'90's modern life

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UTSA has changed dramatically over the past 20 years, from the addition of several buildings down to its core curriculum requirements. Get a look at the UTSA of the ‘90s before it became the massive top-tier institution it is today.

The U.S. is in the midst of experiencing some of the greatest issues of its time. But is it?

Read on for a look back at the ‘90s most pivotal moments, many of which have come to shape the country today.

Most of the tech in the ‘90s was housed in bulky, unportable square casing. Nowadays, we have cell phones that can do the jobs of several different devices. Learn about how technology has evolved over the past twenty years, from cell phones and gaming consoles to computers and the internet.

The millennial generation is poised to be the one to end smoking, because the number of smokers in the 2010s hit a record low. The way the 1990s handled smoking is an entirely different story. Read on to learn about the decade that had an entire culture dedicated to the habit.

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Letter from the Editor Grunge, TV and hip-hop. These were just a few ingredients that fused to create the ‘90s.

Twenty some years ago, we were busy being children; some of us were busy being born.

Kurt Cobain is still seen as a grunge icon. Grunge music lovers have mourned the loss of great grunge singers: Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Layne Staley of Alice in Chains, Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots and, more recently, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden. Last we checked, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam is still alive.

Politically, the US was facing new challenges internationally, and a wave crashed over the country as reality TV become actual reality.

Riots broke out on the streets, presidential scandals colored the media, and several mass shootings and bombings dominated the headlines.

Sound familiar?

Not only has the country changed, but so has UTSA. We have come a long way in these twenty-something years.

Take a stroll down memory lane and read about the inside jokes in our favorite cartoons that we never understood as children. Maybe reminisce over some of the greatest ‘90s musical hits—from hip-hop to Tejano.

Explore the various fashion trends making a comeback and see how we have modernized them in 2017. Even the bad trends look nice if you revamp them the right way. Take a look at the makeup tutorial while you’re at it. Maybe you’ll get the perfect grunge look out of it.

The ‘90s are the most recent decade that has been revived and relived by the new generation. The last class of kids born in the ‘90s have graduated high school and are walking with us to our classes. The next incoming class of freshman were born in the 2000s. Read about the varying viewpoints from two people who define what it means to be a ‘90s kid.

Smells like ‘90s nostalgia.

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Samantha Ceballos magazine@paisano-online.com

About the Covers What’s more ‘90s than some random shapes and colors that make you think back to the days when you had a Gameboy and TVs were bulky? The front cover brings together nostolgic elements into one graphic.

The back cover is an amazing comic that takes us back to the times of simple cellphones and clown pants. Those were the times.

Meet the Writers

{ Paisano Plus } Magazine Editor: Samantha Ceballos Magazine Assistants: Diana Amaya Natalia Brookens The Paisano Editor-in-Chief: Isaac Serna Managing Editor: Ethan Pham

Diana Amaya

Natalia Brookens

Photo Editor: Chase Otero Account Executive: Jenelle Duff Business Manager: Will Stransky Marketing Director: Valery Assad

Jessica Salinas

Enrique Bonilla

{Writers} Jessica Salinas, Katrina Clements, Kaitlyn Gilbert, Vincent Valdez, Ryan Thompson, Heather Montoya, Robin Molina, Emily Hubbard, Ricardo Rodriguez,Samuel De Leon {Cover Photos} Front: Samantha Ceballos Back: Edward Monsibaiz {Advisor} Diane Abdo {Advisory Board} Stefanie Arias, Jack Himelblau, Steven Kellman, Red Madden, Sandy Norman

Ethan Pham

Vincent Valdez

Ricardo Rodriguez

Heather Montoya

Paisano Plus 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. All revenues are generated through advertising and donations.

Advertising inquiries and donations should be directed towards: 14526 Roadrunner Way Suite 101 San Antonio, TX 78249 (210) 690-9301 magazine@paisano-online. com Š 2017, All Rights Reserved, The Paisano

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This issue we asked...

If you had to revive one ‘90s fashion trend, what would it be?

Interviews/photos by: Chase Otero and Ryan Thompson

“Kurt Cobain used to wear these huge stripped sleeved shirts. I freaking love those!”

photo courtesy of The Paisano

Dany Escobar

“Are jean shorts ‘90s?”

James Wilcox

“I love mom jeans. They need to come back.” ”Neon windbreakers, all the way. Can you tell I was gonna say that?”

Emily Brown

Ivan Romero

“ ...Pleather.”

Joanie Bryant

“Overalls for sure.

I also love bell bottom jeans and long bag linen dresses.”

Rielly Campbell

Graphics by: Samantha Ceballos

New faces, same fashion By: Emily Hubbard and Robin Molina

top photo by: Emily Hubbard bottom photo: Courtesy of The Paisano Archives

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he trends that have endured for the past two decades have done so because they resonate with societal wants and needs and because they are easily incorporated into one’s wardrobe. ‘90s trends are among us in a unique way, they are so prominent, yet reside under the surface undetected. Most likely, these trends already occupy a piece of real estate in your closet and are worn unconsciously. Need proof?

Grab a sandwich, sit in the Sombrilla and survey the garments of the masses.

At first, you may not notice the resurgence of grunge, mostly because the androgynous eyeliner, bracelets, black painted nails and loose fitting man dresses are gone.

The band tees (you’ve seen those Nirvana ones out there), flannels, Dr. Martens, ripped jeans, camo baggy cargo pants and oversized sweaters have stayed. Popularized

by Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love, Marc Jacobs and Alexander McQueen, these garments transmit the idea of gender neutrality, a theme still relevant today, making grunge so fitting for modern-day wear.

Artists such as SWMRS and Hozier

reflect and propel grunge into the public eye, keeping the look and the gender neutrality message relevant.

Another fun trend to decipher are track suits. This athletic look from the ‘90s, a matching tracksuit typically paired with Nike Air Maxes or spiced up with any of the 20 versions of Air Jordans, returns in the form of the Adidas tracksuit.

The Adidas tracksuit can be spotted on Instagram accounts modeled by celebrities such as Eddie Murphy, Kanye West and Selena Gomez.

Millenials have taken the tracksuit to a different category all its own, athleisure.

Athleisure is a word you won’t find in the dictionary just yet, but you will find it sitting right behind you in your calculus class. This look is a sporty, casual combination including, but not limited to, hoodies, vans, joggers and Nikes.

You can enhance the look with your G-Shock watch, a windbreaker or platform shoes.

The ‘90s were also full of bright, iridescent fabrics and patterns, which took form in sweatshirts, socks, fishnets, mesh and large hats.

While these colorful maximalist trends are still prominent, just taken down a notch, they have mostly been replaced by the trendy neutral-toned,

minimalist look. In the same manner, ‘90s kids would naturally gravitate to bold statement pieces, kids today are approaching minimalism and easily incorporating it into their everyday outfits. The minimalist trend first appeared in 1995 with Calvin Klein’s spring collection and has been recently approved by celebrities such as Victoria and David Beckham and Solange Knowles. Another contributor to the minimalist trend is technology and social media. These have had a large impact on our habits when it comes to our sartorial choices and our modern tendency for efficiency.

Perhaps closets are losing their saturation due to the ease of a pair of neutral colored shirt with any bottom desired.

The ‘90s saw a mix of creative expression, movements and community through clothes.

Each person expressed his or her individual twist while being apart of a larger scheme that kept him or her close. The times were as light, fun but mostly nostalgic, and that is something now brought to life through our clothing. While the seemingly simpler times of landlines and dial-up are gone, the clothes of those days still inspire.

Bad trends in modern times By: Kaitlyn Gilbert

The ‘90s were a beloved decade of grungy jeans, combat boots and strappy dresses. The decade was also filled with trends we hoped never would make a comeback until now. Here lie the bad trends of the ’90s and their revamped looks.

The Bowl Cut While many heartthrobs rocked this cut in the ‘90s (Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jim Carrey. Most non-Oscar winning young men could not pull off the look. Even though the men of the ’90s dominated this hairdo, females in 2017 took on the bowl cut. A modern bowl cut is a cute, chic pixie cut for women. Men modernized this look by majestically sweeping their hair to the side (aka 2009 Justin Bieber).

Crimped hair Whether you used a crimper or just left your braids in overnight, if you rocked crimped hair in the ‘90s, you were way cool. This frizzy ‘do was worn by lots of girls for pretty much any kind of occasion. Because when is crimped hair not appropriate? Today, beach waves are the new crimped hair (minus the frizz).

It’s easy, casual and trendy.

Dark Liner, Light Lips Applying a dark lip liner and light lipstick was a staple in ‘90s makeup routine.

Although this ill-fated trend never made it past 2002, a modernized rendition has recently come to vogue. An ombre lip features a dark liner slowly fading to a lighter shade on the inner lips. This trendy new lip style has brought back an improved dark liner, light lip look.

Frosted Tips The guys decided to step into a hair game with this trend. Bleaching the tips of a spiked ‘do known as frosted tips. This hairdo is not going to make the most wanted list because no one really wants to find it. Not seen since 1999, this dude-do has made a flashy comeback. Celebrities Justin Bieber and Zayn Malik have recently sported the updated frosted tips. The two heartthrobs modernized the ‘90s trend by ditching the spiked hair and letting their long, magical wavy hair flow freely.

While the last decade of the 20th century definitely had its fashion faults, the ‘90s also had its share of decade-setting trends, some of which are copied and improved. Despite the bad trends, one thing is true: the ’90s still influences fashion trends.

Graphics by: Samantha Ceballos

Makeup By: Heather Montoya

Sandra Bullock, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears are icons who pulled off trends in the ‘90s just as well as they pull off trends today. One signature look of the ‘90s era consisted of three key factors: blue eyeshadow thin and filled in eyebrows brown lipstick This signature look of the ‘90s era is very different from the thick, bold brows and smoky eye trend of the current era, but it is a look that can be modernized.

Step 1: Foundation Apply foundation evenly onto your face. For the modern makeup girl, simply contour to bring the look into this era.

Step 2: Eyebrows One thing that eyebrows of the ‘90s and eyebrows of today have in common is that they were filled in. For this modernized ‘90s look, keep your bold brows and stay with the consistent trend of filling them in.

Step 3: Eyeshadow Cover your eyelids with a blue eyeshadow. Once the eyeshadow is on, evenly blend the color into the crease of your eyelid.

Step 4: Eyeliner Line the upper eyelid, using the eyeliner of your choice, and add a ‘wing’ to the ends.

Step 5: Lashes Apply mascara to your eyelashes or put on false lashes as the finishing touch for your eye makeup.

Step 6: Lipstick A modern rule of thumb is to avoid a bold eye and lip combination, apply a neutral color lipstick like a light brown or nude color. To really modernize the look, use a matte lipstick.

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Eyeshadow palettes courtesy of The Paisano

Tutorial Step 1: Foundation Apply foundation evenly onto your face. Like the blueeyeshadow look, contouring modernizes this look.

Step 2: Eyebrows The grunge look can still be obtained without thin brows.

Keep your thick, bold eyebrows by filling them in.

Step 3: Eyeshadow Apply brown eyeshadow onto your eyelid. Once applied, blend the eyeshadow into the crease of your eyelid.

Step 4: Eyeliner Line the upper and lower lid of the eye with pencil eyeliner.

Blend the eyeliner on the upper lid to give the look a smoky effect.

Step 5: Lashes Apply mascara to your eyelashes or put on false lashes to finish your eye makeup.

Step 6: Lipstick Apply a dark lipstick shade whether it be a dark red, brown, grey, or maroon to your lips. Using a matte lipstick modernizes this trend.

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Graphics by: Samantha Ceballos and Edward Monsibaiz

‘90s children or

A point-counter point perspective By: Emily Hubbard

Viewpoint from someone born in 1999

As we all know, ‘90s fashion is coming back in full force through today’s trends (scrunchies, fishnets, jellies, denim and oversized everything), but what comes with this is more than just fashion; it’s a big hit of nostalgia for the kids of the generation.

Because the Internet was new, social media and communication websites were exciting. The kids of the generation reference Myspace, AOL and the iconic Motorola flip phone (especially in pink) as the new ways of communication.

Girls and boys were begging their parents for the newest technology, but this didn’t mean they got it. Even though these were available, most still relied on person-to-person communication to get things done.

Unlike our generation, technology was novel and did not run people’s lives. Rather than being constantly on social media, people enjoyed wholesome fun. They played with games and toys such as MASH, paper fortune teller, Polly Pockets, double-dutch, hop-scotch and, of course, the parachute game in P.E. Today, kids refer to the television shows of the ‘90s as being exponentially better than kids’ shows today. People reminisce shows such as “The Magic School Bus,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” “Rugrats,” “Recess,” “Big Comfy Couch,” “The Nanny,” “Bill Nye The Science Guy” and, of course, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” Being one of the most influential bops of the ‘90s, the “Fresh Prince” theme song imprinted on the kids of the generation.

It’s crazy to think these iconic shows have been replaced by “Dog with a Blog,” “PAW Patrol” and “Girl Meets World” (“Boy Meets World” part 2? Hmm?). It’s funny how not only is fashion being relived but also shows and movies themes are being resurrected. It seems people can’t come up with new ideas, so they find themselves returning to things they know worked—the ‘90s. We have seen a lot of

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remakes recently, not just “Boy Meets World,” but many Spider-Man movies.

Kids in the past seemed more immersed in literature. Remember Scholastic Book Fairs?

We would all skim through the booklets given out in class, and then talk to our friends about what we wanted to get and what we thought was intriguing. It was little things such as Scholastic Book Fairs that made our childhood so special.

The kids of the ‘90s are considered “the Millennial” generation, people born from the 1980s to the early 2000s. Two generations fit into the broad term Millennial, Generation Y (1980-1995) and Generation Z (1996-onward).

The two generations are coined under one broad term, which is often misunderstood.

People between the ages of 16-25 are smack dab in the middle of the clump, which can itself cause some confusion and stereotyping.

Being a millennial is like being the middle child; you’re constantly nagged by the older siblings but also you are looked up to by the younger siblings.

The ‘Baby Boomer’ generation and Generation X always complain about the Millennial generation. As ‘90s kids, our childhood consisted of wholesome fun before the whole technology boom, and rather than being coined the technological generation, people need to understand that Millennials have lived both eras.

‘90s kids are expected to be the technologically advanced generation when it comes to any aspect in everyday life, compared to generations before us, but people have to remember we also lived in a time before technology and social media became the fuel for society. ‘90s kids deserve some props, considering we are left to solve a lot of problems in an age of domestic and foreign turmoil. Even with high expectations, there is no need to fret because it’s our time to shine!

not ‘90s children

on what it means to be a ‘90s kid Viewpoint from someone born in 1995

There is a common misconception floating around as the ‘90s begin to make a comeback into everyday life.

Children born in the ‘90s are not ‘90s children. Those who were born in the latter half of the ‘80s and early ‘90s hold the right to the title “’90s kid.”

Children born 1995 or later are children of the 2000s. So why do people think if they are born in the ‘90s they are ‘90s kids? People often “remember” the ‘90s as the good ol’ days, but the truth is, those years were just as crummy as the current time we live in.

Plagued by war, drugs and reality TV, the ‘90s was not as glamorous as people now make it seem. The ‘90s was the last decade to focus on real counterculture before the 2000s shift to focus on cyber culture. People wanted to break away from the conventional norms and become their own individual, but this was the last generation to want to do so. People were fighting for the right to be themselves.

Grunge, hip-hop, even reality television were helping people find who they wanted to be, even if being who they wanted went against the norms set by society. Teenagers were rebelling against their parents, people were beginning to

rebel against the government more forcefully and life was about to be taken over by technology.

Towards the latter half— and even now—generations have changed as technology has advanced and slowly taken over the minds of those attached to the internet. No longer do people work hard to get information, much less communicate with one another, because technology has advanced to the point where meeting a person is a swipe away.

Though technology has done wonders, it has also harmed new generations. Protected rooms once housed the country’s computers, but after the ‘90s, those computers began to show up in everyday life and now refuse to people’sleave. Those born in the ‘90s are the last generation to see what life was like before technology began its take over.

The newest generations will continue to become dependent on technology. But where does the addiction end?

The ‘90s is too romanticized, perhaps because it was the last generation of counterculture.

Now, this generation’s job is to mimic those times deemed great by others who forget how terrible the ‘90s were.

As much as this generation thinks we are children of the

By: Samantha Ceballos

‘90s, we are not. As someone born in 1995, I have very little memories from the ‘90s. My notions of the era were created by re-runs of cartoons that debuted in the ‘90s.

However, challenges from the ‘90s have not disappeared.

We are still at war on many fronts; we are still a racially divided country; we still have politicians in office who are skewing and screwing the country. The ‘90s were not that different from this decade.

The ‘90s was the last decade for counterculture and the associated lifestyles. Now, we have shifted to a constantly evolving cyberculture Cyberculture continues mass globalization and has made online commerce a major part of the economy. Because this generation is so immersed in technology, it has become unnecessary to interact face to face. Books are no longer carried, but downloaded.

Movies and television can be accessed at a moment’s notice.

Technology advances, people grow older, but the struggles of each decade remain. We romanticize the past, giving people a false sense of security. Maybe the next decade’s romanticizing will work, but it doesn’t seem likely.

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A pastime that never changes Article and photos by: Samuel De Leon

The restaurant scene is changing quickly. When I grew up, it was a family event to go to a restaurant and sit down to talk about our days. I would tell my mother and father about the kids on the playground who cheated us out of the football victory at recess. It was quaint.

But as meals change, it is still important to take a moment to sit back and “carpe diem.�

As a certified college student (the promised certificate is in the mail), I eat what I can when I can. I am always on the go, and the way I eat needs to take a break from that mentality. The outdoor eating area introduces a slow-paced solution to a person always on the go.

The idea of eating outdoors is not a huge innovation, the places in San Antonio are the innovation.

Photos courtesy of The Paisano

The Block

The Block is across the street from University Oaks, right by those really nice apartments with the $5 coffee place below. The Block is dog-friendly, even cat-friendly if you look hard enough. The variety of food is always on a rotation. The issue is, I can never figure out the rotation. Nevertheless, the food is good.

Here are a couple of foods I would recommend trying.

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The first thing I ate at The Block was a fish quesadilla from Mr. Fish Taco truck. It was alright. I decided to give the area another try on a different occasion out with friends. If the Twisted Tradition food truck ever makes it

Luxury

back to The Block rotation, you must try the fig and truffle grilled cheese sandwich; it’s amazing. The garlic aioli sauce that comes with the sandwich is better used for fries, but the flavor is fantastic.

Chela’s is always recommended for tacos. It seemed as if the food truck was cemented into the back corner of The Block bar, but lately it has disappeared.

My recommendation to fill the void in your heart is not to go looking for another taco. Think of Chela’s as the “one that got away.” Instead, I suggest you try the shrimp patty burger at Curb.

I know what you are thinking, and, yes, a shrimp patty was not my first choice on the menu. I heard that little voice in the pit of my stomach that said, “Sam, it’s shrimp. You’re going to like it.” I could try and argue with that little voice, but I don’t need the person behind me fearing for her safety as the gentleman in front of her orally debates his stomach. I ordered the burger. If I ever see another menu with a shrimp patty burger, I really can’t imagine it comparing to the food at Curb. Shrimp patties are going to become a thing, just be on the lookout for the next trendy spot to have them.

This spot is right along the Riverwalk. What is better than outdoor seating poised to watch quiet traffic move along the river?

How about doing just that, but the outdoor seating involves a swinging bench and dim lighting to match the sunset? Luxury is not a place to pregame with your best friends before atmosphere is exactly as the name a rager. Instead, Luxury is the place to suggests. If you are a Golden State sit down, take it slow and think about Warriors fan, this may not be the best how great it is to be in the land of the place to watch the game. However, that living. does not discount their chili cheese fries and selection of beverages. If you If you think this doesn’t sound are a Spurs fan, you will fit right in with like your pace, order a burger from this rag-tag group of hooligans. them. Stat. The ramshackled food The Friendly Spot does not have station sits behind a wall of various much to offer in the direction of food, junkyard grade metal sheets. Not to although it does maintain a small worry, the food gives diners a chance kitchen for limited hours. to sit back and chill. Have you ever had a burger so greasy and tasty, you That being said, S Alamo St is also stopped long enough to really look home to some of the greatest food at your significant other? What about eateries in San Antonio. Sit back, cheer fried chicken that moves through for the silver and black, and high-five your body and feeds your soul? Try the guy next to you as Ginobli scores the food, for I can only use human one basket closer to retirement. words of my plebian ancestors. Feel divine with a stomach full of Luxury’s The Block and The Friendly Spot cuisine. share a rowdy atmosphere, which is great for a night out with your friends.

If you weren’t hungry by the end But what outdoor venue is the best for of this article, I have truly failed in serving customers who just want to conveying my thoughts as a food take a moment to sit back and watch journalist. Outdoor eating is the time evolve around them? The poetic solace in a busy world and constantly answer would be one of Claude Monet’s moving community. Take some time paintings, but in San Antonio, we have to explore San Antonio and enjoy the the outdoor bar and eatery Luxury. company of others.

Want to explore San Antonio?

Of course there are other outdoor eateries around the city. But the question is, are they really worth the adventure? If you are looking to watch a Spurs game and enjoy an adult beverage with a rowdy crew, check out The Friendly Spot.

The Friendly Spot

The Friendly Spot is full of those odd looking porcelain chairs you might find in a junkyard and matching tables. But the

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UTSA twenty something years later Changes in the university since the 1990s

By: Ethan Pham Photos Courtesy of The Paisano Archives

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In 1997, UTSA was hovering just over 17,000 students enrolled in the four available colleges: the College of Business, the College of Fine Arts and Humanities, the College of Science and Engineering and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. The university had just unveiled its Downtown Campus. UTSA offered over 100 undergraduate degrees. Twenty years later, UTSA has expanded into a top-serving institution in Texas.

Tuition for resident and military full-time students hovered around $1,300 per semester; for nonresident fulltime students, tuition cost $4,000 per semester. Today, full-time resident and military students pay around $5,000 per semester; for nonresidents students, tuition costs around $11,500 per semester.

The required curriculum has changed since the ‘90s. The core curriculum of the ‘90s required one economics course, one literature course, one computer science/logic course, one diversity of thought course and one diversity of culture course.

The curriculum today falls under fewer categories, but offers most of the same classes. Today, UTSA students are required to take writing composition courses, a component area course and a first year experience course.

The university transition to today has evolved in all aspects. In the ‘90s, Samuel A. Kirkpatrick served as the fourth UTSA President. Kirkpatrick’s goal as president was to secure funding for the planning, development and construction of UTSA. Under Kirkpatrick, UTSA was given $71.5 million for educational programs and buildings under the South Texas Border Initiative. UTSA experienced a massive amount of growth in the 1990s and 2000s, eventually becoming the fourth largest university in the UT-System.

At that time, UTSA was breaking ground on the University Center (UC) with “UC Phase II,” where UTSA students go to buy books and sit in the Retama Auditorium; this expansion tripled the size of the UC. The ‘90s gave way to the construction of the EngineeringBiosciences Building, the Business Building and the Campus Visitors’ Center.

Alongside the Downtown Campus opening, the Institute of Texan Cultures began offering classes to UTSA students. With four academic buildings, the Downtown Campus has become the site of two colleges and two departments of another college.

In 1999, Ricardo Romo became the fifth president of UTSA. Romo came with ambitious plans to grow UTSA; he

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helped bring more community involvement and academic excellence. He aggressively pushed to expand UTSA with his “Roadmap to Excellence”; under Romo’s tenure, UTSA’s enrollment grew roughly 68 percent. As of 2016, UTSA has over 28,000 students, with over 24,000 being undergraduate students. Romo was the first Hispanic president of UTSA. In 2000, UTSA grew to six colleges; the Colleges of Business, Education and Human Development, Engineering, Liberal and Fine Arts, Sciences and Public Policy. Shortly afterwards, UTSA added a College of Architecture, Construction and Planning, Honors College and The Graduate School.

In 2004, on UTSA’s 35th anniversary, UTSA opened up the Main Building and Chaparral Village. In 2007, the “Master Plan” was created to guide the physical growth of UTSA as it continued to expand.

The 2000s saw the vast expansion of UTSA both academically and physically with the building of the Biotechnology, Sciences and Engineering Building; expansion of Recreation and Wellness Center; the purchasing and development of the Parks West Athletic Complex; and the opening of Laurel Village and “UC Phase III.” In 2011, UTSA rung in its first football game with its longawaited football team under coach Larry Coker.

Today, UTSA is a nationallyranked research university, a member of Conference-USA, a Hispanic-serving institution and the largest university in San Antonio. UTSA offers 160 degree programs among its 10 colleges. UTSA is a diverse school with a student body comprised of 60 percent underrepresented groups and 45 percent first-generation students.

UTSA has the number one ranked cybersecurity program in the nation. In 2016, $83 million was spent on research program expenditures.

UTSA is continuing to expand with the recent groundbreaking of a $95 million Science and Engineering Building, which is the largest construction project in UTSA history.

On Sept. 1, 2017, UTSA also welcomed its sixth president, Taylor Eighmy, who has advanced top-tier research universities.

The past 20 years has seen UTSA grow exponentially.

Wherever UTSA is headed, the future looks bright for roadrunners–now and forever.

Graphic by: Edward Monsibaiz

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The ‘90s and Now: Nearly 30 years of history repeating itself

By: Diana Amaya

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he resurgence of ‘90s trends is indicative of our love for the decade that a majority of us were born in. Despite our enamoredness, many of us were probably too young to have experienced all that the ‘90s had to offer. We love to celebrate the popular culture of the time, but we’ve also inherited decades-old problems that have only intensified. Read on for some ‘90s history that might feel a bit more familiar than nostalgic.

AWFUL MUSIC FESTIVALS Summer 2017’s poorly executed Fyre Festival defrauded attendees out of thousands of dollars in ticket prices, but at least it didn’t literally end in flames. Woodstock ’99 was set to be the decade’s own celebration of love and peace, but festival conditions—100-degree heat, and exorbitantly priced food and water in limited quantities—ensured the festival quickly devolved into chaos.

There were few water fountains onsite, which made for huge lines and hours-long wait times. Attendees began taking over vendor booths and trailers, and breaking into ATMs for cash. The vandalism and rioting quickly gave way to fan-on-fan violence, with four alleged rapes. The festival ended with the Red Hot Chili Peppers performing a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire,” very much a cheeky reference to the bonfires breaking out during their festival-closing set.

Attendees flipped and set vehicles on fire and ran rampant on festival grounds—some attempting to escape the mayhem and others evading arrest. During the festival, 44 arrests were made, including one arrest for sexual assault (though several were rumored to have occurred). Around 1,200 people were admitted to the onsite medical facility, with more than 700 treated for heat exhaustion and dehydration.

PRESIDENTIAL PARODIES Years earlier, Bill Clinton, the nation’s soon to be 42nd president, forever changed the way politicians attract young voters when he appeared on “The Arsenio Hall Show” in June 1992. Clinton, having just won the California primary along with the Democratic nomination for president, performed a saxophone rendition of “Heartbreak Hotel”—in a suit and a pair of sunglasses no less. Clinton’s performance only fed the public’s “on my way to steal your girl” perception of him. This image was solidified in 1998 following the Monica Lewinsky scandal, when it was revealed President Clinton had an affair with 22-year-old Washington intern Monica Lewinsky. Interestingly, his approval ratings following the investigation into the affair reached their highest point in 1998. This unorthodox media appearance paved the way for later politicians, including 44th President Barack Obama and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, who were

interviewed on Zack Galifianakis’ deeply uncomfortable yet hilarious web series “Between Two Ferns.”

Obama, Clinton and Donald Trump made appearances as themselves on “Saturday Night Live” during their presidential campaigns. Official social media accounts have also emerged as lines of communication between politicians and their constituents, adding another evolution to 21st century political engagement.

Like his presidential successors George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump, Bill Clinton was also parodied on “Saturday Night Live” throughout his presidency. From 1992

to 1994, Phil Hartman portrayed Clinton as a southern goofball. His most famous portrayal of Clinton was in the “President Bill Clinton at McDonald’s” sketch where he charms McDonald’s customers while eating their food. Hartman left the show later in 1994, but reprised the Clinton role for a sketch on Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show” in 1998 following the Lewinsky scandal. SNL cast member Darrell Hammond would take over the role in 1994, continuing his appearances as Clinton as recently as 2016. Hammond’s portrayal also played up to Clinton’s playboy image, his voice, facial expressions and hand gestures rivaled Hartman’s in terms of critical acclaim. Clinton enjoyed Hammond’s impression so much, he even had Hammond portray him during the 1997 Correspondent’s Dinner.

SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGHS The biggest scientific breakthrough in the 1990s occurred on July 5, 1996 when Dolly, the first cloned sheep, was born in a lab. Dolly’s cloning would go on to influence efforts to advance stem cell research.

Gene cloning and editing have made great strides in the last 20 years; the most recent development is the use of CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats), a new gene editing technology that allows scientists to alter any kind of DNA. This method of genome editing can potentially offer new ways of treating stubborn cancers and diseases, making it one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs of the decade.

The world of computing has also seen immense advances. In 1997, IBM’s Deep Blue computer beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov. This victory marked the first instance in which a computer could call on logic and foresight—two skills which are hallmarks of human intelligence–to achieve a goal. In 2017, Deep Blue’s descendant, Watson, used machine learning and natural language processing to approach problems in a variety of fields including science, law and government. Watson’s personal victory came near the beginning of 2011, when it beat two of “Jeopardy’s” biggest winners, Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings.

21 Photos courtesy of Creative Commons

MASS SHOOTINGS These days, It feels as though every shooting becomes known as “the deadliest shooting in U.S. history” until another happens a few months later and receives the same designation. The last seven years have seen the deadliest shooting-related domestic terrorism, but the frequency of mass shootings isn’t unique to this decade. The ‘90s saw several mass shootings take place, with many having occurred in schools.

From 1990 to 1999, 23 mass shootings took the lives of at least 149 people and injured 195. The deadliest mass shooting of the ‘90s occurred on Oct. 16, 1991, when George Jo Hennard crashed his pickup truck into a Luby’s restaurant in Killeen, TX and fired into the crowd of diners with a semiautomatic pistol, killing 23. The deadliest mass shooting in recent history took place on Oct. 1 of this year, when 64-yearold Stephen Paddock opened fire into a crowd at a country music festival in Las Vegas, killing 59 and injuring more than 500 others. This shooting replaced the Orlando nightclub shooting as the deadliest shooting in U.S. history, in which 49 people were killed and 58 were injured only a year and three months prior. The deadliest mass shooting in Texas history took place on Nov. 1 of this year, when Devin Patrick Kelley opened fire at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs.

SCHOOL SHOOTINGS The frequency of school shootings is also not unique to the 2010s, as 47 were killed and 121 were injured inside learning institutions between 1990 and 1999. The most devastating school shooting occurred on April 21, 1999 when 18-year-old Eric Harris and 17-year-old Dylan Klebold killed 15 students and staff and injured 21 others. This school shooting sparked a panic over goth culture, gun culture, heavy internet usage, antidepressants and violent video games; the media even blamed the shooting on goth rocker Marilyn Manson. Harris and Klebold weren’t even fans of Manson’s music. The shooting eventually inspired several subsequent school shootings in the 2000s well into the 2010s, including the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. The Sandy Hook shooting on Dec. 14, 2012 is the most devastating school

shooting in recent history. Adam Lanza, 20, took the lives of 20 children and six adults in the rampage. Even today, the habits of mass shooters are heavily dissected and scrutinized, often misattributing fault and overlooking other possible causes.

ACTS OF TERRORISM The ‘90s witnessed several acts of domestic and foreign terrorism, most notably the World Trade Center Bombing on Feb. 26, 1993 and the Oklahoma City Bombing on April 19, 1995. The World Trade Center Bombing was carried out by six radical Islamic fundamentalists, whose coordinated attack was intended to bring down the towers. The terrorists planted a parked rental van holding a massive homemade bomb beneath the towers and lit the fuses. The bomb failed to dismantle the structural integrity of the towers, resulting in six deaths and injuring over 1,000 people — far fewer than the assailants had hoped for. The mastermind behind the attack, Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, was found to have ties to al­­-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who masterminded the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

Two years later in 1995, former U.S. Army soldier Timothy McVeigh carried out the Oklahoma City bombing. McVeigh parked a rental van which housed a powerful homemade bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and injuring almost 700 others. Given the recent World Trade Center Bombing, officials initially believed the attack had been conducted by Middle Eastern terrorists, a stereotyping trend that continues to this day. McVeigh was arrested only an hour and a half after the bombing for driving without a license plate and carrying a concealed weapon. He also had a history of holding extremist and neo-nazi views. Following an exhaustive FBI investigation, McVeigh was eventually tied to the bombing and charged along with two other co-conspirators.

Seventeen years later, on April 15, 2013, brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev carried out the Boston Marathon Bombing, which took the lives of three civilians and injured 264 others.

RACE RELATIONS In the years since 2010, the U.S. has had several riots, protests and demonstrations concerning police brutality against people of color, especially after the deaths of over 30 African American men at the hands of police officers. In 1991, four Los Angeles officers and their sergeant beat L.A. taxi driver Rodney G. King after a high-speed chase in which he was being pursued for driving while intoxicated.

A nearby onlooker, George Holliday, recorded the beatings and shared them with a local news station. Two other passengers who were with King at the time also sustained injuries in the altercation. King was hit with batons at least 56 times. In 1992, a trial ensued and all four officers involved in the beatings were eventually acquitted of all charges—much to the public’s dismay. The majority-minority South L.A. neighborhoods began rioting in the streets soon after the verdicts were handed down, and so began the six-day long event now known as the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Over 60 people were killed during the riots, with more than 2,000 people seeking treatment for injuries sustained.

LAPD sergeant Stacey Koon and LAPD officer Laurence Powell—both on site for the riots—were eventually convicted of federal civil rights violations and served 30 months in prison.

GENERATIONAL STRUGGLES Gen-Xers and Millennials tend to be depicted in the media as pitted against each other when, in reality, their struggles have continued into the 21st century and become our own.

In the late ‘90s, when Gen-Xers were entering the workforce out of high school and into college, they were hit by a strong recession, and later, the burst of the dot-com bubble. While millennials are feeling the effects of the most recent recession, Gen-Xers were the hardest hit because many had just purchased their first home while still carrying the burden of student loan debt. Millennials also struggle with crippling student loan debt, with many being relegated to work unpaid internships and entry-level positions in the hopes of eventually securing a living income however far in the future. For GenXers, upward mobility is harder, as many baby boomers in corporate ladder-type positions are occupying their corner offices for longer than ever before. Not only have Gen-Xers been dealing with struggles our generation is only just starting to inherit, they have the added weight of raising families while caring for their parents.

CULTURe TROLLS The emergence of social media in the last few years has changed the way we communicate and connect with each other, giving us new 24

platforms to share thoughts and ideas. It’s also given a platform to purveyors of unpopular speech, mainly coming from the “alt-right” that has emerged following the campaign and eventual presidency of Donald Trump. These individuals are usually viewed as trolls who hold extremist views with regards to homosexuality, race/ethnicity, feminism and immigration. They share their views in attempts to upset the mainstream and antagonize public sensibility. Today, we have voices such as Milo Yiannopoulos and the Sassy Gay Republican Twitter account to look to for the usual hate-filled rhetoric, while most of the dirt and grime of the ‘90s found its home in the pages of Jim and Debbie Goad’s self-published cult zine “ANSWER Me!” The issues of the controversial zine included a teen-mag style interview with the convicted serial killer Richard Ramirez; prank calls to suicide hotlines; hate-filled rants about babies, men and women (written by Debbie herself); and an interview with a former KKK grand wizard. Each issue had a theme of dark subject matter, such as suicide or rape. Their fourth and most controversial “Rape” issue featured the Ramirez interview, included a short story about the abuse of a 10-year-old girl, and perpetuated the idea that violence against women is “asked for” among other, worse things. The publication regularly featured misogynistic and nazi-related imagery to engage readers and passersby alike. Less about spewing political ideologies, Jim and Debbie Goad’s parallelism to the “alt-right” trolls of today is relegated to their shared need for attention, and the bliss they find in the creation of controversy and discord.

Part of the reason millennials and post-millennials enjoy recreating ‘90s cultural trends is because they’re nostalgic for a time when their lives revolved around Saturday morning cartoons and playing outside instead of paying bills and worrying about job prospects. We were too young to realize what was going on around us on a larger scale. While some parallels between the ‘90s and now are mostly benign, we don’t realize we’re also living through our country’s greatest struggles for the second time in our lives.

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ART OF THE

‘9os Article and Graphics By Enrique Bonilla

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s the concrete bound rebar of the Berlin Wall fell to Earth in 1989, the Cold War’s imminent threat of nuclear apocalypse faded into the final decade of the 20th century.

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The ‘90s in America were a time unburdened by technology.

For posterity, the Internet had been debuted as a service in 1991 and was still in its most primitive and glitch stages.

Our president was caught in the middle of a highly publicized affair.

Essentially caught in a transient existential crisis with no pivotal moments, Americans grew disillusioned and were swallowed by consumer culture.

With the Iron Curtain pulled away, the focus of media grew away from broad international coverage and more towards domestic coverage.

Similarly, the arts of the ‘90s moved away from lofty post-modern ideals to a vivid portrayal of what it meant to be ordinary in an ordinary world.

The art of the ‘80s had left many artists feeling sold out, as art had become one of the most important symbolic commodities of late capitalism.

Art had been in bed with big business and artists had been fed up with the rigidity so deeply entrenched by the corporatized work of household name artists such as Jeff Koons or Keith Haring for ten years.

In reaction, communities grew in resistance to the ‘80s just as the modernist movement rejected the values of realism in Montparnasse during the 1920s and 1930s.

Art communities in the ‘90s popped up where it was affordable to live.

Something about the ‘90s had the strange effect of drawing creative minds

from all over to various neighborhoods in what are now large metropolises.

In San Francisco, art grew alongside the LGBTQ community in the foggy and hilly bay town.

“It was not cool to have money or promote money or talk about money even, everyone was kind reflecting of what they were seeing in the streets,” recounted Mission artist Cliff Hengst in an online video published by KQED Arts.

“AIDs was also part of it.

There were a lot of artists that I knew that were either sick or dying, and that was kind of a big part of it; in the

early ‘90s that wiped out a lot of really amazing talent,” Hengst went on to say.

At this point in the decade federal budget cuts slashed $400 million from HIV related budgets at the peak of incidence of deaths in 1995. Hengst continues, “that was a scary sad time to be in San Francisco, but that was part of it too, you know?

It was, like, kind of dumpy and sad, and in the midst of all that, broke people were getting together,” said Hengst.

The ‘90s had an emphasis on the word, “together.”

Economies came together.

The Internet was creeping like moss over literally every aspect of day-to-day life, joining people and ideas together.

Big businesses were changing the concept of consuming life and its basic necessities.

As businesses grew bigger and the middle class expanded, many were left in a situation of gentrification not too different from the one we are seeing today in 2017.

In New York, the climbing skyline left these tenants scrambling for shelter as well as a place to create.

“You just [made] art wherever you [could],” recalls Ned Smyth, a wellknown sculptor throughout the last quarter of the 20th century.

The art made was hardly moving around the way objects are FedExed around

the world with the click of a button.

The globalization of things and stuff reached a point of contention between artists who wanted to create without selling.

As objects became easier to find online, artists worked to keep their art as tangible and in touch with reality as possible.

Working through the Internet would mean online viewers would miss details such as texture and scale; art does not evoke emotion the same way through a screen as it does in person.

Artists were not yet creative entrepreneurs as we see today with the rise of Instagram artisans and Etsy web stores.

Art was talked about over coffee in diners.

Art was in the alleys.

It was moving along the

subways of Chicago, Los Angeles and New York where writers were changing the concrete and steel of inner cities.

Train stations turned to canvases that would travel with the economic fruits of corporate shipping nationwide.

tweets, likes and the “war on terror” we are bound to even still.

While social media has allowed communities and people to put together great solutions to social injustices and create life-enriching technologies, have we lost a part of what it meant to be an artist or an audience?

Does the quantity of content decrease the quality of interest?

Names such as Ja, Zephyr, and Lady Pink could be seen on the growing industrial world. Art for the trainyards and trainstations.

Art became conscious and reminded us of unjust pasts through silhouettist Kara Walker and painter Kerry James Marshall, who explored what it meant to be black, what it meant to be a woman and what it meant to be poor in America. Art was on display everywhere and slipping out of the hands of society’s elite.

For a brief moment in time, we experienced the last great moments of life before

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The 90s may have come and gone, By: Vincent Valdez

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but the music is timeless

rab your hairbrush, close the door and get ready to start singing the most iconic songs of the ‘90s. Some will make you scream in excitement. Others may be a little painful. The best songs call for quirky dance moves. Like, Lady Gaga meets NSYNC quirky dance moves. If you’re not into dancing all that much, I’ve got some slow jams for you, too. Let’s face it, if you’re feeling low, music is bound to speak to the soul. So, if you’re looking for love, hype or heartbreak, check out these tunes.

Daft Punk set the tone way before its time. Who knew its hit “Around the World” was released in 1997? It’s a funky, leg-stomping, foot-shuffling techno beat that “get’s the people going!” If you listen closely, you can hear their 2013 sensation “Get Lucky” featuring Pharrell Williams peek-a-booing in the background.

Whitney Houston’s cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” will forever be engraved in the soul of the ‘90s. Her powerhouse vocals consistantly pack a heavy punch as she fluctuates through the highs and lows of a doomed romance. The song is featured in countless commercials and parodies. From soft kisses to goodbye wishes, the ‘90s will always love Whitney Houston.

The ‘90s were a great time for the ladies. Selena Gomez may rank high on the charts, but she’ll never surpass Selena Y Los Dinos. Even if you don’t understand Spanish, Selena’s songs will have you two-stepping in no time. Her Spanish-English crossover album is to die for.

If you haven’t seen the movie “Selena,” you need to get a life. Listen to “Si Una Vez” (live in Miami, 1995), “Como La Flor,” “Dreaming of You” and the recent 2016 cover of “Si Una Vez” by Play-N-Skillz featuring Wisin, Frankie J and Leslie Grace.

Nirvana dominated the ‘90s and its fame is still growing. Kurt Cobain’s grunge guitar and raspy lead vocals can send a chill down your spine. Don’t listen to Nivana’s mainstream tracks. If you want to get a taste of intensity, listen to Nirvana’s cover of Leadbelly’s “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” on MTV’s Unplugged in New York via YouTube.

Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain’s wife, had a few hits herself. She was in a band called Hole. Its song “Doll Parts” is a painful memory of Kurt Cobain’s suicide. I hope you never ache like Courtney Love aches, but if you do, “Doll Parts” is a great song to blast while you cry alone.

If you’re into upbeat, rhythmic, joyful and passionate music, you should listen to the Gypsy Kings. Its song

“Volare” overwhelms the listener with pure happiness. It’ll make you want to spend a night out dancing in a foreign country with a beautiful woman or handsome man. Also check out Gypsy Kings “Bomboleo.” If your head doesn’t sway from side to side while listening to it, you’re not human.

Have you ever been harassed for a being the guy without a car? If you have, then you probably hate TLC’s “No Scrubs.” It’s a female anthem that’s totally relevant today. Some guys think their pick-up-lines are irresistible, but that’s not the case. Women have standards and if a man doesn’t make the cut, he’s a bona fide scrub. A scrub is the kind of guy with no money, no car and an appetite for girls out of his league.

Speaking of lame guys, Liz Phair, in 1996, released a slow jam about guys who “hit it, and quit it.” She titled the song “Fuck and Run.” It’s a low-key tear-jerker (and the sad truth) about guys disappearing after they use love to get sex. Sometimes women use sex to get love.

With or without their best intentions, they wake up feeling sorry. Check out Liz Phair’s live version of “Fuck and Run” in 1995 via YouTube. She’s a beauty queen and doesn’t deserve to be left alone.

The Smashing Pumpkins is another great band from the ‘90s. Its hit “1979” makes me feel mellow and groovy at the same time. The guitar shimmers and the drum sticks hit all the right places.

Isn’t that what makes music beautiful—how it makes us feel? Have you ever taken the time to appreciate great lyrics? Sleater-Kinney is a tough girl trio with soft vocals, loud wails and hardcore guitar riffs. Its song “Get Up,” released in 1999, is an upbeat motivational track with poetic content. It’s all about letting go of those bottled-up feelings inside. Read the lyrics while listening to the song and start “soul climbing.”

Before you rewind back to the ‘90s for a Blockbuster and Chill, be sure to thank all those lucky stars who sold their soul to the devil to give you good music.

While you’re at it, make your lover a mixtape. For more love, hype and heartbreak, check out the Paisano Plus’s Most Iconic Songs of the ‘90s Playlist. These jams are your bragging rights. They will take you back to the best decade ever and remind you where you’re from.

The style you’ll hear can never be replaced, and the feelings you’ll get can always be embraced.

Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons

Most Iconic Playlist Nirvana - “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991, #6 US) Backstreet Boys - “I Want It That Way” (1999, #6 US) Madonna - “Vogue” (1990, #1 US) Sir Mix-A-Lot - “Baby Got Back” (1992, #1 US) Britney Spears - “Baby One More Time” (1999, #1 US) R.E.M. - “Losing My Religion” (1991, #4 US) Red Hot Chili Peppers - “Under the Bridge” (1991, #2 US) MC Hammer - “U Can’t Touch This” (1990, #8 US) Destiny’s Child - “Say My Name” (1999, #1 US) Metallica - “Enter Sandman” (1991, #16 US) Celine Dion - “My Heart Will Go On” (1997, #1 US) Salt-N-Pepa with En Vogue - “Whatta Man” (1993, #3 US) House of Pain - “Jump Around” (1992, #3 US) Eminem - “My Name Is” (1999, #26 US) Ricky Martin - “Livin’ la Vida Loca” (1999, #1 US) Vanilla Ice - “Ice Ice Baby” (1990, #1 US) Spice Girls - “Wannabe” (1997, #1 US) Oasis - “Wonderwall” (1995, #8 US) Christina Aguilera - “Genie In A Bottle” (1999, #1 US)

Snackables Tracklist Notorious B.I.G – “Juicy” Radiohead – “Creep” Mazzy Star – “Fade into You” George Strait – “Carried Away” Outkast – “Rosa Parks” Lonestar – “Amazed” Brooks and Dunn –“My Maria” Beck – “Loser” Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg – “Nothin But a G Thang” The Cranberries – “Linger” Portishead – “Glory Box” Britney Spears – “Sometimes” Sublime – “What I Got” Ice Cube – “It Was a Good Day” Mariah Carey – “Always Be My Baby” TLC – “Waterfalls”

Pa r e n t a l

ADVISORY ‘90s Content

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Is ‘90s rap Overrated?

By: Ricardo Rodriguez

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n an interview with TIME magazine, well-known rapper Vince Staples weighed in on why he thinks ‘90s rap is overrated.

“Tupac and Biggie, they were the golden era.

There’s not a 50 Cent in the ‘90s. They didn’t have a Kanye.”

Having recently released “Big Fish Theory,” Vince Staples is one of my favorite contemporary rappers. But I also have been known to mix up my playlist with some old school rap. If you’ve ever listened to Biggie’s “Hypnotize” and didn’t groove out to it, I’m sorry you don’t enjoy life as much as me.

I don’t feel the need to argue whether the ‘90s were overrated, but I stress that it doesn’t matter. If you think Gucci Mane is the best rapper alive and listen to no one else, that’s up to you.

The ‘90s were, however, an important and revolutionary time for rap.

After the ‘80s had championed trailblazing rap groups such as RunDMC and N.W.A., the ‘90s witnessed the maturation

of rap. From the unapologetically brutal, boom-bap style of WuTang Clan to the sociallyconscious and poetic bars of Mos Def, rap in the ‘90s sounded drastically different.

By 1994, Beastie Boys had released “Ill Communication,” an album featuring the punkrap classic “Sabotage,” which eclipsed the rest of the predominantly psychedelic, acid-washed tone of the rest of the album.

That same year, The Notorious B.I.G. released his first studio album “Ready to Die.” As the title suggests, Biggie displays his demons in his lyrics, a contrast from the usually braggadocios, silvertongued playboy he’s known as. “Everyday Struggle” and “Suicidal Thoughts” feature lyrics about drugs, women and sordid recounts of robberies and shootings.

Interwoven are timeless tracks such as “Juicy” and “Big Poppa” that lighten the mood and bring you back to the party.

People like to say the ‘90s was all about Biggie

and 2pac, but it wasn’t.

To reduce ‘90s hip-hop to Biggie and Pac dismisses all the other notable contributors to hip-hop who still influence today’s music.

Albums such as Nas’ “Illmatic” brought a new level of nuance to hip-hop.

The ten-track album’s tight production and narrativedriven lyrics make “Illmatic” one of the best albums.

Long before the ‘90s, DJs and hip-hop producers were using a technique known as sampling, taking audio samples from other songs (or even film and TV) to make an entirely new composition.

A Tribe Called Quest’s “Low End Theory” beautifully blends jazzy bites from Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers with its mellow drums. In its own stylistic element, Wu-Tang Clan sampled old Kung fu movies, ultimately inspiring the group’s name from the film “Shaolin and Wu-Tang.”

Sampling cultivated an appreciation for longforgotten deep cuts of early records, and production masterminds such as DJ Shadow and

Pete Rock flexed their musical acumen through their sampling choices.

Back in the ‘90s, sampling was criticized as ripping off older artists. However, sampling songs has always been (and always will be) a defining feature of hip-hop.

Even today, artists such as Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar use sampling in their music. It’s become so wellaccepted, most hip-hop producers will use some form of sampling. Websites such as Whosampled.com are dedicated to archiving the depth of sampling across all genres.

Sampling is just one example of how the 90s influenced today’s music.

However, many teenagers born in the 2000s or later forget rap music has been around for decades. People think Nicki Minaj is a pioneer but fail to acknowledge artists such as Lauryn Hill and Lil’ Kim who were her inspirations.

Jay-Z is way more famous now than he was in the ‘90s, having released “4:44” this June, Dr. Dre is vastly more successful now than in the ‘90s, having signed artists such as Kendrick, 50 Cent and Eminem to his label.

Today, hip-hop is immensely successful thanks to the commercialization and branding of rap icons from the ‘90s who paved the way for up-and-coming artists such as Vince Staples.

While I believe modern hiphop is still innovative and groundbreaking, let’s not forget the ‘90s were pretty bumping.

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons

Cinderleaf Jammin’ since the ‘90s By: Maya Halabi

Photo courtesy of Cinderleaf

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he ‘90s were certainly a time of thriving for the music industry. The emergence of bands such as Nirvana, Weezer, Blink-182, Soundgarden and Smashing Pumpkins were high on the music scene and introduced a different kind of rock’ n’ roll to America. After a decade of bands such as Def Leppard and Poison, ‘90s bands brought a more raw, alternative feel into the music world through “anti-pep-rally” hits such as Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit, ”Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So,” and Green Day’s “When I Come Around.” In San Antonio, alternative, rock, and indie music has made its way into the hearts of the city’s hottest clubs and venues.

Bands such as Cinderleaf took advantage of the vastly growing city-life in San Antonio and ventured into the music industry.

Cinderleaf, with Jason Stiles (vox/guitar), Andy Pape (guitar), Kevin Holmes (drums), and Chris Brown (bass), joined in 1994. The

San Antonio-native band has a distinguished history with four full-length albums, three cassette demos, two EPs, one 7-inch record. Ever since their first show at Doza’s in October 1995, the band continues to write music for the fun of it. With inspiration from bands such as Jimmy Eat World and Fig Dish, Cinderleaf has had the opportunity to tour with many of their idols.

The group jammed out indie, alternative tunes into some of the most poppin’ local scenes of San Antonio during the ‘90s.

In remembrance, the group explained that “there was always something to do, somewhere to go, and someone to see. There existed a strong congeniality between musicians and service industry folks at that time, which always made for an eventful evening anytime a good show was happening.”

A couple of the band’s favorite performance venues (White Rabbit, Sneakers, Taco Land and Wacky’s) were said to have “laid the foundation for our thriving music scene today.”

What makes the ‘90s such

a pure time is everyone’s absorbance in their emotional states the various, unique types of music were able to bring.

Whether people are in a dance club, in a bar or enjoying the music of the time, the use of technology has really enhanced awareness of how people feel about the music.

“We think social media enhances the nightlife experience; now that everyone has an online voice, it puts pressure on venues to drive people to their respective establishments, much to the benefit of their audience,” said Cinderleaf.

So many different components in music have come into play since 1990. With bands such as AC/DC and Metallica making their way back onto the stage in our very own Alamodome venue, we can rest assured that even rock ‘n’ roll will always return to the scene. Our music tastes, genres, and artists are generally on a far broader spectrum than they were during the ‘90s. Despite this, the ‘90s were a crucial base coat to the music and nightlife of San Antonio.

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Pokémon By: Oscar Torres

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The early ‘90s had a surge in gaming thanks to the Sega Game Gear. First, there was the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991, then the Sony Playstation in 1995. However, the key franchise and system most people remember is Pokémon and the Game Boy Color. The franchise is an example of the series that grew from a set of games into a cultural phenomenon.

Pokémon was created in 1996 by Satoshi Tajiri.

The concept for the game stemmed from his childhood where he caught and studied bugs. The term Pokémon is the combination of two Japanese words that translate to ‘Pocket Monster.’ The games had a simple concept: be the best trainer that ever was and catch all 151 original species of Pokémon.

The game resonated with millions of people, and it grew to become a powerhouse during the late ‘90s and early 2000s.

Pokémon follows a rock-paperscissors style of combat where every Pokémon is categorized. The Pokémon’s attack would cause damage, do double damage, or half the damage. For example, fire beats grass, grass beats water and water beats fire. There were certain checkpoints, at each part of the game, in the aspect of gyms and cities, which were set to a specific typing based on the name of the city. Every Pokémon had checkpoints, such as evolutions set around level 10 and 30.

This culminates in the Elite Four where players’ skills were put to the test as they would use everything they learned to fight the strongest characters in the game.

Evolving since the ‘90s

The Pokémon video games series began with the release of “Pocket Monsters Green and Red” in Japan in 1996. When these original version proved extremely popular, game developers created an enhanced “Blue” version later that year. “Pokémon Red and Blue” were released internationally, while “Green” was never released outside Japan.

“Pokémon Yellow” was released the same year as “Red and Blue.” “Yellow” used the color palette of the Game Boy Color and held more of a stylistic resemblance to the anime.

The craze blew up even more when the anime started airing on Cartoon Network in 1997. People watched the show, played the game, played the card game or some combination of all three. The momentum didn’t stop as it was followed by “Pokémon: The First Movie,” and the second generation games “Pokémon Gold and Silver” and “Crystal” in 2000.

The trend slowed as everyone started to age; however, the games continued with many more spinoffs and generations, and the show thrived with many more seasons.

As 2017 proved, Pokémon is still prevalent and even bigger than ever. The game is on its seventh generation with “Pokémon Sun and Moon” and soon “Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon” on the Nintendo 3DS handheld system. The anime is now on its 20th season. It follows Ash as he goes through the Alola region. In Summer 2016, “Pokémon GO” was released and the franchise saw massive success due to the nostalgia of the first generation.

The Pokémon franchise is really a story of “the game that could” as it grew to become one of the biggest phenomenons from the ‘90s. What started in 1996 with a set of three games has expanded to over 122 games, spanning seven in-game generations and regions. The franchise doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon as more games are released and ingrained into our pop culture.

An untitled Pokémon game will be released for the Nintendo Switch as early as mid-2018.

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ostalgia is an almost constant feeling among ‘90s babies. We were the kids who grew up in a really weird time. ‘90s babies, or millennials, are probably the last kids who remember playing outside all day.

The ‘90s also had some killer cartoons millennials reference and watch. This nostalgia often inspires a desire in millennials to take a look back at some old cartoons that used to air in the ‘90s. It is surprising to realize the overwhelming amount of adult-themed jokes these cartoons held. Here’s a list of top five adult jokes that went over ‘90s babies heads as children.

To start off the list, at number one is Dexter’s Laboratory: “Dee Dee and the Man.” In this episode, Dexter fires Dee Dee as his assistant, so he sets out on a search to hire her replacement. The woman he hires is very...qualified. She’s a busty blonde in some tight-fitting clothes. Of course, Dexter hires her on the spot. So, he expects the same out of her replacement, at least the dancing part. When Dexter starts to miss Dee Dee he asks his new assistant to dance. Her response is, “Ok, but it’s fifty bucks extra!” At the time when we were kids, we definitely didn’t catch the meaning of the joke. But going back these days it’s definitely implied that she’s an experienced dancer, even without the pole.

Next up, coming in at number two, Johnny Bravo’s very first episode “Johnny Bravo and the Amazon Women.” In this episode, Johnny ends up on an island full of only women. They tie Johnny up in order to offer him to Athena as a virgin sacrifice.

Johnny seems confused by this implication that he’s a virgin. He responds with, “Did she say virgin?”

When he’s tossed into the volcano, it then erupts and spits him back out. Re-watching this you realize the writers implied that, despite Johnny’s total lack of prowess, he had relations with a woman.

At number three is Hey Arnold!: “Helga’s Parrot.”

Helga, who had a long-time crush on Arnold, begins to recite and write down a number of poems about

By: Natalia Brookens

her love for Arnold. One of her poems is not so innocent when she speaks about how he makes her “girlhood tremble.” It makes you wonder, was this joke intended for the kids or for the parents?

Because when you’re a child you can’t really infer what she might mean by “girlhood,” so we’d just gloss over it. Now that we’re older we can all agree the writers were implying Helga gets excited in an inappropriate way when thinking of Arnold.

At number four is The Animaniacs: “Hercule Yakko.” While searching for a diamond necklace Yakko tells Dot to dust for prints. Dot obviously mishears this when she returns holding The Artist Formerly Known as Prince and informs Yakko that she “found Prince.” Yakko proceeds to tell her, “No, no, no, fingerprints.” Dot looks to Prince, considering him for a moment then says, “I don’t think so,” and tosses him away. Dot clearly misunderstands this as “finger Prince,” which is highly inappropriate for a kid’s show.

Finally, at number five, Rocko’s Modern Life, “Hut Sut Raw.” In this episode Rocko, Heffer and Filbert go on a camping trip. When they figure out they’re lost and split up to find food, Rocko goes for some berries on a bush. There’s a shout and someone leaps out from the bush, grabbing their nether region. The majority of kids were probably confused by this, but there’s no question the writers were making a joke about getting ‘racked.’ This episode gets the number one spot because this scene was actually trimmed from the U.S. airings and all DVD releases.

It’s no wonder ‘90s babies grew up so fast; just look at the cartoons that used to air. By putting these kinds of jokes in their shows, creators make it possible for viewers to go back and re-watch these episodes again, and laugh for a whole new reason this time around. In doing this, the writers have made these cartoons timeless, because it makes the watcher want to go back and see what other double entendres and dirty jokes they may have missed.

These jokes also kept parents semi-sane while having to watch these cartoons with their kids. Now, go re-watch some ‘90s cartoons and find your favorite inappropriate jokes.

33 Graphics by: Samantha Ceballos

Tech revolution

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The 1990s, in some ways, was the true beginning of the electronic age. Personal computers evolved from curiosities into essential, ubiquitous parts of everyday life. Information evolved from physical print to digital libraries. Internet and wireless communications extended across the globe and made it possible for billions of people to connect with one another.

Microsoft Windows 3.0—a personal computer interface—hit the market in 1990. Windows mimicked many features of Apple Macintosh’s proprietary operating system. Unlike Apple, Windows could be installed on less-costly hardware by a host of different manufacturers. PC users saw fonts, graphics and color pictures; they could point-andclick with a mouse and multitask (do several things at once on different parts of the screen). Millions of people could own affordable, easy to use computers.

The World Wide Web, a graphical version of the Internet, was invented by Tim Berners-Lee and debuted in 1991. Mosaic, the first easy-to-use web browser program, emerged in 1993 and was soon followed by Netscape Navigator. “Surfing” the Web became a widespread pastime and obsession, even if most users had to surf the Web by plugging their computers into phone lines and connecting at glacial speeds.

By the mid-‘90s, search engines used software robots to “crawl” the Web and index its content.

These software robots made it possible to find web pages and information by searching for keywords, which transformed how people gathered and shared knowledge.

Entrepreneur Jeff Bezos launched Amazon.com—which sold books he stored in a garage—in 1995. It was the beginning of online commerce, which is now a major part of the world economy.

34 Graphics by: Ethan Pham and Samantha Ceballos

By: Jessica Salinas

The mobile phone, an invention developed over the ‘70s and ‘80s, also began to drastically alter the way people communicated. By the mid-‘90s, bulky bricksized phones gave way to slim, pocket-sized devices, such as the Motorola StarTAC, which was the first “flip phone” with a fold-up keypad. At around the same time, the increasing availability of SMS, a service which allowed users to send text messages to others over the phone, created a whole new, abbreviated version of the English language.

In 1996, Nintendo released the Ultra 64 as the Nintendo 64 in Japan and North America. The console was later released in Europe and Australia in 1997. The Nintendo 64 continued what had become a Nintendo tradition of hardware design, which is focused less on high performance specifications than on design innovations intended to inspire game development.

During the same year, Nintendo also released the Game Boy Pocket in Japan, a smaller version of the Game Boy that generated more sales for the platform. In 1998, the successor to the Game Boy, the Game Boy Color, was released. The system had improved technical specifications allowing it to run games made specifically for the system as well as games released for the Game Boy, albeit with added color.

In 1997, movies recorded on DVDs appeared on the market for the first time.

The shiny, plastic discs would replace videotape as the way people watched movies at home.

In 1998, a Korean company unveiled the MPMan F10, the first portable device that played music recorded in MP3 format.

This invention paved the way for a future in which songs would become individual commodities sold or traded over the Internet.

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A change in perspective

How this generation has turned into ‘Vape Nation’ By: Katrina Clements

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n the last 20 years, smoking prevalence among teens and adults has declined. As of 2016, teen smoking has hit a record low of 11 percent, compared to 1997 when teen smoking was at an all-time high of 35 percent according to the National Center for Policy Analysis. According to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, adult smoking in 1997 was at 24.7 percent compared to today’s estimated 16.8 percent of adults smoking. Smoking was more popular in the ‘90s due to media advertisements, low cigarette prices and smoking celebrities glamorizing smoking..

The ‘90s is often defined by cultural movements. The grunge movement, which influenced the fashion and music scenes of the ‘90s, consisted of teens and young adults supporting bands whose lyrics were full of angst, isolation and rebellion. Smoking within this culture was extremely popular because of the rebellious aspect surrounding it.

Although smoking was far more socially acceptable then, the public was still aware of its dangers. Icons of the generation, such as Kurt Cobain, Winona Ryder, Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio, were often pictured with cigarettes, which encouraged smoking to fans who idolized them. Many people who listened to grunge music identified with the somber tone of the music due to depression and anxiety disorders. Big tobacco companies capitalized on people who associated with grunge through targeting those with mental illness; cigarettes were advertised as easy stress relievers. Social smokers also benefitted big tobacco companies, which were still making the influx of money they needed on people who only smoked to fit in. While not as relevant as in the ‘90s, the alternative lifestyle is still prominent among today’s generation.

With this crowd, smoking is still popular for the same reasons it was back then.

Smoking before 1990 was widely accepted in public places. As smoking trends grew, the public became aware of the dangers of secondhand smoke.

According to The National Academic Press, a congressionally mandated smoking ban was placed on all domestic airline flights under six hours, which began the initiative of raising awareness of secondhand smoke. By 1996, 80 percent of nonstop U.S. flights between domestic and foreign points were declared smoke free. Smoking before the 2000s was common because the public was unaware of the dangers associated with tobacco products. The ‘90s was a transition period for the United States’ health initiatives as the advertising of cigarettes was becoming restricted to decrease smoking rates and increase public health.

In the early 2000s, e-cigarettes (vaporizers) emerged onto the scene to help people quit smoking. Vaping was represented as a safer alternative to smoking, but vaping still gives the consumer their desired dose of nicotine. Vaping allows smokers who are trying to quit still enjoy the sensation of inhaling and the hand-to-mouth action. Many smokers say that half of their addiction is just

Photo by: Katrina Clements

the action of doing the action.

With the growing popularity of vaporizers, the availability is increasing as well. There are many specialty stores located within most cities, making it almost as convenient as going to a gas station and purchasing cigarettes. Due to the accessibility of vaporizers, many teens and young adults started to vape before they had ever used tobacco products, causing those people to now have a nicotine addiction. Vaping used to be advertised as a way for smokers to get their nicotine fix anywhere they went, including airports, workplaces and movie theaters. But since the vape phenomenon has grown, there are now limitations on vaping in public spaces.

The liquid typically smells better than cigarette smoke and the vapor disappears quickly, eliminating the factors of secondhand smoke. A vaporizer can cost between $30 and upwards of $200, which is more expensive than most cigarettes that average at about $6 or $7 a pack. Vape liquid ranges in a variety of flavors and nicotine content, making it simple to find the right fit for each individual.

The culture behind vaping tends to be stereotyped and made fun of because many vapers use vaporizers to do smoke tricks or create ‘clouds’ by taking long hits. As of 2016, only 11 percent of teenagers and 3.7 percent of adults vape, according to NBC News and Americans for Tax Reform. Within the vaping community, there are conventions and big online communities dedicated to vaping. The technology behind vaping has created quite the buzz within the vaping community. The advertising behind vaping appeals to nonsmokers too, as many think that vaping is not harmful and want to be a part of the phenomenon.

Celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp have made the transition from smoking to vaping, and they have been pictured with vaporizers. As seen in the ‘90s celebrities have influence over the public and while vaping is not glamorized like smoking is, it is subconsciously promoted through celebrity use.

While the media wants this generation to be the one to end smoking, love of tobacco will most likely not go away anytime soon. The use of tobacco will continue to be glamorized in film, television and movies. Teenagers romanticize the idea of smoking because it has become taboo, luring them to rebel against what society wants. Vaping is the healthier alternative to smoking, but vaping will most likely not have the media presence that smoking continues to hold with a tight grip.

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons

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INDEPENDENT STUDENT MAGAZINE FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO