The Paisano Volume 48 Issue 14 by The Paisano

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Senior art majors display talent at newest exhibit page 9

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Take a look at some thesis work from UTSA scholars page 8

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

{SINCE 1981}

Volume 48

April 30, 2013

{WWW.PAISANO-ONLINE.COM}

Issue 14

UTSA The Texas Senate has approved a bill that would give UTSA $46,375,000 for an experimental science instructional building.

Erin Boren

Assistant to the Editor news@paisano-online.com

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has threatened to call a special session of the legislature if they do not address tax cuts for businesses and water and infrastructure projects before the end of the regular session.

In 2009, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) named UTSA one of seven universities to compete for funding and the status of Tier One, giving it the title “Upcoming Research University.” To propel its path toward Tier One, UTSA increased its admission and research standards. Texas has only three Tier One universities: the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University and Rice University. Universities are

categorized as Tier One if they receive no less than $100 million annually in research funding, have admission selectivity, low student-faculty ratios and high quality faculty members. In an effort to increase the likelihood of Tier One status universities in Texas, Texas lawmakers created a competition in which the seven chosen schools could compete for over $600 million dollars in funding and with that, outside funding donations and some research grants would be matched by the state. “I can’t imagine what it’s like for students, but I can tell

you that the pace of change here compared to other institutions that I’m familiar with is tremendously fast,” said Dr. John Frederick, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “It’s very gratifying to be in an institution that’s willing to take on that change and do it in a thoughtful and graceful way.” Acceptance To achieve Tier One status, UTSA must increase its acceptance standards. Starting in Fall 2013, students from the top 25 percent of their class will be automatically admitted.

From the 2012-2013 academic year to the 2013-2014 academic year, admission requirements for incoming freshmen from the second 25 percent of their graduating class increase by roughly 17 percent. For example, the required score for the SAT rose from 960 to 1100, while the ACT score rose from 20 to 24. According to Frederick, UTSA should not expect anymore drastic admission changes, as UTSA has changed its standards three times in the past six years, which is unusual for universities.

“The top 25 percent is the group we want to target out of high school,” Frederick said. “But there are those in the next 25 percent that we think can succeed and contribute to student life here at UTSA. I think you’ll see us move more and more away from anybody that’s in the bottom half of their high school class, though.” According to the Graduation Rate Improvement Plan (GRIP), UTSA aims for an acceptance rate of 40.2 percent by 2021, meaning that only 40.2 percent of applicants in that year would be acceptSee UTSA, Page 4

Will Tallent / The Paisano

U.S. Jason Collins has become the first professional athlete of a major American sport to publically declare he is gay.

TEXAS

History In this week in 2005, UTSA officially submitted a bid to host the George W. Bush presidential library and museum.

Sports Baseball takes on Texas State at Roadrunner Field, May 3-5. Softball plays at home against UT Arglington those same dates.

Matthew Duarte News Editor

news@paisano-online.com The Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) has found itself in a series of scandals that have resulted in new regulations making their way through the Texas Legislature, and the Institute’s future remains unclear as the Legislature has not yet approved a bill to fund the institute past this year. Notably, UTSA was required to make the areas around facilities that house CPRIT research smoke-free; these requirements apply to the Biotechnology, Sciences and Engineering Building and Applied Engineering and Technology Building at the UTSA Main Campus and Monterrey Building at the Downtown Campus. CPRIT was created in 2007 when Texas voters approved a constitutional amendment that allocated $3 billion in bonds over 10 years to support cancer research. As a result, CPRIT is the second largest benefactor of cancer research in the country, behind only the National Can-

Council Royal Staff Writer

news@paisano-online.com

CPRIT currently provides $900,000 in research grants to UTSA.

cer Institute. CPRIT currently provides $900,000 of research grants to UTSA. The smoke-free areas around these buildings were the university’s first step toward making UTSA a smoke-free campus, a goal that administrators hope to achieve by June 2014. The cancer research organization has been accused of ignoring several conflicts of interests, mismanaging funds allocated to it by the Legislature and hiring a tobacco lobbyist to represent the organization’s

interests. Among the CPRIT research projects at UTSA are a noninvasive imaging system to detect melanoma and a system to deliver toxic iron to cancer cells. In spite of its large budget and influence, there are very few results to show for CPRIT’s efforts thus far, said James Grey of the American Cancer Society in Texas. “You can bring something through a clinical trial process and what you have learned is how to make this drug better,” See CPRIT, Page 6

On April 17, the Texas House of Representatives voted to approve a preliminary ban on texting and driving in the state, which is among the 11 states that do not have such a ban, according to the House Research Organization. The bill would criminalize the typing and reading of text messages with a $100 maximum fine for first offenders and a maximum $200 fine for repeat offenders. The bill passed in the House, 97-48, however it is likely to be dead on arrival when it reaches Gov. Rick Perry’s desk. Perry is opposed to the measure and vetoed a similar bill in 2011. The governor seems ready to do so again, despite smaller, local texting bans that have been adopted in dozens of areas including San Antonio, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The reason for Perry’s opposition to the measure, according to the

The Paisano

Syrian activists have accused the Syrian government of using chemical weapons against its people.

Texas driving laws heading for change

F uture o f U T S A r e s e a r c h d onor unce r ta i n a m i d c o n t r o v e r s y

Will Tallent / The Paisano

World

TEXAS

San Antonio Express News, is that he feels that the bill would infringe on people’s personal liberties and would increase the size of government. Other opponents of the bill are more concerned with it as a threat to civil liberties and would present the opportunity for racial profiling. One of the congressmen opposing the bill is Rep. Harold Dutton Jr. (DHouston). Dutton introduced an amendment which would require more probable cause than just an officer’s belief that a person was texting while driving. The amendment was defeated. Another opponent of the bill was Rep. Lyle Larson (R-San Antonio), who said he was being consistent by voting against the bill in 2011 and was among the 47 who voted against it last week. Larson said, “They already have provisions of law that if someone is distracted, texting falls within that purview,” according to the Express-News. “It was See TEXAS, Page 6

UTSA New office on the horizon for the Paisano. Page 2

NEWS

2 April 30, 2013

Putting Down Roots

The Paisano

The Paisano solidifies plans for a new building

“I would love to be identified with what I think is one of the best college publications I have ever seen. In any event, The Paisano will have my support as they continue on the path of excellence.” Will Tallent / The Paisano

Red McCombs

Red McCombs, shown here with the Paisano, donated $100,000 to the Paisano Educational Trust.

Diane Abdo Advisor

news@paisano-online.com When business mogul and philanthropist Red McCombs thinks of UTSA, he may call to mind the university’s football team, the increasing number of new degree plans, the quest for Tier One status or the expanding physical campus. But he may also think about The Paisano, the independent student newspaper, which has served the UTSA community for 32 years. McCombs has confidence in the future of this unique independent newspaper—the only one of its kind in the University of Texas system. So much confidence, in fact, that he has endowed the newsroom in The Paisano’s new home—the Paisano Media Center-- with a gift of $100,000. Scheduled to open in late fall on Roadrunner Way, across

from the UTSA Main campus, the 3,000 square-foot Paisano Media Center will include editorial and business offices, a conference room, a screened veranda, and an education center for the Paisano Educational Trust’s collaborative middle school writing program. The complex also contains 600 square feet of rental space. Viridian Development Solutions/ Timothy B. Cone, AIA, a local design-build firm will construct the project. Security Service Federal Credit Union will provide financing. “Viridian is very excited to be a part of the development team for the Paisano Media Center. We are striving to design and build a beautiful, state-of-theart facility that will serve the needs of the newspaper staff with minimum environmental impact,” said Cone. “The drawings are nearing completion and construction should start soon.”

The project is the result of a two-year collaboration. During the fall of 2011, 15 senior UTSA architecture students in Professor Rick Lewis’ Systems Studio accepted the challenge of designing the new Paisano headquarters. The students worked cooperatively to create a functional operations program, to conduct proposed building site analysis, and to determine spatial qualities needed for the newspaper’s operations, Lewis explained. The challenge was to go beyond imagining a functional structure built on a tight budget to creating an architecturally relevant media center that would be easy to maintain and affordable to operate. After reviewing the students’ individual design proposals, Paisano staff, alumni, and board members selected a winning design. This model was used during initial fund raising efforts.

“On the heels of early successes in raising development funds, design refinements were hammered out during the summer of 2012 leading to the project being picked up in the fall semester of 2012 by a team of seven architectural graduate students during their Technical Studio sequence of studies,” said Lewis. “Intent on creating a sound preliminary set of construction documents for the project, the students were organized as if acting as a small professional office. In just a matter of weeks of dedicated team work, students’ drawings became the basis for beginning the process of attracting a licensed architectural professional to carry the project forward in the critical stage of integrating engineering drawings, ensuring life safety integrities, and finalizing budget goals.” Design in hand, Paisano

editors visited McCombs to introduce him to the Paisano’s mission, to share their vision of the future, and to ask for his support. McComb’s decision to gift the newsroom was influenced by the publication’s quality. During the meeting, McCombs described the Paisano’s newspaper and magazine as “First Class.” His gift provided an energetic kick-start to the project. “I am excited about my gift for The Paisano Media Center. I understand my gift will be identified as the sponsor of the endowed News Room. This excites me because I would love to be identified with what I think is one of the best college publications I have ever seen. In any event, The Paisano will have my support as they continue on the path of excellence,” he wrote recently to Paisano Editor-in-chief Katy Schmader. During her tenure, Schmader has spearheaded The Paisano

newspaper re-design, its foray into magazine publication, and its new website. “I have learned an incredible amount from my experience at the Paisano,” said Paisano Editor-in-chief Katy Schmader. “The office has been my home for two years, it will be exciting for future members of The Paisano to have a place of their own.” UTSA’s Handbook of Operating Procedure requires all student publications to be independent. One of approximately 12 independent college newspapers in the country, The Paisano is self-sustaining through advertising revenue. The Paisano Educational, 501 (c)(3) entity is the publisher of The Paisano. The Trust awards approximately $20,000 annually to UTSA students.

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ADVERTISMENT

3 April 30, 2013

NEWS

4 April 30, 2013

UTSA: New degrees, classes to improve academic quality From Page 1

ed to the university. Of the UT System schools, UTSA ranks fifth in lowest acceptance rate with a rate of 73 percent, following UT-Pan American with 62 percent, UT-Arlington with 59 percent, UT-Dallas with 52 percent and UT-Austin with 47 percent, according to College Board. UTSA’s acceptance rate is currently 73 percent, down from almost 100 percent in 1990s and early 2000s, and has since dropped from 78.84 percent in 2010, according to THECB Access and Equity report. Frederick’s reasoning is that as UTSA begins to accept more and more top 25 percent students and move away from the bottom quartiles, only those top students will begin applying, thus changing the diversity of the pool of applicants. “I have to say that’s something really difficult to predict,” Frederick said of the 40.2 percent acceptance rate. “As we raise admission standards, we’ll attract a different sort of student applicant and that will affect that acceptance rate in ways that we can’t necessarily project.” “If we assume the mixture (of applicants) is the same as it is right now, then, yes, that acceptance rate would go down,” said Frederick. UTSA’s enrollment rate of top 10 percent students has roughly ranged from 30-35 percent, according to the same report. And according to GRIP predictions, it will stay the same in the future, with a prediction of 29.9

percent in 2021. Apart from the acceptance rate and increasing admission standards, the Coordinated Admission Program (CAP), which allows students to attend UTSA before meeting requirements to transfer to UT-Austin, must be considered. Once deemed to phase-out in the following years, CAP students’ ties with UTSA will end sooner than expected. “It’s actually a little more abrupt than a phase-out,” Frederick stated. “I think we’re going to discontinue it after this coming year.” According to Frederick, UTArlington’s decision to end its participation in the program and UT-Austin’s interest to disband it moved UTSA toward this resolution. “My guess is that after there are very few schools left that are participating in the CAP program, UT-Austin will be able to unplug it completely,” said Frederick. The termination of the program overall requires UT System regent approval, while regent approval is unnecessary for UTSA to end its participation. Education Apart from admission standards, students and faculty should expect academic change as well. UTSA is condensing some degrees and constructing others to better serve the university. Because of low participation, UTSA will offer more general degrees with room for specialization, something that Frederick believes will make it easier

to maintain for the university, while still having some majors accessible to students as specializations. “Every college is constantly looking for new programs that are going to meet the needs of their students,” said Frederick. A degree in modern languages is now offered in place of specified foreign languages, such as German or French. Students can still pursue a specific language, but now under the more umbrella-styled degree program. Some music specializations will move to the umbrellastyled degree also. The classics degree, with little enrollment, was recently combined with humanities, as well. Recently added degrees include a new bachelors degree in public administration and a bachelors in public health. A joint program was moved from the Health Science Center, so UTSA now offers a bachelors in nutrition and masters in dietetic studies. Another degree “that’s very exciting is a Global Affairs degree that our political science and geography department is putting together,” said Frederick. A new department of entrepreneurship and technology management in business was created, which Frederick suspects will lead to new degree plans in the future, while possible certificate programs may emerge in the engineering field. “It’s part of the obligation of the university to stay current and continue to offer things that students need,” said Frederick.

Quality In addition to offering new degrees, UTSA will be implementing new courses in the core curriculum aimed at helping freshmen prepare for the college experience. Working under the direction of Frederick, a Freshman Experience Task Force was charged with simplifying the freshmen transition to college. The task force ultimately decided to reshape the Core Curriculum, determining that only a math and composition course were “absolutely fundamental to success in a student’s curriculum, regardless of their major,” according to the university’s website. Many students have already been required to take Q courses, which are part of a larger Quality Enhancement Plan to make existing courses have a stronger emphasis on communication and quantitative reasoning skills. Q courses “seek to develop quantitative reasoning skills of its undergraduates by increasing contextual learning and advance student knowledge of data analysis,” according to UTSA’s website. “All students must meet a Q requirement and take a Q course in order to graduate,” said Assistant Vice Provost Nancy Martin, who oversees the Core Curriculum at UTSA. “So we’re trying to grow the number of courses that have that Q designation.” UTSA will offer 24 Q Courses next year, compared to the 18 of the 2012-2013 school year. UTSA will also be introducing an Academic Inquiry Course to help students adjust

to the structure and expectations of a college lifestyle. According to Martin, the course would help demonstrate how college is different than high school, notably that where a high school would simply teach knowledge, research universities “create knowledge.” “The general purpose of that course is to introduce students to the university,” Martin stated. “The Academic Inquiry and Scholarship Course is intended to introduce students to how it is that various disciplines conduct research: how do they approach it how do they think about it?” According to the Graduation Rate Improvement Plan, only 41.6 percent of students at UTSA were estimated to make it to their fourth year at the university. Since the GRIP was implemented that number is expected to rise to over 66 percent of students by 2021. By easing freshmen into the expectations of a university while simultaneously challenging them to think critically, UTSA hopes to ensure more students walk across the stage at graduation without compromising a Tier One level education. Funding Despite the growth in funding on the Tier One path, UTSA may encounter another predicament involving funding dispersal. According to the San Antonio Express-News, “A bill approved last session required the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to begin incorporating student success measures into

funding recommendations.” HB 25, authored by Dan Branch (R-Dallas) and Ralph Sheffield (R-Temple), if passed, will call for at least 25 percent of base funding to be disbursed based on student success in public colleges and at 15 percent disbursed in other academic institutions. “Twenty-five percent is higher than what lawmakers had been talking about before the session. Of course, the coordinating board had recommended ten percent as the amount,” stated Frederick. This performance-based funding is a way to incentivize institutions to bring about greater student success, said Frederick. Under the bill, funding guidelines would move away from enrollment numbers and toward state academic comparisons. He continued, “It’s a noble gesture, and it may have the desired effect, but it also may bring with it some subsidiary reactions. For example, one might question: Well, will universities be willing to take a chance on students that would ordinarily be labeled as highrisk?” High-risk students being generally classified as low in socioeconomic status or first generation college students. Frederick urged that he does not think UTSA would respond to the bill in that way if it is passed, and stated, “I think we’re very earnest in our desire to improve student success rates here (at UTSA), and do it the right way by helping at-risk students achieve success.” HB 25 is currently out of See TIER ONE, Page 6

ADVERTISMENT

5 April 30, 2013

NEWS

6 April 30, 2013

TIER ONE: More funding for research, scholars on the way From Page 4

committee and awaiting vote in the House. Changes To improve academic standards, UTSA is also actively recruiting more scholars and researchers, which was largely kick-started by H-E-B’s recent $5 million donation to the cause. The donation brought HE-B’s total support to over $7 million and is the largest private challenge gift in UTSA history. Secondly, the donation is also a matching one, bringing the total funding brought in from this particular exchange to $10 million. Frederick stated that the gift is important to buildup the endowed positions at UTSA. An endowed position is one backed by a financial investment, and as that investment makes dividends, that position’s holder may use the money for educational or research

purposes. “Most of the time it’s used for research purposes, and in many cases it’s used to pay students who are working on research with that faculty member,” said Frederick. “I think the greater benefit is that it makes us competitive for hiring the best faculty... so we can ensure that we’re providing our students with the opportunity to interact with the best faculty.” Included in the faculty recruitment is Dr. Gerry Sanders, a professor at Rice University, soon to be the new dean of the UTSA College of Business. “I have been extremely impressed by the caliber of students that I’ve met and the professionalism of the faculty, administrators and staff at the UTSA College of Business,” Sanders told UTSA Today. “The university’s momentum toward top-tier status is clearly evident, and I am thrilled to be a part of this journey.” “I think Dr. Sanders is going

to bring good leadership to that college and help make sure that our business programs are keeping up with the needs of the San Antonio and greater community,” commented Frederick. Sanders will officially complete his move to UTSA July 1. Research Despite incoming faculty changes, an internal move propels UTSA’s research with the appointment of Donovan Fogt, associate professor in the health and kinesiology department, to the newly created position director of undergraduate research. According to Fogt, “The Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) was created as part of the restructuring of the Office of the Vice President for Research to promote the visibility and breadth of research opportunities for undergraduate students in all academic disciplines.”

“Our goal is there is to get more and more undergraduates involved in research activities and open for them the world of discovery and innovation,” stated Frederick. “These are the kinds of things that go beyond the classroom.” According to Frederick, the newly created division has been in the works for around a year, and has finally been settled. Frederick explained the focus on building up research in the university, as simply the part of Tier One status that is not as fundamentally strong at UTSA. “The university is a place devoted to learning... there’s lots of ways you can learn something: you can learn it in a book, learn it because somebody told you or learn it because you went out and found the answer yourself,” said Frederick. “The first one, you don’t need a university for that if you know the right books to look at. (The second) universities can help you with if you learn correctly

from a professor.” “But the question, how do you learn when the answer isn’t known yet? That’s something special,” said Frederick. “And that’s what being a research university allows us to do. It allows us to have a community of active scholars that understand what it takes to go out and find answers that don’t exist yet and can help students learn how to do that as well.” Addressing the concerns of overlooking fundamental education for research, Frederick commented that while tenure is more affirmed by research standards than it has been in the past, no amount of outstanding research will give a faculty member tenure if he or she isn’t a good teacher. Upon employment, UTSA faculty members currently have five years to gain tenure. “It is really important to us that we have faculty here that not only are actively developing new ideas and discovering new

things, but are also quite devoted to sharing that experience with students,” Frederick said. Into the Future In hopes of competing on the Tier One stage in Texas, UTSA aims to equalize student opportunity and growth with that found on UT-Austin and Texas A&M University campuses. In comparison, UT-Austin’s return rate for second-year students is 93 percent, while UTSA’s rate is 73 percent, according to College Board. Texas A&M University’s acceptance rate is 67 percent, only 6 percent lower than UTSA’s. However, UT-Austin’s rate is one of the lowest in Texas, at 47 percent, 20-23 percent lower than both Texas A&M University and UTSA. Can UTSA compete? “In some areas we already do,” stated Frederick. “But across the board, it’ll take a few years. It’s like cooking a good stew; you have to give it time.”

CPRIT: No guarantee of more grants TEXAS: New laws geared for safer roads

From Page 1

Grey told KUT. “So it actually goes through the clinical trial process all over again and provides even greater benefit. And so it takes—for some drugs, some therapies—decades.” Although medical research does not yield significant results for many years, CPRIT has already begun to make notable strides in cancer prevention. For example, it awarded a $1.6 million grant to health organizations in the panhandle. “We increased our educational outreach by 66 percent over a three year period,” said

From Page 1

Leticia Goodrich of the Amarillo Area Breast Health Coalition, one of the groups who benefited from the grant, according to KUT News. “We were able to increase our percentage of mammograms by 400 percent.” Although voters approved the founding of CPRIT to fund billions of dollars of research, the financing of salaries for administrators and scientists was not agreed upon. To help solve this issue, the Legislature created the CPRIT Foundation in 2009. The foundation, a separate entity from the insti-

tute, was essentially a private, nonprofit organization whose purpose was to solicit donations for the institute’s staff. The ultimate goal of this was to ensure that Texas was recruiting the field’s top talent. “It was an agreement that all but guaranteed questions about conflicts of interest would arise,” reported the Austin American-Statesman. To continue reading this article visit ww.paisano-online.com

ironic because one of the traffic accidents that I was in — not that I’ve been in a lot — I was a distracted driver. I was eating a taco and my hot sauce fell to the floor and I reached down to pick it up and ran into the back of a parked car.” Supreme Court bans warrantless blood draws On Wednesday, April 17, the Supreme Court ruled the fact that blood-alcohol level decreases over time does not warrant a forced blood test for DWI cases. While the ruling was “extremely narrow” and did

not specifically pertain to Texas law, according to Bexar Country First Assistant District Attorney Cliff Herberg, it does leave many questions unanswered. “In an abundance of caution, we’re going to be changing our procedures,” he said to the Express-News, and said that prosecutors will now advise police to seek warrants in all felony DWI cases. Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed said on her twitter account April 24 that the decision would not affect San Antonio’s no refusal program. The ruling was almost im-

mediately used in the local case involving Christopher Hughes Lamar, who killed a mother and her 10 year old son in a crash on I-10 on March 23. Lamar had a blood alcohol level of .23, three times the legal limit, and also had other drugs in his system. State District Judge Melisa Skinner, who is presiding over the case, denied the motion to dismiss the evidence from the blood tests, saying she didn’t believe the Supreme Court ruling pertained to the case.

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OPINION {The Paisano} Editorial Editor-in-Chief: Katy Schmader

Assistant to Editor: Erin Boren

Managing Editor: Stephen Whitaker

News Editor:

Matthew Duarte

News Assistants: J. Corey Franco David Glickman

Paseo Editor: Sarah Gibbens

Arts Editor:

Jennifer Alejos

Arts Assistants: Wilfredo Flores Janae Rice

Sports Editor: Sheldon Baker

Sports Assistants: Delaney Marlowe Mario Nava

Photo Editor: Will Tallent

Photo Assistant: Vince Cardenas

Web Editor: Natalie Frels

Web Assistant: Amanda Dansby

Business Manager: Jenelle Duff

Senior Copy Editor: Alyssa Torres

{Staff Writers} Bridget Gaskill, Christina Coyne, Randy Lopez, Alex Camacho, Shelby Hodges, Stephanie Barbosa, Council Royal, Julia Brouilette, Paulina Rivero-Borrell, Nick Castillo, Beth Marshall

{Staff Photographers} Ruth Olivares, Alyssa Gonzales

{Contributing Writers}

7 April 30, 2013

Ban on texting a step in the right direction for safer roads

With a vote of 98-47, the Texas House of Representatives recently passed a bill banning texting while driving. Should the bill become law, it would make Texas the 40th state in the U.S. to pass legislation outlawing texting and driving. Gov. Rick Perry has threatened to veto the legislation, claiming, “The key to dissuading drivers from texting while driving is information and education, not government micro-

management.” Banning texting while driving is less micromanagement and more common sense. In 2011, at least 23 percent – 1.3 million crashes — of auto collisions involved cell phones. San Antonio already has a law in place banning texting while driving. The city is in good company – texting and driving has already been banned in El Paso, Austin and Universal City. According to a 2011 Virgina

April is about to turn into May and with it comes the end of the school year, and for some, the end of their college careers, at least for now. It is a great time of year as it means summer is close at hand, even if that means more classes. We all have to graduate sometime. Whether it’s a four-year plan or a five-year (my case), eventually, there comes a point where you must accept the fact that the end is near and you’re a few weeks away from becoming a UTSA alumnus or alumna. If you are like me and are nearing that point of departure from undergraduate to gradu-

ate, there’s not a lot I can say other than good luck in your job search. If, however, you are not graduating in a few weeks, you will still be a proud student of UTSA in the coming semester. I hope you are active in something on campus because in the time that I have been here (since August 2008, minus a year elsewhere), this campus has changed exponentially in terms of involvement from the student body. The beginning of football as well as the success of other sports at UTSA has helped, but it also has been made possible by exemplary students and faculty. The university is only as good as its student body and our university is getting better by the day, even if the fountains on campus remain dry (can anyone remember water in the

Comic

Vulpes Vulpes by: Christopher Garcia

Comic

{Contributing Photographers} Scott Cochran, Katherine Kish, Craig Garrison

{Interns} Amanda Dansby, Janae Rice, Erin Boren, Sheldon Baker, Marcia Perales {Ads Manager} Kevyn Kirven

Diane Abdo

{Advisory Board}

Steven Kellman, Mansour El-Kikhia, Jack Himelblau, Sandy Norman The Paisano is published by the Paisano Educational Trust, a non-profit, tax exempt, educational organization. The Paisano is operated by members of the Student Newspaper Association, a registered student organization. The Paisano is NOT sponsored, financed or endorsed by UTSA. New issues are published every Tuesday during the fall and spring semesters, excluding holidays and exam periods. All revenues are generated through advertising and donations. Advertising inquiries and donations should be directed towards:

driving, the individual could be charged with a $100 fine for the first offense and a $200 fine for the second offense. There are some exceptions, including using the GPS feature, or using a device in an emergency situation. The proposed law is a good decision with fair repercussions. Texas should ban texting while driving and Rick Perry, would be wrong to veto the legislation.

Education is not enough. Texas drivers need to face consequences to their actions, and the fair fine will prevent drivers from making decisions they may regret. Don’t Text and Drive Texas. It can wait.

Commentary Take advantage of what your university has to offer while you’re here

Julian Montez, Philip Taele, Eric Mondragon, Jasmine Rodriguez, Pete Torres, Renee Rendon, Mary Caithn Scott, Chance McDevitt, Chris Rodriguez, Mark Zavala, Aaron Zachary, Crystal Poenisch, Rico Martinez

{Advisor}

Tech study, 77 percent of young adults are very or somewhat confident that they can safely text while driving, but according to TxDOT, distracted driving was linked to 90,378 crashes in 2012. This number cannot be directly correlated to texting specifically, but texting is one of the contributing distractions. But how could such a ban be enforced? The new bill stated that if a driver is caught texting while

The Paisano encourages new comic submissions! Send to Editor@paisano-online.com

Sombrilla fountain?). We have done a good job in terms of fan support at the first two seasons of UTSA football, but we have a long way to go before we fully lose the stereotype of being a commuter school. The challenge that I am laying down to you, fellow Roadrunners, as I write my last words for this newspaper are to remain active in the university, not just by going to athletic events but also by experiencing some of the culture offered by your alma mater. Every semester, great speakers come to our campus. Take advantage and go listen. Listening to other people share their ideas will help you in the long run. For example, last fall the English department hosted the current poet laureate of the United States, Natasha Trethewey, who gave a

reading on campus of her latest work. That may not impress all, but it is one of the many benefits that UTSA has to offer. If listening to speeches isn’t your thing, there are countless organizations on campus that you can get involved in to share in the excitement of being at an up-and-coming university. There is plenty to do here as a student; you just have to be proactive and get involved in what interests you. Don’t let friends talk you into one organization or out of another. They will have their college experience and you can have yours. Finally, even though the quality of officiating is often not the best, the intramurals offered at the Rec are another way you can be an active part of the life at UTSA. There is no reason for anyone to say they can’t find something on campus.

This university has something for everyone, especially more Starbucks than anywhere outside of Seattle (that last part isn’t true, but it’s not far off). The next few years of your life can be enjoyable if you allow them to be. In one, two or four years, when you get ready to walk across the stage and you look back on your college experience, will you be one of the students who just attended for the degree or will you be one of the students who was active in the university and helped make it one of the best in the state. Get out there and get active, do not let opportunity pass you by! Stephen Whitaker Managing Editor

Letter to the Editor

Gun-free zones are a lie A “Gun Free Zone” is a lie. It is a lie propagated by those who are out of context with bad people, but nevertheless try to protect us with symbolic, feel-good efforts. A “Gun Free Zone,” supposed to keep us safe, but is in fact a “Killing Zone” for bad people. These bad people are individuals focused on exacting retribution through mass killings. They plan to kill as many as possible, become famous, then end their lives with a last bullet, hoping to make some grandiose statement about their tortuous plight in life. Bad people will not be deterred by symbolic, feel-good bans. Instead they will be attracted to and embolden by the prospect of an unfettered challenge to their righteous slaughter. Sandy Hook, Columbine and Virginia Tech were visited upon by such bad people. These bad people exacted their retribution through mass killings and morbidly benefited from the lie of a “Gun Free Zone.”

This is the context of a bad person’s belief system, and it is on these grounds and in this context our university system must answer the threat: a threat best answered by another gun. A gun used to confront, to prevent harm and preserve life. At issue then is whether Texas public universities, will allow individuals, let’s call them “good people,” who already possess a Concealed Handgun License (CHL) to do what they already do in their normal day: carry a concealed weapon. These individuals are trained in firearm safety and gun laws. They have undergone extensive background checks and proficiency tests, and add to the collective safety of us all by being able to pose a deterrence threat to those who would perpetrate violence. That deterrence threat is exactly what will keep the campus safe. So would our campus be awash in guns if we allowed concealed carry? Not hardly. Statistics show that only .15%

of individuals over the age of 21 acquire permits. Extrapolating this to UTSA’s population of 7,000 staff members and 10,000 21-year-old-plus students means that about 25 individuals would have CHL’s. Active carry rates among this group average about five percent, so at best we might have 1 or 2 people actually carrying a weapon at any time across the entire campus. This seems to me to be a very small risk to gain a tremendous amount of safety. Michael D. Noll Adjunct Professor College of Business Department of Real Estate Finance and Development

Commentary The welfare debate continues in Texas Recently, the Texas Senate passed a bill that will require select recipients of welfare to be drug tested. Along with this, another bill is being created to do the same for those receiving unemployment benefits. Whether drug testing will help or hinder those receiving the aid, it has created a huge debate between different political views and social advocacy

groups. Some believe that testing should be done because people are not using the aid for its intended purpose of providing food, clothing and shelter but are potentially using it for their drug habit, and the taxpayers who assist in paying this aid are thus then being taken advantage of. The opposition believes that laws such as this one are degrading those with low incomes, immediately labeling them as drug abusers and scapegoating the entire population of recipients. The assumption that people

who receive welfare or other governmental assistance use drugs at a higher level than the general population is unjust and erroneous. Singling out any specific group of recipients proves that the state and government are demonizing the poor and needy. This is unjust and unfair. Equality is not being upheld when passing such a bill in a rushed and rash manner. If there are worries of how taxpayer money is being spent, then anyone receiving any form of aid should be tested; this would include students that

receive pell grants, elderly receiving social security benefits, pregnant women receiving health benefits, government employees that receive any type of benefit at no additional cost or with a reduction in taxes paid—the list goes on. Where do we draw the line? Should there be a line? Going to a higher, stricter level would then draw up a bigger debate of where and when does the drug testing stop. What drugs are tested? Should alcohol be considered when testing? How about cigarettes? At what level is someone con-

sidered an abuser of any substance? In the end, the ones who are usually receiving aid and at risk of becoming hurt if the aid is removed, are children, the elderly and the poor. Have we become a society that sees nothing but evil and wrongdoings in people who have fallen burden to hard times and tribulations? Marcia Perales Intern

PASEO

8 April 30, 2013

Popular Honors Thesis Projects Ancient Leadership Beth Marshall Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of Marissa Weschler

paseo@paisano-online.com

Regenerative Therapy Marissa Weschler’s, a senior biological engineering major, thesis is titled, “Osteogenic Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Exposed to Alternating Electric Current.” Weschler was motivated to take up this research because she believes there is a need for new scientific developments and advancement in biomedical applications. Her research looks specifically at the use of stem cells to treat various diseases as well as repairing and regenerating damaged tissue. Weschler’s project is unique in that she was alternating electric currents to stimulate bone-forming cells. These discoveries have potential to impact biotechnology, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

To say that classics major Eli Embleton loves well-written stories, poetry and language is an understatement. Combining this love with a passion to innovate education is precisely how his thesis “Leadership in the Ancient World” was born. Embleton has dedicated the past year to creating a thesis focused on a future course “Leadership in the Ancient World.” This class will be open to enrollment for honors college students in the fall of 2014. During the year spent on his thesis, Embleton read multiple texts to decide what would be included in the course. The lengthy process included “writing five to ten pages every week over the pe-

riod of two semesters. Most of the effort came in the form of editing and selecting which stories made it into the final product,” Embleton said. The inspiration for this thesis came from Embleton’s belief that, in order to change education, educators need to shape better leaders. The characters depicted in ancient literature display leadership in such a way that pairing the two for this course makes sense. “I have always felt the drive to take the path less travelled, and I found it in the pursuit of this thesis,” Embleton said. Students who enroll in “Leadership in the Ancient World” will learn valuable character traits from the famous epics and tragedies of Rome and Greece. The course will explore leadership as a collective phenomenon that “emerges through complexity,” Embleton said. This approach makes for a unique learning environment.

Embleton notes that “the most difficult part of the project is convincing people of the value of reading texts with which they are unfamiliar. Most people love the stories of Greek epic and tragedy but are initially intimidated by the prospect of reading Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.” Aside from the leadership traits of the ancient Greeks and Romans, Embleton incorporated modern techniques into the teaching of his course. He drew inspiration from work with the For the Kids (FTK) Dance Marathon, at which he encountered many prominent student leaders, physicians and executives. Through the design and implementation of this course, Embleton hopes to change education and cultivate brave new leaders by using creative techniques. To continue reading, visit: paisano-online.com

To read more thesis work by students such as:

“Detecting Early Cavaties” “Existential Questions in Shelley’s Monster” “Cardiogenesis in Stem Cells” visit:

Photo Courtesy of Morgan Barton

paisano-online.com

No Help for Haiti

Photo courtesy of Claudio Macias

“After the earthquake of 2010 that caused large destruction to Haiti, millions in foreign aid were funneled into the island nation. However, three years later, we have not seen much improvement.” This is the central issue addressed in the thesis “The Problem with Haiti: Why State Capture Causes Long Term Aid Ineffectiveness” by Morgan Barton, a senior political science major. Barton’s thesis focuses on why Haiti continues to see a weak government structure, and no improvements to economic growth or public services. “I argue that the negative development is due to state capture, characterized as a condition that persists when a group of firms and elites exert their economic power over political officials, shaping the politics to their advantage,” explained Barton.

Engineering Bone Tissue Claudio Macias is a biological engineering major who worked extensively to create his thesis, “Exploring Mucin Multilayer Applications: Antimicrobial Activity and Drug Delivery.” “Since an early age, I was fascinated with philosophical questions and solving puzzles, which I think drove me to science as I was finishing high school,” he explains. Macias had a high level of interest in regenerative medicine and ambitions to grow an organ in the laboratory some day. The goal of his lab research involved bone tissue engineering. He aimed to guide regeneration of damaged bone by developing what can be likened to an artificial bone graft. Macias hopes that his thesis work will lead to a “better, optimal design of a scaffold for tissue regeneration that will help patients recover from skeletal injuries.”

ARTS&LIFE

9 April 30, 2013

{Local Events}

Tuesday, April 30 11 a.m. Exhibit: “See You in the Spring”

AnArte Gallery (7959 Broadway) presents “See You in the Spring,” an exhibit featuring artwork from artist Brook Rosser. Inspired by Mexican folk art and her grandmother, Rosser’s work will feature painting, drawing and decoupage. Admission is free.

Katy Schmader/ The Paisano

Wednesday, May 1 12 p.m. Exhibit: “Kelley Eggert, Dewayne Hughes, Guus Kemp”

The B.F.A. Show features work from graduating art majors as seen above setting up for the big show.

Graduating art majors exhibit their skills Janae Rice

Arts Assistant arts@paisano-online.com The Department of Art and Art history will present the 2013 Bachelor of Fine Art Spring Exhibition at the UTSA Art Gallery on May 1. The exhibit will show the work of 42 students all of whom will be graduating in May. This semester is the largest student BFA show in UTSA’s history. The exhibition will include the work of many student artists through painting, photography, sculpture and drawing. “It’s been quite a journey,” says Rebecca Seiler who has a painting and sculpture concentration. “Many of us have put everything we got into our work, and it definitely shows. The gallery is packed full of talent, and I’m excited to hear

about others’ success including mine in the future. I’m proud of several individuals who have work in the show,” says Seiler. Seiler is presenting a landscape on birch wood panel that incorporates real objects, such as deer antlers and dirt. Seiler plays with two and three dimensions with her piece that sets the tone for the space. The landscape is dusky but uses a colorful palette. Students spend the entire year creating unique and innovative pieces that expand the limits of their artwork. Inspiration comes from anywhere for these ambitious young artists. “My favorite places to peruse are antique shops because I have this obsession with childhood toys and how I can manipulate them into something completely different than their original connotations or inten-

sions,” says Seiler. Student artist Bianca Alvarez is presenting a painting titled “Reconstructed.” Her piece is a painting with sculptural elements that give her work a multi-dimensional perspective. Alvarez uses cornhusks and converts them into a paper that is integrated into a chicken wire on a fabricated sculpture. Her work makes it difficult to describe as a pure painting. “My work revolves around exposing the fragility and resilience in the materials I work with, mimicking ritual and repetition found in nature and of the human spirit. To further push the idea of change and adaptation due to modification, I utilize unconventional, ephemeral materials as a way of acknowledging that each piece has its own life,” says Alvarez.

A performance piece by Fabiola Barragan Perales will also be presented in which Perales portrays herself as Lindsay Lohan. The performance piece is a protest, which brings attention to the fact that Lindsay Lohan is covered more than important issues such as the deaths tied to the Mexican drug cartels. Taylor Bosworth, who had an exhibit at Hello Studio in February, is showing a series of honeycomb paintings with real honeycombs incorporated within. Bosworth uses hard cubes with straight lines juxtaposed with honeycomb shaped frames.

“There are pieces in the show that make you wonder if it’s a painting or a sculpture, or both,” says Alvarez. “This show really encompasses the grand spectrum of what art can be, definitely challenging traditional notions and approaches.” The BFA Spring Exhibition will be on display at the UTSA Art Gallery from May 1 to May 12. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit art.utsa.edu.

Gallery Nord (2009 NW. Military) presents artwork by Kelley Eggert, Dewayne Hughes and Guus Kemp — three Houston artists. Artwork featured will display the different methods employed by each respective artists. Admission is free.

Thursday, May 2 8 p.m. Theater: “Masquerade” The Overtime Theater (1203 Camden St.) presents “Masquerade,” a comedy by James Venhaus. The play focuses on the meeting of a group of comic book fans and a drag queen and is an expanded version of one of Venhaus’ short works. Admission is $10-$14.

Friday, May 3 9 p.m. UCinema Night: “Warm Bodies” The Retama Auditorium will screen the zombie romantic comedy Warm Bodies about an unusual relationship between a young woman and a zombie. The film is based on a novel by Isaac Marion of the same name. Admission is free and popcorn will be provided.

For the week’s full calendar, visit: paisano-online.com

Follow ARTS&LIFE on Twitter @PaisanoArts May 29, 2013!

Mark Zavala/ The Paisano

April 30, 2013

ARTS&LIFE

The Tyrannosaurus Rex makes an appearance at the “Dinosaurs Unearthed: Bigger. Better. Feathered” exhibit at the Witte Museum.

Feathered is better: Witte Museum

welcomes dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes Mark Zavala Contributing Writer

arts@paisano-online.com Standing on the front lawn of the Witte Museum and staring down Broadway is Patty, the 60-foot Apatosaurus who welcomes visitors to the museum and its newest attraction. Other dinosaurs scattered around the museum’s grounds signify the return of one of the biggest exhibits at the Witte Museum. Now until Sep. 2 in the Kathleen and Curtis Gunn Gallery, the Witte will be exhibiting “Dinosaurs Unearthed.” The installation features the world’s most advanced life-size animatronic dinosaurs, complete skeletons, newly discovered fossils, new hands-on interactive features suitable for all ages and the latest paleontological discovery: the feathered dinosaur. Created with electronics instead of hydraulics, the life-size animatronic dinosaurs allow the audience to experience the likeness of the beasts with realistic motions. Giants, like the Tyrannosaurus Rex, can lift their head; preparing for an attack. Later discoveries like Confuciusornis and Sinosauropteryx are in what could possibly have been their natural habitat. The exhibit also includes nine augmented reality stations where visitors can see a particular dinosaur come to life in 3-D right before their eyes. Each station features something different. At one station, a skeletal view of the Microraptor can be seen as well as the dinosaurs’ flight behavior. At another, a young Tyrannosaurus Rex can be fed until the dinosaur is fully-grown. Each station is equipped with two iPads for visitors to use, but visitors are encouraged to bring their own iPad, iPhone or Android devices to download the free app and experience the environment of the dinosaurs. “Everyone is familiar with iPads,” says Lauren Dollard, a visitor’s associate at the Witte. “The new AR stations make the experience that much more immersible.” The exhibit includes interactive podiums, touch kiosks, push but-

ton video displays, computer stations and consoles to control and explore dinosaur movements. A dig site allows guests to make their own fossil discoveries and learn how paleontologists carefully unearth dinosaur bones. “The exhibit is just so family friendly,” says Ian Galloway, 29, as he watches his son, Kingsley, dig through the paleontological site. “Every year it gets better. There’s more for Kingsley to do, and I’m never bored when I bring him. I wouldn’t be surprised if I enjoyed it more than him!” “Dinosaurs Unearthed” focuses on the newest discoveries in the realm of dinosaurs, including evidence that suggests that the vast majority of dinosaurs were covered in feathers rather than the scaly, reptilian skin as previously believed. This suggests that dinosaurs might actually be the ancestors of modern birds as opposed to reptiles. The exhibit features a Velociraptor blanketed in feathers and also suggests that the Velociraptor or its ancestors may have been capable of flight, a completely different take on the well-known scavenger species. The exhibit explores new evidence that suggests one of the dinosaur kingdom’s greatest predators, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, was a feathered dinosaur at one time. There is a $5 surcharge to view the exhibit in addition to the general admission fee. For more information on “Dinosaurs Unearthed,” please visit www. WitteMuseum.org or call (210) 357-1900.

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SPORTS

11 April 30, 2013

Nick Castillo Staff Writer

sports@paisano-online.com At the beginning of the season, UTSA baseball Head Coach Jason Marshall said he wanted his team to be at their best by the end of the season. As the time nears, the Roadrunners are gaining momentum. UTSA won two games out of three against Sacramento State and then won 2-1 against Texas-Pan America, Tuesday April, 23. This past weekend, April 26 – 28, the Roadrunners continued their success as they defeated the Dallas Baptist Patriots two games to one. It took 13 innings to decide Game 1. Dallas Baptist jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but UTSA answered with two runs in the second inning. Both teams added a run in the third

inning which gave Dallas Baptist a 4-3 lead. In the fifth inning, UTSA tied the game with a Horracio Correa III RBI. The game went scoreless until UTSA’s Riley Good hit the game-winning solo home run, in the top of the 13th inning, to give UTSA a 5-4 victory. In Game 2, freshman pitcher Nolan Trabanino (3-3, 5.36 ERA) took the mound for UTSA. Trabanino did not have much luck; he allowed five runs in 1-and-2/3 innings of work. UTSA tried to rally by scoring two runs in the sixth inning, but Dallas Baptist’s five runs were too much for the Roadrunners to overcome. The Patriots tied the series 1-1 with a 5-2 victory. In the rubber match, Game 3, the Roadrunners took advantage of Daniel Rockett’s five RBI’s. Rockett hit a bases-clear-

ing triple in the third inning and hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning. UTSA’s Good and RJ Perucki each added an RBI in addition to Rockett’s five, and starting pitcher Michael Kraft threw seven innings of a two-hit ball where he did not allow a run, which lead to a 7-2 victory and a series win. Although the ‘Runners are 8-9 in conference play and currently in seventh place in the WAC, they are starting to play their best baseball. The Roadrunners have now won two consecutive WAC series and have won five out of the last seven games. The ‘Runners (24-19, 8-9 WAC) will look to continue building momentum on April, 23 when they return to San Antonio to face Sam Houston State (27-17, 12-6 Southland) at 6 p.m. at Roadrunner Field.

Will Tallent / The Paisano

UTSA baseball gains momentum as end of regular season draws near

The Roadrunners are currently ranked seventh in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

Mario Nava

Assistant Sports Editor sports@paisano-online.com With the season ending and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) tournament near, the UTSA Roadrunners (24-22, 7-10 WAC) won their last road series of the season against WAC opponent the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (23-23, 8-9 WAC). The ‘Runners pitching staff rebounded after allowing 14 runs in three games against Seattle by holding Louisiana Tech to just three runs in three games. UTSA split a doubleheader with a 4-1 victory in the opener followed by a 1-0 shutout loss to the Lady Techsters. During the Game 1 victory, UTSA starter Haylee Staton

(13-8, 2.53 ERA) pitched seven strong innings and allowed one run on four hits. Staton added eight strikeouts to her dominant performance as she now leads the team with 109 total strikeouts. Both teams struggled to score until UTSA exploded in the seventh inning for four runs on two hits and, more importantly, two key errors by the Lady Techsters to take a 4-0 lead. After singles by Victoria Birdwell and Darian Blake and a walk by Courtney Buchman, Louisiana Tech allowed UTSA to score on a fielder’s choice, a sacrifice fly and two throwing errors. Megan Low was the only Roadrunner to be credited with an RBI. Louisiana Tech was able to secure a win in Game 2 with a complete game shutout by Lady Techsters’ pitcher Mi-

Vicent Cardenas / The Paisano

UTSA Softball edges out Louisiana Tech in final road game of the season

UTSA is currently ranked third in the Western Athletic Conferece (WAC).

chelle Jones, who scattered four hits with two walks and one strikeout. UTSA pitcher Alyssa Vordenabum (9-10, 2.80 ERA)

battled to keep the Roadrunners in the game as she pitched all six innings and allowed only one run with five strikeouts.

The only run of the game came during the bottom of the fifth inning when Lady Techster Erin Kipp hit an RBI single to left field scoring teammate Anna Cross. Kipp and UTSA leadoff hitter Blake were the only two players to have multiple hits in the game. With the series up for grabs heading into Saturday’s game, UTSA trusted the senior Staton to take the mound in hopes of leaving Louisiana with the road victory. Staton answered the bell with a complete game one run victory that included six strikeouts, giving her a total of 14 for the entire weekend series. The Lady Techsters struck first in the top of the fourth inning when centerfielder Dacia Hale hit a solo home run to leftfield to give Louisiana Tech a 1-0 lead.

UTSA would then answer by scoring one run in each of the last four innings of play while Staton stifled Louisiana Tech bats. Offensively, for the ‘Runners, it was catcher Low and left fielder Sierra Sproul who did most of the damage as each collected two hits and drove in an RBI on the day. On May 3, UTSA will host the UT Arlington Mavericks (21-24, 5-12 WAC) at Roadrunner Field in the season finale. Game 1 is Friday at 6 p.m. and then a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 3 p.m.

SPORTS

12 April 30, 2013

SPORTS

The San Antonio Spurs are currently awaiting to play the winner of the Warriors-Nuggest series.

Spurs sweep LA Lakers Sheldon Baker Sports Editor

sports@paisano-online.com It took just four games for the San Antonio Spurs to beat the Los Angeles Lakers. On April 29, the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Lakers in the Staple Center 103-82. “Obviously, it wasn’t a fair fight. When you’re a competitor, you want to compete on an even basis and the Lakers weren’t able to do that, but having said that, they came to play every night and the guys that replaced hurt people played hard and did the best they could. What I was pleased about our team was that we kept our focus every night,” said San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich. Coach Popovich was referring to the injuries the Lakers suffered right before the playoffs began, which decimated the team. Kobe Bryant tore his Achilles tendon, Steve Nash tweaked his

hamstring, Metta World Peace had to have knee surgery, Steve Blake had an abdominal injury, and Jodi Meeks sprained his wrist. The Lakers had high hopes entering the 2012-2013 season, but too many injuries at key points in the season prevented the team from playing healthy as a whole unit. It showed in the first round of the NBA playoffs this season. “It’s been a very tough year, but we’re not going to make any excuses; we’re not going to hold our head down because the things that have happened this season. We’re not going to quit,” said the Lakers All-Star center Dwight Howard. Though the Lakers had a depleted backcourt, Spurs point guard Tony Parker felt no empathy for the Purple and Gold. He scored 23 points and dished out four assists. Kawhi Leonard and DeJuan Blair scored 13 points apiece. Tim Duncan scored 16 points and had 11 rebounds on Lakers

Center Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol. “I’m just trying to stay away from their length more than anything. I got a good rhythm early, and I made some shots. If I’m able to stay out of the paint, and stay away from their size and athletic ability and some shots, that’s where I’m being most effective,” said Duncan. Howard was frustrated the whole series, and his emotions came to a boiling point with 9:51 left in the third quarter when he received his second technical foul and was ejected from the game. He scored only seven points in the game. Historically, since Tim Duncan’s rookie year, the winner of the Spurs-Lakers playoff matchup has gone on to compete in the NBA Finals. The Spurs are awaiting the winner of the Warriors-Nuggets matchup. The Warriors currently lead the Nuggets three games to one.

Getty Images /NBA Ent

April 30, 2013

14 April 30, 2013