The Paisano Volume 48 Issue 5

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

Volume 48 Issue 5 {WWW.PAISANO-ONLINE.COM}{SINCE 1981}

Texan artists display sculptures at San Antonio Botanical Gardens pg 6

Risk of travelingabroad pays off for

UTSA students pg 5

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{San Antonio}Located just half a mile from UTSA’s

downtown campus, the Peanut Factory

Lofts will be San Antonio’s first down-town student hous-

ing project upon opening for the Fall

2014 semester.

{Texas}Governor Rick Per-ry, seeking to attract companies to Texas,

made headlines last week during a four-day “business

recruitment trip” to Calif.

{Immigration}According to a Pew report released Feb. 11, about two-thirds of legal and eligible

Mexican immigrants have yet to be natu-ralized; 7 percent of those surveyed do

not wish to become citizens.

{UT System}The University of

Texas at Austin an-nounced the avali-ability of nine open

online courses, which will be available to

anyone anywhere be-ginning Fall 2013.

{History}This week in 2009, the pool at the Rec

Center closed down for the first time.

{Numbers}Since 2000, spending on print and digital reading materials

has dropped 22 per-cent, while spend-ing on other forms of entertainment increased 25 per-cent, according to an annual study by

Central Connecticut State University.

{Basketball}UTSA will take on

Texas State Saturday, Feb. 16. The women face the Bobcats in

the Convocation Center at 4 p.m.,

while the men go on the road, also with a

4 p.m. tip-off.

Perry outlines goals forLegislature David GlickmanNews [email protected]

On Jan. 8, the Texas Legisla-ture began their 83rd session in Austin, Texas.

The 140-day session, which meets every two years, is the only opportunity for budget-ary and legislative matters to be passed in Texas, excluding a special session by the governor to handle unsettled matters. As such, the Legislature will work frantically to pass a budget be-fore the session ends. The Leg-islature has several other goals and issues on the agenda, some of which were illustrated in Gov. Rick Perry’s State of the State address on Jan. 29.

One of Perry’s boldest pro-posals was a call on the Legisla-ture to use $3.7 billion from the Rainy Day Fund (the state emer-gency account funded mostly by taxes on gas and oil) for one-time infrastructure projects, ac-cording to the Texas Tribune. The Rainy Day Fund has a cur-rent balance of about $8 billion, but is expected to have a bal-ance of almost $12 billion by the year’s end. Additionally, there have been proposals to spend an additional $2 billion on water projects.

Perry also discussed spend-ing cuts, specifically $1.8 billion in tax relief. However, Perry did not propose specific details. In-stead, he directed people to a new state website (http://gov-ernor.state.tx.us/texastaxrelief/) to voice their opinion on what shape tax relief should take.

Perry’s call to utilize the Rainy Day Fund for various public necessities is a notable shift in his policy. During the 2011 ses-sion, Democrats in the Legis-lature called for a utilization of the Rainy Day Fund to make up for recent cuts to public educa-tion—something Perry strongly opposed and fought, according to the New York Times.

Education was also a strong vocal point for Perry during his State of the State address. He called for the creation of more public charter schools, as well as a scholarship program that would allow students in low-performing schools the ability to transfer to higher-performing ones.

Perry also addressed higher education and pushed once again for the creation of more $10,000 degree programs, not-ing that “Florida is developing its own $10,000 degree program and even California — yes, that California — is taking a stab at making these programs com-monplace.”

Perry also called for a four-year tuition freeze for all in-coming freshmen. He asked the Legislature to amend the Texas Constitution so that South Tex-as College could access the Per-manent University Fund, which provides extra funding to colleg-es and is only accessible to the UT and Texas A&M school sys-tems, as mandated in the Texas Constitution.

Perry’s goals for education may be dampened, however, by a recent court decision, which ruled that Texas school finance system is unconstitutional. The ruling follows the previous legis-lative session in which lawmak-ers simultaneously decreased spending for public schools and increased testing standards for students. Pending a prolonged appeals process, overhaul to the system may require the Legisla-ture to spend billions of dollars.

Notably, proposals or support for social issues were not the focus of Gov. Perry’s address. Ross Romsey, Executive Editor of the Texas Tribune, said that Perry “stayed out of the red meat market on social issues…[s]ocial conservatives didn’t get much.”

The filing deadline for new bills to be introduced is March 8 and the session is scheduled to end May 27.

Benedict XVI becomes first pope to resign in 600 years. See page 3

Corey FrancoNews [email protected]

On Feb. 4, State District Judge John Dietz ruled in favor of the six plaintiffs in a major state school finance lawsuit and deemed that the funding to the Texas public education system is unconstitutional.

The six plaintiffs represent about two-thirds of the states’s school districts, which educate about 75 percent of its roughly

3.5 million students.Dietz’s ruling quickly fol-

lowed closing arguments. Ac-cording to the Texas Tribune, “Dietz stated that the state does not adequately or efficiently fund public schools—and that it has created an unconstitutional de-facto property tax in shifting the burden of paying for them to the local level.”

According to the Associated Press, “Dietz based his ruling

Quarterback Eric Soza named a Wooden Cup finalist as leader in communitySheldon BakerSports [email protected]

On Jan. 31, the Athletes for a Better World (ABW) announced that UTSA quarterback Eric

Soza is one of five finalists nomi-nated for the prestigious John Wooden Cup Award.

“When the athletic depart-ment told me about it, I was in shock, then I felt awed, and now I just feel dumbfounded to be mentioned along with the some

of the great names who’ve won the award in the past,” said Soza.

The Wooden Cup is awarded annually to a collegiate student-athlete and a professional athlete who affect the lives of others in a positive way.

See SOZA, Page 7

February 12, 2013

Judge deems school funding unconstitutional

Israeli airstrike adds newdimension to war in SyriaCorey FrancoNews [email protected]

On Jan. 30, a recent airstrike by Israel raised many questions concerning the current trajec-tory of the Syrian Civil War that has been waging since March of 2011 and the possibilities of American involvement in the Syrian Civil War, also known as the Syrian uprising.

While some initial reports included a Syrian research facil-ity among the list of targets, the BBC reported that the strike’s main target appeared to be a battery of SA-17 missiles and their launchers in a convoy, which were possibly destined for Hezbollah, a militant group and Syria’s Shia allies in Leba-non.

The alliance between Israel and America has been one of the most prevalent governing factors of American policy in the Middle East. This recent Israeli military action elevates America’s attention of the Syr-ian uprising.

According to the Associ-ated Press, the attack appeared to be the latest salvo in Israel’s long-running effort to disrupt Hezbollah’s efforts to build an arsenal that is capable of defend-ing against Israel’s air force and spreading destruction inside the Jewish state from just over its northern border.

While the region is no strang-er to conflict, clashes in this area are rarely forthright and are typ-ically embattled in long-seeded power struggles between vari-ous groups.

The Syrian uprising, which is

in its second year of existence, involves the Syrian Ba’ath Party government and the rebel forces seeking to oust it. The Ba’ath regime, currently led by Presi-dent Bashar al-Assad, has been in power since a successful coup d’état in 1964.

The Assad family comes from the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam, a group that accounts for roughly 12 percent of the Syrian Popula-tion. The tight control Assad has maintained over the Syrian security forces has generated much resentment from the Sun-ni majority, which represents close to three-quarters of the Syrian populace.

The United Nations said in early January that the conflict’s death toll has reached more than 60,000 people, according to a Reuters’ report.

The same report stated that the U.N. refugee agency UN-HCR said on Jan. 28 that the number of Syrian refugees and individuals awaiting registration is 714,118. This includes the 5,417 Syrian refugees registered in North Africa.

Chair of the UTSA Depart-ment of Political Science, Man-sour El-Kikhia, who has ap-peared in interviews with CNN and the Daily Show, offered his insight to the Paisano on the de-veloping issues in Syria.

El-Kikhia stated that, when looking at the potential of Amer-ican involvement in Syria, “It is very important that Americans and American policy makers in particular understand that they are members of the American political system, that they repre-sent America, that they’ve been elected by Americans [and] that they serve the U.S. Congress, not in the Israeli Knesset.” What this means for policy makers, according to El-Kikhia, is that “their actions should be deter-mined by American interests.”

While there are times when national interests coincide, El-Kikhia reasoned that this is not the case, and that Americans have no direct interest in be-ing involved in another Middle Eastern conflict.

“Israel will take any opportu-nity to seize its own interests—

See SYRIA, Page 3

See SCHOOL FINANCE, Page 3The civil war in Syria began nearly two years ago and has left up to 60,000 dead.

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Eric Soza (far right) has been named a finalist for the John Wooden Cup award in recognition of his success on and off the field.

NEWSFebruary 12, 2013

2

on a chart from the nonparti-san Legislative Budget Board, showing that while state spend-ing on schools has increased and is now approaching $48 billion when adjusted for infla-tion, spending has actually held steady at around $30 billion be-tween 2002 and 2011. And that’s amid a population boom that has seen enrollment in public schools increase by an average of more than 70,000 students per year, and academic stan-dards have become far tougher over the same period.”

In 2005, Judge Dietz ruled that the former system was also unconstitutional and, subse-quently, called for the state to develop a new one.

In 2011, the Legislature cut $4 billion in funding to schools and $1.4 billion to grant programs. The Legislature also implement-ed the Texas Assessment of Ac-ademic Readiness (STARR) to replace the former standardized test, the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS).

This cut in funding to Texas schools in lieu of the Legislature raising academic standards led the plaintiffs to file the lawsuit, whose hearings began on Oct. 22 of last year. As the Dallas Morning News reported, the plaintiffs argued that the money received by the state was inad-equate to fund the programs required to meet the increased standards.

David Thompson, a partner at the Thompson & Horton law firm out of Houston, referred to Article VII, Section 1 of the Tex-as Constitution, which states,

“support and maintenance of system of public free schools: A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preserva-tion of the liberties and rights of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and make suitable pro-vision for the support and main-tenance of an efficient system of public free schools.”

Section 2 of Article VII calls for a permanent school fund from the state.

The Dallas Morning-News re-ported that many poor-property districts raised their property tax to the state limit in order to offset the Legislature’s spending cuts. Dietz wrote that the in-crease was “merely to fulfill state mandates” and that districts “no longer have meaningful discre-tion in setting their tax rates,” effectively creating an unconsti-tutional statewide property tax.

Thompson, the lead attorney for several plaintiffs in the case, said, “Our group of plaintiffs represent all parts of the state. The system wants the state to support high standards; if you are to meet those standards, you need equitable and adequate systems for schools and students to meet those standards.”

The National Education Ac-cess Network, an organization that tracks school finance liti-gation, stated that since 1970, there have been seven major school finance lawsuits in the state, according to the Texas Tri-bune. Further, 11 states, includ-ing Colorado, Connecticut and California, currently have simi-lar suits in progress, and only five states have not challenged

funding to public schools.While Dietz ruled in favor

of the plaintiffs, the funding changes will not take place im-mediately, as the Texas Attorney General’s Office has the option to appeal directly to the state Supreme Court.

Texas Education Agency Commissioner Michael Wil-liams issued the following after the ruling: “All sides have known that, regardless of the outcome at the district level, final reso-

lution will not come until this case reaches the Texas Supreme Court. I’m appreciative of the strong case presented by the Attorney General’s Office on behalf of the state. The Texas Education Agency will continue to carry out its mission of serv-ing the students and educators across our state.”

The current legislative session ends in May, and if the higher court upholds Dietz’s decision, a special session on school fi-

nance may convene in 2014.The Associated Press asserted

that allowing the case to make its way through lower appeals courts before it reaches the Texas Supreme Court could be a better political option.

Republicans in the Legislature may not vote in favor of increas-ing school funding until after the March 2014 primary to avoid challenges from Tea Party can-didates. The Associated Press also claimed that the longer

the case takes to get to the high court, the longer a potential spe-cial session is delayed.

After the ruling, David Hino-josa, council for one plaintiff, stated, “Moving forward, we don’t expect the Legislature to do much. It’s likely to be decided in about a year or so from the (state) Supreme Court.”

Dietz will issue a more de-tailed ruling in the coming weeks.

SCHOOL FINANCE: Decision likely to be appealed to Texas Supreme CourtFrom Page 1

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NEWSFebruary 12, 2013

3

Natalie FrelsWeb [email protected]

On Monday, Feb. 11, Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world when he announced his plans to resign at the end of the month “because of advanced age.”

On Feb. 28, Benedict XVI, the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, will become the first pontiff to step down in nearly 600 years.

“In today’s world,” the 85 year-old pope said in his announce-ment, “subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by ques-tions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of St. Peter and pro-claim the gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to ad-equately fulfill the ministry en-trusted to me.”

“For this reason,” he contin-ued, “and well aware of the se-riousness of this act, with full freedom, I declare that I re-nounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, successor of St. Peter.”

Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi stated at a news conference that the car-dinals will hold the conclave, the church’s process of electing Benedict’s successor, after his official resignation at 8 p.m. on Feb. 28, according to CNN.

“Before Easter, we will have the new pope,” Lombardi said.

The church’s 266th pope, for-merly Cardinal Joseph Ratzing-er, was troubled with the “debili-tating scandals” and recognized “how deeply the institution had been damaged” when he was

elected on Apr. 19, 2005, accord-ing to the New York Times.

Father Thomas Reese, senior fellow at Georgetown Univer-sity’s Woodstock Theological Center, said in an interview with NPR that Benedict was “very concerned about orthodoxy, about preserving traditions in the church.”

British Prime Minister David Cameron said Benedict “will be missed as a spiritual leader to millions,” according to the As-sociated Press.

“The man they called ‘God’s Rottweiler’ for his tenacious de-fense of church doctrine” will likely serve the Catholic Church in a monastery through a life dedicated to prayer, the New York Times stated.

The Associated Press specu-lated that Benedict’s successors include Cardinal Angelo Scola, the Archbishop of Milan, Car-dinal Cristoph Schoenborn, the archbishop of Vienna and Car-dinal Marc Ouellet, the Cana-dian head of the Vatican’s office for bishops.

The Associated Press also stated, “Some push is expect-ed for the election of a Third World pope, with several names emerging from Asia, Africa and Latin America, home to about 40 percent of the world’s Catho-lics.”

“Without doubt this is a his-toric moment,” said Cardinal Schoenborn, a protégé and for-mer theology student of Bene-dict’s who is considered a papal contender, according to the As-sociated Press. “Right now, 1.2 billion Catholics the world over are holding their breath.”

“On behalf of Americans ev-erywhere, Michelle and I wish to extend our appreciation

and prayers to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI,” President Obama said in a written state-ment.

“The Church plays a critical role in the United States and the world, and I wish the best to those who will soon gather to choose His Holiness Pope Bene-dict XVI’s successor,” Obama said.

Cardinals will meet in Vatican City to elect the church’s new leader before Easter Sunday, which, as Rev. Lombardi said, is a potent symbol of rebirth in the church on a day that celebrates the resurrection of Christ.

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it’s normal. [But] it is important for the United States to under-stand and differentiate between its interests and Israeli interests.”

Regarding the prospect of American or European involve-ment, El-Kikhia stated that without sanctions from the United Nations, there is little legal recourse available to inter-vene. Furthermore, Russia and China, who support the Syrian regime, maintain veto power in the U.N. so that such sanctions are highly unlikely. Nations will continue to intervene as it serves their own particular interests in a system where, as El-Kikhia

stated, “There are no friends—there are only interests.”

On the future of the conflict El-Kikhia said, “Many Syrians have gotten tired—tired of the bloodshed, tired of the huge number of refugees, tired of all the instability that is taking place.” This weariness will facili-tate the probability of a dialogue being open between the forces in order to take steps towards a resolution. The Assad regime can “either get out of power with a little bit of dignity or it can be killed like the Gadhafi regime in Libya.”

El-Kikhia argued that, in com-paring the Syrian and Libyan up-risings, “Libya was lucky in the

sense that the opposition had a base of operations. The eastern province opposed the regime and it served as a launching pad for rebel operations.” El-Kikhia said, “In Syria, such a launching pad is not available. You have one village for the regime and one village against the regime. Libyan society is homogeneous, Syrian society is not, and the minorities, fearing the majority, supports the regime.”

Syria is a complex issue that perpetuates towards complex goals, and while the final resolu-tion remains unclear, El-Kikhia assured that, for Syria, it will, indeed, be a “slow death.”

SYRIA: Speedy conclusion not likelyBenedict XVI to resign at end of monthFrom Page 1

{The Paisano}Editor-in-Chief: Katy SchmaderAssistant to Editor:Erin BorenManaging Editor:Stephen WhitakerNews Editor:Matthew DuarteNews Assistants:Corey FrancoDavid GlickmanPaseo Editor:Sarah GibbensArts Editor: Jennifer AlejosArts Assistants:Wilfredo FloresJanae RiceSports Editor: Sheldon BakerSports Assistants:Delaney MarloweMario NavaPhoto Editor: Will TallentPhoto Assistant:Vince CardenasWeb Editor:Natalie FrelsWeb Assistant:Amanda DansbyBusiness Manager: Jenelle DuffSenior Copy Editor:Alyssa Torres

{Staff Writers}Bridget Gaskill, Christina Coyne, Randy Lopez, Alex Camacho, Shelby Hodges, Stephanie Barbosa

{Staff Photographers}Ruth Olivares, Alyssa Gonzales

{Contributing Writers}Julian Montez, Council Royal, Eliana Briceno, Ra-chel Corbelli, Philip Taele, Eric Mondragon, Jasmine Rodriguez, Beth Mar-shall, Pete Torres, Renee Rendon, Paulina Rivero-Borrell

{Contributing Photographers}Scott Cochran, Katherine Kish

{Interns}Amanda Dansby, Janae Rice, Erin Boren, Sheldon Baker, Marcia Perales

{Ads Manager} Kevyn Kirven

{Advisor} Diane Abdo

{Advisory Board}Steven Kellman, Mansour El-Kikhia, Jack Himelblau, Sandy Norman

The Paisano is published by the Paisano Educational Trust, a non-profit, tax exempt, edu-cational organization. The Paisano is operated by mem-bers of the Student Newspa-per Association, a registered student organization. The Paisano is NOT sponsored, fi-nanced or endorsed by UTSA. New issues are published ev-ery Tuesday during the fall and spring semesters, exclud-ing holidays and exam peri-ods. All revenues are gener-ated through advertising and donations. Advertising inqui-ries and donations should be directed towards:

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4 OPINION

Clear boundaries to consensual relationshipsEditorial

Baseball pitcher to make $25 million this year

T u e s -day, Feb. 12, will mark the day when M a j o r L e a g u e p i t c h e r s and catch-

ers report to spring training. This is an important day as it means the beginning of another baseball season and the prom-ise that it holds is less than a month and a half away.

The world of baseball has changed over the years, yet the simplicity of the game has remained. The distance from mound to plate is still 60 feet 6 inches and the distance be-tween the bases is still 90 feet. The pitcher still tries to get

the batter out and the batter still tries to put the ball in play. What has changed is the com-pensation gained from playing Major League Baseball.

Take, for example, the on-going contract negotiations between the Seattle Mariners and their ace pitcher Felix Her-nandez. On Feb. 8, Hernandez was given a contract extension that will pay him $175 million over the next seven seasons. As soon as details are worked out, the contract will take effect this season and will raise his average annual salary from $19.5 to $25 million, more per season than any pitcher has ever earned be-fore. Hernandez stands to earn $757,576 each time he takes the mound, $7,310 each time he throws a pitch and $1.9 million

each time he wins based on his performance in the previous seven seasons.

It can be mind-boggling sometimes to realize that some-one can get paid so much to play a game that a lot of people played as children, yet that is the nature of the business of baseball.

The sudden rise of player sal-aries can be traced back to the advent of Free Agency in the 1970s. Before free agency, Ma-jor League Baseball had the Re-serve Clause. This clause kept players under contract with one team for the entirety of their careers and kept salaries down. The onset of free agency led to the skyrocketing salaries of baseball players.

In the 100 years between

the founding of the National League of Professional Base-ball Clubs in 1876 and the be-ginning of free agency in 1976, the average salary rose from $3,054 per year to $18,568 per year. Since 1976, the average salary has gone from $55,802 to $512,804 in 1989. Average sala-ries hit the million-dollar mark in 1992, the two million mark in 2001 and the three million mark in 2008.

The average salary in 2012 was $3.4 million, a four percent increase from 2011. The rise in salaries has created a rise in the cost to attend a game. Even though Major League Baseball had, at $27, the lowest average ticket price of the four North American leagues in 2012, there is a sense among some

Americans that it isn’t worth going to games anymore, not when you can watch it on TV.

To which I say, go to a ball-park and see if the experience is the same from the couch as it is at the ballpark. You will find it is not. Nothing can replicate the ballpark experience.

There will always be the pow-erful draw of that sudden feel-ing of happiness when stepping out into the stands on a warm afternoon to watch a baseball game. Television can’t replace the smells of the ballpark. The players will keep getting paid more but Americans will also continue to go to the ballpark. So the national game will go on.

Stephen WhitakerManaging Editor

Commentary

On Feb. 1, 2013 UT Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds issued a statement confirming Texas’ co-offensive coordinator Ma-jor Applewhite’s engagement in an “inappropriate, consensual sexual behavior with an adult student.”

The news follows a similar in-cident involving the resignation of Beverly Kearney, the Univer-sity of Texas’ former women’s track and field head coach. Ke-arney resigned in January after she admitted to an “intimate consensual relationship” in 2002. The university placed her on administrative leave before notifying her in January that

they were prepared to termi-nate her.

These events lead many to question the appropriateness of consensual relationships between faculty and students. While both groups may be con-senting adults, the line between relationship and harassment is thin and can be easily crossed.

All 15 of the University of Texas institutions have estab-lished policies governing such relationships, but many of these policies must be clarified. In or-der to set clear boundaries for consensual relationships, clear rules and consequences need to be in writing.

The University of Texas at San Antonio Student-Faculty Handbook states:

“It is the policy of The Uni-versity of Texas at San Antonio that the following romantic or sexual relationships are prohib-ited between a faculty member and a student who is enrolled in the faculty member’s course or who is otherwise under the supervision of the faculty mem-ber, between a supervisor and a person under his or her super-vision.”

Some students and faculty would argue that the following policy leaves too much room for debate, as it does not ad-

dress consensual relationships between faculty and students not currently enrolled in the faculty member’s class.

On Feb. 3, Chairman Powell and Chancellor Cigarroa made a statement on policies regard-ing inappropriate relationships between UT employees and students. The Board of Regents will review policies relating to consensual relations and in-clude discussions “concerning disciplinary actions and pro-cedures as well as compliance with policies for immediate no-tification of institution admin-istration and the Board of Re-gents whenever and wherever

policies are violated.” When considering policy

governing consensual relation-ships the UT System Board of Regents should call for a clear explanation. Rules need to be made stating exactly what is al-lowed and exactly what reper-cussions should follow, if the rule were to be broken.

If the UT System Board of Regents wishes to set an ex-ample, they must clearly define the parameters of a consensual relationship so that individual institutions can create clear and practical policy.

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ComicsVulpes Vulpes by: Christopher Garcia

February 12, 2013

“ U T ! . . .SA!, UT!...SA!,” and not much else, is fre-q u e n t l y c h a n t e d at our s c h o o l ’ s

sporting events. We seem to lack the school spirit and im-portant traditions that most of other four-year universities have. Feeling a sense of com-munity in college is important so that one doesn’t feel like a solitary face in the crowd.

There are around 30,000 stu-dents enrolled here, so getting plugged in and feeling comfort-able can seem a bit intimidat-ing. But expressing school spir-it is not just important while cheering on the football team. It creates a bond between stu-dents and reassures us that we all have something in common. The fact that many students commute from home, along with our diverse age range, can make UTSA seem somewhat fragmented, and Roadrunner spirit can be hindered.

It’s great that students are encouraged to join many clubs and organizations. While this is a great way to make friends and get plugged in, it doesn’t exactly promote school spirit. It actu-ally divides the student body in some ways. The Greek system is not only divided within itself, it sets up barriers between those who are “in” and those who are “out”. Religious groups would be a great path to unity, but, ironically, may only remind us of the ways we are different.

It would be great to have

an organization that works to promote school spirit and re-ally gets the entire student body excited about being a Roadrun-ner. If we had something similar to the “Midnight Yell” tradition at Texas A&M or the meaning-ful UT Tower at UT Austin, the bond of this community would skyrocket. Feeling school spirit is as easy as wearing school colors at a basketball game or participating in the annual “Late Night at the Rec.” We are investing in an education, so shouldn’t we also invest in raising school spirit? We want to graduate from UTSA with a sense of accomplishment and pride so that when we meet a fellow Roadrunner after gradu-ation we feel a sense of camara-derie and an instant bond.

Let’s be a university where everyone feels welcomed and at home. Combine groups when you’re eating at the café and get to know people outside of your circle. Go to a sporting event and, win or lose, feel proud. Learn the words to the alma mater and the fight song. Love the school you go to and it will love you back.

The words “win, Roadrun-ners, win and unite in our battle song,” are included in our fight song. We need to unite and school spirit will follow. While it is always important to have a strong sense of your own iden-tity and individuality, there comes a time when we all need to come together and feel like one student body.

Beth MarshallContributing Writer

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Go, Roadrunners, Go!Commentary

Send letters to [email protected] must be less than 400 words and include the writer’s name, classification or title and telephone number. The Paisano reserves the right to edit all submissions.

Paulina Rivera-BorrellContributing Writer [email protected]

Five minutes before board-ing, Carolina Paz, a UTSA pub-lic relations major, is in gate 26 of the San Antonio Internation-al Airport. Her heart is pound-ing wildly. The voice in the mi-crophone startles her.

“Passengers to Madrid, Spain will begin boarding now.”

She takes a deep breath and stands up to approach her new destination. In her 22 years of life, she has never been so ex-cited.

The world is becoming more international and globalized by the day. People are becoming more immersed and integrated in different cultures and world views. Now, it is almost a ne-cessity to be culturally diversi-fied in order to be successful in the working field. So what better way to gain international knowledge and perspective than to study in a completely different country?

Whether it be a few weeks or a full year, the growth and knowledge acquired by study-

ing abroad cannot be compared to any other experience. Study-ing abroad is, for many, one of the most rewarding experienc-es in their lifetime.

Students generally believe that studying abroad is un-reachable, expensive and even impossible, but those adventur-ous souls who dare to ask will find that the studying abroad services at UTSA help students make this experience easy and affordable.

Students may be surprised to know that their regular finan-cial aid automatically transfers to a study abroad program. In many cases, especially in coun-tries in South America, school tuition is comparable to that of the tuition in the U.S.

UTSA also offers countless scholarships and grants to stu-dents who travel abroad. These scholarships range from regular institutional scholarships (such as UTSA scholarships) to fed-eral scholarships or those from independent organizations such as third party program-mers.

Another student concern is whether credit earned abroad

will transfer back to UTSA. “Yes,” states Lori Richardson, UTSA study abroad advisor. “Courses DO transfer back. However, it is the student’s re-sponsibility to see their advisor here at UTSA to confirm that the transfer credit can be ap-plied to their specific degree plan.”

With over 2,000 programs available, students can choose to travel to a multitude of dif-ferent places around the world for as little as two weeks or as long as an entire calendar year.

UTSA studying abroad ser-vices provide programs for every academic major and for students who have at least 30 credit hours. Students can choose from three different styles of programs: faculty-lead programs (UTSA faculty takes students abroad), abroad direct exchanges (student exchanges places with a foreign exchange student) or third party program providers (studying abroad at the qualified university for a year or a semester). Internships are also offered at certain uni-versities and in some cases, uni-versities offer paid internships.

The UTSA studying abroad services offers programs almost anywhere in the world as long as the U.S. State Department does not issue a travel warning. This means that if a country is going through any sort of dan-gerous situation that can possi-bly harm the student or risk the student’s well-being, the uni-versity will not arrange a study abroad program with that par-ticular country. However, most countries are usually safe and available.

Here at UTSA, the most popular countries of choice are England, Spain and Italy. How-ever, students can also study in countries such as Canada, Ar-gentina, Chile, Australia, New Zealand and even Hong Kong.

What about language bar-riers? If you are not going to Canada, England or Australia, you will most likely be living in a country where people only know elementary English, if any.

So do students need to know other languages to study abroad? Richardson explains, “We have several programs where students can go to a non-

English speaking country and take their main courses in Eng-lish. They also have the option of taking a foreign language course there.”

“The experience of explor-ing and understanding another country, different people and a different culture allowed me to find a new passion and per-spective that prepared me for a better understanding of the world,” Ricky Martinez, a for-mer UTSA student, says about studying abroad in Shanghai in the fall of 2011. “The time spent during my semester abroad tru-ly changed me as an individual.”

Marisol De La Fuente, an-other UTSA student currently studying in Madrid, Spain, also says that “Studying abroad has changed my perspective to-wards life. I see the world in a whole different way now. I have come to realize that many of the things I thought were impor-tant really don’t matter at all, and today, I value a lot of things I took for granted.”

Living in a different country will most likely benefit stu-dents personally, academically and professionally. Richardson

explains, “Countless benefits come from studying abroad. It is an incredible resume-build-er that makes students more available for employers. And it is also excellent for personal growth. Every aspect of their life will advance and bring them more opportunities.”

Currently studying in Ma-drid, Paz remembers the day she boarded the plane in San Antonio. Her face brightens up with a smile. She has no regrets.

“You only get these chances once in a lifetime, so don’t even think of it twice. We are young, so we should travel before our real life starts.”

February 12, 2013PASEO 5

Renee RendonContributing [email protected]

As Jacob Rendon passed the large tank, he focused on a sin-gle, slow carp that appeared to swim sickly and unbalanced.

He knew he would not be choosing that one.

In the next tank, he watched foot-long, pink sea worms wriggle through the water. He was not ready to see that on his plate either.

Beyond the buckets of live toads, he saw what he wanted.

“In China, it’s all about fresh,” Rendon says as he points to a picture on his laptop. “That day, I decided to eat crab.”

Rendon is one of thousands of American college students who choose to teach English in an Asian country upon gradu-ation. According to the Asia- Pacific Journal of Teacher Edu-cation, the trend is growing. Many college graduates long to see the world before settling into a regular work routine here in the United States. For many, the increasing difficulty with finding work has had them looking to the East.

“My main objective for going to China was to get perspective on life in general,” says Rendon, graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. “I understood that people live lifestyles very different from my own, and I wanted to experience that.” He hoped that the experience in China would help him to be more marketable when he resumed his job search in the United States.

According to the Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development international ex-perience is an alluring idea for many students; however, appre-hensions about the process can stop many from pursuing this dream. Those that are interest-ed in teaching English in Asia can ease their concerns by visit-ing the East Asia Institute in the main building at UTSA. The in-stitute provides procedural and cultural information about the English teaching process.

“Here at UTSA, we work only

with government sponsored agencies,” says Mimi Yu, asso-ciate director of the East Asia Institute at UTSA. “We work closely with three different pro-grams: EPIK/TALK in Korea, JET in Japan and the Ministry of Education in the Republic of China (Taiwan).”

All of these programs pay a monthly stipend, reimburse one round-trip airfare and sup-ply boarding or compensation for housing. The monthly sal-ary covers expenses for the con-tract period.

To apply for these programs, candidates need to fill out an application and provide a copy of their passport and an aca-demic transcript. Beyond that, each agency has slightly differ-ent requirements and benefits.

Although the ability to speak and understand the foreign language is not a requirement, Yu says, “It is best to study the culture and maybe take a class. Those with knowledge of the culture tend to have a better ex-perience.”

Students who choose to teach English in an Asian country tend to assimilate to the culture easier when they have some background about the area.

“I took a class called Intro-duction to China. It didn’t re-ally go into the culture; it was more about the history of China,” says Rendon. “I think that course coupled with what I had learned from my Chinese-American friends helped me to assimilate into the culture bet-ter.”

“One of my greatest fears was teaching in itself,” says Ren-don. “Could I live up to every-one’s expectations?” He looks up for a moment and smiles. “I couldn’t speak, or read, or write or comprehend spoken Chinese, and that’s a huge deal ...but I’m not going to be able to change my language and cul-tural differences. I can’t change who I am and where I grew up or all of the cultural details that make me who I am.”

“But the teaching, I felt that if I’m under performing that’s di-rectly connected to something under my control.”

A month into his job at the private English school in Shen-zhen, China, Rendon’s control of the classroom was tested. He received two new 8-year-old students, Thomas and Ozzie, who were best friends.

“Thomas was a bigger guy, weighed a little bit more, so he kinda got picked on a lot, even by Ozzie. And Ozzie was this stringy, little energetic kid that jumped off the walls,” says Ren-don.

“I had asked them to draw one of their vocabulary words, and they got into a fight about what they were going to draw. It started getting physical. The language barrier was just too much for me to try to reason with them, so I had to call the assistant, Qi Qi (pronounced Chi Chi), in to talk with them.”

Rendon pauses as the scene replays in his head. Then he laughs and says, “Later, during the break, Thomas snuck back into the classroom with a pair of scissors and cut Ozzie’s back-pack into TWO parts! We had to tape his backpack together and then explain to his parents why he was going to need a new backpack.”

While the orientations pro-vided through the English-teaching programs will not prepare teachers for every sce-nario, the training sessions do help to ease the transition.

UTSA graduate Vincent Holmes is currently teaching English in Korea. He says, “The month-long training is amaz-ing! You meet a lot of great people and get to visit a lot of great places.”

The training session for TALK and many of the other programs includes English teachers from Australia, Can-ada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK.

Countries such as Korea, Ja-pan, Taiwan and China want their people to have exposure to native English speakers from around the world.

“English is a universal lan-guage,” says Yu. “These coun-tries want to give global edu-cation to all of their citizens including the rural population.

They want to have well-rounded citizens that are able to compete on a glob-al stage.”

For many of the na-tive, rural children and their families, the English teacher is the only for-eigner they have ever seen. Rendon resided in a city with a population of over 10 million. Even in these large cities, Westerners are not always a common sight.

“I was always conscious of people looking at me,” says Rendon. “Occasional-ly, I would be approached by strangers that would ask if they could practice English with me. Some-times they would ask me to be in photos with them.”

While some teachers enjoy the attention, there are those who do not want to be in the spotlight. “One of our graduates did not enjoy the attention she received in a small Japa-nese community,” Yu says. “She was uncomfortable, feeling like she was the to-ken foreigner of the com-munity. She just wanted to fit in, not stand out.”

Standing out in the crowd is not the only variant that new teachers adapt to; they also must adjust to the unique cus-toms of their region.

Holmes says, “In Korea, I have had to get used to taking my shoes off to wear school slip-pers and, whether you feel like playing or not, faculty (plays) volleyball every Wednesday,” he says, “And make sure you bring enough deodorant. They don’t sell it here.”

In countries such as Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan, the transportation system is vast and inexpensive. With speeds ranging between 208 to 302 miles-per-hour, four of the world’s six fastest trains are lo-cated in these countries. Many students who teach in the big cities spend much of their time exploring their host country and neighboring countries.

“Transportation is amazing

and cheap,” says Holmes. “I’ve been traveling during most weekends and have done vari-ous things like hiking the Seor-aksan Mountain, going to con-certs (one in Japan) and going to the indoor/outdoor amuse-ment park, Lotte World.”

Although some of the most modern transportation in the world is located in Asian coun-tries, many residents travel by foot and by bicycle.

“I think I have seen about everything imaginable being transported by bike in China,” says Rendon. He points to a photo of a Chinese teenager on a bicycle. The boy is carrying a mound of folded tarps stacked 5 feet high in the back and over-flowing out of the basket in the front.

“You see a lot of bicycles, but I think the craziest thing I saw was this one guy hauling a refrigerator with his bike!” he says.

* * * Rendon sits amidst a mess

of taped-up cardboard boxes, a few suitcases, and his bicycle. He reaches into his pile of be-longings and grabs an accor-dion style folder thick with pa-pers. From the files, he pulls out his newest Chinese work visa and his invitation letter.

It turns out that the nine months that he spent teach-ing English in China did make him more marketable. His first-hand knowledge of the Chinese language and culture together with his Aerospace Engineer-ing degree was just the right combination for General Elec-tric Aviation to send their first American engineer to China.

Fresh seafood is common in Chinese markets. Customers often pick out their dinner while it is still alive.

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Many Chinese citizens ride bicycles to transport a wide range of cargo through busy streets.

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Adventures Abroad: studying outside the U.S.

Teaching in the Far East:a student’s journey overseas

“The time spent during my se-mester abroad changed me as an individual.”Ricky MartinezUTSA Alumnus

Stephanie BarbosaStaff [email protected]

Lady Base, a new art gal-lery in Southtown San Anto-nio area, is being presented as an art initiative exclusively for women and LGBTQ artists. Sarah Castillo, a UTSA bicul-tural studies graduate student, is the founder of this experi-mental art platform.

The gallery, which opened this past Saturday with a pub-lic meet-and-greet event, is located within Gallista Gallery on 1913 South Presa. The small art space is also functioning as

Castillo’s personal studio. “As a woman artist, I feel there is a need in San Antonio to provide a space that honors the work of many of our artists,” Castillo says.

Whereas most art galleries in San Antonio have explicit rules and procedures for showcasing artists’ work, Lady Base will be much more free-flowing and accessible. This will allow many women and LGBTQ artists the opportunity to showcase their work.

Castillo says, “I know a lot of artists that a lot of people will never see, and that’s just in this city alone.”

A gallery like Lady Base is relatively new to San Antonio. Working as an artist, Castillo understands the frustrations of getting her work seen in gal-leries around the city. She has made it her responsibility to showcase the work that is nev-er seen in San Antonio.

Lady Base’s mission is shown through its chosen representa-tion: the women and LGBTQ artists in San Antonio. “It’s ob-vious that these are all margin-alized groups of people and I can relate to that. That is what a lot of my work is about. I don’t know any other way to tell people who I am and what I’m

about,” Castillo explains.

As a mem-ber of the Más Rudas Chicana art collective, Castillo has recognized the importance of a strong female c o m m u n i t y. Since 2009, the members of

Más Rudas have been curat-ing and creating installations throughout the San Antonio art community. They focus on empowering women and chal-lenging the ideas of traditional female roles, while embracing the multiple cultural identities of women.

“Working with Más Rudas has really made me more aware of the importance of collabora-tions among women.”

Castillo also plans to use the space for the professional development of local artists, so they can learn how to build their portfolio and write artist statements.

Castillo describes her pro-cess with establishing the art space as intuitive. She came up with the name for the gallery on a whim. She says, “For me, [the name, Lady Base] connects to the city itself. We have a lot of military bases, so that made me think about this initiative as a base for these women and LBGTQ artists. So it’s like a central location or a platform to spring from.”

As a bicultural studies major as well as an archivist for San Anto Cultural Arts organiza-

tion, Castillo planned on in-tersecting her gallery with her graduate thesis.

“I had several ideas about archiving, and about being an artist and I’m at this point in my life that they are all kind of starting to connect. Being in the UTSA graduate program is helping that to happen.”

Castillo’s main obstacle throughout the process of es-tablishing the gallery has been maintaining confidence and not worrying about outsiders’ opinions.

“There’s this quote by Andy Warhol that I like, ‘Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad. While they are deciding, make even more art.’ I like to follow that idea,” Castillo says.

Lady Base’s first art show will be held on March 2 as a part of San Antonio’s Contemporary Art Month. The exhibit, called “Lady Works,” will be curated by Más Rudas and features work from Chris Davila, Au-drya Flores, Suzy Gonzalez and Theresa Moher.

Pete TorresContributing [email protected]

Heavy metal and nature have never mixed so well as they have in Art in the Garden.

The exhibit, which is present-ed by San Antonio Botanical Gardens and Blue Star Contem-porary Art Center, is entering its last month at the facility and will be replaced by the 2013 installa-tion starting in March.

Visitors can see many differ-ent sculptures in the Gardens’ habitat conservatory at no extra charge. Artists featured in this exhibit include Patricia Tina-jero, George Tobolowski, Peter Mangan, Dewane Hughes, Ve-rina Baxter, Bret Price and Linda Kim.

The Botanical Gardens pro-vide a wonderfully aesthetic background for the art. Natural colors of plants contrast sharply against smoothly painted steel. The colorful pieces grab the viewer’s attention, making it hard to walk by and ignore the installations. The pieces that are not painted, but slightly rust colored or clean steel silver, stand out from the green envi-ronment. Of course, the gardens are also filled with sunlight, of-fering the perfect stage for those sculptures that contain glass or other reflective materials.

A couple of sculptures stand next to big pyramids that con-tain specialized plant habitats, producing an industrial, futur-

istic arrangement. All of these elements come together nicely to create a diverse exhibit.

One interesting element of sculpture is that the materials are often salvaged from some-where, giving each piece of metal a history and allowing each piece to bring an original element to the project.

Dallas artist George To-bolowski has been collecting “junk” from scrap yards (or any-where he happens to stumble across) for more than 30 years. Tobolowski has a collection of mechanical parts and steel scrap that he stores in his shop, al-though he may not use any piec-es for months or maybe years.

It takes a special sort of tal-ent to find potential in dirty discarded steel scrap and then find a place for it in a piece of art. George is also known for his witty titles like the “600lb Dealbreaker” that resemble a man-size monkey wrench or “Fighter” that looks like a robot warrior from the future.

Another artist featured in the exhibit is Bret Price. The natural colors in the plant environment complement his work the most. Price’s statue called “Triad” is a soft, red color that contrasts perfectly against the bushes of green ferns and colorful flowers. The metal is twisted in a way that makes it appear soft and flexible.

Price uses a special technique of heating chambers around metal and adding heat to specif-ic points to create the illusion of

supple steel. The sun-

light also plays a cru-cial role in the display of the art. Peter Man-gan’s metal silhouettes with shapes of dangling glass use sunlight to c o m p l e t e each sculp-ture.

M a n g a n has been w o r k i n g with glass since 1977. His pieces are featured throughout the United States, Eu-rope and Japan and usually con-tain silhou-ettes of the human body filled with glass shapes. Mangan uses a range of techniques from black-smithing to medieval glass painting methods and plasma cutting and computer-con-trolled kilns.

This artist shows his skills in the model titled, “The Conver-sation,” which consists of circles and squares of glass that look like fruit slices and floppy disks

dangling from a triple-layered steel silhouette.

Each artist provides some signature contribution, making showcases like this fun, diverse and entertaining. Visitors get a chance to admire the work of many different talented artists while also enjoying the scenery in the San Antonio Botanical Gardens. Visiting the Art in the

Garden exhibit is a pleasant ex-perience and recommended for any art lover.

Art in the Garden will be open to visitors from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, with an admission price of $5-$8. The 2013 instal-lation of Art in the Garden will open on March 22. For more in-formation, visit <sabot.org>.

One man’s trash is another man’s art Tuesday, Feb. 129 a.m. to 5p.m. Exhibit: “Arte Chihuahua”The Witte Museum (3801 Broad-way) hosts the CCSA, who will present a series of lively demonstra-tions and performances throughout the museum in conjunction with the Witte’s free Tuesdays.

7 p.m. Performance: “Love Letters: Music of the Heart by Voci di Sorelle, Pt. 1”The San Antonio Museum of Art (200 W. Jones St.) brings San An-tonio’s premier women’s ensemble in a special two concert series for Valentine’s Day. Voci di Sorelle is San Antonio’s premier women’s vo-cal ensemble and the only one of its kind in Texas. Admission is free.

Wednesday, Feb. 1310 a.m. to 4 p.m. Exhibit: “Printed in San Antonio”The McNay Museum (6000 N. New Braunfels) presents “Printed in San Antonio.” The description is in the title as the exhibit showcases work printed in San Antonio. The exhibition celebrates history, with works drawn entirely from the McNay’s collection. Admission is $5-$15.

8 p.m. UCPC Coffeehouse: Claire FowlerUniversity Center Program Council (UCPC) presents Claire Fowler as part of its Coffeehouse series. The event will be held outdoors in the University Center (UC) Fountain Courtyard. Admission is free for all UTSA students.

Thursday, Feb. 147:00 am San Antonio Stock Show & RodeoThe AT&T Center (One AT&T Cen-ter) hosts the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. Featuring a family fair and carnival, along with a wildlife area and 650 vendors for shopping,the event will sure to be one the whole family can enjoy. Admission is $15 and up.. 5 p.m. “Artpace After Hours”Artpace presents “Artpace After Hours,” which takes adult audi-ences on a casual art encounter filled with meaningful conversation and some mingling. If you don’t have a friend to bring, you can make a new one here. Happy hour starts at 5 p.m., and drinks are free. Space is limited, to make a reservation call (210) 212-4900 or email [email protected].

Friday, Feb. 158 p.m. Theatre: “A Raisin in the Sun” The Renaissance Guild presents a drama about the conflicts between three generations of a family at the Carver Community Culture Center (226 N. Hackberry). Admission is $25.

8 p.m. Theatre: “Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story”The Cameo Theatre (1123 East Commerce) presents a musical that chronicles the life of a Texas singer-songwriter. Green-lit by Paul McCartney, who owns the rights to Buddy Holly’s entire catalog, the musical of 30 songs includes “Peggy Sue” and “Everyday.” Admission is $15-$30.

Saturday, Feb. 16 10 a.m. Asian Festival: Year of the SnakeThe Institute of Texan Cultures (801 E. Caesar Chavez) presents its an-nual Asian festival, which features performances by the Texas Martial Arts Council and the Confucius Institute at UTSA. Food and refresh-ments inspired by authentic Asian dishes will be served as well. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children 6-12 and children 5 and under are admitted for free.

{Local Events}

For the week’s full calendar, visit:

paisano-online.com

Sarah Castillo, owner of Lady Base Gallery, brings feminist and LGBTQ friendly art to San Antonio.

I t ’s a w o m a n ’s w o r l d

February 12, 2013

6 ARTS&LIFE

Join us! The Paisano has meetings

every Wednesday 6 p.m.14545

Roadrunner Way

Texan artists get inspiration from nature and scraps of metal in the current exhibit of Art in the Garden.

An abstract sculpture is featured in Art in the Garden.

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Thursday, February 14, 7:30-8:30 p.m. University Center 2.01.30 (Magnolia Room)

Find keys to accelerate your pursuit of truth and creative techniques to enrich your daily life. Enjoy the journey!

Info: Omid Ghasemi (e-mail) - [email protected] or Call Justin: 832-244-6502 www.Eckankar-Texas.org

Sponsored by the Eckankar Student Organization

Spiritual Experiences Guidebook Past Lives, Dreams, Soul Travel and More . . .

Free Guidebook, CD and Discussion

SPORTS 7February 12, 2013

This year’s professional recip-ient will be Jack Nicklaus, argu-ably the greatest professional golfer to ever play the game. Nicklaus will receive the award based on his contributions to the sport of golf.

The four other collegiate fi-nalists joining Soza are Arizo-na’s Brigetta Barrett (women’s track and field), Arkansas’ Na-thanael Franks (men’s track and field), North Carolina’s Meghan

Lyons (field hockey), and Pur-due’s Andrea Mingo (women’s basketball).

Soza has started 20 games for the Roadrunners in the schools two-year history, winning 12 of those games; he’s the president of the student-athlete advisory committee, he’s an active par-ticipant in UTSA’s many com-munity service programs and he has a 3.95 grade point aver-age.

The award will be announced on Apr. 23, in Atlanta, Ga.

Soza: preparing for senior football campaignFrom Page 1

Delaney MarloweAssistant Sports [email protected]

It has been said that life is a balancing act. For Paige Ham-ilton, this could not be more true. Between pursuing her psychology degree and playing both softball and volleyball for UTSA, Hamilton finds herself juggling the schedule of the only female dual athlete at UTSA.

“[Softball and volleyball] are two completely different sports,” said Hamilton. “Peo-ple always ask me which one I like better, but it’s just so hard to compare them.” Despite the sports’ differences, Hamilton has managed to excel in both. As a shortstop in softball and a defensive specialist in vol-leyball, Hamilton is vital to the success of both teams, a role that she relishes in.

Between softball, volleyball and school, Hamilton’s sched-ule is unrelenting. “It gets a lit-tle busy,” said Hamilton, “some-times, you just want to sleep in past 8:00 a.m., but it’s definitely worth it. After a game, the feel-ing you get is worth it.”

Since volleyball and softball seasons are opposite of one an-other, she never has conflicts with games and rarely with practice. The NCAA regulates that athletes are only allowed 20 hours of practice per week, even if that athlete plays two sports.

So Hamilton has to squeeze practice time for both of those sports into 20 hours a week. Since softball season is cur-rently under way, most of Ham-ilton’s time goes to softball.

“I only get 18 hours of soft-ball [per week], so that leaves two extra hours for volleyball,” said Hamilton, “but volleyball is in conditioning right now, so practice is only once a week.”

Over the course of a year, however, Hamilton’s time is split almost evenly between the two sports. “If I had to choose [between the sports], I don’t know what I would do. Of course, if you asked me this af-ter a softball game, I’d say soft-ball. I love getting dirty, I love diving, I love it, it’s so fun,” said Hamilton, “But if you asked me after a volleyball game, I’d be like, oh my gosh, it’s awesome! The feeling of digging the ball or getting an ace or running into the bleachers for a ball is

great.” “Volleyball is such a team

sport,” said Hamilton, “you can’t get a good set if you don’t have a good pass, and you can’t get a good hit if you don’t have a good set. So it all kinda falls in together.” Hamilton is a de-fensive specialist for the UTSA volleyball team; she averages .967 percent serving and had 289 digs last season.

“I like that softball is out-doors, you can get dirty and dive for balls,” said Hamilton. “I love [playing shortstop], I love being up close and in the ac-tion, you’re always busy there.” This is Hamilton’s first season playing softball at UTSA.

Though Hamilton has plans of attending nursing school af-

ter college, she has also toyed with the idea of coaching one of the sports she loves.

“I’ve always thought about maybe coaching, I mean, how awesome would it be to do what you love for the rest of your life? But I don’t know if I would be able to be that patient. Plus, I don’t know if I could coach and not want to be out on the field or the court.”

Even if she were to coach, she still doesn’t know if she would be able to pick just one sport.

“I honestly don’t know if I could pick one,” said Hamilton. “I’m just lucky to have had the opportunity to do both.”

Paige Hamilton at home on softball field and volleyball court

Paige Hamilton has traded her volleyball pads for a softball glove.

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Sheldon BakerSports [email protected]

Four UTSA corner backs, Erik Brown, Ja’Len James, Mau-rice Poullard and Tre Rosser, have been dismissed from the Roadrunner football team for “violation of team rules,” ac-

cording to an official statement from the UTSA Athletic De-partment.

This dismissal of players is the second this season. In Au-gust, Adefemi Adekeye and Toyin Dada were dismissed from the football team after they were arrested by the San Antonio Police Depart-ment for aggravated robbery.

The UTSA Athletic De-partment declined to comment on the specifics of the recent violations or the nature of the offense as well as the effect of the dismissal on the team

Repeated efforts to contact the four former football players were unsuccessful.

Football players dismissed from team

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ADVERTISEMENT8February 12, 2013

The Paisano Volume 48 Issue 5

Documents

Transcript of The Paisano Volume 48 Issue 5