Culture - The Daily Lobo

Culture

UNM student bookstore highlights underrepresented communities

Annya Loya | January 17

In 2019, Robin Babb, a senior at the University of New Mexico, opened her own independent bookstore Harvest Moon Books in hopes to highlight stories written by underrepresented communities. In the three years since opening, Harvest Moon Books has gone from an online shop to an in-person shop as part of the And Stuff Retail Collective. Babb strives to make Harvest Moon Books a place where new and local authors can have a platform. She especially wants to focus on queer and transgender authors along with newly translated English pieces — most importantly, she wants to provide what other stores can’t.

Culture

Benefit fashion show supports suicide awareness

Weston Quintana | January 12

On Sunday, Jan. 8, New Mexico high school student Anistacia Mia Aragon organized a fashion show entitled “I Am;” to “illuminate and raise awareness of the mass epidemic of suicide and using fashion to bring awareness, as well as empower those who attend,” according to the Menual School website. The show and benefit was hosted at the National Hispanic Cultural Center with all ticket proceeds going toward local suicide prevention programs in New Mexico Aragon is currently a senior at Menaul School and this was her first time organizing an event like this. She’s also the current titleholder of World Latina Teen USA with the platform of teen suicide awareness, according to the event’s website.

Culture

“This Place Rules” doesn’t rule

Spenser Willden | January 12

Two years ago on Jan. 6, 2021, a group of right-wing pro-Trump rioters stormed the capitol building in Washington D.C., marking the violent culmination of a historic cultural and media frenzy around the polarizing 2020 election cycle. This event, and the frenzy leading up to it, are the subject of journalist and documentarian Andrew Callaghan’s new documentary on HBO, “This Place Rules,” which premiered Dec. 30, 2022. Though laudable, the filmmaking is surprisingly shallow, making “This Place Rules” an ultimately skippable watch.

Culture

5 and Why: 5 tips to help survive senioritis

Annya Loya | January 9

The spring semester is about to begin at the University of New Mexico and with that, a new set of seniors and another wave of burnout. UNM’s Student Health and Counseling and the Women’s Resource Center came together to give us five tips to prevent and survive senioritis. “Stress is an inevitable part of college. But it's definitely (on the) high-end your senior year. This is where you are feeling that burnout; you have a lack of motivation. Maybe you're a little bit lazier than you were previously. You can have feelings of hopelessness. You can have thoughts of giving up. You may also feel panic and anxiety and worry as well,” Tiffany Martinez-Durant, Education and Outreach Manager from SHAC, said.

Culture

OPINION: What’s a New Year’s resolution without resolve?

Marcela Johnson | January 9

For most people, the new year brings a fresh chance to start over with a clean slate and implement changes into one’s life. However, each year, New Year’s resolutions create the opposite of resolve. Instead, they serve only as another thing to do in a world full of short-lived trends. I don’t have a problem with the idea behind resolutions. In fact, I like the idea of having a long-term goal for the year — it seems to me as if they can only provide benefits. However, as we often see, that’s not quite the case.

Culture

UNM grad Tayler Suazo moves from mortar boards to med school

John Scott | December 12

One of the first things you might notice about upcoming University of New Mexico graduate Tayler Suazo is her loyalty to place and to family. Graduating this fall with a Clauve Outstanding Senior Award and a bachelor’s of science in biology with a double minor in chemistry, and health medicine and human values, one might expect frequent and numerous parties and celebrations to be in order. Suazo, at the time of her interview with the Daily Lobo, however, is back with family in her hometown of Abiquiu: a small town in northern New Mexico. It was here that Suazo first realized she wanted to be a doctor — and she knew she wanted to stay in New Mexico to do it.

Culture

ROTC cadets prepare to graduate

Elizabeth Secor | December 12

This semester, the University of New Mexico ROTC program has four cadets graduating with their undergraduate degrees: Victoria Anderson, Daniela Ortega, Steven Canales and Zachary Ninneman. Anderson, Ortega and Canales will all be leaving the program this semester, while Ninneman will be entering his master's program and has three more semesters of ROTC to go. Anderson discussed how graduating from the program this semester created a bond between her, Ortega and Canales.

Culture

Michaela Helean graduates into full-time reporting

Maddie Pukite | December 12

With a mortar board covered in newspaper clippings, University of New Mexico senior Michaela Helean is graduating this fall semester with a bachelor's degree in journalism and a full-time job at the Rio Rancho Observer. Helean started her internship at the Observer through the New Mexico News Fund, a fund created to foster journalism in New Mexico that places college students and recent grads in state newsrooms. Four days after starting her internship, she was offered a full-time job, fulfilling a childhood dream. “I've always been a writer. Ever since I was able to write, I would write short stories for my parents,” Helean said. “I would watch the news with them. I grew up watching Gwen Ifill on PBS.”

Culture

Graduate Micaela Pacheco takes her final bow at UNM

Zara Roy | December 12

Upcoming University of New Mexico graduate Micaela Pacheco will be closing this chapter of her life with a bachelor’s degree in theater, a career in spiritual healing and a love of sharing her creativity with those around her. Having done theater ever since she was young, Pacheco initially wanted to go into film. Now, she cannot see herself pursuing a traditional theatrical route at all. If she does get back into theater, she wants to use it as a medium to share her own creations in the form of devised work and performance art.

Culture

December film releases: What winter watches wait in store

John Scott | December 9

With winter break approaching for students and staff at the University of New Mexico, a large number of us might find ourselves with much more time on our hands than we anticipated. Thankfully, new films galore await you under the Christmas tree to keep you busy through those long, winter nights.

Culture

New UNM art curator breaks barriers between art and audience

Zara Roy | December 5

On Wednesday, Dec. 7, the University of New Mexico Art Museum will welcome Angel Jiang as their first curator of collections and study room initiatives. In her new position, she hopes to craft a dynamic and intimate experience with artwork for students at the University. A study room is a special area in a museum which houses pieces that are fragile or otherwise not on display — they are often difficult to access or find, according to Jiang. One of her primary goals in the new position is to increase accessibility and knowledge of the study rooms at the UNM Art Museum. These rooms are special to her; they give students a chance to directly interact with pieces not confined behind glass.

Culture

UNM community celebrates annual Hanging of the Greens

Spenser Willden | December 4

This past Friday, Dec. 2, the University of New Mexico welcomed the holiday season to campus with the annual Hanging of the Greens. The event featured caroling, refreshments and over 13,000 luminarias placed around campus. Attendees met near the bookstore and walked through campus to University House, where they presented President Stokes with a wreath she then hung on her door. Following this, they proceeded to Hodgin Hall for a reception. This year’s event boasted a strong turnout, proving that after 90 years, the long-standing tradition is still enjoyed by UNM and the broader Albuquerque community, acording to Mortar Board director of public relations and chair of the Hanging of the Greens committee Tayler Suazo.

Culture

Local band neglects no inspiration in search of inclusive music-making

Elizabeth Secor | December 4

Self-Neglect, a band formed by University of New Meixco alumi Matt Rogers (guitarist) and Alex Denbaars (vocalist), along with Leon Arnold (drummer) and Derrick Moore (bassist), finds inspiration to create music through their enviorment. The band was formed in 2015 on Rogers’ birthday, which also happens to be New Year's Eve. He and Denbaars, old friends from a Magic: The Gathering group, decided to make music together after Denbaars’ old band broke up. The band struggled to choose a name when they first started until a nurse friend of Arnold’s wrote up a list of “gory medical-sounding stuff,” which included “passive self-neglect.” The name stuck, acording to the band members.

Culture

ASUNM Arts and Crafts Fair gives a platform to student artists

Maddie Pukite | December 4

The Associated Students at the University of New Mexico arts and crafts studio held its 58th annual Arts and Crafts Fair, running from Wednesday, Nov. 30 through Friday, Dec. 2, in the Student Union Building. The fair featured over 70 artists — students and community members alike — and was also several artists' first show. Julie Wagner, the ceramics technician for the arts and crafts studio, was a part of the team that organized and ran the show. One of the event’s goals was to provide access to work by student artists at UNM, which is something that factored into the artist selection process.

Culture

UNM senior aims for community in Honors Pathmakers program

Marcela Johnson | November 28

Katie James has been spending her senior year working to further develop the community of the University of New Mexico Honors College through her role as mentor coordinator and leadership team lead for the Honors Pathmakers mentorship program. Pursuing a dual degree of psychology with a minor in math and biology with a minor in chemistry, James hopes to create traditions that will continue after her graduation.

Culture

Local Diné comedian explores identity through comedy

Elizabeth Secor | November 28

Having performed for the past five years, Josh Fournier, a Diné comedian, has traveled throughout the Western region of the United States. Fournier hails from New Mexico and spent the first year of his career performing in his hometown, Farmington; now, he does shows across the state. Fournier began his journey as a comedian a few years back while working at a strip club, where he would perform stand-up for the patrons who arrived before the show time.

News

OPINION: Now’s the time; let’s lose Twitter

Spenser Willden | November 28

Losers, rejoice — in a move sure to be celebrated by the worst men you know, Elon Musk completed his long-threatened acquisition of social media platform Twitter on Oct. 27, bringing with it changes that have prompted many users and staff members to finally call it quits. Verification overhaul, content moderation changes and more are all on the table and have already altered user experience nearly beyond repair. With Twitter going through rapid change, now is the time to leave it behind for good and move on to greener, less awful pastures.

Culture

REVIEW: Cannibal romance ‘Bones and All’ doesn’t bite off as much as it could chew

John Scott | November 28

While we’ll have to wait a bit longer for the long gestating follow-up to 2017’s “Call Me By Your Name,” fans of director Luca Guadagnino and star Timothée Chalamet can rest easy after the wide release of the pair’s newest collaboration, “Bones and All” on Wednesday, Nov. 23. While the film doesn’t quite reach the heights of “Your Name,” even mid-Guadagnino is better than most directors’ best.

Culture

UNM professor hosts long-awaited reading of novel “48 Hours to Kill”

Maddie Pukite | November 22

In December 2021, University of New Mexico English professor Andrew Bourelle published his first suspense novel, “48 Hours to Kill.” Due to the fluctuating situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Bourelle never really got a chance to celebrate the achievement in person, which made the Nov. 16 reading of his work hosted by the UNM creative writing department all the more special. While working on “48 Hours to Kill,” Bourelle co-wrote several books with New York Times bestselling author James Patterson. Prior to becoming a fiction author, he worked as a journalist and wrote academic articles while pursuing his doctorate in English.

Culture

UNM swing dancing club celebrates first dance

Spenser Willden | November 22

A crowd of over 50 students gathered in the Student Union Building for the first meeting of the University of New Mexico Swing Dancing Club on Sunday, Nov. 20. Starting with an introductory West coast-style swing lesson from the SouthWesties dance troupe, the night brought dancing to campus for students of all skill levels. By meeting on campus, the Swing Dancing Club gives students the opportunity to engage in dance in a safe and welcoming space for those under 21 and without the transportation to go off campus, according to attendee and dance enthusiast Brianna Knox Hubbard. “I’ve been looking for an under-21 space to social dance since I’m 19, and this provides that,” Hubbard said.