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La Visión
The Vision
July 20, 2007
Simplicity-An Art
Pg. 12
Two ShadesStory
of a
Vegetarian
Fantasy Pg. Pg.
12 6
Harry Potter 5:
Undeniably Charming
Pg. 10
Women Left Behind
By Rebecca Martinez
Her fingernails dig into his
black shirt in despair.
Last call sounds overhead
as he steals one final kiss
with a tear in his eye. He
boards the plane for Iraq.
Within seconds he is gone
and she knows life may never be the same.
For the wives, mothers,
sisters, and girlfriends of
deployed soldiers, this is
an increasingly common
experience.
With the prolonged war in
Iraq, there are an increasing
number of women who find
themselves without their
husbands. About 55 percent
of the military’s 1.4 million
active duty members are
married.
Not to mention, 40 percent
of them thsat have children.
“It’s always stressful and I
find myself worrying about
him,” Karla Pineda, a wife
of a deployed Army reservist with two kids, said. “It’s
so difficult to the point that
you fall into a depression.”
“This is a challenging time
for us all. Our desire is to help
‘carry each other’s burden.’”
Pineda is referring to Galatians 6:2, a biblical verse
familiar to military wives,
one of the motivations to
keep them going.
Among the provisions
of stress-related cycles of
work, bills, and running a
household, many women
find their own methods to
make life normal for their
families.
Busily involved in schedules of school, work, and
family occasions, they find
themselves in a tranquil
state of mind.
But it never lasts long, and
the dread soon settles in.
“It’s so hard to deal with
and most of the time, I find
myself crying,” Pineda said.
“And the kids are the same.
The small one throws tantrums and the oldest sits
around in silence. I can
see the sadness within her
eyes.”
As many know, it’s always
the hardest part for a mother
to watch her child in pain.
Even more so, the mothers of soldiers begin worrying before the war. Their
heartbreak starts with boot
camp.
Marine boot camp, 16hour days for 13 weeks in
MRCD San Diego, is all
physical and mental training that can either make or
break a person.
Many young men join
straight out of high school.
“I felt like he was quick to
make his decision to join the
Marines,” Marisela Gonzalez, a mother whose son,
Angel, left Monday for boot
camp, said. “But it’s a step
that a mother must take to
Moe inhales the dangerous
chemical and his thoughts become
fantastic. He has entered dream
mode.
When he regains consciousness,
he realizes he has passed out for 3
long minutes.
“Whamming” and “dusting”
are the newest terms, but not long
ago this
behavSymptoms:
ior was
•Nausea
called
•Frostbite
huffing.
•Blurred Vision
Moe, a
•Blindness
college
student
was under the influence of Wham when
he passed out a year ago.
He is one of the many in the
United
States who
have tried
whamming.
While in
the past it
was iden-
Casualties not only in war
One of the Girls. While gazing at a picture of her boyfriend who was
recently sent to bootcamp, Rebecca Martinez grasps on to his shirt.
Photo by Diana Diaz de Leon
let go of her son. I’m very
proud of his decision.”
As some mothers adjust to such big changes as
these, the siblings are not so
compliant.
“His little sister goes to
his room every morning to
find him not there,” Gonzalez said. “She thinks he’ll
come back any day now, but
I think it’s starting to dawn
on her.”
Huffing is Back
By Cynthia Chaparro
Simplicity in
Art Pg. 8
tified with paint, now a user can
get “high” with over a thousand
household products.
Statistics say one out of 12 citizens have used inhalants to get
high, making the substances more
popular than marijuana among
young adolescents, according to
the 2005 National Survey on Drug
Use and Health.
Moe had used a household product called Dust-off to get “high.”
“It’s like a drug,” Moe said.
“Sometimes you can see spots everywhere or colors, but other times
you go into dream mode.”
For years experts say many have
died from the contents of house
hold products such as dust-off
and aerosol. However, no specific
agency is responsible for keeping
track of the numbers, so the evidence of mortality rates is mostly
anecdotal.
“I know of a little over a handful
of cases specifically relating to our
product dust-off,” said Ken Newman from Falcon Safety Products.
“However, inhalant abuse involves
over 1,400 household consumer
products.”
As the reality settles
within their hearts, women across El Paso have
felt this identical feeling.
Many feel pride, support,
and love for their military
spouses. But most fall into
depression and begin to feel
overwhelmed.
Although there are no precise statistics, many openly
admit anguish.
“Everyday is a struggle,
it was hard to be without
him,” Pineda said. “But I
had my girls to keep me going. I knew that I couldn’t
just sit and cry all day.”
Contrarily, there are women who don’t feel this sense
of discouragement.
Instead they felt an impression of sheer satisfaction.
“ I felt like I had what they
called an ‘Invisible Husband’. I won’t lie, I was sad,
but at the same time, happy,” Jessica Barrera, a wife
of a once deployed Marine,
said. “ He left to help serve
his country. He wasn’t going for himself, he was going for everyone.”
Although these military
wives are without their partners, they are in constant
contact.
With the wave of technology these days, many
soldiers can email, IM, text
message, send pictures, call,
and the not to mention, write
letters to their spouses.
“It’s a blessing to pick
up the phone and hear his
voice,” Pineda said. “It’s
great to get an email everyday and a letter every so often. It’s a blessing to know
he is all right.”
As difficult as it is for
these women, many don’t
do it alone.
Usually, numerous of
women have family and
friends to be their shoulder
to cry on.
But, locally there are many
groups that women can join
to help them cope with
this situation, such as the
WBMC (William Beaumont
Medical Center) Wives’
Club, one of the many FRG
(Family Readiness Groups)
located in El Paso.
“Our hope is to reach
out to these women and
show that there is support
for them,” Mary Fran LeMar, one of the leaders of
the group since 2003, said.
“Many women just close
themselves off when their
spouse leaves and that’s not
healthy.”
The group, which was
founded in 1997 by the
Army, meets once a week
and does special events for
holidays to make life a little
more fun.
Such groups aren’t for everyone, some women learn
to cope on their own.
“After awhile, you become
independent and realize you
can do anything you set you
mind to,” Pineda said. “ You
just have to remember to be
strong and supportive. He
needs you as much as you
need him.”
With the difficulties that
these women have overcome, to some it shows
that love doesn’t stop at the
boarding of a plane.
It’s in your neighborhood stores
Dust-off one of the many products contains a harmful chemical
called Difluoroethane.
Difluoroethane a chemical composed of carbon, hydrogen, and
fluorine is a gas that can cause inhalation, skin, eye, and ingestion
problems or may cause sudden
death.
“When you inhale dust-off you
get immediate effects,” said Moe.
“You start to feel nauseated, you
laugh a lot, and sometimes you can
hear your heart beat when you’re
under the influence of wham.”
Some short-term effects of wham
include depriving the brain, heart,
and even organs of oxygen.
Signs To Watch For:
• The smell of their breath or
clothes
• Slurred speech
• Chronic sore throats
• Irritation on their skin or
around their mouth
• Poor performance in school
•Withdrawal from family and
friends
In the long term children can
damage the brain, kidneys, and
liver, but sometimes children can
develop an irregular heartbeat and
die in an instant.
“I had never had any health problems, but I did become addicted to
the product,” said Moe.
Many are addicted to wham because of its flavors and its effects,
unaware of the dangers that lurk in
what they are doing.
Not to mention that anyone over
the age of 18 can obtain the product at a low cost as $5 to $8 .
“Once you start you can’t stop,”
said Moe.
With a growing fear Moe finally
decided to give up Whamming and
since last year’s incident he is advises others not to try wham.
“After my horrible experience
that resulted in a near death incident I suggest to all, never try
huffing household products,” said
Moe.
“I was so sure that nothing could
happen to me, but when you least
expect it Soon after something can
go wrong.”
INHALANT
ABUSE IS
ILLEGAL AND
CAN CAUSE
PERMANENT
INJURY OR
BE FATAL.
PLEASE USE
OUR PRODUCT
RESPONSIBLY.
La Vision July 20, 2007
Ayudando nuestra comunidad: El albergue
Lee and Beulah Moor Children’s Home
Por Alyssa Chavez
La Vision staff writer
Isabel Rodriguez residente de El Paso, 55, y su nieto de 5, años Andrew
Cisneros.
Cuando murió su madre, la niña
y sus cinco hermanos se encontraron huérfanos, sin hogar, y el
hambre los llevó a buscar comida
en los botes de basura de El Paso.
Pero Isabel Rodríguez, esa niña
desesperada de ocho años sin familia, si encontró salvación en la
casa Lee and Beulah Moor Children’s Home. La casa es un albergue para niños en dificultades
único en su clase porque les da un
segundo hogar y los padres siguen
siendo sus conservadores legales.
Lee and Beulah Moor Children’s
Home, fundada en 1959, ha logrado ayudar a miles de familias en la
comunidad. El albergue se priva en
ayudar a niños y adolesentes al tomarlos bajo su cuidado.
Tanto a sido la ayuda que este
albergue brinda a sus participantes
que muchos regresan para trabajar y asistir con los niños. Tal fue
el caso de Rodríguez, 55, quien
despues de haber sido una de las
muchas niñas que ocuparon camas
en el albergue, regresó y se convirtió en una madre provisional
para otros niños.
“Lee Moor fue el único hogar que
yo conocí, yo no tenía otro lugar
para llamar hogar”, dijo Rodriguez
entre lágrimas.
Rodríguez llegó a Lee and
Beuhlah Moor Children’s Home
a los ocho años junto a sus cuatro
hermanos y pequeña hermana.
Esta fue la única familia que Rodríguez tuvo, y todavia sucede lo mis-
mo con muchos jovenes de nuestra
comunidad hoy en dia.
“Definitivamente hay una gran
necesidad para otras organizaciones como esta en nuestra comunidad”, dijo Mario Ramírez, Director
de Servicios para Niños de Lee and
Buelah Moor Children’s Home.
Rodríguez sigue firmamente
convencida de que el albergue les
salvo la vida.
“ Si no hubiera sido por Lee
Moor, yo no se que hubiera sido de
mi y mis hermanos.”
Con la ayuda de este albergue
Rodríguez logró enfrentarse a
obstáculos que parecian inconquistables. La falta de padres no
perjudico el futuro de Isabel. Ella
logró formar su futuro a base de
un gran esfuerzo, pero su experiencia en Lee and Beulah Children’s
Home alimentó su deseo de tener
un hogar.
El centro refugia de 55
a 65 jovenes al mes.
Ellos llegan al
albergue
vol-
untarimente y pueden regresar a
sus hogares cuando quieren. La
casa recive jóvenes con diversos
problemas y de todos los niveles
económicos.
El albergue es un remedio temporario para los problemas de estos niños porque se espera que la
famlia resuelva sus problemas. Es
crucial que ellos regresen a sus
hogares cuando las circumstancias
lo permitan. El albergue alienta las
familias a visitar cada segundo y
cuarto fin de semana y a que llamen a sus hijos por teléfono una
vez por semana.
“Trabajando con la familia ayudamos al niño” dijo Ramírez.
Elderly in danger of losing rights
By Cindy Hernandez
La Vision staff writer
They hide behind their shadows
day and night, wishing to reach the
end of their last chapter of life.
This is how many elderly conclude their life when insensitivity
has taken over their rights.
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services has
confirmed that in 2006 there were
more than 1,900 elderly abuse
victims in El Paso and only about
1,600 were reported.
One Agency spokesperson expects that abuse cases may double
as coming generation’s age.
Paul Zimmerman with Adult Protective Services has worked many
cases that include exploitation,
physical or financial abuse and
self-neglect towards the elderly.
Last year Zimmerman experienced a memorable event in his
first week of working for the APS
that served as a reminder of why
he had taken the job.
“One of the coolest things of my
job was when I took a fan to a 104
year-old woman from Canutillo,”
said Zimmerman.
The woman lived by herself in
poverty and the APS had sent Zimmerman to take the lady a fan for
her house since she couldn’t afford
one herself.
“Her house was a small, square
room with no air. When I walked in
to give her the fan her eyes opened
with such joy, she was so happy
and grateful.”
Experiences like these are what
make Zimmerman feel his job is
worth while.
“It feels good to help people,”
concluded Zimmerman.
In the year 2006 President
Bush’s budget cut $60 billion from
Medicaid when almost 45 million
Americans continue to live without
health insurance. Bush also makes
a $94 million cut in grants for the
Healthy Communities Access Program causing a major problem for
many Elderly Protective Services
according to Alicia De Jong Davis.
Davis, a gerontologist and Ombudsman for the state of Texas
Long Term Care has been dealing
with elderly care issues since her
career began. One of her major
concerns is the insufficient money
that is invested in the dilemma of
elderly abuse.
“The International Longevity
Center budget is composed of $1
billion but, only $1.7 million are
invested to the research of Elderly
Abuse,” said Davis.
To Davis, this is not enough money to accomplish enough research
in the subject as well as help all the
elderly that experience it.
In order for services to inform
society about the statistics and the
number of cases that have been
reported throughout the U.S they
need money, which is a major financial concern she says.
“Only 20 states in the United
States register Elderly Abuse cases
in their data and unfortunately,
only 4 percent out of 5 million
abuse cases are reported” said
Davis.
Davis believes that much abuse
of the elderly without realizing it.
Abusers may believe they are doing the right thing and think they
have the authority.
“Sometimes we abuse of the
human rights of elderly without
knowing it…” said Davis.
Another divisive issue in which
the elderly may become victims is
in monetary matters.
Highlands Hospital social worker
Victor Carrillo helps the elderly find
ways to recover from their illnesses
as well as guides them through the
process of payment agreements for
their medical needs.
“If a patient is unable to afford
medical treatment or medicine, we
ask for donations from many companies around the area and are
very successful with the results,”
Carrillo says.
Carrillo
wishes to accomplish his
goal of notifying the
elderly with
the actions
that will be
taken over
their medical situation. Carrillo also want
to assure the
elderly that
they understand their
human
rights at
all times.
“I help
them
through their state, inform them and protect
them,” said Carrillo.
Carrillo believes that
there is only so much he can
do for his clients. When Carrillo suspects any financial as well
as physical abuse of the patients
from family members or relatives,
his duty is to inform Adult Protective Services.
Like Carrillo, Davis has witnessed much elderly abuse.
But Davis also contends that
many people who care for the elderly are insensitive to their human rights.
Many medical staffers believe
that elderly illness is caused by age
alone, and there is nothing they can
do but wait until they pass away.
“We assume that when an elderly
[person] is being attended to at a
hospital and is in high critical condition we can decide to give them
no further treatment,” said Davis.
Instead she believes there are
other options to take down this
road. By taking the initiative of no
further treatment, they’re invading
their human rights.
Out of all elderly illness only 10%
are cause by natural ageing problems and start to occur to elderly
over the age of 65.
“Our goal is to prevent elderly
abuse and inform the community
about safe ways to prevent this
from happening, If you suspect
any elderly abuse please call (1800-252-5400) or visit www.txabusehotline.org online,” concluded
Zimmerman.
July 20, 2007
La Vision
Can I get Scholarships?
Amanda Orozco
La Vision staff writer
He stumbles into the room, fists
clenched, arms at his sides. His
face is covered with a light sheen
of sweat and his eyes dart back and
forth. He swallows visibly before
forcing the words out of his mouth.
“Can you help me get money for
college?”
This is a common scenario
among many high school students
seeking to fund college, according
to financial aid experts.
Locally, students from El Paso
County have received $105 million
this past year for college.
Melissa Gonzales, a 2007 graduate from Bel-Aire High School, obtained $40,000, “about half” she
needed to pay tuition for Our Lady
Of The Lake, a Roman Catholic
college in San Antonio.
Other students like Patrick Pfiefer, a current senior at Irvin High
School, says, “I have no idea” how
to apply or even find scholarships.
About counselors and their potential usefulness, Gonzales says,
“I think that they try (to help students) but it’s not enough. They
could always push a little bit
more.”
Mary Parazo, a Socorro High
School counselor, makes frequent
preparatory visits to government,
and economic classes, talks about
search engines; posts scholarships
on a bulletin board. Yet only 190 of
the 630 students at Socorro have
applied. Parazo says “100 percent
are capable of scholarships because many of them are based on
talent.”
There are even scholarships that
aren’t based on any personal merit
but on trivial tasks. One scholarship allows students to recommend
FastWeb to their friends with the
chance to win up to $5,000 and
free mp3s. Another scholarship
‘Stuck at Prom” entails the designing of a prom outfit out of duct tape
for the chance to earn $3,000.
Many opportunities exist where
a student is able to look for and
apply for a scholarship. Autumn
McKenzie, senior at Irvin High
School, says, “I go to the Internet to
the thing called FastWeb.com and
they send me scholarships based
on what I want from college.”
Many believe that Internet sites
like FastWeb and Scholarship.com
are revolutionizing the way that
students find scholarships.
Instead of a long and tedious
search through a book, students
are able to enter their information and look through the scholarships they qualify for. They can
even look at colleges and apply for
financial aid through the web. Students also have the option of asking their school counselor who will
be more than happy to help you
find a scholarship application and
completing the paperwork.
Gonzales stated, “My counselors
helped a lot. They wrote a lot of
recommendations.”
One of the major problems with
finding scholarships maybe the
lack of communication about relevant information.
Kevin Ladd, vice president of
operations of scholarship.com,
recommends that you “Tell your
friends, show your parents, tell
a teacher, and any counselors.
Spread the word. Let people know
about how to get scholarships.”
Do incoming Christian college students face secular challenges
By: Diana Diaz de Leon
La Vision staff writer
There is a common perception that university
life opens new doors to secular and intellectual
knowledge.
However, some argue that new knowledge comes at the price of one’s spiritual
foundation.
Although, for Javier De Jesus, who has managed to maintain his core religious values while
also succeeding as a student at the University of
Texas of El Paso.
“A person who has a strong foundation in their
faith or belief will not easily be side tracked.”
De Jesus graduated in 2006 and decided to
attend UTEP because of its strong engineering
program.
He attended Bethel Christian School in El
Paso all 12 years of school, and has been a practicing Christian for 9 years.
He believed many students graduating
from private schools and transitioning into
a public university often deal with extreme
anxiousness.
“Especially students who have been exposed
only to a private school environment.”
“Transition may be difficult for many conservative and shy people, but for me it has been
very easy to make friends and become a part of
my new community,” says De Jesus.
He explained as he has come in contact with
many people that do not share his same values
or beliefs, he still continues to be respected and
acknowledged, not only by his peers but by his
professors.
“Obviously people who do not believe what I
believe, are not scared to give me their opinion
or share their views on my faith...people have
confronted me, but nothing too serious,” De Jesus says.
He explained what he saw as advantages of
being prepared not only by staff and peers at
Bethel Christian School, but emphasized the
important role his parents played.
“I love my parents...without them I wouldn’t
be where I am today,” says De Jesus.
Principal Marsha Cardenas says, “We do all
we can... the parents and the foundation these
kids have when they leave does not only develop
from us but hopefully from the home...parents
and family play a major role and we depend on
parents to also help us prepare their children.”
However, sometimes things don’t go as parents, teachers, and friends had hoped for.
“Ultimately the student has the choice to make
his or her own decision,” said John Delgado, a
student at the University of Texas at
Austin and also a graduate from
a private Christian school.
“I was born into a Christian
home.... I left and have learned
to make my own decisions and
do what I want.”
“I found a different kind of
freedom...I could be who I really was,” says Delgado.
Both De Jesus and Cardenas said students coming from
a Christian high school into the
university must expect to face
peer pressure, and anxiety.
They both agree that as you enter
the university life new ideas, and
choices become more available.
No matter how much a Christian school or parent prepares their
child, in the end the ultimate choice
is theirs.
“As a mother and a principal I can say
that, teachers, parents and friends hope
and pray that all their effort throughout
the years will have a long lasting impression,” Marsha Cardenas.
Cardenas, Principal of Bethel Christian
School in El Paso quoted the schools purpose: “Empowering Minds, Transforming
Lives.”
Cardenas believes in training her students,
and preparing them before they emerge into
a new chapter in their lives.
“As they leave they walk into a new environment where there is a lack of faith in the leader-
ship...Our job is to prepare them as best we
can,” says Cardenas.
La Vision July 20, 2007
Drugs never a solution to life’s problems
Pink Rivera
La Vision staff writer
“Doing cocaine and drinking
helped me forget my problems,”
admits Susana Najera, 41. “Really, all it did was cause even more
problems and make things harder
for me. Your problems won’t go
away, they’re still there.”
Najera is one of millions who
experience the pain of addiction
when they choose self-medication
as a healing therapy.
Counselors, including El Paso
chemical dependency specialist,
Maria Rodriguez, are beginning to
approach addiction differently by
looking at the reasons why people
do drugs. Rodriguez is coming to
the conclusion that addicts are often trying to fill a void in their life.
“After a person goes through
something that may become a post
traumatic experience, they feel
the need to numb their feelings,”
Rodriguez says. “Some ADD and
ADHD patients begin smoking
pot to relax, instead of taking their
medication also.
Substance abusers become dependant both physically and psychologically for many reasons, according to medical experts.
One local addiction expert, Bobby Ashworth, says substance abuse
is a complex biological, psychological and social disorder.
Ashworth is a licensed drug and
alcohol counselor who practices in
El Paso.
The most common understanding of why substance users become
abusers and then finally dependant, according to addiction specialists, is to deal with stress, irritability or unhappiness.
“My first time I was 14 and I tried
weed as a social thing,” says Vanessa, 25. “It became an escape and
a way for me not to think about life
and my problems.”
Ashworth agrees that being a teen
is an enormous challenge and that
many turn to illicit substance use
without even realizing the risks.
“My teen patients experiment
with drugs because it’s there,” says
Ashworth.
“Sometimes it’s for adult identification, others are more of rageagainst-the-machine type thing.
Most users are recreational and
they do it for the effect when they
use it situationally.”
Counselor Ashworth says that
the most common characteristics
and change in patients as they slip
deeper into addiction, is the amotivational syndrome where users
develop a very apathetic attitude.
Teens tend to change their clothing and speech. They become
increasingly disrespectful and
defiant with more socially unexceptable behavior.
According to other addiction
specialists, one of the most telling
signs of increasing involvement
is when drug use becomes part of
daily life.
With more absorption into drugs,
people crowd out previously important activities. Self-perception
changes in unrealistic and inaccurate ways.
“Most patients that come in with
a serious addiction problem are in
denial and continue to minimize
the problem,” Rodriguez says.
“These are the patients that
make it really hard for us to help
them because they don’t believe
they have problem.”
But medical experts also believe
that narcotic abuse and alcoholism
are serious but treatable diseases.
“Sure, substance abusers can
be truly healed,” said Ashworth.
“The disease can’t be cured but it
can be put into total remission and
managed.
He says there is a very progressive approach because it depends
on the patient. You start with
self-help programs like the AA
as an outpatient. If you find that
you can’t completely stop on your
own then you can turn yourself in
as an inpatient for professional
treatment.”
Many counselors and specialists
believe that to get over addiction
depends on the patients attitude
and determination to solve their
problem.
“I didn’t consider myself an addict because it was easy for me to
quit when I realized I had responsibilities and that it was stupid,”
says Vanessa.
Vanessa realizes now that her
abuse of drugs made her a stronger person and she is able now to
discourage her friends and family
against doing drugs, or at leasten-
courage them to seek professional
help.
But, not “everyone can be helped,
there are those who won’t be
helped. Not everyone who comes
to treatment is ready for treatment,” Ashworth says.
Besides addicts who are unable
to ask for help, there are those
who can recognize and admit they
have problem and reach out for
assistance
As for Najera, she sought professional help six years ago and has
been clean ever since.
“If I hadn’t I’d still probably be a
3-4 times a week abuser like I was
before. I don’t think anyone can do
it on their own. You need professional help.”
Addiction specialists confirm that
people turn to drugs as not only an
escape from reality but because
they feel it is the only way they can
feel better about themselves.
“There’s a stigma out there in the
public that drug addicts are criminals and out to hurt people and
mess up lives,” Rodriguez says.
“These people need help to make
the necessary changes in their life
to maintain their level of awareness and stay abstinent.”
Ashworth also believes that substance abuse is part of high-risk
stunt behavior that people experiment with, subconsciously using it
as a “cry for help.”
“When somebody tries out a diet
and they don’t see a change within
the first week they end up quitting,” said Ashworth. “Substance
abusers are the same way. They
need just as much support because
it’s not just about sobriety. They
need a healthy lifestyle which includes many things.”
Medical experts say many detox
and drug rehab facilities rely on
therapy and behavioral modification to help substance abusers.
Centers are attempting to use
less medication unless patients
have a chemical imbalance caused
by being exposed to drugs for a
lengthy time.
The upside to this is that “there
are less psychiatrically prescribed
medications that can be used to
commit suicide with,” says Ashworth. “Medication now is engineered, so it is difficult to overdose
on. They are safer more now than
ever.”
So, for former addicts like Najera,
contemporty medical therapy and
even common sense proves there is
light at the end of the tunnel.
“If someone came to me with this
problem I’d try to convince them to
quit.
VPH afectando cada vez a mas mujeres
Rubí Govea
La Vision staff writer
Actualmente, las enfermedades
de transmisión sexual son muy
frecuentes. Cualquier persona
sexualmente activa puede ser contagiada. El Virus del Papiloma
Humano (VPH) es una de las enfermedades de transmisión sexual
mas comunes. Existen mas de 100
tipos de virus de VPH de los cuales
aproximadamente el 30% causan
cáncer del cuello uterino. Se puede
estar infectado sin saberlo, ya que
por lo general no aparecen síntomas y muchos de los virus desaparecen con el tiempo. En algunos
casos pueden brotar verrugas genitales que se forman en la parte anal
y genital del cuerpo.
En junio del 2006 salio a el
mercado una vacuna llamada
GARDASIL aprobada por la
FDA(Administración de Drogas y
Alimentos) en mas de 76 países.
Esta vacuna protege contra 4 tipos
de VPH, 6,11,16 y 18, que causan el
70% de los casos de cáncer cervical. Para que sean mas eficaz, pu-
ede ser aplicada en mujeres entre
los 9 y 26 años de edad. GARDASIL no protege del 30% restante de
los virus causantes de cáncer del
cuello de útero. Estudios realizados
en 21,000 mujeres alrededor del
mundo indicaron que GARDASIL
es 100% eficiente. Por el momento
la vacuna es opcional, pero puede
llegar a ser obligatoria ya que el
gobierno comenta que esto evitaría
enfermedades en muchas mujeres.
Existe otra vacuna llamada CERVARIX la cual protege de 2 tipos de
virus causantes de cáncer, 16 y 18,
solo que aun no es aprobada.
Hubo bastante controversia cuando la vacuna se trató de hacer
obligatoria en Texas y en otros estados. Algunos padres de familia se
mostraron muy molestos.
La Sra. Jacquez piensa que la vacuna no debe ser aplicada a muy
temprana edad y que no debe ser
obligatorio. “No sabemos si la vacuna cause alguna reacción en las
niñas.” Sin embargo, la Sra. Sida
piensa que mientras mas temprano
se aplique mejor. “Es mejor prevenir enfermedades tan serias como
esta, y si podemos hacer algo para
prevenirlas porque no hacerlo.”
Algunos de los síntomas que
ambas vacunas pueden causar son
dolor en el sitio en el que se aplico,
hinchazón,
o fiebre leve.
Por lo general
desaparecen
en unas cuantas horas.
Luís Maese,
asistente
medico en la
clínica Texas
Tech,
recomienda a todos las mujer
aplicarse la
vacuna.” Es
muy importante
para
todas las mujeres que son
o serán sexualmente activas cuidarse
y aplicarse la vacuna para mas
seguridad.”
Se es mas propenso a ser contagiado por este virus si: se tienes
relaciones sexuales a muy temprana edad, si no se usa condón, si se
tiene parejas sexuales múltiples y si
no se realizan revisiones medicas.
La directora de El Centro de
Salud de UTEP, Amalia Dudzienski, incita a mujeres y hombres a
siempre cuidarse para prevenir
enfermedades como esta.”Siempre
practicar sexo seguro, ya sea usar
condón u otro método y mujeres,
asegúrense de hacerse el papanicolao cada año al ser activa
sexualmente.
Con la salud no se juega, y con
tantas enfermedades existentes, no
hay que segarse ante la realidad.
La decisión de aplicarse la vacuna
contra el VPH y de usar métodos
de protección sexual esta en manos
de cada individuo.
July 20, 2007
La Vision
The Silence Screaming: It’s a Killer
By: Ariana Gonzalez
La Vision staff writer
The number of women murdered
by their intimate partner is greater
than the number of soldiers who
lost their lives in the Vietnam
War.
Everyday four women die in this
country as a result of domestic
violence.
That’s approximately, 1,400 fatalities a year.
Domestic violence is the abuse
that happens between members
of the same family or persons involved in a close relationship: husband/wife; boyfriend/girlfriend;
parent/child; same sex couple;
adult child/elderly parent. The
majority of the victims are women.
This worldwide epidemic plagues
the borderland in a unique way,
when the issue of illegal immigration is involved.
“So many of these women feel
they cannot report their case for
fear of being deported and being
separated from their children”,
says Vengie Rexach, the Domestic
Relations representative
from the El
Paso County
Attorney’s
Office.
“They would
rather stay in
the relationship than risk
immigration
enforcement.”
Aside from
their dread of
immigration
laws, abused
women
are
often silenced
nonetheless.
They
are
brainwashed,
continually
told by their
spouse
that
they are to
blame for making him angry
and that they
have brought
it
upon
themselves.
“Many times
they already
have the mentality where they
think it’s how it’s supposed to be
and they pretty much deserve it,”
Rexach says.
While there are many programs
and therapies offered to people
under these circumstances, very
few women in need of them accept
them.
In other cases some women are
simply unaware of the services
available to them.
“If the women being abused were
more educated about the help provided out there, the numbers and
the statistics would be much lower,” Rexach says.
While it is true the legal system
inevitably makes mistakes, the legal system is not the only part of
the community that is at fault.
The surrounding community
also has an obligation to intervene
in domestic violence.
Communities can no longer leave
everything to be resolved for the
court, because
“Domestic violence is an issue
that people just don’t want to talk
about or deal with,” says Aaron
Hernandez, Community Relations Director of El Paso’s Center
Against Family Violence.
These women put on a façade in
public, concealing what they experience on a regular basis in the
absence of watchful eyes.
Experts say most have become
exceptionally good at faking a
smile, when they really live in fear
of the person they are in love with.
Many fake a steady yet erroneous composure to ensure the world
that everything is fine.
Vigorous research suggests that
the community holds an enormous
responsibility for silencing the
women who are obviously involved
in abusive relationships.
So many people realize that there
are women being battered in their
own community and choose to ignore these casualties and look the
other way.
The silence they live in cannot
save them, but the helping hand
of a neighbor’s can often rescue
them.
Expert’s awareness must be
spread, every individual alerted,
every community warned, and every battered woman heard shouting for long awaited sanctions.
Every piece of information gathered points to the direction that
implies: disclosure, about domestic violence whether it is from an
onlooker, or a victim is the secondary killer after any perpetrator.
The world needs to know that it
is everybody’s burden to carry that
people need to stop keeping quiet
because we are afraid and we think
that it’s not our business.
The silence is happening at the
expense of human lives: daughters of parents, sisters with siblings, friends, aunts and mothers
of children.
Four more women violently disappear everyday.
These women’s lives are ended at
the hand of the man they claim to
love, but they also die in the hands
of an entire multitude.
“The truth is, the silence needs to
be broken, this way there is more
concern and attention covering the
issue,” Hernandez argues.
“Because momentarily there is
certainly not enough.”
Sociedad Afecta Salud Mental de jóvenes
Mariel Torres
La Vision staff writer
La depresión es un trastorno
mental muy común en los adolescentes debido a varios factores y
según los expertos, es una enfermedad que requiere mucho apoyo
y atención. De acuerdo a el sitio de
Internet, Kidshelp.org, uno de cada
ocho adolescentes sufre de algún
tipo de depresión. Este trastorno
afecta a todo tipo de gente, sin importar su raza, clase social, o edad,
aunque suele afectar mas a las mujeres que a los hombres.
El sitio de Internet, Teendepression.org, muestra que el 20 por
ciento de los jóvenes, experimentan algún tipo de depresión en
algún punto de su adolescencia.
Los expertos predicen que para el
2020, la depresión será la segunda
causa de muerte, después de la enfermedad de corazón.
Un claro ejemplo de este problema, es Angela, que ha llegado a
experimentar un sin numero de
humillaciones llevándola a un estado grave de depresión.
Angela empezó con síntomas de
depresión a la edad de los 12 años.
Ella recuerda ser “el hazme reír” de
varios compañeros de escuela solo
por vestirse diferente a los demás.
Tan fuertes fueron las burlas, que
tuvo que ser atendida por consejeras de su escuela. “Aun cuando
entre a la preparatoria llevaba ese
sentimiento y los consejeros de la
escuela me habían advertido que
yo tenia depresión y debía atenderme,” dijo Angela, ahora de 18
años.
Las causas de depresión aun no
son claras, pero el uso de drogas y
alcohol, algún trauma, ya sea una
violación o muerte de un ser querido, pueden empezar a molestar a
un adolescente. Se ha comprobado
que tener algún familiar diagnosticado con depresión aumenta las
posibilidades de contraer la misma
enfermedad.
Los síntomas mas comunes incluye perdida de interés en realizar las actividades habituales,
sentimiento de inutilidad, falta
de energía, aislamiento, pensamientos pesimistas, auto reproches,
dormir mas horas, incapacidad
para concentrarse, irritabilidad,
entre otros.
Algunos de los adolescentes no
muestran todos los síntomas, o
peor aun, tratan de ocultarlos. Es
común que sientan un tipo de sentimiento de culpabilidad, creen
que todo esta en su mente y con los
días esa tristeza desaparecerá.
En caso de sospechar, los padres
deben guardar la calma. Entender
que ellos no son los culpables de
nada y lo único que les debe importar es el bienestar de su hijo.
Deben apoyarlos y buscar ayuda
profesional lo mas pronto posible.
La directora del Estudio de Salud
de la Universidad de Texas en El
Paso, Amalia Dudzienski, les aconseja a los padres de familia que
estén muy atentos de cualquier
cambio en el comportamiento de
sus hijos. “Si usted cree que algo
anda mal con su hijo, no se espere, pregúnteles que les molesta.”
La depresión que no se atiende a
tiempo puede llegar a los extremos, como es el suicidio.
Según la Administración de Servicios para el abuso de Substancias
y Salud Mental, aproximadamente
900,000 adolescentes pensaron en
la posibilidad del suicidio durante
un de sus mas fuertes episodios de
depresión, y 712,000 realmente lo
intentaron.
De acuerdo a las estadísticas,
el suicidio es la tercer causa de
muertes de jóvenes en todo los Estados Unidos.
Y es que con platicas y tiempo, el
corazón de un joven no olvida rápido, Angela cuenta que en su interior sigue esa tristeza. “El color negro que siempre uso es como una
barrera que llevo para que nadie
me vuelva a lastimar. Representa
mi odio por todos los que me humillaron alguna vez.”
Lo cierto es que jóvenes como
Angela, a pesar de su corta edad,
sufren de depresión y cada día que
pasa se les es mas difícil seguir el
largo camino de la vida. Sin embargo, debido a la actitud de la
sociedad y muchas veces hasta de
sus propias familias, estos jóvenes
terminan por tomar decisiones fatales. La directora del Centro de
Consejeros de UTEP, la Dra. Sherri
I. Terrell piensa que historias
como estas son muy comunes y deben atenderse rápido. La sociedad
y las familias deben darse la oportunidad de aceptar a estos jóvenes
que piden a gritos ser escuchados.
Un joven no debe ser juzgado por
su forma de vestir, ni por la música
que escucha, los adultos deben
entender que ellos solo buscan expresarse y ser felices, y no por esto,
merecen ser rechazados.
Foto Por Mariel Torres
En tiempos de depresión es cuando los jóvenes necesitan mas el
apoyo de sus padres para recordarles que la esperanza sigue ahí.
La Vision July 20, 2007
Feral Cats Pose Health Risks
Jaime Perez
La Vision staff writer
A red, tabby cat sniffs and claws
at the bark of a tree. A women
peers through her window and
watches the cat’s bones through
the thin layer of skin and fat protruding through the bald patches
on its body. The cat curls up into
a ball and slowly closes its eyes after cleaning itself with its tongue.
The women reaches for her phone
and dials the number for animal
control.
***
The El Paso Animal Regulation and Control Department impounds over 24,000 animals and
kills more than 20,000 of these
annually, 47 percent being cats,
according to both local advocates
and health officials.
“We euthanize the animals. We
have no choice because, unfortunately, we do not have enough
room to keep all the animals at
the pound. We do the injection because it’s more humane than the
gas chamber,” Shift Supervisor of
Animal C­ontrol Raul Flores says.
Health officials and animal advocates say the large stray animal
population is both a health issue
and a moral issue. A health issue,
because many stray animals are
either disease carriers or carry
parasites, such as ticks, that could
be dangerous to humans; a moral
issue, because the strays live miserable lives before they are picked
up and killed by Animal Control.
In order to reduce the number of
strays, for both reasons, organiza-
tions and individuals like Jessie
Miller and her non-profit Animal
Cruelty Hotline operate around
the city.
Miller thinks the city should be
spending more on efforts to save
the animals.
“The city can give us funding to
save these animals rather than
killing them. Instead of spending
$1.7 annually, they can give us $3
million upfront to start more programs to save the animals,” Miller
said.
She said the cost of impounding
a dog or cat is approximately $55
per animal. The cost of euthanizing
a dog or cat costs the Animal Regulation and Control Department
$1.7 million annually, 60 to 75 percent of its budget, Miller says.
Miller’s group works closely with
Animal Control to help save abused
animals; she also helps find animal
homes that they adopt from the
pound.
***
A field officer responds to the call,
checking whether the cat has some
sort of identification. Deciding the
cat was a stray, he places it in a
cage that smells of other strays that
met a similar fate. The car drives to
the shelter and the cat occasionally
lifts its head to better listen to the
loud noises outside the van.
The cat is placed into another,
larger cage, and adds to the orchestration of meows in the room.
***
Another animal advocacy group
is the Animal Rescue League. Loretta Hyde, the general manager
and founder of Animal Rescue
League, stresses the importance of
owners being responsible for their
pets.
“They should be held accountable
for making sure their pets get their
proper shots, making sure they get
their pet neutered or spayed, and
microchipping their pet in case
they run away,” Hyde says. Hyde’s
group focus on adopting animals
from shelters and finding them
homes.
While Hyde concentrates on
animals in the community, Jean
Johnston concentrates on feral, or
untamed, cats at UTEP. The Cats
UTEP Rescue Effort or C.U.R.E.,
was founded by Jean Johnston to
decrease the animal population
humanely, by such means as vaccinating, neutering or spaying, and
feeding the local cats.
According to Johnston, there
are 150 cats on the campus. She
attributes the large cat population
to UTEP graduates who left the
campus.
“This problem is not unique to
just UTEP, every college deals with
feral cats. The issue deserves attention. We need to manage this
problem,” Johnston says.
***
The cat is taken to a vet, to be
checked for diseases like heartworm and rabies. After a thorough
examination, the cat is taken back.
He is fed and watered for three
days.
The cat is taken out of its cage
and back to the doctor who saw
him three days ago. A needle penetrates its skin, and the cat slowly
closes its eyes.
would developed the same
idea over there.”
A regular car combusts twentytwo pounds of carbon dioxide for
every gallon it uses. An electric
car, on the other hand, produces
only seven pounds of carbon dioxide. That’s 7 pounds of CO2 vs. 22
pounds to travel the same 25 miles,
experts say.
But when the electric car was removed from the market, it caused
confusion among its drivers.
That’s because drivers of the EV1
were willing to pay for the cars just
to keep them, but GM did not accept the proposition.
In 2006 The New York Times
reported the controversy and mystery of the cars.
“One reason the story might
have grown doubtful was because
its chairman at the time, Alan C.
Lloyd, had joined the California
Fuel Cell Partnership.”
Even though the car would have
been beneficial for El Paso, it was
never marketed outside the state of
California.
“I think it could’ve been a very
good idea for everyone. It benefits
the environment and it saves us
money for gas!” says Sarinana.
Ultimately, the electric
cars were on lease from GM
to customers when they were removed from their semi-owners
they were transported to the GM
Desert Proving Grounds and were
simply crushed.
“ Its disappointing that they did
that,” says Jack Tessa from the
College of Engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso.
Meanwhile, various programs
and organizations in El Paso have
begun to decrease the levels of
pollution.
Smith, from TCEQ, says that
there is a program currently running in the city called the Joint Advisory Committee, organized for
Ciudad Juarez and El Paso.
This organization was designed
to prioritize air quality planning
and air management issues and
proposes specific actions to improve air quality in both cities.
Thus while EVl’s have not been
utilized to reduce pollution, hybrids are becoming increasingly
trendy.
But, despite their popularity, Hybrids are still an expensive way to
save gasoline according to critics.
Overall the picture remains bleak
for the future of the electric car
making a comeback anytime soon.
Engineer Jack Tessa simply laments “It’s pathetic of how far behind we are.”
Electric Cars:
Possible Solution
to Pollution
Vianney Olivas
La Vision staff writer
Some local air pollution experts
are bemoaning the absence of the
electric car.
The car was taken off the market
in 2002.
G.M. intentionally sabotaged
their own marketing efforts because they feared the car would
cannibalize its existing business,
according to a PBS report.
While G.M. explicitly disputes these claims, Kevin Smith
disagrees.
If the electric car had the prospect to be distributed in a border
city like El Paso it would have
taken major actions regarding pollution, Smith, Section Manager of
Air from the Texas Commission
on Environmental
Quality argues.
The idea was introduced in California by General Motors in 1996 when
they released the
electric car, EV1.
The car ran on environmentally friendly batteries.
Smith also contends that because
pollution is affected by the inefficiency of cars, gasoline, and the
lack of inspected autos, the electric
car would have made a significant
difference.
The fact that some inhabitants of
El Paso are not aware of the danger
that pollution causes to their lives
is crucial.
That’s because residents of El
Paso are a great factor in reducing
pollution,
aside
from industrial resources and
failing government, Smith says.
“It is a real shame that these cars
were removed from the market
and that they were not introduced
in a border city,” says Fernando
Sarinana.
“The automakers from Mexico
would’ve been able to see the car
and its advantages and maybe they
July 20, 2007
La Vision
Simplemente Una Artista
Por Danielle Gutiérrez
La Visión staff writer
Marcela Gandara es una chica como muchas
en Juárez. Le gusta nadar, ir al cine, y pasear
con su amigas.
Pero es una chica que acaba de vender mas
de 22,000 CDs de canciones cristianas.
Al cumplir 25 años en agosto realizo su sueño de grabar un CD y el viernes su primer gira
musical la llevara a cinco países latinoamericanos y a tres ciudades estadounidenses.
Gandara canta suavemente su música de
amor y paz. Artistas como ella cantan de todo,
desde baladas a Reggeaton. La música cristiana se está popularizando mas y mas todos
los días.
A los 18 años Gandara empezó a cantar en
el coro de su iglesia,Vino Nuevo de Juárez, y
tuvo la oportunidad de grabar una canción en
un CD producido por la iglesia y ahí empezó
su éxito.
Jesús Adrián Romero, el artista y dueño de
Vástago Producciones un estudio de grabación
cristiana en El Paso, conoció a Gandara en Vino
Nuevo y la invitó a grabar voces de fondo.
­“Conocí a Marcela atrás de la iglesia.” Romero dijo. “Es una persona que tiene carisma puede cantar, y tiene una pasión por cantar no
busca la fama ella tiene su propósito y yo mire
eso en ella.”
Gandara luego fue invitada a grabar una canción con Romero.
“ Grabar con Jesús fue un privilegio,”comento
Gandara. “ Me emocione mucho porque me llevaron a la grabación, sin estar segura de que
mi canción sería elegida para estar grabada en
el CD.”
Después de su primer canción registrada,
salio promocionado dos canciones en el CD Un
Brote de adoración dos, una coleccion de todos
los artistas de Vástago Una de estar canciones
escrita por ella.
“Grabando la canción Mas Allá De Todo fue
muy especial para mi, porque yo la escribí. Estaba muy contenta que pude tomar parte en el
CD,” comento Gandara.
El 10 de octubre del ano 2006 su CD “Mas
que un Anhelo” fue vendido en toda Latinoamérica y Estados unidos.
“Grabando Mas Que un Anheló fue excitante y larga experiencia, aprendí mucho de
mi productor. Era difícil pero viendo el CD
completo fue muy bonito y me encanto,” indicó Gandara.
Vástago, introdujo a Gandara a un mundo
diferente donde trabajo con personas que no
conocía y con las que continuo a formar una
amistad.
“Vástago a sido una familia para mi ayudándome a crecer artísticamente y espiritualmente.” Gandara comentó, “Es un privilegio
trabajar con cada persona y les agradezco
mucho.”
Los fans han mencionado que a través de
su música sus vidas han cambiado. Esto toma
gran parte de su vida sabiendo que Dios tiene
un propósito para ayudarla seguir cantando.
“Desde niños hasta adultos me encanta que
escuchen el CD.” Gandara explico, “Pero mas
que eso, que entiendan el mensaje que Dios
tiene para sus vidas.”
Gandara esta esperando mas adelante grabar el CD de Navidad con otras artistas. Ella
dice quiere poder seguir cantando y perseguir
la voluntad que Dios tiene para su vida
“A mi me encanta cantar.” Gandara dijo,
“Dios puede usar las canciones a través de
la música para llenar el Corazón de toda la
gente.”
Tom Lea’s Art Is Honored in Centennial Celebration
Monica Soltero
La Visión staff writer
The spacious Southwest sky, the
picturesque mountains, and the
vivid desert life are all typical border images that have received huge
amounts of admiration- all thanks
to the late Tom Lea. As a writer and
painter, this internationally recognized artist has managed to record
that image of the border area and
has left a permanent legacy. This
month commemorates the 100th
birthday of this El Paso artist, and
in his honor the Centennial Museum, and other organizations have
set up special displays honoring
his talent.
One of these displays is the famous “Pass of the North” mural.
The original hangs in the old Federal Courthouse, and a panoramic
replica adorns the main wall of
the exhibit. The mural shows literally larger than life people that
brought El Paso history to life. Lea
felt that the early explorers played
an important role and this feeling
was conveyed by the inscription he
made within the mural: “O Pass to
the North- Now the Old Giants Are
Gone- We Little Men Live Where
Heroes Once Walked the Inviolate
Earth.”
“The point of view I have taken
as a creative artist may help to
demonstrate that the function of a
mural painting in a community is
to deepen and to enrich a people’s
perception of it’s own tradition and
the character of it’s own land,” said
the late Lea in a commentary about
his mural.
Another main attraction of the
Centennial Museum’s celebration
is the lintel that adorns the museum’s entrance and commemorates Cabeza de Baca’s exploration.
Commissioned by Percy McGhee,
Lea began this project after he won
an award for a small mural that he
painted in Las Cruces.
“Percy McGhee was quite a guy,
He said, ‘You can draw, can’t you?
We’ll get somebody with a chisel to
carve it,’” wrote Lea in a letter to
the Centennial Museum’s director
Rex Gerald in 1972.
Fortunately for Lea, his very
particular style has gotten him farsharp lines and a mixture of classical and European techniques. The
majority of his subjects include
desert and Southwest landscapes.
These have managed to attract
numerous amounts of people, including the president of the United
States. Currently, his painting “Rio
Grande” hangs in the Oval Office.
“The Southwest has always been
a big draw for people in other
countries- almost like a fantasy
world,” said Scott Cutler, curator
in the Centennial Museum.
Throughout the month of July
various art venues and organizations will memorialize the legacy of
Lea. The Plaza Theatre showcased
The Brave Bulls and The Wonderful Country- both of which were
novels written by Tom Lea and
were later turned into films. Fort
Bliss, the El Paso Museum of History, the El Paso Museum of Art,
the El Paso Museum of History,
and the El Paso Public library will
all have their own special displays
to honor Lea.
Photo by Monica Soltero
Stone lintel depicting explorer Cabeza deBaca over the entrancce of the Centennial Museum
La Vision 10
July 20, 2007
Harry Potter 5: Undeniably Charming
Abigail Hernandez
La Visión staff writer
July is a month of Harry Potter
mania. From the 5th movie coming
out on the 11th, the “Deathly” finale
of the book series out on the 21st,
to Harry Potter’s 17th birthday on
the 31st; fans all over the world
are beginning the celebration by
watching the new movie.
Although 2007 has been a year
for movie sequels, “Harry Potter
and the Order of the Phoenix” still
topped the list of moviegoers. “It
was good compared to Pirates and
Spiderman, which was too long or
the plot was mixed up,” said Steven Hernandez.
“Harry Potter and Order of the
Phoenix” was definitely gloomier
and more passive, compared to
previous Potter movies. The cinematography of this movie was definitely a compelling, sophisticated
touch that new director, David
Yates, added.
“It was the most visually appealing of the series,” said Rebecca
Ruiz, an avid reader and moviegoer of the series, while another fan,
Staci Schoenfeld from Kentucky,
argued that she “felt that the movie
was incredibly choppy. The transitions were anything but seamless
and they could have done a better
job with them.”
While Yates incorporated new
scenes such as the dark corridors
of the Department of Mysteries, he
was inconsistent in the portrayal
of places such as Privet Drive and
Hagrid’s Hut that had already appeared in previous Potter movies.
“Harry Potter and the Order of
the Phoenix” was out of order in
its storyline, however the audience was still able to understand
the majority of the plot (with many
helpful flashbacks) and ultimately
enjoy the movie despite its differences to the book.
The movie captures Harry’s feelings of isolation, suffrage from
nightmares, Ministry of Magic
propaganda, and fear of becoming more like “You-Know-Who”
each day. To much relief, Harry’s
teen angst so clearly obvious by the
caps locked words in the book was
toned down on screen and used
effectively.
“They clear certain details with
J.K. Rowling before leaving them
out, so it’s not really that big of a
deal [if they leave some out,]” said
a commenter on Livejournal.
Ironically, the 870-page book,
the most lengthy of the series, once
transferred to film, ran at almost
two and a half hours: the shortest
of the existing Potter films, according to the New York Times.
Of course, Yates was not able to
fit every detail on the screen, but he
did try, which made the movie feel
rushed. “It didn’t take very long
to get into
the
actual
story but it
all went by
so fast,” said
Luis Galaviz,
who saw it
on the first
day.
In
this
movie, returning
characters
are shown
in a new
light. Daniel
Radcliffe’s
haircut for
his role in
Equus, (a play performed in London,) shows Harry’s maturity;
Neville Longbottom, who’s always
been questioned for his placement
in Gryffindor House, the “bravest”
of the Houses, finally shows his
courage; Hermione Granger who’s
known for following the rules, realizes that not all teachers and rules
are right; and Ginny Weasley,
who’s finally stopped being shy,
shows that size does not matter
with magic.
The movie also introduced new
characters such as Luna “Loo-
ny” Lovegood, an eccentric student, (Evanna Lynch), Bellatrix
Lestrange, a devoted, cold-hearted
Death Eater (Helena Bonham
Carter), and Dolores Umbridge, a
“teacher with a personality like poisoned honey” as J.K. Rowling described her on the inside flap of her
book, (Imelda Fiennes Staunton),
whom were all excellent in their
performances and captured their
character’s personalities perfectly.
However, other characters such
as Harry’s aunt, Petunia Dursley,
and new character, Mrs. Figg, a
“crabby” old woman wrongly portrayed as a sweet, caring woman,
(Kathryn Hunter,) whom are
shown in a new light in the book,
get little screen time in the movie
and their significance to the storyline is left out.
In the movie, Harry finds himself
isolated from the Wizarding community, attacked by dementors
and forced to use underage magic
where he is then tried in front of
the Ministry of Magic, who no longer think of him as “the boy who
lived” and instead as “the boy who
lies.”
The Order of the Phoenix is never properly introduced as an organization that fights against Voldemort because it is assumed that
viewers know that.
When the students return to
Hogwarts, it no longer has the inviting protection Dumbledore offers with the new power hungry
Defense Against the Dark Arts
teacher, Umbridge interfering as
a spy for the Ministry and eventually taking over as Headmaster of
the school. She passes ridiculous
decrees, disposes of wand waving
for reading about theories of using
magic rather than actually using
it; all out of fear that the students
are building an army against the
Ministry.
They do in fact start a Defense
Association, (otherwise known as
Dumbledore’s Army) with Harry
as their instructor. Harry and his
long time crush, Cho Chang, finally
express their feelings for each other and share their first kiss—apparently one of the highlights of
the movie, seeing as the audience
applauded at this scene.
“It seemed like they didn’t show
a good connection that made us
believe she really liked him,” said
Galaviz.
“They really didn’t need to drag
out the kiss that much,” said Erin
McCullough from Florida and
Megan, a commenter on Livejournal, added that “Harry and Cho
should’ve had some more oomph
or something. It was ‘OK, we kiss
and that’s it. BYE!’” Fans that have
read the series worry that too much
emphasis on romance this early in
the movie series foreshadows how
the sixth movie will be, seeing as
the sixth book is full of sickening
teenage romance.
In the movie, it is finally explained why Professor Snape has
loathed Harry from the beginning,
but because the scene is so rushed,
it is just about overlooked and
leaves viewers wondering what the
purpose of that particular scene
was.
“I understood some of the flashbacks from basic knowledge of
where Harry came from and what
he went through…but the one with
his dad and Professor Snape toward the end left me puzzled,” said
Jasmond Sims, a first time Harry
Potter viewer (who’d also never
read the books).
Harry fears that he is the “weapon” Voldemort wants, and because
of his vulnerability and heroic instinct he and his companions are
mislead right into the hands of
Death Eaters, but finally put the
spells they’ve learned to good use
in a Wizarding duel.
During the duel, the death of
a character goes by almost unnoticed. It is assumed that the
viewer knows which curse is the
curse that kills, which was barely
audible, and the character is gone
before the viewer realizes what has
happened.
After much denial, the Minister
of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, finally
saw that Harry was never lying and
warns the Wizarding community
of Voldemort’s return.
Although the Wizarding duel in
the Department of Mysteries was
cinematically beautiful, it did lack
intensity. “People waving wands
at one another, even accompanied
by bright lights and scary sounds,
does not quite sate this moviegoer’s appetite for action,” said A. O.
Scott, of the New York Times.
Fanatics not too fond of the
director’s work will have to cope
with Yates because he has signed
to direct the upcoming sixth movie and even though some things
didn’t make it in the movie, they
can still weave in important details for future movies. “They’ll just
find a way to work it in to the next
movie when it’s needed,” said a
commenter on Livejournal. In the
end, one can not deny they enjoyed
the movie.
July 20, 2007
La Vision
11
The Art and Culture Famiily in Downtown El Paso
Andrea Tapia
La Vision staff writer
As the setting sun shines upon
the Arts Festival Plaza in downtown El Paso, a guitarist from the
local rock band Windy City begins
to strum chords attracting curious
observers to the area.
“I have been coming for about
two years,” says Debby Guitierrez,
one of the 1,300 local residents
who attended the open-air concert
— a tribute to Chicago – in the Alfresco Fridays! summer concert
series. “We look forward to it every
Friday. It has gotten much better
over the years,” she said.
Alfresco Fridays! is one of the
free summer programs offered by
the Museums and Cultural Affairs
department (MCAD). Music Under
the Stars is another show.
Approximately two years ago the
Cultural Department of the MCAD
merged with the Museums Division that includes the Museum of
Art, the Museum of History and
the Museum of Archaeology.
According to Event Coordinator
Lilia E. Fierro of the Art Museum,
the partnership was formed mainly
to avoid a duplication of effort. “We
have become a big family
now and want to unify
the arts together,”
Fierro said.
“We are here
to help better
the organizations as well
as oversee
public programs in
education,
artists,
writers,
poet dancers
etc.”
Arts
&
Education
Programs
Specialist Ben Fyffe
said. “We aid
them in doing
their work.”
Most of the funding for the MCAD
comes from the
city of El Paso,
fundraising
and free marketing. “What
is interesting
is that we give
out a third of our
budget to share with
other organizations
throughout the city,”
Fyffe said.
One of the Art and Sol
public art projects – a series
of sculptured solar fantasies
– adorns the entrance of the Museum of History on the corner of
Cleveland Square Park. The Art
and Sol project is just another step
taken by the MCAD to inspire the
community with art and culture.
The project employs artists to produce a sculptural sol in their own
style. The Sols are owned by the
MCAD and will be displayed in city
public places.
“I
would like to see more people interested in history. We have 400
years of linear history to exhibit,”
Museum Operations Assistant Sebastian Ribas said.
A recent economic impact study
conducted by economist Ray Per-
La Vision staff writer
There are over 1,000 dining options in El Paso according to Yellowpages.com. People can chose
everything from traditional Mexican cuisine to the ever-growing
Asian options. However out of
those 1,000 restaurants not one
provides a vegetarian menu.
Vegetarians across El Paso are
frustrated. Abigail Hernandez, a
senior at Eastwood High School,
who has been a vegetarian for 3
years, finds the variety exasperating. “I have to resort to junk food
all the time because of the lack of
options at restaurants.”
According to eatveg.com, an online resource for vegetarians, one
million people in the United States
become vegetarian each year.
Whether for health benefits, ethical
reasons, or for environmental concerns, vegetarians are not just the
hippies that live down the street.
Pink Rivera
Monica Soltero
Andrea Tapia
Mariel Torres
Claudia I. Vargas
MANAGING EDITOR
Dr Thomas E. Ruggiero, Director Journalism in July
PRODUCTION MANAGER
John Gardner
COPY EDITORS
Daniel Borunda, EP Times
Mike Brooks
Alicia Caldwell, AP
David Crowder, EP Times
in the state and $98.4 billion in
gross product.
“I feel the work in the cultural
scene in the city has always been
strong,” Fyffe said. “We need to
nuture the community as well as
the local artists around us.”
El Paso is home to many vegetarians; there is even a vegetarian
society. The Vegetarian Society of
El Paso has 250 registered vegetarian members ranging from 11 years
old to 80 years old. Since there is
a community of vegetarians in El
Paso, why is there not one vegetarian restaurant here?
While about 50 restaurants here
in El Paso offer one or two dishes
of vegetarian friendly food some
are still not satisfied, Richard Gutierrez, a senior at Americas High
School who has been a vegetarian
for 4 years, says that lack of options creates conflicts. ”When me
and my friends want to go eat, I
find it hard to find something we
all agree on.” Gutierrez said. This
is another qualm people have with
a lack of vegetarian options in El
Paso.
However, Sukie Sargent the
founder and treasurer of the Vegetarian Society of El Paso is opti-
mistic about the eventual possibility of a vegetarian restaurant.
“If the restaurant has good tasting food that even meat eaters will
love, the restaurant will survive.”
Sargent said. Despite her optimism
however, some still doubt the introduction of strictly vegatarian
restauants in El Paso.
Jaganath Raspopovich a student
at UTEP believes, “A completely
vegetarian restaurant would have a
hard time here as a restaurant that
has a decent selection of vegetarian dishes as well as other foods
would thrive.”
Whether there should be a vegetarian restaurant or one that simply serves more vegetarian dishes,
the fact is there are at least 250
vegetarians who need more selection. Abby Hernandez says,
“For now, vegetarians are stuck
with picking the wilted salad and
side of chemically produced carrots from whatever restaurant their
friend chose this week.”
Lack of options frustrates
local vegetarians
Felicia Alba
VISION STAFF REPORTERS
Felicia Alba
Sandra Balderrama
Alyssa Chavez
Cynthia Chaparro
Diana Diaz de Leon
Ariana Gonzalez
Linda Rubi Govea
Danielle Gutierrez
Abigail Hernandez
Cindy Hernandez
Rebecca Martinez
Vianney Olivas
Amanda Orozco
Jaime Perez
ryman and published on the Texas
Cultural & Arts Network reported
that the arts have a major positive
effect on the Texas economy. The
study said that the arts produced
almost two million permanent jobs
Tammy Fonce-Olivas, EP Times
David Garcia, KROD
Linda Landress, EP Times
Javier Martinez Andrade, UACJ and Tec
de Monterey, Jz. MX
Sito Negron, Newspaper Tree
Gustavo Reveles Acosta, EP Times
Victor Santana-Melgozo, UTEP
David Smith-Soto, UTEP
Deidre Conklin, UTEP
WORKSHOP VOLUNTEERS
Michael Becker, Alamogordo Daily News
Mary Benati, NMSU
Daniel Borunda, EP Times
Dr. Irasema Coronado, Associate Dean
of Liberal Arts
Lisa Degliantoni, El Paso Magazine
Armand Durazno, EP Times
Louie Gilot, EP Times
Steve Lama, Crime Stoppers
Jay Koester, EP Times
Pat Piotrowski, KTEP
Angela Kocherga, BELO Bureau Chief
Elizabeth O’Hara, KFOX
Ramon Renteria, EP Times
Kathy Rogers, Prospector
Javier Sambrano, EPPD
Louie Saenz, UTEP
Andrea Tapia
Claudia Isela Vargas
Dr. Patricia Witherspoon, UTEP
CONTRIBUTORS
Down Jones Newspaper Fund
***El Paso Inc.
***Special Thanks For Printing the
Vision
Ethics and Excellence in Journalism
Fund
El Paso Times
El Paso Press Club
Bob Moore
Kate Gannon
Prospector
12
La
Entertainment
July 20. 2007
Simplicity - an art
By Sandra Balderrama
Photo by Danyel Tarin Second Day Wish
Photo by Danyel Tarin Fury of Milk
Photo by Danyel Tarin, Scaled
Photo by Danyel Tarin Tiny Steps
A clock, ink, and a glass all sound
like items you might find in everyday life, but for artist Danyel
Tarin this is where he gets his
inspiration.
“It is too common that people
look for inspiration in things they’ll
never truly feel,” Tarin said. “What
I’m trying to do is show people that
you don’t need to experience those
things to find inspiration. Inspiration can come from the most
simple things, people just overlook
them.”
Tarin has been taking photographs for four years and has 24
photos on display in a local gallery. The 19–year-old biology student at the University of Texas at
El Paso, has based his photographs
on simple things viewed with a different perspective. For instance,
a strawberry, which to most is a
simple piece of fruit, is to him is art
in motion.
“Some of the pictures are accidents but there’s a purpose behind
each one,” Tarin says. Tarin is displaying his photographs at the Space Available Art
Gallery, or SpAG, in downtown El
Paso.
The owner of the gallery, Adriana
Elena Spencer, an artist herself,
has her own view of how art should
be shown.
“What made me want to open
up this gallery was that we have
encountered several galleries
where they ask the artist for a lot
of things,” Spencer said. “We don’t
ask for portfolios or samples, anyone can display their art here.”
Claudia Vargas, who visited the
gallery Friday during an opening
reception for Tarin and other artists on display this month, said she
enjoyed the various types of art being shown.
This gallery is really small but
it has some amazing art that just
instantly catches your attention,” Vargas said. “I especially
liked Danyel’s pictures. He just
took something so simplistic and
turned it into something that was
simply art.”
This is Tarin’s third show, but his
first in Spencer’s gallery.
“It really helps to display your art
in a gallery so people can actually
see what your work actually looks
like,” Tarin says.
Other artists including Adrian
Aragonés, who was voted El Paso’s
second best artist, is also showing
his photographs at SpAG.
“El Paso art is like a sleeping
giant, there’s great artists here,
there’s only need for more opportunity,” Aragonés said.
Photo by Claudia Vargas
Sen
ses
Fail
Two shades of a fantasy
The dark side of the Warped Tour
New Found Gl
ory
Je
an
ke
Ja
h in
e
ss
Le
n
tha
ma
the
st.
n
i
Ag a
c
taken to the hospital to be treated
for heat-related problems and
injuries.
People just needed to drink
enough water,” said Welch. “It was
very hot.”
Although the sun was a problem,
it was not the fans only concern.
Lari Sotelo, 17, discovered that first
hand when a toe injury sidelined
her.
I went to the medical tent when
my big toe started to swell and turn
purple,” she said. “ Then in the
mosh pits people killed my feet.
They kept stomping on me.”
Griego got his money worth getting not only a burn, but also an
encounter with a flying shoe.
This shoe just came out of nowhere and just slapped me in the
face. I actually started to bleed.
Then when bands came on, there
were so many crowd surfers and
my head kept getting knocked
down.” Welch also said that one of
the four was hospitalized due to a
flying object.
She got hit in the head with
something and began to experience headaches and head pains,”
she said.
So why would the thousands
subject themselves to this doubleedged sword? What is it about this
tour that brings fans together from
all walks of life?
“I go for the bands. I know all
about all the risks and dangers.
And I also know how to care for
myself, but its just something that
comes with buying the ticket,” said
Ray Valles.
But in the end it all comes down
to the music.”
Jo
Teens, who usually sleep late during the summer left their beds early July 12 to join more than 11,000
other punk-rock music lovers who
lined up for the Vans Warped Tour
music festival on New Mexico State
University’s practice field.
More than 80 bands performed
on eight different stages. The
tour’s punk rock bands included
Yellow Card, Red Jump Suit Apparatus, and New Found Glory.
“I thought the New Found Glory
show was the best,” said Brian Treftz, 17, a devoted fan who says he
has followed the band for as long as
he can remember. “The lead singer
came down to the same level as us
and sang right in front of us. He
even shook my hand.”
Along with the music, there were
16 side attractions, including Mexico’s Lucha Libre, a Mexican type
of wrestling, which featured some
of the most popular wrestlers. Also
featured was Van’s Amateur MiniRamp Skate Jam, where pre-qualified skaters competed for prizes.
But some experienced a more
dangerous side to their outdoor
concert fantasy.
As much as Franklin High School
student James Griego enjoyed the
tour, he found the 100-degree heat
and the sun hard to deal with. “I think within the first hour and
a half I was already developing a
change in color, it was so hot,” said
concert-goer James Griego.
“I came home with a really bad
farmer’s tan.”
Bobbie Welch, booking and marketing coordinator for NMSU special events, said 54 people were
treated at the medical tent, mostly
for heat exhaustion. Four were
tt
By Claudia Vargas
Rise
Yello
w
card