Mohamed Ahmed Contributing Writer news@paisano-online.com

On June 30, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets to demand the ousting of the democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi. Middle-class Egyptians had grown frustrated over the government’s failed effort to solve Egypt’s impending social and economic problems.

The country has seen politi-cal instability since the ouster of longtime dictator Mohamed Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. Morsi took office on June 30, 2012 after a transition pe-riod lasting for a year.

The protest was called on by a group known as “Tama-rod,” or “Rebel.” This grassroots movement gathered 22 million signatures calling for Morsi’s resignation. The leaflets stated “Tamarod Campaign: Vote of No Confidence in Mohamed Morsi el ‘Ayat: Because public safety has yet to return, we do not want you…. Because the economy fell, we do not want you.”

The signatures were seen as a large enough mandate to force Morsi to step down. He won the 2012 election by a margin of 3.2 percent, or approximate-ly 700,000 people, with an elec-torate of 40 million.

“We went out because we can’t handle it anymore,” said Ahmed El Mohamady, 21, who was one of the millions who signed the “Rebel” petition. “There’s no gas, no electricity,

no money. (Morsi) has gone back on every promise he made before he was elected. He has to go.”

It was evident that Morsi and his government had done noth-ing to end any of the Mubarak-era human rights abuses or to reform the interior ministry and its brutal, repressive and corrupt police force.

The economy suffered, too, as inflation and unemploy-ment reached record highs. The country’s tourism indus-try, which once accounted for 11 percent of GDP, suffered tremendously, as political un-rest chased away tourists and investors. Foreign reserves had

dwindled to near inexistence. The staggering economy af-

fected all walks of life among Egyptian society, as the coun-try saw major power cuts, which lasted up to 12 hours. There were also major diesel and gasoline shortages, forcing commuters to queue for hours. Basic foodstuffs such as bread, sugar and rice were at their highest prices in history.

The Brotherhood’s rheto-ric was becoming increasingly one-sided, frequently alienating any critics– even parties with similar ideologies. The Broth-erhood also used religion as a means for political gain. Often-times, Brotherhood members

would question the faith of those who opposed the govern-ment.

On July 1, Colonel General Abdelfattah el Sisi, the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), gave a speech in which he laid out a 48-hour ultimatum: the presi-dent must either resign or “face the consequences.” He added that the country would be pro-tected from “thugs, liars and terrorists.”

Forty-eight hours later, the government was overthrown via coup d’état, and hundreds of political figures were arrest-ed. These included leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood Mo-

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

Volume 48 Issue 16 {WWW.PAISANO-ONLINE.COM}{SINCE 1981}

} {

UTSAUTSA

officer Sgt. Hector Barrera died

Tuesday August 21 following a fatal mo-

torcycle accident.

San AntonioBexar County

persists with poor outdoor conditions, issuing air quality alerts, a burn ban

and stage three

water restrictions.

TexasPaul Foster, the

executive chairman of Western Refin-

ing Inc. was recently elected the chair-ment of the UT

Board of Regents.

U.S.Chelsea Manning

has been sentenced to 35 years for

illegally providing WikiLeaks

with thousands of confidential U.S. documents, and

seeks to begin a sex change in prison.

WorldMario Armando

Ramirez Trevino, a high ranking mem-ber of Mexico’s Gulf Cartel, was captured near the border on

August 18.

SportsAugust 30, UTSA

soccer will be host-ing the UTSA Clas-sic tournament fea-turing Lamar, Sam Houston State and South Dakota State

Universities

UTSA basketball sees coaching changes page 13

The Block brings entertainment

and food to areapage 7

See EQUALITY, Page 3See THE FIGHT, Page 4

M king it out

Sarah GibbensNews Editornews@paisano-online.com

On Aug. 14 San Antonio City Council held a hearing to discuss the passage of the proposed Nondiscrimination Ordinance (NDO). The NDO would protect members of the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexu-al, Transgender and Question-ing) community from being fired on the basis of their sexual preference and orientation.

Currently, workers suspect-ed of identifying as anything other than heterosexual can le-gally be fired if their employer chooses to do so. The NDO would change wording in sec-tion 2.552 of a previous bill to remove an employer’s ability to fire an employee who is sus-pected of being a member of the LGBTQ community.

The Aug. 14 hearing allowed citizens to argue for or against the ordinance, give testimonies of their personal experience in the workforce and state why they believed the ordinance should or should not pass.

Due to a previously scheduled funeral of a fallen officer, only five of the nine voting mem-bers of City Council attended including: Diego Bernal, Ron Nirenberg, Elisa Chan, Shirley Gonzales and Ray Saldaña.

Ron Nirenberg, who repre-sents UTSA’s main campus in District 8, gave his stance on the ordinance. “We have craft-ed a law that respects the spirit (of non-discrimination)... and civil liberties.”

When asked what the aver-age citizen can expect as ef-fects of this ordinance, Niren-berg stated that most people, “won’t even notice this law has gone into effect,” as it is simply, “working to refine language to remove section 2.552.”

Nirenberg believes students, “should be concerned,” about whether or not the bill passes because they have, “much lon-ger to live with the consequenc-es.”

Councilwoman Elisa Chan faced controversy after a mem-ber of her staff recorded a con-versation in which she admitted that she finds homosexual be-havior “disgusting just to even think about.”

“I don’t think homosexual people should do adoption,” stated Chan. “It is actually, what you call suggestive, for the kids to be corrupt, which is against nature. I’m telling you, anything that is against nature is not right,” admitted the council-woman.

Days following the recording, Chan held a press conference to defend her statements.

August 23, 2013

Bloodshed plagues Egyptian citizens

Ordinance sparks LGBTQ controversy

Thousands of Egyptian citizens flock to the streets to protest the control of former President Mohamed Morsi.

Cour

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aeed

Rafael Gutierrez / The Paisano

LOCAL

WORLD

Alive Roadrunners give advice on surviving college

2 ADVERTISMENT

NEWS Fall 2013

3

A conversation with Dr. Romo

Sarah GibbensNews Editornews@paisano-online.com

While some believe a li-censed gun holder can stop a shooter, UTSA President Ri-cardo Romo disagrees. He be-lieves only a very experienced gun holder can stop a shooter without furthering damage — experience that many students do not have.

“It’s not The Lone Ranger coming to the rescue,” argued Romo.

Many students and faculty, he believes, mirror his sentiments, and it is only a small few who desire to carry a gun to school.

When asked explicitly how he felt about concealed guns being allowed on campus, Romo re-sponded by saying, “I’m totally opposed to it.”

This question was asked of Romo by editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune, Evan Smith, in light of last year’s legislative push to allow guns on campus.

On Aug. 19, UTSA and the Texas Tribune co-hosted a mental health symposium in the Business Building of UTSA’s main campus to address issues commonly faced by people with mental illnesses and to open a dialogue for solutions.

While the event featured mental health experts, state legislators and members of aca-demia to speak on their areas of expertise, the most anticipated conversation was the featured

interview with Dr. Romo. The conversation also ad-

dressed the condition of higher education, and the challenges UTSA faces.

Romo attributed the growth of UTSA in part to the growing demographics in Texas. With a population about to reach 27 million, Texas is one of the fast-est growing states in the nation.

In 2000, 70 percent of UTSA students came from within Bexar County; today 70 per-cent of students will be mov-ing to San Antonio from other

regions of the state, particularly the Houston area.

As admission to schools such as UT-Austin is becoming in-creasingly difficult, UTSA is becoming a more accessible option. Romo compared UTSA to schools in California noting that, while UC Berkeley had once been the most highly re-garded school, its sister schools (UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Ir-vine) have now become well re-spected in their own right.

Smith then asked Romo what it was about UTSA specifically

that allowed it to see so much growth compared to other UT affiliates.

Romo stated that having “a great faculty and recruiting great students,” are essential to improving a university’s repu-tation. He noted that, just this fall, UTSA recruited 60 new professors.

Romo also believes that word of mouth about success-ful UTSA graduates will draw people to campus.

One way UTSA attracts stu-dents is by awarding more than

$220 million in financial aid every year. When asked if this was enough, Romo re-s p o n d e d , “We always need more.” More than 70 percent of UTSA stu-dents require some type of financial aid; however, UTSA is able to help only between 40 and 50 per-cent of stu-dents.

UTSA is also a highly diverse cam-pus, another attraction for many stu-dents. This fall, 51 per-

cent of UTSA students are Hispanic, reflect-ing the demographics of San Antonio which is itself 60 per-cent Hispanic.

“We’re very proud of our di-versity,” stated Romo.

Smith believes UTSA and San Antonio are modeling the demographic changes that may soon be statewide, saying, “San Antonio was majority La-tino before majority Latino was cool”.

One struggle UTSA is fac-ing is the extremely low four-

year graduation rate of 14 per-cent, which Romo believes is an inaccurate representation of student success. He instead chooses to focus on the more than 5,000 degrees awarded ev-ery year.

Whether or not students came to college prepared was another difficult question. While most students come to college with the necessary skill set, Romo believes that those who need remediation have suffered from a lack of funding to Texas public schools. “Ev-ery time we have a budget cri-sis, we find a way to hurt these schools,” stated Romo.

When asked why Tier One status was such an emphasized goal at UTSA, Romo explained that it will make funding more accessible and available for stu-dents.

Looking towards the fu-ture, Romo hopes to continue student success by obtaining membership to the National Academy (an esteemed artist association), creating Rhodes Scholars and recruiting faculty from prestigious universities.

Evan Smith, editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune, interviews UTSA President Ricardo Romo about the state of education at UTSA and in Texas.

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“Every time we have a budget crisis, we find a way to hurt these schools.”Dr. Ricardo RomoUTSA President

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NEWS4

hamed Badi, Mohamed Mahdi Akef, Khairat el Shater, Prime Minister Hisham Qandeel and the president himself, whose whereabouts are still unknown.

Also arrested were present-ers of private television stations owned or affiliated with the Brotherhood or their political wing. Egypt’s constitutional court chief justice, Adly Man-sour, now heads the country as interim president.

On July 4, after the extremely popular overthrow, clashes between anti-coupe and anti-Morsi mobs ensued, causing at least 100 deaths.

Days later, a bomb exploded in the city of Mansura, killing one policeman and injuring 19 other officers. No organiza-tion claimed responsibility for the attack. On July 24, General Sisi made a speech in which he called for mass protests against “terrorism.” Estimates vary, but on July 27, thousands of people filled the streets of Egypt’s ma-jor cities. The following day, 84 pro-Morsi protesters were killed and 299 injured in Cairo’s Nasser City.

“We didn’t have enough places in the fridges to fit all the bodies,” Dr. Hazem Hossam, an official at Zenhom morgue, told The Guardian newspaper. The army claimed they were following the people’s demands and, again, claimed they were provoked.

In between these massacres, there were reports of violent clashes between pro- and an-

ti-Morsi protesters across the country. Casualty numbers re-main unknown.

On Aug. 11, the Egyptian government vowed to clear the pro-Morsi protest center at Ra-bia al Adaweya mosque. There was also a massive spike in at-tacks on Coptic Christians and their churches.

From Aug. 11 to August 17, over 35 churches were burned completely. The Brotherhood distanced itself from these acts; however, the camp at Rabia has had an increasingly antago-nistic rhetoric against Egypt’s Coptic Christian population. This has led many Morsi sup-porters to blame the Christian minority for the coup d’état.

As a gesture of defiance, Brotherhood leaders called for a peaceful “Friday of Defiance” protest on Aug. 15. Thousands again marched to Rabia square,

and other pro-Morsi hubs. The protesters were met with army tanks and armed soldiers.

“As we approached the bridge by the local police sta-tion, three armored vehicles arrived. We did nothing to stop them. On top of the bridge army men appeared, all armed. The men then began firing. In the first minute, ten were dead and most were shot in the head. I was shot in the shoulder from the same bullet that had just exploded the head of the man in front of me.” explained Mo-hamed Saeed about the events that occurred at the bloodbath in Ali ibn Abi Talib mosque in Alexandria’s Sammoha district.

“We then marched onward to the nearest hospital. As we marched, another ten fell dead around me and about another thirty were shot. We were then refused treatment by the local hospital. I was then left help-less. ”

Saeed is now on the run from the Ministry of the Interior, who is seeking to arrest him for publishing photographs of the massacre.

The Ministry of Health esti-mated the death toll at 638, and at 3,994 injuries. As a result of the carnage, Vice President and Nobel Laureate Mohamed El Baradei resigned.

The army and police con-tinue their crackdown against Brotherhood protests.

“The comments from the staff meeting were and are my personal opinions and thoughts as guaranteed to me by the first amendment of the U.S. Consti-tution. It is unfortunate that a former member of my Coun-cil team betrayed the trust of my staff members and me,” re-sponded Chan to the contro-versy.

“I will always fight for our freedom of speech, especially in a private setting.”

UTSA students, as well as San Antonio citizens who iden-tify as LGBTQ in the workplace, could be directly affected by the outcome of the ordinance.

Recognizing the importance of the ordinance, nearly 300 supporters and dissenters went to City Council to ensure their voices were heard.

In keeping with the spirit of Texas civil debates, citizens showed their support with the color of their clothing. Those in favor of the bill wore red, while those opposed donned blue.

Citizens also carried signs

from, “equality now,” and “vote yes,” to “no special rights,” and “this is San Antonio, not San Francisco.”

As blue and red shirts inter-mingled in the audience, citi-zens offered their testimonies before the five present City Council members.

One of the most common ar-guments against the ordinance was that, by allowing members of the LGBTQ community in the workforce, women and chil-dren were in danger of sexual harassment or assault when us-ing a women’s restroom.

Others who testified against the ordinance believed that it was a frivolous clarification and that those who identify as LG-BTQ were shown special treat-ment.

Members of the transsexual and transgender community addressed accusations that women and children would be harassed in public rest-rooms as erroneous.

Comparisons were also made between racial segregation in

the 1950s and present sexual orientation discrimination, us-ing the NDO as the modern civil rights movement.

Matthew Chandler, a UTSA sophomore undeclared major, was prepared to give his testi-mony at the hearing, stating the NDO was necessary to him. “It ensures that I don’t have to fear that, as a member of the LG-BTQ community in the work-place, I would be arbitrarily fired,” stated Chandler.

Jorge Villarreal is a UTSA student and member of MOVE, a San Antonio based non-profit aimed at representing the youth voice.

He believes that Diego Ber-nal, Mayor Julian Castro, Rey Saldana, Rey Lopez, Ron Ni-renberg and Shirley Gonzalez will vote in favor of the ordi-nance. “... we have the votes. We needed six and that is the num-ber we will have… at least.”

Voting for the NDO will take place on Sept. 5.

THE FIGHT FOR POWER: Citizens riot and protest in Egyptian streets

EQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE:

LGBTQ citizens call for end to discrimination

A San Antonio resident opposing the ordinance testifies to City Council members, urging them to vote against it.

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From Page 1

From Page 1

“We then marched onward to the nearest hospital. As we marched, an-other ten fell dead around me and another thirty were shot.” Mohamed Saeed Egyptian protestor

ADVERTISMENT 5

August 26, 2008 The Paisano Opinion 5

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Come here, live here, stay hereEditorial

Something to call our ownThe UT

Tower in A u s t i n ’s skyline is a statewide s y m b o l of UT. Kyle Field at A&M

looms in the College Station hori-zon. At Memorial Circle, a Texas Tech seal signifies the main entry to the Lubbock campus. But what can we say about UTSA? What do we have?

A sporadically working fountain? A border-crossing statue? The Sombrilla’s shade? Last year, UTSA’s budget includ-

ed $4 million for the Graduation Rate Improvement Plan (GRIP), ac-cording to the UT System Operat-ing Budget. This cost paid for new faculty to improve class scheduling, programs to improve math and science proficiency for first-year students, scholarship incentives for students graduating within four years and costs associated with the Freshmen Focus Initiative, which was formulated to help students succeed academically.

While these are all important elements to increase student reten-tion rates, UTSA should think even broader. What makes students choose UT or A&M or Texas Tech over UTSA? Perhaps traditions,

and the symbols those universities carry.

With a fraction of the million-dollar GRIP budget, UTSA could also focus on improving campus atmosphere. Giving students a symbol — something to show their friends when they come into town, something to take pictures in front of — could potentially make them feel more connected to the univer-sity and less likely to drop out or transfer, thus working in tandem with GRIP.

The main campus even has a great location for such a symbol: the new green space on the north side of campus.

The recent completion of the

Bauerle Road garage project cost the university roughly $40 million, according to the UTSA Office of Facilities, $29.8 million for the ga-rage, offices and welcome center. The other $10.2 million was used for the construction of the Peace Roundabout, main campus en-try signs and green space — what is collectively called the Campus Oval.

So few students currently fre-quent the green space, which is on a far corner of campus and bordered with administrative offices, bus stops and ridiculous $785-per-year garage parking. Since the Campus Oval came at a hefty price, why not give students a good reason to

spend time there? Give students a better, more recognizable place to congregate other than under the Sombrilla by constructing a statue, monument or icon for UTSA stu-dents to call their own.

Something that can start a tradi-tion.

Something to make students proud of their campus.

Something that can serve as a strong, unifying symbol of UTSA.

Erin BorenSpecial Issues Editor

Commentary

UTSA is welcoming one of its most selective freshman classes this fall, but if history is any in-dicator, very few of them will be successful here in San Antonio.

That’s not to say that they won’t live up to expectations in the classroom, but rather that most UTSA students fail to in-tegrate themselves into the fab-ric of the city. Many students go to school in San Antonio, but very few of them “live” in San Antonio.

UTSA’s main campus is at the edge of town, closer to chain restaurants and box stores than the Alamo or the Riverwalk. There is no Sixth Street to party on, no Theater District for San Antonians to call their own. But for a school that aspires to be the Tier One university

of South Texas, too few UTSA students take advantage of the off-campus opportunities of-fered by the 7th largest city in the country.

UTSA students who inte-grate with the city of San An-tonio help themselves, the city and the university.

Downtown is going through a rapid revitalization, and there are countless bars, restaurants and coffee shops that cater to a younger crowd. Any student who spends free time solely around campus is foregoing a fun time.

Of course, college is more about preparing for the work-force than partying, and San Antonio is quickly becoming one of the hottest destinations for young college graduates.

Just a few weeks ago, San An-tonio was ranked as the sec-ond best city in the country in terms of brain gain, meaning that twenty-something profes-sionals with college degrees are flocking to the city from across the state and from all over the country. But why should com-panies recruit employees from out of town if the talent can be found here at UTSA?

Despite being a big city on the fast track to success, San An-tonio has historically lacked a large research university to feed educated professionals into its job market. However — not unlike the city it calls home — UTSA has grown by leaps and bounds in just the last few years by attracting a greater number of more successful students.

If UTSA grads choose to stay here upon graduating, San Antonio will undoubtedly be inundated with talented Road-runners who can have success-ful careers at DataPoint or at Rackspace, which was recently named the top web hosting company in the world.

“We can’t recruit our way to greatness,” RackSpace Chair-man Graham Weston told Tex-as CEO Magazine in January. “We have an educated popula-tion, and this is an invitation to all the universities in town to up their game.”

Creating a stronger relation-ship with San Antonio’s boom-ing economy is vital to any uni-versity seeking Tier One status, and especially one that saw its research spending drop more

than four percent from 2011 to 2012. The bridge to Tier One can be crossed only with more research funding, and the best way to accomplish this goal is for UTSA and its students to become an integral cog in the wheel of San Antonio’s business community.

Both UTSA and the city of San Antonio are on the rise, working hard to remove per-ceptions of inferiority and in-adequacy. UTSA students who embrace a relationship with San Antonio — who both go to school and live here — will help not only their university and their city, but will likely be rewarded with greater job op-portunities and a better college experience.

August 23, 2013

6 OPINION

Welcome back!The time has come to begin an-

other semester! As we trek back across campus and up and down its many staircases, let’s hope fall 2013 brings cooler weather very soon.

For those of you just starting your college careers here, welcome! You’ll soon understand the ins and outs of the university and, while doing so, make sure to take advan-tage of everything covered by your fees. It’s always good to use the $15 in printing cost you have at the JPL or the free check-ups at Health Ser-vices. And at some point, we hope you catch sight of the Sombrilla fountain should it ever start flowing again.

For those returning students — who know where to actually find parking — let’s hope we can contin-ue to raise our GPAs and get those internships that are supposedly the driving force behind our future.

As a collective, though, let’s re-member to keep our attitudes posi-tive and our stress-level to a mini-mum. College is the last chance to have fun, make mistakes and procrastinate before the monotony

of our working lives starts. We’ve heard it again and again, but try to work hard, play hard.

In addition, work and play safe. We’ve each been given this one opportunity, and while we should always take everything with rowdy-sized enthusiasm, remember to be responsible.

We are each part of the ever-changing generation evolving the social norms around us. With this power, let’s make not only our uni-versity campus, but everywhere we go, a better, more pleasant, place for everyone. Especially here at UTSA, we should be proud of our diver-sity and embrace the lessons we can learn from our differences.

Overall, let’s wish for the best this semester: enjoyable classes, won-derful weather, intriguing research paper topics and, most of all, good memories. Okay, maybe it’s a long shot for the first three, but our lives are in our hands. Let’s make the lat-ter happen — be responsible, be re-spectful, be rowdy.

A Letter from the Editors

Jackie CalvertContributing Writerarts@paisano-online.com

“This is like Christmas for us,” Jon Onstead exclaims as he unveils the modern titanium steel of the bar in The Block, the newest food truck park located on Roadrunner Way across from UTSA.

One aspect of The Block that should appeal most to students is the fact that it was built by recent UTSA alumnus with thoughts of the students in mind.

“Not only am I alumni, but we have my bar manager, his name is Cole Mayfield. He just graduated this past semester. So far, out of the staff, five of us are UTSA graduates and stu-dents.”

Onstead graduated in 2009 from UTSA with a degree in real estate, finance and busi-ness development (RFD). He was of the first class to gradu-

ate in the RFD program. On-stead is originally from Hous-ton, but fell in love with San Antonio when he first arrived and has yet to leave.

“I am so happy I was able to make this happen because now I get to stay here.”

The Block is two years in the making. “One day I was driving to Austin and the idea slapped me on the forehead. I need to put food trucks there,” Onstead explains. The idea has evolved, though, beyond the food truck park concept.

Some of the food trucks fea-tured include Lagniappe To-day, Stout’s Pizza and B-Dad-dy’s BBQ.

Not only will The Block fea-ture six to seven different food trucks that will be on rotation daily, but the most inviting aspect is the bar. The modern patio bar paired with the food trucks is a one of a kind idea.

“We use the best materi-als and lighting. Everything is different here. It’s not cookie-cutter; it’s unique.” Wifi will be available for everyone along with electrical outlets scattered around the patio area. “This isn’t just a place to party; it’s also a place to study or relax before class.”

Onstead has taken the time to install lights in both the trees and the wall alongside Roadrunner Way. He has even included cooling misters in the shaded bar area to compete with the Texas heat. The lush,

grassy area is meant as a place for students to lounge, pic-nic and participate in outdoor games. The concrete area is re-served for seating and there are even plans to construct a stage for live music. Students in the arts are more than welcome to perform as well.

Onstead is particularly proud of his signage out front. The LED lights shine through the sign in various colors, in-cluding the UTSA signature orange and blue. There are plans for movie nights and even screenings of the UTSA football games.

The staff is open to new ideas though. There has been talk of Greek nights, Twenty-one and Up nights and even Sunday Funday with drink specials. Onstead explains that noth-ing is irrevocable, and they are looking for any new ideas to be innovative and will keep the students happy.

Although there is an inviting

nightlife at The Block, don’t ex-pect to get away with underage drinking.

“We expect to have a mix-ture of professionals, fam-ily and students for lunch and dinner. From 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., we expect a lot more students. We will figure out which nights are our busiest and we will be carding at the entrance. Any-one who is twenty-one will get a wristband. That way it takes the load off the bartenders,” Onstead says.

“If we see anyone on the premises drinking without a wristband, they have to go. We will have a zero-tolerance policy here. UTSA PD have toured the establishment and are working with us so people know we are not going to toler-ate any underage drinking.”

Look for the opening date of The Block on Facebook (The Block SA).

7August 23, 2013

“This isn’t just a place to party; it’s also a place to study or relax be-fore class.”Jon OnsteadOwner

ARTS&LIFE{Local Events}

Friday, August 2310 a.m. ExhibitThe Witte Museum (3801 Broad-way) presents The World Through Magic Lanterns, an extensive collection of magic lanterns from collector Jack Judson. The exhibit takes patrons through the history and evolution of early image projectors used for entertainment, education and research. Admis-sion is $7-$10. Visit wittemuseum.org for more information.

Saturday, August 248 p.m. Theater The Overtime Theater (1203 Camden) presents a dreamscape of a play, The Screen Dreams of Buster Keaton. Writer and director Rachel Joseph provides a story following a girl who dreams of Buster Keaton, played by Andrew Thorton. .

Sunday, August 2512 p.m. Exhibit: Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera The McNat Art Museum (6000 N. New Braunfels Ave.) hosts an exhibit of Norman Rockwell photographs, some of which Lbe-came inspiration for his artwork. The exhibit runs until September 1. Tickets are $10-$15. For more information, visit mcnayart.org

Monday, August 269 a.m. Exhibit: Art in the Garden The San Antonio Botanical Garden (555 Funston) will host art currated by Richard Hunt through March 2014. The Botanical Garden is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit sabot.org.

Monday, August 277:30 p.m. Film: Casablanca The San Antonio Botanical Garden presents “Starlight Movies in the Garden.” Tuesdays film, Casablanca will start at 7:30; gates open at 6:30 p.m. Picnic and lawn chairs are permitted. Some refreshments will be avail-able including beer and wine. For more information, visit sabot.org.

By UTSA, for UTSA: The Block trucks in something different

Sara FloresContributing Writerarts@paisano-online.com

When I signed up to study in London during the sum-mer, I hardly thought of how I would feel upon returning home. Never once did it cross my mind that I would actually miss the place I visited, as trav-eling has always seemed like a fleeting thing that never lasts longer than a few weeks.

Though I was hit with the homesickness that creeps up on you while you try to sleep, by the end of my trip, London

was a very homey place to be. The first week away, I was

dying to come home and sent many desperate texts to my parents, just on the off chance they could transport me back to Texas.

Once I learned the subway system and made some friends, however, London became an exciting entity for me to ex-plore. The second and third weeks were absolute blurs; rushing back to places we had already been for one final glance, last-minute shopping, five-second eye contact with well-dressed English chaps on the street.

By the end of the third week I

felt that I had been living there as any other citizen and was packing to come home at the end of a semester.

Though the trip was filled with monumental sights and plenty of Shakespeare refer-ences, what I find myself miss-ing the most is the intimacy of what the city has to offer. The streets are beyond crowded, but each person has an entirely private world they live in.

The beauty of a city like Lon-don is the kinship one can feel with a stranger upon looking at sculptures in museums, as well as the solitude of riding the escalator out of the Under-ground.

Now that I am back in the states, my study abroad expe-rience feels like an almost-for-gotten fever dream that stays with me throughout each day. Time has not stopped for my longing to eventually return to London.

Between class scheduling is-sues and getting ready to move into a new apartment, I’m up to my neck in double checking and opening myself up to the idea of living alone for the first time.

While I’m not going to use my newfound situation to make music with my pots and pans into the night, I will be met with a sense of new free-dom in having a place all to my-

self. Though I am not quite a senior, I feel that this semester is the dawn of my own personal senior-like status.

Although living alone and living with one roommate or more can all be hectic in their own ways, I think it’s important to treat each new task as some-thing to be dealt with head-on. I, personally, have been known in some circles to concentrate too much on the negative out-come of things, but being out of the country taught me to roll with certain punches life may throw. When things became hard to deal with (for example; London’s heat wave, tiny dorm rooms, ten people to two show-ers,) I couldn’t simply avoid the

issues but find the small joys in problematic situations.

This mentality can be helpful in any facet of life, but especial-ly when it comes to school. We, as students, learn to deal with many things throughout our time here. We become inde-pendent in different ways and must remind ourselves of that.

Whether this semester brings you fresh conditions to chew on or you find yourself dealing with the same stresses you’ve always struggled with as a college student, try to take deep breaths. If London taught me anything, it’s that I can’t control the weather.

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Lindsay Smith / The Paisano

For the week’s full calendar, visit:

paisano-online.com

Mark ZavalaContributing Writerarts@paisano-online.com

After his 2009 feature film directorial debut “District 9,” a follow up film (sequel or oth-erwise) from writer-director Niell Blomkamp was expected. With the release of “Elysium,” staring Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Diego Luna and Sharl-to Copley, that expectation was fulfilled, and Blomkamp’s reputation as a filmmaker has been preserved.

Set in the year 2154, the film begins with a look at the fan-tastical world that is Elysium, a space station floating above a desolate Earth. Earth re-

sembles a war-torn wasteland; the planet’s surface no lon-ger sports the luscious green plains it once did when viewed from space; overpopulated ar-eas cluttered with deteriorat-ing public housing buildings are all the eye can see from the surface. Max Da Costa (Da-mon), an ex-con in the midst of correcting his life, is exposed to a lethal dose of radiation in a workplace accident. Max is given five days to live with no cure available to him on Earth — the only cure is on Elysium. Max’s fight to get off the sur-face of the planet and up to Elysium is violent and his sac-rifices are abundant. With the help of an old friend (Luna) and a local revolutionary gang

leader, Max is fitted with an exoskeleton that will help him on his journey. Up on Elysium, an overthrow of power is in the works as well. Secretary of De-fense Jessica Delacourt (Foster) schemes to take power out of the hands of Elysium’s current president and place it into her own with the help of a ruthless commissioned agent on Earth (Copley).

“Elysium” is a fantastic film. Much like “District 9,” the film is supported with a solid story that touches on class separa-tion, immigration and health-care, but is also visually appeal-ing. At the beginning of the film, it is established that the privileged live on Elysium — where there is no sickness or

violence — while the rest of the human race is left behind on Earth where the air is polluted, the resources are dwindling and rules are scarce. Any at-tempts to leave the planet and infiltrate Elysium are met with brutal force. Spacecrafts filled with innocent women and chil-dren are gunned down. The medical support on Earth isn’t enough to care for the number of sick individuals that flood the clinics, yet on Elysium there are machines that can cure virtually anything.

Blomkamp captures all the minute details of a life lived within a slum — the high crim-inal rate, the begging children, the sick and injured individu-als that cannot receive the as-

sistance they need, the over-all diminishing quality of life and the importance of having a reputation. At one point in the movie, Max is reminded by a friend that he “used to be a legend.” Blomkamp cre-ates a wonderful paradise on the space station — the new habitat contains palm trees and clear blue pools, white mansions and beautiful people (not unlike a modern day Bev-erly Hills). Blomkamp’s use of a near future society set in South Africa (which, notably, is the auteur’s birthplace) in District 9 and mirrored to fit Los Ange-les in “Elysium” is a terrific ex-position of the class separation previously seen in South Africa between its black and white

citizens with plenty of the same physical characteristics.

“District 9,”considered a sleeper hit, was met with im-mense critical acclaim and was nominated for four Academy Awards in 2010, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screen-play, Best Visual Effects and Best Editing. So far “Elysium” has been hit with mixed re-views. What was an anticipat-ed movie unfortunately did not live up to the hype for many critics and doesn’t seem to be a real Oscar contender just yet.

8August 23, 2013

ARTS&LIFE

Max Da Costa (Matt Damon) embarks on a mission to save himself and all of mankind.

B lomkamp creates a futurist ic sc i -f i paradise in Elysium

MOVIE REVIEW

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9ARTS&LIFEAugust 23, 2013

Location: 11826 Wurzbach Road

Sandwiches and Salads

What to Order: Vietnamese Chicken

Sandwhich, Spinach Strawberry

Chicken Salad

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Taqueria DatapointLocation: 4063 Medical Drive

Mexican

What to Order: Guacamole,

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The Flying SaucerLocation: 11255 Huebner Road #212Pub FoodWhat to Order: Space Club and Breckenridge Vanilla Porter$$

Pam’s

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Janae Rice / The Paisano

Yellowfish Sushi Location: 9102 Wurzbach Road

Sushi/ Japanese and Mexican

What to Order: Marmol Roll and

Kubo Roll

$$$

Off-campus eatsCOLLEGE LIFE

10August 23, 2013

ARTS&LIFE

Taqueria Aguas Calientes

L o c a t i o n : 1 5 4 0 9 W h i t e F a w n D r i v e

M e x i c a n

W h a t t o O r d e r : H u e v o s R a n c h e r o s

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Costa Pacifica

Location: 434 North Loop 1604

Seafood

What to Order: Ceviche

$$

Brindles Awesome Ice CreamsLocation: 11255 Huebner Road #210

Ice Cream

What to Order: Banana Split, Azteca Chocolate

$$

Staff Picks

Pasha Mediterranean Grill Location: 9939 Wurzbach Road

Mediterranean Grill

What to Order: Gyro Plate,

Chicken Shwarma Plate

$$

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Big’z Burger Joint

Location: 2303 North Loop 1604 W

Burgers

What to Order: Big’z Famous #2 Double with American Cheese

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Freetail Brewing Co.

Location: 434 North Loop 1604 W

Seafood

What to Order: Ceviche

$$

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Graphics by: Rafael Gutierrez

SPORTS 11August 23, 2013

Paisano Sports Column

Mario NavaSports Editorsports@paisano-online.com

UTSA is moving into a new neighborhood. It’s in the Divi-sion I Football Bowl Subdivi-sion. Their street is Conference USA (C-USA). Here, the houses are built with full amenities and plush extras to make their stay as welcome as possible. They have new neighbors moving in at the same time, and some old neighbors that will be sure to welcome them. It’s an exciting time just three years after be-ginning this new football life.

But there are some things that UTSA will start to notice as they move in their furniture and get the cable wired. The houses around them all tend to look the same. Every neighbor’s car in the driveway looks ex-pensive – makes and models all alike. Each yard is immaculate with precise attention to detail, leaving it hard to distinguish what makes them unique.

So how does a new tenant like UTSA make themselves stand out? Can UTSA find a place at the community table? Ultimately, does UTSA have the stability and desire to prove their presence will not go un-noticed?

Well, since hindsight is a lazy tool and trying to predict the future is a fool’s errand, why not

be practical in the now?The UTSA Roadrunners’

football program can succeed in this modernized Norman Rockwell setting of college football because they have what many start-up programs don’t have.

On September 3, 2011, 56,743 fans filled the Alamodome to watch the first-ever UTSA foot-ball game. That means as soon as the first kickoff commenced UTSA had already started breaking records. Although the numbers averaged out by the end of the season, people could tell the San Antonio commu-nity was hooked on Roadrun-ner football – and that is what makes UTSA football a lucky program.

They just so happened to build a university, an athletic pro-gram and a football program in one of the most loyal and dedi-cated sports cities in the nation. You don’t always get to choose where you live, but sometimes places can choose you. San Antonio has been clamoring for football since the New Or-leans Saints made themselves welcome in the Alamodome in 2005. While this is not the NFL, some would say college football is even better.

Given the city has historically wavered between supporting the Texas Longhorns or Texas A&M Aggies, UTSA has now had time to put their brand out there. This is the time to per-suade those fans eager to end the expensive trips to Austin or College Station – where college football is not always at its best.

This brings me to another key point – the Alamodome in San

Antonio. Opened in 1993, it was built

originally in hopes of attracting an NFL team to occupy its fa-cilities. That idea never seemed to materialize. Still, the Alam-odome has gained notoriety for its domed visual and ability to hold up to 65,000 people. It was at one time the home of the San Antonio Spurs, and it has host-ed numerous major sporting events, including the NCAA Final Four.

In September of 2012 the San Antonio City Council and the UTSA Athletics Department announced they had agreed on an extension to keep UTSA football playing in the Alam-odome until 2035.

Now how is that for impres-sive? Imagine being UTSA President Ricardo Romo or Athletic Director Lynn Hickey or Head Coach Larry Coker hosting vendors, sponsors and recruits.

“Please join us in our back-yard patio. Yes that is a dome above your head. And right across the way you can see the

River Walk. We are the only home with that view. No other neighborhoods have that.”

Not to mention UTSA has just opened their multimillion dollar Park West Athletic Com-plex less than two miles west of the Main Campus. Accord-ing to the plans, the new space will have a brand new football stadium that will be the Road-runners’ main practice field, including temporary locker rooms and offices for the team.

“By the way, we are building a guest house in the backyard just for convenience. Would you like some more tea?”

Now it’s the head of the household’s job to make things work. Enter Larry Coker. How many start-up programs began with a head coach with a Na-tional Championship under his belt?

That is what Coker brings, along with a track record of recruiting and coaching ma-jor football talent. Having his presence in the neighborhood is the key to networking in the community. He already knows

some neighbors because he has visited their houses before. At one time, he had the biggest house on the block in Miami-Dade. The reliability and trust he brings to UTSA is what will keep the yard trimmed and the house stocked full of football talent.

The first year in the neigh-borhood will come with the least amount of pressure. No one can reasonably expect UTSA to start knocking down their neighbors doors and tak-ing their sugar. And the Road-runners won’t be bowl-eligible until the 2014-15 season.

But that is how UTSA likes it. They want to be the under-dog. They want the community to look past their presence and assets. Then UTSA can make some noise and have their next-door neighbors, Mr. Hurricanes and Mr. Owls, call the cops and tell them to keep things quiet.

There is also something to be

said about the UTSA players calling C-USA home. The Road-runners have been fortunate to bring back 20 starters from last season and a total of 50 letter winners. Plus, joining the com-munity allows UTSA to bump up their scholarships from 67 last season to 85. The dramatic jump in competition is easier when you have the leaders and experience that UTSA has on its roster – it makes dolling out household chores easier when you have the older brothers running the show.

Now, as UTSA approaches the first community games of the season, the Roadrunners can open their garage door and sit out on the porch for a few moments and reflect on how fast three years gone by. Then, they can remember how much fun those early days in the one bedroom apartment were.

That is until the pool is put up.

Welcome to the suburbs of college football

UTSA Football on TVAug. 31 7pm @ New Mexico KMYS-CW 35

Sept. 7 11am vs Oklahoma State Fox Sports 1

Sept. 14 9:30pm @ Arizona Pac-12 Network

Sept. 21 7pm @ UTEP Fox College Sports

Sept. 28 TBA vs Houston Fox Sports

Oct. 5 1pm @ Marshall TWC

Oct. 12 3pm vs Rice TWC

Oct. 26 4pm vs UAB TWC

Nov. 2 2:30pm @ Tulsa Comcast Sports Southeast

Nov. 23 2:30pm @ North Texas TWC

Nov. 30 2:30 pm vs Louisiana Tech Comcast Sports Southeast

UTSA Preseason Announcements•Roadrunners picked to finish seventh in the C-USA West Division.

•Junior offensive guard Scott Inskeep given first-team preseason All-Conference USA honors. •Senior quarterback Eric Soza named to the Manning Award and inaugural Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award watch list.

Interested in sports writing and photography?Join paisano sports for opprtunties to cover:UTSA AthleticsSan Antonio SpursSan Antonio RampageSan Antonio Silver StarsSan Antonio Scorpions

{email sports@paisano-online.com}

UTSA Roadrunners Needed

UTSA Students’ Tweet Your VoiceUTSA joined C-USA on July 1, 2013, and that means the Roadrunners have joined the big show of college sports.

But we want to know what you think about

all UTSA atheltics. Follow and tweet to @paisanosports1 @ThePaisano.

Or like and send your Facebook commetns to facebook.com/ThePaisano

SPORTSAugust 23, 2013

12

Roadrunner SportsPark West Opens

On Friday, August 15 2013, the UTSA Athletics Depart-ment held a dedication ceremo-ny for the multimillion dollar Park West Athletics Complex. The ceremony was held under the bleachers that divides the new UTSA soccer and track fields. The event coincided with the first UTSA soccer game to be played at the complex.

The panel of guest speakers included UTSA President Ri-cardo Romo, UTSA Athletic Director Lynn Hickey and Bex-ar County Judge Nelson Wolff

who all took turns thanking each person or organization who helped in the funding and building of Park West.

The new complex is less than two miles west of the main campus and will consolidate the needs and functions of all UTSA athletic teams with the exception being volleyball and basketball.

The ground breaking was held in April of 2012 and the en-tire complex will be completed in four phases according to the plans. With Phase 1 complete, UTSA will look to finish Phase 2 which includes the comple-tion of two football practice fields and temporary offices

and locker rooms for the team.

‘Runners lose to UIW The UTSA Roadrunners

soccer team lost a competitive exhibition match on Friday, August 16, to the University of Incarnate Word Cardinals (UIW), 2-1. The match was the first game played at the newly opened Park West Athletics Complex.

The soccer field hosted a standing room only crowd of 1,117 fans. The stadium is built to hold 1,000 people on both the soccer and track field sides of the complex.

The Roadrunners team went into the exhibition match not

at full strength with some key players sitting due to injuries. UTSA did manage to stay in the game after giving up two first half goals to the Cardi-nals thanks to freshman goalie Katherine Tesno, who saved five shots on goals under con-stant pressure from UIW.

Down 2-0 to start the second half, Roadrunners forward Tay-lor Wingerden scored on a pen-alty kick in the 47th minute of play. The ‘Runners controlled the ball for most of the second half but could not tie the game in the final minutes of play. UTSA finished the game with 18 total shots to the Cardinals 12.

Football program arrestsThe UTSA football program

was not immune to controversy over the summer. Current play-er Will Ritter and future recruit Raymond Kelley were arrested in separate incidetns.

On Monday, July 15, KSAT reported that senior defensive end Will Ritter was arrested outside an Austin bar on Sixth Street and charged with aggra-vated assault and public intoxi-cation. Ritter would be released on a $5,000 bond. The follow-ing Monday UTSA announced he would be suspended indefi-nitely from all team activates.

As of August 4, Head Coach Larry Coker announced that Ritter would be reinstated. The

football team began fall camp on August 6 and Ritter has been participating since then. No further discipline has been announced.

The Austin American-States-man reported that UTSA foot-ball recruit Gregory Kelley was arrested on Monday, August 12 and charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child. The Austin-area recruit played high school football at Leander as a safety where he earned all-dis-trict honors last season.

Due to NCAA rules, a UTSA spokesman explained the ath-letic department can’t make any comments on recruits who have not signed a letter of intent to play or are not yet enrolled at UTSA.

Meet a RoadrunnerKatherine TesnoClass: FreshmanSport: SoccerPosition: GoalieGame Day Meal: Pasta (w/fruit in the morning)Game Day Song: Katy Perry “Firework”Game Day Superstition: “I always have to wear my left sock on the right foot and right sock on my left foot.

Why soccer is her sport of choice: “I have played since I was three – so that’s 14 years. It’s about the friends you make. I feel more at home on the field with my friends playing soccer.”

Tesno is from Conroe, TX and played soccer for Oak Ridge high school. In 2012, she earned District 14-5A Defensive Most Valuable Player, first-team All-District 14-5A and second-team All-Greater Hous-

UTSA Athletics

Friday, Aug. 237pm UTSA SoccerBetty Lou Mays Soccer Field

Waco, TX

@Baylor Bears

Sunday, Aug. 257pm UTSA SoccerEllis Field

College Station, TX

@Texas A&M Aggies

Friday, Aug. 30TBA UTSA SoccerPark West Athletic Complex

San Antonio, TX

UTSA Classic Tournament

TBA UTSA VolleyballLSU Soccer Stadium

Baton Rouge, La.

Tigers Classic Tournament

Saturday, Aug. 318am UTSA SoccerAlamo CIty Opener

San Antonio, TX

7pm UTSA FootballUniversity Stadium

Albuquerque, N.M. llis Field

@New Mexico Lobos

Local SA Sports

Saturday, Aug. 246pm ScorpionsHofstra University’s Shuart Stadium

Uniondale, NY

@New York Cosmos

Sunday, Aug. 253:30pm Silver StarsAT&T Center

San Antonio, TX

vs. Seattle Storm

Tuesday, Aug. 277pm Silver StarsAT&T Center

San Antonio, TX

vs. Seattle Storm

Friday, Aug. 307pm Silver StarsBOK Center

Tulsa, OK

@Tulsa Shock

Saturday, Aug. 317:30pm ScorpionsToyota Field

San Antonio, TX

vs. Minnesota United FC

7pm Silver StarsAT&T Center

San Antonio, TX

vs. Los Angeles Sparks

This Week in Sports

San Antonio SportsScorpions beaten again

The San Antonio Scorpions entered their match on Sat-urday night with the hopes of jump-starting what had been a very slow start. Unfortunately the Scorpions suffered their third straight loss of the fall sea-son with a 2-1 loss to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Toyota Field in front of 6,105 fans on August 17.

The Scorpions started the game just as poorly as they started the season. After just

two minutes of playing time, the Scorpions gave up a free kick and the set piece that fol-lowed was poorly defended. This allowed Strikers midfielder Mark Anderson the chance to find teammate Martin Nunez free on the back post for an easy tap-in to take an early 1-0 lead.

Just 10 minutes later, after consistent attacking pressure, the Strikers earned another free kick on the edge of the 18-yard box. This time Anderson pun-ished the Scorpions himself – hitting the ball with flawless technique to get it over the wall

and find the back of the net in the 15th minute that pushed their lead to two goals.

As the first half was coming to an end, the Scorpions man-aged to get a goal back when a deflected corner kick found its way to Scorpions’ forward Tomasz Zahorski’s feet inside the box and the recently signed Polish striker calmly knocked the ball past a beaten goalkeep-er for the only Scorpions goal of the game.

The team is now 0-3 to start off the season, and they are sitting in last place by three

points.

Scorpions player honoredTomas Zahorski, who scored

the Scorpions’ only goal against the Strikers on August 17, was honored by being selected for the NASL Team of the Week award.

The Polish native joined the team in July and has scored three goals in the fall season. The selection marks the first time during the fall season that a Scorpions player was given the weekly honors.

Rampage summer newsThe San Antonio Rampage

will prepare for the 2013-14 season with a three-team exhi-bition at the Cedar Park Center in Cedar Park, TX.

The Rampage will play the Oklahoma City Barons on Sat-urday, September 28 and then will follow up with a meeting with the home team Texas Stars on Sunday, September 29.

The Rampage hopes to re-bound after a dismal season where they finished last in the South Division with 67 points (29-38-2-7).

In June, the Rampage an-nounced Peter Horachek would take over the head coaching du-ties former head coach Chuck Weber is having his role ex-panded as the new San Antonio Director of Hockey Operations and Associate Head Coach.

The AHL revised the divi-sions for the new season. The Rampage are now a part of the West Division in the Western Conference with Abbotsford, Charlotte, Oklahoma City and Texas.

Katherine Tesno is a freshamn goalie for the UTSA Roadrunners soccer team.

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Larry Coker is looking to lead his team to success in the first season playing in Conference USA.Tomasz Zahorski signed with the Scorpions in July and has scored three goals wih the team.

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SPORTS 13August 23, 2013

Roadrunners Basketball

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Mario NavaSports Editorsports@paisano-online.com

UTSA made the switch to Conference USA (C-USA) for the 2013-14 season in July. Co-inciding with the move were two major UTSA basketball de-cisions that came to a head over the summer.

On July 26 UTSA Director of Athletics Lynn Hickey an-nounced men’s basketball Head Coach Brooks Thompson had signed a contract extension. The terms of the contract were not specified, but Thompson will remain with UTSA at least until the end of the 2016-17 season.

Just 13 days later, women’s basketball Head Coach Rae Ripptoe-Blair announced she was officially resigning her po-sition effective August 15, 2013.She cited personal reasons as the determining cause.

Thompson has been head coach of the Roadrunners since April 18, 2006. Under Thompson, UTSA basketball has reached its highest level of success, culminating with the university’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win on March 16, 2011 over Alabama State in the first round.

In an official statement Hick-ey praised the work Thompson has done during his tenure at UTSA both on the court and in the classrooms.

“We are very appreciative of the job Brooks has done for this program,” Hickey said. “When he arrived, he was faced with a tremendous challenge, and he and his staff have turned things around both on and off

the court. When you look at the things he has done with our APR and graduation rate and then see the quality and high character of the student-ath-letes he has brought to UTSA, we wanted to show support in return. Our recent conference moves have created another tremendous challenge for men’s basketball, and this extension provides stability that is de-served as we enter a very com-petitive league in Conference USA.”

Last season, the 43-year-old Thompson endured one of his toughest seasons as a head coach. UTSA finished with a 9-21 regular season record, and Thompson tied own career-low at UTSA with only three conference wins. The ‘Runners were able to make the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) tournament last season as a No. 9 seed. They upset top-seeded Louisiana Tech in the quarterfi-nals before losing in the semifi-nals to Texas-Arlington.

Ripptoe-Blair leaves UTSA after 13 seasons at the helm. The Roadrunners produced only two seasons with a losing record with her as coach – she also collected two 20-win sea-sons. During that time, she gar-nered three Southland Confer-

ence Coach of the Year awards (2001, ’03, ’09) and led UTSA to two NCAA tournament ap-pearances (2008, ’09).

Last season, Ripptoe-Blair missed 3 ½ games over two-weeks of the season due to an undisclosed illness; however, she managed to direct the Roadrunners to a 16-14 regular season record and a 10-8 con-ference record. In last season’s WAC tournament, UTSA lost as a No. 4 seed to fifth-seeded Louisiana Tech in the quarter-finals.

Hickey’s official statement was also complimentary and appreciative for Ripptoe-Blair’s accomplishments.

“The women’s basketball program reached new levels of success under Rae and I’m very thankful for all of her hard work throughout the last 13 years,” Hickey said. “She will always be part of the Roadrunners’ family, and I wish the best for her and her family in the future.”

UTSA Associate Head Coach Lubomyr Lichonczak has taken charge of the program under an interim head coach title. The UTSA Athletics Department has begun a search for Rippe-toe-Blair’s replacement.

“I would like to thank Dr. Ri-cardo Romo, Lynn Hickey, all of my assistant coaches and play-ers throughout the years along with my extended Roadrunners family for all of their efforts and support during my tenure,” Rippetoe-Blair said in an of-ficial statemnt provided by the email from the UTSA Athletics Department.

Coaches choose different paths“WE are very ap-preciative of the job Brooks has done for this program.”Lynn HickeyUTSA Athletic Director

Ripptoe-Blair leaves after 13 seasons as the head coach.

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Brooks Thompson will begin his eighth season as head coach in Conference USA.

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ADVERTISEMENTS14August 23, 2013