April 16, 2009

Stephanie Perez qualifies for NCAA Regionals, See pg. 13

Volume 65, No. 27

THE PAN AMERICAN

April 16, 2009

SAFETY

Guns on campus proposal stirs up mixed reactions

By Alejandra Martinez The Pan American After the grim memories of campus shootings like the ones in Virginia and Illinois, lawmakers in Texas are seeking to tighten security around colleges and universities by passing a law that will allow licensed gun owners to bring concealed weapons onto school grounds.

The proposal, titled Carrying of Handguns by License Holders on Certain Campuses, is making its way to the House of Representatives and has 76 members backing it. The House Public Safety Committee has already signed off on it, but debate for the proposal in the full House is still pending.

Proponents of the bill, which include Rio Grande Valley representatives Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa,

D-McAllen, and co-author of the bill Rep. Kino Flores, D-Mission, argue that by allowing guns on campuses, students and faculty will have a chance to defend themselves in case of an emergency.

Though Texas allows concealed handguns to be carried after a subject undergoes rigorous examination of his/her record such as no criminal or mental illness history and complete

10 hours of training, applicants must also be 21 or older; thus still not allowing most underclassmen from carrying guns. There are several areas that are off limits for even those with concealed handgun permits. Along with hospitals, places of worship, and sporting events, schools are included in this delimitation.

However with this proposal universities will be exempt from that rule.

Meanwhile public officials at The University of Texas-Pan American aren’t saying much about this issue.

The provost and interim police chief offered no comment. On the other hand, the University of Texas System released a statement communicating its concern regarding this proposition.

The statement stated that while most college students are legally

See PROPOSAL || Page 5

STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION

Raghuveer Puttagunta named SGA president

By Brian Silva The Pan American

Ben Briones/The Pan American

RIGHT HAND - Newly elected Student Government Association President Raghuveer Puttagunta (background) and Vice President Shaney Flores, are sworn in during a Tuesday afternoon ceremony.

F INANCIAL

Raghuveer “Raghu” Puttagunta, the student body’s new president and leader of the Student Government Association, took office yesterday after squeaking by in a close win during a runoff election.

Puttagunta and running mate Shaney Flores were sworn in by SGA Chief Justice Faraon Torres Tuesday in the SGA office, which recently moved to the University Center. Before the executive team was sworn in, the nine new SGA senators also took the oath of office and will now represent their respective colleges.

In the runoff, which took place April 6 through April 8, Puttagunta received 763 votes and opponent Marco Setien got 715. Interestingly,

more ballots were actually cast during the runoff than in the general election.

Puttagunta said that now the election is over, there’s a sense of relief that campaigning is finished. However, with the transition of power freshly handed over from former President Marcos Silva, the work has just begun.

The work of a transition isn’t new to Puttagunta, since he was Silva’s running mate and subsequent vice president after elections a year ago.

“The next couple of months will bring a lot of hard work,” Puttagunta said. “We’ll be focusing on Senate and staff appointments.”

He explained that rebuilding the Student Senate is a vital component to student government.

See PRESIDENT || Page 5

PROGRAMS

Campus housing to raise Mobile tech help desk implemented rent cost for fall semester

By Matthew Flores The Pan American

By Nadia Tamez-Robledo The Pan American Students planning to live on campus next year will find themselves paying more money for student housing.

The cost of renting at Heritage Hall, Unity Hall and Bronc Village will increase next fall by $20 to $100 depending on the facility, Housing Coordinator

INDEX

Rebeca Villanueva said.

The primary reason for the rising cost is because of cable and electricity, which go up every year.

“We try to make up for those increases,” Villanueva said. “I think as the university continues to grow and there are more areas, longer hours of operation and things of that sort, all of those

See INCREASE || Page 5

OPINION PG. 2

As the university acquires the latest technology to allow student laptops to go wireless, problems are sure to arise.

However a more personal and convenient trouble-shooter may now be found on the campus horizon.

The Mobile Advanced Support Hub (MASH) brings services commonly found at the help desk in the Academic

NEWS PG. 3

Services Building to students, faculty and staff.

Employees of MASH, a part of the Division of Information Technology, can be seen driving around campus in a golf cart. The team can work on Mac or PC laptops, iPhones and Nintendo DS. The team is comprised of a threeperson team and is led by Computer Services Specialist Hector Rodriguez.

If they are called to a location on campus, because of the cart, it will only

ARTS & LIFE PG. 11

take the team a matter of minutes to reach their destination, unless they are servicing others at the moment.

They have one cart as of now, but the number may grow depending on the volume of people using the service. Rodriguez said the newer form of assistance is becoming more recognized.

“They (student and faculty) have used our services,” said Rodriguez.

See MASH || Page 5

SPORTS PG. 13

Page 2

THE PAN AMERICAN

April 16, 2009

Illustrated Opinion

Opinion

Jury duty needs revamping Laura Garcia A&L Editor In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the State.

—Sixth Amendment to the Constitution, 1791 Just this morning I realized I’d received a jury duty notice last week and had to call in this morning; turns out it was only to re-qualify me as a juror.

Luckily, because I’m a student, I’m eligible for an exemption and have been able to avoid that civic duty in the past. But what happens in May when I graduate? I’m thrown back into the eligible population and it just doesn’t sit well with me.

Forty dollars. This is currently the amount a juror gets paid after the first trial day, if selected. Careful now, don’t spend it all in once place. Let us do the math, a person who makes at least $10 per hour for an eight-hour workday makes twice as much. So why would or should anyone give up his or her livelihood to go and serve?

Most employers only pay up to

three days, but what happens during a murder trial? You then resort to wellearned vacation time, which is absurd in itself, and you now get to live on $40. This may be why a jury summons often ends up in the trash. Back to vacation time. Where is the logic in forcing someone to use their time in order to sit in court with some criminal? Yea, that makes sense. A couple of years back, my dad was chosen and after exhausting all of his vacation time, he was practically working for free. Luckily the trial ended soon after.

But what do people do when trials run on for months? Here’s a suggestion. Why not select citizens who are unemployed and could obviously benefit from those $40 rather than choosing someone already making well over that amount but who would forfeit the money to meet their duties. Governments should team up with unemployment agencies and have them provide a list of those citizens. You then select from there and screen them just like everyone else.

Time is money and 40 bucks just isn’t enough.

Vol 65, No. 27

April 16, 2009

1201 West University, CAS 170 Edinburg, Texas 78539 Phone: (956) 381-2541 Fax: (956) 316-7122 EDITOR IN CHIEF J.R. Ortega / eortegaz5@utpa.edu MANAGING EDITOR Brian Silva / basilva1@utpa.edu ASSOCIATE EDITOR Ana Villaurrutia / alvillaurru@utpa.edu A&L EDITOR Laura Garcia / ldgarcia2@utpa.edu ASSISTANT A&L EDITOR Isaac Garcia / izek_el@yahoo.com SPORTS EDITORS Gregorio Garza / ggarzaz26@utpa.edu Pedro Perez IV/ pperez@utpa.edu PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Ben Briones / ben.briones.jr@gmail.com DESIGN EDITOR Roy Bazan / rbazanzz@utpa.edu ADVISER Dr. Greg Selber / selberg@utpa.edu ADMINISTRATIVE ASSOCIATE Anita Reyes / areyes18@utpa.edu ADVERTISING MANAGER Samantha Quintana / spubs@utpa.edu

**Delivery** Thursday at noon 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.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Pan American accepts letters of 300 words or less 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. The Pan American cannot publish anonymous letters or submissions containing hate speech or gratuitous personal attacks. Please send all story ideas to thepanamerican@ gmail.com.

Individuals with disabilities wishing to acquire this publication in an alternative format or needing assistance to attend any event listed can contact The Pan American for more details.

Illustration by Anthony Salinas

Student Publications wins awards Last week the Student Publications of UTPA, which includes Bronc Radio/TV, The Pan American, and The Panorama magazine participated in the Texas Incollegiate Press Association’s Centennial conference in Dallas.

Also, The Pan American received two awards from the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence Awards for Region 8. For Editorial Cartooning Anthony Salinas received third place and for All Around Best Non-Daily Newspaper the staff received first place.

The Panorama recently received several Addy awards for excellence in their magazine.

Our awards simply ratify that we all work hard as a team to provide the students, faculty and staff of the UT-Pan American community with quality news. We seek out to do our part in helping create a well informed community. Help us continue our mission by providing us with news tidbits, we enjoy hearing from you.

BRONC TV/RADIO Carlos Villarreal Second Place Documentary Carlos Villarreal Third Place Radio Overall Newscast Isaac Garza Third place Radio Feature Story Bernie Corpus Third Place Commercial, PSA, Promo Guillermo Aviles Honorable Mention Commercial, PSA, Promo Jenn Villarreal Honorable Mention Production Carlos Mireles Honorable Mention Production Van Chavez Honorable Mention Production Carlos Villarreal Honorable Mention General Excellence – Student Assisted

Vanessa Chavez Honorable Mention General Excellence – Student Assisted Daisy Alvarez Honorable Mention Public Affairs Program Patty Montemayor Honorable Mention Radio Production Dan Elizondo Honorable Mention Radio Spot News THE PAN AMERICAN UT – Pan American Staff Best of Show UT – Pan American Staff First Place Editorial Kevin Stich Second Place Sports New Story Brian Silva Honorable Mention News Feature Story Ben Briones Honorable Mention Photo Illustration

Brian Silva Honorable Mention Opinion/Editorial Page Design Ben Briones Honorable Mention Photo Illustration Roy Bazan Honorable Mention Information graphic Onydia Garza Honorable Mention Picture Story Roy Bazan Honorable Mention Picture Story Gregorio Garza Honorable Mention Sports Column PANORAMA UT – Pan American Staff Honorable Mention Yearbook Overall Excellence Ramiro Paez Second Place Sports Copy Alejandro Paz Third Place Information Graphic

Esmer Olvera Third Place Opening Copy Ana Ley Third Place Opening Copy Alexis Carranza Third Place Opening Copy UT – Pan American Staff Honorable Mention Cover Design Mary Nichols Honorable Mention Student Life Copy Danny Martinez Honorable Mention Photo Story Esmer Olvera Honorable Mention Photo Story Chris Ramirez Honorable Mention Photo Story Onydia Garza Honorable Mention Sports Feature Photo

Dates to Know: Last day to drop course Friday, April 17 UTPA

April 16, 2009

THE PAN AMERICAN

Guy’s Night Out Tuesday, April 21 5 p.m.

Student Union Commons Page 3

COMMUNITY

UTPA community environmentally conscious

By John Gallagher The Pan American As Earth Week approaches, the Environmental Awareness Club (EAC) has stepped up to show that The University of Texas-Pan American has an environmentally conscious community.

The EAC has traveled as far as Washington D.C. to lobby and learn about environmental issues, but the club plans to bring the cause back

home as it begins organizing a town hall meeting at the Student Union scheduled for May 2.

At the meeting, members intend to debrief people on current Valley environmental issues such as the need for more green jobs, recycling programs and hiking trails. The EAC intends on inviting Congressman Ruben Hinojosa, and state representatives Veronica Gonzalez and Aaron Pena to the event.

EAC member Jackelin Trevino

said they hope the event will build a bridge between community members and their representatives.

“We want to start a regional dialogue between constituents and their representatives that will continue throughout the year,” said the 21year old biology major from McAllen. “We want people to know they have a voice and give them tools to advocate their opinions.”

The EAC will also help sponsor Earth Week at UTPA. Earth Week

runs from April 20 to 24 nationally and it is a week devoted to encouraging environmental-awareness and pro-green events.

For the week the group will have people pledging to be more environmentally conscious, and will also have students signing a petition to advocate for greener laws in Texas.

On Arbor Day, the EAC will also have five trees donated to UTPA. A UPB event on Earth-Day will also be held in conjunction with the

EAC in the Quad on the 24th. Different student organizations will set up stations and have activities for students to promote environmental awareness.

“We’re going to have people build recycle boxes and bird-feeders for our station, just some fun stuff to get the student body more involved in Earth Week,” Trevino said.

The club recently participated in PowerShift 2009 in Washington

See ENVIRONMENTAL || Page 6

SEEN AND CAPTURED

IN MEMORIAM

English professor of 29 years passes away

By Ana Villaurrutia The Pan American Linda Olivarez sits with a scrapbook of post cards from James Evans, a man she considered a father figure. Around her house are stacks of Christmas cards addressed to him that came from different parts of the country. However, now these notes of sentiment are just memories because the 82-year-old English professor emeritus and master professor recently died.

Evans was born in Monroe, Miss., and later moved to Kansas to teach public school. From 1951 to 1953 he served in the military at medical hospitals and was sent to Pusan, Korea, where he worked at psychiatric wards.

In 1967, he moved to Edinburg to pursue his professorship at what was then called Pan American College. He married in his 40s and though he never had children, his wife’s three nephews

were always considered their children.

Though Evans left The University of Texas-Pan American in 2003, his memory still remains with some of the older staff in the English department.

Olivarez, the long-time department administrative clerk, also retired but kept in close contact with Evans. She remembers him for his devotion to the job.

“In the department he became a fatherly figure to us, wherever he went he would bring me something from his travels,” said Olivarez, who kept in constant contact with Evans.

At PAC he taught a wide range of English classes from rhetoric to composition, and a graduate course in bibliography. He was a graduate adviser for 11 years.

Most knew Evans for his acute memory; English professor Ted Von Ende notes that though his office was often

See EVANS || Page 6

Ben Briones/ The Pan American

WE ARE AMERICANS - Archer Park filled with over seven hundred people Wednesday night holding signs of protest about the current economic situation.

CAMPUS

Residence Life director post might be filled by fall

By Kristen Cabrera The Pan American Rebeca Villanueva would like a little more experience before getting a director’s job at a university. She graduated in 2005 with a degree in marketing from The University of Texas-Pan American. She was then promoted from housing director to assistant director for residence life in January 2008 but her career path seems to be unfolding ahead of schedule.

Ever since former director of Residence Life Chad Martin left at

the end of June, Villanueva has had to step up to the plate straight from her housing director job to being assigned interim director in September 2008.

“I want more time to be an assistant and more experience at other universities before being given a director position,” she said of her ideal plan. “But I worked closely with Chad, and I‘ve gotten a lot of help from Rebecca Gadson and Jeanette Broshears.”

It’s coming up on a year since Martin left to be the director of Residence Life at his alma mater in

Oklahoma after being hired at UTPA in spring 2003. But according to Villanueva its normal for the search to replace someone in his position to take time.

“Usually for director positions it’s a longer process.” Villanueva said.

“We want to have the right person. I don’t think it’s untypical for a search to take this long. When we choose someone we don’t want to rush through it, usually the higher the position the longer the while.”

The chair of the committee who reviews applicants and interviews them is Gadson, the director of the

Office of Student Development.

There are five others, including the assistant dean of students, Villanueva and student representative Ally Zepeda.

Applicants apply with the Office of Human Resources, which sends the application to the chair of the committee. The committee discusses the viability and for each hopeful, and then there are phone interview. A handful of the top candidates are invited to campus so that students and staff can become part of the feedback process.

“During a day visit they would

meet with administration, SGA, students they would come in contact with on a daily basis,” Villanueva explained. “Then students make suggestions to the committee; there is always a student element to it.”

Gadson, who was asked to be the chair of the search committee by former Dean of Students Jerry Price last July, described some of the criteria the committee is looking for in a new director.

“Were looking for experience; related experience and in working with the college student population,”

See DIRECTOR || Page 6

Page 4

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April 16, 2009

April 16, 2009

NEWS

INCREASE continued from Page 1

MASH continued from Page 1 “But right now, they’re trying to figure out what we are exactly. It’s coming around, the last event we had; we helped six or seven people.”

MASH started mobile services in mid-March and in the past two weeks, the IT department has been advertising the service by passing out fliers and advertising on Bronc Notes. It is in the process of sending out e-mails to inform students and faculty.

Rodriguez said anyone can use the services by simply approaching team members or by calling 381-2020 if they are in need of technical assistance with computers.

“If someone sees the cart, they can walk up and ask,” Rodriguez explained. “For example their iPhone or laptop to be configured to the wireless network.”

Monique Michelle Gonzalez, a

graphic design major from Edinburg, believes the MASH team is a good idea and spoke of her own experience on campus when she could have used the tech support.

“I think that would be great (the MASH team) because when I first came over here, I didn’t even know how to set up the Internet on my laptop, I had to go to the library and have some guy set up my Internet,” the junior said. “I would take advantage of that service.”

Unlike the tech support provider Geek Squad, there are some services MASH cannot provide. Because of litigation issues, the team cannot work on hardware such as the CPU (that is the central processing unit or RAM Random Access Memory, both of which are found on the motherboard, the internal components of the com-

PROPOSAL continued from Page 1 adults, they have yet to reach maturity and often undergo stressful situations that can lead to emotional distress, substance abuse and mental health issues. Thus, bringing guns onto campus environment posses a major threat to students, faculty and staff.

Students have also voiced their opinion on the matter.

David Cortez, president of the Students for Peace at UTPA, says that allowing students to bring weapons into the campus environment will only lead to more violence.

“I’ve had a gun held to the back of my head by somebody who meant to wish me harm,” said the political science major from Edinburg. “And I don’t think that adding more guns to a situation with a gun makes anything any better.”

SGA President Marcos Silva said he has received comments from students saying they would feel uncomfortable if the person next to them had a gun, and that they would focus more on that than on being in class.

“I envision that once we have guns, we have to be more careful with the people that are here. I see it harder for us to be safe than if we don’t allow guns on campus,” Silva said.

SGA president-elect Raghuveer Puttagunta says another matter that needs to be taken into consideration is

the possibility of gun theft.

“You can bring a gun and put it in your car, and we have some students that do that,” Puttagunta explained. “If the gun is placed in the windshield or someplace where another person can see it, you have a higher likelihood of the car being broken into and the gun being stolen.”

One of the benefits of students carrying guns, Puttagunta says, is that a gunman would be more hesistant to fire a weapon if he knew that other students are also armed. But he still holds that it does not outweigh the risks, adding that this is a factor state legislators must consider.

Marshall Lott, a senior at UTPA, said he is in favor of the proposal and that he would feel safer if guns were allowed on campus.

“The majority of the people who apply for licenses are responsible people, they don’t just let anyone apply,” said the PR/Advertising major.

“If you have a criminal history, you’re not even allowed to apply. It’s difficult just to get the license.”

He added that people have a misconception about gun owners.

“I know those people have taken the classes and have gone through the training and I would trust those individuals more than those who haven’t gone through the training,” he added.

Page 5

puter) but they can consult on software issues.

“The only difference is the Geek Squad can work on the hardware and we cannot, not at this time,” Rodriguez noted. “Hopefully we will be able to offer that for students in the future, but first we have to see that this takes off.”

MASH can also be found at www. utpa.edu/helpdesk there a full list of services and answers to commonly asked questions can be found. Computer training services, desktop support for on-site software and hardware solutions, and provision of free downloads for licensed software are also provided on the Web site.

Rodriguez is also looking forward to providing wireless printing to students around campus and by the fall semester the service is expected to be up and running.

things affect the cost of running an entire campus.”

During the regular academic year, a double occupancy room that shares a bathroom area with another room costs $1,500 per semester at Heritage Hall and $1,800 at the newer Unity Hall. The fees cover rent and all utilities including light, water, internet and cable.

In addition to those expenses, money for housing also pays for maintenance and dorm staff. Both Unity and Heritage halls employ residence assistants and have a staff member at the front desks 24 hours a day.

“We want our buildings to keep looking nice and feel homey. Simple things like painting or buffing take people and material,” she said. “The students don’t see a breakdown of it, but we have to be able to cover all those costs.”

Though 18-year-old Donna native

Adriana Garcia enjoys the homey atmosphere of Heritage Hall, she has decided not to return to live on campus next year because of the cost.

“I think the dorms are already charging too much,” she said. “Even before I knew the prices were going to change, I had already decided not to stay on campus.”

Prices for meal plans will also rise from $45 to $50 per semester depending on the individual plan, according to Director of Auxiliary Services Leticia Benavides.

Unity Hall resident Brian Martinez, a senior English major, isn’t surprised by the increase.

“Things cost more nowadays, so you can’t really get around it,” he said. “I don’t feel it’s excessive.”

Overall, Villanueva said she feels the benefits of living on campus are worth the price.

PRESIDENT continued from Page 1 “We must make sure there is a diverse Senate,” Puttagunta said, adding that most of the nine new senators are from the science and engineering fields.

He said that an incomplete Senate is actually something that is common during the changing of student government representatives and officers.

He noted that this year’s shortage is a little bit more profound than usual.

Puttagunta said while working on appointments, the new SGA will also be faced with issues working their way through the end of the legislative session.

On legislative affairs, incoming Vice President Flores, who served this past year as a senator for the College of Arts and Humanities, said there needs to be a push for more student government involvement.

“One of our goals will be to get UTPA SGA to be more vocal in the Texas Legislature,” Flores insisted.

He said that there is a larger degree of urgency with certain pieces of legislation like the bill that would allow guns on campus. The SGA needs to be more vocal in expressing student views on that issue, according to Flores.

Another issue he said SGA will need to lend its voice to is the TEXAS Grant, which he said is very im-

“I think you always leave hoping you did more and had the chance to do more, but you do what you can with the time that you have,” he said.

Silva noted that upon taking office his personal goal was to have the organization be more accessible to the students.

“Whether we sparked interest by giving away water bottles, a foam hand or SGA pens… we will have FRESH LEGACY been successful if Flores said he joined the SGA “One of our goals will be to people remember because he was at- get UTPA SGA to be more vo- there was a helpful SGA,” he said. tracted to the idea During this that Silva had pre- cal in the Texas Legislature.” time of transition sented about where Silva said he will he wanted to take continue to be inthe organization. Shaney Flores volved and lend a He said the former hand as much as president’s idea SGA vice president he can. came to fruition “I will help the new SGA presiwhen SGA became involved with events and programs to build the stu- dent and vice president with whatever they need,” Silva said. “I’ll pass dents’ awareness of SGA. “Marcos’ tenure was one of the along the knowledge I gained from better administrations,” Flores said. the past year’s experiences in office.”

Silva will graduate this May with “We saw more bills and programs bea degree in psychology. Afterward he ing implemented during his time.”

Silva takes a more humble ap- plans to go on to graduate school, but proach when looking back at his ten- hasn’t decided on which one.

“We all did the best we could and I ure as president. He wouldn’t judge his own time in office as having a will continue to do what I can to help positive effect on the university or students through the rest of my time here,” he concluded. not, but said he did what he could. portant to the students of the university.

Puttagunta is a chemistry and biology major and will be a senior next year. He is originally from Edinburg, and intends on going into the medical field. Flores is originally from Harlingen an English and Psychology major and will be a senior next year.

Page 6

April 16, 2009

NEWS

ENVIRONMENTAL continued from Page 3 D.C. in late February and in Re-En- will renew the Kyoto Treaty and ergize Texas Austin in late March. determine new policies to deal with Both were events advocating for present and future environmental isclimate initiatives such as proposals sues.

The last Kyoto Treaty was draftfor minimizing the manufacturing of coal plants or implementing college ed in 1992, but the United States did tuition fees to keep university’s en- not ratify the treaty. 2009 is a very different year though, and organizavironmentally safe. tions such as the “We aim to raise awareness “We hope to get the university EAC are confident about our local to sign onto a green energy the United States will ratify it this and global environment,” said provider...we can make UTPA time around.

“Our country EAC Secretary Desiree Ortiz, a a more eco-friendly university.” doesn’t really have a choice to ratify 20-year-old sothe next Kyoto ciology major.

Treaty, people “We want to be a Desiree Ortiz can’t and won’t igbridge between EAC secretary nore the global enstudents and the environmental community at large.” vironmental issues anymore,” Oritz The events preface the G8 sum- commented. “Universities such as mit meeting in Copenhagen this ours need to show that the students December, a meeting in which the are interested in global issues.”

The EAC has existed five years, United States and other countries

DIRECTOR continued from Page 3

and has grown in membership in the last two years. The EAC has approximately 20 active student members.

EAC Historian Carolina De La Garza, 20, a pre-med student from Edinburg, said the recent rise in environmental concerns has helped stabilize the club.

“The club almost died out five years ago, but today environmental issues are at the forefront of our campus concerns, since 2007 we’ve become more active,” she said.

Although spring 2009 is almost finished, next year the EAC intends on continuing its fight for environmental policies, including those that affect the campus.

“We hope to get the university to sign onto a green energy provider,” Ortiz states. “We also want to work on recycling at UTPA, and hopefully through a campus community effort we can make UTPA a more ecofriendly university.”

she said. “We want someone not just with three to five years of professional experience but three to five years of professional experience with an understanding of the college as well as with budgeting.”

According to the job description that was place on the UTPA website by human resources department, the Director of Residence Life must be responsible for supervising residence hall (Unity Hall, Troxel, Heritage and Bronc Apartments).

The job also entails managing the administration and upkeepings of Residence Life programs, department, and the budget.

The director must also come up with marketing and advertising stratagies for residence life and evaluate and analize housing occupancy, retention and projection trends.

Villanueva said that so far there have been applicants reviewed for the job but that no more than six have

made it to a phone interview stage.

The goal is to have someone in place for the upcoming fall semester.

nosed with congestive heart failure, after which he worked part time until 2003.

“That hurt him a lot, he was very dedicated to teaching,” Olivarez said.

Evans then traveled around Turkey, Israel, and Mexico and moved between Monterrey and Edinburg.

In the last two years of his life, Evans’ heart and body were deteriorating and he was living at Retama Manor in Edinburg, and later in McAllen.

English professor Ed Heckler knew Evans when the former came to the university in 1981. After Evans’ retirement, Heckler kept visiting the professor and was one of the last people from UTPA to see him before he died.

“It was difficult and his mind wasn’t as good as it was before,” said Heckler.

“He had such a sharp mind, it was sad to see him confused.”

Knowing that his time was short,

Olivarez and her husband decided to arrange a trip to Monterrey where Evans’ nephew, Sergio Nieto, was living.

“We thought, ‘Let’s get him to Monterrey because that’s his desire,’ I made every effort to get him there,” Olivarez said. “At least he got to see family members in the last three weeks.”

Evans arrived in Monterrey on early March, but passed on March 25 at his nephew’s house.

DID YOU KNOW?

The university has gone through three dormitory transitions, not including the Bronc Village Apartments. The first pair of male/female dormitories were the ROTC building and Emilia Schunior Hall building.

The second pair was the Heritage and Troxel Hall buildings. The third installment is Unity Hall.

EVANS continued from Page 3 cluttered, Evans could always remember where things were.

“He seemed to go back years and find stuff,” remarked Von Ende, who has been at the university for over 30 years.

“A student would say ‘I never picked up that term paper,’ and he would pull it out of an old stack.”

Von Ende also recalled Evans as a very reserved person on the surface, but someone with a truly generous and

friendly personality.

“He wasn’t a very outgoing person, but he was a very kind and generous person,” said his former colleague. “I think he wanted to appear stricter than he was…on the inside he had a heart of gold.”

His time at the university was lengthy and eventful, and Olivarez commented that Evans did not take well to retirement. In 1996, Evans had been diag-

April 16, 2009

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THE PAN AMERICAN

April 16, 2009

Not sure when I was born, Don’t remember who had dropped my acorn. In the middle of 14th hole, to the right of fairway Beautiful landscape, maintained every day.

Kick’n the dirt Slept in my shoes Kick’n the dirt My noggin is loose Kick’n the dirt Search’n for clues Kick’n the dirt Got nut’n to lose Kick’n the dirt So what’s the use Usen’n the shoes to loosen the clues

Standing alone, among many others, young and old In front, back, right, left, each of us have grown many fold We provide shade, landscape and natural hurdles To golfers of Cimarron, one of few examples.

Not easy to be grown inside a golf course hole. Always get hit by golf balls and no one does anything to control. Does it inflict pain on my trunk, branches and leaves?

You bet, they do, produce severe pain and plenty of grieves. Good players can easily lift the ball, and cross over my head. New players fail to estimate the angle and hit me instead.

Kick’n the dirt Left all my dudes Kick’n the dirt Pluck’n off a goose Kick’n the dirt Done paid my dues Kick’n the dirt Work’n for a cruise Kick’n the dirt My foot’s ah bruise Dudes that goose dues cruise for ah bruise

18 feet tall and still growing. Big and ample shades and not into cluttering.Withstand extreme heat and wind of hurricane, Long lived tree, life measured in centuries on coastal plainGeorgia claims the live oak as its state tree, Grown in Alabama, Louisiana, Texas and also Mississippi.

Kick’n the dirt Aie gotta choose Kick’n the dirt Put’n down the booze Kick’n the dirt Here come my cues Kick’n the dirt Gonna make the news Kick’n the dirt Ain’t got no blues Choose’n the booze blues, news to accuse

By: Leif Behmer 25

THE PAN AMERICAN

Page 9

Autobiography of a solitary Live Oak Tree

Rough Road Ranger

Kick’n the dirt No time teh snooze Kick’n the dirt Blow’n out my fuse Kick’n the dirt I’m outta juice Kick’n the dirt Gaze’n at the hues Kick’n the dirt Aie must refuse

April 16, 2009

The name derives from foliage, evergreen through the winter. When other deciduous trees stand bare and hibernate at the center. My wood

is hard and strong, Drying to 55 pounds per cubic foot all along. I stand above the rest. And considered among the heaviest. Of any tree in North America. There is no better wood, I am the best, Ha Ha Ha! Used primarily as a landscape tree, I repel flea and insects away from me. During colonial times however. Considered as a wood forever.

Chosen for shipbuilding industry, Added another crown of highest degree.

USS Constitution, a man of war, was nicknamed “Old Ironside” Its hull was built with my wood, a fact that bolsters my pride. I was so tough, during the War of 1812, true in every bit. British war ships’ cannon balls literally bounced off it.

However the Constitution was built at a time Before shipbuilders knew to bend or steam wood into shape and prime. So they used my long arching branches as “knees” Or braces to connect the ship’s hull to its deck floors and make it worthy for seas.

The ship was completely restored in the early 1990s, a reason to rejoice. And again the live oak became the material of choice, In keeping with historical precedent. Happy to get back my old glory and everyone’s consent.

Half dead monarch A half dead monarch in the alley on the way to a corportate cafe where they serve obno xious elitist c*nt dreams at the going rate of iso lation in your expensive ov errated hybrid car with satellite radi o and you sip your grande half-caff, skim pumpkin latte with half a pump on your way to some bullshit yoga class.

In your world of cont aminated tap water and germs that are, if they must classified by race (ethnicity) Mexican.

Too busy avoiding yo ur real past of poverty of misfortu ne with your do good to o late, overcompensate, fake , glorified glue salesm an of a failed musician husb and reading headlines fro m an iphone about the stockmarke t to a dying man while sipping his shade-grown fairtrade coffee with ground cinnamon spice and the milk folded in to it.

By: Erika Garza Johnson 32

By: Partha Ray

“Havana” By: Dave Martinez

em Among Th

ou, ve set for y a h I s m a of dre on the bed s. gth; Come lay ed of thorn b a n o d, my stren o y lo la b l y il w m , I lf And myse give you is I t a h w r o harm.

F p you from e e k l il w This e stars onded to th b e v a h I s e reverie s world.

Swim in th r your ashe light in the e e th a th g t h to g ri h me fort To keep b ll I will co fa hole. u o y n e ake you w m For wh to r e th e ou tog and piece y Stich By: Kevin 22

I’m a person now * written on the occasion of Obama’s inauguration i‘ve always had to choose what to be in what situation: at a gay bar, i am a lesbian. at church, i am a pious Mexican. at the gyno office, i am a prodded woman. where can i be all these things at once? a gyno church the church of gay a gay gyno office obama with his promises of hope won the election on youtube and i let his promises infect me.

i know i am not the only one with the hope virus (it’s a widespread US epidemic) i am a person now, i can let myself believe that:

time i fly somewhere. i can file sexual harassment against my boss for always asking me to check out my female coworkers and tell him how hott i think they are. i do not have to allow someone to dumb down their conversation so that my immigrant ass can understand – my ancestors were here way before yours buddy.

i do not have to chose between being who/ what/where/when. i do not have to fear being arrested for making out with a girl in public. now, only now, am i a person i do not have to put up with it if someone (i believe that) asks me (in english) if i can speak english.

By: Lauren Espinoza i can tell my gyno that i am gay and she will 23 not ask if i am or could be pregnant. i do not have to automatically assume that i will be picked for a secondary screening each

Design by: Roy Bazan

Page 8

THE PAN AMERICAN

April 16, 2009

Not sure when I was born, Don’t remember who had dropped my acorn. In the middle of 14th hole, to the right of fairway Beautiful landscape, maintained every day.

Kick’n the dirt Slept in my shoes Kick’n the dirt My noggin is loose Kick’n the dirt Search’n for clues Kick’n the dirt Got nut’n to lose Kick’n the dirt So what’s the use Usen’n the shoes to loosen the clues

Standing alone, among many others, young and old In front, back, right, left, each of us have grown many fold We provide shade, landscape and natural hurdles To golfers of Cimarron, one of few examples.

Not easy to be grown inside a golf course hole. Always get hit by golf balls and no one does anything to control. Does it inflict pain on my trunk, branches and leaves?

You bet, they do, produce severe pain and plenty of grieves. Good players can easily lift the ball, and cross over my head. New players fail to estimate the angle and hit me instead.

Kick’n the dirt Left all my dudes Kick’n the dirt Pluck’n off a goose Kick’n the dirt Done paid my dues Kick’n the dirt Work’n for a cruise Kick’n the dirt My foot’s ah bruise Dudes that goose dues cruise for ah bruise

18 feet tall and still growing. Big and ample shades and not into cluttering.Withstand extreme heat and wind of hurricane, Long lived tree, life measured in centuries on coastal plainGeorgia claims the live oak as its state tree, Grown in Alabama, Louisiana, Texas and also Mississippi.

Kick’n the dirt Aie gotta choose Kick’n the dirt Put’n down the booze Kick’n the dirt Here come my cues Kick’n the dirt Gonna make the news Kick’n the dirt Ain’t got no blues Choose’n the booze blues, news to accuse

By: Leif Behmer 25

THE PAN AMERICAN

Page 9

Autobiography of a solitary Live Oak Tree

Rough Road Ranger

Kick’n the dirt No time teh snooze Kick’n the dirt Blow’n out my fuse Kick’n the dirt I’m outta juice Kick’n the dirt Gaze’n at the hues Kick’n the dirt Aie must refuse

April 16, 2009

The name derives from foliage, evergreen through the winter. When other deciduous trees stand bare and hibernate at the center. My wood

is hard and strong, Drying to 55 pounds per cubic foot all along. I stand above the rest. And considered among the heaviest. Of any tree in North America. There is no better wood, I am the best, Ha Ha Ha! Used primarily as a landscape tree, I repel flea and insects away from me. During colonial times however. Considered as a wood forever.

Chosen for shipbuilding industry, Added another crown of highest degree.

USS Constitution, a man of war, was nicknamed “Old Ironside” Its hull was built with my wood, a fact that bolsters my pride. I was so tough, during the War of 1812, true in every bit. British war ships’ cannon balls literally bounced off it.

However the Constitution was built at a time Before shipbuilders knew to bend or steam wood into shape and prime. So they used my long arching branches as “knees” Or braces to connect the ship’s hull to its deck floors and make it worthy for seas.

The ship was completely restored in the early 1990s, a reason to rejoice. And again the live oak became the material of choice, In keeping with historical precedent. Happy to get back my old glory and everyone’s consent.

Half dead monarch A half dead monarch in the alley on the way to a corportate cafe where they serve obno xious elitist c*nt dreams at the going rate of iso lation in your expensive ov errated hybrid car with satellite radi o and you sip your grande half-caff, skim pumpkin latte with half a pump on your way to some bullshit yoga class.

In your world of cont aminated tap water and germs that are, if they must classified by race (ethnicity) Mexican.

Too busy avoiding yo ur real past of poverty of misfortu ne with your do good to o late, overcompensate, fake , glorified glue salesm an of a failed musician husb and reading headlines fro m an iphone about the stockmarke t to a dying man while sipping his shade-grown fairtrade coffee with ground cinnamon spice and the milk folded in to it.

By: Erika Garza Johnson 32

By: Partha Ray

“Havana” By: Dave Martinez

em Among Th

ou, ve set for y a h I s m a of dre on the bed s. gth; Come lay ed of thorn b a n o d, my stren o y lo la b l y il w m , I lf And myse give you is I t a h w r o harm.

F p you from e e k l il w This e stars onded to th b e v a h I s e reverie s world.

Swim in th r your ashe light in the e e th a th g t h to g ri h me fort To keep b ll I will co fa hole. u o y n e ake you w m For wh to r e th e ou tog and piece y Stich By: Kevin 22

I’m a person now * written on the occasion of Obama’s inauguration i‘ve always had to choose what to be in what situation: at a gay bar, i am a lesbian. at church, i am a pious Mexican. at the gyno office, i am a prodded woman. where can i be all these things at once? a gyno church the church of gay a gay gyno office obama with his promises of hope won the election on youtube and i let his promises infect me.

i know i am not the only one with the hope virus (it’s a widespread US epidemic) i am a person now, i can let myself believe that:

time i fly somewhere. i can file sexual harassment against my boss for always asking me to check out my female coworkers and tell him how hott i think they are. i do not have to allow someone to dumb down their conversation so that my immigrant ass can understand – my ancestors were here way before yours buddy.

i do not have to chose between being who/ what/where/when. i do not have to fear being arrested for making out with a girl in public. now, only now, am i a person i do not have to put up with it if someone (i believe that) asks me (in english) if i can speak english.

By: Lauren Espinoza i can tell my gyno that i am gay and she will 23 not ask if i am or could be pregnant. i do not have to automatically assume that i will be picked for a secondary screening each

Design by: Roy Bazan

Page 10

ADVERTISEMENTS

April 16, 2009

Dates to Know: Aranda- KFRQ Birthday Bash Tonight 8 p.m.

Flesh, McAllen April 16, 2009

THE PAN AMERICAN

Guitar Studio Recital Monday, 6 p.m.

Fine Arts Recital Hall Page 11

COMMUNITY

Another Music Festival takes stab at entertainment

By Marco Carbajal The Pan American On any given night in McAllen, one does not have to travel far to take in a few sets of live music. It would seem only a matter of time before someone thought of putting all of those acts all in one place for everyone to enjoy. Well, someone actually did so Coachella and Lollapalooza had better look out, because Another Music Festival is on its way!

The McAllen Chamber of Commerce is set to debut Another Music Festival April 18-19 on 17th Street in the heart of the McAllen arts district. The festival, which will boast 14 hours of music in two days from 80 bands in nine venues, will include genres such as rock, indie, alternative, country, Spanish and jazz. It is the first event of its kind in the Valley.

Annabell Cortina, director of special events and media for the McAllen Chamber of Commerce, says that the increase of the art and music scene in McAllen prompted the city to do something to bring the community out to the growing entertainment district.

“Music is usually the first thing used to establish a city in terms of art,” Cortina explained. “With the revitalization of the McAllen downtown area, the city wanted to do something to bring the community out by having other events going on. So we thought of having a music festival, because music has been growing throughout the Valley.”

Cortina adds that the festival is the culmination of a year of planning and coordination between the Chamber and other organizations like Heart of the City Improvement Corporation, a non-profit organization that takes care of the downtown McAllen entertainment district. A

committee composed of local business owners and others who are involved in the art or music communities helped with logistics.

“The work this committee has put in has been invaluable to making this event happen,” Cortina said. “For the last few years the Chamber of Commerce has really been spearheading the arts and music scene, so we have a lot of support from the city in terms of help and physical arrangements and helping with the venue.”

Yajaira Flores of McAllen is the marketing chair for the festival and says the benefits of the event are two-fold.

“We really have a unique culture being situated here right next to the border,” Flores said. “Our local artists and musicians will get to share the stage with regional and national acts as well. That definitely increases the exposure of local bands and of the Valley.”

One such local band slated to play the event is The Bullfighter, headed by

a pair of brothers from Pharr who are no strangers to making music. Rudy and Xavie Gonzalez took a handful of guitar and drum lessons 10 years ago at the ages of 13 and 11, before beginning to cover songs by Blink 182 and Lit. The two have been making a name for themselves since, most recently through their now defunct band, Astrophix. After the fate of Astrophix was put on hold due to outside responsibilities of the members, the two decided to try a side project recording their own music and The Bullfighter was born. Musicians Rigo Martinez, Rudy Martinez, and Erik Cantu join the brothers during their live shows.

The elder of the Gonzalez brothers, Rudy, says the festival sounds like a good way to bring the community together and put the area and its talent on the map.

“When my brother and I toured with Astrophix, people had no idea where Pharr or McAllen was,” Gonzalez said. “There aren’t too many bands that have spread

the name of the Valley out there, and there is so much talent and potential right here.

I’ve seen a lot of good bands down here, but the exposure hasn’t been there so this festival is a great idea to help that.”

With their new EP due in May, the band’s fan base has seems to be steadily growing as evidenced by a growing friends list on their MySpace music page (myspace.com/thebullfightersmusic).

Their song “Thousand Mile Escort” has gotten nearly 4,000 plays. Their upcoming appearance at the festival will no doubt further their exposure and garner even more followers.

Mike Maven, a singer-songwriter from Austin, will also join the ranks of talented musicians gracing the festival.

After being left by his father, Maven and his mother packed up and moved to the East Coast with only a suitcase between them. One of the few possessions that eventually arrived at their new location was his mother’s guitar; Maven quickly learned two chords and began writing his own songs.

The 24-year-old powerhouse has gone on to a successful career as a musician, blending a rock, pop and soul sound he himself describes as “John Legend meets John Mayer meets Adam Levine.” Maven draws inspiration from Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and D’Angelo, and says being able to share his music with others is quite a gift.

“Music shapes us. It has the potential to share potent ideas, ease emotions, or have something to relate to,” Maven explained. “As a songwriter, music to me is the ability to create an idea that will live and change and grow as it is experienced by others and shapes their perceptions.

That’s an amazing gift to share.”

The meteoric fireball that is Maven’s

career has steadily risen thanks to soulful hits such as his hot acoustic cover of Kanye West’s “Amazing” and the recent “Rules in Love.” Both are featured on his MySpace music page (myspace.com/ mikemaven) and have received rave reviews from industry insiders and fans alike.

Maven, who has never visited McAllen, was presented the opportunity to join Another Music Festival through some of his musician friends in the area, and adds that festivals such as this are awesome for areas not lucky enough to have a great abundance of live music like Austin.

“People in Austin are spoiled by the constant presence of live music,” Maven said. “I think that any festival looking to bring live music to a region is good with me! People need to experience live music more these days that is accessible for inspiration in life, no matter what you do.”

In addition to serving up great music, Another Music Festival will also offer four restaurants open late and outdoor food vendors throughout the area. Aside from the bars, a beer garden will also be located between Beaumont and Chicago streets and will be the only outdoor area where patrons will be allowed to consume alcohol.

The festival runs from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets will be available both prior to the event and on the days of the event.

Admission options range from $15 for a one day pass, $25 for a two day pass and a limited number of $40 V.I.P. passes. Tickets will be redeemed at the event for wristbands which event-goers must wear at all times at the site. Tickets may be purchased in advance through EZ-TIXX.com, but will also be available at the event. For more information, call 682-2817.

CAMPUS

Conference to offer creative, safe haven for peaceful protest Victor Ituarte The Pan American Attention students afraid of the ramifications of speaking up in class about their stances on sensitive topics in politics and justice: there will be a safe haven to express yourselves at the social justice and peace conference/exhibition titled “Conceptualizing In/Justice: Images/Voices of Resistance.” The event will take place Friday, May 1 in the Social and Behavioral Sciences building at The University of Texas-Pan American.

Dr. Rosalva Resendiz, an associate professor at UTPA in the department of criminal justice, took on the task of organizing the event. She explained she wanted to provide a safe space for dialogue and protest.

“For the most part, students don’t voice their opinion because most of the time they feel the professor might actually look down upon them or ridicule them in class,” Resendiz said. “They complain about bureaucracy, they complain about the system, but they don’t feel comfortable saying it in class. One of the biggest problems with our students is that they’re completely silent.”

After the idea was conceived, then came the concept of how it would be assimilated with students and the community.

“We figured, ‘Hey, let’s not just have speakers the way normal academic conferences are where a professor stands up there and talks about a topic. Let’s bring all these different groups of people that have different ways of expressing

themselves in one single conference,’” around campus [putting up flyers], a lot Resendiz said. “It’s very postmodern. It of students were stopping us. They wantintegrates a lot of multiple aspects of one ed to know more about the conference major idea, which of course for us is jus- and what it was about and if they could submit their stuff,” tice and peace.”

Some forms of “One of the biggest prob- said the 26-year-old McAllen resident, expression presented will be poetry, docu- lems with our students is that who also mentioned that the general pubmentaries, photo they’re completely silent.” lic can attend. documentaries, proEspinoza comtest music, and peace mented about what music. Contributors Rosalva Resendiz he and the others on so far include stuAssociate professor the committee hope dents and commuto provide for those nity members.

Lucas Espinoza, a graduate student in who attend the conference/exhibition.

“We want students to be able to see clinical psychology and a member of the planning committee, said the response that not only do you have a presentation, you can do a poem, you can do abstract he’s seen has been positive.

“This last week we were walking art, you can do photo documentary, you

can do many things to get your point across to many people,” he elaborated.

Edinburg resident Silvia Solis, a graduate student in interdisciplinary studies and also on the planning committee, argued for the conference’s relevance due to recent events regarding the border and drug cartel violence.

“This conference is really important,” Solis emphasized. “There is so much work being done right now in the community, students here in the university are doing social work, and I think this would be a great space for everybody to express their ideas and it’s a safe space. We’re trying to really make it a peaceful protest.”

Conference information can be found on MySpace at myspace.com/ conceptualizingresistance.

Page 12

ARTS AND LIFE

April 16, 2009

T ENTERTAINMENT

T FASHION

Films include sequels, book adaptations Beards:

By Marco Carbajal The Pan American “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” Release Date: May 1 Director: Gavin Hood Starring: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds Genre: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Fox Studio Plot: Leading up to the events of XMen, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” tells the story of Wolverine’s epically violent and romantic past, his complex relationship with Victor Creed, and the ominous Weapon X program. Along the way, Wolverine encounters many mutants, both familiar and new, including surprise appearances by several legends of the XMen universe whose appearances in the film series have long been anticipated.

“Angels & Demons” Release Date: May 15 Director: Ron Howard Starring: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer Genre: Suspense Thriller Plot: Based upon the bestselling novel of the same name by Dan Brown. Tom Hanks stars as Harvard religious expert Robert Langdon, who once again finds that forces with ancient roots are willing to stop at nothing, even murder, to advance their goals. When Langdon discovers evi-

dence of the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati - the most powerful underground organization in history - he also faces a deadly threat to the existence of the secret organization’s most despised enemy, the Catholic Church.

When Langdon learns that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable Illuminati time bomb, he jets to Rome, where he joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and enigmatic Italian scientist. Embarking on a nonstop, action-packed hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra will follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that mark the Vatican’s only hope for survival.

Columbia Pictures “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” Release Date: June 24 Director: Michael Bay Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Plot: The battle for Earth has ended but the fight for the universe has just begun.

After returning to Cybertron, Starscream assumes command of the Decepticons, and has decided to return to Earth with force. The Autobots, believing that peace was possible, find out that Megatron’s dead body has been stolen from the U.S. Military by Skorpinox, who revives him

using his own spark. Now Megatron is back seeking revenge and with Starscream and more Decepticon reinforcements on the way, the Autobots with reinforcements of their own, may have more to deal with than meets the eye.

Dreamworks “Funny People” Release Date: July 31 Director: Judd Apatow Starring: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill Genre: Comedy Plot: Over the past few years, writer/director Judd Apatow (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up”) has shown that nothing—not even losing your virginity or the miracle of childbirth—is sacred. About his third film behind the camera, he says, “I’m trying to make a very serious movie that is twice as funny as my other movies. Wish me luck!” “Funny People” is a story about George (Sandler), a very successful standup comedian who learns that he has an untreatable blood disorder and is given less than a year to live. Ira (Rogen) is a struggling up-and-coming comedian who works at a deli and has yet to figure out his onstage persona. One night, these two perform at the same club and George takes notice of Ira. George hires Ira to be his semi-personal assistant as well as his friend.

“The Time Traveler’s Wife” Release Date: Aug. 14 Studio: New Line Cinema (WB) Director: Robert Schwentke Screenwriter: Jeremy Leven, Bruce Joel Rubin Starring: Eric Bana, Rachel McAdams, Ron Livingston Genre: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi Plot: The story is a test of love, and patience. It shows that love knows no boundaries and transcends time and death. Eric Bana (“Munich”) and Rachel McAdams (“Wedding Crashers,” “The Notebook”) star in the drama, based on the bestselling novel by Audrey Niffenegger. In the film, Bana portrays a man with a time-traveling gene who manages to appear and re-appear at different times in the life of his one true love (McAdams).

“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” Release Date: Aug. 7 Director: Stephen Sommers Starring: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Sienna Miller, Channing Tatum Genre: Action, Adventure Plot: Paramount Pictures and Hasbro, whose previous collaboration was the worldwide blockbuster “Transformers,” join forces with Spyglass Entertainment for another extraordinary action-adventure, “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.” From the Egyptian desert to deep below polar ice caps, the elite G.I. JOE team uses the latest in next-generation spy and military equipment to fight the corrupt arms dealer Destro and the growing threat of the mysterious Cobra organization to prevent them from plunging the world into chaos.

T REVIEW

Movie succeeds where most teen comedies fail

By Russen Vela The Pan American There will be a backlash against “Adventureland,” or at least a disappointed reaction from some. The reason is that the film was marketed as another raunchysweet comedy from the Judd Apatow empire who brought us hilarious gross out comedies such as “40-year-old Virgin” and “Knocked Up,” when in fact it has almost nothing to do with those films, and is very different from most of writer/director Greg Mottola’s previous film “Superbad.”

It is a tender, intimate romance surrounded by goofball humor, but the extent of the ‘dirty jokes’ in this movie is Jesse Eisenberg’s character James getting out of the pool at a house party with an erection.

The movie is a sentimental (not sappy), personal journey through the summer of 1987 for recent college grad and deep thinker James Brennan, played superbly by Eisenberg (“The Squid and the Whale”), whose plans for the summer fall apart due to his father’s ailing

income, resulting in him having to get a crappy job at the local amusement park.

There he meets Em, played by Kristen Stewart (“Twilight”) and the romance, which is the focus of the film, begins.

The film is also about how a summer James begins to dread, actually becomes the best summer of his life. This is very, very far removed from the slob-meetsbabe formula common in comedies in recent years. James is a virgin, true, a 22-year-old one at that, but that has far more to do with the character’s tentative nature than any ‘quest’ to get laid and he is far from bad looking. Em isn’t a dolled-up ‘hot chick’ with perfectly styled hair and perfect style, she’s moderately well-dressed and just naturally beautiful inside and out.

The screenplay is a funny, poignant take on post-collegiate angst and love, with some elements of social satire, and its focus is one of the most memorable and wonderful romances in quite some time. This romance makes Stewart’s breakthrough hit “Twilight” seem even more offensively dumb, because of just how real it is.

The film is ultimately such a massive success due to Stewart. Some who were skeptical about her acting skills, especially in the film “Twilight,” can breathe with ease. She did not only steal “Adventureland” from her cast-mates, she was bloody terrific. No “Twilight” pun intended. She is transformed into Em for the entirety of the film, and is overwhelmingly intense for the entirety of her performance, from the raw (but not even close to raunchy) sexuality of her scenes with Eisenberg (and boy do they have a rare sort of chemistry) to the understated sadness of her scenes with Ryan Reynolds.

Eisenberg and Stewart are so wonderfully understated with their performances that their romance feels more real than any romance film in theaters now.

Jonathan Reyes, a sophomore rehab major saw the film over the Easter break, and was surprised at how he related with the characters and the whole plot in general.

“I was pleasantly surprised because this looked from the trailer like another ‘American Pie,” or ‘40-Year-old Virgin’ movie,” Reyes said. “The film is neither, instead we

get a real glimpse of how life is, without the gross out humor or ridiculous one liners.”

Reyes, a McAllen native, also expressed that movie goers who enjoyed “Garden State” or “The Last Kiss” will probably enjoy this film as well, since it falls under that genre of “real life” comedies.

Mottola’s direction is fantastic visually as well, with every scene brimming with intensity when it needs to be and the comedic timing is again excellent. His use of music is absolutely spot-on, and if you thought the funky greatness of the “Superbad” soundtrack was good, wait until you hear this low-key but incredible soundtrack made up almost entirely by great ‘80s pop songs.

Mottola gives us raw, fleshed-out characters that anyone who sees the film can identify with immediately. The simple beauty of James and Em watching fireworks on the 4th of July, or a marijuanafueled bumper car round scored to “Just like Heaven” by The Cure is what the film is all about. It’s wonderful, it’s beautiful, and if it’s not a sleeper hit this year than it will eventually become a cult classic.

they grow on you

By Andrielle Figueroa The Pan American

We are living in a day and age where people are trying their hardest to set themselves apart from the norm. Style, whether it be clothes or music (popular or out of date) still seeps into everyone’s lives.

Currently one of the trends taking spotlight is the accessory that only men can take on, the beard.

Actors like Brad Pitt, Mel Gibson, and Joaquin Phoenix all sport facial hair.

Though the growth may have taken place for movie roles, there are musicians like Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, and Sting who also jumped on the hairy train.

Traditionally, beards have suggested maturity and wisdom. At the same time the whole “danger aspect” of a man with a moustache or beard has been appealing to some women. An example of this is the mischievous, criminal pirate played by Johnny Depp in “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and everyone loves a hairy musician much like Dave Grohl, who has rocked the stage with the Foo Fighters and Nirvana.

Though the bad-boy beard may be attractive to some, others don’t find it befitting of the polished and primped image they’re after.

Esther Herrera, a 21-year-old political science major at The University of Texas-Pan American, believes it is about the “All-American boy” look.

“I guess some people go for the rocker, bad-ass look but I like clean cut boys because they seem more reliable and attractive,” she said.

Herrera may like what is implied by the clean-cut look, but other girls like the scruffiness on a man.

Computer science major Jose Dimas, a Weslaco native, has decided to start growing facial hair for his lady.

“My girlfriend likes them so I decided to grow one.” Dimas said, “I think girls are attracted more to men who shave, but as they grow older they want a man with that rugged look.”

Yes, beards are sometimes sexy and usually a fashion statement, but now beards win prizes.

The World Beard and Moustache Association was created in Germany in 2004. The group allows those with moustaches and beards to join together at events and competitions that show off their extraordinary facial hair.

This year’s championship will be held in Anchorage, Alaska, May 23 for competitors and members from 11 countries.

The men in this club are growing for sport but at the same time for some, sporting facial hair is an attachment that defines who they are.

George Dean, 26, UTPA computer science major, elaborates on his view.

“It is the lack of my face fur that changes how I am perceived.” Dean adds. “I am unrecognizable, and by extension powerless, without my beard.”

Dates to Know:

April 16, 2009

Women’s Tennis

Track and Field

National Independent Tourney April 17 Orville Cox Tennis Center

UT Twilight April 18 Austin

THE PAN AMERICAN

Page 13

TRACK AND F IELD

Perez qualifies for NCAA regionals at UTEP Invite

By Pedro Perez IV The Pan American

Hector J. Garcia/The Pan American

GREEK ART - Sophomore Oscar Barrera practices the discus throw for the upcoming UT Twilight competition at Austin.

With wind gusts up to 25 mph, Brownsville native Stephanie Perez stepped back and launched her discus 50.84 meters.

With the throw at The UTEP Invitational in El Paso she exceeded the regional qualifying mark of 47.89, advancing her to the NCAA Regional Championships in Norman, Okla., May 29.

“When I saw I didn’t think it was further than the other ones,” the UTPA graduate student said of her previous tosses. “It gave me more confidence for the upcoming meets that we’re going to have.”

Perez is in her fourth year of competition and is working toward a master’s degree in criminal justice.

During her junior and senior years she was injured so she couldn’t compete.

But despite an extended and disjointed career, she has the competitive spirit alive because she now has a new goal for herself.

“I’m looking forward to it (regionals),” Perez said. “I have a shot so I have something to look forward to and I have a goal and that’s to make it to nationals.”

If she is able to do that, she’ll go to nationals, which will be June 24 in Eugene, Ore. While the veteran was qualifying, San Antonio native and senior Amanda Ferris earned a secondplace finish in the hammer throw with a mark of 53.02 meters and Laredo native Michelle Elizondo tossed 45.90 meters for a sixth-place finish.

For the men, sophomore and McAllen native Oscar Barrera captured first place in the discus with a throw of 43.73 meters. He also participated in the shot put where he placed second with a mark of 12.06 meters, and the hammer throw, tossing a 47.89 meters earning fourth.

Bahamian sprinter Jameson Strachan finished sixth in the 200-meter run with a 21.65 tying the fourth best time in UTPA’s history. He also placed third in the 400-meter dash

with a time of 48.23.

The Broncs’ long distance runners proved again to be among the elites, capturing five of the top 10 spots in the 800-meter run. At the top of the pack were Edinburg North High School graduates Wally Gonzalez and Omar Doria. Gonzalez finished with a time of 1:58.27 and Doria marked a 2:01.78 earning them second and third place, respectively.

Gilroy Martinez, Jose Granados and Andrew Lopez took seventh, eighth and 10th spots, respectively.

First-year head coach Dave Hartman was extremely pleased with the efforts the track program displayed.

“The marks may not show it but we made good progress out in El Paso,” Hartman said. “As far as the wind it was difficult to obtain superior marks but I thought the team competed extremely well.”

The Broncs take the track Saturday, April 18 at the Texas Twilight at UT Austin. This will be the final opportunity for others to qualify for regionals.

MEN’S TENNIS

Broncs finish with winning conference record, gain No. 2 seed in SLC

By Ramiro Paez The Pan American In one of the final practices for the men’s tennis team this season, graduate assistant Oliver Steil set up a challenging drill Wednesday morning, placing several multi-color markers scattered throughout one end of the court. Each player, standing at the opposite end, was told to take turns serving, trying to hit one of those markers in an effort to work on aim and precision.

Players let out occasional groans as numerous tennis balls rapidly flew across the court, hitting close to the indicators. After several rounds of attempts, it was Beau Bernstein, a freshman on the team, who snatched the first strike.

The hit livened up the workout to an intense, serious focus, but the members also began to joke and laugh, exchanging humorous conversation. As the players filed out of the Orville Cox Tennis Center, Steil reminded his team of its afternoon practice.

The notice was just a reminder that the Broncs, despite their trivial behavior, are still playing for a shot at clinching a berth in the NCAA tournament, which would be a first in program history. UTPA concluded its regular season Saturday with a 4-3 victory against Lamar University, moving the Broncs to 5-12 on the season, but a de-

cent 4-2 in the Southland Conference.

The win served as a superlative in two ways: it marked the first time UTPA has finished with a winning conference record since 2003. Doing so enabled the team to gain a No. 2 seed in the SLC Tourney, the first time the Broncs have been ranked higher than fourth in the tourney seedings since joining the conference in 2001.

As the No. 2, the netters will receive a first-round bye, making the road to the NCAA tournament a little easier.

The tournament begins April 24 and the Broncs will face off against the winner of the first-round match pitting the No. 3 and No. 6 seed, which have yet to be determined with conference matchups still ongoing. They will have to win two matches to gain the first-ever NCAA berth.

“That’s what we’ve been playing for all season,” interim coach Chris Gill said of a possible NCAA tournament berth.

“This team has really been through a lot, on and off the court, and that tends to make them look really stronger when it comes to tournament time. Our focus has always been on making sure that we give ourselves a chance to make the national tournament.”

The NCAA Championships, which is comprised of a 64-team field, begin May 8 with first and second round matchups. The finals will take place in College Station May 14.

Isaac Barrientes/The Pan American

GOT SERVED - Sophomore Andrew Irving practices at the Orville Cox Tennis Center. He and the rest of the men’s tennis program will travel to Corpus Christi for the Southland Conference Tournament April 24.

And it’s that chance that UTPA can pay dividends to with only two games separating them from the NCAA elite.

The Broncs lost their head coach prior to the spring season and started the 2009 campaign with a 0-7 record. But instead of surrendering, the men battled to record their first win of the year against Nicholls State Feb. 24.

The tight 4-3 victory also gave the Broncs their first SLC win, setting the

tone for five final conference matchups.

Sophomore Andrew Irving of New Zealand says the win against the Colonels was a turning point in the season because it provided the much-needed momentum.

“It was a big deal for us because it was our first win of the season,” he said.

Last season, UTPA, the No. 5 SLC seed, was eliminated in the first round

by Southeastern Louisiana, who lost to eventual champ Texas A&M-Corpus

Christi in the semifinals.

And it seems as though the road to the NCAA tournament will go through the Coastal Bend team once again. The No. 51 Islanders will likely be the top seed as they currently sit with a 3-0 conference mark. TAMCC has three opponents remaining, but owns the tiebreaker against UTPA after its 6-1 victory in early February.

However, the Broncs shocked the Islanders with a 4-2 win at the Hampton Inn Galleria Rice Invite three weeks ago.

The victory showed the team that it can compete with anybody and Gill admits this season offers the best opportunity of any to advance to the national stage.

“We’ve always had some goals in mind (NCAA tourney) and tried to stay focus on what we have to do,” he said.

“Now we’re very close to obtaining our goals and doing what we set out to do at the beginning of the season.”

NOTES: The only other time UTPA has played in a SLC semifinal game was back in 2003 when the team finished with a 13-8 overall record.

The Broncs defeated Lamar 4-2 in the first round, but fell to UT-Arlington, the tournament champion, by a 4-0 decision. That year, Filip Koziell was selected to the SLC All-Conference first team. He is the only Bronc in the program’s history to be selected to a league honor team.

Page 14

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April 16, 2009

April 16, 2009

SPORTS

Page 15

BASEBALL

Broncs ease slump with two wins, bring record to 6-31

By Ramiro Paez The Pan American As the breeze freshened what had been a hot Wednesday, the University of Texas-Pan American baseball team defeated the University of Texas at Brownsville 15-2 last week.

It marked the resumption of a rivalry between the Valley’s only two collegiate programs, with the Broncs dominating to end a recent slow stretch.

After an uneventful first inning, the Scorpions got ahead in the second, and the Broncs remained behind until the sixth inning, when junior Bonham Hough scored on a hit from classmate Abraham Garcia.

And with the night came the magic.

Junior Andrew Perez broke the tie in the seventh at the start of a 10-run inning, and the team went on to set a season high for runs in one frame.

The Broncs collected seven hits and sent 15 batters to the plate in the big inning. The big blows came from Perez, Gabriel Salinas, who scored two runs each, Ryan Vest, Nick Spears, Hough, Jose Mendoza, and Garcia.

Junior Garret Bivone, Garcia, Perez and Salinas sealed the score for UTPA completing four runs in the eight inning. Although Jose Guerra from UTB scored in the ninth, the response was too late and the Broncs ended up dominating the Scorpions, whose record is 22-24.

Perez led UTPA going 2 for 3 with three runs, while right-handed pitcher Scott Wingo took the win, pitching nine innings and allowing only five hits and two runs to improve his record to 2-4. It was the third complete game of the season for UTPA. “It was one of my best performances of the year,” said the junior from Garland. “My teammates did well de-

fensively, and as far as the bats were concerned they didn’t score until the seventh, but as long as you keep them in there for the full game they’ll come around.”

After Wednesday’s success, the Broncs played No. 19 Texas Christian University, suffering three losses 9-1, 3-0 and 18-0. But they were still talking about the win against an area rival. “(Against UTB) everything kinda clicked,” first-year head coach Manny Mantrana said. “Unfortunately, against TCU it was the direct opposite, we had one bad pitching game and everything else just kinda fell apart.”

The Frogs dominated UTPA in the first of the three-game series starting Thursday.

Bivone, who finished the evening 1 for 4, responded for UTPA on a hit by Rutenbar in the bottom of the inning, but it was too late for the Broncs to recover as the Frogs closed the night scoring once in the eight and ninth innings to seal day one’s score.

Although UTPA fell 3-0 in the second day of the series, Bronc pitcher Mike Lankford (1-4) had a good game, allowing four hits, three of which turned into runs.

“It was Mike’s best performance all year,” Mantrana said. “Now he needs to do that when he pitches again.”

He also said that the inconsistency in pitching has had consequences in this season’s results.

“Baseball revolves around pitching and that’s our biggest weakness… one day we did very good, but then the next day your pitching doesn’t respond and you don’t do very good,” Mantrana said. “Those good performances don’t necessarily mean that you’ll win, it just means that you’re gonna be in the game.”

In the final game, TCU crushed UTPA 18-0, allowing only one hit; it

Hector J. Garcia/The Pan American

CALLED SHOT - Senior Jordan Rutenbar hits the ball toward center field during the last of the three-game series against TCU April 11. The Broncs lost the game 18-0 and dropped the series 3-0. was by Bivone in the bottom of the ninth inning which only let him reach second base after three strikeouts by Perez, Esequiel Garza, and Thomas Tovar.

The Frogs started early, scoring five in the first inning before right-handed pitcher Nathan Molina (0-4), who took the loss, struck out Brett Medlin and Ben Carruthers.

TCU stayed consistent throughout the game, adding one more in the second. It finished the fourth with a 10-point advantage over the Broncs, completing one and two runs in the fifth and sixth respectively, and concluded the three-game series with five runs in the top of the ninth.

The Broncs re-encountered victory during the first game of a double-

header yesterday in Nacogdoches, overcoming Stephen F. Austin 9-8 in a stiff competition that took the game to a 10th inning.

Spears, who hit 1 for 4, completed three runs and Mendoza, went 2 for 4.

Junior right-handed pitcher Nathan Molina, whose record is 1-4, took the win pitching 1.2 innings and allowing two hits and no runs.

Wingo, who pitched the majority of the game and let the Lumberjacks (13-20) hit eight times and score an equal number of runs, commented that although things are not going as expected for the group, the players remain focused and feel privileged to be part of the UTPA baseball team, which will play Texas Southern University Saturday afternoon at the Edinburg

Baseball Stadium.

The Lumberjacks came back during game two to win against the Broncs 11-3, bringing the UTPA record to 6-31. Scoring in the first inning, the Lumberjacks retaliated in the second inning, putting three runs on the scoreboard. The Broncs couldn’t come back despite scoring in the third and fourth inning with Stephen F. Austin scoring three times in the innings.

“It’s obvious that we’re not having a good season, but we’re still working hard and boosting it,” Mantrana said. “It’s just baseball, we love being out here; winning is gonna get better and losing is gonna get worse, but we’re all lucky to be here.”

MEN’S GOLF

Disappointing outing for Broncs’ golf program results in 13th out of 14

By Kevin Stich The Pan American To say that head coach Santiago DeLarrea is displeased with the way his team performed is an understatement.

“They just didn’t have it this week,” he said in regards to his team’s play at the ASU Red Wolf Classic last week.

Monday and Tuesday, things didn’t come easily for The University of Texas-Pan American men’s golf team, as it finished 13th out of 14 teams in Jonesboro, Ark., posting a 935 total for three rounds. Senior Shane Pearce and Junior Armen Kirakossian both opened the first two rounds with a 151, 7-over- par total, and finished with 223 and 225 respectively.

DeLarrea expressed disappointment, as expectations had been high going into the tournament.

“I’m not only disappointed, I’m and 247 respectively, while sophoembarrassed that the guys played more Orlando Moreno came in at 254. DeLarrea atso bad,” he said.

“We are much “I’m not only disappointed, tributed UTPA’s better than what I’m embarrassed that the guys poor play partly to not being achappened over there, and they played so bad. We are much climated to fast greens. know it, I know “The golf it. From my point better than what happened of view it was over there, and they know it, courses in the Valley, do not provery poor golfcourse manage- I know it. From my point of vide us with the speed of greens ment on the part of the guys. They view it was very poor golf- that we play out did not manage course management on the there,” he said.

“The question is the golf course, how quick can they did not think part of the guys.” we adapt to new about how it was conditions and supposed to be greens in one day played correctly, Santiago DeLarrea of practice over other than my Men’s head golf coach there.” junior (KirakosThe University of Louisiana at sian) and senior (Pearce).”

Sophomore A.J. Gonzalez and ju- Lafayette broke the tournament renior High Wongchindawest shot 240 cord -- set in 2002 by Arkansas State

University -- by two strokes with a tournament total of 867. ASU finished alone in second, three strokes behind the Ragin’ Cajuns with a total of 870.

Kyle Pritchard (Louisiana-Lafayette), Jad Sinclair (Central Arkansas) and Todd Obergoenner (Southern Illinois) split the bill as all three finished with a 5-under-par total of 211 and a tie for first place. The low

round of the tournament came from University of Missouri-Kansas City player Michael Schnegelberger, who shot a blistering 65 on the final day of the tournament to finish in a tie for 19th.

The Broncs next event is the Great West Conference Championships in Houston April 20. It will be UTPA’s first time to compete in the tournament.

Remaining Golf Schedule Men April 20 May 8

Great West Conference Championship PGA Minority Golf Collegiate Championship

Houston Port St. Lucie

Women April 20 May 8

Great West Conference Championship PGA Minority Golf Collegiate Championship

Houston Port St. Lucie

Page 16

THE PAN AMERICAN

April 16, 2009

BASEBALL

Baseball has long been said to be a national pastime, creating not only great games and players but also memories that transcend time. We, at The Pan American Sports Section have our own memories of this year from the Edinburg Baseball Stadium, home to our Broncs, which we would like to share.

Gregorio Garza Not an actual memory or moment, it has to be interviewing and meeting baseball head Coach Manny Mantrana. He was friendly and easy to get along with. I remember walking away from the interview thinking that the season would be great and he would usher in a new era of Bronc baseball.

Sara Hernandez My favorite moment of the 2009 season was the first of the three-game series against New Mexico State at the Edinburg Stadium. The end was nerve-breaking.

The Broncs started three runs behind from the first inning, and recovered slowly. They were down 8-3 by the bottom of the ninth, but a home run by Bonham Hough let three runs in, then Jose Mendoza and Jordan Rutenbar tied the score. They went to a 10th inning, where they fell short and didn’t score, losing 9-8.

They didn’t win, but it was very exciting to see them bat so well, defend what they work so hard for, walk off the field with their faces held high, and leave the crowd with a good taste in their mouth.

Ramiro Paez It would have to be reading about junior pitcher Mike Lankford’s showing in the second tilt of the three-game series against No. 19 TCU. It’s no secret that the pitching unit definitely hasn’t been a bright spot this season for the Broncs, but Lankford defied that with his six-strikeout, one-walk performance, recording his first complete game.

Pedro Perez IV One of my favorite moments from the Bronc baseball season came when we were down 8-3 in the eighth against New Mexico State and the Broncs rallied five runs to make a comeback. Unfortunately we lost 9-8 but one certain member from the media had already written his story and he had to go back to change the whole thing.

Kevin Stich It was the first game in the three-game series against New Mexico State and the Broncs were trailing the No. 24 Aggies. Centerfielder Bonham Hough hit a line-drive home run to start what would be a late rally to send the game into extra innings. UTPA would eventually lose in the 10th, but showed outstanding determination despite the loss.

(Top left) - Sophomore Gabriel Salinas slides home as TCU’s catcher tries to block the slide, dropping the ball in the process.

(Middle left) - Junior Abraham Garcia doubles back to first base with a slide against the Frogs.

(Bottom left) - Sophomore Andrew Perez gets back to first safely.

(Top) - Abraham Garcia finds himself in a pickle, caught between the catcher and the pitcher while trying to steal home.

Photos by Hector J. Garcia