University of Texas at El Paso ScholarWorks@UTEP The Prospector Special Collections Department 11-19-2019 The Prospector, November 19, 2019 UTEP Student Publications Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/prospector Comments: This file is atherr large, with many images, so it may take a few minutes to download. Please be patient. Recommended Citation UTEP Student Publications, "The Prospector, November 19, 2019" (2019). The Prospector. 363. https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/prospector/363 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Special Collections Department at ScholarWorks@UTEP. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Prospector by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UTEP. For more information, please contact [email protected]. • • News • Entertainment • Sports It's not a pyramid scheme, page 2 • CBD on the rise at the border, page 5 • Miners' basketball thrives, page 7 VOL. 105 NO. 13 NOVEMBER 19, 2019 THEPROSPECTOR THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO ASSAYER OF STUDENT OPINION WWW.THEPROSPECTORDAILY.COM Grant wi~I enhance UTEP computer science students' professional skills Alexia X. Nava Carmona conferences that are student focused in comput­ ing, such as Grace Hopper and Great Minds in The Prospector STEM;' Villas said. "It will also support students UTEP's Computer Science Department re­ who want to go to undergraduate research expe­ ceived a $742,000 grant from the U.S. Depart­ riences ... it aligns with the UTEP Edge." ment of Education to work on professional lead­ ·The team is also planning to give workshops ership courses for its students. to faculty for them to incorporate what they The team behind the grant, led by Associate learn in their classes, Salamah said. Professor of Computer Science Salamah Sala­ "We don't want this to be only limited to these mah, will launch the first of three one-credit courses, we want to have workshops with faculty Bryan Mena / The Prospector courses to enhance students' leadership and where they can incorporate some of these learn­ Veteran activist Xan Joi, 69, stands before her box truck covered in murals that best capture her beliefs Wednesday, Nov. 13, at the Whole professional skills in the spring of 2020, accord­ ing materials into their classes," Salamah said. Foods parking lot in Westside El Paso. ing to UTEP University Communications (UC). Among the things the faculty will learn in "Everybody wants computer scientists, but we these workshops are the creation of inclusive want to make sure that our students ... are en­ environments in the classroom, the develop­ 0 A woman of many titles hanced with leadership skills and all that so that ment of a sense of belonging with the students hopefully they can move up the ladder faster - and meeting students where they are, according Jewish, lesbian, activist grandmother travels country if not get hired at leadership positions," Salamah to UC. said. The grant is also expected to give a focus to for nearly two decades, makes stop in El Paso "We've recognized for a number of years that female students, who are low in number in en­ it's important for students to develop skills other gineering and computer science nationwide, ac­ Bryan Mena Joi recalls dreaming of California as a little than their technical skills, which are typically cording to Salamah. girl. called 'soft skills; but I like to call them 'profes­ "One of the things that we will be pushing for­ The Prospector "Every day, the sun would set over the corn­ sional skills' because these are the things that ward, always pushing for, is to include ... to fo­ Xan Joi, 69, describes herself as a social justice field next to my farmhouse and my mother used advance them; said Elsa Villas, co-investigator cus on females, whether in recruitment for these warrior, an anti-war activist, a Jewish woman, to always say to me, 'That's where California is, and associate director of the Center for Educa­ programs, whether the teachers ... it should be a lesbian, a grandmother, a feminist and an au­ where the sun is setting."' tion Research and Policy in the College of Edu­ the same:' S~amah said. "The practice that we thor who's traveled throughout the country in In 1975, she moved into a small apartment in cation. "It's not only about the technical knowl­ do should be the same, but encouraging female her truck since 2001, racking up over 400,000 Berkley, California, with her daughter, where edge, it's the ability to communicate - not just students to take part of this will be one of the miles. she remained until a passion for activism crept telling people about what you do, but under­ foci." Amid a passionate 18-year-long journey, vet­ up on her decades later. standing what other people do to enhance the Among the department's support for female eran activist Joi cruised the streets of El Paso in During the immediate aftermath of the Twin work you do." students is the Association for Computer Ma­ a box truck covered in striking, colorful murals Towers terrorist attacks in New York City, Joi The grant will offer financial help for students chinery's Council on Women (ACM-W), which while visiting fellow activist, Cemelli de Aztlan feared that the U.S. would wage war on terror­ to study abroad and travel to conferences, ac­ has a chapter in UTEP as the Women in Com­ Tuesday, Nov. 12. ists in the Middle East, but that same fear also cording to Villas. puter Science academic organization. Originally from a farm in rural New Jersey, sparked a fire inside her that blazes to this day. "Incorporated into this project will also be Joi moved to California in 1975 when she was a support for students in terms of travel, to go 25-y~ar-old single mother. see ACTWIST on page 4 to either study abroad or some of the relevant see GRANT on page 4 VISIT US N-STORE AT 3 FREE CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES WITH DELIVERY. 2500 N MESA ST. USE CODE AT CHECKOUT www.insomniacookies.com EL PASO TX 79902 Must use code "BACKIOIJIEP' at checltout Traditional chocolate chunk cookies only. V.lid on delivery orders valid only at El Paso Insomnia cool<! .. located at: 2500 N Meso St El Poso TX 79902 only. Delivery minimums stiU apply. One offer per order. Not valid with any other discounts or ofm>. r.,.,., gratuities and delivery fees not included. Expires 12/1/2019 at 3AM. EDITOR IN CHIEF VALERIA OLIVARES, 7 47-7446 2 OPINION NOVEMBER 19, 2019 Multi-level.marketing often confused for pyramid schemes Margaret Cataldi overall positive experience working with the The Prospector company, especially as an avid fan of makeup. "I actually really only signed up because I The nature of multi-level marketing (MLM) loved the products and get a discount as a dis­ often gets legitimate MLM companies confused tributor;' Irwin laughed. "Overall, I don't think I for illegal pyramid schemes, but there is ii clear have any regrets. I never spent more money than line dividing both concepts. I had and I made a lot of friendships through the Fernando Jimenez-Arevalo, UTEP associ­ company:• ate professor of marketing and management, Another multi-level company called Vector said the economic MLM concept emphasizes has made frequent visits to UTEP in the past. reselling. David Rodriguez is an assistant manager for the "Multi-level marketing is when a company company and was stationed at a popup informa­ sells their products to people who can also resell tion booth inside the Union East building. He those same products to other people," Jimenez . explained that Vector teaches its recruits basic said. entry-level marketing skills py providing them He said to think of it as selling small quanti­ with a free training manual. After this, they are ties of stock to one individual, rather than large tasked with selling kitchenware products from quantities to corporations such as Walmart or a company called Cutco. Sales pitches are made Costco. on an appointment basis. In MLM, successful individual sellers make "It's not like door~to-door cold calling;' said profits through commission, a percentage of . Flickr / Courtesy of Jim Hammer Rodriguez. "You set up appointments and you money from each sale they make. They are get paid regardless of results. It's nothing like also able to earn additional commission by re­ eventually resembling a pyramid structure of book "The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want traditional marketing jobs," he added. cruiting other sellers who recruit more people sellers. you to Know About:' Though this may sound appealing, Rodriguez themselves, thus creating a profitable network Recruits are told that only recruiting matters, An investigation done by CNBC found that admits to the company's high turnover rate. of sellers. instead of the actual product. GIN was ultimately a $ll0 million pyramid "Most of our people that come in do it for The more sellers that they have working be­ .-;Sometimes, nobody is even selling anything," scheme Trudeau created in order to hide his as­ a few weeks, and then they leave," said Rodri­ low them, the more commission the individual Jimenez said. "In multi-level marketing, you sets and evade paying more than the $37 mil­ guez. "We don't mind if they leave, that's fine, will earn. As the chain continues, the visual dia­ don't need to recruit if you don't want to. It is lion he owed the FTC as a result of his already but at least they were able to get those market­ gram of this strategy begins to resemble - you encouraged because you receive some incentive established fraudulency.