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Organization aims to help break world record News The Prospector University of Texas at El Paso

Organizationaimstohelpbreakworldrecord
ByByPamelaPrieto Published:Tuesday,October20,2009 Updated:Monday,January18,201010:01
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TheUTEPCollegeRepublicanssoughttohelpbreaktheworldrecordforthelargest simultaneousfilmpremierelastSunday.Thegroup,alongwithmembersofthecommunity, gatheredatBlumbergAuditoriumtowatchascreeningofthefilm"NotEvilJustWrong." Thefilm,whichwasdirectedbyPhelimMcAleerandAnnMcElhinney,wasproducedasa responsetoAlGore's"AnInconvenientTruth,"inwhichhewarnedaboutthedangersofclimate changeandrechargedtheenvironmentalmovementagainstglobalwarming. Theeventwaspublicizedasacinematicteapartyandthefilmwasshownsimultaneously acrossthenation.AtUTEP,itwasscreenedat6p.m.

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'NotEvilJustWrong'depictshowextreme environmentalismmayharmtheAmerican middleclass.

"We'regoingtocontributethelist(ofattendees)andhopefullywe'llhaveaworldrecord,"saidRussellBooth,seniorhistorymajor. BoothisthechairoftheCollegeRepublicansandorganizeroftheevent. "Ijustwantedustobeabletopresentanotherviewofahotdebatedissue.Iguessalltoomuchweseeonesideandthat'stheAlGore versionofglobalwarmingandwhathappensanditdoesn'tseemlikethere'sbeenaveryobjectivelookatit,"Boothsaid. "NotEvilJustWrong"warnsthattheAmericanmiddleclasshasthemosttolosefromanextremistenvironmentalmovement.Italso claimsthatoneofthefirstvictoriesforenvironmentalists,thebanningofthechemicalpesticideDDTinthe1970s,ledtothedeathof millionsofchildrenwhowereinfectedwithmalariaindevelopingcountries. AngelDiaz,sophomorepoliticalsciencemajor,saidhethoughtthefilmwasveryinformative. "It'sgoodtogetbothsides,Idon'tbelievethatyoushouldjusttakeonesideforgranted,"hesaid. Headdedthatthefilmisagoodwaytohelppeopledecidewheretheystandontheissueofclimatechangeandglobalwarming. "It'sareallygoodfilmtoshowpeople,becauseIbelievepeopledohavetheirownminds.Ibelievepeoplecanmakeuptheirown decisionsonwhatistrue,andIthinkthat'smoreimportantthanshovinganagendadownsomeone'sthroat,"Diazsaid. Diazsaw"AnInconvenientTruth"twiceandsaidhewasconvincedatfirst,butthenfeltlikeitwastooalarmist. "AtfirstIthoughtitwasreallyinteresting,atfirstitdidseemkindofvalidandthenitwasjustalittlebitoffearmongering,"Diazsaid. IreneVatres,whograduatedfromUTEPin1966withadegreeinbiologicalsciences,wasalsopresentatthepremiereasamemberof thecommunityandsaidshewasverygladtoseestudentsbeopenandarticulateaboutpoliticalissues. "They'reshowingresponsibility,andthat'swhatweneedintheseyoungpeople,"Vatressaid."Theyneedtoberesponsibleand understandthattheyneedtobedoingresponsiblethingsforourcountry,"Vatressaid. KarinaRivera,sophomorecomputersciencemajor,hasbeenpartoftheCollegeRepublicanssincethebeginningofthesemesterand saidshewasgladtoseetheirprogramsoncampus. "It'sgoodthatwehaveavoiceandasayincampusandIthinkthatthiseventhelpedalotbecausewehadpeoplethatarenotfrom campuscomein,"Riverasaid. RiverawasshownAlGore'sfilmatherhighschool.Shesaidthatshedidn'trememberanyoneshowinghertheothersideoftheissue andthatthatwaswhattheCollegeRepublicansweretryingtodo.Sheaddedthefilmshowedanaspectthat"AnInconvenientTruth" didn't,whichwasthatregularAmericanfamiliesarealsopartoftheenvironmentaldebate. "Ifeellikeit'sourdutytoshowtheothersideofanystory,likeonhealthcare,oneconomics,onthisonglobalwarmingoneverything," Riverasaid.

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Organization aims to help break world record News The Prospector University of Texas at El Paso

Thefilmscreeningleftsomestudentsquestioninghowtheyfeltaboutglobalwarmingaftertheysawanotherinterpretationofthe climatechangedebate. "Idon'tknowwhattobelieve,becausetheybothtrytomakeitseemlike(eachis)therightchoice,"saidSamanthaPerez,junior kinesiologymajor."ItwasdifferentIreallydon'tknowwhichonetobelieve." However,mostofthepeoplethatwerepresentatthepremierehadsomesortofRepublicanbackground,sothegroupmetlittle oppositionatthediscussionthatfollowedthefilm. BoothtookthetimetoremindtheaudiencethatCollegeRepublicanswelcomestudentsfromotherpoliticalaffiliations,inordertohelp eachothermakeinformeddecisionsatvotingtime. "WearelettingtheUTEPgeneralpopulationknowwhatourstanceis,sothattheyknowthatthisisn'taonesideduniversitysothat theyknowthisisgoingtobeabastionofcompromisewherewecanalltakeanissueanddiscussit,"Boothsaid. TheCollegeRepublicanswillcontribute23signaturestohelpbreaktheworldrecord. PamelaPrietomaybereachedatprospector@utep.edu.

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