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With the state’s projected budget shortfall for 2012-13 soaring by the month, higher education institutions across Texas are getting to be experts in cutting the fat o� their expenditures. � is week it was announced that be-yond the 10 to 15 percent cuts already requested by the UT System, another slice of up to 10 percent will have to be pared from budgets like the one at UTPA over the next two � scal years.
As the amount of money to work with gets smaller and smaller, it’s no won-der programs are shu� ing to hold onto what they can. However the Graduate Studies Department is optimistic about the 57 master’s, three doctoral and two co-operative doctoral degrees housed within the seven colleges.
� e hope is that as the university looks for things to cut, grad school will not be a target. But every program is go-ing to have to provide a justi� cation for what it produces in the way of grads and grants. � e race is on for e� ciency.
“Currently the state is looking at pro-grams that don’t meet the threshold or are low-producing,” said Cynthia Brown, vice provost for Graduate Studies.
� e best way for programs to sur-vive is to be relevant and productive, meaning that departments that respond to the needs of the American workplace and Valley community will be in good shape, Brown continued.
Currently no plans have been made to cut any graduate programs but there are al-ternate options such as folding one program into another if the two are related. Another is a streamlining idea which would recom-mend cutting back on electives o� ered per semester.
“We may look into o� ering fewer op-tions for graduates as far as electives go,” Brown said. “Every semester students might not have as many o� ered as the year before.”
One thing is for certain: brand-new programs will likely not be touched dur-ing the winnowing process, Brown con-tinued. A beginning operation is given time to develop, because an entering graduate takes an average of two years to complete and it will take a few more years to tell the relevance and productivity of the program in terms of jobs gained and services provided by grads.
Such nascent programs recently imple-mented on campus include experimental psychology, engineering management, and physician’s assistant studies.
� e recent recession has a� ected people nationwide, including job-hunt-ing college grads.
According to a survey by the Na-tional Association of Colleges and Em-
ployers, the number of 2010 U.S col-lege graduates who had already landed jobs upon graduation rose to 24 percent this past spring, compared with 20 per-cent last year.
� ere also seems to be an extreme note of pragmatism in the search. Graduates are strolling into the Graduate Studies o� ce and are not attracted to challenging career opportunities, but instead start by asking about dollar � gures, says graduate recruiter Sergio Palacios.
Grads are looking for � elds that have not su� ered as much during the down-turn, and ones that o� er the most lucra-tive opportunities. At the forefront of the group of programs are occupations in the health sciences, says Brown. Accord-ing to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, health care is a � eld where signi� cant growth is being tracked. Jobs are expected to increase by 20 percent, amounting to 35,100 new positions, by 2018.
For now, the graduate world at UTPA might be able to avoid being a major casualty of the next round of
chops, especially if individual programs can show they are productive and not low-performing. Still, there will de� nite-
ly be some tweaks made to try and save money and be more e� cient.
“� ere is always a need for restructur-
ing or an increase in skills for the work-place because of the changing nature of jobs,” Brown said.
THE PAN AMERICANVolume 67, No. 11 November 18, 2010
Graduate school expects to avoid cuts
Page 2 - Big business might have packed their bags, but they never left
Page 3 - Jobs after graduation becoming scarce
Page 11 - Holiday gift guide Page 14 - Q&A with volleyball player Rebecca Toddy
Tammy Ayala / THE PAN AMERICAN
GRADUATE SHUFFLE - Ubaldo Delgado and Amanda Luevand listen to UTSA presenters at a Graduate studies fair Tuesday evening at Renaissance Casa De Palmas in McAllen.
By Roxann GarciaThe Pan American
Student sharesborder woes
Current studentstrives for excellence
‘Get over it, Potter-heads’
SAMS ayudando a la comunidad de bajos
recursos
Broncs celebrateSenior Night at fi nal
volleyball game
Graphic by Kevin Stitch
Not too long ago, if one thought about drug wars, car-tels, or vio-lence, one p o n d e r e d C o l o m -bia. Today, if I think of any of these words,
I think “home.”
About a month ago I was driving home to Mat-amoros with my dad and I asked him how were things back at home. He re-sponded, “� ings are alright, pretty calm… they just have this thing now where they throw grenades at govern-ment buildings.”
Say what? � ings are “alright”?For those of you who don’t believe
it yet, things ARE messed up all over the place in Mexico when it comes to safety, and it’s obviously caused by the drug war that has been going on for a few years now. � ings have gotten way worse in recent months.
And I’m not going to go into detail, and am I not about to touch anything drug war-related, take sides, or discuss possible solutions to the current problem. So this is the only way I can describe the way I feel when I think of the situation back at home. � ings are messed up.
After having a conversation about all these matters with a close friend, I caught myself dis-appointedly saying, “Mexico sucks,” to my roommate as I entered the apart-ment. She thought there had been a soccer game in which the national team had done bad-ly. I would’ve never pronounced those two words together otherwise. But I did, and it’s sad.
Knowing about people killed just adds to the depres-sion…that is, when numbers can be counted. � e details are passed largely by word of mouth, and one is relieved to � nd
out that the latest casualty was not a loved one. Knock on wood.
Most of us think twice now about going back home during the weekend like we used to, or taking advantage of breaks such as � anksgiving to spend time with family.
� e violence has also forced many peo-ple in small towns to get out of their homes to move to a safer place. Cities where violence has increased dramatically (speci� -cally border ones) are declining economi-cally because there is no commerce or tour-ism, and nobody is interested in investing in business located in areas of con� ict. Also, classes have been can-celled lately to keep students from having to leave their houses,
so the violence will also have an impact in education.
But life has to go on. Even though knowing that most of my family lives in
areas of stress is in the back of my head throughout each day, I know that both for me and for them… life goes on. I have goals to accomplish and they have things they have to take care of no matter what.
We can’t sit and wait for the hard times to pass, we have to keep on going with our lives.
My dad’s example is just one way inhabitants in these places cope with the situation. A couple of days ago I saw a group on Facebook (one of those people “like” nonstop) that read in Spanish, “Mom, I’m leaving. Are you wearing your bulletproof vest? Yes! Well, have a good day.” As people get used to hearing gunshots any time of the day, they are doing their best to make the best out of the worst.
I guess it’s human nature to hope for the best and to expect things to get better some time soon… or eventually, so life can go back to normal, if there is such a thing.
All I know is that things can’t keep being like this, or at least I hope they can get better soon. People who come from the war zone have to eventually regain pride in their hometown and con� dence in the security of the place they call “home.”
November 18, 20102
Home? ‘Things are messed up’
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THE PAN AMERICAN
Vol. 67, No. 11
Elias Moran/THE PAN AMERICAN
Sara Hernandez Sports Editor
Commentary
“Citites where violence
has increased dramatically
are declining economically
because there is no
commerce or tourism,
and nobody is interested
in investing in businesses
located in the areas of
conflict.”
International student recognizes need to move on in wake of violence in hometown
When Claudia Carranza first enrolled at The University of Texas-Pan American in 1997 she had one thing on her mind: music. Growing up with her sister, the violin virtuoso, and being part of choir as a teenager convinced her music was it for her. However, detours in her life that made her quit college more than once, led her down a completely different path.
“I would watch my two sisters and brother on stage in high school and say, ‘Mom, I want to be on that stage, I want to be that,’” Carranza recalled.
However, when she enrolled at the Science Academy of South Texas in Mercedes, music and all creative outlets were replaced by three solid years of science and mathematics.
“I spent three years at this school doing heavy math and science, learning how to study, how to do homework, learning how to
do college-level stuff,” the McAllen native recalled. “But without this creative outlet, which I had loved in junior high. So, I decided that was no longer the school for me.”
C a r r a n z a then transferred to Edinburg North where she joined band and orchestra thus filling her life with the music she had missed so much.
In 1997 she came to UTPA as a music major. However, music was not her only talent. Carranza was also a math whiz on account of her years at the Science Academy,
so in 2000 she took a break from school and took a summer job at the
Sylvan Learning Center in Round Rock, in Central Texas.
“I went up there and what started as a quick summer job turned into two years of good, steady work and I absolutely loved it,” she said.
During her time in Round Rock, Carranza became one of the lead math instructors at Sylvan, however the lack of a degree kept her from moving forward. It was then that she
decided to come back to UTPA to
finish up in mathematics. So in 2003, while her
husband worked at an oil company, Carranza was finally able to return to school.
“I got to be a stay-at-home wife and a full-time student, and I did nothing but homework and housework for a full year,” the 31-year-old said.
In the summer of 2004, Carranza took a part-time job in a company by the border to make some money. And just like in Round Rock, this turned into a full-time job, this time making her leave school for five years.
During that time, Carranza managed to become the global customer services representative for the company, responsible for being marketing liaison for the corporate office: anything that involved numbers, she took part in, she said. She had managed
In 1969 Nancy Moyer came from southern Illinois to teach at Pan American College partly for the warm weather and proximity to Mexico, but mostly to get away from the violence of the time.
“I was attracted to the school because in southern Illinois, well 1968 was a politically lively time,” she recalls. “So they were constantly having building bombings and explosions, and we were having to evacuate buildings, and honestly I was really tired of having to evacuate buildings all the time. � ey set � re to the main building and burned out several areas of it, and they blew up the Ag building, there were a lot of radical groups on campus, and none of that was down here.
“It was completely removed from all the campus activism, so it was nice to come here and relax and not have to worry about being blown up”
In fact, when Moyer arrived at what is now UTPA, her surroundings served as a stark contrast to the campus it would grow to become in time.
“My desk, my desk, honest to God, was an old door on the top of some crates for a semester,” she said. “And this was next to another faculty member who had upgraded to an old battered desk, and that’s the furniture we had. And then suddenly we moved into the new campus and it was lovely, and then the whole campus developed and evolved into what it is now.
Moyer taught drawing and art education but when computers appeared on campus in the 1990s, she had to acquire an entirely new set of skills.
“� e campus started getting computers and we got electronic, and my graphic design people needed experience,” she remembered. “� e university gave us a grant to take time o� and be one with the computer. I mean we got videos and we set down and just learned it. And I just got addicted, I got really into it and kept upgrading and we � nally got a graphic designer whose specialty was computer. I just hung around with him so I could go in and � x my own computer.”
During 34 years of teaching at Pan Am, Moyer has worn
November 18, 2010 3
Doing the Math
By Alejandra MartinezThe Pan American
Former UTPA prof named new group chair
BUSY BEE - Part of Claudia Carranza’s typical Friday begins in the MAGC building and ends at the ACAS. Mid-afternoon Carranza tutors students in the Learning Assistance Center.
Roxann Garcia/THE PAN AMERICAN
SEE RETIREE || PAGE 7SEE SCHOLAR || PAGE 7
“I know somewhere,
someone believed
enough in what I was
doing and my ability
to accomplish it that it
was worth the while for
them. ”
Claudia CarranzaContinuing student
By Karen AntonacciThe Pan American
Scholarship recipient, math tutor overcomes struggle to return to UTPA for teaching degree, dream
Moyer rejoins faculty as a Pan American Retiree Association offi cial.
ADVERTISEMENTS November 18, 2010Page 4
Advertisements Page 5November 18, 2010
Given the worldwide economic downturn and its aftermath, it is no surprise that UTPA has had to make some budget cuts. Naturally, it is important to consider how this will a� ect learning at the university and more speci� cally, research by faculty/students at UTPA.
� eresa Bailey, director for the O ce of Research and Sponsored Projects (ORSP), does not believe the proposed cuts, expected to be anywhere from 10 to 25 percent over the next two � scal years, will have a negative e� ect on proposal submissions for research at UTPA. She says the ORSP is dedicated to helping faculty attain funding for research/sponsored projects by developing partnerships with outside agencies. And the o ce helps faculty � nd monies for research that the university cannot pay for.
Bailey argues that if funding at UTPA is a� ected by budget cuts, this will only increase the number of research/sponsored projects proposals submitted to the ORSP. In order for a proposal to be considered it must � rst have a cover page with original signatures and certi� cation forms, have a clear project abstract, s o l i c i t a t i o n /p r o g r a m announcement , proposed budget, as well as, a justi� cation for the proposed budget. � e proposal must also contain an indirect cost rate agreement and detail scope of work to be done. Once the proposal is submitted, a designated research specialist will review it and help edit or adjust the content. When it is correct the proposal can then be submitted to an appropriate funding source or agency for consideration. � e ORSP is also prepared to help with the negotiation process of any accepted proposals.
“� e university does not fund the sponsor projects that we do,” Bailey said. “So the budget cuts in itself at the university, could have an impact on funding, because it could increase the proposals that are submitted. I don’t think it will have a negative impact on proposal submission; quite the opposite.”
However, one thing that will remain constant at the university: � nding appropriate funding for long-term student/faculty research initiatives will always be a process.
“We are a full-service o ce. Basically we provide pre-award services, non-� scal award services, which means we assist faculty from the beginning of the (proposal) process. We help them identify funding resources,” Bailey explained. “We provide training services for faculty, we make sure they have the proper tooling that they need, to be able to be successful in grantsmanship. We are the ones who review the proposal to determine whether or not it is ready to move on for approval to be submitted to the agencies. We receive the award. When
they are received, we provide contracting services. We do the negotiation of the agreement.”
Lianna Setti, grants and contracts specialist for the ORSP for the last � ve years, explains that proposal are constantly submitted to the ORSP, with six from applied mathematics alone in just one week.
One of the ORSP’s most recently proposed partnerships is
with UTPA’s Biology Department and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which implements the Research Initiative for Scienti� c Enhancement (RISE) program for Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI), in the hopes of increasing the number of students pursuing their Ph.D. in the underrepresented areas of biomedical and behavioral research. � is partnership, if accepted, is expected
to create some big changes to the university’s biology program.
“� e National Institutes of Health has a program called RISE,” Setti said. “(� e) goal is to start the beginning of a bio-medical research program here at UTPA. So that’s kind of a big thing.”
� e RISE program is a limited submissions program that only allows one proposal submission for funding a year, with Robert Dearth, assistant professor of biology, making the primary proposal for starting the research program at UTPA.
A proposed contract is being negotiated between UTPA’s Frank Dirrigl, assistant professor of biology, and S&B Infrastructure, an engineering and environmental services company. � e hope is that Dirrigl will be able to provide expertise in environmental study, to make sure the company abides by federal laws that seek to protect the environment, as well as to, monitor the surrounding environment so that it is not contaminated or compromised during construction.
“S&B infrastructure, their headquarters is in Austin, but they do a lot of contracting for the state and for the cities for civil engineering,” Setti said. “As part of that, any time you put in a road, you have to test the dirt and water and everything around it, and check for endangered species, so (Dirrigl’s) doing some environmental work for them; for their local branch (in McAllen).”
Along with the Biology Department, the ORSP has also aided other proposal submitting departments attain funds for research/sponsored projects, including the Health Sciences and Human Services, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Business, Arts and Humanities, Mathematics, Engineering and Computer Science, Community Engagement Department and even the O ce of Enrollment Services.
To view the status of research and sponsored projects’ proposals submitted to the ORSP, students and faculty are encouraged to visit the ORSP website at www.utpa.edu/orsp.
NEWS November 18, 2010Page 6
No stopping ORSP?
By Belinda MunosThe Pan American
Veteran’s Day remembered >> UTPA’s brigade celebrates the Nov. 11 holiday at the quad.
Alma E. Hernandez/THE PAN AMERICAN
STARS AND STRIPES - Special speakers included Richard Aguirre, a retired Vietnam Veteran, Anthony Beltran, an Army Veteran and current UTPA student and Captain Kenneth Wright from the United States Army with “Taps” performed by UTPA music student David Moreno.
For a full story on this event, visit PANAMERICANONLINE.COM
Budget cuts expected to have little effect on campus research
Theresa BaileyDirector
“I donʼt think it will have
a negative impact on
proposal submission;
quite the opposite.”
NEWSNovember 18, 2010 Page 7
RETIREEcontinued from Page 3continued from Page 3
By Pamela MoralesThe Pan American
Across the country, there has been a recent uptick in media atten-tion given to a handful of high-pro-file cases of bullying, some of which have had drastic endings. Sensitiv-ity, or lack thereof, has taken center stage lately in incidents involving privacy and Internet (Rutgers Uni-versity) and a number of high school situations of bullying leading to either suicide or violence.
A c c o r d i n g to the National Center for Edu-cation Statistics from the Bureau of Justice Depart-ment, 33 percent of junior and high school stu-dents reported they were bullied at school and 5 percent cyber-bullied. Within the spectrum, 21 percent reported they were called names or insult-ed with hurtful words.
At UTPA, students and profes-sors are asking themselves if calling someone a “politically incorrect” term would be considered bullying or rath-er, freedom of speech.
On Oct. 22, the phrase “no more
mojados” was written on the sink counter of the women’s restroom on the third floor of the COAS Build-ing. After seeing it, faculty of the Mexican-American Studies program reported the incident to the UTPA Police Department.
To members of the Mexican American Studies program, the phrase is more than just bullying and they feel the case should be exam-ined by the university. Stephanie Al-varez, assistant professor of Spanish
and co-director of the program, said bullying can be dangerous if it is ignored, pos-sibly leading to physical harm.
“I would ar-gue, however,” explains Alva-rez, who’s been at UTPA for two years, “that when bullying is based on race, ethnic-ity, immigration status and/or lan-guage, it becomes even more danger-ous and could be classi� ed as hate speech.”
� is isn’t the � rst time members of the MAS program have come across a derogatory term. In the spring semester, a co-founder of the group found one of the club’s � iers with the word “mo-jados!” written on it. Orquidea Morales
said at the time it was surprising and that she didn’t know how to react.
“We were really hoping that the program would help,” said Mo-rales, a graduate student in In-terdisciplinary Studies, refer-ring to the Club and its open support with guest speakers such as Chicano poet Al-urista this semester. “Obvi-ously the incident means that it’s not getting through to the students. � ey don’t under-stand what hate speech is and they don’t understand it shouldn’t be part of a college campus.”
The U.S. Department of Jus-tice does not currently have 2009 statistics on hate crime but read-ily available were those from 2008, noting that 3,992 hate crimes mo-tivated by racial bias were report-ed, with 12.5 percent occurring at schools or colleges.
During the first incident in the spring, the overarching student re-sponse was one of being offended by the word. But one person said he did not find the phrase in any way offensive because more than likely it was a Mexican who wrote it, adding that in truth, 90 percent of UTPA students are Hispanic. As for the recent incident, sophomore Andrew Sanchez says it’s not just about who wrote it, but how an in-dividual reacts.
“If something that small bothers you so much, then you should grow up,” said Sanchez, a theater/� lm/TV major. “People are going to make fun
of you no matter who you are. You can’t avoid it.”
Terry Hernandez, co-founder of the Mexican-American Studies Club, said that this is a good point, but still insists that avoiding the incident alto-gether would create more problems.
“To get over it means that we should just say that ‘it’s OK that it happened, people use it all the time, there’s nothing wrong it, let’s get over it, let’s move on’ and then what,” ex-plains Hernandez, a double major in English and Mexican American Stud-ies. “It’ll happen again because now that term has been re-a£ rmed, that there’s nothing wrong using that term. It’s denying history, it’s denying the culture and it’s denying knowledge.”
Although Hidalgo County re-ported zero incidents of hate crime in 2009, the Texas Department of Public Safety reported that 16.4 per-
cent of incidents in Texas are moti-vated by ethnicity/national origin, with anti-Hispanic crime being the most frequent.
As for this case, Police Chief Rog-er Stearns stated that, “This graffiti incident is still under investigation by the UTPA Police Department. Of-ficers are pursuing leads to identify the person or persons responsible. If anyone has information that will as-sist police with their investigation, please contact the police department at 956-665-7151.”
The Club stands ready to come to the defense of those in need, and members invite the graffiti expert to come by a meeting and understand what the derogatory word means.
“If they still want to use it,” Morales said. “Then that’s their per-sonal choice, but at least they would have that knowledge.”
many hats and experienced both unique opportunities and interesting situations. Not only was she the first woman department chair in university history, but she also served as the first woman elected Faculty Senate chair. Moyer recalls the time that five members of the faculty sued 40 other members of the faculty, including herself because they had come to the defense of a faculty member on the verge of termination.
� e lawsuit lasted three years and resulted in tension between some branches of the faculty, and at the time, the students were largely oblivious to it all, said Moyer. Ultimately the faculty member was not terminated. Moyer said she found the whole ordeal to be enlightening and ultimately fun.
Another time, Moyer recalls going with the Anthropology Club to Mexico; the incredible heat prompted them to go swimming in a cenote, a freshwater well connecting underground to the sea.
“I jumped in and went under and got back up and thought, wow I didn’t
expect to go under…and I realized that I hadn’t been swimming in a long time and I had lost that muscle tone that you really need to swim,” she explained. “But I could stay up so I thought ‘so much for the middle I’ll just go to the side,’ but then it hit me…it was bottomless. And you get this most incredible psychological slap, its bottomless, there’s no shallow end, and I’m in it.”
Moyer decided to retire in 2003 so she could have more time to pursue other interests. Currently, she is involved with two local art magazines, is working on a new line of jewelry, showing an art exhibit at the IMAS, and collaborating on a group of public sculptures scheduled to go up in January at the McAllen Convention Center. Recently, however, Moyer added the title of Pan American Retirees Association (PARA) co-chair to an ever-expanding list. She is chair once again.
PARA is a new organization that aims to help UTPA retired faculty and staff stay connected to the university and with each other, said Christie
Cantu, development officer and PARA liaison. At the new group’s first meeting recently, Moyer along with chair Marian F. Monta, long-time leader of the UTPA theater, met to discuss the internal structure of the organization as well as the type of events members want for the future.
“The group will meet formally and try to come up with a program of work: whether they want to have programs like luncheons, dinners, if they want to travel together, if they want to keep abreast of issues that affect their retirement,” Cantu reported. “But for now, they’re excited that they’re formally going to form this group and they’ll be able to come to events together. Sometimes some of them want to come to events but they don’t have anyone to come with, and this way, they can come with a fellow member, to theater, art exhibits, concerts, speakers, things like that.”
Police dept. continue to search for Mexican-American studies vandalism perpetuator.
“When bullying is based on
race, ethnicity, immigration
status and/or language, it
becomes even more dan-
gerous and could be classi-
fied as hate speech.”
Stephanie AlvarezAssistant professor of Spanish
said at the time it was surprising and that she didn’t know how to react.
“We were really hoping that the program would help,” said Mo-rales, a graduate student in In-terdisciplinary Studies, refer-ring to the Club and its open
it’s not getting through to the students. � ey don’t under-stand what hate speech is and they don’t understand it shouldn’t
Students voice ‘no more hate’ concerns
Jennifer Tate/THE PAN AMERICAN
to build a career and unlike her previous job, the lack of a degree was not an issue.
“� ey wanted me without a degree,” she said. “But I missed teaching. I missed that look on someone’s face when you explain something to them and they get it.”
So, last fall she retuned to UTPA once again, this time determined to earn that math degree and pursue her passion: teaching.
It hasn’t been an easy ride, she says. On top of a full-time class schedule, Carranza is a teaching assistant, a supplemental instructor at the Learning Assistance Center, lab manager in the Math Department, a manager in a local roller derby league in Weslaco, and a mother of a two-year-old daughter whom she describes as a “handful and a half.”
This fall she received a Program for Continuing Education grant from
Chapter DM of PEO Sisterhood. This scholarship is awarded to women who are resuming their studies after a break of two consecutive years or longer. PEO is a philanthropic organization that celebrates the advancement and education of women through scholarships, grants, awards, loans, and stewardship of Cottey College.
Carranza received $1,100, which she says will pay for one semester of her daughter’s daycare.
“I’m so thankful to the PEO chapter down here who supported me and nominated me,” she said. “I know somewhere, someone believed enough in what I was doing and my ability to accomplish it that it was worth the while for them.”
If all goes well, Carranza plans to graduate next spring and start training for the alternative certification program that Region One offers. She hopes to complete the program by next fall and go on to teach math at the high school level.
SCHOLAR continued from Page 3
THE PAN AMERICANTHE PAN AMERICAN November 18, 2010 November 18, 2010 Page 9Page 8
Around the worldUTPA’s international athletes come from 16 different countries to compete in Bronc sports
CANADAAlex Carnall - BaseballKyle Kotchie - Baseball
X
X
X
MEXICOBlanca Garcia - TennisSara Hernandez - Track & Field
BRAZILVictor Alves - TennisRicardo Hopker - Tennis
X
X
X
X
X
X
XXX
X
X
XX
The BAHAMASJameson Strachan - Track & Field
KENYAMatthew Kotut - Cross countryJudith Chumba - Cross countryLillian Lagat - Cross country
TUNISIAAbdou Riani - Tennis
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA Sunny Strkic - Tennis
GERMANYMaria Kliefoth - Volleyball
FRANCEWanda Beguelin - Tennis
RUSSIAZalina Nazarova - TennisDona Nazarova - Tennis
SWEDENMalin Andersen - Tennis
ICELANDMaria Erlingsdottir - Basketball
FINLANDReeta Raty - Tennis
THAILANDHigh Wongchindawest - Golf
INDIAAswin Vijayaragaran
AUSTRALIAMarcus Dornauf - TennisMatt Teivans - Tennis
XX
X
FRANCEWanda Beguelin - Tennis
X
X
Designed by Jennifer Tate
THE PAN AMERICANTHE PAN AMERICAN November 18, 2010 November 18, 2010 Page 9Page 8
Around the worldUTPA’s international athletes come from 16 different countries to compete in Bronc sports
CANADAAlex Carnall - BaseballKyle Kotchie - Baseball
X
X
X
MEXICOBlanca Garcia - TennisSara Hernandez - Track & Field
BRAZILVictor Alves - TennisRicardo Hopker - Tennis
X
X
X
X
X
X
XXX
X
X
XX
The BAHAMASJameson Strachan - Track & Field
KENYAMatthew Kotut - Cross countryJudith Chumba - Cross countryLillian Lagat - Cross country
TUNISIAAbdou Riani - Tennis
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA Sunny Strkic - Tennis
GERMANYMaria Kliefoth - Volleyball
FRANCEWanda Beguelin - Tennis
RUSSIAZalina Nazarova - TennisDona Nazarova - Tennis
SWEDENMalin Andersen - Tennis
ICELANDMaria Erlingsdottir - Basketball
FINLANDReeta Raty - Tennis
THAILANDHigh Wongchindawest - Golf
INDIAAswin Vijayaragaran
AUSTRALIAMarcus Dornauf - TennisMatt Teivans - Tennis
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FRANCEWanda Beguelin - Tennis
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Designed by Jennifer Tate
November 18, 201010
You have to give credit to any non-wizard movie coming out this week. “The Next Three Days,” starring Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks, tells the story of a man trying to break his wife out of jail. Finishing second this week may not be so bad.
One of the most anticipated albums of the year, Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” will be released next Tuesday. After a name change and cover-art controversy, the album is being hailed as “his most maniacally inspired music yet” by Rolling Stones Magazine.
It doesn’t take a genius to know that shotguns, bipolar disorder and “Dancing with the Stars” just don’t go well together. Case in point: 67-year-old Steven Cowan, who fi red his shotgun at his TV after watching Bristol Palin’s performance on the ABC dance show.
Amazon is looking to extend its technological tentacles to yet another media. Three years after breaking into the e-book market, Amazon has decided to take on movies. The company just announced its plans for Amazon Studios.
� anksgiving feasts in the Valley
Illustration by Anthony Salinas and Alexis Carranza
Ask anyone to name dishes in a traditional � anksgiving spread, and mention of the holiday is likely to conjure up images of tender turkey, creamy mashed potatoes, and sweet cranberry sauce. But these seasonal staples may occasionally have to make room on the table for another Hispan-ic culinary tradition – tamales.
“In Spanish we say, ‘Es la herencia que tenmos la cultura,’” said Culinary Club President Daniela Gonzales, whose family serves tamales as part of � anksgivng dinner. “It’s the culture that we have.”
As an Edinburg resident who origi-nally hails from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, the business administration major said that her family often deviates from the conventional holiday menu.
“Sometimes we don’t even have the turkey,” she said. “We do a barbecue or something else. We make things from scratch, and we put a twist with probably some chile or chipotle sauce. It’s just the details that we change on the dishes.”
Spicing up American traditions is nothing new for folks in the Rio Grande Valley. During the course of conducting research back in 1995
on local customs, history professor Juanita Garza found that some area residents were including mole, a tra-ditional Mexican sauce usually used to marinade chicken, as part of their meal and adding turkey to the usual selection of pork, chicken or bean ta-male � llings.
“It was pretty common for the working lower class because it was something they would expend rather than putting a turkey to roast,” she explained. “� ey certainly had turkey tamales and usually no turkey in any other sense. Just the regular barbecue standbys of rice and beans, nothing to do with the traditional cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and all that. I’m willing to bet that they haven’t changed dramatically.”
Tamales were part of American dinnertime even long before the � rst � anksgiving. � e � rst historical re-cord of the dish was made by Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez when he encountered southeastern Apache tribes in 1575, according to Rob-ert Soto, vice chairman of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas.
Cortez described “a substance of maize with meat in the middle wrapped in a leaf of maize,” said the McAllen resident. “Back then, we didn’t have the same amount of ingredients, so it was very bland. Today you put spices
and stu� like that to make it tasty.” Anyone looking to try tama-
les in their original form should be prepared to ask for a few days off from work.
“� e closest thing to an Apache tamale is those ta-males people are making in Central American from a banana leaf,” Soto said. “� ey’re very tasteless. No spices.”
Thanksgiving in the Valley isn’t so much about the fusion of cul-tures as it is about inclusion of dif-ferent traditions, said South Texas native and food historian Melissa Guerra.
“Some people stu� their turkeys with tamales, which I think is a cool fusion sort of twist,” she said. “Even my in-laws, who never serve bread rolls, only tortillas, make an ex-ception on � anksgiving. It is a tough
sell to vary a � anksgiving menu. I wouldn’t include anything I eat on a daily basis into this once-a-year cer-
emonial meal.”Guerra, au-
thor of “Dishes from the Wild Horse Desert,” explained that practicing the holiday’s culinary customs makes it meaningful and keeps it connect-ed to the history it represents.
“It’s the shared experience of sameness of the menu that gives you the true T h a n k s g i v i n g experience,” she commented. “In my opinion, since there is no tradi-tion of � anks-giving in Latin America, there is no opportunity to ‘fuse’ anything.
Having said all of this, I have started re-cently is adding chile piquin to my cran-berry sauce. It’s really good, and both de� nitely originated in the Americas.”
By Nadia Tamez-RobledoThe Pan American
Daniela GonzalezCulinary club president
“Sometimes we donʼt even
have the turkey. We do a
barbecue or something
else. We make things from
scratch, and we put a twist
with probably some chile
or chipotle sauce. Itʼs just
the details that we change
on the dishes.”
Arts AND LIFE Page 11November 18, 2010
Professor Eric Miles Williamson was honored with a book signing and reading at the library faculty lounge on Monday, at which he handing out au-tographed books to students, and later read excerpts from his work.
Williamson has published four books, along with 200 other publications, and two collections of his essays are forth-coming. The American novelist and lit-erary critic is a member of the board of directors of the National Book Critics Circle, editor of the American Book Re-view, Boulevard, and Texas Review.
Williamson’s first novel, “East Bay Grease,” was named one of the best books of 1999 by the Los Angeles Times. The sec-ond novel,” Two Up,” was listed as one of 100 noteworthy books of 2006 by the San Jose Mercury News and Kansas City Star. His third and most recent one, “Welcome to Oakland,” was ranked the No. 2 book of 2009 and is named one of the 40 best nov-els of the decade by the Huffington Post.
The event was hosted by Virginia Haynie Gause, media and marketing li-brarian, who provided refreshments for those who attended; they were mostly students of Williamson’s, although of the 30 attendees four were UTPA faculty, and two were South Texas College faculty.
The reading was suggested by Joseph Haske, head of the English Department at STC, and also a graduate student at UTPA. Haske was also in charge of pre-senting Williamson, one of his profes-sors in grad school here on campus.
Haske compared Williamson’s home to a public library.
“His collection of books put any library section to shame I think,” said Haske in order to break the ice. “It is any writer’s goal to have a house where bookshelves outnumber furniture ten to one, and I think he has accom-plished that.”
Williamson began by reading an es-say, “Mr. Updike, He Dead,” from his upcoming book of essays. It’s a humor-ous tale in which Williamson’s criticizes Updike for being a prefect novelist and therefore of being wrong. He even goes
to the extent of saying he wished Up-dike dead, joking he has a few other au-thors to talk about.
Once upon a time, Williamson’s professor asked him to make more dar-ing sentences in his writing, comparable to those of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Shakespeare. With this, he read a chap-ter of aphorisms, “Phrases and Philoso-phies for the Use of the Young,” which he spent 25 years writing out.
“So much fiction that you read these days, contemporary fiction, no-body’s daring enough to write a quot-able line, to make an assertion, every-thing’s qualified, and flattened out,” Williamson said.
The special guest took a brief break from reading to give out advice to as-piring creative writing professors. He advised them to know that they were not always going to be teaching creative writing classes, but instead freshman and sophomore English.
Then he proceeded to read a chap-ter from “East Bay Grease,” a book in which the teenage narrator, T-Bird Murphy, intends to run away from his life - with his hard-bitten parents and their world of bikers and auto garages - by playing his trumpet in Oakland’s waterfront bars.
“Class Dismissed,” was Williamson’s last remark before he put away his books and took off.
UTPA’s own American novelist tells 14 tales
By Greslim VelaThe Pan American
>> Williamson, whose 2009 release was named one of the 40 best novels of the decade, held a book signing on campus.
‘Dial M for Murder’ makes its theatre debut >> New Frederick Knott production opened Wednesday night to an enthusiastic crowd.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? — Audience members chimed in with their thoughts on the play during the 9 p.m. intermission. Play director Trey Mikolasky commanded 30 hours of rehearsal a week prior to opening night.
Tell Us A TAle – Eric Williamson, director of the National Book Critics Circle, gives a brief reading from one of his books, “Welcome to Oakland,” on Monday in the UTPA library.
Freddie Martinez/ The Pan american
Andres rodriguez Sophomore communication major
“Dial M For Murder” made its way to UTPA theatre this week, running through Sunday. The screenplay written by English playwright Frederick Knott is about a retired tennis player, Tony Wendice, who wishes to have his significant other murdered in hope of taking over her riches. The exciting play is both suspenseful and tragic. While Wendice thinks it’s a sly plan, he later finds that it will not work and then must find a way out of the mess he creates.
“Dial M For Murder” may sound a bit familiar because it was produced as the storyline for “a perfect murder” starring A-list actors Gwyneth Paltrow and Michael Douglas.
Trey Mikolasky, director of the play, stated that “it’s a good balance in our theatre season. It’s also a good play for Winter Texans who arrive in the Fall.”
Aside from taking five weeks to prepare for this production, the biggest struggle has been the overwhelming amount of details that must be ironed out before the opening, along with 30 hours of rehearsal a week.
The play is running at the Albert L. Jeffers Theater, with shows tonight through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
UTPA students and faculty are admitted free with proper UTPA identifi-cation and general admission is $8. This play is not suitable for children below third grade, therefore there will be no admittance. For more information, con-tact the box office at 665-3581 or check out the website at utpa.edu/theatre.
By Adriana TrevinoThe Pan American
>> “It’s a great play so far. the acting is great and the emotion is apparent. It’s a dark story and I like how it’s unfolding.”
Tom sicking Junior business major
>> “I don’t come to plays often, in fact, this is the first play I’ve ever been to. But yeah, it’s good. I’m liking it.”
Ashley VillArreAl Senior English major
>> “Our professor Marissa saavedra is in the play so we’re glad to support her tonight. they’re doing pretty good so far. I’m enjoying it.”
Tonight — or more like tomorrow morning — “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows” infiltrates the movie theater and sleep patterns of an entire PG-13 population.
Wizard-dressed Potterheads in either Gryffindor or Slytherin colors (let’s face it, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw are pretty much overlooked when it comes to the fandom) will fill the lines, stream out into the streets and stand for hours to watch the second-to-last movie in the franchise.
But will the film live up to the hype? Maybe not the book-hype, but as solely a continuation of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” released in 2009? Then yeah, I think it will, and here’s why:
With a task of morphing 300- to-700-page books into films, directors and screenwriters had to play God in the Harry Potter universe to pick which parts lived on in the film because, of course, one can’t fit everything in with under two hours to work with. This was obviously realized by whoever made the decision to split Book 7 in half. Much of the adventure and detail in the book needs to fit into the movie in order to close all ties and conclude the series, but there was much debate between diehard fans as to whether the trick could be pulled off.
By the looks of the preview on harrypotter.warnerbros.com, “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Part One” is shaping up to be not only a visually stunning blockbuster, but an amazing story to compliment the book. After all, it is a movie, not a visual
translation. They are two different mediums with the same storyline and should be treated as completely separate entities.
In the Potter books, J.K. Rowling takes the readers on an intimate journey with the characters. They get to know them more in depth and shape them with personal imagination. Every single book holds a same-shaped adventure but a vastly different ride to every reader. The images and ideas in my head were mine, Rowling gave them to me. So naturally, when I took these images to the movies to see them played on the big screen, I was slightly disappointed.
Not only were certain scenes and details left out, but the names were pronounced completely differently than I had imagined. At that age I was in such a hurry to get to the action part of the story, that unfamiliar names like Hermoine became Harmonie (pronounced Harmony) and Hagrid became Harig (if that’s even a name) and so on. So I can understand most people’s disappointment when the movies don’t match up to the books.
I made a conscious choice early on to not re-read the HP books in preparation for the upcoming movie. I wanted to keep the two mediums separate and follow the movie storyline solely. This, I think, is really how the films should be treated and celebrated. Why celebrated? Well the fact that audiences around the world basically saw the three stars go through puberty before their eyes through the 10 years of filming is something to be appreciated. No other franchise has done that before and it will be a very long time before another one will.
arts and lifePage 12 November 18, 2010
>> Don’t expect to get the novel on screen, you’ll be sorely disappointed.
By Kristen CabreraThe Pan American
Harry Potter and tHe Soccer’S StonePublished Sept. 1998 by Scholastic Movie: released nov. 2001 directed by chris columbus north american Box office Sales: $317,575,550 Worldwide Box office Sales: $974,733,550
2001
Harry Potter and cHaMBer of SecretSPublished June 1999 by Scholastic Movie: released nov. 2002 directed by chris columbusnorth american Box office Sales: $261,988,482 Worldwide Box office Sales: $878,643,48220
02
Harry Potter and tHe PriSoner of azkaBan Published Sept. 1999 by Scholastic Movie: released June 2004 directed by alfonso cuarónnorth american Box office Sales: $249,541,069 Worldwide Box office Sales: $795,634,069
2004
Harry Potter and tHe GoBlet of fire Published July 2000 by ScholasticMovie: released nov. 2005 directed by Mike newell north american Box office Sales: $290,013,036 Worldwide Box office Sales: $895,921,036
2005
Harry Potter and tHe order of tHe PHoenix Published June 2003 by Scholastic Movie: released July 2007 directed by david yatesnorth american Box office Sales: $292,004,738 Worldwide Box office Sales: $938,468,86420
07Harry Potter and tHe Half-Blood Prince Published June 2005 by Scholastic Movie: released July 2009 directed by david yatesnorth american Box office Sales: $301,959,197 Worldwide Box office Sales: $933,959,197
2009
Harry Potter and tHe deatHly HalloWS (Pt.1)Published 2007 by Scholastic Movie: releases nov. 12, 2010 directed by david yatesnorth american Box office Sales: $Unknown Worldwide Box office Sales: $Unknown
2010
total So far:north american Box office Sales: $1,713,074,705 Worldwide Box office Sales: $5,417,096,705$
commentary
Graphic by Alexis Carranza
ADVERTISEMENTS Page 13November 18, 2010
El poder de controlar el tiempo
El tiempo es la palabra clave que contribuye a el universo, la vida, y la tierra, de niciones que son parte de la exhibición “Playing with Time” del museo Internacional del Arte y la Ciencia en McAllen traído por el museo de ciencias de Minnesota con la colaboración de la Fundación Nacional de la Ciencia.
“Playing with Time” es una exposición para todas las edades creada con la intención de mostrar y enseñar como el mundo está cambiando conforme pasa el tiempo y como se está desarrollando en millones de formas.
“[La exposición]Lleva a los visitantes en un viaje al mundo invisible de los cambios naturales y muestra los eventos que suceden demasiado rápido o demasiado lento para los seres humanos”, señaló la directora de mercadotecnia de IMAS, Michelle Rowe.
El atractivo de esta exposición es que se puede jugar con el tiempo ya que contiene varias secciones muy interesantes en las que se puede ver desde la velocidad con la que trabaja una aguja de una máquina de costura hasta mostrar cuanto tiempo toman ciertas comidas en digerirse en el cuerpo humano.
“Playing with Time” cuenta con cuatro secciones: “El Ritmo de la Vida”, “Transformaciones Terrestres”, “Cambios Universales” y “Las Máquinas del Tiempo”. Por medio de esta exposición se puede experimentar con la fotografía de alta velocidad, vídeos con un tiempo lapso, los registros de los cambios naturales como rocas erosionadas y núcleos de lago, y otras técnicas de “desplazamiento de tiempo” para descubrir los cambios que se llevan a cabo en el mundo más allá de la percepción humana.
En la exposición que comenzó el 12 de noviembre también se puede imitar el “baile” de las plantas en uno de los vídeos que se muestran, y es una actividad adecuada para divertirse ya que muestra el desarrollo de una planta desde que nace hasta que muere con el propósito de ver cómo el planeta ha evolucionado con el tiempo.
“Al acudir a esta exposición las personas deben de ir dispuestos al abrir sus mentes con el fin de aprender y de disfrutar de las cosas
que “Playing with Time” tiene para ofrecerles”, recalcó Rowe.
La exhibición estará abierta al público hasta el mes de enero, con el n de mostrar a la gente del Valle cómo los seres humanos viven la vida tan apresuradamente sin pensar en los mínimos detalles que esta presenta.
“Por medio de esta exposición se puede aprobar una mejor calidad de vida aquí en el Valle de Texas” dijo Rowe, que también manifestó lo increíble que es visitar el museo e invita a la gente a participar y
a que aprovechen la oportunidad que les presenta IMAS. “Con estas obras de arte se muestra el verdadero lado que tiene el tiempo y el cambio”.
¿Y cuánto tiempo toma en que las cosas cambien? Pués ésta y muchas otras preguntas son resueltas en esta exhibición, que cabe recalcar que la cantidad de aprendizaje que se puede obtener es muy alta y también que es divertido todo lo que se adentra en esta magní ca exposición.
14 18 de noviembre del 2010
Glenn MartínezLenguas Modernas
“La mayor recompensa
de hacer esto es poder
ayudar a otros”.
Museo Internacional de Arte y Ciencia en conjunto con el Museo de Ciencia de Minnesota presentan exposición sobre los cambios en el entorno.Por Ale RománThe Pan American
OBSERVANDO Y APRENDIENDO — Joey Partida, de segundo grado de primaria disfruta de los cambios que se revelan en las luces eléctricas como parte de la nueva exposición del IMAS.
“Logrando la paz mundial” fue el lema de los días internacionales celeb-rados en la Univerdidad de Texas-Pan Americana que dio inicio el pasado 15 de noviembre con la conferencia de Al-fred Valenzuela, general de división re-tirado del ejército de Estados Unidos.
El evento organizado por la O -cina de Programas Internacionales comenzó al rededor de las 12:00 horas en el teatro del Student Union. En presencia de Robert Nelsen, presi-dente de UTPA, Alfred Valenzuela padre, el Cuerpo de Entrenamiento de O ciales de Reserva del Ejército de los Estados Unidos, estudiantes y sta� universitario, el congresista Rubén Hi-nojosa presentó a Valenzuela mediante un video desde Washington D.C.
Valenzuela sirvió por 33 años a la armada de Estados Unidos alrededor del mundo incluyendo Kuwait, Perú, Corea, Colombia, Turkía, Haití, Granada, Pan-amá, Alemania. Obtuvo reconocimien-tos como la estrella de bronce por valor, la medalla de soldado por heroísmo, y la medalla de servicio distinguido.
Al retirarse, Valenzuela decide crear una fundación educativa y abrir una escuela para niños en riesgo al oeste de San Antonio, Texas. El ex-militar se ha ocupado también de las familias de soldados que han muerto en línea de combate, por lo que creó una fun-dación educativa para ellos.
“El creció para convertirse en héroe. Su dedicación a éste país y a la comunidad hispana es claramente vis-to en el libro que él escribió y publicó: “No hay amor más grande: La vida y época de los soldados hispanos”, dijo el congresista Rubén Hinojosa.
Nombrado uno de los 100 his-panos más in¦ uyentes en Estados Uni-dos por la revista “Hispanic Business”, Valenzuela no es únicamente promotor de la paz mundial, si no portavoz de los hispanos desfavorecidos.
De acuerdo a Valenzuela, la comui-dad indocuementada en el país es de suma importancia. “Sin ellos nuestro país no sería nada. Debemos de apoyar las reformas como el DREAM Act que buscan ofrecer mejores oportunidades a los habitantes de éste país que no cuen-tan con los derechos de ciudadanos”, dijo Valenzuela.
“Tenemos un miedo a nuestro país de no decir lo que pensamos. Eramos un pais muy poderoso, todavía somos, pero tenemos que ser honestos, enforcados, y tener vision”, dijo Valenzuela. “Tenemos una obligación moral de hablar con la verdad. Yo estoy haciendo mi parte”.
En tiempos en los que las reformas migratorias son aprobadas por algunos y rechazadas por otros. Mientras entre la población inmigrante crece el temor de perder su patrimonio y ser deportados, Valenzuela llega a UTPA durante los días internacionales con un mensaje de patriotismo, perseverancia y lealtad, re-calcando lo imprescindible que son los integrantes de las comunidad ilegal para el buen funcionamiento de la nación.
Valenzuela habla sobre inmigración al inicio de los Días InternacionalesPor Karen VelázquezThe Pan American
Tammy Ayala/THE PAN AMERICAN
Para demostrarle a la comunidad lo importante que es ayudar a otros, el pasado sábado 13 de noviembre, la Asociación Estudiantil de Español Medico (SAMS por sus siglas en ingles) de la Universidad de Texas-Pan Americana organizo un “Juguetón” para recaudar regalos para niños de familias con situación económica difícil.
“Fue iniciativa de los muchachos de la asociación”, dijo Glenn Martínez, profesor a cargo de esta asociación. “El logro mas grande esta todavía por verse, será cuando demos estos regalos a los niños de estas familias tan necesitadas”.
El evento se llevó a cabo en el bar Cities Live en el centro de McAllen a las 23:00 horas recaudó 42 juguetes mas lo que pagaron las personas que no llevaron juguetes en la entrada. El
propósito del evento era juntar al me-nos 40 juguetes para los niños de las 16 familias que fueron escogidas por “Nuestra Clínica del Valle”, que trabajó en conjunto con la asociación.
“Lo que se pedía para entrar era ll-evar un juguete nuevo con valor de mas de 5 dólares, estamos hablando de juguetes como Barbies y Kens”, comentó Alejandro Núñez Barreto, sec-retario de SAMS. “Si no llevaban juguete, la entrada era de 10 dólares, que también fueron donados para esta causa, lo único con lo que se quedó el bar fue con lo que se vendió en la barra, ese fue el acuerdo con el bar”.
Durante el evento, se mostró una presentación y los organizadores dieron
gracias a los que acudieron al evento para después pasar la pelea de Pacquiao vs Margarito y al nal siguieron con música del dj del lugar.
A pesar de que ese día fue el evento, el departamento de Español Medico estra recibiendo juguetes en la oficina del COAS 306A hasta el 3 de diciembre.
“El día 3 de diciembre todo el grupo se encargara de ir a repartir los juguetes”, dijo Heidi Arteaga,
vicepresidenta de SAMS y estudiante de Biología en UTPA. “La universidad
nos va a prestar un autobús para ir todos juntos a repartirlos a colonias cerca de la universidad de bajos recursos”.
Martínez, quien es también decano del departamento de lenguas modernas, mencionó que SAMS es una asociación nueva donde entrenan a futuros doctores y enfermeros a tener pasión y conciencia por una comunidad que habla solo español y que muchas veces están marginados por su limitación en el inglés.
“A raíz de este programa académico los estudiantes van a poner en practica las destrezas que están aprendiendo en el salón de clase y utilizarlas como un recurso para la comunidad”, a rmo Martínez.
“Creo que [ayudar] tiene una importancia fundamental en la educación de los muchachos”, a rmó Martínez. “Creo que con esto ellos pueden ver que la mayor recompensa de hacer esto es poder ayudar a otros”.
Asociación de Español Medico recauda juguetes para niños de escasos recursosPor Denisse SalinasThe Pan American
15November 18, 2010
A senior moment ONE LAST TIME - The UTPA volleyball team played its last match at the Field House Saturday against North Dakota; the Broncs lost in three sets.
Hector Gonzalez/THE PAN AMERICAN
Men’s basketball home opener>> Broncs lose 77-71 against Big-10 rival Northwestern Wednesday night.
Freddie Martinez/THE PAN AMERICAN
NERVE-RACKING- Small mistakes cost Broncs the game against Northwestern as fans gathered to inaugurate the men’s basketball season at the UTPA Field House.
For further basketball coverage, visit PANAMERICANONLINE.COM
� e last “pass, set, spike” for 2010 has been recorded in the newly remold-ed UTPA Field House, and to say that this season has been a tumultuous se-ries of heart-warming highs and heart wrenching lows would be an un-derstatement.
From losing Maria Kliefoth, the German transfer who was expected to con-tribute highly, to Marci Logan surpassing the 1,000-kill mark, everything the Broncs have gone through has been as a team.
The lights will no longer be turned on in the Field House to host a volleyball game this season, and the seniors that anchored this team will no longer wear a Bronc jersey.
“It took me a little extra time to put on my socks and shoes and go though my pre-game routine,” Rita Gonzalez, the senior setter from Phoe-nix, admitted, about Senior Night
Saturday against North Dakota. “It was a exciting to know that we are the � rst senior class to have a senior night in the new Field House.”
The seniors had a ceremony right before the first serve of the game where they introduced each one an-
other by stating their fondest mo-ments of team-mates. Emotions were high as one by one the women were handed flow-ers by either a par-ent or loved ones and had a small-prepared para-graph read over the PA system by the previously intro-duced senior.
“It is de� nitely a bittersweet mo-ment,” said Ariana Bermea, the libero transfer from Lar-
edo. “I threatened my parents that they better come watch me from warm-ups all the way through the end of the game because this is the last time they’ll see me,” she joked, with watery eyes.
Even though the seniors were very aware that this game was to be their last home chance, full attention and energy was focused on the opponent at hand.
“All our attention was on North Dakota today,” said libero Kaitlin Vasquez of Garland. “It was like get-ting ready for any other game focused on what we had to do to try and get the job done.”
� e Great West Conference Tour-nament to be played in Chicago Nov. 19-21 kept their emotions at bay Satur-day as several seniors used that as a fall-back and comfort zone in order to avoid thinking of the inevitable end to their playing days.
“It still hasn’t hit me honestly,” Ed-inburg senior Cassandra Trevino said. “I would have cried today, but we still have practice for conference we still have to prepare like we do any other week, so it still hasn’t hit me.”
Chicago State University will host the Great West Conference Tournament Nov. 19-21, where the Broncs will face o� against Houston Baptist University in the � rst round.� e Broncs were on the short end against HBU twice this season in two really close games, and they will try to make better on third at-tempt against the Houston squad. � e team heads into conference with an overall record of 4-8 in conference and 8-21 overall.
“This is what this season has come down to,” said senior setter Charity Cucancic. “We defi nitely can beat HBU and advance on to round two.”
By Dionicio “Nune” RodriguezThe Pan American
Rita GonzalezSenior
“It took me a little extra time to put on my socks and shoes and go though my pre-game routine. It was a exciting to know that we are the fi rst senior class to have a senior night in the new Field House.”
Bronc volleyball celebrates last home match with Senior Night before
GWC Tournament.
16November 18, 2010
� e Lady Broncs are excited. � e women opened the 2010-11 season at home defeating the Our Lady of the Lake Saints 72-61 before heading to Houston to beat Texas Southern 70-72 Tuesday morning.
“We got a win, but I wish we could’ve played better from the start, we played pretty good in the second half,” Coach Denny Downing said. “We got better tonight, with nine new kids, that’s what you want to do.”
� e team returns three players from last year, Bianca Torre, Maria Erlingsdottir, and Jas-mine Gordon. Nine of the Lady Broncs are newcomers.
Guard CeMonay Newell is a junior transfer from Hyde Park who led the Lady Broncs Saturday night with 23 points and seven rebounds.
“At � rst I was nervous but the sec-ond half I just got loose,” she said at the end of the game.
Downing mentioned that although the Lady Broncs dominated the Saints in the second half, the nerves of the � rst game took over during the � rst, when it showed they were facing a team that had played together three times before the encounter.
“We played a team that it was their fourth game and you could tell they were a little bit ahead of us,” he said. “Our nerves were a big part of our � rst half but we got a lot better in the sec-ond half.”
Guard Franchesca Simon said that although the team has adapted well, ex-perience playing together will bring the results the team is hoping for.
“I thought we did pretty well, just trying to get into the � ow of things and
knowing the personnel, what everyone’s a good at… we’re trying to � nd the con-nection,” said the Collin County Com-munity College transfer. “We should be much better; I think everyone should be able to get into the � ow of things.”
Simon added that as the season progresses and as they keep practicing and playing together, the team is more likely to � nd each other on the court. � e possibility of becoming a better unit excites Simon and brings hope to the new squad.
“We’re excited for the season… I think we have things that we
still need to work on, but overall I think that we
can still get to where we need to be,” she said. “� ere’s always room for improvement but with the people that we
have we force each other to work hard in practice,
so we’ll get there.”Freshman Madison Absher,
who brings height for UTPA with 6-foot-7, said motivation is a factor that the team will count on this sea-son. Although she reiterated that the team jumped on the court with a shaky feeling, she assures that after the � rst matches everything will get better for the Lady Broncs.
“I was really excited I came out with a lot of energy, I think my team did as well, we had a little rocky start but I think we got our � rst-game jiggers out of the way,” she said. “I think we’re going to do pretty good this season, I think we’re going to bring a banner be-cause no girls’ team for basketball has ever brought a banner so we want to bring conference championship home.”
� e team plays a pair of area rivals next, facing Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday at 4 p.m. and Texas A&M-Kingsville Monday at 7 p.m. both at the UTPA Field House.
Starting on the right foot
By Sara HernandezThe Pan American
MEN’S BASKETBALL RESULTS
Nov. 13UTPA - Eastern Kentucky University
67-53
Nov. 14Loyola University Chicago - UTPA
57 - 79
Nov. 12Indiana State University - UTPA
46-69
COMING UP - Men’s basketball home opener and men’s and women’s Saturday double header.panamericanonline.com
Lady Broncs kick o� season at home with two wins,
prepare to face local foes.
BRONC BASKETBALL
DOUBLEHEADER
SATURDAY 4 P.M.
GETTING THE FLOW - Junior guard Franchesca Simon was the second-highest scorer at UTPA’s home opener against Our Lady of the Lake Saturday. She mentioned that chemistry will increase as team members push each other to excel.
Alma E. Hernandez/THE PAN AMERICAN
