february 21, 2002

SATE NEWS

THURSDAYFebruary 21, 2002

An Inside Look:■ Opinion ........................................2■ News ............................................3■ 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 n

Page 8Page 8

VALLEY NEWS

■ DALLAS— Reversinga previous decision,Democratic gubernatorialcandidates Tony Sanchezand Dan Morales haveagreed to par ticipate intelevised bilingualdebates. Two one-hourdebates featuringMorales and Sanchez willbe held in Dallas theevening of March 1. Thefirst debate will be inEnglish, followed byanother in Spanish.Earlier last weekend,Sanchez and his staffdeclined to enter adebate with Morales,accusing him oflaunching personalat tacks. Public televisionstation KERA, in additionto other news media, areworking to organize thedebates. The Democraticprimary is March 12.

■ WESLACO —According to oneMexican official, helpcould soon be on theway for South Texasfarmers in desperateneed of water. MexicanConsul Luis M. LopezMoreno recentlyannounced the possiblerelease of 91,200acre-feet of water sometime this week at awater symposiumhosted by the TexasA&M AgriculturalExtension Center inWeslaco. While therelease of 91,200acre-feet of water willhelp local farmers, itwill not be enough tocompletely rescue themfrom the worst droughtconditions in over 50years, according tolocal water officials alsoin at tendance at thesymposium.

Page 4

CCaammppuussVOICEOn which

issuesshouldlocal

candidatesfocus?

The health of border residents greatly concernsthe University of Texas-Pan American BorderHealth Office.

“We coordinate the health, education andresearch projects that UT components have on theboard,” said Dr. Paul Villas, executive director.

The office is responsible for coordinating ser-vices from the various health-related projectsadministered in the Texas-Mexico border area byUT-System institutions. It fosters collaborativehealth education, health services, and healthresearch for the citizens of Texas living along theborder.

The office started as a UT-System Border HealthOffice and then over the summer the systemallowed UTPA to take over.

Its work is primarily state-funded, with roughly80 percent coming from the state, 15 percent fromthe federal government and five percent from pri-vate organizations.

The staff of 12 at the office is assisted by twofull-time health educators stationed in San Antonioand El Paso, who are responsible for conductingresearch.

At various times, students from the UTPA dietet-ics department, nursing, and biology departmentshave worked at the office to gain field experience.

The office also collaborates with university fac-ulty and allows them to present research papers atconferences it sponsors.

This year, the office employed DanielRichardson, as a Health Education Coordinatorwith the Diabetes Registry and Nicole Rogers as ahealth education coordinator.

According to Richardson, his current duties are“...to reduce the diabetes hardship through preven-tion and control of the disease and its complica-tions along the Texas-Mexico border.”

The Diabetes Registry maintains a list of people

with diabetes.“Together with the information gathered, data

researched from other sources on the disease is col-lected and presented to the population we serve viapublic speaking engagements, printed materials andspecial events organized around awarenessthemes,” Richardson said.

The office is currently working on several spe-cial projects, including a day camp for children atrisk of developing diabetes.

“We hope that the children will benefit from thispresentation and thereafter magnify its effect bytaking the healthful message home to their fami-lies,” Richardson said.

The office is also involved in screening forAcanthosis Nigricans, a disease which signals highinsulin levels in the body and is recognizable by ablack-brown marking on the back of the neck.

Border office directs health servicesBy Melissa CiomperlikThe Pan American

– Matt Lynch / The Pan American

SCORCHED — An 18-wheeler smolders in the distance following an accident onthe frontage road of Expressway 83 near Bicentennial. The driver of the truck wasfound to be intoxicated and later taken into custody, according to police officials.

See HEALTH page 6

Explosion leads to traffic jam

At least eight families were evacuatedfrom their nearby homes Wednesdaymorning when an out-of-control 18-wheeler burst into flames after hitting aconcrete barrier on the Expressway 83frontage ramp.

“The driver has been arrested for dri-ving while intoxicated and is being heldin the McAllen City Jail,” said MitchReinitz, McAllen Police spokesman.

The accident occurred just after 8 a.m.The first units from the fire departmentresponded to the call at approximately8:18 a.m. after the truck’s fuel tanksexploded, and at least 10 police unitswere dispatched.

Almost immediately, the call wasupgraded to a second alarm, which calledfor another ladder truck and two extraengine companies to be sent to the scene.

According to Lt. Rene Alaniz of theMcAllen Fire Department, the arson taskforce was also called to the scene due tothe intense nature of the accident.

See ACCIDENT page 6

Diabetes a major local concern

By Celeste Y. TelloThe Pan American

For many schools, 20 winsequals a spectacular season.

The University of Texas-PanAmerican men’s basketball squadbroke the 20-win barrier and hopesto get win number 21 on Mondaywhen it hosts the CentenaryGentlemen.

The Gentlemen squeaked by theBroncs 61-58 Feb. 2 when AndrewWisniewski hit a three pointer withseconds remaining in the contest.Head Coach Bob Hoffman hopesthat this time around, home courtadvantage could make the differ-ence for the Broncs.

“Home court has been great forus,” Hoffman said. “The crowdfrom the New Mexico State gamewas loud, and I hope in this gamethey’ll be even louder.”

Assistant coach RobertDavenport insists the Broncs mustbe ready to play in order to gettheir 21st win of the season.

“It won’t be an easy game,”Davenport said. “They beat us attheir place on a last-second shot.We need to come out play hardand shoot the ball well.”

The Gents’ attack is led by the6-foot-3 Wisenieski, a sophomorewho leads his team in scoring with18.6 point per game. Wisniewskialso averages 5.8 assists a contestand shoots 39.8 percent fromthree-point range.

Another key player forCentenary is 6-4 Demano Hooper,a sophomore guard who averages5.3 rebounds a game this season,in addition to scoring 10.7 points a

contest. SeniorUTPA guard MireChatman said theGent’s will come outwith their weaponsand shoot.

“They have a niceteam,” said Chatman.“Their basically allroll players, and havea pretty good pointguard, and we have tocontain him.”

This is the lasthome game for UTPAseniors Chatman,Terrell Hill, Joey Tate,Quinn Canada, MarcusQuinn and DeFanceGurley, and their lastchance to wear Bronc uniforms.

Chatman realizes he has just onemore game in front of the Broncfaithful, and wants to give themsomething to remember him by.

“‘We just hope to get a win.”Chatman said. “I’ve been playinghurt, and I just want to come outplay hard and hope to get a win.”

Quinn also said a victory wouldbe a nice way to conclude thisgreat season and his basketballcareer at UTPA.

“I hope to get another win, andfinish the year playing strong.”Quinn said. “My personal goalwas to win 20 games and I’m gladit came out, and we’re looking for-ward for another win.”

In earlier action, the Broncs splittheir two preceding games. Aftermanhandling Lipscomb 79-62 Feb.

14, UTPA hit a roadblock againstGardner-Webb, falling to theBulldogs 86-79.

Against Gardner-Webb,Chatman led UTPA with 31 pointsand four steals, but the Broncscouldn’t reel in the Bulldogs, com-ing no closer than four points with5:19 remaining in the contest. TheBulldogs outscored UTPA 12-7 tofinish the game, and extendedtheir home winning streak to 29games.

“We were disappointed to notget it done, but they have 29 winsin a row at home,” Hoffman said.

Quinn had a solid game, scoring15 points and grabbing 12 boards,while Kevin Mitchell added 11points and six assists.

The Broncs notched their 20thvictory of the year by defeating

the Bison, accomplishing that featfor the first time since 1989-90.

Once again, Chatman sparkedUTPA with 26 points. AndriusSakalys, who has given the Broncsa lift off the bench this season,scored 15 points, while JonNubine scored 11. Hill added ateam-high of 14 rebounds.

The Broncs held the Bison tojust 20.7 percent shooting in thefirst half. In the second half,UTPA had command of the gameand at one time led by 22 points.It’s uncertain if this will be the lastgame of the year, but Davenportfeels his team deserves an NITbid.“That was one of our goals, tobe playing past next Monday,”Davenport said. “We still feelthat’s realistic and nothing’s guar-anteed, but we feel we earned it.”

RAGING BULLS: Two days before theNBA trading deadline,the Pacers dealtJalen Rose to theChicago Bulls for RonMercer. Along withRose, the Pacers sentTravis Best and rook-ie Norm Richardson.In return, the Pacersacquired, in additionto Mercer, BradMiller, Kevin Ollie andRon Artest. ThePacers seemed tohave got the betterend of this deal. Rosecurrently averages18.5 points per gameand Best 6.9. Mercergets 16.8 a contest,and Artest 15.6.

NATIONAL

OLYMPICS

BAD TO THE BONES:Third-generationOlympian Jim Shea wonthe gold medal inSkeleton yesterday. Hefinished both runs in1:412.96. Jim’s grandfa-ther, Jack, who died lastmonth, was the firstdouble gold medalist inthe winter games. Hewon two speedskatingevents at the 1932 LakePlacid games. Up untilhis death last month,Jack was the oldest liv-ing Olympian at 91.Jim’s father, Jim Sr.,competed in three cross-country events at the1964 Innsbruck games.

SPORTS■ Sports Clipboard. . . . . . .15

■ Women’s Basketball. . . .14

■ Bronc Baseball. . . . . . . 14

PAGE 16

By Mike GonzalezThe Pan American

Broncs gofor win 21 in final gameof seasonWith a win over Centenary Mondaynight, the Broncs can record the mostvictories in a season since 89-90

Heads up! - UTPA senior forward Marcus Quinn elevates for adunk against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi earlier this season.

Matt Lynch / The Pan American

COLORSin

MOTION

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 s

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

http://www.panam.edu/dept/panamerican50th Year – No. 19

EditorMatt Lynch

[email protected]

Layout Designers

Gabriel HernandezCristina ReynaCeleste Y. Tello

Reporters

Blake Daniels

Jaime Garcia, Jr.

Mike Gonzalez

Elizabeth Martinez

Linda Martinez

Dagoberto Perez

Nikki Ramirez

Belinda Reyes

Cristina ReynaCesar Trevino

Photographers

Anna StworaMary Zuviri

Advertising

Dagoberto Perez

CirculationJesus M. Gonzalez

Adviser

Dr. Greg Selber

Advertising CoordinatorJuanita Sanchez

the PAN AMERICAN is theofficial studentnewspaper of TheUniversity ofTexas-PanAmerican. Viewspresented are thoseof the writers anddo not necessarilyreflect those of theuniversity.

Letters to theeditor must includeyour name,address, and phonenumber. They willbe printed at thediscretion of theeditor.

Letters policy

February 212 0 0 2

Readers with dis-abilities mayrequest an alter-native format ofthis publicationat The PanAmerican busi-ness office. Forspecial assistanceto attend anyevent listed inthis publication,contact the coor-dinator of theevent at least oneweek prior to theadvertised date.

Sports EditorEladio Jaimez

[email protected]

Celebrating 50 years

PAGE 2

A & E EditorAshley Brooks

[email protected]

News EditorCristina [email protected]

Copy EditorMelissa

[email protected]

Gender balance missing in storyTo the Editor,I am a Pan American student/staff

who is deeply disappointed in the“Campus Voice” section of yesterday’s[February 14] paper.

Considering that we are living in asociety where BOTH MALES andFEMALES are supposed to be treatedEQUALLY, why is it that all the opin-ions published came from women?Please do not get me wrong, I am afeminist and for the advancement of

women; but the Pan American is sup-posed to be for all students and shouldnot be discriminatory. It seemed to methat the male population was not evenconsulted.

I am sure there are some male stu-dents out there with some opinion inthis matter (whether positive or nega-tive), especially since an article in thesame issue discussed (although briefly)that one of the hopes of the Women’sStudies Program is to benefit both men

and women. My husband also believes that the

male population of UTPA should haveat least been represented in this section(he believes it[Women’s Studies] wouldbe a good addition to UTPA). I’m surethere are other readers out there whowould also like to see the opinions ofthe “other half.”

Sincerely,Ethelyn Arriola

In an effort to aid both deaf studentsand hearing impaired visitors of theUniversity of Texas-Pan American,UTPA officials unveiled the latest tele-phone communication device for thedeaf Wednesday.

“It’s a vast improvement over the oldsystem,” said Esmeralda Guerra, UTPAAmericans with Disabilities ActCoordinator.

The system, which Guerra hopes willbe operational by the summer of 2002,replaces an older system in which ahearing impaired individual used a spe-cial instrument known as a TTYmachine, or teletypewriter, to communi-cate with others via telephone.

Under the old TTY system, a deafcaller could communicate one-on-onewith another person only if that personhad their own teletypewriter. Accordingto Guerra, if one person lacked a TTYmachine, an operator was required as an

intermediary to read the teletype mes-sage from the deaf person and relay it tothe other person on the line.

“The relay system was so cumber-some,” said Guerra. “But our new sys-tem is modernized and it’s instanta-neous.”

The new communication system uti-lizes a laptop computer and a computervideo camera. By using the computer, ahearing impaired individual can selectthe number they wish to call and con-nect to an operator.

According to Guerra, an operator whoknows sign language places the call.During conversation, the hearingimpaired individual uses sign languageto communicate with the operator viathe video camera, who then immediatelyrelays the message to the third party.

By using this method, hearingimpaired callers eliminate the time-con-suming process of typing their message

and waiting for it to be relayed by theoperator to the third party.

According to Guerra, there will bethree of these stations for hearingimpaired callers campus wide, includingone in the library and another in theUTPA visitor’s center, which is current-ly under construction.

According to information supplied byGuerra, an entire station, including thenecessary computer and computer videocamera, should cost well under $800,and can be purchased a number of dif-ferent ways, including grants.

Guerra believes the new communica-tion system for the hearing impairedwill benefit many people, not onlyUTPA students and staff.

“There are at least three people atUTPA that I know will benefit from thesystem, but in reality, it could possiblyhelp anyone [who is hearing impaired]who visits UTPA.”

New system to assist deaf callersRelay makes communication easierBy Matt Lynch

The Pan American

NEWS

Have some information that’sworthy of publication in ThePan American? Call the newsroom at 381-2543 or 381-2542,to report breaking news or to

suggest story ideas to the editors. Information onnews, features, sports, or general interest is wel-comed. This is a good way for the public to haveanother avenue for feedback, and input on futurecontent in The Pan American.

Tip sheet:

By the numbersFebruary 21, 2002 sports Page 15

BASKETBALL

Men's Division I Independents

W L

UTPA 20 9

GARDNER WEBB 18 8

CENTENARY 13 11

BIRMINGHAM SOUTHERN 12 14

TEXAS A&M-CC 10 15

LIPSCOMB 6 20

IPFW 3 19

MORRIS BROWN 4 22

BRONC LEADERS

Points

32 Mire Chatman 25.2*

40 Marcus Quinn 12.6

10 Andrius Sakalys 11.2

01 Kevin Mitchell 8.7

21 Jon Nubine 6.7

30 Nick Traylor 4.5

22 Terrell Hill 4.3

Rebounds

40 Marcus Quinn 7.3

32 Mire Chatman 5.3

22 Terrell Hill 4.6

Assists


32 Mire Chatman 3.8

30 Nick Traylor 1.7

Steals

32 Mire Chatman 102/3.6*

01 Kevin Mitchell 50/1.7

04 Joey Tate 26/1.1

Blocks

40 Marcus Quinn 34

22 Terrell Hill 30

32 Mire Chatman 13

10 Andrius Sakalys 10

*Ranked fourth in NCAA Division I

Women's Division I Independents

W L

Lipscomb 14 12

Texas A&M-CC 15 12

Birmingham Southern 16 11

UTPA 7 20

Centenary 9 19

Gardner Webb 3 23

LADY BRONC LEADERS

Points

02 Kelli Kreuser 16.2

32 Naima Williams 12.0

21 Nikki Hitchens 9.4

25 Anette Johansen 7.6

20 Michelle Smith 6.3

11 Jennifer Piwonka 4.4

Rebounds




Assists




Blocks

34 Jennifer Arriola 15

32 Naima Williams 12

40 Julie Porter 10

Steals

02 Kelli Kreuser 67/2.5

32 Naima Williams 57/2.1

25 Anette Johansen 52/1.9

Golf

BRONC LEADERSUdamon Southwest Texas Classic

John Huerta 77-76-78-231, tied for 32nd

Santiago DeLarrea 76-76-80-232, tied for 37th

Rudy Celedon 73-78-83-234, tied for 42nd

Ricky Benavides 79-78-77-234, tied for 42nd

Ben Piper 81-80-77-238, tied for 52nd

LADY BRONC LEADERSIslander Spring Invitational

Crystal Frazier 92-83-84-259, tied for 55th

Itziar Unanue 88-85-87-260, tied for 57th

Christine Treanor 84-92-86-262, 61st

Adriana Espinoza 92-87-85-264, tied for 62nd

Christina Infante 102-100-100-302, 71st

Baseball

BRONC LEADERS

Batting average

Juan Saenz .667

Omar Pena .500

Tony Ortiz .417

Jarrad Maddox .375

Matt Sisk .345

Jerome McCoy .333

Matt Eichel .333

Adam Farek .333

Homeruns

Jarrad Maddox 1

Matt Sisk 1

Sean Flynn 1

RBI

Jarrad Maddox 5

Tony Ortiz 4

Matt Sisk 4

Skip Weast 4

Hits

Matt Sisk 10

Jerome McCoy 8

Jarrad Maddox 6

Runs

Matt Sisk 6

Jerome McCoy 6

John Lopez 5

Jonathan Mason 5

Broncs finish tenth at SWSTUVICTORIA, TX –The University of Texas-Pan American’s men’s golf team finished 10th at

the Udamon Southwest Classic, which was hosted by Southwest Texas State University. Thecompetition concluded Tuesday at the Victoria Country Club.

The Broncs’ 54-hole total of 925 placed them three strokes behind Stephen F. Austin andthree shots ahead of Iowa State. UTPA shot an 18-hole score of 312 on the final day of play.

Baylor won the tournament with a score of 885, followed by the University of Texas-SanAntonio at 896, Wichita State at 898, New Mexico State at 899, Oral Roberts at 903, LouisianaTech at 913, Southwest Texas State at 914 and Rice at 916.

Freshman John Huerta led the Broncs, shooting a 78 Tuesday for a 54-hole total of 231. Hetied for 32nd place. Senior Santiago DeLarrea shot an 80 Tuesday and 232 for the tournament.The Brazilian tied for 37th.

Sophomore Rudy Celedon, Edinburg native, and senior Ricky Benavides of Brownsville tiedfor 42nd at 234. Celedon shot an 83 on the final day of play and Benavides shot a 77.Sophomore Ben Piper tied for 52nd after shooting a 77, and a 238 for three rounds.

The Broncs will return to action March 3 at McNeese State.

Lady Broncs end lastCORPUS CHRISTI, TX – The University of Texas-Pan American’s women’s golf team fin-

ished 13th at the Islander Spring Invitational, hosted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at KingsCrossing Country Club.

The Lady Broncs shot a final round score of 342 with total of 1045. The final score left them37 strokes behind Xavier.

The University of Texas-El Paso won the tournament with a score of 952. They were fol-lowed by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 956, Kansas at 963, Kansas State at 964, McLennanCommunity College at 969, Oral Roberts at 971, Notre Dame at 979, Lamar at 984, McNeeseState at 996, and Northeastern State and Southwest Texas State at 1006.

Sophomore Crystal Frazier shot a finalround 84. She was the top Bronc finisher for the LadyBroncs, tying for 55th with a 54-hole total of 259. Sophomore Itziar Unanue tied for 57th,shooting an 87 Tuesday for 260. Freshman Christine Treanor shot 86 Tuesday and 262 overallto finish 61st. Senior Adriana Espinoza tied for 62nd after shooting 85 and 264 for the tourney.Lyford product and sophomore Christina Infante finished 71st with 100 Tuesday and 302 over-all.

The Lady Broncs will return to action March 10 at Sam Houston State.

SPORTS CLIPBOARD


And 1: SeniorGuard MireChatmanthrows up aprayer shotagainst theTexas A&M-Corpus ChristiIslanders eal-rier this sea-son. The shotfell forChatman andhe wasfouled. Heconverted thefree-throw.Chatman cur-rently ranksfourth in thenation with25.2 points acontest. His3.6 steals agame alsoplaced himfourth on thenational list.

College students at the University ofTexas-Pan American are politically“middle-of-the-road,” according to asurvey taken last week by The PanAmerican newspaper staff.

The survey suggests that 50.7 percentof students at UTPA assumed the inter-mediate ideology, while 21.5 percentsaid they were “liberal” and 16.1 percentmarked“conservative.” Another 11.5 per-cent chose “other.”

Dr. Jerry Polinard, chair of the politi-cal science department, said these resultsare nothing unusual.

“ Most Americans consider themselvesmoderate rather than liberal or conserva-tive and one of the rules of running foroffice is to try and capture the centerand isolate your opponent as either tooliberal or conservative,” Polinard said.

He added that South Texas ideologicalstances may be explained by the fact thisis traditionally one of the strongestDemocratic regions in the nation, andthat young people have come of age inan eight-year period (1992-2000) with aDemocratic president in office.

Some differ on whether the recent andhighly contested presidential electioncould have sparked new interest in poli-

tics.“The controversy over the Bush and

Gore issue probably created more of aninterest for people,” said AnnaGonzalez, freshman political sciencemajor.

“To my knowledge, there is no indica-tion that the 2000 election increasedeither interest or participation in thepolitical process,” Polinard said.

“This would likely affect the college-age cohort the least in that this group(18-28 years old), is virtually always theleast likely to be politicized and leastlikely to vote, of all age groups.”

Adding to the tendency toward voterapathy in young people is a series ofincidents receiving heavy media publici-ty that left a sour taste in many mouths.The 1998 Clinton-Lewinsky scandal,2000 election controversy, campaignfinance reform debate, and recent erup-tion of the Enron debacle are suchexamples.

When they do vote, young peoplehave shown a recent propensity for cate-gorizing themselves as left-of-center.This slant is clear in a survey put out bythe University of California at LosAngeles (UCLA).

The 2001-02 results from the annualpoll show that more college freshmenare politically liberal, or far left, than at

any time since 1975.The survey done at UTPA was a nar-

row replication of the larger-scaleUCLA poll, using all classifications ofstudents in a random sample (as opposedto only freshmen) to get a better repre-sentation of student ideologies.

One 22-year-old white male surveyednoted that he was “conservative” andsaid, “college can often be a person’sfirst look into the variety of lifestyles,cultures and political viewpoints thatdifferent people follow, mostly as a rep-resentation of their upbringing.”

College students’ views are molded byseveral crucial elements, said politicalscience lecturer Terence Garrett.

“Many factors include family, peers,education level, news events (media),religious activities and income,” Garrettsaid.

Students in the UTPA survey werealso questioned about several commonsocial issues and behavior:

Gay marriages- 40.7 percent think gay couples

should have the right to legal maritalstatus

A Hispanic female, 20, said that ifpolygamy still exists, then gay marriagesshould be allowed. A 31-year-oldHispanic male disagrees answering,

“Hell no!” to this suggestion.

Legalization of marijuana- 40 percent want marijuana legalizedOne Hispanic male, 18, said marijuana

should be legalized but only if regulatedand taxed.

Demonstrations- 10.7 percent say they have partici-

pated in organized political demonstra-tions during the past year

A 20-year-old Hispanic female saidshe has signed many petitions and takepart in letter-writing campaigns.

Another student, an Hispanic female,25, believes organized demonstrationsare a legitimate form of political expres-sion, but only if they are constructiveand without violence.

Socializing- 83 percent socialize with members of

other racial or ethnic groups.One Hispanic female, 23, said that

although she socialized with members ofother ethnic groups, she only datesAsian men.

A white male student, 22, explainedthat “it is important that we as collegestudents and the future of America rec-ognize that each person has to under-stand each of their own.”

PAGE 3■ Campus Voice . . . . . 4

■ Election 2002 . . . . . 4

■ Campus Life . . . . . 12NEWSStudent ideologies plumbedBy Cristina ReynaThe Pan American

Due to some striking technologicaldevelopments in the past five years, stu-dents can now take university classeswithout entering a classroom.

WebCT (Web Course Tools) givesstudents the option to take courses thatare offered on-line. WebCT was intro-duced in Canada in 1997 as one of thefirst programs of its kind, and is start-ing to build popularity as a tool in high-er education.

It’s available to students through theCenter for Distance Learning, whichprovides the services that enhance web-based education at the University ofTexas-Pan American.

In order for students to enroll in thesecourses they must have a user name andpassword which can be the same onesthey use for e-mail accounts.

The WebCT system is offered to stu-

dents all over the United States andgives those students who cannot physi-cally attend class, or those in the mili-tary or living overseas, a chance to takecertain classes offered by statesideschools.

“I have several students who are tak-ing my class from other places in theUnited States,” said Dr. RubenMazariegos, professor in the physicalscience department. “ I have some peo-ple in California and some in the Army,which is very convenient for them.”

Dr. Mohammed Bhatti of the physicsdepartment utilized WebCT for oneyear, liked the educational effects oftechnology, and eventually constructedhis own personal web page.

“WebCT and personal web pages havebecome a very nice tool for professorsto explain to students at their own con-venience so they can log on any timethey want and can learn about the sub-jects,” Bhatti said.

Courses on the Web allow students to

do assignments, take quizzes and examsany time of day or night.

Most of the schools in the Universityof Texas System have adopted WebCTas a tool for offering on-line courses tograduate and undergraduate students.

Although WebCT provides on-linecourses, some professors still give regu-lar class lectures and use WebCT as asupplemental device to post notes,assignments, and quizzes online.

Mazariegos made the transition fromlectures in the classroom to the WebCtsystem two years ago and said it is agreat advantage to students.

Although, on-line courses do not pro-vide direct interaction between studentsand professors, there are still ways tocommunicate.

“You have to keep up with the com-munication, otherwise students willprobably drop the class,” Mazariegossaid.

The on-line system not only allowsstudents to communicate with the pro-

fessor, but with other classmates aswell.

“When I first took a WebCT course, Iwas scared because I didn’t know whatto expect since it was all new,” saidAdriana Perez, a senior majoring inEducation. “ After I got the hang of it,it was very convenient in the sense thatif you needed to ask a question youcould post your questions on the bul-letin board and someone would alwaysrespond whether it was another studentor the professor.”

Other colleges with in UTPA are cur-rently using WebCT for on-line coursesas well as an extra tool for the classlectures. Some of these include theCollege of Science and Engineering andthe College of Business Administration.

According to Wig De Moville, chairof the accounting and business lawdepartment, other courses in theCollege Of Business Administration arein the process of developing futureusage of the service.

Technologies augment educationBy Nikki RamirezThe Pan American

It has been a frustratingseason for the Universityof Texas-Pan AmericanLady Broncs basketballteam this season, as theyhave struggled to a 7-20record. Saturday they hopeto conclude the season witha victory on Senior Nightagainst Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at theFieldhouse.

The Lady Broncs havenever beaten the LadyIslanders, and they wouldlove nothing more than awin Saturday. TAMUCCcame away with an 83-69win Feb. 9. Although thegame was a loss, the LadyBroncs outplayed the LadyIslanders in the second halfby outscoring them 48-35.Head coach Karin Nichollssaid not many changeshave to be made regardingthe team, and payback is

on her mind.“We just played a terri-

ble first half,” Nichollssaid. “The only adjustmentis to play a 40-minutegame and to understandthat it’s somewhat a pay-back time. But at the sametime, we know based onthe second half that wewere just as good a team ifnot better in situations, butwe just didn’t do it in thefirst half.”

Not only is it paybacktime according to Nicholls,but senior guard KelliKreuser feels the sameway. She almost had atriple-double in the lossFeb. 9, but a win meansmore to her than stats.

“Our main goal for thisgame is get the win and geta little revenge on them,”Kreuser said.

Despite struggling thisseason and having keyinjuries, the team has had

some players step up andplay well. Kreuser leadsthe team in scoring with a16.2 point-per-game aver-age, second in reboundingwith 4.9, and first in stealswith 5.1. Junior forwardNaima Williams has alsohad a solid season by grab-bing 6.2 rebounds a gameto lead the team, and isaveraging 12 points pergame, which ranks her sec-ond. Junior guard MichelleSmith is shooting 39.3 per-cent from the three-pointrange, and freshman guardNikki Hitchens is shooting46.1 percent from the field.

Saturday’s game addsmore emotion for seniorsKreuser, Ridiajah Sinnetteand Ashere’ Thigpen, sinceit will be the last time theywear a Bronc uniform.Sinnette admitted it’s goingto feel awkward not puttingthat jersey on anymore.

The University of Texas-PanAmerican Bronc baseball team hasbeen struggling at the plate all season.

“We don’t hit the ball too far,” saidTredaway. The Broncs only have threehome runs this season, proving the longball drought.

The Broncs have a five-game homestretch, which includes three gamesagainst The University of Illinois start-ing Friday.

“Some of the target areas for theseries against the Fighting Illini will belowering our earned run average andbetter consistency batting with twostrikes,” said head baseball coachReggie Tredaway.

Travis Parker will be the startingpitcher Friday night, Frank James willgo on Saturday, and Justin Dowd willstart the Sunday finale. The Broncsplay their first night game of the seasonon Friday at 7p.m.

“All three starting pitchers bringunique qualities to the mound. Parkerkeeps the ball down which results inless home runs. James has three goodpitches with velocity and Dowd is ourmost intelligent pitcher,” said assistantcoach John Johnson.

“We have seen great things fromplacing James in the middle of the rota-tion as our lone left- handed pitcher,”Tredaway said. The Broncs will rely on

their senior pitchers because the runshave been scarce. The Broncs have a.265 batting average and have beenoutscored 76 to 35 by their opponents.

The Broncs will focus on pitchingand advancing runners in scoring posi-tion. The Broncs have a team ERA of7.79. “We have to cut down ‘the biginning,’ three or four runs scored in oneinning,” Tredaway said. The Broncsattribute their seven losses to ‘the biginning’ hurting them.

“Illinois will be big, strong, athleticand fundamentally sound, so we mustbe at our best,” said Tredaway. Thiswill be the first game for the FightingIllini this season.

In their last game against McNeeseState the Broncs allowed a seven-runinning, but came back to take the leadbefore an error in the 10th inningcaused to the loss. The Bronc plate per-

formance was silent for the first sixinnings before they struck fire for tworuns in the seventh and six in the eighthinning.

“The team really showed heart andkept their composure after gettingdown seven runs. This team is reallyyoung so the ability for us to be able tocome back shows progress in the fresh-men getting comfortable playingDivision I baseball,” Tredaway said.

The Broncs go into this series with a1-7 record. A win would be great forthe struggling Broncs. “I’m not con-cerned about the losses. What frustratesme are the mental mistakes and lack ofquality at bats,” Tredaway said.

Richard ‘Itch’ Jones, the incomingIllinois coach, was an inductee to theAmerican Baseball Coaches Hall ofFame in 1998.

“Jones is one of the top elite premiercoaches in Division I baseball. He is anoutstanding individual and we arelucky to have his team come to theValley,” Tredaway said.

Jones is one of the winningest coach-es in college baseball history. In acareer that spans over thirty years, hehas a record of 1,126-651-5 (.623 win-ing percentage).

UTPA’s Tredaway is familiar withIllinois’ Jones. In the 1971 CollegeWorld Series, Tredaway played againstthe Southern Illinois team coached byJones that defeated the Broncs inOmaha, NE.

February 21, 2002 sports Page 14

Broncs hope to remedy recent hitting woes By Blake DanielsThe Pan American

Lady hoopsters look to endfrustrating season with winBy Mike GonzalezThe Pan American

Reggie Tredaway watches his team practicefor their upcoming series against Illinois

Mary Zuviri / The Pan American

See LADY BRONCS page13

Illinois will be big,strong, athletic and fun-damentally sound, so wemust be at our best”d

a-Reggie TredawayBronc baseball head coach

“

Remaining home games2/26 University of Texas-San Antonio - doubleheader3/19 Kansas University3/20 Kansas University3/29 Houston Baptist - doubleheader3/30 Texas A&M - Corpus Christi3/31 Texas A&M - Corpus Christi4/9 Texas A&M-Kingsville - doubleheader4/12 Houston Baptist4/13 Houston Baptist - doubleheader4/27 St. Mary’s University - doubleheader4/30 Incarnate Word - doubleheader

February 21, 2002 THE PAN AMERICAN

– Anna Stwora

Jeni VelaPre-MedFreshman

I think the politicians should focusmore on education because it is thekey to success.

Sally IbrahimPre-Med / ChemistryFreshman

They should focus on education andmake it more successful. For example,help to increase the graduation ratesso that they are equal to the numberof students enrolled.

Adrian BarajasMarketingSenior

I think they should focus on healthissues for students, since it is moreexpensive for us.

On which issues shouldlocal candidates focus?

Gloria SaenzPre-MedFreshman

The primary focus of the candidatesshould be to provide health insuranceat a lower cost.

VOICECCaammppuuss

Jose GonzalezComputer ScienceFreshman

I think they should focus on educationand increase financial aid.

Not since Joe Namath did, prior toSuper Bowl III in 1969, has someonepredicted a victory with so much confi-dence.

State Representative Juan “Chuy”Hinojosa called the race in his favordespite opposition from three other can-didates.

“I’m going to win,” Hinojosa said. “Idon’t have as much money as some ofthese other candidates, but I have lead-ership experience.”

Hinojosa, along with Alice medicaldoctor Ruben Garcia and CorpusChristi attorneys Diana Martinez andBarbara Canales-Black, are seeking theseat of state senator District 20. Theseat will be vacated by long-time SouthTexas Senator Carlos Truan, whoannounced he would not seek re-elec-tion late last year.

Hinojosa prides himself on his expe-rience. Tuesday night at a candidateforum he boasted about being namedone of the top 10 legislators this lastsession, and about the six years he’sserved as in public office as a state rep-resentative for Districts 40 and 41.

Hinojosa said experience is key andwould make the difference in this race.

“It’s a tremendous advantage,”Hinojosa said. “When I’m elected intothe senate, I’ll be a player. I know allof them already.”

Hinojosa’s belief that experience iskey isn’t echoed by his opponents.

“I know 14 legislators who startedtheir tenure without any prior legisla-tive experience, including our attorneygeneral,” Canales-Black said.

Garcia, who doesn’t consider himselfa politician by trade, said he has asgood a chance to serve in the TexasSenate as any of his other opponents.

“I’m self-funded,” Garcia said. “I amindependent of special interest groupsor corporate donation. People are myspecial interest group.”

There was one thing in which all fourwere in agreement. Each tabbed educa-tion as an issue of great importance.Each had their own idea for improvingeducation in District 20 and the entire

state.“We can always improve education,”

Hinojosa said. “Education is key . . .it’s the great equalizer in our society. Itwill always be the number one issue.”

Garcia said District 20 is one of themost undereducated in the state, and itwould benefit everyone to improve edu-cation down here.

“The whole world is one economy,”he commented. “We can’t competearound the world without an educa-tion.”

Canales-Black agreed education isimportant, but added that economicdevelopment goes hand-in-hand.

“If we strengthen education in Texaswe strengthen the economy,” she said.

Canales-Black mentioned that 62 per-cent rise in Texas’ Hispanic populationthe last 10 years is a good thing, butadded concerns that the majority of newpopulants aren’t getting educated.

“We’re not graduating this popula-tion,” Canales-Black said. “We’re noteducating these people and that spellsdisaster.”

Canales-Black said if elected to theSenate, she would bring innovativeideas to improve education in SouthTexas. She said a public awarenesscampaign would help get the word outon the value of education.

Canales-Black explained a partner-ship between private businesses and thestate would help emphasize the impor-tance of an education to the youngergeneration in South Texas.

“Education has to be the key toTexas’ economic survivability,”Canales-Black said. “You can go downthe same path or forge a new one. Iwant to lead the charge.”

Martinez also made education her toppriority, but said change needs to comein teacher’ s pay.

“Health insurance premiums areincredibly high,” Martinez said. “They[teachers] need help. They got a payraise, but it was not enough.”

Aside from wanting to help teachers,Martinez would like to see assistancegiven to single working mothers.

“The state should be able to givebusinesses tax breaks for childcarefacilities,” Martinez said.

Senate candidatesdiscuss education,other election issues By Eladio JaimezThe Pan American

20022002ELECTION

LADY BRONCS continued from page 14

February 21, 2002 Sports Page 13

A journalist's perspective“It’s kind of sad ‘cause you’re not

able to put on a uniform anymore,”Sinnette said.

Nicholls thinks her three seniorswill come out and play with a lot ofenergy one last time.

“I’m sure the seniors are in a littlebit of a strange mood because they

know their season’s ending,’”Nicholls said. “They know theywon’t be coming back, but at thesame time, they know how theywant to go out.”

The Lady Broncs started theirtwo-game road trip with a loss toLipscomb 81-66 on Feb. 14. Thecontest came down to the last fiveminutes, when UTPA was outscored19-5. Despite the loss, three LadyBroncs were in double figures led byKreuser with 21 points. Freshman

guard Jennifer Piwonka and NaimaWilliams each contributed 13 points.

Then the Lady Broncs ended athree-game losing streak by jumpingby the Lady

Bulldogs 69-61 on Feb. 16, tosweet the season series. Kreuserbelieves the victory will carry theteam and play with a sense ofurgency on Saturday.

“It was a moral and confidenceboost being stuck on six (wins)before that five,” Kreuser said.

Nicholls was just happy to get awin on the road.

“Any time you’re in any kind oflosing streak, you need to do some-thing to try and change the waysthings are going,” Nicholls said.“We had such an inconsistent year,to win a game on the road...we’re allvery happy and we all worked hardto earn that victory.”

Although the Lady Broncs willnot finish with a winning record, it’steamwork and character that has puta smile on Nicholls’ face.

“The team’s character is the typeof team that doesn’t give up andthey continue to work hard throughthe adversity,” Nicholls said. “Thatshows the kind of character that youwant to continue to have around onyour teams. You don’t want peoplewho are going to quit.”

Our main goal forthis game is to get

the win and get a littlerevenge on them

”da-Kelli Kreuser

Senior Guard, Lady Broncs

“If I could be owned by anyone in the world, it

would have to be Mark Cuban.Last week Cuban appeared on the Late Late

Show with Craig Kilborn who challenged him tosay something which would get him fined byNBA Commissioner David Stern.

Kilborn gave Cuban a few suggestions of whathe could say to encourage Stern to fine him, butCuban refused the suggestions.

Instead, Cuban referred to a joke from earlier inthe show and said Stern “couldn’t manage thePenis Patrol.”

The comment received many laughs, butKilborn hoped it would create waves among theNBA.

Kilborn’s goal was to get Cuban fined on theshow, but apparently it didn’t work.

Kilborn called various media outlets asking tocarry the story. The Dallas Morning News refusedto run with the story because of the word “penis,”according to Kilborn.

On Tuesday night’s show, Kilborn called SportsIllustrated columnist Rick Reilly asking him towrite about Cuban’s comment.

Kilborn wanted to “disseminate, germinate andmarinate” the information. He wanted to give his

show significance by having Cuban fined for whathe said on the show.

We’re not The Dallas Morning News or SportsIllustrated, but we are media, so we’ve decided to“disseminate, germinate and marinate” the infor-mation.

Cuban will probably not get fined. Stern willlikely see this as some kind of joke and just ignorethe whole hoopla.

One thing is for sure, Cuban will be closelywatched by the NBA and all the association’sbureaucrats.

Cuban has been fined nearly $1 million since hebought the Dallas Mavericks in March 2000. Hecan afford it, being one of the wealthiest personsin the country, even richer then hotel tycoonDonald Trump.

Cuban calls himself “a beer and pretzels guy.”He also loves basketball.

The self-proclaimed basketball junkie loves theIndiana Hoosiers. His love of the Indiana schooland nostalgia for the games led to his self-madefortune.

In 1995, Cuban and his roommate came up withBroadcast.com in an effort to broadcast Hoosiergames over the Internet.

Soon nearly half a million people were listeningto broadcasts through Cuban’s Web site, and afterthat, pardon the cliche, everything was history.

Cuban’s comments on Late Late Show failto get him fined; show’s host disappointedBy Eladio JaimezThe Pan American

There are no student organizations at theUniversity of Texas-Pan American whichconcentrate on environmental problemssuch as recycling.

“It’s not promoted enough at UTPA,”said Belem Frias, a freshman pre-medmajor. “There need to be programs toencourage students to recycle so we canprotect the environment.”

According to Richard Costello, directorof the department of environmental healthand safety, there are no environmental oroccupational safety programs for under-graduate students.

“Some courses are offered for graduatestudents,” Costello said. “But we definitelyneed an undergraduate program in theValley.”

The Student Government Association(SGA) at UTPA has not concentrated muchon projects to encourage recycling, butSGA feels it is a good idea for studentorganizations to participate in events whichhelp the environment.

“There are no places or facilities to do[recycling] or to promote it,” said ZekeMoya, president of SGA. “But if studentsare interested, we’ll (SGA) look into it.”

Moya states that student concerns arealways welcome and hopes students will

contact SGA so they can address the issue. According to Christine Carruthers, coor-

dinator of student development, there areseveral steps students must take to start astudent organization.

First, students must pick up an applica-tion with the dean of students.

Second, the students have one month tocome up with a constitution, plus ten mem-bers to represent an organization.

Finally, once students have turned in theconstitution, the Office of StudentDevelopment will help them fix it to meetuniversity guidelines.

“Students can start their own organiza-tion to encourage UTPA students to recy-cle,” Carruthers said. “In the past, somestudent organizations have volunteered tohelp other valley organizations with envi-ronmental projects.”

If students are interested in starting suchan organization, they can contactCarruthers at, [email protected].

Current student organizations such asGamma Beta Phi Honors Society andBacchus/Gamma participate in projectssuch as the Texas Beach Clean Up becausethey feel it is a way to give back to thecommunity.

“We enjoy going to the beach wheneverwe can and we would certainly hate to getthere to see a lot of trash,” said Sarah

Owens, president of Gamma Beta Phi.“We like to clean it and make it better

for everybody else who’s going to gothere."

Other student organizations, such asSigma Lambda Beta, adopted a stretch ofroad that starts at the intersection ofClosner Boulevard and Schunior Road andends at Alamo Road, to clean trash left bypeople.

“We’ve had the highway for two yearsand plan to keep it as long as possible,”said Jacob Rodriguez, president of SigmaLambda Beta.

“The Texas Department ofTransportation (TxDOT) requires us toclean it up four times a year, but we like toclean it up four times a semester.”

The papers and cans collected at UTPAplay a small role in recycling on campus.

However, the Department ofEnvironmental Health and Safety hasapplied for a $15,000 federal grant to putrecycling containers in UTPA buildingoffices so staff can recycle paper theywould usually throw away.

The department is expected to get ananswer from the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency regarding the federalgrant on April 30, 2002 to see whether ornot their application is considered.

“Right now we concentrate at our data

processing in which we recycle all thatpaper,” Costello said.

“In order to achieve a successful recy-cling program, we need to provide segre-gated containers so people can recycle.”

According to Costello, most of the recy-cling efforts at UTPA come from renovatedbuildings.

Products include light fixtures, grates,doors or anything that is usable for anotherbuilding.

“Other institutions throw recyclableproducts in the trash,” Costello said.

“However, UTPA uses manual labor toremove products so they can be recycled.”

Costello states the environment is affect-ed two ways when people don’t recycle.

First, there is a direct effect, in whichpeople can get sick if others don’t disposeof hazardous products properly.

“When people put mercury in the air weinhale it,” Costello said. “Consequently,there is a potential health risk.”

Second, most companies would have totake raw materials from the environment toproduce new products, such as cuttingdown a tree to produce more paper.

“It takes a fifty two gallon barrel of oil togenerate one gallon of gas,” Costello said.“So for every solvent that we recycle, wedon’t have to produce a barrel of oil.”


CAMPUS LIFEPAGE 12

■ W h a t s t u d e n t s a r e d o i n g a t U T P A

There is a new web page at the University of Texas-Pan American academic services called “ProjectEvolution.”

It was created by computer lab proctor ChristopherTagle and Damaso Navarro II, a UTPA senior Web pro-grammer majoring in computer science. The programwas conducted under the supervision of Anne Toal, direc-tor of academic computing.

The main purpose of the new web design is to aid fac-ulty when reserving computer labs, in addition to survey-ing students who use the labs.

“It will be easier for faculty when they request to signup for labs because paper forms will be eliminated andthe use of Web based laboratory forms [online] will be ineffect,” Toal said.

The Web design will also allow supervisors in the labsto check paper and toner supplies, which was always aconcern with faculty using the labs, according to Toal.

“It [Web page] controls to see if there will be a short-age of paper and toner and this gives us the ability to seebefore hand and stock up,” Toal said.

Faculty and administrators will also be able to see iflabs are already reserved when requesting the use ofcomputer labs online. The same online form would beused to fill out requests for special software as well, Toaladded. She hopes that the online form will be functionalby the start of the first summer session in 2002.

Another part to Project Evolution is the weekly survey ques-tion offered to students who use the labs. The purpose of thepoll is to open lines of communication between students and thelab staff.

“We came up with the idea of polls (survey questions)two months ago,” said Toal.

“It [helps us know] how we are doing, so every week anew question is asked.”

Questions are based on ways to improve servicesoffered in the academic services building. The first validquestion asked students about the number of hours theywould like the Academic Computing Labs to be open dur-ing weekends.

Currently the labs are open 24 hours Monday toThursday, Friday until 5 p.m., Saturday from noon to 6p.m. and Sunday after noon.

About 65 percent of students surveyed would like labsto be open more hours, while 24 percent felt the currentcomputer lab hours were sufficient. Approximately 11percent of students surveyed felt the computer labs areopen too many hours. There were a total of 6,093 votescast, according to ACL reports.

“We wanted to get an idea if people were satisfied[with hours offered] and we got a runaway answer here,65 percent of users want more hours,” said Toal.“Obviously that is most of the people that come here.”

Toal added that the survey allows faculty and staff ofthe ACL to plan funding for the future of the lab, andthat the polls have made a real impression on the ACLstaff, which is actively seeking new ways to successfullyaddress student concerns [regarding lab hours].

Survey questions last for one week and appear when astudent first logs into an ACL computer. Tagle andNavarro worked on a solution that would eliminate a wayfor a student to vote twice. Once a student has logged in,the question is displayed and must be answered once.When the student logs in again [in the same week] thesystem asks if the student has voted or not, allowing thequestion to be bypassed, according to Tagle.

Web regulationof computer labBy Belinda ReyesThe Pan American

Students, faculty and staff will participate in “UTPA Day”at the McAllen International Museum on Feb. 23.

University of Texas-Pan American President Dr. Miguel A.Nevarez signed a proclamation declaring Saturday, Feb. 23“UTPA Day” at MIM. The purpose of UTPA’s involvementextends well beyond community service.

“University attendance really begins in childhood,” saidNevarez, in a university press release Feb. 6. “And the muse-um is doing great work in fostering creative and critical think-ing skills that will help children succeed in higher education.”

Felipe Salinas, UTPA’s director of special programs, agreedwith Nevarez and feels that “a university education beginswell before students set foot on a university campus,”.

UTPA decided to get involved because the opportunity willallow employees to give their personal time and improve aneducational museum such as MIM, Salinas said.

The Office of Enrollment Student Services at the UTPAplans to help MIM with the latest phase of expansion, thedesigning of a Discovery Pavilion.

The Discovery Pavilion will be an indoor area acting as aneducational exhibit for children.

“There will be a lot of interactive type of activities for kids,primarily in the sciences, communication and some explain-ing of the history of the Lower Rio Grande Valley regionalso,” Salinas said.

“We thought that it would be a great thing to get the ballrolling again this year,” Salinas said.

The Office of Enrollment Student Services participated inthe museum’s RioScape Discovery Park project four years

ago.“Some student organizations have already gone out there to

help out,” Salinas said. “I believe there will be some othersgoing out.”

The Criminal Justice Student Association plans to attend“UTPA Day” because “they understand the relationshipbetween the availability of educational, cultural and socialopportunities for persons(particularly the youth) and possiblefuture criminality,” said Dr. Daniel Dearth, adviser of theassociation.

“To the extent that we can support the development of pos-itive activities for persons, such as the activities at the muse-um, we lessen the number of persons who may come to theattention of the criminal justice system,” Dearth said.

Some of the volunteer activities include carpentrywork,sewing and painting.

Thirty-three skilled craftspeople and office personnel fromUTPA’s Physical Plant will also volunteer and help withplumbing, electrical and masonry work.

“There’s plenty for everyone to do,” Salinas said. “We canuse anyone, skilled or unskilled.”

“If there are any folks out there who are artists, or whohave special skills, they [MIM] can use them,” Salinas said.

“We can help improve the facility and provide a moremeaningful and better educational experience for childrenhere in the area,” Salinas said. “It will prepare them for theuniversity experience, when they eventually wind up here oranywhere else.”

There are three shifts that students and staff can choosefrom if they wish to volunteer their time and services. Theshifts are from 8 a.m. until noon, 12:30 p.m. until 5 p.m., and5:30 p.m. until 9 p.m.

UTPA contributes timeto local Valley museumBy Melissa CiomperlikThe Pan American

Back and forth and back again. That’s one way to characterize the latest graduate degree

offered at the University of Texas-Pan American. The six-year pharmacy doctorate program started last

Fall in conjunction with the University of Texas-Austin’sCollege of Pharmacy.

There are only two other doctorate programs on campus.They are housed under the colleges of business and education,according to the office of admissions and records.

The pharmacy program requires completion of pre-phar-macy courses at UTPA for two years.

Then students attend UT-Austin for two more years,where they concentrate on pharmaceutical sciences.

Students return to UTPA for the final two years, accord-ing to Dr. William J. McIntyre, assistant dean of health sci-ences and the director of the program.

“The program started last November, and we admittedour first class in the spring,” McIntyre said.

The groundwork for the doctorate program was laid in 1998,and funding came in for the program in 2000. There are 16 stu-dents enrolled, 12 of whom entered as freshman last fall.

Three students were sent to Austin this semester.Next week the program will hold its second admission

process, looking to recruit 12 more entering freshmen,McIntyre said. The admissions are also open to studentsalready on campus.

“Our primary focus [is to recruit] freshmen students, but

we do encourage students that are interested in pharmacyto apply to the program,” McIntyre explained.

To qualify for the program, entering freshmen arerequired to have at least a 3.4 GPA, a 20 on the ACT or1,000 on the SAT. They must also have three letters of rec-ommendation and a personal statement.

If a student gets selected to participate in the program,they must maintain a 3.2 GPA in the health sciencesdepartment and a 3.0 GPA overall.

The same applies to students already on campus,McIntyre said.

One applicant, Jaime Balli, a junior, pre-pharmacy/chemistry major, hopes to be admitted to thesecond stage of the program. Balli, 20, works as a pharma-cy technician for Walgreens Drug Store.

“I’ll find out next week if I’ll get accepted [into the pro-gram],” he said. “I think the program will help alleviate theshortage of pharmacists here in the Rio Grande Valley.”

Balli said that he sees the struggle that pharmacists gothrough because of the shortage and that the professionhelps people in SouthTexas.

“The good thing about this program is that it brings youback to the Valley,” Balli said.

McIntyre explained that when the students return fortheir final two years at UTPA, they will complete intern-ships of seven rotations, each lasting six weeks.

Prior to the internships, students will participate in practicallabs through interactive television along with other studentsfrom UT-Austin, UT-San Antonio and UT-El Paso. UTPAwas the fourth university to join the doctorate program.

Itinerant doctorate beginsBy Belinda ReyesThe Pan American

UTPA lacks environmental organizationsSchool has recycling plan, other student groups participate in clean-up programs

Francisco Gonzalez, of the Physical Plant, repairs the chilled water linethat ruptured outside the University Library Friday. The old water line,which supplies cold water to the air-conditioning unit at the library, wasworked on during the weekend and is now functioning properly.

MANHOLEAnna Stwora/The Pan American

By Jennifer TapiaSpecial the Pan American


Acanthosis Nigricans is importantbecause these markings can helpidentify individuals who run the riskof developing diabetes in the future.It is these high levels of insulin thatcause obesity, cardiovascular prob-lems, high cholesterol and trigyl-cerides.

Until recently it was believed thatchildren could not develop Type 2diabetes, but this has been provenfalse.

The office is currently screeningchildren at 550 school districts in thestate. The project started with Valleyschool nurses and now has expandedfrom just south of Houston to Austin,San Angelo, Midland/Odessa, amongother southern state areas.

Along with researching and coun-teracting diabetes, the office coordi-nates research on tuberculosis andgerontology, the study of the processof aging.

“Right now we are teaching someseniors how to use the Internet, sothat they can communicate withgrandchildren,” said Villas, who wasappointed in 2000 by formerPresident Bill Clinton to serve as amember of the federal United States-Mexico Border Health Commission.

“A lot of the things that I do hereare things that the commission wantsto do here,” said Villas. “The differ-ence is that the commission wants todo those things on a bi-national man-

ner.”Villas thinks the lack of education

is the biggest problem facing theValley.

“Because we know the parallel ismoney and health. The more moneyyou have, the better your health,”said Villas. “It has nothing to do withethnicity. The problem is poverty.”

In order to break the poverty cycle,Villas feels that it is important to getpeople into a university.

“It isn’t clinics, it isn’t medication,it isn’t doctors. None of those thingsare going to help improve the healthcare of people here, but getting out ofthe poverty cycle will,” he said.

Richardson feels the biggest chal-lenge to health in the border environ-ment is the “sedentary lifestyle anddietary excesses so many residentshave adopted.”

“Happily, this serious challenge isone that most people can do some-thing about provided they understandwhat needs to happen,” Richardsonsaid.

The office is currently applying tobe a collaborating center for WorldHealth Organization (WHO), whichwill widen the reach of the organiza-tion.

“We will be able to facilitate, assistand help any

international population that is onthe border,”

Villas said.

HEALTH continued from page 1

Possible damage to nearby high-tensionelectrical wires required that representativesfrom Central Power and Light also be called tothe scene.

“We heard a loud explosion, then we sawthe fire,” said Angel Santiago, who witnessedthe accident.

Alaniz added that firefighters took roughly45 minutes to subdue flames fueled by bothdiesel and cardboard boxes that were beingtransported.

One of the truck’s fuel tanks became sepa-rated from the truck, spilling fuel along thewalls of the expressway and over the pave-ment.

Texas Natural ResourcesConservation Commissionworkers arrived on thescene and covered the spillwith sand to prevent fur-ther contamination of thearea by the fuel. Theyalso used a foam known as“light water” to preventfurther ignition of the fireby spreading it over thefuel.

Alaniz said that thefoam was effective in pre-venting ignition because itbroke the chemical chainby removing oxygen fromthe fuel. Also, it is lighterthan water so it remainsabove the fuel unlike regu-lar water which wouldallow the fuel to remain

exposed and potentially hazardous.The driver has been identified as Salvador

Ramirez Castillo of McAllen. Santiago wit-nessed the driver jumping from the truck toescape injury.

Castillo was scheduled to appear beforeJudge Kathleen Henley at 5 p.m. at theMcAllen Municipal Court. No further detailswere released.

The truck was burned beyond recognition,forcing officials to use the license plates toidentify the truck and notify its owner.

Reinitz added that Castillo was transportingthe cardboard boxes for an Edinburg companyknown as Shippers.

ACCIDENT continued from page 1


CLEAN-UP — Workers shovel sand on thepavement in an effort to absorb spilled diesel fuel.

Silva, sophomore educationmajor, are both corps dancersin the ballet. Silva describescorps dancers as the body ofthe ballet.

“The corps is especiallyimportant in the second actbecause it shapes the ballet,”said Silva.

These two have also learnedto balance their time betweenschool and dancing, growingaccustomed to arrangingclasses in the morning andleaving their evenings avail-able for rehearsals. Theweeks prior to the openingnight have been the mostdemanding for them, withrehearsals scheduled everyevening including andSaturday and Sunday after-noon.

In addition to this schedule,Medina, who has been danc-ing for 10 years, is a danceinstructor at the Lark Centerfor the City of McAllen.

“It’s hard, but its possible,”said Medina. “It takes a lot ofdiscipline.”

After working together fora long period of time, thoseinvolved with the companydid develop a family unity,according to Silva andMedina.

“Everyone is very involvedand does a bit of everything,”said Silva. “Mothers areworking on the backdropwhile the fathers are workingon the scenery.”

“We've formed a unionhere because everyone has towork together,” said Medina.

“It’s very family-oriented.”THE PRODUCTION

“Giselle” is a romantic bal-let performed in two acts. Itwas first performed in Parison June 28, 1841. This is thesecond production of it by theSouth Texas Dance Theatre.The first was in 1988 butlacked the high quality ofcostumes and scenery expect-ed in the second performance.

“Giselle” contains the ele-ments of love, betrayal, deathvengeance and forgiveness inlife and after death.

“Giselle” is the Hamlet ofballets because of the serioustheme and the technical diffi-culty of the dancing,” saidMounce. “The theme soundsso heavy but the music andthe beautiful dancing soften itup.”

The professors have invitedtheir students to see “Giselle”and encourage their atten-dance.

Mounce, who enjoys gettingstudents involved, believesthat this will expand theirhorizons and help themappreciate high culture in thearts.

“It will help them become acitizen of the world,” Mouncesaid.

“Giselle” will be performedat the McAllen Civic CenterSaturday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m.and Sunday, Feb. 24 at 1:30p.m. Tickets for adults are $8and $5 for children. Ticketsare available at the door priorto the performance or call(956) 630-3287.

February 21, 2002 Arts & Entertainment Page 11

GISELLE continued from page 7

For over two decades,GALLERY, the University ofTexas-Pan American’s award-winning literary arts maga-zine, has been producedthrough the English depart-ment.

GALLERY is produced as aclass project for students

enrolled in the advanced liter-ary topics class. The class,which acts as the staff forGALLERY, looks forward toproducing this year’s issue.

“It represents the heart andsoul of UTPA students,” saidRose Ysaguirre, an Englishmajor enrolled in the class.

Since 1983, GALLERY haswon 81 awards from the TexasIntercollegiate PressAssociation for literary excel-lence. In 1996 and 1997 itplaced first in the LiteraryMagazineSweepstakes-Division I(overall) cate-gory.

UTPA stu-dents submittheir originalworks and theGALLERYstaff confi-dentially eval-uates/refereesthem. Thebest worksare selected

and published, and prizes willbe awarded for best submis-sions during the GALLERYreception, scheduled for April30.

“I hope that we have anaward-winning magazine likewe’ve had before,” saidSandra Cararas, GALLERYinstructor and faculty adviser.

“I think we have an excel-lent staff,” she added.“There’s a lot of creativeminds in the class.”

Works in Spanish are alsoaccepted.

“We’ve always allowedSpanish works because itshowcases the uniqueness ofthe border area,” Cararas said.

GALLERY is funded byStudent Services Fees and bydonations from patrons, facul-ty and community members.The current price of the maga-zine is $5. The 100-page mag-azine is produced annually inthe spring.

“It [GALLERY] publicizesthe talents of the students andputs the Valley on the map,”said Edwardo Davila, anEnglish major also in theclass.

The staff hopes to gainrecognition for the students aswell as UTPA. The projectusually pays off in providingexperience for the lattergroup.

“It’s been very interesting tolearn the fundamentals of

developing amagazine,”Ysaguirresaid.

“I’m excit-ed about theart, drawingsand paintings.I like seeingthat stuff,”Davila said.

More andmore compa-nies are pro-ducing theirown publica-

tions and in whatever field Ichoose, the experience that Iwill gain [working withGALLERY] will become anasset in my career,” Ysaguirresaid.

GALLERY is now accept-ing original works of art, pho-tos, poetry, prose (short storiesand essays) and students areencouraged to submit.

“It’s free publicity and agood way for artists to gettheir work and name outthere,” Davila said.

Students can take their sub-missions to COAS 266 duringregular office hours. Thedeadline for submissions isMarch 8.

I hope thatwe have an

award-winningmagazine likewe’ve hadbefore. I thinkwe have anexcellent staff.There’s a lot ofcreative mindsin the class.

”- Sandra CararasGALLERY adviser

“

GALLERY staff planning2002 literary magazineBy JoAnn BalderramaSpecial to The Pan American

Many costumes are required for the South Texas Dance Theatre show “Giselle.”Anna Stwora / The Pan American

GALLERY, the University of Texas-Pan American literary magazine, producedas a class project, will accept submissions of original art work until March 8

A handful of professors andstudents from the Universityof Texas-Pan American areinvolved in the production of“Giselle,” a ballet presentedby the South Texas DanceTheatre starting Feb. 23. Theyhave turned the productioninto a close-knit family affair.

Dr. Gary Mounce, a UTPAprofessor of political science,will be playing the role of thePrince of Courland, gracingthe stage with his son, Joey,

15 and daughter, Nena, 13.His children are the main rea-son for his dedication to thecompany, he said. During thesix years he has been workingwith South Texas DanceTheatre, Mounce has appearedin each of the company’sannual “Nutcracker” produc-tions.

“I believe in communityinvolvement and the arts,”said Mounce. “To me, this is away of bringing peace, loveand universal understanding.”

While the children arerehearsing, parents are at work

building thescenery,sewing cos-tumes,fundraisingand makingfinal prepa-rations forthe perfor-mance.Since SouthTexasDanceTheatre is anonprofitorganiza-

tion, all of the work that thedancers and their parents con-tribute is strictly voluntary.They have been preparingsince the summer and have

dedicated every weekend sinceJanuary to their preparations.

Hudson Dayoe, a biologyprofessor, began his involve-ment with the South TexasDance Theatre in 1996 withthe encouragement of hisdaughter, Marina, who is adancer in “Giselle.”

“I think it’s important to beinvolved because my daughterthinks it’s important,” said

Dayoe, who puts in 15-20hours a week working on theconstruction of props and cur-tains.

Another UTPA faculty mem-ber involved is Dr. MarkWinkle, director of the psy-chology graduate program.He too began his involvementdue to his daughter’s ambitionto dance.

“It’s important to promotethe performance arts in theValley,” Winkle said. “It alsoenriches the community as awhole.”

Winkle, who does a bit ofeverything behind the scenes,has managed to balance hisresponsibilities at the univer-sity and the dance company.

“It requires a lot of myspare time,” said Winkle. “It’sfairly demanding before a per-formance and we sacrifice alot of our spare time to behere, but its worth it.”

“There is a sense of extend-ed family here which is a val-ued aspect,” he added.

Carmen Medina, sophomorebiology major, and Melissa

“Giselle,” starring several UTPA professors and students, is a production of the South Texas Dance Theatre

■ Feature . . . . . . . . 8 - 9

■ “Betrayal” . . . . . . . . 10

■ GALLERY . . . . . . . . 11ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PAGE 7

AroundTown

24th Annual FiestaEdinburgFeb. 21-24 all dayEvents: Carnival,parade, three-mile run,car show, health fair, pet-ting zoo, food booths,Army jazz ensemble.Place: EdinburgMunicipal Park, E. Hwy107, and south onDoolittle RoadCall: (956) 383-4974

13th Annual SouthTexas Music FestivalFeb. 21-24 from 9 a.m. to8 p.m.Place: Rio Grande ValleyLivestock Show Grounds

‘South Pacific’Feb. 22-24, showtimesvary with each perfor-manceTickets: Call for ticketpricesPlace: Camille LightnerPlayhouseCall: (956) 542-8900

Pharr Spring Classic20th Annual Fine ArtsShow and SaleFeb. 23-24 from 10 a.m.to 4 p.m.Tickets: FreePlace: PharrInternational ConventionCenter, 3000 N. CageBlvd.

Mission Local FlavorsTourFeb. 26 from 2 to 4 p.m.Tickets: FreePlace: Mission-arearestaurantsCall: (956) 585-2727

Taste of the Valley 2002April 4Tickets: $10Place: PharrInternational ConventionCenterCall: (956) 787-1481

By Cesar TrevinoThe Pan American

Performing professors

It’s importantto promote

the performancearts in theValley. It alsoenriches thecommunity as awhole. ”- Dr. Mark WinkleDirector of psychology graduate program

“

(Above) - ‘Giselle’ actors (from left to right) JenniferMarquez, Dr. Gary Mounce and Babil R. Gandara pose infull costume for the upcoming performances.

(Right) - Gill Gandera (center), director of the company,helps (from left to right) Nyssa Guzman, Samantha Finley,Crystal Oralle and Giana Iannelli with their costumes. Anna Stwora / The Pan American

See GISELLE page 11

Special to The Pan American

The University of Texas-Pan American TheatreDepartment presents "Betrayal," the first play of theSpring 2002 semester, starting Wednesday.

Written by Harold Pinter, and directed by Dr. EricWiley, a faculty member in his fourth year at UTPA,“Betrayal” is a play about relationships between people.Originally set in the years 1968-77, the current produc-tion is set in present day.

"The play is made up of nine scenes, each having itsown feel," Wiley said.

"There's not really one set mood, and it changesthroughout [the play]. Most scenes have some kind ofreversal or revelation at the end...a turn of events thatchanges the mood," Wiley said.

Centered around the relationship between three peo-ple, and the events surrounding betrayal within thegroup, the play's story is not told in standard time.Instead of going forward, the play travels in reverse.

"It is told backwards in time," Wiley said.The story of the characters is set on what the audience

sees of them as they digress from who they are at thebeginning of the play.

"The story has an unhappy ending, which would beconsidered a tragedy, but since it is told in reverse, it hasa happy ending," Wiley said.

For Wiley, the play is a combination of both tragedyand comedy, and is a complex emotional response tohuman reaction.

The play consists of four characters; Emma (MelissaOsio), Robert (Alberto Garza Jr.), Jerry (J. Hernandez)and the waiter/bartender (Donaciano Garcia).

"I think it's a very intense play. There's a lot of tensionin most of the scenes. I'm sure the audience will sensethat," said sophomore Garcia.

"I like that it's more about what is NOT said, thanwhat IS said. The circular and indirect language makeseach confrontation more brutal," said Osio, a graduate

student at UTPA."The play is a very serious play that has a lot of

humor. Pinter is famous for achieving a sharp combina-tion of both comedy and tragedy," Wiley said.

"The play is very wordy, but that only makes it moreinteresting. It also has very strong emotions that you canfeel yourself," said John Hudsonpillar, “Betrayal”'s stagemanager.

"I think it [“Betrayal”] demands a lot of upper levelthinking for the fact that you have toread between the lines to hear what isactually being said," said Hernandez,theatre director at La Joya MiddleSchool.

Much of the play’s emphasis is puton the actions and comments of thecharacters.

According to Wiley, he has workedhard with his actors to achieve this,but feels the actors did much of thework.

"The actors asked plenty of ques-tions and think about their characterson their own, which really made it eas-ier on me," Wiley said.

Betrayal opens to audiences on Feb.27 at 8 p.m. in the university’s AlbertJeffers Theatre. Additional perfor-mances are Feb. 28-March 2 at 8 p.m.and March 3 at 2 p.m. For more infor-mation or to purchase tickets, contactthe University Theatre at (956) 381-3581.

Book: “Flight of Eagles” byJack HigginsMovie: “Thomas Crown Affair”Website: youthink.com

CD: “No Angel” by DidoBook: “Don Quixote” by MiguelDe CervantesWebsite: yahoo.com

Book: “MacBeth” byShakespeareWebsite: audiogalaxy.comMovie: “American Pie II”

Jorge SalinasSeniorManagement

Karla SaavedraSophomoreAccounting

CharlotteAndriotisFreshmanPhysician Asst.

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

The

February 21, 2002 Arts & Entertainment Page 10

Intense EmotionThe UTPA Theatre Department will present “Betrayal,”it’s first production of the year Feb. 27 through March 2

Alberto Garza Jr. (left) and J. Hernandez rehearse a scene for the upcoming production.Cesar Trevino / The Pan American

Melissa Osio (left) and Alberto Garza Jr. prepare for their roles inthe theatre department’s “Betrayal” on Feb. 27 through March 2.

Cesar Trevino / The Pan American


The University of Texas-PanAmerican Folkloric Dance Companypresents ALEGRIA 2001-2002, a cel-ebration of Mexican and Spanishmusic and dance starting Feb. 22.

The company, which brings culturaldance to the general public, has exist-

ed at UTPA for over 30 years afterits founding in 1970 by Dr.Amilda Thomas.

Under the current supervisionof Francisco Munoz, director of

the UTPA Folkloric DanceCompany, and his wife, Mary

Munoz, the administrativedirector and part-time

faculty member, thecompany covers variedgenres, from basicfolkloric to moderndance movements.

Along with theMunozes there is

guest artist Fred Darsow, whose focusis Flamenco and modern dance.Darsow, who has taught across theUnited States as a regular guest artistat schools and dance studios, has justcompleted his first year at UTPA. Histraining stems from modern dance,which he studied in New York, wherehe also has his own dance company.

Aside from modern dance, Darsowis trained in the art of Flamenco danc-ing. He said that he studied Flamencoin Jarez De La Frontera in Madrid,and has cultivated a love for fusing itwith modern dance into a single artform.

"For some of the students, this isthe first semester that they learned theroutines, and they've done a wonder-ful job," Darsow said.

In order to become a member of theFolkloric Dance Company, studentsmust enroll in a dance class under

kinesiology, in order to try out andtrain for one of the shows. Many cur-rent members have expressed theirlove for culture, music and dance, andhave been involved in folkloric dancesince junior high.

"Rehearsals are time-consuming butare needed to help us prepare andmake the shows perfect," said DalilaAnzandua, a senior majoring in math-ematics who is in her second yearwith the company.

Political science major AlejandroMagana, also in his second year withthe company, said "The hardest part isgetting it together and making sure allmoments are right."

Accompanying the Folkloric DanceCompany is El Mariachi Los Arrieros.

"It's amazing because our group isone of the first to actually have livemusic with the dancers. It's a big step-ping stone," Mary Munoz said.

El Mariachi Los Arrieros, Pan AmMariachi, is a group that performs atvenues all across Texas.

"The most difficult part of being inthe mariachi is the commitment ittakes. You have to give up yourweekends, and there's no time for asocial life," said Rufino Menjares,guitarist.

"Everyone plays their part, practiceaside, and then brings it all together,"Magana said.

"Through the years the shows havegrown," Francisco Munoz said, "andthey've become more and more com-plex every year."

The Folkloric Dance Company willhold its next performances Feb. 22and 23 at 7 p.m. and Feb. 24 at 2p.m., each in the Fine ArtsAuditorium. Tickets are $8 in advanceor $10 at the door. For more informa-tion, call (956) 381-2230.

The University of Texas-PanAmerican Folkloric Dance Company,

prepares for its upcoming perfor-mance ALEGRIA 2001-2002 in the

Fine Arts Auditorium on Feb. 22-24

February 21, 2002 Arts & Entertainment Page 9February 21, 2002 Arts & Entertainment

COLORS

(Above) - For over 30 years,the UTPA Folkloric DanceCompany has brought culturaldance to Valley audiences.

(Left) - El Mariachi Los Arrieroswill accompany the UTPAFolkloric Dance Company. “It’samazing because our group isone of the first to actually havelive music with the dancers,”said Mary Munoz, administra-tive director for the dance com-pany.

(Left and Right) - TheUTPA Folkloric DanceCompany presents ALE-GRIA 2001-2002 in theFine Arts AuditoriumFeb. 22-24. Tickets are$8 in advance, $10 atthe door.

MOTIONin

Story and photosby Cesar Trevino

The University of Texas-PanAmerican Folkloric Dance Companypresents ALEGRIA 2001-2002, a cel-ebration of Mexican and Spanishmusic and dance starting Feb. 22.

The company, which brings culturaldance to the general public, has exist-

ed at UTPA for over 30 years afterits founding in 1970 by Dr.Amilda Thomas.

Under the current supervisionof Francisco Munoz, director of

the UTPA Folkloric DanceCompany, and his wife, Mary

Munoz, the administrativedirector and part-time

faculty member, thecompany covers variedgenres, from basicfolkloric to moderndance movements.

Along with theMunozes there is

guest artist Fred Darsow, whose focusis Flamenco and modern dance.Darsow, who has taught across theUnited States as a regular guest artistat schools and dance studios, has justcompleted his first year at UTPA. Histraining stems from modern dance,which he studied in New York, wherehe also has his own dance company.

Aside from modern dance, Darsowis trained in the art of Flamenco danc-ing. He said that he studied Flamencoin Jarez De La Frontera in Madrid,and has cultivated a love for fusing itwith modern dance into a single artform.

"For some of the students, this isthe first semester that they learned theroutines, and they've done a wonder-ful job," Darsow said.

In order to become a member of theFolkloric Dance Company, studentsmust enroll in a dance class under

kinesiology, in order to try out andtrain for one of the shows. Many cur-rent members have expressed theirlove for culture, music and dance, andhave been involved in folkloric dancesince junior high.

"Rehearsals are time-consuming butare needed to help us prepare andmake the shows perfect," said DalilaAnzandua, a senior majoring in math-ematics who is in her second yearwith the company.

Political science major AlejandroMagana, also in his second year withthe company, said "The hardest part isgetting it together and making sure allmoments are right."

Accompanying the Folkloric DanceCompany is El Mariachi Los Arrieros.

"It's amazing because our group isone of the first to actually have livemusic with the dancers. It's a big step-ping stone," Mary Munoz said.

El Mariachi Los Arrieros, Pan AmMariachi, is a group that performs atvenues all across Texas.

"The most difficult part of being inthe mariachi is the commitment ittakes. You have to give up yourweekends, and there's no time for asocial life," said Rufino Menjares,guitarist.

"Everyone plays their part, practiceaside, and then brings it all together,"Magana said.

"Through the years the shows havegrown," Francisco Munoz said, "andthey've become more and more com-plex every year."

The Folkloric Dance Company willhold its next performances Feb. 22and 23 at 7 p.m. and Feb. 24 at 2p.m., each in the Fine ArtsAuditorium. Tickets are $8 in advanceor $10 at the door. For more informa-tion, call (956) 381-2230.

The University of Texas-PanAmerican Folkloric Dance Company,

prepares for its upcoming perfor-mance ALEGRIA 2001-2002 in the

Fine Arts Auditorium on Feb. 22-24

February 21, 2002 Arts & Entertainment February 21, 2002 Arts & Entertainment Page 8

COLORS

(Above) - For over 30 years,the UTPA Folkloric DanceCompany has brought culturaldance to Valley audiences.

(Left) - El Mariachi Los Arrieroswill accompany the UTPAFolkloric Dance Company. “It’samazing because our group isone of the first to actually havelive music with the dancers,”said Mary Munoz, administra-tive director for the dance com-pany.

(Left and Right) - TheUTPA Folkloric DanceCompany presents ALE-GRIA 2001-2002 in theFine Arts AuditoriumFeb. 22-24. Tickets are$8 in advance, $10 atthe door.

MOTIONin

Story and photosby Cesar Trevino

A handful of professors andstudents from the Universityof Texas-Pan American areinvolved in the production of“Giselle,” a ballet presentedby the South Texas DanceTheatre starting Feb. 23. Theyhave turned the productioninto a close-knit family affair.

Dr. Gary Mounce, a UTPAprofessor of political science,will be playing the role of thePrince of Courland, gracingthe stage with his son, Joey,

15 and daughter, Nena, 13.His children are the main rea-son for his dedication to thecompany, he said. During thesix years he has been workingwith South Texas DanceTheatre, Mounce has appearedin each of the company’sannual “Nutcracker” produc-tions.

“I believe in communityinvolvement and the arts,”said Mounce. “To me, this is away of bringing peace, loveand universal understanding.”

While the children arerehearsing, parents are at work

building thescenery,sewing cos-tumes,fundraisingand makingfinal prepa-rations forthe perfor-mance.Since SouthTexasDanceTheatre is anonprofitorganiza-

tion, all of the work that thedancers and their parents con-tribute is strictly voluntary.They have been preparingsince the summer and have

dedicated every weekend sinceJanuary to their preparations.

Hudson Dayoe, a biologyprofessor, began his involve-ment with the South TexasDance Theatre in 1996 withthe encouragement of hisdaughter, Marina, who is adancer in “Giselle.”

“I think it’s important to beinvolved because my daughterthinks it’s important,” said

Dayoe, who puts in 15-20hours a week working on theconstruction of props and cur-tains.

Another UTPA faculty mem-ber involved is Dr. MarkWinkle, director of the psy-chology graduate program.He too began his involvementdue to his daughter’s ambitionto dance.

“It’s important to promotethe performance arts in theValley,” Winkle said. “It alsoenriches the community as awhole.”

Winkle, who does a bit ofeverything behind the scenes,has managed to balance hisresponsibilities at the univer-sity and the dance company.

“It requires a lot of myspare time,” said Winkle. “It’sfairly demanding before a per-formance and we sacrifice alot of our spare time to behere, but its worth it.”

“There is a sense of extend-ed family here which is a val-ued aspect,” he added.

Carmen Medina, sophomorebiology major, and Melissa

“Giselle,” starring several UTPA professors and students, is a production of the South Texas Dance Theatre

■ Feature . . . . . . . . 8 - 9

■ “Betrayal” . . . . . . . . 10

■ GALLERY . . . . . . . . 11ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PAGE 7

AroundTown

24th Annual FiestaEdinburgFeb. 21-24 all dayEvents: Carnival,parade, three-mile run,car show, health fair, pet-ting zoo, food booths,Army jazz ensemble.Place: EdinburgMunicipal Park, E. Hwy107, and south onDoolittle RoadCall: (956) 383-4974

13th Annual SouthTexas Music FestivalFeb. 21-24 from 9 a.m. to8 p.m.Place: Rio Grande ValleyLivestock Show Grounds

‘South Pacific’Feb. 22-24, showtimesvary with each perfor-manceTickets: Call for ticketpricesPlace: Camille LightnerPlayhouseCall: (956) 542-8900

Pharr Spring Classic20th Annual Fine ArtsShow and SaleFeb. 23-24 from 10 a.m.to 4 p.m.Tickets: FreePlace: PharrInternational ConventionCenter, 3000 N. CageBlvd.

Mission Local FlavorsTourFeb. 26 from 2 to 4 p.m.Tickets: FreePlace: Mission-arearestaurantsCall: (956) 585-2727

Taste of the Valley 2002April 4Tickets: $10Place: PharrInternational ConventionCenterCall: (956) 787-1481


Performing professors

It’s importantto promote

the performancearts in theValley. It alsoenriches thecommunity as awhole. ”- Dr. Mark WinkleDirector of psychology graduate program

“

(Above) - ‘Giselle’ actors (from left to right) JenniferMarquez, Dr. Gary Mounce and Babil R. Gandara pose infull costume for the upcoming performances.

(Right) - Gill Gandera (center), director of the company,helps (from left to right) Nyssa Guzman, Samantha Finley,Crystal Oralle and Giana Iannelli with their costumes. Anna Stwora / The Pan American

See GISELLE page 11

Special to The Pan American

The University of Texas-Pan American TheatreDepartment presents "Betrayal," the first play of theSpring 2002 semester, starting Wednesday.

Written by Harold Pinter, and directed by Dr. EricWiley, a faculty member in his fourth year at UTPA,“Betrayal” is a play about relationships between people.Originally set in the years 1968-77, the current produc-tion is set in present day.

"The play is made up of nine scenes, each having itsown feel," Wiley said.

"There's not really one set mood, and it changesthroughout [the play]. Most scenes have some kind ofreversal or revelation at the end...a turn of events thatchanges the mood," Wiley said.

Centered around the relationship between three peo-ple, and the events surrounding betrayal within thegroup, the play's story is not told in standard time.Instead of going forward, the play travels in reverse.

"It is told backwards in time," Wiley said.The story of the characters is set on what the audience

sees of them as they digress from who they are at thebeginning of the play.

"The story has an unhappy ending, which would beconsidered a tragedy, but since it is told in reverse, it hasa happy ending," Wiley said.

For Wiley, the play is a combination of both tragedyand comedy, and is a complex emotional response tohuman reaction.

The play consists of four characters; Emma (MelissaOsio), Robert (Alberto Garza Jr.), Jerry (J. Hernandez)and the waiter/bartender (Donaciano Garcia).

"I think it's a very intense play. There's a lot of tensionin most of the scenes. I'm sure the audience will sensethat," said sophomore Garcia.

"I like that it's more about what is NOT said, thanwhat IS said. The circular and indirect language makeseach confrontation more brutal," said Osio, a graduate

student at UTPA."The play is a very serious play that has a lot of

humor. Pinter is famous for achieving a sharp combina-tion of both comedy and tragedy," Wiley said.

"The play is very wordy, but that only makes it moreinteresting. It also has very strong emotions that you canfeel yourself," said John Hudsonpillar, “Betrayal”'s stagemanager.

"I think it [“Betrayal”] demands a lot of upper levelthinking for the fact that you have toread between the lines to hear what isactually being said," said Hernandez,theatre director at La Joya MiddleSchool.

Much of the play’s emphasis is puton the actions and comments of thecharacters.

According to Wiley, he has workedhard with his actors to achieve this,but feels the actors did much of thework.

"The actors asked plenty of ques-tions and think about their characterson their own, which really made it eas-ier on me," Wiley said.

Betrayal opens to audiences on Feb.27 at 8 p.m. in the university’s AlbertJeffers Theatre. Additional perfor-mances are Feb. 28-March 2 at 8 p.m.and March 3 at 2 p.m. For more infor-mation or to purchase tickets, contactthe University Theatre at (956) 381-3581.

Book: “Flight of Eagles” byJack HigginsMovie: “Thomas Crown Affair”Website: youthink.com

CD: “No Angel” by DidoBook: “Don Quixote” by MiguelDe CervantesWebsite: yahoo.com

Book: “MacBeth” byShakespeareWebsite: audiogalaxy.comMovie: “American Pie II”

Jorge SalinasSeniorManagement

Karla SaavedraSophomoreAccounting

CharlotteAndriotisFreshmanPhysician Asst.

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

The

February 21, 2002 Arts & Entertainment

Intense EmotionThe UTPA Theatre Department will present “Betrayal,”it’s first production of the year Feb. 27 through March 2

Alberto Garza Jr. (left) and J. Hernandez rehearse a scene for the upcoming production.Cesar Trevino / The Pan American

Melissa Osio (left) and Alberto Garza Jr. prepare for their roles inthe theatre department’s “Betrayal” on Feb. 27 through March 2.

Cesar Trevino / The Pan American


February 21, 2002 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 6

Acanthosis Nigricans is importantbecause these markings can helpidentify individuals who run the riskof developing diabetes in the future.It is these high levels of insulin thatcause obesity, cardiovascular prob-lems, high cholesterol and trigyl-cerides.

Until recently it was believed thatchildren could not develop Type 2diabetes, but this has been provenfalse.

The office is currently screeningchildren at 550 school districts in thestate. The project started with Valleyschool nurses and now has expandedfrom just south of Houston to Austin,San Angelo, Midland/Odessa, amongother southern state areas.

Along with researching and coun-teracting diabetes, the office coordi-nates research on tuberculosis andgerontology, the study of the processof aging.

“Right now we are teaching someseniors how to use the Internet, sothat they can communicate withgrandchildren,” said Villas, who wasappointed in 2000 by formerPresident Bill Clinton to serve as amember of the federal United States-Mexico Border Health Commission.

“A lot of the things that I do hereare things that the commission wantsto do here,” said Villas. “The differ-ence is that the commission wants todo those things on a bi-national man-

ner.”Villas thinks the lack of education

is the biggest problem facing theValley.

“Because we know the parallel ismoney and health. The more moneyyou have, the better your health,”said Villas. “It has nothing to do withethnicity. The problem is poverty.”

In order to break the poverty cycle,Villas feels that it is important to getpeople into a university.

“It isn’t clinics, it isn’t medication,it isn’t doctors. None of those thingsare going to help improve the healthcare of people here, but getting out ofthe poverty cycle will,” he said.

Richardson feels the biggest chal-lenge to health in the border environ-ment is the “sedentary lifestyle anddietary excesses so many residentshave adopted.”

“Happily, this serious challenge isone that most people can do some-thing about provided they understandwhat needs to happen,” Richardsonsaid.

The office is currently applying tobe a collaborating center for WorldHealth Organization (WHO), whichwill widen the reach of the organiza-tion.

“We will be able to facilitate, assistand help any

international population that is onthe border,”

Villas said.

HEALTH continued from page 1

Possible damage to nearby high-tensionelectrical wires required that representativesfrom Central Power and Light also be called tothe scene.

“We heard a loud explosion, then we sawthe fire,” said Angel Santiago, who witnessedthe accident.

Alaniz added that firefighters took roughly45 minutes to subdue flames fueled by bothdiesel and cardboard boxes that were beingtransported.

One of the truck’s fuel tanks became sepa-rated from the truck, spilling fuel along thewalls of the expressway and over the pave-ment.

Texas Natural ResourcesConservation Commissionworkers arrived on thescene and covered the spillwith sand to prevent fur-ther contamination of thearea by the fuel. Theyalso used a foam known as“light water” to preventfurther ignition of the fireby spreading it over thefuel.

Alaniz said that thefoam was effective in pre-venting ignition because itbroke the chemical chainby removing oxygen fromthe fuel. Also, it is lighterthan water so it remainsabove the fuel unlike regu-lar water which wouldallow the fuel to remain

exposed and potentially hazardous.The driver has been identified as Salvador

Ramirez Castillo of McAllen. Santiago wit-nessed the driver jumping from the truck toescape injury.

Castillo was scheduled to appear beforeJudge Kathleen Henley at 5 p.m. at theMcAllen Municipal Court. No further detailswere released.

The truck was burned beyond recognition,forcing officials to use the license plates toidentify the truck and notify its owner.

Reinitz added that Castillo was transportingthe cardboard boxes for an Edinburg companyknown as Shippers.

ACCIDENT continued from page 1


CLEAN-UP — Workers shovel sand on thepavement in an effort to absorb spilled diesel fuel.

Silva, sophomore educationmajor, are both corps dancersin the ballet. Silva describescorps dancers as the body ofthe ballet.

“The corps is especiallyimportant in the second actbecause it shapes the ballet,”said Silva.

These two have also learnedto balance their time betweenschool and dancing, growingaccustomed to arrangingclasses in the morning andleaving their evenings avail-able for rehearsals. Theweeks prior to the openingnight have been the mostdemanding for them, withrehearsals scheduled everyevening including andSaturday and Sunday after-noon.

In addition to this schedule,Medina, who has been danc-ing for 10 years, is a danceinstructor at the Lark Centerfor the City of McAllen.

“It’s hard, but its possible,”said Medina. “It takes a lot ofdiscipline.”

After working together fora long period of time, thoseinvolved with the companydid develop a family unity,according to Silva andMedina.

“Everyone is very involvedand does a bit of everything,”said Silva. “Mothers areworking on the backdropwhile the fathers are workingon the scenery.”

“We've formed a unionhere because everyone has towork together,” said Medina.

“It’s very family-oriented.”THE PRODUCTION

“Giselle” is a romantic bal-let performed in two acts. Itwas first performed in Parison June 28, 1841. This is thesecond production of it by theSouth Texas Dance Theatre.The first was in 1988 butlacked the high quality ofcostumes and scenery expect-ed in the second performance.

“Giselle” contains the ele-ments of love, betrayal, deathvengeance and forgiveness inlife and after death.

“Giselle” is the Hamlet ofballets because of the serioustheme and the technical diffi-culty of the dancing,” saidMounce. “The theme soundsso heavy but the music andthe beautiful dancing soften itup.”

The professors have invitedtheir students to see “Giselle”and encourage their atten-dance.

Mounce, who enjoys gettingstudents involved, believesthat this will expand theirhorizons and help themappreciate high culture in thearts.

“It will help them become acitizen of the world,” Mouncesaid.

“Giselle” will be performedat the McAllen Civic CenterSaturday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m.and Sunday, Feb. 24 at 1:30p.m. Tickets for adults are $8and $5 for children. Ticketsare available at the door priorto the performance or call(956) 630-3287.

February 21, 2002 Arts & Entertainment

GISELLE continued from page 7

For over two decades,GALLERY, the University ofTexas-Pan American’s award-winning literary arts maga-zine, has been producedthrough the English depart-ment.

GALLERY is produced as aclass project for students

enrolled in the advanced liter-ary topics class. The class,which acts as the staff forGALLERY, looks forward toproducing this year’s issue.

“It represents the heart andsoul of UTPA students,” saidRose Ysaguirre, an Englishmajor enrolled in the class.

Since 1983, GALLERY haswon 81 awards from the TexasIntercollegiate PressAssociation for literary excel-lence. In 1996 and 1997 itplaced first in the LiteraryMagazineSweepstakes-Division I(overall) cate-gory.

UTPA stu-dents submittheir originalworks and theGALLERYstaff confi-dentially eval-uates/refereesthem. Thebest worksare selected

and published, and prizes willbe awarded for best submis-sions during the GALLERYreception, scheduled for April30.

“I hope that we have anaward-winning magazine likewe’ve had before,” saidSandra Cararas, GALLERYinstructor and faculty adviser.

“I think we have an excel-lent staff,” she added.“There’s a lot of creativeminds in the class.”

Works in Spanish are alsoaccepted.

“We’ve always allowedSpanish works because itshowcases the uniqueness ofthe border area,” Cararas said.

GALLERY is funded byStudent Services Fees and bydonations from patrons, facul-ty and community members.The current price of the maga-zine is $5. The 100-page mag-azine is produced annually inthe spring.

“It [GALLERY] publicizesthe talents of the students andputs the Valley on the map,”said Edwardo Davila, anEnglish major also in theclass.

The staff hopes to gainrecognition for the students aswell as UTPA. The projectusually pays off in providingexperience for the lattergroup.

“It’s been very interesting tolearn the fundamentals of

developing amagazine,”Ysaguirresaid.

“I’m excit-ed about theart, drawingsand paintings.I like seeingthat stuff,”Davila said.

More andmore compa-nies are pro-ducing theirown publica-

tions and in whatever field Ichoose, the experience that Iwill gain [working withGALLERY] will become anasset in my career,” Ysaguirresaid.

GALLERY is now accept-ing original works of art, pho-tos, poetry, prose (short storiesand essays) and students areencouraged to submit.

“It’s free publicity and agood way for artists to gettheir work and name outthere,” Davila said.

Students can take their sub-missions to COAS 266 duringregular office hours. Thedeadline for submissions isMarch 8.

I hope thatwe have an

award-winningmagazine likewe’ve hadbefore. I thinkwe have anexcellent staff.There’s a lot ofcreative mindsin the class.

”- Sandra CararasGALLERY adviser

“

GALLERY staff planning2002 literary magazineBy JoAnn BalderramaSpecial to The Pan American

Many costumes are required for the South Texas Dance Theatre show “Giselle.”Anna Stwora / The Pan American

GALLERY, the University of Texas-Pan American literary magazine, producedas a class project, will accept submissions of original art work until March 8

There are no student organizations at theUniversity of Texas-Pan American whichconcentrate on environmental problemssuch as recycling.

“It’s not promoted enough at UTPA,”said Belem Frias, a freshman pre-medmajor. “There need to be programs toencourage students to recycle so we canprotect the environment.”

According to Richard Costello, directorof the department of environmental healthand safety, there are no environmental oroccupational safety programs for under-graduate students.

“Some courses are offered for graduatestudents,” Costello said. “But we definitelyneed an undergraduate program in theValley.”

The Student Government Association(SGA) at UTPA has not concentrated muchon projects to encourage recycling, butSGA feels it is a good idea for studentorganizations to participate in events whichhelp the environment.

“There are no places or facilities to do[recycling] or to promote it,” said ZekeMoya, president of SGA. “But if studentsare interested, we’ll (SGA) look into it.”

Moya states that student concerns arealways welcome and hopes students will

contact SGA so they can address the issue. According to Christine Carruthers, coor-

dinator of student development, there areseveral steps students must take to start astudent organization.

First, students must pick up an applica-tion with the dean of students.

Second, the students have one month tocome up with a constitution, plus ten mem-bers to represent an organization.

Finally, once students have turned in theconstitution, the Office of StudentDevelopment will help them fix it to meetuniversity guidelines.

“Students can start their own organiza-tion to encourage UTPA students to recy-cle,” Carruthers said. “In the past, somestudent organizations have volunteered tohelp other valley organizations with envi-ronmental projects.”

If students are interested in starting suchan organization, they can contactCarruthers at, [email protected].

Current student organizations such asGamma Beta Phi Honors Society andBacchus/Gamma participate in projectssuch as the Texas Beach Clean Up becausethey feel it is a way to give back to thecommunity.

“We enjoy going to the beach wheneverwe can and we would certainly hate to getthere to see a lot of trash,” said Sarah

Owens, president of Gamma Beta Phi.“We like to clean it and make it better

for everybody else who’s going to gothere."

Other student organizations, such asSigma Lambda Beta, adopted a stretch ofroad that starts at the intersection ofClosner Boulevard and Schunior Road andends at Alamo Road, to clean trash left bypeople.

“We’ve had the highway for two yearsand plan to keep it as long as possible,”said Jacob Rodriguez, president of SigmaLambda Beta.

“The Texas Department ofTransportation (TxDOT) requires us toclean it up four times a year, but we like toclean it up four times a semester.”

The papers and cans collected at UTPAplay a small role in recycling on campus.

However, the Department ofEnvironmental Health and Safety hasapplied for a $15,000 federal grant to putrecycling containers in UTPA buildingoffices so staff can recycle paper theywould usually throw away.

The department is expected to get ananswer from the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency regarding the federalgrant on April 30, 2002 to see whether ornot their application is considered.

“Right now we concentrate at our data

processing in which we recycle all thatpaper,” Costello said.

“In order to achieve a successful recy-cling program, we need to provide segre-gated containers so people can recycle.”

According to Costello, most of the recy-cling efforts at UTPA come from renovatedbuildings.

Products include light fixtures, grates,doors or anything that is usable for anotherbuilding.

“Other institutions throw recyclableproducts in the trash,” Costello said.

“However, UTPA uses manual labor toremove products so they can be recycled.”

Costello states the environment is affect-ed two ways when people don’t recycle.

First, there is a direct effect, in whichpeople can get sick if others don’t disposeof hazardous products properly.

“When people put mercury in the air weinhale it,” Costello said. “Consequently,there is a potential health risk.”

Second, most companies would have totake raw materials from the environment toproduce new products, such as cuttingdown a tree to produce more paper.

“It takes a fifty two gallon barrel of oil togenerate one gallon of gas,” Costello said.“So for every solvent that we recycle, wedon’t have to produce a barrel of oil.”


CAMPUS LIFEPAGE 12

■ W h a t s t u d e n t s a r e d o i n g a t U T P A

There is a new web page at the University of Texas-Pan American academic services called “ProjectEvolution.”

It was created by computer lab proctor ChristopherTagle and Damaso Navarro II, a UTPA senior Web pro-grammer majoring in computer science. The programwas conducted under the supervision of Anne Toal, direc-tor of academic computing.

The main purpose of the new web design is to aid fac-ulty when reserving computer labs, in addition to survey-ing students who use the labs.

“It will be easier for faculty when they request to signup for labs because paper forms will be eliminated andthe use of Web based laboratory forms [online] will be ineffect,” Toal said.

The Web design will also allow supervisors in the labsto check paper and toner supplies, which was always aconcern with faculty using the labs, according to Toal.

“It [Web page] controls to see if there will be a short-age of paper and toner and this gives us the ability to seebefore hand and stock up,” Toal said.

Faculty and administrators will also be able to see iflabs are already reserved when requesting the use ofcomputer labs online. The same online form would beused to fill out requests for special software as well, Toaladded. She hopes that the online form will be functionalby the start of the first summer session in 2002.

Another part to Project Evolution is the weekly survey ques-tion offered to students who use the labs. The purpose of thepoll is to open lines of communication between students and thelab staff.

“We came up with the idea of polls (survey questions)two months ago,” said Toal.

“It [helps us know] how we are doing, so every week anew question is asked.”

Questions are based on ways to improve servicesoffered in the academic services building. The first validquestion asked students about the number of hours theywould like the Academic Computing Labs to be open dur-ing weekends.

Currently the labs are open 24 hours Monday toThursday, Friday until 5 p.m., Saturday from noon to 6p.m. and Sunday after noon.

About 65 percent of students surveyed would like labsto be open more hours, while 24 percent felt the currentcomputer lab hours were sufficient. Approximately 11percent of students surveyed felt the computer labs areopen too many hours. There were a total of 6,093 votescast, according to ACL reports.

“We wanted to get an idea if people were satisfied[with hours offered] and we got a runaway answer here,65 percent of users want more hours,” said Toal.“Obviously that is most of the people that come here.”

Toal added that the survey allows faculty and staff ofthe ACL to plan funding for the future of the lab, andthat the polls have made a real impression on the ACLstaff, which is actively seeking new ways to successfullyaddress student concerns [regarding lab hours].

Survey questions last for one week and appear when astudent first logs into an ACL computer. Tagle andNavarro worked on a solution that would eliminate a wayfor a student to vote twice. Once a student has logged in,the question is displayed and must be answered once.When the student logs in again [in the same week] thesystem asks if the student has voted or not, allowing thequestion to be bypassed, according to Tagle.

Web regulationof computer labBy Belinda ReyesThe Pan American

Students, faculty and staff will participate in “UTPA Day”at the McAllen International Museum on Feb. 23.

University of Texas-Pan American President Dr. Miguel A.Nevarez signed a proclamation declaring Saturday, Feb. 23“UTPA Day” at MIM. The purpose of UTPA’s involvementextends well beyond community service.

“University attendance really begins in childhood,” saidNevarez, in a university press release Feb. 6. “And the muse-um is doing great work in fostering creative and critical think-ing skills that will help children succeed in higher education.”

Felipe Salinas, UTPA’s director of special programs, agreedwith Nevarez and feels that “a university education beginswell before students set foot on a university campus,”.

UTPA decided to get involved because the opportunity willallow employees to give their personal time and improve aneducational museum such as MIM, Salinas said.

The Office of Enrollment Student Services at the UTPAplans to help MIM with the latest phase of expansion, thedesigning of a Discovery Pavilion.

The Discovery Pavilion will be an indoor area acting as aneducational exhibit for children.

“There will be a lot of interactive type of activities for kids,primarily in the sciences, communication and some explain-ing of the history of the Lower Rio Grande Valley regionalso,” Salinas said.

“We thought that it would be a great thing to get the ballrolling again this year,” Salinas said.

The Office of Enrollment Student Services participated inthe museum’s RioScape Discovery Park project four years

ago.“Some student organizations have already gone out there to

help out,” Salinas said. “I believe there will be some othersgoing out.”

The Criminal Justice Student Association plans to attend“UTPA Day” because “they understand the relationshipbetween the availability of educational, cultural and socialopportunities for persons(particularly the youth) and possiblefuture criminality,” said Dr. Daniel Dearth, adviser of theassociation.

“To the extent that we can support the development of pos-itive activities for persons, such as the activities at the muse-um, we lessen the number of persons who may come to theattention of the criminal justice system,” Dearth said.

Some of the volunteer activities include carpentrywork,sewing and painting.

Thirty-three skilled craftspeople and office personnel fromUTPA’s Physical Plant will also volunteer and help withplumbing, electrical and masonry work.

“There’s plenty for everyone to do,” Salinas said. “We canuse anyone, skilled or unskilled.”

“If there are any folks out there who are artists, or whohave special skills, they [MIM] can use them,” Salinas said.

“We can help improve the facility and provide a moremeaningful and better educational experience for childrenhere in the area,” Salinas said. “It will prepare them for theuniversity experience, when they eventually wind up here oranywhere else.”

There are three shifts that students and staff can choosefrom if they wish to volunteer their time and services. Theshifts are from 8 a.m. until noon, 12:30 p.m. until 5 p.m., and5:30 p.m. until 9 p.m.

UTPA contributes timeto local Valley museumBy Melissa CiomperlikThe Pan American

Back and forth and back again. That’s one way to characterize the latest graduate degree

offered at the University of Texas-Pan American. The six-year pharmacy doctorate program started last

Fall in conjunction with the University of Texas-Austin’sCollege of Pharmacy.

There are only two other doctorate programs on campus.They are housed under the colleges of business and education,according to the office of admissions and records.

The pharmacy program requires completion of pre-phar-macy courses at UTPA for two years.

Then students attend UT-Austin for two more years,where they concentrate on pharmaceutical sciences.

Students return to UTPA for the final two years, accord-ing to Dr. William J. McIntyre, assistant dean of health sci-ences and the director of the program.

“The program started last November, and we admittedour first class in the spring,” McIntyre said.

The groundwork for the doctorate program was laid in 1998,and funding came in for the program in 2000. There are 16 stu-dents enrolled, 12 of whom entered as freshman last fall.

Three students were sent to Austin this semester.Next week the program will hold its second admission

process, looking to recruit 12 more entering freshmen,McIntyre said. The admissions are also open to studentsalready on campus.

“Our primary focus [is to recruit] freshmen students, but

we do encourage students that are interested in pharmacyto apply to the program,” McIntyre explained.

To qualify for the program, entering freshmen arerequired to have at least a 3.4 GPA, a 20 on the ACT or1,000 on the SAT. They must also have three letters of rec-ommendation and a personal statement.

If a student gets selected to participate in the program,they must maintain a 3.2 GPA in the health sciencesdepartment and a 3.0 GPA overall.

The same applies to students already on campus,McIntyre said.

One applicant, Jaime Balli, a junior, pre-pharmacy/chemistry major, hopes to be admitted to thesecond stage of the program. Balli, 20, works as a pharma-cy technician for Walgreens Drug Store.

“I’ll find out next week if I’ll get accepted [into the pro-gram],” he said. “I think the program will help alleviate theshortage of pharmacists here in the Rio Grande Valley.”

Balli said that he sees the struggle that pharmacists gothrough because of the shortage and that the professionhelps people in SouthTexas.

“The good thing about this program is that it brings youback to the Valley,” Balli said.

McIntyre explained that when the students return fortheir final two years at UTPA, they will complete intern-ships of seven rotations, each lasting six weeks.

Prior to the internships, students will participate in practicallabs through interactive television along with other studentsfrom UT-Austin, UT-San Antonio and UT-El Paso. UTPAwas the fourth university to join the doctorate program.

Itinerant doctorate beginsBy Belinda ReyesThe Pan American

UTPA lacks environmental organizationsSchool has recycling plan, other student groups participate in clean-up programs

Francisco Gonzalez, of the Physical Plant, repairs the chilled water linethat ruptured outside the University Library Friday. The old water line,which supplies cold water to the air-conditioning unit at the library, wasworked on during the weekend and is now functioning properly.

MANHOLEAnna Stwora/The Pan American

By Jennifer TapiaSpecial the Pan American


– Anna Stwora

Jeni VelaPre-MedFreshman

I think the politicians should focusmore on education because it is thekey to success.

Sally IbrahimPre-Med / ChemistryFreshman

They should focus on education andmake it more successful. For example,help to increase the graduation ratesso that they are equal to the numberof students enrolled.

Adrian BarajasMarketingSenior

I think they should focus on healthissues for students, since it is moreexpensive for us.

On which issues shouldlocal candidates focus?

Gloria SaenzPre-MedFreshman

The primary focus of the candidatesshould be to provide health insuranceat a lower cost.

VOICECCaammppuuss

Jose GonzalezComputer ScienceFreshman

I think they should focus on educationand increase financial aid.

Not since Joe Namath did, prior toSuper Bowl III in 1969, has someonepredicted a victory with so much confi-dence.

State Representative Juan “Chuy”Hinojosa called the race in his favordespite opposition from three other can-didates.

“I’m going to win,” Hinojosa said. “Idon’t have as much money as some ofthese other candidates, but I have lead-ership experience.”

Hinojosa, along with Alice medicaldoctor Ruben Garcia and CorpusChristi attorneys Diana Martinez andBarbara Canales-Black, are seeking theseat of state senator District 20. Theseat will be vacated by long-time SouthTexas Senator Carlos Truan, whoannounced he would not seek re-elec-tion late last year.

Hinojosa prides himself on his expe-rience. Tuesday night at a candidateforum he boasted about being namedone of the top 10 legislators this lastsession, and about the six years he’sserved as in public office as a state rep-resentative for Districts 40 and 41.

Hinojosa said experience is key andwould make the difference in this race.

“It’s a tremendous advantage,”Hinojosa said. “When I’m elected intothe senate, I’ll be a player. I know allof them already.”

Hinojosa’s belief that experience iskey isn’t echoed by his opponents.

“I know 14 legislators who startedtheir tenure without any prior legisla-tive experience, including our attorneygeneral,” Canales-Black said.

Garcia, who doesn’t consider himselfa politician by trade, said he has asgood a chance to serve in the TexasSenate as any of his other opponents.

“I’m self-funded,” Garcia said. “I amindependent of special interest groupsor corporate donation. People are myspecial interest group.”

There was one thing in which all fourwere in agreement. Each tabbed educa-tion as an issue of great importance.Each had their own idea for improvingeducation in District 20 and the entire

state.“We can always improve education,”

Hinojosa said. “Education is key . . .it’s the great equalizer in our society. Itwill always be the number one issue.”

Garcia said District 20 is one of themost undereducated in the state, and itwould benefit everyone to improve edu-cation down here.

“The whole world is one economy,”he commented. “We can’t competearound the world without an educa-tion.”

Canales-Black agreed education isimportant, but added that economicdevelopment goes hand-in-hand.

“If we strengthen education in Texaswe strengthen the economy,” she said.

Canales-Black mentioned that 62 per-cent rise in Texas’ Hispanic populationthe last 10 years is a good thing, butadded concerns that the majority of newpopulants aren’t getting educated.

“We’re not graduating this popula-tion,” Canales-Black said. “We’re noteducating these people and that spellsdisaster.”

Canales-Black said if elected to theSenate, she would bring innovativeideas to improve education in SouthTexas. She said a public awarenesscampaign would help get the word outon the value of education.

Canales-Black explained a partner-ship between private businesses and thestate would help emphasize the impor-tance of an education to the youngergeneration in South Texas.

“Education has to be the key toTexas’ economic survivability,”Canales-Black said. “You can go downthe same path or forge a new one. Iwant to lead the charge.”

Martinez also made education her toppriority, but said change needs to comein teacher’ s pay.

“Health insurance premiums areincredibly high,” Martinez said. “They[teachers] need help. They got a payraise, but it was not enough.”

Aside from wanting to help teachers,Martinez would like to see assistancegiven to single working mothers.

“The state should be able to givebusinesses tax breaks for childcarefacilities,” Martinez said.

Senate candidatesdiscuss education,other election issues By Eladio JaimezThe Pan American

20022002ELECTION

LADY BRONCS continued from page 14

February 21, 2002 Sports

A journalist's perspective“It’s kind of sad ‘cause you’re not

able to put on a uniform anymore,”Sinnette said.

Nicholls thinks her three seniorswill come out and play with a lot ofenergy one last time.

“I’m sure the seniors are in a littlebit of a strange mood because they

know their season’s ending,’”Nicholls said. “They know theywon’t be coming back, but at thesame time, they know how theywant to go out.”

The Lady Broncs started theirtwo-game road trip with a loss toLipscomb 81-66 on Feb. 14. Thecontest came down to the last fiveminutes, when UTPA was outscored19-5. Despite the loss, three LadyBroncs were in double figures led byKreuser with 21 points. Freshman

guard Jennifer Piwonka and NaimaWilliams each contributed 13 points.

Then the Lady Broncs ended athree-game losing streak by jumpingby the Lady

Bulldogs 69-61 on Feb. 16, tosweet the season series. Kreuserbelieves the victory will carry theteam and play with a sense ofurgency on Saturday.

“It was a moral and confidenceboost being stuck on six (wins)before that five,” Kreuser said.

Nicholls was just happy to get awin on the road.

“Any time you’re in any kind oflosing streak, you need to do some-thing to try and change the waysthings are going,” Nicholls said.“We had such an inconsistent year,to win a game on the road...we’re allvery happy and we all worked hardto earn that victory.”

Although the Lady Broncs willnot finish with a winning record, it’steamwork and character that has puta smile on Nicholls’ face.

“The team’s character is the typeof team that doesn’t give up andthey continue to work hard throughthe adversity,” Nicholls said. “Thatshows the kind of character that youwant to continue to have around onyour teams. You don’t want peoplewho are going to quit.”

Our main goal forthis game is to get

the win and get a littlerevenge on them

”da-Kelli Kreuser

Senior Guard, Lady Broncs

“If I could be owned by anyone in the world, it

would have to be Mark Cuban.Last week Cuban appeared on the Late Late

Show with Craig Kilborn who challenged him tosay something which would get him fined byNBA Commissioner David Stern.

Kilborn gave Cuban a few suggestions of whathe could say to encourage Stern to fine him, butCuban refused the suggestions.

Instead, Cuban referred to a joke from earlier inthe show and said Stern “couldn’t manage thePenis Patrol.”

The comment received many laughs, butKilborn hoped it would create waves among theNBA.

Kilborn’s goal was to get Cuban fined on theshow, but apparently it didn’t work.

Kilborn called various media outlets asking tocarry the story. The Dallas Morning News refusedto run with the story because of the word “penis,”according to Kilborn.

On Tuesday night’s show, Kilborn called SportsIllustrated columnist Rick Reilly asking him towrite about Cuban’s comment.

Kilborn wanted to “disseminate, germinate andmarinate” the information. He wanted to give his

show significance by having Cuban fined for whathe said on the show.

We’re not The Dallas Morning News or SportsIllustrated, but we are media, so we’ve decided to“disseminate, germinate and marinate” the infor-mation.

Cuban will probably not get fined. Stern willlikely see this as some kind of joke and just ignorethe whole hoopla.

One thing is for sure, Cuban will be closelywatched by the NBA and all the association’sbureaucrats.

Cuban has been fined nearly $1 million since hebought the Dallas Mavericks in March 2000. Hecan afford it, being one of the wealthiest personsin the country, even richer then hotel tycoonDonald Trump.

Cuban calls himself “a beer and pretzels guy.”He also loves basketball.

The self-proclaimed basketball junkie loves theIndiana Hoosiers. His love of the Indiana schooland nostalgia for the games led to his self-madefortune.

In 1995, Cuban and his roommate came up withBroadcast.com in an effort to broadcast Hoosiergames over the Internet.

Soon nearly half a million people were listeningto broadcasts through Cuban’s Web site, and afterthat, pardon the cliche, everything was history.

Cuban’s comments on Late Late Show failto get him fined; show’s host disappointedBy Eladio JaimezThe Pan American

College students at the University ofTexas-Pan American are politically“middle-of-the-road,” according to asurvey taken last week by The PanAmerican newspaper staff.

The survey suggests that 50.7 percentof students at UTPA assumed the inter-mediate ideology, while 21.5 percentsaid they were “liberal” and 16.1 percentmarked“conservative.” Another 11.5 per-cent chose “other.”

Dr. Jerry Polinard, chair of the politi-cal science department, said these resultsare nothing unusual.

“ Most Americans consider themselvesmoderate rather than liberal or conserva-tive and one of the rules of running foroffice is to try and capture the centerand isolate your opponent as either tooliberal or conservative,” Polinard said.

He added that South Texas ideologicalstances may be explained by the fact thisis traditionally one of the strongestDemocratic regions in the nation, andthat young people have come of age inan eight-year period (1992-2000) with aDemocratic president in office.

Some differ on whether the recent andhighly contested presidential electioncould have sparked new interest in poli-

tics.“The controversy over the Bush and

Gore issue probably created more of aninterest for people,” said AnnaGonzalez, freshman political sciencemajor.

“To my knowledge, there is no indica-tion that the 2000 election increasedeither interest or participation in thepolitical process,” Polinard said.

“This would likely affect the college-age cohort the least in that this group(18-28 years old), is virtually always theleast likely to be politicized and leastlikely to vote, of all age groups.”

Adding to the tendency toward voterapathy in young people is a series ofincidents receiving heavy media publici-ty that left a sour taste in many mouths.The 1998 Clinton-Lewinsky scandal,2000 election controversy, campaignfinance reform debate, and recent erup-tion of the Enron debacle are suchexamples.

When they do vote, young peoplehave shown a recent propensity for cate-gorizing themselves as left-of-center.This slant is clear in a survey put out bythe University of California at LosAngeles (UCLA).

The 2001-02 results from the annualpoll show that more college freshmenare politically liberal, or far left, than at

any time since 1975.The survey done at UTPA was a nar-

row replication of the larger-scaleUCLA poll, using all classifications ofstudents in a random sample (as opposedto only freshmen) to get a better repre-sentation of student ideologies.

One 22-year-old white male surveyednoted that he was “conservative” andsaid, “college can often be a person’sfirst look into the variety of lifestyles,cultures and political viewpoints thatdifferent people follow, mostly as a rep-resentation of their upbringing.”

College students’ views are molded byseveral crucial elements, said politicalscience lecturer Terence Garrett.

“Many factors include family, peers,education level, news events (media),religious activities and income,” Garrettsaid.

Students in the UTPA survey werealso questioned about several commonsocial issues and behavior:

Gay marriages- 40.7 percent think gay couples

should have the right to legal maritalstatus

A Hispanic female, 20, said that ifpolygamy still exists, then gay marriagesshould be allowed. A 31-year-oldHispanic male disagrees answering,

“Hell no!” to this suggestion.

Legalization of marijuana- 40 percent want marijuana legalizedOne Hispanic male, 18, said marijuana

should be legalized but only if regulatedand taxed.

Demonstrations- 10.7 percent say they have partici-

pated in organized political demonstra-tions during the past year

A 20-year-old Hispanic female saidshe has signed many petitions and takepart in letter-writing campaigns.

Another student, an Hispanic female,25, believes organized demonstrationsare a legitimate form of political expres-sion, but only if they are constructiveand without violence.

Socializing- 83 percent socialize with members of

other racial or ethnic groups.One Hispanic female, 23, said that

although she socialized with members ofother ethnic groups, she only datesAsian men.

A white male student, 22, explainedthat “it is important that we as collegestudents and the future of America rec-ognize that each person has to under-stand each of their own.”

PAGE 3■ Campus Voice . . . . . 4

■ Election 2002 . . . . . 4

■ Campus Life . . . . . 12NEWSStudent ideologies plumbedBy Cristina ReynaThe Pan American

Due to some striking technologicaldevelopments in the past five years, stu-dents can now take university classeswithout entering a classroom.

WebCT (Web Course Tools) givesstudents the option to take courses thatare offered on-line. WebCT was intro-duced in Canada in 1997 as one of thefirst programs of its kind, and is start-ing to build popularity as a tool in high-er education.

It’s available to students through theCenter for Distance Learning, whichprovides the services that enhance web-based education at the University ofTexas-Pan American.

In order for students to enroll in thesecourses they must have a user name andpassword which can be the same onesthey use for e-mail accounts.

The WebCT system is offered to stu-

dents all over the United States andgives those students who cannot physi-cally attend class, or those in the mili-tary or living overseas, a chance to takecertain classes offered by statesideschools.

“I have several students who are tak-ing my class from other places in theUnited States,” said Dr. RubenMazariegos, professor in the physicalscience department. “ I have some peo-ple in California and some in the Army,which is very convenient for them.”

Dr. Mohammed Bhatti of the physicsdepartment utilized WebCT for oneyear, liked the educational effects oftechnology, and eventually constructedhis own personal web page.

“WebCT and personal web pages havebecome a very nice tool for professorsto explain to students at their own con-venience so they can log on any timethey want and can learn about the sub-jects,” Bhatti said.

Courses on the Web allow students to

do assignments, take quizzes and examsany time of day or night.

Most of the schools in the Universityof Texas System have adopted WebCTas a tool for offering on-line courses tograduate and undergraduate students.

Although WebCT provides on-linecourses, some professors still give regu-lar class lectures and use WebCT as asupplemental device to post notes,assignments, and quizzes online.

Mazariegos made the transition fromlectures in the classroom to the WebCtsystem two years ago and said it is agreat advantage to students.

Although, on-line courses do not pro-vide direct interaction between studentsand professors, there are still ways tocommunicate.

“You have to keep up with the com-munication, otherwise students willprobably drop the class,” Mazariegossaid.

The on-line system not only allowsstudents to communicate with the pro-

fessor, but with other classmates aswell.

“When I first took a WebCT course, Iwas scared because I didn’t know whatto expect since it was all new,” saidAdriana Perez, a senior majoring inEducation. “ After I got the hang of it,it was very convenient in the sense thatif you needed to ask a question youcould post your questions on the bul-letin board and someone would alwaysrespond whether it was another studentor the professor.”

Other colleges with in UTPA are cur-rently using WebCT for on-line coursesas well as an extra tool for the classlectures. Some of these include theCollege of Science and Engineering andthe College of Business Administration.

According to Wig De Moville, chairof the accounting and business lawdepartment, other courses in theCollege Of Business Administration arein the process of developing futureusage of the service.

Technologies augment educationBy Nikki RamirezThe Pan American

It has been a frustratingseason for the Universityof Texas-Pan AmericanLady Broncs basketballteam this season, as theyhave struggled to a 7-20record. Saturday they hopeto conclude the season witha victory on Senior Nightagainst Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at theFieldhouse.

The Lady Broncs havenever beaten the LadyIslanders, and they wouldlove nothing more than awin Saturday. TAMUCCcame away with an 83-69win Feb. 9. Although thegame was a loss, the LadyBroncs outplayed the LadyIslanders in the second halfby outscoring them 48-35.Head coach Karin Nichollssaid not many changeshave to be made regardingthe team, and payback is

on her mind.“We just played a terri-

ble first half,” Nichollssaid. “The only adjustmentis to play a 40-minutegame and to understandthat it’s somewhat a pay-back time. But at the sametime, we know based onthe second half that wewere just as good a team ifnot better in situations, butwe just didn’t do it in thefirst half.”

Not only is it paybacktime according to Nicholls,but senior guard KelliKreuser feels the sameway. She almost had atriple-double in the lossFeb. 9, but a win meansmore to her than stats.

“Our main goal for thisgame is get the win and geta little revenge on them,”Kreuser said.

Despite struggling thisseason and having keyinjuries, the team has had

some players step up andplay well. Kreuser leadsthe team in scoring with a16.2 point-per-game aver-age, second in reboundingwith 4.9, and first in stealswith 5.1. Junior forwardNaima Williams has alsohad a solid season by grab-bing 6.2 rebounds a gameto lead the team, and isaveraging 12 points pergame, which ranks her sec-ond. Junior guard MichelleSmith is shooting 39.3 per-cent from the three-pointrange, and freshman guardNikki Hitchens is shooting46.1 percent from the field.

Saturday’s game addsmore emotion for seniorsKreuser, Ridiajah Sinnetteand Ashere’ Thigpen, sinceit will be the last time theywear a Bronc uniform.Sinnette admitted it’s goingto feel awkward not puttingthat jersey on anymore.

The University of Texas-PanAmerican Bronc baseball team hasbeen struggling at the plate all season.

“We don’t hit the ball too far,” saidTredaway. The Broncs only have threehome runs this season, proving the longball drought.

The Broncs have a five-game homestretch, which includes three gamesagainst The University of Illinois start-ing Friday.

“Some of the target areas for theseries against the Fighting Illini will belowering our earned run average andbetter consistency batting with twostrikes,” said head baseball coachReggie Tredaway.

Travis Parker will be the startingpitcher Friday night, Frank James willgo on Saturday, and Justin Dowd willstart the Sunday finale. The Broncsplay their first night game of the seasonon Friday at 7p.m.

“All three starting pitchers bringunique qualities to the mound. Parkerkeeps the ball down which results inless home runs. James has three goodpitches with velocity and Dowd is ourmost intelligent pitcher,” said assistantcoach John Johnson.

“We have seen great things fromplacing James in the middle of the rota-tion as our lone left- handed pitcher,”Tredaway said. The Broncs will rely on

their senior pitchers because the runshave been scarce. The Broncs have a.265 batting average and have beenoutscored 76 to 35 by their opponents.

The Broncs will focus on pitchingand advancing runners in scoring posi-tion. The Broncs have a team ERA of7.79. “We have to cut down ‘the biginning,’ three or four runs scored in oneinning,” Tredaway said. The Broncsattribute their seven losses to ‘the biginning’ hurting them.

“Illinois will be big, strong, athleticand fundamentally sound, so we mustbe at our best,” said Tredaway. Thiswill be the first game for the FightingIllini this season.

In their last game against McNeeseState the Broncs allowed a seven-runinning, but came back to take the leadbefore an error in the 10th inningcaused to the loss. The Bronc plate per-

formance was silent for the first sixinnings before they struck fire for tworuns in the seventh and six in the eighthinning.

“The team really showed heart andkept their composure after gettingdown seven runs. This team is reallyyoung so the ability for us to be able tocome back shows progress in the fresh-men getting comfortable playingDivision I baseball,” Tredaway said.

The Broncs go into this series with a1-7 record. A win would be great forthe struggling Broncs. “I’m not con-cerned about the losses. What frustratesme are the mental mistakes and lack ofquality at bats,” Tredaway said.

Richard ‘Itch’ Jones, the incomingIllinois coach, was an inductee to theAmerican Baseball Coaches Hall ofFame in 1998.

“Jones is one of the top elite premiercoaches in Division I baseball. He is anoutstanding individual and we arelucky to have his team come to theValley,” Tredaway said.

Jones is one of the winningest coach-es in college baseball history. In acareer that spans over thirty years, hehas a record of 1,126-651-5 (.623 win-ing percentage).

UTPA’s Tredaway is familiar withIllinois’ Jones. In the 1971 CollegeWorld Series, Tredaway played againstthe Southern Illinois team coached byJones that defeated the Broncs inOmaha, NE.

February 21, 2002 sports

Broncs hope to remedy recent hitting woes By Blake DanielsThe Pan American

Lady hoopsters look to endfrustrating season with winBy Mike GonzalezThe Pan American

Reggie Tredaway watches his team practicefor their upcoming series against Illinois

Mary Zuviri / The Pan American

See LADY BRONCS page13

Illinois will be big,strong, athletic and fun-damentally sound, so wemust be at our best”d

a-Reggie TredawayBronc baseball head coach

“

Remaining home games2/26 University of Texas-San Antonio - doubleheader3/19 Kansas University3/20 Kansas University3/29 Houston Baptist - doubleheader3/30 Texas A&M - Corpus Christi3/31 Texas A&M - Corpus Christi4/9 Texas A&M-Kingsville - doubleheader4/12 Houston Baptist4/13 Houston Baptist - doubleheader4/27 St. Mary’s University - doubleheader4/30 Incarnate Word - doubleheader

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 s

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

http://www.panam.edu/dept/panamerican50th Year – No. 19

EditorMatt Lynch

[email protected]

Layout Designers

Gabriel HernandezCristina ReynaCeleste Y. Tello

Reporters

Blake Daniels

Jaime Garcia, Jr.

Mike Gonzalez

Elizabeth Martinez

Linda Martinez

Dagoberto Perez

Nikki Ramirez

Belinda Reyes

Cristina ReynaCesar Trevino

Photographers

Anna StworaMary Zuviri

Advertising

Dagoberto Perez

CirculationJesus M. Gonzalez

Adviser

Dr. Greg Selber

Advertising CoordinatorJuanita Sanchez

the PAN AMERICAN is theofficial studentnewspaper of TheUniversity ofTexas-PanAmerican. Viewspresented are thoseof the writers anddo not necessarilyreflect those of theuniversity.

Letters to theeditor must includeyour name,address, and phonenumber. They willbe printed at thediscretion of theeditor.

Letters policy

February 212 0 0 2

Readers with dis-abilities mayrequest an alter-native format ofthis publicationat The PanAmerican busi-ness office. Forspecial assistanceto attend anyevent listed inthis publication,contact the coor-dinator of theevent at least oneweek prior to theadvertised date.

Sports EditorEladio Jaimez

[email protected]

Celebrating 50 years

PAGE 2

A & E EditorAshley Brooks

[email protected]

News EditorCristina [email protected]

Copy EditorMelissa

[email protected]

Gender balance missing in storyTo the Editor,I am a Pan American student/staff

who is deeply disappointed in the“Campus Voice” section of yesterday’s[February 14] paper.

Considering that we are living in asociety where BOTH MALES andFEMALES are supposed to be treatedEQUALLY, why is it that all the opin-ions published came from women?Please do not get me wrong, I am afeminist and for the advancement of

women; but the Pan American is sup-posed to be for all students and shouldnot be discriminatory. It seemed to methat the male population was not evenconsulted.

I am sure there are some male stu-dents out there with some opinion inthis matter (whether positive or nega-tive), especially since an article in thesame issue discussed (although briefly)that one of the hopes of the Women’sStudies Program is to benefit both men

and women. My husband also believes that the

male population of UTPA should haveat least been represented in this section(he believes it[Women’s Studies] wouldbe a good addition to UTPA). I’m surethere are other readers out there whowould also like to see the opinions ofthe “other half.”

Sincerely,Ethelyn Arriola

In an effort to aid both deaf studentsand hearing impaired visitors of theUniversity of Texas-Pan American,UTPA officials unveiled the latest tele-phone communication device for thedeaf Wednesday.

“It’s a vast improvement over the oldsystem,” said Esmeralda Guerra, UTPAAmericans with Disabilities ActCoordinator.

The system, which Guerra hopes willbe operational by the summer of 2002,replaces an older system in which ahearing impaired individual used a spe-cial instrument known as a TTYmachine, or teletypewriter, to communi-cate with others via telephone.

Under the old TTY system, a deafcaller could communicate one-on-onewith another person only if that personhad their own teletypewriter. Accordingto Guerra, if one person lacked a TTYmachine, an operator was required as an

intermediary to read the teletype mes-sage from the deaf person and relay it tothe other person on the line.

“The relay system was so cumber-some,” said Guerra. “But our new sys-tem is modernized and it’s instanta-neous.”

The new communication system uti-lizes a laptop computer and a computervideo camera. By using the computer, ahearing impaired individual can selectthe number they wish to call and con-nect to an operator.

According to Guerra, an operator whoknows sign language places the call.During conversation, the hearingimpaired individual uses sign languageto communicate with the operator viathe video camera, who then immediatelyrelays the message to the third party.

By using this method, hearingimpaired callers eliminate the time-con-suming process of typing their message

and waiting for it to be relayed by theoperator to the third party.

According to Guerra, there will bethree of these stations for hearingimpaired callers campus wide, includingone in the library and another in theUTPA visitor’s center, which is current-ly under construction.

According to information supplied byGuerra, an entire station, including thenecessary computer and computer videocamera, should cost well under $800,and can be purchased a number of dif-ferent ways, including grants.

Guerra believes the new communica-tion system for the hearing impairedwill benefit many people, not onlyUTPA students and staff.

“There are at least three people atUTPA that I know will benefit from thesystem, but in reality, it could possiblyhelp anyone [who is hearing impaired]who visits UTPA.”

New system to assist deaf callersRelay makes communication easierBy Matt Lynch

The Pan American

NEWS

Have some information that’sworthy of publication in ThePan American? Call the newsroom at 381-2543 or 381-2542,to report breaking news or to

suggest story ideas to the editors. Information onnews, features, sports, or general interest is wel-comed. This is a good way for the public to haveanother avenue for feedback, and input on futurecontent in The Pan American.

Tip sheet:

By the numbersFebruary 21, 2002 sports

BASKETBALL

Men's Division I Independents

W L

UTPA 20 9

GARDNER WEBB 18 8

CENTENARY 13 11

BIRMINGHAM SOUTHERN 12 14

TEXAS A&M-CC 10 15

LIPSCOMB 6 20

IPFW 3 19

MORRIS BROWN 4 22

BRONC LEADERS

Points

32 Mire Chatman 25.2*

40 Marcus Quinn 12.6

10 Andrius Sakalys 11.2


21 Jon Nubine 6.7

30 Nick Traylor 4.5

22 Terrell Hill 4.3

Rebounds

40 Marcus Quinn 7.3

32 Mire Chatman 5.3

22 Terrell Hill 4.6

Assists


32 Mire Chatman 3.8

30 Nick Traylor 1.7

Steals

32 Mire Chatman 102/3.6*

01 Kevin Mitchell 50/1.7

04 Joey Tate 26/1.1

Blocks

40 Marcus Quinn 34

22 Terrell Hill 30

32 Mire Chatman 13

10 Andrius Sakalys 10

*Ranked fourth in NCAA Division I

Women's Division I Independents

W L

Lipscomb 14 12

Texas A&M-CC 15 12

Birmingham Southern 16 11

UTPA 7 20

Centenary 9 19

Gardner Webb 3 23

LADY BRONC LEADERS

Points



21 Nikki Hitchens 9.4


20 Michelle Smith 6.3


Rebounds




Assists




Blocks

34 Jennifer Arriola 15

32 Naima Williams 12

40 Julie Porter 10

Steals

02 Kelli Kreuser 67/2.5

32 Naima Williams 57/2.1

25 Anette Johansen 52/1.9

Golf

BRONC LEADERSUdamon Southwest Texas Classic

John Huerta 77-76-78-231, tied for 32nd

Santiago DeLarrea 76-76-80-232, tied for 37th

Rudy Celedon 73-78-83-234, tied for 42nd

Ricky Benavides 79-78-77-234, tied for 42nd

Ben Piper 81-80-77-238, tied for 52nd

LADY BRONC LEADERSIslander Spring Invitational

Crystal Frazier 92-83-84-259, tied for 55th

Itziar Unanue 88-85-87-260, tied for 57th

Christine Treanor 84-92-86-262, 61st

Adriana Espinoza 92-87-85-264, tied for 62nd

Christina Infante 102-100-100-302, 71st

Baseball

BRONC LEADERS

Batting average

Juan Saenz .667

Omar Pena .500

Tony Ortiz .417

Jarrad Maddox .375

Matt Sisk .345

Jerome McCoy .333

Matt Eichel .333

Adam Farek .333

Homeruns

Jarrad Maddox 1

Matt Sisk 1

Sean Flynn 1

RBI

Jarrad Maddox 5

Tony Ortiz 4

Matt Sisk 4

Skip Weast 4

Hits

Matt Sisk 10

Jerome McCoy 8

Jarrad Maddox 6

Runs

Matt Sisk 6

Jerome McCoy 6

John Lopez 5

Jonathan Mason 5

Broncs finish tenth at SWSTUVICTORIA, TX –The University of Texas-Pan American’s men’s golf team finished 10th at

the Udamon Southwest Classic, which was hosted by Southwest Texas State University. Thecompetition concluded Tuesday at the Victoria Country Club.

The Broncs’ 54-hole total of 925 placed them three strokes behind Stephen F. Austin andthree shots ahead of Iowa State. UTPA shot an 18-hole score of 312 on the final day of play.

Baylor won the tournament with a score of 885, followed by the University of Texas-SanAntonio at 896, Wichita State at 898, New Mexico State at 899, Oral Roberts at 903, LouisianaTech at 913, Southwest Texas State at 914 and Rice at 916.

Freshman John Huerta led the Broncs, shooting a 78 Tuesday for a 54-hole total of 231. Hetied for 32nd place. Senior Santiago DeLarrea shot an 80 Tuesday and 232 for the tournament.The Brazilian tied for 37th.

Sophomore Rudy Celedon, Edinburg native, and senior Ricky Benavides of Brownsville tiedfor 42nd at 234. Celedon shot an 83 on the final day of play and Benavides shot a 77.Sophomore Ben Piper tied for 52nd after shooting a 77, and a 238 for three rounds.

The Broncs will return to action March 3 at McNeese State.

Lady Broncs end lastCORPUS CHRISTI, TX – The University of Texas-Pan American’s women’s golf team fin-

ished 13th at the Islander Spring Invitational, hosted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at KingsCrossing Country Club.

The Lady Broncs shot a final round score of 342 with total of 1045. The final score left them37 strokes behind Xavier.

The University of Texas-El Paso won the tournament with a score of 952. They were fol-lowed by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 956, Kansas at 963, Kansas State at 964, McLennanCommunity College at 969, Oral Roberts at 971, Notre Dame at 979, Lamar at 984, McNeeseState at 996, and Northeastern State and Southwest Texas State at 1006.

Sophomore Crystal Frazier shot a finalround 84. She was the top Bronc finisher for the LadyBroncs, tying for 55th with a 54-hole total of 259. Sophomore Itziar Unanue tied for 57th,shooting an 87 Tuesday for 260. Freshman Christine Treanor shot 86 Tuesday and 262 overallto finish 61st. Senior Adriana Espinoza tied for 62nd after shooting 85 and 264 for the tourney.Lyford product and sophomore Christina Infante finished 71st with 100 Tuesday and 302 over-all.

The Lady Broncs will return to action March 10 at Sam Houston State.

SPORTS CLIPBOARD


And 1: SeniorGuard MireChatmanthrows up aprayer shotagainst theTexas A&M-Corpus ChristiIslanders eal-rier this sea-son. The shotfell forChatman andhe wasfouled. Heconverted thefree-throw.Chatman cur-rently ranksfourth in thenation with25.2 points acontest. His3.6 steals agame alsoplaced himfourth on thenational list.

SATE NEWS

THURSDAYFebruary 21, 2002

An Inside Look:■ Opinion ........................................2■ News ............................................3■ 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 n

Page 8Page 8

VALLEY NEWS

■ DALLAS— Reversinga previous decision,Democratic gubernatorialcandidates Tony Sanchezand Dan Morales haveagreed to par ticipate intelevised bilingualdebates. Two one-hourdebates featuringMorales and Sanchez willbe held in Dallas theevening of March 1. Thefirst debate will be inEnglish, followed byanother in Spanish.Earlier last weekend,Sanchez and his staffdeclined to enter adebate with Morales,accusing him oflaunching personalat tacks. Public televisionstation KERA, in additionto other news media, areworking to organize thedebates. The Democraticprimary is March 12.

■ WESLACO —According to oneMexican official, helpcould soon be on theway for South Texasfarmers in desperateneed of water. MexicanConsul Luis M. LopezMoreno recentlyannounced the possiblerelease of 91,200acre-feet of water sometime this week at awater symposiumhosted by the TexasA&M AgriculturalExtension Center inWeslaco. While therelease of 91,200acre-feet of water willhelp local farmers, itwill not be enough tocompletely rescue themfrom the worst droughtconditions in over 50years, according tolocal water officials alsoin at tendance at thesymposium.

Page 4

CCaammppuussVOICEOn which

issuesshouldlocal

candidatesfocus?

The health of border residents greatly concernsthe University of Texas-Pan American BorderHealth Office.

“We coordinate the health, education andresearch projects that UT components have on theboard,” said Dr. Paul Villas, executive director.

The office is responsible for coordinating ser-vices from the various health-related projectsadministered in the Texas-Mexico border area byUT-System institutions. It fosters collaborativehealth education, health services, and healthresearch for the citizens of Texas living along theborder.

The office started as a UT-System Border HealthOffice and then over the summer the systemallowed UTPA to take over.

Its work is primarily state-funded, with roughly80 percent coming from the state, 15 percent fromthe federal government and five percent from pri-vate organizations.

The staff of 12 at the office is assisted by twofull-time health educators stationed in San Antonioand El Paso, who are responsible for conductingresearch.

At various times, students from the UTPA dietet-ics department, nursing, and biology departmentshave worked at the office to gain field experience.

The office also collaborates with university fac-ulty and allows them to present research papers atconferences it sponsors.

This year, the office employed DanielRichardson, as a Health Education Coordinatorwith the Diabetes Registry and Nicole Rogers as ahealth education coordinator.

According to Richardson, his current duties are“...to reduce the diabetes hardship through preven-tion and control of the disease and its complica-tions along the Texas-Mexico border.”

The Diabetes Registry maintains a list of people

with diabetes.“Together with the information gathered, data

researched from other sources on the disease is col-lected and presented to the population we serve viapublic speaking engagements, printed materials andspecial events organized around awarenessthemes,” Richardson said.

The office is currently working on several spe-cial projects, including a day camp for children atrisk of developing diabetes.

“We hope that the children will benefit from thispresentation and thereafter magnify its effect bytaking the healthful message home to their fami-lies,” Richardson said.

The office is also involved in screening forAcanthosis Nigricans, a disease which signals highinsulin levels in the body and is recognizable by ablack-brown marking on the back of the neck.

Border office directs health servicesBy Melissa CiomperlikThe Pan American

– Matt Lynch / The Pan American

SCORCHED — An 18-wheeler smolders in the distance following an accident onthe frontage road of Expressway 83 near Bicentennial. The driver of the truck wasfound to be intoxicated and later taken into custody, according to police officials.

See HEALTH page 6

Explosion leads to traffic jam

At least eight families were evacuatedfrom their nearby homes Wednesdaymorning when an out-of-control 18-wheeler burst into flames after hitting aconcrete barrier on the Expressway 83frontage ramp.

“The driver has been arrested for dri-ving while intoxicated and is being heldin the McAllen City Jail,” said MitchReinitz, McAllen Police spokesman.

The accident occurred just after 8 a.m.The first units from the fire departmentresponded to the call at approximately8:18 a.m. after the truck’s fuel tanksexploded, and at least 10 police unitswere dispatched.

Almost immediately, the call wasupgraded to a second alarm, which calledfor another ladder truck and two extraengine companies to be sent to the scene.

According to Lt. Rene Alaniz of theMcAllen Fire Department, the arson taskforce was also called to the scene due tothe intense nature of the accident.

See ACCIDENT page 6

Diabetes a major local concern

By Celeste Y. TelloThe Pan American

For many schools, 20 winsequals a spectacular season.

The University of Texas-PanAmerican men’s basketball squadbroke the 20-win barrier and hopesto get win number 21 on Mondaywhen it hosts the CentenaryGentlemen.

The Gentlemen squeaked by theBroncs 61-58 Feb. 2 when AndrewWisniewski hit a three pointer withseconds remaining in the contest.Head Coach Bob Hoffman hopesthat this time around, home courtadvantage could make the differ-ence for the Broncs.

“Home court has been great forus,” Hoffman said. “The crowdfrom the New Mexico State gamewas loud, and I hope in this gamethey’ll be even louder.”

Assistant coach RobertDavenport insists the Broncs mustbe ready to play in order to gettheir 21st win of the season.

“It won’t be an easy game,”Davenport said. “They beat us attheir place on a last-second shot.We need to come out play hardand shoot the ball well.”

The Gents’ attack is led by the6-foot-3 Wisenieski, a sophomorewho leads his team in scoring with18.6 point per game. Wisniewskialso averages 5.8 assists a contestand shoots 39.8 percent fromthree-point range.

Another key player forCentenary is 6-4 Demano Hooper,a sophomore guard who averages5.3 rebounds a game this season,in addition to scoring 10.7 points a

contest. SeniorUTPA guard MireChatman said theGent’s will come outwith their weaponsand shoot.

“They have a niceteam,” said Chatman.“Their basically allroll players, and havea pretty good pointguard, and we have tocontain him.”

This is the lasthome game for UTPAseniors Chatman,Terrell Hill, Joey Tate,Quinn Canada, MarcusQuinn and DeFanceGurley, and their lastchance to wear Bronc uniforms.

Chatman realizes he has just onemore game in front of the Broncfaithful, and wants to give themsomething to remember him by.

“‘We just hope to get a win.”Chatman said. “I’ve been playinghurt, and I just want to come outplay hard and hope to get a win.”

Quinn also said a victory wouldbe a nice way to conclude thisgreat season and his basketballcareer at UTPA.

“I hope to get another win, andfinish the year playing strong.”Quinn said. “My personal goalwas to win 20 games and I’m gladit came out, and we’re looking for-ward for another win.”

In earlier action, the Broncs splittheir two preceding games. Aftermanhandling Lipscomb 79-62 Feb.

14, UTPA hit a roadblock againstGardner-Webb, falling to theBulldogs 86-79.

Against Gardner-Webb,Chatman led UTPA with 31 pointsand four steals, but the Broncscouldn’t reel in the Bulldogs, com-ing no closer than four points with5:19 remaining in the contest. TheBulldogs outscored UTPA 12-7 tofinish the game, and extendedtheir home winning streak to 29games.

“We were disappointed to notget it done, but they have 29 winsin a row at home,” Hoffman said.

Quinn had a solid game, scoring15 points and grabbing 12 boards,while Kevin Mitchell added 11points and six assists.

The Broncs notched their 20thvictory of the year by defeating

the Bison, accomplishing that featfor the first time since 1989-90.

Once again, Chatman sparkedUTPA with 26 points. AndriusSakalys, who has given the Broncsa lift off the bench this season,scored 15 points, while JonNubine scored 11. Hill added ateam-high of 14 rebounds.

The Broncs held the Bison tojust 20.7 percent shooting in thefirst half. In the second half,UTPA had command of the gameand at one time led by 22 points.It’s uncertain if this will be the lastgame of the year, but Davenportfeels his team deserves an NITbid.“That was one of our goals, tobe playing past next Monday,”Davenport said. “We still feelthat’s realistic and nothing’s guar-anteed, but we feel we earned it.”

RAGING BULLS: Two days before theNBA trading deadline,the Pacers dealtJalen Rose to theChicago Bulls for RonMercer. Along withRose, the Pacers sentTravis Best and rook-ie Norm Richardson.In return, the Pacersacquired, in additionto Mercer, BradMiller, Kevin Ollie andRon Artest. ThePacers seemed tohave got the betterend of this deal. Rosecurrently averages18.5 points per gameand Best 6.9. Mercergets 16.8 a contest,and Artest 15.6.

NATIONAL

OLYMPICS

BAD TO THE BONES:Third-generationOlympian Jim Shea wonthe gold medal inSkeleton yesterday. Hefinished both runs in1:412.96. Jim’s grandfa-ther, Jack, who died lastmonth, was the firstdouble gold medalist inthe winter games. Hewon two speedskatingevents at the 1932 LakePlacid games. Up untilhis death last month,Jack was the oldest liv-ing Olympian at 91.Jim’s father, Jim Sr.,competed in three cross-country events at the1964 Innsbruck games.

SPORTS■ Sports Clipboard. . . . . . .15

■ Women’s Basketball. . . .14

■ Bronc Baseball. . . . . . . 14

PAGE 16

By Mike GonzalezThe Pan American

Broncs gofor win 21 in final gameof seasonWith a win over Centenary Mondaynight, the Broncs can record the mostvictories in a season since 89-90

Heads up! - UTPA senior forward Marcus Quinn elevates for adunk against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi earlier this season.


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february 21, 2002

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