Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio
{SINCE 1981}
Science Studies conducted by Edward Schiappa, a media studies researcher at MIT, conclude that TV shows that prominently feature gay men can lower prejudice toward LGBTQ people. Psychologists explain this as parasocial relationships — or the attachments viewers form with fictional characters; after seeing them as friends, viewers grow emotionally attached to characters who are part of a minority group and prejudices tend to recede.
San Antonio Bo Jett Littleton — the man who held two UTSA students hostage in their Avalon apartment assaulting one at knifepoint, in October of 2014 — was handed down three life sentences plus 60 years by a Bexar County jury on charges of aggravated kidnapping, burglary of a habitation and two counts of aggravated sexual assault.
Volume 52
Issue 3
September 1- September 8, 2015
ISIS kills, but so does ignorance Alex Birnel Contributing Writer
@alexbirnel news@paisano-online.com The blending of pornographic violence and social media savvy from the Islamic State has lodged the group firmly into the public consciousness. While their ascendancy has been precipitous to watch, much less attention has been afforded to the trenchant rejection of their brand of Islam by fellow Muslims, who do not see political violence as the essence or sole orthodox expression of their faith. Sadly still, senior English major Sarah Aburumuh explains that ”Muslims are constantly asked to apologize for the crimes of extremists. We face harsh comments on campus just because we look the part.” This ideological battle within the religion and without has bred plenty of dissent towards tenets of the faith’s doctrines, the Quran and Hadith, and those who consider themselves practitioners of them. At UTSA, the Muslim Student Association (MSA) has tried to clarify these preconceived notions by welcoming debate and dialogue about the features of Islam when their members table on campus. With the earnest intent
to explain and converse openly about a personalized Islam, Senior Ahmad Kaki, MSA member, says the group “still on occasion will face people who call them terrorists, extremists and radicals.” The late Colombian professor of comparative literature and post- colonial scholar Edward Said would call these generalizations “Orientalist,” or the tendency to think of Middle Eastern society and Islam as static, archaic and homogeneous due to stereotypical representations of the region and its people and the demonization of Islam in the news and popular culture. ‘Ijtihad’ or the concept of individualized interpretation of Sharia, is personified by MSA’s own efforts on campus to carve out the right to a progressive interpretation of Islam, where violence is condemned and not celebrated. This is a stark contrast to the idea of “takfir,” or religious excommunication, propagated by groups like ISIS whose ritualized use of the term serves to cast out other Muslims. This is vital to the “vanguard” component of the ISIS narrative, which views the group’s members and the creation of the ca-
liphate as the only authentic purpose of Islam. These two competing ideas force Muslim students onto the defensive. Kaki goes onto explain:
“Rather than getting to talk about peace, love, and rationality, we’re forced to talk about things that we don’t necessarily want to.” This is not because Kaki does not understand the graphic nature of the violence occurring, but rather because “Islam has no liturgical hierarchy. There are conservative scholars and there are liberal scholars, there are differences of opinion, ” he explains. The takeaway from Kaki is that the monopoly claimed by ISIS over questions of Islamic orthodoxy cannot be applied to such a decentralized and fluid religion. In fact, journalists and authors specializing in radicalization now observing the Islamic State (such as Jessica Stern and Der Spiegel reporter Christoph Reuter) are beginning to uncover new evidence dispelling the primacy of religion in how the Islamic State has thrived and functioned. As opposed to divine intervention on the behalf of this group of shell-state building Sunni Wahhabists, much of the military success of the organization has been because of the tactical expertise of Courtesy of UTSA Muslim Student Association former Saddam Baathists, UTSA student Nazar Alyassin participating in a high-ranking members vigil in honor of Deah, Yusor and Razan, the within the bureaucracy of 3 victims of the Chapel Hill shooting. ISIS.
Students like Ahmad Kaki, Sarah Aburumuh and fellow MSA members are on the front lines of changing minds with their willingness to brave the Texas heat, stand outside and engage in conversations. They answer student’s questions and when approached with belligerence MSA students respond with congeniality and candidness. Anyone on Twitter knows the decapitated journalist’s names: James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig. But thousands of others; including the Kurds, Yezidis, Druze, Jordanians, Japanese, Christians and Muslims, have also suffered and lost their lives at the hands of the brutal group. The orange jumpsuits and the black- masked executioners standing in the sand dunes of Dabiq, Syria are imprinted images in the public mind due to the viral spread of information. But lesser known are the videos and photos produced by Muslim students on campuses all over the world, declaring that such activity is grotesque, immoral and a crime against humanity.
Texas Blue Bell returns to Texas stores, postListeria outbreak.
U.S.
In response to the unrest following the grand jury decisions in Ferguson, MI and State Island, NY, California became the first state to ban the use of secret grand juries when deciding to indict police officers in cases of deadly force.
Health Can’t go a day without having multiple cups of coffee? Well, have no fear, there may be benefits to your caffeine habit. A recent study by the Journal of Clinical Oncology suggests people who consume, on average, four or more cups of coffee are less susceptible to cancer reoccurrence and mortality during Stage III colon cancer.
Planned Parenthood battles zoning on Babcock Matthew Gil Contributing Writer
@ThePaisano news@paisano-online.com The Planned Parenthood of South Texas facility has begun operations on 2140 Babcock Rd. Protestors, including both local residents and organizations like the San Antonio Family Association (SAFA), have attempted to use TRAP laws in order to
prevent the facility’s continued operations. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, TRAP laws — Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers — are laws that single out abortion providers for “medically unnecessary, politically motivated state regulations.” Protestors are argue that the city is not enforcing zoning codes for the ambu-
latory surgical center classified as C¬1. The City of San Antonio records indicate the building is a non¬conforming structure in C¬1 since it was developed prior to the 2001 Unified Development Code (UDC) requirements. In 2014, the property owners, Delantero Investors, Ltd., applied for building permits related to renovation work. The city
was informed the building would be used as a ambulatory care facility. Delantero submitted plans that showed medical offices with outpatient surgical capabilities, which is a permissible use of property in the C¬1 zoning district. The San Antonio Development Services Department (DSD) reviewed and approved the permits in August 2014.
In December 2014, Thelma Franco, a resident of nearby neighborhood, Dreamland Estates, filed an appeal that the building did not comply with zoning regulations.
See PP, Page 2
“This is a private property rights issue, not a zoning case. Their claim that the use of the property is illegal is false.” Ron Nirenberg District 8 City Councilman
News
Check out how UTSA assists first-generation college students. Page 2
Arts
Depression 101: How to beat the odds
Page 5
Sports
Opinion Award shows are useless.
Page 4
Jarveon Williams reflects on his path Page 7 to his starting position.