Dear Young Americans for Liberty at UNM, After criticizing your organization for hosting Milo Yiannopoulos, the self-proclaimed leader of the “alt-right,” I was asked by one of your supporters to give him a chance and learn more about him. So I did - and am now more convinced than ever that your group should reconsider.-
With the semester nearing its end, students are starting to see emails from “UNM Course Feedback” urging them to evaluate their courses and instructors from the fall semester. The email reads, in part: "Student feedback is highly valued and extremely important! Student feedback provided through course evaluations is crucial in order for Faculty to improve their instruction as well as other aspects of their courses. All responses are completely anonymous.” However, students had questions about just how anonymous and vital those course evaluations are, with UNM having transitioned from paper, in-class evaluations to online evaluation surveys two years ago.
Last Friday, UNM students, faculty and staff joined forces during a teach-in at Ortega Hall, which entailed a panel discussion on the potential steps the University can take to protects its undocumented students. The discussion focused on the current state of DACA — or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — and the ongoing campaign to make UNM a sanctuary campus. But what exactly does the concept of “sanctuary campus,” entail, and how could it tangibly help undocumented students?
Despite having lost its UNM funding, Scribendi is determined to publish this year, as staff members of the student-produced magazine are reaching out to the local community for help, emphasizing the importance and role that Scribendi has within the student community. In terms of student publications, Scribendi has helped put UNM on the map in its 30 years of existence. Alexandra Magel, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, said many students and instructors from all across the country have UNM on their radar because of it.
The New Mexico women’s basketball team played shutdown defense, crashed the boards and leaned on a pair of career-high performances to bring a halt to its four-game losing skid Saturday afternoon. New Mexico (3-4) played arguably its most complete game of the season, dispatching Southern Methodist (5-3) by a score of 64-49 in the women’s edition of the Pit’s 50th anniversary game. Head coach Mike Bradbury said it was the hardest the team has played so far. He said the game plan was intricate and the task difficult, but his players executed with precision.
The search for a new student regent continues, as student governing entities have interviewed and selected potential candidates that they believed will be suitable for helping decide the strategic direction of the University, and also be the voice of the student body. “Student regent is the only member of the Board (of Regents) to walk, live and breath the UNM community on a daily basis,” said current Student Regent Ryan Berryman, whose term finishes at the end of the month. “It is vital to bring that grassroots perspective to the board.”
At the next general election, voters may expect to see a constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana, a long-gestating initiative that should gain some momentum following the results of Nov. 8’s local elections. With the newly-elected Democratic majority in both the New Mexico House and Senate, proponents of recreational marijuana predict certain proposed bills will get through the legislature at the next general session in early 2017. One bill was proposed by state representatives Bill McCamley, D-NM, and Javier Martinez, D-NM, at the special session called in September.
University administration announced Sunday afternoon that UNM Regents will meet in a closed session on Wednesday to discuss "whether to place President Robert G. Frank on administrative leave with pay pending completion of an internal investigation." The notice of the private deliberations also goes on to hint at a possible more ominous ending for Frank's tenure, stating that there will be "possible action" to provide Frank "with notice of proposed termination for just cause."
The UNM men’s basketball team is looking for improvement on its second road trip of the season as it takes on Illinois State in the Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge Saturday evening. New Mexico (5-2) is 4-0 when playing at WisePies Arena, aka the Pit. But last week, in its first action on the road, the team wasn’t as fortunate, going 1-2 in the Wooden Legacy tournament in California. The Lobos redeemed themselves with a 64-55 victory over the Abilene Christian Wildcats (3-3) Wednesday night in the 50th anniversary of the first game played at WisePies Arena/the Pit.
The Lobo women’s basketball team will look to get back on track as it hosts Southern Methodist Saturday while honoring the Pit’s 50th anniversary, the second time the arena is being honored after the men’s team played earlier in the week. New Mexico (2-4) won its first two games of the season decisively, but has dropped four in a row since that time. The team has struggled to close out games, fading most recently against in-state rival New Mexico State in a 77-70 loss on Wednesday.
The Daily Lobo newsroom was broken into sometime between 7:00 p.m. Thursday evening and early Friday morning, resulting in the theft of $700 worth of equipment. An individual or individuals entered the Daily Lobo – located in Marron Hall – through the window of the editor-in-chief’s office after breaking the window, causing glass to litter the room. The stolen items are a D300 Nikon camera with a 35-70 millimeter lens, a 2 GB memory card that was in the camera, and a camera bag that contained some microphone cables.
The Associated Students of UNM failed a resolution that would have asked the UNM Women’s Resource Center to add options for pregnant students on their website. Before the resolution was brought to ASUNM Senate by its author, Sen. Sadé Patterson, she met with the Women’s Resource Center to see if the suggestion could be turned into an action. Not only was it viable, but WRC staff already implemented the changes before the senate meeting, updating the site with Patterson’s suggested resources to the Parenting Resources (Health and Wellness) section.
ASUNM constitutional amendment gains momentum An Associated Students of UNM constitutional amendment was passed by the Board of Regents Academic Student Affairs and Research committee on Thursday that, pending full Board of Regents approval, will change the way spring elections are conducted. The proposed amendment would set the vice president and presidential election three weeks prior to the senatorial election.
Late fourth quarter woes halted the New Mexico women's basketball team’s hopes of sweeping the New Mexico States this season, as the final score favored the hometown Aggies, 77-70. The loss dropped the Lobos to a 2-4 record and marks the fourth straight loss, while the Aggies won their third straight to improve to 5-2. Head coach Mike Bradbury thought that his team played well throughout most of the game, but fell short when it mattered most.
For the 53rd year in a row, the annual ASUNM Arts and Crafts Fair is in full swing in the SUB Ballrooms, showcasing an impressive collection of artists and craftspeople from around the state. Hosted by the ASUNM Arts and Crafts Studio, the show invited over 70 local vendors in a holiday shopping extravaganza. The items on sale range from knitting and crocheted clothing, hand-blown glass figures, handmade soaps and body products, pottery, graphic art and jewelry.
The Lobo men’s basketball team won their first ever victory in The Pit nearly 50 years ago, by beating Abilene Christian 62-53. Wednesday night the Lobos had a little déjà vu — garnering an almost identical victory. The Lobos (5-2) picked up a 64-55 victory over the Wildcats (3-3), after withstanding a few early runs and playing without two of its starters. Head coach Craig Neal said junior Sam Logwood was a scratch before the game, as he was nursing a deep leg contusion that limited his mobility.
With finals week approaching and the weather growing colder, it’s tempting to stay in bed. One UNM art student did just that on Wednesday, although she decided to bring her bed out into the cold. Grace Moreau, a senior fine arts student at UNM, brought her mattress to the center of Smith Plaza Wednesday for a performance art piece. Performance art is her focus as an artist, and the piece is for her Art and Ecology class.
Engineers Without Borders UNM, a chapter of the parent organization EWB-USA, will be receiving a $1,000 donation towards efforts in Bolivia to construct wells for impoverished communities. The donation comes from the AWMA, otherwise known as the Air and Waste Management Association. Santiago Trujillo, Chicana and Chicano Studies major and chapter president for EWB UNM this year, said his team will receive the donation after a presentation scheduled for Dec. 6. “What we're doing is giving the presentation on our chapter and project, particularly looking at our trip from last summer where a team of ours actually got to install a hand pump that was working for a community,” he said.
On Nov. 9 Daniel Arushanov walked into the Student Union Building with a loaded gun. A Lobo Alert was not sent out that day, although he was taken into custody, and is now banned from campus. The Clery Act states that alert must be sent out as soon as an immediate and present danger to students has been confirmed. “We have to verify there is a threat, there was no threat to the campus and no time to alert to what was going on,” Byron Piatt UNM Emergency manager said. Arushanov violated the law by bringing a weapon on campus, which is when the SUB manager made the call to the UNM Police Department, UNMPD Lt. Tim Stump said.
Last week, funds were granted to UNM to support students of Mexican origin in pursuit of higher education. UNM President Bob Frank and Mexican Consul Efren Leyba signed a Memorandum of Understanding at a ceremony on Main Campus, representing a collaboration between UNM and the Mexican Consulate to provide for economically challenged students of Mexican descent. After the announcement, Leyba joined UNM Vice President of Student Affairs Cheo Torres in handing out checks from the IME-Becas Scholarship Program.
Solutions by The State News
