Winter 2015 Week 4

Page 1

Thursday, January 29, 2015

“American Sniper” Controversy

MCC Week

A response to Michael Moore’s Twitter remarks

A Santa Clara Celebration of Solidarity

OPINION, PAGE 6

SCENE, PAGE 4

Since 1922

www.thesantaclara.org

Francisco Jiménez to Retire

@thesantaclara

@thesantaclara

One free copy

Basketball Hangs On Twice

Spanish professor, author has taught at Santa Clara since 1973 Krista Clawson

The Santa Clara When he was four years old, Professor Francisco Jiménez’s family migrated from Mexico to California to escape poverty and build a better life. Unfortunately, they ended up living handto-mouth for many years, constantly residing in tents and working in the fields following seasonal harvests. After years of struggle, Jiménez realized his talent for writing during his sophomore year of high school. He wrote an essay about one of his family experiences and his teacher, “Mrs. Bell,” recognized his talent and gave him a copy of “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck. As a migrant himself, he identified with the Joad family in the novel. “I could see myself in that family, so for the first time I realized the power of literature to move hearts and minds,” he said. “So after reading that novel and Mrs. Bell’s remarks, I thought that perhaps someday I would write about those experiences.” Today, Jiménez — an honored and highly awarded writer — is the Fay Boyle Professor of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Santa Clara, and served as the department chair from 1997 to 2000. He will be retiring at the end of this academic year. According to Jiménez, he first wanted to become a teacher in the sixth grade. He hoped to be like “Mr. Lema,” a generous teacher who had offered to teach him how to play the trumpet, though his family moved before he could learn. With the assistance of loans and scholarships, Jiménez attended Santa Clara, but felt out of place. He used his childhood experiences to give him the courage to not give up. He eventually excelled academically and graduated in 1966 with a B.A. in Spanish and History. Under a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, he attended Columbia University, where he received an M.A. in Spanish Language and Literature, as well as a Ph.D. in Latin American Literature. His feelings of inferiority returned his first year at Columbia, so he continued to reflect on his childhood experiences. After showing his writing to an advisor, he compiled notes for his book “The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child.” He realized that he wanted to write for families who had the same experiences he did. “I also realized that all through my schooling I had never read a work that talked about the Latino See CELEBRATED, Page 3

KEVIN BOEHNLEIN FOR THE SANTA CLARA

Sophomore Jared Brownridge looks to split a double team in their matchup against Pepperdine University on Saturday. Santa Clara went on to win 60-57 behind a balanced scoring effort. The Broncos now sit in third place in the West Coast Conference and travel to face University of San Diego today at 7 p.m.

Men’s basketball dispatches last two opponents at home Tyler J. Scott

The Santa Clara After three close wins, the men’s basketball team is riding a four-game streak and now sits in a scrum for third place in the West Coast Conference. After scoring a mere four points against Gonzaga University on Jan. 10, senior guard Brandon Clark has made quite the resurgence. In three of the last four games since

Tennis travels to L.A. Falls to defending champion Trojans SPORTS, PAGE 7

then, Clark has scored 20 or more points per game. “I really give our coaching staff all the credit for that,” Head Coach Kerry Keating said. “I’ve been searching for ways to connect with (Clark) and really get through, and sometimes you don’t have to search for ways — it’s just a matter of patience and (Clark) has proven himself, time and time again.” Against Loyola Marymount University last Thursday, Clark scored 29 points, and versus Pepperdine University on Saturday, he had 13. The Broncos defeated LMU by a score of 65-62 and Pepperdine 60-57, but it wasn’t all Clark. Versus the Lions, sophomore Jared Brownridge added 20 points, including

what Keating called a “backbreaker” three with 1:09 left. “Whenever I see (Brownridge) with a little daylight, you got to give him the ball,” Clark said. “The kid can shoot, as everybody knows, and when he’s not being double teamed, we are confident he can shoot over one person, too.” The Broncos went 9-14 (64.3 percent) from the 3-point line in the first half and only four points came from two-point field goals. The team led 38-33 going into halftime. “They were going in,” Keating said. “Sometimes it’s as simple as that. We got See CONFERENCE, Page 8

WHAT’S INSIDE

News.................................. 1 – 3 Scene................................ 4 – 5 Opinion....................................6 Sports............................... 7 – 8


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.