Volume 65, No. 7
October 9, 2008
SINCE 1943
T CAMPUS
Enrollment climbs, more classrooms needed By J.R. Ortega THE PAN AMERICAN The University of Texas-Pan American has seen a gradual increase in total enrollment. Like many growing learning institutions, the need for classroom availability along with university expansion is a given. In recent years, professors from departments have increasingly been asked to relocate, according to an academic term summary report. Next semester’s schedule shows UTPA is
running out of classrooms. Dena Edge, special projects coordinator for Resource 25, said departments first send out their classroom requests and if days and times begin to conflict, then R25 gets in contact with those departments and asks for faculty to choose a different day and time. “It varies from term to term,” said Edge about rescheduling. “As the university grows, our goal is to try and keep departments and colleges in their own departments.” UTPA’s enrollment in fall 2007
was at 17,435, according to the Office of Institutional Research. R25, the university body overlooking all scheduling processes including classroom availabilities for each semester, recently sent an e-mail with the academic term summary report to various UTPA departments so faculty could better situate their classroom needs for the spring 2009 semester. Edge said the e-mail was not meant to alarm faculty, but rather to give departments ample time and opportunity to prepare for next semester. She
added it is R25’s purpose to have many of the room assignments finalized before students begin registering for the spring semester. Currently the university has 129 lecture classrooms, 126 of which are smart classrooms, equipped with various technologies like audio/visual equipment and computer capabilities. “Bottom line: We have to look at how many classes are offered [by all departments],” she said. She said there are some time slots that are “prime-time,” Tuesday and
Thursday anywhere from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and that rescheduling usually occurs during this heavy-traffic period. It is these “prime-times” that keep departments across the university on their feet. Dahlia Guerra, dean of the college of arts and humanities, said faculty’s competing scheduling interests are taken into consideration. “We’re trying to meet student needs,” she said. “It is important to do careful classroom planning. We want to be able to provide classes that
SEE ENROLLMENT || PAGE 11
T NATIONAL
Hillary Clinton returns to rally Valley voters New York Sen. endorses Rick Noriega, attends fundraiser
By Brian Silva THE PAN AMERICAN
Roxy Solis/THE PAN AMERICAN SUPPORT - New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton endorsed Rick Noriega at a press conference last Thursday at McAllen-Miller International Airport.
Before rows of Valley politicians Friday at McAllen-Miller International airport, Sen. Hillary Clinton announced her endorsement of U.S. Senate Democratic nominee Rick Noriega, as he stood by her side. The Democratic figure representing New York touted Noriega’s long experience as a colonel in the Army National Guard, and positions on issues like veterans affairs, health care, the economy, and education as reasons for Texans to vote for him. Clinton told the group of elected officials and reporters that this election was pivotal and the citizens of the Valley need Noriega in Congress. “I’m here asking for your help to send Rick Noriega to the U.S. Senate,” Clinton said. “We need his
leadership… he has the kind of leadership that Americans and Texans need. You see elected officials from this area standing with him because they need him as a partner in Washington.” Noriega is currently running behind incumbent John Cornyn in the polls, but an endorsement from one of the nation’s best-known public figures might give him a boost with a month to go before the vote. A Rasmussen Poll conducted on Sept. 29 puts Noriega at 43 percent with his opponent Cornyn at 50 percent, with a poll sampling error of 4.5 percent. Clinton said the Noriega campaign asked her to come down to Texas and help out with efforts to rally support. Clinton also said she came down to help with fundraising
SEE CLINTON || PAGE 11
T COMMUNITY
Edinburg reaches, celebrates centennial anniversary By Ana Villaurrutia THE PAN AMERICAN As 60-year Edinburg native Yolanda Morin made her way toward Miss Edinburg’s ornately sequined cape, something else in the South Texas Museum’s Centennial Salute exhibit caught her attention: an old-
INDEX
fashioned Coke machine. “I remember these Coke machines, we used to use those when I was young,” said Morin to her four grandchildren and two daughters. “You put in the money and open the little door.” That was the case for the more than 500 patrons who attended the South
OPINION
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Texas Museum’s Edinburg’s centennial celebration earlier this week. The event helped kickoff a weeklong list of events geared toward recognizing the city’s 100-year run. At the event, State Rep. Aaron Pena and Edinburg Mayor Joe Ochoa regaled visitors of the city’s history. Pena told the story of how
NEWS
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Edinburg founding fathers Dennis Chapin and John Closner were embroiled in “election hell.” The county seat was coveted by many Hidalgo cities, including Mercedes and Hidalgo, but the little brush land city of Edinburg, now Chapin, won overwhelmingly. In one night, the county records
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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were moved from Hidalgo to Chapin via a train of covered wagons and its county seat was also hastily built out of wood. A year later, a more permanent office was built for the seat and the first railroad brought the city into the twentieth century. Like many other
SEE EDINBURG || PAGE 11
SPORTS
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