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Culture

A source of local, fresh and organic food

BillyJack Davidson | September 5

Access to organic food can be a rare commodity to come across. In 2020, 6% of food sales in the United States were organic, according to statistica. For those who live on campus at the University of New Mexico or in the surrounding area, La Montañita Co-op offers just that. The Co-op has two locations – one in the North Valley on the corner of Matthew and Rio Grande Blvd., and the second on the corner of Carlise and Central in the Nob Hill Shopping Center. Before it closed in March of 2021, there was a smaller version of the Co-op on campus.

Opinion

OPINION: September festivities not to miss

Sydney Walker | September 5

September is upon us and that means it’s the start of the fall festival season. School is now in session and temperatures this summer were exceptionally high. September marks a turning of the seasons and a reprieve of the summer heat – the perfect time for friends and family to celebrate all the things New Mexico has to offer. Here is a list of a few local festivals and fairs happening throughout the month that are sure to be fun, immersive and educational.

Sports

Second sweep of the season for Lobo Volleyball

Francesca Cicconetti | September 5

The University of New Mexico volleyball team secured their second sweep of the season, winning 3-0 against the St. John’s Red Storm on Friday, Sept. 1. The match took place on day two of the Lobo Invitational. The Lobos came in strong after going 2-1 against the University of California, Irvine Invitational the weekend before.

News

What is going on with college athletic conference realignments?

Lily Alexander and Maddie Pukite | August 27

Listed to improve athlete welfare, the athletics department Research and Public Service Projects Funding request was increased by $3.5 million from last year. This increase comes amidst conversations about the potential realignment of the Mountain West Conference. “With the recent changes in membership composition in several conferences, the Mountain West is exploring all opportunities to strengthen the league, including through the addition of new member schools,” MWC Board of Directors statement from Aug. 9 reads, which President Garnett Stokes serves as the chair of. The MWC is one of 10 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision conferences with some independent programs. Its uncertain future follows the reorganization of the Pacific 12 Conference, now left with four teams.

Sports

Even the rain couldn’t stop United’s heat

BillyJack Davidson | August 27

The Tulsa Football Club Roughnecks came to town this past Saturday, Aug. 26, playing against our boys in black and gold and were sent home after a 2-1 loss. Not even the rain in the first half could stop United from bringing the heat. Dark clouds and a light rain started off the match at the Rio Grande Credit Union, but thankfully for United, the game would go on no matter what. By the second minute, #33 Harry Swartz was immediately able to take control of the ball and sink it into the net, causing Isotopes Stadium to erupt, and the game was off with a bang.

News

The sky’s not the limit

Danielle Knox | August 27

Recently, the University of New Mexico’s physics and astronomy department was granted $750,000 from NASA. This grant is headed by associate professor, Diana Dragomir, who leads the research into exoplanets at UNM. “What we want to do with this grant is find a different kind of exoplanet. We want to find more of them. Especially those of a longer orbit,” Dragomir said. The benefits of this research for the average person, Dragomir said, is to help provide answers to the fundamental questions of life. Why is there life on Earth? Is there life elsewhere?

Opinion

REVIEW: Snoop Dogg’s Highschool Reunion tour brings volume to ABQ

BillyJack Davidson | August 27

It brought a bustle of positive energy, great music and a wide arrangement of entertainment; Snoop Dogg’s Highschool Reunion tour began this past June. On Tuesday, Aug. 21, he came to the Land of Enchantment. The tour has a hit line-up of artists including Wiz Khalifa, Warren G, DJ Drama, Berner, Too $hort and headliner Snoop Dogg. It had been six years since Snoop Dogg was last in Albuquerque, but the crowd made sure to show him love with constant dancing, singing and hollering. It was an electric feeling that was impossible to ignore.

News

Librarians advocate for alternative to textbooks

Maddie Pukite | August 27

An alternative to requiring students to purchase textbooks, University Libraries have begun to develop programs and offer grants to help professors integrate Open Educational Resources into their curriculum. All resources on an OER are licensed as Creative Commons - free to use. Three librarians at the University of New Mexico – Holly Surbaugh, Jennifer Jordan and Leo Lo – conducted a study in July of 2023 on the impact of textbook cost at a Hispanic-serving institution UNM. 70% of the 315 UNM undergraduate students in the study reported the amount they spent on textbooks was “somewhat or extremely unreasonable,” and 102 said the cost of materials impacted their ability to purchase basic needs such as housing, food and transportation.

News

Miles to fight cancer

Sydney Walker | August 24

The seventh annual fundraiser event for the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center is taking place at University Stadium on Sept. 23. All money raised will benefit the Cancer Center and its patients. Last year the Lobo Cancer Challenge raised $373,500. Those participating this year will either take on a 5K, stair challenge, 25 or 50 mile bike ride or virtually decide which athletic challenge they will do individually. For children ages 1-10, there is a cub pack 1K run or walk.

Sports

Lobos dominate New Mexico Highlands 4-0 in exhibition match

BillyJack Davidson and Francesca Cicconetti | August 20

The University of New Mexico Women’s volleyball team played in an exhibition match on Saturday, Aug. 19 against the New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls. Following last season’s exhibition victory against the Cowgirls, the Lobos won 4-0 for the second year in a row. UNM’s volleyball team had a strong season last year, going 17-12 in the regular season and 8-10 in conference play. The Lobos finished the season in fifth place, making the University’s second appearance in a row in the Mountain West Tournament.

News

Students hate PATS

Maddie Pukite | August 20

“I hate PATS” is what the stickers plastered all over campus last year read. Created by Tomas Chacon and his roommates. The stickers were created in protest of the Parking and Transportation Services at the University of New Mexico at the beginning of last year, Chacon said. Currently, the cost of parking at UNM is on the rise. Since last semester, the cost of parking meters on campus has been raised by 25 cents per half hour, totaling $1.75 per half hour with the maximum payment of $28 for 8 hours – $3 more than a parking citation. In April of 2022, parking was a dollar per half hour.

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Opinion

LETTER: Study shows $1 billion potential bill for oil and gas clean up without BLM rule change

Amber Wallin | August 20

From a young age, we teach our children the importance of taking responsibility for their actions and cleaning up after themselves when they make a mess. We should expect the same from the oil and gas industry working in New Mexico. But for far too long, antiquated policies under the current leasing system have left our families on the hook to pay to clean up messes left behind by bankrupt oil and gas companies – messes involving orphaned wells with decaying and leaking infrastructure that can pollute our air and water. This has robbed our communities of tax dollars that could have been put to use improving our children’s classrooms and our hospitals and roadways.

Culture

Christoph Wagner makes the strings sing

Addison Key | August 20

Christoph Wagner always wanted to play the cello. The new assistant professor of cello at the University of New Mexico, Wagner started playing when he was six. Wagner says he watched his sister play the cello and never doubted that it was the instrument for him. What attracted him was the versatility of the instrument. “You can do so many things with this instrument. You can play very low, you can play very high pitches. So you can mimic a huge spectrum of expressions, sounds, timbres and colors,” Wagner said.

News

UNM Board of Regents files as a party in air pollution regulation

Maddie Pukite | August 20

This past May, the University’s Board of Regents filed as a party in the ongoing petition to amend the New Mexico administrative code to stop new air-polluting projects in communities that already live with environmental hazards via a Health Environment Equity Impact regulation. The Mountain View Coalition alongside the New Mexico Environmental Law Center filed the petition back in November. This October, the Air Board will vote on the regulation. In May, the Board of Regents entered as a party.

"The Shadow of the Gods" and "The Hunger of the Gods" by John Gwynne. Image courtesy of Amazon.

Opinion

REVIEW: A Norse-inspired fantasy trilogy to enchant

Sydney Walker | August 20

If you are prone to buying and reading books because TikTok said so, we need to be friends. A few weeks ago, a book by John Gwynne caught my eye and the giant dragon on the cover for “The Shadow of the Gods” sold me. Gwynne is no stranger to adult fantasy books. He has written two lengthy fantasy series prior to “The Bloodsworn Trilogy.” The trilogy, so far, only contains “The Shadow of the Gods” and “The Hunger of the Gods.” When I tell you I ate them for breakfast, lunch and dinner for two weeks straight, I mean it.

Opinion

EDITORIAL: The importance of critical studies

Maddie Pukite | August 20

One of the oldest gender studies programs in the nation, the Women’s Studies Program has existed at the University of New Mexico since 1972. In 1999 a major was added, and in 2019 the name was changed from Women’s Studies to Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Last week, the first public university in the nation cut its gender studies department. The New College of Florida did away with its Women’s Studies department – a decision supported by Ron Desantis, the Republican Gov. of Florida. The University is now “shifting gears” to a new athletics program. I am in my final year of the program here at UNM and I could not be more grateful for my education in WGGS.

News

‘It smelled like plastic. That creates a memory’

Austin Fisher and Megan Gleason | August 17

This story was originally published by Source New Mexico Celerah Hewes lives in southeast Albuquerque. On Aug. 6, she was driving home from the grocery store and happened to see the smoke plume from the Atkore United Poly Systems fire. “Otherwise I would never have known,” she said. “I would have stayed in my house, my swamp cooler on, and maybe had no idea that there was an air quality issue.” As of Tuesday, city and state authorities still have not said publicly how much smoke the fire generated. They also have not provided any detailed documentation of where the smoke went. Through a spokesperson, the city of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department said the smoke drifted south by southeast “away from populated areas.”

News

Legislative meeting highlights plans for a school year alongside AI

Lily Alexander | August 14

Faculty at the University of New Mexico are preparing for the impact of artificial intelligence for the upcoming academic year after professors weighed its benefits and risks at a Science, Technology and Telecommunications Committee meeting on July 24. The committee was created by the New Mexico Legislative Council in May. AI was one of three topics the committee discussed, and the subject was given additional meeting time to develop legislation.

News

Board of Regents approve RPSP requests

Maddie Pukite | August 14

Passed unanimously, University of New Mexico President Garnett Stokes presented the Legislative Research and Public Service Projects Funding requests for FY 2024 - 2025 to the Board of Regents at their meeting on Thursday, Aug. 10. The largest RPSP request for 2025 was $11,941,700 for athletics to improve student-athlete welfare, recruitment and “enhancing the university’s brand”; it was $3.5 million more than last year’s request.

News

UNM’s Film students & faculty stand with the strike

Elizabeth Secor | August 14

In early May, the Writers Guild of America went on strike. The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Union soon followed, striking in early June. As the 2023 fall semester begins at UNM, film students are looking at their future field without regrets despite the strikes, senior Michael Madrigal – who’s in the Film Department – said.