One pleasant surprise in graduate school and college is the number of freebies that come our way during school sessions. They come mostly in the form of food, stationery and t-shirts! Freebies show the goodwill around the campus and are great incentives to attract students to events. Stay long enough and a wardrobe full of t-shirts might be a reward. The first Texas A&M University (TAMU) t-shirt for me was obtained in a hurry. I went to a store and got one as it was the trend to see people in t-shirts all over the campus. Two years later I realized that all I needed to do, was wait. There are t-shirts from school departments, associations, libraries, events and t-shirts for t-shirt sake. They come in a variety of colors and sizes and the most common color is the aggie color- maroon!

For stationery I have loads of pencils and pens. They are at different offices and I do not take from the same place twice as that would be somehow, I guess. Many adult and children events cater to our stationery needs. There are different colors of pens and pencils, post-it notes, rulers, and lip gloss. Lip gloss are quite popular, I guess we need well lubricated lips as students.

Free water bottles, cups and cup holders are here too. It’s all about attending events and as you spend more time here, you naturally spend more time on studies and less on events. At the beginning they are fun to grab but the torture of getting the right dissertation and finishing on time streamlines one’s line of action. As we prepare for a new season I urge you to go out and enjoy TAMU memorabilia.

---Patricia Kio
Patricia Kio is a Doctoral student in the College of Architecture