A recent issue of Hispanic Outlook

for Higher Education ranked The

University of Texas-Pan American No. 1

in awarding Hispanic students rehabili-

tation degrees.

The report, released June 4 in the

publication’s Health Professions issue,

also recognized the school’s nursing pro-

gram as the 13th best in the nation for

Hispanic students.

The institutions in the “Top 25

Rehabilitation/Therapeutic Schools

Graduating Hispanics” and “Top 25

Nursing Schools Graduating Hispanics”

reports were selected according to statis-

tics released by the Department of

Education and the Census Bureau, said

Suzanne Lopez-Isa, managing editor for

Hispanic Outlook.

“There is an up-and-coming trend

in health professional careers,” she said.

“People now can overcome medical dis-

abilities; therefore rehabilitation has

become an important part of the health

care industry due to the increased

longevity of people.”

Lopez-Isa said the list was based

on the percentage of Hispanic students

graduating from accredited schools,

regardless of whether they are so-called

Hispanic-serving institutions.

To receive such a distinction -

Hispanic-serving institution - at least 25

percent of undergraduate full-time-

equivalent students must be Hispanic. In

addition, no less than 50 percent of stu-

dents must be low-income individuals

and first-generation college students.

“The fact that [UTPA] is a

Hispanic-serving institution is matter of

fact,” she said. “Our ranking involved all

schools.”

Bruce Reed, dean of the College of

Health Sciences and Human Services

and former chair of the rehabilitation

department, said receiving recognition

from the publication was very signifi-

cant for UTPA because the Hispanic

population is the fastest growing in the

United States. Moreover, the predomi-

nantly bilingual students the university

produces are in high demand, he added.

“Certainly, we would hope that stu-

dents who are Hispanic or interested in

being educated in a bilingual environment

will look at these ratings and consider

UTPA,” he said. “We recruit almost all of

our students locally, and we would like to

recruit on the national level.”

The university with the top-ranking

nursing department was Miami Dade

College. Carolina Huerta, chair of

UTPA’s nursing department, said the

nursing department can improve its

ranking by enlarging its pool of gradu-

ates who pass state boards.

“The nation is facing a tremendous

shortage of nurses, as well as a shortage

of Hispanic nurses. We produce nurses,

both Hispanic and non-Hispanic, who

provide quality care to people in need,”

said Huerta.

Huerta said she thinks the nursing

department was recognized because for

over 40 years, “we have been producing

registered nurses who provide quality,

competent care to the local community,

state and nation.”

Last year the magazine ranked

UTPA second in awarding degrees in

social services to Hispanics, as well as

second in awarding degrees in health

services and eighth in nursing.

This year, Hispanic Outlook also

recognized the university in 2006 for

awarding 1,889 bachelor’s degrees to

students, making it second in its list of

top 100 schools to serve graduating

Hispanics. UTPA ranked fifth in the

list of top 100 schools to award mas-

ter’s degrees to Hispanics, but did not

rank in the top 100 that award doctor-

al degrees.

SSeeee PPaaggee 77

Valley hoops teams set upfor fall start

SPORTS

Census Bureau conductsresearch at UTPA

TV show writer puts outnew book

SSeeee PPaaggee 66

SSeeee PPaaggee 33

A&E

NEWS

Rehab department ranked best for Hispanics

Bribe criticisms escalate for financial aid officials, lenders

Financial aid officers and lending organ-

izations have faced increased scrutiny in recent

months, stemming from revelations that some

university personnel may be purposely endors-

ing some entities for personal gain.

Colleges across the country have been

criticized for having “preferred lender” lists,

which include lenders that offer perks—like

cash and trips—for university officials to

steer students toward them.

The UT System banned such lists in

early April to avoid related scrutiny,

according to Elaine Rivera, executive

director for student financial services at

The University of Texas-Pan American.

Rivera said she is not surprised at the

criticism both lenders and financial aid

offices have received.

“I think because the nature of the

business, you are going to get some prob-

lems,” she explained. “There have been

some abuses, but I think that generally uni-

versities strive to find the best loans for

their students.”

She said the student financial services

office discourages students from getting

loans, instead aiming to help students find

money through alternative or private means.

Still, some bank administrators encourage

students to know the parameters of a loan

and to not be afraid of it as a last resort.

“If you have the desire to be educated

and to go to college, don’t let the limitations

of not having a fund hold you back,” said

Edna de Saro, vice president and marketing

director of Lone Star National Bank. “Be

aggressive; know exactly what you are get-

ting yourself into.”

De Saro said she was surprised after

she found out preferred lender lists were

recently banned.

“I don’t know why a university

would want to do business with banks when

they are bribing them,” she said. “Building

that type of public relations is really embar-

rassing.”

She also warned that the behavior of

the student loan market could have adverse

By MANUEL TISCARENO

The Pan American

See LOAN page 4

Search for newlibrary directorcoming to close

The search for a new library direc-

tor for The University of Texas-Pan

American is coming to a close following

two final interviews conducted by uni-

versity officials June 28 and 29.

Two final applicants were inter-

viewed extensively by Paul Sale,

provost and vice president for academic

affairs, as well as the library director

search committee at the end of June. A

decision is expected later this week.

MEET THE FINALISTSFarzaneh Razzaghi, one of the final-

ists, has been interim library director

since June 2006. She has a doctoral

degree in library information studies from

Texas Woman’s University and has been

working at UTPA since 1990, where she

has held job titles such as associate

library director for research services.

“If I do happen to get the job, I do

feel that my experience at UTPA would

be to an advantage,” Razzaghi said.

“I’ve interacted with many students

throughout the years and have had posi-

tive response throughout.”

Dennis Tucker, the other finalist,

has his share of resume accomplish-

ments as well. In fact, if chosen to fill

the position, UTPA will be the third uni-

versity Tucker has held the position at.

He was library director at Bethel (Ind.)

College and at Northwestern State

University in Louisiana.

See LIBRARY page 4

57th YearNo. 31

WednesdayJuly 11, 2007

TH

ISW

EE

K

JOB SEARCH

STUDENT FINANCES

CAMPUS

Nat’l magazinerecognizesUTPA’s effortsBy ANA LEY

The Pan American

By MICHAEL GARCIA

The Pan American

NUMBER ONE - Hispanic Outlook recognized UTPA’s rehab department in itsJune 4 Health Professions issue.

Hispanic Outlook

hen it comes to reading sensa-

tional news, I like to consult

the plethora of tabloids located on the

racks in the checkout line at HEB.

Okay, not really, but the headlines

that they have are quite interesting. I

especially like it when they have pic-

tures of alien babies. In some corner

of my mind, I know those are real

photos - some people just have ugly

babies.

That’s why when I was handed

an article two weeks ago by Melissa

Ludwig about UTPA President

Blandina Cardenas, I was shocked - if

only for a moment.

The San Antonio-Express News

ran an article with the headline

“Suspicions continue dogging the

president of UT-Pan Am.”

First inclination. What suspi-

cions? Is she plotting a coup of the

government? Was she the one who

made up Santa Claus?

I continued into the first para-

graph and read, “improperly using

university resources for home

improvements.”

Whoa!

Then, jump ahead to the third

paragraph from end. “…Didn’t follow

procedure when using university

landscaping services, vehicle, credit

cards, and cell phone, and when sub-

mitting receipts for drinks and meals

while traveling.”

That’s it? You made all this hub-

bub about incorrect procedures?

Suffice to say I was disappointed, but

not because of a lack of drama. The

newspaper had (forgive my use of a

cliché, but I can’t think of anything

better at present) made a mountain

from a mole hill.

Jumping on the sensationalist

bandwagon, The Monitor decided to

run a story by Daniel Perry covering

the same thing. Online, they provided

scanned copies of two audits that the

university released. If she’s guilty of

anything, it’s allegedly losing nine meal

receipts totaling $316.86 and using the

wrong credit card for purchases (she

has two from the university.

I’m pretty bad at tossing out

receipts and I tend to use the wrong cred-

it card for purchases as well. (Okay, I

kind of always use my dad’s card instead

of mine… *Innocent look*)

The president has already reim-

bursed the university for all the

expenses and followed all of the rec-

ommendations from the auditor. The

UT System is conducting an inde-

pendent audit, but I doubt highly that

they’ll find anything else.

I must say I’m disappointed in

the two reporters for not looking into

this story appropriately. The sensa-

tional headlines were misleading, to

say the least.

Although, in a way, I can’t really

blame them. Boring tabloid stories

don’t sell well at HEB.

few weeks ago, I participated in a

week-long student project hosted

by the National Association of Hispanic

Journalists in San Jose, Calif. There, a

very big crowd of hot-shot journalists

from all over the country gathered to

teach us less-experienced students the

ropes. We students basically scurried

around the city scrawling news about the

town as the professional reporters held

our hands along the way.

During my stay in California’s Bay

Area, I was given a last-minute assign-

ment to cover a seemingly mundane

event that ended up stirring a lot of buzz

in the journalism community. Gov.

Arnold Schwarzenegger told an audito-

rium packed with Hispanic media that

immigrants who need to learn English

should “turn off the Spanish television

set.”

After the room filled with a huffy

vibe from Spanish-language media, one

reporter retorted that immigrants “are

too busy working” to learn English,

which I thought was utterly cheap and

irrelevant. At any rate, the audience

cheered and the Governator ended up

looking like a bumbling ass in front of

everyone. For most of the week I was

there, his remark was frequently brought

up in casual conversations by my fellow

Hispanics and referred to as bigoted and

ignorant.

I shouldn’t even have to explain

why Schwarzenegger had a point. Many

of us at The University of Texas-Pan

American either are immigrants who

learned English as a second language or

have immigrant parents who learned it

that way. Those who immigrated to the

United States and were serious about

starting a better life in a new country

realized that they had to break out of

their comfort zones and submerge them-

selves in a new language and, yes I said

it, get acclimated to a new culture. Those

who were lazy, stubborn and scared of

change are the reason America com-

plains about immigrants so much.

I was once an English tutor at the

campus Writing Center, and I’d often

get a Spanish-speaking student who

essentially wanted me to translate his

or her essay for him. This is not to say

that English-speaking students were

any better - many of them would try to

get me to write the entire thing for

them - but in my time there, I realized

that a lot of people in the Valley are

entirely dependent on Spanish. It bugs

the heck out of me that so many

Spanish-speaking immigrants are com-

placent knowing that they can get

around without learning a new lan-

guage because lots of people around

them are complacent, too.

My own family is guilty of this. I

remember when I was a kid my mom

would get indignant if a cashier or wait-

er didn’t speak Spanish, as if it were

their duty to the client. And whenever I

wanted to remind her that English was

the national tongue, I ended up feeling

like an arrogant brat.

I realize that unlike her, I was for-

tunate to have been exposed to English

since I was young and it was probably

out of convenience that I easily under-

stood the importance of breaking away

from the comfort of Spanish.

But I don’t want to make any

excuses for my mother. I have much

more respect for her than that, and I

think more immigrants need to do the

same for one another. It’s too easy to pity

someone for feeling vulnerable in a new

country. It’s too easy to give them a

Spanish-language handout.

People should give

Schwarzenegger more credit. Sure, he

could’ve phrased it more delicately than

he did, but if he had, who would have

listened? He didn’t say we should stop

airing Spanish-language television alto-

gether. He simply stated that if you’re

trying to learn English, stop being

dependent on Spanish.

It’s frustrating to me that Hispanics

are so easily offended, that they can’t see

the pragmatism in that.

While I agree that Spanish-lan-

guage media is of great cultural value

to Hispanics - and non-Hispanics, for

that matter - immigrants should turn

off the Spanish television set…so

they can get used to the English one

first.

If you’d like to check out the story

from whence this commentary came

along with footage of Gov.

Schwarzenegger addressing NAHJ, visit

joomla.latinoreporterdigital.org.

RReeppoorrtteerr’’ss NNootteebbooookk

A

LESSONS FROM LEY

1201 West University, CAS 170

Edinburg, Texas 78539

Phone: (956) 381-2541

Fax: (956) 316-7122

www.panam.edu/dept/panamerican

THEPAN AMERICAN

JULY 11, 2007

ENLIGHTENED BY LUCAS

Sensitive to sensationalismBY: ANA LEY

Please send all com-ments, questions or pic-tures of naked aliens tolkoong2004@yahoo.com.

BY: LUKE KOONG

W

OPINION

The Pan American is the official studentnewspaper of The University of Texas-PanAmerican. Views presented are those of the writersand do not necessarily reflect those of the paper oruniversity.

Editor-in-ChiefSandra Gonzalez.................................................

sandra_panamerican@yahoo.com

Managing EditorLuke Koong...............lkoong2004@yahoo.com

News EditorAna Ley....................analey23@yahoo.com

A&E EditorFrank Calvillo..............hennero@msn.com

Sports EditorErick Quintero.................................................

erickquintero4@hotmail.com

Photography EditorSidney Meadows.................................................

ssmeadows@broncs.utpa.edu

Design EditorRoy Bazan......................RBazanzz@yahoo.com

DesignersRick GamezGreg Garza

Reporters and Photographers

Jennifer Durheim

Leslie Estrada

Daniel Flores

Michael Garcia

Moses Garcia

Onydia Garza

Veronica Gonzalez

Patrick Kennedy

The Pan American gladly accepts letters fromstudents, staff and faculty regarding recentnewspaper content, campus concerns or currentevents. The Pan American reserves the right to editsubmissions for grammar and length. Please limitsubmission length to 300 words. The Pan Americancannot publish anonymous letters or submissionscontaining hate speech or gratuitous personal attacks.Letters are printed at the discretion of the editor andmust include the writer’s name, phone number,classification/title and major if applicable. Pleasesend all story ideas to the corresponding sectioneditor or to thepanamerican@gmail.com at least twoweeks prior to event.

AdviserDr. Greg Selber..........selberg@panam.edu

SecretaryAnita Casares..........areyes18@panam.edu

Advertising ManagerSamanthaQuintana.......spubs@panam.edu

***Delivery

Thursday at noon

Ramiro Paez

Jeanette Perez

Brenda Rodriguez

Rafael Roux

Angela Salazar

Manuel Tiscareno

Kristen Villegas

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Please forward all indignant cries

against American assimilation to

analey23@yahoo.com.

“We are a sensationalistsociety and we have nobodyto blame but ourselves.”

“It bugs the heck out of methat so many Spanish-speaking immigrants arecomplacent knowing thatthey can get around withoutlearning a new languagebecause lots of peoplearound them are compla-cent, too.”

Job interviews, graduation prepara-

tions and thoughts about graduate school

often mean a whirlwind of stress for college

seniors. However, it is also a time for stu-

dents to reflect on their academic experi-

ence and measure their accomplishments.

For Natalie Haime, a recent

University of Texas-Pan American gradu-

ate, these accomplishments have been

numerous.

“The best way I can describe my col-

lege career is that it was overwhelming,”

she said. “Going from meeting to class to

meeting was very hectic, but I feel as

though I really took advantage of what was

offered to me and gained a lot from that.”

A Canadian, Haime came to UTPA

through a golf scholarship that allowed her

to pursue her degree in communication.

However, she did not limit her involve-

ment to the golf team. She was chief of

communications for the Student

Government Association, acting as a liai-

son between the student body and its rep-

resentative assembly. In addition, she was

a member of the marketing committee,

where she contributed to marketing cam-

paigns to boost UTPA’s image. Now,

Haime is serving as the director for the

marketing promotions office at the univer-

sity’s athletic department.

Haime is the fourth person to serve

as director in three years. The last market-

ing promotions director, Misty Norris, held

the title for only two months.

“I think they were looking for someone

who would be more committed to working

for the university,” she said. “I have wanted

to be the director since before I graduated,

and right now there’s no reason I would want

to leave. This job is perfect for me.”

Haime was once the official Bucky

the Bronc mascot and wore the character’s

costume at university sporting events.

Though the suit was hot and uncomfort-

able, Haime said it was worth the satisfac-

tion she got from making attendees laugh,

adding that at times, she even caught her-

self smiling behind the mask during dance

routines.

“Being Bucky the Bronc was an

amazing experience for me because it

allowed me to kind of shed my inhibitions

and cut loose,” she said. “I’m naturally a

kind of goofy, silly person and when I was

inside the costume, dancing around and

having a good time, I felt like part of my

personality shone through.”

Hopeful about UTPA’s future, Haime

stressed the importance of school spirit.

“I hope that by working for the

athletics department I can help inspire

a sense of school spirit in students at

UTPA,” she said. “I want students to

get excited when they see their

school’s team win, and I want them to

get upset when they don’t. I want

UTPA students to eventually become a

big family on campus.”

Stella Benevides/The Pan American

CORNER OFFICE - Recent UTPA graduate Natalie Haime sits behind her new desk at the school’s deparment of marketingand promotions office with Bronc Athletics.

NEWSUTPA graduate giving back to university�s athletic department

RESEARCH

By ROBERT CERVANTESThe Pan American

CAMPUS

With less than three years until

2010 Census is released, the U.S.

Census Bureau has teamed up with

The University of Texas-Pan

American to conduct a new survey

which will help identify demographics

of Mexican nationals living in the

United States.

Sai Mullapudi, a business eco-

nomics research associate at UTPA’s

Center for Entrepreneurship and

Economic Development, was in

charge of gathering volunteers for the

survey from June 25-29.

Mullapudi and other employees

at the Center were asked to help

because the office is an affiliate of the

U.S. Census Bureau. Flyers posted by

Mullapudi around campus asked

Spanish-speaking, Hispanic adults to

participate and receive $40 for one

hour of their time.

While he is not sure what the

U.S. Census Bureau is researching due

to security reasons, Mullapudi said the

Bureau was only looking for Spanish-

speaking individuals because most of

them are Mexican nationals and some-

times they’re left out or double-count-

ed in census surveys.

“We were looking for Spanish-

speaking people because for some

who know English, [the questions]

may be too easy for them,” he said.

“The Spanish-speaking may know

how to answer them a different way.”

Patricia Goerman, a Census

Bureau employee who worked with

the university on the project, was also

unable to disclose information late

Tuesday afternoon, for security pur-

poses.

Isaac Longoria, a GIS specialist,

helped Mullapudi gather people to fill

out the survey.

“We had about 40 people call us

but we only picked 18 people to actu-

ally do the survey,” Longoria said.

Longoria said participants had to

meet certain criteria to be considered

for the survey. He said they looked

into people who have recently moved

out or into a house and people who

live with other people who have

recently moved in or out.

Every 10 years the U.S. Census

counts the number of people living in

America and Puerto Rico. The meas-

ure is important because it affects fed-

eral funding, representation in both

Congress and state/local government.

In the past, each American house-

hold received a short-form question-

naire, while one household in six

received a long form. Late last year,

the U.S. Census Bureau released plans

to Congress seeking to do the 2010

Census by short form only. This means

the form will only contain a count for

all residents living in the United States

and their name, sex, age, date of birth,

race, ethnicity, relationship and hous-

ing tenure. Estimated to take less than

10 minutes to complete, it would be

one of the shortest and easiest to com-

plete since the nation’s first official

process in 1790.

The nationwide implementation

of the American Community Survey

in 2005 replaced the need for a long-

form questionnaire in 2010. The ACS

is a yearly survey that estimates the

need for a decennial long-form ques-

tionnaire, while providing key socioe-

conomic and housing data about the

nation’s rapidly changing population

every year rather than once a decade.

According to the U.S. Census

Bureau in 2006, the number of minori-

ties in America reached 100.7 million.

Hispanics, who have been the largest

minority group since 2001, remain the

largest with 44.3 million people or

14.8 percent of the population as of

July 1, 2006. From 2005 to 2006 the

Hispanic population has increased 3.4

percent.

U.S. Census Bureau conducts research with UTPA assistanceBy BRENDA RODRIGUEZThe Pan American

Page 4 N E W S July 11, 2007

LOAN continued from page 1

effects for everyone involved.

“It only takes one bank to make the

bribe and one university to accept for every-

body to start thinking that its acceptable

behavior in the market,” she said. “We

don’t [offer loans] to be making money off

the students. That’s not the nature of our

business.”

Despite the recent controversy, some

UTPA students are impervious to accusa-

tions made against lenders and financial

aid officials.

“It was my choice to get a loan and

I’m satisfied with the way business is

being conducted,” said Raul Garcia, a

rehabilitation major from Edinburg. “As

long as my APR is good, it doesn’t really

matter what lenders are doing right now.”

LIBRARY continued from page 1

“My experience would do the

UTPA system a great advantage, I’ve had

the responsibility twice before so the

experience is there and I’ve had wonder-

ful relationships with every school I’ve

been employed in,” Tucker said.

He said UTPA’s future encouraged

him to apply for the job.

“Personally I felt I needed a

change, area-wise, and UTPA is such a

wonderful university that is ever

expanding, in an area that is growing

year after year,” he said.

Tucker has also held other positions in

the field such as director of learning

resources director for Project Hi-Net. There,

he co-wrote, oversaw and implemented a

four-year agreement from the Indianapolis

Foundation to the 31 high school library

media centers in Marion County.

The position of library director has

been vacant for roughly a year, after

Lawrence Caylor, the previous one,

retired. Sale said that he cannot disclose

any information about who the universi-

ty will choose, but that candidate

resumes will ultimately speak for them-

selves when the committee reaches its

decision later this week.

“The library is the heart of the

school and both candidates are more

than qualified to understand the task.

Either which way it goes, our school is

going to be lucky to have a library direc-

tor that understand the needs and the

means of our future generations,” Sale

said. “Honestly it’s a shame that we can

only pick one instead of both, but either

way UTPA is going to be in better

advantage either way it goes.”

The Beach Boys may have the

sounds, but it’s the city of Edinburg that

had the smells of summer. This past week-

end the city held its second annual Texas

Cook’Em High Steaks at Municipal Park.

Intense aromas of barbecue sauce

and competition filled the air when 75

teams from around the state got together

for some friendly cooking, but surprising-

ly no recipes were shared.

Each team was allowed to compete

in four different categories; chicken, pork

ribs, steak and brisket. Some teams sub-

mitted entries for all categories. After a

kick-off on Friday, the competition truly

began in the early morning hours

Saturday.

Cooks armed with their own blend of

spices and marinades began early to make

sure that their entries were done to perfec-

tion before the 3 p.m. deadline.

Joe Gilbert Perez, known as Gil from

Gil’s Barbeque, has been in the business of

feeding barbecue lovers for more than 10

years.

“This is the first time I’m competing,

ever,” said the Edinburg native. “I think

we did pretty good and I’m happy with

everything.”

Even though he has been serving his

food to customers for years, it never

dawned on him to try his hand at a cook-

off until now and he says it will not be his

last time. Out of all the entries Perez sub-

mitted, he felt one outshined all the others.

“Pork spare ribs,” he said with confi-

dence. “It’s my sauce. We just invented a

sauce this past week that we redid and we

are very happy with it.”

One of the largest groups was Los

Pistoleros, a group of Border Patrol

agents. Veterans to cook-off competitions,

they decided to try their hand at it again,

not for the trophies, but for the fun.

“This gave a chance for all the bor-

der patrol agents to get their families

together,” said Ruben Duran, a member of

Los Pistoleros.

The group of 20 agents along with

their friends and families had a chance to

come together for a weekend, which is

rare for those who are in their particular

line of work. Their secret for good bar-

beque is simple - “Good friends, good

drinks and good sportsmanship.”

Friends and families of the teams

also found the event entertaining and

offered chance to spend time sharing

laughs and food. Although a bulk of the

event was for the competition, there were

those who were there merely to announce

themselves to the community.

The Edinburg Crime Stoppers had a

booth selling tacos to help get their name

out into the community.

“This is not a fundraiser,” said Balde

Gomez, a member of Crime Stoppers.

“Any money we make goes to the

‘rewards program.’”

The rewards program works with a

phone number that citizens can call to help

the police with leads or clues in local

crimes and possibly gain a reward.

The biggest prize of the night, how-

ever, went to a team from Conroe. Don

Canterbury and his team We Be Smoking

took the grand champion prize. Although,

his team may have been in the winners cir-

cle, he sees it as a hobby and chance to be

with family.

“We go to have fun. We figure that if

we go to the point where we don’t have

any fun, they we just stop,” said

Canterbury, “We make it a family thing

and just have fun with it.”

This barbeque expert has seen his

fair share of competition. Jan Canterbury,

his wife, and her team We Be Cooking

Too, has been neck and neck with her hus-

band’s team for about six years.

“We don’t swap recipes. We don’t

copy cat each other and we both have two

different recipies for everything we do,”

said Mr. Canterbury jokingly. “Judges

may like one over the other. Instead of giv-

ing us just four chances it gives us eight.”

It was just last year at the Edinburg

Cook’em that We Be Cooking Too took

home the grand championship. After all

was said and done, the night ended with

a concert performed by Texas Heat. The

band played to the enjoyment of the tired

chefs and ended the night on a good

note.

For more information on other sum-

mer events sponsored by the City of

Edinburg, check out www.edinburg.com.

As most of us return to a new sum-

mer session with not-so-exciting news to

tell, there are other students who are back

from the Study Abroad program full of

great anecdotes to share.

The Office of International Programs

puts on several programs together every

summer, so that students who are interest-

ed can get a taste of other cultures by trav-

eling abroad, according to Nora Yado-

Hernandez, a program advisor in the OIP.

Students like Mireya Romero, a

sophomore biology major at The

University of Texas-Pan American, took

advantage of this option and traveled to

Salamanca, Spain.

“I chose Spain over the other pro-

grams because I really wanted to get a

taste of the Spanish culture,” Romero said.

“Although, I had been to Europe before I

did not get the chance to go to Spain.”

According to OIP, Salamanca is by

far the most popular destination. There are

usually up to almost 85 students traveling

to that city in just one summer session.

“I think that this program is so popu-

lar because there are many colleges that

offer courses in Salamanca,” Romero said.

“My friends and I decided to take the polit-

ical science courses, but there are several

classes to choose from.”

Romero stated that she really liked

the fact that there were a lot of internation-

al students studying in Salamanca, which

enabled her to meet people from around

the world.

“Most of the students there were

from other parts of the world,” Romero

said. “There were more international stu-

dents than Spanish, and I got to meet peo-

ple from places that I never imagined. It

was a great experience.”

Sophomore biology major

Alexandra Alvarez also went to

Salamanca and enjoyed it just as much.

“I loved the city and its surround-

ings,” Alvarez said. “At first, when we got

there the city looked very dull, but as we

drove around the scenery started to

change, especially at night when the Plaza

Mayor (central plaza) turned on its lights

and lit everything around it. It really was a

beautiful sight.”

Summer school in Salamanca is

slightly different from the summer ses-

sions that are offered at UTPA. Students

are only required to go to school Monday

through Thursday so that they will get a

three-day weekend to travel around and

get to know other places.

Yado-Hernandez said many people

take advantage of the study abroad pro-

grams because they like the fact that the

semesters are shorter and more fun.

“I enjoyed the shorter classes, and I

really loved that we only went to classes

four days a week,” Romero said. “Doing

this gave me the opportunity to travel

around Spain which is, apart from study-

ing, the point of these programs.”

Aside from traveling, Romero said

she enjoyed the lifestyle of the

Salamanca people.

“Staying with a family gave me the

opportunity to get to know the culture

more in depth,” Romero said. “Another

thing that I liked was the livelihood of the

city. Everybody gathers at the Plaza Mayor

to have a great time, and although it is a

small city, it is full of excitement and fun.

Romero and Alvarez encourage stu-

dents to take part in these activities. Both

said that it is a great experience that they

will never forget.

“Students who are able to take part in

this should definitely do it,” Alvarez said.

“They will get the opportunity to experi-

ence other cultures first-hand, and the

whole experience of traveling abroad by

ourselves is very exciting.”

&RTS NTERTAINMENTStudents relate experiences of studying abroad

By LESLIE ESTRADAThe Pan American

EA

Second annual summer cook-off draws large crowdBy ANGELA SALAZARThe Pan American

Mireya Romero

A DIFFERENT WORLD - UTPA students Mireya Romero, Alexandra Alvarez andGabriela Barrera pose in front of Spain’s flag during their visit to Salamanca.

TRAVEL SCENE

LOCAL SCENE

Daniel Flores/The Pan AmericanFINGER-LICKIN’ GOOD TIME - Many local residents showed up for the annualTexas Cook ’Em High Steaks event at Edinburg Municipal Park on June 29-30.

Page 6 A & E July 11, 2007

Between book signings at Borders for his

recently released novel, “Slip and Fall,” and writ-

ing for the hit Fox TV show “Prison Break,” Nick

Santora often finds himself going days at a time

without sleep.

Not that he minds; he is living his dream,

after all. However, much like any good television

show plot, his route to happiness was anything but

streamline. In an exclusive interview with The

Pan American, Santora - who much to his chagrin

practiced law for several years before becoming a

script writer - speaks about past academic and

employment confusions that paved the route to his

eventual success.

When you first started college, what madeyou take the law route?

Actually, in college I didn’t study law. I did-

n’t start studying law until after I graduated. In

college, I changed majors a bunch of times: eco-

nomics, drama, political science, and I actually

have a minor in African-American studies. I just

didn’t think that creative writing was a way to

make a living. I didn’t know that you could. And

when I graduated from college, I went to law

school because I, honestly, had nothing else to do

Did the fact that your parents paid forschool influence your decision to pursue the“serious career”?

Absolutely. My parents never pressured me.

I realized much later in life that my parents just

wanted me to be happy. However, after being the

first male Santora to get to go to college and hav-

ing that incredible gift of education given to you,

you feel like you want to do something with it.

During those years in law school, did younotice you didn’t like the profession?

Yes. My second day I called my parents and

told I didn’t want to be in law school, this was not

for me. My dad and I talked on the phone and he

said: ‘Listen, get the education. You don’t have to

be a lawyer for the rest of your life. But you

worked so hard to get into law school and when

you start something, you have to see it through.’ I

wound up practicing for six years. It was a mis-

take in that it wasn’t what I was meant to do. At

the same time I think it was a character-building

experience.

What was that moment like when youdecided to make the switch to script writing?

I was terrified and at the same time relieved.

Once I knew I was done and had my last day of

work as a lawyer, I knew that I didn’t have a job

to go to every day. But at the same time, I knew

I’d never go back to practicing law. I would have

done anything else. I would have been a cowboy

before I’d be a full-time lawyer again. Being a

lawyer wasn’t for me. There’s nothing wrong with

the profession. It’s an important and honorable

profession. So, it was a combination of exhilara-

tion and nausea.

How did your loved ones react? They were concerned and worried. But at

that point, all I’d done was leave a job that didn’t

make me happy. It had nothing in terms of enjoy-

ment for me. I had nothing to look forward to. But

at the same time they were supportive.

And I know you also mentioned your wifewas a big supporter. Do you think that kind ofunconditional support is needed to make amajor career transition?

I wouldn’t have done if it wasn’t for Janine.

If she hadn’t said ‘OK, let’s do this,’ I never

would have left New York.

Do you think that these years of practic-ing law ended up benefiting you now in anyway?

I definitely think it helped. Being an attorney

requires discipline. It requires you to work incred-

ibly long hours and it requires that you sit down

and write memos for five, six, seven hours on end.

In my industry I have a reputation of being a fast

writer. The work product I produce is quality;

nothing suffers from me being fast. But the reason

I think my work is fast is because I write in longer

stretches. I can write for 12, 13 hours straight if I

have to.

When we first met at your book signing inVirginia, you said that age 7 you used to go tolibraries and run your fingers over the titles inadmiration of the authors. What, if any, bookinspired you?

I remember thinking that books were just

really cool. I remember as a little boy I loved “The

Giving Tree,” which is a famous children’s book.

My mother used to read it to me all the time. I

remember that book stirring emotion in me. I real-

ized then that a story could get a visceral response

from people. Also, the book was written for some-

one named Nicholas, so I thought the book was

written for me. I was so clueless. Then, when I got

older, I thought, and I still think, “To Kill a

Mockingbird” is probably the perfect novel. The

book is just amazing. It’s a beautiful story. It’s got

everything. It’s a thriller, a drama, a tale about

society, and a love story in the sense of a father’s

love for his children.

Do you try and bring that multi-dimen-sional purpose to the things you write, whether

it be novels or television? I try and tell stories that entertain, obviously.

But I don’t like to have one-dimensional charac-

ters. That’s why people are responding well to

“Slip and Fall,” my first novel, because the hero

of the story is very flawed. He’s flawed on a lot of

levels. He ends up lying to his wife, he commits

multiple fallacies. People get emotionally and

physically hurt because of his decisions. That’s

not your typical hero.

When you first made the career change, whatwas your definition of success? Has that changed?

I just wanted to tell stories and take care of

my family doing it; to me that was success. Doing

that would make me happy as opposed to miser-

able like I was for so many years. That definition

hasn’t changed. That’s my definition of success

right now. Being happy, doing what you love and

taking care of your family. And that’s where we

are right now, so I’m pretty freaking thrilled.

If you were to give advice to a student whois pursuing the “smart” or “safe” career andnot what they love, what would it be?

I’d tell them that pursuing what they love

would be the smart career. The safest thing you

can pursue is what you love. If you’re passionate

about something, you’ll put much more effort into

it than if you’re not passionate about it. Just fol-

low your passion and you’ll be successful because

you’ll be doing what makes you happy and if

you’re happy, by definition, you are successful. I

guess that’s what I would tell a student. But then

again, what the hell do I know.

FEATURE STORY

For more information on “Slip andFall” visit Bordersstores.com.

TAKING A BREAK FROM PRISON - Nick Santora’s new novel “Slip & Fall” is about the downside of reality and whathappens when we try to escape it.

NICK SANTORA: Slips, falls into HollywoodBy SANDRA GONZALEZThe Pan American

Rio Grande Valley hoops fans have

will have more than high school and Bronc

basketball to look forward to this year as

two new professional teams prepare for

their November season kickoffs.

Thus, the explosion of professional

sports in the Valley, which also includes the

Dorados in arena football, minor league

hockey’s Killer Bees, and two Independent

League baseball outfits, continues.

SILVERADOSSilverados coach Steve C. Tucker,

who was number seven on the Pro

Basketball News top 10 list of coaches not

in the NBA, said both pro teams will sure-

ly deliver for all the hype. His will play in

the American

B a s k e t b a l l

Association,

with former

University of Texas-Pan American star

Kevin Mitchell on board as a co-owner.

“I think it (professional basketball)

being part of the Valley life and people, it

becomes an important entity,” he said. “We

want to make sure that we give an entity to

the basketball fans and something they can

be proud of this upcoming season and in

the years to come.”

Tucker has been coaching for 32

years, started his career in the Amateur

American Union in Jackson, Miss., and

attended college at the same time. In

1980, his career moved to the collegiate

level starting with Phillips College, a

junior college based in Mississippi. He

was an assistant from 1981-1988 at Sam

Houston State University and then

coached at Hawaii Loa from 1988-1992,

where he won three straight conference

championships. From 1992 to now, he

has coached professionally in the United

States and England with five different

professional teams.

In June, the Silverados signed their

first player, 24-year-old rookie Keith

Simpson. Simpson, a forward, comes from

Texas A&M International University and

McLennan Community College. Tucker

says that he hopes to put a team on the

hardwood that can win basketball games.

“We want to put the best team on

the court that we can possibly have and

I think we just need to be very focused

on the basics,” Tucker said. “We want to

be competitive right out of the gate and

we want to be one of the top teams in the

league. We need to do the little things to

put ourselves in the position to be suc-

cessful. Success opens up a lot of doors

for you in regards to challenging you to

win championships.”

The ABA Draft will consist of six

rounds and take place in September.

Tucker said a lot of the signing that will

take place will be done by networking and

recruiting, which is exactly how he prefers

it.

You want to put yourself in a situa-

tion where years down the line you can be

consistent with your success,” Tucker said.

“I want to set a foundation where five years

from now we are still winning because of

the one that was set this upcoming season.”

A location for the draft will be

announced at a later date. Training camp

for the Silverados will begin in late

October and play will begin in mid-

November at the new McAllen Convention

Center. Schedules will be released and

announced during September.

The franchise will hold its second

kids camp July 20-21.

VIPERSThe RGV Vipers recently announced

the Houston Rockets, Cleveland Cavaliers

and New Orleans Hornets affiliations, are

part of the NBA Development League.

Former UTPA leader Bob Hoffman, the

Vipers coach, said expectations are high as

the team gears up for a late November start

at the Dodge Arena.

“We are going to try to play like

we’ve always played,” Hoffman said. “We

are going to try to play up-tempo, try to

find ways to score a lot of points and get

guys that are really good at attacking the

basket. That puts pressure on the defense at

all times.”

Pre-draft will take place in

Arlington, Texas July 28-29. Athletes

chosen by NBA D-League personnel

will come to the event to showcase their

talent in front of coaches and assistants

from every D-League team. Standard

contracts will be given to participants

who perform well; they will be placed in

the November draft after all the NBA

teams have made their final rosters.

The Vipers garnered much positive

attention earlier this year after former Spurs

star George “Iceman” Gervin accepted a

position as the team’s head of basketball

operations. Affiliation with the NBA will

probably give them a leg up on the other

league.

Hoffman said he and the entire Viper

personnel are excited about the upcoming

season.

We want to put a product on the floor

that is exciting to watch,” said Hoffman.

“We want to have a team that will be

involved in the community, stand for the

same things that our community does and

represent them well.”

Valley preparesfor new teams’first seasons

July 11, 2007 S P O R T S Page 7

VALLEY BASKETBALL

Two new pro basketball teams to debut in fall

By RAMIRO PAEZThe Pan American

The University of Texas-Pan

American men’s basketball team signed

three new players to national letters of

intent, following the end of a successful

season.

Point guard Nicholas Weiermiller,

forward Adinson Mosquera and guard

Damon Franklin will be joining the team

and Coach Tom Schuberth expects the

newcomers to have an immediate and

positive impact on Broncs’ performance

level.

“We need some depth and I think

they’re experienced enough and mature

enough, plus they’re competitive,” said

Schuberth, who starts his second season

in Edinburg after a 14-15 debut in 2006-

07. “They want to get in here and play.

We are excited about throwing them in

the mix.”

Lon Morris College’s Mosquera

played for the Bearcats men’s basket-

ball team where he contributed to the

team’s 19-13 record last year. The 6-

foot 9-inch forward played a role in

LM’s Region XIV championship by

averaging 10.7 points and 7.7 rebounds

per game in the championship tourna-

ment.

“He is really athletic and a great

defender. I’m counting on him coming

in and really contributing right off the

bat,” Schuberth said. “He played on a

team that made it to the national tourna-

ment in junior college so he’s used to

winning big,”

Weiermiller, a 1-2 combo guard,

joins the team from the IMG Academy

in Bradenton, Fla., which has produced

NBA players like Chauncy Billups and

Tayshaun Prince. He was named Star-

Gazette All-Twin Tiers Boys’ Basketball

Player of the Year at the Elmira Free

Academy and had averaged 21.1 points

per game during his junior and senior

seasons.

Franklin joins the Broncs from

Flint Northwestern High School in Flint,

Mich., another area known for produc-

ing basketball talent.

“Damon is an unbelievable athlete,

probably the best we have had here in

the last 10 years,” Schuberth said. “He

led the city of Flint in scoring the last

two seasons as a junior and senior. He is

a tremendous young man and a good stu-

dent.”

Though eager to put newly recruit-

ed members onto the court, the head

coach said that some adjustment time is

always necessary for players entering

the next level.

However, there are no pre-deter-

mined starting positions and every play-

er has equal opportunity at the beginning

of each season to compete for playing

time and a shot at cracking the lineup,

Schuberth added.

“It starts over every year. One thing

I do try not to stress too much is starting.

I want guys to feel like they can get into

our rotation,” he said.

Still, returnees Paul Stoll and Brian

Burrell seem assured of prominent play-

ing time. Stoll led the team in steals and

assists while Burrell paced in scoring.

Guard Dexter Shankle and forward Zach

Trader each saw significant playing time

last year, and should be in the mix some-

where as the Broncs look to post a win-

ning season for the first time in six years.

The program was 21-9 in 2001-02 and

then 14-14 in ‘03-‘04.

The team is currently involved in

further negotiations to recruit two new

inside men who will help ease the

recent losses of center Colin Lien,

center Kano Edwards and forward

Alex Robinson. Forward Julius

Allgood may also be lost for the sea-

son due to injuries.

Bronc benchbolstered bythree additionsBy GABRIEL SALDANAThe Pan American

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Fresh faces to join Green and Orange squad

5

76

SPORTSEditor’s Pick: Game to Watch

Argentina Mexico

76Number of goals scored inVenezuela’s Copa America.

5

Number of home runsneeded by Barry Bonds tosurpass Hank Aaron’s 755

record.

StatsAtAGlance

2-12-1Final score in U.S. men’s

national team’s victory overBrazil on Friday at FIFA’s

U-20 World Cup.

After 17 years in the college ranks

and stops at The University of Texas-El

Paso and Louisiana State University,

The University of Texas-Pan American

head men’s and women’s track and field

and cross country coach Ricky Vaughn

will serve as the new assistant athletic

director for support and student services.

His new post will see him in charge

of academic progress for UTPA’s 170

student-athletes. The former head coach

has guided 256 of his student athletes to

3.0 grade point averages.

Vaughn could not be reached for

comment.

On June 28, Barb Odale

announced she would resign as head

coach of the women’s golf team, citing

personal reasons. In a statement released

by the University’s Sports Information

Department, Odale said family had

much to do with her decision. After eight

seasons, the women’s coach said travel-

ing and being away from home had

begun to take their toll.

“Right now my family comes

first,” Odale said.

COACHING

ShortSports

When: WednesdayTime: 7:45 p.m.

Where: VenezuelaWill be aired on Univision, GolTV

The “Golden Boy” - Oscar de la

Hoya - was not present on Friday night

at the McAllen Civic Center, but a staple

of Golden Boy Promotions’ finest up-

and-coming boxers made their presence

felt during Summer Explosion.

Local boxing fans were treated to

eight savory bouts with the blue corner

winning all. While the blue nook boast-

ed former Olympians like Vicente

Escobedo, 14-1 (11 KO’s), Abner Mares,

13-0 (8) alongside current United States

Boxing Association Champ, Martin

Honorio, 24-3-1

(12) and Harlingen native James De La

Rosa, 14-0 (10). The red corner featured

lesser known but seasoned fighters with

sub-par records.Yet something wasn’t

right, and it was evident in the first fight.

A cruiserweight, four-round bout, was

even until Terrence Smith 4-4-1 (3)

caught Mexico City’s Carlos “El

Chocolate” Duarte off guard and sent

him to the mat in the final round. The

judges then stunned those early in atten-

dance as all three scored the bout 38-37

in favor of Duarte. “El Chocolate” 7-0 (5

KO’s) kept his undefeated record.

Bloodier moments ensued as

Carlos “Bam-Bam” Diaz diced

Escobedo’s upper left

forehead with a couple

of head butts. Diaz

pushed Escobedo to the

limit, but the former

Olympian saved his best

for the tenth and final

round as he landed

smart blow after cleaner

jab. Escobedo was

rewarded with a unani-

mous decision.

W o r l d - c l a s s

pugilist Honorio, 27,

ranked sixth by the

World Boxing

Organization and sev-

enth by the World

Boxing Commission,

headlined the main

event against Joe Morales 19-12 (4) of

San Antonio.

Honorio was warned for below-

the-belt activity in the fifth and lost a

point in the sixth after another low-blow

folded Morales. Morales kept the highly

touted Honorio busy with a series of jabs

and stealthy defense but Honorio was

the aggressor in the tenth, receiving a

95-93, 95-93, 96-92 split decision, much

to the dismay of Morales.

Honorio said the different styles

clashed, and - to his surprise - Morales

proved to be a tough challenge.

“It was a matter of preparation and

concentration. I just tried not to make

mistakes. He’s a tough fighter,” Honorio

said. “He’s got some losses but they’re

against some big names. That makes him

different, his experience.”

The low blows were as much as

part of Morales’ strategy as his aggres-

siveness. The San Antonio native

donned his trunks unusually high, but

Honorio assumed full responsibility.

“I have to admit, I think there were

some hits here and there that were pretty

clear, those were counted, others

weren’t, but that’s the way boxing goes,”

he said.

Mares earned a 57-56, 59-54, 58-

55 unanimous decision over Saul

Gutierrez 4-10-1 (1) of Saltillo, Mexico,

with pinpoint accuracy and stunning jabs

in six rounds of work.

Harlingen’s De La Rosa, a clear

crowd favorite, neutralized an aggres-

sive Michael Soberanis (7-14-2) with

fancy hip work and slick footwork.

Soberanis struck first with a harsh

left blow to De La Rosa’s head and fol-

lowed up with 1-2 combos. De La Rosa

countered with multiple hooks, and daz-

zling foot speed that shook and rattled

Soberanis, much to the delight of the

crowd.

He continued his attack with a buf-

fet of slugs and KO’d the San Antonio

native midway through the fourth round.

fter a celebratory back flip, “King”

James, 19, said he thought he impressed

everyone in attendance despite the fact

he wasn’t looking for a KO.

“I was being careful, I didn’t want

to get caught. If it came it came,” he

said.

The self-proclaimed ‘real-deal’

said he’s the one to watch.

“I feel like I’m the best up-and-

coming welterweight in the game. I’m

ready for anybody,” said the reigning

World Boxing Council Youth champ,

who predicts many more back flip

moments in Valley matches.

“You all are going to see a lot more

of that,” he promised.

NOTES: Edinburg native and

UTPA sophomore Yoli Pena had her pro

debut postponed when her opponent was

injured a few days before the fight.

By ERICK QUINTEROThe Pan American

Onydia Garza/The Pan AmericanDesigned by: Da Xie