The Skyline Newspaper

“Arf arf arf.” - Obama supporter. Photo by MaryAshley P. Gredell

Barack Obama Presidential Rally a First for Alpine

By MaryAshley P. Gredell
Skyline Reporter

At high noon last Saturday, an eclectic group of seventy or eighty individuals gathered on the corner of East Holland Street and 5th. Rick Ruiz and his band played a blend of pop songs and old favorites in Spanish and English, while enthusiastic campaigners in cowboy hats or faded jeans passed out blue and white buttons, posters, flyers, and bumper stickers with Lone Star flags and the phrase, “Texans for Obama.”

It may surprise people that Austin and D.C. politics can stretch so far as Alpine, but in the case of Senator Barack Obama’s bid for the Texas Democratic nomination for president, the fervor is high, even “way out here.”
State Senator Pete Gallego spoke about his support for the Illinois Democrat and emphasized his ability to generate positive change from the White House on down.

After the rally, Dallas Baxter, community activist and Sul Ross student commented, “This was very exciting - it’s the first presidential rally ever held in Alpine, and the crowd is a real reflection of Senator Obama’s supporters: very mixed.”

“There were folks there from three months to well into their 80’s, ranchers and city people, students, retirees, local business owners - it was a wonderfully ecclectic group,” said Baxter, adding that “We were so pleased to have Rep. Pete Gallego as our key note speaker, in additon to other terrific, very diverse speakers.”

Campaign members from the north traveled to Alpine to support the rally and urge voters to do the “Texas Two-Step,” in which a regular vote for a Democratic candidate is cast in regular or early primary voting, then the voter returns at 7 p.m. to cast another vote in the caucus.

One-third of Texas’ delegates are awarded based strictly on the caucus vote, a fact which Obama campaign managers took to heart long before the March 4 deadline and produced massive amounts of publications and hype about the “Two-Step.”  Obama’s Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, didn’t appear to have grasped the concept quite quickly enough to motivate her constituents.

Clinton did make an impact with Hispanic voters along the border, however. In the months leading up to the primary she spent days listening to the voices of those up and down the Rio Grande on border issues, immigration, and “The Wall” to be built between the U.S. and Mexico. Obama’s supporters in Alpine were also proud and representative of their Mexican heritage: journalist Jose Aguayo, Alpine, was one of the final and most motivating speakers of the afternoon and praised Obama in two speeches: one in his native Spanish after speaking in English.

“Senator Obama offers the best opportunity for our youth and our future,” said Aguayo. Apparently much of Alpine finds this so, cheering along with Baxter to Obama’s rallying cry of “Si, se puede!” as Cesar Chavez cried in 1972; “Yes, we can!”

School Seeks Grant for Preventing, Identifying Violent Crime Against Women

Sul Ross State University has applied for a $299,908 Department of Justice grant devoted to preventing, identifying and responding to violent crimes against women.

If approved, the three-year STOP grant will fund development and implementation of services specifically devoted to prevention and response of violent crimes against women, including sexual assault, relationship violence and stalking.

Lt. Drew Powell of the Sul Ross Department of Public Safety is the proposed project director and primary investigator. In addition to developing and implementing coordinated on- and off-campus services for violent crime prevention and response, he said the major goals of the project also include expanding professional training for law enforcement, SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners) nurse examiners and campus community members emphasizing victim safety, preservation and processing of evidence and accountability, and transforming campus and cultural norms and decreasing tolerance for the violent crimes.

“A lot of pieces are already in place,” Powell said. “We have set our goal as nothing less than to change the campus environment so that even the mere suggestion of violence is unacceptable.

“I feel my implied responsibility on this campus is the safety of all people: students, faculty and staff,” he said.

Powell said the proposed funding would identify five major needs, including:

• Seamless, coordinated prevention, response and follow-up strategy between the Sul Ross campus, community crisis service providers and community criminal justice agencies addressing issues of sexual and relationship violence and stalking;

• Maintaining and improving numbers of regularly trained law enforcement officers and certified medical personnel “first responders” (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners) who are trained on response protocols and procedures for preserving evidence;

• Developing and maintaining adequate on-campus and off campus crisis response and follow up services;

• Proactive outreach (training and education for students, staff, faculty and administrators) and up-to-date university policies that reinforce transformation of campus and cultural norms regarding sexual and relationship violence and stalking; 

• Accurate data and information to perform a rigorous assessment of perceptions, attitudes, reactions and intolerance of sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking and to monitor the progress of cases through the criminal justice process to optimize survivor safety.

Powell called the plan to attach a counselor for violence survivors to the UDPS “a novel approach.”

“In some instances, there have been conflicts between law enforcement and counseling services,” he said.

“This individual would track incidents, add more of a human element to a very difficult process and help the survivor through the  process.”

He also believes that the education/information component will be vital to the success of the program.

“Informational training programs for students, faculty and staff will help to raise awareness,” Powell said.
“Education may help us to intercede more quickly.

“We want reporting of crimes to increase,” he said. “A survivor advocate within the UDPS can provide more one-on-one counseling.”

Powell calls the grant proposal “a new way of approaching a problem that is reoccurring.”

“If we can increase awareness and reduce incidents of violence, we will consider it (the program) successful.”

Education Endowment Established

An endowment offering scholarship opportunities and other incentives to encourage students to pursue mathematics and science teacher education has been established at Sul Ross State University.

The Potts and Sibley Foundation, Midland, through a gift to the university, provided an opportunity to establish  the Potts and Sibley Foundation Education Endowment and Education Excellence Fund. Sul Ross President R. Vic Morgan and Dr. Tyra Manning, Education Department chair, signed the agreement Feb. 15.

Under terms of the endowment agreement, funds may be allocated and expended for promotion of activities of the Education Department for teacher preparation. Preference will be given to programs, activities, awards and scholarships to promote teacher preparation in the mathematics and sciences fields.

Student scholarship/award recipients must be pursuing the teacher preparation program on the Alpine campus.

Funds may be allocated for: achievement/scholarship awards, activities of clubs and organizations for promoting teacher interest; faculty recognition for outstanding service in teacher preparation; recruitment for teacher preparation programs; and other related activities.

“The Potts and Sibley Foundation has been a consistent and generous contributor to Sul Ross’ educational programs,” Morgan said. “We are pleased to honor them with the establishment of this endowment that will support opportunities for math and science education majors.”

Sul Ross presently maintains over 210 endowments, valued at more than $12 million. For more information on endowments, contact Leo Dominguez, associate vice president for Advancement, (432) 837-8033 or leodo@sulross.edu.