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ASUNM senator resigns after use of racist slurs

Associated Students of the University of New Mexico (ASUNM) Senator Romie Sandoval has resigned after text messages emerged in which Sandoval repeatedly used the n-word, causing a public outcry. On Jan. 20, Twitter user @ntonyjean published screenshots providing evidence that Sandoval used the n-word in private messages. @ntonyjean didn’t disclose in the post the origins of the screenshots or whether they were the original recipient of the offending messages. The Daily Lobo spoke with ASUNM president Mia Amin on Jan. 25 regarding the complaints about Sandoval’s language. Amin said she had no knowledge of the allegations and requested to have the screenshots forwarded to her so she could research the situation.

DATA DISPATCH: UNM men’s basketball is spectacularly hard to watch

Why beat around the bush here? UNM Basketball: Pandemic Edition just flat-out sucks. In almost every measurable, demonstrable way, the University of New Mexico's men's basketball team (1-9 in conference play thus far) is a complete and unmitigated dumpster fire. Obviously, there's a ton of factors at play here, and they're not all UNM's fault. Moving a roster full of fresh faces out of the state for the season was never going to be easy. My god, though — do they really have to make it look this hard? Even the most casual of college hoops observers knows that today's game is all about pace and space. The up-tempo, trigger-happy style of basketball has completely transformed the game as we know it over the better part of the past decade.

Grad students protest at president’s house for right to unionize

“Hungry minds, not hungry students” read one sign at Wednesday’s protest organized by the University of New Mexico’s graduate student union decrying the University’s recent attempts to block graduate student workers from unionizing. The protest started with a rally outside of the University House, with students socially distanced, as well as a parade of cars with signs taped to the side that drove around the area. Students’ chants echoed across the campus, saying things like “Trump and Stokes may not agree, but who are we? Employees” and “We. Are. UE.”

‘Lobo Social Packs’ provide outlet for student socialization

Lobo Social Packs are a new way for students to connect with one another at the University of New Mexico, bringing five students together to attend both in-person and virtual events. The Student Activities Center (SAC) will organize and host these groups, which will include four students and one “involved” student leader. “We’re really looking at trying to find ways to connect students during the pandemic, because things have obviously been really tough with very few in-person classes,” Ryan Lindquist, the director of the SAC, said. The 25 students who have signed up so far met virtually for the first time on Thursday, Jan. 28. Applications will continue to be accepted throughout the semester.

Jan 27, 2021 Comics

Jan 25, 2021 Comics

‘Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales’ swings the PS5 into new heights

This review contains spoilers. A follow-up to the hugely popular “Marvel’s Spider-Man” released on the PS4, “Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales” not only keeps the same amazing swinging and combat system from the previous title, but adds new and interesting features that give new life to the old formula. This new addition to the franchise puts players in the role of the eponymous character Morales as he embarks on a journey to discover what kind of hero he truly is. He is not only trying to live up to the reputation of Spider-Man but also separate himself and become his own hero, not just a teenager pretending to be Spider-Man.

The life of a fully vaccinated UNMH resident

As COVID-19 began to spread around the world just under a year ago, University of New Mexico Hospital employees knew they would be seeing patients flooding the halls of the wards, and quickly. Residents felt a mix of fear and pride as they prepared to face what would likely be the largest and most shocking wave of disease and illness they would see in their careers, creating a daily physical and emotional hurdle for doctors and patients alike. “This is it — this is my cause that I get to fight for,” Dr. Jessica Evans-Wall, a second year resident, said. Still, there were many unknown variables to COVID-19, as there still are, and employees were there to help as best they could.

Future bill would help hold New Mexico police officers more accountable

New Mexican lawmakers are reacting to the galvanizing calls for police reform around the country by introducing legislation to clean up the state’s law enforcement academy regulations. The legislation focuses on transferring and creating deadlines for some of the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy’s (NMLEA) responsibilities. The NMLEA currently has two primary responsibilities: training officers and suspending or revoking certification to serve as a peace officer. Representative Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque, highlighted the clear contradiction of those responsibilities, noting that misconduct often goes unreported or without a hearing. 

Navajo Nation, UNM Rainforest affordable housing agreement set to terminate

After July 31, an affordable housing agreement for Navajo students at the University of New Mexico’s Rainforest building will end, leaving 118 residents of the downtown apartment complex looking for alternative — and undoubtedly more expensive — accommodations. Former Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye signed an agreement on Jan. 3, 2018 that provided housing for Navajo students on the fifth and sixth floors of the Rainforest building at a discounted rate of $945, or $189 a month, per fall and spring semester. Since the Navajo Nation decided not to renew the agreement, it will end after its originally scheduled end date this summer.

Analysis: Biden’s inauguration marks shift toward consistent U.S. policy

Joseph R. Biden Jr. was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, marking the official end of former President Donald John Trump’s term and the new administration’s inheritance of a destructive domestic and foreign agenda and its consequences. In the last four years under Trump’s “America First” policy, the U.S. flouted warnings from climate scientists, abruptly abandoned allies in foreign conflicts, backed out of international groups — including the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization — and instituted discriminatory and exclusionary immigration policy which was challenged by the ACLU as a violation of U.S. and international law. The erratic isolationism was interspersed with impromptu and often jaunty meetings between the former president and foreign dictators, an abrupt assassination of a top Iranian general taken without consulting Congress and a half-baked plan to purchase Greenland.

SciFi Blast Off virtually draws in new fans, geeks alike at UNM

Science fiction lovers at the University of New Mexico are in for a treat as University Libraries start SciFi Blast Off, a series of virtual science fiction-related events throughout the spring semester. Upcoming events for the series include team trivia on Jan. 26, a movie watch party featuring the film “Prospect” on Feb. 10 and a book discussion on Sarah Pinsker’s “Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea” (specifically on the included short stories “Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea,” “Our Lady of the Open Road” and “And Then There Were (N-One)") on Feb. 26.

Jan 20, 2021 Comics

Stokes gives State of the University address on public safety, structural racism, COVID and budget crises

On Thursday, Jan. 21, University of New Mexico President Garnett Stokes released her pre-recorded 2021 State of the University address, reflecting on last year’s major events like the pandemic and community protests. “We have endured one of the most disruptive eras in our nation’s history, from a global (sic) pandemic to a summer of social unrest to a recent shocking assault on the seat of our government,” Stokes said. “The past 12 months have challenged all of us and have further exposed the divisions and inequities in our society.” Stokes covered the University’s response to the summer’s protests and counter-protests, COVID-19 and the resulting financial crises in which the University found itself.

Vaccine supersite opens at The Pit

New Mexicans took to The Pit Wednesday morning as University of New Mexico Health officials began distributing the first round of COVID-19 vaccinations. The Pit, normally packed at this time of the year for an evening basketball game, saw empty stands as a large crowd of masked residents lined up outside.  The Department of Health, the UNM Health system and UNM Athletics coordinated to distribute about 1,700 vaccines on Jan 20. Their goal is to replicate that for the next three weeks.

State money for child care available to graduate students

As a full time PhD student, with one child at the University of New Mexico’s Children’s Campus half-time, Naomi Ambriz used to pay $568 a month in child care. With newly available child care assistance from the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD), her copayment is now only a third of that amount. Ambriz, a fifth year American studies graduate student and the student parent advocate at the Women's Resource Center, said she first learned about the temporary eligibility rule change that made graduate student parents eligible for child care assistance through the UNM Graduate Studies listserv.

‘Wishful recycling’ leads to trash taking long, expensive route to the landfill

The ubiquitous blue recycling bins seen around Albuquerque are being filled improperly, and city and community leaders are trying to correct course to a more sustainable future. According to the City of Albuquerque’s Solid Waste Department, 32% percent of what residents currently attempt to recycle is trash. This is worse than prior audits, where only 20% of the items placed into recycle bins was unrecyclable. The contamination of trash in United States recycling caused China — a major importer of recyclables — to completely stop accepting recyclables from the U.S. in 2018. The decision had a direct impact on how much recyclables are worth, according to Sarah Pierpont, the executive director of the New Mexico Recycling Coalition.

UNM files to block graduate student union’s right to organize

On Dec. 9, graduate student employees at the University of New Mexico officially filed for union recognition with the state Public Employees Labor Relations Board (PELRB). The grad student employees submitted signed cards from a supermajority (60%) of all UNM fall 2020 graduate student workers, and on Dec. 11 the executive director of the PELRB issued a letter finding the petition was “facially valid” and was “supported by a sufficient showing of interest.” In response, UNM filed a petition blocking the unionization request on two grounds: 1) that teaching, research and other graduate “assistants” are not actually employees and 2) if they are in fact employees, then their individual job descriptions are so vastly different that they cannot function as one bargaining unit.

State Police, National Guard troops patrol Roundhouse in response to FBI warnings

New Mexico State Police and National Guard troops stood watch over the seat of New Mexico’s government in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Jan. 16. The increased security came in response to warnings of potential violence from the FBI ahead of the presidential inauguration on Wednesday. Following the deadly insurrection at the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, the FBI cautioned that state capitols across the nation could see “armed protests'' in the days leading up to President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s swearing in, according to an internal bulletin obtained by ABC News.

‘Death to 2020:’ Retelling a brutal year with bad comedy

“Death to 2020,” a British mockumentary from the creators of “Black Mirror,” revisits every monumental event to have happened over the past year in an attempt to put it at rest as the title suggests. Despite having left much to be desired, the film’s quirky tone and lack of solemnity provides for some casual viewing if that’s what 2020 should amount to in history books in some way. In the 70-minute Netflix original, Samuel Jackson and several other B-list celebrities are casted as an assorted troupe of false leading experts and exaggerated everyday people who recount the trauma-inducing year 2020.