Camp Texas Expands to Record-Breaking Six Sessions

By Jordan Schraeder in Association, TXEX on September 16, 2013 at 4:15 pm | No Comments

Paint wars, luaus, ‘blobbing’—nearly 200 more freshmen will now get to kick-off their four years at UT in style.

Due to increased demand, Camp Texas—the Texas Exes’ informative, fun three-day trip that introduces incoming freshmen to life on the Forty Acres—has added a sixth session for 2014, providing spots for an additional 170 campers and 30 counselors.

Thanks to the additional session, 2014 will be a record year for the camp, which will celebrate its 22nd anniversary next August. There will be 1,020 camper spots up for grabs next year, compared to the previous record of 850 in 2013.

“We believe every student should be able to attend if they want to,” says Kelsey Roberts, Texas Exes’ student relations coordinator. “This past year, we had several students on the waiting list who didn’t get to go. Now more students will get to kick-start their time at UT at camp.”

The new 1,000+ capacity is something Camp Texas’ founders could never have imagined. Then-UT students Sean Petries, BS ’93, and Allison Weinstock, BA ’93, were inspired by A&M’s Fish Camp when they dreamed up the idea for Camp Texas back in 1992. That first camp had only 50 student participants.

“Usually when we have gotten up to five sessions, there wasn’t enough to demand to fill them up,” Roberts says. “Camp Texas has never been this big.”

Today, incoming UT freshmen still get the opportunity to acclimate to life on campus through meet and greets with professors, water Olympics competitions, and a festive luau out at Camp Balcones Springs in Marble Falls, but on an entirely different scale. And for its efforts, Camp Texas received the Campus Traditions Award earlier this year by the ultra-secret Eyes of Texas society.