Lobos Basketball Tournament

With six seniors and one junior gone, the UNM men’s soccer staff needed to find new talent — and it looks like they’ve found it. Last week the UNM men’s soccer program announced six members of the 2015 recruiting class, a group that has big shoes to fill, as four former Lobos are currently in preseason with MLS clubs and a fifth is on trial with the USL LA Galaxy II. Two or three additional players are expected to sign in the upcoming months.

Letter: MLK's prophetic legacy condemned, forgotten

Prophet Martin Luther King Jr. damned the Vietnam War in his most controversial speech on April 4, 1967 — exactly one year before he was assassinated. King damned the U.S. mass-murder of Vietnamese people. King said, “The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today is my own government.”

Frank's agenda makes headway

UNM President Bob Frank gave a promising update on his strategic eight-year plan for improving the University during this month’s Board of Regents meeting. According to the presentation he gave during the president’s administrative report, UNM has made progress on 18 out of the 27 goals in the plan, and completed four of them. “There are a couple of places where we’re struggling,” Frank said, “but by and large we’re making excellent progress.”

Men's basketball: Uphill battle ahead after dropped games

For the second straight game, the New Mexico men’s basketball team kept pace with its opponent until the end. The Lobos dropped yet another heartbreaker, this time to the Utah State Aggies 63-60 on Saturday. The team had multiple chances down the stretch to steal the victory, but couldn’t. “I thought Utah State played a very good game,” head coach Craig Neal said. “I thought they made shots when they needed to make shots, and it just seemed like we didn’t come ready to play. I thought we played hard, but we didn’t play up to our capabilities until about the last six minutes.”

Track and field: Lobos gain experience in run-up to big meets

The goal at the New Mexico Classic was to gain experience, and the Lobo track and field team certainly did that. Head coach Joe Franklin said he was going to give some of his players a rest after the New Mexico Collegiate Invitational on Jan. 31. However, he said some of his younger athletes needed to step up to gain some familiarity with tough competition. “We had some really positive things happen,” Franklin said in a release. “They’re making progress ... next week, we’ll gear back up again for the Don Kirby Invite, then two weeks left until conference.”

Baseball: Young team has high aims

The New Mexico baseball team has never been shy about its expectations. The Lobos announced at their media day Friday that, once again, it’s the College World Series or bust. UNM fell short of the goal last season when it wasn’t awarded an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament after losing in the Mountain West. But before UNM can march to Omaha, Nebraska, the host city for the College World Series, it will have to get through the Mountain West. The Lobos have won either the conference’s regular season title, the tournament championship or both in the past five seasons.

Sex assault survivors must undergo background check before services

Survivors of rape and/or sexual assault are now required to have a background check before they can receive services from the Albuquerque Family Advocacy Center. The policy, titled “AFAC Safety and Security Plan,” states that “the client, and all those accompanying the client, will provide a name and date of birth for a background check in the NMJustice.org database.” It further states, “in cases where the client refuses to produce identifying information, the client will be directed to the appropriate off-site agency to seek the requested services.” The policy was created in 2007, but has only been actively enforced since November.

Men's basketball: Long-shooting Lobos shot down by Air Force

New Mexico has had trouble finding its identity this season, whether it be at the offensive or defensive ends. Wednesday’s loss at Air Force highlighted this. UNM dropped a heartbreaker to the Air Force Falcons 53-49 after the Lobos couldn’t find their rhythm on the offensive side, hoisting up shots that they haven’t been known to hit this season. The Lobos trailed the Falcons much of the first half and went into halftime down two after a corner 3-pointer by senior guard Deshawn Delaney at the buzzer. UNM attempted 13 3-pointers in the first half and connected on six of them.

Football: New recruits will improve UNM's air game

The triple option isn’t typically an offense that attracts wide receivers. That changed on National Signing Day for New Mexico, as four of the Lobos’ 22 signees were wideouts. With the addition of the four newbies, UNM now has 10 wide receivers on scholarships. The new targets that UNM acquired on Wednesday are: Q’ Drennan, Delane Hart-Johnson, Sa’von Rollison and Anu Somoye. Hart-Johnson will only have three years of eligibility after having played one season at L.A. Valley College. The rest of group are incoming freshman and have four years of playing time.

ASUNM votes unanimously to support Black History Month

The Associated Students of the University of New Mexico unanimously passed Resolution 1S at Wednesday’s senate meeting, declaring their support of Black History Month and campus events educating and informing students about African-American accomplishments and heritage. Sen. Rebecca Hampton introduced the legislation at Wednesday’s meeting, saying that the resolution goes beyond supporting Black History Month events. “It’s about celebrating the accomplishments that black people have achieved in their struggles, both historically and presently,” she said.

Column: Income inequality, crime are behind New Mex-odus

People are leaving New Mexico in droves. The evidence is irrefutable. The latest proof comes from a recent study released by moving company United Van Lines: the Land of Disenchantment ranked ninth on the annual list of “most moved from” states. New Mexico was the only Southwestern state to show a high departure rate; Texas and Colorado were among the top 10 “moved to” states. Oregon won the prize for “most moved to” state, according to the study. South Carolina, Florida and Vermont were also popular places to move to. Earlier this year Albuquerque Business First published “Gone for Good,” a series of articles featuring interviews with New Mexicans who had just left the state or were planning to leave. The most common complaints focused on high corporate taxes and the increasing crime rate in Albuquerque. But that’s only part of it.

Lobos lobby Legislature in session

ost people who watched Schoolhouse Rock as kids understand the basic process by which a bill becomes state law: the bill passes through the House of Representatives and the Senate committees, is voted on, and is then approved by the governor. UNM’s Office of Government Relations, however, is involved with the more nuanced process that comes beforehand to familiarize legislators with issues important to the University community. This office serves as the University’s lead representative and advocate with elected officials, and ensures that important issues involving UNM are on their agendas. As soon as the legislative session ends, Government Relations begins working with UNM groups to find the issues that matter most to the community for the next year’s session.

Softball: UNM predicted last for MW conference

New Mexico enters the start of the softball season with great confidence after an undefeated fall and three nominations for preseason All-Conference players. However, the Mountain West feels differently. The Lobos are projected to finish dead last in the conference this year following last year’s departure of four key starters. “We did lose some big sticks, but I feel that we have kids that have stepped up,” head coach Erica Beach said at the softball media day press conference. “I feel we have more bats in the lineup that can get it done now and I’m very confident.”

Women's basketball: Team hopes to contain Utah's super-freshman

The last time New Mexico faced off against Utah State, the squad didn’t know what to expect from a team going through significant changes. On Jan. 10 the Lobos had to prepare for an Aggie squad that just lost two of its best players, forward Stephanie Bairstow and guard Makenlee Williams. This time around, UNM knows to key in on freshman standout Funda Nakkasoglu. Nakkasoglu nearly willed her team to victory after dropping 29 points in a tight 60-59 game at WisePies Arena. However, a late turnover by the freshman guard demolished any chance of their leaving the Pit victorious.

Theater review: Festival can hit or miss

The Revolutions International Theatre Festival is a whole lot of theater. Three solid weeks displaying a different show is a lot. Perhaps too much. And with tickets at $28 for general admission or, if you are lucky, $22 for students and seniors, it’s terribly difficult to see more than one or two at the most.

Crime briefs for Feb. 5, 2015

Garcia’s Kitchen swindled
 by fast talker On Jan. 16, UNM Police Department was approached by an employee of Garcia’s Kitchen in the Student Union Building in reference to fraud. According to the report, a customer paid for a Gatorade using a $50 bill. The customer asked for the $50 bill back, saying he did not want to use it for the transaction, confusing the employee. After the customer left the restaurant, the employee realized that she had returned an extra $50, saying that the customer was a quick talker and good at confusing her. The UNMPD officer later found a subject who matched the description of the customer at the Phillips 66 and Donut Mart on Lomas Boulevard. The officer approached the subject who had a wad of cash in his hand. The clerk of the Donut Mart said the subject had tried to swindle him after he received change from a minimal purchase. The subject repaid the $50 to Garcia’s Kitchen. The restaurant did not pursue charges against the subject.

Column: Ridesharing services need better regulations

If you live in Albuquerque or Santa Fe, you have probably heard of Lyft or Uber. If you are unfamiliar with them, they are ridesharing services that connect passengers to drivers via a smartphone app. It’s a convenient and safe way to get a ride, and it is a proven job creator. But currently, there are no regulations for ridesharing companies, and therefore their future in New Mexico is uncertain. That needs to change.

Teaching awards need student voice

Every year teachers and administrators gather together to review hundreds of nominations for the Teacher of the Year Awards, but throughout the process student participation is lacking. In the 2013-14 academic year there was a total of 355 nominations, up from the previous year at 342. Most years there are repeated nominations for the same teacher and other bogus nominations, according to a CTE representative. As of Wednesday there were a total of 80 nominations. However, like every year, a large amount of nominations are submitted closer to the deadline, the representative said.

Women's basketball: Eight home wins for Lobos

Eight straight home wins have given New Mexico a winning record for the first time all season, following Wednesday night’s 69-46 rout against Air Force at WisePies Arena. In addition to the hot record at home, UNM (11-10, 7-3 MW) has put together four consecutive regular season conference wins for the first time since the 2006-2007 season. “I don’t want to sit and compare one team to another, but I see a lot of this team in that team,” head coach Yvonne Sanchez said. “This team is very athletic, they’re very good, and they play well together.”

STC takes inventions to market

New Mexico is one of six western states — the others being Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada and Idaho — calling for the transfer of federal public lands to state control. The bill introduced to the New Mexico Legislature this year is asking for an interim study commission to simply investigate the issue further. Mark Allison, executive director of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, spoke with the Daily Lobo about the debate surrounding the transfer of public lands. NM Wild is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting New Mexico wilderness.