january 12, 2009

With a new semester and new yearunder way, The University of Texas-Pan American has begun surveyingland in McAllen with the anticipationfor the establishment of the UTPAMcAllen Teaching Site.

The site, which will teach gradu-ate-level, upper division and non-aca-demic courses, is still in discussionbetween UTPA and McAllen and aimsto serve students in the southern partof Hidalgo County.

Paul Sale, UTPA provost and vicepresident of academic affairs, said thesite will accommodate students fur-ther from the university while helpingMcAllen expand as a community.

“This university is very short onspace right now,” Sale said. “It (facili-ty) will benefit students by allowingus through partnership with McAllento teach academic and non-academicprograms and meet needs of business-es in the area.”

An Academic Space ProjectionModel released in fall 2007, showedUTPA was at a shortage of 326,742

square feet, like many other schoolsunder the UT System.

Later this month, Sale said the uni-versity will receive a Memo ofUnderstanding, a document declaringthat both UTPA and the City ofMcAllen understand the terms of theproject.

He added the McAllen campus willmore than likely come to fruition thisfall.

Sale added the facility will be joint-ly funded by UTPA and the City ofMcAllen. As of yet, there are no ball-park estimates for the cost of the site or

whether the structure will be pre-exist-ing or a newly constructed facility.

Thus far, areas of interest includeMcAllen’s Main Street or right offExpressway 83.

Possible upper-level and graduatecourses include those of the larger col-leges at UTPA like engineering, edu-cation and business.

Other non-academic programs maybe implemented to help outreach tothe surrounding community, accord-ing to Sale.

Sale said it is a great collaborationbetween the city and the university

and stressed mutual benefits, such asincreased tourism, residential growthand business expansion.

Plans are to have the site up and run-ning even if the structure is temporary.

“It’s too early to say,” said Saleabout the specifics of the project.

This is the second announcementfor a campus off the main UTPAgrounds.

Last year, South Texas College’sStarr County Campus agreed to sellUTPA four and a half acres of land forthe construction of the Starr CountyUpper Level Center.

By J.R. OrtegaTHE PAN AMERICAN

SPORTS PG. 14NEWS PG. 3

Future international business majorsmight need to rethink their college dec-laration at The University of Texas-PanAmerican come fall semester.

International business faculty sug-gested the program be reorganized inthe fall. If the proposition is imple-mented, the existing management andmarketing department will split into

two separate entities, with internation-al business out of the loop.

In its place, an international busi-ness certificate will be available forthose in marketing, management orother business majors. Dean of theCollege of Business Teofilo Ozunahas reviewed the possible terminationof the international business major,leaving the decision up to the UTPAprovost.

Fuat Firat, department chair for

management, marketing and interna-tional business, said the reason for thesuggestion was lack of careers in thearea.

“In the past few years, students thatwere doing the international businessmajor were not finding jobs that werespecifically related to the educationthat they were getting and theirdegree,” he stated.

Jobs in international businessinclude dealing with international trade,

importation and exportation, and vehic-ular and fast food chain companies.

However, some students like 22-year-old Maria Pina, an internationalbusiness major and president of theInternational Business Association, donot agree with the proposal.

“If they do that, I feel it’ll be weirdand not be fair for other students,” theMcAllen resident explained. “By tak-ing that away they are taking away thefuture students’ potential and potential

for the school.”According to Pina, it is not a prob-

lem of students not finding jobs per-taining to their major, it is just thatlocation is a key factor and most grad-uates like to stay close to home.

“A lot of students are looking forjobs in the Valley and there are notreally any,” she said. “It’s hard, somepeople will offer jobs in Kentucky andthey’ll pass or they’ll get offered jobs

SINCE 1943 January 12, 2009Volume 65, No. 15

By Kristen CabreraTHE PAN AMERICAN

INDEX OPINION PG. 2 ARTS & LIFE PG. 11

College of Business weighs losing IB program

It has been nearly a week since thedeath of University of Texas-PanAmerican Mechanical EngineeringChair Hashim Mahdi. Though timemoves on for the department andCollege of Science and Engineering,many still mourn his absence.

On Jan. 6 the tenured professordied of a heart attack at 56, leavingbehind his wife Rawaa Mahdi, twodaughters, Nada and Jena, and oneson, Rami.

Though the college is still inshock at the loss, the department hasnamed Robert Freeman interim chairfor the department of mechnaicalengineering for the time being.

A COLLEGE REMEMBERSEdwin Lemaster, dean of the

CoSE, shook his head in disbelief atthe sudden loss of his colleague.Three weeks before Mahdi’s death,he’d suffered a leg injury and wastold to work from home.

“I told him, ‘Don’t come in, stayat home. You can work at your com-puter,’” Lemaster recalled. “But hewas that type of person, so dedicat-ed.”

While heading to school with aco-worker, Mahdi suffered a heartattack, sending him to EdinburgRegional hospital where he laterdied.

“He was a vigorous man, so happyand pleasant, he treated everyone like

� ACADEMICS

1,000 WORDS - Faculty and staff leave the university with a portrait in hand to the funeral of the late MechanicalEngineering Chair Hashim Mahid, who died Tuesday morning after suffering a heart attack.

By Ana VillaurrutiaTHE PAN AMERICAN

SEE BUSINESS || PAGE 5

SEE MAHDI || PAGE 5

Chair, professor dies,UTPA mourns loss

Ben Briones/THE PAN AMERICAN

Future UTPA McAllen campus may be advantageous� INFRASTRUCTURE

� FACULTY

May I reintroduce you to our fair-weather friend, the recycling bin?You may have knocked into itaround campus, though it’s shovedinto the dark corners of most build-ings.

Yes that bin, and unless you’renot actually looking for one youmay not find it with garbage inhand. There has been great progressin the reintroductionof recycling recent-ly, with programslike Roxie theRecyclesaurus at thedorms and otherbuildings, but theold pal recycling binstill seems to be for-eign to most people.

Which is why it is time to stoprelying on others to establish a recy-cling program in each building,thinking it will get done on its own.UTPA’s Environmental Club wantsstudent organizations around cam-

pus to adopt a building floor andmaintain makeshift recycling boxes.

But the students are not the onlyones who need to get involved.Surely faculty or administrationmight be able to take up the cause,especially those who hold greatpride for the university and want tosee a greener campus. The UTPAalready invested in a LEED-certi-fied architect, so why not invest in afew more bins.

Of course getting bins is only halfthe effort. Therest would comefrom the personthrowing trashaway. Therehave been toomany incidentswhere I find ran-dom non-plastic

trash dumped inside a plastic-onlybin. Keeping recyclables sorted isimportant, and it is frankly annoyingto see someone not only disregardrecycling, but also ruin the efforts ofothers.

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

Fax: (956) 316-7122

The Pan American is the official studentnewspaper of The University of Texas-PanAmerican. Views presented are those of thewriters and do not necessarily reflect thoseof the paper or university.

The Pan American accepts letters of300 words or less from students, staff andfaculty regarding recent newspapercontent, campus concerns or currentevents. The Pan American reserves theright to edit submissions for grammar andlength. The Pan American cannot publishanonymous letters or submissionscontaining hate speech or gratuitouspersonal attacks. Please send all storyideas to [email protected].

Individuals with disabilitieswishing to acquire this publication in analternative format or needing assistanceto attend any event listed can contact ThePan American for more details.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

ADVISERDr. Greg Selber --- [email protected]

SECRETARY

Anita Reyes --- [email protected]

ADVERTISING MANAGER

Samantha Quintana --- [email protected]

Vol 65, No. 15

EDITOR IN CHIEF

J.R. Ortega / [email protected]

MANAGING EDITOR

Brian Silva / [email protected]

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Ana Villaurrutia / [email protected]

A&L EDITOR

Laura Garcia / [email protected]

ASSISTANT A&L EDITOR

Isaac Garcia / [email protected]

SPORTS EDITORS

Ramiro Paez / [email protected] Garza / [email protected]

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Ben Briones [email protected]

DESIGN EDITOR

Roy Bazan / [email protected]

“...faculty or administrationmight be able to take up thecause, especially those whohold great pride for the uni-versity...”

Ana Villaurrutia

Jan. 12, 2009

**Delivery**Thursday at noon

THE PAN AMERICAN January 12, 2009

Hazards of a bureaucratic mess

University needs togrow green push

� OPINION

Illustration - Anthony Salinas

Ana VillaurrutiaASSOCIATE EDITOR

I hate bureaucracy.The complex web of business and

academia that is our university is some-thing to be seen from afar. However, Ihave mounting numbers of experienceswhere my collegial life has been caughtin the bureaucratic web.

The entanglement is exemplified bymy registration experience in getting setfor the spring semester.

It began in November when I went tomy adviser to have the advising holdtaken off. A few days later I peered intomy account to see how things weregoing to pan out for the next semester. Iclicked to register and was blocked by ahold.

The specification of the problem was:“TSI Advisement Hold.” I thought thiswas simply an advising hold, since it saidadvisement. So, a week or so later I men-tioned it to my adviser again after class.She looked at me with a stumped facialexpression and said she’d look at itagain.

A couple of weeks later I looked atmy account again, and the holdremained. But, by this time it was thevery end of the semester and I was busydealing with finals and the flu, thus theregistration issue went to the back burn-er.

Collegial life was then on hiatus as Itraveled a couple of hundred miles homefor Christmas and New Year’s. But, assoon as I returned registration againbecame the immediate concern. I e-mailed my adviser. Yet again, she wasstumped as to the resolution.

In passing I mentioned the problem toanother adviser. No resolution, again.

Panic started to creep into mythoughts as the deadline grew closer. So,

I used my reporter skills and investigatedexactly what “TSI” is.

After perusing Google and the uni-versity Web site, I finally stumbledacross it: Texas Success Initiative. In theensuing paragraph of information it waswritten that TSI is the standard the stateLegislature approved in 2003 for every-one entering a public higher educationinstitution in Texas. What does thatmean? Well, you have to take a test toprove you’re up to par with college levelcourses.

Most of us students take the THEA(Texas Higher Education Assessment)test. If we pass all sections, we can startregular coursework. If we don’t, we haveto take remedial courses till we’re up topar.

My problem: the university doesn’thave my THEA scores, and for two sep-arate reasons.

Such scores usually appear on highschool transcripts, since most studentstake it when they’re seniors in highschool. The university doesn’t have myhigh school transcript.

Under the regulations of UTPAAdmissions, if I’m a transfer studentapplying with more than 30 hours then Idon’t have to send the university myhigh school transcript. My admission tothe university can be solely based on myrecord from a previous college, thus theabsence of my high school transcriptfrom the university’s records.

The second reason the universitywouldn’t have my test scores is that Inever took the THEA. I made perfectscores on my TAKS (Texas Assessmentof Knowledge and Skills) Exit exams,and in accordance with Texas law I amexempt from TSI requirements.

I literally slid through a giant loop-hole in the system. The worst part is that

the university not once ever told me afterI was admitted that I needed to showthem I was TSI-exempt, nor did they saythere was a problem. No letter, no e-mail, nothing.

While dealing with the matter, a kindlady at the Registrar’s Office told me Imust somehow prove I am exempt. Thismeant driving all the way back home(Corpus Christi) overnight to get a copyof my high school transcript. But, shethen offered a ray of hope: askAdmissions for a copy of my transcriptfrom my previous college, in the hopesthat the document states I’m TSI-exempt.

After they run upstairs to search, theyinform me it’s not there and is probablyat an offsite location. I was infuriatedthat I had to hunt down my transcriptwithin the university to prove to the uni-versity that I can indeed register. I’vebeen a student here for over 6 months,after all.

To clear up the matter I had to receivethe help of a senior administration offi-cial. It was promptly dealt with.

This incident came after Paymentsand Collections somehow lost my dis-bursement check in the “system.”

For the record, it clearly states on mytranscript that I’m TSI-exempt. We couldhave saved ourselves a world of troubleif the university had just marked thisdown somewhere when I was admitted.Wouldn’t that have made some sense?

My question to university administra-tion: should this have happened? I cansay for certain I am not the only victim ofthe university’s bureaucracy. There aremany more.

I invite all students with this type ofhorror story to write a letter to the editorabout their experience.

Let’s fix this bureaucratic mess.

� OPINION

Brian SilvaMANAGING EDITOR

BureaUcracy

THE PAN AMERICANJanuary 12, 2009

Dates to Know:Extended Office Hourshttp://www.utpa.edu/news/Monday - Thursday8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Campus ClosedMartin Luther King Jr. DayMonday

Flu season is here, which meansit’s time to bundle up, get plenty ofrest and get vaccinated. TheUniversity of Texas-Pan AmericanStudent Health Services is offering fluvaccines for $15.

According to the U.S. Departmentof Health and Human Services, get-ting a flu shot during the fall is thebest way to prevent illness during thepeak season in the winter.

“Only a reported 10 students havegotten the flu during the 2008-2009school year,” said Susan Hall, a regis-tered nurse at the Student HealthCenter.

However, each year in the UnitedStates a reported 200,000 people arehospitalized from flu complications,20,000 of them are children youngerthan 5 years old, while 36,000 peopledie from complications with the flueach year.

“During Christmas vacation I

caught the flu, I’ve never gotten thevaccine, I was extremely sick and hadto stay away from my 4-year-oldnephew so I wouldn’t get him sick,”said 26-year-old Donna native andhistory major Alfred Garcia. “I wassurprised to find out the complicationsif I wouldn’t have taken care of my ill-ness.”

The numbers indicate that the vac-cine is a good idea. Researchers at theUniversity of Minnesota studiedapproximately 13,000 students duringfour flu seasons from 2002 to 2006.Each year between 9 percent and 20percent of college and university stu-dents get the flu. Researchers conclud-ed that one missed day of class wasprevented for every 17 students vacci-nated.

During the 2003-2004 school year,the UTPA Student Health Centerissued 400 flu vaccines to students,staff and faculty.

Other than students and anyonewho makes close contact with other

By Abby FloresTHE PAN AMERICAN

A new year is usually accompaniedby new goals and a new outlook, andThe University of Texas-PanAmerican’s Division of UniversityAdvancement is following the trend.

Newly appointed vice presidentJanice Odom feels right at home atUTPA and she says she is ringing inthe New Year with positive develop-

ments and plans for the division. Odom, who was appointed Nov. 1,

came from The University of Texas atSan Antonio where she served asassistant vice president forAdvancement Services. Eight yearsago, Odom was employed by UTPAand in her eight-year tenure she heldpositions as director of UniversityRelations, Stewardship and AnnualGiving, and Alumni Relations andSpecial Events.

Odom islooking forwardto one specificproject that willallow one ofUTPA’s ownprofessors towork withU n i v e r s i t yAdvancement.

“One of the exciting things that ishappening right now is that Dr.

Kimberly Selber is going to be work-ing with us,” Odom said.

Selber, assistant professor in theCommunication Department, wasrecently named Executive inResidence in the Office of the Provostunder Paul Sale, provost and vicepresident for academic affairs.According to Odom, Selber will lendher marketing and advertising back-ground to the division to help re-eval-uate its marketing efforts.

“She’s going to bring her expertiseto us on a short-term assignment,”Odom said. “This is really excitingbecause we have a lot going on in uni-versity relations and we have a lotgoing on in marketing in a somewhatuncoordinated fashion around the cam-pus. What we want to do is have hercome in and help us draw a big clearpicture of where it is we need to go.”

Selber says she feels confident

� ADMINISTRATION

As South Texas College studentstransfer to a four-year university, theprocess can be difficult when it comesto visiting other colleges. But recent-ly, The University of Texas-PanAmerican has helped remedy thatproblem by locating its transfer serv-ices right next door.

A UTPA Transfer Center openedJan. 5 near the STC Pecan campusand will operate from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m.

to 5 p.m. on Friday. About 1,000 stu-dents out of the approximately 22,000enrolled at STCapply and go onto attend UTPAeach year , whichprompted UTPA’sAdmission andNew StudentServices to bringtransfer service tothe students.

The center willprovide academic advisement, finan-cial aid advisement, plus informationon resources, and services on campus,

and student life. The center is equipped with three

laptops for stu-dents who want toregister for class-es, apply with theFree Applicationfor FinancialStudent Aid form,or check their sta-tus through theS t u d e n tI n f o r m a t i o n

System BANNER system.Mary de Leon, associate director

of recruitment at UTPA, said the goal

of the center is to streamline theenrollment process for STC students,which includes student advisement,orientation, and financial assitance.

“We will be able to help them a lotquicker because we will be easilyaccessible to them at a convenientlocation, just across the street.” saidde Leon, who also serves as the aca-demic adisor for the center.

De Leon said the average STC stu-dent encounters many barriers whenchanging colleges, such as limitedtransportation, full- or part-timework, and other responsibilities.

“The majority of students are

financially disadvantaged with num-bers of obstacle, the greater majorityis not your traditional students thatdedicates their time to their studiesonly,” she explained.

“Not all students have their owntransportation, some get dropped offby parents, others car pool and somerely public transportation.”

De Leon said she believes theseobstacles have prevented studentsfrom coming to UTPA for informationon registration, as they have beenforced to wait for the end of thesemester to apply, giving them little

Transfer center to make for easier university transitionBy Ana Villaurrutia THE PAN AMERICAN

� ACADEMICS

Odom pioneers new ways for UTPA marketingBy Abigail MunizTHE PAN AMERICAN

Flu still prevalent,shots recommended

� HEALTH


HONK 4 PEACE - Enas Ibrahim, 16, daughter of UTPA chemistry professor Elamin Ibrahim and 15-year-old ScienceAcademy of South Texas student Mariam El-haj, display their view on the conflict between Hamas and Israel to passingmotorists in front of Bentsen Tower on Old Business 83 Friday. SEE FLU || PAGE 6

SEE MARKETING || PAGE 6

SEE TRANSFER || PAGE 6

“We will be able to help thema lot quicker because we willbe easily accessible to them at aconvenient location, just acrossthe street.”

Mary de LeonAssoc. director of recruitment

� SEEN AND CAPTURED

KIMBERLY SELBER

ADVERTISEMENTS January 12, 2009

a dear friend,” Lemaster said.Mahdi was born in 1952 and grew

up 50 miles southwest of Baghdad,Iraq. At the age of 24, he left his homecountry in 1980 to continue his educa-tion in the United States.

He attended the University ofArizona, earning a master’s inmechanical engineering and eventual-ly a doctorate in aerospace engineer-ing.

In 1992 Mahdi was hired as a pro-fessor at UTPA and in 2001 he becamechair of the new mechanical engineer-ing program.

From the start,Lemaster said henoticed how com-mitted Mahdi wasto the job.

“I came in earlyand he wouldalready be here,” hesaid. “He always went beyond whatwas required.”

Lemaster credits Mahdi for theincrease of enrollment in the mechan-ical program; today it comprises about550 students of the 1,000 total in theengineering department.

Mahdi also helped raise more than$6 million in scholarships andendowed professorships, assisted withthe creation of the mechanical engi-neering master’s program, and wasspearheading the start of a civil engi-neering program, which could getunder way as early as the fall.

Lemaster said it was going to behard to deal with the untimely death.

“How would you feel losing yourright-hand man,” Lemaster asked. “Hewas such an important part of theteam.”

Lemaster recalled the first classMahdi taught at UTPA and how stu-dents would remark about his dedica-tion.

“They used to say, ‘the new profes-sor you hired is having us meet sixhours a week,’ and I told them that’swrong, because it’s supposed to bethree hours…but they said, ‘No, nowe love him,’” he said.

Close to Mahdiwas his administra-tive assistant,Annie Ocanas, whohas shed tears overthe loss of not onlyher boss but alsosomeone shedescribed as a close

friend.“You don’t expect to come back

from the Christmas break and havethis happen,” Ocanas said, adding thatshe always admired Mahdi’s helpfulnature and his ability to make time forstudents.

“It didn’t matter if he had work pil-ing up, if a student was in, he said,‘come in, how can I help you?’” shenoted, describing Mahdi’s work ethic.“He taught me how to be morehumane, he said to his faculty, whenyou’re at work you’re like family.”

Mahdi’s funeral was held Thursdayat Val Verde cemetery in Donna, withnumerous alumni, faculty and staff

attending.Computer Engineering Professor

John Abraham remembered thechair’s jokes and pranks, includinghiding a co-worker’s car, and convinc-ing faculty to turn their coats insideout at a meeting.

Abraham remembers one of the lastconversations he had with his long-time friend.

“I was just talking to him onMonday and I asked him, ‘Can youclimb up this ladder?’ and he said yes,because I knew he was in a cast,”Abraham said. “It’s going to be hardwalking down the hall and not beingable to share a joke with him.”

Though Ocanas is still sad, she saidthe transition with the new interimchair has been smooth and sheremains confident the staff is morethan capable of moving forward.

“He worked till the last minute,”said Ocanas referring to a printoutMahdi had sent from home throughthe UTPA server a day before he died.“It’s going to be hard, but we have tomove on.”

The engineering department is cre-ating a scholarship for students inMahdi’s name called the HashimMahdi Memorial EngineeringScholarship.

“Dr. Mahdi was always so support-ive of his students, we thought that ascholarship would be appropriate,”Lemaster commented.

A memorial service will take placeon Jan. 15 from noon to 2 p.m. at theengineering auditorium.

in Mexico and some won’t take itbecause they feel they’re not ready sothey’ll end up taking jobs as managingsupervisors at Target or somewhere.”

The move, should it happen, wouldhave an effect on new freshman in Fall2009 and no effect on current interna-tional business majors. Incomingfreshman will instead have a choice tomajor in either of the business majorsand choose to get an internationalbusiness certificate. The certificateshould make graduates more soughtafter, according to Firat.

“We’re not killing international busi-ness, but were trying to develop interna-tional business in such a way that it willhelp the students in their futurecareers,” he said. “That’s our purpose.”

No specifics have been given yet onhow the certificate process will pan out.

Pina, who is concentrating more onlinguistics rather than management ormarketing, said it isnot the same andthe university doesnot offer linguisticsas a major.

“Dr. Cortez wastrying to have lin-guistics as anoption for businessbut that didn’t gothrough so insteadlinguistics is beingput with marketingas an optional elective for businessmajors,” she said.

Another reason for the division ofthe department, according to Firat, is

that at other larger universities, mar-keting and management are separateentities.

“It’s an issue of growth,” he said. “Ithink we’ve grown to that point wherewe should have those two separatedepartments, and it’s a decision that wehave made as the faculty. The dean hastaken that recommendation to theprovost and a decision will be made bythe provost’s office as to whether thisrecommendation is supported or not.”

The International BusinessAssociation’s future is up in the air aswell,” Pina stressed.

“We were planning a conferencethis semester for international busi-ness majors but now what for?” shequestioned. “To do all that work andplanning and not have it be there in thefall…we’re still talking about every-thing.”

Despite the suggestion not being 100percent backed up bystudents, Firat is notconcerned about adecrease in studentnumbers; in fact helooks for there to bean increase.

“I think this reor-ganization is goingto help the studentsa lot. When theyrealize they’re beinghelped by this, we

will probably increase the number ofstudents who do major in the Collegeof Business Administration,” he said.“In the end it will be positive.”

NEWS January 12, 2009

MAHDI continued from Page 1 BUSINESS continued from Page 1

“He worked till the lastminute. It’s going to be hard,but we have to move on.”

Annie OcanasAdministrative assistant

“We’re not killing interna-tional business, but were try-ing to develop internationalbusiness in such a way that itwill help the students in theirfuture careers.”

Fuat FiratMMIB department chair

NEWS January 12, 2009

FLU continued from Page 3people in the work area, anyone is aneasy target of being in reach of the flu.

“There has been an increase of 60percent of flu incidents this year incomparison to last year and we arealso expecting an increase in the pedi-atrics area,” said registered nurseAlbert Ramirez from McAllen atRenaissance Hospital.

If any patients are needed to behospitalized they are given IV fluidsand are observed to prevent the possi-bility of getting pneumonia.

“A lot of people in the Rio GrandeValley have gotten their flu shot, espe-cially employees here at the hospital,it’s free for them and they’re at highrisk,” Ramirez said.

Garcia said he is one of those whoprobably should have gotten the shot.

“If I wouldn’t have gone to see thedoctor quickly and taken care of myflu, I could have ended up with bron-chitis or pneumonia,” Garcia said.

Some of the symptoms to be awareof are fevers, headaches, fatigue,weakness, stuffy nose, sore throatand/or chest discomfort, according tothe National Institute of Allergy andInfectious Diseases. Ways to preventthe illness are to get vaccinated, avoidclose contact with people who may besick, avoid contact with your eyes,nose or mouth, and take antiviraldrugs.

“It’s important that students gettheir flu vaccine, it saves them moneyon continuously going for check-upsand having to buy medication eachtime they visit their doctor,” Garcia

said. “I spend nearly $300 on medica-tions and doctor visits, and as a col-lege student, it wasn’t easy.”

MARKETING continued from Page 3

about the job at hand and is ready totackle the challenge.

“As an academic this is what Iteach. As a professional I have beendoing this type of work for over 15years,” said Selber, who beforeobtaining her Ph.D. worked with vari-ous advertising agencies includingBozell Worldwide in California andDDB Needham in Chicago and haswon recognition nationally and inter-nationally for her advertising anddesign work.

Among her duties, Selber will workclosely with Odom and the executive

director of marketing and the directoror university rela-tions in the divi-sion to help assesswhere the univer-sity stands as faras communicationgoes; this includesboth internal andexternal commu-nication.

Selber saysthey are currently working on a newbranding concept for the university. InDecember the foundation for a new

branding campaign was exhibited atthe Boards ofRegents meetingin Lost Pines,Texas. The uni-versity communi-ty should be see-ing this messageas early as theSpring 2009 invarious internaland external com-

munication pieces. “UTPA has a lot going on. We need

to do a better job of telling our story

both on and off the UTPA campus,”Selber said. “I love creating messagestrategies and communication mes-sages. So it’s exciting doing it for thebenefit of the university.”

Sale is positive about the projectsin store for the division in the comingsemester.

He believes Selber is qualified forthe position and that in the long run,her work will benefit the universityand its advancement.

“(Selber) will provide support toOdom with the marketing and adver-tising efforts,” Sale said. “(The oppor-

tunity) provides a level of expertisethat before has not been available toUniversity Advancement.”

Among other goals Odom says areon the list for University Advancementinclude strengthening fundraising forscholarships, helping the universitygrow its graduate programs and work-ing with alumni and helping strengthenties to the university.

“The alums are out helping tell ourstory, supporting us financially, men-toring our students, supporting us inthe Legislature,” she said. “They canaffect every part of the university.”

FLU INFORMATION

Flu vaccinations arestill available for stu-dents, faculty and staff atthe Student HealthCenter.

If you have any ques-tions feel free to set up anappointment with theSHC at 381-2511.

choice of courses to meet their sched-ules.

For now the center has one aca-demic adviser but de Leon said as thesemester progresses they may addmore during peak times, which sheventures to guess will be the start ofthe semester.

STC student Vanessa Alvaravoalso has little time to visit UTPA dur-ing the semester because she workstwo jobs and takes night classes, butlooks forward to attending UTPA nextspring.

“I think it’s good because after mytwo years are up (at STC) I will knowwhat to do,” said the 19-year-oldbusiness administration major fromEdinburg.

“It’s convenient because a lot of

STC students do plan to transfer toUTPA because it’s closer and lessexpensive,” she said.

William Serrata, STC vice presi-dent for student affairs and enroll-ment management, said he was alsohappy to hear the center was open andis optimistic the UTPA transfer serv-ice will help students transitionbecome easier and keep them in theValley.

“I believe that it will provide STCstudents with immediate assistanceregarding transfer to UTPA,” saidSerrata about the UTPA TransferCenter.

“I also believe that it will encour-age more STC students to transfer toUTPA as opposed to other universitiesin Texas.”

TRANSFER continued from Page 3

“As an academic this is what Iteach. As a professional I havebeen doing this type of workfor over 15 years.”

Kimberly SelberAssistant professor in communi-cation department

THE PAN AMERICAN January 12, 2009 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 9January 12, 2009

Design by Rick Gamez

“No to ri o us ” – Jan. 1 6 , RThis month we are expected to see

many films hitting the theatres but noth-ing like Notorious. Based on the life ofrapper Christopher Wallace a.k.a.Notorious B.I.G. the film will explainthe rise of Wallace from a dangerousstreet life to, for lack of a better word, toa notorious rap artist. ChristopherWallace Jr. son of Notorious and FaithEvans will add to the screen his short roleas young Wallace. Adult Wallace will beplayed by actor Jamal Woolard, along-side him will be actors Derek Luke andAngela Bassett who have the roles ofSean Combes and Voletta Wallace. Withmusic as a running theme in the film thesoundtrack has already received somebuzz. There has been a lot of excitementover rapper Jay-Z’s song “Brooklyn GoHard” with artist Santogold. The sound-track is also listed with other artists suchas Jadakiss, Faith Evans and Bone Thugs-N- Harmony. Not to mention “TheNotorious Theme” composed by DannyElfman. Much is to be expected from thisfilm which deals with an unresolved mur-der case, so undoubtedly it will be newinformation to a large fan base left very

abruptly by the artist’s untimely death.“I Lo v e Yo u, Man” - Mar. 2 0 , NR

There will always be a soft spot for thecomedic talents of Paul Rudd and JasonSegel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall). Onceagain they have teamed up in a film thatis chalk full of awkward situations andmany laughs. The film tells a story aboutPeter Klaven (Paul Rudd) who has pro-posed to his girlfriend Zooey (RashidaJones). With things going as plannedKlaven realizes he has never really had amale best friend. The story showsKlaven’s search for a best friend to be hisbest man. After encountering many menand weird confrontations Klaven meetsSydney Fife (Jason Segel) who showshim a different side of himself. Directedby John Hamburg, the audience will alsosee appearances from Andy Samberg (HotRod) and Jaime Pressly (“My name isEarl”).

“Che Part 1 The Arg enti ne” - Jan. 9This film is only part one to a two

piece film about Che Guevara played byBenicio Del Toro. Director StevenSoderbergh tells the story of Guevara’sleadership in the rebellion that wasbrought on by Fidel Castro’s (DemiánBichir) battle against leader FulgencioBatista.

“Che Part 2 Gueri l l a” – Jan. 9Second part to “The Argentine”

Guerilla continues on at the end of theCuban Revolution. It shows Che at theclimax of his heroism, his disappear-ance, and reappearance in Bolivia wherehe creates a group for the LatinAmerican Revolution.

“New In To wn” – Jan. 3 0Renee Zellweger plays a successful

business woman (Lucy Hil l) fromMiami. Hill is sent to small town towork on a deal with her company. Thetown contains colorful people, snowrather then sand, and other problemsdespite this Hill finds true love in a res-ident played by Harry Connick Jr.

“He’s Jus t No t That Into Yo u”- Feb.6

With an al l-star cast (DrewBarrymore, Jennifer Connelly, BenAffleck) the film is based off of a best-selling book from Greg Behrendt andLiz Tuccillo. The comedy takes a look atdifferent sides of relationships and howthey complicate lives.

“Pus h”- Feb. 6The sci-fi film stars Dakota Fanning

with Chris Evans who are some of the fewpeople who have un-natural powers. The

New year rings in slew of entertainment� PREMIERS

Bri tney Spears Ci rcus To urBritney Spears will begin her 2009 Tour in

March to kick off the new release of her album“Circus.” With the first single “Womanizer” blast-ing on radio stations, and a revealing, steamyvideo to accompany it Spears has given theimpression that we have seen the last of her crazyrampages. Being the first tour she has had in fiveyears audience members could question if Spears isready for a 27-city tour. Despite caution signsflickering, the buzz around Spears has been posi-tive. The Pussycat Dolls as her opening act andchoreographer Wade Robson behind her moves,the tour shows promise to being one of Spearsmost entertaining shows. Tickets went on sale onDecember 6, 2008, and the tour will begin in NewOrleans, LA on March 3, 2009.

Al bum rel eas es i n 2 0 0 9Jan. 27Franz Ferdi nand “Tonight: FranzFerdinand”Eag l es o f Death Metal “Heart On”

Feb. 10Li l y Al l en “It’s Not Me, It’s You”Bus ta Rhy mes “Back On My B.S.”Mi s s y El l i o tt “BlockParty”

Mar. 17MSTRKRFT “Fist of God”

Mar. 24The Decemberi s ts “Hazards

Dollhouse – Fox Feb. 13Now what does “Buffy the Vampire

Slayer” have in common with Fox’s newseries “Dollhouse”? Not only is actressfrom the series Eliza Dushku involved,creator of “Buffy” Joss Whedon is alsothe creator of Dollhouse. Whedonresponsible for the sci-fi success mayhave struck another chord that “Buffy”fans can embrace. In the series“Dollhouse” Dushku or rather (Echo) is apart of an underground group whosethoughts are controlled and filled withwhatever their customer may need. Withcontrolled memories and skills a cus-tomer could purchase any type of doll, aprofessional skateboarder, a best friend,a secret agent, anything really. Afterevery session the memory of the doll iserased, to have no recollection of thepassed events. Over time Echo’s memo-ries begin to stick and not erase. At thesame time an FBI Agent Paul Ballard(Tahmoh Penikett) is getting closer andcloser to finding the illegal dollhouse.Dollhouse premieres on Fox February

13, 2009 at 9/8cTrue Beauty - ABC Jan. 5

Life as we know it has succumbed to thehypnotizing wrath of reality shows.Many love them or hate them, but if yourguilty pleasures get the best of you “TrueBeauty” is one of the new reality shows tosee. Executive producers Tyra Banks(“America’s Next Top Model”) and AshtonKutcher (“Punk’d”) are going to showbeauty in a different light to 10 contest-ants. Six girls and four boys will be giventasks that they believe will be testingthem on their outer beauty. Little do thecontestants know that the show wasdesigned to not only test their outer beau-ty but their inner beauty as well.Modeling and beauty contests are a part ofthe game but the contestants will also bejudged on being courteous, respectful andhumble. At the end of the series one con-testant will be the winner, who is beauti-ful inside and out. The winner will receivemoney and a place in PEOPLE magazine’stop 100 Most Beautiful People Issue. Theshow begins on January 5, 2009 at 10/9c.

“The Cl ev el and Sho w” – Fo x Fal l2 0 0 9

The show “Family Guy” brought the

character Cleveland Brown to televisionsets. Now in 2009 Cleveland will havehis own show that will tell the story ofhis new life (after his divorce to Loretta)with his high school love, Donna.

“Si t Do wn, Shut up!” – Fo x Spri ngCreated by Mitch Hurwitz (“Arrested

Development”), the cartoon comedy isabout a group of high school teacherswho believe they come first while stu-dents come second.

“Cupi d”- ABC Mar. 2 4Rob Thomas created “Cupid” in 1998

and aired with Jeremy Piven with leadingrole. Now Rob Thomas will bring thealtered show back onto ABC for a secondchance starring Bobby Cannavale as aman who believes himself to be a real lifeCupid and all the mischief he creates.

“Harper’s Is l and”- CBS Apri l 9Guests attend a wedding on an island

just off the coast of Seattle. Guests startto die off one by one, letting audiencemembers play detective and try to figureout who the murderer could be.

“Merl i n”- NBC Spri ng

Ni nja Turtl es Yes ninja turtle fans its time to bust out the VHSmovies, order up a pizza, and pretend a giant ratis really a ninjitsu professional to celebrate the25th birthdays of our ninja heroes. Finally, theturtles we have come to know and love are allgrown up. To commemorate this event a newwebsite for the turtles was put up where fans can“shell-ebrate” the birthday with interactivegames and notes of all the accomplishmentsthey have done over the years. You can visit thissite at www.tmnt25.com.

The Dark Kni g htThe film “The Dark Knight” was released July 18,2008 and was one of the biggest cinema moneymakers. The film made over $512 million in the-atres no doubt in part to the late Heath Ledger’sinspiring performance. Now Warner Bros. haveconfirmed rumors of the re-release of the film.This January fans of the work can go out and seethe film on the big screen again at their nearestIMAX theatre. There are no confirmations yet if

Movies

TV

Music

Tidbits

� LITERATURE

By Andrielle FigueroaTHE PAN AMERICAN

THE PAN AMERICAN January 12, 2009Page 8 THE PAN AMERICAN January 12, 2009

Design by Rick Gamez

“No to ri o us ” – Jan. 1 6 , RThis month we are expected to see

many films hitting the theatres but noth-ing like Notorious. Based on the life ofrapper Christopher Wallace a.k.a.Notorious B.I.G. the film will explainthe rise of Wallace from a dangerousstreet life to, for lack of a better word, toa notorious rap artist. ChristopherWallace Jr. son of Notorious and FaithEvans will add to the screen his short roleas young Wallace. Adult Wallace will beplayed by actor Jamal Woolard, along-side him will be actors Derek Luke andAngela Bassett who have the roles ofSean Combes and Voletta Wallace. Withmusic as a running theme in the film thesoundtrack has already received somebuzz. There has been a lot of excitementover rapper Jay-Z’s song “Brooklyn GoHard” with artist Santogold. The sound-track is also listed with other artists suchas Jadakiss, Faith Evans and Bone Thugs-N- Harmony. Not to mention “TheNotorious Theme” composed by DannyElfman. Much is to be expected from thisfilm which deals with an unresolved mur-der case, so undoubtedly it will be newinformation to a large fan base left very

abruptly by the artist’s untimely death.“I Lo v e Yo u, Man” - Mar. 2 0 , NR

There will always be a soft spot for thecomedic talents of Paul Rudd and JasonSegel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall). Onceagain they have teamed up in a film thatis chalk full of awkward situations andmany laughs. The film tells a story aboutPeter Klaven (Paul Rudd) who has pro-posed to his girlfriend Zooey (RashidaJones). With things going as plannedKlaven realizes he has never really had amale best friend. The story showsKlaven’s search for a best friend to be hisbest man. After encountering many menand weird confrontations Klaven meetsSydney Fife (Jason Segel) who showshim a different side of himself. Directedby John Hamburg, the audience will alsosee appearances from Andy Samberg (HotRod) and Jaime Pressly (“My name isEarl”).

“Che Part 1 The Arg enti ne” - Jan. 9This film is only part one to a two

piece film about Che Guevara played byBenicio Del Toro. Director StevenSoderbergh tells the story of Guevara’sleadership in the rebellion that wasbrought on by Fidel Castro’s (DemiánBichir) battle against leader FulgencioBatista.

“Che Part 2 Gueri l l a” – Jan. 9Second part to “The Argentine”

Guerilla continues on at the end of theCuban Revolution. It shows Che at theclimax of his heroism, his disappear-ance, and reappearance in Bolivia wherehe creates a group for the LatinAmerican Revolution.

“New In To wn” – Jan. 3 0Renee Zellweger plays a successful

business woman (Lucy Hil l) fromMiami. Hill is sent to small town towork on a deal with her company. Thetown contains colorful people, snowrather then sand, and other problemsdespite this Hill finds true love in a res-ident played by Harry Connick Jr.

“He’s Jus t No t That Into Yo u”- Feb.6

With an al l-star cast (DrewBarrymore, Jennifer Connelly, BenAffleck) the film is based off of a best-selling book from Greg Behrendt andLiz Tuccillo. The comedy takes a look atdifferent sides of relationships and howthey complicate lives.

“Pus h”- Feb. 6The sci-fi film stars Dakota Fanning

with Chris Evans who are some of the fewpeople who have un-natural powers. The

New year rings in slew of entertainment� PREMIERS

Bri tney Spears Ci rcus To urBritney Spears will begin her 2009 Tour in

March to kick off the new release of her album“Circus.” With the first single “Womanizer” blast-ing on radio stations, and a revealing, steamyvideo to accompany it Spears has given theimpression that we have seen the last of her crazyrampages. Being the first tour she has had in fiveyears audience members could question if Spears isready for a 27-city tour. Despite caution signsflickering, the buzz around Spears has been posi-tive. The Pussycat Dolls as her opening act andchoreographer Wade Robson behind her moves,the tour shows promise to being one of Spearsmost entertaining shows. Tickets went on sale onDecember 6, 2008, and the tour will begin in NewOrleans, LA on March 3, 2009.

Al bum rel eas es i n 2 0 0 9Jan. 27Franz Ferdi nand “Tonight: FranzFerdinand”Eag l es o f Death Metal “Heart On”

Feb. 10Li l y Al l en “It’s Not Me, It’s You”Bus ta Rhy mes “Back On My B.S.”Mi s s y El l i o tt “BlockParty”

Mar. 17MSTRKRFT “Fist of God”

Mar. 24The Decemberi s ts “Hazards

Dollhouse – Fox Feb. 13Now what does “Buffy the Vampire

Slayer” have in common with Fox’s newseries “Dollhouse”? Not only is actressfrom the series Eliza Dushku involved,creator of “Buffy” Joss Whedon is alsothe creator of Dollhouse. Whedonresponsible for the sci-fi success mayhave struck another chord that “Buffy”fans can embrace. In the series“Dollhouse” Dushku or rather (Echo) is apart of an underground group whosethoughts are controlled and filled withwhatever their customer may need. Withcontrolled memories and skills a cus-tomer could purchase any type of doll, aprofessional skateboarder, a best friend,a secret agent, anything really. Afterevery session the memory of the doll iserased, to have no recollection of thepassed events. Over time Echo’s memo-ries begin to stick and not erase. At thesame time an FBI Agent Paul Ballard(Tahmoh Penikett) is getting closer andcloser to finding the illegal dollhouse.Dollhouse premieres on Fox February

13, 2009 at 9/8cTrue Beauty - ABC Jan. 5

Life as we know it has succumbed to thehypnotizing wrath of reality shows.Many love them or hate them, but if yourguilty pleasures get the best of you “TrueBeauty” is one of the new reality shows tosee. Executive producers Tyra Banks(“America’s Next Top Model”) and AshtonKutcher (“Punk’d”) are going to showbeauty in a different light to 10 contest-ants. Six girls and four boys will be giventasks that they believe will be testingthem on their outer beauty. Little do thecontestants know that the show wasdesigned to not only test their outer beau-ty but their inner beauty as well.Modeling and beauty contests are a part ofthe game but the contestants will also bejudged on being courteous, respectful andhumble. At the end of the series one con-testant will be the winner, who is beauti-ful inside and out. The winner will receivemoney and a place in PEOPLE magazine’stop 100 Most Beautiful People Issue. Theshow begins on January 5, 2009 at 10/9c.

“The Cl ev el and Sho w” – Fo x Fal l2 0 0 9

The show “Family Guy” brought the

character Cleveland Brown to televisionsets. Now in 2009 Cleveland will havehis own show that will tell the story ofhis new life (after his divorce to Loretta)with his high school love, Donna.

“Si t Do wn, Shut up!” – Fo x Spri ngCreated by Mitch Hurwitz (“Arrested

Development”), the cartoon comedy isabout a group of high school teacherswho believe they come first while stu-dents come second.

“Cupi d”- ABC Mar. 2 4Rob Thomas created “Cupid” in 1998

and aired with Jeremy Piven with leadingrole. Now Rob Thomas will bring thealtered show back onto ABC for a secondchance starring Bobby Cannavale as aman who believes himself to be a real lifeCupid and all the mischief he creates.

“Harper’s Is l and”- CBS Apri l 9Guests attend a wedding on an island

just off the coast of Seattle. Guests startto die off one by one, letting audiencemembers play detective and try to figureout who the murderer could be.

“Merl i n”- NBC Spri ng

Ni nja Turtl es Yes ninja turtle fans its time to bust out the VHSmovies, order up a pizza, and pretend a giant ratis really a ninjitsu professional to celebrate the25th birthdays of our ninja heroes. Finally, theturtles we have come to know and love are allgrown up. To commemorate this event a newwebsite for the turtles was put up where fans can“shell-ebrate” the birthday with interactivegames and notes of all the accomplishmentsthey have done over the years. You can visit thissite at www.tmnt25.com.

The Dark Kni g htThe film “The Dark Knight” was released July 18,2008 and was one of the biggest cinema moneymakers. The film made over $512 million in the-atres no doubt in part to the late Heath Ledger’sinspiring performance. Now Warner Bros. haveconfirmed rumors of the re-release of the film.This January fans of the work can go out and seethe film on the big screen again at their nearestIMAX theatre. There are no confirmations yet if

Movies

TV

Music

Tidbits

� LITERATURE

By Andrielle FigueroaTHE PAN AMERICAN

THE PAN AMERICAN

Dates to Know:The After Hours Saturday, 9 p.m. Cine El Rey

“Dandelions” premier screen-ingThursday, 7 p.m. McAllen Creative Incubator

� CAMPUS

Venue? Check. Crazy comedic situa-tions? Check. One fearless cast? Check…

Live from Cine El Rey, it’s Saturdaynight!

Ten wacky and innovative minds areset to debut as The After Hours, animprov comedy troupe at Cine El Rey,located at 311 South 17th St. in McAllenon Saturday at 9 p.m.

The After Hours consists of 10 UTPAstudents and alumni ranging in age from20 to 32 who were assembled by FredGalvan, a December 2008 UTPA gradu-ate with a degree in theatre who says hedidn’t even bother holding auditions.

“I just asked those with whom I’veworked well with in the past, those whoI know are capable,” Galvan said.“They all jumped on board, we startedgathering material and we’re ready toput it out there.”

Galvan is no stranger to the world ofsketch comedy, having performedbefore with The Happy Hours, a nowdefunct improv group founded at SouthTexas College roughly two years ago.

“We got asked to help a group of bur-lesque dancers one time a few yearsback,” Galvan recalls. “They needed

some comedians for their show andthat’s when we came on board and it justtook off.”

Galvan says the public respondedvery well to his former group but unfor-tunately, due to other commitments andcircumstances, it disbanded. However,Galvan kept being asked when there was

going to be another comedy show. Solast April, forming a new UTPA comedytroupe was considered, and just threeshort weeks ago The After Hours had itsvery first meeting.

Patty Moreno, a senior theatre per-formance major from Pharr, says thenew troupe has come together nicely

and is working well together. Morenofurther adds that they are careful tokeep material as loosely scripted andfresh as possible.

“We want to keep the feel of improv-isation, so we’re trying not to over-rehearse,” Moreno said. “We’re workingtogether getting story ideas. A lot ofinspiration comes from everyday stufffrom media, commercials, from ourfamilies, stuff people from the Valleycan relate to.”

Cassie Dean, a junior TV/film majorfrom Edinburg, went on to describe onepossible sketch in which a Hispanic boybrings home his Caucasian girlfriend tomeet his Spanish speaking mother whokeeps saying inappropriate things ashilarity ensues.

Dean also agrees that pushing theboundaries of relatable, every day situa-tions is what makes sketch comedy sopopular and says that the group is fol-lowing a format similar to “SaturdayNight Live,” from which many of thegroup members take inspiration.

“My favorite skits on SNL are theones where one person in the skit startsmaking everyone else in the skit laugh,and it’s live, it’s fun and anything canhappen,” Dean said. “In addition, to a lotof skits on stage, we also have pre-

recorded shorts on film as well.”Moreno agrees, adding that no matter

how well planned a scene is, things canhappen and that adds to the fun andexcitement of the performance.

“We’ve all seen those SNL sketcheswhen something just goes wrong andpeople just laugh their heads off. That’swhat we’re aiming for,” Morenoexplained. “We’re pushing boundariesand each other, and we’ll see if we’regoing to make each other crack underthe hilarity of it or what. I think peoplewill enjoy the spontaneity of it.”

Though Galvan is planning a moveto Los Angeles in February to persue acareer in entertainment, The AfterHours hope to continue to have month-ly shows, gain recognition and keeppeople laughing.

“These actors, they’re not in it forthe money by any means,” Galvan said.“They’re in it for the actual art, andthey wanna keep doing it as long as it’spossible.”

Doors will open roughly an hour orso before show time and tickets rangefrom $10 balcony seats to $15 floorseats and $25 will garner VIP seats thatinclude a personal wait staff. For moreinformation, contact Cine El Rey at(956) 432-6765.

The After Hours improv troupe takes stage

ALL SMILES - Rob Garcia (far right) and Cassie Dean (center),members of the new improv group at UTPA called The After Hours,take part in a practice routine the alphabet game Wednesday.

January 12, 2009


� STUDENT LIFE

But can they keep them? A diet booktable is the first thing one sees uponentering the local Barnes and Noble. Asmost probably rang in the New Yearfresh off the desserts table, it’s not theonly resolution they are pursuing in2009. Maybe image isn’t really every-thing. This year students took to differ-ent ideas, however, all keeping in mindthe best way to enrich their lives.

“My New Year’sresolution is to exer-cise more andbecome healthier.”

-Jennifer Castillo Junior general studies major

“My new year’sresolution is to readthe bible daily andseek God in every-thing that I do.”

-Cassandra RivasJunior Spanish

“My New Year’sresolution is to haveeven more fun thisyear than I did lastyear!”

-Jaynie BetancourtJunior advertising/public relations

“I almost neverkeep any New Year’sresolutions, but thisyear I decided to saythat I will finishschool and savemoney. You can

never go wrong with those.”-Ruben MorinJunior biology

“My New Year’sresolution is to defi-nitely save money!”

-Aaron LimasSophomore business/CIS

“My New Year’sresolution is to havemore patience. I’venoticed last year thatI always wanted toget things done in a

hurry. It’s better to have patience andtake things slowly so that in the end, theresults are fulfilling.”

-Andrea VelaFreshman marketing

“My New Year’sresolution is to havemore time formyself.”

-Jeanna GuerraSenior nursing

Resolutions made for a new year

By Marco CarbajalTHE PAN AMERICAN

� MOVIE REVIEW

‘Benjamin Button’

David Fincher, the director of suchclassics such as “Seven,” “Panic Room,”and “Zodiac,” teams up with Brad Pitt(“Seven,” “Troy”) and Oscar winnerCate Blanchett (“The Aviator,”“Elizabeth”) and gives us the mosthaunting, most fascinating - and it has tobe said - the most romantic film of 2008.Loosely adapted from F. ScottFitzgerald’s 1921 short story by the samename, “The Curious Case of BenjaminButton” tells the tale of a young NewOrleans boy born as an 80-year old manwho ages backward instead of forward.

During his curious journey through hischildhood, teen years and later adult life,Benjamin learns the meaning of life anddeath and along the way meets colorfulcharacters who make a huge impact on hislife. One of them is Daisy (Blanchett), abeautiful ballet dancer whom he falls in

love with. As Daisy gets older, Benjamingets younger, causing the characters andaudience to think about the question thefilm asks: “If we are given youth after wegained decades of personal experience,what do we do with the rest of our lives?”

With state of the art CGI to makeboth Pitt and Blanchett age younger andolder, the film transports us to anotherworld which could easily rival “TheWizard of Oz” and “EdwardScissorhands.” The film takes place inNew Orleans and other parts of theworld such as Russia, India, New York,but it is The Big Easy where the filmtruly breathes as breathtaking. Both Pittand Blanchett are on top of their gamehere. Both savor the emotions of theircharacters so that the audience can actu-ally feel what they are going through.

“The Curious Case of BenjaminButton” is a film not to be missed. It is notonly the best film of this year, but the bestfilm of this decade. If you don’t mind sit-ting through a 170-minute movie, then gosee it. If you want to be transported to aworld so magical and mythical that youcan’t believe what you’re seeing, see itnow. Don’t be surprised to see“Benjamin” be the leader on the BestPicture board for the next Oscar’s.

By Russen VelaTHE PAN AMERICAN

Film bringstears, joy andheartache

By Russen VelaTHE PAN AMERICAN

ARTS & LIFE January 12, 2009

MCALLEN – A committee is scout-ing for designs that will potentially iden-tify the four entrances into the areaknown as the Heart of the City ofMcAllen and the four districts therein.The Gateway Committee will judge theentries and award the victor $5,000 andbragging rights for the new city land-marks. Such gateways can be arches,monuments, or anything the designercan dream up.

The Heart of the City is boxed in by10th Street, Business 83, Main Street,and Pecan, and includes the entertain-ment, historic, arts, and historic retailbusiness districts.

Member Jim Deuser, who spearhead-ed the competition, said that the com-mittee’s job is to make the interior partof the city thrive. He explained thatgateways would improve visitors’ per-ception of McAllen as a destination city.

“At this moment in time, McAllenis a destination city for shopping, med-ical care, some nature activities, andhotels,” Deuser said. “We want tobecome known as a destination city for

entertainment.”The Gateway Committee is com-

prised of The Heart of the City ofMcAllen Improvement Corp. (HOTC)in partnership with the McAllenHistorical Preservation Council,McAllen Arts Council, and the PublicArt Committee. HOTC is a not-for-prof-it organization whose goal is to improve& revitalize the Heart of the City urbancore through privateand public interest.

It is the commit-tee’s intent to distin-guish areas of interestfor people living hereand those who arevisiting.

“Our goal is to identify these districtsso people are driving by and somethingwill hit them in the forehead and theycan say, ‘Wow, we’re here!’” he added.

Aside from the city’s image, business-es in the four districts will also benefit.

Monica Maria Ramirez, owner of thecoffee shop/cultural center ArtExpressions on Main Street, believesthat the gateways will be an importantaddition to the entertainment area.

“A lot of people here still don’t know

that there’s been an ArtWalk for fiveyears,” she said, referring to the month-ly event on Main where over 20 venuesparticipate with open galleries, perform-ances, and vendor tables. The nextArtWalk will take place Feb. 6.

Ramirez hopes that the result of thecompetition will be to bring moretourists and transform the Heart of theCity into something similar to Austin’s

renowned 6th Streetor San Antonio’sown art district.

“We as artistsneed to show peoplethere’s more culturehere than just ashopping place,”

she said. “We’re more than that.”Ramirez stressed the importance of

buying original pieces of artwork andsupporting the artist, as opposed to set-tling for impersonal, mass-produced artfrom stores like Ross.

Isaac Guerra, owner of Españarestaurant and Cine El Rey, agrees withRamirez.

“Plan on buying something at theArtWalk,” Guerra said. “Not only will itenrich your life, but it will enrich the area.”

He recalls growing up in McAllenand not being able to see a concert, art,or much less, displayed art. The ownersaid 20 to 30 years down the line we’llbe able to look back and see that now iswhen it all started.

“We’re at the cusp of a whole gener-ation change,” he promised.

Guerra sees the gateways as a greatway to advertise to a certain district.“It’s always worked out for the best foranyone involved with establishingareas,” he said.

Criteria for proposals include that thedesigns should reflect McAllen as a mod-ern, sophisticated, fun place and that it’salso known as the City of Palms.Gateways should be “buildable” with ananticipated construction budget of$75,000 for entrances into the area and$50,000 for district entrances. Possiblegateways could be archways, monuments,or other creative concepts the designerthinks up as long as they have continuity.

Deadline for entries is 5 p.m. on Feb.13. Finalists will be announced in March.

For more information and for a com-plete list of criteria, contact the Heart ofthe City Improvement Corporation Inc.office at (956) 686-4357.

City runs contest for landmarks� COMMUNITY

By Victor ItuarteTHE PAN AMERICAN

SING IT - Rapper T.I. works the crowd at the Jan. 3 concert held at theMcAllen Convention Center as part of his Paper Trail tour.

� SEEN AND CAPTURED

“We’re at the cusp of awhole generation change.”

Isaac GuerraBusiness owner

“When it rains, I don’t mind beinglonely, I cry right along with the skyWhen it rains, I don’t pretend to be happy,I don’t even have to tryWhen it rains, Some people get down,They’re sporting a frown, so I fit right in.”

These are the words that caused amini-riot at the Las Palmas Racetrackin Mission Jan. 3. Not to be confusedwith material from a tear-filled blog, oran “I hate the world” diary entry, theseare the words to the Eli Young Band’ssong, “When It Rains,” which hasreceived the most play than any othersingle off its first album “Level” sinceits air-wave release.

Boots, beer and buckles were on thescene and Stetson-wearers were out infull force to show support for theDenton-grown band’s first ever concertsouth of Corpus Christi.

“It took us eight years to come downhere” the lead vocalist Mike Eli told thecrowd, causing an uproar of excitement.

And no, Eli Young is not an actualband-member; it’s a combination of lastnames from the two founding members,Mike Eli and James Young, who actual-ly started off as roommates whileattending the University of North Texas.Bassist Jon Jones and drummer ChrisThompson later joined the quartet, com-pleting the band.

The Mission concert was part of LasPalmas Texas Country Live concertseries, which is responsible for havingbrought down such names as KevinFowler, Stoney LaRue and No Justice.The series began in September of lastyear and has plans of bringing downGary Allan in February.

Another song that sparked someinterest was, “It’s Always the LoveSongs.” The finely coifed guys provedthere was much more to them than justpretty faces. The words flowed freelyfrom their mouths with a romantic, yetedgy tone, perfect for the Texas rebeltrying to win a cowgirl’s heart.

The Eli Young Band also playedmore of their recent songs off their latestalbum “Jet Black and Jealous”.

Who knew the Rio Grande Valleyhad such a big country-music following,but then again why not? Some of us canlook out the front window from ourhome and see a horse and goats roamingfree among the pasture.

Oddly enough, rapper T.I. made apre-jail visit to the Valley the same nightas well, attempting to fill a bigger venuelike the McAllen Convention Center.

Country lovers stayed true to theirhearts and though some may have beenconflicted, made the right choice in theend. The Eli Young Band was welcomedwith open arms. We are Texans and dealoccasionally with the cowboy stigmafrom some quarters, but judging fromSaturday’s concert, we carry it proudly.

Eli YoungBand

� CONCERT REVIEW

By Laura GarciaTHE PAN AMERICAN

Ben Briones/THE PAN AMERICANSOUND CHECK - Members of The Child Forgives and Creates testtheir equipment as they gear up to play at the Art Walk.



Dates to Know:Women’s Basketballvs. Texas A&M InternationalWednesday, 7 p.m.UTPA Field House

Men’s and Women’s TennisCollege of SouthwestSaturday Orville Cox Tennis Center

In a time where most peoplerejoice, Rob Hubbard couldn’t helpbut experience mixed emotions dur-ing the holiday season. Hubbardexpressed excitement and eagernessabout his new venture in Marylandbut hovering over his head was thethought of leaving the places he hasmost treasured for more than 30years, The University of Texas-PanAmerican and the Rio GrandeValley.

The former men’s and women’stennis coach resigned in mid-December and left for his newlyacquired head coaching position atThe University of Maryland-Baltimore County after interim ath-letic director Ricky Vaughn offeredhim a one-year, no-raise contract.Hubbard returns to his hometown ofBaltimore but says he is extremelydown about leaving UTPA and histeam behind.

“I’m sad because I’m leaving myalma mater,” said Hubbard, a formerstandout on the Pan AmericanUniversity men’s tennis team from1974 to 1978. “I’ve made some greatfriends down here too so that bothersme. I inherited a program where boththe men and women were a disasterand leave them both extremely

healthy. That was making me sad toobecause they were my second family.

“I felt very attached and it was verydifficult for me to tell them that I hadto leave but I had to take care of myfamily firstand foremost.”

H u b b a r dbecame thethird coach todepart fromthe athleticprogram in2008, joiningformer men’sand women’scross-countryand trackcoach DennisDarling, whoalso resignedin mid-D e c e m b e r ,and formerbaseball coachW i l l i eG a w l i k .Darling’s res-i g n a t i o ncomes after asolid fall season, where the formerOlympian received the Great WestConference Men’s Coach of the Yearaward after the men’s cross-countryteam captured the first-year GWCtitle Nov. 1.

The accolade eclipsed a distressingaccident that occurred in earlySeptember, involving Darling and thewomen’s cross-country team. Theteam was on its way to the Texas StateInvitational when Darling lost controlof a 15-passenger van. According tothe police report, Darling claimed hemay have fallen asleep but laterdenied those statements in an inter-view.

Vaughn says disciplinary actionswere never taken with Darling andnone were going to be implemented.The issue of Darling’s departure alsohad nothing to do with a contract notbeing renewed.

Darling, who was in his secondseason as head coach before hisdeparture, will now join TheUniversity of Texas at Arlingtonmen’s and women’s track and fieldcoaching staff, as an assistant for theMavericks where he will oversee thesprinters. Darling and UTPA willreunite four times this year, begin-ning Friday as the Broncs and LadyBroncs kick off the campaign inHouston at the Leonard HiltonMemorial meet.

“I took the (Arlington) job becauseof the sprint program,” Darling said.“It’s a great sprint program, they havepeople going to nationals every yearand it’s my area of expertise.”

The last weekend of the fall semes-ter sent a shockwave through TheUniversity of Texas-Pan Americantrack and field and tennis teams.

On Dec. 5, after the Green andWhite Inter-squad meet, DennisDarling, the two-year track and fieldcoach, roused mixed emotions fromhis athletes when he announced hisresignation. Darling began holding anassistant coach position at theUniversity of Texas at Arlington Jan. 5.

“I was a little mad at first,” saidCecilia Lott, a junior 200-meter runner.“Then I became sad because he broughtus a long way from where we were andhe also wanted all of us to do well.”

The following night, UTPA alum-nus Rob Hubbard informed the tennisteams of his decision to leave the headcoach position after four years.

“There were a lot of mixed emo-tions around the group,” sophomoreMarcus Dornauf said. “As a team, we

took it pretty well, considering thetiming of it.”

On Dec. 18, Hubbard was official-ly named the men’s and women’s headcoach at the University of MarylandBaltimore County.

Athletes from both teams admitthat their coaches’ resignations, com-ing only a month away from the startthe seasons, took them by surprise.However, they reassure that the moti-vation is still there and they look for-ward to a successful 2009.

Jameson Strachan, a sophomoresprinter, mentioned the challenge ofreturning from the winter break with-out a leader.

“Not having a coach is going to bevery hard to come running the way weleft,” said Strachan, who, like Darling,is from the Bahamas.

Lott assures that the absence ofDarling will have an effect on teammorale, but that the athletes will over-come this feeling and be able to per-form as usual.

“It is going to hurt to finish a race

with a PR (personal record) and notsee him there,” the McAllen nativesaid. “But I think we can continue tostep as we always have.”

Similarly, the men’s and women’stennis crews expressed thatHubbard’s absence will leave anempty spot in practice. But with thesupport of third-year assistant coachOliver Steil, also a UTPA alumnus,they will be the ones responsible forperformance on the court.

“If we stay together as a team andhelp Oli out, we can still make thisseason work,” Dornauf said. “At theend of the day we are the guys outthere swinging the racket around try-ing to win for our team.”

Luisa Cantu stressed that the lead-ership of four juniors - herself, MeganBedeau, Sarah Burton and StephanieWillerding - will be crucial to helpingmake the women’s team succeed.

“We know that it is up to us,” shesaid. “We are going to motivate andshow the freshmen how a dual matchworks and how things are during

season.”Before the arrival of Hubbard as

the head coach in 2004, the UTPA ten-nis program had gone through sixyears of discontinuity during whichfour coaches held this position.

Regarding the possible arrival ofnew head coaches for both sports, ath-letic director Ricky Vaughn thinks thatcarefully electing a potential mentor ismore important than scrambling to fillthe vacancies too quickly.

“Our goal is to make sure that wehire good quality for our students,someone who would help them con-tinue to get better, win and give themthe best opportunities not only in ath-letics, but also in the classroom” hesaid. “We are not going to hire some-one just to fill the spot.”

Athletes feel the same way aboutwaiting for the athletic department tofind the right person to lead theirteams.

“We have to be open to a newcoach, but I feel that we would ratherdo a full initial search to find a coach

rather than just rushing to find one,”Dornauf said.

Although Strachan believes thatreplacing Darling will be difficult, hehopes that the incoming coach will beable to mine the team’s full potential.

“I would expect someone whowould help us strive for the best andhelp us stay focused,” he said.

Activity for the track and fieldteam will begin Friday in Houston atthe Leonard Milton Memorial meetunder the guidance of assistant coach-es Jennifer Leatherman and HugoCervantes.

On Saturday, the Broncs and LadyBroncs will welcome the College of theSouthwest at the Orville Cox TennisCenter to start their spring season.

Even with the pressure both teamswill endure to kick off the year, theathletes remain hopeful and focusedon making it a successful one.

“I believe we can continue to run,focus well, bring home PRs and hope-fully something that says conferencechamps,” Lott concluded.

� ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT

Darling, Hubbard resign from head coach position

By Sara HernandezTHE PAN AMERICAN

� IN THE LOCKER ROOM

Athletes speak out over resignation of former head coaches

By Ramiro PaezTHE PAN AMERICAN

Dennis Darling Former track coach

Rob HubbardFormer tennis coach

SEE RESIGNATION || PAGE 14

Darling started his career with The University of Texas-Pan American in 2006 as theassistant coach for the men’s and women's track and field program and was promotedwithin a year to the head coach position, which he held for two years.

As an assistant coach, he helped with the sprinters where he was asset in theUH/RunSport All-Comers meet where 23 records were broken for the Broncs and LadyBroncs. With Darling's guidance, senior Vanessa Brown was able to break her ownrecord in the 400-meter dash twice in one season. Darling also assisted in the progressof Ashlon Martin where she received her first outdoor title in the 400-meter dash at theBorder Olympics.

The following year as head coach, Darling produced an All-American out of highjumper Will Littleton for Littleton's third title. Darling finished his inaugural season ashead coach with two regional qualifiers, one in distance runner J.J. Hernandez and theother in discus thrower Stephanie Perez.

In his last year as head coach, he recieved the Great West Conference men’s Coachof the Year award. As well, the men’s cross-country captured the Great WestConference Championships crown.

Dennis Darling

Men’s and Women’s Track and Field

Assistant coach - 2006Head coach - 2007-2008

Rob Hubbard

Men’s and Women’s Tennis

Head coach - 2005-2008

Hubbard spent four seasons at the helm of the men’s and women’s tennis program.In the 2007-08 season he led the Lady Broncs to a 17-8 record, one of the best cam-

paigns in school history. Various members of the team were honored with multiple awards.Two members of his men’s tennis team, Marcus Dornauf and Brett Bernstein,

received Aeropostale Southland Conference Player of the Week honors and AswinVijayaragavan and Marcus Dornauf earned All-Southland Conference Second Teamlaurels. Silke Buksik, Megan Bedeau and Luisa Cantu all received First Team All-Independent Singles and Doubles Team with Julie Cirne-Lima and StephanieWillerding receiving First Team All-Independent Doubles Team and Second Team All-Independent Singles Team. Buksik also received UTPA Female Athlete of the Year forher outstanding season with a 19-3 record in singles.

The women’s team earned a spot on the 2008 Women’s Division I Final RegionalRankings in 15th place.

In the same season Hubbard was awarded the Independent Coach of the year.

HUBBARD SPEAKS Hubbard was in his third season as

head coach for the men’s and women’stennis team after arriving at UTPA inthe fall of 2005. In the recent years be-fore his arrival, the tennis teams hadnot experienced much success, losingcredibility from the name the sport hadbuilt for itself during a long and suc-cessful run from the late 1950s into the1970s.

Hubbard, with a determined de-meanor, did not want to settle for medi-ocrity or anything less and launched hisvision of restoring credibility withinthe program.

And he did just that.That year the men finished with a

7-14 record, the most victoriesrecorded over thelast five seasons.Last season, Hub-bard helped theBroncs jump twospots in the SouthCentral Regionrankings to 12. Itwas the fifth time inseven seasons thatthe Broncs had ob-tained a regionalranking.

But perhaps thebiggest achievementcame on the women’s side last season.The Lady Broncs ended the year with a17-8 record, with all games against Di-

vision I opponents, and finished 15thin the 2008 Women’s Division I finalregional rankings, making them thebest squad in program history.

Hubbard’s job seemed to be intactafter vast improvement since 2005 buthe was not awarded a multi-year con-tract by the athletic department, some-thing he felt he had earned. This causedhim to resign.

“Nobody’s perfect in what they’redoing, but no one can doubt that PanAm is in my heart and that I am veryproud to be at my alma mater, andthat I was successful in rebuilding theprogram to what it was,” Hubbardsaid. “…I felt that I had earned athree-year contract. I know that othercoaches have been signed to multi-

year deals; I guessthe question is,Why wasn’t I?That certainlyweighed in mymind whenUMBC, made thephone call andasked for my re-sume.”

So why wasn’the?

“We deal witheach (coach) on anindividual basis,”

Vaughn said. “I’m not going to makeany comments about anybody’s con-tract because I think that’s a private and

business decision between the admin-istration and the coaches. We’re goingto make the best decisions as an ad-ministration that we see needs to bemade.”

Hubbard replaces Keith Puryear atUMBC, who coached 19 seasons forthe Retrievers. Puryear, a long-timefriend of Hubbard’s, will take over du-ties with the Navy women’s tennisteam. UMBC, close to his originalhome, offered Hubbard a long-termdeal and after UTPA did not counterwith a better offer, he had no choice butto resign.

“The opportunity presented byUMBC is an excellent one,” Hubbardsaid. “It’s a chance to continue the kindof work that I am doing now. I’m notinheriting a program that was in theshape that I had inherited at Pan Am,but yet they’re on a path of where Iwanted to go with the men’s andwomen’s program here and that’s backinto the national rankings.”

Hubbard says he leaves UTPA witha heavy heart and will always remem-ber the only other home he’s everknown.

“I love the Valley, it’s sad,” hestressed. “I certainly love the greatweather. Those things run through mymind but first and foremost the teamand kids that I brought here. They’re agreat bunch of kids and I’ll miss themterribly. That’s the thing that has beengnawing at me the most.”

SPORTS January 12, 2009

“Nobody’s perfect in whatthey’re doing, but no one candoubt that Pan Am is in myheart and that I am veryproud to be at my alma mater,and that I was successful inrebuilding the program towhat it was.”

Rob HubbardFormer tennis coach

RESIGNATION continued from Page 13

The 2009 class of inductees includes:

� Abe Lemons - The program’s all-time leader in winning percentage with .775, the formerhead men’s basketball coach never had a losing season at UTPA.

� Jim McGurk - Helped guide the Broncs to the 1963 NAIA National Championship andcapture the title of national champions. Finished his career with 1,281 points where he is currentlyranked 10th in the record books, third in the record books in rebounds with 948, eighth in field-goals made (514) and 10th in free-throw made with 253.

� Ken Lang - In 1963, Lang earned NAIA Singles National Champion, NAIA Doubles Na-tional Champion along with teammate John Hunter, and was named NAIA First Team All-Americanin singles and doubles.

� George Kon - Was the 1965 NAIA Singles National Champion. Helped guide the ’65men’s tennis team to an NAIA National Championship title. During his tenure with the Broncs, Konwas also named NAIA First Team All-American.

� Delilah Johnson - Two-time All-American in the women’s discus, holds three number-onerecords in the books and a number-five record in the books. Accumulated 13 titles with two titlesduring the indoor season with one Sun Belt Conference championship title in the shotput and an-other in the American South Conference. During the outdoor season, earned 11 titles and was alsoan NCAA National Qualifier. Earned two Sun Belt Conference Championship titles in discus, twoin javelin and three in shotput. In the American South Conference, earned another title in shotput,two in discus and one in the javelin.

� James Tyrone - Currently holds the number-three spot in the record books in batting averagewith a .363 and the number-six spot in stolen bases with 71. James was also a part of the 1971 CollegeWorld Series team where he was named an All-American, for the second consecutive season.

� Wayne Tyrone - Lettered during the 1971 and 1972 seasons. Signed a professional base-ball contract with the Cubs in 1976 after his two years with the Broncs.

� Leonard Tyrone - Ranked fifth in runs scored (141) and stolen bases (79), seventh in bat-ting average (.387) and eighth in games played (182).

� Jim McKone - Spent 30 years as the Sports Information Director and received the CoSidaLifetime Achievement Award in 1999 for all his efforts with the UTPA Sports Information office.McKone was also the past president of the National Baseball Writers Association from 1980-81.

� Lupe Garcia - Served as equipment manager and a bus driver for all athletic sports duringhis tenure of 35 years with the UTPA athletic department.

� The 1971 College World Series baseball team.

The UTPA Athletics Hall of Fame will be held on Feb. 21, 2009. For more informa-tion, contact the UTPA Department of Intercollegiate Athletics at (956) 381-2221.

It was game night for TheUniversity of Texas-Pan Americanmen’s basketball team. Spirits werehigh when the Broncs faced a show-down with rival University of TexasSan Antonio, which had gained a winin their last meeting in January 2008.

The warm Dec. 18 night broughtshirtless fans from the rival schoolwho cheered, insulted and gave hell inthe front row of the UTPA FieldHouse. But it turned out not to betheir night.

The Broncs, coming off a longroad campaign that started in lateNovember, showed no signs offatigue and looked determined tochalk up one in the win column.Shoes screeched on the hardwood assweat rolled down the faces of thefive men on the front lines – amemento to their hard play.

The Field House, although notpacked, was still filled with energy.The game didn’t end up on any ESPNhighlight reels, but a few times, seniorforward Emmanuel Jones put moveson his opposition that would makeanyone weak at the knees.

Those obnoxious UTSA fans justdidn’t get it; they couldn’t stop him,not tonight. An “alley-oop” late in thesecond half, where Jones got enoughair to declare him in a state of sus-pended animation, gave merit to thatstatement.

Jones posted 24 points on the visi-tors (going 12 of 17 from the field)along with nine rebounds and fourblocks, all while making it look oh, soeasy. The support-ing cast played welltoo, as teammatesNick Weiermillerand NathanHawkins added 11points (15 assists)and 15 points,respectively.

The game wentdown to the wirewith the teamsmatching each otherblow for blow. After10 lead changes and a hard-fought bat-tle, the game was capped at 74-72 whenUTSA missed a prayer of a shot and theopportunity to win as the last secondsticked off the clock.

The reactions of the crowd and play-ers said it all – this was a big victory.

After the win, Jones emerged fromthe locker room. The guy looked tired.Nevertheless, he had a small spring inhis step, and why not? The Broncs hadjust beaten a regional rival.

“It feels good. It feels real good,”Jones said. “To play, to come backhome knowing we had San Antonio,we knew it was going to be a livecrowd, and to come back home andget this win, it feels real good.”

Looking relieved, drenched withsweat and proud of his troops, headcoach Tom Schuberth had a quiet sat-

isfaction about him. Pleased with histeam’s efforts, his demeanor wascalm, far removed from his alter ego,which is much more high-strung onthe court.

“I don’t think we could haveplayed much better under the circum-stances,” Schuberth said. “We wereshorthanded with our players and ourguys just responded and our intensitylevel was good and then we gotbreaks down the stretch and some-times you need those. It’s alwaysgood to win games, it’s even extraspecial when you beat a rival and thenthat’s the fourth time in a row we beatthem, so that puts a little icing on thecake.”

The Broncs and Roadrunners willface off again Jan. 21 in San Antonio,where the Broncs will try to pick uptheir third road win of the season.

HUSTON-TILLOTSONBurned into the hot bulbs on the

scoreboard were the numbers 88 and84, but for those who were payingattention, it might as well have read,“narrow escape.” With time expiredand the stands mostly emptied, theUniversity of Texas-Pan Americanbasketball team breathed a sigh ofrelief – no longer threatened by acharging Huston-Tillotson Universityteam, having just edged them out inwhat might be summed up for theBroncs as a lackluster performance.

The Jan. 5 meeting between thetwo teams wasn’t nearly as highlyanticipated as other games, didn’thave the panache and didn’t draw abig crowd, but it certainly provided abit of a scare and perhaps foreshad-

owed things tocome. The Broncs,who were up by 16with 8:38 left in thesecond half, cruisedthrough most of theclosing minuteswith the lead.

That was, untilthe visitors foundthe spark they hadearly on, going onan 8-0 run and forc-ing the Broncs’

hand. Several times early, standoutsenior forward Emmanuel Jones, whofinished the game with 28 points, wason the bench, looking frustrated.

“I knew that I started off not ready- unprepared,” said Jones. “We gotway too comfortable at the end.”

Head coach Tom Schuberth could-n’t disagree.

“The team that played the hardestand played the best didn’t wintonight.” Schuberth said. “We werenot entertaining and fun to watchtonight. If I was a fan I would haveasked for my money back.”

ANOTHER TRYTwo days later the UTPA Field

House is quiet. The last few fanstrickle out as one by one the playersmake their way from the locker room

bruised and beaten, having just suf-fered a tough 76-51 loss to theUniversity of Texas at Arlington.

The Broncs (5-10 and 2-4 since Dec.13) have seen the back roads this sea-son, but after starting 3-0 at home,including a 74-72 win over rival UTSA,this one will be tough to swallow.

There really was no place likehome for the boys in green and white.Jones, who had been Superman at theField House, must have found somekryptonite in that UTA team.

And it wasn’t just him; the wholeteam seemed rattled. Schuberth knewthis would be no cakewalk. But he,like all Bronc fans, expected more.

“I thought that we would comeout and play with a lot of fire,”Schuberth said. “But the bottom lineis, you have to make plays at theright times and we knew there’d be agame of runs, and we just didn’t stoptheir big runs.”

The Broncs will be on the road toredemption, as they will play theirnext three games away, before return-ing home to try and regain the magicthey had found prior to their loss toUTA. They face North CarolinaCentral, UTSA, and Auburn beforereturning to Edinburg to take onSavannah State March 2.

Broncs suffer setback against UT-Arlington, drop to 5-10SPORTS January 12, 2009

� MEN’S BASKETBALL


PROTECTING THE HOME FRONT - Senior forward Emmanuel Jones rebounds the ball during theBroncs’ latest home game Jan. 7 against the UTA Mavericks, where they suffered their first defeat at home76-51. Jones averages 8.4 rebounds per game with a total of 126 rebounds this season.

By Kevin StichTHE PAN AMERICAN

“It’s always good to wingames, it’s even extra specialwhen you beat a rival andthen that’s the fourth time ina row we beat them, so thatputs a little icing on thecake.”

Tom SchuberthMen’s basketball coach

Game ScoresMen’s

Drake TournamentDec. 5 Drake University Des Moines, IA L, 59-57Dec. 7 North Carolina Central Des Moines, IA W, 56-50

Dec. 13 Air Force Colorado Springs, CO L, 71-50Dec. 18 Texas-San Antonio UTPA Field House W, 74-72

Southern Mississippi TournamentDec. 22 Weber State Biloxi, MS L, 61-54

Jan. 2 UTEP El Paso L, 60-42Jan. 5 Huston-Tillotson UTPA Field House W, 88-84Jan. 7 Texas-Arlington UTPA Field House L, 76-51

Women’sAir Force Classic

Dec. 5 Miami-Ohio USAFA, CO L, 66-44Dec. 6 North Carolina Central USAFA, CO L, 62-57

Dec. 13 Texas A&M Corpus Christi UTPA Field House W, 56-53Dec. 16 Baylor Waco L, 73-27Dec. 18 Texas Southern Houston W, 47-38Dec. 20 Schreiner UTPA Field House W, 73-36

Battle at the BorderDec. 28 Albany UTPA Field House W, 54-49Dec. 29 Troy UTPA Field House L, 54-39

Dec. 31 Central Arkansas UTPA Field House L, 56-53Jan. 3 Oklahoma State Stillwater, OK L, 85-36Jan. 10 Utah Valley UTPA Field House W, 57-56

� WOMEN’S BASKETBALL


Roxy Solis/THE PAN AMERICAN

Sports Commentary

Everythingfor the love ofthe gameBy Gregorio GarzaTHE PAN AMERICAN

Sports, in its many forms, havebeen integrated into the various levelsof our society, from our speech to mar-kets and even our values.

We have Little League, plus sportprograms in middle school and highschool. There are intramural teams incolleges and scholarships for thosethat have that special touch of athleti-cism. There are semi-pro leagues andpro leagues. Some companies supporttheir own sport programs.

There can be no doubt that as a cul-ture, we are based around sports. Thevery values that we are taught are man-ifest in sports: drive, humility, sports-manship, cooperation and tenacity.

The feeling of playing sports issomething just about everyone canrelate to. Whether it was in elemen-tary, picking kickball teams, beingpicked first or being picked last, or thefeeling of making the last score of agame for the win. The feelings thatsports give us teach us more than werealize.

The win we achieve makes us feelgreat and makes us want to experiencethat feeling again, teaching us driveand the ability to make goals andachieve. Then there are thosemoments in sports where we aretaught humility after a loss.

The spectators themselves areinvolved in the game and the momen-tum of it. The roar of the crowd after agreat play inspires the players, just aspeople leaving early after their team ison the receiving end of a beating, justto avoid the traffic, can demoralizethem. The spectators control the moodand they know it. People dress up inall manners of clothing, and some-times without certain clothing, wear-ing paint of their team’s colors, weath-er be damned.

Whether watching from the com-fort of the home or hanging withfriends in the local pub, was peoplegather together they are united withunseen bonds as they cheer for theirteam.

The feelings and memories thatsports give us are not to be taken light-ly. As the world ages and civilizationsrise and fall, one thing that has stayedthe same is the love for competition.And as the new year starts, one canonly look forward to what experiencesand memories we will share with eachother, spectator and athlete alike.

When November rolled around, TheUniversity of Texas-Pan Americanwomen’s basketball team started itscampaign with a lot of questions lin-gering around the program.

For instance, how were they goingto fill the perimeter spots that had somuch depth last year, and how was ayoung team going to step up and play?Also, who was going to fill the pointguard position from which the depart-ed LeKeisha Gray led the LadyBroncs to many victories?

With two-thirds of the season inthe books now, and a 9-8 record,many of those questions have beenanswered in a convincing way bythis year’s squad.

“We’re just thrilled we’ve beenable to see some victories whilewe’re grooming this team,” sixth-year head coach DeAnn Craft said.

Craft also said she is satisfiedwith the leadership that has emergedfrom the backcourt especially withthe graduation of four perimeterplayers. She knows it’s always a bigtest to see who is going to step upand take control of those particularpositions.

Two players who have taken it areArkansas freshman Epiphany Smithand senior Houston native Teshay

Winfrey.“We knew she (Smith) was good

because she had great success at thehigh school level,” Craft said. “Butto be able to see that translated intothe enormous responsibility of whatthat position (point guard) means,the maturity level in which sheplays, I pinch myself because I can’tbelieve she’s ours for three moreyears.”

Smith is shooting 32.8 percent infield goals and30.9 from three-point range, with66 assists. Sheseems to under-stand the pressureand the responsi-bility that comewith the positionand is contentwith her status asa Lady Bronc.She stepped upwith 14 pointsand six assists asthe team defeated Utah Valley State57-56 Saturday night at home.

“It makes me feel good to be aleader as a freshman,” Smith said.“It’s a lot more pressure being at theone spot than it has ever been for me,sometimes I handle it good and othertimes I don’t think I do such a goodjob.”

Winfrey relates that Smith and theother young players are playinggreat because at this point in the sea-son the Lady Broncs still have achance to have their best record ever.They won 14 games in the 2004-05campaign.

“I think the younger players aredoing well this year,” said Winfrey,who leads the team in scoring at 11.5points per game. “She (Smith) camein playing a point guard, the hardest

position on thefloor. I think all thefreshmen are doinggreat this year.”

Winfrey also saidthat this year shethinks they have abetter chance to winthe Independenttournament becausethey’re playingmore like a teamand the young play-ers are playing welltoo.

“I think this year we’re moremotivated because we definitelyhave something to go for,” Winfreysaid. “I’m not saying we didn’t (havethe motivation) last year but thisyear it’s still possible for us breakthe season record and to win theIndependents.”

Performance-wise, the Lady

Broncs are almost where they needto be to succeed in the last third ofthe season. Their assist-to-turnoverratio is the best it’s ever been, defen-sively they’re hovering in the top 50in the country, allowing 56.3 pointsper game. But where they are lack-ing right now is in shooting the ball.

“The area we’re obviously work-ing on, and our kids are giving useverything they have, is the fact thatwe’re still not shooting the ballwell,” Craft said. As team the LadyBroncs are shooting 36.7 percentfrom the field, compared to 39.3 fortheir opponents.

Ultimately though Craft wants theLady Broncs be a team that can winon the road; UTPA is 3-6 on the roadand the upcoming teams are going tobe more physical than they’veplayed this year.

The Lady Broncs defend theUTPA Field House on Jan. 14, Jan.17 and Jan. 19 against Texas A&MInternational, Cal State Bakersfieldand Houston Baptist respectively.All three games tip off at 7 p.m.

“It’s going to be real interesting tosee, in these next 13 games if ourwill is imposed on who we’re play-ing or if their will is imposed on us,”Craft said. “These are going to bevery difficult games for us becausewe’re not a physical team.”

“It’s going to be real interest-ing to see, in these next 13games if our will is imposedon who we’re playing or iftheir will is imposed on us.These are going to be verydifficult games for us becausewe’re not a physical team.”

DeAnn CraftWomen’s basketball coach

By Pedro Perez IVTHE PAN AMERICAN

EPIPHANY SMITH

january 12, 2009

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