Skip to Main Content
Assayer of Student Opinion.

The Prospector

  • Graduation issue is out now!
  • Enjoy the summer Miners!
  • Graduation issue is out now!
  • Enjoy the summer Miners!
  • Graduation issue is out now!
  • Enjoy the summer Miners!
  • Graduation issue is out now!
  • Enjoy the summer Miners!
Assayer of Student Opinion.

The Prospector

Assayer of Student Opinion.

The Prospector

Christian Vasquez, Web Editor

All content by Christian Vasquez
(Left) Volunteers from the El Paso and Las Cruces region hold Mylar mirror panels at Ardovino’s Desert Crossing on Saturday, April 31. (Right) Artist Steven Randall instructs the volunteers on where to stand to create the mirage.

Constructing mirages in the desert through photography

Christian Vasquez, Web Editor April 23, 2018

Next to an active train track, and a few hundred feet from the U.S./Mexico border in Sunland Park, New Mexico, over 100 volunteers of all ages came together in the desert. “The idea with this was basically how to make a mirage,” said Steven Randall,...

Continue Reading
A society fueled by plastic

A society fueled by plastic

Christian Vasquez and April 16, 2018

Plastic or paper? What used to be a common phrase is now only used at “natural” and “organic” grocery stores in El Paso, and is only asked where consumers can afford to think about the environment, which is a shame because that question is more...

Continue Reading
UTEP will be returning to in person classes as the norm in the fall with Covid-19 cases falling and vaccination rates increasing in the El Paso Community

UTEP breaks Spring enrollment record

Christian Vasquez, Web Editor February 7, 2018

This Spring semester has shown the highest spring enrollment yet, according to University Communications. The campus has seen a 3.6 percent increase compared to the 2017 Spring semester, with the total population at 23,606, which is the highest increase...

Continue Reading
Jerome Tighman is running for the 16th Congressional District seat.

Tilghman continues the fight to stay on a ballot

Christian Vasquez, Web Editor January 29, 2018

For Jerome Tilghman, winning the election for the 16th Congressional District seat is not as important as educating citizens about the impact the government has on citizens’ lives. But that does not mean that the retired Army major and current middle...

Continue Reading
Jessica Miles said that the Otero Processing Center in Chaparral, New Mexico was one of the worst detention centers she has ever seen.

Borderland dehumanizes and marginalizes asylum seekers, according to recent report

Christian Vasquez, Web Editor January 18, 2018
The Hope Border Institute and the Borderland Immigratino Council presented a report on asylum seekers living under the Trump administration on Thursday night at the El Paso Natural Gas Conference Center. The study, "Sealing the Border: The Criminalization of Asylum Seekers in the Trump Era," documented human rights violations by immigration enforcement agencies in El Paso and Southern New Mexico.
Read Story
Picture courtesy of the @JeffreyforTexas Facebook page.

Jeffrey Payne’s run against Governor Greg Abbott

Christian Vasquez, Web Editor December 16, 2017

Jeffrey Payne was standing in an elevator in San Angelo, Texas when a woman got in and read the nametag that read, “Your next governor,” she said, “You know where you are right?” San Angelo is in deep red country. The county, Tom Green County,...

Continue Reading
UTEP will be returning to in person classes as the norm in the fall with Covid-19 cases falling and vaccination rates increasing in the El Paso Community

Student activities on campus during finals week

Christian Vasquez, Web Editor December 8, 2017

It's finals week, so while you are doing some last-minute cramming be sure to take a break and check out the free stuff, food, drinks and activities going on around campus! ALL WEEK – Dec. 11-15 Free scantrons, blue books and pencils Monday...

Continue Reading
President Donald Trump holds rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Tue. May 24.

A recap of a year under President Trump

Christian Vasquez, Web Editor December 4, 2017

No matter what your political position may be, we can all agree that the Trump presidency is anything but boring. Every day there are new headlines about the administration’s latest outrage, so much so that a lot of the actual policies get buried under...

Continue Reading
Wendy Davis was the keynote speaker at the Lies into Laws campus forum on Tuesday, November 14.

Wendy Davis, former State Senator, speaks at campus forum

Christian Vasquez, Web Editor November 14, 2017

Wendy Davis, former Texas Senator and Democratic nominee for the gubernatorial race of 2014, came to UTEP Tuesday night during a campus forum hosted by Texas Rising where over 100 students and El Pasoans showed up. Davis drew national attention during...

Continue Reading
Hearing for Down syndrome research has positive results

Hearing for Down syndrome research has positive results

Christian Vasquez, Web Editor November 6, 2017

Sitting before Congress in late October, Frank Stephens, a prominent actor and activist for individuals with Down syndrome, advocated for increased research funding in the first-ever congressional hearing on Down syndrome research. “I am a man with...

Continue Reading
Carrillo hopes for development in U.S. Congressional race

Carrillo hopes for development in U.S. Congressional race

Christian Vasquez, Web Editor October 30, 2017

KTEP’s director of development, John Carrillo, is throwing his hat into the U.S. Congressional race for the 16th seat. “The political landscape changed when Trump became president. We’ve seen a rise in racism and white supremacist. We’ve seen...

Continue Reading
Kenneth Chacón debuted his collection of poetry called “The Cholo Who Said Nothing.”

A tale of two cholos

Christian Vasquez, Web Editor September 25, 2017

When people ask Kenneth Chacón why he still dresses like a cholo—a Chicano with a bald head and tattoos—as a tenured professor, he tells them, “when a homeboy or a homegirl walks into my classroom, I want to say, ‘Ora, cholos welcome.’” “No...

Continue Reading
Many individuals have voiced their opinions against the revocation of Obama-era regulations surrounding Title IX.

Loosened Title IX laws cause national uproar

Christian Vasquez, Web Editor September 18, 2017

Last week, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced that the Department of Education would revoke the Obama-era regulations around sexual assault found in Title IX, and pivot from protecting the victims to protecting the accused. “The truth is...

Continue Reading
Being a journalist sucks, but it’s what I want

Being a journalist sucks, but it’s what I want

Christian Vasquez, Web Editor September 18, 2017

The pay is crap and we are increasingly expected to do more and more, to finish work faster and faster, with less mistakes and more context. The hours suck. Your whole life is literally bound by other people and whatever newsworthy things they do. I’m...

Continue Reading
New voter ID laws aim to tighten voter rights

New voter ID laws aim to tighten voter rights

Christian Vasquez, Web Editor September 11, 2017

Starting next year, Texas will have a new voter ID law, which will allow more ways to confirm your identification. While the acceptable forms of ID remain the same, those who swear an affidavit of “reasonable impediment,”— meaning they cannot reasonably...

Continue Reading
Civil Rights lawsuits in schools on the rise

Civil Rights lawsuits in schools on the rise

Christian Vasquez, Staff Reporter September 5, 2017

Civil rights lawsuits against schools and universities have doubled in the last four years, and four out of 10 of these have to do with students with disabilities. Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a data collection and analysis organization...

Continue Reading

El Pasoans march to celebrate block of SB4

Christian Vasquez, Staff reporter September 1, 2017

Hundreds of protesters marched from the Armijo El Paso Public Library to San Jacinto Plaza to celebrate the halt of Senate Bill 4 on Friday afternoon, Sept. 1. The celebration comes as U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia placed a preliminary injunction...

Continue Reading
A summer in D.C.

A summer in D.C.

Christian Vasquez, Staff Reporter August 29, 2017

My summer was spent in Washington D.C., in Congress, where I spent every day covering press conferences, committee meetings, protests, votes and anything else that I wanted. I was surrounded by journalists who, despite what some think, work long and hard...

Continue Reading
I got 99 problems, but a degree ain’t one

I got 99 problems, but a degree ain’t one

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor May 2, 2017

There’s a lot of pressure to have specific accomplishments by a certain age, whether they’re from society or from yourself—to know who you are by 18 and what life-long career is lined-up by 21. I graduated from high school at 17 years old and...

Continue Reading
UTEP Professor cautions against new DHS hirings

UTEP Professor cautions against new DHS hirings

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor May 2, 2017

While the Department of Homeland Security prepares to hire 15,000 new officers for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, Josiah Heyman, director of the Center for Inter-American and Border Studies and professor of anthropology,...

Continue Reading

Keeping up with the Texas Legislative Session bills

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor April 25, 2017

It’s just about a month before the 85th Texas Legislative session comes to an end. During the last session, 6,276 bills were introduced and only 1,322 passed. This year, around 8,000 bills were introduced to both the House and Senate, so the odds are...

Continue Reading
Invest in change

Invest in change

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor April 18, 2017

The news is chaotic. It seems as though every day something terrible and important has happened, and you haven’t yet grasped the implications of one tragedy before another takes its place. They’re exciting, no doubt, and each has it’s own importance...

Continue Reading
UTEP will be returning to in person classes as the norm in the fall with Covid-19 cases falling and vaccination rates increasing in the El Paso Community

Student shares sexual harassment on campus experience

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor April 4, 2017

April is sexual assault awareness month, and last week the UT System released a study, Cultivating Learning and Safe Environments (CLASE), about sexual assaults on campus that gives a unique insight to what happens to students. The study was taken system...

Continue Reading

Keeping up with the Texas Legislative Session bills

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor March 21, 2017

The deadline to introduce a bill to the 85th Texas Legislature was on March 10, and with more than 2,700 bills and resolutions currently in the Senate and 5,200 in the House that were filed in time, there is a lot to go through. The session will end on...

Continue Reading
A new take on the classic ‘Beauty and the Beast’

A new take on the classic ‘Beauty and the Beast’

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor March 20, 2017

“Beauty and the Beast,” which was released last week, is a live adaption of the classic Disney movie starring Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast. It would be ridiculous to expect Disney to mess with their classic tale, and they didn’t...

Continue Reading
Protestors object to Gov. Abbott’s visit

Protestors object to Gov. Abbott’s visit

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor February 21, 2017

Governor Gregg Abbott’s visit to El Paso for the El Paso Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner fundraiser drew approximately 150 protestors Saturday, Feb. 18, outside the Blackstone Event Center. The protestors were largely against Senate Bill 4,...

Continue Reading

El Pasoans unite against Governor Abbott

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor February 14, 2017

Governor Greg Abbott is visiting El Paso as a guest speaker of the El Paso Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Dinner, and several El Paso organizations are uniting outside of the fundraiser to protest Abbott’s political stances. The protest, El...

Continue Reading
Holding Hands In Unity

Holding Hands In Unity

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor February 12, 2017

  Fifty people locked arms across the Paso del Norte International Bridge in protest of President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall on Sunday, Feb. 12. The protest was organized by Chandelier Treviso, sophomore English and American literature...

Continue Reading
Keeping up with the Texas Legislative Session

Keeping up with the Texas Legislative Session

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor February 7, 2017

The Texas legislature meets every two years, and the current   85th Texas Legislative session began on Jan. 10 and continues until May 29. During the first 60 days, the legislators cannot pass a bill, so at the moment the bills will be deliberated over...

Continue Reading
The Great Wall of Trump

The Great Wall of Trump

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor January 31, 2017

Donald Trump campaigned on putting up a “big beautiful wall” between the border of Mexico and the United States. On Jan. 25, President Trump started the process to begin construction with an executive order called “Border Security and Immigration...

Continue Reading
UTEP and El Paso Times host legislative forum

UTEP and El Paso Times host legislative forum

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor January 27, 2017

UTEP and El Paso Times hosted a legislative forum featuring El Paso state representatives with Zahira Torres as the moderator on Friday, Jan. 27, at the Union Cinema at Union East. Representatives Joe Moody, Mary Gonzalez, Joe Pickett, Cesar Blanco...

Continue Reading
Cyber Café to get major upgrade in Union East building

Cyber Café to get major upgrade in Union East building

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor January 17, 2017

A new Cyber Café will soon be open on the second floor of the Union, where the faculty and staff lounge used to be. The new technology center was a collaboration between the Office of Information and Planning and the Division of Student Affairs. Frank...

Continue Reading
Rates of employment after graduation unknown at UTEP

Rates of employment after graduation unknown at UTEP

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor November 29, 2016

Many publications reported that 2016 was one of the best years for college graduates looking for a job. On a national scale, most graduates found some type of work, and having a degree still far outweighed not having one in terms of employment and salary....

Continue Reading

Voting for the presidential office, not the president

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor November 29, 2016

When voting for a president, you are not only voting for one person, but for the entire executive office that stands behind them. There are nearly 4,000 positions that a new president-elect must appoint to fill the positions left by the previous administration....

Continue Reading

Radical Soup: a recipe for discussion

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor November 8, 2016

Radical Soup is a collection of leftists who combine their love of community discussion and vegetarian soup. It’s a mashup of scholars, activists, students and professionals, who aim to stir up discussion about the problems of the world and how to solve...

Continue Reading
Don’t vote; Organize

Don’t vote; Organize

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor October 27, 2016

There is a phrase that gets tossed around: “If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain.” But what if I don’t like the candidates? Or if I think the president’s office has too much power? Not voting can be just as great a political statement...

Continue Reading
Clinton: Bought and Bossed

Clinton: Bought and Bossed

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor October 27, 2016

It’s 14 days before we know whether the world ends as we know it, or if we’re going to war. Common sense tells us that if you don’t know everything the presidential candidates stand for, stand against and ate for breakfast then you are doing it...

Continue Reading
Things to know before heading out to the polls

Things to know before heading out to the polls

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor October 25, 2016

Early voting started Monday, Oct. 24, and since they don’t teach you how to vote in school here is what you need to fulfill your civic duty. First off, make sure you are registered to vote. Registration is over so if you haven’t yet you are out of...

Continue Reading
Jill Stein, Green Party presidential candidate campaigned at Café Mayapan on Oct. 14 in front of a crowd of more than 200.

Green Party candidate Jill Stein makes a stop in El Paso

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor October 18, 2016

Green Party presidential candidate, Jill Stein, visited El Paso Friday, Oct. 14, along with other Texas Green Party candidates while touring across the state as part of a final effort to get their names out. At a packed Café Mayapan, Stein railed against...

Continue Reading

The first presidential debate—take two

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor October 11, 2016

The setting was different but the answers were the same during the second presidential debate which was held Sunday, Oct. 9 with Anderson Cooper and Martha Raddatz as moderators. Under the guise of “debate prep,” Trump held a press meeting an hour...

Continue Reading
Playing the numbers game: it’s all about the polls

Playing the numbers game: it’s all about the polls

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor October 4, 2016

Trump interrupted Clinton 51 times. Clinton interrupted Trump 17 times. The media has focused on the number of times Trump made a gaff or Hillary stretched the truth–one wink and a 20-second wiggle, 37 sniffles alongside “wrong!” shouted 12 times....

Continue Reading
Voter turnout on the border still low

Voter turnout on the border still low

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor September 27, 2016

Voter turnout in El Paso is so low that is has been longer than a decade since 50 percent of registered voters decided to participate in the government process. The presidential elections usually double the number of voters compared to the regional elections,...

Continue Reading
Your next President

Your next President

Christian Vasquez, Copy Editor September 20, 2016

While the media has been focused on the Clinton foundation and the influence donors had on the then Secretary of State, there has been little interest in the Donald J. Trump Foundation. That is, until a single reporter, using a mix of old-school and modern...

Continue Reading
Activate Search
Christian Vasquez