THURSDAYMarch 27, 2003

An Inside Look:

■ News ............................................3■ A & E............................................7■ Sports ........................................16

T h e S t u d e n t N e w s p a p e r o f T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f T e x a s - P a n A m e r i c a nPage 4

CCaammppuussVOICE

Do you thinkreporters should

be embeddedwith coalition

troops?

On March 15 Amy Moses made historywhen she was the first athlete to representthe University of Texas-Pan American atthe NCAA National Indoor Track andField Championships.

The 20-year-old from Edinburg NorthHigh School finished 15th at the 20-poundweight throw with a distance of 58 feetand 4 1/2 inches. Not bad for a girl whohas only been throwing the weight for alittle over a year.

"Amy had an incredible season and forher to even qualify was something,considering the fact that last year was the

first year she ever threw the weight," saidhead coach Ricky Vaughn. "She didn’t doexactly as well as we hoped but she willdefinitely learn from this."

A native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, theCanadian moved to the Valley in March1998 when her mother found a jobopportunity as a nurse at the McAllenMedical Center. The move was not thatbig of a cultural shock for Moses.

"It was weird at first but I was notintimidated by the different culturebecause my dad is black and my mom iswhite," Moses said. "I grew up livingwith different cultures."

She enrolled at Edinburg North HighSchool at the end of her sophomore year,

joined the track and field team and endedup the track and field MVP as asenior and went to state in thediscus throw, finishing fifth.

When she came to UTPA as afreshman in 2000, Moses foundherself without a coach to helpher on her technique.

"We didn’t really have acoach for throwers so the guys(throwers) would help me outwith my technique and stuff,"she said.

The arrival of Vaughn thevery next year had a big impacton Moses’ career. "He saw thepotential that I had and I

improved 13 feet since he got here,"Moses said.

But potential is not allthat is needed to besuccessful at the Division Ilevel; hard work anddedication are also keys.

Moses had to move backhome last summer tosupport her mother who hashad four surgeries in thepast year, which made itmore difficult financially forthe family. Through all theadversity, Moses kept her

■ Meet the new coach. . 15■ Lady Bronc Swamis. . .15■ Sports Clipboard . . . . .13

PAGE 16

SPORTS

The amazing freshmanfrom the Netherlands, OliverSteil, won his ninthconsecutive singles match topropel the University ofTexas-Pan American men’stennis team to a 5-2 win overvisiting Lamar University onSaturday at the Cox TennisCenter.

The win was UTPA’s fifthconsecutive victory and theyimproved to 8-4 and 1-1 inthe Southland Conference.The first year marvel Steilhas been very impressive oflate torching the competitionand running off wins in nineconsecutive matches bringinghis record to 11-2 in singlesplay for the season.

“Oliver is a very constantplayer, all aspects of hisgame are solid; he brings alot to our team,” said UTPAhead tennis coach ToddChapman. “I am notsurprised he is doing so well,what does surprise me is howhe adapted so well his firstyear in another country, incollege and all the pressureson him.”

Chapman believes there ismore to Steil’s success thansheer talent.

“I think with some

conditioning and work in theweight room his game willonly get better,” he said.

According to Steil - theRio Grande Valley transplant- personal records are anaccomplishment, but makinga contribution to the team iswhat really matters.

“I am happy to be herecontributing to this team, Iwant to work on my gameand improve,” he said.“Coach Chapman has beengreat helping me with manydifferent aspects of mygame.”

Steil who started playingtennis in the street with hisfather when he was five yearsold, has always looked up toGerman tennis great BorisBecker.

“I have always lovedwatching Boris Becker play,”he said. “I try to play like hedoes, with no fear and apassion for the game. Myfamily and I used to stay upall night watching tennis ontelevision and that’s where alot of love for the gamecomes from.”

While winning ninestraight singles contests sinceFeb. 12 against St. Mary’s isquite an accomplishment forSteil, the UTPA standoutfeels there is still work to bedone.

“All I want to do isimprove my singles anddoubles play so our teamcould make the NCAAnational tournament,” hesaid.

According to Chapman,doubles play continues to bethe prime area where theteam - including Steil - mustwork hard to improve.

“The team has madestrides, but this year’sdoubles has been our Achillesheel,” Chapman said. “Wegot caught in some closematches, and we didn’t makethe shots we needed. Weplayed well in singles.”

Finding success in his firstseason of collegiate tennis,Steil believes he can only getbetter, and believes the teamwill also improve.

“We have many of ourplayers coming back nextyear the sky is the limit,” hesaid.

Steil said he plans to stayin the United States aftergraduation.

“I think I would like tomaybe coach tennis,” he said.“I have learned a lot fromcoach Chapman.”

The Texas-Pan Americantennis teams will return toaction next Saturday, whenthey play Oral Roberts inArlington, Texas.

By NADER M. SIAMThe Pan American

Amy Moses

Steil captures ninestraight for Broncs

Practice makes perfect for Moses

Freshman standout continues to propel Broncs to success with nine consecutive wins

Photo by Nader M. Siam/The Pan American

Freshman Oliver Steil plays fifth and sixth singles for the UTPA men’s tennis team.

By ALEX GRAVELThe Pan American

See MOSES page 14

She led her family to Alamo eightyears ago looking for a better life.

“Venimos por necesidad (We camebecause of necessity),” Francisca, 47,said. “We needed to work and Iwanted my younger children to beable to attend school. Over there (inMexico) we could not afford forthem to go further than elementary.Here if you work you can at leastafford to eat. Over there the moneyyou make is not enough and there isno opportunityforadvancement.”

Just as manybefore them, thefamily crossedthe Rio Grande,or as they knowit, the RioBravo, to live inthe land ofopportunity.

At the timeher oldest child,Claudia, was 19and heryoungest, José Francisco, who liveswith her, was only eight. Her otherchildren Dulce, Emilio, and Sandrawere in between.

All the children moved to theUnited States voluntarily. Sandra, thefourth child, was going on 11 andhoped to study here.

“I wanted to come so that I couldattend school,” Sandra said. “Iwanted to study to be acosmetologist.”

Claudia was already married andher first child was three-months-oldwhen they moved. She and herhusband came to work.

“I came following my mom,”Claudia said. “We came to work andbetter our lives. In Mexico my sisterDulce and I started working at 15and my brother Emilio at 13. We stillweren’t making it. We knew it wouldbe better here.”

Upon arrival the family did notknow where to turn for assistance.Things were difficult for them thefirst two years they lived in the U.S.

“We went through some hard timeswhen we first moved,” Franciscasaid. “My daughter’s son was sosmall. We knew there was helpavailable, but we didn’t know whereto go.”

Although the rest of the familyadapted to the move well, after a year

of residing in theValley, Francisca’shusband decided tomove back to RioBravo, Tamaulipaswhere theyorignally movedfrom.

“He gotimpatient andcould notunderstand the wayof life here,"Francisca said.“We still have arelationship with

him. My children see him aboutthree to four times a year. He doesn’twant to come over here and wedon’t want to go back. Maybe whenJosé Francisco is done with schoolwe can move back. It is going to beup to him.”

Then two years after the moveand after the couple had anotherbaby, Claudia’s husband alsoreturned to Mexico, but not bychoice.

“We had some problems in ourmarriage,” Claudia said. “He hit meonce during a fight and the policewere called. He was deported.”

Claudia remarried five years agoand now has another boy who isthree years old. Dulce is alsomarried and has four children.Emilio and his wife have three

While many people take the basic necessities of life for granted,there are some families, particularly along the U.S.-Mexico

border, that survive without even a source of clean water

(Above) - The yard beside the home of Francisca Vasquez and heryoungest son, José Francisco, is cluttered with possessions because theirhome is not large enough to accommodate them.

Francisca Vasquez, a coloniaresident in Alamo, talks while threeof her grandchildren, Joanna, Ismaeland Ernesto, play. Francisca, anative of Mexico, has lived in theUnited States for eight years.

Between Two Worlds

By AMELIA GARCIAThe Pan American

Over there themoney you make

is not enoughand there is noopportunity foradvancement.

“

“

- Francisca Vasquez,colonia resident

F rancisca Vásquez and her 16-year-old son

live in a shack smaller than some closets,

without running water or electricity. But

she says, “No tengo de que quejar me (I have

nothing to complain about).”

See FAMILY page 12

Ashley Brooks/The Pan American

Ashley Brooks/The Pan American

Praise for Davila’s storyDear Editor,Thank you for printing the article of the

American solders now in Iraq. The manon the front page is my dad, Alex DavilaSr., and Alex Jr. is my older brother. Myname is Annette Contreras and I live inWisconsin. I have not seen my brother inover a year.

When I read the story it touched myheart, and right now my whole family istaking it very hard, especially my parents.When the article came out, it made myfamily very proud of my brother. For theperson who wrote the article and put thepictures together, I just wanted to say,“thank you.”

Annette ContrerasP.S. - My kids loved seeing their grand-

pa and uncle in the paper, so thanks again.

More Davila Dear Editor,I have to say, The Pan American did a

marvelous piece on my Uncle and won-derful, fearless cousin, Alex Davila Jr. Iknow that my entire family is grateful inyour honoring his position in this terriblewar.

Although if I could point out one veryimportant fact and I know my cousinwould appreciate it. He is married to awonderful, faithful woman, Zelma Davila,and they have two beautiful young daugh-ters, Annecia and Abrie. They are worthmentioning, for they are at a true losswithout their companion, husband anddad.

Thanks again for a wonderful anddeserving story.

Deanna R. Vereb, cousin to AlexDavila

Houston

Their right to say itDear Editor,Alright kids, I attended the peace rally

held on campus. Mind you I was not therein any way to show my support for theevent. In fact I strongly agree with andsupport the current direction our adminis-tration is heading in, well the war effortactually.

I didn’t vote for the yahoos, but once inoffice I try to only see and support theoffice of Presidency. I attended the peacerally because I DO strongly support peo-ple’s right to speak their minds. I alsowanted to hear arguments against the war;I’m not omnipotent, and the facts I havemay be wrong.

I wasn’t swayed by any of the argu-ments, except not to judge all Muslims bythe actions of a few. Of course, I knewthis already; good Texan upbringing.

I still support the war effort, and I sup-port the idea of students and staff to beable to express their ideas on campus, tospeak freely on whatever they want.

Again, I support the war. Fine, I’llagree, it’s not in my backyard, or even on

my continent, and I’m not all to fond ofthe folks in the Middle East. Again theseare personal opinions that I am allowed toexpress on campus and in this nation, andI like this.

Though I didn’t in anyway agree withthe rally, I gladly was there to observeand see people using their right to freespeech. Have I mentioned I strongly sup-port the war idea? Or the idea of remov-ing Saddam? Because I do.

“If all young people in America were toact as you intend to act, the countrywould be defenseless and easily deliveredinto slavery.” Albert Einstein in a Letterto a pacifist, 1941.

Rene Villalon Jr.Senior

Psychology Department

Marine supporterDear Editor,Early in my youth, I decided that one

day I would be part of the United StatesArmed Forces. It simply made sense tome that any honorable citizen should dohis or her part to serve this country. Itdidn't necessarily have to be military serv-ice but any other volunteer work wouldcertainly benefit this nation.

Several years later I dragged my parentsto the Marine Recruiting office to sign forme (I was only seventeen), and spent mysenior year in high school wondering whyit was that I wanted to be a U.S. Marineso bad. Joining the service wasn't exactlypopular in my sphere of influence.Students and friends would continuallyask me why I had chosen to leave and tothe Marines, "where you will surely 'die'".

I had a hard time responding and myanswer was never clearly understood bythem.

One day I found myself reading a booktitled “Night” by Elie Wiesel for myEnglish class. Although senioritis had def-initely set-in, I could not seem to pullmyself away from this book. It greatlyupset me to read how horrid the Jewishpopulation in Europe had been treated bythe Nazis, especially the Gestapo and thesecret police. As I finished reading thebook, I slammed it on my desk and real-ized, "That's it! That's why I am join-ing."

Throughout Wiesel's entire account, Iwas distraught by the fact that theseJewish civilians were helpless anddefenseless against the Nazi regime. Thisoppressing government needed to meet itsmatch and the United States ArmedForces would be it. I decided the focalpoint of me having joined the MarineCorps was to aid the oppressed and inpreventing such atrocities like theHolocaust from happening in my genera-tion.

I understood I would be at the mercy ofmy government but unlike so many peopleof my age group, I had faith in it.

In 1997, I graduated from high schooland left for Marine boot-camp two days

later. During my four years of service, theMarine Corps changed my life and Ienjoyed every bit of it. Although I wasnever summoned to war, and I’m gratefulfor that, I did manage to travel and meetsome of the people of the world.

The "hate" that the world seems to havefor the U.S. is grotesquely exaggerated bythe media and even professors. If therewas only one way I could describe all thepeople I came across whether in Australia,Singapore, Tonga, or Fiji, it would be tosay that we are truly all the same. Weshared the same thoughts, experiences,smiles, and feelings no matter what partof the globe we found ourselves in. Oncethe language barrier had been breached,there was no stopping the camaraderiethat ensued.

However, there was one place thatamazed me the most and that was Kuwaitand its people. I spent a few weeks thereas a part of the 10th anniversary of theliberation of Kuwait. President GeorgeBush, Sr., Margaret Thatcher, ColinPowell, and General Schwarzkopf wereamong the people in attendance. Yet, Iwas much more excited to have met theKuwaiti people.

I saw in their eyes and heard in theirwords the appreciation they felt for ourpresence in their country. They slept wellat night knowing the U.S. Marines werestanding guard on their borders ready forany Iraqi onslaught that might occur. Thatis the closest I ever came to realizing mygoal of being part of a force that protecteda peaceful people.

After having studied the Persian GulfWar and the Somali Crisis, I theoreticallylectured to my Marines that "we" were thegeneration of the desert. Not in a romanticsense, but in preparation for a possiblefuture war. I left the Marine Corps in June2001 only to experience September 11outside my tour of service. This eventfound the American Forces in Afghanistanand now in Iraq fighting terrorism andtyranny.

As much as I wish things could besolved peacefully, war neverthelessremains the last resort to ensure the secu-rity of this nation. War continues to behell, and this nation never fails to producethe great men and women in whom weentrust to carry out the decisions of thisnation's leaders. While we keep them inour hearts, thoughts, and prayers, take sol-ace in knowing that their unselfish actionswill free the people of a nation terrorizedfor way too long. And in recognition oftheir accomplishments, I am reminded ofwhat a U.S. President (Reagan) once said;"Some people spend an entire lifetimewondering if they've made a difference.The Marines don't have that problem."

Long live the United States, and successto the Marines.

Semper Fi,

Adrian MoralesSophomore, UTPA Student

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

http://www.panam.edu/dept/panamerican51st Year – No. 21

EditorMatt Lynch

mlynch@panam.edu

Layout Designers

Ashley Brooks

Gabriel O. Hernandez

Reporters

Hilda Barrientes

Juan Flores

Amelia Garcia

Alex Gravel

Aaron Lozano

Clarissa Martinez

Luis Saavedra

Nader M. Siam

Jennifer Tapia

Arianna Vazquez

Photographer

Daniel Aguilar

Circulation

Joe Rodriguez

Advertising Coordinator

Dagoberto Perez

Adviser

Dr. Greg Selber

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

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

Letters policy

March 27 2 0 0 3

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

Sports EditorEd Chrnko

echrnko@yahoo.com

A & E EditorAshley Brooks

Magrew2@hotmail.com

News EditorBelinda Reyes

beberay25@aol.com

Graphics EditorGabriel O.Hernandez

gabo296@hotmail.com

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

The Pan American wants to hear what you have to say about stories,current events or anything you want to rant about. Send your responsesto panameditor@hotmail.com

GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?

March 27, 2003 sports Page 15

Date Opponent Result SiteFeb. 1 SWT W 11-3 HFeb. 2 Sch. (DH) W 13-4 HFeb. 2 Schreiner W 7-1 HFeb. 10 Lamar (DH) L 10-16 HFeb. 10 Lamar W 3-2 HFeb. 11 Lamar L 2-9 HFeb. 14 California L 5-20 AFeb. 15 Nebraska L 1-9 AFeb. 16 SWT. L 3-12 AFeb. 19 Inc. Word (DH) L 8-12 (10) HFeb. 19 Inc. Word W 4-0 HFeb. 22 Ark.-Monticello (DH) W 15-0 HFeb. 22 Ark.-Monticello W 2-1 HFeb. 23 Ark.-Monticello L 5-6 HFeb. 26 Texas Tech - CanceledFeb. 27 Texas Tech - CanceledMar. 1 TAMUCC (DH) W 15-2, W 6-5 HMar. 2 TAMUCC L 7-3 HMar. 4 Reynosa (Exhib.) L 7-4 HMar. 7 TAMU L 14-2 AMar. 8 TAMU L 7-5 AMar. 9 TAMU L 7-4 AMar. 11 Sam Houston State W 3-2 (10) HMar. 12 Sam Houston State L 14-5 H

UTPA/Al Ogletree Classic (March 14-16)Mar. 14 Iona vs. Illinois 5-1 Illinois N/AMar. 14 Prairie View W 16-3 HMar. 15 Iona vs. Prairie View 9-1 Iona N/AMar. 15 Illinois L 4-0 HMar. 16 Illinois vs. Prairie View 13-0 Illinois N/AMar. 16 Iona W 9-8 H

Mar. 17 Iona W 6-1 HMar. 18 Iona W 14-2 HMar. 26 SWT (DH) L 5-0, L 9-4 A

Date Opponent Site Time

Mar. 28 Dallas Baptist H 7 p.m.Mar. 29 Dallas Baptist H 4 p.m.Apr. 1 TAMUK (DH) H 3 p.m.Apr. 5 TAMUCC (DH) A 1 p.m.Apr. 6 TAMUCC A 1 p.m.Apr. 8 Texas A 6:30 p.m.Apr. 11 Oral Roberts A 7 p.m.Apr. 12 Oral Roberts A 3 p.m.Apr. 13 Oral Roberts A 1 p.m.Apr. 15 Oklahoma St. A 6:30 p.m.Apr. 16 Oklahoma St. A NoonApr. 22 Texas A 6:30 p.m.Apr. 23 Texas-San Antonio A 1 p.m.Apr. 30 Texas-San Antonio (DH) H 5 p.m.May 2 Southeastern LA A 6:30 p.m.May 3 Southeastern LA A 3:30 p.m.May 4 Southeastern LA A 1 p.m.May 16 NMSU (DH) A 2/8 p.m.May 17 NMSU (DH) A 2/8 p.m.

UTPA Baseball Schedule

New coach prepared toguide Lady Broncs to wins

With their fourth head coach inthree years, the Lady Broncbasketball team seems to be in verygood hands to start working towardnext season. DeAnn Craft will leadthe women next season as they willtry to keep moving in the rightdirection.

Craft knows her basketball andunderstands what her players haveto face. She grew up in a family inwhich basketball was verypresent. Her father andbrother both played at thecollegiate level.

She was an outstandingcollege basketball playerat Central Florida,averaging 20.9 points pergame as a senior in 1987,ranked among the top 40players nationally inscoring, and leading thenation with a free-throw percentageof 92.6 percent.

Craft began her coaching careeras a graduate assistant at CentralFlorida before taking on a four-yearassistant coaching position atWichita State.

As a head coach, Craft compileda 66-30 record in a three-year stintat the helm of Cowley CountyCommunity College in Arkansas

City, Kan.Afterward, Craft became assistant

coach for the Richmond Rage of theAmerican Basketball League. Whenthe ABL folded, Craft became thetop assistant coach and recruitingcoordinator at San Diego State.

After a year at San Diego State,Craft became Lamar’s head coach.Under Craft’s tutelage, Lamarposted a 12-16 record during the2000-2001. The Cardinals finished10-10 in the Southland Conferencethat year, their best conference

finish ever."I owe a great deal of

my basketball backgroundto my father and brother,"said Craft, who takes overfor Tracy Anderson at thehelm of a team that wonseven games this season."They have beeninstrumental in myknowledge of the game

and in teaching me thesportsmanship that is involved."

Craft will bring her experience toa Lady Bronc team who will needstrong recruiting to be competitivein the next few seasons.

"My experience at otherinstitutions, the maturity I’ve gainedthrough the profession and therecruiting contacts I’ve maintainedwill be beneficial in helping to leadthis program," said Craft. "I believe

that if we can focus on surroundingthe nucleus of returners with a moreconsistent quality of skilled players,the program can make a turn tostability."

The Lady Broncs will return twostarters from this year’s squad, pointguard Amanda Carlow and shootingguard Jennifer Piwonka, and willonly have two seniors on the roster.

"We lost four seniors who playeda lot of minutes and there’s bigshoes to fill," said guard MaryDecock.

"I think we need quicker guardsand bigger posts so we can matchup against both more athletic andbigger teams," said Carlow.

The fans can look forward to awell balanced team in whichteamwork will be in display.

"I think we’ll all contribute and Idon’t think we’ll have only one ortwo players stepping up everynight," said Decock.

"My goal with young people is toteach ‘them before self’ and if thatgoal is accomplished, the victorieswill fall into place," said Craft.

Craft is ready to lead the LadyBroncs and likes what the futureholds for her team.

"I accepted the position at UTPAbecause I believe that with the rightoutside support, the women’sbasketball program is at its turningpoint," she said.

By ALEX GRAVELThe Pan American

The Sweet 16 is set for theNCAA women’s basketballtournament and the two Texaspowerhouses are still standing.

The Texas Longhorns in theWest and theTexas Tech LadyRaiders in theMidwest wereboth seededsecond and hadno majortroubles gettingthrough. TheLady Raiders

had a scare in the second roundagainst UC-Santa Barbara, butheld on to win it by four, 72-68.

Two other teams from the LoneStar State made it to the bigdance. Texas Christian University,seeded no. 9 in the East, fell tothe defending championUniversity of Connecticut in thesecond round, 81-66. SouthwestTexas State fell in the first roundto a much more talented andathletic Louisiana StateUniversity, 86-50.

It seems like number three wasan unlucky number in this year’stourney, as those seeds lost alltheir second round matchups.

All the number one and numbertwo seeds remain and the biggestupset of the tournament so farcame in the East with no. 11Notre-Dame beating no. 3 KansasState in the second round, 59-53,to earn a match against the no. 2seed in the East, PurdueUniversity.

The Lady Raiders will faceNew Mexico on Saturday, whilethe Longhorns will be back inaction on Sunday againstMinnesota for a chance toadvance to the Elite 8.

As for my picks, Villanova,UConn, Duke and Texas willreach the Final Four, and UConnwill take the title.

SSoommee ooff tthhee LLaaddyy BBrroonnccss’’ ppiicckkssffoorr tthhee FFiinnaall FFoouurr::

Assistant coachKate GalliganFinal Four:Tennessee,UConn, Texas,Duke

Champ: Duke

Senior NaimaWilliamsFinal Four:Tennessee,UConn, LSU,Duke

Champ: UConn

SophomoreJennifer ArriolaFinal Four:Villanova,UConn, Texas,Duke

Champ: Duke

Junior MaryDeCockFinal Four:Colorado,UConn,Minnesota, Duke

Champ: UConn

Senior Michelle SmithFinal Four:Tennessee,UConn, Texas,Duke

Champ: UConn

Soph. ClarisseArredondoFinal Four:Tennessee,UConn, LSU,Duke

Champ: Duke

Senior JuliePorterFinal Four:Tennessee,UConn, LSU, Duke

Champ: Duke

Soph. JenniferPiwonkaFinal Four:Tennessee,UConn, Texas,Duke

Champ: UConn

• Alex Gravel is a sports reporterfor The Pan American, as well asUTPA’s all-time leading scorer inwomen’s basketball history.

State of Texas well represented inWomen’s NCAA Tourney where toughest

teams set to collideBy ALEX GRAVELThe Pan American

NCAA pick ’em:team sounds off

DeAnn Craft

COMMENTARY

UTPA Track & Field Schedule

Date Opponent Site

March 29 Angela Proctor Open EdinburgApr. 3-5 Texas Relays AustinApr. 12 Stephen F. Austin

Dogwood Inv. SFAApr. 18-19 Southwestern Bell

Classic WacoApr. 24-26 Drake Relays Des MoinesMay 3 Texas Invitational AustinMay 17 UTPA Open EdinburgMay 30-31 NCAA Regionals LincolnJune 11-14 NCAA Championships Sacramento

UTPA Men’s Tennis Schedule

Date Opponent Site

March 29 Oral Roberts ArlingtonMarch 30 *Texas-Arlington Arlington Apr. 4 Texas A&M-CC Corpus ChristiApr. 5 *Centenary UTPAApr. 9 Rice Houston Apr. 12 *UTSA UTPAApr. 25-27 *Conf.Tourney SA

Bold indicates Home Match* indicates Southland Conference match

UTPA Women’s Tennis Schedule

Date Opponent SiteApr. 5 Centenary UTPAApr. 12 Texas A&M-CC UTPAApr. 16 McNeese State UTPA

Bold indicates home match

UTPA Men’s Golf Schedule

Date Opponent Site

Apr. 7-8 Diet Pepsi ShockerClassic Wichita, KS

May 9-11 National Minority Golf Championships Pt. St. Lucie

UTPA Women’s Golf Schedule

Date Opponent Site

April 9-12 EKU Lady Colonel Classic Richmond KY

May 9-11 National Minority Golf Championships Pt. St. Lucie

Bold indicates home event

Other Schedules

March 27, 2003 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 3

NEWS■ Ochoa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5■ Business Ethics . . . . . . . . . 5■ Colonia Residents . . . . . . . 6

Ten years after his death, the people of SouthTexas still remember one of their most valuedheroes. This Saturday, the city of Edinburg willhost the second annual Cesar E. Chavez DayCelebration beginning with a march at 9 a.m.,from 10th Street and West University Drive,proceeding down to Sugar Road and north to theEdinburg Baseball Stadium.

The festivities will continue at the stadiumwith speakers, entertainment, food booths andexhibits until 1 p.m.

The celebration is an event designed toacknowledge the life of Chavez, a leader whostirred millions of Americans to seek socialjustice and civil rights for the poor in society andmeanwhile grabbed the attention of the nation.

Chavez, who died in 1993 at age 66, wasborn in Arizona and began life as a migrantworker. The World War II veteran labored in thefields of California and became a leading laboractivist. He is remembered for many things,among them the grape boycott he led in theearly 1970s.

Most of his work came on behalf of theUnited Farmworkers. Founded by Chavez in the1960s, the UFW was created to organizeagricultural workers in demonstrating for theirrights, many of them Mexican-Americans.

It has been over 30 years since the UFWinitially started working for the rights of migrantworkers and yet it is continuously active.Chavez was one of the most influential peoplewho joined the fight to gain respect forfieldworkers, and he stands as one major symbolof the farmworker struggle which continuestoday. He is perhaps the best known Latinopolitical figure, along the lines of freedomfighters like Che Guevara as an icon formillions.

The people of the Valley, who were involved

in their ownstruggles forlabor rights inthat era, willjoin togetherin Edinburg,Weslaco, andother towns, tocelebrate thememory ofChavez.

ManuelOchoa is theco-chairmanof the eventand hopes thatthecommunitywill beanxious toparticipate inthe activities.

“We’re hoping to bring an awareness aboutHispanic leaders that need to be recognized, andthe public will see that they can accomplishwhatever they want to,” Ochoa said.“Considering the large number of Hispanicsliving in the area we really wanted to bringsomething like this to the people, somethingthey can relate to.”

This community event has sponsors rangingfrom around South Texas, including theMcAllen Hispanic Chamber of Commerce,Region One Education Service Center, TexasAttorney General’s Office, Texas MigrantCouncil, Texas Workforce Solutions, La Joyaschool district, Mission High School, andUnited Farm Workers.

Cynthia Sakulenzki, President of the McAllenHispanic Chamber of Commerce, sad that alongwith the celebration on Saturday, Friday nightwill be special to students across the area, fromBrownsville to Laredo. One hundred of the top

migrant students from Region I, along with theirparents, will be recognized at a dinner receptionwith keynote Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, daughterof the late Robert F. Kennedy and a humanrights activist. Immediately after the dinnerreception there will be a private cocktailreception for the sponsors at the home ofHidalgo County Judge Ramon Garcia.

“The migrant students will be able to beinvolved with this great speaker who willeducate them to what he (Chavez) did for themand their families,” Sakulenzki said. “Chavezdedicated his entire life to bring relief to themigrant workers to change the agricultural lawsand issues such as the restricting house policies.We are just giving something back.“

Ochoa agrees with Sakulenzki and thinks thatstudents will be very exited to hear the speaker.

“I think the youth will identify with it [thedinner and celebration],” Ochoa said. “They willdefinitely feel good when they see the

recognition that Hispanic people can receive.” Sakulenzki also said that this will not only

bring acknowledgment to a great man, but to themigrant workers and everything they have beenthrough as well. They are beneficiaries of thehard work that the devoted Chavez did.

Yet while the youth of South Texas are beingexposed to a part of their history, othergenerations are able to open a window to theirpast experiences.

Yolanda Martinez, a longtime resident ofMercedes, knows about the benefits that Chavezwas fighting so strongly for. She began migrantwork with her family in first grade and didn’tstop until she graduated high school. Martinezsaid she would leave school in March andalways start several months into the new schoolyear due to the different crop seasons.

“I first heard about Cesar and all he wasdoing for the people when I was in college,”Martinez said. “I had already stopped migrantwork, but my friends and I were so glad thatsomeone would do that for us. It was finallytime that someone to take a stand.”

Martinez said that she still remembers theproblems that they faced while traveling throughnorthern states. Public housing was sometimesso poor that there was no indoor plumbing forthe separate families.

“The wages were so low considering thework we were doing, and I still remember howawful it was when pesticide would be sprayedover the fields where we would be working,”she said.

Although now a elementary school teacherwith children who will never know what it feltlike to work as migrants, Martinez never forgotwhat Chavez did for her and her future.

“I would love to attend an event thatcelebrated the life of Cesar,” she said. “Eventhough times are still tough for migrant workers,it could have been a lot worse if Cesar didn’tfight for us.”

By CLARISSA MARTINEZThe Pan American

Chavez march remembers leader

Cesar E. Chavez

Though the month of March is almost over,the South Texas Red Cross Chapter celebratedits annual Red Cross Month by spreadinginformation about the services they provide forthe Rio Grande Valley. Members alsocelebrated the history of The American RedCross.

According to Michael Huckabee, executivedirector of the South Texas Chapter, the localchapter was formed July 1, 1998 by a mergerof the two remaining chapters serving theRGV.

The two were originally the West CameronCounty Chapter and the Rio Grande ValleyChapter.

“Now there is one Red Cross Chapterserving the entire Valley, the South TexasChapter,” Huckabee said.

Huckabee said that most people do not knowthe Red Cross is not a government agency.Therefore the organization is not funded by thegovernment. One hundred percent of fundsused to provide Red Cross services come from

donations made by individuals, organizations,business and corporations.

“Not one penny from the government and/oryour tax dollars,” Huckabee said.

Although there is a paid staff whose primaryduty is to make certain of the delivery of RedCross services, it is a volunteer runorganization. There is a Board of Directorsmade up of volunteers from throughout theValley, Huckabee added.

The American Red Cross was chartered bythe United States Congress in 1905 and is incharge of two specific tasks: disasterpreparedness and relief, and Armed ForcesEmergency Services.

When a catastrophic event takes place, suchas a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, flood, theAmerican Red Cross is there to provide reliefand assistance to the victims. When no suchevents are taking place the American RedCross is still there 365 days a year to help thosein need in any other disaster such as a singlefamily fire.

“If you and your family are standing outsideyour destroyed home in nothing but yourbathrobes, have nothing left and no where to

go,” Huckabee said. “That is a disaster and theSouth Texas Chapter is there to help.”

Another service the Red Cross provides andpeople are not aware of is Armed ForcesEmergency Communications. When there isan emergency in a Service member’s family,the family is encouraged to contact the Chapterwho will then verify the emergency with theassistance of hospitals, doctors and funeralhomes, etc. Then, the Chapter will deliver averified Red Cross message to the Servicemember who can take that message to his orher Commanding Officer to request EmergencyLeave if needed.

Since the formation of the South TexasChapter, the Valley has been helped in a varietyof ways.

At this time Red Cross stations throughoutthe Valley are collecting “quality of life items”to send to the troops who fighting in the waragainst Iraq and is requesting the Communitysupport the unexpected expense to send all theitems over seas.

“There is bombing going on over there andwe want to help the troops in every which waywe can,” Huckabee said.

By HILDA BARRIENTESThe Pan American

Red Cross busy year ‘round■ Over $27,000 was provided to ValleyServicemen and women in Emergency ReliefGrants.

■ The South Texas Chapter has respondedto 565 disasters ranging from Single FamilyFires to Hurricane Bret, from localizedflooding to windstorms, from the South PadreIsland Bridge Collapse to a motel fire,spending over $558,000 in Direct DisasterRelief.

■ 2766 emergency messages have beendelivered from Valley families to Servicemenand women stationed throughout the world.

To become a volunteer call or stop by thenearest South Texas Chapter office. InBrownsville, 700 E. Levee, Suite 207, 541-5206, in Harlingen, 16281 N. Expressway 83,423-0523, or in Pharr, 425 W. State St., 787-7851.

To make a financial contribution, P.O. Box2202, Harlingen, Texas, 78551-2202. Alldonations made to the South Texas Chapter,unless designated otherwise, remain in theValley to assist in providing Red CrossServices to Valley residents.

RED CROSSINFORMATION

Photo: WWW. SFSU.EDU

March 27, 2003 sports Page 14

SWT sweeps UTPAThe Southwest Texas State Bobcats took Wednesday

night’s double header against the Broncs, winning thefirst game 5-0, and the nightcap 9-4. UTPA’s LouieAlamia extended his hitting streak to 21 games, oneshy of the school record.

Broncs reschedule games

UTPA’s baseball game against Dallas Baptist onSaturday, March 29 has been rescheduled to 4 p.m. Thegame was originally scheduled to be played at 7 p.m.On April 1, Pan Am’s single game against Texas A&M-Kingsville has been rescheduled to a doubleheader andwill begin at 3 p.m.

On March 25, the Broncs’ game against SouthwestTexas State was rained out after two scoreless innings.The game was made up on March 26 as part of adoubleheader.

Men take 19th, womencapture 12th in recent eventsThe University of Texas-Pan American men’s golf

team finished 19th at the 22-team FurmanIntercollegiate at the Furman University Golf Courseon March 23. UTPA finished with a 54-hole total of935. Virginia Tech won the tournament with an 869total. On March 25, the women’s golf team finished

12th at the 12-team Baylor-Tapatio Springs Shootoutat the Tapatio Springs Resort in Waco. The LadyBroncs finished the 54-hole tournament with a total of1,003. Illinois won the tournament with a 918 score.

Track and field athletes setpersonal records

UTPA’s track and field team set 12 personal recordsat the UTSA/Whataburger Relays held at GustafsonStadium last Saturday in San Antonio. SophomoreWestly Keating placed third overall in the hurdles(14.52 seconds) and sophomore Marlin Manley wasplaced second in the high jump at 6-8. Freshman AmyTorvik finished in second place at 400 meters (57.24seconds).

Sophomore Rowena Hamlet also notched a personalbest at the 400 (57.61 seconds). Freshman JessicaEhimika won her division at 400 meters in 1:01:85while five Lady Broncs had personal bests in the1,500-meter run.

Middleweights set forshowdown in Philly

Frenchman Mourade Hakkar will take on BernardHopkins of Philadelphia for his undisputedmiddleweight title in a 12-round bout at the FirstUnion Spectrum (broadcast on HBO) in Philadelphiaon March 29.

SSPPOORRTTSS CCLLIIPPBBOOAARRDD head up and found anew dedication to hersport.

"I learned todedicate myself andput my whole heartinto something and itbrought me somethinggood," she said.

Moses’ dailyworkout is at least 3and-a-half hours longand consists of manythings. She starts offby warming up for 30minutes on the trackby doing somespinning drills andstretching. Then ittakes her about anhour and a half toexecute at least 30throws, before she hitsthe weight room foranother hour and ahalf.

"It is hard to find atime for everythingbut I find a way to getit done," she said.

Getting to thenationalchampionships is anexperience that Moseswill never forget. "Itwas awesome and itwas overwhelming,"she said. "It’s amazingthat God blessed mewith this opportunity

considering all thecircumstances thatwere going on withmy family this pastyear."

Moses’ future plansare to make it to theOlympic tryouts in2004 and eventuallythrow for Canada inthe Olympics. Untilthen, she will keepworking to try toimprove her distancesin the weight throwand the hammerthrow.

"This year I want tohit 205 feet in thehammer throw," shesaid. "I am now at195 feet."

Moses will have achance to see whereher hard work istaking her thisSaturday, at theAngela ProcterInvitational, here atthe UTPA track. Herperformance will notcount for the NCAAsince she isredshirting theoutdoor track season,but it will give hermore experience incompetition. Thethrowing events willkick off at 11 a.m.

MOSES continued from page 16

March 27, 2003 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 4

Adriana GarciaMusicSophomore

It’s okay because they choose to go. Ifthey want to risk their lives it’s for thegood of keeping us informed.

Sandra AlcocerSocial Studies CompositeJunior

Yes, because the public has theright to know what’s going on first-hand and by having a reporterpresent, people get a better accountof the reality of war.

Ganti Raghavender RaoManufacturing EngineeringGraduate

Yes. Absolutely. That would relieve usof the blame that has been cast uponus and to show the world that we areright.

Do you think reportersshould be embedded with

coalition troops?

Anant R. DeshpandeManufacturing EngineeringGraduate

Yes. Reporters are the bridging gapbetween the world which consists ofcommoners and the men of war. It isbecause of reporters that the world isshown the true picture.

VOICECCaammppuuss

Mariel PerezPre PharmacyFreshman

No, because I think about their familiesand their safety. In my opinion we haveenough technology and the means to findout the news without risking human lives.

March 27, 2003 Sports Page 13

March 27, 2003 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 5March 27, 2003 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 12

City politics have always had an importantrole to play in the Rio Grande Valley, and withthe area growing at record rates between 1990and 2000, stewardship of local institutions hasbecome even more vital.

In Edinburg, the latest population figure was48,000, up more than 15,000 from the last U.S.Census. For the past decade, Joe Ochoa has hadthe honor of being the leader of the communityby serving as mayor of Edinburg.

Ochoa first took office in 1993, and has sinceserved four terms as mayor. Before becomingmayor, Ochoa served three terms on theEdinburg School Board and has been a pastboard member of Edinburg Hospital, EdinburgJaycees and Lions Club. The local businessowner is a graduate of Edinburg High Schooland the University of Texas-Austin, where heearned a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy.

He’s had a decade to work for Edinburg, andwill be tested this spring in elections, as RichardGarcia has decided to challenge for the position.

A Chance to ChangeIn a recent Monitor article Ochoa said that in

the past 10 years the city has put more cops onthe streets and increased the budget of thevolunteer fire department’ as well as createdmore playground and softball space to thecommunity.

Other issues that Ochoa has tackled in thepast include the decline of the unemploymentrate from 19 percent in 1990 to 11 percenttoday. Although that rate is still relatively highin comparison to statewide levels of six percent,Ochoa knows that the decrease is what countsin the community.

“If you survey the community of Edinburg,you see that the social activities have improvedand that we have here what a family would liketo call a home,” he said.

Ochoa has also tried to bring new business tothe city; some ventures have failed, some havesucceeded. The water park has gone belly-up,and the CarMike Theater has been an up-and-down proposition, but the Edinburg

Roadrunners baseball club has done well here.The most recent addition is a new call center inEdinburg that will create more than 500 newjobs and an economic impact of $27.3 millionto the area that was announced at a pressconference March 19.

“We are pleased that MerkafonTeleperformance selected Edinburg as thelocation to expand its operations.” Ochoa said.“We’re especially proud to bring in very muchneeded jobs to our community and being able toattract such a respected world widecorporation.”

Merkafon Teleperformance, the leadingprovider of Spanish and bilingual Teleservicesin Latin America, will open a call center at 1701S. Closner in June, operating out of a formergrocery store building. The expansion intoEdinburg is fueled by MerkafonTeleperformance’s continued push to providecustomer support services to the growingHispanic market in the United States.

"Economic development brings, jobseconomic development brings security andeconomic development improves the quality oflife,” Ochoa said at the March press conference.“Without partnerships, without teamwork, suchprojects like this would not happen. I am veryhonored that the State of Texas was able tocome here and help the City of Edinburg andthe Rio Grande Valley to once again be able toimprove economic development.”

Ramiro Garza, executive director of theEdinburg Economic Development Corporation,said that one of the more successful projects thathas been created is the Edinburg 20/20 CulturalCommittee. This committee is one of the mostversatile in the city since it deals with issuesvarying from the landscaping and sidewalks tocultural tributes such as the Tejano Walk ofFame.

“The city needs the support of thecommunity to be successful, it can’t run totallyon its own,” Garza said. “This committee thatMayor Ochoa acknowledged is one that Iconsider the most successful developmentswe’ve created,” Garza said.

Garza explained that another largeaccomplishment has been the construction of

the Cornerstone Boulevard area, which hasadded more businesses and opportunities to thecommunity in the area bordering NorthMcAllen.

A Community Within a CommunityAt UTPA, the sense of community runs from

students and faculty to staff and visitors tocampus. The whole group of roughly 17,000 isalso a part of the Edinburg community.

“The university is such an important part ofthe Edinburg economy as well as the RioGrande Valley,” Ochoa said. “Not only does itsupply education to the people, but it bringsbusiness to the area. It’s a source ofcommunication for the people.”

Ochoa explained that as the economy evolvesalong with the university, there is always needfor the city to watch the university and for bothcommunities to be aware of helping the other.

Garza also feels that the connection betweenthe university and the city has improved overthe last several years. Joining the University ofTexas system certainly has proven to be a boonfor the city and university alike. There havebeen many joint ventures since then as theuniversity’s financial situation has improved.One example was the collaboration UTPA haswith the city concerning the Edinburg BaseballStadium. The students are not only allowed toparticipate as athletes on the field, but duringthe day, they have the permission to park on theland. The baseball Broncs use the stadium fortheir home games.

“The city was enhanced with the recreationalactivities UTPA has provided the city throughthe stadiums and the games,” Garza said. “It’screated yet another connection between the cityand university.”

Election TimeMay 3 marks the day that Edinburg will have

city and school elections and Joe Ochoa’s namewill once again be on the ballot. Ochoaannounced his reelection at the Echo Hotel inEdinburg. In the election he will be challengedby Garcia, a McAllen-based attorney who filedas a candidate Feb 25.

Ochoa said that he hopes that he will be able

to continue working as mayor to further theproduction that the city has been seeing. Hewants to focus on the improvement of thepublic library and especially to focus on themedical research that can be conducted in thecity and at the university.

ComplicationsNo matter how well a city does, there will

always be complaints or criticisms coming upduring election time. When it comes to cityofficials, there is always pressure to be moresuccessful in the future.

Ochoa has his supporters and his detractors aswell. One of his most consistent critics has beenthe local newspaper, the Edinburg DailyReview.

In an editorial, city editor Beng L. Limblatantly criticized the mayor as well as othertwo other men running for city councilmembers, finding them dishonest and unworthyof city office. He has been critical of Ochoa ona number of occasions and described in hiseditorial a situation that he thinks shows thedecline of the Ochoa reign.

“It all goes to show that there’s no loyalty inpolitics,” Lim wrote in his article, alleging aheated discussion between two spouses of citycandidates. “There was a heated exchangebetween the two political parties that up untilthat time had been part of [Mayor] Ochoa’swell-oiled political machine.”

Lim went on to say that the incident provedthe breaking apart of the ‘machine’ and that thecandidates would be doing themselves a favorby not riding on the ‘coattail of Ochoa.’

When asked about the editorial, Ochoa saidthat he tries to stay away from the mediabecause he knows that there will always be badpress that focuses on the individual. He spoke tosuch topics last winter when he attended anews reporting class in the communicationdepartment, and has always tried to take attackslike the one from the Review in stride.

“People will always have their opinions, andthat’s fine,” said Ochoa. “But I can look backand see the positive things that have happenedfor these communities and the number of peopleand business in Edinburg can speak for itself.”

By CLARISSA MARTINEZThe Pan American

Edinburg mayor reflects, campaigns

In keeping with trends in the businessworld, the University of Texas-PanAmerican’s College of BusinessAdministration is focusing more on the studyof ethics than in the past.

Light is shined heavily on certain areas ofbusiness depending on current developmentswithin that discipline. The accountingscandals at Enron, Adelphia Communications,Global Crossing, and WorldCom have causedthe business world to emphasize the study ofethics. Top executives from each companywere arrested and charged with crimesranging from fraud to conspiracy.

“I think right now this is very popular, thatwe go through cycles, sometimes it’s veryfaddish,” said John Emery, dean of theCollege of Business at UTPA. “If you look atthe history of accounting you’ll see thatwe’ve had various kinds of accountingscandals going on as far back as we canmeasure.”

The inclusion of ethics and morality in thebusiness curriculum is neither a new idea nora new practice.

“Some areas have always had a lot of focuson ethics,” Emery said. “The accountingcurriculum has because some certain aspectsregarding ethics in the context of accountingand auditing in particular as part of theirmaterial for the CPA exam.”

In order to hold a license to practice publicaccounting, an individual must pass theCertified Public Accountants exam.

Though ethics is an integral element of theCPA exam, the university does not dedicate aspecific course to business ethics. The collegeopts to require professors to include the studyof it in each individual course.

“In our program we don’t require studentsto take a specific course that’s called ethics,”Emery said. "I think that rather than afreestanding course, you probably get a betterresult if you integrate this kind of a topic as apart of your learning objectives throughoutthe curriculum.”

Joseph Gonzales, a junior majoring inbusiness management, said all of the courseshe has taken to satisfy his major requirementshave dealt with ethics on varying levels.

“They give us cases, scenarios, or basicallydiscuss what’s going on in real life and thenews. Some courses just integrate ethics intothe lecture, and others require us to do

activities,” said Gonzales, 22. “In one of myclasses, business and society, we have to findten articles dealing with ethics. For eacharticle we have to write a one-page reportdescribing what’s going on with them andhow they are being handled.”

The college is pleased with the result of theincorporation of ethics into its currentcurriculum, but a revision to the curriculum isbeing considered. Emery said the State ofTexas is increasingly asking them to designtheir curriculum with specific learningobjectives, thus creating more structure.

“One of the incentives is that the standardsof business accreditation will probablychange over the summer. There’s a new set ofstandards we are looking at which are muchmore global in their context,” Emery said.“But being global they’re not quite so U.S.centric, so they don’t look quite like whatwe’re used to. They allow for much moreintegration of other cultures, other ways toproduct a college education.”

Each concentration is finding ways to meetthese standards. Since accounting is a rulebased profession, individualized rules andprinciples must be met, along with thestandards laid out by the college and the state.

“There are a number of rules we have to

adhere to,” said Wig DeMoville, departmentof accounting and law chair. “And there areprinciples we have to follow in order toproperly account for a business.”

According to DeMoville accountantsencounter problems within their fieldwhenever new transactions, or ways of doingthis develop.

“There are no rules for those particularitems, so people are left to use theirjudgment,” he said.

In order to address these problems, thecollege has considered adding a course to themasters of accounting program to target theseissues. The course will look at various codesof ethics, new legislation brought about afterthe relevant scandals, and specific cases thathave risen out of the accounting profession,said DeMoville.

“What it will look at specifically are theethical rules that various accountingorganizations have adopted. We are going totry to bring all of those different areas whereaccountants work and look at each of theircode of ethics,” said DeMoville, 60.

“We hope to have our masters programapproved and operative by next January, so itcould be either next spring or maybe thefollowing fall semester.”

By OMAIRA GALARZAThe Pan American

Ethics study part of business education

Claudia Vasquez, a colonia resident livingnear Alamo. “So we have to make do withwhat we have and can afford.”

But families living in these colonias facegreater problems than just where to get adrink of fresh water. Health problems alsoplague colonias, creating a great concern notonly for residents, but health officials as well.

“Due to their dilapidated homes, lack offacilities, and flood plain location, theseresidents are ideal candidates for diseases

such as hepatitis A, salmonella, dysentery andcholera,” said Tanina Valdez, a Health andHuman Services case worker with the TexasDepartment of Health. “Tuberculosis is also acommon health threat, which occurs mostlytwice as frequently along the border thanTexas as a whole.

“They [colonia residents] usually havedifficulty in accessing our health facilities,and fear in losing time from work, that theymake no time to bring in their children,” she

said. “They as well areuneducated in referenceto our medicalassistance programs.”

Because of thepotentially seriousconsequences forpublic health andeffects on quality oflife, the greatestconcerns regarding thecolonias is the lack safepotable water, andsewage disposable.Because most coloniaslack a proper drainagesystem, water collectsin the road and sewagecan pool on the ground.But even if the coloniashad adequate sewersystems, the borderarea lacks sufficientfacilities to treat thewastewater.

Although in recent years the TexasLegislature has passed several bills allocatingmoney for colonia improvements, thousands

of residents will never enjoy even the mostbasic of necessities; clean water, indoorplumbing and electricity.

PROBLEMS continued from page 6

NAME

Cameron Park, Texas *

Mila Doce, Texas *

Kiryas Joel Village, N.Y.

Rio Bravo, Texas *

Progreso, Texas *

La Homa, Texas *

Alton North, Texas *

San Luis, Ariz.

Whiteriver, Ariz.

Hidalgo, Texas *

HOUSEHOLDS

1,209

1,010

2,273

1,186

1,035

2,441

1,081

3,018

1,306

1,733

PER CAPITAINCOME

$4,102

$4,221

$4,355

$4,566

$4,789

$5,180

$5,259

$5,377

$5,719

$5,849

* in the Rio Grande Valley

Poorest places in the U.S.

This lot in an Alamo colonia houses a mother and her son. The streets are unpaved and mosthomes are without clean water, electricity, and sewer lines.

SOURCE: Valley Baptist Foundation

Ashley Brooks/The Pan American

children and Sandra, now 18, hastwo.

Sandra began her family at theearly age of 15. She stayed in schoolafter having her first child while hermother, Francisca, helped raise thebaby. However after her secondchild, who is now two months old,she had to drop out of school.

“I was in love and it justhappened,” Sandra said, explainingher first pregnancy. “My parentswere really upset. My dad didn’ttalk to me for a year. Finally whenJoanna was three months (old) he

spoke to me. I guess after seeing thebaby he couldn’t stay mad at me. Idon’t regret my babies though. I amgoing to go back to school soon. Ihave to.”

Sandra is living with her babyboy’s father. They bought a trailerfrom her mother, leaving Franciscaand José Francisco to now live inthe shack they once used forstorage.

“Mami sold us the trailor for$500,” Sandra said. “She paid$1,500 for it. I like it because it haseverything already.”

Francisca didn’t mind giving upher home for her daughter, whomshe felt needed it more than she did.

“I sold my trailer to my youngestdaughter because her and her kidsreally needed it,” Francisca said. “Isacrificed for her but now I’m inthis situation. My niece gave us ahouse, but we need to move it overhere. We can’t afford to.”

Two years ago, la familiaVásquez all moved to the samestreet in a colonia outside of Alamo.Most live next door to each other.Francisca lives at the end of theroad. Next to her is an empty lotwhere Emilio lived, but recently hadto move because he could no longerafford the lot payment. In thefollowing lots live Sandra andDulce.

“A friend used to live in this lot,”

Francisca said, explaining how theyended up moving into the colonia.“He couldn’t make the payment sohe had to move. I liked it becausethe payment was economical. Theland was sold to us for $3,000, butthe monthly payments are only$123. That is something we canafford. If we can pay that then weare okay. After that, whatever elsewe cannot afford, too bad. At leastwe have a secure place to live.”

“You move in the lot hoping thatsomeday you may be able to pay itoff,” said Francisca, who makes herliving by selling things at a fleamarket that were either given to heror that she purchased from garagesales. “It’s hard though because younever know what the future holds.You never know how much you aregoing to make each month.”

Francisca’s priority is to pay offthe lot and find a way to move thehouse there. Then she plans onfinding a way to get electricity. Afterthat she would like to be able tohave running water available in thehouse. But for now she depends onher daughters, Claudia and Dulce,for basic needs like food, baths, andrides.

Claudia is currently financiallybetter off than the rest of the family.She says she finally has everythingshe needs.

“I don’t have to work. I have myhouse. I have my kids. We are fine,”Claudia said. “I don’t need anythingelse. I don’t need a bigger house. Ami me gusta mi casita (I like mysmall house).”

Though the move to the UnitedStates has allowed la familiaVásquez to prosper more so than inMexico, not all changes have beengood. José Francisco does not evenwant to visit Mexico anymore.

“He says that he doesn’t like itover there,” Francisca said. “I can’tblame him. His life is here."

However, Francisca said that aslong as she is alive she will teachher grandchildren who they are andwhere they came from.

“It’s their lives and once theygrow up it will be up to them tokeep their culture,” Francisca said.“But I am going to do my best toteach them when they are young.Son Mexicans aunque nacieron aquí(They are Mexicans even if theywere born here).”

Francisca does not worry toomuch about herself. She hasaccomplished what she wanted. Herchildren and grandchildren’s futuresare full of hope.

“I am already old, but my son canprosper in the future,” Franciscasaid.

“Me gusta el porvenir de mishijos. Eso es lo importante (I likewhat the future holds for mychildren. That is what isimportant.)"

(Above) - Ernesto Perez gets a drink from a makeshift faucet in hisgrandmother’s front yard.

(Left) - Ismael Compean (standing) and Ernesto Perez, grandchildren ofFrancisca Vasquez, play in one of the Vasquez family’s lots.

FAMILY continued from page 1

Ashley Brooks/The Pan American

Ashley Brooks/The Pan American

March 27, 2003 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 6 March 27, 2003 Arts & Entertainment Page 11

Showering with water from a bucket, having togo to the restroom in an outhouse, and usingcandles as a source of light, sounds like things ourancestors had to endure while pioneering.

However, the Rio Grande Valley has suchpioneers who endure these harsh living conditionson a daily basis. These modern pioneers areresidents of colonias.

There are approximately 1,500 colonias along theU.S.-Mexico border with 500,000 residents fromTexas to California living in near Third Worldconditions. According to the 2000 U.S. CensusReport, seven out of the top 10 most poverty-stricken places in the United States are located inthe Valley, with a majority of low-income Valleyfamilies living in colonias.

According to Texas Secretary of State GwynShea, a colonia is an area near the Texas-Mexicoborder that typically lacks basic water and sewersystems, electricity, paved roads, and safe and

sanitary housing for residents.The development of Texas colonias dates back to

the late 1950s when developers used agriculturallyworthless land and sold it to low-incomeindividuals seeking affordable housing in theUnited States. The land is usually sold through acontract for deed, a property financing methodwhereby developers typically offer a low downpayment and allow low monthly payments but notitle to the property until the final payment is made.

“These houses are generally constructed by theowners in phases and in most cases lack electricity,plumbing, and other basic amenities. They build itas they can afford it,” according to a representativefrom Shea’s office.

Due to the unavailability of clean water andsewer services, many of these homes do not meetbuilding codes.

“We try to build our houses little by little, usingwhatever available materials we have,” said

Because their home lacks indoor plumbing, Francisca Vasquez and her son, JoséFrancisco, get their water from a metal tub in their front yard.See PROBLEMS page 12

Colonia residents face various problems

Due to fear of immigration statusand lack of education, manycolonia residents like the Vasquezfamily do not know who or whereto go to for assistance.

“Help is out there for theseresidents,” said Yesenia Ayala,colonia initiatives director of theEdinburg Texas Department ofHousing and Human Affairs.

The Vasquez family’sneighborhood is in the process ofgetting a hand up from the TexasDepartment of Housing andHuman Affairs.

“We have already paved theroads in that neighborhood andinstalled sewage lines. We offerseveral programs that theseresidents can sign up for,” Ayalasaid. “We collaborate with otheragencies such as Proyecto Aztecato try to do our best in helping getthem better housing, the onlyproblem that exists is the limitedfunds that are given to us to do so.”

In August 2001, Hidalgo Countyreceived $491,000 in a CommunityDevelopment Grant for ColoniaActivities to help bring wastewaterservice to several hundred residentsliving in an unincorporated areawithin Alamo’s Extraterritorial

Jurisdiction.“Funds like these will help

promote the Legislature’s goal toeventually transform our Bordercolonias into modernneighborhoods where families canraise their children in clean,positive environments,” announcedSen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville,last year at the revelation of thegrant.

Lucio, a strong advocate ofColonia Initiative programs withthe help of Rep. Kino Flores, D-Mission, presented bills to theTexas Legislature that might bringthe Rio Grande Valley funds tohelp the growing colonias.

“These funds will help HidalgoCounty provide one of the mostbasic of public services to theseresidents, a necessity many of ustake too much for granted,” Luciosaid.

Ayala said “this grant was agreat help to us and our residentsof Hidalgo County, it allowed us toclose existing septic tanks andinstall sewer yard lines andconnections in over 365households.”

The Texas Department ofHousing and Community Affairs isTexas’ lead agency responsible foraffordable housing, communitydevelopment and communityassistance programs, and regulationof the state’s manufactured housingindustry. The Department annuallyadministers funds in excess of$432 million, the majority of whichare derived from mortgage revenuebond financing and refinancing,federal grants and federal taxcredits.

But despite the large amount offunds provided to residents ofcolonias, most colonia inhabitantswork hard to improve their livingconditions.

“People in Texas need to thinkdifferently about colonias and notjust see them as rural settlementsof unemployed Hispanicpopulations,” Ayala said. “Insteadthey should be seen for what theyare: the working poor tied

primarily to the urban economy,and representing a rationalresponse to low wage rates andlack of viable housing.

“Without the introduction ofeffective affordable housingprograms (as offered by the TexasDepartment of Housing and

Community Affairs) colonias willcontinue to grow,” Ayala said.

Without federal, state, local,nonprofit and for-profit entitiesworking together to increase theavailability of housing programs,colonias will continue to increasein the Rio Grande Valley.

(Above and Left) - Ahome in Alamo is in theprocess of being upgradedto include indoor plumbingas part of a recent grant.

Legislators pass bills, colonias receive fundsBy CARLOS CONTRERASSpecial to The Pan American

By CARLOS CONTRERASSpecial to The Pan American

Ashley Brooks/The Pan American

Amelia Garcia/The Pan American

■ Book signing . . . . . 8-9

■ Culture Club . . . . . . . 9

■ Student feature . . . . 10ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PAGE 7

AroundTown

‘Black and White’Through March 30Place: Sala Arte Gallery,820 N. 10th Street, McAllenEvent: UTPA studentKimberly Magee will presentdrawings and photographsin an exhibit titled “Blackand White.”Phone: (956) 631-6638

Valley SymphonyOrchestraMarch 27 at 8 p.m.Place: Fine Arts AuditoriumEvent: The ValleySymphony Orchestra, underthe conduction of Dr. PeterDabrowski, will perform.Phone: (956) 381-3471

La Villa Real eventsMarch 29-April 5Place: La Villa Real SpecialEvents Center, 1201 S.Bentsen Road, McAllenEvent: March 29 - JimmyGonzalez, Los Chamacos,$15 in advance, $20 at thedoor; March 30 - MudvayneInflames, Depsaw, Grade 8,$26 in advance, $ 29 at thedoor; April 3 - Willie Nelson,$39-54 reserved, $28general admission; April 5 -Paul Rodriguez, $25-46reserved.Phone: (956) 687-7121

Strunz & FarahMarch 28 at 8 p.m.Place: Jacob BrownAuditorium, 600International Blvd.,BrownsvilleEvent: The BrownsvilleSociety for the PerformingArts presents the duo aspart of the 2nd Annual UTB-TSC Guitar EnsembleFestival. The duo is knownworldwide for its blend offlamenco, Afro-Latin, MiddleEastern and jazz.Phone: (956) 639-3448

‘Selena’ and ‘La Bamba’March 28-29 at 7 p.m.Place: El Rey Theater, 311S. 17th St., McAllenEvent: The El Rey Theaterpresents “Selena” and “LaBamba” as part of thetheater’s “The AmericanDream” series.Phone: (956) 971-9825

Umolomo Wesithixo - Acrylic on canvas.

Award-winning writer OscarCasares intends to tell his Rio GrandeValley-based stories to everyonearound the country.

Brownsville native Casares, whopresented his debut book,

“Brownsville: Stories,” in McAllen,says he will travel around the countryhoping to get people in other areasinterested in his stories.

Among his first stops was Barnes& Noble on Sunday where he readexcerpts from his book.

Born and raised in Brownsville,Casares spent 10 years travelingacross the country before writing hisfirst short story in the summer of1996.

After having some of his workspublished in “The ThreepennyReview,” the “Colorado Review,” and“The Iowa Review,” Little, Brownand Company decided to publish hisfirst collection of stories.

True to its title, Casares’ collectionof stories takes place in hishometown. It’s a place he qualified as“critical” for his stories.

“I’m writing about the Valley andI’ll keep writing about the Valley,” hesaid. “Specifically Brownsville, that’swhat I know best.”

As a relative newcomer amongwriters, Casares is aware of theconstant decline in readership due tothe preference of people for visualitems over print media.

Still, he feels confident that

literature will always have a broadacceptance.

“I think there are two groups insociety,” he said. “The one that readsand the one that doesn’t. But I thinkthe people who do read do it morepassionately than ever before.”

Casares admits to not having beenan avid reader during his high schoolyears, yet he advises young aspiring

writers that there is no better way tobecome a writer than reading.

“I’ve learned my lesson,” he said.“But one of the reasons I didn’t readwas because I didn’t feel there wasany material I could relate to.”

It is precisely that void or lack ofstories about Hispanic culture in the

Abathakati Twins - Acrylic and collage on canvas. Idia Queen Mother - Acrylic on canvas.

By LUIS E. SAAVEDRAThe Pan American

Local author Oscar Casares signs copies of his book “Brownsville: Stories.”Luis E. Saavedra/The Pan American

See SIGNING page 10

The University of Texas-Pan American’sUniversity Gallery is currently hosting an exhibitfeaturing paintings that display Adinkra, symbolsnative to the West African country of Ghana.

The show, by Lenard Brown, an art departmentprofessor, began March 20 and will run through

April 4.According to Brown’s artist statement, Adinkra

symbolism is believed to have originated in the 19thcentury. One of the stories that attempts to tell itssaga involves the king of Gyaman (now La coted’Ivoire).

According to the story, the king of Gyaman triedto copy the designs of the sacred Golden Stool, theunifying force of the Asante Nation.

Each Adinkra symbol has a name and meaningthat derives from a proverb, historical event, humanattitude, animal behavior, plant life, forms, andshapes of objects. Moreover, each symbol reflects“complex but functional” information about thehistory of the Akan people.

Although originally cloth displaying Adinkra

By LUIS E. SAAVEDRAThe Pan American

Local author holds booksigning

Professor’s work on exhibit

See EXHIBIT page 10

March 27, 2003 Arts & Entertainment Page 10

Loretta Taunton’s earliest memory ofmusic takes her to a time when she was asmall child in the back seat of her mother’scar, singing to Loretta Lynn’s “The CoalMiner’s Daughter.”

“I’ve been involved in music for almost 12years now,” said Taunton. “At church Iwould sing when I was a little girl. It waspurely my decision to join the church choirand I guess you can say I grew with it."

Twelve years of music has put Taunton onstages all over the state, from churches to theAlamo Dome where she performed to anaudience of nearly 12,000 people. While inhigh school, Taunton participated in themarching band and during her senior yearwas an assistant drum major.

“At Bands Of America when I was in highschool we would perform in front of so manypeople, and the Alamo Dome is very big,”said Taunton. “Performing at first is veryscary, but eventually it’s not so bad. You getused to it.”

The junior music major finds thatperforming is very fulfilling.

“You work so hard on a piece that it’srefreshing when you finally get to share itwith so many people who all appreciatemusic," Taunton said. "I believe that music isa gift you should share.”

Her most recent performance wasTuesday’s band concert in the Fine ArtsAuditorium. The concert included songs such

as “Secret Marriage,” “Sea Songs,” “ManninVeen,” “Marche Militaire Fancaise,” and“Pineapple Poll.”

“Tuesday we played an entire program thatwas dedicated to romantic and 20th centurypieces,” she said.

Currently, Taunton is working with Dr.Gary Mezener, who specializes on clarinet.They are working on a piece that Tauntonwill use as part of her recital before shegraduates.

“She has to learn a lot of pieces andeventually she will be able to build it up in toa recital. Loretta (Taunton) has a lot ofcapability in her,” Mezener said.

Taunton’s love for music has inspired toher to eventually teach others.

“Right now, I’m working on my musicdegree mostly because I would love to teachyoung students who have the same love formusic that I do,” she said. “I want to helpthem embrace music and their talent so thatthey will be able to take it where ever theygo.”

Being in the UTPA Music Department,Taunton has experienced the same type ofmusic education she may one day be teachingto her students.

“The music department at Pan Am iswonderful, there are a lot of professors herewho are very bright and gifted,” she said.“They have a lot of insight in music and theyknow what needs to be done to reachstudents at their level.”

A lot has come to Taunton since her daysin the back seat singing to her mother.

Student’s appreciationof music still growingBy AARON LOZANOThe Pan American

Valley that Casaresattempts to fill in.Although, he says,he does not considerhimself part of anyactivist group ofChicano writers.

“My writing takesplace in this area,”he said. “But I don’tthink that keepsother people from relating tothe stories.”

Moreover, he thinks hisbeing chosen by a majorpublisher had more to dowith the essence of hiswriting than with the recentpopularization of Latinoculture.

“Other than the storiesbeing set in such adistinctive place asBrownsville, the themes andthe yearnings are veryuniversal so anyone canrelate to them,” Casares said.

Designated as oneof “Ten Writers toWatch in 2003” byBook Magazine,Casares claims hisintention all alonghas been to “get thestories out there” andreach as many peoplefrom across thecountry with them.

Especially people fromother areas where, as heexplained during hisdiscussion,Hispanics are reallya minority in theUnited States, at 37million total of 290million. In the RioGrande Valleywhere “they areactually a majority.”

So far, he hasaccomplished hismission both in hishometown and its

surroundings.The audience at Sunday’s

reading laughed and cheeredto his reading of “JerryFuentes,” a short story aboutan insistent funeral arranger.The story had beenpreviously published in the“Northwest Review.”

“I think he’s an excellentwriter,” said Anita Fuentes ofMcAllen. “I can’t wait toread the whole book.”

SIGNING continued from page 7

EXHIBIT continued from page 7symbolism was worn only by royalty infuneral services, the symbols nowadays canbe worn by anyone for any special ocassion.

Brown said he first got interested in thistype of symbolism because he typicallyrepresents objects as metaphores.

His series of works displays several biblicalscenes in which people are left out andsubstituted by their actions and stories.

“Just like other people use logos I use

symbols to represent stories,” Brownexplained. “Mine is a visual dialogue, a visuallanguage.”

Brown began working on his current soloexhibit in late 2000.

One reoccuring symbol is that of “woman,”which is composed of three smaller symbols.

For Brown, Adinkera symbols reflect the“complexity of traditional Akan social andspiritual existence.”

CASARES

My writing takesplace in this area.

But I don’t think thatkeeps other peoplefrom relating to the

stories.

“

“

- Oscar Casares, author

March 27, 2003 Arts & Entertainment Page 9March 27, 2003 Arts & Entertainment Page 8

CD: “MTV Unplugged” by Alejandro SanzMovie: “Meet Joe Black”Book: “The Giver” by Lois Lowry

CD: Liz PhairMovie: “Chicago”Book: “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen

CD: “Alma en Fuego” by InspectorMovie: “We Were Soldiers”Book: “Hunger of Memory: The Education of RichardRodriguez” by Richard Rodriguez

David RamirezSophomoreMech. Engineering

Kayla DreyerSeniorPolitical Science

Minerva FigueroaSophomoreNursing

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

The

For many, the dream of becoming aprofessional writer remains just that.

However, a dedicated few findthemselves drawn into the sometimesmysterious, often amusing and alwaysexciting dimension that is a writer’sworld.

Dr. René Saldaña, an Englishlecturer at UTPA, is an inhabitant ofthis place. He recently confirmed hisstatus as a celebrated writer for youngadults with the release of "Finding OurWay" (Wendy Lamb Books, $15.95),his second book.

A native of the Rio Grande Valley,Saldaña remembers his journey on thepath to publication as one involvingself-discovery. Growing up in Peñitas,he found himself slowly understandingthe creative writing process.

“The first piece I remember writingwas in 11th grade,” he said. “It was fora grade, but I didn’t think of it as realwriting. I started to write fiction andpoetry in my sophomore and junioryears (of college).”

It was as an undergraduate at BobJones University in South Carolina thathe began to approach writing seriously.

While a graduate student at ClemsonUniversity (also in South Carolina), hebecame enchanted with SandraCisneros’s “The House on MangoStreet.”

The book made Saldaña realize thatif he ever wanted to achieve success,he needed to create awareness ofLatino literature.

“In high school, I was never exposedto any Mexican-American fiction. Iwanted younger, would-be writers whowere Mexican American, not just in theValley but elsewhere, to know (suchwriters) were around.”

In order to accomplish this task, hespent years as a middle and highschool teacher in the Valley. He usedstories by local writers to showstudents how to develop a personalnarrative.

When he ran out of stories by others,

he decided to write down some of hisown memories. These eventuallyformed the basis for "The JumpingTree" (Delacorte Press, $14.95), hisdebut novel.

After deciding he wanted to teach atthe college level, he pursued adoctorate in creative writing at GeorgiaState University in Atlanta. Whilethere, he had the opportunity to meetand study with experienced writerswho encouraged him in his endeavors.

He returned to the Valley with aneven greater sense of commitment tohelping young writers. Indeed, duringthe past year, he has served on manythesis committees for English graduatestudents.

For Saldaña, there is a distinctdifference between composing fictionand composing poetry.

“When I’m writing fiction, I alwayscreate a character, not to speak on mybehalf, but to give voice to. Thenarrator is the middleman betweenmyself as author and the reader. Inpoetry, there is no middleman. I’mwriting as myself,” he said.

This particular author prefers writingfiction to poetry, but makes note ofpoets whom he enjoys.

“(UTPA graduate students)Stephanie Thomé and OctavioQuintanilla are two examples of poets Iadmire.”

To date, "Finding Our Way" is themost impressive example of Saldaña’spowers as a writer. The book is acollection of 11 short stories.

The stories deal with various themes,including the beauty of love and theharsh reality of death. "Finding OurWay" has already garnished favorablereviews from magazines likePublishers Weekly and The HornBook.

Currently, Saldaña is hard at workon another novel for young adults.

He regularly does readings and booksignings at local schools and bookstores. Beginning in late April, he plansto host a regular radio program onClassic 88 FM called “Hay QueLibranos.”

On the program he will reviewbooks by Latino writers.

“The greater idea (of the program) isthat (Mexican Americans) can find ourown freedom through education andreading,” Saldaña said.

"The Jumping Tree" and "FindingOur Way" are both available at Barnes& Noble Booksellers in McAllen.

By J. RENÉ MARTINEZThe Pan American

(Above) - René Saldaña Jr. speaksto a group at Barnes & NobleBookstore in McAllen last week.Saldaña, a Valley native and UTPAprofessor, was on hand to autographbooks.

J. René Martinez/The Pan American

UTPA professor’s

dream of becoming

a professional

writer comes true

March 27, 2003 Arts & Entertainment Page 9March 27, 2003 Arts & Entertainment Page 8

CD: “MTV Unplugged” by Alejandro SanzMovie: “Meet Joe Black”Book: “The Giver” by Lois Lowry

CD: Liz PhairMovie: “Chicago”Book: “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen

CD: “Alma en Fuego” by InspectorMovie: “We Were Soldiers”Book: “Hunger of Memory: The Education of RichardRodriguez” by Richard Rodriguez

David RamirezSophomoreMech. Engineering

Kayla DreyerSeniorPolitical Science

Minerva FigueroaSophomoreNursing

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

The

For many, the dream of becoming aprofessional writer remains just that.

However, a dedicated few findthemselves drawn into the sometimesmysterious, often amusing and alwaysexciting dimension that is a writer’sworld.

Dr. René Saldaña, an Englishlecturer at UTPA, is an inhabitant ofthis place. He recently confirmed hisstatus as a celebrated writer for youngadults with the release of "Finding OurWay" (Wendy Lamb Books, $15.95),his second book.

A native of the Rio Grande Valley,Saldaña remembers his journey on thepath to publication as one involvingself-discovery. Growing up in Peñitas,he found himself slowly understandingthe creative writing process.

“The first piece I remember writingwas in 11th grade,” he said. “It was fora grade, but I didn’t think of it as realwriting. I started to write fiction andpoetry in my sophomore and junioryears (of college).”

It was as an undergraduate at BobJones University in South Carolina thathe began to approach writing seriously.

While a graduate student at ClemsonUniversity (also in South Carolina), hebecame enchanted with SandraCisneros’s “The House on MangoStreet.”

The book made Saldaña realize thatif he ever wanted to achieve success,he needed to create awareness ofLatino literature.

“In high school, I was never exposedto any Mexican-American fiction. Iwanted younger, would-be writers whowere Mexican American, not just in theValley but elsewhere, to know (suchwriters) were around.”

In order to accomplish this task, hespent years as a middle and highschool teacher in the Valley. He usedstories by local writers to showstudents how to develop a personalnarrative.

When he ran out of stories by others,

he decided to write down some of hisown memories. These eventuallyformed the basis for "The JumpingTree" (Delacorte Press, $14.95), hisdebut novel.

After deciding he wanted to teach atthe college level, he pursued adoctorate in creative writing at GeorgiaState University in Atlanta. Whilethere, he had the opportunity to meetand study with experienced writerswho encouraged him in his endeavors.

He returned to the Valley with aneven greater sense of commitment tohelping young writers. Indeed, duringthe past year, he has served on manythesis committees for English graduatestudents.

For Saldaña, there is a distinctdifference between composing fictionand composing poetry.

“When I’m writing fiction, I alwayscreate a character, not to speak on mybehalf, but to give voice to. Thenarrator is the middleman betweenmyself as author and the reader. Inpoetry, there is no middleman. I’mwriting as myself,” he said.

This particular author prefers writingfiction to poetry, but makes note ofpoets whom he enjoys.

“(UTPA graduate students)Stephanie Thomé and OctavioQuintanilla are two examples of poets Iadmire.”

To date, "Finding Our Way" is themost impressive example of Saldaña’spowers as a writer. The book is acollection of 11 short stories.

The stories deal with various themes,including the beauty of love and theharsh reality of death. "Finding OurWay" has already garnished favorablereviews from magazines likePublishers Weekly and The HornBook.

Currently, Saldaña is hard at workon another novel for young adults.

He regularly does readings and booksignings at local schools and bookstores. Beginning in late April, he plansto host a regular radio program onClassic 88 FM called “Hay QueLibranos.”

On the program he will reviewbooks by Latino writers.

“The greater idea (of the program) isthat (Mexican Americans) can find ourown freedom through education andreading,” Saldaña said.

"The Jumping Tree" and "FindingOur Way" are both available at Barnes& Noble Booksellers in McAllen.

By J. RENÉ MARTINEZThe Pan American

(Above) - René Saldaña Jr. speaksto a group at Barnes & NobleBookstore in McAllen last week.Saldaña, a Valley native and UTPAprofessor, was on hand to autographbooks.

J. René Martinez/The Pan American

UTPA professor’s

dream of becoming

a professional

writer comes true

■ Book signing . . . . . 8-9

■ Culture Club . . . . . . . 9

■ Student feature . . . . 10ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PAGE 7

AroundTown

‘Black and White’Through March 30Place: Sala Arte Gallery,820 N. 10th Street, McAllenEvent: UTPA studentKimberly Magee will presentdrawings and photographsin an exhibit titled “Blackand White.”Phone: (956) 631-6638

Valley SymphonyOrchestraMarch 27 at 8 p.m.Place: Fine Arts AuditoriumEvent: The ValleySymphony Orchestra, underthe conduction of Dr. PeterDabrowski, will perform.Phone: (956) 381-3471

La Villa Real eventsMarch 29-April 5Place: La Villa Real SpecialEvents Center, 1201 S.Bentsen Road, McAllenEvent: March 29 - JimmyGonzalez, Los Chamacos,$15 in advance, $20 at thedoor; March 30 - MudvayneInflames, Depsaw, Grade 8,$26 in advance, $ 29 at thedoor; April 3 - Willie Nelson,$39-54 reserved, $28general admission; April 5 -Paul Rodriguez, $25-46reserved.Phone: (956) 687-7121

Strunz & FarahMarch 28 at 8 p.m.Place: Jacob BrownAuditorium, 600International Blvd.,BrownsvilleEvent: The BrownsvilleSociety for the PerformingArts presents the duo aspart of the 2nd Annual UTB-TSC Guitar EnsembleFestival. The duo is knownworldwide for its blend offlamenco, Afro-Latin, MiddleEastern and jazz.Phone: (956) 639-3448

‘Selena’ and ‘La Bamba’March 28-29 at 7 p.m.Place: El Rey Theater, 311S. 17th St., McAllenEvent: The El Rey Theaterpresents “Selena” and “LaBamba” as part of thetheater’s “The AmericanDream” series.Phone: (956) 971-9825

Umolomo Wesithixo - Acrylic on canvas.

Award-winning writer OscarCasares intends to tell his Rio GrandeValley-based stories to everyonearound the country.

Brownsville native Casares, whopresented his debut book,

“Brownsville: Stories,” in McAllen,says he will travel around the countryhoping to get people in other areasinterested in his stories.

Among his first stops was Barnes& Noble on Sunday where he readexcerpts from his book.

Born and raised in Brownsville,Casares spent 10 years travelingacross the country before writing hisfirst short story in the summer of1996.

After having some of his workspublished in “The ThreepennyReview,” the “Colorado Review,” and“The Iowa Review,” Little, Brownand Company decided to publish hisfirst collection of stories.

True to its title, Casares’ collectionof stories takes place in hishometown. It’s a place he qualified as“critical” for his stories.

“I’m writing about the Valley andI’ll keep writing about the Valley,” hesaid. “Specifically Brownsville, that’swhat I know best.”

As a relative newcomer amongwriters, Casares is aware of theconstant decline in readership due tothe preference of people for visualitems over print media.

Still, he feels confident that

literature will always have a broadacceptance.

“I think there are two groups insociety,” he said. “The one that readsand the one that doesn’t. But I thinkthe people who do read do it morepassionately than ever before.”

Casares admits to not having beenan avid reader during his high schoolyears, yet he advises young aspiring

writers that there is no better way tobecome a writer than reading.

“I’ve learned my lesson,” he said.“But one of the reasons I didn’t readwas because I didn’t feel there wasany material I could relate to.”

It is precisely that void or lack ofstories about Hispanic culture in the

Abathakati Twins - Acrylic and collage on canvas. Idia Queen Mother - Acrylic on canvas.

By LUIS E. SAAVEDRAThe Pan American

Local author Oscar Casares signs copies of his book “Brownsville: Stories.”Luis E. Saavedra/The Pan American

See SIGNING page 10

The University of Texas-Pan American’sUniversity Gallery is currently hosting an exhibitfeaturing paintings that display Adinkra, symbolsnative to the West African country of Ghana.

The show, by Lenard Brown, an art departmentprofessor, began March 20 and will run through

April 4.According to Brown’s artist statement, Adinkra

symbolism is believed to have originated in the 19thcentury. One of the stories that attempts to tell itssaga involves the king of Gyaman (now La coted’Ivoire).

According to the story, the king of Gyaman triedto copy the designs of the sacred Golden Stool, theunifying force of the Asante Nation.

Each Adinkra symbol has a name and meaningthat derives from a proverb, historical event, humanattitude, animal behavior, plant life, forms, andshapes of objects. Moreover, each symbol reflects“complex but functional” information about thehistory of the Akan people.

Although originally cloth displaying Adinkra

By LUIS E. SAAVEDRAThe Pan American

Local author holds booksigning

Professor’s work on exhibit

See EXHIBIT page 10

March 27, 2003 Arts & Entertainment Page 10

Loretta Taunton’s earliest memory ofmusic takes her to a time when she was asmall child in the back seat of her mother’scar, singing to Loretta Lynn’s “The CoalMiner’s Daughter.”

“I’ve been involved in music for almost 12years now,” said Taunton. “At church Iwould sing when I was a little girl. It waspurely my decision to join the church choirand I guess you can say I grew with it."

Twelve years of music has put Taunton onstages all over the state, from churches to theAlamo Dome where she performed to anaudience of nearly 12,000 people. While inhigh school, Taunton participated in themarching band and during her senior yearwas an assistant drum major.

“At Bands Of America when I was in highschool we would perform in front of so manypeople, and the Alamo Dome is very big,”said Taunton. “Performing at first is veryscary, but eventually it’s not so bad. You getused to it.”

The junior music major finds thatperforming is very fulfilling.

“You work so hard on a piece that it’srefreshing when you finally get to share itwith so many people who all appreciatemusic," Taunton said. "I believe that music isa gift you should share.”

Her most recent performance wasTuesday’s band concert in the Fine ArtsAuditorium. The concert included songs such

as “Secret Marriage,” “Sea Songs,” “ManninVeen,” “Marche Militaire Fancaise,” and“Pineapple Poll.”

“Tuesday we played an entire program thatwas dedicated to romantic and 20th centurypieces,” she said.

Currently, Taunton is working with Dr.Gary Mezener, who specializes on clarinet.They are working on a piece that Tauntonwill use as part of her recital before shegraduates.

“She has to learn a lot of pieces andeventually she will be able to build it up in toa recital. Loretta (Taunton) has a lot ofcapability in her,” Mezener said.

Taunton’s love for music has inspired toher to eventually teach others.

“Right now, I’m working on my musicdegree mostly because I would love to teachyoung students who have the same love formusic that I do,” she said. “I want to helpthem embrace music and their talent so thatthey will be able to take it where ever theygo.”

Being in the UTPA Music Department,Taunton has experienced the same type ofmusic education she may one day be teachingto her students.

“The music department at Pan Am iswonderful, there are a lot of professors herewho are very bright and gifted,” she said.“They have a lot of insight in music and theyknow what needs to be done to reachstudents at their level.”

A lot has come to Taunton since her daysin the back seat singing to her mother.

Student’s appreciationof music still growingBy AARON LOZANOThe Pan American

Valley that Casaresattempts to fill in.Although, he says,he does not considerhimself part of anyactivist group ofChicano writers.

“My writing takesplace in this area,”he said. “But I don’tthink that keepsother people from relating tothe stories.”

Moreover, he thinks hisbeing chosen by a majorpublisher had more to dowith the essence of hiswriting than with the recentpopularization of Latinoculture.

“Other than the storiesbeing set in such adistinctive place asBrownsville, the themes andthe yearnings are veryuniversal so anyone canrelate to them,” Casares said.

Designated as oneof “Ten Writers toWatch in 2003” byBook Magazine,Casares claims hisintention all alonghas been to “get thestories out there” andreach as many peoplefrom across thecountry with them.

Especially people fromother areas where, as heexplained during hisdiscussion,Hispanics are reallya minority in theUnited States, at 37million total of 290million. In the RioGrande Valleywhere “they areactually a majority.”

So far, he hasaccomplished hismission both in hishometown and its

surroundings.The audience at Sunday’s

reading laughed and cheeredto his reading of “JerryFuentes,” a short story aboutan insistent funeral arranger.The story had beenpreviously published in the“Northwest Review.”

“I think he’s an excellentwriter,” said Anita Fuentes ofMcAllen. “I can’t wait toread the whole book.”

SIGNING continued from page 7

EXHIBIT continued from page 7symbolism was worn only by royalty infuneral services, the symbols nowadays canbe worn by anyone for any special ocassion.

Brown said he first got interested in thistype of symbolism because he typicallyrepresents objects as metaphores.

His series of works displays several biblicalscenes in which people are left out andsubstituted by their actions and stories.

“Just like other people use logos I use

symbols to represent stories,” Brownexplained. “Mine is a visual dialogue, a visuallanguage.”

Brown began working on his current soloexhibit in late 2000.

One reoccuring symbol is that of “woman,”which is composed of three smaller symbols.

For Brown, Adinkera symbols reflect the“complexity of traditional Akan social andspiritual existence.”

CASARES

My writing takesplace in this area.

But I don’t think thatkeeps other peoplefrom relating to the

stories.

“

“

- Oscar Casares, author

March 27, 2003 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 6 March 27, 2003 Arts & Entertainment Page 11

Showering with water from a bucket, having togo to the restroom in an outhouse, and usingcandles as a source of light, sounds like things ourancestors had to endure while pioneering.

However, the Rio Grande Valley has suchpioneers who endure these harsh living conditionson a daily basis. These modern pioneers areresidents of colonias.

There are approximately 1,500 colonias along theU.S.-Mexico border with 500,000 residents fromTexas to California living in near Third Worldconditions. According to the 2000 U.S. CensusReport, seven out of the top 10 most poverty-stricken places in the United States are located inthe Valley, with a majority of low-income Valleyfamilies living in colonias.

According to Texas Secretary of State GwynShea, a colonia is an area near the Texas-Mexicoborder that typically lacks basic water and sewersystems, electricity, paved roads, and safe and

sanitary housing for residents.The development of Texas colonias dates back to

the late 1950s when developers used agriculturallyworthless land and sold it to low-incomeindividuals seeking affordable housing in theUnited States. The land is usually sold through acontract for deed, a property financing methodwhereby developers typically offer a low downpayment and allow low monthly payments but notitle to the property until the final payment is made.

“These houses are generally constructed by theowners in phases and in most cases lack electricity,plumbing, and other basic amenities. They build itas they can afford it,” according to a representativefrom Shea’s office.

Due to the unavailability of clean water andsewer services, many of these homes do not meetbuilding codes.

“We try to build our houses little by little, usingwhatever available materials we have,” said

Because their home lacks indoor plumbing, Francisca Vasquez and her son, JoséFrancisco, get their water from a metal tub in their front yard.See PROBLEMS page 12

Colonia residents face various problems

Due to fear of immigration statusand lack of education, manycolonia residents like the Vasquezfamily do not know who or whereto go to for assistance.

“Help is out there for theseresidents,” said Yesenia Ayala,colonia initiatives director of theEdinburg Texas Department ofHousing and Human Affairs.

The Vasquez family’sneighborhood is in the process ofgetting a hand up from the TexasDepartment of Housing andHuman Affairs.

“We have already paved theroads in that neighborhood andinstalled sewage lines. We offerseveral programs that theseresidents can sign up for,” Ayalasaid. “We collaborate with otheragencies such as Proyecto Aztecato try to do our best in helping getthem better housing, the onlyproblem that exists is the limitedfunds that are given to us to do so.”

In August 2001, Hidalgo Countyreceived $491,000 in a CommunityDevelopment Grant for ColoniaActivities to help bring wastewaterservice to several hundred residentsliving in an unincorporated areawithin Alamo’s Extraterritorial

Jurisdiction.“Funds like these will help

promote the Legislature’s goal toeventually transform our Bordercolonias into modernneighborhoods where families canraise their children in clean,positive environments,” announcedSen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville,last year at the revelation of thegrant.

Lucio, a strong advocate ofColonia Initiative programs withthe help of Rep. Kino Flores, D-Mission, presented bills to theTexas Legislature that might bringthe Rio Grande Valley funds tohelp the growing colonias.

“These funds will help HidalgoCounty provide one of the mostbasic of public services to theseresidents, a necessity many of ustake too much for granted,” Luciosaid.

Ayala said “this grant was agreat help to us and our residentsof Hidalgo County, it allowed us toclose existing septic tanks andinstall sewer yard lines andconnections in over 365households.”

The Texas Department ofHousing and Community Affairs isTexas’ lead agency responsible foraffordable housing, communitydevelopment and communityassistance programs, and regulationof the state’s manufactured housingindustry. The Department annuallyadministers funds in excess of$432 million, the majority of whichare derived from mortgage revenuebond financing and refinancing,federal grants and federal taxcredits.

But despite the large amount offunds provided to residents ofcolonias, most colonia inhabitantswork hard to improve their livingconditions.

“People in Texas need to thinkdifferently about colonias and notjust see them as rural settlementsof unemployed Hispanicpopulations,” Ayala said. “Insteadthey should be seen for what theyare: the working poor tied

primarily to the urban economy,and representing a rationalresponse to low wage rates andlack of viable housing.

“Without the introduction ofeffective affordable housingprograms (as offered by the TexasDepartment of Housing and

Community Affairs) colonias willcontinue to grow,” Ayala said.

Without federal, state, local,nonprofit and for-profit entitiesworking together to increase theavailability of housing programs,colonias will continue to increasein the Rio Grande Valley.

(Above and Left) - Ahome in Alamo is in theprocess of being upgradedto include indoor plumbingas part of a recent grant.

Legislators pass bills, colonias receive fundsBy CARLOS CONTRERASSpecial to The Pan American

By CARLOS CONTRERASSpecial to The Pan American

Ashley Brooks/The Pan American

Amelia Garcia/The Pan American

March 27, 2003 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 5March 27, 2003 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 12

City politics have always had an importantrole to play in the Rio Grande Valley, and withthe area growing at record rates between 1990and 2000, stewardship of local institutions hasbecome even more vital.

In Edinburg, the latest population figure was48,000, up more than 15,000 from the last U.S.Census. For the past decade, Joe Ochoa has hadthe honor of being the leader of the communityby serving as mayor of Edinburg.

Ochoa first took office in 1993, and has sinceserved four terms as mayor. Before becomingmayor, Ochoa served three terms on theEdinburg School Board and has been a pastboard member of Edinburg Hospital, EdinburgJaycees and Lions Club. The local businessowner is a graduate of Edinburg High Schooland the University of Texas-Austin, where heearned a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy.

He’s had a decade to work for Edinburg, andwill be tested this spring in elections, as RichardGarcia has decided to challenge for the position.

A Chance to ChangeIn a recent Monitor article Ochoa said that in

the past 10 years the city has put more cops onthe streets and increased the budget of thevolunteer fire department’ as well as createdmore playground and softball space to thecommunity.

Other issues that Ochoa has tackled in thepast include the decline of the unemploymentrate from 19 percent in 1990 to 11 percenttoday. Although that rate is still relatively highin comparison to statewide levels of six percent,Ochoa knows that the decrease is what countsin the community.

“If you survey the community of Edinburg,you see that the social activities have improvedand that we have here what a family would liketo call a home,” he said.

Ochoa has also tried to bring new business tothe city; some ventures have failed, some havesucceeded. The water park has gone belly-up,and the CarMike Theater has been an up-and-down proposition, but the Edinburg

Roadrunners baseball club has done well here.The most recent addition is a new call center inEdinburg that will create more than 500 newjobs and an economic impact of $27.3 millionto the area that was announced at a pressconference March 19.

“We are pleased that MerkafonTeleperformance selected Edinburg as thelocation to expand its operations.” Ochoa said.“We’re especially proud to bring in very muchneeded jobs to our community and being able toattract such a respected world widecorporation.”

Merkafon Teleperformance, the leadingprovider of Spanish and bilingual Teleservicesin Latin America, will open a call center at 1701S. Closner in June, operating out of a formergrocery store building. The expansion intoEdinburg is fueled by MerkafonTeleperformance’s continued push to providecustomer support services to the growingHispanic market in the United States.

"Economic development brings, jobseconomic development brings security andeconomic development improves the quality oflife,” Ochoa said at the March press conference.“Without partnerships, without teamwork, suchprojects like this would not happen. I am veryhonored that the State of Texas was able tocome here and help the City of Edinburg andthe Rio Grande Valley to once again be able toimprove economic development.”

Ramiro Garza, executive director of theEdinburg Economic Development Corporation,said that one of the more successful projects thathas been created is the Edinburg 20/20 CulturalCommittee. This committee is one of the mostversatile in the city since it deals with issuesvarying from the landscaping and sidewalks tocultural tributes such as the Tejano Walk ofFame.

“The city needs the support of thecommunity to be successful, it can’t run totallyon its own,” Garza said. “This committee thatMayor Ochoa acknowledged is one that Iconsider the most successful developmentswe’ve created,” Garza said.

Garza explained that another largeaccomplishment has been the construction of

the Cornerstone Boulevard area, which hasadded more businesses and opportunities to thecommunity in the area bordering NorthMcAllen.

A Community Within a CommunityAt UTPA, the sense of community runs from

students and faculty to staff and visitors tocampus. The whole group of roughly 17,000 isalso a part of the Edinburg community.

“The university is such an important part ofthe Edinburg economy as well as the RioGrande Valley,” Ochoa said. “Not only does itsupply education to the people, but it bringsbusiness to the area. It’s a source ofcommunication for the people.”

Ochoa explained that as the economy evolvesalong with the university, there is always needfor the city to watch the university and for bothcommunities to be aware of helping the other.

Garza also feels that the connection betweenthe university and the city has improved overthe last several years. Joining the University ofTexas system certainly has proven to be a boonfor the city and university alike. There havebeen many joint ventures since then as theuniversity’s financial situation has improved.One example was the collaboration UTPA haswith the city concerning the Edinburg BaseballStadium. The students are not only allowed toparticipate as athletes on the field, but duringthe day, they have the permission to park on theland. The baseball Broncs use the stadium fortheir home games.

“The city was enhanced with the recreationalactivities UTPA has provided the city throughthe stadiums and the games,” Garza said. “It’screated yet another connection between the cityand university.”

Election TimeMay 3 marks the day that Edinburg will have

city and school elections and Joe Ochoa’s namewill once again be on the ballot. Ochoaannounced his reelection at the Echo Hotel inEdinburg. In the election he will be challengedby Garcia, a McAllen-based attorney who filedas a candidate Feb 25.

Ochoa said that he hopes that he will be able

to continue working as mayor to further theproduction that the city has been seeing. Hewants to focus on the improvement of thepublic library and especially to focus on themedical research that can be conducted in thecity and at the university.

ComplicationsNo matter how well a city does, there will

always be complaints or criticisms coming upduring election time. When it comes to cityofficials, there is always pressure to be moresuccessful in the future.

Ochoa has his supporters and his detractors aswell. One of his most consistent critics has beenthe local newspaper, the Edinburg DailyReview.

In an editorial, city editor Beng L. Limblatantly criticized the mayor as well as othertwo other men running for city councilmembers, finding them dishonest and unworthyof city office. He has been critical of Ochoa ona number of occasions and described in hiseditorial a situation that he thinks shows thedecline of the Ochoa reign.

“It all goes to show that there’s no loyalty inpolitics,” Lim wrote in his article, alleging aheated discussion between two spouses of citycandidates. “There was a heated exchangebetween the two political parties that up untilthat time had been part of [Mayor] Ochoa’swell-oiled political machine.”

Lim went on to say that the incident provedthe breaking apart of the ‘machine’ and that thecandidates would be doing themselves a favorby not riding on the ‘coattail of Ochoa.’

When asked about the editorial, Ochoa saidthat he tries to stay away from the mediabecause he knows that there will always be badpress that focuses on the individual. He spoke tosuch topics last winter when he attended anews reporting class in the communicationdepartment, and has always tried to take attackslike the one from the Review in stride.

“People will always have their opinions, andthat’s fine,” said Ochoa. “But I can look backand see the positive things that have happenedfor these communities and the number of peopleand business in Edinburg can speak for itself.”

By CLARISSA MARTINEZThe Pan American

Edinburg mayor reflects, campaigns

In keeping with trends in the businessworld, the University of Texas-PanAmerican’s College of BusinessAdministration is focusing more on the studyof ethics than in the past.

Light is shined heavily on certain areas ofbusiness depending on current developmentswithin that discipline. The accountingscandals at Enron, Adelphia Communications,Global Crossing, and WorldCom have causedthe business world to emphasize the study ofethics. Top executives from each companywere arrested and charged with crimesranging from fraud to conspiracy.

“I think right now this is very popular, thatwe go through cycles, sometimes it’s veryfaddish,” said John Emery, dean of theCollege of Business at UTPA. “If you look atthe history of accounting you’ll see thatwe’ve had various kinds of accountingscandals going on as far back as we canmeasure.”

The inclusion of ethics and morality in thebusiness curriculum is neither a new idea nora new practice.

“Some areas have always had a lot of focuson ethics,” Emery said. “The accountingcurriculum has because some certain aspectsregarding ethics in the context of accountingand auditing in particular as part of theirmaterial for the CPA exam.”

In order to hold a license to practice publicaccounting, an individual must pass theCertified Public Accountants exam.

Though ethics is an integral element of theCPA exam, the university does not dedicate aspecific course to business ethics. The collegeopts to require professors to include the studyof it in each individual course.

“In our program we don’t require studentsto take a specific course that’s called ethics,”Emery said. "I think that rather than afreestanding course, you probably get a betterresult if you integrate this kind of a topic as apart of your learning objectives throughoutthe curriculum.”

Joseph Gonzales, a junior majoring inbusiness management, said all of the courseshe has taken to satisfy his major requirementshave dealt with ethics on varying levels.

“They give us cases, scenarios, or basicallydiscuss what’s going on in real life and thenews. Some courses just integrate ethics intothe lecture, and others require us to do

activities,” said Gonzales, 22. “In one of myclasses, business and society, we have to findten articles dealing with ethics. For eacharticle we have to write a one-page reportdescribing what’s going on with them andhow they are being handled.”

The college is pleased with the result of theincorporation of ethics into its currentcurriculum, but a revision to the curriculum isbeing considered. Emery said the State ofTexas is increasingly asking them to designtheir curriculum with specific learningobjectives, thus creating more structure.

“One of the incentives is that the standardsof business accreditation will probablychange over the summer. There’s a new set ofstandards we are looking at which are muchmore global in their context,” Emery said.“But being global they’re not quite so U.S.centric, so they don’t look quite like whatwe’re used to. They allow for much moreintegration of other cultures, other ways toproduct a college education.”

Each concentration is finding ways to meetthese standards. Since accounting is a rulebased profession, individualized rules andprinciples must be met, along with thestandards laid out by the college and the state.

“There are a number of rules we have to

adhere to,” said Wig DeMoville, departmentof accounting and law chair. “And there areprinciples we have to follow in order toproperly account for a business.”

According to DeMoville accountantsencounter problems within their fieldwhenever new transactions, or ways of doingthis develop.

“There are no rules for those particularitems, so people are left to use theirjudgment,” he said.

In order to address these problems, thecollege has considered adding a course to themasters of accounting program to target theseissues. The course will look at various codesof ethics, new legislation brought about afterthe relevant scandals, and specific cases thathave risen out of the accounting profession,said DeMoville.

“What it will look at specifically are theethical rules that various accountingorganizations have adopted. We are going totry to bring all of those different areas whereaccountants work and look at each of theircode of ethics,” said DeMoville, 60.

“We hope to have our masters programapproved and operative by next January, so itcould be either next spring or maybe thefollowing fall semester.”

By OMAIRA GALARZAThe Pan American

Ethics study part of business education

Claudia Vasquez, a colonia resident livingnear Alamo. “So we have to make do withwhat we have and can afford.”

But families living in these colonias facegreater problems than just where to get adrink of fresh water. Health problems alsoplague colonias, creating a great concern notonly for residents, but health officials as well.

“Due to their dilapidated homes, lack offacilities, and flood plain location, theseresidents are ideal candidates for diseases

such as hepatitis A, salmonella, dysentery andcholera,” said Tanina Valdez, a Health andHuman Services case worker with the TexasDepartment of Health. “Tuberculosis is also acommon health threat, which occurs mostlytwice as frequently along the border thanTexas as a whole.

“They [colonia residents] usually havedifficulty in accessing our health facilities,and fear in losing time from work, that theymake no time to bring in their children,” she

said. “They as well areuneducated in referenceto our medicalassistance programs.”

Because of thepotentially seriousconsequences forpublic health andeffects on quality oflife, the greatestconcerns regarding thecolonias is the lack safepotable water, andsewage disposable.Because most coloniaslack a proper drainagesystem, water collectsin the road and sewagecan pool on the ground.But even if the coloniashad adequate sewersystems, the borderarea lacks sufficientfacilities to treat thewastewater.

Although in recent years the TexasLegislature has passed several bills allocatingmoney for colonia improvements, thousands

of residents will never enjoy even the mostbasic of necessities; clean water, indoorplumbing and electricity.

PROBLEMS continued from page 6

NAME

Cameron Park, Texas *

Mila Doce, Texas *

Kiryas Joel Village, N.Y.

Rio Bravo, Texas *

Progreso, Texas *

La Homa, Texas *

Alton North, Texas *

San Luis, Ariz.

Whiteriver, Ariz.

Hidalgo, Texas *

HOUSEHOLDS

1,209

1,010

2,273

1,186

1,035

2,441

1,081

3,018

1,306

1,733

PER CAPITAINCOME

$4,102

$4,221

$4,355

$4,566

$4,789

$5,180

$5,259

$5,377

$5,719

$5,849

* in the Rio Grande Valley

Poorest places in the U.S.

This lot in an Alamo colonia houses a mother and her son. The streets are unpaved and mosthomes are without clean water, electricity, and sewer lines.

SOURCE: Valley Baptist Foundation

Ashley Brooks/The Pan American

children and Sandra, now 18, hastwo.

Sandra began her family at theearly age of 15. She stayed in schoolafter having her first child while hermother, Francisca, helped raise thebaby. However after her secondchild, who is now two months old,she had to drop out of school.

“I was in love and it justhappened,” Sandra said, explainingher first pregnancy. “My parentswere really upset. My dad didn’ttalk to me for a year. Finally whenJoanna was three months (old) he

spoke to me. I guess after seeing thebaby he couldn’t stay mad at me. Idon’t regret my babies though. I amgoing to go back to school soon. Ihave to.”

Sandra is living with her babyboy’s father. They bought a trailerfrom her mother, leaving Franciscaand José Francisco to now live inthe shack they once used forstorage.

“Mami sold us the trailor for$500,” Sandra said. “She paid$1,500 for it. I like it because it haseverything already.”

Francisca didn’t mind giving upher home for her daughter, whomshe felt needed it more than she did.

“I sold my trailer to my youngestdaughter because her and her kidsreally needed it,” Francisca said. “Isacrificed for her but now I’m inthis situation. My niece gave us ahouse, but we need to move it overhere. We can’t afford to.”

Two years ago, la familiaVásquez all moved to the samestreet in a colonia outside of Alamo.Most live next door to each other.Francisca lives at the end of theroad. Next to her is an empty lotwhere Emilio lived, but recently hadto move because he could no longerafford the lot payment. In thefollowing lots live Sandra andDulce.

“A friend used to live in this lot,”

Francisca said, explaining how theyended up moving into the colonia.“He couldn’t make the payment sohe had to move. I liked it becausethe payment was economical. Theland was sold to us for $3,000, butthe monthly payments are only$123. That is something we canafford. If we can pay that then weare okay. After that, whatever elsewe cannot afford, too bad. At leastwe have a secure place to live.”

“You move in the lot hoping thatsomeday you may be able to pay itoff,” said Francisca, who makes herliving by selling things at a fleamarket that were either given to heror that she purchased from garagesales. “It’s hard though because younever know what the future holds.You never know how much you aregoing to make each month.”

Francisca’s priority is to pay offthe lot and find a way to move thehouse there. Then she plans onfinding a way to get electricity. Afterthat she would like to be able tohave running water available in thehouse. But for now she depends onher daughters, Claudia and Dulce,for basic needs like food, baths, andrides.

Claudia is currently financiallybetter off than the rest of the family.She says she finally has everythingshe needs.

“I don’t have to work. I have myhouse. I have my kids. We are fine,”Claudia said. “I don’t need anythingelse. I don’t need a bigger house. Ami me gusta mi casita (I like mysmall house).”

Though the move to the UnitedStates has allowed la familiaVásquez to prosper more so than inMexico, not all changes have beengood. José Francisco does not evenwant to visit Mexico anymore.

“He says that he doesn’t like itover there,” Francisca said. “I can’tblame him. His life is here."

However, Francisca said that aslong as she is alive she will teachher grandchildren who they are andwhere they came from.

“It’s their lives and once theygrow up it will be up to them tokeep their culture,” Francisca said.“But I am going to do my best toteach them when they are young.Son Mexicans aunque nacieron aquí(They are Mexicans even if theywere born here).”

Francisca does not worry toomuch about herself. She hasaccomplished what she wanted. Herchildren and grandchildren’s futuresare full of hope.

“I am already old, but my son canprosper in the future,” Franciscasaid.

“Me gusta el porvenir de mishijos. Eso es lo importante (I likewhat the future holds for mychildren. That is what isimportant.)"

(Above) - Ernesto Perez gets a drink from a makeshift faucet in hisgrandmother’s front yard.

(Left) - Ismael Compean (standing) and Ernesto Perez, grandchildren ofFrancisca Vasquez, play in one of the Vasquez family’s lots.

FAMILY continued from page 1

Ashley Brooks/The Pan American

Ashley Brooks/The Pan American

March 27, 2003 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 4

Adriana GarciaMusicSophomore

It’s okay because they choose to go. Ifthey want to risk their lives it’s for thegood of keeping us informed.

Sandra AlcocerSocial Studies CompositeJunior

Yes, because the public has theright to know what’s going on first-hand and by having a reporterpresent, people get a better accountof the reality of war.

Ganti Raghavender RaoManufacturing EngineeringGraduate

Yes. Absolutely. That would relieve usof the blame that has been cast uponus and to show the world that we areright.

Do you think reportersshould be embedded with

coalition troops?

Anant R. DeshpandeManufacturing EngineeringGraduate

Yes. Reporters are the bridging gapbetween the world which consists ofcommoners and the men of war. It isbecause of reporters that the world isshown the true picture.

VOICECCaammppuuss

Mariel PerezPre PharmacyFreshman

No, because I think about their familiesand their safety. In my opinion we haveenough technology and the means to findout the news without risking human lives.

March 27, 2003 Sports Page 13

March 27, 2003 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 3

NEWS■ Ochoa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5■ Business Ethics . . . . . . . . . 5■ Colonia Residents . . . . . . . 6

Ten years after his death, the people of SouthTexas still remember one of their most valuedheroes. This Saturday, the city of Edinburg willhost the second annual Cesar E. Chavez DayCelebration beginning with a march at 9 a.m.,from 10th Street and West University Drive,proceeding down to Sugar Road and north to theEdinburg Baseball Stadium.

The festivities will continue at the stadiumwith speakers, entertainment, food booths andexhibits until 1 p.m.

The celebration is an event designed toacknowledge the life of Chavez, a leader whostirred millions of Americans to seek socialjustice and civil rights for the poor in society andmeanwhile grabbed the attention of the nation.

Chavez, who died in 1993 at age 66, wasborn in Arizona and began life as a migrantworker. The World War II veteran labored in thefields of California and became a leading laboractivist. He is remembered for many things,among them the grape boycott he led in theearly 1970s.

Most of his work came on behalf of theUnited Farmworkers. Founded by Chavez in the1960s, the UFW was created to organizeagricultural workers in demonstrating for theirrights, many of them Mexican-Americans.

It has been over 30 years since the UFWinitially started working for the rights of migrantworkers and yet it is continuously active.Chavez was one of the most influential peoplewho joined the fight to gain respect forfieldworkers, and he stands as one major symbolof the farmworker struggle which continuestoday. He is perhaps the best known Latinopolitical figure, along the lines of freedomfighters like Che Guevara as an icon formillions.

The people of the Valley, who were involved

in their ownstruggles forlabor rights inthat era, willjoin togetherin Edinburg,Weslaco, andother towns, tocelebrate thememory ofChavez.

ManuelOchoa is theco-chairmanof the eventand hopes thatthecommunitywill beanxious toparticipate inthe activities.

“We’re hoping to bring an awareness aboutHispanic leaders that need to be recognized, andthe public will see that they can accomplishwhatever they want to,” Ochoa said.“Considering the large number of Hispanicsliving in the area we really wanted to bringsomething like this to the people, somethingthey can relate to.”

This community event has sponsors rangingfrom around South Texas, including theMcAllen Hispanic Chamber of Commerce,Region One Education Service Center, TexasAttorney General’s Office, Texas MigrantCouncil, Texas Workforce Solutions, La Joyaschool district, Mission High School, andUnited Farm Workers.

Cynthia Sakulenzki, President of the McAllenHispanic Chamber of Commerce, sad that alongwith the celebration on Saturday, Friday nightwill be special to students across the area, fromBrownsville to Laredo. One hundred of the top

migrant students from Region I, along with theirparents, will be recognized at a dinner receptionwith keynote Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, daughterof the late Robert F. Kennedy and a humanrights activist. Immediately after the dinnerreception there will be a private cocktailreception for the sponsors at the home ofHidalgo County Judge Ramon Garcia.

“The migrant students will be able to beinvolved with this great speaker who willeducate them to what he (Chavez) did for themand their families,” Sakulenzki said. “Chavezdedicated his entire life to bring relief to themigrant workers to change the agricultural lawsand issues such as the restricting house policies.We are just giving something back.“

Ochoa agrees with Sakulenzki and thinks thatstudents will be very exited to hear the speaker.

“I think the youth will identify with it [thedinner and celebration],” Ochoa said. “They willdefinitely feel good when they see the

recognition that Hispanic people can receive.” Sakulenzki also said that this will not only

bring acknowledgment to a great man, but to themigrant workers and everything they have beenthrough as well. They are beneficiaries of thehard work that the devoted Chavez did.

Yet while the youth of South Texas are beingexposed to a part of their history, othergenerations are able to open a window to theirpast experiences.

Yolanda Martinez, a longtime resident ofMercedes, knows about the benefits that Chavezwas fighting so strongly for. She began migrantwork with her family in first grade and didn’tstop until she graduated high school. Martinezsaid she would leave school in March andalways start several months into the new schoolyear due to the different crop seasons.

“I first heard about Cesar and all he wasdoing for the people when I was in college,”Martinez said. “I had already stopped migrantwork, but my friends and I were so glad thatsomeone would do that for us. It was finallytime that someone to take a stand.”

Martinez said that she still remembers theproblems that they faced while traveling throughnorthern states. Public housing was sometimesso poor that there was no indoor plumbing forthe separate families.

“The wages were so low considering thework we were doing, and I still remember howawful it was when pesticide would be sprayedover the fields where we would be working,”she said.

Although now a elementary school teacherwith children who will never know what it feltlike to work as migrants, Martinez never forgotwhat Chavez did for her and her future.

“I would love to attend an event thatcelebrated the life of Cesar,” she said. “Eventhough times are still tough for migrant workers,it could have been a lot worse if Cesar didn’tfight for us.”

By CLARISSA MARTINEZThe Pan American

Chavez march remembers leader

Cesar E. Chavez

Though the month of March is almost over,the South Texas Red Cross Chapter celebratedits annual Red Cross Month by spreadinginformation about the services they provide forthe Rio Grande Valley. Members alsocelebrated the history of The American RedCross.

According to Michael Huckabee, executivedirector of the South Texas Chapter, the localchapter was formed July 1, 1998 by a mergerof the two remaining chapters serving theRGV.

The two were originally the West CameronCounty Chapter and the Rio Grande ValleyChapter.

“Now there is one Red Cross Chapterserving the entire Valley, the South TexasChapter,” Huckabee said.

Huckabee said that most people do not knowthe Red Cross is not a government agency.Therefore the organization is not funded by thegovernment. One hundred percent of fundsused to provide Red Cross services come from

donations made by individuals, organizations,business and corporations.

“Not one penny from the government and/oryour tax dollars,” Huckabee said.

Although there is a paid staff whose primaryduty is to make certain of the delivery of RedCross services, it is a volunteer runorganization. There is a Board of Directorsmade up of volunteers from throughout theValley, Huckabee added.

The American Red Cross was chartered bythe United States Congress in 1905 and is incharge of two specific tasks: disasterpreparedness and relief, and Armed ForcesEmergency Services.

When a catastrophic event takes place, suchas a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, flood, theAmerican Red Cross is there to provide reliefand assistance to the victims. When no suchevents are taking place the American RedCross is still there 365 days a year to help thosein need in any other disaster such as a singlefamily fire.

“If you and your family are standing outsideyour destroyed home in nothing but yourbathrobes, have nothing left and no where to

go,” Huckabee said. “That is a disaster and theSouth Texas Chapter is there to help.”

Another service the Red Cross provides andpeople are not aware of is Armed ForcesEmergency Communications. When there isan emergency in a Service member’s family,the family is encouraged to contact the Chapterwho will then verify the emergency with theassistance of hospitals, doctors and funeralhomes, etc. Then, the Chapter will deliver averified Red Cross message to the Servicemember who can take that message to his orher Commanding Officer to request EmergencyLeave if needed.

Since the formation of the South TexasChapter, the Valley has been helped in a varietyof ways.

At this time Red Cross stations throughoutthe Valley are collecting “quality of life items”to send to the troops who fighting in the waragainst Iraq and is requesting the Communitysupport the unexpected expense to send all theitems over seas.

“There is bombing going on over there andwe want to help the troops in every which waywe can,” Huckabee said.

By HILDA BARRIENTESThe Pan American

Red Cross busy year ‘round■ Over $27,000 was provided to ValleyServicemen and women in Emergency ReliefGrants.

■ The South Texas Chapter has respondedto 565 disasters ranging from Single FamilyFires to Hurricane Bret, from localizedflooding to windstorms, from the South PadreIsland Bridge Collapse to a motel fire,spending over $558,000 in Direct DisasterRelief.

■ 2766 emergency messages have beendelivered from Valley families to Servicemenand women stationed throughout the world.

To become a volunteer call or stop by thenearest South Texas Chapter office. InBrownsville, 700 E. Levee, Suite 207, 541-5206, in Harlingen, 16281 N. Expressway 83,423-0523, or in Pharr, 425 W. State St., 787-7851.

To make a financial contribution, P.O. Box2202, Harlingen, Texas, 78551-2202. Alldonations made to the South Texas Chapter,unless designated otherwise, remain in theValley to assist in providing Red CrossServices to Valley residents.

RED CROSSINFORMATION

Photo: WWW. SFSU.EDU

March 27, 2003 sports Page 14

SWT sweeps UTPAThe Southwest Texas State Bobcats took Wednesday

night’s double header against the Broncs, winning thefirst game 5-0, and the nightcap 9-4. UTPA’s LouieAlamia extended his hitting streak to 21 games, oneshy of the school record.

Broncs reschedule games

UTPA’s baseball game against Dallas Baptist onSaturday, March 29 has been rescheduled to 4 p.m. Thegame was originally scheduled to be played at 7 p.m.On April 1, Pan Am’s single game against Texas A&M-Kingsville has been rescheduled to a doubleheader andwill begin at 3 p.m.

On March 25, the Broncs’ game against SouthwestTexas State was rained out after two scoreless innings.The game was made up on March 26 as part of adoubleheader.

Men take 19th, womencapture 12th in recent eventsThe University of Texas-Pan American men’s golf

team finished 19th at the 22-team FurmanIntercollegiate at the Furman University Golf Courseon March 23. UTPA finished with a 54-hole total of935. Virginia Tech won the tournament with an 869total. On March 25, the women’s golf team finished

12th at the 12-team Baylor-Tapatio Springs Shootoutat the Tapatio Springs Resort in Waco. The LadyBroncs finished the 54-hole tournament with a total of1,003. Illinois won the tournament with a 918 score.

Track and field athletes setpersonal records

UTPA’s track and field team set 12 personal recordsat the UTSA/Whataburger Relays held at GustafsonStadium last Saturday in San Antonio. SophomoreWestly Keating placed third overall in the hurdles(14.52 seconds) and sophomore Marlin Manley wasplaced second in the high jump at 6-8. Freshman AmyTorvik finished in second place at 400 meters (57.24seconds).

Sophomore Rowena Hamlet also notched a personalbest at the 400 (57.61 seconds). Freshman JessicaEhimika won her division at 400 meters in 1:01:85while five Lady Broncs had personal bests in the1,500-meter run.

Middleweights set forshowdown in Philly

Frenchman Mourade Hakkar will take on BernardHopkins of Philadelphia for his undisputedmiddleweight title in a 12-round bout at the FirstUnion Spectrum (broadcast on HBO) in Philadelphiaon March 29.

SSPPOORRTTSS CCLLIIPPBBOOAARRDD head up and found anew dedication to hersport.

"I learned todedicate myself andput my whole heartinto something and itbrought me somethinggood," she said.

Moses’ dailyworkout is at least 3and-a-half hours longand consists of manythings. She starts offby warming up for 30minutes on the trackby doing somespinning drills andstretching. Then ittakes her about anhour and a half toexecute at least 30throws, before she hitsthe weight room foranother hour and ahalf.

"It is hard to find atime for everythingbut I find a way to getit done," she said.

Getting to thenationalchampionships is anexperience that Moseswill never forget. "Itwas awesome and itwas overwhelming,"she said. "It’s amazingthat God blessed mewith this opportunity

considering all thecircumstances thatwere going on withmy family this pastyear."

Moses’ future plansare to make it to theOlympic tryouts in2004 and eventuallythrow for Canada inthe Olympics. Untilthen, she will keepworking to try toimprove her distancesin the weight throwand the hammerthrow.

"This year I want tohit 205 feet in thehammer throw," shesaid. "I am now at195 feet."

Moses will have achance to see whereher hard work istaking her thisSaturday, at theAngela ProcterInvitational, here atthe UTPA track. Herperformance will notcount for the NCAAsince she isredshirting theoutdoor track season,but it will give hermore experience incompetition. Thethrowing events willkick off at 11 a.m.

MOSES continued from page 16

Praise for Davila’s storyDear Editor,Thank you for printing the article of the

American solders now in Iraq. The manon the front page is my dad, Alex DavilaSr., and Alex Jr. is my older brother. Myname is Annette Contreras and I live inWisconsin. I have not seen my brother inover a year.

When I read the story it touched myheart, and right now my whole family istaking it very hard, especially my parents.When the article came out, it made myfamily very proud of my brother. For theperson who wrote the article and put thepictures together, I just wanted to say,“thank you.”

Annette ContrerasP.S. - My kids loved seeing their grand-

pa and uncle in the paper, so thanks again.

More Davila Dear Editor,I have to say, The Pan American did a

marvelous piece on my Uncle and won-derful, fearless cousin, Alex Davila Jr. Iknow that my entire family is grateful inyour honoring his position in this terriblewar.

Although if I could point out one veryimportant fact and I know my cousinwould appreciate it. He is married to awonderful, faithful woman, Zelma Davila,and they have two beautiful young daugh-ters, Annecia and Abrie. They are worthmentioning, for they are at a true losswithout their companion, husband anddad.

Thanks again for a wonderful anddeserving story.

Deanna R. Vereb, cousin to AlexDavila

Houston

Their right to say itDear Editor,Alright kids, I attended the peace rally

held on campus. Mind you I was not therein any way to show my support for theevent. In fact I strongly agree with andsupport the current direction our adminis-tration is heading in, well the war effortactually.

I didn’t vote for the yahoos, but once inoffice I try to only see and support theoffice of Presidency. I attended the peacerally because I DO strongly support peo-ple’s right to speak their minds. I alsowanted to hear arguments against the war;I’m not omnipotent, and the facts I havemay be wrong.

I wasn’t swayed by any of the argu-ments, except not to judge all Muslims bythe actions of a few. Of course, I knewthis already; good Texan upbringing.

I still support the war effort, and I sup-port the idea of students and staff to beable to express their ideas on campus, tospeak freely on whatever they want.

Again, I support the war. Fine, I’llagree, it’s not in my backyard, or even on

my continent, and I’m not all to fond ofthe folks in the Middle East. Again theseare personal opinions that I am allowed toexpress on campus and in this nation, andI like this.

Though I didn’t in anyway agree withthe rally, I gladly was there to observeand see people using their right to freespeech. Have I mentioned I strongly sup-port the war idea? Or the idea of remov-ing Saddam? Because I do.

“If all young people in America were toact as you intend to act, the countrywould be defenseless and easily deliveredinto slavery.” Albert Einstein in a Letterto a pacifist, 1941.

Rene Villalon Jr.Senior

Psychology Department

Marine supporterDear Editor,Early in my youth, I decided that one

day I would be part of the United StatesArmed Forces. It simply made sense tome that any honorable citizen should dohis or her part to serve this country. Itdidn't necessarily have to be military serv-ice but any other volunteer work wouldcertainly benefit this nation.

Several years later I dragged my parentsto the Marine Recruiting office to sign forme (I was only seventeen), and spent mysenior year in high school wondering whyit was that I wanted to be a U.S. Marineso bad. Joining the service wasn't exactlypopular in my sphere of influence.Students and friends would continuallyask me why I had chosen to leave and tothe Marines, "where you will surely 'die'".

I had a hard time responding and myanswer was never clearly understood bythem.

One day I found myself reading a booktitled “Night” by Elie Wiesel for myEnglish class. Although senioritis had def-initely set-in, I could not seem to pullmyself away from this book. It greatlyupset me to read how horrid the Jewishpopulation in Europe had been treated bythe Nazis, especially the Gestapo and thesecret police. As I finished reading thebook, I slammed it on my desk and real-ized, "That's it! That's why I am join-ing."

Throughout Wiesel's entire account, Iwas distraught by the fact that theseJewish civilians were helpless anddefenseless against the Nazi regime. Thisoppressing government needed to meet itsmatch and the United States ArmedForces would be it. I decided the focalpoint of me having joined the MarineCorps was to aid the oppressed and inpreventing such atrocities like theHolocaust from happening in my genera-tion.

I understood I would be at the mercy ofmy government but unlike so many peopleof my age group, I had faith in it.

In 1997, I graduated from high schooland left for Marine boot-camp two days

later. During my four years of service, theMarine Corps changed my life and Ienjoyed every bit of it. Although I wasnever summoned to war, and I’m gratefulfor that, I did manage to travel and meetsome of the people of the world.

The "hate" that the world seems to havefor the U.S. is grotesquely exaggerated bythe media and even professors. If therewas only one way I could describe all thepeople I came across whether in Australia,Singapore, Tonga, or Fiji, it would be tosay that we are truly all the same. Weshared the same thoughts, experiences,smiles, and feelings no matter what partof the globe we found ourselves in. Oncethe language barrier had been breached,there was no stopping the camaraderiethat ensued.

However, there was one place thatamazed me the most and that was Kuwaitand its people. I spent a few weeks thereas a part of the 10th anniversary of theliberation of Kuwait. President GeorgeBush, Sr., Margaret Thatcher, ColinPowell, and General Schwarzkopf wereamong the people in attendance. Yet, Iwas much more excited to have met theKuwaiti people.

I saw in their eyes and heard in theirwords the appreciation they felt for ourpresence in their country. They slept wellat night knowing the U.S. Marines werestanding guard on their borders ready forany Iraqi onslaught that might occur. Thatis the closest I ever came to realizing mygoal of being part of a force that protecteda peaceful people.

After having studied the Persian GulfWar and the Somali Crisis, I theoreticallylectured to my Marines that "we" were thegeneration of the desert. Not in a romanticsense, but in preparation for a possiblefuture war. I left the Marine Corps in June2001 only to experience September 11outside my tour of service. This eventfound the American Forces in Afghanistanand now in Iraq fighting terrorism andtyranny.

As much as I wish things could besolved peacefully, war neverthelessremains the last resort to ensure the secu-rity of this nation. War continues to behell, and this nation never fails to producethe great men and women in whom weentrust to carry out the decisions of thisnation's leaders. While we keep them inour hearts, thoughts, and prayers, take sol-ace in knowing that their unselfish actionswill free the people of a nation terrorizedfor way too long. And in recognition oftheir accomplishments, I am reminded ofwhat a U.S. President (Reagan) once said;"Some people spend an entire lifetimewondering if they've made a difference.The Marines don't have that problem."

Long live the United States, and successto the Marines.

Semper Fi,

Adrian MoralesSophomore, UTPA Student

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

http://www.panam.edu/dept/panamerican51st Year – No. 21

EditorMatt Lynch

mlynch@panam.edu

Layout Designers

Ashley Brooks

Gabriel O. Hernandez

Reporters

Hilda Barrientes

Juan Flores

Amelia Garcia

Alex Gravel

Aaron Lozano

Clarissa Martinez

Luis Saavedra

Nader M. Siam

Jennifer Tapia

Arianna Vazquez

Photographer

Daniel Aguilar

Circulation

Joe Rodriguez

Advertising Coordinator

Dagoberto Perez

Adviser

Dr. Greg Selber

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

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

Letters policy

March 27 2 0 0 3

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

Sports EditorEd Chrnko

echrnko@yahoo.com

A & E EditorAshley Brooks

Magrew2@hotmail.com

News EditorBelinda Reyes

beberay25@aol.com

Graphics EditorGabriel O.Hernandez

gabo296@hotmail.com

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

The Pan American wants to hear what you have to say about stories,current events or anything you want to rant about. Send your responsesto panameditor@hotmail.com

GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?

March 27, 2003 sports Page 15

Date Opponent Result SiteFeb. 1 SWT W 11-3 HFeb. 2 Sch. (DH) W 13-4 HFeb. 2 Schreiner W 7-1 HFeb. 10 Lamar (DH) L 10-16 HFeb. 10 Lamar W 3-2 HFeb. 11 Lamar L 2-9 HFeb. 14 California L 5-20 AFeb. 15 Nebraska L 1-9 AFeb. 16 SWT. L 3-12 AFeb. 19 Inc. Word (DH) L 8-12 (10) HFeb. 19 Inc. Word W 4-0 HFeb. 22 Ark.-Monticello (DH) W 15-0 HFeb. 22 Ark.-Monticello W 2-1 HFeb. 23 Ark.-Monticello L 5-6 HFeb. 26 Texas Tech - CanceledFeb. 27 Texas Tech - CanceledMar. 1 TAMUCC (DH) W 15-2, W 6-5 HMar. 2 TAMUCC L 7-3 HMar. 4 Reynosa (Exhib.) L 7-4 HMar. 7 TAMU L 14-2 AMar. 8 TAMU L 7-5 AMar. 9 TAMU L 7-4 AMar. 11 Sam Houston State W 3-2 (10) HMar. 12 Sam Houston State L 14-5 H

UTPA/Al Ogletree Classic (March 14-16)Mar. 14 Iona vs. Illinois 5-1 Illinois N/AMar. 14 Prairie View W 16-3 HMar. 15 Iona vs. Prairie View 9-1 Iona N/AMar. 15 Illinois L 4-0 HMar. 16 Illinois vs. Prairie View 13-0 Illinois N/AMar. 16 Iona W 9-8 H

Mar. 17 Iona W 6-1 HMar. 18 Iona W 14-2 HMar. 26 SWT (DH) L 5-0, L 9-4 A

Date Opponent Site Time

Mar. 28 Dallas Baptist H 7 p.m.Mar. 29 Dallas Baptist H 4 p.m.Apr. 1 TAMUK (DH) H 3 p.m.Apr. 5 TAMUCC (DH) A 1 p.m.Apr. 6 TAMUCC A 1 p.m.Apr. 8 Texas A 6:30 p.m.Apr. 11 Oral Roberts A 7 p.m.Apr. 12 Oral Roberts A 3 p.m.Apr. 13 Oral Roberts A 1 p.m.Apr. 15 Oklahoma St. A 6:30 p.m.Apr. 16 Oklahoma St. A NoonApr. 22 Texas A 6:30 p.m.Apr. 23 Texas-San Antonio A 1 p.m.Apr. 30 Texas-San Antonio (DH) H 5 p.m.May 2 Southeastern LA A 6:30 p.m.May 3 Southeastern LA A 3:30 p.m.May 4 Southeastern LA A 1 p.m.May 16 NMSU (DH) A 2/8 p.m.May 17 NMSU (DH) A 2/8 p.m.

UTPA Baseball Schedule

New coach prepared toguide Lady Broncs to wins

With their fourth head coach inthree years, the Lady Broncbasketball team seems to be in verygood hands to start working towardnext season. DeAnn Craft will leadthe women next season as they willtry to keep moving in the rightdirection.

Craft knows her basketball andunderstands what her players haveto face. She grew up in a family inwhich basketball was verypresent. Her father andbrother both played at thecollegiate level.

She was an outstandingcollege basketball playerat Central Florida,averaging 20.9 points pergame as a senior in 1987,ranked among the top 40players nationally inscoring, and leading thenation with a free-throw percentageof 92.6 percent.

Craft began her coaching careeras a graduate assistant at CentralFlorida before taking on a four-yearassistant coaching position atWichita State.

As a head coach, Craft compileda 66-30 record in a three-year stintat the helm of Cowley CountyCommunity College in Arkansas

City, Kan.Afterward, Craft became assistant

coach for the Richmond Rage of theAmerican Basketball League. Whenthe ABL folded, Craft became thetop assistant coach and recruitingcoordinator at San Diego State.

After a year at San Diego State,Craft became Lamar’s head coach.Under Craft’s tutelage, Lamarposted a 12-16 record during the2000-2001. The Cardinals finished10-10 in the Southland Conferencethat year, their best conference

finish ever."I owe a great deal of

my basketball backgroundto my father and brother,"said Craft, who takes overfor Tracy Anderson at thehelm of a team that wonseven games this season."They have beeninstrumental in myknowledge of the game

and in teaching me thesportsmanship that is involved."

Craft will bring her experience toa Lady Bronc team who will needstrong recruiting to be competitivein the next few seasons.

"My experience at otherinstitutions, the maturity I’ve gainedthrough the profession and therecruiting contacts I’ve maintainedwill be beneficial in helping to leadthis program," said Craft. "I believe

that if we can focus on surroundingthe nucleus of returners with a moreconsistent quality of skilled players,the program can make a turn tostability."

The Lady Broncs will return twostarters from this year’s squad, pointguard Amanda Carlow and shootingguard Jennifer Piwonka, and willonly have two seniors on the roster.

"We lost four seniors who playeda lot of minutes and there’s bigshoes to fill," said guard MaryDecock.

"I think we need quicker guardsand bigger posts so we can matchup against both more athletic andbigger teams," said Carlow.

The fans can look forward to awell balanced team in whichteamwork will be in display.

"I think we’ll all contribute and Idon’t think we’ll have only one ortwo players stepping up everynight," said Decock.

"My goal with young people is toteach ‘them before self’ and if thatgoal is accomplished, the victorieswill fall into place," said Craft.

Craft is ready to lead the LadyBroncs and likes what the futureholds for her team.

"I accepted the position at UTPAbecause I believe that with the rightoutside support, the women’sbasketball program is at its turningpoint," she said.

By ALEX GRAVELThe Pan American

The Sweet 16 is set for theNCAA women’s basketballtournament and the two Texaspowerhouses are still standing.

The Texas Longhorns in theWest and theTexas Tech LadyRaiders in theMidwest wereboth seededsecond and hadno majortroubles gettingthrough. TheLady Raiders

had a scare in the second roundagainst UC-Santa Barbara, butheld on to win it by four, 72-68.

Two other teams from the LoneStar State made it to the bigdance. Texas Christian University,seeded no. 9 in the East, fell tothe defending championUniversity of Connecticut in thesecond round, 81-66. SouthwestTexas State fell in the first roundto a much more talented andathletic Louisiana StateUniversity, 86-50.

It seems like number three wasan unlucky number in this year’stourney, as those seeds lost alltheir second round matchups.

All the number one and numbertwo seeds remain and the biggestupset of the tournament so farcame in the East with no. 11Notre-Dame beating no. 3 KansasState in the second round, 59-53,to earn a match against the no. 2seed in the East, PurdueUniversity.

The Lady Raiders will faceNew Mexico on Saturday, whilethe Longhorns will be back inaction on Sunday againstMinnesota for a chance toadvance to the Elite 8.

As for my picks, Villanova,UConn, Duke and Texas willreach the Final Four, and UConnwill take the title.

SSoommee ooff tthhee LLaaddyy BBrroonnccss’’ ppiicckkssffoorr tthhee FFiinnaall FFoouurr::

Assistant coachKate GalliganFinal Four:Tennessee,UConn, Texas,Duke

Champ: Duke

Senior NaimaWilliamsFinal Four:Tennessee,UConn, LSU,Duke

Champ: UConn

SophomoreJennifer ArriolaFinal Four:Villanova,UConn, Texas,Duke

Champ: Duke

Junior MaryDeCockFinal Four:Colorado,UConn,Minnesota, Duke

Champ: UConn

Senior Michelle SmithFinal Four:Tennessee,UConn, Texas,Duke

Champ: UConn

Soph. ClarisseArredondoFinal Four:Tennessee,UConn, LSU,Duke

Champ: Duke

Senior JuliePorterFinal Four:Tennessee,UConn, LSU, Duke

Champ: Duke

Soph. JenniferPiwonkaFinal Four:Tennessee,UConn, Texas,Duke

Champ: UConn

• Alex Gravel is a sports reporterfor The Pan American, as well asUTPA’s all-time leading scorer inwomen’s basketball history.

State of Texas well represented inWomen’s NCAA Tourney where toughest

teams set to collideBy ALEX GRAVELThe Pan American

NCAA pick ’em:team sounds off

DeAnn Craft

COMMENTARY

UTPA Track & Field Schedule

Date Opponent Site

March 29 Angela Proctor Open EdinburgApr. 3-5 Texas Relays AustinApr. 12 Stephen F. Austin

Dogwood Inv. SFAApr. 18-19 Southwestern Bell

Classic WacoApr. 24-26 Drake Relays Des MoinesMay 3 Texas Invitational AustinMay 17 UTPA Open EdinburgMay 30-31 NCAA Regionals LincolnJune 11-14 NCAA Championships Sacramento

UTPA Men’s Tennis Schedule

Date Opponent Site

March 29 Oral Roberts ArlingtonMarch 30 *Texas-Arlington Arlington Apr. 4 Texas A&M-CC Corpus ChristiApr. 5 *Centenary UTPAApr. 9 Rice Houston Apr. 12 *UTSA UTPAApr. 25-27 *Conf.Tourney SA

Bold indicates Home Match* indicates Southland Conference match

UTPA Women’s Tennis Schedule

Date Opponent SiteApr. 5 Centenary UTPAApr. 12 Texas A&M-CC UTPAApr. 16 McNeese State UTPA

Bold indicates home match

UTPA Men’s Golf Schedule

Date Opponent Site

Apr. 7-8 Diet Pepsi ShockerClassic Wichita, KS

May 9-11 National Minority Golf Championships Pt. St. Lucie

UTPA Women’s Golf Schedule

Date Opponent Site

April 9-12 EKU Lady Colonel Classic Richmond KY

May 9-11 National Minority Golf Championships Pt. St. Lucie

Bold indicates home event

Other Schedules

THURSDAYMarch 27, 2003

An Inside Look:

■ News ............................................3■ A & E............................................7■ Sports ........................................16

T h e S t u d e n t N e w s p a p e r o f T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f T e x a s - P a n A m e r i c a nPage 4

CCaammppuussVOICE

Do you thinkreporters should

be embeddedwith coalition

troops?

On March 15 Amy Moses made historywhen she was the first athlete to representthe University of Texas-Pan American atthe NCAA National Indoor Track andField Championships.

The 20-year-old from Edinburg NorthHigh School finished 15th at the 20-poundweight throw with a distance of 58 feetand 4 1/2 inches. Not bad for a girl whohas only been throwing the weight for alittle over a year.

"Amy had an incredible season and forher to even qualify was something,considering the fact that last year was the

first year she ever threw the weight," saidhead coach Ricky Vaughn. "She didn’t doexactly as well as we hoped but she willdefinitely learn from this."

A native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, theCanadian moved to the Valley in March1998 when her mother found a jobopportunity as a nurse at the McAllenMedical Center. The move was not thatbig of a cultural shock for Moses.

"It was weird at first but I was notintimidated by the different culturebecause my dad is black and my mom iswhite," Moses said. "I grew up livingwith different cultures."

She enrolled at Edinburg North HighSchool at the end of her sophomore year,

joined the track and field team and endedup the track and field MVP as asenior and went to state in thediscus throw, finishing fifth.

When she came to UTPA as afreshman in 2000, Moses foundherself without a coach to helpher on her technique.

"We didn’t really have acoach for throwers so the guys(throwers) would help me outwith my technique and stuff,"she said.

The arrival of Vaughn thevery next year had a big impacton Moses’ career. "He saw thepotential that I had and I

improved 13 feet since he got here,"Moses said.

But potential is not allthat is needed to besuccessful at the Division Ilevel; hard work anddedication are also keys.

Moses had to move backhome last summer tosupport her mother who hashad four surgeries in thepast year, which made itmore difficult financially forthe family. Through all theadversity, Moses kept her

■ Meet the new coach. . 15■ Lady Bronc Swamis. . .15■ Sports Clipboard . . . . .13

PAGE 16

SPORTS

The amazing freshmanfrom the Netherlands, OliverSteil, won his ninthconsecutive singles match topropel the University ofTexas-Pan American men’stennis team to a 5-2 win overvisiting Lamar University onSaturday at the Cox TennisCenter.

The win was UTPA’s fifthconsecutive victory and theyimproved to 8-4 and 1-1 inthe Southland Conference.The first year marvel Steilhas been very impressive oflate torching the competitionand running off wins in nineconsecutive matches bringinghis record to 11-2 in singlesplay for the season.

“Oliver is a very constantplayer, all aspects of hisgame are solid; he brings alot to our team,” said UTPAhead tennis coach ToddChapman. “I am notsurprised he is doing so well,what does surprise me is howhe adapted so well his firstyear in another country, incollege and all the pressureson him.”

Chapman believes there ismore to Steil’s success thansheer talent.

“I think with some

conditioning and work in theweight room his game willonly get better,” he said.

According to Steil - theRio Grande Valley transplant- personal records are anaccomplishment, but makinga contribution to the team iswhat really matters.

“I am happy to be herecontributing to this team, Iwant to work on my gameand improve,” he said.“Coach Chapman has beengreat helping me with manydifferent aspects of mygame.”

Steil who started playingtennis in the street with hisfather when he was five yearsold, has always looked up toGerman tennis great BorisBecker.

“I have always lovedwatching Boris Becker play,”he said. “I try to play like hedoes, with no fear and apassion for the game. Myfamily and I used to stay upall night watching tennis ontelevision and that’s where alot of love for the gamecomes from.”

While winning ninestraight singles contests sinceFeb. 12 against St. Mary’s isquite an accomplishment forSteil, the UTPA standoutfeels there is still work to bedone.

“All I want to do isimprove my singles anddoubles play so our teamcould make the NCAAnational tournament,” hesaid.

According to Chapman,doubles play continues to bethe prime area where theteam - including Steil - mustwork hard to improve.

“The team has madestrides, but this year’sdoubles has been our Achillesheel,” Chapman said. “Wegot caught in some closematches, and we didn’t makethe shots we needed. Weplayed well in singles.”

Finding success in his firstseason of collegiate tennis,Steil believes he can only getbetter, and believes the teamwill also improve.

“We have many of ourplayers coming back nextyear the sky is the limit,” hesaid.

Steil said he plans to stayin the United States aftergraduation.

“I think I would like tomaybe coach tennis,” he said.“I have learned a lot fromcoach Chapman.”

The Texas-Pan Americantennis teams will return toaction next Saturday, whenthey play Oral Roberts inArlington, Texas.

By NADER M. SIAMThe Pan American

Amy Moses

Steil captures ninestraight for Broncs

Practice makes perfect for Moses

Freshman standout continues to propel Broncs to success with nine consecutive wins

Photo by Nader M. Siam/The Pan American

Freshman Oliver Steil plays fifth and sixth singles for the UTPA men’s tennis team.

By ALEX GRAVELThe Pan American

See MOSES page 14

She led her family to Alamo eightyears ago looking for a better life.

“Venimos por necesidad (We camebecause of necessity),” Francisca, 47,said. “We needed to work and Iwanted my younger children to beable to attend school. Over there (inMexico) we could not afford forthem to go further than elementary.Here if you work you can at leastafford to eat. Over there the moneyyou make is not enough and there isno opportunityforadvancement.”

Just as manybefore them, thefamily crossedthe Rio Grande,or as they knowit, the RioBravo, to live inthe land ofopportunity.

At the timeher oldest child,Claudia, was 19and heryoungest, José Francisco, who liveswith her, was only eight. Her otherchildren Dulce, Emilio, and Sandrawere in between.

All the children moved to theUnited States voluntarily. Sandra, thefourth child, was going on 11 andhoped to study here.

“I wanted to come so that I couldattend school,” Sandra said. “Iwanted to study to be acosmetologist.”

Claudia was already married andher first child was three-months-oldwhen they moved. She and herhusband came to work.

“I came following my mom,”Claudia said. “We came to work andbetter our lives. In Mexico my sisterDulce and I started working at 15and my brother Emilio at 13. We stillweren’t making it. We knew it wouldbe better here.”

Upon arrival the family did notknow where to turn for assistance.Things were difficult for them thefirst two years they lived in the U.S.

“We went through some hard timeswhen we first moved,” Franciscasaid. “My daughter’s son was sosmall. We knew there was helpavailable, but we didn’t know whereto go.”

Although the rest of the familyadapted to the move well, after a year

of residing in theValley, Francisca’shusband decided tomove back to RioBravo, Tamaulipaswhere theyorignally movedfrom.

“He gotimpatient andcould notunderstand the wayof life here,"Francisca said.“We still have arelationship with

him. My children see him aboutthree to four times a year. He doesn’twant to come over here and wedon’t want to go back. Maybe whenJosé Francisco is done with schoolwe can move back. It is going to beup to him.”

Then two years after the moveand after the couple had anotherbaby, Claudia’s husband alsoreturned to Mexico, but not bychoice.

“We had some problems in ourmarriage,” Claudia said. “He hit meonce during a fight and the policewere called. He was deported.”

Claudia remarried five years agoand now has another boy who isthree years old. Dulce is alsomarried and has four children.Emilio and his wife have three

While many people take the basic necessities of life for granted,there are some families, particularly along the U.S.-Mexico

border, that survive without even a source of clean water

(Above) - The yard beside the home of Francisca Vasquez and heryoungest son, José Francisco, is cluttered with possessions because theirhome is not large enough to accommodate them.

Francisca Vasquez, a coloniaresident in Alamo, talks while threeof her grandchildren, Joanna, Ismaeland Ernesto, play. Francisca, anative of Mexico, has lived in theUnited States for eight years.

Between Two Worlds

By AMELIA GARCIAThe Pan American

Over there themoney you make

is not enoughand there is noopportunity foradvancement.

“

“

- Francisca Vasquez,colonia resident

F rancisca Vásquez and her 16-year-old son

live in a shack smaller than some closets,

without running water or electricity. But

she says, “No tengo de que quejar me (I have

nothing to complain about).”

See FAMILY page 12

Ashley Brooks/The Pan American

Ashley Brooks/The Pan American