On May 10 there was an open house at the Acacia room Union East to address campus renovations.   The following are areas that will be affected and the dates of construction:   Wiggins Plaza Started March 2013, completion Aug. 2013   There are two phases to the Wiggins Plaza.

   The Top Ten Seniors award identifies 10 graduating students who have excelled not only academically, but also through their remarkable leadership and community service, all while maintaining a high grade-point average throughout their undergraduate career at UTEP.

   Commencement marks an exciting time for graduates, especially for those who are chosen to be highlighted during the ceremony. According to UTEP President Diana Natalicio, nominating graduates to be highlighted during the ceremony has been going on quite some time, and it was personalized so people would feel that there is not just 1,000 graduates in black hats, but people with real stories.

   A section of University Avenue will close to vehicular traffic permanently on May 20, marking a major phase in the construction for the centennial transformation of the UTEP campus. Along with University Avenue, the construction on Wiggins Road will finish in May and preliminary work on Schuster Avenue will begin, a project that will take about two years, according to Keith Erekson, executive director of the centennial celebration.

   This year’s Student Government Association elections resulted in a change in leadership. Current Liberal Arts senator, Paulina Lopez, was elected SGA president. Although her term does not begin until June 1, Lopez, junior organizational communication major, has already begun working on changes to the SGA.

   The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has implemented a policy that penalizes state universities that do not meet the state average in graduation rates. UTEP is currently one of the universities that is being penalized and therefore cannot submit any new doctoral program proposals until graduation rates are calculated next fiscal year.

   UTEP’s three commencement ceremonies, which will take place on May 18, follow a tradition that has been developed since the early 1980s. According to Frank Montes de Oca, assistant director for the Office of University Relations, it began with the help of a professor in the theater department, Charles Etheridge, who formulated the commencement ceremony that is used today.

Disabled students find alternatives onto campus

   With the campus transformation underway, students with disabilities expect to be affected by the limited access to inner campus through the entry gates. One service that caters to UTEP students with disabilities is Project Amistad, which currently tends to five students who are picked up from their homes and dropped off at specified drop-off zones on campus.

   The Women’s Studies Program will be having its sixth-annual Rainbow Graduation Reception on May 3, honoring lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex and straight-ally UTEP students who will be graduating in spring 2013.

Nationwide jazz chart topper, Jackie Ryan, was a guest April 30 at the Fox Fine Arts Recital Hall, where she wowed the audience as she sang along with the UTEP Jazz Ensemble with her strong soprano voice. Starting off with an upbeat sound, the Jazz Ensemble set a vibrant tone with a strong brass and woodwind line, a soothing piano melody and percussionists that kept audiences tapping their foot.

   A $1-million multi-investigation grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas has given graduate and undergraduate students an opportunity to spend more time in the research lab while providing critical research on alternative treatments of prostate cancer.

   Catherine Silva, freshman environmental science major, knew that an alternate treatment for allergy control called desensitization was not FDA approved and was still being researched. However, she decided to undergo the treatment back in August, after being medically disqualified from the Air Force because of her peanut allergy.

   Kimberly Vanacek, UTEP journalism graduate, was able to transition from broadcast journalism to print journalism with the release of the magazine she financed, “The Art Avenue,” a bi-monthly publication focusing on culture and the arts in the border region.

  Countless phone calls, multiple denies and an abundance of tears never stopped Laura Caballero, senior graphic design and metals major, from showcasing her work at one of the BFA Art Exhibitions in the Glass Gallery, Feb. 7. Over a thousand dollars and months of preparation were put into her interactive piece entitled “Recollections.

   Students who have an artistic talent will be able to demonstrate their skills and win some cash prices at the talent show to be held April 24 at the Magoffin Auditorium. “A talent show would give students with talent an outlet and an audience,” said Ahmad Khattab, SGA senator at large and senior biological science major.

  Military affiliated students have a new one-stop place to turn to for help in their academic career.   The Military Student Success Center, located at room 205 in the library, opened its doors April 19 during an unveiling.   The service center was created to provide advising and other services to students enlisted in the military, veterans, dependants and civilian employees at military bases.

A century has passed since the Texas Legislature authorized the establishment of the Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy, now known as the University of Texas at El Paso. On April 16, the university was recognized by members of the Legislature at the state capital in Austin, Texas.