T U 0 N R. U N S N C ~ V U M 0 N ·r o·

N EWSPAPER FOR THE UN IVERSI TY Q.(.)-!'Q"USTON-DOW N TOWN

Volume 42 Issue 8, SUMMER II- AUGUST 24, 2009 www.uhd.edu/da te line

UHD Celebrates Castillo's Final Days

By Jennie Orellana and Wilbert Chinchilla

T he Students Celebrate Dr. Castillo

Students, faculty and staffgathered around the South Deck to enjoy free

food and music in recogn ition to UHD pres ident, Max Cast illo on June 4, 2009. Castillo was present the ent ire t ime greet ing over 500 people and i

Page 2 Summer II - August 24, 2009 Dateline : Downtown

STUDI!DT IIPB Which Candidate Should Become the New UHD President? Polling Results By Wilbert Chinchilla MANAGING EDITOR

Over the course of releas ing the online copy o f the first summer issue, a l imited number ofstudents cast their

votes on our first online poll. Each vote showcased reasons why a reader would vote for one candidate instead of

another. As each mouse click linked to the poll i n~ site, we came to understand that they have h :~d a chance tO"know (their] cand idates:" and surprisingly, there were two sets of ties for both losers and w inners.

The outcome h.JS become clear and Dr. William Flores is the new president o i' the University of l loustOnDowntown. llcre are some of the highlights from the previous art icle regarding our new prt'sidcnt.

Flores' Points Appointed by Governor Bill Richardson fo r the New Mexico Hi~he r Education Department

From 1996 to 2001, Flores was the dean o f the College of Social and Behavioral

Science at California State U niversity

Jeff D. Senese 30 .00%

William V. Flores 30.00%

As students also dropped off !heir ballols(located on theback of lhe last issue) into theDatelinemailbox, the same outcome has occurred. The total votes were tabulated andplaced into the onlineversion of !he poll. Thispo!l is viewable any I•me: hup·ll•wNt.acepC>I's.com/polls/908 t65-which-cand'dale-shCXJ~d-become-the-new-uhd-presiden\lresults

Online Sound-Bites

facebook Fans- 54 (Currently)

Corne join the discussion on our fan page to answe•· questions that could be featured in The Dateline Downtown.

Fo llowers - 52 (Cu rrently)

Come join the discussion on twitterand possib ly be featured in The Dateline Downtown. Follow@)TheDateline or search #UHD

The Dateline Downtown ,.,, ·ott>

What should lflE.' 0.1tell~e Downtown .lSk Dl. Floc e'?

Ma rlyn Dav I'll Ole

If he (e.,ls ht> cart live l~> to 0. . Ca>tillo's IJt ,\Ccon~>lbho nent> like Ul€ comulo?t

Datel ine : Downtown Summer II - August 24, 2009 Page 3

Know Thy Enemy! Conquer the WPE

By Rebecka Black CONTR IBUTI NG WR ITER

Lurking behind a II degree plans at U H D is the often dread~d Wr iting Proficiency

Exam (WPE). It is the l(mnidablc foe all students. no mat ter what disc ipline. must conquer. T i1is task is proving more than a \vorthy

wr!ting adversary and lOr rnany students, the WPE comes out of battle wi th victory. Why is thi s exam required for all students and what is it about this test tha t brings UHD swdents

turmoi l? The f irst issue is ( possibly) the most upsetting to Students who have fal k n victim to the WPE.

Students who are pursuing

degrees in business, science, or crim inal just ice f ields find the \VPE requirement unnecessar y. A f i nance student who recently tell victim to the test claimed, 'Tm a finance major. I work

w ith numbers and I don"t l lllderstand what th is has to do with rny dc-gree!u The answer is ~imple - "All swdents,

regardless of their major, need to b,~ able to write well,'" stateS

D r. Lucille Poi mer. professor of M arketing in the College ot"

Business :tt U H D. Dr. Pointer aho feel; that "the \VPE is an excellent tool to gage the students' writ ing abilit ies. If a student f inds ou t now that they

have a serious problem, it is o;:;1sicr to seek help."

A fellow pro fessor and a

master of numbers, Professor M ary Syke~. who holds both a CPA and a MBA in accounting, strongly re-emphasizes Dr.

Pointer's words. According tO Prof. Sykes. in any industry " you will be dealing with many d i ffe rent levels ofprofess ionals and no matter what level you are, cor porate wi ll want you to be able to be effective and organized in your writing."

Effect ive writing and passing the WPE seem to be two di f ferc::nt issues for many U I I D students. Swclcnts in several

d isciplines taking the WPE falter. not just those in the colleges of Busine~s. Criminal j ustlt:c, or Sciencesand Tc..:hnoiogy. Many swdents in :he l lun1anit ies discipl! nt:'s aiso r:nd :hi ' tCSt \0 be antagonist ic.

The inten t o!" !he W PF. i:; not to t

Page 4 Summe r II - Aug ust 24, 2009 Dateline : Downtown

Do you have tips? Contact us at Dateline@galor.uhd.edu for any lips, events.or story ideas to cover.camPus nows~

Yale Classes at UHD?

By Sara Hood CONTRIBUTING WRITER

This may come w fruition all thanks to Assoc iate English Professor Dr. Merri lee Cunningham. It seems Dr. Cunningham has her fingers in not just many, but every pot available

to her. This summer she is instruct ing two Summer I English courses, serving as a faculty member for The Capital One Institute for Financial Literacy

and Academic Excellence, teaching in the Yale-New Haven Initiative, and traveling to Macedonia for the State Department to teach creat ive writing seminars to middle a nd h igh school students . What is the Yale-New Haven In itiative?

It is pan of the Yale National Init iative committed in targeting the serious educational problems

associated with low-income ethnically diverse communities. Houston has

a daughter institut ion, the Houston Teachers Institute; De Cunningham

has been a board member for four yea rs and has taught at thi s institute . The Houston Teachers Instit ute is directly affi liated with the University

of Houston Honors College. This is how she came to be invited to the original Inst it ute in New Haven. Dr. Cunningham plans to use severa l

of the textbooks she has edited to help teachers in New Haven develop cur ricula that are interest ing and stimulating for high school students.

How does this relate to UHD? While Dr. Cunningham will be

attending seminars and collaborating on Yale c urr iculum, she will a lso be returning with notes and ideas for our classrooms he re. She phms on t ry ing

to simulate seminars and a ims at instituting a similar curriculum for our

English students. Afte r all, she says, "Why t ry and reinvent the wheel?"

This is not a bad idea; after all, Yale has the number two undergraduate Eng! ish program and the number one

doctoral program in the U.S. This is also a joint effort between a UHD professor and the Main Campus, which a fter the name-change fiasco oflast )•ear, seemed to be irreparable.

UHD was made tO seem more like Cinderella (the unwanted stepchild) than an equally esteemed sister institution. In a way Dr. Cunningham's

recogn it ion extends to the Univers ity. It is ou r professor and only our professor, who was chosen by Yale to be a part of their program. And as the

Houston Inst itute is the domain of the UH Honors College, this is what Dr.

Cunningham referred to as "green

shoots" ofgood faith on the part of the Main Campus. After Yale for Dr. Cunningham, is off to the Balkans

tO atte nd award winn ing creative writ ing workshops. She w ill be right

back to UHD for the fall semester and the implementation ofall of the Yale curricula she has constructed that can make UHD classes better and bring

more recogn it ion to our campus. She will be in the Balkans during Freshman Summer Success- a n orientation for incoming UHD Freshman in which Dr. Cunningham loves to part ic ipate.

The Jaundiced Eye

Opinion Column --~~;--·- -By Brookston Fow ler A SQUINTING OBSERVER

As you might have heard, tuition is going up aga in:

seems like a regular, annual event s ince the state legislature deregulated wition so every public college in Texas can decide what bi lls it most needs

to pay and then let the students pay them. According to the

see EYE on page 7

UHD Student Meets Obama

By UHDPublic Release

University of Houston-Downtown student Vanessa Nunez helped President Obama launch the Office of Socia l innovation

Tuesday (June 30) at the \oVh ite House and explained how Houston non-profit Genesys Works helped her decide to atte nd college. Nunez, 19, and six others were Pres ident Obama's specia l guests as he ca lled on foundations. philanthropists and the pr ivate sector to invest in community solutions. Ntuiez finished

her freshman year

Dateline : Downtown Summer II -August 24, 2009 Page 5

Special Election on the Horizon

By Peyton Davis CONTRIUSTING WRITER

A special elect ion is on the hor izon and Houston's own Mayor, Bill White is in the running. A special election occurs when a seat is vacated between regularly scheduled elect ions. Current Senator, Kay Bailey Hutchison is expected to relinquish her seat in order to run for Governor against curre nt Governor Rick Perry. This is where Mayor Bill Wh ite comes in. In December of2008, Bill White publicly announced that he would be campaigning for Senator Kay Bailey Hutch ison's Senate seat. With Bi ll White's success

and popularity as Mayor, he is cons idered one of the top contenders. When Mayor W hite ran for his second term as Mayor of Houston, he was reelec ted with a record 91% of the vote and aga in for a thi rd term with 86% of the vote. But due to term limitations, he will not be able to run for Mayor so he is attempting becoming a representative ofTexas in the United States Senate. Despite his popularity in Houston, the Senate race is a much bigger campaign with more at stake. Mayor White has a lot of ground to cover since Texas is the second largest state in the U.S. Mayor White has already begun to take his campaign

on the road from Rio Grande Valley to Denton to Bryan tO Nacogdoches: Bill is attempting to make his mark across Texas in hopes of being heard.

If you would like more informatio n on the Bill White for Texas Campaign, you can visit h is website at www. billwhitefortexas.com or ifyou would l ike to get involved with UHD Students for Bill White, cont()()'· (

~ ~ * ,_, ~-~ '·' •.""" .., " , , --... '" " ~ ~ • ' : ' ' ,, ' .. ,_ ' ~

I h \ >I., • ll.o• >» '•' I I ,, I'>• ,, , I• \'•. \1.,,, \• \ , , , · I I ' " 'Jl 1\~.~·. ':.· Jl{. ''·'"" ( 1(...,.:.. J '\_ • ~· \1.11" ..11.

,.,., 1 \(;•:1'' ,• \ 11• ~··. . f'Pl,.:\·:,,() \ ..u \t.,_ ) ,•;.tol >iii I ~u,i, l n''"'' I I \I • ! ru.. ·

lo • { •.Jton·.l • \!; 1 ·.,. \ );!I~ .·• ~ I

Page 6 Summer II - August 24, 2009 Dateline : Downtown

8RT8 e USA's Bittersweet Defeat By Will Orellana CO NTRIBUTING WRITER

Brazil didn't have to wail long for their equaliser though. as Luis Fabiano headed home from close range.

The d isappointment in the United States player's cvo.:s was c":dem th is past .June. Thev m;tdc it to the 2009 Conr.:dl'r:uions Cup f inal ;111d

placed runner-up ag:tinst the

powerful Brazi l team. ln the qu,l!ifying round the: United States pulled a miracle when n:oving 0:1 to the semi-final~

when; they faced the tntmbcr one ranked team in the world. Spain. The goal keeper along

w ith the defense played an incredible gatne. The goals

scored by Jozy Altidore

Dateline : Downtown Summe r II - August 24, 2009 Page 7

Continued

EYE from page 4

Chancellor'$ ollie~ . "ther.:

"'il l be .98 percc:m the lowest perce ntage in nea rly a dc:cade .'' Oil . joy~

Ti1~ worse news: U H n·s ruilio n is going up 4.8 percent , "costing $101 mort:.'' Bencr check : hat math . Seems like

we'll see the biggest inc rease, as Clea r Lake's rate will go up 3.3 percent. Victoria's 3.4 percem, a nd at the " flagsh ip un i1·ersity''

(central, main , whate ve r) 3.95 pe rcent. So it looks like we a re the poor relation in tile U H system: which I guess is appropriate, as we are the most needy students. ' loo bad

fi nanc ial aid is not keeping up with the tuitio n; 1had one classmate je rked out of class thi s summe r because the aid he was relying on didn't come through

We have a new president: Flores . As we are a Hispanicserving inst itut ion, d id somebody nor expect him

(only men co nsidered) tO be Hispanic? It would be nice if we , ha d more than one l l ispanic candidate, so we could

comp;tre their c rede nt ials. Seems like we had one other

candidate with no appare nt' re levant b 's latest mis:;ion in life. Makes ,cnsc to changl' our nar11c sotncv; btll to dariry where a llt:1ose mil lions in donations are going, \Vhich

Dr. Castillo S>KC::S and knowledge into the next :ourntunent which i ~ the Co:d C up. They wiH be returning home w pl.ty in Washinglnn DC where th(' J\mcricm fa ns wi ll be ready cheer for the home ream and sho\1' gratitude for their internat ional

Page 8 Summer II - August 24, 2009 Dateline : Downtown

0 I a881pII!D8--~~~~-~----------CO!Itact us at Dateline@gator.u .edu for all your classified needs. Fcee for students. faculty, and employees.

The Dateline I s Starting A

FREE Classified Ads for all students, faculty, and employees. All submissions should include a brief description of what you are advertising (25 words or less) as well as your contact information.

You may submit these asan e-mail ATIN to: classifieds at dateline@gator.uhd.edu

All ads will remain in print until notification is received that it has been successful. All ads will be published on a first come, first serve basis, so hurry up. Deadline: April 16, 2008

EYE Continued from page 7

new name can't have eit her the

word "Houston" or the word

"Downtown" in it . Scuttlebutt

is that t his is so we won't

seem like we are competing

with main (or is t ha t centra!?).

Might be adv isable to actually

research the issue of college

names and changing them

before decidi ng, rMher than

j ust leaving it up to whoever

shouts loudest.

And when are t hey going to

tear down that nasty parki ng

garage for t he priv ileged and

put in that volleyball field we

have been wait ing for all t hese

years?

Continued from page 3

one tutoring sessions in orde r to help

students with their writ ing skills.

These workshops focus on grammar

issues, expected format, and tips tor

success on the WPE exam.

The workshops occur during

fall and spring semesters only, but

the free one-on-one tutoring with

faculty o r peer tutors is ava ilable

throughout the year. T hese free tools

help students ident ify issues that

could not only hold them back from

passing the WPE, but could a lso

impact t heir future ca reer goals. As

D r. Pointe r explains, "(Students)

do not wa nt to wait unti l they are

o n a job to determine the y have a

(writing} problem because it could

be a reason for being fired or not

promoted."

API Continued from page 7

Photogcaphy by Benita Dryden API's fundraiser will oe held on Saturday, September 26, 2009 at6PM. The Westside Tennis Club. located at 1200Wila est Drive in Houston. will host the event where you will see Sasha the pet capuchin monkey.

the Spring 2010 semester. Participants a lso have the chance to compete for g ift ca rds or

ant ivi ws software.

T here is a $!0 ent ry fee for participants w ho must find sponsors t hat wi lt donate

mone)' based on the number ofpins knocked

down, per game played, o r a flat donation

to API. W hile the goal is w raise money for API , people w ill also learn about A PI's

m ission a nd object ives. You could also

take a pict ure w ith Sash a t he pet capuch in

monkey. So get your f(1rms, find some

sponsors, and come join this event. For

more infonn