10
e University of Texas at San Antonio’s recent com- mendations from the Mili- tary Advanced Education and Military Times con- tinue the university’s trend of exemplary military out- reach services. e Military Advanced Education (MAE) recog- nized UTSA as a top uni- versity in its 2015 MAE Guide to Colleges and Universities. MAE assesses universities based on their military culture, financial aid, flexibility, on-campus support and online services. “We believe the guide serves as an invaluable tool for both education services officers and transition offi- cers when advising service members about their educa- tional opportunities,” said “Blessings,” described a homeless man, who prefers to remain nameless, car- rying two trash bags down Caesar E Chavez Boulevard — the generous members of the UTSA community are blessings. Close by campus, a home- less woman, Joanne Shores, exits a VIA bus. She asks for fifty cents. “I ask for what I need,” she said, “and the people around are kind.” Nearly 3,000 homeless persons including those sheltered and un-sheltered live in San Antonio, re- ported “e 2013 Annual Homeless Assessment Re- port (AHAR) to Congress.” “Our goal is to provide a place of hope and new beginnings so that people can lift themselves out of UTSA computer science, business and engineer- ing students competed for the nation’s largest under- graduate business planning award at the $100K Student Venture Competition. e semi-annual event was hosted by the UTSA Center for Innovation and Technology Entrepreneur- ship (CITE) at the UTSA College of Business on Dec. 6. “Entrepreneurship is the life blood of capitalism that grows the whole country,” said Texas businessman George Karutz, Sr. at the competition. Karutz along with the Texas Research and Technology Founda- tion, financed a large por- tion of the competition’s award. e event is the culmi- nation of the seven teams’ semester-work. Students presented their company’s comprehensive business plan, as well as a product prototype which the teams developed throughout the semester, to the judges. “I was with a lot of these (students) and they’re real doers and accomplishers and people that have been very successful,” said Ka- rutz. “It’s the best represen- tation of successful, dedi- cated businessmen to this program.” After a brief business pitch, each of the teams filtered questions from a panel of judges, who were e Spurs-affiliated, non- profit organization Silver & Black Give Back has se- lected four UTSA students to participate in their Team Up Challenge Scholars pro- gram. e program, which began in September, fea- tures 16 students from four San Antonio universities. University students, called “scholars,” are selected based on their superior leadership abilities. UTSA students mentor younger students to improve the San Antonio community. e Team Up Chal- lenge, offered to local K-12 schools, is a service learn- ing program that helps students apply learned classroom material in ways that benefit the commu- nity. Local students sign up through either a class or club and, if accepted, join 20 other semi-finalist groups. Teams receive a $2,500 seed-fund to create a project that benefits the community or to further develop an existing project. e projects address five categories of service: arts & culture, education, envi- ronment, health & wellness or uniformed services. At the program’s end in April, groups are selected as Team Up Scholar Champions; each are awarded $20,000 to continue their projects. e four UTSA students selected as Scholars — Fe- dra Chapa, Joey Cortez, Jose Medellin and Zacharee Ramirez — mentor to K-12 students as they develop UTSA faculty may no longer be required to meet during final exam week. In fact, final exam week may soon be a thing of the past. At the Faculty Senate November meeting, Dr. Tom Cannon, represent- ing the Academy of Distin- guished Teaching Scholars, discussed eliminating the standard final exam week. Currently, UTSA’s fall and spring semesters are six- teen weeks long, including a weeklong final exam pe- riod. Under the suggested system, professors could choose to either hold class as normal or administer a UTSA Student Veteran Association is an active presence on campus. Nearly 3,000 homeless live in San Antonio, according to 2013 assessment. 2013 winner Leto Solutions demonstrates its cool prosthetic leg. Courtesy of the Student Veteran Association Lonnie Harris / The Paisano Michelle Siddiqui / The Paisano UTSA and Spurs work together to improve the community See VETERAN, page 2 See HOMELESS, page 2 See MENTORS, page 2 See STARTUPS, page 2 See FINALS, page 2 UTSA best for veteran success The good, the bad, the capitalists Homeless find kindness at UTSA Lorenzo Garcia News Editor [email protected] Lonnie Harris and Mia Cabello Staff Writer & News Assistant [email protected] Mia Cabello and Anthony Mendoza News Assistants [email protected] Mia Cabello and Anthony Mendoza News Assistants [email protected] Robert Avila Staff Writer [email protected] Exam week could soon be a memory Robert Pistocchi / The Paisano SPORTS - UTSA Holiday Classic UTSA women’s basketball will face S. Dakota and S. Illinois Sun. Dec., 28/29 @ 12:00pm WEB - Stretch your Buck Need help planning for next semester? Check out the latest tips for “Stretch your Buck” this Wednesday, Dec. 10. Online @ paisano-online.com ARTS - Hillel hosts Hanukkah Student organization promotes the value of an inclusive environment. page 5 Don’t miss anything at UTSA. Add us on social media today! /thepaisano @paisanomedia @thePAISANO Please recycle this newspaper! UTSA National Institutes of Health awarded UTSA professors Yufei Huang and Jianqiu (Michelle) Zhang a $1.08 mil- lion grant. Huang and Zhang will use the funds to create a bioin- formatics tool to study mRNA methylation and breast cancer. San Antonio Deputy Police Chief An- thony Treviño replaced former Police Chief Wil- liam McManus on Fri- day. Trevino’s term will begin Jan. 1. McManus has accepted a position at CPS Energy to head utili- ties securities operations. Texas With a reported 55.69 percent of the vote, State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst replaced Comptroller- elect Glen Hegar in a special Senate election. U.S. Uruguay President, José Mujica has accepted six Guantanamo Bay detainees as a humani- tarian gesture. e six detainees, suspected of being militants associ- ated with Al-Qaeda, were released Friday by the US government and sent to Uruguay for re- selement. World e United Kingdoms could face fines up to 300 million Euros per year from the European Commission for con- tinued neglect of exces- sive nitrogen dioxide air pollution. UTSA Roadrunners fall to the Texas State Bobcats page 9 Student Sterling Green releases his first EP “The Awakening” page 5 Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio { SINCE 1981 } { WWW.PAISANO-ONLINE.COM } 2014 December 9 – December 18 Vol. 50, Iss. 14

The Paisano Volume 50 Issue 15

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Page 1: The Paisano Volume 50 Issue 15

The University of Texas at San Antonio’s recent com-mendations from the Mili-tary Advanced Education and Military Times con-tinue the university’s trend of exemplary military out-reach services.

The Military Advanced Education (MAE) recog-nized UTSA as a top uni-

versity in its 2015 MAE Guide to Colleges and Universities. MAE assesses universities based on their military culture, financial aid, flexibility, on-campus support and online services.

“We believe the guide serves as an invaluable tool for both education services officers and transition offi-cers when advising service members about their educa-tional opportunities,” said

“Blessings,” described a homeless man, who prefers to remain nameless, car-rying two trash bags down Caesar E Chavez Boulevard — the generous members of the UTSA community are blessings.

Close by campus, a home-less woman, Joanne Shores,

exits a VIA bus. She asks for fifty cents. “I ask for what I need,” she said, “and the people around are kind.”

Nearly 3,000 homeless persons including those sheltered and un-sheltered live in San Antonio, re-ported “The 2013 Annual Homeless Assessment Re-port (AHAR) to Congress.”

“Our goal is to provide a place of hope and new beginnings so that people can lift themselves out of

UTSA computer science, business and engineer-ing students competed for the nation’s largest under-graduate business planning award at the $100K Student Venture Competition.

The semi-annual event was hosted by the UTSA Center for Innovation and Technology Entrepreneur-ship (CITE) at the UTSA College of Business on Dec. 6.

“Entrepreneurship is the life blood of capitalism that grows the whole country,” said Texas businessman George Karutz, Sr. at the competition. Karutz along with the Texas Research and Technology Founda-

tion, financed a large por-tion of the competition’s award.

The event is the culmi-nation of the seven teams’ semester-work. Students presented their company’s comprehensive business plan, as well as a product prototype which the teams developed throughout the semester, to the judges.

“I was with a lot of these (students) and they’re real doers and accomplishers and people that have been very successful,” said Ka-rutz. “It’s the best represen-tation of successful, dedi-cated businessmen to this program.”

After a brief business pitch, each of the teams filtered questions from a panel of judges, who were

The Spurs-affiliated, non-profit organization Silver & Black Give Back has se-lected four UTSA students to participate in their Team Up Challenge Scholars pro-gram. The program, which began in September, fea-tures 16 students from four San Antonio universities. University students, called “scholars,” are selected based on their superior leadership abilities. UTSA students mentor younger students to improve the San Antonio community.

The Team Up Chal-lenge, offered to local K-12 schools, is a service learn-ing program that helps students apply learned classroom material in ways that benefit the commu-nity. Local students sign up through either a class or club and, if accepted, join 20 other semi-finalist groups. Teams receive a $2,500 seed-fund to create a project that benefits the community or to further develop an existing project. The projects address five categories of service: arts & culture, education, envi-ronment, health & wellness or uniformed services. At the program’s end in April, groups are selected as Team Up Scholar Champions; each are awarded $20,000 to continue their projects.

The four UTSA students selected as Scholars — Fe-dra Chapa, Joey Cortez, Jose Medellin and Zacharee Ramirez — mentor to K-12 students as they develop

UTSA faculty may no longer be required to meet during final exam week. In fact, final exam week may soon be a thing of the past.

At the Faculty Senate November meeting, Dr. Tom Cannon, represent-ing the Academy of Distin-guished Teaching Scholars, discussed eliminating the standard final exam week. Currently, UTSA’s fall and spring semesters are six-teen weeks long, including a weeklong final exam pe-riod. Under the suggested system, professors could choose to either hold class as normal or administer a

UTSA Student Veteran Association is an active presence on campus.

Nearly 3,000 homeless live in San Antonio, according to 2013 assessment.

2013 winner Leto Solutions demonstrates its cool prosthetic leg.

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UTSA and Spurs work together to improve the community

See VETERAN, page 2 See HOMELESS, page 2 See MENTORS, page 2

See STARTUPS, page 2

See FINALS, page 2

UTSA best for veteran success

The good, the bad, the capitalists

Homeless find kindness at UTSA

Lorenzo Garcia News Editor [email protected]

Lonnie Harris and Mia Cabello Staff Writer & News Assistant [email protected]

Mia Cabelloand Anthony Mendoza News Assistants [email protected]

Mia Cabelloand Anthony Mendoza News Assistants [email protected]

Robert Avila Staff Writer [email protected]

Exam week could soon be a memoryRo

bert

Pisto

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The P

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SPORTS - UTSA Holiday ClassicUTSA women’s basketball will face S. Dakota and S. IllinoisSun. Dec., 28/29 @ 12:00pm

WEB - Stretch your BuckNeed help planning for next semester? Check out the latest tips for “Stretch your Buck” this Wednesday, Dec. 10.Online @ paisano-online.com

ARTS - Hillel hosts HanukkahStudent organization promotes the value of an inclusive environment.

page 5

Don’t miss anything at UTSA.Add us on social media today!

/thepaisano

@paisanomedia

@thePAISANOPlease recycle this newspaper!

UTSANational Institutes of Health awarded UTSA professors Yufei Huang and Jianqiu (Michelle) Zhang a $1.08 mil-lion grant. Huang and Zhang will use the funds to create a bioin-formatics tool to study mRNA methylation

and breast cancer.

San Antonio

Deputy Police Chief An-thony Treviño replaced former Police Chief Wil-liam McManus on Fri-day. Trevino’s term will begin Jan. 1. McManus has accepted a position at CPS Energy to head utili-ties securities operations.

TexasWith a reported 55.69 percent of the vote, State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst replaced Comptroller-elect Glen Hegar in a special Senate election.

U.S.Uruguay President, José Mujica has accepted six Guantanamo Bay detainees as a humani-tarian gesture. The six detainees, suspected of being militants associ-ated with Al-Qaeda, were released Friday by the US government and sent to Uruguay for re-

settlement.

WorldThe United Kingdoms could face fines up to 300 million Euros per year from the European Commission for con-tinued neglect of exces-sive nitrogen dioxide air

pollution.

UTSA Roadrunners fall to the Texas State Bobcats page 9

Student Sterling Green releases his first EP “The Awakening”

page 5

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

{SINCE 1981} {WWW.PAISANO-ONLINE.COM}2014December 9 – December 18Vol. 50, Iss. 14

Page 2: The Paisano Volume 50 Issue 15

chosen for their experience in business and academia.

The top three teams re-ceive a total of $100,000 worth of prizes (cash and in-kind business services) essential for covering the proposed companies’ start-up costs. Each participating team is eligible to use a por-tion of an available $2,000 budget, offered by the Na-tional Science Foundation and other donors, should they decide to continue their business ventures through to fruition.

Although not all teams plan to continue develop-ing their businesses, the program will continue to offer guidance as well as in-creased funds for develop-ment.

“We had to sacrifice a lot of time. But we always had in mind that hard work al-ways pays off and that per-severance and consistence always wins,” said Edgar Ibarra, a student-developer of Saynata by iSleepTech after his team’s first-place victory.

Saynata addresses prob-lems associated with ob-structive sleep apnea. When a person sleeps on his or her back, upper airway muscles relax, causing the tongue to move back and create a nar-row airway.

Sleep apnea occurs when the airway is completely closed and breathing stops. Saynata keeps those air-ways open, reducing repeat-ed nighttime awakenings and negative health con-sequences such as choking

while sleeping and morning headaches.

iSleepTech plans to re-lease the product over the course of the next three years.

Thetis Smart Engineer-ing placed second with their prosthetic foot designed for high impact activity. Third place went to Fire-Fly, a facial and breathing recognition baby monitor that transmits vital signs via a phone app indicating whether or not an infant is lying face up.

Proof that start-up com-panies can successfully stem from UTSA senior semester projects, previous $100K competition winners Leto Solutions (2013) and Deadeye (2010) tabled at the event.

“If it weren’t for the com-

petition, there would be no business,” said Gary Wal-ters, a UTSA alumnus who developed Leto Solutions, a company that addresses prosthetic heating.

“We would have just graduated and got jobs be-fore the competition. None of us on the engineering side thought of going into business; we were going to graduate and be engineers.”

Support from the UTSA College of Engineering, the UTSA Office of the Vice President for Research, Rackspace, the San Anto-nio Technology Center and other local businesses pro-mote ventures in interdis-ciplinary student-business development like the $100k start-up competition.

NEWS2

traditional, three-hour final exam during the final week of the semester.

“The idea behind this (independent proposal) is flexibility; flexibility for the faculty to be able to provide what they believe is the best way to assess and evalu-ate student learning,” ex-plained Cannon, a market-ing professor department. An additional goal of the proposal is to allow pro-fessors to break up a small series of four to five exami-nations into a greater num-ber of specific assessments, which Cannon believes will increase student engage-ment.

Engineering professor Randall Monteufel was ini-tially skeptical of Cannon’s plan but grew to support it after considering his ratio-nale. “I’ve always had final exams. I’ve taken them as a student, and I’ve given them as an instructor. I very, very rarely do not have a final exam,” stated Monteufel.

He explained that the personal experience that drew him to support Can-non’s suggestion were the hours he spent meticulous-ly grading final exams, only for students to never pick them up and miss impor-tant feedback. Monteufel stated that if he were to give his students multiple smaller exams, he believes they would no longer miss the feedback lost from fail-ing to pick up final exams.

“If the changes were made, I would still have a final exam, but it would be less intense. I would also administer eight smaller examinations, rather than

the three I give now,” said Monteufel.

Unlike Monteufel, phi-losophy professor Alistar Welchman received Can-non’s idea with a skepticism that has not waned. More-over, a notable faction of the Senate shares Welchman’s argument that the proposal could actually reduce the flexibility of the faculty.

During the meeting, Welchman questioned Cannon about the logistics of managing a mixture of normal and extended class-es, to which he could not give specific answers.

“If you have a finals week, a sixteenth week during which some students have their regularly scheduled classes and some have fi-nals, I would like to know with some confidence that the inevitable scheduling issues (from overlapping classes) could be resolved,” said Welchman.

He worries that inade-quate scheduling of classes could result in ‘three-hour professors’ being left with-out a classroom in which to perform a final exam ,should Cannon’s idea be implemented without prop-er planning.

However, should the pro-ponents of the changes to the final exam week dem-onstrate that the univer-sity can reliably schedule lengthy final exams while also accommodating the classes of professors who choose not to hold full-length finals, Welchman stated he would readily sup-port the changes.

MAE editor Kelly Fodel. The annual MAE Guide

helps prospective students identify institutions con-sistent with their military, educational and career preferences.

Recognized by Military Times last month, UTSA will be included in their Best for Vets: Colleges 2015 rankings. Selecting top uni-versities, Best for Vets con-siders variables such as vet-eran-students’ graduation, retention, persistence and course completion rates.

“Recognizing only the schools that do the most, we believe we’re helping to raise the bar in veteran stu-dent services,” said Aman-da Miller, the editor of Best for Vets.

Currently, nearly 3,000 students — 10 percent — at UTSA are military veter-ans.

UTSA student and Iraq war veteran Tyler Wynne serves as the president of the UTSA Student Veteran Association, a community of veterans that fosters an environment conducive to veteran’s college success.

“SVA is what brought me closer to campus,” said Wynne. “It helps (veterans) make the transition to civil-ian life.”

Wynne agrees that UTSA is invested in vet-eran success. UTSA has the VetsSuccess program with two VA counselors, an on-campus military liaison and the SVA.

“The staff here definitely cares,” said Wynne.

The UTSA SVA, said Wynne, “gives veterans the tools to civilianize: focus, transitions and even cloth-ing. The tools to get away from the military mentality — in a healthy sense — and

move forward.” The United States De-

partment of Education identifies keys for a vet-eran’s college success. Keys include creating a campus culture; offering career, academic and financial ad-vice; and creating a desig-nated space for veterans to gather.

UTSA does not currently have an area on campus for student-veterans. “A designated space at UTSA falls under the eight keys to success,” said Paul Benevi-des, the UTSA Downtown Campus Representative.

This semester, however, the SVA proposed convert-ing the University Center Tejas Lounge into a location for student-veterans.

“We’re not trying to kick (students) out and take over the space,” explained Wynne. “Our job is to be the representative voice of

all veterans, whether or not they are members.”

During the final meeting of the fall semester, the Stu-dent Government Associa-tion (SGA) — responding to the SVA’s proposal for a student space — submitted a resolution that, if passed, would call designated of a room for student veterans .

“Furthering vets’ success is that (common) room,” emphasizes Wynne. “It’s incredibly critical because it would be a healing point. They could share stories knowing the people in there are veterans (too), and it’s safe to talk to them there — that’s just key.”

SGA will continue vot-ing on the resolution until the association reconvenes in January to consider the resolution.

homeless,” stated Haven for Hope Director of External Relations Laura Calderon. Since its opening in 2010, Haven for Hope has housed nearly 2,000 men, women and children and assisted more than 1,000 in gaining employment.

Haven for Hope is a vol-unteer-run organization. “Our goal is to help a per-son out of homelessness,” said Calderon, as well as, “ to address the root causes of homeless, whether it is an addiction, mental illness or some other reason.”

In addition to collaborat-ing with UTSA students,

Haven for Hope partners with over 90 organizations to offer comprehensive ser-vices to those in need.

The San Antonio Rescue Mission, another volunteer-run organization, collabo-rates with churches and local food establishments to conduct food drives, pro-viding meals a few times a year to those in need.

Graduate students run the UTSA College of Pub-lic Policy’s Department of Social Work in an effort to empower “mind, body and spirit” of the less fortunate who are staying in one of the Haven for Hope’s cen-ters.

What can UTSA students

do to help? “Advocate for better mental health ser-vices, convince your house of worship to work with homeless persons and do-

nate warm winter clothing to organizations that serve the homeless,” Calderon suggested.

their year-long community improvement projects. The program mentors will mo-tivate students to stay in school, improve their self-esteem and set career goals.

Finance major Zacharee Ramirez partnered with Lowell Middle School’s Safe Optimal Learning Environ-ment (S.O.L.E.) Mates, a project that pairs students with special needs children to address the challenges they face.

“I had worked with Spe-cial Olympics in high school but nothing really at this level of mentorship,” described Ramirez. “The kids open up to me, ,and we

are on a first name basis.” Junior Jose Medellin

partnered with the Interna-tional School of the Ameri-cas Social Entrepreneur-ship project. “Seeing them motivated to help the com-munity is really cool,” said Jose. “It motivates me.”

Medellin’s project has students building a com-munity garden and sell-ing T-shirts and buttons to raise awareness for a green-er community.

To read more, visit us online at www.paisano-online.com

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HAND-MADE CULTURE FROM 92 ARTISTS

Local volunteer organizations collect clothes and others items for the homeless.

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From Page 1

From Page 1

From Page 1

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Startups: students compete to fund their business venturesScholars: students compete to fund their business ventures

Veteran: university makes top grades for military accommodations

Homeless: Haven for Hope provides homeless with holiday kindness

Finals: The Faculty Senate debates the necessity of a compulsory final exam week

From Page 1

DECEMBER 9 – DECEMBER 18, 2014

Page 3: The Paisano Volume 50 Issue 15

NEWS 3DECEMBER 9 – DECEMBER 18, 2014

Page 4: The Paisano Volume 50 Issue 15

Ebola has taken over the media since healthcare work-ers from developed countries started becoming infected in September 2014. However, The World Health Organiza-tion (WHO) has stated that this disease has been known to affect the people of West Africa since 1976. The Cen-ter for Disease control says that you cannot be infected with Ebola through the air, water, or through food. The only way to get Ebola is from touching the bodily fluids of an infected person.

Many would agree that the reason for the interest in this disease is because Ebola has affected people of the United States. However, there have only been 10 cases in the United States, two result-ing in death according to the

New York Times. The U.S. can stop this disease from turning into a pandemic if we become more aware of what is happening globally.

The time has come for U.S. citizens to take international matters seriously. The New York Times stated that sev-enty percent of Ebola cases in West Africa are fatal, but eight of the nine people treat-ed in the United States have recovered. More than 14,000 people in Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone have contracted Ebola since March, according to the WHO, making this the biggest outbreak on record. More than 5,000 people have died. Why does this discrep-ancy exist? If we know how to treat the disease, why are we not helping infected individu-

als worldwide?Dr. Craig Spencer from

New York has recently been released and has survived the Ebola virus. The reason for his survival was the amount of healthcare workers who managed his body fluids, re-plenished his blood loss and allowed his immune system to kill off the virus. Health-care systems in the U.S. put all that effort into saving one life. How do we account for the thousands who are dy-ing in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia? In Dallas, Texas, Thomas Eric Duncan, a Li-berian who traveled to Dal-las, began developing symp-toms for Ebola on Sept. 19 and tested positive for Ebola six days later. Two nurses, Nina Pham and Amber Joy Vinson, were caring for Mr.

Duncan during what federal health officials have called the highest risk period, when he was vomiting and experi-encing diarrhea. Both nurses tested positive for Ebola and survived after Mr. Duncan passed away.

At least 19 cases have been treated in Europe and the United States. Many were health and aid workers who contracted Ebola in West Africa and were transported back to their home countries for treatment.

Americans can stop this deadly virus from spreading by becoming aware of where the disease originates from, quarantine those who have symptoms of Ebola in West Africa and following New York and New Jersey’s man-datory quarantines for medi-

cal workers returning from West Africa. The longer the United States takes to get this disease under control in both the U.S. and West Africa, the higher likelihood more peo-ple will become infected with this disease, even in the U.S.

What we can do as the people of America is to con-tact our local representatives and to make sure that the United States is intervening by sending healthcare work-ers and resources to stop this epidemic from becoming a pandemic.

Sophia WorthUTSA Master’sstudent in Social Work

The Paisano

{The Paisano}Editor-in-Chief: Sarah Gibbens

Managing Editor:Jakob Lopez

News Editor:Lorenzo Garcia

Arts Editor:Beth Marshall

Web Editor:Michael Turnini

Special Issues Editor:Jade Cuevas

Business Manager:Lizzette Rocha

Photo Editor:Marcus Connolly

Senior Copy Editor:Paul McIntier

External Affairs Manager:Hector Torres

Social Media Manager:Rebecca Conejo

Editor Assistants:Mia Cabello, Jenni-fer Vannoy, Cameron King, Nate Archer, Kate Kramer, Anelia Gomez-Cordova, Anthony Mendoza, Miriam Ad-amjee, Robert Allen

{Staff Writers}Patrick Martinez, Rohit Chandan, Megan Jenkins, Lonnie Harris, Penny Blalack, Madi Jones, Robert Avila

{Staff Photographers}Daryl Smith, Vicente Cardenas

{Contributing Writers}Matthew Tavares, Jane Powers, Therese Quin-to, Acacia Nawrocik-Madrid, Pavela Bamba-kova, Sebastian Oates

{Ads Manager} Edidiong Adiakpan

{Adviser} Diane Abdo

{Advisory Board}Steven Kellman, Jack Himelblau, Sandy Nor-man, Stefanie Arias, Diane Abdo

The Paisano is published by the Paisano Educa-tional Trust, a non-profit, tax exempt, educational organization. The Paisano is operated by members of the Student Newspaper Association, a registered student organization. The Paisano is NOT sponsored, financed or endorsed by UTSA. New issues are published every Tuesday during the fall and spring semesters, excluding holi-days and exam periods. All revenues are gener-ated through advertising and donations. Advertising inquiries and donations should be directed to:

14526 Roadrunner WaySuite 101San Antonio, TX 78249Phone: (210)-690-9301{Letters to the Editor}Letters must be fewer than 400 words and in-clude the writer’s name, classification or title and telephone number. The Paisano reserves the right to edit all submissions.Send letters to:[email protected]

© 2014, The Paisano

December 9 - December 18, 2014

4 OPINION

EditorialNo middle class for collegiate football

Letters to the Editor We would love to hear your feedback!

Letters must be fewer than 400 words and include the writer’s name, classification or title and email address. The Paisano reserves the right to edit all submissions.

Send Letters to the Editor to:[email protected]

I’ll just sit here by Christopher Breakell

Letter to the Editor

The University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) was the first NCAA top-tier team in the past 20 years to terminate its football program. The final announce-ment came on Sunday, Dec. 7 after the UAB Blazers failed to receive a bowl bid following their 6-6 season in the East Division of Conference USA (C-USA).

UAB decided to terminate its football program after an indepen-dent financial study revealed that fielding a competitive football team would only become more costly.

According to several athletic di-rectors across the country, the real-ity of the situation has become clear — college football has become a

commercially driven sport suited to and dominated by big budget football schools.

What does this mean for a pro-gram such as UTSA’s?

With several of the programs in the “Big Five Conferences” — the SEC, ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and Pacific 12 — starting to implement their own policies regarding player reform (e.g. player image rights, player compensation), programs in smaller conferences such as C-USA have little room to alter their financial landscape.

Schools in the “Big Five Con-ferences” use money from bowl games, major sponsorships and prime time television to compen-

sate for changing NCAA player reform, allowing them to continue attracting top-tier talent.

The University of Texas at Aus-tin notably proposed a $6,000,000 compensation package for its student athletes — equating to $10,000 per student athlete per year — in addition to scholarship money. The proposition comes as no surprise, as big-time football schools compete while mitigating the effects of player reform.

Football is a lucrative and com-petitive sport — compensation packages and scholarships will undoubtedly continue to increase. Schools such as UTSA cannot af-ford to compensate athletes at such

a high cost. According to a San Antonio

Express News article, student ath-letic fees at UTSA are already at the maximum of $240 a semester and $480 a year. Student fee rev-enue paid into UTSA athletics over the past five years is $54,898,951. These figures show that student athletic fees make up more than half of the athletics revenue, which is $92,983,589.

With students being charged the maximum annual athletic fee, UTSA has little financial room to lure top-tier talent with compensa-tion packages and higher scholar-ships.

Does this mean UTSA will go

the way of UAB? In short, the answer is no. UTSA

football will continue to sustain fi-nancial stability as long as alumni keep donating and students keep enrolling.

What it does mean, though, is that UTSA football will find it hard to achieve competitive big-time football success. While UTSA football promotes school spirit and campus community, it will prob-ably never attain the appeal of the likes of UT, Alabama, A&M or Ohio State.

Page 5: The Paisano Volume 50 Issue 15

Hayden HoussonStaff [email protected]

Sterl The Moor isn’t rap-ping just to rap; he wants his music to be a conversa-tion piece for his listeners.

Inspired by the intellectu-al and artistic achievements of the Moors of the ancient world, UTSA student Ster-ling Green — “Sterl The Moor” — wants to give meaning back to hip-hop music.

Green, an information systems major, has been do-ing more than studying. “I have been working for two years on my most recent CD. It is my first batch of original music,“ said Green proudly, referring to his first EP, “The Awakening,” that dropped Dec. 7.

Green views mainstream hip-hop as repetitive, wa-tered down and meaning-less; instead, he finds in-spiration from old school rappers like NAS and alter-native artists like J.Cole.

“NAS definitely inspired me a lot because when I look at hip-hop, I look at it as more than a genre,” said Green. “I feel like it’s a life-style. I feel like NAS kept it real because he didn’t really try to have a certain sound to fit popular demand. He was really just talking about what was going on in a unique and original way,” continued Green.

For Green — a natural born innovator who dislikes

following the status quo — originality is a big concern. Through his music, he tries to convey originality to all of his listeners and fans.

“What I really want for people to take away from my music is to know that they can be themselves and that they don’t have to try and fit into the mainstream,” ex-plained Green. Along with making his songs unique, Green tries to fill his songs with meaningful content.

“NAS’s content is really what made me feel like he is the best because anybody can rap, but it’s about what it is you are trying to say with it,” Green said.

Rather than aiming for the lavish lifestyle that nor-mally accompanies making it big, Sterl The Moor is all about the art of making mu-sic. He views a lust for fame and fortune as detrimental to hip-hop music. “One of the biggest problems we are having today,” said Green, “is people are worrying about the business rather than worrying about the music.”

A lack of quality among mainstream hip-hop mo-tivated Green to pursue a career dedicated to creating meaningful, original art. For Green, “The Awakening” is only the first chapter of his music. “’The Awakening’ is like I am being born into the music,” emphasized Green. “(‘The Awakening’) is what it sounds like when I am just getting my feet wet.”

After listening to a few tracks from “The Awak-ening,” you really start to understand who Sterl The Moor is and what message he is trying to send. The nostalgic vibe of “Stuck In The Past” and the political undertones of “Lean” exem-plify Green’s ability to craft original, significant content.

Just like the Moors who came before him, Sterl The Moor identifies the trans-mission of art and knowl-edge to others as his calling. Through his slow, laid-back rap, Green spreads ideas one lyric at a time.

“This is what I feel I am supposed to do,“ said Green. “I definitely have plans for further albums and tapes,” continued the artist, whose first album chronologically narrates his life. “But I want to go in order. I want to tell it like a story — because this is my life.”

Driven to change the face of hip-hop and enlighten his listeners, Green strives to continue creating fresh and original music.

“A lot of the beats that are on this CD are some of my first beats I made two years ago when I was first get-ting started,” said Green. “I wanted to start from the be-ginning so I could show my progression as I go on.

“I don’t look at it like I’m just somebody coming out with a CD,” he continued. “I really feel like I have re-ally made a contribution to hip-hop.”

ARTS & LIFE 5December 9 - December 18, 2014

Sterl the Moor: rap revivalist

Hillel hosts Hanukkah Co

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Kate [email protected]

Amid the hustle and bus-tle surrounding the end of the semester and final exam preparations, one student organization took a break to celebrate. On Dec. 4, Hillel celebrated Hanukkah a little early.

Complete with a latke (potato pancake) bar, games and a lighting of the meno-rah, students from around San Antonio visited the Barshop Jewish Commu-nity Center to gather one last time before the end of the semester and enjoy the company of peers who share their beliefs.

Each student left with a gift bag filled with a latke recipe, a dreidal (a top), gelt (chocolate coins), direc-tions on how to play a game called “dreidal,” two candles, matches and a card with the blessings for the candles.

“This is what I would like to call ‘A First Night of Ha-nukkah Survival Kit,’” direc-tor Samantha Mazuz play-fully said.

Hillel, an internationally recognized Jewish student organization, empowers students to take pride in their Jewish heritage and connect with other com-munity members around the city.

Although this was the big end of year event for Hillel, they aren’t finished yet. On Friday, Dec. 12, Hillel will be hosting a study break for students to gather and enjoy some snacks while socializ-ing.

Hillel is even in full swing for next year, already plan-ning the future events that

will be held throughout the semester.

“We are looking forward to the enthusiasm that has been put forward through this past fall semester (for next year),” Mazuz said.

Hillel, whose group mis-sion is to enrich the lives of students so they can en-rich the lives of others, is dedicated to creating a wel-coming and inclusive envi-ronment for Jewish college students so they can grow intellectually, spiritually and socially.

“Being part of Hillel gives me the opportunity to con-nect with others who share my beliefs,” Jessica Cohn, a UTSA student who attends Hillel events, said.

“Being a college student isn’t easy in today’s culture where morals seem to be sinking,” Cohn continued. “Being able to gather with other students not only al-lows me the social interac-tion but helps reaffirm my own faith and belonging.”

Hillel aims to enable students to embrace their Jewish identity and form a sense of community with other Jewish students.

“My job,” Mazuz ex-plained, “is to form a wel-coming environment for Jewish students to come, connect socially, and cel-ebrate Jewish traditions and even spark Jewish conversa-tions.”

And that is exactly what Hillel has been doing this semester.

Holding bi-monthly lunches on campus to help foster a sense of commu-nity and offer students the opportunity to meet, the members of Hillel seek to encourage each other and

form a connection with oth-ers who share their values.

“At the beginning of the semester, the students would walk into the room quietly, come to me and get their food,” Mazuz said. “But now excitement and admi-ration for one another has grown and the conversa-tions have become deeper. Throughout the semester, a bond has formed for sure.”

Hillel has held many events over the past semes-ter, including bringing in guest speakers to share their stories about their heritage and traveling to Israel on a Birthright Israel trip, some-thing that sparked interest-ed with Cohn.

“I’ve never been to Israel and never really had the desire to go,” Cohn stated. “But after hearing one of the guest speakers, Izzy Ezagui, talk about his expe-rience and journey to Israel, I knew it was something I really needed to do. And that wouldn’t have entered my thoughts if it weren’t for Hillel being on campus.”

Hillel does more than help Jewish students con-nect with one another – the organization helps students connect with their religion.

“I feel that Hillel is grow-ing in the best possible way. We are definitely engaging the Jewish students and building a family in San An-tonio. I love it!” Mazuz said.

For more information about joining the organiza-tion next semester or stop-ping by one of their many events, like The REAL Hil-lel at UTSA on Facebook or email [email protected].

Jennifer VannoyArts [email protected]

Leadership. Unity. Ser-vice. These are just a few words that describe the Omicron Tau chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha. The sorority was first founded in 1908 and has been on the UTSA campus since 1989.

Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) has a tradition of volunteering with char-ity events that give back to the community. The mem-bers of AKA have helped in events such as the San Antonio Walk to End Al-zheimer’s and the For The Kids (FTK) Winter Won-derland Fashion show. They have also assisted with building playgrounds and volunteered with Haven for Hope.

At the San Antonio Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Sep-tember, the ladies of AKA arrived at 6 a.m. and helped set up for the walk with oth-er members of UTSA’s Na-tional Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), the coordinating body for the nine histori-

cally black fraternities and sororities. AKA took pho-tos, blew up balloons and greeted the participants.

“It was amazing to be there with all those peo-ple and wear purple,” said member Rachel Ugoala. “We were all there to sup-port and help out where we could. It was a really good event.”

AKA also helped with the FTK Winter Wonderland Fashion show on Nov. 14, which supported families with children who are bat-tling pediatric cancer. Held in UTSA’s Liu Auditorium, the fashion show featured UTSA student leaders es-corting children with pedi-atric cancer down the run-way.

“It was just nice to be able to support the families and children who are affected by this,” said member Grace

Williamson. “We got to entertain them for a few hours before we actually went out there.”

C o n t i n u i n g their community service, members of AKA volun-teered at Haven for Hope, which gives warm clothes and food to homeless peo-

ple in San Antonio. They prepared meals for the day in the bistro, made sand-wiches in the kitchen and served hot meals to resi-dents.

“We’re very fortunate, and we don’t really get to

see people who struggle ev-eryday to put food on the table for their kids or their family, and just to see that was very humbling,” said member Janay Thomas. “They were saying, ‘Thank you, you’re smile has just made my day!’ and I feel like just our presence there made a real impact.”

Member Janay Thomas feels that their top priority is to give back to the com-munity. “Women should try to be a part of this organiza-tion because we’re very ser-vice-based. If you want the social side of it, the sister-hood, we have all of that. It’s the best of both worlds. We all have fun, yet we still give back to the community.”

Ugoala additionally shared that being a part of Alpha Kappa Alpha changes its members for the better and equips them with ex-perience that will be use-ful later in life. “I’ve grown so much since I first joined last spring. Just to be a part of something greater and to give back on a broader scale, this sorority gives you so many opportunities for you to lend a helping hand anywhere. This sorority is a lifetime membership.”

Williamson said that it’s more than an organization. “It’s also business, it’s lead-ership, it’s spiritual and you also gain a lifetime of sisters. You’re becoming a part of a lasting legacy: an imprint on this world that will stay here even when your name is gone.”

Service-based sororitylives up to its name

Information Systems major, Sterling Green poses for the cover of his EP “The Awakening” which aims to enlighten hip-hop enthusiasts.

“You’re becoming a part of a lasting legacy: an imprint on this world that will stay here even when your name is gone.”Grace WilliamsonAlpha Kappa Alpha

Page 6: The Paisano Volume 50 Issue 15

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ARTS & LIFE6December 9 - December 18, 2014

ARTS & LIFE

Wednesday 12/10Celebrate the start of Dead Days with The Hangar’s monthly whiskey tasting on Wednesday, Dec. 10 from 7 to 9 p.m. Tastings take place on the second Wednesday of every month, and admission is $10; this includes 10 whiskey samples, light snacks, a $10 Hangar gift card and a raffle ticket. Stick around after for Cards Against Humanity, starting at 9 p.m. For more info, go to thehan-garsa.com.

Thursday 12/ 11‘Tis the season to be amazed. Don’t miss out on this extravagant Cirque show/Broadway musical/holiday spectacular starting Thursday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m. through Dec. 14 at the Tobin Center for the Perform-ing Arts. Join aerialists, trapeze art-ists, strength acts, juggling, comedy and music for a family night that you won’t soon forget! Tickets start at just $34.50 on tobincenter.org.

Friday 12/12Take a break from studying with Dis-ney’s classic The Lion King on Friday, Dec. 12. The world’s number one musical hits the stage at 8 p.m. at the Majestic Theatre with tickets start-ing at $80.20 on ticketmaster.com. Go to majesticempire.com for more info on this roaring good time.

Saturday 12/13Come see the Light of Life Holiday Spectacular “Te Vai Nei” on Sat-urday, Dec. 13 at the Josepehine Theater located on 339 W Jose-phine St. This annual end of the year celebration is filled with live music, Polynesian dance performances and ethnic food. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show begins at 7 p.m. Tick-

ets in advance are $15 and $20 at the door. Call 210-310-4312 for more information, or log onto Desert-PolynesiaProductions.com

Sunday 12/14The third annual Holiday 5k Walk/Run is presented by Carrera Races on Sunday, Dec. 14, at 5 p.m. at Eilan 17101 La Cantera Parkway. This race is complemented with beautiful Christmas lights, great mu-sic and the finest wine. Donations can also be made to the Wounded Warrior Project. Log on to carrer-araces.com/holiday5k to register now and create a team.

Monday 12/15Bring your family out to enjoy the Parman Library’s Winter Walk from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 20735 Wilder-ness Oak. The playground leads to a wintery scenic trail behind the library. Come enjoy hot chocolate decked with Christmas spirit! Con-tact 210-207-2703 for questions or visit mysapl.org/calendar.

Tuesday 12/16The Grand Hyatt San Antonio Hotel hosts Story Time with Santa Paws on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Bring the whole family – including pets – to hear your favorite holiday children’s stories. Puppies from the Humane Society will stop by to help spread Christmas cheer over cider and hot chocolate. Sign up for a library card with the San Antonio Library Foundation and bring home books from your holiday reading list. Visit grandsanantonio.hyatt.com or contact 210-224-1234 with any questions.

EVENTS CALENDAR Lights, camera, action:UTSA professor discusses success outside the classroom

Lonnie [email protected]

Dr. Douglas Brode be-lieves, as far as modern movies go, “Inception” is the best movie, while “In-terstellar” is the worst mov-ie out today.

As the semester comes to a close, Brode looks for-ward to releasing five, pos-sibly six, new books in 2015 that will begin with an an-thology of zombie stories to which he contributed. How-ever, Brode eagerly stated, “I always look forward to teaching the following se-mester, particularly when I have students that I like and respect as much as my stu-dents at UTSA.”

Even at the age of five, Brode was infatuated with films. One film that par-ticularly resonated with Brode was the 1948 How-ard Hawks film, “Red River.” Brode described the movie as one of the top five West-erns of all time, but one thing he could never get out of his mind was the scene when Thomas Dunson (John Wayne) shoots Cher-ry Valance (John Ireland).

As the credits for “Red River” rolled, Brode could not figure out whether Va-lance was alive or dead. Brode was so intrigued by the scene that he watched the film on television sev-eral times but still could not

be certain. Brode attended Syracuse

University, where he re-ceived his Bachelor of Sci-ence, Master of Science and doctorate in Shakespearean studies and creative writ-ing. His mother’s work as a teacher also inspired Brode to attend a teachers’ college.

Five years later, still un-certain of Valance’s fate, Brode went backstage at a performance of “Abraham Lincoln” to ask Ireland him-self about Valance’s fate. Ireland’s response was “Kid, they never even told me.”

From his childhood, Brode’s mother instilled in him a love of reading and writing. “I dictated stories to my mother,” he remi-nisced. “She wrote them down for me. And heaven help her if she got even one word wrong.”

Brode now holds many titles: teacher, film critic, screenwriter, playwright, novelist, graphic novelist, film historian and journal-ist. He always had a teach-ing job but found time to write books and review films, which required him to fly to Los Angeles. There, he would also attempt to sell his movie scripts.

“Everything was always interrelated,” Brode ex-plained of his many titles. “I wanted to do many other things: act, direct, write, etc. And I did.”

Brode offered advice for aspiring film critics: “There

was only one way to be-come a film critic: talk some newspaper, radio station or TV channel into hiring you. If you got lucky, one of those three would hire you. I got all three.”

He expounded, “Today, it’s different. While there are fewer newspapers now, meaning even fewer jobs, anyone who wants to can create a blog and set himself or herself up as a film critic.”

Brode has read, watched and critiqued many films, but he highlights Westerns, especially John Ford’s, and Shakespeare as his favorite genres.

Even after running into Ireland in the 1990s, Dr. Brode never learned the truth regarding Cherry Va-lance’s death.

Looking to get involved? Find your home at The Paisano while expanding your talents and gaining

real-world experience!

All writers, photographers, graphic artists and advertisers are welcome to join.

No experience required!

Join us this fall! Meetings are Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. in the Paisano Media Arts Center,

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“I wanted to do many other things: act, direct, write, etc. And I did.”Dr. Douglas BrodeUTSA department of phi-losophy, humanities and classics professor

Page 7: The Paisano Volume 50 Issue 15

ARTS & LIFE 7December 9 - December 18, 2014

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Alexander MorovitzContributing [email protected]

In the time spent watch-ing an episode of “The Of-fice” on Netflix, you could be striving toward a better and more physically fit you. How? Get up, and go for a run.

You do not need a gym to be physically fit. All you need are a pair of shoes and an ounce of will-power.

Running improves your cardiovascular health, in-creases your heart rate and helps burn fat. Still need more reasons to run? Run-nersworld.com provides a few facts to consider.

Running has been shown to increase sleep quality, improve mental concentra-tion and protect against anxiety and depression. Running has also been shown to increase life ex-pectancy for both smokers and non-smokers. Further-more, running can decrease the chance of developing diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

For those concerned about starting a running program due to their cur-rent fitness level, have no fear. Running is an excel-lent starting point for get-ting into shape. Here are some tips to help beginners improve their performance.

Don’t forget to stretch! Stretching before and after running is a good way to avoid soreness. It doesn’t

take more than a couple of minutes to work your arms and legs a little bit as a warm up and cool down.

Don’t let the number of miles discourage you. Com-mit to running for a set amount of time, and your pace will eventually im-prove. With dedication and commitment to running, a 3-times-a-week, 10-min-ute jogger can become a 5-times-a-week, 45-minute jogger in just a few months.

Consistency is key: run-ning minimally three times a week, and reaching your target pace, will yield re-sults. Increase the duration of your run by increments of five minutes. Once you can comfortably run for 20 minutes three times a week, increase the time to 25 min-utes. The more often you run, the better! Five times a week is preferred, but three times a week will still yield results.

In addition to creating a running schedule for your-self, it is equally important to make healthy eating choices. Don’t go running and then drive through Mc-Donalds. It would be wiser to stop at the store once a week and buy fresh fruits, vegetables and lean meat for protein.

Remember, if you can find time to watch Netflix, you can make time to run! Put on some running shoes, and go experience the thrill and benefits of running today!

Shemona WaliContributing [email protected]

“There is no secret to suc-cess. It’s the result of hard work, involvement and learning from those around you which truly leads you to the pathway of success,” said Mario A. Vazquez, asso-ciate vice president for institutional advance-ment for Texas A&M San Antonio and past president and CEO of KLRN-TV at San Anto-nio.

Vazquez’s route to success began at San Antonio Community College (SACC) where he completed his core requirements before ap-plying to UTSA.

“At the time, UTSA was the only affordable public university in San Antonio, and although I re-ceived a full scholarship to Trinity University as a pia-nist, I chose to go to UTSA because I was passionate about political science,” ex-plained Vazquez.

Vazquez’s passionate drive to succeed as a first generation college student at UTSA started when he first entered UTSA in 1986. He graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in political science. “The rea-son why it took me 20 years to graduate from UTSA was that I had to work as a litiga-tion paralegal while going to

school, so I couldn’t afford to be a full-time student,” said Vazquez.

Shortly after graduating from UTSA, Vazquez im-mediately connected with UTSA’s next door neigh-bors, Valero and NuStar Energy. After becoming a dedicated board member at Valero Energy, Vazquez

received recognition from another board member who also happened to be a board member at KLRN-TV. Vazquez was then asked to join KLRN-TV.

After joining the KLRN-TV board, Vazquez be-came heavily involved with volunteering, supporting charities and instituting fundraisers, which allowed his career to flourish. “I had the chance to climb my way up higher working with Valero, but I’m glad with the choice I made. Just like be-ing a student at UTSA, my experience at Valero was my

starting point and helped my career go further.” said Vazquez.

Due to Vazquez’s altruis-tic work ethic and sheer de-termination to succeed, the former president of KLRN-TV nominated Vazquez to be the new president and CEO of KLRN-TV at San Antonio.

Vazquez was the first Latino to become the CEO of a PBS sta-tion and lived up to his title by continuing his humanitarian work through volunteer and charity organizations for KLRN.

“I enjoy trying to make a difference in the San Antonio com-munity and being able to give back. I think that getting involved and volunteering is an excellent way to be suc-cessful,” said Vazquez.

Today, Vazquez continues to discover ways in which he can give back to the commu-nity. “As a former Roadrun-ner, I still carry the values and lessons I’ve learned as a student at UTSA through-out my everyday life here at Texas A&M San Antonio. There is a lot of respect for UTSA here at our universi-ty, and I’m always proud to tell people that I am indeed a lifetime alumni member at UTSA” said Vazquez.

Savin WeerasingheStaff [email protected]

Here’s a story of a few friends coming together in a project of love, friend-ship and a free-for-all brawl. Indeed, a wonderful tale. Now, we start our tale with two of my friends and me— students of the nearby uni-versity—as we walked into a recent café around the block.

“Quit pushing, I said I don’t want to go. Seriously, I hate coffee, I’m a tea person, Nox!”

“Oh, shut it. You’ll love it.”“I dunno, if he doesn’t like

it, he doesn’t like it.”“You shouldn’t be one to

talk, Sehina. You were a tea-only person not too long ago, weren’t you?”

“Whatever.”“Just come on in.”A rush of cinnamon, nut-

meg, and vanilla rushed into our faces. We all gave a deep sigh and grinned. The shop was dimly lit inside a cherry wood room (What taste!). The shop gave that antique bookstore feel while being very contemporary with its metal, leather-padded chairs and brushed-metal edges.

A corner of the shop was lined with baristas work-ing furiously as a crowd of customers shouted their orders. I was awestruck at how calm the baristas were with a business smile and their speed of taking orders and passing back drinks and short eats. On the oppo-site side of the baristas was an arena—yeah, a boxing arena. Don’t worry about

that—yet. “Are you done staring,

now,” Nox called out, pull-ing me from my trance.

“Take your time, it’s a lot to take in,” said Sehina.

I walked toward the menu board and gazed through the dozens of options and combinations. Seriously, it was like I was looking at the countless boards at the New York Stock Exchange. The sheer amount of op-tions had me glazed over, staring at the blackboards with neon markers flowing together into some psyche-delic stream. It was a very new experience—not one I would like to relive anytime soon.

As my eyes bore into the board, I was jerked out of my trance, staggering with my shoulder bruising. I jolted around glaring at the direction the hit came from. Staring at me with her deep-brown inquisitive eyes, Sheila tilted her head; as a blur disorientated my eyes, I fell into complete unconsciousness.

I woke up standing with bright, LED lamps blind-ing me through my tightly shut eyes. Squinting little by little, I got used to the intense light and examined my surroundings. I was in the arena, that boxing are-na. It didn’t take very long for me to realize what was going to happen. I cursed under my breath and tried to run off the arena. As I twisted around, I smacked my head into the arena’s corner beam. Crumbling to the ground as I clutched at my throbbing forehead, I noticed a person staring at

me from the opposite cor-ner. I cursed again, “What the hell?” Sehina was there equipped with full kickbox-ing gear and with her glare, probably ready to grind me into the ground.

I raised my trembling hands into feeble fists when thunderous metal clashed together. The sudden sound had me dazed for a split moment. My senses cleared up once more and before me was a full barista’s bar table. In front of Sehina was the exact same set up.

“What the heck?” I ex-claimed over the surround-ing crowd cheering and yelling.

“Surprised? What d’you think?” Sehina replied calmly with a grin.

“Why the heck did you punch me for?”

“Funsies? Had to bring about this contest, y’know.”

“You’re messed up in the head, you know that? Seri-ously mental. Anyway, what are we doing here?”

“It’s a coffee/tea contest. Basically, we try to make the most delicious coffee or tea for three judges including your opponent. Disregard the side effects. Anyway, the bell has rung—let’s begin!”

“What bel-” A gong from behind my ear rung with a glorious blast.

I’ve never made my own tea, usually my mom makes it for me. I’ll have you know, she makes the best Ceylon tea to be made. Tea aside, I’ve made my share of deli-cious dishes. Mostly curries and crème brûlée and some damn good sautéed sausag-es with caramelized onions wrapped in toasted butter

tortilla bread. Well, dishes galore aside, tea: How the heck should I go about this?

Well, it didn’t take very long for me to get used to the barista’s table as I’ve studied them every time they made me my Vanilla Chai. I started the water and the whole milk to a boil. The table had a collection of every tea available: Dar-jeeling, Earl Grey, Green, Oolong, and Jasmine— the list goes on and on. I finally located the best tea: a pack-et of authentic Ceylon tea. I notice the water and milk were ready and I laid a layer of tea leaves into four black ceramic mugs designed with subtle purple and white streams and curves. The leaves were set, and I poured the milk into a mea-suring cup. Carrying the cup, I slug walked toward the mugs.

That tea could’ve been quite nice, y’know. Walk-ing carefully, Sheina crept behind me and snaked her arm through mine. The mug of hot milk spilled onto my arm, scalding me as I dropped the cup instantly. Sehina cackled at my de-spair. You could probably guess what happened from there. I gritted my teeth cursing at her and went back to the table and remade my tea, but with a twist. It would become a tea-coffee expresso topped with styl-ized whipped cream that made Sheina collapse at my awesomeness, and I would become famous as the judg-es glorified my expresso.

To finish reading, visit paisano-online.com.

“There is no secret to success. It’s the result of hard work, involve-ment and learning from those around you which truly leads you to the pathway of suc-cess.”Mario A. VazquezUTSA alumnus

Page 8: The Paisano Volume 50 Issue 15

The Paisano is looking for

stamp collectors and coin collectors!

If you are a philatelist or a numismatist and you are interested in helping a non-profit, educational trust value stamps and coins,

please contact Diane Abdo, Trustee, The Paisano Educational Trust

([email protected]) or (210) 737-0010).

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8December 9 - December 18, 2014

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Page 9: The Paisano Volume 50 Issue 15

Shabazz IshmaelStaff Writer [email protected]

“Never stop being com-petitive!” UTSA alumna Mi-chelle Beadle advised aspiring Roadrunner sports journal-ists. Twenty years ago, if you told Beadle that she would host one of the most popular shows on ESPN, she probably would not have believed you.

When she graduated high school in 1994, Beadle was certain that she would be a lawyer. Born in Italy, but a native of Boerne, Texas, Mi-chelle Beadle was a straight “A” student at Boerne High School. She started her col-lege career at UT Austin as a political science major and pre-law student. However, af-ter three years in school she realized that law was not her calling. Beadle took a three-year hiatus from school dur-ing which she traveled and worked, doing everything from waiting tables in Austin to breeding Great Danes in Canada.

After three years of uncer-

tainty, Beadle decided it was time to head back to school. She returned to San Antonio to become a Roadrunner and switched her major to com-munications.

“It was awesome,” Beadle said as she recalled her mem-ories of UTSA. She remem-bered the teachers always going the extra mile without hesitation to accommodate her hectic work schedule.

“They were great! They were really good about help-ing me, which not a lot of people would do.” Beadle’s situation was unique in that she already had experience working in the communica-tions field from covering a minor league hockey team.

Beadle’s first big job was interning for the San Antonio Spurs. There, she got her first taste of working as a reporter. “The Spurs gave me this awe-some chance to get in front of the camera a couple of times,” said Beadle. The chance the Spurs took on her would set the tone for her entire career, and even today she identifies as a die-hard Spurs fan. After

her internship, she worked for TNN (now Spike TV) as a reporter. From TNN report-ing, Beadle worked with the Travel Channel, hosting a dating show called “Get Pack-ing”. She broke back into the sports world by landing a job with the YES Network where she conducted interviews and covered the New Jersey Nets.

Her big break came in 2009 as a co-host with Colin Cowherd on the ESPN show, “SportsNation”. According to Beadle, she auditioned for the show on a whim. Beadle’s agent urged her to try out for the show before it had been fully conceptualized.

“You’ve heard ‘no’ so many times by that point that it’s just sort of like, auditions become just normal and you get ready to be rejected,” said Beadle of auditioning. ESPN said “yes,” and from 2009 to 2012, she and Cowherd hosted a sports show like no other. Filled with games and viral videos, the show’s infor-mal and fun delivery of sports news became a fan favorite.

In 2012, Beadle left ESPN to work for NBC where she hosted, “The Crossover” but

the show failed to gain mo-mentum and was canceled in the fall of 2013. This past March, Beadle returned to ESPN and SportsNation where she currently works as a co-host alongside Max Kell-erman and Marcellus Wiley.

“It’s supposed to be fun,” Beadle advised aspiring sports journalists. “We all have to work…you might as well have something you don’t dread getting up to do.” She continued, “Find some-thing that you’re passionate about and enjoy doing.”

“If you want to be in front of the camera, if you want to be behind the camera, just practice.” She continued: “You can go to school, you can watch TV, you can read a million books, but [it won’t matter] until you get in front of that camera and just really get kind of comfortable with yourself.”

Catch Beadle on Sportsna-tion weekdays at 2 p.m. on ESPN 2.

December 9 - December 18, 2014

SPORTS 9

Robert AllenSports [email protected]

The UTSA women’s bas-ketball team (4-3) led by as many as 12 points in their matchup against their I-35 rival, the Texas State Bob-cats (3-3), but a late push by the Bobcats gave Texas State the upset victory, 57-53, at the Convocation Center. Se-nior guards Ashley Spaletta and Kamra King led the way for the Roadrunners with 13 points apiece and five and four rebounds, respectively.

The Roadrunners held the lead for the first half, scor-ing 10 points off Texas State turnovers and allowing no bench points for the Bobcats during the first half.

“We came out strong. We just couldn’t finish,” explained Spaletta, following the loss. “This one definitely hurt. It’s a rivalry game, and we want-ed this win badly.”

The Roadrunners also dominated the second half,

leading for most of the half. The Runners’ shooting per-centage improved in the sec-ond half from 36.7 to 39.3 — as did their free throw percentage from 42.9 to 66.7. Turnovers hindered the Roadrunners’ performance in the second half. UTSA com-mitted eight turnovers, al-lowing Texas State to score 12 points. In the final 2:48, UTSA could not buy a shot. All four layups attempted by the Runners came up short while the Bobcats continued to make baskets. The Bobcats obtained the lead after Ayriel Anderson hit a pair of free throws for Texas State, giving them a 54-53 advantage with 21 seconds remaining. The Roadrunners were unable to catch up.

The Roadrunner defense played well throughout the game, recording six blocks and 13 steals. In the first half, the Runners held the Bobcats to a 29.4 shooting percent-age from the field and hit just two of their seven 3-point at-

tempts. “The good thing about this

(loss) is we have two weeks off to recuperate and get our legs back under us before we go to Lubbock,” said an op-timistic Spaletta. “It was a tough loss, but we’ll be able to shake it off.”

The Roadrunners are not back in action until Friday, Dec. 19 as they travel to Lub-bock to compete in the Ath-

letes for Action Tournament. The Runners will start the tournament by taking on the Houston Cougars before fac-

ing Texas Tech and Nicholls later that weekend.

{Sports Events}

Tuesday, Dec. 9

8:00 pm Spurs BasketballThe San Antonio Spurs travel to EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, UT, to competeagainst Gordon Hayward and the Utah Jazz.

Wednesday, Dec. 10

7:30 pm Spurs BasketballThe San Antonio Spurs take on Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks at the AT&T Center.

Friday, Dec. 12

8:30 pm Spurs BasketballThe San Antonio Spurs face Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers at the AT&T Center.

Saturday, Dec. 14

7:00 pm Spurs BasketballThe San Antonio Spurs head to Denver, CO to take on the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.

C-USA Football

STANDINGS

East DivisionC-USA/Overall

1. Marshall (7-1) (12-1)

2. Middle Tennessee (5-3) (6-6)

3. UAB (4-4) (6-6)

4. Western Kentucky (4-4) (7-5)

5. Old Dominion (4-4) (6-6)

6. Florida International (3-5) (4-8)

7. Florida Atlantic (2-6) (3-9)

West DivisionC-USA/Overall

1. Louisiana Tech (7-1) (8-5)

2. Rice (5-3) (7-5)

3. UTEP (5-3) (7-5)

4. UTSA (3-5) (4-8)

5. North Texas (2-6) (4-8)

6. Southern Miss (1-7) (3-9)

UTSA BASKETBALL

Alumna offers advice to UTSA studentsUTSA SPORTS FEATURE

Roadrunners stifled at home“We came out strong. We just couldn’t finish. This one defi-nitely hurt. It’s a rivalry game, and we wanted this win badly.” Ashley SpalettaUTSA senior guard

UTSA senior guard Kamra King is rejected under the basket by an opposing player.

UTSA sophomore center Tesha Smith is met with a multitude of hands underneath the basket. The Roadrunners were held scoreless for the final 2:48 of the game, ultimately losing to their I-35 rival the Texas State Bobcats.

“Find something that you’re pas-sionate about and enjoy doing.” Michelle BeadleUTSA Alumna

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Page 10: The Paisano Volume 50 Issue 15

10 December 9 - December 18, 2014 ADVERTISEMENT

Third-party trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of FMR LLC.

Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC, 900 Salem Street, Smithfi eld, RI 02917 © 2013 FMR LLC. All rights reserved. 669583.3.6

CONGRATULATIONS TO

Nate LeonardUNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO

Winner of a 2014 National Football Foundation

National Scholar-Athlete Award, presented by Fidelity Investments.

Fidelity Investments and the National Football Foundation salute Nate Leonard for his work on the fi eld, in the classroom and in the community.

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