Thursday March 20, 2008
59th Year No. 23
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER
CAMPUS
NATIONAL
FESTIBA to begin Monday
Don’t ask, do repeal? Students, critics say military law spreads message of intolerance By BOBBY CERVANTES The Pan American The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy passed by President Bill Clinton in 1993 set standards for the military's view on homosexuality. Before the law’s existence, being homosexual, bisexual or transgender stopped participants in that lifestyle from serving. Its inception was considered an improvement for civil right advocates at the time, as it made moot the idea of sexual orientation as long as people did not reveal their preferences. But 15 years later, many people want a complete repeal of the law. The law requires that men and women in the United States military who reveal their homosexuality and/or engaged, or attempted to engage in homosexual conduct during service be immediately discharged. Recruiting officers or other military officials are barred from inquiring about an enlistee's sexual orientation or identity and cannot investigate it until the service member discloses it. At The University of Texas-Pan American, there is a grass-roots effort seeking to repeal the law. Alva Martinez, a sophomore anthropology major, said the United States military seems close-minded about
By SANDRA GONZALEZ
homosexuality. “It sounds to me like the military has a little problem with homosexuality, and if they do, then that's wrong,” she said. “I don't see the problem in letting gay men and women serve in the military.” Senior Elena Torres, whose father served in the military, explained that the law creates secondclass status for homosexual, bisexual, and transgender service members. “My dad was in the military and he would tell me that he would show my baby pictures to all his fellow soldiers,” said the mathematics major. “Why can't they [homosexuals] talk about their families and relationships when everyone else can? They shouldn't be held to different, more restrictive standards.” An estimated 12,000 servicemen and women have been discharged under the law, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a prominent gay rights advocacy group. Meanwhile, supporters of the ban advocate its effectiveness so far in handling homosexual conduct in the military, citing its neutrality on the issue. They note that the main reason for this stance by the armed forces has historically centered on morale, not
The Pan American While looking at the massive schedule of events for the Festival of Books and Arts, nowhere is it apparent that just four years ago the entire event was literally a single booth at Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology Education Week. Since its very humble beginnings, the event - which begins Monday - has grown into a 6-day event, and Dahlia Guerra, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, couldn’t be happier. “It’s so exciting. I’ve just enjoyed FESTIBA so much,” she said. “It’s a dream to have “There is been able to bring need for attenall these opportubecause nities to the stu- tion this is a problem dents and our community.” we really need Guerra, who to address.” has spearheaded the project since -Dahlia Guerra its inception, said dean organizers have put an emphasis on literacy this year. “The literacy component is so important and the rates in the state and South Texas in general are not great,” she said. “There is a need for attention because this is a problem we really need
See LAW page 11
THIS WEEK
Ben Briones/The Pan American
See FESTIBA page 12
GOVERNMENT
NEWS Organization revives area with activities See Page 3
A&E Grant provides hope for aspiring artists See Page 8 & 9
SPORTS Lady Broncs fall short of tourney title See Page 16
UTPA partners in Homeland Security project Key players seek clarification on university’s role By J.R. ORTEGA The Pan American The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently named The University of Texas-Pan American as a partner university for a project that will research
different facets of border security. The only holdup is that UTPA is not quite sure what the work will entail. The project will create the Center of Excellence for Border Security and Immigration on campus. The university does know that it has been designated to head the research sector, and some professors already have propositions as to what they would like to study. On Tuesday, Van Reidhead, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, went to Washington D.C. to meet with homeland security officials to
help clarify UTPA’s role in the project. Reidhead will lead interdisciplinary scientists in finding out more about a variety of topics such as immigration’s effects on the healthcare system, civil society and the economy. Reidhead said the purpose of the project is not to “grind an axe” with biased information, but to inform policy makers with accurate information so better decisions can be made about homeland security. “Our purpose is not as a policy center, it’s not an action center. It’s a
research center,” he said. “Its purpose is to understand immigration at its roots at best we can, so it informs policymakers and those that manage immigration so it provides them with better information.” Reidhead added the information the government and homeland security has is somewhat skewed in that it doesn’t paint an accurate picture of the Valley’s population of legal and illegal immigrants. “You can see it, their look at it, our policymakers voted to build a wall and
See SECURITY page 11