by Hugh Elmore
News Editor
Despite a low turnout of attendees, the candidates running for the seat of Student Government Association President held a debate in BH 101 on Wednesday, March 26 at 2 p.m.
The public forum was organized to inform students and other interested parties about the SGA presidential candidates and other candidates who would be running for office with the SGA
Gilbert Sanchez, a former Student Ambassadors President and currently Managing Editor of The Bridge, announced a platform based on unresponsiveness to student needs at TAMIU.
Sanchez cited a meeting of the Student Fees Advisory Committee where objections to a tuition hike were met with incredulity. "What input do we have? What say do we have?" Sanchez said in his opening remarks. "I will not back down, I will not be quiet, and I will not be silenced."
Scott Roberts, who served the SGA previously as Vice-President, announced a platform based on promoting a better understanding of how the SGA actually works. "These few people that are involved in student government have worked day and night, have worked summers, discussing important student issues," Roberts said. "There is a process that needs to take place when doing this."
Roberts cited a lack of enthusiasm among the student body to become involved in SGA committees designed to enhance student life on campus.
"It's not the responsibility of the [SGA] President to be on every one of these committees -- it's the responsibility of the student body," Roberts stated.
After the opening remarks, former SGA President Jerry Garza served as moderator.
Garza read prepared questions aloud, then turned the forum over to Yvette Martinez, SGA Elections Commissioner, who selected questions from the floor.
Some of the questions asked included inquiries into how much money each candidate spent on their individual campaigns. Current elections rules prohibit more than $100 worth of declared campaign expenses.
Much to the credit of the two candidates, no sharp personal attacks were made on each other.
Other students running for SGA offices also had the opportunity to speak to the assembly once the presidential candidates made their closing remarks.
The SGA General Elections are scheduled for two days, March 31 and April 1, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
by Carlos A. Guardiola
Editor-In-Chief
Students who hate waiting in line to register for classes may have the option of registering by phone as soon as the Fall 1997 semester.
According to Lakshmana Viswanath, Director of Computer and Telecommunications Services, a pilot program for phone registration will take place during preregistration for the summer sessions. Only graduate students will participate.
"[For this pilot project] we'll see what the problems are," said Viswanath. "We'll make the corrections we need during the summer, and come fall, it could be available for everybody."
Viswanath added that he did not expect any problems, but limiting the number of initial participants would make the project more manageable.
Students will be able to dial 326-2030 and follow a series of prompts to complete their registration. Viswanath emphasized that only students who have already been advised and had all holds cleared will be able to do this.
"The students will not have to stand in line to register," said Viswanath. "In the past, after the student was advised, the faculty member would enter the data right in front of them."
The advisors will provide students with a special PIN number in order to register by phone. The PIN number would be treated like a password, and might expire after a certain period of time, Viswanath explained.
In addition to registration, a second module for financial aid would allow students to find out, by phone, whether their checks are ready to be picked up or how much money they owe.
Viswanath also stated that because the new number is not an 800 number, students who call from out of town will incur long-distance charges.
"In theory, the number would be available 24 hours a day," Viswanath said. "But in practice, there would be perhaps two hours or so of down time to run daily reports and maintain the system."
Moreover, students would be able to register for classes only during the time-specific period when registration is usually conducted before each long semester or summer session.
Viswanath pointed out that making phone registration a reality was a collaborative effort among many people.
Within CTS, this consisted of the Administrative Computing Group, led by Alma Guardiola; the Networking Group, led by Ricardo Tijerina; and Voice Communications Specialist Jorge Flores.
Two other departments closely involved with phone registration were Registrar Barbara Lunce and Financial Aid Director Araceli Ramirez. "Those two offices own all the data, not [CTS]. Once everything is working, they will be the ones actually using it."
Much coordinating occurred with College Station, Intervoice and GTE, the companies which sold TAMIU the phone registration software, while Southwestern Bell remains responsible for the telephone lines, explained Viswanath. "Different groups of people were involved, directly and indirectly," he said.
Viswanath also explained that telephone registration "is definitely old technology; it's been around for a while, but it's workable."
Because of this, Viswanath stated that the Administrative Computing Group was working on a third project called SIS for Web, which would allow students to register for classes using the TAMIU website. "You will be able to do this from anywhere in the world," he said. "That may be even more appealing to students than telephone registration."
Viswanath said the Administrative Computing Group began working on SIS for Web in November 1996. "It's possible that we might do a trial run this summer, with a pilot project possibly this fall."
If all goes well, TAMIU will be the first campus in the A&M System and only the second in the state of Texas to use the Internet for registration (Alamo Community College in San Antonio already has this in its testing phase). "But [SIS for Web] is not very far away [for TAMIU students]," said Viswanath.
Viswanath specified that Laredo Community College, although it already offers phone registration, is nowhere near TAMIU's SIS for Web project because they do not yet have the technology.
The ultimate goal, emphasized Viswanath, is to provide the TAMIU student with three options: registering in person, registering by phone, or registering through the Internet.
And CTS continues to make progress to bring that reality closer.
I am usually content to remain anonymous and uninvolved with the matters of this university. However, I have carefully watched this election and am very disturbed by the level of negative campaigning that the supporters of the current vice president of SGA, Scott Roberts, are making.
Mr. Sanchez's campaign signs seem to disappear from the bulletin boards at an alarming ratio. His signs are written on with profanity and vulgar markings to his face.
It scares me to think that if Scott Roberts wins this election, the SGA will be filled with people who are so carried away with their power struggles. What kind of representation will the students get from these bullies?
Is the campaign against Gilbert Sanchez an indicator of what kind of student government they will institute?
I have seen the Student Underground and I got mass nasty E-Mails about Gilbert Sanchez. Frankly if he is so bad why was he named Student Leader of the Year? Hypocrites all!
I also heard from my friends that Gilbert had ethical violations brought against him within the Student Ambassadors. I heard that the violations were about criticizing a previous president of the Student Ambassadors for not knowing the constitution to making a statement about promoting Laredo leaders.
I don't know all the facts but I feel that it is ridiculous to punish a person for criticizing an elected official or for stating an opinion. Even if it's different from yours, we are allowed to state our opinions in this country. If criticizing another person was illegal imagine where some of the persons running propaganda in the SGA Presidential campaign would be.
I also was told that the person who filed the grievance against Gilbert Sanchez was his girlfriend for five years. I'm so sure! If my ex-boyfriend was pissed against me, it's like the saying goes, Hell has no fury like the person scorned.
His opponents are just into personal revenge, and are not interested in building anything good, just tearing down. One has only to compare the two campaigns and how they have been run.
I understand that in the presidential debate that Scott Roberts mentioned that it took him about 600 times of reading the SGA constitution to understand it. I wonder if it will take him that long to realize that these kinds of negative practices in a campaign or anywhere else are not constructive, but will hurt this university. If he is such a slow learner how will we students expect him to react as president? Will it take him 600 readings to do anything?
I understand that at the end of the debates also Scott Roberts said about student committees that neglect getting things done, "Shame on them!" I feel the only shame here is a person who has spent so much time in government, and at least I as a student haven't seen much of any type of results.
You know I didn't even bother to vote in last year's elections since I think politics is a waste of time, but I will make sure and go out to vote this time.
I also want to urge all the students that don't usually vote to go out and do so! The consequences of not voting are scary!
I really thought about publishing my name anonymously, but I think it's getting too fashionable to publish things anonymously at TAMIU. At least I have the guts to let my name be printed.
Sincerely,
Lorelei Ramirez
I am a concerned student who attended the SGA debates on Wednesday in BH101. A few things about the debate trouble me the more I think about them.
1. The debates were not announced with enough time. I found out about them from a friend of mine who checks his E-mail daily. But the debates were only announced through E- mail.
Not every student who comes to TAMIU has E-mail, however. Of the ones who do, not all check their messages every day. So the message was sent only TWO DAYS BEFORE to a smaller number of students than should be the case. I think whoever organized the debates did a pretty sloppy job.
2. The debates were not well attended. One student at the debates asked how the two candidates could possibly represent the student body when not even a majority of the student body regularly get involved. I think one reason could be No. 1 above, but I also think that it is easier to win a race when it's kept small.
3. One hostile attendant in a stupid-looking cap kept badgering the candidates. One other attendant kept harping on the question of whether or not it was true that undergraduate students could attend classes abroad for credit just like graduate students. A lot of discussion came out of that point, but I really don't think that is an issue worth giving a damn about. It took up a lot of debate time, and I didn't get my chance to ask questions as a result of that moron.
4. That guy in the dumb cap responded to the question of students going abroad, "What do you all think this is, some travel agency here?"
Well, Mr. I'm Wearing A Wonderful Cap, I know a friend of mine who knew Laurie Trusky. Laurie Trusky used to be a member of the Presidential Search Committee that was involved in selecting the current University President.
Did the students know that the five finalists for University President were wined and dined at OUR EXPENSE? EACH of the five finalists were treated to an all-expenses-paid lunch at the Laredo Country Club AND all-expenses paid dinner at the Executive Club? Not just the finalists either, but the ENTIRE COMMITTEE that interviewed them, all 15 members?
If this university has that much money to burn, then yes, Mr. I-Wear-A Tie-That-Clashes- With-My-Cap, I do think TAMIU can also afford to go into the travel agency business.
5. I counted four members of the student newspaper The Bridge who attended the debate, including the Chief Editor. But as soon as the Presidential candidates finished, all four members left. What about the other candidates who were running for other SGA offices? Did our Holier Than Thou newspaper people think that the other candidates were not as important? I expected better coverage than that.
I hope the Bridge shows some real guts by printing my letter, too, not just the ones that agree with them. Maybe if I had the title "Dr." before my name they might give me some priority.
Sincerely,
Enrique Mendoza
by Jaime Loera
AIDS, a disease that no longer affects the gay community, also shows no signs of slowing down, recent statistics revealed.
According to Arturo Diaz, HIV-AIDS health care worker with the Laredo Health Department, 33 individuals in 1996 contracted the virus.
Of those 33 individuals, fifteen were heterosexual. Those most likely to contract HIV/AIDS are sexually active individuals who do not practice safe sex.
Diaz also specified that people between the ages of 20 to 39 are more likely to become infected. The number of HIV-positive cases has risen considerably, from only two cases in 1985 to 33 in 1996; between this period, a total of 185 HIV-positive cases have been identified in Laredo.
Of the 185 cases, 42 have developed full-blown AIDS, while 76 have died after contracting the virus.
There is still no cure for AIDS, only prevention through abstinence, monogamy with a non-infected partner, or consistent safe sex practices.
Diaz, who heads an AIDS awareness and prevention program at the Laredo Health Department, emphasized the need for what he terms "behavior harm reduction."
Behavior harm reduction is a way to live one's life accordingly but still reduce the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. For example, if abstinence is out of the question, at least safe sex should be practiced.
Steps taken to reduce the chances of contracting this virus in highly volatile lifestyles is behavior harm reduction.
The Laredo Health Department's HIV-AIDS program provides free and anonymous AIDS blood testing. Free condoms are also provided.
Diaz pointed out that many commercially marketed condoms, especially sheepskin or animal-skin types, do nothing to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS.
The most effective condoms are the latex type which contain Nonoxydol-9, a spermicidal lubricant.
Diaz stated that many individuals do not get immediate support from their families when they are told they are HIV-positive.
Homosexual males are especially vulnerable; many have not told their family that they are gay, much less infected with the AIDS virus.
Diaz stated that the Health Department has a support program for those afflicted with AIDS. The program helps them adjust to the reality of living with this deadly virus.
Those not infected must make informed and educated decisions about their sex life and their partner's past sexual activity. Testing and AIDS awareness services are especially recommended before and after a random, high-risk sexual encounter.
Most importantly, safe sex practices and monogamy are highly recommended for sexually active persons.
For free and anonymous HIV testing, contact Arturo Diaz at 723-2051.
by Carlos A. Guardiola
Editor-In-Chief
The Bridge does not now, and hopefully never will, endorse any candidate running for office, be it at the University, city, state or national level.
I will now comment on the SGA elections, the candidates, and issues related to these things that have begun to seriously upset me.
To begin, the SGA Presidential Debates were excellent. Both candidates were articulate, prepared, and presented very compelling platforms. I congratulate the participants for not resorting to name-calling or mudslinging.
I must, however, condemn the behind-the-scenes shenanigans.
I recently started reading Judge Robert H. Bork's book, The Tempting Of America. In the introduction, Judge Bork speaks of how politics inevitably becomes enmeshed in the various aspects of America's intellectual pursuits — from law and literature to science and, yes, even journalism.
Some would view Judge Bork's denunciations with saucy smiles in light of his stinging rejection to the U.S. Supreme Court by the Senate on October 23, 1987. Yet Judge Bork does describe some events that bear similarity to what I saw on this campus recently regarding our student elections.
Like Judge Bork, my Managing Editor, Gilbert Sanchez, a candidate for the SGA Presidency, was voted out of an important position. Like Judge Bork, Gilbert was brought before a kangaroo court of peers, many of whom he helped into that organization. And, like Bork, Gilbert could see where things were headed simply by looking at who sat on the deciding committee.
I honestly do not know what people have against Gilbert Sanchez. He co-founded the Student Ambassadors, worked to promote this University tirelessly last year, and was even voted Leader of the Year for 1996 during student organization awards. That much is already public record.
Overnight, however, a group of actors seem to have merged into a shadow coalition that choreographed Gilbert's ouster from the Ambassadors, and have quietly waged a smear campaign against him during the SGA General Elections.
There is a word for the tactis they have employed: it is called character assassination.
Some of Gilbert's posters were removed from the bulletin boards before the elections; others were defaced with obscenities and other graffitti that reflect the immaturity and cowardice of the vandals.
Let us, accordingly, turn to the substantive evidence.
Who needs to be reminded that when Gilbert was in the Student Ambassadors, one car- wash fundraiser at Sam's parking lot alone netted $4,000 for student scholarship monies?
What has the Student Government Association provided its students? A Valentine's Day fair; a Thanksgiving turkey feast; a Halloween Extravaganza; and, of course, two Organizational Olympics. Recreational activities all.
Was the SGA busy partying and chowing down with our student fees? When I pay $80 for a new psychology textbook, I want to know why the SGA thinks sticking a spoon in one's mouth to balance an egg is more important. When students' tuition keeps going up, I want to know how organizing a school dance receives higher priority.
I read the Student Underground's scathing editorial against Gilbert with alarm, too. I perceived the Student Underground to be a vehicle for criticizing the University administration and championing students, albeit anonymously; yet here they were, now attacking a student. It seems ironic that their same issue spoke of the Salem witch trials and Nazi persecution.
Is this what student politics have come to? We are now busying ourselves with eating one another alive?
I took the initiative some days before I composed this editorial to ask several persons why people disliked Gilbert so much. Their responses?
"Oh, it's just the way he acts. He's so smug. He acts so pompous."
If that was a sin, there would be many University officials and faculty standing in the unemployment line.
Maybe no one likes Gilbert, but popularity is not a viable criterion for character assassination. Historically, the most unpopular segments of society have always been the most oppressed.
I have read the charges for which Gilbert was officially expelled from the Ambassadors. The alleged ethics violations are too vague and left to open-ended interpretation. There was also a selective presentation of the evidence in his final list of charges and transgressions.
After the esoteric charges were entered, the Ambassadors Constitution was hastily amended to authorize the act of expelling an ambassador for precisely those violations.
Later, the Ambassadors, essentially admitting that those charges were groundless, had privately told Gilbert that his only real mistake was filing a grievance against an administrator.
I am appalled. A policy of retaliation has assimilated itself into the new student bureaucracy. The Ambassadors sent a very negative message to everyone: if students complain, they will be punished, one way or another. The Ambassadors' actions horrify, sadden and disappoint me.
We, as students, are losing sight of the main objective. We are warring with each other over what I gather to be personality conflicts, bruised egos, and bad attitudes.
All this petty bickering is distracting; students must not let this happen. We have substantive issues that need to be addressed. And what are some of these issues?
Tuition keeps going up, even though our student population growth matches roughly the same growth rate we had as a two-year, upper-level university. The executive administration has helped itself to a huge salary grab while telling the local press that scholarship needs continue to outpace available funds. And every other month, it seems some corporation or entity is awarding monies for scholarships which I never see being awarded to students in return.
Students attend an institute of higher learning because it is supposed to teach them how to think. Maybe this phenomenon will happen sometime soon.
Maybe not.
by Cordy Nieto
Women are being persecuted by a society which fails to acknowledge their self-worth. Unfortunately, the media advertisers have been accomplices in this heinous act.
Nowhere is this more evident than in fashion print advertisements. Readers are bombarded with images of beauty products and clothing designed to appeal to their insecurities and to persuade them that their fear is justified and can only be conquered by purchasing the products being promoted.
The media's short-term goal to make a quick sale has cost many women long term repercussions of self-consciousness and, in some extremes, even death.
In light of this evidence, the advertising industry must consider in profundity the portrayal of women in advertisements, and its impact on them and on the rest of society.
Recent issues of Cosmopolitan depict several women as sex objects by showing them scantily clad. Advertisers need to be cautious of the images they portray; after all, their technique, which is to inform and persuade, may be threatened if the intended audience takes offense at the methods utilized.
Early print ads circa 1887-1923 present beauty products such as Madame Rowley's Toilet Mask, which resembles an instrument from medieval torture chambers, as a necessary tool for one's vanity.
Others promote massage cream which will make skin smooth and impress a potential mother-in-law. Moreover, many early print ads illustrated corsets which constricted the stomach to produce a slimming effect. These ads had many ill effects for women.
According to medical research by Dr. Frantz Gerard, corsets were causing enteroptoses, or dropping of the female organs. Gerard conducted studies to cause a reform in dress and to test the effects of corsets. Corsets were put on monkeys; within a matter of days, they died.
Today, little has changed in fashion print ads, as magazines continue to show fashion and beauty products targeting women. One of the most provocative analyses of visual imagery takes the form of fashion print advertisements.
Often blatant sexual imagery is used, and a lot of advertisements imply that a reward for purchasing the advertised product will be of a sexual nature.
Most fashion print advertisements portray women as sultry sirens or feature the product surrounded by almost nude females. Is this causing the dehumanization of women?
And what about fashion models who use their tits and asses to sell products? Do they not consider these ads, which portray them as sex symbols, a blatant attack on their femininity and social status? After all, women are intelligent beings who can think for themselves.
The sad truth is that fashion magazines are easily acquired, and women, despite their intelligence, are affected by these ads. All they see is the finished product. They see beautiful women who appear visually perfect.
Many of the female readers are unaware of the painstaking hours which are needed to create that natural look. Technology has made it possible to produce a finished magazine ad with models that do not have any blemishes or a hair out of place. Without this misused technology, females are negatively influenced by print ads and sometimes put their health at risk in a vain attempt to achieve the supermodel look.
Is the price really worth it?
This outrageous atrocity towards women can end if women are willing to act as catalysts in ending sex for sale.
Women must stop accepting the media's perception of what conformities shape their lives.
by Jaime Loera
Where is La Raza? What have we, as Hispanics, accomplished? As a Hispanic, I believe we, as a minority, have a great opportunity to improve the standing of our raza.
By the year 2000, Hispanics will be the principal minority in the United States, which affords us an opportunity to better voice our opinions in business, politics, and in the general welfare of minorities.
But simply because these opportunities are there does not mean we will automatically put them to proper use.
I am proud to say that I come from Crystal City, Texas, the birthplace of La Raza Unida. La Raza Unida started out as a Hispanic movement against the social oppression and racism they faced in housing, education, politics, and business.
They found themselves in a situation of degradation and fear, in a world where their opinion meant little or nothing at all.
Once united, however, La Raza Unida fought for Hispanic rights and won; the city itself was nicknamed "Little Cuba" for its radical approach to civil rights.
The movement no longer exists, but it prompted many other Mexican movements that led to the rise of many Hispanic leaders.
We were not afraid to take a stand for civil liberties then, in the early 1960s; why should we be afraid now?
I am not asking or expecting anyone to formulate a pro-Mexican or pro-Raza attitude; I am only asking for you to voice your own opinion on the direction our culture is taking. If we, as a culture, are going to make a difference, we need to unite. We need to resurrect La Raza!
I understand that many college students, especially, are scared and confused over what lies ahead for them. I am scared, too, but what truly frightens me is that our generation, in the face of opportunities to change the standing of our raza, will stand down.
Many of us are hesitant to voice opinions on laws passed by the federal or state legislatures; even though we might not agree with such laws, we do nothing to prevent them from passing.
We tend to take action after the fact, when the damaging laws have already been passed. We must wake up and pay attention to what our government is doing and not doing for our raza!
No, we can no longer settle on good enough. We have the intelligence and the pride. We now need determination.
What do I mean by La Raza? I include Chicanos, Latinos, and Hispanics. In today's world, we can't afford to separate ourselves from one another because of our regional or ethnic differences.
There is a leader inside every one of you. Make a difference!
Any comments or issues that you might want to discuss will be welcomed. To reply to this article, send your responses to The Bridge at Room Number KL-418 or e-mail journalism@tamiu.edu.
by Ernesto Oliva
We have a problem in Laredo, although it is not peculiar to this city; the entire United States is affected in much the same manner.
This problem is a government that does a poor and sorely inefficient job at whatever it attempts. In Laredo, particularly, the inefficiency is obvious regarding the security of our nation's borders.
Two weeks ago, I entertained a guest from out of town. As I live near the river, we took a walk to see what it looks like up close. We strolled along the riverbank for a few hundred yards.
My friend and I were both surprised to see a tremendous number of people wading across the river. About forty people crossed right in front of us while we stood under International Bridge II in less than thirty minutes.
My guest, more surprised than me, asked, "Why don't they do something?" He referred to the US authorities only sixty or so feet away. While I explained how often this type of thing occurred, the US Border Patrol finally responded.
Two agents approached us and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Watching illegals wade the river," I responded.
"Well, you can't be here," one asserted.\
"Why not?" I asked.
"We are trying to deter illegals from crossing the river," he replied.
"I know. We can see them, they're right behind that pillar," I said.
"You have to leave here, you're trespassing," the agent repeated.
The moment we started to leave, the agents walked back up to their offices.
A similar experience disgusted some friends of mine while they stayed at La Posada hotel located in downtown Laredo, not far from International Bridge II. Every night they watched dozens of illegals cross right under the noses of the US Border Patrol agents sitting in their blazers.
If we were serious about limiting illegal immigration, we would insist on projects that would deter such activity.
Why have we not cleared the underbrush from the banks of the river? Why do we casually accept that our friends and relatives employ illegal aliens as housekeepers and gardeners?
The answer is simple: Laredo receives huge monies from the federal government as long as the federal agencies make a pretense of halting illegal immigration.
This money comes in the form of salaries to hundreds, if not thousands, of federal employees that support the local economy.
Laredo has relied on this economy for so long, it is doubtful that the city could survive without it.
Where is the virtue in our society? Why do we feel we have the right to complain about what our government does with our money when we are the ones who demand the inefficiency to feed our economy?
We do not have that right, unless we take a stand.
by Viky Garcia
Director of Career Planning and Placement
How do I find a job?
This question is not often asked by TAMIU students until it is too late — usually the final semester before graduation.
The Office of Career Planning and Placement has set up various ways of addressing the job search task.
Aside from vacancy postings, on-campus interviewing, and resume referrals (by disk resume registration), CP&P will be sponsoring its annual job/teacher/career fair to be held Tuesday, April 15, between 12 noon to 6 p.m. in the new Kinesiology Building (the gym).
It will be publicly open to all persons wanting:
- Career information
- To meet with companies & agencies
- Networking opportunities
- Internship possibilities
- Join professional/student associations
Global Opportunities ‘97, as the TAMIU fair will be called this year, is a combined event. Traditional fairs are specific to internship or career information, permanent employment opportunities, or for teacher placement.
Other fairs will also be taking place around these same months. A listing of advertised teacher or job fairs is also made available in KL 157, along with the opportunity to participate in one of the largest job fairs in the area.
By signing up, students are provided university transportation to the National Minority Job Expo in San Marcos on April 10.
To benefit from any fair, a participant needs to come well-prepared. Consider that this will be the first impression that a potential employer, university recruiter, or future colleague will get from you.
Despite our wanting to believe that we are judged by outside, first-glance criteria, we are. So:
- dress professionally
- wear a smile
- assertively introduce yourself
- give a firm handshake
- prepare PLENTY of error-free resumes to hand out
- bring pad and pen to take notes and attach business cards
- practice your interviewing skills
- come prepared with questions you may want to ask
The Office of Career Planning and Placement in KL 157 is always willing to help in your preparation.
For additional information, call 326-2260 or e-mail Director Viky Garcia at vgarcia@tamiu.edu, Associate Director Kriztella Lopez at kriztella@tamiu.edu, or Staff Assistant Liza Valdez at evaldez@tamiu.edu.
Hope to see you there!
by Pete Beauregard
"If music be the food of love, play on."
So begins Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, a play about mistaken identities, revenge run amuck, and the healing madness of love.
TAMIU's Drama Club, together with an English class taught by Dr. Peter Kratzke, will present this play.
TAMIU's Drama Club has already produced several plays. In 1996 alone, these included An Actor's Workshop featuring monologues; a summer skit for freshman orientation; The Best of Antigone for President J. Charles Jennett's inauguration; and Play On!
Tom Moore, who directed Play On!, will star as Feste in Twelfth Night. "It's a wonderful opportunity," Moore said, "to involve not only Drama Club members but others in the University as well."
Debut performances in Twelfth Night will include Deborah Gonzalez as the dim-witted Olivia, Dan Tamez as the bemused but willing Sebastian, and Peter Rivera as Sebastian's loyal friend Antonio.
Most notably, Dr. Jeff Cass will play the half-drunk Sir Toby Belch, a role for which his father was celebrated years ago in an off-Broadway production. "I grew up in a theatrical family," Cass said, "and now, to recreate my father's part means a lot to me."
The play itself tells the story of Viola (Virginia Netzer), the survivor of a shipwreck that has separated her from her twin brother Sebastian.
She lands in Illyria, where, in order to attend on the Duke Orsino (J. Michael Moreno), she disguises herself as a boy named Cesario.
Orsino, a courtier who idealizes his love for the countess Olivia, uses Cesario as a messenger to Olivia. However, Olivia falls in love with Cesario even as Cesario falls in love with Orsino.
It is only with the arrival of Sebastian, whom Olivia mistakes as the object of her love and marries, that the triangle is untangled.
With Olivia and Sebastian paired off, Orsino decides that Cesario — now revealed as Viola — is quite beautiful and marries her.
Perhaps more famous than the main action of the play is the subplot, which centers on the foolery played by Olivia's kinsman, Sir Toby Belch, and his friends Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Gus Salazar), Maria (Janet Lee-Orem), and Fabiana (Maria Esther Gomez) on Olivia's Puritan steward Malvolio (Duane Burdorf).
The subplot ends with Malvolio's final line: "I'll be revenged on the pack of you!"
The sobering last note has become a chestnut in Shakespeare criticism as the author's vision of the English Civil War, forty years after the play was written, in which the Puritans did in fact take political power and closed the theatres.
Other participants in Twelfth Night include Adriana Alexander, Thelma Casso, Nadia Garza, Selina Liendo, Dina Martinez, Darlene Sanchez, Karla Winterroth, and Dr. Michael Yoder.
Yoder, who will supply the live music, has appeared not only in other Drama Club productions but around Laredo with Dr. Michael Angulo as the two-man music machine, Tone Stucco.
Showtimes will be 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 24 and Friday, March 25, and 2 p.m. on Saturday in the Great Room on the third floor of Killam Library at TAMIU.
Admission is free.
by Cordelia "Cordy" Nieto
"Rape is a violent act that can lead to unwanted sexual activity," states Cyndi Ambrose, Program Coordinator of Sexual Assault Services and Information for Stop Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN).
This act of violence occurs every six minutes. One out of four victims of a sexual assault is a female, while one of six victims is a male.
Locally, 102 cases of sexual assault were reported in 1996; however, some did not involve penile penetration. Moreover, determining whether the rape is aggravated or not contains an age-specific criterion.
If you are under 17 years of age, a rape is automatically labeled an aggravated sexual assault if there is penile penetration. But if you are over 17, a weapon has to be used during the sexual assault in order for the crime to become an aggravated sexual assault.
Children between the ages of three and eight-and-a-half years old are the group most often sexually assaulted.
Teens and college students are less likely to report that they were victims of rape. "College students don't report rape, because alcohol (beverage) is involved...and they are in denial or confused..." says Ambrose. Often, college students go to parties and get inebriated, losing the ability to act coherently and take control of their actions.
Ambrose spoke about a familiar rape scenario, one which occurred to her friend.
A college freshman attended a fraternity party and became drunk. A few guys, including her date, took advantage of the situation, and raped the girl repeatedly.
The gang-style rape occurred in a bathroom while the party continued outside in full swing. The alleged rape victim was in denial after the incident. "She just wanted to fit in," Ambrose pointed out.
Several factors usually contribute to the act of rape, but at the top of the list are alcoholic beverages and drugs.
The best form of prevention against rape in a social gathering is "staying sober and alert in order to make the right judgement call when faced with a potential sexual pass," Ambrose said. She added that going out alone is not a good practice.
There is no typical profile of a rapist. "It can be anyone, even a friend or family member. The potential rapist is often charismatic, an upstanding citizen of the community, or someone working in a school," said Ambrose.
Sometimes, pedophiles lurk in schools and have a strong desire to be around children. The pedophile rapist often thrives on the power he or she has over children. "But rapists do not discriminate against age, weight, or looks, because the nature of rape is of a struggle for power over another," Ambrose stated.
Victims of rape react differently to the sexual violation. Frequently, rape victims believe that they deserved what they got. After the incident, some are distraught and try to forget they were assaulted, while others try to hide the pain by denying the seriousness of the situation.
Many events are scheduled this month to promote awareness and prevention of assaults. At the beginning of the month, April will be proclaimed "Sexual Assault Awareness Month."
There will also be a rape awareness parade and informational fair. A self-defense course will also be taught.
For concerned college students, Ambrose advises, "Stay sober and don't accept any open containers [at parties] from anyone, friend or not. You never know what might be in it."
If you are a victim of rape or know someone who has been raped, there is help. Locally, it is available by contacting SCAN at (210) 724-3177. The volunteers will help counsel you after the ordeal of a sexual assault and will act as mediators during a police investigation.
by Gabriela Mendoza
Associate Director of Student Development
Are you interested in refining your public speaking skills? Would you like to learn how to work in a team? Would you like to develop your leadership skills?
Believe it or not, the Orientation Leader Program may be just what you need!
The Orientation Leader Program is a summer-long leadership experience. All Orientation Leaders (OLs) begin the summer with a week-long leadership training session.
During the training, OLs learn everything there is to know about surviving at TAMIU; they meet faculty and administrators; receive tips on improving communication skills; develop a campus life skit; learn conflict resolution techniques; practice team-building exercises; and much more!
Then, throughout the entire summer, the OLs use all the information they learned when they conduct New Student Orientation.
New Student Orientation is a program which all entering freshmen, transfer, and graduate students attend.
At this program, OLs lead new students in games and activities; teach students how to calculate a GPA; understand the University catalog; tell new students about their own experiences as TAMIU students.!
By the end of the summer, OLs have learned a great deal of information and have met many new friends.
If being an Orientation Leader sounds like something you would be interested in, please visit the Department of Student Development in the Kinesiology Convocation Center (the gym), Room 107. You can also call us at 326-2280, or e-mail me at gabym@tamiu.edu.
Applications for this program are due on April 16, 1997, by 5 p.m.in KCC-107.
By Ramprakash Madanraj
This semester has been eventful in my career as a graduate student majoring in International Banking. I represented TAMIU at two academic conferences held in Lafayette and New Orleans, Louisiana. Being my final semester, I feel I achieved all the goals I set out for this semester.
My first research paper was accepted for presentation at the Academy of Economics and Finance meeting held in Lafayette on February 12-13th. I presented an empirical investigation of the theory of Purchasing Power Parity in Canada. I did a decent job presenting the paper considering it was my first major conference presentation. The discussant of my paper was a professor from the University of Alabama, he praised me for my efforts in my research work and said that my paper had the potentials necessary for publication and gave me insightful suggestions on areas in the paper that I could expand further.
I had the opportunity to attend exciting paper discussions on topics I had a particular interest on, a free lunch provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta with a key note speaker who addressed issues on the emerging markets in Latin America, as well as the opportunity to rub shoulders with faculties from different universities. A professor from Northwestern University even gave me his address and was willing to render any assistant to expand as well as improve the paper for publication.
The second conference I attended was the SWFAD conference held in New Orleans on March 12-14th in Sheraton. The paper I presented was an empirical investigation on the theory of the International Fisher Effect in Canada. My topic drew a lot of interest from the 12 faculty members present in my session.
The benefits I derived from this conference was the opportunity to attend paper discussions from different disciplines, and the opportunity to see New Orleans, a fascinating city.
I would like to offer my gratitude to Dr. Bala Maniam for whom I am a research assistant. His advice on presenting papers at conferences has been valuable. I would also, like to thank Dr. Khosrow Fatemi for providing funds despite budget constraints.
To the students of TAMIU: take opportunities to present any of your research work that has quality and substance at conferences. Take time to talk to the outstanding faculty at TAMIU for their advice as well as assistance.
These conference experiences have enabled me to learn as well as improve on my research skills.
by Diana Arellano
Copy Editor
At 23, Tejano singing sensation Selena Quintanilla Perez rose to success with such honors as a Grammy award for her record, Selina Live, and then a second grammy nomination; also, two gold records and one platinum. She was the owner of a chain of clothing stores called Selena Etc., and her own line of designer clothes. Most important to her, she had just recorded an English album to cross over to the English market.The public eagerly awaited.
Her success grew becuase she and her band introduced a new wave of cumbias called "pop cumbias" that excited her fans.
Her accomplishments and dreams were shattered on March 31, 1995 when she was shot and killed by her former fan club president and boutique manager, Yolanda Saldivar in what is known to Tejano music personalities as "black Friday."
Since then, her family had received offers of putting her story on the big screen.
Two years after her tragic death, Selena's father Abraham Quintanilla alongside director Gregory Nava of Mi Familia release the movie Selena. On March 21, the movie was released in theaters with a surprising turnout of $11 million dollars its opening weekend, and the number two spot in box offices.
Previews and trailers made the audience think the plot of the movie was to show Selena's struggle to the top and then lose it all when she lost her life.
The movie, however, it reads like a made up love story that a lot of women have gone through. She meets Chris, played by John Seda, a rebellious guitar player who joins her band. Her father Abraham Quintanilla, played by Edward James Olmos dissaproves, and she goes through great lengths to keep her love, so she marries him. Then the family including her father accepts Chris.
Her career on the other hand, was barely mentioned. No where in the movie did I see the highlights she had in her career.
She took on acting when she starred in the hit Mexican soap opera, "Dos Mujeres un Camino," and then a cameo in the movie Don Juan de Marco with Johnny Depp, Marlon Brando, and Fay Dunaway.
Also, she sang duets featured in her past album with former talking heads lead singer, David Byrnes.
She actively participated in the annual NBA Stay in School Program to encourage children to stay in school, and also hosted an annual celebrity softball game to benefit the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.
Another absent factor in the movie was her closeness with her fans and her accused murderess.
Many articles have mentioned that she had a very close relationship with Saldivar. Unlike in the movie, it is said the Selena showered her with gifts, and Saldivar was two faced when it came to the other employees.
Out of thousands of actresses, Jennifer Lopez was chosen to take on the roll of Selena. Not only did she not look like her, but there was no way that she had the magic and wit that Selena had, which she claims was the reason they chose her.
One other factor Selena is known for, is the infamous little dances that she did on stage. Thousands of girls have looked up to her, and learned her steps, but Lopez is not one of them. Her movements were rather frail and stiff compared to Selena's swiftness on stage.
A particular performance to notice during the movie is when Lopez is wearing a white jean outfit and boustier. In the scene, Selena must calm down an angry audience that almost detroyed the stage she and her band where standing on.
During the performance of "Como la Flor," Lopez extends her arms to the side, moving the microphone away from her. Selena's voice comes on, and Lopez still has her arms extended. As strong as Selena's voice might have been, her voice couldn't have sounded that perfect with the microphone two feet away from her.
When it comes to the other actors' performances, Edward James Olmos does it again. Unfortunately, he is the only one.
Little Selena Becky Lee Meza might have had a nice voice, but her acting skills need work. Every body else was too perky for their role. Life on the road and a struggling band wasn't very likely as nice as depicted. The movie is not worth watching.
The way to remember Selena is not with shirts, biographies, or misleading movies such as this. We should remember her, her music, and her accomplishments, and her insistence to succeed and pursue a dream.
I walked over the steps I took yesterday (and each day before).
I opened and entered my car.
As I grabbed the seat belt,
I turned and saw it -
Saw it shine.
In the old neglected car next to me
(Amid the sun-bleached carnival prizes,
tossed Shasta cans,
and crumpled pieces of trash)
Lay my broken memories.
The delicate, hand-carved pin
I borrowed from
My mother
Radiated its own beauty
On the torn and abused dash
Of the car next to me.
I had borrowed it the night before
The house was turned upside down,
And stained inside out.
I sat and stared,
Motionless,
In the glow of its heart shape.
I wanted it.
Maybe I would wait until my neighbor appeared.
It was mine.
I wanted to break in and steal it.
But the glass was too thick and
My hands were too clean.
By: Lara A. Mardiros
Like, I'm no louse for higher learning
When colleges breed a promiscuous yearning
Oh, but dude...
Campus coeds conned me clothe-less,
Stole my Jeep and left me mode-less
Now I'm nude
How rude.
By: Oscar Flores
by Carlos A. Guardiola
Editor-In-Chief
From the opening sentence, the reader will notice that this work of fiction is drenched in testosterone. Written by Stephen Hunter, the novel takes place in a man's world of push and shove, where the women are mere creatures of utility.
The story revolves around three convicts who escape from McAlester State Penitentiary in Oklahoma, forcing a state trooper to give chase across the rural countryside.
At one end is Bud Pewtie, a veteran lawman with a wife and kids who must overcome the guilt of having an affair with his young partner's wife. At the other end is Lamar Pye, a boss convict who kills Bud's partner and sets the tenor of the entire story.
Make no mistake: this novel is brutal, shot through with moral ambiguities. The villain is presented as a Rousseauvian noble savage best left alone in his natural territory, while the hero muddles through his life hurting those he loves.
The message of the novel is symbolically presented in the character of Richard, a soft- spoken artist convicted of killing his mother.
Although not the central character, Richard is depicted as a reluctant participant in the prison breakout, coerced into joining because Lamar's personal vision of redemption commands it. But near the end of the novel, the reader sees a startling, if slightly implausible, transformation of the man.
Author Stephen Hunter, a film critic for the Baltimore Sun, is gifted with a clear prose style. The narrative voice he employs is unobtrusive, imbuing the story with momentum and energy.
The reader experiences various characters' points of view through third-person, limited omniscient narration.
From the sheer psychic violence of the prison economy, to the informal mechanisms of the state troopers' code of conduct, to the politics of interagency rivalry, the reader feels the pace of the manhunt.
Hunter, however, tends to paint women in broad strokes. Bud's wife, Jen, is shown as a victim of Bud's indifference to their marriage; Bud's lover, Holly, is an immoral nymphomaniac and homewrecker; and Ruta Beth, a woman who helps the convicts hide from the law, behaves with increasing fickleness and mental instability.
Even a minor, but pivotal, scene in which Lamar and his gang take temporary refuge in the home of the Stepford clan, the narrative refers to the wife's tolerance of infidelity.
In particular, it is Ruta Beth who receives the most careful character construction of the women in the story. She appears at first as a kind, wide-eyed soul, but a secret she keeps eventually changes the reader's perspective as the scenes unfold.
The novel also features C.D. Henderson as an alcoholic commander of his Oklahoma state troopers, while Lamar's younger, bigger brother, Odell Pye, is a mentally retarded criminal who imitates and tries to please his older brother to no end.
The final scenes turn the entire manhunt into a modern-day duel between gladiators, and the ending does feel a bit improbable. But the story is a genuine tour de force, and staying up late to finish each chapter is well worth the effort.
Dirty White Boys (Fiction) by Stephen Hunter; Random House, $21.00 (HB).
By Anita L. Guerra
Weighing in at 257 pounds and with an attitude roughly twice that size, Dolores Price is not your typical literary heroine. But Dolores Price, the unconventional heroine of the enthralling novel She's Come Undone, is in many ways far too unique and provocative a character to fall into any kind of conventional category or easy comparison.
Even the frequent comparisons of She's Come Undone to Forrest Gump are misleading. While both novels include a wide sweep of time and integrate historically important events in their central character's life, Forrest Gump's self confidence, forthrightness, and blissful naivete is miles away from Dolores' bruised self-awareness and cynical facade.
While it does include such important events as the advent of the television age, the walk on the moon, and the emergence of the AIDS epidemic, She's Come Undone is at its heart, a very intimate and truly touching story of one woman's life. While it might seem cliche to say that She's Come Undone is an odyssey of self-realization and self-actualization, there nothing cliche about Dolores Price or her life story up to her fortieth year.
From her quietly uneasy childhood to her traumatic preadolescence through
to her truly terrifying adolescence and early adulthood and finally to her
contented mid-life years, Dolores Price and her travails take the reader
on a roller coaster ride of emotions. Page by page, chapter by chapter, the
reader slowly becomes so engrossed and emotionally involved
in the live and struggles of Dolores Price, that she becomes less of character
and more of compatriot, someone nearly real and almost tangible.
If She's Come Undone had only the character of Dolores Price to recommend it, the novel would still be worth the fourteen dollars. But the book has many other unforgettable characters that are sharply drawn and uniquely voiced. In addition, its author, Wally Lamb, always keeps his readers on their toes through foreshadowing, revealing small details and clues of shocking revelations exposed later in the storyline.
Moreover, the frequent allusions to the reoccurring themes of whales, mother figures, and water make even the most seemingly innocuous descriptive details of the book deeper and more meaningful. Finally, the pathos of novel is, thankfully, leavened by the frequent outbursts of outrageously comical events and light-hearted escapades. She's Come Undone has won a slew of literary prizes and widespread critical approval. More important for its popular success, the novel was recommended by Oprah Winfrey on her talk show. Anyone who reads this truly spectacular and audacious book will understand why it has won such universal praise.
Written by first-time author Wally Lamb and published by Washington Square Press, She's Come Undone has a cover price of fourteen dollars.
by Pete Navarro
TV Critic with a Badge
The great ones are gone.
I don't mean Joe Montana or Duke Ellington or Mary Lou Retton. I mean Hawaii Five- O, Starsky and Hutch, Rockford Files, Kojak.
These shows were cool.
Does anyone remember Baretta or Harry-O or Mod Squad? How about Cannon or Mannix or Banacek? Columbo, maybe McCloud?
True, I was still soiling my diapers when these shows first aired back in the early to mid 70s. But in syndication, good shows never die; they just get bumped up against Oral Roberts, or those really old episodes of Star Trek that look, well, really old.
The 70s had the meat-and-potato shows that didn't sweat the small stuff. We didn't question why Jack Lord never mussed his hair when he chased a bad guy. We just watched and said, "Hmm, he must be using Vitalis V-7."
TV today? Give me a break. If you've seen Jenny McCarthy wearing one version of tight pants, you've pretty much seen her entire wardrobe. The alternative is channel-surfing to TNT, where Rockford Files or Quincy sometimes roost.
Remember the episode where Starsky and Hutch went camping and ran into Satanic worshippers? Or the episode of Five-O where Jack Lord found he was being impersonated by a double? How about when Starsky and Hutch were impersonated by doubles?
I said the plots were good, not original.
So what's the big deal about these shows? The actors did basic acting. The shows focused on the story. Did Kojak drink too much? Was Columbo a chronic bed-wetter? We didn't know, and we didn't want to know.
Good plots, that's what keeps people watching. But TV writers have a serious problem with the rule about leaving the boring stuff out. The shows today have from 22 to 44 minutes to make me believe something; lately, I have believed in becoming a monk.
CHiPs was another show that delivered what it promised: a major freeway accident every week, trouble with bikers, and the occassional huge boulder ready to fall off a cliff and onto Milton Berle's Malibu beach home (I'm not kidding, this episode did air). All that mayhem ensured that, for much of my young life, I would be scared to death of hitchhiking across California to visit my cousins in Folsom State Prison.
Yes, I liked CHiPs. I'm not saying it was Playhouse 90; Erik Estrada acting meant he flexed his biceps (and truly dramatic scenes called for flexing the jaw muscles), but we watched for several seasons anyway.
To be honest, good TV does prevent us from seeing each other, finding out who in the family has bequeathed us their Greatest Hits of Greg Morris album, who is suing us for back taxes, stuff like that. People need to think of TV as one really long commercial with a lot of fake drama weaved into it.
But TV is not like a fine wine. Just sit, watch, munch on Doritos and bean dip and hope you don't get pulled over and handcuffed to your ankle driving to the Circle K for refills of Diet Dr. Pepper.
TV, after all, was created to be mindless and uncerebral. It's not brain surgery or cancer research; we can't decode the secret of life from reruns of Home Improvement.
So what keeps us focused? Well, a lot of TV shows out there right now, they really do suck. And I'll admit I'm blowing off a bunch of important social issues regarding TV and social interaction.
Well, the best demystification of a social contract I ever heard was on a movie. The anti- hero said, "Hey, a guy doesn't need an ideology to knock over a liquor store; he just needs a gun. You think guys who rob liquor stores worry about ideology? They want the money, man."
So all the TV networks want our money, too.
Solution? I propose a massive letter-writing campaign to the Big Three, demanding they bring back CHiPs or MacMillan and Wife. Just to throw them off.