So, I'm back again, as the semester's starting.
I apologize to the three readers out there for my extended leave of absence, but I had to take on a series of other responsibilities.
I'm back now, with more responsibilities, but with the hopes of updating this more frequently.
So, what happened in the summer?
Adela Garza and Rene Torres won places as the new trustees, Obama got the democratic nod and selected Joe Biden as his running mate, Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart were dazzling in their roles in "The Dark Knight", and Dolly wreaked havoc in Cameron County.
That's as short as it gets, but let's get right down to business.
Summer (or like many fellow Scorpions call it, "Summer") has ended and now we're back in full swing for the semester.
Except those Scorpions that got suspended.
Oh well.
SAP is SAP, people. It's a 2.0 GPA and 70% course completion every semester.
It. Is. Not. Hard. To. Meet. SAP.
Just try a little bit.
Some of you will find it much easier than high school.
Others will not.
Either way, you've got an infinity of resources available for you. Just reach out and grab them.
Teachers openly invite students to visit them in their office if they have any doubts, and I've never, in two years and 93 credits, come across a teacher who made himself or herself unavailable.
Just ASK.
And if you stumble, well, you pick yourself back up again.
Failing is acceptable. Giving up is unforgiveable.
Moving on...
Scorpion Athletics (which will now take up a small $4ish per credit hour fee from your statement) has started out its seasons, so, as usual, come out and support your Scorpions. The baseball team made a surprising comeback this past season despite its abysmal performance at the beginning of the season. They ended up in a conference tournament for the third time in thirty years. Pretty sweet. And now, we've got ourselves an almost brand new volleyball team (only five return), women's soccer team (4 returners), so the games have been pretty exciting.
Admission is free with a student ID, so, come out to Morningside and support the soccer teams, or to the Manuel B. Garza Gym for the volleyball team.
The next "home" game in the Scorpion Nation will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31, at Morningside Park, and it's the women's soccer team hosting their season opener against the Texas A&M International Dustdevils, who smashed the men's team 3-0 this past Monday.
Possible highlights: Forwards Julia Dell'Aquila and Linette Cuviliier, both newcomers (from Canada and Brownsville respectively) make mincemeat out of the opponents' net like they did against the Harlingen Celtics Soccer Club.
That's it for this update, and I'll see you next week.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Brownsville City Limits
Here's another suggestion, keeping in tune with my previous idea of having a revamped "6th street in Brownsville".
A music festival.
There's already one at the island, but that's not what we're aiming for. We're aiming for people to come to Brownsville, and as such, we need live music.
Right now, the only bands available, at least most of them, are your characteristic "OH MY GOD BLARRRGHHHH DEATH DEATH MAYHEM PAAAAIN" garage bands. Cool it, guys. Society ain't so bad. Plus, Chapa's Bar-The Pit is a bit off the beaten path for a lot of people. I would say a different venue might be nice, maybe in the area before the bowling alley.
Now, I have my differences with people who transfer back to UT-B from other universities and scoff at everything they see here, and see the entire university as beneath them, talking about how "[insert university here] was so much better because it had [arbitrary thing] and we didn't."
I don't fancy this kind of talk, but at the same time, we can learn from it. We have a great university in our backyards, and we still haven't found a way of curbing the exodus of students. I think that my pipedreams are a good way to at least curtail the BISD/BANSA Diaspora of brainpower.
Not because leaving is such a bad thing, but rather because graduating from here will definitely inspire people to come back once they've achieved higher goals elsewhere, and use their talents in order for our city to grow.
A music festival.
There's already one at the island, but that's not what we're aiming for. We're aiming for people to come to Brownsville, and as such, we need live music.
Right now, the only bands available, at least most of them, are your characteristic "OH MY GOD BLARRRGHHHH DEATH DEATH MAYHEM PAAAAIN" garage bands. Cool it, guys. Society ain't so bad. Plus, Chapa's Bar-The Pit is a bit off the beaten path for a lot of people. I would say a different venue might be nice, maybe in the area before the bowling alley.
Now, I have my differences with people who transfer back to UT-B from other universities and scoff at everything they see here, and see the entire university as beneath them, talking about how "[insert university here] was so much better because it had [arbitrary thing] and we didn't."
I don't fancy this kind of talk, but at the same time, we can learn from it. We have a great university in our backyards, and we still haven't found a way of curbing the exodus of students. I think that my pipedreams are a good way to at least curtail the BISD/BANSA Diaspora of brainpower.
Not because leaving is such a bad thing, but rather because graduating from here will definitely inspire people to come back once they've achieved higher goals elsewhere, and use their talents in order for our city to grow.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
In Defense of the University
It's quite common to bash Juliet V. Garcia here in the Valleyblogosphere.
And I'm sure a lot of bloggers may have genuine grievances against the prez and the universities.
I'm proud to say I'm not one of those.
And it's not just hechandole madres to President Garcia, but to the university itself. And that's where I take issue with the criticism. It's personal.
See, without UTB/TSC...we'd just be Pan Am, Jr. But hell, given the defeatist attitude of half the valley, it's what people want, isn't it? Something easy. A rubber-stamp university. Something that's jussssst enough to get a simple job.
But it can't be like that.
Why should things be that simple? Why should we just up and settle for the easiest thing? We have to erase this mindset if we want the valley to grow.
Then comes the issue about tuition, and the rising costs of fees that was approved by the TSC Board and Dr. Garcia herself.
"Oh, noes! We're going to have to pay more!"
Gas prices are up. Groceries are up. EVERYTHING is up. Why should tuition be any different? College IS STILL AFFORDABLE.
About 2,000 dollars per 15 credit hours. It's no chump change, but answer this--can you really put a price tag for your education?
The answer is no.
UTB/TSC is a great university now, in our very own backyard, no longer the Pan Am Jr. it was 15 years ago. People, capitalize on it! Brownsville needs us.
Now, if tuition and fees are that big of a problem for you, you're more than welcome to show up at the tuition and fee hearings they have every two years.
The voice of the community was largely absent in the hearings last fall. Few, if any, students showed up. And from the community, the only one who showed up was a very angry man who had a number of good points but did not make a good case for himself presenting them.
We need Scorpions, and we need members of the community there.
On to other criticisms. People have strongly criticized the university's expansion.
Again, what's wrong with trying to become a better university?
A new library. A new classroom building. A new theatre. An almost-complete recreation center.
Do people not want to progress?
Yeah. These things will cost money. But so what? Can't we just put the selfishness aside and invest in the future of not ourselves, but our families?
I'll give you an example. The UTB/TSC Athletic fee almost 2 years ago. A lot of people were against it, but I wasn't. Why? For the future.
Without the likes of Dr. Garcia, Mary Rose Cardenas, and the like, we'd be in the same place we were, 30 years ago.
Forget the past and progress!
And I'm sure a lot of bloggers may have genuine grievances against the prez and the universities.
I'm proud to say I'm not one of those.
And it's not just hechandole madres to President Garcia, but to the university itself. And that's where I take issue with the criticism. It's personal.
See, without UTB/TSC...we'd just be Pan Am, Jr. But hell, given the defeatist attitude of half the valley, it's what people want, isn't it? Something easy. A rubber-stamp university. Something that's jussssst enough to get a simple job.
But it can't be like that.
Why should things be that simple? Why should we just up and settle for the easiest thing? We have to erase this mindset if we want the valley to grow.
Then comes the issue about tuition, and the rising costs of fees that was approved by the TSC Board and Dr. Garcia herself.
"Oh, noes! We're going to have to pay more!"
Gas prices are up. Groceries are up. EVERYTHING is up. Why should tuition be any different? College IS STILL AFFORDABLE.
About 2,000 dollars per 15 credit hours. It's no chump change, but answer this--can you really put a price tag for your education?
The answer is no.
UTB/TSC is a great university now, in our very own backyard, no longer the Pan Am Jr. it was 15 years ago. People, capitalize on it! Brownsville needs us.
Now, if tuition and fees are that big of a problem for you, you're more than welcome to show up at the tuition and fee hearings they have every two years.
The voice of the community was largely absent in the hearings last fall. Few, if any, students showed up. And from the community, the only one who showed up was a very angry man who had a number of good points but did not make a good case for himself presenting them.
We need Scorpions, and we need members of the community there.
On to other criticisms. People have strongly criticized the university's expansion.
Again, what's wrong with trying to become a better university?
A new library. A new classroom building. A new theatre. An almost-complete recreation center.
Do people not want to progress?
Yeah. These things will cost money. But so what? Can't we just put the selfishness aside and invest in the future of not ourselves, but our families?
I'll give you an example. The UTB/TSC Athletic fee almost 2 years ago. A lot of people were against it, but I wasn't. Why? For the future.
Without the likes of Dr. Garcia, Mary Rose Cardenas, and the like, we'd be in the same place we were, 30 years ago.
Forget the past and progress!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The Brownsvilletown Races
Sadly enough, the races that are most going to affect the students at the university are going to be largely ignored by the main student populace, as most of us will be too distraught by finals to give a damn about the TSC Trustee election.
Luckily, there's plenty of enough time to get educated. And I'm sure my fellow Valley bloggers have already talked about the election. I'll just give you a quick glance about who's vying for what:
For Place 1:
Adela Garza
Jose Angel Herrera
Dr. Jaime Silva
For Place 2:
Rene Torres
Petrita Esparza-Tamez
There's only one person running there with experience teaching college-age students. See if you can guess who it is :D
Luckily, there's plenty of enough time to get educated. And I'm sure my fellow Valley bloggers have already talked about the election. I'll just give you a quick glance about who's vying for what:
For Place 1:
Adela Garza
Jose Angel Herrera
Dr. Jaime Silva
For Place 2:
Rene Torres
Petrita Esparza-Tamez
There's only one person running there with experience teaching college-age students. See if you can guess who it is :D
Saturday, April 12, 2008
To Whom it May Concern
Brownsville is a thirty minute (or less) from South Padre Island.
In 2000 we had a population of 139,722.
Brownsville is also the biggest city in the Rio Grande Valley, and has some of the best nightclubs there, too.
So what's the problem?
The problem is, we need a North Gate. We need a 6th Street.
"B-b-b-but those are College Towns! BLA BLA!"
I don't care, and neither should you.
We seem to have an inferiority complex when we talk about other universities. We really need to stop that, because, hey, it kills our morale because we feel we "need" these fancy things.
Truth is, the absence of these fancy things should not be a reason to be depressed ... or careless, rather, they should make us want to exceed more in our lives, and then come back to Brownsville and get all these things that will make our campus grow exponentially.
As for the nightlife, the problem is that the bars and nightclubs are so far apart from each other that it doesn't afford us the opportunity to have a say...6th Street or Northgate. The college has 3 main streets where an ideal "6th street" would be. And I don't mean the actual 6th street we have right now:
International Boulevard: You could ideally turn most of the businesses that have spots on the streets close by campus that empty out on International (Tyler, Van Buren, Harrison, Jackson) into nightclubs/bars. High traffic + college age people = fun. Though people might take an issue that the Brownsville Police Department, the State District Court, AND the Federal Courthouse are within walking distance.
Elizabeth Street: Is this street historical? Yes. Has it outlived its usefulness as 'el centro' ? Probably. And it probably won't ever change, owing to the high amounts of traffic flowing in from Matamoros during holiday season that benefits the local economy. That boost is also rumored to benefit Seoul, S.K., but that's another story.
University Boulevard: I know that whenever visitors are brought in to campus, they are taken down university boulevard and into the entrance at EDBC. Wouldn't it be cool if during one of those trips, the guide could point out, "oh, and to your left, you'll see Lincoln Park, formerly a quiet area that no one visited, and now the center of nightlife for campus". Downside to this, of course, is the nightlife would have the river to their backs. Heh. Heh.
So that leaves two streets:
F.M 802 and Central Boulevard.
Both have nightclubs and decent restaurants. Now if only we could do more to make those streets a little more bohemian. That's it. Little by little. Rome wasn't built in a day, after all.
So all of you business majors in EDBC, join forces with the local real estate people and add a couple of visionaries to your crew and I bet you that we will make the Jewel of South Texas shine even brighter.
In 2000 we had a population of 139,722.
Brownsville is also the biggest city in the Rio Grande Valley, and has some of the best nightclubs there, too.
So what's the problem?
The problem is, we need a North Gate. We need a 6th Street.
"B-b-b-but those are College Towns! BLA BLA!"
I don't care, and neither should you.
We seem to have an inferiority complex when we talk about other universities. We really need to stop that, because, hey, it kills our morale because we feel we "need" these fancy things.
Truth is, the absence of these fancy things should not be a reason to be depressed ... or careless, rather, they should make us want to exceed more in our lives, and then come back to Brownsville and get all these things that will make our campus grow exponentially.
As for the nightlife, the problem is that the bars and nightclubs are so far apart from each other that it doesn't afford us the opportunity to have a say...6th Street or Northgate. The college has 3 main streets where an ideal "6th street" would be. And I don't mean the actual 6th street we have right now:
International Boulevard: You could ideally turn most of the businesses that have spots on the streets close by campus that empty out on International (Tyler, Van Buren, Harrison, Jackson) into nightclubs/bars. High traffic + college age people = fun. Though people might take an issue that the Brownsville Police Department, the State District Court, AND the Federal Courthouse are within walking distance.
Elizabeth Street: Is this street historical? Yes. Has it outlived its usefulness as 'el centro' ? Probably. And it probably won't ever change, owing to the high amounts of traffic flowing in from Matamoros during holiday season that benefits the local economy. That boost is also rumored to benefit Seoul, S.K., but that's another story.
University Boulevard: I know that whenever visitors are brought in to campus, they are taken down university boulevard and into the entrance at EDBC. Wouldn't it be cool if during one of those trips, the guide could point out, "oh, and to your left, you'll see Lincoln Park, formerly a quiet area that no one visited, and now the center of nightlife for campus". Downside to this, of course, is the nightlife would have the river to their backs. Heh. Heh.
So that leaves two streets:
F.M 802 and Central Boulevard.
Both have nightclubs and decent restaurants. Now if only we could do more to make those streets a little more bohemian. That's it. Little by little. Rome wasn't built in a day, after all.
So all of you business majors in EDBC, join forces with the local real estate people and add a couple of visionaries to your crew and I bet you that we will make the Jewel of South Texas shine even brighter.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
The Nontraditional Student
When I first set foot into the University, I felt odd and out of place. During my first classes in Summer I 2006 (History 1 and Comp 1), despite being one of the oldest in the class of 2006, I was one of the youngest, if not the youngest, in both classes.
Surely this must be a fluke, I thought to myself.
But as I entered the fall semester, I realized that this wasn't a fluke. And despite taking only basics, I was always one of the youngest in the class, by a year or several year's difference. When I spoke with my friends, who had gone on to The University of Texas and Texas A&M, to name some, I discovered that they were about the same age as hundreds of their classmates, and that non-traditional students were students above "college age", who had families, who had full time jobs.
It was then that I realized that the non-traditional student at UTB/TSC was not someone like that. In fact, the non-traditional student at UTB/TSC seems to be someone like my friends -- entering college fresh out of high school, no dependents, and maybe only a part-time job to bring in extra cash. Not that it's a bad thing, of course. I think education is a great thing, and it doesn't matter how old you are or how busy you are, you can always find time to educate yourself.
But my point is, due to the immense responsibilities that some of these nontraditional traditional students have, keep them from becoming fully engrossed in the college experience.
What do I mean by fully engrossed?
I mean the whole shebang. Membership in any campus club, regular attendance at student organization-sponsored events, a contribution to campus life. Attendance at these events is usually limited to 100, 150 students. And most of these are the "nontraditional" students that have to double up their efforts to make it seem that an event was worth the hour spent away from [insert duty here].
This is why I want to exhort all of you nontraditional freshmen that will be coming into this institution this fall or returning for it. STAY ACTIVE!
The other day I visited a friend of mine at the University of Texas-Pan American, our former "owner". Walking through campus, I saw a tide of green from the students. I want that same goal to be met in Brownsville one of these days.
Some might argue that we're a commuter school, and I'll argue that that doesn't matter at all. The University of Houston is a commuter school, too, but they show school spirit.
And to you, student with a family and other responsibilities that has to make ends meet,
I salute your diligence. Now I have to ask you to make a very small sacrifice and contribute an hour of your time for any random campus activity.
It'll be worth it.
I promise.
Surely this must be a fluke, I thought to myself.
But as I entered the fall semester, I realized that this wasn't a fluke. And despite taking only basics, I was always one of the youngest in the class, by a year or several year's difference. When I spoke with my friends, who had gone on to The University of Texas and Texas A&M, to name some, I discovered that they were about the same age as hundreds of their classmates, and that non-traditional students were students above "college age", who had families, who had full time jobs.
It was then that I realized that the non-traditional student at UTB/TSC was not someone like that. In fact, the non-traditional student at UTB/TSC seems to be someone like my friends -- entering college fresh out of high school, no dependents, and maybe only a part-time job to bring in extra cash. Not that it's a bad thing, of course. I think education is a great thing, and it doesn't matter how old you are or how busy you are, you can always find time to educate yourself.
But my point is, due to the immense responsibilities that some of these nontraditional traditional students have, keep them from becoming fully engrossed in the college experience.
What do I mean by fully engrossed?
I mean the whole shebang. Membership in any campus club, regular attendance at student organization-sponsored events, a contribution to campus life. Attendance at these events is usually limited to 100, 150 students. And most of these are the "nontraditional" students that have to double up their efforts to make it seem that an event was worth the hour spent away from [insert duty here].
This is why I want to exhort all of you nontraditional freshmen that will be coming into this institution this fall or returning for it. STAY ACTIVE!
The other day I visited a friend of mine at the University of Texas-Pan American, our former "owner". Walking through campus, I saw a tide of green from the students. I want that same goal to be met in Brownsville one of these days.
Some might argue that we're a commuter school, and I'll argue that that doesn't matter at all. The University of Houston is a commuter school, too, but they show school spirit.
And to you, student with a family and other responsibilities that has to make ends meet,
I salute your diligence. Now I have to ask you to make a very small sacrifice and contribute an hour of your time for any random campus activity.
It'll be worth it.
I promise.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
The Politics of Choice
I might as well get this out of the way early on, because it is something that I feel is important to the community.
Everyone's heard about the old adage that goes, "Don't discuss politics or religion at dinner."
Well, we discussed politics, now we're going to discuss religion.
But not really religion per se, we're going to talk about a facet of religion that provides such an interesting...and often violent, battleground.
I'm talking about pro-choice versus pro-life now.
Now there's two sides that are clearly visible in this battleturf:
Pro-life and pro-choice.
Truth be told, both sides aren't mutually exclusive from each other. It is possible to be pro-choice and pro-life.
The problem is, people don't want to accept that. They want to believe that "choice" is slang for "death" and "babykilling", and nothing could be further from the truth. Some of the most ardent pro-choicers I've met are mothers.
And yet, some of these same people (keyword there: some.) who call themselves pro-life are all gung-ho pro-death penalty, pro-war people.
That is the inherent hypocrisy of the "pro-life" movement.
But I'm not going to offer talking points on what side is better. I'll just leave it at this: If you think pro-choice means "baby killing", there's a reason you're not meeting SAP.
Choice is important to us students because we have a lot of candidates out there pushin' some mean pieces of legislation concerning abortion. Our very own Solomon Ortiz is one of the most pro-lifeyest candidates (and guess what other house committee he's in? the house armed services committee. Heh, heh, Mr. Ortiz).
I don't have anything against Mr. Ortiz, but believe me, there's a lot of candidates out there, like him, who seem to think abortion is a big issue in elections.
Got a secret for you.
It's not.
Roe v. Wade is set. Any politician who wants to overturn it is in need for serious help.
Why? The same kind of people that want to overturn Roe V. Wade are the same kind of people that believe in abstinence-only education, and the same kind of people that want to add an entire chapter on God in the constitution.
Don't get me wrong, I love God.
But I also love the separation of Church and State. It keeps us from becoming Iran or Saudi Arabia. That's what we students need to understand.
But going back to choice:
Choice is not "murder".
Choice is not "murdering babies"
Choice is "I'm pregnant, and I have the CHOICE of aborting the fetus, or carrying it to full term.)
That's choice.
We'll discuss the facets of pro-choice versus pro-life in a later installment.
For now,
I'll leave you with a cryptic riddle/paradox that I've picked up:
"Pro-Choice is Pro-Life":
Everyone's heard about the old adage that goes, "Don't discuss politics or religion at dinner."
Well, we discussed politics, now we're going to discuss religion.
But not really religion per se, we're going to talk about a facet of religion that provides such an interesting...and often violent, battleground.
I'm talking about pro-choice versus pro-life now.
Now there's two sides that are clearly visible in this battleturf:
Pro-life and pro-choice.
Truth be told, both sides aren't mutually exclusive from each other. It is possible to be pro-choice and pro-life.
The problem is, people don't want to accept that. They want to believe that "choice" is slang for "death" and "babykilling", and nothing could be further from the truth. Some of the most ardent pro-choicers I've met are mothers.
And yet, some of these same people (keyword there: some.) who call themselves pro-life are all gung-ho pro-death penalty, pro-war people.
That is the inherent hypocrisy of the "pro-life" movement.
But I'm not going to offer talking points on what side is better. I'll just leave it at this: If you think pro-choice means "baby killing", there's a reason you're not meeting SAP.
Choice is important to us students because we have a lot of candidates out there pushin' some mean pieces of legislation concerning abortion. Our very own Solomon Ortiz is one of the most pro-lifeyest candidates (and guess what other house committee he's in? the house armed services committee. Heh, heh, Mr. Ortiz).
I don't have anything against Mr. Ortiz, but believe me, there's a lot of candidates out there, like him, who seem to think abortion is a big issue in elections.
Got a secret for you.
It's not.
Roe v. Wade is set. Any politician who wants to overturn it is in need for serious help.
Why? The same kind of people that want to overturn Roe V. Wade are the same kind of people that believe in abstinence-only education, and the same kind of people that want to add an entire chapter on God in the constitution.
Don't get me wrong, I love God.
But I also love the separation of Church and State. It keeps us from becoming Iran or Saudi Arabia. That's what we students need to understand.
But going back to choice:
Choice is not "murder".
Choice is not "murdering babies"
Choice is "I'm pregnant, and I have the CHOICE of aborting the fetus, or carrying it to full term.)
That's choice.
We'll discuss the facets of pro-choice versus pro-life in a later installment.
For now,
I'll leave you with a cryptic riddle/paradox that I've picked up:
"Pro-Choice is Pro-Life":
Monday, March 17, 2008
A Temporary Lull
Apologies for the temporary stoppage of posts. I had to tend to some business.
And by "tend" I mean enjoy.
And by "business" I mean my spring break.
In recent news, our Scorpions have managed to pick up their record. They are now 11-21, with the last two victories earned by slaugthering (20-1, 10-0) Massachusetts's Fisher College. The team that played today was a team with better chemistry, better offense and defense, better everything overall. Congratulations Scorpions, now keep it up.
On to other news,
I had avoided touching this subject because, well, it still is somewhat upsetting. Sen. Clinton took the Texas popular vote and Sen. Obama took the most delegates. The reason I'm angry about it is because there's about 30,000 Democrats in Cameron County who voted for Hillary Clinton.
Problem with that is, I am willing to bet that of those 30k people, 20,000 voted without thinking. These people voted for Clinton because of the following reasons:
I fail to see why she identifies with hispanics. I fail to see why Congressman Ortiz ate up her nonsense and campaigned for her.
I also disagree with County Democratic Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa's actions by campaigning for Hillary. Mr. Hinojosa, BE OBJECTIVE!
On the brightside of things, the voter turnout was amazing. 44,000 votes for democrats in Cameron County compared to 1,500 overall votes for John McCain.
The downside to this brightside, is that, unless Hillary gets her act together in the next weeks, McCain's going to win.
Obama already said he wasn't going to run as vice president (a smart move, considering that it would kill his future hopes), and he wasn't going to pick her as a vice president (Also a smart move, considering that if he did, he might as well hire the sniper himself).
Either way, I'm saddened at the increaingly dimmer prospects for the democratic ticket in this election. A McCain/Lieberman ticket could seriously harm an Obama/???? ticket that is still bleeding from Hillary's attacks.
Whatever it is, there's still a lot of good fight left in everyone.
Hopefully the 44,000 Cameron County voters that turned out, come back again for the congressional races.
And by "tend" I mean enjoy.
And by "business" I mean my spring break.
In recent news, our Scorpions have managed to pick up their record. They are now 11-21, with the last two victories earned by slaugthering (20-1, 10-0) Massachusetts's Fisher College. The team that played today was a team with better chemistry, better offense and defense, better everything overall. Congratulations Scorpions, now keep it up.
On to other news,
I had avoided touching this subject because, well, it still is somewhat upsetting. Sen. Clinton took the Texas popular vote and Sen. Obama took the most delegates. The reason I'm angry about it is because there's about 30,000 Democrats in Cameron County who voted for Hillary Clinton.
Problem with that is, I am willing to bet that of those 30k people, 20,000 voted without thinking. These people voted for Clinton because of the following reasons:
- Barack Obama is black.
- Barack Obama has Muslim heritage.
- Hillary Clinton married Bill Clinton.
- Hillary Clinton's last name is Clinton.
- Barack Obama is black.
- It was much more comforting voting for a mainstream, white candidate than voting for a black candidate.
- There was a belief that Hillary Clinton had done something for the valley.
- Hillary Clinton is a woman.
- She has "experience"
I fail to see why she identifies with hispanics. I fail to see why Congressman Ortiz ate up her nonsense and campaigned for her.
I also disagree with County Democratic Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa's actions by campaigning for Hillary. Mr. Hinojosa, BE OBJECTIVE!
On the brightside of things, the voter turnout was amazing. 44,000 votes for democrats in Cameron County compared to 1,500 overall votes for John McCain.
The downside to this brightside, is that, unless Hillary gets her act together in the next weeks, McCain's going to win.
Obama already said he wasn't going to run as vice president (a smart move, considering that it would kill his future hopes), and he wasn't going to pick her as a vice president (Also a smart move, considering that if he did, he might as well hire the sniper himself).
Either way, I'm saddened at the increaingly dimmer prospects for the democratic ticket in this election. A McCain/Lieberman ticket could seriously harm an Obama/???? ticket that is still bleeding from Hillary's attacks.
Whatever it is, there's still a lot of good fight left in everyone.
Hopefully the 44,000 Cameron County voters that turned out, come back again for the congressional races.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
The UTB/TSC Dolphins
So this blog will deviate a little bit from the usual politics+society and talk about another aspect: sports. specifically scorpion sports.
Let me begin by saying,
1-15.
No, I'm not talking about the Miami Dolphin's streak in the 2007 NFL Season. I'm talking about our own record halfway through the 2008 NAIA Baseball Season.
If we were the Miami Dolphins, at least we'd have a 1972 season to look back and remember fondly.
But we don't. We're barely to be heading into our third year in the RRAC of the NAIA. This is not bush-league baseball anymore. We need to do our best.
I still invite everyone to show up to the games and support the Scorpions. It's free admission, it's within walking distance from the dorms/condos, and it gives the impression that we care about ALL our athletics. The stands are usually empty, and who knows, that might be a tad demoralizing for our own players. We have to put up at least a more adequate showing.
Now, why is our team doing so bad?
That's a question that's best left up to the team to answer, especially once the notorious Athletic Fee kicks in.
But I have to say, peloteros, the student body will hold you accountable. Just because you have a free ride through college does not give you a license to mess around and get slaughtered by every college (and the occasional alumni team that hasn't played in decades) you face. It's a fair bargain.
Some people have argued about the racial makeup of the team being a factor.
If it was, our multicultural volleyball team wouldn't be ranked 8th in the nation (NAIA), and our multicultural soccer teams wouldn't be leading in the Red River Athletic Conference (7-0 for the men, 5-2 for the women). Ditto for the golf teams.
It's about wanting to play. The volleyball girls want to play. The soccer players want to play. The golfers want to golf.
The problem: The baseball players don't want to play.
We're at a halfway point. So I'll be optimistic for a final season record that doesn't begin in a single digit.
We may not have a 1972 memory to fall back on, but I sincerely believe we can create a 2008 or 2009 season to remember [fondly]. We just have to get our shit together.
Let me begin by saying,
1-15.
No, I'm not talking about the Miami Dolphin's streak in the 2007 NFL Season. I'm talking about our own record halfway through the 2008 NAIA Baseball Season.
If we were the Miami Dolphins, at least we'd have a 1972 season to look back and remember fondly.
But we don't. We're barely to be heading into our third year in the RRAC of the NAIA. This is not bush-league baseball anymore. We need to do our best.
I still invite everyone to show up to the games and support the Scorpions. It's free admission, it's within walking distance from the dorms/condos, and it gives the impression that we care about ALL our athletics. The stands are usually empty, and who knows, that might be a tad demoralizing for our own players. We have to put up at least a more adequate showing.
Now, why is our team doing so bad?
That's a question that's best left up to the team to answer, especially once the notorious Athletic Fee kicks in.
But I have to say, peloteros, the student body will hold you accountable. Just because you have a free ride through college does not give you a license to mess around and get slaughtered by every college (and the occasional alumni team that hasn't played in decades) you face. It's a fair bargain.
Some people have argued about the racial makeup of the team being a factor.
If it was, our multicultural volleyball team wouldn't be ranked 8th in the nation (NAIA), and our multicultural soccer teams wouldn't be leading in the Red River Athletic Conference (7-0 for the men, 5-2 for the women). Ditto for the golf teams.
It's about wanting to play. The volleyball girls want to play. The soccer players want to play. The golfers want to golf.
The problem: The baseball players don't want to play.
We're at a halfway point. So I'll be optimistic for a final season record that doesn't begin in a single digit.
We may not have a 1972 memory to fall back on, but I sincerely believe we can create a 2008 or 2009 season to remember [fondly]. We just have to get our shit together.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
The Candidates
http://www.2008votersguide.org/
Is a great site if you're interested in finding out just who exactly are the people behind the faces you see plastered in 20,000,000 signs across the county. I've always admired the Center for Civic Engagement for their work in the community. I think their efforts could be aided just a little bit more by students. But let's turn our focus towards the Presidential candidates.
For now, I'll give only minute analysis. Once the races are final, I will go more in depth.
And for the record, while I may be a Democrat, my family and I have always voted on issues, never on party.
From the Democrats:
Sen. Hillary Clinton: A woman who's had her turn already. She's a good candidate, but she cannot win. Despite having the same stance as her opponent, she's lost it. She's turning to attacking Sen. Obama on non-issues because really, she's got nothing on him anymore. I have nothing against her, personally. If she gets the nomination, I will campaign for her. She may not be the best out of the two Democrats, but she's not a republican.
Sen. Barack Obama - Barack is relatively young, but as Sen. John Kerry pointed out in his visit to campus yesterday, a number of great figures, including MLK and Thomas Jefferson were young when they made it big. Until recently, I was not a fan of Obama. I was a diehard Bill Richardson fan, then made a jump to McCain (who seemed lucid and who was not HIlary Clinton), and from there, made a final jump to Obama. Despite some of the things that have been said about him, I think he is the proper candidate for the job.
From the Republicans:
Sen. John McCain - In 2000, "Maverick" McCain acted on his conscience and was very bipartisan, opposed the Republicans in a lot of things, HELPED PEOPLE was essentially, "the man". He would have utterly crushed Al Gore. But Karl Rove kickstarted a rumor that cost him the nomination and doomed our country for 8 years. Instead of abandoning the party, McCain became the Bush administration's lapdog. Since then, while he has flashes of being his own man, he has betrayed his own principles.
Gov. Mike Huckabee - Governor Mike Huckabee wants to put God in the constitution and erase the line of Church and State. Nothing else needs to be said.
Congressman Ron Paul - Ron Paul is an ideal libertarian, but at the same time, a lot of his believes are way off the map. Restoring the gold standard, criminalizing 12,000,000 immigrants-no amnesty at all-, abolishing the Secretary of Education, pulling out of the United Nations, getting rid of the CIA, privatizing public parks (so if someone waned to put a brothel in Dean Porter park, they could do it). It's all nonsese. Plenty of people out there are supporting Ron Paul as a type of "hero" of the constitution, but he's not. He has some fresh ideas, granted, but the sheer...stupidity of others, like abolishing the SoE, makes the good ideas blink out of existence. He's had a lot of popular support through the internet and grassroots efforts, but few seem to be really materializing.
There's a joke that goes,
Ron Paul was praying one night, and the Lord finally answers. "Yes, my son?"
Ron Paul asks, "Lord, will there ever be a woman president?"
The Lord replies, "not on your lifetime".
Paul then asks, "Lord, will ther ever be peace on the middle east?"
The Lord replies, "Not on your grandchildren's lifetime."
Then finally, Paul asks, "Lord, will I ever become president?"
The Lord replies, "Not on my lifetime."
Is a great site if you're interested in finding out just who exactly are the people behind the faces you see plastered in 20,000,000 signs across the county. I've always admired the Center for Civic Engagement for their work in the community. I think their efforts could be aided just a little bit more by students. But let's turn our focus towards the Presidential candidates.
For now, I'll give only minute analysis. Once the races are final, I will go more in depth.
And for the record, while I may be a Democrat, my family and I have always voted on issues, never on party.
From the Democrats:
Sen. Hillary Clinton: A woman who's had her turn already. She's a good candidate, but she cannot win. Despite having the same stance as her opponent, she's lost it. She's turning to attacking Sen. Obama on non-issues because really, she's got nothing on him anymore. I have nothing against her, personally. If she gets the nomination, I will campaign for her. She may not be the best out of the two Democrats, but she's not a republican.
Sen. Barack Obama - Barack is relatively young, but as Sen. John Kerry pointed out in his visit to campus yesterday, a number of great figures, including MLK and Thomas Jefferson were young when they made it big. Until recently, I was not a fan of Obama. I was a diehard Bill Richardson fan, then made a jump to McCain (who seemed lucid and who was not HIlary Clinton), and from there, made a final jump to Obama. Despite some of the things that have been said about him, I think he is the proper candidate for the job.
From the Republicans:
Sen. John McCain - In 2000, "Maverick" McCain acted on his conscience and was very bipartisan, opposed the Republicans in a lot of things, HELPED PEOPLE was essentially, "the man". He would have utterly crushed Al Gore. But Karl Rove kickstarted a rumor that cost him the nomination and doomed our country for 8 years. Instead of abandoning the party, McCain became the Bush administration's lapdog. Since then, while he has flashes of being his own man, he has betrayed his own principles.
Gov. Mike Huckabee - Governor Mike Huckabee wants to put God in the constitution and erase the line of Church and State. Nothing else needs to be said.
Congressman Ron Paul - Ron Paul is an ideal libertarian, but at the same time, a lot of his believes are way off the map. Restoring the gold standard, criminalizing 12,000,000 immigrants-no amnesty at all-, abolishing the Secretary of Education, pulling out of the United Nations, getting rid of the CIA, privatizing public parks (so if someone waned to put a brothel in Dean Porter park, they could do it). It's all nonsese. Plenty of people out there are supporting Ron Paul as a type of "hero" of the constitution, but he's not. He has some fresh ideas, granted, but the sheer...stupidity of others, like abolishing the SoE, makes the good ideas blink out of existence. He's had a lot of popular support through the internet and grassroots efforts, but few seem to be really materializing.
There's a joke that goes,
Ron Paul was praying one night, and the Lord finally answers. "Yes, my son?"
Ron Paul asks, "Lord, will there ever be a woman president?"
The Lord replies, "not on your lifetime".
Paul then asks, "Lord, will ther ever be peace on the middle east?"
The Lord replies, "Not on your grandchildren's lifetime."
Then finally, Paul asks, "Lord, will I ever become president?"
The Lord replies, "Not on my lifetime."
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
A Call To Arms
scor·pi·on - Any of various arachnids of the order Scorpionida, of warm dry regions, having a segmented body and an erectile tail tipped with a venomous sting.
van·guard - The foremost position in an army or fleet advancing into battle.
Two metaphors describing myself and what this little niche of the internet will become.
I am a Scorpion, a student at the University of Texas-Brownsville/Texas Soutmost College, and I feel that the above description of a scorpion accurately describes us students (multifacetic and fans of warm regions) and our potential (the venom in the sting, a warning against bigger, badder predators who might try to tread on us.)
But a vanguard?
What army? What fleet? What battle?
I feel that the time has come to organize and mobilize and form our own army of motivated and aware students, and to charge forward into the battle for our education, for our money, and for our future as students and inhabitants of this great state in this great coutnry.
The federal government takes advantage of our napping and passes legislation to build a wall in our backyard. Our administration levies fees against us and only three or four students bother to turn up for the hearings. Our student government association (or the circus it's become) represents, with few exceptions, a motley crew of senators who are there just to add an extra line or two to their resume.
And they get away with it.
Why?
There's no one to fight them.
Enough is enough.
It's time to wake up and rub the fog out of our eyes.
It's now or never.
This will be the bugle alerting you to today's issues and how they relate to us as Scorpions. At the same time, this piece of the internet will provide you with up-to-date information about upcoming events (political or otherwise).
van·guard - The foremost position in an army or fleet advancing into battle.
Two metaphors describing myself and what this little niche of the internet will become.
I am a Scorpion, a student at the University of Texas-Brownsville/Texas Soutmost College, and I feel that the above description of a scorpion accurately describes us students (multifacetic and fans of warm regions) and our potential (the venom in the sting, a warning against bigger, badder predators who might try to tread on us.)
But a vanguard?
What army? What fleet? What battle?
I feel that the time has come to organize and mobilize and form our own army of motivated and aware students, and to charge forward into the battle for our education, for our money, and for our future as students and inhabitants of this great state in this great coutnry.
The federal government takes advantage of our napping and passes legislation to build a wall in our backyard. Our administration levies fees against us and only three or four students bother to turn up for the hearings. Our student government association (or the circus it's become) represents, with few exceptions, a motley crew of senators who are there just to add an extra line or two to their resume.
And they get away with it.
Why?
There's no one to fight them.
Enough is enough.
It's time to wake up and rub the fog out of our eyes.
It's now or never.
This will be the bugle alerting you to today's issues and how they relate to us as Scorpions. At the same time, this piece of the internet will provide you with up-to-date information about upcoming events (political or otherwise).
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