Editor, The recent passage of Resolution 6S is an infringement on American civil rights. Not only was the definition of "Islamophobia" misrepresented, the claims that there are no contradictions between American values and Islamic values are baseless.
Track and Field UNM tied for 31st in the 2015 NCAA Track and Field Championships on Saturday in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Lobo runners Sammy Silva, Allan Hamilton and Adam Bitchell accepted All-American honors on the weekend. Silva’s 4:35.44 mile time garnered a sixth-place finish, which marked the seventh female indoor All-American athlete in program history.
On the one-year anniversary of homeless camper James Boyd’s death at the hands of the Albuquerque Police Department, activists and community members gathered in a dusty downtown warehouse in search of a little street justice. Activist group ABQJustice, with help from other community groups, held the Albuquerque People’s Tribunal on Police Brutality on Saturday. The event, which was open to the public, featured the results of a six-month-long, street-level investigation of “prejudice and racial bias” in the APD. American Studies professor and ABQJustice member David Correia helped compile the investigation and presented the group’s findings at the tribunal.
After a 1-7 start to the season, there wasn’t many who thought that the Lobos would be in a position to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Reaching the Mountain West Basketball Championship game put UNM in a position to earn an automatic bid to NCAAs, but UNM missed that chance following 66-60 defeat to Boise State in the Friday’s title bout.
LAS VEGAS – It’s been a few years, but the New Mexico women’s basketball team climbed its way back into the Mountain West Basketball Championships. The Lobos knocked off the defending tournament champion in the process. Senior guard Antiesha Brown scored a game-high 18 points Wednesday night and did not miss from the free throw line, leading the Lobos to the championship game following a 64-53 victory over last year’s title winner Fresno State.
LAS VEGAS – When point guard Hugh Greenwood waves to the crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center it’s usually after a New Mexico victory. Not this time.
LAS VEGAS -- Yvonne Sanchez found it difficult to compare this UNM women’s basketball team to others she has been around. There are similarities, the Lobo coach said, like the team’s length and athleticism, or its inside presence.
New Mexico controls its destiny for the number-two spot in the conference, but a share of the Mountain West title is not out of the question. A win tonight in Laramie, Wyoming guarantees the Lobos can do no worse than second in the conference. “We just have to focus on how we can get a win in Wyoming,” head coach Yvonne Sanchez said. “We’ll focus on that first, and then we will know by Friday night where we finish.”
In 2006 veteran Albuquerque Police Department officer Sam Costales testified in court against Bernalillo County Sheriff’s officers in a high-profile case involving the unjustified and abusive arrest of racecar driver and local celebrity Al Unser, Sr. After the case against Unser was thrown out, then-APD Chief Ray Shultz opened a new investigation — into Costales, for breaching the “blue wall of silence” and turning on fellow law enforcement agents. Costales said he was forced into retirement, but was eventually awarded $662,000 in a lawsuit against the city. Since then, Costales has become an activist, speaking out against the brutality and abuse of power he witnessed during his 20-plus years as an APD officer.
New Mexico senior guard Hugh Greenwood will play his final home game in Cherry and Silver while trying to avoid the Lobos’ first losing season in his tenure at UNM. Greenwood’s legacy will not be defined by this season’s struggles, head coach Craig Neal said at a press conference on Thursday. When asked what Greenwood’s legacy would be, Neal gave a definitive answer: “Winner.” Greenwood will have one more chance to go out a winner on the WisePies Arena floor when UNM hosts Wyoming in both teams’ regular season finale on Saturday.
Two bills that could affect UNM’s lottery scholarship recipients are making headway in the state Legislature. Senate Bill 286, which would send forfeited lottery prizes to the scholarship fund, will advance to the Senate after the Senate Finance Committee approved the bill. And Senate Bill 355, approved with a 25-16 vote, would allow debit cards to be used to purchase lottery tickets. Supporters of SB 355 said it could increase lottery ticket sales and lead to larger prize amounts, which would in turn boost funding to the scholarship in the long run. However, the bill would also eliminate the requirement that at least 30 percent of lottery revenue be dedicated to the scholarship fund.
New Mexico should be next in line to legalize marijuana for recreational use. We can’t afford not to do it: Full legalization would provide tens of millions of dollars in economic benefits for the state at a time when the dwindling local economy needs a major boost. Colorado and Washington State legalized recreational use of marijuana in 2012. Oregon voters approved legalization in July 2014, and in February Alaska became the fourth U.S. state to legalize recreational marijuana.
In the wake of recent attacks targeting Muslims on American college campuses and around the world, ASUNM unanimously passed a cautionary resolution at Wednesday’s meeting urging UNM administration to state their opposition to Islamophobia. Sen. Udell Calzadillas Chavez, who introduced Resolution 6S, said there is a widespread culture of fear and ignorance that perpetuates violence against Muslims. The purpose of the resolution is to provoke better understanding of Islam in the UNM community. “This is a proactive approach to events in the United States and around the world,” he said.
The New Mexico baseball team isn’t usually considered an underdog in the Mountain West, but the underdog role is what UNM will play this weekend when it hosts a San Diego State team that heads into Lobo Field on a seven-game winning streak. Part of the reason SDSU is favored in the three-game series is because of its experience in the field. The Aztecs have eight hitters with two years of Division I experience or more. In comparison, UNM has just two batters — junior second baseman Sam Haggerty and junior shortstop Jared Holley — with two years of Division I skill. “Just by experience alone we’re the underdogs,” head coach Ray Birmingham said. “I consider us underdogs these next two weekends. That doesn’t mean we’re not going to win them.”
Studying abroad is expensive and entails some culture shock. However, making the difficult decision to leave my family and friends for a year to live in New Mexico was the best decision I have ever made. While everyone else is back home in rainy England, I get to wake up to the best sunrises in the world, live an American lifestyle and experience every day the vibrant New Mexico culture. I highly encourage anyone to live abroad at one moment in their life.
Your cartoon on March 4 exemplifies how complicated the issue of cannabis legalization has become. To unravel the resulting confusion among users of this drug, there must first be broad agreement among all levels of government that cannabis is physically addictive, with serious consequences such as loss of working memory, cognitive impairment, even schizophrenia, and dangerous withdrawal symptoms like physical aggression.
The fight to replace university observation of Columbus Day with the official celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Resistance and Resilience Day garnered momentum on Wednesday with the unanimous passing of an ASUNM resolution urging UNM administration to make the change. Resolution 7S states that the move is actually in concordance with what the University stands for. “This resolution is in farther accordance with UNM’s mission statement, which commits to ‘discover and disseminate new knowledge and creative endeavors that will enhance the overall well-being of society,’” the document states.
Disney is one of the six corporations who control 90 percent of American media. Disney owns ABC, ESPN, Pixar, Miramax, Lucasfilm and Marvel Entertainment. The main way this has changed American media is the shaping of the thunderously lucrative Marvel Cinematic Universe. “Big Hero 6,” which recently came out on DVD, is probably the most creative use of Disney’s ownership of everything Marvel. “Big Hero 6” was originally a 90s comic series failure. I’m a huge comic book nerd and even I hadn’t heard of it before — it is essentially the artistic dregs of the Marvel’s comic history. But since Disney purchased Marvel Entertainment in 2009, this provided an opportunity to deconstruct and reinvent.
ASUNM’s Lobo Spirit group threw the University a 126th birthday party at the Student Union Building on Wednesday. Around 200 students wearing cherry and silver participated in the annual student body photo that will hang in the SUB for a full year, ASUNM officials said. “Lobo Day is basically composed of a couple different parts,” said Ryan Lindquist, associate director for Students Activities Center. “We take the big large picture that hangs in the Student Union Building for the entire year. We sing the birthday songs. We have the photo booth and a couple of giveaways.”
Getting kids to read can be an obstacle, but New Mexico PBS is tackling the challenge through writing workshops. The PBS Kids writing workshops, offered through the month of March, feature an appearance by a local children’s book author and teach the basic elements of creating and organizing a story. Hollie Lovely, PBS early childhood outreach coordinator, said she organizes the workshops to address literacy and reading proficiency in New Mexico.
Solutions by The State News
