Volume 66, No. 23
THE PAN AMERICAN
April Fools, 2010
NCAA ruling slaps probation on Broncs By Brian Silva The Pan American President Robert S. Nelsen expressed relief yesterday after the NCAA said the university’s self-imposed sanctions were sufficient for recruiting violations committed by the men’s basketball team. A report released by the NCAA Tuesday said the men’s basketball coaching staff “committed major violations,” for 44 impermissible phone calls to 13 prospective student-athletes. The NCAA committee investigating the infractions found the university failed to record all phone calls made by staff, which led to inaccurate reporting. The violations occurred from August 2006 and spring semester 2008, according to the report. “There probably wasn’t good communication,” said Nelsen, who also noted that he personally met with the coaches on the matter. Along with the university’s selfimposed sanctions, the NCAA decided to put the university on probation for the next two years. The sanctions were implemented
SEE NCAA || PAGE 6
By Erin Menendez The Pan American
Alma E. Hernandez / THE PAN AMERICAN
RELIEF - UTPA President Robert Nelsen speaks to the press Tuesday after the university athletic department was placed on two years probation by the NCAA; it could have been much worse, say administrators.
Noted journalists analyze border violence
She came to the university’s Student Union Tuesday along with a journalistic colleague, Jorge Luis Sierra, to discuss the ongoing crisis. Gomez graduated from the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico and later studied international law and terrorism. She first began at El Norte, a Monterrey-based newspaper, in 1993 and then moved onto the Reforma in Mexico City, a spin-off of El Norte, working on stories linked to judicial affairs. After spending some time on radio and television she then became involved with the IAPA in 2004. The IAPA, founded in 1942, represents media organizations Brian Silva / THE PAN AMERICAN across North America, TOUGH TOPIC - Jorge Luis Sierra (left) and Idalia Gomez discuss the ongoing borSouth America and der violence situation during their visit to campus Tuesday. the Caribbean. The By Roxann Garcia and Denisse Salinas The Pan American
Idalia Gomez, of the Inter-American Press Association’s Rapid Response Unit, is currently investing the escalating crime against Mexican journalists on the border with South Texas.
Page 2 - Big business might Commentary: Letter to the have packed their bags, but Editor - Tea bag rebuttal they never left
Uh oh! Loss of credits to cause havoc
Page 3 - Jobs after Campus cats charged graduation becoming scarce with indecent behavior
Page 11 - Holiday gift guide Big money
scavenger hunt is on
organization’s objectives are to defend freedom of the press and protect the interests of journalists while also promoting responsible journalism. Gomez now works with 1,500 Latin American newspapers investigating crimes against journalists while also training journalists on how to deal with the violence that has become an unexpected part of their jobs. Tuesday she shared her experiences and discussed the origins of the problem and possible solutions along with Sierra, once the editor El Rumbo in the Valley and a former instructor of Gomez in college. She has studied the journalistic danger involved in the recent violence phenomenon in Mexico and along the border, and how it affects reporters and their stories. Over 17,000 people have died in the Cartel War, with a number of journalists having been threatened, kidnapped, or killed. Gomez’ main focus is investigation, but also education. “I have been researching this phenomenon for a long time, where it comes from, what it does to reporters’ stories and the censorship that it is generating,”
SEE BORDER || PAGE 6
Football team returning Page 14 - Q&A with volleyball player to Rebecca UTPAToddy in 2012
FBI agents revealed the existence of an ongoing investigation into the University of Texas-Pan American on Friday, with a report into the validity of university credits. The results are a blockbuster. “Thousands of students will be affected by the findings,” according to an excerpt from the FBI report called Fraudulent Credits. “All credits found to be invalid must be repeated, including for those students who have since graduated.” Before the report was released, UTPA administration met with the FBI at a undisclosed location to develop a plan of action to rectify the situation. Over 3,600 students who attended the university in the past two years are said to be affected. “In a meeting with university officials we laid out a plan to re-establish credibility in the system of higher education, course and credit hours found invalid will be recalled,” said Jason Cruzo, the lead investigator on the case. “Students, who earned credits at the University of Texas-Pan American from May 2008 to the current semester, are subject to the recall of unqualified credits. The recall will affect both current and graduate students that earned credits during the given period. Students will have to complete an undetermined number of extra credits at their own expense to be allowed to graduate and/or keep their degree.” The news has hit the university community like a bombshell. “I am shocked,” said Zaria Canteras, who graduated in 2008 with a degree in engineering. “I worked hard for my degree, and I have established myself in my position with a great company. I feel like the rug has been pulled out from under me.” Canteras works for a Fortune 500 company, but will be required to resign from his current position as lead implementation manager as the position requires a degree by law. Numerous other students will be contacted via mail and told of the current plan to reschedule graduation dates and guide graduate students to retake required courses.
SEE CREDITS || PAGE 6
Noted journalists analyze border violence