On May 15, the UT Sys-tem Board of Regents voted to merge the UT Brownsville and UT Pan American to cre-ate a new university, UT Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). The proposed university will span across the Valley, with cam-puses in Brownsville, Edin-burg, Harlingen and McAllen.

Three important items were voted upon during the meet-ing: the degree programs to be offered at the new univer-sity, a process to hire tenure and tenure-track faculty from

UT Pan American and UT Brownsville and the creation of a fund of up to $5 million to assist communication efforts needed to launch the new uni-versity. UTRGV will receive its inaugural class of students in the fall of 2015. Its medi-cal school will open in the fall of 2016. When the university opens, UTGRV is expected to become the second-largest Hispanic serving institution in the world.

The Board proposed a total of 137 baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degrees to be of-fered at UTRGV, which will be sent to the Texas Higher Edu-cation Coordinating Board

After several months of planning, the UTSA Academic Advising Program has com-pleted the changes announced early last fall.

The program has changed its structure to a centralized administrative unit that will provide a more relational and less informational advising ex-perience for UTSA students.

Changes were implemented May 2014; all current students will be assigned an academic advisor who will work with them until they graduate.

“This will allow for students to see the same advisor and enable the advisor to provide

more support and mentoring, enabling the student to de-velop a rapport with their aca-demic advisor,” said Barbara Smith, executive director of advising.

Students will be assigned an advisor based on academic clusters created by the advis-ing program. The clusters were finalized using an analysis of UTSA student data, as well as

the Academic Advising Re-structuring Proposal.

Ms. Smith stated that each

First lady Michelle Obama announced her new Reach Higher initiative at UTSA Friday, May 2. Reach Higher encourages students to take charge of their future by pur-suing higher education.

Obama chose to speak in San Antonio after U.S. Secre-tary of Education Arne Dun-can highlighted San Antonio’s College Signing Day on his blog. San Antonio’s education-al climate has had a significant turnaround, improving college enrollment by 49 percent since 2010, under Mayor Castro’s SA2020 initiative.

“We need more communi-ties doing what you’re doing here in San Antonio,” said the First Lady. “You are what Reach Higher is all about.”

Over 2,000 high school se-niors filled the Convocation Center to listen to the First Lady and to pledge to enroll

in and graduate from college. College Signing Day was the highlight of College Week SA, a weeklong series of events held to encourage higher edu-cation among high school stu-dents.

“Years ago our nation had the highest percentage of col-

lege graduates in the world. Since then we have dropped to 12,” said the first lady. She also discussed the president’s North Star education goal for the U.S. to again have the larg-est proportion of college grad-uates by 2020.

The event ties to the May-or’s SA2020 plan, which aims to achieve similar education goals by increasing college en-rollment rates to 80 percent and college attainment to 50 percent by 2020.

San Antonio’s attainment rate currently hovers around 35 percent, according to a recent study by the Lumina Foundation, a private founda-tion focused on higher educa-tion issues. The Texas Higher

Beginning this fall, UTSA and all other public institutes of higher education in Texas will be implementing new core curriculum catalogs.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) approved changes to the core curriculum for the first time since 1998.

These changes, approved in October 2011, will not only limit the number of hours necessary to complete the core, they will also change the amount of study the board be-lieves is adequate for a thor-ough understanding of the class.

Previously, a degree plan could require between 42 and 45 core credit hours. Under the new requirements, all de-gree plans may only call for a maximum of 42 credit hours from the core curriculum. These credit hours must come from courses covering the fun-damental fields of study deter-mined by THECB.

Under the new core, these fields are communication, mathematics, the life and physical sciences, language, philosophy and culture, the creative arts, government and political science, social and behavioral sciences and a component area option. Nota-bly, the board has emphasized throughout the development of the new curriculum that the six core objectives of the curriculum—critical think-ing skills, communication

For bold students inter-ested in spicing up their fall semester schedules, UTSA offers a variety of interesting courses.

Unique in content, and available during the Fall 2014 semester, courses such as Walt Disney & Popular Cul-ture (HUM 3703), Bible as Literature (HUM 3223), Dictator in Latin American Literature (SPN 4303) and Women and Literature: Crime & Modern Fiction (ENG 3133) invite UTSA students to ex-amine the relationship be-tween sociocultural milieu and creative works.

In addition to satisfying upper-division requirements, courses such as Geological F ie ld Inves-

tiga- tions (GEO 3112), Fundamentals of Robotics (ME 4773) and Hon-ors Seminar: Neuroscience of the Human Voice (HON 3253) foster innovation through an

emphasis on the application and critical analysis of course materials.

As well as providing courses that strengthen critical think-ing skills, UTSA offers intro-

ductory dance and courses in photography, drawing,

ceramics, sculpting and painting for non-art majors that encour-age creative ingenuity. These class experienc-es—unique to UTSA—reflect the university’s

professors and student community.

Walt Disney & Popular Culture (HUM 3703)

Professor Douglas Brode will teach Walt Disney & Pop-

Advisors Miranda Swain, Valerie Acosta and Jessica Williams (left to right) prepare for the changes in a temporary workspace.

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UTSAThe UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures will host the Texas Contemporary Artist Series through Oct. 26; this year will mark the sixth anniversary of the showcase.

San AntonioThe future of San An-tonio’s politics has been shrouded in uncer-tainty after the Associ-ated Press confirmed President Obama will be nominating Mayor Castro for the U.S. housing and urban de-velopment secretary.

TexasAccording to the Tex-as electric grid opera-tor, renewable energy production in Texas grew by 12 percent in 2013; 97 percent of Texas renewable en-ergy comes from wind turbine generation.

U.S.In response to a na-tionwide scarcity of lethal injection drugs, Tennessee has al-lowed for the use of the electric chair if drugs cannot be ob-tained for a scheduled execution.

SportsRoadrunner football’s season opener will be televised on ESPNU at 8 p.m. on Aug. 29.

ArtsThe McNay will host the exhibition, Paul Strand: The Mexican Portfolio, to Aug. 24. The show features photographs taken on the artist’s 1993 trip through Mexico.

The first lady speaks to a full house at the UTSA Convocation Center.

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See ADVISING, Page 3

UT Board of Regents approve the creation of UT Rio Grande Valley

See UNIQUE, Page 3

Exercise your mind with these unique courses

See CAMPUS, Page 4

Revised UTSA advising program will nurture student-advisor relationshipsUTSAPavela Bambekova Contributing Writer news@paisano-online.com

TEXAS

UTSA

Lorenzo Garcia News Editor news@paisano-online.com

Miriam C. Cabello Staff Writer news@paisano-online.com

New statewide core curriculum catalog to be implemented this fall semesterUTSARebecca Conejo Social Media Manager news@paisano-online.com

See CURRICULUM, Page 4See INITIATIVE, Page 3

First lady launches education initiative at UTSAUTSASarah Gibbens Editor-in-Chief editor@paisano-online.com

Top moments in the 2013 - 2014 UTSA athletic campaignpage 10

If you don’t know what to do with

your summer, check out our summer

bucket list page 7

Volume 49 Issue 15 May 22, 2014 {WWW.PAISANO-ONLINE.COM}{SINCE 1981}

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

summer issue

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cluster was “developed based on the historical mi-gration pattern of students among degree pro-grams.”

According to Smith, pairing a student with the same personal academic advi-sor is intended to help students throughout their UTSA career. For exampe, all students who will be majoring in architecture, interior design, construction sci-ence management, criminal justice, public administra-tion and Mexican-American

studies will be m e e t i n g

their advi-s o r at a

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lo c at ion , while stu-

dents pursuing a major in the

sciences will be advised

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at the Main Campus location.

“Setting up the advising centers this way enables a stu-

dent who changes his or her major an average 80 percent chance of staying with the same assigned academic advi-sor from orientation to gradu-ation,” explained Smith.

Prior to the changes, any advisor in the Colleges’ Freshman Advising Center (CFAC) was responsible for all declared students with less than 30 credit hours, while advisors in the Thomas Rivera Center (TRC) were responsible for all unde-c l a r e d

s t u -d e n t s .

After completing 30 credit hours, the students would then be seen by advi-sors from the College Advising Center.

“If a student was one major and wanted to change to an-other major that wasn’t in that same college, they would have to go to another advising cen-ter and meet with a different advisor,” said Smith.

Along with changing the structure of personal advis-ing, the Academic Advising Program is also implementing additional technological re-sources. By using the comput-

er software Degree Works, the university will enable students to electronical-ly map out their degree plans with the help of

their advisor. Addition-ally, after creating a plan, students will be able to electronically submit plan

revision requests for their advisor to review, approve

and “lock” at any time.Degree Works will allow the

student “the ability to access (his or her) plan at any point and time,” said Smith. Along with increasing the efficiency of the communication process between the advisor and the student, each student will be able to audit his or her prog-ress toward completing their degree.

The changes also involve the standardization of all forms for exemption and registra-tion. The new Early Alert Re-tention Network (EARN) is a system that allows an in-structor to alert advisors to student behavior such as re-peatedly missing class or fail-ing a midterm. Following the changes, the student’s advisor will be able to see these alerts

and will “be able to r e a c h

out to the student and provide resources and op-tions” that the student can use “to make an appropriate informed decision,” explained Smith.

The University Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. John Frederick, deemed the advising program changes a necessity. One of the major goals of changing the advising program’s struc-ture is to improve graduation rates. Implementation task forces, the executive director of advising, advising directors, associate directors and others are responsible for implement-ing the changes and for “pro-viding tools and resources for students to be self-sufficient and stay on-track for gradu-ating in four years,” Smith af-firmed.

Though the advisors will have to adapt to the changes in little time, “they look for-ward to having caseloads of assigned students,” said Smith.

“Students will be able to track their degree progress, connect with someone at the university who will know their academic strengths, weak-nesses and other factors such as family and work commit-ments, enabling them to de-velop a plan to aid in student success and timely gradua-tion,” Smith concluded.

Graphics by Lorenzo Garcia

Education Coordinating Board reported enrollment rates to be slightly higher at 57 percent.

Notable attendees included San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, UTSA President Dr. Ricardo Romo and his wife, UTSA Professor Harriet Romo.

The first lady was introduced by future UTSA student Rocio Alvarado, who spoke about the struggles of committing to education as a Spanish-speak-ing immigrant. She was cho-sen to be a speaker after sub-mitting an essay to Upward Bound, an organization aimed at strengthening the academic skills of high school seniors.

Alvarado learned English after moving to the U.S. as a child and quickly excelled from ESL to Advanced Place-ment classes.

“When I came to the U.S. from Mexico, my family lived in a rundown home. College seemed like an impossible dream,” said Alvarado. “In honor of my father who passed away a month ago, I am here to make a declaration that I will go to college, graduate and give back.”

In the fall, Alvarado plans to study criminal justice and mi-nor in psychology while vol-unteering for any organization that will help her give back to the community. She stated UTSA was an ideal choice to pursue her education.

Out of the thousands of high school seniors in atten-dance, over 450 will be attend-ing UTSA.

In attendance at the event, Student Government Associa-tion President Zack Dunn said of the incoming freshmen, “I have no doubt that they will

be the next wave of leadership this university needs.”

According to Romo, UTSA was chosen to host the event over other universities in San Antonio as a result of its com-mitment to excellence.

“We’re very honored, the first lady has been incredibly gracious,” said Romo.

Unfortunately for students, the event was closed to the public. “It was a great day for UTSA, a great day for our stu-dents to know that Michelle Obama was on campus, even if a lot of them couldn’t come,” said Romo.

“Anything of this nature is going to be good for UTSA and San Anto-nio, in the future and beyond. You can’t have one of the most famous peo-ple in the world come to your campus and tell you they love you and it not impact a lot of people. We are on the map and recognized as a great place to be.”

According to Romo, it is es-timated that a minimum of 70 percent of incoming freshman will be in the top quartile of their high school class.

Mayor Julian Castro sup-ported Romo’s assertions. “San Antonio can’t become a brain-powered community without UTSA’s continued success,” said the mayor. “I’m glad to see UTSA producing more college graduates and contributing so much to San Antonio.”

The first lady’s speech ended with a pledge in which the high school seniors committed to enroll in and graduate from college for themselves, their family and the community.

Before leaving, Obama en-couraged the college hopefuls to persevere through hardship. “When you run into trouble, promise me that you’ll ask for

help. I’ll be watching y’all. And you cannot break a promise to the first lady.”

From Page 1

Advising: identifying and adapting to the needs of today’s students

From Page 1

Initiative: accessible education

Who is your advisor?Downtown BV 1.304 458-2550

Monica Glover

Arts & Humanities MS 4.01.52 458-6513

Joan Tsacalis

Social Sciences MS 4.01.50 458-4900

Olga San Miguel

Interdisciplinary Education BB 2.02.04 458-4424

Sylvia Mansour

Business Studies BB 2.01.04 458-4462

April Lawver

Engineering EB 3.04.04 458-5525

Lona George

Life & Health Sciences FLN 2.03.02 458-4045

Cynthia Rodriguez

Math & Physical Sciences FLN 2.03.02 458-4045

Patricia Gonzalez

Student Placement FLN 2.03.02 458-4045

Sabina Kapoor

If you are unsure which advisior you should go to, you can find out by calling any of the advising centers above.

“Students will be able to track their degree progress, connect with

someone at the university who will know their academic strengths, weaknesses and other factors such as family and work commitments, enabling

them to develop a plan to aid in student success and timely graduation”

Barbara SmithExecutive Director of Advising

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Summer 2014

4

skills, empirical and quantita-tive skills, teamwork, social responsibility and personal responsibility—do not neces-sarily need to be tested in the context of each field for stu-dents to meet each objective.

For example, the social re-sponsibility objective of the communication or math core will not be required but op-tional depending on a stu-dent’s degree plan. The only core objectives that will be re-quired of all nine components are the critical thinking and communication skills.

With this change, the com-munication core will be re-duced from nine to six hours, the math core will be reduced from six to three hours, the sciences core will be reduced from eight to six hours and the area option will be increased from three to six hours.

Current students have the option to either continue un-der the previous core, or adopt the revised core. Incoming freshman do not have this op-tion, and must abide by the new core curriculum stan-dards.

This change has been in the making since 2008, when the Undergraduate Education Advisory Committee (UEAC) suggested to the THECB in a January 2009 report that the general education core curric-ulum be reviewed and recon-sidered. After further analysis and reports were made, revi-sions to the existing rules were proposed in August 2011. Af-ter suggestions and comments

were received from the public, the amended rules were ap-proved in October 2011.

The timeline for implement-ing the new core curriculum began in November 2011, when institutions were instructed to have their faculty select cours-es for the 2014 catalog. For the next two years, institutions were able to change and de-velop a new catalog. By the end of November 2013, the revised core curriculums were due to the THECB pending their ap-proval.

For its part, UTSA imple-mented the Freshman Experi-ence Task Force. In 2011, the task force was charged with determining which classes were important to every stu-dent, regardless of major.

The task force found that freshman composition, math-ematics and Quantitative Lit-eracy Assessment Test (QLAT) courses were the most impor-tant. From their findings, the Academic Inquiry and Schol-arship course was created and will be mandatory for all in-coming freshmen this fall.

The Acadmic Inquiry and Scholarship was first intro-duced last year. The objective of the course is to grant new students an understanding of how questions are developed and investigated within col-legiate academia. This is ac-complished through the ex-amination of the academic micro-cultures found within the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.

ular Culture (HUM 3703) on Wednesdays from 4 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. at the Main Campus. This special topics course ana-lyzes Walt Disney’s influence on popular culture. To enroll in Walt Disney & Popular Culture, students must have completed the 2012-2014 core curriculum requirement in rhetoric.

Bible as Literature (HUM 3223)

Dr. James Adair will teach Bible as Literature (HUM 3223), a course that examines the Bible in a secular context, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. at the Main Campus. This course challenges its students to read beyond any emotional, personal and theological un-derstandings of the Bible. The Bible as Literature acts not only as an experiment of reli-gious empathy but also as an exercise in critical thinking and academic understanding of ancient literature and his-tory.

Dictator in Latin American Litera-ture (SPN 4303)

Dr. Santiago Daydi-Tolson will teach Dictator in Latin American Literature (SPN 4303) on Mondays from 6 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. at the Main Campus. This Spanish special topics course focuses on the rhetorical construction of the “dictator” by Latin American authors, considering possible social and political motiva-tions or constraints that may have shaped an author’s por-trayal of a dictator. As a rig-orous study of Latino culture and Latin American literary themes, this course fulfills the

College of Liberal and Fine Arts’ signature experience. To enroll in Dictator in Latin American Literature, students must have either completed Advanced Reading (SPN 3043) or receive Dr. Daydi-Tolson’s consent.

Women and Literature: Crime & Modern Fiction (ENG 3133)

Dr. Cailin Copan-Kelly will teach Women and Lit-erature: Crime & Modern Fic-tion (ENG 3133) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. at the Main Campus. Using critical literary and feminist theory, this new literature course will analyze the presentation of women in the crime and mod-ern fiction genres. To enroll in this course, students must have completed the 2012-2014 core curriculum requirement in literature.

Honors Seminar: Neuroscience of the Human Voice (HON 3253)

Dr. Donald Robin will teach the Honors Seminar: Neuro-science of the Human Voice (HON 3253) on Wednesdays from 1 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. at the Main Campus. This course explores the neurological and psychological facets of hu-man vocalization, particularly research of sensory-motor control and voice disorders. To enroll in this course, stu-dents must contact the UTSA Honors College. Students in-terested in Honors Seminar: Neuroscience of the Human Voice may ask their advisor if the course can be substituted for an upper-division elective in their major or minor.

Geological Field Investigations

(GEO 3112)

Dr. Ethan Lake will teach Geological Field Investiga-tions (GEO 3112) on Fridays from noon to 4 p.m. at the Main Campus. In this course, students learn geology field procedures, as well as iden-tification and analyitical skills. Half-day and Saturday field trips are course require-ments. To enroll in Geological Field Investigations, students must have completed either Introduction to Earth Sys-tems Laboratory (GEO 1111) or Earth History Laboratory (GEO 1131).

Ballet I (DAN 1013)

Professor Megan Rulewicz will teach Ballet I (DAN 1013) on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. at the Main Campus. Ms. Rule-wicz has a master’s degree in ballet in addition to experi-ence in artistic and profes-sional performance and ballet choreography. For students, no previous dance experience is required. This introductory course familiarizes students with basic ballet positions and terminology. UTSA offers Bal-let II and Ballet III as well as modern and contemporary jazz dance. Courses are of-fered at both UTSA teaching campuses.

If you would like to season your fall semester with a criti-cal thinking challenge or a creative endeavor, visit asap.utsa.edu for full course infor-mation and registration.

Graphic by Marcus Connolly

for scrutiny and approval. The proposed course catalogue covers 24 fields of study; edu-cation, health professions and business, management and marketing have the most de-gree plans.

More than 100 faculty mem-bers from both UT Browns-ville and UT Pan American have been working together since October of last year to consolidate the universities’ academic programs into a sin-gle set of programs and cours-es. At the May 15 meeting, UT System Board of Regents Chairman Paul Foster com-mented that “the first day of classes for UT Rio Grande Val-ley is quickly approaching, and (the Regents) are pleased with the progress being made to transition to the new UTRGV as soon as possible”

For the many faculty mem-bers under tenure or seeking tenure at UT Pan American and UT Brownsville, the Re-gents have laid out a hiring process. Under the current plan, all faculty appointments and tenures will be terminated when the two universities are abolished. All faculty seeking tenure will then have to seek recommendation and apply to the new institution. As usual, the Board of Regents will de-termine the passage of tenure applications.

In preparation for the mas-sive organizational undertak-ing ahead, the Regents allo-cated up to $5 million form the Available University Fund. This fund will help pay for stu-dent recruitment and enroll-ment, the creation of a website

for both the university and its medical school and to produce informative electronic, print and video materials to provide students, parents, faculty and staff with essential informa-tion.

“We are establishing a world-class university for South Texas, and there’s a tre-mendous amount of work to be done in the next 15 months and there’s not a moment to waste,” stated Board of Re-gents Chancellor Cigarroa at the May 15 meeting.

On May 20, the Regents offi-cially selected finalist Guy Bai-ley to be the first president of UTRGV; Bailey assumed the position on June 15.

Bailey has extensive experi-ence with university manage-ment, and will be returning to the workforce for the first time since he stepped down as pres-ident of the University of Ala-bama to focus on his now-de-ceased wife’s health problems. Notably, he is a former UTSA provost in addition to serving as the president of both the University of Missouri – Kan-sas City and Texas Tech.

When asked how he felt about the appointment, Bailey expressed that he views the position “as the single most ex-citing educational opportunity in America today” and that he is “look(ing) forward to work-ing with everyone as we launch the nation’s first major public university of the 21st century.”

Board of Regents Chancellor Cigarroa described Bailey as “a proven, progressive leader to be a part of this transforma-tional mission in South Texas.”

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From Page 1

From Page 1

Curriculum: UTSA research helped determine new courses

Unique: classes to stimulate the mind

From Page 1

Campus: university and medi-cal school will come to the valley

Facts for

FreshmenThe current president of UTSA is Ricardo Romo. He has been the presi-dent of the university

since 1999.

The UT Board of Re-gents is the ruling body of the UT System. Each regent is appointeed by the governor of Texas.

The UTSA football team was created in 2011. Last year, the record of the roadrunner foot-ball team was 6 wins,

2 losses.

The JPL library is open 24/7 during the school year. The Starbucks in the cafeteria below it is open until 12:00 a.m.

Monday to Friday.

There are three UTSA campuses: Main cam-pus, Downtown campus and the Hemisfair Park

campus.

The University Center complex features a bookstore, technology store, hair salon, Frost bank, auditorium and

food court.

The UT System allows for each student to drop a maximum of six classes. Dropped cours-es are listed as a W on

your transcript.

Study rooms at the JPL,AET library, down-town library and the UC can be rented for one or two hour peri-ods using the UTSA li-

brary’s website.

A bus loop on the north-east corner of campus allows students with-out cars to explore the city. The buses run from

5 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Each student organiza-tion can be contacted through their RowdyLink page online, but most can be reached faster

using social media.

During the school year, Student Activites regu-larly organizes a se-ries of concerts, movie showings, festivals and speakers for students.

UTSA’s Student Govern-ment Association is one of the University’s old-est organizations. Each year they celebrate the best of UTSA with the University Life Awards.

The Paisano is a student publication writen and managed idependently from UTSA. It has been circulating since 1981 and has won numerous

journalistic awards.

August 26, 2008 The Paisano Opinion 5

{The Paisano}Editor-in-Chief: Sarah Gibbens

Managing Editor:Jakob Lopez

News Editor:Lorenzo Garcia

Arts Editor:Beth Marshall

Sports Editor:Jonathan Garza

Web Editor:Michael Turnini

Special Issues Editor:Jade Cuevas

Business Manager:Lizzette Rocha

Photo Editor:Marcus Connolly

Senior Copy Editor:Paul McIntier

External Affairs Manager:Hector Torres

Social Media Manager:Rebecca Conejo

{Staff Writers}Alejandra Barazza, Taylor Bird, Patrick Martinez, Rafael Mendoza, Paulina Rivero-Borrell, Gibson Hull, Mohamed Ahmed

{Staff Photographers}Matthew Trevino, Vicente Cardenas

{Contributing Writers}Christina Acosta, Matthew Tavares, Brittney Davila, Jillian Price, Jane Powers, Therese Quinto, Rohit Chandan, Kate Kramer, Acacia Nawrocik-Madrid, Crystal Poenisch, Diego Ramirez

{Contributing Photographers}Scott Cochran, Katherine Kish, Craig Garrison, Cyn-thia Hurtado

{Ads Manager} Edidiong Adiakpan

{Advisor} Diane Abdo

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

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

14526 Roadrunner WaySuite 101San Antonio, TX 78249Phone: (210)-690-9301

{Letters to the Editor}Letters must be less than 400 words and include the writer’s name, classification or title and telephone num-ber. The Paisano reserves the right to edit all submis-sions.Send letters to:

Summer 2014

5OPINION

The Rowdy statue — a tradition yet to comeUniversity

tradition is a reflection of the student body at any given school. Part of what makes uni-versity tra-

dition so special is the belief among students that their school is exclusive, distinctive and ex-ceptional.

UTSA is an emerging Tier One university and the largest in the San Antonio metropoli-tan region with over 30,000 stu-dents. The university, sprawling with cultural diversity, demands top-notch scholars and wel-comes students from all over the world. The one thing that UTSA lacks, though — albeit because of the youth of the university — is tradition.

Throughout the state of Texas, various universities glow with campus tradition. At the Univer-sity of Texas at Austin, students have their time-honored slo-gan “Hook Em’ Horns,” the UT Tower and their beloved mascot Bevo. At Texas A&M University, students have their Aggie Bon-fire and Twelfth Man mantra. But what does UTSA have to boast as its tradition?

UTSA developed its Rowdy Roadrunner hand sign in the ‘80s, with many students and faculty still uncertain as to how the sign itself came to be. As luck would have it, this personifies

the lack of importance given to tradition that is present at UTSA — where the only tradition pres-ent is entrenched with vague im-portance. Because of this, there is a clear lack of unity among students at the university. The students have nothing of their own to call exclusive, distinctive and exceptional. So what has the university done to compensate for this?

On Sep. 6, 2013, UTSA un-veiled its Rowdy statue to boost spirit, moral and tradition among students. The statue cost the university $25,000 with the whole of the cost covered by do-nations. But the 6-foot tall, 11-foot long, half-ton, iron statue still rests in the University Cen-ter, with its final resting place unknown.

The 2013 fall graduation came and went with the Rowdy statue present in the University Cen-ter, roped off and unable to be touched by students. The spring 2014 graduation correspond-ingly came and went, with the Rowdy statue still in its tempo-rary place.

Possibilities for new tradition and university pride have since been put on hold, as the mysteri-ous wait for the placement of the statue continues. Opportunities are endless for students, alumni, faculty and families to create new traditions with the statue, with graduates deserving more than just a walk in the Alamo-dome.

UTSA has been growing and expanding at an astronomical rate, becoming known for out-standing research, quality educa-tion and economic contribution to the region. With expansion coming at such a fast pace, the lack of tradition becomes ever so

obvious. Until the Rowdy Statue is

moved, every day that passes at UTSA is another day without solid traditions. It only takes one student to create an idea that will remain with other students, and given the beauty and design

of the Rowdy statue, the future looks exciting for UTSA tradi-tion.

Jakob LopezManaging Editor

Commentary

Editorial

Many factors contribute to a successful college career. UTSA does its best to offer up-to-date technology, informative advis-ing, student support groups and engaging extra-curriculars — but the most influential fac-tor for academic success may be the professor.

In a survey published on May 6, a Gallup poll expectedly found that life in college had a significant effect on life after college. A survey of 30,000 col-lege graduates asked what they felt was the strongest influence to their success; 63 percent at-tributed their academic suc-cess to a motivational professor who made them excited about learning — nearly double the amount that attributed success to an internship.

Similarly, 27 percent of grad-uates stated they had a profes-sor who cared about them as a person, and 22 percent had an encouraging mentor. The results were consistent among private, public, small, large, selective and less selective col-

leges, indicating that univer-sity prestige had little influence over professor quality.

This collegiate success later translated to workplace engage-ment, which was found to be an indicator of overall well-being.

With so much depending on a good professor, it is absolutely essential that students consider a professor’s credibility when choosing classes. Websites such as ratemyprofessor.com allow students to view peer critiques of professors and provide scores based on a professor’s helpful-ness, clarity and the easiness of a class. However, it is important to note that students who com-ment on such websites were typically either very unhappy or very satisfied with a professor’s performance.

Currently, UTSA’s professor score is relatively high, ranking 3.74 out of 5. While some pro-fessors received low marks for having a difficult class, many student grievances complained about a professor who was inat-tentive or unclear.

While there is no formula for a perfect professor, many of the best professors exhibit similar characteristics.

A 2011 report published by The Journal of Effective Teach-ing outlined qualities of a good professor. Going beyond the call of duty, knowing the mate-rial, teaching the material well and understanding the student were among the qualities of a good teacher, and an excellent teacher took interest in stu-dents, made personal connec-tions and encouraged lifelong learning.

Associate Dean of the Hon-ors College Dr. Ann Eisenberg serves as an advisor for many students. “It’s really important to pick a professor who has a reputation for taking time for students,” said Eisenberg. “Pro-fessors care about their students but not all professors can effec-tively communicate interest. A good professor would reach out and make students feel okay to talk and ask questions.”

Establishing a personal con-

nection with a student can be difficult in classes with over 300. Professors may not learn every student’s name, but they can still offer convenient of-fice hours and work with stu-dents who request help. As UTSA grows into a larger and more traditional college, its professors should not forget that many students are non-traditional part-time students, working and rearing children.

Certainly not one professor is perfect for everyone. Different professors and students have different styles. When looking for accurate professor critiques, “You want to talk to people who are like you academically,” said Eisenberg.

For students with lives out-side of school, avoiding a professor who is inflexible or doesn’t provide extra credit op-portunities can be the differ-ence between passing and fail-ing a class.

“One important lesson that professors can help students to learn is that effort matters a lot

in achieving success,” said Pro-fessor Daniel Engster from the department of political science and geography.

He permits students who miss assignments to compen-sate by writing summaries of assigned reading. “I allow for this type of extra credit because it gives students a sense that they have control and owner-ship over their grade, which I hope makes it more meaningful for them,” said Engster.

A counterargument against flexible grading that many professors present argues that when students find jobs, their employer will not tolerate in-competency.

Undoubtedly, workers who do not meet deadlines are less likely to maintain employment, but college should be where students learn more than how to memorize facts. A good pro-fessor will inspire a passion for learning that will allow gradu-ates to do far more than simply be good enough.

A r e p r o f e s s o r s t h e k e y t o c o l l e g i a t e s u c c e s s ?

ComicComic Interest: Marcus Connolly

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Send Letters to the Editor to:editor@paisano-online.com

August 26, 2008 The Paisano 1

Tania KhanInternarts@paisano-online.com

SA Pops, a frozen treats shop, invites customers to cool off with artisan, handcrafted treats and drinks sure to satisfy even the pickiest eater.

The creator behind the brightly colored paletas — Spanish for popsicles — which are quickly becoming popular, is San Antonio native Andrew Gutierrez.

His love of frozen treats prompted Gutierrez to open the shop after working at vari-ous culinary institutes and businesses and becoming ex-perienced in the art of bringing joy to people through food. His parents, Marina and Silvester Guteirrez, help manage the front of the store.

Inside, SA Pops has a down-to-earth and family-friendly at-mosphere. Outside, vivid draw-ings paint the front windows alongside charming flower pots and tables for customers to sit and enjoy their treats.

The shop’s interior keeps true to its roots with bright col-ors, random objects and pieces of art that relate to Mexican or San Antonio culture. Mis-matched tables and chairs take up most of the room, creating a quirky yet endearing place to visit.

Using local, seasonal, fresh ingredients, Gutierrez creates a variety of multi-colored paletas with flavors ranging from the simple — vanilla and mango — to the more exotic — tama-rindo and rice pudding. All the paletas are crafted using an

authentic paleta machine im-ported from Mexico.

Prices start at $2 for a simple paleta. Other treats include New Orleans-style shaved ice, handmade ice cream sand-wiches, milkshakes, soft-serve ice cream, Mexican sodas and sundaes.

For something simple, try the raspberry paleta. Made fresh from real raspberries, there is no hint of artificial fla-voring or preservatives. Tart and sweet, the treat leaves lips a deep shade of red.

For something deliciously different, order the chocolate dipped pistachio paleta. Once the order is placed, the paleta is hand-dipped and then coated with crushed pistachios for a crunchy and nutty treat.

Shaved ice is also a good op-tion for beating the heat. Sizes and prices vary. A small (8 oz.) costs $2 and the large (20 oz.) costs $4.

All the syrups are made in-store and vary from horchata and wedding cake to dill pickle and chamoy. Go for the piña colada and add ice cream for $1 more — a delicious and satisfy-ing combination.

Freshly made cookies cre-ate the handcrafted ice cream sandwiches. For $2, custom-ers can get a good-sized sand-wich with flavors ranging from chocolate chip to triple choco-late fudge. All sandwiches have a thick layer of one of many fla-vors of ice cream in the middle.

The owners make an effort to talk and connect with custom-ers, adding to the friendly and cozy atmosphere of the shop that leaves guests feeling wel-comed.

SA Pops is located at 3420 N. Saint Mary’s St. and is open ev-ery day from 2 p.m.- to 8 p.m. Visit sapops.net for more infor-mation.

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N e w A t t r a c t i o n i n N e w B r a u n f e l sRebecca ConejoSocial Media Managerarts@paisano-online.com

Stand aside IMAX theaters — the drive-in movie theater is making a comeback!

Unlike sock hops and poo-dle skirts, this piece of 1950s Americana is alive and well thanks to the family-owned Stars and Stripes Drive-In The-ater out of Lubbock, Texas.

After the success of his first drive-in, Ryan Smith and fam-ily are bringing their business to New Braunfels beginning this November.

In Lubbock, Stars and Stripes was the first drive-in theater in the world to run all-digital movies on multiple screens. They are bringing that same technology to New Braunfels — but with a twist. The New Braunfels location will have the largest movie screens in Texas measuring in at 90 feet wide.

Another feature of the drive-in that Stars and Stripes has updated, along with the 35-mil-limeter film footage, is the out-dated sound system. Tradi-tionally, sound was piped out through a speaker box outside the vehicles, but now moviego-ers can tune their radios to a specific FM frequency and lis-ten from their car stereo.

The New Braunfels location will have many of the same amenities that the Lubbock lo-cation offers. Moviegoers can either enjoy the film from the comfort of their car or watch outside in lawn chairs.

This location will offer a playground and patio areas for kids to play at while watching the movie.

Stars and Stripes will also be dog friendly, as long as the pets are kept inside the vehicle or on a leash outside.

Unlike at regular movie the-aters, outside food will be al-lowed at the New Braunfels Stars and Stripes Drive-In. Guests will also have the op-tion of buying treats from the “Rockin’ Eats 50’s Cafe,” which will offer pizza, burgers, milk-shakes and, of course, popcorn.

Ticket prices have not been posted for the New Braunfels location just yet, but if they are anything like their Lubbock counterpart, they will be of-fered at a great deal for a two-movie feature.

The Lubbock location cur-rently offers adult tickets for ages 12 and up at seven dollars per person, with child tickets for ages four to 11 at five dollars per person. Kids ages three and under are admitted for free.

Just like their Lubbock loca-tion, Stars and Stripes is hop-ing to bring theme nights to their New Braunfels location. From showcasing classic cars to honoring military veterans, Stars and Stripes coordinates special events for showings of cult classic movies.

New Braunfels’ residents are not unfamiliar with drive-ins. The Tower Drive-in was a 250-car drive-in theater that opened in 1950 but closed as the demand for drive-in movie

theaters declined over the de-cades.

Once the gates open, Stars and Stripes New Braunfels will not be looking to close anytime soon. Stars and Stripes prides themselves on being open year-round—rain or shine — and every night during the summer and school holidays.

The Stars and Stripes New Braunfels drive-in theater will be located close to the intersec-tion of FM 1101 and Kroesche Lane.

The theater is scheduled to open this summer. Although the official date hasn’t been set, stay on the lookout for up-dates. Watching a movie or two in this environment is perfect summer fun. Stay cool in the car if the Texas summer nights are too intense, or enjoy the warm breeze outside on milder nights.

Once they are open and operating, Stars and Stripes will post an up-to-date movie schedule every Tuesday night.

Currently, the New Braunfels location has only scheduled the 3rd installation of the The Hunger Games movie series, Mockingjay: Part 1 for Friday Nov. 21.

For more information and updates, check out the Stars and Stripes New Braunfels Facebook page at www.f a ceb o o k . co m / St a r s a n d -StripesNewBraunfels. To buy tickets and to check showtimes, visit driveinusa.com and click on the New Braunfels link.

Line up early to get a good parking spot at the New Braunfels Stars and Stripes Drive-In Movie Theater.

C h i l l y t r e a t s a t S A P o p s

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Choose from a wide variety of sweet treats and cool off with SA Pops.

August 26, 20082 The PaisanoARTS&LIFE 7Summer 2014

August 26, 2008 The Paisano 3ARTS&LIFE8 Summer 2014

Beth MarshallArts Editorarts@paisano-online.com

First, if you haven’t already, take a 12-hour nap, stay in your pajamas for a day and binge watch your favorite show on Netflix. Then, regardless of work and summer school, make some time for these five fun things to do in and around San Antonio.

Big Bend National Park: Take a trip across Texas and spend a few nights under the stars. Big Bend National Park is something every Texan – na-tive or not – should experience. Living in the city, you can get used to seeing streetlights in-stead of stars, and Big Bend is the perfect remedy. To plan a trip go to visitbigbend.com for all your lodging, food and ac-tivity needs.

Crawdads: If you haven’t been to Craw-dads Sports Bar and Grill (12333 West Ave) and are a fan of classic Cajun seafood, then a visit is a summertime must. They’ve gained some notori-ety for their Saturday crawfish boils. For some of the tastiest crawfish – complete with sau-sage, potatoes and corn on the cob – Crawdads is the place to go. For the full menu, go to crawdadspourhouse.com.

Dollar Movie Theater: Yes, summer fun sometimes involves spending some major cash. Luckily, San Antonio of-fers hand-picked flicks priced at $1 at the Cinemark Movies 16 theater (5063 NW Interstate Loop 410). It’s a fun place to go with some friends without breaking the bank. While the movies aren’t the most cur-rent blockbusters, Cinemark 16 screens great films, old and new. Check cinemark.com for movie listings and show times.

River City Rock Fest: Check out the mega concert of the summer coming to the AT&T Center (1 AT&T Cen-ter Pkwy.) on May 24. River City Rock Fest will feature four stages with sets packed full of musicians. Big names include Seether, Deftones and Kid Rock. Openers include Shattered Sun, Lonely Horse, Texas and Black Stone Cherry. For concert tickets and infor-mation, visit rivercityrockfest.com.

New Braunfels: Visit our neighbors to the northeast, and take your pick of fun activities. For thrill seek-ers, take a day trip and explore Schlitterbahn Waterpark. For music lovers, spend an evening at Gruene Hall. And for those who just need some time away from it all to relax for a few hours, drive over to the Comal

River and get off the grid. New Braunfels has something for everyone, and getting away to a small town just for the day is always nice. For all things to do in New Braunfels, visit tri-padvisor.com. Don’t forget to go back for Wurstfest in Octo-ber.

Downtown: Spend a day exploring down-town San Antonio. Begin your adventure by parking at the UTSA Downtown Campus, and visit the shops and restau-rants around the Pearl Brew-ery. Be a tourist and stroll up and down the Riverwalk. If you live near the UTSA Main Cam-

pus location, things may feel a little too suburbanized so dive into downtown. Who knows? A downtown hole-in-the-wall café might become your favor-ite place in the city.

Summer is a time for lazy days, sunshine and fun. Whether you’re the type of

person who climbs Enchanted Rock every weekend or the type of person who is on the hunt for the best coffee around, this list is for you. Try the ac-tivities that sound appealing to you first, and then give the oth-ers a chance. Most of all, have as much fun as you can before school takes over again.

S u m m e r t i m e B u c k e t L i s t Six activities to do before the fall semester starts

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UTSA ATHLETICS

The Paisano’s top six picks of the 2013-2014 UTSA athletic season

The Roadrunner football team capped their Conference USA debut with a winning season, finishing 7-5 with a decisive 30-10 victory in their final game against Louisiana Tech.

The UTSA athletic program officially became members of Conference USA on July 1, 2013, its third league change in the past three years.

The Roadrunner softball team hit the ground running in Michelle Cheatham’s head coaching debut, sweeping the Lamar Cardinals and matching their fifth best season start in school

The Roadrunner men’s track & field captured the 2013 Conference USA Championship, scor-ing a program-record 172 points en route to a fifth outdoor crown in program annals.

The 2013-2014 Roadrunner athletic season is coming to a close, and as we look forward to next season, we stop to remember some of the memorable moments that shaped the 2013-2014 campaign. Congratu-lations UTSA Athletics, as well as the athletes and coaching staff that made everything possible.

Fabiola Arriaga, the first Roadrunner to participate in four NCAA postseasons and earn four first-team all-conference certificates, captured the Conference USA Championship last April.

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