Dr. Who fans roam the world all marked up to remember ‘The Silence’

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EL PASO — Dr. Who, a british television show that has been broadcast since 1963, is currently
booming in popularity in the United States and across the world. April 23rd marks the second anniversary of “The Impossible Astronaut,” an episode that aired on the British Broadcasting Channel (BBC).To commemorate this anniversary, Dr. Who fans or “Whovians” as they refer to themselves, have been marking themselves with magic markers or pens or anything that leaves an indelible line on their bodies in the same way that the show’s main character does to remind himself of each time that he saw an alien being called “The Silence.” Social media was abuzz with pictures of people from all countries and walks of life with tally marks representing the number of times they saw “The Silence,” which removes itself from the memory of any person who saw it, but then stops seeing it. In other words, if you stop looking at it, you can’t remember it. I too, am a Whovian, and I marked my arm with these ominous tallies this past Wednesday.

Undergraduates learn to explain each others’ research to a lay audience

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EL PASO – Computer science and special education majors do not normally meet to discuss each other’s research, but Amanda Sepulveda and Garrett Shaw met throughout the spring 2014 semester to share research in preparation for a competition funded by the Campus Office of Undergraduate Research Initiatives (COURI). Sepulveda is a special education major researching autism spectrum disorder, and Shaw is a computer science major researching optimization of high performance computing. They made up the winning team among the 50 that competed in COURI’s, “Explaining Research to a Non-Expert Audience” competition April 16-17. The competition was a prelude to a two-day undergraduate research symposium hosted by COURI that gave undergraduates the chance to present and discuss their research with faculty, peers, and the El Paso community. COURI was founded to help engage undergraduates in scholarly research.

El Paso reacts with skepticism to Chapo Guzman’s capture

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EL PASO — On February 14, 2014, the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was captured in a small, rather dull condominium. Guzman ran a drug business worth approximately $3 billion, and he has been on the run from Mexican officials since his first escape from prison in 2001. According to Mexican officials, he escaped jail the first time by simply bribing prison guards and walking out the front gate. However, this escape was highly romanticized and eventually grew into a daring urban legend. Guzman’s most recent capture has left borderland residents with mixed emotions ranging from elation to apathy.