Enjoy delightful treats at the Little Aussie Bakery page 7
Lynn Hickey: Mother Superior works miracles see page 5
Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio
February 14, 2012
Volume 47
Issue 5
Cutting the fat: expert explains alternative theory on why we gain weight Intern
news@paisano-online.com The UTSA Provost Lecture Series on Feb. 8 presented “Why We Get Fat” by renowned author Gary Taubes. The topic of Taubes’ lecture was based on the historical research outlined in his latest book, “Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It.” A self-described “hard-core science journalist,” Taubes was the recipient of the “Science in Society Journalism Award” in 2001 for his article “The Soft Science of Dietary Fat,” published
in the journal “Science.” Taubes holds degrees in physics, aerospace engineering and journalism; he writes on subjects ranging from science to nutrition and medicine for “Discover Magazine” and the journal “Science.” His latest book, “Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It” was published in 2010. Taubes is also the author of “Good Calories, Bad Calories,” “Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet” and “Weight Control and Disease.” Citing scientific observation and nutritional research dating back to the 19th century, Taubes debunks the ac-
cepted wisdom that claims overeating makes people fat. Taubes also refutes the notion that increased prosperity, access to abundant food choices and sedentary lifestyles of those in developed nations contribute to weight gain and obesity. In an effort to understand and explain the causes of obesity, Taubes credits historical research with discovering high obesity rates and diabetes cases among Native American peoples, as well as other indigenous populations around the world. See TAUBES, Page 2
File photo
Madelyn Garner
Conference hopes to tap into Texas’s Rainy Day Fund during next legislative session to help schools.
Conference rallies support to increase education funding in Texas schools Matthew Duarte Staff writer
AP Photo
news@paisano-online.com
While Texans battle obesity, author and health researcher Gary Taubes explains why we get fat and how to start losing weight.
Texans on wrong side of border fence grow anxious
Associated Press
Max Pons is already anticipating the anxiety he’ll feel when the heavy steel gate shuts behind him, leaving his home isolated on a strip of land between America’s border fence and the violence raging across the Rio Grande in Mexico. For the past year, the manager of a sprawling preserve on the southern tip of Texas has been comforted by a gap in the rust-colored fence that gave him a quick escape route north in case of emergency. Now the U.S. government is installing the first gates to fill in this part of the fence along the Southwest border, and Pons admits he’s pondering drastic scenarios. “I think in my head I’m going to feel trapped,’’ said Pons, who lives on the 1,000-acre property of sabal palms, oxbow lakes and citrus groves he manages for the Nature Conservancy’s Southmost Preserve. “I need
to have something that is much easier for me to have to ram to get through’’ if necessary. Pons’ concerns illustrate one of the complications in the government’s 5-year-old effort to build a secure barrier along the border that would keep out illegal activity from Mexico without causing worse problems for the people living in the region. In this lush area, the Rio Grande’s wide floodplain precluded building the fence right on the border so it was set back more than a mile in places, running behind the levees. The result is a no-man’s-land of hundreds of properties, and the people who work on them, on the wrong side of the divide. The arrival of the gates will reveal whether the government’s solution for this border fence problem will work. Can sliding panels in the fence controlled by passcodes allow isolat-
ed workers to cross when they need to while keeping intruders out? Pons hopes the gates will open fast. “Because when is reinforcement going to show up?’’ Some landowners also worry they’ll become kidnapping targets for smugglers seeking passage through the 18-foot-tall metal fence. Violence has surged in Tamaulipas, the Mexican state bordering this part of Texas, in the past two years. This week the State Department issued a new travel warning urging U.S. citizens again to avoid traveling there. Residents in this rural area often see groups of illegal immigrants passing through or smugglers toting bundles. In Oct., the Border Patrol caught a high-ranking member of the Gulf cartel’s Matamoros operations who had crossed about a half-hour upriver. See BORDER, Page 3
The Texas education system has been a devisive issue over the past year, and supporters of funding Texas’s public schools met earlier this month to ensure that the dialogue continues. Last year, in the midst of a slow economic recovery, many states were faced with significant budget shortfalls, and Texas was no different. With about $100 billion in federal stimulus drying up, the education system was going to be hit especially hard across the country. However, unlike most other states, Texas had set aside a rainy day fund to prepare for a fiscal emergency. The Texas legislature became ground zero over the spring and summer of 2011 as fiscal conservatives and proeducation legislators debated on whether to open the state’s rainy day fund to prevent cuts to education spending. Last March, Save Our Schools, which describes itself as a “nonpartisan, statewide coalition,” held the largest rally in modern history at the capitol in Austin. The event attracted over 12,000 educators, parents, students and legislators from across the state. However, a bill to open up the rainy day fund did not make it out of committee in June, causing many districts to tighten their belts and cut their budgets, which resulted in the firing of thousands of Texas teachers. The results did not just affect students inside the classroom. Dallas ISD was forced to close 11 neighborhood schools and lengthen the school day. A school district in South Texas was forced to cut its athletic program just to keep students in the classroom. Months later, the fight to keep Texas’s schools competitive seemed lost, yet a large crowd continued the fight by meeting at Northside ISD’s activity center on Feb 3 to educate citizens on how to continue spreading the message to anyone who would listen. Among the speakers were John Folks, Superintendent of Northside ISD; Connor Brantley, a 14-year-old student from Fort Worth; State Representative Mike Villarreal; and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. Each of the speakers shared the common belief that, in spite of the costs, education is a valuable and necessary component of a student’s life, and students should receive the best education possible, the schools must have all of the necessary resources available to them. As Brantley noted, the Texas Constitution specifically states that the Texas legislature has an obligation to the state’s public school system. There were parents at the meeting who spoke first hand about the problems their children face in the classroom each day. They spoke of children who wore the same uniform everyday because they did not have the money to afford more clothes for school. They also spoke on how much harder it is for a teacher to prevent bullying while trying to teach classes that have become almost too large to control. As Castro pointed out, however, education is not simply an issue that affects teachers and students, but also is a measure of future job growth and opportunity. “The currency of success in the 21st century global economy truly is knowledge,” Castro said. Castro is a proud product of San Antonio’s public school system. His father was a teacher, and the mayor himself has even delved into teaching from time to time. He recounted his experience as a recent college graduate who briefly worked as a substitute teacher. Although he jokingly wondered why his youthful appearance never got him into trouble with a hall monitor, he expressed deep respect for teachers who work long, hard days in the classroom. See SCHOOLS, Page 2