September 27, 2007 by UTRGV Student Media

58th Year No. 5

Thursday September 27, 2007

PREVIEW

OVERVIEW

Pelosi among most anticipated

Event brings prominent leaders to UTPA

By ALEX LEON

By BOBBY CERVANTES

The Pan American

THIS WEEK

With Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology Week in full swing, The University of Texas-Pan American has again become an educational hotspot, visited by thousands hoping to participate in the university’s annual effort to promote science/tech literacy. Though half of the week’s events have already ended, several are still in store for those wishing to partake. Three major ones are the Robotics Expo, Career Expo and Community Day. During the HESTEC Robotics Expo on Thursday, students will have the chance to learn about and interact with new technologies that help preserve natural resources. According to Gustavo Salinas, assistant director of minority business development and Robotics Expo coordinator, the event will feature the SargentWelch/K’NEX Education Solar Model Competition, in which 60 five-member teams comprised of high school freshmen will participate. Each team will have to build a solar-powered vehicle and race it with the rest.

“The purpose of this is to expose students at an early age to start thinking about their future,” Salinas said. “[This is especially] to create awareness in students that they can become teachers, astronauts and engineers.” The solar model car competition will begin at 11:45 a.m. at the university’s soccer field. Rex W. Tillerson, chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation and Nancy Pelosi, speaker for the U.S. House of Representatives, will be the main speakers at the Robotics Expo. Pelosi’s speech will emphasize the importance of increasing mathematics and engineering studies in schools, Salinas said. According to Roland Arriola, vice president for community engagement, 100 tickets were reserved for UTPA students to attend the speech, while the remaining 700 are meant for students and teachers at local elementary schools, middle schools and high schools. “The main focus of Speaker Pelosi’s visit is so that we get students in the community interested in science and technology,” he said. “She is com-

See ANTICIPATED page 11

The Pan American This week, the sixth annual Hispanic, Engineering, Science, and Technology Week drew in top corporate, educational and government leaders to the Rio Grande Valley. Among the slew of activities, two events in particular were clear crowd-pleasers. STANDOUT AFFAIRS HESTEC week commenced with Educator Day Monday, which featured a Congressional Roundtable. Held in the UTPA Field House, the Roundtable brought together government officials and business leaders to discuss the necessity of keeping the United States on the forefront of worldwide innovation by educating students, especially Hispanics, in the fields of math, science and technology. Those who attended the event, moderated by ABC reporter John Quinones, heard speeches delivered by top executives from Verizon Communications, Texas Instruments, Chevron, Hewlett Packard, Lockheed Martin and NASA. Tuesday was Leadership Day,

which gave students a chance to hear from a variety of professionals in fields ranging from technological advancements to environmental conservation efforts. Electrical systems engineer of Ford Motor Company and UTPA alum, Aaron Acuña spoke to a group of high school freshmen during the event at the UTPA Field House. “My education at UTPA provided me the critical thinking skills that have stayed with me until today,” said the Valley native. “Whenever there’s a problem at work, I use those skills to solve it as best I can.” Acuña was pleased to see students interested in what was presented to them, proving that they will be taking something away from HESTEC. “We try to bring in major executives to talk to at least 1300-1500 students about opportunities in Fortune 500 companies,”

See HESTEC page 11

For more on HESTEC see page 5.

SECURITY

NEWS Student credit card use, debt on the rise See Page 3

A&E Large hype surrounds latest Halo installment See Page 8 and 9

SPORTS Eternal question: Is UTPA ready for some football? See Page 13

Campuses struggle to fill police officer spots Low pay may play role in PD retention woes By SANDRA GONZALEZ The Pan American As university police departments across the country develop plans and measures to deal with the “if” situations of campus security, some schools within the UT System are asking not for proce-

dures, but police officers. While the most recent University of Texas-Pan American Campus Safety report states there are “26 certified police officers, security officers, and various administrative support personnel,” the 2006-2007 report is somewhat misleading, according to a former UTPA Police Department employee. When stripped of guards, personnel and administrative officers, the number of on-beat police officers stands at just six, reported the former employee, who chose to maintain anonymity. That translates in

to one officer for every 2,903 students. James Loya, assistant chief of police, however, said in an e-mail inquiry that the university is “authorized 18 officers and 15 guards that assist the everyday security needs of the University.” This would mean UTPA’s officer-to-student ratio stands at a much safer 968.6 student per officer. While UTPA’s PD currently provides security services for the Starr County Upper Level Center in Rio Grande City, according to Loya, exactly how many work at the center are unclear.

Follow-up inquiries to Loya were not answered by publication. However, Loya did acknowledge the advantage of added force. “We can always benefit by having more officers,” he said. “This will allow us to provide more crime prevention sessions and participate in more off campus crime awareness functions.” The need for more forces extends beyond UTPA, however. The University of Texas-Brownsville Police Chief John Cardoza said while he does have enough

See SECURITY page 11

Page 2

O PINION

September 27, 2007

THE PAN AMERICAN

Q SOCIAL COMMENTARY

Q QUINTERO QUESTIONS

Mmm...foot tastes good BY: SANDRA GONZALEZ

n Sunday, I came face to face with a 9-foot ghost of high school

past. He used to be a shy boy. Not very tall or much of a presence at all. He may have been 16 at the time, but his fashion sense was on par with a slightly less hip Mr. Rogers; complete with knits and loafers. He would spend the entire lunch period in the physics classroom with a few other nerds, regaling Mr. Lopez with their tales of geekdom. Expectedly, he was called names. Nerd. Dork. Lame. Smart as hell, but socially retarded. The latter I said in a casual conversation with a friend of mine. In high school, he never scored a point in anything anyone cared about, and I don’t think he went to prom. Considering how overlooked — let’s call him Bo — Bo was in high school, I never expected to see him again. But imagine my kick-you-in-thecrotch surprise when I saw Bo’s oversized head on a 9-foot monitor this weekend at the opening ceremonies of sorts for Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology Education Week. There he was. Five video screens of his perfect man-bouffant and half-lidded eyes. I once had a half-baked theory that the weight of his brain made it impossible for him to fully open his eyes. It’s a funny — and by that I mean completely embarrassing — moment when you see people from your past that you used to pick on. At the time the torment occurs, you never imagine seeing these people in the real world. It’s almost as though the bubble atmosphere of high

SEPTEMBER 27, 2007 THE

PANAMERICAN 1201 West University, CAS 170 Edinburg, Texas 78539 Phone: (956) 381-2541 Fax: (956) 316-7122 www.utpa.edu/thepanamerican

school leads you to believe that whatever you say or do doesn’t count later. After getting over the initial feeling that the entire Field House knew what a mean little person I had been — ok, AM — I actually started listening to the video. It was only then that I realized how truly wrong my perceptions had been. He was not a shy boy, but a genius of sorts, probably too busy entertaining figures and formulas in his head to realize he didn’t speak much. Still not very tall, but the hundreds of glazed eyes that stared up at him in admiration told me that he certainly had a presence in that room. I don’t remember what he was wearing nor do I know where he eats lunch, but that couldn’t be more insignificant now. He’s an engineer; making more money than I ever will (unless I marry rich, kill the hubby and take over his company). Everyone is a jerk when they’re 16. Some never grow out of it. I haven’t, but at least now I’m doing it on purpose and know what’s coming to me after. I get mine and Bo certainly got his. After years of social leprosy, he’s seen the brighter side of existence. He will go off and make money, enjoying his success. And we jerks — at least for the time being — will enjoy the taste of our foot, which has been lodged ever so violently into our mouths.

Look, I don’t like you and you don’t like me. Want to tell me about it? Maybe I’ll listen. E-mail me at: Sandra_panamerican@yahoo.c om Editor-in-Chief Sandra Gonzalez................................................. sandra_panamerican@yahoo.com News Editor Ana Ley....................analey23@yahoo.com A&E Editor Jeanette Perez.........fae_myst@yahoo.com Sports Editor Erick Quintero................................................. erickquintero4@hotmail.com Photography Editor Sidney Meadows................................................ ssmeadows@broncs.utpa.edu Design Editor Roy Bazan......................rbazanzz@yahoo.com

The joke lives on BY: ERICK QUINTERO

s a young journalist and a University of Texas-Pan American student, I often have to maintain a level of objectivity when it comes to writing about the Green and Orange, because sport reporters don’t usually ‘cheer’ for one team or another. However, I have to admit that just like those few devout Bronc followers, I get a little down when UTPA drops a close one or when they get blown out by another equally ‘lesser’ known university. As I wrote about the lack of a football team — see page 16 — I came across some of the most spirited students UTPA has to offer, not one student I talked to (and I talked to a lot) was against the idea. The majority was excited to share their thoughts about a football team and most seemed to think it was going to happen overnight. Yeah, don’t count on it. I too long for the days of tailgating at a new football stadium, supporting ‘our’ team, sporting a Bronc Football tee and discarding my rugged UT Vince Young jersey. So the Broncs drop another one, no not the athletes, but the administration. I think “flustered” describes how I felt when I realized the higher ups in the command ladder aren’t really doing much of anything to bring back a sport that is as vital to the area as flour tortillas. And your student governing body isn’t doing much either. Heck, the last time I checked they were still trying to lower book prices at the bookstore. I kid of course, but seriously, nothing! Even worse, there isn’t much history that can be traced back to the Broncs days of glory. Ok, days of glory might be a taking a bit too far; but as far as schedules, rosters, results go, good luck. Designers Rick Gamez Greg Garza Veronica Gonzalez

Reporters and Photographers Brian Carr Leslie Estrada

I suppose the idea of creating a brand, which a football team could clearly do, and generating revenue is not something the university is up to. Face it: you’re not a ‘big time’ university until your team proves it and right now the university is not giving itself a chance. But with lagging attendance figures at any Bronc sporting event, can you blame them? Why invest so much money into a sport that after all might not be so welcomed? Every weekend I travel to local high school stadiums to cover some games for another publication. Before every game, I stand outside the press box in awe of attendance numbers, the support these local kids bring in is unbelievable. And this is just high school.

Manuel Tiscareno Lezette Villarreal

October

2 2 The UTPA Physician Assistant Program will host an open house for the public in the first floor auditorium of the Health Sciences and Human Services East Building at 8:30 a.m. The Coffeehouse Series will host a performance by Jennifer Daniels in the Student Union Cafe at 7 p.m.

Newsinbrief Q GIVEAWAY

Think it can’t happen at UTPA? Think again. I can think of 100 ways to market the idea to fans, not that you would have to. Put a couple of Valley kids in a Bronc football jersey and watch the magic. Need an example? Head over to any Edcouch-Elsa football game and you’ll understand the magnitude of football in the Valley. Until then, I suppose there’s always flag football.

On Sept. 12 - the 12th day of class this semester - the Office of the Registrar conducted a raffle to give away four 80 GB Apple iPods to students as a reward for paying their registration fees on time. Faculty used a random number generator to select the three undergraduate and one graduate student winners. The mp3 players, valued at $249.99, were paid withs student registration fees.

Q ENDOWMENT

Q Wish you could tailgate at a Bronc football game? Yeah, me too, so let’s bitch about this together. E-mail me at: erickquintero4@hotmail.com

The Jack R. and Mary Lee Stanley Endowed Scholarship fund was recently given $100,000 by Glen and Rita Roney. The money was given in admiration of Stanley’s dedication to theatre-televisionfilm within the Department of Communication The fund, which is aimed to support students within the area of theatre-television-film, will distribute approximately $5,000 a year in scholarships.

Adviser Dr. Greg Selber..........selberg@utpa.edu

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Secretary Anita Casares..........areyes18@utpa.edu Advertising Manager Samantha Quintana.....spubs@utpa.edu Assitant Advertising Manager Jacqueline Iglesias................................... jiglesiasz@broncs.utpa.edu *** Delivery Thursday at noon

Onydia Garza Ramiro Paez

Savethesedates

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 paper or university.

The Pan American gladly accepts letters from students, staff and faculty regarding recent newspaper content, campus concerns or current events. 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, phone number, classification/title and major if applicable. Please send all story ideas to the corresponding section editor or to thepanamerican@gmail.com at least two weeks prior to event.

September 27, 2007

N EWS

Page 3

THE PAN AMERICAN

STUDENT FINANCES

Tuition rates Students opting for credit card tuition payment continue to Payment option this year climb at used more than past UTPA By NADIA TAMEZ The Pan American Concurrent with rising tuition rates across the country, The University of Texas-Pan American’s own tuition has increased steadily over the past years, with little relief in sight. In fact, the cost of one credit hour has nearly doubled to $63 since fiscal year 2004. In 2008, the credit hour rate is due to rise again to about $79. Still, tuition at The University of Texas at Austin - the most expensive UT System school - is currently $94 per credit hour. That comparison leads UTPA school officials to say the university’s tuition increase is not as damaging as it is at other public institutions in Texas. Additionally, the university sets aside nearly $3 million of designated tuition monies to provide need-based financial assistance for resident students. The bottom line? UTPA is still a good deal. “I cannot imagine a time when UTPA would charge more than is required,” said Maggie Hinojosa, associate vice president of admission and enrollment services. “In fact, UTPA has one of the lowest tuition rates in the

See TUITION page 12

By BOBBY CERVANTES The Pan American

Increasing tuition prices may be giving students headaches, but an even more alarming trend on college campuses has many financial aid experts concerned. At the University of Texas-Pan American, over 10,000 students paid their tuition or other fees by credit card, according to Jose Gomez, registration accountant at UTPA. During the 2007 fiscal year, Gomez said that UTPA collected over $12 million from students who chose the plastic alternative. Gomez added that minor expenses - not just tuition - might play a role in the method students choose to pay with. “There are some programs that pay for all your tuition and fees, but then you may have a parking permit that you have pay for out of your pocket,” he said. “That is when some students might just swipe their card.” It seems to be an all too-common excuse: credit cards are easier and faster to use when a payment deadline is readily approaching, said Elaine Rivera, director of student financial services at UTPA. “One of the things that I’ve found in conversations with students is that they’re not aware that they can, for example, get a Stafford loan instead,” Rivera said. “Sometimes it’s just the easy alternative. The credit card is there,

and the payment is due now.” Rivera also said late financial aid applications may be a potential reason for the increase in credit card use at UTPA. “Many students, even the ones who apply for financial aid, don’t always

“Our advice to students is to always manage your debt and get loans only when you need them.” - Juan Mata associate comptroller apply on time,” she said. “That’s a situation we see a lot right at the beginning of the semester — students that are intending to apply for aid, but have not started the process. The money obviously isn’t going to be there, and so the student is looking for a quick way to deal with the balance.” Nationwide, the use of credit cards to pay tuition has been increasing since 2005, according to a 2005 study from the student loan provider Nellie Mae. In that year, the study claimed that “as many as 25 percent of college students may be relying on credit card debt to help balance their education.” At UTPA, officials strive to teach students about their financial obligations, according to Rivera. One of the ways they did so was by creating a Learning Frameworks course, or socalled UNIV. “It’s something the university has as a concern about,” she said. “[UTPA]

tries to cover things like that in the UNIV course students have to take when they come in. We try to include financial literacy components.” The class has been a university graduation requirement since Fall 2004. Juan Mata, associate comptroller at UTPA, said it is likely that many students will end up leaving college with a large amount of debt. According to a study released by Nellie Mae last May, the average outstanding balance on undergraduate credit cards was $2,169 in 2004, a reduction of 7% from 2001 when the average balance was $2,327. Students from the Northeast region had the lowest

outstanding average balances while students from the Midwest had the highest balances. “Our advice to students is to always manage your debt and get loans only when you need them,” Mata said. “Students are going to graduate one day, and they’re going to want to buy a house and car.” According to Mata, many students may also be blithely unaware of the longterm effects of using their credit card so frequently. “They don’t see the

See CREDIT page 12

NURSING

INITIATIVES

Center fights RGV dropout rates Lessons in politics Valley Outreach hopes to curtail growing trend By LEZETTE VILLARREAL The Pan American The University of Texas-Pan American has spearheaded a new effort to combat climbing dropout rates in the Rio Grande Valley. The Valley Outreach Center, a collaborative effort between UTPA and

McDonald’s restaurant, implements initiatives targeted at meeting the needs of college, high school and middle school students interested in higher education. Though many of these programs were previously housed in locations on the UTPA campus, the VOC offers a permanent facility where people can readily obtain information about curriculum and scholarships. The center officially opened Sept. 17, adjacent to the UTPA Annex. With a fixed location and schedule, organizers hope to make the center easily recognizable by community members interested in participating in the outreach programs.

Out of more than 75,500 freshmen students who enrolled in high school at Hidalgo and Starr counties, only 41,000 graduated four years later since 2000, according to a survey by The Monitor. Out of 2 million middle school and high school students, 51,841 dropped out during the 2005-2006 school years, according to Texas Education Agency statistics released August. Given these numbers, the goals of the center should be clear: helping students get into college. “We want to be effective in benefit-

See VOC page 12

Prominent Texas legislators visit nursing class By J.R. ORTEGA The Pan American Last month, a class of nursing students at The University of Texas-Pan American shifted its focus to politics after receiving a series of lectures from three prominent Texas government officials. Speakers included State Rep. Aaron

Pena; Jim Willmann, director of government affairs for the Texas Nurses Association; and the Honorable Rudy Gonzalez, Hidalgo County judge. The course, titled “nursing issues,” is taught by Jackey Williams, a UTPA nursing professor. Williams said she wanted the speakers to call attention to the importance of GONZALEZ health policies and politics.

See NURSING page 12

September 27, 2007

Page 4 NEWS

Page 5

September 27, 2007 NEWS

Latinas Day encourages engineering interest among women By ABIGAIL MUNIZ The Pan American Building aircraft radar and surveillance systems for the U.S. government was far from Elcira Garcia’s mind when she graduated from Edinburg North High School in 1999. In fact, college had not even seemed like a possibility. “Before I got my resident card to study in the United States in January 2000, the fact that I was not going to college was always on my mind,” said Garcia. “My family didn’t have enough money to pay for out-of-state tuition.” Before enrolling at The University of Texas-Pan American, Garcia helped her mother at their family’s restaurant, Susie’s Tacos. “After helping out for about a year, I knew I wanted to get my education,” said Garcia, now a 27-year-old UTPA graduate. “I talked to a professor from Pan Am and after he told me that not many women were engineers, I thought it would be something exciting I could do.” Garcia is currently a manufacturing engineer for McKinney-based Raytheon Co., a company specializing in defense technology and other government markets throughout the world. At Raytheon,

she works for the group MTS-B Systems, which built radar for the MQ-9 Reaper — an unmanned aircraft that flies at high altitudes and is equipped with surveillance mechanisms. She, along with other Hispanic, female professionals, were panelists on Latinas in Science, Math, Engineering and Technology Day during HESTEC Week. Over 30 panelists and two keynote speakers presented, and the event drew in about 500 freshmen high school females, many of whom brought their mothers. Keynote speakers were MeryAngela S. Katson, commander of the Navy Recruiting District in San Antonio, and Patricia Loera, senior program officer for education at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Garcia said she hoped to relate to the girls and answer any questions they may have about a career in engineering, and life in general. One piece of advice she gave: don’t be afraid of subjects such as engineering that are typically associated with males. “What you need to learn [in college] is the concept. When you’re working out there for a big corporation the resources are there,” she said. “But if you don’t have the background, you

won’t be able to use the tools that are there for you.” Christina Cantu, coordinator for the Science Symposium, said she remembers past Latinas Day events and how they positively changed a large number of girls’ attitudes. “The girls were persuaded and motivated to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and math,” she said. “They identified with these corporate, female Latinas.” Sylvia Ochoa, coordinator of Latinas Day, said she was excited about this event’s potential to impact young lives. “The panelists [talked] to the students and their mothers about leadership skills, about how even getting involved in extracurricular activities can play a role in being a leader,” Ochoa said. But delivering information to young attendees was just the beginning. Ochoa stressed the important of getting mothers involved in the education process. “The mothers play such a big role in the whole dynamics of the family and in influencing their daughters… a lot of the time the mothers don’t know the opportunities that are available to [the girls],” Ochoa said.

Garcia said she remembers it was her mother, who had no college education, who gave her the courage she needed to push through her studies. “During the years I was at Pan Am,

I got to attend Latinas Day,” she said. “I would see the speakers and feel inspired. Now I’m going be the one up there making the difference in the lives of the girls.”

Onydia Garza /The Pan American EMPOWERED LATINA - Elcira Garcia, representative for Raytheon Co., encouraged more than 500 women on Monday to pursue engineering career paths.

September 27, 2007

Page 6 NEWS

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

September 27, 2007

Page 7

THE PAN AMERICAN

Q CAMPUS SCENE

Q STUDENT LIFE

Student: live models put flair back in art By JEANETTE PEREZ The Pan American

By JEANETTE PEREZ The Pan American Ever been scared at the thought of answering your cell phone while pumping gas, for fear that it might spark and ignite your car into a huge explosion? What about avoiding Mentos after downing a Diet Coke because you’re deathly afraid your stomach might burst? “Mythbusters” has the answers to all common legends through the magic of television. Science is about to get even bigger this year with the hosts of the hit Discovery Channel show hitting campus grounds for Saturday’s HESTEC Community Day. “Mythbusters” is a popular science show airing every Wednesday at 9 p.m. It separates the truth from urban legend, popular beliefs and Internet rumors. Each week special-effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman take on three popular myths and use modern science to test the validity of popular culture stories and misconceptions. Savage and Hyneman not only explain if something is scientifically possible; they also demonstrate it through trial and error for your viewing pleasure. At the end of each episode, each myth is then given a rating of “Busted,” “Plausible,” or “Confirmed.” The show takes a subject that isn’t necessarily everyone’s favorite and

puts an entertaining and humorous spin on it. Its highly appealing, quirky experiments and use of crazy sound effects/censors make for an interesting way to learn something educational, oddly, through television, that unlikely medium. The duo has tested “Breaking Glass,” to see if the human voice can shatter glass; “Penny Drop,” to determine if a penny dropped from a tall building can kill someone on the ground; and “Bulletproof Water,” the theory of diving underwater to aid yourself from gunfire, among others. Education major Joshua Chavez of Weslaco is an avid fan of the show for many reasons. “I’ve been watching it for about three or four years now, pretty much from the beginning. I got into the show after I saw the pilot,” said the 18-yearold freshman. “I thought that the whole idea of the show was cool because they get to take the old myths that we’ve all heard about and see if they are real by trying to find a way to make it work.” It’s not all about explosions and things that go boom for Chavez. “I like it not just because they blow up a lot of things, but because of the science behind it and all the work they put into it,” said the freshman. “What they do is always cool.” But sometimes it’s just fun to watch things explode. “I learned that with the right chem-

icals you can make an awesome explosion,” laughed Chavez. Explosions aside, inspiration is what matters most. “Actually I think that the Mythbusters coming to HESTEC is a step up from Efrain Ramirez appearing last year joking,” Chavez said. “It’s a good idea to have them down because they might inspire some people to pursue science.” Chemistry professor Bimal Banik believes the show is a great way for students to become more involved in a subject they might not know much about. “I strongly believe that when you bring people from outside that are very successful and qualified, students can learn how to be successful and gain motivation,” said Banik. “It is important for the speakers to share their experiences, discoveries, and knowledge with the students to aid their development in science.” Community Day is an opportunity for everyone, not just students, to get involved in the science fun. “It’s important because we have people who can’t join in on the regular panel discussions during the week, but they have a chance to get involved on Community Day, in which they get to see science through the eyes of the entertainment industry,” said Banik. “Ultimately, it’s the younger generation who gains the most out of it.”

What was your favorite

? “I liked how they tried to replicate the Batman sling shot car like in the movie, but it was a bust.” -Yolin Muniz senior journalism major

“The episode where they wanted to find out if a fan’s blades could decapitate someone.” -Vanessa Chavez senior broadcast major

“Finding out driving with the AC on will waste more gas than with the w i n d o w s down.” -Brenda Rodriguez senior broadcast major

The art scene in the Rio Grande Valley is slowly evolving one step at a time. New artists are emerging and others are stepping out of their comfort zone. Claudia Berenice Garza is among those hoping to soon become a household name. With her “The Life Portrait Collections” exhibit on display at the new Edinburg public library, the University of Texas-Pan American alumna hopes to bring the art scene alive. The exhibit includes a series of painted-from-life portraits, replicated from photographs and surreal landscapes. The focus of her gallery, however, lies in the paintings she did with live models in the past year. Garza said she never intended to make life portraits her style. “A few years ago I was avoiding painting faces at all costs and now that’s all I’ve been doing,” said Garza. “I painted landscapes and replicated photographs but now I haven’t done that since high school.” While landscapes and photographs are challenges, it’s life portraits that Garza looks forward to the most. “My subjects go to my studio and pose for me from about two to four hours while I paint them,” said Garza. “It’s a fun experience in which I get to interact with people.” Aside the interaction, the colors of her surroundings integrated into her paintings take her art to another level. “I am inspired by colors and nature,” said Garza, originally from Monterrey. “In my landscapes you see the color in the Valley skies, colors that you can only see here. In my portraits, color is what builds a face. I try to capture every single color, from the different tones to the colors of the clothes reflected on a face.” Her subjects find it an experience of their own. “She makes it very relaxing, even though it’s awkward. I was very self-

See FILM page 10

September 27, 2007

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September 27, 2007

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

ungie studio’s Halo: Combat Evolved was the catalyst to a multi-million dollar trilogy, and this week the final installment to the story arc was unveiled in Halo 3. In 2001, the birth of the Halo name brought with it a following of epic proportions. The game follows protagonist Master Chief, a supersoldier cyborg much like the Bionic Man from a Spartan community where young boys begin training for combat at an early age. With so many varieties and modes of game play, Halo quickly became a reason for many gamers to purchase the Xbox. However, despite winning a number of awards in the gaming industry, the series’ initial success proved to be only the beginning. The 2004 release of Halo 2 compounded the hype. With newly improved artificial intelligence for the characters, game features, storyline and graphics, the saga had a set path for success. With multiplayer games being the most obvious favorites, a new game: Halo 2: Multiplayer Map Pack arrived in 2005. As the first expansion pack for a console title, it added nine highly detailed multiplayer maps to the most popular Xbox game ever. Five months later, these games were put into one set and released as Halo: Triple Pack. It has been a few years coming but the success of the game cannot be doubted. The second and third issues have catapulted the franchise to mainstream success. To date, the games have sold a combined 14.5 million copies worldwide. Moreover, the Xbox LIVE service and System Link, which allow players to game online and compete with others, catapulted the game into a phenomenon. In August, Microsoft announced the service had reached seven million users, up one million users in just five months. Daniel Salinas, president of The University of Texas-Pan American’s Gamer’s Club, attended the midnight release of Halo 3 to help with crowd control. The turnout for the release was

big; according to Salinas, over 300 copies had already been reserved. Still, the senior communication major admitted to reservations. “Everyone’s worried about this game, especially the graphics and the story line,” he said. Halo 3 focuses on the interstellar war between 26th-century humanity and an alien race known as the Covenant, who after a decades-long war have begun an invasion of Earth. Joey Jauregui, an avid player, said at the midnight release event that Halo 3 had a lot to live up to. “I want to see how the story ends, trying to make the best campaign yet. I’ve read the game is hard but fair,” said the senior social studies composite major. Hard or not, Jauegui was ready to play. He’d been in line since 9 p.m. SPECIALS, FEATURES Bungie has added an array of new game play features for Halo 3 hungry players. Among the newest weapons is Spiker, a brute weapon, and Spartan Laser, a laser capable of tearing vehicles to shreds. Last but ingenuous is the Nail Grenade, which sticks to walls and shoots nails in all directions. The Mongoose ATV, a vehicle from Halo 2, makes an empty-handed appearance. It has no weapons but is designed for recon. An imaginative new game play feature is “Man Cannon” which launches players into the air. The newly enlarged maps add to the gaming experience of Halo 3. Freshman Carlos Palacios said he was impressed with the new game play features. “There are new grenades and a bubble shield, you walk into it instead of cloaking yourself and it shields you,” said the speech therapy major. “You have to be careful though because other players have it too.” Another new feature in the game is called Saved Films, which allows players to record

WAITING - George Garcia, broadcast major, samples a Halo 3 edition soda while in line at the game’s midnight release.

their games and view them later. Like in any other competition this application will allow gamers more insight into their playing styles. “This is going to be able to let people analyze tactics, play like the pros and also help people catch cheaters,” said Jauregui. In addition, some limited edition packs offered with it a replica of Master Chief’s helmet. A few members in line had been waiting months to get their hand on the mock-up item. ‘KILLER’ MARKETING With Halo games exclusive to the Xbox, many hard-core gamers buy the console for the sole purpose of playing. Within the gaming world, this is known as having “killer application” status, meaning that the game itself made the entire console more valuable. Those exclusive rights come with a slew of marketing opportunities that are widely taken advantage of. Microsoft created a special Halo 3-themed edition Xbox 360 console in the “Spartan green and gold” finish. It also includes a matching Xbox 360 Wireless Controller. In addition, in an effort to hype the game while keeping gamers playing longer — and at the same time soothing that ornery mistress, fatigue — Mountain Dew revealed its new Halothemed flavor, “Game Fuel,” which appeared on shelves in August. The new flavor includes 120 mg of caffeine per 20-ounce bottle. While Salinas said the drink “wasn’t very good,” he thought he’d give it a try because it had Halo 3 on the packaging.

September 27, 2007

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September 27, 2007

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

WAITING - George Garcia, broadcast major, samples a Halo 3 edition soda while in line at the game’s midnight release.

Page 10

September 27, 2007 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIE REVIEW

‘Eastern Promises’ takes mobs to new levels By RUSSEN VELA The Pan American It is not often that audiences today are treated to a film that has as many things going for it as “Eastern Promises.” Whether it's because of interference from studios determined to make their films as marketable as possible, directors who favor style over substance, or just a plain old shortage of originality, nowadays it is a treat as well as a feast for the eyes when an audience can leave the theater feeling affected by the artistry just experienced. “Eastern Promises,” is a jam-packed

thriller with elevated levels of suspense, top-notch performances from Viggo Mortensen (“Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “Hidalgo”) and Naomi Watts (“King Kong,” “The Ring”) and a storyline to literally do a few shots of vodka for. The film tells the story of Nikolai (Mortensen), a driver/hit man for a wealthy Russian mafia family and Anna (Watts), a nurse at the London Children’s Hospital. It begins with Anna tending to a 14-year-old Russian girl who ultimately dies in childbirth. Concerned that the unidentified girl's newborn daughter will go into adoption unless relatives of the mother can be

IMDB.com

found, Anna looks through the young girl’s purse but finds nothing but a mysterious red diary written entirely in Russian, with a restaurant card indicating she may have been involved with the Russian Mafia. Mortensen's performance as Nikolai, the man you hate one minute and love the next, is so subtle yet frightening that one has to give credit to David Cronenberg's direction. The actor pulls off a Russian accent extremely well and can be a sly fox one minute and then when he is with Anna, you see the human who longs to be free from the gilded cage of the Russian underworld. Mortensen is the obvious standout and should be considered a Best Actor candidate in next year’s Oscar race. Watts exhumes radiance as Anna, and one can compare her to a young Grace Kelly in “Rear Window,” directed by another great director of thrills and suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. Her performance never seems forced, and it is always a joy to see Watts doing what she does best: drama instead of comedy. Steve Knight's well-plotted script gives a well-rounded look into a world built upon underage prostitution, drugs, money, and power in the Russian mob scene of London. The film is devilish and devious, surrendering secrets gradually, like a bullet in the game of

MUSIC REVIEW

Iron and Wine’s latest drifts from band’s classic sound By BRIAN CARR The Pan American

t the 2006 Austin City Limits Festival, Sam Beam hinted at his band’s change in temperament. “You can’t play soft stuff forever,” he said. Then he rifled through reworked folk songs with the hint of harsher edges. In truth the Florida born singer/songwriter has not pulled entirely away from the Iron and Wine formula on the upcoming “The Shepherd’s Dog” LP. He’s just increased the attitude. The band will always be synonymous with slow, sleepy, lyric driven ballads. And they will perhaps never trump the great response they got from doing an acoustic cover of the Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights” for the “Garden State” soundtrack. But their latest endeavor takes a more holistic approach to songwriting, by incorporating new instrumentation to build upon Beam’s genius. The result is a more universal sound. And this is not entirely new for

Beam, whose collaboration with altcountry wizards Calexico produced a very similar sound. But he has yet to work his songs out to this point for an Iron and Wine album. His closest attempt at such was the 2005 EP “The Woman King.” But “Shepherd’s Dog” expands upon the previous release’s experimentation by opening up for further audio discoveries. “Wolves” sounds like countrified reggae. “The Devil Never Sleeps” is a piano-driven, blues anthem that bobs along energetically. But it is on “Boy with a Coin,” however that Beam’s latest endeavor shines brightest. It is a steady folk-rock infusion that is pulled along by steady clapping hands, and incessant guitar riffs. But there is some loss in translation from folk hero to every-musician. Lyrics are obscured behind slide guitars and electric pianos, and therefore the cinematic energy of previous albums is forfeit. But the VH1 crowd never cared much for lyrics anyhow, and that’s

where folk gods go to die anyway.

“The band will always be synonymous with slow, sleepy lyric-driven ballads. But their latest endeavor takes a more holistic approach...the result is a more universal sound.”

Iron and Wine

Amazon.com

Russian Roulette. Shape-shifting identities have always been a central theme in Cronenberg’s feature films. The whole concept and story of “Eastern Promises” is so rich with life from the actors who star in it that the audience understands their pain, and their will to be free of the ties that enclose them. Cronenberg offers such a unique take on mob life that one can compare its emotional themes and power to “The Godfather” trilogy. If you are in need of a good mafia fix ala’ “The Departed” or “Goodfellas,” at the movies, then “Eastern Promises” is indeed for you. It gets to the point, and keeps you compelled right up until the climax and plot twist come, where I swear you will hold your breath and literally throw popcorn in the air. Some may get it, some will not, but that is how Cronenberg's endings are. You either admire them for their quiet artistry, or simply go, “what just happened?” It is a tremendous piece of film with excellent performances, great writing and a haunting score. Although it has some of the director's signature moments of eye-popping violence, they do not dominate this film and it is the quiet moments, where the characters are silently contemplating aspects of their own existence, that give the film its power.

TV CORNER

What

You’re

Not

Watching “Prison Break” By SANDRA GONZALEZ The Pan American

f you’re looking for a Monday night warm-up for the superhero drama “Heros,” one hour before the NBC action/drama, try FOX’s “Prison Break.” Hunky Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) and the rest of our favorite TV convicts -- except those killed last season, of course -- are back for a third season that is shaping up to be the grittiest yet. The past two seasons took the viewers from an Illinois prison to the open roads of the United States, both of which proved to be equally dangerous. But this year, Scofield finds himself in a Panamanian prison with a few old foes, and he’s making new ones every episode. Nonetheless, the sexy con is up for one heck of a bad time. Coming from a spoiler freak, stay tuned in for this one, folks. It’s going to be a bloody good time. “Prison Break” airs Monday at 7 p.m. on FOX.

EXHIBIT continued from page 7 conscious,” said Te Norman, a close friend. “She doesn’t even let you look at what she’s doing until it’s done, but I enjoyed it. It’s odd because people say ‘Hey, I saw your portrait’ and then you get all self-conscious all over again.” For fellow artist, Phyllis Evans becoming a subject was something new. “I thought, I’m an artist too, but I’ve never been on the other side before,” said Evans, also from Edinburg. “I’ve never been the subject, so I thought it’d be interesting.” Garza said her life portraits act as tributes to important people in her life. “They’re of people I admire and have worked with. Some of them are artists, but I’ve also painted some of my professors that have influenced my art,” she said. “It’s my way of saying thank you for being there.” They can also be revealing of someone’s nature. “While I’m painting them I catch some sort of side of them that they usually don’t see or want to acknowledge. They’re always like ‘Oh wow, I didn’t know I looked like that,’” said Garza. “A photograph captures one moment. A live portrait captures the whole 4 hours. There’s movement, change of emotion, all sorts of feelings.” Although the process is lengthy,

sharing her work makes it all worthwhile. “To have been asked to participate and show my art is an honor. I’m very proud of my roots and to be recognized as a Hispanic artist,” she said. “It’s always nice to share with people and hear what they have to say. I’d like to be a university professor someday and give back what I learned.” Garza attended UTPA from 20032005, receiving a bachelor’s degree in studio art. As a kid she painted houses and floor plans with dreams of becoming an architect. But it wasn’t until she took courses at the university that she discovered painting was her thing. “I took several painting courses with professor Leonard Brown. I learned a lot of my techniques from him, color theory, layering processes. Everything,” said the 24-year-old freelance artist from Edinburg. “It was hard to leave because I had made it [campus] my second home and Mr. Brown had encouraged me to start painting my friends. That’s how I got started.” Garza will be hosting a reception for her gallery on display at the Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library located on 1906 Closner Thursday from 5:30 to 8 p.m. For more information, contact C. Berenice Garza at (956) 638-8261 or through e-mail at: arteberenice@gmail.com.

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September 27, 2007 NEWS

ANTICIPATED continued from page 1

SECURITY continued from page 1 manpower to cover the three officer shifts on campus, he could use more. UTB maintains a student/officer ratio of 1079.3 to 1 “Currently, we have enough to answer calls, but we have grown tremendously in the past five years,” he said. With so much talk about expansion at UTPA also, Loya said the department has plans to “keep up” with the university’s growth, adding that there are plans to extend the department’s services to the Starr County Campus once it is complete. Like UTPA, Cardoza said UTB expects much more growth in the future; a fact that has him concerned about the outlook of his force. “We’re adding nine new buildings within the next five years,” he said. “So to keep up with the service calls, I would need at least 10 more people.” While asking for more officer positions is in his plans, Cardoza said there is one obstacle he must first overcome. “I haven’t asked for any because I can’t fill the ones I have,” he said. “A lot of it does have to do with pay.” MONEY MATTERS It was pay — or lack thereof —

that caused the former UTPA PD employee interviewed for this story to leave the department. “Fix the benefits and salary, and your manpower issue is easily solved,” the source said. “I believe that possibly 16 officers for the university would be sufficient to provide for the population of [UTPA].” At UTPA, new police officers currently make $32,000. This ranks above two other UT System schools of comparable size, and even with The University of Texas-San Antonio. After academy, officers at UTB earn an estimated $28,000, while those at The University of Texas-El Paso earn $28,956, according to Police Operations Commander Lt. Mike Hanna. Cardoza said officers are often swayed by the lure of more competitive salaries. “The federal government offers quite a bit more money. So they are more attractive,” he said. Unless they raise pay rates, schools will have to deal with this periodic exodus of employees. Until then, Cardoza said unarmed guards remain an important part of campus security.

“They are there to assist and they are our eyes and ears out there, just like our parking comptrollers,” he said. “They deter crime.” While the need for more manpower is present, Cardoza remained optimistic about the status of safety on UTB’s campus. “We’re a little behind, but I don’t go on student/officer ratios, we go on service calls,” he said. “The ratios can be deceiving.” In the next budget cycle, Cardoza plans to ask the federal government for more positions and hopes to fill them by increasing pay, although he is unsure by how much. At the time the requests are filed, Cardoza said he takes a canvass of officer pay throughout the Valley and other institutions in order to stay as competitive as possible. Loya said while UTPA PD employees qualify for tuition waivers, they are in discussions to improve retention by providing incentive pay. The measure is currently being evaluated by Human Resources. It would include benefits such as paid holidays, hazard duty pay for officers and longevity pay for guards.

ing because she wants to address young persons within our area. We want this event to get young students to walk through our campus, explore the university and become interested in one day attending UTPA.” The Ford Networking Social and the HESTEC Moving Forward Celebration, sponsored by Toyota, will follow the Robotics Expo. There, students will have the chance to meet and talk with recruiters from many corporate and government organizations to discuss career opportunities. HESTEC will continue with a Career Expo on Friday. More than 80 corporate and government businesses will be present, and most will have internship and employment opportunities available for students. Velinda Reyes, director of Career Placement Services and Career Expo coordinator, said students will be able to visit booths and interview stations. “We want students to know about as many opportunities as they can,” Reyes said. “The hard part is making sure that students feel like this is something that’s important, and get out there. It’s here right now.”

Margaret Nieto, a junior business management major, hopes to bank on the opportunities presented at the upcoming Expo. “I know the direction I’m going, but I want to know what companies are looking for,” said the McAllen native. HESTEC will culminate Saturday with Community Day. The five-hour event, free and open to the public, will offer entertainment and educational exhibits. The campus will be open at 4 p.m. According to Jessica Salinas, director of the Veterans Business Outreach Center and coordinator for Community Day, exhibits will be offered by organizations such as Boeing, Toyota and NASA. Entertainers include singer/actor Billy Ray Cyrus; Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, cohosts of the Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters; and Belanova, an international music group. Campus and community organizations will have food booths and product service displays. “The entire HESTEC Committee hopes that the community not only enjoys the event but that the community feels comfortable with the campus,” Salinas said.

HESTEC continued from page 1 he said. “When we get to the question and answer period, students usually form a really long line. That’s what we like to see.” Environmental conservation efforts were presented by Mario Castellanos, director of the Education Outreach Program at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C.. Castellanos enlightened high school students with ways they could become proactive in helping endangered animals and caring for their environment. Castellanos was excited to see students given the opportunity to become more aware of the world around them through the programs HESTEC has offered them.

“I think the HESTEC program is very unique because there has not been a lot of access to science and engineering programs, especially in the communities these students are from,” Castellanos said. “If we didn’t have outreach programs, how can we expect kids to find out about these careers? It’s an excellent way to mentor these students.” Debra Castro, sixth grade teacher at John Paul II High School in Corpus Christi, attended Castellanos’ speech, along with her class. As a teacher, Castro knows how important it is to see these students through opportunities that will help then go farther in the future. “I teach chemistry, so [HESTEC] gives my students a taste of other sci-

ences that are out there,” she said. “I have a student who is very environmentally conscious and I would love for her to apply for these scholarships and travel abroad programs that [these] groups are offering. It’s truly an eye-opening experience to be here at HESTEC — for students and teachers alike.” SPREADING SCIENCE - (Clockwise from right) Aaron Acuna, UTPA alum, delivers a speech to local high school freshmen on Monday; Karen McNallen and Julie Acosta, McAllen ISD teachers, work on a robot project at a HESTEC competition on Tuesday; Gary Heminger, president and CEO of Marathon Oil, speaks to an auditorium of students and teachers at HESTEC’s Congressional Roundtable on Monday.

Nick Dodd/The Pan American

Sidney Meadows/The Pan American

September 27, 2007

Page 12 NEWS

CREDIT

TUITION

continued from page 3

continued from page 3 interest as a big deal or immediate consequence to [the credit card’s] use,” he said. Legislatively, Valley representatives are looking for ways to curtail the rising cost of college and student debt. In a Sept. 13 vote, Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-TX, supported H.R. 2669, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007. This bill, if signed by President Bush, will cut the interest rates on federal subsidized loans in half and appropriate $510 million to ensure that schools with a large minority population successfully graduate their students. According to a U.S. House conference report, the bill proposes a grant increase of $490 for each award in 20082010, $690 from 2010 to 2012, and 1,090 from 2012 to 2013. “We’ve seen tuition rates increase, and government funding has not caught up with the financial demands our students face,” Cuellar wrote in a press release. “Many of these provisions will alleviate students’ financial situations and, therefore, put them on the track of success.” Still, some students at UTPA say plastic can be useful when used responsibly. “I pay [my credit card] bill every month, so I think it all depends on how responsible the person using the card is,” said Mary Soy, a freshman computer science major at UTPA. Students like Crystal Ruiz, a sophomore theater major, caution that credit cards can mean eventual debt for students if they are not wary of finance charges and late fees. Ruiz said she uses her parent’s credit card, and she added that they are in debt. “I think everyone uses credit cards because they want cash now, even when they might not have the cash at that moment,” Ruiz said. “For students, debt is just an added stress factor that shouldn’t be there. I think students should be careful and just try to with pay cash as much as they can - use a credit card for emergencies only.

entire UT system.” Tania Chavez, a finance major, said she doesn’t mind higher tuition because she understands value is added. “Any university that is planning to grow is going to need increased tuition,” she said. “There are many added benefits that come with a bigger budget.” Hinojosa said it would be “unrealistic” to assume that college costs are not a large deterrent for those choosing not to attend, but maintained that it is a small

NURSING

price to pay in the big picture. “What we need to focus on is the fact that the benefits of receiving a higher education far outweigh the costs associated with it,” she said. For undergraduates attending 4year institutions, there was a 17 percent increase in tuition and required fees at public institutions between 2003-04 and 2005-06, according to figures released by the Education Department. “Unless we see a major change in

continued from page 3

The presenters, who visited the university on three separate days, emphasized the benefits of understanding policy practices in the nursing field. Much of Pena’s Sept. 17 discussion focused on encouraging the budding nurses to get involved with the political aspects of the field. “Nurses, like teachers, can help make a difference when they become more politically involved,” Pena said. “You can get real power if you just become involved.” Pena said that political involvement is important for young people, because their votes impact policy-making. He said voting numbers in the Rio Grande Valley are low compared to other regions in Texas, though they are increasing. During 2006’s general elections, Hidalgo County had 48,975 ballots cast, a 7,449 increase from 2002. Pena suggested that with the rise of politically active people in the Valley over the past few years, the State Legislature is now “forced to deal with the Valley.” The Texas Nursing Association hopes to focus much of its efforts in the coming months on creating a national initiative for health care reform, decreasing nurse workloads, and finding a solution to a mounting nurse shortage, Willmann said during his Sept. 22 presentation. The nationwide shortage causes nurses to double their workload and

work longer hours which may lead to medical errors, said Willmann. “If you line up enough slices of Swiss cheese...eventually those holes are going to line up perfectly and something is going to slip through,” he promised. According to statistics released by the Texas Department of State Health Services, the number of registered nurses has increased over the past decade, from 103,358 in 1996 to 144,602 in 2005. The ratio of nurses per 100,000 population has also increased from 540.3 in 1996 to 628.6 in 2005. However, statistics in 2005 include 20,566 - 14 percent - of nurses working part-time. In Texas, the supply of RNs has been lower than the U.S. average supply for over a decade. In fact, statistics show that Texas ranked 48 out of 50 states and the District of Columbia in the supply ratios for RNs. At his Sept. 24 speech, Gonzalez reminded students to uphold adequate ethical treatment of patients. He also stressed the importance of patient advocacy. Because many hospitals and clinics have a high patient-to-nurse ratio, a nurse may be given more patients than he or she can handle, thus resulting in patient negligence. “Your No. 1 responsibility is to see that the patient is taken care of,” said Gonzalez. “[It is] not to the doctors, not to the administration, not to the hospital...that is your responsibility as a patient advocate.”

the funding appropriated to higher education institutions, we will continue to see increases,” said Hinojosa. UTPA has an operating budget of about $257 million for 2008-09 year, according to the COEC, 31 percent of which come from tuition and fees. The next leading contributor to the school is state funding, making up 28.6 percent. The largest slice of the budget will go toward instruction with 31.2 percent, followed by scholarships and fellow-

VOC

ships receiving 23 percent. The revenue from higher tuition will go toward hiring 43 new faculty members, providing $1.8 million needbased financial assistance, covering an estimated $1.2 million increase in annual utility costs, and putting $1.6 million toward retention and timely graduation programs, according to information released by COEC. Similar plans are in place for funds that will result from the 2008-2009 tuition increase.

continued from page 3

ing not only our community, our neighborhoods, and our people, but also our state,” said Daria Prieto, director of special programs at the facility. UTPA purchased the old McDonald’s on 2402 S. Closner in Edinburg, subsequently receiving a $30,000 donation to support the VOC from another McDonald’s nearby. Along with the gift, all six McDonald’s entities in the Valley agreed to place 1.5 million trayliners featuring information about college enrollment and financial aid information on their restaurant’s trays. “We have a strong belief in furthering education in the Rio Grande Valley. We hope to set an example for all our partnerships to get involved in helping further education,” said Fred del Barrio, president of the Rio Grande Valley McDonald’s Owner/Operators Association. “We will continue to help keep it funded so more can take advantage of its resources.” The College for Texans and Closing the Gap campaigns hope to get 650,000 more students into college by 2015, and Prieto said she hopes the new center will help play a major part in reaching this goal. “We need to do a lot more for our community to make sure that we get more Hispanics prepared to succeed in higher education.” According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, the Hispanic population is the least likely of all ethnicities to complete high school. Whites and individuals who identified themselves as

more than one race - 91.7 percent - were more likely than their black or Hispanic peers to have completed high school. Several programs at the center are designed to narrow this gap. One initiative housed under the VOC is the Go Center, which allows students to study within a location on campus where they can access college resources with the help of a group of trained individuals known as the G-Force. “Many of my peers find it difficult to graduate once they’ve failed a class. They think they can’t do it,” said Christian Green, a G-Force member. “But once we’ve explained to them all the advantages of going to college, they get excited once they know.” Green, a senior at South Texas Business, Education, and Technology Academy in Edinburg, said students frequently ask about SAT examinations. “They always ask when and where it takes place, what they have to do and how they can do it online,” said Green. “Everyone on our G-Force team is willing to stay until all the students’ questions get answered.” The VOC is helping make a difference in the life of the Valley because it allows teens to interact with each other as they prepare to enter the college world, said Paul Sale, UTPA vice president for academic affairs. “It’s important because teens listen to teens,” he said. “The center is great because it encourages peer communication.”

Page 13

September 27, 2007 SPORTS

VOLLEYBALL

Women crush Chicago State, improve to 7-12

Lady Broncs surpass last year’s win total By DANNY GARZA The Pan American Coming off last week’s 3-1 loss against Sam Houston State, The University of Texas-Pan American volleyball team looked for redemption against Chicago State and Stephen F. Austin in hopes of returning to its winning ways. On Saturday the Lady Broncs took a big step, celebrating a big win against the Chicago State Cougars in a 30-27, 30-28, 21-30, 30-27 victory and improved to 7-12 on the year.

Chicago State kept the game close in the first match of play but in the end the Green and Orange were able to pull away with the close win. The team carried the momentum in the next game, drawing first blood, but Chicago State played great defensive and was able to keep the score close. Midway through the match the Lady Broncs pulled away in a 7-2 point run making the score 17-9. The lead was enough to put the Coogs away 30-28. In the third game, answered back with a dominating performance over UTPA and closed the game out with a 30-21 victory. The women finally closed the game out with a 30-27 win in the fourth game capturing an important road victory over Chicago State. “We executed and played the way

wanted to play,” UTPA’s head coach Angela Hubbard said. “Our team struggled a bit but we fought hard and were able to come out with a big win.” Deanna Schneyer led the Lady Broncs with a match-high 16 kills to go along with a .387 hitting percentage. Teammate Noelle Mayor collected her first career double-double with a 10-kill, 12-dig performance. UTPA proved to be the better team statistically in kills (59-54), total attacks (163-160), assists (58-51) and digs (70-65). On Tuesday, the women traveled to Nacogdoches, determined to keep the momentum up, but the Ladyjacks put those hopes to rest by closing out a dominating 3-0 set victory. The Ladyjacks outplayed the Green and Orange offensively as well as defensively, defeating

them 30-10, 30-12, and 30-21. In the first two games, SFA jumped out to commanding leads and never looked back, winning convincingly in the first two matches, by quelling any type of rally the Lady Broncs tried to establish. In the third game the Green and Orange came out firing jumping out to a 10-3 lead early in the game. But defensively, the team broke down as SFA came storming back to pull ahead midway through match. The Lady Broncs never established an offensive rhythm as they fell to the Ladyjacks 30-21 to close the game out. On a positive note, Mayor led the Lady Broncs with eight kills to go along with a career-high 16 digs. Chelsea Blakely put up a team high 20 assists in the UTPA defeat. In addition, newcomer

Upcoming Volleyball Schedule Oct. 2 Oct. 5 Oct. 9

@ Lamar Beaumont 7 p.m. @ Utah Valley State Orem, UT 7 p.m. vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi UTPA Field House 7 p.m.

Danielle Reed was named Defensive Player of the Week. “We are getting better as the season progresses,” Hubbard said. “There are some things we still need to work on but over all I’m still happy in the way they performed during the away games.” Next, the women travel to Beaumont, Texas to take on Lamar University on Monday at 7 p.m.

TENNIS

Watson adds three new people to growing Sports Complex

By RAMIRO PAEZ The Pan American Behind all the equipment and amenities the new Wellness and Recreation Sports Center at The University of Texas-Pan American the center offers, runs a business. It is a business that needs to be operated accordingly to guarantee the center is successful and will be in the future, but also to ensure that students are getting the proper facilities and services it takes to accomplish the overall goal of establishing a healthy lifestyle for them. To achieve that objective, three new, prominent additions were made to the center’s staff by Jim Watson, director of the WRSC. Travis Hughes, assistant director of the WRSC; Colleen Price, marketing coordinator and Jackque Adams, fitness coordinator, are the most recent hires staff in hopes of making it a successful business. According to Watson, Hughes was hired as assistant director to operate the building leaving more of the financial aspects for Watson to handle. Hughes attended Texas A&MCollege Station and worked at the Parks and Recreation center there. He received

a master’s in sports management in 1994. From 1997-2000, Hughes was the coordinator of campus activities and then left UTPA for four years to become the superintendent of the McAllen recreation. Hughes returned to UTPA in 2004 to teach in the kinesiology department, until his recent move to the recreation center. Other than Watson, Hughes has the biggest responsibility at the center. From making sure the building is clean to getting employees trained in different areas to overseeing the aquatics vicinity, Hughes is piled with multiple tasks. He said he is content with the fact that the business opened on schedule and is running smoothly, but at the same time has faced many challenges. “Any time you open a building, there’s going to be little things that don’t work and things that people forgot to think about or to put in,” said Hughes. “We’re going to trying to take care of the things we’re finding out as we go, plus operate the building and get everyone used to it.” After attending the University of San Francisco and working with their recreation center, Price was brought to UTPA as a marketing coordinator. Her responsibilities are membership servic-

es, helping alumni and faculty get situated and increasing the number of attendees at the center. According to her intern, Gabriel Quintanilla, Price was brought here to start from scratch. Currently, an Oct. 30 ribbon cutting ceremony is one of many events planned to help attract people to the center. “I really like working with Colleen,” said Quintanilla, a junior advertising major. “Anything that I bring up to her, she’ll never shut me down and we’ll talk.” But Price and Quintanilla face the tough task of increasing numbers, which has been difficult since many students already have memberships at other gyms. Quintanilla said they are doing whatever they can to get students to switch over in the hopes of achieving their primary goal. “We want students to go unwind, stay active and stay fit,” said Quintanilla. “That’s the message that we’re trying to get across to everybody.” After seven years of working in the gym atmosphere, Adams knows what it takes to be a fitness coordinator . Born and raised in Rollamo, Mo., Adams attended the University of West

Florida and worked for the recreation department all through college. She graduated in December 2005 with a degree in exercise science. She was a fitness specialist and a group exercise coordinator for one year and eight months at the White House, working with the president’s staff. Adams then decided that she needed a change to explore new areas and things. She was contacted by Watson and was brought here to promote and educate on health and wellness education. She decided on the new job because her philosophy is that everybody can be into fitness.

“Everyone has a niche in fitness,” Adams said. “It’s not just going and running on the treadmill every day. There are tons of different activities to staying active and healthy. I just kind of like being part of helping people find that niche in the fitness program.” The WRSC is up and running, gaining popularity as the days pass. It is in its first two months of existence, so the center still has a lot of growing to do, according to Watson. “We’ve had a few rough spots, but all in all it’s been going very well for a facility that is just starting up,” said Watson.

Onydia Garza/The Pan American FAMILIAR FACE - Travis Hughes takes over as WRSC assistant director.

September 27, 2007

Page 14 SPORTS

CROSS COUNTRY

Luis Nava records another top-10 finish

Women take fifth overall at College Station By ORLANDO BUENTELLO The Pan American On Saturday, the UTPA men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the Texas A&M Invitational in College Station seeking to follow up on an impressive start to the 2007 season. They’d finished second and fourth in two previous meets, but this time around, however, the men’s team was not at full strength. Freshman standout Angel Ramirez was left off the roster as he is nursing a minor injury. Despite the absence, the team pulled together and earned a strong sixth-place result in the 8,000 meter race. Compiling his third top-ten finish, La Joya native Luis Nava had another remarkable performance culminating in a seventh-place finish with a time of 24:54. “It’s very important. Luis is stepping up to be a leader,” said Coach Dennis Darling. “I think he was even surprised at himself a bit. He knows now

that he can run with some of the best.” J.J. Hernandez, a junior hailing from San Juan, contributed to the team’s success by posting a time of 26:00, good enough for 27th place. Jorge Rodriguez and Wally Gonzalez rounded out the effort with, 57th, and 64th place finishes, respectively. Now the coach expects his runners to keep on rolling. “We’re hosting the Independent Conference Championship this year and I want to win overall in both the women’s and men’s divisions,” Darling said. “So, our focus is always running fast and getting the team together and prepared for it.” The women’s cross country team topped the men’s overall finish with a fifth-place offering in the 5,000 meter contest at A&M. Junior runner Shardae Bey continued her consistent work with a 41st place showing and a total time of 19:38. She’s been very consistent, becoming one of the top runners for the women’s team,” said Assistant Coach Hugo Cervantes. “She’s a game runner when it comes down to racing.” Not far behind, Edinburg-bred Rose Escovedo managed to remain at

the top half of the meet’s applicants, earning 45th place out of 99 total runners. Sara Rodriguez and Diana Galloso also helped supply the team a respectable finale, chiming in at 51 and 60, respectively. “The women really stepped up and performed as a team, really for the first time this season,” Darling said. “They placed fifth overall, when there were some big schools over there. That was a big accomplishment for them; they should take it and apply it to the upcoming week.” The cross-country teams will look to build on their success at the Splash Invitational Sept. 28, hosted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Darling believes that this week’s training and preparation will provide the team the necessary motivation to continue improving in all facets of the sport. “In track and field, all you can hope for is to get better every week and to compete at a high-standard level,” Darling said. “Hopefully they can go up there and do that this weekend. It won’t be as big as The Texas A&M Invitational, but we can have a better performance and placing in Corpus Christi.”

Onydia Garza/The Pan American

GOING THE DISTANCE - (Left) Junior Gil Castillo; sophomore Vidal Ruiz; freshman Leo Adame and Junior Luis Nava train for Friday’s Splash Invitational hosted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Nava, a La Joya native, earned his third top-ten finish of the season for the Green and Orange.

September 27, 2007

Page 15 SPORTS

CLUB SOCCER

Reynoso strikes again, Broncs slip past Texas A&M

Men improve to 3-1, claim top spot in division By ERICK QUINTERO The Pan American A wealth of talent and cohesive play, according to soccer club adviser Marcelo Schmidt, has the University of Texas-Pan American Bronc Soccer Club off to another strong start in the Southeast Division of the Texas Collegiate Soccer League. Luis Reynoso’s third goal of the season was just enough for the men to slip past Texas A&M University No. 2, 1-0 at College Station. With its much larger enrollment, A&M has two teams of equal talent; No. 1 plays in the Central Division while No. 2 is in the Broncs’ division. The Broncs (3-1) have pushed their way to the top of the Southeast standings with back-to-back victories, including a 3-2 road win over the University of Texas-San Antonio on Sept. 15 – avenging last season’s only

defeat. Reynoso found the back of the net twice against the Roadrunners and was instrumental as the team assumed a 3-1 lead in that game. An edge in possession time derived from a solid formation combined with steady team play; the result is that resilient Broncs are stacking up victories once again. “We had total control of the ball, maybe 70 to 80 percent of the time we had the ball but couldn’t score,” Schmidt said, following the A&M game. Against the Aggies, Luis Barrenechea failed to give the Broncs an early lead in the first half, after his penalty kick was stopped in the early stages of the game and the teams went into halftime knotted at 0-0. With slight tweaks and modifications to the line-up, Schmidt decided to adjust his team’s four-man midfield. Both wings stayed home, looking for breakaways up the sidelines. One of UTPA’s midfielders looked to quarterback the club while the other sat back as a stopper. “We played a diamond-shaped midfield with our playmaker moving

closer to our forwards, and it proved to be an incredible thing,” the coach said. Unrelenting runs finally evolved into scoring opportunities, and with the lineup changes the Broncs were able to buck the Aggies 20 minutes into the second half. UTPA’s Juan Ramon, who kicked back as a stopper, took a drive up the left side and filtered a pass to Reynoso in the box. Reynoso shot twice but both of his attempts bounced off the keeper’s chest and back at his feet. The third shot proved to be the charm, and Ramon was credited with the assist. Originally, the Green and Orange were scheduled to play back-to-back games, but Saturday’s game against the University of Texas No. 2 was rescheduled for Oct. 14 due to travel and safety concerns, Schmidt said. “It was risky, because it would have been too much driving with little rest,” Barrenechea said. “The team would have had to drive back after the Texas game, pack again and head over to College Station, so instead the Longhorns agreed to reschedule.” After spending some successful

time on the road, the soccer club now shifts gears to make a home stand beginning Saturday at 1 p.m. against Rice, which may very well be the weakest team in the division. The Owls’ best result has been a 2-2 tie against San Antonio College and they have been outscored 11-5 on the year. Schmidt said he’ll try out different players who have not yet been considered for the starting 11. But he says that the team isn’t taking a win for granted. “I’m not going to call it a weaker squad,” he said. A reprise of the Broncs’ 3-2 win over UTSA is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday at the intramural practice field; one, which Schmidt said, should be an “incredible match.” The Lady Broncs (0-1-1) have yet to post a victory and the Saturday road game versus UTSA was rescheduled for Oct. 7; their adviser had prior commitments. “The girls were kind of upset because we couldn’t play this weekend,” said sophomore right center Cynthia Sanchez. “Our adviser couldn’t make the trip and we couldn’t find someone to go with us.”

Onydia Garza/The Pan American UP FOR GRABS - Senior Artemio Arriaga (right) fights for position. The men face Rice University on Saturday at the intramural practice field.

GOLF

Men finished fifth overall at Conference Championships Lady Broncs take tenth at Fred Marx Invitational By GABRIEL SALDANA The Pan American The men’s program finished just below the top half of the conference with fifth-place laurels. Though the men played better than they had in the previous tourney, members remained less than ecstatic about the outcome. After split-location tournaments Monday and Tuesday, the men’s and women’s golf teams felt that their play were sub par. Following concurrent seventh place standings after Monday’s rounds, both Bronc teams succumbed to what Head Coach Ofelia Lopez referred to as “mediocre performances.” After Monday’s 18 fairways at the American Sky Conference Championship in Utah, Carrollton native Shane Pearce had garnered a first place standing on the men’s side shooting a score of 66, the second best single round score to emerge in program history. Finishing the same round in a distant 40th place was sophomore Armen Kirakossian. “It was all in the putting yesterday and I was hitting great,” Pearce said. “I

wasn’t giving myself the right opportunities to make birdies [today]. I was leaving myself a lot of hard putts and I wasn’t scoring as well as I did Monday.” Despite his first day performance, on day two of the campaign Pearce cracked the top 10 to tie for sixth place overall in the championship. Kirakossian claimed the fourteenth position overall followed by Van Horn, Texas High School’s Jeff Hensley. “The boys didn’t play so well today,” Lopez said. “Armen [Kirakossian] shot 73. He played very well but for him it will still be mediocre because anything under 72 for him is mediocre.” As the men toughed it out in Utah, the women were busy with a battle in the bayou as they fought rain and low visibility at the Fred Marx Invitational in Monroe, La. “We were playing in a monsoon,” Lopez said. “We could barely see the green. Everything was wet and there were puddles. There was no letting up on the rain and we were drenched from head to toe.” The ladies finished Monday’s tworound set in the 7th spot with senior and Alberta, Canada Native Bronwyn Sandberg leading the pack in 19th place. Sandberg reemerged as Lady Bronc front-runner on the second day of the competition managing 25th place overall and a three-round-mark of 235.

Coming in behind Sandberg and tied for 42nd place was Mariale Camey. The Green and Orange managed 10th place of 10 teams to end the series. “We have a lack of confidence

[and] all these goals we want to achieve. We need to realize that [the goals] are legit,” Lopez said. “Once we get to the tournament we don’t need to back down or play in fear. All of the girls know what

Melissa Uriegas SWING - Junior Mariale Camey had another solid outing for The University of Texas-Pan American women’s golf team: she tied for 42nd overall Monday.

they want; it’s just a matter of them believing in themselves.” The Bronc coach continued to say that the team had been confident at the beginning of the tournament, so anything less than fifth place was unacceptable. Leadership was spread thin between the men’s and women’s teams during their tournaments this week as Lopez was unable to command both squads. The tightly scheduled coach delegated responsibility this week by traveling to Louisiana with the ladies and leaving the men under the supervision of former head track coach Ricky Vaughn. “I would have loved to be in two places at once, but I don’t have superpowers so I can’t,” Lopez said. “I respect both teams equally and the boys know I’ll see them at their next tournament.” Vaughn, the assistant athletic director for academic support and student services, said he witnessed tremendous effort during the two day trial. “The guys went out there and played hard,” he said. “But they had a difficult time with their putts.” Lopez said her absence had little to do with the men’s performances, and placed trust in Vaughn’s coaching abilities. The next stop on the men’s schedule is slated for Oct. 8 at the Crown Classic in Lufkin, while the women set their sights Tulsa, for the ORU shootout Oct. 1.

S P O RT S

Page 16

September 27, 2007

THE PAN AMERICAN

FOOTBALL

Bronc football, buried in history By ERICK QUINTERO The Pan American It’s a question Athletic Director Scott Street has been asked many times and one which there is really no short answer to. ‘Why does the University of Texas-Pan American not have a football team?’ After all, Texas is a hotbed for football talent and it’s safe to say for most Valley residents football is life. The bottom line is, like with everything else that makes the world go round— money. “Certainly there have been discussions about adding football over the years, long before I was here and what people don’t realize is that UTPA did have football at one time,” said Street who added that there is no timeline set to implement a football program. “My understanding is they stopped it right about the Korean war time in the early fifties.” From its early beginnings as Edinburg Junior College in 1927 football was a staple of athletics followed closely by basketball, baseball and track and field. As a member of the South Texas Conference, the Broncs played the likes of Southwest Texas Junior College of Uvalde, Victoria College, Texas Southmost College of Brownsville, Wharton County Junior College and

Del Mar College of Corpus Christi, but were dropped after the institution developed into a four-year college—Pan American College in 1952. The intention was there but the football program failed to survive the new budget and was buried under the success of the 1960’s Bronc basketball teams. Only vague memories remain, embedded on a few yearbooks neatly stacked in the office of special collections. A dilapidated 16mm film serves as the only proof of the Broncs gridiron gang—which is in the process of being restored and digitalized. A general and natural desire for school unity but most important the longing to identify with the Green and Orange as many other ‘big time’ universities do around their colors seems to be the general consensus among UTPA students like junior business marketing major Mae Vela. “I wish we did have one, just because I think football is more known and I think it would attract more attention than volleyball. Right when you get out of high school that’s the main thing [football],” Vela said. “I think that they have plenty of money now, or they should, with as much as we pay.” Junior education major, Rodrigo Arellano echoed Vela’s sentiment and said he would support an increase in tuition fees if the university was willing

to implement a football team just like they did for the new Wellness and Recreational Sports Complex. “We should be able to make that approach,” said Vela. “It kind of does [bother me] a little bit, because I see the other universities all around especially like Texas A&M and the Longhorns; its just that whole atmosphere from the students, it’s just totally awesome and I wouldn’t mind seeing that around UTPA.” Carr Sports Associates, Inc. conducted a feasibility study for the University of Texas-San Antonio in Feb. 2006 to determine the necessary approach to deliver football to the Roadrunners. This study benchmarked all the infrastructure developments required to do so, chief among them— funds, gender equality and attendance. Conversely if UTPA wanted to add football it would have to not only add 65 scholarships if it entered as Division I AA, or 85 if it entered as a Division I A, but it would have to match that same number of scholarships for women’s sports. Meaning the athletic department would have to add more women’s sports and at a time when not all teams are fully funded i.e. baseball, the likelihood of Saturday tail gating fades into obscurity. If UTPA started as Division I-AA, the aproximate startup cost, excluding a facility, to pay for coaches, staff, travel,

scholarships and administrators would be anywhere between $1.5 to $4 million. Whereas starting as Division I-A would run anywhere between $4 million and $8 million. “That’s one issue right there, we’re not just looking too add a football team, but a multitude of teams. Not to mention we have no facilities right now to house any of those programs, and just the startup cost alone, that’s a big chunk right there,” Street said. Furthermore Division I A requires an annual average attendance of at least 15,000 in actual or paid attendance biannually for all home football games. Florida International and Florida Atlantic have both instituted football programs in recent years, both started as Division IAA and moved up to a I A conference, provide a tried and tested model for a instituting football programs. “I probably have a better knowledge than other people about the whole process,” said Street, who prior to coming to UTPA worked for seven years at UTSA; one of his duties, traveling to other developing football campuses to study their approach “Those schools are great models, even if you go back to Marshall University, they came from I AA and worked themselves back up, so I think there’s a variety of models out there that we can look at.”

CLASS OF 1951 - The 1950-1951 Bronc football team, coached by James Brooks (second row, far right) was cut after the university expanded into a four-year institution. Former congressman Kika de la Garza (third row, second from right) suited up for what was then known as Pan American College. Office of Special Collections.

StatsAtAGlance

Number of former Congressmen who have played football at UTPA Kika de la Garza

2 2

Recent additions to the men’s basketball team

Round in which former UTPA basketball player Colin Lien was drafted by the Rio Grande Silverados of the CBA

ShortSports TENNIS The 2007 women’s tennis season officially got under way on Friday as they traveled to Lubbock, Texas to compete in the Red Raider Shootout and gave a tough performance. The women had a successful first day going 6-6 in single matches and 2-1 in doubles. Senior Silke Buksik had a stellar performance as she qualified for finals after going undefeated in all of her matches. She defeated Natalie McLeod of Texas State posting a victory of 6-0 and 6-4. In doubles action, the Germany native teamed up Megan Bedeau and secured an 8-2 victory defeating Alex Buckingham and Shanei Garcia of North Central Junior College. Julia Cirne-Lima posted a victory against Meghan Kiser of Air Force 6-0, 6-1 and battled in the super tie breaker but came up short against Janet Durham 6-2, 3-6, 10-2. Sophomore Stephanie Willerding went 1-1 in the third flight and Bedeau posted a victory in her first round match 3-6, 6-3 and 10-1. In top the flight of double’s action, Oliveira and Cirne-Lima won handily 60, 6-1 against Christine Abayan and Erlyn Rudico of Air Force.