Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio Volume 49 Issue 20 {WWW.PAISANO-ONLINE.COM} {SINCE 1981} } { UTSA On Friday, Sept. 19 UTSA Main Cam- pus facilities expe- rienced a loss of air conditioning for a majority of the day due to a chilled water leak at the South and North energy plants. San Antonio e Genetics Pol- icy Institutes an- nounced that San Antonio will host the World Stem Cell Summit in 2014, featuring more than 170 scientists from 40 different coun- tries. Texas While other states saw a drop in il- legal immigration, numbers in Texas have been on the rise since 2007, with figures close to 11.7 million, according to the Pew Research Center. U.S. Republican Ted Cruz has vowed to block a Senate vote on a House approved spending bill that would fund Obam- acare. World Joe Biden travels to Mexico to visit with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to discuss modern- izing the border to increase economic ties. Sports e UTSA Roadrun- ners will return to the Alamodome on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 3:00 p.m. to face the undefeated Houston Cougars. UTSA Volleyball will play Texas State and Houston Baptist this weekend page 7 Actors from the London Stage to perform “Othello” page 6 September 24, 2013 UTSA Sarah Gibbens News Editor [email protected]e class of 2017 is UTSA’s most competitive incoming freshmen class yet. When the Texas Legislature founded UTSA in 1969, enrollment was limited to roughly 700 students. In the 40 years since the school’s opening, UTSA has come to be a home to more than 30,000 students. A major appeal in attract- ing students had historically been the low requirements for admissions and easy access to education. Students rejected from larger and more expen- sive universities had been able to fall back on UTSA. is, however, is quickly changing. In the goal to be- come a Tier One university, UTSA has begun the process of raising the standards for admission. UTSA President Ricardo Romo has often de- scribed the road to Tier One status as not a sprint, but a marathon. According to UTSA’s stra- tegic plan, the university will be increasing its standards of research, academic excellence and international reach. Specifically, UTSA has im- plemented enrollment man- agement plans to create a stu- dent body conducive to Tier One status. UTSA hopes to have admis- sions standards that reflect the success of a research in- stitution, even if that means decreasing the amount of stu- dents enrolled annually. In the past few years UTSA has admitted 4,500 students on average per year. e in- coming freshman class for 2013, however, includes only about 3,600 new freshmen. UTSA is accepting top per- forming high school students. In 2012, half of the incoming freshmen were in the top 25 percent of their graduating class. In 2013 however, over two-thirds of UTSA’s fresh- men have come from the top 25 percent of their class, rais- ing the bar for academic per- formance. UTSA will soon be com- petitive with other top uni- versities around Texas. Texas A&M admits 64 percent of its applicants, an acceptance rate close to UTSA’s. Freshman Maritza Vil- lamil credits her hard work in high school for her ac- ceptance into UTSA. “I had all the credentials necessary to be granted automatic ad- mission to UTSA. I took my SAT and ACT, sent them my scores, sent my transcript and showed them that I was quali- fied to be part of the UTSA Roadrunner family.” While UTSA wasn’t Villa- mil’s first choice, she now feels lucky to be a student at UTSA. “I knew I would be someone here, not just a number.” Not all high school gradu- ates are so fortunate. For college-bound students, the stricter admission standards can bar access to UTSA. One recently graduated high senior was denied ac- cess to UTSA. When UTSA did not accept her dual cred- its from high school her GPA subsequently dropped and- she was unable to enroll. She chose instead to attend a com- munity college. According to USTA’s Pro- vost John Frederick in a facul- ty senate meeting, “is group is the best freshman class we have ever admitted to UTSA. ey have been filtered out al- ready. We think they can suc- ceed.” A smarter freshman class? “This group is the best freshmen class we have ever ad- mitted to UTSA. ey have been fil- tered out already. We think they can succeed. John Frederick Provost The shooting at University Oaks occurred early Saturday morning. No residents were harmed and a motive for the crime remains unknown. Rafael Gutuirrez/ The Paisano SHOOTING ON CAMPUS Randy Lopez Staff Writer [email protected]Concerned citizens gath- ered at the UTSA Downtown Campus ursday, Sept. 19 for a town hall meeting to discuss the future of Alamo Plaza. e town hall meeting featured a panel of distinguished guests including the Mayor of San Antonio, Julian Castro; San Antonio Conservation Society President Sue Ann Pemberton; Historian Gary Foreman and Alamo Plaza businessman Da- vis Phillips. UTSA President Ricardo Romo gave the introductory speech with a brief background on the history of the Alamo and the important role it plays in San Antonio today. e town hall meeting was held in re- sponse to the growing concern from San Antonio citizens and historians regarding the future of Alamo plaza. Some citizens at the town hall claim that the businesses located within Alamo Plaza take away from the historical significance of the Alamo. Citizens voiced their opinions, suggesting that the businesses, many of which are chain stores and gift shops, simply leave Alamo plaza and Debate on future of the Alamo See Alamo, Page 2 Sarah Gibbens News Editor [email protected]Early Saturday morning, guns were fired at UTSA’s on- campus residence, University Oaks, Phase One. Shots were reportedly fired at an unoc- cupied vehicle for reasons still unknown. After opening fire, the sus- pect, or suspects, fled the scene. Students were notified via text and email to remain indoors. e unknown shooter remains at large. UTSAPD asked that students report any suspicious activity to the police immedi- ately. Joe Izbrand, the associate vice president of communica- tion and marketing at UTSA, commented on the incident: “is is an ongoing investiga- tion.” Even though University Oaks is considered to be on-campus, security, “…is the responsibility of the management company,” said Izbrand. “We are looking at video of cameras that UTSA has in the area.” Gisselle Loredo, a resident of University Oaks, was pres- ent after the shooting occurred. “e parking area was blocked off by six or so police vehicles. ere were little markers on the floor and they were stand- ing around a car. It’s pretty ter- rifying being reminded that, even if you live on campus, any- thing can happen. I’ve noticed UTSAPD patrolling the area a lot more often… but there’s only so much they can do,” said Loredo. UTSAPD is still looking for the shooter and has yet to re- lease notice of a lead or motive. Increasing security for cam- pus residents is a preventative measure UTSA has taken in response to the incident. “e fact that nobody was caught really makes me ner- vous… especially since the per- son who was targeted was my neighbor,” said Loredo. President Ricardo Romo speaks at the town hall meeting, which was co-hosted by UTSA. Randy Lopez / The Paisano At-large drive by shooter damages unoccupied vehicle To read the full story on UTSA’s win against UTEP, see F.I.D.O., Page 7 UTSA LOCAL
Transcript
Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio
The class of 2017 is UTSA’s most competitive incoming freshmen class yet. When the Texas Legislature founded UTSA in 1969, enrollment was limited to roughly 700 students. In the 40 years since the school’s opening, UTSA has come to be a home to more than 30,000 students.
A major appeal in attract-ing students had historically been the low requirements for admissions and easy access to education. Students rejected from larger and more expen-sive universities had been able to fall back on UTSA.
This, however, is quickly changing. In the goal to be-come a Tier One university, UTSA has begun the process of raising the standards for admission. UTSA President Ricardo Romo has often de-scribed the road to Tier One status as not a sprint, but a marathon.
According to UTSA’s stra-tegic plan, the university will be increasing its standards of research, academic excellence and international reach.
Specifically, UTSA has im-plemented enrollment man-agement plans to create a stu-dent body conducive to Tier One status.
UTSA hopes to have admis-sions standards that reflect the success of a research in-
stitution, even if that means decreasing the amount of stu-dents enrolled annually.
In the past few years UTSA has admitted 4,500 students on average per year. The in-coming freshman class for 2013, however, includes only about 3,600 new freshmen.
UTSA is accepting top per-forming high school students. In 2012, half of the incoming freshmen were in the top 25 percent of their graduating class. In 2013 however, over two-thirds of UTSA’s fresh-men have come from the top 25 percent of their class, rais-ing the bar for academic per-formance.
UTSA will soon be com-petitive with other top uni-versities around Texas. Texas A&M admits 64 percent of its applicants, an acceptance rate close to UTSA’s.
Freshman Maritza Vil-lamil credits her hard work in high school for her ac-ceptance into UTSA. “I had all the credentials necessary to be granted automatic ad-mission to UTSA. I took my SAT and ACT, sent them my scores, sent my transcript and showed them that I was quali-fied to be part of the UTSA Roadrunner family.”
While UTSA wasn’t Villa-mil’s first choice, she now feels lucky to be a student at UTSA. “I knew I would be someone here, not just a number.”
Not all high school gradu-ates are so fortunate. For college-bound students, the stricter admission standards can bar access to UTSA.
One recently graduated high senior was denied ac-cess to UTSA. When UTSA did not accept her dual cred-its from high school her GPA subsequently dropped and- she was unable to enroll. She chose instead to attend a com-munity college.
According to USTA’s Pro-vost John Frederick in a facul-ty senate meeting, “This group is the best freshman class we have ever admitted to UTSA. They have been filtered out al-ready. We think they can suc-ceed.”
A smarter freshman class?
“This group is the best freshmen class we have ever ad-mitted to UTSA. They have been fil-tered out already. We think they can succeed. John Frederick Provost
The shooting at University Oaks occurred early Saturday morning. No residents were harmed and a motive for the crime remains unknown.
Concerned citizens gath-ered at the UTSA Downtown Campus Thursday, Sept. 19 for a town hall meeting to discuss the future of Alamo Plaza. The town hall meeting featured a panel of distinguished guests including the Mayor of San Antonio, Julian Castro; San Antonio Conservation Society President Sue Ann Pemberton; Historian Gary Foreman and Alamo Plaza businessman Da-vis Phillips.
UTSA President Ricardo Romo gave the introductory speech with a brief background on the history of the Alamo and
the important role it plays in San Antonio today. The town hall meeting was held in re-sponse to the growing concern from San Antonio citizens and historians regarding the future of Alamo plaza. Some citizens at the town hall claim that
the businesses located within Alamo Plaza take away from the historical significance of the Alamo. Citizens voiced their opinions, suggesting that the businesses, many of which are chain stores and gift shops, simply leave Alamo plaza and
Early Saturday morning, guns were fired at UTSA’s on-campus residence, University Oaks, Phase One. Shots were reportedly fired at an unoc-cupied vehicle for reasons still unknown.
After opening fire, the sus-pect, or suspects, fled the scene. Students were notified via text and email to remain indoors. The unknown shooter remains at large. UTSAPD asked that students report any suspicious
activity to the police immedi-ately.
Joe Izbrand, the associate vice president of communica-tion and marketing at UTSA, commented on the incident: “This is an ongoing investiga-tion.”
Even though University Oaks is considered to be on-campus, security, “…is the responsibility of the management company,” said Izbrand. “We are looking at video of cameras that UTSA has in the area.”
Gisselle Loredo, a resident of University Oaks, was pres-ent after the shooting occurred. “The parking area was blocked off by six or so police vehicles. There were little markers on
the floor and they were stand-ing around a car. It’s pretty ter-rifying being reminded that, even if you live on campus, any-thing can happen. I’ve noticed UTSAPD patrolling the area a lot more often… but there’s only so much they can do,” said Loredo.
UTSAPD is still looking for the shooter and has yet to re-lease notice of a lead or motive. Increasing security for cam-pus residents is a preventative measure UTSA has taken in response to the incident.
“The fact that nobody was caught really makes me ner-vous… especially since the per-son who was targeted was my neighbor,” said Loredo.
President Ricardo Romo speaks at the town hall meeting, which was co-hosted by UTSA.
Rand
y Lo
pez
/ Th
e Pa
isano
At-large drive by shooter damages unoccupied vehicle
To read the full story on UTSA’s win against UTEP, see F.I.D.O., Page 7
Yale professor discusses face of warAlex Camacho Staff Writer [email protected]
Dr. Jay Winter, professor of
history at Yale University, vis-ited UTSA on Sept. 20 to dis-cuss the effacement of war in the twentieth century. Winter has been a professor of history at Yale University since 2001 where his specialization lies in the study of World War I and its international effects.
The historical scholar came to UTSA to lead a lecture on how the depiction of war has
changed in contemporary me-dia and art. Winter drew the comparison to an artistic de-piction made by Paul Klee, represented in the 1920 copper etching plate Angelus Novus, of an angel staring down at the human race, his eyes staring, mouth open, wings spread.
He argued that this is one of the best representations of war created during the twen-tieth century. This is what war, which evolved during the early twentieth century, awakened in the human race, a series of hor-rendous events, which seemed never-ending at that point in history, Winter argued.
Winter explained his premise by first giving background on
the events leading to the efface-ment of war. He explained that during World War I, globalized empires such as the Ottoman, German and Austro-Hungar-ian empires fought on a scale that had not been seen before. Winter explained that the mag-nitude of cruelty that took place between 1914 and 1918 paved the way to greater evil and vio-lations of the “rules of war” in the years to come.
Winter pointed out that World War I was the first time in history where war was in-dustrialized through the aid of modern technology. While the Hague Declaration of 1899 forbade the use of poisonous weapons in warfare, their use in
World War I was inevitable, he explained.
To fight against the use of these chemical weapons the gas mask was developed and sol-diers would no longer portray human faces, changing the im-age of war forever.
Completely removing the human face from warfare by covering it is to dehumanize the act of war, Winter argues, is what led to greater cruelty during the Second World War, a war where extreme genocide was committed. Almost seven-ty years later, its repercussions can still be seen.
Winter drew a distinction be-tween two books that have be-come emblems of World War
II: “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “At the Edge of Abyss” by David Koker. The first describes the days of Anne Frank prior to being sent to a concentra-tion camp and the latter is a di-ary written during Koker’s days spent at a concentration camp.
The notable difference be-tween the two is that the pub-lished copies of “The Diary of Anne Frank” have a picture of her face on the cover. While only a few copies of “At the Edge of Abyss” exist with a picture of Koker’s face because, as Winter alleges, the atrocities millions of people experienced in con-centration camps was not hu-man. Winter used this example to show that modern media and
art does not accurately associ-ate the human face with war.
Winter summarized the lec-ture by saying that in 1914, war still had a human face. How-ever, over time, the faces of those who have fought in war and those who have become its victims have slowly faded from sight.
He concluded by saying war is no longer represented through the human face in paintings, sculpture or media arts.
Winter believes that, as it ex-ists today, war is, “something so terrifying that not even gods can rescue humans from them-selves.”
find a lease elsewhere in San Antonio.
Phillips, a panel speaker representing the businesses on Alamo Plaza, said, “I respect your opinion that the businesses are carnival or inappropriate… I would also suggest, respectfully, that there are millions of people every year who don’t agree with that; they view those businesses as family entertainment options and a chance to make memo-ries with their families… if the people didn’t want it, we (businesses) wouldn’t be there.”
Furthermore,Phi l l ips pointed out that if the busi-nesses were to be moved, they would not perform at the level that they are
currently operating at Alamo Plaza. Phillips, president and CEO of Phillips Entertainment, also said that his businesses pay “$57,000 a month in rent” and other businesses such as art gal-leries or sidewalk cafes would simply not be able to afford the rent to survive inside the plaza.
Phillips asked, “Are you ok with some form of govern-ment seizing private property because they don’t feel that it’s appropriate that some people feel that way… what happens when they come to your home or your business?”
Plans for reconstruction to the Alamo itself were discussed as well.
Leading the discussion on plans for renovation and re-construction was San Antonio Conservation Society President Sue Ann Pemberton. Pember-
ton explained that the difficulty with renovation resides in the many different time periods the Alamo experienced and keep-ing true to the construction of the building during each time period. Pemberton stated the difficulty lies primarily in pick-ing a time period and basing a renovation plan on that partic-ular period.
Mayor Castro responded saying, “We will come up with a way to appoint a committee that is balanced and represents diverse perspectives… at the end of the day we want to get to action steps not to be paralyzed because everyone has their own perspective.”
In order to fund a renova-tion, the city of San Antonio appropriated over $1 million in a voter-approved bond towards Alamo plaza last year. Pember-
ton described the one million dollars as “not going to cut it, but it does give us direction and an opportunity to move for-ward”.
Emotions ran high during the forum as many citizens ex-pressed how deeply they were concerned with the future of Alamo Plaza and wanted a plan of action from the mayor and city council. Mayor Castro summarized the meeting saying that “it was a very productive meeting in terms of getting the diverse range of opinions that exist about what should happen at the Alamo. The community vision that we come up with is going to be informed by many different opinions and, in that sense, it was very productive.”
Alamo: area development
UTSA
From Page 1
NEWS September 24, 2013
3
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Four American citizens were reported injured in the Satur-day attack on a shopping mall in Kenya. The wife of a foreign service national working for the U.S. Agency for International Development was killed, U.S. officials said.
Kenyan officials said the as-sault on Nairobi’s top shopping mall killed at least 39 people and wounded more than 150 oth-ers. Somalia’s Islamic extremist group al-Shabab claimed re-sponsibility.
No details about the injured Americans were released by the State Department, which cited privacy concerns. Consular of-ficers were in contact with the injured and were providing ap-propriate assistance, a State De-
partment official said.Secretary of State John Kerry
called the attack “a heartbreak-ing reminder that there exists unspeakable evil in our world which can destroy life in a senseless instant.’’
“Attacks like this can’t change who we are, a people commit-ted to peace and justice for all, but rather must reaffirm our determination to counter ex-tremism and promote toler-ance everywhere,’’ Kerr said in a statement. “As we prepare to bring the world’s leaders to-gether at the United Nations next week, we are reminded again in tragedy of our com-mon humanity.’’
Noting the death of the wife of the USAID worker, Kerry commended agency work-ers for their efforts around the world and said the U.S. pledged
“our commitment to do what-ever we can to assist in bringing the perpetrators of this abhor-rent violence to justice, and to continue our efforts to improve the lives of people across the globe.’’
In a statement from the White House, a spokeswoman for the National Security Coun-cil said the U.S. would help bring the perpetrators of the at-tack to justice.
“We will continue to stand with the Kenyan people in their efforts to confront terrorism in all its forms, including the threat posed by al-Shabaab,’’ NSC spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said. “This cowardly act against innocent civilians will not shake our resolve.’’
{Staff Writers}Jackie Calvert, Alex Camacho, Nick Castillo, Christina Coyne, Shelby Hodges, Randy Lopez, Crystal Poenisch, Paulina Rivero-Borrell, Council Royal, Mark Zavala, Sara Flores
{Staff Photographers}Alyssa Gonzales
{Contributing Writers}Mohamed Ahmed, Julian Montez, Jose Quintero, Jasmine Rodriguez, Pete Torres, Renee Rendon, Mary Caithn Scott, Chance McDevitt, Chris Rodriguez, Aaron Zach-ary, Rico Martinez, Matt Trevino, Marco Aquino, Victor Gonzalez, Jazzment Brown, Kelsey Moreno, Adrian Tippit, Megan Ball, Patrick Martinez, Chris Breakell, Jakob Lopez
The Paisano is published by the Paisano Educational Trust, a non-profit, tax exempt, edu-cational organization. The Paisano is operated by mem-bers of the Student Newspa-per Association, a registered student organization. The Paisano is NOT sponsored, fi-nanced or endorsed by UTSA. New issues are published ev-ery Tuesday during the fall and spring semesters, exclud-ing holidays and exam peri-ods. All revenues are gener-ated through advertising and donations. Advertising inqui-ries and donations should be directed towards:
{Letters to the Editor}Letters must be less than 400 words and include the writer’s name, classification or title and telephone num-ber. The Paisano reserves the right to edit all submis-sions.Send letters to:[email protected]
Editorial
Texas is back in the national headlines, and not for the right reasons. The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) is in the process of reviewing science textbooks that will be in class-rooms for the next ten years. Although the final vote will not be held until November, accu-sations are already flying over how qualified members of the board are to make decisions on science textbooks.
Each textbook is rated by the SBOE, and a low rating makes it much less likely that a par-ticular book will be taught in a school district, and some textbooks are simply rejected outright. Before a textbook is presented to the board it is first reviewed by panelists, who are themselves by members of the SBOE.
As has been the case in the past, members of the SBOE and panel members alike have
attracted criticism for their fiery rhetoric in favor of text-books that encourage creation-ist ideology. Seemingly oblivi-ous to Supreme Court cases in the 1980s that ruled teaching “creationism” or “creation sci-ence” in public schools uncon-stitutional, SBOE members have unabashedly stated that “there should be inclusion of the ‘creation model’ based on the Biblical view of history” and that “‘creation science’ based on Biblical principles should be in-corporated into every Biology book that is up for adoption.”
This is not the first time that creationism and evolution have gone head-to-head in the de-bate over textbooks, as Texas is notorious for how far from the mainstream its textbooks are. Although these members of the SBOE are reaping the political benefits of their controversial statements, they are also signal-
ing that they don’t care about the success of Texas students.
Texas students are often unprepared for life after high school. According to Ameri-can College Testing — most famous for its implementation of the ACT test — only 29 per-cent of high schoolers in Texas last year were ready to take a college-level biology course, and only one in five students were college-ready in all four of ACT’s core subject areas. While its science textbooks attract all the headlines, the truth is that students in Texas fall short in every major area.
It should be no surprise that Texas is one of just five states that has not formally adopted the Common Core, an agree-ment between 45 states that challenges their students to meet minimum requirements. Unlike the STAAR test, which only measures basic under-
standing of subjects, the Com-mon Core would require stu-dents to apply critical thinking skills to their curriculum. Low-ering the bar for students, as Texas seems content to do, may improve graduation rates but it also means that students in other states will be challenged more often and, ultimately, be more successful after gradua-tion.
UTSA has already acknowl-edged this problem. Beginning next fall, incoming freshmen will be taking a completely re-vamped Core Curriculum that sacrifices classes like a World Society and Issues course and an Economics requirement in favor of an Academic Inquiry and Scholarship course. This will help students transition to a university that, according to its Graduation Rate Improve-ment Plan, sees more than half of its students drop out by their
fourth year. A university should not be
responsible for ensuring that its students are ready for a life after high school. When UTSA enrolls more than 650 students in developmental math courses and almost 200 in developmen-tal English courses in a semes-ter, it should not reflect poorly on the university or its students but on the quality of education these students receive prior to college.
The state of Texas and its State Board of Education pride themselves on raising gradu-ation rates by implementing fewer mandatory standardized tests and for challenging main-stream science in its textbooks, but ultimately Texas needs to address the long-term needs of its students and ensure that they are ready for college and their professional lives.
I’ll Just Sit Here. by: Christopher Breakell
September 24, 2013
Comic
4 OPINION
Texans turning a blind, uninsured eye to relevant political discourseOn Sept.
4, Texas was the subject of a New York Times op-ed piece along side Florida af-ter a census
bureau report revealed that the two states have the highest uninsured populations in the country. Coinci-dently, these states have seen some of the strongest political pushback against the Affordable Care Act
(ACA), widely known as Obam-acare.
According to a recent census bu-reau report, more than 25 percent of the population in Texas under age 65 (5.7 million people) was un-insured in 2011, the highest rate in the nation.
Bexar County is no exception to this trend, as the report shows that just over 23 percent of its residents were uninsured in 2011.
The implications of the ACA and the actions of Texas leaders has a great affect on the Texas popu-lous. It merits close examination
for those even remotely concerned with the future of their health care and the associated expenses that come along with it.
One effect of this policy on col-lege students includes a provision that allows students to stay on their parents’ health care plans until age 26, even if they are married or a dependent. Campus insurance plans will also be prohibited from placing lifetime limits on coverage, and if you are on a school plan and undergo a severe medical issue, you will be covered no matter how high your medical costs are.
According to the Washington Post, Texas dropped to 48th in the national standings for voter turn-out in 2012. The election collected votes from only 50.1 percent of the eligible voting population.
These numbers mark a trend in the wrong direction as ACA has pushed fervent political discourse leading a divided congress to a stalemate as the prospect of a gov-ernment shutdown looms while the Sept. 30 budgetary voting deadline steadily approaches. This prospec-tive shutdown comes in light of many Republican Senators pushing
for the defunding of ACA. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has vowed to filibus-ter and use any other procedural move possible to defund Obam-acare.
As Texas leaders determine the fate of ACA, it is paramount that Texas voters key in to the discourse and determine whether the elected representatives are truly represent-ing their interests.
I believe that having an indi-vidual identity is one of the key components to surviving life as a college student, as these are some of our most formative years.
During a late-night eye-
brow re-shaping session this week, I started to think of the beauty and style standards im-posed on people today of all ages and genders. I wanted to make my eyebrows straighter, like those of Rooney Mara or Korean fashion models, yet a small voice in the back of my head told me the look might be too severe. This made me
realize how easy it is to forego our uniqueness for something a little more accessible to the masses.
While in school, we are given guidelines for everything that we do. This structure helps us stay on track, but also fixes us into a routine that can be hard to break out of. Even classes that promote individuality can
cause pressure. What if I’m not creative
enough? What if I completely miss the mark? These stressors make it easy to forget that we need to take care of ourselves too.
It’s easy to put yourself last when you have a mile-long list of things to do; however, I feel that making time for things that make you feel completely and utterly yourself is vital. Wheth-er you listen to Leonard Cohen or Top 40 (or both), make sure to treat yourself with the things you love without shame.
If you find that your tastes aren’t appreciated by those around you, remind yourself that your interests are yours to keep and that no one should question them.
When I cut off almost all of my hair, I was met with a few concerned parties. I could tell that some people wondered why I would chop off a healthy and undyed mane, and I simply could not explain it. I did what felt right to me at the time, and while I questioned myself for a
couple of months thereafter, it remains one of my favorite de-cisions I’ve made. The decision answered to no one, and per-haps that is why it felt so right.
I become absolutely excited when I see everyone’s individ-ual styles represented on cam-pus. Bright dresses, structured menswear, simple t-shirts and jeans. It all represents differ-ent types of people expressing themselves, even in the midst of a hectic day.
While we don’t always feel our best on the way to school and perhaps accessorizing is the last thing on our minds, in-dividuality can be represented in much more private and per-sonal ways.
Perhaps carrying around a small notebook with your daily thoughts makes you feel at peace, or a brand new set of pens keeps you excited for your classes. My point is not to outshine anyone or wear things that make you uncomfortable, but to hone in on your own sense of happiness and keep it close by.
Sometimes as students we may feel that our voices are be-ing drowned out by the daily grind of tests and assignments, and these small reminders of our own identities can lift our spirits and remind us how im-portant we are to our respec-tive fields.
My personal identity is even more important to me now that I am almost finished with my time here at UTSA. At the end of a long day with little sleep to my name, I feel a sense of warmth that comes from the things I choose to surround myself with.
People have questioned my short hair before or the amount of makeup I wear, and while I used to let it bother me, I’ve reached a point where I don’t feel it at all. No matter if you are met with odd looks in the hallway or none at all, hold your head high and celebrate the fact that you are represent-ing yourself.
ARTS&LIFETuesday, September 248 p.m. Comedy: The OxymoronsThe Oxymorons will be performing improv comedy at the River Center Comedy Club (849 E. Com-merce). The Oxymorons have been performing improv in San Antonio for over 20 years. $15 admission, 2 item minimum. For more informa-tion, visit rivercitycomedyclub.com
Wednesday, September 257:30 p.m. Theater: “Othello”The department of English and The UTSA Friends of Shakespeare will host the Actors from the London Stage as they perform Shakespeare’s “Othello” at the Arts Building Recital Hall on UTSA’s main campus. Tickets may be purchased online on the Eng-lish department’s website. Student admission is $10 and general admission is $18. Performances will be held September 25, 27 and 28. Visit colfa.utsa.edu/Eng-lish/Shakespeare.
Thursday, September 267 p.m. UCPC Open Mic NightThe Ski Lodge (1.01.00) on UTSA’s main campus will host an open mic night. Comedians, po-ets, dancers, singers and the tal-ented are all welcome to the open mic night to showcase Roadrunner talent. Students will have a five minute time limit and food and drinks will also be available. For more information, contact Tabitha Byrne Smith at 458-6044.
Friday, September 276 p.m. Tapping Texan CultureThe Institute of Texan Cultures (801 César E. Chavez Blvd) will host an event for their “Made in Texas” exhibit with Texas beer and food. The event will be from 6-8 p.m. and there is a suggested donation of $15. For more infor-mation, visit texancultures.com.
Saturday, September 2810 a.m. Convention: Monster Con 2013Monster Con (4522 Fredricksburg Rd.), San Antonio’s first horror con-vention, will boast horror inspired artwork from local San Antonio artists, as well as a zombie fash-ion show and costume contest. Special guest Victor Miller, writer of “Friday the 13th will attend.” The event will run from Saturday, 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. and Sunday, 12 p.m. - 6 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, visit monster-con.com
9 p.m. San Antonio Music Award ShowcaseThirty-five bands and DJs will be performing at 7 different venues for the San Antonio Music Award Showcase. Advance purchase of wristbands is $5, $8 at the door. Wristbands grant access to all shows.For full list of participating venues and for more information, visit sanantoniomusicawards.com
{Local Events}
5September 24, 2013
COLUMN
Hippies, comedy, filmmaking and the meaning of life: UTSA’s most unusual courses
With so many courses of-fered at UTSA, most students follow a degree plan that best suits their interest. However, the narrow structure of ob-taining a degree sometimes re-stricts students from satisfying the requirement of academic exploration.
College is a new realm for students to experience the un-usual. So, if you’re looking for unusual courses consider “Film Comedy,” “The Meaning Of Life,” “Digital Filmmaking” and “Hippie Literature.”
A professor in the English department, Dr. John Stone teaches “Literary Modes and Genres: Comedy” a course that examines the mechanics be-hind how humor works. “What makes funny, funny?,” Answer-ing this question, is one of the course’s main goals, and un-derstanding how humor works requires studying how previ-ous comedy influences the pro-gression of modern comedy, states Dr. Stone.
Approaching this challenge, Dr. Stone asked himself when developing this course “what made me laugh when I was a kid?” which resulted in a mul-titude of humor ranging from low comedy to verbal wit.
During the course the works of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Ke-aton, The Marx Brothers, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Richard Pryor and others are studied to assist students in answer-ing the question of how com-edy works. With the proper context, students will develop an understanding of a comic persona, self-deprecating hu-mor and why someone’s pain is
comedic.
Dr. Stone articulates that “trag-edy is when it happens to you; comedy is when it happens to the other guy,” and this concept is analyzed in stand-up to fur-ther grasp humor’s mechanics.
However, going over that line means someone is always the “butt” of the joke, and Dr. Stone advises, “You can wallow in the pain, or you can laugh at the absurdity of it. That’s your choice because that’s really the essence of what life is. You can be sad and let it overwhelm you or you can laugh about it.”
But humor is not the only unusual course offered at UTSA. Consider Professor Chinn, who confronts an an-cient question in his course “The Meaning Of Life.”
As Professor Chinn cau-tioned, “(The) question is re-ally tricky and so that’s why we start off the course by exploring the nature of the problem, (which is) what this question is really asking and why do we ask this question.”
Moreover, Professor Chinn explains, “(the students) must fully understand what the question is asking and why it is important” because “some think the question (the mean-ing of life) is unanswerable or trivial,” but by understanding why the question is asked stu-dents can then be able to de-velop an answer.
“The goal is to have each student to try and figure out the best answer they can give,” explains Prfessor Chinn. Stu-dents will first cover the major religions of the world and see how each religion approaches the meaning of life.
However, examining reli-gions does not guarantee an answer will be developed, so students will study various philosophers’ interpretation
on the question. In particular, Albert Camus’s philosophical question “the problem of sui-cide” will be analyzed in depth to understand and grab hold of questions such as “why live?”
Of course, each student will develop their own response and give presentations, but this quest in finding an answer is a joint effort between stu-dents and professor. Ultimately each student will find their own illumination or influence from certain philosophers but
“(will) need to think hard about their own life and experiences, and see how it connects to them,to find an answer” Pro-fessor Chinn emphasizes.
If the meaning of life is found why not capture the moment on film in Digital Filmmaking? “Two cameras, two tripods, one light kit, one dolly and that was it… we were in a closet,” Dr. Membrez recollected while she explained the start of her course “Digital Filmmaking” back in 2002.
Expecting a small turnout of 15 students for the course, Dr. Membrez recalled 40 plus students overflowing out the room sitting on the ground waiting for her course to begin. “I think we touched a nerve,” Dr. Membrez explains, a nerve that resulted in the current continuation of Digital Film-making for the past 10 years.
A 3000 level course, Digital Filmmaking is intended for stu-dents to create small projects that could be used as comple-ments to a graduate school portfolio or employer applica-tion.
However, this course is not a YouTube production course — filmmaking is professional. Equipped with six avid edit-ing stations, professional cam-eras, sound booths, studios for shooting film and much more, digital filmmaking is above par.
Students will learn how to properly arrange cameras to shoot film, develop a story-board, develop editing skills and learn effective use of mu-sic and sounds while abiding by copyright laws. Students will collaborate with each other during three required projects of a UTSA campus post card, an interview or campus report and a narra-tive or documentary created
by the students. The course is fun but re-
quires dedication, and hours of work must be put into projects to produce quality work. “It’s a course to create a portfolio, to help students get jobs,” Dr. Membrez says, “(a) chance to really cut loose on your creativ-ity, as long as you’re not vul-gar, (and) are able to work in groups.”
And even though hours of dedication are a must, Dr. Membrez is supportive, always reminding her students “(to) have fun. You don’t want to be so uptight about it that you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, but it is hard work and that’s what people underestimate.”
Another unusual course is Hippie Literature, which Dr. Burchenal describes as the “counter culture of 1955 to 1975, which is the time of
the first real American youth counter culture, which is (re-ferred) as being the long 60s.”
The course looks at the de-velopment of new age young ideals and how they came to be. Of course, when reminded of the 60s, an overwhelmingly response is to think of hippies.
Dr. Burchenal emphasizes that “part of what this course tries to do is to debunk and ex-plore the kind of myth and way the 60s has been packaged and give students a clearer under-standing of cultural trends that there were.”
Some of the content stu-dents will analyze are George Orwell’s 1984, 60s popular mu-sic and culture, sex and drugs, “Easy Rider,” the Civil Rights Movement and Kurt Vonne-gut, to understand the youth counter culture of the mid-20th century.
Dr. Burchenal explains, “There is an argument of this course (where) people make a claim that this is the transi-tional period between what they call “modernism” and post modernism” that some-how (our lives) are significantly different than they were prior to this period,” and this course determines “whether that’s a valid thing to say. Are we really different?”
Burchenal intends to have students “consider the facts of the matter and not just accept the story that history has given us,” by reanalyzing important historical markings such as the Civil Rights Movement. So why not look beyond a degree plan and consider the unusual?
The UTSA Department of English and The UTSA Friends of Shakespeare will welcome the Actors from the London Stage as a part of their Ameri-
can university tour to perform Shakespeare’s “Othello.”
Performances will be on Sept. 25, 27 and 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the Arts Building Recital Hall on the UTSA Main Cam-pus.
“Most students have read Shakespeare in high school or
college, and this gives them an important perspective on those plays,” says Dr. Mark Bayer, pro-fessor and English department chair. “Shakespeare wrote these plays to be performed, but to-day we read them and miss that crucial intention.”
Actors Jude Akuwudike,
Richard Neale, Jan Shepherd, Jack Whitam and Alinka Wright will perform multiple roles in “Othello” and visit classes. The actors direct them-selves and work with minimal costumes and scenery in their performances. They have vis-ited classes in the past, giving
a unique experience
to students in the realms of act-ing, poetry and literature.
“They like to perform and like to get students perform-ing,” says Bayer.
This year will be the theater company’s twenty-seventh visit to UTSA since 1988.
Tickets for “Othello” can be purchased online from the English department’s website.
Student tickets are $10 with an I.D. while general admission is $18. Any unsold tickets will be available at the door. All seats are reserved,- so buy group tickets together. Tickets may be purchased at colfa.utsa.edu/english/shakespeare. For more information contact Mark Bay-er at [email protected].
Like movies?Check out our new web
podcast
Reel Recommendationsvisit paisano-online.com
Cour
tesy
of U
TSA
SPORTS 7September 24, 2013
Roadrunners lose to Texas State, beat Houston Baptist
UTSA FOOTBALLUTSA
Cross Country (Men and Women)
Friday, Sept. 27 6:15 p.m.
Old Settlers Park—Round Rock, TX
Texas Invitational
Football
Saturday, Sept. 28 3 p.m.
The Alamodome—San Antonio, TX
vs. Houston Cougars
Golf (Men)
Friday, Sept. 27 -28
@UNM Golf Course Champioship — Albuquerque, NM
William H. Tucker Intercollegiate
Soccer
Friday, Sept. 27 7 p.m.
Park West Athletics Complex—San Antonio, TX
vs. Florida Atlantic Owls
Sunday, Sept. 29 1 p.m.
Park West Athletics Complex—San Antonio, TX
vs. Rice Owls
Tennis (Men)
Friday, Sept. 28 - Sunday, Oct. 6
Micahael D. Case Tennis Center — Tulsa, Okla.
ITA All-American Championships
Volleyball
Tuesday, Sept. 24 7 p.m.
Ferrell Center—Waco, TX
@Baylor Bears
Friday, Sept. 27 7 p.m.
Devlin Fieldhouse—New Orleans, La.
@Tulane Green Wave (C-USA)
Sunday, Sept. 29 1 p.m.
Thomas Assembly Center—Ruston, La.
@Louisian Tech Lady Techsters
This Week in Sports
The Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars played the third NHL exhibiton game in San Antonio’s history last Friday.
For a startup program in only its third year, any loss can take a toll on players and personnel. Rather than get frustrated with the outcomes, the UTSA foot-ball team has found its one way through adversity.
Since day one of the pro-gram, UTSA Head Coach Larry Coker introduced his mantra, F.I.D.O, to the players. Forget It and Drive On has created an atmosphere and mentality that players and coaches have em-braced this season despite their difficult start.
“Well, Forget It and Drive On originated from me back in my Miami (Hurricanes) days. You know sometimes football is a funny game; there is going to be
a lot of ups and downs. You just got to play this play,” a reflec-tive Coach Coker said. “I know that’s coaches’ talk, but it’s true. You’ve to play through, and that’s a sign of maturity. I think we’re getting more mature as a football team.”
That maturity could not have been more evident than this past Saturday as UTSA defeat-ed the UTEP Miners 32-13 at the Sun Bowl in El Paso.
UTSA opened the game strong with a 75-yard scoring drive that resulted in a 29-yard touchdown run by junior run-ning back Brandon Armstrong. At the end of the first quarter they found themselves behind after UTEP Miner Autrey Gold-en returned a kickoff 100-yards for a score and UTEP kicker Jay Maddox converted a 28-yard field goal to take a 10-7 lead.
The Roadrunners drove on though, and showed signs of their maturity as a football team. They responded with an eight-play, 80-yard drive that was capped with a 28-yard touchdown run by junior wide receiver Kam Jones.
“We have to fight on. We can’t go into a game hoping to win. We got to go in and make sure we’re playing hard. We have to play hard from start to finish,” said Armstrong. “Any athlete that’s a competitor is going to make a mistake, but we have to let those go and go to the next play.”
The UTSA defense held UTEP without a touchdown, allowing only a field goal for the rest of the game. The Roadrun-ners also held the UTEP Min-ers to just 218 total yards, the fewest yards UTSA has allowed
this season. “We take a lot of pride in our
defense, and the past two weeks have been a little rough on us,” responded UTSA sophomore linebacker Drew Douglas. Douglas led the team with 12 tackles, a career best.
Saturday’s win gave UTSA its first-ever Conference USA win. UTSA is now 2-0 in league openers, having defeated New Mexico State 35-13 in last year’s Western Athletic Conference opener.
UTSA is now 6-3 in road games since the 2012 season.
“When we’re on the road we have to have a stronger mental-ity. We have to build off each other and stick together,” said Armstrong.
Coker has been impressed with the way his team travels. They maintain a professional
attitude while traveling first class, and always stay positive and upbeat after the game, re-gardless of the outcome.
“We’ve had two tough road trips and the guys have a lot of energy coming back,” said Cok-er. “They always try to feed off of the crowds on the road.”
That upbeat attitude is a tes-tament to Coker’s F.I.D.O. man-tra. No matter the score after a defeat or a win, the players continue to focus on the next game.
“We respect everyone but are intimidated by no one,” Coker said, referring to the team’s po-tential going forward.
The Roadrunners’ season continues on Saturday, Sept. 28 as they face the undefeated Houston Cougars (3-0) at the Alamodome. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.
F.I.D.O. leading the way to victory
The Roadrunners have won six of their past nine road games since the 2012 season.
The ice flew, body checks shook the glass and the red light behind the goal lit up as the Florida Panthers and Dal-las Stars made their presence known in San Antonio on Fri-day, Sept. 20. A crowd of 7,762 was part of AT&T Center his-tory when the Stars defeated the Panthers 4-1.
In what was billed as the “NH-LinSA,” the Panthers and Stars participated in a week-long hockey promotion, culminat-ing in the first-ever NHL game played in the AT&T Center.
The Panthers are currently the top affiliate club of the American Hockey League (AHL) San Antonio Rampage franchise who calls the AT&T Center home during the regu-lar season.
The Stars collected the vic-tory as left wing Antoine Rous-sel scored two goals in the first and second period and had one assist. Centers Colton Sceviour
and Chris Mueller each scored a goal in the third period to seal the win for the Stars.
Down 3-0, defensemen Tom Gilbert finally gave the Panthers fans something to cheer about when he scored in the third pe-riod on a snap-shot past Stars goalie Dan Ellis.
“We knew the crowd was go-ing to be good. Just from play-ing here I knew that the fans were pretty supportive regard-less of the result,” Panthers cen-ter Drew Shore said. “You got to thank them for coming out and showing their support.”
Despite the loss, Panthers coach Kevin Dineen was pleased with the turnout and participa-tion of the Panthers, Stars and Rampage organizations.
“I thought it was fabulous. This is such a great affiliation,” Dineen said. “I think the Florida Panthers feel very fortunate to be associated with the San An-tonio (Spurs) basketball team here, as well as have our minor league team here. It’s a great partnership for us and obvious-ly tonight was a good reflection of that.”
The fans looked to be divided as many sported Panthers, Stars and Rampage jerseys through-out the crowd.
“A great turnout and a good mix — some Dallas fans but certainly a lot of Panthers jer-seys out there as well,” Dineen said.
Current Panthers players who have played for the Ram-page franchise included Dov Grumet-Morris, Eric Selleck, Quinton Howden, Jed Ortmey-er, Jared Gomes, Colby Robak, Alex Petrovic and Shore.
Selleck and Stars left wing Luke Gazdic provided some fireworks in the first period as the two exchanged body and head shots in the only fight of the game.
This was the third NHL game to be played in San Antonio. In 1994 and 1995, the Stars played two exhibition games against the Los Angeles Kings in the Alamodome.
The Rampage will begin the 2013-14 season on Oct. 4, when they face the Chicago Wolves at the AT&T Center.
The UTSA Roadrunners (8-5) fell to the Texas State Bobcats (10-5) three sets to two in front of 661 rowdy fans who packed the Convocation Center on Fri-day, Sept. 20 to witness the I-35 rivalry.
Trailing 2-1, UTSA needed to win the fourth set in order to stay alive. The Roadrunners won convincingly by the larg-est margin of the night (25-16), forcing a fifth and final set.
In the deciding set, UTSA jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before the Bobcats came back and outscored the Roadrunners 15-7 to take the final set (15-10) and the overall victory.
UTSA outside hitter McK-enzie Adams, who was the first person in Conference USA (C-USA) history to win the offen-sive and defensive Player of the Week awards, had 29 kills to pace the Roadrunners. Adams is currently holding an attack percentage of .266.
Freshmen Dajana Boskivic added 13 kills and 15 digs for UTSA.
“We didn’t make any ad-justments between the sets,” UTSA Head Coach Laura Groff said. “I just went over the girls’ strengths. We have to play con-fidently; that’s what makes us strong.”
The Roadrunners seemed to be on a winning path as they won the first set (25-21). How-ever, the Bobcats came back strong, taking sets two and three (25-22, 25-23) out from underneath UTSA.
UTSA out-blocked Texas State 15-8 and had an 85-60
advantage on digs, winning the statistical battle, but failed to get into the win column.
“There isn’t anything we can do about the loss tonight,” Groff said. “We need to find out why we mentally shut off and fix the mistakes.”
On Saturday, the UTSA Roadrunners volleyball team
swept the Houston Baptist Hus-kies 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-19) at the Convocation Center.
Adams again led the team with 16 kills and 11 digs. Soph-omore and defensive specialist Annie Kunes added 26 digs and two assists.
The Roadrunners opened the matches with a 12-point win, setting the mood for the final two sets.
“It went as we expected,” UTSA Head Coach Laura Groff said. “We were a little nervous after the disappointing loss last night (to Texas State Bobcats), and I was really proud with how the girls came out with a lot of fire and disposition. We took
care of business on our side of the net and that’s all we ask of them.”
Houston Baptist did put up a tough fight in the second and third sets, losing by four and five points, respectively.
Credit also goes to freshman Jessica Waldrip, who posted a team-high 39 assists.
“I can’t do anything without my passers and blocking and defense,” Waldrip said. “As long as we get a good pass we should be able to run our offense.”
The victory against the Hus-kies fuels UTSA for their up-coming game against the Baylor Bears.
“It’s our last opportunity to play a non-conference team,” Groff explained, “a team that’s in a bigger conference than we are, the Big 12, so we’d like to earn a little more respect from the other conferences by beat-ing them.”
The Roadrunners head to Waco Tuesday, Sept. 24, to face the Bears.
SAN ANTONIO RAMPAGE
San Antonio holds center ice with Panthers versus Stars game
UTSA begins a three-game roadtrip on Tuesday, including the start of Conference USA play.
