october 8, 2009

Volume 66, No. 6

THE PAN AMERICAN

October 8, 2009

Fee proposed to fund more parking

By Roxann Garcia Nevaeh09@msn.com

-COMING SOONCOMMUNITY DAY HIGHLIGHTS -VIDEO OF ASTRONAUT JOSE HERNANDEZ TALKING ABOUT HIS INSPIRATION AND HOPING TO BE AN INSPIRATION.

The Parking Services Department at UTPA hopes to increase parking permit fees by fall of 2010. The current fee for the 2009 school year is set at $39 for both freshmen and upperclassmen. The department hopes to increase it from $39 to $45.

The process takes time, according to department officials.

“First off, we have to start with the Parking and Traffic Committee. They began to review, make recommenda-

tions, and then either approve or doesn't approves,” explained Melissa Sandoval, parking manager. “After that, we have to present the proposal before the Cost of Education Committee.”

The increase of that fee is just the beginning, however. Parking Services hopes once the figure is raised to $45, it can then raise the general parking fee once more to $52 by fall of 2011. Freshman parking permits or remote parking permits will stay at $39 until 2011 when Parking Services plans to bump that number to $45.

Faculty and staff parking permits

are currently $85 but are expected to increase to $98 for next fall. The longrange plan is to have the fee at $113 by fall 2011. The added revenue will go toward constructing additional parking, plus adding emergency phones and security cameras in student parking lots.

“We plan to use the funds from the permit revenue for parking, phones, and cameras. Our main concern, however, is additional parking,” continued Sandoval. “More facilities will be added to the inner core of the university so parking is being pushed outward.”

The department plans to add more re-

mayor to visit UTPA

By Brian Silva Brian.silva2@gmail.com

STUDENTS FOR PEACE -VIDEO OF STUDENT ORGANIZATION DEMONSTRATING AT UTPA ON THE EIGHTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN.

-COMING SOON-

INDEX

See POLICE || Page 7

Community Day ends HESTEC Houston

-COMING SOON-

VOLLEYBALL DIGS FOR CANCER -VIDEO RECAP OF OCT. 8 HOME GAME VS. NORTH DAKOTA. -OCT. 10 HOME GAME VS. SOUTH DAKOTA

mote parking within the next fiscal year, according to Sandoval. A surface parking lot space will cost the university between $1,000 and $2,000 for each space.

Plans are already being drawn up about the proposed area for the lots.

“The next phase of parking will be just west of Lot P near Region One. There is an irrigation property that the university is currently working on,” Sandoval noted. “There are still minor details that need to be worked out, like paperwork and signatures from the uni-

Daniel Flores/The Pan American

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND - A native of Southern California, astronaut Jose Hernandez speaks to a crowd Saturday evening about his journey to become an astronaut. Go to pg. 8 for HESTEC photos.

By Ana Villaurrutia a.villaurru@gmail.com Once a year the University of TexasPan American turns chemistry into a festival, science into magic, and simultaneously grosses out and intrigues children with a few dead animals.

But amid the gaiety were great nuggets of education at UTPA’s final day of the weeklong HESTEC event, highlighted by the annual Community Day. As one mother put it, after her 10-yearold daughter was exposed to the inner workings of chemistry at Festival de Quimica, it was perfect for her family.

“This exhibit is really the best,” said Silvia Reyna, an elementary school teacher at Cano-Gonzalez Elementary in

OPINION PG. 2

Edinburg. “I see the kids are really excited, I think it’s just wonderful that they take the time to bring this to us.”

Her daughter along with other children were able to choose from 15 different activities at the festival, such as creating slime out of glue, glitter and boric acid, and learning about acid rain with a mixture of Tums and vinegar.

Assistant chemistry professor Javier Moccasay-Torres of UTPA teamed up with the American Chemistry Society to hold the festival for Community Day. David Harwell, assistant director of career management and diversity programs for ACS, headed the event and believes that science is vital to a child’s education.

“It’s great for the kids,” said Harwell.

NEWS PG. 3

“We have to teach kids that science is important for our lives, there are not enough kids going into science.”

For the past three decades, one-third of degrees in the United States were given in science and engineering bachelors, while China and Japan gives over half its bachelors to those subjects.

Over at the Regional Biotech Mobile Lab a steady line of community members was inspecting live E. coli, specimen mounts of beetles and moths, and seeing the intricacies of a moth under a microscope. Program coordinator and UTPA alumni Guadalupe Medina manned the lab, a trailer that makes stops at local elementary schools in an effort to teach kids about science.

See HESTEC || Page 7

ARTS & LIFE PG. 10

Tomorrow Houston mayor and U.S. Senate candidate, Bill White will stop by the university in the evening to visit with students and community members.

White, who is campaigning to be the Democratic candidate for the Senate, will host a town hall-style meeting in the Fine Arts Center, Room 132 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The event is sponsored by the Young Democrats student organization.

White has actually made several visits to the Valley, according to campaign spokeswoman Ally Smith. He and his son, Will, have traveled down here numerous times in the past three months and White plans to make the area a frequent campaigntrail stop.

“The Valley is very important to the mayor,” Smith said.

White will be joined by his son BILL WHITE tomorrow, and by Edinburg mayor Richard Garcia, who is expected to endorse White as the state’s next U.S. senator.

“It is important to our border regions to have representation that is laced with a passion to serve,” Garcia said in a statement by the White campaign.

White has called for a stronger political emphasis on the Valley, an area that tends to vote heavily Democratic during

See WHITE || Page 7

SPORTS PG. 14

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THE PAN AMERICAN

October 8 , 2009

Opinion

Twilighters dying for more than a bite

By Veronica Gonzalez Vdgonzalezz@gmail.com If you don’t know every detail in “The Twilight Saga” by heart, you’re behind the times. And, it seems like you’d have to be out of your mind not to know Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart’s every move.

At least, that’s what it feels like.

The two actors have been catapulted into the frontlines of celebrity gossip, due to the success of the portrayal of a clumsy Bella Swan and the mysterious Edward Cullen. In the plot the two meet in Forks, Wash. and become romantically obsessed with each other, despite Edward’s attempts to push her away from the dark truth of his vampire lifestyle.

But really, it’s no joke if you’re not up to speed on the ins and outs of the new phenomenon that won’t let tweens shut up. Newmoonmovie.org and eclipsemovie.org crank out juicy tidbits practically every hour (And they’re getting ready to launch breakingdawnmovie.org).

The two Web sites, run by the same staff, are up for three nominations in the new Twisite Awards, which is sponsored

by Robert Pattinson’s U.K. fan site.

Need I go on about the fanaticism?

There are 30 sites up for nomination in at least one of the five categories. I’m honestly surprised at the professionalism and dedication most of these pages have. And that’s not counting the thousands of other fan sites that pop up by the hour, along with tons more focusing on memorabilia.

An Edward or Bella 7-inch action figure doll runs about $15 to $20. The 17inch action figures are about $130 each on Amazon.com.

It’s only been five years since the Stephanie Meyer’s first installment of the story appeared, but already it has spawned sales of 70 million copies. A movie franchise and thousands of fan sites later, the obsession doesn’t seem to be slowing. In fact, it’s getting worse.

Now, I admit to indulging in the series and obsessing over the plot and the much-

awaited debut of “New Moon” with my 17-year-old sister. But really, compared to the thousands of psychos out there, I seem pretty sane. If you’re one to roll your eyes over the whole situation, I’m right there with you. As much as my sister and I make fun of each other for being on opposite teams (I proudly admit I’m Team Edward), the extreme vampire addiction it’s caused is simply ridiculous.

My annoyance started when I watched highlights from this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego, Calif. Fans had a chance to ask questions at the overpacked “Twilight” panel. They couldn’t have been more redundant and stupid.

And why the heck would you ask Robert Pattinson to bite you?

The poor man can’t have a life outside his hotel room, thanks to the Obsessive Cullen Disorder running around.

Now, while the movie franchise has been filmed in Portland, Ore., and now Vancouver, British Columbia, Twilighters (or Twihards) have turned Forks, Wash., into a tourist hot spot. According to a recent New York Times article, visitor numbers have more than tripled for the first eight months this year. Not to mention they even had a city-wide celebration in honor of Bella’s birthday on Sept. 13. Local hotels, restaurants and businesses have jumped on to the vampire-junkie bandwagon.

People practically flock to “Bella’s” old red pickup truck parked in front of the Forks Visitors Center. They even provide maps pinpointing: Forks High School (where they’ve created lockers for the characters), City Hall, La Push, the Quileute reservation, Bella’s house…the list goes on.

We can’t forget the unforgettable scenes in the mossy forest nearby. Visitor numbers at the Olympic National Park have risen seven percent.

Port Angeles, Wash., didn’t escape the pandemonium. According to Times, Neil Conklin, the owner of Bella Italia, where Edward and Bella have their first

Vol 66, No. 6

October 8 , 2009

date, says the place has sold 4,500 bowls of mushroom ravioli this year. That’s the $17 dish Bella orders after Edward comes to her aid. The Port Book and News business increased more than 20 percent, just because Bella thought to step in there.

Meanwhile, hotels have designated

“Twilight”-themed rooms. One room in particular, the “Bella Suite” rents for $149 a night at the Dew Drop Inn Motel.

The usual rate for a normal room is $83 a night.

If that doesn’t make your head spin, then I don’t know what will. Goodness! Is there anything that hasn’t been affected by

the brooding vamp and his clumsy lover?

For heaven’s sake, it’s fiction! I’m glad the quaint little town of Forks has found a rebirth of sorts, but it’s still ridiculous that it’s gone this far.

Now, if you excuse me, I need to run to Burger King. They just released the “New Moon” crowns.

Andrielle Figueroa / j27ig@yahoo.com

WEBMASTER Jose Villarreal / josemvillarrealcs@gmail.com

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

SPORTS EDITOR Kevin Stich/ k.stich@gmail.com ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Sara Hernandez/ sarahdzm@hotmail.com

1201 West University, CAS 170 Edinburg, Texas 78539 Phone: (956) 381-2541 Fax: (956) 316-7122 EDITOR IN CHIEF Brian Silva / basilva1@utpa.edu

Kristen Cabrera / kristenmichellecabrera@yahoo.com

ASSISTANT EDITOR Ana Villaurrutia / alvillaurru@utpa.edu

ASSISTANT VIDEO EDITOR Victor Ituarte / victor.ituarte@gmail.com

VIDEO EDITOR Naxiely Lopez / naxiely@myway.com

A&L EDITOR Isaac Garcia / izek_el@yahoo.com

ONLINE EDITOR

ASSISTANT A&L EDITOR

PHOTO EDITOR Alma Hernandez / almahernandez09@yahoo.com DESIGN EDITOR Gregorio Garza / the_nataku@yahoo.com SENIOR DESIGNERS Roy Bazan / rbazanzz@utpa.edu Veronica Gonzalez/ vdgonzalezz@gmail.com ADVISER Dr. Greg Selber / selberg@utpa.edu ADMINISTRATIVE ASSOCIATE Anita Reyes / areyes18@utpa.edu ADVERTISING MANAGER Mariel Cantu/ 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.

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.

Dates to Know: Law Enforcement Explorers Information meeting Oct. 8, Noon and 6 p.m.

UTPA Police Dept.

October 8, 2009

Habitat for Humanity Meeting Oct. 8, Noon Science Building 2.106

THE PAN AMERICAN

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Professor played role in first moon mission

By Rebecca Ward Rnward@broncs.utpa.edu Forty years ago NASA sent three men to the moon. They could not have done that without the work UTPA Adjunct Professor Jose Luis Cortez did counting craters, beginning in the summer of 1961. And while Cortez did not personally set foot on the moon, he knows he played an indispensable role in making that first voyage possible.

Cortez stayed in high school a year longer than his classmates to take all of the math and science courses needed to get a degree in physics. But once he got to Texas A&I, now known as Texas A&M-Kingsville, he obtained

that degree in just two years and seven months.

But what is a college graduate on his way to pursuing a master’s degree supposed to do with his summer?

Work with NASA, naturally.

“I applied for a summer job. They were advertising about this new National Aeronautics and Space Administration being put together to get this moon project going, because Kennedy had said we were going to the moon,” Cortez explained with a note of skepticism in his voice. “To my surprise, they actually hired me.”

Cortez was off to Huntsville, Ala., for the position as space scientist.

However it was not easy. In 1961, there were no major highways or pub-

lic transportation to take people out of southern Texas.

“It was like going from here to eternity because going from South Texas in the ‘60s there was no interstate,” Cortez recalled. “I hitchhiked to Huntsville, where the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was.”

In Huntsville, Cortez spent that summer doing what he called “menial stuff” like running off copies of research and reports for greats like Werner Von Braun, German American rocket physicist and astronautic engineer—the man primarily responsible for creating the rocket technology that would allow men to go to the moon.

But while running copies one day, he realized he was a part of something

groundbreaking.

“I was really with the in-team.”

Cortez recognized. “When Kennedy made his announcement that we were going to the moon, it was because this guy said we could do it.”

After that first summer with NASA, Cortez returned to Kingsville to complete his master’s thesis, getting a degree in atomic physics in 1962.

“I went back to work in the summer in Huntsville [with NASA] again,” he said.

But that was before he was accepted to a fellowship with the Indiana University in fall of 1961 for a Ph.D. program. “I ended up going to Indiana University for one year,” Cortez said.

“But my…wife couldn’t stand it be-

cause she had never been out of Texas… She got sick and I had to come back to summer work again.” Cortez asked for a full-time job with NASA; and he got one.

“They said in a year they were going to fire me.”

With a smirk, Cortez explained that NASA wanted him to stay in school and finish his degree.

Before heading back to the University of Michigan in 1963, however, Cortez was offered a governmentsponsored fellowship with NASA to develop new scientists. If he accepted, it would allow him to continue working with NASA while having his

See NASA || Page 7

Education outreach set to increase teaching program Meetings to help, prepare for certification

people to be aware of the options that we have at the college.”

At the meetings students will learn about financial support, build contacts with the faculty and advisers, go over teacher education program application criteria, and be exposed to COE stuBy Ana Villaurrutia dent organizations.

The college will hold several meetA.villaurru@gmail.com ings each semester at buildings across In an effort to direct aspiring teach- campus in order to reach out to caners toward the university for their didates from different majors. An upteaching certification, the College of coming meeting at the Engineering Education decided to hold several in- Building will target science majors and another one is being planned at the formational meetings this semester.

Dean Hector Ochoa mandated College of Arts and Sciences Building.

Ochoa said that math and science the meetings last summer in order to inform students on how to take ad- majors may be interested to know that vantage of the teaching program and some school districts give an incentive working toward certification while at- to teachers who specialize in those subtending UTPA. The next meeting will jects. The Pharr-San Juan-Alamo school district received a be held today at $1.9 million grant noon in the Education Building, We really want to explain recently that allows district to award Room 3.204. that we want people to be the teachers those inStudents working Starting toward their teach- aware of the options that we centives. salaries for teaching certificate at UTPA can apply for have at the college. We know ers are at $47,418 for the 2008-2009 the teacher education program, which that 96 percent that graduate school year.

“We want them to puts students on one of three tracks: gen- will work within the 75-mile know that they can continue in math and eralist (or elemenradius of us. science but that with tary), middle school, a teaching certificate and high school, to they can become prepare for their cermore marketable,” tification.

Hector Ochoa he said.

Ochoa said in Dean of College of Education EC-6 generalist the past few years major Helen Herstudents have exhibited the tendency to graduate and nandez enjoyed the meeting and was then apply for an alternative certificate impressed with how it went.

“It was very informative, I really program rather than going through the university, something he hopes to enjoyed getting to know all the faculty that’s involved with the education prochange with the meetings.

“Sometimes students don’t know grams,” said the junior from Weslaco.

Hernandez is planning on joining about the program and they have to come back to school or get their alter- the Teacher Education Program to native certificate,” Ochoa noted. “We prepare for the certification. She said really want to explain that we want had heard of the troubles her sister had

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Alma Hernandez/The Pan American

OUTREACH - Students attend a meeting held by the College of Education Tuesday, Oct. 6. The meeting highlighted the advantages to UTPA’s traditional teacher certification program within the College. gone through when she went through the ACP including paying $3,000 and having to find extra help for tests.

“There was a lot of classes that they had that I thought was a waste of time... she had to go out and find people who would help her for her tests,” she said Special projects coordinator Arlene Robinson hopes that through these meetings fewer students will take the alternative route.

“No we’re not as fast as the ACP but our teachers teach for years and years,” she said. “(In the ACP) they are very quick, you may spend one day, eight hours learning about teaching someone how to read, about 30 hours, you can’t learn in that short time.”

Ochoa also hopes the meeting could increase the number of students interested in teaching in secondary ed-

ucation, which includes middle school and high school tracks.

Ochoa said another benefit to attracting students to the teaching education program was keeping them in the Valley once they land a job.

“We know that 96 percent that graduate will work within the 75-mile radius of us,” he explained. “They’ve already established themselves in the community through the university and have good contacts.”

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NEWS

Disability History and Awareness Month begins

By Rebecca Ward Rnward@broncs.utpa.edu Disability History and Awareness Month began on Oct. 1, the same day the Council for Students with Disabilities (CSD) held their first meeting of the fall school semester.

Their slogan? “Many voices can become one single voice for change.” And on paper their vision is as simple as a mission statement detailing their desire to deal with issues that would be important for students with disabilities and help them bring about positive changes in their lives.

But listen to club president and rehab major Laura Saenz speak for more than two minutes and one will learn that CSD’s vision runs deeper than that.

Saenz looked around the classroom, her eyes roaming for a second from the empty tables to the faces of those gathered for the meeting.

“Because we’re starting from the very bottom we have no money to give out anything right now, like lunch or snacks or anything,” she said. “I’m sorry for that.”

What she really meant was that she made a substantial contribution from her own personal money to get the club off the ground, but that even that was not enough to provide any food for the first

meeting. Members then moved to vote cally diagnosed disabilities, as well as on fees for membership, settling on a those that may have anxiety problems one-time fee of $10. preventing them from functioning as However, CSD is more than just well as they would like in academic and a club that wants to charge a member- social realms. Saenz said that she has ship to make people met frustrated stufeel like they are a dents who study for part of a significant I’m glad it’s not just a rehab hours for a test, argroup. Their desire is rive to take the test to be a family: a sup- thing. It’s an everybody thing. and forget everyport group that will because they Because disability is not just thing engage students with become so nervous disabilities in such a a rehab thing. There are so that they simply way that allows them cannot function: to express their con- many people with disabilities they forget everycerns and even allow thing they have them to voice person- everywhere. So we need to be studied. al problems they may While this testnot feel comfortable an everybody kind of group. taking anxiety may talking to anyone else or may not be a about. diagnosed illness, While it’s only Vicki Salinas it hinders those been in existence for students that suffer Rehab major a year, CSD has lofty from it. And Saenz goals. Club president CSD officer wants to be the Saenz said her task is voice for those stuto see CSD be taken over by the students dents that may be embarrassed to admit with disabilities. Currently, the club’s they have anxiety problems. officers are students from majors both “Let them be the ones speaking within and outside the area of rehab, but out,” she said. “We’ll be the ones in they are not students that have disabili- the background. We’ll be the ones supties, either diagnosed or not. porting them.” She wants CSD to be a She said that CSD’s main priority is safe place where students dealing with to be a support group to those with clini- disability from anxiety to physical dis-

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abilities can receive support from others who understand what they have to deal with every day.

Vicki Salinas, a rehab major and officer of CSD, said that before last year, she had never even heard of the support group.

“I’m glad it’s not just a rehab thing.

It’s an everybody thing. Because disability is not just a rehab thing,” Vicki Salinas said. “There are people with disabilities everywhere. So we need to be an everybody kind of group.” Salinas, a rehab major, desires to see students from all majors with any disability become a part of CSD. She said her vision is to play the role of an advocate during her involvement with CSD, to be a voice for those who may not have the courage to speak for themselves.

CSD is open to students from all majors and members encourage attendance not just by students with disabilities, but also from those who may have friends or family members suffering through them.

Saenz assured the students that CSD will never ask anyone to prove a disability with medical documentation, since some things are not easily diagnosed.

Meetings for CSD will be held each Thursday at noon in HSHW 1.274. For more information about CSD, contact Laura Saenz at 956-802-9939 or lksaenz@broncs.utpa.edu.

WHITE continued from Page 1

NASA continued from Page 3

elections. Cameron County, on the Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchiother hand, has shown recent trends son who is leaving office to run toward Republican candidates. against incumbent Republican Gov. “For too long, Democrats running Rick Perry. for statewide office have taken the White also has experience at the support of the people of the Val- federal level, having served as depley for granted,” uty secretary of White said in a energy under the statement.

“The The Valley is critical to our Clinton adminisValley is critical His statestate’s future and people in tration. to our state’s fuwide office exture and people South Texas deserve a strong perience includes in South Texas serving as the deserve a strong voice in Washington. state’s Democratic voice in WashingParty chair. ton.”

He’s been mayWhite has Bill White or of Houston, the earned the support fourth-largest city of several local Mayor of Houston in the country, officer-holders. since being elected McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez, in 2003 and has been reelected twice Hidalgo County Democratic Party since then. He is originally from San Chair Dolly Elizondo and State Rep. Antonio and gained his education at Aaron Pena have all endorsed him.

Harvard University with a bachelors If elected in the November elec- in economics and then at UT Austin tions next year, White would replace for law school.

Ph.D. program paid for. With a smile Cortez recalled, “I could go anywhere in the country to get my Ph.D., under NASA sponsorship.”

“My real job [at NASA until the launch in 1969] was to count and map the moon’s surface where we were going to land. Literally count craters…we needed to develop how big of a foot pad to make,” Cortez said with pride about what he calls his “little part” in the Apollo 11 mission. “We kind of predicted that the moon was okay.”

Looking back to that night in 1969 as he watched from Huntsville, Cortez recalls the moment the lunar module they had worked so hard to develop actually touched down on the surface of the moon.

“They were transmitting these pictures and when I saw sand coming out at the bottom of the spacecraft and I could see some of the surfaces, I said, ‘I know we got it now!’”

From Huntsville, Cortez spent

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According to the U.S. Department of Education Web site and Campus Security data analysis online, UTPA had five burglaries on campus and two at residence halls in 2006. Motor vehicle thefts were estimated at 10 on campus and zero at residence halls during 2006 as well. In 2007, there were three reported burglaries on campus and two at residence halls. Motor vehicle thefts in 2007 were estimated at six on campus and zero at residence halls.

“We are really pushing for cameras at remote parking lots, because when we have such equipment, it really helps to deter criminal events such as burglaries and motor vehicle thefts,” the manager commented.

Until permit fees are increased, the university will be paying for additional park-

Space Flight Center is in Houston.

And the government will sponsor any program if we just ask for it… NASA is a good partner for the University,” Cortez said.

He was very happy to see the NASA exhibit brought to the Visitors Center. The exhibit includes lunar rocks, photographs taken during Apollo 11, several prototypes of equipment from the lunar module including one of the wheels from the rover and several interactive stations to help visitors of all ages understand outer space.

“What I told the students is, everybody should go and look at it,” he said.

“Bring your friends and your family and tell them, ‘Hey, this is why I’m taking astronomy.’ The reason we’re here is because some nut was interested in the moon.”

Cortez doesn’t take his role in Apollo 11 lightly. “I ended up literally going into space. Literally,” he concluded.

HESTEC continued from Page 1

POLICE continued from Page 1 versity and Region One that we are waiting on. But ultimately we are hoping that construction will begin immediately within the next year or so.”

The department hopes to add between 70 and 75 parking spaces in the Lot P area.

Further west of the irrigation property, south of Region One, the university hopes to gain land access in order to build between 400 and 500 spaces. An extra shuttle route will be instituted for these two areas.

“We’re still waiting on the piping, getting water in that area, and lighting. Most definitely, however, is the emergency phones,” explained Sandoval. “Right now we have a deficit of emergency phones. We should have more than what we do have on campus especially in the remote parking lots.”

nine years as a research scientist in the field of nuclear physics at the University of California’s Lawrence Livermore (LLNL) and Los Alamos (LANL) National Laboratories. When he left California in 1977, he moved to Washington to work with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). He served in various positions as adviser, analyst and manager for the DOE. In 2001, after moving back to the Valley, Cortez decided to get involved with the engineering department at The University of Texas-Pan American. A year later in 2002, he was accepted as chair of the physics department.

While Cortez said he “officially retired in 2007,” he has been working as an adjunct professor at UTPA ever since, taking many astronomy classes on as his personal pet project.

The NASA exhibit that came just in time for HESTEC 2009 was also a pride point for Cortez.

“It’s very simple. The Johnson

ing, cameras, and emergency phones from existing permit revenue.

“We’re using what we have. Of course funds are never going to be exactly sufficient but we’re making due with what we have,” Sandoval said. “In comparison to other institutions, our fee is relatively the lowest.”

Students at the University of TexasAustin pay $100 to $200 for surface lot parking permits while students at the University of Houston pay $153 for fall and spring semesters.

The last parking permit increase was from $34 to $39 in 2006, which helped finance additional spaces at Lot S-2, the Personnel Office building, between Elizabeth and Robert Streets off Schunior. The lot has an estimated 149 spaces.

“I’m out here in search of different educators in science,” said Medina, referring to the line of people going trough the trailer. “I like to hear the ooos and aahs,” But the day was not just for science. Campus organizations were able to raise money and awareness at the stalls that lined pathways around campus. The Jewelry and Metal Club was presenting and selling their jewelry. The club was barely recognized by UTPA a week and a half ago and was raising money for a jewelry convention called SNAG. “We’re trying to come out with our things,” said club president Sabrina Guajardo. “We want people to come in (to the club) and take an in-

terest in something creative.”

This year’s Community Day was highlighted by the visit of Hispanic astronaut Jose Hernandez, who posed for pictures and spoke about his experiences in space. Hernandez was a mission specialist on the Discovery shuttle that launched in August.

As the night wore on Hernandez spoke to a crowd of about 200 at the quad. He spoke about his persistence in getting into the NASA program, which took about three times to apply for. But he found it was all worth it once he was in space.

“When you’re up there, there are no political boundaries,” said Hernandez. “You see the world as one.”

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THE PAN AMERICAN

Layout By: Roy Bazan • Photos By: Hector J. Garcia, Alma Hernandez, Tammy Ayala

October 8, 2009

October 8, 2009

THE PAN AMERICAN

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Dates to Know: Moneen concert Friday, 7 p.m.

Cine El Rey, McAllen Page 10

ARTS & LIFE

Billiards tournament Today, 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Student Union Game Room

October 8, 2009

Action: film studies takes on minor role at UTPA

By Veronica Gonzalez vdgonzalezz@gmail.com Melanie Page always knew art and writing were her passions, so it was a no-brainer for the English major to pursue an art minor. But while Page worked through her degree plan, it looked like the process was going to take longer than she expected. Like most students, Page felt restless in her search for the right minor that she would like, one which would fit in her plan.

“I thought it was the ideal fit for me as I love art. But…the classes I needed and wanted weren’t offered every semester or at times that I could work with,” the 30-year-old home health care-giver said. “So, I then considered psychology but I wasn’t as interested in that field as I thought I was. After that came communication…but I definitely did not feel that I fit into the majority of the courses I would have to take for a minor.”

Then while talking to a professor, Page heard about the new Film Studies minor.

“I looked at the flier, and thought, ‘Hey, I’m already registered for two of the classes on this list…’” Page said. “It wasn’t long at all before I realized the Film Studies minor was exactly what I had been looking for. It was a perfect fit.”

The minor has only been an official plan for a year but a series of classes, taught by Dr. Ed Cameron and his wife Dr. Linda Belau, was the inspiration for the new curriculum.

“It [the film minor] was kind of the brainchild of Dr. Belau and me. For the past five years I’ve been teaching Intro to Film Studies. She’s been teaching a literature and film adaptation course,” Cameron said. “I noticed that the students that take the class are mostly outside the College of Arts and Humanities. We decided that it would be a great idea to build these classes.”

After researching similar minors at other universities, Cameron and Belau looked into what they could offer based on the resources they already had, without having to invest money hiring new professors.

“It’s easy if you want to start a new program if we don’t need any money for it. We already have the resources,” explained Cameron, who is on his seventh year at UTPA. “And if it turns out to be really big and we need more resources later, well, it will pay for itself.”

Most of the classes are taught in the English and communication departments, but modern languages, political science and philosophy have had classes to offer as well. It was just a matter of gathering what they had and making it official, Cameron said .

THE STUDY OF FILM Even though Page had already taken the introduction courses in film studies, she still wasn’t sure what she was getting herself into.

“Being that I knew absolutely nothing about film studies, it was a little overwhelming at times, but I loved it,” Page said. “I suddenly found myself

immersed in an entirely new world. Of course, there were similar concepts as one would find in literature courses, but the language and the techniques were all new.”

Each course has allowed Page to really discover film in a new way.

Introduction to Film Studies taught the senior the “language of film.”

Everything from what goes on in the making of a movie, to all the different shots and angles, the lighting and miseen-scene (the placement of objects found in a frame and what it can tell).

She also got an introduction to film analysis, the search for themes, and the interpretation of the message a director is trying to convey.

“Literature and Film Adaptation was a great course, especially for English majors such as myself who think ‘the book is always better than the movie’,” she said. “At least, that is how I used to think. After taking this course, I realized that passing judgments like that is not always fair. There is no way to directly compare literature to its adaptation.”

It was the Topics in International Film that really opened Page’s eyes to film. The class, taught by Dr. David p g 2009,, focused Anshen duringg spring g ningg of film in 1895 when on the beginning miere Brothers held their the Lumiere eeninng. The class first screening. eat fo or was a treat for causee Page because om it was from al a cultural and al historical

The proposed 18-hour minor consists off the following courses: 12 HOURS OF CORE REQUIREMENTS (Students must take the following required courses):

ENGL 3315 “Introduction to Film Studies” COMM 3325 “History and Significance of the Motion Picture” ENGL/FREN/SPAN 4313 “Topics in International Film” ENGL 4317 “Film Theory”

6 HOURS OF ELECTIVES

(Students can choose from the following list of courses): ENGL 3316 “Literature and Film Adaptation” ENGL/FREN/SPAN/COMM 4390 “Advanced Topics in Film Studies” dies” ENGL/FREN/SPAN 4313 “Topics in International Film” COMM 3326 “American Film Genre” PHIL 3331 “Philosophy of Film” POLS 3301 “Politics in Film”

perspective.

“It was amazing to actually see the birth of film and how it has progressed over the years,” she said.

When dealing with film, most majors tend to lean toward the production and hands-on part. With the film studies minor, students are on the reception side. It becomes a study and appreciation of the finished product.

That’s what Cameron hopes to convey to his classes.

Eventually Cameron hopes to see a fusion of the production and appreciation sides of film, and develop another major.

“As it grows they’ll be more classes organized,” he said. “The key right now is that we have enough classes offered at a regular schedule so that any student who wants to minor in it can fulfill the minor.”

Page is currently taking The History and Significance of Motion Pictures, with Dr. David Carren, which they will be learning about the early start of film and its progress over the years; Film Theory with Anshen, which is covering various film theories such as the auteur, feminist, and genre theories; p and Advanced Topics in Film with Cameron

which is focusing on the Films of David Lynch.

Cameron, who just received his tenure this year, is looking forward to showing his students a handful of Lynch’s films and doing an indepth analysis of his work. Besides introducing students to Lynch, Cameron has also taught special topics classes on Film Noir, horror films, and the film adaptations of Jane Austen’s novels.

Cameron and his wife, Belau, have been married since 2001.

The two received their Doctor of Philosophy from State University of New York at Binghamton, and then taught in Washington, D.C, before coming to UTPA. As for Page, she’s ready to graduate in December and eventually pursue more education in film studies if she can. For now, she is enjoying a newfound love.

“I can honestly say there is not a thing I have not liked about any of the courses I have taken. It has been overwhelming at times, and definitely challenging,” she said. “The workload piles up, the reading list seems neverending at times, and it’s not easy to y a film. And I love it.” analyze

October 8, 2009

THE PAN AMERICAN

Page 11

Writer, activist lives on in memory through film

By Ana Villaurrutia a.villaurru@gmail.com Since her death in 2004, Gloria Anzaldua has left behind an important legacy to the Valley and the University of Texas-Pan American. From parks named after her to conferences studying her work, the writer and activist lives on in memory. Now a film has taken on the task of documenting her influence on several writers and poets.

“Altar: Cruzando Fronteras, Building Bridges” is a film directed

by Paola Zaccaria that attempts to capture the author’s inner workings. It was shot in several local locations and will now be screened at South Texas College and the University of Texas-

Pan American from Oct. 14 to Oct. 17.

Several other events are planned, such as the appearance of the film’s director, which was sponsored by the McAllen Chamber of Commerce.

Daniel García Ordaz of non-profit organization Art that Heals and an English teacher at McAllen Memorial High School, is helping plan the events.

“She’s a controversial figure in many ways, there was a conversation that she started about the border and about racism,” Ordaz said.

Ordaz was also in the film and spoke about the border and the cultural and ecological affects of the border wall in the film. He said he liked the film’s “natural” feel and non-bio-

graphical testimonials.

“It’s unique because it’s not a bio,” he explained. “It’s an homage to Gloria without going too much into her life, and just what she left behind.”

Anzaldua wrote about six books of essays and poems and contributed to countless publications about Chicano identity and life near the border, in publications such as “Borderlands/ La Frontera: The New Mestiza” and co-edited feminist anthology “This Bridge Called My Back.” A feminist and lesbian, Anzaldua also wrote about gender identity and cultural borders. In 2004, she died of complications from diabetes.

In “Borderlands,” Anzaldua examined these themes of border identity

and mestizo history through a set of essays and poems.

Last May, UTPA and the University of Texas at San Antonio held a conference and memorial for the Hargill, Texas native on the fifth anniversary of her death.

Library assistant Esther Garcia said she was excited to not only have the film but have the director there as well. Zaccaria plans to hold a question-and-answer discussion after a screening of the film at STC’s Library on Oct. 14 at 3 p.m.

“It’s really the icing on the cake, Gloria, she’s a real hero,” Garcia said.

“We’re really happy to celebrate her from the borderland that she’s from.”

STC has been showing numerous

films for Hispanic Heritage Month and Garcia felt that “Altar” was a good addition.

“It really fits in with the other films we’ve been having for Hispanic Heritage Month,” he commented.

The film will also come to Anzaldua’s alma mater, and will be screened at the Student Union on Oct. 15 at noon and later at the Library Auditorium at 7 p.m., with the director in attendance. A question and answer discussion will also take place.

The Anzaldua celebration will conclude with the director giving a filmmaking workshop for the Rio Grande Valley Film Commission at the McAllen Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 17 at 2 p.m.

UTPA production goes to the dogs Motorcycle museum hopes to educate, draw visitors to Edinburg

By Isaac Garcia izekgarcia@gmail.com

Scoot over Lennie, because the cast of “Of Mice and Men” just got a little bit hairier. The play, opening on Oct. 14 at The University of Texas-Pan American, will feature a Labrador retriever on stage at the Albert Jeffers Theatre.

Senora, a 3-year-old Labrador, was adopted by Brian Warren, assistant professor of the theater department, and 22-year old stage manager Dulce Navar.

Navar handpicked the retriever from The Palm Valley Animal Shelter in Edinburg.

“About three months ago Dr. Warren came up to me and told me that he needed a dog for the show,” the senior theatre major said. “We started looking for people that owned dogs and nobody had the specific dog that we wanted—it wasn’t working out so he told me to go to the Humane Society to look for a dog.”

The very next day, Senora was onstage adjusting to her new stardom.

“Her first day on set was the day after the adoption,” Navar said. “I wanted to make sure that she was going to react well with the cast and vice versa.”

Senora or Buttercup as the cast has nicknamed her, plays the role of Candy’s dog in John Steinbeck’s novella, which follows the tragic story of Lennie Small and George Milton during the Great Depression.

In Steinbeck’s tale, Candy’s dog is old, blind and no longer able to eat.

Ultimately, its death foreshadows Lennie’s fate.

“I wanted to add to the pathos of the whole situation,” Warren said. “When people see the dog they usually say, ‘wow what a nicelooking animal’ and so forth. And the fact that she’s taken out and shot adds to the weight of the tragedy.”

So how does a 3-year-old dog act like one who’s ready to bite the dust?

“The dog is not that old but she behaves as if she was,” Warren said.

“She was in the shelter and obviously she has major phobias. She’s scared of things and is extremely shy, so she

By Victor Ituarte victor.ituarte@gmail.com

Daniel Flores/The Pan American WOOF WOOF - Dulce Navar adopted Senora from the Palm Valley Animal Center in September. The very next day, the hound was on the set of “Of Mice and Men.” Cast members describe Senora as a shy and loving dog. just appears to be older because she is so subdued.”

Patty Moreno, 25-year-old senior theatre major at UTPA, is in charge of all costumes for the play. She recalls a very touching moment involving Buttercup.

“There was an emotional moment between the dog and its owner in the play and everyone watching, for the first time, truly understood the emotional content of that scene and were left speechless,” the Pharr native said.

Senora has also taken to the blogosphere at www.buttercupsblogspot. blogspot.com, where a ghostwriter chronicles her daily adventures on and off the set.

“I don’t think I should mention the

name of the person writing Senora’s blog, just so it’s more authentic, but we’ve been trying to teach her a few tricks,” Navar said. “She is shy but her celebrity doesn’t end here; I am very open to the idea of having her in films or more plays.”

Warren hopes that Senora is able to move past her troubles and do well in the play.

“There is evidence that the animal has been hit and abused…she’s terrified of noises,” he said. “We are speculating that her previous owner yelled at her and hurt her, so it is cool that we are saving her. We did buy her for the purpose of the play, but she is going to have a nice life.”

Looking for a new way to experience history? The South Texas Motorcycle Museum may be for you.

There will be a ribbon-cutting Friday to mark the grand opening of the museum at 4705 E. Richardson Road.

But the kickoff event at 10:30 a.m. is actually the end of what has been a twoyear project for David Garcia, owner of Dirty Dave’s Cycles for 12 years.

Garcia, known as “Dirty Dave,” first worked with motorcycle collector Michael Sweeney and STXMM board member Serena Rosenkrantz three years ago to bring the “Moving Metal” exhibit to the International Museum of Arts and Sciences in McAllen. The collection was meant to be on display for three months, but demand kept it open for an additional nine months.

Constant requests to bring out the bikes for events burned the pair out.

“We took a break,” said Garcia, an Edinburg resident. “We let the bikes sit in a warehouse for about two years.”

They were later approached by Rosenkrantz, executive director of IMAS, with the idea of opening a museum to feature over 70 motorcycles.

The oldest, Garcia claims, is a 1909 Henderson. Rosenkratz worked with Garcia and Sweeney for the “Moving Metal” exhibit. Sweeney is a retired doctor that relocated to Las Vegas after having a practice in the Valley.

“I talked to the doctor and he said it was up to me,” Garcia said. Sweeney proposed to house the collection in the bar district in McAllen. Garcia said he would only continue to work on the motorcycles if the museum were located next to his shop.

“The property owners sold us the acre next door,” he Garcia explained.

“McAllen has everything. Edinburg needs something too.”

Motorcycle enthusiast Kevin Sanchez, a graduate student in the MBA program at The University of Texas-Pan American, said he would like to visit the place when it opens Friday “Motorcycles have always interested me,” said the 23-year-old McAllen native. “I get a lot of joy in riding bikes.

It’s kind of a rush.”

Garcia hopes the museum will put Edinburg on the map, joining the resident museum in town, the Museum of South Texas History.

“I hope we get tourism and get everybody educated on motorcycles,” he said. “I want everybody to come out and see what history was all about back then.”

Alma Hernandez/The Pan American

VROOOM - This 1931 motorcycle

by Indian is fully restored and on display at the South Texas Motorcycle Museum located in Edinburg.

The museum opens Friday, Oct. 9.

Page 12

ARTS AND LIFE

October 8, 2009

Reel to Red nominated for fourth Lone Star EMMY

By Nadia Tamez-Robledo ntamezrob@broncs.utpa.edu While it is typical for travelers to take cameras on their journeys to capture their experiences, Reel to Red Program Director Chelse Benham and 22-year-old Hilda Del Rio went for the works, schlepping a broadcast-quality video camera through a three-city tour last summer.

“Hilda and I carried all our equipment on our backs everywhere we went. All of Prague is uphill, and Budapest has a lot of uphill,” Benham said, adding that she and Del Rio could walk miles a day with their camera, batteries, tripod and personal items in tow only to be denied permission to film. “I dropped so many pounds. I think I was a size two.”

Benham and Del Rio, a graphic design major in her senior year, followed the students of The Guerra Honors Program (GHP) on an 18-day study abroad trip to Vienna, Prague and Budapest in May 2008. The resulting documentary, “The Heart of Experience,” earned the company its fourth Lone Star EMMY nomination on Sept. 28.

“It was kind of scary because I’m not a TV person, so it was really a learning experience,” Del Rio said. “It was kind of like I was bombarded with two things: working and then taking everything in. [I was] enjoying that view but then filming it, too.”

The idea of capturing the effect of studying abroad on students came from GHP Program Director Kenneth Buckman, who approached Benham about filming the experience.

Benham said that figuring out how to show that on screen was challenging.

“It isn’t just documenting the transformative experience that study abroad can bring,” she explained. “It’s actually showing how the students had prepared work in the class that they presented to other students on site.”

Before leaving the Valley, the honors students researched topics that were relevant to the places they would visit.

“They got the opportunity to talk about everything from tapestries to Nazi war camps to Franz Kafka,” Benham said. “It was really compelling because they had to be prepared in order to do it.”

The 38 students were able to present their research at the sites where the events had actually occurred, artifacts had originated and historical figures had lived.

They visited St. Stephan’s Cathedral, Schönbrunn Palace, Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery) and attended a performance of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” in Vienna. In Prague, they visited Old Town Square, the Charles Bridge and took in the grandeur of Wallenstein Palace before touring the Nazi model camp Terezín.

“There is a place in the documentary I cannot watch,” Benham said, referring to the Terezín segment that incorporates real footage of concentration camps. “I had to once for review and approval, but even when we show it [on our monitors], I have to sit there and look away because it so upsets me.”

As difficult as the segment was for Benham to see, she felt it was

an important aspect of the program to include.

“We had a young woman who is half Jewish and…she talks about how that experience effected her,” she said.

“And then we take you to other happier places, but I suppose in the documentary there is this dark place, and it had to be there because that’s part of their history over there.”

Though the students had all completed their presentations for class by the end of the program , the work for R2R was just beginning.

“When people transform or they become aware of things because they visit other cultures, they don’t immediately come back and say, ‘Wow, my whole life has changed,’” Benham commented. “It has more to do with a greater appreciation and a deeper shift that’s more subtle. So how do you document that? Unless they’re just fainting all over the place, ‘Oh my God! That’s amazing!’”

After they got home, Del Rio said she had the weekend off before getting straight to work on editing the film.

“I came back bearing gifts of a bag full of tapes,” she said, estimating that she collected about 10 hours of footage of train rides, museums, monuments and presentations.

The team spent the summer sorting through over 3,000 pictures and logging tapes, a process that required them to transcribe all audio and describe what was happening, on camera. The logs were then used to plan which scenes and sound bites would be used; the

goal was not to have to look through each tape again.

“We divided the work between all of us, and since we logged all the tapes, we knew what they all were about and what pertained to our subjects,” said Alina Ortega, a 20-year-old art major who joined R2R in 2006.

A team of five students along with Benham edited the video. Each person took on a section of the documentary, such as the students’ visit to St. Stephan’s Cathedral in Vienna, and pieced it together using a combination of video from abroad, interviews with the students, pictures and bits of historical footage that was related to the topics.

“Our job was to come back and match those things up and show people the experiences that those students had,” Benham said. “These kids had actually experienced this and had been transformed in their own way. Their journals expressed that, but we knew the audience needed more, and part of our job is combine resources.”

One portion of the documentary captured a student’s presentation on the attempted assassination of Nazi general Reinhard Heydrich in Prague.

The editing team took footage of the presentation, in which the student used others in the group to reenact the events, and incorporated it with film from a History Channel documentary on the same subject.

“You see that juxtaposed to the students on location… and then you see the footage come out expressing

that, so you can see what they were doing to create a new level of learning, and that really is what it was about,” Benham said. “ They were taking what was textbook knowledge and they were making it real and exciting, and there you were standing in a place where it has occurred, and it made it so much more real for the students.”

After all the editing, the segments of the hour-long documentary were finalized in about three weeks.

Now the work has paid off for this group that won an EMMY in 2006.

“This is the first big project I’ve worked on and also the first time I’ve gotten nominated for anything, so I’m very excited,” Ortega said about the EMMY nod. “It’s really cool, actually, because I’ve never been part of a team that’s been nominated for anything like that.”

A final version of the documentary was completed last October, and the R2R crew continued to tweak it until Benham submitted it to the Lone Star EMMYs. The R2R crew will travel to the awards ceremony in Dallas on Oct. 16 to find out who of the six contenders will return home with the golden statue in the Student Production category.

“It’s pretty cool. Everybody knows what an EMMY is, I would presume,” said 22-year-old post-production editor Victor Ituarte, who also worked on Lone Star EMMY-winning R2R production “Dead Letter” in 2006, a film about the perils of teen drug use. “I already have one under my belt, and it’s nice to know that we’re doing a good job.”

October 8, 2009

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Page 14

SportsCommentary

Maybe it’s time to get on the football bandwagon

By Sara Hernandez Sarahdzm@hotmail.com Guilty. When I have tons of more important things to do, but was reading a MySpace survey posted by a girl I hardly even know, whom I’ve seen probably once in my entire life and doesn’t live anywhere near here. I saw a question that asked: “What’s your favorite season?” to which my cyber friend responded: “Football season.”

If she only knew what living with no seasons is like, I thought. In most countries (the only exception I’m aware of is the United States) real fútbol goes on all year, and the summer brings a delightful feast of big-time and international tournaments. It’s a cycle almost as perfect and endless as the circle of life. Soccer fans, like Rio Grande Valley natives, only know hot and hotter.

But then I realized I might have been hiding too long behind my “I’m Mexican, I don’t do American football” excuse. I saw everyone getting excited for the football season that started about a month ago and notice people wearing football jerseys every day. I also see people picking on Cowboys fans for some reason and friends taking sides between Longhorns and Aggies.

I also remember when my own brother threw a barbecue for the Super Bowl a few months ago (and that’s because he’s obviously Mexican too).

I felt like an outsider and the two things I really enjoyed were the ribs and sausage.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe in people’s freedom to patronize the sport they like the most, or follow more than one if that’s their choice, and I don’t think the sport we pick determines who we are or makes us more or less part of a group.

You may be right; I think I’m missing out. I’ve had enough of discriminating against a sport I know very little about, but that everyone seems to love. And maybe getting more familiar with it would also help me get more familiar with the community I live in. After all, every sport is beautiful and I’m sure football is not the exception.

So I’m going to try to start watching American football little by little and take it step by step with the firm hope that Pele or Maradona won’t come after me in my sleep for “betraying” the game I’ve religiously followed my entire life. I’m even a little afraid that Landon Donovan, the person I hate the most in the world according to my MySpace surveys, will be disappointed. But I’m sure he’ll understand.

Volleyball

Cross Country

South Dakota Oct. 10, 7 p.m.

UTPA Field House

Sam Houston Invitational Oct. 12 Huntsville October 8, 2009

SPORTS

Golf team coasts to sixth-place finish

By Sara Hernandez Sarahdzm@hotmail.com The 2009-2010 season kicked off for The University of Texas-Pan American men’s golf program this weekend at the Mission Inn Fall Intercollegiate at Orlando, with the Broncs placing sixth out of 13 teams.

Armen Kirakossian led the group by finishing in sixth place out of 65 competitors. The senior hit a total of 220 strokes in three rounds of 18 holes, with scores of 75, 73 and 72 points.

“I felt pretty good, we have two freshmen and a transfer sophomore so we didn’t know what to expect, but we did pretty good,” he said. “This season we have good tournaments that we want to win, so it should be fun.”

Tied in 15th came freshmen Adam Haley (75, 77, 70) and Kevin Kirakossian (74, 72, 76) who totaled 222 strokes each. Brandon Reyna, also a freshman, finished in 37th with 77, 78, 76 strokes and a score of 231.

Junior A.J. Gonzalez trailed in 57th with rounds of 89, 82, and 75 that added up to 246 total points.

The Florida Gulf Coast University won the three-day tournament with 864 strokes and Daniel Mazziota from that team won the individual title with a score of 209.

Head Coach Santiago De Larrea said he was satisfied with the performance of the team, which improved from eighth place in round one to finishing the journey in sixth place with rounds of 301, 300, and 293 for a total of 894 strokes.

“It was pretty good considering it was our first tournament of the year and that it was a very difficult golf course,” he said.

By Sara Hernandez Sarahdzm@hotmail.com

Daniel Flores/The Pan American

PIN SEEKER - Armen Kirakossian watches his ball Wednesday at a team practice session at Los Lagos Golf Course.

“Every day, they learned from their mistakes and we’re going work on that during this week so that next week can be better.”

The Broncs will head to Huntsville, Texas for the Sam Houston Elkins Lake Invitational before the Husky Invita-

tional at Missouri City Oct. 12.

“I always expect to win and so do the guys,” De Larrea said. “We definitely have a team to compete; we always expect to win, it’s not always easy, but we should have a very good season.”

Mistakes cost Lady Broncs conference win again

By Alvaro Balderas Alvaro_tx@msn.com Nearly halfway into Great West Conference play, The University of Texas Pan-American women’s volleyball team (4-12, 2-3) is seesawing between being one of the top three teams in the conference and being one of the worst.

Saturday, the Lady Broncs sank lower as they lost three straight 25-20 sets to the Huskies of Houston Baptist (6-13, 2-3) at Sharp Gymnasium in Houston.

Though out-killing the Lady Huskies 14-12 and leading for part of the first set, the Lady Broncs could not compose their total offensive and defensive game throughout the afternoon.

“The passing was really good and so was our floor defense but our blocking is what broke down,” said third-year coach Angela Hubbard. “It’s funny because on Tuesday (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) it was the opposite. At this point we just need to put it all together.

“We were leading in the first set for a while but then we made too many mistakes. We missed several serves and our hitters made a couple of mistakes. They (Lady Huskies) didn’t beat us, we beat ourselves. We just made mistakes and

Tennis teams dominate despite being coachless

were unable to recover from them.”

Lady Husky Sarah Hazlewood finished with 11 kills while Natalie Magat orchestrated the offense with game high 37 assists.

On a positive note for the Lady Broncs, Junior Marci Logan recorded her second double-double of the season with a game-high 12 kills and 10 digs. Logan admits her team has a hard time winning games when it is down by a couple points, and Saturday was no exception.

“Once we got down, we never recovered. We just couldn’t get that fire lit,” remarked Logan, a biology major from Centennial, Colo. “We usually have problems passing, but not this time.

Offensively we didn’t play that poorly.

Executing was a problem because we couldn’t put the ball away when we had to and the other team just outhit us.”

Logan noted that the team has struggled with consistency.

“I felt I did everything in my power to help the team win but we are having trouble with everyone performing all at the same time,” she said. “We cannot really get it all together when we have to. When there’s offense, there’s no defense and when there’s defense, there’s no offense.”

Junior Laredo native Ariana Bermea led the Lady Broncs in assists with 16 while senior Rebecca Toddy had six digs in the loss. Toddy said knowing her team’s potential to beat the Huskies may have hindered their confidence once they lost the first set.

“We were right there,” she noted.

“We were up most of the first set and when we lost it, it kind of shot us down.

We couldn’t find a way to put the ball away and get some kills. Our struggling offense would shoot our confidence down. Every time we would get blocked it seemed we just didn’t want to swing anymore but we tried to fight back even harder.”

Toddy needs seven more digs (927) to pass Winker Cruz (933) for ninth place on the Lady Broncs all-time career digs category. With the loss, the Lady Broncs are second to last place, with two more conference games played than the rest of the field.

UTPA will look for revenge today against The University of North Dakota after the Lady Sioux gave Pan Am its first conference loss of the season two weeks ago. The match is at the Field Huse at 7 p.m. and will be dedicated to the Dig for a Cure breast cancer campaign.

No hurdle’s too high for the tennis crew. Despite the uncertainty of the head coaching situation for four months, the UTPA programs stepped it up and defeated Laredo Community College 6-1 and 7-0 respectively, Friday afternoon at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.

The men did a better job this time around against the former NJCAA National Champions, after having lost to Laredo 6-1 in March.

“Laredo is a very competitive team.

It’s very good for us to beat them because they’re number one of the junior colleges,” junior Aswin Vijayaragavan said.

“Considering we lost the last time very badly, we came out strong and beat them this time.”

In the men’s doubles, Vijayaragavan and senior Brett Bernstein defeated Cledson Carvalho and Felipe Baptista, 8-6.

The duo made up of senior Nirvick Mohinta and sophomore Beau Bernstein succeeded over Mateus Campos and Charles Silva, 8-1, while junior Marcus Dornauf and Abdelhamid Riani fell against Antoine Raffaelli and Leury Arias, 8-5.

Vijayaragavan dominated Carvalho 6-4, 6-1 in the first spot of the singles, and Raffaelli defeated Mohinta 4-6, 4-6 and took the only loss for the Broncs. Brett Bernstein took the win against Silva 6-1, 6-4 and sophomore Beau Bernstein did the same with Baptista in what was the closest match of the day 6-3, 5-7, 10-7.

Dornauf and Riani won their respective matches (6-2, 6-4 and 6-3, 7-5) against Campos and Matias.

The hegemony of the Lady Broncs over LCC started in the doubles, where sophomores Malin Andersen and Andrea Salvetova beat Laura Vergara and Armelia Argindegui, 8-2. The senior duo composed of Megan Bedeau and Sarah Burton went faultless (8-0) against Stephanie Villarreal and Vivian Brizuela.

Moreover, senior Luisa Cantu and sophomore Reeta Raty defeated Kayla Garcia and Natalia Silva 8-1.

In singles, Cantu prevailed against Vergara 6-1 in the first spot. Andersen, Bedeau, Raty, and Salvetova all won smoothly (6-0) against Garcia, Villarreal and Arguindegui in the second, third, fourth and sixth spots respectively. In the fifth spot, Burton beat Brizuela 6-1, 6-1.

For the Lady Broncs, this weekend’s success means a lot more than just one more triumph for UTPA; it is a reminder to the Athletic Department of the capabilities that both of the tennis teams possess, which could be enhanced by hiring of a good-quality coach.

“Everyone played well, we did what we could without a coach and we had a good result,” Cantu said. “We’ve grown a lot closer this semester, we’ve become more of a team and this win is a way of demonstrating to the school that we care and that we want a good coach.”

October 8, 2009

SPORTS

Page 15

Cross country sisters’ sibling rivalry breeds healthy competition

By Benny Salinas Bsalinas.broncs@utpa.edu It takes more than just discipline to attend cross country running practice at 6:30 in the morning. It takes a very deeprooted passion for running, along with the confidence to know that doing the work is worth the effort.

Diana and Hilda Galloso have these qualities. Every day the sisters pull into the UTPA parking lot early in the morning to make it to track practice on time.

“It’s pretty cool having my sister around,” Diana Galloso said. “We only ever ran one race together when we were in high school, so it’s pretty new.”

This will be the first year the two will run together on the college level. Prior to this, Hilda Galloso ran for Edinburg High, where she made considerable contributions to her cross country team for four seasons, following older sister Diana as a standout for the Lady Bobcats.

“I was very good in high school, I’d say I was about the best runner on my team,” Hilda Galloso said confidently. “I made it to regionals every year from my

sophomore to senior year.”

The talent isn’t limited to just one sister. Last season, Diana Galloso, now a junior at UTPA, finished with three top-ten finishes, including a personal best for the outdoor season in the 1,500-meter run at the Great HILDA GALLOSO West Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Her May 15 time of 4:45.52 was good enough for third.

Aside from having experience on their side (both have been running since they were children), the sport is in their blood.

“My parents have been running 5K’s around the Valley since before I can remember,” said the younger Galloso, who has two more siblings currently competing in cross country at Edinburg High. “It’s been a good influence. They’re a lot of why we started running and taking it seriously” Despite their talent and well-deserved confidence, they remain soft spoken.

That quiet and reserved attitude, however, doesn’t take away from the subtle competition going on between them.

“They aren’t boisterous at all,” said head track/cross country Coach Dave Hartman.

“They’re both DIANA GALLOSO pretty quiet and reserved… they do seem to get along, but there is a healthy rivalry between them.”

The sisters can attest to that: they relish that sibling competition.

“We’re always trying to see who can do better. We do our talking through running. Although, I do think I’m better in cross country,” Diana Galloso said, playfully jarring the sibling tug-of-war.

On Sept. 25 at the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islander Splash, Diana Galloso beat her sister’s time of 21:11.3 in the 5K run with 19:33.7 The differences in their performances could be due to the many changes and

challenges facing freshmen, especially first-year student athletes.

“Right now Hilda is transitioning,” Hartman said. “The distances are twice as long for college students than for high school students, so that takes some getting used to.”

Hilda Galloso begs to differ, offering another explanation.

“The mileage really isn’t a big deal,” she insisted. “The competition is tough.

There are more people and they’re better.”

Running and school aren’t the only things on Hilda Galloso’s plate. She also dedicates her time to the UTPA Orchestra where she plays the double-bass, an instrument she has enjoyed since the sixth grade.

“Right now it’s a little tough,” she admits, adding that with school, music, and sports, her official day does not end until seven in the evening. “I’m usually pretty busy. Right after practice in the morning I have class. Then I have weights at three, more class, and orchestra.”

The younger Galloso isn’t the only one with obstacles to overcome. Thursday Diana will have her tonsils removed because they have begun to get in the way of her

breathing, which poses huge problems for cross country runners such as herself.

“My tonsils had just gotten too big and I was having a lot of trouble breathing,” the junior recalled. “I’m going to have to take a week off after the surgery, but I’m going to try to be my best afterwards.”

Because of the surgery, Diana will not be able to participate this Friday at the HBU/Puma Invitational in Houston.

Despite the challenges to their performance the two remain dedicated to the sport, with the positive effects of their interactions adding to the special case of sisters on the same team.

“It’s still too early to tell how they’ll do,” Hartman said. “Hilda is running really well for a freshman and Diana is also doing a good job….right now we’re a really young team but things are starting to look really good.”

The work ethic of both sisters, along with their talent and experience, has earned them the respect of their coach.

“They’re both hard-working, diligent individuals,” Hartman said. “They’re talented and should start doing good things for the team soon.”

Editor’s Pick

Bronc Sports Tracker Volleyball

Men’s Golf

Men’s Tennis

Women’s Tennis

Mission Inn Fall Intercollegiate

UTPA vs Laredo CC - Singles

UTPA vs Laredo CC - Singles

-HBU (L) 3-0 25-20, 25-20, 25-20

Texas-Pan American - Sixth place

NEXT HOME GAMES Oct. 8 North Dakota 7 p.m.

Oct. 10 South Dakota 7 p.m.

Armen Kirakossian - 12th Adam Haley - T 15th Brandon Reyna - 37th AJ Gonzalez - 57th

(220) (222) (231) (243)

Aswin Vijayaragavan (W) 6-4, 6-1 Nirvick Mohiuta (L) 4-6, 4-6 Brett Bernstein (W) 6-1, 6-4 Beau Bernstein (W) 6-3, 5-7, 10-7 Marcus Dornauf (W) 6-2, 6-4 Abdelhamid Riana (W) 6-3, 7-5

Luisa Cantu (W) 6-1, 6-2 Malin Anderson (W) 6-0, 6-0 Megan Bedeau (W) 6-0, 6-0 Reetta Raty (W) 6-0, 6-0 Sarah Burton (W) 6-1, 6-1 Andrea Salvetova (W) 6-0, 6-0

New England (3-1) at Denver (4-0) 3:15 p.m. on CBS Prediction: 27-24 New England

Page 16

October 8, 2009

SPORTS

A lonely box brimming with plain manila folders gorged with old decrepit pictures and press releases; this seems to be one of the only pieces of evidence left of the now forgotten University of Texas-Pan American men’s soccer team. The team’s history is a murky one, with only a few true fans and champions left to tell its memoirs.

The original team was birthed in 1970, as only a club team unofficially coached by one of its original founders Dick Deason. Back then, UTPA was still Pan American College. In those days, the legendary McKone, a 2008 UTPA Hall of Fame inductee, was the sports information director and admiringly recounted the advent of Bronc soccer. “(When it started) I thought it was about time because we have a lot of soccer players here in the Valley,” said McKone, the man who served in the UTPA athletic department for 30 years. “I was disappointed (when the sport was dropped) because I thought they had a better chance than most of the teams at the university of winning in Division I. But we had some really good talent.”

For two years after their inaugural season the Broncs went without a coach. It wasn’t until 1972, after Deason’s departure, that Dr. Layne Jorgensen, currently the on-campus graduate coordinator for the health and kinesiology department, was approached by several players and asked to become their coach -- although he’ll tell anyone who asks that he acted as a conditioner more than anything else.

“I coached them for two years. We played ten games each year,” Jorgensen said. “Actually there was a young man by the name of Dick Deason the year before, he was a graduate student here and he kind of developed some interest, and some guys just kind of banded together and they just played.

“But he was leaving the university, and the kids knew that I had lived in South America (Uruguay) for a couple of years and I’d seen some soccer games, I knew a little bit about it.

They asked me if I would be the official coach.

The kids that played knew the game, and so they kind of taught themselves to a certain extent, although I conditioned them and determined who played what position.”

Their first season wasn’t a miraculous one, as the fledgling Broncs managed only a 1-10 record.

But the program later achieved university status, joining the Texas Collegiate Soccer League in 1974, going 2-7-1.

Eventually replacing Jorgensen was Reggie Tredaway, then assistant baseball coach under Al Ogletree. He was given the position and kept it for a stretch, coaching soccer for 13 seasons (1974-1987), compiling a super 13-1-1 record in 1986. Jorgensen maintains that Tredaway was given the job due to a desire from the athletic department to increase his salary.

It wasn’t until 1987 that the university became an official NCAA Division I school. The soccer team became part of the Sunbelt Conference in

1991 and was coached by Eloy Moran (19871994) who finished with a 42-51-7 in his stint.

The team lived healthily until 1997 when the NCAA decided that the university was to be Title IX compliant. The rule dating from a 1972 decision states that a university must meet the requirement to have an equal number of athletic opportunities for both men and women.

Essentially, the university faced a choice: add a program such as women’s softball or drop soccer, so it was eventually dropped as an official sport.

The last coach of the program was the late Dr. Miguel Paredes -- whose son Marcelo Paredes played on the team in 1997 as a goalkeeper, and now works in the UTPA Institutional Research and Effectiveness department. He declined an interview. Miguel Paredes led the team from 1995 until its demise in 1997.

The Broncs didn’t lack talent though, with players such as Mario Ribera, who scored 68 points as a freshman and finished second in the nation in scoring in the mid-1990s. McKone argues that because there is so much talent and love for soccer in the Valley, and it’s the unofficial world sport, so it ought to have its chance, as many of the university’s past soccer teams competed at a high level.

“Because we’re an international university, I think we should have the international sport,” he said. “I know the coaches are trying to protect their programs, and I’m not suggesting they cut anything, I just think they ought to add it.”

Today, the consensus is that soccer is too costly travel-wise, and impractical to have as an official program, with the nearest soccer schools being in the Dallas area. Marcelo Schmidt, a clinical lecturer at UTPA and current coach of the Bronc club soccer team, explained why it’s not practical to finance the program.

“Logically, it sounds like a good idea, but it does take a financial hit,” Schmidt explained.

“The most important logical event is that there are very few, to no teams that compete in NCAA Division I soccer in the state of Texas. You can look at Texas (UT), you can look at Texas A&M, you can look at Texas Tech and they just don’t have men’s soccer teams.

“I’m aware of SMU (Southern Methodist University) having a men’s soccer team; it’s a very strong program in the nation. So, if you’re looking for rivalries, financially it would have been almost impossible to travel outside of the state with a soccer team to compete.”

However, Schmidt did say that there has been a petition going around the state of Texas suggestion that soccer participation has surpassed baseball, golf and other sports. The idea is to make it feasible for universities to have soccer programs and compete official on a Division I level.

Whether or not men’s soccer will ever regain its status as an official sport is unknown. For those fans with a thirst for the original fútbol, club soccer will have to do for now.