Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio
UTSA The results of the Business Auxillary Service’s (BAS) peanut butter parking capaign are in. In total, 702 pounds of peanut butter were donated, 548 meals were provided to the San Antonio Food Bank and students saved $9,750 in parking tickets. The campaign will be repeated next fall.
{SINCE 1981}
Volume 52
Issue 8
October 6 - October 13, 2015
Hypothesis: STEM has a sexism problem
U.S.
Oklahoma has granted a stay of execution to convicted murderer Richard Glossip and two other death row inmates after officials discovered that they did not have the correct chemicals to follow through with the procedure.
World
Doctors Without Borders reported that 12 of its staffers and 10 of its patients were killed following a U.S. air strike on a hospital run by the organization in the Northern Afghan province of Kunduz. The strike comes as fire fights between the Taliban and Afghan Security Forces have again broken out.
Science Chinese scientist Dr. Youyou Tu has won a Nobel Prize in medicine for her work in the 1970s fighting against malaria. She began her research in the 1960s because American and North Vietnamese soldiers were suffering from drug-resistant malaria. The mosquito remains the world’s deadliest animal.
Health
A fire set to a Thousand Oaks, California Planned Parenthood facility has been ruled an arson according to local authorities. The health center has faced public and congressional backlash for its practice of supplying tissue from aborted fetuses for scientific research.
“Spend more time talking about how to be your best self (even if that self is a high- heels wearing, red-lipstick-touting feminista,” says president of Society of Women Engineers, Barbera Kennedy.
Marina Vences Staff Writer
@ThePaisano news@paisano-online.com At UTSA in 2014, female students represented 17.4 percent of the 3,089 students enrolled in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields. While the ratio of male to female students can be influenced by a number of factors, such as student interest and enrollment, the empirically observed gender gap raises concerns. Olivia Ybarra, a recent UTSA graduate with a B.S. in environmental science and a minor in biology, has often seen the effects of this
gap first hand. “Being a female minority and studying a subject that is often under appreciated and misinterpreted, especially in Texas, it can seem like the odds are stacked against you,” she said. Ybarra stated she has often encountered sexist remarks said casually in her study groups and classes and attributes this to the gap between men and women enrolled in STEM. “I had female classmates, especially engineering majors where females are overwhelmingly outnumbered, who have been in study groups with only male students when the conversation would sud-
denly drift to misogynistic comments about the women nearby.” Although female students today do receive a lot of support, these occurrences are not uncommon. Barbara Kennedy is the president of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at UTSA, and a civil engineering major. Although the society’s purpose is to highlight the contributions of women in the engineering program, she notes the difference in treatment between the sexes in the area of wardrobe. “I have personally been to half a dozen workshops that focus on what not to wear to career-related
events. It took me every one of those experiences before I asked myself, ‘Do men have these workshops?’ Of course they don’t.” Kennedy believes the workshops should “spend more time talking about how to be the best version of yourself (even if that self is a high-heels wearing, red-lipstick-toting feminista).” Ybarra describes an example of sexism professors faced by STEM students. Before her 8 a.m. class, a professor in the biology department began the class by giving his personal outlook on marriage. “He decided he wanted to share his ideas of mar-
Fabian DeSoto, Paisano
riage and the roles of a wife. His views about his wife were demeaning and belittled her integrity. While I do respect other’s opinions, I think it was inappropriate to have that discussion, especially in a class that did not warrant such dialogue,” Ybarra said. Dean of the College of Engineering Dr. JoAnn Browning says that the key to reducing these types of comments and actions in her field are strong female role models. “I feel that women need to be continuously educated and encouraged to consider careers in STEM fields. They share the same interest and talent as men to be successful in these See Women, page 3
Active Minds hopes to reduce stigma surrounding mental illness Anusha Hussain Contributing Writer
@ThePaisano news@paisano-online.com In the Neolithic Era, mental illness (also referred to as “abnormal behavior”) was thought as evil spirits taking over the mind. In hopes of removing malicious spirits lurking in the skull, part of the afflicted individual’s skull was removed in a surgical procedure called trephination. This outdated ritual has been abandoned; however, the stigma surrounding mental health is still strong today. Mental health is ingrained in society, which makes it difficult to remove. Enter Active Minds, the
national non-profit organization that promotes mental health awareness and seems to dissolve the stigma surrounding mental illnesses on college campuses. Melina Acosta, president of Active Minds, was inspired to establish the organization after she lost her father to suicide. She realized there were many warnings that she had overlooked due to ignorance about mental health. Determined to make a change, Acosta began her search and found an organization with the objective of educating the UTSA community about mental health and helping someone who may be struggling. See Student group,Page 2
Active Minds opens a dialogue about mental health encouraging students to usethe hashtag #ReasonISpeak. Photo courtesy of Active Minds