VOL. 99, N O. 14 THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO NOVEMBER 26, 2013

WE MADE IT! With debt, but we made it...

!e number of UTEP students tak- ing out loans has increased 25 per- cent from 2009. With an estimated $1 trillion in student loan debt, young Americans are "nding it harder to purchase houses, cars and other big-ticket items. Many are also stalling major life decisions such as getting married or starting a family. But hey, they have a degree. Full story on page 6

ILLUSTRATION BY DIEGO BURCIAGA / THE PROSPECTOR PAGE A2

DECEMBER 3, 2013

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF perspectives JASMINE AGUILERA, 747-7477 COLUMN Student loans might be helpful, but also daunting of accepting student loans? To just I soon received a letter in the mail $e payments for my loan started to what I was accepting by signing on vaguely understand student loans is stating I was placed on academic sus- reach formidable heights, and inevi- the dotted line and actually under- overwhelming and many of us fall pension, and one of the conditions tably I began to fall behind on them. standing the rules and conditions of Allow me to victim to it. was to pay a full semester of school on $e loan company began to garnish my student loan, my graduation date begin by com- My own experience with student my own. $at didn’t sound too bad, I my wages, meaning they automati- would have been much earlier than it mending the loans has been a turbulent one. guess I deserved that. cally took it out of my check every currently is. upcoming grad- Soon a%er, however, I was advised time I got paid. $is consequently set When I "rst started o! as a UTEP So, once again, congratulations to uating class for freshman, loans seemed nothing from loan companies that since I had me behind even more as the loan pay- our graduating class this semester. their unyielding more than free money. not ful"lled the requirements of safe- ment took out a huge chunk of what I Good job on knowing how to handle e!ort in balanc- It was free money to do with it as keeping my loan, I now had a three made as a Starbucks barista. ing a myriad of I pleased. month grace period to pay the loan in Eventually, I paid o! the full your "nancial aid, even those who homework with their personal lives, Once I signed o! on the amounts full without an interest rate. $e loan amount of my loan. It took about preposterously erred like I did. executing the commute every day and agreed to the "ne print—which, was a total of $4,000. two-and-a-half years, but "nally I was My advice to others who are in to campus and staying awake for an of course, I didn’t bother reading— If I couldn’t pay it o! in three able to enroll for a full semester that their early years of college is to know inhumane amount of hours. Most no- my understanding was that my class- months, then I would have to submit was paid with "nancial assistance. Or what they’re doing. Know what tably, for not drowning in the horrid es were paid for and that was that. I to a monthly payment of $300, with so I thought. you’re accepting and know the rules whirlpool that is student debt. didn’t understand that my grades an interest rate of 12 percent. It was Since it had taken me more than the and conditions. Now it’s time to get jobs and pay were integral to keeping my loans. like having my own car payment, three-month grace period and because All loans are di!erent. Read the them o! and that in itself is yet an- I didn’t know that by not passing a without the shiny, new car on my the loan company had garnished my "ne print and ask as many questions other daunting task. certain amount of classes, I would driveway. On top of that, when I re- wages, I now had to wait a full year for necessary in order for you to compre- Getting through college is finan- jeopardize keeping my "nancial aid. turned to school I would have to pay my "nancial aid to become available hend it completely. Know the proto- cially exhausting and we as stu- No one at the "nancial aid o#ce took for it out of my own pocket. again. And so I once more had to pay col of these loans and their expected dents are offered an array of loan the responsibility to make sure I fully $e daunting task of working to for school on my own. interest rates, grace periods and pay- options to help us pay off those fi- understood what I was doing. pay o! my loan and pay for my school It wasn’t until two years later that I ment options. Not doing so might set nances. Or so we think. So what I did was ditch my classes, began to become impossible shortly was able to return to UTEP once I was you behind and time isn’t something Sure, it is extremely helpful when forget to turn in homework, do ex- a%er. I began to take only one or two eligible for "nancial aid again. It had paying o! your tuition and necessi- tremely poorly on exams and ulti- classes a semester at EPCC, being that taken me a total of three years to re- that can be loaned. ties like books, but does anyone re- mately fail the semester. Oh, what a I couldn’t a!ord to pay a full-time se- pay for my mistake regarding student ally understand the entire concept freshman I was! mester on my own at UTEP. loans. Had I been responsible about

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VOL. 99, N O. 15 STAFF THEPROSPECTOR NEWS | A3 | DECEMBER 3, 2013

Season’s greetings from The Prospector Fall 2013 staff

STEPHEN TOBIAS DURAN / THE PROSPECTOR (Top; left to right) Leonardo Montañez, Lorain Watters, Diego Burciaga, Edwin Delgado, Marcela Luna, Fernando Enriquez, Isabel Castillo, Edgar Hernandez, S. David Ramirez, Blake Lanham. (Bottom; left to right) Michaela Roman, Kathy Flores, Jasmine Aguilera, Amanda Guillen, Andrea Acosta, Mariel Mora, Anna Almeida, Veronica Gonzalez, Veronica Enriquez, Jaime Quesada. (Not shown) Kristopher Rivera, Aaron Montes, Marcus Seegers, Javier Cortez, Luis Barrio, Ashley Mu- ñoz, Damian Balderrama, Steven Mans!eld, Jose Soto, Amber Gomez. | A4 | NEWS THEPROSPECTOR DECEMBER 3, 2013 CAMPUS LIFE

SPECIAL TO THE PROSPECTOR

President Barack Obama signed the Student Loan UTEP STUDENT LOANS Interest Rate Deal Aug. 9, which put a cap on loan INCREASED 25% interest rates at 8.25 percent, but these changes will SINCE 2009 not take affect until 2014. Students delay big life decisions as debt increases Sophomore psychology major Car- stress about making a certain income ing will provide the experience need- los Padilla said he will not be living the day a%er graduation. ed for graduate school and will begin the same lifestyle as his parents be- Jacqueline Aranas, graduate special to help pay for some of the loans. cause of his growing debt and his fu- education major, has accumulated “Yes, I am in debt, but (loans) ture debt, as he plans to attend medi- loans throughout her undergraduate UTEP students are putting a halt to helped me "nish school. I should be cal school. big life decisions as they work their studies and plans on taking out addi- able to pay it all within two years,” way through an increase of debt and “I don’t think I could a!ord any tional loans for graduate school. Orozco said. “I saw it as an invest- I think it is important to the economic downturn, but many big purchases due to my plan on at- “I got accepted for a grant that will ment in my future.” remain optimistic about their ability tending a medical school–that is re- pay 100 percent of my tuition, but I Associate director of the University achieve the goals one to repay their loans. ally expensive, especially since the still need money for books, gas, park- Career Center, Betsy Castro-Duarte, has for themselves. It $e amount of student loans tak- college I want to attend will be out ing and anything else I need,” Aranas said she o%en speaks to students en out by UTEP students have in- of state. I predict a lot of debt a%er said. “I applied for "nancial aid and who may not be certain what the fu- is okay to delay some creased by 25 percent from 2009 to graduation,” Padilla said. got o!ered loans from Wells Fargo, ture may hold for them. She said the of those grown-up 2013, according to Craig Westman, UTEP o!ers a number of resources but just went with UTEP.” economy might be one of the main associate vice president at Enroll- when paying for school. For exam- As a single mother who receives a reasons students remain so hesitant experiences. ple, the EasyPay Plan, which allows a low income, Aranas was able to defer ment Services Management. to move on and grow. student to pay their tuition through- her loan repayments until she "nish- “$is is good,” Westman said. “We “I think once they "nd their com- out the semester, and the Guaran- es with graduate school, but she said encourage students to take out loans fort level and develop a skill set, things teed Tuition Plan, which guarantees she remains nervous about how she so they can graduate early and have come at a certain point,” Castro-Du- that tuition and fees will remain will manage to pay for everything income potential.” arte said. “$ey want to be secure in low as long as the student graduates upon completion. President Barack Obama signed the their job and sometimes it takes them - Carlos Padilla, within four years. “I believe that (UTEP) should be Student Loan Interest Rate Deal Aug. longer to "nd a job, which delays them sophomore psychology major 9, which put a cap on loan interest “$e big thing is to help students able to help us with anything so getting married and delays them buy- rates at 8.25 percent. But these chang- do other things instead of taking out as to avoid students pulling out so ing items like cars and houses.” es will not take a!ect until 2014. loans, such as the Sta!ord Loans— many loans,” Aranas said. “It would Castro-Duarte said her best advice Padilla said he looks up to his During the same time period, the which are run by the government— be a lot of help, especially to gradu- to students would be to never sell brother for settling down a%er he amount of grants given to UTEP stu- "rst and the interest rates are lower ate students.” themselves short when it comes to dents increased to 30 percent, tuition for those too,” Westman said. “Tak- Roque Orozco, senior music ma- landed his dream job and became a competing for jobs a%er college. exemptions went up by 70 percent, on- ing out private loans with the bank jor, knows he is in debt, but contin- math teacher. “Whatever happens, your college campus student employment went up should be last.” ues to use loans to help him pay for “I think it is important to achieve degree is going to open up doors for 26 percent and the amount of scholar- $rough these payment plans, a school. Contrary to Aranas, he wel- the goals one has for themselves,” you,” she said. “$ere is good debt ships given increased by 35 percent. student who has $10,000 worth of comes them and is con"dent about he said. “It is okay to delay some of and bad debt, tuition is a good invest- With an estimated $1 trillion in stu- loans could pay $100 a month or less paying them back. those grown-up experiences. I re- ment because in the end your educa- dent loan debt, young Americans are instead of $400 they would pay from “After (graduating), I’m going to ally look up to my oldest brother, tion still pays o!.” "nding it harder to move on from stu- a private loan. work for a year, save up and pay in a he waited until he graduated college For more information about re- dent loans and purchase houses, cars Getting a private loan results in a combination of savings and loans,” to get married, he became a math sources in paying back tuition and and other big-ticket items. Many are "xed amount that the student has to Orozco said. teacher and then got married, so I fees, visit sbs.utep.edu. also stalling major life decisions such pay back. By setting up a repayment He plans on working in the public really look up to that and I think it is as getting married or starting a family. plan, students can avoid this and not school system and hopes that teach- the best way to do things.” THEPROSPECTOR NEWS | A5 | DECEMBER 3, 2013 AMPHETAMINE Adderall production and managing abuse becomes a balancing act

companies speci"cally advertise in a The Internet can contribute to the way that makes the audience believe misuse because of its availability they need medication when they ac- and convenience. Editor’s note: !is is part three of a tually don’t, Rivera said. “$ere will be websites that are go- three-part series examining student “I’m completely opposed to direct ing to promote selling (Adderall) and abuse of prescription drugs Adderall consumer marketing by drug com- those are not regulated the way they and Ritalin. panies. $e main reason is the way should be,” Rivera said. “$ere are The battle to keep Adderall abuse they present information. Anybody some websites that work around the at bay is a tug and pull between law to try to get people to purchase could relate to many of these ads,” meeting consumer demands and medications through the Internet.” Rivera said. “$e way they advertise regulating the active pharmaceu- With the A!ordable Care Act be- for Adderall and other controlled tical ingredient production under ginning to take full e!ect, there may substances is a lot more regulated… the supervision of the Drug En- be a rise in prescriptions, since pre- forcement Administration. the way they market some of those viously uninsured people will now be “$ere are two forces, one of them medications it’s almost like, ‘okay, we insured and able to get prescriptions. is the DEA that has put the restric- can all take it.’” “People now, who don’t have health tions on the production of the active Data from drugs.com found that care insurance, they probably avoid ingredient of Adderall (amphetamine Adderall XR ranked 100th in current any type of healthcare, unless there is salts),” said José Rivera, director of sales out of all U.S. pharmaceuticals. an emergency,” Rivera said. “Probably the cooperative pharmacy program In the third quarter of 2013, sales with the increase of people with in- at UTEP. “$e other force is there is were at $171.8 million, which is down surance, there may be more diagnosis an increase in prescriptions, so when 5.66 percent from the second quarter. of ADHD and people receiving pre- both of them meet, then on occasion $e generic brand of amphetamine/ scriptions for them.” you have problems of not "nding the dextroamphetamine was ranked 67 Adderall has a number of problems medication readily available.” with $233.9 million in the third quar- besides addiction. $e drug may af- $ere’s a trend of increased use and ter, down 9.43 percent from the sec- fect the cardiovascular system and also misuse of Adderall. People are ond quarter. cause strokes. Adderall may also using them without prescriptions ei- Adderall is a schedule II controlled stimulate the brain to a high level and ther to get high, or as a college stu- raise a person’s blood pressure, heart substance, meaning it has the highest dent to be more alert, more awake rate and body temperature. A%er potential for addiction. and to be able to concentrate. Rivera prolonged use, the person’s tolerance Adderall is a mix of amphetamine said those things could be attractive grows, therefore requiring a higher salts. $ey are stimulants that basi- in terms of getting ready for an exam. dose. It can lead to seizures, halluci- $ere are some estimates that na- cally work with the dopamine recep- nations and depression because the tionally between 20 to 30 percent of tors in the brain and produce a num- amphetamines deplete the dopamine college students have used Adderall ber of di!erent e!ects, including the a%er releasing so much of it. SPECIAL TO THE PROSPECTOR within the last 12 months without a person’s ability to stay awake longer, People looking to get a bigger high prescription, Rivera said. to be more alert and produce energy. may crush and snort or inject the vera said. “You’re increasing the ef- purpose of injection. So you can be $e marketability of the drug may For those with Attention De"cit Hy- amphetamines. fect because it’s going directly to the causing additional problems.” also have some consumers convinced peractivity Disorder, Adderall helps “$at’s the most dangerous because blood, but there are other stu! in the that using the drug is normal. Drug with concentration. there are other substances there,” Ri- tablet or capsule that is not for the | A6 | NEWS THEPROSPECTOR DECEMBER 3, 2013 HEALTH Affordable care: The good, the bad and the ugly sands of youth to keep health insur- call the Healthcare Hotline or "nd a ance. A%er 2014, the law allows for local “navigator” to help register. several months’ grace period before A%er the Supreme Court deci- !is article is part of a continuing those who have aged-out of the pro- sion—June 28, 2012—which upheld series on the A"ordable Care Act. gram must obtain individual health the constitutionality of the bill but 2013 has been a perilous year for insurance. created a system where states could the Patient Protection and A!ordable Seniors have also greatly ben- opt-out of Medicaid Expansion, Tex- Care Act. efited from the ACA. This year the as Governor Rick Perry joined doz- $e ACA has faced Supreme Court federal Department of Health and ens of others in declining to expand challenges, numerous Senate votes and Human Services (HHS)—the gov- the costly social service. a disjointed roll-out. With more legisla- ernmental division which admin- Anne Dunkle of the Center for tion and additional discussion to take isters the ACA—reported that 6.6 Public Policy Priorities, a Texas non- place when Congress reconvenes a%er million Medicare participants saved partisan advocacy group, said the the holiday break, now is an opportune more than $7 billion on prescrip- situation “creates a terribly unfair moment to catch-up with the turmoil tion drug costs, averaging around coverage gap.” and progress of the healthcare law. $1,061 per beneficiary. According to the Texas Medicaid The Good Insurance plans o!ered to those website only those living below the $e Healthcare.gov exchange site who are not on Medicaid or Medi- $11,500 Federal Poverty Line are eli- saw numerous improvements over care must subscribe to the “Essen- gible for premium assistance. Pursu- the $anksgiving Holiday. tial Health Bene"ts.” $ese bene"ts ant to their rules, “working-age” adults “As we’ve said, with any web proj- include requirements for emergency without children cannot qualify. $ose ect there is not a magic moment but care, psychological health, prescrip- who do qualify must complete their a process of continual improvement tion drug assistance, as well as pre- enrollment by the federal deadline of over time and we will continue to ventative services such as substance Dec. 7. work to make enhancements in the abuse services and smoking cessation. On a larger scale, the Kaiser Fam- days, weeks and months ahead,” said Women’s health could improve in ily Foundation—a California-based Julie Bataille, director of communica- 2014 when the law requires insurers non-pro"t Healthcare think-tank— SPECIAL TO THE PROSPECTOR tions for the Centers for Medicare & to fully cover yearly mammograms has analyzed healthcare spending aged students are a core part of sup- Research into the claim of a $50 Medicaid Services in a statement. for women 40 and over. trends and has made projections that porting the system that will no longer premium has shown that in order Bataille said, via her blog, that more The Bad the ACA may have negative impact allow insurance companies to decline to received rebates and discounts, than 400 glitches and issues have $ough the Healthcare.gov site has on long-term healthcare spending. coverage for individuals with preex- been addressed in the past month, re- individuals under 30 must make dramatically improved, the Spanish- $e organization was quick to add isting conditions. sulting in a website “uptime”—time it language site, CuidadoDeSalud.gov, the note that much of the reduction A series of advertising campaigns at least $20,000 a year. $e average is functionally available—of approxi- continues to su!er from the bugs in growth was due to the national re- have begun to circulate. $e target work-study allocation, as reported by mately 90 percent, almost double the that previously ailed the English cession and an overall slowing of the UTEP, Sam Houston State University 42 percent uptime the site reported in equivalent. Gross Domestic Product. audience is obvious with taglines early November. $e site was little more than a place- The Ugly mentioning that most people under and Texas A&M, lingers in the $2,000 Probably the least contentious ar- holder until recently and users are Proponents of the ACA have been 30 years of age can purchase a plan to $6,000 mark depending on place- for less than $50 a month. A new ra- ticle of the ACA is the clause which still only able to browse health plans campaigning to encourage “young ment and past job experience. allows individuals under the age in English. Attempts to register in people” to buy into the system. In dio spot featuring Pete Wentz, of pop- of 26 to remain on their guardian’s Spanish lead to pages that encourage what the Christian Science Monitor punk band Fall Out Boy, pushes lis- healthcare. $is has allowed thou- users to request a paper application, called a “moral imperative,” college- teners to visit the Healthcare.gov site.

OUT OF THE SMOKE 50 SHADES OF ORANGE Demolition raises dust and environmental concerns More than 400 costumed and “We don’t have the big commu- curious citizens gathered at nity here,” said Erika, a graduate Concerns about the environment Emilio Rodriguez, director of Envi- student and member of the Lotus were raised after this weekend’s ronmental Health and Safety, said Tricky Falls on June 5 for a night Blossoms burlesque troupe. “It is demolitions, but environmental that UTEP took samples of the featuring glass eating, burlesque, very hard in the city to come out experts say that there is nothing ASARCO site after the demolition. bondage and industrial music. and say ‘this is what I like to do,’ to worry about. “We will hear about the results The DV8 Fetish Ball brought local but everybody needs an outlet. Both ASARCO smokestacks and on Wednesday (April 17), and and regional talent to downtown We’re trying to show people that BEST City Hall released clouds of dust expect them to be positive, with El Paso for an unconventional and debris that alarmed residents no hazardous materials present,” there are different things out STORIES and environmental advocates. Rodriguez said. convention. there in El Paso.” OF 2013

PASS THE BUDGET WE HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOU Shut down may defund GI bill Three wars, one story Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, said through the GI Bill might see a A steak dinner and a carton of Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Divi- students should not be impacted delay in funding should the shut- Lucky Strikes cigarettes were a treat sion during World War II. by the partial government shut- down extend past October. on June 5, 1944, a day before the D- “You realized that this was the down as long as it reopens before “This adds urgency to our efforts Day invasion of Normandy, France. real thing when we started passing Oct. 17, which marks Congress’s to resolve this,” O’Rourke said. He Other than the special meal and over the coast and we started tak- deadline to raise the debt ceiling also said he is certain Congress cigarettes, it seemed like a regular ing anti-aircraft fire,” said retired that could prevent a default. can reach a compromise before practice jump for the men, who were Lt. Col. Robert Chisolm, 88, of In an Oct. 5 interview, O’Rourke Oct. 17. part of the 508th Parachute Infantry Anthony, N.M. said those who receive assistance THEPROSPECTOR NEWS | A11 | DECEMBER 3, 2013 CAMPUS LIFE The push to get minorities into STEM "elds the study found, but prominent tech in support of diversifying STEM edu- ics in the U.S., according to a report “It prepares them for life a%er companies are hoping to get those cation. A study released last year by by Diversity Education. UTEP,” Kirken said. “$ey’ll be numbers up. Excelencia in Education states that in “We know that to get the kids to more con"dent because they’ll have WASHINGTON – A%er graduating “It’s de"nitely an area where you the 2009-2010 academic year, 8 per- come into STEM disciplines and stay good mentors, they’ll have worked from high school, Crystal Brocking- don’t "nd a lot of minorities, espe- cent of all certi"cates and degrees in in STEM disciplines we can’t just be- on or cutting-edge equipment and ton plans to pursue a degree in biol- cially me being a female,” Brocking- STEM "elds were awarded to Latinos. gin working on them once they get ogy or chemistry. She knows that, as ton said. “So it’s de"nitely a good op- Google recently formed a partner- here,” Kirken said. technology.” a black woman, she’s part of the mi- portunity to go to the magnet school ship with Manos Accelerator, a men- Kirken said reaching out the El Kirken said that, although there’s nority of students pursuing degrees in that I do go to, to have all these amaz- torship program that recruits Latino Paso youth in Spanish and English no one strategy to get students excited science, technology, engineering and ing opportunities and today it’s just startups and teaches them about the is critical to getting enrollment num- about STEM, creating better teachers, technology, or STEM "elds. But she’s amazing to see how a lot of people are tech business. bers up. $e College of Science does funded research opportunities and not daunted by the numbers, she said, actually pushing it.” Brockington, 18, Mark Lopez, head of U.S. Hispanic this through science demonstrations, community outreach are helping get instead she’s encouraged by the sup- with classmate Aaron Barron, won by judging science fairs and provid- audience for Google, said that while Hispanics in the classrooms. port she’s received. this year’s Siemens We Can Change they are committed to tapping into ing lab tours. During the 2011-2012 “I think for the U.S. economy to Since 2000, the number of blacks, the World Challenge! for their work the growing consumer power of Lati- academic year, UTEP awarded 895 move forward, it’s going to be built on Hispanics and American Indians who on nanocrystals. $e two seniors at nos, they are also committed in help- STEM degrees, a 39 percent increase earn degrees in engineering and the Rockdale Magnet School for Science ing Latinos create new technologies. over seven years. the STEM disciplines,” Kirken said. physical sciences has been &at, and and Technology in Conyers, Ga., pre- “We also need to make sure that Providing paying research opportu- “And if we don’t have underrepre- participation in mathematics has sented their research at a symposium Latinos in this country have the abil- nities is also important, Kirken said. sented minorities in those plans, we’re dropped, according to a 2013 study at the Capitol. ity to take risks and be able to have Students tend to have multiple jobs destined to fail – there’s no question by the National Science Foundation. Brockington is applying to Auburn outside the university and that can be ideas and make those ideas become about that.” Of the 62,211 degrees awarded in the University, University of Georgia and the next Google, the next Facebook,” a distraction. sciences and engineering in 2010, Emory University, where she plans to Lopez said at the Congressional His- UTEP was recently awarded $2.1 3,692 were awarded to black women, pursue a pre-medicine track in biol- panic Caucus Institute public policy million in STEM research grants to ogy or chemistry. conference in October. Tony Jimenez, help strengthen minority interest, $e symposium was sponsored by president and CEO of MicroTech, education and participation in STEM Discovery Communications, a com- said that growing up Hispanic he nev- related "elds. pany committed to diversity in STEM I think for the U.S. "elds, according to its Executive Vice er thought about being CEO of an IT economy to move President Debbie Myers. “It’s a driv- company. ing force in keeping that spark alight,” “Nobody knew how to explain to forward, it’s going to she said in a statement. me ‘si se puede.’ Nobody talked to $e White House announced in me about the possibility of someday be built on the STEM November that $100 million will be being the CEO of an IT company or disciplines...if we don’t made available to Youth CareerCon- even, for that matter, what the impor- nect grants partly to increase em- tance of STEM was,” Jimenez said at have underrepresented ployer engagement with students the conference. “I ended up as an IT interested in STEM "elds. $is is CEO because eventually I understood minorities in those part of the collaboration between the that there is nothing I can’t do as a plans, we’re destined to Departments of Labor and Educa- Hispanic in America.” tion to “provide high school students Getting students interested in fail... with the industry-relevant education STEM "elds has to start early, Robert and skills they need for a successful Kirken, the dean of the College of Sci- future.” ence at the University of Texas at El While the White House announce- Paso, said. - Robert Kirken, ment seeks to serve all students re- UTEP is the top producer of under- dean of the College of gardless of race or ethnicity, promi- graduate engineering, mathematics Science at UTEP nent tech companies have come out and statistics degrees among Hispan- FINANCES Misuse of "nancial aid may cause burden for students percent—meaning it is almost "ve times more expensive now in 2013. “I don’t particularly like using or As the end of the semester arrives and the spring semester is upon us, borrowing loans, but that is the only it is time for students to renew their way I can pay for college,” Cardenas "nancial aid and it is time when stu- said. “I don’t deny that I enjoy using dents may misuse that money again. them, but at the same time I wish According to the blog Generation Opportunity, students on average owe didn’t have to give that money back.” around $27,000 in student loans. Layla Stull was formerly a studio Noe Cardenas, sophomore music art major, but dropped out of school major, has taken out around $7,000 in in 2011. She needed to leave col- loans, but said he has used some of it lege because she had accumulated a for purposes outside of school. “It is easy to use the money that debt of $25,000 within her "rst three they give you since we think of it as years of school. free money,” Cardenas said. “I used “I actually don’t quite remember it to buy things for myself and pay how I used all of that money,” Stull other things—I do use it for books and all, but still.” said. “What I do know is that I didn’t According to Generation Oppor- understand how to use loans, appar- tunity, student loan debt is more ently, because when a%er a long period than $1 trillion nationwide and there of time I checked, my debt was there.” are approximately 37 million Ameri- Stull said that she is now working to cans with student loan debts—al- most 12 percent of the population of pay her debt o! and will come back to the United States. college once she has enough money. “I just hope that I don’t end up ow- “I can only tell students to be care- ing like a hundred grand. I plan to ful, it is a very easy to mess up and start paying them as soon as possible,” Cardenas said. “It is a constant pres- end up owing the government a lot,” sure, it really looms in your conscious Stull said. “Learn how to use govern- whenever you think of money.” ment money, use it wisely because it Loan debt has grown around a 511 is not as they say, it is not free money.” percent since 1999, according to Gen- eration Opportunity, since 1982, col- lege tuition has grown more than 439 PAGE A12

DECEMBER 3, 2013

PHOTO EDITOR Our view VERONICA ENRIQUEZ, 747-7477 Top photos of 2013

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5 6 AARON MONTES, MICHAELA ROMAN, & VERONICA ENRIQUEZ / THE PROSPECTOR 1. The ASARCO demolition 2. Minerpalooza 2013 3.Convoy of Hope 4.World War II veteran Robert Chisolm 5.City Hall Demolition 6.Cenntennial Countdown Celebration

| A14 | NEWS THEPROSPECTOR DECEMBER 3, 2013 QUESTION OF THE WEEK Overall, how was your semester? AARON MONTES & MICHAELA ROMAN / THE PROSPECTOR

THEPROSPECTOR NEWS | A15 | DECEMBER 3, 2013 GRADUATION Commencement ceremony to be streamed live on KFOX-TV University Communications and said Frank Montes de Oca, assistant Germany, India, Libya, Ireland, Japan, University Communications will University Relations who partnered director of University Relations. Samoa, Australia, Spain and Bahrain, also upload the commencement vid- with KFOX-TV in 2012 a%er KFOX In a statement released by Univer- to name a few. eos a%er the ceremonies in case any- $e live stream of commencement approached them with the idea of sity Communications, during the “We have met with them (KFOX) one was unable to watch it live or if December 2012 commencement prior and a%er the commencements to will continue for its third semester, streaming the commencement cer- they wish to download the video. there were about 793 views. During discuss each one,” Montes de Oca said. allowing families and friends who For more information about com- emonies on their network for free. the May 2013 commencement, there “Since we use their system, they leave mencement, visit ia.utep.edu. are unable to attend to see their stu- “$e (audience) numbers a%er each were about 2,912 views. Of those the commencement running and don’t dents walk across the stage to receive one have shown a high interest and views, families were tuning in from show the evening news so it’s a really their diploma. we have viewers all over the world,” Mexico, the Czech Republic, Latvia, nice thing that they’re doing.” CEREMONIES COLLEGE OF COLLEGE OF COLLEGE OF COMMENCEMENT CEREMONIES Morning 9:00 a.m.* EDUCATION ENGINEERING SCIENCE College of Liberal Arts Featuring the Hooding (Graduate Students Only) Friday, Dec. 6, 2013 Afternoon 2:00 p.m.* Ceremony & Order of the Friday, Dec. 13, 2013 5 p.m. Reception; Ceremony College of Business Administration Engineer, Saturday, Dec. 14, 6:30 p.m. to follow College of Education 2013 Magof!n Auditorium Magof!n Auditorium School of Nursing 11 a.m. Ceremony No RSVP required For more information: Margie Evening 7:00 p.m.* Magof!n Auditorium For more information, Noni Gutierrez 747-8026 College of Engineering For more information: Silva at 747-5783 College of Science Engineering College Ceremo- College of Health Siences COLLEGE ny website UTEP GRADUATE OF BUSINESS SCHOOL OF RING CEREMONY NURSING (Ceremony is open to those ADMINISTRATION who have purchased UTEP Graduate Hooding Hooding and Certi!cate rings) Ceremony Ceremony Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013 Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013 Friday, Dec. 13, 2013 6-8 p.m. Tomas Rivera Time TBA Time TBA Conference Center. For more El Paso Natural Gas Con- Plaza Theater, Downtown information: Jackie Reed ference Center For more El Paso [email protected] For more information, Elsa information: 747-7204 Quezada at 747-7726 COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES College and Graduate Hood- ing Ceremony Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013 3:30 p.m. Magof!n Auditorium For more information: [email protected] Department of Kinesiology Graduation Reception Friday, Dec. 13, 2013 Time: TBA Location: TBD For more information, Sylvia The Eames Chair Rodriguez 747-7245

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS Awards & Hooding Ceremony Honoring Department/Pro- gram Award Recipients; Senior Honor Cord Recipi- ents; Master’s and Doctoral Candidates Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013 7 p.m. (Students must arrive by 6:30 p.m.) Magof!n Auditorium For more information: Cecy DeSantiago at 747- 8621 or [email protected]

Military Science - Commis- sioning Ceremony Friday, Dec. 13, 2013 3 p.m. Union Cinema, Union Build- ing East RSVP with Araceli Sanchez by Dec. 6: [email protected] | A16 | NEWS THEPROSPECTOR DECEMBER 3, 2013 INBRIEF GECU FOUNDATION PRESENTS $75K FOR SCHOLARSHIP STUDENTS WIN FIRST PRIZE FOR BIOMEDICAL RE- FUND IN COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SEARCH PRESENTATIONS

The GECU Foundation presented $75,000 to the UTEP Of!ce of Two UTEP students have won !rst prizes for their presentations at Institutional Advancement for the R.C. Morgan Scholarship Fund. the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students The gift will be used for student scholarships in UTEP’s College of (ABRCMS). It’s the largest professional conference for minority Business Administration. students to pursue advanced training in science, technology, engi- neering and mathematics (STEM). Through the R.C. Scholarship Fund, GECU awards deserving stu- dents with !nancial assistance to pursue a higher education at Tim Brown, a senior chemistry major, won !rst prize for his oral UTEP. The R.C. Morgan Scholarship Fund was established in 1988 presentation titled Insect Cell Expression and Puri!cation of and is named in honor of former GECU President and CEO R.C. Mor- PTEN — A Tumor Suppressing Lipid Phosphatase. Jorge Marti- gan, an avid supporter of education and the credit union movement. nez, also a senior chemistry major, won !rst place for his poster presentation titled Metal-Catalyzed Reduction of Amides, Key FACULTY MEMBER TO HOST RECITAL Intermediates Observed and Isolated. UTEP piano faculty member Oscar Macchioni, to present a solo recital featuring J.S. Bach-Marcello’s Adagio BWV 974, Robert During the four-day conference, more than 1,500 students par- Schumann’s Carnival from Vienna op. 26, Carlos Guastavino’s cycli- ticipate in poster and oral presentations in 12 disciplines in the cal Sonata in C-sharp minor and a set of colorful preludes from biomedical and behavioral sciences, including mathematics. Book I by Claude Debussy.

FIVE STUDENTS RECEIVE GILMAN SCHOLARSHIP FOR STUDY ABROAD Four students received Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarships to help them study abroad in the spring semester of 2014. One alternate candidate was also selected. The total amount of these awards is $17,000. The four scholars are Maria Ruiz-Pineda, Lynette Escobar, Carlos Nevarez and Ricardo Myers, and the alternate is Carina Samano. Ruiz-Pineda, Escobar and Samano will study in South Ko- rea, Nevarez will study in Spain and Myers will study in Australia.

CORNEL WEST TO SPEAK FOR BLACK

HISTORY MONTH Cornel West, activist, professor and author of 20 books on race and political issues, will deliver a guest lecture at 7 p.m. Feb. 7 at the Magoffin Auditorium in honor of Black History Month.

Tickets are now on sale for $40 and may be purchased at the Ticket Center. PAGE B1

DECEMBER 3, 2013

EDITOR entertainment ANDREA ACOSTA, 747-7477 “A Christmas Carol” embraces its supernatural elements this year “We $nd it is a great way to reach out to the community and participate in the holiday spirit,” Dominguez !e UTEP Department of !eatre said. “As it is a well-established and and Dance brings their annual pro- very large show, it provides our stu- I feel the show duction of ‘A Christmas Carol’ to the dents a wonderful opportunity to be stage. Faculty and students have re- onstage and do design work.” relates to UTEP and hearsed countless of hours to ensure it Regarding the audience this year, the community by will be an unforgettable performance. Dominguez said that the department !e opening night will be on Dec. 15. is very lucky that the attendance has touching on the theme !is year’s presentation of the stage been maintained throughout the adaptation of the inspiring 19th-cen- many years of their presentation of “A of hope. tury story marks its eighth year of pro- Christmas Carol.” duction. Based on Charles Dickens’ “We have found that several fami- classic novel, ‘‘A Christmas Carol’’ is lies now make ‘A Christmas Carol’ a a timeless classic that revolves around part of their holiday tradition—they - Austin Savage, the angry and bitter Scrooge, who has join us every year to kick o# Christ- UTEP alumn a change of heart a"er receiving some mas,” Dominguez said. “Along with ghostly visits from Jacob Marley, the the public performances, we have $ve to watch other versions of Scrooge. Ghosts of Christmas past, the present school performances, where more However, he realized this wouldn’t and the future yet to come. than 1,500 local school children come work and strived to work on $nding !e story is a Christmas staple and to the theater during the week for the his own self in the character. conveys the message that everyone show as a part of a $eld trip. It is an “!at way, the person the audience can feel the spirit of the holidays, even amazing experience for all involved sees on stage isn’t just a character, it’s those with the coldest of hearts. to see the awe and wonder in a child’s me,” Nielsen said. Austin Savage, a UTEP alum and eye when experiencing live theater Allowing for the production to be founder of Border !eatre, has been through this magical tale.” open for student input, Savage said the director for ‘A Christmas Carol’ Being cast in ‘A Christmas Carol,’ that this annual production provides for the past three productions. He for the third year in a row, Richard an opportunity for student designers said that this year’s production di#ers Nielsen, senior theatre arts major and actors to work on their cra" and from the previous years of perfor- takes center stage as he plays the lead he couldn’t be happier with this year’s mance, as they are attempting to show role of Scrooge this year. He previ- group of hard workers. some interesting aspects regarding ously portrayed Fezziwig his $rst year “!e imagination and creativity of the presentation of the supernatural and the Ghost of Christmas present in the designers has been stunning to elements within the show. his second year. me. (!eatre art students) Luis Tor- “!e ghosts and even Jacob Marley “I am the face of the show on my res (costume designer), Gil Arias are all part of a very unique spectacle third consecutive year participating (sound), Trent Ware (lights), Diana that should impress the adults while in this beloved play,” Nielsen said. Davila and Marissa Diaz (projec- captivating the children,” Savage said. “With Scrooge, I’ve been studying a tions) have just blown me away in “UTEP’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ is an an- lot of di#erent things to help $nd my these early stages,” Savage said. “As nual production, so over the years it place in the character. My personal for the actors, some of the more ex- has been re$ned and improved upon favorite is to people watch, espe- perienced students are challenging by a variety of directors which leads cially people with di#erent physical- themselves by expanding their act- ing range. !e younger students are SPECIAL TO THE PROSPECTOR to a very impressive show.” ity and try to incorporate it into my showing tremendous enthusiasm and ‘A Christmas Carol’ will open on Dec. 15 at 2:30 p.m. It will continue Dec. 20 at 8:00 p.m. and Adriana Dominguez, director of au- performance. Dec. 21 at 2:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. dience development, said the produc- Another strategy that Nielsen uses tion has become a UTEP tradition. to better understand his character was see CAROL on page B5 THEATER Students brush off art degree stigma for what one does and said that it is that the student stays true to their important to do what we want. passion, they will succeed. “Follow your heart, it’s all you can “Don’t let anyone tell you that you Art as a major is quickly becoming do. If you really like what you do and won’t achieve it, because that is just a taboo among students due to the you enjoy it you are going to succeed,” bringing negative vibes,” Guerra said. idea that artists are doomed thanks Guerra said. “But if you’re always ques- “Always remain positive, you’ll see the to the competitive aspect of the ma- tioning back and forth you won’t.” bright side of life.” jor itself. But students and professors Guerra obtained a bachelor’s degree Diego Portillo, junior graphic de- alike continue to pursue their goals at UTEP in drawing and minor in sign major, said that being afraid because they $nd an opportunity and printmaking. His masters on print- is a common fear for artist but it it’s their passion. making at the State University of New shouldn’t stop anyone. Manuel Guerra, full-time lecturer York grants knowledge, he said. “Culturally, people are afraid of be- of art, believes that a degree in art is “Art is not based on money, its ing an art major, because it is a very useless is because of the culture we are about how culture and how (it) has restricted major, very competitive,” surrounded by. evolved,” Guerra said. “People say Portillo said. “But it is not as hard as it “Most parents are afraid of their that art has evolved, others say that is seems, as long as you look you’ll $nd.” children making a living on any kind has regressed with the computer age. Portillo has been working for the of art,” Guerra said. “Most of them People should study art because it al- department of music at UTEP, exer- want them to be doctors, lawyers or lows you (to) know how life was in the cising his profession as a designer. the chief of a tribe.” past and how we changed.” “Even a"er I graduate, I will keep According to Guerra, success comes Guerra said that nobody can tell the on with my career outside UTEP with determination and appreciation outcome of an artist but that as long see ART on page B6 FILE PHOTO/THE PROSPECTOR | B2 | ENTERTAINMENT THEPROSPECTOR DECEMBER 3, 2013 Best moments of fall 2013

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4 5 FILE PHOTOS 1.”9 to 5” 2. Chalk the Block 3. Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor on the keyboard 4. The Color Run 5. The Cure

THEPROSPECTOR ENTERTAINMENT | B3 | DECEMBER 3, 2013 FASHION Must-have wardrobe items for the winter season business meeting and for when you’re attending graduation parties. 4. Scarves and gloves, and again, As UTEP students begin to put a plethora of them. Having di#erent away their summer attire and start pairs of gloves and scarfs is important swapping it for their winter one, it is to your look and your health. Many important to always have the essen- people get sick during the winter, but tials to fashionably survive the winter keeping your hands and mouth cov- season. ered can help prevent this. Slip them Winter is swamped with festivi- on and %u# them up and in no time, ties, must-appearances at dinners and you’ll jazz up your out$t just enough gatherings and the annual Christmas to be fashionably notable on these and New Years’ Eve parties. frigid days. !ese are also the hottest Here are some tipes to help you stay accesories, for women to add to their warm yet fashionable. dress with tights, a blazer or simply 1. Beanies, not just one, but a a long-sleeved blouse with jeans and plethora! Beanies—especially knitted boots. From animal prints to two- ones—are always a great way to keep toned, or even a monotone scarf, can your head warm while looking spi#y. really make a statement. Di#erent patterns and colors allow 5. !ermals and long johns, and them to be versatile, allowing you to I’m not talking about the ones your apply them from the most casual out- mom used to make you wear back in AARON MONTES/THE PROSPECTOR MICHAELA ROMAN/THE PROSPECTOR $ts to the ones for a night out on the the day. You’re either a college man town. Droopy beanies—the ones that or a graduate about to enter the work- hang a bit from the top—are particu- force now. !is winter alternative larly in style this winter, and perhaps to underwear is perfect for keeping it’ll look better than your traditional toasty without much e#ort. Time has TACOS PARTY graduation cap. done well and now there are thin- 2. Leather boots—although they ner, sleeker long johns that won’t add BOOK YOUR UPCOMING may be expensive—are a necessary bulk to your out$t. Slip these on for investment for your winter attire. HOLIDAY OR GRADUATION some extra warmth this winter. For Leather boots provide great coverage woman, wearing some knitted tights PARTY HERE! from the cold for your feet and help is the perfect solution to not saying you get around when the ground is goodbye to your dresses during the muddy and slippery. Leather boots cold winter season. Keep your legs also look great with any pair of jeans, warm by wearing various shades of which will also help you stray away colors and patterns, pairing them from your summer sneakers into with neutral dresses, long sweaters something more suitable for win- and cardigans, have fun with it and ter. Find some that are durable, and experiment. Grey and black tights are be sure to check the sole of the boot always handy, so be sure to get a few. to make sure they’ll be slip resistant As the graduating class walks on and provide friction while walking stage for their well-earned diploma through a winter wonderland. 3. Pea coat, and be sure it’s a nice and the rest of us %ock to the Don one too! Go for a sturdy, thick and Haskins Center and parties for the warm one. A three-button style looks celebrations, it is important to keep best on most guys, but keep in mind warm, but that does not mean you the positions of pockets so it doesn’t should neglect your look either. !ere %are too much when you put your will be many invites during this cold- hands inside to keep warm. Also, est of seasons for you to partake in make sure the color choice is adequate ,and having these $ve items will help for all attire. Black is always safe, but you look hot during these freezing some greys and tans will work as well. months. Choose wisely and make it versatile for when you’re summoned for a | B4 | ENTERTAINMENT THEPROSPECTOR DECEMBER 3, 2013

QUESTION OF THE WEEK What would you like to receive as a graduation present? MICHAELA ROMAN / THE PROSPECTOR

GRADUATION PREP ‘A gift is a gift no matter how small’ pose devices that are capable of not life is Mike Nichols’ “!e Graduate,” only communication, and provide (1967). !e landmark $lm, starring entertainment for the users. !e ever- Dustin Ho#man, Anne Bancro" and Every semester, thousands of grad- increasing world of apps such as Job Katherine Ross is both funny and uating seniors embark on a new and Search or USA Jobs can help graduates dramatic. !is movie tells the story exciting journey—graduation, a ca- $nd the right jobs they want. Since of Benjamin Braddock’s life a"er col- reer and life a"er college. Here are- graduation signals the beginning of lege and the many things he discovers some interesting gi"s that upcoming their professional world, why not o#er about himself. graduates may like to receive for their them new tech products that they can Other $lms that may help graduates special day. use for presentations or other career feeling overwhelmed a"er graduat- Because graduation is not only highlights. ing from college might be, “Adven- about their accomplishments in col- Gi" cards from stores such as Amazon tureland” (2009) and “Into !e Wild” lege, but also the a"ermath, why not and any other graduates’ favorite stores (2007), as these two $lms give a new give that special grad an elegant suit can be great gi" ideas since they will they can wear to their $rst job inter- have the option of buying something perspective on the many adventurous view? One needs to make an impres- that they really want to get. and unexpected journeys the graduate sion and let their future employers Books are a major part of college and may take a"er graduating. know that not only do they have the they’re certainly useful a"er gradua- !ere are many more gi"s that may smarts for the job, but also the image- tion, whether it’s a book for inspira- be useful for upcoming graduates like for it. Suits will show employers that tion such as, “!e Giving Tree,” by apartment appliances for those moving graduates are professional and seri- Shel Silverstein and “All the Places out of their family home, o&ce supplies ous about the potential that they will You’ll Go,” by Dr. Seuss, to something and décor. Anything from a desk to bring to the job. just for entertainment like the “Harry professional chairs can make graduates One of the most common gradua- Potter” series or books for future stud- feel that something new and exciting is tion gi"s, and one that is always use- ies. !ere is no denying that books happening. ful and a powerful reminder of the are also great gi"s and help ease the Another good gi" would be a di- education the graduate has received, transition. !ere are numerous books ploma frame—what better way to are pens. Elegantly designed pens are that will make useful gi"s as well, since represent the graduate’s accomplish- a simple, yet e#ective gi" for a college you might want to give the graduate a ment than by displaying it in their graduate. useful book dealing with tips about o&ce? !is will certainly make the It seems that every year technologi- $nding a job. Other options could be graduates con$dent on their $rst day cal innovations advance the ways we “Life A"er College,” by Jenny Blake, at work and proud of the journey can communicate with each other. or “Getting from College to Career,” the’ve taken to get to where they are. Why not share these with graduates by Lindsey Pollack. !ese essential Whatever the case may be, gradu- and give them gadgets such as digi- guides might comfort your graduate as ation is a chance for celebration, the tal cameras, in which they’ll be able they wait for their airplane to land at opportunity to recognize the gradu- to share their favorite moments with the city where they will begin the next ates’ merits of $nishing their college everybody—they’re sort of ideal for chapter of their lives. graduation. Gadgets such as smart Now if the graduate enjoys $lms, education and prepare them for the phones that are either iPhones or An- why not give them something related future that lies ahead. droid always create a big buzz when with graduation? One of cinema’s released and can be perfect multipur- most iconic portrayals of post college FILE PHOTO /THE PROSPECTOR THEPROSPECTOR ENTERTAINMENT | B5 | DECEMBER 3, 2013

SPECIAL TO THE PROSPECTOR CAMPUS LIFE CAROL from page B1 about—hope—and hopefully you’ll his redemption to the audience seems passion. I couldn’t be happier with be one of many to enjoy ‘A Christmas that much more deserved.” their contributions.” Carol’ this year.” Take a break–see a movie In his second year of working on Nielsen shares the same enthusi- !e show will debut at the Wise the play, Torres said that “A Christ- asm and hopes the El Paso commu- mas Carol” has become a UTEP tra- nity enjoys this year’s production. Family !eatre, located on the second dition, and is also becoming part of “I feel the El Paso community will %oor of the Fox Fine Arts Center on the Christmas holiday tradition for thoroughly enjoy this year’s produc- the community. tion because as old as the story itself Dec. 15 with shows at 2:30 p.m. and 7 “It’s quite unique. It’s like a play- is, there are still so many things we in-a-box—the skeleton of the play is p.m. and on Dec. 19-20 at 7 p.m. already there, so that di#erent actors, are still discovering about it today” he said. “!is season especially, we are designers and technicians can bring their own take each year,” Torres really %ushing out the pain and suf- said. “It’s a Christmas classic that the fering Scrooge goes through so that whole family can enjoy to go see. It’s a wonderful opportunity for everyone.” !is year’s cast also includes Eliza- beth Gomez, freshman pre-speech and language pathology major as Tiny Tim and Miriam Mendoza, sopho- more theater arts major as Belle. “I feel the show relates to UTEP and the community by touching on the theme of hope. All is possible when people work together and even the worst of us are part of the com- SPECIAL TO THE PROSPECTOR munity,” Savage said. “And that is !e movie stars Liev Schreiber, who entirely what the holiday season is all has also acted in “Salt” (2010) and “X- Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009). !e Apart from eating your favorite movie follows the story of a group of holiday food, spending time with astronauts living on Mars, who are your family and getting some much- about to leave and go home when one desired down time like going to the of them $nds evidence that may point to life on Mars. movies will probably become part of “!e Hobbit: !e the seasonal routine. !e question Desolation of the Smaug”-Dec. 13 arises as to what will be the most pop- !e second of two movies that fol- ular and awaited $lms for December? low the story of Bilbo Baggins and Here are some $lms to watch for this his journey. !ese movies are based winter. on the book “!e Hobbit,” a pre- “Out of the Furnace”-Dec. 6 quel to “!e Lord of the Rings” by !is movie is produced by Ridley J.R.R.Tolkien. Everyone will be look- Scott, the same person who brought ing forward to this because of its pop- us “Black Hawk Down” (2001) and ularity, but be sure to drink a ca#ein- “!e Gladiator” (2000). It stars Chris- ated beverage since the movie will be tian Bale and Casey A'eck as two 182 minutes long. brothers who have always wanted to see MOVIES on page 8 escape their life of struggle and make their way to a better place. One broth- er (Bale) goes to prison and the other (A'eck) gets caught up in a violent criminal life. !e $lm ends up with Bale getting out of prison and trying to help his brother escape from a dan- gerous life. “Last Days on Mars”-Dec. 6

| B6 | ENTERTAINMENT THEPROSPECTOR DECEMBER 3, 2013 COMMENCEMENT Centennial tassle not worth the hassle year, but other than the design and the student that walks in, ‘we want you to president saying a few more remarks, graduate, don’t postpone it.’ Graduat- there is nothing special planned for ing from UTEP is the best thing that With it being only 29 days away the graduates of 2014.” anyone can do.” from UTEP beginning its 100-year With the centennial graduations still Casanova believes that being part of celebration, the university is getting months away, nothing is exactly set in the centennial will help students cre- ready to send out yet another gradu- stone. Frank Montes de Oca, assistant ate unity with the university, there- ating class in less than 10 days. As director of University Relations, said fore bringing a sense of Miner pride. they walk down the stage on Dec. that organizations are still discussing “I guess I would like to graduate 14 to receive their diploma, how- plans so nothing is quite o&cial. in spring 2014 to get started with my ever, they may feel they will be miss- “When we celebrated a 100,000 professional career,” Casanova said. ing out on next year’s celebrations degrees a few years back, all the can- “But on the bright side, I love that I’ll $lled with centennial lectures, proj- didates received their medallion as still be present while the university ects and the exciting UTEP campus a gi" through university funding. turns 100 years old.” transformation. It is possible that something along Despite there being nothing signi$- “I feel that graduating before the those lines might be o#ered this year cant about graduating in spring or fall centennial happens is an unfortunate as well,” Montes said. “Some of the 2014, as of now, if students stay at the thing,” said sophomore business ma- things are still in the planning stage. university for graduate school, they jor Oscar Casanova. “!e university We are trying to make it interesting, will still be able to participate in the only gets to turn 100 years old one possibly even base it on a budget, but future festivities being planned by the time, and therefore it is a once-in-a- nothing too major.” many committees of the university, lifetime experience for students to be While graduating during the 100th along with witnessing and being part part of this celebration.” anniversary will be special—in that of the completion of construction. FILE PHOTO/THE PROSPECTOR A misconception some students it is the centennial–students should “Working hard for it, so it will be a may have is that graduating during the not wait to graduate until a particu- ART from page B1 Layla Stull, dropout art student, delight to graduate centennial or not,” centennial will be di#erent from other lar time and it’s recommended that all looking for internships and someday continued her life as an artist even said senior chemistry major Guill- commencement ceremonies prior to students should graduate as soon as work for an advertising agency,” Por- a"er dropping out of school because ermo Jimenez. “I see it as a door for theirs, but according to Gary Edens possible, Edens said. tillo said. “I will also pursue a masters she think, that is the beauty of arts. me to say goodbye to my past and Vice President of Student A#airs, the “Graduation is a great thing, cen- on Fine Arts.” “I dropped to start making money hello to my future. I want to walk and centennial graduations will be unique, tennial or not.” Edens said. “If they Portillo also believes that it’s a cultural to pay my loans, but I kept my career honor all those who supported me to but nothing out of the ordinary. graduate in December, it means that thing, which El Paso is not used to. close to me and applied as much as I $nish my education, whether it’s at a “Our priority is to make every grad- they’re out in the job force and they “El Paso is an area of manufactures could from what I learned at college,” speci$c time or not.” uation special,” Edens said. “However, can get their lives started. I think stu- and the border,” Portillo said. Stull said. “And that’s the beauty of for the centennial graduations, we dents should graduate as fast as they Aside from his work, Portillo dedi- arts because you can practice them may have a special medallion for the can. Why would they wait? I tell every cates his free time to improve his art even if you are not at school, unlike as a hobby and to gain money. many other majors, and that you can “I do most of my work as a hobby learn from teachers, but one’s voice and for drawing class,” Portillo said. come from ourselves and it is on us to “Also, I make money as free-lance art- be good artists.” ist selling all kind of drawings and art.” According to Stull, she has sold Portillo said that people should not many of portraits even though she be afraid of studying art because it all hasn’t graduated and it helped her pay depends on how people act towards some of her bills. their passion. “Even though I didn’t $nish col- “Being afraid is pretty normal, but lege, people are willing to buy art they that people should study whatever consider good and as long as you have they want because people say that it your style, people are going to like it,” is hard to $nd a job, but in reality no Stull said. “But I would de$nitely rec- major can guarantee 100 percent that you’ll get a job,” Portillo said. “And if ommend to $nish college, a degree money worries you, still study art be- gives reputation, that’s why I’m still cause if that is your real passion you’ll willing to $nish college.” get the money because you are doing a good job.”

MOVIES from page B5 !is movie is directed by Ben Still- er, who has acted in everything from

“Night at the Museum” (2006) to “Anchorman 2: !e Legend “!e Watch” (2012). !e plot involves Continues”-Dec. 20 Walter Mitty (Stiller), a timid maga- !is movie is the sequel to “Anchor- zine photo manager who is about to man: !e Legend of Ron Burgundy” embark on a global journey, where he (2004). It is a comedy starring Will takes action on several scenarios. It is Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and a classic story of a day-dreamer who David Koechner. !e plot follows dares to have a more adventurous four friends returning to the news in- and fearless life, and disappears into dustry as they join Channel 24 News. a world of fantasy that is $lled with !ey had previously gained their suc- heroism, romance and action. “!e cess in the ‘70s at Channel 4 News and Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” is based now they have come out of retirement on James !urber’s short story, which and expect the news industry to have was $rst published in !e New Yorker remained the same. on March 1939. “!e Secret Life of Walter Mitty”- Dec. 25

PHOTOS SPECIAL TO THE PROSPECTOR

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DECEMBER 3, 2013

EDITOR Sports EDWIN DELGADO, 747-7477 COLUMN Aiming for 7-0 start against Aggies The good, the bad and the ugly of the 2013 We need a team effort football season to beat them at their place. They have a good crowd. As the UTEP football team sea- son came to an end with another loss on Nov. 30 in Murfreesboro, - Chrishauna Parker, Tenn. against junior guard Middle Tennessee State, it would be an understatement to say that this season has been more “Our intensity needs to be there than disappointing. and we need to make it a team ef- Optimism probably gets the best of fort. We need everybody into it,” us, but if you were to have said in Au- Parker said. “We need a team ef- gust that UTEP would end the season AARON MONTES / THE PROSPECTOR fort to beat them at their place.They with a 2-10 record, having one of the UTEP will face the New Mexico State Aggies in Las Cruces on Dec. 3. The Miners defeated the Aggies 94-69 in their !rst game on Nov. 12. have a good crowd. We need to get a worst defenses in the nation and have feel for the road.” a multitude of injuries to key players !e points from turnovers di#er- It has also been $ve times under The Miners will be back home throughout the whole season, that coach Adams that the Miners have ential was in favor of the Miners by a on Dec. 7, when they host former would have been a stretch. 29-7 margin. swept the season series against NMSU. Conference USA foes, the South- What this season has shown is stark A"er a 6-0 start, the women’s bas- The Aggies have a 3-4 record UTEP is 15-10 overall against the ern Methodist Mustangs. SMU was realism. UTEP does not have a good ketball team will now travel to Las thus far and they are coming from Aggies under coach Adams. the Conference USA regular sea- team and it might be that way for a Cruces, N.M. on Dec. 3 for the re- “We’ll need to be ready,” Adams son champion last season and have while. !ere is a good, a bad and de$- match against their rivals, the New a win over Northern Illinois and a said. “We need to play for 40 min- a 7-1 record. nitely an ugly to the UTEP football team. Mexico State Aggies. loss to Milwaukee. utes. We’re going to have to play !e game against the Mustangs will The Good. In the $rst outing between the “It will be a good test for us,” said from start to $nish.” mark the beginning of a much sti#er Freshman running back Aaron Miners and the Aggies, the Miners head coach Keitha Adams. “They schedule for the Miners. Both teams Jones, a Burges High School grad, had four players score in double $g- Anytime a team goes on the road, are an athletic team that can shoot. have played and defeated Kansas State turned in a very productive season ures (!orton, Telles, Willingham, especially when it’s against NMSU, We have to play our basketball to this season, SMU with an 11-point before bowing out with a rib injury Nash). !ey led at hal"ime by only the defensive stops need to be there to win the game.” margin compared to UTEP’s 45-point against North Texas. Jones de$nitely six points. !e defensive intensity give the visiting team a chance to win. win over the Wildcats. exceeded the expectations of his picked up dramatically in the second !e Miners are 5-7 under coach Junior guard Chrishauna Parker coaches, fans and quite frankly, him- Adams when making the trip to Las knows that her team needs to be re- half and they ran away with the lead self. At the beginning of the season, to crush NMSU, 94-69 on Nov. 12. Cruces to play the Aggies. lentless when getting back a"er shots. junior running back Nathan Je#ery was due for a breakout season af- WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ter his 2012 campaign, in which he rushed for 897 yards. At the start of the 2014 season, UTEP should have two healthy and quality backs in Creating a new level of expectations Jones and Je#ery. Juniors Jameill Showers and Jordan Leslie will also get another crack at it. !e quarterback-wide receiver duo Under the tutelage of head coach- of Showers and Leslie showed prom- Keitha Adams, the fans of El Paso have ise at times this season, but they still been subjected to many fast starts from lack timing and overall cohesiveness. the UTEP women’s basketball team. Al- Once Showers fully recovers from a though the season is still early, the Min- shoulder separation, these two will ers have already gone into the record have the chance to create an explosive books for women’s basketball. attack within the UTEP o#ense. !rough six games, the Miners The Bad. have been perfect, and with that 6-0 UTEP has no depth. Besides the start, it’s the Miners third-best start in back$eld (where the Miners were school history. riddled with injuries all season), the !e average margin of victory for Miners lack depth at basically ev- UTEP so far has been 29 points and they ery position. Besides wide receiver have had a four-game win streak where Jordan Leslie, the Miners don’t have that many reliable targets. !e Min- ers only have two other receivers besides Leslie that have 20 or more receptions. On the other side of the ball, the Miners secondary is by far I think we just got to the most inexperienced and youngest group. !e Miners started two fresh- AARON MONTES / THE PROSPECTOR stay focused and do the men and one sophomore in second- The Miners have began their 2013-14 season with six straight victories and have won those games with a 29-point margin average. little things. If we keep ary and their depth chart is full of they defeated their opponents by 20 or comes in and does a good job of keeping Gari said the key is that they want to underclassmen. doing those things, we’ll more points. In their wins against Kansas that momentum going. Staying strong, win as much as they can. In a team sport, every position is State and Northern Arizona, the Miners staying humble, just doing these little “So every time we’re on the court, we important, but having a good quar- be successful later on in set their third and largest margins of vic- things and working as a team playing want to score, get the rebounds, run–we terback at the helm trumps every- the season tory in school history, respectively. UTEP ball.” just keep going,” she said. thing. It’s still to be seen how good Senior forward Kayla !ornton, who Her fellow teammates, junior guard !e Miners might have made their of a recruiter head coach Sean Ku- set the record for career double-doubles Stacie Telles and sophomore guard Irene early opponents look elementary, but gler will be, but he struck a gem with at the beginning of the season, has led Gari, agreed with !ornton. the schedule only gets harder as the Jameill Showers. In any other year, the Miners by averaging 16 points per “Playing as a team, playing team de- season goes on. A"er the Dec. 3 game Showers would have been $nishing against New Mexico State in Las Cru- his second year as the starting quar- - Kayla Thornton, game and 8.5 rebounds per game. fense, talking to each other, that’s what “!e key is that we work as a team,” really has gotten us through these games, ces, the Miners will play in the Puerto terback at Texas A&M. Unfortunate senior forward !ornton said. “Our starting $ve gets communication and playing as a team,” Rico Classic, where they will be see FOOTBALL on page B15 the momentum going, then the bench Telles said. see LEVEL on page B15 | B12 | SPORTS THEPROSPECTOR DECEMBER 3, 2013 BESTOF2013 THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENTS OF 2013 Football Men’s Basketball Recreational Sports 11 UTEP AGAINST NEW MEXICO LOST PLAYERS SOCCER AND NEW MEXICO STATE 10 9 Sept. 7 marked the !rst game of the Miners under new While head coach Tim Floyd was putting together one Despite the lack of an of!cial men’s soccer team at head coach Sean Kugler. The game turned into an excit- great class of recruits, in July his plans started to fall UTEP, the men’s soccer club conquered the regional ing shootout to the delight of the 45,000-plus crowd at apart. After losing forwards Twymond Howard and Mal- championship to earn a spot at the 2013 NIRSA (National the Sun Bowl, but the Lobos running back Kasey Carrier colm Moore, who transferred for lack of play, the Miners Intercollegiate Recreational Sports Asscociation) National ran for 291 yards against a young and inexperienced would suffer another three blows in a matter of three Championships. Miner defense to achieve a 42-35 overtime win for New days. On July 17, Andre Spight was ruled ineligible by The regional tournament took place in Socorro, N.M., Mexico. The bright light for the Miners was the offense the NCAA, forcing him to enroll at a junior college before and was hosted by New Mexico Tech. UTEP defeated the and the performance of freshman running back Aaron coming back to UTEP. Arizona Wildcats on penalties after a 1-1 draw. In the Jones, who ran 127 yards and two touchdowns. On July 20, forward Chris Washburn Jr. (younger brother !nal match, UTEP played Arizona State, and after being One week later, the Miners traveled to Las Cruces to of junior guard/forward Julian Washburn) announced down 2-1 at the half, the Miners completed the comeback defeat the New Mexico State Aggies 42-21, where fresh- through social media that he was leaving UTEP to trans- with goals by Nasser Abraham and Julio Rodarte in the man full back Darrin Laufasa sealed the win with two fer to Texas Christian University), and later that night 70th and 85th minutes to win the regional title for the touchdowns in the fourth quarter, which made it !ve the El Paso Times reported that !ve-star recruit and !rst time since 2005. straight wins for UTEP over NMSU. McDonald’s All-American Isaac Hamilton asked UTEP to At the tournament, the Miners fell to Florida, 3-1, and be released from his letter of intent. UTEP declined his tied Illinois, 0-0. However, the tournament was cancelled Men’s Basketball request and later Hamilton lost his appeal to the NCAA due to bad weather before UTEP could play Northeastern MEMPHIS VS. UTEP National Letter of Intent Committee and decided to enroll in the consolation round. 8 at UCLA, where he has to sit out for one year. Women’s Soccer Football UTEP UPSETS Senior night for the Miners began with an unexpected 6 twist. On March 5, the LA Times reported that USC Ath- COLORADO COLLEGE letic Director Pat Haden had approached Tim Floyd to ask JAMEILL SHOWERS 7 Colorado College came to El Paso with an 11-game him to take the job as the Trojans’ head coach, the rumor undefeated streak, had already secured the Conference spread quickly in El Paso and created a lot of uncertainty. On Feb. 26, Texas A&M’s backup quarterback announced USA regular season title and was considered as the The Miners, however, were ready to host No. 25 Mem- that he was transferring to UTEP. Showers, who had been a 27th-best team in the nation. The Miners hosted the Ti- phis and put up a brave !ght against the Tigers. With backup to Ryan Tannehill and Johnny Manziel, was the !rst gers on Oct. 27 after a 2-0 win over Texas San Antonio less than three seconds remaining, Jacques Streeter big addition for the Miners under Kugler. two days before. They were trying to close their home stole the ball in mid-court, but his shot, as time ex- Showers was !rst introduced to the local media on July 12. schedule with a win and to clinch a spot in the Confer- pired, didn’t drop in and the Tigers defeated the Miners, During the fall, Showers completed 107 passes of 188 ence USA Championship. 56-54. In the post-game press conference, Floyd ac- attempts for 1,263 yards and 11 touchdowns, in addi- After going down in the 17th minute with a penalty kick, knowledged that he had met with Haden, but said that tion to 195 yards rushing and four touchdowns on the the Miners, with another penalty, were able to pull even he was not offered a job nor was he looking for a job. ground before a separated shoulder injury against Rice in the 37th minute. The Tigers tried to hold the 1-1 on Oct. 26 ended his season. draw, but in the 64th minute sophomore mid!elder Lau- ren Katada served a ball to the heart of the penalty box, Women’s Basketball where sophomore forward Angela Cutaia headed the ball 4 BIGGEST WINS IN into the net to give the Miners the 2-1 victory. SCHOOL HISTORY In one week, the women’s basketball team was able to get two of their biggest wins in school history. On Nov. 16, the Miners faced Big 12 opponent Kansas State. UTEP began on a 13-0 run and never looked back as they cruised past the Wildcats, 84-39, just one point shy of the 46-point win margin of UTEP over UT Pan America in 2006. However, on Nov. 22, the Miners were able to break the record and routed Northern Arizona, 92-43, making it the largest margin of victory against a Division I school, while their win over Kansas State is now the third-largest margin now.

Track and Field 3 MINERS CONQUER CONFERENCE CROWN Led by sophomore distance runner Anthony Rotich, who took gold in the 1,500 and 5,000-meters in addition to the 3,000 meter steeplechase, the Miners conquered their !rst men’s track and !eld outdoor conference championship since 2008. With a slim !ve-point lead before the !nal event, the Miners’ 4 x 400 relay team, composed of freshman Cornell Horn, sophomore A-Shawni Mitchell, freshman FILE PHOTO / THE PROSPECTOR Daniel Tarango and junior Abiola Onakoya, !nished in Sophomore distance runner Anthony Rotich led the Miners to a conference !rst place to secure the title after the Houston team championship and claimed the 3,000-meter steeplechase national title. dropped the baton in the !nal exchange, taking them AARON MONTES / THE PROSPECTOR Men’s Basketball out of the competition. UTEP defeated the Kansas State Wildcats 84-39 on Nov. 16, six days later Miners defeated Northern Arizona 92-43 for biggest win in school’s history.. 5 BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS Track and Field Baseball ANTHONY ROTICH TRIPLE A BASEBALL Despite a 36-point loss to No. 23 Iowa in the semi!nals 2 1 on Nov. 29, the Miners proved to be a competitive team WINS NATIONAL TITLE COMES TO EL PASO in the Battle 4 Atlantis. On June 8 in Eugene, Ore., Rotich claimed gold in the El Paso will be able to enjoy Triple-A baseball starting UTEP, in the !rst round, defeated the Tennessee Volun- 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor next year. On April 14, City Hall was demolished to make teers, 78-70–a team that was considered a top 25 team Track and Field Championships. way for the new $60-million ballpark in downtown. in the pre-season. Two nights later in the third-place In the !nal lap of the race, it came down to Rotich and The demolition marked the most important step for game, UTEP faced national powerhouse No. 2 Kansas. senior Henry Lelei from Texas A&M. It all came down bringing the franchise to El Paso, and later on May 30, Despite Kansas pulling an early 15-2 lead, the Miners to the !nal water barrier, where Lelei fell while jumping the groundbreaking for the ballpark took place. Finally on were close to pulling off a major upset, but lost 67-63 over the barrier, which gave Rotich just enough to time Oct. 22, MountainStar Sports revealed the name of the and !nished the tournament with a 1-2 record against to take the lead, running through the !nish line with a team, the El Paso Chihuahuas, who will begin their history three of the best teams in the country. personal-best time of 8 minutes, 21.19 seconds. in April 2014. THEPROSPECTOR SPORTS | B13 | DECEMBER 3, 2013 FOOTBALL Seniors ready to continue life after football Already graduated with a degree in multidisciplinary studies, Craig Wen- rick will also graduate in the summer When you walk around campus and with a second degree in criminal justice. see the towering athletes in sweats you Prior to that, Wenrick has had mul- might forget that they’re also students. !e football team has more stu- tiple selections to the Conference USA dent-athletes than any other sport at Commissioners Honor Roll. He said UTEP and most of the seniors on this that he doesn’t know what the future year’s football team will be suiting up holds for him. in something other than football once Linebacker A.J. Ropati is set to gradu- they graduate. ate in May with a degree in multidisci- For the seniors, $nishing at the bot- plinary studies, is looking to head back tom of their division wasn’t the plan, but home as he $nishes his career at UTEP. they’re leaving having made a long-last- ing impression on the rest of the team. “I’ll probably be living in my home- “When you play football, you create a town in Carson, California,” Ropati said. bond with somebody,” said junior wide “Or in Las Vegas going through the $re receiver Jordan Leslie. “It hurts to see department academy or police acad- them leave. Everyone on the o#ense, emy. We’ll see what happens.” and even players on defense like Horace As the Miners look back to their $- (Miller), (Marcus) Bagley, (Germard) nal game of the season against Middle Reed, you create a great bond with Tennessee State last on Nov. 30, a few them–become great friends.” of the seniors re%ected on their favorite !e now starting quarterback for the AARON MONTES / THE PROSPECTOR Miners, freshman Mack Le"wich, said memories wearing the orange and blue. Senior linebacker Horace Miller (right) celebrates after getting a safety against Florida International on Nov. 16. that he has learned a lot from them. “I think it was the last home game “I have respect for most of the se- (against FIU)–Senior Night a couple niors,” Le"wich said. “I’m friends weeks ago–it was a great feeling to win with a lot of them and I hang out with our last home game,” Ropati said. “It’s a lot of them.” one of the most memorable moments in Whereas the majority of the seniors my UTEP career.” will go on to other ventures in life, line- backer Horace Miller sees a future in However, Miller feels that the best It hurts to see them football for himself, as he is set to gradu- game he was part of for the Miners was leave...you create a ate in December with a bachelor’s de- the game against the then fourth-ranked gree in multidisciplinary studies. Oklahoma Sooners in the 2012 opener, great bond with them– “At the end of the day, though my plan in which the Miners fell 24-7. become great friends. is to talk to (head) coach (Sean) Kugler, “I would say the energy that we coach (Andre) Patterson and pursue brought defensively against Okla- football,” Miller said. “!ey’ve been up- front and honest with me and those are homa–the energy and intensity was the coaches that I take the most of what outstanding,” Miller said. “In meetings they say. !ey believe I have a bright fu- before that game, we heard they (Okla- - Jordan Leslie, ture and I believe I have a bright future.” homa) were talking about how they When asked where he could see him- would beat us 66-3 or 60-10 and we just junior wide receiver self in $ve years, Miller wasn’t hesitant took that and ran with it. !at game in stating football. was just phenomenal, I have never seen “In $ve years, I’ll still be playing anything like that.” football(in the NFL),” Miller said. “De$- nitely, I plan on having a great career. At Win or lose, the senior class has made the end of the day, I just want to be suc- a long-lasting impression on their fans, cessful no matter what it is.” coaches, teammates, family and the uni- According to Kugler, Miller is one versity as a whole. While only a handful of the players who may $nd success may get an opportunity to play at the in the NFL, but knows he will have next level, they feel fortunate to have ex- to work for it. perienced what it is like to have played “The future is never guaranteed to college football. you,” Kugler said. “Horace will get an opportunity and I hope he does the best.” | B14 | SPORTS THEPROSPECTOR DECEMBER 3, 2013 Q&A Xitlali Herrera concludes her run as a Miner A: We got a new coach (Holly Watts) and it was the $rst season for some of my teammates, so it was Senior middle blocker Xitlali Her- interesting playing with new people rera has concluded her collegiate and being coached by a new coach. career in the U.S., a"er three years I’m very thankful for my teammates of playing for the Miners. While at and the relationship I have with ev- UTEP, Herrera was a member of the ery single one of them. Mexico’s national team and she also Q: What was the reason that con- earned All-Conference USA in 2011, vinced you to come to UTEP? 2012 and 2013. A: De$nitely the closeness to Q: At what age did you start playing home. I wanted friends and family to volleyball and how did you get come see me play. started? Q: How much have you changed as A: I started playing when I was 7 a person after these three years as years old. I started because my mom, a Miner? my older brother, my uncle and aunt A: I think I’m a more mature per- played, so it’s like the family sport. son. I’m more responsible for the de- I just started going to my brother’s cisions I make. practices and I used to play with my Q: What is your single greatest mom by the sideline. !at’s all I do memory as a student and as a and I love it. player at UTEP? Q: What have you learned from vol- A: As a student, I think being able leyball that you can apply to your to pass all of my classes while I was everyday life? still learning a new language, and as A: Teamwork–it’s one of the most a player, helping my team to grow important things I’ve learned from and being named to the All-Confer- volleyball and also being disciplined. ence team. Q: How did it feel to hear the Q: How do you feel about graduat- cheers from fans, who not only ing from college? came from El Paso but also those A: It’s great, I’m very proud of my- who crossed the border to see you self and I know my family is proud of play? me as well. A: It was really nice and it felt great Q: What will you miss most about seeing all the people that came to playing volleyball for UTEP? watch me play and support me and A: All the support that our fans FILE PHOTO / THE PROSPECTOR the team. show to us, and the way our team is Xitlati Herrera was part of the UTEP team for three years. She has also played for the Mexican national team. Q: Who do you owe your success always together for everything. to, being both a student-athlete Q: What do you want to do with UTEP and What is that person(s) A: It’s amazing because you are over there while doing my master’s, and a college graduate? your degree once you graduate signi!cance to you? representing an entire country. It’s I’ll just keep playing at another col- A: To my family, de$nitely–they’ve from UTEP? A: My mom and my boyfriend–I nice to change someone’s beliefs been there since day one and they’ve A: My major is international busi- love them both. !ey’ve been always about your country by doing good lege. Also, I want to go back to play never stopped supporting me in ev- ness and I would like to work in a ho- there and they have helped me in things. ery decision I’ve made. tel or a tourist-related business. so many di#erent ways that I don’t Q: What are your plans regarding beach volleyball. Q: What are your overall thoughts Q: Who has been that one person know what I could do without them. volleyball after UTEP? on this season and what are you who has guided you and stood by Q: What is it like to represent A: I’ll go back to Mexico to do my most thankful for? your side these past three years at Mexico playing the sport you love? master’s and since I can still play SEASON RECAP A learning experience in the !rst year under Watts and the defending national cham- so far,” Watts said. “We are planning pions the Texas Longhorns to start to increase our athleticism, as well as their season. our overall ball control and termina- Watts said that the support has tion ability. We are always recruiting.” helped the team this season from One of the players coach Watts beginning to end. will have to replace is Herrera. She “!e crowd was always on our side jumped and spiked for 415 kills this and very supportive,” Watts said. “I season–a team high. She spoke about felt like we improved as the season her experience under coach Watts. went along, as a whole. Our chem- “I’ve learned to stay focused for istry continued to improve even three months on the same goal. I through our last weekend in North- think she’s going to make this pro- ern California.” !e Miners were 9-4 at home and gram grow. She knows what it takes to posted a 3-2 record in neutral sites. go from good to great,” Herrera said. !e Miners showed grit when per- Now coach Watts gets to have an forming against some of the best entire o#season to get her team in teams Conference-USA has to o#er, the correct mindset, along with get- they were close to upsetting the No. ting her squad to the highest athletic 3 team in the conference, the Tulsa standard as possible. Golden Hurricane, losing in $ve sets. “We are going to work on quick- “What a rewarding experience ness, speed and strength. !ese and a great team to $ght through things will help us to prepare for the the challenges. What an incredible fall season, athletically,” Watts said. home atmosphere we have in Me- “On the court, we are going to work morial Gym,” Watts said about her to improve our overall ball control FILE PHOTO / THE PROSPECTOR $rst season at UTEP. “We didn’t ac- and power.” UTEP !nished its !rst season under new head coach Holly Watts 14-14, 7-7 in Conference USA. complish all we wanted to as a pro- Watts also said that with the e#ort gram yet, but the $ght and determi- the team puts in every day, the pro- ference USA Championships a"er a “It was di#erent. She made us stay nation of this team was a pleasure to gram will grow without a doubt. work with.” ninth-place $nish in conference. more focused throughout the entire “If the team will continue to put With the o#season comes the de- season and even though it didn’t forth the e#ort to get better, to- Watts came into a program that parture of the seniors on the squad. end the way we wanted, I think the gether, every day, this team and this !e $rst season of volleyball under consisted of players she had not met !e Miners will lose $ve players be- changes are for the good,” said se- program will get better. We have new head coach Holly Watts ended or even seen play until arriving at fore next season begins. Watts said nior middle blocker Xitlali Herrera. she is always recruiting and has play- the resources needed to accomplish with a 14-14 record for the Miners. UTEP. !e personnel changed while !e Miners rubbed elbows with ers already on their way to UTEP. greatness,” Watts said. !e new era of UTEP volleyball $n- the players, for the most part, re- some of the best teams in the coun- “We have three athletic young la- ished in the $rst round of the Con- mained the same. try as they faced San Diego, Hawaii dies on their way into our program THEPROSPECTOR SPORTS | B15 | DECEMBER 3, 2013

LEVEL from page B11 put to the test against Belmont INBRIEF and Georgia Tech. !ey then will Softball signs new players for 2015 season travel to College Station to face the 2011 national champions, Texas A&M, on Jan.2 and then they start COURTNEY CLAYTON / MIDDLE INFIELDER / LINDA GARCIA / CATCGER / KAISER HS / their Conference USA schedule. !ere is no denying that the Min- GLENCOE HS / CORNELIOUS, ORE. FONTANA, CALIF. ers’ early accomplishments are great Played three seasons of varsity softball and garnered multiple ac- Played three seasons of varsity softball and established career as they are o# to their third-best colades highlighted by the 2013 Oregon 6A Player of the Year and highs during junior season in batting average (.346), RBI (29), start in school history, but associate named 2013 !rst-team All-State in!elder. She led a 29-2 Crimson homeruns (5) and on-base percentage (.454) Garcia was named head coach Ewa Laskowska is ada- Tide team in hits (56), RBI (40) and batting average (.523), also to 2013 !rst-team All-League … went 2-for-5, with two RBIs and mant about the team taking it one added three homeruns, 34 runs scored and 17 doubles a run scored during an 11-4 win over Mira Costa in the second- game at a time. Head coach Echo-Hawk on Clayton: round of the 2013 CIF Southern Section Softball Championships “We’re just trying to focus on one “Courtney is one of the most consistent players I have seen both –Division III. game at a time and one play at a time,” Laskowska said. “We’re just trying to offensively and defensively. She brings a completive energy that Echo-Hawk on Garcia: focus as a team and improve on every- will be an asset to our team.” “Linda is solid behind the plate and one of the hardest workers. thing we do. We don’t talk about long- Her knowledge of the game will bene!t us behind the plate.” term goals, like I said, one practice at a BREANNA MEDINA / OUTFIELD / FAITH time, one game at a time.” HOPE MORENO / INFIELDER / LA HABRA HS/ Even though the Miners have CHRISTIAN ACADEMY / EL PASO, TX. played great team basketball, Played club softball with the Texas Sluggers and the New Mexico LA HABRA, CALIF. Thornton has been on the fore- Sol. All -around athlete who excelled in volleyball and basketball Played club softball with the Texas Sluggers and the New Mexico front of the team’s success, leading as FCA does not !eld a softball team. Won 2009 Western National Sol. All -around athlete who excelled in volleyball and basketball them in almost every major statis- Championship with the Sluggers and 2011 OKC Triple Crown as FCA does not !eld a softball team. Won 2009 Western National tical category. Championship with the Sol. Championship with the Sluggers and 2011 OKC Triple Crown “!ere is no question that she is Echo-Hawk on Medina: Championship with the Sol. important to the team,” Laskowska Echo-Hawk on Medina: said. “She’s a senior. She’s played a “Breanna is a very talented dynamic player and will be extremely lot for us and she’s big on our team. exciting to watch as she develops.” “Breanna is a very talented dynamic player and will be extremely She gets us going when she gets re- exciting to watch as she develops.” bounds and puts on defensive pres- sure. All of our three seniors have a lot of experience playing and they’re a very important part of the team–jumpstarting us and every- one else follows.” !e margin of victory might be getting bigger and bigger for the Miners, but understanding that the season is still young and staying humble is what the Miners are about. “It’s still early. I think we just got to stay focused and do the lit- tle things. If we keep doing those things, we’ll be successful later on in the season. !e game against Northern Colorado was a wakeup call for us,” !ornton said. FOOTBALL from page B11 ly, he lost out on the job to a guy who starts for the Miami Dolphins and a Heisman trophy winner. It might be a while before Kugler $nds another quarterback as well- equipped as Showers, Kugler has one more year with Showers that hope- fully won’t go to waste like this year. !e Ugly. On defense, the Miners are losing $ve starters. Now you might think losing some players who play on a defense that ranks at the bottom of almost every major defensive cat- egory in college football might not be a bad thing. Well it might not be bad, but it’s de$nitely not good. !e chance that the Miners’ defense will make a vast improvement next year is very unlikely. Conferences changes are irrel- evant. With the revamping of Con- ference USA this season, or more honestly put, the destruction of Conference USA, it’s well known that they took a step back in terms of talent that was supposed to be a good thing for the Miners. What this season has shown is that the Miners have adapted to their situation very easily–their level of play dropped just as their conference did. At the end of the day, the result of the game against Middle Tennes- see State is irrelevant, as the Miners’ season has been over for quite some time now and the worst thing would be that it might carry over into next year. !ere hasn’t been a lot of good, but plenty of bad and ugly. | B16 | SPORTS THEPROSPECTOR DECEMBER 3, 2013 FEATURE Vitola coming back for more of her cousins, where her height helped her to develop her skills more rapidly. At 6 feet 4 inches, Vitola made bas- Senior center Kristine Vitola decided ketball her passion and she quickly to return for another season with UTEP became one of the best prospects in a"er su#ering a season-ending ACL in- Riga, Latvia. She played for several She understands what jury last season against Arizona State. youth national teams for Latvia, in- Vitola graduated in May with a busi- cluding the under-20 2008 European we are trying to do–we ness management degree and could Championship. are in-sync with one have simply just moved on and gone In her career as a Miner, Vitola said back home to continue her career, but that the 2011 Conference USA cham- another most of the she wanted to $nish her collegiate ca- pionship and had the opportunity to reer on the court and give it her all. play in the NCAA Tournament, which time. “She could have gone to play pro, she has been her best experiences as part of has had a serious boyfriend for some- the UTEP squad. time too–there were a lot of reasons for So far this season through six her to go back home,” said head coach games, Vitola has averaged eight Keitha Adams. “She didn’t want her points per game, 5.5 rebounds and - Keitha Adams, career to end on that note here. It says has a total of 18 blocks. women’s basketball a lot about her to decide to come back “She is a very smart player, she’s got a head coach to be part of our program for another great basketball IQ. She sees the game Adams said that Vitola is gaining year, so I’m pleased and honored to be very well and she has played a lot for her coach for another year.” us,” Adams said. “She understands con$dence as the games have gone Vitola said that coming back for what we are trying to do–we are in sync by and they both feel that she and the another year was primarily for all the with one another most of the time. She team can still get a lot better. support and appreciation for what can shoot the ball, she can rebound “So far it’s been great. I’m still far UTEP and El Paso have given to her and a pretty good decision maker.” from where I think I can be, but I come and that’s what made her come back. Once it is all said and done, Vitola “When I came here, I didn’t know is hoping to go back home and sign in and do my best every day. !at’s the anybody and they welcomed me with with a professional team to ful$ll goal for me, to get more comfortable open arms,” Vitola said. “El Paso is like her dream of playing overseas. She and get back and get better,” Vitola my second family, I love everything said she is also prepared for what she said. “I’m taking it one game at a time. about it and it has really been great. !e plans to do a"er basketball. fans that have come to the games to “Later on, I’m hoping to open up Of course we want to go as far as we support us have just been phenomenal.” my own business. I want to open a can, but we have to take it day by day Unlike many athletes, it took her child care center. !at is my plan and don’t take anything for granted.” a long time to get into basketball. It for the future,” Vitola said. “At least I wasn’t until Vitola was 13 years old that want to be doing something related to AARON MONTES / THE PROSPECTOR she began playing basketball with one business or accounting.” Kristene Vitola suffered an ACL injury last year and came back to play one more season.