Students and educators find ways to cope with rising costs

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El PASO, Texas — Economic woes in Texas are forcing public universities to raise tuition fees, but educators are struggling to keep higher education affordable. “We are working to provide the accessibility needed for those who do not have the financial freedom to pay for school,” said Congressman Ruben Hinojosa (D –TX), speaking at the University of Texas at El Paso, September 8. There are already programs in place to help students who cannot afford to go to college, such as the Health Care and Higher Education Reconciliation program that was signed into law in March. “It is good for students, taxpayers, and American jobs. The result of this law will be more college graduates,” Hinojosa said.

Bordering on Acceptance: Growing Up Gay on the Border

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EL PASO, Texas — To live in a border city is to live between contrasting jurisdictions and beliefs. It is to delicately walk the line that divides cultures – never falling to either side – balanced by an ability to sustain contradictions. For the Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Bisexual community of El Paso, the city they call home is riddled both in tradition and progressive thought. The line the GLBT community walks is an interminable border that hovers between acceptance and condemnation. “People from both sides of the border … all we’re doing is just tolerating each other, coping with each other, instead of mastering our differences,” said Rosio De Leon, student at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Borderzine.com launches “Mexodus” – a multimedia-reporting project on the exodus of Mexicans fleeing violence – with a $25,000 journalism grant

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El Paso, Texas –– A team of UTEP student reporters working with an experienced bilingual journalist will develop and publish a multimedia project for Borderzine.com examining the exodus of middle-class Mexicans and businesses from the northern border and other parts of Mexico because of increasing levels of crime and drug violence. The project, called “Mexodus” and funded by a $25,000 grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, examines the economic, education and cultural impact of the growing out migration from Mexico to El Paso and other areas. According to one estimate, more than 400,000 Mexican citizens have fled the country in the last three years. Mexico recently reported more than 28,000 drug war-related deaths since 2006. “We are proud to support projects like this one at UTEP which reinforce best practices in investigative journalism and multimedia in a university classroom setting and set a high standard for similar student projects elsewhere,” said Bob Ross, President and CEO of Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.

Pat Mora’s love for words spreads a river of literacy

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EL PASO, Texas — Award-winning writer Pat Mora is a jack-of-all-trades. She writes poetry, books for adult readers, inspirational books for children and young adults and is a dedicated advocate for reading and literacy. Open any of her works and you are taken on a journey that flows like water, bringing freshness to a reader’s mind. Her works are important to the border community. They paint a picture of the region’s Hispanic culture for those who are not familiar with the border.

$60 million facility to open at UTEP May 2011

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EL PASO, Texas — A state-of-the-art, 210,000 square foot facility for the University of Texas at El Paso School of Nursing and College of Health Sciences is set to open its doors on Wiggins Way, across the street from the library in the area where the Student Health Center used to be. The 40-year-old converted Hotel Dieu currently serving as the UTEP College of Health Science and Nursing Program headquarters is insufficient spatially to accommodate its nearly 2,500 students and 150 faculty and staff, UTEP administrators contend. Moreover, its one-and-a-half-mile distance from the main campus has presented logistical problems for those who commute to and from it. According to a UTEP 2007 Facility Proposal, “the quality of healthcare in the Paso del Norte region relies heavily on UTEP’s capacity to prepare graduates in a broad range of health professions programs.” Such programs include: nursing, physical therapy, speech/language pathology, pharmacy, occupational therapy, kinesiology, health promotion and clinical laboratory science.  Pursuant to graduation, a substantial portion of UTEP health graduates stay in the Paso del Norte region. To aid in increasing the number of qualified health professionals, UTEP has expanded various programs and admitted more students, causing the need for the new facility.

Elio Leturia (far right) and his group of reporters, photojournalist John Freeman and multimedia professor Elizabeth Marsh, interviewing Kate Bonasinga, director of the Rubin Center. (Lourdes Cueva Chacón/Borderzine.com)

Dow Jones Multimedia Training Academy

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Twelve journalism professors were welcomed in early June in El Paso where the temperature hit 110 degrees. “Summer started earlier for me,” I thought. We all had been selected to participate in a multimedia training geared to journalism professors who teach in cities with a large Hispanic population. The chosen states? California, Florida, Texas and Illinois.

Juarez Violence Changing Lives: UTEP Students Affected

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EL PASO, Texas — In May, 2010, UTEP student Alejandro Ruiz Salazar, 19—also an employee of the Graduate School—was the first known UTEP student slain in Juarez since the beginning of the current drug war. The same day, former UTEP student Jorge Pedro Gonzalez Quintero, 21, was murdered. According to Steve McCraw, Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the situation in Mexico is worse now than the Colombian drug war of the 1980s and 1990s ever was. “Colombia was never threatened like the government of Mexico is with the level of violence,” McCraw stated at a Capitol hearing. “At first, we all saw the violence and murders as something that would never happen to us but now so many families have been torn apart, and a once prosperous, to some extent happy city, has been destroyed,” Acosta commented.

Planet Forward: Emergency on Planet Earth

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EL PASO, Texas — The University of Texas at El Paso is “walking the walk and not just talking the talk.”

A famous quote by Henry David Thoreau states : “Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth.”

When it comes to concern about the environment; UTEP’s answer:  build three new multi-million dollar construction projects. UTEP’s ongoing construction projects all have green initiatives, including locations for cyclists to come and relax, take a shower, and place their personal belongings in new lockers. This supports the concept that students should ride their bike to UTEP instead of driving their car. Ed Soltero, UTEP’s director of planning and construction promises, “one day UTEP will eventually be off limits to cars, it will become strictly students.”

Currently, UTEP proposes to be in the vanguard in helping to preserve the environment in the southwest. “UTEP has most certainly been at the forefront of these sustainability issues,” according to Soltero.

La presidenta de UTEP afirma que la bala no frenará la educación

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EL PASO, Texas — La presidenta de UTEP, Diana Natalicio, recomendó ayer, a sus trabajadores y estudiantes, inscribirse en un sistema de alerta para situaciones emergentes que ya se tiene implementado en la universidad. También llamó a mantener la calma. Insistió en que la Universidad de Texas en El Paso (UTEP) continuará sus labores constructivas y de crecimiento docente. “Tenemos 22 mil estudiantes y tres mil profesores… tenemos funciones muy importantes que realizar”, dijo.

Balacera en Juárez impacta a UTEP

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EL PASO, Texas — Una bala, de calibre no precisado, impacto en un edificio de la Universidad de Texas en El Paso, durante la tarde del sábado 21 de agosto. Se presume que el proyectil provenía de un enfrentamiento armado entre sicarios y la Policía Federal, en Ciudad Juárez. La información trascendió, ayer 22 de agosto en la noche, luego de que la presidenta de UTEP, la doctora Diana Natalicio, emitiera una declaración oficial sobre el incidente, el cual se encuentra bajo averiguación. “La Policía de UTEP investiga el descubrimiento de una única bala que golpeó el edifico Bell Hall del campus durante la tarde del sábado 21 de agosto de 2010”, dijo, Natalicio. Y agregó: “Entre 6:10 y 6:40 de esa noche, hubo un intercambio de disparos de fusil en Juárez, México, que tuvo como resultado el cierre del paseo Paisano desde las calles Executive hasta la Santa Fe”.

Economic Growth in El Paso Debatable

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EL PASO — The city of El Paso is home to hundreds of thousands of people, and its economy is smaller compared to other cities in Texas such as San Antonio and Dallas. University of Texas at El Paso Economics professor Tom Fullerton believes that El Paso has a much smaller economy compared to Houston or Dallas because, “In part that’s simply because population base here is a lot smaller,” he said. Fullerton believes that a larger economy is not an impossible goal for El Paso.  “El Paso has very good economic potential. It has a young demographic here it has a labor force that’s ready, willing and available for working. What needs to be done however is to increase investment in infrastructure and convince young people to stay in school.”

As part of that mission to spark the economy of El Paso, Jorge Vazquez, is trying to bring in more entertainment to the city.

Maestros de UTEP apoyan labor de homólogos de Centro y Sur América a través de donativos

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EL PASO, Texas — Maestros de Centro y Sur América —17 en total— reunidos el 10 de agosto en El Paso, agradecieron un donativo de materiales y útiles escolares realizado por homólogos locales que cursan maestrías y postgrados en la Universidad de Texas en El Paso (UTEP). La entrega de lápices, libretas, cuadernos, libros bilingües y otros implementos serán destinados a niños de El Salvador, República Dominicana, Guatemala, Honduras y Nicaragua que carecen de esos materiales y estudian en condiciones inadecuadas. “Estoy altamente agradecida a nombre de nuestro país porque allá tenemos algunas precariedades con la adquisición de recursos y didácticos para los niños”, dijo, María Luisa Lagual, de República Dominicana. Y agregó: “Me siento feliz porque además estamos aprendiendo mucho y fortaleciendo lo que ya sabemos para perfeccionar la enseñanza en mi tierra”. El reconocimiento fue secundado por todos los educadores presentes en la reunión.

Anxiety problems in college students rising

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UTEP/EPCC Voices of Anxiety

EL PASO, Texas – There are little anxieties everyone experiences from day to day: an approaching deadline, an important dinner, or a first impression. Yet when the feeling of being on edge fails to stop, there is high chance you or someone you know might have an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders have become, now more than ever, even more prominent in college students. According to the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA), over the past fifteen years, there has been a steady increase of college students – regardless of gender, age, or ethnicity – seeking help at their campuses for dealing with intense anxiety. In the context of college, having anxiety could mean decreasing the student’s ability to perform well or effectively in school.

UTEP interested in ASARCO property

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El PASO, Texas — After many years of contaminating the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez community, Asarco is promising to clean up its mess. The land is highly polluted and will need an estimated $52 million to complete the project, according to Karl McElhaney, a spokesman for Senator Silvestre Reyes. Once the property is decontaminated, the University of Texas at El Paso may be interested in purchasing a parcel of land. Richard Adauto III, UTEP Executive Vice President for Advancement and Oversight, says UTEP has already started talking with the Custodial Trustee, Roberto Puga, in charge of the Asarco cleaning up project. “We are interested in getting the part of ASARCO’s property that is across Interstate 10 from the plant, but we need to wait for them to do their environmental research first”, Adauto says.

Cheating temptation

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Plagiarism – Cheating temptation

EL PASO, Texas — To stop cheats, UTEP faculty and staff take a proactive approach to educate students on the pitfalls of academic dishonesty. Of the many challenges that today’s students face, one of the biggest is the temptation to cheat. With a wealth of knowledge just a mouse click away, students can easily Google answers to math problems, email each other answers, or simply copy from published sources for term papers. In an era where technology abounds, teachers and professors have learned to stay on their toes when it comes to what is and isn’t allowed come test time. Many students will encounter a list of devices that are not allowed in class printed in their syllabus on the first day of class.

Border students practice multimedia in Journalism in July workshop at UTEP

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EL PASO, Texas – Journalism in July is a one-week summer workshop that brought high school students and future journalists from El Paso and Ciudad Juarez to the UTEP campus to learn how to be multimedia journalists. The workshop, which began July 9, and ended a week later, is in its eighth year and has evolved from a print media program into a multimedia program. In this transition, it has emulated what has happened in the real world of media where journalists had to develop multimedia skills to keep their work modern and more available to readers. A total of 21 students attended the workshop sponsored by UTEP and the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund. They came from the border region and included two students from Preparatoria El Chamizal in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Buckram rushes for the Miners and El Paso aiming for the NFL

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EL PASO, Texas — Donald Buckram played his career breakout season in 2009 knowing that he needed exactly that to let the NFL scouts know that he has what it takes to shine on Sundays in the big league. The senior running back from the University of Texas at El Paso compiled 1,594 yards and 18 touchdowns in his junior season with the Miners. Not only did he run the ball, Buckram, broke a UTEP record that stood since 1948, held by former Texas Western (now UTEP) running back Fred Wendt. Buckram didn’t always aspire to play football. Growing up in Copperas Cove, Texas, he idolized another sport other than football.

Pshh.

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Internship blog

DALLAS, Texas — So just as I am psyched up for the week I have a moment of frustration. I walk into the office and there is actually some spot news breaking in the Dallas area. This would be a great thing had I been able to cover it. Unfortunately, this coverage started a couple of hours before I was set to be in the office and another reporter was already at the press conference by the time I got there 🙁

So there I was missing the action. To make things worse, during our daily staff meeting via conference call, the Houston editor has a tendency to forget I’m in the Dallas bureau.

Time is of the essence!

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Internship blog

DALLAS, Texas — Well, 12 weeks may seem like plenty of time. It’s really not. After working last week (week two), and getting my weekly evaluation, I’m feeling a sense of urgency to get my enterprise stories written. I have been working on one in particular that I want to wrap up. It’s been challenging getting a few details squared away, but if all goes well, I should be able to have it done next week.

Red Ink

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Internship Blog

DALLAS, Texas — Week one of 12 down! Well, it’s one when your job is to take a red pen to the copy. It’s another thing when the red pen is taken to your own copy. Before I graduated, I was copy editing for The Prospector so the red pen was in my hand. It’s inevitable with being a reporter that editors go over your stories with the red pen.

Research and Education Now Cross-connects Beyond Borders

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EL PASO – The University of Texas at El Paso and other research and educational institutions across the U.S. have teamed up with universities in Mexico to make it easier and more affordable for them to access the state of the art Internet research capabilities available in the U.S.

The jointly constructed optical infrastructure between El Paso and Ciudad Juárez is called Cross Connect. “We have designed an innovative way for exchanging teaching and research information,” says UTEP Vice President for Information Resources and Planning, Dr. Stephen Riter. According to Dr. Riter, this started more than five years ago when UTEP used money from the National Science Foundation to begin a link of networks from El Paso to Ciudad Juárez. UTEP established a relationship with the Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juárez to help enhance research tools for students in Juárez. Students in Mexico now have the ability to use video conferencing and educational demos to boost their educational experience.

Facebook, Facebook, where’s your face?

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EL PASO, Texas — Facebook is the fastest and easiest way to keep in touch with friends and family but it could also potentially affect social skills development in the younger generations. “Young adults can have a thousand friends on Facebook and yet they have trouble holding a face-to-face conversation,” said Carolyn Mitchell a Communication professor at the University of Texas at El Paso. Users have become so accustomed to this type of communication that they’ve forgotten what is like to talk face to face over a cup of coffee. Even during important events such as graduations or funerals, they would rather send their regards through Facebook. “There’s a disconnect.

Day One With the AP

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Internship Blog
DALLAS, Texas — Well, I survived the first day. It started out routinely enough, I left way too early in the morning to make sure I wouldn’t arrive late. Driving on 635 in Dallas can be slow at best during rush hour so now I know how long it takes to get to work about 15 minutes early and not almost an hour early (unlike today). I met mostly everyone in the bureau and was happy to find that my colleagues have good senses of humor. —Newsrooms can be intense and it’s great when people can find a little humor in the small stuff.

Second Life’s Virtual World Proves Useful in Educational Settings

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EL PASO, Texas — For several years now, Professor John Dunn has wanted to offer an online graphic design course for his students at The University of Texas at El Paso, but one problem held him back. In a traditional graphic design course, individual student work is displayed and critiqued by their instructor and peers. Recreating this environment online has posed as a challenge for Dunn, until now. Today, students gather at the XSITE art studio in Second Life and meet with Dunn’s avatar, RU12 Rodex. According to wisegeek.com, Second Life is a three-dimensional virtual community created entirely by its membership.

Students’ Big-screen Dreams Shine at the Sun City Film Festival

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EL PASO, Texas — The Sun City Film festival, supposedly a biannual event, seemed forgotten after a three-year absence, but finally it came back to life giving student film makers another opportunity to show El Paso their movie-making skills. Patrick Mullins, senior lecturer in the Communication department at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), first envisioned the festival as a biannual event, but things did not exactly turn out the way he had planned. “It had been three years. I think the original idea was if not a yearly than to have a biannual festival and because of other projects three years have gone by,” Mullins said. “We thought it was high time to have a student film festival here on campus again.”

The Sun City Film festival came back —April 30-May 1—and the response to it from the student filmmakers was positive.