Thursday Nov. 1, 2007
58th Year No. 10
STATE
NATION
New identification system on horizon REAL ID will soon replace states’ licenses, cards By LUPE A. FLORES The Pan American
THIS WEEK
Americans can soon expect to find themselves applying for a new form of identification, due to the REAL ID Act of 2005, which was signed into law in May 2005 by President Bush. REAL ID, which was attached to the military spending bill, “Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror and Tsunami Relief 2005,” was created to halt terrorist activity by establishing national standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and non-driver’s identification cards. But while the act has been covered by media frequently, many students at The University of Texas-Pan American are unaware of what is required from them. After being told about the act, Albert Salazar, a junior mechanical engineering major, said he does not approve of any form of identification that will contain sensitive information about Americans. “I am not for something that might have a tracking device for the sake of a cheap attempt for national security,” he said. Aside from displaying personal information originally on licenses and identification cards, this new ID will require additional information and will display a cardholder’s social security number and birth certificate information.
Jessica Lavariega-Monforti, a political science professor at UTPA, thinks the REAL ID Act among other legislative modifications is not an effective way to eradicate identity theft and fraudulent identification. “According to the law, the ID must include features to thwart counterfeiting and identity theft,” Lavariega-Monforti said. “Unfortunately, while including such features may sound appealing, on the whole, these IDs may make our identities less safe.” Monforti referred to a portion of the bill that requires ID cards to include machine-readable technology, which may open the doors for possible add-ons such as fingerprint or retina scans. “Therefore, if someone gets a hold of your ID, they have stolen your identity as well as f i n g e r prints,” LavariegaMonforti said. Since all 50 states will share the same database of information, she added, the federal government will have access as well. U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), addressed this concern in an H.R. 418 opposition statement before the House of Representatives in 2005, explaining how the REAL ID act would do little in protecting Americans from identity
Texans to vote on Proposition 15 soon By SANDRA GONZALEZ The Pan American Nov. 6 will present Texas residents with an opportunity to weigh in on a proposition that state legislators and local politicians are calling one of the most important measures to ever be placed on the ballot. At a Wednesday press conference in McAllen, former Texas Comptroller John Sharp said Proposition 15, which would allocate $3 billion over the next 10 years to establish a cancer research center in Texas, is an important investment into Texas’ future. “We Texans spend $30 billion a year fighting cancer. You, your families, the hospitals, and legislatures through Medicaid spend it,” said Sharp, cofounder of Texans to Cure Cancer. “We’re asking Texas to spend one percent of that over the next 10 years to try and find a cure.” Some argue, however, that the measure would allocate government funds and put Texas into unnecessary debt. But Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas, who lost his father in February to pancreatic cancer, said other than education, there is no better way to use money. “There has been government
See ID page 11
See PROPOSITION page 11
PRESIDENT
NEWS Passport rules may catch students off guard See Page 3
A&E Couple brings ghoulish event to Harlingen See Page 8 and 9
SPORTS Donna motorcross track opens for business See Page 16
Cardenas returns to campus following heart surgery President should resume full duties in coming week By SANDRA GONZALEZ The Pan American While the banners and signs at the Wellness and Recreation Sports Complex celebrated the center’s official dedication Tuesday morning, the biggest ovation came as President Blandina Cardenas walked through the sliding doors for her
first public appearance since undergoing heart surgery in mid-September. “I’m here this morning with a very grateful — if somewhat patched up — heart, and thankful to be here in more ways than one,” the fourth-year University of Texas-Pan American president said. Monday marked Cardenas’ first day back in the office — albeit not officially — since having a heart bypass Sept. 11. She plans to have Academic Affairs Provost Paul Sale continue as acting chief operations officer for the
remainder of the week. At the start of the semester, the news of Cardenas’ departure came as a shock to the UTPA community; no formal notice about her surgery was given prior to a campus-wide memo distributed following the operation. Cardenas said at the dedication that her health had not been up to par for a while, but she had little notice before the surgery. BRAVE FACE She just couldn’t shake the flu. It was Sept. 4 and an important day — fall
Convocation. She had picked up the flu at summer graduation like she always does; a common price for the hand-shaking and hob-knobbing. But even after frequent self-pep talks where she told her self to suck it up, she was still sick. “Finally, a friend of mine said ‘if you don’t go do the doctor, I’m going to take you to see the doctor,’” Cardenas remembered. “So I did convocation and went to the doctor and said ‘I think I have an infection.’”
See CARDENAS page 11