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Prospector editor in chief says goodbye    

Prospector editor in chief says goodbye




Thalia Longoria  

Editor in Chief


After spending almost two years immersed in working at The Prospector, it is hard to disassociate myself with the end of my college career and my short stint as a student journalist. Like most student clubs, the paper is an all-consuming endeavor and since October 2005, it has defined my college experience. Without it I would have fallen into the commuter college slump of non-involvement. It is somewhat of a tradition at the paper to write a farewell column, and I will try not to make mine too cheesy.

I am not even sure whether or not I’ll stick to journalism, but my experiences at The Prospector and at the San Angelo Standard-Times in summer 2006 have taught me not only how to survive in the journalism field, but also taught me the basic principles of cooperation and personal communication–even though at times it was a tremendous struggle.

Okay, so maybe that is cheesy, but it’s true. Being a journalist, you get to talk to new people everyday, hear new stories from a first hand perspective and realize that when you dig deep enough, almost everyone has something fascinating lurking within. It’s been an honor and a privilege to come across some of the people I have met, including the women participating in the Air Race Classic, Kiff Slemmons at the UTEP Rubin Gallery and the men and women who live and work as migrant farm workers at El Centro De Los Trabajadores Agrícolas Fronterizos.

As part of my last undergraduate class, I am attending classes at Chemnitz University of Technology in Chemnitz, Germany. After an exhausting 24 hours of travel, a class of nine UTEP students have been given the opportunity to interact with German and South African students as part of a class entitled “Crossing Borders-Intercultural and Organizational Communication.” I thought being in Germany would be a nice way to end my college experience and my short time here has reinforced the notion that there is no substitute for hands-on experience.

My advice to students: get involved with everything, even if it’s for a short period of time. You’ll learn how much you enjoy something, or how much you only thought you loved your field of study. And don’t buy into the notion of having to graduate in four years. Take your time and don’t take UTEP for granted. Use UTEP to your advantage. Affordable health care, a plethora of organizations and infinite networking possibilities become more difficult to come across once you’re thrown out into the post-graduate world.

Along with thanking my family and closest friends, I would like to thank the people who made working at the paper the most memorable and worthwhile of my journalism endeavors. Ben, David, Ivan, John, Elida, Daniel, Marjon and Joe. Thanks for showing me what real journalists are, how to get the real story and for helping me get through the long production nights. You all have inspired me and kept me sane when it was nearly impossible to keep going. You are tremendously talented and I know I will be seeing your work in the future. Monica and Drew and my family – I could not have finished anything without your support. Thanks for reminding me it was just a student paper. And above all, thank you Kathy and Donna for your ceaseless patience and understanding.

Finishing at UTEP feels both liberating and terrifying, but The Prospector gave me the experience of a lifetime.

Auf Wiedersehen!
   
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Letter to the Editor Minimize    

ASARCO

We are so fortunate to have the outstanding Community Scholars analyzing our region, and their recent presentation about non-profit organizations was illuminating. Community Scholars compared us to non-profits in Dallas, which showed that we have much room for improvement. The most striking part of the improvement was that non-profit success is intrinsically tied to the success of the for-profit sector. The most controversial aspect of for-profit business here is ASARCO. To be sure, they have committed crimes and deception in the past, and they have paid for it. To prevent the crimes from recurring, we need to use an eminent document, not eminent domain. The contract would allow them to reopen, but only if ASARCO will employ the latest technology to reduce all waste to a non-hazardous condition, certifiable as landfillable with no pollutants contaminating our air, water and ground. By demonstrating that we are business friendly to socially responsible corporations, industry will seek us out to set up shop here. To not grasp this progressive opportunity is to dwell in the past and not embrace the future. It will leave a far worse taste in the mouth than the effluent of the old, bad ASARCO as the world shuns that antiquated thinking.

 John Eyberg

 Editor’s note: Community Scholars, Inc., a non-profit organization that offers leadership development internship opportunities to local high school students, presented “El Paso Non-Profits: Draining or Developing the Economy?” at the Nonprofit Enterprise Center, 1812 Hunter Dr. on Wednesday, July 11. Community Scholars interns spend their summers researching public policy and economic development issues that are pertinent to the Paso del Norte Region.

 A discussion of Bush as worst president ever

Fellow readers and all interested in good government, I would like to address comments made in the column Bush Worst President Ever–please grant me a brief hearing. In paragraph two, it is written: “He had destroyed the efficacy of the U.S. Civil Service. In positions of prominence, power and great responsibility, Bush has filled the ranks of his administration with lackey yes-men.”

My first point is that the president cannot pack the civil service with yes-men because this would be a violation of law. The Pendleton Civil Service Act created a Civil Service Commission that changed how applicants for federal jobs were hired. Previously, these positions went out as favors to supporters in a spoils system, but now, with the Civil Service Commission in place, applicants for federal jobs are tested with the goal of gleaning the best candidates for the job. Federal employees in Civil Service are hired on merit, not by political appointment. Therefore, because of the rule of law, the ranks of the Civil Service cannot be packed with yes-men.

My second point is that in order to pack the Civil Service, a lot of existing employees would have to be terminated to make room for the elect. Since federal employees are not political appointments, they cannot be voted out of office and therefore are not in the least threatened by a change in administration. The protections federal employees enjoy against termination are the stuff legends are made of. They seem to be coated with a type of Teflon that defeats any attempts at removal.

The third point is that I believe that the author is confusing a Civil Servant with a political appointee. Political appointees arrive on their benefactor’s coattails and usually survive as long as their administration does. An appointee has none of the protections of a Civil Servant; they live and breathe at the pleasure of the appointing authority. The firing of the prosecutors is lamentable, but the president is within his rights. If these firings disturb you, why not revisit that political blood shed by Bill Clinton when he dumped more than 90 U.S. attorneys? Shall we talk about disloyalty now?

A fourth point is that all presidents fill their administrative positions with people who share their views and vision. This is an accepted practice that all presidents enjoy, and is indeed necessary for government business to be conducted. To fill administrative positions with people who do not share the vision of the chief executive would result in political chaos and gridlock. This kind of logic may work in an alternative universe, but not this one. Birds of a feather flock together, and a house divided will not stand.

Due to constraints of space, I cannot comment further on other topics in the article. For now we must agree to disagree.

Narration resumetur…

 

Thomas Underdahl

Senior, psychology major

 

 Correction

 An editing mistake was made in the July 11 column. The last portion of item six should have read: The newly Bush-packed court has already upheld legislation that outlaws intact dilation and extraction, the availabilty of which the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists deems necessary for the well being of women.