/thepanamerican panamericanonline.com Volume 69, No. 13 December 6, 2012 Page 5 Soñar Despierto Women’s Basketball DegreeWorks The Pan American looks back at 2012 Page 3 Online LAW SCHOOL: WEIGHING THE OPTIONS Year in Review Both teams played UT Arlington Mavericks with mixed results Important Board of Regents meeting Dec. 6. Check TPA Facebook and Twitter for updates e proposal to build a law school in the Rio Grande Valley was once again submitted to the state Legislature, Nov. 12 by State Rep. Eddie Lucio III, just months after the UT System announced plans to build a medical school in the area. Two similar bills were sub- mitted in the 2011 State Legisla- tive Session, but failed to make it out of the House of Higher Education Committee, a body with jurisdiction over education beyond high school in the state of Texas. District 40 State Rep. Terry Canales supports the move to bring a law school to the Valley. Canales has been an attorney in District 40, which includes a chunk of Hidalgo County, and Edinburg, for almost six years and is a graduate of Saint Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio. In a statement from an article by Edinburg Politics, he expressed the need for a law school in the Valley. “First and foremost, a law school is about empowering a region with tools and knowledge to see and obtain legal and social justice,” Canales said. “In ad- dition, a law school creates jobs through construction of facilities, the hiring of administrators, fac- ulty and staff and securing gov- ernment and private grants for everything from financial aid to legal clinics.” If a law school were estab- lished in the Rio Grande Valley, it would not be the first. In the mid-’90s the Reynaldo Garza School of Law in Mission closed its doors after failing to earn ac- creditation from the American Bar Association, a professional organization focused on improv- ing the legal profession. Before an attorney can begin practicing, they have to pass the Texas Bar Exam. However, the exam cannot be taken unless the person taking it has graduated from an accredited school. e closest such school to the Rio Grande Valley is Saint Mary’s in San Antonio. It is one of 10 in Texas (five are private). Jerry Polinard, political science profes- sor at UTPA and pre-law advisor, said that it would play a big part in the decision to establish a law school in the Valley. “Part of the question the Legislature would ask is why we would need more than 10 law schools. Our answer is that it would be location,” Polinard said. “e closest public law school is five hours away. Obviously it would be an advantage (for stu- dents), and it probably saves on travel and housing costs.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 Advisement tool for students still in development By Charles Vale e Pan American Won 59-57 Men’s Basketball Lost 60-51 UTPA group gives back for the holidays Page 6
Transcript
/thepanamerican
panamericanonline.com
Volume 69, No. 13 December 6, 2012
Page 5
Soñar Despierto
Women’s Basketball
DegreeWorks
The Pan American looks back at 2012
Page 3
Online
LAW SCHOOL: WeigHing tHe OptiOnS
Year in Review
Both teams played UT Arlington Mavericks with mixed
results
Important Board of Regents meeting Dec. 6.
Check TPA Facebook and Twitter for updates
The proposal to build a law school in the Rio Grande Valley was once again submitted to the state Legislature, Nov. 12 by State Rep. Eddie Lucio III, just months after the UT System announced plans to build a medical school in the area.
Two similar bills were sub-mitted in the 2011 State Legisla-tive Session, but failed to make it out of the House of Higher Education Committee, a body with jurisdiction over education beyond high school in the state of Texas.
District 40 State Rep. Terry Canales supports the move to
bring a law school to the Valley. Canales has been an attorney in District 40, which includes a chunk of Hidalgo County, and Edinburg, for almost six years and is a graduate of Saint Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio. In a statement from an article by Edinburg Politics, he expressed the need for a law school in the Valley.
“First and foremost, a law school is about empowering a region with tools and knowledge to see and obtain legal and social justice,” Canales said. “In ad-dition, a law school creates jobs through construction of facilities, the hiring of administrators, fac-ulty and staff and securing gov-
ernment and private grants for everything from financial aid to legal clinics.”
If a law school were estab-lished in the Rio Grande Valley, it would not be the first. In the mid-’90s the Reynaldo Garza School of Law in Mission closed its doors after failing to earn ac-creditation from the American Bar Association, a professional organization focused on improv-ing the legal profession.
Before an attorney can begin practicing, they have to pass the Texas Bar Exam. However, the exam cannot be taken unless the person taking it has graduated from an accredited school.
The closest such school to the
Rio Grande Valley is Saint Mary’s in San Antonio. It is one of 10 in Texas (five are private). Jerry Polinard, political science profes-sor at UTPA and pre-law advisor, said that it would play a big part in the decision to establish a law school in the Valley.
“Part of the question the Legislature would ask is why we would need more than 10 law schools. Our answer is that it would be location,” Polinard said. “The closest public law school is five hours away. Obviously it would be an advantage (for stu-dents), and it probably saves on travel and housing costs.”
Continued on Page 3
Advisement tool for students still in development
By Charles Vale The Pan American
Won 59-57
Men’s BasketballLost 60-51
UTPA group gives back for the holidays
Page 6
In case you are wonder-ing…. no, this is not about any of the Terminator movies. In fact, now that I think about it, it does involve some terminating, not the one in which evil killing machines controlled by an evil computer destroys the human race, but something less devastat-ing that requires more than twice the effort and money than that needed for world damnation…. the culmination of a degree.
Although I might be exag-gerating a little, getting a degree is not an easy process; it requires a lot of dedication, sacrifice and good judgment to determine what is and isn’t a priority, but not forgetting that it requires a lot of patience as well.
I’m not necessarily saying that you need to keep your eyes in your books 24/7 or that instead of studying you need to become some sort of a party animal. What I’m trying to say, is that it’s really impor-
tant for you to find a balance between your family, friends, partner, school and why not, some time for yourself too won’t do you any harm.
As a future graduate, my legacy to you all will be the
advice to get the most out of your college life. With a student population close to 20,000, it’s nearly impossible to know ev-eryone. But by joining a club, an organization, or even getting a part-time job here on campus,
the probability of meeting new people increases.
Take me as an example; I’ve been working at The Pan Ameri-can Newspaper as an Advertis-ing/PR manager for more than 3 years with absolutely no re-
grets. Having zero background in those subjects, I got to learn and do things I would have nev-er imagined I would be achiev-ing before finishing my degree. I got to attend several conferences all over the country, sell close to
1,000 ads (making a revenue of more than $180,000), orga-nize conferences for high school kids, meet amazing and talent-ed people throughout the years and even got the opportunity to write my own story. But, if that was not enough, I joined UPB (University Program Board) during my freshmen year, and became a member of SAE (So-ciety Of Automotive Engineers) where building an off-road car has been a hobby for more than 3 years. And last but not least, become an intern at the Office for Sustainability, which has given me the opportunity to learn about the huge impact we can all make in our community by making small changes to our way of life.
Overall, I’ve had an amaz-ing time all these years of col-lege, I admit it, It hasn’t been easy at all, but the satisfaction of being part of all these proj-ects and meeting all these amaz-ing people. It’s just priceless. So “Hasta la Vista, UTPA!!” Thank you for everything and good luck to you all.
2 December 6, 2012
The Pan American is the official student newspaper of The Univer-sity of Texas-Pan American. Views presented are those of the writ-ers and do not necessarily reflect those of the paper or university.
1201 West University, CAS 170 Edinburg, Texas 78539Phone: (956) 665-2541
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Editor-in-ChiEf: Karen Antonacci nEws Editor: Daniella Diaz sports Editor: Norma GonzalezArts & LifE Editor: Lea Victoria JuarezphotogrAphy Editor: Adrian Castillo dEsign Editor: Erick Gonzalez MuLtiMEdiA Editor: Dimitra Hernandez AdvisEr:Dr. Greg SelberAdMinistrAtivE AssoCiAtE: Anita Reyes AdvErtising MAnAgEr: Mariel CantuwEbMAstEr: Jose Villarreal soCiAL MEdiA Editor: David Alvarado
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Please send all letters to:thepanamerican
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Letters to the Editor
I got to learn and do things I would have never
imagined I would be achieving before finishing my degree.
-Mariel CantuAdvertising manager
opinion
Mariel Cantu
Hasta la vista, baby!!
Advertising Manager
Photo of the Week
Francisco Rodriguez/The Pan American
ComicThe Pan American will return Jan. 14. Have a happy and
safe holiday and stay posted with UTPA
news online at
panamericanonline.com
You know what would be cool if I had Bucky Bronc cheer me on before my college of Edu interview it’ll be a dream come true #UTPA
- @dase2010
#UTPA
Adrian Castillo/The Pan AmericanJunior guard Jamal Dantzler goes for a basket during the second half of Monday’s game against University of Texas at Arlington. The Broncs lost 60-51.
Wow. I’m shocked #UTPA got an invite from the WAC. Never thought it would be this soon. Congrats though.
- @mikedsaenz
Huge news. #UTPA AD and Pres really worked for this. RT @monitornews: UTPA confirms it has an offer to join the WAC.
- @parasmuss
Why doesn’t UTPA have a puppy room during fi-nals week :( #utpa #pup-pyprobs #stressreliever
- @winterbaby1215
3
However, the number of existent schools isn’t the only thing that could keep the law school from being established in the Valley. Another hin-drance is that the entity would have to be established on state funding.
“It is an uphill battle. We are talking about a bill that would support a state law school. States are stingy with their education money,” Po-linard said. “It always loops back to what it is going to cost.”
According to the Texas Higher Education Coordina-tion Board, the cost of start-ing a law school can range just above $80 million in a
five-year period. This may prove a problem, especially for a state with a recent his-tory of budget cuts. Accord-ing to National Public Radio, state lawmakers cut $4 bil-lion from education fund-ing in 2011, leaving 12,000 teachers and support staff unemployed.
Not everyone agreed that creating a law school in the Valley would be a good call. One such person is Jackie Odum, a 21-year-old po-litical science major and vice president of the UTPA Pre-law Society. She believes that although the school would bring more resources to law students in the Valley, she also thinks it would not ben-efit the community since it would create an unbalance in the Valley’s legal world.
“I think it would open doors for students, but the Valley is such a close-knit community since people who grew up here tend to stay here,” Odum said. “With the system down here, if you’re an attorney from the Valley the
odds are in your favor against out-of-town attorneys. It’s an unfair advantage.”
The idea behind this is that having people who grad-uated from a Valley school would create attorneys who have already had the chance to establish connections with judges and other attorneys, as opposed to someone who moves here from another city and has to start fresh.
In 2009, Texas law schools graduated 2,340 students, but only 1,837 of those graduates passed the Texas bar exam. Also, the Valley has the lowest lawyer-to-citizen ratios in the state of Texas according to The
Texas Tribune.Despite the obstacles be-
fore it and the history of the last law school in the Valley, Reynaldo Garza, the people behind the move seem de-termined to make it happen when the Legislature goes into session in January. But to Polinard, the chances are slim, especially after an an-nouncement this summer by UT System Chancellor Dr. Francisco Cigarroa, who has made it his mission to estab-lish a medical school in the Valley.
For the medical school, the plan is to convert two buildings in Harlingen and the Regional Academic Health Center, which is be-hind the campus’ Human Services Building, along with the creation of a school of public health in Brownsville.
“I do think that it is in-evitable that South Texas will get a law school,” Polinard said. “There is a need since we are so far from an accred-ited law school, but the odds are against it this year.”
DegreeWorks hasn’t been around for too long, but students at UTPA are already familiar with the role it plays in advisement. However, there are still some issues that the regis-trar’s office is ironing out.
The program is designed to help a student track their completed and pending classes for graduation, and became available through ASSIST in spring 2012.
A very noticeable dis-claimer at the bottom of the page informs users that De-greeWorks is not intended to replace one’s adviser, but is rather considered an ad-visement tool. It also helps a student calculate their grade point average and predict future GPAs by inputting additional classes with an-ticipated grades.
This program has helped the registrar’s office ef-ficiency when it comes to planning classes for the upcoming semester. With DegreeWorks, the office can predict future semester classes depending on how far along a student is on the degree process.
The software was pur-chased in Spring 2011 from Ellucian for $300,000, paid for by standard operating funds (budgeted University monies). President Robert Nelsen became interested in the software when he saw it functioning at his former home, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, according to Jeff Rhodes, registrar.
“We want students to graduate in the shortest amount of time possible and take only the classes that they absolutely need for their degree,” Rhodes said. “That’s what DegreeWorks does. It lets the students know exactly what courses
they need to get their de-gree so that they don’t waste time taking classes that are unnecessary.”
According to Nelsen at the 2011 fall convocation, an average student takes 165 credit hours, but only earns 141 credit hours at UTPA. However, a typical degree plan only requires 124 cred-it hours.
In 2011, the four-year graduation rate at UTPA was 15.6 percent. That means that out of 100 stu-dents who started at UTPA, on average about 16 gradu-ated in four years, or on time, in other words.
In order to raise both of these statistics and solve what the University per-ceives as a problem, Degree-Works was introduced.
In Rhodes’ opinion, the first semester the software received good feedback. In the most recent survey tak-en at the end of last semes-ter, 51 percent of students agreed that DegreeWorks is an effective advisement tool.
“What I’ve seen from other systems is that they are not very user-friendly,” he said. “What Degree-Works does is put (class progress) in student-speak. It builds a very simple checklist and says, ‘Here are the courses you need. Here are the options.’ And when they’re completed, it checks them off.”
IMPROVEMENTSBecause DegreeWorks is
a fairly new deal, there are still some kinks that need to be sorted with the software. Graduate students at UTPA are still not able to use it. The degree plans for gradu-ate students are “much more
sticky,” Rhodes said.The graduate degree
plans are more compli-cated because their classes are more specialized, so the registrar’s office is working toward having those degree plans online by the end of next spring as a “soft tar-get,” Rhodes said.
Along with the graduate implementation to Degree-Works, the registrar’s office is also planning to set aside two weeks this spring to fix
any road bumps, such as up-dated degree plans, with the software.
Also, in the case that a student’s major or con-centration is incorrect in
DegreeWorks, Rhodes rec-ommends that the student turn in a change-of-major form to the registrar’s office. There is a simpler, updated version of the form available online at their UTPA page.
“There was a lot of missing data, especially the tracks (for degrees),” Rhodes added. “That data actually resided in the de-partmental offices and had not been reported to us, so we’ve been working very hard to get students to fill out the form.”
FEEDBACK
Ayssa Cabrera has found DegreeWorks to be a useful tool as she maps out future classes.
“It was helpful and it made my degree plan pretty clear to me,” the 20-year-old accounting major said. “I recommend it to my friends because it’s pretty efficient. You get to see what you’re doing, what you’ve done, and what you need to do when it comes to classes.”
Cabrera also likes a fea-ture that informs her of prerequisites she may need for a class, saving her from having to call the registrar’s office and ask.
However, Adriana Ra-mon doesn’t see Degree-Works as a useful tool. The nursing major believes it could be more user-friendly.
“I couldn’t understand how it works,” the 18-year-old said. “I was really con-fused by the percentage bar. It was saying I already had a percentage but I don’t know how that works since I just started taking classes.”
But Hugo Sanchez, a criminal justice major, agrees with Cabrera. He put his appreciation for the pro-gram in simple terms.
“DegreeWorks is like an adviser,” he suggested.
Law SchooL continued from page 1
By Daniella DiazThe Pan American
15.6% graduate in
4 years
on average
124credit hours required to graduate
Advisement tool for students still in development
a typical utpa Student graduates
with 141
165
credit hours
but attempts
DegreeWorks works?
There is a need since we are so far from an accredited law
school, but the odds are against it this year.
- Jerry PolinardUTPA Pre-Law Adviser
The body of an 18-year-old Edinburg North High School student was found
stuffed under the staircase of the Science Building’s east stairwell Feb. 8. The UTPA community waited anxiously for updates as morning classes were
cancelled. Although the autopsy report lists the cause of death as suicide,
friends close to Brenda cast doubts on the cause of death. As a result of the incident, a door was installed on the
east stairwell.
Death on Campus
UTPA President Robert Nelsen announced that the Chick-Fil-A restaurant in the Student Union would continue to be built over the summer amid controversy
after Chick-Fil-A President Dan Cathy shared his negative views on same-sex marriage
with the world.
Chick-Fil-A Stays
Recently-graduated right-handed pitcher Michael
Zouzalik signs with the Texas Rangers after participating in an open tryout in Round
Rock on Aug. 22.
Zouzalik Signed to Rangers
The $250,000 Toshiba LED video board,
funded by The Coca-Cola Company, was
installed mid-August.
New Board
Gangnam Style
Mission native Angel Ibañez is selected by the Houston Astros with the first pick of
the 28th round (849th overall) of the MLB Draft June 6.
Three days later, Ibañez signs with the Houston Astros
organization.
Ibañez Drafted to Astros
THE PAN AMERICANTHE PAN AMERICAN December 6, 2012 December 6, 2012 Page 5Page 4
RETURN YOUR RENTAL BOOKSnow through
DECEMBER 15
UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE1201 W. UNIVERSITY DRIVE |
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*NO PURCH NEC. VOID WHERE PROHIB BY LAW. Accrue points towards entries for a chance to win a $100 bookstore gift card. “The Game” is valid at the time of this publication and ends on 12/31/12 at 11:59:59 PM PT. Go to http://play.acmeloyalty.com/rules/termsandconditions-holiday.htm for Official Rules and details on entry instructions, winner selection, prizes, how to obtain an entry without sending a text message, etc. Open to
eligible, legal residents of the 50 U.S. states and D.C. 16+.Supported Carriers: Alltel, AT&T, Boost Mobile, Cellcom, Cellular South, Cincinnati Bell, Nextel, nTelos, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Verizon Wireless.
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Jared Maree becomes the 21st player in UTPA Bronc men’s basketball history to score at least 1,000 points during the
77-69 loss to Utah Valley Wolverines Feb. 2.
1,000 Points for J. Maree DHS released a memo
authorizing agents to use their discretion when prosecuting
undocumented youth that would fall under the oft-debated, never passed DREAM Act,
allowing many undocumented immigrants to apply for two-
year work permits.
Deferred Action
A student was abducted at about 7 p.m. in parking lot T2 outside the
Education Building Sept. 25 and returned to her family two days later.
Three men were charged in connection with the kidnapping. The incident
triggered a flurry of complaints about campus security, including inadequate lighting in some of the newer parking lots. Temporary lights were erected until more permanent fixtures were
installed.
Kidnapping
For the first time in South Texas, local horror fans were able to attend a convention
celebrating all things spooky, scary and gory. The Oct. 19 and 20 South Texas
Horror Con event took place at the McAllen Convention
Center.
South Texas Horror Con
Due to an interpretation of the Mayan Long Count
calendar, some believe that a world-ending
catastrophe will happen this Dec. 21.
End of the World
After the 2010 U.S. Cenus reported a growing population of Hispanics, the His-panic and Latino vote became an integral
part of President Obama’s reelection. UTPA student Rogelio Chanes attended
the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., as a delegate while campus organizations worked to bring political figures to campus.The early
voting location at the Student Union saw record numbers for a general election,
with 4,328 ballots cast.
Elections
December
Ending their regular season with an overall record of
30-22, the Bronc baseball team clinched their first
winning season in 12 years. The Broncs also claimed the
number-two seed in the Great West Conference.
Baseball: First Winning Season
in 12 Years
A new home for art students was completed in July at an off-campus location on Closner St. A shuttle is available to move students between
the two buildings.
Art Annex
February
JuneJuly
august
A play about a group of students prevented from performing by the drug
cartel violence based on true events. It premiered
Oct. 2 at UTPA.
Crawling with Monsters
sePtember
november
Senior Judith Chumba won her 2nd consecutive title of
Great West Conference Wom-en’s Cross Country Champion and Runner of the Year after
winning the 5K race at the GWC Championships, hosted by
Chicago State Oct. 27.
Chumba Wins Again
Senior guard Aaron Urba-nus joins the 1,000 points club after shooting his first basket,
a three-pointer, against Southern Illinois University
Edwardsville Nov. 24.
Aaron Urbanus Scores 1000
Career PointsHarlingen-native Bianca
Torre breaks the 10-year-old University women’s basketball
program scoring record Nov. 9 and the program
record for career assists Nov. 23.
All-Time Bianca Torre
With the year coming to a close, The Pan American reflects on the most influential events of the year.
What was your favorite 2012 moment? Tweet about it. #UTPA2012
A South Korean hit with a dance routine by Psy has
swept the nation, appearing in places such as the
American Music Awards, ESPN and Glee.
“Father of Broncs Basketball,” UTPA Hall
of Famer and men’s basketball head coach emeritus passed away
Oct. 22 at the age of 88.
Sam Williams Passes
World renown electronic DJ Benny Benassi made his first appearance in
the Valley Oct. 20 as part of his Rough Road Bus
tour.
Benny Benassi
The University hosted TV personality Larry King, New York Times colum-nist Thomas Friedman
and theoretical physicist Michio Kaku.
Distinguished Speakers
october
The body of an 18-year-old Edinburg North High School student was found
stuffed under the staircase of the Science Building’s east stairwell Feb. 8. The UTPA community waited anxiously for updates as morning classes were
cancelled. Although the autopsy report lists the cause of death as suicide,
friends close to Brenda cast doubts on the cause of death. As a result of the incident, a door was installed on the
east stairwell.
Death on Campus
UTPA President Robert Nelsen announced that the Chick-Fil-A restaurant in the Student Union would continue to be built over the summer amid controversy
after Chick-Fil-A President Dan Cathy shared his negative views on same-sex marriage
with the world.
Chick-Fil-A Stays
Recently-graduated right-handed pitcher Michael
Zouzalik signs with the Texas Rangers after participating in an open tryout in Round
Rock on Aug. 22.
Zouzalik Signed to Rangers
The $250,000 Toshiba LED video board,
funded by The Coca-Cola Company, was
installed mid-August.
New Board
Gangnam Style
Mission native Angel Ibañez is selected by the Houston Astros with the first pick of
the 28th round (849th overall) of the MLB Draft June 6.
Three days later, Ibañez signs with the Houston Astros
organization.
Ibañez Drafted to Astros
THE PAN AMERICANTHE PAN AMERICAN December 6, 2012 December 6, 2012 Page 5Page 4
RETURN YOUR RENTAL BOOKSnow through
DECEMBER 15
UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE1201 W. UNIVERSITY DRIVE |
4/C
Black & White
For Black background, there is a white
border around it.
/UTPAbookstore
BOOKSCASH
forfor
Visit utpa.bkstr.com for buyback hours and locations
*NO PURCH NEC. VOID WHERE PROHIB BY LAW. Accrue points towards entries for a chance to win a $100 bookstore gift card. “The Game” is valid at the time of this publication and ends on 12/31/12 at 11:59:59 PM PT. Go to http://play.acmeloyalty.com/rules/termsandconditions-holiday.htm for Official Rules and details on entry instructions, winner selection, prizes, how to obtain an entry without sending a text message, etc. Open to
eligible, legal residents of the 50 U.S. states and D.C. 16+.Supported Carriers: Alltel, AT&T, Boost Mobile, Cellcom, Cellular South, Cincinnati Bell, Nextel, nTelos, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Verizon Wireless.
Play for your chance to WIN bookstore gift cards & cool badges!
Text: 0034 to TEXTBK (839825)*We do not charge for SMS. Carrier message and data rates may apply. You can opt out of SMS messages at any time by texting STOP to TEXTBK (839825). Text HELP for help.
Msg&Data Rates May Apply. Up to 4 msgs/week.
Jared Maree becomes the 21st player in UTPA Bronc men’s basketball history to score at least 1,000 points during the
77-69 loss to Utah Valley Wolverines Feb. 2.
1,000 Points for J. Maree DHS released a memo
authorizing agents to use their discretion when prosecuting
undocumented youth that would fall under the oft-debated, never passed DREAM Act,
allowing many undocumented immigrants to apply for two-
year work permits.
Deferred Action
A student was abducted at about 7 p.m. in parking lot T2 outside the
Education Building Sept. 25 and returned to her family two days later.
Three men were charged in connection with the kidnapping. The incident
triggered a flurry of complaints about campus security, including inadequate lighting in some of the newer parking lots. Temporary lights were erected until more permanent fixtures were
installed.
Kidnapping
For the first time in South Texas, local horror fans were able to attend a convention
celebrating all things spooky, scary and gory. The Oct. 19 and 20 South Texas
Horror Con event took place at the McAllen Convention
Center.
South Texas Horror Con
Due to an interpretation of the Mayan Long Count
calendar, some believe that a world-ending
catastrophe will happen this Dec. 21.
End of the World
After the 2010 U.S. Cenus reported a growing population of Hispanics, the His-panic and Latino vote became an integral
part of President Obama’s reelection. UTPA student Rogelio Chanes attended
the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., as a delegate while campus organizations worked to bring political figures to campus.The early
voting location at the Student Union saw record numbers for a general election,
with 4,328 ballots cast.
Elections
December
Ending their regular season with an overall record of
30-22, the Bronc baseball team clinched their first
winning season in 12 years. The Broncs also claimed the
number-two seed in the Great West Conference.
Baseball: First Winning Season
in 12 Years
A new home for art students was completed in July at an off-campus location on Closner St. A shuttle is available to move students between
the two buildings.
Art Annex
February
JuneJuly
august
A play about a group of students prevented from performing by the drug
cartel violence based on true events. It premiered
Oct. 2 at UTPA.
Crawling with Monsters
sePtember
november
Senior Judith Chumba won her 2nd consecutive title of
Great West Conference Wom-en’s Cross Country Champion and Runner of the Year after
winning the 5K race at the GWC Championships, hosted by
Chicago State Oct. 27.
Chumba Wins Again
Senior guard Aaron Urba-nus joins the 1,000 points club after shooting his first basket,
a three-pointer, against Southern Illinois University
Edwardsville Nov. 24.
Aaron Urbanus Scores 1000
Career PointsHarlingen-native Bianca
Torre breaks the 10-year-old University women’s basketball
program scoring record Nov. 9 and the program
record for career assists Nov. 23.
All-Time Bianca Torre
With the year coming to a close, The Pan American reflects on the most influential events of the year.
What was your favorite 2012 moment? Tweet about it. #UTPA2012
A South Korean hit with a dance routine by Psy has
swept the nation, appearing in places such as the
American Music Awards, ESPN and Glee.
“Father of Broncs Basketball,” UTPA Hall
of Famer and men’s basketball head coach emeritus passed away
Oct. 22 at the age of 88.
Sam Williams Passes
World renown electronic DJ Benny Benassi made his first appearance in
the Valley Oct. 20 as part of his Rough Road Bus
tour.
Benny Benassi
The University hosted TV personality Larry King, New York Times colum-nist Thomas Friedman
and theoretical physicist Michio Kaku.
Distinguished Speakers
october
All it takes is one small, smil-ing face, and members of Soñar Despierto have made it their mis-sion to make as many terminally ill children smile this Christmas.
Soñar Despierto is a non-profit organization that aims to help youth
develop an attitude of sensitivity and responsibility towards problems in society, and encourage them to develop the community. Members do cultural, educational and recre-ational projects for children in need.
Although the organization has made its way to the Univer-sity, it did not start there. Soñar Despierto began in Monterrey,
Mexico 24 years ago. “We’ve been in the Valley for
two years” said 23-year-old com-munications major senior Marcela Gonzalez. “We are all over Ameri-ca, Mexico and some South Amer-ican countries like Colombia, Ar-gentina and Chile.”
Within two years, Soñar De-spierto has quickly gained popu-
larity with the student body. From one semester to the next, Soñar Despierto has collected more than 10 times the amount of the mem-bers they had before.
The organization consists of 160 members from UTPA, with 20-year-old mechanical engineer-ing junior Curt Muller as president and and 22-year-old mechanical en-
gineering junior Tocho Leal as vice president. Due to the organization’s size, smaller groups within the or-gaization, led by four officials, have been made to be in charge of differ-ent aspects of the organization, such as Public Relations and the Hospi-tal group. The current number of members represents a huge increase compared to the 15 members in the spring of 2012.
“We are growing so fast that we are on TV a lot, especially Tele-visa,” 23-year-old Gonzalez said. They use the television time to talk about the organization as well as providing the public with infor-mation about upcoming projects.
This year, members have de-cided to go above and beyond what they usually do for their biggest event of the year, taking on more than double the work from last year.
“The event is Macroposada, and it’s actually for low-income kids that usually do not receive anything for Christmas,” Gonza-lez said. “We do rallies and give them food, and then at the end we give them a toy.”
Macroposada 2012 will take place Dec. 8 in the City Hall at 400 West Veterans Blvd. in Palmview. It will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Macroposada, which translates to “a big party for children,” is pro-jected to have 500 kids attend this year compared to last year’s 200.
According to Gonzalez, usually about 100 attendees are accounted for at other events, like Masquer-ade and Hawaiian parties happen-ing throughout the year. Soñar De-spierto members push themselves to work hard year-round to make Macroposada a success.
“We get a lot of sponsors to try and get toys and money because we need a lot,” Gonzalez, said. “There are 500 kids. We have to feed them and give them all toys.”
Another project the group works on is Soñar Despierto are Cuéntame tu Sueños, which translates to “Tell me your dreams,” and it is somewhat similar to events established by Make- a -Wish Foundation.
“It’s something where we pick the kids that are in terminal phas-es and then we try to make their dream come true,” Gonzalez said. “There is a kid named Jordy that the doctors said that he had three months left to live, and he wants to go to Orlando, and go to Disney... We are trying to get him there.”
All volunteers are encour-aged to attend. For more in-formation, contact Marcela Gonzalez at 566-7048.
“We do this event because we want to,” she said. “The only thing that we want is the smile on the faces of the kids. We just want the kids to be happy and that’s all.”
December 6, 2012 arts & life6
Aug. Cleaning Aug. 18th—24th Labor Day Monday, September 3rd Thanksgiving Wednesday, November 21st Thursday, November 22nd Friday, November 23rd Saturday, November 24th Sunday, November 25th
Christmas Dec. 17th—Jan. 13th
MLK Day Monday, January 21st
Spring Break March 9th—17th
Easter Friday, March 29th Saturday, March 30th Sunday, March 31st Memorial Day Monday, May 27th 4th of July Thursday, July 4th * Building Hours Are Subject To Change!
HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
Wednesday, December 26th
Saturday, December 22nd Sunday, December 23rd Monday, December 24th Tuesday, December 25th
Macroposada 2012UTPA group gives back for holidays
Last season’s second matchup against North Da-kota Feb. 27 was broadcast on cable so fans could see the Broncs clinch the No. 2 seed for the Great West Conference Tournament.
Those who tuned in saw senior guard Aaron Urba-nus getting pushed, trampled and even hit in the face with the basketball, but time and time again he got up and pushed through.
Being on the shorter end of the height spectrum in a sport known for its taller people doesn’t phase senior Urbanus much. In fact, he likes it.
“I’ve used (my height) to my advantage and when oth-er people see me, they don’t think I should be playing,” the Bowie High grad said. And that just makes it easier for me because they under-estimate me and then I can surprise them.”
During his Bronc career, Urbanus has started 70 of the 103 games he played in, total-ing 2,737 minutes, as he has become a consistent team lead-er and sparkplug. But he still gets underestimated.
“(Players) probably don’t even mess with me in warm-ups because they don’t think I’m going to play, and then I wind up being the one start-ing, and then they start mess-ing with me,” the 22-year-old kinesiology major said. “I like when people mess with me about (my height). It’s an extra little motivator, it’s fun.”
Urbanus may enjoy getting picked on, on the court, but Winter Texans who come out to the games during the holi-day season take joy in rooting for the little guy.
“I get that a lot. I get the older group,” he explained. “They like to see the smaller guy, who doesn’t have much of an advantage go out there and, I guess, go against the bigger guys.”
1,000-POINT CLUBSenior guard Aaron Urba-
nus became the 22nd Bronc to join the 1,000-point club Nov. 24 during the home opener against Southern Illinois Uni-versity-Edwardsville. Urbanus, 22, was able to reach the re-cord with his first basket of the game, a three-pointer.
The coaches first told Ur-banus how close he was to attaining the milestone while the team was playing the last game of the Eastern Michigan University “Ice Man” Classic in Michigan a week before the SIUE game. He started as a freshman and has been a pro-ductive part of the offense for four seasons now.
“Since we won, it’s easier for me to say it felt good. Even when they announced it, I couldn’t help but feel good about it,” Urbanus said after the SIUE game. “My coaches had told me during the tour-nament that I was close and a couple of them are actually happy that I didn’t get it then, so I could get it at home.”
LIVING IN THE VALLEYWhen he arrived from the
Capital City four years back, Urabus did not have to make that big of an adjustment. Having lived his childhood years in a predominantly His-
panic and African-American area of town, Urbanus recalled not feeling a sense of culture shock upon the transition to the Valley.
“Yeah I love (the culture), besides the fact that I can’t understand half the things a lot of the people are saying,” Urbanus joked. “I know when they’re talking about me - when they say güero or gringo.”
Although Urbanus may have trouble communicating in Spanish, his stomach doesn’t have any issues understanding the food here.
“There’s Tex-Mex and then there’s Mexican food,” Urba-nus explained as freshman Noe Espericueta, an Edinburg High graduate, offered him a bite of bean, cheese, chorizo and egg tacos. “That’s good.”
Even though Urbanus loves the food from this area, the self-proclaimed taco fan hasn’t been able to experience many restaurants from the region. A lack of transportation causes him to spend more nights at home, cooking for himself and his girlfriend, one of his favor-ite hobbies.
UTPA BRONCWhen Urbanus first heard
about the University all he knew and cared about it was that it was a Division 1 school.
According to him, basket-ball is his life and his one and only job at the moment. It’s what he’s been playing since he could walk and a sport he’s been working at for years.
“I mean, I’ve grown up and never really had a job and ev-
erybody always said, ‘Well, you don’t work,’” Urbanus said. “I had to work to get a scholar-ship, so my parents don’t have to pay for my college.”
At the start of his fresh-man year, Urbanus wasn’t the only new face. There were 10 new players, brand-new coach (Ryan Marks) and a new system.
“It was a bunch of people just trying to learn; learn a new offense, learn how we’re going
to play and it was definitely tough,” he recalled. “Now be-ing one of the people who’s experienced and having expe-rienced people on the team, the coaches don’t have to do all the coaching. We can do it ourselves. It’s definitely made a difference and you can tell how much we’ve grown.”
Urbanus knows the Broncs will face some tough teams this season and shared the team’s goal of a 13-0 record at home and win as many games on the road and ultimately get the conference tourna-ment ring. The first part of the goal is now unrealistic as the Broncs fell to UT Arling-ton 60-51 Dec. 3; their overall record is 2-6. Urbanus, aver-aging 12.6 points per game in his final go around, still has other big matchups and games to look forward to this season.
“I don’t think anything is going to be better than Senior Night,” he said about finish-ing his time here as a Bronc March 9 against New Jersey Institute of Technology. “Ob-viously I haven’t experienced it yet. I experienced it in high school, so I can imag-ine it’s going to be really fun, really emotional.”
Senior guard Aaron Urbanus sprints across the court during the Broncs’ home opener against Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Nov. 24. Urbanus recorded his 1,000th career point with his first basket of the night, a three-pointer.
“They like to see the smaller guy, who doesn’t have
much of an advantage go out there and, I guess, go against the bigger guys.”
