November 1, 2007

While the banners and signs at the

Wellness and Recreation Sports Complex

celebrated the center’s official dedication

Tuesday morning, the biggest ovation

came as President Blandina Cardenas

walked through the sliding doors for her

first public appearance since undergoing

heart surgery in mid-September.

“I’m here this morning with a very

grateful — if somewhat patched up —

heart, and thankful to be here in more

ways than one,” the fourth-year

University of Texas-Pan American pres-

ident said.

Monday marked Cardenas’ first

day back in the office — albeit not offi-

cially — since having a heart bypass

Sept. 11. She plans to have Academic

Affairs Provost Paul Sale continue as

acting chief operations officer for the

remainder of the week.

At the start of the semester, the

news of Cardenas’ departure came as a

shock to the UTPA community; no for-

mal notice about her surgery was given

prior to a campus-wide memo distrib-

uted following the operation. Cardenas

said at the dedication that her health had

not been up to par for a while, but she

had little notice before the surgery.

BRAVE FACEShe just couldn’t shake the flu. It

was Sept. 4 and an important day — fall

Convocation.

She had picked up the flu at sum-

mer graduation like she always does; a

common price for the hand-shaking and

hob-knobbing. But even after frequent

self-pep talks where she told her self to

suck it up, she was still sick.

“Finally, a friend of mine said ‘if

you don’t go do the doctor, I’m going to

take you to see the doctor,’” Cardenas

remembered. “So I did convocation and

went to the doctor and said ‘I think I

have an infection.’”

By SANDRA GONZALEZThe Pan American

See Page 16

Donna motorcross trackopens for business

SPORTS

Passport rules may catchstudents off guard

Couple brings ghoulishevent to Harlingen

See Page 8 and 9

See Page 3

A&E

NEWS

58th YearNo. 10

ThursdayNov. 1, 2007

TH

IS W

EE

K

� STATE

� PRESIDENT

Texans tovote onProposition15 soon

See CARDENAS page 11

Nov. 6 will present Texas residents

with an opportunity to weigh in on a

proposition that state legislators and

local politicians are calling one of the

most important measures to ever be

placed on the ballot.

At a Wednesday press conference

in McAllen, former Texas Comptroller

John Sharp said Proposition 15, which

would allocate $3 billion over the next

10 years to establish a cancer research

center in Texas, is an important invest-

ment into Texas’ future.

“We Texans spend $30 billion a

year fighting cancer. You, your families,

the hospitals, and legislatures through

Medicaid spend it,” said Sharp, co-

founder of Texans to Cure Cancer.

“We’re asking Texas to spend one per-

cent of that over the next 10 years to try

and find a cure.”

Some argue, however, that the meas-

ure would allocate government funds and

put Texas into unnecessary debt. But

Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas, who

lost his father in February to pancreatic

cancer, said other than education, there is

no better way to use money.

“There has been government

See PROPOSITION page 11

President shouldresume full dutiesin coming week

By SANDRA GONZALEZ

The Pan American

Americans can soon expect to find

themselves applying for a new form of

identification, due to the REAL ID Act

of 2005, which was signed into law in

May 2005 by President Bush.

REAL ID, which was attached to the

military spending bill, “Emergency

Supplemental Appropriations Act for

Defense, the Global War on Terror and

Tsunami Relief 2005,” was created to halt

terrorist activity by establishing national

standards for state-issued driver’s licenses

and non-driver’s identification cards.

But while the act has been covered

by media frequently, many students at The

University of Texas-Pan American are

unaware of what is required from them.

After being told about the act,

Albert Salazar, a junior mechanical engi-

neering major, said he does not approve

of any form of identification that will

contain sensitive information about

Americans. “I am not for something that

might have a tracking device for the sake

of a cheap attempt for national security,”

he said. Aside from displaying personal

information originally on licenses and

identification cards, this new ID will

require additional information and will

display a cardholder’s social security

number and birth certificate information.

Jessica Lavariega-Monforti, a

political science professor at UTPA,

thinks the REAL ID Act among other

legislative modifications is not an effec-

tive way to eradicate identity theft and

fraudulent identification.

“According to the law, the ID must

include features to thwart counterfeiting

and identity theft,” Lavariega-Monforti

said. “Unfortunately, while including

such features may sound appealing, on

the whole, these IDs may make our

identities less safe.”

Monforti referred to a portion

of the bill that requires ID cards to

include machine-readable tech-

nology, which may open the

doors for possible add-ons

such as fingerprint or

retina scans.

“Therefore, if

someone gets a

hold of your ID,

they have

stolen your

identity as

well as

f i n g e r

prints,” Lavariega-

Monforti said. Since all 50

states will share the same data-

base of information, she added, the fed-

eral government will have access as well.

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas),

addressed this concern in an H.R. 418

opposition statement before the House

of Representatives in 2005, explaining

how the REAL ID act would do little in

protecting Americans from identity

� NATION

Cardenas returns to campus following heart surgery

By LUPE A. FLORESThe Pan American

See ID page 11

New identification system on horizonREAL ID will soonreplace states’licenses, cards

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

NOVEMBER 1, 2007

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.

Editor-in-ChiefSandra Gonzalez.................................................

[email protected]

News EditorAna [email protected]

A&E EditorJeanette [email protected]

Sports EditorErick Quintero.................................................

[email protected]

Photography EditorVeronica Gonzalez...........................................

[email protected]

Design EditorRoy [email protected]

Designers

Rick Gamez

Greg Garza

Reporters and Photographers

Brian Carr

Leslie Estrada

Onydia Garza

Ramiro Paez

Lezette Villarreal

AdviserDr. Greg [email protected]

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.

SecretaryAnita [email protected]

Advertising ManagerSamantha [email protected]

Assitant Advertising ManagerJacqueline Iglesias...................................

[email protected]

***Delivery

Thursday at noon

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

SavethesedatesNovember

� SOCIAL COMMENTARY � LESSONS FROM LEY

eminists were shocked and

angered (of course, what’s new?)

this week when Maxim magazine

announced its picks for The 5 Most

Unsexy Women Alive.

The list named “Sex and the City”

star Sarah Jessica Parker at No. 1, claim-

ing she was “least sexy woman in a

group of very unsexy women.”

Alcoholic, skeletor songstress

Amy Winehouse landed the No. 2 spot,

after being described ever-so accurately

as having “translucent skin” and a

“rat’s-nest mane.”

“Grey’s Anatomy” surgeon Sandra

Oh landed at No. 3 thanks to her “cold

bedside manner and boyish figure.”

Madonna took the No. 4 spot and

Britney Spears and her “23 pounds of

Funyn pudge” rounded out (pun intend-

ed) the list at No. 5.

It didn’t take long for feminist rep-

resentatives to get on CNN and Fox

News and spread the word of their dis-

dain for the list, calling it offensive and

claiming the ranking hated women of

power and talent.

Frankly, I saw no problem with the

magazine’s picks. All it shows is that

men like girls with pretty, young-look-

ing faces and average weight. And since

when is that news?

Expectations haven’t changed

much in recent years. Be young-looking,

but not too young because then it’ll

make the man look like a molester. Be

skinny, but not too skinny because then

you’ll have the body of a pre-pubescent

boy. OH! But don’t be chubby, because

that’s disgusting.

The only answer I can give to the

list other than “point being?” is my own

list. So I present you with The 5 Most

Unsexy Men Alive.

Kicking off my list at No. 5 is Toby

McGuire, who played a jockey in 2003’s

“Seabiscuit.” Enough said. Short man +

girly voice + straddles ponies all day =

Huge turnoff.

No. 4 is a double whammy with

rockers Tommy Lee and Kid Rock,

because there is not anything distinct

enough about these two to warrant me

wasting two spots. Their grimy, un-

bathed exteriors are enough to have me

running, for the sake of my nose. But add

to that the fact that they’re about as short

on talent as I am on patience and we have

ourselves two bona fied unsexies.

The No. 3 spot goes to Barry

Manilow. His face is tighter than the bed

sheets at a hospice, and I think his make-

up shade is too dark for his actual skin.

Spencer Pratt of “The Hills” is

honored at No. 2 because he just plain

scares me. In five years, we will either

see his bugged eyes peering from behind

prison bars, charged with the murder of

current love and robo-celeb Heidi

Montag, or broke and managing a boy

band with accused perv Lou Pearlman.

The coveted No. 1 spot goes to a

man —erm, term used loosely — whose

plucked brows, stretched face and ‘roid

pecks leave him wearing the most utter-

ly confusing permanent Halloween cos-

tume. Carrot Top, I honor your red afro,

but chill the hell out. Feelings shmeel-

ings, get a mirror or get a paper bag.

FBY: SANDRA GONZALEZ

OPINIONNovember 1, 2007

Top 5 unsexymen alive efore we know it, the 2008 presi-

dential election is going to be

upon us, and I’d like to take the opportu-

nity to encourage people not to vote -

that is, if they are uneducated about the

candidates and are unwilling to learn

more about them.

Ideally, I’d like to use my mind-

blowing persuasion to convince every-

one to pick up a newspaper and read

about contemporary issues different con-

tenders are tackling, but reality dictates

that a very large percentage of young

Americans probably won’t.

Google Barack Obama, Hilary

Clinton or even John McCain. Scroll

down a bit and I promise you’ll find a

MySpace account dedicated to or run by

them. Are these the fruits of the Internet

generation’s political interests?

Can blogs and MySpace accounts

educate young people enough to help

them ascertain the values and abilities

of presidential hopefuls? The short

answer is no. But the Internet, along

with skewed perceptions about the

importance of voting (I often blame

campaigns like Rock the Vote, which

reduce elections to little more than

popularity contests), are allowing peo-

ple to think that the right to vote some-

how should grant them as equal a stake

in government activities as someone

who actually takes the time to learn the

issues. While this is technically true, it

shouldn’t be.

I recently had a mini-debate with

someone via MySpace about Iranian

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit

to Columbia University. The arguments

posed before me, I noticed, were mostly

regurgitated sound bytes easily traced

back to “The Daily Show.”

Satirical news shows are the sole

source of information for many college

students, and this is very scary.

A lot of students miss the point of

infotainment shows, which are meant to

be enjoyed as complements to regular

news programs. They are not meant to

replace them.

For those who are as worried about

this phenomenon as I am, there’s still

time. We’re still a year from voting time,

but it’s up to us to prepare for it, just as

we would for a big exam.

BY: ANA LEY

� Think everyone shouldvote? Tell me about it: [email protected]

B

Do not go vote

� Do you like one of thesemen? Unlikely. But if you do,tell me why you’re a big freak:[email protected]

To the editor:

This is in response to a letter print-

ed in the Oct. 25 edition of The Pan

American. First let me thank Ms.

Rodriguez for committing her life to a

job most people would never dream of

doing… the compliments stop there.

How dare you not care if Hector

can’t get a job in the U.S! Not only is this

his problem, but ours as well. He is receiv-

ing a good education at The University of

Texas-Pan American, shouldn’t he be

allowed (some would even say required)

to help promote our community?

It is true entering the U.S. without

proper documentation is illegal, but it is

NOT BURGALRY, it is NOT like using

ILLICIT DRUGS, and most definitely it

is NOT MURDER. Despite what some

people want society to believe not all

immigrants come to America to exploit it.

There are many people who come

here legally, but what of those who

wait for 10-12 years for visas. If some-

one told you to wait a decade to

achieve your life’s goal how would you

feel? Remember desperation feels the

same whether a person is documented

or not.

Maybe there are other ways to

achieve compromise, but certain things

have to be understood first, and what

everyone seems to forget Ms.

Rodriguez, is “these people” are just

that… PEOPLE. If you volunteered 24

years to serve our country, our state, our

community and our home then please

understand citizens or non-citizens, legal

or undocumented all have the same fun-

damental rights to life, liberty and the

pursuit of happiness.

Respectfully,

Serena Mari Gonzalez

Senior

College of Arts and Humanities

� LETTER TO THE EDITOR

88Integrated GlobalKnowledge and

Understanding (IGNU)Collaboration will be hostinga book signing with political

science professor SoniaAlianak. The event will take

place in Room 310 in thelibrary at noon.

12-1612-16The Office of InternationalPrograms will be hostingInternational Week 2007.For more information or a

complete schedule of eventscontact the office at (956)

381-3572, or visithttp://www.utpa.edu/dept/int

ernationalprograms

The Student Leadership Academy

from The Univeristy of Texas-Pan

American and the Boys & Girls Clubs of

Edinburg joined together to provide food

and entertainment for elementary stu-

dents.

The event, held at the Edinburg

Skate Park, was a day where third- to

fifth-grade students from the Boys and

Girls Clubs of Edinburg got to enjoy a

fun afternoon while learning about the

benefits of higher education.

The festival, which saw the volun-

teer efforts of nearly 300 people, marked

National Make a Difference Day in

which thousands of people world-wide

volunteer their time to positively impact

other’s lives.

magine paying Mexico a visit and

being unable to come back - despite

U.S. citizenship. For many citizens of

the Rio Grande Valley, this may become

reality Jan. 31 when a new and strict bor-

der law will deny any citizen entry into

the country without a passport.

Tila Bermea, a dance major at

University of Texas-Pan American, said

she is frustrated and upset because she

has been waiting a month for her pass-

port to be processed. Without it, she said,

she will not be allowed to see her sick

uncle who lives in Reynosa.

“I want to visit my uncle who is

terminally ill and might die within the

year,” she said. “How else can I get to

him without a passport?”

According to the Edinburg City

Hall, it takes four to eight weeks to

process a passport and two to three weeks

if you pay an additional $60 fee. All that is

needed is two photos, an original birth

certificate and a driver’s license.

“My brother got his in 2003 and it

only took him two weeks,” she said.

“The process [for mine] is frustrating.”

Officials say the country has been

experiencing a backlog of passports for

the past several months, causing major

delays for some.

Myra Ayala-Garza, secretary for the

City of Edinburg, believes the backlog of

passports was due to an influx of demand

in passports as the deadline drew near.

According to the U.S. Department

of State, the country has processed over

16 million passports in fiscal year 2007,

which begins Oct. 1, 2006 to Sept. 30,

2007. Last year, the United States only

processed 12.1 million passports.

The requirement for air travelers is

already in effect, but the Jan. 31 deadline

will require all Americans to get passports

in order to cross the border and back by

land.

The passport requirement will affect

any citizens traveling to Mexico, Canada

and the Caribbean islands.

Michelle Garza, a dance major at

UTPA who has not gotten her passport,

said she and many other residents of the

Valley visit Mexico to go shopping, din-

ing and to visit the doctor. Though she

will have to hurry to get her passport

before the January deadline, she believes

the new law is reasonable.

“I think it’s a hassle,” she said. “But

we have to have a passport to get into any

other country. Why not Mexico?”

ENOUGH HEADS-UPAccording to Felix Garza,

spokesperson for the Customs Border

THE PAN AMERICANNovember 1, 2007 Page 3

NEWS

� SEEN AND CAPTURED

The University of Texas Pan-

American may follow suit after one of

its sister schools, the University of Texas

-San Antonio, in finding a solution to

parking woes on campus.

A recent proposal to ease campus

parking at UTSA has prompted the

school to approve a student fee of $40 a

year to help fund the university’s shuttle

service. The proposal, called Jump on

Board, was voted on by students Oct. 9

and 10. It will go into effect fall ‘08 once

it is approved by the UT Board of

Regents.

Bruna Estrada, a senator for the

Student Government Association at

UTPA, said SGA’s Parking

Subcommittee is planning to conduct a

professional survey in order to answer if

students are willing to pay an increase in

fees to ease campus parking.

By ABIGAIL MUNIZThe Pan American

� TREND

Txt spk bcoms nu lingo

As the world scrambles to keep up

with the fast-paced Internet generation,

shorthand writing once used for online

chatting and text messaging has prompt-

ed some linguistic experts to question

whether its use will significantly affect

the English language.

So-called “text speak” has trickled

into the everyday language of many

youngsters and has even made its way

into mainstream media. A prime exam-

ple can be found in a recent Cingular tel-

evision commercial in which a pre-teen

replies to her mother’s inquiry as to

whom she has been texting by saying:

“IDK [I don’t know] my BFF [Best

friend forever] Jill.”

Text speak has filtered to every

day, face-to-face conversation for some.

University of Texas-Pan American stu-

dent Elizabeth Blanco, 24, said she “is

guilty” of using text language in conver-

sations and has even used text message

shorthand on exams.

“I do that on my tests and essays,

and if I catch myself I’ll go back and

erase it,” the rehabilitation services

graduate student from Edinburg said.

“Usually when I get the test back they

don’t take off any points.”

She said half the time she does not

realize she is speaking or writing that

way, but knows some of her professors

understand the lingo.

Irmo Marini, one of Blanco’s profes-

sors, said while Blanco’s generation can

more easily differentiate between proper

English and text speak, the younger gener-

ations are the ones experts need to worry

about because they have been exposed to

text speak since early childhood.

“The earlier kids are going to learn

By J.R. ORTEGAThe Pan American

Expansionof shuttleseases woes

� PARKING

See PARKING page 12

Benjamin Briones/The Pan American

� BORDER

See PASSPORTS page 12

CARING AND SHARING - Bonnie Bustos, a graduate student and member ofDelta Xi Nu sorority, takes time to hug a few children during the event.

Experts questioneffect on nextgeneration

I

By LEZETTE VILLARREALThe Pan American

Students‘make a

difference’

� How to get a passportTo obtain a passport for the first time, you will need two pho-tographs of yourself, proof of U.S. citizenship, and a validform of photo identification, such as a driver's license.Acceptance facilities include many federal, state and probatecourts, post offices, some public libraries and a number ofcounty and municipal offices.

See TEXT page 12

By ANA VILLAURRUTIAThe Pan American

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OFF


THE PAN AMERICANNovember 1, 2007 Page 7

Many Hispanics from the Rio

Grande Valley are not familiar with

Dia De Los Muertos, even though it

has had a place in Hispanic culture for

many years. Although some may have

heard stories from grandparents, it

isn’t something in which many are

actively involved with. Some may be

afraid of the aspect altogether but

understand that is it prevalent in the

Mexican society.

In honor of this holiday The

Museum of South Texas History in

Edinburg has an exhibit with a wide

range of altars, activities, music and

food, to help educate the community

about what this ancient

Mexican holiday is all

about.

“It’s just a way

to honor your loved

ones, not so much cele-

brating the fact that they

are dead but of the kind of

life they lived. I don’t believe

the altars harm any-

one and it is a personal

choice whether you want to celebrate

the holiday or not,” said 21-year-old

Edna L. Garza, an Interdisciplinary

studies major from Mission.

The exhibit contains 12 ofrendas

(altars), both traditional and contempo-

rary, and a special art installation trib-

ute to inspirational women. A tradition-

al altar boasts an arch, three levels and

greenery, along with zempasuchil (a

marigold which symbolizes death)

either intertwined or spread out on the

table. Every traditional altar must have

a white tablecloth, candles, and a glass

of water because legend says the

deceased arrive very thirsty from their

journey. A contemporary altar has a

more fun, laid back feel, with sugar

skulls symbolizing the sweetness of

death, and papel picado (punched out

tissue paper), and usually commemo-

rate a particular theme or celebrity.

Both however, will have a photo of the

deceased and mementos.

The exhibit, which runs from Oct.

27 through Nov. 11, has received posi-

&RTS EA� LIFE AND CULTURE

Local art exhibits paytribute to deceased

Valley celebrates Dia de los Muertos traditions

NTERTAINMENT

For every cup of sugar, mix in one

teaspoon of meringue powder and

sprinkle one teaspoon of water on top.

Work the water into the sugar with your

fingers until the mixture feels like cool

beach sand, and then the sugar is ready

to start making sugar skulls. Sugar

skulls were just some of the delights to

look forward to during last week’s cel-

ebrations.

Dia De Muertos: Recuerdos y

Ofrendas was a morbid, yet full-of life

event that took place in the Harlingen

Arts and Heritage museum, where peo-

ple had the opportunity to attend sever-

al workshops, including a sugar skull

making one.

“We wanted to do something for

the whole family,” said Patricia

Morales, director at the museum. “We

thought it would be a hands-on experi-

ence where children and adults could

learn about our neighboring country’s

culture.”

Morales said that the main attrac-

tion at this event was the sugar skull

making classes.

“A Dia de Muertos without sugar

skulls is like a birthday without pres-

ents,” she said. “We thought it would be

neat to have this workshop where peo-

ple could not only learn to make them,

but also learn how to decorate the sugar

skulls.”

Marielle Covarrubias, was one of

the many to enjoy the workshop.

“We learned how to make the

mixture and how to mold them,” said

Covarrubias, an 8th grade student who

attended the workshop. “It was cool to

decorate them and learn all this. Next

year, I will have my sugar skulls

ready.”

People laugh in its face as they

celebrate Dia de Muertos (The day of

the Death), a Mexican celebration that

honors those who have passed away.

On this day in Mexico, streets near the

cemeteries are filled with decorations,

flowers, candy calaveras (skulls) and

parades. Children carrying zempa-

suchil (a special type of marigold)

enjoy the processions to the

cemetery as music is

played and dances

are made to

honor the spirits.

Every year

on Nov. 1 (All

Saints Day) and

2 (All Souls

Day) this

unique cele-

bration takes

place in different areas of Mexico.

While it may be strange for most of us

to accept the fact that death and festivi-

ties can go hand-in-hand, for most

Mexicans, the two are enigmatically

attached. This all emanates from the

ancient indigenous people who

believed that the souls of the dead

return each year to eat, drink and visit

with their relatives, just like they did

when they were alive.

“This rare celebration has gained

popularity in the Rio Grande Valley,”

said Veronica Juarez, a Port Isabel

native. “People have learned to accept

it and communities gather together to

celebrate it.”

Los Colores Del Muerto 5th

Annual Day of the Dead celebration,

which is one of the first and largest cel-

ebrations in the RGV, took place on

Oct. 27. The festival consisted of sever-

al historical presentations such as an art

show, altar displays, calavera poem

writing workshops, altar-making work-

shops, tours of the historic Port Isabel

cemetery, music, theater, dancers and

food.

“My family loves to come to this

celebration,” she said. “They really

seem to enjoy it and I like the fact that

they are learning things that younger

generations seem to take for granted.”

As younger people seem to be for-

getting about traditional things, events

like these teach them about the impor-

tance of culture.

“We live in an area that is predom-

inated by Hispanics and most of us

have family somewhere in Mexico,”

said Juarez. “We can’t forget about our

traditions and we can’t let our children

forget about them either.”

Something that gave this event a

v e r y

conventional touch was the traditional

pan de muerto, a very accustomed type

of bread from Mexico. It is only baked

during the Day of the Dead season,

usually from August through

November. It is a soft bread cov-

ered with sugar, usually decorated

with pieces of bread symbolizing

bones and skulls and comes in a vari-

ety of shapes including humanoid fig-

ures known as animas (souls).

“I am really glad that peo-

ple are doing these types of

festivities to save our beau-

tiful traditions,” said Jose

Martinez, a visitor from

Matamoros Mexico. “It is a

great opportunity for the

younger kids to be

exposed to this and pass on

our folklore so that it won’t be

forgotten.”

By LESLIE ESTRADAThe Pan American

By LAURA GARCIAThe Pan American

All photos by Nick Dodd/The Pan American

See ALTARS page 10

s the sun began setting on the city of Harlingen,the undead made their way through the empty

streets. But unlike the normal ghouls and ghosts thatroam the night during the Halloween season, these crea-tures hungered for something more.

Reminiscent of a George A. Romero flick, a hordeof zombies plagued the corner of 4th and Jackson Street,zombie-shuffling through the downtown area Saturdayevening with a hearse leading the way. The ‘dead’walked the earth for the first Rio Grande Valley ZombieWalk.

A zombie walk, an unfamiliar term in most parts ofthe country, is an organized public gathering of peopledressed up in costumes who make their way through thecity streets in a somewhat orderly fashion, usuallytoward a designated public place. The walks are a typi-cally underground activity, promoted primarily throughword of mouth and online message boards. Participantsremain in character as zombies and communicate withgrunting, groaning and slurred moaning.

For avid horror fans and Living Dead NightmareProductions/Rotting Flesh Factory haunted housefounders Alyssa and John Cook , a love for the genrealways keeps them looking for the latest in horror enter-tainment. After months of research and consideration,the couple decided it was time the Valley experienced azombie walk of their own.

“Zombie walks are around the world. They’reeverywhere,” said Alyssa Cook, originally from SanAntonio and sporting a ‘dead’ surgeon look. “I saw big-ger cities doing them and as a zombie lover I thought,‘Wow, what a great thing to bring down because theValley doesn’t have stuff like this.’”

Mercedes resident, Isidro “Sid” Salazar saw it asthe perfect opportunity to let the zombie within comealive for a good cause.

“I’m a huge horror fan and ‘Resident Evil’ is myfavorite movie,” said the 24-year-old. “[I love] the largenumbers of zombies. This is fun and it’s for a goodthing. It’s for everybody.”

One doesn’t have to be a zombie lover to enjoy azombie walk.

“It’s a family event. People even bring their petsand children to do the zombie shuffle,” said John Cook,originally from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. “All theyneed to do is paint their face white and blacken theireyes, and they become zombies.”

Zombie walks, said Alyssa Cook, are more than justfun and surprisingly a unique way of giving back to thecommunity.

“I was going to collect money from different busi-ness and donate it to a local children’s home, but nobodyknew what a zombie walk was so I just made it a fooddrive instead. It’s going to the Food Bank and they’regoing to distribute it,” she said, adding that she is fondof zombies for their guts, bloodied corpses and eatingmannerisms. “Why do a walk if it’s not going to benefitanybody? I mean, I can go walk at the track by myselfand it’s not going to do anybody any good.”

It’s not uncommon for a zombie walk to contributeto charity. In fact, it’s done quite often.

Organizations like Zombie Squad, a communityservice and disaster preparedness organization in St.Louis, Mo., have used such events to raise awareness forcommunity service events like food and blood drives. Azombie group in Sioux Falls, S.D., walks for the Marchof Dimes. Another in Pittsburgh, Alyssa Cook said, dida food drive at the mall where “Dawn of the Dead” wasfilmed.

Locally, five months of planning brought theCooks’ dream to life.

“She [Alyssa] started through MySpace and wentaround different cities studying costumes, organizationsinvolved, every single aspect of it,” said John Cook, ahorror fan since the age of 2.Although both were thrilledat the idea of introducing a zombie walk to the Valley,Alyssa Cook was a bit hesitant at first.

“I started thinking about it in June and had men-tioned it to my husband, but then I kind of backed offbecause I wasn’t sure how to go about it,” said AlyssaCook, who also does horror photography as a hobby.“Then I was like, ‘I’m just gonna go for it.’”

While the concept of zombies, defined by Romero’shorror films, is not new, zombie walks have only recent-ly begun gaining popularity. The first one was inSacramento, Calif., in the summer of 2001 and wascalled “The Zombie Parade,” with a few dozen peoplegathering. Since then it has been held annually. BritishColumbia is another hot spot for the walks.

“This is something new and interesting. We saw itdone in other places so we figured we’d bring it here,”said John Cook.

He said that Halloween had been at a standstill forquite some time and the recent increase in interest forthe holiday was a major factor in their plans.

“Halloween is really coming back in since thewhole scare of the razor blades in the apples and the poi-son candy. People are starting to really enjoy it now, get-ting scared and scaring other people,” said Alyssa Cook.“They’re starting to realize that’s it’s not a Satanist hol-

iday, which it has been perceived as being for a longtime. It’s good to get scared at least once a year.”

While the first local walk had a posse of less than20 zombies, the Cooks look forward to seeing the eventgrow into something the Valley can embrace as a contin-uing Halloween tradition.

“I would really like to do another one in August tocollect school supplies and more canned goods that waywe can get things rolling,” said Alyssa Cook. “I’mthinking of two a year instead of one. That way it’s funand beneficial for everybody. Hopefully next year peo-ple will get a feel of what it is and join us in the walk ofthe undead.”

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTPage 8 November 1, 2007

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTNovember 1, 2007 Page 9

A

BRAINS - Vanessa Vargas, Isidro Salazar and Gabriel Ambrizparticipate in the zombie walk through downtown Harlingen.

FRESH FLESH - Participants of all ages were encouraged to attendthe zombie walk, among the youngest was 9-year-old Robert Pash(above).

Veronica Gonzalez / The Pan American

s the sun began setting on the city of Harlingen,the undead made their way through the empty

streets. But unlike the normal ghouls and ghosts thatroam the night during the Halloween season, these crea-tures hungered for something more.

Reminiscent of a George A. Romero flick, a hordeof zombies plagued the corner of 4th and Jackson Street,zombie-shuffling through the downtown area Saturdayevening with a hearse leading the way. The ‘dead’walked the earth for the first Rio Grande Valley ZombieWalk.

A zombie walk, an unfamiliar term in most parts ofthe country, is an organized public gathering of peopledressed up in costumes who make their way through thecity streets in a somewhat orderly fashion, usuallytoward a designated public place. The walks are a typi-cally underground activity, promoted primarily throughword of mouth and online message boards. Participantsremain in character as zombies and communicate withgrunting, groaning and slurred moaning.

For avid horror fans and Living Dead NightmareProductions/Rotting Flesh Factory haunted housefounders Alyssa and John Cook , a love for the genrealways keeps them looking for the latest in horror enter-tainment. After months of research and consideration,the couple decided it was time the Valley experienced azombie walk of their own.

“Zombie walks are around the world. They’reeverywhere,” said Alyssa Cook, originally from SanAntonio and sporting a ‘dead’ surgeon look. “I saw big-ger cities doing them and as a zombie lover I thought,‘Wow, what a great thing to bring down because theValley doesn’t have stuff like this.’”

Mercedes resident, Isidro “Sid” Salazar saw it asthe perfect opportunity to let the zombie within comealive for a good cause.

“I’m a huge horror fan and ‘Resident Evil’ is myfavorite movie,” said the 24-year-old. “[I love] the largenumbers of zombies. This is fun and it’s for a goodthing. It’s for everybody.”

One doesn’t have to be a zombie lover to enjoy azombie walk.

“It’s a family event. People even bring their petsand children to do the zombie shuffle,” said John Cook,originally from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. “All theyneed to do is paint their face white and blacken theireyes, and they become zombies.”

Zombie walks, said Alyssa Cook, are more than justfun and surprisingly a unique way of giving back to thecommunity.

“I was going to collect money from different busi-ness and donate it to a local children’s home, but nobodyknew what a zombie walk was so I just made it a fooddrive instead. It’s going to the Food Bank and they’regoing to distribute it,” she said, adding that she is fondof zombies for their guts, bloodied corpses and eatingmannerisms. “Why do a walk if it’s not going to benefitanybody? I mean, I can go walk at the track by myselfand it’s not going to do anybody any good.”

It’s not uncommon for a zombie walk to contributeto charity. In fact, it’s done quite often.

Organizations like Zombie Squad, a communityservice and disaster preparedness organization in St.Louis, Mo., have used such events to raise awareness forcommunity service events like food and blood drives. Azombie group in Sioux Falls, S.D., walks for the Marchof Dimes. Another in Pittsburgh, Alyssa Cook said, dida food drive at the mall where “Dawn of the Dead” wasfilmed.

Locally, five months of planning brought theCooks’ dream to life.

“She [Alyssa] started through MySpace and wentaround different cities studying costumes, organizationsinvolved, every single aspect of it,” said John Cook, ahorror fan since the age of 2.Although both were thrilledat the idea of introducing a zombie walk to the Valley,Alyssa Cook was a bit hesitant at first.

“I started thinking about it in June and had men-tioned it to my husband, but then I kind of backed offbecause I wasn’t sure how to go about it,” said AlyssaCook, who also does horror photography as a hobby.“Then I was like, ‘I’m just gonna go for it.’”

While the concept of zombies, defined by Romero’shorror films, is not new, zombie walks have only recent-ly begun gaining popularity. The first one was inSacramento, Calif., in the summer of 2001 and wascalled “The Zombie Parade,” with a few dozen peoplegathering. Since then it has been held annually. BritishColumbia is another hot spot for the walks.

“This is something new and interesting. We saw itdone in other places so we figured we’d bring it here,”said John Cook.

He said that Halloween had been at a standstill forquite some time and the recent increase in interest forthe holiday was a major factor in their plans.

“Halloween is really coming back in since thewhole scare of the razor blades in the apples and the poi-son candy. People are starting to really enjoy it now, get-ting scared and scaring other people,” said Alyssa Cook.“They’re starting to realize that’s it’s not a Satanist hol-

iday, which it has been perceived as being for a longtime. It’s good to get scared at least once a year.”

While the first local walk had a posse of less than20 zombies, the Cooks look forward to seeing the eventgrow into something the Valley can embrace as a contin-uing Halloween tradition.

“I would really like to do another one in August tocollect school supplies and more canned goods that waywe can get things rolling,” said Alyssa Cook. “I’mthinking of two a year instead of one. That way it’s funand beneficial for everybody. Hopefully next year peo-ple will get a feel of what it is and join us in the walk ofthe undead.”


ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTNovember 1, 2007 Page 9

A

BRAINS - Vanessa Vargas, Isidro Salazar and Gabriel Ambrizparticipate in the zombie walk through downtown Harlingen.

FRESH FLESH - Participants of all ages were encouraged to attendthe zombie walk, among the youngest was 9-year-old Robert Pash(above).

Veronica Gonzalez / The Pan American

magine being involved in a near-

death accident after which the only

way to survive is by undergoing a tech-

nologically advanced operation that will

change your life forever. For bartender

Jamie Sommers (Michelle Ryan),

becoming bionic is only the beginning of

what lies ahead.

“Bionic Woman” is a modern re-

imagining of the original television

series “The Bionic Woman” from the

1970s. The series follows Sommers as

she becomes acquainted with her new-

found powers, raises a rebellious

younger sister and works with the organ-

ization which performed the surgery.

With the first bionic woman, Sarah

Corvus (Katee Sackhoff), as her nemesis

and truths to be unfolded, Sommers con-

tinues her new life. Watch Jamie

embrace her bionic identity Wednesdays

on NBC at 8 p.m.

Julie Taymor, the artistic director

of films like “Titus” and “Frida,” has

worked her visionary magic again with

“Across the Universe.” The musical uses

Beatles songs to catalogue the effective-

ness of the time period (the setting is

early 1960s) and the place. Taymor’s use

of the Beatles music in the film helps

convey the characters’ emotions of love,

sorrow, and rage.

The film stars British newcomer

Jim Sturgess as Jude, a Liverpool artist

who comes to the United States in search

of his lost American father, a World War

II veteran. Along the way he meets an

explosive group of students with names

from Beatles lyrics, people who come to

accept him as one of their own. Among

the group is shy and beautiful Lucy,

played to perfection by Evan Rachel

Wood (“Thirteen, “The Upside of

Anger”). The two immediately feel an

attraction to each other, but find it hard

to accept the world they live in, which is

plagued by war and revolution.

Taymor, who won several critics

awards for her first two films, and a

Tony for direction of “The Lion King”

proves to the audience that her unusual

direction at filmmaking is a revelation.

Like “Moulin Rouge,” the songs Taymor

chose from the many Beatles albums

have a major part in telling the story.

Wood’s performance is another

huge factor that speaks to the possible

success of this film. She has a serene

almost angelic voice when she breaks

into song, and one can’t help but get

choked up when she stares into the audi-

ence and laments the loss of innocence

with “Blackbird” playing.

Sturgess is all rock and roll when

he parades around trying to woo Lucy,

but when he finally has her, his tone of

voice turns nurturing and calm, especial-

ly with “Strawberry Fields Forever.”

While the music infects and intoxicates

the audience with its romantic or violent

moods, the technical aspect of the film is

beyond exhilarating.

The cinematography by Bruno

Delbonnel, who worked on “The Cats

Meow” and “Infamous,” captures the

essence of the ‘60s with his bright use of

color, and grainy almost camouflage

green of the Vietnam War.

The production designer Mark

Friedberg, from “Far From Heaven” and

“Sex and the City,” did an extraordinary

job in not only making the ‘60s hip

again, but in making them more modern

and resonant for people today.

Taymor takes this combination and

makes it fun, instead of corny and pre-

dictable. It is visually stunning and the

audience will be glad that the production

stayed clear of the obnoxious MTV-

video nightmare it could have become.

Taymor has made an exceptional movie

full of things that have been done a mil-

lion times before and yet makes it as

fresh and exciting as if it were being

done for the first time.

Audiences will laugh, cry, and

come out of the theater happy. Some

may even break into song during the

movie, but that will mostly be the fans of

the music.

Watch out for cameos by Salma

Hayek as a sexy hospital nurse, and U2’s

Bono as an eccentric encounter of the

cast. This musical is unconventional

(again like “Moulin Rouge”) and is def-

initely not “Hairspray.” But whether you

are a Beatles fan or not, “Across the

Universe” is a film that will put a smile

on your face and melt your heart.

“Bionic Woman”

� MUSIC REVIEWS

I

By JEANETTE PEREZThe Pan American


WhatYou’reNotWatching

t’s a little surprising that the

MacArthur Foundation didn’t give

Spencer Krug a genius grant this year.

Krug is the front man and chief

songwriter for Wolf Parade and Sunset

Rubdown, as well as the co-chief for

super group Swan Lake and part-time

keyboardist for the highly influential

Frog Eyes.

He’s one busy Canuck.

But while Wolf Parade did receive

a mild amount of success after being dis-

covered by Modest Mouse’s Isaac

Brock, it is uncertain if Krug will ever

get his just due. That is because his style

is wildly irreverent, graphically experi-

mental, and wholeheartedly artistic.

Sunset Rubdown’s “Random Spirit

Lover” makes no exception.

Take for instance “The Mending of

the Gown,” which spastically waddles

over rapid-fire piano chords while a

crumbling guitar slithers through seem-

ingly impromptu riffs. It’s brilliant,

albeit catastrophic.

“This one’s for many,” Krug

hollers before immediately disagreeing

with himself. “This one’s for some.”

Or perhaps “The Taming of the

Ones that came,” where Krug leads his

Montreal outfit through a synthesizer

anthem that wallows like a sea shanty.

“I say cool but that’s too many vio-

lins,” Krug grovels, as a reverb-

drenched guitar spits and gargles over

absent figurine-like drums.

In truth Sunset Rubdown is an

acquired taste. Wolf Parade has been

Krug’s most commercially successful

band, and even they received little media

praise.

But in terms of sheer genius, Krug

cannot be denied.

“Random Spirit Lover” is the indie

band’s third full-length release in three

years, following “Snake’s Got A Leg” in

2005 and the 2006 release “Shut Up I

Am Dreaming.”

Officially released Oct. 9 through

Jagjaguwar, the band’s album debuted

at number five on the BillBoard charts

two weeks ago and has since fallen to

number 25.

and of Horses is the neo-classic

rock experience you’ve been wait-

ing all your life for.

Their first album “Everything All

the Time,” was the American answer to

the Montreal-dominated indie music

regimen. Horses stampedes with an

artistic-rock gumption, but they are

removed from the predominantly urban

aesthetic being perpetuated in young

rock music of the now.

Hailing from Mt. Pleasant, S.C.,

the Ben Bridwell-led band resonates

with a clearly Southern charm through-

out the core of their pseudo-folk posture.

Their latest offering, “Cease to Begin,”

throws blue jean reluctance around firm-

wristed rock swagger.

By hoisting countrified familiarity

over an attitudinal pulse only common-

place in rebel-rousing raucous rock,

Band of Horses births an unruly

Appalachian love child not known since

the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd

Skynyrd hit the charts.

In stark contrast to many of their

contemporaries, Band of Horses has

decided to simplify. While bands like

Broken Social Scene boast a startling

16-member roster, Horses travels in a

pack of only three. The result is a

stripped-down, masculine delivery that

is simultaneously ponderous and hum-

ble.

Take for instance “Detlef

Schrempf.” The song is named after a

German-born, three-time NBA All Star

from the 1980s. It’s a slow-churning bal-

lad that haunts and wails, the kind of

song stoned college students spend

hours trying to decipher.

Fans of the first album will

undoubtedly notice a far more positive

outlook. Whereas Bridwell screamed,

“For every occasion I’ll be ready for the

funeral” on the first outing, he has mod-

ified. Now he muses “The world is such

a beautiful place.”

It’s amazing how success changes

perspective.

By BRIAN CARRThe Pan American

Amazon.com

Band of Horses

B

Amazon.com

Sunset Rubdown

I

ALTARScontinued from page 7Band of Horses, Sunset Rubdown’s latest succeed

� MOVIE REVIEW

By RUSSEN VELAThe Pan American

‘Across the Universe’ enchants with Beatles’ music

Sonypictures.com

RETRO ROMANCE - Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) fall inlove during a time of war and revolution. The Beatles music plays out their story.

� TV CORNER

tive reactions from the Valley audience.

With the help of the museum the

tradition continues and serves as a way

for people to learn about their culture.

“Most people who create altars

base their works on what people relate

to, most people have heard about the tra-

dition but never really understand it until

they see the exhibit,” said Melissa

Tijerina, special events and programs

officer for the museum.

For Tijerina, ongoing study about

the tradition allows her to continuously

learn new information.

“I have studied the subject and

taken information from what my parents

have taught me, but I am still learning

things about the day about the different

customs and traditions,” she said.

The University Library also has an

exhibit that will run until Nov. 5.

“Audience response is varied,

although always positive. Some people

want to learn more, this may be the first

time they have heard of, or seen a Day of

the Dead altar,” said Janette Garcia, head

of Special Collections and Archives.

“Other people relate their own experi-

ences, altars which they have created, or

their family celebrations.”

For more information about the

Museum of South Texas History display,

please contact Melissa Tijerina at (956)

383-6911.

NEWSNovember 1, 2007 Page 11

PROPOSITION continued from page 1

money used to build a wall and a fence,

why not use it to do cancer research?” he

said. “There are various reasons people

may use [to justify voting against

Proposition 15], but it’s one of the most

viable projects we have to vote on.”

LONG TIME COMINGThe idea for the center was posed by

Dr. John Mendelson, head of M.D.

Anderson Cancer Center, in 1997 when

Sharp made a bid for lieutenant governor.

However, following his defeat in the race,

to current governor Rick Perry, Sharp said

he “wasn’t in a position to promote it.”

That has changed. As he became a

familiar figure in the cancer research

community, Sharp was reinvigorated to

pursue the issue after California became

a prominent entity in stem cell research.

“When they created that (the

California Institute for Regenerative

Medicine, a leader in stem cell research),

all these people who did research on that

particular medical issue move to

California,” he said. “And we thought:

‘why can’t we do this with cancer, because

cancer is a much bigger problem.’”

Sharp said he hopes that having the

No. 1 cancer research center in the

nation, as is projected if prop 15 passes,

would have a similar effect on Texas.

“It gives that doctor at John’s

Hopkins, who may be a Nobel Prize

winner, a reason to come to Texas,

because he can’t stay at John’s Hopkins

and do this research,” he said. “To get

this money, you have to be here.”

IF PASSEDSharp estimated that if approved,

the center would make board appoint-

ments in the first quarter of 2008 and

spend the better part of that year making

preliminary plans.

As for the funds, he said research

precedent would be given to cancers that

are close to being cured, such as cervical

and prostate varieties.

“Many researchers think they are

very, very close,” he said, adding that

the selection of research would be done

by experts, not lawmakers.

About 10 percent of the money

would also be used on spreading aware-

ness of prevention and lifestyle choices,

because “more and more research being

done about how preventable some can-

cers are if you simply change your

lifestyle,” according to Sharp.

Between 50 and 75 percent of all

cancers are preventable through diet,

according to The National Cancer

Institute.

As Nov. 6 rolls around, Sharp said

students should “take ten minutes out of

their day to go vote on this.”

“I know it’s difficult to think of

cancer when you are 20 or 25 years

old, but unless we make some progress

in this, a large population of the stu-

dent body is going to get it and their

kids are going to get it,” he said. “It’s

one of the most important things they

can do for their families. We’re not

just voting for public officials, we’re

voting for life.”

CARDENAS continued from page 1

It was not an infection. An EKG

and other tests confirmed that Cardenas

needed surgery.

While always maintaining a “what-

ever comes attitude,” Cardenas said she

remained calm.

“I wasn’t worried or frightened,”

she said. “I just did what the doctors told

me to do.”

ROAD TO RECOVERYRecovery has been, surprisingly,

good. Much of the after effects — with

the exception of her surgical scar —

have subsided.

Of course, Cardenas said, there

were bumps along the way. She still

feels fatigued in the afternoon hours.

But other than that there’s been nothing

she couldn’t handle.

“Obviously, at first you are in quite

a bit a pain, and taking a lot of pain med-

ication knocks you out,” she said. “So I

did quite a bit of sleeping; which was

strange because I’d never really been a

sleeper. I don’t really think I took naps

as a child, but now I love taking naps.”

Turner Classic Movies and the

History Channel kept her in good com-

pany, but she admits with a laugh that

she “was a slob.”

Back and ready for action, Cardenas

said she initially aimed to return last week,

but didn’t want to come back “if I couldn’t

have a smile on my face.”

But according to UT System

Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic

Affairs David B. Prior, Cardenas should

resist the urge to jump back into full duty.

“What we have to do now is make

sure she doesn’t come in every day, all day

until she’s properly recovered,” he told the

crowd at the Wellness Center event.

SPREADING WELLNESSCardenas is ready to return to her

post with the same vigor and enthusiasm

she had before leaving, but said one

thing that will not be the same: her diet.

“I don’t eat a lot of tortillas, but I

do love cheese. I haven’t had one slice of

cheese since,” she said. “But I love to

cook, so I’m looking forward to doing

some adaptations of recipes.”

To help alleviate the loss of some

of her favorites, Cardenas said she has

found healthier, alternative options.

“Actually, I found some veggie

cheese, some soy cheese, and it’s pretty

good,” she said. “You can make migas

with veggie cheese. It melts well. That’s

what I had this morning.”

It was one conversation with her

son, however, that has led Cardenas to

take on a new task: educating others

about the importance of fitness.

“Most of the time I was just as

brave as can be, but I had a moment in

which I was driving back from the doc-

tor’s office with my son and I got a little

teary and he said, ‘It’s ok, mom. You can

cry. You can cry,’” she recounted to the

reception crowd.

“And so then we talked a little and

he said, ‘You know, mom, some of my

friend’s parents are going through the

same kind of illness right now. But the

difference between you and them is that

you have so much to live for...You’ve

got this beautiful, beautiful school. And

I think it’s time you think of leading by

example.’”

That’s when “everything changed,”

according to Cardenas.

“I’ve been talking to Dr. Edwards

about reaching out to the community...

and giving people the opportunity to

make better choices, because we all have

a lot to live for,” she said.

OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT Upon news of her surgery, “hun-

dreds and hundreds” of prayers and

wishes poured in from across the coun-

try, Cardenas said.

“I felt very appreciated, supported

and blessed,” she commented. “I had a

birthday last week and they asked me to

make a wish, but I couldn’t wish for any-

thing. If I had wished for anything more

I’d just be really greedy.”

Much support also came in from

the UTPA administrative team, accord-

ing to Cardenas. She said she was “not

worried a bit” about leaving the univer-

sity in members’ capable hands.

“We have developed a great team

and I had every confidence that they

could do it.”

theft, and how it will make us “much

less free.”

“This bill purports to make us safer

from terrorists who may sneak into the

United States, and from other illegal

immigrants,” Paul said in his statement.

“While I agree that these issues are of

vital importance, this bill will do very

little to make us more secure. In reality,

this bill is a Trojan horse. It pretends to

offer desperately needed border control

in order to stampede Americans into sac-

rificing what is uniquely American: our

constitutionally protected liberty.”

Jessica Lavariega-Monforti, a

political science professor, says that it is

important to comply with REAL ID,

whether we agree with it or not.

“The REAL ID Act’s identity cards

will be required if one wants to drive,

visit a federal government building, col-

lect social security, access a federal gov-

ernment service or use the services of a

private entity (such as a bank, or an air-

line) that is required under federal law to

verify customers identity,” she said.

“Therefore, it will be nearly impossible

to live without.”

Like the majority of other states

who will not implement the REAL ID Act

this year, Texas has not yet set a date for

when it will start issuing REAL ID-com-

pliant identification cards. Texas lawmak-

ers are hesitant about mandating the form

of identification because of the hundreds

of millions of dollars it will take to

enforce. They are also worried that they

will put the state’s 20 million residents

through a big hassle as old licenses and

identification cards are phased out.

The primary date to implement the

act was May 2008, but Congress and the

DHS have allowed states to file a request

for extension by Feb. 1, 2008. Extensions

are available until the last day of 2009.

ID continued from page 1

Nick Dodd/The Pan AmericanWARM WELCOME - State Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (left) embracesPresident Blandina Cardenas at the dedication of the Wellness and RecreationSports Complex Tuesday.

Nick Dodd/The Pan American

VOTING YES - Former Texas Comptroller John Sharp was one of several people,including several local legislatures, on hand to support Proposition 15 Wednesdayat a press conference. The measure would fund cancer research.

PASSPORTScontinued from page 3

TEXT continued from page 3


Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley,

Americans have had enough time and

warning to get their passports.

“We have done quite a bit of public-

ity and we have had passport fairs in the

Valley several times,” he said. “[The

Customs office] has publicized the

requirements for two years, and now peo-

ple still have not gotten their passports.”

He said he was unsure whether traf-

fic would slow down on the bridge as

some fear in the wake of the new law, but

asserted that passport validation was nec-

essary.

“Right after the terrorist attacks on

September 11, a lot of government agen-

cies needed to keep security on who’s

entering the country and exiting it,” he

said.

The deadline for air travelers visit-

ing Mexico and Canada was originally

set for June, but after much lobbying, it

was pushed back to October to accom-

modate summer travelers.

The deadline was moved to

January 2008 to allow the State

Department to catch up with the massive

surge of applications that resulted from

the new rule.

Still, with the winter season start-

ing up, some travelers are still scram-

bling to get their passports.

proper English in school but they’re also

going to be learning this other [form of

speech],” said Marino, coordinator for

the graduate studies program at UTPA’s

rehabilitation department. “It’ll be like

learning a different language, some will

be able to master it and a lot of the not so

bright ones are going to be like some of

the black kids and Ebonics.”

Ebonics, a nonstandard variety of

English spoken mainly by African

Americans, was the center of linguistic con-

troversy in the 1990s because many feared

that overexposure to the vernacular would

not properly educate young black children.

But while Ebonics was greatly criti-

cized at the time of its highest popularity,

some experts today say that text speak

could actually be a good sign of the times.

A LINGUISTIC APPROACHYong Lang, a linguistics professor at

UTPA, said all forms of language, formal

and informal, are “amazing” because they

are based on human creativity.

“Language is used for efficiency,” he

said. “There are no perfect answers with

language; it is just changed over time.”

Lang said the advancement in tech-

nology has allowed for new genres to

emerge and added that depending on the

social environment and situation, one

will be able to change their style of

speaking accordingly.

Deborah Cole, an assistant professor

of English at UTPA, concentrates on lin-

guistics and said it’s too early to detect if

English will be positively or negatively

affected by the emergence of Internet-style

shorthand, but believes new language

forms reflect a “highly literate society.”

“Since language change is constant

and inevitable, linguists don’t say that

particular changes are positive or nega-

tive,” she said. “The only really negative

change is when we see a language disap-

pearing for lack of speakers, and English

is showing no sign of this possibility.”

Cole is currently teaching and

researching in Indonesia, where she said

people do a lot more texting than talking.

“I often sit enthralled, watching

teenagers speed text two-thumbed on

their phones while carrying on a conver-

sation with people near them,” she said.

She added that any given English

speaker would not one day forget the lan-

guage and limit themselves to text speak,

because to understand the lingo one has to

know the origin of the proper form.

She explained that the purpose of

the committee is to conduct research

regarding student opinion on parking

fees and other alternatives approaching

the parking issue.

“We want to gather empirical evi-

dence and establish credible conclusions

in order to present a complete proposal

to the Parking Campus Life Committee,

which is the ultimate authority in this

matter,” she said.

Estrada said that, like UTSA,

UTPA would allocate more funding for

shuttles if the proposal is passed. One of

the conditions for this would be that the

shuttle service be extended in radius -

about two miles - to serve students who

live in nearby communities.

“This will reduce the number of

needed parking spaces because it means

less students will drive to school,” she

said. “This is how some universities, like

UT-Austin, manage to alleviate congest-

ed traffic and parking.”

The proposal must also be

approved by the Cost of Education

Committee and the UT Board of Regents

before it can make its way on to UTPA’s

list of student fees.

Students currently pay $3.18 per

semester to keep the shuttle system

running.

Jerry Price, dean of students, said

that every school has struggles with

parking and there is a need to find a

solution.

“I’m of the belief that we are going

to continue to work on shuttling servic-

es,” he said.

Price also mentioned that the

school recently bought a large piece of

property on north Jackson Street.

“That could potentially be a very

large parking lot,” Price said. “I’m real-

ly optimistic about the Jackson property

and I think it’ll be a real boost for [a

solution to] the parking situation.”

Michael Martinez, a senior crimi-

nal justice major from San Benito, said

that although lots of students believe a

parking garage with multiple levels is

the answer to UTPA’s parking woes, he

thinks this would be too expensive a

project for the school to take on.

“A lot of students believe that a

parking garage will resolve a lot of

problems but they have to know that

their tuition will greatly increase,”

Martinez said. “I hope they consider

that fact.”

PARKING continued from page 3

One week after an uninspired

straight-sets home loss against Utah Valley

State, the University of Texas-Pan

American volleyball team did a complete

180 with a similarly dominant victory of

their own over Chicago State University

Saturday afternoon at the Field House.

UTPA (10-16) dominated the

Cougars from the get-go, sizzling to a

30-21 first game victory. They fared

even better in the second, winning by a

30-16 margin. UTPA coach Angela

Hubbard was pleased with the quick

start.

“We talked a lot this week about

our intensity and how important it was to

start fast,” Hubbard said. “We got off to

a nice, quick start and that set the tone

for the rest of the game.”

The third game began with Chicago

State on fire. During one stretch midway

through the game before a UTPA time-

out, the Cougars maintained a six-point

lead on the Lady Broncs. Magic hap-

pened after the break, though, with the

Lady Broncs leading a furious rally that

led to the Cougars’ 30-26 defeat.

“They came out to play to start the

third match and we kind of cooled off,”

Hubbard said of the team’s third home

victory this season. “We called the time-

out to re-focus and I told the girls that it’s

not over yet, we got to keep playing.”

Freshman hitter Marci Logan tal-

lied a career high 17 kills with a .400 hit-

ting percentage and three assisted blocks

in the Lady Bronc victory. Junior setter

Chelsea Blakely narrowly missed her

eighth double-double of the season,

chipping in with 31 assists and eight

digs. Blakely was complementary on the

effort of her teammates and most specif-

ically the young hitter Logan.

“I thought Marci was great today. I

also thought (Rebecca) Toddy did a

wonderful job,” Blakely said. “We are

really starting to correct those old habits

that came out last week and played real-

ly strong Division I volleyball.”

Prior to the win, Hubbard, upset

over the UVSC outing, had an intense

and emotional meeting with her assis-

tants and players that lasted nearly an

hour. The meeting, according to the

players, was the longest of the season

and had a lot of positive value for the

remainder of the season.

“There was no reason for us to play

like we did last week,” Blakely said.

“We’ve had meetings before, but this

was definitely the longest one of the year.

We had an intense week of practice and

the meeting helped us re-focus so we can

finish the season on a positive note”

Today, the Lady Broncs welcome

the Lady Scorpions of UT-Brownsville

into the Field House for a 7 p.m.

matchup, the first between the two

schools in any sport since 1951 when

UTPA was Edinburg Junior College and

UTB/TSC was known as Texas

Southmost College. The rivalry ended

when EJC became the four-year school

known as Pan American College.

NOTES: UTPA President Dr.

Blandina Cardenas and UTB/TSC

President Dr. Juliet Garcia have made a

friendly wager on the historic volley-

ball game. The loser will wear the col-

legiate apparel of the other university

during a workday.

� VOLLEYBALL

Lady Broncs notch 10th win, slam Chicago StateGame marksseason’s thirdhome victory

SPORTSNovember 1, 2007 Page 13

Onydia Garza/The Pan American

� MEN’S SOCCER CLUB

MEET YOU AT THE TOP - Junior Deanna Schneyer (center) attacks twoChicago State defenders Saturday. Schneyer had five kills and four blocks.

On the field at the Southeast

Division region IV competition in San

Antonio, the Bronc Soccer Club

notched wins in two of the three games

played. Those watching the games,

however, were none the wiser that the

Green and Orange almost didn’t make it

on the field.

Just before takeoff Thursday,

members of the team were taken

aback by news that funds for the San

Antonio trip were insufficient and that

their visit to the three-day event

would be canceled.

According to James Watson,

director of Wellness and Recreational

Sports, $23,000 in club funding was cut

by the Student Advisory Committee

due to the opening of the new Wellness

and Recreational Sports Center earlier

this year.

“Unfortunately, due to our slim

budget, we can’t afford to support the

sports clubs in the way that they’re used

to,” Watson said. “Now that that money

is no longer there, we have to extend our

resources among the entire student pop-

ulation to provide [the Wellness and

Recreational Sports] facility.”

Watson said $7,000 was appropriat-

ed for the men’s and women’s soccer

clubs, but that during the course of the

season all but $1,222 had been utilized in

competition, equipment and travel. Other

areas required the rest of the funds.

“We can’t disproportionably fund

the [soccer] program; Pan Am is 17,000

students strong,” said Watson. “It’s

unfair to take all the money and support

very few people who happen to be high-

ly skilled at soccer.”

Club adviser and head coach

Marcelo Schmidt made contact with sev-

eral officials about the matter, including

Dean of Students Jerry Price, before

finally receiving a green light to go

ahead as planned.

“I told them I was going to contact

whoever needed to be contacted to get

these kids out there,” said Schmidt. “We

had worked so hard up until this point

and I felt it was important to get ade-

quately rewarded for that effort.”

According to Watson, funds for the

regional soccer tournament were eventu-

ally taken from the operating budget of

the Wellness and Recreational Sports

center, but he stressed that the clubs will

be required to submit and adhere to a

strict budget in the future.

ON TO THE ACTIONDespite the trouble getting on the

field, the tournament was a success as

the men reached the semifinals for a

third straight year.

In game one of pool play, the Green

and Orange team utilized a 4-2-3-1 for-

mation to collect a 1-0 decision against

the University of Texas-Austin. Scoring

the deciding point in the match was

standout Juan Reynoso.

Game two against Louisiana Tech

yielded a 2-1 victory for the club team

with Reynoso leading the pack again to

net both points.

“Our play was excellent and our

spirit overshadowed everyone else’s at

the tournament,” said club president

Victor Gutierrez “We came together

and beat the number one team in Texas,

UT-Austin, and we dominated

Louisiana Tech.”

In their final game, Texas Tech

broke the Bronc defense to notch a 2-1

win and eliminated the Broncs from

tournament play, erasing any possibili-

ties of reaching the national tournament.

Artemio Arriaga netted a penalty

kick to bring the score within one point

to close out a winning 10-3 season.

In their inaugural season two years

ago, the club lost 3-0 to Texas Tech in the

semifinals and were eliminated last year

a step away from qualifying to nationals

in the regional semis to Louisiana-

Lafayette 2-1 in a penalty shootout.

“We went up against some of the

strongest competition we could expect

and it turned out to be very competitive,”

Schmidt said. “There is no question

about the capacity of these kids to make

it to nationals.”

By GABRIEL SALDANAThe Pan American

Club team reaches semifinals, loses 2-1 to Texas Tech

By ALEX DEL BARRIOThe Pan American

It was a prosperous run at home

for the Bronc and Lady Bronc cross

country squads as they notched a pair

of second-place finishes at the

Independent Cross Country

Championships Saturday.

The University of Texas-Pan

American hosted the one-day event at

the Monte Cristo Golf Course and was

matched against four other universities

in 8K and 6K action on the men’s and

women’s sides, respectively.

Setting the bar for the men was

junior standout and La Joya native

Luis Nava, who recorded a first-place

showing with a time of 24:19.69; a

clean 26 seconds ahead of second

place. Nava’s win puts him in third

place for the 8,000-meter all-time

record at UTPA.

“I feel very excited,” said Nava. “I

did way better than expected. I was plan-

ning on a 24:30, but I got a 24:19. This

is the first race I win this year and my

family was there to see it.”

Beginning the race neck and neck

with Nava and crossing the finish line in

the third spot was PSJA North grad J.J

Hernandez with a personal record of

24:54.60. Hernandez joined Nava in the

record books with the 10th best 8,000

time ever.

“I ran well today,” Hernandez said.

“Me and Nava really got out there and

set the pace and the team wasn’t too far

behind, which is good. This is a good

stepping stone for regionals, when it

really counts.”

Rounding out the top 10 for the

men was McAllen Nikki Rowe alum

Gilroy Martinez in the 10th position

with a time of 25:55.07.

Crossing the end line inside of the

top 15 was Angel Ramirez in 12th

place, and Osvaldo Gonzalez in 13th

place, with times of 26:00.69 and

26:01.76, respectively.

The women’s program put five run-

ners over the finish within the top 15

spots last weekend. Brownsville Hanna

ex Carolina Izaguirre set the tempo for

the Green and Orange, garnering third

place with a time of 22:02.32.

“It was a good race but I was hop-

ing to catch up to the other girls more,”

Izaguirre said.

Finishing the race in 7th place

was freshman Diana Galloso, an

Edinburg High School alum, with a

time of 23:04.60. Just behind her in

eighth was junior Pharr native Sara

Rodriguez, in 23:09.27.

Houston’s Elsik grad Shardae Bey

recorded an 11th place showing with a

time of 23:39.05 with Edinburg North’s

Rose Escovedo trailing to round out the

top 15 at 24:27.72.

Utah Valley State claimed the

Independent tournament on both sides

and recorded first and second place

individual showings in men’s and

women’s competition.

But the hosts did well, according to

their leader.

“The men did a really good job,”

head coach Dennis Darling said. “We

knew Utah Valley was going to come in

and be tough but [for us] to go out there

and be competitive is all I could ask for.”

The men and women will head for

Fayetteville, Ark., Nov. 11 for the

NCAA South Central Regional

Championships hosted by Arkansas

State University.

“We’re really focusing right now

on going and competing well at region-

als,” said Darling. “Nava has a really

good chance of qualifying for nation-

als. Getting him qualified would be a

huge success.”

SPORTSPage 14 November 1, 2007

� SEEN AND CAPTURED

� CROSS COUNTRY

Nava takes first,team preparesfor regionalsBy GABRIEL SALDANAThe Pan American

Programs take second overall at Championships


CHAMPIONʼS RUN - Sophomore Carolina Izaguirre (right) runs head to headwith Utah Valley Stateʼs Ayisha Mitchell. Izaguirreʼs 22:02.39 time was good forthird place, Mitchell claimed first with a 21:07.97 mark.

The 10th annual Karate

Championship is around the corner and

the anticipation has martial art enthusi-

asts counting the days for the first punch

of the competition.

The event at The University of

Texas-Pan American includes not only

black belt fighting but also a variety of

martial art categories for spectators to

enjoy. The Nov. 3 event features black

belt competition, weapon performance,

tai chi, judo, aikido, and wood breaking.

The man who is in charge of put-

ting the event together is Master Bob

Davis. Davis, a former instructor for

The University of Texas-Pan

American, has hosted the event since it

began in 1997.

Davis, a 37-year karate veteran,

said he would like for people to come

out and enjoy themselves in this event.

“We invite everyone to try and

come out to the competition,” Davis

said. “It’s a fun event and everyone has a

great time during this event.”

The competition has grown dur-

ing the years since it began. Davis said

that there are many competitors

throughout the state who come to com-

pete. Although no official enrollment

figures are available, Davis said UTPA

students have competed in previous

tournaments.

“We’re expecting around 200 com-

petitors,” Davis said. “Including the

spectators, there will be a lot of people

out there and everyone has a great time

at the event.”

There will be first and second

place trophies for each competition.

The men’s black belt fighting champi-

on will be awarded $100 and the

women’s champion will be awarded

$50. With 119 divisions, it’s considered

one of the biggest karate tournaments

in South Texas.

Entrance fee will be $5 for the gen-

eral public and $4 for UTPA students.

The competition will be on Nov. 3 at

noon at the Health and Physical Building

II in room 118.

For more information contact Bob

Davis at (956) 686-8630.

UTPA set for KarateChampionships Saturday

By DANNY GARZAThe Pan American


WAX ON, WAX OFF - Linda Bustamante, junior pre-med/biology major, will compete in the form challenge during the 10thAnnual Karate Championships Saturday.

For the past two seasons, the Lady

Broncs basketball team has endured

arduous seasons. The women would like

to put those behind them and try to rem-

inisce about their 16-14 record three

years ago, for incentive as DeAnn Craft

returns for her fifth season as head

coach.

“We’re extremely excited (about

the season),” Craft said. “We have 16

home games and we’re looking forward

to having this being a very successful

season.”

The women will begin play Nov.

15 in Waco against Baylor. Two days

later, they will make their home debut at

the UTPA Field House against the Rams

of Huston-Tillotson University.

The biggest buzz this off season

was recruiting. The Green and Orange

had a quality off season, recruiting five

players to letters of national intent.

“We’re so solid already as a basket-

ball team,” Craft said. “Ninety-five per-

cent of our offense is back and on top of

that, we added an arsenal of players that

are better skilled than players that we’ve

had in the past. We just think we’ve got

a really good new group that we’ve

added, but we’re excited because we

don’t have a lot of holes to fill. We just

feel like our returnees are so solid.”

The five newly signed Lady Broncs

were good acquisitions after the depar-

ture of MaHogany Daniel, who played

in 111 career games for the women,

tying her for the most in program histo-

ry. Still, key players returning are senior

guard LeKeisha Gray and sophomore

forward Aleeya Grisby.

The month of April was big for the

women, as they signed three players,

including Jessica Walker (Jacksonville,

Fla.), Janita Sessions (San Pedro, Calif.)

and Icelandic National Team member

Maria Ben Erlingsdottir.

During the 2006 championships,

Erlingsdottir was one of the top players,

averaging 14.6 points and 5.0 rebounds

per game, and was named the Best

Young Player in Iceland during the 2004

and 2006 seasons.

Calysa Marshall (Florissant, Mo.)

and Michelle Cottrell (Montgomery,

Ala.) were the final two players signed

in May.

Marshall averaged 8.4 points, 6.5

rebounds, 1.7 steals and 0.6 blocks per

game during her senior year, receiving

All-Suburban North Conference laurels.

Cottrell is a transfer from Wallace

Community College-Selma and aver-

aged 11.5 points, 6.2 assists, 3.9

rebounds and 3.3 steals per game during

her sophomore year, ranking second

among all NJCAA Division I women’s

basketball players in assists and steals

per game.

Also in the summer, former Director

of Basketball Operations LaQueisha

Dickerson was promoted to assistant

coach. She will be overseeing Grisby and

other forward and post players.

Unlike the men, the women will

have more home games than road

matchups. Chicago State and Texas

A&M-Corpus Christi highlight two of

the 16 scheduled at the Field House. The

women will have 14 road matchups,

including key games against powerhous-

es Baylor and Texas.

Craft says rebounds, turnovers and

free-throw shooting are three vital areas

that the team must execute and improve

on from last year in order for the Lady

Broncs to manage their schedule and

record wins.

Just three days remain until the start

of the 2007-2008 University of Texas-

Pan American basketball season, when

the Broncs will play an exhibition game

against St. Edward’s at the UTPA Field

House. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

The Broncs have every reason to be

optimistic this year as second-year head

coach Tom Schuberth returns to lead a

group that received recognition from the

state as the top Division I turnaround

team for their seven-game improvement

last year.

“We’re excited about this season

because we’re building on last year,”

Schuberth said. “We had 14 wins last

year and obviously we’d like to increase

that. We’d like to have an undefeated

season at home and we got a great nucle-

us of guys coming back, with the addi-

tion of five new players. We feel like we

can be very competitive.”

During the offseason, the Broncs

were featured on ESPN.com, sparking

excitement for the upcoming season. In

part of the pre-season “Shoot Around”

segment for the Independent conference,

ESPN analysts said “UTPA’s experience

and coaching continuity could be the

ingredients for a winning season.”

In 2005, the Green and Orange fin-

ished the season at a disappointing 7-24.

Schuberth turned it all around in 2006,

giving hope to many that had written off

the Broncs since the departure of Bob

Hoffman. The former coach went on to

head coach the Rio Grande Valley

Vipers, the new expansion team of the

National Basketball Association

Development League.

UTPA will also try to mend the loss

of center standout Colin Lien, who was

recently signed to the Rio Grande Valley

Silverados, another Valley expansion team,

playing in the Continental Basketball

Association. Lien finished the 2006-2007

campaign averaging a career high 12.0

points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

But even with the loss of the 7-foot

Lien, the Broncs return four starters

from last year’s squad, including 6-3

senior Brian Burrell, who averaged 15.6

points and 5.1 rebounds per game.

“We’re excited about it (season),”

Burrell said. “We’ve got a couple of new

players to our roster and we’re just try-

ing to put wins up there, play hard and

try to win every game. We’ve got to play

hard every game and not take our oppo-

nents lightly.”

In the off season, the Green and

Orange added depth to their roster sign-

ing two freshman, Nicholas Weiermiller

(Elmira, N.Y.) and Damon Franklin

(Flint, Mich.), to national letters of

intent, as well as three junior college

transfers, Adinson Mosquera (Medellin,

Colombia), Emmanuel Jones

(Washington, D.C.) and Nathan

Hawkins (San Antonio), who Schuberth

feels will all contribute to the team.

“With the addition of those five guys,

they’re going to not only help us, but in

some ways they may put pressure on our

returning starters, where they can win a

starting position,” Schuberth said. “As a

coach, you feel good about that because

you just don’t have one option, but you can

have two and in some cases three options

in deciding who you’re going to play.”

With Midnight Madness kicking

off the season three weeks ago, excite-

ment is building for the 2007-2008 cam-

paign, but the Broncs will face a difficult

schedule en route toward a productive

season. Key games against Alabama and

Northwestern mark two of the 20 road

tilts on tap for the Broncs. They will be

host to 10 opponents, including a second

home game following the opener.

“I think we got to build on our

defense if we’re going to show people

that we’re for real and we can beat solid

teams,” said Schuberth. “We were a

pretty good offensive team, considering

everybody was new to one another.”


� MEN’S BASKETBALLSPORTS

November 1, 2007 Page 15

By RAMIRO PAEZThe Pan American

Year two: Schuberth, UTPA returns four starters Men open seasonwith St. Edward’sat Field House

By RAMIRO PAEZThe Pan American

� WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Lady Broncs return, look to improve on 11-18 record

Onydia Garza/The Pan AmericanSENIOR LEADER - Senior point guard LaKeisha Gray (right) looks for an openshot during practice. Gray averaged 10.6 ppg last year for the Lady Broncs.

SLAM DUNK CHAMP - All-Independent senior shooting guard Brian Burrell ledUTPA in scoring with 15.6 ppg, pivotal in last yearʼs turnaround.

106106Final score for the Spurs as

they beat the PortlandTrailblazers 106-96 in the

first game of the 2007 season

2727Total number of wins thisyear for UT-Brownsvillevolleyball team, UTPA’s

opponent today

66

Number of years in TonyRomo’s contract extensionwith the Dallas Cowboys,

worth $67.5 million

44

Number of games it tookthe Boston Red Sox to beat

the Colorado Rockies, inthe 2007 World Series

It is arguably one of the very few

sports where there is an ‘I’ in team, but

in terms of adrenaline bursts, none

come closer and that’s exactly why 23-

year old Harlingen native Tim Bryan

loves motocross.

“The adrenaline just rushes. In

football and stuff like that you have a

team behind you where with this, it’s

you,” Bryan said. “If you don’t win it’s

your own fault; you don’t have anybody

to blame.”

Until this weekend the Los

Fresnos Motocross Park was home to

his dirt bike antics, but Sunday after-

noon his thoughts drifted from a tight

turn to another jump over a 10-foot high

‘over and under’ at the new Miller Lite

MX Park in Donna.

The 20-foot wide, 70-foot tabletop

steel contraption served as one of the

main attractions for the estimated 160

racers who attended the park’s open

house.

“Usually motocross tracks are just

jumps and turns, jumps and turns, hard-

ly any tracks in the United States have

an over and under,” said event organizer

Marc Fantich.

Rick Maldonado, whose company

Rio Grande Steel donated the building

materials for the “over and under,”

which has been submitted to the

Guinness Book of World Records as

one of the biggest in the world, said the

two day-event was an appetizer of what

is to come.

“We’re thinking of bringing some

pros but that’s still under wraps,”

Maldonado, an avid racer, said.

Located off the Hwy 83 Valley

View exit, with an estimated 1:20 aver-

age lap time, the 25-foot wide, ¾-mile

track rests on a 200,000-square foot

field donated by park manager John

Billman, Fantich’s long time friend.

It was built in two months and is

the vision of a six-man committee

whose love for the sport goes far beyond

their nine-to-five occupations.

“I did it with a team of six of my

best friends,” said Fantich, also a pro-

moter of other events such as The

South Texas Scorcher. “That’s because

we have really good sponsors and

worked really long hours. You know

nobody quits their jobs to open up a

motocross park, all the people that are

on my team have full-time jobs, but we

stayed every night until midnight just

working away on it.”

The park’s first race is scheduled for

Nov. 11 with subsequent races every first

and third Sunday of the week. Racers

show up at 7:30 a.m., pay a $35 registra-

tion fee, practice, and race at 10 a.m.

There is no age limit for racers to

compete and although no license is

required to ride, Fantich said plenty of

protective gear should be worn to avoid

serious injury.

To keep them competitive races

will have several skill-level brackets:

beginner, intermediate, expert, execu-

tive, master, and even a cash class.

Racers stand to make a cool $315 for a

first-place finish in the cash class, with a

guaranteed $20 prize for each racer.

The park will also host practice

days, Wednesdays from 5 p.m. until

sundown and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5

p.m., except on race day when practice

precedes scheduled races. Non-mem-

bers pay $10 to practice. Women specta-

tors are always free, while their male

counterparts have to pony up $10.

Annual park memberships range

from $495 for single riders to $795 for

families.

SPORTS

11Luis Nava’s finish at theNational Independent

Championships hosted byUTPA Saturday

StatsAtAGlance


“TheySaidIt”

Page 16 November 1, 2007

� MOTOCROSS

By ERICK QUINTEROThe Pan American

SUNDAY DRIVE - Eric Castro (left), 17, and Tim Bryan, 23, both from Harlingen were twoof the estimated 160 riders who tried out the new Miller Lite MX Park over the weekend.

THE PAN AMERICAN

� “I think we have more

depth than we had last year,which enables us to playmore people and keeps our

team’s chemistry better.”

- Tom SchuberthUTPA menʼs basketball head

coach

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November 1, 2007

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