Aggieland offers variety of on-campus amenities to students

Rows of shelves full of books

Any resource students may need is only a short walk away, as they are offered numerous amenities while on campus to stay happy and healthy during their time at Texas A&M.

Student Recreation Center

Staying fit is easy on campus, with two large gym facilities, located on West Campus and on Polo Road, and a soon-to-be third location on Bizzell Street. Use of any rec­reational facility is free for students and fea­tures a variety of equipment including cardio, strength training machines and free weights, according to the Rec Sports website.

The Student Recreation Center offers group fitness classes and strength and condi­tioning training by trained professionals. Stu­dents can take part in drop-in recreation on basketball or volleyball courts and can try their hand at aquatics in the Olympic-sized pool.

The Rec Center also hosts intramural and club sports for students to participate in. Stu­dents engaged in these activities have the op­portunity to participate in games and contests both at A&M and across the country.

Transportation Services

Transportation Services makes getting around simple with routes located through­out campus and the surrounding community. Bus routes can be monitored with live bus updates on the Texas A&M app, and show live locations of buses en route.

In addition to buses, students also have access to bikes and electric bikes for riding across campus. Students can use these services by downloading the VeoRide app, though students do pay for use of the products on the app. If students are more frequent bikers, they can also bring a bike from home and register it with Transportation Services or rent one by the semester.

Transportation Services also handles all campus parking, so students can request a parking permit for a lot or garage on campus. More information on parking permits and other campus transportation options can be found on page 22.

Student Health Services

Students who are not feeling well can visit the on-campus Beutel Health Center offering discounted rates to students. Student Health Services provides a wide range of care includ­ing medical, laboratory, radiology, preven­tative and emergency care, according to the Student Health Services website.

If medicine is needed, students are able to pick it up at the on-campus pharmacy at discounted prices. Additionally, there are nu­tritionists available to help guide diets and a women’s clinic for all needs, including pre­ventative exams and birth control.

The facility offers free COVID-19 tests as well as preventative measures, including flu and other vaccinations. It also provides sexu­ally transmitted infection testing and tubercu­losis screenings.

Dining Services

Various dining facilities are located throughout campus, including the Commons, Sbisa and Duncan dining halls, which offer all-you-can-eat buffets, and restaurants that boast local campus exclusives and chains. Students are given a variety of choices for their dining needs and can experience many different cui­sines across campus, Dining Services Market­ing manager Haleigh Dean said.

“On campus, it’s very much about the Ag­gie Spirit and Aggie community. We have over 50-plus dining locations on campus,” Dean said. “When it comes to retail, we do have national brands that are favorites, but we also have things that you will only find at A&M such as Copperhead Jack’s.”

Students can download the DineOnCam­pus app, which serves as a resource for all things dining by providing location hours, menus and special offers and events hosted by Dining Services. Additionally, at each loca­tion, there is a text chat feature, which allows individuals to send feedback that will go di­rectly to location management.

For students with special diets, Dean said there is a form students can fill out to discuss with a chef which food will be available for their specific diet.

Laundry facilities

For students who live on campus, laundry facilities are available within dorm laundry rooms and apartment units. All on-campus facilities are complete with high-efficiency front-loading washers and dryers, according to the Residence Life website. Students are able to use washing facilities for free, as it is included as part of their room and board fees.

Students must provide all supplies for laun­dry themselves, such as detergent, softener and dryer sheets as needed.

“Liquid pods/pacs are great for use in both front-load machines — it is HE-type detergent — and top-loading machines,” the Residence Life website reads. “For front-loading washers, make sure you put them in the door, not the drawer.”

Additionally, students living in the dorms who do not have a washer and dryer in their own living space have access to the Laundry­Alert app, which will send individuals a text or email when their laundry is done in one of the communal laundry rooms so they don’t have to wait there. The app also allows users to check laundry room availability and submit service requests as needed.

University Libraries

Students can study at one of five libraries across the College Station campus, while re­ceiving expert help from librarians who spe­cialize in a variety of subjects. In addition to physical resources located inside the librairies, students can check out up to 100 books to take home with them for research, or leisure.

“Texas A&M University is so big — and our libraries are also quite big and have a lot of services and resources to help you. If you are feeling overwhelmed and are not sure how to get started, I recommend reaching out to AskUs,” University Libraries Director of Mar­keting Partick Zinn said in an email to The Battalion. “Use our homepage to call us, send us a chat or email, or stop by one of our desks for help. You do not have to know who you need to ask for help — we will point you to the best person or resource to get you started.”

For big research projects, students can also visit the online databases at library.tamu.edu made available to students with a NetID login. The databases can help locate scholarly arti­cles and can be a starting point for any type of research.

Sporting events

For fun and relaxation, students can attend various sporting events across campus as teams come to compete in College Station against the Fightin’ Texas Aggies. Students have the opportunity to purchase sports passes for com­plete or select access to games in all sports throughout the year, or can also purchase dis­counted student tickets by the game for spe­cific events they would like to attend. Student sports passes for the 2022-23 school year are priced at $325, with access to all home sporting events, according to the 12th Man Founda­tion, and student guest season passes are priced at $525 for the year.

Additionally, throughout the year there are games in which all students may get in free to cheer on the Aggies as they take on big oppo­nents or host special events on campus.

Originally published in The Battalion Maroon Life
By Aubrey Vogel
Photo by Cameron Johnson

 

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