Eat healthy without breaking the bank 59th Year No. 26 Track team looks ahead to five remaining meets By SANDRA GONZALEZ The Pan American Student film project to feature Hollywood stars See FERNANDEZ page 11 See Page 16 See Page 3 See YUDOF page 11 See FESTIVITY page 11 University of Texas System Chancellor Mark Yudof is on his last weeks in the position after being appointed president of The University of THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER By SANDRA GONZALEZ By LUPE FLORES See Page 8 & 9
University of Texas System Chancellor Mark Yudof is on his last weeks in the position after being appointed president of The University of California recently. The University of California Board of Regents unanimously voted Yudof as UC’s 19th president March 27. He will replace Robert C. Dynes, who announced his intention to depart last summer after nearly five years at his post. The day before hearing the news, UTPA President Blandina Cardenas said she was sitting right next to Yudof at a meeting of the Chancelor’s Council, held at UTPA. “While we were getting ready to go into the reception we heard there was a big story developing but we didn’t ask for any details,” she said. “The next day we found out this was it.” No official date has been set for his full departure, but Dynes said when announcing his exit last year that he intended to step down by June 2008. Cardenas lamented Yudof’s leave- taking, saying his exit would be the loss of a great friend to UTPA. “I was proud of him but not happy for us,” she said. “I think he had really gained a strong appreciation for what we are trying to do here at UTPA, and that’s a relationship that takes time to build.” As chancellor, Yudof oversaw the System’s nine academic and six medical institutions. At UC he will manage 10 campuses, five medical centers and three national labs, in the country’s largest university group. Even with so much ground to cover, Cardenas said Yudof did a fine job of building relationships with each insti- tution. “It’s not easy for a chancellor to get to know all the universities but he had By SANDRA GONZALEZ The Pan American See Page 16 Track team looks ahead to five remaining meets SPORTS Eat healthy without breaking the bank Student film project to feature Hollywood stars See Page 8 & 9 See Page 3 A&E NEWS 59th Year No. 26 Thursday April 10, 2008 THIS WEEK ■ UT SYSTEM Chancellor to exit position, interim appointed THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER See YUDOF page 11 ■ PAN AMERICAN DAYS Next week will mark The University of Texas-Pan American’s 8 th annual Pan American Days, a week featuring a variety of art exhibitions, special presentations, films and panel discussions conducted by professors and students around campus to help promote a better understanding of the Americas. Although the events only last throughout the school week, it takes six to nine months of brainstorming to line up speakers and presentations. Marilu Salazar, director of the Office of International Programs, said that a planning committee aims organ- ized of students, faculty and staff helps decide on potential speakers and events. “After several brainstorming meet- ings, the group decides and votes on the theme, topics and speakers,” she said. “The names of the major speakers are submitted to the Offices of the Provost and the President. From there, we pro- ceed to the formal invitation of the speakers.” According to Salazar, the commit- tee is created on a voluntary basis every year. The OIP sends out mass e-mails to faculty and staff, and from there, stu- dents and other interested participants. See FESTIVITY page 11 Yudof accepts job with California University system Castro’s daughter on Cuba Festivity set to begin next week ■ INTERNATIONAL Fidel Castro is a figure, not a man, to many Cubans. He is the cause of rev- olution, but also restrictions and isola- tion that have plagued the country since 1959. But to Alina Revuelta Fernandez, he’s not only a man, he’s “Dad.” It was as Cuba made its first wary steps into the deep waters of the Revolution in the late 1950s and early ‘60s that Fernandez – then a small child – had the most contact with Castro. It was a time she remembers in great detail, spotted with strange occurrences. Fernandez, 53, spoke about her father during this confusing time, and the future of her native country at the Student Union Theater Wednesday night. In her speech, sponsored by the University Program Board, Fernandez noted that since Fidel Castro has stepped down now, many things have started to change. Long-time restrictions on lap- tops and other electronics were erased by Fidel Castro’s brother Raul Castro, who assumed power in February, and this is a step in the right direction, she said. But it’s not a perfect world yet. “I think that the changes are interest- ing, because it’s the first time people have certain freedoms for the last 50 years,” said Fernandez, a Miami resident. “The prohibitions were absurd and cruel.” Still unfair is the fact that residents must pay for their new freedoms in American dollars while their wages are given in pesos. “There are deeper problems and I don’t know how they are going to be solved,” she said. “But anything that is going to give chance to the minority is hopeful.” The Cuba she sees developing now is a stark contrast to the one she saw as a child. As Fernandez read from the first chapter of her book, Castro’s Daughter: An Exile’s Memoir of Cuba, the crowd of about 120 sat listening attentively to the candid stories of that world the now estranged daughter had to tell. Castro and her mother, Natalia Revuelta Clews, had an affair while he was still married to his first wife. They even exchanged letters while he was imprisoned before taking over the nation in 1959. However, his secret was not secret for long. During one round of let- ter exchanges, the guard accidentally – though Fernandez suspects it was inten- See FERNANDEZ page 11 Ben Briones/The Pan American By SANDRA GONZALEZ The Pan American By LUPE FLORES The Pan American MEMOIR - Alina Revuelta Fernandez, estranged daughter of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, spoke on her native coun- tryʼs perils and possibilities Wednesday night at the Student Union Theater. Author Fernandez says country’s future is ‘hopeful’
Transcript
University of Texas System
Chancellor Mark Yudof is on his last
weeks in the position after being
appointed president of The University of
California recently.
The University of California Board
of Regents unanimously voted Yudof as
UC’s 19th president March 27. He will
replace Robert C. Dynes, who announced
his intention to depart last summer after
nearly five years at his post.
The day before hearing the news,
UTPA President Blandina Cardenas said
she was sitting right next to Yudof at a
meeting of the Chancelor’s Council,
held at UTPA.
“While we were getting ready to go
into the reception we heard there was a
big story developing but we didn’t ask
for any details,” she said. “The next day
we found out this was it.”
No official date has been set for his
full departure, but Dynes said when
announcing his exit last year that he
intended to step down by June 2008.
Cardenas lamented Yudof’s leave-
taking, saying his exit would be the loss
of a great friend to UTPA.
“I was proud of him but not happy
for us,” she said. “I think he had really
gained a strong appreciation for what we
are trying to do here at UTPA, and that’s
a relationship that takes time to build.”
As chancellor, Yudof oversaw the
System’s nine academic and six medical
institutions. At UC he will manage 10
campuses, five medical centers and three
national labs, in the country’s largest
university group.
Even with so much ground to
cover, Cardenas said Yudof did a fine job
of building relationships with each insti-
tution.
“It’s not easy for a chancellor to get
to know all the universities but he had
By SANDRA GONZALEZThe Pan American
See Page 16
Track team looks aheadto five remaining meets
SPORTS
Eat healthy withoutbreaking the bank
Student film project tofeature Hollywood stars
See Page 8 & 9
See Page 3
A&E
NEWS
59th YearNo. 26
ThursdayApril 10, 2008
TH
IS W
EE
K
� UT SYSTEM
Chancellor to exit position, interim appointed
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER
See YUDOF page 11
� PAN AMERICAN DAYS
Next week will mark The
University of Texas-Pan American’s
8th annual Pan American Days, a week
featuring a variety of art exhibitions,
special presentations, films and panel
discussions conducted by professors
and students around campus to help
promote a better understanding of the
Americas.
Although the events only last
throughout the school week, it takes six
to nine months of brainstorming to line
up speakers and presentations.
Marilu Salazar, director of the
Office of International Programs, said
that a planning committee aims organ-
ized of students, faculty and staff helps
decide on potential speakers and
events.
“After several brainstorming meet-
ings, the group decides and votes on the
theme, topics and speakers,” she said.
“The names of the major speakers are
submitted to the Offices of the Provost
and the President. From there, we pro-
ceed to the formal invitation of the
speakers.”
According to Salazar, the commit-
tee is created on a voluntary basis every
year. The OIP sends out mass e-mails to
faculty and staff, and from there, stu-
dents and other interested participants.
See FESTIVITY page 11
Yudof accepts jobwith CaliforniaUniversity system
Castro’s daughter on Cuba Festivity setto beginnext week
� INTERNATIONAL
Fidel Castro is a figure, not a man,
to many Cubans. He is the cause of rev-
olution, but also restrictions and isola-
tion that have plagued the country since
1959. But to Alina Revuelta Fernandez,
he’s not only a man, he’s “Dad.”
It was as Cuba made its first wary
steps into the deep waters of the
Revolution in the late 1950s and early
‘60s that Fernandez – then a small child
– had the most contact with Castro. It
was a time she remembers in great
detail, spotted with strange occurrences.
Fernandez, 53, spoke about her
father during this confusing time, and
the future of her native country at the
Student Union Theater Wednesday
night.
In her speech, sponsored by the
University Program Board, Fernandez
noted that since Fidel Castro has stepped
down now, many things have started to
change. Long-time restrictions on lap-
tops and other electronics were erased
by Fidel Castro’s brother Raul Castro,
who assumed power in February, and
this is a step in the right direction, she
said. But it’s not a perfect world yet.
“I think that the changes are interest-
ing, because it’s the first time people have
certain freedoms for the last 50 years,”
said Fernandez, a Miami resident. “The
prohibitions were absurd and cruel.”
Still unfair is the fact that residents
must pay for their new freedoms in
American dollars while their wages are
given in pesos.
“There are deeper problems and I
don’t know how they are going to be
solved,” she said. “But anything that is
going to give chance to the minority is
hopeful.”
The Cuba she sees developing now
is a stark contrast to the one she saw as a
child. As Fernandez read from the first
chapter of her book, Castro’s Daughter:
An Exile’s Memoir of Cuba, the crowd of
about 120 sat listening attentively to the
candid stories of that world the now
estranged daughter had to tell.
Castro and her mother, Natalia
Revuelta Clews, had an affair while he
was still married to his first wife. They
even exchanged letters while he was
imprisoned before taking over the nation
in 1959. However, his secret was not
secret for long. During one round of let-
ter exchanges, the guard accidentally –
though Fernandez suspects it was inten-
See FERNANDEZ page 11
Ben Briones/The Pan American
By SANDRA GONZALEZ
The Pan American
By LUPE FLORES
The Pan American
MEMOIR - Alina Revuelta Fernandez, estranged daughter of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, spoke on her native coun-tryʼs perils and possibilities Wednesday night at the Student Union Theater.
Author Fernandezsays country’sfuture is ‘hopeful’
THE PAN AMERICANPage 2
1201 West University, CAS 170 Edinburg, Texas 78539Phone: (956) 381-2541
Fax: (956) 316-7122www.utpa.edu/dept/panamerican
THE
PANAMERICAN
APRIL 10, 2008
The Pan American is the official student newspaperof The University of Texas-Pan American. Viewspresented are those of the writers and do notnecessarily reflect those of the paper or university.
The Pan American accepts letters of 300words or less from students, staff and facultyregarding recent newspaper content, campusconcerns or current events. The Pan Americanreserves the right to edit submissions for grammarand length. The Pan American cannot publishanonymous letters or submissions containing hatespeech or gratuitous personal attacks. Please send allstory ideas to [email protected].
Individuals with disabilities wishing toacquire this publication in an alternative format orneeding assistance to attend any event listed cancontact The Pan American for more details.
10 International Museum ofArts and Science presents
special art exhibition organ-ized by Kirk Clark, witheight New Mexico artists
The U.S. News and World Report
recently ranked The University of Texas-
Pan American’s department of rehabili-
tation at 24th in its 2009 edition of
America’s Best Graduate Schools
The issue, which was released on
March 31, ranked UTPA as one of the
top schools, based on data from more
than 12,000 graduate programs across
the United States.
t has become the question of the
ages: what are you? While many
computer users have Windows PC, The
University of Texas-Pan American
seems to be leaning more toward the
ever-so-eye-catching Mac.
Although there are still a lot of PCs
around campus, a number of Mac labs
have opened and it’s become more wide-
ly used by the daily person, not just
graphic designers and techies.
I came from a PC family, Mac was
not something we used in our home or
anywhere else. That was until I came to
UTPA. Now I’m a Mac freak; I hate PC.
It was not until UTPA that I realize
how much more worth it Mac actually
was. Now I have to enter my apartment
and see this huge, tentacle-wired PC
breathing. The amount of wires behind
the tower is insane, it’s almost like the
poor thing is on life support and it’s only
a year old.
My PC has actually been a great
computer, but there are just some things
about it that I don’t like. The interface is
just too simplistic and not interactive
enough, it’s prone to more viruses and
you know when it’s processing some-
thing because the fan goes at an insane
“vrrrrrrrrrrrrr” speed.
I can just imagine if my computer
could process thoughts, it’s almost as
though I’m cheating on it with Mac. I
can just hear it saying something like
“You don’t love me anymore!”
It’s just that I’m a journalist and am
always using computers around campus.
I live and breathe Mac; that is until I
arrive home at 10 p.m.
The irony of this whole article is
that I’m typing it on a PC. Ouch.
So why is Macs so much better? In
a nutshell: unique design, little wiring,
compactness, and so much more user-
friendly.
Unfortunately, it’s a “$1,500 or
more user-friendly,” but it’s more than
worth it. Come next month there should
be a new laptop sitting on my bed and
I’m more than sure it’s going to be a
Mac. I’ve put off buying a laptop simply
to get a MacBook Pro or something.
Kind of silly I know, but the lifespan of
a Mac is longer, or so it seems.
Of course Macs have their down-
side, they do sometimes freeze (as do all
computers) and the online world caters
more toward PC since it is more afford-
able and universal. Also I really despise
the one-button mouse, but that’s easily
solvable; just get a PC mouse.
As of yet, I have found no prob-
lems with Mac or none that I have run
into at least. An observation I made that
I don’t think many people realize is that
they use iPods, and who creates iPods?
For all I know the world is just as
Mac-psychotic as I am, they too just
can’t afford it. I suggest the world make
the switch or plan to make the switch.
Let's make this an iWorld.
� Do you feel my reasonsfor loving mac aren’t real-ly worth anything? E-mailme from your more thanlikely PC [email protected].
iLove Macintosh � JAYARE SAYS
1515
Border forum: “The Walland Other Issues,” at 10:35a.m. in the Student Union
Theatre Tuesday
IBY: J.R. ORTEGA
� LETTER TO THE EDITOR
The Texas Intercollegiate Press
Association conference was held April
3-5. Bronc Radio was allowed to attend
this event with The Pan American and
The Panorama. It was an event like no
other.
A total of around 25 UTPA students
competed against Texas Titans like UT-
Austin, North Texas, A&M and others.
It’s great to see three great departments
in our school come together and take on
the challenge.
Bronc TV and Radio wants to
thank The Pan American for allowing us
to go. I personally made some great
friends and even got to travel to “won-
derland” with Greg, Ramiro and Roxy.
May this lead to many more joint
adventures with Bronc TV/Radio, The
Pan American and The Panorama.
Freddy Vela
Bronc Radio station manager
The Texas Intercollegiate Press Association Conference
is a fickle place. One year you suck; the other you suck less.
I’m happy to report that this year we sucked a lot less.
Staffs from The Pan American, Bronc TV/Radio and
Panorama magazine traveled to College Station, Texas April 3
to April 5 to compete, and all three entities and their members
took away a number of awards in both the on-site and mail-in
competitions. Congratulations to the winners.
-Sandra Gonzalez
Editor in chief
Newspaper - The Pan American*1st place - Best in show - The Pan American*1st place - Single subject presentation - Juan Torres 2nd place - Special edition/section - The Pan American staff3rd place - Headline writing - Sandra Gonzalez 3rd place - Spanish writing - Sara Jeske HM - Information graphic - Roy Bazan HM - Page one design - Roy Bazan HM - Sports action photo - Onydia Garza HM - On-site sports action photo - Onydia Garza
General Magazine - Panorama 20072nd place - Essay/column - Salvador Grajeda 3rd place - Overall design - Trey Serna
HM - Feature story - Ana Ley HM - Overall excellence - Trey Serna HM - Illustration - Jennifer Terrazas
Literary Magazine - Panorama 20071st place - Overall excellence - Trey Serna1st place - Story package - Trey Serna/Brenda Hernandez 2nd place - Feature photo - Wendy Gilbert2nd place - Essay - Ana Ley 2nd place - Feature story - Javier Cavazos 3rd place - Photo essay - Bruno Minkley/Nora Hernandez HM - Cover design - Trey Serna/Daniel Flores/Chris Ramirez
Yearbook - Panorama 20072nd place - Student life copy - Brenda Rodriguez3rd place - Academics copy - Trey Serna3rd place - Sports copy - Nayelly BarriosHM - Cover design - Trey Serna/Daniel Flores/Chris Ramirez HM - Organizations copy - Brenda Rodriguez
Television - Bronc TV/Radio1st place - On-site TV advertising - Alfredo Vela 2nd place - Spot commercial, PSA, promo - SalGutierrez/Brenda Hernandez/Santa Hernandez 3rd place - Documentary - Cyn Vaquera HM – Documentary - Javeria Farooqi 3rd place – Spot radio news - Alfredo Vela 3rd place – Spot commercial, PSA, Promo – Alex Del Barrio
� FROM THE EDITOR� REHABILITATION
� SGAThe University of Texas-Pan
American’s Student Government
Association is holding their run-offs
until the end of the week.
Candidates Marcos Silva/Raghuveer
Puttagunta and Yuri Bazan/Michael
Martinez received 454 votes and 304
votes, respectively in the first round. Run-
off elections ended Wednesday.
Last week’s election garnered
1,200 votes. The next student body
president is expected to be chosen by the
end of this week.
In less than a year, the 44th
President of the United States will be
sworn into office, and people across the
globe can only expect to view the tele-
vised event.
However, one University of Texas-
Pan American student has been given an
opportunity to go one better: a front-row
seat at the inauguration.
Senior chemistry major Hugo
Salazar said as a student at South Texas
High School for Health Professions, he
attended the National Youth Leadership
Forum. The forum aims to help students
find interests that will better serve them
once they enter the workforce.
“Since I’m considered part of the
program alumni, they have been sending
me offers from many other programs,
and I get to choose what to attend by
enrolling,” the 21-year-old said.
It is through the NYLF that Salazar
received the ability to attend the
University Presidential Inaugural
Conference.
The conference will span the
course of five days where Salazar will
hear from distinguished guest speakers
such as Erik Weihemmayer, the first
blind man to climb Mount Everest; bicy-
clist and cancer survivor Lance
Armstrong; and former North Carolina
senator and ex-Democratic presidential
candidate John Edwards.
A few weeks back, Salazar got a sus-
picious, spam-like e-mail, which if he had
not opened, would have made him miss
the chance to attend the inauguration.
“I honestly thought that the e-mail
was either a joke or spam. If I hadn’t had
Many twins try to find their own
identity as they reach adulthood, but for
U.S. Air Force veterans Delia Zorrilla and
Dalia Calvillo Garcia, ambitions have
often been parallel. They were born to a
large struggling migrant family and the
pair stayed together until the military
came into their lives.
Delia’s career in the Air Force was
a high school dream but their father
never allowed it. It was her husband that
gave her an extra push into the service.
He was a nurse in the military
reserves and had been in the reserves
since he was 17. Delia married him and
adopted his daughter. The family moved
to various bases and the experiences
made Delia want to join even more.
“I had always wanted to join the
military so I told my husband and he
said, ‘Well, I don’t want you ever to
have regrets and keep you from some-
thing you’ve always wanted to do,’”
recalled Delia.
Delia was called to duty in
November 1990 during the escalation of
the Gulf War. She hadn’t gone through
basic training, but with 20 years of expe-
rience at civilian hospitals and a bache-
lor’s in nursing from The University of
Texas-Pan American, she was soon a
Eating healthy may be the last thing
on college students’ minds as they prepare
for an exam or work. Financial barriers
also pose a problem, as tuition rates contin-
ue to climb and students are left with only
enough money to buy a few bags of Ramen
noodles.
But a prevalent student misconcep-
tion - that eating healthy is expensive -
affects the unhealthy lifestyle they lead,
according to Monica Fredensborg, a junior
dietetics major from New Zealand.
Fredensborg, Amber Pray and
Angelique Young, all dietetics majors, put
together a presentation and participated in
the Student Union’s How-To Series with
“Eating Healthy on a Budget,” Wednesday
at The University of Texas-Pan American.
College students fall prey to fast food
and packaged meals high in sodium, and
this leads to an expanding waistline, as
evidenced in a 2004 National
College Health Risk
Behavior survey conducted
by the American Diabetes
Association.
The study found that as many as 35
percent of college students might
be overweight or obese, up
from an estimated 21.6 per-
cent the year before.
So there’s a problem.
THE PAN AMERICANApril 10, 2008 Page 3
NEWS� HEALTH
12
See TWINS page 12
Don’t ‘waist’ your money
� STUDENT LIFE
Student secures seat at 2009 inauguration Twin vetsreflect onwar, lifeexperiences
� ALUMS
Roxy Solis /The Pan American
READY, SET, TEXT - (Left to right) Freshman Luis Carrasco and sophomores Joseph Ryan and Jay Pedregosa get their fingers warmed up during the Student UnionʼsText Mania event, held Tuesday during activity hour.
� SEEN AND CAPTURED
See INAUGURATION page 12
See HEALTHY page 12
By ANA VILLAURRUTIAThe Pan American
By BOBBY CERVANTES The Pan American
By ABBY MUNIZThe Pan American
NEWSPage 4 April 10, 2008
NEWSApril 10, 2008 Page 5
NEWSPage 6 April 10, 2008
Plastic buckets, huge ladders, mor-
tar castings and giant 50-gallon contain-
ers are not the ordinary instruments used
to make music, but hip-hop funk group
Recycled Percussion can jam away with
this “trash” kit, as they call it.
Tuesday evening at the Student
Union, the band performed their
unique sounds to a student audience, as
part of the continuing Arts at the Union
feature series.
“The Student Union wanted to
incorporate a different style of pro-
gramming to student life,” said Cindy
Mata, assistant director of the union.
“We felt that bringing acts like
Recycled Percussion would give the
UTPA community an opportunity to see
these types of performances without
having to leave the Valley or pay an
expensive ticket fee.”
Currently on their Man vs.
Machine tour, the band consists of two
power-percussionists, Justin Spencer
and Ryan Vezina, the hip-hop funk of
DJ Pharaoh and guitarist Monster-
Jimms “Mags.”
“Recycled Percussion is a band that
is unique to its own genre,” said Mata.
“They perform on everything from their
signature ‘trash’ kits.”
Something that makes their show
different is that the instruments are not
the traditional ones that are used by
other bands.
“The instruments that they use are
pretty unique; they use anything from
trash cans, power tools, ladders, mail-
boxes and a monster piece drum kit, the
adrenaline they have and the show-
stopping performance are a must-see,”
said Mata.
Together, these four talented musi-
cians create music from recycled trash.
“The edge and attractiveness to
Recycled Percussion is the concept of
the creation of their music,” said Mata.
“At one point all their instruments
were once trash, now that’s an innova-
tion to recycling.”
According to NBC’s the Today
Show, the NBA, Disney and many
more, Recycled Percussion is a can’t-
miss show.
“I heard they were going to be here
and I made plans to attend,” said senior
biology major Monica Lopez. “I’ve
never heard about them before, but I find
it interesting to see how they’ll make
their music using all those things.”
Lopez says that this is something not
very common in the Rio Grande Valley.
“I’m glad that the Student Union is
doing this for us,” said Lopez before the
show. “Most of us don’t get the opportu-
nity to watch a performance like this and
the university is making it available for
us, I am definitely taking advantage of
this opportunity.”
Mata said that watching the band
perform was an opportunity to hear
something different and exciting.
“The band has an ability to project
on stage a thrilling groove of mixed rock
music with an electrifying hip-hop per-
formance full of high beat and crazy
drumming,” she said.
Arts at the Union series will contin-
ue, featuring Capitol Steps on April 21.
Doors will open 30 minutes before the
show begins and is free for all students,
faculty and staff.
For more information or for special
accommodations please contact the
Student Union at (956) 316-7989.
Enrique IglesiasAlguien Soy Yo“It sounds good, Ilike Latin becausethe rhythm andbeat is different.”
-Lazero TorresGraduate student, psychology
Linkin ParkForgotten
“It’s strong, itwakes me up Ionly listen to softmusic when Ihave a headache.”
-Myrna MarquezFreshman, Computer Science
Hot Cross Dissertation #14
Hot CrossDissertation # 14“It’s intense, I likethe lyrics, theirpolitical and theysay what I feel.”
-Andres SanchezFreshman, Art
ParamorePressure
“I like the beat inthe music. I likethe group, it’s realup beat.”
-Alina LimonSenior, rehab
Heroes delSilencioChispa Adecuada“I grew up withthat band. I likethe meanings ofthe words, theyhave a life mes-
sage, its radical idealism.”
-Rafael OlacioGraduate student, chemistry
&RTS EA NTERTAINMENT� ON THE SPOT
THE PAN AMERICANApril 10, 2008 Page 7
� MUSIC SCENE
Ear Candy:What’splaying inyour iPod?
Group finds unique use for trash cans
REVVED UP - The four-piece instrumental group Recycled Percussion made a stop at the Student Union during their Man vs. Machine tour Tuesday evening. Theband produces a hip-hop and rock sound using unusual elements like trash cans and tools.
Ben Briones/The Pan American
By LESLIE ESTRADAThe Pan American
or 17 years, the UTPA TV/film program has pro-duced full-length feature films during the course
of the summer sessions, all of which have been producedby and have incorporated students and professors.
This summer, however, associate communica-tion professor David B. Carren will bring forth theidea of a student-run feature film in a whole newlight — a Valley-based storyline using veteranHollywood actors.
Carren’s feature film, The Red Queen, will starOscar Torre (Cane), Estephania LeBaron (TheAlamo), Harley Jane Kozak (Parenthood) andUTPA’s most famous alumnus, Valente Rodriguezof The George Lopez Show, all amid the usual stu-dent crew.
Working alongside communication professorJack Stanley, Carren, a writer in California for morethan 30 years, is thrilled to produce an originalscreenplay with all of the Hollywood experience.
“Every summer they’ve [the film program] had afeature, but there’s been no money and very little timespent on them and no pre-production for a wholebunch of sensible reasons,” said Carren, whose workincludes writing for Walker, Texas Ranger and StarTrek: The Next Generation. “But I’m not a sensibleguy. I decided to treat this as if it were an L.A. pro-duction because I lived there for so long.”
Already, Carren and his crew are seeing the dif-ferences between a regular summer feature and hislatest professional venture.
“Marian Monta has gotten people to handlecontracts for our writers because I’m a WGA[Writers Guild of America] writer. All of our actorsare screen actors so we need to have contracts,”explained Carren. “We’re doing things we haven’tdone before. Bringing actors from Los Angeles is avery ambitious thing. We’ll really be pushing theenvelope with this.”
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?While the idea of Hollywood actors itself is a
major part of this summer’s production, the loca-tion and Valley culture, said Carren, are what ulti-mately drive the storyline.
“The script itself is very much a Valley project.Jack and I very much wanted to do a project that wasnot something that could just be shot anywhere,”said Carren. “We’re doing a movie that’s all aboutthe Valley experience.”
Production manager Jacklyn Alvarez believesthere is much to explore in the entertainment indus-try within the Valley.
“I like that it’s [the storyline] based in theValley and revolves around the Valley. There’s notmany arts here, it’s barely become known,” said the24-year-old broadcast major. “There was never reallyany emphasis on the arts. It’s [the Valley] so rich inculture.”
The Hollywood film industry is missing out onthe big picture, said Alvarez. The Valley environ-ment, she added, has what the industry lacks.
“Movies don’t come down here. There are someindependent short films made in Spanish, but noth-ing really in English language. Most things arealways based on the Midwest and they’re very gener-ic and kind of predominantly white,” said Alvarez ofMcAllen. “That’s not the majority of the UnitedStates population anymore. We have a really bigLatino culture down here. The Valley is just anuntapped resource for the film industry.”
According to Alvarez, the Valley is one big setwith endless possibilities.
“The Valley has a very unique look. You can findeverything you need for a movie here,” said Alvarez.“Like the whole Valley, we can go from Roma toBrownsville. If we want a certain look or a certainfeel, we can go and get it from somewhere here.”
The film’s theme, identity, also holds a strong tieto another significant element, the importance offamily. It focuses around a young girl, Gabby
Salinas, who’s desperate for any type of connection toher deceased mother. With no factual information onher family or background, Gabby begins to questionherself and where she came from. Her father, JoseSalinas, played by Rodriguez, is holding back some-thing and ultimately, Gabby finds out the truth.
The idea of an unknown history and identitywas something Carren felt strongly about, as it hadonce plagued him.
“My family at one point lied to me about mybackground for many years; they told me we werefrom Ireland. I found out when I was 27 that I hadno Irish background at all,” he explained. “But youknow what; families do weird things like this.Sometimes they’ll lie because it’s just convenient.It’s really about dynamics, unintentional betrayaland the best of intentions. It’s also about how some-times circumstances get really difficult in familiesand it really can’t be avoided.”
With family ties and strong cultural elements,what Carren and his crew most push for is long-awaited recognition of the area.
Production designer Cynthia Santos of Missionsaw an opportunity in making a small location intosomething the whole world will remember.
“I wanted to be part of something that wouldmake a difference in the film industry in SouthTexas. The Valley might get a lot of recognitionafter this. We seem to be one of those small parts ofthe world that never really gets recognized,” said the29-year-old theatre-TV-film major. “We want toshow kids that you can be here and you can prosperjust like Valente.”
Carren shows no hesitation in getting theValley’s name out there through film.
“The Valley frankly needs more recognition inthe country and in the state. Nothing makes a com-munity more real than a film. Film is the universallanguage,” he said. “The whole world knowsAmerica from our films and the whole world needsto know about the Valley.”
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTPage 8 April 10, 2008
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTApril 10, 2008 Page 9
Summer film project enlists helpfrom Hollywood actors
By JEANETTE PEREZThe Pan American
F
or 17 years, the UTPA TV/film program has pro-duced full-length feature films during the course
of the summer sessions, all of which have been producedby and have incorporated students and professors.
This summer, however, associate communica-tion professor David B. Carren will bring forth theidea of a student-run feature film in a whole newlight — a Valley-based storyline using veteranHollywood actors.
Carren’s feature film, The Red Queen, will starOscar Torre (Cane), Estephania LeBaron (TheAlamo), Harley Jane Kozak (Parenthood) andUTPA’s most famous alumnus, Valente Rodriguezof The George Lopez Show, all amid the usual stu-dent crew.
Working alongside communication professorJack Stanley, Carren, a writer in California for morethan 30 years, is thrilled to produce an originalscreenplay with all of the Hollywood experience.
“Every summer they’ve [the film program] had afeature, but there’s been no money and very little timespent on them and no pre-production for a wholebunch of sensible reasons,” said Carren, whose workincludes writing for Walker, Texas Ranger and StarTrek: The Next Generation. “But I’m not a sensibleguy. I decided to treat this as if it were an L.A. pro-duction because I lived there for so long.”
Already, Carren and his crew are seeing the dif-ferences between a regular summer feature and hislatest professional venture.
“Marian Monta has gotten people to handlecontracts for our writers because I’m a WGA[Writers Guild of America] writer. All of our actorsare screen actors so we need to have contracts,”explained Carren. “We’re doing things we haven’tdone before. Bringing actors from Los Angeles is avery ambitious thing. We’ll really be pushing theenvelope with this.”
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?While the idea of Hollywood actors itself is a
major part of this summer’s production, the loca-tion and Valley culture, said Carren, are what ulti-mately drive the storyline.
“The script itself is very much a Valley project.Jack and I very much wanted to do a project that wasnot something that could just be shot anywhere,”said Carren. “We’re doing a movie that’s all aboutthe Valley experience.”
Production manager Jacklyn Alvarez believesthere is much to explore in the entertainment indus-try within the Valley.
“I like that it’s [the storyline] based in theValley and revolves around the Valley. There’s notmany arts here, it’s barely become known,” said the24-year-old broadcast major. “There was never reallyany emphasis on the arts. It’s [the Valley] so rich inculture.”
The Hollywood film industry is missing out onthe big picture, said Alvarez. The Valley environ-ment, she added, has what the industry lacks.
“Movies don’t come down here. There are someindependent short films made in Spanish, but noth-ing really in English language. Most things arealways based on the Midwest and they’re very gener-ic and kind of predominantly white,” said Alvarez ofMcAllen. “That’s not the majority of the UnitedStates population anymore. We have a really bigLatino culture down here. The Valley is just anuntapped resource for the film industry.”
According to Alvarez, the Valley is one big setwith endless possibilities.
“The Valley has a very unique look. You can findeverything you need for a movie here,” said Alvarez.“Like the whole Valley, we can go from Roma toBrownsville. If we want a certain look or a certainfeel, we can go and get it from somewhere here.”
The film’s theme, identity, also holds a strong tieto another significant element, the importance offamily. It focuses around a young girl, Gabby
Salinas, who’s desperate for any type of connection toher deceased mother. With no factual information onher family or background, Gabby begins to questionherself and where she came from. Her father, JoseSalinas, played by Rodriguez, is holding back some-thing and ultimately, Gabby finds out the truth.
The idea of an unknown history and identitywas something Carren felt strongly about, as it hadonce plagued him.
“My family at one point lied to me about mybackground for many years; they told me we werefrom Ireland. I found out when I was 27 that I hadno Irish background at all,” he explained. “But youknow what; families do weird things like this.Sometimes they’ll lie because it’s just convenient.It’s really about dynamics, unintentional betrayaland the best of intentions. It’s also about how some-times circumstances get really difficult in familiesand it really can’t be avoided.”
With family ties and strong cultural elements,what Carren and his crew most push for is long-awaited recognition of the area.
Production designer Cynthia Santos of Missionsaw an opportunity in making a small location intosomething the whole world will remember.
“I wanted to be part of something that wouldmake a difference in the film industry in SouthTexas. The Valley might get a lot of recognitionafter this. We seem to be one of those small parts ofthe world that never really gets recognized,” said the29-year-old theatre-TV-film major. “We want toshow kids that you can be here and you can prosperjust like Valente.”
Carren shows no hesitation in getting theValley’s name out there through film.
“The Valley frankly needs more recognition inthe country and in the state. Nothing makes a com-munity more real than a film. Film is the universallanguage,” he said. “The whole world knowsAmerica from our films and the whole world needsto know about the Valley.”
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTPage 8 April 10, 2008
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTApril 10, 2008 Page 9
Summer film project enlists helpfrom Hollywood actors
By JEANETTE PEREZThe Pan American
F
In Hollywood fashion it is always
a trend to attend a special film screen-
ing and discussion. At these special
events, the audience can ask questions
as to why the director chose this actor
or actress, or why he/she chose to
direct and write it. South Texas College
had the opportunity to hold a special
screening and discussion about the film
Border Bandits Saturday afternoon.
The documentary is about a group
of Mexican banditos (or outlaws) in
1915 who raided the McAllen Ranch,
one of the largest in the area. The next
day, a group of Texas Rangers suppos-
edly arrived and eliminated the perpe-
trators. With due consideration, the real
story is not as neat and tidy as it has
been portrayed.
As the tale goes, Roland Warnock,
a 19-year-old cowboy working on the
Guadalupe Ranch near present-day
Edinburg, witnessed two of these
killings when he saw Texas Rangers
from Company D shoot two unarmed
men in the back and leave their bodies
by the side of the road. The effects of
these killings by the Rangers, part of a
very difficult time in the region’s histo-
ry, are being felt in South Texas some
80 years later. This single incident
brings into play much of the roots of
the distrust between Mexicans and the
Rangers, at its height during the
Mexican Revolution, as well as the
continued friction between Hispanics
and Anglos in Texas.
Directed and produced by Kirby
Warnock, the real-life grandson of
Roland Warnock, the film explores the
historically strained relationship
between Anglos and Hispanics.
Warnock spent nearly five years
tracking down the descendants of the
dead men. He also poured through
almost every Ranger report still in
existence to find missing clues and
much needed information for this doc-
umentary. He also came across some
interviews from historians and investi-
gated what actually happened on that
hot day.
Victor Gomez, a third-year histo-
ry instructor at STC, was excited about
the screening and the discussion with
Warnock.
“The director/author wants to
uncover a dark chapter in Texas history
that has been widely ignored,” said
Gomez. “He also wants to uncover the
truth behind the deaths of two innocent
men who his grandfather told him were
shot by the Rangers.”
Border Bandits contains the actu-
al voice of the primary source of infor-
mation, Roland Warnock, lending it an
air of authenticity unmatched in most
documentaries.
Kirby Warnock saved the tapes
recorded by his grandfather, digitized
them and placed them in the documentary,
with re-enactors portraying the events.
Re-enactment scenes were filmed at Old
City Park in Dallas, and Warnock’s fami-
ly ranch near Fort Stockton.
Previous screenings have garnered
critical praise from The Fort Worth
Star-Telegram, The Dallas Morning
News and The Dallas Observer, as well
as at the Kansas International Film
Festival and CineSol Festival this
spring. At the festivals it played at, it
received rapturous applause and high
marks from movie critics.
About 200 people along with
Gomez sat down for the screening and
discussion and were excited with the ener-
gy of both the film and its discussion.
Gomez especially condoned the
rarely talked about facts and founda-
tion of the film.
“It’s history,” Gomez said. “It is
forgotten history...the truth.”
For more information on the doc-
umentary, visit the official Web site
www.borderbanditsmovie.com.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTPage 10 April 10, 2008
� DOCUMENTARY
Texas history explored in Warnock’s Border BanditsBy RUSSEN VELAThe Pan American
HISTORY LESSON - Kirby Warnock examines the strained relationship betweenHispanics and Anglos after the 1915 incident at the McAllen Ranch.
Victor Gomez
� MOVIE REVIEW
21 is a wildly entertaining film in
a spring full of rather ho-hum films.
Based loosely on the best-selling
book Bringing down the House, the film
follows a team of MIT students, led by
their ambitious teacher, who have
cracked the code to making hundreds of
thousands of dollars at blackjack.
The plot is a little scattered like
the cards being dealt, but 21 makes up
for its clutter with a great ensemble
cast (including rising British import
Jim Sturgess who recently starred in
The Other Boleyn Girl and Across the
Universe), a script that is willing to
have a little fun with its unbelievable
scenarios, and a glossy almost dream-
like production style that highlights the
mystery and intrigue of Sin City.
The film, following the appropriate
genre formula, presents the main charac-
ter—Ben Campbell (Sturgess), who is
both likeable and presented with a big
dilemma: how is he ever going to raise
the 300 grand he needs in order to pay for
his dream of graduating from Harvard
Medical School? The kid is a math
genius with an outstanding resume, but,
as the interviewer for a prestigious schol-
arship notes, there’s nothing else about
him that makes him stand out from the
crowd.
But so enters Micky Rosa, played
by Kevin Spacey (American Beauty,
Superman Returns), Campbell’s invari-
able equations professor. Rosa recog-
nizes the genius behind the man. He
introduces young Ben to a devious but
lucrative scheme using the basic math-
ematics of “counting cards” to break
Vegas’ largest casinos for everything
they’ve got.
Rosa has already assembled a
team of four other students who study
during the week and then jet off to
Nevada, living a double life full of
first-class luxury hotel rooms, tons of
alcohol, strippers, and piles of money.
The story then jets into the fairly
predictable, but nevertheless entertaining.
Kate Bosworth (Blue Crush,
Superman Returns) plays Jill Taylor,
one of Campbell’s teammates and of
course his love interest. Bosworth
finally gets to play someone serious
instead of the cute girl next door, and
she along with Sturgess ignites the
screen whenever the camera pulls to
them. She indeed has come a long way
and 21 proves she has got the chops to
play serious demanding characters.
In the beginning, the film takes
time to explain the mechanics behind
the scheme and this works to the
movie’s advantage, giving it a great
play-along element.
Writers Peter Steinfeld and Allan
Loeb must have had a lot of fun writing
the scenes, wherein the audience can
guess what the count of the cards is
based on the subtle gestures and words
the team uses.
21 isn’t earth-shattering, but it does-
n’t need to be. It’s funny enough and slick
enough to be a safe bet for almost any
crowd. It is probably even good enough to
double-down and see again.
By RUSSEN VELAThe Pan American
21: A notable effort in a card shark drama
SCHEMING - MIT college students try their hand at lady luck by counting cards in the dramatic release, 21.
Sonypictures.com
She added the committee wants to keep
the university educated about interna-
tional issues.
“One goal of Pan American Days is
to celebrate our affinity with all the
Americas as well as our location on the
U.S.-Mexico border,” she added.
“Another goal is to strengthen the bonds
of friendship and understanding among
the peoples of the Americas and the
event is also to mark the anniversary in
1890 when the union of American
nations was established, now the
Organization of American States.”
Some potential speakers the com-
mittee had thought about inviting were
the president of Chile, Michelle
Bachelet, and Carlos Slim Helu, a
Mexican businessman and second rich-
est man in the world. However, Salazar
said inviting such important speakers is
not necessarily easy.
Themed “Changes and
Challenges,” this year’s Pan American
Days will range from a panel forum
Tuesday on border issues featuring may-
ors and government officials from both
sides of the border, to important guest
speakers like Rosa Helia Villa de
Mebius, grand-daughter of General
Pancho Villa, Wednesday.
According to Gary Mounce, pro-
fessor of political science at UTPA and a
planner in the committee, the reason
behind the theme is the amount of
changes the Americas have gone
through, such as the re-election of
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in
Brazil, who is set to serve until 2011.
“The Americas, especially Latin
America, is undergoing a major shift in
economic and political attitudes and
there is change in governments as well,”
Mounce said. “The destruction of the
rain forest is a huge challenge, there is
the rise of indigenous protests, a possibil-
ity of a Latin American economic union.
Latin America’s influence in world
affairs has become very significant.”
As in the past, Pan American Days
is hosted by the Office of International
Programs and co-sponsored by organiza-
tions such as the Texas Border Coalition
and UTPA’s department of modern lan-
guages and literature.
One change the planning commit-
tee decided on was hosting a recruitment
fair during would help influence more
graduating high school seniors to further
their education.
Another milestone for the OIP is
the success of gathering several key-
stone U.S. and Mexican government
officials.
The forum titled “Border Forum:
The Wall and Other Issues,” will be web
cast through the International Programs
website.
Students like Ashley Morales, a
freshman mechanical engineering
major, said Pan American Days is
something she had never heard about.
After flipping through the pamphlet of
scheduled events, she said she is inter-
ested in certain events like the lecture,
“Border Violence.”
“I expect to be informed on the
cultures and issues in the Americas -
the parts of the world closest to us that
have impact on our way of life,” she
said.
Salazar noted that this year’s topics
and events correlate well with the cho-
sen theme and added that it is satisfying
knowing an impression is being made.
“It is always very fulfilling for all
of us, the International Programs staff
and the planning committee, to see how
our events have a positive impact on our
students,” said Salazar.
NEWSApril 10, 2008 Page 11
FERNANDEZ continued from page 1
FESTIVITY continued from page 1
YUDOF continued from page 1
really gotten to know UTPA,” she said.
“I think he understood that each institu-
tion has different things to work with
and challenges.”
Yudof’s history with the UT
System began in 1971 when he was an
assistant law professor at The University
of Texas-Austin; he eventually became
dean of the law school and provost. He
spent 26 years at UT-Austin before
becoming president of The University of
Minnesota in 1997; five years later, he
came back to Austin.
Cardenas said a history in acade-
mia was one of Yudof’s best qualities, as
it gave him a deeper level of understand-
ing regarding university issues, especial-
ly in matters like financial aid and facul-
ty tenure decisions.
Kenneth Shine, executive vice
chancellor for health affairs at the sys-
tem, will serve as interim chancellor
starting May 1. Yudof, who took his post
in 2002, will serve as a special adviser
for him during the interim.
Cardenas said Shine was an
“absolutely extraordinary man who has
the right values” to run the system in
Yudof’s absence. She asserted that she
had no idea if Shine would pursue the
permanent position.
Details regarding the search for a
new chancellor have been vague. Even
Cardenas remains in the dark.
“I haven’t heard anything; I
haven’t asked,” she said, with a laugh. “I
focus on what we’re doing most of my
time. Unless they (Yudof’s replacement)
would have a completely different per-
sonality; I’m not very worried at all.”
UT System Chairman H. Scott
Caven said the news was a blow to all in
the system, getting in a shot at the
System’s California competitor.
“I think it is fair to say that every
member of this Board is chagrined by the
ministrations of this rival ... but not sur-
prised,” he said in a written statement.
The demand for Yudof’s expertise
is what Cardenas said made him an
asset.
“He will now have led the two
most important systems in the United
States,” she said. “So that’s a testimony
to the respect that higher education has
for his work.”
� “I think (Yudof) had reallygained a strong appreciation forwhat we are trying to do here atUTPA, and that’s a relationshipthat takes time to build.”
-Blandina CardenasUTPA president
Nick Dodd/The Pan American
LEADER - Mark G. Yudof, former chancellor for the University of Texas System, visited UTPA in February. Yudof will nowserve as the 19th president for The University of California.
tional – mixed up Castro’s letters and
sent the one intended for Clews to his
wife and vice versa.
“A few months later he found him-
self free from prison and free from mar-
riage,” Fernandez said.
It was through her stories that
Fernandez painted a picture of what
Cuba slowly became in those first years
of Castro’s reign and his “masterpiece of
control.”
What started as a freedom cam-
paign ended in what some refer to as one
of the longest-running dictatorships in
the world.
“People were assigned to watch
about 20 families or so each; to watch
every movement in every house in the
neighborhood,” the speaker said. “Since
then no one was able to move, change
jobs, organize meetings or receive any
visitors.”
Only five or six at the time,
Fernandez nonetheless remembers not-
ing the changes going on ever-so subtly
in her life.
“I was watching TV and I saw a
blindfolded man in front of a wall.
Suddenly, black spots appeared on his
shirt,” she said. “It took me more than
three years to realize I had witnessed an
execution.”
As she grew older, Fernandez
began to feel the weight of her people’s
oppression grow heavy on her heart.
“I always felt like a frontline wit-
ness to the things that were going on in
my generation,” she said.
So much so that Fernandez, who
now hosts a Cuban-themed talk radio
show entitled Simplemente Alina,
renounced a position as one of Cuba’s
elite. A strong, vocal critic of her father’s
reign, Fernandez escaped Cuba in 1993
by disguising herself as a Spanish
tourist.
She has not spoken with her father
in more than a decade, though still keeps
in contact with her mother, who has been
allowed access to the Internet since she
is a government worker, via e-mail.
She has no plans on contacting her
famous father, though by all accounts he
has been seriously ill for years.
“He was the male figure in my life
while I was young, but that’s it,” she
concluded.
� “There are deeper prob-lems and I don’t know howthey are going to be solved.”
-Alina FernandezCastroʼs daughter
But eating healthy should not be solely
dictated by the amount of money a stu-
dent has, Fredensborg and Pray say.
“If you want to start eating healthy,
you can’t use the excuse that it’s not in
the budget anymore,” Pray said.
Budgeting through planning can
help students devise a way to eat well
and not spend too much. A good place to
start, Pray said, is to examine your
monthly usable income and realizing
where you are spending cash.
“You can probably take this further
and start itemizing everything and you
can start creating a budget for your
everyday life,” she said.
Everyone looking to eat healthier on
a budget needs to work on personalizing
their own budget, obviously because not
everyone has the same income.
“Everybody’s spending ability is
going to differ, depending on how much
is provided from their parents or if they
have jobs… but not knowing how much
you’re spending is probably not a good
place to start,” Fredensborg said.
The presenters said students need
to realize there’s actually food such as
yogurt, fruit or cereal bars to incorporate
into their diet that will help them stay up
later when they need to prepare for an
exam.
“[This is so that] you don’t have
to eat puffy Cheetos all night long…
you can have something else,” Pray
said.
Setting up a list before going gro-
cery shopping is a start; the list could
include fresh fruits and vegetables,
dairy, frozen foods, grain foods and
canned and packaged items.
“We don’t really want to promote
frozen meals or convenience meals too
much because they are really high in
sodium usually,” Fredensborg said.
Brandon Simmons, a freshman CIS
major who attended the presentation, felt
that the session helped him realize he
needed to change his eating habits.
“I always bring a (cup) of Ramen
noodles… yeah, that’s going to switch
now,” Simmons said.
Simmons, who is planning to live
on his own, felt that the session also
helped him realize how he can use his
money wisely while still eating healthy.
NEWSPage 12 April 10, 2008
the curiosity to open it, I would have
deleted it,” he said. “Once I read it
through, I immediately signed up to save
my spot.”
Salazar said he is not sure how many
spots are available for the conference, as it
varies from program to program, but he is
sure that it is quite limited.
Although attending the conference
is an accomplishment in itself, this is not
the first time that Salazar has been part
of a prestigious program.
During his sophomore year,
Salazar attended the International
Scholar Laureate Program. The objec-
tive of the program allows students to
understand how their field of study
applies to a host country.
Salazar has been a research assis-
tant for Thomas Whelan, associate pro-
fessor of chemistry at UTPA, since
July. He said he has learned about
marine wild life and really appreciates
being able to get outside of the labora-
tory atmosphere.
Salazar is preparing to take his
Medical College Admission Test soon
and hopes to attend either the Health
Science Center in San Antonio or
University of Texas Medical Branch in
Galveston.
He hopes to one day become a car-
diologist, a field much different than that
of politics.
Although politics is not his forte,
he expects to gain a lot of understanding
about the process.
“While I’m there, I hope to get a
better appreciation for what goes on in
Washington,” he said. “It’s still a bit sur-
real for me and every now and then I’ll
get a really big feeling of anticipation. I
get pretty excited knowing that I’ll be at
the steps of Congress watching the next
president being sworn in. It’ll be a great
memory to have.”
“One thing is for sure; I'll pretty
much be glued to the news until elec-
tions come around in November,” he
said.
part of Desert Shield. Stationed initially
in Louisiana, in January 1991 she was
deployed for Desert Storm.
“I went backwards because all they
cared was that I had the nursing experi-
ence,” Delia remembered. “And at that
time they thought we’d have a lot of
casualties, but thank God we didn’t.”
SERVING A PURPOSEWhen she was thousands of miles
away in England, Delia felt safe as the
only operating room nurse in her ward.
“I wasn’t scared because I always
felt that God had a purpose for me and
that I wasn’t in any danger,” said Delia.
In 2004, Delia, already a lieutenant
in the Air Force, filled in for her supervi-
sor who was too sick to serve in
Operation Enduring Freedom, the war in
response to the Sept. 11 attacks.
“I volunteered to go, it was my
supervisor’s turn to serve and she was
very sick, so I went for her,” said Delia.
Delia left the service in 2006 to be
closer to her mother in Laguna Vista,
Texas and now works with a Department
of Homeland Security health care pro-
gram called Health Resources and
Services Administration in Port Isabel.
MILES AND MILES AWAYDalia is based at a hospital in
Landstuhl, Germany working in the
labor and delivery ward.
As an Edinburg native Dalia is not
accustomed to the German culture but as
a migrant worker, she knows change. In
Landstuhl, she helps female soldiers and
male soldiers’ wives through their preg-
nancies and enjoys her job.
“I have enjoyed all the locations I
have been assigned to,” she commented.
“I am fulfilling one of my dreams of
serving in the air force with an elite
group of people.”
Like her twin, Dalia enjoys the
respect she garners from being in the
military. Through her 16 years at civilian
hospitals, she could never outrank a
physician. In the Air Force, though, she
felt a sense of camaraderie.
“What I like about the Air Force is
the teamwork and respect I get from my
colleagues both physicians and nurses,”
said Dalia, who joined several years
after Delia; again, her dream of getting
in coincided with that of her her twin.
“I went to college, got married,
had kids, things just kept coming up,”
said Dalia.
At 39, the cutoff age for nurses in
the Air Force, she finally decided to go
in, with her husband’s support.
“We had been married for 21 years
and I had always followed my husband
with his teaching career,” said Dalia.
“When we first met he knew that this
was something I really wanted to do, we
find a way to stay together.”
A friend of Dalia’s was up for
deployment but she was also pregnant.
Dalia decided to go in her place. It was
2004 and Dalia would soon serve in
OEF, working in Qatar in the intensive
care unit as part of a small staff of med-
ical workers taking care of 2,000 mili-
tary personnel.
“I felt we had a purpose; to provide
first rate medical care to our comrades,”
she said.
The twins may have experienced
the Air Force separately, but their goals
are very much related. Their similar
dreams are not a surprise to Dalia.
“Delia and I have always been very
close,” Dalia admitted. “This spills over
into our dreams, goals, families, and
careers. We have always had compas-
sion to help others.”
Sandy Sanchez, nursing professor
at UTPA, recalled the twins when they
were her students.
“I think they’re unique, of
course…they’re one of only two sets of
twins that I can recall at this moment
who’ve graduated from our program,”
she noted. “They’re great role models,
not necessarily because they’re in the
service, but because they’ve been suc-
cessful in our profession.”
The twins spoke on March 27 to
the current class of nursing students at
UTPA, working their separate and paral-
lel experiences into play.
“Nursing is hard, peoples’ lives
depend on you,” Dalia said. “It takes a
special person to be a nurse and I saw
this in the eyes of the students we spoke
with. There is such a great need for nurs-
es in the Rio Grande Valley, so it was my
honor to go home to make this push for
UTPA.”
� “If you want to start eatinghealthy, you can’t use theexcuse that it’s not in thebudget anymore.”
-Amber Praydietetics junior
TWINS continued from page 3
INAUGURATION continued from page 3
Office of University Relations
SEEING DOUBLE - Delia Zorrilla (left) and Dalia Calvillo Garcia, twin Air Force nurses, address a class of prospective nurs-ing students on March 27 about their experience as war nurses.
HEALTHY continued from page 3
Other than the Jack Brown
Memorial Tournament, where both teams
captured the titles, the 2007-2008 cam-
paign has been a rough one for The
University of Texas-Pan American men’s
and women’s golf teams . And in their
final push before the all-important
National Minority College
Championships in early May, the Broncs
and Lady Broncs couldn’t find a way to
seize their respective tournament titles
when Tuesday afternoon came to a close.
The women traveled to Mississippi
to compete in the Lady Eagle
Invitational, where they found them-
selves sitting in fifth place after one day
of action. But on day two the Lady
Broncs failed to improve on Monday’s
score (319) as they dropped two spots
with a team-score of 652. The tourna-
ment host, Southern Mississippi
University, took the title after a two-
round score of 621.
Junior Mariale Camey and senior
Elizabeth Rodriguez led the women with
top-20 finishes as Camey tied for 17th
place, while Rodriguez tied for 19th overall.
In Scottsdale, Ariz., the Broncs
experienced déjà vu at the Wyoming
Cowboy Classic after the men posted a
score of 866 en route to finishing 16th,
the same slot they held the previous day.
The University of California-Davis was
crowned tournament champion for its
three-round score of 833.
There were only a few fans in the
stands during Saturday’s home finale for
The University of Texas-Pan American’s
men’s tennis team. But not even the
slight attendance could stop the Broncs
from posting a win as they improved to
7-9 on the season, defeating Oral
Roberts University 6-1 at the Orville
Cox Tennis Center.
The men set the tempo by control-
ling all three doubles matches, with sen-
ior Ivan Avila and Calcutta native
Nirvick Mohinta claiming their match 8-
4, while sophomore Brett Bernstein and
freshman Aswhin Vijayaragavan also tri-
umphed by an 8-4 count. Newcomer
Marcus Dornuaf and Andrew Irving of
New Zealand completed the sweep, col-
lecting an 8-2 victory.
In singles competition, the Broncs
went five of six as Avila, suffering from
stomach difficulties, took the only loss
with a 7-5, 6-1 setback.
“It’s always good to finish off the
season with a win,” said head coach
Robert Hubbard. “Unfortunately for Ivan,
he was suffering with some stomach prob-
lems, which may have contributed to him
coming up short in the end.”
CORPUSAt the end of their match against
nationally ranked Texas A&M-Corpus
Christi two days earlier, Hubbard
described the tilt as “sometimes you
have to know how to win and lose ugly.”
Behind a strong wind, the visiting
Islanders bounced the Broncs, who were
coming off an emotional 4-3 victory over
Lamar University, by a 6-1 decision.
“Corpus also had the same weather
we do so in the end it was an even play-
ing field,” Hubbard said. “In order for us
to compete with a team like them we
have to bring our ‘A’ game and limit
mistakes. Fortunately, we’ll have anoth-
er shot at them in the conference tourna-
ment at the end of this month.”
After failing to claim the doubles
point, Vijayaragavan was the sole Bronc
who posted a win in his match, 6-3, 6-3.
The Broncs and Lady Broncs will
close out the 2008 campaign with a West
Coast road trip as the men visit Portland
State while the Spartans of San Jose
State will host the women. The Lady
Broncs’ final home game of the season
against the University of Texas-
Arlington was cancelled Sunday due to
scheduling problems for the Mavericks.
� TENNISSPORTS
April 10, 2008 Page 13
By RAMIRO PAEZThe Pan American
Broncs split decisions in finales Ongoing struggles continue, teams face last chance
� GOLF
By ALVARO BALDERAS
The Pan American
SPORTSPage 14 April 10, 2008
After its demoralizing three-game
series against New Orleans University,
The University of Texas-Pan American’s
baseball team traveled to Corpus Christi
Monday to seek revenge for its Feb. 23
9-3 loss at home. But the Islanders didnt
give the Broncs a chance during their
doubleheader as the home team’s offen-
sive production was too much for UTPA,
which fell to 9-22 on the season.
TAMCC defeated the Green and Orange
13-6 in Game 1 and 6-4 in Game 2.
NEW ORLEANSThe Broncs hosted the Privateers
over the weekend at Edinburg Baseball
Stadium, facing one of its toughest
opponents on their schedule, and got
swept in its three-game series.
UTPA fell by counts of 8-3, 11-2
and 5-2.
With the visitors holding a 1-0
advantage in Game 1, the Green and
Orange tied the score on an RBI by cen-
ter fielder Bonham Hough. Senior Roly
Gonzalez got the pot stirring after hitting
a single into left field. He advanced to
third base when the catcher for the
Privateers tried to pick him off at first
base and the ball ended up in right field.
Then Hough grounded out to bring
Gonzalez home.
But then things turned sour for the
home team as the Privateers turned up the
heat, scoring five runs in four innings.
The Broncs kept quiet until the bot-
tom of the seventh when Nick Bourn led
things off with a single and Jose Mendoza
was walked. Short stop Andrew Perez
had a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners
and Jeremey Johnson grounded out to
bring in Bourn. And after Gonzalez sin-
gled to second, Hough kept the rally going
with a single to bring in Mendoza, giving
the Broncs two runs off three hits. The
rally was stopped short though by reliever
David Burch, who pitched two innings
and had four strikeouts.
Cody Cisper (1-5) took the loss as
he pitched six innings and struck out
eight batters. Gonzalez went 2 for 4
with one run.
GAME 2The Broncs hoped to rebound the
following day but the Green and Orange
gave up nine runs in the first four
innings of play, sealing its fate en route
to an 11-2 defeat.
“You can’t make a mistake against a
great hitting ball club because they make
pay for it,” said head coach Willie Gawlik.
The Broncs kept quiet throughout
the first six innings until pinch-runner
J.C. Cortez scored off of a single by
Perez, who went 3 for 4 with one RBI, in
the bottom of the seventh. But by that
time, UTPA faced a huge 11-1 deficit.
Bourn managed two hits on four
at bats and collected his eight RBI of
the season.
GAME 3UTPA had one last chance Sunday
to avoid a Privateer sweep but could not
hold on to a slim 1-0 advantage as New
Orleans scored five consecutive runs to
put away the Broncs.
The Green and Orange put their
first run on the board in the bottom of
the second when Gonzalez hit a triple
and scored on Perez’s sacrifice fly.
In the top of the fifth, the Privateers
finally got on the board as they scored
two runs off three hits, leading them on
their rally. With the Broncs facing a 5-1
deficit heading into the bottom of the
ninth, Gonzalez (2 for 3 with two runs)
and Perez got things rolling with two
singles. Mendoza brought home
Gonzalez with his RBI single but with
UTPA facing two outs, Jordan Rutenbar
could not keep the comeback in tact as
he popped out to left field.
In a valiant effort, Evan
Cunningham showed no signs of slow-
ing (0-1) as the junior pitched all nine
innings, giving up 11 hits with eight
strikeouts. Gonzalez finished 2 for 3
with two runs, while Rutenbar, who is
tied with first-baseman Billy Donaho for
a team-high 18 RBI’s, went 2 for 4.
“I felt about the same pretty much
throughout the whole game,” said the
right-hand pitcher. “I just made some
mistakes in the middle innings that they
took advantage of but over all I felt like
I competed pretty well.”
The Broncs will continue their
seven-game road swing tomrrow, begin-
ning with a trip to Houston against Texas
Southern slated for a 3 p.m. start.
� BASEBALLSPORTS
April 10, 2008 Page 15
Onydia Garza/The Pan AmericanROUGH OUTING - Despite recent team struggles, senior Jeremy Johnsonclaims the second best batting average (.361) in his 26 games played.
By PEDRO PEREZ IVThe Pan American
Green and Orange ousted by New Orleans Broncs fail toavenge homeloss to Corpus
A&M - Corpus Christi 6, Texas-Pan American 4, March 8R H E
Texas-Pan American 001 030 000 - 4 11 0A&M-Corpus Christi 111 111 00X - 6 10 3
Roth and Janecka (5). Ferdin, Sparkman (5), Hudec (7), Gutierrez (8), andGibson (9). W – Sparkman (1-0); L – Roth (0-2); S – Gibson (1). 3B: Trevino.
A&M - Corpus Christi 13, Texas-Pan American 6, March 8Texas-Pan American 010 010 013 - 6 12 0A&M-Corpus Christi 340 401 10X - 13 18 1
Rodriguez, De Leon (3), Garza (5), and Johnson (7). Blair, Longoria (6),Maldonado (8), and Perez (9). W – Blair (2-0); L – Rodriguez; S – None. 3B:Wolk.
University of New Orleans 5, Texas-Pan American 2, March 6Univ. of New Orleans 000 021 110 - 5 11 2Texas-Pan American 010 000 001 - 2 7 1
Cunningham. Whalen and Henderson (7). W – Whalen (3-3); L –Cunningham (0-1); S – None. 3B: Rutledge.
University of New Orleans 11, Texas-Pan American 2, March 5Univ. of New Orleans 061 200 200 - 11 12 1Texas-Pan American 000 000 101 - 2 10 2
Sheperd, Garza (4), Brevard (8), and Lankford (8). Cryer and Brown (8). W–Cryer (6-1), L – Shepherd (2-2). S – None.
University of New Orleans 8, Texas-Pan American 3, March 4Univ. of New Orleans 110 310 011 - 8 10 1Texas-Pan American 100 000 200 - 3 8 3
Cisper, De Leon (7), Cox (8), Roth (9). Garcia and Burch (8). W – Garcia (3-0); L – Cisper (1-5); S – None. 3B: Garza.
Player AVG GP-GS AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB SLG% BB ERA W-L IP H R BB SO
