by Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer
Tepees made from army parachutes and animal traps made from tree branches dotted the ground, though the scene wasn't near an army base, but near Hofheinz Pavilion on the University of Houston campus.
The Military Science 2 ROTC class was learning the survival techniques prescribed by the U.S. military handbook Survival.
The students' projects were set up outside Hofheinz Wednesday to allow the students to make a practical application of the survival lessons. Students were allowed to use any material that would be available in a forest or included in the items the cadets would have packed on a military mission.
The class instructor, Sgt. 1st Class Steven Wilson, said, "The projects show the students how to create using their hands to survive."
When setting up shelter, the cadets had to account for several variables. "You want to blend with the forest, you know, in case your enemy might see you," said Cadet Sgt. Dwayne Gould.
As weapons, the students made bolas and lashing clubs. A bola is a rope, halfway unraveled into three or four thick strands, the ends of which are tied around large rocks. A lashing club is a branch, split in two at the end. A rock is fit and bound into the split end.
For food, the cadets made animal traps and devices to cook meat over an outdoor fire.
Wilson said he believes survival techniques may be useful even to students not interested in the military.
"You have a lot of students here that like to go out and go hiking or hunting," Wilson said. "In case you get out there and the weather turns bad on you, you can learn how to survive."