Culture

Culture

Film students adapt to COVID restrictions

Jeanette DeDios | May 1

Seniors of the Film and Digital Media Arts Department (FDMA) have struggled to stay motivated while trying to find alternative ways to finish their capstone projects. With the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 and the rules that prohibit face-to-face interaction, students are finding it harder to cope in a world of uncertainty. The University of New Mexico students enrolled in the FDMA program study under a four year cohort program that teaches them skills of filmmaking and prepares them to work within the film industry after graduation. The culmination of their hard work is presented in their senior capstones where they work in crews to create a film, video game or animation from beginning to end. 

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Culture

Local acequias lack proper maintenance during stay-at-home order

Daniel Ward | April 28

None of the Pajarito Meadows residents expected to go outside and find half the houses flooding one afternoon in early April. Some houses were drenched two to three feet deep in water from the nearby acequia. However, the reason why the acequias overflowed is a different story.  Many acequias in New Mexico are open and running despite having to cancel their community spring cleaning day. As the stay-at-home order continues, cleaning the acequias has been put on hold for many New Mexico communities.  Since acequias are not Albuquerque’s main source of farm water, keeping them clean has become a hassle in some areas.

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Culture

‘Singing is a way of life’ A Capella student org goes online

Megan Gleason | April 26

Something Major A Capella (SMAC) is working online to try to create a virtual concert in place of their canceled concert due to the coronavirus pandemic. SMAC is a student a capella singing group at the University of New Mexico, consisting of both music and non-music majors. “Singing is a way of life… Singing keeps up sane,” President Chris Mather said.

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Culture

Organizations work to address hunger amid pandemic

Amanda Britt | April 22

One in six people struggle with food insecurity in New Mexico, according to Feeding America, the United States' largest domestic hunger-relief organization. That’s roughly 324,000 New Mexicans, including one in four children, struggling with hunger every day. Local food banks, farmers, and growers markets are each doing their part to address hunger in New Mexico. Roadrunner Foodbank has partnered with Feeding America to distribute over 31 million meals to people dealing with hunger in counties all over New Mexico. Roadrunner is currently the only partner of Feeding America in New Mexico

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Culture

UNM students find comfort in Animal Crossing video game

Alex McCausland | April 22

As the COVID-19 pandemic largely confined the world to their homes, video games have seen a surge in popularity. In particular, Animal Crossing, a game about building and decorating an island community, has become one of the best selling games during the quarantine.  At first it might be hard to understand its appeal — fishing, pulling weeds, and building furniture aren’t exactly the type of video game features you’d expect to pay $60 for. But, for UNM students who have had their normal routines ripped out from under them, Animal Crossing provides an escape from their anxiety and confinement.

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Culture

ASUNM Community Experience hosts virtual Spring Storm

Beatrice Nisoli | April 21

For the first time in 17 years, the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico’s Community Experience canceled their annual Spring Storm event, which was previously scheduled on April 20. However, rather than forego the day entirely, ASUNM Community Experience chose to revoke its conventional format and opted to host the event virtually.  The virtual Spring Storm consisted of UNM students being encouraged to do an act of community service while respecting COVID-19 safety guidelines. This service could range from yard work to household chores, and students were encouraged to post pictures on their Instagram stories featuring their participation. Community Experience hosts a plethora of campus and community-wide service events throughout the scholastic year. These services include Fall Frenzy, in which student organizations form teams to clean various areas of campus, the Giving Tree, in which students are encouraged to purchase gifts outlined on tags taken from a Christmas tree, and food and blood drives, among others.

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Culture

New Mexico Dream Team fundraises for undocumented immingrants

Megan Gleason | April 21

New Mexico Dream Team created a COVID-19 fundraiser for undocumented families in New Mexico. Since April 4, 2020, it has reached over half of their $50,000 goal.  New Mexico Dream Team is an immigrant youth-led organization in New Mexico that fights for immigrant rights. “It’s almost horrific to see that under this pandemic they’re not being included in the conversations of how to provide relief to our people here in the United States… definitely inhumane,” Communications Director Flaviano Graciano said. This fundraiser stemmed from the exclusion of undocumented immigrants from the government stimulus package.

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Culture

Santa Fe Food Depot denies food donations during pandemic

Cameron Ward | April 20

Ever since COVID-19 has altered our lifestyles, many people have been looking to support the community. However, some food banks like the Food Depot in Santa Fe are denying food donations to prevent spreading the virus. Instead, they are asking for cash donations as a safer and more effective way of helping people across New Mexico in need of a meal.  The Food Depot has been known to distribute food to pantries across New Mexico as well as serving all 50 states.  According to their website, “the Food Depot does not want community members to give away resources that they may need should the crisis persist for longer than expected.”

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Culture

Yoga Club strives to post videos and tutorials online

Megan Gleason | April 19

With a practice that is so physically-based, the University of New Mexico Yoga Club is struggling to maintain a consistent club connection in an online setting.  These UNM yogis, or people that regularly practice yoga, have found themselves in an isolated environment with little time to connect together. The club is currently working on weekly online yoga classes through its Instagram page. Club President Katelyn Nicholas said online videos are still in the process of creation.

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Culture

Black bean banana bread great vegan alternative even for pickiest eater

Loreena Cain | April 17

For many people, baking has been a way of passing time while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the recipes and the aprons came out of storage, the phenomenon of black bean bread surged in popularity on social media. This vegan black bean banana bread recipe is a fun way to have a tasty and healthy snack, whether you are vegan or not. It takes about 45 minutes from start to finish and it is simple enough for someone with little to no baking experience to try out.

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Culture

Quarantine cuts

Alex McCausland | April 16

Tangled, greasy, bushy, overgrown, and unkempt.  As New Mexico’s quarantine restrictions continue to grow tighter, University of New Mexico students are forced to take matters into their own hands to tame their unruly hairs. Since Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham ordered all “non-essential” businesses to close last month, New Mexico salons and barbershops have been out of commission. As a result, students who have grown accustomed to their regular trim, fade, shave and wax are having to get creative about how they maintain their favorite style at home. 

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Culture

Three easy meatless meals

Amanda Britt | April 15

As most of us are constantly stuck inside to avoid spreading COVID-19, one way to pass the time is by experimenting with different homemade meals.  Whether you want to help the environment or simply cannot find any meat left in the store, these three easy to make, meat-free meals are worth trying. 

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Culture

UNM student hosts Snapchat “Virtual Bachelor” to date while social distancing

Makayla Grijalva | April 14

Will you accept this virtual rose?  As the reality of the new age of social distancing and self-quarantine sets in, some University of New Mexico students like Alex Johnson decided to take a new approach to kindle new romances. Johnson began hosting a virtual dating competition mimicking ABC’s hit show “The Bachelor” complete with dates, rose ceremonies, testimonials and drama. “It’s fun. It’s weird,” Johnson said. “I’m glad that it’s happening, but it’s weird, you know.” 

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Culture

UNM gaming clubs come together stronger than ever in pandemic

Megan Gleason | April 13

For University of New Mexico gamers like Nicholas Livingstone and Samina Kabir, the transition online wasn't much of a transition at all. “We were in a good place to handle the pandemic prior to it happening,” Livingstone, vice president of the Tabletop Tavern club, said. “What our club centers around — board games, tabletop games — has a virtual representation that allows us to maintain some communication with members of our club.” In fact, Livingstone and Kabir — club president of UNM Esports — report their clubs have ballooned as UNM and its students search for community amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The two clubs both have their own online chat room servers on Discord but members of each group have recently collaborated together to provide a fun gaming environment for everyone. 

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Culture

Albuquerque Pride Fest 2020 canceled

Justin Garcia | April 13

Albuquerque’s Pride ceremonies in June were officially canceled this week, the latest cancellation for the City of Albuquerque.  The cancellation follows an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Bernalillo county. As of April 13, there were at least 440 cases of COVID-19 in New Mexico’s most populous county along with 16 deaths.  “We are issuing full refunds and you’ll receive an email within the next 1-2 days to confirm your refund has been issued. At that point, it’ll take 5-7 banking days for your funds to be available for use,” Neil Macernie wrote in a press release about the yearly events. 

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Culture

Local musicians find audience online

Loreena Cain | April 10

With live performances canceled for the foreseeable future, local musicians are struggling to continue performing for audiences and still pay the bills. Many musicians are substituting live in-person performances for online live shows where audiences can tip them. Local musician and University of New Mexico student Marìon Carrillo said, “I play all over the state generally and it has really been my primary source of income for like a year.” Without live performances, it is more difficult for musicians to make the money they were making before the pandemic.

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Culture

Local religious services adapt to online environment

Beatrice Nisoli | April 8

Religious institutions across the state are choosing to transfer their services remotely in response to forced closures due to the ever-present COVID-19 threat in New Mexico. Just as educational institutions and workplaces begin to take advantage of online platforms such as Zoom and Discord, so too are churches transmitting live streams of worship, youth group classes, rosary sessions, and more. 

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Culture

Nationwide photoshoot meet takes place online

Amanda Britt | April 4

There are two types of people in life — those that take advantage in times like this, and those that help, according to Hector Puig, a photographer and artist based in Los Angeles. Puig is the visionary behind the world’s largest virtual photography experience, where photographers from across the country can join together to create art. He said that creating this experience is how he could help both the photographers and the rest of the world through expression and art in these dark times. Puig, along with photographer Dovvie Viramontes, reached out to photo-communities in Albuquerque, Los Angeles, Seattle and DC through Instagram, and expect over 400 photographers to attend the zoom meeting on April 4, 2020.

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Culture

Student resource centers shift to a remote workforce

Megan Gleason | April 3

All of the University of New Mexico’s student resource centers have moved to remote services or limited operations during spring break due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Many of the resource centers still operate fairly normally and are offering a majority of their typical resources, such as counseling, advocacy, academic advisement and many more.  Other resources, such as printing stations or computer labs, are curren

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Culture

Good Friday traditions postponed

Cameron Ward | April 2

The tradition of Good Friday shared amongst many Catholic religious people in New Mexico has been postponed at Santuario de Chimayo from Archbishop of Santa Fe, John Wester.  It was announced by Archbishop Wester March 13, 2020, for the people of God, to stay home during the pilgrimage walk that would happen this upcoming April 10th, known as Good Friday.  Father Glennon Jones from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe said, “The walk has been officially canceled this year, but you know how those things go. No doubt some people will try to do it anyway even though we’ve asked them not to.”