November 19, 2009

Volume 66, No. 12

THE PAN AMERICAN

November 19, 2009

President-designate makes debut

Nano-fiber keeps UTPA innovative

By Roxann Garcia Nevaeh09@msn.com

that he would eventually study at Harvard and become of the nation’s leading neurosurgeons and a recipient of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons Ronald Bittner Award.

He was just a poor young man following his grandfather’s advice: “Don’t go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail behind you.”

In 1987, Quinones jumped a chain-

The University of Texas-Pan Amercian is breaking new ground with cutting-edge technology by spinning its way into the World’s Best Showcase in 2010.

On Monday, UTPA announced the establishment of FibeRio, a company that could revolutionize the production of nanofibers used in clothing and medicine. The company is designed to produce equipment, created by two UTPA professors, which will manufacture nanofibers by innovative methods.

Leading the company will be Ellery R. Buchanan, an Austin-based entrepreneur with more than 25 years experience in strategic and executive management positions in high-tech companies. As CEO, he plans to put together a management team, find investors, create products from the technology and take it to the market.

“This could redefine the Valley as a high-tech destination, something local economic development officials have long aspired to do,” said Buchanan.

The newly innovative technology has been pre-selected as one of the 10 presenters in the 2010 World’s Best Technologies Showcase and has been the only pick from Texas. The showcase is the premier event exhibiting the largest collection of leading technologies from the world’s top universities, labs and research institutions.

Using a new concept of ForceSpinningTM technology invented by UTPA mechanical engineering professors Karen Lozano and Kamalaksha Sarkar, FibeRio will develop and manufacture machinery that will create space age nanofibers from a wider variety of materials that has not been possible before.

Also, collaborating on the invention was Horacio Vasquez, assistant professor in mechanical engineering, and several undergraduate and graduate students.

Nanofibers are defined as extremely small fibers that act as critical properties the company plans to exploit in the process (called ForceSpinningTM). The goal is to develop next-generation drug delivery devices that will significantly lower side effects such as hair loss for cancer drugs.

SEE SPEAKER || PAGE 6

SEE NANO || PAGE 6

Daniel Flores/THE PAN AMERICAN

GO BRONCS - President-Designate Robert Nelsen (center right) listens to mariachi’s in the Student Union Wednesday along side his wife Jody (center left) System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa (left) and system Board of Regents member Janeice Longoria (right).

By Brian Silva Brian.silva2@gmail.com The University of Texas-Pan American greeted its eighth president, Robert Nelsen, and his wife Jody, in true Valley-style and tradition Wednesday: with a blast of mariachi music and welcoming gritos.

The president-designate was escorted down a red carpet twice, once on the south side of the Student Union for the university’s welcome, and the second time on the south entrance of the ITT 2 building for his community debut. During the former he was flanked to his right by his wife, the executive

vice president of finance and administration at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and to his left by UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa.

Trailing behind were System staff and System Board of Regents member and Academic Affairs committee chair Janeice Longoria, who introduced Nelsen at each of the events.

“The Board of Regents immediately recognized that he was the right person at the right time for the job,” Longoria said. The Regent told the nearly filled Student Union Theater that Nelsen had a commanding presence, was energetic and had strong enthusiasm for the people of the Valley during his interview

with the Regents.

Longoria even joked about Nelsen’s current one-year tenure as associate vice president of academic affairs at TAMUCC, calling it an “unfortunate hiatus from the UT System.” Previous to his current job he was vice provost at the University of Texas at Dallas, where he had also been an English teacher for 18 years.

When she mentioned it to the community members, Nelsen jokingly took his hands to his head and shook it as if to say “never again.” To that a couple of community members shouted, “welcome home!”

Nelsen told both crowds that he

came from a very small valley in Montana where there weren’t very many opportunities, but that now he’s come to a much larger Valley where there are many more chances for opportunity.

“We are going to work together, mano y mano, to make this Valley an even better place,” he said.

The new leader said that he wanted to be president of the university because of the students and their environment. “(UTPA) is in the middle of the biggest lab for education in the United States,” he said. “Collaboration and cooperation will be the road of our future.”

SEE NELSEN || PAGE 7

Ex-migrant farmer tells tale of becoming surgeon

By Rebecca Ward Rward@broncs.utpa.edu As the lights in the Fine Arts Auditorium dimmed, the audience watched as a documentary clip played on the screen on stage. Dr. Alfredo QuinonesHinojosa, associate professor of neurosurgery and oncology at Johns Hopkins University, flashed across the screen in a series of scenes detailing his work as a surgeon. A narrator’s voice told view-

Page 2 - Big business might have packed their bags, but they never left

ers that when Quinones walks into the operating room, “the scientist is a surgeon. The transformation can be seen in his eyes.”

Quinones, director of the brain tumor program at the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus, spoke to an audience full of high school students from migrant communities, UTPA students, and the general public on Tuesday night

Page 3 - International Week: Doctors Without Borders

as part of the Student Union’s Distinguished Speakers Series.

For the students frommigrant families, Quinones’ speech struck a chord because he was a migrant worker over 20 years ago upon first coming to the United States. Born and raised in Mexicali, Baja California, Quinones never imagined when he left to become a farm worker

Page 11 - Meet the 20-yearold virgin

Page 14 - Women’s basketball loses home opener

- SWSA donate time and money for Thanksgiving feast for De La Viña elementary

November 19, 2009

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Commentary Vol 66, No. 12 November 19, 2009 1201 West University, CAS 170 Edinburg, Texas 78539 Phone: (956) 381-2541 Fax: (956) 316-7122 EDITOR IN CHIEF Brian Silva basilva1@utpa.edu ASSISTANT EDITOR Ana Villaurrutia alvillaurru@utpa.edu ONLINE EDITOR Kristen Cabrera kristenmichellecabrera@yahoo.com ASSISTANT VIDEO EDITOR Victor Ituarte victor.ituarte@gmail.com A&L EDITOR Isaac Garcia izek_el@yahoo.com ASSISTANT A&L EDITOR Andrielle Figueroa j27ig@yahoo.com SPORTS EDITOR Kevin Stich k.stich@gmail.com ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Sara Hernandez sarahdzm@hotmail.com DESIGN EDITOR Gregorio Garza the_nataku@yahoo.com SENIOR DESIGNER Roy Bazan rbazanzz@utpa.edu PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Alma Hernandez alma.e.hdz@gmail.com Assistant PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Daniel Flores daniel_adrian_flores@yahoo.com ADVISER Dr. Greg Selber selberg@utpa.edu ADMINISTRATIVE ASSOCIATE Anita Reyes areyes18@utpa.edu ADVERTISING MANAGER Mariel Cantu spubs@utpa.edu WEBMASTER Jose Villarreal josemvillarrealcs@gmail.com

**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.

Anthony Salinas/ The Pan American

“Help with this monkey on my back”

While Big Business might have packed, it has lingered for its fair share Kevin Stich Sports Editor One thing most every college student – or at least those paying attention — learns in their primary college history courses is the story of how President Theodore Roosevelt and his “Big Stick” policy clamped down on big business in the United States. How one man and his band of idealists set the standard for economic development in the country.

But is big business really gone? Were the trusts truly ever busted, or just masked to please the public?

The Federal Reserve was outlined in the early 1900s by a group of selfinterested business and political players, including the likes of Senator Nelson W. Aldrich and John D. Rockefeller. The book “The Creature From Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve,” by G. Edward Griffin details a meeting in 1910 between these financial bosses where plans were laid out for the Reserve and its function.

There is some speculation as to the explicit doings of said meeting, but it has been recounted in several other respected publications that such a “conspiratorial” meeting did take place. Unfortunately, this means that the control of business on the United States economy is worse than originally thought.

The monetary monster we face today is a more vicious one, knowing no

limits or bounds. The AIG catastrophe that occurred in the past year is a prime example of this, and set the precedent for the idea that a corporate colossus is “too big to fail.”

There was no reprimand by the government; it was a joke. Uncle Sam bailed the insurance giant out without any real consequence for its ringleaders, and meanwhile the rest of us had to stand by and fall in line.

And who was behind it? That’s right, The Federal Reserve. In September 2008 The Federal Reserve Bank approved the $85 million bailout, so that they could claim to “seize control” of the company.

Economic justice became the whipped lap dog of the government and its lobbyists. At what point do the people running the country start asking, “How does it benefit me?” and stop asking, “How does it benefit the

country?”

That’s not even touching on what the oil and pharmaceutical companies have done to the market. There have been numerous advances in fuel technologies – some even involving the use of water as a fuel – but these companies buy out patents and advances on such innovations to put in a safe somewhere.

The ability of an individual to be monetarily successful must be upheld, against this I will not argue. But not at the cost of infringing on innocent people’s well being.

This may sound like a brash conspiracy theory, and normally the writer of this editorial would completely agree. Skepticism about government plots to control citizens is a good thing and should be practiced intelligently.

But something just isn’t right, right?

3 $1.75 million given to promote graduate programs November 19, 2009

BY NAXIELY LOPEZ Naxielylopez@gmail.com Graduate students on campus are about to dig into the sort of institutional largesse that has hitherto been limited to undergrads. The U.S. Dept of Education recently awarded a $1.75 million grant to the University of Texas-Pan American to promote graduate programs for Hispanic students.

The Title 5 grant, “Promoting PostBaccalaureate Opportunities for His-

panic Americans,” was awarded in October, and is the first of its kind. These gifts are given to Hispanic-serving institutions and had until now been confined to undergraduate studies. This one, however, is the first to cater to graduate students.

“This grant gives us the opportunity to transform graduate education by bringing to a new level faculty mentors, bringing new resources to the graduate students, and making sure we are operating with the best policies and prac-

tices for our graduate education,” said Dr. Cynthia J. Brown, vice provost for graduate studies and co-writer of the grant.

The money will be used to fund three separate projects over the course of five years. One portion will help establish a graduate resource center to train faculty and guide students through their respective programs.

The center will consist of a series of workshops that are already being planned. Brown said there would be

no new building for the center but the workshops will begin some time during the spring semester. Another portion of the money will be used for scholarships, and the rest will help hire consultants to evaluate graduate programs at the university.

“The grant limited the amount of money we could use for scholarships,” Brown said. “We couldn’t put more than 20 percent of our annual expenditures toward them.”

That translated to 12 full tuition-

and-fee scholarships. Students wishing to apply must be Hispanic and enrolled full-time in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math)-related graduate program.

This reinforces the university’s goal of becoming a powerhouse in those areas. Other efforts include HESTEC, an annual weeklong fair that focuses on promoting science, technology, engineering and math careers among South Texas students, who are upwards of 90

SEE GRANT || PAGE 7

Helping people knows no boundaries SMALL WORLD - Valley Baptist Hospital Bariatric surgeon Ashraf A. Hilmy explains migration of the human species and its need for high caloric intake at the Doctors Without Borders seminar at the ITT building.

Alma Hernandez/THE PAN AMERICAN

Seminar brings together global health workers, local doctors

By Ana Villaurrutia a.villaurru@gmail.com As world becomes globalized through growing communication, culture and ideas are being exchanged at a steady pace. However, diseases, viruses and growing awareness of poor health care have also spread.

Wednesday the Office of International Programs, Doctors Hospital of Renaissance and the PreMed Club co-sponsored a medical seminar featuring Doctors without Borders at the ITT building. Several medical doctors from the community took part in front of an audience of about 50 people on the third night of Internatonal Week at UTPA. Doctors Without Borders—or Medicins Sans Frontieres in its French incarnation—is an international organization created in 1971 in France to help impoverished areas or areas that have come under natural disaster, mainly by providing medical aid and helping improve living conditions.

The organization has also tried

to influence policy and government by speaking out about inequalities members have experienced in the field. The group now serves nearly 70 countries with the aid of 25,000 field positions.

MSF member Beverly Bauman, a pediatric emergency medicine MD at Valley Baptist Hospital, spoke about her time working in the war-torn and disaster-stricken country of Sri Lanka.

“I’ve never lived in a place where there’s a war…it’s a big eye opener,” said Bauman, originally from Oregon.

“Doctors Without Borders will treat anybody that comes into the hospital, it doesn’t matter if you’re a rebel, we’ll take care of them.”

Bauman said joining MSF can broaden a student’s perception of the world through its global volunteering effort. She also said it would be a great opportunity for students in the Valley because it is a bilingual community and its residents have been exposed to another nation at close hand.

“The people (in this community) tend to have a more international

awareness just from where they grew up and people tend to be bilingual,” said Bauman.

Senators Ruben Hinojosa and Eddie Lucio were also scheduled to attend but could not make it to the event. Their taped remarks were played at the beginning of the seminar.

“The area has one of the highest obesity rates not only in Texas but the United States,” said Lucio in the tape, mentioning the Valley’s 30 percent obesity rate. “For those of you here today who are pre-med, I applaud you for preparing to enter such a valuable profession…there is a need for your service.”

Other speakers shared their knowledge about local Valley health issues. Bariatric surgeon Ashraf A. Hilmy also spoke about obesity in the Valley, sharing a few statistics and preventative methods.

He explained that an economic surplus of cheaply priced food has contributed to the fact that Americans have gotten fatter in recent times.

From 1970 to 1980, 46 percent of

Americans were obese but currently the statistic is 65 percent who are more than 30 pounds overweight.

“It’s very easy today to take a dollar to the store and get a ton of calories and pretty much eat almost your everyday caloric intake,” Hilmy said.

He explained that people try to diet but eventually wind up coming back to their “comfort zone” or reverting to old diets, leading to hypertension, diabetes, menstrual regularities, heart failure and shortened life expectancies anywhere from two years to two decades.

To fix this, Hilmy said that society needs to go through a paradigm shift, helped by replacing unhealthy foods in school cafeterias, living a more healthy lifestyle. Surgeries such as a gastric bypass, which makes the stomach smaller, are for obese patients who have tried various diets and have failed.

“At the grassroots level it’s (societal change) very slow, very hard to implement and would take decades,” he explained. “Once you have the

underlying problem of morbid obesity, surgery is the only option.”

A person is morbidly obese if their weight is 50 to 100 percent over their ideal weight.

The seminar was presented at the midpoint of the annual International Week celebration, whose theme this year has been global health.

Glenn Martinez, executive director of the Office of International Programs, the organization responsible for International Week, said the benefit of UTPA was its ability to educate the students on local issues such as immigration, language barriers and health care, which are increasingly becoming problems in the global arena.

“One of the hallmarks of a great university is that it has the ability to identify, to address and bring to the table for discussion and dialogue the most important and impactful issues of our time,” he said. “And global health is one of those issues that we see is sort of a microcosm here in the Valley.”

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SPEAKER continued from Page 1 link fence near Calexico, Calif., beginning a portion of life spent in a truck camper moving around the San Joaquin Valley as a migrant farm worker. He says when he first came to the U.S., he never thought much beyond making money and sending it back to his family. “My original plan, just like many people who come to the United States, was to make a lot of money and come back to my country,” he said in an article written in Johns Hopkins’ online magazine. “It took me about a year to

NANO continued from Page 1 The nanofibers are typically produced by electrospinning, a process which uses an electric charge to draw very fine fibers from a liquid. Limitations of the typical process include safety because of the high electric field, material, productivity, and cost. Commercial systems can cost up to $100,000 and more.

“In the UTPA patent pending technology we use gravity to spin the tiny particles together revolutionizing nanofiber fabrication,” explained Lozano.

They used centrifugal force to push materials through minute openings and creating the nanofibers much like cotton candy on a spindle. With the new process there are no significant limitations in ma-

November 19, 2009

realize that that was a false dream.”

Ironically, all it took was a cousin telling him that he would be stuck doing migrant farm work forever; this made him want to do something bigger.

Now, while Quinones says he never wants to assume he has anything to offer anyone in the way of advice, he does travel to speak to students from minority groups, trying to motivate them to do something with the tools they are given. While the surgeon says the main tool Americans have access to is education, he is again quick to quote his grandfather, who said that, “a fool with a good tool is still a fool,” meaning that just because one has an education, that does not

make him or her an asset to society.

“It’s not about your education, not even about your dreams, but it’s about what you do with your dreams that matters,” Quinones said.

Quinones encouraged students in the audience to never fear surrounding themselves with mentors who are far more intelligent that they are, adding that in fact, they should not fear failure, as, “sometimes the fears we have can be more paralyzing than the challenges we face.”

Students responded with attentive gazes, applause, and laughter as Quinones shared anecdotes from his life before college and since completing his 15 years of combined education and

residency to become a surgeon. Tales of gunshot wounds, cancerous tumors, and even research done to find out why minorities have often received inferior medical attention kept the audience enthralled.

Juventina Herrera, 50, a recent graduate (2008) from the bilingual education program at UTPA, said she related to what Quinones had to say because of her own experience: it took her 10 years to graduate.

“I was a former migrant, and that was one of the reasons it took me so long—I was still migrating as an adult,” said Herrera, now a teacher in La Joya.

She described her reaction to Quinones’

speech was just, “Wow!” Herrera said that she’ll be taking many of his quotes with her to share with students at Palmview High School.

“The secret to success, like he said, is just hard work,” she said.

Last month the Student Union’s Distinguished Speakers Series welcomed Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer Company. Also, students were treated to a surprise visit from former President Bill Clinton DATE. In the spring, the series will give UTPA students an opportunity to hear from journalist and National Geographic correspondent Lisa Ling in February, and author Luis Alberto Urrea in March.

terials and unlike the old electrospinning routine, solid materials can be melted to make the nanofibers, explained Lozano, who is a widely decorated scientist and has won numerous awards and grants.

She has been at UTPA since 2000 after receiving her Ph.D from Rice University.

pending technology is that the cost of the equipment is a fraction from electrospinning.

“Because of these advantages, we believe that ForceSpinningTM will effectively take over electrospinning both as a choice of equipment and choice of making nanofibers for a large array of materials, not possible by electrospinning,” Sarkar noted. “This along with the costeffectiveness of the equipment are the reasons we believe that this is truly a ‘disruptive technology.’”

Jackie Michel, director of the UTPA Office of Innovation and Intellectual Property, mentioned that there were two routes the university could have taken in commercializing the new technology. One was to license the program to an outside company in exchange for upfront cash and continuing royalties.

Another route, which the university decided upon, was to spin-off its own company, allowing UTPA to retain equity and provide a source of future revenue and continued income. It is projected that between now and 2014 the company will generate a net total of $84 million.

The professors who developed the program will also be able to profit from their invention, receiving an equity position, meaning ownership of shares within a corporation and 50 percent of the royalties. This being the highest shared by a university in the nation.

FibeRio chairman and CEO Buchanan will receive shares in the company as well for his investment. He plans to put together a management team, find investors, create products from the technology and take it to the market.

Michel also said that by 2014 the new

company plans to have created 110 jobs that will pay in the range of $100,000 each, with even greater job-addition possibilities in the future.

“This gives the community an opportunity to see that at Pan Am, we are not only working with education but also giving the students a chance to actively engage in cutting-edge projects not only as graduate students but also as undergraduates,” Lozano said.

“There is so much I’ve learned through this project that I never dreamed I could learn in the classroom,” Steve Zambrano, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering who was part of the invention.

“When we began this project, I never thought we’d take it this far in this short of an amount of time.”

ANOTHER BENEFIT Rapid response is another important feature of the proposed technology, noted Sarkar, who researches nanomanufacturing and nanomaterials at UTPA. In electrospinning the process takes more than an hour to switch materials, if it can even be done. With ForceSpinningTM it is simple and takes less than 15 minutes to switch to the next material.

“This is a significant advantage in materials research,” Sarkar explained.

Another advantage for the patent-

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November 19, 2009

GRANT continued from Page 3 percent Hispanic. The deadline to apply for this scholarship is Dec. 1, and recipients will be notified Dec. 15.

Brown, who has been at the university for 12 years and was asked why the government should take such an interest.

“On a national prospective, Hispanics are under-represented,” she said.

“Graduate students represent the leading minds of the future, and don’t you want this to reflect society?”

The university plans to use this grant to help retain the best students at UTPA.

“We can use this to recruit the highly sought-after students that are getting really competitive packages other places,” Brown said. “We have really great programs here.”

The university offers 58 master’s programs, three doctoral, and two cooperative doctoral programs.

“We want to make sure not only that we are staying competitive, but that we have a leg up on the competition,” Brown said.

Currently there are 2,470 graduate students enrolled for the fall semester, and as of Nov. 11, 1,981 students had already registered in graduate classes for the spring. Brown says the university has seen a 6 percent increase in enrollment since last year, and an 11 percent increase in degrees awarded.

NELSEN continued from Page 1 Nelsen emphasized to distinguished community members at the later ceremony that many new partnerships must be forged. He gave examples of partnerships with the local school districts, South Texas College, economic developers, and the mothers and fathers of students.

The Valley star-studded community event saw the likes of STC president Shirley Reed, Edinburg Mayor Richard Cortez, former Congressman Kike De La Garza, State Rep. Aaron Pena, former Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board member Bob Shepard.

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A number of school district superintendents, UTPA Foundation members, and several alumni were also present.

Earlier in the day Nelsen had lunch with several students at the university’s cafeteria. Freshman political science major Anna Mariah Garcia was one of those chosen to dine with the incoming president, who was said to have enjoyed a vegan plate.

“He was really trying to get to know the students,” she said. Nelsen went student by student and asked about their majors and what they wanted to pursue for their career.

“He showed a lot of determination and enthusiasm about coming to UT-

PA and wanting to learn about the students,” Garcia said.

She added that Nelsen also talked with them about how he’s learned from his previous experiences and how he can bring them here.

“I like him,” she said. “He’s got a lot of good goals for the university.”

Nelsen will take office Jan. 1, and will be counseled by Charles “Chuck” Sorber who will serve as his transition aide till mid to late January. Sorber has served as interim president since February; former president Blandina “Bambi” Cardenas retired on Jan. 30 after serving for four and a half years.

CHECK THE PANAMERICANONLINE.COM FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS OF NELSEN’S INAUGURATION

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New Activision game destroys all challengers as game of the decade

By Gregorio Garza the_nakatu@yahoo.com Ever since the days of old, children have played games of war. Be it with sticks or plastic guns, the image of kids running around play fighting is iconic.

And as society moves forward into a more digitized future, the kids of yesterday still continue to play-fight, moving the battlefield from the backyard to the living room in the form of video games.

The most recent of this style of games come in the shape of the newest addition to the “Call of Duty” franchise, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.” Already being hailed as the Game of the Decade by the gaming community, the sequel to the popular “Call of Duty4: Modern Warfare” hit the stores at midnight Nov. 10.

As the game hit the shelves at midnight many retail stores opened their doors to let the eager public get their hands it. As could be expected, there were lines as fans lined up in excitement to load the game and play the night away.

“I went to Best Buy to buy the game.

I was surprised to see so many people that showed up for the midnight release,” said junior computer science major Jason Stromberg, who braved the crowds to a hold of the critically acclaimed game when it first came out.

Within the first 24 hours of sales the game managed to break records for sales. In North America and the United Kingdom alone, “Modern Warfare 2,” as it is commonly called among the gaming community, sold 4.7 million copies and

generated $310 million, beating out the previous record holder “Grand Theft Auto IV,” which sold 3.6 million copies for $310 million from worldwide sales in 2008. Fellow first-person shooter game “Halo 3” earned only $300 million in its first week of sales worldwide in 2007.

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? Built upon the success of its previous installment, “Modern Warfare 2” takes up the original story five years later with Russia having been conquered by Ultranationalists. One of the lieutenants, Vladimir Makarov, begins a reign of terror against Europe. In an attempt to try and solve the terrorist threat, a mole is set loose inside Makarov’s inner circle, though the mole is killed and used as a scapegoat in a terrorist attack on a Russian airport.

This focus of the game has sparked some controversy as it portrays the killing of innocent civilians, though one can skip the level with no penalty. However, when one does play through the level they can see that it plays an important catalyst in the overall plot as it sets off the second act of the game.

“I was very surprised to see this level in a “Call of Duty” game. As I went through the level, I thought ‘This level is going to cause some controversial issues as soon as it gets to the mainstream media,’” said Stromberg, who has been playing video games for 18 years, including the first “Modern Warfare.”

As media outlets came to understand on the killing action, the overall reaction

seemed to suggest that the level has some merit in context of the game and is not just being used for shock value. The terrorist angle was even was discussed in Britain’s House of Commons as MP Keith Vaz, a consistent opponent of violence in video games, brought attention to it.

Back to the game: with the international community thinking the airport attack was American-sponsored, the Russians invade America and take over the White House. Along with these high-profile action levels, you ultimately end up destroying the International Space Station and rescuing the White House from the Russians before the Air Force can carpet bomb the city.

The first installment of the “Modern Warfare” series had equally astounding levels and stories, including one where the player was able to take control of a character who survived a nuclear blast, and play him as he walked about in the radioactive aftermath only to die from radioactive poisoning. While the game can be said to run off shock value, it certainly has gotten a life of its own.

“These latest games from the “Call of Duty” franchise have taken a darker tone, showing not just the glory of war but also the negative aftermath that follows,” sophomore computer science major and fellow gamer Angel Varrera said. “It certainly does its job to educate about the horrors that can and do take place.”

“Modern Warfare 2” was breaking records even before it was available in retail. Activision, the publisher,

reported that in its quarterly earnings the game had broken the company record for most pre-orders. Some retail versions included more perks than just the game, such as the Prestige Edition which includes along with the game and art book, a set of fully-functioning night-vision goggles with the “Modern Warfare 2” logo and a stand that is modeled after the head of the character “Soap” MacTavish.

Campaign mode where you play out the story is just one of many anticipated modes of play. Along with the standard single-player mode there is Special Ops, which sports special missions that can be played solo or with a partner, with no consequence to the campaign. Online play is centered on multi-player with new features added to make the play experience different from previous installments of the “Call of Duty” series.

“I’m having a great time playing the multiplayer, especially because I have a group of friends that play with me,” Stromberg said. “While the story might be short, the game really stands out with all the multiplayer content that it has. It makes it worth wild.”

The game has been met with high praise on the console versions with many gaming sites and magazines rating the game 95 percent or better. The only real criticism is about the length of the campaign, as it is short and can be completed in just under five hours when played on regular difficulty. However the compelling story and the multiplayer features more than make up for that shortcoming.

Images from GameTrailers.com

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New Activision game destroys all challengers as game of the decade

By Gregorio Garza the_nakatu@yahoo.com Ever since the days of old, children have played games of war. Be it with sticks or plastic guns, the image of kids running around play fighting is iconic.

And as society moves forward into a more digitized future, the kids of yesterday still continue to play-fight, moving the battlefield from the backyard to the living room in the form of video games.

The most recent of this style of games come in the shape of the newest addition to the “Call of Duty” franchise, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.” Already being hailed as the Game of the Decade by the gaming community, the sequel to the popular “Call of Duty4: Modern Warfare” hit the stores at midnight Nov. 10.

As the game hit the shelves at midnight many retail stores opened their doors to let the eager public get their hands it. As could be expected, there were lines as fans lined up in excitement to load the game and play the night away.

“I went to Best Buy to buy the game.

I was surprised to see so many people that showed up for the midnight release,” said junior computer science major Jason Stromberg, who braved the crowds to a hold of the critically acclaimed game when it first came out.

Within the first 24 hours of sales the game managed to break records for sales. In North America and the United Kingdom alone, “Modern Warfare 2,” as it is commonly called among the gaming community, sold 4.7 million copies and

generated $310 million, beating out the previous record holder “Grand Theft Auto IV,” which sold 3.6 million copies for $310 million from worldwide sales in 2008. Fellow first-person shooter game “Halo 3” earned only $300 million in its first week of sales worldwide in 2007.

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? Built upon the success of its previous installment, “Modern Warfare 2” takes up the original story five years later with Russia having been conquered by Ultranationalists. One of the lieutenants, Vladimir Makarov, begins a reign of terror against Europe. In an attempt to try and solve the terrorist threat, a mole is set loose inside Makarov’s inner circle, though the mole is killed and used as a scapegoat in a terrorist attack on a Russian airport.

This focus of the game has sparked some controversy as it portrays the killing of innocent civilians, though one can skip the level with no penalty. However, when one does play through the level they can see that it plays an important catalyst in the overall plot as it sets off the second act of the game.

“I was very surprised to see this level in a “Call of Duty” game. As I went through the level, I thought ‘This level is going to cause some controversial issues as soon as it gets to the mainstream media,’” said Stromberg, who has been playing video games for 18 years, including the first “Modern Warfare.”

As media outlets came to understand on the killing action, the overall reaction

seemed to suggest that the level has some merit in context of the game and is not just being used for shock value. The terrorist angle was even was discussed in Britain’s House of Commons as MP Keith Vaz, a consistent opponent of violence in video games, brought attention to it.

Back to the game: with the international community thinking the airport attack was American-sponsored, the Russians invade America and take over the White House. Along with these high-profile action levels, you ultimately end up destroying the International Space Station and rescuing the White House from the Russians before the Air Force can carpet bomb the city.

The first installment of the “Modern Warfare” series had equally astounding levels and stories, including one where the player was able to take control of a character who survived a nuclear blast, and play him as he walked about in the radioactive aftermath only to die from radioactive poisoning. While the game can be said to run off shock value, it certainly has gotten a life of its own.

“These latest games from the “Call of Duty” franchise have taken a darker tone, showing not just the glory of war but also the negative aftermath that follows,” sophomore computer science major and fellow gamer Angel Varrera said. “It certainly does its job to educate about the horrors that can and do take place.”

“Modern Warfare 2” was breaking records even before it was available in retail. Activision, the publisher,

reported that in its quarterly earnings the game had broken the company record for most pre-orders. Some retail versions included more perks than just the game, such as the Prestige Edition which includes along with the game and art book, a set of fully-functioning night-vision goggles with the “Modern Warfare 2” logo and a stand that is modeled after the head of the character “Soap” MacTavish.

Campaign mode where you play out the story is just one of many anticipated modes of play. Along with the standard single-player mode there is Special Ops, which sports special missions that can be played solo or with a partner, with no consequence to the campaign. Online play is centered on multi-player with new features added to make the play experience different from previous installments of the “Call of Duty” series.

“I’m having a great time playing the multiplayer, especially because I have a group of friends that play with me,” Stromberg said. “While the story might be short, the game really stands out with all the multiplayer content that it has. It makes it worth wild.”

The game has been met with high praise on the console versions with many gaming sites and magazines rating the game 95 percent or better. The only real criticism is about the length of the campaign, as it is short and can be completed in just under five hours when played on regular difficulty. However the compelling story and the multiplayer features more than make up for that shortcoming.

Images from GameTrailers.com

10 Modern dance ensemble set to premiere November 19, 2009

Sarah Palin’s newly released book, “Going Rouge,” made headlines this week.

The Twilight Saga continues with the release of “New Moon” this Friday, Nov. 20.

Alma Hernandez/THE PAN AMERICAN

DANCING THE NIGHT AWAY - This abstract performance explores the oppposite movements of “slash.” The modern dance pieces will be performed today and tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.

By Nadia Tamez-Robledo ntamezrob@broncs.utpa.edu

John Mayer’s latest album “Battle Studies” debuted at No. 1 this week on iTunes.

Kansas State will be up against Nebraska on Nov. 21 at 6:45 p.m. on ESPN360.com

Dancers sway fluidly across the stage before their limbs kick and chop at the air while rehearsing Melinda Blomquist’s “Out Inside,” one of six pieces The University of Texas-Pan American Dance Ensemble will give its first performance of the semester with its Fall Concert 2009 at the Fine Arts Auditorium today.

The abstract dance explores the opposite movements of “slash,” fast and strong, and “glide,” which is light and slow, said the choreographer. Fifteen students from UTPA and four students from Vangaurd Academy in Pharr will participate.

“I think it goes to a philosophy I have about dance, teaching and life,” she said. “[Finding] the common ground between those two spectrums is a theme I like to work with. It’s just expressing these oppositional aspects and working between those two realms. ” Brittanie Rosas, 19, described modern dance as “yoga-influenced” and involving “more connecting with your body” compared to other types of dance.

“When you dance with a story behind it, you have to play a character,” said the San Juan native, who will make her premiere appearance with the Dance Ensemble in performing in both

“Out Inside” and“Dust,” created by who has been a dance teacher and guest artists Mary Fitzgerald and Satu choreographer for 16 years, wrote four Hummasti. “You still play a character movement words on the board such as [in modern dance], but you don’t have to slash, float, glide and roll, and then ask students to interpret have a closed mind three of the words about what it is and what you have to “You canʼt see the people with movement.

“Whatever I do.” in the audience, but felt ‘slash’ was, I For Isela would dance that Gomez, a junior knowing that theyʼre there and incorporate dance major, is a rush. You just feel like ‘float’ and ‘glide,’” performing in Gomez said. “It Blomquist’s piece you have to exert a certain all started with is a departure from quality that people want to descriptive words her usual style. on a chalkboard.”

“I’ve never watch. You have to keep As the clock danced modern ticked closer dance in my life. them entertained.” to curtain call, I’m a ballet dancer,” Blomquist and she admitted. her students were “Melinda definitely opens your eyes to Isela Gomez ironing out any different ways of Dance major remaining kinks, adding lighting, making your body music and curtains move. She takes an into the mix during entirely different approach to her teaching and artistry, their run-throughs.

“It gets a little stressful, but it’s which is a benefit.”

As part of her unique teaching style, a good stress,” she said. “It’s very Blomquist worked collaboratively with challenging to do one thing and make a her students to choreograph “Out Inside.” costume change and have to think about Segments were added from classroom different concepts and what you’re exercises and improvisation, Gomez trying to communicate. It’s lots of hard said. During one exercise Blomquist, work and lots of fun.”

Blomquist added that UTPA dancers will also give performances next semester during their Spring Concert and FESTIBA. Recovering from a lower back injury that has limited her participation for three weeks, Gomez is also anticipating going on stage.

“Right now I’m very calm, but I know as soon as it’s opening night I’m going to get butterflies,” she said. “It’s an exciting feeling.”

Blomquist set “Out Inside” to music from the Canadian rock band Rush; this she added after the choreography was finished, something that is rare, according to Gomez.

“The music is definitely what gets you going,” she explained. “You can’t see the people in the audience, but knowing that they’re there is a rush. You just feel like you have to exert a certain quality that people want to watch. You have to keep them entertained.”

Rosas said she is nervous and excited about her first performance. “[When dancing] I’m thinking, ‘Wow, this makes me so happy,’” she said. “It’s a good way for me to express good feelings, bad feelings. It’s an outlet.”

All six modern dance pieces will be performed today and tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. They will run again on Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.

ARTS AND LIFE

November 19, 2009

Page 11

Play revisits the Bush Era in the Valley

By Victor Ituarte victor.ituarte@gmail.com This week, students at The University of Texas-Pan American will be treated to “The Red and the Blue,” a politically charged play written and directed by UTPA communication associate professor Eric Wiley. The play will run today, tomorrow, and Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Albert L. Jeffers Theatre and the Sunday show will start at 2 p.m.

UTPA students are admitted free with ID and can bring a guest with them.

The play takes place in Port Mansfield just before the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Wiley explains it as a tragicomic hybrid as well as at times a thriller. The underlying theme is the Culture Wars between conservatives and liberals that have been raging especially hard since 2001.

“It explores some of the cultural differences and political differences in the country,” he said. “That’s been an issue in the last 10 years or more.”

The five characters are broken down to an extreme conservative, an extreme liberal, two moderates, and one that is “out of the political football game,” according to Wiley. The different views lead to arguments over the pending Iraq war and gender/sex issues.

Maegan De La Rosa, who holds a degree in theater-acting/directing from Sam Houston State University, plays the moderate Philadelphia native Heather.

“It’s a fun story. There’s some action. There’s a little bit of crazy.

There’s a good amount of comedy.

There’s a lot of twists and turns in this play,” said the 23-year-old Harlingen native, adding that her character is a

bit mysterious. “A lot of things will happen that, as an audience member, you may not expect. I expected her to do one thing and then I flipped the page and she does something completely different. It’s that kind of a story.”

Wiley detailed the advantage of bringing this story to light in theater.

“A play is a good way to show the human side of political viewpoints,” he said. “The theater’s good for that because you can show the difference between the way people act and the way they talk.”

Wiley, who has directed such productions as “Late Bloomers,” “Hedda Gabler,” and “The House of Bernarda Alba” in the past, went on to say that audience members feeling intensely about American politics might

be interested in seeing “The Red and the Blue,” whose title corresponds to the delineation between red, or conservative, and blue (liberal) states that has become commonplace on television newscasts charting the nation’s political affairs.

“I think it would be of interest to almost anyone, but the people who would probably be most interested would be people who have strong political views, people that get angry a lot from whichever perspective,” he said. A heated argument that breaks out over the justification of the Iraq war may rile some theater enthusiasts.

Despite the political overtones, those without care for debates and hot-button issues may still appreciate the work.

“Maybe it will at least stimulate some thinking about the differences that Americans have and how those differences play out in people’s lives,” Wiley suggested. “It is meant to be an enjoyable evening. It’s not an educational evening. Hopefully, the audience will enjoy the evening.

Hopefully, they’ll feel that the issues have been explored more than just superficially.”

The next play, a comedy called “Noises Off,” will hit the Jeffers Theatre stage in early March followed

by Shakespeare classic “Much Ado About Nothing” in mid-April. The final production of the season will be children’s play “The Frog Prince,” a retelling by UTPA assistant professor Brian Warren.

Alma HernandezTHE PAN AMERICAN

CROSSFIRE - “The Red and the Blue” opens with Heather, played by Maegan De La Rosa, as she mysteriously drops in on Bear (Joseph Perez) hoping to stay a few days.

Scientific breakthrough course arrives on campus

By Marc Solis marcmdavid@gmail.com The Engineering Department is introducing a new class to the university next semester that will prepare students to build complex systems incorporating capabilities for intelligent processing of information. It shares the same name with that of a Steven Spielberg movie: “A.I. The course presents the basic principles and major methods of Artificial Intelligence in a creative way, so that students can explore the field by knowledge representation and reasoning.

They will also build systems using AI. Andres Figueroa, assistant professor, is conducting the class, one of the most interesting new offerings for 2010.

“Artificial Intelligence is a unique science domain concerned with the theory and practice of developing systems that exhibit characteristics we associate with intelligence in human behavior such as reasoning, planning and problem solving, learning and adaptation, natural language processing and perception,” he said.

Figueroa plans on having students learn the basic language in the field and to eventually investigate applications of AI techniques in intelligent agents and artificial networks. They will also come to know the rules of following logic and implications. In retrospect this means for every action there is a reaction.

“Bioinformatics is my specialty, which

is in my case, is looking for what genes are responsible for diseases or otherwise known as Disease Gene Association Studies, said Figueroa. “Bioinformatics are able to spot these abnormalities with computer technology.”

Using computer technology as the main teaching tool, he will guide Artificial Intelligence projects using an AI language such as LISP or Prolog, two programming languages that have dominated artificial intelligence over the past 40 years.

LISP is a family of computer programming languages with a long history and a distinctive, fully parenthesized syntax.

Originally specified in 1958, Lisp is the secondoldest high-level programming language in widespread use today.

Prolog, which was created in Marseille, France in the early 1970s, is more of a general purpose logic programming language associated with artificial intelligence and computational linguistics.

Sample topics using these languages include: heuristic search – to rapidly come to a solution that is close to the best possible answer, game playing – to encapsulate knowledge and language in a computer program so it can make its own decisions, problem solving – how that program is going to store that info using common techniques to find particular solution paths that lead to knowledge representation and reasoning.

“The primary objective of this course is to introduce the basic principles, techniques, and applications of AI,” Figueroa explained. “Emphasis will be placed on the concepts of these fundamentals, not on the mastery of specific AI programming environments.”

His ultimate plan is to have students experience AI programming and experiment with a machine-learning model for analysis, and to have a good time doing it.

According to him, many universities are losing computer science ambition among students because it’s not introduced as something fun or exciting enough.

Figueroa also believes students are hesitant to approach this field because of their fear of mathematics.

“If schools were to introduce complicated math and science to people at a young age, they would be more positive about taking on computer science at the university level,” he said.

To this end, collaboration with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) has helped bring new opportunities for the engineering department and has given personal grounds for professors such as Figueroa to pursue certain projects like the AI course.

For the past five years here on campus Figueroa has been setting his sights on becoming an associate professor, and he is finally up for tenure this upcoming year.

Originally from Mexico, he graduated with a B.S. in Mathematics from The Morelos State University, Mexico in 1998.

He then accepted a fellowship to pursue a graduate degree at The University of California Riverside, where he obtained his Doctorate degree in 2004 from the Computer Science Department.

In that same year he was appointed Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of TexasPan American and Adjunct Assistant Professor of the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department at UTHSCSA since August 2007.

Current research interests include algorithms, bioinformatics and computational molecular biology. Most recently, he has focused on statistical genetics as well as genetic epidemiologic studies and has been published in wellknown journals and peer-reviewed conference proceedings in the field.

The class will be offered this coming spring, MWF 10:45 am – 11:35 am, and is available for upper level engineering majors. The Engineering Dept. expects the class to be a huge success with students, so the possibility of having the class again or adding other AI related courses are high.

“I have no plans to teach more AIrelated classes, but Expert Systems would be a class I’d like to teach,” Figueroa commented. “It involves working to learn restrictions and possibilities when constructing a program.”

INTERESTING STUDENT

PROFILE Meet the 20-year-old virgin

By Isaac Garcia izekgarcia@gmail.com Ivan Torres has never had sex. He is a 20-year-old biology major and not ashamed about his virginity.

If there were such a thing as a virgin detector, Torres would go unnoticed.

He is not what one would expect a virgin to be like. He is outgoing, funny approachable and has had good luck in the dating scene.

So why on earth is a pretty likable guy with a good dating record still a virgin?

Abstinence.

What is this strange yet familiar word echoing back and forth between your hemispheres?

Well, you might remember that abstinence is the only thing that completely prevents against STDs and pregnancy. So where can you get this pill? Unfortunately nowhere.

Abstinence is a choice an individual like Torres makes to abstain from sexual intercourse.

To be exact, Torres practices complete sexual abstinence, citing that oral sex and groping evoke the same thoughts as sexual intercourse.

“It would be a shame to tell my wife, ‘oh I’ve never had intercourse before, but I had oral sex with 25 different girls,’” he said. “For me, even that[oral sex] is the same thing as intercourse.”

Torres made this decision at the age of 13, because of his religious beliefs and the choice to respect his body.

“I’m not doing this because the bible told me to—for me the bible lays a foundation,” he said.

“If someone does something just because somebody else told them to, then that person might find themselves under shaky ground.”

Abstinence isn’t easy and many people fall off the wagon.

A recent study conducted by the CDC in 2008 showed that teens who are taught abstinence only curriculum are more likely to contract STDs because they were not properly informed about safe sex practices.

For Torres however, this isn’t the case. He believes that the university has done a great job in promoting safe sex practices and even abstinence, to some extent.

“I definitely know how to wear a condom and how to practice safe sex if it ever came down to it.”

Torres explained that it’s natural to be tempted and that he is trying to keep his animal instinct at bay, but for him abstinence is the right choice and will remain a virgin until marriage.

ARTS AND LIFE

Page 12

A&LCOMMENTARY

Reality love sucks

By Veronica Gonzalez Vdgonzalezz@gmail.com Bret Michaels, Ray J, New York, Tila Tequila, Flava Flave, Real and Chance.

The list could keep going, actually. The common thread among them, besides being too old, too dumb or just plain sexcrazy—neither of these could find love the first time around on VH1. Of course, the only solution would be to give them a second season. In Bret’s case, he needed a third.

From these shows, more have sprung up. “Daisy of Love,” “My Antonio,” “I Love Money,” and “Tough Love” have had their run as well. As much of a guilty pleasure as they can be, it’s the same ideas being recycled show after show, season after season (Maybe it’s because it’s the same producers for each show!).

Men drooling, girls fighting. It’s ridiculous that there’s even a market for this. All you need to do is walk into a high school. There’s plenty of drama there.

This week’s episode of “For the Love of Ray J” had the ladies competing in a dance-off for the chance at a group date.

Of course, it didn’t end there. Ray J found out Luscious had a little too much fun with one of the members of America’s Best Dance Crew (ABDC), Super Crew. In season one, Ray J had a similar problem with one of the finalists.

“I’ve been in this game a long time...

I’ve been with a lot of women but I’m ready to get out. I want to do this show to find a ride-or-die chick, a chick that makes me want to get out of the game,” Ray J said on VH1.com about the show.

Sure Ray. And having a horde of scantily-clad whores dance around will definitely point that girl out to you.

Coincidently, Tila Tequila, whose rumored relationship with Ray J broke up his relationship with his seasonone winner, filed a lawsuit against ex-boyfriend and San Diego Chargers linebacker, Shawne Merriman. She claimed he shook her, knocked her down, and choked her during an argument in back in September, according to NYDailynews.com and TMZ.com.

Yes, fighting for love on national TV has certainly proved to work, hasn’t it?

Call me a right-winger or whatever you want, but aren’t relationships supposed to be somewhat serious?

Starting with the nicknames.

None of the contestants go by their real name. Paradeez, Platinum, Popper, Flossy? Just come out with it. He gave them stripper names.

The great conundrum with all these shows is how VH1 has chosen to balance them out with airing “Tool Academy,” and the more serious “Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew.” While these shows focus on helping bring healing and relationship restoration, it bugs me that those looking for help are the very types of people seeking a good time on all the other reality shows.

So much for love and all the right reasons.

November 19, 2009

November 19, 2009

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Page 13

November 19, 2009

THE RUN-DOWN Belichick’s call was a good one

By Kevin Stich K.Stich@Gmail.com Did anyone see the Colts-Pats game Sunday night? I think the always-popular acronym “OMG” is the appropriate phrase considering what transpired.

If you’re a true sports fan you didn’t miss the 35-34 thriller that came down to the wire. I watched the replay of Peyton Manning’s touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne in the closing seconds three or four different times after the game, and cheered every time.

But this is not about the Colts and my heterosexual man-crush on the duo of Manning and Wayne…

This is about the infamous play now dubbed “4th and 2” by the NFL community.

The game was a classic; one that fans won’t soon forget. And now I swallow my pride.

Bill Belichick is one of the greatest coaches of all time. Even a diehard Colts fan has to admit that.

Three super bowls in a four-year span (2001-2004), four AFC titles and a formidable 116-45 record in his nine years as head coach. Not to mention an outstanding 16-0 record in 2007. If football were a chess match, this guy is Bobby Fischer.

That being said, I’m sick and tired of hearing everyone, including former Belichick players Teddy Bruschi and Rodney Harrison, whine about how it was a decision that reflected a lack of faith in his defense. And Trent Dilfer, don’t even get me started on his commentary.

Belichick gets paid millions of dollars every season to do what he does – win. It just so happened that fate and Kevin Faulk fell a yard short.

Analysts are drilling this notion that Belichick didn’t trust his defense enough to stop Manning from marching down the field and scoring. I find that hard to believe.

If anything, the Pats head coach probably trusted his defense – the facet of the game he’s known for – to stop the Colts on a short field.

It’s the NFL, and despite how great Manning is, a touchdown in the final two minutes is a hard thing to come by against a championship-caliber defense (which New England has).

Not to mention that the numbers supported him. According to advancenflstats.com, the Pats had a 60 percent chance to convert, a 0.79 win probability going for it, compared to a 0.70 win probability with a punt.

The conclusion is that the Hall of Fame head coach had every reason to go for it. And with his resume, who are the rest of us to question him?

14

Women’s basketball loses home opener

By Sara Hernandez Sarahdzm@hotmail.com The Lady Broncs were up early Tuesday. The stomps of basketballs bouncing on the hardwood and the squeaking of tennis shoes on the court accompanied their almost-choreographic movements around the hoop.

Before the official practice, the University of Texas-Pan American women’s basketball team had a shooting session at 8:30 a.m.

After last weekend’s season-opening setback 98-65 against Oral Roberts in Tulsa, in which the team converted just 24 out of 70 shot attempts (34.3 percent), the women have been focusing on being more effective offensively.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well,” said first-year head coach Denny Downing. “We missed so many open shots it’s very frustrating, so that’s why this week we brought in some extra time and all we’ve been doing is shooting drills.”

But starting the season with two losses (the first came in an exhibition Nov. 29 against Texas A&M-Kingsville, 67-58) has not eclipsed the Lady Broncs’ high spirits. A positive atmosphere could be sensed in the Field House; the shooting session gave the impression of a friendly get-together, which Downing clarified was due to the fact that it wasn’t an official practice.

The players appeared to enjoy the competition, motivated by assistant coach Britney Jordan, who stood in one extreme of the midcourt line while a group of players on each side of the court raced to see who could make eight free throws in a row.

Alma Hernandez/THE PAN AMERICAN

READY TO SHOOT- Senior Marah Guzman fights the resistance of TSU’s defense. UTPA converted 38.5 percent of shots attempted Wednesday.

“We had two losses, but we look at it as a teaching point, not a point to be sad about it or dwell on it,” said senior guard Rose Esther Jean, who scored 11 points against Oral Roberts.

While Jean reiterated the team’s goal of accomplishing 20 wins this season and conquering the Great West Conference title in March, Downing

mentioned that success will come with time for the program.

“We understood that it’s going be a learning curve because we have all-new staff and everything that they’re doing is new to them, and definitely we’re not going to be playing our best basketball in November,” he cautioned. “We’d like to be playing that in February and I

just think it’s the type of character that we have, we’re going to bounce back.”

Six-foot-2 junior Maria Ben Erlingsdottir, who also had 11 points Friday, affirmed that despite the rough start, when the team gets more used to Downing’s coaching style, good things will start coming for the group.

“I expected us to win, but we’re going to practice together as a team…for sure we will improve,” said the Iceland native. “We want this to become a winning season for UTPA.” Wednesday, the Lady Broncs kicked off the home regular season and celebrated “Lil’ Bronc Night” despite dropping a 65-58 decision against Texas Southern. Supporters were encouraged to take their younger UTPA fans to the Field House, where they were pampered with a free T-shirt at the entrance and participated in several half-time contests.

After a slow start and despite trailing the Lady Tigers for more than 15 minutes, the team broke a 19-19 tie with 4:34 on the clock with a threepointer by junior Rachel Hester, which led the Lady Broncs to end the first half winning 27-24.

However, although the second period started with close competition between the two squads, TSU took control after leading the score 51-49. As for the extra shooting practice earlier in the week, UTPA finished at 38.5 percent from the floor with seniors Marah Guzman and Jean getting 12 and 11 points, respectively.

The team is preparing for a busy week which starts Sunday with a game against Long Beach State at the South Padre Island Convention Center.

Intramural football: how ‘bout them Rawdawgers?

By Benny Salinas Bsalinas@broncs.utpa.edu UTPA’s top intramural football team, the Rawdawgers, will have to wait another year to relive the glory of their 2007 National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association national championship. After a successful first day of competition Nov.14 at the regional tournament at Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, Sunday morning Texas Southern stopped the Rawdawgers in the semi-finals.

The loss was especially frustrating to the team, whose members felt that their faltering was the result of mental mistakes and not the product of being bested by a better team.

“They felt really good coming into the field. They played great on Saturday,” said Intramural Assistant Art Cabrera, who travelled with the team to Nacogdoches. “They felt should have won that game, but they made some mistakes on some key plays and that just didn’t happen.”

Early in the game, with the Rawdaw- and do it yourself. I passed it and it gers in the lead, the team allowed TSU didn’t really work out.”

Prior to their loss, the Rawdawgers a long pass and a first down on fourth and 15. TSU would go on to score dur- had beaten UT Dallas, Central Texas, and Stephen Ausing that possession. tin by significant The game’s most “ Itʼs always in your head numbers. Their frustrating play loss would take place in to not be a ball-hog even subsequent to TSU was made the last minute, with when itʼs better to just take more frustrating the Rawdawgers

by TSU’s ongodown 26-20 but in charge and do it yourself.” ing wins, includpossession 10 yards ing a victory in from a winning the final game touchdown. With against South no timeouts and the clock winding Robert Trevino Texas College, down, on the last Rawdawgers quarterback 26-28. STC had previously beaten play quarterback the Rawdawgers Robert Trevino overshot what would have been a win- earlier his season in the Valley Bowl, ning pass and the team had no time to a tournament between the four RGV colleges, albeit with missing players on regroup for another play.

“I could have won that game if I the Rawdawgers side.

“It was pretty hard on me. I mean, just run it in instead,” said Trevino, a freshman majoring in Kinesiology. “It’s I know I can do better,” Trevino said. always in your head to not be ball-hog, “But it’s a learning experience. Now even when it’s better to just take charge I know that sometimes its best just to

take things into your own hands.”

Now, the Rawdawgers will have to look to the American Collegiate International Sports national tournament for hopes of winning at a national level. The ACIS tournament, held during the last week of December in New Orleans, is an invitational event that is open to any intramural college team, as opposed to the NIRSA national tournament, which requires wins on the regional level. The Rawdawgers trip to the ACIS tournament, however, is still up in the air.

“Right now we don’t have the financial backing to send these guys to New Orleans unless they get some sort of sponsorship or they pay out of their own pocket,” Cabrera said. “I don’t want to get their hopes up and say we’ll go, but we’re definitely gonna try to get something figured out.”

Even without a national title to their name this year, the Rawdawgers are still looking to next year, putting the lessons learned this year to good use.

SPORTS

November 19, 2009

Page 15

Baseball team competes for inter-squad bragging rights

By Alvaro Balderas Alvaro_tx@msn.com God, family, school and then baseball. The University of Texas-Pan American head baseball coach Manny Mantrana wants to make sure his players understand that as they embark on the first chapter of their hopeful season.

With the one month of practice that the NCAA allows before the new year already under their belts, the Broncs concluded this semester’s training session with three inter-squad scrimmages dubbed the Steak World Series this past weekend at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium.

The twist? The winning team gets a hefty steak dinner while the losers become the service (although not without a well-earned meal themselves).

Now there are three months to go until the Broncs hit the diamond for their 2010 campaign and last weekend’s dress rehearsal left the coaching staff more than content considering the time of the year. The inter-squads were not just to see who hit or threw the hardest but instead to determine how much of Mantrana’s system had been mastered by the Bronc players.

Second-year coach Mantrana says he is pleased with this year’s progress s and is confident his philosophy stressing team chemistry will be key for the team. It is something he believes was not present in previous programs. Last

year the team was 14-41.

“We are definitely ahead of schedule. What we wanted to accomplish in the fall has been done. We are right where we need to be,” Mantrana said.

“What we’re going to do is mix the newcomers and the returnees and build some synergy amongst the team. That’s what we need in baseball. The past program was not conducive to building chemistry amongst each other. Pretty much players here did whatever they wanted with everyone going their way.”

In the three scrimmages, pitching played a big role in the outcomes. Junior right-handed pitchers Leo Chang and Hayden Daughtery looked poised on the mound, helping their Green team win the three-game series over the Orange squad. Teams were divided by the coaching staff so that each team had the same amount of talent. From what Mantrana has seen this month he believes his first recruiting class will pay dividends this season.

“We have improved in all areas, particularly in pitching,” he said. “Last year that was our downfall. We’ve solidified that position and they’ve been looking pretty good.” One of the five Bronc seniors, Abraham Garcia, also shares Mantrana’s sentiments. Garcia moved from second base to left field this year, and admits he does not see any considerable flaws for the team. He knows that to win championships, the defense will have to be strong.

Hector Garcia/THE PAN AMERICAN

MAKE THE TAG - Iradier Hernandez tries to tag out a runner during the Green and White game touted as “The Steak World Series.”

“I’m pretty excited about where we’re at,” the kinesiology major from McAllen said. “There have been a lot of new faces but we’ve meshed well.

I think we have a lot of team chemis-

try and that’s become a key for us this year.”

Even though Mantrana and his staff recruited players based on talent and character, they still wondered what the

players would be like in person and in a team environment. Will the new people work hard? Are they going to be good teammates?

“We kind of knew they were good players but what we weren’t sure of what was inside them,” the coach explained. “We try to do our work (recruiting) but sometimes we miss on that. We can see if they can hit or throw but what’s inside of them is what‘s important. We’re very pleased with the kids we’ve brought in.”

Newcomers are expected to produce

by Mantrana. Junior Alex Carnell and freshman Bryant Elliot are at the top of his list for players to watch this season as he believes their leadership qualities will be important. Freshman Sharyland alumni Angel Ibanez will more than likely start for the Broncs in the infield and as Garcia puts it, “He’s going to be a pretty big impact player for us this year.”

The Broncs announced three early signees for the 2010-11 academic campaign that will reinforce the pitching staff and the infield. Junior Michael Zouzalik and Jonathan Delgado are right-handed pitchers that Mantrana believes will fit nicely into his system.

Known for his speed and excellent short stop hands, freshman Michael Denis looks to fight for a starting spot in the infield for the Broncs. The Broncs will start their season at home in the Coach Al Ogletree Classic Feb. 26.

November 19, 2009

16

The long road lies ahead

Hector Garcia/THE PAN AMERICAN

AND HERE WE GO - Julius Hearn dives past a Louisiana Tech defender Saturday at the UTPA Field House, but in the end the team couldn’t manage a win.

The Broncs dropped two straight to open the regular season. As they start a grueling road schedule, life won’t get much easier for the Green and Orange

By Kevin Stich K.Stich@Gmail.com So the Broncs didn’t win their home opener against Louisiana Tech Saturday (80-62). Then they dropped their second game to Lamar 77-72 on Monday. Hit the panic button! Right?

Not so fast. University of TexasPan American men’s head basketball coach Ryan Marks understood upon taking the job that it could be a rebuilding season.

However, it might even be too early to tout it as that, seeing as how the team has experienced subtle improvement week to week so far.

“I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but I really think we are a lot better team today than we were five days ago against Texas A&MInternational,” Marks said. “And for sure light-years better than we were a week ago against St. Edwards.”

Saturday’s loss was not an easy

one to swallow as UTPA charged back from a 12-pont deficit to take a one-point lead with 4:28 left in the first half. But the squad went in to the locker rooms down by three (38-35).

The second half was a different story altogether as the home team was outscored 42-27, with their opponents shooting 61 percent from the field.

“We came out of the gate ready to play. We knew we had a tough task ahead of us,” sophomore guard Jared Maree said. “Then going into the second half we didn’t have the same energy we had in the first half.

They came out with a lot of energy and a lot of intensity, and it seemed like they just had more than we had.”

Monday was a nail biter and came down to the closing 15 seconds, but the Green and Orange couldn’t pull it out. Maree had a season-high 19 points, but the strong showing didn’t mend the wounds.

“We’ve said from day one, we told the guys we’re going to be a work in progress. New coach, ten new players, at least we’ve got the nametags off now,” Marks said with a chuckle.

“It’s a challenge. We have to divorce the final score from the content of the game.”

The head honcho also said that the problems the team is experiencing are more advanced in comparison to the issues the team had at beginning of the season. He said that it was an indication of growth on both sides of the ball.

“For example, let’s say you’re talking about help defense. We were getting beat off the dribble and our initial help wasn’t there,” Marks said. “Now we’re getting beat off the dribble at times when our first rotation of help is there, our second rotation – what we call helping the helper – is late.”

Basically, in man-to-man defense, the players aren’t coming off their man in time to provide help where the ball goes.

There are elements that the men can’t control, such as height disadvantages -- something Maree acknowledge after the LA Tech game.

“We’re going to play guys that are 6-foot-9, 6-foot-11,” he said. “It’s somewhat of a factor, but not really.

If you dig down hard and have communication on the defensive end it won’t be a problem for us. But as long as we talk, we have energy, we play aggressive, then I think that height difference of who we play won’t be a problem.”

Sunday afternoon the boys went back to work starting with a light session of “X’s and O’s”. After the education, a 4:45 p.m. departure time gave the Broncs some time to work out the kinks.

The team worked on position shooting, which is a key fundamental in the offensive scheme. Marks’ offense – like many – is all about spacing and opening up shooting lanes.

The Broncs practiced shooting in rhythm from specific spots on the floor. Then the starters ran some plays from half-court and finally wrapped up the practice with free throws. Monday morning the focus was film study.

After games Monday and Thursday the team will have three days until they face Big 12 foe Missouri in Colombia, Mo. Grueling, huh?

That’s the theme for the season – a grueling road schedule -- something Marks said he hopes to change next season. For now, they’ll have to make do.

The team won’t have another home game until they play rival University of Texas at San Antonio Dec. 7.

RANDOM FACT: After opening up with a win in 2008-2009, UTPA went 3-7 on the road before picking up a victory at home against rival UTSA.