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Cinco de Mayo
By: Elizabeth Morales and Maria Barajas
It has been over 140 years
since the Battle of Puebla, a battle that had a great impact on
Mexico’s History. This Battle was fought on May 5, 1862 during a
time of chaos and violence that swept Mexico. This battle is
celebrated to honored and remember General Zaragoza and his
outnumbered militia who fought fiercely against the French Army
that consisted of 7,000 troops and defeated them. It has been
said that General Zaragoza screamed at the top of his lungs “VIVA
MEXICO!!! VIVA MEXICO!!! after defeating the French. This
statement today continues to live within the hearts of all
Mexican’s and their dictators. Every May 5th,
thousands of Mexican’s gather outside the Presidential Palace
located in Mexico City to hear the President proclaim VIVA
MEXICO!!! VIVA MEXICO. This event is televised throughout the
United States Spanish speaking channels of communication.
Over the years, celebrating
Cinco de Mayo has become increasingly popular throughout the
United States. Unfortunately, when asked about the significance
of Cinco de Mayo, most people are clueless and believe that it
signifies Mexico’s Independence. Just to set the record straight
Mexico’s Independence was declared on September 15, 1810 after
defeating Spain and Cinco de Mayo “The Battle of Puebla” took
place on May 5, 1862. Cinco de Mayo has become more of a regional
tradition in Mexico in contrast to the United States
celebrations. Many Mexican-Americans and other Americans
celebrate this day by experiencing Mexico’s culture and holding
huge parties where one can consume traditional Mexican drinks,
food and dancing.
Lastly, Cinco de Mayo “La
Batalla de Puebla” will continue to be a glorious moment for all
Mexican’s and their descendants. A celebration that reminds all
Mexican’s of their forefather’s resistance against the French and
their strong will to survive. Even though Mexico eventually lost
the war, the Battle of Puebla is an extraordinary example of
Mexico’s determination and solidarity.
The Organization of Latin
American Students (OLAS) invites all students to celebrate “CINCO
DE MAYO” on May 1st at 8:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. in LRH
Great Room.
“One helluva job” by
the SGA
Jonathan Meyer
The
UIS SGA held its final scheduled meeting for the spring last
Sunday. In his State of the Student Body speech, SGA President
Jason Stuebe said the group had “met many challenges and made
significant headway.”
During the course of the year, the SGA staffed the SORC; a
revamped conference room for clubs to meet that also serves as a
lounge in the PAC. The SORC has an HD TV, a place for clubs to
check their mail, a stereo, DVD player, and a number of other
accessories.
Unfortunately, during the course of the year several items have
gone missing from the room.
Student Government members have also helped test a Banner
application during the year, specifically, the class registration
program for next semester. The volunteers were asked to make note
of any problems they ran into during the process. The problems
they were to look for included not only technical errors, but also
confusing instructions.
During the UPI/IP threatened strike, the SGA requested a UIS
Administrator to appear at a meeting. At this conference, SGA
members heard from the Administrator and asked questions to
determine what exactly was going on.
More
recently, the SGA had to develop constitutional amendments to be
submitted for student referendum in the upcoming election. When
the amendments were written up and presented in front of the
entire government for debate, there was a great deal of
discussion.
In
total, nearly seven hours worth of debate spread out over the
course of two meetings resulted from discussion over the
amendments. The results of those discussions were finally voted
on at the last scheduled SGA meeting.
Even
then, there was some uneasiness about the amendments. The clarity
of one section regarding the President’s ability to spend a
certain percentage of the SGA budget without approval from the
body was called into question.
Another section dealing with administering disciplinary action to
unruly SGA members was discussed. According to the proposed
amendment, disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with
the bylaws and Student Disciplinary Code.
Amid
the concerns, Stuebe presented three possibilities. “We can pass
the amendments and iron out the problems over the summer, vote it
down completely, or hammer it down here. I hope students won’t
vote it down because it isn’t absolutely perfect. My
understanding is that any future issue will be cleared up over the
summer and next year.
Most
of the SGA aligned themselves with the first option, having
already spent two meetings trying to iron out everything. When
the final vote was tallied, there were zero votes against and one
abstention by Treasurer Sandra Stover. Every other member voted
in favor of the amendments. The amendments will go before the
student body for referendum in the upcoming election.
Future SGA meetings are possible for this semester. However, they
are not currently scheduled. If one is deemed necessary, it will
be called by the SGA Chair. Even if no future meetings are
called, President Stuebe felt like the SGA performed a job well
done. In closing his State of the Student Body speech, he said to
the SGA, “Thank you for an incredible year. You guys did one
helluva job!”
Mr. UIS Pageant Pics
Photos by Heather Shaffer
Rick Ludwig, Mark
Brockett, Irfan Ahmed, Josh Frazee, Ben Grafton, Joe Wheeler,
Brace Clements, and Chad Eversgerd competed in the Mr. UIS pageant
on Friday, April 2nd at the PAC Cafeteria.
Rick
Ludwig 2nd Place, Irfan Ahmed 3rd Place, Mr. UIS Chad Eversgerd,
and Mr. Congeniality Brad Clements are all smiles after
competition.
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