Vol. 14, No. 4
T
The Magnet
R I B U N
E
Vidal M. Treviño 1929-2006
February 23, 2007
Vidal M. Treviño School of Communications & Fine Arts, 1701 Victoria St., Laredo Texas 78040
A state- and nationally recognized student newspaper
Our 2nd decade of service to VMT Teachers join the Losers Club to win
Students say goodbye to Mr. T BY JUAN OLIVARES MT STAFF WRITER
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tudents, staff, and district personnel showed their respect for school founder Vidal M. Treviño at a memorial service next to the Force of Creation on Jan. 12. Treviño died on Dec. 30 at the age of 77. Before anything had started, some of the students received a red or a pink rose as they arrived. Then, school director Jose Cerda spoke about Treviño. “The vision he had for this school, for this district, can never be duplicated by anyone. He had a vision, not only for this school district, but for this school,” Cerda said. He then introduced David Colunga, senior theater student. Colunga read a biography about Treviño. Cerda then recognized the faculty and staff who had been at VMT since the school opened 14 years ago. Armando Hinojosa, department head of visual arts and an original faculty member, discussed his history with Treviño. He explained how he met Treviño and what a good sense of humor he had. Hinojosa said Treviño offered him a job as the head of the art department while he was a teacher at Cigarroa High School. Hinojosa discovered a little about Treviño when he was hired to make the bust of Treviño that’s in the Harding Building. “I had to go to Treviño’s
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MT photo by Keila Granados Students place roses in vases during a memorial service for VMT founder and former school district superintendent Vidal M. Treviño at the Force of Creation statue on Jan. 12. From left, Cynthia Gamez, Viviana Castañeda, Blanca Castillo and Carolina Salazar. In the background is Principal Jose Cerda.
Founder passes away at 77 BY KIMBERLY EVANS MT STAFF WRITER Former superintendent Vidal M. Treviño passed away Dec. 30. He devoted 46 years to LISD and the education of Laredo’s youth. Treviño was the first to recognize the educational needs for south Laredo and planned for its schools, according to a link on the district’s Web site. Some say one of his greatest accomplishments in the district was the Vidal M. Treviño Magnet School of
Communications and Fine Arts. This school was named in his honor, and was the first magnet school in Laredo. Several teachers and students were asked to recall their fondest memory of Treviño, and what their reaction was towards his death. Sculpture and jewelry making instructor and Visual Arts department head Armando Hinojosa remembered an incident involving Treviño. “When I was sculpting Mr. Treviño’s bust (head sculpture) I remembered him falling
asleep. He looked at peace,” Hinojosa said. Social Studies instructor Matias Arambula recalled a meeting after the school opened. “My fondest memory of Mr. Vidal Treviño is the meeting he had with the VMT faculty during the early weeks after VMT opened in 1993. In that meeting, he explained his goals for the school and forewarned us about how controversial the school was going to be. Truly an era in Laredo ended when he passed away,” Arambula
See DEATH, page 14
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