S.A.
The Spurs came close to a fifth title, but now face some tough questions. We bounced a poll around and asked ...
Now what?
Responses on Page 9
The newspaper of the Urban Journalism Workshop at San Antonio College June 27, 2013 Vol. 29, No. 1 www.theranger.org
Heat fells band student
Andrea Quiroga, freshman band student at Clark High School, passed out after locking her knees during band practice. She received assistance from drum major Bryan Hutzler and a fellow band member before being taken to the sideline and given medical attention. See story on Page 11. Jacey Yarbrough/MacArthur High School
Young men show off their body of work
New UIL rule brings wave of cheers
By Katherine Sotelo Robert E. Lee High School
By Angel Lozano Tom C. Clark High School
Two days after graduating from Canyon Lake High School, Eric Ogden, then 18, threw two bags of clothes into his white 2000 Dodge 2500 Quad Cab and drove to his brother Buddy Ray’s house an hour away. During the trip, the truck just quit; it wouldn’t run again for three months. He was broke with no way to raise a dime. Now 20, he makes upward of $700 each night working as a male stripper at HardBodies Ladies Club, the only major female entertainment venue in San Antonio. “All through high school, I heard about it,” Eric Ogden said, noting that his brother, Buddy Ray Ogden, had been dancing there for years. With an estimated 30 to 40 bachelorette parties scheduled each weekend, HardBodies employs male entertainers from across the state. And at 18, fresh out of high school, Eric Ogden signed on as the stage manager. The brothers’ status among the club’s top five dancers opens doors to private parties, road shows and strip offs. The ex-high school athletes don’t dance alone; 20 male entertainers put on a Vegas-style show, beginning on a side stage and moving to the front pole.
Mariah Paccione never quit cheerleading. Even after she fell 8 feet while performing a stunt. Even after she was airlifted to University Hospital. Even after half her body went numb. Even after suffering her third concussion. “My first concussion was in July 2012 during summer camp,” the 2013 Jefferson High School graduate said, recalling the painful event that required an air ambulance ride to University Hospital. “I was just waiting, paralyzed. I knew I needed to get better and push through the pain. My pain tolerance got higher.” Paccione spent the remainder of the summer recovering from her injuries, but in August, she returned to the cheer squad. Under a new UIL regulation, student athletes such as Paccione will be kept out of strenuous activities and sports in the case of a concussion for as long as the student’s physician deems necessary for recovery. “We want every child who sustains a concussion to be seen by a health care professional,” said Dr. Lillian Liao, medical director of pediatric trauma at University Hospital. “What you can’t see is that a lot of people can pass out but be very normal for the next few hours or even days, but they had an underlying brain injury that’s more severe than what you think. Unless you CT
See STRIPPERS, Page 6
High school cheerleaders will adhere to new regulations on treatment of brain injuries
Dr. Lillian F. Liao, medical director of pediatric trauma at University Hospital, says most people are not aware of the true danger of concussions and severe brain trauma. Andrea Garcia/Lanier High School
scan them or evaluate them in the emergency room and decide whether or not you need to get further imaging of the brain, you won’t know it.” In June, UIL placed high school cheerleaders under the same concussion regulations that govern football players, the Texas Education Code Chapter 38 Subchapter D. Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams has signed the new UIL regulation, which will be effective Aug. 1, according to DeEtta Culbertson, a TEA spokesperson. The regulation requires that, in the case of a concussion, cheerleaders must be
kept out of practice and performance until cleared by a physician. As a pediatric trauma expert, Liao said she prefers to refer to concussions as “mild traumatic brain injuries” because that is a more accurate description of what happens to the brain during a concussion. Repeated injury to the brain can inflict permanent damage, Liao said. “The reason why concussions are bad is because it’s not the first one that’s bad; it’s the subsequent risk of having another concussion after the first, adding onto the See CHEERLEADING, Page 3