Multimedia

Culture

Quarantine cuts

Alex McCausland | April 16

Tangled, greasy, bushy, overgrown, and unkempt.  As New Mexico’s quarantine restrictions continue to grow tighter, University of New Mexico students are forced to take matters into their own hands to tame their unruly hairs. Since Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham ordered all “non-essential” businesses to close last month, New Mexico salons and barbershops have been out of commission. As a result, students who have grown accustomed to their regular trim, fade, shave and wax are having to get creative about how they maintain their favorite style at home. 

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News

UNMH employees protest lack of PPE

Liam Debonis and Bella Davis | April 15

Spaced apart following social distancing guidelines, University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) employees and allies waved signs and chanted as passing cars honked in a show of support on April 15. “What do we need?” one protester shouted. “PPE!” the crowd shouted back. They assembled in front of the University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) to protest the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) accessible to the staff.

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Culture

Three easy meatless meals

Amanda Britt | April 15

As most of us are constantly stuck inside to avoid spreading COVID-19, one way to pass the time is by experimenting with different homemade meals.  Whether you want to help the environment or simply cannot find any meat left in the store, these three easy to make, meat-free meals are worth trying. 

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News

NM Supreme Court denies request for automatic mail-in primary

Andrew Gunn and Lissa Knudsen | April 14

The New Mexico Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously ordered county clerks to mail absentee ballot applications to all registered voters for the upcoming primary elections, while also denying their request for an automatic mail-in election. The ruling, which followed nearly two-and-a-half hours of constitutional quarreling and a lack of debate over public health consequences, means voters will have to fill out an absentee ballot application, complete the ballot at home and mail it in.  Otherwise, voters will have to go against the advice of public health experts and Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s stay-at-home order to vote in person on June 2. Bernalillo County Clerk Linda Stover confirmed in a text with the Daily Lobo that county clerks will be sending applications to voters whose voter registration address is up to date and “everything else will remain the same — there will be early and election day voting,” Stover said.

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Culture

UNM student hosts Snapchat “Virtual Bachelor” to date while social distancing

Makayla Grijalva | April 14

Will you accept this virtual rose?  As the reality of the new age of social distancing and self-quarantine sets in, some University of New Mexico students like Alex Johnson decided to take a new approach to kindle new romances. Johnson began hosting a virtual dating competition mimicking ABC’s hit show “The Bachelor” complete with dates, rose ceremonies, testimonials and drama. “It’s fun. It’s weird,” Johnson said. “I’m glad that it’s happening, but it’s weird, you know.” 

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News

Pay and safety top UNM staff concerns

Bella Davis | April 13

On April 2, the University of New Mexico announced that its period of limited operations was extended to April 30 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. With this extension comes new challenges for UNM staff.  One of the biggest changes that came as a result of the extension relates to staff pay.  Since the period of limited operations began, all employees have been sorted into three work tiers. Tier one employees are working physically on campus, tier two work remotely and tier three are on standby and available to report to work if needed.  Regular staff in all tiers will continue to be paid until April 30, per new guidelines sent out by UNM Human Resources. However, no decisions have been made past April 30, according to HR Strategic Support Manager Amber Bailey. 

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Culture

UNM gaming clubs come together stronger than ever in pandemic

Megan Gleason | April 13

For University of New Mexico gamers like Nicholas Livingstone and Samina Kabir, the transition online wasn't much of a transition at all. “We were in a good place to handle the pandemic prior to it happening,” Livingstone, vice president of the Tabletop Tavern club, said. “What our club centers around — board games, tabletop games — has a virtual representation that allows us to maintain some communication with members of our club.” In fact, Livingstone and Kabir — club president of UNM Esports — report their clubs have ballooned as UNM and its students search for community amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The two clubs both have their own online chat room servers on Discord but members of each group have recently collaborated together to provide a fun gaming environment for everyone. 

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Culture

Albuquerque Pride Fest 2020 canceled

Justin Garcia | April 13

Albuquerque’s Pride ceremonies in June were officially canceled this week, the latest cancellation for the City of Albuquerque.  The cancellation follows an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Bernalillo county. As of April 13, there were at least 440 cases of COVID-19 in New Mexico’s most populous county along with 16 deaths.  “We are issuing full refunds and you’ll receive an email within the next 1-2 days to confirm your refund has been issued. At that point, it’ll take 5-7 banking days for your funds to be available for use,” Neil Macernie wrote in a press release about the yearly events. 

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News

Zoombombing raises questions about OMA

Lissa Knudsen | April 11

On Friday afternoon, the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA) at the University of New Mexico announced they would not host a live presidential candidate forum online due to concerns about “Zoombombing.” A week before, an undergraduate student government meeting was hit with a couple of zoombombs, including profane and racist language.  With public meetings transitioning to an online format as part of a far-reaching social distancing effort amidst the coronavirus pandemic, UNM and other public institutions have been forced to use video conferencing service platforms as a means to conduct the public’s business.

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Culture

Local musicians find audience online

Loreena Cain | April 10

With live performances canceled for the foreseeable future, local musicians are struggling to continue performing for audiences and still pay the bills. Many musicians are substituting live in-person performances for online live shows where audiences can tip them. Local musician and University of New Mexico student Marìon Carrillo said, “I play all over the state generally and it has really been my primary source of income for like a year.” Without live performances, it is more difficult for musicians to make the money they were making before the pandemic.

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Culture

Local religious services adapt to online environment

Beatrice Nisoli | April 8

Religious institutions across the state are choosing to transfer their services remotely in response to forced closures due to the ever-present COVID-19 threat in New Mexico. Just as educational institutions and workplaces begin to take advantage of online platforms such as Zoom and Discord, so too are churches transmitting live streams of worship, youth group classes, rosary sessions, and more. 

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News

Instructors adjust to teaching online

Amanda Britt | April 7

With classes officially starting online only this week, instructors across the University of New Mexico have felt pressure to make a smooth transition from tracking in-person to teaching remotely.  While some professors choose to teach only by posting lecture slides or YouTube videos to Blackboard Learn, others, like Melisa Garcia chose to incorporate Skype, a video web conferencing service, into her teaching. 

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News

Meeting to fast-track med students graduation canceled

Justin Garcia | April 7

A Board of Regents meeting that would have graduated medical students early was canceled Monday after a residency accreditation body issued new guidance on the matter.  The cancellation comes as some medical schools across the United States, but largely in the pandemic’s American epicenter of New York City, are graduating students ahead of schedule to bolster hospital ranks to handle surges of COVID-19 cases.  Health Sciences Center Public Information Officer Alex Sanchez said that some medical students at the University of New Mexico had expressed interest in early graduation as a means to assist the fight against the coronavirus last week. 

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News

Lobo Food Pantry sees increase in demand, decrease in donations

Megan Gleason | April 6

As cancellations and operational changes to staples persist as a response to the global pandemic, the University’s Lobo Food Pantry remains a hub for hungry Lobos. Olivia Torres Jojola, coordinator of the Lobo Food Pantry, said the Campus Lobo Food Pantry had 158 students attend in March — a vast difference from the 50 to 70 students it would typically average. This increase came as the novel coronavirus hit New Mexico in mid-March.   The LoboRESPECT Advocacy Center is hosting a weekly Campus Lobo Food Pantry pick-up service every Monday from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. outside the University Advisement and Enrichment Center throughout UNM’s limited operations.  According to LoboRESPECT, pre-made bags are available for students to pick-up, whether they drive or walk and include non-perishable goods, toiletries, diapers, feminine hygiene products and more.

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News

New Mexico's COVID crisis, by the numbers

Joe Rull | April 6

Check this page for the Daily Lobo's updated testing and confirmed case data for the COVID-19 outbreak in New Mexico, thanks to the COVID Tracking Project. This page will be updated daily as more data is produced and reported.

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News

UNMH begins clinical trials for COVID-19 treatments

Justin Garcia | April 5

The University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) started one clinical trial and is preparing another to examine potential treatments for COVID-19, as deaths and cases swell across the world. A trial for hydroxychloroquine, a drug typically used to treat malaria and lupus, started last week, while an upcoming trial for remdesivir, an antiviral developed during the 2015 Ebola epidemic, is in the works.  Both trials are small parts of an unprecedented global research effort to find treatments and a vaccine.

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News

After veto, ASUNM Senate fails novel fee raise

Alyssa Martinez | April 5

Budget bills, Zoom bombs and the year-long fee raise debate sounded through the computers of student government leaders on the first of the month.  As the University grapples with the unprecedented changes brought by the coronavirus pandemic, the student government assembled on Zoom Wednesday night to debate the reinstatement of a fee raise, already voted down by the student body and vetoed by the student-body president.  The evening commenced with the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico’s President Adam Biederwolf announcing three major breakthroughs prompted by the pandemic. 

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Culture

Nationwide photoshoot meet takes place online

Amanda Britt | April 4

There are two types of people in life — those that take advantage in times like this, and those that help, according to Hector Puig, a photographer and artist based in Los Angeles. Puig is the visionary behind the world’s largest virtual photography experience, where photographers from across the country can join together to create art. He said that creating this experience is how he could help both the photographers and the rest of the world through expression and art in these dark times. Puig, along with photographer Dovvie Viramontes, reached out to photo-communities in Albuquerque, Los Angeles, Seattle and DC through Instagram, and expect over 400 photographers to attend the zoom meeting on April 4, 2020.

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Opinion

How to stay motivated in isolation

Annya Loya | April 4

For students who spend the majority of their time on campus or doing extracurricular activities, maintaining isolation can become quite the challenge, if it hasn't already. To prevent the spread of coronavirus, governments around the world have ordered its citizens to practice isolation within their homes and maintain a social distance of at least six feet apart from others. Groups of more than 10 people are highly discouraged, if not banned outright. To make sure you don't completely lose your routine and maintain a positive attitude, here are some helpful tips on how to stay motivated during isolation.

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Culture

Student resource centers shift to a remote workforce

Megan Gleason | April 3

All of the University of New Mexico’s student resource centers have moved to remote services or limited operations during spring break due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Many of the resource centers still operate fairly normally and are offering a majority of their typical resources, such as counseling, advocacy, academic advisement and many more.  Other resources, such as printing stations or computer labs, are curren