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Culture

Lobo Gardens rebuilds after years of struggle

Amanda Britt | February 11

Since its beginning, Lobo Gardens has been a place for the students, created by the students. A little over ten years ago Alex Borowski, a then-freshman living in Hokona Hall, planted a garden in the courtyard outside the student living facility. Shortly after, the garden was taken down by the Physical Plant Department for not having the proper plans or permission to form a garden. Over the past decade, building and maintaining its successor  — Lobo Gardens  — to its full potential has been a struggle, both with organizing a team and making sure the plants are tended to year-round, according to Monica Kowal, the associate dean in the Office of Community Engaged Learning & Research. Kowal said one of the biggest hurdles of her job is finding space and funding to make the gardens an actual living-learning classroom that's accessible to every student on campus.

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Culture

Remixing art at the UNM Art Museum

Loreena Cain | February 11

In a new installation at the University of New Mexico Art Museum, León De la Rosa-Carrillo remixes art and culture in his art installation "The Remix Room." "The Remix Room," which Rosa-Carrillo has been working on since 2013, opened Feb. 7 and will remain in the upper gallery at the UNM Art Museum until May 9. The installation consists of five different stations of mixed media arts. Some of the stations are interactive, and most of them consist of multiple works of art. The exhibit includes remixed videos, embroidery, lenticular posters, books and a short story displayed prominently on the wall.

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News

Weekly crime briefs: runaways, vandalism and fraud

Angelina Pompeo | February 11

 The weekly crime briefs are to give the students, faculty and staff at the University of New Mexico a quick look into the crimes reported on campus. They do not provide all perspectives of the incident. All of the information is retrieved through UNM police department incident reports.   

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Culture

Langston Hughes Project celebrates Harlem Renaissance centennial

Makayla Grijalva | February 11

In celebration of Black History Month, the Langston Hughes Project is commemorating 100 years since the Harlem Renaissance through two concerts and a master lecture. "I think (Langston Hughes) transcended the Harlem Renaissance," said event organizer and associate professor of literary studies Finnie Coleman. "But, not very many other authors are thought of outside of the Harlem Renaissance." The Ron McCurdy Quartet will perform the Langston Hughes poem "Ask Your Mama: The Twelve Moods of Jazz" on two separate occasions. The first performance will be held at Popejoy Hall on Friday, Feb. 21 and will be free to all.

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Culture

The gamers of Zimmerman

Bianca Hoops | February 10

They refer to themselves as "the dark web version" of a game club and typically spend their time playing League of Legends or various board games deep inside of Zimmerman Library randomly throughout the week. The informal club started as a group study time for these STEM students but evolved into a combination of studying and battling one another for fun. It began last semester with people joining in as time went along, according to one member. This member, who preferred to remain anonymous, said he’s been playing League of Legends for nine years and started this trend with another friend. Most of the group requested anonymity because they said they didn't want this story to affect their standing as science, technology, engineering and math students.

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News

Opioid bills make way to Roundhouse

Lissa Knudsen | February 6

Not all medical professionals are sure that providing pharmaceutical-grade heroin is the right approach. A local pediatrician who has treated children of parents with substance use disorders told the Daily Lobo that allowing people with opioid use disorder to get their “fix” in a clinical setting may not help move people toward recovery in the same way that the slower acting opioid replacement medication like buprenorphine or methadone do.  Kimberly Page, University of New Mexico professor of internal medicine and an expert witness who testified on the bill, asserted that recovery is actually not the goal for many people who have chronic opioid use disorder. 

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Music

The Aux: The greatness of " The Irishman" is overshadowed by its length

Justin Garcia | February 6

I’ll try and keep this short — unlike this movie.  “The Irishman”, a bloated slog of a mafia movie, acts as Martin Scorsese's latest addition to his legendary directing career. Despite its egregious runtime, the film’s well-written script is masterfully performed by some of the genre’s greatest actors. “The Irishman” undoubtedly holds a place in Scorsese's pantheon of filmography.  The movie follows the mob-career of Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) as he menverures the potential pitfalls of life as a made man. Frank stands alongside Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) a calm and collected mob boss and hot head union boss Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) as the trio waltz through the mob’s golden age and into it’s extinction. The movie is based off of Charles Brandt’s novel “I heard You Paint Houses.”

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News

ASUNM to host forum on homeless shelter

Justin Garcia | February 6

As the funds fall in place for the homeless shelter backed by the City of Albuquerque, the University of New Mexico student government is set to weigh-in.  The Associated Students of UNM are set to host a forum with University administrators and city officials discussing the upcoming Gatehouse Center on Feb. 11th at 1 p.m in the Student Union Building Atrium (SUB.)  One possible location for the center is Lomas and Interstate 25, as reported by the Albuquerque Journal.

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Culture

Photo Story: Bosque nature walk highlights importance of cottonwoods

Liam Debonis | February 6

 As the sun rose early Sunday morning, eager hikers gathered at the Albuquerque Open Space Visitor Center for the monthly “Bosque Wild!” guided nature walk.  Richard Shackley, a volunteer steward at the center, led the group out of the building and into the desert forest towards the east. “Open Space aims to protect and preserve the natural environment,” Shackley said. According to the City of Albuquerque’s webpage, the Open Space program began in 1969, and now oversees nearly 30,000 acres of land. One of the most important hallmarks of this section is the cottonwood tree.

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Culture

AASS raises the Pan-African flag to kick-off Black History Month

Fischer Knapp | February 5

University of New Mexico’s African American Student Services (AASS) celebrated the start of Black History Month with the raising of the Pan-African flag on Monday, Feb. 3.  The event began with over a dozen students marching from African American Student Services at Mesta Vista Hall to Scholes hall, where the Pan-African flag was raised alongside the United States and New Mexico flags. “Personally, this event means a lot to me. We’re here at a university where the population of black people is under 5%” said Mateo Wells, a sophomore film and digital media student at UNM, “For us to be able to raise the flag, everybody on campus can see that at any time. That means a lot because it means the university is also standing with us and celebrating and commemorating Black History.”  

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News

Student government discuss student fee raise

Alyssa Martinez | February 5

“Raise the damn student fees,” reverberated through the Steering and Rules Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 5.  John Cooke, Interfraternity Council (IFC) president and Sigma Chi Fraternity vice president, delivered that statement. He was referring to two constitutional amendments — Bill 4S and Bill 5S — that would raise student fees at a $5 flat rate and a prorated rate of $2.08 per credit hour, respectively.  “As it has been said before by (Deputy Chief of Staff Victoria Peña-Parr), our student orgs have doubled here since 2000, as well as the fact that inflation is a thing, things are way more expensive now, and the fact that our enrollment is down,” Cooke said during public comment. 

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News

The View offers paperless options

Bianca Hoops | February 5

This change now requires residents to pay rent online via the View’s ABQ resident portal. This option is meant to be eco-friendly and monitor rent payments more accurately because of liability conflicts. Before, there was an additional option of turning in a check or money gram in-person to pay but in order to keep more accountability from all parties. The method of making everything online was easier to keep track of according to Brooklyn Hatley, an employee at the View. Hatley works at the front desk and helps residents with problems or questions they have. She said there have been situations in the past where money orders or checks were lost or never turned in. 

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Sports

Opinion: Losing team, supportive fans

Joe Rull | February 5

Ah, the Pit.  The mile-high home of Lobo basketball since 1966 has a storied history as one of most daunting venues in all of college hoops, and certainly one of its loudest. With stands angling steeply to a playing floor, the Pit gives the fans a legitimate presence in the game.  It’s customary for the thousands of Lobo faithful to stay on their feet from the opening tip until University of New Mexico records its first points of the game. Generally, this comes in the game’s opening sequence to a raucous, Pit-worthy roar.  Cut to last week’s game against still-unbeaten San Diego State. 

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Culture

Traveling art exhibit shakes New Mexico

Annya Loya | February 5

A new art installment, “Sayaka Ganz- Reclaimed Creations,” opened at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science with seemingly in motion sculptures purely made out of plastic items.  The exhibit opened on Jan. 10 and will be part of the museum’s attractions until May 17. It can be accessed with normal museum admission. Created by artist Sayaka Ganz and produced by David J. Wagner, LLC, “Sayaka Ganz-Reclaimed Creations” is a series composed of over 10 pieces — some in motion. All of the sculptures are represented by animals and made completely out of plastic objects of various tones. 

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Culture

Photo Story: Electric Playhouse grand opening

Emille Domschot | February 2

The Electric Playhouse, an innovative new space bringing together art and community in Albuquerque’s West side, launched its grand opening on Saturday, Feb. 1.  Among the sizable group gathered in front of the doors for the ribbon cutting were representatives from the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, the Hispano Chamber of Commerce, and the ABQ West Chamber of Commerce. Mayor Tim Keller and his family were also in attendance. As the doors were opened, the whole crowd pressed forward to explore the space.

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News

UNM ROTC set to get new home

Justin Garcia | February 2

It’s a bit of a fixer-upper, but the former Alpha Chi Omega house is set to become the new home of all three ROTC programs at the University of New Mexico.  At least $8 million will go toward the renovation, including $1 million in capital outlay from State Senate Minority Whip Bill Payne (R-Albuquerque) and $7 million from a 2018 GO bond.  “To get an ROTC scholarship is as competitive as going to one of the service academies, in fact it’s probably more competitive because a lot of kids don't want to go to Annapolis. They'd rather go to a university,” Payne told the Daily Lobo.  It’s unclear if the $8 million will be enough to fully renovate the vacant sorority.  

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News

Vaping legislation advances in New Mexico

Lissa Knudsen | February 2

New Mexico is one step closer to establishing a licensure process for e-cigarette and other tobacco product retailers and raising the age of purchase of all tobacco products to twenty-one.  Senate Bill 131, the Tobacco Products Act, sponsored by Sen. Linda Lopez cleared the Senate Public Affairs Committee on Friday Jan 31, with a unanimous do pass.  Though the bill moved easily through the Senate Public Affairs Committee, there are two possible amendments that don’t bode well for the bill: local preemption and banning flavors. 

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News

UNM officials downplay coronavirus threat on campus

Joe Rull | February 2

The University of New Mexico’s Emergency Management department issued a university-wide   statement on Friday informing students about the novel coronavirus outbreak. The flu-like illness has infected over 16,000 people globally and taken at least 304 lives to date, according to the World Health Organization, which declared the outbreak a global health emergency last week.  Originating in Wuhan, China, the coronavirus has spread to at least 25 countries, including the United States where a ninth case was confirmed on Feb. 2, in California. The news comes days after U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar II declared a public health emergency for the entire country. 

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News

Home is where the heart is: UNM prof discusses history of houses

Amanda Britt | February 2

Since the beginnings of human civilization, the idea of a household, with its focus around a fire, is a fundamental unit of human social interaction and organization, according to Professor of Anthropology James Boone. Maxwell Museum of Anthropology hosted the lecture titled “A Natural History of Houses” as a part of their Ancestors Lecture series Thursday evening before a full auditorium in Hibben Hall. The first lecture of this series was given in 1990, the year the Maxwell Museum’s ancestors exhibition opened, by Scientific Curator Erik Trinkhaus. Since 2000, an Ancestors Lecture has been given every year.

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Culture

Author Layla Saad on combating white supremacy

Loreena Cain | February 2

Layla Saad, author of “Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World and Become a Good Ancestor” visited Bookworks in Albuquerque as a stop on her national book tour.  The Jan. 31 event filled the small store, leaving only standing room after the chairs were filled. Saad spoke not only about her book but about racism and how it appears especially in liberal white women.