THE UNI V ERSIT Y OF TE X A S AT EL PA S O
AS SAY ER OF STUDENT OPINION
May 5, 2026
THEPROSPECTORDAILY.COM
VOL. 111, NO. 8
OPINION Page 2
NEWS Page 7
ARTS & CULTURE Page 19
SPORTS Page 21
Hey Siri, play ‘Piano Man’
UTEP prepares for graduation weekend
Heidi Baca’s journey into bioarcheology: breathing life into the past
UTEP Dance team becomes NDA College National Champions
The empty seats at Commencement B XIMENA CORDERO Y EDITOR-IN-CHIEF • THE PROSPECTOR
Editor’s Note: The Prospector is identifying the student by “G” only due to the sensitive nature of her family’s immigration status. As commencement approaches, thousands of students at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) prepare to walk on the stage. Many will get to look out into the Don Haskins Center audience and see seats filled with loved ones cheering them along. But for some students, the milestone comes with a quieter reality, empty seats where loved ones should be. For G, a 23-year-old senior at UTEP, commencement represents years of sacrifice, not only her own, but her family’s. Yet as she prepares to walk the stage, the people she most wants in the crowd will not be there. “I’ve looked forward to this day since I was a kid,” G said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, finally everything that we went through was worth something, and now I have something to show for it.’ And [now] the people that matter the most, I can’t go up to them and I can’t hug them and I can’t show them.” G grew up in El Paso as the daughter of immigrant parents from Chihuahua and Jalisco, Mexico. Her parents moved to the United States before she was
Photo by Sadie Briones/The Prospector
born, believing she would have opportunities they did not. From an early age, she understood the weight of that decision. Her childhood was shaped by moments of uncertainty, including encounters with immigration enforcement where she had to hide in her own home. There was fear during routine traffic stops and the realization that her family lived under constant risk. Those experiences, she said, pushed her to
grow up quickly and shaped her sense of purpose. “I got into politics very young, because everything around me in my life has been politics. I’ve felt politics affect me firsthand,” G said. “I made a commitment as a kid. I was like, ‘I want to be an immigration lawyer.’” Central to her journey was her mother, who gave up her own educational aspirations to build a life for her daughter. “She sacrificed her being able to
years, I cannot begin to describe the shock I felt. I was 9 years old when I first discovered the K-Pop band. At my grandmother’s house, in a separate room, my cousin asked my sister to pick between a “happy song,” and a “sad song.” She chose “Not Today” as the happy song, their most recent song at the time. After my sister played the song for
me a few days later, I immediately fell in love with it, and I can truly say that song changed my life in the best way possible. It meant so much to me because my sister, who loved it as well, made it a point to share it with me.
A ‘mucho picante’ concert
B ABBY PEDROZA Y A&C EDITOR • THE PROSPECTOR
After a hiatus of nearly four years, BTS finally came back in full throttle, announcing their new album, “ARIRANG,” and their awaited world tour. One of the stops being our very own borderland city, El Paso. As a fan of BTS for almost 10
see PICANTE on page 2
have an education, she sacrificed being close to her family for me to be able to have what she never had,” G said. Her mother emphasized academics from a young age, pushing her to excel in school despite financial hardship. G said that dedication is the reason she is graduating today. see SEATS on page 5
More than movies and myths: A senior’s story B VANESSA ORZCO Y CONTRIBUTOR • THE PROSPECTOR
For the first time in 2026, graduation season is upon us. Seniors at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) are preparing to walk the stage and receive their long-awaited degrees during commencement weekend on May 16. After years of hard work, many graduates are reflecting on whether college matched the expectations they once had before arriving on campus. Students from a wide range of backgrounds, colleges and graduate programs will cross the stage this spring. Many scholars vary in experience despite the glamorized college life mindset. As the nation’s leading Hispanicserving institution and a Research 1 open-access university with a largely commuter-based student population, UTEP offers a college experience shaped heavily by culture, community and resilience. Senior Jairo Hernandez of the UTEP nursing program is among the students graduating this semester. A Guatemalan and Dominican American from Los Angeles, Calif., Hernandez is also a member of the Texas Nursing Students Association. “Being at UTEP helped me build community with people from diverse backgrounds,” Hernandez said. see MYTHS on page 7