extra effort to pour the individual ingredients into a pot, rather than a canned soup so full of preservatives it will remain edible for the next two years. I mean, really people, am I the only person a little freaked out by so-called-chicken that will still be “good” in 2013? But I digress. The point was, give the recipe a shot. You won’t be sorry.

Serving Size: 6-7 girls, or 3-4 guys Preparation Method: Stove Preparation Time: 15 minutes Total Cook Time: 2 hours and 15 minutes Difficulty Level: The girl who tried to tell me today that “glower” is not a word, and she thinks I must be mixing up “flower” with “glare.” Yeah, silly me.

Ingredients: • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour; 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour • 1 tablespoon garlic powder • 2 pounds beef chuck, cubed • 12 small boiling onions • 6 large potatoes, peeled and diced • 6 carrots, sliced • 3 (10.5 ounce) cans beef broth Directions 1. In a large pot heat oil over medium high heat. In a resealable plastic bag mix together the flour, garlic powder (season in salt and pepper if you have it to desired preference. I use about a tsp. of each.) Add a small handful of meat at a time and shake until well coated; brown in hot oil, about 1 minute per side. Remove the browned meat and continue until all the meat is browned.

2. Lower heat to medium and add onions. Brown onions on both sides, about 3 minutes per side, then remove from pot and set aside. Drain excess fat from pot.

3. To pot add potatoes, carrots, reserved onions, browned meat and broth. Stir all together and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

4. For a thicker broth: 1/2 hour before stew is done, combine 3 tablespoons flour and water in a small bowl and mix well, then slowly stir mixture into stew.

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