The Skyline Newspaper

El Paso men's basketball players at Sul Ross State University: Front Row L-R: Filiberto Torres, Art Gonzalez, Abraham Ely, Back Row L-R: Jimmy Martinez, Ricky Aguilar, Moises Morales. Photo by Jason Hennington

El Paso B-ball Players Bond in Alpine

By Jason Hennington
News Writer

SRSU's campus, facilities, and geographical area have drawn student-athletes from all across Texas, but especially from El Paso.

Seven of the 12 players on the Sul Ross men's basketball team hail from El Paso and its surrounding area: Senior Art Gonzalez, Eastwood; junior Abraham Ely, Hanks; sophomores Moises Morales, Fort Hancock and Filiberto Torres, Clint; freshmen Ricky Aguilar, Franklin; Jimmy Martinez, Andress; and Aaron Mitchell, Parkland.

The love of the game, the SRSU campus, the educational program, and the basketball facilities, are all reasons why these players chose Sul Ross, but they all agree that being close to home is the biggest reason. And Alpine has become somewhat like home to some of these players.

"Alpine grew on me," Ely said.

While in high school, only a few of these El Paso natives met up with each other on the court. Ely and Gonzalez attended rival schools, but never played against each other. Their high school rivalry did not carry over to college, however. The El Paso players said they stick together and even hang out more since they are from the same area.

Gonzalez was a part of the recruiting class succeeding the 2003-04 Lobos' Sweet 16 tournament team. Now in his final season as a Lobo, he believes the experience has been an influence on his career.

"Just being a part of that, and looking up to those leaders and being taught what a leader is supposed to be was great," Gonzalez said. "It inspired me to work harder during the off season to accomplish what they did."

Gonzalez, Ely and Morales were all recruited by coach Doug Davalos, now at Division I Texas State University. For the past two years, they have been coached by Greg Wright.

The trio has shared their experience with the newer players. All agree that the style of play is different than in high school, but is more suitable for the personnel.

"He (Davalos) was a lot stricter, and his style was different, but the program now is a perfect fit for this team," Gonzalez said.

Torres is the only El Paso player of the group who was not recruited. He was a walk-on during Coach Wright's first season as head coach.

"Fili is getting better all the time. He is very versatile, and wants the ball more," Wright said. "He has really stepped up."

After attending the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), Torres decided to come to SRSU.

As teammates, the El Paso players feel like they represent an overlooked area of basketball in Texas.

"El Paso is not really known for basketball," Ely said.

Wright agrees that El Paso is often overlooked, but said players being from the same area helps the chemistry.

"El Paso is not a big area, so they all knew about each other and they are a little closer," Wright said. "They are a good group of guys who blend together off the court too, and that's a big part of chemistry. They do a great job of meshing together with players from other areas."

Comparing El Paso to other large cities such as Houston and Dallas, the players feel as though they are making an impact and opening doors for future El Paso players.

"El Paso is catching up to the Dallas and Houston areas," Aguilar said.

Morales believes that players from El Paso do not rely on athleticism as much as other cities.

"El Paso basketball relies more on hard work, skill, and smarts," Morales said. The experience of playing with other El Paso players has helped keep teamwork in tact and made the team closer.

"The El Paso guys get after each other more," Wright said. "It's good because it helps us play with intensity."

There is a type of camaraderie between the players that has helped them on the court, allowing the team members to understand their roles.

"We've got each other's back," Morales said. "Minutes don't matter; we play for each other. Role players know their roles. We have to feed off of each other, we feed off enthusiasm."

Wright believes Morales is a source of the team's enthusiasm on the court.

"He brings discipline, work ethic, and high expectations every time," Wright said. "Guys feed off of his intensity. He gets us fired up."

The players agree that support from their families and friends have helped them along the way. All in all, the players from El Paso enjoy playing together at the collegiate level, and are taking advantage of the opportunity.

"I'm happy that coach gave me the opportunity to keep playing basketball," Martinez said.

"It's a good experience to play at a higher level of competition," added Torres.

Ely, along with the more experienced players, hopes this opportunity will help the younger players with hopes of playing college basketball, and will always remember their time at Sul Ross.

"I hope that coach can still recruit El Paso players. I'll remember this for the rest of my life, all the people I met, the road trips, and the experiences," Ely said. "I'm glad I took this opportunity."

Morales said he loves the experience and compares the team to a proverb, "Iron sharpens iron, and so does man sharpen another."

For Gonzalez, the lone senior from El Paso, this season is one that will be missed but never forgotten.

"My time here has been the best time of my life. Not just the El Paso players, but everyone from across the state," he said. I love playing for this program and I'm going to miss it."

Wright plans to continue recruiting from the El Paso area because of the success Sul Ross has had in the past.
He said there are good coaches in El Paso and all his players from the area were well coached in high school.

"In the past there has been success, and it's a good area for us," Wright said.

"Ballad" Heard Decade After Death

By Shanna Elmore
Journalism 3301 Student

REDFORD -- From Esequeil Hernandez, Jr.'s gravesite atop a small hill in the Redford cemetery, you can see where he was born, where he was killed, and the church where he lay in wake. It has been over a decade since the 18-year-old was shot and killed by a group of Marines, as he tended his herd of goats only a few hundred feet from his parent's home.

In a new documentary entitled "The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez," family and friends remember the teenager, and members of the Marine battalion speak publicly for the first time about the incident.

Director Kieran Fitzgerald will discuss his new film on KRTS, 93.5 FM, the tri-county public radio station, on Feb. 8, at 10:00 a.m. A film screening will be held the following day, Feb. 9, at the Goode Crowley Theater in Marfa, at 6:30 p.m.

Narrated by Tommy Lee Jones, "Ballad" was the winner for Best Human Rights Film at the 2007 Mexico City International Film Festival. The documentary features interviews with Hernandez's parents, FBI agents who investigated the killing, and government agents and civilians who discuss the war on drugs, strained relations with Mexico, and the use of military troops for domestic patrol.

"What happened here in Redford was a historic event," said anthropologist Enrique Rede Madrid, a member of the Texas Historical Commission, and lifelong citizen of Redford who is interviewed in "Ballad." "The function of a government is to help its people to live. They don't kill their own people."

So what actually happened on the afternoon of May 20, 1997? Many questions are still left unanswered today.

The four-member team of Marines was in Redford conducting a counter-narcotics mission in cooperation with the Marfa Sector of the United States Border Patrol. Small teams of Marines were sent in from Camp Pendelton, CA, and worked three-day stints on the banks of the Rio Grande. The teams maintained "hide sites" in order to observe and relay information to the Border Patrol on potential drug trafficking situations.

Corporal Clemente Banuelos, 22, led the team of Marines in Redford, all of whom were armed and dressed in guille suit camouflage. After spotting Hernandez with his herd, the Marines trailed him for approximately 20 minutes.
Hernandez, a Presidio High School student, carried an antique .22-caliber rifle to target shoot and protect his goats from snakes and coyotes.

The Marines maintain that Hernandez spotted them in the brush and fired at them twice. According to initial reports, as Hernandez raised his rifle to shoot a third time, Banuelos shot him once in the chest. The team reportedly did not call out to identify themselves until after the fatal shot had been fired. Hernandez bled to death while waiting for medical assistance to arrive.

Autopsy results concluded that ,since the bullet entered the right side of his chest and traveled to the left side of his body, Hernandez could not have been facing the Marines when he was shot. Hernandez did fire two shots with his .22 rifle before he was killed, but critics claim that he probably never saw the heavily camouflaged Marines. His family maintains that he would never have knowingly shot at any person.

Four grand juries heard testimony regarding the case, but none ever returned an indictment. Corporal Banuelos was cleared of any wrongdoing. In 1998, the U.S. government awarded Hernandez's parents $1.9 million to settle a wrongful death claim.

In wake of the shooting, Defense Secretary William Cohen issued a temporary suspension of troop patrols on the U.S.-Mexican border. The Pentagon issued a new policy that requires special permission from the secretary of defense for anti-drug military units to be present on the border. Hernandez is the first American civilian to be killed by the United States Armed Forces since the student massacre at Kent State University in 1970.

For citizens of the tiny town of Redford, it scarcely seems possible that ten years have passed since that tragic day. "This is a village. We took care of Esequiel together as he grew up," Madrid said. "It is our duty to pass his story on to the next generation."

@%*#!: Or, When Good Words Go Bad

By Madeleine Cantu
Skyline Reporter

Editor's note: This article contains adult language that might be considered offensive.

"Oh my God, you're such a *$@*!"

In this instance, the censored word could be one of any well-known explicatives, limited only by your imagination. But has it ever made you stop to think why our society thinks that particular words are so bad that they should be reduced to a series of symbols? Or why, especially, when you're a female being called a word that some would politely parallel with "a female dog," certain words are considered derogatory?

With the "Vagina Monologues" soon hitting the SR stage, I recently looked into this, especially in terms of the backgrounds of words that apply to us womenfolk and that are used in our culture as insulting remarks. One word that I have always found offensive, for some unknown reason (it wasn't as if my mother said "Madeleine, this is a bad bad word, don't ever say it") was the word "cunt." Immediate turn off, right? But I found that, interestingly, it was not a word created in a fit of anger eons ago and perpetuated in our culture.

In order to learn more about this word's particular mystique, I picked up the book "Cunt: A Declaration of Independence;" (expanded and updated 2nd version) by Inga Muscio, which provides some interesting perspective on the topic. Muscio points out that the word actually meant "woman" in ancient writings, and it wasn't used insultingly. In fact, in addition to this word, "bitch" and "whore" also were once acceptable terms in reference to women. It is only in modern language that they came to be regarded negatively. Muscio found it interesting (as do I) that three words, all referring to the female sex, have convoluted into something derogatory when originally they were not.

The word used to be a title of respect for women in several professions, including witches, priestesses, in several countries including India, China, and Egypt.

Today? Well, they're not censored on TV anymore - at least not "bitch" and "whore" - but they still hold derisive connotations to many people. Far gone are the good ol' days of these words actually being positive: Dictionary.com cites "cunt" as "n. Slang: Vulgar. 1. the vulva or vagina. 2. Disparaging and Offensive. A. a woman; B. a contemptible person."

It appears that meaning and acceptance are products of changing cultures. Seeing death on television and in movies is no longer shocking, but certain words make us gasp, blush, or quickly look the other way.

When I recently mentioned the university theatre department's upcoming production of the "Vagina Monologues" to two people with whom I work, both seemed at once turned off and surprised by the title alone: "The Vagina Monologues." The play's title actually made their noses wrinkle in distaste.

"The Vagina Monologues," written (and even solo-performed for a short while) by Eve Ensler, will be showing on campus from Feb. 14-16. The play, which orignally opened in October of 1996 is based on the compilation of Ensler's interviews with 200 women. It won an Off-Broadway award equivalent to the Tony, and has undergone several revisions. The play about women and their perceptions of their bodies, their sexual experiences and relationships, and self-awareness, is highly controversial.

But why? Why have most of us been hard-wired to think that this is a topic not fit for a stage, or even worth watching? Apparently, in our "informed" modern American culture, a woman's body is something to be kept hush-hush about, hidden behind closed doors -- with the lights turned off.

Perhaps it's the distance and indifference we have faced from sexuality. Women have always had a difficult time with the subject; arguments and fights have been started over one little sliver of tissue. Women have always been seen as delicate and somewhat akin to a possession.

Psychoanalyst Dana Breen, author of "The Gender Conundrum," faced this question of difference and indifference in her research, seeking an answer to why women feel the need to be ashamed of their bodies, asking if it is indeed genital anxiety? The chapter on this was intriguing, and it made me stop and consider some of the cases described in the text. Perhaps, unlike men, we women have difficulty "visualizing" our parts. Perhaps this makes us feel inferior and unwilling to fight for our own feminine pride.

I'm still not sure. In the media, and especially in pornography, women make their breasts bigger. Some women claim it makes them feel better about themselves. Others indirectly feel like they're doing it for themselves, as viewed through the masculine lens. Several studies suggest women with overly large breasts suffer health-risks associated, especially in concern to their backs. Is it really for our own personal gain? Or is this man-driven?

Breasts aren't the only thing us womenfolk are altering. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) reported that in 2006 approximately 1,000 women underwent labiaplasty, which is a procedure to reduce the labial folds. Plastic surgeons said that the popularity of such a procedure was increasing exponentially. Have we really become so ashamed that we'd undergo a cosmetic surgery on something so necessary to the growth of our species?

I suppose I could discuss this until I'm blue in the face, and I think I digress. The fact of the matter is, sometimes I think we should just lighten up and laugh at the complexities of our bodies, not say that that isn't "polite talk," be ashamed, or cover ourselves up from head to toe in veils. (Of course, there are lines to be drawn; we don't need any more Britneys flashing the cameras.)

Good words gone bad may become good again after a period of desensitization, and maybe these particular ones I've mentioned will return (unlikely) to their original state. Maybe I will even feel comfortable using the word "cunt," in or out of print. It's interesting to see how culture affects what we select for insults. The pressures of society can be so subtle sometimes.

Student Returns to Finish Degree After 8-year Absence

By Jason Hennington
News Writer

During the days of Mountainside dormitory and prior to the opening of the Pete P. Gallego Center, Kyle Durham, Arlington, spent three years at SRSU working on a computer science degree.

He spent the next eight years taking care of ill family members, but has re-enrolled to complete unfinished academic business.

Durham attended Sul Ross from 1998-2000, before leaving to take care of his family. "My dad was taking care of my great aunt and my grandmother, and it was more than he could handle," Durham said.

Durham's plan was to take off a year to help his father, but he instead made a long-term commitment after the death of his uncle, Sul Ross alumni Ron Durham.

"My uncle's passing really hurt my grandmother," Durham said.

After a few years at home, Durham realized he needed his degree and was determined to return and complete it.

"Last summer, I got to feel what it's like not to have a college degree," Durham said, adding that without a diploma, it was difficult to find jobs that paid above minimum wage.

After making calls to make sure he could still get financial aid and other necessities, he decided to return to Sul Ross.

"I loved taking care of my family, but now I'm ready to get my life started," Durham said. "I felt like my life was on pause; now it's finally back on play."

Since his last semester at Sul Ross, the campus and the community have changed. The opening of the Pete P. Gallego Center, the New Lobo Villages, and the renovation of Graves-Pierce are all new to Durham.

"It seems like a ski lodge because of the look," he laughed.

The look has changed, but the friendliness of Sul Ross has stayed the same. Durham remembers how nice the officers and professors were when he was a student ten years ago.

"I was worried that the kindness would change, but it didn't," Durham said. "Students have been friendly.
Nobody has been rude, although some of them are younger than me."

Durham said Alpine has become a more college-friendly town, reminiscing on the days of two or three potential hangouts for college students.

"With all the new restaurants opening and everything, I could see Sul Ross becoming an even greater school," Durham said.

Durham has always had his sites set on being successful, and moving to New York, and said he wants to get back to that dream. He does not, however, regret taking time off to help his father and his family. He is planning to graduate in August 2009.

Local Area Fertile Ground for Films

By Pedro Ojeda
Journalism 3301 Student

Years following the debut of films such as "The Alamo," and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," audiences worldwide continue to be captivated by the marvel of the Southwest landscape, particularly that in Texas.

On Jan. 22, the announcements were made for this years Academy Awards. Topping out the list, with eight nominations each, were "No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood."

"No Country for Old Men" was originally released in 2005 as a novel by Cormac McCarthy. The southern gothic novel was then adapted for release in film and eventually shooting began. Although the actual novel was set around Terrell County, the 25 million dollar budget initially kept filming locations in regions of New Mexico and Las Vegas until Midland native Tommy Lee Jones persuaded the Coen brothers, directors of the movie, into moving the crew, which led to some scenes being shot near the cities of Marfa and Eagle Pass. The movie adaptation closely follows its literary counterpart of a drug deal gone bad in the area of the Rio Grande.

The other highly nominated film, "There Will Be Blood," follows Daniel Plainview, played by Daniel Day-Lewis, a miner who amasses enormous wealth as a businessman after discovering oil. While the movie was shot mostly in California, Marfa was the site for many of the scenes during the three month shoot.

Both of these films arrived at Alpine's Rangra Theatre in late January after being in limited release nationwide. Local audiences came in excellent numbers for both films, some hoping to see themselves in action during scenes in the movies.

"There Will Be Blood" saw sold-out shows through the weekend until Sunday, where lower audience turnout may have been a result of the Super Bowl. For those who still have yet to see the films, there will be one last showing tonight at 6:00 p.m. of "No Country for Old Men," while "There Will Be Blood" will be held over for one more week.