 "Photo: Courtesy Photo")
Howdy Ags! And a special welcome to the Class of 2013.
On behalf of Student Life, I want to alert you to opportunities just for you, especially as new students.
Hopefully, you are still in touch with some of those you met during your New Student Conference or can re-connect and meet others through Gig 'Em Week activities that showcase programs and services to support your success, like the pizza taste-off, ice cream carnival, Aggieland Market and more.
Also, new student programs just for you include: Amplify, a brand new centralized listing of programs, services and resources for you to connect to, offered especially with you in mind; the First Year Photo Project, a way in which you can participate in documenting your first year experience at Texas A&M University; and, while you are making new connections, look to ATMentors - faculty and staff who are here for you.
If you are living off campus, know that Off Campus Aggies is making a special outreach to new students so that they can extend that sense of a residential campus community, and should you have issues related to off-campus living, including landlord-tenant issues, please visit with staff in Adult, Graduate and Off-Campus Student Services. Also, Student Legal Services provides an attorney with whom you can consult about legal issues (at no charge to you) in Cain Hall.
One of the most vulnerable times for alcohol-related incidents is the first 90 days of a college student's career, and the Student Conduct Service sees about 1,200 cases per year, a large percentage of which are alcohol (or drug) related, so take time to learn more and become familiar with the Student Conduct Code at student-rules.tamu.edu/rule24, and if you need information or feel that alcohol is impacting your life, Alcohol and Drug Education Programs is there for you.
Student Life also hosts the GLBT Resource Center (for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Aggies and their straight supporters), connects with Student Outreach and Welfare Services (to assist students with medical and personal emergencies, and in the event of hospitalization) and provides staff to the Critical Incident Response Team, which assists students in serious situations. Student Life strives to provide a personal connection to Aggies and their families, especially when they most need the support of the University.
Additionally, Student Life provides a Web site for parents, and hosts a listserv with updates about relevant deadlines, the academic calendar and programs and services for students through parents.tamu.edu. And, this fall, for the first time, we are hosting a New Student Family Weekend (Sept. 26-27) in conjunction with the Athletics Department to offer ticket opportunities for visiting family members. The schedule and other details about this event will be made public as they become available.
Student Media is also a part of Student Life, and I thank The Battalion editors and staff as the independent voice of the students for all of their work in bringing information to you and for their invitation to include my advice in this early Gig 'Em Week issue for you. The Battalion writers, editors and photographers (and the Aggieland yearbook staff) earn their way and gain valuable experience while helping to keep the Aggie community in touch. Read the paper-in print or online, contribute ideas, stories or photos and support those who advertise in the paper.
We are all glad that you are here in Aggieland and hope that your experience brings out your best! Student Life, a part of the Division of Student Affairs, is committed to outreach education and support - a real Aggie connection. If we can be of assistance to you as you create your place and start your legacy, please just call on us at studentlife@tamu.edu, 845-3111 and studentlife.tamu.edu. For us, it is all about you!
Thanks and Gig 'Em!
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