march 4, 2010
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Vol. 66 No. 20TRANSCRIPT
AUSTIN - The University of Texas System Board of Regents unanimously approved a tuition-and-fee hike for students during a Special Called meeting yesterday afternoon. Tuition will increase by the maximum amount allowed by the Legislature of $140 for each of the next two academic years, which equates
to roughly fi ve percent each year.UTPA President Robert Nelsen
and student government President Raghuveer Puttagunta presented the Regents with a signifi cant and dynamic revenue problem. Nelsen addressed potential losses in funding that may total $21.1 million in the next biennium budget, while Puttagunta called for greater legislative support.
“The nominal increase in tuition doesn’t truly make a dent in the total revenue defi cit at UTPA,” Puttagunta said, explaining to the Regents about
how the increase affects the university’s budget woes. “We are trying to be lean, but the state must assist in higher education. The legislature must hold fast to its responsibilities, and just as much as revenue relies on student and the
legislature, it is your responsibility as Regents to facilitate the process.”
The outgoing student government president was backed up by Regent Karim Meijer, who said the state Legislature is not keeping up with its obligations; he urged stronger involvement in the legislative process.
“When we fall short in appropriations, we owe it to our state legislature to get them up to speed,” Meijar said. Several Regents nodded
in agreement with his statement.Puttagunta mentioned during his
remarks that the proposal was met with some resistance from students. He was the only student government president out of all institutions to mention resistance to tuition and fee increases. In a Cost of Education Committee report, 83 percent of 52 comments disagreed with the proposal.
Most universities requested near
THE PAN AMERICANVolume 66, No. 20 March 4, 2010
Pell Grant recipients prepare for banner year of fi nancial aid
President Nelsen informs Regents of complex problems ahead
SEE TUITION || PAGE 6
Regents approve tuition-and-fee hike
Page 2 - Big business might have packed their bags, but they never left
Page 3 - Jobs after graduation becoming scarce
Page 11 - Holiday gift guide Page 14 - Q&A with volleyball player Rebecca Toddy
PLIGHT TO PILLAR - A water tower belonging to Phi Kappa Theta stands at the corner of Sugar and Van Week. Omega Delta Phi, Phi Kappa Theta and Sigma Lambda Beta recently repainted their water towers after a sud-den graffi ti outbreak.
Tower vandalism baffles UTPA police
By Brian SilvaThe Pan American
By Sonia LeijaThe Pan American
The real theory of 2012 Small Business Development Center receives accreditation
Steel Train: Next stop McAllen Bronc baseball builds foundation
Watch the Alejandra Guzman “Unico” video
Campus water towers are usually colorful displays of sorority and fraternity pride, but recently a few of them were vandalized, with the feeling of school unity replaced by a sense of vulnerability.
Members of Omega Delta Phi fraternity reported the graffi ti to the Offi ce of Student Development Feb. 12.
“When I found out, I couldn’t believe we got tagged again. I was upset, it takes time to decorate a tower and some are more elaborate that ours,” said Michael Jacquez, president of Omega Delta Phi. “And for someone to just draw something obscene as a penis on the towers shows their maturity level.”
Greek organizations apply annually
at The Offi ce of Student Development to gain rights to one of the six towers on campus for a period of one year. The three towers belonging to Omega Delta Phi, Phi Kappa Theta, and Sigma Lambda Beta were quickly repainted after the graffi ti outbreak.
According to Jacquez, although Omega Delta Phi’s tower had technically been reassigned after the year was up, it still had the fraternity’s mark. The towers are a representation of pride and for this reason Omega Delta Phi covered the graffi ti immediately until the next organization, Baptist Student Ministries, was able to repaint the tower with its design.
Campus police made a report of the incident, but there have so far been no
SEE GRAFFITI || PAGE 6
SEE PELL GRANT || PAGE 6
Alma Hernandez /THE PAN AMERICAN
By Erin MenendezThe Pan American
Though these might be trying economic times, a certain group of students has gotten some good news recently. Students currently receiving the Federal Pell Grant during the 2009-2010 school year also qualify for the grant during the summer, which wasn’t always the case.
The Federal Pell Grant is
for students who meet certain qualifi cations, determined by the Department of Education using the expected family contribution upon completion of the FAFSA. The grants received by students do not need to be paid back. Only undergraduate students can receive the Pell Grant.
The Federal Pell Grant is unlike state grants in that, though the funds might differ from year to year, every student that qualifi es will receive it.
Students receiving state grants must apply as soon as possible, because the grants are usually on a fi rst-come, fi rst-serve basis.
Before the legislation passed, students who qualifi ed for the maximum Pell Grant that were enrolled full-time in a fall session and three-quarters in the spring session, could receive the remaining quarter of their award money and use it for the summer sessions. However,
those students who used up all their Pell Grant money by enrolling full-time both fall and spring semesters, wouldn’t have any money left for summer sessions.
According to the new legislation passed under the Department of Education’s Higher Education Opportunity Act, the Federal Pell Grant has been extended to the Year-Round program, which means for students taking 12 hours in the
summer of 2010, can get up to $2,675. “If a student is going to summer
school full-time, they can get up to two years worth of the Pell Grant,” said Elaine Rivera, director for Financial Services at UTPA. “Before, students only received a year’s portion of the grant, leaving no money for the summer, but now with this new legislation, they receive it for the summer as well.”
Robert Nelsen
The world is coming to an end. Dive into your bomb shelters, stock up on all the canned food you can get your hands on, leave large cities, and seclude yourself into the middle of nowhere to ride out until 2012.
Or you could go about your lives in normalcy, or in whatever sense the word ‘normal’ applies. Because in my opinion the world will not end Dec. 21, 2012, it will end a long, long time from now when the world least expects it and I am long gone.
The recent earthquakes in Haiti, Chile and Taiwan (as of this morning) have stirred up discussions of ‘Judgment Day’, ‘The End,’ and ‘2012’. But from what I know about history, earthquakes are called a natural disaster for a reason. It’s not like it’s the first time there has been one earthquake close to another.
In the 1970s there were seven earthquakes throughout the decade, two each in 1970 and 1976. These where also in separate parts of the world ranging from South American to the Middle East to China.
The 2012 hype has also been exaggerated lately by pessimist/director Roland Emmerich, who is responsible for such doomsday films as “Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” and the recent instigator, “2012.”
The recent movie bases its ‘end of the world’ theme on the Mayan belief that history consists of five ages with each age ending in disaster. According to the Maya we are currently in the fifth and final year of their calendar and the last day is 12/21/2012, when the world will supposedly end due to disastrous earthquakes.
Doomsday theorists are responsible for countless Internet rumors, books, and videos, all saying 2012 is the day for humankind.
And surprisingly a lot of people are taking things way seriously. A Belgian man quit his job and is currently in the midst of several vacations he’s planned, before the world implodes. His advice for everyone is to do the same.
The Mayan theory isn’t the only one circulating; there are also Biblical theories and references to natural disasters, particularly earthquakes, which are getting people in a tizzy. But if you want to believe 2012 in a biblical sense, than remember Matthew 24:36: “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”
And I’m pretty sure that God didn’t let the Mayans in on the big secret, with all their polytheistic human sacrifices and such.
But for me, I am fully expecting Dec. 21, 2012 to come…as well as Dec. 22 and the 23rd and to keep going and going. The hoopla about it is getting kind of annoying; I’m getting
annoyed just by writing this. But this isn’t the first time an apocalyptic phenomenon has been predicted. In the wake of the new millennium, Y2K was all the rage, and in the year 999 it was believed by many that Jesus Christ would return for Judgment Day in 1000 A.D., which obviously didn’t happen.
So for most reasonable people it comes down to what you believe. I believe it will be a very long time till the world is offed by our Creator. Some believe aliens will appear one day and save a few from our dying planet, others believe man will just keeping going and going until we can’t go anymore.
But all I know is 2012 might be perfect for our economy right now. I predict a rather large spike in consumer activity due to ferocious last-minute spending, especially around Christmas time. Or who knows, desperation shopping might just be a huge overstatement (and que R.E.M.).
Illustrated Commentary
March 4, 2010 2
Anthony Salinas / The Pan American
Kristen CabreraOnline Editor
Hey, it’s not the end of the world
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March 4 , 2010
Vol 66, No. 20
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onlinE Editor
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sports Editor
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Commentary
The bell rings, school’s out, and now it’s time for the teacher to become the student and he’s had plenty of practice at it through the years.
Christopher Girman, 36, is a seventh-grade Texas history teacher in his last semester of obtaining a Master’s of Fine Arts in creative writing (non-fiction) degree at The University of Texas-Pan American.
Originally from Florida, where he graduated as valedictorian of his senior class, Girman went to Washington, D.C. to receive his undergraduate degree in international affairs in 1995. He then moved to Austin to study and earn a law degree from The University of Texas in 1999. For the next five years, Girman practiced immigration
law in the Rio Grande Valley. He then decided to go back to “school” by becoming a teacher while attending UTPA as a graduate student.
One may ask, “Why would a person with so much education already, want to go back to school for another degree?” Girman said, “It’s because I have lack of responsibility, but in a good way.”
He explains that since he has no commitments or owes anyone anything, he is able to pursue a love for learning.
“It is addicting for me when I pick up a scholarly article because I cannot put it down until I have read the whole thing,” Girman noted.
He enjoys learning new concepts and ideas and feels that if he stays in one profession too long, he will miss the opportunity to explore his potential.
March 4, 2010 3
SEE GIRMAN || PAGE 7
Small business expects boost from center trainingBy Naxiely LopezThe Pan American
By Pamela GarzaThe Pan American
By Roxann GarciaThe Pan American
Micro-entrepreneurs to train with Latina HOPE
SEE AccreditAtion || PAGE 7
Floridian Girman fills dual educational role
SEE HoPe || PAGE 7
“I probably could’ve saved
myself some suffering had
I known about this center
earlier.”
Jessica RodriguezFormer UTPA student
The Small Business Development Center at the University of Texas Pan American has one goal – to help make sure all small businesses succeed, and according to the Association of Small Business Development Centers, the national accrediting body to which the center answers to every four years, it’s doing just that.
The UTPA SBDC, which offers free and confidential one-to-one counseling services to existing and prospective business owners, was
officially awarded full accreditation in January after being rigorously reviewed.
The center, which opened its doors in 1986 and is now one of approximately 1,000 centers in the United States, goes through this process every four years.
SBDC Program Director Maria D. Juarez says that this accreditation ensures that public investment in the program, which includes monies from federal and state government, as well as from the host institution, in this case UTPA, will result in strong returns for the Texas economy.
“Accreditation of the UTPA SBDC means that our community and students get consistently great business development services, as well as a return on the investment by the State,” she said.
Juarez, who started working with the center as a business development adviser in November 2002, has been the program director since April 2005.
The center advises anyone who has a business or wishes to start one. The staff counsels small business owners on different areas including finance, marketing, accounting, human resources, and research.
Juarez says the group averages about 20 seminars per month on topics such as tax issues, procurement, international trade and legal advice. She adds they help answer all types of questions ranging from “How to start?” to “Where do I go from here?”
The center is open to the general public and members encourage any student or person who is interested in starting a business to pay them a visit.
Former UTPA student Jessica Rodriguez, 24, started her own candy bouquet business last July. The owner
Alma Hernandez /The Pan american
HeALinG Front - Priscilla Lugo paints a mask as part of the Counseling and Psychological Services “Mask Project” on Tuesday. The purpose of this project is to provide a creative outlet for grief, depression and healing. The masks will be on exhibit in the Student Union Commons through March 5.
Latina Hope Training SessionsMarch
9, 10, 11
March23, 24, 25
Arise- Muniz3917 Jam Square
Edinburg, TX
Arise- Support Center1417 S. Tower Rd.
Alamo, TX
10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Arise- Las Milpas125 E. Denny
Pharr, TX
In a world where ideas drive economies, it is no wonder that innovation and entrepreneurship are often seen as inseparable factors. And the university is doing its part to help local businesspeople take ideas into action.
Latina HOPE is a micro-entrepreneurial program formulated in November 2009. It began as a cooperative effort among various entities such as the McAllen Chamber of Commerce, United Way, Wells Fargo Bank, and the UTPA Small Business Development Center (SBDC), in the quest to increase the success rate of micro-entrepreneurs in Hidalgo County.
Micro-enterprise is a type of small-scale industry/enterprise wherein the value of a fixed asset
is less than $10,000 and number of employees is limited to 10. The entrepreneur is mainly interested in a short-term exploitation of an opportunity for quick implementation of a project based on innovative ideas.
Each entity involved in the program has different responsibilities; however, the business training and counseling, information on registration licensing and permits, and the business planning components of this program are all provided by the UTPA Small Business Development Center.
Wells Fargo provides the grants and submits business plans. The United Way helps the participants with individual and target marketing while also coordinating funding. The McAllen Chamber
SEEN & CAPTURED
Advertisements March 4, 2010Page 4
Advertisements Page 5March 4, 2010
News March 4, 2010Page 6
TuiTioncontinued from Page 1
Pell GranTcontinued from Page 1
GraffiTicontinued from Page 1
leads in the investigation. However, the fraternities have requested additional patrols in an effort to deter future incidents.
“My chapter was extremely upset, we wanted more done than just a report, but that’s all we could do,” said Jacques, who also serves as the frat chaplain. “Getting hit once is a slap in the face, twice is like getting kicked when you’re down.”
Carina Alcantera, coordinator of Student Development for the past three years, said there have been prior incidents but that no one has been apprehended.
“The reason people are not caught is because there are no cameras on the towers,” said Alcantera, who graduated from UTPA with a degree in communication. “Whoever is vandalizing is probably doing it really late at night or very early in the morning.”
However, previous graffiti and the most recent incident share a common link; they all happened near streets, as it appears the person or persons tagging
are avoiding venturing too far onto the university campus.
According to Alcantera, lighting is a contributing factor to not only vandalism, but also other types of crimes such as assaults.
“Lights on campus could and should be brighter,” she noted. “It’s always been a concern for me since I was a student, I feel the lights are too yellow and they don’t brighten the campus. I feel brighter white lights would make campus parking lots, walking areas, and covered walk ways more visible.”
In agreement, Jacques said, “Just like a house being well lit detours any trespasser, it should do the same for the university because trespassers would be easier to see.”
However, he points out the tower on Sugar and Schunior is busy at all hours and yet was still targeted.
With no simple solution, students hope for the best with increased patrol in the area.
Anyone with information is asked to make a report with campus police as this is an ongoing investigation.
For the 2009-2010 school year, the maximum money awarded to students at UTPA is $5,350, an increase of about $800 from last year. Over 10,000 students attending UTPA currently receive the Pell Grant.
“A student can receive about 150 percent more of the Pell Grant with this new bill,“ said Jael Garcia, assistant director of Student Financial Services. “But that’s only if they enroll 6 hours during the summer and if they were full-time students in the fall and spring.”
Before the legislation passed under HEOA in May 2009, students attending full-time could only receive money for the fall and spring of their award year. But now, President Barack
Obama proposed the legislation during his campaign to help the students continue their college education.
The HEOA states “students may receive up to two consecutive Federal Pell Grant Scheduled Awards during a single award year.”
“The eligibility for a student will not change,” Garcia said. “But the award money varies and depends on their eligibility determined according to the FAFSA.”
Rivera said that the program has no qualifications or application processes, so any student that currently qualifies for the grant will receive it during the summer session.
Next year, however, will be a
little different.“For the 2011 summer session,
the student must complete 24 credit hours in the fall and spring sessions in order to qualify for the grant,” Rivera explains. “ Students will be notified during the fall semester to avoid confusion.”
Rivera also said if students need any additional aid, they should visit the financial Web site to request other forms of additional aid at utpa.edu/finaid, or askrio.utpa.edu.
“For this summer it will be easier to receive the Pell Grant,” Rivera said. “But next summer, the process might be different.”
To register for the summer sessions, students should notify their advisors.
the maximum amount allowed by the Legislature. Some asked for increases over limit via student referendums, which is the only way to break the Legislature’s cap. A few years ago UTPA used a referendum to go over the cap, however, the Regents denied the larger increase.
In response to affordability concerns from UTPA, UT-Brownsville and UT-El Paso, Regents Chairman Colleen McHugh, appointed chair in the same meeting, acknowledged the burden on students.
“It’s never easy raising tuition,” she said, referring to impact on students.
Also responding to the issue was David Prior, System’s vice chancellor of academic affairs, who said the presidents repeated several themes during their presentations.
“The prime theme we heard is to keep our institutions affordable,” Prior said. “The presidents are devoted to keeping up the quality of our institutions.”
Nelsen said in comments after the meeting that the bump in
funding from the increase will not act as much of a cushion to the 5 percent state-mandated budget cut. Nelsen, who was joined in the meeting by all System-institution presidents, was the only leader to tell the Regents of proactive action to plan for an anticipated additional two percent state-mandated cut.
He also announced to them new circumstances the university faces since the submission of the proposal. Nelsen expressed optimism that his message of UTPA’s complex and compound problem was well received by Regents.
“I think they understand that our students are especially (financially) strapped, and that it’s very important that they get adequate funding,” he said.
Nelsen said the university will not be able to move forward on a new parking lot west of Sugar Road. He also said the university will not be able to hire new faculty, which was originally built in to the tuition-and-fee hike proposal.
The university’s new president
told Regents that potential changes to funding sources, including formula funding, the TEXAS Grant, and the loss of stimulus funding, will lead to the $21.5 million shortfall. He emphasized the widespread financial hurt students would feel if the TEXAS Grant changed from need- to merit-based.
“I felt the Regents needed to know what we face in the future,” Nelsen said.
Also up for a vote were several fee increases. Those included the Library Support fee increased from $2.25 to $2.75 in 2011 and to $3.25 in 2012, and the International Education fee, increased from $1 to $4. The Regents approved a Medical Services fee increase from $23.20 to $25.10 for academic year 2011, but denied an increase to $27.35 for the following year.
All measures adopted yesterday will go in to effect this fall. The cost of 15 semester hours this year was $2,764. The cost for those hours will go up to $2,904 this fall, and then to $3,044 the following year.
Student Government Elections Info
• Filingdeadline:March9at5p.m.
• Applications can bepicked up in the Dean ofStudents office located inUC104
• Candidates meeting:March11atnoonintheSGAoffice
• Meet Your Candidates:March23atnooninStudentUnionCommons
• Candidate Debate:March 25 at noon atNorthLibraryLawn
NewsMarch 4, 2010 Page 7
ACCREDITATION continued from Page 3
HOPEcontinued from Page 3
GIRMANcontinued from Page 3
Awards/Honors: National Merit Scholar, 1991-
1995; Tutoring Award, 1998; Outstanding Attorney in Law School 1999; ‘Flare Competition’ Sixth-Street Bartender Competition 1999.
What is your thesis about?Classroom pedagogy and how
the teaching experience affects both the teacher and the students in the classroom environment.
What are your plans after
graduation? I will be applying for Ph.D.
programs in creative writing, build my resumes, apply for prosecution law positions, apply to work in a publishing house or as a free-lance writer. Depending on where and what position I’m accepted into, will determine what I will do in a few months.
What advice do you have for college-bound students?
Really spend time to get to know
your classmates, get involved in school activities or groups because you build life-long friends and open up doors for future contacts in the community. Try to take advantage of study abroad programs to experience and learn new cultures and ideas. I would never have known the RGV was such a great place unless I had left to study over here. Plus you learn to appreciate your hometown and the United States.
provides other resources needed for trainings.
“This program allows individuals in starting their businesses while also helping the community and economy in the long run,” said Juanita Caballero, business development adviser for the SBDC, whose latest training sessions start next week in the Tri-Cities area.
The program is tailored for women in underserved areas who want to start their own businesses or already have a home-based business and need further information to run a successful, formal enterprise, the program coordinator noted.
The effort aims to improve the participants’ quality of life by increasing business success rates, in the hope that profits will augment their family incomes and positively affect the quality of life.
Latina HOPE is aimed at entrepreneurial individuals 18 years and older with no fee to participate.
Participants must complete a series of trainings and develop a business plan. All are encouraged to take advantage of assistance from SBDC advisers and invited to attend the many supplementary trainings offered through the center. Business plans are reviewed for approval and possible funding, and eventually the qualifying candidates
can apply for a grant of from $200 through $500 from Wells Fargo.
“The participants and business plans that may require more, based on its merits, will undergo a more step-by-step process for any sum larger than $500,” Caballero said.
The candidates’ businesses, along with their willingness and discipline to work out achievable business plans, will be scrutinized during this review. The process is meant to increase the chances of success by measuring abilities to focus and hash out a solid plan for their businesses.
Trainings are set to begin with a 2-hour session on Tuesday, March 9 at the Arise-Muniz in Edinburg. The second session is scheduled for the next day at the Arise Support Center in Alamo with the final session set for March 11 at the Arise-Las Milpas in Pharr. The second part of the training sessions will occur March 23-25 at the same locations.
“Our services are made continually available to participants and enhanced through the regular SBDC program as they progress in their businesses and beyond their participation in Latina HOPE,” Caballero said.
For upcoming events and further information, contact Juanita Caballero at 956-292-7548 or e-mail at [email protected].
of Unique Creations and Gifts was not aware of the center, but sees great benefit in it.
“It’s awesome that something like that exists,” said the San Juan native. “I had to learn the hard way because there’s no handbook you can read that will tell you how to do it. There are many things people don’t know about running a business.”
And that’s exactly what the center tries to do – educate the community about managing a business.
Rodriguez remembers stressing out after learning that someone was going to appraise her business and essentially charge her for the amount of display cases she had in store.
“I probably could’ve saved myself some suffering had I known about this center earlier,” she said.
Juarez says the center helps owners
make business plans and complete loan proposals, as well as helping get them in contact with other types of assistance if needed.
“The primary client of the SBDC is the small-business owner, whether he/she is a UTPA student, staff, faculty, or a small-business owner or entrepreneur in the community,” Juarez said.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, a federal agency that aims to protect America’s business, small business is the engine of economic growth.
The organization’s Web site states that there are currently over 22 million such businesses in America and that the number is rapidly growing. More than 800,000 were started last year alone.
Small business accounts for
99 percent of all U.S. commerce, employing 53 percent of the private work force and contributing over half of the nation’s private gross domestic product.
And because of this, the center continues to develop ways to inform the public.
“The SBDC staff always has plans in progress,” Juarez said.
She notes that the center will host financial workshops throughout the Rio Grande Valley, as well as an Emergency Preparedness Summit at South Padre Island. They will also partner up with UTPA’s Career Services to offer a set of workshops for students and the entrepreneurial community.
For more information, contact the center at 292-7535 or visit them at utpa.edu/sbdc.
sing-a-long - Dr. Rebecca Coberly sings soprano for the University Choir, presented by the Department of Music and Dance last Tuesday evening.
Erika Perez /The Pan american
SEEN & CAPTURED
THE PAN AMERICANTHE PAN AMERICAN March 4, 2010 March 4, 2010 Page 9Page 8
Photos By: Daniel Flores
Edinburg, Feb. 26
THE PAN AMERICANTHE PAN AMERICAN March 4, 2010 March 4, 2010 Page 9Page 8
Photos By: Daniel Flores
Edinburg, Feb. 26
March 4, 2010 10
With names like Alan Rickman, Anne Hathaway and Johnny Depp attached to Tim Burton’s newest flick, ‘Alice in Wonderland’ is gauranteed to open to big at the box office.
‘Plastic Beach,’ Gorillaz’s third album, will be released on March 8. The group’s first single ‘Stylo’ features Mos Def and Bobby Womack on the track and a cameo by Bruce Willis in the music video.
The human head weighs 8-12 pounds, so how have you lived without this $20 blow up collar? The device was designed to help with tension headaches and pinched nerves by carrying the weight of your head for you.
‘The Colbert Show’ and ‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’ will no longer be viewable on Hulu. The site only had the shows in contract until March 9.
All aboard the Steel Train: next stop, McAllen
According to Jack Antonoff, a lot of bands often don’t get the chance to tour the country with ‘90s pop sensation Hanson (of “MMMBop” fame) and then open for Sire Records’ Tegan and Sara immediately after. But that is all a part of the “exciting year” his band, Steel Train, has gone through.
“We feel really honored that we get to tour with different bands across the spectrum and that we’ve been somewhat embraced by different scenes,” said Antonoff, standing in the lobby of the 2,900-seat theater known as The University of Texas’ Bass Concert Hall. The five-piece group just performed a sold out show Friday night in Austin opening for Tegan and Sara and Detroit-born Holly Miranda.
To continue their exciting year, the band will play festivals like South by Southwest, Coachella, and Bamboozle as well as release a full-length album June 15. Before then, Steel Train will return to Texas on a short headlining tour, taking the stage at the McAllen Creative Incubator Saturday, March 13. They will be joined by Seattle band Barcelona. Rio Grande Valley musicians D_Minor and Aaron Stephens will open the show.
Steel Train’s sound has evolved from an alternative country, jam band, blues, and rock type of music to a more refined Indie rock sound. Antonoff, the group’s lead vocalist and guitarist, d e s c r i b e s their music as very candid, a g g r e s s i v e , energetic, and non-benign. The music tells about life experiences because he feels it is the only thing he can offer to the world that isn’t contrived.
“I think if everyone just tells their story, it would make the world a better place,” said the 25-year-old. “I get very inspired by hearing what other people have gone through. It makes me feel less alone. Just like in this tour, I think it’s so important to be political about certain things, like Tegan and Sara, if they weren’t out of the closet, completely open about being gay, like literally they probably changed
thousands of people’s lives. For me, that’s talking about bad things that I’ve been through and sort of trying to carry on with my life.”
Steel Train was formerly a part of the Drive-Thru Records label
roster. They shared the honor with Indie/pop/punk bands like Hellogoodbye, The Starting Line, New Found Glory, and Dashboard Confessional at some point, but now Antonoff says that not being signed to a label is actually a really great thing.
“ T h e r e ’ s going to be tons of EPs, vinyl, remixes, and a lot of really exciting stuff, some of which I can’t really talk about yet, a lot of things you can’t do if you’re locked in with someone
who is calculating every move,” he explained. “We’re really looking at this as our chance to make up for a lot of lost artistic time.”
Local promotional group Goodbar Productions is responsible for booking the band’s McAllen gig. In its history,
the two-piece team has brought other Indie acts like Ra Ra Riot, Tokyo Police Club, Miniature Tigers, and, most recently, Cursive to the Valley, in an effort to whet the area’s appetite for bands in this particular genre of music.
Patrick Garcia, one half of Goodbar, said the duo is going back to the basics with Steel Train, after having focused on thematically based shows in 2010 so far.
“There’s a market for out-of-town groups and major label groups that come in that have kind of been in the hardcore and the screamo scene, which is fine,” said Garcia, a graduate student in cultural and literary studies at The University of Texas-Pan American. “I definitely think there is a pent-up demand for this Indie style of music. I think this is a show all the kids have been waiting for.”
He says that this deprivation has an effect on show-goers, making them more energetic, exciting, and enthused than a crowd from a major city that is exposed to such shows on a more consistent basis.
“Cursive has openly stated that their show back here in November was one of their top three best shows out of a 30-day tour,” he noted. “Miniature Tigers said on their blog that McAllen, Texas was definitely their most surprising show of their tour throughout the summer because they were not expecting people to be not only receptive of their music, but excited, enthused, and expressive about it. I think Steel Train will be pleasantly surprised because they haven’t played down here in five or six years.”
Antonoff has similar expectations.“What I’m hoping for from
McAllen is the same thing I hope for from a non-major city. When we go to places like that is that it’ll be more exciting because less people go through there,” he said. “That’s always a fun thing to look forward to when you go somewhere that’s not Austin or Dallas. We’ve had some of our best shows in St. George, Utah, because not a lot of bands go through.”
Steel Train’s 2007 release “Trampoline” was lauded by Entertainment Weekly as “so relentlessly sincere and introspective that it’s downright enervating.” Two tracks from their untitled follow-up album are available as free downloads on www.steeltrain.net and www.myspace.com/steeltrain. Steven McDonald, who produced Steel Train’s next album, also produced The Format’s critically acclaimed album “Dog Problems.”
Barcelona’s song “Please Don’t Go” was featured in a video of the Kuroshio Sea aquarium in Japan, one of the largest aquariums in the world, and has garnered over 4.1 million views on YouTube since July 2009.
Tickets for the show are $10 and can be purchased at Ambrosia Coffee Shop at 1000 Martin Ave. in McAllen. The McAllen Creative Incubator is located at 1001 S. 16th St.
For more information on this show, visit www.goodbarlovesyou.com, www.steeltrain.net, or www.myspace.com/barcelona.
By Victor [email protected]
“What I’m hoping for from
McAllen is the same thing I
hope for from a non-major
city. When we go to places
like that is that it’ll be
more exciting because less
people go through there.
That’s always a fun thing
to look forward to when
you go somewhere that’s
not Austin or Dallas.”
Jack AntonoffSteel Train, lead vocals and guitar
CheCk out their traCks - Lead vocalist/guitarist Jack antonoff and bassist evan Winiker (left) of the band steel train perform at Bass Concert hall in austin last Friday, opening for twin musical duo tegan and sara.
Alma Hernandez / thepanamerican
Arts And Life Page 11March 4, 2010
Nationwide ‘Big Read’ prompts literacy
Steve Schneider, director of new programs and special projects for the College of Arts and Humanities, once again secured a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to make 2009-2010 the second consecutive year that The University of Texas Pan American implements The Big Read program. The program promotes community events nationwide aimed at restoring reading and literacy to the core of American culture.
On March 22 during The Festival of International Books and Art (FESTIBA), The Big Read program on campus will feature a keynote panel to discuss Editor Jorge F. Hernandez’s anthology, “Suns Stone and Shadows: 20 Great Mexican Short Stories.”
Profound, universal and encompassing Mexico’s undoubtedly ruthless history with nods to increasing Westernization and resistance, it is no wonder why The Big Read this year geared itself toward compiling literature reflective of Mexico’s enduring struggles by publishing “Suns, Stone and Shadows.” It is a response to the bicentennial of the Mexican War of Independence (1810) and the centennial of the Mexican Revolution (1910-17).
“We wanted something to better understand their culture,” Schneider said. “Given the significance [of this year], it was timely and important to make it the focus of discussion.”
According to a 2004 survey titled “Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America,” the NEA found that trends in leisure literary reading were declining among at an accelerated pace. The trend was higher among American youth.
The Big Read, a response to such findings, was implemented nationwide in selected cities and towns in 2007 through grant funds.
“Reading is such a powerful tool for personal growth and transformation,” said Schneider, a published poet who plans to keep the competitive grants coming. “When we are fluent readers, it opens up pathways in the brain and stimulates it so that we are alive to the world. When we lose the ability to read, we lose the potential of our brain,”
With the partnership of the Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library in Edinburg, Schneider and others involved in the project, like Library Director Letty Leija, are able to host community discussion meetings to promote the exchange of knowledge and ideas gained from reading books annually appropriated by the NEA.
During last year‘s Big Read, 600 copies of Rudolfo Anaya’s “Bless Me Ultima” were distributed through local libraries and Region 1 public schools working with Schneider.
Nearly 30 community discussion groups are set up around the Rio Grande Valley, all to promote literacy and reading.
“By having this available, we are not only sharing quality literature, but communities can also share their views and interpretations [of the readings],” Leija said. “They can get something different from every story.”
This year the project is spanning borders.
“We are doing programming with communities in Mexico, with the Biblioteca at San Miguel de Allende,” Schneider added. “We send out [anthologies] in English and Spanish along with student and teacher guides.”
The guides are supplementary and further highlight the historical, social and cultural realities that influenced and helped the writers mold their fictional tales of real-life struggle and strife during the beginning years of modernization in their beloved country.
THE ANTHOLOGYIn the introduction to “Sun,
Stone and Shadows,” Hernandez, who will be joined by two other prominent Mexican authors and critics in the panel (Eduardo Parra and David Toscana), explains the uneasy task of considering cuentos, or stories, to accurately reflect the anthology’s intention: an insight to “Mexico’s varied faces… tales of urban themes, as well as [those] that reflect the voices and ways of the fields and harvests.”
In an attempt to portray Mexican life during the first half of the 20th century, fictional accounts from 20 internationally acclaimed writers are presented, and the work is heavily
influenced by the oppressive and revolutionary events that took place before during the period 1887-1939.
The stories were edited and put together for this year‘s Big Read, said Schneider, addressing the uniqueness of the anthology. “Literature and arts are the windows of culture… it opens up new worlds, so we wanted something that would recognize Mexican culture in its historical context.
“It’s such a beautiful program for UTPA and the RGV because it places reading at the forefront,” he added. “We’re at a time in our [American] culture when literacy reading is declining, so we are doing this to bring that back to our community.”
By Lupe Flores [email protected]
rEADING ExPrEss - Dr. steve schnider hopes to increase the number of people who read for leisure.
Alma Hernandez / thepanamerican
On Monday, the final auditions for UTPA’s version of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” were held at the Studio Theatre in the Communication Arts and Sciences Building.
As 7 p.m. came around and the auditions officially began, about a dozen students were signing up and given a “No Fear Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing” script. Although the thespians acted as if they were not antsy, when asked for an interview, they said they were nervous and didn’t want a distraction away from their roles. Stage manager Russell Licciardello, junior TV/film major, was in charge of the auditions, and suggested the media wait until after their auditions.
Some students sat quietly, reading lines. Others paced back and forth inside of their William Shakespeare box reciting lines to themselves. One thespian, Patty Moreno, role-played with one of the student-assistants working for the stage manager.
When it was Moreno’s turn, she walked in with a small smile and didn’t come out of the Studio Theatre until after ten minutes later. This final production of the 2009-2010 schedule is also the last chance for the senior performance major to have a role in a theatre production at UTPA. The play runs April 21-25 on campus.
“It would be kind of bad,” she said, “to not be in the last show.”
Making the grade was especially important because acting in a Shakespeare play looks good on a resume for any person in theatre. Although it seems to be more pressure for the senior, she said, “I only get nervous right as I enter the room, but never before or after an audition.”
Whether the director, Jack Carroll, a guest director from STC, has callbacks or not, Moreno said the most nerve-wrecking thing about auditioning is waiting for the cast list.
“It’s horrible,” she said. “You sometimes have to wait and wait.”
Unfortunately, according to Licciardello, a callback list is anticipated but names have yet to be announced. Callback auditions will be on Friday, with an unknown time at the moment. Until then, the anxious Moreno will just have to wait to find out if she made the callback list or not. For now, there’s “much ado about nothing.”
shakespeare making an appearance at UTPABy Pamela [email protected]
Geek is chic, big glasses are back in style
Trends come and go in the fashion world, refelcting what’s cool and current. In the United States, mainstream society tends to follow examples set by famous faces in Hollywood and the music world.
Recently, a new fashion craze has been seeping in through the hipster underbelly of America that stems back to the ‘40s –classic big-rimmed glasses.
Celebs like Robert Downey Jr. and Cate Blanchett have been seen wearing these Old School specs, which only certify that it’s an official trend. However so, there are many people in the nerd community that have been wearing them for quite some time now. They are not trying to follow any kind of recent fashion trend.
The concept of Geek Aesthetic has always been something normal for them, and big-rimmed glasses are a fabric of that.
Address Marroquin, a 23-year-old looking to go to school in the near future, has been a fan of the “big rims” for most of his adult life.
“I’ve always admired them in cinema, so when I started wearing glasses, I went with horn rims rather than something more contemporary,” he said. “I mean, I grew up watching a lot of classic films, but I’d be lying if Elvis Costello, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison and such didn’t have an influence on me.”
Marroquin is one among many locals who sport what Hollywood now considers the new craze, but to his credit, he wears them because he truly likes them.
UTPA freshman art major Bianca Cantu is another individual who wears them because she has always enjoyed that particular style; plus, she gets racy comments from people about her choice of eyewear.
“People always tell me that I look nice and that they like my glasses,” she reported. “I get the ‘sexy teacher’ thing a lot, but I pretty much wear
them because I like them, and I look good in them. I think you should wear something because you really like it, not to be cool or try to fit in with the scene.”
The sex appeal of big dorky reading glasses is now taking over the runway, whether people have 20/20 vision or not. Any fashion magazine one opens illustrates that according to the “in crowd,” it’s time to get “geeky.”
However, others that have adopted the look aren’t wearing them for the Geek Factor. They just have extremely poor vision and want to look nice in something different.
Adriel “Otter” Ortiz, a senior broadcast major, is a big-rim newbie who started wearing them mainly due to his unsatisfactory pair of previous glasses.
“I got bad vision, like very bad vision, so my lenses are very thick,” he admitted. “My last pair was a smaller frame and my lens was popping out. This year I wanted to have a good pair of glasses that didn’t show my telescope lenses and was in style.”
This change in eyewear has only produced positive results for Ortiz.
“It’s funny because now people say I look like Superman with the new glasses,” he remarked. “I’ve also been noticing more looks from the ladies, so that works for me.”
Whether you like them or not, big rimmed glasses are here to stay. For now, at least. They have become a part of pop culture, but it’s safe to assume for reasons of authenticity that one should wear them because they want to: not because it’s the latest trend.
By Marc [email protected]
ADVERTISEMENTSPage 12 March 4, 2010
Local comedian risks it all in New York City‘Last Comic Standing’ is NBC’s
series that picks comedians from across the country and lets them duke it out to see who the funniest entertainer is. Season seven will premiere this summer with a whole new batch of comedians, one of whom is from the Valley.
R a y m o n d Orta, originally from La Joya, is currently living in McAllen and attending The University of Texas-Pan American. A jokester from the start, the communication major knew in the third grade that he wanted to be a comedian when he performed at his school’s talent show.
“I realized the only way ugly guys will get laid is if they are funny,” Orta joked.
As a child, Orta dreamed of performing in Madison Square Garden and having his own comedy on channels like HBO and Comedy Central. Currently, Orta works on the
KKPS Que Pasa 99.5 radio station playing a character named Plutarco, and says doing the show has been the time of his life.
“I just want my face on the side of the La Joya water tower, like the Freddy Fender one in San Benito,”
Orta says of his ultimate goal.
In reality the comedian hopes to be a self-made m i l l i o n a i r e , attaining movie deals and touring across the world.
A u d i t i o n s for ‘Last Comic Standing’ are March 6 and March 21. Orta will be attending the latter tryouts at the Gotham Comedy Club in New York. To his surprise, he is extremely nervous.
“I only have two minutes to audition, no more and no less,” Orta explained. “It is a lot of pressure. You have two minutes to change your life forever.”
A benefit show will be held for Orta and he will perform with Que Pasa Clicka Morning Show, other local comedians Superstar Salazar and Dat’ Nigga Tre. The show will be hosted by Sam Daily. The event will be held on March 4 at 7
p.m., at Tejano Rodeo located on 501 S. 17 St. in McAllen. All proceeds will go to fund Orta’s weeklong stay in New York for the auditions.
“There is no harder job in the world then comedy, making complete strangers fall in love with you, and actually making them laugh is difficult,” Orta stated. “I’m glad that I am stubborn, because if I would have listened to certain people I would have gone back to my room and played Halo for the rest of my life.”
For more information on Raymond Orta visit www.funnyraymond.com.
“There is no harder
job in the world then
comedy, making complete
strangers fall in love with
you, and actually making
them laugh is difficult.”
Raymond OrtaUTPA sophomore
By Andrielle Figueroa [email protected]
FUNNY MAN - Raymond Orta has multiple inspirations when it comes to his comedy skits. Orta’s mother, the McAllen native admits, is in 70 percent of his act.
Courtesy of Raymond Orta
Track & field brings home 3 golds from GWC tourney13 March 4, 2010
Alma Hernandez/The Pan american
all out - Junior Jameson Strachan stepped it up in the 400-meter dash. The Bahamas native won first with a time of 49.69.
The Bronc track team made its way to Vermillion, S.D. for the Great West Conference Indoor Championship this weekend, and made considerable im-provement on the women’s side and in the men’s 400-meter run, mile run, and 4x400-meter relay. Overall the Broncs picked up 15 top-ten finishes, and both teams finished fifth overall.
“I’m thoroughly satisfied with the way our team performed this week-end,” head track coach Dave Hartman said. “We’re still rebuilding, but good things are happening.”
Following their performance in South Dakota the Broncs come back home for a short break and then begin training for the outdoor season that starts March 20 in Kingsville at the Cactus Cup. Prior to this weekend’s event the team played in two other events in Houston TX, for the Hous-ton Invitational and the Houston All-Corners.
On the women’s side, the top per-former in South Dakota was junior Syl-via Alboniga, who finished fifth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.21 and seventh in the 400 at 1:03.68. Also notable was freshman Cynthia Adame of San Benito, who finished eighth in the 800 run with a time of 2:26.90.
Only half a second behind her was ju-nior Mekka Edwards-White. Edwards-White and Alboniga, along with fresh-man Destiny Schulze and sophomore Alexia Frank, came in fourth for the 4x400-meter relay in 4:02.76.
“On the wom-en’s side we’re really starting to move up,” Hartman said. “In the 400 we’re closing in on a minute and we’re starting to knock on the door of the finals. A lot of these girls are in their first year, so in or year or two we should have really have a strong team. ”
For the men, the top competitor was Jameson Strachan, who defended his Great West Indoor Championship by coming in first in the 400 with a mark of 49.69.
“Jameson is an extremely talented runner,” Hartman said. “He was just rebounding from a hamstring injury but he came in strong. We all knew he was capable of taking the event but we weren’t expecting it.”
Also strong for the men were fresh-man Andrew Lopez and junior Gilroy Martinez, who finished within 200th
of second in the 800 with times of 1:59.13 and 1:59.15, respectively, good for eighth and ninth place. Junior Omar Doria of Edinburg finished third
in the mile run with a time of 4:19.49. The Broncs also posted two top-ten finishes in the shot put with freshman Jesus Al-varez throwing 47-11.75 and Scott Bann copping eighth with 45-1.
“I think we were a lot more comfortable with the indoor track this time around,” Hartman said.
“There were no major disappoint-ments. Everyone performed exactly where they should have or better.”
With the outdoor season complete, the track team is looking forward to the outdoor season.
“We’re going to give everyone a few days just to get a breather and then we’re heading back to practice,” Hart-man said. “Geographically we’re more inclined towards outdoor events. There aren’t any indoor tracks in the valley so competing outdoors is a real advantage for us.”
Following their Kingsville compe-tition they will be headed to Houston, for the Victor Lopez Bayou Classic March 27.
By Sara [email protected]
Alma Hernandez/The Pan american
Things haven’t gone as expected for the Broncs. After starting conference play in January with two consecutive wins at home, the University of Texas-Pan American basketball team holds a 3-7 conference record and prepares for the last stretch of the season. Saturday, the team faced Houston Baptist at its home and fell 76-62.
The match against HBU had been expected by sophomore guard Jareed Maree, who is a Houston native and graduated from Cesar Chavez High School. Maree got the opportunity to have a crowd of family of friends cheering for him, feeling at home while on the road and motivating him to score 24 points that night.
“Going into the game we were pret-ty excited; we went to my hometown, so I wanted to go out there and play hard and win the game,” Maree said.
UTPA made 23 of 61 attempts (38 percent), while the Huskies accom-plished 43 percent of their shots. The Broncs made only 60 percent of all free throws attempted and completed 35 rebounds compared to 44 from HBU.
“We played pretty well for the most part... in the start of the first half and the start of the second half we were sluggish defensively,” said head coach Ryan Marks. “Other than that and the
fact that our primary shooting wasn’t great, but in general I thought we played a pretty good game.”
In fact, maintaining consistency throughout the game and being able to finish games strongly are some of the issues that the team has encoun-tered this year. But this may also sug-gest that if that consistency can be accomplished in the last games of the campaign, the Broncs will be able to pick up momentum for the Great West Conference Tournament.
“There’s a little bit of irritation that we haven’t won some of the close games, our record in the year and our record in the conference isn’t where we hoped it would be, but I think that the guys feel confident that we can play with anybody in the conference on a given night,” Marks said.
Moreover, the improvement of the players’ chemistry on the hardwood and the development of young mem-bers will be beneficial in the last two road games before the tourney ends, as well as being something to look for-ward to in future seasons.
“Offensively we share the ball a lot better, a lot of that is the guys becom-ing accustomed with one another,” Marks said. “In general a lot of guys have improved, but our young guys, Jared Maree is a sophomore, Aaron Urbanus is a freshman. Those guys are really playing well and have come a long way.”
But for now, the focus is in the next couple of weeks, which start today at Vermillion, S.D, where the Broncs will face South Dakota before heading to North Dakota to play them Saturday.
“My teammates and I feel pretty good,” Maree said. “We have two more games and we’re ready to get the win, it’s a chance to beat North and South Dakota and get the win back.”
UTPA lost close games against these two teams in the end of January. North Dakota defeated the Broncs 78-74 in double over time, while South Dakota surpassed them in a heart-breaking 72-71.
Far from being discouraged by the 4-25 overall record up to this point, the Broncs are still motivated know-ing that mental toughness of one of the keys, because the GWC Tourna-ment is somewhat of a season on its own where three games determine the program’s position in the conference.
“We work mostly on the mental part, your body is not as ready as it was in the beginning of the season, so it’s all about the mental part,” Maree mentioned. “We try to focus on the little things when our coaches tell us what to do, and really get it in our minds that we want to be ready for the conference championship.”
The Great West Conference Tour-nament will take place March 10-12 in Orem Utah.
Broncs look to improve 3-7 record
By Benny [email protected]
Tennis serves up first win The University of Texas-Pan Amer-
ican men’s tennis program can finally take in a breath of relief after attaining its first win of the season during a road trip to Las Cruces, N.M. last weekend.
After a wearying 0-6 start to the season, UTPA played solidly Saturday, picking up a dominant 7-0 win against Western New Mexico in undoubtedly its best showing of the season.
“It felt like being on top of the world,” junior Aswin Vijayaragavan said. “We took care of business. We were looking for a win really bad and now having it we can lift the weight off of our shoulders and believe we’re a good team.”
Graduate assistant Maria Klokotz-ky said that in any tennis match if you win all the doubles, teams usually carry the positive energy to singles; evidently that’s what happened for the Broncs who completed the sweep.
“Everybody was so excited after doubles play that they just kind of rolled it into singles as well,” Klotoz-ky said.
Before the inspiring win the Broncs had added another loss on Thursday to Northern Arizona University on a 4-3 decision. After Vijayaragavan (6-2,6-2) and senior Brett Bernstein (6-2, 6-3) won the first two singles matches, NAU responded swiftly by winning
the next four consecutively. In doubles competition, Bernstein and his sopho-more brother Beau Bernstein started the Broncs off with an 8-6 win while Vijayaragavan and senior Nirvick Mo-hinta followed it with an 8-3 decision.
With the score tied at three apiece the match came down to the junior pair of Marcus Dornauf and Andrew Irving in a doubles match against Patrick Schimmelbauer and David Flodberg. With a slim 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) score the Lumberjacks (7-4, 3-0 confer-ence) picked up their seventh win of the year.
The tough loss resonated strongly because of the hard preparation the Broncs have been putting in during practice. “We’re almost there,” the finance major said. “It was a heart-breaker losing against Northern Ari-zona because we expected to win. We were really close but yet too far. We’re a team and there is nobody to blame.”
UTPA (1-7, 0-1 in the Southlland Conference) didn’t celebrate its first win of the season for long as it round-ed out the road trip with a 4-0 loss to New Mexico State University on Sat-urday.
“We’re playing well given that the majority of our opponents have been filled with teams ranked top 50 in the nation,” Taylor said.
UTPA hits the courts on Saturday against St. Mary’s in San Antonio.
By Alvaro [email protected]
“We’re still rebuilding, but good things are happening.”
Dave Hartman
Head coach
14March 4, 2010
Daniel Flores/The Pan american
say it loud - Luisa Cantu (pictured) and Megan Bedeau didn’t let NMSU’s cheers bring them down. The seniors responded by giving them tough and loud competition in doubles.
SportSPage 14 March 4, 2010
The spring season started for The University of Texas-Pan American women’s golf team at the Islander Classic hosted by the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi last Sun-day through Tuesday. The team finished 11th of 12 teams, but the result may not reflect what the tour-nament meant for the Lady Broncs.
“We went out there as a new team, I can say that these five have never played together,” head coach Ofelia Lopez said. “It’s a challenge having a new team, they’re still adjusting.”
Two of the players are new to the squad. Junior Melinda Uriegas came back after taking a semester off, while Sharyland High School graduate Ashley Estrada is fresh to the program. Junior Haley Hocott and sophomores Majo Camey and Sarah Kothny are the three returners as senior Rebecca de Leon awaits to get ankle surgery next week.
Lopez mentioned that although the team had bad punctuation in the first round with 345 hits, the team improved every time it stepped back on the green. Their shots dropped to 328 in the sec-ond day to then fell to 325 in the third. The tournament consisted of three rounds of 18 holes each. In golf, the person with the least number of strokes wins; every
time a competitor hits the ball be-fore making the hole is counted as a point and the addition of the total strokes throughout all the holes results in the score.
“It wasn’t the opening I was look-ing for, but it’s a wake-up call, we have a long way to go. As a coach I’m challenged, and I’m looking forward to playing these girls in and out,” Lo-pez said. “We’re starting at the lowest of the low; I think these girls will win confidence playing shot by shot and hole by hole, and not worrying about their abilities, because their ability is what brought them here.”
Hocott led the Broncs tied in 36th with 243 strokes (84-81-78). Tied in 42nd was Camey hitting 85, 80, 80 for a score of 245. Kothny placed 50th with 249. The newcomers Uriegas and Estrada finished tied in 63rd and 67th with 261 and 301 strokes, respectively.
“We were kind of rusty, but it was interesting,” Hocott said. “Now we’re moving in a positive direction, and from now on we hope to contin-ue to improve.”
The University of Tulsa won the first place with a score of 924 while Amber Hensley from Oral Roberts University took the indi-vidual title, hitting 221.
One of the points of success this week, according to Lopez, is that the players stayed optimistic during hard times. This is one of the things that the coach stressed the most,
knowing the iffy situation coming in. She hopes that this approach to the game carries over to the rest of the season as the team ultimately accomplished winning results.
“I asked them to… not get mad of themselves and have a good at-titude, and they did that for three days,” she said.
For Hocott, staying positive is a cru-cial part of the game. For this reason, she said that motivating each member of the team was and will be one of the strengths of the Lady Broncs.
“That’s what golf is all about, is about how you have to keep a positive attitude,” she said. “The conditions were tough, but within the team we had to be positive and encourage each other.”
In 2009, the women concluded the spring season winning the Great West Conference Champion-ship and the PGA Minority Col-legiate Championship. Obtaining these titles again is the main objec-tive that the team is looking to ac-complish again in 2010.
“We’re on the road to defending not only one, but two champion-ships,” Lopez said. “Everything we do is preparing ourselves for both conference and Minority.”
After breaking in the new team this week, the Lady Broncs return to action at the Texas State Invitational at Victoria, Texas, which will take place March 14.
Lady Broncs’ spirits up after harsh spring opener
settling down - Sophomore Sarah Kothny is one of the returners for the UTPA women’s golf team. She placed 50th in the Islander Classic.
Hector Garcia/The Pan american
They came back empty-handed on a three-day road trip last week-end, extending their record to 0-9. Injuries have taken their toll on the Lady Broncs tennis team, leav-ing them a player short in several instances throughout the season, which means they have had to have near perfect days to win.
This was the case last weekend where the team lost a 7-0 decision to the University of Texas-El Paso at El Paso Thursday, a 5-2 setback to New Mexico State at Las Cruces Friday, and a 6-1 defeat to Northern Arizona again at El Paso, Saturday.
“This whole season has been crazy. It seems we’re always miss-ing a player,” said graduate assis-tant Maria Klokotzky, who trav-eled with the team in place of head coach Chris Taylor’s absence due to personal matters. “It automatically puts us down three points, which makes us rely on four players to have flawless matches. Winning four out of four matches begins make us lose hope.
“It’s been a very difficult season so far mentally especially for the girls who are out and have to watch from the sidelines knowing they
can‘t help their team. There’s just a lot of emotions that the team is going through right now.”
In the three competitions this weekend UTPA lost seven matches by default because it didn’t have enough players.
Senior Megan Bedeau admits it’s been hard on the team having to start off days with a disadvantage because of the added pressure it puts on the team. Senior Oakville, Ontario, Canada native Sarah Bur-ton is the latest Lady Bronc on the injured list.
On Friday, the best day of the three for UTPA and Bedeau, she and senior Luisa Cantu handed NMSU the first loss of the day, beating the Lady Aggie No.1 doubles team 8-4.
In the No. 2 spot Bedeau picked up the only singles win by beating Manon Sylvain 6-2, 6-4.
“They tried to intimidate us by being loud, obnoxious and igno-rant, but me and Luisa counteracted them by being as loud as them,” the nursing major from Scarbor-ough, Ontario, Canada said. “We came through. In my singles match I toned it down and stayed calm and focused on every point.”
Klokotzky expressed amazement for Bedeau and Cantu’s perfor-
mances against NMSU.“They came out blasting against
their No.1 doubles team,” she not-ed. “They closed the net so aggres-sively and maintained a positive en-ergy. As a coach I had to sit there enjoy it and say nothing because they were amazing.”
Even though the hardships con-tinue, Bedeau said the team tries to keep a positive outlook. Learn-ing from every match they play, the women leave the sour taste of losing and maintain focus on their ultimate goal, winning the Great West Conference tournament in late April at Grand Forks, North Da-kota.
“I know every girl out there goes out and plays their hardest. One hundred and ten percent every time,” she said.
On Saturday against the Lumber-jacks UTPA’s only win came from No. 3 singles player Nina Ciric, who took out Aimee Oki, 6-1, 6-3.
The senior Subotica, Serbia, na-tive has been the Lady Broncs’ most consistent player, leading them in wins with a 4-1 mark.
It’s not about wins and losses anymore for the Lady Bronc but rather getting into a grove for the conference tournament.
Women’s tennis stays tough, loses 5-2 to New Mexico
By Sara [email protected]
By Alvaro [email protected]
Broncs build foundations for big dreams
getting things done - Junior Ontario, Canada, native Kyle Kotchie pitched seven innings, struck out 11 Longhorns and allowed only three hits Tuesday night against UT in Austin.
The first steps the Broncs base-ball team took this season were in the right direction, as they won the first four games of the season at home during the Al Ogletree Clas-sic. Held between Feb. 26 and Feb. 28, the Ogletree Classic brought UT Brownsville and Texas A&M-Prairie View to Edinburg Baseball Stadium, where the Broncs were twice victorious against each team.
Tuesday the Broncs went up to Austin to take on national pow-erhouse Texas but lost in a heart-breakingly close 3-2 decision. They are next in action Friday at home against Louisiana Tech.
“A 4-0 start is always a great way to start a season,” head base-ball coach Manny Mantrana said after the tournament. “It was defi-nitely a great tournament. We’re
happy about it.”In the event named after legend-
ary UTPA baseball coach Al Ogle-tree, who coached the school from 1968 to 1997, the Broncs did no-tably better than last season, when they lost three times.
The first game of the tournament was Friday afternoon and became a showcase of offensive prowess, ending with the teams combin-ing for 40 runs, UTPA on top 23-17. UTB took an early lead in the second inning 5-3, but the Broncs came back in the third inning with five runs and did not lose their lead the rest of the game.
Later that evening the Broncs went up against Prairie View, win-ning 5-1. The great ally was pitch-ing, as junior Cody Plunk gave up just one hit over seven scoreless innings. Offensively they were aided by Abraham Garcia and Vin-cent Mejia, who went 2 for 3 and 1 for 2 respectively. Freshman Angel
Ibanez of Sharyland drove in four runs and hit a home run.
“Cody did a really great job dur-ing the second game,” Mantrana said. “He did a good job of keeping them scoreless for seven innings,”
The next two games established a pattern. On Saturday, in their sec-ond game against Prairie View, the Broncs came out on top, 9-2, as-sisted by junior Alex Carnall, who went 4 for 5, and Garret Bivone who finished 3 for 5. The next day, UTB came back looking for redemption, and made a good at-tempt, leading 9-5 at the top of the fifth. The Broncs, however rallied with six runs on three hits in the eighth inning to win 13-9.
Much of the team’s newfound success can be attributed to the 23 new faces on the team, the product of Mantrana’s recruitment tech-niques.
“This was our first recruitment class and it’s going well,” he said.
“We’re recruiting based on need. So depending on what positions we lost last season, we try to go for those.”
With so many different faces on the team, players need to be adaptable, a quality Mantrana says they’ve been able to exhibit, with new and old players meshing well.
“When we recruit we look for the total package,” Mantrana ex-plained. “We look for good players on and off the field because good players make a good team.”
Despite their success this week-end the team is already looking to improve as they start a 15-day homestand at the Stadium March 5, during which they will have a to-tal of 12 games against Louisiana Tech, Notre Dame, and Stephen F. Austin.
“Our pitchers weren’t fielding very well and our bunting defense needs to improve,” Mantrana said. “We’re only going to get better.”
Alma Hernandez/The Pan american
16March 4, 2010
By Benny [email protected]
Tuesday night, the Broncs and the UT Longhorns had a neck-and-neck encounter in Austin. UTPA lost 3-2 against the third best team of the nation, continuing it fine play have having kicked off the season by four games at the Al Ogletree Classic last weekend at Edinburg Baseball Stadium.
And it’s precisely Al Ogletree who led the Broncs for almost 30 years as head coach of the pro-gram and took UTPA to the NCAA World Series in 1971. That year, the Broncs defeated UT six times, two of which in the regional round on the way to the Series.
As he remembered 1971’s suc-cess, where UTPA placed fourth after a 2-2 Series with wins over Seton Hall and Harvard but two losses to Southern Illinois, Ogle-tree said he’s proud of the direc-tion that today’s program is taking.
“They’re off to a good start, they’re showing what it takes to win a lot of ball games,” said the man who won over 1,000 games as coach. “It makes me feel good, we have a good program and Manny (Mantrana) is going to bring them back.”
Although the UTPA baseball legend mentioned that it’s too early to predict how successful the program will be this year, he added that one of the characteris-tics that this squad shares with the one of almost four decades ago is that the individuals involved have the same kind of enthusiasm about making of the Broncs a winning program.
“Baseball is a funny game, you win some and lose some…but we had a lot of good individuals,” said Ogletree, who coached the Broncs from 1968 to 1997. “This year they’re on the right track, they have a good attitude and that’s what it takes.”
Bronc Results of the WeekMen’s Basketball - Houston Baptist 76-62 UTPAWomen’s Basketball - UTPA 77-76 Houston Baptist
Great West Conference ChampionshipMen’s Track & Field - 5th placeWomen’s Track & Field - 5th place
Men’s Tennis - Northern Arizona 4-3 UTPA UTPA 7-0 Western New Mexico New Mexico State 4-0 UTPAWomen’s Tennis - UTEP 7-0 UTPA New Mexico State 5-2 UTPA Northern Arizona 6-1 UTPA
March 4, 201015
By Sara [email protected]
Rememberingpast deeds
the pan american March 4, 2010Page 16