April 24, 2008

In silent protest, Polo Gutierrez

plans to not speak the entire day

Friday. Along with over 500,000 other

students across the United States, he

will participate in this year’s Day of

Silence.

In years past, hundreds of thou-

sands of students at nearly 4,000 K-12

schools, colleges and universities have

participated in the event.

For Polo Gutierrez, president of

The University of Texas-Pan American’s

Gamma Lambda Beta, the day will repli-

cate the silence most lesbian, gay, bi-

sexual and transgendered students have

to face everyday.

“It’s to bring awareness to that…

the harassment, it does have a side

effect whether or not people see it,”

said Gutierrez, a junior English major.

“It forces people to be silent about who

they are.”

Day of Silence, a project of the

Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education

Network, began in 1996 at The

University of Virginia in response to a

class assignment on non-violent

protests. The now national event is stu-

dent-led, with participants taking a vow

of silence to bring attention to alleged

bullying and harassment experienced by

the LGBT community on a daily basis.

Friday will mark Gutierrez’s sec-

ond year of participation. For him, it has

been difficult to suppress speech for a

whole day, but the message he is trying

to communicate is far more important

See 6

Athletes look back on thepast year

SPORTS

Renovations spur mixedreactions

Earth Day festivalspreads awareness

See Page 8 & 9

See Page 3

A&E

NEWS

59th YearNo. 28

ThursdayApril 24, 2008

TH

IS W

EE

K

� NATIONAL

Group prepares for Day of Silence

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER

By ABBY MUNIZThe Pan American

See SILENCE page 11

“It’s to bring awareness tothat... the harassment, it doeshave a side effect whether ornot people see it.”

-Polo GutierrezPresident

Gamma Lambda Beta

Countless studies have been con-

ducted over the years about how

stressed college and university students

are, and it seems every one has the same

general finding: most college students

are anxious. But what these studies fail

to examine is the source of the problem.

How is it that past generations have

graduated from college with little to no

dramatics?

Maria Cristina Quilantán, a licensed

professional counselor at the Counseling

Center of South Texas, said a large part of

the stress and strife students today expe-

rience is, in fact, self-inflicted.

The real tension students face is try-

ing to find a balance between the social

and academic life, not exclusively one or

the other, she suggested. “It’s harder for

students to have control over relation-

ships than it is to have over academics.”

Quilantán added students who face

stress solely because of academics need

to re-evaluate priorities. Most of the

time it is poor time management and

study habits that cause them to feel

pressure and the counselor said such

anxiety is more controllable.

“Some students don’t have the

time management and don’t understand

proper studying skills,” she said.

Juggling four sculptures, two paint-

ings and numerous other projects due by

the end of the week, Arturo Hernandez,

senior studio art major, will spend much

of the end of his semester in the art stu-

dio with little sleep and all work.

Hernandez, a native of Hidalgo,

said he understands why so many peo-

ple stress out toward the end of the

semester, but feels he and many other

students bring it upon themselves.

“I’m one of those people that

doesn’t stress until the end of the semes-

ter,” he said. “That’s because I wait

until the very end.”

According to Hernandez, being an

art major makes deadlines much more

flexible. He added that he has always

relaxed all semester and then spends the

last weeks finishing a full semester’s

worth of work.

Despite Hernandez’s procrastina-

tion, he said he still receives A’s and B’s

in classes and says he works better under

duress, which is why he continues the

habit. Hernandez believes students fall

into two categories, those who have a rea-

son to be stressed, and those who don’t.

“There are those who have time

and just wait until the last minute to do

every assignment,” he said. “Then there

are those who don’t have the time and

don’t procrastinate but are still under a

lot of stress.”

Although Hernandez did not have

to take the UNIV college-skills course,

he said professors in that course help

better prepare students. But he admits it

is a two-way process.

“I think the university can show stu-

dents how to study better and better man-

age their time, but it is up the student to

actually use what they’ve been taught,”

he claimed.

By J.R. ORTEGAThe Pan American

See STRESS page 11

Prevalence of student stress oftenself-inflicted, counselors say

� CAMPUS LIFE

THE PAN AMERICAN

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

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

THE

PANAMERICAN

APRIL 24, 2008

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

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

[email protected]

A&E EditorJeanette [email protected]

Sports Co-EditorsGregorio [email protected] [email protected]

Photography EditorRoxy [email protected]

Design EditorRoy [email protected]

Assistant News EditorsAbigail [email protected]. [email protected]

Designers Rick GamezJuan Torres

Reporters and Photographers

Alvaro Balderas Ana Villaurrutia

Bobby Cervantes Russen Vela

Leslie Estrada Onydia Garza

Laura Garcia

AdviserDr. Greg [email protected]

The Pan American accepts letters of 300words or less from students, staff and facultyregarding recent newspaper content, campusconcerns or current events. The Pan Americanreserves the right to edit submissions for grammarand length. The Pan American cannot publishanonymous letters or submissions containing hatespeech or gratuitous personal attacks. Please send allstory ideas to [email protected].

Individuals with disabilities wishing toacquire this publication in an alternative format orneeding assistance to attend any event listed cancontact The Pan American for more details.

SecretaryAnita [email protected]

Advertising ManagerSamantha [email protected]

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

[email protected]

**Delivery**Thursday at noon

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

OPINIONApril 24, 2008

� LETTER

s I saw Tim Duncan and Manu

Ginobili hug each other, in person,

at the end of Game 1 of the San Antonio-

Phoenix series, all I could say was,

“Wow!” And if there was ever any indica-

tion of how the game was going to devel-

op, I would have been prepared mentally

when I decided to purchase my ticket.

Everyone in the arena AT&T Center

certainly got their money’s worth and the

first-round playoff matchup was without a

doubt one of the best games that I’ve ever

seen in my life. And that is because I have

seen my share of thrillers.

All those people who said this series

was going to be the most compelling were

right. The game really did have the feeling

of a finals matchup, just like “The Big

Fundamental” Duncan said in his post-

game interview. But after the game, I

noticed a familiar theme: continued lack of

respect the Spurs receives from analysts.

Every year, that is all I hear and it’s

the same this year. The acquisitions of

Shaq by the Suns, Pau Gasol by the

Lakers and Jason Kidd by the Mavericks

highlighted the second half of the sea-

son, with the low-profile Spurs lying in

the gutters where they always find them-

selves around that time. I don’t know if

it’s because analysts really think the

Spurs can’t hang with other high-flying

teams or simply because they just don’t

want them to win another championship.

Yet, the “old, boring” Spurs continue to

dominate as they claim four of the last

nine NBA championships. But it seems

like not even four recent titles can get

them respect.

The only person who has not given

San Antonio a hard time for the past cou-

ple of years is Charles Barkley, but even

the former NBA great turned on the

defending champions in last year’s

Western Conference Finals. In addition,

the Spurs organization and their fans

couldn’t even enjoy the trophy last sea-

son because of the “dynasty” debate by

analysts. Back and forth, back and forth

they went. As an NBA fan, it was sad to

see because if it was any other team, a

victory parade probably would have

been shown on national television.

So will anyone ever give the Spurs

the respect they deserve?

The answer this year is probably no

since the Lakers are back in the national

spotlight. People are so quick to judge

the Spurs when they lose a game but

their opinions quickly change when they

win a game they’re not predicted to win.

But if San Antonio can overcome the

Goliaths of the NBA, mainly Los

Angeles and Boston, it will be interest-

ing to hear the reaction and I won’t be

surprised if respect is not forthcoming.

� How do you think peo-ple view the Spurs [email protected].

Spurs back on familiar track in playoffs� AS I SEE IT

BY: RAMIRO PAEZ

A

To the editor:

I would like to thank The Pan

American and Ana Villaurrutia in partic-

ular for last week’s excellent article

(“Math alternative anticipated”) con-

cerning the Philosophy program’s new

course offering, PHIL 1321:

Introduction to Formal Logic. I would

like to offer a few clarifications.

Last year the Philosophy program

substantially revised its curriculum,

including changes to our course offer-

ings in logic. The curriculum of PHIL

1320 (Introduction to Logic) was split

into two new courses, PHIL 1321:

Introduction to Formal Logic and PHIL

1305: Critical Thinking. We will no

longer be offering PHIL 1320. PHIL

1305 is cross-listed with PHIL 1320 and

satisfies the 041 Humanities undergrad-

uate core curriculum requirement.

PHIL 1321 is an entirely new

course that was added as an option in the

020 Mathematics undergraduate core

curriculum requirements for a select

number of degree programs at UTPA.

The course is designed to assist

non-science, non-engineering, non-math

majors at UTPA achieve the THECB

Exemplary Objectives for mathematics.

PHIL 1321 will satisfy a student’s math

requirement only if their individual

degree plan does not require a different

specific math course.

Students should check with their

advisor if they are unsure about their

specific degree requirements. The cur-

riculum of PHIL 1321 includes an intro-

duction to some of the formal techniques

available for evaluating the correctness

or incorrectness of arguments.

Formal techniques likely to be dis-

cussed include: symbolization in propo-

sitional logic, parsing trees, truth tables,

natural deduction in propositional logic,

Venn diagrams, and the probability cal-

culus. Students with majors in the

College of Arts and Humanities are most

likely to benefit from fulfilling their

math requirement with this course.

Gregory D. Gilson

Philosophy program oordinator

have to make this one special. You

see, this issue is the last one I will

oversee as Editor-in-chief, so this is my

final opportunity I will have – at least for

a while -- to have a relatively large audi-

ence listen as I make fun of people,

things and life in general.

While trying to figure out what I

should write about, I found myself prior-

itizing. I had to find my number one

annoyance. The thing I just can’t live

without berating.

Since Earth Day just passed, I con-

sidered writing about all the non-Earth

friendly things I do on a daily basis in

the hopes of angering the tree people.

But then I had this vision of a mob of

save-the-Earth/save-your-soul types

chasing me with their Birkenstocks in

hand chanting “Kill a tree, be under

one.” So I nixed that.

While driving, a woman cut me off

and I thought about writing something

about how her chins were different colors

because her too pale makeup cut off

before it could cover the second jowl. But

she was so much bigger than I am, I decid-

ed not to put myself in the position where

I may be the target of her vendetta.

A rant might be nice, I thought.

Especially considering how much I hate

cops right now and how I don’t like it

when they do that creepy U-turn thing

that makes it seem like they’re about to

bust you. Jerks.

Oh! I had a great idea (at least I

thought so at the time). I can write about

my biggest peeves as a student reporter.

It’s not a story every time some person

in some department takes a dump. It’s

not a story when it happened three

weeks ago and you want me to run a

photo. And don’t ask me to send you the

story when it’s done! Journalists don’t

do it! You can’t make me do it! I won’t

do it! *pulls hair out and runs out of

newsroom screaming*

When I regained my sanity, I even

considered airing my dirty laundry. Did

you know I once posed in my underwear

for this newspaper? (Bet you didn’t. And

you’ll never find the issue either). Then I

remembered I still have a year of school

left and I would hate to face every-

one after doing that.

I briefly considered filling up

this space with photos of me in a

bikini (like so many have request-

ed), but if I was going to do that I

might as well have gone for the

confession thing. At least that one

doesn’t have a face (or any other

parts for that matter) attached to it.

Ok, I’ll compromise...

I finally asked myself: In 10

years, what will I still be glad I

said? These days my opinions last

about as long as the average

orgasm, which (if everyone is

being honest) isn’t that long. So I

wanted something lasting. What was

something I won’t regret later?

I finally settled on something clear

and to the point. Something I mean

wholeheartedly, and while I can only

direct it to a few specifics (like that guy

Gabriel who e-mailed me a month ago,

or the guy who sits in his cave reading

these because he has to), it was the only

thing I could think of to fit the occasion

perfectly:

Thanks for reading.

� Any last words? Like my hotbikini picture? Get everything innow; it’s your last chance. Afterthis, it’s called harassment, bub: [email protected]

A final farewell I

BY: SANDRA GONZALEZ

� SOCIAL COMMENTARY

For the first time this summer, The

University of Texas-Pan American will be

hosting a migrant program for high school

students to broaden their future prospects

by emphasizing college after high school.

The first Migrant University

Summer Experience (MUSE) offers stu-

dents the chance for instruction that could

lead to high school credit accrual, experi-

ence living in dormitories and exploration

of internships and possible career options.

Migrant students from Region One

Education Service Center, which

includes seven Texas counties along the

U.S.-Mexico border, will be on campus

June 8 – July 23. There is currently 37

school districts under the ROESC and a

hundred “rising” juniors and seniors are

expected to attend.

Noemi Ochoa, Region One migrant

education director, said their goal is to

make migrant life easier and more tran-

sitional.

The main goal of the summer pro-

gram is to have the students “experience

the university lifestyle, so they can know

it is attainable,” she said. “We want to

get them that experience so when they

Renovations affecting parking

The old computer center on the

south side of the Student Union has

stood for nearly 30 years, serving The

University of Texas-Pan American in

several ways. Most recently the one-

wing structure housed the Financial Aid

Office while the Student Services

Building was being renovated, but it will

now receive a face-lift of its own.

With the closure of parking lot A,

adjacent to the old computer center,

parking may be a bother.

Mary Paloma, a 21-year-old psy-

chology major, said although the park-

ing situation does not affect her she

understands its setbacks.

“Especially if you’re a visitor you

have to park all the way over in the fine

arts auditorium,” said the McAllen

native. “Its a problem especially around

this time with people needing to register.”

However Leota Hull, associate vice

president for the Information

Technology Data Center, said the space

taken up by construction crews during

renovation will end up benefiting the

future of the university.

Hull said the old computer center

will house campus registration data for

BANNER for the university. The reno-

vations will improve the condition of the

center’s specialized machine rooms.

“We will be more than doubling the

machines in there to hold more data

capacity for the next five to six years,”

said Hull.

Hull added the building’s air condi-

tioning and electrical systems have

become too strained to sustain the num-

ber of computing machines they want in

the center.

“We had lots of electrical prob-

lems,” she said. “We had to stop moving

machines in there because there wasn’t

enough capacity. If the AC was down,

we had to shut down the computers.”

Physical Plant began working on

the old computer center weeks ago. John

Patton, assistant director of facilities,

maintenance and operations, said its

THE PAN AMERICANApril 24, 2008

NEWS

Program to ease migrant transition

NO STRINGS ATTACHED - Illusionist Craig Karges, an award-winning entertainer, speaker and author, levitates a table Friday afternoon in the Student Union Theatre.

See PROGRAM page 12

Ben Briones /The Pan American

� CONSTRUCTION

� SEEN AND CAPTURED

Long gone is the time where a high

school diploma guarantees one a solid

wage-earning job. Today, many educa-

tors and employers are now predicting

the same fate of obsolescence for bache-

lor’s degrees, as graduate and profes-

sional degrees become more necessary

for the evolving workforce.

On March 6, The University of

Texas-Pan American hosted a graduate

fair attended by an estimated 250 people,

including professors and graduate stu-

dents trying to persuade passersby to con-

sider the benefits of a graduate degree.

According to UTPA’s Office of

Institutional Research and Effectiveness,

the university granted 608 master’s and

10 doctoral degrees in 2007.

“Our attendees were diverse – rang-

ing from current UTPA students to profes-

sionals interested in returning to school,”

said Cynthia Brown, interim vice-provost

for graduate studies and academic centers.

“This particular graduate fair target-

ed individuals in the community with a

bachelor’s degree who might be interested

in returning to school for a master’s or

doctoral degree.”

One such job market seeking grad-

uates with a higher education mark than

bachelor’s is the medical field.

Graduatedegreesmorecommon

See DEGREES page 12

By ANA VILLAURRUTIAThe Pan American

Parking lot Aclosed, expectedto re-open in July

� EDUCATION

� STUDENT LIFE

By BOBBY CERVANTES The Pan American

See CONSTRUCTION page 12

By BOBBY CERVANTES The Pan American

NEWS April 24, 2008

NEWSApril 24, 2008

NEWS April 24, 2008

The Dustin M. Sekula Memorial

Library has been hosting several events

throughout the week in celebration of

National Library Week. On April 19, one

of the bigger ones was a luncheon with

author Keith Bowden, writer of The

Tecate Journals: Seventy Days on the

Rio Grande.

Margot Durbin, assistant director,

explained that Bowden’s appearance

was the start of getting people involved

in literature concerning local culture.

“We want to get regional authors

to come in and talk about the books they

have written,” Durbin said. “We believe

that people here would be interested in

books that are written about the area.”

Getting to school was always a bit

of a struggle for a young Bowden, who

dropped out at age 16 and took his first

hitchhiking trip from his home in

Delaware to California.

“One out of 10 people would usu-

ally tell me they wished they would have

dropped out of high school just like I

did,” said the 51-year-old author.

After this trip, his father – who was

still trying to push education for Bowden

— made a deal with him. If he would go

back to school and get a job, he would be

able to travel when school was over.

Bowden agreed.

On the first break in school,

Bowden decided to go to Monterey,

Mexico, in March 1974. Once he got

there and realized the only Spanish

words he knew were taco and enchi-

ladas, he knew then to be without

knowledge was to be up a creek without

a paddle.

Bowden, now a professor at Laredo

Community College, went on to Acadia

University in Canada where he earned a

bachelor’s degree in English.

In December 2004, Bowden took a

leave of absence to take the trip from El

Paso to the Gulf of Mexico, 1,260 miles

along of Rio Grande.

“I was eager, I did not believe the

horror stories that people talk about,”

Bowden said about his initial reaction to

the journey.

Despite the stories of wild animals,

drug dealers, and the dangerous river

itself, Bowden knew he wanted to take

this adventure.

On the trek there were a number of

things he had to take to stay alive: water,

food, clothes, and tools.

“My lucky turtle. A little onyx, I

think its turquoise,” said Bowden with

laughter. “My friend gave it to me and

assured me it was lucky. I didn’t believe

it until I lost it on one of my trips and

things went really bad.”

The Tecate Journals is a complete

recounting of this trip and everything

Bowden encountered, from run-ins with

drug smugglers, to near-death experi-

ences with animals.

Roland Hernandez computer infor-

mation systems major, who lives in San

Juan, believes his experiences with nature

would not push him to take such an

adventure. He stated, “Even though I

grew up on a ranch, dealing with drug

smugglers are a different type of animal.”

The river is said to be very danger-

ous, but locals have only seen the gentle

side. What residents area sees is only a

small portion of what it looks like in

other parts of Texas.

Durbin agreed with this idea, say-

ing, “All I have done is drive over the

river, and just look down at it.”

In attendance at the event was

Edinburg lawyer Mark Pena, who said

he could not put the book down.

“This book has opened my eyes to

the wonderful beauty of the Rio Grande.

I’m not the biggest reader, but I was so

entertained,” said Pena. “I recommend

this book to people who live by the bor-

der because we are definitely going to be

affected by the wall if it is put up.”

Hernandez believed otherwise.

“I understand the fight and the sig-

nificance of obtaining the river but to me

its just a crossing and I think we should

forget about borders and worry more

about society.”

Durbin said the Valley can be

expecting more events like these.

“It’s just another dimension of read-

ing a book, by meeting the author and

finding out the process of writing a book

it is just sort of an added benefit to the

whole experience,” she said.

The Rio Grande Valley isn’t really

known for much more than its proximity

to the border and scorching year-‘round

weather, but in the near future it may be

budding with actors. Not Brad Pitt or

Jennifer Aniston, but amateurs who are

learning the craft in hopes of working

with stars of that status.

Pedro Garcia 46, a local acting

coach, is offering his knowledge in the

field of theatre arts to help students break

into the industry. As a standing member of

the Screen Actors Guild since 1994, he

has been involved in nearly 100 theatre

and film productions. More than just an

actor, he’s tried his hand at every aspect of

a production, including director, writer,

producer and casting director. Through the

years he’s gained enough experience to

pass on to a new generation in hopes of a

brighter future for the Valley.

“The acting community is growing,

it still needs more time to blossom but it’s

happening in energetic spurts,” said

Garcia, a McAllen resident.

The most important thing a stu-

dent will learn in his classes is believ-

able acting, or The Method, a term

coined by Constantin Stanislavski dur-

ing the late 1800s in Moscow. This type

of acting challenged actors to forget the

spectacle or over-dramatization and let

the real shine through. In his classes,

Garcia also teaches voice and move-

ment, concentration, improvisation,

scene study, character development,

script understanding, auditioning skills

and how to write a resume.

The acting classes are offered

Saturdays from 4 p.m. to 5:30 at the

McAllen Creative Incubator.

One theatre major feels any aspiring

actor would benefit from the type of train-

ing being offered.

“As an actor, I think it’s important

to improve as much as possible your

craft,” said Edgar Ituarte, 23, of

McAllen. “If there’s another source

available to help, by all means people

should take advantage and see the other

sides to the acting world.”

&RTS EA NTERTAINMENT� STAGE AND SCREEN

THE PAN AMERICANApril 24, 2008

Incubatoroffers actingcourses tocommunity

See ACTING page 10

Author recounts experiences on Rio Grande

SHARED ADVENTURES - Keith Bowden recalls his 1,260-mile trek from El Paso to the Gulf of Mexico in his book, TheTecate Journals. Bowden appeared Saturday at the Dustin Sekula Memorial Library for National Library Week.

Ben Briones/The Pan American

By ANDRIELLE FIGUEROAThe Pan American

LIFEʼS JOURNEY - Author Keith Bowden shares his 70-day experience alongthe Rio Grande in his book, The Tecate Journals.

barnesandnoble.com

By LAURA GARCIAThe Pan American

� LITERATURE

arth Day is so big now that there are two dif-ferent celebrations annually, during spring

in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in theSouthern. These days are intended to inspire aware-ness of and appreciation for the Earth’s environ-ment.

The United Nations celebrates an Earth Dayeach year on the March equinox. The UnitedNations celebrates an Earth Day each year on theMarch equinox, a tradition which was founded bypeace activist John McConnell in 1969.

A second Earth Day, which was founded byU.S. politician Gaylord Nelson as an environmen-tal teach-in in the late 1960s, is celebrated in manycountries each year on April 22.

Los Angeles is most notably the largest andmost frequently attended festival in the country.Famous environmental activists like actorsLeonardo Dicaprio and Natalie Portman, pluspolitician Al Gore, and director Steven Spielberghave popularized the festival in recent years.

With support of the Environmental AwarenessClub of UTPA, people locally do their part to cel-ebrate.

Claudia Tamez, a senior biology major in theN.S.F.R.E.U. (National Science FoundationResearch Experiences for Undergraduates) programwas the campus festival coordinator for 2008.

“For us (The Environmental Awareness Club)it is about celebrating our Earth and promotingmore sustainable lifestyles and raising awarenessabout various environmental issues,” Tamez said.“It’s about persuading the public to become activeand work towards reaching green goals that canbenefit us as a community and as residents ofEarth.”

Tamez club also explained how EarthDay is important everywhere, statingthat everyone can do their part by cele-brating at home.

“It’s important that we make an impression inthe Valley so our community can be educated andaware,” said Tamez. “We need to set an example forthe young children that will follow. We want themto keep the Earth Day tradition in the Valley alive.”

Some of the activities this week brought bothstudents and faculty members from UTPA greatamusement in celebrating Earth for free.

A rock climbing wall, outdoor volleyball, andyoga sessions were sponsored by the Wellness andRecreation Center. Sophomore communicationdisorders major Jennifer Valdez was excited to hearabout the free yoga activity.

“It’s a great way to stay in shape, or so Iheard,” the McAllen native said. “I have never triedit, but now I want to, plus it’s free and it is a partof Earth Day.”

Free prizes and free fresh fruit were available atthe center table surrounding the festival which readwith a huge sign “Free Watermelons.” Tamez alsoexpressed that several informative speeches by invit-ed speakers discussed local issues, including the pro-posed border wall and the use of alternative energies.

Live entertainment such as local bands playedat a garage sale tent. Faces were painted with inter-esting and exotic designs, but quickly melted dueto the April heat.

Student organizations also had vast numbers oftables set up to distribute info about the origins ofEarth Day along with some freebies such as T-shirts, flyers, and packets about the planet.

Tamez was glad to mention thatshe was happy that the universitywas more involved this year. Shestated that oneday she

hopes the event becomes a week-long festival,something similar to International Week.

The Awareness club needed help from volun-teers to help at the event. Tamez stated she onlyasked for e-mail and telephone numbers and not along list of resumes or any other submissions inorder to participate.

Freshman biology major Karina Lopez attend-ed the event but also wanted to help out.

“I had no idea where to contact anybody,” theEdinburg native said. “I would try to find flyers forthe event but I was always forgetting, and whenev-er I would ask where I could volunteer to help, Iwouldn’t know where to sign up.”

Lopez plans on volunteering next year. “I had so much fun today, I will make it a

promise to help out next year,” she said proudly.Everyone was welcome to attend the festival. “This is Earth Day so all of Earth’s people are

welcome,” said Tamez. “Bringing the communitytogether for such a positive fun event like this isreally awesome and inspiring.”

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT April 24, 2008

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTApril 24, 2008 Page 9

Organization celebrates, promotesenvironmental awareness

E

By RUSSEN VELAThe Pan American

arth Day is so big now that there are two dif-ferent celebrations annually, during spring

in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in theSouthern. These days are intended to inspire aware-ness of and appreciation for the Earth’s environ-ment.

The United Nations celebrates an Earth Dayeach year on the March equinox. The UnitedNations celebrates an Earth Day each year on theMarch equinox, a tradition which was founded bypeace activist John McConnell in 1969.

A second Earth Day, which was founded byU.S. politician Gaylord Nelson as an environmen-tal teach-in in the late 1960s, is celebrated in manycountries each year on April 22.

Los Angeles is most notably the largest andmost frequently attended festival in the country.Famous environmental activists like actorsLeonardo Dicaprio and Natalie Portman, pluspolitician Al Gore, and director Steven Spielberghave popularized the festival in recent years.

With support of the Environmental AwarenessClub of UTPA, people locally do their part to cel-ebrate.

Claudia Tamez, a senior biology major in theN.S.F.R.E.U. (National Science FoundationResearch Experiences for Undergraduates) programwas the campus festival coordinator for 2008.

“For us (The Environmental Awareness Club)it is about celebrating our Earth and promotingmore sustainable lifestyles and raising awarenessabout various environmental issues,” Tamez said.“It’s about persuading the public to become activeand work towards reaching green goals that canbenefit us as a community and as residents ofEarth.”

Tamez club also explained how EarthDay is important everywhere, statingthat everyone can do their part by cele-brating at home.

“It’s important that we make an impression inthe Valley so our community can be educated andaware,” said Tamez. “We need to set an example forthe young children that will follow. We want themto keep the Earth Day tradition in the Valley alive.”

Some of the activities this week brought bothstudents and faculty members from UTPA greatamusement in celebrating Earth for free.

A rock climbing wall, outdoor volleyball, andyoga sessions were sponsored by the Wellness andRecreation Center. Sophomore communicationdisorders major Jennifer Valdez was excited to hearabout the free yoga activity.

“It’s a great way to stay in shape, or so Iheard,” the McAllen native said. “I have never triedit, but now I want to, plus it’s free and it is a partof Earth Day.”

Free prizes and free fresh fruit were available atthe center table surrounding the festival which readwith a huge sign “Free Watermelons.” Tamez alsoexpressed that several informative speeches by invit-ed speakers discussed local issues, including the pro-posed border wall and the use of alternative energies.

Live entertainment such as local bands playedat a garage sale tent. Faces were painted with inter-esting and exotic designs, but quickly melted dueto the April heat.

Student organizations also had vast numbers oftables set up to distribute info about the origins ofEarth Day along with some freebies such as T-shirts, flyers, and packets about the planet.

Tamez was glad to mention thatshe was happy that the universitywas more involved this year. Shestated that oneday she

hopes the event becomes a week-long festival,something similar to International Week.

The Awareness club needed help from volun-teers to help at the event. Tamez stated she onlyasked for e-mail and telephone numbers and not along list of resumes or any other submissions inorder to participate.

Freshman biology major Karina Lopez attend-ed the event but also wanted to help out.

“I had no idea where to contact anybody,” theEdinburg native said. “I would try to find flyers forthe event but I was always forgetting, and whenev-er I would ask where I could volunteer to help, Iwouldn’t know where to sign up.”

Lopez plans on volunteering next year. “I had so much fun today, I will make it a

promise to help out next year,” she said proudly.Everyone was welcome to attend the festival. “This is Earth Day so all of Earth’s people are

welcome,” said Tamez. “Bringing the communitytogether for such a positive fun event like this isreally awesome and inspiring.”

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTPage 8 April 24, 2008

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTApril 24, 2008

Organization celebrates, promotesenvironmental awareness

E

By RUSSEN VELAThe Pan American

The XIX Annual Symposium on

Modern Languages will showcase a

series of speakers, art, drama and film

presentations from April 30 through May

2 at the UTPA campus. One of the films

that will be shown is Cosecha Voices:

From the Fields of Toil to Las Labores de

Educacion, which is based on the

Cosecha Voices Project.

The project arose from a Spanish

creative writing course last semester

where student writing focused on putting

down personal experiences on paper.

“The focus of the class was the

migrant experience and writing about it,”

said Stephanie Martinez-Alvarez, profes-

sor in the Department of Modern

Languages and Literature. “The most

important part of that was for the stu-

dents to come to terms with their own

migrant experience and understand it.”

Cosecha Voices graduate anthropol-

ogy student Sylvia Solis and UTPA

alumnus Jay Garcia are the producers of

this documentary.

“Through this documentary our

hope is to be able to show how migrant

students are an integral part of higher

education. Through the stories of their

experience as being a migrant working,

from a young age, to being academical-

ly successful and achieving entrance

into the university setting,” Garcia

said. “By showing their success both

personal and educational, is showing

what the true meaning of the American

Dream is all about. These students

work hard both in the fields, but espe-

cially in their education.”

Cosecha Voices: From the Fields of

Toil to Las Labores de Educacion will

show May 2 at the Student Union

Theatre at 8 a.m.

“This documentary is a hope for all

of us who have been involved in it to be

a catalyst to make the voces of all

migrant students past, present and future

come to the forefront of the educational

debate,” continued Garcia.

Solis has been primarily in charge

of filming and is one of the students

involved in the project.

“It is inspiring to see passionate

educators come together and work,”

said Solis. “Ochoa was very inspiring

because she incorporated theatrical ele-

ments into the workshop and this real-

ly helped the students learn to start

using their voice in education. Tato

Laviera, by being genuine and inspir-

ing when working with the students

and drawing out of them their experi-

ences, and Martinez-Alvarez by her

continued effort in creating refreshing

spaces for students to learn in.”

The majority of the students

involved in the Cosecha Voices project

are in the Campus Assistance Migrant

Program (CAMP) or are alumni of this

program.

“In the class itself, the students cre-

ated a couple of dramatic pieces that

they acted out during class. Some stu-

dents did short stories or poems, but the

main focus of the class is what in

Spanish we call, el testimonio,” said

Martinez-Alvarez. “It’s an autobiogra-

phy of type but at the same time, it has a

political connection. They call it testi-

monial literature in English. The main

focus of this class is for students to cre-

ate their testimonio.”

The class, which took place once a

week, also consisted of a workshop con-

ducted by Nuyorican American Book

Award-winning poet Tato Laviera. One

of the requirements of the class was a

public presentation of students’ testimo-

nio, which they did in December at the

Student Union in front of an audience

consisting of friends, family and others

interested in the project.

During March’s Festival of

International Books and Art (FESTI-

BA) Laviera, Alvarez and the students

who took place in the Spanish creative

writing class conducted the Cosecha

Voices Writing Workshop for 80 mid-

dle-school migrant students from nine

Valley schools.

Laviera directed the workshop

and the students who had taken the

class helped guide and teach the

migrant students.

“It was very empowering for all of

the students. The first thing I asked them

when they got there was, ‘How many of

you have ever written about being a

migrant?’ and nobody raised their

hands,” said Martinez-Alvarez. “That

was very shocking, especially given the

nature of our region, which has one of

the largest migrant populations in the

whole country.”

For more information visit the

Modern Languages and Literature

department Web site.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT April 24, 2008

� THEATRE

Film captures migrant experiencesBy NAYELLY BARRIOSThe Pan American

� DOCUMENTARY

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is

the story of a girl named Alice who falls

down a rabbit hole into a fantastic realm

populated by peculiar and anthropomor-

phized creatures.

A childhood classic for most, Alice

in Wonderland was presented to the Rio

Grande Valley public last weekend at

South Texas Community College, with a

new twist to a notably offbeat story in the

first place; it was done in 3-D, the first

local production of its kind.

“There are many special effects

being used to create this mind-bending 3-

D effect,” said Christopher Carmona,

director of the play. “We used special

paints, special lighting and special glasses

that will help project this story in dimen-

sions beyond any sight and sound you

know about.”

The story, a work by Lewis Carroll,

is considered a classic example of the

genre and of English literature in general;

it was adapted by Carmona and unveiled

April 17-19.

“The tale is filled with allusions and

lessons that British children were sup-

posed to memorize,” he said. “The main

essence of the play is there, with just some

adaptations here and there.”

According to Salvador Gutierrez,

who graduated from The University of

Texas-Pan American with a theatre/TV

production degree, this play will open

doors for theatre in South Texas.

“I’m glad that they are doing some-

thing like this,” Gutierrez said. “Most

people in the Valley have never seen

something like this play. I am sure that

they will start to gain more interest,

especially children.”

Gutierrez, originally from Mexico

City, said that the theatre scene is given a

lot of importance in the capitol city.

“Growing up in Mexico City, there

were always many things available for

me, and one of those was plays,” he said.

“Theatre is a wonderful form of art.

Children and adults have a very good

time, it is a nice way to spend some fami-

ly time together.”

Lorena Covarrubias went to the play

and was happy to see that a different form

of entertainment was being offered.

“The play was wonderful, I really

liked the 3-D effect that was created,” said

the eighth-grader from Cathay Middle

School in McAllen. “My mom always

tells me that she used to take my sisters to

the theatre when they lived in Mexico, I’m

glad I had an opportunity to experience it

as well.”

Andres Flores, a sophomore major-

ing in international business at UTPA,

also assited with one of the shows.

“I came with my girlfriend and her

little sister,” he said. “I really enjoyed

the play, I am not very fond of going to

the theatre but I might just start to

change my mind.”

Carmona said that there are more

such projects on the works.

“We have plans to do other proj-

ects,” he said. “There will be more very

interesting things coming, but for now I’ll

leave it to people’s imaginations.”

The director also encouraged peo-

ple to continue patronizing RGV

events and artists.

“There is a lot of talent down here.

We should all support our wonderful

actors,” he said. “It is also a great way to

have fun and do something different.”

By LESLIE ESTRADAThe Pan American

Aside from getting the part, Garcia

feels it is imperative for actors to have a

strong work ethic. It is essential students

understand punctuality and attend every

rehearsal, in order to prepare themselves

for the type of discipline that is expected

of them.

“Be not only a good actor, but a

reliable one as well,” Garcia warned.

“Believe me, the latter will get you lots

of respect in the business.”

Garcia, who attended UTPA, was

directed by Marian Monta, a former the-

atre arts director for over 30 years, has

learned most of his techniques through

hands-on experiences. He also studied at

the University of New Mexico where he

did a lot of community theatre work.

Garcia grew up in Hidalgo and

attended Hidalgo High School. Some of

his most recent work includes a film that

was shot in the Valley called Los

Scavengers, which was written by David

Garcia and David Rice. He played a

piano teacher and was able to work

alongside some of his students.

“I would love to see and read more

stories set in the Valley. There are a lot of

talented people out there and we have

some beautiful sites down here too,”

added Garcia.

ACTING continued from page 7

Classic children’s tale reimagined, revamped in 3D

NEWSApril 24, 2008

STRESS continued from page 1

Lizette Gonzalez, a 26-year-old sophomore

English major, has a much different case than

Hernandez. She said it’s difficult keeping up with

her study habits since she has two sons under the

age of five.

“I have bad study habits because I come home

at 7 p.m. and have to make sure the kids have eaten

and have done their homework,” the Elsa native said.

“I usually don’t start my studying until 10 p.m.”

Gonzalez said she still does well in her class-

es but added that her case is not about procrastina-

tion, but rather not having enough time in the day.

“I do as much as I can, but it’s hard to lock

yourself in a room to study when you hear your

kids in the next room fighting,” she said.

Quilantán said the college students she does

see tend to have depression because of finances or

are wrapping their academic life around the social

life instead of vice versa. She also teaches leader-

ship courses at the graduate level at UTPA, added

the university has the resources needed to help stu-

dents take control of their college experience.

“Students that need to seek counseling at the

university,” she said. “They’re not away those

resources are available to them.”

Both Quilantán and Christopher Albert, clini-

cal psychologist and supervisor at Counseling and

Psychological Services, mentioned that either stu-

dents are not aware of counseling services or they

are afraid that counseling will make them seem

unstable, which they ensured it doesn’t.

Albert added the majority of students seen at

the counseling center suffer from depression, anxi-

ety and stress from being a college student in gen-

eral. Some issues the center at the university deals

with are college transition, finances, and social

issues, but rarely academics exclusively.

Quilantán suggests that students read Stephen

Covey’s First Things First, a book aimed at educat-

ing people in meeting deadlines and becoming

more efficient.

SILENCE continued from page 1

than the struggle to clam up, he said.

“For a person [harassment] can take a lot out

of them. The repercussions it has, sometimes can

be horrid, so it’s just to bring awareness to that,”

Gutierrez explained.

Throughout the day, an estimated 20 partici-

pants at UTPA will keep silent and when peers

around them ask why they are not talking, they plan

to hand out “speaking cards” which will communi-

cate their purpose.

For Magdiel Alfonzo, a junior nursing

major, the day will be a private time

more than anything else.

“It’s more personal because I’m

not out, out like to my family” Alfonzo

said.

Alfonzo also feels the day will

help the UTPA community become

aware of the LGBT situation as the day

progresses.

“It will help resonate (the mes-

sage) amongst the school because peo-

ple will be like, ‘why aren’t these peo-

ple talking?’” said Alfonzo, a native of

Mercedes. “They are going to want to

know what we represent.”

This year’s Day of Silence will be

held in memory of Lawrence King, a 15-

year-old student from California who was

shot and killed by a fellow classmate

because of King’s sexual identity.

Although Gutierrez said friends

and family are anticipated to participate

along with members of Gamma Lambda Beta,

there are differing views on the day’s significance

in other places across the nation.

A group of parents in Seattle were opposed to

the idea of Mount Si High School participating in

the event because they were concerned about

teachers expressing personal views on a controver-

sial subject. Over 80 people attended a school

board meeting in March held to voice concerns

over the national event,

which is still set to take

place on Friday.

On campus Friday,

GLB will also host a vigil

in honor of King outside

the Chapel of the Lord’s

Prayer at 7 p.m. They

anticipate a larger partici-

pation than last year’s

small gathering.

This year’s 12thannual Day ofSilence wil be inhonor of LawrenceKing, a 15-year-oldCalifornia student,killed in February

The Day ofSilence’s pur-pose is to bringattention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullyingand harassment,plus effectiveresponses

4 out of 5 LGBTstudents report ver-bal, sexual or physi-cal harassment atschool

- dayofsilence.org

1. What should you bring with you toevery exam?a. Pencilb. Penc. Blue bookd. All of the above

2. Which of these is something youshould NOT do the night before atest?a. Eat “brain foods”b. Exercisec. Stay up all night studyingd. All of the above

3. What should you avoid before atest?a. Drinking alcoholb. Cramming 30 minutes beforec. Oversleepingd. All of the above

PopQuiz

April 24 - Get your Dayof Silence materialsnoon to 1 p.m. at theStudent Union com-mons area

NEWS April 24, 2008

PROGRAM continued from page 3graduate, [the independent lifestyle at

the university level] is something they

can transition into smoothly.”

One school district that will be

attending this program is Mission CISD,

which plans to bring about 30 juniors

and seniors to the UTPA.

“This is the first one of its kind

here at UTPA,” Omar Chavez, migrant

and parental coordinator for Mission

CISD. “It has never been done to my

knowledge in the Valley.”

Chavez said Saint Edward’s

University in Austin hosted a similar pro-

gram for the past 35 years, but decided to

discontinue the effort this summer –

prompting Chavez and other migrant

coordinators to contact UTPA in hopes

that they would initiate a similar program.

“[St. Edward’s] had a summer resi-

dential program” for migrant students,

he said. “They closed the doors this sum-

mer, and that is when we called the

College Assistance Migrant Program

(CAMP) at UTPA. Right now, all direc-

tors are getting students approved.”

Chavez admits migrant students usu-

ally find themselves caught between their

two main priorities – school and contract

work. This along with the social stigma

that migrant students carry as the lower

economic class can all but hold a migrant

student back from their academic efforts.

Research shared through and other

migrant directors, Chavez said, have

shown that students’ academic perform-

ance is hurt by traveling for work in some

cases. However, he stresses this is not the

case with a large group of students, who

have no difficulty catching up with class-

es due to their performance ability.

“[Academically advanced stu-

dents] will not have difficulty catching

up in the curriculum, but when you have

a kid who struggles, not just with how

late in the year they arrive, but also with

their academic levels,” he said.

Classes like speech and health at

Mission CISD, Chavez said, are usually

filled up quickly, forcing the migrant

students who arrive late in the year to

wait until the next academic semester –

causing some students’ graduation to be

delayed on average of 1-2 years.

“When they do come from up

north, those kids are exposed to two

types of curricula,” he said. “They may

not have same requirements or objec-

tives that we have here. When they come

down, they may be at a loss.”

Despite the educational loss,

Chavez remains optimistic the program

will prove encouraging and hopes that it

will develop further in years to come.

“We’re just trying to be creative,”

he said. “Hopefully in subsequent years,

we can extend this to other grade levels,

maybe even to junior high.”

DEGREES continued from page 3

focus for now is updating the ragged

electrical and cooling system.

“The building had simply become

obsolete and we had to start construc-

tion,” he explained.

Patton and his crew will be improv-

ing the transformers and thus the capacity

in the building. He added working on ren-

ovations requires a lot of space for engi-

neering equipment and the crew’s vehi-

cles, leading to closure of the parking lot.

“Because we have to bring in

equipment, such as cement trucks, we

decided to meet with the police depart-

ment and after discussing whether to

close one lane, we decided to close the

entire lot,” said Patton.

Meanwhile, Melissa Sandoval,

campus parking manager, suggests that

visitors park at lot A-6 across from the

Fine Arts Auditorium or consult the

information booth at the entrance to the

university for more options.

“We will be opening and closing

the lot every now and then, we plan to

post times of parking on the entrance,”

Patton said.

Hull is happy that the building will

finally get its improvements, but added

she understands UTPA had many other

buildings in the need of construction.

According to the Physical Plant,

other projects currently in the design

phase are a new fine arts center and a

satellite campus for UTPA’s Starr

County campus.

The permanent re-opening of lot A

and the completion of the old computer

center is scheduled by July 1.

CONSTRUCTION continued from page 3

An increase of 3,000 medical stu-

dents is needed by the year 2015 just to

meet rising demand, according to the

research conducted by the Association of

American Medical Colleges.

With such dire predictions about

future job market shortages, the studies

make one conclusion clear: In job mar-

kets where a bachelor’s degree is

becoming ever more common and where

shortages exist because of the lack of

qualified applicants, companies will not

only begin to demand more workers, but

to want those with more impressive edu-

cational accomplishments.

Carlos Sepulveda, a student pursu-

ing his master’s in history at UTPA,

believes that it is important to go on to

graduate school because it sets an indi-

vidual apart in the job market. He con-

tinued with his education with hopes of

going to law school and one day also

obtaining a doctorate degree.

“I just wanted more, I wasn’t satis-

fied with just a bachelor’s degree,”

Sepulveda said. “I guess with the compe-

tition in jobs these days, the more educa-

tion you have the better,” Sepulveda said.

He also believes it is important for

Hispanics to continue to pursue an edu-

cation beyond a bachelor’s degree.

“It’s better for us to have graduate

degrees as Hispanics, to be more com-

petitive,” he said. “As it is, we still have

it rough, we still have disadvantages as a

minority group.”

According to Brown, the increase

in demand – which is also happening in

other niches of the workforce beside the

medical field – can be attributed to the

rise in need for employees with a mas-

ter’s degree as well as a change in the

environment of the workforce.

“As the work environment

becomes more complex, graduate educa-

tion is increasingly needed to respond to

this,” she said. Emphasized is the need

for medical and education professionals.

Brown adds, “It is increased skill

levels that jobs require that is driving the

increase in graduate education.”

The Rio Grande Valley Dorados

have begun their quest for the Arena

Football 2 Cup but have not started in

the fashion they hoped. Three games

into the 2008 campaign, the Dorados

have a 1-2 record, causing confusion

already for fans since the team has

already lost twice as many games as it

did the entire last season.

Last year’s premature departure

from the playoffs still leaves a sour taste

for the defending National Conference

champions. The Dorados rolled through

their competition in 2007 en route to a

15-1 record and No. 1 seed but a loss in

the conference semifinal on a controver-

sial call against division rival Bossier-

Sheveport left fans stunned.

After the Battle Wings scored a

touchdown to take a 50-45 lead, the

Dorados had one last chance for a

remarkable comeback with only seconds

remaining. And they got it. RGV’s Chris

Canty intercepted Sheveport’s quarter-

back Quincy Carter and pitched it to

teammate Travis McAlpine, who sprint-

ed down the left sideline for the score.

Though, an official ruled Canty’s knee

was down before the pitch but the moni-

tors later reviewed it wasn’t.

RGV, with a new season under

way, is looking to erase the memory of a

play that knocked them out. And as far

as expectations, the question for the

coaching staff and the fans is not

whether they will make the playoffs, but

how far they can advance in them.

“I don’t think last year’s defeat in the

playoffs is in the players’ minds,” said

third-year head coach Marty Hammond.

“It is history that is not going to do any-

thing for us now. We’re just going to move

forward because it’s not the exact same

team from last year. Our goal this year is

first to win the division and then take it

one step at a time after that.”

The blue and gold will go to battle

this season with a couple of key acquisi-

tion as well as key returning players

from a year ago that helped attain the

league best record. Veteran Travis Cole,

who replaces Josh Kellet at quarterback,

has the starting nod after his four years

of backup experience with Arena

Football League teams such as the

Arizona Rattlers and Utah Blaze.

Newcomer Anthony Chambers

from Purdue will try to make an impact at

wide receiver, along with 11 other rook-

ies. McAllen native Garret Mason, along

with first-team all-league selections

Keenan Washington and Quinton Staton,

will be back to anchor the No. 1 ranked

defense from a year, a unit that set the

AF2 record for sacks in a season with 66.

“Our new quarterback (Cole) needs

to step up and make some big plays for

us this year, which I think he will,” said

Hammond. “As far as our receivers go,

(Eddie) Jackson is a new big guy that

will help us make plays. I’m looking to

use Jermaine Carpenter, who was here

last year, more as a focal point in my

offense more this year.”

The 2008 schedule will present the

Dorados stiff tests night in, night out.

RGV will face National Conference

titans Tulsa Talons and Sheveport twice

this season. And in the heart of the

schedule, they will clash for three con-

secutive games against teams that made

the playoffs last year (Tulsa, Central

Valley and Oklahoma).

The Dorados will look to rebound

from the tough three-game opening road

trip Saturday as they play their first home

game against Shreveport at 7:30 p.m. at

Dodge Arena. Even with the 1-2 record,

Hammond knows there is still a long sea-

son ahead for his ballclub to regroup.

The third United League Baseball

season is around the corner and the

Edinburg Coyotes are looking forward

to redeeming themselves after a disap-

pointing 2007 season.

The Coyotes finished the 2007

campaign with a 43-52 record which

was good enough for fifth place in a six-

team league. The team was also plagued

with negative weather conditions as a

total of nine games canceled.

But despite the hardships the

Coyotes endured last season, field

manager Vince Moore seems opti-

mistic about how his team is shaping

up for the upcoming season. He’s look-

ing to repeat the success the team had

in ‘06 when it played for the inaugural

ULB championship.

“It’s a little early but right now but

everything is looking good so far,” said

Moore, a long-time player for the

Edinburg Roadrunners, the franchise that

preceded the Coyotes in town. “Last year

we had our ups and downs but that’s the

past and we’ve moved on. We’re focused

on the season coming up.”

Moore has been piecing together

the team since last season ended and will

be bringing back a few familiar faces to

the line-up.

One of the most recognizable ones

will be second baseman Eric Gonzalez,

the La Feria native who will be returning

for his third season with the team.

Gonzalez brings a wealth of experience

to the team that will help groom some of

the younger players; he is considered the

backbone of the team with his proven

leadership on and off the field.

“Eric is an essential part of this

team,” Moore said. “His background

and playoff experience alone gives him

a great quality that some of these

younger players can feed off. Having

him back will be great for the team as

well as the community.”

A player who will be in the pitch-

ing rotation is UTPA alumni Aaron

Guerra, aka “The Mad Scientist.”

Guerra had a standout year in 2007 as he

made an impression throughout the

league by striking out 95 batters and

posting a 9-3 record. Guerra finished the

year tied for third in the league in wins

and was seventh in ERA (3.68).

Moore is also looking to bring

some fresh talent as the team picked up

two players from a ULB Tryout Camp

which was held Sunday. Catcher Alex

Enterikin of Atlanta and third baseman

Brian Beniquez have been extended an

invitation to spring training in early

May. Local tryouts for the Coyotes will

be held Saturday at Edinburg Baseball

Stadium.

“We’ve got a good group of talent

coming in this year that will create

some excitement for the Edinburg

fans,” said assistant general manager

Omar Ortiz, also a former Bronc hurler

and former Coyote reliever. “The ULB

tryout was one of the best tryout camps

I have ever been to. As far as talent is

concerned, we must have had a hun-

dred guys out there that could have

played for the league.”

The Edinburg Coyotes will kick off

the season with an early start May 13 at

10:30 a.m. The Coyotes’ first evening

opener will be May 15 at 7:05 p.m.

� PRO FOOTBALL

By DANNY GARZAThe Pan American

SPORTSApril 24, 2008

LOOKING TO SCORE - First-year quarterback Travis Cole hopes to lead theDorados back into the postseason and improve his chances for the AFL next year.

Dorados seek redemption from ‘07 ending

� PRO BASEBALL

By ALVARO BALDERAS

The Pan American

Coyotes look to rebound from disappointing campaign

Roxy Solis/The Pan American

SPORTS April 24, 2008

When University of Texas-Pan

American women’s volleyball coach

Angela Hubbard was hired last March,

the former Nicholls State University

assistant came to the Rio Grande Valley

to help the program recover from a dis-

mal 6-25 campaign in 2006.

Hubbard was quickly welcomed

to her newly acquired position as the

Lady Broncs were routed by North

Dakota State 3-0 in the opening game

of 2007. And though some people

might have believed the first-year head

coach would struggle with her team’s

adversity, Hubbard silenced doubters.

The Lady Broncs ended the year with a

losing record but the University of

West Georgia alum helped lift the pro-

gram to a dramatic nine-game

improvement en route to a 15-18

record, setting the tone for a solid year

for UTPA athletics.

The women entered the 2007 cam-

paign with the odds stacked against

them. When their schedule was released

in June, the Lady Broncs knew they

would have to get used to traveling

thousands of miles above ground as 26

of 30 regular-season matches were away

from the Field House. But behind nine

starters returning from 2006, the women

made Hubbard’s job a little easier as

junior outside hitter Kellie Phillips

sparked the momentum.

The Arizona native recorded 723

kills in her first two years with UTPA

and climbed to No. 4 in the record books

for the most individual career kills in

women’s volleyball history. On Oct. 13,

Phillips recorded her 1,000th career kill

against Birmingham-Southern and

improved that total to 1,128 by the end

of the season.

CROSS COUNTRYAfter the departure of UTPA All-

American Westly Keating in 2005, the

men’s cross-country team was left

scrambling for a go-to runner in 2006.

Junior Luis Nava of La Joya, coming off

a successful freshman year, proved to be

the runner to fill Keating’s shoes. And

two years later, Nava has exceeded

expectations. The men’s and women’s

cross country teams kicked off their sea-

sons the last day of August in Corpus

Christi, where they got off to a good start

and claimed five top-10 finishes at the

Islander Relays. Nava garnered a fourth-

place finish en route to four top-10 fin-

ishes throughout the season. He placed

first at the Independent Cross Country

Championships Oct. 27 where his time

of 24:19.69 boosted him to third all-time

in the 8,000 meters behind Keating, who

claims the top two spots.

BASKETBALLIn basketball, people didn’t know

what to expect after coach Tom Schuberth

stunned UTPA by helping the Broncs

overcome a 7-24 record in 2005.

Schuberth amazed people for his seven-

game improvement in 2006 but what the

second-year coach would follow with

made all the difference. With the addi-

tions of a pep band and the Hoop Heads,

the 2007 season kicked off with a bang

after the Broncs claimed consecutive dou-

ble-digit victories, eventually leading to

the Independent title and an 18-13 mark.

ESPN.com featured UTPA in its

Independent preview and the Broncs

responded by posting their best season

since the 2001-2002 campaign, when

former head coach Bob Hoffman led

them to a 20-10 record. Behind the suc-

cess of the Green and Orange was senior

guard Paul Stoll.

Stoll, with his aggressive Chris Paul-

style of play, averaged 14.2 points, 2.6

rebounds and 2.5 steals per game and shot

48.6 percent from the field, including 47.5

percent from behind the arc and 85.1 per-

cent from the charity stripe. The Michigan

native was also featured on ESPN.com for

his 37 points, seven rebounds and nine

assists Jan. 22 against Houston Baptist.

He recorded a career-high nine steals Jan.

26 against the New Jersey Institute of

Technology and a career-high 14 assists

Feb. 12 against Cal State Bakersfield,

which lifted him to into third place nation-

ally in assists with 224.

The year concluded with a win at

Savannah State University where the

Broncs waved goodbye to six seniors,

including Stoll, Brian Burrell, and sec-

ond-leading scorer Zach Trader.

On the women’s side, the season

didn’t pan out so well for Coach DeAnn

Craft and the Lady Broncs. The women

finished with a 11-18 mark but a major

slip-up in Game 2 of the National

Independent Tournament, after they

upset top seed Utah Valley State

University, kept UTPA from advancing

to the championship match.

The Lady Broncs lose four key sen-

iors, including leading-scorer LeKeisha

Gray, who ranks among the best players

in the program’s history.

TENNISPerhaps the biggest surprise of the

year came from the women’s tennis pro-

gram, which finished with the best sea-

son in history.

Before the year geared up for the

spring season, men’s and women’s ten-

nis coach Rob Hubbard had high expec-

tations for the Lady Broncs since the

entire 2006 squad was returning. He was

right and after posting a win by default

Jan. 19 against the College of The

Southwest in their spring opener, the

Lady Broncs rolled to a 17-8 mark.

Senior captain Silke Buksik, who

played with a tenacious style throughout

the year, rewrote the history books after

collecting 19 singles wins, tied for her

fifth with Ellen Nelissen (1993). In dou-

bles play, Buksik and teammate Megan

Bedeau became the new doubles single-

season leaders after gathering 19 victo-

ries, surpassing Barbara Barrera and

Mary Jane Meyer’s 1990 record of 18.

TRACK AND FIELDWith only three meets remaining

before the NCAA Regional

Championships May 30, the men’s and

women’s track and field team know

their performances must be cohesive if

they want any chance to travel to

Lincoln, Neb.

Junior Vanessa Brown of Houston

has had an outstanding outdoor season

with five top-three finishes in the 200-

meter and 400-meter dashes, including

two consecutive top finishes at the

Border Olympics and Texas State Open

in early March.

But it was senior Cuero native

Will Littleton who continued to be the

leading man. Littleton, a two-time All

American high-jumper, was the sole

Bronc who advanced to the USA

Indoor Championships Feb. 23 for his

second- and fourth-place finishes at the

Bayou Classic and Houston

Invitational, respectively. He struggled

in Boston, accumulating a ninth-place

finish, but at the Arkansas Last Chance

Meet, his first-place jump of 7-01.75

propelled him to his third All-

American accolade, at the NCAA

Indoor Championships.

San Juan native J.J. Hernandez is

the second Bronc who has qualified for

regionals after his second-place time of

9:00.87 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

BASEBALLSo far in the 2008 campaign, the

baseball team has struggled to a 14-27

record. With only a handful of games left

before the National Independent

Tournament, the young Broncs look to

finish on a strong note as a majority of

the roster returns for next season.

But not all has been gloomy. On

March 16, the Green and Orange posted

its biggest win of the season as they bat-

tled back from a 7-0 seventh inning

deficit to defeat the Notre Dame Fighting

Irish 10-8 in one of the most remarkable

comebacks in program history.

GOLFDuring the fall season, the men’s

and women’s golf teams struggled to

find their niche with head coach Ofelia

Lopez handling the reigns of both

squads. Assistant coach Tim McCabe

was hired Jan. 17 to aid Lopez and three

weeks later, the Broncs and Lady Broncs

captured their first tournament titles at

the Jack Brown Memorial Tournament.

Junior Shane Pearce finished sec-

ond overall after posting a three-round

score of 216 (76-65-75), where his sec-

ond round score of 65 ranked him first

all-time in the single-round records, tied

with Luis Arechiga (1997).

The men and women will have one

last chance to capture a tournament title at

the highly anticipated National Minority

Golf Championships in Port St. Lucie,

Fla. The teams return to familiar waters in

Florida, where the Broncs captured the

title in 2002 and 2006, while the Lady

Broncs claimed the trophy for three con-

secutive years (2003, 2004, and 2005).

So with only two weeks remaining

in the school year, UTPA athletics will

use the ’07-08 sports season as incentive

for a bright 2008-2009 campaign loom-

ing in the horizon.

� UNIVERSITY SPORTSSPORTS

April 24, 2008

By RAMIRO PAEZThe Pan American

Programs thrive in ‘07-‘08 as seniors exit

Sanchez

AndersonMartinPuente

Shankle

GrayStoll

Buck Vaughn Wilson

Trader Oliveira

Avila

Lima

Buksik

Gonzalez

Cantu

Gonzalez

Littleton

Lozano

Cisper

Cortez

Johnson

Gutierrez

Shepherd

Rodriguez

Gonzalez

Shives

Rodriguez Hensley

Marks Tudi

Uriegas

Wilson Ramirez

9090Number of points Tim

Duncan, Tony Parker andManu Ginobili combinedfor in Saturday’s double

overtime thriller

2222Number of innings the San

Diego Padres and theColorado Rockies played

April 17

22Number of picks the Dallas

Cowboys will have in the firstround of the 2008 NFL Draft

SPORTSStatsAtAGlance

April 24, 2008

� UNIVERSITY SPORTSTHE PAN AMERICAN

ShortSports� SCHEDULES

Onydia Garza & Roxy Solis/The Pan American

The following is the tenative

schedule for the remaining spring season

sports after April 24.

BaseballApril 25 @ Arkansas 7 p.m.April 26 @ Arkansas 4 p.m.April 27 @ Arkansas 1 p.m.April 29 @ Stephen F. Austin 12 p.m.May 2 @ Northern Colorado 2 p.m.May 3 @ Northern Colorado 2 p.m.May 4 @ Northern Colorado 1 p.m.May 10 @ TCU 6:30 p.m.May 11 @ TCU 1 p.m.May 12 @ TCU 6:30 p.m.

National Independent TournamentMay 22-25 Edinburg Baseball Stadium

GolfNational Minority Golf ChampionshipMay 9 – 11 Port St. Lucie, FL

Men’s TennisSouthland Conference TournamentApril 25 – 27 Nacogdoches

TrackMay 2 Houston Invitational

HoustonMay 10 McNeese Last Chance

Lake Charles, LAMay 30 NCAA RegionalChampionships

Lincoln, Neb.June 11 NCAA Outdoor Championships

Des Moines, IAJune 27 US Olympic Trials

Eugene, OR

� “As a staff we were very

lucky to have someone likeChelsea (Blakely) here. I’ve saidit before, she is probably the bestsetter I have ever coached. She isa great leader; she bought intoour system and brought the girls

along with her.”

-Angela HubbardVolleyball Head Coach

� “I’m extremely proud of them

[women] because they sat down inthe beginning of the season andestablished a goal of attaining atleast 15 wins. They worked reallyhard throughout the long seasonand sticking together as a team

deserves kudos.”

-Rob HubbardMenʼs and Womenʼs Tennis Head Coach

� “I think our seniors provided

wonderful leadership. The fact thatwe were the No. 1 Independent withan 18-13 record and only having 10home games, there were a lot ofaccomplishments that I think

exceeded people’s expectations.”-Tom Schuberth

Menʼs Basketball Head Coach

April 24, 2008

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