February 17, 2011

Volume 67, No. 18

WWW.PANAMERICANONLINE.COM

February 17, 2011

GOING BEHIND THE NUMBERS Part 1: Budget presentation to students misses mark By Kristen Cabrera The Pan American The Student Union Theatre was far from being filled last Friday afternoon, but the presentation that took place did have a captive audience. About 40 people attended the Annual Financial Report presentation given by the Office of the Comptroller for the student body, and about half were students. Of those students in the audience, most were representatives from Student Government Association, whose usual meeting time was during the presentation. The report touched on the University’s budget and spending from the 2009-2010 fiscal year. It was first presented to administration on Jan. 18 and faculty and staff on Feb. 7. Concerns were raised about the lack of student body present due to the 3 p.m. Friday presentation time as well as grievances on the amount of information given at one time. Alex Rodriguez, SGA president, agreed that one cause for the low turnout was because scheduling landed at a time where most students were off campus in preparation for the weekend. “The reason why I asked all the senators to come,” he said, “is because we represent the students and it’s our responsibility as well to share that [the Annual Financial Report] is available online, that we came and the information that we gathered here is to be spread among our constituents.” The presentation consisted of charts, graphs and slides that condensed the 179-page booklet into not-so-laymen’s terms while different speakers from the Comptroller’s office explained the slides to the group. Still the amount of information, which was for warned to the audience in the beginning, was too large of an amount to take in for some. “The report looks good and you’re reading slowly,” said Essie Morris, graduate student in communication and education, who raised the concern during the forum. “But that’s a lot for us to comprehend just sitting here and listening and looking at that report. It’s saying a lot but be we’re seeing a circus and we don’t really know [what is happening] without having the chance to see below the circus,”

Despite the outcome, Mark Allen Vice President of SGA said the presentation brought progress and better understanding to UTPA’s financial situation. “I think it was a big step forward from last year,” Allen said, “and the next year will be even better.” Overall, Allen was pleased with the outcome of the event and is open to the idea of holding another discussion with more of the student body in attendance. “I don’t think it would hurt to have it again,” he said. “If anything, it would be beneficial. Even if you went the first time, you might catch things you didn’t catch before.” The slides used in the address can be downloaded from the Office of the Comptroller’s home page at utpa.edu/comptroller under ‘FY2010 AFR Presentation.’ BIG DEALS Several hot-button issues were discussed Friday. From 2006 to 2007, the Operation Margin Ratio was in the negative, or “in the red” which meant the revenue the University generated was less than the amount it spent. In Spring 2008 the budget was reconfigured and eventually, the current Operating Margin Ratio picked up to a positive 3.4 percent. It should continue to be “in the black” or positive margins. “When I got here we were in the red, Charles Sorber brought us up to barely in the black. We are now to where we are stable and we can move forward, and it’s because of these guys,” President Robert Nelsen said, gesturing to the comptroller staff. One topic brought up during the forum was the allocation of more than 40 percent of student service fees to athletic’s budget. “I’m very concerned,” Nelsen said. “But it used to be 49 percent and now it’s dropped down 40 percent.” Another worry is the $1.3 million that was taken from Institutional Enhancement funds - where Texas Grant and University Scholars scholarships come from - and added to the Operating Budget. >> FEB. 24 PART 2: BREAKING DOWN THE BUDGET

Breaking down the numbers of ‘10 Student Service fees Institutional Enhancement funds

Q & A

“I’m more afraid of our resources experiencing a cut. When it comes to organizing and promoting events, it’s already hard, as it is locating the funds to do so.” Dana Castillo, 20, junior Chemistry and pre-pharmacy major

CHECK THE WEB Mourners celebrate the life of former UTPA professor || David Carter remembered

40% $1.3M

Athletic Budget Operating Budget

“I imagine student organizations such as Student Government Association will get some cutbacks; that only lowers the voice of the students.” Daniel Lopez, 25, senior Theatre production major

“I hope student life doesn’t get too many cuts. Students will be less aware of what our campus has to offer and as a result become less involved.” Brayath Cano, 18, sophmore Pre-med/biology major

Grad makes good Del Barrio commandeers sports information effort at alma mater. PAGE 11

Música y negocios Mercadotecnia a la orden. PÁGINA 10

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February 17, 2011 Vol. 67, No. 18

Commentary

Letter to the Editor

Why is Arcade Fire under fire?

Professor questions logic of recent construction decisions

I didn’t watch this year’s Grammy Awards (and haven’t bothered watching the past few years) but I’ve heard a lot of buzz about the big upset in the Album Alma E. Hernandez of the Year Photo Editor category. People are all in a rage over Arcade Fire picking up the Album of the Year. They’ve even created a Tumblr page just to vent, titled “Who is Arcade Fire?” Most of the posts involve lots of cussing and yelling, calling Arcade Fire names like “faggots.” Now is that really necessary? I think everyone needs to just calm down. Just because you’ve never heard of them doesn’t mean they aren’t good. So who is Arcade Fire? They’ve been around since 2001, released their first EP in 2002 and released their first album, “Funeral,” in 2004. I first heard “Funeral” in 2005, at the suggestion of a friend (the best way to learn about new music in my opinion) and to this day it’s one of my all-

time favorite albums. I had no knowledge of the band and just wanted to listen to something new and different. I bought it solely on his recommendation and didn’t bother listening to any of it before purchasing it. I’m not the only one who thinks Arcade Fire is pretty great. In 2005 “Funeral” was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Alternative Music album category. It’s listed as No. 6 in Rolling Stone Magazine’s top 100 albums of the decade, and the UK’s Q Magazine lists it as No. 19 for best album of the past 25 years. That same year I saw them perform at the Austin City Limits Music Festival, nine very passionate people on stage creating music cementing their place as one of my favorite bands. It was my favorite performance of the whole festival. Their second album “Neon Bible,” released in 2008, was also nominated for a Grammy in the Best Alternative Album category. I think the win for Arcade Fire is a step in the right direction for the Grammys. It’s about time creativity and originality tops seniority or album sales. I might even have to start watching the Grammys again.

Correction: In last week’s “Planetarium” article there was a factual error in the cost of attendance. The university planetarium and portable planetarium are free to all attendees.

Dear Editor, After reading through the February 10 issue of The Pan American I would like to respond to the article entitled ‘Funding for new digs in the offing’ by Alejandra Martinez. It is all very well to put the new buildings up on UTPA campus but what about the work that needs doing on the campus as it stands today?? I am fortunate to be at UTPA as a Fulbright Fellow, here from New Zealand as part of my PhD studies in collaboration with the Mechanical Engineering. What I find unbelievable is the fact that Engineering have been so squeezed for office space that they found it necessary to take out the Professors social hub and put in offices. The university needs to get serious about what it wants for its students as pushing the faculty to this type of action can only hurt and end result cost a lot more financially than the meagre amount for a decent social spot for the Professors, staff and graduate students. I have been fortunate enough to spend time in many universities around the world, including Europe, UK, Oceania and Asia and have seen first hand the benefits of a well resourced and comfortable lounge. It is the place where colleagues can meet and discuss course issues and colaborate on projects away from the pressures of the lecture

THE PAN AMERICAN

room, laboratory and office. It is where colleagues can meet and discuss ideas, current and future projects. It also allows staff, post-docs and faculty to build solid relationships and to enable a whole of department understanding in relation to a lasting work focused atmosphere. Lastly it allows graduate students a place to be at ease with the Professors and take away the aprehensions many may have to be fully engaged with project planning and allow them to get closer to the environment that many graduates would aspire to when studies are completed here at UTPA. And finally it is a place that in some way would provide a tangible study path option for many undergraduates who would no doubt see graduate study as a lonely and often solitary place not worth their consideration. So UTPA, it is all very well to be considering expanding and you should be commended for that, but what about those who are currently in need of space are they not worthy? Kind regards, Paul Ewart

1201 West University, CAS 170 Edinburg, Texas 78539 Phone: (956) 381-2541 Fax: (956) 316-7122 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.

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Kristen Cabrera kmcabrera22@gmail.com NEWS EDITOR: Roxann Garcia roxx.gar11@gmail.com ONLINE/SPANISH EDITOR: Denisse Salinas dns_145@hotmail.com ARTS & LIFE EDITOR: Benny Salinas 9_benny_9@live.com SPORTS EDITOR: Sara Hernandez shernandez261@gmail.com PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR: Alma E. Hernandez alma.e.hdz@gmail.com SENIOR DESIGNER: Jennifer Tate jen489@gmail.com DESIGNER: Alexis Carranza alexis091@aol.com ADVISER: Dr. Greg Selber selberg@utpa.edu ADMINISTRATIVE ASSOCIATE: Anita Reyes areyes18@utpa.edu ADVERTISING MANAGER: Mariel Cantu spubs@utpa.edu WEBMASTERS: Jose Villarreal josemvillarrealcs@gmail.com Selvino Padilla selvinop3@gmail.com

Delivery:

Thursday at noon Letters to the Editor

Anthony Salinas/THE PAN AMERICAN

The Pan American accepts letters of 300 words or less from students, staff and faculty regarding recent newspaper content, campus concerns or current events. We reserves the right to edit submissions for grammar and length. We 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.

February 17, 2011

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Chemistry work to be presented at Feb. 19 symposium By Belinda Munoz The Pan American

Alma E. Hernandez/THE PAN AMERICAN

Alvarez uses life experience in class

The field of chemistry is to be honored April 9, with the department’s first student/faculty symposium. According to Bimal Banik, President Endowed Professor at UTPA, efforts and advancements in research are to be presented to students and colleagues in the hopes that learning and fellowship will be increased in the department. “The Department of Chemistry has never organized a local symposium with the students,” Banik said. “We believe that this sort of symposium will help people, not only know what kind of research we are doing on campus and in the department, but also what students or some faculty are doing research in other departments and other universities and also overseas.” The symposium is set to begin with a breakfast at 8 a.m. and lunch at noon. The department currently has 16

professors, including Banik, who conducts research on scientific hypotheses and projects, usually assisted by UTPA students. For the symposium, each professor has been asked to invite one or two students to do an oral presentation for an audience in rooms 2.102 of the Science Building. There will also be a question-and-answer session after each presentation. Due to time constraints, all other students will present a poster summarizing their research project, to be displayed in the hallways of the building. Some of the few research projects within the Chemistry Department include the study of new organic compounds concerning organometallic reagants and organic synthesis. Professor and chair for the department of chemistry, Naryan Bhat, and his undergraduate students are conducting the study. Also being studied is the synthesis of conjugated polymers, by Jose J. Guitierrez, with a special interest in soluble poly-p-phenylenevinylene (PPV) derivatives and how they can be used in light-emitting diodes.

Spanish professor celebrates recent award

By Alejandra Martinez The Pan American

Growing up in a time when speaking Spanish was frowned upon in the United States made Stephanie Alvarez shy away from her Cuban heritage to avoid discrimination. Now as an adult, she fully embraces her background and uses it to guide her students. “My father never spoke Spanish to us (Alvarez and her sister), even though that was his first language,” the UTPA professor recalls. “That was his way of protecting us, of making sure we assimilated and that we would be successful. But I’m grateful that my grandparents were in the house with us, and we did grow up speaking Spanish.” From an early age, Alvarez discovered her passion for teaching. She came to the Valley in 2006 right after earning her Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of Oklahoma. In September of that year, she began working as a lecturer at UTPA. “I knew my whole life I wanted to teach, but I didn’t know what,” the Miami native said. “I went from physical

education to elementary education to bilingual education, and I ended up doing Spanish, which pretty much everyone in my family is shocked about.” During her time here, she has been studying the use of Spanglish within Latino literature and for the past three years has been working on rebuilding the Mexican-American Studies program. Most recently her research has focused on the role that Spanish departments play in the education of Latino students. “We talk about being a Hispanicserving institution,” she explained. “But I think we need to start looking at how academic programs become Hispanic-serving.” Not long ago, Alvarez was selected as the Outstanding Latino Faculty in Higher Education for the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE). She will be awarded at the 6th Annual National Conference on March 5. She attributes the honor mainly to a project called Cosecha Voices, in which she and poet Tato Laviera teach a class to migrant farm workers, and the

class documents their experiences as migrants. “They learn from that experience and hopefully empower themselves to be more successful students and more successful people in life,” she said. “I think it’s very important to have a good understanding of where we come from.” Alvarez earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from the University of South Alabama in 1995, and a master’s in Spanish from St. Louis University three years later. She worked as a lecturer at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor from 2001-2004, and taught Spanish at the National Hispanic University in San Jose, Calif. in 2005. She has been married for seven years and is mother to 5-year-old twin girls and a 1-year-old boy. “In every place that I’ve been, I’ve learned a lot of good stuff,” she said. “And I think I brought some of those experiences here with me and I try to use them as learning experiences, not just for me, but for my students as well.”

We talk about being a Hispanic-serving institution, but I think we need to start looking at how academic programs become Hispanic-serving. Stephanie Alvarez || UTPA professor

Alma E. Hernandez/THE PAN AMERICAN

IT MATTERS — Professor Bimal Banik lectures about dibromo compounds to his chemistry class Wednesday morning.

HIV risk to be topic at Friday health event By Pamela Morales The Pan American

According to a 2010 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2008 Hispanics/ Latinos accounted for 19 percent of the 42,439 new diagnoses of HIV cases in 37 states. As part of the South Texas Border Health Disparities Center Lecture series, Antonia Villarruel, a professor from the School of Nursing at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, will discuss research findings on HIV Latino cases and how to address the issue.

“Dr. Antonia Villarruel has an extensive background in health promotion and health disparities research and practice,” said Dejun Su, director of South Texas Border Health Disparities Center. “Her research focuses on the development and testing of interventions to reduce HIV sexual risk among Mexican and Latino youth, a topic we know little about here in the Valley.” Faculty, staff and students are invited to the presentation Feb. 18, which will begin at noon in the Executive Room of the ITT Building. For further information or questions please call 665-7937.

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THE PAN AMERICAN

February 17, 2011

THE PAN AMERICAN

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HOMECOMING PRIDE Being homecoming king and queen is more than just getting a crown and walking around wearing them. It is about having school spirit and wear your colors with pride and honor, something Annette Torres and John-Robert Iruegas have done throughout the last year. This Saturday Feb. 19 will be Homecoming and they will give their crowns away to the future king and queen of UTPA.

The Pan American: When did you decide you wanted to run for homecoming queen? ANNETTE: It all started in the fall of 2009, I had just come back from an internship I had in San Antonio and I knew I wanted to run so from there I added a lot of UTPA students on Facebook, I tried to go to more on-campus events and just try to get to know as many people as I could, so when it was time to turn in the application to run for homecoming queen, and by the time the whole marketing started, a lot of people had already seen my face.

TPA: What did you feel when you were announced winners? A: I was really excited and very proud to represent UTPA, it was a great way to end my last year. JOHN-ROBERT: I was shocked but I was extremely excited, I was glad enough people thought of us to vote and let us represent them.

TPA: What duties have you had as the homecoming queen and king? BOTH: The main purpose is to represent the student body in events either on campus or off campus and the sports games. We also had to go to activities such as the Bucky Block Party, Welcome Week, Spirit Week, Midnight Madness, as well as volunteering We even made T-shirts that said king and queen since we did not want to volunteer in our polos, we did it so we could represent UTPA when we were doing volunteer service.

John-Robert Iruegas Graduation: Fall 2010 Major in psychology, minor in leadership

TPA: What type of community service did you do? BOTH: Make a Difference Day, Students With a Purpose Alternative Break Program, The Food Bank and any other opportunities that were presented to us. We did a lot of volunteering throughout the year.

TPA: What example did you give to students while being homecoming king? JR: We were able to show school spirit and be involved in on-campus activities, we showed students that there are people that love this school and want great spirit. I believe our spirit is the big example we gave, to be able to show other students they can have fun in school too.

TPA: What do you want to say to the future king and queen? JR: I know all of the candidates so I know all of them are really good leaders and are very active on campus and I want them to keep being active and wish them good luck. A: I wish them the best of luck as well, I have conďŹ dence in all of them and I know that whoever wins is going to represent the campus with pride and continue leading.

TPA: What are your plans for the future? JR: Right now I am a student assistant at the Student Leadership Program on campus, after May I will be going to graduate school for a counseling degree to become a licensed family therapist and professional counselor. A: I will be graduating in May and the career fair is in a week so I will be prepared for that. My main area of focus is human resources so it is what I want to go into. I plan to leave the Valley but eventually come back, it would be good for us to leave so we can represent UTPA outside of the Valley as well and show that this is a really great school and we got a very good education.

TPA: What would you like to say to the students? JR: My heart is in this place and I want everyone to enjoy UTPA. Take advantage of what our school has to offer because weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got more to offer than meets the eye, and I want them to really understand the commitment this school has for the students.

Annette Torres Graduation: Spring 2011 Major in communication studies, minor in human resources

Photos by Freddie Martinez