october 17, 2002

It’s the age of technology, and theUniversity of Texas-Pan American is onthe cutting edge this week by hostingthis year’s Hispanic Engineering,Science and Technology Week.(HESTEC).

“Our initiative started withCongressman Ruben Hinojosa and Mr.Roland Arriola (Vice-President forExternal Affairs), and of course theuniversity goal of bringing morestudents into careers like engineering,”said Gilbert Maldonado, UTPA directorof special projects.

Maldonado said HESTEC Week isdesigned to serve as a catalyst forincreasing the number of Hispanicmajors in engineering, science, andmathematics at the undergraduate andgraduate level. Partners for HESTECinclude Region One Education ServiceCenter, UTPA GEAR-Up, UT-Brownsville GEAR-Up, and RegionOne GEAR UP, and the BoeingCompany.

Statistically only five out of every1,000 Hispanic students enter the fieldsof engineering and computer science.But UTPA is one of the leading schoolsfor Hispanic students with 86 percentenrollment, and is trying to change thestatistics. According to Maldonado, theengineering and science programs atUTPA are expected to triple theirenrollment by the year 2010.

HESTEC will feature a week ofevents expected to excite and motivatemiddle and high school students to enterthe various technological fields, andalso inspire educators to act as guidesand mentors for aspiring students.

Karinna Lazcano, a senior majoringin manufacturing engineering, is onestudent helping out in the activities thisweek.

“I believe the high school studentsparticipating in HESTEC week aregoing to be enrolling at UTPA in acouple of years,” Lazcano said. “This[HESTEC] is going to help theuniversity, since I think one of the main

THURSDAYOctober 17, 2002

An Inside Look:

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

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

Page 4

CCaammppuussVOICE

Do youthink UTPAshould havea student

radiostation?

By CLARISSA MARTINEZThe Pan American

Arianna Vazquez/The Pan American

FLYIN’ HIGH— A student waves a green, orange and white flag last Friday nightat Midnight Madness. Students gathered inside the Fieldhouse cheer on theBronc basketball teams at the annual event to kick off the season.

High tech affair

No wonder parking spaces areat a premium this term at theUniversity of Texas-PanAmerican.

Student enrollment throughoutthe 14 academic universities inthe University of Texas System,including UTPA, has increasedthis fall by seven percent from143,629 to 159,799 students.

According to a news releasefrom the UT System Web page,the increase is a result of factorssuch as "expanded recruitmentand retention programs, and newscholarshipprograms." The newsrelease also stated that"college anduniversity enrollmenthistorically tends toincrease duringperiods of a weakeconomy."

UT-Tylerexperienced thelargest increase in thesystem, a jump of14.3 percent from3,732 to 4,265students.

UT-Austin reacheda record enrollment of52,273 students, a 3.3-percent increasecompared to its50,616 figure last fall.UT-Austin is the onlyone of the 14academic universitiesin the system to servea large studentpopulation, accordingto the news release.For the second year ina row, the Austinschool is the largestuniversity in thenation.

A recent article inthe Daily Texan, theUT-Austin studentnewspaper, indicatedthat though the schoolhas faced nodifficulties providingits students withimportant services, itspresident, LarryFaulkner hasappointed a

committee to investigate forminga task force on enrollmentstrategy. The task force will beresponsible for studying theuniversities’ capacity anddeveloping a rational strategy forenrollment management.

Locally, UTPA has seen a 5.5-percent increase from 13,460 to14,391 students. According toDirector of Admissions andRecords David Zuniga, manyfactors have contributed toUTPA’s tremendous summergrowth of nearly 11 percent,which carried over into the fallsemester.

“Better advising services and

By SUNAYNA MAHTANIThe Pan American

Full house:Enrollment up

■ UT Arlington - 21,180 to 23,576

■ UT Austin - 50,616 to 52,273

■ UT Brownsville - 9,371 to 9,937

■ UT Dallas - 12,455 to 13,403

■ UT El Paso - 16,220 to 17,232

■ UT Pan American - 13,460 to 14,391

■ UT Permian Basin - 2,409 to 2,705

■ UT San Antonio - 19,883 to 22,017

■ UT Tyler - 3,732 to 4,265

Ashley Brooks/The Pan American

SOURCE: UT Texas System

EEnnrroollllmmeennttiinnccrreeaasseess

Students encouraged to seek education, careersin various technological fields

See ENROLLMENT page 4

See HESTEC page 5

CAMPUS

■ Democraticgubernatorial candidateTony Sanchez will be oncampus Monday, Oct.21 to speak tostudents, facult y andstaff in the StudentUnion Media Theatre at11:45 a.m. The visit willkick off the Sanchezcampaign’s early voteactivities for the state,according tospokeswoman MichelleKucera. UTPA’s YoungDemocrats will sponsorthe event. Election Dayis Tuesday, Nov. 5.

NATION

■ Nor th Korea hasdisclosed to the UnitedStates that it has anactive nuclear weaponsprogram. According tosenior administrationofficials, Pyongyang wasconfronted withevidence that it hasenough plutonium for atleast two nuclearweapons, whichprompted theacknowledgment of theprogram. The sourcesaid the Bushadministration intends tokeep talking with Nor thKorea and does notintend to putdiscussions to disarmthe nation on hold. Bush has named Nor thKorea as a member ofthe Axis of Evil.

Thousands of spirited fanscrammed into the Fieldhouse Fridaynight to witness the ceremonial firstbasketball practice of the season andto help Midnight Madness live up toits name. The bleachers were packedfrom top to bottom, with limitedseating more available the further therows were from the floor.

Sprinkled throughout the bleacherssat boys dressed as girls, guysdressed in army fatigues, sororitysisters dressed as cowgirls, andfanatics with orange, green and whitepainted faces - all cheering andawaiting their turns to present wellchoreographed dance routines whichwould draw even more attention totheir respective groups.

The screaming and unbridled fanswere primed for the night ofexcitement and sports rhetoric. Earlyin the evening they had participatedin a tailgating party which concludedin a series of cheerleader drills andthe traditional letter-burningceremony. By the time theFieldhouse was opened to the fans,school spirit shone warm on all thefaces in the crowd. The cacophony ofbanter, applause and shoutingproduced by the fans could be heardhalfway across campus, and as the

hour approached midnight and theanticipation of the 2002-2003 Bronchoops unveiling drew closer, thecrowd’s eruptions became morefrequent and louder.

The event was seamless. And forall the work that went into shapingMidnight Madness, it should havebeen. Midnight Madness started backin the 1970s at the University ofMaryland, when coach Lefty Driesellturned the first official day ofpractice into a showcase of histeam’s talents. The event has caughton around the country and is now astaple of each school’s preseasonhoops preparations.

“Certainly planning an event ofthat size takes several months,” saidCraig Pintens, head of marketing forUTPA athletics, “Next year’s willeven be bigger and better.”

But for all the entertainment theorganized chaos offered, its purposewas clear - to serve as the bells,whistles, and fancy packaging of theUTPA 2002-2003 basketball roster.

The most notable changesimplemented this season took placeon the men’s roster.

At the end of the 2001-2002season, the Bronc’s had a 20-10record and were considered for theNational Invitational Tournamentafter their best season in 12 years.But key players Marcus Quinn and

Mire Chatman both graduated duringthe off-season, drastically changingthe dynamic of the team.

During the offseason, head coachBob Hoffman and the Broncsacquired many new players that thecoaching staff hopes will to fill thevoid created by the departure ofthose two stars.

Three of the most notableadditions to the lineup this seasonare junior transfer students ChrisFagan and Prince Thompson, and6’8” freshman Derrick East, whowas red- shirted last season and willbe starting this season with fouryears of eligibility.

These players made up three-fourths of the UTPA slam dunkcontest, along with returning guardKevin Mitchell. They collectivelyshowcased their talents in awholesome display of to-the-holeand in-your-face basketballshowboating.

The one-dunk-per-playercompetition, judged by tennis coachTodd Chapman, assistant track coachMarissa Robinson, and men’s golfcoach Mark Gaynor, was dominatedby Fagan and East. East took firstplace in the competition bycompleting an assisted dunk in whichhe recovered an off-the-backboardpass for a two-handed dunk.

Fagan, who captured second place,

came up short of the 8.5 first placescore held by East when judgeMarissa Robinson awarded him only6.5 points for his between-the-leg,around-the-world slam. Mitchell,who did not follow through on hisattempt, was awarded four points forpresentation due to the theatricalnature of his shot - a marvelousattempt at leaping over an occupiedsofa for a two-handed dunk.

The Lady Bronc equivalent camein the form of a three-point shootout.The competition, a 45-secondindividual allotment in which playerscould shoot from five positionsaround the three-point line, wasdominated by senior Alex Gravel,who nailed twelve attempts,including one at the buzzer, puttingher four shots over second placeMichelle Smith. Gravel is theschool’s all-time leader in long-rangeshooting.

The season itself will be the onlytrue test of how either roster stacksup, but men’s head coach BobHoffman is optimistic about histeam.

“We’re a lot further along in theprocess than many of the otherteams,” Hoffman said, “ We havequite a few players coming back whoknow the routine, and we have agreat idea of what are new playersare going to be able to do.”


UTPA PRIDE: Midnight Madness was in full swing outside the Fielhouse as Bronc fans showed their school spirit last Friday.

■ GPA on rise . . . . . . . . 15

■ Volleyball Preview. . . . .14

■ Staff’s swami picks . . . 13

PAGE 16

Madness invades UTPA

SPORTSNFL WILL NOT TOLERATE:The NFL will not fine ordiscipline all-pro TerrellOwens for Monday night’stouchdown celebration.However, leaguespokesman Greg Aiellosaid no such act will betolerated from now on.The Niner receiver beatSeahawks cornerbackShawn Springs for a scorethen reached into his sockto grab a pen, signed afootball, then tossed it tohis financial adviser inthe front row. Seahawkshead coach MikeHolmgren didn’t commendOwens behavior andcalled it “shameful” and“a dishonor to anyonewho ever played thisgame.” Two years ago,Owens was suspended forone game by head coachSteve Mariucci for run-ning into the middle of theDallas Cowboy star logoat midfield. The Seahawksand Niners will have theirrematch on Dec. 1.

NFL

NFL

SHANAHAN RESPONDs:Denver Broncos headcoach Mike Shanahan inhis news conferenceshowed a video ofstrong safety KenoyKennedy hitting Miamireceiver Chris Chambersalong with two otherhits to support thatKennedy should not havebeen suspended forSunday’s game.Shanahan said theleague suspendedKennedy because therewas an intent to injureChambers’ head as hewas coming down withthe ball. Chambers suf-fered a concussion andlaid on the field forabout five minutes.

By BRIAN CARRThe Pan American

Numerous student events highlight tipoff to 2002-2003 basketball campaign

Standing room only

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

http://www.panam.edu/dept/panamerican51th Year – No. 8

EditorMatt Lynch

[email protected]

Layout Designers

Ashley Brooks

Mike Gonzalez

Gabriel Hernandez

Reporters

Veronica Barrera

Clarissa Martinez

Elizabeth Martinez

Nikki Ramirez

Cesar Trevino

Celeste Y. Tello

Arianna Vazquez

Advertising

Dagoberto Perez

Circulation

Jesus M. Gonzalez

Advertising Coordinator

Juanita Sanchez

Adviser

Dr. Greg Selber

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

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

Letters policy

October 172 0 0 2

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

Sports EditorMike Gonzalez

[email protected]

Celebrating 50 years

A & E EditorAshley Brooks

[email protected]

News EditorCristina [email protected]

Copy EditorsSunayna Mahtani

andBelinda Reyes

Graphics EditorGabriel O.Hernandez

[email protected] NEWS■ Bucky . . . . . . . . . . . 3■ Alumni Assoc . . . . . 4 ■ HESTEC pics . . . . . 12

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

A ‘Final’ Parking SolutionEditor,I recently read, in a sidebar in the Pan

American newspaper on page 4, what somestudents said regarding the lack of parkinghere at the university.

They got it all wrong.We do NOT need more parking lots

built and more spaces added. That wouldsimply add more walking distance fromparking lot to class. These students clearlydid not take the time to think about whatthey said before they said it.

I've thought about this a good bit, evenbefore I returned to complete my educationthis semester. I believe I've come up with aMUCH better solution to the parkingproblem than the 'no brainer' of "makemore parking lots!"

At the end of a Spring semester (not2003 -- I seriously doubt the bureaucratscould get off their duffs to make thishappen in such a timely manner -- I'd guesswe'd be looking at 2005, or later, if theywere to start on this /now/), close a parkinglot for the summer. Yes. I said close aparking lot. Why? To bring in aconstruction crew and turn a flat 'groundlevel' parking lot into a three-story parkinggarage. In one fell swoop the capacity of

that parking lot would have tripled orquadrupled -- and the construction couldeasily be done in time for the next fallsemester... and with the much lowersummer time population of the school,having one parking lot closed for thesummer sessions wouldn't change a wholelot.

The summer after that, another parkinglot could be so renovated, to as to furtherincrease the amount of available parkingfor the students(and faculty!).

Just imagine the parking lots on thecorners of 5th/107 and Sugar/Schunior asbeing two-story parking garages withparking available on the roof (for aneffective THREE stories of parking area).That would about TRIPLE the availableparking for the school without having toincrease walking distance for those whouse the parking.

I realize that the cost of this solutionwould fall to the students, in the form of astudent 'parking fee'... but by the sametoken, the school could then do away withthe whole parking permit system. In anycase, the cost of a new parking lot wouldbe passed on to the students anyhow.

Want to make sure non-students and non-faculty don't use these proposed parkinggarages? There's a fairly simple solution to

that:Card-readers to read the magnetic strip

that's already on the backs of all of ourstudent I.D. cards that would open a barrierto allow the vehicle to enter. This optionwould also allow for one of the parkinglots to be a 'reserved' parking area;students/faculty could pay a small parkingfee to gain access to this parking -- orchoose not to and have access only to thenon-reserved parking.

To compensate for the total lack ofvisitor parking, if parking garages of thissort are actually used, the parking lot onthe corner of Sugar/107 could be turnedinto Visitor Parking.

In any case, I just wanted to point outthat there is a MUCH better solution to theschool's parking woes than the 'build moreparking lots' idea the interviewed studentsall seemed to propose. Grow a brain,people! THINK for a change. This is theUniversity of Texas-Pan American. Try toact like you're at an institution of higherlearning! It's lame-brained excuses forthoughts and ideas, like the ones youoffered up, that make people in northernparts of the country call this school 'TacoTech'.

C. Carranza

People with faces painted with green andorange waited impatiently for the firemen toget those letters on fire. Fraternities and otherorganizations waited with flags held high forthe U, T, P and A to be ignited. Camerasflashed and cheers from the crowd emerged onthe parking lot outside the Fieldhouse whilethe university acronym burned with pride. Itwas Midnight Madness once again.

The annual basketball kickoff party tookplace Friday night with events ranging from anewly added fajita cook-off, the burning of theletters, introduction of the players, and anappearance by mascot Bucky the Bronc

Cheerleaders encouraged the crowd withBronc cheers and chants. Christine Carruthers,director of Student Judicial Affairs, said thatthough it was only the second year the bonfirewas initiated, it brought a very good responsefrom the crowd.

“It was fun, it was great seeing everybodycome out tonight,” she said.

As midnight approached, many hurried toget a seat inside the Fieldhouse, where the 3-on-3 men’s and women’s basketball gameswere being played.

Midnight Madness made its official startwith “The Star-Spangled Banner,” sung by theUTPA Men’s Choir. They also sang the schoolalma mater.

Twelve different organizations danced tochoreographed tunes from country songs tohits from the movie, “Grease.” Delta Zetastarted the dancing competition followed bySTEPS, Young Adult Catholic Ministry(YACM), and the Sol y Luna International

Dance Club, which won a standing ovation forits meringue and salsa dance. The club alsoshowed its spirit with bright neon outfits andorange colored hair.

Dulce Cantu, a member of the YACM, saidstudent support is needed and MidnightMadness brings that support to the university’sbasketball teams.

“I believe that Midnight Madness is verygood for the teams because that way they canbe motivated,” she said.

Bucky the Bronc made an appearance laterin the evening to introduce the Lady Broncs.After the introduction, the girls competed in athree-point shoot out that ended with AlexGravel’s victory.

The rest of the organizations danced afterthe Lady Broncs introduction, including theUTPA Blazers and the cheerleaders, whoshowed their pride and got the crowdmotivated to yell chants with them whileperforming jumps and stunts.

Cheerleader Laura Solis said that it’s veryimportant that the students come out to supportthe Broncs and attend Midnight Madness.

“It is very important that we represent ouruniversity and help it grow, expand, and letpeople know all about the University of Texas-Pan American,” Solis said.

The Broncs and Lady Broncs were also partof the dancing competition in MidnightMadness. They showed they are not justbasketball players, but dancers who know howto have a good time.

Senior Bronc Kevin Mitchell felt that it was

a good crowd and they had a lot of fun atMidnight Madness.

“It was a nice night, everybody waslaughing and giggling. It was a niceenvironment to be in at Midnight Madness,”Mitchell said.

The men also had a competition to show offtheir dunking skills and give the fans a glimpseof what to expect during the upcoming season.The men start Nov. 9 with an exhibition athome against Monterrey Tech. Nov. 10 iswhen the women get going, against theHouston Jaguars at home.

The slam dunk contest and three-pointshootout were a success and it got the studentscheering for the players they support. Bothbasketball teams felt pumped up to start theseason by seeing how well the crowdresponded, according to senior Lady BroncJulie Porter.

“I think it is great the students at Pan Amcome out here and support us to see who wegot this year, our schedule, and everything. It’sreally great and it kind of gets us hyped up tosee that our people support what we aredoing,” Porter said.

Not only did the players have a good time,but the student body that was there supportingthem also left happy and excited for the startof the season.

Charlie Caceres, coordinator of Intramurals,Cheerleaders and the Blazer Dance Team, saidhe crowd responded really well.

“We are tired, but we think it definitely paidoff,” he said.

By ARIANNA VAZQUEZThe Pan American

Varied events at MadnessBronc mascot, cheerleaders among celebrants at

annual basketball kickoff event

To some ballplayers, college is not apriority, but the University of Texas-PanAmerican has been fortunate the past fewyears to recruit a number of hardworkingstudent-athletes who have helped theprogram reach a respectable level.

UTPA athletes have improved theiracademic performance for six straightsemesters. In spring 2002, student athleteshad a cumulative grade point average(GPA) of 2.88, an improvement from 2.81

in the fall of 2001. Athletic Director William Weidner came

to UTPA four years ago and has made amajor contribution to the students.

“This has been a tremendous turnaroundfor us,” Weidner said.

According to Weidner, 41 percent ofstudent athletes received a cumulativeGPA of 3.0 or higher. When he came toUTPA in 1997, the GPA for studentathletes was 2.2 and below that of thegeneral student body. According toWeidner, UTPA coaches deserve credit formotivating their athletes not only toperform in their respective sport, but alsoin the classroom.

“We were below the student GPA fouryears ago,” Weidner said. “Our coachesare doing a good job in recruiting athletesthat are talented.”

The men’s and women’s tennis teamsposted the highest GPA in spring 2002.The Lady Bronc tennis players earned anaverage GPA of 3.65 GPA, while the menearned a 3.44. Women’s basketball, golf,and volleyball teams each had at least a3.2 GPA in the spring. Athletes on thedean’s list included: Kareem Abdullah,men’s tennis; Alana Breen, women’stennis; Crystal Frasier, women’s golf;Mike Killian, baseball; Marvin Manns,baseball; Ed Marko, baseball and EveNickelson, women’s tennis.

Volleyball player Jessica Lawson keepsherself motivated both on the volleyballcourt and in the classroom. She was on thedean’s second honors list in the spring andkeeps her purpose for being at UTPA inperspective.

“At times it’s hard, but you just have to

remember that the reason you’re here is togo to school,” Lawson said.

Many changes have occurred sinceWeidner’s arrival to the UTPA athleticprogram. One important one was thedevelopment of the UTPAfreshman/transfer orientation program.This program is mandatory for all UTPAfreshman and transfer athletes. It’s a 10-week deal that prepares all studentathletes for college life. Areas such asacademic, social and personal strategiesare among the topics discussed at theorientation.

Weidner believes the orientation hashelped athletes make their transition toUTPA.

“That’s been key to the athletes’

There’s more to cheerleading than just bigsmiles. It takes months of hard work just toget to the competition. Then comes thetoughest part.

Hard work and dedication take center stagefor a successful squad, and the Bronccheerleaders have already been preparing forthe national competition slated for Jan. 9-12.The squad is looking to top their second placefinish at last year’s competition.

The team has already put itself in acompetitive mindset. Laura Solis, one of theteam’s two captains, has high hopes for thecompetition team.

“I think we’re going to do well, and I hopethat we’ll bring home a nationalchampionship,” she said. “I’m sure we’llbring home a national championship.”

Coordinator for Student Activities CharlieCaceres shares Solis’ ambitions for a nationaltitle.

“I expect them to win,” he said. “We don’tgo out there for a weekend at Orlando. We goout there to take everything.”

Caceres said that the team is serious aboutbringing home a national championship titlein their division.

“We’re going out there to kick some booty.You ask these kids and they’re serious aboutthis,” he said.

Last year the cheerleaders competed againstsmall coed squads in three divisions, none ofwhich was UTPA’s national division. Thecompetition has been reformatted this year soUTPA will only compete against otherDivision-I and Division-IA schools.

“Last year we got second place within ourdivision,” Caceres said. “This year thedivisions changed up a little.”

Despite the changes in the competition, thecheerleaders have been preparing for theevent. The squad took advantage of theMidnight Madness festivities last week tovideotape some of its routines to use fornationals.

“Right now we are preparing forvideotaping for nationals, Midnight Madnesshelped us out a great deal in a portion of thevideotaping,” Caceres said. “Right now we’redoing all the other stuff that we need to getdone.”

The squad is required to send in a videotape

that displays the team’s talent. The materialon the videotape will determine the squad’sranking and eligibility.

“We need to send in a tape that showsskills, a cheer, and a sideline,” Caceres said.“Our ranking will depend on that material.”

If the team gets ranked first based on theirvideotape, they will automatically reach thefinals at nationals. UTPA will likely receiveits ranking a couple of weeks after submittingits video, and then prepare for the actualcompetition based on the ranking.

“A lot of what we’re doing right now isalready in preparation for nationals,” Caceressaid.

Another measure Caceres has taken thisyear to ensure a successful competition is tobring on four extra individuals in case one ofthe 16 competitors suffers an injury oracademic difficulties.

“This year we did things differently, wedecided to pick up 18 individuals,” he said.“As we progress from a competitivestandpoint we realize that there are injuriesthat occur [and] there may be academicproblems, and we have to have a bench to goto.”

Caceres decided to bring on one extra maleand female cheerleader for extra insurance incase the squad faces any mishaps. Afterwitnessing some injures other squads sufferedduring the actual competition, Caceresrealized the need for reinforcements.

“Last year we saw two squads that hadinjuries there at nationals, and that quitehonestly terrified the heck out of me,” he said.“They couldn’t recover from that.”

Caceres said the talent on the squad isoutstanding.

“As far as the ability that I’ve got on thisteam, it’s phenomenal,” he said. “I can’t speakhighly enough about them. They’re moreathletic and much more talented, and they’reaggressive.”

The team puts in many discipline-filledpractice hours in order to present a polishedroutine to both fans and judges. The squadtypically practices four days a week, includingSundays, for as many hours as it takes to getthings right.

For four of the girls on the squad, practiceis particularly important because they will becompeting in an all-girl partner stuntingcompetition.

Laura Solis, Mariella Yarittu, Erika Tijerinaand Krystal Mata will all compete in thepartner stunting competition. Solis said theentire squad has been efficient at practices.

“Everyone comes into practice and doeswhat they need to do,” Solis said.

October 17, 2002 sports Page 15

By CELESTE Y. TELLOThe Pan American

Spirit squad looks totake first this year

Cheerleaders prepare for national competition

Student-athletes score off the field in classroom workSTANDING TALL: Cheerleaders complete a chair stunt at a practice last Friday afternoon.

Brian Carr/The Pan American

See GPA page 14

GPAs on rise for UTPAsports participants, better

than student average

By MIKE GONZALEZThe Pan American

October 17, 2002 THE PAN AMERICAN

The University of Texas-Pan Americanathletic department is looking for a few goodmen and women to become the next Buckythe Bronc.

Bucky the Bronc has been the mascot atUTPA for the past 23 years. But being Buckyisn’t all about fun and games. Or is it? Buckyattends every home volleyball, basketball,baseball game including other activities.Because of the multitude of appearancesBucky makes over the course of a school year,at least three to four different students arerequired to play mascot at different events.Though the mascot’s identity must remainanonymous, UTPA Athletic MarketingCoordinator Craig Pintens was able to speakon behalf of Bucky.

“One of the great things about being amascot is there aren’t any qualifications,”Pintens said. “You just need to be somebodywith a lot of energy who enjoys entertaining.Once you are in the costume you can allowyour true creativity to come out since nobodyknows who is inside.”

Pintens said to be a good mascot a personneeds to be creative and willing to push theenvelope in entertainment to have positiveinteraction with the fans, especially childrenattending the various events.

“You have to work well with kids,” Pintenssaid. “You need to know how to handle

different situations. Sometimes they’ll startcrying when they see you, other kids might hitthe costume or in Bucky’s case, pull his tail.”

Though mascots are usually known forsimply running around and acting goofy atgames, many people don’t know about thedifficulties that come along with the job.

“It takes a special person to be a mascotbecause of all the energy it requires out ofyou, but at the same time being in thecostume makes it a lot easier to do things thatyou probably wouldn’t do if people knew whoyou were,” Pintens said. “The costume is hotso you have to make sure you don’tdehydrate, and sometimes it gets difficult tosee out it, too.”

Pintens himself has had some experience asbeing a mascot and said that it is alsoimportant to remain in character, keeping theimage of the mascot true to what students andfans expect.

“It’s a tough but fun job, and it is totallyvoluntary, so I’m hoping that this year we canmake Bucky a big part of the Bronctradition.”

Freshman communications major VeronicaGarcia was one of the many people who sawBucky last Friday at Midnight Madness.

“It was really fun to watch Bucky, he wascute and really hyperactive,” Garcia said. “Iwould like to see some skits performed by themascot, and I think it’s definitely a lot ofresponsibility to keep the crowd’s energy upand just keep them exited.”

Wanted: Wacky, energetic Bronc


Several students will vie for chance to become thelatest UTPA mascot

Clarissa M

artinez/The P

an Am

erican

BUCKY

Training is an essentialelement in any sport.

For cross country and trackrunners, the key ingredient isa heavy load of distancerunning.

For track runners, thecomplete fall semester ispreseason and filled with a lotof conditioning work.

“Right now we’re inpreseason, we’ll be inpreseason for the whole firstsemester,” assistant track andfield coach Marisa Robinsonsaid.

“They started Sept. 9, theygo Monday through Fridayand basically practices arefrom 2:30 to 4:30 every day,”she said.

The practice schedule willbecome more intense for trackrunners this week when theywill practice 20 hours a week.

“The first four weeksyou’re only allowed topractice eight hours a weekand after that you’re allowed

to practice 20 hours,”Robinson said.

Once the team is allowed toincrease their practice hoursthey will begin to run a mileand lift weights for an hourand a half on Tuesday andThursday mornings. Then theypractice from 2:30 to 5 p.m.Robinson noticed the trackteam has begun to developendurance during theirworkouts.

“It’s getting to the pointwhere they can handle theworkouts a lot better,” shesaid. “The first few weeks isbasically a lot of intenserunning, a lot of distancework and upping the mileageto where you can do eachmile in six to seven minutes.”

Six to seven minutes is theideal time for women tocomplete a mile. For men, theideal time is five to sixminutes.

Preseason training was notparticularly easy for runnersin the first few workouts.

Robinson describes trainingfor track as pushing the bodybeyond the limits.

Reaching those limits iseasier at the start of preseasonwhen runners are stillbuilding endurance.

“It’s pushing your body as

far as it can go to the pointwhere a lot of the kids areexhausted literally to thepoint where your body justcan not go anymore,”Robinson said. “That is whatthe preseason is all about, toget your body in shape.”

Once the track seasonbegins, the practice schedulesremain for the most part thesame except that the teamtravels to competitions and isusually required to leave onFridays.

The fall semester is used toestablish an acceptablestarting point for the trackteam to take off from.

“During the fall, we’retrying to build a really goodfoundation, we’re trying toget them in shape and getthem ready for track season,”Robinson said.

She said the team’s goal isto peak later rather thansooner in the season so it willbe at optimum performancelevels around regional andnational meets.

“It’s like a pyramid,”Robinson said. “You startwith a really big foundationand keep working your wayup until you peak, and youwant to peak at about the endof May into June because

that’s when regionals andnationals is going to be.”

According to Robinson, theprogram has been efficientand productive in its training.

“The program is just on therise, we’re really building upthis program and I think[people] will be able to seeit,” Robinson said. “Last yearwas kind of the beginningyear for us and we have a lotof good athletes that came inthis year and I think you’llsee a different trackprogram.”

Robinson noticed theprogram has been receiving alot of attention from otherschools, especially at meets.

“We’re starting to berecognized more nationwide,our kids are starting to getinto the finals at meets we goto a lot of places and peopleare showing interest inUTPA,” Robinson said.

With all the positiveattention that the track teamhas received, Robinsonbelieves that the program willonly get better.

“I think that [people] arejust going to see better andbetter things with thisprogram,” she said. “It’s anamazing program and I’mhonored to be a part of it.”

It’s time to go back to work for the LadyBroncs.

UTPA hosts Texas A&M Internationaland Prairie View A&M this weekend aftercompeting against the alumnae volleyballteam last week. Head coach Dave Thornadmitted his team must refocus for the laststretch of the season.

“Now it’s back to business,” Thorn said.“We’ve got a couple of big games thisweekend for Parent’s Weekend, and wealso have seven matches over the nextthree weekends.”

The Lady Broncs have their work cut outfor them tomorrow night as Texas A&MInternational comes into the contest with a14-game winning streak and a record of21-1. According to Thorn, the LadyDustdevils will present a big challenge forthe Lady Broncs.

“They’re ripping up their league,” Thornsaid. “They’re doing very well and are anathletic team.”

A&M International’s only loss came atthe hands of Houston Baptist.

Saturday’s match against Prairie ViewA&M will be Parent’s Night, and the LadyBroncs including outside hitter WinkerCruz, are looking forward to display theirtalents.

“It’s Parent’s Weekend and we’re goingto be excited and happy to show them[parents] what we can do,” Cruz said.

But despite the excitement and family

atmosphere Thorn has faced thePantherettes before and expects them to bea tough opponent for UTPA.

“Traditionally, they have been realathletic,” Thorn said. “They’re not a hugeteam, but they have a couple of goodplayers we need to watch out for,especially their middle blocker. She didvery well against us last year.”

Outside hitter Cynthia Kasper isconfident UTPA will win both contests andimprove the team’s record to 8-12.

“As a team we’ve been playing better,”Kasper said. “I think coming into this as ateam we have more momentum fromprevious wins which will carry over. Andwe’re coming in with more confidence.”

Last Friday, UTPA rolled over the UTPAalumnae team 30-20, 30-18 and 30-17.Leading the way was freshman blockerStephanie Redd with 13 kills, six digs andthree blocks. Junior outside hitter JaclynMuszynski also had a great night bycontributing 13 kills and 12 digs.

Despite starting the season 1-11 andlooking at times like a strugglingvolleyball team, there is hope for finishingthe season with a winning record. If UTPAcan escape with a sweep this weekend, itwill improve the record to 8-12, putting theteam just four games under .500. Thornadmits a .500 record is a realistic goal, butalso knows the season is a long one andthe Lady Broncs must focus on who theyplay next.

“We try to take it one game at a time,”Thorn said. “You can’t look past anybody.

The season is a journey and the season isnot over ‘till the last match is played.”

UTPA will have an opportunity in thenext few weeks to improve its record. TheLady Broncs face Texas A&M-Kingsville,Texas Southern, Southwest Texas State andcompete in the Independent TournamentNov. 14-15. The last home game is Nov. 11against New Mexico State, and the season

ends Nov. 30 on the road against theUniversity of California-Irvine

Thorn knows the importance of thesenext few games, but feels the Lady Broncswill pull through the tough task.

“It’s a great opportunity to build somemomentum and close out our seasonstrong,” Thorn said. “We’re on a stretchrun and we’ve got to push hard.”

October 17, 2002 sports Page 14


Matches against A&M International and Prairie View highlight team’s struggle to reach .500 mark as season oflearning progresses for Coach Dave Thorn

success,” Weidner said.Weidner insists the improvement

will not stop and feels athletes willraise their GPA even higher after thisschool year.

“We hope to be above a 2.9 after thefall [semester] and we would like to beat a 3.0 after the spring [semester],”Weidner said.

Athletes have other academicprograms such as the Student LearningCenter and the Bronc Life SkillsProgram, that help them keep up withtheir classes. The Student AthleticLearning Center offers a variety ofservices and programs designed toassist all student-athletes in guidingthem to their college degree. Weidnerhelped put together these variousprograms that also keep track ofathlete class performance.

“These are programs that didn’t existfour years ago,” Weidner said. “Wetrack how everyone’s doing inacademics.”

Although student-athletes have thetask of playing their respective sportand keeping their grades up, thereward at the end of the road is adegree. For senior volleyball playerCynthia Kasper, the decision to cometo UTPA turned out to be the right onefor her.

“I could have gone to a two-yearcollege, but I wanted to come to whereI knew I could go all four years andnot only play for a good volleyballprogram [but also get a good educationas well].”

Lady Bronc netters in home games this weekend

NICE HIT: Junior Jena Rae Rosales bumps a volleyball during practice on Tuesday.

Mike Gonzalez/The Pan American

GPA continued from page 15Runners perfect practice routine graduallyAs season wearson, regimen gets

more intense


October 17, 2002 THE PAN AMERICAN

Bo RadusimBusiness FinanceFreshman

It has a lot of potential. It would convey allthe variety of [opinion] from the students

Marivel WetegroveEducationJunior

Yeah. It would help students findinformation of the campus morereadily. I’d listen to it if I wasaround campus.

Roland Arriola IICommunicationsJunior

Yeah. That would be nice. It couldvoice the students’ concerns. Manyissues such as parking problems,campus concerns and evenannouncements could be madethrough it.

Do you think UTPA shouldhave a student radio

station?

Ethelyn ArriolaMathSenior

That would be cool. It’d be a good outlet tovoice our opinions and concerns. Thestation would showcase our culture andgive us something else to listen to.

VOICECCaammppuuss

Rocio MolinaSpanishSophomore

Sure. It’s never been done. It will besomething new and different for theuniversity.

What better way to relive college daysthan through philanthropy?

The Alumni Association, which consistsof students that graduated from orattended the University of Texas-PanAmerican, is an organization whosefunction is to help the university byraising money for various programs.

Earlier this semester, the associationextended another helping hand to UTPAstudents, donating $75,000 to theUniversity Scholars program.

“The Alumni Association is anorganization of ex-UTPA students thatwant to keep the relationship going onwith the University,said UTPA PresidentDr. Miguel A.Nevarez. “They helpthe university inmany differentways.”

Nevarez said thedonated funds willbe used forscholarships for anumber of UTPAstudents.

Rolando Arriola,vice president forexternal affairs, toldUTPA’s UniversityRelationsdepartment that the association’s donationmarks a historical moment for theuniversity, because it is the largest giftever given by the association.

He added that students from UTPA willbe able to receive the best education inSouth Texas because of this generouscontribution. The University Scholarsprogram, which began in 1998, promotesacademic excellence in Rio Grande Valleyschools.

“We tell students if they can earn 12college credit hours with an average of Bor better while they are still in high

school, they will have a full year oftuition and fees scholarship at UTPA,”Nevarez said.

The University Scholarship program hasgrown tremendously since its inception.Approximately 265 students currentlyenrolled at UTPA receive the scholarship.

According to Nevarez, the scholarshipawards have grown from $28,000 in 1999to over $920,000 this year.

“It’s costing us to do the program, butthis is one of the ways to improve ourstudent body,” Nevarez said. “There is atremendous need to raise money.”

Nevarez hopes the donation by theAlumni Association will also serve as anexample for other corporations andfoundations interested in donating funds.

He said UTPA oftencontacts othercorporationsregardingcontributions to theuniversity, andprospective donorsoften take previousdonations by theAlumni Associationinto account.

“When we go to acertain corporationwe tell them that ouralumni really believesin this program andthat they have comeup with $75,000,”

Nevarez said. “The alumni being involvedenhances the chances of money beingdonated from other corporations andfoundations.”

According to Nevarez, the alumni groupraises money by having auctions andfundraisers, in addition to charging amembership fee for active alumni that isalso chipped into the donation pool.

Most members of the alumni live in theValley, but there are charters activelyraising money for the scholars program incities around the state, including Houston,San Antonio and Dallas.

By NIKKI RAMIREZThe Pan American

Alumni donationhits 75K mark

the quality of the students [who have taken]the recommended high school programs haveincreased the retention rate,” Zuniga said.“New students and returning students havecontributed to the growth.”

Zuniga stated that with UTPA’s developedstrategies in recruitment, its studentpopulation has the potential to see continuedgrowth.

Increases in other academic universitiesinclude an 11.3 percent rise at UT-Arlingtonfrom 21,180 to 23,576 students; six percent atUT-Brownsville from 9,371 to 9,937 students;7.6 percent at UT-Dallas from 12,455 to13,403 students; 6.2 percent at UT-El Pasofrom 16,220 to 17,232 students; 12.3 percentat UT-Permian Basin from 2,409 to 2,705

students; and 10.8 percent growth at UT-SanAntonio from 19,883 to 22,017 students.

Five of the UT Health Institutions also sawa combined increase to form a totalenrollment increase of 3.7 percent from 9,481to 9,836 students.

Increases in the health institutions include8.9 percent growth at UT-SouthwesternMedical Center at Dallas from 1,505 to 1,640students; 4.1 percent at UT-Medical Branch atGalveston from 1,936 to 2,016 students; 0.2percent at UT-Health Science Center atHouston from 3,345 to 3,351 students; 1percent at UT-Health Science Center at SanAntonio (from 2,743 to 2,770); and 23percent growth at UT-M.D. Anderson from 48to 59.

ENROLLMENT continued from page 1

The alumni beinginvolved enhancesthe chances ofmoney beingdonated from othercorporations andfoundations

““

- Dr. Miguel A. Nevarez,UTPA President

Biggest gift in association history will go to studentscholarships, fee payments

October 17, 2002 Sports Page 13

Buffalo at Miami

What a huge win the Dolphins picked up on theroad against Denver. They can take control of theAFC East with a win at home.

Dolphins by 10Matt Celeste GregBills Dolphins Dolphins

Chicago atDetroit

Joey Harrington is looking bet ter and bet terevery week. The Bears come off a bye and willhad two weeks to prepare for the Lions.

Bears by 7Matt Celeste GregBears Bears Bears

Jacksonville atBaltimore

Both teams sufffered tough losses on the road.Ray Lewis was definitely missed by Baltimore andthey will need him this week.

Ravens by 3Matt Celeste GregJaguars Jaguars Ravens

Seattle at St. Louis

The Rams finally figured out they must run theball in order to win football games. Marshall Faulkshould have another big game.

Rams by 6Matt Celeste GregSeahawks Seahawks Rams

Houston at Cleveland

The Texans were very close to their second winof the season. Tim Couch must get himselftogether before his teammates lose confidence inhim.

Browns by 6Matt Celeste GregTexans Texans Browns

Dallas at Arizona

Quincy Car ter is star ting to come into his own asa quar terback. The come from behind win washuge for him.

Cowboys by 10 Matt Celeste GregCowboys Cardinals Cowboys

Washington atGreen Bay

Bret t Favre is playing at a very high level rightnow. It will be tough for the Redskins on Sunday.

Packers by 10Matt Celeste GregPackers Packers packers

Carolina at Atlanta

The Panthers will blow it again against theFalcons. Carolina could easily be 6-0 right now.

Falcons by 3Matt Celeste GregPanthers Falcons Falcons

Denver at Kansas City

Talk about emotion, how about these two lastweek. I think they learned football is a 60-minutegame. The Broncos will rebound.

Broncos by 7Matt Celeste GregBroncos Chiefs Broncos

Minnestota at N.Y. Jets

The Vikings finally got their first win. Now, theymust develop a running game if they want tocontinue their streak. Randy Moss will do therest. The Jets need to stick with one quar terback

Vikings by 10

Matt Celeste GregVikings Vikings Jets

San Francisco atNew Orleans

The Niners always have problems at theSuperdome. Jeff Garcia must have a big game inorder for the Niners to win.

Niners by 10Matt Celeste GregSaints Niners Saints

San Diego atOakland

Drew Brees is star ting to remind me of JohnElway in the way he manages his team andbrings it from behind to win. Raiders mustrebound.

Chargers by 6Matt Celeste GregRaiders Chargers Raiders

Tampa Bay at PhiladelphiaThis is a rematch of the wild-

card game the last few seasons. The Bucs stillhaven’t proved they can win in cold weather. TheEagles will once again take advantage of it.

Eagles by 14Matt Celeste GregEagles Bucs Eagles

Indianapolis at PittsburghWhen was the last time

Edgerrin James rushed for 100 yards? PaytonManning can’t do it all for the Colt offense. I likethe Steelers at home.

Steelers by 8Matt Celeste GregColts Colts Steelers

Open Dates: Cincinnati, New England, N.Y.Giants and Tennessee

StaffMikeGonzalez:50-38,.568GregSelber:49-39,.557

Celeste Y.Tello: 46-41, .523 MattLynch: 54-34, .614

Staff Swami Records

Mike GonzalezSports Editor

Swamis

Dr. Greg SelberAdviser

Matt LynchEditor

Celeste TelloReporter

Broncs finish 7th,while women fin-ish 16th at A&M The men’s cross-country team

finished with 208 points and fin-ished seventh at the Texas A&Minvitational last Saturday.

Leading the way was sophomoreWestly Keating who finishedfourth overall in the competition inthe five-mile course with 26 min-utes, 11 seconds.

Not far behind was freshmanRandy Salazar who finished with atime of 28 minutes and 12 secondsand 27th overall.

The Lady Broncs finished themeet 16th overall with 464 points.Leading the way was sophomoreClaudia Rosas who finished with atime of 24:38 in the six kilometercourse.

The Mission native was 60thoverall in the competition. Not farbehind was sophomore PattyVillarreal who finished with a timeof 25:22 and was 87th overall.Facing Big 12 competition wasn’tno easy task for UTPA, but assis-tant coach Molnar hopes the A&MInvitational helps build characterfor the rest of the meets.

“We are going through a learningprocess with both of our teams,learning what it is like to run inbigger meets, and against bettertimes,” Molnar said. “Hopefully,this will be a springboard for usfor both the independent champi-onships, and for regionals.”

Men’s golf takes16th at Crown

ClassicUTPA men’s golf team finished

16th at the 54-hole SouthernChryslar Crown Classic in Lufkin.The Broncs scored a total of 962points including a final-roundscore of 327 and only one shotbehind Stephen F. Austin.

Junior Rudy Celedon finished ina tie for 41st with a score of 235including a final-round score of82.

Junior Paul Manganilla finishedtwo strokes behind with a score of237, 51st overall, and freshmanCraig Berger finished with a scoreof 247. Junior Ben Piper shot ascore of 248 with junior JohnHureta eight strokes behind.

October 17, 2002 THE PAN AMERICAN October 17, 2002 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 12

Gabriel O. Hernandez/The Pan American

UP, UP, AND AWAYA United States Coast Guard helicopter takes off from the Quad after students from Edinburg School Districtgot a first-hand look at the aircraft during Hispanic Engineering and Technology Week. Presentations were alsogiven by the Department of Energy, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing in an effort to encourage young Hispanics tochoose careers in math, science, engineering and technology.

goals is to get more students to attend UTPAinstead of going to a different school.”

During HESTEC, students and educatorswill explore career options, participate ininteractive, hands-on workshops withcorporate engineers and scientists, and interactwith Hispanic role models, some of whominclude Nobel Prize winners and corporateexecutives.

Guest speakers on campus Monday includedacclaimed actor Edward James Olmos andJaime Escalante, the award winning educatorwhose career was the basis for the film “Standand Deliver.”

On Monday, UTPA welcomed 1,000teachers, administrators, and

superintendents from South Texas, theHouston area, Dallas, California and Puerto

Rico. Activities included seminarsexplaining the latest tools and techniques thatcan be used in the classroom to enhance theteaching experience and allow students to gainperspective on new technology.

Biology professor Kenneth R. Summy wasone UTPA faculty member to host a seminarduring the Math and Science Educator Day.His session was titled “Student Performance inIntroductory Science Course: Perspective toSuccess and Failure.”

In the session, he explained how he teachestechniques from scratch, assuming studentsdon’t know anything of science. By using thismethod he guaranteed he could cover everyangle of the course.

“I think that when students come into theclass and are unsuccessful it doesn’t mean thatthe students can’t do the work,” he said. “Itjust reflects on the skills they don’t practicelike time management or studying techniques.”

Sophomore manufacturing engineeringmajor Jesse Hernandez was able to attend theguest speaker’s presentations Monday, as wellas lend a helping hand during the rest of the

week.“This week has really given me more

motivation to pursue my career with moreenthusiasm, especially after hearing whatEdward James Olmos and Jaime Escalantesaid,” Hernandez said. “Engineering can be areally difficult field, and it feels almost as ifyou have the duty to represent Hispanics. Ithink you really need to have, as Escalante putit, ganas (desire) to be able to succeed andbecome a role model for others who want to besuccessful.”

Tuesday was Math and Science StudentExploration day, which included 2,000 GEAR-Up students participating in a day ofpresentations, including seminars explainingthe latest technology used at top corporationslike Blockbuster and SBC Communications.There was also a solar car competitionsponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Michael Dell, the chairman and chiefexecutive officer of Dell Computers and PCMagazine’s “Man of the Year,” will be thekeynote speaker tonight. He will deliver anaddress highlighting the effectiveness of Dell’sprograms “to eliminate the barriers of Internetintegration and enhance educationalopportunities.” Here, Internet integration refersto the goal of eliminating access barriers thatmany minoroties face.

According to Hashim Mahdi, director ofmechanical engineering, the engineeringprogram has over 700 students enrolled, anincrease of 50 students from last year.

“Having HESTEC held here this year isbeneficial for the university, students andindividuals participating in the week,” Mahdisaid. “First of all, our students can have anopportunity to gain internships and possiblyapply to different jobs, and the high schoolstudents can learn more about our departmentand all that we can offer them if they decide toattend UTPA.”

HESTEC continued from page 1Citizens from across the Rio Grande

Valley came together Wednsday nightat the Edinburg Baseball Stadium forthe Sci-Tech Expo Community Nightas part of the Hispanic Engineering,Science and Technology Week(HESTEC).

At least 2,000 people were expectedto attend the event, which featuredmusic and entertainment personalitiesincluding Johnny Canales, CaliCarranza y Los Formales and Grupo

Sierra con Mario Montes, and variousexhibits from Boeing, IBM, and theGladys Porter Zoo.

“I heard about the Expo afterreading the Monitor,” said JuanCasares of San Juan. “I wanted tobring my kids to expose them toengineering and science and hopefullybroaden their horizons about thedifferent things they can do with theirlives.”

A Boeing representative said that he

wanted to make sure people knew thathis company was not exclusive, butwas becoming inclusive when it cameto hiring new employees.

“We wanted to come to South Texassince this area is underexposed toBoeing compared to other parts of thestate and nation,” Darren Warner said.

With different universityorganizations and programsvolunteering at the event, studentswere able to gain perspective and

learn more about the field of scienceand engineering.

“I liked working with the kids andsharing with them these new things Iknow they weren’t exposed tobefore,” said Angie Garicia, a UTPAStudent Leader who helped out at theWater Treatment exhibit. “I think Iwould have enjoyed attendingsomething like when I was younger,but I’m really enjoying myself now asa college student.”

Gone soon will be the days of having tomanually fill out a degree plan andgraduation application.

In the spring of 2003, the University ofTexas Pan-American will make On Coursesoftware available to everyone on campus,allowing for the filing of automated degreeplans from entry to graduation.

On Course, the automated degree planaudit system, has been in testing for the pastfour years by the Office of Admissions andRecords, and its impending implementationwill allow for efficient advisement andconvenient access for students.

"[Though] advisers still have to give theRAC number, it [On Course] allows forquality advisement," said David Zuniga,director of Admissions and Records. "[It]enhances advisement by allowing self-advisement for students [with] securityaccess to degree plans from kiosks and the

web."Though On Course will only become

available to all UTPA students nextsemester, the College of BusinessAdministration and the College ofEducation have already tested and used theprogram for the past two-plus years.

"I am very pleased with the degree auditprogram," said Cynthia Brown, assistantprofessor in economics and finance. "TheCollege of Business has been using it sincelast spring. We have undertaken a major testof its accuracy and are currently making thelast of the updates. The software is veryeasy to use - there are a minimum of codesyou need to know."

Elia Ovalle, secretary of the managementmarketing and international businessdepartment, said On Course has "cut downpaperwork and helped process graduationpapers [faster]."

Recently, the office of Admissions andRecords has been training faculty and stafffrom all colleges and has received a lot of

feedback on the software."We have received a lot of positive

comments," Zuniga said. "The onlynegative comment is that of the format withquestions like ‘Why can’t it look like whatwe have now?’”

Zuniga said tremendous resources wouldbe required to change the straightforwardformat of the automated degree form.However, he stated that despite the format,it does an excellent job allowing forconsistency and elimination of human error.

Still, despite its efficiency andconsistency, for some professors On Courseis going to take awhile to get used to.

"I believe the new software is very good,"said Dr. Leo Gomez, assistant dean of theCollege of Education. "At this point[however], I still prefer the traditionaldegree plan only because it is more user-friendly due to its familiarity. Also, I thinkit is a bit difficult to use, particularly forfaculty that are not used to using the VAXand searching student records, etc.

Hopefully the new software can becomejust as user-friendly."

Brown stated that students get immediatefeedback through efficiency of theautomated degree plan.

"The benefits to the students aretwofold," Brown said. "First of all, they cancheck their progress towards graduation andsee what remains. This also provides acheck of all of the internal GPArequirements. Secondly, a student will beable to evaluate their current transcript forany of the degrees offered on campus.Often times students want to know theimpact of changing majors. This will showthem which of their current courses areapplicable and specifically what additionalcoursework is needed."

Some other universities using the samesoftware include Oklahoma State, TexasA&M, Utah State, the University ofWyoming, several California StateUniversity schools, Loyola University inNew Orleans, and Texas A&M-Commerce.


Push-button services on the horizon

Sci-tech Expo held

(From left to right) A young observer closely examines a scale model water tower during HESTECWednesday. Angie Garcia demonstrates the water distribution/water treatment processes.

Photos and story by Clarissa Martinez

Corporate representatives on campus

October 17, 2002 THE PAN AMERICAN October 17, 2002 Arts & Entertainment Page 11

�Time Flies�

when you�re

having

fun

The UniversityTheatre presented‘Time Flies’ by DavidIves from Oct. 9-13 inthe Jeffers Theatre.Faculty, students,alumni and guestsgathered in thetheater to enjoy theshow.

The productionincluded a series ofsix short, comicalplays, including‘Babel’s in Arms,’‘Captive Audience,’‘Arabian Nights,’Enigma Variations,’‘Lives of the Saints,’and ‘Mystery ofPwicknam.’

Ananda Morlockand MauroFlores Jr. in“Arabian Nights”

From left to right, Robert Silva, Michael Flores and Ananda Morlock act out a scenefrom “Mystery of Pwicknam.”

(Left) - Dulce Lopez plays ahigh priestess in “Babel’s inArms.”

(Below) - From left to right,Didi Duron, Robert Silva,Michael Flores, AnandaMorlock and Alden Rushperform from “Mystery ofPwicknam.”

Photos byVeronica Barrera

Out with the old and in withthe new. KIWW has becomeThe BEAT 96.1, with a formatconversion from Tejano to hip-hop music.

According to Ray Pedraza,program director at the BEAT,the change was a business movemandated from the corporateoffice, which felt that hip-hopmusic would help increaserevenues and ratings.

“We just wanted to trysomething different like oursister stations,” Pedraza said. “Ithink it’s going to work in theRio Grande Valley.”

Featuring music from artistssuch as JaRule, Nelly, and

Cam’ron, Pedraza says there ismuch more to hip-hop musicthan most people realize. Hesays it is like a culture andappeals to all ethnic groups,particularly to Hispanics.

“There is a commonmisconception in peoplebecause they call it black or rapmusic,” said Pedraza.“Sometimes people are quick tocriticize, but right now a lot ofour feedback is positive.”

Converting to hip-hop musicwasn’t the only change thestation made. Pedraza addedthat the station only kept onefull- and one part-time discjockey leftover from KIWW. Hesaid the change has not affectedthem, but in a few days theywill add the rest of the team.

“We still remain pretty activein the streets,” Pedraza said.“People come up and tell us wehave been doing a good job.”

With a new hip-hop radiostation in the Valley, others suchas HOT 101.1 may findthemselves competing directly

with the BEAT. Even thoughit plays the same kind

of

music,Pedraza said HOT101.1 does not reach the entireValley.

“It only has fifty thousand

watts and in the earlymorning you hear static,”Pedraza said. “We areone hundred thousandwatts, it’s twice as muchand we reach the entire RioGrande Valley.”

However, JuanGotti, music directorat HOT 101.1, saidlisteners onlyexperience the staticin the upper Valley.Lower Valleylisteners should get aperfectly good signal,he said.

“Our tower is located inthe lower Rio GrandeValley,” said Gotti. “Weare in the process offixing that within one ortwo months.”

Another station that may finditself competing with the BEATis B-104. According to JeffDewitt, the music director at B-104 who is also known as the‘Hitman,’ their ratingshave fluctuated a little withthe changes at 96.1, sincethere are now two radiostations to compete with.

He adds that B-104started playing morehip-hop and urban

music because it’spopular now.

However, the stationwill continue to play theother kinds of music thatfits its format.

“Basically we want to focusmore on what we do best,” saidDewitt. “We don’t want tochange formats, if we did itwould ruin us.”

Author: National humorcolumnist Steve Hofstetter

Title: “Student BodyShots”

Publisher: Trafford

Reviewer’s Rating:

out of 5 stars

■ Store opening. . . . . 8-9

■ Culture club . . . . . . 10

■ Production pics . . . . 10ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PAGE 7

AroundTown

Belly DancersEvery Friday inOctober from 10 to11:30 p.m.Place: Arte Cafe &GalleryEvent: Arte Cafe &Gallery, in conjunctionwith Pointe & PlieSchool of Dance,presents belly dancingshows by SoniaChapa.

Latin Jazz FestivalOct. 17-19Place: BrownsvilleEvent: The BrownsvilleSociety of PerformingArts presents the 6thAnnual Latin JazzFestival. The festivalwill includeperformances byChuchito Valdez andhis Afro-Cuban LatinJazz Ensemble, inaddition to 20 otherperformances.Phone: (956) 639-3448

Kool and the GangconcertOct. 23 at 9 p.m.Place: McAllen CivicCenterFeatures: A ‘Pre-Partyon the Patio’ runs from7 to 9 p.m. with specialguest Bongo DogsPrice: $35 for reservedseats. Tickets areavailable at Joyce’sInternational Boutique,120 S. Broadway inMcAllen, or by calling(956) 638-5231.

Why doesn’t the dumb girl in class realize the entireclass groans when she puts her hand up? Why can astudent spend $40 at a bar but feel reluctant aboutspending 50 cents for extra cheese on a hamburger?And the ever elusive: Why do bums ask collegestudents for money?

These are just some of the hysterically mind-boggling questions pondered in Steve Hofstetter’s new

book “Student Body Shots.” Hofstetter, a humorcolumnist, sarcastically describes the insanity of post-high school life and has truly created a book thatshould not be missed.

The book reads like a diary and exposes every detailof Hofstetter's life at New York’s Columbia University.Readers will laugh out loud and nod their heads inagreement as Hofstetter hilariously examines anddiscusses everything from midterms to money matters.

Some of the sweet sarcasm in this book includes,“Some people put things on their parents’ credit card ...if I did that, my parents would have been jailed threetimes by sophomore year,” and “Women get dressedslightly differently than men ... women hold theirclothes up to their bodies, while men hold their clothesup to their noses.” Everybody nod.

See REVIEW page 10

Author chronicles thelunacy of college life

By DÄGOBERTO PÉREZThe Pan American

Broadcast BattlefieldBy JENNIFER TAPIAThe Pan American

We just wanted to trysomething different

like our sisterstations. I think it’sgoing to work in theRio Grande Valley. “

“

- Ray Pedraza,BEAT program director

Humorous ‘body’ of evidence

With KIWW 96.1 changing formats from Tejano to hip-hop, other Valley stations feel the pressure

October 17, 2002 Arts & Entertainment Page 10

This book is jam-packed with othersuch ridiculous-but-true quips and willquickly put a laugh and smile on anyreader’s face.

However, there are a few downsidesto this book. One would think that a‘forward’ by TV star Rider Strong of“Boy Meets World” would be anappealing and interesting read. But thetruth of the matter is that his ‘foreword’is nothing more than a shallow andself-gratifying introduction that shouldmost definitely be skipped.

Another downside is that this book is

not yet readily available in mostValley bookstores. A visit toamazon.com, or the book’s publisherat CollegeHumor.com is required inorder for readers to get their hands onthis witty little treasure.

Aside from the ‘foreword,’ thisbook is hilarious. Readers should notlet its sketchy availability hinder theirenjoyment... go online, buy the bookand get a good laugh. If nothing else,this book will at least get your mindoff the hustle and bustle of collegelife.

REVIEW continued from page 7

Book: “Del Amor y Otros Demonios” by GabrielGarcia MarquezCD: “Achtung Baby” by U2Movie: “The Godfather”

Book: “The Illustrated Man” by Ray BradburyMovie: “Pooty Tang”Website: robotfrank.com

Book: “Fellowship of the Rings” by J.R.R. TolkienCD: “Borders and Boundries” by Less Than JakeMovie: “Fight Club”

Randy WilliamsFreshmanBusiness

KennyKleinsteuberFreshmanBiology

Wendy SalcedoFreshmanIntl. Business

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

The

October 17, 2002 Arts & Entertainment Page 9October 17, 2002 Arts & Entertainment

Children’s CornerBarnes and Noble offers a number of children’s

storytime activities throughout the week

O pening the doors to the newBarnes and Noble bookstore inMcAllen is like opening the

pages of a favorite book...thepossibilities are endless.

The 25,000-square foot bookstore,which opened Wednesday, Oct. 16,offers the public a large selection ofbooks, magazines, journals, calendars,cookbooks, newspapers, greetingcards, and bookmarks to meet anybookworm’s needs. A new section forpeople to enjoy can be discoveredaround almost every corner, providingnearly endless literary possibilities.

“We offer the public a browser-friendly environment. Anyone cancome into the store, relax, read a book,listen to some music and have somecoffee,” said Veronica Treviño,community relations manager.

Treviño added that there is room forgrowth in the community and theValley was in need of anotherbookstore, citing Hastings and mallbookstores, like Waldenbooks, as theonly major Valley bookstores.

Hastings store manager NormaBeeman said that a new bookstore willbe great for the community.

Book lovers, coffee drinkers,writers, children and even music fansfrom all over the Valley now haveanother place where they can spendtheir leisure time.

Although Barnes and Noblespecializes in books, it also has aselection of music in the store.According to Treviño, the bookstore

features a unique program calledred.net that allows patrons to listen toany type of music. Treviño added thatthe store carries over 200,000 CDtitles that can be sampled in theirentirety before a customer makes apurchase.

“We pride ourselves in ourselection,” Treviño said.

One main attraction is the StarbucksCafé located within the store. Theyserve a variety of coffee drinks, delisandwiches and renowned dessertsfrom the Cheesecake Factory. Patronscan grab a book and enjoy a caramelmacchiato or a caffe mocha with aslice of pumpkin cheesecake. One caneven nibble on Godiva chocolateswhile picking out a greeting card for aloved one.

According to Treviño, there areseveral special events planned in thestore for people of all ages to enjoy.

Treviño explained that storytime forchildren will be held every Tuesdaymorning for toddlers, after school onFridays and on Saturday afternoons.

Children are given the opportunity tointeract with their favorite storybookand cartoon characters.

“We have costume appearancesplanned for storytime,” Treviño said.“Curious George will come in to visitnext week and he is going to do artsand crafts with the kids. We are goingto have a different character come inevery week.”

Other events include an open-microphone night which is scheduledfor the second Saturday of everymonth for poets and writers to sharetheir work with the public.

According to Treviño, Barnes andNoble will invite authors to the storefor book signings and other events.

Treviño added the bookstore alsohas organized an ‘Educators’ Night’on Nov. 15.

“Teachers, librarians, and principalsare invited to come out and discusshow we can get involved in promotingliteracy, art, and education in ourcommunity,” Treviño said. “We hopeto come up with programs for thechildren.”

Treviño said Barnes and Noblehopes to get involved with localmuseums, schools and even colleges toget students to visit the bookstore as afield trip.

According to Treviño, there areabout 900 Barnes and Noblebookstores nationwide, and until nowthe closest store had been in CorpusChristi.

Barnes and Noble bookstore is openseven days a week from 9 a.m. to 11p.m. and is located on the corner of10th Street and Nolana.

We offer the public abrowser-friendly

environment. Anyonecan come into thestore, relax, read a

book, listen to somemusic and have some

coffee. “

“

- Veronica Treviño,community relations manager

By VERONICA BARRERAThe Pan American

(Above and right) - Barnesand Noble carries over 200,000book titles which arecategorized and displayed inspecific sections.

(Above) - Coffee, desserts and sandwiches can be purchased at theStarbucks Café inside Barnes and Noble bookstore, located on thecorner of 10th and Nolana.

(Left) - Thestore’s varietyof journals aredisplayed in the‘gift section.’

(Right) - A Winniethe Poohdecorated cornerand stage aredesigned forchildren’sstorytimes.

(Below) - The‘children’s bookssections’ of thestore gives kidsthe opportunity tolearn and explore.

Barnes and Noble, anational bookstore chain,opened this week, giving

Valley bookwormsanother option for

reading and relaxation


October 17, 2002 Arts & Entertainment October 17, 2002 Arts & Entertainment Page 8

Children’s CornerBarnes and Noble offers a number of children’s

storytime activities throughout the week

O pening the doors to the newBarnes and Noble bookstore inMcAllen is like opening the

pages of a favorite book...thepossibilities are endless.

The 25,000-square foot bookstore,which opened Wednesday, Oct. 16,offers the public a large selection ofbooks, magazines, journals, calendars,cookbooks, newspapers, greetingcards, and bookmarks to meet anybookworm’s needs. A new section forpeople to enjoy can be discoveredaround almost every corner, providingnearly endless literary possibilities.

“We offer the public a browser-friendly environment. Anyone cancome into the store, relax, read a book,listen to some music and have somecoffee,” said Veronica Treviño,community relations manager.

Treviño added that there is room forgrowth in the community and theValley was in need of anotherbookstore, citing Hastings and mallbookstores, like Waldenbooks, as theonly major Valley bookstores.

Hastings store manager NormaBeeman said that a new bookstore willbe great for the community.

Book lovers, coffee drinkers,writers, children and even music fansfrom all over the Valley now haveanother place where they can spendtheir leisure time.

Although Barnes and Noblespecializes in books, it also has aselection of music in the store.According to Treviño, the bookstore

features a unique program calledred.net that allows patrons to listen toany type of music. Treviño added thatthe store carries over 200,000 CDtitles that can be sampled in theirentirety before a customer makes apurchase.

“We pride ourselves in ourselection,” Treviño said.

One main attraction is the StarbucksCafé located within the store. Theyserve a variety of coffee drinks, delisandwiches and renowned dessertsfrom the Cheesecake Factory. Patronscan grab a book and enjoy a caramelmacchiato or a caffe mocha with aslice of pumpkin cheesecake. One caneven nibble on Godiva chocolateswhile picking out a greeting card for aloved one.

According to Treviño, there areseveral special events planned in thestore for people of all ages to enjoy.

Treviño explained that storytime forchildren will be held every Tuesdaymorning for toddlers, after school onFridays and on Saturday afternoons.

Children are given the opportunity tointeract with their favorite storybookand cartoon characters.

“We have costume appearancesplanned for storytime,” Treviño said.“Curious George will come in to visitnext week and he is going to do artsand crafts with the kids. We are goingto have a different character come inevery week.”

Other events include an open-microphone night which is scheduledfor the second Saturday of everymonth for poets and writers to sharetheir work with the public.

According to Treviño, Barnes andNoble will invite authors to the storefor book signings and other events.

Treviño added the bookstore alsohas organized an ‘Educators’ Night’on Nov. 15.

“Teachers, librarians, and principalsare invited to come out and discusshow we can get involved in promotingliteracy, art, and education in ourcommunity,” Treviño said. “We hopeto come up with programs for thechildren.”

Treviño said Barnes and Noblehopes to get involved with localmuseums, schools and even colleges toget students to visit the bookstore as afield trip.

According to Treviño, there areabout 900 Barnes and Noblebookstores nationwide, and until nowthe closest store had been in CorpusChristi.

Barnes and Noble bookstore is openseven days a week from 9 a.m. to 11p.m. and is located on the corner of10th Street and Nolana.

We offer the public abrowser-friendly

environment. Anyonecan come into thestore, relax, read a

book, listen to somemusic and have some

coffee. “

“

- Veronica Treviño,community relations manager

By VERONICA BARRERAThe Pan American

(Above and right) - Barnesand Noble carries over 200,000book titles which arecategorized and displayed inspecific sections.

(Above) - Coffee, desserts and sandwiches can be purchased at theStarbucks Café inside Barnes and Noble bookstore, located on thecorner of 10th and Nolana.

(Left) - Thestore’s varietyof journals aredisplayed in the‘gift section.’

(Right) - A Winniethe Poohdecorated cornerand stage aredesigned forchildren’sstorytimes.

(Below) - The‘children’s bookssections’ of thestore gives kidsthe opportunity tolearn and explore.

Barnes and Noble, anational bookstore chain,opened this week, giving

Valley bookwormsanother option for

reading and relaxation


Out with the old and in withthe new. KIWW has becomeThe BEAT 96.1, with a formatconversion from Tejano to hip-hop music.

According to Ray Pedraza,program director at the BEAT,the change was a business movemandated from the corporateoffice, which felt that hip-hopmusic would help increaserevenues and ratings.

“We just wanted to trysomething different like oursister stations,” Pedraza said. “Ithink it’s going to work in theRio Grande Valley.”

Featuring music from artistssuch as JaRule, Nelly, and

Cam’ron, Pedraza says there ismuch more to hip-hop musicthan most people realize. Hesays it is like a culture andappeals to all ethnic groups,particularly to Hispanics.

“There is a commonmisconception in peoplebecause they call it black or rapmusic,” said Pedraza.“Sometimes people are quick tocriticize, but right now a lot ofour feedback is positive.”

Converting to hip-hop musicwasn’t the only change thestation made. Pedraza addedthat the station only kept onefull- and one part-time discjockey leftover from KIWW. Hesaid the change has not affectedthem, but in a few days theywill add the rest of the team.

“We still remain pretty activein the streets,” Pedraza said.“People come up and tell us wehave been doing a good job.”

With a new hip-hop radiostation in the Valley, others suchas HOT 101.1 may findthemselves competing directly

with the BEAT. Even thoughit plays the same kind

of

music,Pedraza said HOT101.1 does not reach the entireValley.

“It only has fifty thousand

watts and in the earlymorning you hear static,”Pedraza said. “We areone hundred thousandwatts, it’s twice as muchand we reach the entire RioGrande Valley.”

However, JuanGotti, music directorat HOT 101.1, saidlisteners onlyexperience the staticin the upper Valley.Lower Valleylisteners should get aperfectly good signal,he said.

“Our tower is located inthe lower Rio GrandeValley,” said Gotti. “Weare in the process offixing that within one ortwo months.”

Another station that may finditself competing with the BEATis B-104. According to JeffDewitt, the music director at B-104 who is also known as the‘Hitman,’ their ratingshave fluctuated a little withthe changes at 96.1, sincethere are now two radiostations to compete with.

He adds that B-104started playing morehip-hop and urban

music because it’spopular now.

However, the stationwill continue to play theother kinds of music thatfits its format.

“Basically we want to focusmore on what we do best,” saidDewitt. “We don’t want tochange formats, if we did itwould ruin us.”

Author: National humorcolumnist Steve Hofstetter

Title: “Student BodyShots”

Publisher: Trafford

Reviewer’s Rating:

out of 5 stars

■ Store opening. . . . . 8-9

■ Culture club . . . . . . 10

■ Production pics . . . . 10ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

PAGE 7

AroundTown

Belly DancersEvery Friday inOctober from 10 to11:30 p.m.Place: Arte Cafe &GalleryEvent: Arte Cafe &Gallery, in conjunctionwith Pointe & PlieSchool of Dance,presents belly dancingshows by SoniaChapa.

Latin Jazz FestivalOct. 17-19Place: BrownsvilleEvent: The BrownsvilleSociety of PerformingArts presents the 6thAnnual Latin JazzFestival. The festivalwill includeperformances byChuchito Valdez andhis Afro-Cuban LatinJazz Ensemble, inaddition to 20 otherperformances.Phone: (956) 639-3448

Kool and the GangconcertOct. 23 at 9 p.m.Place: McAllen CivicCenterFeatures: A ‘Pre-Partyon the Patio’ runs from7 to 9 p.m. with specialguest Bongo DogsPrice: $35 for reservedseats. Tickets areavailable at Joyce’sInternational Boutique,120 S. Broadway inMcAllen, or by calling(956) 638-5231.

Why doesn’t the dumb girl in class realize the entireclass groans when she puts her hand up? Why can astudent spend $40 at a bar but feel reluctant aboutspending 50 cents for extra cheese on a hamburger?And the ever elusive: Why do bums ask collegestudents for money?

These are just some of the hysterically mind-boggling questions pondered in Steve Hofstetter’s new

book “Student Body Shots.” Hofstetter, a humorcolumnist, sarcastically describes the insanity of post-high school life and has truly created a book thatshould not be missed.

The book reads like a diary and exposes every detailof Hofstetter's life at New York’s Columbia University.Readers will laugh out loud and nod their heads inagreement as Hofstetter hilariously examines anddiscusses everything from midterms to money matters.

Some of the sweet sarcasm in this book includes,“Some people put things on their parents’ credit card ...if I did that, my parents would have been jailed threetimes by sophomore year,” and “Women get dressedslightly differently than men ... women hold theirclothes up to their bodies, while men hold their clothesup to their noses.” Everybody nod.

See REVIEW page 10

Author chronicles thelunacy of college life

By DÄGOBERTO PÉREZThe Pan American

Broadcast BattlefieldBy JENNIFER TAPIAThe Pan American

We just wanted to trysomething different

like our sisterstations. I think it’sgoing to work in theRio Grande Valley. “

“

- Ray Pedraza,BEAT program director

Humorous ‘body’ of evidence

With KIWW 96.1 changing formats from Tejano to hip-hop, other Valley stations feel the pressure

October 17, 2002 Arts & Entertainment

This book is jam-packed with othersuch ridiculous-but-true quips and willquickly put a laugh and smile on anyreader’s face.

However, there are a few downsidesto this book. One would think that a‘forward’ by TV star Rider Strong of“Boy Meets World” would be anappealing and interesting read. But thetruth of the matter is that his ‘foreword’is nothing more than a shallow andself-gratifying introduction that shouldmost definitely be skipped.

Another downside is that this book is

not yet readily available in mostValley bookstores. A visit toamazon.com, or the book’s publisherat CollegeHumor.com is required inorder for readers to get their hands onthis witty little treasure.

Aside from the ‘foreword,’ thisbook is hilarious. Readers should notlet its sketchy availability hinder theirenjoyment... go online, buy the bookand get a good laugh. If nothing else,this book will at least get your mindoff the hustle and bustle of collegelife.

REVIEW continued from page 7

Book: “Del Amor y Otros Demonios” by GabrielGarcia MarquezCD: “Achtung Baby” by U2Movie: “The Godfather”

Book: “The Illustrated Man” by Ray BradburyMovie: “Pooty Tang”Website: robotfrank.com

Book: “Fellowship of the Rings” by J.R.R. TolkienCD: “Borders and Boundries” by Less Than JakeMovie: “Fight Club”

Randy WilliamsFreshmanBusiness

KennyKleinsteuberFreshmanBiology

Wendy SalcedoFreshmanIntl. Business

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

The

October 17, 2002 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 6October 17, 2002 Arts & Entertainment

�Time Flies�

when you�re

having

fun

The UniversityTheatre presented‘Time Flies’ by DavidIves from Oct. 9-13 inthe Jeffers Theatre.Faculty, students,alumni and guestsgathered in thetheater to enjoy theshow.

The productionincluded a series ofsix short, comicalplays, including‘Babel’s in Arms,’‘Captive Audience,’‘Arabian Nights,’Enigma Variations,’‘Lives of the Saints,’and ‘Mystery ofPwicknam.’

Ananda Morlockand MauroFlores Jr. in“Arabian Nights”

From left to right, Robert Silva, Michael Flores and Ananda Morlock act out a scenefrom “Mystery of Pwicknam.”

(Left) - Dulce Lopez plays ahigh priestess in “Babel’s inArms.”

(Below) - From left to right,Didi Duron, Robert Silva,Michael Flores, AnandaMorlock and Alden Rushperform from “Mystery ofPwicknam.”


October 17, 2002 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 5October 17, 2002 THE PAN AMERICAN

Gabriel O. Hernandez/The Pan American

UP, UP, AND AWAYA United States Coast Guard helicopter takes off from the Quad after students from Edinburg School Districtgot a first-hand look at the aircraft during Hispanic Engineering and Technology Week. Presentations were alsogiven by the Department of Energy, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing in an effort to encourage young Hispanics tochoose careers in math, science, engineering and technology.

goals is to get more students to attend UTPAinstead of going to a different school.”

During HESTEC, students and educatorswill explore career options, participate ininteractive, hands-on workshops withcorporate engineers and scientists, and interactwith Hispanic role models, some of whominclude Nobel Prize winners and corporateexecutives.

Guest speakers on campus Monday includedacclaimed actor Edward James Olmos andJaime Escalante, the award winning educatorwhose career was the basis for the film “Standand Deliver.”

On Monday, UTPA welcomed 1,000teachers, administrators, and

superintendents from South Texas, theHouston area, Dallas, California and Puerto

Rico. Activities included seminarsexplaining the latest tools and techniques thatcan be used in the classroom to enhance theteaching experience and allow students to gainperspective on new technology.

Biology professor Kenneth R. Summy wasone UTPA faculty member to host a seminarduring the Math and Science Educator Day.His session was titled “Student Performance inIntroductory Science Course: Perspective toSuccess and Failure.”

In the session, he explained how he teachestechniques from scratch, assuming studentsdon’t know anything of science. By using thismethod he guaranteed he could cover everyangle of the course.

“I think that when students come into theclass and are unsuccessful it doesn’t mean thatthe students can’t do the work,” he said. “Itjust reflects on the skills they don’t practicelike time management or studying techniques.”

Sophomore manufacturing engineeringmajor Jesse Hernandez was able to attend theguest speaker’s presentations Monday, as wellas lend a helping hand during the rest of the

week.“This week has really given me more

motivation to pursue my career with moreenthusiasm, especially after hearing whatEdward James Olmos and Jaime Escalantesaid,” Hernandez said. “Engineering can be areally difficult field, and it feels almost as ifyou have the duty to represent Hispanics. Ithink you really need to have, as Escalante putit, ganas (desire) to be able to succeed andbecome a role model for others who want to besuccessful.”

Tuesday was Math and Science StudentExploration day, which included 2,000 GEAR-Up students participating in a day ofpresentations, including seminars explainingthe latest technology used at top corporationslike Blockbuster and SBC Communications.There was also a solar car competitionsponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Michael Dell, the chairman and chiefexecutive officer of Dell Computers and PCMagazine’s “Man of the Year,” will be thekeynote speaker tonight. He will deliver anaddress highlighting the effectiveness of Dell’sprograms “to eliminate the barriers of Internetintegration and enhance educationalopportunities.” Here, Internet integration refersto the goal of eliminating access barriers thatmany minoroties face.

According to Hashim Mahdi, director ofmechanical engineering, the engineeringprogram has over 700 students enrolled, anincrease of 50 students from last year.

“Having HESTEC held here this year isbeneficial for the university, students andindividuals participating in the week,” Mahdisaid. “First of all, our students can have anopportunity to gain internships and possiblyapply to different jobs, and the high schoolstudents can learn more about our departmentand all that we can offer them if they decide toattend UTPA.”

HESTEC continued from page 1Citizens from across the Rio Grande

Valley came together Wednsday nightat the Edinburg Baseball Stadium forthe Sci-Tech Expo Community Nightas part of the Hispanic Engineering,Science and Technology Week(HESTEC).

At least 2,000 people were expectedto attend the event, which featuredmusic and entertainment personalitiesincluding Johnny Canales, CaliCarranza y Los Formales and Grupo

Sierra con Mario Montes, and variousexhibits from Boeing, IBM, and theGladys Porter Zoo.

“I heard about the Expo afterreading the Monitor,” said JuanCasares of San Juan. “I wanted tobring my kids to expose them toengineering and science and hopefullybroaden their horizons about thedifferent things they can do with theirlives.”

A Boeing representative said that he

wanted to make sure people knew thathis company was not exclusive, butwas becoming inclusive when it cameto hiring new employees.

“We wanted to come to South Texassince this area is underexposed toBoeing compared to other parts of thestate and nation,” Darren Warner said.

With different universityorganizations and programsvolunteering at the event, studentswere able to gain perspective and

learn more about the field of scienceand engineering.

“I liked working with the kids andsharing with them these new things Iknow they weren’t exposed tobefore,” said Angie Garicia, a UTPAStudent Leader who helped out at theWater Treatment exhibit. “I think Iwould have enjoyed attendingsomething like when I was younger,but I’m really enjoying myself now asa college student.”

Gone soon will be the days of having tomanually fill out a degree plan andgraduation application.

In the spring of 2003, the University ofTexas Pan-American will make On Coursesoftware available to everyone on campus,allowing for the filing of automated degreeplans from entry to graduation.

On Course, the automated degree planaudit system, has been in testing for the pastfour years by the Office of Admissions andRecords, and its impending implementationwill allow for efficient advisement andconvenient access for students.

"[Though] advisers still have to give theRAC number, it [On Course] allows forquality advisement," said David Zuniga,director of Admissions and Records. "[It]enhances advisement by allowing self-advisement for students [with] securityaccess to degree plans from kiosks and the

web."Though On Course will only become

available to all UTPA students nextsemester, the College of BusinessAdministration and the College ofEducation have already tested and used theprogram for the past two-plus years.

"I am very pleased with the degree auditprogram," said Cynthia Brown, assistantprofessor in economics and finance. "TheCollege of Business has been using it sincelast spring. We have undertaken a major testof its accuracy and are currently making thelast of the updates. The software is veryeasy to use - there are a minimum of codesyou need to know."

Elia Ovalle, secretary of the managementmarketing and international businessdepartment, said On Course has "cut downpaperwork and helped process graduationpapers [faster]."

Recently, the office of Admissions andRecords has been training faculty and stafffrom all colleges and has received a lot of

feedback on the software."We have received a lot of positive

comments," Zuniga said. "The onlynegative comment is that of the format withquestions like ‘Why can’t it look like whatwe have now?’”

Zuniga said tremendous resources wouldbe required to change the straightforwardformat of the automated degree form.However, he stated that despite the format,it does an excellent job allowing forconsistency and elimination of human error.

Still, despite its efficiency andconsistency, for some professors On Courseis going to take awhile to get used to.

"I believe the new software is very good,"said Dr. Leo Gomez, assistant dean of theCollege of Education. "At this point[however], I still prefer the traditionaldegree plan only because it is more user-friendly due to its familiarity. Also, I thinkit is a bit difficult to use, particularly forfaculty that are not used to using the VAXand searching student records, etc.

Hopefully the new software can becomejust as user-friendly."

Brown stated that students get immediatefeedback through efficiency of theautomated degree plan.

"The benefits to the students aretwofold," Brown said. "First of all, they cancheck their progress towards graduation andsee what remains. This also provides acheck of all of the internal GPArequirements. Secondly, a student will beable to evaluate their current transcript forany of the degrees offered on campus.Often times students want to know theimpact of changing majors. This will showthem which of their current courses areapplicable and specifically what additionalcoursework is needed."

Some other universities using the samesoftware include Oklahoma State, TexasA&M, Utah State, the University ofWyoming, several California StateUniversity schools, Loyola University inNew Orleans, and Texas A&M-Commerce.


Push-button services on the horizon

Sci-tech Expo held

(From left to right) A young observer closely examines a scale model water tower during HESTECWednesday. Angie Garcia demonstrates the water distribution/water treatment processes.

Photos and story by Clarissa Martinez

Corporate representatives on campus

October 17, 2002 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 4

Bo RadusimBusiness FinanceFreshman

It has a lot of potential. It would convey allthe variety of [opinion] from the students

Marivel WetegroveEducationJunior

Yeah. It would help students findinformation of the campus morereadily. I’d listen to it if I wasaround campus.

Roland Arriola IICommunicationsJunior

Yeah. That would be nice. It couldvoice the students’ concerns. Manyissues such as parking problems,campus concerns and evenannouncements could be madethrough it.

Do you think UTPA shouldhave a student radio

station?

Ethelyn ArriolaMathSenior

That would be cool. It’d be a good outlet tovoice our opinions and concerns. Thestation would showcase our culture andgive us something else to listen to.

VOICECCaammppuuss

Rocio MolinaSpanishSophomore

Sure. It’s never been done. It will besomething new and different for theuniversity.

What better way to relive college daysthan through philanthropy?

The Alumni Association, which consistsof students that graduated from orattended the University of Texas-PanAmerican, is an organization whosefunction is to help the university byraising money for various programs.

Earlier this semester, the associationextended another helping hand to UTPAstudents, donating $75,000 to theUniversity Scholars program.

“The Alumni Association is anorganization of ex-UTPA students thatwant to keep the relationship going onwith the University,said UTPA PresidentDr. Miguel A.Nevarez. “They helpthe university inmany differentways.”

Nevarez said thedonated funds willbe used forscholarships for anumber of UTPAstudents.

Rolando Arriola,vice president forexternal affairs, toldUTPA’s UniversityRelationsdepartment that the association’s donationmarks a historical moment for theuniversity, because it is the largest giftever given by the association.

He added that students from UTPA willbe able to receive the best education inSouth Texas because of this generouscontribution. The University Scholarsprogram, which began in 1998, promotesacademic excellence in Rio Grande Valleyschools.

“We tell students if they can earn 12college credit hours with an average of Bor better while they are still in high

school, they will have a full year oftuition and fees scholarship at UTPA,”Nevarez said.

The University Scholarship program hasgrown tremendously since its inception.Approximately 265 students currentlyenrolled at UTPA receive the scholarship.

According to Nevarez, the scholarshipawards have grown from $28,000 in 1999to over $920,000 this year.

“It’s costing us to do the program, butthis is one of the ways to improve ourstudent body,” Nevarez said. “There is atremendous need to raise money.”

Nevarez hopes the donation by theAlumni Association will also serve as anexample for other corporations andfoundations interested in donating funds.

He said UTPA oftencontacts othercorporationsregardingcontributions to theuniversity, andprospective donorsoften take previousdonations by theAlumni Associationinto account.

“When we go to acertain corporationwe tell them that ouralumni really believesin this program andthat they have comeup with $75,000,”

Nevarez said. “The alumni being involvedenhances the chances of money beingdonated from other corporations andfoundations.”

According to Nevarez, the alumni groupraises money by having auctions andfundraisers, in addition to charging amembership fee for active alumni that isalso chipped into the donation pool.

Most members of the alumni live in theValley, but there are charters activelyraising money for the scholars program incities around the state, including Houston,San Antonio and Dallas.

By NIKKI RAMIREZThe Pan American

Alumni donationhits 75K mark

the quality of the students [who have taken]the recommended high school programs haveincreased the retention rate,” Zuniga said.“New students and returning students havecontributed to the growth.”

Zuniga stated that with UTPA’s developedstrategies in recruitment, its studentpopulation has the potential to see continuedgrowth.

Increases in other academic universitiesinclude an 11.3 percent rise at UT-Arlingtonfrom 21,180 to 23,576 students; six percent atUT-Brownsville from 9,371 to 9,937 students;7.6 percent at UT-Dallas from 12,455 to13,403 students; 6.2 percent at UT-El Pasofrom 16,220 to 17,232 students; 12.3 percentat UT-Permian Basin from 2,409 to 2,705

students; and 10.8 percent growth at UT-SanAntonio from 19,883 to 22,017 students.

Five of the UT Health Institutions also sawa combined increase to form a totalenrollment increase of 3.7 percent from 9,481to 9,836 students.

Increases in the health institutions include8.9 percent growth at UT-SouthwesternMedical Center at Dallas from 1,505 to 1,640students; 4.1 percent at UT-Medical Branch atGalveston from 1,936 to 2,016 students; 0.2percent at UT-Health Science Center atHouston from 3,345 to 3,351 students; 1percent at UT-Health Science Center at SanAntonio (from 2,743 to 2,770); and 23percent growth at UT-M.D. Anderson from 48to 59.

ENROLLMENT continued from page 1

The alumni beinginvolved enhancesthe chances ofmoney beingdonated from othercorporations andfoundations

““

- Dr. Miguel A. Nevarez,UTPA President

Biggest gift in association history will go to studentscholarships, fee payments

October 17, 2002 Sports

Buffalo at Miami

What a huge win the Dolphins picked up on theroad against Denver. They can take control of theAFC East with a win at home.

Dolphins by 10Matt Celeste GregBills Dolphins Dolphins

Chicago atDetroit

Joey Harrington is looking bet ter and bet terevery week. The Bears come off a bye and willhad two weeks to prepare for the Lions.

Bears by 7Matt Celeste GregBears Bears Bears

Jacksonville atBaltimore

Both teams sufffered tough losses on the road.Ray Lewis was definitely missed by Baltimore andthey will need him this week.

Ravens by 3Matt Celeste GregJaguars Jaguars Ravens

Seattle at St. Louis

The Rams finally figured out they must run theball in order to win football games. Marshall Faulkshould have another big game.

Rams by 6Matt Celeste GregSeahawks Seahawks Rams

Houston at Cleveland

The Texans were very close to their second winof the season. Tim Couch must get himselftogether before his teammates lose confidence inhim.

Browns by 6Matt Celeste GregTexans Texans Browns

Dallas at Arizona

Quincy Car ter is star ting to come into his own asa quar terback. The come from behind win washuge for him.

Cowboys by 10 Matt Celeste GregCowboys Cardinals Cowboys

Washington atGreen Bay

Bret t Favre is playing at a very high level rightnow. It will be tough for the Redskins on Sunday.

Packers by 10Matt Celeste GregPackers Packers packers

Carolina at Atlanta

The Panthers will blow it again against theFalcons. Carolina could easily be 6-0 right now.

Falcons by 3Matt Celeste GregPanthers Falcons Falcons

Denver at Kansas City

Talk about emotion, how about these two lastweek. I think they learned football is a 60-minutegame. The Broncos will rebound.

Broncos by 7Matt Celeste GregBroncos Chiefs Broncos

Minnestota at N.Y. Jets

The Vikings finally got their first win. Now, theymust develop a running game if they want tocontinue their streak. Randy Moss will do therest. The Jets need to stick with one quar terback

Vikings by 10

Matt Celeste GregVikings Vikings Jets

San Francisco atNew Orleans

The Niners always have problems at theSuperdome. Jeff Garcia must have a big game inorder for the Niners to win.

Niners by 10Matt Celeste GregSaints Niners Saints

San Diego atOakland

Drew Brees is star ting to remind me of JohnElway in the way he manages his team andbrings it from behind to win. Raiders mustrebound.

Chargers by 6Matt Celeste GregRaiders Chargers Raiders

Tampa Bay at PhiladelphiaThis is a rematch of the wild-

card game the last few seasons. The Bucs stillhaven’t proved they can win in cold weather. TheEagles will once again take advantage of it.

Eagles by 14Matt Celeste GregEagles Bucs Eagles

Indianapolis at PittsburghWhen was the last time

Edgerrin James rushed for 100 yards? PaytonManning can’t do it all for the Colt offense. I likethe Steelers at home.

Steelers by 8Matt Celeste GregColts Colts Steelers

Open Dates: Cincinnati, New England, N.Y.Giants and Tennessee

StaffMikeGonzalez:50-38,.568GregSelber:49-39,.557

Celeste Y.Tello: 46-41, .523 MattLynch: 54-34, .614

Staff Swami Records

Mike GonzalezSports Editor

Swamis

Dr. Greg SelberAdviser

Matt LynchEditor

Celeste TelloReporter

Broncs finish 7th,while women fin-ish 16th at A&M The men’s cross-country team

finished with 208 points and fin-ished seventh at the Texas A&Minvitational last Saturday.

Leading the way was sophomoreWestly Keating who finishedfourth overall in the competition inthe five-mile course with 26 min-utes, 11 seconds.

Not far behind was freshmanRandy Salazar who finished with atime of 28 minutes and 12 secondsand 27th overall.

The Lady Broncs finished themeet 16th overall with 464 points.Leading the way was sophomoreClaudia Rosas who finished with atime of 24:38 in the six kilometercourse.

The Mission native was 60thoverall in the competition. Not farbehind was sophomore PattyVillarreal who finished with a timeof 25:22 and was 87th overall.Facing Big 12 competition wasn’tno easy task for UTPA, but assis-tant coach Molnar hopes the A&MInvitational helps build characterfor the rest of the meets.

“We are going through a learningprocess with both of our teams,learning what it is like to run inbigger meets, and against bettertimes,” Molnar said. “Hopefully,this will be a springboard for usfor both the independent champi-onships, and for regionals.”

Men’s golf takes16th at Crown

ClassicUTPA men’s golf team finished

16th at the 54-hole SouthernChryslar Crown Classic in Lufkin.The Broncs scored a total of 962points including a final-roundscore of 327 and only one shotbehind Stephen F. Austin.

Junior Rudy Celedon finished ina tie for 41st with a score of 235including a final-round score of82.

Junior Paul Manganilla finishedtwo strokes behind with a score of237, 51st overall, and freshmanCraig Berger finished with a scoreof 247. Junior Ben Piper shot ascore of 248 with junior JohnHureta eight strokes behind.

October 17, 2002 THE PAN AMERICAN Page 3

The University of Texas-Pan Americanathletic department is looking for a few goodmen and women to become the next Buckythe Bronc.

Bucky the Bronc has been the mascot atUTPA for the past 23 years. But being Buckyisn’t all about fun and games. Or is it? Buckyattends every home volleyball, basketball,baseball game including other activities.Because of the multitude of appearancesBucky makes over the course of a school year,at least three to four different students arerequired to play mascot at different events.Though the mascot’s identity must remainanonymous, UTPA Athletic MarketingCoordinator Craig Pintens was able to speakon behalf of Bucky.

“One of the great things about being amascot is there aren’t any qualifications,”Pintens said. “You just need to be somebodywith a lot of energy who enjoys entertaining.Once you are in the costume you can allowyour true creativity to come out since nobodyknows who is inside.”

Pintens said to be a good mascot a personneeds to be creative and willing to push theenvelope in entertainment to have positiveinteraction with the fans, especially childrenattending the various events.

“You have to work well with kids,” Pintenssaid. “You need to know how to handle

different situations. Sometimes they’ll startcrying when they see you, other kids might hitthe costume or in Bucky’s case, pull his tail.”

Though mascots are usually known forsimply running around and acting goofy atgames, many people don’t know about thedifficulties that come along with the job.

“It takes a special person to be a mascotbecause of all the energy it requires out ofyou, but at the same time being in thecostume makes it a lot easier to do things thatyou probably wouldn’t do if people knew whoyou were,” Pintens said. “The costume is hotso you have to make sure you don’tdehydrate, and sometimes it gets difficult tosee out it, too.”

Pintens himself has had some experience asbeing a mascot and said that it is alsoimportant to remain in character, keeping theimage of the mascot true to what students andfans expect.

“It’s a tough but fun job, and it is totallyvoluntary, so I’m hoping that this year we canmake Bucky a big part of the Bronctradition.”

Freshman communications major VeronicaGarcia was one of the many people who sawBucky last Friday at Midnight Madness.

“It was really fun to watch Bucky, he wascute and really hyperactive,” Garcia said. “Iwould like to see some skits performed by themascot, and I think it’s definitely a lot ofresponsibility to keep the crowd’s energy upand just keep them exited.”

Wanted: Wacky, energetic Bronc


Several students will vie for chance to become thelatest UTPA mascot

Clarissa M

artinez/The P

an Am

erican

BUCKY

Training is an essentialelement in any sport.

For cross country and trackrunners, the key ingredient isa heavy load of distancerunning.

For track runners, thecomplete fall semester ispreseason and filled with a lotof conditioning work.

“Right now we’re inpreseason, we’ll be inpreseason for the whole firstsemester,” assistant track andfield coach Marisa Robinsonsaid.

“They started Sept. 9, theygo Monday through Fridayand basically practices arefrom 2:30 to 4:30 every day,”she said.

The practice schedule willbecome more intense for trackrunners this week when theywill practice 20 hours a week.

“The first four weeksyou’re only allowed topractice eight hours a weekand after that you’re allowed

to practice 20 hours,”Robinson said.

Once the team is allowed toincrease their practice hoursthey will begin to run a mileand lift weights for an hourand a half on Tuesday andThursday mornings. Then theypractice from 2:30 to 5 p.m.Robinson noticed the trackteam has begun to developendurance during theirworkouts.

“It’s getting to the pointwhere they can handle theworkouts a lot better,” shesaid. “The first few weeks isbasically a lot of intenserunning, a lot of distancework and upping the mileageto where you can do eachmile in six to seven minutes.”

Six to seven minutes is theideal time for women tocomplete a mile. For men, theideal time is five to sixminutes.

Preseason training was notparticularly easy for runnersin the first few workouts.

Robinson describes trainingfor track as pushing the bodybeyond the limits.

Reaching those limits iseasier at the start of preseasonwhen runners are stillbuilding endurance.

“It’s pushing your body as

far as it can go to the pointwhere a lot of the kids areexhausted literally to thepoint where your body justcan not go anymore,”Robinson said. “That is whatthe preseason is all about, toget your body in shape.”

Once the track seasonbegins, the practice schedulesremain for the most part thesame except that the teamtravels to competitions and isusually required to leave onFridays.

The fall semester is used toestablish an acceptablestarting point for the trackteam to take off from.

“During the fall, we’retrying to build a really goodfoundation, we’re trying toget them in shape and getthem ready for track season,”Robinson said.

She said the team’s goal isto peak later rather thansooner in the season so it willbe at optimum performancelevels around regional andnational meets.

“It’s like a pyramid,”Robinson said. “You startwith a really big foundationand keep working your wayup until you peak, and youwant to peak at about the endof May into June because

that’s when regionals andnationals is going to be.”

According to Robinson, theprogram has been efficientand productive in its training.

“The program is just on therise, we’re really building upthis program and I think[people] will be able to seeit,” Robinson said. “Last yearwas kind of the beginningyear for us and we have a lotof good athletes that came inthis year and I think you’llsee a different trackprogram.”

Robinson noticed theprogram has been receiving alot of attention from otherschools, especially at meets.

“We’re starting to berecognized more nationwide,our kids are starting to getinto the finals at meets we goto a lot of places and peopleare showing interest inUTPA,” Robinson said.

With all the positiveattention that the track teamhas received, Robinsonbelieves that the program willonly get better.

“I think that [people] arejust going to see better andbetter things with thisprogram,” she said. “It’s anamazing program and I’mhonored to be a part of it.”

It’s time to go back to work for the LadyBroncs.

UTPA hosts Texas A&M Internationaland Prairie View A&M this weekend aftercompeting against the alumnae volleyballteam last week. Head coach Dave Thornadmitted his team must refocus for the laststretch of the season.

“Now it’s back to business,” Thorn said.“We’ve got a couple of big games thisweekend for Parent’s Weekend, and wealso have seven matches over the nextthree weekends.”

The Lady Broncs have their work cut outfor them tomorrow night as Texas A&MInternational comes into the contest with a14-game winning streak and a record of21-1. According to Thorn, the LadyDustdevils will present a big challenge forthe Lady Broncs.

“They’re ripping up their league,” Thornsaid. “They’re doing very well and are anathletic team.”

A&M International’s only loss came atthe hands of Houston Baptist.

Saturday’s match against Prairie ViewA&M will be Parent’s Night, and the LadyBroncs including outside hitter WinkerCruz, are looking forward to display theirtalents.

“It’s Parent’s Weekend and we’re goingto be excited and happy to show them[parents] what we can do,” Cruz said.

But despite the excitement and family

atmosphere Thorn has faced thePantherettes before and expects them to bea tough opponent for UTPA.

“Traditionally, they have been realathletic,” Thorn said. “They’re not a hugeteam, but they have a couple of goodplayers we need to watch out for,especially their middle blocker. She didvery well against us last year.”

Outside hitter Cynthia Kasper isconfident UTPA will win both contests andimprove the team’s record to 8-12.

“As a team we’ve been playing better,”Kasper said. “I think coming into this as ateam we have more momentum fromprevious wins which will carry over. Andwe’re coming in with more confidence.”

Last Friday, UTPA rolled over the UTPAalumnae team 30-20, 30-18 and 30-17.Leading the way was freshman blockerStephanie Redd with 13 kills, six digs andthree blocks. Junior outside hitter JaclynMuszynski also had a great night bycontributing 13 kills and 12 digs.

Despite starting the season 1-11 andlooking at times like a strugglingvolleyball team, there is hope for finishingthe season with a winning record. If UTPAcan escape with a sweep this weekend, itwill improve the record to 8-12, putting theteam just four games under .500. Thornadmits a .500 record is a realistic goal, butalso knows the season is a long one andthe Lady Broncs must focus on who theyplay next.

“We try to take it one game at a time,”Thorn said. “You can’t look past anybody.

The season is a journey and the season isnot over ‘till the last match is played.”

UTPA will have an opportunity in thenext few weeks to improve its record. TheLady Broncs face Texas A&M-Kingsville,Texas Southern, Southwest Texas State andcompete in the Independent TournamentNov. 14-15. The last home game is Nov. 11against New Mexico State, and the season

ends Nov. 30 on the road against theUniversity of California-Irvine

Thorn knows the importance of thesenext few games, but feels the Lady Broncswill pull through the tough task.

“It’s a great opportunity to build somemomentum and close out our seasonstrong,” Thorn said. “We’re on a stretchrun and we’ve got to push hard.”

October 17, 2002 sports


Matches against A&M International and Prairie View highlight team’s struggle to reach .500 mark as season oflearning progresses for Coach Dave Thorn

success,” Weidner said.Weidner insists the improvement

will not stop and feels athletes willraise their GPA even higher after thisschool year.

“We hope to be above a 2.9 after thefall [semester] and we would like to beat a 3.0 after the spring [semester],”Weidner said.

Athletes have other academicprograms such as the Student LearningCenter and the Bronc Life SkillsProgram, that help them keep up withtheir classes. The Student AthleticLearning Center offers a variety ofservices and programs designed toassist all student-athletes in guidingthem to their college degree. Weidnerhelped put together these variousprograms that also keep track ofathlete class performance.

“These are programs that didn’t existfour years ago,” Weidner said. “Wetrack how everyone’s doing inacademics.”

Although student-athletes have thetask of playing their respective sportand keeping their grades up, thereward at the end of the road is adegree. For senior volleyball playerCynthia Kasper, the decision to cometo UTPA turned out to be the right onefor her.

“I could have gone to a two-yearcollege, but I wanted to come to whereI knew I could go all four years andnot only play for a good volleyballprogram [but also get a good educationas well].”

Lady Bronc netters in home games this weekend

NICE HIT: Junior Jena Rae Rosales bumps a volleyball during practice on Tuesday.

Mike Gonzalez/The Pan American

GPA continued from page 15Runners perfect practice routine graduallyAs season wearson, regimen gets

more intense


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

http://www.panam.edu/dept/panamerican51th Year – No. 8

EditorMatt Lynch

[email protected]

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Reporters

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Circulation

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Advertising Coordinator

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Adviser

Dr. Greg Selber

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

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

Letters policy

October 172 0 0 2

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

Sports EditorMike Gonzalez

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Celebrating 50 years

A & E EditorAshley Brooks

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Copy EditorsSunayna Mahtani

andBelinda Reyes

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[email protected] NEWS■ Bucky . . . . . . . . . . . 3■ Alumni Assoc . . . . . 4 ■ HESTEC pics . . . . . 12

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

A ‘Final’ Parking SolutionEditor,I recently read, in a sidebar in the Pan

American newspaper on page 4, what somestudents said regarding the lack of parkinghere at the university.

They got it all wrong.We do NOT need more parking lots

built and more spaces added. That wouldsimply add more walking distance fromparking lot to class. These students clearlydid not take the time to think about whatthey said before they said it.

I've thought about this a good bit, evenbefore I returned to complete my educationthis semester. I believe I've come up with aMUCH better solution to the parkingproblem than the 'no brainer' of "makemore parking lots!"

At the end of a Spring semester (not2003 -- I seriously doubt the bureaucratscould get off their duffs to make thishappen in such a timely manner -- I'd guesswe'd be looking at 2005, or later, if theywere to start on this /now/), close a parkinglot for the summer. Yes. I said close aparking lot. Why? To bring in aconstruction crew and turn a flat 'groundlevel' parking lot into a three-story parkinggarage. In one fell swoop the capacity of

that parking lot would have tripled orquadrupled -- and the construction couldeasily be done in time for the next fallsemester... and with the much lowersummer time population of the school,having one parking lot closed for thesummer sessions wouldn't change a wholelot.

The summer after that, another parkinglot could be so renovated, to as to furtherincrease the amount of available parkingfor the students(and faculty!).

Just imagine the parking lots on thecorners of 5th/107 and Sugar/Schunior asbeing two-story parking garages withparking available on the roof (for aneffective THREE stories of parking area).That would about TRIPLE the availableparking for the school without having toincrease walking distance for those whouse the parking.

I realize that the cost of this solutionwould fall to the students, in the form of astudent 'parking fee'... but by the sametoken, the school could then do away withthe whole parking permit system. In anycase, the cost of a new parking lot wouldbe passed on to the students anyhow.

Want to make sure non-students and non-faculty don't use these proposed parkinggarages? There's a fairly simple solution to

that:Card-readers to read the magnetic strip

that's already on the backs of all of ourstudent I.D. cards that would open a barrierto allow the vehicle to enter. This optionwould also allow for one of the parkinglots to be a 'reserved' parking area;students/faculty could pay a small parkingfee to gain access to this parking -- orchoose not to and have access only to thenon-reserved parking.

To compensate for the total lack ofvisitor parking, if parking garages of thissort are actually used, the parking lot onthe corner of Sugar/107 could be turnedinto Visitor Parking.

In any case, I just wanted to point outthat there is a MUCH better solution to theschool's parking woes than the 'build moreparking lots' idea the interviewed studentsall seemed to propose. Grow a brain,people! THINK for a change. This is theUniversity of Texas-Pan American. Try toact like you're at an institution of higherlearning! It's lame-brained excuses forthoughts and ideas, like the ones youoffered up, that make people in northernparts of the country call this school 'TacoTech'.

C. Carranza

People with faces painted with green andorange waited impatiently for the firemen toget those letters on fire. Fraternities and otherorganizations waited with flags held high forthe U, T, P and A to be ignited. Camerasflashed and cheers from the crowd emerged onthe parking lot outside the Fieldhouse whilethe university acronym burned with pride. Itwas Midnight Madness once again.

The annual basketball kickoff party tookplace Friday night with events ranging from anewly added fajita cook-off, the burning of theletters, introduction of the players, and anappearance by mascot Bucky the Bronc

Cheerleaders encouraged the crowd withBronc cheers and chants. Christine Carruthers,director of Student Judicial Affairs, said thatthough it was only the second year the bonfirewas initiated, it brought a very good responsefrom the crowd.

“It was fun, it was great seeing everybodycome out tonight,” she said.

As midnight approached, many hurried toget a seat inside the Fieldhouse, where the 3-on-3 men’s and women’s basketball gameswere being played.

Midnight Madness made its official startwith “The Star-Spangled Banner,” sung by theUTPA Men’s Choir. They also sang the schoolalma mater.

Twelve different organizations danced tochoreographed tunes from country songs tohits from the movie, “Grease.” Delta Zetastarted the dancing competition followed bySTEPS, Young Adult Catholic Ministry(YACM), and the Sol y Luna International

Dance Club, which won a standing ovation forits meringue and salsa dance. The club alsoshowed its spirit with bright neon outfits andorange colored hair.

Dulce Cantu, a member of the YACM, saidstudent support is needed and MidnightMadness brings that support to the university’sbasketball teams.

“I believe that Midnight Madness is verygood for the teams because that way they canbe motivated,” she said.

Bucky the Bronc made an appearance laterin the evening to introduce the Lady Broncs.After the introduction, the girls competed in athree-point shoot out that ended with AlexGravel’s victory.

The rest of the organizations danced afterthe Lady Broncs introduction, including theUTPA Blazers and the cheerleaders, whoshowed their pride and got the crowdmotivated to yell chants with them whileperforming jumps and stunts.

Cheerleader Laura Solis said that it’s veryimportant that the students come out to supportthe Broncs and attend Midnight Madness.

“It is very important that we represent ouruniversity and help it grow, expand, and letpeople know all about the University of Texas-Pan American,” Solis said.

The Broncs and Lady Broncs were also partof the dancing competition in MidnightMadness. They showed they are not justbasketball players, but dancers who know howto have a good time.

Senior Bronc Kevin Mitchell felt that it was

a good crowd and they had a lot of fun atMidnight Madness.

“It was a nice night, everybody waslaughing and giggling. It was a niceenvironment to be in at Midnight Madness,”Mitchell said.

The men also had a competition to show offtheir dunking skills and give the fans a glimpseof what to expect during the upcoming season.The men start Nov. 9 with an exhibition athome against Monterrey Tech. Nov. 10 iswhen the women get going, against theHouston Jaguars at home.

The slam dunk contest and three-pointshootout were a success and it got the studentscheering for the players they support. Bothbasketball teams felt pumped up to start theseason by seeing how well the crowdresponded, according to senior Lady BroncJulie Porter.

“I think it is great the students at Pan Amcome out here and support us to see who wegot this year, our schedule, and everything. It’sreally great and it kind of gets us hyped up tosee that our people support what we aredoing,” Porter said.

Not only did the players have a good time,but the student body that was there supportingthem also left happy and excited for the startof the season.

Charlie Caceres, coordinator of Intramurals,Cheerleaders and the Blazer Dance Team, saidhe crowd responded really well.

“We are tired, but we think it definitely paidoff,” he said.

By ARIANNA VAZQUEZThe Pan American

Varied events at MadnessBronc mascot, cheerleaders among celebrants at

annual basketball kickoff event

To some ballplayers, college is not apriority, but the University of Texas-PanAmerican has been fortunate the past fewyears to recruit a number of hardworkingstudent-athletes who have helped theprogram reach a respectable level.

UTPA athletes have improved theiracademic performance for six straightsemesters. In spring 2002, student athleteshad a cumulative grade point average(GPA) of 2.88, an improvement from 2.81

in the fall of 2001. Athletic Director William Weidner came

to UTPA four years ago and has made amajor contribution to the students.

“This has been a tremendous turnaroundfor us,” Weidner said.

According to Weidner, 41 percent ofstudent athletes received a cumulativeGPA of 3.0 or higher. When he came toUTPA in 1997, the GPA for studentathletes was 2.2 and below that of thegeneral student body. According toWeidner, UTPA coaches deserve credit formotivating their athletes not only toperform in their respective sport, but alsoin the classroom.

“We were below the student GPA fouryears ago,” Weidner said. “Our coachesare doing a good job in recruiting athletesthat are talented.”

The men’s and women’s tennis teamsposted the highest GPA in spring 2002.The Lady Bronc tennis players earned anaverage GPA of 3.65 GPA, while the menearned a 3.44. Women’s basketball, golf,and volleyball teams each had at least a3.2 GPA in the spring. Athletes on thedean’s list included: Kareem Abdullah,men’s tennis; Alana Breen, women’stennis; Crystal Frasier, women’s golf;Mike Killian, baseball; Marvin Manns,baseball; Ed Marko, baseball and EveNickelson, women’s tennis.

Volleyball player Jessica Lawson keepsherself motivated both on the volleyballcourt and in the classroom. She was on thedean’s second honors list in the spring andkeeps her purpose for being at UTPA inperspective.

“At times it’s hard, but you just have to

remember that the reason you’re here is togo to school,” Lawson said.

Many changes have occurred sinceWeidner’s arrival to the UTPA athleticprogram. One important one was thedevelopment of the UTPAfreshman/transfer orientation program.This program is mandatory for all UTPAfreshman and transfer athletes. It’s a 10-week deal that prepares all studentathletes for college life. Areas such asacademic, social and personal strategiesare among the topics discussed at theorientation.

Weidner believes the orientation hashelped athletes make their transition toUTPA.

“That’s been key to the athletes’

There’s more to cheerleading than just bigsmiles. It takes months of hard work just toget to the competition. Then comes thetoughest part.

Hard work and dedication take center stagefor a successful squad, and the Bronccheerleaders have already been preparing forthe national competition slated for Jan. 9-12.The squad is looking to top their second placefinish at last year’s competition.

The team has already put itself in acompetitive mindset. Laura Solis, one of theteam’s two captains, has high hopes for thecompetition team.

“I think we’re going to do well, and I hopethat we’ll bring home a nationalchampionship,” she said. “I’m sure we’llbring home a national championship.”

Coordinator for Student Activities CharlieCaceres shares Solis’ ambitions for a nationaltitle.

“I expect them to win,” he said. “We don’tgo out there for a weekend at Orlando. We goout there to take everything.”

Caceres said that the team is serious aboutbringing home a national championship titlein their division.

“We’re going out there to kick some booty.You ask these kids and they’re serious aboutthis,” he said.

Last year the cheerleaders competed againstsmall coed squads in three divisions, none ofwhich was UTPA’s national division. Thecompetition has been reformatted this year soUTPA will only compete against otherDivision-I and Division-IA schools.

“Last year we got second place within ourdivision,” Caceres said. “This year thedivisions changed up a little.”

Despite the changes in the competition, thecheerleaders have been preparing for theevent. The squad took advantage of theMidnight Madness festivities last week tovideotape some of its routines to use fornationals.

“Right now we are preparing forvideotaping for nationals, Midnight Madnesshelped us out a great deal in a portion of thevideotaping,” Caceres said. “Right now we’redoing all the other stuff that we need to getdone.”

The squad is required to send in a videotape

that displays the team’s talent. The materialon the videotape will determine the squad’sranking and eligibility.

“We need to send in a tape that showsskills, a cheer, and a sideline,” Caceres said.“Our ranking will depend on that material.”

If the team gets ranked first based on theirvideotape, they will automatically reach thefinals at nationals. UTPA will likely receiveits ranking a couple of weeks after submittingits video, and then prepare for the actualcompetition based on the ranking.

“A lot of what we’re doing right now isalready in preparation for nationals,” Caceressaid.

Another measure Caceres has taken thisyear to ensure a successful competition is tobring on four extra individuals in case one ofthe 16 competitors suffers an injury oracademic difficulties.

“This year we did things differently, wedecided to pick up 18 individuals,” he said.“As we progress from a competitivestandpoint we realize that there are injuriesthat occur [and] there may be academicproblems, and we have to have a bench to goto.”

Caceres decided to bring on one extra maleand female cheerleader for extra insurance incase the squad faces any mishaps. Afterwitnessing some injures other squads sufferedduring the actual competition, Caceresrealized the need for reinforcements.

“Last year we saw two squads that hadinjuries there at nationals, and that quitehonestly terrified the heck out of me,” he said.“They couldn’t recover from that.”

Caceres said the talent on the squad isoutstanding.

“As far as the ability that I’ve got on thisteam, it’s phenomenal,” he said. “I can’t speakhighly enough about them. They’re moreathletic and much more talented, and they’reaggressive.”

The team puts in many discipline-filledpractice hours in order to present a polishedroutine to both fans and judges. The squadtypically practices four days a week, includingSundays, for as many hours as it takes to getthings right.

For four of the girls on the squad, practiceis particularly important because they will becompeting in an all-girl partner stuntingcompetition.

Laura Solis, Mariella Yarittu, Erika Tijerinaand Krystal Mata will all compete in thepartner stunting competition. Solis said theentire squad has been efficient at practices.

“Everyone comes into practice and doeswhat they need to do,” Solis said.

October 17, 2002 sports


Spirit squad looks totake first this year

Cheerleaders prepare for national competition

Student-athletes score off the field in classroom workSTANDING TALL: Cheerleaders complete a chair stunt at a practice last Friday afternoon.

Brian Carr/The Pan American

See GPA page 14

GPAs on rise for UTPAsports participants, better

than student average


It’s the age of technology, and theUniversity of Texas-Pan American is onthe cutting edge this week by hostingthis year’s Hispanic Engineering,Science and Technology Week.(HESTEC).

“Our initiative started withCongressman Ruben Hinojosa and Mr.Roland Arriola (Vice-President forExternal Affairs), and of course theuniversity goal of bringing morestudents into careers like engineering,”said Gilbert Maldonado, UTPA directorof special projects.

Maldonado said HESTEC Week isdesigned to serve as a catalyst forincreasing the number of Hispanicmajors in engineering, science, andmathematics at the undergraduate andgraduate level. Partners for HESTECinclude Region One Education ServiceCenter, UTPA GEAR-Up, UT-Brownsville GEAR-Up, and RegionOne GEAR UP, and the BoeingCompany.

Statistically only five out of every1,000 Hispanic students enter the fieldsof engineering and computer science.But UTPA is one of the leading schoolsfor Hispanic students with 86 percentenrollment, and is trying to change thestatistics. According to Maldonado, theengineering and science programs atUTPA are expected to triple theirenrollment by the year 2010.

HESTEC will feature a week ofevents expected to excite and motivatemiddle and high school students to enterthe various technological fields, andalso inspire educators to act as guidesand mentors for aspiring students.

Karinna Lazcano, a senior majoringin manufacturing engineering, is onestudent helping out in the activities thisweek.

“I believe the high school studentsparticipating in HESTEC week aregoing to be enrolling at UTPA in acouple of years,” Lazcano said. “This[HESTEC] is going to help theuniversity, since I think one of the main

THURSDAYOctober 17, 2002

An Inside Look:

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

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

Page 4

CCaammppuussVOICE

Do youthink UTPAshould havea student

radiostation?



FLYIN’ HIGH— A student waves a green, orange and white flag last Friday nightat Midnight Madness. Students gathered inside the Fieldhouse cheer on theBronc basketball teams at the annual event to kick off the season.

High tech affair

No wonder parking spaces areat a premium this term at theUniversity of Texas-PanAmerican.

Student enrollment throughoutthe 14 academic universities inthe University of Texas System,including UTPA, has increasedthis fall by seven percent from143,629 to 159,799 students.

According to a news releasefrom the UT System Web page,the increase is a result of factorssuch as "expanded recruitmentand retention programs, and newscholarshipprograms." The newsrelease also stated that"college anduniversity enrollmenthistorically tends toincrease duringperiods of a weakeconomy."

UT-Tylerexperienced thelargest increase in thesystem, a jump of14.3 percent from3,732 to 4,265students.

UT-Austin reacheda record enrollment of52,273 students, a 3.3-percent increasecompared to its50,616 figure last fall.UT-Austin is the onlyone of the 14academic universitiesin the system to servea large studentpopulation, accordingto the news release.For the second year ina row, the Austinschool is the largestuniversity in thenation.

A recent article inthe Daily Texan, theUT-Austin studentnewspaper, indicatedthat though the schoolhas faced nodifficulties providingits students withimportant services, itspresident, LarryFaulkner hasappointed a

committee to investigate forminga task force on enrollmentstrategy. The task force will beresponsible for studying theuniversities’ capacity anddeveloping a rational strategy forenrollment management.

Locally, UTPA has seen a 5.5-percent increase from 13,460 to14,391 students. According toDirector of Admissions andRecords David Zuniga, manyfactors have contributed toUTPA’s tremendous summergrowth of nearly 11 percent,which carried over into the fallsemester.

“Better advising services and


Full house:Enrollment up

■ UT Arlington - 21,180 to 23,576

■ UT Austin - 50,616 to 52,273

■ UT Brownsville - 9,371 to 9,937

■ UT Dallas - 12,455 to 13,403

■ UT El Paso - 16,220 to 17,232

■ UT Pan American - 13,460 to 14,391

■ UT Permian Basin - 2,409 to 2,705

■ UT San Antonio - 19,883 to 22,017

■ UT Tyler - 3,732 to 4,265

Ashley Brooks/The Pan American

SOURCE: UT Texas System

EEnnrroollllmmeennttiinnccrreeaasseess

Students encouraged to seek education, careersin various technological fields

See ENROLLMENT page 4

See HESTEC page 5

CAMPUS

■ Democraticgubernatorial candidateTony Sanchez will be oncampus Monday, Oct.21 to speak tostudents, facult y andstaff in the StudentUnion Media Theatre at11:45 a.m. The visit willkick off the Sanchezcampaign’s early voteactivities for the state,according tospokeswoman MichelleKucera. UTPA’s YoungDemocrats will sponsorthe event. Election Dayis Tuesday, Nov. 5.

NATION

■ Nor th Korea hasdisclosed to the UnitedStates that it has anactive nuclear weaponsprogram. According tosenior administrationofficials, Pyongyang wasconfronted withevidence that it hasenough plutonium for atleast two nuclearweapons, whichprompted theacknowledgment of theprogram. The sourcesaid the Bushadministration intends tokeep talking with Nor thKorea and does notintend to putdiscussions to disarmthe nation on hold. Bush has named Nor thKorea as a member ofthe Axis of Evil.

Thousands of spirited fanscrammed into the Fieldhouse Fridaynight to witness the ceremonial firstbasketball practice of the season andto help Midnight Madness live up toits name. The bleachers were packedfrom top to bottom, with limitedseating more available the further therows were from the floor.

Sprinkled throughout the bleacherssat boys dressed as girls, guysdressed in army fatigues, sororitysisters dressed as cowgirls, andfanatics with orange, green and whitepainted faces - all cheering andawaiting their turns to present wellchoreographed dance routines whichwould draw even more attention totheir respective groups.

The screaming and unbridled fanswere primed for the night ofexcitement and sports rhetoric. Earlyin the evening they had participatedin a tailgating party which concludedin a series of cheerleader drills andthe traditional letter-burningceremony. By the time theFieldhouse was opened to the fans,school spirit shone warm on all thefaces in the crowd. The cacophony ofbanter, applause and shoutingproduced by the fans could be heardhalfway across campus, and as the

hour approached midnight and theanticipation of the 2002-2003 Bronchoops unveiling drew closer, thecrowd’s eruptions became morefrequent and louder.

The event was seamless. And forall the work that went into shapingMidnight Madness, it should havebeen. Midnight Madness started backin the 1970s at the University ofMaryland, when coach Lefty Driesellturned the first official day ofpractice into a showcase of histeam’s talents. The event has caughton around the country and is now astaple of each school’s preseasonhoops preparations.

“Certainly planning an event ofthat size takes several months,” saidCraig Pintens, head of marketing forUTPA athletics, “Next year’s willeven be bigger and better.”

But for all the entertainment theorganized chaos offered, its purposewas clear - to serve as the bells,whistles, and fancy packaging of theUTPA 2002-2003 basketball roster.

The most notable changesimplemented this season took placeon the men’s roster.

At the end of the 2001-2002season, the Bronc’s had a 20-10record and were considered for theNational Invitational Tournamentafter their best season in 12 years.But key players Marcus Quinn and

Mire Chatman both graduated duringthe off-season, drastically changingthe dynamic of the team.

During the offseason, head coachBob Hoffman and the Broncsacquired many new players that thecoaching staff hopes will to fill thevoid created by the departure ofthose two stars.

Three of the most notableadditions to the lineup this seasonare junior transfer students ChrisFagan and Prince Thompson, and6’8” freshman Derrick East, whowas red- shirted last season and willbe starting this season with fouryears of eligibility.

These players made up three-fourths of the UTPA slam dunkcontest, along with returning guardKevin Mitchell. They collectivelyshowcased their talents in awholesome display of to-the-holeand in-your-face basketballshowboating.

The one-dunk-per-playercompetition, judged by tennis coachTodd Chapman, assistant track coachMarissa Robinson, and men’s golfcoach Mark Gaynor, was dominatedby Fagan and East. East took firstplace in the competition bycompleting an assisted dunk in whichhe recovered an off-the-backboardpass for a two-handed dunk.

Fagan, who captured second place,

came up short of the 8.5 first placescore held by East when judgeMarissa Robinson awarded him only6.5 points for his between-the-leg,around-the-world slam. Mitchell,who did not follow through on hisattempt, was awarded four points forpresentation due to the theatricalnature of his shot - a marvelousattempt at leaping over an occupiedsofa for a two-handed dunk.

The Lady Bronc equivalent camein the form of a three-point shootout.The competition, a 45-secondindividual allotment in which playerscould shoot from five positionsaround the three-point line, wasdominated by senior Alex Gravel,who nailed twelve attempts,including one at the buzzer, puttingher four shots over second placeMichelle Smith. Gravel is theschool’s all-time leader in long-rangeshooting.

The season itself will be the onlytrue test of how either roster stacksup, but men’s head coach BobHoffman is optimistic about histeam.

“We’re a lot further along in theprocess than many of the otherteams,” Hoffman said, “ We havequite a few players coming back whoknow the routine, and we have agreat idea of what are new playersare going to be able to do.”


UTPA PRIDE: Midnight Madness was in full swing outside the Fielhouse as Bronc fans showed their school spirit last Friday.

■ GPA on rise . . . . . . . . 15

■ Volleyball Preview. . . . .14

■ Staff’s swami picks . . . 13

PAGE 16

Madness invades UTPA

SPORTSNFL WILL NOT TOLERATE:The NFL will not fine ordiscipline all-pro TerrellOwens for Monday night’stouchdown celebration.However, leaguespokesman Greg Aiellosaid no such act will betolerated from now on.The Niner receiver beatSeahawks cornerbackShawn Springs for a scorethen reached into his sockto grab a pen, signed afootball, then tossed it tohis financial adviser inthe front row. Seahawkshead coach MikeHolmgren didn’t commendOwens behavior andcalled it “shameful” and“a dishonor to anyonewho ever played thisgame.” Two years ago,Owens was suspended forone game by head coachSteve Mariucci for run-ning into the middle of theDallas Cowboy star logoat midfield. The Seahawksand Niners will have theirrematch on Dec. 1.

NFL

NFL

SHANAHAN RESPONDs:Denver Broncos headcoach Mike Shanahan inhis news conferenceshowed a video ofstrong safety KenoyKennedy hitting Miamireceiver Chris Chambersalong with two otherhits to support thatKennedy should not havebeen suspended forSunday’s game.Shanahan said theleague suspendedKennedy because therewas an intent to injureChambers’ head as hewas coming down withthe ball. Chambers suf-fered a concussion andlaid on the field forabout five minutes.

By BRIAN CARRThe Pan American

Numerous student events highlight tipoff to 2002-2003 basketball campaign

Standing room only

october 17, 2002

Documents

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aspiring students

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p e r o f t h e u n

utpa gear

technology week

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