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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.”
As the University of New Mexico moves online, the fine arts departments are faced with challenges on how to move hands-on subjects to a remote education. Many courses were adapted to work from home, which provided challenges like accessibility to the internet and the necessary equipment to work. Andrea Polli, professor of art and ecology, said that art students will struggle with a lack of equipment like 3D printers and laser cutters, which were provided for them at school. Fortunately, Polli’s students bought art kits at the start of the semester and are still able to work from home, although limited. Some courses, like musical ensembles, were canceled completely.
In a time when normal life comes to a halt, having a daily workout or meditation session may seem trivial. But, the battle against the new coronavirus is not the only battle people must fight. Depression, loneliness and anxiety are things that many people struggle with already and are only exacerbated by orders to stay at home, not go to school or refrain from socializing in person. The fight for health and sanity in such concerning times is not impracticable. Resources have already been mobilized for those stuck in their homes. Amazon now offers select children's movies for free. Arnold Schwarzenegger shared his home workout routine online. Self-help mobile apps like Sanvello are offering free premium access to their services for the duration of the outbreak. And online counseling services are experiencing increased demand.
Solutions by The State News
