february 3, 2011
DESCRIPTION
Vol. 67 No. 16TRANSCRIPT
CHECK THE WEBUTPA mobile app launched || New application latest in Bronc technology.
Dance for joyBoogie down || Annual Ballet-Folklorico show at UTPA aims to reach community and raise arts awareness. PAGE 8
The search is on
VP of Student Affairs cadidates visit UTPA. PAGE 3
HITTING CLOSE TO HOME
By Karen AntonacciThe Pan American
WWW.PANAMERICANONLINE.COMVolume 67, No. 16 February 3, 2011
UTPA professor monitoring crisis in Egypt, keeping tabs on mother in country
SEE EGYPT || PAGE 3
Eyes all over the world are glued to tele-vision to follow the ongoing political leader-ship crisis in Egypt. But Sonia Alianak has more at stake than just interest in the news. She’s worried that the protests bordering on civil war in the Middle Eastern nation will put her mother in danger.
“She’s not involved in it,” said Alianak, professor of political science at � e Univer-sity of Texas-Pan American. “She lives in a suburb which is an a� uent suburb, but you never know, this is civil war going on, a civil confrontation. She doesn’t go out, she has got a student to bring her food and supplies…I’m worried about her, but she’s very brave, and said not to worry, and says everything is � ne with her.”
Alianak is an Armenian born in Sudan who got her BA in journalism and political science at � e American University in Cairo and emigrated to the United States to get her Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Aus-tin, in 1987.
� e escalating violence in various Egyp-tian cities that worries Alianak, is a result of a struggle against the authoritarian govern-ment headed by President Hosni Mubarak, who has held sole power for about 30 years.
“� e protests are about the idea of de-mocracy in the Middle East; especially in Egypt… the demonstrators want democ-racy. � ere has been a lot of corruption, the money goes to the very rich, and there are a lot of poor people, with no middle class,” said Alianak, who authored the book, “Mid-dle Eastern Leaders and Islam” in 2007 and has published frequent academic articles about the region.
A 2008 study by the Egyptian govern-ment’s Department of Statistics reported that 31.8 percent of the unemployed held a “University & above” level of education. Alianak said the combination of education with lack of jobs has fueled the � res of the protests, which were organized largely by social network media.
“� e university students go free to the university, and then they graduate and there are no jobs,” said the associate professor. “So they get the opportunities, the incentives, they have expectations for the future…but then you don’t � nd a job, so they’re frustrat-ed, it’s a basic revolution principle.”
Inspired by the dramatic ousting of the Tunisian president last month, Egyptian protesters � rst came out in force against Mubarak’s rule - and speci� cally police bru-tality - last Tuesday. � e protesters called this the “Day of Rage” as it was marked with protesters surging through a police line � ll of o� cers garbed in full riot gear. � e violence has been escalating since then, Alianak said.
On � ursday, protesters organized a “Million Man March,” which served as a turning point in the uprising because Mubarak then announced that he would not seek re-election in September.
Alianak said that this announcement was met with skepticism by the anti-Mubarak protesters, and also sparked a counter movement of pro-Mubarak sup-porters.
“� e protesters don’t believe in that, they don’t believe that he’s going to keep his promise because in the past he has promised a lot of things and not delivered,” Alianak said. “His supporters believe it though, and they were very touched when he came on
TV and he said he would not seek re-election. � ere were a lot of peo-ple that were very touched by that because he’s been there for 30 years, and a lot of supporters came out as a result of his speech,”
� e pro-Mubarak support-ers organized quickly and planned counter protests, said Alianak.
“� e state-run TV station said there’s a group of protesters that are pro-Mubarak and the rich had or-ganized protesters to demonstrate in favor of the President,” she said. “My mother lives in an a� uent neighbor-hood and there a lot of people that have gathered in favor of the President, so it’s like a civil war, almost, going on in downtown Cairo, between the supporters of Mubarak and the pro democracy forces.”
On Wednesday these two forces met in Tahrir Square in Cairo. Amateur videogra-phers captured the violence and uploaded the videos to YouTube, another instance where communication technology has played a part in recent global struggles for freedom. � e two sides threw rocks and debris at one another and at one point, a group of supposedly pro-Mubarak sup-porters charged through an angry crowd on horseback before they were dragged to the ground and beaten.
Alianak said she cannot say for sure which course of action is best for Egypt; the stability that President Mubarak o� ers or the bene� ts of democracy. � e U.S. govern-ment, too, has been somewhat ambivalent about that di� cult choice.
“I don’t think you can have democracy if you don’t have stability, but also if you
have just stability and no democ-racy, well, I’m not defending that either,” Alainak said. “But I don’t know what the best solution is because we have to think of our al-lies, we have to think of the peace with Israel. � at might be threatened. � e Suez Canal, all the oil for Europe goes through there, so we need stability but not at the price of democracy and I think there should be a balance…the two sides are ex-tremists and there should be some kind of middle ground.”
While she may not know the solution,
Dec 17 - SIDE BOUZID, TUNISIA Police confiscate Mohammed Bouazizi's fruit
cart because he does not have a permit. Frustrated, he sets himself on fire.
Protests begin
Dec 20-27 - TUNISIA Protests and rallies continue to spread, along
with violent police clashes
Dec 28 - TUNISIA Lawyers march in several cities to show
support for the protests
Dec 28 - Jan 6 - TUNISIA Protests continue to spread throughout
Jan 6 - TUNISIA Lawyers launch a strike
Jan 14 - TUNISIA President Ben Ali fires the majority of the
country’s government. Ben Ali manages to leave Tunisia by plane. He lands in
Saudi Arabia
Jan 25 - CAIRO, EGYPT “Day of Rage”Prompted by the unrest in Tunisia, a dismal
economy, and widespread poverty, young and impoverished Egyptians take to the street on the
national holiday, “Police Day.” It starts peacefully but turns violent when police use tear gas and
water hoses
Jan 27 - EGYPT Nobel laureate Mohamed El Baradei, head of the Egyptian atomic energy agency, returns
to Egypt. He says he wants to lead a transition government to democracy. The
Egyptian government cuts Internet service
Jan 28 - EGYPT Cell phone service is cut. Mubarak says he
will appoint a new Cabinet. Cell service was later restored
Jan 29 - EGYPT Mubarak names Omar Suleiman as his first
ever vice president
Feb 1 - EGYPT “MILLION MAN MARCH” Protesters hold the
biggest rally of the movement in Tahrir Square in Cairo. Mubarak announces he will not seek
re-election in September
Feb 2 - EGYPT Anti-Mubarak and Pro-Mubarak protesters
clash outside of the Egyptian Museum
Erick Gonzalez/THE PAN AMERICAN
The protests are about the idea of democracy in the Middle East; especially in Egypt...the demonstrators want democracy.
Sonia Alianak || UTPA professor
There are always two guaranteed highlights to my day. One is the drive to school. The other is the drive back. Now, I’m not much of a car enthusiast and my driving leaves much to be desired (a quick glance at my driving record highlights this pretty plainly). What makes these short intervals of my day most pleasant is plugging in my iPod, turning the volume up just loud enough so I can’t hear myself, and
singing at the top of my lungs like an idiot for the 25 minutes it takes to get to school or home.
I know I can’t be the only one doing this. Glancing over at the middle-aged woman in the Suburban next to me at a red light with her eyes closed, tight-mouthing what I think was Prince’s “Kiss” makes it certain: people love being able to sit and listen to music they love. Music still moves people as deeply as it always has. Yes album sales are down, but Apple has still managed to ship 220 million iPods to date.
Still though, there’s a significant percentage of the population (namely middle-aged men who still rock their old Rolling Stones shirts and teens who “can’t stand the music the kids at school listen to”) who adamantly believe that music was better in the Sixties and Seventies. It’s hard not to see their point. Its mindboggling to think that at one point in history The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, John Coltrane, and The Beach Boys were all at their
creative peaks.I disagree with this consensus
among disgruntled music fans though. Why? Selective memory.
Call me an elitist but it’s hard to ignore the fact that most people have pretty bad taste in music. (How much money did Ke$ha make last year? And an “Artist of the Year” nomination from the AMA’s? ) The thing is, people have always had bad taste in music. And there has always been music made for them. What else are 13-year-old girls and guys “who don’t listen to any of that emo-crap” supposed to listen to?
The thing is most of the music made for these audiences shares the same disposable characteristic. It stays in culture’s collective memory for a year or two and then is never really mentioned again. The only things that really carry over into the next era of popular music and become historical markers for that certain period of music are the artists and songs that deeply impacted people the most. Do you remember George
McCrae? Me either. But he had one of the biggest hits of 1974, “Rock Your Baby.”
It’s also worth noting that Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix are both technically one-hit-wonders. What I’m getting at is that popularity is never the measure by which an era’s music should be judged.
The music of a generation never comes from the Billboard Hot 100. And it rarely wins Grammys. The music that people hold dearly, the kind that sparks change and reaffirms a person’s humanity, is still being made. And it’s coming from the same place that it’s always come from. From the souls of angry, loving, passionate individuals responding to a culture that only fully appreciates them 10 years after the fact. Real music is still as amazing and moving as it’s always been and it’s not stopping any time soon
Justin Bieber has always been around in one form or another, and he always ends up a washed-up drug addict in his thirties. Always.
February 3, 20112
The music isn’t dead yet
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THE PAN AMERICAN
Vol. 67, No. 16
Chris Ponce/THE PAN AMERICAN
Benny Salinas A&L Editor
Commentary
With keyboards in hand, they rose up against a tyrant, so that their tweets, blogs and status updates could be heard around the world once again. And that was the end of the Facebook/Twitter Revolution.
With keyboards in hand, they rose up against a tyrant, so that their tweets, blogs and status updates could be heard around the world once With keyboards in hand, they rose up against a tyrant, so that their tweets, blogs and status updates could be heard around the world once again. And that was the end of the Facebook/Twitter Revolution.
Hosni Mubarak
How “the Golden Era of Rock & Roll” wasn’t the climax of modern music.
Faculty and students at � e University of Texas-Pan American seem to be experiencing a textbook shortage and all � ngers are pointing to the University Bookstore as the main party responsible.
Professors from across campus have expressed discontent with the way the University Bookstore handles textbook orders. Philip Ethridge, professor of criminal justice, said he put in the order for books he would need for his class of 60 long before the semester started, but last week 25 of his students informed him they didn’t have the course material.
“One of the issues is when we as faculty do what the bookstore wants - and that is to tell them what we’re using and how many students we anticipate - we expect the books to be here, and there are cases when they have not arrived,” Ethridge said.
According to Ethridge, when he brought up the issue with the bookstore he was told that a percentage of the books had been ordered prior to the
beginning of the semester and that an additional percentage would be ordered if needed.
“� e concern is that you as a student don’t have the book, you’re not ready, and I as faculty start lecturing about a book you don’t have and is not available,” he said. “I think it a� ects a lot of students and it a� ects a lot of classes.
When the bookstore receives an adoption form from a professor – paperwork that includes the name of the book, author, edition, number of students in the class – representatives do research on that book and on the class, to try to � nd as many used books as possible, says Sergio Lopez, University Bookstore manager.
“We’ll take a look at that course and see how many books we brought in the last time we used that, how it sold, how many students were enrolled,” Lopez explained. “Obviously we always want to gain market share, we want to have more students coming in to buy their books or rent them.”
According to Lopez the reason the store doesn’t order 100 percent of
the books for a class is because some students choose to not buy a textbook, either because of high prices or because they think they won’t need it.
“If they can, students are going to try to get by without buying the books, if it’s going to save them money,” Lopez said. “� e value that the professor puts on a book is very important on whether or not the book sells here at the bookstore.”
Lopez stressed that it’s very important that professors turn in their adoption forms on their deadline, which has changed from April 15 to March 11 for the miniterm, summer and fall semesters.
“� e partnership with the administration and the faculty is crucial to everything we do here,” he said.
When professors turn in their adoption forms on time, this gives the bookstore more time to source as many used books as possible from the Follett company, which has run the bookstore since 2005. If there isn’t enough used books to complete the order, new ones will be purchased from the publishing companies.
� e Division of Student A� airs is in search for a new vice president after the resignation of Dr. John Edwards and has invited four can-didates to � ll the position to � e University of Texas-Pan American throughout the week.
Robert S. Nelsen, president of UTPA, announced late Septem-ber that Edwards, who worked at the university for 10 years, was resign-ing at the end of December.
Beginning on Monday the four candidates were scheduled to appear at UTPA on an as-signed visiting day at 1 p.m. for a forum at the Student Union � eater open to stu-dents, faculty and the com-munity.
On � urs-day Nelsen revealed in an e-mail what the � nalists’ names were and links to each of their resumes. It was also announced that evalua-tion forms would be present at each forum and students and sta� were encouraged to share comments on the candidates.
According to Lisa Prieto, assistant to the president, after the forums are conducted Nelsen will decide which � -nalist will be hired; that decision date is still unknown.
“We have narrowed the search down to four � nal candidates who will be making campus visits this week,” Prieto said. “� e president will review all the feedback from the campus visits before he selects a � nalist.”
Until then, Dennis McMillan, the former associate vice president of the Division of Enrollment and Student Services, is serving as in-terim vice president. Along with a temporary vice president came a permanent name change for the di-vision. � e Division of Enrollment
and Students Services became the Division of Student A� airs.
To aid the search for the new vice president has been a committee com-prised of co-chairs Janice Odom, vice president for university advancement, and Alex Rodriguez, president of the Student Government Association.
� e search included several steps. First the committee entered into the national search process, and enlisted the assistance of Witt/Kief-fer, an executive search � rm. Reports were then made on the top candi-
dates and the � nalists were selected for on-campus in-terviews.
“� e job of the search c o m m i t t e e was to get the candidates and the applicants r e v i e w e d , ” Odom said. “We inter-viewed by vid-eo conference and recom-mended sever-al names to the president and then at that point it was decided who was brought to campus for interviews.”
B o t h Odom and
Rodriguez had a very speci� c idea of what they looked for in those they recommended.
“What we were looking for was someone who could be a really strong advocate for the students,” Odom said. “� e president actually changed the name of the division because he wants the students to be � rst and foremost in the mind of the person in that position.”
� e new vice president will be a member of the President’s Cabinet and University Council and will serve as the primary advocate and spokesperson for students while providing leadership, vi-sion and direction for the Division of Student A� airs.
“� e students really need a strong voice, that person is the one who often represents the students and their needs and their dreams,” Odom said. “We want somebody who really believes in our university and believes in our region.”
February 3, 2011 3
Where my books at?
By Alejandra Martinez The Pan American
Complaints about bookstore cite delays,shortages of texts
Jason Smith/THE PAN AMERICAN
READ ALL ABOUT IT - Zandra Fermin, a sophomore marketing major, compares prices of marketing books at the University Bookstore on Tuesday.
Let the search begin
By Nicole JanuaryThe Pan American
Four candidates for the new VP of Student A� airs
position visit UTPA
Janice OdomVP, university advancement
“The students really need
a strong voice, that person
is the one who often
represents the students
and their needs and their
dreams. We want somebody
who really believes in our
university and believes in
our region.”
EGYPTcontinued from Page 1
Alianak said that the situation was inevitable and that she had a feeling it would come to widespread violence eventually.
“Something was brewing up when I went home this summer,” she commented. “I was reading the newspaper with my mother …and there was this beating by po-lice of a young man in Alexandria.”
� is week, Mubarak’s government dis-connected Egyptian cell phone service and Internet access, but has since restored the cell
phones. More tangible resources are also be-coming slightly scarce, however.
“As far as food shortages, there aren’t any, my mother says, but people have been careful in case this continues a long time,” Alianak reported. “� ey’re getting canned food from the supermarkets, and the mar-kets are very crowded, but at least there is food.”
In her Middle East Politics class, Alianak has used the Egyptian situation as a teaching
point this week and led her class into discussion about U.S. policy. She’s also given interviews to several local TV out-lets as the crisis has unfolded.
“Some students want President Obama to be more forceful and ask Mubarak to leave immediately,” she said. “� en some were saying that he has to be careful about our allies and those things. So they were divided in the class.”
� e Capitol’s rotunda echoed with mariachi music last week as UTPA students, faculty and sta� surrounded the award-winning mariachi band. University President Robert S. Nelsen welcomed the crowd to the Capitol and explained to numerous onlookers and passerby exactly why the halls were being lled with music.
“� e Valley is the future of Texas if we don’t get it right in the Valley we won’t get it right in the state of Texas are up here today, from Pan Am to make sure we get it right here in the valley. � rough education we are going to break the grip of poverty and transform this world this nation and this state.”
� e trip, made by 60 students who embarked for Austin at 4:30 in the morning � ursday, began as an invitation from Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa. “
� e purpose of UTPA Day was designed to encourage Texas legislators to “keep education in mind as they vote on legislation in the upcoming session,” said Darien Fernandez, senior SGA senator as he and a group of 10 students in tour group
No. 19 walked door to door and handed out UTPA goodie-bags to legislators.
� ough most legislators were busy in meetings and conference calls, Valley Representatives Veronica Gonzales, Aaron Peña and Hinojosa greeted the Edinburg entourage and praised the University for their e� ort.
Rep. Aaron Peña, a Bronc alumni, explained how keen he was to have a slice of the Valley in Austin.
“I’m very excited and very proud,” Peña said. “I still feel like a student, I really do, like I just left. And when everyone is here it just so exciting. You know when I come to the Capitol, it’s 300 miles from home and I think, ‘Oh, its so foreign to our lives down there, which is so comfortable with family and culture and food, but when everybody is here, it feels like it’s home.
� e serious note of the looming budget slashes to education, including higher ed, had the District 40 politician concerned for the future generation of college-bound students.
“We want to continue to investing in our kids,” he said. “Because when we invest in them we invest in our own future, I don’t want to see a generation lost. So this
is a challenge not only because of this cycle but for other cycles to come. Texans are naturally averse to taxes …we have to nd a way to nd additional revenue so we can continue to see our university grow.”
As alumni, students and sta� gathered to have their picture taken on the steps of the building, SGA Vice President Mark
Allen spoke on the importance of the group’s time there.
“We are all here for a reason and that is to show that the Valley is a truly unique jewel of this great state,” the 23-year-old said, adding that the decisions that are going to be made during this legislative sessions are going to be setting the tone for
generations to come. “It is our generation, not the next generation that will shape things and we have an opportunity here to make sure that we take that stand…and that our piece of the puzzle is placed right there in the hearts and minds of each and every single legislator, senator and house representative.”
NEWS February 3, 2011Page 4
Alma E. Hernandez/THE PAN AMERICAN
CAPITOL DAZE - President Robert Nelsen stands in front of supporters at the State Capitol.
Broncs rally for higher educationUTPA community travels to Austin to push importance of
legislative decisions By Kristen Cabrera & Roxann GarciaThe Pan American
AdvertisementsFebruary 3, 2011 Page 5
THE PAN AMERICANTHE PAN AMERICAN February 3, 2011 February 3, 2011 Page 7Page 6
Are You Ready For SUPER BOWL XLV?
Ingredients3 large Hass avocados, halved, pitted, and peeled1 cup diced red onion3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves3/4 cup diced red bell pepper1 large Anaheim chile, diced3 tablespoons fresh lime juiceI ounce of ranch1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
DirectionsIn a medium bowl, using a fork or potato masher, mash the avocados until chunky. Add the onion, cilantro, bell pepper, and chile. In a small bowl, combine the lime juice and package of ranch. Add to the avocado mixture along with the pepper and stir gently to combine. Transfer the dip to a serving bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole, pressing to eliminate any air pockets (this will help keep the guacamole from turning brown). Serve at room temperature.
Source: Allrecipes.com
RUNNIN’ REBELS RANCH GUACAMOLE
Joey de Los Santos
UndecidedEagle Pass, Texas
“We just go and have a family
cookout and we barbecue.”
Denisse GoveaEdinburg
Comm. Disorders
“Sitting at home with the family getting
disappointed ‘cause the Cowboys aren’t
there.”
Steven MillerSpringfi eld, MOGrants andContracts Offi ce
“Watching the game with my dad and enjoying the football more than the party.”
Didi ZapataPsychologyLos Fresnos
“We cook out and we place bets on the teams.”
Alfredo GonzalezMechanical
EngineeringEdinburg
“Get together with the family and
have a good time and watch the
game. It’s another time for the family
to get together.”
“� e Super Bowl is....” Depending on who you ask this question to, and what time of the year, one can get some of the most o� -the-wall answers along with very expected ones. In the Rio Grande Valley, the Super Bowl is almost a biblical holiday that people swear by.
Not only does it bring families together, it sparks rivalry between avid sports fans, and brings out the competitor in EVERYONE. From the obvious players and coaches competing in the actual game, to marketing directors trying to outwit a rival compa-ny in having the best com-mercial, it’s a war.
� e Super Bowl is the Mecca that ev-
eryone wants to be associated with. If
one is the halftime per-former at the Big Game, it is safe
to say you’ve “made it.” Bruce Springsteen, Black-Eye
Peas, � e Who, Nelly and many others
are just some of p la t inum-
s e l l -
ing artists that have graced the stage during the halftime festivities.
But on a day where two teams culminate a sea-son’s struggles, team owners and di� erent compa-nies make millions along with whoever is hosting the lucrative event (Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones boasts that right this year), to many Valley families, it’s about just that, family.
“To me, it is a special day to BBQ with the fam-ily and friends and enjoy the sporting event,” Ad-olfo Trevino, life-long football fan, said. “I make it an all-day event. When I was younger it was an
all week-end thing with friends, but those days have came and gone by.”
Trevino, 58, remembers his dad doing the same thing he does now with his family for the Super Bowl.
“Dad always had the party at our house,” Trevino recalls.
“Food, beer, family and a bunch of good times. It felt like someone was getting mar-ried. All for a football game.”
� e reality is that the Super Bowl is just that, a football game on a huge scale that is a mon-ey-making machine for anyone involved with it. Most of the time, the two teams that end up playing the prestigious game are not your favorite team. Sometimes not even close. � is will be the case Sunday for many Valley natives: it ended up
being a bitter rival that makes it to the “big game.” Or two. � e area is full of
Dallas Cowboy fans, and the teams in question have always been threats to the ‘Boys.
� e Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers will compete for this year’s Lombardi Trophy, the ultimate grail in the football world, and to some the actual game is not what mat-ters. More important are the things that represent the two di� erent teams potentially winning.
“I don’t have a favorite team per se, it’s usually anyone but the Dallas Cowboys,” Mo-nah Alvarado, UTPA senior, shared. “I would like for the Green Bay Packers to win the Super Bowl this year. Aaron Rodg-ers, in my opinion, has done an ex-cellent job at quarterback and with a win in Arlington at Cowboys Stadium he will come out of Favre’s shadow.”
Others rooting for the Packers are only doing so because of what it means for the Cowboys. Pitts-burgh and Dallas are tied for most Super Bowl ap-pearances; the Steelers took the lead in Super Bowl rings over the Cowboys with their last victory over the Arizona Cardinals in 2009 at Tampa.
“� e Cowboys have one less championship than the Steelers. I am rooting for the Packers for that reason only,” admitted Nathan Garza, UTPA alum. “Since I can’t root for the Cowboys, I’ll root for them indirectly.”
� e more hard-
core sports fan that want to see history made before their eyes are evidently hoping for the Steelers and what this could mean to the NFL power rankings.
“� is is probably one of the most exciting Super Bowls in a while,” claimed Joshua Garza, a senior
at UTPA. “Two great franchises, Steelers are going for their seventh champion-
ship, Packers going for their fourth. Not to mention, two of the best defenses in the league.” T h e Super Bowl is a worldwide phe-nomenon that is broadcast in over 232 countries proving that
it is something much bigger than football. Whether you’re
still cheering for the Cowboys by rooting for the Packers, you’re more in-
terested in seeing the Steelers make his-tory, or if you just want to hang out with family and friends and enjoy a day of tasty BBQ, the Super Bowl is a once-a-year event that will continue it’s tradition, al-lowing you to continue yours, Sunday, Feb. 6.
disappointed ‘cause the Cowboys aren’t
WH
AT IS
YO
UR
FAV
OR
ITE
SU
PER
BO
WL
TRA
DIT
ION
?
By Dionicio RodriguezThe Pan American
Design by Sara Hernandez & Jennifer Tate Photos by Alma Hernandez
THE PAN AMERICANTHE PAN AMERICAN February 3, 2011 February 3, 2011 Page 7Page 6
Are You Ready For SUPER BOWL XLV?
Ingredients3 large Hass avocados, halved, pitted, and peeled1 cup diced red onion3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves3/4 cup diced red bell pepper1 large Anaheim chile, diced3 tablespoons fresh lime juiceI ounce of ranch1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
DirectionsIn a medium bowl, using a fork or potato masher, mash the avocados until chunky. Add the onion, cilantro, bell pepper, and chile. In a small bowl, combine the lime juice and package of ranch. Add to the avocado mixture along with the pepper and stir gently to combine. Transfer the dip to a serving bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole, pressing to eliminate any air pockets (this will help keep the guacamole from turning brown). Serve at room temperature.
Source: Allrecipes.com
RUNNIN’ REBELS RANCH GUACAMOLE
Joey de Los Santos
UndecidedEagle Pass, Texas
“We just go and have a family
cookout and we barbecue.”
Denisse GoveaEdinburg
Comm. Disorders
“Sitting at home with the family getting
disappointed ‘cause the Cowboys aren’t
there.”
Steven MillerSpringfi eld, MOGrants andContracts Offi ce
“Watching the game with my dad and enjoying the football more than the party.”
Didi ZapataPsychologyLos Fresnos
“We cook out and we place bets on the teams.”
Alfredo GonzalezMechanical
EngineeringEdinburg
“Get together with the family and
have a good time and watch the
game. It’s another time for the family
to get together.”
“� e Super Bowl is....” Depending on who you ask this question to, and what time of the year, one can get some of the most o� -the-wall answers along with very expected ones. In the Rio Grande Valley, the Super Bowl is almost a biblical holiday that people swear by.
Not only does it bring families together, it sparks rivalry between avid sports fans, and brings out the competitor in EVERYONE. From the obvious players and coaches competing in the actual game, to marketing directors trying to outwit a rival compa-ny in having the best com-mercial, it’s a war.
� e Super Bowl is the Mecca that ev-
eryone wants to be associated with. If
one is the halftime per-former at the Big Game, it is safe
to say you’ve “made it.” Bruce Springsteen, Black-Eye
Peas, � e Who, Nelly and many others
are just some of p la t inum-
s e l l -
ing artists that have graced the stage during the halftime festivities.
But on a day where two teams culminate a sea-son’s struggles, team owners and di� erent compa-nies make millions along with whoever is hosting the lucrative event (Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones boasts that right this year), to many Valley families, it’s about just that, family.
“To me, it is a special day to BBQ with the fam-ily and friends and enjoy the sporting event,” Ad-olfo Trevino, life-long football fan, said. “I make it an all-day event. When I was younger it was an
all week-end thing with friends, but those days have came and gone by.”
Trevino, 58, remembers his dad doing the same thing he does now with his family for the Super Bowl.
“Dad always had the party at our house,” Trevino recalls.
“Food, beer, family and a bunch of good times. It felt like someone was getting mar-ried. All for a football game.”
� e reality is that the Super Bowl is just that, a football game on a huge scale that is a mon-ey-making machine for anyone involved with it. Most of the time, the two teams that end up playing the prestigious game are not your favorite team. Sometimes not even close. � is will be the case Sunday for many Valley natives: it ended up
being a bitter rival that makes it to the “big game.” Or two. � e area is full of
Dallas Cowboy fans, and the teams in question have always been threats to the ‘Boys.
� e Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers will compete for this year’s Lombardi Trophy, the ultimate grail in the football world, and to some the actual game is not what mat-ters. More important are the things that represent the two di� erent teams potentially winning.
“I don’t have a favorite team per se, it’s usually anyone but the Dallas Cowboys,” Mo-nah Alvarado, UTPA senior, shared. “I would like for the Green Bay Packers to win the Super Bowl this year. Aaron Rodg-ers, in my opinion, has done an ex-cellent job at quarterback and with a win in Arlington at Cowboys Stadium he will come out of Favre’s shadow.”
Others rooting for the Packers are only doing so because of what it means for the Cowboys. Pitts-burgh and Dallas are tied for most Super Bowl ap-pearances; the Steelers took the lead in Super Bowl rings over the Cowboys with their last victory over the Arizona Cardinals in 2009 at Tampa.
“� e Cowboys have one less championship than the Steelers. I am rooting for the Packers for that reason only,” admitted Nathan Garza, UTPA alum. “Since I can’t root for the Cowboys, I’ll root for them indirectly.”
� e more hard-
core sports fan that want to see history made before their eyes are evidently hoping for the Steelers and what this could mean to the NFL power rankings.
“� is is probably one of the most exciting Super Bowls in a while,” claimed Joshua Garza, a senior
at UTPA. “Two great franchises, Steelers are going for their seventh champion-
ship, Packers going for their fourth. Not to mention, two of the best defenses in the league.” T h e Super Bowl is a worldwide phe-nomenon that is broadcast in over 232 countries proving that
it is something much bigger than football. Whether you’re
still cheering for the Cowboys by rooting for the Packers, you’re more in-
terested in seeing the Steelers make his-tory, or if you just want to hang out with family and friends and enjoy a day of tasty BBQ, the Super Bowl is a once-a-year event that will continue it’s tradition, al-lowing you to continue yours, Sunday, Feb. 6.
disappointed ‘cause the Cowboys aren’t
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By Dionicio RodriguezThe Pan American
Design by Sara Hernandez & Jennifer Tate Photos by Alma Hernandez
February 3, 20118
dance for joy
Ballet-folklorico dance lovers from all over will convene today at the UTPA Fine Arts Auditorium Court Yard at 6 p.m. to attend the Ballet Folklorico’s second annual premiere dinner show for Alegria 2011, Encanto, Magia y Pasion.
Although the company had its be-ginnings more than four decades ago, it wasn’t until last year that the Friends of the Ballet Folklorico Committee de-cided after years of planning to finally feature a premiere dinner and show a day before the seasonal performances slated for the month of February.
Dora Brown, along with directors Francisco and Mary Munoz and other
committee chairs, wanted to start a tradi-tion of awareness about the company and what it has to offer the campus, the Rio Grande Valley community, and the world.
“I always say, ‘You don’t have to travel to the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City to see stunning per-formances’,” said Brown, a senior vice president of Marketing for IBC who serves on the committee. “We have them here. Our group is just as good as their ballet-folklorico!”
Awareness isn’t the only thing em-phasized this year. With it should come community involvement. Brown said hosting the dinner has allowed that to happen.
“We really wanted to get the com-munity involved somehow,” she said.
Chamber of Commerce mem-bers from Pharr, Edinburg and Mis-sion, plus members from the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, are part of the committee this year. Because of this, Brown explained that the performance’s target audience was able to expand.
“Their involvement helped us reach out and sell tickets to people we weren’t able to before,” she said.
Mary Munoz, assistant director, said she is thrilled about the expected turnout of the premiere dinner event, as 175 people are expected to attend the dinner this year, more than half of last year’s attendance.
“It’s supposed to be intimate, a small private affair so people can inter-act and network and then grow from there as they tell their friends and fam-ily about us,” Munoz said.
THE SHOWOn Friday at 7:30 p.m., the
company will officially debut a dance suite titled Estado De México: Los Mazahuas – Tiempo Sagrado (or Mexico State: The Mazahuas – Sa-cred Time) an original choreography based on the 2008 ethnographic re-search findings in the Mazahua re-gion of Mexico.
The dance, according to a press release, depicts a religious manifesta-tion of the community, mixing pre-Hispanic rituals with Christian tradi-tions in devotion to San Francisco, a patron saint.
Tickets for the show are $10 for adults and children, $5 for students and $3 per student/teacher during the two concerts for public/private schools.
Alegria 2011, Encanto, Magia y Pasion will run Feb. 4, 11, 18, and 19 at 7:30 p.m.; Feb. 5, 6, 12, 13,19 and 20 at 2:30 p.m. Private and pub-lic school showings will be held Feb. 10 and 11. For ticket information and details, contact the dance office at 665-2230.
By Lupe FloresThe Pan American
Natalie Portman is having quite the year so far. Just off the heels of the critical and commercial success “Black Swan,” Portman stars in “The Other Woman,” the tale of a newly married woman fending off her husband’s ex-wife.
The spirit of Bob Marley’s music is an eternal one. This Tuesday, Marley’s final performance on Sep. 23, 1980 was released. The two-disc “Live Forever” was recorded at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, Pa., and captures a raw, inspiring set in front of a sold-out crowd.
The always amusing and slightly unsightly butt-sniffing tendencies of your favorite furry friends may finally be put to good use in Japan. Japanese researchers have found a way to train dogs to detect bowel cancer in humans. Go figure.
There’s a ‘friend’ on television again! Well, sort of. Matthew Perry will return to the small screen Feb. 9 in a new ABC comedy. “Mr. Sunshine” finds Perry as a sports arena manager going through a mid-life crisis.
>> Annual Ballet-Folklorico show at UTPA aims to reach community and raise arts awareness.
dancing kings and queens - UTPA’s Ballet Folklorico rehearses in the Fine Arts Auditorium on Wednesday in preparation for Alegria 2011, Encanto, Magia y Pasion. The February performances feature 32 dancers with live music by Mariachi Mexico Lindo.
Photos by Freddie Martinez / The Pan american
Starting off south of the border and making its most recent stop in North Af-rica, the films of the Global Lens Series have taken audiences at The University of Texas-Pan American halfway around the world in four months.
The series was created by The Global Film Initiative, a coalition of filmmak-ers and cultural organizations dedicated to promoting cross-cultural understand-ing and combating prejudice. The 2010 lineup includes 10 films from countries like Mexico, Serbia, India, and Algeria.
“I just think that for a human, if you have that exposure to learn something new every day, to understand each other, and to embrace each other with our lives and traditions, it keeps us going,” said Nadia Gallegos, a business analyst for the Office of Admissions and New Student Services who initiated the program with media and marketing librarian Virginia Gause. “There’s always a surprise.”
After the first film screening in September, which featured “Becloud (Vaho)” from Mexico, Gallegos was ap-proached by faculty members who said they enjoyed the movie and wanted the opportunity to talk about what they saw, at future showings. The following month, about 25 audience members stayed to discuss the themes of the Ser-bian film “Ordinary People,” which dealt with a young soldier ordered to routinely execute civilians during the 1990s con-flict in the Balkans.
“It was very rewarding to see people stay and wanted to talk more into detail,” Gallegos said. “[The audience] always leaves with something. It was a good response for us to see that they wanted to stay, they wanted to talk about it, and that for us means that they enjoyed it.”
Plans to bring the films to UTPA be-gan when Gallegos learned of the series at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, one of the partners of The Global Film Initiative. A native of Mexico, Gal-legos encountered the transformative power of cultural exchange firsthand when she spent time studying English at a language institute in Arizona with stu-dents from around the world.
“I felt that it completely changed my life, the experience of being getting to know people from Japan, Iceland, Ko-rea, Brazil,” she said. “When I saw this, I wanted to share this with the university and get our students exposed to other cultures, and get ideas about traveling, get ideas about wanting to try some In-dian food or to listen to Arabic music.”
The next installment of the Global Lens Series with be held Feb. 17 and fea-tures “Adrift (Choi Voi),” a Vietnamese film about that portrays how one young woman’s blossoming sexuality unfolds through dramatic love triangle. Each movie will have two screenings at the Student Union: Thursdays at 7 p.m. and Fridays at 3 p.m.
By Nadia Tamez-RobledoThe Pan American
Global Lens Film Series reaches small, fervent crowd
AdvertisementsFebruary 3, 2011 Page 9
En el an� teatro del complejo de arte ensayan incontables horas 32 jóvenes de distintas carreras y edades por una meta en común: la mejor presentación del folklore mexicano posible.
“El grupo de bai le folklórico consiste de 32 jóvenes bai lar ines que se enfocan en estudiar e l bai le mexicano”, di jo Francisco Muñoz, coordinador del programa de bai le del departamento de música y danza. “Una cosa importante a recalcar es que nosotros somos del grupo de bal let folklórico más viejo que existe ahorita en todo Estados Unidos, con 41 años”.
Muñoz, quien también funge
como el consejero principal de la Organización Estudiantil de Baile, también expresó las aptitudes que alguien tiene que tener para convertirse en bailarín del ballet folklórico escolar. “Primeramente el aspirante tiene que haber tomado clases de técnica, las cuales yo uso para visorear gente con potencial y de ahí más o menos escojo la gente que me gustaría que se quedara”, comentó Muñoz. “Normalmente se piensa que hay que tener mucho talento, pero no necesariamente. El talento sería bueno que todos lo tuvieran pero es mejor que estén las ganas de participar y el gusto por el baile”.
El ballet que periódicamente cambia sus presentaciones para refrescar la atención de los adeptos al “segundo arte” se prepara para
presentar el nuevo show que tendrá comienzo el próximo 4 de febrero cada viernes a las 19:30 horas y los sábados y domingos a las 14:00 horas hasta el 20 del mismo mes en el auditorio de artes.
“Para esto que vamos a presentar hemos traído unos maestros de la Universidad de Veracruz a través de un convenio. Son 2 personajes reconocidos a nivel internacional y que nos vinieron a compartir
coreografías originales de varios estados de México”, afirmó Muñoz, que orquesta ensayos de seis horas diarias.
Entre las características especiales que la nueva compilación de folklore
m e x i c a n o , l l a m a d o “Alegría” tiene para ofrecerles a los visitantes es la participación de una banda sonora folklórica en vivo acompañando a los danzantes.
“ N o r m a l -mente este tipo de presen-taciones no van acompañadas de música en vivo, pero en esta ocasión nos está a c o m p a ñ a n d o
el Mariachi México Lindo, que está
formado por personas de todo el Valle”, agregó Muñoz.
Ésta singular compañía de dan-za tiene aún mucho que ofrecerle a los estudiantes de UTPA y al pú-blico en general, pues se prevén aún otros dos espectáculos de danza. El número de artistas sigue en aumen-to y las competencias nacionales empiezan el siguiente año, razones suficientes para optar por expandir posibilidades de recreación a una de las más practicadas y populares de las siete artes, que posee dentro del auditorio de bellas artes de UTPA. Más energía y dinamismo que nunca para representar la cultura del baile mexicano y ofrecernos un show de primera calidad.
Los boletos para estas presen-taciones estarán en venta en el banco IBC en todos los Wal-Mart del Valle en $8 y en la entrada del auditorio en $10 para adultos y $5 para estudiantes y niños. Para mas información llame al departamento de danza al 665-2230.
Todo semestre que empieza conlleva cambios y diferencias. Lo obsoleto se descarta y es momento de innovar, de empezar el nuevo periodo con el pie derecho.
Sumándose a la lista de cambios y procedimientos nuevos, el acceso a la red inalámbrica en la Uni-versidad de
Texas-Pan Americana ha cambiado en más de una manera. Con el propósito de incrementar la seguridad inalám-brica, se creó la red estudiantil ST2010, inaugurada en enero del 2010, a la cual, la mayoría de los estudiantes ya han mi-grado sus dispositivos inalámbricos.
“Una de las razones por las que se hizo la migración es que la red ‘student’ estaba siendo transmitida (era
visible) y ST2010 no, lo cual la hace más segura (a ST2010)”, explico Murphy Joseph, especialista en redes. “Es un poco más segura y el método de encriptación es más seguro también, es de lo último en encriptación
y soporta velocidades
más rápidas. ‘sudent’ no”.“Los estudiantes que se conectaban
a ‘student’ van a tener que transferirse a ST2010, la cual permite mejor encrip-tación y más seguridad, por lo tanto, cuando naveguen el internet o trabajen en internet van a tener mayor seguridad. Va a ser más difícil para los hackers ro-bar información”.
En un inicio, cuando se desplegó la red inalámbrica ST2010 hace un año, la red “student” seguía funcionando para iniciar el proceso de migrar a los estudiantes de una red a la otra, poco a poco sin cancelar por completo la red. Para poder dar � n a la transición, el de-partamento de servicios de red apago la red inalámbrica “student” el pasa-do viernes 28 de enero; por lo tanto, aquellos dispositivos que no fueron mi-grados a la red no tendrán acceso a los servicios inalámbricos en UTPA.
Joseph explicó que aunque la red “student’ ya no se transmite, sigue disponible sin ser vista por dispositivos inalámbricos como medida de precaución.
“Por el momento la red ‘student’ sigue ahí como medida de precaución en caso de que exista algún otro servicio o dispositivo que dependa de ella y del cual no estemos al tanto, pero no hacemos visible la red ‘student’ para que no sea descubierta fácilmente”, a� rmo
Joseph. “Pero va a ser deshabilitada por completo dentro de poco”.
Con el propósito de facilitar la con� guraron necesaria que involucra el migrar a la red inalámbrica ST2010, el departamento de información y tecnología ofrece el servicio de con� guración automática, el cual funciona como autoservicio, ya que los estudiantes pueden y deben hacer el proceso por si mismos, lo único que necesitan es conectarse temporalmente a la red UTPA-SETUP y seguir paso a paso las instrucciones que aparecerán al abrir el navegador de red (Internet Explorer, � refox, safari, etc.) El proceso es automático y lo único necesario para llevarlo a cabo son el usuario y contraseña que cada estudiare usa para tener acceso a ASSIST.
“El servicio de con� guración automática es para que los estudiantes puedan con� gurar sus laptops o cualquier otro dispositivo sin tener que ir a la
ventana de ayuda para que hagan el proceso de con� guración”, menciono el experto. “Es una alternativa para que los estudiantes, facultad y personal puedan hacer el proceso por si mismos en cualquier
lugar en el campus sin tener que ir al edi� cio de servicios académicos. Pueden hacerlos desde su o� cina”.
Te r m i n a d o el proceso, la migración a ST2010 estará completa y no será necesario volver a hacerlo a menos que se realicen cambios en la contraseña, la cual expira cada año, o que la cuenta de estudiante este inactiva. Una vez instalado ST2010,
es importante asegurarse de siempre conectarse a esa red ya que UTPA-SETUP solo sirve para el proceso de instalación y no para navegación en Internet.
En caso de tener dudas respecto a la transición a la nueva red inalámbrica, contacte a la ventana de ayuda en academic services o llame a soporte de información y tecnología al 665-2020.
Nueva red inalámbrica en UTPA
El grupo de baile de UTPA empezará sus presentaciones a partir de mañana 4 de febrero y hasta el 20 del mismo mes.
Ballet folklórico a empezar presentaciones
3 de febrero del 201110
Por Yngrid FuentesThe Pan American
Murphy Joseph Especialista en redes
“La nueva red permite mejor
encriptación y más seguridad,
por lo tanto cuando naveguen
o trabajen en internet van a
tener mayor seguridad y será
más difícil para los hackers
robar información”.
Por Sergio GironThe Pan American
Francisco Muñoz Coordinador del Ballet Folklórico
“Hemos traído unos
maestros de la Universidad
de Veracruz a través de un
convenio, son dos personajes
reconocidos a nivel
internacional y nos vinieron
a compartir coreografías de
varios estados de México”.
la red inalámbrica en la Uni-versidad de
visible) y ST2010 no, lo cual la hace más segura (a ST2010)”, explico Murphy Joseph, especialista en redes. “Es un poco más segura y el método de encriptación es más seguro también, es de lo último en encriptación
y soporta velocidades
ADVERTISEMENTSFebruary 3, 2011 Page 11
February 3, 2011 12
The Nazarova Sisters are easily recog-nizable; they’re way taller than the average Valley woman and are seen together most of the time. Also, they’re both all smiles.
“We love it here, especial-ly our tennis team,” said older sister Dana.
Zalina and Dana first came to the United States when they were 15 and 16 years old, respectively. They finished high school in Nalchik, Russia early and came to this side of the globe to play at Sacramento State in California for two years. But budget cuts in that state led to their release from the team and at that point they were advised to contact Coach Chris Taylor.
The UTPA coach decided that the sisters would be a good addi-tion to the women’s tennis program, which lost four seniors last sea-son, and the Nazarovas were added in September.
The Nazerovas have been best friends their entire lives, and they started play-ing tennis together about nine years
ago. This closeness helped them during the hardest times, especially migrating to the United States.
The sisters weren’t used to Ameri-can culture, but the support from each other has helped them prosper on and outside the tennis court.
“We always go together and it’s always great to have the support of your sister,” Dana said. “Even dur-ing matches she knows what to tell me, and I know what to tell her, it’s amazing that we have this possibility to be together.”
The connection is evident as they cheerfully talk about their experi-ences in the Valley so far, such as becoming friends with the workers at the school’s coffee stands, where they satisfy their cravings daily. In fact, the siblings complete each other’s sentences when explaining how much they like the cafeteria and its personnel.
“People here are very nice,” Za-lina said, opening her big green eyes
widely – one of the most evident dif-ferences of the sisters.
Dana is one inch taller than her sister and in contrast with to her sister’s green eyes and rather blond hair, her hair is almost black and her eyes are dark blue.
Another difference may be future plans after UTPA: Dana plans to at-tend law school after obtaining a po-litical science degree from UTPA while Zalina is studying graphic design and is still undecided on what the future will bring after graduation.
The juniors, who are also doubles partners, added that they communicate every day with their parents in Russia to tell them how things are going in school and tennis, and to seek for the support and approbation of their folks.
ALMOST HOMEUpon their arrival to UTPA,
the sisters said that they identi-fied with their teammates right away; after one semester of be-ing together, the members of the
group have bonded to become more than teammates.
“We’re like a big family, and we have people from all around the world,” said Zalina, who is 19 and 5-feet-8.
The UTPA women’s tennis team does sport a combination of people from different places of the globe. In addition to Malin Andersen from Swe-den and Retta Raty from Finland, who have been here for two years, the team received three international players last semester aside from the sisters.
Freshman Wanda Beguelin is French, Blanca Izaguirre is Mexican, and Sunny Strkic is from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“We’re always supporting each other,” Dana said. “It’s a very interesting experi-ence, we get to know so many cultures, their rules, their traditions, the way they act, everything…it’s very interesting.”
Although the team began the season with 7-0 losses against SMU and TCU two weekends ago, continued with a 7-0 setback against Texas State, and lost 6-1 to UTSA last weekend, Dana said
that progress is happening.“With every match we play bet-
ter and better, we keep improving,” she said.
The UTPA women’s program was se-lected by Great West Conference coach-es to repeat as conference champions this year over NJIT, which is expected to finish second, and North Dakota, who will supposedly come in third.
“Everybody wants to win this con-ference, it’s very important for us. We’re getting ready for it,” Zalina said.
So the women are on the same page when it comes to playing with a pur-pose. Head coach Taylor highlighted the importance of a team getting along on and off the tennis court, in order to embrace the friendship that links them beyond tennis matters.
“I always believe that they’re go-ing to play harder for each other if they’re friends with each other off the court, not just on the court,” he said. The women will take the court next on Saturday against Nicholls State in their first home match of the season. The series at the Orville Cox Tennis Center starts at 10 a.m.
ready for take off- Freshman Sharyland graduate Estevan Hernandez, is one of the newcomers of the UTPA track and field. team. He placed 29th in the 60-meter hurdles.
Hector Gonzalez/The Pan american
The 2011 season began for the UTPA track and field teams last week-end at the Houston Invitational with unsteady, but progressively better work on both the men’s and the women’s side.
“We had solid performances this past Saturday, we definitely could tell that it was the first meet of the year, we came out a little shaky, nothing to be really concerned about,” third-season head coach Dave Hartman said. “However, we know that we have a lot of work to do to be where we want to be.”
The athletes admit their performanc-es weren’t the best, but they note that they had been waiting to get back on the track for months.
“I was excited. I love competing and it was nice to finally be on the track rac-ing again,” said Andrew Lopez, one of the top finishers for the Broncs Satur-day.
The junior Nikki Rowe ex finished in seventh place in the mile run with a time of 4:22.17, followed ten spots behind by Omar Doria of Edinburg. Lopez also obtained 19th place in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:59.29.
Doria and Lopez were also part of the third-place team in the distance medley relay (DMR), in which legs run
1,200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters and 1,600 meters, in that order. Oth-er members of the relay were French freshman newcomer Martin Casse and TAMUK transfer Guillermo Martinez. UTPA ran a 1:20.94 DMR.
After a first-meet success, Lopez added that hopefully the entire team will get on the improvement track in order to meet the expectations set for this season.
“I expect our team to set goals and then train hard to meet those goals throughout the season,” Lopez said. “Personally, I want to continue to lower my times in my events and hopefully break a few school records and qualify to nationals while I’m at it.”
Moreover, sophomore Scott Bann from Long View, Texas led the Broncs in the shot put with a 14.09-meter toss. In the weight throw, senior McAllen na-tive Oscar Barrera was the best in the team and hit a 15.69-meter mark for a 14th-place finish.
On the women’s side, senior Melinda Sarmiento of Progreso was a personal standout for the Broncs, clearing the 5-foot-2 feet bar in the high jump for an eight-place finish. In that same event, freshman Alana Duval cleared 5-foot-1 meters.
“Every meet feels like it’s the first meet, you go out there and get things done,” Sarmiento said. “Competi-tion has always been a challenge and that is something I look forward to every meet.”
Sophomore Judith Chumba placed 19th in the mile run with a time of 5:21.28 and 31st in the 3,000-meter running a race of 11:11.52. Lilian Lagat
crossed the line in 25th place in the mile and 26th in the 3,000.
Sarmiento, last year’s Great West Conference indoor high-jump champi-on, added that although the performance of the team could have been better, the first meet is a good opportunity for new-comers who had never competed at the college level, let alone in an indoor track, to test the waters and get ready to work toward improving their marks.
“We have a fresh team, a lot of new athletes this year,” she said. “As a team we are looking forward to getting prac-tice and getting a feel for what needs to be done for the next meet. First meets are always a challenge and with experi-ence it lets us find a ways to get better.”
Unlike the usual 400-meter outdoor track, an indoor track is only 200 me-ters long, with steeper curves and short-er straightaways. The first part of the track and field season is always indoors and concludes when the team competes at the GWC Indoor Championships in late February.
The teams head to the Howie Ryan All Comers in Houston this weekend.
As UTPA finished the 2010 GWC Indoor Championships in fifth place on both the women’s and the men’s side, coaching staff and athletes believe this could be the year when the Broncs stand on the winners’ podium after the indoor season.
“I honestly believe that we can place in the top three in both indoor and out-door conference,” Bann said. “We have a very strong team this year.”
This year’s GWC Indoor Championships starts Feb. 27 in Newark, N.J.
First meet: down
By Sara Hernandez The Pan American
Track and field shakes off dust at Houston Invite
Russian sisters make UTPA home away from homeBy Sara Hernandez The Pan American
MEET THE NAZEROVAS AND FRIENDS Check out the women’s tennis photo gallery at PANAMERICANONLINE.COM