February 16, 2006 by UTRGV Student Media

Annual baseball tournament this weekend

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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

February 16, 2006

Woodward investigates

Growing pains Legendary Watergate journalist visits UTPA eased by workload decrease By SANDRA GONZALEZ The Pan American

By LUKE KOONG The Pan American The University of Texas-Austin boasts over 90 research units in its handful of research centers across the state, and they receive funding totaling over $380 million a year to bring new knowledge into academics. In addition, UTAustin has obtained nearly 400 patents since the university’s beginning.

PART THREE OF FOUR How close is the University of Texas-Pan American to reaching that level? Not sure. But according to Jerry Polinard, chair of the political science department, that reality may be even closer now that the university has shifted its direction and goals. “Nine-hour teaching loads facilitate that because it provides faculty members with more time to do research,” said Polinard of the recent workload reduction approved last fall. “Most of the [system] universities have nine-hour loads. Moving to a nine-hour load brings us more into conformity with the other universities in the state in general and other universities in the UT System in particular.” In a recent address to faculty members from UTPA and Texas A&M, Rodolfo Arevalo, provost and vice president for academic affairs, underscored the university’s goal of becoming a more research-oriented institution while continuing to serve the higher educational needs of the Valley. “We have begun the move toward research progressively, and yet we still seek to keep teaching as our primary focal point,” Arevalo stressed. “We want to remain student-centered while improving research capabilities.” The university has done just that. Wendy Lawrence-Fowler was appointed

See GROWING page 11

You can take Bob Woodward out of the Washington Post, but you can’t take the Washington Post out of Bob Woodward. Though Woodward came to the University of Texas-Pan American as a speaker, he is still a journalist at heart, often turning the questions on the audience and the person asking them. As the famous journalist who helped crack the Watergate scandal took the stage of the Fine Arts Auditorium and played reporter, the lesson was clear. He was a fine speaker, but after 36 years as a reporter, it is not hard to imagine the difficulty in changing roles for Woodward. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that one of the hot topics at a press conference, held shortly before a private dinner in the ballroom Monday, was investigative reporting.

LESSONS FROM AN EXPERT “There’s a lot of it, but never enough of it,” said Woodward, current assistant managing editor at the Washington Post. “We need more of what we call ‘accountability reporting.’ People in government need to be held accountable.” However, he said that doing that kind of reporting is getting harder and harder. “There are more and more power centers and people in government and

Joel de la Rosa/The Pan American IN DEPTH - Bob Woodward, who helped uncover the Watergate scandal, spoke Monday evening in the Fine Arts Auditorium.

other institutions who have become good at public relations,” Woodward said. “Many of them know more about our business than we know about theirs.” Woodward added that there are two driving forces in the media that aren’t helping in-depth reporting: speed and impatience. Technology is part of each of those factors. “During Watergate, Carl Bernstein and I could work three weeks before a story was ready to be published,” he said. “Now if it looks like you don’t have a piece of a story, someone’s in

your office saying ‘can we have this on the Web by noon.’” He said that if anything, journalists should learn a lesson from Watergate and other in-depth journalism. “It takes time. It’s time against the product. If you’re in a rush to ‘get it out now,’ what’s going to be the product?” he said. LESSONS NOT LEARNED? While Watergate was a lesson to journalists on in-depth reporting, Woodward said that it should have been

a lesson to presidents as well. “What has really struck me is that most presidents didn’t get the lesson and that is if something goes wrong...the solution is not to hunker down and hide,” he said. “[The lesson] is to be transparent and...avoid the cover-up and concealment.” Watergate went on for two years and two months, finally resulting in Nixon’s resignation in 1974. Woodward said that if Nixon had come forward any point before the last year of the scandal, he would have, eventually, been forgiven. “He could have come forward with the facts and said ‘It got out of hand. I made a mistake...I’m sorry.’ It probably would have gone away,” he said. “But there is a habit of denial and concealment. In that case, the process of concealing became the crime of obstruction of justice.” MOMENT OF CLARITY While working to reveal the details of Watergate, Woodward said that there was one moment when he truly realized the magnitude of the events he and partner Bernstein were investigating. It happened at a time when “Woodstein” (as the two reporters were called) were working on a story on John Mitchell, Nixon’s attorney general and

See WOODWARD page 11

Mexican newspaper attacked by gunmen By CAROLINA SANCHEZ The Pan American Reports of drug-related violence have long made front-page headlines in newspapers across Mexico. The headlines hit home, however, when Mexican newspaper El Manana was attacked by a group of armed gunmen. The men entered the Nuevo Laredo offices of the newspaper on Feb. 6 around 7:45 p.m. and attacked the personal with guns. The shooters went straight to the editor’s office where they

SHATTERED GLASS - The Nuevo Laredo offices of El Manana newspaper show signs of damage after a group of armed gunmen attacked on Feb. 6.

threw a grenade. Jaime Orozco, a 40-year-old reporter, was shot five times and was taken to the hospital, where he is reported to be in critical condition. This is the second time this newspaper has been the victim of a violent attack in two years. In March 2004, editorial director Roberto Mora Garcia was shot outside his home. According to the investigators, the

See ATTACKED page 11

El Manana Nuevo Laredo

OPINIONS

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February 16 2006

UNPROTECTED TEXT THE

PAN AMERICAN 1201 West University, CAS 170 Edinburg, Texas 78539 (956) 381-2541 Fax: (956) 316-7122 http://www.panam.edu/dept/panamerican 55th Year – No. 19

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 Advertising Mgr. Rafael Villarreal spubs@panam.edu 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 Secretary Anita Casares Delivery 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.

Just One More Question… By DAVID RODRIGUEZ The Pan American Three different events and three different men have firmly lodged themselves in my mind as of late. All three have dealt, and are dealing, with a problem that seems to me to be getting out of hand. Rather than give you the overarching philosophy let me tell you about the men. First, and foremost by job title and description, is Dick Cheney. The big news is that he shot a man. But no, it wasn’t in Reno and no, it wasn’t just to watch him die. It was in Texas and it was an accident. The story goes that Vice President Cheney was out on a hunting trip, with other Republicans mind you, and as he turned to shoot at some fowl he unwittingly sprayed his hunting companion with birdshot. The man was taken to Kingsville and then, in what was probably the shortest helicopter ride ever, airlifted to a hospital in Corpus Christi where he remains today. Of course, the story doesn’t end there. The sticking point here is Mr. Cheney is being accused of obfuscation at worst, and interference at best. Many members of the press are more than a little miffed that the Corpus Christi newspaper was alerted first and not the national

press. The allegations are that the VP delayed the announcement and that he therefore is guilty, of what remains to be named or seen. Second is Wayne Gretzky, also known as the Great One. He is the undisputed best hockey player in the history of the game. I swear if you mention Bobby Hull I will personally check you into a Coke machine. Well maybe I won’t but I will find someone with the size and moral ambivalence to do it for me. I digress. Anyway Wayne is in a bit of trouble. It seems he may or may not have been involved in gambling on hockey games. What’s more, it seems his wife may or may not have been involved as well. But I have heard “unsubstantiated reports” that the woman likes to party. Apparently, according to the previously mentioned “unsubstantiated reports” she would drop 10 grand on the coin toss. The coin toss! Wayne has exacerbated his public problems by being completely unapologetic and unresponsive to the national media. What’s more, he is even involved in the Winter Olympics despite the feelings many in the sports media have that he should keep a lower profile. Last, and probably least, is college basketball coach, tantrum thrower, and menace to chairs and 6’5” mamma’s boys, Bobby Knight. Due to recent rumblings from administration, Knight’s former employer, the University of Indiana, is currently having a bit of a coaching problem and many have speculated that

THEN & NOW by JOSEPH LAVIN

Knight, who is nothing less than an icon in Indiana, might be headed back to his old stomping, and screaming, grounds. In a recent interview on ESPN’s “Cold Pizza,” Knight was asked about this very topic. He politely declined to comment and added that he would talk about anything else. The interviewer pressed further until Knight removed his earpiece and declared the interview over. So three men - a supposedly trigger happy vice president, the greatest hockey player ever, and a volatile coach - have all had spats with the media in the past week. This got me to thinking about the media culture and how utterly ubiquitous reporters and their questions have become. The national press is basically throwing a hissy fit that they were not served up this story. They actually had to do a bit of leg-work and couldn’t rely on a packaged press release. Now, claims of media bias aside, it seems a bit ridiculous to me and a stretch to say, or imply in any way, that the way Cheney and his people handled disseminating information somehow means he is guilty of something. Wayne Gretzky has much the same attitude, but with the leeway to be more aloof. If he is found guilty of anything, which he hasn’t been so far, then he can be castigated to journalists’ hearts content. However, until that point and even after it now that I think about it, he doesn’t owe the media anything. The onus is not on him to try to defend himself simply

because reporters are throwing questions his way. The same goes for Bobby Knight. He politely declined to answer, was given absolutely no respect and so ended the interview. However now he is being accused of being childish and immature. But really, why should he have to say “no” two or three times? The problem is that the press, for a long time now, has started to believe its own hype. Hype penned by them, no less. Maybe it’s Bob Woodward’s fault, but I don’t think so. There truly is value to the watchdog function of the media, and the Constitution does have a bit to say about protecting the profession. However, this does not give reporters and the media, et al, carte blanche to be obnoxious, smug, and unrepentantly boorish, which they more and more seem to be. This is why if I ever accidentally shoot someone, get caught gambling on hockey, or am being hounded about my next professional move, I ain’t sayin’ nothing. You don’t have to and if you have the backbone to ignore a headless, unimaginative beast like the national media has become, then you’re on easy street. But don’t quote me on that. Please send all observations about the irony of a journalist decrying journalists to davideric@gmail.com.

NEWS

Late-night workouts. . . . . . . . . . 4

MySpace dangers . . . . . . . . . . . 5

En Español . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Workshop teaches students how to land job By HILDA LORIA The Pan American When applying for a job, students are usually familiar with the process. Get an application. Fill it out. Turn it in with a resume. The better the resume, the better chance of sealing the deal. Well, not exactly, says Susie Chapa, assistant director of the Office of Career Placement Services “A lot of students have a misconception that here you have this resume and this resume is going to get you the job,” Chapa said. “But a resume does not get you the job. What gets you the job is the interview.” Chapa spoke Tuesday, Feb. 14 to a small group of students at an interviewing styles workshop in the Palmetto Room of the Student Union. “The interviewing process is the most crucial,” she told the students. “Once [students] get that interview, this is their time to shine because this is where

they will be selling themselves, marketing themselves. They’re going to be able to tell individual employers, ‘I’m the one you want,’” she explained. “And how are they going to do that? Well, they’re going to need to be prepared.” The workshop stressed the importance of being prepared for different interview settings. Chapa discussed how to approach and excel under any of six types, which include screening, telephone, structured, behavioral, panel, and mealtime interviews. “It’s always important to know how to interview correctly,” said Isaac Figueroa, getting a master’s at UTPA in the public administration program. “I’m currently applying for federal jobs and I want to make sure that I interview well for those possible positions.” For any interview, Chapa said that it is important for students to remember the three R’s of interviewing: research, rehearse, and relax.

See WORKSHOP page 12

Career Development Workshops/Career Fairs Spring 2006 Tuesday, Feb. 21 Resume Writing Critique Session College of Business Administration, 9 a.m. - noon Student Union Commons, oon - 1 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 28 33rd Annual Career Day University Fieldhouse, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Tuesday, March 14 Student Union Palmetto noon - 1 p.m. Internships 101

Wednesday, Feb. 22 Resume Writing Critique Session College of Business Administration, 1 - 4 p.m.

Thursday, March 23 University Ballroom, 5 - 6:30 p.m. Dining Etiquette

Thursday, Feb. 23 How to Prepare for Career Day Student Union Palmetto, noon - 1 p.m.

Tuesday, March 28 Student Union Palmetto, noon - 1 p.m. Communication Skills

Monday, Feb. 27 How Companies Hire? Panel Discussion University Ballroom, 10 - 11 a.m. Federal Employment Panel Discussion University Ballroom, noon - 1 p.m. Overcoming Barriers: How to Achieve Career Success University Ballroom, 2 - 3 p.m.

Students must sign up for these workshops by registering on the Bronc Career Connection at http://careerservices.panam.edu.

For more information visit the office in the Student Services Bldg., 2nd Floor or call 956/381-2243.

Religious organization spreading word, faith through study By MEREDITH LAGRONE The Pan American With a campus as culturally and religiously diverse as the University of Texas-Pan American, new needs for student organizations arise every day. One of the additions to the list of campus organizations this year is the World Center Campus Ministry (WCCM), a non-denominational group that strives to bring God’s message to campuses in its area. While the organization is not completely new on campus, the classes it is providing are. “We come on campus, and we have kind of like Bible studies, but more of a discussion,” said Victor Michael, who works with WCCM. “We do Valley events, and we’ve done a lot of other things in the past years.” Michael is a volunteer for WCCM and a student at its corresponding World Center School of

Ministries (WCSM). “I get out in May,” he said. “I’ll go on to Belfast, Ireland, to help establish a church there and hopefully do some work at Queen’s University.” According to Michael, the group has been around for several years and has changed names several times. The last known name of the group was World Mandate. Michael J. Lindquist, whom they call their apostle, formed the WCCM’s church 10 years ago, and nine years ago, WCCM began holding small cell study groups in the dorms at UTPA. Working with college-age kids seems to be their present goal. “College is such an important age on your walk with Jesus,” said Keri Kling, an Illinois native who is starting up a female Bible study group on campus this semester. “For me, it’s always been a hope to impact

another student and realize how much they change. I’ve seen a lot of lives impacted and more student involvement. I’ve seen students that go into different activities and have more school spirit because they start to realize more who they are.” Kling, who heads up the campus ministry and also attends WCSM, mentioned the formation of a new group called “The Woman You Were Meant To Be,” which is open to all females. With the first meeting set to take place today at the University Center room 307 at 7 p.m., she says she has high hopes for the group. “It’s going to be a very good discussion group,” she said. “We’re going to be talking about what it really means to be a woman.” Already on campus are three Bible study groups, all planned through WCCM, that meet every Thursday at noon. Two groups meet in

University Center, one in UC 307 and one in the second floor lounge. The third group meets in the Communication Arts and Sciences building in room 184. ‘Wild at Heart,’ the men’s study group, has been meeting every last Tuesday of the month in the Sage or Palmetto rooms of the Student Union since last fall. The group drew its name from the book they study, by the same name, which is a sort of how to manual on leading and living as a Christian man in today’s society. “I think a lot of it is, it’s just a very influential age, especially in college, like when students go to school,” said Anthony Tijerina, the group’s leader and also a student at WCSM. “They form stuff in college they carry with them for the rest of their lives. Helping them develop the right lifestyle is

See WILD AT HEART page 12

Book helps non-English speakers learn idioms By ANA LEY The Pan American

www.bodyidioms.com

While a foreigner may show true signs of having “fire in his belly” for learning English as a second language, telling him so might leave you with little more than a baffled expression in return. No one knows this better than May Pare, a waitress in Shaker’s restaurant in Glendale, Calif., who recently published a 363-page book focused solely on anatomical idioms. Idioms, regional speech forms or expressions that are peculiar to themselves grammatically, tend to confuse some English learners because

their meaning can’t be inferred by the words alone. When you add parts of the body to the mix, the confusion only worsens. According to an article in the San Antonio Express-News, Pare (pronounced Paray), first felt the need to define idioms about 10 years ago after using a joke with an idiomatic punch line on her cousin. When he was to grasp the term, Pare told him she was just “pulling his leg,” or joking with him. “He didn’t get it,” Pare told the newspaper. “I told him this is the way people talk.” Pare, whose specialty is English both as a student and college teacher in her native Thailand, earned her master’s degree from the University of

California, Los Angeles, and specialized in English as a second language. She hopes her book, “Body Idioms and More,” will be picked up by an English as a Second Language (ESL) program and used as part of its curriculum. While in recent years, books on quirky things like idioms have become common, what makes Pare’s collection a novelty is that it’s so vast: and yet consists of a mere chunk of her work. While the idioms in the book focus exclusively on body parts, as the title suggests, she is considering planning her next idiom project

See IDIOMS page 12

NEWS

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February 16, 2006

Late-night workout trend hits Valley 24-hour gyms prove more convienient for late-working public By MARIA ALEJANDRA MAZARIEGOS The Pan American It’s 2 a.m., you can’t sleep. To pass the time, people usually pick from three options: watch re-runs on televisions, finish dinner’s leftovers or toss and turn in bed. However, if those options do not appeal, Valley residents can now look to a new growing trend. 24-hour gyms are beginning to dot the map around the area. Round-theclock health clubs are common in larger cities where just about every gym is open 24 hours to appeal to the lateworking public. In the Valley, however, most gyms have not adapted to the bigcity trend. PUMP Gym in McAllen, is trying to change that as one of the few 24-hour gyms in the area. According to Isaac Campos, director of operations, the gym was opened to accommodate individuals who choose to work late. “The idea of a 24-hour gym for us came because most gyms here close at 10 or 11 p.m.,” said Campos, “And this can make people feel rushed or even cuts their motivation to get fit.” Although it might seem odd to some, working out late at night is convenient for those who have varying work schedules and commitments. Individuals like Miriam Castaneda, a McAllen Spotlight Girl, enjoy the flexibility. “I love being able to work out

whenever I feel like it, instead of having to limit myself to certain hours,” said Castaneda. Spotlight Girls, a promoting group for Spotlight Magazine, attend events such as concerts and interact with eventgoers. They always have to look like they are enjoying themselves, and stay in shape and often accept requests to pose for pictures. So it is no surprise that Castaneda and several other Spotlight Girls can be found working out late, especially considering many events cause them have late nights. “Sometimes after an event such as a concert, I feel real pumped. Not pumped enough to party, since I do have school to go to the following morning,” said Castaneda. “But pumped enough to workout and keep in shape.” Being in shape is one thing many college students focus on and having a gym available at all hours helps them achieve their personal fitness goals. There are still traditional people who prefer a day workout over a late night sweat though. “I like to work out in the morning or during the day. At night I would rather sleep,” said Alfredo Flores, a junior business major at the University of Texas-Pan American, “That way I get going to the gym out of the way and have time for the rest of my activities such as school and hanging out.” The night scene at the few all-hour

gyms in the Valley is not as fast-paced as during regular hours. Adam Landa, general manager of 600 Plus GymSpa, around the corner from Cornerstone Gym, believes there is not enough interest in the general population to warrant such a service. “After hours there really are not many people, maybe five to 10,” said Landa. “I don’t really see a point to it.” 600 Plus GymSpa, which is not open 24 hours, was the Valley’s first combined gym and spa. It currently operates until midnight. Pharr Gym, the first 24-hour facility in the Valley, has been operating for ten years. Trainer Frank Munoz says that while the crowds at night aren’t big, everyone needs a chance to get fit. “These are the people who do have varying schedules and still want to keep in shape, and that is the whole idea behind being open 24 hours,” Munoz said. “It is for the people.” With obesity on the rise, it seems that no matter if it is day or night, exercise is necessary. For those looking to boost into shape, certain hours of the day are recommended. “The best time to do cardio is early in the morning on an empty stomach,” said Campos. “In this way you burn the stored fat and see results faster.” People in the Valley have no excuse not to work out and be in shape.

Sang Yoon/The Pan American SPOTTER - Armando Aguilar, a senior international business major, helps spot Jose Moreno, a senior business major, Tuesday night at PUMP Gym in McAllen.

Residents now have different gym options to fit their needs and reach their maximum fitness level. “No matter at what time you work

out, the important thing is to do it,” said Landa,” Some prefer night, others day. As long as people fit it into their schedules they will see results.

Portion control cited as key to healthy life New wave of moderately portioned snacks, foods help some lose weight By VICTORIA RODRIGUEZ The Pan American It seems that whenever anyone turns on the television or walks into a grocery store they are bombarded with low-fat, low-cal foods and Atkins-approved foods. The prominence of these low-fat foods seems to ironically coincide with the rising rates in obesity across the country. A recent study shows that 61 percent of Texas adults and 35 percent of children are overweight or obese. These rising rates may be the reason that many people are jumping on the diet train and are trying anything and everything they can to try and lose the weight. Luis Palacios, a junior computer science major at the University of TexasPan American, has been on the Atkins diet for about a year. “So far, I’ve lost about 55 pounds in less than a year. I don’t buy any of the

Atkins-approved foods because it is too expensive,” said Palacios. “It’s all in portion control and cutting out a certain amount of carbs daily.” Passing by any vending machine on campus, a student sees mostly chocolate bars, cookies, chips, and “fruit” snacks. In the soda machines, there are only two types of diet drinks and the rest are fullflavor, full-calorie sodas. Having vending machines stocked chock-full of these tempting snacks doesn’t make it easy on a dieter, especially if he or she depends on vending machine food for their lunch/dinner. Arianna Moreno, a senior music major, says that whether the machines are stocked with healthy snacks or the usual, it would not change her eating habits. “It all depends on the person. Some people don’t need the word ‘diet’ on something to maintain a certain weight or to eat a certain food,” Moreno said.

“But I guess those foods can be useful to those dieters that are on the go and need to grab food fast.” Others maintain a different point-of-

view on the matter, however. Ozzy Vela, a fitness trainer/nutritionist at the 600plus GymSpa, believes that specialty foods on the market can definitely help

Texas Obesity

Source: Texas Department of State Health Services Designed by: Raymond Kellman

Rebeca Cavazos/The Pan American PORTION - Controlling portions of food intake has been proving effective for weight loss.

the dieter. “If a person wants to see fast results, the best thing they can do is buy specialty foods that are low in carbs,” said Vela. Vela added that portion control always helps as well. “It doesn’t make sense for a person to cut out certain carbs but keep on eating the same amount of carbs in everything else,” he said. “A person has to cut down a little on everything to see results. The best thing a dieter can do, though, is be patient and stay consistent.” But Palacios said that regardless of diet, there is one crucial factor that must not be left out. “Along with your diet plan, you need a workout schedule. Eating right without any exercise won’t accomplish anything,” he said. “And, it’s okay to cheat on occasion. On occasion.”

February 16, 2006

myspace a place for friends

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Myspace poses dangers for young users By ADRIANA GARZA The Pan American

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A 21-year-old man was arrested in Connecticut after being accused of raping a 14-year-old girl. A man in Long Island, N.Y. sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl in the parking lot of her place of employment. A 15-year-old girl was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by a 26-year-old man she met over the internet. These may seem like random crimes of violence. But what you don’t know is all the men involved in these crimes met their victims on MySpace.com. MySpace, a popular Web site where people post personality profiles, has come under the microscope recently after the crimes came to light. The incidents became a major topic on the site with members warning people on their “friends” lists of the incident through bulletins. Alma Delarare, a junior psychology major at the university and frequent user of MySpace, says that upon learning of the incident, she has reshaped how she surfs online.

“It makes me more self-conscious about giving out information to strange people,” she said. “I used to think it was just students and it was secure to get into.” A spokesman for MySpace said in an interview with NBC that the site warns users not to provide personal information. Their mission is to promote a fun but safe online experience for young people. Facebook, a comparable Web site, is also popular among college students. However, you cannot become a member without a school e-mail address. All college users must have an '.edu' address to sign up. According to Chris Hughes, a spokesperson for Facebook, it is one of the ways Facebook tries to limit incidents such as those that occurred with MySpace. “Access to user profiles is limited to only the other members of the educational community," Hughes explained. "Unlike other sites like MySpace...a Facebook user’s profile is available at most to a few thousand people who already share in that person’s 'real-world' community.” Conversely, often MySpace members tend to think their friends are the only

ones looking at their profiles. “Sometimes you have random people from anywhere who are cruising through MySpace, looking for certain things and if you put information in your profile that might attract that kind of person,” said Anne Toal, director of academic computing at UTPA. “That might cause a problem.” Toal says that continuous caution must be practiced. “You should always keep in mind that once you put the information out there in public, anyone can look at it. Once information has gone out on the Internet, it’s almost impossible to delete,” Toal added. Members of Facebook are provided with options under the “My Privacy” feature, where they can choose who can view their profile, like 'friends' only, 'classmates only,' 'friends of friends' or a mixture of these. “At the end of the day we’re interested in giving as much control to our users as possible,” Hughes emphasized. Facebook has many schools in the nation connected. According to comScore,

an Internet-use tracking service, the site has more than 12.4 million users each month. When it comes to overall traffic, it is seventh. First is Google. Users spend an average of 18 minutes per day on the site. According to Hughes, 67 percent of Facebook users log in each day and the site receives about 300 million page views in a 24-hour period. At the moment, Facebook has not experienced any troubles, but there is still no excuse to be careless with your information, according to Christine Quesada. “I wouldn’t put in anything like that because I just don’t want to be contacted by people I don’t know,” Quesada, a lab attendant at the Academic Services building and junior English major. Despite all the negative publicity, junior nursing major Eddie Longoria feels MySpace should not be the one to blame. In the end, it all comes down to the individuals who are active on the Internet. “I just believe that there are immature people out there who don’t know how to decipher whether it is too much information or not,” Longoria said. “They should know better.”

Computer gaming trend taking toll on education By SANDRA GONZALEZ The Pan American When the work is done, it’s time to play…computer video games. At least, that is the case with more and more young college students across the nation and the world. But this one time hobby turned world-wide phenomenon has become more than a favorite pastime; it may be a detriment to some students’ academic careers. Da Xie, a sophomore undeclared major at The University of Texas-Pan American, knows that all too well. He says that eight years of gaming began to take a toll on his grades last year, dragging him down to a 2.6 GPA. “At my worst, I probably played about eight hours a day, so like 48 hours a week,” he said. Numerous studies have been done on the effect of video games on academic performance. In 2004, the National Institute on Media and the Family released one which supported the theory that video games had a negative effect on grades. Nearly two-thirds of college students play video games, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project and students at the university are no exception.

Mario Jorge, a sophomore English major, likes playing on the second floor of the Student Union whenever he has a chance. That usually turns out to be about two hours a day. However, he says that gaming has never been in conflict with his school before. “I have pretty good willpower to separate gaming time from school time,” he said. “I’m able to balance the two.” He said that he believes there are several factors that draw people to the gaming world. “It’s an escape. It the fact that you can create a character all your own and play it in another world,” he said. “It’s an escape of the mundane routines of this world and a chance to experience the routines of another world.” In Xie’s case, he says that computer video games were not the only factor in his academic struggle. “There have been numerous influences. Gaming has been one of the major ones,” he said. “The top two are probably gaming and marijuana.” While Xie admits that there was a problem, he defends the gaming lifestyle. “People compete for lots and lots of retarded operations, like people eat hotdogs and stuff like that. So it’s just

another one of those retarded ways for people to compete with each other without competing in other things they would normally suck at,” he said. GROUP GAMING In recent years, the gaming world has expanded in the form of LAN parties, where groups of gamers hook up their computers and compete with each other. According to the calendar of events on LANParty.com, there are LAN parties planned for almost every day of

the month until April. According to Jorge, on the international circuit, winners at LAN parties are often treated like celebrities. “All the people in the video games circuit would know your name. Whatever name you use within the game, people know it,” he said. “It’s a different sort of fame that only exists within the circle of gamers.” For Gregorio Garza, a junior premed biology major who plays about 20 hours a week, the appeal of online

Ronald Claflin/ The Pan American GAME BOYS - (from left) Omar Gamez, a business major, Rick Gamez and Da Xie play “World of Warcraft” on the second floor of the Student Union.

gaming is the contact with people around the world. “I have a friend in El Salvador who I play with online and we talk,” he said. “I have another friend who, I think, is around 50 years old, and he’s one of my closest companions when I play the game.” Despite the acclaim and friends one can gain playing online video games, the consequences of doing it too much are apparent. They became clear for Xie’s parents as well. “They sort of got very angry and me and told me to get my grades up, which I have,” he said. But what ultimately got Xie to play less was, what Jorge calls, “divine intervention.” “My computer broke,” he said. Ultimately, the balance between gaming and school must come from the individual, according to Rick Gamez, a sophomore computer science major. “If they don’t take their studies seriously, then it’s going to affect them,” Gamez said. “If they take them seriously and want to learn what they need to for the future, then they’ll realize that computers are only a slight diversion from real life. They’ll get at it and do what they need to do.”

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February 16, 2006

Periódico mexicano atacado por sicarios Por CAROLINA SÁNCHEZ

Traducido Por CARLOS GONZALEZ The Pan American Por mucho tiempo reportes de violencia relacionada con las drogas han ocupado los titulares de periódicos a lo largo de Méjico. Los titulares se hicieron sentir en carne viva cuando el periódico mejicano El Mañana fué atacado por un grupo de sicarios. Los sicarios entraron las oficinas del periódico en Nuevo Laredo el dia 6 de Febrero alrededor de las 7:45 p.m., y atacaron a los funcionarios con armas de fuego. Los forajidos fueron directamente a la oficina del editor donde lanzaron una granada. Jaime Orozco, un reportero de 40 años, fue alcanzado por las balas cnco veces y fué llevado al hospital donde fué declarado en condición crítica. Esta es la segunda vez que el periódico ha sido víctima de ataques violentos en los últimos dos años. En Marzo del 2004, el director de editoriales Roberto Mora Garcia fue herido de bala fuera de su casa. De acuerdo con los investigadores, los ataques no estaban relacionados porque lo de Garcia habia sido personal. “En todo el tiempo que he estado trabajando en El Mañana no he visto una acción similar a la sucedida a nuestro periódico hermano El Mañana en Nuevo Laredo,” dijo Anacleto Garza, gerente de el sindicato de periódicos mejicanos del cual El Mañana es parte. “Y sin duda toda la gente que trabaja en los medios de difución periodística está preocupada con esta situación.”

El Mañana ATAQUE - Paramedicos asisten a Jaime Orozco, reportero de El Mañana, que recibio cinco disparos en el ataque, que occurio el 6 de febrero.

Los sicarios no tuvieron obstáculo alguno cuando violentaron las oficinas, porque el guardia del periódico no portaba arma. La policia llegó cincuenta minutos más tarde y encontró los cartuchos y fragmentos de granada. A pesar que Ramon Cantu Deandar, dueño del

periódico en Nuevo Laredo, mostró su consternación por el estado de Orozco, mantuvo la reserva respecto al incidente diciendo simplemente que no tenía idea quien era responsable por los ataques. Un par de dias antes de los ataques, entre 26 el 27 de Enero, el Instituto de Prensa de la Sociedad Interamericana organizó un semirario acerca de “el trafico de drogas, investigación y cobertura de noticias” que se llevó a cabo en Nuevo Laredo. El Mañana fue uno de los promotores y patrocinadores del seminario. El corto tiempo entre estos eventos hace que el resto de los empleados y ciudadanos de los alrededores piensen que los ataques no fueron una coincidencia. Hilderbrando Deandar, dueño ejecutivo de El Mañana de Reynosa, dijo que esta guerra contínua al sur de la frontera entre los traficantes y las autoridades policiales hace difícil el uso de la libertad de expresión. Algunas veces se trata de traficantes atacandose entre si. “Nuevo Laredo está en crisis a causa de toda la inseguridad de la ciudad,” dijo Deandar. “El Mañana se encuentra en el centro de la guerra entre dos bandas de traficantes de droga que estan disputandose el control de la ciudad porque Nuevo Laredo es una ciudad muy importante en la importación y exportación de drogas.” Durante el seminario, se develó el proyecto FENIX, el cual investiga los casos en que los periodistas han sido atacados. “El ataque sufró El Mañana es obviamente una agresión no solo al periódico sin al derecho de libre

expresion,” dijo Erasmo Salinas, gerente de editoriales. Todos estamos preocupados con estos actos de violencia. Eugenio Hernandez, gobernador de Tamaulipas, pidió mas resultados en la lucha contra el crimen organizado y añadió que cualquier ataque contra un periodista es un ataque a la libertad de habla. “El Mañana está pidiendo al gobernador mas seguridad porque su misión es informar a la audiencia los hechos que estan acontenciendo en nuestro medio,” dijo Deandar. “Este ataque no nos va a amedrentar; nosotros vamos a continuar informando a la audiencia, porque apoyamos la libertad de expresión, así que vamos a luchar por ella.” Algunos reportes iniciales señalan que los periódicos estan planeando abstenerse de cubrir la guerra de las drogas para evitar incidentes violentos en el futuro. Pero Salinas estuvo de acuerdo con Deandar al decir que la unidad ayudará a combatir la injusticia. “Mientras todos los medios periodísticos se mantengan juntos ante esta situación, como lo hemos visto en las manifestaciones de afecto a El Mañana, vamos a luchar por la libertad de expresión,” dijo Salinas. Pero la lucha por la libertad de expresion viene con un precio de acuedo con Deandar. Es una vergüenza lo que ha sucedido a nuestro reportero Jaime Orozco. En una trágica coincidencia, el dia de su cumpleaños, los doctores nos informaron que Orozco no podrá caminar nunca más,” dijo Deandar. “Vamos a apoyarlo y a su familia.”

A&E

Urban Legends . . . . . . . . .8 & 9 “Curious George” CD . . . . . .10 Auction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

‘Oedipus’: Murder, incest and tragedy on stage Production highlights Sophocles’ message of corruption of power as a universal concept

By FRANK CALVILLO The Pan American Sophocles’ “Oedipus,” the Greek tale dealing with incest, murder and power, is perhaps one of the most infamous plays of all time. Now, the play that everyone has studied in countless English classes comes to the University of Texas-Pan American, by way of director/professor Eric Wiley. The tragic story tells of a young man who, through a prophecy, unknowingly murders his father and marries his mother, a queen. His actions anger the Greek gods, who then decree a terrible fate for the youth. A staple in theater, English and psychology classes, “Oedipus” has been thoroughly looked at and studied for many years. It starts Feb. 22 on campus at the Jeffers Theatre. According to director Wiley, the play, which is considered the ultimate Greek tragedy, was chosen due to its popularity and its classic themes. “‘Oedipus the King’ by Sophocles was chosen because it is always a favorite among our students in classes, and because its story and choral odes are remarkably accessible to contemporary audiences,” said the director. Wiley, a theater professor at UTPA since 1999, has most recently directed the plays “Proof” and “A Flea in Her Ear.” “He has a very broad, rich knowledge of the classics, especially Greek and Roman drama,” says Brian Warren, a UTPA lectur-

er in theater. Warren, who also has a key role in the production as the Priest of Zeus, believes Wiley’s knowledge helps relate the material to actors who are unfamiliar with the play. “It can be difficult to act for modern actors, so he’s the perfect choice because he can bring in his extensive knowledge of the classics coupled with his skills of working with young actors,” Warren said. Chorus member Hugo Gamino validated t h i s c l a i m b y p r a i s i n g Wi l e y ’s s k i l l s a s a d i r e c t o r. “He knows what he wants from his actors and how to get it from them in amazing ways,” said the junior public relations major. Despite his history in theater, Wiley found directing a play such as “Oedipus” to be a liberating adventure. “I have never directed a play with a chorus before, so that part of it has been especially novel,” he said. “A lot of rehearsal time has been spent in experimenting with the chorus, which has ten people, shaping and creating the odes together.” Other faculty members at the university are anticipating the production, like Linda Belau, assistant chair of the English department. “It’s a classically tragic adaptation of a timeless myth,” said Belau, who recently had students in her Critical Approaches class study the play. She insists that what makes “Oedipus” so eternal are the conflicts the character faces

within the text. “What makes Sophocles and ‘Oedipus’ so tragic is the conflict of fate and free will,” she said. “What’s tragic beyond that is the position man finds himself in vis-à-vis the dalliance of the Gods.” Like Belau, Wiley also has his own theory as to why the tale has transcended time. “The play drives home a profound and disturbing view of life, one that fascinates and frightens audiences even today, such that it still has an aura, after all these centuries, of something taboo and extreme,” he said. In keeping with that thought, Wiley fully intends to stay true to the original sprit of the play and has decided against reinterpreting the play to suit modern times. “As the director, I have tried not to point to any particular sense in which the play has modern relevance, though I think it is teeming with relevance to our lives and our times,” he said. “I prefer to let audience members make their own connections between the play and their personal, social and political lives.” Many feel part of the appeal of “Oedipus” is the play’s ability to represent many elements of Greek tragedy that are clearly relevant today. Kristina Leatherman, who is currently enrolled in Belau’s class, reiterated this. “It’s all about fate and free will, which are two things on completely different sides of the spectrum,” said the senior English major. “The play shows how you can’t seem to have one

Joey Cortez/The Pan American REHEARSAL - Rick Rosales and Araceli Lopez, members of the cast of “Oedipus,” practice for their upcoming performance.

without the other.” Wiley hopes the play’s audience will consist of people like Leatherman and a broader group of attendees. “In addition to the usual theatergoers, we hope to attract admirers of this famous play, as well as anyone seeking to learn more about the culture of ancient Greece,” he said. “Oedipus” will be playing Feb. 22-25 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. at the Jeffers Theatre in the Communication Arts and Sciences building.

Husband, wife team works together to join poetry, art By CLARALEXIS RIOS The Pan American Sometimes art and family come together nicely. “Borderlines: Drawing Border Lives” is a poetry and art exhibit presented by Poetry-Art.com that opened Feb. 1 in room 210 of the University of TexasPan American library. It features a series of 25 drawings and poems about the people living and working along the U.SMexico border. The exhibit includes charcoal, conte, pastel and mixed media renditions of street vendors, musicians, wise women and beggars, all done by Reefka Schneider. It also includes poems written in response to these drawings from Steven Schneider, English professor, chairperson of the department and her husband. “Steven and Reefka Schneider offered the exhibit to the library as a contribution to cultural activities on campus,” library director Lawrence Caylor said. “Borderlines” and another Poetry-Art.com exhibit, “About Love,” were developed by working from photographs Reefka Schneider took of the peo-

Reefka Schneider BORDER ART - Reefka Schneider, wife of Steven Schneider, chair of the English department, has an exhibit of her art on display at the library. It features this painting, ‘Mass for the Disappeared,’ as well as others.

ple on the streets of Mexico and in her community after she recovered from serious injuries in a car accident. “Reefka started drawing charcoal, figurative pieces of people who lived and worked along the bor-

der, especially street vendors in Nuevo Progreso and Ochoa’s Flea Market in Mission,” Steven Schneider said. “Her first drawing in this series was titled ‘Progreso Street Vendor, Smiling,’ and I decided to write a poem about the subject of her drawing. As she produced more and more drawings, of children, beggars, musicians and other outdoor vendors, I continued to write poems about the work.” One of the collection is titled “Disappeared,” a charcoal-and-conte drawing that shows a young woman in the dark holding up a candle. Even though Reefka Schneider does other types of art, she said most of her work focuses on social justice and human dignity. “As it says in the Bible, ‘Every human being is an image of God,’ she said. “Everyone has the right to liberty and the pursuit of labor. It is about celebrating human dignity and the beauty of things.” Caylor holds Reefka Schneider in high esteem. “Mrs. Schneider has a special talent for the human face,” he said. “She has a keen eye and draws with clarity and strength.” Poetry-Art.com, the couple’s Web site, was

formed when the two decided to combine their preferred art forms. “Poetry-Art.com grew out of a collaboration between my wife and me,” Steven Schneider said. “She is a visual artist and I am a poet. We decided to join forces by forming Poetry-Art.com, which is devoted to the intertextual relationship between poetry and art.” The Web site’s purpose is to bring art and poetry to people. “Our Web site is devoted to sharing with the public poetry and art, and what we call poetry-art, which is poems and artwork side by side, so that one comments upon and interprets the other,” he said. “We also provide educational workshops that promote creativity, crosscultural understanding and social justice.” This exhibit will travel throughout Texas and the United States. The couple also intends to publish the work as a book. Reefka Schneider feels good about the work she has displayed in UTPA’s library. “When you do art, you are using the right side of your brain more,” she said. “I feel a connection with a deeper part of me, and it feels good.”

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‘Final’ installment worth seeing by Frank Calvillo

Reporter’s Rating: ★★★★✩ The Pan American

by Trey Serna The Pan American Growing up, we’re told stories that are supposed to scare us into learning a lesson; stories with “La Llorona” or “The Boogeyman” played into a lot of childhood fears. Many movies, especially horror ones, don’t just originate from the minds of a writer. Some are based on urban legends, and a writer simply adds certain elements to make it a better story for movie making. Urban legends are stories told from person to person, orally or through text, such as emails. They spread through interpersonal communication, usually detailing, humiliating, terrifying or supernatural events which have happened to “someone.” These tales have almost always happened to another person, and the teller of the legend never really has solid evidence the story is true. They just “heard it from a friend” or “it happened to a friend of a friend.” The stories tend to originate from untraceable sources. And they have been studied in depth. “Urban legends deal with topics that are believable. They are contemporary. They take place in our time but something strange happens,” said Mark Glazer, a University of TexasPan American psychology and anthropology professor. A huge misconception most have about urban legends is that they are all false. However, this is not the case. They are stories that are allegedly true, even if there’s no solid evidence or proof. They are given their truth from the storytellers as they are passed along. Because they’re repeated, the details of the story tend to change over time. “I believe that most started with actual events, therefore containing some truth. Something must have happened to get the ball rolling,” said Danitza Garcia, a junior nursing

major. “It becomes an extraordinary tale by having pinches of creative details being tossed in by every person re-telling the story.” STORY ORIGINS Unlike the storyline for “Final Destination,” which plays on the fear of death eventually getting all of us, the plot for “When A Stranger Calls” stems from an actual urban legend. However, there are many variations to the story. In some versions the mysterious caller just laughs instead of making threatening statements. Sometimes the girl sees the killer first, then runs out of the house and calls the police herself. Whichever version is used, the basic premise remains the same. According to an article on Scopes.com, the tale is directed toward adolescents. The emphasis is to touch a nerve with teenagers on the topic of growing pains. It’s a time when they’re gaining more responsibilities. The teen girl is not only left to fend for herself but also has the responsibility of two children. In a twist of irony, the girl is threatened through what most teen girls consider their favorite communication device: the telephone. That may have been done for a reason, say the experts. “A characteristic of an urban legend is that it makes the listener uncomfortable. It has an anxiety dimension to it, which is a part of our modern lives,” Glazer said. The tale of the mysterious caller phoning an innocent victim can be spotted in many movies. Of course, it’s the storyline for the 1979 and 2006 versions of “When A Stranger Calls.” It also appears in the 1974 film “Black Christmas,” where a murderer hides in a sorority house attic and telephones after every killing. In the 1998 film appropriately titled “Urban Legend,” a folklore professor on a college campus shares the legend with his class. There are certain ways to spot if a story

could possibly be an urban legend. If it seems too good to be true or too horrible or funny, then it probably is. When hearing the story, listen for statements like, “this is a true story,” or “this happened to my friend.” If the story is told like a narrative, with a beginning, middle and an end with a huge punch line or twist, you’re more than likely hearing an urban legend. Even if a so-called urban legend turns out to be true, it will always be considered an urban legend. As long as humans are around to re-tell the story and claim it is factual - even if they don’t really know all the facts - it will be one. The key factor is that they are told “as if” true, though no real supporting evidence is offered besides the infamous “friend of a friend” factor.

The latest installment in the “Final Destination” horror series arrived at local theaters on Friday and ended up claiming the No. 2 spot at the box office. The story opens with young Wendy accompanying her boyfriend and friends to a local amusement park on a “seniors only” night. Wendy, who spends much of the evening taking yearbook pictures for school, is convinced to take a ride on a monstrous rollercoaster. Anyone who has seen the last two “Final Destination” films knows that this is where the ceremonial premonition of death happens. After her frightening vision, Wendy and several other students exit the ride for various reasons shortly before the rollercoaster and its patrons suffer the deadly fate Wendy foresaw. From then on, every student that escaped death the first time eventually meets an untimely and rather grisly demise. Now it’s up to Wendy, and her best friend’s boyfriend, Kevin, to deci-

The one commonality, and clever move, in all three movies is the filmmaker’s staging of disaster in situations most people fear to begin with: an airplane, a busy freeway and a rollercoaster. The deaths themselves are joyfully gruesome, but the real fun lies in those two minutes prior where director James Wong (writer, producer and director of the first “Final Destination”) installs surprisingly genuine moments of suspense. However, the film’s failure, other than a tasteless 9/11 tie-in, lies in its translucent plot. But since 90 percent of the audience in attendance has probably already seen the first two films, it doesn’t matter much. Furthermore, the cardboard characters and the virtually unknown actors who play them garner no sympathy. “I was going to ask her to marry me,” said Kevin of his recently deceased girlfriend. As an audience, we don’t care if he was or not; we’re just biding our time until the next spectacular death scene.

‘STRANGER’ hit 2nd time around by Trey Serna The Pan American

Reporter’s Rating: ★★★★★ The 2006 thriller, “When A Stranger Calls””proves that Hollywood can make a cheesy flick with some pretty predictable outcomes yet still manage to make it somewhat entertaining. The film is a remake of the 1979 movie of the same title. While the central idea remained the same, there were some alterations that made this version somewhat better. The most apparent change is that the original’s storyline extended through a timeline of seven to 10 years, while the updated version takes place in one night. At the beginning of the film, viewers are shown a peaceful town on the night of a carnival. Everyone seems carefree, but little do they know, just a few yards away, a madman is murdering two children. Day breaks and the gruesome discovery is made. The audience is then taken a few hundred miles away and introduced to the main character, Jill Johnson (Camilla Belle). She’s a typical high school teenager dealing with all the drama that comes with the territory. While babysitting at a

pher whom death will claim next, using photographs taken on the fateful night which provide clues. There is also the mystery of discovering the identity of a hooded person on the ride two seats ahead of Wendy and Kevin and how that person holds an important key in preventing death from taking place. Released in the spring of 2000, the first “Final Destination” turned out to be a surprise hit, grossing nearly $70 million at the box office. The film, while too dark for some moviegoers, asked the question: “Can a person really prevent death from happening?” The film’s sequel, “Final Destination 2,” released three years later, was less innovative than the first but still proved to be a moderate sales hit. Where the first sequel succeeded was in tying in the original’s plotline and how the deaths of the characters in the first film influenced the fates of the characters in the second. In “Final Destination 3,” the occurrences of the first two films are mentioned but only for the sake of reminding those in the audience who have forgotten that they are indeed watching a series. The current film opens with a visually appealing opening-credits sequence where various aspects of an ordinary carnival are projected as suspicious and menacing. Wendy’s rollercoaster premonition is also a highlight of the film, as every person’s worst fear upon embarking on an amusement park ride is realized.

secluded home, she begins receiving creepy phone calls from a stranger who continually asks her “Have you checked the children?” After having enough, she notifies the police, and they have the calls traced. The police call her back to inform her that the calls are coming from inside the house. Due to the fact that the events take place in a 24hour period, Jill’s character is given a little more depth in this version. The audience gets to know her a bit more before she ventures off on her babysitting job. The house used in the film is a very modern, cabinlike mansion. It added a natural sense of curiosity and a little fear since it was located out in the middle of nowhere. The fact that the home had huge windows gave it a sense of voyeurism. The suspense takes a while to build, but it’s done cleverly. There is a lot of lurking in the shadows and mysterious noises. And what good is any horror movie without the cliché of the main character going to investigate a “strange noise” and having a black cat jump out of nowhere? It’s simply predictable but classic. It also has the infamous blonde friend who you can tell is going to die even before she opens her mouth to speak a word. The one annoying thing, though, is the constant ringing of the phone. At some points you want the killer to hurry up and come out and attack her so the phone can stop ringing. The best thing about this version is that the killer was not given an identity, unlike the 1979 original, in

which we get to know the madman and see his weaknesses and his struggles. The updated movie has the killer simply remain a voice over the phone until we see his appearance in the form of a dark shadow that torments Jill. There’s not a clear view of his face until the very end, but by then, the suspense and thrill is over. It was surprising to see a horror/thriller with a PG-13 rating. There was no nudity, very minimal cursing and very little blood. In the wake of films like “The Amityville Horror” and “Hostel,” it’s hard to do a well-made horror movie solely based on suspense and not gore. These days, Americans are so used to computerized special effects that they’ve forgotten how scary a movie can be with effective music and lighting. Because of the lack of blood and gore; it’s hard to put this movie in the “slasher film” genre. The movie takes more of a suspense/thriller route and it was more satisfying than the original. Though not worth the $8 one has to spend to get into the movie, it’s still a fun film to watch.

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‘Final’ installment worth seeing by Frank Calvillo

Reporter’s Rating: ★★★★✩ The Pan American

‘STRANGER’ hit 2nd time around by Trey Serna The Pan American

A & E

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Johnson’s latest album reminiscent of past work CD is soundtrack to new ‘Curious George’ movie By BRIAN CARR The Pan American

Reporter’s Rating: ★★★✩✩ Jack Johnson is today’s James Taylor: a quiet mannered, good-looking, singer songwriter with very little to offer in the way of innovation. He’s filler. He’s candy. Like the quiet guy you knew in high school who wasn’t quite one of your best friends but somehow made appearances in most of your old photos, smiling somewhere in the background. To that end, however, he is somehow necessary. Less a reflective lyricist than a redundant heartthrob, Jack Johnson passively fills the musical void of relaxed, avoidable music, for surfers to fall asleep to and pretty girls to play at picnics. Crooning with a refined simplicity and softly opining for the state of our eco-system, the professional-surfer acquaintance has forged himself a solid career by being forgettable. His latest endeavor, “Sing-a-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George,” follows suit in what has been a discography of non-

standouts. But the predictable non-illusive play list is a solid match for the youth-targeted movie, and it affords Johnson a suitable platform from which to further explore his simple subject matter and subsequent witty, childlike observations. Nearly mimicking the Oscar nominated undertaking by Paul Simon - a singer/songwriter who did have something to say - by working on an animated feature, Johnson steps away from adult themes, such as romance, and instead strings together a collection of modern fables set to music. On the bongo-driven album-opener “Upside Down,” Johnson establishes a smooth, albeit clichéd, voice for the speechless children’s-book hero to be identified with. And he relentlessly builds an optimism only mildly disturbed by the track’s unanswered finale: “Is this how it’s supposed to be?” Seamless and non-antagonistic, Johnson scores a mellow, though transparent, inner monologue for the curious monkey to search fruitlessly to. On “Broken,” the Hawaii tunesmith generalizes: “Without you I was broken, but I’d rather be broke down with you by my side.” On “People Watching,” he modestly pontifi-

Auction spices up campus UTPA fraternity hosts unique fundraiser By ANGELA SALAZAR The Pan American The month of February is usually thought of as being one of the most romantic of the year. Pink hearts and little cupids float around everywhere, reminding all that Valentine’s Day is a chance to spend time with someone special. Some, though, don’t have that someone. Tuesday, Phi Kappa Theta, a fraternity at the University of Texas-Pan American, decided not only to keep up the Valentine’s spirit, but also help spread it to those lacking it. During the activity period Tuesday, the fraternity held an auction to help raise money for their organization. Ten members were selected to be the lucky ones who would be auctioned. “We’ve been doing a lot of stuff around school,” said Rene Rodriguez, member of Phi Kappa Theta fraternity. “We wanted to do something that would raise a little money and something that would get the Greek community involved along with the rest of the school.” Each member was brought on stage, accompanied by his choice of music in the background, and brought forth to the bidders. Before the bidding wars began, the rules of the dates were read, which included that each bidder must be over the age of 18 years old, there was to be no alcohol consumption during the date and a chaperone would be provided if requested. After a short chuckle from the audience, the participants were brought out on the stage, each entering in a style befitting their personality.

While on stage, profiles were read telling details about each person. The usual little particulars were mentioned about what major they had, what they liked to do and their particular taste in girls. As the bidding began, it took a few bachelors to get the ball rolling, but once it did, there were some high numbers. Each bid began at $15 and went up from there. The highest bid went for Will McPherson at $185. “It felt good,” was what he said about the bid. “It’s Valentine’s Day,” the pre-law junior added, “and everyone needs a Valentine.” The lucky lady who won the bidding war for McPherson also won two dates at Pizza Hut with him. This is not the first or last time the fraternity has auctioned off things, or in this case people, and they encourage people to come out the next time. “It doesn’t matter if you bid,” said Marco A. Ramirez, president of Phi Kappa Theta. “Just come to have a good time.”

cates: “We’re just as lonely as we wanted to be.” Perhaps the brightest moments on the “Sing-a-long” roster are the moralistic blueprints “The Sharing Song” and “3 R’s,” which try to instill the importance of commonality and ecology, respectively. And The White Stripes cover “We’re Going to be Friends” adds lyrical brilliance, and youthful nostalgia, to the otherwise straightforward storytelling delivery. For all intents and purposes “Sing-alongs” delivers and achieves exactly what it set out to. Impressively simple, and stunningly humble, the stripped down arrangements are haunting and sweet and a great gateway drug for infants who will later graduate to rock-and-roll or something like it. For that reason, Johnson is the ideal candidate to mouth the tunes for the man in the yellow hat’s monkey. His music sounds like bike rides in the sunset. His message parallels the same scenario: a sticky-bun ending to a pretty-partygoers fantasy. And he and fellow singer Matt Costa fittingly deliver their salutations on the album’s sleepy so long “Lullaby”: “Night’s closed its eyes, but you can’t rest your head.”

NEWS

February 16, 2006

GROWING continued from page 1 as the associate vice president of research, In addition, UTPA has been actively working with organizations off campus to obtain funding and grants. The recent Minority Serving Institutions Research Partnerships conference was part of that centerpiece. A major component of the conference was teaching participants how to apply for federal research funds. THE PAST BEHIND US UTPA has historically had a full-time load, meaning faculty had to teach a total of at least 12 hours per semester, or four classes. However, as the university follows President Blandina Cardenas’s vision for a more research-oriented institution, professors will have more opportunities to write and obtain grants, publish papers and initiate research projects. Polinard explained that producing more publications will increase the prestige of the university. “Universities are quite often known for their research,” he said. “Faculty members at those universities are authoring books, publications and papers in scholarly journals.” The poly sci chair added that perhaps one of the most important outcomes gained from more research is the addition to students’ educational experiences. If professors are involved in research, the textbooks won’t be the only ones guiding the learning. “Having a research-oriented institution means you’re adding to the body of knowledge that’s going to be disseminated to the students,” Polinard said. “Instead of reading research done by other faculty at other universities, now students are in a classroom where a professor can say, ‘I was involved in a research project and we found this out.’” Reduced faculty workload also means that the student can work with the professor and come up with papers or work on labs. That will help students develop a research record that is useful for graduate school admission. “Active productive faculty can direct research and projects for students. So, release time and workload reduction are key to the success of institution,” said Lokenath Debnath, chair of the math department. Polinard added the reduction is an overall gain for all. “Common sense tells us that if a professor has three classes instead of four, they can then concentrate more on those classes,” he said. “Therefore, the students get a little more personal attention.” The drive for more research has also been influenced by the drive to enhance life in the Valley. “Bottom-line, we want to improve the quality of life, ” said Arevalo. NOT SO FAST At first glance, workload reductions appear to be an elixir for success for the university. However Polinard says that there are several noted negative effects. He cited the political science department as an example. “It’s all about logistics. The department has 14 faculty members. If you reduce the course loads by one, you’re offering 14 fewer sections,” Polinard explained. “That’s going to have an effect on being able to meet student demands for classes.” An incremental increase in student enrollment over the past few years has brought a new growing pain onto the plates of university administrators. While adding buildings and classrooms are long-

term solutions to growth, adding new professors to teach courses is a major obstacle that many departments face. In departments offering university core classes, this has been a major factor in the hiring of new faculty. Debnath, who has been at UTPA four years, has seen the effects of increased enrollment on the department. “Because of the increase, we are offering more sections in mathematics,” Debnath said. “We have to recruit new faculty because of more sections, and we’re doing it every year.” This semester, his department is offering close to 170 math-course sections, taught by nearly 60 instructors. More student demand translates into a need for more sections. A need for more sections leads to a demand for more professors, especially with the new nine-hour work load. In general, new hires are initiated straight from the department and are then sent to John Edwards, vice president of enrollment and student services, for approval. Other times, the request comes down from Edwards’ office, in response to a study of enrollment numbers and patterns. BRING IN THE CALVARY The College of Science and Engineering has been a prime example of UTPA’s growth. In 2004, numbers increased to nearly 2,500 students. According to Hassan Ahmad, chair of the chemistry department, the students in chemistry has increased in particular, up by 121percent over the last four years. The department has brought in four new faces, with two more on the way to meet student needs. Filling positions in the various departments across campus is not that simple to do. Many times, vacancies depend on the subfield that needs to be satisfied. In math for example, finding an instructor capable of teaching pure mathematics takes a lot less effort than finding one who can teach math education. So, what does the university do to attract candidates to UTPA? One tactic is to sell the city and its surroundings. Another is to make known all the opportunities open to faculty members working here. “We try to give them better salaries and release time for research and publication,” Debnath said. “We’re a minority-serving institution. If they apply for a grant promoting the institution here, they have a better chance at getting the proposal funded.” Debnath stressed that the university is always searching for the most qualified candidates to satisfy students’ educational needs. According to him, those candidates pass on the best educational experience a student can have. “It is very important to find the best qualified mathematics faculty so that we can offer the best education to our students,” he said. “We’re hiring faculty with diverse experiences. They’re bringing a multi-cultural experience to this society” “Our students aren’t just learning mathematics; they’re also learning academic culture and social culture,” Debnath emphasized. “We’re trying to give them a good mathematics education and prepare them to be global citizens. Diverse experiences are valuable for total education.” The university’s image has been shifting ever since its creation. New faces and new policies will continue to influence growth. Ahmad believes they will eventually bring the university to a new high. “It’s going to take a while. But it’s most definitely a positive step,” Ahmad said.

Page 11

ATTACKED continued from page 1 attacks are not connected because the one on Garcia was personal. Although these two incidents may not be related, the owners of the publication feel concern about the security of their employees. “In all the time that I have been working in El Manana I have not seen a similar action like the one that happened to our brother newspaper El Manana in Nuevo Laredo,” said Anacleto Garza, manager of the Mexican newspaper union of which El Manana is a part. “And with no doubt all the people working in the media are worried about this situation.” While Ramon Cantu Deandar, owner of the newspaper in Nuevo Laredo, showed his concerned for Orozco’s condition, he remained otherwise tight-lipped about the incident, saying simply that he has no idea who is responsible for these attacks. A couple days before the attacks, on Jan. 2627, a seminar about “drug trafficking, investigation and news coverage” was organized by the Instituto de Prensa de la Sociedad Interamericana and was held in Nuevo Laredo. El Manana was one of the promoters and sponsors of the seminar. The short time between these two events makes the rest of the employees and the citizens of the surrounding areas believe the attacks were no coincidence. Hilderbrando Deandar, executive owner of El Manana Reynosa, said that this continuous drug war south of the border between traffickers and law enforcement officials makes freedom of speech hard to practice. Sometimes it’s traffickers fighting among themselves. “Nuevo Laredo is in crisis because of all the insecurity in the city,” Deandar said. “El Manana is like any other citizen, in the middle of the war between two bands of drug dealers that are fighting

to get the control of the city because Nuevo Laredo is a very important city in the importation and exportation of drugs.” During the seminar, project FENIX was unveiled, which will investigate the cases where journalists have been attacked. Everybody is concerned about these acts of violence. Eugenio Hernandez, governor of the state of Tamaulipas, asked for more results in the fight against organized crime and added that any attack against a journalist is an attack on freedom of speech. “El Manana is asking the governor for more security, because our mission is to inform the audience about the things that are happening in our environment,” Deandar said. “This attack is not going to scare us; we are going to continue informing the audience, because we support the freedom of speech, so we are going to fight for it.” Some initial reports have the newspaper planning to back off on its coverage of the drug war to avoid violent incidents in the future. But Salinas agreed with Deandar, saying that unity will help fight injustice. “While all the media stay together in this situation, as we have seen all the expression of affection to El Manana, we are going to fight for the freedom of speech,” said Salinas. But the fight against freedom of speech comes at a price, according to Deandar. “It is a shame what happened to our reporter, Jaime Orozco. In a tragic coincidence, on his birthday, the doctors informed us that Orozco will not be able to walk anymore,” Deandar. “We are going to support him and his family.”

WOODWARD continued from page 1 campaign manager. The reporters had gathered evidence that Mitchell had approved the funding for the break-ins at the Democratic National Convention headquarters and Watergate-related operations. “When we wrote this story, Carl...kind of turned and said ‘You know, this president is going to be impeached,’” he said. “I paused and said ‘You’re right, but we can never use that word in this newsroom because people will think we have an agenda.’” Even with no agenda, Watergate became one of the most famous events of the century. Their struggles were even chronicled in a hit book and movie, “All the President’s Men.” Woodward said he was very pleased with how the movie came out because it accurately depicted the dedication required to complete the project. “Visually, they show us, well the actors playing us, looking through hundreds and hundreds of checkout cards [at the Library of Congress],” he said. “Then, the camera goes way up and, eventually, gets to the dome and you see these two little ants sitting at a table and there’s that sense of needle in a haystack. You have to have a willingness to do that.” THE FUTURE During his speech at UTPA, Woodward talked a little about what he plans to do next. But like a true journalist, he led up to that with a story. “A number of years ago, when I finished one of my books, the head of Simon and Schuster (Woodward’s publishing company) took me to dinner in New York City,” he said. “I sat down and

he said ‘So you’ve finished this book, what’s your next book?’” Woodward refused to say. After resisting the entire dinner long, Woodward gave in and said he’d figured out what his next book will be about. “He said ‘Great, what is it?’ I said, ‘My next book will be about the publishing business in New York City. He said ‘That’s a great idea. In fact, I have a sensational title for you…’My Last Book.’” Currently working on his third book about the Bush administration, Woodward was reluctant to give a title, as he was still unsure, but he assured everyone that the title will not be “My Last Book.”

Joel de la Rosa/The Pan American Q&A - Richard B. Nelson of Minnesota asks Woodward if he was surprised Mark Felt came forward as Deep Throat.

NEWS

Page 12

WORKSHOP continued from page 3 “The research is the most crucial because you want to be able to go in there with an understanding first of all of why you are applying, and to know about that company,” Chapa said. “Then, of course, if they ask you questions pertaining to the company, you’re prepared and able to do so. That will be an advantage to you because it’s going to adapt to you as a candidate.” Also present at the workshop was Lt. Col. Richard Hsu, a local recruiter for the officer programs for active duty and reserves, who offered this piece of advice to the students. “Take the other approach of making them try to be aggressive to hire you,” Hsu stated. “Because you can say, well, why should I work for you all? Tons of people are going to be stunned and will get defensive and tell you why you should work for them.”

Hsu will be on campus until next week to offer additional help and practice with interviewing styles for any interested students. Contact Career Placement Services at 381-2243 if interested in meeting with him. The interview styles workshop was just one of many services the Office of Placement Career Services offers to university students. Others include one-on-one career counseling, a resource library to aid in the career search process, mock interviews, and a good variety of resource materials to aid in the development of essential career skills such as resume writing, communication, dining etiquette, salary negotiation and preparation for entrance exams. “The goal is to assist [and] to prepare all university students in reaching their potential to compete as candidates,” Chapa said.

WILD AT HEART continued from page 3 one of my main goals.” The group hopes to bring more students to its Bible study sessions. “Someone invited me to the group, and it was really great,” said Guadalupe Trevino, a sophomore computer science major. “I’ve never been to a session like that. It would be really wonderful if a lot more people came because right now it’s kind of a small group.” For Tijeriina, the motivation behind his outreach is simple. “Our heart for the classes is to help men understand themselves, placing them in a position

to take responsibility and to lead. I read the book [‘Wild at Heart’] myself, I’ve actually read it several times, in the season of my life,” he said. “I was like ‘Oh my gosh this is what I needed to hear; this is what I needed to know.’ If I can help men specifically understand this, it’ll give their lives a whole new meaning.” WCCM has a church located at the corner of Moorefield and W. Griffin Parkway in Mission. The group is currently planning to open two more churches, in San Antonio and Belfast, Northern Ireland. For more information on the organization and its programs, visit www.worldcenterinc.com.

February 16, 2006

IDIOMS continued from page 3 around those related to food or clothes. While the English Language Institute (ELI) at the University of Texas-Pan American has its own book for teaching idioms, its director believes this could be a good investment for instructors. “It sounds like it’s a good read,” Norma Ramos, ELI’s director, said. Since students are still in the first stages of familiarizing themselves with idioms, UTPA’s ELI uses a more general textbook to teach its students. In addition to thorough knowledge of the basics, the university’s institute hopes its students can walk away from the program with the ability to express themselves naturally in non-academic environments. The program tried to familiarize people with colloquialisms via a special vocabulary and idiom class. “Our students generally come in knowing zero English,” Ramos said. “Gradually, we try getting them to master the language, and when they’re ready, we sharpen their skills so that they are comfortable speaking it.” A feeder program into the American academic arena for non-English speakers, ELI offers five intensive eight-week programs every year. From low beginning to high advanced, six levels of English classes are available and the ELI also houses a four-week special summer program for students eight years old and up. “We offer conversation courses for our students because a lot of times, they can have perfect English in the classroom, but once they are put in a real-world situation, they are very confused,” explained Ramos. “We can’t just teach them for-

mal English and expect them to sit through a movie and catch on to everything, for example.” The program’s curriculum is composed of grammar, listening and speaking, reading and writing, vocabulary and idioms, and academic preparation for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), which is offered by UTPA several times a year, is a requirement in applications for most American universities. Carolyn Flores, a part-time instructor for the institute who teaches a vocabulary and idioms course, believes that while sometimes there are English phrases equivalent to those used in a student’s native tongue, this is not always the case. But they need not lose their heads over this. “I try telling them not to stress over it, because they won’t ever learn every idiom that exists in English,” she said. “The other day I tried explaining the term, ‘to cry one’s eyes out,’ to the class. They all cringed and thought it was gross.” Lower-level classes make up the first four stages of the program. While students are not exposed to idioms at that point for practical reasons, once they reach a high level of fluency, they are given the option of taking the TOEFL and academic preparation course, and a vocabulary and idioms course. “You teach a student an idiom once, and they’ll remember it forever,” Flores said. “They find them so unusual, it’s impossible for them to forget it.” On her website, Pare addresses the importance of learning idioms. “Idioms and expressions...are ‘the heart of a language.’”

SPORTS

February 16, 2006

SPORTS CLIPBOARD Mean green roll easily at home, 84-45, over Broncs Lien comes up big in loss The University of North Texas cruised past the UTPA men's basketball program by an 84-45 margin at The Super Pit in Denton last night. The Mean Green came out firing early and often in the first half and quickly took a 13-point advantage at 17-4 when Calvin Watson connected on the third UNT three-pointer in the first three minutes with 16:43 remaining in the first half. North Texas was able to increase its first half lead to over 20 points at 266 following a lay-in by junior center Jeffery Simpson at the 10:42 mark. Throughout the remainder of the first half, the Broncs would only cut the lead to less than 20 points twice as the Mean Green headed into the locker room with a safe 47-21 advantage at intermission. In the second half, the Mean Green continued to rally onto the Broncs by taking their biggest lead of the game to 49 points at 74-25 with 12:09 remaining in the game. North Texas cruised throughout the remainder of the half en route to heading into the locker room with an 84-45 triumph. The Mean Green had four players reach double figures in the contest with Simpson collecting a team-high 14 points on 7-12 shooting in the contest. Isaac Hines and Kendrick Davis collected 12 and 11 points, respectively, while Watson chipped in with 10 points for the Mean Green. Colin Lien scored a game-high 16 points in the game to go along with seven rebounds in 31 minutes of action. Dexter Shankle, who played all 40 minutes for the second straight game, finished with 11 points and five rebounds while Danny Puente. The Broncs will be back at the UTPA Fieldhouse on Monday where UTPA welcomes Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to the Rio Grande Valley. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.

Lady Broncs dominate Huston-Tillotson 71-38 Reed has strong finish at home The University of Texas-Pan American women's basketball team picked up its sixth win of the season last night at the UTPA Fieldhouse over the HustonTillotson Rams by a score of 71-38. The Rams kept the game close in the early-going, even leading by three at the 12:12 mark in the first half. Things quickly changed as the Lady Broncs went on a 9-0 run for the 19-13 advantage. After a Huston-Tillotson basket, UTPA turned it on and pulled away thanks to a 14-0 run. The first half ended with the Lady Broncs leading by 15. UTPA slowly built its lead during the second half, leading by 23 with 12:51 left on the clock. As the half progressed, the Lady Broncs led by as many as 36 points thanks to a pair of free throws by Robin Garrett. HTU closed the score to 71-38 on a free throw from Tamara Sansom with eight second left to play. The Lady Broncs played tough defense against the Rams, limiting them to just nine field goals made on 36 attempts. UTPA out-rebounded HTU by a 51-28 margin and pulled down more offensive rebounds (31) than the Rams had total. The Lady Broncs also forced 34 turnovers and recorded 22 steals. "Between the 31 offensive rebounds and 22 steals, that gave us 53 extra possessions in this game. Those two numbers are good signs at the end of a season because it shows that players are still working hard. I was also extremely impressed that we only allowed them to take 36 shots," said head coach DeAnn Craft. Senior Devin Reed led all players in scoring with 17 points on 6-14 shooting, 3-7 from behind the three-point line. Reed also dished out five assists, had four steals and one block in 34 minutes on the floor. "Devin had an excellent floor game tonight. With 17 points and five assists she was really a spark on the court," added Craft. Garrett finished the night with 13 points and nine rebounds for the Lady Broncs, connecting on 5-9 shooting from the field. MaHogany Daniel had a solid all-around game as she scored eight points, grabbed nine rebounds and six steals. Daniel also added two assists and one block in just 18 minutes of playing time. Teshay Winfrey was the third Lady Bronc to score in double-digits with an 11 points performance. Freshman guard Rachel Jones pitched in five points in the winning effort while also doling out four assists and notching four steals. "Rachel also had a very good floor game despite some turnovers. She played well tonight and had very good shot selection," stated Craft. The Lady Broncs begin a three-game road swing on Saturday when they travel to Fort Wayne, Ind. to take on the IPFW Mastodons at 1 p.m. UTPA Sports Information

Page 13

FOR THE RECORD UTPA SPORTS

Edwards 2-4 0-0 1-2-3 0 Buck 0-0 0-0 0-0-0 0 Totals 15-51 12-17 12-18-30 7

Baseball Monday, Feb. 13 LAMAR 13, UTPA 3 UTPA 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

R H E

Percentages: FG .294 FT, .706, 3-Point 3-12, .250. Blocked shots: 4 (Robinson 1, Lien 1, Shankle 1, Edwards 1). Turnovers: 23 (Sheppard 8, Lien 5, Robinson 3, Trader 3, Puente 3, Shankle 1).

UTPA 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 5 2 LU 0 2 0 0 3 3 0 3 X 11 16 1

3 1 4 3 1 3 1 2 4 4 1 2 2 1 32

0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3

0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 5

RBI

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

1 0 1 2 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 1 2 1 13

PITCHING

Guerra 5.0 Casares 0.1 Guajardo 0.2 Haines 1.1 Foster 0.2

9 6 1 2 3 0 3 3 0 0

3 1 0 1 0

6 0 1 0 0

24 2 5 6 2

Basketball

Simpson 7-12 0-0 Barnett 1-4 3-4 Davis 5-10 0-0 Hines 4-6 2-2 Watson 4-9 0-0 Brown 2-3 0-0 Ruffin 1-4 0-0 Young 2-4 1-1 Higgs 0-0 0-0 Edwards 2-3 0-0 Stewart 0-1 0-0 Williams 4-6 1-3 Howerton 1-4 2-3 Totals 33-66 9-13

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

Robinson 0-4 0-1 0-2-2 Lien 5-17 6-7 5-2-7 Trader 1-7 2-2 4-3-7 Sheppard 0-5 2-5 0-5-5 Shankle 4-10 2-2 1-4-5 Puente 3-4 0-0 0-0-0

1-2-3 1 5-3-8 1 1-1-2 3 1-3-4 2 2-0-2 2 0-2-2 3 0-1-1 0 1-2-3 1 1-1-2 1 1-4-5 0 0-1-1 0 3-4-7 1 0-0-0 0 17-28-45 12

Pts

14 5 12 13 11 5 2 5 0 4 0 9 4 84

Percentages: FG .500 FT, .692, 3-Point 9-18, .500. Blocked shots: 9 (Simpson 5, Barnett 2, Watson 1, Williams 1). UTPA.........................21 24 - 45 UNT...........................47 37 - 84

Women’s Wednesday, Feb. 15 UTPA 71, HUSTON-TILLOTSON 38

Men’s

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

UTPA A Pts

1 1 2 2 1 0

0 6 4 2 11 8

3 4 71

Percentages: FG .400 FT, .600, 3-Point 6-21, .286. Blocked shots: 4 (Daniel 1, Reed 1, Coulson 1, Gooden 1). Turnovers: 28 (Jones 6, Winfrey 5, Kostacky 4, Garrett 4, Montague 2, Daniel 2, Ramirez 1, Coulson 1, Gooden 1, Reed 1). HTU

UTPA

Wednesday, Feb. 15 NORTH TEXAS 84, UTPA 45

Coulson 1-3 1-3 3-3-6 1 Gooden 2-4 0-0 4-2-6 1 Totals 28-70 9-15 31-20-51 16

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

BATTING

Gilmer Flores Alamia Brooks Bartosh Powers Calabro Spears Autrey Lozano Whittlesey Pena Talley Garcia Totals

4 0 45

Jones Reed Daniel Garrett Fuentes Wilson Montague Kostacky Winfrey Ramirez

2-5 6-14 4-6 5-9 1-5 1-1 1-6 1-2 4-15 0-0

1-2 2-2 0-2 3-4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2-2 0-0

2-0-2 1-2-3 6-3-9 5-4-9 2-0-2 0-1-1 1-0-1 2-1-3 2-1-3 0-0-0

A Pts

4 5 2 0 1 0 1 1 2 0

5 17 8 13 2 3 3 2 11 0

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

Ellis 0-0 1-2 Parrilla 1-3 0-0 Taylor 1-9 7-11 Williams 1-2 3-4 Mosley 3-7 1-2 Sansom 0-2 1-2 Swearinton 0-1 2-4 Davis 1-5 3-4 Lanza 0-0 0-0 Walker 1-5 0-1 Brown 0-0 0-0 Coleman 1-2 0-0 Portillo 0-0 0-1 Totals 9-36 18-31

0-0-0 2 1-2-3 1 1-2-3 2 1-1-2 0 2-2-4 0 0-0-0 0 0-0-0 0 5-0-5 0 0-0-0 0 0-1-1 0 0-0-0 0 0-0-0 0 1-1-2 1 12-16-28 6

Pts

1 2 4 5 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 1 18

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). HTU.........................18 20 - 38 UTPA.......................33 38 - 71 Men’s upcoming schedule 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. 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 BURNING TIME - Sophomore Tiona Wilson dribbles downcourt as the Lady Broncs run out the clock to secure their 71-38 victory Wednesday night at the UTPA Field House.

Page 14

SPORTS

February 16, 2006

Ogletree Classic highlights baseball weekend By FERNANDO MARTINEZ PECHS The Pan American The University of Texas-Pan American baseball team will host the fourth annual Al Ogletree Classic starting Friday and running through Sunday. This tournament serves as a tribute to former coach Al Ogletree, the greatest coach in Bronc baseball history, who took control of the baseball program in 1968 and stayed 29 seasons, making his mark as one of the most victorious coaches in NCAA history. In the 1971 season, the squad, headed by Ogletree, finished with a 44-9 record that gave them the opportunity to be part of the College World Series. At the series the Broncs were defeated two times by Southern Illinois University, and achieved victories against Harvard and Seton Hall. The Broncs finished the tournament fourth of eight teams, making their mark as one of the greatest teams in UTPA annals. In his years at what was then called Pan American University, Ogletree compiled a 1,084-618-1 record for a .637 winning percentage. For his brilliant numbers, he was honored with selection to nine different halls of Fame: the Austin H.S. Hall of Honor, Texas A&M, American Baseball Coaches Association, The Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame, UTPA Hall of Fame, University of Dallas Collegiate Hall of Fame, Sul Ross State Hall of Fame and Texas Sports Hall of Fame. As a college coach, Ogletree helped develop 175 future coaches, including current UTPA coach Willie Gawlik, Houston Astros pitching coach Jim

Hickey and Perry Hill, first base coach for the The Pan American Florida Marlins. All were former pupils of Ogletree. Coming off four straight losses with a combined “Coach Al was a great mentor for me, he had score of 42-6, the UTPA baseball team needs to extremely high expectations on every player he rebound when it hosts the 4th annual Al Ogletree coached. This will be an exciting weekend, and the Classic starting Friday and ending Sunday at the tournament will be a tribute to him,” Gawlik said. Edinburg Baseball Stadium. The Ogletree event will bring on three The Broncs come off a disappointing three-game solid baseball teams: Stephen F. Austin, Arkansas road trip to Beaumont, where they dropped three in and TCU. The latter two made it to last year’s a row to Lamar. After a solid showing at the Bronc NCAA tournament. The Bronc opener will be Classic to start the against Stephen season - where it won F. Austin three of four - the University on (all at Edinburg Baseball Stadium) team is now starting Friday at 5 p.m.. to show signs of “These are trouble. quality teams The team batting that made the average is just .230, playoffs last year. Fri. and the Broncs have This is will be an 2/17/06 Arkansas vs. TCU 1 p.m. been outscored 67-25 e x c i t i n g 2/17/06 UTPA vs. Stephen F. Austin 5 p.m. and outhit 87-56. tournament,” UTPA has managed G a w l i k one home run in concluded. The Sat. eight games while team currently 2/18/06 Stephen F. Austin vs. Arkansas 1 p.m. opponents have hit has a 3-5 record 2/18/06 UTPA vs. TCU 6 p.m. seven, accounting after being swept for a wide by Lamar last Sun. Stephen F. Austin vs. TCU 10 a.m. discrepancy in weekend, but 2/19/06 s l u g g i n g hopes to turn 2/19/06 UTPA vs. Arkansas 2 p.m. percentage: UTPA things around as slugs a meager .279 this weekend’s while enemies have competition a .489 power mark. nears.

Al Ogletree Classic Schedule

UTPA has five stolen bases and has allowed nine. Junior infielder Osiel Flores of Mission, a transfer from The University of Texas-Brownsville, has been a solid hitter so far with a .444 average, four runs scored and five walks, to lead the team in those categories. Six-foot-six junior outfielder Leighton Autrey of Stephenville is at .308 with a team-best eight hits, while junior Californian Patrick Brooks has been the team’s best run producer, with six RBI. Senior all-star Louie Alamia of Edinburg is off to a slow start along with most of the Broncs, as he brings a middling .250 average into the tournament. The pitching, a soft spot last season, continues to be a weakness, as the team earned-run average is an astronomical 8.18. In 87 innings, Bronc hurlers have surrendered 87 hits, though they have managed almost a 2-to-1 ratio in strikeouts to walks. Friday the Classic gets going as the Broncs face Stephen F. Austin at 5 p.m. On Saturday, it’s UTPA against TCU at 6 p.m., and the finale comes against Southeastern Conference foe Arkansas, at 2 p.m. After the Ogletree, it’s off to Huntsville for three games against Sam Houston State Feb. 24-26, and then the Bearkats return the favor, coming to the Valley for a three-game set March 3-5. As Spring Break begins, the baseballers head out on a 15-game road trip that does not end until April 4, when they will be at home against the University of Texas-San Antonio. Through four home games the team continues to draw well, averaging 2,632 fans to the Stadium.

Bronc track, tennis teams gaining momentum UTPA Sports Information The University of Texas-Pan American men's tennis squad fell to Southland Conference foe Lamar University Feb. 11 at the Orville Cox Tennis Center, 4-3. Senior Oliver Steil improved his season record to 2-1 with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Maciej Bogusz in second flight action. Steil teamed with Danny Farias in doubles action and fell 8-6 to Brett Sticker and Tyler Cobb. Farias lost his sixth flight singles match to Sticker 7-5, 6-2. In top-flight singles play, Nik Porter dropped a 6-2, 6-2 decision to Filip Kanczula. Rehman Esmail won his first match of the season over Jacob Eastwood by a 6-1, 6-2 count. Porter and Wells were handed an 8-3 loss in doubles competition. Newcomer Andrew Bost earned his first career victory as a Bronc, defeating Evan Hays 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Bost and teammate Alberto Gomez of Brownsville picked up the doubles victory over Hays and Eastwood 8-3. Gomez dropped his fourth flight singles match to Wesley Arnold 6-4, 6-1. The Broncs’ next match comes against Grambling State on Friday at 2 p.m. in Hammond, La., against Southeastern Louisiana and Nicholls State. The women's tennis team hosted the Lamar Cardinals this weekend at the Orville Cox

Tennis Center and fell 7-0. Marine de Bourqueney played a tough match in the second flight against Lamar's Tara Shelander, losing 2-6, 6-4, 1-0. De Bourqueney teamed with Hidalgo’s Jessica Nanez in thirdflight doubles competition and dropped the match 8-2 to Mariantonieta Gutierrez and Kendall Gibbs. Nanez lost her singles match to Gibbs 6-1, 6-3. In top-flight singles, Silke Buksik fell to Andrea Martinez 6-0, 6-1 while Nicole Garcia dropped her match 6-2, 6-1. Buksik and Garcia lost in doubles action 8-0. Edinburg’s Sheila Mabulac and teammate Elysia Sloan fell in doubles action to Tanya Roberts and Pamela Martinez 8-3. Sloan lost her singles match 6-4, 6-2 while Mabulac fell by a 6-2, 6-0 count. The Lady Broncs return to the court on Friday when they take on the Stephen F. Austin State Lumberjacks in Corpus Christi at 9 a.m.

Track captures three titles The indoor track and field programs had a strong showing in Houston for the second consecutive weekend, as the Broncs and Lady Broncs set 13 records, captured three championships and broke a 16-year-old school record Saturday. Deon Marquis claimed the UTPA record in

the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.82, eclipsing the mark set by LaShaunne Cortez in back in 1990. The UTPA sophomore finished 11th overall in that event. The UTPA women's throwers had a tremendous meet, claiming the individual championships in both the shot put and weight throw. Amanda Ferris won the shot put title with a toss of 45-5.50 while Amber Kelly finished third and Michelle Elizondo claimed fifth. In the weight throw, the roles reversed as Kelly captured the title with a toss of 55-0 while Ferris finished third after reaching the 47-3.75 mark. Weslaco’s Liliana Cavazos also had a strong showing in the jumps where she finished second in the triple jump with a distance of 376.75 and sixth in the long jump with a mark of 17-6.25. A pair of UTPA women runners earned fourth-place finishes with Vanessa Brown in the 400-meter dash (59.35) and Edinburg’s Karla Hernandez in the 3,000-meter race with a time of 10:35.69. Shardae Bey finished fifth overall in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:22.30. “This was a great meet for the women,” said head coach Ricky Vaughn. “We came away with a couple of titles and several top-five finishes so I'm pleased with of effort overall. The women throwers really had a tremendous meet with Amanda and Amber each winning a

title. Lili had a strong showing in both the long jump and triple jump.” On the men's side, Luis Nava of La Joya captured the championship in the one-mile race with a time of 4:21.23 while David Trevino of Brownsville notched a personal-best of 4:25.48 in that event while crossing the end line in fourth place. In the 3,000 meters, J.J. Hernandez of P-SJA North finished third overall with a time of 4:46.02 while teammate Hector Gandara of Mission finished fourth overall with a time of 4:47.33. Raymondville’s Matt Clinton finished third overall in the weight throw with a distance of 51-3.50. “Our distance runners really had a standout meet, and I can't say enough about the job that these young men did today,” Vaughn said. “Luis ran a tremendous meet in the one-mile, and I'm very proud of J.J. and Hector in the 3,000 meters. “Overall, we did exactly what we wanted to accomplish in this meet, and I think that this is something for us to build on for the outdoor season. Right now, everybody has high spirits and feels good about their performances so we're excited to see what the outdoor season brings for us,” Vaughn concluded. The Broncs and Lady Broncs open their 2006 outdoor season at the Border Olympics held in Laredo the first week of March.

SPORTS

February 16, 2006

Page 15

Sophomore captain takes role seriously

Shankle motivated to steer Broncs toward success next season By JORGE HINOJOSA The Pan American Sophomore Dexter Shankle is in his second season playing for The University of TexasPan American Broncs basketball team. Last season he appeared in 21 games but this year, he has developed as one of the team’s most dependable starters, leading the Broncs in scoring. As a college freshman Shankle said there were seven seniors playing ahead of him, so he had to wait his turn. Now he is shining. “My freshman year was just more of a learning year for me, I had to sit back, and I didn’t get that much playing time,” said Shankle, from Katy, near Houston. Now he is seeing more time on the hardwood floor for a young team, often making his way in to the double-digit mark for points in a game. “This year there is no comparison to last year, I’m

playing 30 to 35 minutes that on the court he could be a game. I’m a leader on more consistent as a vocal the team. I’m a captain, leader, and knowing that he so I’m more involved with the can see the court better he team and people will listen to needs to keep his head up and me,” said Shankle. be aware. Sometimes he Shankle has no problem allows himself to do stepping up to the challenge, otherwise. with a chance Basketball to prove his is a top priority skills and in Shankle’s take a life. If it leading role. wasn’t for For the basketball he remainder of wouldn’t be at the season UTPA. and going in W i t h -Dexter Shankle to next basketball UTPA Bronc basketball s e a s o n Shankle also Shankle feels that a problem has the privilege of getting a that needs some fixing is the free education, and is pursuing a team’s inability finish games. major in criminal justice and a He says they don’t finish the minor in sociology. He sees way they start. himself going into law “Part of that comes from us enforcement one day, perhaps being a young team,” said joining the FBI. Shankle. “The coaches knew The quick guard that it was going to be a rough remembers playing basketball season for us.” at a young age, back at home In a more introspective in his driveway. Where it ends, moment, Shankle said he feels he still doesn’t know.

Q “I’m going to ride out basketball as long as I can, until my body tells me I can’t play anymore.”

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“I’m going to ride out basketball as long as I can, until my body tells me I can’t play anymore,” said Shankle. When Shankle was in his younger years, his first love was football, but basketball was always more interesting. Though he still likes to watch football, basketball is his number one. In high school Shankle was twice named team most valuable player, and he was a two-time all-district pick in 19-5A. He also received a ranking of 12th in the state out of high school. These days Shankle is practicing hard to be a good basketball player, and this takes up the majority of his time. “I have love for the game, but I have to take it seriously, this isn’t a guarantee, and if I don’t take UTPA athletic department it seriously I might not be here next year,” said SHINING THROUGH - Sophomore Dexter Shankle is a standout on the struggling Bronc squad. The team captain is serious about basketball. Shankle. When asked how UTPA was treating him, Shankle had always go an extra mile to fan. He’ll have a country song no hesitation saying things are make sure I had the money to playing and I’ll sing along, great. go play the tournaments so I then he’ll look at me kind of “I love UTP., I stay down could be seen by college weird,” said Shankle, smiling. here nine to ten months out of coaches. She was greatly Lil’ Wayne is one artist the year. It was everything supportive of me.” among many others that they told me it would be,” said His parents also get to see Shankle has certainly been Shankle. how good his relationship with appealed to. One of those Shankle is also a fan of the his teammates is. others is Larry Sheppard, a Rio Grande Valley. And, he is “I love them all like UTPA guard who has a few liking the fact that it isn’t so brothers. We’re one big CDs out. big. family,” said Shankle. Another activity Shankle Living in T h e participates in when finding Katy, a l e a d i n g the time is kicking back and suburb of s c o r e r watching a few movies. Houston, he doesn’t have His collection of DVD’s would have to a n y ranges to the 200 mark and a drive half an c o m p l a i n t s couple of his favorites consist hour to get to about the of “Man on Fire,” and where he c o a c h e s “Training Days.” Both feature needed to go, either, saying Denzel Washington who and down he can talk to Shankle thinks is a really good h e r e them about actor. everything he anything. He Shankle may have some - Shankle needs is close also knows free time to listen to music and by. it’s part of watch some movies, but it Shankle’s parents, who live their job to criticize him, and isn’t much free time. in Houston, try to make as he has no problem handling Basketball and studies are many games as they can. that. a major priority in his life and When the weekend comes On the lighter side he he is trying hard to get his around they make the drive to enjoys listening to hip-hop degree and further his the home games and have even and R&B music, but also has basketball career. made the drive to some of the interest in other genres of The first of the last two away games. music. home games of the season for “My mom and dad were “Sometimes on the bus the Broncs will be on Monday always supportive,” he said. Coach Dolan will play as they take on Texas A&M“My mom mainly, she would country, he’s a big country- Corpus Christi at 7:30 p.m.

Q “I have love for the game, but I have to take it seriously, this isn’t a guarantee, and if I don’t take it seriously I might not be here next year.”

SPORTS

Clipboard..........................13 Ogletree Classic...............14 Dexter Shankle.................15

Daniel finds support from team, family By DARYL GONZALES The Pan American

basketball coach growing up.” Daniel says her active dad/coach is a blessing, adding that her mother is also a In a year that didn’t turn out the way anyone regular in Edinburg. expected, University of Texas-Pan American “Everyone thinks that he [dad] might junior forward MaHogany Daniel is staying bother me, but unless I’m on the sideline at optimistic, trying to finish this season and half court going to take the ball in, then I’m preparing for her final run next year. fine. Now, if its my mom’s voice, then I can “I love the team and coaching staff, I think hear over everyone in the Field House,” the that we get along well on and off the court, and junior added. that’s helpful when you have a season like As the team struggles to fill half the seats this,” Daniel said. The Lady Broncs had won in the gym, that big support system from the just five games heading into sidelines has helped Daniel to Wednesday’s match against improve in almost every Huston-Tillotson. They won aspect of the game since her 14 times last season. freshman season. The Corpus Christi native “I won’t lie. At our last did not have to travel far to home game against South . compete for a Division I Dakota State, it was a bit hard program, and that has knowing that they [SDSU] allowed her relatives to stand had more fans come so far by her side every time she down to just see them play. -MaHogany Daniel steps on the home court. But then again, if you want UTPA Lady Bronc basketball An avid fan can see, if he fan support, you have to win,” or she attends one of the Lady Bronc games, she said. The Lady Broncs average about 700 the one gentleman always shouting toward the fans per game. court. He is none other than Michael Daniel, Since her arrival, her scoring average has the proud father of the three-year lettermen. jumped at least 2.2 points each season, as she “My mom and dad always come to my is contributing an average of 7.2 points a game home games, but I guess that most people in 2006. Also on a rise from last season are her notice my dad. It’s really nice and comforting rebounds per game and assists sitting at 6.7 and to see some familiar faces in the stands,” 3.9, respectively. Daniel said. “He was definitely the one that Though her team is currently 5-18 on the pushed me, along with my mom, to stay very season thus far, the junior shows her optimistic active, but my dad was my first-ever maturity, looking at this season in regard to

“I’ve learned a lot with everything that has been occurring ...every game is a learning experience”

preparing for next year. “It was definitely the toughest schedule since I’ve arrived here. Unfortunately, it has also been the worst season since I’ve been here, record-wise,” Daniel said. “Though, I’ve learned a lot with everything that has been occurring. Obviously, we all wish that we could have more wins, but every game is a l e a r n i n g experience and that’s what will help us improve as a team,” she continued. The tough season has left her with a good look at her team under the pressure of finding a win. “Our team is really great, they’re not one of those teams that points fingers when things get rough, because there is no ‘I’ in team and everyone knows that they may have contributed to the loss,” she added. When looking back at the support she has received so far, Daniel has one duo to acknowledge. “Definitely my parents! I wouldn’t be half of what I am without my parents,” she concluded.

DRIVING! - Junior forward MaHogany Daniel works her way toward the paint. Daniel is the only junior on the Lady Bronc squad, and is optimistic about her senior season, and UTPA finale.

UTPA athletic department

By NATALIE HAIME The Pan American The University of Texas-Pan American golf teams are gearing up for tournaments this weekend to begin the spring season. The women are looking forward to competing in the Islander Spring Classic hosted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Feb, 20-21. “Everyone has been practicing very hard, trying to get ready for this upcoming tournament,” Coach Barb Odale explained. “All the girls are very focused on their individual games, and know what they need to work on specifically to make the entire team competitive.” The women leave Saturday morning and will be back to campus by mid-week. Nicole Boychuk, a senior on the UTPA squad, is excited to kick off the season. “I’m sure we’ll do well,” Boychuk said. “We’ve all been working hard for the past couple of weeks and eventually everything will all come together.” The women will then travel to Comfort, Texas, for

the UTSA Rowdy Round-Up in March, and will have a date in San Marcos at the beginning of April. The tournament schedule is spread out, giving the girls some extra practice time. “Last semester was tough. There was a lot of traveling which didn’t leave much time for solid practice,” golfer Daniela Cortes explains. “This semester looks like it is much better.” The men’s golf team has also been working hard, and Coach Andrew Tredway is looking at an upcoming tournament in San Antonio very positively. “The guys have been working very hard this week,” he said. “We’ve been trying to simplify the game in an attempt not to try so hard. Basically just keep it simple.” The men, who will be participating in the Roadrunner Intercollegiate Feb. 20-21 at the University of Texas-San Antonio, are looking to this tournament to start the season off right. Jeff Hensley, a sophomore on the men’s team, understands how Tredway feels.

“I definitely agree with coach,” he commented. “You have to crawl before you walk and sometimes we expect too much out of ourselves as individuals.” Hensley also predicts good performances from his teammates. “Four of us have already played in this tournament, and we know the golf course,” he explained. “ I expect that we will do very well.” In addition to the will to perform that comes with every match, the team has extra incentive for doing well in San Antonio. “Our ex-coach will be there (UTSA) this weekend and we want to show him how well we can play,” Hensley noted. Drew Scott left UTPA last season to take the coaching job at Rice University, and will have his team in the Alamo City. Both teams have much to look forward to this season. With schedules that are not quite as grueling as last semester’s was, both hope to be competitive at tournaments, and use down time for quality practice hours.

Sidney Meadows / The Pan American

UTPA golf opens spring season with weekend tourneys

SHORT GAME - Carling Filewich practices her putting game at the Cimarron Hills Golf course Wednesday.