Texas A and M University - Aggieland Yearbook (College Station, TX)

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Greg Watermann International Students 25

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Although foreign students make up only four percent of the student body, that small percentage of students in¬ cludes members of Student Government, the Corps of Cadets, MSC committees and naturally the International Stu¬ dents Association. The Internation¬ al Students Association is design¬ ed to help international students interact with the rest of the Texas A M community. Through meetings, dinners, lectures, and the colorful International Fair foreign students share their various cultures with Texas A M. The International Fair, held April 2 and 3, is an : array of glittering cos¬ tumes, displays and inter¬ esting people from around Y the world. The two- Jj day fair is held in the Memorial Student Center. Strolling through the MSC is Y like traveling through a land ; i of many cultures. Only a few feet apart are the regions of India, Venezuela, and Lebanon. The experience is start¬ ling, yet informative. Despite language barriers and cul- f tural differences, international students manage to adjust and make a great contribution to Aggieland. Dave Einsel 24 International Students

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SCONA — A Chance for Student Involvement Brian Mylar The Student Conference on Na¬ tional Affairs has reached its 26th year at Texas A M University and is one of the largest student-run events held on campus with ap¬ proximately 200 participants, in¬ cluding lecturers from London, professors from Jerusalem, and students from as far away as Kuwait. Although SCONA only takes one week, committee members work all year contacting com¬ panies for donations, acquiring lecturers, preparing dates and get¬ ting everything ready. Some of this work is alleviated by the strong support of former students. Olin Teague used his connections to get Hubert Humphrey to lecture. This support of former students and ad¬ ministration is phenomenal. Without this all-out support the Student Conference on National Affairs would never take place. The widespread effort creates an excitement that induces students to become involved. Each year, weeks before the actual event, students wait nervously for their interviews and the chance to be SCONA delegates, hosts and hostesses. The competition is stiff, with hundreds of people being narrowed down to fill a few positions. SCONA originated from a similar event held at West Point in previous years known as SCOUSA, Student Conference on United States Affairs. The Texas A M conference began when Bud Whitney, a student at Texas A M, attended the West Point event and was eventually placed in charge of creating a new conference that would be more student oriented. The first SCONA had a $12,000 budget and included 20 univer¬ sities. The budget has now grown to $56,000 and includes represen¬ tatives from universities, colleges, and high schools from Canada, Mexico and Central America. The budget encompasses food, adver¬ tising and part of the travel ex¬ penses of the delegates. The big¬ gest expenditure, however, is the $10,000 for the lecturers involved in SCONA. This year speakers in¬ cluded Robert Krueger, former Ambassador to Mexico, Edgar Owens, (cont.) 26 SCONA