multimedia

Music

Concert Review: Kero Kero Bonito comes to Sister Bar, plays eclectic mix of genres.

Kyle Land | April 15

Kero Kero Bonito is one of those bands you come to know even less about the more you listen to their music. The image they create from each song becomes shattered on the next, and so on and so on. The indie pop trio from London recently brought their eccentric, and often bizarre, live show to Sister Bar in Albuquerque on April 8, redefining their signature fusion of indie rock, J-pop and other genres. Sister was nearly-packed as the show began (surprising for a Monday night show), with many of those in attendance donning extravagant costumes and multi-colored hair. Any review of Kero Kero Bonito would be incomplete without the voice and face of the group, lead singer Sarah Bonito. While already a charismatic vocalist, the energy she exuded on the stage served as the linchpin of the entire performance.

Opinion

Letter: Universities should be open to challenging speech

Daily Lobo Reader | April 15

In the coming weeks, far-right PragerU speaker, Will Witt, will be coming to UNM. Whether or not that will garner the same hatred and response as when Milo Yiannopolous came to speak is yet to be seen. Being a registered Democrat and a self-described progressive, my biggest complaint with my own party is our refusal to hear others with views that don’t align with exactly with our’s. The first amendment of our Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law … prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech.” I’m not sure why we have such an animosity towards those who have opinions that do not match our own.

News

Man tased on campus after committing robbery

Justin Garcia | April 11

A man was taken to the hospital after police discharged a stun gun on him on the University of New Mexico main campus. Police said the man had stolen a cell phone. The incident occurred outside the CERIA building across from Carlisle Gym. University of New Mexico Chief of Police Trace Peck said police utilized the stun gun after the suspect was chased across campus by the individual who had their cell phone stolen, who recognized them. Other students joined the chase, according to Peck.

News

Gov. Lujan Grisham to speak at Spring 2019 commencement ceremony

Kyle Land | April 11

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will be giving the commencement speech for the Spring 2019 Commencement Ceremony. University of New Mexico Preside Garnett Stokes said in a written statement that the decision to invite the recently-elected governor came after she spoke to student leaders around campus.

News

PragerU speaker to visit UNM

Justin Garcia | April 11

Will Witt, a content creator for PragerU, is set to speak at the University of New Mexico on April 23. He was invited to speak by the UNM chapter of Turning Point USA at a talk called “Leftism is Destroying America.” Turning Point USA is a national 501(c)3, non-profit organization that describes its mission as, “to identify, educate, train and organize students to promote the principles of freedom, free markets and limited government.” “He’s a little bit of a lesser known speaker. So I thought he would be a good speaker to get the ball rolling,” said Christian Portilla, president of the UNM chapter of Turning Point.

News

Zimmerman prepares to move large amounts of books offsite

Shayla Cunico | April 11

Students at the University of New Mexico may have noticed flagged, stacks of books indicating the early stages of the University's process of moving books from Zimmerman Library to the South Campus Repository. Over the next three years UNM's Libraries will be relocating a chunk of their resources to the future South Campus Repository (SCR), a climate-controlled library facility on South Campus. UNM currently adds more than 20,000 physical resources to its libraries each year.

Culture

UNM student gives crochet lessons at Duck Pond

Anthony Jackson | April 11

If you walk past the Duck Pond on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., chances are that you’ll see Lyndsey Ross teaching students how to crochet. Ross, a psychology major and art minor, graduates this May. She’s spending some of her time outside with many balls of yarn. “I’ve been crocheting for over 10 years,” Ross said. Ross said she first got the idea from a friend who interviewed her for a podcast about things they can do to change the world.

Sports

Softball: Lobos narrowly avoid being no-hit in loss to UTEP

Cameron Goeldner | April 11

The University of New Mexico Softball team barely avoided being no-hit by the UTEP Miners on Tuesday in a midweek non-conference matchup, losing 7-1. UTEP got on the board immediately off of Lobos starter Kiana Spencer, as Kacey Duffield double to bring home leadoff hitter Ariel Blair to put the Miners up 1-0. They would add two more runs to their total to take a 3-0 lead before the Lobos ever came up to bat.

Culture

SUB to give away planted pots for "Uni Night"

Megan Holmen | April 11

The University of New Mexico Student Union Building "Uni Nights" will be hosting a plant night on Friday April 12. According to graduate student and organizer Anders Flagstad, this will be the third plant night hosted by the University. Flagstad is the projects coordinator of the SUB, he is studying educational leadership. He said "Uni Nights'" motto is: always free and always different.

Culture

Popup Exhibit celebrates indigenous knowledge

Sophia Sambrano | April 11

LOOM Indigenous Arts presented its first popup exhibit, "Indigenous Feminist Spatiality: Celebrating Indigenous Knowledges + Bodies" at the University of New Mexico's School of Architecture and Planning (SAP). The exhibit features a range of artists from the Albuquerque community, and what is now known as the greater United States, and features many themes such as community, resilience and celebrating culture. Building community and showcasing indigenous knowledge production were key features of the exhibit. Community involvement and collaboration were especially important in this event, seeing as it is LOOM Indigenous Arts' first exhibit in Albuquerque. The LOOM Indigenous Arts Gallery's home is in Gallup, New Mexico. The gallery aims to showcase innovative and contemporary Indigenous artists. Allison Johnson, a master's student at UNM's IDPI, conceived and curated the show.

News

UNM to overhaul proposed budget, postpones Budget Summit

Danielle Prokop | April 10

The University of New Mexico postponed the approval of its several-billion dollar budget on Tuesday, tangling with the state over the application of a required employee pay-bump. The New Mexico Higher Education Department sent a letter Monday to higher education governing boards that the state expected four-year and two-year institutions’ “employees...to receive a 4 percent increase in compensation.” The letter was sent one day before the UNM 2019-2020 Budget Summit. However, Regent President Douglas Brown said some members of UNM were aware of the governor’s edit to House Bill 2, which includes the University’s appropriations, as early as Friday and Saturday.

News

Budget for branch campuses approved

Justin Garcia | April 10

The University of New Mexico approved branch campus budgets for the upcoming fiscal year at the Board of Regents meeting on Tuesday. The budgets for Main Campus and Health Sciences Center are another story. The meeting, which doubled as the 2019/2020 Annual Budget Summit, saw a last-minute letter from the Higher Education Department of New Mexico causing a postponement of the vote to approve Main Campus and HSC budgets.

Culture

Students have blast at Fiestas

Justin Garcia | April 8

It’s unclear how many people attended this year’s Fiestas. But whatever the headcount was, the place was packed. On Saturday, Johnson Field played host to the annual Fiestas music festival. Eight performers took the stage from one o'clock to just after 9 p.m. The headliner was Ookay aka Abraham Laguna, a Los Angeles based DJ. The event is partially funded by the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico, who allocate a portion of student fees to student organizations. ASUNM dolled out about $83,000 to SSE for Fiestas this year, according to the Student Governing Accountant Office. That is down from last year’s total of about $99,000.

News

Budget Summit to tackle enrollment, tuition

Danielle Prokop | April 8

Despite a bump in state funding, the University of New Mexico still feels budget pressure due to enrollment shortfalls, resulting in declining tuition and student fee revenues. Those concerns are front and center in UNM’s 2020 fiscal year proposals, which include a tuition increase, a pay bump for employees and an additional fee for technology. Proposals will be vetted on Tuesday at the Budget Summit, which will be held in the Student Union Building in Ballroom C at 9:00 a.m. The summit will be incorporated into the regularly scheduled Board of Regents meeting.

News

Muhammad Afzaal elected president of GPSA

Justin Garcia | April 8

Graduate and professional students at the University of New Mexico now have a new president. Muhammad Afzaal was elected as President of the Graduate and Professional Student Association. Afzaal swept opponent Sara Gutierrez, collecting 72 percent of the vote. Gutierrez received 136 votes, while Afzaal picked up 391 votes. Including eight write-in votes, 537 people voted in the election — about 8.8 percent of all graduate and professional students at UNM. Vote totals are unofficial until April 12.

Culture

Inside the Fine Art Library's massive vinyl collection

Sophia Sambrano | April 8

In the depths of the Fine Arts & Design Library lives The "Archives in the Grooves," a collection showcasing the range of the University of New Mexico's large LP collection. The various cases on display showcase a select few of the 20,000 LPs kept by UNM Libraries. The showcase covers a range of musicians and styes such as African American Classical Musicians, a Cecil Taylor display case, as well as displays dedicated to flamenco music, blues music and audiobooks. LPs, or long play records, hold importance in 20th century history, and the collection aims to showcase the multiple ways that these recordings are important. This is not only through musical recordings, but through audiobooks, oral histories, broadcast recordings and the infamous album artwork of the LP. The display cases were curated by UNM Library staff Stephenie Akau, Jonathan Hartshorn and William Kinney. Stephanie Akau, a library information specialist, curated the display case dedicated to African-American classical musicians, and discussed not only the volume of LPs available, but the range of different materials hosted in the showcase.

Culture

Art show calls for reflection on experiences

Amanda Britt | April 8

Can I reflect? – A question that not only asks you to think deeply, but a common question asked in the field of pathology. “We always have to ask during our examination, before we open up the head, we ask them ‘can we reflect’. That means reflecting tissue back,” said Alivia Magaña, a master's of Fine Arts student at the University of New Mexico. Magaña came to UNM in 2016 from Junction City, Kansas looking for a “ground shaking experience." She found just that working as a forensic photographer for the Office of the Medical Investigator.

Culture

NM Humanities Council hosts talk on album artwork

Luisa Pennington | April 6

Last Thursday, members of the Albuquerque community gathered to discuss album artwork and the personal sentiments that listeners attach to them. The New Mexico Humanities Council launched their exhibition, “Stories on the Sleeve,” with an opening reception. Walking into the exhibit, visitors were immediately drawn to the records displayed along the tall white walls. At eye level, cover art of albums created by the Rolling Stones, Joy Division, Dolly Parton, Rush and Iron Maiden illustrated the sounds of the physical copies within them. On the wall next to each album sat little black letters, telling the contributors’ stories. According to Jodi Hedderig, program officer for NMHC, the organization put out a call for entries. He said the idea behind the exhibit was to get community members to communicate about the common grounds found within music.

News

UNM undergrad to present research in D.C.

Justin Garcia | April 6

Have you ever compared extreme wave height estimation techniques for classifying energy resources and conditions? No? Well, University of New Mexico senior Bibiana Seng has. Seng is getting set to graduate in May, but before then, she is going to Washington D.C. in late April to present her research on wave height at the Council of Undergraduate Research Posters at the Hill event, where students can talk to members of Congress about their research. Suffice it to say, it’s going to be a busy few months for the senior studying mathematics and statistics.

Music

Concert Review: George Thorogood tours ABA, electrifies audience

Cole Space | April 6

For the last 45 years, George Thorogood and the Destroyers have brought their unique blend of blues and rock to concert halls across America. Last Friday night was no exception, the band packed Route 66 from the front to the back with eager fans ready to hang onto every note. The murmur of the growing crowd became louder as the clock approached 8 p.m., with anticipation hanging in the air. As the lights dimmed the murmur exploded into a raucous applause as each member of the band took the stage. Jeff Simon took his seat behind the drums, as bassist Bill Blough, guitarist Jim Suhler and saxophonist Buddy Leach spread out across the stage. George Thorogood took his place as the center piece, the spotlight gleaming down on him as the first song began.