No RiSA this semester

BY Monika Garza | THE RIDER

The Rio Grande Science and Arts Festival (RiSA), which in previous years has been held in early November, has been delayed because it is similar to HESTEC, university officials say.

“Because of HESTEC and the similarities between the two events, [the College of Sciences and Division of Governmental and Communication Relations] have delayed RiSA and we hope to keep RiSA in some form or fashion in the future,” said Patrick Gonzales, associate vice president for University Marketing and Communications. “But, at the same time, it hasn’t officially been canceled.”

The Rio Grande Science and Arts Festival (RiSA) celebrated science, engineering, technology and mathematics through a variety of art forms in the Rio Grande Valley. The festival engaged young people in the excitement, fun and awe of science and art to inspire them to continue their education.

“We are having discussions on how we can keep RiSA in some form or fashion. That means a separate event, that means incorporating with [Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology Week] or having some type of spring event,” Gonzales said. “All those discussions are being held currently and we will make a decision on that.”

UTRGV physics Professor Joseph Romano said he suspects the RiSA festival will be canceled this year as no one is in charge of coordinating it anymore.

“I suspect that without somebody in charge of [RiSA], it probably won’t happen,” Romano told The Rider in an interview last week.

RiSA was held the last two years on the Brownsville campus under the direction of Joey Shapiro Key, who was the director of Education and Outreach at the UTRGV Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy on the Brownsville campus.

Romano said Key took a faculty position at a university in Washington.

“Unless somebody steps up and says, ‘I want to lead this,’ it won’t happen,” Romano said. “Given that she is gone, the program has effectively died.”

Gonzales said there is no official person right now who is in charge of RiSA.

Key said she hopes the team in charge of HESTEC will continue the work that RiSA has done.

“I do still hope that [the HESTEC team] will continue the work and partnerships that we built in the Brownsville area through RiSA,” Key said in a phone interview.

HESTEC is a series of events hosted by UTRGV that promotes science, technology and mathematics to students of all ages. The weeklong celebration was started at legacy institution UT Pan American.

“[UTRGV needs] to make sure that the work that they do with something as big as HESTEC impacts the whole Valley, especially in Brownsville,” Key said.

Martha Casquette, a Texas Southmost College physics instructor who used to participate in the festival, said RiSA was about bringing together science and art, making it a great event, especially for the Rio Grande Valley community.

Casquette suggested that RiSA take place this academic year.

“Since the [university] is busy with HESTEC during this semester, why not do RiSA during the spring semester? In that way, there will be more people involved in RiSA,” she said.