The Paisano Volume 48 Issue 2

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

Volume 48 Issue 2January 22, 2013 {WWW.PAISANO-ONLINE.COM}{SINCE 1981}

Vincent Valdez brings “America’s Finest” to the McNaypg 6

{San Antonio}Forbes Magazine

ranked San Antonio third on its list of

New Tech Hot Spots.

{Texas}State Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Hous-ton) has introduced a bill which would

allow hard liquor to be sold on Sundays, and for sales after 9:00 P.M. Monday through Saturday.

{Sports}Last week, Lance Armstrong publi-cally admitted for

the first time that he used performance enhancing drugs

during his 7 Tour de France victories.

{Sports}Tal Palo Tal Astilla

opens Wednesday Jan. 23 at the UTSA Art Gallery, in the Arts Building. The ex-

hibit features work by contemporary artists inspired by Mexican

heritage.

{History}In this week in 2003 UTSA’s Rec Center

opened its doors for the first time.

{Quotes}“My fellow Ameri-cans, we are made

for this moment, and we will seize it—so long as we seize it together.” -Barack

Obama in his second inaugural address.

{Basketball}UTSA’s teams will

take on Seattle Uni-versity Thursday Jan. 24. The women take on the Redhawks at home at 7:00 P.M. while the men go

on the road seeking their first conference victory, tipping off at

9:00 P.M. C.S.T.

UTSA Men’s basketball falls to Texas State to remain

winless in conferencepg 8

{{

Natalie FrelsWeb [email protected]

On the morning of Thurs-day, Jan. 17, officers arrested a 16-year-old male for the car-jacking and fatal shooting of 18-year-old Christopher Hino-jos that occurred in the Maver-ick Creek neighborhood near UTSA on Tuesday, Jan. 15.

“Nobody wins. This is a tragic story no matter how you look at it,” Stephen Enriquez, Hinojos’ stepfather, told KENS 5. “But, ultimately, I believe that justice will be done.”

San Antonio Police Chief Wil-liam McManus said in a press conference Friday that the sus-pect would be charged with capital murder.

Neighbors reported that around 11 p.m., they heard Hi-nojos yell-ing that s o m e o n e was stealing his brown 2001 Toyota Camry. The suspect al-legedly shot Hinojos in the hand as the victim opened the driver’s side door in a struggle to stop the sus-pect from taking the vehicle, the police report stated.

The suspect drove off, but did not make it far before he decid-ed to turn around. As Hinojos knocked on one neighbor’s door for help, the suspect got out of the car and allegedly shot the victim multiple times.

Hinojos died on the porch of a home on the 300 block of Allen-dale Oak at around 11:15 p.m.

Police said that the victim might have known his killer, whose name will not be released because of his age.

“It was not a random act of violence,” McManus said. “You don’t wake up one morning and commit a murder.”

The suspect was among six teens who were arrested for several robberies on Bandera Road. The teenager allegedly assaulted the arresting officer and attempted to gouge his eyes out, McManus stated in Friday’s press conference.

“The fact that this individual is brazen enough that he tried to gouge out the officer’s eyes shows you what kind of indi-vidual we’re dealing with,” Mc-Manus said.

Hinojos’ murder is among many violent crimes in the area.

In October, San Antonio Po-lice responded to two armed

robberies in three days at the Outpost apartments on UTSA Blvd. One week earlier, Charles Duo-to was robbed and shot in the chest while walking to his apart-ment at the Outpost. He was rushed to University Hospital in critical condi-

tion.Although the cases remain

unresolved, the San Antonio Po-lice Department has not ignored the remarkable surge of criminal activity near UTSA. McManus stated that they are “aware of these crimes.” He believes, how-ever, that these recent arrests will curb much of the violence in the university area.

16-Year-Old arrested for fatal shooting near UTSA

“You don’t wake up one morning and commit a murder.”William McManusSan Antonio Police Chief

Shootings lead tonational, state debates on gun control

Bridget GaskillDavid GlickmanStaff [email protected]

At a White House press conference on Jan. 12, Barack Obama signed 23 executive ac-tions pertaining to gun control. These marked the president’s first actions in response to a school shooting that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn. on Dec. 14. The shooting resulted in the deaths of 20 students and six staff members.

The executive actions de-tailed several measures, includ-ing the nomination of a perma-nent director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, removing legal red tape for police investigations on shootings and launching a national dialogue on mental health.

Obama also urged Congress to pass legislation that bans as-sault rifles and high-capacity gun magazines, as well as to im-plement universal background checks on all gun purchases, which would, in part, close the “gun show loophole,” according to CNN.

At the press conference the president called his proposals “common sense measures” that would prevent shootings such as the one in Newtown from

happening again while “still pro-tecting the 2nd Amendment and the rights of gun owners.”

Since the Newtown shoot-ing, there has been an increased call for gun control measures in both the political and public spheres. According to a New York Times/CBS Poll, support for a nationwide ban on semi-automatic weapons and a ban on the sale of high capacity magazines has risen to 53 per-cent and 63 percent nationwide respectively.

In the same poll, the call for tightened gun control laws has risen to 54 percent, up from 39 percent in April. Gun control supporters such as the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg have praised the actions and public response to guns. Bloomberg also helped to spearhead legislation in New York state to strengthen some of the toughest gun control laws in the country, and the first since the Newtown shooting.

There has been backlash against these new gun control actions, however. The National Rifle Association (NRA)—a vo-cal opponent of new gun con-trol laws and policy—accused Obama’s policies of “attacking firearms and ignoring children” and “not a solution to the crisis we face as a nation” in a state-ment released last week.

James Calder, a political sci-

ence professor at UTSA and a registered gun owner, com-mented on whether Obama’s ex-ecutive actions were the proper course of action or would just create more “red tape.”

“I think it’s going to add to enforcement, but, like anything else, you can’t know at this point. You can’t know about the effectiveness of any one single executive order until time has passed,” said Calder, who teach-es a course on public policy.

“Clearly more red tape—as people like to use that term—is something that we need in this gun management problem that we have in American society,” said Calder.

The NRA had proposed their own solution in response to the Newtown shooting, calling for volunteer armed guard troops to be placed in every school to pro-tect against shooters. The group released a highly publicized TV ad before Obama’s actions last week, calling the president a “hypocrite” for his response on gun control.

The ad suggested that while Obama publically opposed the group’s proposal, his own daugh-ters already attended a school with its own armed guards; the claim was later proven false by multiple sources.

A few places have begun implementing armed guards in schools, including Marlboro,

See GUN CONTROL, Page 3

San Antonio hosts the country’s largest MLK Day parade each year. For more photos turn to page 3.W

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{Arts}Tal Palo Tal Astilla

opens Wednesday Jan. 23 at the UTSA Art Gallery, in the Arts Building. The ex-

hibit features work by contemporary artists inspired by Mexican

heritage.

Christopher Hinojos was shot and killed on the 300 block of Allendale Oak last week

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NEWSJanuary 15, 2013

2

NEWSJanuary 22, 2013

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New Jersey, where uniformed police officers now patrol school grounds, according to the New York Daily News. However, the proposal has been criticized as well, such as by New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who on CNN said the idea of armed guards in every school was not a “wise idea.”

The gun management prob-lem, according to Calder, is “probably not going to be ad-dressed very easily by a weak piece of legislation—it’s going to be addressed by going after those pieces of legislation that seem to create the most serious problems.”

While some politicians be-lieve that the solution lies with-in President Obama’s proposed stricter gun laws, others insist that individual resourcefulness is the proper course of action.

Governor Rick Perry and Lt. Governor David Dewhurst be-lieve that the president’s call to Congress to ban high capacity magazines and assault weapons violates the Constitution, and is a strategic effort to enact spe-cific left-wing initiatives.

Dewhurst announced at a conservative policy summit in early January that he intended to propose that the state consid-er funding specific firearm and defense training programs for school administrators and em-ployees. His proposal was met with praise and criticism.

State Representative Jason Villalba (R) visualizes a program similar to the federal air marshal

training that would deputize school employees to use fire-arms as the last resort during an attack, said the Texas Tribune. Calder argues Dewhurst’s policy is dangerous and could result in “an arms race in the classroom.”

The Texas Tribune also stated that State Senator Rodney El-lis (D-Houston) and Rep. Eddie Rodriguez (D-Austin) plan to file legislation that would re-quire background checks at gun shows and for other unregulated gun distributors as well as train-ing for individuals buying spe-cific firearms.

“How many more tragedies must we endure before we step up and take action?” Ellis asked in a public address. Without specifically addressing the issue of gun shows in his press release on Jan. 16, Perry insisted the political left is using the media and the death of the children in Connecticut as a method by which to advance a preexisting political agenda. “Laws, the only redoubt of secularism, will not suffice. Let us all return to our places of worship and pray for help.”

However, there are arguments that gun control is not the main issue to be examined, but rather the issue is mental health care accessibility and funding to state hospitals. Funding for men-tal health programs varies by state, with Texas ranking 49 in per capita spending in mental health agency expenditures, ac-cording to National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Research Institute.

Robert Levy, chairman of the Cato Institute, a libertarian-leaning think tank, told the New York Times “to reduce the risk of multi-victim violence, we would be better advised to focus on early detection and treatment of mental illness.”

Earlier this month, Mas-sachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick proposed legislation that would require courts to send all rel-evant mental health records to the state’s criminal justice in-formation system so the federal government could include this information in a national gun license registry.

Sally Satel, psychiatrist and resident scholar at the Ameri-can Enterprise Institute, de-bated on the New York Times opinion page that the severely mentally ill commit only a small fraction of homicides, about 3 to 5 percent. “I applaud efforts to improve the way we care and monitor the mentally ill, but it’s not the cure for gun violence,” stated Satel.

There are varying opinions on the level of proper response to the recent tragedies that have struck our nation. Whether improving each state’s mental health resources, from private institutions to neighborhood counseling centers, or enacting provisions to reduce the coun-try’s arsenal, Calder asserts we have “to create some sort of comprehensive legislation that addresses a variety of aspects of this problem.” Whichever course of action, “something has to be done.”

GUN CONTROL: National, state leaders offering opposing solutionsFrom Page 1

San Antonio’s MLK Day March in photos: Organizers estimated that over 100,000 people participated in San Antonio’s annual MLK Day March, many of them representing UTSA and its student organizations. Participants marched through the East Side before finishing at Pittman-Sullivan Park to listen to music and speeches. This year’s event also coincided with President Barack Obama’s second inaugura-tion, which was shown

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{The Paisano}Editor-in-Chief: Katy SchmaderManaging Editor:Stephen WhitakerNews Editor:Matthew DuartePaseo Editor:Sarah GibbensArts Editor: Jennifer AlejosSports Editor: Sheldon BakerPhoto Editor: Will TallentWeb Editor:Natalie FrelsAds Manager: Kevyn KirvenBusiness Manager: Jenelle DuffSenior Copy Editor:Alyssa Torres

{Staff Writers}Daniel Crotty, David Glickman, Corey Franco, Valeria Rodriguez, Mag-alieh Acosta, Amanda Dansby, Valeria Perez, Bridget Gaskill, Christina Coyne, Randy Lopez, Lic-tor Prianti, Alex Camacho, Shelby Hodges

{Staff Photographers}Ruth Olivares, Alyssa Gonzales

{Contributing Writers}Julian Montez, Ethel As-berry, Leann Acuna, John Poplawski, Council Royal, Eliana Briceno, Marialuisa Bianchi, Ross Hutchin-son, Erin Boren, Rachel Corbelli, Philip Taele, Eric Mondragon, Delaney Mar-lowe, Doug Ricther

{Contributing Photographers}Scott Cochran

{Interns}Amanda Dansby, Janae Rice, Erin Boren, Sheldon Baker, Marcia Perales

{Advisor} Diane Abdo

{Advisory Board}Steven Kellman, Mansour El Kikhia, Jack Himelblau, Sandy Norman

The Paisano is published by the Paisano Educational Trust, a non-profit, tax exempt, edu-cational organization. The Paisano is operated by mem-bers of the Student Newspa-per Association, a registered student organization. The Paisano is NOT sponsored, fi-nanced or endorsed by UTSA. New issues are published ev-ery Tuesday during the fall and spring semesters, exclud-ing holidays and exam peri-ods. All revenues are gener-ated through advertising and donations. Advertising inqui-ries and donations should be directed towards:

© The Paisano14545 Roadrunner Way San Antonio, TX 78249 Phone: (210)690-9301 Fax: (210)690-3423 E-mail: [email protected]

5OPINION

Who shows up to class?Editorial

Lance Armstrong waited too long to tell the truth to his fans

It has been quite a week since the last is-sue of The Paisano hit the stands.

A media circus sur-r o u n d e d

former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o and the story of his deceased girlfriend that turned out to be a twitter hoax perpe-trated by a man named Tuisa-sasopo. Others have written volumes on this topic in the past week.

Continuing the story of sports stars falling from grace was Lance Armstrong, who finally publicly admitted that he used performance-enhanc-ing drugs to win the Tour de France seven times from 1999-2005, among other honors Armstrong won on a bicycle in his career. He came clean to Oprah Winfrey on her net-work.

The Lance Armstrong saga is unique in the history of Ameri-can sports because no star ath-lete has ever fallen farther from grace than Armstrong since he last put on the yellow jersey in Paris’ Champs Elysees as Tour de France champion in late July 2005.

On that day, Armstrong was at the height of his fame. He was in a class of his own for cycling and had a place among the all-time greats of American sports. Then there were his ac-complishments off the bike.

Before he conquered France seven times on his bicycle, he survived testicular cancer in the 90s. His defeat of cancer added to his status as American hero. Had he stayed clean of perfor-mance-enhancers, he would have been forever remembered as the man who brought com-

petitive cycling to the forefront of American sports.

Then the rumors began that he had used performance-enhancing drugs in his career. From the first accusation of doping, Armstrong steadfastly denied ever using performance-enhancing drugs. For 14 years, from his first Tour de France victory in 1999 until his admis-sion to Oprah, Armstrong lied his way out of the pantheon of American sports heroes and into the group of shamed he-roes that had “doped.”

While Armstrong ruined his integrity by using performance-enhancing drugs, he also did irreparable harm to it by lying about his drug use for as long as he did. If he had come out and been truthful with the American people and admitted his wrongdoing, his steroid use would still be remembered but it would also be remembered that he had been truthful.

Armstrong’s wrongdoing led to his being stripped of his sev-en Tour de France victories and an Olympic medal as well as his being banned from cycling for life. He was wrong to cheat, and he was wrong to lie to the American public. His delay in telling the truth will most likely hurt him more in the long-run than if he had just been honest with his fans.

The Armstrong story will go down in sports history as a cautionary tale of what can happen to someone when he or she climbs to the top by cheat-ing and then tries to deny that cheating for years. It will also most likely set back the Ameri-can support of professional cycling for a long time, at least until an American wins the Tour de France without perfor-mance-enhancing drugs.

Stephen WhitakerManaging Editor

Commentary

The fact that a student is en-rolled in college-level courses concedes that they recognize the value of a degree. On the first day, many students walk into their class and immediately size up the professor’s expecta-tions. Students gauge the stan-dard of effort by asking many questions: How many exams will there be? What is the read-ing like? How much do absenc-es matter? Students expect to

gain knowledge within a class-room environment.

Expectations are expressed to a student on the first day of class. When a professor fails to meet a student’s expectation, students feel it is appropriate to miss class. As an effect, often-times, students are penalized for missing class.

Attendance reflects the final grade in that the student who chooses to be absent misses

vital information that could be found on quizzes and exams, therefore students who show up are awarded by being pre-pared.

However, in some cases, how vital is class time?

If students are required to attend class, class should be appropriately invaluable to an education. In a digital age in which information is so read-ily available, professors need to

provide unique and engaging information that not only sup-plements their students’ course work, but also raises the stan-dard of success. When a stu-dent is absent from class yet still succeeds, the question must be raised: Should the university hold the professor accountable for the level of difficulty ex-pected of a college level course? It is not the student who should be penalized for succeeding but

the professor who should be penalized for failing.

A degree should stand as tes-tament to effort. Are students qualified to succeed in such a competitive job market if they are failing to meet the standards of the degree that students are paying for?

If UTSA should rise to the occasion, the question should be asked: who’s accountable for student’s education?

[email protected]

Letters must be less than 400 words and include the writer’s name, clas-sification or title and telephone number. The Paisano reserves the right to edit all sub-missions.

{Send letters to}

The Paisano encourages new comic

submissions!Send to

[email protected] The Paisano on Facebook Follow us on Twitter @ThePaisano

Comics

Gun violence hits close to UTSA on January 15Editorial

Vulpes Vulpes by: Christopher Garcia

January 22, 2013

Alongie by: Joonki Min

Crime scene tape still hangs from the fence at the corner of Allendale Oaks and Agency Oaks in the Maverick Creek subdivision a week after Christopher Hinojos, 18, was gunned down after having his car stolen around 11:15 last Tuesday night. While Hinojos was not a UTSA student, the neighborhood is home to many UTSA students. The shooting, coupled with the rise in crime at area apartment complexes brings the debate of gun control to the doorstep of UTSA. Read the Paisano’s coverage of the shooting on p. 1 and write a letter to the editor with your feelings towards gun control and safety at UTSA.

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Sarah GibbensPaseo [email protected]

Few organisms can make a person’s skin crawl more than the blood sucking arachnid known as the tick. While most people have to worry about these tiny creatures only when caring for a dog or cat, ticks can cause a variety of problems ranging from the disruption of trade to Lyme disease.

Dr. Janakiram Seshu, associ-ate professor of bacterial patho-gens in the UTSA department of biology, has devoted time and energy to learning about ticks and ways to prevent car-rying of disease. According to Seshu, “This is a major problem for not only human infection but also a number of diseases that affect domestic animals.”

This past June and July, Seshu and two other researchers from the United States Department of Agriculture in Kerrville, TX travelled to China to conduct

research on these small organ-isms and learn how to reduce the exchange of pathogens be-tween the two countries.

The expedition was part of a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Ministry of Agriculture in China. The trip was funded by a proposal written through UTSA and the USDA facility in Kerrville. The grant awarded to Seshu and the other scien-tists creates what is considered a scientific exchange program and allows investigators from the U.S. to visit a number of dif-ferent places in China.

China was a particular area of interest to the study of tick-borne infectious diseases be-cause of the high level of in-teraction between the U.S. and China. “The USDA is very particular about making sure we are not bringing in what are known as ticks or other insect vectors that carry disease into the U.S.,” says Seshu.

According to the Office of the

United States Trade Representative, U.S. goods and services traded with China totaled $539 billion in 2011- with $411 billion in imports alone. China is con-sidered the largest supplier of goods to the U.S. and the fifth largest supplier of agricultural goods. This high level of interaction between the two countries easily facilitates the spread of infectious disease from one to the other.

Lyme disease has also been a major

problem in both China and the United States. It is the most common tick-borne infection with over 30,000 cases reported to the Center for Disease Con-trol every year. “We are very interested in finding out the mechanisms by which we can reduce these infections and prevent this infection from happening,” claims Seshu.

While ticks are highly effec-tual in areas concerning trade, the small insect can also have dangerous health implications. When bitten, bacteria are de-posited onto the skin leaving a red legion. From there the bac-teria can spread to the joints and cause painful swelling. In worst-case scenarios, the bac-teria can spread to the heart or the brain. The most common and painful manifestation of Lyme disease is swelling of the joints and arthritis.

Antibiotics can clear the body of bacteria; however, the virus is almost never complete-ly eliminated, even after treat-

ments. Many of those infected will continue to have swelling in the joints, giving the disease more chronic characteristics.

“Our main focus is, how do we stop this bacteria from go-ing from a tick to a host, which will be a human or other do-mesticated animals,” explains Seshu. “What we’re trying to see is, what are the molecular organisms that allow this bac-teria to go from a tick to a host and what are the things we can do to stop it.”

The agent of Lyme disease is a spiral bacterium which is highly motile in its ability to spread. Ticks act as a carrier for the bacteria, transmitting the infection to various hosts. Se-shu elaborated on his research efforts by explaining, “Our main goal is to either lock the transmission from the tick to the host, or prevent the trans-mission from the host back to the tick.”

Once the bacteria in the tick population can be reduced, in-fection in humans will decrease proportionally.

Tick bites are most common in heavily forested regions and during the summer. While a majority of ticks can be found in the northeast regions of the U.S. and around the Great Lakes, roughly 150 cases were reported in Texas last year, predominately in the Houston area.

The U.S. Department of Ag-riculture takes a keen interest in reducing the number of cases because of the potential threat ticks pose to cattle and sheep. Ranches in the South Texas re-gion focus heavily on eradicat-ing ticks so that the financial loss of livestock is reduced.

“Basically it’s a big problem in

the U.S.,” posits Seshu. “We had a vaccine that has been discon-tinued for a variety of reasons, mostly economic. There is still a huge need to identify the ways to reduce this infection in hu-mans.”

Seshu and his team studied

how diseases and bacteria are spread through vectors, dis-ease carrying agents. One of the most beneficial aspects of the study is that principles dis-covered by researchers can be applied to other bacteria trans-mitted by vectors.

One such preva-lent vector is the mosqui-to that can transmit

malaria and West Nile virus. According to the World Health Organization, in 2010 malaria infected and killed an estimated 660,000 people and, in cities as close as Dallas, large outbreaks of West Nile virus have been reported. Discoveries made using the tick model for Lyme disease will be copied to limit these diseases.

“By enhancing our collab-orative efforts, we are trying to make sure animals and plants can be identified as infected

and not allowed to come into the U.S.,” explains Seshu of the close scientific relations be-tween the U.S. and China.

In their travels to China, Se-shu and his team hoped to in-crease the methods of pathogen detection in different vectors common to domestic Chinese animals. While not all goods produced in China are export-ed to the U.S., Seshu and his team believe vector research is important in reducing the dis-eases responsible for significant agricultural loss.

“It’s a mutual benefit. When those diseases in China are eliminated, you can be sure products coming out of those parts of China are free of dis-ease,” says Seshu.

Seshu believes the economic rationale for collaborating with China is high, because future threats to the U.S. in areas of health and agriculture can be reduced.

Plans to collaborate research efforts will continue between the U.S. Department of Agri-culture and China. Seshu be-lieves connections established between the two countries are invaluable with potential for long-term benefit.

“From a UTSA perspective, students will have an oppor-tunity to interact with centers from China. Most importantly, there is greater recognition of our research efforts as a uni-versity.”

UTSA professor investigates tick borne disease

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi (shown above). This spiral bacteria is highly motile, allowing it to spread quickly.

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“There is greater recognition of our research efforts as a university.”Dr. Janakiram SeshuAssociate Professor of bacterial pathogens

PASEO4January 22, 2013

Jennifer AlejosArts [email protected]

Men with bloody faces com-bat in the ring while a soldier struggles to keep his compo-sure. These are truly “America’s Finest.”

“America’s Finest” is Vincent Valdez’s second solo exhibition at the McNay Art Museum, which is an impressive feat since Valdez is the youngest artist to do so in the museum’s history.

Valdez, a San Antonio native, graduated from Burbank High School and earned his degree at Rhode Island School of De-sign. Currently, Valdez is teach-ing at the Southwest School of Art in San Antonio.

In “America’s Finest,” themes of nationality, strength, cour-age and manhood are depicted in each of Valdez’s paintings. The exhibit explores the in-ternal and physical struggles of men fighting for pride. The subject consists of male boxers

and their struggles in the ring. Battered men encompass

the canvases with bruised fac-es and strong egos. Set across a bright, white background, graphite and charcoal make a strong contrast to the infinite space where the subject is po-sitioned.

One may assume that this was intended by Valdez to cre-ate the illusion of a man’s frame of mind when fighting. The stark-white background guides the viewer’s focus to the subject being represented.

Filled with symbolism, each drawing shares the culture of the men being depicted. A man that is represenational of the Native American culture is struck with arrows on his legs, arms and torso, yet he stands with a strong confidence that radiates throughout the rest of Valdez’s work.

Valdez’s breathtaking com-positions reveal a hidden meaning behind the men with the big leather gloves. With their minds set on victory and

glory, the jabs at their spirits are left unscathed.

The subjects displayed in each of Valdez’s pieces are lit-erally fighting for the same thing—survival.

Valdez’s next body of work complements the pieces in “America’s Finest” by its inter-nal themes of manhood, strug-gle and freedom.

“Excerpts by John” is an ac-companying exhibit to “Amer-ica’s Finest” that chronicles the funeral prossession of John, a longtime friend of Valdez who served in the armed forces and suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Valdez chose work that cel-ebrates the life of John with his honorable duty overseas and his role as a friend. In the ex-hibit guests are given a glimpse of John’s life and his experienc-es in war.

John’s fear radiates through the studio space. In his por-trait one sees a man shaken to his core by the traumas of war. The look of shock on his face

translates well in the piece. The viewer is given only a view of John’s body with his gear in tow while bombs cascade in the background. John’s perspective isn’t shown, but one can only guess that the scene is grim.

A video titled “Home” shows John’s funeral procession and is present in the background of the exhibit. A floating coffin is taken through his own neigh-borhood, his community and eventually his resting place.

The heartbreaking visual serves as a reminder that those who are in war have lives out-side of the military and may be someone’s son, daughter,

brother or sister. The San Antonio Express-

News featured “America’s Fin-est” in its Best of 2012 Art seg-ment. Valdez has successfully managed to combine the feel-ing from various men into one brilliant installation.

For more information on “America’s Finest,” you can visit the McNay website at mcnay-art.org. The exhibit will con-clude its stay at the McNay on Jan. 27.

Marcia [email protected]

Biker Jim’s concept is to pro-vide “good street food” in a way no one has done before.

Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs food truck is the best at the Wurst. The little “rockin’” truck, offers up a variety of gourmet sausages in a unique way. It can’t be missed; the smell of the grilled food is captivating and the rock n’ roll music playing can be heard from yards away.

Originating from Denver, Colo., Biker Jim’s has been showcased on Anthony Bour-dain’s “No Reservations.” Now a branching mobile truck rolls be-tween the dorms, parking lots, and the Downtown campus of UTSA.

The owner of the brand, the concept and the product line is Jim Pittenger. Aramark manag-es the UTSA food truck under their guidelines, but Pittenger ensures his concept remains the same.

Biker Jim’s uniqueness stems from the variety of meat offered. Pittenger states that his source for uniqueness is his “little twist on the wiener business by us-ing sustainably sourced meats that are (mostly) hormone-and-anti-biotic free and [doesn’t] use nitrites or nitrates as preserva-tives.”

Pittenger recognizes that “hot dogs have always been the food of the masses,” and he wanted to jump on the food truck wagon

when his previous profession as a repo man was not bring-ing home the sausage to pay the bills.

Someone looking to find reindeer, duck, elk and Texas wild boar served on a roll from a food truck doesn’t need to go far.

Biker Jim’s top seller, the elk jalapeno cheddar weiner, has jalapeno embedded into the sausage, which gives the dog the perfect kick. Elk too daring? The all-beef hot dog is juicy and not as gamey as the other meats. Their dogs are always fresh, steaming hot and messy; nap-kins are a requirement when de-vouring the yummy goodness.

The crispy french fries, an add-on must, are thin and full of salty flavor. Biker Jim’s also offers up a vegetarian Tofurkey brat for the vegetarian consum-ers. The tofu turkey flavored sausage is just as mouthwater-ing as their top meat options.

All the dogs are split down the middle and filled with unique topping of warm, melted cream cheese and perfectly caramel-ized onions. The Brat can be personalized by adding any one of the free toppings: jalapenos, sauerkraut, banana peppers, cheddar cheese and the basic mustard and relish combo.

Pittenger states, “Our food is good, our people are known for good customer service and we have the jokes.”

Pittenger’s love for bike’s and the “biker” environment trig-gered the eye-catching, winged-

helmet wearing-skull, logo for his brand. The name was obvi-ous, and Pittenger states that “it sounds way better than ‘Jim-the guy that lives in the suburbs-Gourmet Dogs’...doesn’t it?”

Their dog prices average $4-$6; it’s a great deal for what is grilled up. For the not-so-hun-gry moments, try one of their sliders, which is about half the size of the regular.

Find where Biker Jim’s will be located, their hours of operation every day, and more informa-tion about Biker Jim’s on their website at BikerJimsDogs.com, their Facebook page, /BikerJim-sUTSA, and on Twitter @Biker-Jims_UTSA.

It’s a Dog-Eat-Dog WorldUTSA students dig in to gourmet hotdogs on campus

Tuesday, Jan. 22.10 a.m. Exhibit: “Fiesta, Fete, Festival”San Antonio’s past is celebrated throughout this exclusive exhibit that commemorates the history of the annual city event, known as “Fiesta.” The McNay Art Museum (6000 N. New Braunfels Ave.) presents “Fiesta, Fete, Festival” as part of its Tobin Collection. Admis-sion is $5-$10..

Wednesday, Jan. 23. 8 p.m. UCPC CoffeehouseUCPC Coffeehouse presents an intimate performance by The Doyle Brothers. The event is free for all UTSA students and will be held in the UC Ski Lodge.

Thursday, Jan. 24.10 a.m. Exhibit: “Aphrodite and the Gods of Love”The San Antonio Museum of Art (200 W. Jones St.) presents “Aphrodite and the Gods of Love,” an exhibit featuring 125 statues, vases, jewelry and other valuables from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Admission is $3-$8.

Friday, Jan. 259 p.m. UCinema Night: “Here Comes the Boom”UCPC presents “Here Comes the Boom,” a comedy starring Kevin James as a high school biology teacher who turns to UFC fighting to win money to save an extra-circular program at his school. Ad-mission is free for UTSA students.

{Local Events}

For the week’s full calendar, visit:

paisano-online.com

Local artist Vincent Valdez brings tales of trauma and despair into his work on display at the McNay Art Museum.

And the Award for ‘America’s Finest’ Goes to Vincent Valdez

January 22, 2013

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An oil piece titled “John” hangs at the McNay Museum as part of “America’s Finest.”

A boxer fights for his life in the ring in “America’s Finest.”

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Guests view “Home,” a visual of John’s, a longtime friend of Valdez, funeral prossesion at the McNay Art Museum.

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Arts&Life

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Wednesday 6 p.m.14545

Roadrunner Way

Sheldon BakerSports [email protected]

UTSA Deputy Athletic Director Liz Dalton will leave the university to be-come St. Mary’s University’s first full-time athletic director on Feb. 11, 2013.

The Rattlers’ baseball coach, Charlie Migl, served as both the athletic direc-tor and head baseball coach.

“This is a huge loss for UTSA. I’ve known her since she was a student ath-lete at Texas A&M, but this is a great step for her,” said Lynn Hickey, Dalton’s longtime mentor and boss of 12 and half years.

Dalton, a McArthur High School alumna, played soccer for Texas A&M and then joined the Aggies’ athletic staff after graduation. Dalton, then, worked for the Notre Dame athletic department as a football administrator from 1997-2000 before she joined the Roadrunners’ staff in 2000.

“When we were starting football, the networking she had and the knowledge she had about the little pieces of what you did to have a program, were out-standing,” Hickey said.

Will Dalton bring a football team to St. Mary’s? Dalton comes from a foot-ball background and was an integral part of bringing major college football to UTSA.

“Our plan for St. Mary’s, for how-ever many years, is to be the best divi-sion II program in the country. That’s

what our focus will be right n o w , ” D a l t o n said.

In her new posi-tion, she will over-see 14 di-vision II men’s and women’s athletic teams: baseball, basketball, cheerleading, dance, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis and volleyball.

St. Mary’s is currently constructing a new $16 million sports complex.

“She’s going to bring [St. Mary’s] a tremendous amount of knowledge and a great work ethic,” Hickey said.

Dalton plans to replicate the work she did while at UTSA.

“What I’m most proudest of is tak-ing care of people. We have taken care of our student athletes. We’ve recruit-ed and been able to keep an unbeliev-able staff. It’s always about the student athlete and then our coaches,” Dalton said.

Sheldon BakerSports [email protected]

For any university’s sport program, big or small, the rival game is the most important—UTSA is no exception. On Jan. 19, the UTSA men’s basketball team lost, in an upsetting man-ner, to Texas State 81 – 78.

The Bobcats’ victory over the Roadrunners extended UT-SA’s losing streak to seven and snapped Bobcats nine game losing streak.

“You always want to win the rival game, but sometimes the ball doesn’t fall your way. We got to keep pushing for a win,” senior point guard Michael Hale III said.

With a stouthearted perfor-mance, Hale scored a career and team high of 31 points.

“I wish I could’ve gotten a win with it,” Hale said.

Key injuries, as of late, to Je-romie Hill and A.J. Price have hampered UTSA’s cohesive-ness on offense and defense. Because of the injuries, play-ers have to switch positions, which has been an advantage for teams playing UTSA.

“We’re playing so many guys out of position. We can’t run the sets we normally want,” Head Coach Brooks Thompson said.

And the Bobcats capitalized. Texas State had five players score in double figures: Corey Stern (18), Phil Hawkins (13), Koenen Reid (10), Ray Dorsey (23) and Joel Wright (16).

The Roadrunners held a six- point lead with 3:41 left in the second half. Texas State came back to tie the game. The ‘Run-ners had a final opportunity to

get their first-ever WAC victo-ry, but the Bobcats diverted the loss: Kannon Burrage took an awkward jump shot after spin-ning half way into his defender and throwing up the shot off the back of his heel.

During overtime, the Road-runners scored first, but the Bobcats quickly went on a 9-2 run to outlast the Roadrun-ners.

“We’re so limited. There wasn’t a whole lot of things we could do. It’s back on the road. Hopefully, we can get back to the drawing board tonight,” Thompson said.

UTSA hits the road, yet again, to play Seattle on Jan. 24 and Idaho on Jan 26. The Roadrun-ners don’t return to the Convo-cation Center until Jan. 31 when they play Denver at 7 p.m.

UTSA falls to rival Texas State

Sports 7January 22, 2013

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UTSA has lost 12 out of 13 games. The Roadrunners look for their first WAC victory in school history against Seattle on Jan. 24.

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Delaney MarloweContributing [email protected]

After an embarrassing 20- point loss at their last meeting, UTSA faced the Texas State Bobcats Saturday, Jan. 19, with one goal in mind: revenge, which is exactly what they found.

The UTSA women’s bas-ketball team extended their winning streak to three (all of which have been on the road) with their 56-46 victory over the Bobcats.

“Defense is our key,” Coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair said of her team, “It seems like every night, someone steps up,” which was definitely the case Saturday with three players in double fig-ures.

The Roadrunners were the first on the board, opening the game with 6-0 run. They led for a majority of the game with their highest lead being by 16 in the second half.

Whitney Wright led the team with 15 points and four blocks. According to Wright, “[defense is] one of our M.O.s… that’s what we stick to, that’s what wins us games.” The Roadrun-ners are number one in defense in the WAC, holding opponents to an average of 54.8 points per game. Defensively, the Road-runners performed incredibly, by holding the Bobcats (who av-erage 73.1 points per game ) to a season low of only 46 points.

Yet again, defense came into play for the Roadrunners scoring, 13 points off turn-overs throughout the game.

“We slowed the ball up, and I thought, defensively, that was the key for us,” said Rippetoe-Blair who returned after miss-ing two games for undisclosed medical reasons.

With the Roadrunners’ vic-tory Saturday, the ‘Runners come within one game of the Bobcats’ rivalry. Since they first met, the Bobcats have won 30 games while the Roadrunners have won 29.

“We came in here jacked to play them,” Wright said, “we came in here mad, just looking for revenge.”

The Roadrunners get revengeThe Roadrunners have won 4 out of 6 games. The team looks to extend its winning streak to 4 on Jan. 24 against Seattle.

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Liz Dalton leaves UTSA

Liz Dalton

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Advertisement8January 22, 2013

The Paisano Volume 48 Issue 2

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Transcript of The Paisano Volume 48 Issue 2