September 19, 2002

NFL

FIRST NFL START: Detroit Lions quarterback Joey Harrington, 6-foot-4, will make his first NFL start on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.

Harrington was the third pick overall in this year’s draft and has high hopes to uplift the Lions, who are 0-2 so far. Harrington replaces Mike McMahon, who was a fifth-round pick last year, is 22-44 for 275 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. McMahon struggled to put points on the board and has been part of a 216 record going back to last year. Harrington signed a six-year deal worth about $36.5 million.

So far, Harrington has completed 7 of 18 passes for 52 yards and has a quarterback rating of 23.8. Last season, Harrington played for the University of Oregon and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting.

MLB

SANTIAGO BUMPED: San Francisco Giants catcher Benito Santiago was suspended for two games on Wednesday for bumping home plate umpire Mark Hirschbeck on Sunday.

Santiago was ejected in the ninth inning of a loss to the San Diego Padres along with manager Dusty Baker and pitching coach Dave Righetti. Santiago was fined

by Baseball Vice President Bob Watson. The Players’ Association appealed the penalty, meaning the suspension can’t start until after hearing before Bob DuPuy, baseball’s chief operating officer.

S PORTS

■ Cortes Feature . . . . . . 15 ■ Broncs on radio. . . . . . 14 ■ Staff’s swami picks . . . 13

Lady Broncs hit road for Classic The Lady Broncs come off a tough loss against Texas A&M-Kingsville, but look ahead to the Islander Classic.

By MIKE GONZALEZ The Pan American Los Angeles Lakers superstar Shaquille O’Neal once said, “Before you succeed, you must learn how to fail.” The University of Texas-Pan American volleyball team is experiencing the latter in hopes of someday enjoying the former.

UTPA’s volleyball team is in a rebuilding stage with a bunch of young and talented players. Thus far, the Lady Broncs have been spiked by elite competition such as Texas, Virginia, Xavier, New Mexico, and New Mexico State.

The task didn’t get easier Tuesday night when UTPA faced area foe Texas A&M-Kingsville at the Fieldhouse. The Lady Broncs played well but lost a heartbreaker 30-24, 21-30, 30-28, 33-35 and 15-13. Leading the way for UTPA was junior outside hitter Jaclyn Muszynski with 24 kills. Winker Cruz, junior outside hitter, also played well as she recorded 22 kills and 24 digs.

Freshman Katie Burke had an outstanding night and contributed with 67 assists and 21 digs.

Volleyball head coach Dave Thorn knows his squad had an opportunity to come away with a win, but is proud of the way the Lady Broncs hung in there and fought until the end .

“Both teams played very hard,” Thorn said. “There were charges and momentum going back and forth, but we’re improving every game.”

With the loss, the Lady Broncs dropped to 1-10 for the season.

This weekend, the team travels to

Corpus Christi to compete in the Islander Classic facing Tulsa (11-1), Texas Southern (1-10) and Wyoming (8-2). Thorn knows patience is the key to a rebuilding program.

“It’s a learning process, and it’s just takes time,” Thorn said.

One player who is learning the life of college volleyball is Stephanie Redd.

She is one of four freshman on the roster getting their feet wet in the pond of Division I volleyball. Redd believes she and the rest of the freshmen are starting to gel, despite what the team’s record might say.

“I think all the freshmen are coming together,” Redd said.

She understands the rebuilding stage, but as competitive as she is, Redd would rather have victories now, not the promise of wins to come.

When it comes to the Islander Classic, Thorn knows the task his team is in for. According to Thorn, the Lady Broncs’ first match against a talented Tulsa Lady Hurricanes squad will be a formidable challenge.

“They have a couple of good players,” Thorn said. “Most of their starting lineup is returning and we played them last year at their place.

They have a good middle blocker, a very athletic setter and run a quick offense.”

One team that is looking forward to playing UTPA is Texas Southern. The Lady Tigers fell victim to the Lady Broncs in UTPA’s lone victory this season. Thorn sees the rematch as a very intense contest.

“We always expect the second time

Grades, records on the mend after tough recent times

By MIKE GONZALEZ The Pan American It’s no secret the University of TexasPan American athletic program has come a long way over the years.

With the rise of My View attendance at sporting events, and the selection of the right personnel to guide all Bronc athletes in the right direction, the UTPA athletic program has made a number of

marked improvements.

But what is not readily known is how the step-by-step procedure took place, starting with the hiring of current Athletic Director William Weidner in spring of 1998.

When Weidner took over the athletic program, Bronc events were seldom packed and controversy controlled the athletic headlines at UTPA, especially with the firing of former basketball coach Delray Brooks.

Within the last four years, Weidner has been part of a staff that has uplifted the UTPA athletics program to a respectable level for a Division I athletes.

Although it has been a long road to travel Weidner is happy to be part of this remarkable achievement.

VOICE

Do you plan to participate in any of the Hispanic heritage month events?

September 19, 2002

An Inside Look: News ............................................2 A & E............................................7 ■ Sports ........................................16 ■ ■

CELEBRATE

T h e S t u d e n t N e w s p a p e r o f T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Te x a s - P a n A m e r i c a n

Business bash done

Page 4

STATE

Summit attracts prospective business owners ■ Ron Shamburger, 30, became the 26th person to be put to death in Texas this year. He was executed for the shooting death of Lori Baker, 20, of College Station. Shamburger broke into Baker’s home on Sept.

30, 1994 to steal money.

He was discovered in the bedroom by Baker and he immediately shot her in the head. Shamburger is the 282nd person to be executed in Texas since the death penalty was reinstated in 1982.

VALLEY ■

Mike Gonzalez/The Pan American

FLYING HIGH: Freshman middle blocker Stephanie Redd spikes a ball during practice. The Lady Broncs are on a four-game losing skid.

UTPA athletic program on the rise See VBALL page 14

THURSDAY

Campus

“We’re enjoying the process, and I think we’re an athletic program that our student body, institution and the community are very proud of right now,” Weidner said.

In the 1990s, UTPA was not a certified program and was on probation for a number of NCAA rule infractions. Weidner knew the dire straits the program was in, but believed he could help turn things around. Weidner’s first goal was to make UTPA a certified athletic program.

“I knew that when I accepted the position here, that was one of the challenges that we faced,” Weidner said. “It was one that I felt that we could address in a positive manner and we have.”

In July 1998, the athletic

department achieved full certification by the NCAA. Since then, UTPA has hired a full-time athletic compliance coordinator and has formed a compliance committee as well. Although it was a problem in the past, Weidner knew the importance of staffing a full-time compliance coordinator.

“I think that was part of the issue,” Weidner said. “It’s a very big job and in the past, it was a position where the individual didn’t have one.”

The athletic program now has 117 paid staff members and the program has doubled in size the last four years. Many coaching staffs and trainer groups were

See PROGRAM page 14

Texas State Bank broke ground Tuesday on a new 45,000-squarefoot office building on West University Drive.

The new branch, which is expected to open in June, will employ about 25 people and will include 10 drive-through lanes.

Additional locations will include two branches in the Valley, one in Progreso and one in San Juan.

CAMPUS ■

As part of the 75th anniversary colloquia from the department of psychology and anthroplogy, a discussion titled, “Acute Reactions to Sept. 11” will be presented by Dr. Etzel Cardena and Dr. Mark Winkel. The discussion will be held next Thursday in SBSC room 119 from noon to 1 p.m.

By NIKKI RAMIREZ The Pan American

Sunayna Mahtani/The Pan American

MARIACHI-CAS— Rarlene Garcia, a freshman CIS major, sings along with the rest of UTPA Mariachi Femenil at the Student Union Monday afternoon. The performance was in observance of Hispanic Heritage Month and Diez y Seis de Septiembre, the day Mexico began its independence movement from Spain.

Heritage honored

Monthlong celebration kicks off with festivities on campus, original holiday dates to 1968

By CLARISSA MARTINEZ The Pan American While students and staff at the University of Texas-Pan American were celebrating Diez y Seis de Septiembre Monday, they also began planning a series of events for what marked the first day of the Hispanic Heritage Month, ending Oct. 12.

The Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) is sponsoring several events that will celebrate and acknowledge the heritage that plays a major role in the lives of many residents of the Rio Grande Valley.

“With so many people in the Valley being Hispanic, we sometimes forget or just don’t know about our heritage,” said Roxy Rodriguez, a junior majoring in marketing. “Having events like the ones we are planning can remind everyone how special our culture is,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez is one of the many students assisting with the organization of lectures and presentations to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

The appreciation for the Hispanic culture was acknowledged in 1968, when Congress passed a law designating the week including Sept. 15 and 16 as Hispanic Heritage Week.

Twenty years after the establishment, the step

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Having events like the ones we are planning can remind everyone how special our culture is - Roxy Rodriguez

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PAGE 16

was taken to create Hispanic Heritage Month. The decision was approved by Congress and declared

by President Gerald Ford in 1988. The purpose of the month is to celebrate Hispanic culture with appropriate ceremonies and activities, especially those promoting the education of the Hispanic community and organizations concerned with the protection of human rights.

Every Thursday until the end of the month, the CLAS will be offering lectures relating to issues

See HERITAGE page 4

UTPA hosted the Rio Grande Valley Small Business Summit Tuesday Sept. 17, in order to help create opportunities for prospective businesspeople in the community.

The summit was coordinated by Esperanza Perez, project coordinator for Business Learning Information Networking and Cooperation (LINC).

“This was the first year we had the summit, but business LINC is part of a pilot project we started last year,” said Pedro Salazar, director of the Small Business Development Center.

According to Salazar, the summit is only one component of the pilot project; the primary component is finding mentors with protégés to help start a business.

“We’ve been helping people start businesses since 1982, and so far we’ve helped about 50 to 60 people,” Salazar said. “The idea was to match the protégé up with somebody who’s already in business and has had some experience.”

Since some small-business founders are uncertain where to turn for help, the business summit was a way for people to get all the essential information in one setting.

“We decided to stay with a linking concept and put different resources together in one place on the same day,” Salazar said.

The business summit consisted of five different seminars to help provide training for anyone interested in starting a business or for entrepreneurs already in business.

The five seminars topics were financing, preemployment screening, micro-loans for micro businesses, tax credits, and management and supervision.

“Financing a small business can be pretty tricky and one of the things the seminar covered was the different options people have,” Salazar said. “The financing options are to help people focus primarily on different government loan programs to help people get the money they need to start a business.”

The pre-employment screening seminar was developed as a plan to help employers screen out underqualified applicants during the interview process.

“When there is a small company, there are not a lot of sophisticated interviewing processes and a person just ends up hiring whoever comes in,” Salazar said. “So we decided to have a session on pre-employment screening, making sure the right person is hired.”

According to Salazar, micro-loans are for lower-income, individually-owned companies which have a hard time obtaining a loan under

See SUMMIT page 4

PAGE 2

OPINION

letters

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editorials

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cartoons

2002 To the editor:

Celebrating 50 years 1201 West University, CAS 170 Edinburg, Texas 78539 (956) 381-2541 Fax: (956) 316-7122 http://www.panam.edu/dept/panamerican 51th Year – No. 4

Editor Matt Lynch mlynch@panam.edu

News Editor Cristina Reyna creyna826@aol.com

A & E Editor Ashley Brooks Magrew2@hotmail.com

Sports Editor Mike Gonzalez mgonzalez40@panam.edu

Graphics Editor Gabriel O. Hernandez gabo296@hotmail.com

Copy Editors Sunayna Mahtani and Belinda Reyes Layout Designers Ashley Brooks Mike Gonzalez Gabriel Hernandez Reporters Veronica Barrera Clarissa Martinez Elizabeth Martinez Nikki Ramirez Cesar Trevino Celeste Y. Tello Arianna Vazquez Advertising Dagoberto Perez Circulation Jesus M. Gonzalez Advertising Coordinator Juanita Sanchez Adviser Dr. Greg Selber

the PAN AMERICAN is the official student newspaper of The University of Texas-Pan American.

Views presented are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of the university.

Letters policy The Pan American gladly accepts letters from students, staff and faculty regarding newspaper content or current issues.

The Pan American reserves the right to edit submissions for grammar and length. Please limit submission length to 300 words. The Pan American cannot publish anonymous letters, or submissions containing hate speech or gratuitous personal attacks.

Letters are printed at the discretion of the editor and must include the writer’s name, class/title and phone number.

Readers with disabilities may request an alternative format of this publication at The Pan American business office.

For special assistance to attend any event listed in this publication, contact the coordinator of the event at least one week prior to the advertised date.

In the article "Crackdown on downloads coming" on the front page of the September 12 Pan American, there is a statement that "...university computers are installed with Labman, a software that tracks a student's activities online." Actually, Labman is not

capable of tracking a user's activities online. It only stores the user's account name, the computer's name, and the login and logout times. This information is used to monitor usage trends for capacity planning purposes and to justify funding levels to the university.

In cases where network security monitoring software detects unauthorized

NEWS

activity in the labs (such as hacking), logs from the security software may be correlated with Labman logs to help identify the source of the problem.

However, Labman has no way of tracking what users are doing while they are in the labs.

Anne Toal Director of Academic Computing

■ Pollution . . . . . . 4 ■ UPB Facelift . . . . 5

Safety training complete Dealt with handling hazardous materials

By ARIANNA VAZQUEZ The Pan American In an eerie coincidence of dates, a number of employees and students at the University underwent training to safely handle hazardous materials on Sept. 11. The UTPA contingent underwent Hazard Communication Training, which covered topics such as the use of hazard laboratory materials, container labeling, safe work equipment, and personal protective equipment.

A year after the terrorist attacks and subsequent anthrax scares, people who might be called upon to act under future instances went through the mandatory training. The training takes place once a month for all employees who are exposed to dangerous chemicals through inhalation, ingestion, skin contact or absorption. Employees from the

physical plant, laboratory, and housekeeping attended this month’s session.

The Hazard Communication Training is mandated by the Texas Department of Health, said Richard Costello, director of environmental health and safety. He added that both employees and students are instructed on more than just working with various chemicals.

"Employees have to attend prior to working with chemicals,” said Costello. “They learn about hazards in the work place and basic emergency response."

The training covers basic safety precautions employees must know, such as proper protection equipment (PPE), and the procedures on filling out the material safety data sheet (MSDS) with the proper use of correct chemical names.

"The Occupational Safety and Health

Administration regulates hard hats and other safety gear, or anything causing danger to [the employees] or anybody around them," said Celia Saenz, senior secretary of Environmental and Health Safety.

Students and teaching assistants are also required to take a hazardous training course, and the subjects in their training varied somewhat. Employees cover topics on a broader and more descriptive level, while chemistry and biology students are required to take a class, followed by a quiz, during their first freshman level lab course. This is done mainly to ensure student awareness of the harmful effects of chemicals.

"It shows you what you didn't know," said pre-med student Ivan Lozoya. "A lot of [people] don’t know what to do when something happens and think they only have to wear lab coats and goggles. There is more to know about protecting yourself from chemical hazards than that," he said.

Lady Bronc golfer walks winding path to UTPA Nanny-turned-college golfer leads up-andcoming team

By BRIAN CARR The Pan American When Daniela Cortes graduated from high school two years ago, she had two options.

She could take the educational scholarship offered to her in her Mexico and work toward her degree while remaining close to her mother and brother. Or she could elect to put off her education for a short while and pursue her dreams of becoming an LPGA golfer.

To Cortes, the choice was easy…Golf.

For the past two years, Cortes has been working to prove herself as a golfer. She began her quest to become a proven golfer at the local level.

“In Mexico there is a tournament every month,” Cortes said. “I played as much as I could.”

Her work efforts did not go unnoticed. In 1999, Cortes finished third in a national championship in Guadalajara. Shortly thereafter, she placed first overall in the

Central Mexico tournament.

Eventually, Cortes worked her way up the ranks, establishing herself as a top ten seed in the amateur Mexican golf circuit.

To make money during her educational hiatus, Cortes took positions as a nanny to families in the United States. This endeavor proved fortuitous because it gave her the chance to learn the English language while making money.

The various jobs also afforded her the opportunity to attend an LPGA tournament at Stanford near the Palo Alto, Calif. home of one of her host families.

“It was great,” Cortes said. “I want to be as good as them some day.”

Because of her tremendous success at the golf tournaments in Mexico, Cortes was invited to compete in the 2000 South Texas Junior Classic held in Harlingen. It was at this tournament that Cortes first caught the eye of UTPA Lady Broncs golf coach Barbara Odale.

“I was very impressed with Cortes when I first saw her,” Odale said “She was very long off the tee and she had great composure.”

Cortes finished fifth overall, but the lasting impression she left on Odale was probably her greatest

accomplishment of the tournament.

Now when asked about Cortes and her team in general, Odale’s face lights up with a jovial bliss usually reserved for the times spent bragging about one’s own children.

“This is the best team I’ve ever had as a coach here at Pan Am, and it’s probably the best women’s golf team in the history of Pan Am,” said Odale. “And as of right now, Cortes is my starter.”

Cortes committed to Odale and the Lady Broncs last May and has since relocated to the Valley from her hometown of Aguascalientes, Mexico. She now attends UTPA full-time and majors in international business.

In her first Lady Bronc outing, at the Lady Eagle Invitational in Denton, Cortes contributed to the best single-round score in the program’s past three years of competition play by recording a 79.

The accomplishment, a collective first round score of 312, was a difficult pace to keep, and the Lady Broncs stumbled to 10th place in the 12-team tournament.

The Lady Broncs next tournament is the three-day, 54hole Notre Dame Invitational from Sep. 27-29 in South Bend, Ind.

By SUNAYNA MAHTANI The Pan American Appointments are no longer necessary to meet the dean of College Arts and Humanities.

Dr. Rodolfo Rocha, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, will continue his tradition of Walk-in Wednesday, founded in 1999, at the University of Texas-Pan American.

Walk-in Wednesday’s will be an ongoing “event” for the remainder of the semester. “[Walk-in Wednesday] is held on Wednesday where students and faculty, particularly students, are free just to walk in without an appointment [to] visit and discuss anything they want to discuss," Rocha said. "There is no agenda, there is no forum."

Although it was originally targeted at students, Walk-in Wednesday gained popularity among faculty and staff as well.

Most students take advantage of the day to discuss academic issues, and others go to

chat with the dean on a personal level.

“It’s a good thing. I want them [the students] to come," Rocha said. "I’m pretty much student-oriented, I’ve always been. Students come first."

Rocha, who has been the dean since Fall 1999, believes students should get to know their college dean under all circumstances, and not only when academic problems occur.

"I think students should come and visit with administrators to see the dean is as simple as everybody else on campus," he said.

Rocha’s understanding of UTPA’s students derives from spending most of his educational and career experiences at the UTPA. He obtained his bachelor’s degree from Pan American College, and his master’s from Pan American University.

He earned his doctorate at Texas Tech, and ultimately returned to UTPA to teach.

Prior to becoming the dean in September 1999, Rocha was a history professor and the chair of that department.

"I’m a teacher first," he said. "I love the classroom, I [became] an administrator by

destiny."

Rocha’s love for the classroom has led him to teach Mexican American history at UTPA. However, his job as dean and professor does not end there, he also teaches the same Mexican American course at an extended UTPA campus in Starr County.

"This is my first semester doing it [teaching in Starr County]," he said. "I go on Saturday mornings for three hours [and] I love it."

UTPA is committed to teaching courses in Starr County. Rocha believes that people in that area have a need for UTPA professors to teach courses over there.

"It builds bridges between us and people in Starr County," he said of the extended campus.

Rocha believes that more administrators should be involved in teaching. He mentioned teaching enables administrators to keep in touch with students. Rocha anticipates continuing to grow professionally, while always being in a position where he can serve people.

"Pan American is the only opportunity that the people of South Texas have, to have opportunities in their lives, and I want them to have the best opportunities," he said.

Mike Gonzalez/The Pan American

FORE: Daniela Cortes works on her short game in practice.

Freshmen roomies set sights successful season exited about traveling.”

Boskovich started her tennis experience at the young age of 8. each year after that, ranking 25th in Northern California and number one on the age-18 Summer League teams in

By ARIANNA VAZQUEZ competition against teams from Los Angeles.

The Pan American “Laura is a very strong player [and] has a The Lady Bronc tennis team has two new very aggressive game. She has a strong serve members this season that should be a great asset and forehand, she is a very good athlete,” in the years to come.

Chapman said.

The new freshmen are Elysia Sloan of For Boskovich, the decision to come to Duncanville, Texas and Laura Boskovich of San UTPA was easy.

Jose, Calif.

“I decided to come to Pan Am because I love The new shining stars the weather, I like the are ready to start with coach and all the girls are their college tennis life really friendly,” I decided to come and are practicing hard to Boskovich said. start out well in their first “Texas seemed like a to Pan Am year at UTPA. pretty good fit for me. because I love the Sloan started playing Everyone is so friendly tennis when she was 12 and helpful here, that is weather, I like the years old, eventually what really captured my winning the school MVP heart,” she said. coach and all the her senior year at Being a freshman in girls are really Duncanville High School. college plus being a She finished that season tennis player is not easy friendly. with a 20-2 record and for anybody.

- Laura Boskovich, tennis earned an age-18 “With freshman you statewide Super never know, even if they Championship-rank. are the most talented “I found out about her from some high school player in the world, a lot of what freshman have coaches I know [that said] she was a good to go through is not [just] mentally adjusting to player and would be a good addition to our tennis in college, but the social side and the team,” said tennis coach Todd Chapman. “What academics of college,” Chapman said.

I like about Elysia is that she is a very athletic Chapman states he definitely likes what he player [and that] gives her an opportunity to has seen so far, though he cannot make any really reach her potential while in college predictions yet. tennis.” he said.

“What I like about both my freshman girls “I picked UTPA because I liked the location this year is their attitude. They’re both great and I wanted to be fluent in Spanish,” said girls that want to work hard, want to learn, and Sloan. About the upcoming tournaments she want to get better. I look forward to many years said. “The coaches keep us on our feet and I am with them,” Chapman said.

Freshman stand-outs make mark on women’s tennis

Rocha: Come on in and chat Arts and Humanities dean offers walk-in opportunities for faculty, staff, and students

Page 15

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September 19

sports

September 19, 2002

Arianna Vazquez/The Pan American

FRESHMAN FRIENDS: Elysia Sloan (left) and Laura Boskovich are two of the newest players on the Lady Bronc tennis team. Sloan and Boskovich, from Duncanville and San Jose, Calif., respectively, look to help the the Lady Broncs improve on last season’s 6-15 record.

September 19, 2002

UTPA hoops teams return to airwaves Broncs, Lady Broncs to be broadcast again by local radio station

By CELESTE Y. TELLO The Pan American Monster Sports Radio coverage of the University of Texas-Pan American basketball games will continue for the third consecutive year; and for the second year selected women’s games will also be broadcast.

The games will once again be on KSOX-AM 1240, as station General Manager Lance Hawkins and William Weidner, UTPA director of athletics, announced in a Sept. 11 news release that coverage would continue.

KSOX Sports Director Jeff Koch believes that the relationship between the Raymondville-based station and UTPA is beneficial.

“It’s a great situation for the university and the station,” he said.

According to the news release, all of the men’s games will be covered and six of the women’s games will also receive coverage.

Tracy Anderson, head coach for women’s basketball, believes that radio coverage of the basketball games is great for community relations and recruitment of athletes.

“It’s definitely a huge advantage for us as far as recruitment goes,” she said. “It’s a great tool to show support and excitement for women’s basketball because not a lot of teams get coverage.”

Coverage of the women’s games is also important for the goals of the athletic program as a whole.

“It is our intention to become the Valley’s team, their program,” Weidner said. “This [broadcast] is great for people who are not conveniently located, they can at least tune in to keep up with the games.”

Keeping up with games will be easier for Bronc fans since Koch will handle the play-by-play for all of men’s broadcasts. Koch’s assistant, Mark Flores, will handle the play-by-play for the five women’s games originating from South Texas.

The broadcasts are expected to be exciting since both the men and women’s programs play tough schedules this season.

“All of our fans throughout the region will continue to have the opportunity to follow the excitement of UTPA basketball as both programs play impressive and challenging schedules,” Weidner said.

He believes that the relationship between Bronc basketball and KSOX is important for Bronc athletics.

“KSOX Radio is the premier radio station for sports

programming in the Rio Grande Valley,” Weidner said. “Our continued partnership with the number one sports radio station in the region cements our credibility in regards to UTPA athletics being a program that is on the rise.”

GM Lance Hawkins also believes that the relationship with UTPA is beneficial.

“Continuing our association with UTPA basketball is a no-brainer,” he wrote in the Sept. 11 news release. “Our partnership with the university is a major part of our local sports programming and image across the Rio Grande Valley.”

Listener feedback about the continuing broadcasts has been positive so far.

“During the talk show there wasn’t a lot of calls about the Broncs,” Koch said. “Now that we cover them, we get a lot of calls about them, people want to know how they’re doing.”

KSOX buys in to ESPN SportsCenter and has NFL football Sunday and Monday, including with the games of the expansion Houston Texans. The Dallas Cowboys are handled by KURVAM 710. KSOX also covers baseball the Houston Astros.

As far as local programming goes, the station has a Friday night high school football program where Koch gives, shares and receives scores and updates from reporters in the fields. Bronc basketball is also a large part of local programming.

“It’s [coverage] very important because it is a big chunk of our local programming,” Koch said.

“We’re always looking to have as much local programming as possible.”

QuickLOOK Who: UTPA Broncs and Lady Broncs basketball teams What: Every Broncs’ game both home and away, will be broadcasted live via KSOX Radio, select Lady Broncs’ contests will also be broaccast.

sports

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PROGRAM

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understaffed, but now in some cases positions are filled to the NCAA maximum. Volleyball head coach Dave Thorn joined UTPA in 1998.

Although Thorn has experienced the tough times within the program, he is thrilled to have a full staff at UTPA. “I think its great for us to be able to get more coaches,” Thorn said.

Beyond the certification, the athletic program developed a new compliance procedure seminar for all athletic personnel. All head coaches are required to participate in this program and it explains all rules and regulations of the NCAA. Weidner feels the compliance procedure seminar has helped coaches do their job accordingly and the results have been overwhelmingly successful.

“We have had no major violations or probation, and we’re fully certified,” Weidner said. “We’ve been audited by a number of parties and it’s been very positive. It’s important for people to know that we’re doing things the right way and that we’re having success. People should feel proud that we’re doing it correctly and within the rules.”

All student athletes have proper facilities that they can take advantage of, such as the new Student Athletic Academic Learning Center and study workshops that give all athletes a chance to do well in their classes.

According to Weidner, the athletes have responded very well to the programs.

In 1997, the athletes had a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of about 2.2, which was below, the GPA of the general student body at the time.

“It was clearly one of the lower grade point averages at the time in the country,” Weidner said. “We addressed that as a top priority.”

In a four-year stretch, the student athletes at UTPA went from being one of the worst academic groups to one of the best. According to Weidner, in the spring of 2002, student athletes had a cumulative GPA of 2.88, which was one of the best in the country.

“Now we feel our student athletes are among the leaders of this campus,” Weidner said.

“We’re very proud of that as.”

Men’s basketball coach Bob Hoffman, who’s been part of the UTPA staff since 1999, knows the importance of education and stresses it to his players.

“Our ultimate goal is to graduate our players and athletes,’ Hoffman said.

One program that has its athletes doing well in classes is the women’s golf team. According to head coach Barb Odale, the average GPA among players on her team is 3.1.

“I think speaking from our team, this year is

VBALL

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around to be competitive, especially since we’ve beaten them before,” Thorn said. “They had some injuries and that made it tough for them. I don’t know what their status will be, but we’ll just prepare like they’re going to be full strength.”

Thorn is not very familiar with Wyoming, however he knows the program is one of the best in the country.

“They are one of the top teams in the nation, so my guess is they can play some

ball.”

After this tournament, the Lady Broncs will play five of their next seven games at home, and Thorn feels his team will get over its current slump.

“They’re playing hard and aggressively,” Thorn said. “They’re working on the things that we need to work on and we’re improving every week. The record is going to start reflecting that. It’s a learning process and it takes time.”

the best since I got here and all my girls are graduating,” Odale said.

According to Weidner, USA Today published an article in the summer of 2001, recognizing UTPA athletes for their academic work which ranked them eighth in the nation out of approximately 300 schools. Weidner feels UTPA can still improve in the classroom and. he hopes the athletes will continue to raise their GPA’s .

“Our goal after the fall semester is cumulatively 2.9 (GPA), and we’d like to be above 3.0 after the spring,” Weidner said. “I think those are realistic goals.”

In a five-year-period, UTPA has hired superior coaches and recruited talented players that have not only uplifted the athletic program, but increased the program’s exposure within the community. The athletic department made history by broadcasting men’s and women’s basketball game on KSOX-AM 1240 radio. Last year, FOX-TV 17 broadcast a tape-delay replay of all home men’s and women’s basketball games.

“It was history in the making and we were excited about reaching out to the Valley,” Weidner said.

Last season, the average attendance was 3,100 for men’s game at the UTPA Fieldhouse, a 127 percent improvement from seasons past, and the largest average since 1990. According to Weidner, there were some contests that were over-capacity and tickets were hard to come by.

“We actually had to turn people away,” he explained.

Not only has attendance gone up for men’s basketball, but every sport has seen a growth in fan base.

“There has been a tremendous change and improvement in our attendance, but we still need to continue to build on that,” Weidner said.

The athletic department has also taken part in fund raisers that have helped UTPA enhance the program.

Last month, former men’s basketball coach Lon Kruger and Coca-Cola donated a record $100,000 each to the athletic department.

Weidner added that fund-raising efforts have increased by 500 percent.

“This is an ongoing thing that we work very hard at, and we need to continue to enhance in what we’re doing,” Weidner said.

In a span of five years, the athletic program has risen from the cellar to become one of the best in the country, and Weidner feels there’s more improvement to be had.

“Our goal is to be a nationally respected and competitive NCAA Division I program,” Weidner said. “Now we just need to continue to improve, but we’re enjoying the process.”

VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE DATE

OPPONENT

SITES

Sept. 20

Tulsa

Corpus Christi

Sept. 21

Texas Southern

Corpus Christi

Sept. 21

Wyoming

Corpus Christi

Sept. 26

Texas-Permian Basin

UTPA

Sept. 27

Texas Christian

UTPA

Oct. 4

Centenary

UTPA

Oct. 8

TX A&M Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi

Oct. 11

Alumni

UTPA

Oct. 18-19

Texas A&M International

UTPA

and Prairie View A&M

UTPA

Texas A&M-Kingsville

Kingsville

Oct. 22

September 19, 2002

THE PAN AMERICAN

Page 3

Greek women to solidify rosters Panhellenic Week marks first for UTPA, includes bid, philanthropy nights

By CRISTINA REYNA The Pan American

Sisters for life. That's what they say.

Members of UTPA sororities Delta Zeta and Sigma Lambda Gamma have been looking for a few good women, and they think they found them.

Members of the only two sororities on campus assembled with prospective new members last week for the first-ever Panhellenic recruitment.

“The purpose of Panhellenic is to give possible new members a chance to meet with existing members of both sororities, giving both the opportunity to promote their organization,” said Student Development Coordinator Christine Carruthers.

College Panhellenic associations are established on campuses where there are at least two group chapters. At least two sororities must be nationally recognized on a campus, and when Sigma Lambda Gamma recently became a colony, the second Panhellenic Council, next to Delta Zeta was made possible. The council is made up of 10 members including the four officers from each sorority and one recruitment counselor from each.

According to the National Panhellenic Conference Foundation, panhellenics exist to develop and maintain interfraternal relations. Through their all-sorority programming efforts, they promote scholarship, leadership development and dissemination of general information

important to women.

Two other interest groups will not participate in recruitment because they are not officially recognized sororities yet. Once the interest groups move to colony-status, they are eligible to participate in Panhellenic. As a colony, they are then entitled to try for chapter-status.

Panhellenic Night, which took place Sept.

5, gave candidates a first look at what sororities are all about, explaining the rushees Bill of Rights, Greek terminology and guidelines for the following week of activities.

Events Week-long events, minus Sept. 11, began last week with an open house Monday evening where the candidates got acquainted with the sororities.

Philanthropy night was held Tuesday to inform the young women of each sorority's platform. The Sigma Lambda Gammas, for example, advocate breast cancer awareness, and the Delta Zetas work with the speech and hearing impaired.

Thursday was skit night, when members of both sororities tried to win over the candidates with satire and song.

Announcements were made Friday night when candidates were informed of which sorority they were invited to, and bid day took place Saturday when the candidates chose which sorority they preferred to join.

The number of new members cannot be disclosed until the conclusion of open

Pollution solution

bidding, which continues this week for sororities that haven't yet met their quota of approximately 20 new recruits.

Defining factors The well-known Delta Zetas have dominated sorority life since they first gained chapter status in 1966, when UTPA was still known as Pan American University.

DZ traditions include a big sister-little sister relationship between old members and new members that have been paired off to help one another throughout the year. The sorority's turtle mascot represents the sorority's idea of camaraderie, representing the way the sisters 'stick their necks out for their friends.’

The newly-formed Sigma Lambda Gammas represent the largest Latina-based sorority in the nation and commit themselves to promoting the empowerment of women in higher education.

The SLGs, which are represented by a purple panther, promote cultural awareness, community service and social interaction.

Opportunities Student Development Coordinator Dana Garza said the sororities offer good leadership development as well as special bonds and friendships.

Delta Zeta President Mindy Gutierrez said sororities provide academic discipline because members must maintain a GPA of 2.5.

“It also teaches you time management between work and school,” she said.

Gutierrez joined the Delta Zetas in 1998 “to experience college life and have sisters to help me in all areas such as financially

and in communicating with people.”

To be eligible, candidates had to submit an application along with a $10 fee and transcript to the council. The young women must also be in good academic standing with the university.

“We look for someone who is outgoing and will get along with everyone,” said Panhellenic President Krystina Saenz.

Stereotypes Some sorority members believe MTV promoted a negative stereotype of sororities when the music television channel began airing a weekly reality TV show in June called Sorority Life, where six pledges go through the initiation process for Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi at the University of California-Davis.

“That show is not accurate at all,” Gutierrez said. “They promote alcohol and choose members based on ethnic background. We accept anybody.”

Saenz agrees, citing that sororities are “nothing like the way they are portrayed on TV.” “We don't treat our girls like that,” Saenz said, referring to an episode where the pledges are forced to move boulders. “That's [Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi] a local sorority.

National ones [like UTPA's] have more rules and are stricter.”

Both sororities at UTPA have anti-drug and anti-hazing policies, and all functions are dry due to an anti-alcohol policy as well.

Freshman pharmacy major Cristina Gonzalez said she wanted to join a sorority because her mother was a member at UTPA. “I wanted to follow in her footsteps, “Gonzalez said. “And it looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.”

Week’s events will spotlight ways community can contribute to cleaner environment

By NIKKI RAMIREZ The Pan American Throw your trash in the can and help keep your environment clean. You won’t be alone.

According to a recent article in the Monitor the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council (LRGVDC) is celebrating Pollution Prevention Week this week, followed by National Transit Week the first week of October.

This is an opportunity for individuals, businesses, and local governments to emphasize their pollution prevention activities. The original Pollution Prevention Week debuted in California in 1992 and became a national effort in 1995.

The LRGVDC will be providing information to the community on the importance of pollution prevention and transit week by advertising literature throughout the region’s public systems.

“We are doing public education outreach all month long,” said Grace Segovia, program administrator of the LRGVDC. Every day people contribute to some form of air pollution through their daily activities like driving to school or work. According to Segovia the LRGVDC is encouraging its staff to carpool to save on gas and pollution.

“We will have a booth at the transit station the first week of October and we are offering free bus rides October 3,” Segovia

said.

In the Rio Grande Valley alone, a large amount of pollution is derived from vehicle emissions, contributing directly to the air we breath.

The LRGVDC’s Rio Metro transit system has recently agreed to purchase two alternative fuel-powered buses. The Texas Department of Transportation has assisted the council with funding in an effort to help reduce pollution.

According to the article in the Monitor Richard Hinojosa, director of the Regional Planning and Services Department, said this is a great opportunity to promote our transit system and prevent pollution at the same time.

Chris Lash, program coordinator of Keep McAllen Beautiful stressed the importance of teaching children the effects of pollution.

“I’ve been going out to schools and talking to kids about litter prevention and how littering affects our environment,” Lash said.

Although Pollution Prevention Week and Transit Week focus attention on public transportation, the LRGVDC encourages all citizens to incorporate pollution prevention practices into daily activities year around.

In a related development, the Texas Adopt-a-Beach Fall Cleanup will take place from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 21 at the island.

Cristina Reyna/The Pan American

LUCIO LECTURES Sen. Eddie Lucio, D– Brownsville, meets with UTPA students from the HEP (High school Equivalency Program), and CAMP (College Assistant Migrant Program) to educate them about the Legislative process, Wednesday morning. The event was part of Legislators Back to School Week, a national event that began in 2000. State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa and State Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores met with students Tuesday morning.

THE PAN AMERICAN

September 19, 2002

Do you plan to participate in any of the Hispanic Heritage Month events?

Campus VO I C E

Roel Hernandez Electrical Engineering Sophomore Yes. It’s an opportunity to learn more about our heritage and to identify more with our culture, especially here in the Valley.

Melissa Villarreal Computer Tech Freshman I went to “El Grito” on Monday and I had fun despite having some reservations at first. They made good fun of Vincente Fox and I heard some good gritos. I might go to the other events if I have time.

Rocio Enriquez English Sophomore Yes, I would like to go. I’m Hispanic and I feel that there’s a lot more to my culture that I need to know. More Hispanics should go because they need to be aware of the predominant culture here in the Valley.

Juan Guerrero Business Administration Sophomore No. I won’t attend. I believe there is no more heritage around here anymore. We don’t even speak the language correctly.

Juan Grimaldo Business Administration Senior Yeah. I’ll go to find out information that would be pertinent to me or my friends.

Page 4

HERITAGE

continued from page 1

affecting Hispanics in today’s society.

The first week will feature lectures such as “Hispanics and Welfare” and “The Mexican Economy in Transition,” with speakers such as Professor Miguel Montoya from ITESM in Guadalaja.

“It’s really interesting to hear different speakers discussing international issues that really do effect everyone,” Rodriguez said.

According to Rodriguez, during the “The Mexican Economy in Transition” Dr. Montoya will be discussing the adjustments Mexico is trying to accomplish to rebalance their economy.

The rest of the lectures will also feature visiting speakers from universities such as Columbia University. There will also be musicians and an art exhibit, “Children of the Colonias Photography Through Our Own Lenses.” The exhibit, cosponsored by the UTPA art department and CLAS, features photographs taken by children living in colonias from different parts of Texas.

Students are encouraged to attend the lectures and celebrations because the variety of events are made to appeal to every student.

Cindy Cano, a senior majoring in communications disorders said that she thinks the month should be celebrated by all.

“I think it’s important to participate in these things since we need to know about every culture and heritage, but more importantly we need to appreciate our own,” Cano said. “We need to know about our history so we can know what we have gone through and look forward to a better future.”

SUMMIT

HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH EVENTS Thursday, Sept. 26 The Mexican Economy in Transition Professor Miguel Montoya, from the ITESM Campus in Guadalajara, at 10:35 a.m. in BA 213.

Health and Hispanics Professor Miguel Montoya, from the ITESM Campus in Guadalajara, at 10:35 a.m. in BA 213.

Thursday, Sept. 26 U.S.-Mexico Immigration Issues 2002 Dr. Jose Pagan, at 9:10 a.m. in BA 110.

Thursday, Oct. 3 Hispanics & Globalization Dr. Gilberto Cardenas, at noon in BA 110.

Hispanic and Civil Liberties Mr. Will Harold from the Texas ACLU, at noon in SBSC 101.

Thursday, Oct. 3 Hispanics in Politics in the New Millennium Dr. Rodolfo de la Garza from Columbia University, at noon in SBSC 101.

Hispanics and Voting Rights Dr. Jose Garza, from the Texas Rural Legal Aid, at 1:10 p.m. in SBSC 109.

continued from page 1

$15,000 from a bank.

“So we went over the different microloan programs that are available and that are also supported by the federal government,” Salazar said.

Another seminar at the business summit discussed tax credits for small businesses.

“There are actually a lot of tax credits available for hiring people that have been previously imprisoned or that are on welfare,” Salazar said.

Those who were not able to make it to the business summit but are interested in starting a business can call 316-2610 for more information.

“The purpose of the summit was to show people that starting a business and making it succeed is possible and we did this by including some of our mentors and protégés,” Salazar said. “From the response so far I think we are going to make this an annual event.”

September 19, 2002

SPORTS CLIPBOARD DeLeon Named Administrative Associate The athletic department has promoted Chris DeLeon to administrative associate. Athletic director William Weidner was pleased to announce DeLeon’s promotion.

“Chris has demonstrated the ability to run our front office in an efficient and professional manner.

We congratulate Chris on her promotion and look forward to her new efforts as she begins her new role as our administrative associate,” Weidner said.

Cross-Country Teams Compete at SWT The Cross Country teams competed at Southwest Texas State Invitational with the mens placing fifth and the women seventh last weekend. The Broncs scored 112 points, 12 ahead of the host Bobcats (124), and the Lady Broncs finished with 178 points.

Leading the team were Westly Keating finishing third overall with a time of 25:06 for the five-mile course and sophomore Claudia Rosas finishing 25th in the threemile course with a time of 20:07 for the Lady Broncs. UTPA assis-

with the FREE News Source of the Valley Read The Pan American every Thursday

Broncs Finish Ninth at Yale The men’s golf team finished tied with Harvard for ninth place out of 18 teams at the Macdonald Cup. The Broncs had a total score of 920 with Rhode Island finishing in first place with 881. Junior Ben Piper led the Broncs with a score of 226 for 54-holes while freshman Craig Berger finished tied for 32nd with a score of 230.

Team Announces Tryout Dates The men’s basketball team will be conducting a tryout session on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2002, at 3:30 p.m. in the Fieldhouse.

All students interested, please contact the basketball office at 381-2870 or stop by and talk to the coaching staff as soon as possible.

Those who wish to try out need to bring a copy of their transcripts by the basketball office and get with trainer Jim Lancaster regarding physical information before Tuesday, Oct. 1.

UPCOMING CROSS COUNTRY SCHEDULE DATE

GET INFORMED!

tant coach Doug Molnar was pleased with his runners.

“Westly ran a great race,” Molnar said. “Overall, our men had a good meet. On the women’s side, Claudia and Patty [Villarreal] both did a nice job in their races.”

Sept. 27 Oct. 12 Oct. 19 Nov. 2 Nov. 16 Nov 25

MEET • Texas-San Antonio Invitational • Texas A&M Invitational • Pre-Nationals (Indiana State) • Independent Championships • NCAA Regional Championsihps • NCAA Championships

LOCATION San Antonio College Station

Sports Staff Swami Records

Mike Gonzalez Sports Editor

Waco Terre Haute, Ind.

Mike Gonzalez: 18-14, .562 Greg Selber: 16-16,.500

Celeste Y. Tello: 1715, .531 Matt Lynch: 1814, .562

Staff Swamis Matt Lynch

Celeste Tello

Dr. Greg Selber

Editor

Reporter

Adviser

Carolina at Minnesota The Panthers have already surpassed total wins from last year, and Rodney Peete has done a good job, but the Vikings will be too much at home.

Vikings by 7

Matt

Celeste

Vikings

Vikings

Greg

Playing at home was never a problem for Dallas.

The road has been a different story, but I expect them to finally get over the hump.

Cowboys by 3

Matt

Celeste

Cowboys

Eagles

Greg

The Patriots are the hottest team and I don’t see them cooling down any time soon.

Patriots by 10

Celeste

Patriots

Patriots

Greg Patriots

N.Y. Jets at Miami

Matt

Celeste

Greg

Dolphins

Dolphins

Dolphins

San Diego at Arizona Junior Seau played a fantastic game last week.

The Chargers will go 3-0 for the first time in many years.

Chargers by 8 Chargers

Celeste

Greg

Chargers

Cardinals

Seattle at N.Y. Giants Give credit to the Giant defense against the Rams. They shouldn’t have a problem this week.

I’m still waiting for Holmgren to lose his job.

Giants by 6

Matt

Celeste

Greg

Giants

Giants

Giants

Cincinnati at Atlanta The Falcons come off two tough losses, but should get their first win on Sunday. The Bengals must regroup in a hurry.

Falcons by 7

Matt

Celeste

Greg

Falcons

Falcons

Falcons

Cleveland at Tennessee

Celeste

Greg

Titans

Titans

Titans

Indianapolis at Houston Payton Manning had a rough game last week, but I expect him to bounce back against the Texans.

Colts by 9

Matt

Celeste

Greg

Colts

Texans

Colts

New Orleans at Chicago The Saints have looked good thus far, they have a chance to take control of the NFC South. The Bears are lucky to be 2-0, they must play better Saints by 8

Matt

Celeste

Greg

Saints

Saints

Saints

Buffalo at Denver

The Dolphins start fast every year, and this season is no exception. The Jets will put up a fight, but Norv Turner has been aggressive in his play calling for Miami.

Dolphins by 6

Matt

Matt

Cowboys

Kansas City at New England

Matt

The Titans need more production from Eddie George if Titans want to make playoffs. I still don’t know who the permanent quarterback is in Cleveland.

Titans by 7

Vikings

Dallas at Philadelphia

Terre Haute, Ind. Corpus Christi

Page 13

Don’t be surprised to see the Bills go to another overtime game.

Bills by 3

Matt

Celeste

Broncos

Bills

Greg Broncos

Green Bay at Detroit Brett Favre is happy not to play at the Silverdome anymore, but will now have to worry about the new Ford Field.

Packers by 10

Matt

Celeste

Packers

Lions

Greg Packers

Washington at San Francisco Remember the pre-season game these two had last month. The ‘Skins will try to run the scoreboard again, but this time it won’t work.

Niners by 7

Matt

Celeste

Greg

Niners

Redskins

Niners

St. Louis at Tampa Bay Even though it’s early, the season may very well be on the line for the Rams.

Rams by 4

Matt

Celeste

Greg

Bucs

Rams

Rams

Open Dates: Baltimore, Jacksonville, Oakland and Pittsburgh

September 19, 2002

THE PAN AMERICAN

Page 12

September 19, 2002

THE PAN AMERICAN

Changes afoot in student help group Increase in number of committees will enable more student participation in planning

By ELIZABETH MARTINEZ The Pan American The University Program Board (UPB) just received a facelift. UPB officials met with the Student Union Advisory Board Tuesday evening and received approval for some necessary changes.

UPB, a departmental organization under the Union, provides co-curricular programs to university students, programs that are coordinated by students. Funding comes from the combination of student activity fees and student’s union fees. One of the changes made was the restructuring of the series of UPB committees, with the number increasing from five to 12 committees.

“We had five committees that produced all the events that UPB did, so it put a lot of stress on those committees,” said Greg Simmons, assistant director of the Student Union. “With the new structure, the events are divided into 12 committees, so each committee gets the chance to focus on one particular area of programming.”

A few examples of the new committees include The Muggers, who select talent and produce the monthly coffee house series held at the Student Union. Another is the All Stars, who produce talent shows, acoustic nights, battles of the bands and other forms of campus entertainment. The Hello World committee brings speakers and other informative events

to campus to promote diversity among students and increase awareness of global issues.

Simmons said each committee will consist of 20 members and the number of events produced will vary within each committee.

Another modification concerned the GPA requirement for committee chairs. The minimum requirement of 2.0 increased to 2.5.

“We raised the GPA for the simple fact that you need to be a student in good standing and if you’re borderline 2.0 and you’re trying to put on 10 events a year, that’s taking away from your classes,” Simmons said. “I wouldn’t want someone to get on probation because they are spending too much time here.”

Simmons, along with UPB President Gabriella Barajas, was busy this week conducting interviews for committee chair positions. There were over 200 applications from students who were interested in chair and general member positions. The student response was overwhelming to Simmons, who said that in the spring semester there were only 50 applicants.

“We have more than quadrupled in size just by adding some different things,” Simmons said.

Leadership and general member applications are available in the Student Union and at the UPB office. Interviews will be conducted until next week.

Blake Daniels/The Pan American

TALKING IT OUT Thomas Steinberg, director of the Naval Financial Management Career Center speaks to Daisy Jurado, a freshman accounting major, about company opportunities at the fall Career Expo. The Expo, which was held Tuesday in the Health and Physical Education II building, featured representatives from 36 businesses.

Page 5

September 19, 2002

THE PAN AMERICAN

Page 6

September 19, 2002

THE PAN AMERICAN

Page 11

Page 10

‘Lovely’ book a The good, quick read C ULTURE C LUB What students like to read, listen to and surf.

Writer Alice Sebold creates a new vision of an old realm in ‘The Lovely Bones’

By DÄGOBERTO PÉREZ The Pan American Finally, a good book!

Finally a book that won’t have its readers running to a bookstore looking for its CliffsNotes counterpart.

Finally, a book that will have its audience up until 2 a.m. laughing, crying, screaming and causing their roommates to wonder if they are having an emotional meltdown. In all honesty, Alice Sebold’s new novel, “The Lovely Bones,” truly is a “lovely” book.

People have different visions of Heaven.

Catholics believe Heaven is surrounded by pearly gates, some Native Americans believe it has several layers, and some Arabs (mostly men) believe that Heaven is inundated with 10,000 virgins. But for 14-year-old Suzie Salmon, Heaven is anything but what anyone us in mind.

For her, Heaven is “a perpetual yesterday” and includes reliving her junior high school days and not having to worry about being teased or bullied by her fellow classmates.

The only thing wrong with Suzie’s Heaven is that she is dead. Suzie is the sixth victim of her neighbor, Mr. Harvey, and was led to her untimely death in the winter of 1974.

Suzie now narrates her haunting tale from her version of Heaven.

In the beginning Suzie tells of her demise and of how Mr. Harvey lured her into a basement underneath a cornfield, raped and

brutally murdered her. With the media covering the recent string of child molestation cases and deaths of young girls, one would think such a grotesque subject would turn one off to this book.

But Suzie’s words work in this book. Instead of giving up hope and accepting Heaven's “perpetual” bliss, Suzie watches over her ailing family, tries to comfort them and awaits vengeance for her death.

Suzie tells of her family’s anguish through her own eyes, and lets the reader see how they cope with her death. Suzie’s father is obsessed with his daughter’s death and is constantly hunting the man who killed his child. Her mother retreats into her own world and tries to avoid the subject of her daughter’s death, while her brother struggles to accept the hole in his family. Suzie also watches over Lindsey, her younger sister, who is beginning to feel the void of not having Suzie by her side.

Amid this wonderful plot, Detective Fenerman is searching for Mr. Harvey

Title: “The Lovely Bones” Author: Alice Sebold Reviewer’s Rating:

out of 5 stars

and trying to foil his next plan. Of course, Suzie is looking at all of this from Heaven and desperately tries to intervene. Suzie is not angry, or vexed or hurt, she just wants to see her killer caught so that her family can move on. In the end, Mr. Harvey is caught, and justice is finally served.

The ending is a bit mushy.

Going by the earlier description of Suzie’s death, there should have been more when dealing with the capture of Suzie’s killer, but it was not there.

The only thing that didn’t feel right about this book was Suzie’s portrayal of Heaven. To infringe on a millenniums old concept of an afterlife is one thing, but when a writer tells an audience that Heaven consists of reading “Vogue” magazines and staying in junior high for the rest of eternity, they take it too far.

It’s almost as bad as saying Heaven is filled with Brittany Spears’ music and Eminem movies. Some readers might be receptive to Suzie’s portrayal of Heaven, but most will find it disturbing.

However, all in all this book is an easy read and the reader likely will feel a sense of hope and empowerment after reading this 288-page novel. It’s also interesting to note that the writer, Alice Sebold, was also raped while she was attending school in New York. It’s very interesting to hear her words on this matter and it makes reading this book even more worthwhile.

‘The Lovely Bones’ is an engrossing coming-of-age story that will bring its reader heavenly pleasure.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PAGE 7

Around Town

Fabian Cuellar Junior Psychology CD: “Eve-olution” by Eve Book: “Needful Things” by Stephen King Movie: “The Exorcist”

Linda C. Flores Sophomore International Business CD: “Border Girl” by Paulina Rubio Movie: “Clueless” Website: bebe.com

Jocabed Marquez Junior Physician’s Assistant CD: “Rojo” by Rojo Book: “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison Website: vogue.com

South Texas Shootout: The Ultimate Wildlife Photography Challenge Sept. 19 through Nov. 24 Place: International Museum of Art and Science Event: The South Texas Shootout features a multitude of photographs which use South Texas wildlife and landscapes as subject matter. Proceeds from the event benefit Valley Land Fund activities.

Phone: (956) 682-1564 South Texas Wine Classic Sept. 26 from 6 to 9 p.m.

Event: The South Texas Wine Classic will feature more than 2,000 different wines from over 280 wineries. Food, live music and silent auctions will also be featured. Proceeds from the event go to the Special Olympics of Texas.

Phone: (956) 631-4707 Valley Symphony Orchestra Sept. 29 Event: The Valley Symphony Orchestra will perform with special guest Dr. Haysun Kang at 4 p.m.

Kang will perform a number of piano works by various classical composers and Dr. Peter Dabrowski will provide musical commentary.

Place: McAllen Country Club Phone: (956) 393-2293

■ Band feature . . . . . 8-9 ■ Book review . . . . . . 10 ■ Culture Club . . . . . . 10

Internships provide broadcast students hands-on experience Students, news stations gain from internships

By JENNIFER TAPIA The Pan American First things first.

Students who are seeking a degree in broadcast journalism at the University of Texas-Pan American find it important to do internships while in college, so they can gain experience upon graduating.

According to Jack Stanley, UTPA professor, it is important for students to do internships so they can have hands-on experience before they graduate. Four students are currently doing internships in broadcast. The process has been going on for over 20 years, and it is a process where students find out what the job is truly all about.

“A lot of students have different perceptions on what their job is really going to be,” said

Stanley. “Until they get to work.

There is where they discover it is kind of different than what they thought it was.”

While students are doing internships, they also receive six hours of college credit, added Stanley. With the credit, students should get a variety of experience at the stations.

Diana Maldonado, assistant news director at KGBT-4, says they will not hire students as interns if they don’t receive any credit, because of corporate decisions.

“I had students apply in the past, but were unable to get college credit,” said Maldonado.

“So we had to turn them down.”

However, Quetzalli Prado, a junior who is majoring in broadcast journalism and is currently an intern at Univision, says she has enjoyed the opportunity and has gained experience.

“It’s very interesting and it’s going to help me a lot in my major,” said Prado. “I get to work with reporters and they are very understanding in whatever questions I have.”

Tricia Barrera, a junior who is majoring in broadcast journalism who is also starting an internship at Univision, plans to get as much experience as possible.

She stated she needs the experience because she plans to work for a large market during her career as a journalist.

At Team-4 News, students get to spend time in the news room unless they are interested in other departments such as promotions or engineering, added Maldonado.

In return, television stations also gain from hiring interns, Maldonado said, adding that they have the opportunity to teach students. She claims several employees have been doing this for two decades.

“We teach them a lot and get to spend quality time with them,” said Maldonado. “Even though it’s for three months, we always get someone to help them.”

“

It’s very interesting and it’s going to help me a lot in my major.

I get to work with reporters and they are very understanding in whatever questions I have.

- Quetzalli Prado, student

“

Arts & Entertainment

September 19, 2002

Upon graduating, students may be hired by the station they did their internship for. However at Team-4 News, Maldonado stated they recommend students get more experience in smaller markets, such as Laredo.

“We really want them to get real television experience,” said Maldonado. “That’s why we recommend them to work in other

places first.”

In the past, several students who did internships were able to get more experience at television stations because most of the departments were under the same management. According to Letty Valadez-Garza, news anchor at KRGV-5, she was the first intern to work with the teleprompter and studio camera during her internship at the station in 1982.

“I loved it,” said Valadez-Garza.

“I would take the reporters’ stories and revise them and put them together for the show.”

Valadez-Garza states she got hired at Channel 5 a year and half after graduating. She added that while she was working at Jones and Jones she met Peter Torgeson, who worked at Channel 5 at the time.

She told him she was interested in the business, so he then set up an interview for her with Rick Diaz who then hired her as a reporter.

Jenny Martinez, news director at Channel 5, states that interns are considered employees and are paid to do a variety of things, depending on their interests. If a student does a good job performance as an intern, they may be hired by Channel 5 depending on the station’s needs.

Valadez-Garza feels students should take advantage and learn as much as possible during the internship because news directors are looking for people who are willing to do anything and go beyond basic duties.

“I remember I would write stories and knew they weren’t going to use them,” said Valadez-Garza. “But I still did it anyway.”

Fair to show glimpse of graphic arts career Job Fair and Apple Computer Digital Art Show to offer internships, employment to students

By BELINDA REYES The Pan American The department of Graphic Arts and Career Placement services will host the first Job Fair and Apple Computer Digital Art Show on Monday, Sept. 23. It will take place from 1:30 to 5 p.m. at the Clark Gallery in the Fine Arts complex.

Career Placement services coordinator Susie Alvarez said the

idea came from an initial internship for a local graphic arts company.

“We received an internship with local companies, so I called Mr. Cuenco [Edwin, professor of graphic arts] and they were thinking about having a job fair,” Alvarez said. “So career placements cosponsored this event along with the Graphic arts department.”

Alvarez said the companies involved are Wacom Technology, Copy Zone, Architecto Media,

Britton’s Photo and Images, PDQ Printing, and Pulse Magazine.

University Relations, the Graphic design club, and the UTPA Ad Club will also have displays available.

Wacom Technologies will send two of its engineers to present an Apple Computer Art Show.

Speakers will include Dr. Rodolfo Arevelo, university provost, Dr. Rodolfo Rocha, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, Dr. Nancy Moyer, art department chair and Enedelia Kidd, director of Career Placement Services.

Rick de Julio, of Valley Advertising Federation, will serve as the special guest.

Alvarez said the basic purpose for the event is to help students who are interested in graphic design. The fair will offer students the opportunity to get employment and internship credits. Students are assumed to be in interview attire, but it is not mandatory because it is understood that students attend classes all day long.

“Students can bring resumes [and portfolios] to give the employers. We encourage and stress a dress code, because it is a job fair,” Alvarez said.

The job fair will take place on Monday, while graphic designs will be exhibited throughout the remainder of the week.

September 19, 2002

Arts & Entertainment

Page 8

September 19, 2002

Arts & Entertainment

Page 9

Traveling the

trodden path to

(Below) - From left to right, Carlos Rodriguez on rhythm guitar; Noe Martinez, lead singer; Nestor Belmares on drums; Daniel Sanchez on bass guitar; and Jerod Johnson on lead guitar.

Special to The Pan American

Ex-Valley band Broken Down looking for ‘big-time’ break in bigger city band moved to San Antonio to continue a career in music after playing the Valley several years.

Martinez, like many other budding musicians, holds opinions on the current national music scene and its trends.

“Nationally there's a lot of great music out there, with bands like Tool, Deftones, and One Side Zero.

But it seems like if MTV doesn't put it out, then it’s not popular.

Acts such as Blink 182 and Korn have changed since their constant rotation on MTV,” Martinez said.

By CESAR TREVINO The Pan American

Music gets its roots from noise.

From cavemen banging rocks together to what we hear banging out on radio waves today, noise is the key. And several local bands are making their marks on the music scene in this manner.

Currently, locals can find a wide variety of musical genres being performed in their local bars, clubs and concert venues.

The Rio Grande Valley has opportunities for acts like Tejano bands, rock cover bands and other artists, and has provided an opportunity Like most bands in for those who have dedicated their lives to the Valley, we are getting their music heard. not in it for the Broken Down, a local band that “broke” into the money. Down here, Valley scene several years ago, is now searching for our parents would its own place in the music ask us before every industry.

“We've been a band for gig ‘how much are about five years, but have they paying you?’ only [called ourselves] ‘Broken Down’ for about a But since the move year-and-a-half,” said Noe Martinez, lead singer. “[The to San Antonio, they name] comes from a long see how serious we story of a bad break-up with a former bandmate, are about it and they hence the name,” he said. totally support us.

Martinez is a junior at Palo Alto College in San - Noe Martinez, lead singer for Antonio, but is a former Broken Down University of Texas-Pan American student. The

“

“

(Right) - Lead singer Noe Martinez performs at the South Texas Scorcher.

“Blink is totally different. I used to like them, but they sold out. Now they're a new Blink with a lot more money, but they try to show that they don't care about the money.

“Korn was cool, now they do a lot for MTV, and though they’re not as big as others, they’ve also changed with fame. It’s pathetic when you do everything for money, selling any part of you for it, may it be selling underwear, or any type of merchandise, just like Limp Bizkit.”

While Martinez criticizes national bands for pandering to fans to make more money, he sees the need for such eager fans on the local level. Although the Valley is home to a number of local bands, the music scene here can be discouraging for those looking for a spot in the lime-light.

“The music scene in the Valley needs more support from both the bands and the fans,” Martinez said.

“There are unions that have been created in the Valley that do everything but unify. They segregate against styles different to theirs.”

Also discouraging to local bands is the difficulty of finding venues to play.

“Every band does their part to promote their music, but the problem [tends to lie] with local clubs, not the bands. If you're not a cover band, you're not wanted,” Martinez said. “The Valley needs more local participation and encouragement from anyone who listens to music, and more venues

to host all-original shows.”

Although Martinez points out a lack of venues and community support as several reasons why the Valley music scene hasn’t boomed yet, he also attributes it to the fact that few people have stepped forward to help local bands ‘make it’ beyond the local confines.

“Seeing as how the Valley's economy is growing, it has not yet been established as a producer of ‘good’ musical talent. There are a few who have been given the opportunity, and hopefully in time, more of us will come across that one person who believes in you enough to give you a chance,” Martinez said.

But no matter how difficult it may be to become ‘bonafide’ musicians, Martinez and his band have learned to take the good with the bad, often sacrificing for the sake of their art. Band members have also been left having to explain their determination to their parents.

“Like most bands in the Valley, we are not in it for the money.

Down here, our parents would ask us before every gig ‘how much are they paying you?’ But since the move to San Antonio, they see how serious we are about it and they totally support us,” Martinez said.

Broken Down hasn't slowed down since their beginnings, playing at Valley clubs like Cypress, Houligan’s, Tequila Jack’s, Artemis, Mystique, and at Labor Day’s South Texas Scorcher.

Even though they’ve moved on to larger venues in San Antonio, the band is quick to credit much of their success to their fans and hasn’t forgotten those that supported them along the way. “[The band] has what is called a ‘Street Team,’ where you go to the website and join our fan club, where we e-mail fliers to people on the list, and the "Street Team" helps promote them by passing them out,” Martinez said. “There's [also a] site by a girl from Canada who happened to stumble onto our site, and loved our music, so she built a fan site for us.

“It's just one person, but hey, it helps,” he said.

Aside from the fans and friends that help promote Broken Down, there are also those who help the band at the shows. “[Michael Moore’s] our craziest fan. He's there for any gig, no matter how small. He works the crowds by dancing, freestyling on our songs on-stage with us and always cheering us on, always backing us up 100 percent. The crowd gets pumped, and Michael helps a lot, and generates a lot of talk about the show the next day,” Martinez said.

Broken Down’s style ranges somewhere between Creed, Nickelback, Tool and Staind, and shows definite influences by Metallica, Pearl Jam and Led Zepplin.

For more information on Broken Down, visit the website at www.dn2design.com/brokendown

(Above) - Ex-Valley band Broken Down jams at a House Party.

(Left and Below) - Broken Down performed at the South Texas Scorcher.

Special to The Pan American

September 19, 2002

Arts & Entertainment

Page 8

September 19, 2002

Arts & Entertainment

Page 9

Traveling the

trodden path to

(Below) - From left to right, Carlos Rodriguez on rhythm guitar; Noe Martinez, lead singer; Nestor Belmares on drums; Daniel Sanchez on bass guitar; and Jerod Johnson on lead guitar.

Special to The Pan American

Ex-Valley band Broken Down looking for ‘big-time’ break in bigger city band moved to San Antonio to continue a career in music after playing the Valley several years.

Martinez, like many other budding musicians, holds opinions on the current national music scene and its trends.

“Nationally there's a lot of great music out there, with bands like Tool, Deftones, and One Side Zero.

But it seems like if MTV doesn't put it out, then it’s not popular.

Acts such as Blink 182 and Korn have changed since their constant rotation on MTV,” Martinez said.

By CESAR TREVINO The Pan American

Music gets its roots from noise.

From cavemen banging rocks together to what we hear banging out on radio waves today, noise is the key. And several local bands are making their marks on the music scene in this manner.

Currently, locals can find a wide variety of musical genres being performed in their local bars, clubs and concert venues.

The Rio Grande Valley has opportunities for acts like Tejano bands, rock cover bands and other artists, and has provided an opportunity Like most bands in for those who have dedicated their lives to the Valley, we are getting their music heard. not in it for the Broken Down, a local band that “broke” into the money. Down here, Valley scene several years ago, is now searching for our parents would its own place in the music ask us before every industry.

“We've been a band for gig ‘how much are about five years, but have they paying you?’ only [called ourselves] ‘Broken Down’ for about a But since the move year-and-a-half,” said Noe Martinez, lead singer. “[The to San Antonio, they name] comes from a long see how serious we story of a bad break-up with a former bandmate, are about it and they hence the name,” he said. totally support us.

Martinez is a junior at Palo Alto College in San - Noe Martinez, lead singer for Antonio, but is a former Broken Down University of Texas-Pan American student. The

“

“

(Right) - Lead singer Noe Martinez performs at the South Texas Scorcher.

“Blink is totally different. I used to like them, but they sold out. Now they're a new Blink with a lot more money, but they try to show that they don't care about the money.

“Korn was cool, now they do a lot for MTV, and though they’re not as big as others, they’ve also changed with fame. It’s pathetic when you do everything for money, selling any part of you for it, may it be selling underwear, or any type of merchandise, just like Limp Bizkit.”

While Martinez criticizes national bands for pandering to fans to make more money, he sees the need for such eager fans on the local level. Although the Valley is home to a number of local bands, the music scene here can be discouraging for those looking for a spot in the lime-light.

“The music scene in the Valley needs more support from both the bands and the fans,” Martinez said.

“There are unions that have been created in the Valley that do everything but unify. They segregate against styles different to theirs.”

Also discouraging to local bands is the difficulty of finding venues to play.

“Every band does their part to promote their music, but the problem [tends to lie] with local clubs, not the bands. If you're not a cover band, you're not wanted,” Martinez said. “The Valley needs more local participation and encouragement from anyone who listens to music, and more venues

to host all-original shows.”

Although Martinez points out a lack of venues and community support as several reasons why the Valley music scene hasn’t boomed yet, he also attributes it to the fact that few people have stepped forward to help local bands ‘make it’ beyond the local confines.

“Seeing as how the Valley's economy is growing, it has not yet been established as a producer of ‘good’ musical talent. There are a few who have been given the opportunity, and hopefully in time, more of us will come across that one person who believes in you enough to give you a chance,” Martinez said.

But no matter how difficult it may be to become ‘bonafide’ musicians, Martinez and his band have learned to take the good with the bad, often sacrificing for the sake of their art. Band members have also been left having to explain their determination to their parents.

“Like most bands in the Valley, we are not in it for the money.

Down here, our parents would ask us before every gig ‘how much are they paying you?’ But since the move to San Antonio, they see how serious we are about it and they totally support us,” Martinez said.

Broken Down hasn't slowed down since their beginnings, playing at Valley clubs like Cypress, Houligan’s, Tequila Jack’s, Artemis, Mystique, and at Labor Day’s South Texas Scorcher.

Even though they’ve moved on to larger venues in San Antonio, the band is quick to credit much of their success to their fans and hasn’t forgotten those that supported them along the way. “[The band] has what is called a ‘Street Team,’ where you go to the website and join our fan club, where we e-mail fliers to people on the list, and the "Street Team" helps promote them by passing them out,” Martinez said. “There's [also a] site by a girl from Canada who happened to stumble onto our site, and loved our music, so she built a fan site for us.

“It's just one person, but hey, it helps,” he said.

Aside from the fans and friends that help promote Broken Down, there are also those who help the band at the shows. “[Michael Moore’s] our craziest fan. He's there for any gig, no matter how small. He works the crowds by dancing, freestyling on our songs on-stage with us and always cheering us on, always backing us up 100 percent. The crowd gets pumped, and Michael helps a lot, and generates a lot of talk about the show the next day,” Martinez said.

Broken Down’s style ranges somewhere between Creed, Nickelback, Tool and Staind, and shows definite influences by Metallica, Pearl Jam and Led Zepplin.

For more information on Broken Down, visit the website at www.dn2design.com/brokendown

(Above) - Ex-Valley band Broken Down jams at a House Party.

(Left and Below) - Broken Down performed at the South Texas Scorcher.

Special to The Pan American

Page 10

‘Lovely’ book a The good, quick read C ULTURE C LUB What students like to read, listen to and surf.

Writer Alice Sebold creates a new vision of an old realm in ‘The Lovely Bones’

By DÄGOBERTO PÉREZ The Pan American Finally, a good book!

Finally a book that won’t have its readers running to a bookstore looking for its CliffsNotes counterpart.

Finally, a book that will have its audience up until 2 a.m. laughing, crying, screaming and causing their roommates to wonder if they are having an emotional meltdown. In all honesty, Alice Sebold’s new novel, “The Lovely Bones,” truly is a “lovely” book.

People have different visions of Heaven.

Catholics believe Heaven is surrounded by pearly gates, some Native Americans believe it has several layers, and some Arabs (mostly men) believe that Heaven is inundated with 10,000 virgins. But for 14-year-old Suzie Salmon, Heaven is anything but what anyone us in mind.

For her, Heaven is “a perpetual yesterday” and includes reliving her junior high school days and not having to worry about being teased or bullied by her fellow classmates.

The only thing wrong with Suzie’s Heaven is that she is dead. Suzie is the sixth victim of her neighbor, Mr. Harvey, and was led to her untimely death in the winter of 1974.

Suzie now narrates her haunting tale from her version of Heaven.

In the beginning Suzie tells of her demise and of how Mr. Harvey lured her into a basement underneath a cornfield, raped and

brutally murdered her. With the media covering the recent string of child molestation cases and deaths of young girls, one would think such a grotesque subject would turn one off to this book.

But Suzie’s words work in this book. Instead of giving up hope and accepting Heaven's “perpetual” bliss, Suzie watches over her ailing family, tries to comfort them and awaits vengeance for her death.

Suzie tells of her family’s anguish through her own eyes, and lets the reader see how they cope with her death. Suzie’s father is obsessed with his daughter’s death and is constantly hunting the man who killed his child. Her mother retreats into her own world and tries to avoid the subject of her daughter’s death, while her brother struggles to accept the hole in his family. Suzie also watches over Lindsey, her younger sister, who is beginning to feel the void of not having Suzie by her side.

Amid this wonderful plot, Detective Fenerman is searching for Mr. Harvey

Title: “The Lovely Bones” Author: Alice Sebold Reviewer’s Rating:

out of 5 stars

and trying to foil his next plan. Of course, Suzie is looking at all of this from Heaven and desperately tries to intervene. Suzie is not angry, or vexed or hurt, she just wants to see her killer caught so that her family can move on. In the end, Mr. Harvey is caught, and justice is finally served.

The ending is a bit mushy.

Going by the earlier description of Suzie’s death, there should have been more when dealing with the capture of Suzie’s killer, but it was not there.

The only thing that didn’t feel right about this book was Suzie’s portrayal of Heaven. To infringe on a millenniums old concept of an afterlife is one thing, but when a writer tells an audience that Heaven consists of reading “Vogue” magazines and staying in junior high for the rest of eternity, they take it too far.

It’s almost as bad as saying Heaven is filled with Brittany Spears’ music and Eminem movies. Some readers might be receptive to Suzie’s portrayal of Heaven, but most will find it disturbing.

However, all in all this book is an easy read and the reader likely will feel a sense of hope and empowerment after reading this 288-page novel. It’s also interesting to note that the writer, Alice Sebold, was also raped while she was attending school in New York. It’s very interesting to hear her words on this matter and it makes reading this book even more worthwhile.

‘The Lovely Bones’ is an engrossing coming-of-age story that will bring its reader heavenly pleasure.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PAGE 7

Around Town

Fabian Cuellar Junior Psychology CD: “Eve-olution” by Eve Book: “Needful Things” by Stephen King Movie: “The Exorcist”

Linda C. Flores Sophomore International Business CD: “Border Girl” by Paulina Rubio Movie: “Clueless” Website: bebe.com

Jocabed Marquez Junior Physician’s Assistant CD: “Rojo” by Rojo Book: “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison Website: vogue.com

South Texas Shootout: The Ultimate Wildlife Photography Challenge Sept. 19 through Nov. 24 Place: International Museum of Art and Science Event: The South Texas Shootout features a multitude of photographs which use South Texas wildlife and landscapes as subject matter. Proceeds from the event benefit Valley Land Fund activities.

Phone: (956) 682-1564 South Texas Wine Classic Sept. 26 from 6 to 9 p.m.

Event: The South Texas Wine Classic will feature more than 2,000 different wines from over 280 wineries. Food, live music and silent auctions will also be featured. Proceeds from the event go to the Special Olympics of Texas.

Phone: (956) 631-4707 Valley Symphony Orchestra Sept. 29 Event: The Valley Symphony Orchestra will perform with special guest Dr. Haysun Kang at 4 p.m.

Kang will perform a number of piano works by various classical composers and Dr. Peter Dabrowski will provide musical commentary.

Place: McAllen Country Club Phone: (956) 393-2293

■ Band feature . . . . . 8-9 ■ Book review . . . . . . 10 ■ Culture Club . . . . . . 10

Internships provide broadcast students hands-on experience Students, news stations gain from internships

By JENNIFER TAPIA The Pan American First things first.

Students who are seeking a degree in broadcast journalism at the University of Texas-Pan American find it important to do internships while in college, so they can gain experience upon graduating.

According to Jack Stanley, UTPA professor, it is important for students to do internships so they can have hands-on experience before they graduate. Four students are currently doing internships in broadcast. The process has been going on for over 20 years, and it is a process where students find out what the job is truly all about.

“A lot of students have different perceptions on what their job is really going to be,” said

Stanley. “Until they get to work.

There is where they discover it is kind of different than what they thought it was.”

While students are doing internships, they also receive six hours of college credit, added Stanley. With the credit, students should get a variety of experience at the stations.

Diana Maldonado, assistant news director at KGBT-4, says they will not hire students as interns if they don’t receive any credit, because of corporate decisions.

“I had students apply in the past, but were unable to get college credit,” said Maldonado.

“So we had to turn them down.”

However, Quetzalli Prado, a junior who is majoring in broadcast journalism and is currently an intern at Univision, says she has enjoyed the opportunity and has gained experience.

“It’s very interesting and it’s going to help me a lot in my major,” said Prado. “I get to work with reporters and they are very understanding in whatever questions I have.”

Tricia Barrera, a junior who is majoring in broadcast journalism who is also starting an internship at Univision, plans to get as much experience as possible.

She stated she needs the experience because she plans to work for a large market during her career as a journalist.

At Team-4 News, students get to spend time in the news room unless they are interested in other departments such as promotions or engineering, added Maldonado.

In return, television stations also gain from hiring interns, Maldonado said, adding that they have the opportunity to teach students. She claims several employees have been doing this for two decades.

“We teach them a lot and get to spend quality time with them,” said Maldonado. “Even though it’s for three months, we always get someone to help them.”

“

It’s very interesting and it’s going to help me a lot in my major.

I get to work with reporters and they are very understanding in whatever questions I have.

- Quetzalli Prado, student

“

Arts & Entertainment

September 19, 2002

Upon graduating, students may be hired by the station they did their internship for. However at Team-4 News, Maldonado stated they recommend students get more experience in smaller markets, such as Laredo.

“We really want them to get real television experience,” said Maldonado. “That’s why we recommend them to work in other

places first.”

In the past, several students who did internships were able to get more experience at television stations because most of the departments were under the same management. According to Letty Valadez-Garza, news anchor at KRGV-5, she was the first intern to work with the teleprompter and studio camera during her internship at the station in 1982.

“I loved it,” said Valadez-Garza.

“I would take the reporters’ stories and revise them and put them together for the show.”

Valadez-Garza states she got hired at Channel 5 a year and half after graduating. She added that while she was working at Jones and Jones she met Peter Torgeson, who worked at Channel 5 at the time.

She told him she was interested in the business, so he then set up an interview for her with Rick Diaz who then hired her as a reporter.

Jenny Martinez, news director at Channel 5, states that interns are considered employees and are paid to do a variety of things, depending on their interests. If a student does a good job performance as an intern, they may be hired by Channel 5 depending on the station’s needs.

Valadez-Garza feels students should take advantage and learn as much as possible during the internship because news directors are looking for people who are willing to do anything and go beyond basic duties.

“I remember I would write stories and knew they weren’t going to use them,” said Valadez-Garza. “But I still did it anyway.”

Fair to show glimpse of graphic arts career Job Fair and Apple Computer Digital Art Show to offer internships, employment to students

By BELINDA REYES The Pan American The department of Graphic Arts and Career Placement services will host the first Job Fair and Apple Computer Digital Art Show on Monday, Sept. 23. It will take place from 1:30 to 5 p.m. at the Clark Gallery in the Fine Arts complex.

Career Placement services coordinator Susie Alvarez said the

idea came from an initial internship for a local graphic arts company.

“We received an internship with local companies, so I called Mr. Cuenco [Edwin, professor of graphic arts] and they were thinking about having a job fair,” Alvarez said. “So career placements cosponsored this event along with the Graphic arts department.”

Alvarez said the companies involved are Wacom Technology, Copy Zone, Architecto Media,

Britton’s Photo and Images, PDQ Printing, and Pulse Magazine.

University Relations, the Graphic design club, and the UTPA Ad Club will also have displays available.

Wacom Technologies will send two of its engineers to present an Apple Computer Art Show.

Speakers will include Dr. Rodolfo Arevelo, university provost, Dr. Rodolfo Rocha, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, Dr. Nancy Moyer, art department chair and Enedelia Kidd, director of Career Placement Services.

Rick de Julio, of Valley Advertising Federation, will serve as the special guest.

Alvarez said the basic purpose for the event is to help students who are interested in graphic design. The fair will offer students the opportunity to get employment and internship credits. Students are assumed to be in interview attire, but it is not mandatory because it is understood that students attend classes all day long.

“Students can bring resumes [and portfolios] to give the employers. We encourage and stress a dress code, because it is a job fair,” Alvarez said.

The job fair will take place on Monday, while graphic designs will be exhibited throughout the remainder of the week.

September 19, 2002

THE PAN AMERICAN

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September 19, 2002

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September 19, 2002

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September 19, 2002

THE PAN AMERICAN

Changes afoot in student help group Increase in number of committees will enable more student participation in planning

By ELIZABETH MARTINEZ The Pan American The University Program Board (UPB) just received a facelift. UPB officials met with the Student Union Advisory Board Tuesday evening and received approval for some necessary changes.

UPB, a departmental organization under the Union, provides co-curricular programs to university students, programs that are coordinated by students. Funding comes from the combination of student activity fees and student’s union fees. One of the changes made was the restructuring of the series of UPB committees, with the number increasing from five to 12 committees.

“We had five committees that produced all the events that UPB did, so it put a lot of stress on those committees,” said Greg Simmons, assistant director of the Student Union. “With the new structure, the events are divided into 12 committees, so each committee gets the chance to focus on one particular area of programming.”

A few examples of the new committees include The Muggers, who select talent and produce the monthly coffee house series held at the Student Union. Another is the All Stars, who produce talent shows, acoustic nights, battles of the bands and other forms of campus entertainment. The Hello World committee brings speakers and other informative events

to campus to promote diversity among students and increase awareness of global issues.

Simmons said each committee will consist of 20 members and the number of events produced will vary within each committee.

Another modification concerned the GPA requirement for committee chairs. The minimum requirement of 2.0 increased to 2.5.

“We raised the GPA for the simple fact that you need to be a student in good standing and if you’re borderline 2.0 and you’re trying to put on 10 events a year, that’s taking away from your classes,” Simmons said. “I wouldn’t want someone to get on probation because they are spending too much time here.”

Simmons, along with UPB President Gabriella Barajas, was busy this week conducting interviews for committee chair positions. There were over 200 applications from students who were interested in chair and general member positions. The student response was overwhelming to Simmons, who said that in the spring semester there were only 50 applicants.

“We have more than quadrupled in size just by adding some different things,” Simmons said.

Leadership and general member applications are available in the Student Union and at the UPB office. Interviews will be conducted until next week.

Blake Daniels/The Pan American

TALKING IT OUT Thomas Steinberg, director of the Naval Financial Management Career Center speaks to Daisy Jurado, a freshman accounting major, about company opportunities at the fall Career Expo. The Expo, which was held Tuesday in the Health and Physical Education II building, featured representatives from 36 businesses.

Page 5

THE PAN AMERICAN

September 19, 2002

Do you plan to participate in any of the Hispanic Heritage Month events?

Campus VO I C E

Roel Hernandez Electrical Engineering Sophomore Yes. It’s an opportunity to learn more about our heritage and to identify more with our culture, especially here in the Valley.

Melissa Villarreal Computer Tech Freshman I went to “El Grito” on Monday and I had fun despite having some reservations at first. They made good fun of Vincente Fox and I heard some good gritos. I might go to the other events if I have time.

Rocio Enriquez English Sophomore Yes, I would like to go. I’m Hispanic and I feel that there’s a lot more to my culture that I need to know. More Hispanics should go because they need to be aware of the predominant culture here in the Valley.

Juan Guerrero Business Administration Sophomore No. I won’t attend. I believe there is no more heritage around here anymore. We don’t even speak the language correctly.

Juan Grimaldo Business Administration Senior Yeah. I’ll go to find out information that would be pertinent to me or my friends.

Page 4

HERITAGE

continued from page 1

affecting Hispanics in today’s society.

The first week will feature lectures such as “Hispanics and Welfare” and “The Mexican Economy in Transition,” with speakers such as Professor Miguel Montoya from ITESM in Guadalaja.

“It’s really interesting to hear different speakers discussing international issues that really do effect everyone,” Rodriguez said.

According to Rodriguez, during the “The Mexican Economy in Transition” Dr. Montoya will be discussing the adjustments Mexico is trying to accomplish to rebalance their economy.

The rest of the lectures will also feature visiting speakers from universities such as Columbia University. There will also be musicians and an art exhibit, “Children of the Colonias Photography Through Our Own Lenses.” The exhibit, cosponsored by the UTPA art department and CLAS, features photographs taken by children living in colonias from different parts of Texas.

Students are encouraged to attend the lectures and celebrations because the variety of events are made to appeal to every student.

Cindy Cano, a senior majoring in communications disorders said that she thinks the month should be celebrated by all.

“I think it’s important to participate in these things since we need to know about every culture and heritage, but more importantly we need to appreciate our own,” Cano said. “We need to know about our history so we can know what we have gone through and look forward to a better future.”

SUMMIT

HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH EVENTS Thursday, Sept. 26 The Mexican Economy in Transition Professor Miguel Montoya, from the ITESM Campus in Guadalajara, at 10:35 a.m. in BA 213.

Health and Hispanics Professor Miguel Montoya, from the ITESM Campus in Guadalajara, at 10:35 a.m. in BA 213.

Thursday, Sept. 26 U.S.-Mexico Immigration Issues 2002 Dr. Jose Pagan, at 9:10 a.m. in BA 110.

Thursday, Oct. 3 Hispanics & Globalization Dr. Gilberto Cardenas, at noon in BA 110.

Hispanic and Civil Liberties Mr. Will Harold from the Texas ACLU, at noon in SBSC 101.

Thursday, Oct. 3 Hispanics in Politics in the New Millennium Dr. Rodolfo de la Garza from Columbia University, at noon in SBSC 101.

Hispanics and Voting Rights Dr. Jose Garza, from the Texas Rural Legal Aid, at 1:10 p.m. in SBSC 109.

continued from page 1

$15,000 from a bank.

“So we went over the different microloan programs that are available and that are also supported by the federal government,” Salazar said.

Another seminar at the business summit discussed tax credits for small businesses.

“There are actually a lot of tax credits available for hiring people that have been previously imprisoned or that are on welfare,” Salazar said.

Those who were not able to make it to the business summit but are interested in starting a business can call 316-2610 for more information.

“The purpose of the summit was to show people that starting a business and making it succeed is possible and we did this by including some of our mentors and protégés,” Salazar said. “From the response so far I think we are going to make this an annual event.”

September 19, 2002

SPORTS CLIPBOARD DeLeon Named Administrative Associate The athletic department has promoted Chris DeLeon to administrative associate. Athletic director William Weidner was pleased to announce DeLeon’s promotion.

“Chris has demonstrated the ability to run our front office in an efficient and professional manner.

We congratulate Chris on her promotion and look forward to her new efforts as she begins her new role as our administrative associate,” Weidner said.

Cross-Country Teams Compete at SWT The Cross Country teams competed at Southwest Texas State Invitational with the mens placing fifth and the women seventh last weekend. The Broncs scored 112 points, 12 ahead of the host Bobcats (124), and the Lady Broncs finished with 178 points.

Leading the team were Westly Keating finishing third overall with a time of 25:06 for the five-mile course and sophomore Claudia Rosas finishing 25th in the threemile course with a time of 20:07 for the Lady Broncs. UTPA assis-

with the FREE News Source of the Valley Read The Pan American every Thursday

Broncs Finish Ninth at Yale The men’s golf team finished tied with Harvard for ninth place out of 18 teams at the Macdonald Cup. The Broncs had a total score of 920 with Rhode Island finishing in first place with 881. Junior Ben Piper led the Broncs with a score of 226 for 54-holes while freshman Craig Berger finished tied for 32nd with a score of 230.

Team Announces Tryout Dates The men’s basketball team will be conducting a tryout session on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2002, at 3:30 p.m. in the Fieldhouse.

All students interested, please contact the basketball office at 381-2870 or stop by and talk to the coaching staff as soon as possible.

Those who wish to try out need to bring a copy of their transcripts by the basketball office and get with trainer Jim Lancaster regarding physical information before Tuesday, Oct. 1.

UPCOMING CROSS COUNTRY SCHEDULE DATE

GET INFORMED!

tant coach Doug Molnar was pleased with his runners.

“Westly ran a great race,” Molnar said. “Overall, our men had a good meet. On the women’s side, Claudia and Patty [Villarreal] both did a nice job in their races.”

Sept. 27 Oct. 12 Oct. 19 Nov. 2 Nov. 16 Nov 25

MEET • Texas-San Antonio Invitational • Texas A&M Invitational • Pre-Nationals (Indiana State) • Independent Championships • NCAA Regional Championsihps • NCAA Championships

LOCATION San Antonio College Station

Sports Staff Swami Records

Mike Gonzalez Sports Editor

Waco Terre Haute, Ind.

Mike Gonzalez: 18-14, .562 Greg Selber: 16-16,.500

Celeste Y. Tello: 1715, .531 Matt Lynch: 1814, .562

Staff Swamis Matt Lynch

Celeste Tello

Dr. Greg Selber

Editor

Reporter

Adviser

Carolina at Minnesota The Panthers have already surpassed total wins from last year, and Rodney Peete has done a good job, but the Vikings will be too much at home.

Vikings by 7

Matt

Celeste

Vikings

Vikings

Greg

Playing at home was never a problem for Dallas.

The road has been a different story, but I expect them to finally get over the hump.

Cowboys by 3

Matt

Celeste

Cowboys

Eagles

Greg

The Patriots are the hottest team and I don’t see them cooling down any time soon.

Patriots by 10

Celeste

Patriots

Patriots

Greg Patriots

N.Y. Jets at Miami

Matt

Celeste

Greg

Dolphins

Dolphins

Dolphins

San Diego at Arizona Junior Seau played a fantastic game last week.

The Chargers will go 3-0 for the first time in many years.

Chargers by 8 Chargers

Celeste

Greg

Chargers

Cardinals

Seattle at N.Y. Giants Give credit to the Giant defense against the Rams. They shouldn’t have a problem this week.

I’m still waiting for Holmgren to lose his job.

Giants by 6

Matt

Celeste

Greg

Giants

Giants

Giants

Cincinnati at Atlanta The Falcons come off two tough losses, but should get their first win on Sunday. The Bengals must regroup in a hurry.

Falcons by 7

Matt

Celeste

Greg

Falcons

Falcons

Falcons

Cleveland at Tennessee

Celeste

Greg

Titans

Titans

Titans

Indianapolis at Houston Payton Manning had a rough game last week, but I expect him to bounce back against the Texans.

Colts by 9

Matt

Celeste

Greg

Colts

Texans

Colts

New Orleans at Chicago The Saints have looked good thus far, they have a chance to take control of the NFC South. The Bears are lucky to be 2-0, they must play better Saints by 8

Matt

Celeste

Greg

Saints

Saints

Saints

Buffalo at Denver

The Dolphins start fast every year, and this season is no exception. The Jets will put up a fight, but Norv Turner has been aggressive in his play calling for Miami.

Dolphins by 6

Matt

Matt

Cowboys

Kansas City at New England

Matt

The Titans need more production from Eddie George if Titans want to make playoffs. I still don’t know who the permanent quarterback is in Cleveland.

Titans by 7

Vikings

Dallas at Philadelphia

Terre Haute, Ind. Corpus Christi

Page 13

Don’t be surprised to see the Bills go to another overtime game.

Bills by 3

Matt

Celeste

Broncos

Bills

Greg Broncos

Green Bay at Detroit Brett Favre is happy not to play at the Silverdome anymore, but will now have to worry about the new Ford Field.

Packers by 10

Matt

Celeste

Packers

Lions

Greg Packers

Washington at San Francisco Remember the pre-season game these two had last month. The ‘Skins will try to run the scoreboard again, but this time it won’t work.

Niners by 7

Matt

Celeste

Greg

Niners

Redskins

Niners

St. Louis at Tampa Bay Even though it’s early, the season may very well be on the line for the Rams.

Rams by 4

Matt

Celeste

Greg

Bucs

Rams

Rams

Open Dates: Baltimore, Jacksonville, Oakland and Pittsburgh

September 19, 2002

UTPA hoops teams return to airwaves Broncs, Lady Broncs to be broadcast again by local radio station

By CELESTE Y. TELLO The Pan American Monster Sports Radio coverage of the University of Texas-Pan American basketball games will continue for the third consecutive year; and for the second year selected women’s games will also be broadcast.

The games will once again be on KSOX-AM 1240, as station General Manager Lance Hawkins and William Weidner, UTPA director of athletics, announced in a Sept. 11 news release that coverage would continue.

KSOX Sports Director Jeff Koch believes that the relationship between the Raymondville-based station and UTPA is beneficial.

“It’s a great situation for the university and the station,” he said.

According to the news release, all of the men’s games will be covered and six of the women’s games will also receive coverage.

Tracy Anderson, head coach for women’s basketball, believes that radio coverage of the basketball games is great for community relations and recruitment of athletes.

“It’s definitely a huge advantage for us as far as recruitment goes,” she said. “It’s a great tool to show support and excitement for women’s basketball because not a lot of teams get coverage.”

Coverage of the women’s games is also important for the goals of the athletic program as a whole.

“It is our intention to become the Valley’s team, their program,” Weidner said. “This [broadcast] is great for people who are not conveniently located, they can at least tune in to keep up with the games.”

Keeping up with games will be easier for Bronc fans since Koch will handle the play-by-play for all of men’s broadcasts. Koch’s assistant, Mark Flores, will handle the play-by-play for the five women’s games originating from South Texas.

The broadcasts are expected to be exciting since both the men and women’s programs play tough schedules this season.

“All of our fans throughout the region will continue to have the opportunity to follow the excitement of UTPA basketball as both programs play impressive and challenging schedules,” Weidner said.

He believes that the relationship between Bronc basketball and KSOX is important for Bronc athletics.

“KSOX Radio is the premier radio station for sports

programming in the Rio Grande Valley,” Weidner said. “Our continued partnership with the number one sports radio station in the region cements our credibility in regards to UTPA athletics being a program that is on the rise.”

GM Lance Hawkins also believes that the relationship with UTPA is beneficial.

“Continuing our association with UTPA basketball is a no-brainer,” he wrote in the Sept. 11 news release. “Our partnership with the university is a major part of our local sports programming and image across the Rio Grande Valley.”

Listener feedback about the continuing broadcasts has been positive so far.

“During the talk show there wasn’t a lot of calls about the Broncs,” Koch said. “Now that we cover them, we get a lot of calls about them, people want to know how they’re doing.”

KSOX buys in to ESPN SportsCenter and has NFL football Sunday and Monday, including with the games of the expansion Houston Texans. The Dallas Cowboys are handled by KURVAM 710. KSOX also covers baseball the Houston Astros.

As far as local programming goes, the station has a Friday night high school football program where Koch gives, shares and receives scores and updates from reporters in the fields. Bronc basketball is also a large part of local programming.

“It’s [coverage] very important because it is a big chunk of our local programming,” Koch said.

“We’re always looking to have as much local programming as possible.”

QuickLOOK Who: UTPA Broncs and Lady Broncs basketball teams What: Every Broncs’ game both home and away, will be broadcasted live via KSOX Radio, select Lady Broncs’ contests will also be broaccast.

sports

Page 14

PROGRAM

continued from page 16

understaffed, but now in some cases positions are filled to the NCAA maximum. Volleyball head coach Dave Thorn joined UTPA in 1998.

Although Thorn has experienced the tough times within the program, he is thrilled to have a full staff at UTPA. “I think its great for us to be able to get more coaches,” Thorn said.

Beyond the certification, the athletic program developed a new compliance procedure seminar for all athletic personnel. All head coaches are required to participate in this program and it explains all rules and regulations of the NCAA. Weidner feels the compliance procedure seminar has helped coaches do their job accordingly and the results have been overwhelmingly successful.

“We have had no major violations or probation, and we’re fully certified,” Weidner said. “We’ve been audited by a number of parties and it’s been very positive. It’s important for people to know that we’re doing things the right way and that we’re having success. People should feel proud that we’re doing it correctly and within the rules.”

All student athletes have proper facilities that they can take advantage of, such as the new Student Athletic Academic Learning Center and study workshops that give all athletes a chance to do well in their classes.

According to Weidner, the athletes have responded very well to the programs.

In 1997, the athletes had a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of about 2.2, which was below, the GPA of the general student body at the time.

“It was clearly one of the lower grade point averages at the time in the country,” Weidner said. “We addressed that as a top priority.”

In a four-year stretch, the student athletes at UTPA went from being one of the worst academic groups to one of the best. According to Weidner, in the spring of 2002, student athletes had a cumulative GPA of 2.88, which was one of the best in the country.

“Now we feel our student athletes are among the leaders of this campus,” Weidner said.

“We’re very proud of that as.”

Men’s basketball coach Bob Hoffman, who’s been part of the UTPA staff since 1999, knows the importance of education and stresses it to his players.

“Our ultimate goal is to graduate our players and athletes,’ Hoffman said.

One program that has its athletes doing well in classes is the women’s golf team. According to head coach Barb Odale, the average GPA among players on her team is 3.1.

“I think speaking from our team, this year is

VBALL

continued from page 16

around to be competitive, especially since we’ve beaten them before,” Thorn said. “They had some injuries and that made it tough for them. I don’t know what their status will be, but we’ll just prepare like they’re going to be full strength.”

Thorn is not very familiar with Wyoming, however he knows the program is one of the best in the country.

“They are one of the top teams in the nation, so my guess is they can play some

ball.”

After this tournament, the Lady Broncs will play five of their next seven games at home, and Thorn feels his team will get over its current slump.

“They’re playing hard and aggressively,” Thorn said. “They’re working on the things that we need to work on and we’re improving every week. The record is going to start reflecting that. It’s a learning process and it takes time.”

the best since I got here and all my girls are graduating,” Odale said.

According to Weidner, USA Today published an article in the summer of 2001, recognizing UTPA athletes for their academic work which ranked them eighth in the nation out of approximately 300 schools. Weidner feels UTPA can still improve in the classroom and. he hopes the athletes will continue to raise their GPA’s .

“Our goal after the fall semester is cumulatively 2.9 (GPA), and we’d like to be above 3.0 after the spring,” Weidner said. “I think those are realistic goals.”

In a five-year-period, UTPA has hired superior coaches and recruited talented players that have not only uplifted the athletic program, but increased the program’s exposure within the community. The athletic department made history by broadcasting men’s and women’s basketball game on KSOX-AM 1240 radio. Last year, FOX-TV 17 broadcast a tape-delay replay of all home men’s and women’s basketball games.

“It was history in the making and we were excited about reaching out to the Valley,” Weidner said.

Last season, the average attendance was 3,100 for men’s game at the UTPA Fieldhouse, a 127 percent improvement from seasons past, and the largest average since 1990. According to Weidner, there were some contests that were over-capacity and tickets were hard to come by.

“We actually had to turn people away,” he explained.

Not only has attendance gone up for men’s basketball, but every sport has seen a growth in fan base.

“There has been a tremendous change and improvement in our attendance, but we still need to continue to build on that,” Weidner said.

The athletic department has also taken part in fund raisers that have helped UTPA enhance the program.

Last month, former men’s basketball coach Lon Kruger and Coca-Cola donated a record $100,000 each to the athletic department.

Weidner added that fund-raising efforts have increased by 500 percent.

“This is an ongoing thing that we work very hard at, and we need to continue to enhance in what we’re doing,” Weidner said.

In a span of five years, the athletic program has risen from the cellar to become one of the best in the country, and Weidner feels there’s more improvement to be had.

“Our goal is to be a nationally respected and competitive NCAA Division I program,” Weidner said. “Now we just need to continue to improve, but we’re enjoying the process.”

VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE DATE

OPPONENT

SITES

Sept. 20

Tulsa

Corpus Christi

Sept. 21

Texas Southern

Corpus Christi

Sept. 21

Wyoming

Corpus Christi

Sept. 26

Texas-Permian Basin

UTPA

Sept. 27

Texas Christian

UTPA

Oct. 4

Centenary

UTPA

Oct. 8

TX A&M Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi

Oct. 11

Alumni

UTPA

Oct. 18-19

Texas A&M International

UTPA

and Prairie View A&M

UTPA

Texas A&M-Kingsville

Kingsville

Oct. 22

September 19, 2002

THE PAN AMERICAN

Page 3

Greek women to solidify rosters Panhellenic Week marks first for UTPA, includes bid, philanthropy nights

By CRISTINA REYNA The Pan American

Sisters for life. That's what they say.

Members of UTPA sororities Delta Zeta and Sigma Lambda Gamma have been looking for a few good women, and they think they found them.

Members of the only two sororities on campus assembled with prospective new members last week for the first-ever Panhellenic recruitment.

“The purpose of Panhellenic is to give possible new members a chance to meet with existing members of both sororities, giving both the opportunity to promote their organization,” said Student Development Coordinator Christine Carruthers.

College Panhellenic associations are established on campuses where there are at least two group chapters. At least two sororities must be nationally recognized on a campus, and when Sigma Lambda Gamma recently became a colony, the second Panhellenic Council, next to Delta Zeta was made possible. The council is made up of 10 members including the four officers from each sorority and one recruitment counselor from each.

According to the National Panhellenic Conference Foundation, panhellenics exist to develop and maintain interfraternal relations. Through their all-sorority programming efforts, they promote scholarship, leadership development and dissemination of general information

important to women.

Two other interest groups will not participate in recruitment because they are not officially recognized sororities yet. Once the interest groups move to colony-status, they are eligible to participate in Panhellenic. As a colony, they are then entitled to try for chapter-status.

Panhellenic Night, which took place Sept.

5, gave candidates a first look at what sororities are all about, explaining the rushees Bill of Rights, Greek terminology and guidelines for the following week of activities.

Events Week-long events, minus Sept. 11, began last week with an open house Monday evening where the candidates got acquainted with the sororities.

Philanthropy night was held Tuesday to inform the young women of each sorority's platform. The Sigma Lambda Gammas, for example, advocate breast cancer awareness, and the Delta Zetas work with the speech and hearing impaired.

Thursday was skit night, when members of both sororities tried to win over the candidates with satire and song.

Announcements were made Friday night when candidates were informed of which sorority they were invited to, and bid day took place Saturday when the candidates chose which sorority they preferred to join.

The number of new members cannot be disclosed until the conclusion of open

Pollution solution

bidding, which continues this week for sororities that haven't yet met their quota of approximately 20 new recruits.

Defining factors The well-known Delta Zetas have dominated sorority life since they first gained chapter status in 1966, when UTPA was still known as Pan American University.

DZ traditions include a big sister-little sister relationship between old members and new members that have been paired off to help one another throughout the year. The sorority's turtle mascot represents the sorority's idea of camaraderie, representing the way the sisters 'stick their necks out for their friends.’

The newly-formed Sigma Lambda Gammas represent the largest Latina-based sorority in the nation and commit themselves to promoting the empowerment of women in higher education.

The SLGs, which are represented by a purple panther, promote cultural awareness, community service and social interaction.

Opportunities Student Development Coordinator Dana Garza said the sororities offer good leadership development as well as special bonds and friendships.

Delta Zeta President Mindy Gutierrez said sororities provide academic discipline because members must maintain a GPA of 2.5.

“It also teaches you time management between work and school,” she said.

Gutierrez joined the Delta Zetas in 1998 “to experience college life and have sisters to help me in all areas such as financially

and in communicating with people.”

To be eligible, candidates had to submit an application along with a $10 fee and transcript to the council. The young women must also be in good academic standing with the university.

“We look for someone who is outgoing and will get along with everyone,” said Panhellenic President Krystina Saenz.

Stereotypes Some sorority members believe MTV promoted a negative stereotype of sororities when the music television channel began airing a weekly reality TV show in June called Sorority Life, where six pledges go through the initiation process for Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi at the University of California-Davis.

“That show is not accurate at all,” Gutierrez said. “They promote alcohol and choose members based on ethnic background. We accept anybody.”

Saenz agrees, citing that sororities are “nothing like the way they are portrayed on TV.” “We don't treat our girls like that,” Saenz said, referring to an episode where the pledges are forced to move boulders. “That's [Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi] a local sorority.

National ones [like UTPA's] have more rules and are stricter.”

Both sororities at UTPA have anti-drug and anti-hazing policies, and all functions are dry due to an anti-alcohol policy as well.

Freshman pharmacy major Cristina Gonzalez said she wanted to join a sorority because her mother was a member at UTPA. “I wanted to follow in her footsteps, “Gonzalez said. “And it looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.”

Week’s events will spotlight ways community can contribute to cleaner environment

By NIKKI RAMIREZ The Pan American Throw your trash in the can and help keep your environment clean. You won’t be alone.

According to a recent article in the Monitor the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council (LRGVDC) is celebrating Pollution Prevention Week this week, followed by National Transit Week the first week of October.

This is an opportunity for individuals, businesses, and local governments to emphasize their pollution prevention activities. The original Pollution Prevention Week debuted in California in 1992 and became a national effort in 1995.

The LRGVDC will be providing information to the community on the importance of pollution prevention and transit week by advertising literature throughout the region’s public systems.

“We are doing public education outreach all month long,” said Grace Segovia, program administrator of the LRGVDC. Every day people contribute to some form of air pollution through their daily activities like driving to school or work. According to Segovia the LRGVDC is encouraging its staff to carpool to save on gas and pollution.

“We will have a booth at the transit station the first week of October and we are offering free bus rides October 3,” Segovia

said.

In the Rio Grande Valley alone, a large amount of pollution is derived from vehicle emissions, contributing directly to the air we breath.

The LRGVDC’s Rio Metro transit system has recently agreed to purchase two alternative fuel-powered buses. The Texas Department of Transportation has assisted the council with funding in an effort to help reduce pollution.

According to the article in the Monitor Richard Hinojosa, director of the Regional Planning and Services Department, said this is a great opportunity to promote our transit system and prevent pollution at the same time.

Chris Lash, program coordinator of Keep McAllen Beautiful stressed the importance of teaching children the effects of pollution.

“I’ve been going out to schools and talking to kids about litter prevention and how littering affects our environment,” Lash said.

Although Pollution Prevention Week and Transit Week focus attention on public transportation, the LRGVDC encourages all citizens to incorporate pollution prevention practices into daily activities year around.

In a related development, the Texas Adopt-a-Beach Fall Cleanup will take place from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 21 at the island.

Cristina Reyna/The Pan American

LUCIO LECTURES Sen. Eddie Lucio, D– Brownsville, meets with UTPA students from the HEP (High school Equivalency Program), and CAMP (College Assistant Migrant Program) to educate them about the Legislative process, Wednesday morning. The event was part of Legislators Back to School Week, a national event that began in 2000. State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa and State Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores met with students Tuesday morning.

PAGE 2

OPINION

letters

■

editorials

■

cartoons

2002 To the editor:

Celebrating 50 years 1201 West University, CAS 170 Edinburg, Texas 78539 (956) 381-2541 Fax: (956) 316-7122 http://www.panam.edu/dept/panamerican 51th Year – No. 4

Editor Matt Lynch mlynch@panam.edu

News Editor Cristina Reyna creyna826@aol.com

A & E Editor Ashley Brooks Magrew2@hotmail.com

Sports Editor Mike Gonzalez mgonzalez40@panam.edu

Graphics Editor Gabriel O. Hernandez gabo296@hotmail.com

Copy Editors Sunayna Mahtani and Belinda Reyes Layout Designers Ashley Brooks Mike Gonzalez Gabriel Hernandez Reporters Veronica Barrera Clarissa Martinez Elizabeth Martinez Nikki Ramirez Cesar Trevino Celeste Y. Tello Arianna Vazquez Advertising Dagoberto Perez Circulation Jesus M. Gonzalez Advertising Coordinator Juanita Sanchez Adviser Dr. Greg Selber

the PAN AMERICAN is the official student newspaper of The University of Texas-Pan American.

Views presented are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of the university.

Letters policy The Pan American gladly accepts letters from students, staff and faculty regarding newspaper content or current issues.

The Pan American reserves the right to edit submissions for grammar and length. Please limit submission length to 300 words. The Pan American cannot publish anonymous letters, or submissions containing hate speech or gratuitous personal attacks.

Letters are printed at the discretion of the editor and must include the writer’s name, class/title and phone number.

Readers with disabilities may request an alternative format of this publication at The Pan American business office.

For special assistance to attend any event listed in this publication, contact the coordinator of the event at least one week prior to the advertised date.

In the article "Crackdown on downloads coming" on the front page of the September 12 Pan American, there is a statement that "...university computers are installed with Labman, a software that tracks a student's activities online." Actually, Labman is not

capable of tracking a user's activities online. It only stores the user's account name, the computer's name, and the login and logout times. This information is used to monitor usage trends for capacity planning purposes and to justify funding levels to the university.

In cases where network security monitoring software detects unauthorized

NEWS

activity in the labs (such as hacking), logs from the security software may be correlated with Labman logs to help identify the source of the problem.

However, Labman has no way of tracking what users are doing while they are in the labs.

Anne Toal Director of Academic Computing

■ Pollution . . . . . . 4 ■ UPB Facelift . . . . 5

Safety training complete Dealt with handling hazardous materials

By ARIANNA VAZQUEZ The Pan American In an eerie coincidence of dates, a number of employees and students at the University underwent training to safely handle hazardous materials on Sept. 11. The UTPA contingent underwent Hazard Communication Training, which covered topics such as the use of hazard laboratory materials, container labeling, safe work equipment, and personal protective equipment.

A year after the terrorist attacks and subsequent anthrax scares, people who might be called upon to act under future instances went through the mandatory training. The training takes place once a month for all employees who are exposed to dangerous chemicals through inhalation, ingestion, skin contact or absorption. Employees from the

physical plant, laboratory, and housekeeping attended this month’s session.

The Hazard Communication Training is mandated by the Texas Department of Health, said Richard Costello, director of environmental health and safety. He added that both employees and students are instructed on more than just working with various chemicals.

"Employees have to attend prior to working with chemicals,” said Costello. “They learn about hazards in the work place and basic emergency response."

The training covers basic safety precautions employees must know, such as proper protection equipment (PPE), and the procedures on filling out the material safety data sheet (MSDS) with the proper use of correct chemical names.

"The Occupational Safety and Health

Administration regulates hard hats and other safety gear, or anything causing danger to [the employees] or anybody around them," said Celia Saenz, senior secretary of Environmental and Health Safety.

Students and teaching assistants are also required to take a hazardous training course, and the subjects in their training varied somewhat. Employees cover topics on a broader and more descriptive level, while chemistry and biology students are required to take a class, followed by a quiz, during their first freshman level lab course. This is done mainly to ensure student awareness of the harmful effects of chemicals.

"It shows you what you didn't know," said pre-med student Ivan Lozoya. "A lot of [people] don’t know what to do when something happens and think they only have to wear lab coats and goggles. There is more to know about protecting yourself from chemical hazards than that," he said.

Lady Bronc golfer walks winding path to UTPA Nanny-turned-college golfer leads up-andcoming team

By BRIAN CARR The Pan American When Daniela Cortes graduated from high school two years ago, she had two options.

She could take the educational scholarship offered to her in her Mexico and work toward her degree while remaining close to her mother and brother. Or she could elect to put off her education for a short while and pursue her dreams of becoming an LPGA golfer.

To Cortes, the choice was easy…Golf.

For the past two years, Cortes has been working to prove herself as a golfer. She began her quest to become a proven golfer at the local level.

“In Mexico there is a tournament every month,” Cortes said. “I played as much as I could.”

Her work efforts did not go unnoticed. In 1999, Cortes finished third in a national championship in Guadalajara. Shortly thereafter, she placed first overall in the

Central Mexico tournament.

Eventually, Cortes worked her way up the ranks, establishing herself as a top ten seed in the amateur Mexican golf circuit.

To make money during her educational hiatus, Cortes took positions as a nanny to families in the United States. This endeavor proved fortuitous because it gave her the chance to learn the English language while making money.

The various jobs also afforded her the opportunity to attend an LPGA tournament at Stanford near the Palo Alto, Calif. home of one of her host families.

“It was great,” Cortes said. “I want to be as good as them some day.”

Because of her tremendous success at the golf tournaments in Mexico, Cortes was invited to compete in the 2000 South Texas Junior Classic held in Harlingen. It was at this tournament that Cortes first caught the eye of UTPA Lady Broncs golf coach Barbara Odale.

“I was very impressed with Cortes when I first saw her,” Odale said “She was very long off the tee and she had great composure.”

Cortes finished fifth overall, but the lasting impression she left on Odale was probably her greatest

accomplishment of the tournament.

Now when asked about Cortes and her team in general, Odale’s face lights up with a jovial bliss usually reserved for the times spent bragging about one’s own children.

“This is the best team I’ve ever had as a coach here at Pan Am, and it’s probably the best women’s golf team in the history of Pan Am,” said Odale. “And as of right now, Cortes is my starter.”

Cortes committed to Odale and the Lady Broncs last May and has since relocated to the Valley from her hometown of Aguascalientes, Mexico. She now attends UTPA full-time and majors in international business.

In her first Lady Bronc outing, at the Lady Eagle Invitational in Denton, Cortes contributed to the best single-round score in the program’s past three years of competition play by recording a 79.

The accomplishment, a collective first round score of 312, was a difficult pace to keep, and the Lady Broncs stumbled to 10th place in the 12-team tournament.

The Lady Broncs next tournament is the three-day, 54hole Notre Dame Invitational from Sep. 27-29 in South Bend, Ind.

By SUNAYNA MAHTANI The Pan American Appointments are no longer necessary to meet the dean of College Arts and Humanities.

Dr. Rodolfo Rocha, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, will continue his tradition of Walk-in Wednesday, founded in 1999, at the University of Texas-Pan American.

Walk-in Wednesday’s will be an ongoing “event” for the remainder of the semester. “[Walk-in Wednesday] is held on Wednesday where students and faculty, particularly students, are free just to walk in without an appointment [to] visit and discuss anything they want to discuss," Rocha said. "There is no agenda, there is no forum."

Although it was originally targeted at students, Walk-in Wednesday gained popularity among faculty and staff as well.

Most students take advantage of the day to discuss academic issues, and others go to

chat with the dean on a personal level.

“It’s a good thing. I want them [the students] to come," Rocha said. "I’m pretty much student-oriented, I’ve always been. Students come first."

Rocha, who has been the dean since Fall 1999, believes students should get to know their college dean under all circumstances, and not only when academic problems occur.

"I think students should come and visit with administrators to see the dean is as simple as everybody else on campus," he said.

Rocha’s understanding of UTPA’s students derives from spending most of his educational and career experiences at the UTPA. He obtained his bachelor’s degree from Pan American College, and his master’s from Pan American University.

He earned his doctorate at Texas Tech, and ultimately returned to UTPA to teach.

Prior to becoming the dean in September 1999, Rocha was a history professor and the chair of that department.

"I’m a teacher first," he said. "I love the classroom, I [became] an administrator by

destiny."

Rocha’s love for the classroom has led him to teach Mexican American history at UTPA. However, his job as dean and professor does not end there, he also teaches the same Mexican American course at an extended UTPA campus in Starr County.

"This is my first semester doing it [teaching in Starr County]," he said. "I go on Saturday mornings for three hours [and] I love it."

UTPA is committed to teaching courses in Starr County. Rocha believes that people in that area have a need for UTPA professors to teach courses over there.

"It builds bridges between us and people in Starr County," he said of the extended campus.

Rocha believes that more administrators should be involved in teaching. He mentioned teaching enables administrators to keep in touch with students. Rocha anticipates continuing to grow professionally, while always being in a position where he can serve people.

"Pan American is the only opportunity that the people of South Texas have, to have opportunities in their lives, and I want them to have the best opportunities," he said.

Mike Gonzalez/The Pan American

FORE: Daniela Cortes works on her short game in practice.

Freshmen roomies set sights successful season exited about traveling.”

Boskovich started her tennis experience at the young age of 8. each year after that, ranking 25th in Northern California and number one on the age-18 Summer League teams in

By ARIANNA VAZQUEZ competition against teams from Los Angeles.

The Pan American “Laura is a very strong player [and] has a The Lady Bronc tennis team has two new very aggressive game. She has a strong serve members this season that should be a great asset and forehand, she is a very good athlete,” in the years to come.

Chapman said.

The new freshmen are Elysia Sloan of For Boskovich, the decision to come to Duncanville, Texas and Laura Boskovich of San UTPA was easy.

Jose, Calif.

“I decided to come to Pan Am because I love The new shining stars the weather, I like the are ready to start with coach and all the girls are their college tennis life really friendly,” I decided to come and are practicing hard to Boskovich said. start out well in their first “Texas seemed like a to Pan Am year at UTPA. pretty good fit for me. because I love the Sloan started playing Everyone is so friendly tennis when she was 12 and helpful here, that is weather, I like the years old, eventually what really captured my winning the school MVP heart,” she said. coach and all the her senior year at Being a freshman in girls are really Duncanville High School. college plus being a She finished that season tennis player is not easy friendly. with a 20-2 record and for anybody.

- Laura Boskovich, tennis earned an age-18 “With freshman you statewide Super never know, even if they Championship-rank. are the most talented “I found out about her from some high school player in the world, a lot of what freshman have coaches I know [that said] she was a good to go through is not [just] mentally adjusting to player and would be a good addition to our tennis in college, but the social side and the team,” said tennis coach Todd Chapman. “What academics of college,” Chapman said.

I like about Elysia is that she is a very athletic Chapman states he definitely likes what he player [and that] gives her an opportunity to has seen so far, though he cannot make any really reach her potential while in college predictions yet. tennis.” he said.

“What I like about both my freshman girls “I picked UTPA because I liked the location this year is their attitude. They’re both great and I wanted to be fluent in Spanish,” said girls that want to work hard, want to learn, and Sloan. About the upcoming tournaments she want to get better. I look forward to many years said. “The coaches keep us on our feet and I am with them,” Chapman said.

Freshman stand-outs make mark on women’s tennis

Rocha: Come on in and chat Arts and Humanities dean offers walk-in opportunities for faculty, staff, and students

Page 15

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September 19

sports

September 19, 2002

Arianna Vazquez/The Pan American

FRESHMAN FRIENDS: Elysia Sloan (left) and Laura Boskovich are two of the newest players on the Lady Bronc tennis team. Sloan and Boskovich, from Duncanville and San Jose, Calif., respectively, look to help the the Lady Broncs improve on last season’s 6-15 record.

NFL

FIRST NFL START: Detroit Lions quarterback Joey Harrington, 6-foot-4, will make his first NFL start on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.

Harrington was the third pick overall in this year’s draft and has high hopes to uplift the Lions, who are 0-2 so far. Harrington replaces Mike McMahon, who was a fifth-round pick last year, is 22-44 for 275 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. McMahon struggled to put points on the board and has been part of a 216 record going back to last year. Harrington signed a six-year deal worth about $36.5 million.

So far, Harrington has completed 7 of 18 passes for 52 yards and has a quarterback rating of 23.8. Last season, Harrington played for the University of Oregon and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting.

MLB

SANTIAGO BUMPED: San Francisco Giants catcher Benito Santiago was suspended for two games on Wednesday for bumping home plate umpire Mark Hirschbeck on Sunday.

Santiago was ejected in the ninth inning of a loss to the San Diego Padres along with manager Dusty Baker and pitching coach Dave Righetti. Santiago was fined

by Baseball Vice President Bob Watson. The Players’ Association appealed the penalty, meaning the suspension can’t start until after hearing before Bob DuPuy, baseball’s chief operating officer.

S PORTS

■ Cortes Feature . . . . . . 15 ■ Broncs on radio. . . . . . 14 ■ Staff’s swami picks . . . 13

Lady Broncs hit road for Classic The Lady Broncs come off a tough loss against Texas A&M-Kingsville, but look ahead to the Islander Classic.

By MIKE GONZALEZ The Pan American Los Angeles Lakers superstar Shaquille O’Neal once said, “Before you succeed, you must learn how to fail.” The University of Texas-Pan American volleyball team is experiencing the latter in hopes of someday enjoying the former.

UTPA’s volleyball team is in a rebuilding stage with a bunch of young and talented players. Thus far, the Lady Broncs have been spiked by elite competition such as Texas, Virginia, Xavier, New Mexico, and New Mexico State.

The task didn’t get easier Tuesday night when UTPA faced area foe Texas A&M-Kingsville at the Fieldhouse. The Lady Broncs played well but lost a heartbreaker 30-24, 21-30, 30-28, 33-35 and 15-13. Leading the way for UTPA was junior outside hitter Jaclyn Muszynski with 24 kills. Winker Cruz, junior outside hitter, also played well as she recorded 22 kills and 24 digs.

Freshman Katie Burke had an outstanding night and contributed with 67 assists and 21 digs.

Volleyball head coach Dave Thorn knows his squad had an opportunity to come away with a win, but is proud of the way the Lady Broncs hung in there and fought until the end .

“Both teams played very hard,” Thorn said. “There were charges and momentum going back and forth, but we’re improving every game.”

With the loss, the Lady Broncs dropped to 1-10 for the season.

This weekend, the team travels to

Corpus Christi to compete in the Islander Classic facing Tulsa (11-1), Texas Southern (1-10) and Wyoming (8-2). Thorn knows patience is the key to a rebuilding program.

“It’s a learning process, and it’s just takes time,” Thorn said.

One player who is learning the life of college volleyball is Stephanie Redd.

She is one of four freshman on the roster getting their feet wet in the pond of Division I volleyball. Redd believes she and the rest of the freshmen are starting to gel, despite what the team’s record might say.

“I think all the freshmen are coming together,” Redd said.

She understands the rebuilding stage, but as competitive as she is, Redd would rather have victories now, not the promise of wins to come.

When it comes to the Islander Classic, Thorn knows the task his team is in for. According to Thorn, the Lady Broncs’ first match against a talented Tulsa Lady Hurricanes squad will be a formidable challenge.

“They have a couple of good players,” Thorn said. “Most of their starting lineup is returning and we played them last year at their place.

They have a good middle blocker, a very athletic setter and run a quick offense.”

One team that is looking forward to playing UTPA is Texas Southern. The Lady Tigers fell victim to the Lady Broncs in UTPA’s lone victory this season. Thorn sees the rematch as a very intense contest.

“We always expect the second time

Grades, records on the mend after tough recent times

By MIKE GONZALEZ The Pan American It’s no secret the University of TexasPan American athletic program has come a long way over the years.

With the rise of My View attendance at sporting events, and the selection of the right personnel to guide all Bronc athletes in the right direction, the UTPA athletic program has made a number of

marked improvements.

But what is not readily known is how the step-by-step procedure took place, starting with the hiring of current Athletic Director William Weidner in spring of 1998.

When Weidner took over the athletic program, Bronc events were seldom packed and controversy controlled the athletic headlines at UTPA, especially with the firing of former basketball coach Delray Brooks.

Within the last four years, Weidner has been part of a staff that has uplifted the UTPA athletics program to a respectable level for a Division I athletes.

Although it has been a long road to travel Weidner is happy to be part of this remarkable achievement.

VOICE

Do you plan to participate in any of the Hispanic heritage month events?

September 19, 2002

An Inside Look: News ............................................2 A & E............................................7 ■ Sports ........................................16 ■ ■

CELEBRATE

T h e S t u d e n t N e w s p a p e r o f T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Te x a s - P a n A m e r i c a n

Business bash done

Page 4

STATE

Summit attracts prospective business owners ■ Ron Shamburger, 30, became the 26th person to be put to death in Texas this year. He was executed for the shooting death of Lori Baker, 20, of College Station. Shamburger broke into Baker’s home on Sept.

30, 1994 to steal money.

He was discovered in the bedroom by Baker and he immediately shot her in the head. Shamburger is the 282nd person to be executed in Texas since the death penalty was reinstated in 1982.

VALLEY ■

Mike Gonzalez/The Pan American

FLYING HIGH: Freshman middle blocker Stephanie Redd spikes a ball during practice. The Lady Broncs are on a four-game losing skid.

UTPA athletic program on the rise See VBALL page 14

THURSDAY

Campus

“We’re enjoying the process, and I think we’re an athletic program that our student body, institution and the community are very proud of right now,” Weidner said.

In the 1990s, UTPA was not a certified program and was on probation for a number of NCAA rule infractions. Weidner knew the dire straits the program was in, but believed he could help turn things around. Weidner’s first goal was to make UTPA a certified athletic program.

“I knew that when I accepted the position here, that was one of the challenges that we faced,” Weidner said. “It was one that I felt that we could address in a positive manner and we have.”

In July 1998, the athletic

department achieved full certification by the NCAA. Since then, UTPA has hired a full-time athletic compliance coordinator and has formed a compliance committee as well. Although it was a problem in the past, Weidner knew the importance of staffing a full-time compliance coordinator.

“I think that was part of the issue,” Weidner said. “It’s a very big job and in the past, it was a position where the individual didn’t have one.”

The athletic program now has 117 paid staff members and the program has doubled in size the last four years. Many coaching staffs and trainer groups were

See PROGRAM page 14

Texas State Bank broke ground Tuesday on a new 45,000-squarefoot office building on West University Drive.

The new branch, which is expected to open in June, will employ about 25 people and will include 10 drive-through lanes.

Additional locations will include two branches in the Valley, one in Progreso and one in San Juan.

CAMPUS ■

As part of the 75th anniversary colloquia from the department of psychology and anthroplogy, a discussion titled, “Acute Reactions to Sept. 11” will be presented by Dr. Etzel Cardena and Dr. Mark Winkel. The discussion will be held next Thursday in SBSC room 119 from noon to 1 p.m.

By NIKKI RAMIREZ The Pan American

Sunayna Mahtani/The Pan American

MARIACHI-CAS— Rarlene Garcia, a freshman CIS major, sings along with the rest of UTPA Mariachi Femenil at the Student Union Monday afternoon. The performance was in observance of Hispanic Heritage Month and Diez y Seis de Septiembre, the day Mexico began its independence movement from Spain.

Heritage honored

Monthlong celebration kicks off with festivities on campus, original holiday dates to 1968

By CLARISSA MARTINEZ The Pan American While students and staff at the University of Texas-Pan American were celebrating Diez y Seis de Septiembre Monday, they also began planning a series of events for what marked the first day of the Hispanic Heritage Month, ending Oct. 12.

The Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) is sponsoring several events that will celebrate and acknowledge the heritage that plays a major role in the lives of many residents of the Rio Grande Valley.

“With so many people in the Valley being Hispanic, we sometimes forget or just don’t know about our heritage,” said Roxy Rodriguez, a junior majoring in marketing. “Having events like the ones we are planning can remind everyone how special our culture is,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez is one of the many students assisting with the organization of lectures and presentations to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

The appreciation for the Hispanic culture was acknowledged in 1968, when Congress passed a law designating the week including Sept. 15 and 16 as Hispanic Heritage Week.

Twenty years after the establishment, the step

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Having events like the ones we are planning can remind everyone how special our culture is - Roxy Rodriguez

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PAGE 16

was taken to create Hispanic Heritage Month. The decision was approved by Congress and declared

by President Gerald Ford in 1988. The purpose of the month is to celebrate Hispanic culture with appropriate ceremonies and activities, especially those promoting the education of the Hispanic community and organizations concerned with the protection of human rights.

Every Thursday until the end of the month, the CLAS will be offering lectures relating to issues

See HERITAGE page 4

UTPA hosted the Rio Grande Valley Small Business Summit Tuesday Sept. 17, in order to help create opportunities for prospective businesspeople in the community.

The summit was coordinated by Esperanza Perez, project coordinator for Business Learning Information Networking and Cooperation (LINC).

“This was the first year we had the summit, but business LINC is part of a pilot project we started last year,” said Pedro Salazar, director of the Small Business Development Center.

According to Salazar, the summit is only one component of the pilot project; the primary component is finding mentors with protégés to help start a business.

“We’ve been helping people start businesses since 1982, and so far we’ve helped about 50 to 60 people,” Salazar said. “The idea was to match the protégé up with somebody who’s already in business and has had some experience.”

Since some small-business founders are uncertain where to turn for help, the business summit was a way for people to get all the essential information in one setting.

“We decided to stay with a linking concept and put different resources together in one place on the same day,” Salazar said.

The business summit consisted of five different seminars to help provide training for anyone interested in starting a business or for entrepreneurs already in business.

The five seminars topics were financing, preemployment screening, micro-loans for micro businesses, tax credits, and management and supervision.

“Financing a small business can be pretty tricky and one of the things the seminar covered was the different options people have,” Salazar said. “The financing options are to help people focus primarily on different government loan programs to help people get the money they need to start a business.”

The pre-employment screening seminar was developed as a plan to help employers screen out underqualified applicants during the interview process.

“When there is a small company, there are not a lot of sophisticated interviewing processes and a person just ends up hiring whoever comes in,” Salazar said. “So we decided to have a session on pre-employment screening, making sure the right person is hired.”

According to Salazar, micro-loans are for lower-income, individually-owned companies which have a hard time obtaining a loan under

See SUMMIT page 4