Multimedia

OPINION: #NotMyDuckPond

When the construction fences came down around the University of New Mexico’s Duck Pond on Aug. 4, students expected the return of a refreshed campus landmark. The dearly missed duck pond was a place where students could breathe, study and watch the ducks and turtles float lazily by. What students found instead looked less like an oasis and more like a Cold War set piece. The newly renovated pond doesn’t look like a sanctuary; it looks like brutalist architecture in miniature. Stark concrete borders, harsh angles and the erasure of natural flow have left the space cold and unwelcoming. What was once a green, organic centerpiece of campus life now feels more like a monument to efficiency and bureaucracy rather than beauty and community.

New Instagram Map feature draws backlash from attorneys general, legislators and users

On Aug. 13, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr co-led a letter to Instagram regarding its new live location sharing maps feature. Among Torrez and Carr, 35 other attorneys general signed onto this letter, which claimed the feature raised “public safety and data privacy concerns — particularly for vulnerable users, including children and survivors of domestic violence,” the letter reads.  This feature was intended to be a “lightweight” way to connect with each other and is automatically turned off unless users choose to opt in, according to Meta. The feature allows users to share their location with people they follow back. Users can also hide their location from certain people or hide their location when they are in certain places.

Lobo Volleyball wins exhibition match vs New Mexico Highlands

The University of New Mexico’s Lobo Women’s Volleyball went against the New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls in an exhibition match on Saturday, Aug. 23, marking their first match of the season.  The exhibition hit off with a bang, with the first point of the match being a kill by outside hitter Naomi Chankoumi. The Lobos kept up the pressure, serving strong and sharp. Setter and outside hitter Addison France made the second kill in the first set leading 2-0. There was not much fight from New Mexico Highlands in the first set, but the Cowgirls began to pick up as the last set was closing. Even though the Lobos were ahead, they did not slow down. The Lobos closed out the first set with a massive total of twelve kills, quickly leading the Lobos to a 25-7 victory.

OPINION: NFL 2025 division winner predictions

The long wait is almost over. The NFL season is set to kick off Sept. 4 with the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles facing their division rival, the Dallas Cowboys. The NFL is often the most unpredictable league in sports, but here are predictions for each division winner for the 2025–26 season.  AFC North: Baltimore Ravens (14-3) The Ravens are coming off a heartbreaking playoff loss in January to the Buffalo Bills and will look to take the AFC crown.

REVIEW: “Peacemaker”: A look back and forward

Did you watch “Superman” and wonder what was up with the John Cena cameo where he’s on a talk show wearing a bucket on his head? That’s Peacemaker.  He’s the titular character of James Gunn’s HBO Max original series: “Peacemaker,” which released its first season in 2022, and dropped the first episode of its second season on Thursday, Aug. 21. Season one of “Peacemaker” follows Christopher Smith — aka Peacemaker — joining a black ops mission fighting off an alien invasion in order to avoid being sent back to Belle Reve prison. Smith, a trained killer, was raised from birth to kill by his father, a neo-Nazi supervillain known as the White Dragon. Smith battles with the way he was raised, the trauma he endured, and his growing desire to be a better person and a real hero. 

Isotopes dominate in series opener versus Las Vegas, then fall in next two games

The Albuquerque Isotopes take on the Las Vegas Aviators again this week, coming home after splitting the series with the Oklahoma City Comets last week. The Isotopes were looking for a win in game one to start the series. Isotopes Manager Pedro Lopez said he feels the team could have won 4 out of the six against Oklahoma City.  “Unfortunately, it didn't happen. We ended up splitting, but it’s nice to be home and get the first one out of the way,” Lopez said.

Comic, August 19, 2025

OPINION: Why Albuquerque needs ranked-choice voting

The case for the implementation of ranked-choice voting is a simple one. To have the most democratic elections possible, Albuquerque needs ranked-choice voting. As local voters prepare to head to the polls this November for Albuquerque’s municipal elections, many wonder if the system still truly works for them and advocates for the issues they care about. According to Pew Research Center polling, trust in American government and institutions has faced a steady decline since 1964 — regardless of which political party is in control of the government — highlighting the need to focus our efforts on giving citizens more of a voice and a choice in the people who govern them.

REVIEW: Marvel’s third attempt at its “First Family” is Fantastic

Marvel Studios newest feature film, “Fantastic Four: First Steps,” was released July 25. It’s also not the first, second, or even third attempt by a major studio to bring the titular group to life; however, it is arguably the best. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy the other attempts — those being the 2005 and 2007 movies helmed by Tim Story and the 2015 reboot from “Chronicle” director Josh Trank — though none of them ever shined in the eyes of critics. My hypothesis is that, tonally, these films were molded by the other superhero content hitting theaters at the time, and failed to measure up to their competitors — until now.

Lobo football holds open scrimmage and prepares for season opener

On Friday, Aug. 15, the University of New Mexico Lobo football team hosted a scrimmage open to the public, giving fans a chance to get a preview of the team in action and see them in action ahead of the season kickoff on Aug. 30 against the Michigan Wolverines. Only the most eagle-eyed fans may notice the team looks slightly different from last year: the Lobos lost their head coach, star quarterback, two running backs, four receivers and a swath of other players. Demonstrating the Lobo’s perseverance, the new Lobo football Head Coach Jason Eck has been able to put together a quality roster that could take the Lobos to decent success.

Lobo Athletics pushes for viral social media videos

In complementing the recent push for investment into certain capital projects and fan-forward programs, the University of New Mexico Athletics Department has also had a focus on creating more promotional and social media content. On Aug. 4, to announce that kids under 12 would now get free admission into football games with the purchase of an adult single game general ticket, the New Mexico Lobos released a video that went viral, with over half a million views on X alone. The video parodies an episode from the television show “The Office”, named “Scott's Tots,” with Head Football Coach Jason Eck experiencing a humorous miscommunication with Director of Athletics Fernando Lovo. As a result, Eck ends up promising free tuition to a classroom of elementary school students instead of free tickets to a football game.

UNM women's soccer team opens season with scoring onslaught

During their first game of the season, the University of New Mexico women's soccer team came out firing against the Texas Southern University Lady Tigers, cruising to an 8-0 victory during the match on Thursday, Aug. 14. The Lobos struck early, scoring three goals within the first 15 minutes and six goals in the first half. The scoring was well-balanced, with five Lobos putting the ball into the net. The scoring extravaganza led to the most goals the Lobos have scored in a match since 2002. Last season, the Lobos scored 23 goals total with their highest scoring game a 5-2 win against the Nevada Wolf Pack.

APS responds to immigration concerns

As concern grows nationally over federal immigration enforcement activity, Albuquerque Public Schools is taking proactive measures to ensure the safety of its students. Before most students returned to the classroom on Aug. 7, APS released a statement  addressing community concerns regarding the possibility of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity on school grounds. The article affirms that every student deserves a safe, supportive learning environment, that U.S. citizenship is not a requirement to attend public school and that immigration officials “shall not be on campus at any time.”

ABQ Backyard Refuge Program hosts informational talk at Blackbird Coffee House

On Aug. 12, Blackbird Coffee House in Old Town hosted a talk with Laurel Ladwig, director of the ABQ Backyard Refuge Program of the Friends of Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge and the University of New Mexico R.H. Mallory Center for Community Geography. Sponsored by the Museum of Natural History and Sciences, the event was hosted at Blackbird Coffee House as the museum is closed for renovation. The ABQ Backyard Refuge Program is dedicated to providing information and resources that encourage locals to create landscape spaces friendly to native wildlife. Techniques include planting more native plants, such as any of the more than 250 plants native to the Middle Rio Grande Valley, Albuquerque Metro Area and East Mountain regions.

Comic, August 15, 2025

UNM Women’s soccer wins exhibition match

The 2025 season for the University of New Mexico women’s soccer team kicks off next week with their season opener at home on Aug. 14 against Texas Southern University — the first Lobo sporting event of the 2025–26 season. The Lobos played an exhibition game this week on Aug. 7, starting the year off strong with a 4-1 win against University of Texas, El Paso, where several players including newcomers and goalkeepers had playtime on the field. While the victory could be a hopeful sign for the future, the game will not count towards the overall season record. The season spans a total of 19 games, concluding with the Mountain West tournament in November for qualifying teams.

Thousands of tarantulas to surface this fall

This year, thousands of tarantulas are predicted to emerge in larger than average numbers throughout New Mexico than the past as male tarantulas leave their burrows, wandering to find a female to mate with. In a statement to the Daily Lobo, Jerome Rovner with the American Arachnological Society wrote that tarantulas mating is an annual occurrence. This year, he said there is predicted to be a higher number of males due to wetter-than-usual weather. “Wetter conditions provide more insect prey to eat and also make digging a burrow in the soil easier — both factors increase the ability for tarantulas to survive and show up in greater numbers than usual,” Rovner wrote.

Fusion energy company considers Albuquerque for $1 billion nuclear fusion facility

Energy company Pacific Fusion has selected Albuquerque as one of two cities, along with Fremont, California, to expand its operations by building a 225,000-square-foot facility in Mesa del Sol to develop nuclear fusion energy. Fusion reactions are what power the sun, with strong gravitational forces creating conditions where two light nuclei fuse together into one larger nucleus, releasing fusion energy due to the total mass being less than the mass of the two original nuclei, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Scientists are attempting to generate this energy on earth through fusion machines to be used for electricity, according to the DOE.

Free admission and $4 hot dogs: UNM Athletics’ push for affordability

Over the past two weeks, the University of New Mexico’s Athletics Department announced a frenzy of initiatives to make Lobo athletic events more affordable. It will allow free entry for home games for several Olympic sporting events, free entry for children under 12 to Lobo football games and a new $4 value menu for concessions at home football games. The new programs reflect a long-term investment into affordability and the fan experience for Lobo Football and athletics, UNM’s Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Relations, Kasey Byers, said. “This may be something we break even on, or this may be something that we’re willing to invest in — what the overall growth of the program is going to be,” Byers said.

How the “One Big Beautiful Bill” could impact New Mexico’s renewable energy infrastructure

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act — signed into law on July 4 by President Trump — furthered the Trump administration’s cutdowns on renewable energy sources in favor of producing natural energy resources using federal lands and waters. The bill introduces changes to tax credits intended to incentivize the expansion of renewable energy companies building solar and wind farms across the U.S. The effects of the bill are likely to directly affect New Mexicans, Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D) said. “New Mexicans could be looking at a price hike in their electric bills of more than $400 a year because of this bill. It is going to have a direct effect on the overall modernization of our infrastructure, as well as the bottom line for families and paying their utilities,” Stansbury said in an interview with the Daily Lobo.