VOL. 104, NO. 5 SEPTEMBER 25, 2018
TH E U N IVERSIT Y O F TE X AS AT EL PASO W W W.T H EPROS PEC TO RDA I LY.CO M
NORML CONTINUES FIGHT FOR MARIJUANA POLICY REFORM
By andrea valdez-rivas The Prospector
The El Paso chapter of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is moving to make Texas reform its marijuana laws and policies. In a meeting held on Saturday, Sept. 22, at The Pizza Joint on Westwind Dr., El Paso NORML focused on the upcoming Texas elections, as they may have an impact on the progression of the legalization of marijuana in Texas. El Paso NORML is treading on a mission to educate the public about legalizing the responsible use of marijuana by adults. But with the help of those in office, the movement to make Texas tree-friendly can gain more momentum. According to Colt DeMorris, executive director of El Paso NORML, people who share the same
beliefs have to find initiative within themselves and push for candidates to do work for cannabis legalization. “Right now, we’re working with local politicians and our state representatives, and also our state senator José Rodríguez, to advance during our legislative sessions,” DeMorris said. “Other than working with our representatives we’re out, educating the public. We have monthly meetings trying to reach out to the public, trying to educate them about policy reform here in Texas, how it works and stuff like that.” In the upcoming Texas general elections, NORML looks to support Joe Moody, Texas House Rep., District 78. Moody has been instrumental in the headway of marijuana policy reform. Specifically, the decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana. “Joe Moody has, since 2015, been at the forefront of marijuana reform in Texas,” DeMorris told The Prospector. “So, to remove somebody like that from office at this point in time, it would set the movement back a couple steps.” Three-term incumbent Joe Moody is running against Republican Jeffrey Lane this year. To Lane, the idea of decriminalization is not acceptable. In 2016, Moody proposed a bill in the Texas Legislature that would replace criminal penalties for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana with a civil fine of up to $250. Known as House Bill 81, the bill proposed that if caught with a small amount of marijuana, no arrest would be made and no criminal record would follow. However, a midnight deadline passed without the full House taking up House Bill 81 for initial consideration.
According to Texas NORML, possession of two ounces or less of marijuana is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in prison and a fine of up to $2,000. Possession between two to four ounces is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one-year in prison and a fine up to $4,000. Possession between four ounces and five pounds is considered a felony. Essentially, with more weed come more consequences. Cultivation in Texas will be punished based upon the aggregate weight of plants found, which coincides with the possession penalties. Even possession of paraphernalia is considered a Class C misdemeanor and is punishable with a fine not to exceed $500. For this reason, deputy director of El Paso NORML, Valerie Hubbard, believes that safety is the most important thing for student marijuana users to know about. “You don’t want to be smoking in fear. You want to be enjoying cannabis for your general well-being without the worry of a state-elected prison sentence or jail sentence or having your life ruined over something like that,” Hubbard said. “Students themselves need to get out and vote. They need to be a part of the political process, understand how it really works, understand what politics is about, and to understand that every choice in their life is political. The sooner one understands that politics is the way of life, it’s the only way we can get anything done.” For more information on basic rights and laws, visit www.norml.org/texas. andrea valdez-rivas may be reached at theprospector1@gmail.com.
The University of Texas at El Paso
2018 FALL CONVOCATION Please join the UTEP community in celebrating the 2018 Fall Convocation Thursday, October 11, 2018 / 2 p.m. Fox Fine Arts Recital Hall, 2nd Floor Please visit utep.edu/FallConvocationRSVP by October 8, 2018
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OPINION
September 25, 2018
There are no heroes today By javier cortez The Prospector I remember it like it was 3,612 days ago. I was sitting in the living room with my mother as I watched then Senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, become 44th President of the United States of America. I don’t remember the channel it was on, what I was eating, or what I was thinking. But I distinctly remember my mother. She was half awake, rather half asleep as she woke to the results. Her face was in shock—a momentary disbelief—then the tears started to flow. My mother, a black woman (not African-American), and a daughter of two Puerto Rican parents witnessed a man of color elected to the highest position of power in the United States. The election went beyond politics for my mother, it meant something to see Obama get elected, regardless of his forthcoming decisions during his eight years as president. I had a hard time understanding that then, but I get it now. The optics around President Obama’s time in office was enough for many—excluding his detractors—his image represented one of hope, inspiration and celebrity. I get why our leaders need to give people hope. Life can be hard to bare. I understand why it’s important our leaders inspire us. Ingenuity is the driving force behind innovation. I also understand why society exalts our leaders with blind faith, praise and admiration. But I don’t agree with it, not even in the slightest. So why does this matter now? Obama is out of office, Trump is our president and despite his fervent supporters, he’s arguably the most hated president we have ever had. It matters because we still continue to do this, whether it be republican, democrat or independent. It’s either love or hate. In actuality, it should be indifference. On November 6, the midterm elections will take place, and as always, they will have major ramifications. In Texas, it’s huge. Cruz vs. O’Rourke. By now you should know the players, what they stand for and what is at stake. I’ll spare you the details.
STAFF Web Editor: Adrian Broaddus Layout Editor: Christian Gutierrez Copy Editor: Javier Cor tez Sports Editor: Daniel “Curly” Mendez Entertainment Editor: Jake Deven Photo Editor: Sergio Muñoz Multimedia Editor: Claudia “Gigi” Flores Staff Reporters: Brianna Chavez, Isaiah Ramirez, Andrea Valdez Photographers: Claudia Hernandez, Gabriela Velasquez Contributors: Catherine Ramirez, Aimee Santillan, Priscilla Gomez, Melissa Mar tinezsotomayor, Eddie Velazquez
Regardless of the results, do one thing, be skeptical. If Cruz wins, it’s business as usual, the perpetual red state prevails. Liberals will continue to hate him and oddly enough, so will conservatives. If O’Rouke wins, conservatives will find ways to hate him, which is expected, but it’s the unabashedyoung-liberal voters who need to think clearly. Especially El Pasoans. Finally, there is someone, somewhat like us, representing us on a national stage. I know it’s great. He’s awesome. Energetic. Funny. And every other nice adjective inbetween. So what? You shouldn’t care if he skateboards, flippantly use curse-words in his town hall speeches and was in a rock band. It doesn’t matter if he exudes all the traits and characteristics of a trustworthy and admirable person. He’s a politician and that should make you skeptical. It’s not about love or hate and trust or distrust, just be skeptical. Eight years ago we did the very same thing that is happening now. A young vibrant politician entered our lives, saying all the right things, giving us hope and inspiration. In return, we lionized him. His credible detractors aside, when it came time to be skeptical, we weren’t. When it came time to be critical we weren’t. And when he left office, we thought the world was going to end. To be fair, Obama did some good/great things: stopping a great depression, introducing health care reform, while holding some liberal principals when it came to gay rights and climate change. And he also did some bad: increasing the national debt, suspect treatment of whistleblowers, while conducting morally reprehensible “signature” drone strikes in the Middle East. He was a moderate centrist masquerading as a progressive of hope and change. Granted, not every decision a president makes good or bad is all up to them. But we can’t excuse the bad and applaud the good. Hopefully, we don’t do the same again, whether it be Cruz or O’Rourke. Actions speak louder than words. Ignore their words and be hyper-vigilant of their actions. Javier Cortez may be reached at theprospector1@gmail.com.
VOL . 104, no. 5
Account Executive: Kenneth Bell Senior Designer: Itzel Lara Garcia Graphic Designer Salma Lozoya Videographer: Daniel “Curly” Mendez Advertising Coordinator: Malia Greene Administrative Secretary: Marcela Luna Accounting Specialist: Isabel Castillo Director: Veronica Gonzalez
Web Editor ADRIAN BROADDUS, 747-7446
Seperated families are still seperated By catherine ramirez The Prospector It’s been over 80 days since the Reunification Deadline and the federal shelters, where migrant children are being held, are near capacity. There are 12,800 migrant children being held in federal facilities in the U.S. waiting to be united with family members, and this issue won’t be fixed anytime soon. The Tornillo facility also referred to as “tent city,” is expected to triple in size and house up to 3,800 children through the rest of 2018. The government and the Trump administration are having issues just locating the children’s families who have been deported back to their home country. After finding the families, the legal issues pertaining to the children’s immigration cases begin, and it’s not quick-business. The administration knew it would be impossible to meet their deadline—from the beginning—they had no order when it came to separating children and placing them in shelters hundreds of miles away from their families. It has been chaos from the beginning and now the children find themselves alone in packed shelters full of more misplaced children. As free people, we hate waiting in line for five minutes at the grocery store, even more so we despise waiting 45 minutes to see our doctor. These children have been waiting weeks, some even months, for something. They don’t know what they’re waiting for— some children are so young they don’t understand the concept of waiting, but our government somehow thought separating children from their parents would be the solution. The public first demonstrated their outrage at the sight of babies being separated from their parents and even more anger erupted when children were placed into random beige tents across the country. I was one of those outraged people, and over the summer I interned at a non-profit legal clinic. I worked with attorneys who volunteered their entire summer to represent some of the children in court. The stories I heard and the children I saw in the
office completely shattered my heart. Children, as young as eight-years-old, were transported to the clinic in a bus with caged windows. These children sat in the office with the attorneys speaking the legal options they faced as immigrants to the U.S. What is an eight-year-old supposed to say when asked if they’d like to pursue their legal process as a United States immigrant or be returned to their family in their home country? All of them wanted to be reunited with their families. It was nauseating to watch and it made me feel worthless as I handed them goodie bags before they boarded up the bus to head back to the tent shelters. I never visited the camps, but I was told by those who did that the playrooms in the shelters were full of crying kids who were completely distraught. The likelihood of that scene playing out to this very second is certain. To think that’s only happening 39 miles away from us in El Paso. As a Hispanic community and humans in general, we need to help in any way we can. We need to ensure that over 10,000 children will not be separated from their parents again. Right now the “zero tolerance” policy looks more like “zero thoughts” the Trump administration had when they created it. The Trump Administration screwed up and acted on their gut feelings believing that all immigrants entering the U.S. from the south are bad people and should learn their lesson. Yes, there are some who are trying to cheat our system and very smart manipulative people that are threatening our nation. Like bad people, there are countless innocent people who are begging us for help to keep them safe and an opportunity for a better life. It’s obvious they didn’t put much thought into the “zero tolerance” policy when they decided to split up children but the administration needs another approach to the immigration issue they’re attempting to fix. If anyone in the administration had their children hundreds of miles away from them, in shelter in God knows where, they would use their authority in a heartbeat to find them. Shouldn’t they do the same with the 12,800 terrified children waiting to meet their parents again? Catherine Ramirez may be reached at theprospector1@gmail.com.
Speak your mind Submit a letter to the editor! Letters will be edited for clarity and brevity. Letters over 250 words are subject to editing to fit available space. Please include full name, street address and telephone number and e-mail address, plus major, classification and/or title if applicable. Address and phone number will be used for verification only. Write to 105 E. Union, theprospector1@gmail.com, call 747-7477or fax
747-8031.
The Prospector is published by the Student Media and Publications Board, 105 Union East, 500 W. University Ave. El Paso, Texas, 79968. The Prospector appears in print once per week on Tuesdays during the fall and spring semesters. The newspaper is not printed during holidays and when classes are not in session. The Prospector does provide news online at www.theprospectordaily.com. The Prospector is provided to students through student fees. First copy is free. Any additional copies, if available, must be purchased for $1 through the Department of Student Media and 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.
THEPROSPECTOR
September 25, 2018
NEWS | 3 |
UTEP food pantry makes the move to Memorial Gym
Gaby Velasquez/ The Prospector SGA held a car and motorcycle show to raise food donations for the student food pantries on campus, at the Glory Road 2 parking lot on Saturday, Sept. 15. groceries,” said Jocelyn Torres, Mechanical EngiBy catherine ramirez neer senior. The Prospector College students’ inability to afford food, after The UTEP Food Pantry is expected to move to paying for other expenses like tuition and textthe concession stand room in Memorial Gym by books, is a growing issue on all college campuses. the end of the month. About 200 students benefit from the UTEP food The food pantry’s new location at Memo- pantry every month and more students are exrial Gym is three times larger than its current pected to visit the food pantry at the new location site at the Union West building where it has re- in Memorial Gym. mained since 2015. “Part of it is about the food but the other part is “This new site will allow us to service more about education outreach about this issue on colpeople and give much more food,” said Catie lege campuses and bringing awareness about what McCorry-Andalis, Ed.D., Associate Vice Presi- this means for students,” McCorry-Andalis said. dent and Dean of Students, who manages the The Dean of Students office will employ UTEP food pantry. students to operate the UTEP food pantry and Space was not the only factor when choos- help students who are in need of other resources. ing a new location for the pantry but also its Student employees will undergo training to accessibility for students. Memorial Gym is sur- better understand and support the needs of strugrounded by parking lots, roads and bus stops gling students to ensure a healthy academic and that make it easier for students to go in and take social life at UTEP. the food they need. “Student who have a need for food often “Miner Village dorms are next to Memo- have a need for other resources and services, rial Gym so the students who live there can easily they might be homeless and need a place to stay,” make their way to the gym when they can’t afford McCorry-Andalis said. “So we are going to start
connecting all those services.” In order to receive food from the pantry, students must take their Miner Gold Card to verify they are currently enrolled UTEP students. The Dean of Students Office wants to reassure all Miners that all identities of the individuals who use the food pantry can continue to remain anonymous at the new location. “There are many students who aren’t fortunate enough to provide meals for themselves,” Torres said. “It helps that it is completely anonymous, so it should make them feel a bit more comfortable to get what they need.” The Student Government Association (SGA) partnered with the Military Student Success Center and hosted a Car/Motorcycle Show to benefit the UTEP food pantry and the Military Resource food pantry on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018. The show’s registration fee, to display vehicles, was nonperishable food items in hopes to stock both pantries on campus. “We are hoping to get enough donations to fill both pantries,” said Mario Diaz, Senator-at-Large with the SGA and the coordinator of the Car/Motorcycle Show. “We are also hoping to get the veterans on campus more involved” The Military Resource Center’s food pantry is currently being utilized on a regular basis by 75 unique individuals and is servicing
about 150 people monthly. SGA and the Military Student Success Center aimed to recognize that the UTEP community acknowledges veterans needs. “The purpose is to let them know that UTEP community is very supportive of the military community,” said Jessica Pilson, Military Students Association. All UTEP students who need food are encouraged to use the pantries if necessary. The pantries are a reminder to those struggling that they are not alone. The Military Resource Center food pantry is located in El Paso Natural Gas Center next to Quiznos. Although the UTEP food pantry isn’t expected to open until late September 2018, students can stop by Room 112 in the Union West building to receive food if they need or to donate nonperishable food. A new website for the UTEP food pantry is expected to launch prior to the opening of the new food pantry at Memorial Gym. The website will provide educational outreach, information about events, specific nonperishable foods needed for the pantry and a tab that will allow monetary donations. Catherine Ramirez may be reached at theprospector1@gmail.com.
| 4 | NEWS
THEPROSPECTOR
September 25, 2018
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Do you think marijuana should be legalized?
Claudia Hernandez, priscilla gomez, Sergio Muñoz/ The Prospector
Maria Alvarado
Freshman educational major “It depends, yes and no. If it is for medical purposes yes, but if it is for fun times it’s just mostly a waste, but it can be a pain killer.”
Xavier Keyes
Chelsea Cabral
Junior nursing major
Freshman biology major
“Probably for things like medicinal psychiatric use, considering that it’s low harm and high benefit. Definitely can be used for things other than recreation.”
“In the medical aspect it’s really useful for people that deal with painful diagnosis like cancer. But it shouldn’t be used recreationally because it’s not a good influence on youth.”
Abel Acosta
Whitley Benson
Sophomore digital media production major
Sophomore criminal justice major
“I’m not sure about legalized, but it should at least be decriminalized. There are so many people in like prison just for something so little.”
“I don’t see why not. Because, if things like alcohol, or like cigarettes are legal, why can’t marijuana be legal? It doesn’t really like hurt you as much as tobacco does.”
ABILITY AWARENESS WEEK
October 8-12,2018 sa.utep.edu/cass
entertainment
September 25, 2018 Editor jake deven, 747-7446
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Q&A: The creators behind @fitfamep discuss their rising popularity By daniel mendez The Prospector Editor’s Note: The creators of @fitfamep chose to remain anonymous in this interview for binding and professional reasons. Social media has become one of the main ways people consume entertainment and there is one Instagram account in El Paso that El Pasoans seem to can’t get enough of. The account is @FitFAmEP. It is your one source to find out what’s going on in El Paso—from the latest weekend shenanigans on Cincy and traffic reports to help lost pets find their homes; and you can’t forget about Modelo time. The Prospector: Fitfam EP wasn’t always the content we see now. Why did you create the account in the first place? FitFam: The page is run by a few people. We’re really into the fitness scene here. A few years ago, when fitness events started to thrive (the introductions of the LiveFitEP Festival, Supplement Xpress bodybuilding show, and multiple powerlifting and CrossFit meets), we realized there wasn’t a single Instagram dedicated to fitness in El Paso, so we started it as a fun side hobby and initially modeled it after San Antonio’s @fitfamsa. TP: When did the transformation start to take shape from going to a fitness account to an account that is more newsworthy at times than local news. When did that process start to happen? FF: We’re also really big on the everyday happenings and culture here, so we’d interject our posts with El Paso-relevant memes and coverage of events outside of fitness. Eventually, people started to submit their own content and we’d repost. We did this for the first two years, and we grew somewhat slowly. It wasn’t until this past spring when we posted a video of two girls falling off of a table at Fool’s Gold that things really kicked off. We had
taken on a local ‘TMZ’ or ‘World Star’ vibe and that really started to attract a lot of followers. TP: Everything submitted is all user-submitted videos, correct? FF: Surprisingly, yes! Even the fight and drunk videos. We get so many user-submitted videos, that we only post about 25 percent of what we get. We genuinely feel bad when having to turn some down, but we have to be realistic. If we post too many, people will just scroll through and not enjoy them. Not only that, but people have data plans and we don’t want to rob them by posting fluff. TP: How often a day do you receive user-submitted content? On the weekends how much content do you receive? FF: On a usual day, we receive about 200 DM’s. The weekends are intense, with some days topping out at over 400 DM’s, like Labor Day. This gets tough because we have full-time jobs and if we let the DM’s pile up without checking constantly, we might miss time-sensitive content. Also, Instagram tends to glitch when there are too many DM’s and many disappear, only to reappear a few days later. TP: Do you ever receive something that you question about posting? FF: All the time. The two biggest examples are violent videos and videos of intentionally reckless behavior. We receive a lot of videos where the fights are just too brutal and gruesome, and if posted it would take away the ‘fun’ feel of the account because we’d essentially be entertained by the lifethreatening harm of others. We also get videos of people engaging in crazy physical stunts, like ‘Jackass’ style and we don’t post them. Doing that would only foster a reckless culture and encourage people to try to outdo the others. TP: How do you feel when Instagram removes your content? FF: Instagram removes the content only when
dozens of followers report it. If it gets to that point, we just kind of acknowledge that it did offend some people and move on. It’s frustrating because our algorithm is affected when posts are removed and less people will see our next posts, but we’re a page ultimately run by our followers and their content and suggestions, so we adhere to them. We just hope people got to see the video before it was removed. TP: Have they threatened to shut down the account? FF: We’ve definitely been threatened with legal action, which is a huge reason we try to remain anonymous. We didn’t think running an Instagram page would be this serious! Thankfully, the proposed actions are always dismissed because the content is 100 percent legal. WorldStar and BarStoolSports are testaments to that. TP: You show a lot of good and bad on the account, as not all of it is El Paso debauchery, there is feel-good stories on there. How do you try to balance both or is it if the content is good it’s making it onto the IG story? FF: You have to grow up in El Paso to understand that the good and bad in our lives are embraced equally. The Mexican/El Pasoan culture is a very direct culture that doesn’t sugarcoat anything. We at FitFamEP believe that’s why many other local social media initiatives fail; when we as El Pasoans see local pages that are full of gleaming positivity as if we all live on a rainbow, they come across as false. Gathering on football Sundays and watching the Tios get aggressively drunk, eating sloppy El
Cometa at 3 a.m. after a night of too much partying, seeing a small street fight in the Lower Valley, driving around with an expired inspection sticker, arguing passionately with your girl in the parking lot… these are things many of us have experienced growing up in El Paso; they feel like home. That’s why we believe we succeeded in popularity lately. Sometimes, we’re a guilty pleasure but more often than not, we’re a relatable page where all classes of El Pasoans can find common ground. TP: The account is growing with over 50,000 followers, some followers from all over the country and world did you ever envision that? FF: Never! We just wanted to start a page that would help network those in the fitness community of El Paso. Now we’re networking people of El Paso in general and outside communities as well. It’s led to suggestions that we feature other towns in our post, too, but our focus will always remain only on the El Paso area. We’ve been fortunate to have legitimate fulltime jobs so we don’t need the money. We do it for fun, and we don’t want people to ever think we’re in it for other reasons than that. We have had offers for people wanting to buy the account, but that would entail either changing the content or giving it up altogether, so we always decline. We recently have asked a small fee for ads, and those usually are for the licenses to the editing programs we use or for paralegal fees. Check out the full interview online at theprospectordaily.com Daniel Mendez may be reached at theprospector1@gmail.com.
| 6 | ENTERTAINMENT
THEPROSPECTOR
September 25, 2018
Art studio I Painted That! emphasizes the social experience in graphic art
gaby velasquez/ The Prospector I Painted That! hosts workshops that are BYOB-friendly
By claudia flores The Prospector From painting classes to wood and wine workshops, local art studio I Painted That! continues to spread joy and art in the El Paso community. With four different locations, on the East side,
West side, Northeast and one in Las Cruces, I Painted That! offers different classes from adult workshops to family sessions and children classes. “The idea behind I Painted That! is not necessarily to come and be Picasso but it’s kind of like a creative outlet for the average person, we don’t aim our classes towards advanced artists we aim more
towards beginners,” said Ebonie Adame, an artist at I Painted That!. Besides the wood and wine workshops, the adults’ classes invite the guests to bring their own beer and wine to enjoy with their friends while painting. The cost for the a two-hour painting session is $35 and the wood workshops range from $45 to $65 for three hours, all materials are provided by the studio. Dates for classes are posted on their website two months in advance for people to take look at the different workshops the studio will be offering and to make a reservation with time. Adame, who’s been working at the studio for two years, said one of her favorite parts is to see people who wouldn’t do art normally come to the studio to try something new. “I’ve never done this, ever, so I’m here with my daughter, her friends, my husband and myself and it’s fabulous,” said 56-year-old Jeannie Aranda, internet manager at Pitre Kia in Las Cruces and attendee at ‘I Painted That!’ painting session. Most of the painting classes have a theme where everyone paints the same image, however, I Painted That! also offers sessions where people are free to take an image they like and they will be instructed stepby-step on how to paint by freehand.
Other than providing the community with a space to create art and socialize, the art studio focuses on giving the community a place where people can take a break from their daily routine. “It’s supposed to be more like a come and enjoy some time with your friends and loved ones and take a breather from your everyday,” Adame said. “With me, painting forces me to slow down and stop thinking so much. So for the person who works five days a week we think our classes are great to kind of just get their mind off of the craziness of their everyday work.” With El Paso being a creative community, Adame said that for the art studio it is important to keep bringing people in and help them to explore their creative and artistic abilities. “Being a border town there is so much culture and so much life here and so much expression, if you drive around town you’ll see countless murals, we have a very colorful history and city,” Adame said. “I think just bringing anything like this anywhere is important so people can explore that part of themselves they don’t really normally try to explore is really important.” For more information and schedules visit ipaintedthat.com Claudia Flores may be reached at theprospector1@gmail.com.
Sports
september 25, 2018 Editor DANIEL MENDEZ, 747-7446
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Miners need to find where they stand before facing UTSA rushing yards and would have had 114 had he not been sacked nine times for a total loss of 50 yards. Or do the Miners take the defensive alternative, clean up their secondary from making fundamental mistakes and try to generate more of a pass rush, with the hopes that it can be enough for the team to get a win? At this point, Dimel and his staff are probably asking themselves these questions, along with plenty more. Scouting UTSA UTSA got their first win of the season last weekend, as they beat out Texas State 25-21 in the I-35 Showdown. Junior linebacker Josiah Tauaefa contributed with nine tackles and 2.5 sacks for UTSA, who held Texas State to 248 yards of total offense and only 26 yards on the ground. Their running back tandem of sophomore B.J. Daniels and senior Jalen Rhodes has been the anchor of their offense this
season. Daniels has picked up 202 yards on the ground and has two rushing touchdowns, while Rhodes has 168 yards this year. Junior quarterback Cordale Grundy has helped them through the air, averaging 144 yards through the air and has three passing touchdowns this season. The Miners and Roadrunners will square off on Saturday, Sept. 29, starting at 5 p.m. MT. in San Antonio, Tx at the Alamodome. Adrian Broaddus may be reached at theprospector1@gmail.com
The Prospector is committed to accuracy. If you think we have made an error of fact, email the editor at theprospector1@gmail.com
UTEP goalie looks to stand alone in the record books Gaby Velasguez/ The Prospector The UTEP football will look to snap their 16-game losing streak Saturday Sept. 29th against UTSA.
By Adrian Broaddus The Prospector
In the midst of a 16-game losing streak and an 0-4 start to the season, the UTEP football team is relying on pure desperation and faith in order to secure their first win going into conference play. UTEP joins UCLA (0-3), Nebraska (0-3) and San Jose State (0-3) as the only four programs in the FBS without a win. After their 27-20 loss to NMSU in the 96th annual Battle of I-10, first-year head coach Dana Dimel sought the positives with the team instead of reaping the negatives. “I said every week you’ll find improvement in this football team, and tonight they (NMSU) had one of their starters back who has been out all year at the defensive end position,” Dimel said. “They’ve got a good defensive football team and we played pretty well against them offensively. We just need to finish better.” Aside from their inability to finish games, the Miners have also struggled at the start of games. They haven’t scored first, or led in a game since last year against Western Kentucky on Oct. 7, when they led briefly, 14-12, before the Hilltoppers took the lead and eventually won the game, 15-14.
Although the Miners improved through the air against NMSU on Saturday, they took a step back by turning the ball over three times, missing two opportunities to score in the red zone and falling short on defensive assignments. So, before moving onto the Roadrunners (1-3) for their first game of the C-USA slate, the Miners need to fix their problems, which appear to be repetitive and find their identity. “It’s a culture thing and it starts with practice,” said junior quarterback Kai Locksley, following his 10-for-16 for 194 yards through the air game performance against NMSU. “We gotta practice harder. We gotta practice smarter. We gotta practice more efficiently.” “I feel when you do all the little things,” Locksley added. “It makes the game much easier. You have those silly, silly turnovers and we’re not in the position to be making those.” So where do the Miners start? Do they first try and clean up the offensive line, which is without junior right tackle Jerrod Brooks, who could be out for the rest of the season from an injury sustained against NMSU? Or do they try and continue to game plan around Locksley and rely on his mobility to gain them yards through the air and on the ground? Locksley finished the day with 64
gaby velsaquez/ The Prospector Senior goalkeeper Alyssa Palacios has the record for the most career shutouts with 21.
by daniel mendez The Prospector When senior goalkeeper Alyssa Palacios started her first game as a freshman she allowed two goals in defeat, but little did everybody know then that Palacios would leave UTEP with the most shutouts in club history with 21 and counting. “I actually felt like I had gone to Las Vegas (and) I won the lottery when we got her,” said head soccer
coach Kevin Cross. Palacios started the season in second place in career shutouts, she tied the record against Northern Illinois on Sept. 2, and the record became her sole possession against Florida International University on Sept. 16. “It’s really cool being able to like leave my mark on the program,” Palacios said.
see Palacios on page 8
| 8 | SPORTS palacios from page 7
September 25, 2018
Palacios the ultimate team player doesn’t take sole responsibility for the record despite having a career total of 392 saves, she is currently behind alltime leader Amanda Smith’s 438. “My defense helped me a lot I feel like it’s a really cool team thing that we can say that this group this year got to break that record together,” Palacios said.
Palacios teammates share the same sentiment but they also recognize her skill and how great of a person she is. “Alyssa is probably one of the most caring people that I know,” said senior defender Peyton Ross. “I think that’s reflected in the position that she is she’s picked. I mean, I don’t think I know too many people who would willingly throw themselves in front of a projectile for other people.”
At first, the senior from Carrollton, Texas was nervous as a freshman, having to be thrown into the front of the net when then goalie Keighton Allen sustained an injury for the remainder of the season. As the season progressed, Palacios’ confidence grew, proving that she was able to compete and show her skills finishing the season with six shutouts. “My goal at first was just proving that I can help, I’m a freshman starting and I feel as time goes on and I got more games under my belt it looked more like a thing that I could see myself doing and so it just got cooler the more games I did the more confident I got that I could contend to break those records,” Palacios said. In the midst of a recording setting career, Palacios continues to deals with a serious back injury, called rhizotomy, which is a procedure that destroys problematic nerve roots in the spinal cord. She is required to get her nerves burned every six months in order to be able to play pain-free. “The process itself (is) kind of rough it hurts here, I feel it, but the recovery isn’t much it’s like a week, but then for that six-month period I’m good, I’m pain-free,” Palacios said. Despite the UTEP soccer team playing subpar, Palacios and company know that with Conference USA play underway, what they did in the non-conference part of the season is behind them. They can start new and focus on the fresh start. “We’re focusing now, starting fresh conference
THEPROSPECTOR
has started now and these are the games that matter,” Palacios said. “So we’re kind of letting go of, you know, things that happened non-conference and we’re focusing on the fresh start.” Palacios not only gets it done on the pitch but she does it in the classroom as well. For the last three years she has been on C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll (2016-18) Palacios credits the training room not only for her on-field success but her academic success as well. “It’s definitely hard, time managing is the big thing,” Palacios said. “My homework’s with me in the training room. I live in the training room, so during treatments and stuff, I’m reading my chapters and its just a lot about time managing your stuff.” Palacios is earning her degree in Kinesiology next December—she originally thought she was going to pursue physical therapy with her degree—but now Palacios sees herself coaching in the future. She envisions herself coaching the same position she plays, sharing what she knows on the pitch with future players. “Even picking my major with my career in mind, I just want to stay around sports,” Palacios said. “I want to stay around soccer. I feel like I’d be a good goalie coach. I’m really confident in that kind of thing of what I do. I think I could relate well and teach what I know.” Daniel Mendez may be reached at theprospector1@gmail.com