April 2, 2008

See Page 13

Mixed martial arts todebut in RGV

SPORTS

Legislators announceplans for literacy reform

Meatout event promotesvegetarian lifestyle

See Page 7

See Page 3

A&E

NEWS

59th YearNo. 25

ThursdayApril 2, 2008

TH

IS W

EE

K

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER

� BUDGET

Crowded election ticket heats up contest� SGA

Tuition, fee hikes anticipated inUT System for next two years

The University of Texas-Pan American was among the UT System’s

nine universities to be approved by the Board of Regents last Wednesday for

a tuition and fee increase. The approval came after each university made

proposals in an effort to better meet their growing campus needs.

Currently, UTPA’s tuition for each semester hour is $79.15, but will

increase to $87.70 in academic year 2008-2009 and then to $97 in

academic year 2009-2010. The 15-hour academic cost for a

semester, which includes tuition and fees, will shift from the

existing $2,462, to $2,611 and $2,761 over the next two years.

The initial recommendation was an academic cost of

$2,987 and $ $3,249 for 15 hours for academic years 2009 and

2010. However, in December 2007, the regents placed a 4.95 per-

cent (or $150 an academic year) maximum on the amount tuition can

be hiked at each university, hindering the recommendation from even being

discussed for approval.

John A. Edwards, vice president of enrollment and student services

and co-chair of the Cost of Education committee (COCE), said the sole pur-

pose of the committee, which is comprised of students, faculty and at least

one parent, is to review proposed changes in budget for anything of educa-

tional value.

“We take any proposed increases very seriously and discuss them thor-

oughly,” he said. “They’re weighed against the university’s need to contin-

ue to enhance programs and expand services to students.”

See TUITION page 11

The five executive tickets running

for Student Government Association

office are preparing for what could be

one of the most competitive presidential

races in recent memory.

In years past, there were two,

maybe three duos vying for the presiden-

cy. But this year, an influx of choices has

made it a race for anyone to win.

Four of the five tickets participated

in a skimpily attended debate to discuss

each platform’s key issues Thursday on

Troxel Lawn.

Text book prices, environmental-

ism and solving internal SGA conflict

were among the hot-button issues up

for grabs.

In years past, internal conflict has

lead to the near impeachment of the

SGA president, as well as several com-

plaints from senators. All tickets said

they have plans in increasing the orga-

nization’s efficiency.

With so many candidates to keep

track of, The Pan American has com-

piled candidate’s debate responses in a

handy voter guide, to aid in the process.

Voting for SGA president and sen-

atorial races will take place via online

ballot until April 4. Laptop voting sta-

tions will also be set up in the Library

and Student Union should technical

issues arise.

Last year, 716 votes were cast in

the SGA elections, electing Tony

Matamoros to president.

Matamoros relinquished office in

late fall to vice president Tony Villarreal,

so he could attend the Archer Fellowship

in Washington, D.C.By SANDRA GONZALEZThe Pan American

$4,011

$4,266$2,964

$4,571

$3,800

$2,612

$2,661

$3,034

$2,639

By J.R. ORTEGAThe Pan American

8

fter a month-long diet of celebrity

gossip, I decided last week that it

was time to end the fasting and go into

overload. So of course, where else do I

turn to for my celebrity fix? TMZ on the

CW network.

About an hour long of the TMZers

tearing apart some boring celebrity news

(Clint Eastwood outside of a sushi place

and Christy Brinkley running down a

block to get to her car), there came the

inevitable—Britney news.

Britney, Britney, Britney! Nothing

major was said about the star and her

downward spiral, just a few remarks

here and there. But the fact that Britney’s

every move has to be recorded astounds

me. South Park’s Matt Stone and Trey

Parker couldn’t have said it better with

their recent episode poking fun at the

media’s obsession with the troubled

songstress.

Their theory about Britney’s rise to

fame and slow downfall took elements

of satanic rituals and borrowed the con-

cept of sacrifice. Remember Children of

the Corn? Let me explain.

Even after Britney ended up shoot-

ing herself in the face with a shotgun and

blowing the cap of her head off in the

episode, the media still didn’t hesitate to

criticize her latest debacle.

With no husband, no children and

no face, the media still insisted on keep-

ing Britney’s popularity stabilized at all

costs.

Stan and Kyle began questioning

the media’s intent toward Britney’s obvi-

ously unstable condition and the answer,

although far-fetched, brought forth an

interesting concept.

Her fame had all been planned out

since she was a young teenager and her

misfortunes were no accident. Britney

had been chosen as a sacrifice for the

harvest. She had become so intensely

popular that her success would ironical-

ly be the death of her.

Immediately, it all made sense.

Although Stone’s and Parker’s satirical

social commentaries are beyond ridicu-

lous at times, they never fail to point out

the facts.

Society has in fact put all of its focus

on celebrities like Britney not because

they care about her, but because they ben-

efit from her very existence.

It’s a “We made you, we own you,

we can destroy you” world, and Britney

has become another victim of the media’s

wrath. Until society realizes there are

more imprtant issues out there than

harassing her, the sacrifices will continue.

THE PAN AMERICANPage 2

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

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

THE

PANAMERICAN

APRIL 2, 2008

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

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

[email protected]

A&E EditorJeanette [email protected]

Sports Co-EditorsGreg [email protected] [email protected]

Photography EditorRoxy [email protected]

Design EditorRoy [email protected]

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

Designers Rick GamezJuan Torres

Reporters and Photographers

Alvaro Balderas Ana Villaurrutia

Bobby Cervantes Russen Vela

Leslie Estrada Onydia Garza

Laura Garcia

AdviserDr. Greg [email protected]

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

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

SecretaryAnita [email protected]

Advertising ManagerSamantha [email protected]

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

[email protected]

**Delivery**Thursday at noon

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Savethesedates

OPINIONApril 2, 2008

4

Newsinbrief

� Do you think the publicdoes in fact benefit fromBritney’s existence? Should thesacrifices continue? Let meknow: [email protected]

Media still obsessing over Spears� PONDERINGS

BY: JEANETTE PEREZ

A

April

4 Spring 2008 Teacher CareerExpo at UTPA Field House

from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

8 How to stay debt free:

Student Union event fromnoon to 1 p.m. in Palmetto

Room

The Entrepreneurship Speaker

Series will come to a close on April 9

with featured speaker Tom Torkelson,

founder of IDEA Public Schools. His

presentation will take place in the

Science Building, Room 2.102 from

7:10 p.m. to 8:25 p.m.

The series was launched by the

UTPA Entrepreneurship Cluster, a group

of faculty from the College of Business

Administration and the College of Science

and Engineering as well as staff from the

Office of the Vice Provost for Research.

It’s goal is to increase the quantity and

quality of entrepreneurship education.

The series begain on Jan. 23 with

Edward Munoz from Munoz Group

Investment Banking. Another notable

speaker that presented was Pocket

Communications founder Paul Posner.

ttention arm-flailing, running,

screaming students:

So I was walking east down one of

the walkways one Friday morning, and

just as I was about to pass the

Communication Arts and Sciences

Building, a group of about five to seven

students ran out of the building scream-

ing bloody murder and running for what

seemed like their life.

I stopped and kind of staggered

back to fully comprehend what was

going on.

I couldn’t. But it sure did wake me

from my two-hour slumber the night

before.

A couple of other people also

slowed down their already fast “college”

walk, as I like to call it. People seemed

concerned, and even if they weren’t,

they sure did look like it. The whole

ordeal took place within the span of five

to 10 seconds. Once the students reached

the middle of the quad, they walked

calmy back toward the Comm building,

like a group of bipolar escapees who

acted as though nothing happened.

WTF?

I have yet to find out what happened,

then again I haven’t really looked much

into it. All I’m left with is the assumption

that it was just some 1000 or 2000 level

acting course that was practicing an exer-

cise in giving people panic attacks.

Panic attack, you may ask? Listen

here, my honest first thoughts were, “Oh

my God, it’s a school shooting.” Hate to

say it, but it’s true.

With the recent tragedies at

Northern Illinois University and Virginia

Tech, what else was I left to believe?

Excuse me for being rash or just

paranoid, but that is what it honestly

sounded and looked like. Take a snap-

shot of that exact moment and slap on a

cutline reading “Students flee from gun-

wielding student,” and you probably

wouldn’t even question it.

A similar event happened to be a

past couple of weeks ago. I was walking

from the Student Union across the quad

and I saw someone squatting behind a

small palm near the Comm. building, but

they had a gun.

I remember just looking ahead and

trying not to look that way, I was in the

middle of the open after all. Turns out it

was ROTC practicing, which was what I

figured.

Maybe I just tend to get nervous

over guns. Which is more than likely the

case because I do tend to get antsy when

my cousin’s husband goes shooting.

This goes to show that because of

so many recent school shootings, stu-

dents are becoming more aware of their

surroundings. In another sense it’s sad

that it can’t just be an acting class

doing an exercise; ah the power of the

media.

Let’s just be happy it was nothing

of that magnitude. But it did show how

quick I was to react.

I’ve always been the type of person

who plays worst-case scenarios in his

head and thinks of any possible way to

escape. Perhaps I have too much time on

my hands to throw everything out of

proportion.

I’m not quite sure if that makes me

psychotic or just aware. I think I’ll stick

with the latter.

� Did you happen to seethe same thing I saw andactually know what wasgoing on? Put my suspi-cions to rest [email protected]

What not to do at a public universityBY: J.R. ORTEGA

� JAYARE SAYS

4-54-5 La Plaza Mall Primavera

Fashion Show features run-way shows introducing lat-

est spring fashions

A

All South Texans are aware of a

steady flow of people crossing the United

States/Mexican border, both legally and

otherwise. But some may be taken aback

when they hear of an Unidentified Flying

Object making the same trip.

It took Noe Torres a native of the

Valley and Ruben Uriarte, from northern

California, two years to chronicle this lost

piece of history in their book, Mexico’s

Roswell: The Chihuahua UFO Crash. For

Torres, a researcher and McAllen High

School librarian, and his co-author, it has

been an experience like no other.

So called UFOs, are objects of cir-

cular or triangular shape that cannot be

identified by the observer. Torres said

only three to 10 percent of UFO sight-

ings are reported.

“I think it’s important to investigate

the unknown, it’s about getting to know

the unknown and finding out why things

happen,” Torres said. “My book is just

an adventure story, kind of Indiana Jones

with scientific analysis.”

Over the next five years,

Congressman Ruben Hinojosa hopes to

distribute books to over 207,000 stu-

dents from kindergarten through sixth-

grade, from Laredo to Brownsville.

Partnered with Reading is

Fundamental Inc., a non-profit organi-

zation, the congressman hopes to have

all South Texas schools under a RIF

program known as Books for

Ownership within the next five years.

The program would allow students to

choose and keep at least two books a

year and through book ownership and

family involvement, students would be

motivated to read.

Hinojosa’s concern about high illit-

eracy and low graduation rates in the

South Texas region prompted him to

address the trend.

“The objective is to raise the grad-

uation rate of high schools,” Hinojosa

said. He hopes that the numbers could

increase to over 90 percent.

The South Texas Literacy

Coalition, as it is formally called, is

comprised of politicians like Hinojosa,

D-Mercedes, as well as Congressmen

Solomon Ortiz, D-Brownsville, and

Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, Plus Region

One, The University of Texas-Pan

American, The University of Texas at

Brownsville and other agencies. Their

efforts will target raising availability

As a freshman, Elizabeth Hinojosa

went to the Office of Student

Development to find out more about a

support group for people with disabili-

ties, but was surprised to learn the organ-

ization was no longer active. Now four

years later, she has taken matters into her

own hands by revamping the organiza-

tion herself.

Almost a year of work has created

the Council of Students with

Disabilities, thanks to the 23-year-old

rehabilitation graduate student.

The council is made up of disabled

and non-disabled advocates for students,

faculty and staff with disabilities.

Different from the existent Rehab Club,

which caters to students involved in the

rehabilitation field, the group offers sup-

port and seeks to raise awareness about

disability issues.

Plans are for the council board to

be made up of students with disabilities,

though the organization has yet to begin

advertising and recruiting people.

“We are coming up with flyers and

THE PAN AMERICANApril 2, 2008 Page 3

NEWS

By J.R. ORTEGAThe Pan American

� REHABILITATION

Congressman Hinojosaaddresses Valley illiteracy

See REHAB page 12

See UFO page 12

Supportgroup inthe works

By ABBY MUNIZThe Pan American

LEADING TOMORROW - Bobby R. Inman, cyber security expert and former navy admiral, spoke at UTPA on Tuesday drawing on 18 years of experience in the investi-gation of start-up technologies. His presentation was held at the Education Complex as part of Global Security Studies and Leadership Speaker Series. Inman was recent-ly appointed co-chair of the Commission on Cyber Security and will inform the next president of the United States about the advancing threat of cyber technology.

Ben Briones /The Pan American

� SEEN AND CAPTURED

� SUPERNATURAL

See ILLITERACY page 12

� EDUCATION

STC hosts local UFO expertBy ANA VILLAURRUTIAThe Pan American

WHAT IF - Noe Torres, a UFO expert, created this depiction of the 1974 mid-air crashbetween a UFO and an airplane between Coyame, Mexico and Presidio, Texas.

Photo Illustration Noe Torres

NEWSPage 4 April 2, 2008

NEWSApril 2, 2008 Page 5


Mexican Historian Rogelio

Agrasanchez Jr. is scheduled to speak in a

conference tonight at Salon Cassia

Business and Education Building (EDBC)

at The University of Texas-

Brownsville/Texas Southmost College.

The conference, which is being offered by

the Mexican consulate in Brownsville,

will consist of two parts, focusing on film

and national identity, and Mexican immi-

grants in the United States.

Agrasanchez has been studying

Mexican cinema since 1988 and has built

an archive over the years of materials

from old movie theaters, closed ware-

houses, personal collections, bookstores,

antique dealers, and even flea markets.

“The history of the archive is more

than collecting and preserving,” said

Evangelina Garcia, consul for cultural,

commercial and tourism promotion in

Brownsville. “An important part of it is

the sharing of its holdings with

researchers and the public in general.”

Garcia said that the main purpose

of this event is to show one of the many

positive sides of Mexican culture. The

second part of the conference is April 10.

“Every country has its culture and

every country promotes it in different

ways,” she said. “We want to promote

our culture through the arts and just let

people learn more about Mexican cine-

matography that has influenced the

Mexican culture.”

Garcia also talked about the

importance of becoming more cultural-

ly educated.

“The dissemination of cultural

events is important because learning

other cultures means being universal,”

she said. “Learning about your own cul-

ture or other people’s culture enriches

your knowledge and brings people clos-

er together.”

Garcia explained that cinematogra-

phy has always been a very important

part of people’s lives.

“This conference is very important

&RTS EA NTERTAINMENT� CULTURE

THE PAN AMERICANApril 2, 2008 Page 7

� STUDENT LIFE

By LESLIE ESTRADAThe Pan American

HistorianexaminesMexicanidentity,cinema

See MEXICAN page 10

Engineering groups hold car show

This coming month has been

dubbed “Crazy April at the Student

Union” by its organizers and several

activities are planned around campus.

Kicking off the craziness is musician

Jason Levasseur, no stranger to the

campus, as he put on a performances

during the 2006-2007 school year. Only

this time, the concert is being put

together by the Student Union in con-

junction with National Peanut Butter

and Jelly Day.

Cindy Mata, assistant director at

the Student Union, felt students needed

variety to counter everyday life at the

university.

“We are trying to incorporate

some different activities and novelties

this semester to give our students a bet-

ter sense of university life,” she said.

As for their choice of musical tal-

ent, Levasseur was chosen because of

his unique style and his interaction with

audiences. This is just one of the many

stops on his campus tour and he already

has students buzzing.

“I’m really looking forward to the

concert, it’s not something you see

every day on campus and I’m sure

everyone will enjoy it,” said Glenda

Garcia, a 19-year-old nursing major

from McAllen.

Levasseur has been named

Campus Activities Magazine’s Best

Musical Performer for 2004 and 2005

and boasts other highlights such as

opening for noted bands like: Maroon

5, John Mayer and The Wallflowers. He

is a native of the United States , but has

traveled the world, and spent most of

his childhood in Mexico and Belgium.

His travels have greatly influenced his

musical styles and made for unique

experiences he puts into his songs.

“Jason is a different kind of artist,

he also has a style that is not usually

found in the area,” added Mata.

Levasseur has been praised for his

storytelling manner, which he uses to

engage the audience by telling funny

stories in between songs, according to

his MySpace page.

His latest album, Live in

Lyndonville, makes one feel the pain,

sadness, joy and happiness along with

him. Levasseur mixes folk-like melodies

and imaginative lyrics.

It is a concert Mata hopes students

will enjoy; it may actually be the first

of its kind.

“If students request more concerts

of this magnitude or larger it would be

something to consider for the upcoming

semester,” she said.

The student union does not want

to compete with the Coffee Houses that

the University Program Board has, but

it could be done in conjunction with

and at different times of the day.

If students have any suggestions

for concerts or acts that they would like

to see they can stop by the Student

Union office, call 316-7989 or leave a

message on their MySpace page

www.myspace.com/utpastudentunion.

Levasseur will be performing in

the Student Union Wednesday at 11

a.m. Admission is free for students, fac-

ulty and staff. For more information or

speical accommodations please contact

(956) 316-7989.

� CAMPUS SCENE

Musician brings comedy, stories with actBy LAURA GARCIAThe Pan American

Motors were running on campus

Saturday morning into the afternoon as

two UTPA engineering organizations -

the American Society of Mechanical

Engineering and the Society of

Automotive Engineering - sponsored

their first car showcase, Revolutions of

Automotive Generations Expo.

ASME president Cristina Alicia

Martinez couldn’t have been more excit-

ed about the event, as it was the first pro-

motion of its kind for both the engineer-

ing department and the university.

“We actually had a couple of meet-

ings and for some reason we were able

to come up with the idea, ‘Hey, let’s

have a car show. The two organizations

go hand in hand and well if we can help

each other out, we can pull this thing

together,’” said the 20-year-old senior

mechanical engineering major. “It actu-

ally worked out.”

Martinez’s main concern was creat-

ing awareness among the college students.

“Students on campus had no idea

what these organizations were. We got

to talk to people and tell them, ‘Look,

here’s what goes on in the engineering

building,’” continued Martinez, of

McAllen. “Not a lot of people know the

time we put into this. We want to get

students excited and motivated about

engineering. People that have an inter-

est in cars need to know that there’s a

lot more to it.”

However, while excitement was

abundant, participating cars were scarce

due to inclement weather.

“We intended to have a lot of cars,

but it didn’t end up happening. We invit-

ed a couple of cars but we did get a few

calls about the rain so it kind of set us

back,” explained Martinez, who has

been fond of cars since her freshman

year in high school.

Despite a less than successful

turnout that day, Martinez expressed no

signs of defeat.

“We had a few cars,” she said with

a laugh. “But we had fun and we made

the best of it. All we can do is learn and

grow from it.”

Next year Martinez hopes to set

the car show up during HESTEC, with

a “little more planning, and promoting

it everywhere.”

REVVED UP - A car showcase was displayed Saturday morning at Parking Lot B in honor of FESTIBA. The car show, heldby the ASME and SAE, will help fund the engineering groupsʼ national conference trips.

Roxy Solis/The Pan American

By JEANETTE PEREZThe Pan American

he third annual Great South Texas MeatoutFestival was held at the Good News

Mennonite Church in San Juan March 30.The event was organized by two clubs at The

University of Texas Pan-American: AssociationFor Vegan and Vegetarian Awareness (AVA), and theCochehua Vegetarian Collective. UTPA students aswell as people of the community joined together tolearn about vegetarian and vegan lifestyles.

Certain aspects of being a Vegetarian or Veganare intertwined, so many erroneously believe thatthey’re the same lifestyle. In actuality, there are sixdifferent types of diets that sit under the Vegetarianwing; adherents believe in forfeiting the consump-tion of any meat from an animal. Vegans not onlygive up meat, but also any product from an animal:eggs, milk, cheese, leather, and wool.

Other types of Vegetarians are Lacto-Vegetarians (include dairy products), Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarians (include both eggs and dairy products),Pesco-Vegetarians (include fish), and Pollo-Vegetarians (include poultry).

The Meatout Festival was created for miscon-ceptions such as these, so people could assembleand ask questions about the meatless wonders. It’snot just a local affair; it is also held in many citiesnationwide. This year’s festival was celebrated in28 countries, including China, Kenya, Spain,Italy, Japan, and South Africa. Sponsored by acompany called FARM, or the Farm AnimalReform Movement, it is the largest grassrootsdiet-education campaign.

The company calls this month Meatout Marchand organized the event on March 20, the first dayof spring, to educate the community and spreadawareness about vegetarianism. For AVA it wasdecided the event would be held 10 days later.

The event was filled with short classes on suchtopics as Growing a Salad on Your Front Porch,Vegan Nutrition, Easy Bake Recipes, and MexicanVegan Cuisine, where the groups instructed theaudience about many books, Web sites, and recipesto help them begin a healthy diet.

The groups have also collaborated to createtheir own magazine, Rio Grande VeggieCookzine, which includes many of their own

cooking methods; students can find the magazinein the campus library.

According to The Vegetarian Resource Group’sVegetarian Journal a study was taken in 2006 of1,000 people nationwide. Results showed that 6.7percent of adults (18 and older) did not have meatin their diets. Vegetarianism, is obviously a regi-men that people use, but is it really healthy toignore the protein that meat provides?

Donato Eduardo Medina, a music major, dis-agrees with the idea of this lifestyle beingunhealthy because it eschews meat.

“Meat isn’t really any kind of necessity to us.There are more problems caused by the consump-tion of meat,” he claimed. “I think it is a veryhealthy alternative, there are so many differentsources of protein from plants, vegetables, andother items we don’t even know about.”

Living in the Valley, it is always easy to findchicken fajitas, burgers, tacos, almost any type ofcooked meat. Sara Alvarado, president of AVA is aPre-Med major and resides in Edinburg. With theplethora of meats, Alvarado claims the region inno way affects her veggie lifestyle. She has been avegetarian for two years.

“Since we are in the Valley, we wanted to do aworkshop on Mexican food because I am a vegan,but I eat Mexican food all the time,” she said.

At the Great South Texas Meatout Festival, theaudience learned that there is a wide selection of foodto be found within the world of Vegetarianism. Theevent preached to at least forty people, and the ideasdid not fall on deaf ears. Families were able to enjoythe vegan and vegetarian foods, and some of the chil-dren were even able to help cook. The atten-dees asked questions, and were eager tofind out more of the groupsrecipe’s and sources.

“We don’t eat weirdfood and weird vegeta-bles no one has everheard of, and noteverything istofu,” Alvaradoinsisted. “Wewant people toknow we eatother foods and itdoes taste good.”

For more information on the Great AmericanMeatout www.meatout.org.

FARM company www.farmusa.org. Vegetarian definitions

www.msu.edu/user/daenzerr/rd491/types.htm.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTPage 8 April 2, 2008

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTApril 2, 2008 Page 9

Students cut meat from their dietsduring Annual Meatout Festival

T

By ANDRIELLE FIGUEROAThe Pan American

Portobello Mushroom Fajitas

Serving Size: 6; Preparation Time: 0:20

* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil* 1 clove garlic — minced* 1 teaspoon ground cumin* 1/2 teaspoon salt* 3/4 lb. fresh baby portobello or crimini

mushrooms — thinly sliced* 2 cups frozen stir-fry bell peppers & onions

(from a 16 oz. pkg.)* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro* 2 tablespoons lime juice* 6 flour tortillas* salsa, guacamole

Heat oil, garlic, cumin, and salt in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat.

Cook mushrooms and bell pepper mixturein oil for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently,until vegetables are crisp-tender.

Sprinkle with cilantro and lime juice.Spoon about 1/2 cup mushroom mixture

onto each tortilla; roll up.Serve with salsa, guacamole, and/or vegan

sour cream, if desired.

he third annual Great South Texas MeatoutFestival was held at the Good News

Mennonite Church in San Juan March 30.The event was organized by two clubs at The

University of Texas Pan-American: AssociationFor Vegan and Vegetarian Awareness (AVA), and theCochehua Vegetarian Collective. UTPA students aswell as people of the community joined together tolearn about vegetarian and vegan lifestyles.

Certain aspects of being a Vegetarian or Veganare intertwined, so many erroneously believe thatthey’re the same lifestyle. In actuality, there are sixdifferent types of diets that sit under the Vegetarianwing; adherents believe in forfeiting the consump-tion of any meat from an animal. Vegans not onlygive up meat, but also any product from an animal:eggs, milk, cheese, leather, and wool.

Other types of Vegetarians are Lacto-Vegetarians (include dairy products), Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarians (include both eggs and dairy products),Pesco-Vegetarians (include fish), and Pollo-Vegetarians (include poultry).

The Meatout Festival was created for miscon-ceptions such as these, so people could assembleand ask questions about the meatless wonders. It’snot just a local affair; it is also held in many citiesnationwide. This year’s festival was celebrated in28 countries, including China, Kenya, Spain,Italy, Japan, and South Africa. Sponsored by acompany called FARM, or the Farm AnimalReform Movement, it is the largest grassrootsdiet-education campaign.

The company calls this month Meatout Marchand organized the event on March 20, the first dayof spring, to educate the community and spreadawareness about vegetarianism. For AVA it wasdecided the event would be held 10 days later.

The event was filled with short classes on suchtopics as Growing a Salad on Your Front Porch,Vegan Nutrition, Easy Bake Recipes, and MexicanVegan Cuisine, where the groups instructed theaudience about many books, Web sites, and recipesto help them begin a healthy diet.

The groups have also collaborated to createtheir own magazine, Rio Grande VeggieCookzine, which includes many of their own

cooking methods; students can find the magazinein the campus library.

According to The Vegetarian Resource Group’sVegetarian Journal a study was taken in 2006 of1,000 people nationwide. Results showed that 6.7percent of adults (18 and older) did not have meatin their diets. Vegetarianism, is obviously a regi-men that people use, but is it really healthy toignore the protein that meat provides?

Donato Eduardo Medina, a music major, dis-agrees with the idea of this lifestyle beingunhealthy because it eschews meat.

“Meat isn’t really any kind of necessity to us.There are more problems caused by the consump-tion of meat,” he claimed. “I think it is a veryhealthy alternative, there are so many differentsources of protein from plants, vegetables, andother items we don’t even know about.”

Living in the Valley, it is always easy to findchicken fajitas, burgers, tacos, almost any type ofcooked meat. Sara Alvarado, president of AVA is aPre-Med major and resides in Edinburg. With theplethora of meats, Alvarado claims the region inno way affects her veggie lifestyle. She has been avegetarian for two years.

“Since we are in the Valley, we wanted to do aworkshop on Mexican food because I am a vegan,but I eat Mexican food all the time,” she said.

At the Great South Texas Meatout Festival, theaudience learned that there is a wide selection of foodto be found within the world of Vegetarianism. Theevent preached to at least forty people, and the ideasdid not fall on deaf ears. Families were able to enjoythe vegan and vegetarian foods, and some of the chil-dren were even able to help cook. The atten-dees asked questions, and were eager tofind out more of the groupsrecipe’s and sources.

“We don’t eat weirdfood and weird vegeta-bles no one has everheard of, and noteverything istofu,” Alvaradoinsisted. “Wewant people toknow we eatother foods and itdoes taste good.”

For more information on the Great AmericanMeatout www.meatout.org.

FARM company www.farmusa.org. Vegetarian definitions

www.msu.edu/user/daenzerr/rd491/types.htm.


ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTApril 2, 2008 Page 9

Students cut meat from their dietsduring Annual Meatout Festival

T

By ANDRIELLE FIGUEROAThe Pan American

Portobello Mushroom Fajitas

Serving Size: 6; Preparation Time: 0:20

* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil* 1 clove garlic — minced* 1 teaspoon ground cumin* 1/2 teaspoon salt* 3/4 lb. fresh baby portobello or crimini

mushrooms — thinly sliced* 2 cups frozen stir-fry bell peppers & onions

(from a 16 oz. pkg.)* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro* 2 tablespoons lime juice* 6 flour tortillas* salsa, guacamole

Heat oil, garlic, cumin, and salt in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat.

Cook mushrooms and bell pepper mixturein oil for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently,until vegetables are crisp-tender.

Sprinkle with cilantro and lime juice.Spoon about 1/2 cup mushroom mixture

onto each tortilla; roll up.Serve with salsa, guacamole, and/or vegan

sour cream, if desired.

Some of the most influential artists

of all time never let extreme odds or dis-

abilities get in the way of their craft. And

Very Special Arts of Texas wants disabled

locals to know that they can do it too.

The organization sponsored ART-

WORKS: Dream Big, an event that

allowed people with disabilites to chan-

nel their inner artist. The event was held

Saturday at the Lark Community Center

in McAllen.

Francisco Ortegon, a retired

McAllen police lieutenant, helped

organize the event and was pleased with

its outcome.

“I am part of the Texas Advocates,

and we help organize events helping and

empowering those with disabilites,” said

the Texas native.

The event, which had nearly 50

attendees, was a success to Ortegon.

“Some people without disabilites

did participate, but they were mostly

helping their loved ones who have the

disabilities, with their artwork,” he said.

Activites consisted of painting,

sculpting, collage-making, and abstract

painting, with supplies ready for the par-

ticipants in an event open to the public.

The participants were given the opportu-

nity to showcase their work or take it

home as a personal memento of their

creative outlet.

“We like to hold these sort of work-

shops to encourage people with disabilites

to use their creativity and showcase it to

the world,” Ortegon said. “We are plan-

ning to do more workshops to build up the

level of confidence for people with dis-

abilites, and show them that they can do

anything if they put their mind to it.”

Kristina Flores, a sophomore art

major at The University of Texas-Pan

American, was happy that the Valley

community helped those with disabilites

showcase their artistic side.

“I think it’s wonderful that the

VSA held this event,” the McAllen

native said. “I mean if you think about it,

there were and are a lot of artists who

have disabilities and have become influ-

ential to artists today, so I think its great

and wise to allow people with disabilites

their turn to shine as an artist.”

Flores also gave examples of cre-

ative geniuses with physical ailments but

nonetheless changed the world of art. She

listed Frida Kahlo and Vincent Van Gogh,

who both overcame their disabilities to

become two of the most notable artists.

Born in Mexico, Kahlo is known

throughout the world for her unusual and

colorful paintings. Her problems

stemmed from childhood polio and a bus

accident when she was 18 that left her

unable to have children, and in constant

pain. Many of her paintings reflect the

physical suffering she experienced

through most of her life.

Van Gogh’s important work, The

Starry Night, was completed near the

mental asylum of Saint-Remy, 13

months before his death at age 37.

Vincent’s mental instability is a legend.

Some scholars believe that he may have

been autistic and of course could not

control his mood swings or behavior,

while others insist that he may have been

a manic depressive. He later committed

himself to several asylums in hopes of

an unrealized cure.

Everybody deserves an opportunity

to experience the arts. Whether they are

disabled or not, art is for everyone to

create and see. The arts are valuable

tools which can open doors, incite

dreams, and build bridges.

“We plan to do more art workshops

for the disabled,” said Ortegon. “We are

not only doing this to bring awareness to

the disabled community, but to everyone

who feels they can express themselves

the way they want.”


� COMMUNITY

Lark Center reaches out to disabled with art By RUSSEN VELAThe Pan American

ARTIST WITHIN - Sergio Luna, a 12-year-old diagnosed with autism, was amongthe participants in the VSAʼs ARTWORKS event for people with disabilities.


MEXICAN continued from page 7

because cinematography has been, for

many years, one of the most important

communication mediums,” she said. “It

has offered entertainment for all types of

people in almost all parts of the world.”

Garcia also said how important it is

for people to take advantage of opportu-

nities like this one.

“We are very proud of what our

department is doing, trying to spread

cultural, educational and commercial

events,” she said. “The public should be

aware of this and make plans to attend.

They will have a great time.”

FILM AND NATIONALIDENTITY: Mexican

Immigrants In The U.S. by Historian Rogelio

Agrasánchez Jr.

UTB, Brownsville

April 2, 6 p.m.&

April 10, 6 p.m.

For more information:Mexican Consulate in Brownsville 542-4431

Edwards added that although high-

er tuition would benefit the university, it

would not be fair to many students.

Some areas that would win with a rise in

the rate are: competitive faculty salaries,

technological and facility upgrades, and

maintenance of two fairly new software

programs, Oracle and BANNER.

Juan C. Gonzalez, the assistant vice

president of business affairs and budget

director, said that due to the region’s gen-

erally low income, the initial proposal

would have proven distressing for many

students if approved. He added that

although UTPA’s academic cost is low, the

university is “financially sound.”

“We’ve been using up funds that

had been built up over many years but

we have reached a point where we can

no longer do that in order to keep tuition

& fees low,” he said. “We are financial-

ly sound but we are having to be much

more diligent in order that we not be

placed on financial watch by UT System

in the future.”

The UT System has a financial

watch procedure that closely examines

each institution’s finances. For example,

a university can be placed on watch if

the institution spends more funds then it

can afford. Under the probation-like sta-

tus, the UT System would be the only

ones able to give budget-type approval

on matters the university usually

approves themselves.

Gonzalez said financial watch usu-

ally occurs when the System notices a

“bad trend” as opposed to a “one-time

thing” in regard to budget woes.

As for the increase, he acknowledges

that although some students struggle

with increasing fees, financial aid pro-

grams like UTPAdvantage and other

forms of financial assistance would help

even things out.

“I feel that students really are

aware they need good resources to get a

quality education,” he said.

Yuridia Bazan, a senior internation-

al business management and political

science major, serves as a student on the

COEC and said considering the count-

less proposals was not easy.

“It was difficult trying to give the

departments what they wanted,” the La

Joya native said.

Bazan added that many proposals

requested financial alleviation, but said

some of the suggested increases were

not as essential as others. She feels that

if the state gave more to UTPA, less

would have to come out of the students’

pockets. The percentage of funds the

universities has gained from federal and

state entities has decreased steadily over

the past decade, and is now as low as 35

percent for some institutions.

“Being that we are a government

institution, the state funds part of

tuition,” she said. “It seems it [funding]

has been decreasing, one of the reasons

they are funding us a higher percent-

age.”

Bazan, who is also part of the UT

System Student Advisory Council, said

she is not sure whether tuition will

increase or decrease in the coming years,

but said the council is discussing the issue.

Gonzalez said UTPA continues to

cap semester hours at 14 hours, meaning

any student registered for 15 hours or

more will not be paying extra tuition.

The cap helps ease financial burden

while encouraging students to further

their education.

By fall 2009, UTPA proposed to

have increased tuition by $149, still

making the university the most afford-

able UT school in Texas, which it is cur-

rently. Conversely, The University of

Texas-Dallas proposed a $366 increase

by fall 2009, making it the most expen-

sive in the System.

NEWSApril 2, 2008 Page 11

TUITION continued from page 1

University of Texas System proposed tuition increases

UT Austin $4,065 $4,266 4.95%

UT Pan American $2,462 $2,612 6.09%

UT San Antonio $3,621 $3,800 4.95%

UT Dallas $4,355 $4,571 4.95%

UT Arlington $3,822 $4,011 4.95%

UT Brownsville $2,423 $2,661 9.82%

UT El Paso $2,884 $3,034 5.20%

UT Permian Basin $2,489 $2,639 6.03%

UT Tyler $2,814 $2,964 5.33%

Institution Current Proposed Percent Fall 2007 TAC Fall 2008 TAC Increase

Not pictured: Cesar Aguilarand Rick Munoz

SSGGAAVVOOTTEERRGGUUIIDDEE

YURIBAZAN

MARCOSSILVA

ASHLEYCEDILLO

MELISSAURIEGAS

V.P.: Michael Martinez V.P.: Raghuveer Puttagunta V.P.: Ruben Ramirez V.P.: Marco Setien

Bazan, a senior international busi-ness management and political sciencemajor, is an SGA senator. In her timewith the organization, she spearheadedthe Ace the Test program, which gaveaway scantrons and served as PersonnelChair, but recently resigned. She hopesto establish a fund that would give eachcollege a certain amount of money tospend on their individual needs.

As SBS senator, Silva has beenvery involved with the environmentalmovement on campus and even startedthe Reuse it or Lose it campaign in thedorms. He also serves as Sergeant atArms. Silva said he wants to put profes-sors’ syllabi online before students regis-ter for the class so students “know whatthey are getting into and how much thebook will cost.”

Though not involved with SGA thisyear, Cedillo has a long history with theorganization, serving for two years. Sheis a senior philosophy, English and polit-ical science triple major and says shewants to “enforce the policy already stat-ing that professors have to use textbooksfor at least three years,” and add moremeasures to the Handbook of OperatingProcedures regarding textbooks.

Uriegas, a senior biology major, is amember of the golf team and has servedon the student athletics advisory commit-tee. She has never served on SGA.Uriegas says students should not beshortchanged on amenities in an effort tokeep tuition low, saying “there arealways other options to get what weneed, whether it be through increasingthe tuition or finding...sponsorships.”'


President

The book reports that in 1974, a

UFO flew over South Texas at an altitude

of 75,000 feet going at a speed of 2,500

mph. It was picked up on the radar of a

Corpus Christi seaport and flew over the

desert plains of Coyame, Mexico, at 10:30

p.m. where it collided with an airplane.

“Not anything man-made that was-

n’t a spacecraft flew at that altitude,”

Torres noted. “People were thinking it

was a missile from Russia because the

Cold War was still going on so we were

on the alert.”

The wreckage from both aircrafts

was found by Mexican spotter planes the

next day. Torres said when the Mexican

Army came to investigate, officials

found unidentifiable material.

“They found a silver disc about 16

feet wide and six inches tall,” he said.

“Shortly after that, all the Mexican sol-

diers who investigated the disc had died

of unknown causes. The U.S. govern-

ment then intervened… after that it was

all covered up by government secrecy.”

Torres and Uriarte, both members

of a national UFO club called Mutual

UFO network, began investigating in the

Coyame desert and asking the locals of

the nearby town, Presidio, about that

night in 1974. Their findings led to the

book, which was featured in February on

the History Channel’s paranormal show

UFO Hunters.

Torres values every opportunity to

share his story with others.

“Most UFO sightings don’t make

it in the media so people don’t have

places to talk about what they’ve seen,”

Torres said. “Whenever I do book sign-

ings or discussions there (are) always

people staying after telling me what

they’ve seen.”

Kristina Wilson, an STC library

programmer, has invited Torres to speak

at a presentation next month. She

believes that his talk will draw a differ-

ent crowd to the library, and also hopes

that inviting authors like Torres will cre-

ate a revitalized interest in the library.

“We’re trying to reach out to differ-

ent people in order to get people to come

to the library,” Wilson said. “We realize

that people have different interests and

would also like to see local authors here.”

The multimedia presentation on

April 5 at 2 p.m. will feature a multimedia

presentation with clips from UFO Hunter

and from Torres and Uriarte’s book. The

library also plans to have a book signing at

1:30. This event is open to the public.

Though Torres says his findings are

still circumstantial, he has always

believed that UFOs exist.

“One-hundred percent certainty,

they do exist,” he claimed. “There are

objects in the sky that are seen all the

time. And they’re seen by policemen,

military officers, and other people.”


UFO continued from page 3will post them on campus, in classrooms

and hallways and of course through

word of mouth,” said Hinojosa.

Recently the council submitted its

constitution to the OSD and is now offi-

cially an organization, something

Hinojosa is very proud of.

“I feel students with disabilities are

left aside,” she said. “With this [organi-

zation] we can come together and work

with disabled students.”

However, Hinojosa’s dedication

toward students with physical problems

began long before she became a rehabil-

itation major.

Born with no complications,

Hinojosa was almost ready to go home

with her family, but nearly 24 hours after

her birth, a vein ruptured in her brain and

doctors diagnosed it as cerebral palsy.

As a teenager at Mercedes High

School, Hinojosa never attended school

events and did not really consider herself

social. With this council, Hinojosa hopes

to reach out and accomplish that for others.

“Maybe I can share it with people

who still experience it even now,” she said

in regard to the lack of support she felt.

Belinda Rivas, adviser for the

council and clinical specialist professor

in rehabilitation, said that what makes

the organization so unique is that it was

created by students for the university,

not vice versa.

The McAllen native said the coun-

cil is looking to “equalize the playing

field,” by making life for students with

disabilities a little bit easier not only at

UTPA but in society in general.

According to Rivas, she became

interested in the group after several stu-

dents came to her with concerns about

students with disabilities. Rivas added

some issues involved better technologies

and tools that could help make life more

comfortable for them.

“There is a need for this support

group, and as an adviser I’d love to be a

tool to their empowerment,” said Rivas,

who has been with the university for a

year and a half.

Christopher Wheats, an undergrad-

uate rehabilitation major, heard about

the council from Rivas and decided he

wanted to help out.

“I want to help offer a platform for

people with the university so that stu-

dents can be heard,” he said.

Also helping advise the council is

Shawn Saladin and Roy Chen, both pro-

fessors in rehabilitation.

The council hopes to have at least

15 to 20 people on board by the end of

this year and get plenty of feedback

about their efforts.

The organization currently meets

Mondays at 9 a.m. in HSHW 1.274.

However, meeting dates and times will

change come mid-April when the organ-

ization begins promoting the council.

Hinojosa said she is proud of the

accomplishments. She said that while it

may have taken four years for her to

jumpstart the support group, she knows

it is well on its way.

“We might do things differently

and they may take longer,” Hinojosa

said. “But they’ll get done.”

and awareness of literacy services

available to families and children

across the area.

The group met during the Festival

of International Books and Arts last week

for the first time, at a roundtable discus-

sion and press conference at UTPA.

According to Hinojosa, nearly half

of all adults over the age of 18 in South

Texas do not have a high school diploma

or a General Equivalency Diploma.

“We can break the cycle of low edu-

cation and low wages,” he said. The first

step is a commitment to strengthen and

evaluate literacy from cradle to grave.”

Even though this problem is com-

mon in the South Texas region, poor

reading habits are also a national issue.

Sunil Lyengar, director of research

and analysis for the National

Endowment of the Arts, said that

Americans, particularly young adults,

are reading less than in the past and as

they read less, they read less well.

“Reading is really a significant pre-

dictor of success in a variety of ways,”

Lyengar said. He referenced a study

showing that in homes with 26 or more

books in them, regardless of income,

young people tended to perform better

on aptitude tests.

The group has a clear set of mis-

sions with the objective of promoting a

culture of literacy. They hope to distrib-

ute resources, train individuals, and pro-

vide access to strong literacy services

and resources for the community.

The lack of parental involvement

though, Hinojosa said, is contributing to

the literacy problem.

The RIF organization operates as a

model to South Texas, Hinojosa said.

The company represented by its presi-

dent, Carol Rasco, serves more than 4.6

million children nationwide.

“The best known tool for raising

an educated, healthy productive child,

is an involved parent,” Rasco said,

enforcing Hinojosa’s plea for parental

involvement.

The congressman made it clear that

reading is an activity of interest that can

last a lifetime and is beyond a doubt for

the benefit of the person.

“Right now I believe we have a

truly unique opportunity to enrich the

lives of our students and start a life of

reading that will last a lifetime,” he said.

ILLITERACY continued from page 3

TV APPEARANCE - Noe Torres made his History Channel debut on UFO HuntersFeb. 20. The episode was based on his book Mexicoʼs Roswell: The ChihuahuaUFO Crash. Filming took place on the site.

Noe Torres

REHAB continued from page 3

Ben Briones /The Pan American

BREAKING THE CYCLE - Congressman Ruben Hinojosa speaks Friday at the first meeting of the South Texas LiteracyCoalition. The groupʼs vision is to enhance learning opportunities for the entire region to ensure that all children have accessto strong literacy services.

The 2008 campaign hasn’t been a

season the University of Texas-Pan

American’s baseball team hoped for.

Before returning home, the Broncs

looked to rebound with a doubleheader

win against the University of Texas-

Arlington. But the Mavericks got the

best of UTPA in Game 1 after a solid

pitching performance en route to secur-

ing a 4-1 victory.

The Broncs fell to 9-16 on the sea-

son. Game 2 result was unavailable at

press time.

NEW MEXICO STATEAfter a win on Saturday at a windy

Presly Askew Field, the Green and

Orange closed its three-game series

against the Aggies with a loss.

UTPA posted a 1-2 record, having

opened the series Friday with a 12-2

defeat, and heading into a three-game

homestand at Edinburg Baseball

Stadium, against the University of New

Orleans beginning at 6:05 p.m. Friday.

In the initial match of the series in

Las Cruces, the home side put on a five-

run first. Junior Jordan Rutenbar and

third baseman Ryan Vest helped the

Broncs come back, scoring in the second

inning to cut into the deficit at 5-2. But

UTPA did not manage another run.

Cody Cisper (1-4) pitched five

innings of the game and was marked

with the loss.

In the second game, the Green and

Orange exacted revenge on the Aggies

with a dominating effort and a 10-2 win.

“It’s a big win against them to beat

them in their own park,” said baseball

coach Willie Gawlik. “They’re in the

Western Athletic Conference and they’ll

be one of those teams that will be there

in the end for a playoff spot. We felt like

we played a great game in game two, but

their guys can score.”

The Broncs separated themselves

in the fifth and sixth innings after taking

a 4-0 lead, and would not stop there.

In the top of the seventh, the visi-

tors exploded with their final six runs of

the game on four hits. Roly Gonzalez got

things rolling after a single up the mid-

dle that brought in freshman Andrew

Perez, making the score 5-1. After two

more runs, Joey Mendoza sealed the

Aggies’ fate after the newcomer tripled

to right field, bringing in Billy Donaho,

Rutenbar and Vest.

Senior pitcher Matt Shepherd (2-1)

received the win while Mendoza finished

2 for 5 with three RBI. Miami native

Gonzalez was 3 out of 4 and Rutenbar

cracked his third home run of the season.

With the series tied 1-1, the Broncs

looked to claim the season series but it

was the Aggies who proved to be too

much as they almost doubled their season

best in runs (14) to defeat UTPA 24-5.

“Those guys are one of the best hit-

ting teams in the nation,” added Gawlik.

The home team used a devastating

10-run sixth inning to pull away from

the Green and Orange. Donaho led the

Broncs after going 2 for 4 with three

RBI, but freshman A.J. Franco (3-2)

received the loss after pitching two

innings, yielding six runs on six hits.

Despite the loss, UTPA did hit a

pair of homers, with Donaho and senior

Chris Lozano connecting.

E3 Promotions found success with

its first sold-out event, “New Blood,” in

February, but now is moving on and

hoping the next mixed martial arts show-

case will garner just as much hype.

“Aftershock,” which will take

place May 3 at Edinburg Baseball

Stadium, will feature 11 bouts.

Scheduled on the fight card are Edinburg

native Danny Salinas and Marcelo

Lumakang, from San Antonio. At the

“New Blood” event, Salinas defeated

Chris Herbold by a TKO at the Pharr

Convention Center.

E3 promoters Paul Olmeda and Raul

Ramos, who created the South Texas

Fight League, said the sports’ popularity is

on the verge of a major breakthrough.

“We are going to run with it,”

Olmeda said of local MMA activity.

“This is blowing up. We got in at the

right time because it’s a very popular

sport. I think it will take over boxing.”

The idea to bring the STFL to the

Rio Grande Valley began when Ramos

was watching an Ultimate Fighting

Championship event on television and

thought it would be a great thing to bring

to the area. He quickly consulted with

Olmeda and they agreed to look further

into the sport.

“We got on the phone the following

day and we really did our research,”

Olmeda said. “We spoke to our lawyer

then we were able to get the bonds and

the licensing and we got approved.”

MMA is a full-contact combat

sport that requires training in striking,

wrestling and submission fighting; it

involves a wide variety of fighting tech-

niques such as grappling and striking.

Each round is three minutes long with

the main event lasting five minutes.

“The last show was great – this

next one is going to be even better,” said

MMA fighter “Big” John Springer. “We

need all the support from the fans and

the community.”

He added, “The Valley is finally

catching up. People didn’t really know

about this sport but now they love it.

To have a promotion of the sport here,

it’s great.”

The last event brought in 1,500

fans and the upcoming event is expected

to fill the 5,500 seats at the Edinburg

Baseball Stadium.

Aniel Cortes, an active MMA

fighter since 2001, has been preparing

for the last two months and is glad the

Valley now has a local fighting league.

Boxing has always been popular in the

area, and now MMA is taking its turn.

“Now my family and friends are able

to watch me fight,” Cortes said. “Before

they couldn’t because most of the fights

were far; this will bring the best in me.”

In addition to MMA fighters, stu-

dents at The University of Texas-Pan

American are also looking forward to

the different, newly-acquired sport.

Jay Saenz, a political science

major from Edinburg, said it’s an

appealing sport and is something the

Valley needs.

“The sport is extremely exciting

and it’s new to the Valley, which is what

I think it needs,” he said. “It will

enhance the Valley’s life and is a posi-

tive thing.”

Ticket prices for the event range

from $15 to $75 and are on sale at EZ-

TIXX.com. Doors will open at 6 p.m. with

the first bout scheduled begin at 7 p.m.

� BASEBALL

E3 promoters bring MMA league to South Texas Olmeda, Ramosreveal Edinburgas next venue

SPORTSApril 2, 2008 Page 13

Adriana AcostaThe Pan American

� LOCAL

By ADRIANA ACOSTAThe Pan American

ITS ON - (left to right) Danny Salinas, E3 promoters Raul Ramos and PaulOlmeda, and Aniel Cortes gather at Rodz Bar & Grill to announce “Aftershock.”

By PEDRO PEREZ IVThe Pan American

UTA loss drops reeling Broncs to 9-16 overall for seasonRemaining Home

Scheduleat Edinburg Baseball Stadium

April 4 New Orleans 6:05 p.m.

April 5 New Orleans 3:05 p.m.

April 6 New Orleans 1:05 p.m..

April 19 Prairie View A&M 6 p.m.

April 20 Prairie View A&M 1 p.m.

April 22 Texas A&M-CC (DH) 3 p.m.

National Independent Tournament

May 22 TBD TBAMay 23 TBD TBAMay 24 TBD TBAMay 25 TBD TBA

SPORTSPage 14 April 2, 2008

“Everything happens for a reason” is

a phrase that most people have heard at

some point in life. Folks try to learn from

success or failures but in the end, some

feel they have no control over their des-

tiny. But for one University of Texas-Pan

American freshman, success has come in

all forms and the simple phrase has

impacted her life like she never imagined.

Roxy Rodriguez, a kinesiology

major, graduated from Edinburg

Economedes High School in 2007 as an

exceptional three-sport athlete in softball,

basketball and volleyball. Rodriguez’s

petite 5-foot-1 frame made others under-

estimate her abilities in the sports environ-

ment, but she has proven there are greater

pursuits still awaiting her.

Growing up, the Weslaco native

kept close ties with her family. The prox-

imity to her father and brothers made her

take an interest in sports and grow a pas-

sion for softball. She maintained a start-

ing role on the Lady Jaguar softball var-

sity team in all her four years en route to

earning second-team All-District selec-

tions at shortstop and second base, and

was selected team MVP three times.

Her success did not stop there.

In addition to softball, she was

selected second-team All-District in bas-

ketball during her junior and senior

years and in volleyball, she attained best

defensive player her junior year and

MVP of the squad the following season.

Rodriguez decided to continue her

post-high school athletic career but the

local took a different route in getting there.

After high school, she decided to

walk on with the women’s softball team at

Texas A&M-Kingsville, impressing the

coaches with her skills and tenacious

drive. They asked her to commit but an

unfortunate mishap on her application

prevented her from attending and getting a

shot with the Lady Javelina squad.

Rodriguez, who kept a positive

mindset, returned to the Rio Grande Valley

to attend UTPA, and decided to wait until

the next opportunity presented itself.

“I want to try out again this fall at

Kingsville,” said Rodriguez. “I’ve been

practicing and keeping myself in shape so

that hopefully when I get another opportu-

nity, everything goes well for me.”

But if there’s one thing the local

has learned through her experience, it’s

that the transition from high school

sports to college can be difficult. To

counter, Rodriguez remembers the times

her Lady Jag teammates helped her

through tough situations, but college has

made her realize the drive comes from

no one but herself.

“I miss practicing with my team

and the routine we had every day that

prepared ourselves to go out and com-

pete,” Rodriguez said. “I hate the feeling

of not being on a team and not having

people ask me, ‘Hey Roxy, how did you

do last game?’ I wish I was still playing

and that’s why I look forward to going to

Kingsville in the fall to try out.”

Economedes softball coach Maria

Campos has no doubt that her former

standout’s determination and willing-

ness will eventually push Rodriguez

toward a varsity squad one day.

“I’ve never had a hard-working play-

er quite like her in my six seasons here,”

said Campos, who played collegiate ball at

Kingsville. “She’s a very special kid who

is willing to go above and beyond to do

whatever it takes for her team.”

Rodriguez currently maintains her

competitive spirit by playing basketball,

softball and flag football in UTPA intra-

murals. As her second wind lurks on the

horizon, she will begin playing on a

select girls’ softball traveling team in the

summer, going to various tournaments in

Central Texas before her departure to

Kingsville.

“I like keeping my competetive

drive high by playing intramurals here at

school,” says Rodriguez. “I know some-

times playing co-ed can be fun and games

but I’ll without a doubt take softball seri-

ously using the games as practice for my

upcoming softball season in the summer.”

� FEATURESPORTS

April 2, 2008 Page 15

� TRACK AND FIELD

Onydia Garza/The Pan American

ALMOST IN - After an unfortunate mishap, freshman Roxy Rodriguez, an intramural player, hopes her chance to playon a college softball team will come next school year. The local plans to transfer to Texas A&M-Kingsville at the end ofthe summer to begin a collegiate athletic career.

� SCHEDULES

Economedes standout vies for second chance

Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Schedule

April 2 Texas RelaysHost - University of Texas

AustinApril 12 Kingsville Meet

Host - Texas A&M KingsvilleKingsville

April 19 UT TwilightHost - University of Texas

AustinApril 24 Rice Twilight

Host - Rice University Houston

May 2 Houston InvitationalHost - University of Houston

Houston May 10 McNeese Last Chance

Host - McNeese University Lake Charles, LA

May 30 NCAA Regional Championships

Lincoln, NE June 11 NCAA Outdoor

Championships Des Moines, IA

June 27 U.S. Olympic Trials Eugene, OR

Golf ScheduleMen’s

April 7 Wyoming Cowboy ClassicHost - University of Wyoming

Scottsdale, AZ April 8 Wyoming Cowboy Classic

Host - University of Wyoming Scottsdale, AZ

May 9 National Minority Golf Champioship

Port St. Lucie, FL May 10 National Minority Golf

Championships Port St. Lucie, FL

May 11 National Minority Golf Championships

Port St. Lucie, FL

Women’sApril 7 Lady Eagle Invitational

Host - USM Hattiesburg, MS

April 8 Lady Eagle InvitationalHost - USM

Hattiesburg, MS May 9 National Minority

ChampionshipPort St. Lucie, FL

May 10 National Minority College Championship

Port St. Lucie, FL May 11 National Minority College

Championship Port St. Lucie, FL

The University of Texas-Pan

American men and women’s track and

field coach Dennis Darling assessed his

team appropriately before leaving to the

26th Annual Victor Lopez/Rice Bayou

Classic this past weekend in Houston.

His team received the message in

the Gulf Coast after several Broncs gar-

nered top-10 finishes.

“That’s all we can ask for is to be

competitive against big schools,”

Darling said. “We did pretty good this

weekend competing against big schools.

Accomplishing season-best times

against these schools shows what hard

work we are doing.”

Junior standout Vanessa Brown fin-

ished sixth in the 400-meter dash with a

time of 55.86, cutting almost two sec-

onds from her previous personal record

at the Texas Southern Relays, and

McAllen native Cecilia Lott recorded a

personal-best time of 25.73 en route to a

ninth place finish in the 200 meters. The

women’s 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams

both attained season-top times, 47.93

and 3:49.96 respectively, placing third in

both competitions.

On the men’s side, Bahaman native

Jameson Strachan, who was called for a

false start in the 200, exacted revenge in

the 400 and recorded a PR of 48.08. Wally

Gonzalez of Edinburg and senior Luis

Nava also had top-10 finishes, with

Gonzalez placing fourth in the 800-meter

run with a time of 1:53.37, and the La Joya

native finishing seventh after clocking in a

time of 3:54.39 in the 1500 meters.

The teams will be challenged in

Austin today at the annual Texas Relays

hosted by the University of Texas.

By ALVARO BALDERAS

The Pan American

Broncs to betested at TexasRelays in Austin

Tennis ScheduleMen’s

April 3 TAMUCC Orville Cox Tennis Center TBA

April 11 Portland State Davis, CA 9 a.m.

April 13 San Francisco San Francisco, CA TBA

April 14 Santa Clara Santa Clara, CA 5 p.m.

April 19 UTSA San Antonio 2 p.m.

Southland ConferenceTournament

April 25 TBA Nacogdoches All Day



Women’s

April 6 UTA Orville Cox Tennis Center 11 a.m.

April 11 San Jose State San Jose, CA 10 a.m.

April 13 San Francisco San Francisco, CA TBA

April 14 Santa Clara Santa Clara, CA 1 p.m.

By ALVARO BALDERAS

The Pan American

Teams stride toward successfulshowing on Gulf Coast

5050The number of times the2008 Final Four partici-

pants have appeared in the Final Four

1010Senior Silke Buksik’s cur-

rent singles win streak

88The number of games theSan Antonio Spurs have

won consecutively

SPORTSStatsAtAGlance

Page 16 April 2, 2008

� TENNISTHE PAN AMERICAN

ShortSports

The following is the tenative

schedule for intramurals and events in

April hosted by the Wellness

Recreational Sports Complex:

April 4 Bouldering Friday

April 5 Kid Fit

April 8 Two-Rope Tuesday

April 14 - 18 Flexibility Week

April 29 - May 2 Stress Relief Week

Football (Men’s)Division A

April 10, 17, 24, 31

Division B

April 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 and May 1

Co-Rec

April 8, 15, 22, 29

Men’s SoftballApril, 2, 7, 9, 14, 16

Co-Rec SoftballApril 3, 8, 10

Men’s SoccerApril 7, 14, 21

Women’s SoccerApril 2, 9, 16

Men’s TennisApril 7

Women’s TennisApril 8, 15

� WELLNESS CENTER

When The University of Texas-Pan

American women’s tennis team took the

court Thursday afternoon against

nationally ranked Lamar University, the

Lady Broncs knew it was going to take

a team effort to defeat the Lady

Cardinals.

UTPA entered the game with a 14-

6 record after having won seven of its

last eight matchups, including a domi-

nating performance against McNeese

State the previous day. The team’s

momentum catapulted them to one of

the best records in women’s tennis histo-

ry and it seemed as though no team

would knock them off their pedestal.

But the Lady Broncs

finally met their

match against the

Red Birds as

Lamar battled

its way back

to stop the

upset with a 4-3 decision at the Orville

Cox Tennis Center.

“It was a heartbreaker,” said Coach

Ron Hubbard. “We had the 75th-ranked

team in the country on the ropes, and we

can’t say that we’ve ever been in that

position with the women’s program

before. I’m certainly proud of them.

“I’m a little disappointed that we

really didn’t play our doubles well

today and if you get that doubles point,

that turns to 4-3 our way,” he added.

“Over the next week, we’ll try and

solve that.”

Indeed, the doubles matches

proved to be the decisive point. The

Lady Broncs, who now stand at 14-7,

dropped all three twin matches by

counts of 8-3, 8-4 and 8-5, which gave

Lamar an automatic 1-0 edge heading

into singles play.

The home team regained a 2-1

advantage after senior Silke Buksik and

sophomore Luisa Cantu recorded victo-

ries in the fifth and sixth flights, respec-

tively, but three straight losses ensued

and the Lady Cardinals escaped with a

nail-biting win.

“We did pretty well,” Cantu said.

“The other team is ranked but we could

have done better.”

Despite the loss, she says the win-

ning streak has been a motivational tool

for the squad.

“We’ve been winning and we have

a good streak, and that helps because

we’re all pumped up for the matches,”

Cantu commented.

The women will use the loss as

incentive in their final home game of the

2008 campaign as they have their eyes

set on surpassing the best record in

women’s tennis history (15-10 in 1990).

The challenge will begin Sunday against

the University of Texas-Arlington

before they travel to the West Coast for

three games in four days.

BRONCSAs the women celebrated five con-

secutive victories and slowly climbed

their way into the record books, the

Broncs watched from behind the scenes.

The Green and Orange hit a

bumpier road this season and entered

Saturday’s game at three games below

.500 with a 5-8 record. Still, Hubbard

never doubted his team’s capabilities.

And after the Lady Broncs wrapped up

their 14th win of the season Wednesday

afternoon against McNeese State, the

former UTPA alum commented that the

mens’ match against Lamar was “going

to be a war.” He was right.

UTPA had to recuperate from dou-

bles play to pull off its second Southland

Conference win after the Cardinals

claimed the doubles point with 8-6, 8-1

and 9-8 victories. But in the end, it was

the Broncs who sent the Red Birds pack-

ing, claiming four of six singles match-

es to improve to 6-8 overall and 2-2 in

conference play.

With the Southland Conference

Tournament less than a month away, the

Broncs will look to close their regular

season with a win against Texas A&M-

Corpus Christi before heading on a four-

game road swing.

“We’re a little young,” Hubbard

said. “It’s just going to take a little more

guidance and work to equal the results

of the women but the guys are still in a

good position.”

By RAMIRO PAEZThe Pan American


MOMENTUM SWITCH - (left to right) SophomoresBrett Bernstein and Luisa Cantu recorded victories intheir singles matchups against Lamar over the week-end, though it was the Broncs who escaped with themomentum at home.

Documents

April 2, 2008