Thursday Feb. 14, 2008
59th Year No. 19
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER
LOCAL/NATIONAL
Clinton in Rio Grande Valley
Onydia Garza/The Pan American RALLY - Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks to a crowd of over 2,000 at the McAllen Convention Center Wednesday. The New York senator is expected to return to the Valley next week.
UTPA visit possible Senator speaks on local issues By SANDRA GONZALEZ The Pan American
THIS WEEK
No plans have been finalized yet for a rally in support of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton despite Congressman Ruben Hinojosa’s last minute announcement Wednesday during the senator’s stop in McAllen. In the last moments of Clinton’s
rally at the McAllen Convention Center, Hinojosa took the microphone and said a rally would take place Feb. 20 at The University of Texas-Pan American campus. But Dean of Students Jerry Price said negotiations between his office and the campaign are only “in preliminary stages” and was reluctant to say the
See UTPA page 11
By SANDRA GONZALEZ and J.R. ORTEGA The Pan American Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton made a highly anticipated visit to the Rio Grande Valley Wednesday for a morning rally at the McAllen Convention Center. Clinton’s stop comes the day after
three losses to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in the Virginia, Washington D.C. and Maryland primaries that left her 55 delegates behind her opponent. Clinton’s view of the future was anything but dreary as she spoke to the crowd of nearly 2,000. “My campaign is about 21st century solutions to the problems we face,” she said. “Let’s get real about the future.
We have to deliver the solutions America needs.” Clinton made the most of the 15 minutes she was on stage, speaking about health care and the possibility of a veteran’s hospital. “There are 20,000 vets in this Valley that deserve to have a VA hospital in this region,” she said.
See CLINTON page 11
ECONOMY
NEWS University staff member shares story of love See Page 3
A&E Speed dating gives singles leg up on Valentine’s See Page 8 & 9
SPORTS Broncs to bid farewell to major talents See Page 16
Students await stimulus package By ABBY MUNIZ The Pan American Kayla Guerra is hoping to head straight to the bank with a $600 check come May. She, along with most American taxpayers whose income does not exceed $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples, will receive a tax rebate check by then. The economic stimulus package, passed by Congress last week and signed by Bush on Wednesday, is an attempt to boost a wavering economy by returning
money to Americans and increasing consumer spending. At The University of Texas-Pan American, students have differing intentions regarding the windfall. Guerra, a sophomore English major, does not intend to spend her money once Uncle Sam sends out the checks. “I think I’d probably save it because I’m not planning to work in the fall,” the Edinburg resident said. “I need a break from working before I really start working after college for the rest of my life.” Since the revenue is aimed at stim-
ulating the economy, the government has expressed concern about the possibility that Americans like Guerra will save the money. Guerra though, believes that most college students will spend the extra cash. “I think college students who don’t live with parents are going to spend it on food or bills,” she commented. Damian Damianov, assistant professor of economics and finance, agrees with many experts who say the economy is lethargic. Part of the problem has been fall-
out from the situation involving subprime mortgages. The rising price of oil has also contributed to the slowdown. At the end of September, nearly 4 percent of prime mortgages were past due or in foreclosure, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The delinquency and foreclosure rate for all mortgages now stands at 7.3 percent, higher than at any time since the group started tracking that data in 1979. The government response has
See STIMULUS page 12