September 11, 2003

See COLONIA page 2

Former Bronc standoutKevin Mitchell had atremendous two-year stintat The University ofTexas-Pan American, buthe is now realizing thatbasketball at the nextlevel is strictly a business.

After graduating fromPan Am in the spring of2003, the Central Texasnative remained in theValley to polish up hisgame and give the prolevel a shot. He did notrealize at this point whatan emotional roller coast-er ride he was in for.

Mitchell was given ashot at the pros when hereceived a tryout from asemi-pro team inMatamoros, located

across the border fromBrownsville, in in thestate of Tamaulipas. Theorgani-zationlikedwhat itsaw andkept himon theroster.But hesoonfoundout thattrust israre inprosports.

"It’s pretty bad outthere, people will back-stab you. You know it is abusiness to them, and it isall about money,"Mitchell said. "They willdo whatever they can tomake money, even if they

aren’t doing the rightthing."

Mitchell made a roadtrip withthe teamand playedvery well.His teamlost allthree roadgames, buthe scored24, 12, and28 points.Matamoroswas onlycarryingtwo

Americans on the rosterand was anxiously await-ing the arrival of the restof their players.

He knew that nothingwas stable in this busi-ness, but he figured withperformances like theones he’d had, there was

nothing to worry about.However, that was not thecase.

"They released me andanother American eventhough I was averagingover 20 points a game,"Mitchell said.

The team is now undernew ownership and playhas improved, but seem-ingly not enough to justi-fy getting rid of a playerwho produces 20 points agame.

The owners have beenin contact with the guard,but Mitchell is stillexploring his options.Another ex-Bronc, MireChatman, also found thegoing tough after leavingUTPA.

"I might go back thereor I might end up going to

■ Volleyball. . . . . . . . . . . 15

■ New coaches . . . . . . . .15

■ Sports clipboard . . . . . .13

PAGE 16

SPORTSBentsen offers outdoor exercise options

Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park offers a wide variety of outdoor activities to burn off a fewcalories as well as leisure activities that attract thousands each year.

Traditionally state parks offer awide array of activities and attrac-tions for everyone and can providean excellent and economical way tostay fit as well.

Hiking, jogging or bicycling alongthe winding trails of the 587.7-acreBentsen-Río Grande Valley StatePark, located along the Río Grandein Mission, is enough to test any-one’s stamina, But the feel of theoutdoors is nothing that can beduplicated in the confines of a gym.

The four miles of road in the sub-tropical park provide a better viewthan a treadmill in an air-conditionedgym, and a gym would cost any-where from $25 to $100 a month forthe use of

often cramped facilities. In addi-tion, the changing scenery and sightsaround the park are enough to dis-tract you from a workout so that youwon’t know if you’ve jogged, bikedor hiked one mile or four since thereare no clocks, timers, or people wait-ing in line behind you to use amachine.

This type of exercise combined

with the outdoors is a bit off thebeaten path, but it is a nice changeof pace.

"We have a lot of bikers and some-times I have to slow them down,"Park Manager and UTPA alumnusRay Ortiz said. "They like the wind-ing roads."

Ortiz, a native of Peñitas and a LaJoya High School graduate (1968),joined the Marine Corps; he waswounded in Vietnam and came homein 1970.

Upon his return to the Valley,Ortiz went to work at the park wherehe decided to make it a career. Heenrolled at UTPA and graduated in1974.

One of the leisure sports that canbe enjoyed at Bentsen State Park isfishing and boating.

The park counts with a boatlaunch although the water is current-ly too low to support more thancanoes or motorcraft under 12 horse-power.

The resaca is 15 to 20 feet belowlevel now, despite a decentspring/summer rainfall.

The park stocks the resaca, alsoknown as an abandoned river branch,with bass. It used to be part of the

Río Grande in the 1800s. Currently,the park is offering fishing without alicense within Bentsen Park throughAug. 28, 2004.

In addition, the park is also one ofthe top 10 areas in the country forbird watching and is a future homeof part of the World Birding Center,which encompasses nine municipali-ties throughout the Valley.

There are approximately over 300species of birds that migrate to thearea. Ortiz likes to think of theValley as a rest stop for the migrat-ing birds.

"It’s just on the way," he noted."It’s a perfect place for migration."

Camping has been one of themany offerings at the park, althoughthat is changing.

The park is becoming more ofnature preserve and has done awaywith RV camping. There are only 10camp sites for tent camping avail-able.

The park’s move in this directionwas spurred by the need to protectthe land and the unique species ofanimals found there.

"Most people think of state parks

By ED CHRNKOThe Pan American

Bird watching is the main attraction at Bentsen State Park.

Photo by Ed Chrnko/The Pan American

It’s pretty badout there, peoplewill backstabyou. You know itis a business tothem, and it isall aboutmoney.

““- Kevin Mitchell

See BENTSEN page 14

Kevin Mitchell takes a shot against Schreiner in 2002.

Photo by Ruben Guadarrama/UTPA

Matamoros cuts Mitchell,learns hoops is all businessBy MATT HALLThe Pan American

See MITCHELL page 14

THURSDAYSeptember 11, 2003

An Inside Look:

■ News ............................................2■ A & E............................................7■ Sports ........................................16

T h e S t u d e n t N e w s p a p e r o f T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f T e x a s - P a n A m e r i c a nPage 4

CCaammppuussVOICE

How importantis religion orfaith in your

life?

TTWWOO YYEEAARRSS LLAATTEERR::

EVALUATING EVALUATIONSFaculty Senate survey results bandied about

Questions remain. Memories also.Sometimes fears.

It has been two years since thenation was rudely awakened by theattacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The worldwatched in astonishment as the WorldTrade Centers went to the ground inflames. Nearly 3,000 lives were lostand Americans stood in disbelief asterrorism hit the homeland.

Like with the assassination ofPresident John F. Kennedy in 1963,few will forget where they were andwhat they were doing when the newshit.

"It was a surreal moment," said 20-year-old Christina Harris. "I thoughtthe worst, I was worried other placeswould get hit."

Harris, a junior advertising major atUTPA, found out about the attacks onthe radio while driving to campus.Like many students making their wayto their to class that morning, Harrisdidn't know details about what hadhappened until she got a chance towatch the news.

Sophomore Carla Pena recallswatching the events unfold through aNew York-based television station.

"I was shocked and amazed," said

Pena. "Someone finally targeted usand pulled it off. People were franticand scared they weren't acting,” sheadded.

Now it is two years later, and theremembrances today will be many.From solemn parades to flagceremonies and moments of silence,the nation today recalls a startlingmoment which changed things foreveraccording to many observers.

This event altered the attitudes ofmany people around the country. Afterthe terrorist attack, red, white, andblue decorated homes, cars, and citiesas if on a reflex. The nation seemeddefensive and defiant. Patriotism roseto a new level and U.S. foreignpolitical relationships became intense.Americans now realized that even a

"superpower" like the United States isvulnerable to terrorist attacks.

Since 9/11 the United States hastaken a more aggressive attitudetoward protecting the nation anddealing with foreign enemies. Anti-terrorism and preventing dangerousweapons from getting into the wronghands have become primary foreignpolicy goals. The war in Iraq wounddown recently but the peace has beensomewhat warlike. Having our troopsfighting in foreign lands likeAfghanistan and Iraq makes a goodportion of the country uncomfortable,but polls still reflect a majority ofcitizens in favor of the efforts.

Still, these policies have not met

By MARITZA RODRIGUEZThe Pan American

It was a surreal moment. I thoughtthe worst, I was worried other

places would get hit. “

“- Christina Harris,

UTPA junior

See 9/11 page 11

The 2003 Faculty Senateevaluations of administrators areout and the numbers are notpretty. But do the numbers meanwhat the respondents think theymean? Or are the high-leveladministrators being critiquedfailing to take heed of legitimatefaculty criticism?

The University of Texas-PanAmerican Faculty Senate is agroup of full-time faculty whoget together and confront issuesand/or problems withadministration.

Every three years, the Senate

distributes a faculty evaluation ofadministrators where 25statements rated in five differentcategories reflect faculty opinionson the current administration andits work. It is in the form of aquestionnaire, which goes only tofull-time faculty. It asks opinionson trust and morale, and aboutthe faculty views on howeffective administratorcommunication is.

Administrators being evaluatedare the president, provost, andeach dean of the six colleges.Their numbers for this yearinclude: 40 percent are notsatisfied with the performance ofPresident Miguel A. Nevarez; for

Rodolfo Arevalo, provost/vicepresident for academic affairs, 58percent expressed the samenegative sentiment.

There is a catch. Numbers haveshown that faculty response tothe evaluations has been low. Outof 476 full-time faculty only 211took time to complete the survey.That response rate calls intoquestion the reliability of thestudy. Usually, 60 percent is therate that such research shoots for.However, the numbers also showthat those faculty members whodid complete the evaluation gavethe administrators a low ranking.

By ARIANNA VAZQUEZThe Pan American

See FACULTY page 6

Sept. 11 dawns in time of turmoil

FACULTY SENATE EVALUATION QUESTION

Two unnamed UTPA campus officers lower the American flag.

Photo by Daniel Aguilar/The Pan American

215

Lady Bronc volley-ball season willresume this weekendwith the team travelingto Fort Worth to com-pete in the TexasChristian UniversityAdidas Invitational - atwo-day, three-gametournament againstTCU, Arkansas State,and Arkansas-PineBluff.

The Lady Broncs, at3-5, are off to theirbest start in three sea-sons will look towardthis weekend’s actionas a means to strength-en that record.

Head coach DaveThorn is pleased withthe results he has seenthus far from his pre-dominantly freshmansquad.

“It’s always toughwith freshman,” Thorn

said. “But they’vebeen playing especial-ly well.”

The Lady Broncs arecoming off a 3-2defeat at the hands ofthe Texas State-SanMarcos team at homeon Tuesday.

They won the firstand fourth matchesagainst the LadyBobcats, but wereunable to take controlof the decisive fifthmatch to claim thehome victory.

“Texas State is awell coached team,and it was an excitinggame,” Thorn said.

Though the defeatwas unfortunate, and atough loss, it did showsome areas in whichthe Lady Broncs mustimprove in order to besuccessful.

“We didn’t do asgood a job of blockingas we needed to,”Thorn said. “We

missed a lot of blocksand had to rely on ourback row defense toooften.”

Heather Bravo, wholed the Lady Broncswith 18 digs came upwith a nice spike tosilence a three-pointrun midway throughthe final game, but theLady Broncs could notcome back from an 0-3opening to the Bobcatsand lost the fifthmatch 15-10.

Last season the LadyBroncs faced TCU inthe Fieldhouse, andfell in a similar five-match series. Thornhopes that this seasonthe outcome will bedifferent.

“We’re going to usepretty much the samelineup as we did inTuesday’s matchagainst TCU,” Thornsaid. “We’re just goingto have to step up ourgame.”

September 11, 2003 sports Page 15

UTPA loses in five, TCU tourney nextThe Lady Broncs off to best start despite

losing in five games to Texas State

By BRIAN CARRThe Pan American


Jaclyn Muszynski drills a hard shot over the net.


New coaches arrive for tennis and golfThis season will see

changes at both the helmsof the men’s golf and ten-nis programs, as two headcoaches relocate to fillpositions at UTPA.

After a lengthy searchand application processUTPA has named EduardoProvencio head coach ofBronc tennis - a positionleft open when ToddChapman relocated toEnnis. And Drew Scott hasbeen named as head golfcoach, and will replaceMark Gaynor who leftUTPA to head coach lastyear’s Division IIChampions the FrancisMarion University SwampFoxes.

The search for the newhead coaches involved anational advertising cam-paign through mediumssuch as the NCAA Newsand other sport specificpublications; a localadvertisement campaign;an internal search; and asystem of networking withwell known and respectedmembers of college athlet-ic programs, according toUTPA Director of

Athletics WilliamWeidner.

“The search involved alengthy process,” Weidnersaid. “We didn’t want toleave any stone unturned.We wantedas strong apool of can-didates as wecould find.”

Accordingto Weidnerthe criteriaused inrecruitingeach headcoachincluded astrong trackrecord inregards topast athleticprograms, but the univer-sity was also interested inan individual who placed ahigh priority on academicaccomplishment, and anindividual who would beavailable to student ath-letes in roles not strictlylimited to athletics.

“We want to stress tostudent athletes that adegree is the most impor-tant part of the program,”Weidner said. “We wantcoaches who care aboutthe athletes as people not

just someone who is thereduring practice and con-tests.”

Student athlete’s wellbeing and opinions weresuch strong factors in the

searchto fillthecoach-ingvoids,that inthecaseof thetennispro-gram,ath-leteswere

allowed an interviewprocess - in a classroomsetting - where they wereable to ask questionsabout the coaching styleand technique of - at thattime - potential headcoach Eduardo Provencio.

The result of the largescale search and lengthyapplication process pro-duced what Weidnerbelieves are two highlyqualified individuals whocompliment the athleticprogram which Weidner

has headed for the pastfive years.

“What we now have inplace is a program of out-standing people, coachesand administrators, whocould work anywhere inthe country,” Weidnersaid. “Are program isgaining respect, and wefeel like we have every-thing in place to move for-ward.”

TENNIS

After leading the Broncsto a 13-8 record, a secondplace finish inthe SouthlandConference,and beingnamed theSLC headcoach of theyear last sea-son, ToddChapmanstepped downas UTPA headcoach to takean assistancecoach positionat Ennis HighSchool - an opportunitywhich allowed Chapmanto be closer to his family.

To replace ChapmanUTPA has brought in

Eduardo Provencio, whoas head coach ofMetropolitan State Collegein Denver lead his team tofour conference champi-onships, and is coming outof a season in which hewas named RockyMountain AthleticConference Men’s andWomen’s Coach of theYear.

Provencio, who learnedof the opening through amutual acquaintance ofChapman’s, cited theweather condition in theRio Grande Valley as one

of the bigdraws to relo-cating toUTPA.

“I was talk-ing to the golfcoach yester-day and I wassaying ‘Weshould do greatdown here,”Provencio said.“When youlook at theaverage yearlytemperature

being 78 degrees, thoseconditions are perfect foroutside sports.”

For Provencio Denver,albeit a great place to live,

had a climate that got inthe way of outdoor games.

“You would have dayswhere you would get threefeet of snow,” Provenciosaid. “Three days later itwould be 70 degrees out-side. Sometimes youwould have indoor tourna-ments that would last until2 a.m., because you wereforced to change venuebecause of weather. Butthat’s II-A tennis.”

As far as working withhis new crew of studentathletes Provencio is opti-mistic about this season’sresults.

“I think I’m a littleharder on the studentsthan they’re used to,”Provencio said. “I’m look-ing for the same structure,but a stronger caliber. Thewomen are looking prettystrong, and I think the topof the lineup is on par.”

GOLF

Underneath MarkGaynor the UTPA Broncgolf program achieved itsfirst ever NationalChampionship victory,when they walked away


See COACHES page 14

I think I’m alittle harder

on thestudents thanthey’re used

to.

““- Eduardo ProvencioHead Tennis Coach

Provencio

Heather Bravo slams a shot past a Bobcat defender.

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

http://www.panam.edu/dept/panamerican52nd Year – No. 3

EditorMatt Lynch

[email protected]

Layout Designers

Ashley Brooks

Reporters

Brian Carr

Omaira Galarza

Amelia Garcia

Dulce Gonzalez

Matt Hall

Arlett Lomeli

Aaron Lozano

Vanessa Lucio

Clarissa Martinez

Maritza Rodriguez

Luis Saavedra

Aime Serna

Photographer

Daniel Aguilar

Advertising

Dagoberto Perez

Advertising Coordinator

Jo Anne Murphy

Adviser

Dr. Greg Selber

the PAN AMERICAN is theofficial studentnewspaper of TheUniversity ofTexas-PanAmerican. Views presentedare those of thewriters and do notnecessarily reflectthose of theuniversity.

The Pan Americangladly acceptsletters fromstudents, staff andfaculty regardingnewspaper contentor current issues.The Pan Americanreserves the rightto edit submissionsfor grammar andlength. Please limitsubmission lengthto 300 words. ThePan Americancannot publishanonymous letters,or submissionscontaining hatespeech orgratuitouspersonal attacks.Letters are printedat the discretion ofthe editor andmust include thewriter’s name,class/title andphone number.

Letters policy

September 11 2 0 0 3

Readers with dis-abilities mayrequest an alter-native format ofthis publicationat The PanAmerican busi-ness office. For special assis-tance to attendany event listedin this publica-tion, contact thecoordinator of theevent at least oneweek prior to theadvertised date.

Sports EditorEd Chrnko

[email protected]

A & E EditorAshley Brooks

[email protected]

News EditorBelinda Reyes

[email protected]

Arianna [email protected]

Graphics EditorGabriel O.Hernandez

[email protected]

NEWS■ Proposition 12 . . . 3■ Online services. . . 4■ Head Start . . . . . . . 5

OPINION l e t t e r s ■ e d i t o r i a l s ■ c a r t o o n sPAGE 2

To the Editor:I applaud Omaira Galarza's article on

anxiety for bringing attention to a topic thataffects many students. However, I wouldlike to comment on a couple of issues thatthe article addressed.

Firstly, the term psychosomatic is used toimply that the problem may not be real. Theterm psychosomatic refers to the influenceof the mind on the body, thus mental stressmay exacerbate or generate physicalconditions such as cardiovascular disease orcertain skin disorders.

The division of mind and body is believedby many to be quite artificial: think of atime when an embarrassing thought madethe capillaries in your cheeks dilate (youblushed). That in no way discredits the

notion that a minority of students mightfeign anxiety to manipulate, but this is aseparate issue from whether genuine anxietyis psychosomatic in the sense that it is notreal.

I might mention that I currently teach acourse on mind-body interactions, whichgoes into considerably greater detail intothese issues, and Dr. Etzel Cardeña teachesa graduate course on hypnosis, an area thatexemplifies the intimate connection betweenpsychological processes such as beliefs andattitudes, and physiological responses.

With reference to the discussion of drugtreatments, particularly Paxil, researchersreported this summer that Paxil mayincrease the risk of suicide-related behaviorsin children and adolescents under eighteenyears of age.

Prior research has indicated that Paxil is

no more effective than sugar pills in thetreatment of childhood depression and isthus not FDA approved for such use. Still,off label prescriptions are still made at thediscretion of physicians.

Even given these results it is importantnot to abruptly stop such medications. Thereis no current evidence to suggest that theserisks carry over to adults or other SSRIs(selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)such as Prozac and Zoloft.

For more information about this, you canaccess the FDAs website at:http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/paxil/default.htm

Grant Benham, Ph.D.Assistant Professor

Dept. Psychology and AnthropologyUniversity of Texas - Pan American

Professor addresses article

With all the focus that hasbeen created surrounding thewar in Iraq, the fight for Texasredisticting, and even thewedding of Ben and J Lo,society often forgets about thelife that is right in front of them.This includes the major issue ofpracticing envronmentalconservations. Some places likethe city of Austin, have beenpracticing recycling for decades.Yet in the Rio Grande Valley,there seems to be a lack ofparticipation in the practice.

The landfill north of Edinburgfilled up way ahead of schedule,and the trash continues to pourin. Meanwhile, in some placeslike Austin, citizens have

practiced sound environmentalconservation for decades sincethe 1960s by recycling theirgarbage or by making it easierfor maintenance workers to doso.

Something is holding theValley back from makingeffective use of recycling.

Ramiro Gomez,superintendent of the Edinburglandfill operations, says thateven though the city of Edinburgis attempting to increase theamount of recycling, it will be awhile before that comes intoeffect.

“Right now, there are outreachprograms such as the 20/20environment committee, andeducation in elementary schools,and a minor program at UTPA,”Gomez said. “However, the

process of educating thecommunity about the proceduresof recycling is going to taketime to reach every individual.Then to follow through with theproper recycling is going to beon the shoulders of theindividual.”

When recycling, there usuallyis separation of glass, plastic,aluminum and other materialsinto their own tubs so they canbe recycled separately.Afterward individuals mustmake sure to clean the materialsor else they could damage theentire mass at the recyclingcenter. Milk still in a containeror food stuck to a tin may gounnoticed by the time they enterthe recycling machine, thereforecausing the materials to beunacceptable.

There is a definite lack ofknowledge about recycling here,and as a result the individualtubs collected by municipalworkers in other, larger citieshave not been approved yet.

“It’s definitely a long-termplan, and we’ve actually lookedinto it, but we are going through

the process of education so thatpeople don’t throw everythingthey can into those blue tubs,”Gomez said.

At the moment, the city ofMcallen only recycles 14percent of all waste compared toa much higher rate in Austin.Some people have theirexplanations for why the areadoes not do as well a job at thisas others.

“I think the culture of the RioGrande Valley has to do a lotwith lack of individualrecycling,” Gomez said. “Peopletend to be materialistic and buywhat they want and then justthrow it away without thinkingabout recycling. It’s been likethat for so long and it doesn’tseem to carry manyconsequences, so they continuedoing it.”

Some point to the size of thecities in the Valley as a possiblereason for the slow growth ofrecycling popularity. Often inlarger cities, progressive ideashave a tendency to take root

GARBAGE TIME

Bulldozers move debris at the landfill north of Edinburg.

Daniel Aguilar/The Pan American

By CLARISSA MARTINEZThe Pan American I think the culture of the Rio Grande

Valley has to do a lot with lack ofindividual recycling. People tend to bematerialistic and buy what they wantand then just throw it away without

thinking about recycling.

“

“- Ramiro Gomez,

Superintendent of the Edinburg landfill operations

Area struggles with recycling problems

See RECYCLING page 12

314

from the National MinorityChampionship in spring of2002 victorious.

Last season the programreceived moderate successes,and looked to be on its way up.

When Gaynor accepted ahead coach position at FrancisMarion University, for reasonswhich included being closer tohis family, he left an enticingposition as the head coach of aDivision I-A school, open forgolf instructors and coaches.

One of the would-be coacheswho pursued the position waspro-golfer Drew Scott, whohad just completed his fourthyear on theCanadian PGA tour.

Scott, who wasnamed twice as themost valuable play-er of the year whilea student athlete atRice University inHouston, learnedabout the positionthrough NCAA.organd took the neces-sary steps towardssecuring the posi-tion.

It was announced that Scotthad landed the position Aug.19, leaving Scott little time torelocate to the Valley and workwith his team before the Fallseason opener on Sept. 8.

“I got down on the29th,” Scott said. “Webasically had five daysto work before we hadour first tournament.”

In their first outingunder Scott - a tourna-ment which was cutshort due to inclementweather - the Broncstook 12th of 14 teams,but Scott believes theirchances of moving upthe ranks looked goodin the final round whichwas canceled.

“We were real disap-pointed not to play, and

everybodywas reallyeager to goout and per-form,”Scott said.“We really had achance of movingup a few spots inthe final round.”

Scott, who as aone-time studentathlete knows howdelicate the balancecan be between

traveling, studying, and play-ing golf, is looking forward tothis weeks break to work morewith his team.

Scott says that the work isnot limited to impressing style.

“There is a lot of uncertaintyright now from both sides,”Scott said. “I’m uncertain ofwhat they can do, and theydon’t know if I’m a goodcoach. Hopefully after a whileof practice we’ll both knowwhat to expect.”

Bronc Golf will resume onSept. 22 the Broncs travelingto Florence, NC to compete inthe Carolina FirstIntercollegiate tournamenthosted by ex-head coach MarkGaynor’s new team FrancisMarion.

as running water andrecreational areas," Ortizexplained. "This is moreof a nature state park."

The park’s busy seasonruns from October toApril, when 250,000 peo-ple descend on the parkfor bird watching, camp-ing, fishing, boating, hik-ing, and picnicking. BothWinter Texans and localsjam the park during thisseason. However, Ortizcommented that the parkhad become too congest-ed, which prompted the

changes and scalebacks.

In the future, cars willno longer be permittedinside the park. Vehicleswill have to be parked out-side the park entrance andvisitors will be trammedin.

The new direction inwhich Bentsen State Parkis headed should make itmore people- and nature-friendly, and it remains agood place to enjoy theoutdoors and burn offsome calories in theprocess. Just make sure tobring along some insectrepellent.


BENTSEN continued from page 16

Drew Scott

Zacatecas," Mitchell said.Zacatecas, located in the

Mexican state of Zacatecas, isabout 12 hours south of theborder.

The team there expressedinterest in the former Broncafter he lit them up for 24points, but he has not beenable to get ahold of representa-tives due to the team’s travelschedule.

Mitchell set many records atUTPA while he wore theorange-and-green.

He was named to the inaugu-ral NCAA Division I-AAAAthletic Director’s AssociationScholar-Athlete Team, one of20 student-athletes honored.

Plus, he was named to theAcademic All-Region VI teamthis season. Last year, theCopperas Cove native wasnamed second team All-Independent.

He led the Broncs in scoringduring the 2002-03 season,averaging 14.7 points pergame, was tied for the teamlead with 48 steals, and wassecond with 97 assists.

Mitchell broke the single-season record by playing 1,072minutes, and ranks fourth onthe all-time single-season listwith 79 three-point field goalsand 222 three-point attemptsduring the 2002-03 season.

The 6-foot-3 guard also is

tied for fourth on the all-timecareer list at UTPA with 134three-point field goals, and isfifth on the all-time career listwith 351 three-point attempts.

Mitchell does have someadvice he would like to give tocollege seniors looking to playat the next level.

"When you get into the busi-ness, just take care of yourbusiness on the court. Bestern," Mitchell advised. "Andmake sure your contract is onethat is legally binding."

Mitchell is currently gettingsome job interviews and won-dering if he will ever getanother chance to play at thatlevel.

Entrance to Bentsen Park announces World Birding Center.


The fish-cleaning area at Bentsen Park overlooking resaca.


MITCHELL continued from page 16

Former Bronc Kevin Mitchell defends against Southern University last season.


COACHES continued from page 15

I’m uncertainof what theycan do, andthey don’t knowif I’m a goodcoach.Hopefully aftera while of prac-tice we’ll bothknow what toexpect.

“

“

- Drew Scott, UTPA Golf Head Coach

VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULEDate Opponent Site TimeAug. 29 Lamar A 7 p.m.Aug. 30 North Texas A noonAug. 30 Lehigh A 4 p.m.Sept. 2 P. View A&M H 7 p.m.Sept. 5 Tulsa A 4 p.m.Sept. 6 SFA A 12 noonSept. 6 Lou.-Laf. A 4 p.m.Sept. 9 SWT H 7 p.m.Sept. 12 TCU A 7 p.m.Sept. 13 Ark. State A 10:30 a.m.Sept. 13 Ark.-Pine Bluff A 5 p.m.Sept. 19-20 PV A&M Tourney A TBASept. 23 Incarnate Word H 7 p.m.Sept. 27 Texas A&M-Int. A 4 p.m.Sept. 30 TAMUK A 7 p.m.Oct. 2 NMSU H 7 p.m.Oct. 4 TAMUCC H 7 p.m.Oct. 7 Texas A&M-Int. H 6 p.m.Oct. 10 Alumni H 7 p.m.Oct. 12 IPFW H 1 p.m.Oct. 15 UTSA H 7 p.m.Oct. 22 Texas Southern H 7 p.m.Oct. 25 TAMUCC A 11 a.m.Oct. 31 UTEP H 7 p.m.Nov. 1 Liga Municipal Sel. H 7 p.m.

ReynosaNov. 4 TAMUK H 7 p.m.Nov. 10 Prairie View A&M A noonNov. 10 Texas Southern A 4 p.m.Nov. 14 Northern Colorado A 9:30 a.m.Nov. 14 Utah Valley State A 4:00 p.m.Nov. 15 TAMUCC A 2 p.m.Nov. 15 IPFW A 6 p.m.

September 11, 2003 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 3

Controversy. One word can drive aperson insane, place a wedge betweenfriends, or even turn a state upsidedown; at least for the people who areaware of the problem.

Saturday will mark the decisionabout one of the controversies thatTexas has been dealing with publiclyfor the last month. Though there are22 proposed changes to amendmentsin the state constitution. One suchproposition has leapt from the pile tostand alone in recognition, proposition12.

Proposition 12 states,“Theconstitutional amendment concerningcivil lawsuits against doctors andhealth care providers, and otheractions, authorizing the legislature todetermine limitations on non-economic damages.” What this meansis that if passed, there will beimmediate authorization by the TexasLegislature to limit non-economicdamages assessed against a providerof medical or heath care; and after Jan1, 2005 to limit awards in all othertypes of cases.

On the surface, it basically boilsdown to doctors vs. lawyers. Theformer say frivolous and numerouslawsuits have driven their malpracticepremiums sky-high. The latter claimthat higher premiums have more to dowith insurance companies and theirsinking profits than lawsuits. They areafraid that citizens will lose out byhaving decreased recourse in the eventof medical wrongdoing.

But there is a secondary issue thathas escaped the radar screen for themost part.

The controversy centers on thefollowing three words included in

prop 12: “and other actions.” Whilemost believe Proposition 12 is formedical malpractice cases, others saythat the words, “and other actions,”will allow the proposition to apply to(and protect) other entities that havemanufactured defective products.Some of these products could includeFirestone tires, or even go as far as tolet drunken drivers, and dangerouswork sites be over protected underProp 12. Non-economic damagesinclude, mental anguish,disfigurement, pain and suffering, andphysical impairment.

Samuel Freeman, political scienceprofessor at UT Pan-American, saysthat Proposition 12 is an extremelyregressive amendment. He believesthat most people do not realize that theamendment is not limited simply tomedical malpractice law suits, but toall court claims.

“This amendment is no more thanan insurance companyindemnification act which willincrease their profits,” Freeman said.“Those who believe insurance rateswill fall, whether for medicalmalpractice or liability insurance ingeneral will be sorely disappointedwhen the rates do little more thanflicker, if that. The insurancecompanies are interested in one thingand one thing only, and that ismaximization of profit.”

Melissa Carroza, a senior politicalscience major, says she was upsetwhen she first learned aboutProposition 12, but was not surprised.Carroza’s opinion is that Prop 12 isheaded by insurance companiesmasking the amendment as a prop for“saving our doctors” which ispropaganda.

“One question is, what about thevictims involved? They are the ones

that need protection from theinsurance giants,” Carroza said.“They happily take our money whenthe going is good; but, the moment aclaim is made, and they must paymoney out, they send their people toAustin and lobby for help from thepoliticians.”

Carroza gave the example of anindividual being involved in an autoaccident where the car catches firedue to a faulty gas tank, and theperson is burned alive. The family ofthat victim would be limited to acertain ceiling ($750,000) of recoverymoney. She feels that the amountowed by the manufacturer who builtthe faulty gas tank would be like aslap on the hand.

On the other hand, there have beena number of high-profile cases aroundthe country where ludicrous suits havebeen filed, costing taxpayer money.Supporters of Prop 12 say that suingsomeone can end up being likewinning the lottery, and that if thenumber of suits continues to increase,someone eventually will go broke,possibly the government.

There are other pro-Prop 12reasonings.

Dr. Linda Villarreal, medical staffmember at Edinburg RegionalMedical Center, considers Proposition12 a way to maintain publicavailability of doctors.

“This proposition is designated tolimit the lawsuits that have reducedmedical services statewide,” Villarrealsaid. “This is a real problem that hasto have an action taken to manage.”

Villarreal told of a doctor she knewthat was sued for malpractice and hadto attend trial, only to later find thatthe plaintiff wanted to settle. Thisparticular plaintiff was awarded $14million, leaving the lawyer to claim 40

percent of that figure.“I have never seen lawyers work so

hard against something,” she said.“When you look at it, the controversyreally surrounds the fact that they[lawyers] would no longer have a sayin how much they receive in a trial.”

Villarreal also stated that she knowsthat doctors will not leave the area inas great a numbers if the propositionpasses. She says that argument is anattempt to convince the public thatdoctors are being rebellious againsttheir patients. This area has been ahotbed for both suits and doctorspulling up stakes and leaving.

“Right now, neurosurgeons will notperform on you in the Valley out offear of being reprimanded in case of amistake.” Villareal said. “Thisproposition will not only protectdoctors against a lawsuit from peoplewho develop an infection after surgeryand want to blame the surgeon, but italso limits the insurance abuse.”

From still another angle, attorneyJohn Escamilla, for the law firm ofRodriguez, Tovar and De los Santos,insists that the controversy is about thedesign the Legislature created whencoming up with this proposition.Saturday, Sept. 13 marks an odd timefor such elections.

“By design, this proposition wasmade to be voted upon not inNovember when more voters comeout, but now, when fewer peoplereally care about voting for thesepropositions,” Escamilla said. “Otherthan the doctor and nursing staff thatwill definitely be voting for this, thereisn’t really a large amount of peopleheading out to vote.”

To counteract the argumentVillarreal made, Escamilla explainedhow with the passing of theproposition, people who will try to

obtain a collection in trial will receivearound $50,000 since lawyers willreceive 40 percent of the money, andthat amount isn’t guaranteed if there isa decision to settle.

“The legislature is using doctorsbecause the public is sympathetic tothem,” Escamilla said. “No one wantsto lose their doctors so they will wantto vote for the bill to assist theirphysicians. This bill is a wolf insheep’s clothing.”

In the early voting session, 1.8 to2.5 percent of registered voters inTexas actually voted this past week.This leads to the conclusion that onlytwo percent of Texas - plus the voterson Saturday - will actually decide thefuture of this proposition, as well asthe other 21 that are listed on theballot.

“I was in Dallas two weeks ago andthe citizens there were just as cluelessabout the proposition as they are in theRio Grande Valley,” said Escamilla.“Basically people haven’t seen thedepth of this particular proposition.”

With the voting happening thisweekend, students at UTPA have achance to add their voice to thedecision. If they decide to vote, whichis a big if.

“Students generally know little ornothing about the amendments. Thevast majority will not vote onSaturday,” Freeman said. “Most of theones who do will not know anythingabout what they are voting for oragainst.”

Freeman stated that research dataconsistently shows voters who go tothe polls to vote on amendments areunarmed with knowledge. Researchalso shows the vast majority of peopledo not even bother to vote in these

Since The Edinburg Daily Review wasfounded 89 years ago, it has passedthrough many hands. Along the way it hascarved out a reputation to many as atrailblazer in modern-day muckraking.

OWNERSHIP

The Edinburg Daily Review is the onlyfamily-owned daily newspaper in Texas

south of Corpus Christi. Newspapersmust release at least four issues per weekto classify as a daily. With backing fromthe Hidalgo Publishing Company Inc., theDaily Review releases publications onTuesday through Friday, and a weekendedition is available on Saturday. Thepaper is an eight-page broadsheet.

In 1914, founder Andres Chavezpublished what is now known as theEdinburg Daily Review under the nameRevista del Valle, or The Valley Review,as a weekly Spanish language newspaper.

The switch from a Spanish publicationto an English publication took place in1927 when Marshall McIlhenny purchasedthe paper. W.R. Montgomery was owner

of The ValleyReview in the1930s, and sold thepaper to AllenEngleman in 1946.

On July 4, 1948,The Valley Reviewbecame theEdinburg DailyReview. Thechange occurredone year afterKURV-AM wenton the radioairwaves. James Mathis took control asowner and editor of the Daily Reviewfrom 1965 until his death in 1988. Hiswidow, Pearl Mathis, took ownership andcurrently produces the paper.

AFTERNOON TO MORNING

Beng Lim, city and school editor of theDaily Review, explains Pearl Mathis’involvement in the publication process:“She comes in nightly from twelve to sixto do the pagination, and she gets thestories from the wire.”

Pagination is a process of placingstories from a computer onto the page.

According to Lim the paper has used thesame machine to complete pagination formany years.

What has changed over the years is thepaper’s release time. Originally reportersturned in their stories by noon, and thepaper would be on the shelf by one thatday. But afternoon papers are a thing ofthe past, as are cut-and-paste news roomsfor the most part computer pagination hasreplaced pencil and paper.

“We used to be an afternoon paper untilabout six or seven years ago,” said Lim.“When I started off it was an afternoonpaper, then it became a morning paper,because people would complain that bythe time they got the paper news would be

old.”

LOCAL FOCUS

Since 1914, the Daily Review hasprovided residents of Edinburg withnews that is pertinent to the city.

Lim said the paper’s coveragefocuses on the Edinburg City Council,County Commissioners, the courthouse,and other local issues. He explains thatwith such a concentrated focus they cancover issues in a more in-depth fashion.

According to Jim McKone, publicrelations officer for the Hidalgo CountyHistorical museum, the Daily Reviewcovers local high school and University ofTexas-Pan American stories better thanThe Monitor.

The papers definitely have a rivalrygoing on several fronts, though it isunstated.

EDINBURG DAILY REVIEW VERSUSTHE MONITOR

According to Lim, personnel has beencut back because it is becoming difficult

By OMAIRA GALARZAThe Pan American

By CLARISSA MARTINEZThe Pan American

Prop 12 vote Saturday politically important

We used to be an afternoon paper untilabout six or seven years ago. When I

started off it was an afternoon paper, thenit became a morning paper, because

people would complain that by the timethey got the paper news would be old.

“

“- Beng Lim,

City and school editor of The Edinburg Daily Review

Local paper carves out niche in community

See DAILY REVIEW page 5

See PROP 12 page 5

4 13September 11, 2003 Sports Page 13

Men’s golf finish 12th at Fairway The UTPA men's golf team finished 12th at the 14-team Fairway Club

Invitational with a 36-hole overall score of 614. Iowa won the tournament, held atthe Firethorn Golf Course from Sept. 8-9, with a score of 581.

The Broncs shot a second round score of 308 and was five strokes behind 11thplace Troy State. The third and final round was canceled due to rain.

Senior John Huerta led Pan Am with a second round score of 75 and a 152overall, which tied him for 34th.

Cross country team open season strong

UTPA’s cross country team opened the 2003 season with a strong performanceat the UTPA Cross Country Relays held at the Ebony Golf Course in Edinburglast Friday.

Pan Am’s men’s team placed first in the 12-team event with a time of 49:35.The Lady Broncs took second place after completing the course in 37:52 behindTexas A&M-Kingsville who took first in the women’s race with a time of 39:09.

Devils sign oldest player in leagueThe defending NHL Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils signed center

Igor Larionov, 42, the oldest player in the league, on Wednesday.Larionov, who is entering is 14th season and turns 43 in December, will fill the

void that Joe Nieuwendyk left when he departed as a free agent to sign with theToronto Maple Leafs. The 42-year-old Russian won three Stanley Cups with theDetroit Red Wings in 1997, 1998, 2002.

Last season, Larionov had 10 goals and 33 assists in 74 games for Detroit.

L.A. and Detroit face offin WNBA finals

The two-time defending WNBA champion Los Angeles Sparks (24-10) willtake on the Detroit Shock (25-9) in the Finals, which begin on Friday night at theStaples Center.

Detroit won an 87-78 overtime game during the regular season, the only meet-ing between the two teams this year.

Game 2 will be Sunday in Detroit. A third and deciding game will be played onSept. 16, if necessary.

Loaiza and Halladay notch 19th winsMexican righthander Esteban Loaiza (19-6) became the American League's first

19-game winner Saturday when the Chicago White Sox defeated the ClevelandIndians 8-5.

Later during the day, Toronto’s Roy Halladay (19-6) equaled Loaiza’s mark in a1-0, 10-inning victory over Detroit.

Loaiza is set to pitch Thursday night against Brad Radke (11-10) and theMinnesota Twins.

U.S. women rout Mexico

The United States Women's National Soccer Team thrashed México, 5-0, in itsfinal tune-up match at Spartan Stadium prior to the start of the Women's WorldCup. The United States will begin the defense of their 1999 World Cup Cup titleon Sept. 21 against Sweden in Washington, D.C.

SPORTS CLIPBOARD

MLB WILDCARD STANDINGS

American Won Lost GB LEFT DIVBoston 85 - 60 --- 17 EastSeattle 82 - 62 2.5 18 WestMinnesota 76 - 68 8.5 18 Cen.Kansas City 73 - 70 11.0 19 Cen.Toronto 73 - 72 12.0 17 EastAnaheim 70 - 75 15.0 17 WestBaltimore 66 - 79 19.0 17 EastTexas 65 - 79 19.5 19.5 WestCleveland 63 - 82 22.0 17 Cen.Tampa Bay 58 - 85 26.0 19 East

National Won Lost GB LEFT DIVFlorida 81 - 65 --- 16 EastPhiladelphia 80 - 65 0.5 17 EastLos Angeles 77 - 66 2.5 19 WestChi Cubs 77 - 67 3.0 18 Cen.Houston 77 - 67 3.0 18 Cen.St. Louis 75 - 70 5.5 17 Cen.Arizona 73 - 72 7.5 17 WestMontreal 72 - 73 8.5 17 EastPittsburgh 65 - 78 14.5 19 Cen.Colorado 66 - 80 15.0 16 West

CBL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIESMonday, Sept. 1Jackson 5, Amarillo 2Tuesday, Sept. 2Jackson 6, Amarillo 0Wednesday, Sept. 4Jackson 4, Amarillo 3, 10 inn., Jackson winschampionship series 3-0.

NFL WEEK TWO SCHEDULE

Away Home Date TimeWashington Atlanta Sept. 14 NoonBuffalo Jacksonville Sept. 14 NoonDetroit Green Bay Sept. 14 NoonMiami N.Y. Jets Sept. 14 NoonSan Francisco St. Louis Sept. 14 NoonCleveland Baltimore Sept. 14 NoonHouston New Orleans Sept. 14 NoonPittsburgh Kansas City Sept. 14 NoonTennessee Indianapolis Sept. 14 NoonSeattle Arizona Sept. 14 3:05 p.m.Carolina Tampa Bay Sept. 14 3:05 p.m.Denver San Diego Sept. 14 3:15 p.m.Cincinnati Oakland Sept. 14 3:15 p.m.New England Philadelphia Sept. 14 3:15 p.m.Chicago Minnesota Sept. 14 7:30 p.m.Dallas N.Y. Giants Sept. 15 8 p.m.

UPCOMING UTPA SCHEDULE

Fri., Sept. 12 Volleyball vs. Texas Christianat Fort Worth, 7 p.m. (TCU Tournament)

Sat., Sept. 13 Volleyball vs. Arkansas Stateat Fort Worth, 10:30 a.m.

Sat., Sept. 13 Volleyball vs. Arkansas-PineBluff at Fort Worth, 5 p.m.

Sat., Sept. 13 (M+W) cross country (NewMexico Invitational) at Albuquerque, NM

MEXICAN SOCCER LEAGUE

Team W - D - L GF:GA PTSU.A.G. 4 - 1 - 1 9:6 13Santos 3 - 2 - 1 11:4 11Irapuato 3 - 2 - 1 10:6 11U.N.A.M. 3 - 2 - 1 11:9 11Tigres 3 - 1 - 1 11:4 10Toluca 3 - 1 - 1 9:6 10Veracruz 2 - 3 - 1 10:10 9Atlante 2 - 2 - 1 10:8 8Necaxa 1 - 5 - 0 9:7 8Cruz Azul 2 - 2 - 1 6:4 8Morelia 2 - 2 - 2 9:10 8Puebla 2 - 2 - 2 8:10 8Pachuca 1 - 4 - 1 5:5 7Guadalajara 2 - 1 - 3 6:8 7Club San Luis 1 - 3 - 2 7:7 6Monterrey 1 - 3 - 2 9:10 6América 1 - 2 - 3 9:11 5Chiapas 1 - 1 - 4 5:12 4Atlas 0 - 2 - 4 6:12 2Querétaro 0 - 1 - 5 5:16 1

Week 6 results: Chiapas 2, U.N.A.M. 5; Morelia 3,Necaxa 3; San Luis 1, U.A.G. 3; Atlas 2, Monterrey 3;América 1, Irapuato 0; Pachuca 0, Puebla 2; Querétaro1, Guadalajara 2; Santos 3, Veracruz 0; Tigres vs.Toluca, ppd.; Atlante vs. Cruz Azul, ppd.

Week 7 Schedule Sept. 13-14: Veracruz vs. Atlante;Cruz Azul vs. Chiapas; Monterrey vs. San Luis;Guadalajara vs. Tigres; Necaxa vs. Querétaro; Américavs. Atlas; U.N.A.M. vs. Pachuca; Irapuato vs. Toluca;Puebla vs. Morelia; U.A.G. vs. Santos.


In the 1700s a woman whoplaced a personaladvertisement in a newspaperwas put away for doing it. Buttoday such personals are notonly acceptable; they are beingaugmented by online datingservices.

According to the People’sAlmanac no. 2 (1727) HelenMorrison, a lonely spinster,became the first woman toplace a Lonely Heartsadvertisement. It appeared inthe Manchester WeeklyJournal and as a result themayor promptly committed herto a lunatic asylum for fourweeks.

Today’s society wouldconsider Morrison’s plight hardto believe. They also mightfind print ads a bit outdated aswell. The “Wild World ofOnline Dating”, a recentspecial on Video Hits One(VH1) provided information

that Houston newspapers haveeliminated the personaladvertisement section becausepeople are increasingly optingto use online resources.Various other cities have madethe same adjustments.

John Naposki, president ofPremier Personals, said, “Ifyou type ‘online datingservices’ into Google,2,760,000 results come back.”

His website,premierpersonals.net, is aresource for online dating.News of this site has appearedin Playboy, Newsday, and theWall Street Journal. Naposkiand his employees rate onlinedating services and personalssites.

The rating system is basedon 13 areas: site speed, ease ofuse, picture quality, quality ofpersonal advertisements,search features, and so on. Atop site is classified as a five-star site. To receive five-starstatus a site must score at leasta 29 out of a possible 30

points. “Despite the total quantity of

online dating services, only aselect few, perhaps 75-100,really have any true impact,”said Naposki.

Of this number, he considersthree sites to be five-starcaliber: American Singles,Date.com, and Match.com.

Heather Weaver, once amember of Match.com’sdating pool, found her husbandin an America Online chatroom.

“I think chatting on AOLwas more effective for mebecause it was free, cheap, anddidn’t eat up a lot of my time,”said Weaver, 21, a graduate ofthe University of Texas-PanAmerican. “I could chat withthat person for free versuspaying to chat with one personor even contacting anotherperson like I did onMatch.com.”

According to an article


Dating web sites offeringmore online alternatives

See DATING page 12

“The measure of a woman is not where shestands in moments of comfort and conveniencebut where she stands at times of challenge andcontroversy,” were the words of Martin LutherKing Jr. They were also the words that ended the“Finding a Balance Between Family andCareer” workshop for women on Tuesdayevening.

The women’s issues committee of theMcAllen Hispanic Chamber of Commerce puttogether a free workshop focusing on issuesmany women face, such as working women andmothers. There were three speakers who sharedtheir experiences and abilities on how theybalance their personal and professional lives.Among the guest speakers were Rose GuerraReyna, district judge for the Hidalgo CountyCourthouse, Edna Posada, owner of MerleNorman Cosmetics stores in McAllen,Harlingen, and Brownsville, and AdelitaFigueroa-Munoz, extension agent for the TexasCooperative Extension of Texas A&MUniversity, and a volunteer counselor.

The workshop allowed women to hear storiesfrom other females who face similar situations,and learned how to tackle problems with theexpert advice provided. To begin, each womanintroduced herself and explained what sheplanned to gain from the workshop. It was asmall group of nine women. The speaker’spresentations were sometimes followed byintimate discussions amongst the womenpresent.

Most of the women who attended weremarried with children and trying to find ways tobalance their lives. One woman’s situation,however, was slightly different.

Elizabeth Gutierrez, 29 and single, took onthe role as caregiver of her elderly grandfathershortly after her grandmother died. Gutierrez

comes from a large family, however, she is theonly unmarried member; therefore making herthe most obvious choice to watch over hergrandfather. Gutierrez says that although she isunmarried has no children, she still finds it achallenge to balance time between work andhome. She attended the workshop in hopes ofimproving her time management between hergrandfather and work.

The featured speakers each brought up similarpoints in their presentations. One point of advicethat each of them shared was to have faith.

“I was impressed with the emphasis on faith,”said Maribel Escobar, vice chair of women’sissues.

Judge Rose Guerra Reyna said that it isimportant for women to view obstacles aschallenges rather than problems.

“Mind over matter,” she said. “I can do. I willdo.”

Reyna also brought up the importance oforganizational skills, learning to delegate, andthe power of compromise.

“It’s okay that you’re not going to be there110 percent of the time,” Reyna said. “But whenyou are there, you’ve got to give 110 percent.”

Posada, owner of Merle Norman Cosmetics,spoke about the importance of setting prioritiesand finding ways to relieve stress, such asexercising. Posada said that exercising will notonly improve health, but self-confidence as well.She said that as funny as it may sound, PresidentBush was a motivating factor in her life.

“If President Bush can go exercise, you can’ttell me that I have more things to do,” Posadasaid.

Posada also talked about the importance ofmaking time for one’s female friends. She saidthat it is important for any woman’s sanity thatshe stay in touch with other women.

The last speaker among the three was

By AIME SERNAThe Pan American

Empowerment workshopbuilds job, home balance

See WOMEN page 5

Shalia Noor AlamComputer ScienceJunior

Religion is a discipline. If people take it asdiscipline and maintain it, I think it is agood practice, but it is not good to gooverboard with it. Faith is required in allreligion. Without faith it is impossibleeven to go forward because it is thecertainty that we hope is waiting for us,even though we are unable to see it.

Dr. Teofilo OzunaGraduate Behavioral FinanceEconometrics Professor

It’s very important. It helps me buildmy character and see the good inpeople.

Dahlia GuzmanPhilosophySenior

The question is very important to mebecause I’m a philosophy major andI’m trying to figure out how importantreligion and faith are to me and toother people.

How important is religionor faith in your life?

Fernando MedinaComputer ScienceSenior

It is very important. It is the faith in GodJesus that motivates my life and myactions.

VOICECCaammppuuss

Joe MartinezBodexo Service StaffStudent Union

It is extremely important to me. Everymorning I give thanks to the Lord to behere every day.

512 September 11, 2003 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 5

After 38 years of service to low-income families, the federally fundedHead Start program is facing majorchanges.

Lawmakers are seeking to change theway Head Start is operated. Since itsinception, each center has decided whatit needs to do in order to better serve itschildren. But recent bills filed byRepublican lawmakers seek to givestates more control over the program.According to one plan, eight stateswould be selected for a pilot plan.

According to Teresa Flores, director ofthe Hidalgo County Head Start Program,

Texas will not be one of the eight stateschosen because it does not meet certainrequirements. In order to be chosen astate must show proof of a well-developed early childhood developmentprogram for 3- and 4-year-olds. Inaddition, all Head Start teachers will berequired to have a bachelor’s degree.Flores commented that it will probablybe a couple of years before this decisiongoes into effect and cause impact.

If this law does make it the Head StartProgram will operate along with schooldistricts. The program would berequired to function under an academiccurriculum like the ones used by schooldistricts. Its history has been as anagency focusing on other aspects of achild’s quality of life besides academics,such as health care, daycare, meals andpreparation for school each day. Floresstated that she would not have a problemworking with various school districts.

“I don’t mind working with schooldistricts,” said Flores. “However schooldistricts do not offer the same servicesthat Head Start does.”

There are two requirements forchildren looking to benefit from HeadStart. The child must come from a lowincome family and must be three or fourbefore Sept. 1. After these requirementsare met, the child can begin to enjoy thebenefits of the program. Flores statedthat the goal of the Head Start programis to be able to help the children andtheir caregivers.

“We don’t only focus on the childrenor on the families,” said Flores. “Wefocus on providing services to thechildren and their families at the sametime.”

Flores stated that too often people donot believe in the program because theydon’t understand how it works. Parentsshould feel safe leaving their children atHead Start because the program follows

strict Texas state licensing criteria. TheTexas Department of Protective andRegulatory Services set the regulationsfor the Head Start program. Themaximum number of 3-year-olds thatcan be in a classroom is 17 and theteacher must have an assistant. Themaximum number of 4-year-olds thatcan be in each classroom is 20 and theteacher must also have an assistant. Theprogram must also follow specificstandards for feeding and discipliningthe children, just like daycare.

“If there is any complaint about howwe treat the children, child protectiveservices will immediately come in andinvestigate,” said Flores.

In case the new law does go intoeffect Head Start is preparing to fulfillthe new requirements. Currently HeadStart teachers are only required to havean associate’s degree, but under the newlaw they must have a bachelor’s. Tocircumvent this, many Head Startofficials are starting to encourage theiremployees to go back to school. Forthose who do decide to go to school theprogram often pays for the tuition feesand books.

“We have increased the number ofpeople going to school,” said Flores.“As we move along if we can’t get ourstaff to go to school we will have toreplace them.”

Currently, Head Start helps 3,570children in Hidalgo County alone. Thedirector stated that the progress made bythe children in the Head Start istremendous. The program is at adisadvantage because there are morechildren in need than the program canhelp.

“I think Head Start should getincreased funding rather than change theway it is funded,” said Flores. “It is aprogram that helps us break the povertycycle.”

By DULCE GONZALEZThe Pan American

2003 FAMILY INCOMEGUIDELINES

FOR HEAD START

Size of Family Unit Income

1 $8,9802 $12,1203 $15,2604 $18,4005 $21,5406 $24,6807 $27,8208 $30,960

For Family Units with more than 8members, add $3,140, for each addi-tional member.

SOURCE: Federal Register, February 7, 2003(Vol. 68, No. 26, pp. 6456-6458)

Assistance program rolling withproposed changes in control, funding

for small papers to work along withlarge franchises. The Review is at adisadvantage in many respects.

“The Monitor is a Valleywide dailyand the Edinburg Daily Review is a citydaily,” said McKone, who has writtenfor both papers at one time or another.

Lim doesn’t recognize a competitionbetween The Monitor and the DailyReview because he says the two papershave different focuses.

“We don’t try to compete with TheMonitor. It’s like a mom and pop storetrying to compete with Wal-Mart,” saidLim.

Still, recent Daily Review articleshave publicized a furor involvingMonitor reporter Alma Walzer and herreporting of the Texas Legislature andlocal politics. The paper also ran atongue-and-cheek account of theMonitor’s bid for tax relief recently,spotlighting the embarrassmentsupposedly heaped upon itsrepresentatives by the McAllen CityCommission at a hearing. Steve Taylor,a former Monitor reporter, now has aregular byline in the Review, and hasnot been bashful in employing tough,unflinching reporting.

The scope of coverage is not the onlydifference between the two papers. TheDaily Review is notorious forspecializing in spotlighting what it seesas corruption.

“I’ve been through a lot of technicalchanges [with the Daily Review], butthe principle is the same,” said McKone,69, a former reporter and also longtimesports information director at UTPA.“The Daily Review is unique because itis one of the few family papers left,” hesaid. “It has courageously criticizedlocal people, no matter who they are.”

COMMUNITY WATCHDOG

“We cover issues that other papersdon’t for fear of reprisals,” said Lim.“We don’t leave any stones unturned incovering these issues.”

The city of Edinburg has attempted toboycott the Daily Review in the pastbecause of the controversial stories itpublishes. By the same token, the paperhas received recognition from publicofficials, such as Aaron Pena. Penarecognized the Daily Review in the 78thTexas legislative session.

“In a town like this with the

courthouse, university, and big schooldistrict, many things can go wrong asfar as corruption,” said Lim. “Mostsmall town papers report on socialaffairs and there’s a need for that, butthere is also a need for exposingcorruption.”

“Sometimes [covering controversialissues] comes with a price,” he added.“In a city like Edinburg, if you have aruler who works in a dictatorial fashion,businesses want to seem pro-establishment. If you have a leaders thatdislike the paper and a businesssupports it, they can seem anti-establishment.”

Lim carried on a steady battle withformer Mayor Joe Ochoa and his staff,and some locals have speculated that thepaper’s badgering helped oust Ochoaafter 10 years and usher in UTPA gradRichard Garcia as the new mayor.

Lim’s pointed columns are thescourge of the City Council andEdinburg school board at times.

As a small-town paper with a big-timegrudge against corruption and cronyism,the Review continues to peck away,giving citizens a peek at the area and itslively events.

DAILY REVIEW continued from page 3

types of special elections. “The first thing students need to do is to recognize

that they have responsibilities as citizens and shouldmake an effort to participate,” Freeman continued.“One place to start, of course, is the news media.There are many news and opinion magazines whichcover the waterfront of political thought within theUnited States. Some of them lack quality, but thereare many excellent ones.”

An alternative source to find out more about thisproposition and others to be voted on is the Internet.However, although there are some extremelyinformative sites, there also many sites which lackany legitimacy whatsoever.

“It can be difficult to learn how to differentiatebetween legitimate sources and propagandapeddlers,” Freeman said. “The first step there is toapproach each new source with a critical and ananalytic eye.”

“This is our opportunity to show the politiciansthat we are cognizant of what is going on in Austin,”Carrazo said. “Change can happen, but people mustget involved in the issues affecting us. Politiciansusually don't consider what might affect collegestudents because they know college students don'tvote. In fact, we received a big blow to our pocketswith the rising tuition and this will continue for thenext few years.”

“Prop 12 will not take away anyone’s rights, noris it about doctors not wanting to pay formalpractice,” Villareal said. “If passed, this will helpkeep doctors in your neighborhood. People of theRio Grande Valley won’t have to travel to Corpus orSan Antonio to receive the care they need. It is notabout not wanting to give people the money theydeserve, it’s about not allowing doctors to paymillions of dollars in insurance.”

Talk about multilayered controversy.

PROP 12 continued from page 3

WOMEN continued from page 4

Figueroa-Munoz, she created excitement and energyby making the women participate in an activity sheput together involving dancing around the room.

Figueroa-Munoz spoke on the importance onlearning from one’s mistakes, simplifying life, beingspecific when delegating, and the importance oflaughter. She also demonstrated a breathing exercise.

She said that many working women do a good jobat juggling, but when everything is going well, awoman becomes complacent. She said the challengesthen stop, and it becomes difficult to feelaccomplished.

“We are super women, but we are notSuperwoman,” Figueroa-Munoz said. “Whateverhappens today, the sun will still shine tomorrow.”

One feeling that all women who attended admittedto feeling was guilt. They acknowledged that whetherit was from spending too much time at work or fromnot spending enough time at work, the feeling of guiltwas always present. A woman can feel caught up atwork but will likely feel guilty about not being athome. At the same time a woman can be caught up athome but feel guilty about not keeping up in theworkplace.

“I came to this seminar to better understand mykids, my husband and my co-workers,” said AlejandraGonzalez, personal banker at Lone Star NationalBank in Rio Grande City. “I also came to learn howto relieve my own stress.”

It is important to remember oneself in the equationof finding balance. There is work, family, and you. Sooften women forget about the most important personinvolved, themselves.

“We tend to give and give, but at some point intime, we need to take in something,” Figueroa-Munozsaid. “And that’s when we become greater and canbegin to balance.”

The McAllen Hispanic Chamber of Commerceholds workshops once a month like this one onvarious topics, and encourages women to attend. Thewomen all agreed that whether a woman is a full-timestudent, a full-time mother or a full-time careerwoman, loving yourself first better suits you to loveand deal with everyone and everything around you.


published on premier personals.net, avid online dateservice users cannot expect to enjoy the conveniences ofthese systems without finding a price tag attachedsomewhere.

The article explains that no sites are completely free.They typically provide certain free features and services,but the more appealing features require a fee. Such payfeatures usually encompass chats, unlimited electronicmail, instant messaging, and notification when newmembers register.

An added benefit for paying customers is that they aregiven top placement in search results, whereasnonpaying members end up behind over 100,000 peoplewho are “invested” subscribers.

According to statistics at date.com, 24.3 percent ofsingles in the United States have used or are currentlyusing online dating services or personals to meet.

Prior to selecting prospective candidates from theonline population, individuals first weed through thevarious lists of services to choose one.

Naposki’s site divided reviews into categories like:international dating services, online matchmakingservices, Russian bride services, and services for thosewith sexual transmitted diseases, such as herpes.

“Like anything, you can break this down in a varietyof ways: by religion, sexual preferences, nationality,culture, age, location, language and so on,” Naposki said.“For us, the true factor which determines whether aparticular type of category ends up on our site is whetheror not there are excellent dating services to fulfill theprospective category.”

Robin Lopez, a sophomore at UTPA, said, “Even withall the different types of online dating sites, people stillrun the risk of being lied to or attracting psychos.”

The risks that develop because of the anonymityinvolved with online dating has been a controversialissue since these sites began to pop up. As a result, onlineservices attempt forms of control to maintain safety.

Two years ago a Texas A&M student was murdered inCentral Texas when he visited a person he had beenchatting online. Though this case did not involve a datingservice, it shows the sort of dangers out there.

Date.com screens all written profiles, and ad contentmust adhere to the site’s standards of conduct. Clients areadvised to follow basic safety guidelines of dating.

“I’ve never tried it [online dating], partly because Idon’t know how safe it is,” said Lopez, 20. “I wouldpossible consider giving it a try if I were single.”

Weaver said, “Anything is possible with online dating,I found a husband through it.”

Risky or not, online dating continues to expand in thebusiness world with the creation of new services, largerclientele, and increasing revenues.

According to an article by Marguerite Higgins in theKnight Ridder Tribune Business News, the onlineportion of the dating services industry makes up a thirdof the total revenues with $304 million in 2002.

Naposki of premierpersonal.net said, “As far as I’mconcerned, anything which brings human beings togetheris good. There are many lonely unhappy people in thisworld. Whatever we can all do to find companionship,friendship and love… I am all for it.”

DATING continued from page 4CAREER PLACEMENT SEMINAR

The Career Placement Services Officepresented the seminar “Success in the

Workplace,” Tuesday afternoon in the StudentServices Center.

The seminar was presented by the LockheedMartin Company, a leading system integrator

and information technology company.

Approximately 25 students attended theseminar, which was geared toward helping

students answer questions regarding how toreach the highest positions available in a

company and gather advice on how to becomea confident, productive, and capable

employee. Two of the three presenters wereUTPA graduates now working for the Lockheed

Martin Co.

Cody Hamer, above (in white shirt), and Agapito Calderon, right, bothUTPA graduates working for Lockheed Martin Company, speak to stu-dents at the “Success in the Workplace” seminar.

Elizabeth Padilla/The Pan American

more easily. But a recent HoustonChronicle article spotlighted the cityof Crockett in East Texas, whichturned over 30 percent of its garbageinto recycled material. Crockett issmaller than Edinburg.

Edna Guerra works for theEdinburg Recycling Center andexplained that the recycling centernever really is filled to capacity butis becoming more popular among thecity. There is a drop-off point that isused daily, but the popularity of itisn’t as prominent as it should be.

“Right now, there are many localbusinesses that are participating inthe recycling process,” Guerra said.

“We receive computer paper, motoroil, the usual glass and plastic, but inmuch larger amounts. The residentsdo tend to drop off items, but it’snever really consistent.”

Still, there are signs that a localeffort might be forthcoming. AtUTPA, there is the connectionbetween the Edinburg RecyclingCenter and the university. Currentlythe university donates usedmagazines and other materials to berecycled.

Christy Ramirez, a sophomorebusiness major and StudentGovernment Association senatorsays there are currently committees

that handle the care of recycling oncampus.

“Right now, we have a committeeto deal with environment issues,”Ramirez said. “It is one of thetopics that is constantly beingaddressed as different aspects ofenvironmental awareness are beinglooked into by different members ofSGA.”

Oscar Garza, Vice President ofSGA is in charge of the committeeand holds responsibilities of thegroup. Rather than the organizationactually creating it’s own club, thereis subdivions of SGA that willhandle the issues.

RECYCLING continued from page 2

A forklift moves cardboard boxes at the Edinburg recycling center.Daniel Aguilar/The Pan American

6 11September 11, 2003 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 11

The College of Education isgranting students of The Universityof Texas-Pan American anopportunity to receive financialhelp while making a transition intoteaching.

According to Dr. Hilda Medrano,dean of the College of Education,one of the college goals is to helpalleviate the teacher shortage in theRio Grande Valley. One way to dothis is to create a program that isaccessible to different studentpopulations. UTPA students whowant to change careers now havethe chance to become part of aproject known as STARS.

Project STARS (SupportingTeachers Across Rural Schools)was created to help students whoare paraprofessionals, professionaldegreed individuals, or recentcollege graduates who areinterested in obtaining a teachercertification. Medrano commentedthat too often after graduationstudents realize they are not happywith their careers and programslike STARS give them a secondchance in another field. Individualsseeking to become part of thisprogram can receive teachercertification in bilingual education,

math, reading, special education,science, and technology.

The university is already knownas one of the leading producers ofteachers in the state, and thisprogram should help to keep thatmomentum going.

STARS is a federally fundedproject, since UTPA has receivedfunding from the U.S. Departmentof Education for five years. Thismoney has enabled the college togive financial assistance to studentswho are part of the project.Individuals who are part of thisprogram receive a $3,000 teachingscholarship.

“The purpose of funding is tohelp us recruit, prepare, and place

degreed individuals in classroomsas fully certified teachers,” saidMedrano.

In order to receive thescholarship and become part of theproject students must meet specificrequirements. Those interestedmust at least have a minimum 2.75grade point average, a minimum oftwo years of college coursework ora bachelor’s degree, passing TASPscores, and a commitment to teachin high-need schools for at leastthree years.

STARS consists of three phases:the application phase, the pre-internphase, and the internship phase.Those who are part of this programwill be required to attendprofessional development seminars.The alternative certificationprogram will also supervise them.

“In the first three years, whichare known as the induction period,they will be supervised by ouralternative certification program,”said Medrano. “They will also havea mentor teacher assigned to themduring their first year as a teacher.”

Currently UTPA has 33 studentswho took their teacher certificationcoursework in the summer and arenow placed in schools as teachers.

For more information on ProjectSTARS contact the College ofEducation at 381-3627.

with unanimous approval by alongshot. Almost since thebeginning of the debacle, there hasbeen a consistent minorityopposed to the war on terror. Asthe presidential election loomsnext year, Democrats have steppedup the anti-Bush rhetoric andcalled into question some aspectsof the country’s war on terrorism.The Patriot Act, designed totighten security, is also underassault by those who claim itinfringes on certain constitutionalrights.

And some skeptics havequestioned the idea of patriotism,suggesting that it is only a shortstep from such a concept tojingoism and hubris, negativecharacter traits that some blamefor the attacks in the first place.

In short, American certainty wasa casualty of the attacks, andoptimists hope that in the processof questioning some aspects ofpolicy and paradigm, a new unitywill result. Pessimists assume thatthe loss of certainty is just anotherlevel to the gradual decay of thenation. Time will tell which campis more prescient.

This sort of discourse, thoughpainful and at times obsessivelyantagonistic, is in the end whatmakes democracy such a fulfillingadventure. Dissent is a vital part ofthe mix, and yet there are stillplenty of people willing to hew to

the standards the government sets."I'm willing to sacrifice certain

freedoms to be safer," said 18-year-old Carlos Fraire in commenton the Patriot Act and strictertravel checks.

Faire is a freshman majoring inaccounting at UTPA, and heexpressed that though regulationshave become tougher his safetyand that of his family were veryimportant.

"I might not agree witheverything completely, but it’s formy own safety," said Fraire.

There is no doubt that Sept. 11,2001 affected the lives of millionsin both the United States and otherparts of the world. People'sattitudes reflected new ideas, newfeelings toward other cultures, anda different sense of reality.

Mike Dowling, author of "TheElectronic Passport to Conflicts inthe Middle East," said thatovercoming cultural differences iskey in preventing further eventslike 9/11.

“Through television and theInternet, we have instant access toalmost any part of the world. Withthat access comes a responsibilityto understand other people andcultures,” Dowling said. “Bylearning about and understandingone another, we can hope that thecitizens of the world can develop asense of tolerance and respect forone another."


9/11 continued from page 1

The purpose offunding is to help

us recruit, prepare,and place degreed

individuals inclassrooms as fullycertified teachers. “

“

- Dr. Hilda Medrano,Dean of the

College of Education

Project STARS presents studentswith road map for career changes


Mariachi La Joya and Grupo Tabasco12 p.m. at Library Foyer

Hispanic Literature: Jose Revueltas andJuan RulfoModerated by: Dr. Sylvia M. Dominguez, Dr. Jose Skinner, and Dr. Rene Saldaña1:10 p.m. at BA 118

Provost’s Hispanic Heritage AwardsMerlenda Reception3 p.m. at Board of Regents Room, AB

The Mexican Revolution: Mexican Novelas &Cinema4:30 p.m. at BA 110

Son de Veracruz7 p.m. at the Library Foyer

Wednesday, September 17, 2003Hispanic Heritage Week Special Alumni

HISPANIC HERITAGE WEEKSeptember

Theme: Hispanics The Largest Minority in the U S

Sunday,September 14, 2003

Estudiantiuna de laUniversidad de

GuanajuatoWorld Renowned Mexican

Folkloric Music4:00 PM at the LibraryFoyer

Tuesday, September 16,2003Hispanics & Immigration

Moderated by Dr. Gilbert Cardenas & Dr.Teofilo Ozuna9:10 a.m at Edu. Bldg, 219

Hispanics and Public PolicyModerated by Dr. Homer Garcia & Dr.Gabriela Lemus12 p.m. SBSC 101

Reception12 p.m. at the University Center Ballroom

Thursday, September 18, 2003Higher Education in MexicoModerated by: Dr. Gilbert Cardenas &Horacio Bernal, CPA9:10 a.m. in Edu. Bldg. 219

Hispanics and the MediaModerated by: Dr. Gregory Selber & Dr.Salma Ghanem12 p.m. at BA 110

Mariachi UTPA12 p.m. at the Library Foyer

Hispanic Business in the XXICenturyModerated by Mr.Javier Martinez &Dr. Arturo Vasquez

Ballet FolkloricoTecnologico de Reynosa7 p.m. at the LibraryFoyer

Administration response has focused onquestioning the number of faculty capableof answering the type of questions in thesurvey, and also questioned the validity ofsome of the questions. The contention isthat questions might not elicit answerswhich correspond to actual jobdescriptions and work done. It must benoted on the first criticism that 44 percentof the respondents have been at theuniversity at least 12 years.

Arevalo answered his tough facultytreatment by stating that even though hisscores are low, he feels there is notsufficient information to be able to rateeach individual with an accurate outcome.

“I doubt less than 100 [respondents]know what I do. I do take the responsesseriously whether they are 50 faculty or200,” Arevalo explained. “If there was ahigh level of interaction and low scoresthen I would be really concerned that thereis something wrong.”

To this end, 56 percent of the facultythought that their opinions were based onoccasional and substantive interaction.Only 17 percent said their views camefrom extensive interaction with thesubjects under study.

The issue for Arevalo and mostadministrators is the question of howmany faculty members really know them.He stated that although he has lowinteraction with faculty, it is due mainly tohis broadresponsibilitieswithin the university.Because of the highnumber of facultyworking, he is notable to interact witheach and every oneof them on a regularbasis.

“Deans aresupposed to

communicate with faculty and I meet withthem once every two weeks,” Arevalostated. “There is where I get theinformation.”

However, the faculty’s main reason forthe evaluation, according to formerFaculty Senate Chair Cynthia Brown,assistant professor of economics andfinance, is to urge better performance.Faculty intervention in the form of thesurvey is done to show each person’sperspective of how the administrators aredoing their job and let them know ofweaknesses to work on.

For instance, on Nevarez’ evaluation, 65percent of respondents thought that hedoes not appoint effective and qualifiedadminstrators. According to Arevalo’scritique, 67 percent feel he does notmaintain faculty morale.

“It is not required by the Handbook ofOperating Procedures, but traditionally theevaluations are done every third year,”Brown said. “And the faculty use thesurvey as a way to express their opiniontoward administrators with the idea thatthe information will be taken intoconsideration.”

Nevarez commented that the scores willnever be very high and that the low scoresin the evaluation are in large part becausemany faculty react to certain, isolateddecisions made by the administration. Ifthese particular cases leave a bad taste in

their mouths, negative responses are madeon the survey.

“It is important how faculty feel aboutadministration,” Nevarez said. “I payattention to my weaknesses and understandsome faculty do not understand the otherresponsibilities.”

Nevarez also added that after 23 years,the evaluations have been very helpful forhim in determining his weaknesses andwhat he needs to do to improve his jobperformance. Although, he also points outthat it is sometimes difficult to weigh thembecause there is a tendency for thosefaculty with negative remarks and grudgesto be the ones who respond to the surveys,and not those that might be satisfied withhis work.

Several faculty members argued just theopposite, however, claiming that thosewho strongly support the administrationuse the survey as an opportunity to rallyaround the member(s) being evaluated.

Dr. Dan Dearth, chair of the CriminalJustice Department and vice chair of theSenate this term, said the evaluationsshould be taken seriously because thefaculty takes time to complete them.

“Some administrators probably takethem more seriously than others, butfaculty get evaluations from administrationand peers and they have to specify a planon improving their performance,” Dearthcommented. “All we are asking is for the

administration to do the same.”Brown commented the Senate has

proposed a resolution for the evaluation tobe done annually and become part of theofficial evaluation process of theadministrators. Currently it has no bindingpart in that process. However, the need formaking the survey annual is questioned byboth faculty and administrators.

Nevarez stated that having the surveydone every year might have a downside interms of turnout, and as a result the qualityof the research might suffer. Brown, whohas mixed feelings about tinkering withthe reliability of the survey, nonethelesssees it as a good opportunity foradministrators to listen to what faculty hasto say.

The issue is scheduled to be treated thisterm in meetings where adminstators willaddress the Senate, partly because theadministrators’ use of the research doesnot mesh with what the faculty had inmind. This week Arevalo was scheduled toaddress the Senate because he knows theevaluation process.

Arevalo has conducted an annualevaluation of all deans and associate vicepresidents for the five years he has been inoffice. He uses these as a way to measureproductivity, leadership, and decision-making ability; as well as the ability tomanage college resources. Administratorsfeel the annual evaluation done by Arevalo

is more comprehensive thanthe Senate one.

“I use the survey data asone additional measure ofan administrator’sperformance,” Arevalo said.“Based on theadministrator’s performanceI use their evaluation toprovide guidance toadministrators about howthey can improve.”

FACULTY continued from page 1

SURVEY DATA

0 7■ Band shows . . . . . 8-9

■ Culture Club . . . . . . . 9ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PAGE 7

Four chairs lined up anda black metal podiumstrategically placed on theleft side of the Albert L.Jeffers Theatre’s stagemake up the hotel roomwhere a misguided affairis taking place. Despite thefashionable cargos,sneakers and brand shirtsthe actors sport, the sceneis set in the early 1900s.

It is the third rehearsalmeeting for the cast of “AFlea in Her Ear,” a Frenchfarce by Georges Feydeauwhich was translated byJohn Mortimer. The storyabout a woman whoquestions her husband’sfidelity will open at theUniversity of Texas-PanAmerican’s Main Stagetheater season Oct. 15.

The process fromrehearsal to presentation,however, is a long one. Itactually started in the fallof 2002 when the play wasproposed by Dr. EricWiley, associate professorin the communication

department. Since the playfit the appropriate criteria- such as being differentfrom other plays producedbefore, was able to bepresented in the theater’sstage, and had areasonable number ofactors in it - it was pickedby The UniversityTheatre’s committee andthe rights for it weresecured with the publisher.The first pre-productionmeeting was held this yearand it covered stage andcostume design.

Early this fall, auditionswere held and the cast metfor a reading of the scripta couple of days justbefore rehearsals started.

THE REHEARSAL

It has only been a weeksince auditions were held,yet director Wiley and thecast have already managedto act out the characters’basic movements for thefirst two acts on stage. Itis not always easy. Forone, the scenery at thispoint is almost completely

imaginary: the four chairswill eventually be replacedby a revolving bed andthere will be a door wherethe podium now stands.Also, a staircase will bebuilt on the right side ofthe stage where a chairnow stands in for it.

“It’s always easierworking with the realstuff,” says cast memberMark Guerra. “But at thispoint you have in yourimagination an idea ofwhat it all looks like eventhough at the end it neverlooks the same.”

Indeed, Wiley oftenreminds the cast that somethings will change oncethe set is built. Some wallsand furniture will fill thestage. In addition, the realdoors and stairs will be ofhelp to some actors who,at this point, do not seemto remember where theywill be located and keepwalking through invisiblewalls.

Another commonproblem is the meetinghours. The 7 p.m. to 10p.m. schedule does not fitall of the cast members’school and workschedules, so stand-ins arenot unusual. On the fourthmeeting while rehearsing ascene from the second act,

assistant stage managerMichel Rangel stood in forRuby Guerra, who playsRaymonde Chandebisewhile stage managerJohnny Gonzalez read thelines of an absentBaptistin, played by CarterRobinson, from a seat infront of the stage.

The performers manageto act with a copy of thescript and a pencil to makenotes at hand. Yet hardlytwo lines of dialogue arespoken before Wiley offersmore suggestions orcorrects that tricky Frenchpronunciation.

“Most of the names inthe play are French,” heexplains. “So we areconstantly practicing thepronunciation.”

Pronunciationchallenges aside, bothagreements anddisagreements betweenactors and characters arevoiced during rehearsal.Guerra does not like thatVictor Emmanuel gives inso easily to hotel managerAugustine Feraillon’sbossiness when mistakenwith Poche, whereasMichael Moore, who playsFeraillon, is glad hischaracter is bossy and ill-mannered because thisallows him to experience a

sort of catharsis.In addition, because of

their characters’description, several castmembers are facing otherparticular challenges.

THE CAST

Composed of a varietyof new and experiencedactors, the cast is one ofthe strongest elements ofthis production. Amongthe characters that willsurely catch the audiences’attention are CamilleChandebise, Herr Schwarz,Victor EmmanuelChandebise and Poche.The latter two are playedby UTPA junior MarkGuerra.

“This is the first time Iplay two characters in oneplay,” he explained. “I’mtrying to discoverdifferences between themso audiences can tell themapart without having tochange my voice a lot.”

For this purpose, Guerrais working on hischaracters’ postures. Heexplains that by doing soeach character will have apersonality of his own andthey will seem more real.

In the play, Poche is an

AroundTown

Arturo Montes RadioShowSept. 12 at 8 p.m.Place: La Villa Real SpecialEvents Center, 1201 S.Bentsen Road, McAllenEvent: Performing are LosUnikos, Laura Canales, CaliCarranza y Los Formales,Los Gilitos, Los Tesoros deSamuel Ramos, ArturoMontes y TernuraPrice: Tickets are $5 before8 p.m. and $7 after.Phone: (956) 687-7121

Local band showSept. 13 at 7 p.m.Place: Athena’s, 1516Beech Ave., McAllenEvent: Bands performinginclude I.F.V., DyingEmbrace, Sub 7, DisposableAssassins and a mysteryband.Price: $5

Texas Last ComicStandingSept. 20Place: La Villa Real SpecialEvents Center, 1201 S.Bentsen Road, McAllenEvent: Ponchi Herrerahosts the ‘Texas Last ComicStanding Competition’featuring comics JodyFerdig, Kim Kerley, DaveBradford, Miguel Lorenzon,Eddie Cruz and Tim Schultz.Price: Tickets are $18 forgeneral admission and $23for reserved.Phone: (956) 687-7121

Event: April 18 - Texas AllStars of Comedy with DaveLawson, Keir Spates andTerry Gross, $20 forreserved, $15 generaladmission; April 19 - LittleJoe y la familia and RubenRamos, $15 in advance, $20 at the door; April 25 -Rick Springfield, $45-55reserved, $25 generaladmission; April 26 -Hypnotist John Milton, $20reserved, $15 generaladmission.Phone: (956) 687-7121

BREAKING A LEG:A theater production in the makingBy LUIS SAAVEDRAThe Pan American

See PRODUCTION page 10Mark Guerra practices lines from the production “A Flea in HerEar.”

Luis Saavedra/The Pan American

Clockwise from top, sophomore Robert Soto, junior Mark Guerra, sophomore Hernan Cortez III,sophomore and stage manager Johnny Gonzalez, senior Ruby Guerra, junior Didi Duron andfreshman Emilee Clifton.


September 11, 2003 Tarts & entertainment Page 10

idiotic hotel porter who looks alot like businessman VictorEmmanuel, thus causingconfusion among the rest of thecharacters. Perhaps the charactermost affected by such identitysimilarities is Victor Emmanuel’snephew, Camille, who at onepoint becomes sure he has gonemad.

Camille becomes a memorablecharacter because of his majorspeech impediment. Because theroof of his mouth has not formedproperly, he mispronouncesevery word he says, replacingcareful with hare foo and sorrywith hohiy. For the part, Wileycast UTPA senior AlexanderGelman.

“He is a very thoughtfulactor,” said Wiley. “I’ve workedwith him before and I know fromthat experience he can deliver agreat performance.”

Still, playing a role asparticular as the young officeclerk - who in the second act isable to talk normally thanks to asilver palate - has proved to besomewhat of a challenge forGelman. At some points, inrehearsal, he forgets whether hischaracter is supposed to talkwith or without his impediment.

“It’s a somewhat complexcharacter,” adds Wiley. “He has avirginal reputation yet he is a bitof a ladies’ man and add to thatthe fact that he speaks alanguage of his own.”

UTPA transfer student CecilCastle III is no stranger to actingin different. His character, HerrSchwarz, is a military man whospeaks German throughout theentire play, a language not veryfamiliar for Castle.

“My dad knows German sosome of it I know how to

pronounce but some I don’t,” heexplained. “At first I thought itwould be difficult but Dr. Wileyhas helped me out a lot and thatmakes it a whole lot easier.”

THE DIRECTOR

Overhauling a set of floorplans with the sketched sceneryand constantly referring to acopy of the script, Dr. Eric Wileydirects what he calls a “fast-moving comic farce.”

Because auditions for thisshow registered the biggestturnout, according to Wiley,audiences will enjoy a fresh castand the excellent work of itsmembers.

“Working with this cast isgreat,” he says. “They are actorswho very quickly get the idea ofwhat their characters are like andhow they behave.”

After having directed sevenshows for UTPA, “A Flea in HerEar” still poses a challenge forthe director.

“I’ve never worked with morethan 15 actors and there are 18in this show,” he explains.“There’s also a lot of action, alot of running and all of that hasto be timed because an error inthat could be catastrophic.”

In addition to the action-filledscene, there is also the elementof violence. For this reasonUTPA instructor Brian Warrenwill assist Wiley by tutoringsome of the cast members instage combat.

Warren, who is certified inactor combat, was called in byWiley to supervise a scene inwhich a character gets kickedacross the stage.

“My job is basically to make itlook funny without looking fake

and without the actors gettinghurt,” said Warren.

He feels confident this will notbe difficult and should onlyrequire a single meeting with theactors involved in the scene.

THE BACKSTAGE CREW

“Is there really going to be arevolving bed?” is a frequentlyasked question among actors,and set designer Tom Grabowskiis the one to ask.

“Definitely,” he is quick torespond. “There can’t be a showwithout a revolving bed. It isessential to the plot.”

The set already in constructionis an ambitious one. In additionto the already famous bed, twointerchangeable sceneries areplanned. The one for the secondact requires the construction of astaircase andseven doorsanddoorways.Thecompletionfor both setsis scheduledfor justbefore theshowopening.

“Getting all the details rightwill take us quite a while,”Grabowski explains. “It alldepends on the skills of thepeople who work on it and howmany people work on it.”

At the time of the interviewthe number of people who forprop and scenery building wasstill unknown, howeverGrabowski feels confident therewill not be any serious problems.

“Perhaps the only challengewould be changing the sceneryduring the actual presentationbecause there’s not a lot of roomfor moving the pieces on and offstage,” he adds.

A similar situation is faced bycostume designer Kate Ellis.Because of a minimum staff onlya few costumes will be made.The rest will be rented.

However, the limited number

of costumes that will be createdspecially for this show will keepEllis and her staff quite busyuntil opening night.

“I actually started working ona costume during the summer,”she explains. “And there are a lotof other things to do like findingwigs and getting shoes and hosefor all the men and women.”

This is the first time Ellis hasworked on costumes for theperiod of this play. Even whenother plays set in differentperiods were produced, thecostumes were modernized.

“A lot of research had to bedone and based on that and thedirector’s decision, we decidewhat we are gong to use,” shesaid.

THE APPLAUSE

So are the cast members,director and backstage crewreally looking forward to? Theaudience’s applause.

“It gives you a rush,” saysMark Guerra. “And every actoris a real attention-seeker.”

It surely will not be hard forthem to obtain it. The long hoursinvested in every aspect of theproduction are already paying offand that becomes visible as theprocess progresses. Heak a heg,guys.

I actually started working on a costumeduring the summer. And there are a lotof other things to do like finding wigs

and getting shoes and hose for all themen and women. “

“- Kate Ellis,

costume designer

PRODUCTION continued from page 7

Assistant Dean of Students David Mariscal (left) hands out tokens for the FunWalk earlier this week.


8

99

September 11, 2003 Arts & Entertainment Page 9September 11, 2003 Arts & Entertainment Page 8

Movie: “American Beauty”CD: Ultra by Depeche ModeBook: “Too Human” Nietzche

CD: Llego el Amor by PesadoWeb site: “elnorte.com.mx”

Movie: My LifeBook: “Left Behind” series by Tim Lattaye and Jerry B.JenkinsWeb site: ciudadfutura.com

Enyli AlonzoFreshmanMarketing

Joaquin ArizpeJuniorComputer Science

Dr. Arthur ChtcherbaProfessorComputer Science

CULTURE CLUBWhat students like to read, listen to and surf.

The

Monday is not usually a big party night,but it is at Prada. Here, guitars arestrummed and drums beat out a rhythm.Here two music types meet to make for afull night. Guitarist Mario Aleman playsnuevo flamenco contemporary acousticfrom 8:30 to 10 p.m. followed by theenergetic band, Hew Hephner from 10 p.m.to 2 a.m.

MARIO ALEMAN

Mario Aleman is a professional guitaristwho has played in places like Houston,Canada, Mexico City, as well as the Valley.He played once for former President BillClinton. He’s performed at the McAllenChamber of Commerce, the CimarronCountry Club, and has been at Prada fortwo years. He hopes to do a state-to-statetour in the United States soon, but disclosedhe’s enjoying where he is right now.

"I take it day-by-day because I love whatI do for a living,” Aleman said. “It was whatI always dreamed of becoming. I used toplay in different bands, but the music startedto stir emotions when I turned to nuevo

flamenco."Aleman attended the University of Texas-

Pan American a couple of years ago wherehe learned the principles of music.

"UTPA inspired me to be disciplined inwhat I do. I used to practice for eight hoursa day on my guitar to get to the level I amat today,” he said. “I learned that regardlessof who is teaching you, you should put allof your heart into what you're doing. This isthe only way you'll receive so much inreturn, whether in it may be short or longterm. Just stick with it."

Aleman is looking forward to the releaseof his CD, “Soul Speak” in November,with original music played solo. He findsinspiration from bands such as the GypsyKings and the Beatles.

"Playing makes me nervous, but it alsoallows me to feel happiness and depressionwhen I am filled with emotions at the guitar.When I interpret I make it a point, like awriter or poet, to make it my own by baringmy soul. It is my inner feelings exposed.”

Michael Ochoa, graphic artist for PulseMagazine said, "Mario is awesome. He doesstuff I can never do when I play guitar. Hemakes me want to go home and playguitar."

Pablo Espinoza, UTPA senior computerinfo systems major, said,"Aleman has real talentfor classical guitar. Hecan entertain any crowdfor hours."

Besides Monday,Aleman can be heardTuesday and Wednesdayat Prada from 8:30 p.m.to around 9:30 p.m.

HEW HEPHNER

Trucks 'n' Babesmagazine exclaims"Astonishing!!! BreathTaking!! A Triumph!!"

Hew Hephner is a partyband that plays musicfrom the ‘80s, modernrock (Cold play, RadioHead, Perfect Circle,etc.),and country. Theband also adds excitementby dressing up asMexican wrestlers whilethey perform.

"We will continue toplay at Prada until we getkicked off for badbehavior," EliasMontemayor said.

The band consists of four members. Bassand vocals Elias "Machine" Montemayor,lead guitar and vocals David "ChestRockwell" Rios, rhythm guitar and vocalsWix "Chota Boy" King, and drummerHomer "Dickochet" Rios.

"Hew Hephner is such a sexy band," saidcomputer technician Josh Calera.

These men don't just play, they have"hobbies" that they attend every day.Montemayor is an art teacher, David Rios isa guitar instructor and a recording engineer,King is a UTPA student, and Homer Rios isa drummer and a drum instructor.

Montemayor said, "Playing in the band ismore like a religion, while our everydayjobs are like hobbies we get by on."

Hew Hephner was created by HomerRios a year ago with Montemayor andKing. They came up with Hew whichconsists of the first letters in their names,and added Hephner. David Rios joined theband in June. Presently, each of the bandmembers also plays in three to four differentbands around the Rio Grande Valley. Theystay together because they like their soundand they have many common experiences.

"You feel gratified when a drunk personfalls in front of you and then apologizes formessing our music up, when in reality theydidn't," David Rios said.

Hew Hephner has already created afollowing on Monday nights. Efren Abrego,police and fire dispatcher with the MissionPolice Department, has been there everyMonday. This resulted in the band invitinghim to sing a song with them.

Abrego said, "They combine the best ofclassic and modern rock with theirexceptional original tunes to keep the crowdup all night long."

UTPA sophomore in Art Gabriella Riossaid, " They have an original style. Iespecially like the power of the lead singer,but I love the drums."

Hew Hephner hopes to branch out toother establishments around the Rio GrandeValley and one day open for major bands.These musicians enjoy performing theirmusic for an audience, but they did havetwo things to complain about in regard toplaying live.

Montemayor said, "There are too manygirls that want to get on stage and too manypeople requesting Lynard Skynyrd's ‘FreeBird.’"

Hew Hephnew band members added,"We are here to get the band and theaudience to be ridiculous and have a lot offun. We even put something up in the girls’bathroom to think of us. Hopefullyeveryone can come to hang out with us."

By ARLETT LOMELIThe Pan American

(Left) - David “Chest Rockwell” Rios, far left, Elias “Machine”Montemayor, both guitarists for the band Hew Hephner, per-form Monday night at Prada.

(Above) - Mario Aleman emotionally harmonizes his spiritwith nuevo flamenco rhythm on one of Prada’s stages.

Arlett Lomeli/The Pan American

8

99

September 11, 2003 Arts & Entertainment Page 9September 11, 2003 Arts & Entertainment Page 8

Movie: “American Beauty”CD: Ultra by Depeche ModeBook: “Too Human” Nietzche

CD: Llego el Amor by PesadoWeb site: “elnorte.com.mx”

Movie: My LifeBook: “Left Behind” series by Tim Lattaye and Jerry B.JenkinsWeb site: ciudadfutura.com

Enyli AlonzoFreshmanMarketing

Joaquin ArizpeJuniorComputer Science

Dr. Arthur ChtcherbaProfessorComputer Science

CULTURE CLUBWhat students like to read, listen to and surf.

The

Monday is not usually a big party night,but it is at Prada. Here, guitars arestrummed and drums beat out a rhythm.Here two music types meet to make for afull night. Guitarist Mario Aleman playsnuevo flamenco contemporary acousticfrom 8:30 to 10 p.m. followed by theenergetic band, Hew Hephner from 10 p.m.to 2 a.m.

MARIO ALEMAN

Mario Aleman is a professional guitaristwho has played in places like Houston,Canada, Mexico City, as well as the Valley.He played once for former President BillClinton. He’s performed at the McAllenChamber of Commerce, the CimarronCountry Club, and has been at Prada fortwo years. He hopes to do a state-to-statetour in the United States soon, but disclosedhe’s enjoying where he is right now.

"I take it day-by-day because I love whatI do for a living,” Aleman said. “It was whatI always dreamed of becoming. I used toplay in different bands, but the music startedto stir emotions when I turned to nuevo

flamenco."Aleman attended the University of Texas-

Pan American a couple of years ago wherehe learned the principles of music.

"UTPA inspired me to be disciplined inwhat I do. I used to practice for eight hoursa day on my guitar to get to the level I amat today,” he said. “I learned that regardlessof who is teaching you, you should put allof your heart into what you're doing. This isthe only way you'll receive so much inreturn, whether in it may be short or longterm. Just stick with it."

Aleman is looking forward to the releaseof his CD, “Soul Speak” in November,with original music played solo. He findsinspiration from bands such as the GypsyKings and the Beatles.

"Playing makes me nervous, but it alsoallows me to feel happiness and depressionwhen I am filled with emotions at the guitar.When I interpret I make it a point, like awriter or poet, to make it my own by baringmy soul. It is my inner feelings exposed.”

Michael Ochoa, graphic artist for PulseMagazine said, "Mario is awesome. He doesstuff I can never do when I play guitar. Hemakes me want to go home and playguitar."

Pablo Espinoza, UTPA senior computerinfo systems major, said,"Aleman has real talentfor classical guitar. Hecan entertain any crowdfor hours."

Besides Monday,Aleman can be heardTuesday and Wednesdayat Prada from 8:30 p.m.to around 9:30 p.m.

HEW HEPHNER

Trucks 'n' Babesmagazine exclaims"Astonishing!!! BreathTaking!! A Triumph!!"

Hew Hephner is a partyband that plays musicfrom the ‘80s, modernrock (Cold play, RadioHead, Perfect Circle,etc.),and country. Theband also adds excitementby dressing up asMexican wrestlers whilethey perform.

"We will continue toplay at Prada until we getkicked off for badbehavior," EliasMontemayor said.

The band consists of four members. Bassand vocals Elias "Machine" Montemayor,lead guitar and vocals David "ChestRockwell" Rios, rhythm guitar and vocalsWix "Chota Boy" King, and drummerHomer "Dickochet" Rios.

"Hew Hephner is such a sexy band," saidcomputer technician Josh Calera.

These men don't just play, they have"hobbies" that they attend every day.Montemayor is an art teacher, David Rios isa guitar instructor and a recording engineer,King is a UTPA student, and Homer Rios isa drummer and a drum instructor.

Montemayor said, "Playing in the band ismore like a religion, while our everydayjobs are like hobbies we get by on."

Hew Hephner was created by HomerRios a year ago with Montemayor andKing. They came up with Hew whichconsists of the first letters in their names,and added Hephner. David Rios joined theband in June. Presently, each of the bandmembers also plays in three to four differentbands around the Rio Grande Valley. Theystay together because they like their soundand they have many common experiences.

"You feel gratified when a drunk personfalls in front of you and then apologizes formessing our music up, when in reality theydidn't," David Rios said.

Hew Hephner has already created afollowing on Monday nights. Efren Abrego,police and fire dispatcher with the MissionPolice Department, has been there everyMonday. This resulted in the band invitinghim to sing a song with them.

Abrego said, "They combine the best ofclassic and modern rock with theirexceptional original tunes to keep the crowdup all night long."

UTPA sophomore in Art Gabriella Riossaid, " They have an original style. Iespecially like the power of the lead singer,but I love the drums."

Hew Hephner hopes to branch out toother establishments around the Rio GrandeValley and one day open for major bands.These musicians enjoy performing theirmusic for an audience, but they did havetwo things to complain about in regard toplaying live.

Montemayor said, "There are too manygirls that want to get on stage and too manypeople requesting Lynard Skynyrd's ‘FreeBird.’"

Hew Hephnew band members added,"We are here to get the band and theaudience to be ridiculous and have a lot offun. We even put something up in the girls’bathroom to think of us. Hopefullyeveryone can come to hang out with us."

By ARLETT LOMELIThe Pan American

(Left) - David “Chest Rockwell” Rios, far left, Elias “Machine”Montemayor, both guitarists for the band Hew Hephner, per-form Monday night at Prada.

(Above) - Mario Aleman emotionally harmonizes his spiritwith nuevo flamenco rhythm on one of Prada’s stages.

Arlett Lomeli/The Pan American

0 7■ Band shows . . . . . 8-9

■ Culture Club . . . . . . . 9ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PAGE 7

Four chairs lined up anda black metal podiumstrategically placed on theleft side of the Albert L.Jeffers Theatre’s stagemake up the hotel roomwhere a misguided affairis taking place. Despite thefashionable cargos,sneakers and brand shirtsthe actors sport, the sceneis set in the early 1900s.

It is the third rehearsalmeeting for the cast of “AFlea in Her Ear,” a Frenchfarce by Georges Feydeauwhich was translated byJohn Mortimer. The storyabout a woman whoquestions her husband’sfidelity will open at theUniversity of Texas-PanAmerican’s Main Stagetheater season Oct. 15.

The process fromrehearsal to presentation,however, is a long one. Itactually started in the fallof 2002 when the play wasproposed by Dr. EricWiley, associate professorin the communication

department. Since the playfit the appropriate criteria- such as being differentfrom other plays producedbefore, was able to bepresented in the theater’sstage, and had areasonable number ofactors in it - it was pickedby The UniversityTheatre’s committee andthe rights for it weresecured with the publisher.The first pre-productionmeeting was held this yearand it covered stage andcostume design.

Early this fall, auditionswere held and the cast metfor a reading of the scripta couple of days justbefore rehearsals started.

THE REHEARSAL

It has only been a weeksince auditions were held,yet director Wiley and thecast have already managedto act out the characters’basic movements for thefirst two acts on stage. Itis not always easy. Forone, the scenery at thispoint is almost completely

imaginary: the four chairswill eventually be replacedby a revolving bed andthere will be a door wherethe podium now stands.Also, a staircase will bebuilt on the right side ofthe stage where a chairnow stands in for it.

“It’s always easierworking with the realstuff,” says cast memberMark Guerra. “But at thispoint you have in yourimagination an idea ofwhat it all looks like eventhough at the end it neverlooks the same.”

Indeed, Wiley oftenreminds the cast that somethings will change oncethe set is built. Some wallsand furniture will fill thestage. In addition, the realdoors and stairs will be ofhelp to some actors who,at this point, do not seemto remember where theywill be located and keepwalking through invisiblewalls.

Another commonproblem is the meetinghours. The 7 p.m. to 10p.m. schedule does not fitall of the cast members’school and workschedules, so stand-ins arenot unusual. On the fourthmeeting while rehearsing ascene from the second act,

assistant stage managerMichel Rangel stood in forRuby Guerra, who playsRaymonde Chandebisewhile stage managerJohnny Gonzalez read thelines of an absentBaptistin, played by CarterRobinson, from a seat infront of the stage.

The performers manageto act with a copy of thescript and a pencil to makenotes at hand. Yet hardlytwo lines of dialogue arespoken before Wiley offersmore suggestions orcorrects that tricky Frenchpronunciation.

“Most of the names inthe play are French,” heexplains. “So we areconstantly practicing thepronunciation.”

Pronunciationchallenges aside, bothagreements anddisagreements betweenactors and characters arevoiced during rehearsal.Guerra does not like thatVictor Emmanuel gives inso easily to hotel managerAugustine Feraillon’sbossiness when mistakenwith Poche, whereasMichael Moore, who playsFeraillon, is glad hischaracter is bossy and ill-mannered because thisallows him to experience a

sort of catharsis.In addition, because of

their characters’description, several castmembers are facing otherparticular challenges.

THE CAST

Composed of a varietyof new and experiencedactors, the cast is one ofthe strongest elements ofthis production. Amongthe characters that willsurely catch the audiences’attention are CamilleChandebise, Herr Schwarz,Victor EmmanuelChandebise and Poche.The latter two are playedby UTPA junior MarkGuerra.

“This is the first time Iplay two characters in oneplay,” he explained. “I’mtrying to discoverdifferences between themso audiences can tell themapart without having tochange my voice a lot.”

For this purpose, Guerrais working on hischaracters’ postures. Heexplains that by doing soeach character will have apersonality of his own andthey will seem more real.

In the play, Poche is an

AroundTown

Arturo Montes RadioShowSept. 12 at 8 p.m.Place: La Villa Real SpecialEvents Center, 1201 S.Bentsen Road, McAllenEvent: Performing are LosUnikos, Laura Canales, CaliCarranza y Los Formales,Los Gilitos, Los Tesoros deSamuel Ramos, ArturoMontes y TernuraPrice: Tickets are $5 before8 p.m. and $7 after.Phone: (956) 687-7121

Local band showSept. 13 at 7 p.m.Place: Athena’s, 1516Beech Ave., McAllenEvent: Bands performinginclude I.F.V., DyingEmbrace, Sub 7, DisposableAssassins and a mysteryband.Price: $5

Texas Last ComicStandingSept. 20Place: La Villa Real SpecialEvents Center, 1201 S.Bentsen Road, McAllenEvent: Ponchi Herrerahosts the ‘Texas Last ComicStanding Competition’featuring comics JodyFerdig, Kim Kerley, DaveBradford, Miguel Lorenzon,Eddie Cruz and Tim Schultz.Price: Tickets are $18 forgeneral admission and $23for reserved.Phone: (956) 687-7121

Event: April 18 - Texas AllStars of Comedy with DaveLawson, Keir Spates andTerry Gross, $20 forreserved, $15 generaladmission; April 19 - LittleJoe y la familia and RubenRamos, $15 in advance, $20 at the door; April 25 -Rick Springfield, $45-55reserved, $25 generaladmission; April 26 -Hypnotist John Milton, $20reserved, $15 generaladmission.Phone: (956) 687-7121

BREAKING A LEG:A theater production in the makingBy LUIS SAAVEDRAThe Pan American

See PRODUCTION page 10Mark Guerra practices lines from the production “A Flea in HerEar.”


Clockwise from top, sophomore Robert Soto, junior Mark Guerra, sophomore Hernan Cortez III,sophomore and stage manager Johnny Gonzalez, senior Ruby Guerra, junior Didi Duron andfreshman Emilee Clifton.


September 11, 2003 Tarts & entertainment Page 10

idiotic hotel porter who looks alot like businessman VictorEmmanuel, thus causingconfusion among the rest of thecharacters. Perhaps the charactermost affected by such identitysimilarities is Victor Emmanuel’snephew, Camille, who at onepoint becomes sure he has gonemad.

Camille becomes a memorablecharacter because of his majorspeech impediment. Because theroof of his mouth has not formedproperly, he mispronouncesevery word he says, replacingcareful with hare foo and sorrywith hohiy. For the part, Wileycast UTPA senior AlexanderGelman.

“He is a very thoughtfulactor,” said Wiley. “I’ve workedwith him before and I know fromthat experience he can deliver agreat performance.”

Still, playing a role asparticular as the young officeclerk - who in the second act isable to talk normally thanks to asilver palate - has proved to besomewhat of a challenge forGelman. At some points, inrehearsal, he forgets whether hischaracter is supposed to talkwith or without his impediment.

“It’s a somewhat complexcharacter,” adds Wiley. “He has avirginal reputation yet he is a bitof a ladies’ man and add to thatthe fact that he speaks alanguage of his own.”

UTPA transfer student CecilCastle III is no stranger to actingin different. His character, HerrSchwarz, is a military man whospeaks German throughout theentire play, a language not veryfamiliar for Castle.

“My dad knows German sosome of it I know how to

pronounce but some I don’t,” heexplained. “At first I thought itwould be difficult but Dr. Wileyhas helped me out a lot and thatmakes it a whole lot easier.”

THE DIRECTOR

Overhauling a set of floorplans with the sketched sceneryand constantly referring to acopy of the script, Dr. Eric Wileydirects what he calls a “fast-moving comic farce.”

Because auditions for thisshow registered the biggestturnout, according to Wiley,audiences will enjoy a fresh castand the excellent work of itsmembers.

“Working with this cast isgreat,” he says. “They are actorswho very quickly get the idea ofwhat their characters are like andhow they behave.”

After having directed sevenshows for UTPA, “A Flea in HerEar” still poses a challenge forthe director.

“I’ve never worked with morethan 15 actors and there are 18in this show,” he explains.“There’s also a lot of action, alot of running and all of that hasto be timed because an error inthat could be catastrophic.”

In addition to the action-filledscene, there is also the elementof violence. For this reasonUTPA instructor Brian Warrenwill assist Wiley by tutoringsome of the cast members instage combat.

Warren, who is certified inactor combat, was called in byWiley to supervise a scene inwhich a character gets kickedacross the stage.

“My job is basically to make itlook funny without looking fake

and without the actors gettinghurt,” said Warren.

He feels confident this will notbe difficult and should onlyrequire a single meeting with theactors involved in the scene.

THE BACKSTAGE CREW

“Is there really going to be arevolving bed?” is a frequentlyasked question among actors,and set designer Tom Grabowskiis the one to ask.

“Definitely,” he is quick torespond. “There can’t be a showwithout a revolving bed. It isessential to the plot.”

The set already in constructionis an ambitious one. In additionto the already famous bed, twointerchangeable sceneries areplanned. The one for the secondact requires the construction of astaircase andseven doorsanddoorways.Thecompletionfor both setsis scheduledfor justbefore theshowopening.

“Getting all the details rightwill take us quite a while,”Grabowski explains. “It alldepends on the skills of thepeople who work on it and howmany people work on it.”

At the time of the interviewthe number of people who forprop and scenery building wasstill unknown, howeverGrabowski feels confident therewill not be any serious problems.

“Perhaps the only challengewould be changing the sceneryduring the actual presentationbecause there’s not a lot of roomfor moving the pieces on and offstage,” he adds.

A similar situation is faced bycostume designer Kate Ellis.Because of a minimum staff onlya few costumes will be made.The rest will be rented.

However, the limited number

of costumes that will be createdspecially for this show will keepEllis and her staff quite busyuntil opening night.

“I actually started working ona costume during the summer,”she explains. “And there are a lotof other things to do like findingwigs and getting shoes and hosefor all the men and women.”

This is the first time Ellis hasworked on costumes for theperiod of this play. Even whenother plays set in differentperiods were produced, thecostumes were modernized.

“A lot of research had to bedone and based on that and thedirector’s decision, we decidewhat we are gong to use,” shesaid.

THE APPLAUSE

So are the cast members,director and backstage crewreally looking forward to? Theaudience’s applause.

“It gives you a rush,” saysMark Guerra. “And every actoris a real attention-seeker.”

It surely will not be hard forthem to obtain it. The long hoursinvested in every aspect of theproduction are already paying offand that becomes visible as theprocess progresses. Heak a heg,guys.

I actually started working on a costumeduring the summer. And there are a lotof other things to do like finding wigs

and getting shoes and hose for all themen and women. “

“- Kate Ellis,

costume designer

PRODUCTION continued from page 7

Assistant Dean of Students David Mariscal (left) hands out tokens for the FunWalk earlier this week.


6 11September 11, 2003 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 11

The College of Education isgranting students of The Universityof Texas-Pan American anopportunity to receive financialhelp while making a transition intoteaching.

According to Dr. Hilda Medrano,dean of the College of Education,one of the college goals is to helpalleviate the teacher shortage in theRio Grande Valley. One way to dothis is to create a program that isaccessible to different studentpopulations. UTPA students whowant to change careers now havethe chance to become part of aproject known as STARS.

Project STARS (SupportingTeachers Across Rural Schools)was created to help students whoare paraprofessionals, professionaldegreed individuals, or recentcollege graduates who areinterested in obtaining a teachercertification. Medrano commentedthat too often after graduationstudents realize they are not happywith their careers and programslike STARS give them a secondchance in another field. Individualsseeking to become part of thisprogram can receive teachercertification in bilingual education,

math, reading, special education,science, and technology.

The university is already knownas one of the leading producers ofteachers in the state, and thisprogram should help to keep thatmomentum going.

STARS is a federally fundedproject, since UTPA has receivedfunding from the U.S. Departmentof Education for five years. Thismoney has enabled the college togive financial assistance to studentswho are part of the project.Individuals who are part of thisprogram receive a $3,000 teachingscholarship.

“The purpose of funding is tohelp us recruit, prepare, and place

degreed individuals in classroomsas fully certified teachers,” saidMedrano.

In order to receive thescholarship and become part of theproject students must meet specificrequirements. Those interestedmust at least have a minimum 2.75grade point average, a minimum oftwo years of college coursework ora bachelor’s degree, passing TASPscores, and a commitment to teachin high-need schools for at leastthree years.

STARS consists of three phases:the application phase, the pre-internphase, and the internship phase.Those who are part of this programwill be required to attendprofessional development seminars.The alternative certificationprogram will also supervise them.

“In the first three years, whichare known as the induction period,they will be supervised by ouralternative certification program,”said Medrano. “They will also havea mentor teacher assigned to themduring their first year as a teacher.”

Currently UTPA has 33 studentswho took their teacher certificationcoursework in the summer and arenow placed in schools as teachers.

For more information on ProjectSTARS contact the College ofEducation at 381-3627.

with unanimous approval by alongshot. Almost since thebeginning of the debacle, there hasbeen a consistent minorityopposed to the war on terror. Asthe presidential election loomsnext year, Democrats have steppedup the anti-Bush rhetoric andcalled into question some aspectsof the country’s war on terrorism.The Patriot Act, designed totighten security, is also underassault by those who claim itinfringes on certain constitutionalrights.

And some skeptics havequestioned the idea of patriotism,suggesting that it is only a shortstep from such a concept tojingoism and hubris, negativecharacter traits that some blamefor the attacks in the first place.

In short, American certainty wasa casualty of the attacks, andoptimists hope that in the processof questioning some aspects ofpolicy and paradigm, a new unitywill result. Pessimists assume thatthe loss of certainty is just anotherlevel to the gradual decay of thenation. Time will tell which campis more prescient.

This sort of discourse, thoughpainful and at times obsessivelyantagonistic, is in the end whatmakes democracy such a fulfillingadventure. Dissent is a vital part ofthe mix, and yet there are stillplenty of people willing to hew to

the standards the government sets."I'm willing to sacrifice certain

freedoms to be safer," said 18-year-old Carlos Fraire in commenton the Patriot Act and strictertravel checks.

Faire is a freshman majoring inaccounting at UTPA, and heexpressed that though regulationshave become tougher his safetyand that of his family were veryimportant.

"I might not agree witheverything completely, but it’s formy own safety," said Fraire.

There is no doubt that Sept. 11,2001 affected the lives of millionsin both the United States and otherparts of the world. People'sattitudes reflected new ideas, newfeelings toward other cultures, anda different sense of reality.

Mike Dowling, author of "TheElectronic Passport to Conflicts inthe Middle East," said thatovercoming cultural differences iskey in preventing further eventslike 9/11.

“Through television and theInternet, we have instant access toalmost any part of the world. Withthat access comes a responsibilityto understand other people andcultures,” Dowling said. “Bylearning about and understandingone another, we can hope that thecitizens of the world can develop asense of tolerance and respect forone another."


9/11 continued from page 1

The purpose offunding is to help

us recruit, prepare,and place degreed

individuals inclassrooms as fullycertified teachers. “

“

- Dr. Hilda Medrano,Dean of the

College of Education

Project STARS presents studentswith road map for career changes


Mariachi La Joya and Grupo Tabasco12 p.m. at Library Foyer

Hispanic Literature: Jose Revueltas andJuan RulfoModerated by: Dr. Sylvia M. Dominguez, Dr. Jose Skinner, and Dr. Rene Saldaña1:10 p.m. at BA 118

Provost’s Hispanic Heritage AwardsMerlenda Reception3 p.m. at Board of Regents Room, AB

The Mexican Revolution: Mexican Novelas &Cinema4:30 p.m. at BA 110

Son de Veracruz7 p.m. at the Library Foyer

Wednesday, September 17, 2003Hispanic Heritage Week Special Alumni

HISPANIC HERITAGE WEEKSeptember

Theme: Hispanics The Largest Minority in the U S

Sunday,September 14, 2003

Estudiantiuna de laUniversidad de

GuanajuatoWorld Renowned Mexican

Folkloric Music4:00 PM at the LibraryFoyer

Tuesday, September 16,2003Hispanics & Immigration

Moderated by Dr. Gilbert Cardenas & Dr.Teofilo Ozuna9:10 a.m at Edu. Bldg, 219

Hispanics and Public PolicyModerated by Dr. Homer Garcia & Dr.Gabriela Lemus12 p.m. SBSC 101

Reception12 p.m. at the University Center Ballroom

Thursday, September 18, 2003Higher Education in MexicoModerated by: Dr. Gilbert Cardenas &Horacio Bernal, CPA9:10 a.m. in Edu. Bldg. 219

Hispanics and the MediaModerated by: Dr. Gregory Selber & Dr.Salma Ghanem12 p.m. at BA 110

Mariachi UTPA12 p.m. at the Library Foyer

Hispanic Business in the XXICenturyModerated by Mr.Javier Martinez &Dr. Arturo Vasquez

Ballet FolkloricoTecnologico de Reynosa7 p.m. at the LibraryFoyer

Administration response has focused onquestioning the number of faculty capableof answering the type of questions in thesurvey, and also questioned the validity ofsome of the questions. The contention isthat questions might not elicit answerswhich correspond to actual jobdescriptions and work done. It must benoted on the first criticism that 44 percentof the respondents have been at theuniversity at least 12 years.

Arevalo answered his tough facultytreatment by stating that even though hisscores are low, he feels there is notsufficient information to be able to rateeach individual with an accurate outcome.

“I doubt less than 100 [respondents]know what I do. I do take the responsesseriously whether they are 50 faculty or200,” Arevalo explained. “If there was ahigh level of interaction and low scoresthen I would be really concerned that thereis something wrong.”

To this end, 56 percent of the facultythought that their opinions were based onoccasional and substantive interaction.Only 17 percent said their views camefrom extensive interaction with thesubjects under study.

The issue for Arevalo and mostadministrators is the question of howmany faculty members really know them.He stated that although he has lowinteraction with faculty, it is due mainly tohis broadresponsibilitieswithin the university.Because of the highnumber of facultyworking, he is notable to interact witheach and every oneof them on a regularbasis.

“Deans aresupposed to

communicate with faculty and I meet withthem once every two weeks,” Arevalostated. “There is where I get theinformation.”

However, the faculty’s main reason forthe evaluation, according to formerFaculty Senate Chair Cynthia Brown,assistant professor of economics andfinance, is to urge better performance.Faculty intervention in the form of thesurvey is done to show each person’sperspective of how the administrators aredoing their job and let them know ofweaknesses to work on.

For instance, on Nevarez’ evaluation, 65percent of respondents thought that hedoes not appoint effective and qualifiedadminstrators. According to Arevalo’scritique, 67 percent feel he does notmaintain faculty morale.

“It is not required by the Handbook ofOperating Procedures, but traditionally theevaluations are done every third year,”Brown said. “And the faculty use thesurvey as a way to express their opiniontoward administrators with the idea thatthe information will be taken intoconsideration.”

Nevarez commented that the scores willnever be very high and that the low scoresin the evaluation are in large part becausemany faculty react to certain, isolateddecisions made by the administration. Ifthese particular cases leave a bad taste in

their mouths, negative responses are madeon the survey.

“It is important how faculty feel aboutadministration,” Nevarez said. “I payattention to my weaknesses and understandsome faculty do not understand the otherresponsibilities.”

Nevarez also added that after 23 years,the evaluations have been very helpful forhim in determining his weaknesses andwhat he needs to do to improve his jobperformance. Although, he also points outthat it is sometimes difficult to weigh thembecause there is a tendency for thosefaculty with negative remarks and grudgesto be the ones who respond to the surveys,and not those that might be satisfied withhis work.

Several faculty members argued just theopposite, however, claiming that thosewho strongly support the administrationuse the survey as an opportunity to rallyaround the member(s) being evaluated.

Dr. Dan Dearth, chair of the CriminalJustice Department and vice chair of theSenate this term, said the evaluationsshould be taken seriously because thefaculty takes time to complete them.

“Some administrators probably takethem more seriously than others, butfaculty get evaluations from administrationand peers and they have to specify a planon improving their performance,” Dearthcommented. “All we are asking is for the

administration to do the same.”Brown commented the Senate has

proposed a resolution for the evaluation tobe done annually and become part of theofficial evaluation process of theadministrators. Currently it has no bindingpart in that process. However, the need formaking the survey annual is questioned byboth faculty and administrators.

Nevarez stated that having the surveydone every year might have a downside interms of turnout, and as a result the qualityof the research might suffer. Brown, whohas mixed feelings about tinkering withthe reliability of the survey, nonethelesssees it as a good opportunity foradministrators to listen to what faculty hasto say.

The issue is scheduled to be treated thisterm in meetings where adminstators willaddress the Senate, partly because theadministrators’ use of the research doesnot mesh with what the faculty had inmind. This week Arevalo was scheduled toaddress the Senate because he knows theevaluation process.

Arevalo has conducted an annualevaluation of all deans and associate vicepresidents for the five years he has been inoffice. He uses these as a way to measureproductivity, leadership, and decision-making ability; as well as the ability tomanage college resources. Administratorsfeel the annual evaluation done by Arevalo

is more comprehensive thanthe Senate one.

“I use the survey data asone additional measure ofan administrator’sperformance,” Arevalo said.“Based on theadministrator’s performanceI use their evaluation toprovide guidance toadministrators about howthey can improve.”

FACULTY continued from page 1

SURVEY DATA

512 September 11, 2003 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 5

After 38 years of service to low-income families, the federally fundedHead Start program is facing majorchanges.

Lawmakers are seeking to change theway Head Start is operated. Since itsinception, each center has decided whatit needs to do in order to better serve itschildren. But recent bills filed byRepublican lawmakers seek to givestates more control over the program.According to one plan, eight stateswould be selected for a pilot plan.

According to Teresa Flores, director ofthe Hidalgo County Head Start Program,

Texas will not be one of the eight stateschosen because it does not meet certainrequirements. In order to be chosen astate must show proof of a well-developed early childhood developmentprogram for 3- and 4-year-olds. Inaddition, all Head Start teachers will berequired to have a bachelor’s degree.Flores commented that it will probablybe a couple of years before this decisiongoes into effect and cause impact.

If this law does make it the Head StartProgram will operate along with schooldistricts. The program would berequired to function under an academiccurriculum like the ones used by schooldistricts. Its history has been as anagency focusing on other aspects of achild’s quality of life besides academics,such as health care, daycare, meals andpreparation for school each day. Floresstated that she would not have a problemworking with various school districts.

“I don’t mind working with schooldistricts,” said Flores. “However schooldistricts do not offer the same servicesthat Head Start does.”

There are two requirements forchildren looking to benefit from HeadStart. The child must come from a lowincome family and must be three or fourbefore Sept. 1. After these requirementsare met, the child can begin to enjoy thebenefits of the program. Flores statedthat the goal of the Head Start programis to be able to help the children andtheir caregivers.

“We don’t only focus on the childrenor on the families,” said Flores. “Wefocus on providing services to thechildren and their families at the sametime.”

Flores stated that too often people donot believe in the program because theydon’t understand how it works. Parentsshould feel safe leaving their children atHead Start because the program follows

strict Texas state licensing criteria. TheTexas Department of Protective andRegulatory Services set the regulationsfor the Head Start program. Themaximum number of 3-year-olds thatcan be in a classroom is 17 and theteacher must have an assistant. Themaximum number of 4-year-olds thatcan be in each classroom is 20 and theteacher must also have an assistant. Theprogram must also follow specificstandards for feeding and discipliningthe children, just like daycare.

“If there is any complaint about howwe treat the children, child protectiveservices will immediately come in andinvestigate,” said Flores.

In case the new law does go intoeffect Head Start is preparing to fulfillthe new requirements. Currently HeadStart teachers are only required to havean associate’s degree, but under the newlaw they must have a bachelor’s. Tocircumvent this, many Head Startofficials are starting to encourage theiremployees to go back to school. Forthose who do decide to go to school theprogram often pays for the tuition feesand books.

“We have increased the number ofpeople going to school,” said Flores.“As we move along if we can’t get ourstaff to go to school we will have toreplace them.”

Currently, Head Start helps 3,570children in Hidalgo County alone. Thedirector stated that the progress made bythe children in the Head Start istremendous. The program is at adisadvantage because there are morechildren in need than the program canhelp.

“I think Head Start should getincreased funding rather than change theway it is funded,” said Flores. “It is aprogram that helps us break the povertycycle.”


2003 FAMILY INCOMEGUIDELINES

FOR HEAD START

Size of Family Unit Income

1 $8,9802 $12,1203 $15,2604 $18,4005 $21,5406 $24,6807 $27,8208 $30,960

For Family Units with more than 8members, add $3,140, for each addi-tional member.

SOURCE: Federal Register, February 7, 2003(Vol. 68, No. 26, pp. 6456-6458)

Assistance program rolling withproposed changes in control, funding

for small papers to work along withlarge franchises. The Review is at adisadvantage in many respects.

“The Monitor is a Valleywide dailyand the Edinburg Daily Review is a citydaily,” said McKone, who has writtenfor both papers at one time or another.

Lim doesn’t recognize a competitionbetween The Monitor and the DailyReview because he says the two papershave different focuses.

“We don’t try to compete with TheMonitor. It’s like a mom and pop storetrying to compete with Wal-Mart,” saidLim.

Still, recent Daily Review articleshave publicized a furor involvingMonitor reporter Alma Walzer and herreporting of the Texas Legislature andlocal politics. The paper also ran atongue-and-cheek account of theMonitor’s bid for tax relief recently,spotlighting the embarrassmentsupposedly heaped upon itsrepresentatives by the McAllen CityCommission at a hearing. Steve Taylor,a former Monitor reporter, now has aregular byline in the Review, and hasnot been bashful in employing tough,unflinching reporting.

The scope of coverage is not the onlydifference between the two papers. TheDaily Review is notorious forspecializing in spotlighting what it seesas corruption.

“I’ve been through a lot of technicalchanges [with the Daily Review], butthe principle is the same,” said McKone,69, a former reporter and also longtimesports information director at UTPA.“The Daily Review is unique because itis one of the few family papers left,” hesaid. “It has courageously criticizedlocal people, no matter who they are.”

COMMUNITY WATCHDOG

“We cover issues that other papersdon’t for fear of reprisals,” said Lim.“We don’t leave any stones unturned incovering these issues.”

The city of Edinburg has attempted toboycott the Daily Review in the pastbecause of the controversial stories itpublishes. By the same token, the paperhas received recognition from publicofficials, such as Aaron Pena. Penarecognized the Daily Review in the 78thTexas legislative session.

“In a town like this with the

courthouse, university, and big schooldistrict, many things can go wrong asfar as corruption,” said Lim. “Mostsmall town papers report on socialaffairs and there’s a need for that, butthere is also a need for exposingcorruption.”

“Sometimes [covering controversialissues] comes with a price,” he added.“In a city like Edinburg, if you have aruler who works in a dictatorial fashion,businesses want to seem pro-establishment. If you have a leaders thatdislike the paper and a businesssupports it, they can seem anti-establishment.”

Lim carried on a steady battle withformer Mayor Joe Ochoa and his staff,and some locals have speculated that thepaper’s badgering helped oust Ochoaafter 10 years and usher in UTPA gradRichard Garcia as the new mayor.

Lim’s pointed columns are thescourge of the City Council andEdinburg school board at times.

As a small-town paper with a big-timegrudge against corruption and cronyism,the Review continues to peck away,giving citizens a peek at the area and itslively events.

DAILY REVIEW continued from page 3

types of special elections. “The first thing students need to do is to recognize

that they have responsibilities as citizens and shouldmake an effort to participate,” Freeman continued.“One place to start, of course, is the news media.There are many news and opinion magazines whichcover the waterfront of political thought within theUnited States. Some of them lack quality, but thereare many excellent ones.”

An alternative source to find out more about thisproposition and others to be voted on is the Internet.However, although there are some extremelyinformative sites, there also many sites which lackany legitimacy whatsoever.

“It can be difficult to learn how to differentiatebetween legitimate sources and propagandapeddlers,” Freeman said. “The first step there is toapproach each new source with a critical and ananalytic eye.”

“This is our opportunity to show the politiciansthat we are cognizant of what is going on in Austin,”Carrazo said. “Change can happen, but people mustget involved in the issues affecting us. Politiciansusually don't consider what might affect collegestudents because they know college students don'tvote. In fact, we received a big blow to our pocketswith the rising tuition and this will continue for thenext few years.”

“Prop 12 will not take away anyone’s rights, noris it about doctors not wanting to pay formalpractice,” Villareal said. “If passed, this will helpkeep doctors in your neighborhood. People of theRio Grande Valley won’t have to travel to Corpus orSan Antonio to receive the care they need. It is notabout not wanting to give people the money theydeserve, it’s about not allowing doctors to paymillions of dollars in insurance.”

Talk about multilayered controversy.

PROP 12 continued from page 3

WOMEN continued from page 4

Figueroa-Munoz, she created excitement and energyby making the women participate in an activity sheput together involving dancing around the room.

Figueroa-Munoz spoke on the importance onlearning from one’s mistakes, simplifying life, beingspecific when delegating, and the importance oflaughter. She also demonstrated a breathing exercise.

She said that many working women do a good jobat juggling, but when everything is going well, awoman becomes complacent. She said the challengesthen stop, and it becomes difficult to feelaccomplished.

“We are super women, but we are notSuperwoman,” Figueroa-Munoz said. “Whateverhappens today, the sun will still shine tomorrow.”

One feeling that all women who attended admittedto feeling was guilt. They acknowledged that whetherit was from spending too much time at work or fromnot spending enough time at work, the feeling of guiltwas always present. A woman can feel caught up atwork but will likely feel guilty about not being athome. At the same time a woman can be caught up athome but feel guilty about not keeping up in theworkplace.

“I came to this seminar to better understand mykids, my husband and my co-workers,” said AlejandraGonzalez, personal banker at Lone Star NationalBank in Rio Grande City. “I also came to learn howto relieve my own stress.”

It is important to remember oneself in the equationof finding balance. There is work, family, and you. Sooften women forget about the most important personinvolved, themselves.

“We tend to give and give, but at some point intime, we need to take in something,” Figueroa-Munozsaid. “And that’s when we become greater and canbegin to balance.”

The McAllen Hispanic Chamber of Commerceholds workshops once a month like this one onvarious topics, and encourages women to attend. Thewomen all agreed that whether a woman is a full-timestudent, a full-time mother or a full-time careerwoman, loving yourself first better suits you to loveand deal with everyone and everything around you.


published on premier personals.net, avid online dateservice users cannot expect to enjoy the conveniences ofthese systems without finding a price tag attachedsomewhere.

The article explains that no sites are completely free.They typically provide certain free features and services,but the more appealing features require a fee. Such payfeatures usually encompass chats, unlimited electronicmail, instant messaging, and notification when newmembers register.

An added benefit for paying customers is that they aregiven top placement in search results, whereasnonpaying members end up behind over 100,000 peoplewho are “invested” subscribers.

According to statistics at date.com, 24.3 percent ofsingles in the United States have used or are currentlyusing online dating services or personals to meet.

Prior to selecting prospective candidates from theonline population, individuals first weed through thevarious lists of services to choose one.

Naposki’s site divided reviews into categories like:international dating services, online matchmakingservices, Russian bride services, and services for thosewith sexual transmitted diseases, such as herpes.

“Like anything, you can break this down in a varietyof ways: by religion, sexual preferences, nationality,culture, age, location, language and so on,” Naposki said.“For us, the true factor which determines whether aparticular type of category ends up on our site is whetheror not there are excellent dating services to fulfill theprospective category.”

Robin Lopez, a sophomore at UTPA, said, “Even withall the different types of online dating sites, people stillrun the risk of being lied to or attracting psychos.”

The risks that develop because of the anonymityinvolved with online dating has been a controversialissue since these sites began to pop up. As a result, onlineservices attempt forms of control to maintain safety.

Two years ago a Texas A&M student was murdered inCentral Texas when he visited a person he had beenchatting online. Though this case did not involve a datingservice, it shows the sort of dangers out there.

Date.com screens all written profiles, and ad contentmust adhere to the site’s standards of conduct. Clients areadvised to follow basic safety guidelines of dating.

“I’ve never tried it [online dating], partly because Idon’t know how safe it is,” said Lopez, 20. “I wouldpossible consider giving it a try if I were single.”

Weaver said, “Anything is possible with online dating,I found a husband through it.”

Risky or not, online dating continues to expand in thebusiness world with the creation of new services, largerclientele, and increasing revenues.

According to an article by Marguerite Higgins in theKnight Ridder Tribune Business News, the onlineportion of the dating services industry makes up a thirdof the total revenues with $304 million in 2002.

Naposki of premierpersonal.net said, “As far as I’mconcerned, anything which brings human beings togetheris good. There are many lonely unhappy people in thisworld. Whatever we can all do to find companionship,friendship and love… I am all for it.”

DATING continued from page 4CAREER PLACEMENT SEMINAR

The Career Placement Services Officepresented the seminar “Success in the

Workplace,” Tuesday afternoon in the StudentServices Center.

The seminar was presented by the LockheedMartin Company, a leading system integrator

and information technology company.

Approximately 25 students attended theseminar, which was geared toward helping

students answer questions regarding how toreach the highest positions available in a

company and gather advice on how to becomea confident, productive, and capable

employee. Two of the three presenters wereUTPA graduates now working for the Lockheed

Martin Co.

Cody Hamer, above (in white shirt), and Agapito Calderon, right, bothUTPA graduates working for Lockheed Martin Company, speak to stu-dents at the “Success in the Workplace” seminar.

Elizabeth Padilla/The Pan American

more easily. But a recent HoustonChronicle article spotlighted the cityof Crockett in East Texas, whichturned over 30 percent of its garbageinto recycled material. Crockett issmaller than Edinburg.

Edna Guerra works for theEdinburg Recycling Center andexplained that the recycling centernever really is filled to capacity butis becoming more popular among thecity. There is a drop-off point that isused daily, but the popularity of itisn’t as prominent as it should be.

“Right now, there are many localbusinesses that are participating inthe recycling process,” Guerra said.

“We receive computer paper, motoroil, the usual glass and plastic, but inmuch larger amounts. The residentsdo tend to drop off items, but it’snever really consistent.”

Still, there are signs that a localeffort might be forthcoming. AtUTPA, there is the connectionbetween the Edinburg RecyclingCenter and the university. Currentlythe university donates usedmagazines and other materials to berecycled.

Christy Ramirez, a sophomorebusiness major and StudentGovernment Association senatorsays there are currently committees

that handle the care of recycling oncampus.

“Right now, we have a committeeto deal with environment issues,”Ramirez said. “It is one of thetopics that is constantly beingaddressed as different aspects ofenvironmental awareness are beinglooked into by different members ofSGA.”

Oscar Garza, Vice President ofSGA is in charge of the committeeand holds responsibilities of thegroup. Rather than the organizationactually creating it’s own club, thereis subdivions of SGA that willhandle the issues.

RECYCLING continued from page 2

A forklift moves cardboard boxes at the Edinburg recycling center.Daniel Aguilar/The Pan American

4 13September 11, 2003 Sports Page 13

Men’s golf finish 12th at Fairway The UTPA men's golf team finished 12th at the 14-team Fairway Club

Invitational with a 36-hole overall score of 614. Iowa won the tournament, held atthe Firethorn Golf Course from Sept. 8-9, with a score of 581.

The Broncs shot a second round score of 308 and was five strokes behind 11thplace Troy State. The third and final round was canceled due to rain.

Senior John Huerta led Pan Am with a second round score of 75 and a 152overall, which tied him for 34th.

Cross country team open season strong

UTPA’s cross country team opened the 2003 season with a strong performanceat the UTPA Cross Country Relays held at the Ebony Golf Course in Edinburglast Friday.

Pan Am’s men’s team placed first in the 12-team event with a time of 49:35.The Lady Broncs took second place after completing the course in 37:52 behindTexas A&M-Kingsville who took first in the women’s race with a time of 39:09.

Devils sign oldest player in leagueThe defending NHL Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils signed center

Igor Larionov, 42, the oldest player in the league, on Wednesday.Larionov, who is entering is 14th season and turns 43 in December, will fill the

void that Joe Nieuwendyk left when he departed as a free agent to sign with theToronto Maple Leafs. The 42-year-old Russian won three Stanley Cups with theDetroit Red Wings in 1997, 1998, 2002.

Last season, Larionov had 10 goals and 33 assists in 74 games for Detroit.

L.A. and Detroit face offin WNBA finals

The two-time defending WNBA champion Los Angeles Sparks (24-10) willtake on the Detroit Shock (25-9) in the Finals, which begin on Friday night at theStaples Center.

Detroit won an 87-78 overtime game during the regular season, the only meet-ing between the two teams this year.

Game 2 will be Sunday in Detroit. A third and deciding game will be played onSept. 16, if necessary.

Loaiza and Halladay notch 19th winsMexican righthander Esteban Loaiza (19-6) became the American League's first

19-game winner Saturday when the Chicago White Sox defeated the ClevelandIndians 8-5.

Later during the day, Toronto’s Roy Halladay (19-6) equaled Loaiza’s mark in a1-0, 10-inning victory over Detroit.

Loaiza is set to pitch Thursday night against Brad Radke (11-10) and theMinnesota Twins.

U.S. women rout Mexico

The United States Women's National Soccer Team thrashed México, 5-0, in itsfinal tune-up match at Spartan Stadium prior to the start of the Women's WorldCup. The United States will begin the defense of their 1999 World Cup Cup titleon Sept. 21 against Sweden in Washington, D.C.

SPORTS CLIPBOARD

MLB WILDCARD STANDINGS

American Won Lost GB LEFT DIVBoston 85 - 60 --- 17 EastSeattle 82 - 62 2.5 18 WestMinnesota 76 - 68 8.5 18 Cen.Kansas City 73 - 70 11.0 19 Cen.Toronto 73 - 72 12.0 17 EastAnaheim 70 - 75 15.0 17 WestBaltimore 66 - 79 19.0 17 EastTexas 65 - 79 19.5 19.5 WestCleveland 63 - 82 22.0 17 Cen.Tampa Bay 58 - 85 26.0 19 East

National Won Lost GB LEFT DIVFlorida 81 - 65 --- 16 EastPhiladelphia 80 - 65 0.5 17 EastLos Angeles 77 - 66 2.5 19 WestChi Cubs 77 - 67 3.0 18 Cen.Houston 77 - 67 3.0 18 Cen.St. Louis 75 - 70 5.5 17 Cen.Arizona 73 - 72 7.5 17 WestMontreal 72 - 73 8.5 17 EastPittsburgh 65 - 78 14.5 19 Cen.Colorado 66 - 80 15.0 16 West

CBL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIESMonday, Sept. 1Jackson 5, Amarillo 2Tuesday, Sept. 2Jackson 6, Amarillo 0Wednesday, Sept. 4Jackson 4, Amarillo 3, 10 inn., Jackson winschampionship series 3-0.

NFL WEEK TWO SCHEDULE

Away Home Date TimeWashington Atlanta Sept. 14 NoonBuffalo Jacksonville Sept. 14 NoonDetroit Green Bay Sept. 14 NoonMiami N.Y. Jets Sept. 14 NoonSan Francisco St. Louis Sept. 14 NoonCleveland Baltimore Sept. 14 NoonHouston New Orleans Sept. 14 NoonPittsburgh Kansas City Sept. 14 NoonTennessee Indianapolis Sept. 14 NoonSeattle Arizona Sept. 14 3:05 p.m.Carolina Tampa Bay Sept. 14 3:05 p.m.Denver San Diego Sept. 14 3:15 p.m.Cincinnati Oakland Sept. 14 3:15 p.m.New England Philadelphia Sept. 14 3:15 p.m.Chicago Minnesota Sept. 14 7:30 p.m.Dallas N.Y. Giants Sept. 15 8 p.m.

UPCOMING UTPA SCHEDULE

Fri., Sept. 12 Volleyball vs. Texas Christianat Fort Worth, 7 p.m. (TCU Tournament)

Sat., Sept. 13 Volleyball vs. Arkansas Stateat Fort Worth, 10:30 a.m.

Sat., Sept. 13 Volleyball vs. Arkansas-PineBluff at Fort Worth, 5 p.m.

Sat., Sept. 13 (M+W) cross country (NewMexico Invitational) at Albuquerque, NM

MEXICAN SOCCER LEAGUE

Team W - D - L GF:GA PTSU.A.G. 4 - 1 - 1 9:6 13Santos 3 - 2 - 1 11:4 11Irapuato 3 - 2 - 1 10:6 11U.N.A.M. 3 - 2 - 1 11:9 11Tigres 3 - 1 - 1 11:4 10Toluca 3 - 1 - 1 9:6 10Veracruz 2 - 3 - 1 10:10 9Atlante 2 - 2 - 1 10:8 8Necaxa 1 - 5 - 0 9:7 8Cruz Azul 2 - 2 - 1 6:4 8Morelia 2 - 2 - 2 9:10 8Puebla 2 - 2 - 2 8:10 8Pachuca 1 - 4 - 1 5:5 7Guadalajara 2 - 1 - 3 6:8 7Club San Luis 1 - 3 - 2 7:7 6Monterrey 1 - 3 - 2 9:10 6América 1 - 2 - 3 9:11 5Chiapas 1 - 1 - 4 5:12 4Atlas 0 - 2 - 4 6:12 2Querétaro 0 - 1 - 5 5:16 1

Week 6 results: Chiapas 2, U.N.A.M. 5; Morelia 3,Necaxa 3; San Luis 1, U.A.G. 3; Atlas 2, Monterrey 3;América 1, Irapuato 0; Pachuca 0, Puebla 2; Querétaro1, Guadalajara 2; Santos 3, Veracruz 0; Tigres vs.Toluca, ppd.; Atlante vs. Cruz Azul, ppd.

Week 7 Schedule Sept. 13-14: Veracruz vs. Atlante;Cruz Azul vs. Chiapas; Monterrey vs. San Luis;Guadalajara vs. Tigres; Necaxa vs. Querétaro; Américavs. Atlas; U.N.A.M. vs. Pachuca; Irapuato vs. Toluca;Puebla vs. Morelia; U.A.G. vs. Santos.


In the 1700s a woman whoplaced a personaladvertisement in a newspaperwas put away for doing it. Buttoday such personals are notonly acceptable; they are beingaugmented by online datingservices.

According to the People’sAlmanac no. 2 (1727) HelenMorrison, a lonely spinster,became the first woman toplace a Lonely Heartsadvertisement. It appeared inthe Manchester WeeklyJournal and as a result themayor promptly committed herto a lunatic asylum for fourweeks.

Today’s society wouldconsider Morrison’s plight hardto believe. They also mightfind print ads a bit outdated aswell. The “Wild World ofOnline Dating”, a recentspecial on Video Hits One(VH1) provided information

that Houston newspapers haveeliminated the personaladvertisement section becausepeople are increasingly optingto use online resources.Various other cities have madethe same adjustments.

John Naposki, president ofPremier Personals, said, “Ifyou type ‘online datingservices’ into Google,2,760,000 results come back.”

His website,premierpersonals.net, is aresource for online dating.News of this site has appearedin Playboy, Newsday, and theWall Street Journal. Naposkiand his employees rate onlinedating services and personalssites.

The rating system is basedon 13 areas: site speed, ease ofuse, picture quality, quality ofpersonal advertisements,search features, and so on. Atop site is classified as a five-star site. To receive five-starstatus a site must score at leasta 29 out of a possible 30

points. “Despite the total quantity of

online dating services, only aselect few, perhaps 75-100,really have any true impact,”said Naposki.

Of this number, he considersthree sites to be five-starcaliber: American Singles,Date.com, and Match.com.

Heather Weaver, once amember of Match.com’sdating pool, found her husbandin an America Online chatroom.

“I think chatting on AOLwas more effective for mebecause it was free, cheap, anddidn’t eat up a lot of my time,”said Weaver, 21, a graduate ofthe University of Texas-PanAmerican. “I could chat withthat person for free versuspaying to chat with one personor even contacting anotherperson like I did onMatch.com.”

According to an article


Dating web sites offeringmore online alternatives

See DATING page 12

“The measure of a woman is not where shestands in moments of comfort and conveniencebut where she stands at times of challenge andcontroversy,” were the words of Martin LutherKing Jr. They were also the words that ended the“Finding a Balance Between Family andCareer” workshop for women on Tuesdayevening.

The women’s issues committee of theMcAllen Hispanic Chamber of Commerce puttogether a free workshop focusing on issuesmany women face, such as working women andmothers. There were three speakers who sharedtheir experiences and abilities on how theybalance their personal and professional lives.Among the guest speakers were Rose GuerraReyna, district judge for the Hidalgo CountyCourthouse, Edna Posada, owner of MerleNorman Cosmetics stores in McAllen,Harlingen, and Brownsville, and AdelitaFigueroa-Munoz, extension agent for the TexasCooperative Extension of Texas A&MUniversity, and a volunteer counselor.

The workshop allowed women to hear storiesfrom other females who face similar situations,and learned how to tackle problems with theexpert advice provided. To begin, each womanintroduced herself and explained what sheplanned to gain from the workshop. It was asmall group of nine women. The speaker’spresentations were sometimes followed byintimate discussions amongst the womenpresent.

Most of the women who attended weremarried with children and trying to find ways tobalance their lives. One woman’s situation,however, was slightly different.

Elizabeth Gutierrez, 29 and single, took onthe role as caregiver of her elderly grandfathershortly after her grandmother died. Gutierrez

comes from a large family, however, she is theonly unmarried member; therefore making herthe most obvious choice to watch over hergrandfather. Gutierrez says that although she isunmarried has no children, she still finds it achallenge to balance time between work andhome. She attended the workshop in hopes ofimproving her time management between hergrandfather and work.

The featured speakers each brought up similarpoints in their presentations. One point of advicethat each of them shared was to have faith.

“I was impressed with the emphasis on faith,”said Maribel Escobar, vice chair of women’sissues.

Judge Rose Guerra Reyna said that it isimportant for women to view obstacles aschallenges rather than problems.

“Mind over matter,” she said. “I can do. I willdo.”

Reyna also brought up the importance oforganizational skills, learning to delegate, andthe power of compromise.

“It’s okay that you’re not going to be there110 percent of the time,” Reyna said. “But whenyou are there, you’ve got to give 110 percent.”

Posada, owner of Merle Norman Cosmetics,spoke about the importance of setting prioritiesand finding ways to relieve stress, such asexercising. Posada said that exercising will notonly improve health, but self-confidence as well.She said that as funny as it may sound, PresidentBush was a motivating factor in her life.

“If President Bush can go exercise, you can’ttell me that I have more things to do,” Posadasaid.

Posada also talked about the importance ofmaking time for one’s female friends. She saidthat it is important for any woman’s sanity thatshe stay in touch with other women.

The last speaker among the three was

By AIME SERNAThe Pan American

Empowerment workshopbuilds job, home balance

See WOMEN page 5

Shalia Noor AlamComputer ScienceJunior

Religion is a discipline. If people take it asdiscipline and maintain it, I think it is agood practice, but it is not good to gooverboard with it. Faith is required in allreligion. Without faith it is impossibleeven to go forward because it is thecertainty that we hope is waiting for us,even though we are unable to see it.

Dr. Teofilo OzunaGraduate Behavioral FinanceEconometrics Professor

It’s very important. It helps me buildmy character and see the good inpeople.

Dahlia GuzmanPhilosophySenior

The question is very important to mebecause I’m a philosophy major andI’m trying to figure out how importantreligion and faith are to me and toother people.

How important is religionor faith in your life?

Fernando MedinaComputer ScienceSenior

It is very important. It is the faith in GodJesus that motivates my life and myactions.

VOICECCaammppuuss

Joe MartinezBodexo Service StaffStudent Union

It is extremely important to me. Everymorning I give thanks to the Lord to behere every day.

314

from the National MinorityChampionship in spring of2002 victorious.

Last season the programreceived moderate successes,and looked to be on its way up.

When Gaynor accepted ahead coach position at FrancisMarion University, for reasonswhich included being closer tohis family, he left an enticingposition as the head coach of aDivision I-A school, open forgolf instructors and coaches.

One of the would-be coacheswho pursued the position waspro-golfer Drew Scott, whohad just completed his fourthyear on theCanadian PGA tour.

Scott, who wasnamed twice as themost valuable play-er of the year whilea student athlete atRice University inHouston, learnedabout the positionthrough NCAA.organd took the neces-sary steps towardssecuring the posi-tion.

It was announced that Scotthad landed the position Aug.19, leaving Scott little time torelocate to the Valley and workwith his team before the Fallseason opener on Sept. 8.

“I got down on the29th,” Scott said. “Webasically had five daysto work before we hadour first tournament.”

In their first outingunder Scott - a tourna-ment which was cutshort due to inclementweather - the Broncstook 12th of 14 teams,but Scott believes theirchances of moving upthe ranks looked goodin the final round whichwas canceled.

“We were real disap-pointed not to play, and

everybodywas reallyeager to goout and per-form,”Scott said.“We really had achance of movingup a few spots inthe final round.”

Scott, who as aone-time studentathlete knows howdelicate the balancecan be between

traveling, studying, and play-ing golf, is looking forward tothis weeks break to work morewith his team.

Scott says that the work isnot limited to impressing style.

“There is a lot of uncertaintyright now from both sides,”Scott said. “I’m uncertain ofwhat they can do, and theydon’t know if I’m a goodcoach. Hopefully after a whileof practice we’ll both knowwhat to expect.”

Bronc Golf will resume onSept. 22 the Broncs travelingto Florence, NC to compete inthe Carolina FirstIntercollegiate tournamenthosted by ex-head coach MarkGaynor’s new team FrancisMarion.

as running water andrecreational areas," Ortizexplained. "This is moreof a nature state park."

The park’s busy seasonruns from October toApril, when 250,000 peo-ple descend on the parkfor bird watching, camp-ing, fishing, boating, hik-ing, and picnicking. BothWinter Texans and localsjam the park during thisseason. However, Ortizcommented that the parkhad become too congest-ed, which prompted the

changes and scalebacks.

In the future, cars willno longer be permittedinside the park. Vehicleswill have to be parked out-side the park entrance andvisitors will be trammedin.

The new direction inwhich Bentsen State Parkis headed should make itmore people- and nature-friendly, and it remains agood place to enjoy theoutdoors and burn offsome calories in theprocess. Just make sure tobring along some insectrepellent.


BENTSEN continued from page 16

Drew Scott

Zacatecas," Mitchell said.Zacatecas, located in the

Mexican state of Zacatecas, isabout 12 hours south of theborder.

The team there expressedinterest in the former Broncafter he lit them up for 24points, but he has not beenable to get ahold of representa-tives due to the team’s travelschedule.

Mitchell set many records atUTPA while he wore theorange-and-green.

He was named to the inaugu-ral NCAA Division I-AAAAthletic Director’s AssociationScholar-Athlete Team, one of20 student-athletes honored.

Plus, he was named to theAcademic All-Region VI teamthis season. Last year, theCopperas Cove native wasnamed second team All-Independent.

He led the Broncs in scoringduring the 2002-03 season,averaging 14.7 points pergame, was tied for the teamlead with 48 steals, and wassecond with 97 assists.

Mitchell broke the single-season record by playing 1,072minutes, and ranks fourth onthe all-time single-season listwith 79 three-point field goalsand 222 three-point attemptsduring the 2002-03 season.

The 6-foot-3 guard also is

tied for fourth on the all-timecareer list at UTPA with 134three-point field goals, and isfifth on the all-time career listwith 351 three-point attempts.

Mitchell does have someadvice he would like to give tocollege seniors looking to playat the next level.

"When you get into the busi-ness, just take care of yourbusiness on the court. Bestern," Mitchell advised. "Andmake sure your contract is onethat is legally binding."

Mitchell is currently gettingsome job interviews and won-dering if he will ever getanother chance to play at thatlevel.

Entrance to Bentsen Park announces World Birding Center.


The fish-cleaning area at Bentsen Park overlooking resaca.


MITCHELL continued from page 16

Former Bronc Kevin Mitchell defends against Southern University last season.


COACHES continued from page 15

I’m uncertainof what theycan do, andthey don’t knowif I’m a goodcoach.Hopefully aftera while of prac-tice we’ll bothknow what toexpect.

“

“

- Drew Scott, UTPA Golf Head Coach

VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULEDate Opponent Site TimeAug. 29 Lamar A 7 p.m.Aug. 30 North Texas A noonAug. 30 Lehigh A 4 p.m.Sept. 2 P. View A&M H 7 p.m.Sept. 5 Tulsa A 4 p.m.Sept. 6 SFA A 12 noonSept. 6 Lou.-Laf. A 4 p.m.Sept. 9 SWT H 7 p.m.Sept. 12 TCU A 7 p.m.Sept. 13 Ark. State A 10:30 a.m.Sept. 13 Ark.-Pine Bluff A 5 p.m.Sept. 19-20 PV A&M Tourney A TBASept. 23 Incarnate Word H 7 p.m.Sept. 27 Texas A&M-Int. A 4 p.m.Sept. 30 TAMUK A 7 p.m.Oct. 2 NMSU H 7 p.m.Oct. 4 TAMUCC H 7 p.m.Oct. 7 Texas A&M-Int. H 6 p.m.Oct. 10 Alumni H 7 p.m.Oct. 12 IPFW H 1 p.m.Oct. 15 UTSA H 7 p.m.Oct. 22 Texas Southern H 7 p.m.Oct. 25 TAMUCC A 11 a.m.Oct. 31 UTEP H 7 p.m.Nov. 1 Liga Municipal Sel. H 7 p.m.

ReynosaNov. 4 TAMUK H 7 p.m.Nov. 10 Prairie View A&M A noonNov. 10 Texas Southern A 4 p.m.Nov. 14 Northern Colorado A 9:30 a.m.Nov. 14 Utah Valley State A 4:00 p.m.Nov. 15 TAMUCC A 2 p.m.Nov. 15 IPFW A 6 p.m.


Controversy. One word can drive aperson insane, place a wedge betweenfriends, or even turn a state upsidedown; at least for the people who areaware of the problem.

Saturday will mark the decisionabout one of the controversies thatTexas has been dealing with publiclyfor the last month. Though there are22 proposed changes to amendmentsin the state constitution. One suchproposition has leapt from the pile tostand alone in recognition, proposition12.

Proposition 12 states,“Theconstitutional amendment concerningcivil lawsuits against doctors andhealth care providers, and otheractions, authorizing the legislature todetermine limitations on non-economic damages.” What this meansis that if passed, there will beimmediate authorization by the TexasLegislature to limit non-economicdamages assessed against a providerof medical or heath care; and after Jan1, 2005 to limit awards in all othertypes of cases.

On the surface, it basically boilsdown to doctors vs. lawyers. Theformer say frivolous and numerouslawsuits have driven their malpracticepremiums sky-high. The latter claimthat higher premiums have more to dowith insurance companies and theirsinking profits than lawsuits. They areafraid that citizens will lose out byhaving decreased recourse in the eventof medical wrongdoing.

But there is a secondary issue thathas escaped the radar screen for themost part.

The controversy centers on thefollowing three words included in

prop 12: “and other actions.” Whilemost believe Proposition 12 is formedical malpractice cases, others saythat the words, “and other actions,”will allow the proposition to apply to(and protect) other entities that havemanufactured defective products.Some of these products could includeFirestone tires, or even go as far as tolet drunken drivers, and dangerouswork sites be over protected underProp 12. Non-economic damagesinclude, mental anguish,disfigurement, pain and suffering, andphysical impairment.

Samuel Freeman, political scienceprofessor at UT Pan-American, saysthat Proposition 12 is an extremelyregressive amendment. He believesthat most people do not realize that theamendment is not limited simply tomedical malpractice law suits, but toall court claims.

“This amendment is no more thanan insurance companyindemnification act which willincrease their profits,” Freeman said.“Those who believe insurance rateswill fall, whether for medicalmalpractice or liability insurance ingeneral will be sorely disappointedwhen the rates do little more thanflicker, if that. The insurancecompanies are interested in one thingand one thing only, and that ismaximization of profit.”

Melissa Carroza, a senior politicalscience major, says she was upsetwhen she first learned aboutProposition 12, but was not surprised.Carroza’s opinion is that Prop 12 isheaded by insurance companiesmasking the amendment as a prop for“saving our doctors” which ispropaganda.

“One question is, what about thevictims involved? They are the ones

that need protection from theinsurance giants,” Carroza said.“They happily take our money whenthe going is good; but, the moment aclaim is made, and they must paymoney out, they send their people toAustin and lobby for help from thepoliticians.”

Carroza gave the example of anindividual being involved in an autoaccident where the car catches firedue to a faulty gas tank, and theperson is burned alive. The family ofthat victim would be limited to acertain ceiling ($750,000) of recoverymoney. She feels that the amountowed by the manufacturer who builtthe faulty gas tank would be like aslap on the hand.

On the other hand, there have beena number of high-profile cases aroundthe country where ludicrous suits havebeen filed, costing taxpayer money.Supporters of Prop 12 say that suingsomeone can end up being likewinning the lottery, and that if thenumber of suits continues to increase,someone eventually will go broke,possibly the government.

There are other pro-Prop 12reasonings.

Dr. Linda Villarreal, medical staffmember at Edinburg RegionalMedical Center, considers Proposition12 a way to maintain publicavailability of doctors.

“This proposition is designated tolimit the lawsuits that have reducedmedical services statewide,” Villarrealsaid. “This is a real problem that hasto have an action taken to manage.”

Villarreal told of a doctor she knewthat was sued for malpractice and hadto attend trial, only to later find thatthe plaintiff wanted to settle. Thisparticular plaintiff was awarded $14million, leaving the lawyer to claim 40

percent of that figure.“I have never seen lawyers work so

hard against something,” she said.“When you look at it, the controversyreally surrounds the fact that they[lawyers] would no longer have a sayin how much they receive in a trial.”

Villarreal also stated that she knowsthat doctors will not leave the area inas great a numbers if the propositionpasses. She says that argument is anattempt to convince the public thatdoctors are being rebellious againsttheir patients. This area has been ahotbed for both suits and doctorspulling up stakes and leaving.

“Right now, neurosurgeons will notperform on you in the Valley out offear of being reprimanded in case of amistake.” Villareal said. “Thisproposition will not only protectdoctors against a lawsuit from peoplewho develop an infection after surgeryand want to blame the surgeon, but italso limits the insurance abuse.”

From still another angle, attorneyJohn Escamilla, for the law firm ofRodriguez, Tovar and De los Santos,insists that the controversy is about thedesign the Legislature created whencoming up with this proposition.Saturday, Sept. 13 marks an odd timefor such elections.

“By design, this proposition wasmade to be voted upon not inNovember when more voters comeout, but now, when fewer peoplereally care about voting for thesepropositions,” Escamilla said. “Otherthan the doctor and nursing staff thatwill definitely be voting for this, thereisn’t really a large amount of peopleheading out to vote.”

To counteract the argumentVillarreal made, Escamilla explainedhow with the passing of theproposition, people who will try to

obtain a collection in trial will receivearound $50,000 since lawyers willreceive 40 percent of the money, andthat amount isn’t guaranteed if there isa decision to settle.

“The legislature is using doctorsbecause the public is sympathetic tothem,” Escamilla said. “No one wantsto lose their doctors so they will wantto vote for the bill to assist theirphysicians. This bill is a wolf insheep’s clothing.”

In the early voting session, 1.8 to2.5 percent of registered voters inTexas actually voted this past week.This leads to the conclusion that onlytwo percent of Texas - plus the voterson Saturday - will actually decide thefuture of this proposition, as well asthe other 21 that are listed on theballot.

“I was in Dallas two weeks ago andthe citizens there were just as cluelessabout the proposition as they are in theRio Grande Valley,” said Escamilla.“Basically people haven’t seen thedepth of this particular proposition.”

With the voting happening thisweekend, students at UTPA have achance to add their voice to thedecision. If they decide to vote, whichis a big if.

“Students generally know little ornothing about the amendments. Thevast majority will not vote onSaturday,” Freeman said. “Most of theones who do will not know anythingabout what they are voting for oragainst.”

Freeman stated that research dataconsistently shows voters who go tothe polls to vote on amendments areunarmed with knowledge. Researchalso shows the vast majority of peopledo not even bother to vote in these

Since The Edinburg Daily Review wasfounded 89 years ago, it has passedthrough many hands. Along the way it hascarved out a reputation to many as atrailblazer in modern-day muckraking.

OWNERSHIP

The Edinburg Daily Review is the onlyfamily-owned daily newspaper in Texas

south of Corpus Christi. Newspapersmust release at least four issues per weekto classify as a daily. With backing fromthe Hidalgo Publishing Company Inc., theDaily Review releases publications onTuesday through Friday, and a weekendedition is available on Saturday. Thepaper is an eight-page broadsheet.

In 1914, founder Andres Chavezpublished what is now known as theEdinburg Daily Review under the nameRevista del Valle, or The Valley Review,as a weekly Spanish language newspaper.

The switch from a Spanish publicationto an English publication took place in1927 when Marshall McIlhenny purchasedthe paper. W.R. Montgomery was owner

of The ValleyReview in the1930s, and sold thepaper to AllenEngleman in 1946.

On July 4, 1948,The Valley Reviewbecame theEdinburg DailyReview. Thechange occurredone year afterKURV-AM wenton the radioairwaves. James Mathis took control asowner and editor of the Daily Reviewfrom 1965 until his death in 1988. Hiswidow, Pearl Mathis, took ownership andcurrently produces the paper.

AFTERNOON TO MORNING

Beng Lim, city and school editor of theDaily Review, explains Pearl Mathis’involvement in the publication process:“She comes in nightly from twelve to sixto do the pagination, and she gets thestories from the wire.”

Pagination is a process of placingstories from a computer onto the page.

According to Lim the paper has used thesame machine to complete pagination formany years.

What has changed over the years is thepaper’s release time. Originally reportersturned in their stories by noon, and thepaper would be on the shelf by one thatday. But afternoon papers are a thing ofthe past, as are cut-and-paste news roomsfor the most part computer pagination hasreplaced pencil and paper.

“We used to be an afternoon paper untilabout six or seven years ago,” said Lim.“When I started off it was an afternoonpaper, then it became a morning paper,because people would complain that bythe time they got the paper news would be

old.”

LOCAL FOCUS

Since 1914, the Daily Review hasprovided residents of Edinburg withnews that is pertinent to the city.

Lim said the paper’s coveragefocuses on the Edinburg City Council,County Commissioners, the courthouse,and other local issues. He explains thatwith such a concentrated focus they cancover issues in a more in-depth fashion.

According to Jim McKone, publicrelations officer for the Hidalgo CountyHistorical museum, the Daily Reviewcovers local high school and University ofTexas-Pan American stories better thanThe Monitor.

The papers definitely have a rivalrygoing on several fronts, though it isunstated.

EDINBURG DAILY REVIEW VERSUSTHE MONITOR

According to Lim, personnel has beencut back because it is becoming difficult


By CLARISSA MARTINEZThe Pan American

Prop 12 vote Saturday politically important

We used to be an afternoon paper untilabout six or seven years ago. When I

started off it was an afternoon paper, thenit became a morning paper, because

people would complain that by the timethey got the paper news would be old.

“

“- Beng Lim,

City and school editor of The Edinburg Daily Review

Local paper carves out niche in community

See DAILY REVIEW page 5

See PROP 12 page 5

215

Lady Bronc volley-ball season willresume this weekendwith the team travelingto Fort Worth to com-pete in the TexasChristian UniversityAdidas Invitational - atwo-day, three-gametournament againstTCU, Arkansas State,and Arkansas-PineBluff.

The Lady Broncs, at3-5, are off to theirbest start in three sea-sons will look towardthis weekend’s actionas a means to strength-en that record.

Head coach DaveThorn is pleased withthe results he has seenthus far from his pre-dominantly freshmansquad.

“It’s always toughwith freshman,” Thorn

said. “But they’vebeen playing especial-ly well.”

The Lady Broncs arecoming off a 3-2defeat at the hands ofthe Texas State-SanMarcos team at homeon Tuesday.

They won the firstand fourth matchesagainst the LadyBobcats, but wereunable to take controlof the decisive fifthmatch to claim thehome victory.

“Texas State is awell coached team,and it was an excitinggame,” Thorn said.

Though the defeatwas unfortunate, and atough loss, it did showsome areas in whichthe Lady Broncs mustimprove in order to besuccessful.

“We didn’t do asgood a job of blockingas we needed to,”Thorn said. “We

missed a lot of blocksand had to rely on ourback row defense toooften.”

Heather Bravo, wholed the Lady Broncswith 18 digs came upwith a nice spike tosilence a three-pointrun midway throughthe final game, but theLady Broncs could notcome back from an 0-3opening to the Bobcatsand lost the fifthmatch 15-10.

Last season the LadyBroncs faced TCU inthe Fieldhouse, andfell in a similar five-match series. Thornhopes that this seasonthe outcome will bedifferent.

“We’re going to usepretty much the samelineup as we did inTuesday’s matchagainst TCU,” Thornsaid. “We’re just goingto have to step up ourgame.”


UTPA loses in five, TCU tourney nextThe Lady Broncs off to best start despite

losing in five games to Texas State



Jaclyn Muszynski drills a hard shot over the net.


New coaches arrive for tennis and golfThis season will see

changes at both the helmsof the men’s golf and ten-nis programs, as two headcoaches relocate to fillpositions at UTPA.

After a lengthy searchand application processUTPA has named EduardoProvencio head coach ofBronc tennis - a positionleft open when ToddChapman relocated toEnnis. And Drew Scott hasbeen named as head golfcoach, and will replaceMark Gaynor who leftUTPA to head coach lastyear’s Division IIChampions the FrancisMarion University SwampFoxes.

The search for the newhead coaches involved anational advertising cam-paign through mediumssuch as the NCAA Newsand other sport specificpublications; a localadvertisement campaign;an internal search; and asystem of networking withwell known and respectedmembers of college athlet-ic programs, according toUTPA Director of

Athletics WilliamWeidner.

“The search involved alengthy process,” Weidnersaid. “We didn’t want toleave any stone unturned.We wantedas strong apool of can-didates as wecould find.”

Accordingto Weidnerthe criteriaused inrecruitingeach headcoachincluded astrong trackrecord inregards topast athleticprograms, but the univer-sity was also interested inan individual who placed ahigh priority on academicaccomplishment, and anindividual who would beavailable to student ath-letes in roles not strictlylimited to athletics.

“We want to stress tostudent athletes that adegree is the most impor-tant part of the program,”Weidner said. “We wantcoaches who care aboutthe athletes as people not

just someone who is thereduring practice and con-tests.”

Student athlete’s wellbeing and opinions weresuch strong factors in the

searchto fillthecoach-ingvoids,that inthecaseof thetennispro-gram,ath-leteswere

allowed an interviewprocess - in a classroomsetting - where they wereable to ask questionsabout the coaching styleand technique of - at thattime - potential headcoach Eduardo Provencio.

The result of the largescale search and lengthyapplication process pro-duced what Weidnerbelieves are two highlyqualified individuals whocompliment the athleticprogram which Weidner

has headed for the pastfive years.

“What we now have inplace is a program of out-standing people, coachesand administrators, whocould work anywhere inthe country,” Weidnersaid. “Are program isgaining respect, and wefeel like we have every-thing in place to move for-ward.”

TENNIS

After leading the Broncsto a 13-8 record, a secondplace finish inthe SouthlandConference,and beingnamed theSLC headcoach of theyear last sea-son, ToddChapmanstepped downas UTPA headcoach to takean assistancecoach positionat Ennis HighSchool - an opportunitywhich allowed Chapmanto be closer to his family.

To replace ChapmanUTPA has brought in

Eduardo Provencio, whoas head coach ofMetropolitan State Collegein Denver lead his team tofour conference champi-onships, and is coming outof a season in which hewas named RockyMountain AthleticConference Men’s andWomen’s Coach of theYear.

Provencio, who learnedof the opening through amutual acquaintance ofChapman’s, cited theweather condition in theRio Grande Valley as one

of the bigdraws to relo-cating toUTPA.

“I was talk-ing to the golfcoach yester-day and I wassaying ‘Weshould do greatdown here,”Provencio said.“When youlook at theaverage yearlytemperature

being 78 degrees, thoseconditions are perfect foroutside sports.”

For Provencio Denver,albeit a great place to live,

had a climate that got inthe way of outdoor games.

“You would have dayswhere you would get threefeet of snow,” Provenciosaid. “Three days later itwould be 70 degrees out-side. Sometimes youwould have indoor tourna-ments that would last until2 a.m., because you wereforced to change venuebecause of weather. Butthat’s II-A tennis.”

As far as working withhis new crew of studentathletes Provencio is opti-mistic about this season’sresults.

“I think I’m a littleharder on the studentsthan they’re used to,”Provencio said. “I’m look-ing for the same structure,but a stronger caliber. Thewomen are looking prettystrong, and I think the topof the lineup is on par.”

GOLF

Underneath MarkGaynor the UTPA Broncgolf program achieved itsfirst ever NationalChampionship victory,when they walked away


See COACHES page 14

I think I’m alittle harder

on thestudents thanthey’re used

to.

““- Eduardo ProvencioHead Tennis Coach

Provencio

Heather Bravo slams a shot past a Bobcat defender.

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

http://www.panam.edu/dept/panamerican52nd Year – No. 3

EditorMatt Lynch

[email protected]

Layout Designers

Ashley Brooks

Reporters

Brian Carr

Omaira Galarza

Amelia Garcia

Dulce Gonzalez

Matt Hall

Arlett Lomeli

Aaron Lozano

Vanessa Lucio

Clarissa Martinez

Maritza Rodriguez

Luis Saavedra

Aime Serna

Photographer

Daniel Aguilar

Advertising

Dagoberto Perez

Advertising Coordinator

Jo Anne Murphy

Adviser

Dr. Greg Selber

the PAN AMERICAN is theofficial studentnewspaper of TheUniversity ofTexas-PanAmerican. Views presentedare those of thewriters and do notnecessarily reflectthose of theuniversity.

The Pan Americangladly acceptsletters fromstudents, staff andfaculty regardingnewspaper contentor current issues.The Pan Americanreserves the rightto edit submissionsfor grammar andlength. Please limitsubmission lengthto 300 words. ThePan Americancannot publishanonymous letters,or submissionscontaining hatespeech orgratuitouspersonal attacks.Letters are printedat the discretion ofthe editor andmust include thewriter’s name,class/title andphone number.

Letters policy

September 11 2 0 0 3

Readers with dis-abilities mayrequest an alter-native format ofthis publicationat The PanAmerican busi-ness office. For special assis-tance to attendany event listedin this publica-tion, contact thecoordinator of theevent at least oneweek prior to theadvertised date.

Sports EditorEd Chrnko

[email protected]

A & E EditorAshley Brooks

[email protected]

News EditorBelinda Reyes

[email protected]

Arianna [email protected]

Graphics EditorGabriel O.Hernandez

[email protected]

NEWS■ Proposition 12 . . . 3■ Online services. . . 4■ Head Start . . . . . . . 5

OPINION l e t t e r s ■ e d i t o r i a l s ■ c a r t o o n sPAGE 2

To the Editor:I applaud Omaira Galarza's article on

anxiety for bringing attention to a topic thataffects many students. However, I wouldlike to comment on a couple of issues thatthe article addressed.

Firstly, the term psychosomatic is used toimply that the problem may not be real. Theterm psychosomatic refers to the influenceof the mind on the body, thus mental stressmay exacerbate or generate physicalconditions such as cardiovascular disease orcertain skin disorders.

The division of mind and body is believedby many to be quite artificial: think of atime when an embarrassing thought madethe capillaries in your cheeks dilate (youblushed). That in no way discredits the

notion that a minority of students mightfeign anxiety to manipulate, but this is aseparate issue from whether genuine anxietyis psychosomatic in the sense that it is notreal.

I might mention that I currently teach acourse on mind-body interactions, whichgoes into considerably greater detail intothese issues, and Dr. Etzel Cardeña teachesa graduate course on hypnosis, an area thatexemplifies the intimate connection betweenpsychological processes such as beliefs andattitudes, and physiological responses.

With reference to the discussion of drugtreatments, particularly Paxil, researchersreported this summer that Paxil mayincrease the risk of suicide-related behaviorsin children and adolescents under eighteenyears of age.

Prior research has indicated that Paxil is

no more effective than sugar pills in thetreatment of childhood depression and isthus not FDA approved for such use. Still,off label prescriptions are still made at thediscretion of physicians.

Even given these results it is importantnot to abruptly stop such medications. Thereis no current evidence to suggest that theserisks carry over to adults or other SSRIs(selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)such as Prozac and Zoloft.

For more information about this, you canaccess the FDAs website at:http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/paxil/default.htm

Grant Benham, Ph.D.Assistant Professor

Dept. Psychology and AnthropologyUniversity of Texas - Pan American

Professor addresses article

With all the focus that hasbeen created surrounding thewar in Iraq, the fight for Texasredisticting, and even thewedding of Ben and J Lo,society often forgets about thelife that is right in front of them.This includes the major issue ofpracticing envronmentalconservations. Some places likethe city of Austin, have beenpracticing recycling for decades.Yet in the Rio Grande Valley,there seems to be a lack ofparticipation in the practice.

The landfill north of Edinburgfilled up way ahead of schedule,and the trash continues to pourin. Meanwhile, in some placeslike Austin, citizens have

practiced sound environmentalconservation for decades sincethe 1960s by recycling theirgarbage or by making it easierfor maintenance workers to doso.

Something is holding theValley back from makingeffective use of recycling.

Ramiro Gomez,superintendent of the Edinburglandfill operations, says thateven though the city of Edinburgis attempting to increase theamount of recycling, it will be awhile before that comes intoeffect.

“Right now, there are outreachprograms such as the 20/20environment committee, andeducation in elementary schools,and a minor program at UTPA,”Gomez said. “However, the

process of educating thecommunity about the proceduresof recycling is going to taketime to reach every individual.Then to follow through with theproper recycling is going to beon the shoulders of theindividual.”

When recycling, there usuallyis separation of glass, plastic,aluminum and other materialsinto their own tubs so they canbe recycled separately.Afterward individuals mustmake sure to clean the materialsor else they could damage theentire mass at the recyclingcenter. Milk still in a containeror food stuck to a tin may gounnoticed by the time they enterthe recycling machine, thereforecausing the materials to beunacceptable.

There is a definite lack ofknowledge about recycling here,and as a result the individualtubs collected by municipalworkers in other, larger citieshave not been approved yet.

“It’s definitely a long-termplan, and we’ve actually lookedinto it, but we are going through

the process of education so thatpeople don’t throw everythingthey can into those blue tubs,”Gomez said.

At the moment, the city ofMcallen only recycles 14percent of all waste compared toa much higher rate in Austin.Some people have theirexplanations for why the areadoes not do as well a job at thisas others.

“I think the culture of the RioGrande Valley has to do a lotwith lack of individualrecycling,” Gomez said. “Peopletend to be materialistic and buywhat they want and then justthrow it away without thinkingabout recycling. It’s been likethat for so long and it doesn’tseem to carry manyconsequences, so they continuedoing it.”

Some point to the size of thecities in the Valley as a possiblereason for the slow growth ofrecycling popularity. Often inlarger cities, progressive ideashave a tendency to take root

GARBAGE TIME

Bulldozers move debris at the landfill north of Edinburg.


By CLARISSA MARTINEZThe Pan American I think the culture of the Rio Grande

Valley has to do a lot with lack ofindividual recycling. People tend to bematerialistic and buy what they wantand then just throw it away without

thinking about recycling.

“

“- Ramiro Gomez,

Superintendent of the Edinburg landfill operations

Area struggles with recycling problems

See RECYCLING page 12

See COLONIA page 2

Former Bronc standoutKevin Mitchell had atremendous two-year stintat The University ofTexas-Pan American, buthe is now realizing thatbasketball at the nextlevel is strictly a business.

After graduating fromPan Am in the spring of2003, the Central Texasnative remained in theValley to polish up hisgame and give the prolevel a shot. He did notrealize at this point whatan emotional roller coast-er ride he was in for.

Mitchell was given ashot at the pros when hereceived a tryout from asemi-pro team inMatamoros, located

across the border fromBrownsville, in in thestate of Tamaulipas. Theorgani-zationlikedwhat itsaw andkept himon theroster.But hesoonfoundout thattrust israre inprosports.

"It’s pretty bad outthere, people will back-stab you. You know it is abusiness to them, and it isall about money,"Mitchell said. "They willdo whatever they can tomake money, even if they

aren’t doing the rightthing."

Mitchell made a roadtrip withthe teamand playedvery well.His teamlost allthree roadgames, buthe scored24, 12, and28 points.Matamoroswas onlycarryingtwo

Americans on the rosterand was anxiously await-ing the arrival of the restof their players.

He knew that nothingwas stable in this busi-ness, but he figured withperformances like theones he’d had, there was

nothing to worry about.However, that was not thecase.

"They released me andanother American eventhough I was averagingover 20 points a game,"Mitchell said.

The team is now undernew ownership and playhas improved, but seem-ingly not enough to justi-fy getting rid of a playerwho produces 20 points agame.

The owners have beenin contact with the guard,but Mitchell is stillexploring his options.Another ex-Bronc, MireChatman, also found thegoing tough after leavingUTPA.

"I might go back thereor I might end up going to

■ Volleyball. . . . . . . . . . . 15

■ New coaches . . . . . . . .15

■ Sports clipboard . . . . . .13

PAGE 16

SPORTSBentsen offers outdoor exercise options

Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park offers a wide variety of outdoor activities to burn off a fewcalories as well as leisure activities that attract thousands each year.

Traditionally state parks offer awide array of activities and attrac-tions for everyone and can providean excellent and economical way tostay fit as well.

Hiking, jogging or bicycling alongthe winding trails of the 587.7-acreBentsen-Río Grande Valley StatePark, located along the Río Grandein Mission, is enough to test any-one’s stamina, But the feel of theoutdoors is nothing that can beduplicated in the confines of a gym.

The four miles of road in the sub-tropical park provide a better viewthan a treadmill in an air-conditionedgym, and a gym would cost any-where from $25 to $100 a month forthe use of

often cramped facilities. In addi-tion, the changing scenery and sightsaround the park are enough to dis-tract you from a workout so that youwon’t know if you’ve jogged, bikedor hiked one mile or four since thereare no clocks, timers, or people wait-ing in line behind you to use amachine.

This type of exercise combined

with the outdoors is a bit off thebeaten path, but it is a nice changeof pace.

"We have a lot of bikers and some-times I have to slow them down,"Park Manager and UTPA alumnusRay Ortiz said. "They like the wind-ing roads."

Ortiz, a native of Peñitas and a LaJoya High School graduate (1968),joined the Marine Corps; he waswounded in Vietnam and came homein 1970.

Upon his return to the Valley,Ortiz went to work at the park wherehe decided to make it a career. Heenrolled at UTPA and graduated in1974.

One of the leisure sports that canbe enjoyed at Bentsen State Park isfishing and boating.

The park counts with a boatlaunch although the water is current-ly too low to support more thancanoes or motorcraft under 12 horse-power.

The resaca is 15 to 20 feet belowlevel now, despite a decentspring/summer rainfall.

The park stocks the resaca, alsoknown as an abandoned river branch,with bass. It used to be part of the

Río Grande in the 1800s. Currently,the park is offering fishing without alicense within Bentsen Park throughAug. 28, 2004.

In addition, the park is also one ofthe top 10 areas in the country forbird watching and is a future homeof part of the World Birding Center,which encompasses nine municipali-ties throughout the Valley.

There are approximately over 300species of birds that migrate to thearea. Ortiz likes to think of theValley as a rest stop for the migrat-ing birds.

"It’s just on the way," he noted."It’s a perfect place for migration."

Camping has been one of themany offerings at the park, althoughthat is changing.

The park is becoming more ofnature preserve and has done awaywith RV camping. There are only 10camp sites for tent camping avail-able.

The park’s move in this directionwas spurred by the need to protectthe land and the unique species ofanimals found there.

"Most people think of state parks

By ED CHRNKOThe Pan American

Bird watching is the main attraction at Bentsen State Park.


It’s pretty badout there, peoplewill backstabyou. You know itis a business tothem, and it isall aboutmoney.

““- Kevin Mitchell

See BENTSEN page 14

Kevin Mitchell takes a shot against Schreiner in 2002.

Photo by Ruben Guadarrama/UTPA

Matamoros cuts Mitchell,learns hoops is all businessBy MATT HALLThe Pan American

See MITCHELL page 14

THURSDAYSeptember 11, 2003

An Inside Look:

■ News ............................................2■ A & E............................................7■ Sports ........................................16

T h e S t u d e n t N e w s p a p e r o f T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f T e x a s - P a n A m e r i c a nPage 4

CCaammppuussVOICE

How importantis religion orfaith in your

life?

TTWWOO YYEEAARRSS LLAATTEERR::

EVALUATING EVALUATIONSFaculty Senate survey results bandied about

Questions remain. Memories also.Sometimes fears.

It has been two years since thenation was rudely awakened by theattacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The worldwatched in astonishment as the WorldTrade Centers went to the ground inflames. Nearly 3,000 lives were lostand Americans stood in disbelief asterrorism hit the homeland.

Like with the assassination ofPresident John F. Kennedy in 1963,few will forget where they were andwhat they were doing when the newshit.

"It was a surreal moment," said 20-year-old Christina Harris. "I thoughtthe worst, I was worried other placeswould get hit."

Harris, a junior advertising major atUTPA, found out about the attacks onthe radio while driving to campus.Like many students making their wayto their to class that morning, Harrisdidn't know details about what hadhappened until she got a chance towatch the news.

Sophomore Carla Pena recallswatching the events unfold through aNew York-based television station.

"I was shocked and amazed," said

Pena. "Someone finally targeted usand pulled it off. People were franticand scared they weren't acting,” sheadded.

Now it is two years later, and theremembrances today will be many.From solemn parades to flagceremonies and moments of silence,the nation today recalls a startlingmoment which changed things foreveraccording to many observers.

This event altered the attitudes ofmany people around the country. Afterthe terrorist attack, red, white, andblue decorated homes, cars, and citiesas if on a reflex. The nation seemeddefensive and defiant. Patriotism roseto a new level and U.S. foreignpolitical relationships became intense.Americans now realized that even a

"superpower" like the United States isvulnerable to terrorist attacks.

Since 9/11 the United States hastaken a more aggressive attitudetoward protecting the nation anddealing with foreign enemies. Anti-terrorism and preventing dangerousweapons from getting into the wronghands have become primary foreignpolicy goals. The war in Iraq wounddown recently but the peace has beensomewhat warlike. Having our troopsfighting in foreign lands likeAfghanistan and Iraq makes a goodportion of the country uncomfortable,but polls still reflect a majority ofcitizens in favor of the efforts.

Still, these policies have not met

By MARITZA RODRIGUEZThe Pan American

It was a surreal moment. I thoughtthe worst, I was worried other

places would get hit. “

“- Christina Harris,

UTPA junior

See 9/11 page 11

The 2003 Faculty Senateevaluations of administrators areout and the numbers are notpretty. But do the numbers meanwhat the respondents think theymean? Or are the high-leveladministrators being critiquedfailing to take heed of legitimatefaculty criticism?

The University of Texas-PanAmerican Faculty Senate is agroup of full-time faculty whoget together and confront issuesand/or problems withadministration.

Every three years, the Senate

distributes a faculty evaluation ofadministrators where 25statements rated in five differentcategories reflect faculty opinionson the current administration andits work. It is in the form of aquestionnaire, which goes only tofull-time faculty. It asks opinionson trust and morale, and aboutthe faculty views on howeffective administratorcommunication is.

Administrators being evaluatedare the president, provost, andeach dean of the six colleges.Their numbers for this yearinclude: 40 percent are notsatisfied with the performance ofPresident Miguel A. Nevarez; for

Rodolfo Arevalo, provost/vicepresident for academic affairs, 58percent expressed the samenegative sentiment.

There is a catch. Numbers haveshown that faculty response tothe evaluations has been low. Outof 476 full-time faculty only 211took time to complete the survey.That response rate calls intoquestion the reliability of thestudy. Usually, 60 percent is therate that such research shoots for.However, the numbers also showthat those faculty members whodid complete the evaluation gavethe administrators a low ranking.

By ARIANNA VAZQUEZThe Pan American

See FACULTY page 6

Sept. 11 dawns in time of turmoil

FACULTY SENATE EVALUATION QUESTION

Two unnamed UTPA campus officers lower the American flag.


Documents

September 11, 2003