University of Texas at El Paso DigitalCommons@UTEP The rP ospector Special Collections Department 10-18-2016 The rP ospector, October 18, 2016 UTEP Student Publications Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.utep.edu/prospector Part of the Journalism Studies Commons, and the Mass Communication Commons Comments: This file is rather large, with many images, so it may take a few minutes to download. Please be patient. Recommended Citation UTEP Student Publications, "The rP ospector, October 18, 2016" (2016). The Prospector. Paper 258. http://digitalcommons.utep.edu/prospector/258 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Special Collections Department at DigitalCommons@UTEP. It has been accepted for inclusion in The rP ospector by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UTEP. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PAGE 2 OCTOBER 18, 2016 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OPINION MICHAELA ROMÁN, 747-7477 PSL: Pumpkin spice for life BY ERIC VASQUEZ I watched her take a drink of the smell I worshiped for weeks. I asked The Prospector if it tasted like pumpkin spice. She It started with a LOL’ed. “Dude, this is the only thing sni. A whi of a that truly is pumpkin spiced.” department store I wanted to ask her for a taste, but candle sometime my shame in thinking pumpkin spice between my was just a smell kept me slouched in search for a pea- my desk. coat and a beanie I skipped my next class and went that wouldn’t straight to Starbucks. I practiced make me look saying my order in line, going for like an old-timey burglar or an elf a rhythm that would sound like I really into Fleet Foxes. had ordered a thousand of these. I It was dierent, a scent of some- even brought my MacBook to make thing else that at once reminded sure the barista knew I was serious. me of everything autumn. I knew When I got to the counter I said it wasn’t cinnamon; the cinnamon my order with force, said it with candle was in plain sight. It couldn’t a twinge of addiction and a nal have just been ginger, or ginger and upward intonation. honey, or ginger and sea salt, or For eect, I didn’t even look the ginger and lime or even ginger and barista in the eye. I looked at the sandalwood, they were all bottled up menu and said, “Um, Can I have a and placed to the side. PSL?” She looked me over, squinted What I smelled was the olfactory her eyes a bit. I thought I was embodiment of the entire fall season. found out, but something about me I tracked the scent right to the ca- checked out and she deemed me shier. She herself was waing it into worthy, asked what size I wanted. her own nose. “Venti!” I took my drink to a table “Give me that!” I took the candle and stared at it, already drunk on from her. She did not deserve to the smell. I didn’t know what to ex- smell that smell. “What is this?” I pect, so I called in sick to work just asked, jamming my nger into the in case I got too high or knocked wax. She replied with massive irrev- out from ecstasy. erence, a droopy answer that told me It was beautiful, the swirl of she didn’t own a single pair of Uggs. whipped cream and the crushed “Uh, pumpkin spice?” pumpkin sprinkled on top and the thick, rst gulp that warmed my Pumpkin spice. e spice of pump- throat on the way down. If God kin. Aromatique cucurbita. A smell farted, he would fart pumpkin spice. like a warm oven and coee mugs, If God cried, he would cry pumpkin like knit scarves, like red leaves and spice lattes. “Gilmore Girls.” I was hooked. I Aer a week I swore I needed it to burned that candle in every room of JASON URRUTIA/ THE PROSPECTOR start the day. My mind just wasn’t the house. I petitioned for my church right without a PSL in the morning. to trade it out with the incense. I On PSLs, I was lightning quick. My made it my cologne. I got the toilet speech became precise. Sentences paper, the lotion and several tubes of like “I can’t even” confused the unini- pumpkin-spiced chapstick. tiated, but my sisters and brothers in It was a revelation the day I found PSL knew exactly what I meant. out it was more than a smell. Kylie Before my rst PSL, I worried Miller, the human embodiment of a about things like the exploitation of Dillard’s magazine, was late to class children in other countries in order one day. ank God for whatever to maintain America’s sugar de- made her wake up late that day be- mand. e scientic studies behind cause she came into the classroom, sugar intake linking to cancer and Starbucks in hand. By this time my Alzheimer’s? Please, you just don’t nose was SEAL Team Six-trained to forget your rst PSL. Ever. Like, ever. smell pumpkin spice o anyone who I’m going to tell you a secret. ere’s had it in their dish soap, so when a reason why pumpkin spice is so she popped the lid to fan her coee, popular. ere’s a reason why it’s I jerked to attention like a stoner to in Oreos, ice cream and even some a pot cookie. Nothing mattered, not tampon brands. ere’s something even sociolinguistics. I had to know about it that strikes the soul this time what it was. of year. Some say our souls smell like Kylie wasn’t paying attention in pumpkin spice. I don’t know much class either, so I leaned over and about souls, but if I did, I would give asked what she was drinking. She was up mine to have a pumpkin spice too involved with her phone to hear soul. Why? Because PSL means more anything else, so I poked her. “Hey, than wanting a pumpkin spice latte, it what are you drinking?” means wanting a pumpkin spice life. “Are you serious,” she said. She was disgusted. “is is a PSL.” Follow Eric Vasquez on twitter @ericbaskets SPECIAL TO THE PROSPECTOR SPEAK YOUR MIND STAFF VOL. 102, NO . 9 Submit a letter to the editor! Editor-in-Chief: Michaela Román Ad Executive: Lydia Santoscoy Letters will be edited for clarity and brevity. Letters over 250 words are subject to editing to fit available space. Please include full Web Editor: Javier Cortez Stefania Rivera, Monica Valdez Layout Editor: Rene Delgadillo Ad Layout Manager: Jacobo De La Rosa name, street address and telephone number and e-mail address, plus major, classification and/or title if applicable. Copy Editor: Christian Vasquez Ad Designers: Laura Chairez Address and phone number will be used for verification only. Sports Editor: Adrian Broaddus Vanesa Guevara Entertainment Editor: Eric Vasquez Administrative Secretary: Marcela Luna Write to 105 E. Union, e-mail [email protected], call 747-7477 or fax to 747-8031. Photo Editor: Gaby Velasquez Accounting Specialist: Isabel Castillo Multimedia Editor: Andres Martinez Asst. Director-Advertising: Staff Reporters: Grecia Sanchez Veronica Gonzalez The Prospector is published by the Student Publications Editorial Board, 105 Union East, 500 W. University Ave. El Paso, Texas, 79968. Shericka Lawrence, Andria Granado Student Publications Director: The Prospector appears in print once per week on Tuesdays during the fall, spring, and summer semesters. The newspaper is not Contributors: Vania Castillo Kathleen Flores printed during holidays and when classes are not in session. The Prospector does provide news online at www.theprospectordaily.com. Mike Flores, Gloria Heredia, Claudia Hernandez, Stephanie Hinojosa The Prospector is provided to students through student fees. First copy is free. Any additional copies, if available, must be purchased for $1 Andres Gallegos, Nina Titovets through the Department of Student Publications. The Prospector is not responsible for claims made by advertisers. Additional policy information may be obtained by calling The Prospector at 915-747-5161. Opinions expressed in The Prospector are not necessarily those of the university. | 4 | NEWS THEPROSPECTOR OCTOBER 18, 2016 QUESTION OF THE WEEK What are you dressing up as this Halloween? CLAUDIA HERNANDEZ, GABY VELASQUEZ, NINA TITOVETS / THE PROSPECTOR ALEXA SERVIN AZALEA RAMIREZ DANNY GARCIA HANNIA FLORES JORDAN COX Sophomore linguistics major Freshman international business Sophomore mechanical engineering Freshman kinesiology major Graduate student in software “I am going to be Ariana Grande because major major engineering “My boyfriend and I are planning to dress she’s at the top right now. I respect where “I plan on being Maleficent; I like the way “For Halloween, I’m going to be Anubis, “I think I’m going to be the character called she’s at as an artist. It’s going to be cool to she is dressed and her overall look, so it’ll the Egyptian god. I want to be something up as a movie or a TV series couple Agent Cooper because he’s a fun character be her for a night.” be fun to dress up as her for Halloween.” original and different.” characters.” and the costume doesn’t seem too difficult.” LESLIE REYNOSO MANUEL ROCHA OMID KEYVAN PETER GONZALES WHITNEY WALKER Junior criminal justice major Sophomore mechanical engineering Sophomore psychology major Freshman criminal justice major Junior communications major “I am going to dress up as Blair Waldorf major “I’m not dressing up for Halloween this year “I was going to be a ninja turtle with my “I am going to be Captain America for from ‘Gossip Girl’, because I am obsessed “I plan to be a golf player because I don’t because I’ll be going to an out of town wed- with the show and my friends call me Blair think it’ll be common and I want to do friends but they changed their minds, so I’m this Halloween, because he is my favorite ding that weekend and I’m pretty pissed off because we have a similar personality.” something different.” undecided.” superhero.” that they stole Halloween from me.” VICTORIA ALEMAN XIMENA GUILLEN BRIAN RUBIO JOSE MADRID PABLO BEST Sophomore human resource man- Sophomore education major Freshman kinesiology major Sophomore nursing major Freshman art major agement major “I’m going to be Selena Quintanilla just “I am going to be a karate instructor, “I’m going to be a Big Daddy for Halloween “I am going to be a Navy combat sailor, “My family has a theme every year, and this because she was such a popular icon.