T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F T E X A S AT E L PA S O
VOL . 103, NO. 6
Bring back the ‘90s ue
Iss g n i m eco
Hom
OctOber 3, 2017
What’s to come of UTEP football? By adrian Broaddus The Prospector
Gold Nugget Award recipients...pg 6
Homecoming events to look forward to...pg 7
Football prepares for homecoming game against Western Kentucky...pg 11
gABY velASqUez / The ProSPecTor Doctoral student of teaching, learning and culture, Melissa Melendez and senior studio art major, Andres guardado, were both crowned UTeP’s 2017 homecoming king and queen on oct 1.
If you were to tell anyone who knows the slightest thing about UTEP football that at the start of the season Athletic Director Bob Stull would retire, Sean Kugler would resign after starting 0-5—firing offensive coordinator Brent Pease along the way—and Mike Price, 71, would come out of retirement to serve as the interim head coach, they would say that you are probably ridiculous. Well that ridiculousness has turned into a reality. After UTEP lost its fifth consecutive game this past Saturday to Army 3521, Stull and Kugler mutually agreed that it would be best for Kugler to resign as head coach of the program. Kugler played for the Miners in the ‘80s and served as an assistant coach in the ‘90s. UTEP hired him for his first head coaching position, in which he coached a grim 18-36 record in four and almost a half a season. Currently, the Miners have been outscored by their opponents 226-72 and were ranked last in the FBS in offense and rushing yards last week. This is the first time since 1992 that the Miners are 0-5. Throughout these five games, he used words like “disappointing” and “tough loss” repeatedly. He told the media that he would never give up on his team as long as he was the head coach. During the weekly press conference on Monday, Oct. 2, Stull stated that he didn’t have some sort of grand plan to fire Kugler after a rough start, contrary to popular speculation. Kugler resigned on his own after an extensive meeting with Stull. “I didn’t wake up (Sunday) morning expecting to be in this situation,” Stull said. “I don’t believe in making changes until the end of the season. But no one cares more for UTEP than Sean… We agreed the best thing for him to do was to step down.” During the weekly press conference, Stull first said that it would be a “5050” chance they would hire someone internally, then quickly corrected himself after, saying it would be a “85 percent” chance they would. That 15 percent was filled as soon as Stull offered retired coach Price the job. “I was surprised and flattered by Bob’s call and appreciate the opportunity to help this program one more time,” Price said in a press release. “I am not interviewing for the future job, and I’m not going to be the future head coach. I’m going to manage the program and provide leadership for the rest of the year.” Recently taking over as offensive coordinator for the Miners after Pease was fired, Natkin has turned the UTEP offense around. This made him one of the likely contenders for the job.
see KUGLer on page 11
PAGE 2 October 3, 2017
OPINION
Editor-in-Chief
Adrian Broaddus , 747-7477
Gun control comes with a voter cost
Back in April, during a rally in
By Prospector Editorial staff
Atlanta, he credited the NRA and
The Prospector
This Sunday, Americans experienced the worst mass-shooting in the modern history of the country, with 59 dead, 500-plus injured when a now-deceased shooter attacked the attendees at a country music festival in Las Vegas. In an act of domestic terrorism, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock unleashed an unfathomable amount of bullets into a crowd and then finished it off by killing himself. Every time a mass shooting happens, the topic of gun control comes up. Everyone from the NRA to people bringing up the Second Amendment will argue to the grave that guns are their American-given right and no one has the right to take them away. On the other hand, some people want to build a large fire and toss every weapon ever mad in there and start completely ostracizing and outlawing guns in America. These opposite ideologies show how difficult it is for the two sides to meet in the middle. Both sides can probably agree that this man should not have had over 20 rifles, some of which were AR-15-style assault rifles in his hotel room. Both sides can definitely agree that if someone were to obtain a gun, it should be done legally, which according to ABC news, the shooter did not. This unfathomable act doesn’t call for a termination of every gun imaginable, rather it’s a deep cry for a complete makeover of gun control laws. It’s completely insane that any random person can walk into a sporting goods store with an empty wallet, get approved for a sporting goods credit card and purchase a deadly weapon on the shelf with little to no background check. The second amendment was written over 228 years ago, when muskets were used to literally blow someone’s face off and the country was tasked to get rid of the overabundance of British soldiers. We haven’t had war on United States soil since the salt wars in the late 1800s. In the last decade, we have seen an increase of Americans favoring stricter gun laws, but what will it take for restrictions to actually be applied? In the meantime, it seems safe to say that gun laws will see no change under Trump as he has expressed his support for the second amendment and the current gun laws.
gun control advocates for helping him take office. “You have a true friend and champion in the White House,” Trump said. “No longer will federal agencies be coming after lawabiding gun owners. No longer will the government be trying to undermine your rights and your freedoms as Americans. Instead, we will work with you, by your side.” The NRA is responsible for contributing $30.3 million to Trump’s campaign during the election. Bill O’Reilly said on Monday that the shooting was “the price for tion said that this is not the time to debate gun laws. And there are probably gun advocates explaining to someone right now that if everyone had a gun, the shooting would not have occurred. These points are brought up every time there is a mass shooting, and they change nothing. But that is their goal, they are not meant to change anything because gun rights advocates do not have a solution to the problem. Instead, they bow their heads and pray until the next news cycle begins. It is not the time to think that the current administration will do something, because to think that the current administration will do
@UTEP_Prospector
UTEP Prospector
so is to make the same mistakes that lead to Las Vegas. We elect senators and representatives who uphold the same laws that led to Sandy Hook, and then ignore the same demands for change, which led to Orlando.
UTEP_Prospector
The Prospector Daily
It is not the time to demand that a gun rights president go against the NRA. It is time that citizens learn how
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This week’s poll question:
tors who will take the issue seri-
Do you believe the United States should have harsher gun control laws?
ously. Elections are always on the horizon and if people want to make a lasting change that will slow the needless violence, then we need to
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learn how to vote.
STAFF V O L . 1 0 3 , n o . 6 Editor-in-Chief: Adrian Broaddus Web Editor : Christian Vasquez Layout Manager : Alejandra Gonzalez Copy Editor : Leslie Sariñana Spor ts Editor : Jeremy Carranco Enter tainment Editor : Eddie Velazquez Photo Editor : Gaby Velasquez Multimedia Editor : Rene Delgadillo Staff Repor ters: Mike Flores, Grecia Sánchez, Claudia V. Flores, Elenie Gonzalez, Daniel Mendez Photographers: Claudia Hernandez, Nina Titovets, Andres Mar tinez Contributors: Agust Touris, Brianna Chavez, Sergio Muñoz, Michaela Román, Alexa Servin
Alexa Servin / The Prospector
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THEPROSPECTOR
NEWS | 3 |
OctOber 3, 2017
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UTEP honors Distinguished alumni U.S. and Mexico assurance leader, PwC
By adrian Broaddus The Prospector
Maria Castañón Moats
Serving as the first woman and first Hispanic to be named the U.S. and Mexico assurance leader at PwC (accounting firm), Maria Castañón Moats has risen to the top of her profession. She was born in Juárez and grew up in El Paso. After graduating from UTEP in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, she partnered at PwC in 2004 and was the firm’s U.S. Diversity Leader from 2011-16. There she worked closely with the CEO and was on the U.S. leadership team. She was also recently named No. 2 on Fortune magazine’s inaugural list of the 50 Most Powerful Latinas. “I’m incredibly humbled by being named as a Distinguished Alumna,” Castañón Moats said in a press release. “UTEP means so much to me. It’s where I learned the value of hard work and was exposed to a variety of people, cultures and information, all of which contributed to both the person I’ve become and the fulfilling career I have today.”
CEO and president of University Medical Center of El Paso
Jacob Cintron
Embarking on one of the largest medical practices in the local area, Jacob Cintron, CEO and president of University Medical Center of El Paso, worked his way up from doing odd jobs at a young age to a CEO spot today. He started these odd jobs in the engineering department of Thomason Hospital—which is now University Medical Center. After graduating from UTEP in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, then a MBA and master of accountancy, he became the director of engineering and then assistant administrator at Thomason. He also held executive positions at major health care systems in Chicago, San Antonio and San Diego. Cintron returned home in 2006 and became CEO of Del Sol Medical Center for 10 years prior to being named CEO of UMC. “I am blown away, proud and humbled by being named as one of UTEP’s Distinguished Alumni,” Cintron said in a press release. “If it weren’t for UTEP, I would have settled for something else, and my life path would have been very different.”
Co-founder and executive chairman of Drillinginfo
Allen Gilmer
Emerging as one of the top CEO’s in the oil and gas industry, Allen Gilmer, CEO and co-founder of
Drillinginfo, became a storied geologist almost by coincidence. As he went off to Rice University with all the intent to become a lawyer, Gilmer was struck by his infatuation with the subject of geology. After he graduated with a degree in geology in 1984, Gilmer returned to UTEP and earned a master’s degree in geological sciences in 1987. He worked as a geophysicist at Marathon Oil Company, and then went on to start and cofound several companies in the oil and gas sector. But, his most prominent founding, Drillinginfo, became a leading provider of cloud-based
data and analytics software for the oil and gas industry. In 2014, he was named Large Company CEO of the Year for Central Texas and a Top 7 North American Prospect Expo Influencers. In 2012, he was named Texas’ Outstanding Geoscientist by Texas Monthly magazine. “Throughout the history of TWC and UTEP, there have been some true giants who have earned their degrees at this outstanding university,” Gilmer said in a release. “I am amazingly humbled by being recognize follow adrian Broaddus on twitter @adrian_broaddusj
THEPROSPECTOR
| 4 | NEWS
October 3, 2017
School of Pharmacy enrolls first class By Rene delgadillo The Prospector
After two years of work and planning, UTEP opened a School of Pharmacy in efforts to improve the opportunities for students who are searching for a future in the pharmacy field. Now almost two months into the program, students and professors in the school have started to truly settle in and feel comfortable with the program. Pharmacy doctoral student Albert Nava said that as he was preparing to
apply for school, UTEP made the announcement. He said he was relieved for not having to pay thousands of dollars more for an education he could now receive at home. “It’s actually very funny, my grandparents said they would pray every day so that they could create a pharmacy school here,” Nava said. “I was very excited because I was going to get the chance to pursue my dreams and at the same time I would lessen the financial burden on my family.” José O. Rivera, Pharm. D., was selected as the founding dean of the
school and said that UTEP students who are looking for a job in the pharmacy field will receive a different teaching approach. “This the culmination of a long journey,” Rivera said. “It’s exciting that we can develop our own curriculum with our own ingredients of what we think is the best for these pharmacists in terms of the training and the education they will receive.” Rivera said that the School of Pharmacy at UTEP is unique because speaking Spanish is a requirement to be accepted into the program.
“If you want to serve the (El Paso) population, you need to be able to communicate with them,” Rivera said. “We need to serve our people, and yeah we could use translators, but we believe it’s more effective if our pharmacists have the ability to speak and understand the language and culture of our patients.” Pharmacy doctoral student Presciliano Ortega said he is trying to become a fluent Spanish speaker
It feels great to say ‘hey, I earned to wear this coat.’ It makes you feel that you’re doing something that will help you and your future. Presciliano Ortega pharmacy doctoral student
because he feels discouraged when he cannot explain something in that language. “It’s hard, but I understand the importance of language and communication in this kind of job,” Ortega said. “A patient may know something about their health in their native language, but not in English. This why we need to understand more languages because we don’t want to cause an overdose or the death of a patient.” Within the curriculum, students in the school have to volunteer, do service learning and leave El Paso for a period of anywhere between two weeks to six weeks. “It’s not only about math and science. Our students will leave to a clinic outside our immediate region because they have to learn about different people and cultures,” Rivera said. Before UTEP decided to start a standalone School of Pharmacy, the school had a cooperative program with the University of Texas at Austin, where students receive a doctor of pharmacy degree from UT after
completing 50 percent of the curriculum in El Paso and the other half in Austin. Despite having the cooperative program with UT for more than 18 years, Rivera said this program was not achieving a stable financial situation and the demands for healthcare providers in El Paso. “It was not financially viable,” Rivera said. “Also, a lot of students from El Paso ended up going to other states to go to pharmacy school, and they ended up in so much debt because of the high price of tuition.” Rivera said the School of Pharmacy will help with El Paso’s shortage of pharmacists. “In El Paso, we have close to 60 pharmacists per every 100,000 people in our population, and in the state, the average is 90,” Rivera said. Rivera also said that budget cuts from the state legislature, which have affected many education departments in Texas, had a negative effect on the School of Pharmacy. Rivera said the School of Pharmacy received $5.2 million instead of the $7 million he was expecting from the legislature. Rivera had to adjust to the cuts and was unable to make changes to some of the classrooms that are not yet where they’re supposed to be in terms of technology and size. “We also wanted to purchase research equipment and hire additional staff, but we had to prioritize,” Rivera said. “We were hoping to move faster, but now we’re going to have to hold back and see how to bring in more money.” Ortega said being part of the first class scheduled to graduate holds a lot of responsibility he is willing to take. “It feels great to say ‘hey, I earned to wear this coat.’ It makes you feel that you’re doing something that will help you and your future, but also help others and their future,” Ortega said. “This is something that we had been dreaming and working for, and now we have the chance to work on our goals.” Follow Rene Delgadillo on Twitter @rdelgadillonews
THEPROSPECTOR
NEWS | 5 |
October 3, 2017
Question of the Week
What is your favorite thing about homecoming?
Claudia Hernadez, Sergio Munoz, Brian Reyes, Nina titovets / The Prospector
Divina McLendon
Carlos Alvarado
Liliana Carbajal
Jose Sanchez
Freshman biology major
Freshman microbiology major
“I like all the events and that everyone gets really involved. I am planning to help my sorority with all the activities like lip sync and dodgeball.”
“I dont know what goes on during homecoming, I just know we play a team at home.”
“I haven’t been in homecoming, but I have heard that football games are pretty cool because there are a lot of people with a lot of spirit.”
“I have heard that the best thing is the football games because of the big school pride, even though the team is not that good. I’m planning to do something different than the usual, like going to one of the games.”
Zeda Contreras
David Dominguez
Tianna Tiooman
Jesus Perez
Priscilla Bustillos
“I like the game because it’s the biggest game of the season.”
“I am looking forward to seeing how UTEP celebrates homecoming compared to high school. From the past, my favorite has been how everyone comes together and shows their school spirit.”
“I am a freshman so I haven’t experienced homecoming yet, but I guess the UTEP spirit is too dope and everybody is participating. I have heard that all the activities are supercool and everybody is pretty lit.”
“I haven’t participated in a college homecoming so I am not sure, but I am excited to meet new people at the various events and take part in them.”
“I like the school spirit, and how a lot of people actually take it very serious.”
Freshman nursing major
Freshman corporate and organizational communication major
Sophomore theater performance major
Freshman engineering major
Freshman dance & psychology major
Freshman chemistry major
Madhuri Nannaware
Graduate student in mechanical engineering “I am a foreign exchange student, so I am not really sure what homecoming is or why it is celebrated, but I am excited to find out.”
Sophomore political science major
this month at the student recreation center complete t h e c h a lle n ge ! c l i mb i n g gy m c h a lle n g e o c to b e r 23 r d - 27 t h , 20 1 7 Mo n day 5 : 0 0 p m - 8 : 0 0 p m Tue s day- F r i day 2: 0 0 p m - 8 : 0 0 p m A t S tude n t R e c re at i o n C e nt e r , C l i m b i ng Gym C o st: F r e e !
i ntra mur a ls. . .c o mpe t e !
vo l l e y ba l l
s o f t ba l l
ulti m ate f r i s b e e
i n do o r s o c c e r
e xplo r e !
full moon bike ride in white sands
tin mine in the franklin mountains
carlsbad caverns in carlsbad, nm
for more info: w w w . s a . u t e p. e d u / r s d T : ( 9 1 5 ) - 7 4 7 - 5 1 0 3 | | E : r e c s p o r t s @ u t e p. e d u
la union maze halloween fun
THEPROSPECTOR
| 6 | NEWS
OctOber 3, 2017
heritage house celebrates history of UTEP
It was Dr. Natalicio who gave the commission a base in 1994. The building was the perfect place to house the Heritage Commission because of its ties to the first dean of the university, Steve H. Worrell. The building that now serves as the Heritage House was built in 1921 as a home for Dean Worrell, whose wife is responsible for the university’s Bhutanese architecture. The building itself has as much history as the archives it holds. The house had a lot of different lives before housing the Heritage Commission. At one
point it was a dance studio, then it housed the original Upward Bound Program, the special projects center, the offices of Schellenger Research and groundskeepers stowed their mowers and equipment there. Given its history, it only seems fitting for it to be the home of the Heritage Commission. “He (Steve Worrell) and Mrs. Worrell lived here. This was not on campus at the time, so you can see the campus has grown up around it. Several folks, deans have lived here—presidents and deans,” said Briane Carter, chair of the Heritage Commission. The commission is constantly working to not only preserve the archives, but to create new themes for the displays and main exhibits that are switched out twice a year. The current theme is Golden Grad memorabilia from 1967 and some of the previous themes have included, “Women in UTEP history,” “90th anniversary” and the “1966 NCAA National Basketball Championship.” Every year for homecoming, the commission honor the graduates who celebrate their 50th anniversary of graduation from UTEP. “We’re getting ready for homecoming so we’ll have an open house. The golden grads, which are 50 years, they graduated in 1967,” Carter said. “These (photos) were taken from the 1967 yearbook. When they come to visit they’ll see some of the faculty and some of the classmates and hopefully stimulate some memories for them.”
Carter has been part of the commission for nine years, having previously worked as the director of the University Career Center for 30 years. “I’m a retired staff member and when I was asked if I was interested in becoming a member of the commission, I said yes I was because I spent nearly 30 years here at UTEP, loved working with the students,” she said. “I’m a cheerleader for the university so this is an extension for me. My colleagues on the commission have been gracious enough to elect me chair of the commission.” The commission was first created in 1981 by then UTEP President Haskell Monroe to fundraise for ceremonial regalia such as the mace and college banners, which he felt were needed. “Dr. Monroe, who was a historian, felt that the commission should stay and help to become the archivists for the university. In order words, to maintain the archives and that sort of thing. Up to that point no one had really paid attention to it,” Carter said. The original commission was made up of faculty members and they kept memorabilia in their offices, where it began to pile up over time. Having a building to house all of the memorabilia came as a relief for the commission. Every item in that house in unique and has a lengthy history. Most of the archives are items that current students have no idea existed. One of Carter’s favorite items in the house is the freshman beanie. The freshman beanies were used at UTEP up until World War 2. Every freshman wore a beanie to point
out to upperclassmen that they were freshmen and any junior or senior could go up to them and ask them to perform tasks for them, such as carrying their books to class or singing the Miner fight song on command. “I got really interested in that. Freshmen now don’t have to do any of that. I learned the other day that women also wore beanies,” Carter said. “When we had GIs that came back it kind of died out from there. We have a whole collection of little caps, little beanies.” Ranging from the evolution of the Paydirt Pete mascots to a map of every building’s history to the progression of Greek life on campus over time, each exhibit set up by the commission presents a rare and often untold history of UTEP at different eras. The house truly presents a deeper look into the university and everything its taken to get to this point in time. “We’re probably the best kept secret on campus,” Carter said. The house is open to students Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon and is also open for special tours that can be arranged by calling the UTEP Alumni Relations Office at (915) 747-8600 or sending an email to heritage@utep.edu. They will be open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Oct.6, for homecoming.
rusell broaddus
Manuel F. aguilera
Erik Cazares
Jim Forbes
Rusell Broaddus, M.D., Ph.D., is a professor of pathology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston— the largest cancer research center in the nation. His —in Houston. His research focuses on molecular pathogenesis of endometrial cancer, which is the most common gynecological cancer in women.
Aguilera is one of the most storied engineers in the Texas Department of Transportation. Through his career, he assisted in the development and design of different traffic signals and standards that are still used across El Paso, Some of his notable designs include the “Spaghetti Bowl,” which is the interchange at I-10 and U.S. 54.
Cazares operates as the chief nursing officer at the Hospitals of Providence Sierra Campus in El Paso. He is responsible for mentoring young hospital leaders and nurses. His peers and supervisors call Cazares an articulate and inspirational worker. He also is on the national scale to serve as a voice for nurses and different health organizations.
James Ricardo, or as everyone knows him by, Jim Forbes, is one of the most successful high school basketball coaches in the West Texas region with a strong collegiate career at UTEP. He is currently the head basketball coach at Andress and recently won his 600th game after coaching for 33 years. He attended Bel Air High School in El Paso and was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1974 after his college career at UTEP.
Miguel a. Gamiño
Sylvia hopp
Denise Castillo-rhodes
Sandra G. Terrazas
Miguel A. Gamiño Jr. works as the chief technology officer for the City of New York. He’s responsible for developing a Smart City strategy that will ensure coordination in New York City. Along with New York, he has been the chief information officer for the city of San Francisco and founded El Paso technology companies, such as Varay Systems LLC and Sonisa LLC.
Hopp served as the superintendent of the San Elizario Independent School District for five years and oversees the education of 3,900 students in one of the poorest districts in Texas. She was recognized with the Region 19 Superintendent of the Year award in 2015 and was a finalist for the Texas Superintendent of the Year. She has worked 42 years in education after recently retiring this past June.
Sergio MUÑioz / The ProSPecTor The heritage house has recorded UTeP history for over 23 years.
By leslie sariÑana The Prospector
Hidden in between the Union and the Education Building is one building that holds all of the university’s history. Often one of the most overlooked buildings is also one of the most treasured—the Heritage House. The house has served as the center for the Heritage Commission for over 23 years, but the commission itself has existed since 1981. This homecoming week, the Heritage House will commemorate the 103rd annual “first day of school.”
leslie sarinana may be reached at theprospectordaily.ent@gmail.com.
Gold nuggets celebrated during homecoming week By the ProsPector staff The Prospector For more than 30 years, UTEP has recognized distinguished alumni through the Gold Nuggets, who are former Miners that have excelled in their profession from each of its colleges and schools through the Gold Nuggets designation, This year, the group will be recognized throughout the university’s homecoming week during different events. Below is a look at this year’s Gold Nuggets recipients:
Estela Casas Achieving one of the most impressive broadcasting careers in El Paso, Estela Casas has been delivering news to the local area for more than 30 years. She’s been the news anchor for KVIA Channel 7 since 1993 and has amassed many prominent interviews during her career. She has interviewed President Brarack Obama at the White House, covered two Papal visits to Mexico, and is a huge advocate for women’s and children’s health issues, and currently she’s battling breast cancer, which she is also starting support conferences for. She was inducted into the El Paso Women’s Hall of Fame in 2011.
Castillo-Rhodes serves as the executive vice president and chief financial officer of the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex in the world, located in Houston. At the center, she is tasked with finance, billing, accounting, collections, procurement and tax compliance.
Founder and owner of Spectrum Therapy Consultants in El Paso, Sandra G. Terrazas is known for her widerange of assistance in the local physical therapy field. She manages four locations, mentors interns and interacts with patients on a daily basis. She’s also an adjunct physical therapy professor at UTEP, El Paso Community College and Western Technical College.
PAGE 7 October 3, 2017
entertainment
Editor
Eddie Velazquez , 747-7477
Bueller’s Bar brings a relaxed, ‘80s-themed atmosphere to the local bar scene students,” Macias said. “When they get off early from class, they can come over here. We’re trying to target that crowd to bring them in the morning.” A few months ago, Macias and his wife had a baby and overheard the nurses at the hospital discussing where they were going to grab a drink when they finished their shift. “They said, ‘this is our night now’ at 7 a.m. because they work all night, so they want to go somewhere to drink,” Macias said. “They were tired of going to the same places over and over, so I thought well maybe we can capitalize on that. Maybe we can offer a different option for them in the morning.”
Claudia hernandez / The Prospector Bueller’s Bar is open from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday-Saturday and 12 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Sundays.
By Michaela Román The Prospector
At the start of September, Bueller’s opened its doors and let bar hoppers into the world of everyone’s favorite slacker teen from the ‘80s. Alex Macias, the owner of Bueller’s, was a freshman in high school when “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” was released. “Who didn’t want to be Ferris Bueller when they were a kid?” Macias said. “When I was a kid, he was like the coolest thing in the movies. Everyone wanted to be Ferris Bueller.” Bueller’s is located at 4025 Mesa, previously Aviators, and sits right next to Rubiks Arcade Bar. Now, at the start of
October, they are adding food to the retro dive bar’s menu. When the space for the bar became available, Macias knew he wanted to get something going and went with what he knows best–the ‘80s. The decor of the bar includes both items from his very own bedroom growing up and also items that portray what Ferris Bueller’s room looked like in the movie. Macias mixed his childhood posters with his skateboards, childhood dresser and other items. “This bar really does take me back,” Macias said, as he scanned the bar full of lava lamps, plasma glow lights, black light posters and other ‘80s memorabilia.
Originally, Macias wanted the entire bar to be a replica of Ferris Bueller’s bedroom, but after doing research he found the bedroom was in reality only two walls. Since the space has some nooks and crannies in its original design, he was able to create a small model of a bedroom in the corner. Along with having an uncommon theme, Bueller’s also differs from other bars in its business hours. They open their doors at 7 a.m., Monday through Saturday, and 12 p.m. on Sundays. They close at 2 a.m. every day. This was done to cater to those who work graveyard shifts. “With the introduction of food, we’re trying to target hospital (employees) and
You have to be different, you have to just be true to what you want to do and in it for the right reasons.
- Alex Macias, founder of Bueller’s The bar is still developing its selection, but currently offers 33 craft beers, daily $1.50 Hamm’s beer and $2 Wells drinks on Tuesdays. Macias also owns Rubiks next door, which will be three years in business this
homecoming calendar homecoming pep rally
homecoming dance
alumni honored
homecoming game
coming March. He chose to start the new bar rather than to expand on Rubiks. “Rubiks is already big enough as it is,” Macias said. “We already have close to 70 arcade games, the bar doesn’t need to be any bigger. There’s 12 more bars then when we opened Rubiks so the crowd has been so spread out.” A patio connects the two bars together and drinks that are purchased at either Rubiks or Bueller’s can be carried over to each other. Although both bars are symbiotic in retro themes, Rubiks has a louder environment with the sounds of the machines and DJs. Bueller’s has a much more laid-back atmosphere that makes sitting down for a beer and just having a conversation easier. Macias didn’t design the bar to cater to any specific bar or age group. The ‘80s theme works for older age groups that lived their teen years the same time that Ferris Bueller did and for those that recently discovered the movie or have a fascination with the time period. “El Paso loves options,” Macias said. “I really hope this is something different for El Paso. I mean it’s not anything extravagant or anything. It is very real, it’s very honest. It’s just a chill and cool place to hang out.” He said with the bar scene is becoming more and more saturated in El Paso, and bar owners have to be more professional than ever and really treat it like a business. “You have to be different, you have to just be true to what you want to do and in it for the right reasons,” Macias said. “It’s very easy to get in this and get in the party mentality but that’s not what this is.” Michaela Román may be reached at theprospectordaily.ent@gmail.com.
THEPROSPECTOR
| 8 | ENTERTAINMENT
October 3, 2017
Chalk the Block celebrates its 10-year anniversary in downtown El Paso
file photos Chalk the Block’s 10th anniversary will feature artists from all around the United States, including New York-based artists Yoko Ono and Scott Cohen. which over looks the East side of El Paso.
By Elenie gonzalez The Prospector
TAKE
CARE OF YOUR
WATER
KEEP IT
CLEAN
The annual arts festival, Chalk the Block, returns to downtown El Paso beginning on Oct. 6 through 8 as it celebrates its 10-year anniversary. The festival will feature over 200 artists from around the world, as they come together to decorate the streets of downtown El Paso through various artwork installations and turn it into an interactive playground for the weekend. The festival is centered around the sidewalk chalk art competition that draws in thousands of spectators each year. The competition is divided into three categories, including student artists, emerging artists, and showcase artists. Recent UTEP graduate Ociris Alvarez is one of 10 student graphic designers selected by their professors to have their posters sold at the festival. “This is my first year doing Chalk the Block. I am honored to have my poster chosen,” Alvarez said. “I made a vintage-like poster that will be sold. A benefit to have been selected is that we get everything paid for, like the entry fees, expenses of the material and cost of printing.” Each year, Chalk the Block features interactive and performance art installations made by artists from around the world, and they have become a crowd favorite. This year’s installations include “Life Cube” by Scott Cohen of New York City, “Cycle Sonic” by Squonk Opera of Pittsburgh, and “Spheres of Influence” by Curime Batliner and Jake Newsum of Los Angeles. “Wish Tree” by Yoko Ono, a New York-based Tokyo artist, will more than likely be the most popular interactive installation this year. Ono
Do not dump waste, chemicals, paint, custodial waste, and general rubbish items (tires, old car parts, shopping carts, etc.) into storm drains, channels, or ditches. No tirar basura, aparatos electrodomésticos, muebles, llantas, y chatarra a canales y acequias del systema de drenaje pluvial.
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH & SAFETY OFFICE
HERTZOG BUILDING ROOM 170 (915) 747-7124 EH&S@UTEP.EDU
Keep material out of the stormwater conveyance system (curbs, gutters, sidewalks, streets, drains, culverts, and arroyos). Dispose of grass, leaves, yard waste, and construction debris properly No tapar el flujo pluvial a canales, alcantarillas y arroyos con basura. Disponga correctamente de basura vegetal (césped, ramas, y hojas) así como basura de construción.
Report illegal dumping in storm drains, culverts, or arroyos to UTEP EH&S. Reporte el veritdo illegal de residuosen los drenajes o arroyos al departamento EH&S en UTEP
Leave natural vegetation in place where possible to prevent erosion. Si es possible, deje crecer a vegetación en forma natural para evitar la erosion.
Properly dispose of hazardous wastes, pesticides, and fertilizers. Call UTEP EH&S to schedule waste pickups. Deseche correctamente los residuos peligrosos, pesticdas, y fertilizantes. Llama al departamento EH&S en UTEP y agendar fecha para recoger los desperdicios.
Recycle oil, antifreeze, and other vehicle fluids, or dispose of them properly to prevent the pollution of stormwater, groundwater and the Rio Grande. Recicle aceite, anti-congelate y lubricantes o disponga propiamente de ellos para prevenir contaminación de sistema de drenaje pluvial, mantos acuíferos y el Rio Bravo.
Storm drains are easily identified with “NO DUMPING” decals at stormwater inlets. Alcantarifado fe aguas pluviales es identeficado con anuncions de “NO REVERTIR DESECHOS AQUI”
is famous for being married to the late John Lennon of the Beatles. The “Wish Tree” will invite visitors to tie wishes on trees. After the festival, the wishes will be collected and sent to the Imagine Peace Tower on Viðey Island in Reykjavík, Iceland. Imagine Peace Tower is composed of a tall shimmering tower of light that appears every year and is visible from Oct. 9—Lennon’s birthday—until Dec. 8— the anniversary of his death. An installation that is sure to please the crowd is “Sun Metro Bus – Art on the Move,” curated by Kalavera Culture Shop, a locally owned store in downtown El Paso. The operating bus will serve as a moveable mural. During the festival, the bus will be used as a canvas by local artists to create a unique piece that will be added to one of Sun Metro’s existing routes for a period of time. This was last seen during the fifth-year of Chalk the Block and has been revived for the 10th anniversary. Over a hundred vendors from the region will line up on the streets and turn them into an artisan market, where the public will be able to shop locally, eat locally and enjoy what El Paso has to offer. Attendees will also be able to browse through a variety of food trucks. The GECU Kids Zone will provide entertainment for the younger crowd and offer a space where kids can create their own sidewalk art using free chalk. Last but not least, crowds will be able to enjoy live music performed by musicians from El Paso and Ciudad Juarez all day Saturday, while DJs will perform throughout the entire weekend. This year’s artists include Sha’Vonne, Frontera Bugalu, Gila Monster, Fixed Idea, Sonido Cachimbo and Brandon Bailey Johnson. ENCO – El Conjunto Nueva Ola, a cumbia group from Mexico City, will headline this year’s lineup. The first day of the festival, Friday, Oct 6, will be the soft opening and preview party. It’s also the day when the chalk artists begin the competition. The El Paso Museum of Art will host “Art After Dark” in celebration of the 10-year anniversary. EPMA will be open until 10 p.m., and guests will be able to enjoy a vinyl DJ set from Atomic Wax and a pop-up art installation by Desert Triangle Print Carpeta: Mexican Prints. Follow Elenie Gonzalez on Twitter @eleniegonz
THEPROSPECTOR
ENTERTAINMENT | 9 |
October 3, 2017
Date spots—where to take your date as fall rolls around most bone-chilling, adrenaline-filled events across the city. Located in a rustic, outland area in Canutillo, Texas, the place gives off a terrifying feeling that perfectly coincides with the alarming attraction. The place offers a unique Zombie Adventure, which arms people with weapons and has them traveling through the trail, fighting off the zombies that attack them and attempting to get to their destination safely. Also, the place offers a scary haunted house for attendees. This year’s theme is the zombie prisoners seeking vengeance from being held prisoner during World War II. The
Claudia Hernandez/The Prospector Rim Road is adjacent to Tom Lea Park, which over looks the East side of El Paso.
By Adrian Broaddus The Prospector
As fall rolls in and the temperature drops 20 degrees—enough for Ugg boots to be worn across the town—date spots start popping up, and couples have never had it better in El Paso. Two people can find pretty decent romantic spots all across the city or new adventures once fall rolls around. Here are some fall date ideas to keep in your back pocket this fall: 1. Corn Maze –pumpkin patch Ah yes, the infamous corn maze. It’s one of El Paso’s longest seasonal traditions in the fall and always reels in tons of people week after week. There are several corn mazes in El Paso, but
the ones that stand out are El Paso’s Corn Maze, in Socorro, and La Union Maze, in La Union, New Mexico. El Paso’s Corn Maze offers a pretty challenging kid-themed corn maze. They also offer food trucks onsite, a huge pumpkin patch and more attractions. At a price of $10.95 per ticket, this corn maze isn’t too overpriced for the exciting thrills it brings. The La Union Maze, for those who are based on the Westside, offers a wide variety of activities other than simply going through the maze. They have pig races, farm animals, giant slides, bouncy houses and a bunch of food. Even though tickets are $12 a pop, this corn maze is definitely worth the price.
2. Rim Road If you’re tired of taking your significant other to Scenic Drive—or you’ve had too many bad memories up there—try Rim Road, which is adjacent to Scenic Drive. Rim Road gives off all the beautiful views that Scenic offers, but with a more intimate setting and less overcrowding. If you step outside the car, Tom Lea Park is also a nice lookout point of the city. Grab some coffee and walk around the park to enjoy some nice conversations and eye-catching views of the entire city. 3. Texas Terror Trials This is a date night for the truly adventurous couples out there. The Texas Terror Trails are one of the
haunted house is said to be only for those who have tough skin and can handle a scare. Tickets for each attraction are $16, or $25 for both. RIP passes are available for $8 more, which allow the ticket holder to go on a “fast pass” system, cut in front of the line and go through the attraction quickly. That being said, their website suggests that people come early for the Zombie Adventure as it becomes one of the most soughtafter events at the location. Follow Adrian Broaddus on Twitter @adrian_broadus
THEPROSPECTOR
| 10 | ENTERTAINMENT
October 3, 2017
Ice Creamed Myself provides vegan and dairy treats to the community By Brianna Chavez The Prospector
Almost everyone has screamed for ice cream at some point in their lives. Dominque “Dom” Airington and Alejandra “AJ” Zorrivas love ice cream so much that they traded their graduation trip for a $1,000 ice cream machine and created Ice Creamed Myself, a company that aims to provide vegan and dairybased frozen desserts that are made from scratch. Airington and Zorrivas met at El Paso Community College’s culinary program and fell in love with making ice cream. “Whenever we would make ice cream in class, I was like ‘Yes, this is it. This is so fun,’” Zorrivas said. Ice cream allows the duo to be creative and express their artistic abilities. “Ice cream is such a blank canvas that it allows us to do so many things with the flavors,” Airington said. The two worked at a franchise ice cream store so they could learn how to run their own business for about a year, and worked at a local bakery shortly after for another year. “It allowed us to figure out that (baking) is not where we wanted to take our culinary career,” Airington said. “(Frozen desserts) alleviate us from being in a hot kitchen and baking.” “I don’t have to make a chocolate cake, I can make chocolate cake ice cream,” Zorrivas added. In 2014, the duo sold their first batch of ice cream outside at a grocery store parking lot. Now, the owners of Ice Creamed Myself sell their products at several local farmers markets including
the Downtown Art and Farmers Market and the Eastside Farmers & Artisan Market. They also make their ice cream at an industrial kitchen at a daycare center that they sublease. “Our very first batch of ice cream, we made 12 pints of ice cream. We took an ice chest and we were like the tamale ladies for a day and hustling ice cream at a Walmart parking lot. Twelve pints turned into 24 pints–three years later, here we are,” Airington said. Ice Creamed Myself was nominated for Best Dessert on What’s Up’s Best of the Best list for the second year in a row. Zorrivas and Airington, who are both vegan, try to purchase ingredients that are made ethically and locally grown in order to provide a product that tastes as good as it looks for the vegan community in El Paso. Ice Creamed Myself aims to make and sell products that aren’t “just good for being vegan,” but happen to be “vegan and just plain good,” “It’s really important that we can provide vegans an option and be a company that provides delicious healthy vegan options without compromising flavor or quality,” Airington said. One of their most popular items is the Trojan bar, a made-fromscratch vegan take on a Magnum bar. Zorrivas, who does most of the cooking, enjoys making vegan desserts more than dairy desserts. “You’re turning something that shouldn’t be ice cream into ice cream. It’s more interesting,” she said.
Special to the Prospector The Ice Creamed Myself owners also collaborate with other local bakers to make their products. The café con churros flavor is made with churros from Savage Goods, a local bakery that makes vegan and gluten-free baked goods. Their Gracie coffee cake sandwiches are made from vegan coffee beans that Blushing Buffalo provides.
Fifty percent of their tips go to the Pay It Forward campaign run by One Grub Community, a local business that sells planet-based vegan meals, and provides meals to people in underserved communities across town. Airington and Zorrivas are currently selling their desserts from a bike cart and dream of one day opening a storefront, but they said
they are being patient and are saving up to buy more equipment to make their products. Ice Creamed Myself will be at the 10th anniversary of the public arts festival, Chalk the Block this coming weekend and can be found online on Facebook and Instagram at @IceCreamedMyself. Brianna Chavez may be reached at theprospectordaily.ent@gmail.com.
PAGE 11 October 3, 2017
Sports
Editor
Jeremy Carranco, 747-7477
Student section attendance put on notice
his alter ego, the Orangeman. He was in disbelief at the home opener against Rice on Sept. 9. “It’s bad man, first game I went to there was probably only 10 students at the student section,” De La Cruz said. “Usually for all the first games, people tend to care a little bit and show up.” Alumni and current professor of criminology, Egbert Zavala, said he has noticed the decline in the student section from the years when he was a student and the year he came back to El Paso in 2010. “Over the years, I’ve seen somewhat of a drop in attendance by students,” he said. “It’s almost
non-existent, so every time I go to the games and I look over to the student section, there’s basically no students out there.” Despite the lack of student attendance, marketing does its best to bring out some student life. Marketing has offered incentives and benefits to students who do show up, such as headbands, shirts and noise-makers to make it a great experience for the student. “We are always looking for ways to improve the student section no matter what. With incentives and benefits to the students who do show up. The students that do show up they have a great time,” Director of Marketing Aileen Martinez said. In previous seasons, the UTEP marching band would sit right next to the student section. Meanwhile, the student section consists of four sections, something that many other universities don’t have. But for some reason this season, the band was moved to be directly behind the field goal post, opposite the video screen. “The band moving doesn’t help, but I don’t think it matters in these situations, I think it has more to do with a winning team than the band,” Zavala said. Another issue in regards to the student section is the fact that UTEP has four sections dedicated to their students. In addition, they have a general admission seating accessible to students and guests.
to get them something to fight for— get things back to normal.” But the team is far from normal. Disregarding both Natkin and Mason’s wishes, Stull made the phone call to bring in Price. Price will conduct the team’s first practice with the team on Wednesday morning and will meet with the team tomorrow afternoon. He was head coach at UTEP from 2004-12 and took the Miners to three bowl games—2004, 2005 and 2010. He’s 177-183 all-time as a head coach. He was named National Coach of the Year in 1997 as he coached an illustrious career with Washington State from 1989-2002. He also coached at Weber State from 1981-88. “I’ve asked Mike if he could help us in this situation,” Stull said in a press release. “He has thankfully agreed. We’ve lost two coaches, and while we have two fine coordinators who are capable of doing the job, I just felt like it was important to bring in somebody with head coaching experience that is familiar with El Paso and our program.” Reflecting on Kugler Stull and the two coordinators characterized Kugler as an emotional coach and always being there for the players–that his drive for the program was what made the news so shocking for the staff. “Extremely difficult situation that we’re in,” Natkin said. “One of the major reasons I came to this university was because of him. He’s a Miner. No one wanted to turn this program around more than him. He gave everything he had to it and unfortunately, it wasn’t good enough. He’s already missed.” Like Natkin, Mason thought the news came out of nowhere. They both felt Kugler acted normal after the
Army loss and they didn’t expect him to resign. “It gets to the point where the losses start to weigh on you and you have to step down,” Mason said. “It’s always hard on these kids. He’s a strong leader. If you’re 18-22 years old, you’re not going to challenge Sean Kugler They’ve got to know we have to move on.” Natkin’s appreciation of Kugler stems from his loyalty to the program and how he held his players accountable on and off the field. “We lost someone who was not only a head coach, but also some of these players’ male role model,” Natkin said. “It’s okay to be sad, I’ve done that. You have to continue plugging and move on.” Homecoming showdown Squaring off against returning Conference USA champions Western Kentucky couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time for the Miners. The Hilltoppers are well rested, coming off a significant bye week for their program. Although they’re 2-2, (0-1 C-USA), Western Kentucky has put up impressive numbers against some quality opponents thus far. After beating Ball State 33-21, the Hilltoppers fell short in a close battle to LA Tech, 23-22. Then they beat out the likes of Eastern Kentucky 31-17, and fell to Illinois 21-7 on Sept. 16. What makes this team so elite is their exceptional play from quarterback Mike White, who has the ability to make big plays through the air. He’s put up 1,047 passing yards thus far with two touchdowns, ranking third in C-USA for total passing yards and yards per game (261.8). His two main targets include Nacarius Fant and Lucky Jackson. While Fant leads the team with 21 total receptions, Jackson tops the team in receiving yards, totaling 253 so far.
gaby velasquez / The Prospector The student section at the UTEP football games has been declining in recent years.
By daniel mendez The Prospector Student sections are supposed to bring the noise and intimidate the visiting team in order to give the home team an advantage. Some universities go all in on their student sections, but at UTEP for the past two home games of the football season, there hasn’t been much of an advantage. Hank De La Cruz, a senior kinesiology major and proud UTEP fan, has gone out of his way to show his support. For game days, De La Cruz dons an all-orange jumpsuit, to help him transform to
KUGLER from page 1
“I’ll do whatever it takes to win,” Natkin said. “There’s no moral victories in my book.” In the 35-21 loss to Army, UTEP amassed their season-high of 152 yards on the ground and 16 first downs. The offense was led by running back Quadraiz Wadley, who picked up 156 yards on the ground, making it his career best. “We’re going to run,” Natkin said. “No one is going to talk me out of that. It might be an unpopular opinion, but it’s what we do here at UTEP.” Quarterback Ryan Metz went out in the first half with an injury to his nonthrowing shoulder, and Natkin confirmed his status is still not certain. On becoming the interim head coach, Natkin said he does not play into the politics involved and trusts that whoever it is will be a good decision. “We lost our head man, our leader, so there’s no politicizing for whoever it is,” Natkin said. “I’m not going to go out of my way to beg for a job. Whatever is the best situation, we’ll do whatever we can to be competitive.” Similarly, Mason said he does not care who’s called to be Kugler’s temporary replacement, as long as it was someone from within the staff. In his 39 years of coaching, Mason believed he brought the most history to the table. He actually was an interim head coach on two separate occasions at SMU and Boise State. “I bring experience,” Mason said. “I’m not an ego guy. I don’t need this for a resume. I’m in it for the kids, for the program and for the coaching staff.” However, Mason did touch on the fact that the job brings a lot of challenges, and the biggest one being the task to unite the team. “It’s the biggest challenge,” Mason said. “Being the interim guy, you have
Students could feel free to sit wherever they want, either in the student section or general admission. Other universities condense their student section to usually just one section. But UTEP offers it more for accommodation for the fans. “Some don’t want to be part of the rowdiness, some want to sit back and enjoy the game from wherever they choose to,” Martinez said. For the Arizona game, 1,400 students registered for the sports lottery, the Sun Bowl can fit 51,500 screaming fans, but had only 37 percent of that showed up in attendance for that night at 19,136. To help kick-start the student section, De La Cruz offered two different solutions, one was to be more lenient towards the tailgating rules. Since his freshman year, he has noticed the decline in the atmosphere for game days. “I remember the first one I went to, it was a huge party atmosphere and it was fun,” he said. “With a huge party atmosphere, there are going to be more students coming to tailgate and with more students tailgating, the likelihood of more students actually going to the game. You (students) get a free ticket so they might as well show up.” Alex Nicolas, UTEP sports writer for Miner Rush, said the issue mainly stems from students being uninterested in head coach Sean Kugler’s play calling, consistency and failure to secure a big win during his five-year tenure.
“Lack of consistent wins, lack of student interest, lack of an exciting offense. No signature win in the Kugler era,” he said. Before Kugler taking the charge in 2013, Mike Price led the Miners for the previous nine seasons (2004-2012). In Price’s early years (2004-2007), the Miners averaged around 40,000 in attendance per game at the Sun Bowl and were ranked No. 24 in the nation in November of 2005. Since then, attendance and wins have been hard to come by for the program. “To me, it’s very logical; El Paso tends to follow winning teams. That has been traditional, been the history here in El Paso. So in my opinion, to increase student participation at football games we would definitely have to improve our football team,” said Zavala. As for the Miner football team in 2017, they have yet to secure a victory and are sitting at 0-5 to start the season. UTEP will welcome Western Kentucky to the Sun Bowl this Saturday, Oct. 7 in hopes of avoiding a 0-6 start and more students withdrawing from attending Miner football games. Follow Daniel Mendez on Twitter @dmendez24
Gaby Velasquez / The Prospector Sean Kugler went 18-36 in five seasons with the Miners. “He’s (White) probably going to be one of the best quarterbacks we face all year, with the exception of the quarterback from Oklahoma (Baker Mayfield),” Mason said. This will be the first time Western Kentucky comes into the Sun Bowl as the Miners will host them for the 86th Homecoming Game on Saturday, Oct. 7. The Miners are 38-46-1 all-time in homecoming games and desperate for their first win of the season. Despite the mishaps and tough start, Stull encourages fans to help the team this season. “Every school across the country has ups and downs,” he said. “We don’t need to get down. We need great people to rally behind us. It’s tough when you aren’t winning–not just here, but everywhere else.” Offensively, Wadley showed against Army that he has the capability to turn this team’s offensive
struggle around with his skills running the ball. Natkin alluded to using Wadley at his upmost advantage throughout the rest of the season and wants to continue to run him. If Metz is still out, Zach Greenlee is most likely going to be the Miners’ backup due to his poise against Army. Ultimately, the coaching staff shows that they do not want to make excuses anymore and want to produce wins down the stretch. “We’re making steps in the right direction, but we lost (against Army),” Natkin said. “We have to get together and get a plan going.” Kickoff between UTEP and WKU is slated for 6 p.m. in the Sun Bowl. Follow Adrian Broaddus on Twitter @adrian_broaddus
THEPROSPECTOR
| 12 | SPortS
OctOber 3, 2017
Kugler’s craving for local talent sank him iNBriEf
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During Sean Kugler’s time as head coach of the UTEP football team, he made it a point to recruit and build his teams with many local talent from the El Paso and Las Cruces area. There is no doubt that’s a good idea, but the way Kugler went about it, was excessive, to say the least. This year, almost half of the team was from either El Paso or Las Cruces, with 30 total from the area. Some of the local talents are some of the biggest names for the Miners, such as starting quarterback Ryan Metz, defensive captain Alvin Jones, wide receivers Kavika Johnson, Warren Redix and Eddie Sinegal. But with that being said, that might point to one of the biggest problems that the Kugler era possessed. UTEP’s passing attack has been ailing this season. The Miners are only ahead of Charlotte and Rice in Conference USA for passing yards per game (145. 8). UTEP’s defense, which also includes many local players, is giving up 40.3 points per game (last in C-USA), last in rushing defense (giving up 226 yards per game) and, quite frankly, a defense that struggles to get stops, period. There’s no question that there’s some quality talent that comes from the local areas, but there’s so much more to be explored outside the city. I love El Paso more than anything, it’s home. But there’s a reason El Paso schools aren’t a familiar face when it comes to the deeper rounds in state playoffs. It does happen, but rarely. On the other hand, though, Las Cruces schools do get far in their playoffs, but that’s only because of the lack of competition in the state. Bottom line is that recruiting locally may not have been the best decision. It worked far less times than the amount and depth that was affected. Kugler hit the jackpot with Aaron Jones, but like I’ve said before, Jones could only do so much. A talented running back like Jones was told by members of Arkansas, Texas and other big schools that he belonged with the big boys, unlike the rest of his team. Plus, Jones is an outlier. Guys like him that have NFL talent aren’t going to come often from El Paso. Kuddos to Kugler for snatching him, but that can’t mask all the other so-so players he got. There’s a reason UTEP is 0-5 and among one of the worst college football programs in the nation, a year after Jones’ departure to the NFL. Speaking of masking, Kugler isn’t known as a great recruiter. In fact, it’s no secret he struggled with that part of coaching while at UTEP. Getting all these local kids could point to how bad Kugler really was at getting the right players to commit to being a Miner. It’s not difficult to get El Paso kids, who want to go to UTEP and suit up to play for the Miners, it’s their hometown. They would be playing in their own backyard and their families could attend the majority of the games. However, it still doesn’t excuse the fact that Kugler never put the right product out on the field. His teams lacked excitement, lacked
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The Prospector
the ability to compete with CUSA’s elite, lacked a lot of star players (the Jones brothers are exceptions) and overall lacked the most important thing—talent. Since Kugler banked on putting local talent on the field, he wasn’t even very good at getting the key student-athletes from El Paso. Kugler missed out on these former El Paso stars: Steven Montez—former star quarterback for Del Valle—who decided to take his talents to Colorado University. Tristan Cooper—former Andress Eagles safety—who picked Arizona for college. Tyquez Hampton—former El Dorado star—who plays for Utah. Rashad Still—former wide receiver for Andress—who picked Minnesota over UTEP. Cedarious Barfield—current standout quarterback for El Dorado—who picked San Diego State over UTEP. The list doesn’t end there, but those are just some of El Paso’s biggest names that Kugler couldn’t convince to stay home.
Recruiting is hard. In fact, it could be the hardest thing about college football. But I think Kugler truly muffed on his recruiting history with UTEP. He’s a big name for UTEP. Kugler was once the Detroit Lions’ offensive line and tight ends coach, the Buffalo Bills’ offensive line and tight ends coach, and also the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line coach before he accepted the UTEP job. The connection he had to the NFL should have lured in more quality players, it’s a great pitch that not all college coaches have, especially not many mid-major universities. Like I said before, I love El Paso and I hope all the local football players prove me wrong. I’ve never wanted to be more wrong on anything actually, but I’m just being realistic on how Kugler could have done much better in the recruitment process during his time with the Miners.
SoCCEr FaCES ToUGh roaD SWinG
follow Mike flores on twitter @Mikeythereal
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By MiKe flores
WA
For more information visit:
sa.utep.edu/cass
sa.utep.edu/cass/events/ability-awareness-week
R
OPENING SESSION
WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL
E D U C AT I O N A L S E M I N A R S
Monday, Oct.16 Tomás Rivera Conference Center, Union Bldg. East 8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Welcoming Reception 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. Program and Recognition awards.
/CASSatUTEP
Monday, Oct.16 Don Haskins Center 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. El Paso Air Wheelers vs the Wounded Warriors Halftime: UTEP Cheerleaders & Paydirt Pete.
UTEPCASS
UTEPCASS
Tuesday, Oct.17 College of Education, Room 302 9:00 - 10:20 a.m. Domestic Violence 11 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Service and Assistance Animals. Thursday, Oct.19 Acacia Room, Room 102A, Union Bldg. East 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. “My Disability is not an Inability” 2:00 - 6:00 p.m. NASPA Grant funded “CapABLE Voices: The Photovoice of Students with Disabilities” Reception.
SPECIAL PROGRAM
RESOURCE & CAREER FAIR
SOCIAL JUSTICE SEMINARS
Wednesday, Oct. 18 8:30 – 10:45 a.m. Tomás Rivera Conference Center, Union Bldg. East Building STEM Pathways for Students with Disabilities Engaging talks and activities along with a keynote presentation by Dr. Jeanine Cook, Principal Member Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratories and Dr. Dean C. Hines, Scientist, Space Telescope Science Institute. Wednesday, Oct.18 Centennial Plaza 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Employers, disability support and technical assistance exhibitors. Information, activities and door prizes. Friday, Oct.20 El Paso Natural Gas Conference Center (EPNGCC) 10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. “Pillow Talk” Topics: Online dating, body image & health disparities. 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. “State Violence & the Disability Community” Panel: Patterns of state violence in disability communities.