October 11, 2006

For the past two months, students

with classes in the Social and Behavioral

Sciences Building have had to walk

around construction sites to get inside,

and officials at The University of Texas-

Pan American say students should

expect no end to the hassle any time

soon.

In the SBS building, the Aug. 1 col-

lapse of two small north walls sent crews

into emergency reconstruction mode.

The construction job, strictly for safety

enhancements, will not lead to any aes-

thetic modifications of the building, said

Marvin Boland, architect director of

UTPA’s Physical Plant. Work is expect-

ed to be complete in three months.

“In order to make sure [students]

get into the building and out of the build-

ing safely, [they] can’t get up close to the

building until we finish repairing,” he

said.

Van Reidhead, dean of the college

of Social and Behavioral Sciences, said

he was notified immediately when the

wall collapsed.

“They told me straight in the morn-

ing [of Aug. 2] about the fallen wall,” he

said. “It really was not a mess, it was

very symmetrical. It had just fallen; it

was almost like someone had laid it

down.”

Boland and eight colleagues did

three weeks of tests to figure out why the

building began to deteriorate, and plan

how to solve the problem. With the

assistance of a local engineering firm

and the UT System Office of Facilities

Planning, the group was able to finish

assessing the situation early last month.

Boland said some of the brick ties

around the bottom of the facility had

gathered too much moisture and the

By JULIET PEREZThe Pan American

SBS reconstruction yields other plans

SSeeee PPaaggee 1166

Lady Broncs dominate atfirst home game of season

SPORTS

State rep. hopeful speakson election hopes, arrest

Anime lovers descendupon SPI for convention

SSeeee PPaaggee 88 aanndd 99

SSeeee PPaaggee 33

A&E

NEWS

58th YearNo. 7

ThursdayOctober 11, 2007

TH

ISW

EE

K

LEGISLATIVE CAMPUS

INFRASTRUCTURE

Russian poladdressesbig crowdTuesday

With the fall semester in full swing,

most college students across the nation

have already adapted to a new schedule

of classes and set of teachers. But for

those at more than 100 public universi-

ties and colleges in Texas, a recently

passed bill by the state Legislature adds

another important new aspect with

which students must become familiar.

Senate Bill 1231, passed by both

houses of the Legislature without oppo-

sition, went into effect immediately after

Gov. Rick Perry signed the bill June 16.

The new law restricts students from

withdrawing from more than six courses

throughout their college career. Any

additional courses dropped after the

six-course cap will remain per-

manently recorded on a stu-

dent’s transcript. In addi-

tion, the student is

required to pay for the

course in full and accept

an ‘F’ grade.

Congressman Fred

Brown, R-Brazos

County, authored the por-

tion of SB 1231

dealing with

the six-

hour cap. According to MeLissa

Nicholas, Brown’s chief of staff, Brown

said that the bill would aid the average

taxpayer as well as everyone in higher

education.

“This bill saves taxpayers money

and decreases the amount of time to

graduation, by making the right classes

available to students who are serious and

committed,” she said. “It also saves the

schools from the problems of incurring

so many refunds.”

This new mandate directly affects

any university or college in Texas

receiving state funds. At The University

of Texas-Pan American, officials are

slowly trying to piece together what the

change means.

Dennis McMillan, associate vice

president for enrollment and student

services at UTPA, said it is still unclear

as to how, specifically, The Texas Higher

Education Coordinating Board will

implement SB 1231. Still, he assured

that the law will not affect sophomores,

juniors or seniors.

“THECB will be finalizing the

rules for implementing this law within

the next few weeks,” he said. “We do

know that there are some provisions for

exceptions due to illness, death in the

family, call to military service or other

reasons that can be justified. “

McMillan said that the law rein-

forces the necessity of students commu-

nicating with their academic advisors.

“We believe that students should

take seriously the selection of their

major and, subsequently, the selection of

courses to meet degree requirements,”

he said. “We provide advisers to assist in

this process and we encourage students

to take full advantage of these services.”

When the THECB meets in Austin

later this month, McMillan will sit on an

advisory committee charged with assist-

ing in development of the new rules.

“One unanswered question about

this new law deals with transfers from

out-of-state or private schools,” he said.

“We do not know if drops from these

institutions will count against the stu-

dent.”

Some students at UTPA, like

See RECONSTRUCTION page 11

About 1,200 persons packed into

the Fine Arts Auditorium at The

University of Texas-Pan American

Tuesday to watch a presentation by

Mikhail Gorbachev, the Russian politi-

cian who served as the last leader of the

Soviet Union before its collapse in 1991.

Gorbachev, the first speaker to

present for the Distinguished Speaker

Series this semester, is best known for

creating reform to end the Cold War with

the United States, and for streamlining

and decentralizing the Communist Party

of the Soviet Union. He is also popular

for coining the terms perestroika (gov-

ernmental restructuring) and glasnost

(political openness).

“Not only is he a Nobel Peace Prize

winner, he is also probably the most his-

torically significant figure we have had

on campus,” said John Bokina, a politi-

cal science professor who specializes in

Soviet politics.

During his speech, Gorbachev

reflected on his time in politics, remem-

bering speeches he delivered to commu-

nity members about the corruption of

Stalin’s regime.

“I remember after the death of

Stalin, life in Russia was in flux,” he

said. “I had many political discussions

See GORBACHEV page 11

Fallen wall repaircontinues tocause hassle

By BOBBY CERVANTES

The Pan American

By ANA LEY

The Pan American

New state law limits dropped classes

See LAW page 11

15

THE PAN AMERICAN

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

Fax: (956) 316-7122www.utpa.edu/dept/panamerican

THE

PANAMERICAN

October 11, 2007

The Pan American is the official student newspaperof The University of Texas-Pan American. Viewspresented are those of the writers and do notnecessarily reflect those of the paper or university.

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

[email protected]

News EditorAna [email protected]

A&E EditorJeanette [email protected]

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

[email protected]

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

[email protected]

Design EditorRoy [email protected]

Designers

Rick Gamez

Greg Garza

Veronica Gonzalez

Reporters and Photographers

Brian Carr

Leslie Estrada

Onydia Garza

Ramiro Paez

Lezette Villarreal

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 [email protected] at least twoweeks prior to event.

AdviserDr. Greg [email protected]

SecretaryAnita [email protected]

Advertising ManagerSamantha [email protected]

Assitant Advertising ManagerJacqueline Iglesias...................................

[email protected]***

DeliveryThursday at noon

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

SavethesedatesOctober

1616 The Social Work

Department will host aspeaker who will discussspirituality from a Hindu

perspective, from 6 p.m. to 8p.m. in HSHE 1114.

Newsinbrief

PONDERINGS

A delegation from The University

of Texas-Pan American headed by Paul

Sale, provost and vice president for

Academic Affairs, met Sept. 30 to Oct. 2

with administrators and faculty members

from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios

Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) and

Universidad de Autonoma de Nuevo

Leon (UANL) in Monterrey, Mexico.

During the visit, UTPA officials

were able to renew an agreement with

UANL for collaborative academic and

research programs as well as faculty/stu-

dent exchange. At ITESM, where a sim-

ilar agreement was established with

UTPA two years ago, representatives

from both institutions reviewed their

existing programs and relationships.

LESSONS FROM LEY

hile the media is an important

aspect of our every day living

and culture, it can be a bit of a pain in

the ass. While it gives us news, on the

other end of the spectrum it provides us

with worthless pieces of information

like gossip for entertainment value. But

if there’s one thing that I cannot com-

pletely understand or even want to com-

prehend the slightest bit, is why anyone

with a Web cam can become an instant

celebrity over night.

As if it wasn’t already played out by

MySpace selfish promotions and instant

stardom can be reached by ANYONE

who makes a fool of themselves, docu-

ments it video and then proudly, shame-

lessly airs it to the online community.

With the ‘Numa, Numa’ guy, Gary

Brolsma dancing, well I wouldn’t refer to

his arm movements as dancing, YouTube

viewers saw this ridiculous cry for atten-

tion from someone we otherwise never

would of noticed and because we’re too

busy watching videos online instead of

getting off our butts and working. He

gained so much popularity he was fea-

tured on the evening news!

Admittedly, even me talking about

it is giving this non-deserving being pro-

motion. But how much has culture

downgraded that we make icons out of

people who are just attention whores and

have absolutely no talent whatsoever?

It is because of the lack of intelli-

gence in pop culture that I have grown

somewhat of a hatred for the Web. When

Chris Crocker came out with his horrif-

ic, childish display of sentiment for

Britney Spears, that just drew the line.

The tranny, mind you the son of a

religious family, bawled his eyes out for

the media’s bashing of another unde-

serving real celebrity, Ms. Spears.

Crocker was no stranger to posting

videos of herself, or himself, whatever

he is identified as, he never caught the

public’s eye with his acting skills. Oh

no, it was his crying show that put it on

the top of everyone’s list and apparently

landed him a television deal. And for

what? Doing absolutely nothing requir-

ing skill.

Education and talent are no longer

required to fill out the application for

rock star status. Maybe I’m the one

who’s wrong, wasting my time working

for a career. Or maybe we’ve become so

apathetic with the real issues that we’ve

resorted to make news out of individuals

with nothing to offer. The sad thing is,

YouTube celebrities will continue to be

born every day and as long as the public

keeps accepting it, the world will soon

be overrun by a bunch of nobodies.

WBY: JEANETTE PEREZ

15 The Office of International

Programs will stop acceptingsubmissions for the "EarthMatters" International Art

Exhibit. For more informa-tion, call 381-3572

OPINIONOctober 11, 2007

Stop humoring instant celebrities

Are you an instant celebri-ty? Send comments to:[email protected]

s many probably already know,

Iranian President Mahmoud

Ahmadinejad visited Columbia

University late last month, delivering

one of the strangest, most unsettling

speeches most of us have ever heard.

In case it wasn’t clear before his

speech, Ahmadinejad severely misun-

derstands the United States system, yet

he is a rhetorician who seems to buy into

his own words. He deviously raises ten-

sions within singled-out groups by pref-

acing outlandish criticisms with mis-

leading rants on peace and justice.

He refused to acknowledge the

Holocaust (old news by now, I hear). He

claimed that the United States sponsors

terrorist groups. And probably the most

awkward thing said was that “in Iran, we

don’t have homosexuals, like in

[America].”

Naturally, people were upset. The

country was up in arms over it, and the

speech probably garnered much atten-

tion from even those who don’t keep up

with worldly affairs. In fact, I’d be bold

enough to say lots are probably just

YouTubing the speech for its entertain-

ment/shock value. (Who can blame

them? It was scandalous).

But his longwinded, aimless

responses to critical questions posed to

him were far more telling than his dis-

missal of homosexuals and the

Holocaust. He repeatedly evaded a clear

answer to whether he seeks the destruc-

tion of Israel. He also refused to answer

why the Iranian government provided

aid to terrorist groups.

Now the question arises whether all

the media coverage he received was for

the good of journalism and public aware-

ness, or whether it was excessive in giving

recognition to a man unable to so much as

speak coherently for a few hours.

On one hand, it was a definite eye-

opener for America and the rest of the

world. It really settled some questions

about the shoddiness of Iran’s leadership

for a lot of people, particularly the col-

lege crowd.

But what if we’re just boosting this

guy’s ego and giving him credibility by

inviting him to one of the country’s most

recognized universities - especially one

so close to Ground Zero? Should

America shove a mic in his face and roll

the cameras or should it turn the other

way and let him fade from significance?

My boyfriend recently brought up a

damned good point I hadn’t even consid-

ered. Iran doesn’t have the same media

framework that most Western countries

do. I’ve never been, but I’m pretty con-

fident Iranians don’t have a lot of

Internet access and they can’t just

Google a speech whenever they feel like

reassessing their leader. They read news-

papers and newsletters which are heavi-

ly censored by government.

This potentially puts Ahmadinejad

at a great advantage. Who is to say he

won’t twist the events at Columbia by

only showing the Iranian masses protest-

ing over his visit and Columbia

University president Lee Bollinger intro-

ducing him as a “cruel dictator?”

Who is to say he won’t televise his

lofty rhetoric on peace and justice, edit-

ing out, say, his evident support for the

persecution of all homosexuals?

Maybe I’m being too skeptical, but

after he delivered such a moronic speech,

I don’t think anyone should put it past

him. The last thing the United States

should do right now is allow bullies like

Ahmadinejad to fan the hatred most

Iranians already have for Americans.

Should media obsess over Ahmadinejad?BY: ANA LEY

Do you think asinine dicta-tors should continue gettingmedia coverage? Let meknow: [email protected]

AGREEMENTS

College freshman Laura Guajardo

and her family depend on her parents’

insurance to pay for most of the fees

they acquire when she undergoes treat-

ment for blindness in her left eye.

Without the help of an insurance

company, “there would be no way I would

be able to continue my surgeries or doc-

tor’s appointments,” said Guajardo, 18.

The full-time rehabilitative services major

has had two surgeries to date and still

needs one more, meaning she has to plan

around it so as not to miss school.

The Employee Retirement Income

Security Act of 1974 allows students

between ages 19 and 24 to continue cov-

erage under their parents’ health care

plan as long as they are considered

dependents. Dependent status is charac-

terized by the IRS as being enrolled in

school full-time as defined by the uni-

versity for at least five months a year.

Currently, a piece of legislation

under review could change this enroll-

ment requirement. Bill S.400 - also

known as Michelle’s Law - would

amend the ERISA to “ensure that

dependent students who take a medical-

ly necessary leave of absence do not lose

health insurance coverage.”

According to the U.S. Department

of Labor’s Web site, the ERISA “is a

federal law that sets minimum standards

for most voluntarily established pension

and health plans in private industry to

provide protection for individuals in

these plans.”

Michelle’s Law came about when a

New Hampshire college student was

diagnosed with cancer but could not

afford to lose her parents’ insurance cov-

erage by going below 12 hours, despite

THE PAN AMERICANOctober 11, 2007

NEWS

Bill may affect uninsured CAMPUS

IN REMEMBRANCE

See HEALTH page 12

By NADIA TAMEZThe Pan American

As director of the Honors Studies

Program for 12 years, Raymond Welch

was not only an educational guide, but

also a colleague and reputable member

of the community at The University of

Texas-Pan American. The professor,

who died on July, will now live on at his

alma mater thanks to close friends,

retired faculty and family members who

have all contributed to a scholarship

recently established in his honor.

Marian Monta, Welch’s longtime

friend, sent a letter pitching an idea for the

scholarship to retired faculty members as

well as close friends of Welch.

Contributions were sent to the UTPA

Foundation. Monta, who was unreachable

at press time, was once the director for the

theatre-TV-film program at UTPA.

Ken Buckman, now the director of

the program, hopes that the The

Raymond Welch Scholarship will help

See HISTORICAL page 12

By ABIGAIL MUNIZThe Pan American

POLITICS

Saenz speaks on election, arrest

Local engineer Eddie Saenz is yet

again vying for a seat on the Texas

Legislature to represent House District

40, the largest by land mass in Hidalgo

County. Covering west and north of the

county, the district includes cities like

Edinburg, La Joya and Elsa.

Saenz is challenging Rep. Aaron

Pena, the seat’s incumbent since 2002.

He last battled Pena in 2004 but gar-

nered a mere 35 percent of the vote.

Now Saenz wants another go and

remains confident his chances of win-

ning the March Democratic primary are

high despite an arrest last month for

driving under the influence.

In the following Pan American

interview, Saenz speaks of his arrest,

describes his plans for the district if elect-

ed, and reacts to criticism from Pena.

Q: What are some of your goalsfor UTPA students in the nextLegislature, if you are elected?

A: Under the Republican leaders

my opponent voted for in Austin, college

tuition rates have soared, pushing a col-

lege education out of the reach for many

middle-class families. While China and

India are investing in the next generation

of our global competitors, my opponent

and his partisan allies are making it

harder for South Texans to get a college

degree. When elected, I will push for a

three-year moratorium on tuition hikes

and increased state funding of proven

programs in our local college and uni-

versities.

Q: Why do you think you should

be elected? What makes you a superi-or candidate?

A: As an engineer, I know about

building things. I have spent my whole

life making communities stronger, not

betraying them. I am also a Democrat,

and I will vote like one. That means pro-

moting new jobs, expanding health care,

improving our schools and renewing our

faith in our future. It also means going to

the trenches to find out what concerns

our communities have and how to

address them. The mayors and other

local leaders who are supporting me

need a partner in Austin. My opponent

refuses to meet with them and has a hard

time pointing to anything he has done

for any of these small communities.

Q: What are major differencesbetween your priorities and Rep.Pena's?

A: I am running to represent people

See SAENZ page 12

ACADEMIC

‘Everyone isinnocent untilproven guilty’By ANA LEYThe Pan American

Scholarshipestablishedto honorlate prof

Can you name all 34 members on

the Texas Legislature? If you can’t, don’t

worry because according to a survey

released by the Intercollegiate Studies

Institute, you’re no big exception.

The survey, released on September

6, indicates that 14,000 college seniors

and freshman at 50 universities nation-

wide — including Texas State

University in San Marcos and Texas

A&M International University in Laredo

— scored an average grade of 54 on a

quiz covering American history, govern-

ment, international relations and market

economy.

The study tested students at various

institutions, from public, state universi-

ties to Ivy League schools, over topics

such as the Cold War, the Federalist

Papers and the U.S. Constitution.

The findings suggest that students

have a deficiency in the field of civics —

- the study of the branch of political sci-

ence that deals with the rights and duties

of citizens.

Many students at The University of

Texas-Pan American believe that it is

important to know politics and govern-

ment, but when asked to name at least

three Texas representatives of Congress,

blank stares were the main response.

Samuel Freeman, a political sci-

ence professor at UTPA, said that “the

students’ pervasive lack of knowledge”

on civic issues “is abominable.”

Freeman said he is against the way

social studies teachers in high school

and middle school teach their students,

adding that “teachers only teach the

monkey-see,-monkey-do garbage that’s

on standardized tests.”

“Students are distracted from the

educational process and these types of

testing are degrading the quality of stu-

dents,” he added.

But James P. Wenzel, a UTPA

political science professor of 20 years,

disagreed.

“Considering that they are dealing

with an audience who don’t find this

topic interesting, they do a very good

job,” he said.

The study also shows that minori-

ties score lower on civics tests than

Anglos, and that foreign students learn

virtually nothing about U.S. history at

American universities.

But Xi Chen, a new political sci-

ence professor at UTPA, said that she

was “impressed by the students’ aware-

ness of their civil rights.”

Comparing UTPA students, 85 per-

cent of whom are Hispanic, to students

at her previous school, Virginia Tech,

Chen said “students here have impres-

sive attitudes towards the subject; they

take up information quickly.”

“Students at UTPA have enough

interest and know enough civics to help

them fight corruption, to keep up with

democracy, and to help them make good

decisions,” she said. “They don’t have

so much knowledge, but they do have

impressive attitudes.”

Most professors agree that if the

general public fully understood the sys-

tem by which the American government

is run, people would be more likely to

get involved, and students would have a

greater sense of civic responsibility.

Wenzel said a good way to spark an

interest in civil rights and other issues in

the Rio Grande Valley is to “invite more

people to speak of issues important to

College students lack civic backgroundNat’l surveyshows deficiencyin civic studiesBy JAY PEDREGOSAThe Pan American

See Page 12 to test yourknowledge of civics.

See CIVICS page 12

NEWS October 11, 2007

NEWSOctober 11, 2007

Nick Dodd /The Pan American

In an effort to persuade students to

pursue careers in law enforcement, The

University of Texas Pan American’s

Office of Career Services hosted its sec-

ond annual Law Enforcement

Exposition Tuesday at the University

Ballroom.

The purpose of the exposition was

to give students the opportunity to

observe different careers in law enforce-

ment and to give those in need of intern-

ships and jobs a chance for a set career.

Last year, 11 agencies attended the

exposition but this year the numbers

more than doubled. Agencies such as the

U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Border

Patrol attended, presenting students to a

variety of career options in both federal

and local organizations.

Booths and law enforcement agents

were not the only attraction for curious

students. The U.S. Army provided M16

weapon simulators to give those interest-

ed in weaponry and the military a more

hands-on experience.

Susie Chapa, assistant director of

the Office of Career Services and

coordinator of the event, said that

because there have been expos offered

at events like Hispanic Engineering,

Science and Technology Week, there

was “really no reason why there

should not be one for those interested

in law enforcement.”

SEEN AND CAPTURED

Onydia Garza/The Pan American

SHOOTING FOR SUCCESS - Alfredo Gonzalez, freshman electrical engineering major from Mission, practices his shot at the law enforcement career expo Tuesdayat the University Ballroom.

POOL TIME - Luis Ruiz, junior English major, and Albert Garza, sophomore engineer major, take in agame during their free time at the Student Union.

WILD ART

By J.R. ORTEGAThe Pan American

A grieving group of women clad in

black mourning the death of a patriarch

takes center stage. Loud cries and

streaming tears emanate from the group.

The darkness in their clothes and mourn-

ing creates tension and fills the room

with distress.

“When Bermuda's husband dies,

she locks all the doors and windows. She

tells her grown-up daughters to sew and

be silent. There are eight years of

mourning ahead of us. While it lasts, not

even the wind will get into this...” reads

a passage in Federico Garcia de Lorca’s

famous dramatic story, “The House of

Bernarda Alba,” which is the University

of Texas-Pan American’s first main

stage play of the season.

The play runs from Oct. 10 through

Oct. 14 in the Albert L. Jeffers Theater.

Curtain times are at 8 p.m Wednesday

through Saturday and at 2 p.m. on

Sunday.

The play, written a month before

Lorca’s assassination by a fascist group

in 1936, transcends the domestic setting,

exploring freedom and self-expression

and the darkness of oppression. For

these reasons, Lorca’s play was forbid-

den to be produced until 1953.

Eric Wiley, theater department pro-

fessor, chose to direct the play because

he always wanted to see a play by Lorca

come to life on the UTPA main stage,

and because of his admiration for the

beauty of the Spanish language.

"This play draws attention to the

social position of women in families and

larger society," he said. "It also demon-

strates women's abilities to pursue diffi-

cult challenges, such as enacting an

intense drama."

Born in 1889, Granada native

Lorca first became known for his poetry.

Lorca wrote his most famous plays

while touring Spain with a university

theatre department. It was during this

period that Lorca wrote his most famous

plays, the rural trilogy, which includes

“The House of Bernarda Alba,” “Blood

Wedding,” and “Yerma.” They all rein-

forced his belief that great art requires

one to be aware of connection to land

and death, and recognize the limitations

of reason.

The play is not only an entertaining

one, according to Wiley, but it tells a

serious story meant to evoke feelings in

the audience.

"It reveals some of the ways that

authoritarian oppression plays out with-

in everyday cultural traditions and fami-

ly life," Wiley said. "It has the potential

to influence your thinking on your own

background and values."

“The House of Bernarda Alba”

stands out not only as the first of the

opening season. The production itself

is entirely different from previous

plays the UTPA theater has seen on

stage: an all-female cast.

"I read the play and I found it

very interesting," said Ruby Fierros, a

graduate theater major. "I really like

that it is an all-female cast, so it is a

different experience than when you

have males."

Fierros, who plays La Poncia, or

the maid, believes the play offers an

opportunity for a small city to experi-

ence a taste of a famous drama the

UTPA theater has not often seen the

likes of.

"We might not be a Broadway

show," she said. "But we can give a per-

formance as great as them."

Elva Galvan, managing director

of the university theatre, finds impor-

tance in exposing students to this type

of art.

"One of the missions of the univer-

sity theatre is to bring back the master

pieces of theatre from the past for the

current generation to experience,"

Galvan said. "This is one play that aptly

suits our mission."

THE PAN AMERICANOctober 11, 2007

It is the year 2018. A biological

bomb has just exploded. Two former

lovers struggle to find each other and

face their destiny in the now chaotic

world. As they try to make a life for

themselves and their daughter, they face

a grim prediction: the end of the world is

near.

While this may sound like another

Hollywood-produced, big-budget block-

buster in the making, it is actually far

from it. The plotline is actually that of

“Exodus,” a science-fiction story penned

by a University of Texas-Pan American

student for the Palm Fest Art and Film

Festival.

Senior Salvador Gutierrez wrote

and directed the film, which aired at the

festival last weekend at the McAllen

Convention Center. The festival consist-

ed of 116 different art exhibitions of var-

ious types, and a film portion.

“I worked on this project for about

six months,” said the 23-year-old who

resides in McAllen.

Gutierrez said while he was proud

of his accomplishment, he also looked

forward to getting feedback.

“I believe this is a great experience

and I am also interested to see what peo-

ple's criticism will consist of,” he said.

Following a call for entries from

Mexico and throughout the United

States, Annabel Cortina, film festival

coordinator, said a total of 16 were cho-

sen to air out of all the submissions.

“There were about 25 to 30 people

per screening and about 500 people in

attendance,” said Cortina. “We decided

to start small so it can grow overtime.”

Although a lot of entries were sub-

mitted, the winners made it based on a

combination of content, creativity,

uniqueness, story line and production

value.

“We tried to go with films that had

a great story as opposed to better editing,

because that is what captivates the audi-

ence,” said Cortina. “As films were com-

ing in, we had a committee that selected

the films to screen at the festival.”

&RTS NTERTAINMENTEATHEATER STUDENT LIFE

See STUDENTS page 10

Studentsscreen filmsat McAllenArt/Film fest By LESLIE ESTRADAThe Pan American

Once forbidden play hits UTPA stage

By LESLIE ESTRADAThe Pan American

All photos by Tom Grabowski

DEBUT - (Top from left) RebeccaZarate, Rachel Saldana, Jackie Guerraand (bottom) Brenda Batista performscenes from “The House of BernaldaAlba.” The play, written by famousSpanish writer Federico Garcia deLorca, was forbidden until 1953. Itdebuted on UTPA’s stage Wednesdayand runs until Oct. 14.

‘The House ofBernalda Alba’marks beginningof theater season

For reservations call theBox Office at 381-3581.

t’s not unusual for South Padre Island to find itself

inundated with tourists, residents and crowds of stu-

dents every weekend, but last weekend the sandy beach

city was animated with life for more than the normal

attractions.

It was a vivid array of colorful hair, impressive cos-

tumes and vibrant personalities as hundreds of people and

characters swamped the lobby and first floor of the Bahia

Mar Resort for the Rio Grande Valley’s 2nd annual Anime

convention, ShimaKon.

Kicking off Friday morning and closing Sunday

evening, the Valley’s first notable anime convention played

host to the wonderfully diverse animation world, its fans

and creators for a three-day event to remember. It was an

Anime lover’s dream come true.

Born in August 2005 from the Shimamom herself,

Kathy Russell, ShimaKon, which began as an avid fan’s

contribution to the anime culture, developed into some-

thing much more than an amateur’s handiwork said head

of press relations for ShimaKon, Albert “Orion” Passeman.

“Shimakon started when a local Anime club wanted a

Valley based convention. Ever since then, Valley Anime

clubs along with Kathy and Amanda Russell worked

together to help Shimakon become a success,” said

Passeman. “So you can say that ShimaKon is run by the

fans and for the fans.”

Last September, the convention had more than an

estimated 2,000 people in attendance at the SPI. Holiday

Inn SunSpree Resort, proving to be a successful event.

This year the celebration was planned a year in advance,

and with a more spacious area and the addition of events,

ShimaKon thrived yet again with its ‘Pirate’ theme.

Passeman couldn’t be more thrilled of how

ShimaKon has been accepted.

“It’s fun. This year it’s bigger, more stuff to program

and more room to explore,” said Passeman who’s been

involved in the Anime scene since 2005. “The people want

it and need it. So they got it.”

University of Texas-Pan American junior psychology

major Monique Martinez has been kicking it, Anime style,

for almost a decade.

“’Sailor Moon’ was what drew me in. Everyone

got obsessed with that in ’96,” said the Alamo

native who’s made four trips to A-Kon, the

longest running anime convention in the

United States. “Anime is something

different that doesn’t stick to the

rules. You can actually see some-

thing play out.”

While each day

brought varying events, much of the schedule remained the

same throughout the three days. The early mornings had

everyone surveying the ground floor for the beginning of

an interesting, fun-filled day.

After a session of Name that Chibi — the Japanese

term for dwarf or small child — at 9 a.m., a game of

matching character identities and the Anime version of

‘Name that tune,’ autographs were given by some of

Anime and Manga (Japanese word for comics and print

cartoons) popular voice actors and artists. Sonny Strait, the

voice behind Krillin of the popular hit anime series,

“Dragonball Z” and Maes Hughes in “Full Metal

Alchemist,” spoke his mind at noon.

Autograph sessions and workshops from artist Doug

Smith of “Case Closed,” “Golden Boy” and “Dragon

Knight”; Darrel Guilbeau of “Zoids Genesis” and “When

they Cry”; Spike Spencer of “Neon Genesis Evangelion”

and “Bleach”; and ‘Envy’ herself, Wendy Powell, ensued.

For those interested in the gaming experience, the

video room offered favorites Guitar Hero II, Soul Caliber

II and Super Smash Bros. Melee. Aspiring singers could

sing their lungs out at nighttime karaoke, and those with an

itch to dance could bust a move at Dance Dance

Revolution during the midnight hours.

For the hardcore fans, the upstairs dealer room satis-

fied any appetite offering all sorts of memorabilia, figures,

Manga comics and books, music, art, food, apparel; just

about everything one could possibly imagine of the genre.

Tables with artists, merchants and fanatics filled the

Autumn Market/Artist Alley. Original paintings, comic

books, cosplay (term for costume and role-playing) outfits

and accessories, artwork, edible Japanese goodies, a mas-

sage station, and even Moon plots caught the eye of

onlookers. The market was a sight all its own.

Comic book artist Justin Hernandez of Harlingen was

among those hoping to gain recognition from the crowd.

“This is the first time I’ve had a set-up like this. I

usually spend my time going to places like this, never

actually being part of one, so it’s different,” said the 24-

year-old who’s attended the Wizard World Texas Comic

Conventions for the past four years. “It’s cool though,

because I get to meet all sorts of interesting people and I

get to share my artwork with them. Not only that but I get

to have interesting conversations with strangers whom I

normally wouldn’t talk to under regular circumstances.”

The opportunity for acknowledgement and recogni-

tion is exactly what Autumn Market director and UTPA

senior Laura Gomez seeks to bring. For her, an Anime

convention offers what people need most: fun.

“It’s so fantastic. It’s a good way to escape reality,”

said the graphic arts major from Mission, who is also sec-

retary for UTPA’s Japanese Animation club. “It’s a great

way to spend the weekend. Everyone’s having fun, with

the exception of some parents who are gripey because they

don’t want to be here.”

RISE, FALLWhile the anime culture has certainly risen, interest

wasn’t always so good.

“There was actually a decline in interest for a while

at school. I myself made fun of it for so long before I

finally became a fan,” said Gomez, who’s been part of the

Anime club since fall 2004. “But it’s gone up, especially

with the younger generation. It’s good that we have

younger kids because they’re the ones who can pass on

this knowledge and get society more involved. The Anime

culture has grown really big.”

An important aspect that can’t be missed at any

Anime convention is the value of socializing, which most

con-goers look forward to the most.

“It’s great because you get to meet other people with

the same interests as you and you get to take pictures of

people dressed as famous characters,” Martinez said.

“Also, it is cool seeing if there’s anything new and inter-

esting coming out and getting in on the latest craze before

anyone else does.”

Passemen himself can’t get enough of the cosplay

scene. He wore a white robe and sprayed his hair white in

honor of it.

“It’s fun doing it because you get to know the role,”

he explained. “I love taking pictures of all the people who

are dressed up. It’s the best part.”

Finding comfort in the unusual and embracing the

surroundings are vital in order to enjoy what ShimaKon

has to offer.

“This is a place where you can loosen up and relax

for an entire weekend instead of working and staying in

every day,” artist Hernandez said. “It’s definitely a good

place to be yourself and kick back while having fun.”

The people, not just the Anime and Manga, are what

really make a convention come to life.

“We may look weird, act weird. Well, maybe we are

weird. But we’re just being our childhood selves and

indulging,” said Gomez, who says the whole experience pays

off in the end. “It’s been a headache, but a good headache.”

A few ‘Sailor Moons,’ Lolita schoolgirls, and ninja

fighters later, one will definitely find that normal attire

makes one the outcast.

“You’ll find more cat ears and cat tails here than any-

where else,” laughed Hernandez.

www.rickymartin.de

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT October 11, 2007

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTOctober 11, 2007 Page 9

I

‘ANIME’TED - Attendees of Shimakon enjoyed a weekend of cosplay(term for costume and role-playing) and other activites.

Sidney Meadows/The Pan American

t’s not unusual for South Padre Island to find itself

inundated with tourists, residents and crowds of stu-

dents every weekend, but last weekend the sandy beach

city was animated with life for more than the normal

attractions.

It was a vivid array of colorful hair, impressive cos-

tumes and vibrant personalities as hundreds of people and

characters swamped the lobby and first floor of the Bahia

Mar Resort for the Rio Grande Valley’s 2nd annual Anime

convention, ShimaKon.

Kicking off Friday morning and closing Sunday

evening, the Valley’s first notable anime convention played

host to the wonderfully diverse animation world, its fans

and creators for a three-day event to remember. It was an

Anime lover’s dream come true.

Born in August 2005 from the Shimamom herself,

Kathy Russell, ShimaKon, which began as an avid fan’s

contribution to the anime culture, developed into some-

thing much more than an amateur’s handiwork said head

of press relations for ShimaKon, Albert “Orion” Passeman.

“Shimakon started when a local Anime club wanted a

Valley based convention. Ever since then, Valley Anime

clubs along with Kathy and Amanda Russell worked

together to help Shimakon become a success,” said

Passeman. “So you can say that ShimaKon is run by the

fans and for the fans.”

Last September, the convention had more than an

estimated 2,000 people in attendance at the SPI. Holiday

Inn SunSpree Resort, proving to be a successful event.

This year the celebration was planned a year in advance,

and with a more spacious area and the addition of events,

ShimaKon thrived yet again with its ‘Pirate’ theme.

Passeman couldn’t be more thrilled of how

ShimaKon has been accepted.

“It’s fun. This year it’s bigger, more stuff to program

and more room to explore,” said Passeman who’s been

involved in the Anime scene since 2005. “The people want

it and need it. So they got it.”

University of Texas-Pan American junior psychology

major Monique Martinez has been kicking it, Anime style,

for almost a decade.

“’Sailor Moon’ was what drew me in. Everyone

got obsessed with that in ’96,” said the Alamo

native who’s made four trips to A-Kon, the

longest running anime convention in the

United States. “Anime is something

different that doesn’t stick to the

rules. You can actually see some-

thing play out.”

While each day

brought varying events, much of the schedule remained the

same throughout the three days. The early mornings had

everyone surveying the ground floor for the beginning of

an interesting, fun-filled day.

After a session of Name that Chibi — the Japanese

term for dwarf or small child — at 9 a.m., a game of

matching character identities and the Anime version of

‘Name that tune,’ autographs were given by some of

Anime and Manga (Japanese word for comics and print

cartoons) popular voice actors and artists. Sonny Strait, the

voice behind Krillin of the popular hit anime series,

“Dragonball Z” and Maes Hughes in “Full Metal

Alchemist,” spoke his mind at noon.

Autograph sessions and workshops from artist Doug

Smith of “Case Closed,” “Golden Boy” and “Dragon

Knight”; Darrel Guilbeau of “Zoids Genesis” and “When

they Cry”; Spike Spencer of “Neon Genesis Evangelion”

and “Bleach”; and ‘Envy’ herself, Wendy Powell, ensued.

For those interested in the gaming experience, the

video room offered favorites Guitar Hero II, Soul Caliber

II and Super Smash Bros. Melee. Aspiring singers could

sing their lungs out at nighttime karaoke, and those with an

itch to dance could bust a move at Dance Dance

Revolution during the midnight hours.

For the hardcore fans, the upstairs dealer room satis-

fied any appetite offering all sorts of memorabilia, figures,

Manga comics and books, music, art, food, apparel; just

about everything one could possibly imagine of the genre.

Tables with artists, merchants and fanatics filled the

Autumn Market/Artist Alley. Original paintings, comic

books, cosplay (term for costume and role-playing) outfits

and accessories, artwork, edible Japanese goodies, a mas-

sage station, and even Moon plots caught the eye of

onlookers. The market was a sight all its own.

Comic book artist Justin Hernandez of Harlingen was

among those hoping to gain recognition from the crowd.

“This is the first time I’ve had a set-up like this. I

usually spend my time going to places like this, never

actually being part of one, so it’s different,” said the 24-

year-old who’s attended the Wizard World Texas Comic

Conventions for the past four years. “It’s cool though,

because I get to meet all sorts of interesting people and I

get to share my artwork with them. Not only that but I get

to have interesting conversations with strangers whom I

normally wouldn’t talk to under regular circumstances.”

The opportunity for acknowledgement and recogni-

tion is exactly what Autumn Market director and UTPA

senior Laura Gomez seeks to bring. For her, an Anime

convention offers what people need most: fun.

“It’s so fantastic. It’s a good way to escape reality,”

said the graphic arts major from Mission, who is also sec-

retary for UTPA’s Japanese Animation club. “It’s a great

way to spend the weekend. Everyone’s having fun, with

the exception of some parents who are gripey because they

don’t want to be here.”

RISE, FALLWhile the anime culture has certainly risen, interest

wasn’t always so good.

“There was actually a decline in interest for a while

at school. I myself made fun of it for so long before I

finally became a fan,” said Gomez, who’s been part of the

Anime club since fall 2004. “But it’s gone up, especially

with the younger generation. It’s good that we have

younger kids because they’re the ones who can pass on

this knowledge and get society more involved. The Anime

culture has grown really big.”

An important aspect that can’t be missed at any

Anime convention is the value of socializing, which most

con-goers look forward to the most.

“It’s great because you get to meet other people with

the same interests as you and you get to take pictures of

people dressed as famous characters,” Martinez said.

“Also, it is cool seeing if there’s anything new and inter-

esting coming out and getting in on the latest craze before

anyone else does.”

Passemen himself can’t get enough of the cosplay

scene. He wore a white robe and sprayed his hair white in

honor of it.

“It’s fun doing it because you get to know the role,”

he explained. “I love taking pictures of all the people who

are dressed up. It’s the best part.”

Finding comfort in the unusual and embracing the

surroundings are vital in order to enjoy what ShimaKon

has to offer.

“This is a place where you can loosen up and relax

for an entire weekend instead of working and staying in

every day,” artist Hernandez said. “It’s definitely a good

place to be yourself and kick back while having fun.”

The people, not just the Anime and Manga, are what

really make a convention come to life.

“We may look weird, act weird. Well, maybe we are

weird. But we’re just being our childhood selves and

indulging,” said Gomez, who says the whole experience pays

off in the end. “It’s been a headache, but a good headache.”

A few ‘Sailor Moons,’ Lolita schoolgirls, and ninja

fighters later, one will definitely find that normal attire

makes one the outcast.

“You’ll find more cat ears and cat tails here than any-

where else,” laughed Hernandez.

www.rickymartin.de

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTPage 8 October 11, 2007

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTOctober 11, 2007

I

‘ANIME’TED - Attendees of Shimakon enjoyed a weekend of cosplay(term for costume and role-playing) and other activites.

Sidney Meadows/The Pan American

STUDENTScontinued from page 7

The Art House in McAllen will

host a benefit auction for former South

Texas College administrator Ray

Hernandez this Friday from 6 p.m. to 10

p.m. organized by STC professors,

Richard Smith and Kim Johnson.

Hernandez, who was diagnosed

with tongue and neck cancer about five

years ago, will not be on hand. Donated

work from local artists will be auc-

tioned and money earned will be given

to help finance Hernandez’ ongoing

treatment.

Currently Hernandez lives in

Wisconsin, where he works as an art

professor at the University of

Wisconsin-Sheboygan. Until recently

the one-time Valley resident held the

position of dean of arts at that same

institution, but deteriorating health

forced him to step down.

While in the Valley, Hernandez was

instrumental in the creation of the art

department at STC.

Jose Cruz Jr., vice president of

information services and planning, says

that Hernandez’ leadership at STC left a

lasting impression that can be seen at the

college today.

“Ten years ago, before we had an

art program at STC, there were extreme-

ly few art showings, gallery exhibits and

other art related events,” Cruz said.

“Today it seems hard to choose which art

exhibit opening to attend.”

According to Cruz, Hernandez’s

leadership not only fostered artistic

awareness, but it also established artistic

participation and avenues for creativity.

“Since the creation of the art

department, art majors and other stu-

dents at STC have produced marvelous

works that have been showcased and

admired by many,” he explained. “His

main contribution to the art community

was the creation of the department at

South Texas College back in the 1990s.

We might not have an art program had it

not been for Ray’s leadership, vision and

love of the arts.”


art professor, Chris Leonard sees the

importance in

helping out a fel-

low artist and

contributing to

the cause.

“I don’t

know Ray per-

sonally, but it’s

for a good cause.

Richard and Kim have put together a

purposeful art show for a worthwhile

and heartfelt purpose,” said Leonard,

who has taught a few classes at the STC

campus. “I’ll use whatever time and tal-

ent I have to assist in the local effort.”

The bulk of his financial woes,

have stemmed from a life-saving opera-

tion. According to Arts & Diversity

Benefit, a fundraising organization

established to help Hernandez, the pro-

cedure was experimental and therefore

not covered by insurance.

Hernandez is currently recovering

from the surgery, and the cancer is in

remission.

Hernandez’s daughter Heather

Stieber said her father continues to be an

inspiration even through the obstacles.

“My father is a man of endless

inspiration. He has not ever wanted to be

a burden to anyone since becoming ill,”

she said. “In fact, he continues to work

to this day, sharing his passion for the

arts. His goodness has enriched the lives

of many because of his desire to help the

world evolve into a better place.”

In addition to the auction, Arts &

Diversity maintains a Web site that col-

lects donations, and sells “Cancer Sux”

T-shirts for $15 each. Visit

home.satx.rr.com/psbozkurt to donate.

Over the past several years,

Hollywood epic films have gotten a lot

of flack for not being original or worse,

for being too formulaic. Audiences have

been yawning and blowing off wanna-be

epics, opting to watch comedy and

action films. While some epic films have

surpassed the curse and went on to huge

and critical success, many have crashed

and burned.

Now with Oscar season upon us,

“Elizabeth: The Golden Age” has taken a

new route and has delivered a mind-

blowing, original piece of film that has

definitely brought back the Hollywood

epic movie experience to theaters.

The film finds Queen Elizabeth I,

Oscar winner Cate Blanchett (“Notes on

a Scandal,” “Elizabeth,” “The Aviator”)

facing bloodlust for her throne, and

familial betrayal. She becomes aware of

the changing religious and political tides

of late 16th century Europe, and finds

her rule openly challenged by the

Spanish King Philip II, played by Jordi

Molla (“Blow,” “The Alamo”), who is

determined to restore England to

Catholicism. While the prequel film

“Elizabeth” focused on her rise to

power, this one centers on how divinity

can make a person immortal.

Shekhar Kapur, who directed the

Oscar-winning prequel, has mastered the

sequel with great success. Everything he

does with this movie is epic. To the lush

costumes which rival those of Sofia

Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette,” to sets

fashioned with gold cloth, silver tapes-

tries, and crimson red velvet, Kapur has

surely mastered the visual aspect of an

epic film with the use of computer

graphics to show battles of the Spanish

Armada against the English.

Blanchett, who was nominated for

Best Actress in 1998 for the prequel but

lost to a mediocre performance from

Gwyneth Paltrow, proves yet again why

she and not Helen Mirren, Glenda

Jackson, or Bette Davis, was born to

play this role. She commands the screen

with her powerful voice and energy, and

when the audience sees her they under-

stand why she is this generation’s Meryl

Streep. Never has an actress graced the

screen with such versatility and charis-

ma in playing a historical female figure,

making her so real and human that view-

ers can identify.

Along with Blanchett’s amazing

portrayal goes Oscar nominee Clive

Owen (“Closer,” “Children of Men”),

who plays the English pirate Walter

Raleigh. His charismatic presence as a

macho-man with a heart of gold will

bring women to their knees and give male

audiences the urge to be just like him.

“Elizabeth: The Golden Age” has

everything the epic film has been miss-

ing. It has comedy, romance and of

course, a lot of action. Shekhar Kapur is

once again a director who can guide

epics and make the audience go back to

the once-lost big-time experience.

If the Academy Awards people

have been searching for an epic film to

reward, then they need look no further.

The Golden Age” has definitely revived

the epic genre, which was -- until now -

- considered dead and buried.

here’s a new reason to add

Wednesdays to your TV list this

season. With its new fall line-up, ABC

brings a unique comedy-drama to your

television screens: “Pushing Daisies.”

“Pushing Daisies” is a mystery-fan-

tasy tale focusing on Ned (Lee Pace),

with the special ability to resurrect the

dead. The gift however, has its draw-

backs. If Ned touches the revived person

twice, they die permanently. If a person

is revived for more than a minute, some-

one else dies. Ned, his investigator

friend, Emerson Cod (Chi McBride), and

his recently revived childhood sweet-

heart, Charlotte “Chuck” Charles (Anna

Friel) use the gift by seeking out murder-

ers and collecting rewards.

If you want something more ‘out

there’ than “CSI” or “Law and Order,”

“Pushing Daisies” is the perfect twist for

the usual crime-solving shows. Resurrect

your Wednesday nights by watching it on

ABC at 7 p.m. this fall.

“Pushing Daisies”

MOVIE REVIEW

T

Directing, acting make ‘Golden Age’ epic classic

By JEANETTE PEREZThe Pan American

COMMUNITY

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT October 11, 2007

By RUSSEN VELAThe Pan American

By BRIAN CARRThe Pan American

Silent auction to benefit ailing STC art pioneer

thecia.com.au

TV CORNER

WhatYou’reNotWatching

HERNANDEZ

TV/film major and junior Fernando

Martinez, also submitted his film

“Sen5es,” a horror flick that portrays

how the human senses help us see the

world in a different way.

Martinez felt getting a screening at

the festival was a good opportunity to

gain exposure.

“The point of submitting my work

was to expand the audience, basically to

get it out there to as much people as pos-

sible,” said Martinez of Edinburg. “It is

not only to benefit myself, but also to

create a culture toward these types of

events.”

Cortina said that the festival will

occur annually and hopefully will attract

more people in the future.

“We are starting to see such an

increase in the awareness of art and cul-

ture," said Cortina. “Film is another form

of art and that is what we want to trans-

mit to the public.”

She also said that hopefully, having

a film festival in the Rio Grande Valley

will inspire more students to participate.

“We want people to believe that

they don’t have to move to other places

in order to make it in this industry,” said

Cortina. “There are opportunities here in

the Valley and we are starting to see it

now.”ROYALTY - Cate Blanchett, who plays the Queen in “The Golden Age,” delivers a standout performance in the historical epic.

RECONSTRUCTION continued from page 1

Celeste Martinez, think that the new law

is long overdue and will hold students

responsible for their academic selec-

tions.

“Students should take their classes

seriously,” said the freshman psycholo-

gy major. “I think this bill should have

been passed a while ago, because it

leaves a better selection of classes open

for everybody else.”

However, others on campus see SB

1231 as an infringement on a student’s

right to feel comfortable with the cours-

es they are taking. Diego Benitez said

that everybody makes mistakes, includ-

ing the legislators who supported the

law.

“We all wish we could have done

something differently in hindsight,” said

the junior criminal justice major. “Even

those who pushed this bill through the

Legislature have made mistakes, and I

think it is wrong for us to be penalized

so heavily for doing something every-

body does. Give the students the benefit

of the doubt, at least.”

Marciela Hernandez, a freshman

business major who will likely be affect-

ed by the law, said she was not aware

about the policy change and is glad she

knows about it early into her college

career because she has already dropped a

course.

“I didn't know about the new law

because I'm new to the whole university

setting,” said Hernandez, freshman busi-

ness major. “This semester I dropped a

math course, and now I have to worry

about this new law limiting the number

of my dropped courses for the rest of my

time in college.”

LAW continued from page 1

NEWSOctober 11, 2007

GORBACHEV continued from page 1

with people, these discussions came rap-

idly after the 20th Congress of the

Communist Party. We discussed the con-

sequences of Stalin’s leadership and

gave it much criticism which was totally

justified. …I remember [the public] lis-

tened, and then they departed. Nobody

believed what I said. Nobody believed

Stalin had committed these crimes.”

Still, he accepted that Russians who

followed Stalin’s regime assisted the

leader’s corruption by not questioning it.

“I remember writing a paper during

my college career titled ‘Stalin, the

Father of Youth,’” he said. “I joined the

Communist Party in the tenth grade,

right after World War II, right after the

long-awaited victory that cost much life.

This was Stalin’s victory.”

Gorbachev, the recipient of the

1990 Nobel Peace Prize, the Orders of

Lenin, the Red Banner of Labor and the

Badge of Honor, urged the audience to

push for “peace in the 21st century,”

emphasizing the need for new leadership

and political reform, pointing out specif-

ic crises around the globe and offering

possible solutions to them.

He said the world should adopt

globalization to live in peace and har-

mony.

“Globalization is used in advanced

nations but it is condemned in other

places,” he said. “I was shocked to visit

the developing, Arab world and see the

criticism of globalization in these areas.

They told me globalization should not be

something [the world] should have.”

The United States’ global domi-

nance is being threatened these days,

because other countries are quickly

catching up in the race for power, he

said, citing countries such as China,

India and Brazil as potential superpow-

ers of the future.

“These new power centers, these

giants will change the world,” he said.

“It is increasingly important to integrate

them into power in an organic and posi-

tive way. …America doesn’t need to be

an empire.”

When asked to draw parallels

between the Berlin Wall and the

U.S./Mexico border wall currently in the

works, Gorbachev expressed concerns

that the new wall will be ineffective.

“I won’t repeat what Reagan said

once [when he asked Gorbachev to tear

down the Berlin Wall,] but historically,

walls like the Great Wall of China and

the Berlin Wall were not particularly

effective,” he said. “A country as

wealthy as the United States does not

have all the money in the world, so why

waste it on this kind of thing?”

At a welcome reception prior to

Gorbachev’s speech, Van Reidhead,

dean of the College of Social and

Behavioral Sciences and chair of the

Distinguished Speakers Committee,

approached Gorbachev, telling him that

at UTPA “here on the border, we are

building the world.”

“It’s a lot better to build a universi-

ty near the border than a wall,” joked

Gorbachev.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the next

speaker for the Distinguished Speaker

Series. He is an attorney and activist

who advocates for environmental con-

servation, and has been recognized by

Time magazine as a Hero for the Planet.

Sandra Gonzalez/The Pan AmericanWARM WELCOME- Mikhail Gorbachev (left), former Soviet leader, receives applause from Van Reidhead (center), dean ofthe Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Juan Gonzalez (right), assistant vice president for Business Affairs, at a welcomereception prior to his speech, following a statement decrying the impending border wall.

32-year-old building took on rust.

Because the building was lacking any

other structural support, the walls

began to fall.

“We’re fortunate in two respects,”

explained Boland. “For one, nobody got

hurt. Number two, it gave us a real heads

up that not only that building has a prob-

lem, but others might have a problem.”

The crew came up with a system

called “re-pinning.” Essentially, 8-inch-

long pins are being inserted through the

brick wall and into the backup wall to

support the building. As a result, the

bricks stay on. And the cleanup scheme

will become a part of future efforts

across campus.

“We instituted not only the recon-

struction of the SBS building, but are

continuing to review and plan to re-pin

11 more buildings on the campus that

were built during the same era with the

same basic construction,” Boland said.

Boland is currently compiling

budget proposals to repin the buildings

in question, which were built from 1969

to 1979.

Some buildings up for review are

the library, the Fine Arts complexes, the

Health and Physical Education I and,

surprisingly, the newly renovated

Student Services Executive Tower.

Boland explained that although the

Tower was just remodeled, only inside

alterations were made. His crew has

already re-pinned the east wall of the

SBS, in a job that runs about $375,000.

It will cost UTPA about $918,000 to

complete the other 11 buildings.

Jose Castillo, a freshman criminal

justice major said the construction at the

SBS building makes it “get real crowd-

ed. People try to come in and people try

to go out. It’s a big inconvenience. At

times I can get delayed.”“We believe that studentsshould take seriously theselection of their major and,subsequently, the selection ofcourses to meet degreerequirements.

- Dennis McMillanAssociate vice president

Enrollment and Student Services

FALLEN - This cell phone photo shows the east wall of the SBS building, current-ly under construction.

Marvin Boland

“It’s a lot better to build auniversity near the borderthan a wall.”

- Mikhail GorbachevFormer president

Soviet Union


HEALTH continued from page 3

the effects it would have on her health.

Michelle's Law was signed into

action for New Hampshire by Governor

John Lynch on June 22, 2006. It is now

under review as a federal bill by the

Committee on Health, Education, Labor

and Pension in both the House and

Senate and was cosponsored in the

House of Representatives by Rep.

Ruben Hinojosa along with four other

Congress members from Texas.

But the chances this proposed law

will affect many students at The

University of Texas-Pan American is

unlikely, said Director of Student Health

Services Rick Gray. “[Most] students at

UTPA have no insurance anyway so this

law would only benefit a small number

of students taking a year off."

UNINSUREDIn fact, about 78 percent of stu-

dents at The University of Texas-Pan

American have no insurance, said Gray,

referring to a Texas Department of

Insurance survey in 2005.

Of those who did not have insur-

ance, 71 percent said it was because they

could not afford it, 10 percent were not

aware about how to obtain insurance, 9

percent were too old to be covered by

their parents’ insurance, 7 percent were

not covered by their employer, 2 percent

felt it was not needed and 1 percent were

denied due to pre-existing conditions,

said Gray.

“About half of my undergraduate

career I didn’t have any [insurance],”

said Jen Leal, a clinical psychology

graduate student. “I guess I assumed that

I was going to be healthy and that noth-

ing was going to happen to me.”

Leal said the fact that she wasn’t

covered by her job as a part-time

employee was also a part of the reason

she went without insurance, and so she

went to the Student Health Clinic when-

ever she had minor illnesses.

A portion of student fees covers

basic on-campus care for those enrolled.

Consultations with Student Health

Services are free, and students pay only

for lab work and medicine.

Additional insurance that may

cover both students and their families is

offered by the UT System through

United Healthcare, said Gray.

“The problems begin to be encoun-

tered when they need services outside

our scope of practice,” he said.

WELCH continued from page 3

honors students so that they can focus on

their studies.

“It allows them to participate in the

honors program, and gives them funds to

devote just to their studies,” Buckman

said. “Even though this particular schol-

arship is dedicated to Dr. Welch, any

scholarship should help a student con-

centrate on their academics.”

Buckman also mentioned he expects

the scholarship would be well received.

“I would hope that the student who

gets [the scholarship] appreciates what

Dr. Welch has done for the program,” he

said.

The scholarship itself is a one-time

award, not an endowed fund. It will be

awarded this spring semester. Buckman

said he is unsure about how much money

the scholarship recipient will receive.

“He really epitomized a true gen-

tleman and a scholar,” said Dora

Saavedra, a communication professor at

UTPA who knew Welch.

Saavedra, who has been a professor

at UTPA for 15 years, took over the

Honors Program post in 1998 when

Welch left that position. She said she

remembers Welch was always willing to

help students in the program.

“If anyone deserves to be commem-

orated through a scholarship, he does,” she

said. “He did a lot of work. When I came

in [as director] he had left the program in

excellent shape so that I could move into

the next phase of its development.”

Emily Garza, a senior double major

in physics and math who is part of the

Honors Program, was not yet aware of it

because the scholarship is still in its

early stages of development.

“Now that I know about it, I

would consider applying for it,” said

Garza, an Edinburg resident. “The fact

that it is commemorated to someone

from UTPA might also make it more

meaningful if you get [the scholar-

ship],” Garza said.

Applications for the scholarship

are due Dec. 1 and it will be awarded by

Feb.1, 2008. Anyone interested in more

information about applying should con-

tact Buckman in SBS 104.

MEMORIESWelch retired from UTPA in 2001

and subsequently returned to his home-

town of East Aurora, N.Y., where he

died of lung cancer on July 3. He served

as director for the Honors Program from

1986 to 1998 and taught history and phi-

losophy at the university for 30 years

until his retirement.

The professor earned a B.A. in

1963, then attended the University of

Pennsylvania and graduated with a

Ph.D. in 1970. At UTPA he took part in

organizations such as the American

Organist Guild and the American

Philosophical Association.

“He has a legacy of individuals that

are now doctors, lawyers and professors

that he worked with at one point in his

career,” said Saavedra. “I hope the word

gets out about the scholarship.”

Amanda Cuevas is currently the

assistant dean of student affairs and of

the medical scholars program at the

University of Illinois College of

Medicine at Urbana-Champaign. But

she still remembers being an honors stu-

dent at UTPA when Welch was the pro-

gram’s coordinator. Cuevas met Welch

right before her freshman year at UTPA

in the fall of 1996.

“The one thing that stood out to me

the most was that when I met him, he

just worked very quickly to get my [hon-

ors] application process done,” said

Cuevas, who was then a speech commu-

nication major.

Cuevas, a McAllen native, said that

Welch always made her “feel very

important,” adding that students were

his top priority.

“I’m very pleased that the schol-

arship was set up and will continue to

help students in true Welch fashion,”

she said.

Buckman remembers being per-

sonally mentored by Welch in 1992

when he arrived at UTPA.

“I felt a great deal of attachment,

respect and gratitude that he helped me

go through the process,” he said.

“Interestingly, he was mentoring the stu-

dents going through the honors program,

mentoring the students going through

the philosophy program, and he was

mentoring me… that means a lot.”

Buckman said Welch’s influence

has inspired him to persevere in his cur-

rent role.

“I try to pass on the same type of

mentoring Dr. Welch gave me,” he

said.

the people of the Valley, and invite dis-

tinguished speakers and political leaders

to address those issues.”

Former Soviet Union leader

Mikhail Gorbachev visited the UTPA

campus Tuesday to speak on peace in the

21st century. Though most political sci-

ence professors let their students know

about the presentation, student interest

varied from class to class.

Chen said she believed her stu-

dents’ “profound interest” induced plen-

ty of them to attend.

SAENZ continued from page 3

all across District 40, not the special

interests in Austin. My priorities are the

district's priorities, and every decision I

make will be to improve the quality of

life for families and small businesses

here, not somewhere else.

I applauded my opponent when he

fled to Ardmore, Okla., to try to stop

redistricting being pushed by the

Republican speaker and his allies. But

when my opponent flip-flopped and sup-

ported that same Republican speaker for

a committee chair, he betrayed our trust.

And nothing symbolizes that betrayal

more than when he chose not to fight

against the voter ID bill earlier this year

that would have jeopardized our basic

right to vote.

Q: Rep. Pena said you have beenrunning "dirty whisper" campaigns

via blogs that misinterpret informa-tion against him and his family. Whatis your reaction to this statement?

A: This is just the latest in a cam-

paign of personal smears my opponent is

running against me, and he was embar-

rassed when he couldn't back up the

claim in a recent interview. I do not blog

and do not own any blogs. I have not

said a single word about his family. The

people of District 40 are growing weary

of these Republican-style personal

smears.

They are ready for a new day and a

new direction. That's why I am focusing

on positive change - more jobs, expand-

ed health care, better schools, lower col-

lege tuition rates, and a renewed faith in

our common future.

Q: What do you think your

chances of winning this election are?Do you think they are greater or lowerthan the last time you ran?

A: I like my chances. The voters of

District 40 want positive change, not more

of the same. That's why I have the

endorsements of the majority of the may-

ors in the District and still growing THIS

IS UNCLEAR, as well as numerous city

council members and school board offi-

cials. And last but not least, the hard-

working South Texans across our district

who want proactive representation.

Q: Do you think your recent DUIarrest might negatively affect yourcampaign? Do you think it might bedistracting?

A: The district knows me and is

aware of how hard I've worked to make

this a better place to live. My opponent

may choose to talk about this incident

because he doesn't have anything posi-

tive to say about his own record.

Q: Do you think the publicshould withhold judgment for yourarrest, as your lawyer has suggested?

A: Everyone is innocent until

proven guilty, and to pass judgment

before all the facts are known would

be like lynching someone without a

trial. The people of District 40 are fair-

minded, and they know my record of

public service. I have faith in their

judgment.

Q: Has an arrest like this beenmade in your past?

A: I have never been in trouble

with the law. I will also not comment on

the case as requested by my attorney.

Do youknow your

civics?1. Jamestown, Virginia was firstsettled by Europeans duringwhich period?

A. 1301-1304B. 1401-1500C. 1501-1600D. 1601-1700

2. Which of the following arein correct chronological order?

A. The Constitution, theDeclaration of Independence,the Articles of Confederation,

B. Fort Sumter, Gettysburg,Appomattox

C. Cuban Missile Crisis,Sputnik, Bay of Pigs

D. Mexican-American War,Louisiana Purchase, Spanish-American War

3. Abraham Lincoln was electedPresident during which period?

A. 1800-1825B. 1826-1850C. 1851-1875D. 1876-1900

4. In 1933 Franklin DelanoRoosevelt proposed a series ofgovernment programs thatbecame known as:

A. The Great SocietyB. The Square DealC. The New DealD. The New Frontier

Answers:1. D 2. B 3. C 4. C

CIVICS continued from page 3

“Teachers only teach themonkey-see, monkey-dogarbage that’s on standard-ized tests.”

- Samuel FreemanPolitical science professor

The men’s program traveled to

Lufkin Monday to compete at the Ben-Hill

Crown Classic hosted by Stephen F.

Austin University, and finished eighth out

off a field of 10.

After Monday’s two-rounder in

Lufkin, Carrolton Hebron H.S alum Shane

Pearce led the pack in the 29th position

with a collective score of 150 (72-78).

Trailing two strokes behind Pearce was

Portland, Ore., native Armen Kirakossian

with a 36-hole tally of 152 (78-74) and Van

Horn, Texas native Jeff Hensley with a

two-round tally of 155 (77-78) in the 44th

spot to close out the action on day one.

Senior and Phoenix Chaparral H.S

graduate Kyle Tudi claimed 28th position

after Tuesday’s campaign, posting a collec-

tive tally of 226 and a final round score of

77. Dropping two places by the end of the

final round at the Crown Tuesday was

Pearce, garnering the 31st spot by the end of

the tourney to bring the match-up to a close.

Hensley recorded 44th position for the

Green and Orange with a final tally of 231.

Wichita State took home victory lau-

rels ceasing first place with a three-round

collective team score of 845. Oklahoma

Christian trailed after recording 872, fol-

lowed by UMKC (875) Oklahoma City

(886) and Central Arkansas (899) to round

out the top five.

According to Head Coach Ofelia

Lopez, placement in the bottom third of

the tournament is not what the squad

expected before leaving for Lufkin.

“We just didn’t go out and execute our

game plan,” Lopez said. “We put too much

pressure on ourselves and it showed this

week. When you don’t start off [well] it rat-

tles everybody and they start thinking about

mechanics and birdying the next hole.”

According to Lopez, the course in

Lufkin was tighter and the greens were

smaller than those of previous courses, but

the collective mental game of the team

seemed to be on par with what the course

had in store for them as they left Edinburg.

The outcome of the two-day event was a

byproduct of a number of unfortunate

mishaps.

“They did well the first four holes,”

Lopez said. “If one of them had a bad hole

they continued to have bad holes or they

had bad breaks. There was not one thing in

particular that just went horrible.”

Strategies for the next tournament

include a lighter mental game. The team

will strive to focus on the “fun” aspect of

the match and not concern itself with to

many of the technical or mechanical facets

of play.

“When you lose sight of the fact that

you want to have fun and you are to hard

on yourself, you get to a point where noth-

ing is going to happen,” Lopez said.

The men return to the course in 2008

with a visit to Houston for the Rice

Intercollegiate Tournament, where the

squad hopes to crack the top five and put

someone in the top position. The match is

slated for Feb. 17-18.

The women’s team is gunning for the

UAB Fall Beach Blast in Gulf Shores, Al.,

Nov. 5 and 6.

It is the perfect working environment

developed over three years that Joseph

Monaco will miss most about leaving the

university that made him the youngest

NCAA Division I Sports Information

Director in the country at age 24.

“My crew, 100 percent my staff, I

mean Krystyna [Mancias] and my two

students, those guys are family for me,”

said the former assistant athletic director

for media relations, referring to his three

assistants. Oct. 10 was his last day at

work after he accepted a job at TCU.

“They keep me young, but I think we

have a great atmosphere here and great

camaraderie with one another.”

That very same camaraderie has

allowed new interim Sports Information

Director Mancias, a UTPA grad, to work

on the necessary skills to take over

Monaco’s duties. She is just a raw college

grad, but her boss thinks she’ll do well.

“Those three with her being the

ringleader will be perfectly fine,” he said.

Monaco announced his departure

last week and left on Wednesday to

accept a similar position at TCU, where

he will deal primarily with basketball,

golf and some football.

At the University of Texas-Pan

American Monaco dealt with local, state

and national media outlets arranging

coverage for all Bronc athletic teams.

Mancias, a 2007 UTPA graduate

and former reporter for student newspa-

per, The Pan American, worked as

Monaco’s assistant one year before

being promoted to graduate assistant.

Now she is in the driver’s seat.

“It is probably the best job I have

had so far. Not only is Joe a great guy

but he is a great teacher and a great boss,

Mancias said. “Joe gave me the opportu-

nity that many people do not get very

often. I think I have learned more in

these past couple of months than in my

four years in college.”

Monaco came to Edinburg three

years ago after receiving a master’s

degree in sports education at Division II

Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio,

where he also played baseball as an

undergrad.

“They just kind of saw me as an up-

and-coming guy who wanted to be good

in this field. It was all just about being in

the right place at the right time,” said

Monaco, who got into media relations

after injuring his elbow playing baseball.

At UTPA, whatever he didn’t know

Monaco made up for by doubling the

hard work.

“I really go thrown in to the fire

right from the get go and it actually

worked out pretty well,” he said.

With time, he eventually learned all

aspects of media relations, marketing,

administration and budgeting, a wide array

of experience he calls “just invaluable,”

Last year, he was asked to help out

when the NCAA Final Four came to San

Antonio, ran South Padre Island

Invitational basketball tournament, and

trained the Rio Grande Valley Dorados

media relations team. Monaco said the

most rewarding part of his job is seeing

all his former assistants move on to bet-

ter jobs and sharing his knowledge, just

like his mentor current Ashland SID Al

King once did for him.

“My first assistant was the director

of event management over at Southern

Utah, my second assistant became sports

information director at Southwestern

University and Bob Lopez is the head of

ticket sales and CEO of EZ Tickets,” he

said. “Mancias will be no exception.”

As for what Mancias will miss

most about Joe, “his OAR (Of A

Revolution) Madison Square Garden

DVD,” she said before laughing refer-

ring to one of their numerous inside

office jokes.

According to Monaco, a permanent

replacement will be named by Dec. 1,

while UTPA athletic director Scott Street

said a new person will be hired within

the next four to six weeks.

“We have some plans in place to

continue on without a letdown in our

services to the media, to our student ath-

letes and to our coaches, and we’ll use

our available staff,” Street said.

By ERICK QUINTERO

The Pan American

FRONT OFFICE

UTPA’s Monaco leaves after three yearsInterim SIDappointed as heheads to TCU

SPORTSOctober 11, 2007

Melissa Uriegas

GOLF

Men’s golf ends fall season with eighth-place finish

MONACO

SENIOR LEADER - UTPA senior Kyle Tudi finished 28th overall at the CrownClassic. His 227 (72-78-77), 54-hole tally was tops among the Broncs.

By GABRIEL SALDANAThe Pan American

It’s time to head back to the prac-

tice field for the men’s soccer club as

they dropped their near flawless record

to 5-2 Sunday against the Texas A&M

club team.

Following a fierce battle cry before

the match, the Green team proceeded

onto a field that would yield defeat as a

riled up Aggie squad delivered devasta-

tion in a 3-4 victory.

The game kicked off with a red card

and ejection of playmaker Roel Treviño

in the first five minutes, forcing the Bronc

team to endure a eleven on ten match

“Roel is the brains of the team,” said

club adviser and head coach Marcelo

Schmidt. “He is the playmaker and the

coach on the field but I’m not going to

hold it against him.”

In the first half after three attacks on

the A&M net, senior forward Juan P.

Davila procured the first goal of the

match by means of a free kick.

“It felt good to help out the team

[but] the ref gave me a yellow card for

celebrating.” said Davila. “It was my

third yellow card.”

Davila’s third card of the regular

season makes him ineligible for play in

Saturday’s game against San Antonio

College. Each subsequent card will cost

Davila an additional game.

After three successful blocks by the

Maroon team and heavy back and forth

field play, the Broncs were able to net one

more in the first half via Juan Reynoso

bringing their score two-nil.

“It was a team effort,” said Reynoso

“We’ll take it as a team.”

A&M retorted at the bottom of the

half taking a drive at the net to post their

first goal. The half drew to an end with a

Bronc lead at 2-1.

The Aggie team rallied in the sec-

ond half and tied the game at the 59th

minute marker before delivering a dis-

heartening blow and bringing the score 3-

2 in their favor.

The latter half of the match yielded

strife for the Green team as it struggled

to keep A&M away from the net. Aggie

advances were unrelenting as they con-

tinued to march the ball toward the

Bronc goal.

The nail was thrust into the coffin

35 minutes into the second half when the

Maroon team drove the ball into the net

for the fourth time in the match up.

The Broncs put one more goal into

the opposing net to bring the score to 4-3;

but the score came too late. In a six

minute-game of keep away, Texas A&M

sealed their win on Bronc turf.

“It was not the best game. Playing

with 10 men on the field makes it very

challenging,” said Schmidt. “Still we

were able to hold them to a 4-3 score with

a very concrete possibility of tying the

game at the end. I’m disappointed with

the outcome; a nail is never a happy situ-

ation [but] we have an opportunity now to

make adjustments.”

UTPA also posted a 3-2 victory at

Rice University on Saturday. Playmakers

in that match up included Juan Reynoso

with two goals and senior midfielder

Victor Gutierrez with one.

“We were able to win and that

makes me very happy,” said Schmidt.

“We took a reduced squad with a few

people who had not had a chance to play

but they stacked up pretty strong. We

were able to hold them back”

The next game is scheduled at home

Saturday against San Antonio College

and Sunday at the University of Texas

Austin. With the season winding down all

the attention turns to qualifying for

regional play.

“In the past San Antonio has bailed

out,” said Schmidt. If they forfeit we

will only get two goals for that. We

would much rather have them come

down and beat them. Beating San

Antonio by 7 goals would put us at the

lead. It can be done.”

Standing at midfield, business

management junior Elena Moncivais

looked for an outlet on both flanks,

found none and with a swift stroke found

junior forward Jessica Gomez.

Gomez took the pass a good 10

yards ahead of the Texas State defense,

took two dribble steps and gave the

women’s Bronc soccer club its first goal

in Saturday’s home game played at the

intramural practice field.

The problem was the visiting Lady

Bobcats had already taken 4-0 lead and

Gomez’s goal only pulled the women

within three — the smallest margin of

difference throughout the game. One

minute later Gomez could have scored

on an identical play, except this time her

shot was wide left.

“We had a lot of mistakes, three

own goals; so that’s what kind of

screwed us over,” Gomez said.

Thirty minutes into the first half

and Texas State’s Angela Fulton scored a

hat trick with a soft header in the box

and gave the Lady Bobcats a 4-0 lead.

Fulton added her fourth and final goal at

the 44th minute mark for a 6-1 Texas

State lead.

While UTPA created several scor-

ing opportunities, it was the defense that

got outplayed throughout the game. The

Lady Bobcats remained the aggressor in

the second half and took advantage of

their opportunities.

The women managed almost as

many shots on goal Saturday as the Lady

Bobcats, 11 to 14, but it was State who

capitalized on their opportunities.

The lone bright spot for the women

was Gomez’s play; she scored all of the

Lady Broncs’ goals over the weekend

including the lone one in a 10-1 loss at the

University of Texas-San Antonio on

Sunday afternoon, at the 84-minute mark.

“It was exciting it was good, I felt

excited, on top of the world,” said

Gomez of her performance over the

weekend. “The good thing is that we

have spirit.”

Dealing with injuries, a shortage of

players who could make the trip, and

poor driving directions added to the

team’s woes against UTSA.

“The first half we kept it close at 3-

0, but in the second half, that’s when it

all came down,” said sophomore right

center Cynthia Sanchez.

The two losses keep the women

winless on the year at 0-3-1 with only

two games remaining in Texas Collegiate

Soccer League Division II play.

Up next the women will travel to

Sam Houston State Saturday. They play

their last home game of the year in a

rematch against UTSA Sunday at the

intramural practice field at 1 p.m. By ERICK QUINTERO

The Pan American

SPORTS October 11, 2007

WOMEN’S SOCCER CLUB

MEN’S SOCCER CLUB

Gomez’s threegoals remainlone bright spot

By GABRIEL SALDANAThe Pan American


Men drop firsthome game toA&M 4-3

Aggies exact revenge on Bronc Soccer Club

Lady Broncs drop back-to-back games over weekend

Onydia Garza/The Pan AmericanMAD SCRAMBLE - (Left) Senior Juan Reynoso moves in for a header whilesenior Victor Gutierrez leaps over a Texas A&M player in Saturday’s first homeloss. Reynoso’s three goals over the weekend bring his season total to 8.

ON TARGET - Junior forward Jessica Gomez takes a shot at Texas State goal keeper Dani Denis. Gomez scored threegoals in two games over the weekend.

When records are broken it’s usual-

ly by a minuscule margin. A hundredth of

a second in the 100-meter dash, or in

Peyton Manning’s case, a single touch-

down pass more than Dan Marino for the

single-season touchdown mark. But for

The University of Texas-Pan American

junior setter Chelsea Blakely, she’s

already broken volleyball career assists

record just 13 matches into her third of

four seasons as a Lady Bronc.

With her record mark of 2,493

assists, set against Texas Southern on

Sept. 15. Blakely will almost certainly

have her record cemented in program

history for years to come.

“It has been crazy but I am glad all

that hype was over,” Blakely said after

UTPA’s first home win over rival Texas

A&M-Corpus Christi, Tuesday. “I have

had some great hitters that have helped

me get the record. Without them there is

no assists record.”

The former record holder at UTPA

was Marie Velasquez, who held the

mark for a decade and was not chal-

lenged until Blakely arrived at UTPA.

The Houston junior needed only 458

assists coming into the season to break

the career mark, but Blakely had no

idea that the program record was well

within reach.

“I had no idea I was even close

until I came back to campus and saw

my picture on the UTPA Web site,”

Blakely added. “It was kind of cool

being a part of something special like a

career record. I had no idea it would be

in reach for me when I got here, but like

I said, it’s special.”

The career assists record is now in

hand and what the final mark will be

remains to be seen. However, Blakely is

also able to move her focus away from

statistics and focus on a different

record; wins and losses.

“Things are great now with the

coaching change,” Blakely said, after

Angela Hubbard replaced nine-year vet-

eran Dave Thorn this year. “The locker

room is completely different, we fight for

every point and coach doesn’t let us set-

tle. We’re trying to have an even or win-

ning season this year. We have some

work to do, but we’re on the right path.”

The record is just one of many

accomplishments this season for

Blakely, who has been selected to mul-

tiple all-tournament teams in 2007. She

mentioned after a convincing home vic-

tory that she is just glad to be a part of

UTPA history and had the chance to be

honored in front of the home crowd.

“I love Pan American,” said

Blakely after Tuesday night’s three-game

sweep of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. “I

am glad I got to finally celebrate this

moment here at home, and get a win for

all my friends, family and supporters.”

Whether it was revenge on their

mind or simply just trying to step up

their level of play in front of their first

home crowd, the University of Texas-

Pan American Lady Broncs volleyball

team came away with a three-game

sweep of the Lady Islanders from

Corpus Christi in front of a packed Field

House Tuesday night.

The Lady Broncs defeated the

Lady Islanders 30-28, 30-21, 30-27,

recording a win in their home debut and

exacting revenge from a Sept. 8 loss that

went five games. UTPA improved to 8-

14, while Corpus Christi fell to 4-14.

“I’m very proud of the girls,” said

Angela Hubbard, head coach of the

Lady Broncs. “We prepared for this

match all week in practice and they exe-

cuted exactly what we said. One thing

that we’ve been trying to establish into

practice is passion and fire for the game

and we definitely saw that tonight. The

girls took what we talked about, had a

good time and played hard.”

In the first match, the score stayed

tight as both teams swapped points and

the lead. With the score tied at nine, the

Lady Islanders went on a 5-2 run, before

UTPA came right back with a 7-0 run of

their own. The Lady Broncs had their

largest lead of the match at 27-21 when

the Lady Islanders went on a 7-1 streak

to tie the game at 28. But the Green and

Orange didn’t fold, scoring the last two

points.

The second match started in the

same fashion as the previous one, with

UTPA holding a one point lead at 7-6.

The Lady Broncs then pulled away with

a 9-0 stretch, which the Blue and Green

never recovered from. The Lady

Islanders would come to within seven at

26-19, but UTPA shut the opportunity of

a comeback going on a 4-2 run to take

the match.

“I think we did very well,” said

Kellie Phillips, outside hitter for the

Lady Broncs. “This is a team that we

went to five with the last time we played

them and it was kind of a struggle. I

thought we did really well, especially in

the third game because we were behind,

but we still had the intensity to beat

them.”

California native Deanna Schneyer

led the Green and Orange with 12 kills

and five blocks. Recording her sixth

double-double of the season, Chelsea

Blakely recorded 37 assists and 16 digs

and Phillips added 12 kills along with

eight digs.

The third match showed the heart

and fight that the Lady Broncs possess.

With the team in front 10-6, a 7-2 run by

the Coastal Bend team gave them the

lead by one. The teams traded points and

with the score tied at 21, the Lady

Islanders pulled ahead by four and

looked as though there would be extra

matches. But UTPA avoided the deficit,

responding with a 9-2 run, including

scoring the final six, to take the game.

The Lady Broncs were coming off

a tough four-game setback to Utah

Valley University on Oct. 5. UTPA had

tied the game at one, before the Lady

Wolverines claimed the final two sets.

They will resume play in a double-

header on Saturday in Birmingham,

against the Panthers of Birmingham-

Southern and Fisk University, before a

three-game home stand starting Oct. 20.

VOLLEYBALLSPORTS

October 11, 2007

By RAMIRO PAEZThe Pan American

By ALEJANDRO DEL BARRIOThe Pan American

Women sweep Lady Islanders 3-0 in home debutLady Broncsclaim first homegame Tuesday

Among the greats


Onydia Garza/The Pan AmericanFOR THE RECORD - Chelsea Blakely, UTPA’s all-time assist leader, sets up freshman Danielle Reed for one of her sixkills during Tuesday night’s victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Lady Broncs returned home after 21 road games.

FIELD HOUSE CRAZIES - Kappa Sigma fraternity members and Unity Hall residents cheer after UTPA’s first home win.

SPORTS

8

99

Carolina Izaguirre’s bestfinish of the year, at the

Texas A&M-Corpus ChristiSplash Invitational

8Number of wins the volley-

ball team has posted thisseason, two more than last

year.

StatsAtAGlance

1212On Oct. 12 the men and

women’s basketball teamswill host Midnight Madness.

TENNIS

ShortSports

THE PAN AMERICAN October 11, 2007

Izaguirre leads Lady Bronc packCROSS COUNTRY


cross country runner Carolina Izaguirre

has that little added ‘extra’ that can not

be taught or coached.

The 19-year-old health science

major was raised in Brownsville and

graduated from Hanna High School in

2006. Running since her elementary

days, Izaguirre was active in high

school, getting involved in soccer and

track and field in addition to cross coun-

try. She received an athletic scholarship

to join the UTPA cross country team and

says it is what gives her the drive to

work hard.

She remains grateful for the oppor-

tunity she has received, after all not

many former Valley athletes continue

their playing days at Division I schools

“Competition is everything,” said

Izaguirre. “We all want to thrive and

succeed. It is my only motive in pro-

pelling in my studies and training.”

In her last meet she finished ninth

overall at the Islander Splash

Invitational hosted by Texas A&M-

Corpus Christi on Sept. 28, with a time

of 17:57—best for fourth all time in pro-

gram history.

Izaguirre’s top-10 finish paved the

way for the rest of the women, who as a

team finished fourth out of 10 teams in

Corpus Christi, well ahead of Central

Arkansas, Sam Houston State, Texas

A&M-Kingsville, St. Mary’s University

and Houston Baptist.

However Izaguirre has been mak-

ing noise in the UTPA cross country

team since last year during the indoor

season, when she won the University of

Houston Sport All-Comers meet in the

3,000-meter race with a time of

10:54:64.

Hugo Cervantes, head coach of the

men’s and women’s cross country team,

says Izaguirre possesses great qualities

and has shown much discipline in her

time here.

“Izaguirre is a young, talented ath-

lete,” said Cervantes. “She doesn’t have

much to say. I tell her what to do and

she’ll go out and get it done. She goes

and runs her heart out; can’t really ask

for more.”

The sophomore says running is a

stress reliever that keeps her aware of

where she is going. “Responsibility” and

“persistence” she adds are her most

important concepts. Adjusting to run-

ning long distance was a difficult

process for her, but she found that with

persistence, learning to get up early and

run became simpler by the day.

It’s a familiar story: athletes face

challenges on their road to success. And

the same can be said for non-athletes as

well. Going from high school to college

is a good example.

Being away from her family has

been a test of will for Izaguirre.

She was raised in a very close-knit

family with a rich Mexican cultural

background. Though she has come to

realize that changes happen, like moving

to a different town to attend college, she

believes difficulties should not get in the

way of achieving goals.

With the support of her family,

teammates and coaches, Izaguirre has

learned to train hard for every race and

have faith in her ability as a runner. She

says that her teammates are “unique”

and “empowering” for her. Cervantes, as

well, has been an “angel” with an inex-

plicable wisdom of running, guiding her

to the ideal training and teaching her to

endure grueling workouts.

“At this point in my life, it has been

the most exhausting push in both my

body and mind,” said Izaguirre. “The

fact that I am in college and graduated

from high school has been a rewarding

accomplishment.

Cervantes says he has high hopes for

Izaguirre, expecting her to place in the top

20 at the regional race on Nov. 10; doing

that could get her honors and possibly an

opportunity to make it to nationals.

“My biggest concern was her lack

of experience,” Cervantes said. “It’s

been hard for her to understand the con-

cept of strategy racing, but after a few

races and constant tutorial by me, she

has really improved in that aspect of run-

ning. Once we combine her great talent

and some racing experience, there is no

saying how far she will go.”

Once her run at UTPA is over,

Izaguirre plans to attend medical or

graduate school to continue her studies.

Life’s tough lessons will always be

things she will take into account as she

looks toward the future.

For now, Izaguirre said she does

what she can to overcome, and doesn’t

worry about the rest.

“There are many lessons that life

has taught me, but the most important

one is that we must have faith in God

and our self; as for the rest, let it figure

out itself,” she said.

HOME GROWN - Sophomore Carolina Izaguirre’s ninth-place finish atthe Islander Splash Invitational with a 17:57 time is good enough forfourth all-time at UTPA.


By RAMIRO PAEZThe Pan American

Ivan Avila reached the singles’

semifinals of the University of Texas-

San Antonio on Saturday. While sopho-

more Brett Bernstein and UTPA rookie

Marcus Dornauf lived up to their pre-

season billing.

Bernstein who kept active on the

court over the summer defeated Caleb

Bulls from Texas Christian University 5-

7, 6-4, and 7-5. However just like Avila,

Bernstein fell to another UTSA foe,

Adam Becker 6-0, 6-4 in the subsequent

round.

Dornauf cruised to a 6-3 and 7-5

victory over St. Edwards’ Nick Arnold.

Dornauf’s short lived success was halted

in the second round James Wilson of

Texas Tech in a 6-3, 7-5 setback.

Avila qualified past the first round

of singles play by defeating Aime of

Tyler Junior College, 6-4, 6-3 but lost to

UTSA’s Robin Fernandes in the semis.

In the first round of doubles action

Avila and Nirvick Mohinta teamed up to

hand Boris Barrios and Jacob Walley of

St. Edwards a 9-7 defeat. In the doubles

semis during the second day of play the

UTPA combo lost to a tougher

Monterrey Tech duo.

The men resume play on Oct. 21 at

the ITA Regionals hosted by the

University of Texas while the women take

the court on Oct. 18 at the ITA Regionals

hosted by Texas Tech in Lubbock.

October 11, 2006

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