Lobos Basketball Tournament

Ex-assassin visits campus

An 82-year-old man trained as an assassin visited UNM on Wednesday to speak to students about his intelligence operations during World War II. Professor Ferenc Szasz said he invited John Smith to speak to a World War II history class because of Smith's background with the Office of Strategic Services during the war. "It brings authenticity," Szasz said. Smith has experience with things younger generations only read about in books, Szasz said. The Office of Strategic Services was the predecessor to the CIA. Although Smith was speaking to a history class, he said he wanted to impart his philosophy of life to students. "Everything goes in circles all the time," he said. Smith said the journey to his position at the Office of Strategic Services started when he worked on a commercial fishing boat. While on the boat, which would be gone for months at a time, his captain taught him how to be a locksmith and open safes.

New York Times free for students

The New York Times joined USA Today this week as one of the newspapers available to UNM students for free. Students can find the newspapers in high-traffic areas on campus. Mary Bowannie, a lecturer in Native-American Studies, said having the New York Times and USA Today is good for UNM, because students have access to information that might not otherwise be available to them. Student Spencer Cousins agreed. "It's definitely a good idea to have two newspapers on campus keeping the student body informed," Cousins said. The free newspapers are part of the Collegiate Readership Program, organized by the UNM Office of Student Affairs. Eliseo "Cheo" Torres, vice president of student affairs, said he decided to bring the Collegiate Readership Program to UNM at a conference he attended for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. "I've talked to the other universities at NASPA," he said. "All the people I've talked to have been very pleased with the readership program." The program began offering USA Today last year. Torres said students benefit because they become more prepared for class.

College 101

Ed toons

Letter: Alliance with weapons labs makes money, not sense

Editor, As a two-time UNM graduate, I send condolences to my alma mater for gross misjudgment, amorality and nuclear madness. All of my immediate family went to UNM, but we will not be going down that path again and recommend that other parents choose schools with a more solid ethical base.

Letter: UNM shouldn't be host to weapons development

Editor, I concur with Robert Anderson's letter in Monday's Daily Lobo, especially the significant alarm that nuclear weapon development and its imminent use is readily accepted in this post-9/11 world. I am intellectually, morally and spiritually saddened that UNM would host a playground for nuclear weapons - the same weapons the Bush regime is telling many countries they cannot have.

African dance group hopes to raise spirits

For the members of Casadimanza, dancing is more than a hobby. "It's all about making noise and bringing good spirits to people," said Kobiana Nakigan, the troupe's co-founder. "They have sickness, sadness - they can just get up and have happiness in the moment."

Column: Wu-Tang members resurface

It's hard to explain the Wu-Tang Clan. Nine African-Americans obsessed with Chinese culture, Italian mafia lore and the blaxploitation films of the '70s don't exactly scream mainstream acceptance.

Column: Vintage wonderland offers three floors to dig through

The Classic Century Square is a vintage wonderland. The first time I went there was three years ago. I found a few antique clutches and some necklaces but, for some reason, didn't return.

Letter: Campus coalition to hold forum on smoking policy

Editor, The Coalition for a UNM Smoke-Free Campus will host a forum to address amending the UNM policy and creating a smoke-free and tobacco-free campus. The forum will take place Oct. 4 from 3 to 4 p.m. at the plaza east of the SUB. The panel members will be Dona Upson, a doctor in the UNM internal medicine program; Don Soderstrom from the American Lung Association; Jane Bowes from UNM patient education; and Cynthia Serna from New Mexicans Concerned About Tobacco.

Letter: 'Pro-life' phrase covers up dangers of illegal abortion

Editor, Abortion-rights advocates should not cede the terms "pro-life" and "right to life" to the anti-abortion advocates. It is a woman's right to her own life that gives her the right to terminate a pregnancy. First, it is absurd to compare a mass of cells to the equivalent of an infant.

Putting on the paint

When Mark Reid's second grade teacher asked him what he wanted do when he grew up, he told her he wanted to paint naked women. "I got sent to the office," he said.

Column: Las Cruces desert was home to vegetarian pacifist colony in the 1880s

Last week in "My Strange New Mexico," we made the acquaintance of a 19th-century doctor named John Ballou Newbrough, a man whose interests in novel writing and popular spiritualism came together in 1880, when he claimed angels used him to channel the book of Oahspe - a new Bible for a new age.

Letter: New Sigma Chi members not responsible for past

Editor, In 2000, while I was a junior at UNM, the infamous Sigma Chi incident occurred in which a member of the fraternity duct-taped a swastika onto a car parked illegally on the frat's property. That member was appropriately disciplined. Two years later, the fraternity managed to egregiously violate its own charter and its terms with UNM.

Column: Local T-ball team would give NL run for its money

I can't wait for the playoffs to start. Even though Major League Baseball seems to have the most flawed postseason system of all the major professional sports, it keeps producing exciting playoffs year in and year out.

Lobos prep to resist the Falcon force

Rocky Long can't say enough to endorse the triple-option offense that Air Force will be running against the UNM football team Saturday. So how can the Lobos stop, or at least slow down, an offense that is invincible? Without a little luck, you can't, Long said.

Student regent seeks successor

One student interested in being UNM's student regent listened to a talk by Rosalyn Nguyen on Tuesday. Nguyen, the student regent, said she was not surprised by the small turnout. "I would have liked to see more students in physical attendance," she said. "But I have been getting a lot of interest from people who e-mail me or meet with me individually." Nguyen said 15 to 20 people have expressed interest in the position she has held for two years.

Column: Sweetener subsidies

by Whitney J. Davis Daily Lobo columnist If you have ever read a food label, then you might have heard of high-fructose corn syrup. It is found in nearly every processed food in the United States, including sodas like Coca-Cola. If you have ever bought a Coke outside the U.

Lecturer supported at rally

About 100 people gathered at the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice on Tuesday in support of arrested UNM lecturer Chao Sio. Sio, a Kenyan who taught Swahili, was arrested Sept. 14 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is being held for deportation. Wanjala Sio, Chao's mother, said she is disappointed in the United States' treatment of her daughter.

Column: Fear silences 1st Amendment

by Mario Hernandez Daily Lobo columnist I have always thought the human race's greatest gift was free will and the ability to let free expression bloom. However, it seems in recent times that this gift and our ideas are being stifled. We are being told what to think, what we can read, what we can write and what we should and should not say.