[Battalion - Review] :: Rascal Flatts - Melt

CD Review

Melt
Rascal Flatts

By Denise Schoppe
November 05, 2002

Often, when you buy an album based on the popularity of the first single, you find that the rest of the album is nothing like that first cut. However, this is not the case with Rascal Flatts' sophomore album Melt.

The first single off the album, "These Days," has shot up the country music charts and currently sits at number six on the Billboard country singles chart. The 10 other cuts on the new album have the potential to follow in this single's success.

The members of Rascal Flatts have young, pop, boy band good looks and smooth harmonies that border on being too good. The band capitalizes on these assets and combines them with a pleasing, albeit almost too commercial, sound and amazing lyrics to make an outstanding album.

Noteworthy cuts off the album are the clever "Too Good Is True" and powerful "Shine On." The song "Mayberry" will make anyone stop and think as they speak of the world spinning fast and how "Sunday was a day of rest / now its one more day for progress."

The only drawback to this album is that it falls short of being a full hour in length. It leaves you wanting more of the group's vocal talents and emotional songs.

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[Battalion - Feature] :: 30K and Counting

30K and counting
Student organization CARPOOL celebrates providing its 30,000th ride

By Denise Schoppe
November 05, 2002

For the past three years, CARPOOL (Caring Aggies 'R' Protecting Over Our Lives) has provided safe transportation for thousands of students. Now it has something new to celebrate - its 30,000th ride last Thursday, Oct. 31.

Rachel Hollon, one of the CARPOOL members who provided the 30,000th ride, said the ride marked a milestone for the organization.

"We were screaming and honking," said Hollon, a junior journalism major. "Our heads felt like they were about to explode."

Hollon said unique circumstances created the milestone ride.

"The funny story about the ride is that it literally went from one person to two people," Hollon said. "The boyfriend decided he wanted to go with the girl (who called CARPOOL to give her a ride). Then, the girl forgot her keys in the bar so we had to wait, like, ten minutes for her."

Hollon said she and her CARPOOL partner, Derek Clark, a junior industrial distribution major, were feeling impatient about the wait because they wanted to be the ones to give the 30,000th ride.

"Had it not been for her forgetting the keys, we'd have never reached that number," Hollon said.

Clark said the celebration continued even after he and Hollon had safely driven the passengers to their destination.

"When we came in (to the CARPOOL headquarters) other CARPOOL members threw confetti on us and gave us a pin," Clark said. "I think (the pin) was supposed to be for a 30th birthday, but they made it say '30K' instead."

Greg Stanley, CARPOOL director and a senior biomedical engineering major, said reaching the 30,000th ride has boosted morale within the entire organization.

"Our (members) do a good job, but this gives us motivation to keep going," Stanley said. "We can just keep heading into the future knowing that people are using our service."

Stanley said the organization has set a goal to provide 40,000 rides by the end of the Spring 2003 semester.

Stanley said CARPOOL will be working with the industrial engineering department in the spring to improve the organization's speed and efficiency in providing rides.

"A lot of people cancel a ride because they've been waiting a long time," Stanley said. "Ultimately, we just try to get there as fast as we can to make sure they don't need to get a different ride."

Stanley said that during away games, some of CARPOOL's best patrons are from out of town.

"People who come to support their team will see the 'hershels' (CARPOOL members) out walking around Northgate and they'll be like, 'What are ya'll doing?' because no one wears a bright green T-shirt to a bar," Stanley said. "They think it's a great thing and they are usually the best tippers."

In addition to providing thousands of rides, CARPOOL has influenced other college campuses to start their own "safe ride" organizations. On Nov. 1 and 2, spin-off organizations of CARPOOL - including Watchdawgs (from the University of Georgia), STRIPES (from the University of Missouri) and SWAT (from Southwest Texas University) - joined CARPOOL for the first semi-annual Safe Ride Programs United Conference.

"It's really weird meeting all these people (from different 'safe ride' organizations)," said Ben Tisdale, executive director of Watchdawgs. "It's like a parallel universe, because we have the same personalities."

Clark said the similarities extend to the organizations.

"(The other 'safe ride') organizations are the same as us. They love to help others out."

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