October 31, 2002

THURSDAYOctober 31, 2002

An Inside Look:

■ News ............................................2■ A & E............................................7■ Sports ........................................16

T h e S t u d e n t N e w s p a p e r o f T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f T e x a s - P a n A m e r i c a n

Page 4

CCaammppuussVOICE

What areyour plans

thisHalloween?

NATION

■ Tommy Cutt ingBack

Tommy HilfigerCorporation will close37 of 44 U.S.specialt y stores afterthis year ’s holiday season. Around500 people will losetheir jobs, 75 percentof which are par t-timers.Company officialsclaim the stores havenot met companyexpectations sinceAugust of this year. In par ticular,shares plummetednearly 20 percent onthe Stock Exchange recently.A spokesperson saidthat the companyplans to keep sevenspecialt y stores open,three in New York andfour in Los Angeles, tobe used primarily asvehicles for developingexclusive merchandiselines.

CAMPUS■ Early VotingContinues

Early voting for theNov. 5 general electionwill continue throughFriday at UTPA’sStudent

Union in the secondfloor Pelican Room.Voting will be from 7a.m. to 7 p.m. onThursday, Oct. 31 andFriday, Nov. 1.

The general election,featuring an Hispaniccandidate for goveror,Laredo businessmanTony Sanchez, isTuesday.

Greens gainingmore popularity

America salutes the colors red,white, and blue. But what about thecolor green? The Green Party hasbecome a player on the politicalscene in recent years, and aselection day nears, the party istrying to get its message out thereand send its members into state andnational office

Grass-roots democracy, socialjustice, ecological wisdom, andnonviolence are just some of theGreen Party hopes to introduce ingreater measure to United Statessociety. In Texas, the Greens aremaking a strong bid forrepresentation, with over 40 stateand local candidates running foroffice this year.

“You have a real choice inelection 2002,” according to theGreen Party of Texas official webpage. The Greens wish to end thebig money campaigns and corporatesponsorship of candidates thatmembers feel have characterizedrecent political efforts. They offerwhat they call “progressive”candidates who will work for thepeople, and they do not acceptcontributions for campaigns fromcorporations, Political ActionCommittees (PACs), or otherspecial interest group.

Rahul Mahajan, the Greencandidate for governor, statedrecently that the party is for humanrights, not corporate rights.

According to the Co-Chair of theHidalgo County Green Party,Robert Ballinger, the number onepriority is to create a society whichis socially just and environmentallysustainable. He also said that theshort-term goal for his party is toovercome corporate dominance ofthe political system.

One of the Green Party’s valuesis respect for diversity, and that canbe seen on the ballot, as a myriad ofdifferent ethnic groups, gender, andclass backgrounds are represented.In comparison to the other twomajor parties, the Greens have morediverse candidates, according toUTPA political science professorNigel Cohen.

“I look for women and people ofcolor on the ballots. Traditionally[the Green Party] has had balance,”Cohen said. “Most Republicans and

Democrats are usually the whitemale crowd running for state andnational offices.”

This year it seems that theDemocrats have run against thisgrain, however, with its DreamTeam of Laredo businessman TonySanchez challenging incumbentRick Perry for governor and blackex-Dallas mayor Ron Kirk runningagainst John Cornyn for the U.S.Senate seat vacated by the retiringPhil Gramm.

Though the party is not powerfulin the United States as it is in otherplaces like Europe, its popularityhas been increasing. A viable thirdparty might be palatable forAmericans, after the Reform Partyof Ross Perot garnered nearly 20percent of the vote in the 1992presidential primaries. The choiceof a third party gives peopleanother view into politics, onewhich might jibe more closely withtheir own. Studies show that youngadults in the 18-34 age range arestarting to get on the Greenbandwagon.

Since the 2000 presidentialelection, the Green Party has beenon people’s minds. Ralph Naderwas the Green candidate, and somehave suggested that support for himfrom defecting Democrats had ahand in the election win ofRepublican George Bush overDemocratic candidate Al Gore.

The party’s popularity is greatestin the Northwest, and as stated, it isparticularly well-received oncollege campuses. According topolitical science professor Cohen,Nader himself has started a numberof student groups designed tobolster student interest in politics,and the Greens.

Ballinger added that pastelections have shown that voterturnout among university studentsis decreasing. Also, many do nothave a firm grasp on who they arevoting for and what they stand for.The Greens are trying to eliminateboth those problems with grass-roots work, including their monthlynewsletter which is distributednationwide.

“A lot of students think their votedoesn’t matter, but if they want tomake a difference the Green Party[represents] the needs for thepeople, not the corporations,”Ballinger concluded.

By ARIANNA VAZQUEZThe Pan American

Gabriel O. Hernandez/The Pan American

BLOOD BROTHERS— Gustavo Cepeda (foreground) holds a gauze to hisarm after donating blood Wednesday. Donar care specialist, ManuelAlvarez (left) assists Felipe Gonzalez (background) as he participates inthe United Blood Services’s blood drive.

You’re invited!The University of Texas-Pan American

75th Diamond AnniversarySaturday, November 2, 2002

Saturday, November 2, 2002You’re invited!

■ 9 a.m.-1 p.m. College Open House,Campus Tours, & Information Booths.Ask about admissions, scholarships, &financial aid.■ 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Carnival on thequad. Food! Music! Fun! Free lunchwhile it lasts!■ 2 p.m. Visitors Center GrandOpening & Unveiling of the BronzeBronc.■ 3:30 p.m. Bronc baseball game.Annual “Green & White Scrimmage.”■ 6 p.m. 16th Annual FlorenceNightingale Benefit.■ 7 p.m. UTPA Mariachi Concert.Tickets Available!

The injury-plagued fall season willconclude next week for the strugglingUTPA women’s tennis team.

The Lady Broncs, who have beeninconsistent due to forced missed practicesand tournaments, will finish their season atthe Texas-San Antonio Fall Invitationalwhich begins Friday.

Head coach Todd Chapman, who himselfhas been sick in the past week, tries to beoptimistic about the misfortunes which havebeen commonplace for the squad.

“It’s been tough with the women becauseof injuries,” Chapman said. “We’ve alsohad problems with sickness since thesecond week of practices and it takes timeto recover and knock the rust off your gameonce you have.”

Fortunately for the team the weight of the2002-03 season lies in the team-to-teamcompetitions of the spring.

The fall season is based on individualadvancement through flight ranks ofcomputer matchings.

Individuals advance through their flightdepending on how many matches they winduring the course of an event.

If a player loses a match they move intoconsolation rounds, and the outcomes ofeach player only affects their individualranking.

In short there are no team scores in thefall.

Katherine Waslen, one of only two LadyBroncs to advance in their flight thisseason, will be happy to get into the springteam match ups.

“The fall tournaments make for a reallylong day,” Waslen said. “It’s hard to stayfocused when you don’t know how manymatches you have.”

Brian Carr / Pan AmericanNICE SHOT: Junior Alana Breen works the baseline and sends a shot back over the net during practiceTuesday.

■ Volleyball streak . . . . . .15

■ Cross country. . . .. . . . .14

■ Staff’s swami picks . . . 13

PAGE 16

SPORTS

HIT WITH FINE:Dallas Cowboys safe-ty Darren Woodsonwas fined $75,000for his helmet hit onSeattle Seahawkswide receiver DarrellJackson duringSunday’s game.Woodson will not besuspended and the33-year-old was nothappy with the fine.Woodson led with hishelmet as Jacksonattempted to make acatch, but there wasnot contact made hishelmet. Woodson wascalled for a 15-yardpenalty for unneces-sary roughness.Jackson sustained aconcussion on theplay and had aseizure in the lockerroom. He was imme-diately sent to BaylorMedical Center andwas released onMonday.

NFL

MLB

CLEMENS IS FREE:The New York Postreported the New YorkYankees pitcher RogerClemens became afree agent aftertelling the organiza-tion that he was exer-cising a 10.3 milliondollar option.Clemens went 13-6with a 4.35 ERA thisseason and is likelyget offers from otherteams. Clemens ispart of two WorldSeries Championshipsand admitted hewanted to stay withthe Yankees. Clemensseven games awayfrom his 300th game.

Squeaking sneakers, suicide drills, coaches yelling,and team scrimmages. It’s time to go to work for theUniversity of Texas-Pan American’s men’s basketballteam.

The program made it’s mark last season by winning20 games and was on the brink of making the post-season.

Although the Broncs just missed postseason play,this year’s team hopes to bring the program from arespectable level to a power level.

UTPA begins its 2002-03 season Nov. 9 with anexhibition game against Monterrey Tech. Just like itis for any other team, it all starts at practice. For thepast three weeks, UTPA has prepared for the newseason. Men’s basketball head coach Bob Hoffmanknows the importance of practice and feels progresshas been made since the first day the players put ontheir sneakers.

“I think practice is going good,” Hoffman said.“Our first week wasn’t as good as we’d liked it to be,but we just need to continue and get better and ourguys are getting more understanding of what we’retrying to accomplish.“

Hoffman knows the struggle to stay in shape in theoffseason and he credits his players for working hardand preparing themselves for the new campaign.

“I thought our returning cast was in great shape,”Hoffman said. “The whole squad did a good jobstaying on task and it’s not an easy process. It takes alot of time, energy and communication.”

The Broncs lost key players Mire Chatman, MarcusQuinn and John Nubine to graduation last May, butUTPA recruited new and skilled players, andaccording to Hoffman, his seniors will also bedepended on to replace those who left.

“We’ve always had seniors that we can count on tolead and this year is no exception,” Hoffman said. “Ittakes great leadership to have a quality team.”

Returners include Tomas Sitnikovas, 6-6 senior;James Davis, 5-10 guard; Gabe Cortez, 6-1 guard;and Kevin Mitchell, 6-3 guard, that will bringexperience and try to help lead the Broncs to asuccessful season. Mitchell had an outstanding junioryear scoring 8.8 points, with 4.9 assists and 1.7steals a contest, but he anticipates not only hisnumbers going up but his team’s victory levelincreasing as well.

“I’ve got to be more aggressive and need to scoremore,” Mitchell said. “We’re a different team, but weexpect to be better this year.”

While the returning Broncs prepare to bring theirleadership and experience, the new players hope tobring hunger and explosiveness to a team thataveraged 79.6 points a game last year. Hoffmanrecruited six players, including junior transfer AlanHolcomb, 6-5 forward; Chris Fagan, 6-5 forward;Delvis Diaz, 6-7 forward; Matt Berry, 6-5 forward;Prince Thompson, 6-3 guard; and Derrick East, 6-8

Practice under way for exhibitionopener Nov. 9 against Monterrey

Tech at the FieldhouseBy MIKE GONZALEZThe Pan American

Tennis team heading north

See TENNIS page 15SPORT THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY

WOMEN’STENNIS

UTSAInvitational

UTSAInvitational

UTSAInvitational

VOLLEY-BALL

At TAMUInternational

WOMEN’SGOLF

Sam HoustonInvitational


CROSSCOUNTRY

Independentchamps.

UTSA Fall Invitational willbegin Friday

By BRIAN CARRThe Pan American

New Bronchoops slatenearing start

See HOOPS page 14

1201 West University, CAS 170 Edinburg, Texas 78539(956) 381-2541 Fax: (956) 316-7122

http://www.panam.edu/dept/panamerican51th Year – No. 10

EditorMatt Lynch

[email protected]

Layout Designers

Ashley Brooks

Mike Gonzalez

Gabriel Hernandez

Reporters

Veronica Barrera

Clarissa Martinez

Nikki Ramirez

Cesar Trevino

Celeste Y. Tello

Arianna Vazquez

Advertising

Dagoberto Perez

Circulation

Jesus M. Gonzalez

Advertising Coordinator

Juanita Sanchez

Adviser

Dr. Greg Selber

the PAN AMERICAN is theofficial studentnewspaper of TheUniversity ofTexas-PanAmerican. Views presentedare those of thewriters and do notnecessarily reflectthose of theuniversity.

The Pan Americangladly acceptsletters fromstudents, staff andfaculty regardingnewspaper contentor current issues.The Pan Americanreserves the rightto edit submissionsfor grammar andlength. Please limitsubmission lengthto 300 words. ThePan Americancannot publishanonymous letters,or submissionscontaining hatespeech orgratuitouspersonal attacks.Letters are printedat the discretion ofthe editor andmust include thewriter’s name,class/title andphone number.

Letters policy

October 312 0 0 2

Readers with dis-abilities mayrequest an alter-native format ofthis publicationat The PanAmerican busi-ness office. For special assis-tance to attendany event listedin this publica-tion, contact thecoordinator of theevent at least oneweek prior to theadvertised date.

Sports EditorMike Gonzalez

[email protected]

Celebrating 50 years

A & E EditorAshley Brooks

[email protected]

News EditorBelinda Reyes

[email protected]

Copy EditorsSunayna Mahtani

andBelinda Reyes

Graphics EditorGabriel O.Hernandez

[email protected]

NEWS■ Diabetes . . . . . . . . 3■ Construction . . . . . 5 ■ NORML . . . . . . . . . 6

The home of the University of Texas PanAmerican is turning 150.

Edinburg, Texas as well as HidalgoCounty, will celebrate the Hidalgo CountySesquicentennial Celebration this weekend,Nov. 1-3 at the Hidalgo Festival in Hidalgo.

The theme is "Celebrating 150 years ofCulture and Heritage," and the events willinclude activities such as pig races, a pettingzoo, Wild West gunfights, and a cookout.The musical entertainment will vary fromtraditional Tejano acts to country and blues.

A Community Showcase Arena will showoff the county's cities, including Edinburg,and there will be a History Zone offeringhistorical displays and educationalliterature.

Edinburg became a town in 1911, and intime moved from a predominantly farmingarea to a somewhat industrialized city.Edinburg experienced a building boom inthe late 1920s, and during this time ofgrowth and prosperity, city expansionsincluded a country club, a hospital, andseveral schools.

Then the town decided to includesomething in the community that would

affect the history of the Rio Grande Valley.Edinburg Junior College was built in 1927.

The Edinburg College graduated its firstclass in 1929. In 1933 Edinburg Collegebecame Edinburg Junior College, andEdinburg Regional College in 1948.Nineteen-fifty one marked a pinnaclemoment for the university when it became astate-supported school.

The support of the state prompted yetanother name change, Pan AmericanUniversity. In I971, the institution addedgraduate programs to its curriculum. In1989-90, the University of Texas adaptedthe Pan American University into its system.

Sesquicentennial nearingBy CLARISSA MARTINEZThe Pan American

OPINION l e t t e r s ■ e d i t o r i a l s ■ c a r t o o n sPAGE 2

Although she has over an hour before class,Angie Cruz, a junior education major, rushes toschool from work so she can get a parking spaceand be on time for class.

“If it wasn’t so hard to find parking I couldstop to get something to eat instead,” Cruz said.“But I have to wait until after class, and by thenI’m starving.”

Finding a parking space is a growing problemfor many students and a big issue on campus.The university is currently looking at land tocreate more parking lots for the future.However, the land is away from campus.

The Student Government Association (SGA),along with Parking Manager Eddie Morin, is inthe preliminary process of setting up a shuttleservice to transport students from the parkinglots to campus, and eventually from thecommunity.

The SGA will be holding a forum to discussits plans for the shuttle service and to hearstudents suggestions and ideas on the topic. Theforum will be held Tuesday, Nov. 5 from noonto 1 p.m. All students are welcome.

“As the university grows, parking willbecome a bigger problem and it will be hard toget to class in a decent amount of time,” saidAlyssa Muñoz, SGA president. “We want toprovide the shuttle service to help students andwould like to have it here in the next two years.”

According to Morin, they are basing theirplans on a Higher Education Transit study thatwas done in 1994. A consultant has also beenhired to put the shuttle system in place. SGA islooking into how the system will be funded.One possible option is to add $10 to $12 to eachstudents tuition every semester.

Another option is to raise the price of theparking permits so that only the students whodrive will pay for the system.

“It is a good idea to get started on it now

before it’s too late,” Morin said. “This way oncethe remote parking areas are built we willalready have the system in place. Then we’llonly have to look at expanding the system.”

According to Morin, they plan to eventuallyhave parking areas in McAllen and offExpressway 281, so that students can take theshuttle buses to campus.

The SGA will also be conducting a surveyNov. 5-6. In the morning they will be located inparking lots near the Science and Engineeringbuilding, the Social and Behavioral Sciencesbuilding, and Bronc Village. From 12 to 2 p.m.they will be located in the library lobby. Thequestionnaire will be on the shuttle service andother issues such as a weight room for studentuse only, and a possible bar on campus.

“We want to to know what the studentsthink,” Muñoz said. “We would reallyappreciate if people take a couple of minutes tocome by and fill out the questionnaires so wecan better serve them.”

Parking shuttle idea developsBy AMELIA GARCIAThe Pan American

GOT SOMETHING

TO SAY?

The Pan Americanwants to hearwhat you have tosay about stories,current events oranything you wantto rant about.Send yourresponses [email protected]

SO SAY IT!Just like any sport, volleyball requires

every player to be on the same page andright now the University of Texas-PanAmerican Lady Broncs are at that level asthey ride an eight-game winning streak.

With a win over Texas A&M-International, the Lady Broncs can tie aschool record nine-game winning streakSaturday night at Laredo.

The Lady Dustdevils will seek revengeas UTPA snapped their 14-game winningstreak on Oct. 18. Volleyball head coachDave Thorn believes A&M-Internationalwill be a different team although itssuffered some key injuries earlier in theseason.

“They’re a well-coached team whoplays hard,” Thorn said. “Unfortunately,they’ve had some season-ending injuriesto some of their key players. When theycame in here, they weren’t the team wewere expecting, but I’m sure they had achance to improve. I expect them to comeout a lot harder and play more

consistently as a team.”In their first meeting, UTPA rolled to a

30-18, 30-12 and 30-28 win at theFieldhouse. The Lady Broncs were able tocontrol a team that is known for theirdefensive play. Thorn knows how difficultit is to beat a quality team on the road,and realizes his team must step their gameup a notch.

“They’re at home, so that’s alwaystough and I expect it[game] to be a battle,”Thorn said.

During their winningstreak, it has been theplay of the freshmen thathas ignited the LadyBroncs from a 1-10 startto a .500 record.

Middle blockerStephanie Redd, middleblocker Danielle Holtheand setter Katie Burkeare three freshmanplayers that UTPA fanswill have a chance to seein a Bronc uniform forthe next couple of years. Although theLady Broncs got off to a rough start,Burke, who is third on the team with10.81 assists a contest, is happy herteammates have bounced back and turnedthe season around.

“It’s good to be winning especiallysince we started,” Burke said. “I know westarted slow, but I believed we could doit.”

Redd has really stepped up for UTPA.She’s averaging 2.29 kills and 0.61 blocksa game while Holthe is also averaging0.76 digs a game. Thorn always knew hisfreshmen had potential and believes teamchemistry has been the difference since

the start of theseason.

“They’re morecomfortableplaying at thecollege level,”Thorn said.“They’re morecomfortable withthe speed of thegame and witheach other. Theyall come fromdifferent areasand now startingto come togetheras a group.”

On Tuesday, the Lady Broncs reachedthe .500 mark for the first time this seasonsweeping Southwest Texas State 31-29,30-21 and 30-27. The victory was theirfirst ever against the Lady Bobcats. UTPAimproved its

record to 12-12 and is just one win awayfrom tying the school record with nine ina row, set last season. Leading the way forUTPA was junior outside hitter WinkerCruz with 12 kills. Burke added 44 assistswhile junior outside hitter JaclynMuszynski had 15 digs. Thorn realizeshow big the victory was for the programand is proud of his team’s performance.

“It was an excellent game,” Thorn said.“It was a historic win for us, and it was ateam effort.”

The Lady Broncs will conclude theirschedule at home next week against TexasA&M-Corpus Christi and on Nov. 11against New Mexico State.

October 31, 2002 sports Page 15

By MIKE GONZALEZThe Pan American

Lady Broncs go fornine in a row

Saturday

Volleyball winning streak reaches eight games

TENNIS continued from page 16

The tournaments during the fallsemester also add anotherdisadvantage in that opponents areunknown until the day of thecompetition. The match-updecisions are made at random, andthere is no time to review players’styles and weaknesses before therounds.

“I always hope to go up againstplayers who hit hard and miss alot,” Waslen said. “I’d much ratherhave to hustle than go up againstsomeone who is consistent fromthe baseline.”

Whether Waslen will be pairedwith her ideal opponent iscompletely up to fate, but she is

hopeful - based on the evenpairings she expects to see in SanAntonio - that the outcome of thetournament will be strong.

“We’re going up against schoolswho play at our level, so we havemuch better chances,” she said.

How the team does depends onhow much it improves during theoffseason. Chapman believes thatthe worst is now behind the LadyBroncs.

“You can’t control what time ofyear that you’re going to getinjured or sick,” Chapman said.“But hopefully we won’t have todeal with these things in thespring.”

I know westarted slow, butI believed wecould do it. “

“

- Katie Burke,volleyball player

At only 22 years old, Britishtennis player Matt Gower has bigplans for his future; but thoseplans are not for the tennis courts.UTPA’s number one tennis playeris also a budding musician, andhopes to continue a career inentertainment once his playingdays are over.

Gower has been playing tennissince he was six years old inSomerset, England.

“My parents took me out on thecourt to do something with theirkid, I was good at it,” he said.“The first ball I hit, I just had anatural talent for it.”

His natural talent and love forthe sport was enough to help himwork his way through the ranks inCheddar, England where heattended high school.

He even got an athleticscholarship to play tennis forUTPA. He came to the UnitedStates for the sake of travel and tofurther his education.

“I worked my way up throughthe ranks as a county player untilI finished high school and Idecided that I wanted to come tocollege in the states,” Gower said.“I just wanted to have some funand I thought that it would begood to go to college in thestates,” he said.

Gower is also attracted to thecompetitive nature of the game.

“I’m a competitive person, Ilike competing at a high level,”Gower said. “At Pan Am we’re

division one so I’m playing at thetop flight for a college player.”

Aside from a scholarship thatwould put him through college,he was attracted to some of thethings that Texas had to offer.

“I chose to come to Pan Ambecause of scholarship reasons, Iwas offered the best scholarship,”Gower said. “And I was attractedto the climate and the island, andI liked the idea of coming toschool in Texas because it had agood reputation for sports.”

Gower admits that although heis here to play tennis, his truepassion is off the court.

“I really enjoy my tennis, butmy passion is music,” he said.“I’ve had a lot of success withmusic in England.”

He said that on each of his tripsto England he is busy trying topush himself onto the foregroundon the music scene.

“Basically every time I gohome, I’m recording songs on analbum or performing trying tofurther my career as a solo artist,”Gower said.

With his college career comingto an end (he will be graduatingnext December) and plans for anAugust wedding under way,Gower hardly has a moment formusic but looks forward to moretime with his passion.

“I graduate next December andI’m getting married in August to aValley girl, then I’m going tohead back to England to try tomake it in the music world,” hesaid.

Because of his father’s success

in music in the 1970s, Gowerbelieves that he has a goodchance of making it as well.

“I’ve got a chance in the music,a real good chance because myfather is pretty big in the musicworld,” he said. “He was a popstar in the late seventies back inEngland and his albums wenttriple platinum all over the world.With him in my corner, I reckon Ican make it.”

He also has plans for the tennisteam at Pan Am and expects someof the younger players to continuebringing success to UTPA.

“The Pan Am team is a greattennis team, we’ve got some greatplayers,” Gower said. “The bestteam that Pan Am has had as anNCAA division one program soI’d say we’ve pretty much got thesolid strongest team in the historyof Pan Am tennis-wise.”

One of his biggest goals is totake the team to their firstnational championship.

“By the time our main seasonstarts up in January, I’m lookingto drum up an impressive finalyear for the team and for myself,”Gower said.

As the number one player forthe past two years, he believesthat he can lead the team on to apretty impressive national victory.

“I want to lead the Pan Amteam to their first nationalchampionship and conferencetitle, which is a very realistic goalwith the quality of players that wehave on the team,” Gower said.

• Melissa Montalvo contributed tothis story.

Great ExpectationsBrit Gower has tennis skills, musical ambitions as well. Will

marry soon and return to homeland

RETURN THIS: Freshman Elysia Sloan whacks a forehand shot in a recentpractice. The tennis team competes next in San Antonio.

By CELESTE Y. TELLOThe Pan American

Brian Carr / The Pan American

WHO: UTPA volleyballteam

WHAT: The LadyBroncs look for ninewins in a row whenthey host Texas A&MInternational Saturday.

October 31, 2002 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 3

Taking Control of DiabetesHow one student learned to accept, educate

herself, and take control of diabetesWhat would it take to walk away from

college if one was only 12 hours shy ofgraduation?

Perhaps clinical tests that reveal Type 2diabetes.

Adelina Alvarez, 42, began her ongoing fightwith diabetes her senior year at The Universityof Texas-Pan American. In 1982, Alvarez wasin acting class when she collapsed and wasrushed to Student Health Services. Later, testsrevealed she had the disease.

Type two diabetes results from insulinresistance (a condition in which the body failsto make enough or properly use insulin),combined with relative insulin deficiency. Onceshe was diagnosed, Alvarez learned she wouldhave to take daily insulin shots.

"When I found out, I was scared, I wasscared that everything I did would affect myhealth," Alvarez said.

After much thought, Alvarez decided to stopattending school 12 hours shy of graduation.

A 1978 McAllen High School graduate,Alvarez says she was very active in band, city

volleyball, and softball leagues which probablykept her healthy then.

She began her college career at theUniversity of Houston and admits she partiedtoo much and didn't exercise like she had inhigh school.

"Some days I would wake up feeling thesymptoms that I know now were from diabetes,but I would just say it was the late nightpartying," Alvarez said.

She transferred to UTPA soon after and thencame the collapse her senior year. Wanting tokeep the illness away from her family, Alvarezaccepted a job offer in Houston that guaranteedinsurance benefits, which she neededdesperately.

After so many visits to the doctor, Alvarezcame to believe that losing weight wouldimprove her health. She began a strict diet andexercised moderately and gradually lost 118pounds. The weight loss lowered her diabetesfrom type two to type one.

Type one diabetes results from the body'sfailure to produce insulin, the hormone that"unlocks" the cells of the body, allowingglucose to enter and fuel them.

The weight loss allowed Alvarez to ridherself of the daily insulin shot and wasprescribed a pill instead.

Her family found out later about her disease

and she decided to come back to McAllen to becloser to her parents. In spring of 2002 Alvarezdecided to return to UTPA and finish herdegree.

Twenty years after her collapse, Alvarezreturned to UTPA to finish the 12 hoursremaining from her senior year and 21additional hours that were added to her degreeplan.

"Now 20 years later, I finally feel I canhandle my illness," she said.

Alvarez is not married and has no children,which makes it easier for her to keep a strictdiet and exercise moderately.

"I try to eat American style, I can't eat ourtraditional tortillas, rice, and beans," sheadmitted.

She believes that diet and exercise are veryimportant for her, especially now that she is astudent again. She takes from anywhere fromsix to 12 hours in order to make stressmanageable. She also talks to professorsbeforehand in order to explain the effectsdiabetes has on her, both mentally andphysically.

Alvarez said she has to read assignedmaterial two or three times since poor memoryretention is one possible side effect of diabetes.She must find time during the day to do herschoolwork as well, because staying up late

only hinders her health.Oversleeping is also a side effect so she has

to make sure she finds and keeps a dailyroutine.

"When my sugar levels are out of control, Ibegin to feel anxious and claustrophobic in theclassroom so I have to walk out and go get abreath of fresh air," Alvarez said.

She's determined to take control of thedisease for life though.

“I'm not going to let this disease get the bestof me," she said. "I'm going to graduate, findmyself a good job and not use this disease as anexcuse to not make a person out of myself."

One other main concern she has is the lackof awareness about diabetes at UTPA. Shebelieves that students must not be afraid to seereality, especially in an area where one in fivepeople will be stricken with the disease in theirlifetime.

"Go to your regular doctor visits, askquestions, get checked now," Alvarez said.

Student Health Services, which is located inEmilia Ramirez-Schunior Hall at UTPA, isopen from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and offers spotchecks, screenings, and referral services fordiabetes.

Alvarez ended stressing, "Don't be afraid,take action and educate yourself about diabetes,it might save your life."

Returning UTPA student deals with illness

An unhealthy diet and no exercise is notjust bad – it is causing numerous health issues,including s diabetes.

According to the American DiabetesAssociation (ADA) Web page, diabetes is adisease in which the body does not produce orproperly use insulin, a hormone needed toconvert sugar, starches, and other food intoenergy for daily use.

The cause of diabetes is a mystery, althoughboth genetics and environmental factors suchas obesity and lack of exercise do play roles.Although Dr. Esperanza Briones, associateprofessor and coordinator of the University ofTexas-Pan American dietetics program, statedthat uncontrolled diabetes can lead to seriousproblems in the eyes, kidneys, nerves, gumsand teeth, as well as heart disease. There areessentially three types of diabetes; type 1, type2, and gestational diabetes.

Type 1, or insulin dependent diabetes, isusually first diagnosed in children, teenagersor young adults, and occurs when the body'simmune system has attacked and destroyedthe pancreas beta cells preventing theproduction of insulin. Almost 5-10 percent ofall diabetes cases in the United States are type1. Treatments for this type includes takinginsulin shots or using an insulin pump, makingwise food choices, exercising regularly, pluscontrolling blood pressure and cholesterol.

Type 2, or non-insulin dependent diabetes,is the most common form, which can bedeveloped at any age, even during childhood.In this case, the pancreas does not makeenough insulin and the fat, muscle or livercells do not use it properly. Type 2 sufferersare 90-95 percent of total disease patients.Chances of getting it are higher for overweightor obese people, numbers of which are on therise in this country. Treatment includes usingoral hypoglycemic agents (pills), making wisefood choices, exercising regularly, andcontrolling blood pressure and cholesterol.

Gestational diabetes develops during 2-5

percent of all pregnancies, but usuallydisappears when the pregnancy is over.Women who have had gestational diabeteshave a greater risk of developing type 2diabetes later in their lives.

DIABETES RISKS AND HISPANICSThough the chances of each type of diabetes

are different, according to Rick Gary, directorof the Student Health Services, it is the sixthleading cause of death and affects nearly 17million Americans. More importantly, a largepercentage of the diabetic population may befound here in the Valley among Hispanics.

“Diabetes is disproportionately increased inthe Rio Grande Valley with 10-15 percent ofthe Hispanic population at risk for thedisease,” Briones said. “Of the 50,000-100,000 at risk, approximately 32,000 havebeen identified as having diabetes. However,it has been estimated that 50 percent ofdiabetic individuals in Texas areundiagnosed.”

There are several reasons Hispanics aremore prone to diabetes.

“[There] tends to be a higher obesity rateamong Hispanics in the Valley, and the factthat Hispanics in generally have a higher[chance] of adult onset diabetes (type 2),” saidDr. William McIntyre, professor and interimdean of the College of Health Science andHuman Services.

According to Briones, some of the riskfactors most commonly seen in Hispanicsinclude a family history of diabetes,gestational diabetes, obesity, and physicalinactivity.

DIABETES AND UTPAWith the trend of diabetes among Hispanics,

it is understandable that it may be visible atUTPA.

“Type 2 diabetes is found among studentsand faculty at UTPA,” McIntyre said.

UTPA’s Student Health Services hopes tocombat the disease on campus by creatingawareness in offering spot checks and testsscreening, and referral services to dietary

services for students and staff. It also providededucation on diabetes with nurse practitionersfor the staff.

Research is also being done by facultymembers in this area of importance.

“I received a small grant from the Office ofBiomedical Research and Resources, UTPA,to conduct a pilot study entitled, ‘Effectivenessof Medical Nutrition Therapy for Type 2diabetes,’” Briones said. “The purpose of thispilot study is to determine the effectiveness ofa culturally appropriate dietary and lifestyleeducation intervention designed for MexicanAmericans with type 2 diabetes residing in theRio Grande Valley.”

DIABETES COSTAccording to ADA, diabetes is an expensive

disease to treat, and if people develop it atyounger ages, the overall price tag balloons.

As ADA stated:-Direct medical costs attributable to

diabetes: $44.1 billion. -Indirect costs, including factors such as

days of work lost and permanent disability:$54.1 billion.

-Cost of medical care for a person withdiabetes: $10,071 per year, compared with$2,669 for a person without diabetes.

-Costs can be greatly reduced if patientsexercise and eat healthy.

HEALTHY RECIPES

Spinach, Red Onion, and Cherry TomatoSalad with Tarragon Vinaigrette

4 serving(s)/Serving size: 1/4 of salad, tTbsp dressing

Chef's Hint: To keep your salad frombecoming soggy, place a saucer upside downin the bottom of the salad bowl. The waterwill drain off the saucer and leave the saladdry.

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar2/3 cup olive oil1 shallot, minced1/4 cup fresh tarragon, minced

1/2 tsp saltPinch black pepper3/4 lb spinach1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters1/2 red onion, thinly sliced4 oz Roquefort blue cheese 1. In a medium bowl, add the vinegar.

Slowly whisk in the olive oil until it isthoroughly mixed. Add the shallot, tarragon,salt, and black pepper. Mix well.

2. Rinse the spinach beneath cold, runningwater, then pat dry. Remove the stems, thencoarsely chop the spinach.

3. Place the spinach in the center of theplate. Place the onions over the top of thespinach, then drizzle the salad with 1 Tbsp ofthe tarragon dressing. Crumble 1 oz of thecheese on top and serve.

WHITE BEAN SALADpreparation time: 20 minutes6 servings/ serving size: 1/2 cupexchanges: 1 starch1 monounsaturated fatcalories: 132calories from fat: 44total fat: 5gsaturated fat: 1gcholesterol: 0mgsodium: 111mgcarbohydrate: 18gdietary fiber: 3gsugars: 2gprotein: 6g

1 cup canned cannellini beans, drained andrinsed

1 cup canned navy beans, drained andrinsed

1/2 cup minced scallions1/2 cup minced fresh Italian parsley1/4 cup minced celery1/4 cup balsamic vinegar2 Tbsp. olive oilfresh ground pepper to tasteCombine all ingredients in a salad bow,

cover and refrigerate for several hours beforeserving.

Diabetes: Valley vulnerable to diseaseBy SUNAYNA MAHTANIThe Pan American

By ADRIANA MARTINEZThe Pan American

The UTPA women will travelMonday to Sam Houston StateUniversity to compete in theirfourth and final tournament of thefall season – that is, if the weathercooperates.

Heavy rains cut short the LadyCardinal Invitational in Beaumonttwo weeks ago, and the UTPAteam finished sixth place overall inwhat proved to be a one-day 18-hole tournament. And forecasts callfor thunderstorm and tornadowarnings in the east Texas area.

But weather conditions changeconstantly and east Texas can’tstay wet forever. As long as thereis no lightning in the sky and thecourse is not completelysubmerged the tournament will beon. The lightning rule applies, ofcourse, because of the uncannylikeness between golf clubs andlightning rods - a likeness whichhas proved fatal to many golfers inthe past. And as long as the courseis dry enough to walk on,conditions are deemed playable.

Besides being the Lady Broncs’final outing of fall, it will be theirfirst tournament in almost a month.The team opened the season at theUniversity of North Texas inDenton with the second lowestsingle round score in schoolhistory, but then took a drasticmomentum change in their second

and third outings of the season.And although the team hasrecorded some great individualfinishes – Daniel Cortez came in10th place individually at theHuskie Classic – the Lady Broncshave not produced the scores thathead coach Barbara Odale knowsthey’re capable of.

Odale, however, feels thecompetition hiatus has lent itself torebuilding the team’s spirit andsees the Sam Houston StateInvitational, held at the one-timePGA stop Waterwood Golf Course,as the perfect time to return to thekind of golf they played at theLady Eagle Invitational.

“We know we have to get backto the level of playing we had inDenton,” said Odale, “ I see SamHouston as a perfect place to gainsome respect.”

Due to the conditions and layoutof the course there will be a fewvariables that the Lady Broncosdid not have to contend with whenthey played in the Lady EagleInvitational.

Freshman Nicole Boychuk, whogrew up in Conroe, has playedWaterwood both competitively andleisurely for much of her life, andunderstands that there are someinnate differences between thatcourse and what the Lady Broncsare used to practicing on.

“Waterwood can really punishyou if you’re having a bad day,”Boychuk said. “It’s got lots oftrees, and it makes it more difficultknowing that you can’t go that farleft or right of the fairway.

“When we play down here thereare almost no trees. You don’t haveto worry about losing your ball inthe woods, and even if you hit the

ball a mile to the left you can stillshoot at your fair way,” saidBoychuk.

But Boychuk is not intimidatedby the course, and on the contraryregards it as one of her favorites.

“The course is really pretty,”Boychuk said. “It’s right on LakeLivingston, and it’s really quietand peaceful. And actually thetrees can help you because theyshow you exactly where thefairway is.”

Other conditions which mayhinder the Lady Broncperformance, will be the saturatedstate of the course, whichaccording to Waterwood employeesis still too wet to be traveled on bycarts, and too wet for the greens tobe maintained by mowing.

In college tournaments, playersare required to travel the course byfoot, but the conditions willdrastically change the way a playerhas to play the course.

“When you’re playing on a wetcourse you tend to pick up a lotmore mud with your swing, andthat really shortens your drives,”Odale said. “Also there is atendency for the ball to leave thehead of your club funny when it iswet.”

One aspect of the tournamentwhich may help the Broncs incompetition is the heightenedamount of moral support they willreceive. This will be the onlytournament of the fall season inwhich all eight members of theLady Broncs will travel andcompete. The normal rules of fiveto a team will still apply, but thosewho do not compete for the LadyBroncs will still be considered forindividual placement.

One of the most important meets for theUTPA men’s and women’s cross countryteams is quickly closing in on the Broncrunners and they will soon have to let itloose at the Corpus Christi IndependentChampionships on Nov. 2.

This is one of the meets that the teamshave been preparing for throughout theseason. Coach Doug Molnar said that hebelieves his team is ready and many of theteam members agree that they have thecapacity to do well at the meet.

For junior runner Hugo Cervantes, thismeet is full of expectations especially whenit comes to matching up against Corpus.

“Basically we’re expecting for everyoneto go out there and run to their fullestpotential,” Cervantes said. “We’ve beentraining hard and I think it’s going to comedown to us and Corpus and it’s going to bea close race.”

Another strong runner for the men’steam, Westly Keating, has high

expectations of himself for the independentchampionship.

“I expect to run well and win the race,”Keating said. “The competition is going tobe great Corpus is the only main school andthey have decent runners but I think I canwin the race.”

For other runners, like Randy Salazar,this race is about meeting goals as anindividual.

“For this meet I’ve already set a goal formyself, to try to come in top ten,” Salazarsaid. “I think the team is going to do good,too. We pulled out all the stops and we’vebeen training really hard and we’re going todo our best to come out on top.”

The women’s team is also looking forsuccess at the independent championship.

Junior runner Patty Villarreal has had animpressive season so far and is looking todo even better at the Nov. 2 meet.

“I’m really nervous about this weekend, Idon’t want to make the same mistake that Imade at A&M which was going too fasttrying to keep up with the Corpus girls,”she said. “I’m going to try to be smarter

this time and run my own race in thebeginning and try to catch up in the middle.I’m going to pace myself, that’s my plan.”

For Deanah Chavez, a freshmen teammember, the meet is about keeping up withher teammateVillarreal.

“This meet Iexpect to stay upwith Patty, myteammate, she’sbeen doing reallywell and my goalevery race is tostay with her aslong as I can,”Chavez said.“Team-wise Ithink we can dowell, it’ll be ahard competitionbut I think we’vebeen working hardenough to go out there and run to win.”

This meet is the halfway mark to theculmination of the cross country season for

the UTPA runners and one of the highlightsof the season for Coach Molnar.

“All year this is one of the two meetsthat we’ve been pointing to so I’m veryexcited about watching them compete this

weekend,” Molnar said.“I’m looking forward toeveryone running the bestrace of their year thisweekend.”

The UTPA teams willbe matching up againstCentenary, DavidLipscam, and CorpusChristi but they still havehigh expectations.

“I’m expecting us to goout and each person runthe best race of their lifethis weekend,” Molnarsaid. “There’s no reasonthat we shouldn’t, we’veprepared and done all the

necessary work all year and we’veimproved each and every week, this shouldbe no different.”



Independent Championships this weekend in Corpus Christi give cross country athletes chance at collective,personal records. Both men’s and women’s teams to compete

Team, individual goals looming for runners

Golf team watches weather inpreparation for next tournament


Trip toHuntsvillescheduled

forward. Holcomb, who is a transfer from Allen CommunityCollege in Iola, Kan., hopes his presence in the paint will helpthe Broncs inside game with scoring, rebounding andtoughness.

“So far from the moment I got here on campus, it’s beennothing but a positive attitude in terms of what we want toaccomplish as a team,” Holcomb said. “ I think it’s going to bea learning curve because there’s old and new players andwe’ve all trying to adjust to each other moves, likes anddislikes, but I think we’re doing pretty good and we’reworking hard in practice.”

Even though the first game is right around the corner,Hoffman insists his focus is on improving his team rather thanhis opponents.

“The first thing we did in our first team meeting is talkabout executing our style of play and philosophy of offense,”Hoffman said. “We’ve got to get everybody in the samephilosophy.”

Basically we’reexpecting foreveryone to goout there and runto their fullestpotential.

“

“

- Hugo Cervantes,cross country runner

HOOPS continued from page 16

ReporterReporter

needed.needed.The Pan American is looking for

a sports reporter to audition this

semester for a full time position

in the spring. Call Mike Gonzalez

at 381-2546.


Gabriella GonzalezArtSophomore

I’m gonna hang out with my roomatesand dress up just for fun..

Felix Garza MusicFreshman

I’m dresssing up as Hugh Hefner fora party.

Abigail OrtizMusicFreshman

None. I am a Christian and I don’tcelebrate those types of holidays

What are your plans thisHalloween?

Karol GuevaraBusiness ManagementSophomore

I’m going to a party at Kafecitos. Then I’mgoing to an after party. But I don’t have acostume yet.

VOICECCaammppuuss

Elias RojasJournalismJunior

This Halloween I’m going to spend it withmy family because it’s holidays like thesethat bad things could happen so it is bestto be with your family.

October 31, 2002 Sports Page 13

Baltimore atAtlanta

More and more the Falcons are looking like aplayoff team. They will have an oppor tunit y toprove they are for real.

Falcons by 7Matt Celeste GregFalcons Falcons Falcons

Dallas at Detroit

Fans at Detroit will not accept the fact thatEmmit t Smith is the all-time leading rusher. Barr ySanders should’ve played for a couple of moreseasons. Things would have been different.

Cowboys by 10Matt Celeste GregCowboys Lions Cowboys

New England atBuffalo

Even though there’s still a long way to go, it’s amust win for the Patriots. Bledsoe circled thisdate when the schedule was released

Bills by 3Matt Celeste GregBills Patriots Patriots

Cincinnati at Houston

Bengals head coach Dick LeBeau guaranteed vic-tory on Sunday. I’ll go by his word.

Bengals by 6Matt Celeste GregTexans Texans Bengals

Minnestoa atTampa Bay

The Vikings finally played the way I thought theywould play all season long. It’s too bad they wait-ed too long and the Bucs are more consistent.

Bucs by 7Matt Celeste GregBucs Bucs Bucs

Philadelphia at Chicago

This was supposed to be a payback game for theBears for the loss they had in the Divisional play-off game last year. Instead, the Bears have beena big disappointment in 2002.

Eagles by 13Matt Celeste GregEagles Bears Eagles

Pittsburgh atCleveland

The Browns came from behind to knock off theJets, but the Steelers are on a roll.

Steelers by 13Matt Celeste Greg Steelers Steelers Browns

N.Y. Jets at San Diego

This is a bat tle of two teams going in oppositedirections. I can’t help but admire what theChargers have done to turn their franchisearound.

Chargers by 13Matt Celeste GregChargers Jets Chargers

St. Louis at Arizona

The Cardinals proved they are not ready to takecommand of a division. The Rams should roll.

Rams by 10Matt Celeste GregRams Rams Cardinals

Jacksonville at N.Y. Giants

Here are two teams that have played inconsistentthis season. At times they look like a playoff team, but at times they play like the Bengals.

Giants by 6

Matt Celeste GregGiants Giants Giants

Tennessee at Indianapolis

Who ever runs the ball more effectively will comeout on top. This will be a physical hard foughtcontest, but I like the Colts at home.

Colts by 3Matt Celeste GregTitans Titans Colts

San Francisco atOakland

It will be an emotional game for Jerr y Rice who isthe best receiver who ever played the game. Thisshould be a high scoring game with Rice andTerrell Owens having big games. The Raidersshould snap their three game losing streak.

Raiders by 7Matt Celeste GregRaiders Niners Raiders

Washington atSeattle

Steve Spurrier finally made up his mind on whichquar terback will lead them. He must stick to oneif he wants to build chemistr y with his team. Ifyou ask me, they should’ve stayed with Ramsey.

Redskins by 13Matt Celeste GregRedskins Redskins Redskins

Miami at Green Bay

This is the time of year that a team cannot playthe Packers on the road. The Dolphins will havetheir hands full with a hungry Green Bay team.

Packers by 10Matt Celeste GregDolphins Packers Packers

Open Dates: Carolina, Denver, Kansas Cit y andNew Orleans

StaffMikeGonzalez:67-50,.573GregSelber:64-52,.547

Celeste Y.Tello: 61-54, .521 MattLynch: 69-47, .590

Staff Swami Records

Mike GonzalezSports Editor

Swamis

Dr. Greg SelberAdviser

Matt LynchEditor

Celeste TelloReporter

KarateChampionships tobe held at UTPA

The University of Texas-PanAmerican will host the fifthAnnual UTPA Master Davis KarateChampionships at noon onSaturday at the UTPA Health andPhysical Education Building.Events include Black belt fighting,wood board breaking, Judo, AikidoTai Chi, Tae Kwon Do, self-defense and weapons competition.

Recreationalannounces deadline

The intramural and recreationalsports announces deadlines for theracquetball and tennis events. Theracquetball entries are due Nov. 1and play is scheduled to begin onNov. 5. Tennis entries are due onNov. 15 and play is expected tobegin on Nov. 18. All entries are tobe turned in at Bronc Village

located off Sugar and SchuniorRd. in Apt. 2101.

Broncs competeat ITA

The men’s tennis team endedtheir fall schedule and traveled toFort Worth to compete in the OmniHotels Intercollegiate TennisAssociation Southwest RegionalTournament at Texas ChristianUniversity (TCU). In doublesmatch, sophomores Filip Kozielland Jeremy Salvo won their firstround doubles match against RyanDavis and Dave Knaszak of TexasTech 8-4, but lost to DanielScholten and Fabrizio Sestini ofTCU, 9-7. Junior TomMangleschots fell in his consola-tion semi-final to Take Moeta ofRice, 6-3, 6-3. Head coach ToddChapman feels Mangleschots faceda tough opponent, but is proud ofhis effort.

“He [Tom] played a good play-er,” Chapman said.

SPORTS CLIPBOARD

October 31, 2002 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 5October 31, 2002 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 12

A series of construction projects at theUniversity of Texas-Pan American are onschedule.

According to Marvin Boland, director ofFacilities Planning and Construction atUTPA, some projects are being moved upand may cause a delay on others.

“All the construction varies,” saidBoland. “Generally right now everythingis where it needs to be.”

Such projects include work on the newVisitors Center and the old math building.Boland said the Visitors Center is almostcomplete and will be ready for thededication Nov. 2.

“It’s 99 percent complete,” said Boland.“We are just working on a few little bugs,but nothing major.”

Boland said new parking space will beadded soon to the university. JodyRamsey Stadium has been turned into aparking lot, and will be available forstudents next week if the weather clearsup.

Renovation and construction projectsmake the school look good, but at anexpense. Boland said the Visitors Centerplus the surrounding parking lot has costan estimated $3 million. However, the costmay be the least of the problems to severalUTPA students. Freshman Yvette Martinez

says students have to go around theconstruction, which may be frustratingsometimes.

“It’s very dirty and there is a lot of mudall over the place,” said Martinez. “Theyblock a lot of places which makes us goaround.”

Boland says although they have notreceived any legitimate complaints fromstudents, they do try to consider theirneeds before they start on a project. Headds that most of the time the constructioncan cause heavy traffic, which isunavoidable.

“We understand the problems we cancreate,” said Boland. “We may not alwayssucceed, but we try to.”

Other UTPA students don’t mind theconstruction. Freshman Deila Barbosasays the new facilities will benefit futureUTPA students.

“Anything new is good for us,” saidBarbosa. “If we have to go aroundsometimes, it doesn’t matter because it’sgoing to benefit us.”

Several new projects are under way forthe university. Boland said funds for anew education building have beenapproved and construction should begin inearly spring.

There is also a new room for computerusage under construction in thecommunication building, and it should beready for use by the fall semester.

Campus building projects continueBy JENNIFER TAPIAThe Pan American

As four years flash before your eyes,a bachelor degree gets closer. Yet, is thatthe end or is there more to look forwardto? Getting a master’s degree byattending graduate school is always apossible route students can take tofurther their education.

The University of Texas-PanAmerican is one of thousands of schoolsthat are able to prepare students for agraduate program, and it offers morethan 30 graduate programs itself. Themost popular programs are housed inthe College of Education and theCollege of Business. The university hasa pair of doctoral programs and isworking on several more for the future.

Information for enrollment in thegraduate school may be obtained withineach department, or from the Office ofGraduate Studies.

Lourdes Servantes, placementspecialist at Cooperative Education,stated that it is essential to get a headstart on brainstorming for the future

“You have to start planning as soon aspossible for graduate schools,”Servantes said, adding that some peoplestart doing so after their sophomoreyear.

Each college has different

requirements for enrollment. Someaccept only a limited amount of studentsto their program and those who applyquickly have a better opportunity.

There are essential elements whichaid success in acceptance, such as asolid grade point average (GPA), abachelor’s degree, and good scores onthe Graduate Record Exam (GRE).Sometimes work experience is a plus.

Preparing for graduate school is along and detailed process. According tograduate program coordinators,gathering information on which schoolsoffer what one wants/needs is the wayto start. Finding deadlines for entryexaminations, as well as for submittingapplications, is the next thing to do.

Students can start the applicationprocess when they are 12 hours awayfrom finishing their bachelor degree,though planning for it begins in Januaryof the junior year.

According to Servantes the graduateprograms differ from undergraduateone, and are usually more challenging tostudents.

“The graduate program is an intensiveprogram. It takes a lot of time and theclasses are very [challenging],”Servantes commented.

Furthering an education might cost alittle bit more than a undergraduatedegree does, but financial aid and loansare available for individuals with

financial need.Nurit Hernandez, UTPA graduate and

a first-year student in UTPA’s Collegeof Engineering graduate program, saidgraduate school is very different fromundergraduate work.

“It is very difficult and challenging,but it is definitely worth it,” Hernandezsaid.

Another UTPA graduate, MarshaMason, is pursuing her graduate studiesat Rice University in Houston, in orderto eventually pursue a doctorate degreein economics. She stated that thetransition from undergraduate tograduate is more intense, especiallyduring the first year.

“You have to hit the ground runningand can never really take a break,”Mason said. “Graduate school is not aplace for the fainthearted. It takes a lotof determination and perseverance tosucceed.”

Mason and Hernandez are two of themany thousands of graduate students inthe United States. In the last fewdecades, international students fromacross the globe have filed into thecountry’s high education system inincreasing numbers.

Anyone interested in graduate schoolshould obtain information by contactingEnedelia Kidd at the AdministrationBuilding, room 116, or by phone at(956) 381-2243.

Grad school beckonsThe 3rd Annual Women’s Show will be

held this weekend at the McAllen CivicCenter, with events Friday throughSunday. Action starts Friday at 4 p.m.

According to event coordinator JulieBarnick, this year’s show will featureexhibits varying from health and fitness toart and crafts, and cosmetics.

“Many women of the Rio Grande Valleyhave a career and a family, and those whoare housewives have just as complicatedjobs as well,” Barnick said. “This is aweekend for the women to enjoythemselves as well as shop for almosteverything there is under one roof.”

Other events include a fashion show,kickboxing demonstrations, free bonedensity exams, and featured healthprofessionals such as gynecologists andplastic surgeons. A silent auction will beheld and the money raised will go tobenefit children across the Valley. Therewill also be an area where people canbring toys to donate to the community.

“I encourage all women to support theshow and also to support all the peoplewho have been working diligently to putthis show together,” Barnick said.

The men of the community will not tobe left out though. Everyone is welcometo attend the show, but if the men losetheir patience with the exhibits they canrest in a room with a television andcouches just for the occasion.

This year marks the first year that the

Women’s Show will feature a highlight ofthe “Millennium Woman of the Year.”The award will recognize one woman inthe Rio Grande Valley community who hascontributed to the advancement of allwomen, through personal triumphs,community service, and/or professionalaccomplishments.

Barnick said that there were manynominations this year, and six finalistswere chosen. One will be named theMillennium Woman of the Year Fridayevening.

“We wanted to recognize the womenwho have overcome odds through theirwill and determination,” Barnick said.“We are so happy with the results that wehave received from having this newhighlight.”

Sponsors of the event includesManrique Refractive Laser Center,Cornerstone Fitness Center, Time WarnerCable, and several others.

Abby Vela is the representative of theWomen’s Clinic of South Texas, one of theother sponsors for the Women’s Show.

Vela said that the Women’s Clinic ishappy to sponsor such events because ofthe positive recognition they give to thewomen of Valley.

“We deal with women’s health care andeverything in that area so we want to sharewith the community what we have to offerthem as well as support the community intheir activities,” Vela said.

Events will be held Friday from 4 p.m.to 8 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.and Sunday from 11 a.m. till 5 p.m.

Women’s show onBy CLARISSA MARTINEZThe Pan AmericanBy ARIANNA VAZQUEZ

The Pan American

“Oil and drugs are the two top reasons for the UnitedStates involvement in the Middle East. War onTerrorism is just a justification. It is actually last onthe list.”

Freeman will also explain that marijuana is non-addictive, contains no carcinogens or other toxicsubstances, and is less dangerous than tobacco oralcohol, which are not illegal.

Club organizer Kasie Sheldon, a junior politicalscience and speech communication major, will alsospeak at the meeting on the topic.

“Prohibition is wrong,” Sheldon said. “Marijuana isnot worse than alcohol or nicotine and tobacco. Thetime for change is now. Prohibition did not work inthe 1930s and it is not working now.”

Several states, including California, Nevada, andNew Mexico, have experimented with passing morelenient laws toward marijuana.

The speaker for November’s meeting will be JohnJones, instructor for political science. He speech istitled “Drugs and You: How drug policies affectstudents and Latinos.”

“All the information in my speech is available fromgovernment documents and newspapers,” Jones said.“I’m not just making this stuff up. It is just that thegovernment ignores the problem. I just want to spreadout the information.”

The speaker for the December meeting will beLibney Peña, who will speak about the benefits ofhemp products. Edinburg NORML is also planningvarious community projects. Officer nominations willbe held at the meeting as well. All students, staff andfaculty are invited to participate in open discussion atthe meeting.

“Most people are not aware of the uses and benefitsof hemp,” Freeman said. “We want to promotediscussion at the meeting and educate people. It isgood for students and the American public to know.”

NORML continued from page 6


According to many sources, studentactivism is on the rise around the countrydue to the possible invasion of Iraq, andother world events and issues. Recentmajor demonstrations have taken placenationally in Washington D.C. andregionally in Austin and San Antonio.

And locally, students at the Universityof Texas-Pan American also take a standagainst issues they feel strongly about.

Today at noon the first meeting ofEdinburg National Organization for theReform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)will be held in room 109 at the Social andBehavioral Sciences building. Accordingto the club’s mission statement, itspurposes are: 1. to move public opinionso that responsible use of cannabis byadults in no longer subject to penalty; 2.to inform and educate the public onpertinent research concerning the medical,scientific, and sociological effects ofmarijuana.

NORML was formed in the 1970s andis the largest and oldest non-profitorganization lobbying in Washington D.C.

to reform marijuana laws. It has beendedicated to ending marijuana prohibitionand has led efforts towarddecriminalization in many states. Chapterscan be found in communities andcampuses across the country.

Edinburg NORML will hold monthlymeetings at which speakers will presentinformation about the benefits of hemp,medicinal marijuana, the history ofprohibition, and other similar topics. Thespeaker at today’s meeting will be theclub’s faculty adviser, political scienceprofessor Samuel Freeman. He will bespeaking about the economical andmedicinal uses of marijuana.

“Marijuana is an amazing plant,”Freeman said. “It has about 10 to 12known uses. It has economic benefits andhealth benefits such as for glaucoma,cancer, and AIDS patients. To get high isthe least useful use.”

Freeman’s will also speak about theconnection of marijuana and drugs to theUnited States government and the war inAfghanistan.

“Drugs are a money-making operationfor the U.S. Government,” Freeman said.

NORML meeting set By AMELIA GARCIAThe Pan American

UTPA shows student activism tendency

Friday, Nov. 1

UTPA communication pro-fessor George McLemorepresents "A Taste of India,"at South Texas CommunityCollege from 5:30 p.m. to 7p.m. McLemore, a Fulbrightscholar who taught for ayear in India, will show aslide presentation titled"Images of India," and therewill be fashion demonstra-tions and food. Event is at

the STCC Pecan CampusStudent Lounge. CallMcLemore (381-3583)Barbara Mayo (683-2561),or Marisa Taylor (688-2175)for more information.The program will be fol-lowed by a showing of MiraNair's "Monsoon Wedding,"sponsored by the ForeignFilm Association. Film is at7 p.m. in auditorium build-ing B.

Saturday, Nov. 2From 6 p.m.-10 p.m., the16th annual FlorenceNightingale benefit will beheld at The Club atCimarron. The benefit, pre-sented by the NursingAdvisory Council, is fornursing program enhance-ment and scholarships.There will be an auction,entertainment and surprises.The cost is $100 per couple(of that, $68 will be a dona-tion).For more info, call SylviaYbarra at 381-3495 orMerica Ramirez at 381-3491.

Cam

pus

Cale

ndar

NovemberSee NORML page 12

October 31, 2002 Arts & Entertainment Page 11

HALLOWEEN continued from page 8

Another local legend isabout Virginia, the ghost inthe old UTPA women'sdormitory.

Virginia is said to havebeen a student around theearly 1970s who lived in thewomen's north hall. She canbe seen roaming thebasement and the top twofloors. According to a recentspecial collections articlefrom UTPA’s archives, astudent who lived in thedormitory last year heardunexplained noises in thethird room study hall. Sheheard other cohabitantswould see the ghost and feelchills.

The legend is that Virginiawent out on a date, and theboy raped her. She found thatshe was pregnant, and couldnot continue the pregnancy.She performed on anabortion on herself with acoat hanger. She regretted thedecision and eventuallycommitted suicideby hangingherself in the bathroom.

They say the room wassealed up on the third floorfor many years, and when thedormitory went underconstruction it was opened,and workers found crucifixesaligned on the top of thewalls.

SPORTS LORE

UTPA’s Jody RamseyStadium has a ghost story ofits own. Oral legend has itthat when the Bronc baseballstadium was being built,baseball athletes would helpwith construction.

One day when theconstruction was almostcomplete, a storm camethrough while the men wereputting up the light posts. Alight post fell andelectrocuted Jody Ramsey,one of the team’s bestplayers. The universitydedicated the stadium to him.According to a specialcollections article, athleteinformants said Ramseyroams the baseball field onstormy nights, trying to findhis way out of the baseballfield.

was in the locked building.She said some employeesfrom the top floor say theyhave felt that someone iswalking heavily behindthem when they are alone.

The employee also saideveryone who works therehas either heard noises orheard of someone elseexperiencing somethingscary.

According to clerk

Alfredo Ramos, the manwho passed away on thefourth floor,died in thegraduate study room eightor nine years back. He hasworked for the library forsix years. Ramos said hehad an experience with theghost child.

“When I used to work upthere [on the third floor] Iwas getting ready to close,I would hear the little boy

giggle. I would alwayscheck to see who it wasand no one would bethere,” Ramos said. “Thehair on my back wouldstand.”

Ramos added that heheard stories fromcoworkers about similarincidences, where peoplewould hear someonebehind them and feel aheavy presence.

The upper part of thelibrary is not the only placethe employees feel jumpy.One student said she feelsan eerie presence in theJohn H. Shary room. Theback of the office is astorage room for oldperiodicals and books.

“I have heard that peoplewould hear footsteps andvoices, in certain sectionswhere the storage [is],

behind the replica of JohnShary’s office,” said DrwuLucio, a sophomorecriminal justice major. “Itis a [scary] room.”

Dr. Mark Glazer,professor of anthropology,has studied local ghostlegends for over 25 years,said that part of the reasonwhy ghost stories exist isbecause people like to hearabout scary stories.

“Ghost stories are scaryand people like to bescared, is one partial reasonwhy they [stories] exist.Another reason is thatsome people believe in anafterlife, some souls go toheaven, some stay here onearth,” Glazer said. “It[ghost stories] is acombination of belief andscary stories create ghoststories.”

Make way for the children. The UTPATheater department has set its sight onpleasing the younger members of thecommunity, and will now showcase playsespecially made for them.

Paving the way for this program will beBrian Warren, the university’s children’stheater specialist. Warren is a veteranplaywright, and has taught at South TexasCommunity College and the University ofTexas-Brownsville/Texas Southmost College.

Warren has been producing children's playsfor years, and has created five children'splays, three of which has been performed atUTPA.

“I want to help the program win exposurethrough a variety of shows,” said Warren, whoplans to accomplish this task by producing“A Christmas Carrot,” his newest play,which is scheduled to be performed later thisyear. The other plays he is planing to producewill have both adults and children as actors.

But Warren does not want to limit his newprogram to just plays. He also wants to createa children's musical, a feat not easilyachieved. “I want to create a children’smusical to help broaden the spectrum ofchildren’s theater.”

Warren admits that creating a musical willbe a challenge, but he is still excited with theopportunity. He also wants to initiate writingcontests and a children’s ensemble to help getkids in the community involved with the arts.

“The ensembles would work all aspects of aplay, and [children would] tour local schoolsand [present their] performances” saidWarren.

Warren’s long-term goals for the Children’sTheater is to hold workshops for children,where experts and theater students wouldshow them the ways of the theater.

“It would be a good expedience for thoseinterested in Children’s Theater,” Warren said.

It would be agood

expediencefor those

interested inChildren’sTheater. “

“

- Brian Warren,children’s theater

specialist

I want to helpthe programwin exposure

through avariety ofshows. “

“


specialist

MoreHaunted

Happenings

- By Belinda Reyes

CURTAINCALL

UTPA theater department plans new children’s musical,‘A Christmas Carrot,’ thanks in part to new lecturer

By Cesar Trevino and Dägoberto Pérez

&■ Campus hauntings 8-9

■ Culture club . . . . . . 10

■ Children’s theater. . . 11ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PAGE 7

AroundTown

Dia de los MuertosOct. 31 through Nov. 2Place: Donna HooksFletcher Museum, SouthMain Street in DonnaFeatures: Guest artistswill exhibit their Dia delos Muertos altars. Therewill also be a Dia de losMuertos fundraiser andfood buffet.Price: $5 at the door.Phone: (956) 464-9989

Photography EventOct. 31 through Nov. 15Place: Richardson ArtGallery, UTB campus inBrownsville.Event: Fred Ragland willoffer fresh and uniqueperspectives onarchitectural and naturephotography. Admissionis free and the event isopen to the public.Phone: (956) 983-7097

SesquicentennialCelebrationNov. 1 through 3Place: Hidalgo MunicipalParkEvent: Hidalgo Countycelebrates its 150thbirthday. Planned eventsinclude arts & crafts, WildWest gunfights, musicalacts, carnivals and more.Admission: $7Phone: (956) 318-2063

Edinburg on WheelsOct. 25 from 7 to 11 p.m.Place: EdinburgChamber of Commerce,602 W. University Drive,EdinburgFeatures: The EdinburgChamber of Commercewill host an event gearedto the promotion of hike &bike trails in Edinburg.

FLICKSTricks

Still don’t have plans? Don’t “Carrie” on about not having anything to do this “Halloween.” “It” make not be a“Scream,” but taking a “Stand” and staying home to watch a flick can be just as entertaining. Here are a list ofsome frightfully fabulous flicks. Whether they are supernatural, thrillers, horror, these are the Top Ten movies thatwill have you trembling and shivering (for various reasons) this Halloween.

AMOUNT OF BLOOD LOSS: To

10. The Omen. ReligiousDogma + politics = 666.Born of a jackal, Damien isthe son of Satan and ruinsthe world through his politicalconnections. Two Words:George Bush.

Blood Count:

2. Frailty. A haunting moviethat questions the nature ofreligion, and will have youquestioning the true“Goodness” of God.

Blood Count:

3 The Devil’s Backbone.This is a Spanish thriller inwhich the supernatural sidetakes justice into its ownhands.

Blood Count:

4. Jeepers Creepers. Ademonic creature meets anequally freaky theme song toform a movie that is stillgiving audiences the “creeps”

Blood Count:

5. Bram Stoker’s Dracula.Kudos to Frank Coppula forcreating this vividly realisticportrayal of the classic.Whoever said movies don’tdo a book justice “Sucksblood.”

Blood Count:

8. The Exorcist. Anotherclassic. Captain Howdypossesses little Reagan andthe obscenities that come outof her mouth would makeeven Eminem cringe.

Blood Count:

9. Rosemary’s Baby. Aclassic by director RomanPolansky, even though thebaby is only seen once, thelittle bugger and his fatherfreak you out through thewhole flick.

Blood Count:

7. The Silence of theLambs. A psychologicalthriller full of Oscar-worthyperformances. This movehas everything fromCannibalism to the nature ofTranssexualism. Scary Stuff.

Blood Count:

6. Psycho. Not theremake, it didn’t bother mewhen Anne Heche gothacked, but the Hitckcockoriginal will have you sayinga prayer before you take abath.

Blood Count:

1. The Scorpion King. Theacting and plot are soterriblly pathetic, it makesthis film THE scariest one ofthe year.

Blood Count:

By DÄGOBERTO PÉREZThe Pan American

Auto-creativity inon-line wilderness


CD: “Make it Last Forever” by Keith SweatMovie: “The Bourne Identity”Book: Malcolm X autobiography

CD: “Ashanti” by AshantiBook: “The Giver” by Lois LowryMovie: “Spiderman”

CD: “Tragic Kingdom” by No DoubtBook: “Juventud en Extasis” by Carlos C. SanchezMovie: “Life if Beautiful”

Margarita LopezFreshmanManufacturing

Leticia MuñozSeniorEnglish

Robert OliverSeniorChemistry

CULTURE CLUBWhat students like to read, listen to and surf.

The

“Breathe life into the imagination” is themotto of the OxygenCore Studio website.

And it does just that – breathes! With itsfancy graphics and sophisticated colors thistech-savvy website is every junkie’s dreamcome true.

And the mastermind behind all this is noneother then the University of Texas-PanAmerican’s own student, Damaso Navarro II.

Navarro has had a passion for theTechnology Era of the 21st century for along time. Computer-generated renderings asa hobby has now become a full-timeprofession for Navrro, as he has now

established his own cyber-business. OxygenCore offers a range of services

from graphic designing, engineering, webdevelopments, site maintenance, and severalother extended services. This site also offersan easy-to-fill-out request form forprospective clients.

However, how does one know if this site istruly credible and worth the money andtime? Easy, OxygenCore has its on-lineportfolio and honors showing true artisticwork and talent.

OxygenCore deserves a rating of five starsbecause it is a great site for both professionaland commoners with a hobby in the cyberworld. Log onto www.o2core.com and judgeit for yourself.

By SUNAYNA MAHTANIThe Pan American

UTPA student creates personal website dedicated to technology

Navarro has created several websites for various departments of the University of Texas-Pan American.

October 31, 2002 Arts & Entertainment Page 9October 31, 2002 Arts & Entertainment Page 8

You might want to reconsider ifyou’re thinking of spending a late nightat the UTPA library’s third and fourthfloor, because spooky things canhappen.

Ghost legends are probably populararound many university campuses, butit hits close to home when it comes towhat UTPA’s library workers haveheard and felt.

Just like most legends, it isimpossible to trace a story from itsexact origin.

Library work-study students andworkers claim to have heard or felt aneerie presence on the third and fourthfloors. Other employees say they haveheard from fellow coworkers, whohave heard and felt ghosts.

Employees claim the library is thehome of two ghosts. The most popularone is a little boy. He is known to bemischievous, by dropping books andgiggling from afar.

The child ghost is known to movefrom the third to the first floor.

The other ghost is a man who passedaway on the fourth floor. Work-studystudents say he had a heart attack inthe graduate study area, others say hecommitted suicide. Some say thatnearly 10 years ago, on a night whenthe library was closing, someone wentto tell a studying man that the librarywas closed but he did not respond,because he was dead.

Joe Estrada, senior nursing major andEduardo Cruz, junior business major,both claim to have heard stories aboutboth ghosts and experienced a strangepresence. The pair work together onthe third floor, during the late shift.

“The kid goes all over the library, theolder man committed suicide on thefourth floor,” Cruz said. “[Thecustodian] heard someone in the[fourth floor] restroom one night afterthe library was closed. She heardlaughing, so she waited [for them toleave], but they never came out. Shefinally went in and no one was inthere.”

Cruz also added that his fellowworkers said when they would walktheir rounds upstairs, they would hearbooks falling when no one was around.The students told him that the hair ontheir necks would stand up.

“[Recently] a girl [student] came tous on the third floor, to tell us to keepsomeone up there quiet, it was prettylate and she was the only student whowas up there,” Cruz said. “But she[swore] that someone else was theremaking noise and shuffling papers.”

Cruz said he had a personalexperience with the ghost one nightwhen he was closing.

The library was closed after hecleared the fourth floor, he was double-checking and he heard books fall, butwhen he went to the area where he

heard the noise there was no one there.Estrada said when there are enough

employees, two people go up to thefourth floor to close together. Headded that the ghost of the little boyused to only be on the third and secondfloor, but with the new expansion, theboy is heard all over the library.

“The story is that he [little boy] felland hit his head [and died]. He wasprobably a child of a student [a longtime ago],” Estrada said. “There is ajanitor who takes her stereo upstairs toplay music loud, so she won’t hearthings. Before that, she would hearcreepy noises.”

America Alvarez, a senior Englishmajor who also is a work study at thelibrary, said she will not go up to thefourth floor alone.

“Once I went up there alone and Igot a sensation, a heavy breeze, likesomeonepassed by me,” Alvarez said. “I have also heard where someone istapping the shelves and no one else isup there with me.”

Alvarez added that the custodianstold her they always feel and hearthings of that nature, especially thelittle boy’s mischievous laugh.

A library employee who wished to beanonymous said recently after thelibrary was closed, a custodian on thefirst floor heard a small child say‘mom’ over and over, but nobody else

See HALLOWEEN page 11

Story and photos byBelinda Reyes

Spooky spirits continue to haunt thetop floors of the UTPA Library

See related sidebaron page 11

4th Floor - Bound periodicles are often heardfalling when the library is closed.

(Left) - 4th Floor - Ahallway reported tobe haunted near theGraduate Corral.

(Below) - 3rd Floor- A child’s spiritsupposedly roamsthe new west wing.

October 31, 2002 Arts & Entertainment Page 9October 31, 2002 Arts & Entertainment Page 8

You might want to reconsider ifyou’re thinking of spending a late nightat the UTPA library’s third and fourthfloor, because spooky things canhappen.

Ghost legends are probably populararound many university campuses, butit hits close to home when it comes towhat UTPA’s library workers haveheard and felt.

Just like most legends, it isimpossible to trace a story from itsexact origin.

Library work-study students andworkers claim to have heard or felt aneerie presence on the third and fourthfloors. Other employees say they haveheard from fellow coworkers, whohave heard and felt ghosts.

Employees claim the library is thehome of two ghosts. The most popularone is a little boy. He is known to bemischievous, by dropping books andgiggling from afar.

The child ghost is known to movefrom the third to the first floor.

The other ghost is a man who passedaway on the fourth floor. Work-studystudents say he had a heart attack inthe graduate study area, others say hecommitted suicide. Some say thatnearly 10 years ago, on a night whenthe library was closing, someone wentto tell a studying man that the librarywas closed but he did not respond,because he was dead.

Joe Estrada, senior nursing major andEduardo Cruz, junior business major,both claim to have heard stories aboutboth ghosts and experienced a strangepresence. The pair work together onthe third floor, during the late shift.

“The kid goes all over the library, theolder man committed suicide on thefourth floor,” Cruz said. “[Thecustodian] heard someone in the[fourth floor] restroom one night afterthe library was closed. She heardlaughing, so she waited [for them toleave], but they never came out. Shefinally went in and no one was inthere.”

Cruz also added that his fellowworkers said when they would walktheir rounds upstairs, they would hearbooks falling when no one was around.The students told him that the hair ontheir necks would stand up.

“[Recently] a girl [student] came tous on the third floor, to tell us to keepsomeone up there quiet, it was prettylate and she was the only student whowas up there,” Cruz said. “But she[swore] that someone else was theremaking noise and shuffling papers.”

Cruz said he had a personalexperience with the ghost one nightwhen he was closing.

The library was closed after hecleared the fourth floor, he was double-checking and he heard books fall, butwhen he went to the area where he

heard the noise there was no one there.Estrada said when there are enough

employees, two people go up to thefourth floor to close together. Headded that the ghost of the little boyused to only be on the third and secondfloor, but with the new expansion, theboy is heard all over the library.

“The story is that he [little boy] felland hit his head [and died]. He wasprobably a child of a student [a longtime ago],” Estrada said. “There is ajanitor who takes her stereo upstairs toplay music loud, so she won’t hearthings. Before that, she would hearcreepy noises.”

America Alvarez, a senior Englishmajor who also is a work study at thelibrary, said she will not go up to thefourth floor alone.

“Once I went up there alone and Igot a sensation, a heavy breeze, likesomeonepassed by me,” Alvarez said. “I have also heard where someone istapping the shelves and no one else isup there with me.”

Alvarez added that the custodianstold her they always feel and hearthings of that nature, especially thelittle boy’s mischievous laugh.

A library employee who wished to beanonymous said recently after thelibrary was closed, a custodian on thefirst floor heard a small child say‘mom’ over and over, but nobody else

See HALLOWEEN page 11

Story and photos byBelinda Reyes

Spooky spirits continue to haunt thetop floors of the UTPA Library

See related sidebaron page 11

4th Floor - Bound periodicles are often heardfalling when the library is closed.

(Left) - 4th Floor - Ahallway reported tobe haunted near theGraduate Corral.

(Below) - 3rd Floor- A child’s spiritsupposedly roamsthe new west wing.

&■ Campus hauntings 8-9

■ Culture club . . . . . . 10

■ Children’s theater. . . 11ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PAGE 7

AroundTown

Dia de los MuertosOct. 31 through Nov. 2Place: Donna HooksFletcher Museum, SouthMain Street in DonnaFeatures: Guest artistswill exhibit their Dia delos Muertos altars. Therewill also be a Dia de losMuertos fundraiser andfood buffet.Price: $5 at the door.Phone: (956) 464-9989

Photography EventOct. 31 through Nov. 15Place: Richardson ArtGallery, UTB campus inBrownsville.Event: Fred Ragland willoffer fresh and uniqueperspectives onarchitectural and naturephotography. Admissionis free and the event isopen to the public.Phone: (956) 983-7097

SesquicentennialCelebrationNov. 1 through 3Place: Hidalgo MunicipalParkEvent: Hidalgo Countycelebrates its 150thbirthday. Planned eventsinclude arts & crafts, WildWest gunfights, musicalacts, carnivals and more.Admission: $7Phone: (956) 318-2063

Edinburg on WheelsOct. 25 from 7 to 11 p.m.Place: EdinburgChamber of Commerce,602 W. University Drive,EdinburgFeatures: The EdinburgChamber of Commercewill host an event gearedto the promotion of hike &bike trails in Edinburg.

FLICKSTricks

Still don’t have plans? Don’t “Carrie” on about not having anything to do this “Halloween.” “It” make not be a“Scream,” but taking a “Stand” and staying home to watch a flick can be just as entertaining. Here are a list ofsome frightfully fabulous flicks. Whether they are supernatural, thrillers, horror, these are the Top Ten movies thatwill have you trembling and shivering (for various reasons) this Halloween.

AMOUNT OF BLOOD LOSS: To

10. The Omen. ReligiousDogma + politics = 666.Born of a jackal, Damien isthe son of Satan and ruinsthe world through his politicalconnections. Two Words:George Bush.

Blood Count:

2. Frailty. A haunting moviethat questions the nature ofreligion, and will have youquestioning the true“Goodness” of God.

Blood Count:

3 The Devil’s Backbone.This is a Spanish thriller inwhich the supernatural sidetakes justice into its ownhands.

Blood Count:

4. Jeepers Creepers. Ademonic creature meets anequally freaky theme song toform a movie that is stillgiving audiences the “creeps”

Blood Count:

5. Bram Stoker’s Dracula.Kudos to Frank Coppula forcreating this vividly realisticportrayal of the classic.Whoever said movies don’tdo a book justice “Sucksblood.”

Blood Count:

8. The Exorcist. Anotherclassic. Captain Howdypossesses little Reagan andthe obscenities that come outof her mouth would makeeven Eminem cringe.

Blood Count:

9. Rosemary’s Baby. Aclassic by director RomanPolansky, even though thebaby is only seen once, thelittle bugger and his fatherfreak you out through thewhole flick.

Blood Count:

7. The Silence of theLambs. A psychologicalthriller full of Oscar-worthyperformances. This movehas everything fromCannibalism to the nature ofTranssexualism. Scary Stuff.

Blood Count:

6. Psycho. Not theremake, it didn’t bother mewhen Anne Heche gothacked, but the Hitckcockoriginal will have you sayinga prayer before you take abath.

Blood Count:

1. The Scorpion King. Theacting and plot are soterriblly pathetic, it makesthis film THE scariest one ofthe year.

Blood Count:

By DÄGOBERTO PÉREZThe Pan American

Auto-creativity inon-line wilderness


CD: “Make it Last Forever” by Keith SweatMovie: “The Bourne Identity”Book: Malcolm X autobiography

CD: “Ashanti” by AshantiBook: “The Giver” by Lois LowryMovie: “Spiderman”

CD: “Tragic Kingdom” by No DoubtBook: “Juventud en Extasis” by Carlos C. SanchezMovie: “Life if Beautiful”

Margarita LopezFreshmanManufacturing

Leticia MuñozSeniorEnglish

Robert OliverSeniorChemistry

CULTURE CLUBWhat students like to read, listen to and surf.

The

“Breathe life into the imagination” is themotto of the OxygenCore Studio website.

And it does just that – breathes! With itsfancy graphics and sophisticated colors thistech-savvy website is every junkie’s dreamcome true.

And the mastermind behind all this is noneother then the University of Texas-PanAmerican’s own student, Damaso Navarro II.

Navarro has had a passion for theTechnology Era of the 21st century for along time. Computer-generated renderings asa hobby has now become a full-timeprofession for Navrro, as he has now

established his own cyber-business. OxygenCore offers a range of services

from graphic designing, engineering, webdevelopments, site maintenance, and severalother extended services. This site also offersan easy-to-fill-out request form forprospective clients.

However, how does one know if this site istruly credible and worth the money andtime? Easy, OxygenCore has its on-lineportfolio and honors showing true artisticwork and talent.

OxygenCore deserves a rating of five starsbecause it is a great site for both professionaland commoners with a hobby in the cyberworld. Log onto www.o2core.com and judgeit for yourself.

By SUNAYNA MAHTANIThe Pan American

UTPA student creates personal website dedicated to technology

Navarro has created several websites for various departments of the University of Texas-Pan American.


According to many sources, studentactivism is on the rise around the countrydue to the possible invasion of Iraq, andother world events and issues. Recentmajor demonstrations have taken placenationally in Washington D.C. andregionally in Austin and San Antonio.

And locally, students at the Universityof Texas-Pan American also take a standagainst issues they feel strongly about.

Today at noon the first meeting ofEdinburg National Organization for theReform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)will be held in room 109 at the Social andBehavioral Sciences building. Accordingto the club’s mission statement, itspurposes are: 1. to move public opinionso that responsible use of cannabis byadults in no longer subject to penalty; 2.to inform and educate the public onpertinent research concerning the medical,scientific, and sociological effects ofmarijuana.

NORML was formed in the 1970s andis the largest and oldest non-profitorganization lobbying in Washington D.C.

to reform marijuana laws. It has beendedicated to ending marijuana prohibitionand has led efforts towarddecriminalization in many states. Chapterscan be found in communities andcampuses across the country.

Edinburg NORML will hold monthlymeetings at which speakers will presentinformation about the benefits of hemp,medicinal marijuana, the history ofprohibition, and other similar topics. Thespeaker at today’s meeting will be theclub’s faculty adviser, political scienceprofessor Samuel Freeman. He will bespeaking about the economical andmedicinal uses of marijuana.

“Marijuana is an amazing plant,”Freeman said. “It has about 10 to 12known uses. It has economic benefits andhealth benefits such as for glaucoma,cancer, and AIDS patients. To get high isthe least useful use.”

Freeman’s will also speak about theconnection of marijuana and drugs to theUnited States government and the war inAfghanistan.

“Drugs are a money-making operationfor the U.S. Government,” Freeman said.

NORML meeting set By AMELIA GARCIAThe Pan American

UTPA shows student activism tendency

Friday, Nov. 1

UTPA communication pro-fessor George McLemorepresents "A Taste of India,"at South Texas CommunityCollege from 5:30 p.m. to 7p.m. McLemore, a Fulbrightscholar who taught for ayear in India, will show aslide presentation titled"Images of India," and therewill be fashion demonstra-tions and food. Event is at

the STCC Pecan CampusStudent Lounge. CallMcLemore (381-3583)Barbara Mayo (683-2561),or Marisa Taylor (688-2175)for more information.The program will be fol-lowed by a showing of MiraNair's "Monsoon Wedding,"sponsored by the ForeignFilm Association. Film is at7 p.m. in auditorium build-ing B.

Saturday, Nov. 2From 6 p.m.-10 p.m., the16th annual FlorenceNightingale benefit will beheld at The Club atCimarron. The benefit, pre-sented by the NursingAdvisory Council, is fornursing program enhance-ment and scholarships.There will be an auction,entertainment and surprises.The cost is $100 per couple(of that, $68 will be a dona-tion).For more info, call SylviaYbarra at 381-3495 orMerica Ramirez at 381-3491.

Cam

pus

Cale

ndar

NovemberSee NORML page 12


HALLOWEEN continued from page 8

Another local legend isabout Virginia, the ghost inthe old UTPA women'sdormitory.

Virginia is said to havebeen a student around theearly 1970s who lived in thewomen's north hall. She canbe seen roaming thebasement and the top twofloors. According to a recentspecial collections articlefrom UTPA’s archives, astudent who lived in thedormitory last year heardunexplained noises in thethird room study hall. Sheheard other cohabitantswould see the ghost and feelchills.

The legend is that Virginiawent out on a date, and theboy raped her. She found thatshe was pregnant, and couldnot continue the pregnancy.She performed on anabortion on herself with acoat hanger. She regretted thedecision and eventuallycommitted suicideby hangingherself in the bathroom.

They say the room wassealed up on the third floorfor many years, and when thedormitory went underconstruction it was opened,and workers found crucifixesaligned on the top of thewalls.

SPORTS LORE

UTPA’s Jody RamseyStadium has a ghost story ofits own. Oral legend has itthat when the Bronc baseballstadium was being built,baseball athletes would helpwith construction.

One day when theconstruction was almostcomplete, a storm camethrough while the men wereputting up the light posts. Alight post fell andelectrocuted Jody Ramsey,one of the team’s bestplayers. The universitydedicated the stadium to him.According to a specialcollections article, athleteinformants said Ramseyroams the baseball field onstormy nights, trying to findhis way out of the baseballfield.

was in the locked building.She said some employeesfrom the top floor say theyhave felt that someone iswalking heavily behindthem when they are alone.

The employee also saideveryone who works therehas either heard noises orheard of someone elseexperiencing somethingscary.

According to clerk

Alfredo Ramos, the manwho passed away on thefourth floor,died in thegraduate study room eightor nine years back. He hasworked for the library forsix years. Ramos said hehad an experience with theghost child.

“When I used to work upthere [on the third floor] Iwas getting ready to close,I would hear the little boy

giggle. I would alwayscheck to see who it wasand no one would bethere,” Ramos said. “Thehair on my back wouldstand.”

Ramos added that heheard stories fromcoworkers about similarincidences, where peoplewould hear someonebehind them and feel aheavy presence.

The upper part of thelibrary is not the only placethe employees feel jumpy.One student said she feelsan eerie presence in theJohn H. Shary room. Theback of the office is astorage room for oldperiodicals and books.

“I have heard that peoplewould hear footsteps andvoices, in certain sectionswhere the storage [is],

behind the replica of JohnShary’s office,” said DrwuLucio, a sophomorecriminal justice major. “Itis a [scary] room.”

Dr. Mark Glazer,professor of anthropology,has studied local ghostlegends for over 25 years,said that part of the reasonwhy ghost stories exist isbecause people like to hearabout scary stories.

“Ghost stories are scaryand people like to bescared, is one partial reasonwhy they [stories] exist.Another reason is thatsome people believe in anafterlife, some souls go toheaven, some stay here onearth,” Glazer said. “It[ghost stories] is acombination of belief andscary stories create ghoststories.”

Make way for the children. The UTPATheater department has set its sight onpleasing the younger members of thecommunity, and will now showcase playsespecially made for them.

Paving the way for this program will beBrian Warren, the university’s children’stheater specialist. Warren is a veteranplaywright, and has taught at South TexasCommunity College and the University ofTexas-Brownsville/Texas Southmost College.

Warren has been producing children's playsfor years, and has created five children'splays, three of which has been performed atUTPA.

“I want to help the program win exposurethrough a variety of shows,” said Warren, whoplans to accomplish this task by producing“A Christmas Carrot,” his newest play,which is scheduled to be performed later thisyear. The other plays he is planing to producewill have both adults and children as actors.

But Warren does not want to limit his newprogram to just plays. He also wants to createa children's musical, a feat not easilyachieved. “I want to create a children’smusical to help broaden the spectrum ofchildren’s theater.”

Warren admits that creating a musical willbe a challenge, but he is still excited with theopportunity. He also wants to initiate writingcontests and a children’s ensemble to help getkids in the community involved with the arts.

“The ensembles would work all aspects of aplay, and [children would] tour local schoolsand [present their] performances” saidWarren.

Warren’s long-term goals for the Children’sTheater is to hold workshops for children,where experts and theater students wouldshow them the ways of the theater.

“It would be a good expedience for thoseinterested in Children’s Theater,” Warren said.

It would be agood

expediencefor those

interested inChildren’sTheater. “

“


specialist

I want to helpthe programwin exposure

through avariety ofshows. “

“


specialist

MoreHaunted

Happenings

- By Belinda Reyes

CURTAINCALL

UTPA theater department plans new children’s musical,‘A Christmas Carrot,’ thanks in part to new lecturer

By Cesar Trevino and Dägoberto Pérez

October 31, 2002 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 5October 31, 2002 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 12

A series of construction projects at theUniversity of Texas-Pan American are onschedule.

According to Marvin Boland, director ofFacilities Planning and Construction atUTPA, some projects are being moved upand may cause a delay on others.

“All the construction varies,” saidBoland. “Generally right now everythingis where it needs to be.”

Such projects include work on the newVisitors Center and the old math building.Boland said the Visitors Center is almostcomplete and will be ready for thededication Nov. 2.

“It’s 99 percent complete,” said Boland.“We are just working on a few little bugs,but nothing major.”

Boland said new parking space will beadded soon to the university. JodyRamsey Stadium has been turned into aparking lot, and will be available forstudents next week if the weather clearsup.

Renovation and construction projectsmake the school look good, but at anexpense. Boland said the Visitors Centerplus the surrounding parking lot has costan estimated $3 million. However, the costmay be the least of the problems to severalUTPA students. Freshman Yvette Martinez

says students have to go around theconstruction, which may be frustratingsometimes.

“It’s very dirty and there is a lot of mudall over the place,” said Martinez. “Theyblock a lot of places which makes us goaround.”

Boland says although they have notreceived any legitimate complaints fromstudents, they do try to consider theirneeds before they start on a project. Headds that most of the time the constructioncan cause heavy traffic, which isunavoidable.

“We understand the problems we cancreate,” said Boland. “We may not alwayssucceed, but we try to.”

Other UTPA students don’t mind theconstruction. Freshman Deila Barbosasays the new facilities will benefit futureUTPA students.

“Anything new is good for us,” saidBarbosa. “If we have to go aroundsometimes, it doesn’t matter because it’sgoing to benefit us.”

Several new projects are under way forthe university. Boland said funds for anew education building have beenapproved and construction should begin inearly spring.

There is also a new room for computerusage under construction in thecommunication building, and it should beready for use by the fall semester.

Campus building projects continueBy JENNIFER TAPIAThe Pan American

As four years flash before your eyes,a bachelor degree gets closer. Yet, is thatthe end or is there more to look forwardto? Getting a master’s degree byattending graduate school is always apossible route students can take tofurther their education.

The University of Texas-PanAmerican is one of thousands of schoolsthat are able to prepare students for agraduate program, and it offers morethan 30 graduate programs itself. Themost popular programs are housed inthe College of Education and theCollege of Business. The university hasa pair of doctoral programs and isworking on several more for the future.

Information for enrollment in thegraduate school may be obtained withineach department, or from the Office ofGraduate Studies.

Lourdes Servantes, placementspecialist at Cooperative Education,stated that it is essential to get a headstart on brainstorming for the future

“You have to start planning as soon aspossible for graduate schools,”Servantes said, adding that some peoplestart doing so after their sophomoreyear.

Each college has different

requirements for enrollment. Someaccept only a limited amount of studentsto their program and those who applyquickly have a better opportunity.

There are essential elements whichaid success in acceptance, such as asolid grade point average (GPA), abachelor’s degree, and good scores onthe Graduate Record Exam (GRE).Sometimes work experience is a plus.

Preparing for graduate school is along and detailed process. According tograduate program coordinators,gathering information on which schoolsoffer what one wants/needs is the wayto start. Finding deadlines for entryexaminations, as well as for submittingapplications, is the next thing to do.

Students can start the applicationprocess when they are 12 hours awayfrom finishing their bachelor degree,though planning for it begins in Januaryof the junior year.

According to Servantes the graduateprograms differ from undergraduateone, and are usually more challenging tostudents.

“The graduate program is an intensiveprogram. It takes a lot of time and theclasses are very [challenging],”Servantes commented.

Furthering an education might cost alittle bit more than a undergraduatedegree does, but financial aid and loansare available for individuals with

financial need.Nurit Hernandez, UTPA graduate and

a first-year student in UTPA’s Collegeof Engineering graduate program, saidgraduate school is very different fromundergraduate work.

“It is very difficult and challenging,but it is definitely worth it,” Hernandezsaid.

Another UTPA graduate, MarshaMason, is pursuing her graduate studiesat Rice University in Houston, in orderto eventually pursue a doctorate degreein economics. She stated that thetransition from undergraduate tograduate is more intense, especiallyduring the first year.

“You have to hit the ground runningand can never really take a break,”Mason said. “Graduate school is not aplace for the fainthearted. It takes a lotof determination and perseverance tosucceed.”

Mason and Hernandez are two of themany thousands of graduate students inthe United States. In the last fewdecades, international students fromacross the globe have filed into thecountry’s high education system inincreasing numbers.

Anyone interested in graduate schoolshould obtain information by contactingEnedelia Kidd at the AdministrationBuilding, room 116, or by phone at(956) 381-2243.

Grad school beckonsThe 3rd Annual Women’s Show will be

held this weekend at the McAllen CivicCenter, with events Friday throughSunday. Action starts Friday at 4 p.m.

According to event coordinator JulieBarnick, this year’s show will featureexhibits varying from health and fitness toart and crafts, and cosmetics.

“Many women of the Rio Grande Valleyhave a career and a family, and those whoare housewives have just as complicatedjobs as well,” Barnick said. “This is aweekend for the women to enjoythemselves as well as shop for almosteverything there is under one roof.”

Other events include a fashion show,kickboxing demonstrations, free bonedensity exams, and featured healthprofessionals such as gynecologists andplastic surgeons. A silent auction will beheld and the money raised will go tobenefit children across the Valley. Therewill also be an area where people canbring toys to donate to the community.

“I encourage all women to support theshow and also to support all the peoplewho have been working diligently to putthis show together,” Barnick said.

The men of the community will not tobe left out though. Everyone is welcometo attend the show, but if the men losetheir patience with the exhibits they canrest in a room with a television andcouches just for the occasion.

This year marks the first year that the

Women’s Show will feature a highlight ofthe “Millennium Woman of the Year.”The award will recognize one woman inthe Rio Grande Valley community who hascontributed to the advancement of allwomen, through personal triumphs,community service, and/or professionalaccomplishments.

Barnick said that there were manynominations this year, and six finalistswere chosen. One will be named theMillennium Woman of the Year Fridayevening.

“We wanted to recognize the womenwho have overcome odds through theirwill and determination,” Barnick said.“We are so happy with the results that wehave received from having this newhighlight.”

Sponsors of the event includesManrique Refractive Laser Center,Cornerstone Fitness Center, Time WarnerCable, and several others.

Abby Vela is the representative of theWomen’s Clinic of South Texas, one of theother sponsors for the Women’s Show.

Vela said that the Women’s Clinic ishappy to sponsor such events because ofthe positive recognition they give to thewomen of Valley.

“We deal with women’s health care andeverything in that area so we want to sharewith the community what we have to offerthem as well as support the community intheir activities,” Vela said.

Events will be held Friday from 4 p.m.to 8 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.and Sunday from 11 a.m. till 5 p.m.

Women’s show onBy CLARISSA MARTINEZThe Pan AmericanBy ARIANNA VAZQUEZ

The Pan American

“Oil and drugs are the two top reasons for the UnitedStates involvement in the Middle East. War onTerrorism is just a justification. It is actually last onthe list.”

Freeman will also explain that marijuana is non-addictive, contains no carcinogens or other toxicsubstances, and is less dangerous than tobacco oralcohol, which are not illegal.

Club organizer Kasie Sheldon, a junior politicalscience and speech communication major, will alsospeak at the meeting on the topic.

“Prohibition is wrong,” Sheldon said. “Marijuana isnot worse than alcohol or nicotine and tobacco. Thetime for change is now. Prohibition did not work inthe 1930s and it is not working now.”

Several states, including California, Nevada, andNew Mexico, have experimented with passing morelenient laws toward marijuana.

The speaker for November’s meeting will be JohnJones, instructor for political science. He speech istitled “Drugs and You: How drug policies affectstudents and Latinos.”

“All the information in my speech is available fromgovernment documents and newspapers,” Jones said.“I’m not just making this stuff up. It is just that thegovernment ignores the problem. I just want to spreadout the information.”

The speaker for the December meeting will beLibney Peña, who will speak about the benefits ofhemp products. Edinburg NORML is also planningvarious community projects. Officer nominations willbe held at the meeting as well. All students, staff andfaculty are invited to participate in open discussion atthe meeting.

“Most people are not aware of the uses and benefitsof hemp,” Freeman said. “We want to promotediscussion at the meeting and educate people. It isgood for students and the American public to know.”

NORML continued from page 6


Gabriella GonzalezArtSophomore

I’m gonna hang out with my roomatesand dress up just for fun..

Felix Garza MusicFreshman

I’m dresssing up as Hugh Hefner fora party.

Abigail OrtizMusicFreshman

None. I am a Christian and I don’tcelebrate those types of holidays

What are your plans thisHalloween?

Karol GuevaraBusiness ManagementSophomore

I’m going to a party at Kafecitos. Then I’mgoing to an after party. But I don’t have acostume yet.

VOICECCaammppuuss

Elias RojasJournalismJunior

This Halloween I’m going to spend it withmy family because it’s holidays like thesethat bad things could happen so it is bestto be with your family.

October 31, 2002 Sports Page 13

Baltimore atAtlanta

More and more the Falcons are looking like aplayoff team. They will have an oppor tunit y toprove they are for real.

Falcons by 7Matt Celeste GregFalcons Falcons Falcons

Dallas at Detroit

Fans at Detroit will not accept the fact thatEmmit t Smith is the all-time leading rusher. Barr ySanders should’ve played for a couple of moreseasons. Things would have been different.

Cowboys by 10Matt Celeste GregCowboys Lions Cowboys

New England atBuffalo

Even though there’s still a long way to go, it’s amust win for the Patriots. Bledsoe circled thisdate when the schedule was released

Bills by 3Matt Celeste GregBills Patriots Patriots

Cincinnati at Houston

Bengals head coach Dick LeBeau guaranteed vic-tory on Sunday. I’ll go by his word.

Bengals by 6Matt Celeste GregTexans Texans Bengals

Minnestoa atTampa Bay

The Vikings finally played the way I thought theywould play all season long. It’s too bad they wait-ed too long and the Bucs are more consistent.

Bucs by 7Matt Celeste GregBucs Bucs Bucs

Philadelphia at Chicago

This was supposed to be a payback game for theBears for the loss they had in the Divisional play-off game last year. Instead, the Bears have beena big disappointment in 2002.

Eagles by 13Matt Celeste GregEagles Bears Eagles

Pittsburgh atCleveland

The Browns came from behind to knock off theJets, but the Steelers are on a roll.

Steelers by 13Matt Celeste Greg Steelers Steelers Browns

N.Y. Jets at San Diego

This is a bat tle of two teams going in oppositedirections. I can’t help but admire what theChargers have done to turn their franchisearound.

Chargers by 13Matt Celeste GregChargers Jets Chargers

St. Louis at Arizona

The Cardinals proved they are not ready to takecommand of a division. The Rams should roll.

Rams by 10Matt Celeste GregRams Rams Cardinals

Jacksonville at N.Y. Giants

Here are two teams that have played inconsistentthis season. At times they look like a playoff team, but at times they play like the Bengals.

Giants by 6

Matt Celeste GregGiants Giants Giants

Tennessee at Indianapolis

Who ever runs the ball more effectively will comeout on top. This will be a physical hard foughtcontest, but I like the Colts at home.

Colts by 3Matt Celeste GregTitans Titans Colts

San Francisco atOakland

It will be an emotional game for Jerr y Rice who isthe best receiver who ever played the game. Thisshould be a high scoring game with Rice andTerrell Owens having big games. The Raidersshould snap their three game losing streak.

Raiders by 7Matt Celeste GregRaiders Niners Raiders

Washington atSeattle

Steve Spurrier finally made up his mind on whichquar terback will lead them. He must stick to oneif he wants to build chemistr y with his team. Ifyou ask me, they should’ve stayed with Ramsey.

Redskins by 13Matt Celeste GregRedskins Redskins Redskins

Miami at Green Bay

This is the time of year that a team cannot playthe Packers on the road. The Dolphins will havetheir hands full with a hungry Green Bay team.

Packers by 10Matt Celeste GregDolphins Packers Packers

Open Dates: Carolina, Denver, Kansas Cit y andNew Orleans

StaffMikeGonzalez:67-50,.573GregSelber:64-52,.547

Celeste Y.Tello: 61-54, .521 MattLynch: 69-47, .590

Staff Swami Records

Mike GonzalezSports Editor

Swamis

Dr. Greg SelberAdviser

Matt LynchEditor

Celeste TelloReporter

KarateChampionships tobe held at UTPA

The University of Texas-PanAmerican will host the fifthAnnual UTPA Master Davis KarateChampionships at noon onSaturday at the UTPA Health andPhysical Education Building.Events include Black belt fighting,wood board breaking, Judo, AikidoTai Chi, Tae Kwon Do, self-defense and weapons competition.

Recreationalannounces deadline

The intramural and recreationalsports announces deadlines for theracquetball and tennis events. Theracquetball entries are due Nov. 1and play is scheduled to begin onNov. 5. Tennis entries are due onNov. 15 and play is expected tobegin on Nov. 18. All entries are tobe turned in at Bronc Village

located off Sugar and SchuniorRd. in Apt. 2101.

Broncs competeat ITA

The men’s tennis team endedtheir fall schedule and traveled toFort Worth to compete in the OmniHotels Intercollegiate TennisAssociation Southwest RegionalTournament at Texas ChristianUniversity (TCU). In doublesmatch, sophomores Filip Kozielland Jeremy Salvo won their firstround doubles match against RyanDavis and Dave Knaszak of TexasTech 8-4, but lost to DanielScholten and Fabrizio Sestini ofTCU, 9-7. Junior TomMangleschots fell in his consola-tion semi-final to Take Moeta ofRice, 6-3, 6-3. Head coach ToddChapman feels Mangleschots faceda tough opponent, but is proud ofhis effort.

“He [Tom] played a good play-er,” Chapman said.

SPORTS CLIPBOARD


Taking Control of DiabetesHow one student learned to accept, educate

herself, and take control of diabetesWhat would it take to walk away from

college if one was only 12 hours shy ofgraduation?

Perhaps clinical tests that reveal Type 2diabetes.

Adelina Alvarez, 42, began her ongoing fightwith diabetes her senior year at The Universityof Texas-Pan American. In 1982, Alvarez wasin acting class when she collapsed and wasrushed to Student Health Services. Later, testsrevealed she had the disease.

Type two diabetes results from insulinresistance (a condition in which the body failsto make enough or properly use insulin),combined with relative insulin deficiency. Onceshe was diagnosed, Alvarez learned she wouldhave to take daily insulin shots.

"When I found out, I was scared, I wasscared that everything I did would affect myhealth," Alvarez said.

After much thought, Alvarez decided to stopattending school 12 hours shy of graduation.

A 1978 McAllen High School graduate,Alvarez says she was very active in band, city

volleyball, and softball leagues which probablykept her healthy then.

She began her college career at theUniversity of Houston and admits she partiedtoo much and didn't exercise like she had inhigh school.

"Some days I would wake up feeling thesymptoms that I know now were from diabetes,but I would just say it was the late nightpartying," Alvarez said.

She transferred to UTPA soon after and thencame the collapse her senior year. Wanting tokeep the illness away from her family, Alvarezaccepted a job offer in Houston that guaranteedinsurance benefits, which she neededdesperately.

After so many visits to the doctor, Alvarezcame to believe that losing weight wouldimprove her health. She began a strict diet andexercised moderately and gradually lost 118pounds. The weight loss lowered her diabetesfrom type two to type one.

Type one diabetes results from the body'sfailure to produce insulin, the hormone that"unlocks" the cells of the body, allowingglucose to enter and fuel them.

The weight loss allowed Alvarez to ridherself of the daily insulin shot and wasprescribed a pill instead.

Her family found out later about her disease

and she decided to come back to McAllen to becloser to her parents. In spring of 2002 Alvarezdecided to return to UTPA and finish herdegree.

Twenty years after her collapse, Alvarezreturned to UTPA to finish the 12 hoursremaining from her senior year and 21additional hours that were added to her degreeplan.

"Now 20 years later, I finally feel I canhandle my illness," she said.

Alvarez is not married and has no children,which makes it easier for her to keep a strictdiet and exercise moderately.

"I try to eat American style, I can't eat ourtraditional tortillas, rice, and beans," sheadmitted.

She believes that diet and exercise are veryimportant for her, especially now that she is astudent again. She takes from anywhere fromsix to 12 hours in order to make stressmanageable. She also talks to professorsbeforehand in order to explain the effectsdiabetes has on her, both mentally andphysically.

Alvarez said she has to read assignedmaterial two or three times since poor memoryretention is one possible side effect of diabetes.She must find time during the day to do herschoolwork as well, because staying up late

only hinders her health.Oversleeping is also a side effect so she has

to make sure she finds and keeps a dailyroutine.

"When my sugar levels are out of control, Ibegin to feel anxious and claustrophobic in theclassroom so I have to walk out and go get abreath of fresh air," Alvarez said.

She's determined to take control of thedisease for life though.

“I'm not going to let this disease get the bestof me," she said. "I'm going to graduate, findmyself a good job and not use this disease as anexcuse to not make a person out of myself."

One other main concern she has is the lackof awareness about diabetes at UTPA. Shebelieves that students must not be afraid to seereality, especially in an area where one in fivepeople will be stricken with the disease in theirlifetime.

"Go to your regular doctor visits, askquestions, get checked now," Alvarez said.

Student Health Services, which is located inEmilia Ramirez-Schunior Hall at UTPA, isopen from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and offers spotchecks, screenings, and referral services fordiabetes.

Alvarez ended stressing, "Don't be afraid,take action and educate yourself about diabetes,it might save your life."

Returning UTPA student deals with illness

An unhealthy diet and no exercise is notjust bad – it is causing numerous health issues,including s diabetes.

According to the American DiabetesAssociation (ADA) Web page, diabetes is adisease in which the body does not produce orproperly use insulin, a hormone needed toconvert sugar, starches, and other food intoenergy for daily use.

The cause of diabetes is a mystery, althoughboth genetics and environmental factors suchas obesity and lack of exercise do play roles.Although Dr. Esperanza Briones, associateprofessor and coordinator of the University ofTexas-Pan American dietetics program, statedthat uncontrolled diabetes can lead to seriousproblems in the eyes, kidneys, nerves, gumsand teeth, as well as heart disease. There areessentially three types of diabetes; type 1, type2, and gestational diabetes.

Type 1, or insulin dependent diabetes, isusually first diagnosed in children, teenagersor young adults, and occurs when the body'simmune system has attacked and destroyedthe pancreas beta cells preventing theproduction of insulin. Almost 5-10 percent ofall diabetes cases in the United States are type1. Treatments for this type includes takinginsulin shots or using an insulin pump, makingwise food choices, exercising regularly, pluscontrolling blood pressure and cholesterol.

Type 2, or non-insulin dependent diabetes,is the most common form, which can bedeveloped at any age, even during childhood.In this case, the pancreas does not makeenough insulin and the fat, muscle or livercells do not use it properly. Type 2 sufferersare 90-95 percent of total disease patients.Chances of getting it are higher for overweightor obese people, numbers of which are on therise in this country. Treatment includes usingoral hypoglycemic agents (pills), making wisefood choices, exercising regularly, andcontrolling blood pressure and cholesterol.

Gestational diabetes develops during 2-5

percent of all pregnancies, but usuallydisappears when the pregnancy is over.Women who have had gestational diabeteshave a greater risk of developing type 2diabetes later in their lives.

DIABETES RISKS AND HISPANICSThough the chances of each type of diabetes

are different, according to Rick Gary, directorof the Student Health Services, it is the sixthleading cause of death and affects nearly 17million Americans. More importantly, a largepercentage of the diabetic population may befound here in the Valley among Hispanics.

“Diabetes is disproportionately increased inthe Rio Grande Valley with 10-15 percent ofthe Hispanic population at risk for thedisease,” Briones said. “Of the 50,000-100,000 at risk, approximately 32,000 havebeen identified as having diabetes. However,it has been estimated that 50 percent ofdiabetic individuals in Texas areundiagnosed.”

There are several reasons Hispanics aremore prone to diabetes.

“[There] tends to be a higher obesity rateamong Hispanics in the Valley, and the factthat Hispanics in generally have a higher[chance] of adult onset diabetes (type 2),” saidDr. William McIntyre, professor and interimdean of the College of Health Science andHuman Services.

According to Briones, some of the riskfactors most commonly seen in Hispanicsinclude a family history of diabetes,gestational diabetes, obesity, and physicalinactivity.

DIABETES AND UTPAWith the trend of diabetes among Hispanics,

it is understandable that it may be visible atUTPA.

“Type 2 diabetes is found among studentsand faculty at UTPA,” McIntyre said.

UTPA’s Student Health Services hopes tocombat the disease on campus by creatingawareness in offering spot checks and testsscreening, and referral services to dietary

services for students and staff. It also providededucation on diabetes with nurse practitionersfor the staff.

Research is also being done by facultymembers in this area of importance.

“I received a small grant from the Office ofBiomedical Research and Resources, UTPA,to conduct a pilot study entitled, ‘Effectivenessof Medical Nutrition Therapy for Type 2diabetes,’” Briones said. “The purpose of thispilot study is to determine the effectiveness ofa culturally appropriate dietary and lifestyleeducation intervention designed for MexicanAmericans with type 2 diabetes residing in theRio Grande Valley.”

DIABETES COSTAccording to ADA, diabetes is an expensive

disease to treat, and if people develop it atyounger ages, the overall price tag balloons.

As ADA stated:-Direct medical costs attributable to

diabetes: $44.1 billion. -Indirect costs, including factors such as

days of work lost and permanent disability:$54.1 billion.

-Cost of medical care for a person withdiabetes: $10,071 per year, compared with$2,669 for a person without diabetes.

-Costs can be greatly reduced if patientsexercise and eat healthy.

HEALTHY RECIPES

Spinach, Red Onion, and Cherry TomatoSalad with Tarragon Vinaigrette

4 serving(s)/Serving size: 1/4 of salad, tTbsp dressing

Chef's Hint: To keep your salad frombecoming soggy, place a saucer upside downin the bottom of the salad bowl. The waterwill drain off the saucer and leave the saladdry.

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar2/3 cup olive oil1 shallot, minced1/4 cup fresh tarragon, minced

1/2 tsp saltPinch black pepper3/4 lb spinach1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters1/2 red onion, thinly sliced4 oz Roquefort blue cheese 1. In a medium bowl, add the vinegar.

Slowly whisk in the olive oil until it isthoroughly mixed. Add the shallot, tarragon,salt, and black pepper. Mix well.

2. Rinse the spinach beneath cold, runningwater, then pat dry. Remove the stems, thencoarsely chop the spinach.

3. Place the spinach in the center of theplate. Place the onions over the top of thespinach, then drizzle the salad with 1 Tbsp ofthe tarragon dressing. Crumble 1 oz of thecheese on top and serve.

WHITE BEAN SALADpreparation time: 20 minutes6 servings/ serving size: 1/2 cupexchanges: 1 starch1 monounsaturated fatcalories: 132calories from fat: 44total fat: 5gsaturated fat: 1gcholesterol: 0mgsodium: 111mgcarbohydrate: 18gdietary fiber: 3gsugars: 2gprotein: 6g

1 cup canned cannellini beans, drained andrinsed

1 cup canned navy beans, drained andrinsed

1/2 cup minced scallions1/2 cup minced fresh Italian parsley1/4 cup minced celery1/4 cup balsamic vinegar2 Tbsp. olive oilfresh ground pepper to tasteCombine all ingredients in a salad bow,

cover and refrigerate for several hours beforeserving.

Diabetes: Valley vulnerable to diseaseBy SUNAYNA MAHTANIThe Pan American

By ADRIANA MARTINEZThe Pan American

The UTPA women will travelMonday to Sam Houston StateUniversity to compete in theirfourth and final tournament of thefall season – that is, if the weathercooperates.

Heavy rains cut short the LadyCardinal Invitational in Beaumonttwo weeks ago, and the UTPAteam finished sixth place overall inwhat proved to be a one-day 18-hole tournament. And forecasts callfor thunderstorm and tornadowarnings in the east Texas area.

But weather conditions changeconstantly and east Texas can’tstay wet forever. As long as thereis no lightning in the sky and thecourse is not completelysubmerged the tournament will beon. The lightning rule applies, ofcourse, because of the uncannylikeness between golf clubs andlightning rods - a likeness whichhas proved fatal to many golfers inthe past. And as long as the courseis dry enough to walk on,conditions are deemed playable.

Besides being the Lady Broncs’final outing of fall, it will be theirfirst tournament in almost a month.The team opened the season at theUniversity of North Texas inDenton with the second lowestsingle round score in schoolhistory, but then took a drasticmomentum change in their second

and third outings of the season.And although the team hasrecorded some great individualfinishes – Daniel Cortez came in10th place individually at theHuskie Classic – the Lady Broncshave not produced the scores thathead coach Barbara Odale knowsthey’re capable of.

Odale, however, feels thecompetition hiatus has lent itself torebuilding the team’s spirit andsees the Sam Houston StateInvitational, held at the one-timePGA stop Waterwood Golf Course,as the perfect time to return to thekind of golf they played at theLady Eagle Invitational.

“We know we have to get backto the level of playing we had inDenton,” said Odale, “ I see SamHouston as a perfect place to gainsome respect.”

Due to the conditions and layoutof the course there will be a fewvariables that the Lady Broncosdid not have to contend with whenthey played in the Lady EagleInvitational.

Freshman Nicole Boychuk, whogrew up in Conroe, has playedWaterwood both competitively andleisurely for much of her life, andunderstands that there are someinnate differences between thatcourse and what the Lady Broncsare used to practicing on.

“Waterwood can really punishyou if you’re having a bad day,”Boychuk said. “It’s got lots oftrees, and it makes it more difficultknowing that you can’t go that farleft or right of the fairway.

“When we play down here thereare almost no trees. You don’t haveto worry about losing your ball inthe woods, and even if you hit the

ball a mile to the left you can stillshoot at your fair way,” saidBoychuk.

But Boychuk is not intimidatedby the course, and on the contraryregards it as one of her favorites.

“The course is really pretty,”Boychuk said. “It’s right on LakeLivingston, and it’s really quietand peaceful. And actually thetrees can help you because theyshow you exactly where thefairway is.”

Other conditions which mayhinder the Lady Broncperformance, will be the saturatedstate of the course, whichaccording to Waterwood employeesis still too wet to be traveled on bycarts, and too wet for the greens tobe maintained by mowing.

In college tournaments, playersare required to travel the course byfoot, but the conditions willdrastically change the way a playerhas to play the course.

“When you’re playing on a wetcourse you tend to pick up a lotmore mud with your swing, andthat really shortens your drives,”Odale said. “Also there is atendency for the ball to leave thehead of your club funny when it iswet.”

One aspect of the tournamentwhich may help the Broncs incompetition is the heightenedamount of moral support they willreceive. This will be the onlytournament of the fall season inwhich all eight members of theLady Broncs will travel andcompete. The normal rules of fiveto a team will still apply, but thosewho do not compete for the LadyBroncs will still be considered forindividual placement.

One of the most important meets for theUTPA men’s and women’s cross countryteams is quickly closing in on the Broncrunners and they will soon have to let itloose at the Corpus Christi IndependentChampionships on Nov. 2.

This is one of the meets that the teamshave been preparing for throughout theseason. Coach Doug Molnar said that hebelieves his team is ready and many of theteam members agree that they have thecapacity to do well at the meet.

For junior runner Hugo Cervantes, thismeet is full of expectations especially whenit comes to matching up against Corpus.

“Basically we’re expecting for everyoneto go out there and run to their fullestpotential,” Cervantes said. “We’ve beentraining hard and I think it’s going to comedown to us and Corpus and it’s going to bea close race.”

Another strong runner for the men’steam, Westly Keating, has high

expectations of himself for the independentchampionship.

“I expect to run well and win the race,”Keating said. “The competition is going tobe great Corpus is the only main school andthey have decent runners but I think I canwin the race.”

For other runners, like Randy Salazar,this race is about meeting goals as anindividual.

“For this meet I’ve already set a goal formyself, to try to come in top ten,” Salazarsaid. “I think the team is going to do good,too. We pulled out all the stops and we’vebeen training really hard and we’re going todo our best to come out on top.”

The women’s team is also looking forsuccess at the independent championship.

Junior runner Patty Villarreal has had animpressive season so far and is looking todo even better at the Nov. 2 meet.

“I’m really nervous about this weekend, Idon’t want to make the same mistake that Imade at A&M which was going too fasttrying to keep up with the Corpus girls,”she said. “I’m going to try to be smarter

this time and run my own race in thebeginning and try to catch up in the middle.I’m going to pace myself, that’s my plan.”

For Deanah Chavez, a freshmen teammember, the meet is about keeping up withher teammateVillarreal.

“This meet Iexpect to stay upwith Patty, myteammate, she’sbeen doing reallywell and my goalevery race is tostay with her aslong as I can,”Chavez said.“Team-wise Ithink we can dowell, it’ll be ahard competitionbut I think we’vebeen working hardenough to go out there and run to win.”

This meet is the halfway mark to theculmination of the cross country season for

the UTPA runners and one of the highlightsof the season for Coach Molnar.

“All year this is one of the two meetsthat we’ve been pointing to so I’m veryexcited about watching them compete this

weekend,” Molnar said.“I’m looking forward toeveryone running the bestrace of their year thisweekend.”

The UTPA teams willbe matching up againstCentenary, DavidLipscam, and CorpusChristi but they still havehigh expectations.

“I’m expecting us to goout and each person runthe best race of their lifethis weekend,” Molnarsaid. “There’s no reasonthat we shouldn’t, we’veprepared and done all the

necessary work all year and we’veimproved each and every week, this shouldbe no different.”



Independent Championships this weekend in Corpus Christi give cross country athletes chance at collective,personal records. Both men’s and women’s teams to compete

Team, individual goals looming for runners

Golf team watches weather inpreparation for next tournament


Trip toHuntsvillescheduled

forward. Holcomb, who is a transfer from Allen CommunityCollege in Iola, Kan., hopes his presence in the paint will helpthe Broncs inside game with scoring, rebounding andtoughness.

“So far from the moment I got here on campus, it’s beennothing but a positive attitude in terms of what we want toaccomplish as a team,” Holcomb said. “ I think it’s going to bea learning curve because there’s old and new players andwe’ve all trying to adjust to each other moves, likes anddislikes, but I think we’re doing pretty good and we’reworking hard in practice.”

Even though the first game is right around the corner,Hoffman insists his focus is on improving his team rather thanhis opponents.

“The first thing we did in our first team meeting is talkabout executing our style of play and philosophy of offense,”Hoffman said. “We’ve got to get everybody in the samephilosophy.”

Basically we’reexpecting foreveryone to goout there and runto their fullestpotential.

“

“

- Hugo Cervantes,cross country runner

HOOPS continued from page 16

ReporterReporter

needed.needed.The Pan American is looking for

a sports reporter to audition this

semester for a full time position

in the spring. Call Mike Gonzalez

at 381-2546.

1201 West University, CAS 170 Edinburg, Texas 78539(956) 381-2541 Fax: (956) 316-7122

http://www.panam.edu/dept/panamerican51th Year – No. 10

EditorMatt Lynch

[email protected]

Layout Designers

Ashley Brooks

Mike Gonzalez

Gabriel Hernandez

Reporters

Veronica Barrera

Clarissa Martinez

Nikki Ramirez

Cesar Trevino

Celeste Y. Tello

Arianna Vazquez

Advertising

Dagoberto Perez

Circulation

Jesus M. Gonzalez

Advertising Coordinator

Juanita Sanchez

Adviser

Dr. Greg Selber

the PAN AMERICAN is theofficial studentnewspaper of TheUniversity ofTexas-PanAmerican. Views presentedare those of thewriters and do notnecessarily reflectthose of theuniversity.

The Pan Americangladly acceptsletters fromstudents, staff andfaculty regardingnewspaper contentor current issues.The Pan Americanreserves the rightto edit submissionsfor grammar andlength. Please limitsubmission lengthto 300 words. ThePan Americancannot publishanonymous letters,or submissionscontaining hatespeech orgratuitouspersonal attacks.Letters are printedat the discretion ofthe editor andmust include thewriter’s name,class/title andphone number.

Letters policy

October 312 0 0 2

Readers with dis-abilities mayrequest an alter-native format ofthis publicationat The PanAmerican busi-ness office. For special assis-tance to attendany event listedin this publica-tion, contact thecoordinator of theevent at least oneweek prior to theadvertised date.

Sports EditorMike Gonzalez

[email protected]

Celebrating 50 years

A & E EditorAshley Brooks

[email protected]

News EditorBelinda Reyes

[email protected]

Copy EditorsSunayna Mahtani

andBelinda Reyes

Graphics EditorGabriel O.Hernandez

[email protected]

NEWS■ Diabetes . . . . . . . . 3■ Construction . . . . . 5 ■ NORML . . . . . . . . . 6

The home of the University of Texas PanAmerican is turning 150.

Edinburg, Texas as well as HidalgoCounty, will celebrate the Hidalgo CountySesquicentennial Celebration this weekend,Nov. 1-3 at the Hidalgo Festival in Hidalgo.

The theme is "Celebrating 150 years ofCulture and Heritage," and the events willinclude activities such as pig races, a pettingzoo, Wild West gunfights, and a cookout.The musical entertainment will vary fromtraditional Tejano acts to country and blues.

A Community Showcase Arena will showoff the county's cities, including Edinburg,and there will be a History Zone offeringhistorical displays and educationalliterature.

Edinburg became a town in 1911, and intime moved from a predominantly farmingarea to a somewhat industrialized city.Edinburg experienced a building boom inthe late 1920s, and during this time ofgrowth and prosperity, city expansionsincluded a country club, a hospital, andseveral schools.

Then the town decided to includesomething in the community that would

affect the history of the Rio Grande Valley.Edinburg Junior College was built in 1927.

The Edinburg College graduated its firstclass in 1929. In 1933 Edinburg Collegebecame Edinburg Junior College, andEdinburg Regional College in 1948.Nineteen-fifty one marked a pinnaclemoment for the university when it became astate-supported school.

The support of the state prompted yetanother name change, Pan AmericanUniversity. In I971, the institution addedgraduate programs to its curriculum. In1989-90, the University of Texas adaptedthe Pan American University into its system.

Sesquicentennial nearingBy CLARISSA MARTINEZThe Pan American

OPINION l e t t e r s ■ e d i t o r i a l s ■ c a r t o o n sPAGE 2

Although she has over an hour before class,Angie Cruz, a junior education major, rushes toschool from work so she can get a parking spaceand be on time for class.

“If it wasn’t so hard to find parking I couldstop to get something to eat instead,” Cruz said.“But I have to wait until after class, and by thenI’m starving.”

Finding a parking space is a growing problemfor many students and a big issue on campus.The university is currently looking at land tocreate more parking lots for the future.However, the land is away from campus.

The Student Government Association (SGA),along with Parking Manager Eddie Morin, is inthe preliminary process of setting up a shuttleservice to transport students from the parkinglots to campus, and eventually from thecommunity.

The SGA will be holding a forum to discussits plans for the shuttle service and to hearstudents suggestions and ideas on the topic. Theforum will be held Tuesday, Nov. 5 from noonto 1 p.m. All students are welcome.

“As the university grows, parking willbecome a bigger problem and it will be hard toget to class in a decent amount of time,” saidAlyssa Muñoz, SGA president. “We want toprovide the shuttle service to help students andwould like to have it here in the next two years.”

According to Morin, they are basing theirplans on a Higher Education Transit study thatwas done in 1994. A consultant has also beenhired to put the shuttle system in place. SGA islooking into how the system will be funded.One possible option is to add $10 to $12 to eachstudents tuition every semester.

Another option is to raise the price of theparking permits so that only the students whodrive will pay for the system.

“It is a good idea to get started on it now

before it’s too late,” Morin said. “This way oncethe remote parking areas are built we willalready have the system in place. Then we’llonly have to look at expanding the system.”

According to Morin, they plan to eventuallyhave parking areas in McAllen and offExpressway 281, so that students can take theshuttle buses to campus.

The SGA will also be conducting a surveyNov. 5-6. In the morning they will be located inparking lots near the Science and Engineeringbuilding, the Social and Behavioral Sciencesbuilding, and Bronc Village. From 12 to 2 p.m.they will be located in the library lobby. Thequestionnaire will be on the shuttle service andother issues such as a weight room for studentuse only, and a possible bar on campus.

“We want to to know what the studentsthink,” Muñoz said. “We would reallyappreciate if people take a couple of minutes tocome by and fill out the questionnaires so wecan better serve them.”

Parking shuttle idea developsBy AMELIA GARCIAThe Pan American

GOT SOMETHING

TO SAY?

The Pan Americanwants to hearwhat you have tosay about stories,current events oranything you wantto rant about.Send yourresponses [email protected]

SO SAY IT!Just like any sport, volleyball requires

every player to be on the same page andright now the University of Texas-PanAmerican Lady Broncs are at that level asthey ride an eight-game winning streak.

With a win over Texas A&M-International, the Lady Broncs can tie aschool record nine-game winning streakSaturday night at Laredo.

The Lady Dustdevils will seek revengeas UTPA snapped their 14-game winningstreak on Oct. 18. Volleyball head coachDave Thorn believes A&M-Internationalwill be a different team although itssuffered some key injuries earlier in theseason.

“They’re a well-coached team whoplays hard,” Thorn said. “Unfortunately,they’ve had some season-ending injuriesto some of their key players. When theycame in here, they weren’t the team wewere expecting, but I’m sure they had achance to improve. I expect them to comeout a lot harder and play more

consistently as a team.”In their first meeting, UTPA rolled to a

30-18, 30-12 and 30-28 win at theFieldhouse. The Lady Broncs were able tocontrol a team that is known for theirdefensive play. Thorn knows how difficultit is to beat a quality team on the road,and realizes his team must step their gameup a notch.

“They’re at home, so that’s alwaystough and I expect it[game] to be a battle,”Thorn said.

During their winningstreak, it has been theplay of the freshmen thathas ignited the LadyBroncs from a 1-10 startto a .500 record.

Middle blockerStephanie Redd, middleblocker Danielle Holtheand setter Katie Burkeare three freshmanplayers that UTPA fanswill have a chance to seein a Bronc uniform forthe next couple of years. Although theLady Broncs got off to a rough start,Burke, who is third on the team with10.81 assists a contest, is happy herteammates have bounced back and turnedthe season around.

“It’s good to be winning especiallysince we started,” Burke said. “I know westarted slow, but I believed we could doit.”

Redd has really stepped up for UTPA.She’s averaging 2.29 kills and 0.61 blocksa game while Holthe is also averaging0.76 digs a game. Thorn always knew hisfreshmen had potential and believes teamchemistry has been the difference since

the start of theseason.

“They’re morecomfortableplaying at thecollege level,”Thorn said.“They’re morecomfortable withthe speed of thegame and witheach other. Theyall come fromdifferent areasand now startingto come togetheras a group.”

On Tuesday, the Lady Broncs reachedthe .500 mark for the first time this seasonsweeping Southwest Texas State 31-29,30-21 and 30-27. The victory was theirfirst ever against the Lady Bobcats. UTPAimproved its

record to 12-12 and is just one win awayfrom tying the school record with nine ina row, set last season. Leading the way forUTPA was junior outside hitter WinkerCruz with 12 kills. Burke added 44 assistswhile junior outside hitter JaclynMuszynski had 15 digs. Thorn realizeshow big the victory was for the programand is proud of his team’s performance.

“It was an excellent game,” Thorn said.“It was a historic win for us, and it was ateam effort.”

The Lady Broncs will conclude theirschedule at home next week against TexasA&M-Corpus Christi and on Nov. 11against New Mexico State.


By MIKE GONZALEZThe Pan American

Lady Broncs go fornine in a row

Saturday

Volleyball winning streak reaches eight games

TENNIS continued from page 16

The tournaments during the fallsemester also add anotherdisadvantage in that opponents areunknown until the day of thecompetition. The match-updecisions are made at random, andthere is no time to review players’styles and weaknesses before therounds.

“I always hope to go up againstplayers who hit hard and miss alot,” Waslen said. “I’d much ratherhave to hustle than go up againstsomeone who is consistent fromthe baseline.”

Whether Waslen will be pairedwith her ideal opponent iscompletely up to fate, but she is

hopeful - based on the evenpairings she expects to see in SanAntonio - that the outcome of thetournament will be strong.

“We’re going up against schoolswho play at our level, so we havemuch better chances,” she said.

How the team does depends onhow much it improves during theoffseason. Chapman believes thatthe worst is now behind the LadyBroncs.

“You can’t control what time ofyear that you’re going to getinjured or sick,” Chapman said.“But hopefully we won’t have todeal with these things in thespring.”

I know westarted slow, butI believed wecould do it. “

“

- Katie Burke,volleyball player

At only 22 years old, Britishtennis player Matt Gower has bigplans for his future; but thoseplans are not for the tennis courts.UTPA’s number one tennis playeris also a budding musician, andhopes to continue a career inentertainment once his playingdays are over.

Gower has been playing tennissince he was six years old inSomerset, England.

“My parents took me out on thecourt to do something with theirkid, I was good at it,” he said.“The first ball I hit, I just had anatural talent for it.”

His natural talent and love forthe sport was enough to help himwork his way through the ranks inCheddar, England where heattended high school.

He even got an athleticscholarship to play tennis forUTPA. He came to the UnitedStates for the sake of travel and tofurther his education.

“I worked my way up throughthe ranks as a county player untilI finished high school and Idecided that I wanted to come tocollege in the states,” Gower said.“I just wanted to have some funand I thought that it would begood to go to college in thestates,” he said.

Gower is also attracted to thecompetitive nature of the game.

“I’m a competitive person, Ilike competing at a high level,”Gower said. “At Pan Am we’re

division one so I’m playing at thetop flight for a college player.”

Aside from a scholarship thatwould put him through college,he was attracted to some of thethings that Texas had to offer.

“I chose to come to Pan Ambecause of scholarship reasons, Iwas offered the best scholarship,”Gower said. “And I was attractedto the climate and the island, andI liked the idea of coming toschool in Texas because it had agood reputation for sports.”

Gower admits that although heis here to play tennis, his truepassion is off the court.

“I really enjoy my tennis, butmy passion is music,” he said.“I’ve had a lot of success withmusic in England.”

He said that on each of his tripsto England he is busy trying topush himself onto the foregroundon the music scene.

“Basically every time I gohome, I’m recording songs on analbum or performing trying tofurther my career as a solo artist,”Gower said.

With his college career comingto an end (he will be graduatingnext December) and plans for anAugust wedding under way,Gower hardly has a moment formusic but looks forward to moretime with his passion.

“I graduate next December andI’m getting married in August to aValley girl, then I’m going tohead back to England to try tomake it in the music world,” hesaid.

Because of his father’s success

in music in the 1970s, Gowerbelieves that he has a goodchance of making it as well.

“I’ve got a chance in the music,a real good chance because myfather is pretty big in the musicworld,” he said. “He was a popstar in the late seventies back inEngland and his albums wenttriple platinum all over the world.With him in my corner, I reckon Ican make it.”

He also has plans for the tennisteam at Pan Am and expects someof the younger players to continuebringing success to UTPA.

“The Pan Am team is a greattennis team, we’ve got some greatplayers,” Gower said. “The bestteam that Pan Am has had as anNCAA division one program soI’d say we’ve pretty much got thesolid strongest team in the historyof Pan Am tennis-wise.”

One of his biggest goals is totake the team to their firstnational championship.

“By the time our main seasonstarts up in January, I’m lookingto drum up an impressive finalyear for the team and for myself,”Gower said.

As the number one player forthe past two years, he believesthat he can lead the team on to apretty impressive national victory.

“I want to lead the Pan Amteam to their first nationalchampionship and conferencetitle, which is a very realistic goalwith the quality of players that wehave on the team,” Gower said.

• Melissa Montalvo contributed tothis story.

Great ExpectationsBrit Gower has tennis skills, musical ambitions as well. Will

marry soon and return to homeland

RETURN THIS: Freshman Elysia Sloan whacks a forehand shot in a recentpractice. The tennis team competes next in San Antonio.


Brian Carr / The Pan American

WHO: UTPA volleyballteam

WHAT: The LadyBroncs look for ninewins in a row whenthey host Texas A&MInternational Saturday.

THURSDAYOctober 31, 2002

An Inside Look:

■ News ............................................2■ A & E............................................7■ Sports ........................................16

T h e S t u d e n t N e w s p a p e r o f T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f T e x a s - P a n A m e r i c a n

Page 4

CCaammppuussVOICE

What areyour plans

thisHalloween?

NATION

■ Tommy Cutt ingBack

Tommy HilfigerCorporation will close37 of 44 U.S.specialt y stores afterthis year ’s holiday season. Around500 people will losetheir jobs, 75 percentof which are par t-timers.Company officialsclaim the stores havenot met companyexpectations sinceAugust of this year. In par ticular,shares plummetednearly 20 percent onthe Stock Exchange recently.A spokesperson saidthat the companyplans to keep sevenspecialt y stores open,three in New York andfour in Los Angeles, tobe used primarily asvehicles for developingexclusive merchandiselines.

CAMPUS■ Early VotingContinues

Early voting for theNov. 5 general electionwill continue throughFriday at UTPA’sStudent

Union in the secondfloor Pelican Room.Voting will be from 7a.m. to 7 p.m. onThursday, Oct. 31 andFriday, Nov. 1.

The general election,featuring an Hispaniccandidate for goveror,Laredo businessmanTony Sanchez, isTuesday.

Greens gainingmore popularity

America salutes the colors red,white, and blue. But what about thecolor green? The Green Party hasbecome a player on the politicalscene in recent years, and aselection day nears, the party istrying to get its message out thereand send its members into state andnational office

Grass-roots democracy, socialjustice, ecological wisdom, andnonviolence are just some of theGreen Party hopes to introduce ingreater measure to United Statessociety. In Texas, the Greens aremaking a strong bid forrepresentation, with over 40 stateand local candidates running foroffice this year.

“You have a real choice inelection 2002,” according to theGreen Party of Texas official webpage. The Greens wish to end thebig money campaigns and corporatesponsorship of candidates thatmembers feel have characterizedrecent political efforts. They offerwhat they call “progressive”candidates who will work for thepeople, and they do not acceptcontributions for campaigns fromcorporations, Political ActionCommittees (PACs), or otherspecial interest group.

Rahul Mahajan, the Greencandidate for governor, statedrecently that the party is for humanrights, not corporate rights.

According to the Co-Chair of theHidalgo County Green Party,Robert Ballinger, the number onepriority is to create a society whichis socially just and environmentallysustainable. He also said that theshort-term goal for his party is toovercome corporate dominance ofthe political system.

One of the Green Party’s valuesis respect for diversity, and that canbe seen on the ballot, as a myriad ofdifferent ethnic groups, gender, andclass backgrounds are represented.In comparison to the other twomajor parties, the Greens have morediverse candidates, according toUTPA political science professorNigel Cohen.

“I look for women and people ofcolor on the ballots. Traditionally[the Green Party] has had balance,”Cohen said. “Most Republicans and

Democrats are usually the whitemale crowd running for state andnational offices.”

This year it seems that theDemocrats have run against thisgrain, however, with its DreamTeam of Laredo businessman TonySanchez challenging incumbentRick Perry for governor and blackex-Dallas mayor Ron Kirk runningagainst John Cornyn for the U.S.Senate seat vacated by the retiringPhil Gramm.

Though the party is not powerfulin the United States as it is in otherplaces like Europe, its popularityhas been increasing. A viable thirdparty might be palatable forAmericans, after the Reform Partyof Ross Perot garnered nearly 20percent of the vote in the 1992presidential primaries. The choiceof a third party gives peopleanother view into politics, onewhich might jibe more closely withtheir own. Studies show that youngadults in the 18-34 age range arestarting to get on the Greenbandwagon.

Since the 2000 presidentialelection, the Green Party has beenon people’s minds. Ralph Naderwas the Green candidate, and somehave suggested that support for himfrom defecting Democrats had ahand in the election win ofRepublican George Bush overDemocratic candidate Al Gore.

The party’s popularity is greatestin the Northwest, and as stated, it isparticularly well-received oncollege campuses. According topolitical science professor Cohen,Nader himself has started a numberof student groups designed tobolster student interest in politics,and the Greens.

Ballinger added that pastelections have shown that voterturnout among university studentsis decreasing. Also, many do nothave a firm grasp on who they arevoting for and what they stand for.The Greens are trying to eliminateboth those problems with grass-roots work, including their monthlynewsletter which is distributednationwide.

“A lot of students think their votedoesn’t matter, but if they want tomake a difference the Green Party[represents] the needs for thepeople, not the corporations,”Ballinger concluded.

By ARIANNA VAZQUEZThe Pan American

Gabriel O. Hernandez/The Pan American

BLOOD BROTHERS— Gustavo Cepeda (foreground) holds a gauze to hisarm after donating blood Wednesday. Donar care specialist, ManuelAlvarez (left) assists Felipe Gonzalez (background) as he participates inthe United Blood Services’s blood drive.

You’re invited!The University of Texas-Pan American

75th Diamond AnniversarySaturday, November 2, 2002

Saturday, November 2, 2002You’re invited!

■ 9 a.m.-1 p.m. College Open House,Campus Tours, & Information Booths.Ask about admissions, scholarships, &financial aid.■ 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Carnival on thequad. Food! Music! Fun! Free lunchwhile it lasts!■ 2 p.m. Visitors Center GrandOpening & Unveiling of the BronzeBronc.■ 3:30 p.m. Bronc baseball game.Annual “Green & White Scrimmage.”■ 6 p.m. 16th Annual FlorenceNightingale Benefit.■ 7 p.m. UTPA Mariachi Concert.Tickets Available!

The injury-plagued fall season willconclude next week for the strugglingUTPA women’s tennis team.

The Lady Broncs, who have beeninconsistent due to forced missed practicesand tournaments, will finish their season atthe Texas-San Antonio Fall Invitationalwhich begins Friday.

Head coach Todd Chapman, who himselfhas been sick in the past week, tries to beoptimistic about the misfortunes which havebeen commonplace for the squad.

“It’s been tough with the women becauseof injuries,” Chapman said. “We’ve alsohad problems with sickness since thesecond week of practices and it takes timeto recover and knock the rust off your gameonce you have.”

Fortunately for the team the weight of the2002-03 season lies in the team-to-teamcompetitions of the spring.

The fall season is based on individualadvancement through flight ranks ofcomputer matchings.

Individuals advance through their flightdepending on how many matches they winduring the course of an event.

If a player loses a match they move intoconsolation rounds, and the outcomes ofeach player only affects their individualranking.

In short there are no team scores in thefall.

Katherine Waslen, one of only two LadyBroncs to advance in their flight thisseason, will be happy to get into the springteam match ups.

“The fall tournaments make for a reallylong day,” Waslen said. “It’s hard to stayfocused when you don’t know how manymatches you have.”

Brian Carr / Pan AmericanNICE SHOT: Junior Alana Breen works the baseline and sends a shot back over the net during practiceTuesday.

■ Volleyball streak . . . . . .15

■ Cross country. . . .. . . . .14

■ Staff’s swami picks . . . 13

PAGE 16

SPORTS

HIT WITH FINE:Dallas Cowboys safe-ty Darren Woodsonwas fined $75,000for his helmet hit onSeattle Seahawkswide receiver DarrellJackson duringSunday’s game.Woodson will not besuspended and the33-year-old was nothappy with the fine.Woodson led with hishelmet as Jacksonattempted to make acatch, but there wasnot contact made hishelmet. Woodson wascalled for a 15-yardpenalty for unneces-sary roughness.Jackson sustained aconcussion on theplay and had aseizure in the lockerroom. He was imme-diately sent to BaylorMedical Center andwas released onMonday.

NFL

MLB

CLEMENS IS FREE:The New York Postreported the New YorkYankees pitcher RogerClemens became afree agent aftertelling the organiza-tion that he was exer-cising a 10.3 milliondollar option.Clemens went 13-6with a 4.35 ERA thisseason and is likelyget offers from otherteams. Clemens ispart of two WorldSeries Championshipsand admitted hewanted to stay withthe Yankees. Clemensseven games awayfrom his 300th game.

Squeaking sneakers, suicide drills, coaches yelling,and team scrimmages. It’s time to go to work for theUniversity of Texas-Pan American’s men’s basketballteam.

The program made it’s mark last season by winning20 games and was on the brink of making the post-season.

Although the Broncs just missed postseason play,this year’s team hopes to bring the program from arespectable level to a power level.

UTPA begins its 2002-03 season Nov. 9 with anexhibition game against Monterrey Tech. Just like itis for any other team, it all starts at practice. For thepast three weeks, UTPA has prepared for the newseason. Men’s basketball head coach Bob Hoffmanknows the importance of practice and feels progresshas been made since the first day the players put ontheir sneakers.

“I think practice is going good,” Hoffman said.“Our first week wasn’t as good as we’d liked it to be,but we just need to continue and get better and ourguys are getting more understanding of what we’retrying to accomplish.“

Hoffman knows the struggle to stay in shape in theoffseason and he credits his players for working hardand preparing themselves for the new campaign.

“I thought our returning cast was in great shape,”Hoffman said. “The whole squad did a good jobstaying on task and it’s not an easy process. It takes alot of time, energy and communication.”

The Broncs lost key players Mire Chatman, MarcusQuinn and John Nubine to graduation last May, butUTPA recruited new and skilled players, andaccording to Hoffman, his seniors will also bedepended on to replace those who left.

“We’ve always had seniors that we can count on tolead and this year is no exception,” Hoffman said. “Ittakes great leadership to have a quality team.”

Returners include Tomas Sitnikovas, 6-6 senior;James Davis, 5-10 guard; Gabe Cortez, 6-1 guard;and Kevin Mitchell, 6-3 guard, that will bringexperience and try to help lead the Broncs to asuccessful season. Mitchell had an outstanding junioryear scoring 8.8 points, with 4.9 assists and 1.7steals a contest, but he anticipates not only hisnumbers going up but his team’s victory levelincreasing as well.

“I’ve got to be more aggressive and need to scoremore,” Mitchell said. “We’re a different team, but weexpect to be better this year.”

While the returning Broncs prepare to bring theirleadership and experience, the new players hope tobring hunger and explosiveness to a team thataveraged 79.6 points a game last year. Hoffmanrecruited six players, including junior transfer AlanHolcomb, 6-5 forward; Chris Fagan, 6-5 forward;Delvis Diaz, 6-7 forward; Matt Berry, 6-5 forward;Prince Thompson, 6-3 guard; and Derrick East, 6-8

Practice under way for exhibitionopener Nov. 9 against Monterrey

Tech at the FieldhouseBy MIKE GONZALEZThe Pan American

Tennis team heading north

See TENNIS page 15SPORT THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY

WOMEN’STENNIS

UTSAInvitational

UTSAInvitational

UTSAInvitational

VOLLEY-BALL

At TAMUInternational

WOMEN’SGOLF



CROSSCOUNTRY

Independentchamps.

UTSA Fall Invitational willbegin Friday


New Bronchoops slatenearing start

See HOOPS page 14

Documents

October 31, 2002