February 9, 2006

RGV high school football undergoes formation shift

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AMERICAN

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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

Korean professors visit UTPA

By JUAN GAUNA The Pan American For 13 days, Korean instructors Kim Young Su (“Robbie”) and Shim Jim Su (“Paul”) are switching their roles from teachers to students.

Kim Su and Shim Su are part of a group of 36 Korean instructors brought to the United States by the Korean American Education Commission to visit high schools and learn as much as possible about the English as a Second Language teaching methods in the United States.

“We are here to learn the teaching techniques used by American teachers in the ESL programs,” Shim Su said.

“We hope to learn as much as possible so we can go back to Korea and apply it in our schools.”

After observing teaching methods for a week in Austin, the 36 professors were assigned to different cities in the state. With the help of the Office of International Studies, Kim Su and Shim Su were guided to the University of Texas-Pan American.

They will be in the Valley for 13 days and will reside with retired English professor Yvonne Anderson in Edinburg.

UTPA has coordinated with Edinburg high schools so Kim Su and Shim Su can make daily visits to classrooms and observe how English is taught in local schools.

“We’ve worked with the high schools before,” Marilu Salazar, director

See VISIT page 11

February 9, 2006

Growing Pains

Building into the future

By LUKE KOONG The Pan American As students returned for another semester at University of Texas-Pan American, one thing glared brightly: construction taking over the northern landscape of campus. With the building of the new dorms and commencement on the Wellness & Recreation Center, the university has entered a growth spurt.

By HILDA LORIA The Pan American

PART TWO OF FOUR While those may be the only visible signs of a growing entity, more is going on in the background. Within the last two months, the university purchased 25 more acres. Mark Saenz, assistant to the vice president for business affairs, elaborated.

“Obviously, the reason we need it is because of the population growth of the university. As part of the campus master plan, we look at the current needs and where we’re supposed to go,” Saenz explained. “We want to make sure that we have the land in order to build the facilities that the campus will need.”

The master plan is a detailed report that has been put together by the UT System, the university and outside consultants. It determines what land and which assets UTPA has and how to maximize their use. Then it outlines and identifies lots around the campus for acquisition and discusses how to utilize them.

Although the purchase of these new lands will help the university, Saenz

Planet X: 10th planet bringing excitement

Joel de la Rosa/The Pan American IN THE WORKS - Construction of the new dorms continues off Sugar Road.

The building is part of UTPA’s master plan of growth for the next 14 years.

explained that their purposes are not set in stone. Development decisions will be determined by the university’s needs as they arise over the next few years.

“The master plan gives the institution a guide to base on, but the academic programs and the needs of the institution will drive the actual allocation,” Saenz said. “The master plan is just that though. A plan.”

PRIORITY ONE? A major and perennial need that will be a focus for land development is student parking.

Letty Benavides, director of auxiliary services, manages the shuttle bus

service for UTPA. According to her, the service, which started in the fall of 2004, was a direct response to growth.

“Dr. [Blandina] Cardenas saw the dire need for them. Students were complaining about the parking situation, so she called for a task force to be developed,” Benavides explained.

Currently, there are two buses in service, and two more are in the process of being purchased. Benavides hopes students will utilize the free service more, not only for their benefit, but to help diffuse the parking problems on campus.

Utilization of the remote lots and

See GROWTH page 11

In elementary school, kids are taught acronyms and songs to help them remember the nine planets. Teachers and parents, however, may be facing new challenges as a planet X could be added to the mix.

Astronomers at the Palomar Observatory near San Diego, Calif. first discovered a body in space beyond Pluto in early January 2005. The mass is now believed to be the 10th planet of the solar system.

“The reason it’s big news is because now that we have satellites in space which have telescopes on top of them, we can see a whole lot more,” said Jose Luis Cortez, a University of TexasPan American astronomy professor.

BIG NEWS? However, not everybody is beaming with excitement over the yet to be named planet.

“Science is not complete, so it is a reasonable possibility,” Dorothy Owens, a freshman physics and chemistry double major, said. “This [discovery] can either be viewed as a monumental happening or as interesting as yesterday morning’s coffee.”

Confirming Owens’ reaction, Cortez explained that looking for

See PLANET X page 11

Rodriguez appointed to interim provost post

By CLAUDETTE GONZALEZ The Pan American In the wake of University of TexasPan American Provost Rodolfo Arevalo’s appointment to the position of president of Eastern Washington University, President Blandina Cardenas has moved quickly to initiate the process of finding a replacement.

The first step in that process came

about Feb. 2, when Cardenas announced the selection of Ana Maria Rodriguez as interim provost.

“We are very excited about the appointment of Dr. Ana Maria Rodriguez,” Carol Rausch, assistant to the president, said. “I think she’s a wonderful choice. She brings with her a lot of experience. She’s very well qualified for the job.”

Rodriguez, formerly vice president of the Office of Undergraduate Studies, will begin work in the provost’s office March 1 and serve in that capacity while the president and a search committee conduct a national hunt for a permanent replacement.

“We are in the process of establishing a search committee,” Rausch said.

“We’re getting input from the Faculty

Senate.”

According to Rausch, Cardenas hopes to select a qualified person soon in order for that person to assume the position in time for the fall semester.

In the meantime, the position will be in Rodriguez’s hands.

“Most of what I will be doing will

See PROVOST page 11

RODRIGUEZ

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February 9 2006

OPINIONS UNPROTECTED TEXT

THE

What’s Love Got to Do With It?

1201 West University, CAS 170 Edinburg, Texas 78539

Sometimes a twinkle in her eye is just mascara

PAN AMERICAN (956) 381-2541 Fax: (956) 316-7122 http://www.panam.edu/dept/panamerican 55th Year – No. 18

Editor Claudette Gonzalez claudetteelena @gmail.com News Editor Sandra Gonzalez sandra_panamerican @yahoo.com A & E Editor Meredith LaGrone meredith_lagrone @hotmail.com Sports Editors Daryl Gonzales daryl_gonzales2002@yahoo.com Graphics Editor LyLony Cazares lylony@gmail.com Photography Editor Joel de la Rosa delarosa.joel@gmail.com Designers Brian Carr carr.ba@gmail.com Erika Lopez lopez475@yahoo.com Laura C. Gomez lm.gomez@yahoo.com Web Master Ed Martinez ed@inspiredmediaworks.com Reporters Adriana Garza Ana Ley Angela Salazar Claralexis Rios David Rodriguez Frank Calvillo Hilda Loria Jorge Hinojosa Luke Koong

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.

Maria Mazariegos Trey Serna Photographer Joey Cortez Translator Mercedes Cantu Adviser Dr. Greg Selber Delivery Anthony Pinal Thursday at Noon

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. Articles are written and published at the discretion of The Pan American newspaper. Should readers wish to submit story ideas to the editor, please allow two weeks for processing.

By DAVID RODRIGUEZ The Pan American Although I’m sure you followed it closely and already know all about it, there was an international cephalopod conference in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, last week. Many scintillating topics were covered.

Among them was the alarming proliferation of anti-squid themes in nautical movies, the debate over whether to use tartar sauce or cocktail sauce with calamari, and overarching societal misconceptions that there is a parallel between diarrhea in humans and ink in squids.

However, one topic in particular fogged more glasses and bunched up more lab coats than any other. The topic, of course, is sex. Giant squid sex, to be specific. Marine biologists are now practically apoplectic over new findings that suggest that giant squids are not cannibals as previously thought. The prevailing wisdom, if there can be such a thing on this topic, was that giant squids fed off each other, literally. This belief was bolstered in 1999 when parts of a giant squid were found in the stomach of another squid caught off Tasmania’s west coast.

But now, after thorough research and analysis that essentially involved night-vision binoculars and copious amounts of Teddy Pendergrass, these voyeuristic marine biologists are now claiming that it is bizarre sexual habits of giant squids that has accounted for their previous erroneous assumptions. It seems that female giant squid, in the throes of In

an article on ABC News Online, New Zealand based marine biologist Steve O’Shea, assured us female squids mean no harm.

“It’s not intentional cannibalism, it’s certainly inadvertent,” said O’Shea.

Sounds like love to me. Which brings me to my point, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and whether you want it or not I’ve got advice for both men and women, whether they will be together or alone.

You would think Valentine’s Day would be a pretty straightforward thing for couples. Plan to do something with the one you love or like or whatever passes for a relationship these days; then do it. But like life, love, and giant squid sex, it can be rough. Valentine’s Day is fraught with pitfalls and perils and as much as I wish I could outline them all for you, I can’t. If I could, I’d probably have plans. But what I can do is give you the major ones.

Men, your first task is to ascertain what sort of evening your special lady will enjoy. This is trickier than you might think. Roses and dinner and all the clichéd accoutrements of a romantic evening, while they might be fine and dandy on television, don’t always work in real life. For some women, that sort of thing might become oppressive or too much.

What you may find to be poetic beauty in tradition, some women may find to be lame, unimaginative mush. I can’t specifically tell you which way to go on this one, I can only warn you to give it some thought. One more thing though, once you’ve made your decision, stick to it steadfastly.

Valentine’s Day, of all days, is not the time to be indecisive or blasé.

Women, if your dude is planning something, even if it’s the lamest thing you’ve ever heard of,

take comfort in the fact that he’s trying and don’t make it tougher on him.

Even if he shows up at your door with a six-pack of Milwaukee’s Best and announces you’re going to the cemetery, give it a shot because you at least care. Understand that there is a lot of pressure on your guy to pick an activity that precisely fits the level of intimacy he thinks you feel. And Lord knows he isn’t going to ask you what that level is.

For you single men out there, you have a few options that come with varying degrees of self-respect. But let’s face it, diamond commercials and Hallmark television specials will make sure if you are single on Valentine’s Day that self-respect will be nowhere in sight. For my money, your best bet is to embrace the whole thing. Rent a movie. Now I know what you are saying. “That’s your answer for everything.” True….so? Specifically, I’d rent Tombstone. Its got men who are men, heterosexual love between them, guns, and Billy Bob Thornton gets backhanded. Trust me on this one.

You’ll feel better. But if you don’t want to go that route you can always forfeit any shred of dignity you have and call an ex-girlfriend as a shot in the dark unless we share an ex-girlfriend, in which case her line will be busy. I will be speed dialing all of them simultaneously. As well as their

friends. And their friends’ friends…

Women…what can I say? The Lifetime Network is there for you.

Simply put your arms around a big bag of popcorn and laugh at how hilariously you fit the stereotype.

Watch a movie starring Meredith Baxter Birney about a mother of two who must save herself and her children from her abusive ex-husband while also falling in love with the dark Frenchman with brooding bedroom eyes and a taste for cooking and giving footrubs while also closing a killer deal at work that will finally get her the respect she deserves in the workplace. Or, if that’s just too on-the-nose for you please do yourself a favor and go to http://www.brawnyman.com/innocentescapes/indexbroadband.html. It is an awesome site that features the Brawny Man. You know, the corporate shill for paper towels who is oh-so-masculine and also caring. On this site you can pick three different encounters with the Brawny man who will do his best to show you his sensitive side but never ever lose one beefy ounce of masculinity.

So if you’re freaking out about what to plan for Valentine’s Day, or worrying about what’s planned for you, or dreading the day altogether just keep one thing in mind. At least you aren’t a sexually deviant giant squid.

Please send all giant squid sex tapes to me at davideric@gmail.com

LETTER TO THE EDITOR This past spirit week was a visible success that started over on the quad art and followed into the spirit filled crowd at the men’s and women’s basketball games.

However, the students of UTPA have been accused of displaying too much school spirit. That’s right, as my organization and I were cheering on the Broncs’ basketball games with our

home made noise makers we were chastised and abused by random UTPA faculty on accounts that we were too loud. Too loud, too much school spirit? That’s ridiculous! The whole purpose of the free admission into the Bronc basketball games is to attract the maximum number of student fans as possible, and a section of fans with Bronc fever is too much for

the UTPA faculty too handle. We were threatened, and verbally abused and were nearly thrown out on several occasions by a skinny man in a out of style, neon green shirt, along with his “yes men” minions. However, we determined to give our Basketball team what they deserved and lo and behold...both the men and women were victorious. We must stand up

against the backwards mentality of the school spirit Nazis that deny our freedom to cheer on OUR school.

Together, the student body and our UTPA athletics will be victorious...GO BRONCS!!!

John Tamez Junior philosophy major Brother, Phi Kappa Theta fraternity

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Crime update . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

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Political faceoff . . . . . . . . . . . 5

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Valley’s Sephardic ties come to light

By MARIA ALEJANDRA MAZARIEGOS The Pan American The story of the Valley’s Mexican ancestry is familiar to most in the region, but not many know about the roots of Sephardic Jews in South Texas history.

According to the Weslaco Museum, many people on both sides of the border have Sephardic Jewish ancestry. As a result, many local traditions, especially culinary ones, have Sephardic influences. There are two main offshoots of Jewry: Sephardic and Ashkenazi; the latter is made up of Jews with Eastern European roots, while the former have

Spanish and northern African roots.

It was in 1492 that the persecution of Jews in Europe and Asia culminated in expulsion and forced them to leave and migrate to other countries.

The Jews were trying to escape persecution from the government during the Spanish Inquisition. Therefore, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella gave land grants to certain residents in order for them to relocate to what is now northern Mexico and South Texas.

“I know people are really doing a lot of research on that topic,” Audrey Hazlett, Weslaco Museum coordinator, said. “And locals are quite interested in learning

about their roots from the Jews.”

One who is well informed and has done research on this topic is Donna Cain, a University of Texas-Pan American alumnus, founder of the Gamma Beta Phi honor society and author of “The Bible Code in Plain Text.”

“In 1996, I visited a local rabbi to discuss some of my Jewish questions.

He advised me that many Valley local residents came to him late at night to discuss their suspected Jewishness,” Cain said.

According to her, many Hispanic families have traditions that they follow

See SEPHARDIC page 12

Ronald Claflin/ The Pan American HISTORY LESSON - Temple Emanuel, located at 1410 Redwood in McAllen, is one of a few Jewish worship centers in the RGV. While Jewish ties can be dated to the late 1400s, they are still a relatively unknown part of the religious history.

Students, faculty come together in honor of Black History Month

By ANA LEY The Pan American

Sandra Gonzalez/ The Pan American CHATTING - (from right) Amy Becker-Chambless, Karen Jette, Thomas Pearson, and David Anshen discuss “The Color Purple” Tuesday evening.

Tax breaks aid maquilas

By CAROLINA SANCHEZ The Pan American Thanks to the booming economy of the border, maquiladoras in Mexico during the 1990s were successful. But due to the lack of incentives starting in the late 1990s, investors and companies started leaving México and going to other countries, such as China and South America, where they were welcomed with lower tax costs.

As a response to that, México has once again put itself in competition by offering more tax incentives for companies, in hopes of attracting more companies and keeping the ones they currently have.

Despite the incentive, some are displeased, saying the effort is too little, too late.

“In my perspective, the Mexican

government has not done anything to keep the maquila industry in Mexico,” Rafael Granja, general manager of Corporacion DELINC, said. “They took off all the incentives during 2000 and the maquillas decided to go to other countries where the prices are lower.”

Some of the most important maquilas are the ones on the South TexasMexico border because of the economy, according to John Sargent, a University of Texas-Pan American professor of international business.

“Reynosa is the fastest growing city in México and also the Valley is the fastest growing area of the U.S. This obviously shows the relationship between these two areas separated by a river,” Sargent said.

According to the latest Instituto Nacional de Estadística Geografía e Informática (INEGI) statistics, Mexico

See TAXES page 12

In celebration of Black History Month, the University of Texas-Pan American Library hosted a special screening of the film “The Color Purple” Tuesday evening at the Library Media Theatre.

The film, a 1985 Steven Spielberg production, is an adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel depicting the life of a black girl growing up in the early 1900s who is physically and mentally abused.

After the movie, David Anshen

and Thomas Pearson partook in a discussion over issues ranging from the differences between the novel and its film adaptation, the overall messages the two convey, to the sociopolitical issues they both touched.

“Alice Walker attempts to show the degree in which women, particularly black women, were exploited during this time,” said Anshen, a professor in the UTPA English department who specializes in film studies. “There is much more detail in the novel, for obvious reasons, and Spielberg seems to have more or

less produced more of a feel-good film, which is also understandable because this is what he specializes in.”

Anshen feels that while the movie does touch on the issues of racism and sexism, it does so in a very lighthearted manner.

“Racism was ignored for the most part in the film,” he noted. “The way Walker portrays it is in a much more brutal manner.”

Amy Becker-Chambless, an English professor currently working on

See HISTORY page 12

‘Freakonomics’ explained

By VICTORIA RODRIGUEZ The Pan American When most people think of economics, the first thing that comes to mind are interest rates and stock market fluctuations – both of which have much to do with public policy and politics and not just pure math. In fact, economics students and professors nationwide often focus on that aspect of the economy.

However, a new book is challenging that approach, suggesting a more mathematically based approach.

“Freakonomics,” by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, focuses on the research aspect of economics and abandons the policies that drive it.

Now, many professors and students across the nation are using “Freakonomics” as a way to learn how

to focus on the reasons why certain things happen in the economy.

Alberto Davila, head of the economics department at the University of Texas-Pan American, said that in “Freakonomics,” the authors suggest that economics should be studied “the way that detectives study puzzles.” “[This way] economists can better learn how to choose a policy that would help solve the problem,” Davila said.

There are differing opinions on which is more important - the policy aspect of economics or the mathematical side.

Marie T. Mora, a UTPA economics professor, believes that whether or not a student finds the policy of economics important often depends on their goals for the future.

“It depends on what the student

See FREAKONOMICS page 12

www.barnesandnoble.com ‘FREAKONOMICS’ - ‘Freakonomics’ argues that a math-based approach to teaching economics is better than the traditional policy-based style. While many universities have picked up the method, UTPA students and faculty have their doubts.

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NEWS

February 9, 2006

Local police report crime-rate decline

By ANA LEY The Pan American Following the city of McAllen’s reported 12 percent decrease in crime activity in 2005, Edinburg police are hard at work compiling their crime report, due to be released to the public soon.

“We’re still gathering all our stats, but we’re almost done,” Quirino Munoz, Edinburg chief of police, said. “We’re evaluating our November/December reports…we don’t have a set date yet, but it’ll probably take us a couple of weeks or so.”

Munoz said that while the outcome is not definite, there was probably an overall drop in crime activity for 2005, compared to the prior year. He anticipates

a decrease in larceny rates but an increase in motor vehicle theft, rape, and murder rates.

“We’ve had instances of rape reported a lot more than we did in ‘04, and I think this is because people are now a lot more encouraged to report things,” he commented. “It’s like the stigma’s more relaxed now, thanks to public awareness.”

The city of McAllen takes public awareness very seriously according to Victor Rodriguez, McAllen’s chief of police.

“We report to the public monthly, and we meet monthly to discuss our crime rate--it’s just common practice for us,” Rodriguez said.

McAllen’s annual crime report was released Jan. 20. Rodriguez says that timeliness is very

important to them.

“This is just so we get our information out to the public as soon as possible,” he explained.

While Edinburg’s rape and murder offenses are expected to increase, this is not an uncommon trend. In McAllen, there was a 100 percent increase in murder volume rate and a 54.8 percent increase in rape volume rate.

“We can’t really do much to prevent cases like murders and rapes, because the victims often know the perpetrators,” Rodriguez explained. “What we concern ourselves with the most is public awareness and educating the community about it.”

James Loya, University of Texas-Pan American assistant chief of police, agreess.

“There isn’t much you can do about murder if the intent is there,” Loya said. “At UTPA, we’ve been real, real lucky not to have had any cases of murder reported.”

STAYING SAFE Loya said the officers try to encourage students, especially those who live on campus, to come forward whenever they see this type of criminal activity. The department sponsors a special prevention unit that puts out information on violent crimes.

Through workshops, activity sessions, and presentations, officers on the force hope to reach out to students so that they can know how to report a crime if

the need ever arises.

While the UTPA 2005 crime report won’t be available to the public any time soon, Loya said that last year, no sex offenses were reported. In 2004, one rape case was reported.

“Theft also went down,” he added. “Last year, 73 instances of theft were reported on campus, while 85 were reported in 2004. Motor vehicle theft frequency has also gone down, with 13 reported cases in 2004 and 7 in 2005.”

However, the assault rate has increased, with 13 cases in 2005 and 11 in 2004. In addition, there have been two more cases of burglary in 2005 than there were the year before.

“Our numbers aren’t ready yet, but the deadline for us to submit it [the annual crime report] to the public isn’t until October 2006,” he said. “But from the looks of it, the overall crime rate appears to have either gone down, or stayed steady...even in cases where numbers have gone up, it doesn’t seem significant.”

Students can access crime logs for the years 2003-2006 on the UTPA Police Department Web site, www.utpa.edu/police. In addition, says Loya, students may view the 2004, 2003, and 2002 crime reports.

“As soon as we get the one for 2005 ready, 2003-2005 will be up there,” he explained. “We’re required by law to have the last three years up there for the public.”

Sexual harassment a problem for campuses

By ADRIANA GARZA The Pan American According to a recent national study, sexual harassment on college campuses is still a growing problem. But this rise is different from what the headlines about the subject would normally suggest. This time, cases on college campuses has increased because of sexual harassment between students.

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) Educational Foundation examined all aspects of sexual harassment even to go as far as the numbers who have admitted to committing the act. Fifty-one percent of male students and 31 percent of female students admit to harassing someone in college. The majority of them -59 percent- say they only did it because they thought it was funny.

Esther Miramontes, a junior computer information systems major, can recall several incidents of

sexual harassment, but one stands out from the rest.

She had simply been hanging out with her friends when some men she didn’t know started making comments about her. They talked about her breasts and buttocks and even tried to kiss and hug her.

“It made me feel uncomfortable because I don’t like those kinds of games,” she said. “It made me feel bad because I don’t know how to dress or how to be with them because I don’t want to receive that kind of aggressions.”

NUMBERS ON UPSWING Nearly two-thirds of undergraduate college students have admitted to being sexually harassed, according to an AAUW Educational Foundation study. Sexual harassment can often keep students from having a normal college experience. Both male and female students can be sexually harassed, but female students are more susceptible to fear, self-consciousness and embarrassment.

It happens daily among college campuses, whether it is verbal or physical. At the University of Texas-Pan American, it gets reported an average of five times a year, according to Esmeralda Guerra, equal opportunity/affirmative action officer and ADA coordinator.

“I’m not going to say it’s a rising problem,” Guerra said. “As a matter of fact, I’m going to say it has decreased.”

According to a national study by the AAUW, only seven percent of students said they reported an incident to a faculty member or other college employee. More than half of these students would like their college or university to offer a confidential, Web-based method for reporting sexual harassment complaints.

The most important thing to do if one finds oneself in a compromising situation is to report it.

That way if it is on file and an investigation takes place, as studies show, the alleged harasser will be less likely do it again if challenged.

Male and Female harassment If the university takes no action when incidents are reported and the situation occurs again, the university could become liable for any action taken against the victim.

“Communicate to the person clearly that the conduct is unwanted,” Preston Henrichson, an Edinburg lawyer specializing in civil trial law and personal injury said. “That’s the most important thing you can do because if you just get embarrassed and don’t say anything about it, then that person may not understand clearly that you don’t like it and don’t want it to happen.”

On alert: New report says identity theft rampant in Texas

By NAYELLY BARRIOS The Pan American University of Texas-Pan American freshman Javier Morales anxiously walked into the bank to open up an account. The accounting/finance major has always been very careful about how he manages his money and was looking forward to talking to his banker. Little did he know that he was about to run into a “situation.”

“I inquired about opening a bank account at First National Bank. I found out that I couldn’t because of certain accounts that I supposedly owed

on,” said Morales. “So I looked into it and found out that some other person had used my identity.”

This stranger had used his social security number to open an account and had over-drafted.

Morales then “owed” hundreds of dollars.

According to a new Federal Trade Commission report, this is happening more and more. In fact, Texas ranked No. 4 last year among all states for identity theft. San Antonio, Dallas and Houston were among the top 10 cities with the highest rates.

Identity theft occurs when an individual gains access to another person’s personal information.

They then proceed in their criminal activity by using this information to get bank loans or to open credit card accounts under someone else’s name.

John Darcy, assistant professor of accounting at UTPA who has done extensive research on the subject, explained that there are two main parts to identity theft. One is lost or stolen credit cards, the other is e-commerce.

“The real explosion in identity theft has come with the Internet and the drastic increase in Internet commerce, plus the ability of very, very brilliant people to figure out ways to gain your information.”

He cautions people who buy online to make

sure it is a credible site before making any purchases.

“The question is, ‘how good is the security?’

There’s two ways that it gets compromised. One is, you get brilliant people who hack into it. Two is you have insiders,” Darcy said. “The very secure systems are pretty good at keeping the hackers out; but they’re not so good at the insiders.”

Darcy said that it is never good to give your social security number or credit card number in an e-mail message, even if they claim they need to update your information. It is always better to go directly to the home web site.

February 9, 2006

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Young Democrats unite for cause

By SANDRA GONZALEZ The Pan American With local elections just around the corner, the Young Democrats Club is doing its part to inform students about the candidates.

One way members are doing this is by holding forums, where candidates for a certain position come to the University of Texas-Pan American to plead their cases before the students.

The most recent one, held Tuesday, was between the combatants for the district clerk’s office.

“We had three candidates, so time was stretched. One of the candidates was kind of boring,” said Tony Martinez, YDC treasurer and a junior political science major.

Though the club was hopeful about student turnout, it ended up being a little bit of a disappointment with only about 20 students attending.

“There was something going on at the quad so that took some students. So people-wise, it wasn’t too good,” Martinez said. “I don’t think it was as good as the other one, but it was pretty good.”

The “other one” he referred to was the forum held Jan. 31 between 92nd district court judge nominees Eric Cardenas Jarvis and Ricardo Rodriguez.

Martinez says that the events have helped even him, a self described “news junkie,” become

more informed about the candidates.

“You get to know them, you get to hear it from the candidates themselves,” Martinez said.

“Like last week, I had never met Eric Jarvis, and I got to hear him…hear his side. It helped me make up my mind.”

According to Maricela De León, president of YDC, that is exactly the purpose of the forums.

“In essence, it’s voter awareness and voter participation,” said De León, a junior finance major.

“Right now, students don’t think very positive of politics, in general. They have to find a way to view these individuals as citizens who want to help the community for the greater good.”

YDC is also doing its part for the greater good by giving students a chance to register to vote when they come to the forums. So far, Martinez says they’ve registered about 50.

“That’s pretty good. We’re not just trying to focus on bringing them into the club, we’re trying to bring up the voter registration,” Martinez said. “We get nothing out of it, but it helps the community.”

Before they help the community, however, YDC needs help getting students to the forums. For that, they are looking to the faculty.

“If we had professors announce the events, or allow them to do it for extra credit, we’d have a big turnout,” Martinez said.

But De León believes that the motivation

Sandra Gonzalez/ The Pan American A GREAT DEBATE - Maricela De León looks on Jan. 31 as Ricardo Rodriguez, candidate for 92nd District Court judge, speaks at the Young Democrats Club political forum. Also in attendance was opponent Eric Cardenas Jarvis.

should not come purely from extra credit.

“I know that at some of our events of the past we had some say ‘well, we wanted to be here because we’re getting extra credit.’ In a way, that’s okay, but we want for them to get involved because they themselves have it in them to want to be there,” she said.

The next forum will be at noon on Feb. 16 in room 101 of the SBS building and will include speeches from state representatives Aaron Pena, Veronica Gonzalez, Rene Olivera, Jim Solis, Ryan Guillen, and Armando Martinez. Please e-mail YDC at UTPAyoungdems@yahoo.com for further information and forum dates.

Eric Cardenas

JARVIS vs Ricardo

Jar vis Experience: Rodriguez: “As soon as I got my license I got to work. I’ve represented individuals in all types of cases. I’ve defended criminal cases in federal court, district court. I’ve told everyone from the beginning, go down to the courthouse, make a public request and compare the experience. It’s a serious job for a well experienced person.”

Jarvis: “You’ll come back in ten months and say ‘Your honor these ten people are ready to plead’…and just like that you have ten cases. That’s why it doesn’t say anything if you have 1,000 cases. ”

RODRIGUEZ 92nd District Court race heats up

THE ISSUES: “Compadre” system: Jarvis: “A trial judge is charged with the responsibility of treating every single person who walks through that courtroom with dignity and respect. They are entitled to be treated fairly. In regards to a person’s political affiliation, party wise, it does not and certainly should not come into play. Whether they are a witness, a litigator, an attorney, or even just a spectator, everybody who walks in to that courtroom should be treated fairly. I firmly believe unless there are some drastic changes in government, we are going to continue to enjoy a very negative reputation county-wide. Something needs to be done to effectuate that change.”

Rodriguez: “People seem to think that if one knows another person that that person will be treated more fairly than the other individual. To me, it’s about doing the right thing and treating people the same. Everyone is on the same level. It’s not about treating better because they’re more rich or more poor, everyone should be treated the same despite their financial position. When you just treat everyone the same across the board whether it’s a political person or not, you follow the law the way it should be followed.

It should be applied to everyone.”

Rodriguez Personal e xperiences that helped shape their philosophy on fairness: Rodriguez: “I was born and raised here in Edinburg, Texas. My mom had me when she was just 16, my dad was 17. We had to struggle through life. We were migrants. My parents are still migrants. They still go up north to work. I never forget where I came from. Those things instilled a lot of values: pride, fairness, and honesty.

Jarvis: “Having to be raised in a single parent home and having to take on some very adult responsibilities early on, it really showed me how to treat people with dignity and respect.

We were, very often times, on the receiving end. We needed a helping hand. I know what it’s like to be on stamps, I know what it’s like to need government help, I know what it’s like to get free lunches at school and I know what it’s like to be prejudged. Because of that difficult upbringing, I know precisely how people want to be treated and should be treated.”

Page 6

EN ESPAÑOL

February 9, 2006

México ofrece incentivos para mejorar la economía Por CAROLINA SANCHEZ Traducido por MERCEDES CANTU The Pan American En los años noventas, las maquiladoras tenían mucho éxito gracias al boom económico de la zona fronteriza. Debido a problemas de falta de incentivos, los cuales empezaron en los finales de los noventas los inversionistas, junto con las compañías, dejaron a México para irse a otros países como China y América del sur. Estos países ofrecían menos impuestos.

Ahora México se encuentra de nuevo dentro de la competencia, ofreciendo más incentivos de impuestos para las compañías. México espera atraer nuevas compañías como asimismo mantener aquellas ya instaladas.

Comoquiera, algunas de ellas están a disgusto con los incentivos de impuestos, argumentando que es muy poco y muy tarde.

“En mi opinión, el gobierno Mexicano no ha hecho nada por mantener la industria de las maquilas en México,” dijo Rafael Granja, director general de la corporación DELINC. “Se llevaron todos los incentivos durante el año 2000, y las maquilas decidieron ir a otros países donde los costos son mas bajos.”

Algunas de las maquilas más importantes son las de la frontera de Texas-México por su economía, de acuerdo a John Sargent, profesor de negocios internacionales en University of Texas-Pan American.

“Reynosa es la ciudad de crecimiento mas rápido en México, asimismo el Valle es la zona de mayor crecimiento en los Estados Unidos. Esto explica la relación de dos áreas separadas por un río,” dijo Sargent.

De acuerdo a las estadísticas de el Instituto Nacional de Estadística Geografía e Informática (INEGI), México perdió aproximadamente 166,000 trabajos desde Octubre 2000 hasta Noviembre del 2000, muchos de ellos en la frontera.

Ciudad Juárez tuvo muchas perdidas de trabajo, pero gra-

Joel de la Rosa/The Pan American INCENTIVOS - El gobierno Mexicano está ofreciendo incentivos para atraer el negocio de maquiladoras al pais. La foto arriba es de Kohler Company, una maquiladora de Reynosa.

cias a que el estado de Chihuahua dio incentivos a las compañías, la ciudad ha podido recuperar dichas perdidas.

Comoquiera el estado de Chihuahua ha tenido una estable reducción de fuerzas desde el 2000. Por otra parte Reynosa ha experimentado un incremento de 27,281 trabajos en cinco años.

La pelea por maquilas es de gran competencia ya que son una de las mayores fuentes de empleo para las cuidades en las que se hospedan, siendo así una excelente base de economía, de acuerdo a Miguel Gonzáles, profesor de manufactura de UTPA. Las plantas generan trabajos, los cuales generan una serie de beneficios para el área, así como para el país,” dijo González.

“La economía del país esta relacionada en todos los aspectos, pero de seguro cada planta que escoge a México para establecerse es una gran oportunidad de crecimiento.”

El problema es que las plantas ya no escogen tanto a México como antes. La importación en México subió a un 7.9 porciento en el ultimo año, mientras que China incremento un 25.9 porciento.

Granja cito la vasta diferencia en los beneficios de los trabajadores que aumentan los gastos de las compañías.

“En México la calidad de los productos es notable en comparación con China por ejemplo, por que México le ofrece mas servicio a los empleados, donde obtienen mayores beneficios como seguro de gastos médicos, facilidades para tener una casa,” dijo Granja. “Esto les da mas seguridad para ir a trabajar y una mejor calidad de vida, así harán un mejor trabajo.”

Los incentivos empezaron en los anos ochenta, pero como fueron creciendo los negocios, los incentivos empezaron a bajar.

Las ofertas varían entre estados, pero recientemente una de las grandes compañías se instalo en Chihuahua gracias a sus generosos incentivos.

Electrolux, quien producirá grandes congeladores y refrigeradores para los mercados Norte americanos y latinoamericanos, tiene su planta en Greenville, Mich. Después abrió en Juárez, generando aproximadamente 3,000 empleos. El incentivo estatal que Chihuahua ofreció fue de $500,000, pero la compañía invertirá $100 millones, así que los $500,000 que Chihuahua ha invertido serán recuperados durante el primer mes.

“Por ejemplo, si Electrolux genera 300,000 trabajos, y cada empleado consume 300 dólares al mes, durante el primer mes recuperaran la inversión,” dijo González.

Pero Granja dijo que estos acuerdos no son del todo fiables como aparentan ser.

“El acuerdo que Chihuahua tiene con Electrolux es de tipo diferente, es un acuerdo privado entre el estado o la ciudad y la maquila,” dijo Granja. “Estos acuerdos no son muy buenos ya que si el gobierno cambia el acuerdo puede llegar a perderse.”

A pesar de las criticas, González dice que hasta los mas mínimos beneficios de las plantas será una ganancia que vale la pena para todos.

“Cuando una planta se establece en una ciudad, los proveedores vienen al área y esto genera mas empleos,” dijo González.

“Es una cadena que nos trae mucho beneficios, no solo a México sino a nosotros también.”

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A&E

“Brokeback Mountain” . . . .8 & 9 Delight Cafe. . . . . . . . . . . .10 “A Million Little Pieces”.. . . . . 10

UTPA professor takes art to Mexico Lenard Brown’s work showcases struggles of migrant workers and immigrants

By TREY SERNA The Pan American The Progreso Art Gallery is a place for artists from northern Mexico and South Texas to share their artwork with a growing and diverse culture.

The gallery, located in Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas, Mexico, is aimed at expanding the region’s local contemporary art while participating in a diverse exchange of artwork on a national and international level. Admission is free.

“My family and I fund the project.

Everyone helps clean, paint and prepare for the artist’s reception. My brother keeps the Web site current, and I install all the exhibits,” Jesus de la Rosa, the gallery curator, said. “It really is a notfor-profit space without the red tape that comes with any other type of funding. It’s independent and a different attraction for the city of Nuevo Progreso.”

Lenard Brown, a University of Texas-Pan American art professor, has an exhibit on display in the gallery that represents human migration and dislocation. It’s titled, “Ellis-I Loaned: Transmigration through the Southwest Corridor.”

“Basically, it started with a series dealing with the type of displacement migrant families face. Then it started to branch out into a subseries of the series; so that’s when I came up with the great migration series,” Brown said.

“It’s dealing with the Afro-Americans migrating

from the southeastern part of the United States to the North and the people living here in South Texas dealing with Mexican-Americans who are along the border or in Mexico migrating into the United States.”

The artwork, which took roughly a year to make, consists of images such as railroads, road signs and people all transferred onto the surface of road maps. The portraits are hung on a thin, string fiber with clothes pins.

According to Brown, the clothes pins and string were used to give a natural, organic vibe and to represent the connection of migrants and how they move around so easily. The exhibit itself is easy to put up, take down and move to a completely different location, which enhances the theme of transmigration.

“It shows how these people move around and how these working class people tie America together,” Brown said, whose display has been stirring up quite a buzz with visitors who’ve attended the gallery.

“The reaction toward the exhibit has been great,” de la Rosa said. “People are excited and have been visiting the gallery daily and leaving very positive comments. They eagerly await the artist reception so they can get a chance to meet and converse with the artist.”

Brown’s loyalty to art shows in his work, but according to him, it’s something important and natural that involves everyone.

“No one takes art that seriously. It’s kind of like breathing. No one takes air seriously unless

Lenard Brown HANGING ART- Professor Lenard Brown of the UTPA art department has a special showing of his art at a Nuevo Progreso gallery. The art features faces superimposed with maps.

they don’t have it,” Brown said. “Basically, the two most human things people do is practice religion and create art. Art is a manifestation of religion: animals don’t practice religion or make art because it requires a higher level of thinking.

Religion and art precede everything else because that’s what made us human. We know so much about our past civilizations because of the art that was left behind.”

Brown has been teaching at UTPA for six years and has been able to share his love and knowledge of art with his students.

“He’s kind of funny sometimes but when he teaches, you really learn a lot. He’s very interesting and he knows everything,” senior art education major Onedia Aceves said. “I think his work is pretty awesome. It has this different cultural value than most of the other stuff you see here in the Rio Grande Valley.”

Brown’s exhibit will be on view until Feb. 25. The Progreso Art Gallery is located in Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas, Mexico at Ave. Benito Juarez, #142-Altos. For more information, call 011 52 (899) 937-1078.

Graduate student’s art brings West Texas south

By ANGELA SALAZAR The Pan American It is hard to realize how even though modern culture has grown in leaps and bounds people still look to the past to help form the future. Oscar Flores Martinez, a student at the University of Texas-Pan American, is having an exhibit focusing on sculpture to gain his master’s degree in fine art.

In order to do so, he must exhibit his work in a

Ronald Claflin/The Pan American MASTER ART- Oscar Martinez’s show is displayed in UTPA’s Clark Gallery.

gallery setting for his professors and the viewing public to see.

“They have a final,” said Patricia Ballinger, gallery director at UTPA. “This is the best of what they have done, and they should have enough work to fill up the space.”

His unique blend of everyday materials is not only personal to Martinez but should resonate with almost every person from Texas.

In a recent statement, Martinez said, “My artwork is a reflection of growing up in rural West Texas. Memories flood my thoughts and greatly impact my recent work.”

Most of Martinez’s work is an assemblage, meaning a combination of collage, sculpture and even paintings. His use of everyday materials gives it a real feeling.

“The process of constructing an assemblage results in a dynamic interpretation of the way the brain retains information, which, like our multi-layered, fast-paced precarious lives, demands a place in the visible world,” said Martinez.

Each piece of artwork has its own unique style and meaning. One of the pieces, “Pollito,” or “little chicken,” is a mixture of a small chicken coop that houses live chicks in the gallery. Although that might seem common when one looks into the actual coop, the back of it is covered in different collage-type materials, appearing as though it might have been decorated by the chickens themselves.

With the use of mundane materials such as bottle caps or even something as ordinary as onions, Martinez makes his statement about the past and how it still holds up today.

“A lot of the imagery I use is stuff I grew up around,” said the West Texas native about his art.

“The old wood or the metal siding, it’s things I have seen growing up. The old houses and the old barns litter the landscape there.”

Another piece “What it must have felt like,” holds a very personal meaning to Martinez and helps him think about the time his parents met.

A simple, worn piece of a wooden floor lies bare except for a pair of old black shoes with cotton

stuffed into them. To the right of the shoes is a rustic-looking ironing board and an old iron with a picture of the Virgen de Guadalupe painted on the bottom.

“My mother and father met in the Panhandle way back in the early ‘60s,” he said “They met because both their families used to pick cotton up there, and I just wondered what it was like when they were together.”

Throughout Martinez’s three years at UTPA, he has been influenced by artists and professors alike. He says one of his main influences was Professor Lenard Brown, who commented on his student’s master’s project.

“His work reflects his growth,” he said. “Such growth is one of the primary missions of our program. We are trying to produce visually literate professionals that can help be a cultural and humanizing voice in our community.”

The art exhibit is open to all at the Clark Gallery, located at the fine arts complex, on the UTPA campus. All are welcome.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Page 8

February 9, 2006

Story by: Frank Calvillo Designed by: Roy Bazan

In 1961, 20th Century Fox released “The Children’s Hour,” a movie starring Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn. The black and white film told the story of two elementary teachers at an all-girl school who are accused of being lesbians after a troublemaking student starts a rumor. Soon, both of the women’s lives fall under scrutiny, and their friendship is questioned.

February 9, 2006

Considered racy and scandalous for its day, “The Children’s Hour” was a critical and commercial hit receiving nearly half a dozen Oscar nominations and is now considered to be a classic.

Presently, it appears as if history is repeating itself with the current romantic drama “Brokeback Mountain.”

The tale of two cowboys who embark on a secret 20-year romance has been the talk of the film world for months and has received its share of accolades. Surpassing “The Children’s Hour,” “Brokeback Mountain” is receiving much more attention.

Ed Cameron, an English professor who teaches an introductory film class at the University of Texas-Pan American, believes that it’s the way the subject is dealt with in the two films that makes the difference. “‘The Children’s Hour’ deals with homosexuality in a deviant manner, whereas ‘Brokeback Mountain’ is treated as a homosexual love story,” he said.

Currently holding strong as one of the top 10 films in America, the journey to the screen for “Brokeback Mountain” has been a long one.

The source material for the film originated from the short story of the same name by Annie Proulx, which appeared in The New Yorker in 1997 and later in her collection of short stories titled “Close Range: Wyoming Stories,” released in 2000.

After acquiring the film rights the same year it was published, Universal Studios recruited famed novelist Larry McMurtry - who had penned the classic novels “The Last Picture Show,” “Terms of Endearment,” and “Streets of Laredo” - to adapt the literary work for the screen.

McMurtry agreed and, along with his writing partner Diana Osana, turned in a finished draft at the end of 1997.

For reasons unknown, however, Universal temporarily shelved the project.

Finally in late 2002, still unsure of what to do with the film rights to “Brokeback Mountain,” Universal sent the project to Focus Features, a subsidiary of the studio.

The task at hand after that was to find the right director to guide the project.

Notable directors Gus Van Sant and Joel Schumacher, whose resumes had included “Good Will Hunting” and “A Time to Kill,” respectively, both showed interest, but nothing came to fruition.

Finally, Oscar-nominated director Ang Lee was announced as the one to bring “Brokeback Mountain” to the screen.

Lee’s resume, including such films as “Sense and Sensibility,” “The Ice Storm,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” and “Hulk,” was also impressive.

With a film budget of $14 million, considered modest by Hollywood’s standards, production on “Brokeback Mountain” began in early 2004 in New Mexico and Canada, with filming lasting until the end of August.

Almost immediately, news reports began to surface.

Dubbed “the gay cowboy movie,” the movie was rumor-ridden from the start. Articles speculated about a variety of subjects including the explicitness of the film’s sex scenes, actress Anne Hathaway’s topless scene with Jake Gyllenhaal, and director Lee supposedly barring writer McMurtry from the set.

Finally, nearly a year after production wrapped on the film, “Brokeback Mountain” made its debut at the Venice Film Festival in the fall of 2005, where it was warmly received.

The film was given its first release in a mere five theatres in early December 2005 and made nearly $500,000 in its first weekend, a record for the highest per-screen gross of any non-animated movie in history. In mid-December it was released to other cities and was eventually given a nationwide release.

As soon as the film was released the awards begin to pour in.

“Brokeback” took home top prizes from such organizations as the Boston Society of Film Critics, the New York Film Critics, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Board of

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Review.

However, the celebration of the film’s success was cut short when it became known that the owner of the Megaplex at Jordan in Sandy, Utah, where the film was scheduled to be released in early January, abruptly pulled it from the scheduled lineup of films.

The reason for the decision was attributed to the sex scenes between Gyllenhaal and co-star Heath Ledger and the prospect of them being too much for moviegoers.

Several days later it was reported that a theatre in West Virginia had also decided not to show the film.

REACTIONS TO BACKLASH Luis Munoz, owner of the Cine El Rey theatre, believes banning the film is a wrong move.

“Commercially, it’s a mistake,” he said. “Some theater owners feel films should be just about entertainment, not content. I disagree.”

Munoz, whose theater wasn’t given the chance to show the controversial move due to the fact that it was given to the bigger cinemas, praised “Brokeback Mountain.”

“It’s a good film that’s done well and based on reality,” Munoz said.

These actions, needless to say, have left many in the gay community saddened but not surprised, as senior Javier Cavazos, a gay student at UTPA, stated.

“I think it’s awful. Theater managers are only concerned about profit,” said the 24-year-old. “I mean, I can see why some straight guys wouldn’t want to see it, but really I can’t think of why the average person wouldn’t want to see this movie. It’s just a childish fear.”

Cavazos, who is majoring in broadcast journalism, believes that the message “Brokeback Mountain” sends is an important one.

“The story the movie tells makes people realize what gays and lesbians have to go through,” he said. “It also shows that anyone can be gay.”

Despite the praise, Cavazos did manage to find a minor fault on the film’s part.

“The only thing I didn’t like was their first sexual experience because I felt there was a little predatory aspect to it,” he said.

An anonymous female gay student at UTPA believes the film’s location and time settings to be important aspects of the film.

“If you go up to places like that, you see that they aren’t very open-minded,” she said. “It’s even more taboo because it took place in the ‘60s, and it was about cowboys.”

It is perhaps for this reason that the film is being treated differently than other Hollywood films dealing with gay themes.

Besides “The Children’s Hour,” other mainstream Hollywood films have been released in the past with main characters that happen to be homosexual such as: “Torch Song Trilogy” (1988-New Line Cinema), “Long-time Companion” (1990-MGM, Oscar nominated), “Jeffrey” (1995-Orion), “In and Out” (1997-Paramount Pictures, Oscar nominated), “Kissing Jessica Stein” (2000- 20th Century Fox) and “The Hours” (2002-Paramount Pictures, Oscarwinning).

However, none of the above films has received the kind of attention that “Brokeback Mountain” is receiving, and some, such as UTPA’s Cameron, believe the reason for this is due to the way the subject is presented in the film.

“It’s a film that puts homosexuality on stage in a different way and deals with it in a very direct fashion,” he said.

UTPA students Mike Zavala and Angela Gibson, who are both heterosexual, see the film as not just a milestone for the gay community, but for film.

Page 9

“It’s totally changing the way we see film,” said Zavala.

Gibson, a sophomore psychology major, agreed and added, “It gives you a different perspective. It has enduring love that you don’t see in straight films, which is kind of ironic.”

Zavala, a graduate education student, admits that his initial reason for viewing the film can be attributed to the buzz surrounding it. However, he found himself not knowing the direction the film would take.

“I didn’t know what to expect or what to think,” he said.

“But in my opinion, its one of the greatest love stories ever presented on the screen.”

Gibson also believes the aspect of love in the film to be one of the film’s strongest points.

“Its one of those films that gives you a different perspective on what love is and the different types there are,” Gibson said.

On Jan. 31, when nominees were announced for the 78th Annual Academy Awards, “Brokeback Mountain” garnered a total of eight nominations, more than any other film.

The day before, it was reported that the low-budget film had grossed over $80 million at the box office.

Regardless of how many gold statuettes the movie takes home, “Brokeback Mountain” has definitely earned a place in cinematic history.

Alt. lifestyle films hit box office There is more than one film garnering Oscar buzz this year.

Besides “Brokeback Mountain,” two other films, “Transamerica” and “Capote,” are attracting attention due to storylines with characters living alternative lifestyles.

“Transamerica” tells the story of a pre-operative male to female transsexual who embarks on a journey with a son he never even knew existed.

“Capote” is a true life account of bestselling author Truman Capote’s research for his famous novel “In cold Blood.”

Both films were made with very modest budgets and well known actors.

With all three films released within the space of a few weeks, the question is, ‘how do they relate to each other?’

For moviegoer Elisa Hilliard the answer is obvious.

“I think they are all connected in a sense because they show the disenfranchised. Capote was homosexual and ‘Transamerica’ has a character that’s on the margin of society,” she said. “There’s the common connection of alienation.”

The buzz around these films, although on a considerably smaller scale than that of “Brokeback Mountain,” is difficult to overlook.

“I want to see them,” says Angela Gibson, a sophomore at the University of Texas-Pan American. “I especially want to see ‘Transamerica’ because it’s about someone who is becoming who they feel they were meant to be all along.”

Although all three films are scoring big with nominations at award shows, some believe that the accolades are for different reasons.

Ed Cameron, a professor who teaches an introductory film class at UTPA, said, “‘Capote’ is a biopic which deals with issues of Capote’s own life whereas ‘Brokeback Mountain’ deals with the director’s choice as to what to project on the screen.”

Cameron furthered his point. “‘Transamerica’ and ‘Capote’ are being seen as great ‘acting films’ whereas ‘Brokeback Mountain’ is being noticed for its thematics.”

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Page 8

February 9, 2006

Story by: Frank Calvillo Designed by: Roy Bazan

In 1961, 20th Century Fox released “The Children’s Hour,” a movie starring Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn. The black and white film told the story of two elementary teachers at an all-girl school who are accused of being lesbians after a troublemaking student starts a rumor. Soon, both of the women’s lives fall under scrutiny, and their friendship is questioned.

February 9, 2006

Considered racy and scandalous for its day, “The Children’s Hour” was a critical and commercial hit receiving nearly half a dozen Oscar nominations and is now considered to be a classic.

Presently, it appears as if history is repeating itself with the current romantic drama “Brokeback Mountain.”

The tale of two cowboys who embark on a secret 20-year romance has been the talk of the film world for months and has received its share of accolades. Surpassing “The Children’s Hour,” “Brokeback Mountain” is receiving much more attention.

Ed Cameron, an English professor who teaches an introductory film class at the University of Texas-Pan American, believes that it’s the way the subject is dealt with in the two films that makes the difference. “‘The Children’s Hour’ deals with homosexuality in a deviant manner, whereas ‘Brokeback Mountain’ is treated as a homosexual love story,” he said.

Currently holding strong as one of the top 10 films in America, the journey to the screen for “Brokeback Mountain” has been a long one.

The source material for the film originated from the short story of the same name by Annie Proulx, which appeared in The New Yorker in 1997 and later in her collection of short stories titled “Close Range: Wyoming Stories,” released in 2000.

After acquiring the film rights the same year it was published, Universal Studios recruited famed novelist Larry McMurtry - who had penned the classic novels “The Last Picture Show,” “Terms of Endearment,” and “Streets of Laredo” - to adapt the literary work for the screen.

McMurtry agreed and, along with his writing partner Diana Osana, turned in a finished draft at the end of 1997.

For reasons unknown, however, Universal temporarily shelved the project.

Finally in late 2002, still unsure of what to do with the film rights to “Brokeback Mountain,” Universal sent the project to Focus Features, a subsidiary of the studio.

The task at hand after that was to find the right director to guide the project.

Notable directors Gus Van Sant and Joel Schumacher, whose resumes had included “Good Will Hunting” and “A Time to Kill,” respectively, both showed interest, but nothing came to fruition.

Finally, Oscar-nominated director Ang Lee was announced as the one to bring “Brokeback Mountain” to the screen.

Lee’s resume, including such films as “Sense and Sensibility,” “The Ice Storm,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” and “Hulk,” was also impressive.

With a film budget of $14 million, considered modest by Hollywood’s standards, production on “Brokeback Mountain” began in early 2004 in New Mexico and Canada, with filming lasting until the end of August.

Almost immediately, news reports began to surface.

Dubbed “the gay cowboy movie,” the movie was rumor-ridden from the start. Articles speculated about a variety of subjects including the explicitness of the film’s sex scenes, actress Anne Hathaway’s topless scene with Jake Gyllenhaal, and director Lee supposedly barring writer McMurtry from the set.

Finally, nearly a year after production wrapped on the film, “Brokeback Mountain” made its debut at the Venice Film Festival in the fall of 2005, where it was warmly received.

The film was given its first release in a mere five theatres in early December 2005 and made nearly $500,000 in its first weekend, a record for the highest per-screen gross of any non-animated movie in history. In mid-December it was released to other cities and was eventually given a nationwide release.

As soon as the film was released the awards begin to pour in.

“Brokeback” took home top prizes from such organizations as the Boston Society of Film Critics, the New York Film Critics, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Board of

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Review.

However, the celebration of the film’s success was cut short when it became known that the owner of the Megaplex at Jordan in Sandy, Utah, where the film was scheduled to be released in early January, abruptly pulled it from the scheduled lineup of films.

The reason for the decision was attributed to the sex scenes between Gyllenhaal and co-star Heath Ledger and the prospect of them being too much for moviegoers.

Several days later it was reported that a theatre in West Virginia had also decided not to show the film.

REACTIONS TO BACKLASH Luis Munoz, owner of the Cine El Rey theatre, believes banning the film is a wrong move.

“Commercially, it’s a mistake,” he said. “Some theater owners feel films should be just about entertainment, not content. I disagree.”

Munoz, whose theater wasn’t given the chance to show the controversial move due to the fact that it was given to the bigger cinemas, praised “Brokeback Mountain.”

“It’s a good film that’s done well and based on reality,” Munoz said.

These actions, needless to say, have left many in the gay community saddened but not surprised, as senior Javier Cavazos, a gay student at UTPA, stated.

“I think it’s awful. Theater managers are only concerned about profit,” said the 24-year-old. “I mean, I can see why some straight guys wouldn’t want to see it, but really I can’t think of why the average person wouldn’t want to see this movie. It’s just a childish fear.”

Cavazos, who is majoring in broadcast journalism, believes that the message “Brokeback Mountain” sends is an important one.

“The story the movie tells makes people realize what gays and lesbians have to go through,” he said. “It also shows that anyone can be gay.”

Despite the praise, Cavazos did manage to find a minor fault on the film’s part.

“The only thing I didn’t like was their first sexual experience because I felt there was a little predatory aspect to it,” he said.

An anonymous female gay student at UTPA believes the film’s location and time settings to be important aspects of the film.

“If you go up to places like that, you see that they aren’t very open-minded,” she said. “It’s even more taboo because it took place in the ‘60s, and it was about cowboys.”

It is perhaps for this reason that the film is being treated differently than other Hollywood films dealing with gay themes.

Besides “The Children’s Hour,” other mainstream Hollywood films have been released in the past with main characters that happen to be homosexual such as: “Torch Song Trilogy” (1988-New Line Cinema), “Long-time Companion” (1990-MGM, Oscar nominated), “Jeffrey” (1995-Orion), “In and Out” (1997-Paramount Pictures, Oscar nominated), “Kissing Jessica Stein” (2000- 20th Century Fox) and “The Hours” (2002-Paramount Pictures, Oscarwinning).

However, none of the above films has received the kind of attention that “Brokeback Mountain” is receiving, and some, such as UTPA’s Cameron, believe the reason for this is due to the way the subject is presented in the film.

“It’s a film that puts homosexuality on stage in a different way and deals with it in a very direct fashion,” he said.

UTPA students Mike Zavala and Angela Gibson, who are both heterosexual, see the film as not just a milestone for the gay community, but for film.

Page 9

“It’s totally changing the way we see film,” said Zavala.

Gibson, a sophomore psychology major, agreed and added, “It gives you a different perspective. It has enduring love that you don’t see in straight films, which is kind of ironic.”

Zavala, a graduate education student, admits that his initial reason for viewing the film can be attributed to the buzz surrounding it. However, he found himself not knowing the direction the film would take.

“I didn’t know what to expect or what to think,” he said.

“But in my opinion, its one of the greatest love stories ever presented on the screen.”

Gibson also believes the aspect of love in the film to be one of the film’s strongest points.

“Its one of those films that gives you a different perspective on what love is and the different types there are,” Gibson said.

On Jan. 31, when nominees were announced for the 78th Annual Academy Awards, “Brokeback Mountain” garnered a total of eight nominations, more than any other film.

The day before, it was reported that the low-budget film had grossed over $80 million at the box office.

Regardless of how many gold statuettes the movie takes home, “Brokeback Mountain” has definitely earned a place in cinematic history.

Alt. lifestyle films hit box office There is more than one film garnering Oscar buzz this year.

Besides “Brokeback Mountain,” two other films, “Transamerica” and “Capote,” are attracting attention due to storylines with characters living alternative lifestyles.

“Transamerica” tells the story of a pre-operative male to female transsexual who embarks on a journey with a son he never even knew existed.

“Capote” is a true life account of bestselling author Truman Capote’s research for his famous novel “In cold Blood.”

Both films were made with very modest budgets and well known actors.

With all three films released within the space of a few weeks, the question is, ‘how do they relate to each other?’

For moviegoer Elisa Hilliard the answer is obvious.

“I think they are all connected in a sense because they show the disenfranchised. Capote was homosexual and ‘Transamerica’ has a character that’s on the margin of society,” she said. “There’s the common connection of alienation.”

The buzz around these films, although on a considerably smaller scale than that of “Brokeback Mountain,” is difficult to overlook.

“I want to see them,” says Angela Gibson, a sophomore at the University of Texas-Pan American. “I especially want to see ‘Transamerica’ because it’s about someone who is becoming who they feel they were meant to be all along.”

Although all three films are scoring big with nominations at award shows, some believe that the accolades are for different reasons.

Ed Cameron, a professor who teaches an introductory film class at UTPA, said, “‘Capote’ is a biopic which deals with issues of Capote’s own life whereas ‘Brokeback Mountain’ deals with the director’s choice as to what to project on the screen.”

Cameron furthered his point. “‘Transamerica’ and ‘Capote’ are being seen as great ‘acting films’ whereas ‘Brokeback Mountain’ is being noticed for its thematics.”

A & E

Page 10

February 9, 2006

‘A Million Little Pieces’ of fiction?

By MEREDITH LAGRONE The Pan American

Reporter’s Rating: ★★★✩✩ One of the most talked-about events in the literary world the last month has been the revelation by www.thesmokinggun.com that James Frey’s book, “A Million Little Pieces,” is a work of fiction.

Well, maybe not entirely fiction, as Frey is admitting he altered and exaggerated details, including facts about himself throughout his manuscript, a tale of his time in a rehabilitation facility in Minnesota.

The fuel that is fanning the fires of this controversy is none other than the queen of daytime television herself, who publicized Frey’s memoir on her show as part of her book club.

Oprah Winfrey, who originally stood

by Frey and supported him on Larry King Live, has now recanted and admonished the author.

“I feel duped. But more importantly, I feel that you betrayed millions of readers,” Winfrey told Frey on her show.

In reference to the phone call she made to support Frey on King’s show, Winfrey said, “I regret that phone call.

I made a mistake, and I left the impression that the truth does not matter, and I am deeply sorry about that.

That is not what I believe.”

Frey has even gone so far recently as to add an a u t h o r ’s n o t e t o the book.

According to cnn.com, Frey tries to explain in the note why he fictionalized parts of his memoirs.

“People cope with adversity in many different ways, ways that are deeply personal,” he wrote. “My mistake, and it is one I deeply regret, is writing about the person I created in my mind to help me cope, and not the person who went through the experience.”

CRAFT QUERIES Still, the ultimate question remains: just how much of this book is fiction? And, to some, another question lingers: why do we care so much?

Frey’s tale is one of redemption, not through entities like Alcoholics Anonymous, as most rehabbers are used to, but through personal triumph.

Frey’s “character” decides following AA and its corresponding 12 steps is just replacing one addiction with another. Through a series of explicitly described events, Frey comes to the decision that to stop using drugs and alcohol he must make the choice to say no every time he is presented with temptation.

Of course, everyone in the rehab facility tells him he’s nuts, that it’ll never work, and, true to most works of fiction, the protagonist triumphs and conquers his addiction.

The thing that sets this bestseller apart from other works of fiction is that the ending is not entirely happy.

Throughout the novel/memoir, the reader is introduced to several close friends and even one girlfriend that Frey acquires in the clinic. Most of these friends die, as the girlfriend does, or end up in unsavory places at the end of the book. Only one of Frey’s friends makes it out of the clinic and lives a successful life.

Also, in most media accounts, only two details seem to be disputed.

One is the suicide-by-hanging death of Frey’s girlfriend, Lilly. He now says she really slit her wrists. The other is the amount of time Frey says he spent in jail after being released from the clinic. He said 87 days; in reality it was a few hours.

Now comes the question of why all this matters so much. Books are written to engage, entertain and, in some instances, teach lessons. Aside from his poor writing skills, Frey manages to accomplish all of the above. Since the time he spent in rehab was a mere six weeks, the reader might be doubtful as to the depth and veracity of the tale. At least, the reader might doubt Frey’s accounts of how deeply he was sucked into the drug world.

However, putting aside all of the issues about truthfulness, the story is a good one. It keeps the reader interested, and it does, in fact, teach a lesson

about what drugs can do to a person.

It seems as though America is obsessed with the truth lately. The nation has been in an uproar over the war in Iraq and the recent disclosure of the phone-tapping that’s been coming from the Bush administration.

There is a lot going on in the country right now, which makes one wonder: why do people have time to get mad about an author writing a partially false memoir?

Even Frey’s agent, BrillsteinGrey Entertainment literary manager Kassie Evashevski, who represented the author for more than four years, is no longer representing him because of the lies he told in the book In a Tuesday story in Publisher’s Weekly, Frey’s former agent said the trust she had in him had already been broken, and it was no longer possible to have a relationship with him.

“He eventually did apologize,” she said. “But I felt for many reasons I had to let him go as a client.”

In the case of “Pieces,” bad publicity is, in fact, still good publicity, as it has stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for several weeks. The attention Oprah has given it, although it had been negative since the scandal broke, has been excellent for Frey’s pocketbook.

Ultimately, the book is worth reading, even with all the controversial attention surrounding it.

Truthfully, it probably wouldn’t be

FAKE - James Frey’s memoir/novel about his experience in rehab garnered attention with the controversial revelation that its contents are not entirely nonfiction.

read as much if not for the controversy. However, every well-known book becomes that way for a reason, and Frey’s seems to be following that path. In the long run, it just might change the course of literature, but, for now, it’s simply an engaging tale that might make some down time a little more interesting.

Delight Cafe Offers unique homemade food at a reasonable price

By CLARALEXIS RIOS The Pan American

Reporter’s Rating: ★★★★★ There is a new lunch spot on University Drive that wants to please

students who are tired of the same old thing.

The Delight Café’s yellow-painted walls provide a cheery, cozy atmosphere for people to converse with friends, study or read an interesting book. There is also a computer station with Internet access for customers

Oscar Garcia/The Pan American DELIGHTFUL - McAllen resident Denise Trevino, 23, recently opened Delight Cafe, a cozy new lunch spot on University Drive, in hopes of attracting UTPA students looking for a nearby alternative to Starbucks, Moonbeans and the like.

to use.

The café provides a variety of food and drinks, including pizza rolls, calzone, slices of pizza pie and salads.

The drinks include fruit smoothies, teas, bottled soft drinks and a variety of coffee drinks.

There are also a number of desserts to choose from, including 27 different flavors of ice cream, milkshakes, sundaes, muffins, bagels and cookies. People have the option of making flavors of their own.

Right now, the business hours are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., but these hours are flexible and might change.

Owner Denise Trevino, 23, of McAllen explained how she and the University Plaza owner came up with the idea for this café.

“The plaza owner and I thought about opening a coffee shop near the university were students could come eat and surf the Internet,” she said. “I wanted to offer prices that were better than Moonbeams, Coffee Zone, Ristretto and Starbucks.”

According to Trevino, the

University Plaza owner wanted to give someone from the Valley a chance to open up a new place. When she agreed to use the place at the plaza for her business, she came up with the name Delight Café.

“It sounded like a fun, happy, energetic place for people to hang out,” she said. “The University Plaza owner and I sell a little bit of everything. We thought that it would be the most appropriate name.”

Since it opened, a group of regulars has developed. One of these customers is freshman biology major Robert De Luna, 24, from Edinburg, who just happened to be walking by the first day it opened.

“It gives you plenty of options,” he said. “There are also different things that you can mix in your coffee.”

Javier Regalado, 24, a senior finance major from Edinburg, had the café recommended to him by a friend.

After trying a slice of pizza pie, he knew he’d tell others about the café, too.

“I would definitely recommend it,” he said. “It is convenient, and it is a nice change of pace in the hustle and bustle of the world we live in.”

For February, there are two specials on the menu. One is a Turtle Love sundae that consists of any flavor of ice cream, strawberries and a hard chocolate coating. The other one is a Cupid Kiss smoothie that contains more strawberries than a regular strawberry smoothie.

For Valentine’s Day, Delight Café is also selling Berry Delicious Delight’s Chocolate Covered Strawberries in gift boxes for $7.99 for a half dozen and $14.99 for a dozen.

When Trevino opened up her business, she had a goal in mind.

“This is a specialty shop,” she said. “We try to be original and stay away from the norm. Even though it has a franchise look, it is not a franchise.

Anyone interested in sampling the café’s offerings can stop by at 1603 W. University Drive, Suite C next to the Aziz gas station.

NEWS

February 9, 2006

GROWTH continued from page 1 shuttle buses will be important for the immediate future, as 250 spaces will be lost with the construction of the Wellness Center.

The university is thinking about creating a remote-lot parking permit to help alleviate parking problems, according to Melissa Sandoval, parking manager. She feels that with the addition of more lots further from campus, an incentive to use those lots might be a necessity.

“Something we had discussed was maybe creating a remote permit for students,” she began.

“That way students can purchase a remote pass at a reduced price and they’ll be more willing to park in those remote lots further away from the campus.”

When asked about the possibility of a garage to help with parking problems, Sandoval explained that while a service of that type would be a lot of help, the negatives outweigh the positives.

PARKING OR BUILDINGS? The growing need for parking often overshadows the need for other buildings. The decisions about new buildings will fall on the shoulders of a campus facilities planning counsel that follows a “wish-list” that details needs, which is known as the campus improvement plan.

As of now, the university has purchased land and can use the power of eminent domain, should the need arise. There is currently one case in litigation. According to Saenz though, other purchasing plans are going smoothly.

“We’re buying lots one by one. There hasn’t been any condemnation. They’ve all been willing sellers,” he said.

The only potential detours are with funding.

Money for the acquisition of small lots comes from unexpended plant funds, which originate from designated tuition fees. Larger purchases are made with revenue finance system bonds. If problems do arise, UTPA will work to make the most of its resources.

Jerry Price, dean of students, believes the issue of finding money for land and other university projects is a high priority issue. According to him, UTPA needs to find out how to balance future growth plans and student needs.

“I don’t know how fees could not rise. I think

PROVOST continued from page 1 the question is how much. There is no doubt this is the biggest challenge facing us in my mind,” he stressed.

He continued to explain that despite the need for resources, the opportunity to provide an institution for students of the Valley is still an important priority.

“The challenge is: if we want to become a better university, it takes more resources. In an effort to go to the next level, we don’t want to price ourselves so that we leave behind everyone we’ve historically served.” Price added.

The University of Texas-Pan American ranks second out of 38 public universities in Texas for least expensive college experience. This year, the university raised its tuition and fees to $1,478.35 per semester to accommodate for more funds, but Price feels the rise of South Texas College will help lessen the challenge that UTPA has to face.

UTPA’s ever-changing face will lead to a new way of growing. Traditionally known as a commuter campus, the addition of the new dormitories and construction of the Wellness Center will help increase the number of students living on campus.

While those buildings won’t alter the campus overnight, according to Price, they will certainly change the way people perceive the campus.

“Because we started that way, that label won’t go away ever. But in 10 years, it won’t be a label that comes to mind immediately like it does now,” Price said.

UTPA’s current situation isn’t that different from UT-Austin or A&M in some ways. In fact, about one-fifth of Austin’s 50,000 students reside on campus. Upon completion of the new dorms, UTPA will be able to house nearly 1,000 of its 17,000 students.

The next step in growth will be the addition of faculty and personnel to help serve the growing number and needs of students. University officials like Saenz hope UTPA can reach the next level of service.

“If our student enrollment reaches what UTAustin or A&M has, then it’s a distinct possibility we will have a campus like theirs,” Saenz said. “I think it would be a great service for our students and the people of the Valley.”

PLANET X continued from page 1 objects in space beyond Pluto is not a new endeavor.

“This has been going on for two to three years now,” he said. “I’m very excited about it. I’ve been reading all about it.”

PLANET OR NOT? First described as “wandering stars” by the Greeks, the definition of a planet has evolved over the years.

After Pluto was discovered and named a planet in 1930, controversy arose as to whether the “planet-like” body really should have been honored as the ninth member of the solar system. Now, the same controversy surrounds Planet X. “The controversy is how to designate [a planet] and when do you stop counting planets,” Cortez said.

Observation from Earth then ceased due to the lack of technology to see past Pluto. New telescopes, however, have allowed astronomers to focus on certain areas beyond Pluto, hence Planet X.

Page 11

BEYOND THE TERMINOLOGY Despite the controversy surrounding these “planets,” local enthusiasts view the discovery of objects beyond Pluto in a more positive light.

Owens cited that this discovery will prompt an increase in the use of satellites and spacecrafts to study beyond what we know today as space, while Cortez explained the significance of such a discovery.

“It broadens our view of what’s out there.”

Cortez said. “It makes us more aware of where we are or what we are a part of.”

Aileen Carranza, a junior biology major, shared the same sentiment.

“I do think that scientists and astronomers are thrilled to have found [this new planet], especially after looking for 70 years and finding nothing after Pluto,” she said. “But, I wish the definition of “planet” was more specific. If this ‘planet’ and future company follow Pluto, then people should be getting ready to memorize thirty-plus planets in the solar system.”

be simply carrying on what is already here,” Rodriguez explained. “It’s a short time – six months, approximately – so it doesn’t make sense to begin to create any new kinds of initiatives, or create change.”

As interim provost, Rodriguez will assume the duties that Arevalo currently holds as the head of Academic Affairs, including the search for and selection of new faculty, evaluation of current faculty, and budget issues. In the coming months, Arevalo will help Rodriguez make the transition, before beginning at EWU April 1. “[Rodriguez] and Dr. Arevalo will work together on a transition basis while he is here,” said Cardenas in a university press release Feb. 2.

Rodriguez has been at the university for 30 years, and served as a professor and chair in the department of educational psychology within the College of Education before being appointed vice president of undergraduate studies. Rodriguez said she is very excited about the chance to serve in yet another capacity within the university.

“I feel very honored that President Cardenas has given me this opportunity, that she’s seen what I might have to offer,” said Rodriguez. “I’m very honored that the faculty have been very supportive.

I came from faculty ranks and faculty are very important to me so that makes me feel good.”

Rodriguez, who received her doctorate in guidance counseling from the University of Houston, is also fervent in her desire to make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged students.

“One of my goals and missions in life was to teach, especially young men and women who might not have an opportunity to go to college or to succeed,” Rodriguez said. “I came here and I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the students, with

the whole community. It’s been 30 years of working to try to improve the lives of kids.”

In her current position, Rodriguez has many responsibilities, which include the oversight of undergraduate programs, curriculum, student learning outcomes, retention, the Honors Program, the Academic Advisement and Mentoring Center, the Writing Center, and the Starr County Upper Level Center.

While she serves as interim provost, a temporary replacement will be selected to take over those duties.

“As I and the provost work with faculty and people out there on a number of things, we kind of identify people who would probably fit with what we’re trying to do,” said Rodriguez.

For her, two aspects of education are most essential for the well being of the university and the surrounding community.

“One of my goals is that we continue to provide access, that we open the doors and we bring in young people that might not have a chance to go to college elsewhere,” said Rodriguez. “We need to be very responsive to the needs of our community and the university is, I think, the vehicle for us to really improve the quality of life in the southern part of Texas and northern Mexico,” said Rodriguez.

She also added that it is important to her that professors get the opportunity to conduct research, because as they produce their own knowledge, they become better teachers.

Regardless of her position within the university, she says she puts her soul into the job.

“I’m very passionate about what I do,” Rodriguez said with emotion. “I’ve invested my whole life in what I do. This is part of my dream.”

VISIT continued from page 1 of the international studies office, said.

“We have excellent relationships with the high schools because of the discussion panels we used to host here in the university.”

In the past, UTPA has worked with other educational institutions in the world to coordinate a professor exchange program. According to Salazar, this helps UTPA achieve faster global growth that will empower the university in the years to come.

“We want to give them a positive impression of our school, and helping in programs like this one gives UTPA and the community a good reputation worldwide,” Salazar said.

She made clear that both teachers are enjoying and learning from the multicultural community in the Valley, and that there are a few differences between area high schools and Korean ones.

“Behavior-wise, one of them told me that students here are less disciplined than the ones in Korea,” Salazar said.

However, Shim Su added that there are also connections between the Valley and Korea.

“It’s very similar because for them, like for our students back in Korea, English is not their first language,” Shim Su said.

Kim added that they will take benefits from this experience back home.

“We believe that our real personal experience here in America will help us apply the teaching methods in a much better way,” said Kim Su. Their experience in the Rio Grande Valley is not only teaching them ways to apply their teaching

methods but also introducing them to new ways of teaching.

“We are learning the American ways of teaching by personal experience,” said Kim Su. “It’s a one-time life experience that will bring positive outcomes in my teaching career.”

Both agreed that although they appreciate the experience, being away from their families is difficult.

“We bought pre-paid phone cards to call them and tell each other how we are doing,” Shim Su, who has a 5-year-old son and a newborn, said.

Kim Su, who has two girls aged 8 and 11, said they take advantage of new technology to help them combat homesickness by using their cellphones to take pictures and send them home.

Both agreed that the opportunity to travel and experience the American way was too good of an experience to pass up.

In the next couple of days, Kim Su and Shim Su will continue visiting high schools and other tourist sites. Both teachers mention that they will remember the Valley for the rest of their lives.

“The weather here is so nice, back home it’s snowing right now,” Shim Su said. “Here, it’s not so crowded like in Korea. You have no tall buildings here. The Valley is a nice place to live.”

The instructors said that what they will remember the most are the people they have gotten to know.

“We’ve made good friends with the people here.

Everyone’s nice. We’ve got so much help,” Shim Su said. “We will never forget them.”

NEWS

Page 12

SEPHARDIC

continued from page 3

but do not know where they originated from. One of those is the Sephardic tradition of eating cabrito, which is Spanish for lamb.

The Jews who lived in northern Mexico and South Texas at the time adopted the local religion outside the house, but kept their Jewish traditions, such as cabrito at home. For many Valley residents, cabrito is just a meal, but for the Sephardic Jews, it was a symbol of much more.

“It is actually a substitute for the Passover lamb,” Cain said.

The Valley is rich in history and culture, and its Sephardic roots add extra flavor not only to their favorite meals but to the unique cultural blend that makes up the region.

Jews of the 1700s who settled in what is South Texas today brought with them their foods. “Semitic bread,” which is known locally as pan de semita, was seen almost as a necessity for the Jews. Other Valley favorites such as pan dulce, trenzas, cuerno and pan de hiero are similar in taste and ingredients to Jewish pastries. Many of these have become favorites of local residents.

“My favorite desert is that sort of bread pudding that is made here for Easter,” Diana Salinas, a UTPA junior business major, said.

That bread pudding, known as capirotada, has ingredients identical to those used by the Spanish

Jews of New Spain from 1640 on.

While not all are fans of capirotada, or sweet bread, it is a fact that many Valley natives enjoy flour tortillas, another staple brought to the region by the Sephardic Jews.

“Tortilla” simply means a small torte or cake. The version found in ancient Mexico, depicted in Aztec books and still almost universal in the Mexican interior, is made of meal ground from corn that has been soaked in lime. However, in the border region’s settled by Sephardic Jews, the Sephardic influence and unleavened flour tortillas are more common.

Jews heavily colonized the states of Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, Tamaulipas and Texas beginning in the 1680s. As a result, not everyone in South Texas is oblivious to their Jewish roots.

The founding families of Monterrey and the nearby Mexican border area are of Sephardic Jewish origin and have many jokes and legends stemming from this influence.

While any aspect of religion is open to discussion, Cain made it a point in her book to make sure that ideas she has come to develop were properly expressed.

“When you have a book that is written by Jews to Jews, as the [Hebrew] Bible is, it is important that you understand the culture…so that a proper interpretation can be extracted,” Cain said.

FREAKONOMICS

continued from page 3

wants to pursue. There are students in the upperlevel economic classes that want to go to law school, so for them it is better to deal with the policy of economics,” Mora said. “Other students want to go to graduate school in economics and a lot of post-graduate programs in economics require a lot of math.”

According to Davila, studying the policy aspects of economics is beneficial because it allows professors at the university to bring the outside world into the classroom.

“It is important that students know that what they learn in the classroom can be applied in the real world,” Davila said. “They need to know more than mathematical equations on the board that don’t make sense.”

“Freakonomics” zeroes in on the minute details of the economy rather than focus on the bigger picture, forcing students to stay away from confusing political debates about economics.

Students whose schools embrace “freakonomics” welcome the new approach because the majority of economics students see themselves focusing on mathematical research rather than being involved in politics.

However, others see no need for a new approach, as they are happy with the way they are currently learning the subject.

“I liked learning more about the policy side of economics because it’s more useful to what I want to do when I graduate,” Alexandra Brimer, a senior economics major, said.

She added that after taking classes from both Mora and Davila, she sees no problem with the old method of teaching.

“Davila brings a lot of the real world into the classroom and he allows us to form our own opinions and points of view,” Brimer said. “As long as we are able to follow through and prove our point, he’s happy with our work.”

HISTORY

continued from page 3

her dissertation involving the novel and the film, argued that acting out the brutality of the scenes in the novel was not necessary if enough implication was present in the film’s scenes.

“Violence has gotten very passé in film,” she added.

During the question portion of the discussion, Martin de la Cruz Media, a 27-year-old graduate student studying public administration, asked whether the professors believed there was an implication of a “glass ceiling” for the abused women in the film.

“This is when a person is beaten down and placed limits on until they can’t really get out of it anymore, because they’re so used to it,” he explained.

Pearson, a philosophy professor who specializes in ethics and religion, believes that in actuality, the film probably gave the impression of placing a “glass ceiling” on the men in the film, since they were the ones unwilling to break free from the cycle of violence they were in.

Part of an effort to enhance the school’s library collection, the film series is organized by Karen Jette and John Asbell, both librarians at UTPA. “We also try using this as a way to promote student life,” said Jette.

Lawrence Caylor, the library director, personally purchased and donated the film to the library.

On Feb. 28, the library will host a screening of “Do the Right Thing,” directed by Spike Lee.

TAXES

February 9, 2006 continued from page 3

lost approximately 166,000 jobs from October 2000 to November 2005, to areas near the border.

Ciudad Juarez experienced job losses, but after the state of Chihuahua started giving more state incentives to the companies, the city recovered from those losses. Chihuahua as a whole, however, has had a steady reduction in forces since 2000. On the other hand, Reynosa has experienced an increase of 27,281 jobs in five years.

The fight for maquilas is highly competitive because they are a great source of employment for host cities, acting as an excellent base for the economy, according to Miguel Gonzalez, a UTPA professor of manufacturing.

“Plants generate jobs which generate a series of benefits for the area and also the country,” Gonzalez said. “The economy of the country is related in all the aspects, but for sure every plant that chooses Mexico to establish is a great opportunity for them to grow.”

But the problem is that plants aren’t choosing Mexico as much as they used to. Imports from México increased 7.9 percent last year, a small improvement when compared to China’s 25.9 percent.

Granja cited the vast difference in worker benefits that result in added expenses for the companies.

“In Mexico, the quality of the products is noticeable in comparison with China, for example, because Mexico offers more services for the workers, where they get more benefits, like medical insurance, accessibility to get a home,” Granja said. “This gives them the security to go to work with a better perspective of life, so they will develop a better job.”

Incentives were first started in the 1980s, but tapered off when border business began to flourish on

its own. Some of these state incentives include tax breaks for land, infrastructure, utility connections, special training, reduction of taxes and payroll tax.

The offers vary from state to state, but Chihuahua recently landed a major company thanks to generous incentives.

Electrolux, which will produce side-by-side and large top-freezer refrigerators for the North American and Latin American markets, had its plant in Greenville, Mich. It then opened in Juarez, generating approximately 3,000 jobs. The state incentive that Chihuahua offered was $500,000, but this company will invest $100 million, resulting in the $500,000 that Chihuahua invested to be recovered during the first month.

“If, for example, Electrolux generates 300,000 jobs, if every employee consumes 300 dollars a month, during the first month they will recover the inversion,” Gonzalez said.

But Granja says these deals aren’t always as reliable as they may seem.

“The deal that Chihuahua made with Electrolux is a different [type of] state incentive. It is a private deal between the city or state with the maquila,” Granja said. “These deals are not very good because when the government changes, sometimes the deals get lost.”

Despite the criticism, Gonzalez says that even the smallest benefit from the plants will be a gain worthwhile for everyone.

“When a plant is established in a city, the suppliers start coming to the area and this of course generates more employees,” Gonzalez said. “It is a chain and this shows how plants are great for the economy and not only for México, also for us.”

SPORTS

February 9, 2006

SPORTS CLIPBOARD UTPA volleyball chips in at All-America City Race Lady Broncs help with variety of roles at event The University of Texas-Pan American women's volleyball was hitting the street this weekend as the Lady Broncs took time out of their busy weekend schedule to help out at the 24th Annual All-America City 10K/Walk Race.

"This has been about the fifth or sixth year that we have volunteered at the race," said head coach Dave Thorn. "We enjoy going out there and meeting with the runners and helping them out. This really gives us a chance to support the community that has supported us over the last few years."

It was estimated that over 4,000 runners and walkers took part in the 24th Annual All-America City 10K/Walk Race that was raced throughout the City of Edinburg.

The duties of the Lady Broncs throughout the 10K Race took a variety of shapes as they recorded times, helped runners through the toughest stretches of the race and assisted in other roles. Since the conclusion of the 2005 season, the UTPA women's volleyball team has volunteered their time to the South Padre Island Beach Clean-Up along with this past weekend's race.

The Lady Bronc student-athletes have earned their share of recognition for their community service, including junior Karen Lyons who was recently nominated for the Coca-Cola Community All-American Award. In her three years with the program, the Rio Grande Valley product has given her time to the Adopt-A-School Program, Ronald McDonald House, several Canned Food drives as well as various other projects with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

"We have really been active since the end of our season in doing volunteer events, and this really gives our student-athletes a well-rounded experience at UTPA. It's great to have success on the court and in the classroom, but it's important to our program that we help service the community," concluded Thorn.

Texas proves too much for Broncs Horns tack on first win of season, against UTPA The University of Texas-Pan American baseball team lost to the seventh-ranked University of Texas Longhorns yesterday afternoon in Austin 15-2.

The Longhorns jumped on the board in the bottom of the first inning when a Chance Wheeless singled in lead-off hitter Nick Peoples. UT's next hitter, Carson Kainer doubled in to the left field corner, driving in two runs for a 3-0 lead. The Longhorns strung together six straight hits to build a 6-0 lead against Bronc starter Aaron Guerra.

Guerra allowed six runs, all of them earned, in one inning of work and suffered the loss. Guerra's record falls to 1-1 for the season.

UT added one unearned run off Bronc reliever Dane Mason after a throwing error by shortstop Osiel Flores and a single by Wheeless for a 70 lead after two innings of play. The Longhorns increased their lead to 80 in the third inning with a solo home run from Preston Clark.

Mason allowed six runs on five hits in 2 and 1/3 innings of work. The Bronc right-hander struck out one and walked one.

UT scored four more runs in the fourth and followed that up with three in the fifth for a commanding 15-0 lead.

The Broncs scored their first run of the game in the top of the seventh on a Leighton Autrey single to right field that scored Otis Powers from second base and brought the score to 15-1.

Autrey was 2 for 2 in the game and accounted for both Broncs runs batted in. Bronc senior Louie Alamia finished the game 2 for 4 at the plate and was one of only two Broncs with a multi-hit game.

Alex Guajardo pitched a perfect sixth for the Broncs, inducing three fly ball or pop-up outs. Guajardo pitched two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out one.

Longhorn starter Riley Boening pitched two innings, allowing just one hit and striking out two. Boening evened his record at 1-1 for the year. Six Longhorns pitchers combined to hold the Broncs to two runs on seven hits while striking out 13 and walking just two.

With the loss, UTPA's record falls to 3-2 while Texas improves to 1-3 on the season.

The Broncs return to the diamond this weekend for a three-game set with Lamar University in Beaumont with the first game scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m.

UTPA Sports Information

Page 13

FOR THE RECORD UTPA SPORTS

BATTING

AB R H RBI SO AVG.

Baseball Wednesday, Feb. 8 TEXAS 15, UTPA 2 UTPA 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

R H E

UTPA 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 - 2 7 4 UT 6 1 1 4 3 0 0 0 x -15 16 0 BATTING

AB R H RBI SO AVG.

Whittlesey 3 Smith 1 Flores 4 Shives 1 Alamia 4 Brooks 4 Powers 2 Talley 3 Bartosh 1 Spears 2 Calabro 1 Honeycutt 0 Garcia 2 Lozano 2 Buhagiar 2 Autrey 2 Totals 34

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2

0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 7

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2

3 .000 0 .000 2 .000 0 .000 1 .500 1 .000 0 .000 1 .333 1 .000 0 .000 1 .000 0 .000 1 .500 1 .500 1 .000 0 1.000 13 .180

E - Smith (1); Flores (2); Brooks (3); Powers (1). DP - UTPA 1. LOB - UTPA 9; Longhorns 5. 2B - Garcia; Wheeless (1); Kainer 2 (3). 3B - Danks (2).

PITCHING

IP

Guerra Mason Casares Guajardo Haines

H

R

BB

SO

AB

1.0 6 6 2.1 5 6 1.2 4 3 2.0 1 0 1.0 0 0

2 1 0 0 0

1 1 1 1 1

8 12 9 7 4

Sunday, Feb. 5 UTPA 6, TEXAS STATE 5 UTPA 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

R H E

TSU 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 5 10 0 UTPA 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 2 x - 6 9 2

Whittlesey 3 Buhagiar 2 Talley 4 Brooks 2 Powers 4 Calabro 3 Spears 1 Lozano 2 Flores 2 Garcia 2 Autrey 2 Pena 2 Totals 29

0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 6

1 0 1 0 2 1 1 0 2 1 0 0 9

1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 6

1 .333 1 .000 2 .250 1 .000 0 .500 2 .333 0 1.000 2 .000 0 1.000 0 .500 1 .000 0 .000 10 .320

E - Lozano; Haines. DP - Texas St. 1; UTPA 1. LOB - Texas St. 8; UTPA 6. 2B - Keel, H.; Garza, A.; Spears; Garcia.

HBP - Bednarek, D.. SH - Siers, S.; Brooks. SF - Jones, K.; Babcock, E. PITCHING

IP

Morales Silva Haines

H

R

BB

SO

AB

3.0 7 5 5.0 2 0 1.0 1 0

1 1 0

2 6 2

14 9 4

Basketball Women’s Monday, Feb. 6 NORTHERN COLO. 57, UTPA 48

A Pts

Wilson 1-4 3-3 0-2-2 1 Reed 3-8 0-0 0-1-1 3 Daniel 2-6 1-1 7-6-13 5 Garrett 0-4 1-4 1-1-2 0 Fuentes 3-5 0-0 0-2-2 0 Jones 1-1 0-0 0-2-2 3 Montague 3-6 0-0 0-1-1 2 Kostacky 3-5 0-0 1-1-2 1 Winfrey 1-2 2-2 0-1-1 1 Ramirez 1-2 0-0 0-0-0 0 Coulson 0-0 0-0 0-0-0 0 Gooden 0-1 0-0 0-0-0 0 Totals 18-44 7-10 10-17-27 16

UNC FG FT Reb M-A M-A O-D-T

Cox Fosdick Barbour Hagen Hubbard McGrath Dillon McCarroll Veal Totals

4-8 2-5 3-5 4-7 6-10 1-3 1-3 1-2 0-2 22-45

2-2 0-0 4-4 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 7-7

1-2-3 0-1-1 0-0-0 1-10-11 0-2-2 1-1-2 1-0-1 0-1-1 1-0-1 6-18-24

A

3 0 1 4 1 1 0 2 0 12

Pts

11 5 10 8 15 3 3 2 0 57

Percentages: FG .489 FT, 1.000, 3Point 6-18, .333. Blocked shots: 2 (Barbour 1, Hagen 1). Turnovers: 18 (Cox 4, Hagen 3, Fosdick 2, Barbour 2, Hubbard 2, McGrath 2, McCarroll 2).

Steals: 7 (Hubbard 2, McGrath 2, Cox 1, Fosdick 1, Hagen 1). Personal Fouls: 13 (Barbour 3, Hubbard 3, Cox 2, Hagen 2, McGrath 2).

UNC.........................25 32 - 57 UTPA.......................15 33 - 48

UTPA FG FT Reb M-A M-A O-D-T

5-13, .385. Blocked shots: 1 (Daniel 1).

Turnovers: 17 (Daniel 5, Reed 2, Fuentes 2, Jones 2, Kostacky, Winfrey 2, Montague 1, Wilson 1). Steals: 6 (Daniel 2, Fuentes 2, Wilson 1, Reed 1).

Personal Fouls: 9 (Wilson 4, Daniel 1, Garrett 1, Montague 1, Kostacky 1, Coulson 1).

5 7 5 1 6 2 9 6 4 3 0 0 48

Percentages: FG .409 FT, .700, 3-Point

Men’s upcoming schedule Feb. 09 Utah Valley State Feb. 11 South Dakota State Feb. 15 North Texas Feb. 20 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Feb. 25 South Dakota State Feb. 27 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Mar. 03 IPFW Home games in bold.

Women’s upcoming schedule Feb. 11 South Dakota State Feb. 15 Huston-Tillotson Feb. 18 IPFW Feb. 23 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Feb. 27 Oregon State Mar. 04 Utah Valley State Home games in bold.

Joel de la Rosa/The Pan American MEET AND GREET - Houston Astros’ head coach Phil Garner and Willie Taveras (not shown) sign some Astros memorabilia on Monday afternoon at the McAllen Texas State Bank. Many local fanatics of the professional baseball team showed up for the signing.

SPORTS

Page 14

February 9, 2006

Valley high schools get new districts Te a m s s h u f f l e t o e v e n o u t c o n f e r e n c e s , m o s t c h a n g e s f o r e s e e n

By JACOB ALEGRIA The Pan American The cards have re-shuffled and now that most of the dust has settled the main question everyone wants answered is, who came out a winner? On Thursday, the Texas’ University Interscholastic League released their new alignments for the states football and basketball districts.

31-5A Among some of the biggest moves were the 5A’s of the Valley where Harlingen and Harlingen South both moved to 31-5A and now join all three Edinburg schools and the three Pharrs. That’s right, ready or not the P-SJ-A Memorial Wolverines will join the big boys of the Rio Grande Valley, as they have moved up to 5A ranks for the 2006-2007 school year.

30-5A In the Mid-Valley the big split came, when two of the Valley’s oldest rivals were separated.

The Weslaco-Donna rivalry won’t be a district battle, as Donna joins 30-5A and Weslaco moves west to 32-5A. The new 30-5A isn’t much different with the exception of the Donna addition. The three McAllen schools will be

accompanied by LaJoya, Sharyland and Rio Grande City.

This district will be about Bradley Stephens of McAllen Memorial and Juan Martinez of La Joya, both all-state picks as juniors, battling for running back supremacy. Catching a glimpse of these two will be an exciting event all on its own, but throw in the district title and the excitement and anxiety only builds. Don’t count out Tony Harris and his Mc High Bulldogs just yet, as his young squad may have some thing in their bag of tricks in store for the district. In an interesting off-season move the Rio Grande City Rattlers brought in one of their hometown heroes in hopes of reviving a program on life support.

Former Rattler and Texas A&M-Kingsville standout Abel Gonzalez has taken over the Rattler offense once again, this time as the offensive coordinator.

32-5A The Lower Valley saw one of its most traditional rivalries split too, as San Benito stays in 32-5A, but Harlingen heads west to District 31-5A. The “Battle of the Arroyo” will still be played, but the non-league stakes may not be as high. A big change for the district is the addition of Brownsville Lopez, which has also made the big jump to class 5A for next season. The total of Brownsville schools in 5A has now jumped to

five, with Lopez joining Porter, Hanna, Rivera, and Pace in 32-5A. Los Fresnos and Weslaco round out the list of participants in the district.

32-4A There were a few changes in the only 4A district in the Valley, as P-SJ-A Memorial moved up, but Valley View steps in for its first season of varsity level competition. The Tigers will be new to the district but there will be some familiar faces in this district, including recent power Edcouch-Elsa, which is coming off a stellar season.

“Even though we lost a very competitive PSJA Memorial school, I think this district should still be very competitive,” Yellow Jacket head coach Joe Solis said. “There are two things to my philosophy as a head coach has always been, that my players stay very discipline and work harder than anybody else.”

The rest of the district includes Mercedes, Roma, Weslaco East, Mission Veterans Memorial and Mission High.

31-3A In what some are calling the biggest change in Valley football, Raymondville and Lyford were both moved to an out-of-Valley district.

This was possibly the biggest surprise of the re-

alignment process. Joining the two Willacy County foes are Falfurrias, San Diego and Zapata. Lyford head coach Jaime Infante said that they had no real concerns on whether or not they were going to stay or move to another district.

“The factor that I see that may cause a bit of trouble will be the distance that will need to travel for some of our district games,” Infante commented.

Survivors Hidalgo, LaFeria, Port Isabel, Progreso and Rio Hondo make-up the Valley 3A district.

32-2A The 2A district saw some movement as well, as La Villa drops down in classification to A, leaving Banquete, Bishop, Freer, Hebbronville, Premont, Riviera and Santa Rosa with a seventeam district. La Villa looks to be a favorite, as the Cards will be making the transition to the 1A ranks. The rest of the district includes Agua Dulce, Ben Bolt, Benavides, Bruni and Santa Maria. Some traveling may be in store for this district as well.

Valley football fans should be at an all-time high in excitement, especially considering some of the changes. Rivals have been split for two years but new ones will arise from the realignment.

February 9, 2006

SPORTS

Page 15

Bronc tennis hosts respective tournaments

By JORGE HINOJOSA The Pan American Tennis balls were served this past weekend when the university teams began their match against separate adversaries. The men played in Edinburg on Feb. 5 against 18th-ranked Texas A&M-Corpus Christi team at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.

Nik Porter of England teamed up with Rehman Esmail of British Columbia, Canada, in doubles to face Andrey Kumantosov and Mikitail Pavlov, losing 8-2. By an 8-1 margin Oliver Steil and Andrew Bost lost to Raul Morant-Rivas and Jose Zunino. In the final doubles match the Broncs’ Enrique Montemayor and Alberto Gomez fell to Joey Farias and Sharon Henselijn allowing Corpus Christi to capture all the victories in doubles play.

For the Broncs the action in singles didn’t get any better. Porter lost a 6-0, 7-6 decision to Kumantsov in the first flight. Steil was unsuccessful in taking the win against MorantRivas with a score of 6-2, 6-1. Pavlov beat Esmail 6-1, 6-1 while Bost also lost to Zunino 6-4, 7-5.

Gomez and Montemayor didn’t find any room for victory either. Gomez lost to Jose Ycaza 6-0, 6-2, and Montemayor came up short 6-1, 6-2

against Jan Cingel.

Coach Robert Hubbard felt that the men’s team competed well but they were lacking two players from the starting line up, Daniel Farias and Gary Bianco.

“Both still need to be cleared by the NCAA

staff, I’m the fourth coach in four years, that takes its toll.”

The coaching fiasco was a reason Bianco decided to leave last semester. Hubbard wasn’t assigned as head coach until November 2005.

“But I think they know I’m here for real, I was in Baltimore for about 22 years, this is probably the only job I would have left Baltimore for, this is my alma mater,” added Hubbard.

The Broncs play again Feb. 10 Silke Buksik at the Orville Cox Tennis Center at 2 p.m. against Abilene Christian University.

The women’s team did well clearinghouse, on Feb. 3 at the Abilene having some issues Christian Indoor there,” said Hubbard.

Classic, paired Bianco was here as versus the Prairie a freshman and View A&M Lady sophomore but then Panthers.

This left. Bianco then was a match that spoke to Hubbard the Lady Broncs were Joel de la Rosa/The Pan American about of coming back to victorious in, winning 6-1.

UTPA, and Hubbard agreed.

Silke Buksik and Nicole Garcia “He’s a really good player, and the doubled for the Lady Broncs winning the guys, they’re all really close,” said Hubbard. first-flight doubles match against Marika “There has been so much disruption the last Dawkins and Antionette Majors, 8-1. Marine de couple of years, with the changing of coaching Bourqueney and Jessica Nanez also participated

in the doubles event, earning a win over Charlie Cooksey and Nicole Banks. Buksik, from Waiblingen, Germany, went on to win the topflight singles match against Dawkins, 6-2, 6-1. In the fifth flight Garcia beat Charlie Cooksey, 8-2.

Bourqueney, of Paris, France, defeated Melanie Brown, 6-7, 6-4, 1-0, (10-4). Elysia Sloan captured the win beating Michele Scurry 60, 6-1 and Nanez lost to Banks 6-3, 6-4. Also unable to find a win were Sheila Mabulac and Sloan against Scurry and Brown.

Sheila Mabulac earned a victory over Majors, 4-6, 6-0, 1-0, (10-8). With Mabulac’s win UTPA clinched the victory.

The Lady Broncs also competed in another two matches, losing to Stephen F. Austin and Abilene Christian.

“We’re going to play Stephen F. Austin in two weeks, and I think we can do even better, if we continue to improve,” said Hubbard.

“Its heavy recruiting right now, we have three seniors in the men’s team to replace, we have one senior on the women’s, and another player is here only for a year from France to play for us, but she’s going to move back,” said Hubbard. “So I’ve got some work to do.”

The next competition for the Lady Broncs will be Feb. 11 as they host Lamar University.

Dissecting UTPA basketball seasons

M e n ’s a n d w o m e n ’s p r o g r a m s l o o k f o r w a r d f r o m a b y s m a l s e a s o n s

By DARYL GONZALES The Pan American A tough season was somewhat expected for The University of Texas-Pan American men’s basketball team, after the loss of seven seniors from the 2004-05 season, including top scorer Sergio Sanchez.

“We kind of expected this season to fall out similar to what it has, but we would have loved to won a few more games,” Bronc head basketball coach Robert Davenport said. “Losing seven seniors really hurt us, but I think that our guys have really grown this season as a team.”

The Broncs have found it tough to find the winner’s column, as they currently have a 7-17 record, after last year’s 12-win season. This season the Broncs only returning senior is Derrick East, and he hasn’t really aided the team with a whole lot of scoring. He has been a rebounding key this season, averaging 4.9 boards a game.

In a season that seemed to be a rebuilding process, the Broncs have seen some players come into their own given the chance at legitimate playing time. Katy native, Dexter Shankle, has improved to become the leading scorer on the team, after last year when he saw moderate action off the bench. Shankle is leading the team with 11.0 points a game and has made 25 steals at guard.

“Dexter has really grown this season on and off the court,” Davenport commented.

The big-man duo of seven-foot Colin Lien and 6-foot-9 Kano Edwards has played well most of the season, combining for 19 points a game inside. Lien is the team rebound leader while Edwards has had several fine outings recently.

Both will be back next year. transfer would have,” he continued.

“Those two guys will be a big help under the rim On the women’s side, the team has fallen on some since we will be losing Derrick at the end of the hard times this season. They currently have a 5-16 season,” Davenport added. overall record, and while the men expected to struggle Edwards leads the team with 18 total blocks, ten at times in 2006, the Lady Broncs had their sights set more than any other player on the team. He even on a winning year, after last year’s promising .500 orchestrated a double-double (points/rebounds) showing. against Texas A&M-International, with 17 and 13.

Main problems this year have been a strong early Transfer Larry Sheppard has started schedule and a series of all the games for the Broncs this season injuries in the backcourt. The and made good use of his time on the Lady Broncs have faced off a court. He leads the team in steals with number of solid Division I 54, and is averaging 7.4 points a game. programs, including Auburn, Even though the record doesn’t Kansas State and Arkansas. show much success, it’s the small Senior Devin Reed hasn’t things that sometimes matter. Though, been having a more sometimes these small things don’t productive season when it make an apparent impact until the comes to statistics. Her 8.1 -Deann Craft following season. The Broncs will only points per game average from Lady’s basketball head coach be losing one senior to eligibility at the last season is down to 7.7 this end of the semester, meaning that the team should have season. She has in fact shot 74 fewer field goals from become more experienced and used to competing as a last season, contributing to her decline in the points per unit. game column. But she had to shoulder the load at the The staff hopes to keep the new recruits coming, to point in the early going after Tiona Wilson went down blend with the veterans who have surfaced this season. before the first games were played.

“We have changed our methods of recruiting, we Last season’s leading scorer Tynesha Pierce have usually been a school that relies on junior college averaged 9.0 points a game as an Independent Alltransfers, but ever since I became the head coach I Newcomer pick, but she is down to 6.6 a game. Her have wanted to put a lot most focus on recruiting kids .462 shooting percentage of the freshman year has right out of high school,” Davenport said. fallen to .393 this season. She too has been bugged “It allows us to make them part of the with time in the trainer’s room. community since they will be with the program “Tynesha is currently injured and she is going to for at least four years. It also allows them to pick miss a couple of games,” Lady Bronc head coach up the system that we are trying to run with this Deanna Craft said. program in four years, instead of the two that a On a bright note, Pierce is expected to be ready to

Q “It was difficult to come up with the win when you don’t have all your positions playing at full strength.”

return to form next season, teaming with several impressive newcomers. Teshay Winfrey and Robin Garrett have had their moments as new Lady Broncs, Winfrey on the wing and Garrett inside, where she has shown quick post moves and a willingness to get physical.

“We had to play without Teshay for a couple of games because of a stress fracture that she endured,” Craft added. “It was difficult to come up with the win when you don’t have all your positions playing at full strength.”

Winfrey is having an outstanding debut season, as she has led the Lady Broncs in scoring five times this season. Her personal high came against North Texas when she finished with 18 points. She is second in points, averaging 7.7 per game, making a nice outsideinside combo with Garrett.

“I think that we have seen Robin just blossom before our eyes on the court. She has really become a presence under the rim,” Craft commented.

The 6-3 Garrett has been contributed points under the rim, while playing stout defense. The Nacogdoches native is second on the team with a field goal percentage of .421, 61 total rebounds and 21 blocks.

The Lady Broncs will be losing four key players in veterans Stacey Gooden, Dominique Montague, Joanna Fuentes and Reed. In what was a tough season for the Lady Broncs, only times will see if the returning players have learned from the 205-06 season.

“Even though we will lose some key players, our young team will become more experienced. The freshmen will be sophomores, the sophomores will be juniors, and we will have one senior in ‘Mo’ [MaHogany Daniel],” Craft concluded.

SPORTS

Clipboard..........................13 Redistricting......................14 Basketball.........................15

Running start at Houston Indoor Classic decades. Vaughn said that Keating did an outstanding job in the mile run.

Some more personal bests came from J. J. The University of Texas-Pan American Hernandez, David Trevino, Juan Davila, Angel came back from the Houston Indoor Classic Ramirez and Alex Moncivais, all of whom are with 16 personal bests. There was also a from the Valley. Hernandez dashed past the school record set by a name that finish line with a time of is new to the mix.

4:24.19, which placed him Falfurrias native freshman 12th overall while Ruben Cantu broke the UTPA teammates Trevino and program record for the 60-meter Davila finished 15th and dash with a time of 7.03. It was 17th, respectively. good enough to finish the In the 3,000-meter Houston race 28th overall, and race, Hector Gandara who the time broke the previous came short of besting his record set by David Haughton in personal record with a 1998. time of 9:00.68, which “I thought that Ruben did a placed him 22nd.

-Ricky Vaughn great job considering he is “I thought that we did Track and Field head coach nursing a bad hamstring,” UTPA best in the long-distance head track and field coach Ricky Vaughn said. races. I have to give Coach [Brian] “It shows a lot of focus.”

Cunningham much credit for getting them Another dash for the top spot on the record ready to go,” Vaughn commented. books came from Westly Keating, who nearly In the field events for the men’s team, Sal broke the programs record in the one-mile run Gonzales cleared 15-1 enroute to a 17th place with a time of 4:12.92. The record, 4:12.55, finish in the pole vault, and Matt Clinton threw was set by Oscar Rivas and has stood for two a distance of 51-8.25 that was good enough for

By DARYL GONZALES The Pan American

“I thought we did best in the long distance races. I have to give Coach [Brian] Cunningham credit for getting them ready to go.”

Joel de la Rosa/The Pan American PUT IT UP - Sophomore Amanda Ferris takes a warmup throw during practice.

12th place in the weight throw.

On the women’s side, the Lady Bronc throwers had a good showing in Houston.

Amber Kelly made it a good homecoming as she threw a 55-2.25 in the weight throw, for fourth overall. Teammate Amanda Ferris was 17th after a throw of the discus that was measured at 44-11.50.

“Amber did a really great job in the weight throw. She’s one that keeps working hard to improve and I think that she can even push her personal best to 57-58 feet by the end of the season,” Vaughn said.

Continuing to attack school records was Deon Marquis, who finished the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.87. Her time was tied for second in the programs record books, falling just shy of the 7.85 mark set by LaShaunne Cortez in 1990.

Senior Karla Hernandez finished the onemile with a time of 5:18.52, as she placed 16th overall. It was the best posted time ever by a female Rio Grande Valley athlete.

The Broncs and Lady Broncs will be back in action Feb. 11 in Houston again, for the UH/RunSport All-Comers Meet.

Broncs gallup to 3-1 record at UTPA Baseball Classic

By DARYL GONZALES The Pan American The University of Texas-Pan American Bronc baseball team opened up the season at the UTPA Baseball Classic, and came out like a team with something to prove, winning three out of four during the weekend.

In the Thursday season opener against Gonzaga, the Broncs wasted no time as they scored three runs in the bottom of the first to take an early lead. It was Patrick Brooks who hit a double to deep left field that drove in two runs. A wild pitch allowed Blake Whittlesey to score and the Broncs took an early 3-0 lead.

Starting pitcher Aaron Guerra had a great night on the mound. He held the Bulldogs scoreless until the sixth inning when Gonzaga outfielder Jackson Brennan hit a solo home run over the left field fence. Guerra record the win on the night.

“Aaron has really kept up his pitching from where he left off last season, I hope to see more of that when we face our tougher opponents,” UTPA head baseball coach Willie Gawlik said.

The Bulldogs would make it a bit more interesting during the closing innings of the game, but the Broncs held on for the 8-3 victory.

In the second game, against Northern against Oklahoma in the third game of the tournament.

Colorado, UTPA scored their only two runs of Starting pitcher Dane Mason had a tough the game during the first inning. A double to night as he allowed five earned runs in 2 1/3 right-center field by Louie Alamia got the innings pitched. Ryne Foster then came in on Broncs started off early with the hits, and then relief but found himself struggling as well, two batters later Whittlesey drove Alamia in throwing one inning. with a single.

The Sooners were up 10-0 until the Broncs Outstanding pitching from found offense in the fourth off junior transfer, Ricky Ibarz a single up the middle by maintained the Broncs with the Autrey that drove in two runs. lead through much of the game; The final Bronc score came in he allowed one unearned run in the bottom of the eighth when the fifth. Ibarz’s capped off his Ruben Shives was brought in UTPA debut with 10 strikeouts by a sacrifice fly to center while walking four and field by Abraham Garcia.

-Willie Gawlik allowing a mere two hits.

Harlingen’s Cesar Pena Bronc baseball head coach In the bottom of the ninth, pitched 4 2/3 innings in UTPA’s Chris Lozano was hit by an inside fast relief, allowing eight earned runs on 10 hits ball. Then he was moved over to second in part while striking out two and walking four. to a Nick Spears sacrifice bunt. Leighton Closing the game with a flawless 1 2/3 inning Autrey then drove in Lozano with a single into was Stephen Davis as the Bronc fell 16-3 for shallow left field. The run gave the Broncs the their first loss of the season. Mason recorded 2-1 win. the loss from the mound.

“It was a great team effort, along with some “Nothing was really going for us in this timely hits that helped us get the win,” Gawlik game, we were just unable to execute commented. offensively and defensively,” Gawlik said.

Recording the win from the mound was closer The game-three defeat seemed to have an Tim Haines as he struck out the side twice in his effect on the Broncs in the final game of the two innings of work. classic, but they would ultimately overcome The Broncs found themselves way behind early an early deficit to beat Texas State in a

“It was a great team effort, along with some timely hits that helped us get the win.”

thrilling 6-5 game.

A scoreless battle through three was ended when Jason Buhagiar scored on a single to the left side by catcher Dan Calabro. The Broncs would keep fighting onward as they pulled within a run in the bottom of the seventh thanks to a one-out double by Garcia, bringing in Osiel Flores. Whittlesey then brought in Garcia for the score two batters later off an infield single.

Josh Talley led things off in the eighth with a single and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Then three straight hits followed, with an RBI double from pinchhitter Nick Spears and an RBI single from Flores for the go-ahead run.

Ray Silva came in for a struggling Ronnie Morales, capturing the win as he only allowed two hits and one walk while striking out six.

Haines then closed the game in the ninth as he allowed one hit and struck-out two for his first save of the season.

Gonzaga finished the classic with a 3-0 record, taking the crown while UTPA and Oklahoma finished tied for second at 2-1.

“The pitching was outstanding for the most part throughout the tournament, and good execution on defense kept us with every opponent. Our offense just seemed to come around when it was time,” Gawlik concluded.