February 3, 2005

T h e S t u d e n t N e w s p a p e r o f T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Te x a s - P a n A m e r i c a n F e b r u a r y 3 , 2 0 0 5

THE

PAN AMERICAN

Herbal remedies substitute for conventional meds

A New ChapterColleges of Education, Arts and Humanities announce new leadership

If you thought that alternativemedicine was all about herbal teas,vitamin supplements or homeo-pathic pills, think twice. Herbalmedicine in the Rio Grande Valleygoes beyond its conventionalmeaning, as the spiritual and evenesoteric influences of the tradition-al blend in.

Herbal shops, also known ashierberias, offer customers morethan just teas, powders, creams, orherb capsules. These shops alsosell amulets, statues, candles, andeven provide healing services suchas limpias, rituals supposed to getrid of negative energies.

According to Mark Glazer,professor of psychology andanthropology at the University ofTexas-Pan American, the Valley’sfolk medicine is a mixture of

Students will see changes in Pell Grantssee Page 3

The College of Education atThe University of Texas-PanAmerican is under new leadership,and a newly appointed interim deanhas a history of leadership from nonother than UTPA itself.

Due to recent adminis-trative changes formerUTPA student, VelmaMenchaca was appoint-ed as interim dean ofthe College ofEducation earlier thismonth.

Menchacasaid she willtemporarilyhold thep o s i t i o nof deanuntil theu n i -versi-

ty appoints someone for the job.She added that she has the sameresponsibilities an acting deanwould have.

“The university will conductan external search for a permanentdean in the College of Education,”Menchaca said. “As an interimdean I have all the responsibilities apermanent dean has.”

Menchaca obtained herbachelor's degree in healtheducation and secondaryeducation with a minor inEnglish from PanAmerican University in1979. She later continuedher education at TexasState University, where

she graduated with aMasters degree in educa-tion. Menchaca then latermoved on to receive herdoctorate from TexasA&M University.

By DULCE GONZALEZThe Pan American

Interim Dean Dr. WallaceTucker of the College of Arts andHumanities starts his day with a TaiChi routine at 5 a.m. sharp. Withoutit, his day just isn’t the same.

“In graduate school there wasstress. As a performer in concerts,there was stress,” he explained. “Ingrad school, it was a twisting ten-sion in the chest,” he adds, tightlyclenching a fist to his chest. “In per-forming solo in concerts, it was inthe lower back area.”

Now, Tucker said he feels theentire weight of his new positionand that, as he enters his third weekas interim dean, is the biggest sur-prise.

This surprise coming from aman with over 20 pages of musicalperformances and credentials to hisname.

Tucker completed his bache-

lor’s in instrumental music educa-tion at North Texas State Universityin Denton, and went on to completehis masters majoring minor in con-ducting and euphonium. Tuckerwent on to receive his doctorate inperformance (trombone), withmusicology and theory related field,also from North Texas State.

Today howev-er, his respon-sibilities havechanged.

“I’mresponsiblefor everythingin this college.So all the studentconcerns, all

HEALING — Home remedies like drinking tea have been a Valley traditionfor decades. These “remedios” are an alternative to modern medicine andmethods. These folk beliefs often entail visiting a “curandero” or folk-healerinstead of a certified doctor.

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION COLLEGE OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES

Fast food vendors andrestaurants are a convenientalternative for people who are toobusy to pick up food or do not liketo cook. Unfortunately, it can bedifficult to get away and get some-thing to munch on.

Now, there is a new businessin the Rio Grande Valley that aimsto solve this dilemma.

Jorge Diaz, a graduate ofThe University of Texas-PanAmerican, created a mock versionof this company in a businesscourse when he was an under-grad. The original idea was calledHot Meals To Go. When he grad-uated he expanded on the projectand started Menu Express.

One phone call to MenuExpress brings food from any of12 restaurants, but this only cov-ers the Edinburg, Mcallen andMission areas. SEE PAGE 7

Side Effects ofSelect HerbalProducts

Ginkgo biloba: Bleeding

St. John's wort: Gastrointestinaldisturbances, allergic reactions,fatigue, dizziness, confusion, drymouth, photosensitivity

Ephedra (ma huang):Hypertension, insomnia, arrhythmia,nervousness, tremor, headache,seizure, cerebrovascular event,myocardial infarction, kidney stones

Kava: Sedation, oral and lingualdyskinesia, torticollis, oculogyric cri-sis, exacerbation of Parkinson's dis-ease, painful twisting movements ofthe trunk, rash

Source: www.aafp.org

Melissa Martinez/The Pan American

See DEAN page 11

See TUCKERpage 11

By EMMA CLARKThe Pan American

Velma Menchaca Wallace Tucker

By ELIZABETH GARCIAThe Pan American

See HERBS page 11

Express Meals

SUPER BOWL SUNDAYCHECK OUT

THE PAN AMERICAN PREDICTIONS PAGE 15

1201 West University, CAS 170 Edinburg, Texas 78539

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53rd Year – No. 18

http://www.panam.edu/dept/panamerican

The PANAMERICAN isthe official studentnewspaper of TheUniversity ofTexas-PanAmerican. Views presentedare those of thewriters and do notnecessarily reflectthose of theuniversity.

The Pan Americangladly acceptsletters fromstudents, staff andfaculty regardingnewspaper contentor current issues.The Pan Americanreserves the rightto edit submissionsfor grammar andlength. Please limitsubmission lengthto 300 words. ThePan Americancannot publishanonymous letters,or submissionscontaining hatespeech orgratuitous personalattacks. Letters areprinted at thediscretion of theeditor and mustinclude the writer’sname, class/titleand phone number.

Letters policy

February 3 2 0 0 5

Readers with dis-abilities mayrequest an alter-native format ofthis publication atThe Pan American

business office. For special assis-tance to attendany event listed inthis publication,contact the coor-dinator of theevent at least oneweek prior to theadvertised date.

OPINION l e t t e r s n e d i t o r i a l s n c a r t o o n sPAGE 2

EditorClarissa Martinez

[email protected]

News EditorsDulce [email protected]

Emma [email protected]

A & E EditorOmaira Galarza

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Sports EditorJoey Gomez

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Graphics EditorsDägoberto Pé[email protected]

Ginmarie [email protected]

Photography EditorFranco Caballero

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Graphic/Web Design

Eduardo [email protected]

Raul Cervantesracervantes1@

panam.edu

Delisa [email protected]

Reporters

Jacob Alegria

Lylony Cazares

Daryl Gonzales

Joey Hinojosa

Selene Garza

Kristina Cavazos

Claudette Gonzales

Renee Cavazos

Photographers

Joel de la Rosa

Marcos Cervantes

Copy EditorJason Chapa

SecretaryDiana Corpus Garza

CAS 170381-2541

AdviserDr. Greg Selber

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DeliveryAnthony Pinal

Thursday noon

THE

PAN AMERICAN

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

To the Editor,

Last week’s letter that sought to ridiculethose who expressed opinions contrary to thecurrent leadership disturbed me. I was furtheralarmed to realize that it was more of a trea-tise to vilify and malign differing ideologies.

As we portray one ideology as bad, orwrong, we do so only to portray another ide-ology as good, or correct. This process isfacilitated and perpetuated by any group withan opinion. In doing so these groups (politicalparties, corporations, individuals, even theAARP!) would like us to ignore the facts andmake subjective decisions.

It is our duty as educated individuals, who

are at this university to seek out new knowl-edge and expand our minds, to makeinformed decisions. Dr. Samuel Freemanshould not be an object of ridicule, but anobject of admiration. He is a stalwart defend-er of the downtrodden and he truly believes inthe causes he supports.

Dr. Freeman has tasted war in Vietnam,and I implore anyone to withhold criticismuntil they have read his essays and butglimpsed his experiences in Southeast Asia.People who protest do not protest becausethey are ignorant, they protest because theyunderstand a reality we may not and believein their cause.

I do not believe “enough is enough”. As a

free society it is our duty to speak in a voicecontrary to the leadership if we believe thatthe decision is wrong. We should never advo-cate silencing dissidents; we should com-mend them. Only when our actions are writ-ten into history and our children turn theirgazes upon our actions will the situation bemore fully understood. To condemn anyonefor speaking his or her mind now on a situa-tion we do not understand is what is truly irra-tional.

Nathan Gower Schwarz Senior, anthropology

To the Editor,

My young friend Clarissa Martinez, PanAmerican Editor, recently wrote an editori-al entitled, “City Ordinance Infringes onFreedom.” The issue is more likely a clashof rights rather than an exclusive infringe-ment on smokers.

The editor’s argument reduces to a mas-sive “straw person,” because Ms. Martinezdistorted the viewpoint of those who mightsupport such a ban and ignored importantevidence that has been emerging withregard to such bans in large cities such asLos Angles and New York. Her argumenthas three major premises: 1) smoking ismerely private, 2) smoking constitutes noother harm, and 3) a ban on smoking will

financially harm business owners.Moreover, even were smoking just an

annoyance, there are other nuisance lawson the books that are perfectly legitimate:public intoxication, public disorder, inde-cent exposure, sound pollution, etc. Theeditor needs to demonstrate how this “nui-sance” law lacks credibility by way of con-trast.

Though Ms. Martinez is correct thatnon-smokers do find it annoying to havepeople “light up” while they are stillengaged in their meal, she has ignored theobjective medical evidence that indicatesthe harm caused by secondary smoke (inhomes and in restaurants and other publicplaces). Non-smokers deserve freedomfrom medical harm. If the issue of smoking

were merely a private one, as Ms. Martinezseems to suggest, her argument would bestronger.

Additionally, prior to the ban in NewYork and other cities, restaurateurs and barowners have made the argument that theirbusinesses would suffer as a result. Sucharguments are not supported by evidence.Studies show that such dire predictions areweak slippery slope arguments.

So, perhaps there remain strong argu-ments that oppose the ban to smoking. I amopen to persuasion. It is not clear that asmoking ban is an infringement of freedom.

Ken BuckmanDepartment of History and Philosophy

A recent ruling by the Supreme Courthas evoked a positive response from Valleyjudges, but raises concerns among criticsabout the increased latitude that has beengiven to judges.

The two-part ruling overturned the sec-tion of U.S. sentencing law that requiredjudges to add on to criminal sentencesbased on factors that had not been present-ed or proven to the jury, thus, according tothe Supreme Court, violating the SixthAmendment right to a trial by jury.

The ruling also left the 18-year-old sen-tencing guidelines in place for advisorypurposes only, giving federal judges muchmore flexibility in sentencing criminals.

U.S. Magistrate Judge John WilliamBlack of Brownsville agrees with theSupreme Court decision to make the guide-lines non-mandatory.

“You shouldn’t have a cookie-cutter,one-size-fits-all system,” he said.

Will this change make criminal sen-tences fairer? It may be too soon to tell.

In Black’s opinion, “If [the change]allows a judge to take into account morefactors than he previously would have beenable to, and if that leads to fairness, thenyes.”

The sentencing guidelines, long consid-ered by criminal justice reform advocatesto be overly harsh, were put in place withbipartisan support by the SentencingReform Act in 1987, because of the widedisparity among the different states in sen-tences given for the same crime.

The sentencing guidelines prescribedfixed mandatory sentence ranges depend-ing on the crime committed, as well asother factors such as criminal history andwhether or not the defendant took responsi-bility for his actions.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa of

Community service either on or off cam-pus marks a special opportunity to do some-thing worthwhile.

Keep McAllen Beautiful has chosenFebruary as Paint McAllen BeautifulMonth. The 6th Annual Paint McAllenBeautiful 2005 project will take placeFebruary through March.

Chris Lash, program coordinator of KeepMcAllen Beautiful, stated that there is noset date because the program works aroundvolunteer schedules.

“Since the majority of our volunteershave their own agendas of the day, we liketo work around their schedules and set anappointment as soon as possible,” Lashsaid.

McAllen residents are in the process ofbeing screened for the program. KeepMcAllen Beautiful members are still look-ing for families in need. In order to qualifyMcAllen residents must be low-income, 60years of age or older, or of any age with a

permanent disability.Holly Smith, president of Keep McAllen

Beautiful, stated that joy overwhelms thehearts of the elderly people who get theirhouses painted. At times even the next-doorneighbor wants to paint his house as well.

‘“Tears of joy’ is what I heard one ladytell me one day after a group had just paint-ed her house, and that just made me veryglad to know,” Smith said.

The idea is to beautify the homes of com-munity members who cannot afford it them-selves. It can be a very contagious thing; insome cases, before long the whole neigh-borhood is inspired to paint their home too.

Keep McAllen Beautiful is a non-profitorganization that contributes to makingMcAllen a pleasant environment with many

Health report cards . . . . . . 4

Make-A-Wish . . . . . . . . . . 5

Compliance hotline . . . . . . . . . . 5NEWSBush pledges to raise Pell Grant awards

By JESSICA MUNIZThe Pan American

“Aim high in life.” This was newly inau-gurated President Bush’s admonition to stu-dents at Florida Community College inJacksonville last week, where he pledged toraise the Pell Grant amount by $100 in eachof the next five years.

This comes as welcome news to studentsand parents who face a 10.5-percent rise intuition at public four-year colleges.

Federal Pell Grants, awarded to under-graduate students who have not earned abachelor’s or professional degree, are thenation’s largest form of financial aid, aimedat helping low-income students afford col-lege. Pell Grant awards are based on need,cost of attendance, and whether the recipi-ent is a part-time or full-time student.

Bush intends to raise the maximum grantto $4,550 by 2010, up 12 percent from the$4,050 offered today. These are the firststeps in making governmental assistancefor higher education a priority in the admin-istration.

“The president has been strongly com-mitted to Pell Grants and ensuring thatmore students are eligible,” said Trent

Duffy, deputy White House press secretaryin a recent interview.

However, there are questions aboutBush’s sincerity. In his 2000 presidentialelection campaign, Bush pledged to raisethe maximum Pell Grant to $5,100.

“We’ve been down this road before,”said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-

Massachusetts, in a statement where hewarned students and their families not to“count their chickens before they hatch.”

Bill Morley, Assistant Director ofStudent Financial Services, echoed SenatorKennedy’s statement. “We’re just waitingto see what the outcome is,” Morley said.

According to Morley, over 70 percent of

UTPA students receive some form of finan-cial aid, much of it in Pell Grants.

Another potential pitfall for the presi-dent is that regardless of congressionalallocations to the Pell Grant program, eligi-ble students get the grant money they areentitled to receive each year. Because ofrising enrollment and a sluggish economy,the Pell Grant program is in a $4 billionhole.

Bush has said he will ask Congress toreform the student loan program and thenuse the savings to make up the deficit.

“We intend to use the savings fromchanging how student loans are granted andadministered for closing that deficit,” Bushsaid.

Rep. George Miller, D-California, thetop Democrat on the House EducationCommittee, isn’t convinced.

“My first instinct is to say, ‘Show me themoney,’” said Miller. “The fact is that sooften the administration proposes toincrease spending in one account by reduc-ing spending for critical education servicesin another account. If the president’s planwould rob Peter to pay Pell, it would beunacceptable.”

Federal Government Student Aid DependencyBy DAVID RODRIGUEZThe Pan American

State Aid

Federal Aid

Institutional Aid

Source: Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation

McAllen:Building helpers

See SENTENCING page 12

By CLAUDETTE ELENA GONZALESThe Pan American

VOLUNTEERS - Keep McAllen Beautifulmembers spread themselves through theValley painting houses that need brighten-ing up.

Courtesy of Chris Lash

Ruling about sentencingguidelines raises concerns

CRIME BEAT

South Texas judgesmake decisions basedon individual cases

See BEAUTIFUL page 12

The Rio Grande Valley is a medicallyunderserved area, with disproportionatelysmall numbers of medical professionals,including pharmacists.

In an attempt to alleviate this problem,The University of Texas-Pan American hasjoined forces with the University of Texas-Austin College of Pharmacy to form theUT Austin/UTPA Cooperative PharmacyProgram, designed to encourage studentsfrom the Valley to pursue a six-year doctorof pharmacy degree (PharmD) and returnto the Valley once they finish schooling.

Through the Cooperative PharmacyProgram, students initially complete twoyears of pharmacy prerequisites at UTPA.As long as students maintain a minimumoverall grade point average of 3.0 and theirscience GPA is above 3.2, they are guaran-teed admission to the UT College ofPharmacy, where they complete the nexttwo years of education.

The last step is that while still enrolledat the College of Pharmacy, students returnto the Valley for the fifth and sixth years ofpharmacy curriculum. During the fifthyear, students take distance-learning cours-es taught by professors at UT-Austin. Thesixth year is spent doing seven six-weekrotations at pharmacies and hospitalsthroughout the Valley. Upon completion ofthe program, students receive their degreefrom the UT-Austin College of Pharmacy.

Students have two opportunities toapply and be accepted into the program.Students may apply during their senioryear in high school, and if accepted, theybecome Pharmacy Scholars.

If they are not accepted into thePharmacy Scholars Program straight out ofhigh school, students may reapply aftercompleting pre-pharmacy course work andgo straight to the UT-Austin College ofPharmacy.

For many students, it is comforting toknow that they get two chances to apply.

“Throughout high school, my mainobjective was to get into pharmacy schooland I really wanted to get into this pro-gram,” said UTPA sophomore PharmacyScholar Sylvia Morales. “I told myself, if Idon’t make it the first time, then I’m goingto try again the second time.”

Morales was accepted the first time sheapplied and is currently serving as the vicepresident for the Bronc Pre-PharmacyAssociation.

For those who are accepted prior tobeginning their freshman year in college,there is a summer enrichment programdesigned to make the transition into col-lege less tedious. Freshman PharmacyScholar Annie Ryan described that experi-

ence. “We had this little summer program,

kind of a review of high school chemistryand math so that we would go into collegea little more prepared, and during that littlesummer session, [the Pharmacy Scholars]bonded and we’re pretty close,” Ryan said.“It’s nice because we have a lot of the sameclasses together and it makes college a lit-tle more fun.”

While the Cooperative PharmacyProgram does receive some funding fromthe Texas Legislature, businesses such asHEB and Walgreens also provide scholar-ships.

Joel Garza, regional pharmacy recruit-ment manager for HEB, said the supermar-ket chain offers scholarships to betweentwo and four Pharmacy Scholars per year.

During their first three years of school-ing, each of the selected scholars receivesthe scholarship once a year. However, afterthe third year students are eligible toreceive it once a semester, or twice a year.

In addition to the scholarships, HEBoffers the Pharmacy Scholars part-timejobs which not only helps financially butalso provides valuable retail experience.

Once students earn their doctor of phar-macy degree, job prospects are excellent.According to Garza, there is a nationalshortage of pharmacists, leading to what hecalls “a pharmacist’s market.”

Katrina Luna, administrative associatefor the Cooperative Pharmacy Program,says most of the students who do their lasttwo years of pharmacy school at UTPAthrough the program have job offers evenbefore they graduate.

“I haven’t met one [pharmacy] studentwho has come through our program andhas not been able to find a job,” Luna said.

Pharmacy is a very wide field and upongraduation there are many different optionsto choose from. The most visible is theretail pharmacists to whom people go whenthey need a prescription filled.

Another option is academia, wherepharmacists perform lab research and teachat universities. Others may choose to prac-tice in a specialized field of pharmacy suchas geriatrics, oncology, pediatrics, infec-tious diseases, or psychiatrics. Pharmacistsmay also be employed by pharmaceuticalmanufacturers to produce drugs.

This is what sophomore PharmacyScholar Anthony Romo would like to do.

“I’m really interested in research anddrug discovery, being part of the team thatworks to put medicines out there to helppeople,” he said.

Pharmacists with an entrepreneurialspirit may decide to open an independentcommunity pharmacy.

The lead doesn’t really come through, itsaid how UTPA is trying to alleviate theproblem of having a lack of medical-fieldstudents and then the story just gives anoverview of the program. See if she can fixthe first line or get a quote about why it isimportant to offer these programs. Maybesomeone will tell her, “yeah, we’re tryingreally hard to keep these students herebecause of the lack the RGV sees…”Otherwise, really good job.

February 3, 2005 NNEEWWSS

Cooperative pharmacy program provides direct pathway to PharmD

By CLAUDETTE ELENA GONZALESThe Pan American

UTPA alleviating

pharmacy shortage

with new program

Diabetes and child obesity are key healthproblems in the Rio Grande Valley, and manychanges are being made in public schools toensure a healthy diet. A bill was recently sub-mitted to help counter child obesity by requir-ing public schools to submit a health reportcard along with the student’s academic per-formance.

State Sen. Lecticia Van de Putte, D-SanAntonio, authored Senate Bill 285 whichwould make mandatory the notification of astudent’s parents if the student were found tobe overweight or obese according to theirbody mass index-for-age (BMI).

BMI helps determine if an individual’sweight is healthy and is calculated by usingheight and weight measurements.

Esperanza Briones, dietetics coordinator atThe University of Texas-Pan American,explained how BMI is used differently withchildren than it is with adults.

“Children’s body fatness changes over theyears as they grow,” Briones said. “Girls andboys differ in their body fatness as theymature. This is why BMI for children isreferred to as BMI-for-age; it is gender andage specific.”

According to Briones, BMI-for-age is plot-ted on gender specific growth charts. Thesecharts are used for children and teens ages twoto 20. Each of the Centers for Disease ControlBMI-for-age gender-specific charts contains aseries of curved lines indicating specific per-

centiles. Health professionals use establishedpercentile cutoff points to identify under-weight and overweight in children.

Once a student’s BMI is found to beunhealthy, Van de Putte’s proposed bill wouldthen entitle school districts to notify parentswith written information informing themabout obesity, diabetes and other health prob-lems.

Although the legislation called for studentprivacy when conducting BMI measurements,concern over student self-esteem has necessi-tated discussion of alterations to the bill.

Rep. Aaron Pena, D-Edinburg, wants to seemodifications before supporting it.

“I think the intent behind the bill was good,but there is probably a better way to go aboutit,” Pena said. “There is a health problemalong the border with diabetes and weightcontrol primary because of our diet and genet-ics. This [legislation] was an attempt toaddress that, but I think the ultimate responsi-bility is on the individual and their parents.”

Norina Villalpando, UTPA staff member,believes the legislation is an invasion of priva-cy.

Yes I think we need to take care of our chil-dren’s health, but we don’t need to advertise itby putting it in the report cards,” Villalpandosaid. “Children’s BMI is a private issue. If westart doing this it may help children’s attentionand start focusing on how they eat and exer-cise. But I as a parent fear that my child wouldwant to be skinny and do whatever it takes tobe skinny and this is how eating disorders

By LYLONY CAZARESThe Pan American

Legislation requirestudent health checkusing report cards

See REPORT CARD page 12

Professional Education inPharmacy School

Years 1 & 2 Pre-Pharmacy years at UTPA

Years 3 & 4 at College of PharmacyUT Austin

Year 5 & 6 at UTPA

Year 5: Advanced course workin patient care

Year 6: Calendar year consisting of 7six-week experimental rotationsat pharmacy practice sitesaround the Rio Grande Valley

Source: UTPA Cooperative Pharmacy Program

The University of Texas Pan-American employs over 1,500full-time faculty and staff members. With so many employees, andover 17,000 enrolled students to take care of, how is there any sta-bility?

The UTPA Compliance Program has been keeping the univer-sity straight for seven years already, taking care of organizationalissues that may arise.

Institutional compliance officer James Langabeer states themission of the program on the Web site, “The spirit of the compli-ance function is to explore and evaluate compliance questions withthe aim of improving the overall level of compliance at the institu-tion. The questions we receive are not taken as accusations, butrather as opportunities to see if improvements can be found.”

All new employees at the University must attend a seminarwhere they are introduced to the UTPA Handbook of OperatingProcedures, or the HOP.

“Employees have the job of making sure the University com-plies, it’s part of their jobs. That’s what we’re paid to do,” UTPACompliance Coordinator Wilson Ballard said.

“We’re not paid by the state of Texas to break the law.Employees have a special responsibility.”

The UTPA compliance program offers employees differentways to raise compliance questions, and tries to accommodateeveryone, using a phone hotline to take complaints and answerquestions.

“One thing we stress is that the hotline is available in Englishand Spanish as well,” said Isabel Benavides, compliance coordina-tor at UTPA.

Callers can also remain anonymous.The line is operated by The Network, an independent third party

company, and Ballard explained how the company is set up. Whensomeone calls and gives their name, the company then reports thename to the works. If the caller doesn’t share their name, then thecompany will give them a reference number and tell them to callback in two weeks.

Last year the compliance office received about 60 compliancequestions. Approximately 10 of those came through the hotline.

“Because the spirit of the program is one of raising questions,we explore the questions, we get different people’s perspective andthen we see if the University should do something to improve thelevel of compliance,” Ballard said. “That’s kind of open and peo-ple don’t feel for the most part like they need anonymity toapproach us, but it’s there in case they do.”

The compliance programs services are mainly aimed at univer-sity employees to support them in fulfilling their responsibilities.

“Compliance support services has two processes. The firstprocess is raise compliance questions, and the second is support inmanaging high-risk areas,” Ballard said.

Ballard explained that a high-risk area would be when some-one’s life was at risk. A lower risk area would be if the fire extin-guishers needed inspecting, for example.

Reported compliance issues stretch into a variety of categories.“One is solicitation on campus,” Ballard said. “It’s not a very

high risk compliance issue, but it is an issue that bothers peoplewhen we have people taking advantage of a captive audience, andthey’re selling stuff or things like that.”

He said that because of the high population on the UTPA cam-pus, this often becomes an issue.

Advertising for businesses, political parties or personnel issuesregarding fairness is also a problem on the UTPA campus, Ballardsaid.

“Those are repetitive things, but then there’s oddball things,” headded.

Ballard pointed out that UTPA campus typically does not allowalcohol on the premises, for example, and that can become an issueduring some campus functions.

“There was an art exhibit one time and they served wine at theart exhibit and somebody raised a question about whether that was

okay.”On the compliance office Web site, UTPA President Blandina

Cardenas, emphasizes the importance of the compliance program. “As employees of this University and of this great state, we are

each responsible for obeying the applicable laws and rules.Beyond that, we are also responsible for upholding an ethical workenvironment,” Cardenas said. “Our compliance program is basedon a system of checks and balances, and it can only be successfulthrough your cooperation.”

For more information go to their Web site athttp://www.panam.edu/2000/compliance _office /index.htm

Faculty with compliance issues can call 1-877-888-0002.


Hotline keeps faculty and staff in complianceBy NAYELLY BARRIOSThe Pan American

Of all of the charities playing a part in the community,many stand out. One is the Make-A-Wish Foundation,which grants children ages two to 18 with life threateningdiseases a chance to live out their biggest wish.

This year, Make-A-Wish Foundation will celebrate its20th year and the Rio Grande Valley Chapter will cele-brate its eighth. Worldwide, the organization has helpedover 100,000 children.

According to Ava Sandlin, wish coordinator for theRGV Make-A-Wish Foundation, it all started with a littleboy named Chris Greicius. She said the little boy alwaysdreamed of being part of the State Troopers.

“He had always wanted to be a State Trooper,” Sandlinsaid. “Sadly, they realized that his wish would never cometrue, so the Arizona State Troopers banded together withthe help of others to make his wish come true.”

On his wish day he became the first and only HonoraryArizona State Trooper. He received an official trooperuniform along with a badge, and rode in a helicopter tothe city of Phoenix. A few days later he slipped into acoma and died.

The Arizona State Troopers gave Chris a full StateTrooper funeral. After seeing the effect their actions hadon him and his family they decided to fulfill the wishes ofother dying children.

On Jan. 29 there was a local training session for volun-teers interested in joining this organization, where futurevolunteers learned how to grant wishes, to complete thenecessary paperwork with the parent, and how to ask chil-dren what their wish would be.

“We try to instill hope, strength and joy to these chil-dren and families,” Sandlin stated about the foundation.“We ask them if you can have one thing in the world thatyou have always wanted what it would be. Would you liketo meet someone? Go somewhere? Have something? Orbe someone? We have a little girl who wanted to meetMickey Mouse. She left Jan. 31 to go meet him.”

Sandlin said the training session was designed for indi-viduals 21 or older. She stressed that age is not a factorand anyone who wants to help the foundation can volun-teer time.

“The recent training session on Saturday is held forpeople 21 and over,” Sandlin said. “But just because youare younger does not mean you cannot help. In fact I havea wonderful group of students from UTPA who help meout greatly. These students sit on the Student Advisoryboard. They help make a good wish great by making thewish more exciting. For example, they will go to the air-port to see a child off when they leave for a wish andwhen they come back they are waiting at the airport withballoons and banners. They are always coming up more

creative ideas.”Two of those UTPA students are Jeanette Ferry-Gomez

and Edward Laredo.“Volunteering at Make-A-Wish is very rewarding,

knowing that you are making a child’s dreams come true.Trips to Disney World, one girl wants to meet BamMargera, others want laptops. They do it all just to makea child happy,” said Ferry-Gomez, a junior English major.

“It’s very cool to see how people take their time to helpa child,” said Laredo, a senior English major. “These peo-ple make these children’s wishes a reality. It’s a goodplace to give back to the community, knowing that whatyou’re doing will affect a child and their family in a veryspecial way.”

The foundation is run on individual contributions, cor-porate donations, foundation grants, planned gifts, chap-ter fees and assessments. There are guidelines they followwhen granting a child a wish; a child must first be referredto the foundation and that is when the paperwork begins.

The child’s physician plays a major role in decidingwhether a child’s condition qualifies for a wish. Thephysician then helps decide the best time to grant a child’swish and if any restrictions should be placed on it. Whenit comes to wishes, costs do not matter. The foundationpays for everything when granting a wish; the family doesnot have to pay anything.

For more information call the foundation at 686-WISH.

Make-A-Wish Foundation: Eightyears of cheer for Valley children

Quick Facts At A Glance

The Make-A-Wish Foundation takes the timeto bring a smile to the faces of millions of chil-dren who are ill. Through donations and volun-teers offering their time, wishes are granted.

Founded in 1980 28 international affiliates Over 100,000 wishes granted for sick

children Over 25,000 volunteers work with the

Make-A-Wish Foundation 8th year of Rio Grande Valley Chapter The RGV Chapter serves children from

Hidalgo, Cameron, Willacy, Starr, Brooks andKenedy counties

The RGV Chapter granted 48 wishes lastyear to sick children

Source: Make-A-Wish Foundation

By JENNIFER BARRIENTESThe Pan American

Natalie Villarreal/The Pan AmericanHOTLINE - Faculty and staff can take advantage of thecompliance hotline when problems arise.

February 3, 2005 TTHHEE PPAANN AAMMEERRIICCAANN

Faster foodThe rumbling of the study

group’s stomach is asking forsome mouthwatering sushi, but itis inevitable that the students willsimply order pizza and have itdelivered.

Besides, what other deliveryalternative is there? There isanother option, called MenuExpress, a new service availableto anyone in the McAllen,Edinburg and Mission area.Although the coverage areas inEdinburg and Mission are limited,dorm occupants on campus areincluded.

The idea was conceived by25-year-old Jorge Diaz when hetook Richard Shell’s advancedprogramming techniques class atThe University of Texas-PanAmerican. He was assigned aproject in class to create an origi-nal business idea and put it on a

Web site, and Diaz came up withHot Meals To Go.

The concept of the businesswas that people would access thesite where a list of restaurantsalong with menus pop up, andonce the person chose a place theywere instructed to place the orderwith Hot Meals To Go. Then, thisbusiness picks up the order anddelivers it to the customer’s home,office, study room, hotel ordesired location.

After graduating from UTPAin May 2004 with a degree inbusiness administration, Diazdecided to expand on his class-room project. He immediatelybegan research and found that thistype of food delivery serviceexisted in several big cities andother countries, such asRestaurant Express located inPalm Desert, Calif. and WaitersOn Wheels based out of SanFrancisco.

Franco Caballero/The Pan American

YUMMY — Menu Express

sales operator Alejandra

Diaz-Gonzalez marketing

senior at UTPA, takes a

delivery order. This innova-

tive delivery service was

founded in 2004 and caters

to a portion of the western

edge of Hidalgo County.

“Hide and Seek” . . . . . . . . 8 & 9

Alexander Payne . . . . . . . . . . 10

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Tonight the UTPA English depart-ment will host the poet laureate of theUnited States, Ted Kooser. The eventwill be held at the Student UnionAuditorium at 7:30 p.m. and is free andopen to the public.

Kooser, the 13th U.S. Poet Laureateassumed his duties in Fall 2004 afterbeing appointed by the Librarian ofCongress, James H. Billington.Billington is quoted at usatoday.com stat-ing, “Ted Kooser is a major poetic voicefor rural and small town American andthe first poet laureate chosen from theGreat Plains. His verse reaches beyondhis native region to touch on universalthemes in accessible ways.”

Kooser’s awards include twoNational Endowment for the ArtsFellowships in poetry, a Pushcart Prizeand the Stanley Kunitz Prize fromColumbia University. He lives nearGarland, Neb., with his wife, KathleenRutledge, the editor of the LincolnJournal Star.

The position of poet laureateincludes an office at the Library ofCongress, a salary of $35,000 and the

responsibility to deliver and arrangereadings. Previous poet laureates wereRobert Frost, Rita Dove and LouiseGluck.

Kooser received his bachelor’sdegree at Iowa State University in 1962and then his master’s at the University ofNebraska in 1968. He is the author of 10collections of poetry, the most recentbeing “Delights & Shadows” (2004).

Much of Kooser's poetry is aboutthe people and places of the Midwest,especially the prairies of Nebraska. Bywriting about these places, people andfeelings a reader can relate to what isbeing written. It makes his poetry have auniversal theme.

“Poetry is in touch with certain lev-els of feeling and thought that nurture ourlives,” said Professor Steven Schenider,chair of the English department atUTPA.

“For that reason it is very importantthat people read poetry and experience it.And this will be a really unique opportu-nity to hear from one of our outstandingAmerican poets today.”

Schneider arranged for Kooser tocome speak on the UTPA campus andhopes it will open the minds of Valleynatives to the art of poetry. Schneider metKooser while he was taking a job at the

University ofNebraska.

“I wouldsee Ted Kooserat literary festi-vals in Nebraskaand we becamefriends duringthe six years Ilived inN e b r a s k a , ”Schneider said.“And when I heard that he was appoint-ed poet laureate I wrote to him…and Itook that opportunity to invite him tocome down here to UTPA. He is verypleased to be coming here.”

Jose Gonzales, a senior mathmajor, said, “It’s a good thing when thepublic learns about poetry. Seems likepoetry is reserved, but his is easy to readand understand.”

Being a math major, Gonzalesadmits this is his first exposure toKooser’s poetry and he looks forward toattending the reading tonight.

Other students see the visit as areflection of how far UTPA has pro-gressed. Enrique Reynoso, a juniorEnglish major, said, “This is good for theUniversity to have someone with thestature of poet laureate to come here.”

By SARAI GARCIA & ANGELA SALAZARThe Pan American

KOOSER

By SELENE GARZAThe Pan American

See FOOD page 10

Spring pageant season approaches

A new year means lots of things todifferent people; the start of a newhealthy lifestyle or maybe even a newhome improvement project. But for thoseselect few who compete in beauty pag-eants, a new year means the begin-ning of another competitive season inthe world of pageantry.

Each year, young ladies search-ing for the crown enter beauty pag-eants in hopes that they may havewhat it takes to capture the title.Thousands of girls compete each yearthroughout the United States and inthe Rio Grande Valley.

Miss South Texas All American,Miss Belleza Latina, and Miss RGVAmerica are a few new additions toValley pageantry; but the Valley's “bigtamale,” is the Miss Rio Grande ValleyUSA Double pageant. Pageants likeMiss Starr County, Miss South Texas andMiss Hidalgo all send winners to com-pete at this event.

Preliminaries for the event beginMarch 18 at 7 p.m. and continue March19 at 7 p.m. at the Edinburg CityAuditorium for the announcement andcoronation of the new 2005 Miss RGVUSA and Miss RGV Teen USA.

The reigning Miss Edinburg 2005,

Audrey Almaraz is in the running forMiss RGV Teen USA. Almaraz is a 17-year-old graduating junior fromEdinburg Economedes High School. Sheis also a freshman at The University ofTexas-Pan American through concurrentenrollment.

Her involvement in pageants had

only begun a few months prior to herdecision to compete for the title of MissEdinburg.

“I thought pageants were just abunch of hype,” Almaraz said. “I wasnever considered one of those girls whowould compete. So I didn't tell anyone Iwas going to do Miss Edinburg.”

Much to Almaraz’s surprise, shewalked away with the crown. Her nextstep as Miss Edinburg is competing forthe title of Miss RGV Teen USA.

“That was my first pageant ever; I

loved it,” said Almaraz “You get to meetso many people and it's amazing whatdoors have opened for me.”

Vanessa Segovia, a freshman com-munication major and the current reign-ing Miss RGV USA 2004, is relinquish-ing her title.

“Aside from all the negative percep-tions our society has imposed uponpageantry, it has definitely had a posi-tive influence on my life," Segoviasaid, "and has helped me with my selfconfidence and to find myself.”

Segovia's experience with pag-eants only began a year ago. Her firstcompetition was Miss McAllen,where she won the title and went on towin Miss RGV USA in March 2004.In June 2004 she competed for the

prestigious Miss Texas USA pageantin Laredo, placing in the top 30 out of

130 contestants statwide.“I am sad about giving up my title,”

Segovia said. “However, at the sametime I am very excited for the next girl toexperience and learn all that I havelearned in the last year.”

For more information on the MissRGV USA and Miss RGV Teen USAplease call executive director, DebiChavez at (956) 454-0510 or [email protected]. Registrationfor the pageant can also be completed atMissRioGrandeValleyUSA.com.

By AMANDA GARCIAThe Pan American

SEGOVIA

U.S. Poet Laureate visits campusA&E

ALMARAZ

February 3, 2005 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Page 9February 3, 2005 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

This year horror filmmakersdecided not to create “Scream 4,”and are in a more reminiscentstage. He or she who is willing todish out an extra quarter at thetheater can soon revisit old fearsof a house haunted by demonicforces rather than ghosts in aremake of “The AmityvilleHorror,” witness the nightmare-rearing figment of young imagina-tions come to life with Stephen T.Kay’s “Boogeyman,” or ring inthe trend by learning the dangersof a familiar childhood game of“Hide and Seek.”

With a film devoid of thrillslike “Swimfan” on his resume,John Polson was wise to rely onbig name actors (Robert DeNiro,Dakota Fanning) to give “Hideand Seek” a little box office pull;obviously it worked because themovie has been No. 1 since it wasreleased last Friday, but it’s anenigma that the actors did not fallthrough the holes the plot.

A-list actor DeNiro (“Meetthe Fockers,” “Analyze That”recently) and budding starlet

Dakota Fanning (“Man on Fire,”“Taken”) play David and EmilyCallaway, a father and daughterwho move to a house in the forestafter mother Alison Callawaydies.

David relocates to isolatedupstate New York with the inten-tion of easing the mourning peri-od for Emily, so she turns to animaginary friend, Charlie, toreplace her mother’s playfulnature.

DeNiro, who was awardedtwo Oscars—the first was BestSupporting Actor in 1974 for“The Godfather” and the secondfor Best Actor in 1980 for“Raging Bull”—realizes quicklyas David that he cannot protecthis daughter from everything.Charlie begins to put Emily in themiddle of his efforts to tormentDavid.

The intensity of the father-daughter bond is clearly definedbecause of the dramatic perfectionDeNiro has achieved in over 30years as a working actor. Fanningemerged from the shadow cast by

hollywood brings youmore Horrors & Thrillers “Alone in the Dark”Directed by Uwe BollAn otherworldly investigator learns of a secret which could meanthe end of civilization as we know it in this thriller based on the pop-ular video game Alone in the Dark.Release date: Jan. 28

“Hide and Seek”Directed by John PolsonA widowed father desperately tries to break through to his 9-year-old daughter when she creates a creepy, maniacal imaginary friendwith a terrifying vendetta.Release date: Jan. 28

“Boogeyman”Directed by Stephen KayA young man traumatized by memories of terrible events he expe-rienced in his childhood bedroom reluctantly returns to face hisfears of a monstrous entity that could be real or merely a figment ofhis imagination.Release date: Feb. 4

“Cursed”Directed by Wes CravenThe "Scream" team of writer Kevin Williamson and Director WesCraven team up on this werewolf flick where an American teenag-er discovers he has "the curse" of the wolf.Release Date: Feb. 25

“The Cave”Directed by Bruce HuntA group of hotshot cave divers get trapped in an underground cavesystem and are forced to battle demonic creatures when theyattempt to escape.Release date: March 11

“The Jacket”Directed by John MayburyA man accused of murder lands in an asylum and due to experi-mental drugs, foresees his death (but not who did it or how) in fourday's time. Now the only question that matters is: Can the womanhe meets in the future save him?Release date: March 11

“Ring 2”Directed by Noam MurroThe sequel to the 2002 horror film, "The Ring". Plot details are tight-ly under wraps, but both Naomi Watts and David Dorfman return inthe new film.Release date: March 18

“The Amityville Horror”Directed by Andrew DouglasRemake of the 1979 film about a family who is terrorized by ghostsin their new home.Release date: April 15

“House of Wax”Directed by Jaume Collet-SerraCar troubles lead a group of college students to wander into amuseum overseen by a sadistic curator.Release date: April 29

“High Tension”Directed by Alexandre AjaTwo teen girls settle in for a relaxing weekend at a country farm-house, unaware that a violent intruder is speeding toward them totransform their dreams into a relentless, bloody nightmare.Release date: June 3

Sources: www.allmovie.comHorror.about.com/cs/horrorfilms/a/upcominghorror1.htm

one, two, three,four… ten! Comeout, come out wher-ever you are! Hideand seek is more thanmere child’s play in20th Century Fox’slatest horror flick.

the presence of DeNiro by instinc-tively matching his performancewith the experience she gainedfrom acing the role of SeanPenn’s memorable daughter in2001s “I am Sam.”

The mini-blonde bombshelldemonstrates each layer and frag-ment of growth in these relation-ships with more dynamism than istheoretically possible for a 10-year-old actress.

Her marble-blue eyes tell astory without the need for words,and they remained untainted. Buther hair is a harsh black that canonly be achieved by mixing every color on anartist’s paint palette. Fanning fans do not fear,her hair was not de-virginized, it was only a wig,but the effect was a success in giving her a darkpresence.

However, the strong acting could not save aplot that seemed to be thrown together like anincongruous recipe of overused scary-movieingredients by first-time scriptwriter AriSchlossberg.

He put in adollop of creepybathtub scenes,reminiscent of“What LiesBeneath” (star-ring MichellePfeiffer) or theclassic shower

scene from the original 1960s version of“Psycho,” followed by several dashes of child-penned drawings a la 2002s “Dragonfly.” Then,Schlossberg substituted for the eerie Chuckycharacter with haunting porcelain dolls, andthrew in a pinch of death by falling out of a win-dow like director Takashi Shimizu’s “TheGrudge.” There’s even a hint of an “Amityville”paint scheme in the house, minus the red; butthere is a creepy secluded room.

The end product has a bitter taste that causescringed noses, squinted eyes and pursed lipsbecause so much is missing. The nightmarishacts are explained, but several of the events thatled up to the finale seem pointless and unre-solved.

Don’t seek this film out unless there is adesire to see an “it’s been done” horror moviestew.

ATired

Old Game

(LEFT) – DakotaFanning gives LindaBlair of “The Exorcist” arun for the position ofcreepiest thriller filmchild in the film “Hideand Seek.” For themovie she dons blacklocks that heighten themilky tone of her skin,and add to the mysteri-ous qualities of her char-acter.

(Top) - David Callaway (RobertDe Niro) tries to get at the truthbehind his daughter Emily’s(Dakota Fanning) “imaginary”friend.

(Above Left) - Director JohnPolson and Dakota Fanning onthe set of “Hide and Seek.”

(Above Right) - Young Emily isquestioned by her father Davidand Sheriff Hafferty (DylanBaker), about strange occur-rences in the Caldwell home.

(Left) - Katherine (FamkeJanssen) finds herself in trou-bled waters when she comesto the aid of a young girl andher father.

Source: Twentieth CenturyFox Film Corp.

By Omaira Galarza

February 3, 2005 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT February 3, 2005 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Page 8

This year horror filmmakersdecided not to create “Scream 4,”and are in a more reminiscentstage. He or she who is willing todish out an extra quarter at thetheater can soon revisit old fearsof a house haunted by demonicforces rather than ghosts in aremake of “The AmityvilleHorror,” witness the nightmare-rearing figment of young imagina-tions come to life with Stephen T.Kay’s “Boogeyman,” or ring inthe trend by learning the dangersof a familiar childhood game of“Hide and Seek.”

With a film devoid of thrillslike “Swimfan” on his resume,John Polson was wise to rely onbig name actors (Robert DeNiro,Dakota Fanning) to give “Hideand Seek” a little box office pull;obviously it worked because themovie has been No. 1 since it wasreleased last Friday, but it’s anenigma that the actors did not fallthrough the holes the plot.

A-list actor DeNiro (“Meetthe Fockers,” “Analyze That”recently) and budding starlet

Dakota Fanning (“Man on Fire,”“Taken”) play David and EmilyCallaway, a father and daughterwho move to a house in the forestafter mother Alison Callawaydies.

David relocates to isolatedupstate New York with the inten-tion of easing the mourning peri-od for Emily, so she turns to animaginary friend, Charlie, toreplace her mother’s playfulnature.

DeNiro, who was awardedtwo Oscars—the first was BestSupporting Actor in 1974 for“The Godfather” and the secondfor Best Actor in 1980 for“Raging Bull”—realizes quicklyas David that he cannot protecthis daughter from everything.Charlie begins to put Emily in themiddle of his efforts to tormentDavid.

The intensity of the father-daughter bond is clearly definedbecause of the dramatic perfectionDeNiro has achieved in over 30years as a working actor. Fanningemerged from the shadow cast by

hollywood brings youmore Horrors & Thrillers “Alone in the Dark”Directed by Uwe BollAn otherworldly investigator learns of a secret which could meanthe end of civilization as we know it in this thriller based on the pop-ular video game Alone in the Dark.Release date: Jan. 28

“Hide and Seek”Directed by John PolsonA widowed father desperately tries to break through to his 9-year-old daughter when she creates a creepy, maniacal imaginary friendwith a terrifying vendetta.Release date: Jan. 28

“Boogeyman”Directed by Stephen KayA young man traumatized by memories of terrible events he expe-rienced in his childhood bedroom reluctantly returns to face hisfears of a monstrous entity that could be real or merely a figment ofhis imagination.Release date: Feb. 4

“Cursed”Directed by Wes CravenThe "Scream" team of writer Kevin Williamson and Director WesCraven team up on this werewolf flick where an American teenag-er discovers he has "the curse" of the wolf.Release Date: Feb. 25

“The Cave”Directed by Bruce HuntA group of hotshot cave divers get trapped in an underground cavesystem and are forced to battle demonic creatures when theyattempt to escape.Release date: March 11

“The Jacket”Directed by John MayburyA man accused of murder lands in an asylum and due to experi-mental drugs, foresees his death (but not who did it or how) in fourday's time. Now the only question that matters is: Can the womanhe meets in the future save him?Release date: March 11

“Ring 2”Directed by Noam MurroThe sequel to the 2002 horror film, "The Ring". Plot details are tight-ly under wraps, but both Naomi Watts and David Dorfman return inthe new film.Release date: March 18

“The Amityville Horror”Directed by Andrew DouglasRemake of the 1979 film about a family who is terrorized by ghostsin their new home.Release date: April 15

“House of Wax”Directed by Jaume Collet-SerraCar troubles lead a group of college students to wander into amuseum overseen by a sadistic curator.Release date: April 29

“High Tension”Directed by Alexandre AjaTwo teen girls settle in for a relaxing weekend at a country farm-house, unaware that a violent intruder is speeding toward them totransform their dreams into a relentless, bloody nightmare.Release date: June 3

Sources: www.allmovie.comHorror.about.com/cs/horrorfilms/a/upcominghorror1.htm

one, two, three,four… ten! Comeout, come out wher-ever you are! Hideand seek is more thanmere child’s play in20th Century Fox’slatest horror flick.

the presence of DeNiro by instinc-tively matching his performancewith the experience she gainedfrom acing the role of SeanPenn’s memorable daughter in2001s “I am Sam.”

The mini-blonde bombshelldemonstrates each layer and frag-ment of growth in these relation-ships with more dynamism than istheoretically possible for a 10-year-old actress.

Her marble-blue eyes tell astory without the need for words,and they remained untainted. Buther hair is a harsh black that canonly be achieved by mixing every color on anartist’s paint palette. Fanning fans do not fear,her hair was not de-virginized, it was only a wig,but the effect was a success in giving her a darkpresence.

However, the strong acting could not save aplot that seemed to be thrown together like anincongruous recipe of overused scary-movieingredients by first-time scriptwriter AriSchlossberg.

He put in adollop of creepybathtub scenes,reminiscent of“What LiesBeneath” (star-ring MichellePfeiffer) or theclassic shower

scene from the original 1960s version of“Psycho,” followed by several dashes of child-penned drawings a la 2002s “Dragonfly.” Then,Schlossberg substituted for the eerie Chuckycharacter with haunting porcelain dolls, andthrew in a pinch of death by falling out of a win-dow like director Takashi Shimizu’s “TheGrudge.” There’s even a hint of an “Amityville”paint scheme in the house, minus the red; butthere is a creepy secluded room.

The end product has a bitter taste that causescringed noses, squinted eyes and pursed lipsbecause so much is missing. The nightmarishacts are explained, but several of the events thatled up to the finale seem pointless and unre-solved.

Don’t seek this film out unless there is adesire to see an “it’s been done” horror moviestew.

ATired

Old Game

(LEFT) – DakotaFanning gives LindaBlair of “The Exorcist” arun for the position ofcreepiest thriller filmchild in the film “Hideand Seek.” For themovie she dons blacklocks that heighten themilky tone of her skin,and add to the mysteri-ous qualities of her char-acter.

(Top) - David Callaway (RobertDe Niro) tries to get at the truthbehind his daughter Emily’s(Dakota Fanning) “imaginary”friend.

(Above Left) - Director JohnPolson and Dakota Fanning onthe set of “Hide and Seek.”

(Above Right) - Young Emily isquestioned by her father Davidand Sheriff Hafferty (DylanBaker), about strange occur-rences in the Caldwell home.

(Left) - Katherine (FamkeJanssen) finds herself in trou-bled waters when she comesto the aid of a young girl andher father.

Source: Twentieth CenturyFox Film Corp.

By Omaira Galarza

February 3, 2005 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Menu Express provides the public a pam-phlet issued every three months and can bepicked up at participating restaurants. Diaz saidthat they hope to offer more restaurants witheach issue.

The pamphlet includes a coverage areamap, and a list of 12 restaurants including BlueOnion, Quizno’s, Shakes and several others.There are also instructions on how to place anorder and complete restaurants menus to makedecisions easier.

The service does not come with an extradelivery fee, but it customary to tip the deliverydriver. The approximate delivery time is 60-75minutes.

“Most of the time it is less than the approx-imate time,” Diaz said.

When asked about this service, MeriGomez, business administration major said, “Ibelieve this type of business-customer interac-tion is a negative one because there is no cus-tomer interaction.”

Gomez, who has learned about the fresh-ness of food from working at restaurants, saidthat food must be served warm in order to main-tain freshness and to avoid bacterial growthwhich can cause food poisoning.

“It is better to go into the restaurant andknow where your food is coming from, ratherthan wonder where the food has been once itleft the restaurant and arrived at your home,”Gomez said, “It is just a better feeling to sitdown at a restaurant and be assured of thefood’s freshness.”

“Sit-in restaurants need to remain sit-inrestaurants,” she said.

Diaz assures that the freshness of the food

will remain intact once it arrives at the doorstep. “For us to deliver a fresh or hot meal to the

doorstep of the customer is a priority issue,”Diaz said. “We use two types of containers, athermal bag which works terrific and keeps thehot temperature and the smell of the food.”

He also said that they keep any salads orice-cream deliveries cool in ice chests.

“We did some tests before we started thebusiness and these containers have proved towork with great success,” Diaz said.

The cost of the meals is not the same asrestaurant prices.

“Instead of charging delivery fees, wework with margins,” Diaz said.

The meals are all priced higher than atrestaurants, but not by much. Diaz said that heplans to match the restaurant pricing as soon ashe gets more places involved with MenuExpress. The Web site and pamphlet also notethat each order must equal to a minimum of$15.

“I think it’s a great idea, especially for bigbusiness who often encounter frequent businesspresentations with corporate vendors, like we[the purchasing department] often do,” saidLupita Arsola, materials management directorfor Mission Hospital. “I know it will come inhandy for us, and I’m surprised something likethis exists in the Valley.”

Who knew that a classroom project wouldturn out to be a successful business, Diaz cer-tainly didn’t. He now has “regulars,” but hopesto gain more customers and provide morerestaurants options.

Menu express services can be contacted atmenuexpressrgv.com or (956) 682-6080.

FFOOOODD continued from page 7


DEAN continued from page 1

VALLEY CHILL - KarlaReyna, junior communica-tions disorders major (right),and Orlando Hinojosa,sophomore marketingmajor, hurry to find warmthin the COAS building.Students could be seenaround campus bundled upin winter attire. The weatherin the Rio Grande Valleydropped back into the 50sthis week, causing somecampus activities to freeze.The temperature is set toclimb into the 60s over theweekend according to theWeather Channel.

TUCKER continued from page 1

Looking back at her college years,Menchaca recalls being involved in differentorganizations at Pan American University.

She was a member of Delta Zeta and wasactively involved with the StudentGovernment Association (SGA). As a memberof SGA she served as a senator for the Collegeof Education. Menchaca also remembersbeing crowned Bronco Queen in 1977 as partof the university's homecoming celebration.

The interim dean noted that from the timeshe was a student until now the university hasundergone many changes. She said UTPA hasevolved positively. Menchaca also added thatwhen she was a student, Pan Am never hadparking problems.

“It is obvious to me that the amount ofstudent activities have increased,” Menchacasaid. “The amount of programs for the stu-dents have [also] increased.”

Menchaca said that she never imaginedholding the position of dean in the College ofEducation. She commented that being a deantakes a lot of work and dedication.

“I never envisioned that I would have theopportunity to be in the dean's office. Evenwhen I started as an assistant professor I neverthought I would be in the position of dean,”Menchaca said. “A lot of hard work, dedica-tion and being professional and ethical canopen any kind of position.”

During the months in which she will bedean, Menchaca stated that she has severalgoals in mind for the College of Education.Not only does she want the college to movetoward research, but she also wants theCollege of Education to be more faculty driv-en.

“I'd like to give faculty a voice,”Menchaca said. “I want faculty to be able tohelp make decisions that will affect them.”

the faculty concerns, all the schedules, allthe payrolls,” Tucker said, “I have a wholenew schedule.”

He cannot hire and fire, but he is able toverbally offer employment to lecturers andassistant professors. His supervisor, the uni-versity provost, then sends an official letter ofemployment. Similarly, Tucker can recom-mend those faculty and staff who need to beremoved.

“The president is only one who can fireanybody if that were necessary. It would bewith a recommendation and it would gothrough the chain of command. But that’srare,” Tucker explained.

Among his other duties are variousmeetings, which fill up his day, although heclaims not to have an open-door policy forstudents.

“If students come and I can see them Iwill. Otherwise Jessica [his secretary] knowsmy schedule,” he said.

Tucker suggested that faculty and stu-

dents communicate through e-mail. The six-department college was left with

no dean, and currently no communicationchair, one week into the spring semester fol-lowing the dismissal of Dean Rodolfo Rochaand the semester sabbatical leave by Dr.Salma Ghanem, former chair. The Universityof Texas-Pan American president DrBlandina Cardenas offered the position toTucker one week into the semester. A distinctchange of plans followed.

“I accepted, and told her I would with-draw my retirement from the University untilthe position was filled by a permanent dean,”said Tucker, who was set to retire in May.

Cardenas gave Tucker four charges. Thefirst was trust to make informed decisionsand do what he says he is going to do. Secondwas to build respect for all students, facultyand staff.

‘Everything has to go by me,” saidTucker, in describing responsibility, the thirdcharge from Cardenas.

Finally, Tucker must be compliant withpolicies not only within the university, butstatewide.

A music professor by trade, and formerdepartment chair of the music department for10 years, Tucker was associate dean in theCollege of Arts and Humanities prior to hispromotion.

Leading the College of Arts andHumanities into the immediate future, Tuckeris working closely with newly appointedinterim dean Dr. Velma Menchaca of theCollege of Education to build a closer rela-tionship between the colleges.

“Dr. Menchaca and I have already start-ed meeting to discuss those things,” he said.

This, he explains, is just one of the natu-ral changes that occurs with new leadership,and Tucker said he has many “new and differ-ent” changes to implement. He recently visit-ed the monthly faculty meeting of the com-munication department, to brief faculty onwhat was going to happen during his tenure.

ancient practices that from all over the world. “Valley folk medicine derives predomi-

nantly from European folk medicine,” Glazersaid. “However, there are elements ofCentral American Indian folk medicine in ittoo.”

Hierberia Crystal is one of the manyherbal shops in the downtown McAllen area.The owner, Plablo Sanchez, has been in thebusiness approximately 40 years and doeshoroscope predictions on Spanish channelTelemundo 40 for the mid-morning newscast“Buenos Dias Frontera.” His daughter,Crystal Sanchez, said that people sufferingfrom all kinds of problems visit the shophoping to find alternatives to chemical-basedmedications.

“We only use natural products madewith medicinal plants,” Sanchez said inSpanish. “Some times people look at the sideeffects listed on their medication box and getscared because they are very serious.”

Sanchez also said that there is a miscon-ception about folk medicine because peoplebelieve that it performs miracles.

“We try to help people with all kinds ofsituations, but sometimes the illness is veryserious or they are allergic to a specific plant,then they should seek medical help instead,”Sanchez said.

Even though this tradition of herbal lorehas survived the test of time it does not passthe test of science. Some health specialistsare concerned with the fact that people oftencombine conventional with unconventionalmedicine without telling their doctor.

Brian Smith, regional director for theTexas Department of Health, said in an arti-

cle in the Valley Morning Star that herbalremedies can have serious side effects.

“The biggest misconception (peoplehave) is, if it’s natural, it’s safe,” Smith said.“People need to realize that if they’re takingherbal remedies, they do have side effectsjust like any other medication. It’s importantto let your doctor or pharmacist know.…They also should not load up and take sev-eral.”

Moreover, according to an article fromthe American Academy of Family Physicians(AAFP) Web site, herbal products are notregulated by the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration.

The article also states that approximate-ly 25 percent of American patients who takeprescribed medication also take some sort ofunconventional medicine. The problem isthat only 70 percent of these patients informtheir physician about such use.

The AAFP Web site explains that theseremedies continue to be on the marketbecause of the Dietary Supplement Healthand Education Act of 1994, which allowsthese products to be sold to the public with asimple explanation about their function inpromoting the general well-being.

McAllen resident Noemi Moyettt usesherbal medicine influenced by her PuertoRican roots, but that has never stopped herfrom visiting the doctor.

“To me there is no replacement for adoctor,” Moyett said. “I take ginger andchamomile for stomach aches, minor coldsor flu discomforts, but I still go to the doctorbecause I know there is a risk if you don’t getsupervised.”

HERBS continued from page 1

The University of Texas-Pan Americanrecently appointed two interim deans,Wallace E. Tucker to the College of Artsand Humanities and Velma Menchaca to theCollege of Education – after administrativechanges were made in both colleges earlythis month.

Although the deans of the six collegeshave a large number of responsibilities,what the position actually entails has been amystery to some students.

Usually, the role of a dean in a collegeis an important one, filled with responsibil-ities and authority. The dean plans anddevelops a variety of student services thatenhance the quality of student life and thatsupport and extend the academic mission.

The dean oversees the work of theassociate dean of the college and dean ofstudents, who is responsible for the residen-tial life system, orientation, the office ofstudent programs, the campus judicial sys-tem, the coordination and development ofstudent organizations and cultural program-ming, and services for students with disabil-ities.

In a recent interview, Dr. BlandinaCardenas, university president, said that shewas specifically looking for experience anda record from the nominees, to know theyhave dealt with all kinds of people.

“I was looking for recommendationsfrom the faculty,” Cardenas said. “Everydepartment was asked to make recommen-dations on the strengths and weaknesses ofeach of their colleagues. They were alsoinvited to e-mail me directly.”

Cardenas said she was looking forthose who were highly regarded amongtheir peers, with "the trust and confidencefrom the faculty" that would be essential inserving as first-rate deans.

Tucker was hired at UTPA in 1976 andhas served not only as a professor in theDepartment of Music, but also as the asso-ciate dean of the College of Arts andHumanities. Tucker received three degreesfrom North Texas State University, includ-ing a bachelor’s in music, a master’s inmusic-orchestral instrument and his doctor-ate in musical arts.

Menchaca first began her career atUTPA in 1998 as director for the Center ofApplied Research in Education. Once a stu-dent at Pan American University, she grad-uated with a bachelor’s in education.Menchaca continued her education atSouthwest Texas State University where shereceived a master’s in secondary educationand then headed to Texas A&M Universityto pursue a doctorate with specializations ineducational administration andcurriculum/instruction.

Arevalo said in an article by UniversityRelations that a schedule to search for per-manent deans will be determined in the nearfuture, and that faculty will have someinput.

“The search process will be reviewedand discussed with faculty in each of thecolleges and a time frame for initiating thedean searches will be determined,” Arevalosaid. “It is hoped that the process will nottake more then a year to complete.”

Emma Clark contributed informationto this article.

Responsibilities facing College deansBy CLARISSA MARTINEZThe Pan American

Joey Cortez/The Pan American

projects year round. The projects developand expand awareness regarding litter pre-vention, proper waste disposal, recycling,and beautification. The City of Edinburg’sEnvironmental Advisory Board is alsoactively pursuing a number of beautificationprojects in Edinburg.

“Even if it is just one person out of theneighborhood who wants to paint his or herhouse too, that’s a great thing,” Smith said.

Paint McAllen Beautiful will coordinatewith businesses, civic organizations, youthgroups and religious organizations to helpimprove and embellish the community.

Connie Martinez, graduate student atThe University of Texas-Pan American andpresident of Kappa Delta Chi, said she isconsidering volunteering with the KeepMcAllen Beautiful project. She stated that

her sorority has helped out in many commu-nity service projects.

“I have volunteered in plenty of projectsand for what it’s worth, I love to bring manysmiles on peoples faces,” Martinez said.

Last spring, Anita Ozuna, a McAllen res-ident who got her house painted, was verypleased with the job a group of volunteersdid.

“I was so excited to have my housepainted. It was so nice to have people comeover and spend their own time to make myhouse look beautiful,” Ozuna said. “Thisyear I hope to get in contact again withKeep McAllen Beautiful because my fencecould use a painting and a retouch.”

Any organizations wanting to participatein this project should contact Keep McAllenBeautiful at 688-3241.


SENTENCING continued from page 3

McAllen, who is also the U.S. SentencingCommission Chair, considers the sentenc-ing guidelines to have been a necessaryand effective way of creating a sense ofuniformity throughout the U.S.Department of Justice. However, accord-ing to Black, many federal judges dislikedthe guidelines because their discretionarypower was restricted.

While it is hard to determine exactlyhow judges will proceed following theSupreme Court ruling, it seems likely thatmany judges will still adhere to the advi-sory guidelines.

Federal Public Defender ThomasLindenmuth said, “All the cases we’vehad since the Supreme Court decisionhave followed the spirit of the guide-lines.”

One concern is that the ruling mayleave the door open for judges to infringeon the rights of both the victims and theaccused by assigning either extremelylenient or unfairly harsh sentences. It isleft to individual appointed judges todecide on a fair sentence rather than to theelected legislators who are held directlyresponsible by the American people.

University of Texas-Pan AmericanPolitical Science Department Chair JerryPolinard explained, “We treat judges dif-ferently than we do other kinds of govern-ment officials, in part because of thenotion that justice should be blind. Wedon’t want a judge making a decision withan eye towards whether that’s going tohelp or hurt his chances in the next elec-tion.”

Criminal defense attorney Felix Ramosadded, “The fear is that we’re going back-wards but we’re not going back to thechaos that there was before because theguidelines are still in place for advisorypurposes.”

Another concern is the possibility thatuneducated, underprivileged members ofethnic and racial minorities may suffer atthe hand of prejudiced judges no longerlimited by the sentencing ranges dictatedby the sentencing guidelines.

While he thinks that most judges aregood and try to be fair, Ramos said,“Without the guidelines, minorities mightget harsher punishments because thejudges aren’t restricted by mandatoryguidelines.”

The Supreme Court ruling may alsoaffect the plea bargaining process.

Defendants whose cases are to be pre-sented before judges known to be morelenient than the guidelines would previ-ously allow, may be less willing to accepta plea bargain. They might instead preferto take their chances in court.

On the other hand, prosecutors who areconfident in the knowledge that a judge istougher than average may have no reasonto offer the defendant a favorable pleabargain.

“[The ruling] will probably enhancethe plea bargaining process in the Federalsystem because it will open the range inwhich bargained sentences can beframed,” said County Judge RichardMancini of Beaver County, Penn.

He added “If the guidelines are direc-tive rather than mandatory it will allowthose who are closest to the case, [theprosecutor, defense attorney, and thejudge], to achieve the best result.”

At the moment it is uncertain howCongress will respond to the decisionmade by the Supreme Court.

However, according to Polinard,“Congress simply is unable to resistshowing their constituents that they’regoing to be strong with law and order andwill be falling all over themselves toteach the court that they can’t go aboutmessing with [the sentencing guide-lines].”

In the eyes of Executive Assistant U.S.Attorney Nancy Herrera, the law haschanged, but her duty has not.

“As prosecutors, we have an obliga-tion to enforce the law and to do justiceand we will continue to do so,” HerreraSaid. “The Supreme Court has spoken onthe issue of the sentencing guidelines andwe will follow the law.”

Ultimately, the judge is the single mostknowledgeable person about any givencase, being the one who has listened to thearguments, knows the background of thedefendant, and is aware of the circum-stances surrounding the incident. TheSupreme Court decision recognizes thatjudges should be able to use that knowl-edge in a discretionary manner.

Lindenmuth has a positive view oflocal courts and is optimistic about thefuture.

“My experience here in McAllen isthat judges strive to be fair both to thedefendants as well as to the U.S. govern-ment,” he said.

BEAUTIFUL continued from page 3

REPORT CARD continued from page 4

start.”Pena is also worried if the bill may cause peer pres-

sure among students, and lead to eating disorders,which have increased in frequency in recent years.

“I have serious concerns about [overweight] youngpeople being humiliated or having anymore peer pres-sure then they already do,” Pena said. “We also have thereverse problem with some young ladies starving them-selves because of peer pressure.”

However, with obesity continuing to increase amongarea children, Briones feels the legislation might helpparents realize the problems their children face. Somehealth problems include an increased risk of heart dis-ease, high blood pressure, diabetes, breathing problemsand trouble sleeping.

“Unhealthy weight gain due to poor diet and lack ofexercise is responsible for over 300,000 deaths eachyear, according to the American Academy of Child andAdolescent Psychiatry,” Briones said. “If these childrendo not lose weight and continue to gain weight in adult-hood, some common conditions related to overweightand obesity are premature death, cardiovascular dis-ease, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, some cancersand diabetes.”

She mentioned how informing parents could be veryeffective in managing obesity in their family. Since obe-sity often affects more than one family member, mak-ing healthy eating and regular exercise a family activi-ty can improve the changes of successful weight controlfor the child or adolescent.

“If the report is sent to the parents directly, the par-ents would be aware of the problem,” Briones said.“Help and encouragement from health professionalswould be the first step in preventing the increase ofchildhood obesity.”

OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY

COMMON CONDITIONS

Health problems of obesity in children are:

Increased risk of heartdiseaseHigh blood pressureDiabetes Breathing problems Trouble sleeping

Overweight and obesity inadults:

Premature death Cardiovascular disease High blood pressureSome cancersDiabetes

Source: Center for Disease Control andPrevention (CDC)

AFP/File/Robyn Beck

If interested contact Student Publications at381-2541 or e-mail Clarissa Martinez at

[email protected]. Student PublicationsOffice is located at COAS 170.

FOR THE RECORD

The search ends for the RoadrunnersMoore takes over

On Jan. 31 the Edinburg Roadrunners chose a new field managerafter the departure of former manager Chad Tredaway. TheRoadrunners hired former player/coach Vince Moore, and he is onlythe second coach in team history.

Tredaway ended his three-year stay with a record of 244-139 and14-7 in the postseason, with two league championships.

Moore is very familiar with the postseason himself. During 15years in professional baseball, he played on 10 teams that reachedthe playoffs, in AA, A and the Independent baseball level.

While in the San Diego Padres organization, Moore and Tredawayplayed together with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. That led to astrong friendship, and the two were reunited on the original ‘Runnerteam in 2001. Moore was an outfielder who hit .270 lifetime.

Mark, set, go!Edinburg fun run takes place this weekend

This weekend marks the running of the 23rd annual All-AmericanCity 10K and 2 mile run/walk. The 2-mile run/walk is for novicecompetitors, while the 10K run brings some of the most competitiverunners to South Texas.

The two-mile run/walk will begin at 11 a.m., while the 10K willbegin at 1 p.m. The starting line will be at Cano GonzalezElementary and finish inside the Edinburg Municipal Park. Entry feefor the run will be $5 for all ages.

For more information and registration, call (956) 381-5631.

PRCA Rodeo coming to townCowboy up!

The Lower Valley is ready for what has become a popular yearlyevent.

The annual Los Fresnos PRCA Rodeo is set for this weekend, Feb.4-6. The Cameron County Livestock Showgrounds opens tomorrowat 6 a.m., and every day after that at the same time. This eventdraws thousands of spectators from all over South Texas.

The main feature will be the Los Fresnos PRCA Rodeo, which willSaturday at 3 p.m., bringing people to compete in the bull riding, calfroping, steer wrestling, and barrel racing events. Many other eventswill be taking place during the day, such as livestock judging andcarnival rides.

Bees near end of seasonFebruary is good month for team

The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees will be on the road for two moregames before returning to Hidalgo. The Bees will be facing offagainst their division rival, the Laredo Bucks on Friday, Feb. 4. It willbe the last regular season game in Laredo for the Bees.

On Saturday, Feb. 5, the Austin Ice Bats will be hosting RGV. TheBees will make their return to the Dodge Arena on Feb. 11 to face theAmarillo Gorillas.

The Feb. 11 match will be the first of six Killer Bees’ home gamesfor the month of February. Last year during the month of Februarythe Bees had one of their most successful months by compiling arecord of 9-1-2. The second-year franchise will be looking for morewins this month after finishing the month of January with a record of2-8-2.

February 3, 2005 SPORTS

SPORTSCLIPBOARD

ConferenceChampionships

Sunday, Jan. 23Philadelphia 27, Atlanta 10

New England 41, Pittsburgh 27

Super Bowl XXXIXSunday, Feb. 6

Philadelphia vs. New England

Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Fla.

AFC-NFC Pro Bowl Sunday, Feb. 13

Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii

Note: All times central standard time

UTPA SPORTS

Track & FieldJAN. 28, 2005

HOUSTON INDOOR

MEN

400 dash: 1, Chris Lloyd, unattached,

48.85. 6, David Burnett, UTSA, 49.80. 35,

David Sanchez, UTPA, 53.37. 39,

Armando Olguin, UTPA, 57.70.

Mile run: 1, Sesar Figueroa, Houston,

4:17.15. 5, Justin Pitchford, UTSA, 4:22.21.

6, Chris Layman, UTSA, 4:25.44. 10,

David Trevino, UTPA, 4:29.35. 11,

Michael Schwartz, UTSA, 4:29.94. 12,

Aaron Castro, UTPA, 4:31.64.

3,000 run: 1, Westly Keating, UTPA,

8:30.41. 3, James Ortiz, Texas St., 8:41.47.

60 hurdles: 1, Lewis Edmonson, unat-

tached, 7.75. 7, Rashaad Ben, UTPA,

8.16.

High jump: 1, Marcus Harris, Texas

Southern, 7-31/4. 2, Marlin Manley,

UTPA, 6-91/4.

Pole vault: 1, Russ Buller, unattached,

18-01/2. 7,(tie) Jeff Martzell, UTPA, 15-7

Triple jump: 1, Javionni Gooden, unat-

tached, 49-5, 11, J. C. Crosby, UTPA, 49-

81/4.

Weight throw: 1, Isaac Ybarra,

UTPA, 64-41/2 4, J. C. Crosby, UTPA, 53-

81/4, 6, Scott Wilson, Texas St., 52-31/4. 7,

Matt Clinton, UTPA, 50-71/4.

WOMEN

200 dash: 1, Cheryl Garner, Houston,

24.20. 10, Rowena Hamlet, UTPA, 26.43.

11, Adriana Hebert, UTPA, 26.53.

400 dash: 1, Cheryl Garner, Houston,

55.56. 7, Rowena Hamlet, UTPA, 26.43.

18, Ashlon Martin, UTPA, 1:01.66. 20,

Claudia Lopez, UTPA, 1:03.17.

800 dash: 1, Katua Kosteskaya, Texas

St., 2:11.35. 10, Megan McGuire, UTPA,

2:28.85. 12, Angela Billups, UTPA, 2:41.

3,000 run: 1, Jacqueline John, Lamar,

10:05.75. 10, Ashley Perez, UTPA,

11:07.38. 11, Lorraine Garcia, UTPA,

11:09.35.

1600 relay: 1, Houston, 3:44.53. 3,

Texas St., ‘B’ 3:53.09.10, UTPA, 4:17.13

Distance Medley: 1, Houston

12:53.74. 2, UTPA, 13:11.80.

Long jump: 1, Ola Sesay, unattached,

20-71/4. 16, Victoria Salinas, UTPA, 16-

11/2.

Shot put: 1, Tenika Powell, Sam

Houston, 48-8. 6, Amana Ferris, UTPA,

41-6. 12, Amber Kelly, UTPA, 38-101/2.

Weight throw: 1, Amy Moses,

UTPA, 61-91/2. 5, Amber Kelly, UTPA, 49-

31/4. 11, Amanda Ferris, UTPA, 43-3. 14,

Megan Machado, UTPA, 42-51/4.

Pentathion: 1, Ryanne Dupree,

UTSA, 3,942. 9, Bethany Anderson,

UTPA, 2,780. 12, Brittani Hilton, UTPA,

2,547. 14, Lili Cavazos, UTPA, 1,909.

Baseball2004 season

UTPA

BATTING

AB R H HR RBI AVG

Powers 23 4 8 0 3 .348

Alamia 182 39 59 4 28 .324

Eichel 113 17 34 3 22 .301

Flowers 170 27 48 0 19 .282

RodriguezP. 42 6 11 0 6 .262

RodriguezM. 23 2 5 1 9 .217

Broyles 168 23 35 0 19 .208

Pena 5 1 1 0 0 .200

Padron 37 7 6 0 2 162

Totals 763 126 207 8 108 .256

PITCHING

W-L GS SV SO IP ERA

Rodriguez 1-1 2 0 10 20.1 3.56

Linder 2-2 0 2 23 41.0 4.39

Broyles 0-3 0 9 16 12.1 5.11

Pena 3-2 3 0 17 27.0 5.33

Foster 0-2 5 0 18 32.0 7.31

Guerra 0-5 2 1 16 28.0 9.64

Totals 6-15 12 12 100 160.2 5.89

Basketball

Men’s BoxJAN. 31, 2005

UTPA 83, IPFW 74UTPA

FG FT Reb

min M-A M-A O-D-T A Pts

East 33 5-6 4-5 4-3-7 2 14

Berry 26 3-5 4-4 0-3-3 3 12

Fagan 29 5-11 3-3 1-6-7 3 14

Sanchez 38 3-10 2-2 0-2-2 6 10

Montalvo 30 5-9 1-2 4-1-5 2 12

Castillo 12 3-4 0-0 0-0-0 0 9

Lange 17 2-5 1-1 0-1-1 0 5

Gedminas 12 3-5 1-2 1-0-1 0 7

Sanders 3 0-1 0-0 0-0-0 0 0

Totals 200 27-69 16-19 14-19-33 16 83

Percentages: FG .518 FT, .842, 3-Point 9-

18, .500 (Castillo 3, Berry 2, Sanchez 2,

Montalvo 1, Fagan 1). Blocked shots: 2

(Berry 1, Lange 1). Turnovers: 10 (Berry 4,

Fagan 2, Sanchez 2, Gedminas 1, East1).

Steals: 5 (East 2, Lange 1, Fagan 1,

Gedminas 1). Personal Fouls: 20 (East 5,

Berry 4, Lange 4, Gedminas 4, Montalvo

1, Fagan 1, Castillo 1).

INDIANA-PURDUE FORT WAYNE

FG FT Reb


Malone 29 2-7 0-0 0-1-1 4 5

Carouthers 20 1-6 2-2 5-0-5 1 4

Bauer 38 7-14 4-5 5-3-8 4 22

Campbell 29 5-16 4-6 2-1-3 1 13

Simon 38 10-18 4-6 10-6-16 2 24

Hawkins 32 2-5 0-0 1-3-4 1 5

Malone J. 12 0-2 1-2 1-1-2 1 1

CampbellC. 2 0-1 0-0 0-0-0 0 0

Totals 200 26-55 9-10 12-19-31 16 66

Percentages: FG .391 FT .722 3-Point

goals: 7-27, .259 (Bauer 4, Malone 1,

Campbell 1, Hawkins 1). Blocked shots: 6

(Simon 4, Hawkins 1, Malone J. 1).

Turnovers: 13 (Campbell 3, Malone 2,

Carouthers 2, Simon 2, Hawkins 2,

Malone J. 1, Bauer1). Steals: 4 (Campbell

2, Carouthers 1, Bauer 1). Personal Fouls:

13 (Carouthers 3, Malone 2, Bauer 2,

Campbell 2, Simon 2, Hawkins 2).

UTPA.................41 42- 83

IPFW..................29 45- 74

Women’s BoxJAN. 30, 2005

UTPA 86, SAVANNAH ST. 52UTPA

FG FT Reb


Guin 15 3-7 0-0 0-0-0 2 7

Reed 34 9-16 2-2 1-3-4 4 23

Daniel 24 1-4 0-0 2-6-8 3 2

Montaque 3 0-1 0-0 0-0-0 0 0

Schamel 17 3-5 1-2 4-7-11 0 7

Wilson 20 1-3 1-2 0-1-1 2 3

Roberts 16 3-8 1-2 2-2-4 2 8

Piwonka 10 2-5 2-2 1-0-1 0 6

Pierce 21 8-19 5-6 7-2-9 0 21

Gooden 15 2-4 0-1 2-3-5 0 4

Cheadle 16 2-4 1-4 1-1-2 4 5

Ramirez 8 0-3 0-0 0-0-0 0 0

Arriola 1 0-0 0-0 0-1-1 0 0

Totals 200 34-79 13-2123-32-55 17 86

Percentages: FG .430, FT .619, 3-Point

goals: 5-17, .294 (Reed 3, Roberts 1,

Guin1). Blocked shots: 6 (Daniel 3, Pierce

2, Schamel 1). Turnovers: 17 (Daniel 3,

Roberts 3, Schamel 2, Pierce 2, Gooden

2, Arriola 1, Cheadle 1, Montague 1,

Wilson 1). Steals: 12 (Wilson 4, Daniel 2,

Reed 2, Gooden 1, Cheadle 1, Guin 1,

Roberts 1). Personal Fouls: 15 (Gooden 4,

Schamel 3, Daniel 2, Wilson 1, Roberts 1,

Guin 1, Piwonka 1, Pierce 1, Ramirez 1).

SAVANNAH STATE

FG FT Reb


Moore 32 5-16 0-4 1-2-3 3 11

McCray 17 0-2 0-0 2-3-5 2 0

James 11 0-1 1-2 0-1-1 0 1

Green 32 3-7 0-1 2-1-3 9 6

Hill 36 9-17 2-2 0-2-2 0 25

Walcott 5 0-1 0-0 0-0-0 0 0

Dinkins 19 1-3 0-1 0-2-2 0 2

Hunter 28 2-8 1-5 1-6-7 0 5

Jenkins 6 1-2 0-0 0-0-0 0 3

Owens 6 0-0 0-0 0-0-0 0 0

Isaac 8 0-0 0-0 0-1-1 0 0

Totals 200 21-57 4-15 13-26-39 14 52

Percentages: FG .368, FT .267, 3-Point

goals: 6-13, .462 (Hill 5, Jenkins 1).

Blocked shots: 4 (Dinkins 2, Isaac 1,

Moore 1) Turnovers: 28 (Moore 7, Hill 6,

Hunter 4, Walcott 3, Jenkins 2, McCray 2,

Green 2). Steals: 6 (Green 3, Moore 1, Hill

1, Jenkins 1). Personal Fouls: 17 (Dinkins

4, Hunter 3, James 3, Green 3, Moore 2,

McCray 1, Owens 1).

UTPA........................29 57- 86

SAVANNAH ST........29 23- 52

February 3, 2005 SSPPOORRTTSS

Fiery freshman becoming Lady Bronc sparkplugSix-foot-1-inch tall Tynesha Pierce jokes

with some of her teammates as she enters thegym for basketball practice recently. To somepeople she seems like a shy, soft-spokenfreshmen. Or is she?

Off the court this may be the case. But onceshe is on the hardwood, things seem to change,as she becomes a fierce competitor as theball is tipped off. She is active, vocal,and has established herself as anintimidating offensive force in thepaint. She gets so fired up that this isone of the things she has had to workon: controlling her emotions during thecourse of the game.

Luckily for the newcomer, there areveteran elements on the team to act asmentors, along with the coaching staff.

“Stacey Gooden has really helpedme out a lot with staying focused andnot getting down on myself, and DevinReed has helped me with getting hypedduring a game,” said Pierce.

In her first full year at TheUniversity of Texas Pan American,Pierce has picked up steam as of lateand has made quite an impression onboth her coaches and fans. The LadyBroncs, 10-10 heading into Friday’s homegame against Longwood (Va.), are currentlytrying to finish the season by making schoolhistory. If they can manage a winning season,it will be the first such season in Lady Broncannals.

Pierce is the team’s leading scorer thisseason at 9.2 points per game, an unusual feat

for a first-year player. It is also unusualconsidering she has not started one game andonly averaged 15 minutes per game. When shegets in there, she starts firing, and has a solid46-percent field goal percentage so far.

Unusual, yes. But her coach saysthat her basketball past could havepredicted the present.

“She’s had a huge impact forour program. She came from a

state championship team.She was the MVP of thestate tournament for thestate of Texas,” saidDeAnn Craft, UTPA head

women’s basketball coach.Pierce may be the missing

piece in the Lady Bronc puzzle;she has certainly been a big

spark to an already dangeroussquad, giving it an inside scoring

presence next to ruggedsenior Molly Schamel.

“We knew as acoaching staff that wegot a real recruiting coup,when we got her,” saidCraft. “And now I think

the Valley and UT Pan Amare beginning to realize what

a special young player she is. And the best partof it is we get her for three more seasons.”

Pierce made all those accomplishments atWestfield High School in the Houston area lastyear, as an All-State player with outstandingshooting percentages from the floor and free-throw line for a 36-4 team. The Houston nativewas recruited by other programs such as

DePaul, Dartmouth and Kansas State, butdecided to come south to Edinburg.

“I made one visit down here and I wantedto sign right away,” said Pierce.

With her first basketball season at UTPAnearly over, Pierce appears to be workingharder than ever and has taken on a more vitalrole in the Lady Bronc offense. Her transitionto Division I has taken some time, but wascomplete by the time the team needed hermost. Though she has a few big scoring gamesover the break, including an 18-point game inDecember, she really turned it on after the NewYear. She burned Wyoming for 21, Huston-Tillotson for 22, and Prairie View for 20, in thespace of three weeks.

“The biggest adjustment has been the speedof Division I players and keeping it going for alonger time,” said Pierce.

As stated, some of the senior players andupperclassmen have taken her under their wingin helping her with the maturation process.Senior post players Schamel and JenniferArriola have both had a hand in helping Pierceunderstand the importance of hard work bothduring practice and games.

“We knew she had the talent, it’s never beenabout her basketball skill…we expected shecould do it,” said Craft. “I don’t think we reallyexpected she would be such an impact soearly.”

During the beginning of the season, noteveryone took her as a serious threat. But shehas certainly caught the eyes and attention ofnot only her coaches, but her opponents aswell. As soon as she started putting up solidscoring numbers, other teams started noticing.

“Now she’s kind of got an X on her chest.

Coming off the holidays, tennis coachPaul Soliz and his Bronc team beganpractice for the upcoming spring season inmid-January preparing for the task thatawaited them.

Bronc tennis officially begins thisweekend with the UTPA women’s teamplaying at Abilene Christian University inthe Ladies Indoor Classic Feb 4-5. Themen’s season begins on Feb. 12 againstNicholls State in Austin.

With the fall trial run a distant memory,tennis players now have to be ready to playnearly an entire season on the road. Thewomen set out to improve upon last year’s4-12 record behind returning standouts AnaPeña and Alysia Sloan, and talented up-and-comers Katherine Barto and Germanexport Silke Buksik.

The Lady Broncs’ only match at homefinds them competing against LaredoCommunity College in late March at theOrville Cox Tennis Center at UTPA. But onthe schedule first is Abilene Christian.

Soliz said he preferred not to focus onteam weaknesses going into the firsttournament of the season. He said to keepan eye on the doubles teams ofBuksik/Barto and Sloan/Pena.

Pena, along with doubles partner NatalieGonzalez made the All-Independent secondteam after the 2003-04 season and together

were 5-3 and 5-5 overall in two sets. Pena, a letterman in 2002-03 and 2003-

04, made second team at the Number 3position in singles, going 4-8 and 8-11overall.

Barto, a four-time Border Olympicchampion from Laredo, was Soliz’s firstrecruit at UTPA. She was a district tennischampion at St. Augustine High School andcompeted at the highest level of amateurcompetition in Texas, the USTASuperchamp level.

“I look forward to working withKatherine,” Soliz said in an Agusst onlinearticle, after signing Barto. “She impressesme as a player, athlete, and mostimportantly with her leadership skills.”

UTPA men’s tennis, the only team atUTPA affiliated with the SouthlandConference, went 9-9 last season afterfalling in the first round of the conferencetournament last April.

Junior Oliver Steil led the Broncs lastseason going 15-11 overall in singles play,and with various doubles teams, went 6-8with Jeremy Salvo, 3-5 teamed with NikPorter, and 1-0 with Tom Mangelschots.

Senior Jeremy Salvo had 29 overallwins, went 6-8 in first position singles, and12-15 overall. He notched 17 total wins indoubles play.

“These guys are diligent and they havegood camaraderie,” Soliz said. “They’re ajoy to work with.”

FIRST SERVE:

Ed Martinez /The Pan American

NEXT UPUPCOMING GAMES FOR

UTPA HOOPS TEAMSMEN’S

WOMEN’S

SATURDAY, FEB. 5versus Islanders

atTexas A&M Corpus Christi @

7 p.m.

MONDAY, FEB. 7versus Longwood

atUTPA Field House @

7 p.m.

By JACOB ALEGRIAThe Pan American

Because she’s targeted, people go to box her out,” saidCraft.

Off the court there has been the need for otheradjustments, one of which has been the weather.

“It is really, really hot down here, but I like it, ” saidPierce.

Women’s tennis set to begin seasonBy JOEY GOMEZThe Pan American

February 3, 2005 SSPPOORRTTSS

Spring golf season set to begin this weekend

SUPER BOWL XXXIX PREDICTION LINE

On Monday, Feb. 7 the UTPAmen’s golf teamwill be starting the second half of its season inHouston at the Rice Intercollegiate Tournament.The team competed in four tournaments in thefall and had a rough start, so Broncs Golf CoachDrew Scott would like to see some improvementin the team’s performance in the spring.

“I wasn’t really pleased (with the first half). Ireally wasn’t. We had a tough schedule. Weplayed at Nebraska, SMU, Stephen F. Austin,and Stanford, so we saw some very good teamsall semester long,” said Scott. “I’m not afraid toput my guys into the hornets’ nest, evenfreshmen, but I was not really pleased, and westill got a lot of work to do.”

The Broncs golf team is composed of sixplayers, one junior, one sophomore, and fourfreshmen. Five compete at each tournament andScott feels that the young team gained someexperience in the fall that will help it improve inthe spring.

“I played four freshmen predominately in thefall, and we had four tournaments,” said theBroncs golf coach. “All my freshmen playedevery single event, so that is some goodexperience for them. Hopefully they will be ableto take that experience and use it to theiradvantage here in the spring.”

According to Scott, the lack of experience inseveral of the team’s competitors is going to beone of the toughest tests.

“I think that is going to be the biggest obstaclefor the team,” said Scott. “(For them to) all of asudden become more mature, even though theydon’t have many years of experience under their

belt, that is going to be the toughest thing.”Scott also believes that getting experience

against bigger universities with toughcompetition is challenging, but it can bebeneficial to the team.

“We have a smaller school trying to playagainst the big competition, and the earlier wecan mentally prepare ourselves to play againstthe top competition I think that it will be apivotal change for us, which will be good,” saidthe Broncs coach. “That’s what I’m looking for.To where we know we can win. It is not aboutwhether we have the talent or we don’t havetalent. It is just a matter of how quickly are weready to use that (talent) and really reach ourpotential.”

With seven tournaments left on the schedule,Scott feels that there is still plenty of golf left tobe played, and he is optimistic about the team’schances of competing in the spring.

“I’m really excited. We have a great schedulethis spring. We will be traveling quite a bit, (and)playing a lot of competitions in different placesin the country.” said Scott. “I hope we can reallycompete for some tournament titles, but in orderto do that all five guys have to be hitting on allcylinders. This is a true team sport whereeverybody has to play well for the entire team toachieve success.”

The players are also excited about the firsttournament since Oct. 24. Sophomore ColinNorris said he is glad the second half of theseason is here.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Norris. “I

think everyone is ready to get back into playing,so I think everyone is excited to get to the firsttournament and try to improve on last year.”

In the fall, UTPA men’s golf team shot anaverage 79.4 strokes in a 72 par course a gamewith an average low round of 71. Freshman A.J.Hohn led the Broncs with a 76.3 strokes pergame in four tournaments.

The UTPA men’s golf team will be at the RiceIntercollegiate Tournament on Feb. 7 and Feb. 8in Houston. Rice is ranked 100 out of the 290best schools in the nation with a division recordof 189-99.

GOOD FIRST TRACK MEET

Last weekend the university’s track team hitthe ground running, capturing three first-placefinishes at the Houston Indoor Classic andmeeting the NCAA provisional mark on twooccasions.

On the men’s side, Isaac Ybarra continued hisfield-event success as he captured his 11th careerindividual title in the weight throw with a toss of64-4.50. The Sharyland native neared theNCAA provisional that would guarantee him aspot at regionals. The senior’s toss surpassed theold school record, which was set in 2003 byYbarra himself at 58-8.50. Also, junior WestlyKeating passed that magic mark on the track bytaking home the gold in the 3,000-meter race. Inhis return to the run after a redshirt season, hefinished with a time of 8:30.41, second on theUTPA record books. Keating already own threeof the top five times ever.

Another high achiever, literally, was seniorMarlin Manley, who finished a respectable

second in the high jump competition.Heating up the women’s side was junior

Edinburg native Amy Moses who reached theNCAA provisional mark with a toss of 61-9.50in the weight throw, good enough for the goldand her 14th career title as a Lady Bronc. Thewomen had four of the top 14 finishes in thethrows, as that unit might be the team’sstrongest.

Both teams return to Houston this weekendfor the Hyatt Regency Invitational.

BRONC BASEBALLER HONORED

Junior transfer Dane Mason was chosen as thepreseason top newcomer by Baseball America,though he is yet to throw a pitch in a UTPAgame.

Mason, the team’s only non-Texas player,earned this honor though his previous play atOklahoma State where he finished the 2004season with a 4-1 record. He pitched 39dominating innings, fanning 32 batters. TheNew Jersey native will have his chance to showSouth Texas what he’s got as he will lead offfrom the mound against Texas State, the first ofthree Bronc games this weekend at the UTPAClassic.

Also making heads turn is freshmen BobbyGomez, the fifth-ranked Division-I prospect inthe upcoming 2006 Major League BaseballAmateur Draft. Gomez will pitch the Classic’sthird game Sunday against Texas A&M-CorpusChristi.

Daryl Gonzales contributed information tothis report.

EAGLES EAGLES PATRIOTS EAGLES EAGLES PATRIOTS

45-28 24-17 27-17 32-27 28-23 27-24The New England Patriotsshould win because they areawesome, but PhiladelphiaEagles, who up until nowwere always bridesmaidsnever the bride, now havethe opportunity to mimic thePatriots’ same path... whenyou’re hungry for the SuperBowl anything can happen.I’m taking the underdogs.

This game should be one ofthe most exciting Super Bowlsin recent years due to the greatdefensive skill of both teams.Even though Terrell Owensmight not be at 100% theEagles have managed to carrythemselves through toughplayoff competition to getwhere they’re at.. I think theywant it more.

Without a 100-percenthealthy Terrell Owens andagainst a team that makesfew mistakes, Philly is goingto have to get lucky. Theyprobably won’t.

It doesn’t really matter whetherTO is used or not, although ifthey plan to have him aroundfor future seasons I think theyshould use him carefully.Keeping it simple, it’ll be the #7rated offense and #9 rateddefense Patriots vs. #9 ratedoffense and #10 rated defenseEagles, not the best statistical-ly, but this game will be close.

I think it will be a little bit moreof a defensive battle, but if itturns into an offensive showthen I think the Eagles are introuble. The pressure is on thePatriots simply because they’realready expected to win andthe Eagles have nothing tolose. It's time for Brady to losein the playoffs and I think it'sgoing to happen.

The Patriots defense hasnot met an offense that iscapable of putting the pointson them. Tom Brady hasbeen in the situation manytimes before and has led histeam to victory -- plus heshot! and who knows,Vinatieri’s kick might win itagain.

THE PAN AMERICAN STAFF PICKS THE WINNER

Diana Garza Daryl Gonzales Greg Selber Joey Gomez Jacob Alegria Delisa Guadarrama

By JOEY HINOJOSAThe Pan American

BRONC ROUNDUP

Super Bowl 39 will kick off at 5:30 p.m. at Alltell Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla., as the New England Patriots try to win their thirdchampionship in four years. The Philadelphia Eagles return to the big game for the first time since 1980, when they lost to the OaklandRaiders. The game will be broadcast on FOX and will be watched by approximately 90 million Americans.

A 20-year veteran of Intercollegiate Athleticstakes control March 1.

The Southland Conference was the word asScott Street was officially welcomed as TheUniversity of Texas-Pan American’s director ofathletics Wednesday. Street, 48, brings with himthe possibility of taking UTPA athletics to thenext level.

UTPA administrators didn’t have to searchtoo far for Street, who is familiar with SouthTexas and the UT System, having worked at TheUniversity of Texas-San Antonio for seven yearsas the senior associate athletic director foradministration since 2002. UTSA is a member ofthe Southland, and UTPA desperately wants tofind conference affiliation in the coming years.

Street heads south after stints as compliancecoordinator, athletic business officer andmarketing director in his distinguished career.

James Langabeer, vice president of BusinessAffairs at UTPA, cited Street’s experience andcredibility as only a few of the manycharacteristics sought after by the university to“help elevate the growth and improvements thatUTPA envisions.”

“I believe that Scott Street will extend thepositive impression into the university as well asinto the community. He’ll build off the successesof Bill Weidner,” Langabeer said of Street, andhis predecessor, who left last year after six yearson the job.

Acccording to Langabeer, Street possessesthe right business knowledge, integrity and

character for the job. Langabeer hopes he willeventually extend UTPA athletics into aconference, but says he is now facing a differentproblem than Weidner once was.

“He’s not fighting what I call a perception orimage problem, because we’ve come beyondthat,” he said, harking back to the mid-1990s,when UTPA had a series of run-ins with theNCAA.

Langabeer commented that the lack of aconference affiliation is holding back the athleticprogram, and remedying that problem wouldbenefit the basketball program especially.

“The scheduling problems associated withbasketball especially, being an independent justmakes it awfully rough on our student-athletes,”Langabeer said, “After February 28, they[conference schools] have these conferenceplayoffs and we can’t play.”

Street seemed the likely golden meanbetween the three finalist candidates, possessinga more distinguished track record than ChrisKing, 32, a relative newcomer to athleticadministration, and Rance Pugmire, 45, a formerAD at Utah State mired in controversy over hisbout with the law in February 2004.

In a recent interview long-time head trainerand former interim AD Jim Lancaster said thatany potential AD should be well rounded enoughto handle the different facets within thedepartment.

Street, however, was unable to comment onthe issues he faces. One thing he did note, wasthat, “85 of our student athletes were 3.0 orabove. That is the key to our academic success

and we need to keep pushing that forward,” hesaid.

Among many of the events that highlightedhis tenure at UTSA, Street witnessed both men’sand women’s basketball teams win SouthlandConference championships.

In 2004, the men’s team advanced to theNCAA tournament after taking the conferencetitle. They had also taken the title in Street’s firstyear, 1999.

Men’s basketball coach, Robert Davenportwas confident that this background will onlyenhance UTPA’s athletic achievement.

“I think his range of experience andknowledge, and if nothing else he’s been part ofthe Southland Conference and there’sopportunity’s for us there. He knows the inside ofthat league real well,” Davenport said.

Davenport also hintedthat taking UTPA athleticsinto the SouthlandConference might beStreet’s first priority.

“I think all the things hehas to do will fall into place,and if we can get that done,it’ll make the rest so mucheasier,” he said. “I’m sure heknows that, and it’s been thequestion everyone’s beenasking.”

Street served as theNCAA Tournamentmanager for the 2004Men’s Basketball Final

Four, an event saturated with media coverage thatgenerated an economic

impact of $55 million for the city of SanAntonio, attracting 51,000 over a three-day span.

“Our teams have done well on thecompetitive fields and we need to continue to dothat, so I think there’s a lot of positive things tolook forward to, and I think if we can build onthat, and make a little brighter future,” Street saidwhen discussing UTPA’s performance in the pastmonths.

Street said in a brief statement that his firstorder of business would be to sit down with hisstaff.

“This is to initiate an atmosphere ofteamwork, and to meet with the student-athletesto review their academics, life skills, and theirathletic achievement,” said Street.

Sports Clipboard . . . . . . . . 13

Pierce feature . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Super Bowl picks. . . . . . . .15SPORTS

Sudden changes in the weather have made it difficultfor The University of Texas-Pan American baseball teamto practice. The timing of this cold, rainy spell couldn’thave been worse, as the team is in final preparations forthis weekend’s UTPA Classic.

This tournament at the Edinburg Baseball Stadium willfeature some of the best teams in the state, like UT-Arlington, Texas State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Itwill get started Friday at 3 p.m. and is set up so that everyteam will get a chance at all the others, and the team withthe best overall record wins. Heading off the event will beUT-Arlington against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Bronc baseball coach Willie Gawlik said, “since weare independent, every game that we play counts.” Headded that the schedule is one of the toughest in thenation, and it will feature 47 of the top 100 teams.

The Broncs will play three games, one per day, startingwith Friday night’s match against Texas State at 7,featuring the début of transfer pitcher Dane Mason, whogets the start.

Mason has already been given a lot ofacknowledgement during the preseason, such as beingnamed by Baseball America as the preseason topnewcomer.

“He’s done a good job, and he’s earned that,” Gawlikcommented on Mason’s preseason honors. “We expecthim to take the reins and run with it.”

During the 2004 season, Mason dominated the mound

in 39 innings of play, striking out 32 batters.He finished the season with a 4-1 recordwhile pitching at Oklahoma State,contributing his part to a Cowboy Big 12Conference Tournament title.

Gawlik said that any time that you get an“A” quality pitcher, it’s a good thing.

“He [Mason] really brings experience andthere is no substitute for experience,” he said.“Mason is turning into a leader in the pitchingstaff.”

Spearheading the charge for the secondgame, against UT-Arlington at 6 p.m.Saturday,will be sophomore pitcher RyneFoster, who struck out 18 batters in 32 inningslast season. Gawlik said that he hopes Fostercan continue where he left off at the end of2004.

“He finished his last 15 innings strong,only giving up one run,” Gawlik said. “We’relooking for the guys that aren’t leaders to stepit up and become leaders.”

Closing off the starting pitching duties willbe Bobby Gomez, who will lead his teamagainst Texas A&M-Corpus Christi onSunday at 4 p.m. This will be the highly notedFalfurrias native’s first appearance in acollegiate game. Gomez was an outstandingplayer who dominated at Fal, making firstteam All-State. Gawlik said that the moreoften he goes out there, the better off he’sgoing to be.

Street takes over as AD starting March 1

UTPA Classic commences baseball seasonBy DARYL GONZALESThe Pan American

By JOEY GOMEZ & EMMA CLARKThe Pan American

Fri. Feb. 4 UT-Arlington vs. TAMU-CC 3pm

Fri. Feb. 4 UTPA vs. Texas State 7pm

Sat. Feb. 5 TAMU-CC vs. Texas State 2pm

Sat. Feb. 5 UTPA vs. UT-Arlington 6pm

Sun. Feb. 6 Texas State vs. UT-Arlington 12pm

Sun. Feb. 6 UTPA vs. TAMU-CC 4pm

Jacob Alegria/The Pan American

NEW BOSSES - Dr. Blandina Cardenas welcomes new AthleticDirector Scott Street at a press conference Wednesday.

February 3, 2005

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