In silent protest, Polo Gutierrez plans to not speak the entire day Friday. Along with over 500,000 other students across the United States, he will participate in this year’s Day of Silence. In years past, hundreds of thou- sands of students at nearly 4,000 K-12 schools, colleges and universities have participated in the event. For Polo Gutierrez, president of The University of Texas-Pan American’s Gamma Lambda Beta, the day will repli- cate the silence most lesbian, gay, bi- sexual and transgendered students have to face everyday. “It’s to bring awareness to that… the harassment, it does have a side effect whether or not people see it,” said Gutierrez, a junior English major. “It forces people to be silent about who they are.” Day of Silence, a project of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, began in 1996 at The University of Virginia in response to a class assignment on non-violent protests. The now national event is stu- dent-led, with participants taking a vow of silence to bring attention to alleged bullying and harassment experienced by the LGBT community on a daily basis. Friday will mark Gutierrez’s sec- ond year of participation. For him, it has been difficult to suppress speech for a whole day, but the message he is trying to communicate is far more important See Page 16 Athletes look back on the past year SPORTS Renovations spur mixed reactions Earth Day festival spreads awareness See Page 8 & 9 See Page 3 A&E NEWS 59th Year No. 28 Thursday April 24, 2008 THIS WEEK ■ NATIONAL Group prepares for Day of Silence THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER By ABBY MUNIZ The Pan American See SILENCE page 11 “It’s to bring awareness to that... the harassment, it does have a side effect whether or not people see it.” -Polo Gutierrez President Gamma Lambda Beta Countless studies have been con- ducted over the years about how stressed college and university students are, and it seems every one has the same general finding: most college students are anxious. But what these studies fail to examine is the source of the problem. How is it that past generations have graduated from college with little to no dramatics? Maria Cristina Quilantán, a licensed professional counselor at the Counseling Center of South Texas, said a large part of the stress and strife students today expe- rience is, in fact, self-inflicted. The real tension students face is try- ing to find a balance between the social and academic life, not exclusively one or the other, she suggested. “It’s harder for students to have control over relation- ships than it is to have over academics.” Quilantán added students who face stress solely because of academics need to re-evaluate priorities. Most of the time it is poor time management and study habits that cause them to feel pressure and the counselor said such anxiety is more controllable. “Some students don’t have the time management and don’t understand proper studying skills,” she said. Juggling four sculptures, two paint- ings and numerous other projects due by the end of the week, Arturo Hernandez, senior studio art major, will spend much of the end of his semester in the art stu- dio with little sleep and all work. Hernandez, a native of Hidalgo, said he understands why so many peo- ple stress out toward the end of the semester, but feels he and many other students bring it upon themselves. “I’m one of those people that doesn’t stress until the end of the semes- ter,” he said. “That’s because I wait until the very end.” According to Hernandez, being an art major makes deadlines much more flexible. He added that he has always relaxed all semester and then spends the last weeks finishing a full semester’s worth of work. Despite Hernandez’s procrastina- tion, he said he still receives A’s and B’s in classes and says he works better under duress, which is why he continues the habit. Hernandez believes students fall into two categories, those who have a rea- son to be stressed, and those who don’t. “There are those who have time and just wait until the last minute to do every assignment,” he said. “Then there are those who don’t have the time and don’t procrastinate but are still under a lot of stress.” Although Hernandez did not have to take the UNIV college-skills course, he said professors in that course help better prepare students. But he admits it is a two-way process. “I think the university can show stu- dents how to study better and better man- age their time, but it is up the student to actually use what they’ve been taught,” he claimed. By J.R. ORTEGA The Pan American See STRESS page 11 Prevalence of student stress often self-inflicted, counselors say ■ CAMPUS LIFE
Thursday April 24, 2008 Earth Day festival spreads awareness “It’s to bring awareness to that... the harassment, it does have a side effect whether or not people see it.” 59th Year No. 28 A&E -Polo Gutierrez President Gamma Lambda Beta See Page 16 See Page 3 THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER By ABBY MUNIZ The Pan American By J.R. ORTEGA The Pan American For Polo Gutierrez, president of The University of Texas-Pan American’s Gamma Lambda Beta, the day will repli- See Page 8 & 9
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Transcript
In silent protest, Polo Gutierrez
plans to not speak the entire day
Friday. Along with over 500,000 other
students across the United States, he
will participate in this year’s Day of
Silence.
In years past, hundreds of thou-
sands of students at nearly 4,000 K-12
schools, colleges and universities have
participated in the event.
For Polo Gutierrez, president of
The University of Texas-Pan American’s
Gamma Lambda Beta, the day will repli-
cate the silence most lesbian, gay, bi-
sexual and transgendered students have
to face everyday.
“It’s to bring awareness to that…
the harassment, it does have a side
effect whether or not people see it,”
said Gutierrez, a junior English major.
“It forces people to be silent about who
they are.”
Day of Silence, a project of the
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education
Network, began in 1996 at The
University of Virginia in response to a
class assignment on non-violent
protests. The now national event is stu-
dent-led, with participants taking a vow
of silence to bring attention to alleged
bullying and harassment experienced by
the LGBT community on a daily basis.
Friday will mark Gutierrez’s sec-
ond year of participation. For him, it has
been difficult to suppress speech for a
whole day, but the message he is trying
to communicate is far more important
See Page 16
Athletes look back on thepast year
SPORTS
Renovations spur mixedreactions
Earth Day festivalspreads awareness
See Page 8 & 9
See Page 3
A&E
NEWS
59th YearNo. 28
ThursdayApril 24, 2008
TH
IS W
EE
K
� NATIONAL
Group prepares for Day of Silence
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER
By ABBY MUNIZThe Pan American
See SILENCE page 11
“It’s to bring awareness tothat... the harassment, it doeshave a side effect whether ornot people see it.”
-Polo GutierrezPresident
Gamma Lambda Beta
Countless studies have been con-
ducted over the years about how
stressed college and university students
are, and it seems every one has the same
general finding: most college students
are anxious. But what these studies fail
to examine is the source of the problem.
How is it that past generations have
graduated from college with little to no
dramatics?
Maria Cristina Quilantán, a licensed
professional counselor at the Counseling
Center of South Texas, said a large part of
the stress and strife students today expe-
rience is, in fact, self-inflicted.
The real tension students face is try-
ing to find a balance between the social
and academic life, not exclusively one or
the other, she suggested. “It’s harder for
students to have control over relation-
ships than it is to have over academics.”
Quilantán added students who face
stress solely because of academics need
to re-evaluate priorities. Most of the
time it is poor time management and
study habits that cause them to feel
pressure and the counselor said such
anxiety is more controllable.
“Some students don’t have the
time management and don’t understand
proper studying skills,” she said.
Juggling four sculptures, two paint-
ings and numerous other projects due by
the end of the week, Arturo Hernandez,
senior studio art major, will spend much
of the end of his semester in the art stu-
dio with little sleep and all work.
Hernandez, a native of Hidalgo,
said he understands why so many peo-
ple stress out toward the end of the
semester, but feels he and many other
students bring it upon themselves.
“I’m one of those people that
doesn’t stress until the end of the semes-
ter,” he said. “That’s because I wait
until the very end.”
According to Hernandez, being an
art major makes deadlines much more
flexible. He added that he has always
relaxed all semester and then spends the
last weeks finishing a full semester’s
worth of work.
Despite Hernandez’s procrastina-
tion, he said he still receives A’s and B’s
in classes and says he works better under
duress, which is why he continues the
habit. Hernandez believes students fall
into two categories, those who have a rea-
son to be stressed, and those who don’t.
“There are those who have time
and just wait until the last minute to do
every assignment,” he said. “Then there
are those who don’t have the time and
don’t procrastinate but are still under a
lot of stress.”
Although Hernandez did not have
to take the UNIV college-skills course,
he said professors in that course help
better prepare students. But he admits it
is a two-way process.
“I think the university can show stu-
dents how to study better and better man-
age their time, but it is up the student to
actually use what they’ve been taught,”
he claimed.
By J.R. ORTEGAThe Pan American
See STRESS page 11
Prevalence of student stress oftenself-inflicted, counselors say
� CAMPUS LIFE
THE PAN AMERICANPage 2
1201 West University, CAS 170 Edinburg, Texas 78539Phone: (956) 381-2541
Fax: (956) 316-7122www.utpa.edu/dept/panamerican
THE
PANAMERICAN
APRIL 24, 2008
The Pan American is the official student newspaperof The University of Texas-Pan American. Viewspresented are those of the writers and do notnecessarily reflect those of the paper or university.
The Pan American accepts letters of 300words or less from students, staff and facultyregarding recent newspaper content, campusconcerns or current events. The Pan Americanreserves the right to edit submissions for grammarand length. The Pan American cannot publishanonymous letters or submissions containing hatespeech or gratuitous personal attacks. Please send allstory ideas to [email protected].
Individuals with disabilities wishing toacquire this publication in an alternative format orneeding assistance to attend any event listed cancontact The Pan American for more details.
Spurs back on familiar track in playoffs� AS I SEE IT
BY: RAMIRO PAEZ
A
To the editor:
I would like to thank The Pan
American and Ana Villaurrutia in partic-
ular for last week’s excellent article
(“Math alternative anticipated”) con-
cerning the Philosophy program’s new
course offering, PHIL 1321:
Introduction to Formal Logic. I would
like to offer a few clarifications.
Last year the Philosophy program
substantially revised its curriculum,
including changes to our course offer-
ings in logic. The curriculum of PHIL
1320 (Introduction to Logic) was split
into two new courses, PHIL 1321:
Introduction to Formal Logic and PHIL
1305: Critical Thinking. We will no
longer be offering PHIL 1320. PHIL
1305 is cross-listed with PHIL 1320 and
satisfies the 041 Humanities undergrad-
uate core curriculum requirement.
PHIL 1321 is an entirely new
course that was added as an option in the
020 Mathematics undergraduate core
curriculum requirements for a select
number of degree programs at UTPA.
The course is designed to assist
non-science, non-engineering, non-math
majors at UTPA achieve the THECB
Exemplary Objectives for mathematics.
PHIL 1321 will satisfy a student’s math
requirement only if their individual
degree plan does not require a different
specific math course.
Students should check with their
advisor if they are unsure about their
specific degree requirements. The cur-
riculum of PHIL 1321 includes an intro-
duction to some of the formal techniques
available for evaluating the correctness
or incorrectness of arguments.
Formal techniques likely to be dis-
cussed include: symbolization in propo-
sitional logic, parsing trees, truth tables,
natural deduction in propositional logic,
Venn diagrams, and the probability cal-
culus. Students with majors in the
College of Arts and Humanities are most
likely to benefit from fulfilling their
math requirement with this course.
Gregory D. Gilson
Philosophy program oordinator
have to make this one special. You
see, this issue is the last one I will
oversee as Editor-in-chief, so this is my
final opportunity I will have – at least for
a while -- to have a relatively large audi-
ence listen as I make fun of people,
things and life in general.
While trying to figure out what I
should write about, I found myself prior-
itizing. I had to find my number one
annoyance. The thing I just can’t live
without berating.
Since Earth Day just passed, I con-
sidered writing about all the non-Earth
friendly things I do on a daily basis in
the hopes of angering the tree people.
But then I had this vision of a mob of
save-the-Earth/save-your-soul types
chasing me with their Birkenstocks in
hand chanting “Kill a tree, be under
one.” So I nixed that.
While driving, a woman cut me off
and I thought about writing something
about how her chins were different colors
because her too pale makeup cut off
before it could cover the second jowl. But
she was so much bigger than I am, I decid-
ed not to put myself in the position where
I may be the target of her vendetta.
A rant might be nice, I thought.
Especially considering how much I hate
cops right now and how I don’t like it
when they do that creepy U-turn thing
that makes it seem like they’re about to
bust you. Jerks.
Oh! I had a great idea (at least I
thought so at the time). I can write about
my biggest peeves as a student reporter.
It’s not a story every time some person
in some department takes a dump. It’s
not a story when it happened three
weeks ago and you want me to run a
photo. And don’t ask me to send you the
story when it’s done! Journalists don’t
do it! You can’t make me do it! I won’t
do it! *pulls hair out and runs out of
newsroom screaming*
When I regained my sanity, I even
considered airing my dirty laundry. Did
you know I once posed in my underwear
for this newspaper? (Bet you didn’t. And
you’ll never find the issue either). Then I
remembered I still have a year of school
left and I would hate to face every-
one after doing that.
I briefly considered filling up
this space with photos of me in a
bikini (like so many have request-
ed), but if I was going to do that I
might as well have gone for the
confession thing. At least that one
doesn’t have a face (or any other
parts for that matter) attached to it.
Ok, I’ll compromise...
I finally asked myself: In 10
years, what will I still be glad I
said? These days my opinions last
about as long as the average
orgasm, which (if everyone is
being honest) isn’t that long. So I
wanted something lasting. What was
something I won’t regret later?
I finally settled on something clear
and to the point. Something I mean
wholeheartedly, and while I can only
direct it to a few specifics (like that guy
Gabriel who e-mailed me a month ago,
or the guy who sits in his cave reading
these because he has to), it was the only
thing I could think of to fit the occasion
perfectly:
Thanks for reading.
� Any last words? Like my hotbikini picture? Get everything innow; it’s your last chance. Afterthis, it’s called harassment, bub: [email protected]
A final farewell I
BY: SANDRA GONZALEZ
� SOCIAL COMMENTARY
For the first time this summer, The
University of Texas-Pan American will be
hosting a migrant program for high school
students to broaden their future prospects
by emphasizing college after high school.
The first Migrant University
Summer Experience (MUSE) offers stu-
dents the chance for instruction that could
lead to high school credit accrual, experi-
ence living in dormitories and exploration
of internships and possible career options.
Migrant students from Region One
Education Service Center, which
includes seven Texas counties along the
U.S.-Mexico border, will be on campus
June 8 – July 23. There is currently 37
school districts under the ROESC and a
hundred “rising” juniors and seniors are
expected to attend.
Noemi Ochoa, Region One migrant
education director, said their goal is to
make migrant life easier and more tran-
sitional.
The main goal of the summer pro-
gram is to have the students “experience
the university lifestyle, so they can know
it is attainable,” she said. “We want to
get them that experience so when they
Renovations affecting parking
The old computer center on the
south side of the Student Union has
stood for nearly 30 years, serving The
University of Texas-Pan American in
several ways. Most recently the one-
wing structure housed the Financial Aid
Office while the Student Services
Building was being renovated, but it will
now receive a face-lift of its own.
With the closure of parking lot A,
adjacent to the old computer center,
parking may be a bother.
Mary Paloma, a 21-year-old psy-
chology major, said although the park-
ing situation does not affect her she
understands its setbacks.
“Especially if you’re a visitor you
have to park all the way over in the fine
arts auditorium,” said the McAllen
native. “Its a problem especially around
this time with people needing to register.”
However Leota Hull, associate vice
president for the Information
Technology Data Center, said the space
taken up by construction crews during
renovation will end up benefiting the
future of the university.
Hull said the old computer center
will house campus registration data for
BANNER for the university. The reno-
vations will improve the condition of the
center’s specialized machine rooms.
“We will be more than doubling the
machines in there to hold more data
capacity for the next five to six years,”
said Hull.
Hull added the building’s air condi-
tioning and electrical systems have
become too strained to sustain the num-
ber of computing machines they want in
the center.
“We had lots of electrical prob-
lems,” she said. “We had to stop moving
machines in there because there wasn’t
enough capacity. If the AC was down,
we had to shut down the computers.”
Physical Plant began working on
the old computer center weeks ago. John
Patton, assistant director of facilities,
maintenance and operations, said its
THE PAN AMERICANApril 24, 2008 Page 3
NEWS
Program to ease migrant transition
NO STRINGS ATTACHED - Illusionist Craig Karges, an award-winning entertainer, speaker and author, levitates a table Friday afternoon in the Student Union Theatre.
See PROGRAM page 12
Ben Briones /The Pan American
� CONSTRUCTION
� SEEN AND CAPTURED
Long gone is the time where a high
school diploma guarantees one a solid
wage-earning job. Today, many educa-
tors and employers are now predicting
the same fate of obsolescence for bache-
lor’s degrees, as graduate and profes-
sional degrees become more necessary
for the evolving workforce.
On March 6, The University of
Texas-Pan American hosted a graduate
fair attended by an estimated 250 people,
including professors and graduate stu-
dents trying to persuade passersby to con-
sider the benefits of a graduate degree.
According to UTPA’s Office of
Institutional Research and Effectiveness,
the university granted 608 master’s and
10 doctoral degrees in 2007.
“Our attendees were diverse – rang-
ing from current UTPA students to profes-
sionals interested in returning to school,”
said Cynthia Brown, interim vice-provost
for graduate studies and academic centers.
“This particular graduate fair target-
ed individuals in the community with a
bachelor’s degree who might be interested
in returning to school for a master’s or
doctoral degree.”
One such job market seeking grad-
uates with a higher education mark than
bachelor’s is the medical field.
Graduatedegreesmorecommon
See DEGREES page 12
By ANA VILLAURRUTIAThe Pan American
Parking lot Aclosed, expectedto re-open in July
� EDUCATION
� STUDENT LIFE
By BOBBY CERVANTES The Pan American
See CONSTRUCTION page 12
By BOBBY CERVANTES The Pan American
NEWSPage 4 April 24, 2008
NEWSApril 24, 2008 Page 5
NEWSPage 6 April 24, 2008
The Dustin M. Sekula Memorial
Library has been hosting several events
throughout the week in celebration of
National Library Week. On April 19, one
of the bigger ones was a luncheon with
author Keith Bowden, writer of The
Tecate Journals: Seventy Days on the
Rio Grande.
Margot Durbin, assistant director,
explained that Bowden’s appearance
was the start of getting people involved
in literature concerning local culture.
“We want to get regional authors
to come in and talk about the books they
have written,” Durbin said. “We believe
that people here would be interested in
books that are written about the area.”
Getting to school was always a bit
of a struggle for a young Bowden, who
dropped out at age 16 and took his first
hitchhiking trip from his home in
Delaware to California.
“One out of 10 people would usu-
ally tell me they wished they would have
dropped out of high school just like I
did,” said the 51-year-old author.
After this trip, his father – who was
still trying to push education for Bowden
— made a deal with him. If he would go
back to school and get a job, he would be
able to travel when school was over.
Bowden agreed.
On the first break in school,
Bowden decided to go to Monterey,
Mexico, in March 1974. Once he got
there and realized the only Spanish
words he knew were taco and enchi-
ladas, he knew then to be without
knowledge was to be up a creek without
a paddle.
Bowden, now a professor at Laredo
Community College, went on to Acadia
University in Canada where he earned a
bachelor’s degree in English.
In December 2004, Bowden took a
leave of absence to take the trip from El
Paso to the Gulf of Mexico, 1,260 miles
along of Rio Grande.
“I was eager, I did not believe the
horror stories that people talk about,”
Bowden said about his initial reaction to
the journey.
Despite the stories of wild animals,
drug dealers, and the dangerous river
itself, Bowden knew he wanted to take
this adventure.
On the trek there were a number of
things he had to take to stay alive: water,
food, clothes, and tools.
“My lucky turtle. A little onyx, I
think its turquoise,” said Bowden with
laughter. “My friend gave it to me and
assured me it was lucky. I didn’t believe
it until I lost it on one of my trips and
things went really bad.”
The Tecate Journals is a complete
recounting of this trip and everything
Bowden encountered, from run-ins with
drug smugglers, to near-death experi-
ences with animals.
Roland Hernandez computer infor-
mation systems major, who lives in San
Juan, believes his experiences with nature
would not push him to take such an
adventure. He stated, “Even though I
grew up on a ranch, dealing with drug
smugglers are a different type of animal.”
The river is said to be very danger-
ous, but locals have only seen the gentle
side. What residents area sees is only a
small portion of what it looks like in
other parts of Texas.
Durbin agreed with this idea, say-
ing, “All I have done is drive over the
river, and just look down at it.”
In attendance at the event was
Edinburg lawyer Mark Pena, who said
he could not put the book down.
“This book has opened my eyes to
the wonderful beauty of the Rio Grande.
I’m not the biggest reader, but I was so
entertained,” said Pena. “I recommend
this book to people who live by the bor-
der because we are definitely going to be
affected by the wall if it is put up.”
Hernandez believed otherwise.
“I understand the fight and the sig-
nificance of obtaining the river but to me
its just a crossing and I think we should
forget about borders and worry more
about society.”
Durbin said the Valley can be
expecting more events like these.
“It’s just another dimension of read-
ing a book, by meeting the author and
finding out the process of writing a book
it is just sort of an added benefit to the
whole experience,” she said.
The Rio Grande Valley isn’t really
known for much more than its proximity
to the border and scorching year-‘round
weather, but in the near future it may be
budding with actors. Not Brad Pitt or
Jennifer Aniston, but amateurs who are
learning the craft in hopes of working
with stars of that status.
Pedro Garcia 46, a local acting
coach, is offering his knowledge in the
field of theatre arts to help students break
into the industry. As a standing member of
the Screen Actors Guild since 1994, he
has been involved in nearly 100 theatre
and film productions. More than just an
actor, he’s tried his hand at every aspect of
a production, including director, writer,
producer and casting director. Through the
years he’s gained enough experience to
pass on to a new generation in hopes of a
brighter future for the Valley.
“The acting community is growing,
it still needs more time to blossom but it’s
happening in energetic spurts,” said
Garcia, a McAllen resident.
The most important thing a stu-
dent will learn in his classes is believ-
able acting, or The Method, a term
coined by Constantin Stanislavski dur-
ing the late 1800s in Moscow. This type
of acting challenged actors to forget the
spectacle or over-dramatization and let
the real shine through. In his classes,
Garcia also teaches voice and move-
ment, concentration, improvisation,
scene study, character development,
script understanding, auditioning skills
and how to write a resume.
The acting classes are offered
Saturdays from 4 p.m. to 5:30 at the
McAllen Creative Incubator.
One theatre major feels any aspiring
actor would benefit from the type of train-
ing being offered.
“As an actor, I think it’s important
to improve as much as possible your
craft,” said Edgar Ituarte, 23, of
McAllen. “If there’s another source
available to help, by all means people
should take advantage and see the other
sides to the acting world.”
&RTS EA NTERTAINMENT� STAGE AND SCREEN
THE PAN AMERICANApril 24, 2008 Page 7
Incubatoroffers actingcourses tocommunity
See ACTING page 10
Author recounts experiences on Rio Grande
SHARED ADVENTURES - Keith Bowden recalls his 1,260-mile trek from El Paso to the Gulf of Mexico in his book, TheTecate Journals. Bowden appeared Saturday at the Dustin Sekula Memorial Library for National Library Week.
Ben Briones/The Pan American
By ANDRIELLE FIGUEROAThe Pan American
LIFEʼS JOURNEY - Author Keith Bowden shares his 70-day experience alongthe Rio Grande in his book, The Tecate Journals.
barnesandnoble.com
By LAURA GARCIAThe Pan American
� LITERATURE
arth Day is so big now that there are two dif-ferent celebrations annually, during spring
in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in theSouthern. These days are intended to inspire aware-ness of and appreciation for the Earth’s environ-ment.
The United Nations celebrates an Earth Dayeach year on the March equinox. The UnitedNations celebrates an Earth Day each year on theMarch equinox, a tradition which was founded bypeace activist John McConnell in 1969.
A second Earth Day, which was founded byU.S. politician Gaylord Nelson as an environmen-tal teach-in in the late 1960s, is celebrated in manycountries each year on April 22.
Los Angeles is most notably the largest andmost frequently attended festival in the country.Famous environmental activists like actorsLeonardo Dicaprio and Natalie Portman, pluspolitician Al Gore, and director Steven Spielberghave popularized the festival in recent years.
With support of the Environmental AwarenessClub of UTPA, people locally do their part to cel-ebrate.
Claudia Tamez, a senior biology major in theN.S.F.R.E.U. (National Science FoundationResearch Experiences for Undergraduates) programwas the campus festival coordinator for 2008.
“For us (The Environmental Awareness Club)it is about celebrating our Earth and promotingmore sustainable lifestyles and raising awarenessabout various environmental issues,” Tamez said.“It’s about persuading the public to become activeand work towards reaching green goals that canbenefit us as a community and as residents ofEarth.”
Tamez club also explained how EarthDay is important everywhere, statingthat everyone can do their part by cele-brating at home.
“It’s important that we make an impression inthe Valley so our community can be educated andaware,” said Tamez. “We need to set an example forthe young children that will follow. We want themto keep the Earth Day tradition in the Valley alive.”
Some of the activities this week brought bothstudents and faculty members from UTPA greatamusement in celebrating Earth for free.
A rock climbing wall, outdoor volleyball, andyoga sessions were sponsored by the Wellness andRecreation Center. Sophomore communicationdisorders major Jennifer Valdez was excited to hearabout the free yoga activity.
“It’s a great way to stay in shape, or so Iheard,” the McAllen native said. “I have never triedit, but now I want to, plus it’s free and it is a partof Earth Day.”
Free prizes and free fresh fruit were available atthe center table surrounding the festival which readwith a huge sign “Free Watermelons.” Tamez alsoexpressed that several informative speeches by invit-ed speakers discussed local issues, including the pro-posed border wall and the use of alternative energies.
Live entertainment such as local bands playedat a garage sale tent. Faces were painted with inter-esting and exotic designs, but quickly melted dueto the April heat.
Student organizations also had vast numbers oftables set up to distribute info about the origins ofEarth Day along with some freebies such as T-shirts, flyers, and packets about the planet.
Tamez was glad to mention thatshe was happy that the universitywas more involved this year. Shestated that oneday she
hopes the event becomes a week-long festival,something similar to International Week.
The Awareness club needed help from volun-teers to help at the event. Tamez stated she onlyasked for e-mail and telephone numbers and not along list of resumes or any other submissions inorder to participate.
Freshman biology major Karina Lopez attend-ed the event but also wanted to help out.
“I had no idea where to contact anybody,” theEdinburg native said. “I would try to find flyers forthe event but I was always forgetting, and whenev-er I would ask where I could volunteer to help, Iwouldn’t know where to sign up.”
Lopez plans on volunteering next year. “I had so much fun today, I will make it a
promise to help out next year,” she said proudly.Everyone was welcome to attend the festival. “This is Earth Day so all of Earth’s people are
welcome,” said Tamez. “Bringing the communitytogether for such a positive fun event like this isreally awesome and inspiring.”
arth Day is so big now that there are two dif-ferent celebrations annually, during spring
in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in theSouthern. These days are intended to inspire aware-ness of and appreciation for the Earth’s environ-ment.
The United Nations celebrates an Earth Dayeach year on the March equinox. The UnitedNations celebrates an Earth Day each year on theMarch equinox, a tradition which was founded bypeace activist John McConnell in 1969.
A second Earth Day, which was founded byU.S. politician Gaylord Nelson as an environmen-tal teach-in in the late 1960s, is celebrated in manycountries each year on April 22.
Los Angeles is most notably the largest andmost frequently attended festival in the country.Famous environmental activists like actorsLeonardo Dicaprio and Natalie Portman, pluspolitician Al Gore, and director Steven Spielberghave popularized the festival in recent years.
With support of the Environmental AwarenessClub of UTPA, people locally do their part to cel-ebrate.
Claudia Tamez, a senior biology major in theN.S.F.R.E.U. (National Science FoundationResearch Experiences for Undergraduates) programwas the campus festival coordinator for 2008.
“For us (The Environmental Awareness Club)it is about celebrating our Earth and promotingmore sustainable lifestyles and raising awarenessabout various environmental issues,” Tamez said.“It’s about persuading the public to become activeand work towards reaching green goals that canbenefit us as a community and as residents ofEarth.”
Tamez club also explained how EarthDay is important everywhere, statingthat everyone can do their part by cele-brating at home.
“It’s important that we make an impression inthe Valley so our community can be educated andaware,” said Tamez. “We need to set an example forthe young children that will follow. We want themto keep the Earth Day tradition in the Valley alive.”
Some of the activities this week brought bothstudents and faculty members from UTPA greatamusement in celebrating Earth for free.
A rock climbing wall, outdoor volleyball, andyoga sessions were sponsored by the Wellness andRecreation Center. Sophomore communicationdisorders major Jennifer Valdez was excited to hearabout the free yoga activity.
“It’s a great way to stay in shape, or so Iheard,” the McAllen native said. “I have never triedit, but now I want to, plus it’s free and it is a partof Earth Day.”
Free prizes and free fresh fruit were available atthe center table surrounding the festival which readwith a huge sign “Free Watermelons.” Tamez alsoexpressed that several informative speeches by invit-ed speakers discussed local issues, including the pro-posed border wall and the use of alternative energies.
Live entertainment such as local bands playedat a garage sale tent. Faces were painted with inter-esting and exotic designs, but quickly melted dueto the April heat.
Student organizations also had vast numbers oftables set up to distribute info about the origins ofEarth Day along with some freebies such as T-shirts, flyers, and packets about the planet.
Tamez was glad to mention thatshe was happy that the universitywas more involved this year. Shestated that oneday she
hopes the event becomes a week-long festival,something similar to International Week.
The Awareness club needed help from volun-teers to help at the event. Tamez stated she onlyasked for e-mail and telephone numbers and not along list of resumes or any other submissions inorder to participate.
Freshman biology major Karina Lopez attend-ed the event but also wanted to help out.
“I had no idea where to contact anybody,” theEdinburg native said. “I would try to find flyers forthe event but I was always forgetting, and whenev-er I would ask where I could volunteer to help, Iwouldn’t know where to sign up.”
Lopez plans on volunteering next year. “I had so much fun today, I will make it a
promise to help out next year,” she said proudly.Everyone was welcome to attend the festival. “This is Earth Day so all of Earth’s people are
welcome,” said Tamez. “Bringing the communitytogether for such a positive fun event like this isreally awesome and inspiring.”
lucky to have someone likeChelsea (Blakely) here. I’ve saidit before, she is probably the bestsetter I have ever coached. She isa great leader; she bought intoour system and brought the girls
along with her.”
-Angela HubbardVolleyball Head Coach
� “I’m extremely proud of them
[women] because they sat down inthe beginning of the season andestablished a goal of attaining atleast 15 wins. They worked reallyhard throughout the long seasonand sticking together as a team
deserves kudos.”
-Rob HubbardMenʼs and Womenʼs Tennis Head Coach
� “I think our seniors provided
wonderful leadership. The fact thatwe were the No. 1 Independent withan 18-13 record and only having 10home games, there were a lot ofaccomplishments that I think