The University of New Mexico’s lowering enrollment and the impact it will have dominated discussion during the Board of Regents meeting on Tuesday. Whether the conversation focused on faculty retention or withering revenue, the University’s dip in student population — especially among incoming freshman — seemed to be on the minds of every speaker.
For the new University of New Mexico Title IX Coordinator, her time on campus is coming full circle. Angela Catena will assume her new position for UNM’s Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) in December, after she finishes up her semester teaching as a clinical associate professor at Arizona State University. However, this is not her first stint at UNM. Catena moved to Albuquerque in 2012 to get her doctoral degree in counseling. She graduated in 2016 and moved to Phoenix, Arizona where she teaches counseling and counseling psychology.
The Steering & Rules Committee had a lengthy conversation Wednesday night about the definition of “classroom component” in the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico’s Lawbook. Last week, ASUNM passed a bill that will prohibit funding classroom components after launching an investigation into the UNM chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers, or SAE. The new definition reads, “Activities within a chartered student organization that contributes to earning a class credit hour including assignments outlined in the syllabus or assigned by an instructor.”
The changing of the season not only brings crisp, autumn breezes and fire-roasted green chile, but, this year, it also brought the changing of staff positions at the University of New Mexico. On Oct. 4, the Office of the Provost announced the appointment of Barbara Rodriguez, a professor from the UNM Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, to be the interim Senior Vice Provost. It was reported by UNM Newsroom on Oct. 4 that Richard Wood, the interim provost, said Rodriguez has a lot to offer to the University. “Her demonstrated leadership and capacity for teamwork; her intelligent and organized response to challenges; her sheer intellect and commitment to the academic mission; and her profound dedication to the diverse communities that make up New Mexico will make her an outstanding senior vice provost this year,” Wood said.
Flying in from Venice Beach, California, representatives from Bird — an electric scooter service — came to the University of New Mexico to showcase their ride-sharing scooters to students on Monday and Tuesday. In other cities where Bird operates, the scooters cost a dollar to unlock and between 15 and 20 cents for every minute of use. The company is trying to set up shop in the Albuquerque and University areas. A Bird spokesperson said, "We believe the University of New Mexico would be a great place to provide our accessible, affordable, environmentally-friendly transportation option. We are collaborating with University officials and hope to bring Bird's service to the students and faculty at UNM in the near future."
Students filled the Student Union Building ballrooms in order to see comedian Azhar Usman perform on Tuesday in a free event hosted by Associated Students of the University of New Mexico’s group, Student Special Events. Usman, a Chicago native, has previously opened for fellow comedians including Dave Chappelle. He assisted in writing Hasan Minhaj’s White House Correspondents speech. He also had his hand in producing several stand-up specials and has his own in the works.
Editor’s Note: This article is the third in a series of coverage on the Austin City Limits Music Festival. To think that a few days ago I was just getting back to my Airbnb after day one of Austin City Limits (ACL) wondering how a flock of festival girls were surviving off of a shared basket of nuggets and little to no water. As day three came to a close I was looking back a thinking, “I can do this for another few days.” Distinct red patches of skin on the fairer members of ACL, and the countless bandage covered heels were evidence that the constant walking from stage to stage claimed many victims over the course of the last few days, but with the star-studded line-up of day three people were bound to tough it out to see their favorite artists.
The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office has seized the credit card records of former UNM Athletic Director Paul Krebs in search of evidence of money laundering, fraud and embezzlement. The news was first reported by Jessica Dyer of the Albuquerque Journal. This is part of an ongoing investigation into finances at UNM that was started by Attorney General Hector Balderas last year. The search warrant, a copy of which has been obtained by the Daily Lobo, was served in an attempt to confirm that a $25,000 dollar payment that was made to the UNM Foundation in May was made by Krebs himself and not an anonymous donor, as Krebs announced at the time of the donation.
On Oct. 2, Jamal Khashoggi walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. He hasn’t been seen since. While the official status of his whereabouts are still unknown, Turkish officials have stated they have proof that Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post, was killed and dismembered after entering the consulate. Saudi officials state that Khashoggi exited the building through a back door, and was never imprisoned nor murdered — although that is looking less and less likely. Khashoggi, a respected journalist and close adviser to the royal family in Saudi Arabia, was in a position to explain the insular mechanisms of Saudi power in a way few others could. His columns became increasingly critical of the Saudi government, especially of the royal family.
The University of New Mexico men's soccer team found out last week that their upcoming spring season was no longer — or maybe never was — in the plans after it was informed by the athletic department of the decision. In August, the University of New Mexico Board of Regents voted to eliminate men's soccer — as well as beach volleyball and both men's and women's skiing. The programs were supposed to continue through July 1, 2019, when they are scheduled to be discontinued.
On Sunday Albuquerque City Councilor Pat Davis (District 6) and City Council President Ken Sanchez (District 1) announced legislation to authorize the prospective Netflix deal to buy Albuquerque Studios will have its own special session this Thursday, instead of being discussed at Monday’s City Council meeting. “We had looked at holding this meeting on Monday, but we just felt the issue was too critical and too important,” Sanchez said. Davis said having the meeting pushed back allows the public to “examine a deal shrouded in secrecy and excitement for months.”
The University of New Mexico announced in an online statement on Saturday, Oct. 6 that the UNM Police Department will be increasing their presence on campus. “Officers will saturate the community and increase the visibility of mobile unit, bicycle and foot patrols, especially during the evening and late-night hours,” UNM President Garnett Stokes’ statement read. This statement followed two armed carjackings, one on Friday, Oct. 5 at A Lot and another on Sunday, Oct. 7 on Las Lomas Street, east of Yale.
The University of New Mexico Lobo hockey team delivered a dominating two-game performance over the Texas Tech Red Raiders at the Outpost Ice Arena, outscoring its opponent 30-3 over the weekend. New Mexico improved to 5-2-1 overall on the season after a 19-2 victory on Friday night — a game in which the Lobos scored more goals than its opponent had shots attempted. And on Saturday, the team continued to put on a scoring clinic The Lobos needed just 33 seconds to light the lamp, as team captain Nate Taglialegami skated through defenders and beat the goalie for a quick 1-0 lead.
In the final hours before the start of Fall Break, Senators of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico voted on three bills: a resolution, nearly $12,000 in appropriations and the fall budget. ASUNM passed a bill that would prohibit the funding of “classroom components” starting in the spring 2019 semester. As for what qualifies as a classroom component, the working definition, according to Standing and Rules Chair Jorge Rios, is “including but not limited to assignments, work for projects that may result in academic grade and credit. This does not include extra credit.”
Possession of Controlled Substance at Yale Parking Structure On the morning of Oct. 1, three officers were sent to the Yale parking structure due to a disturbance, according to a report. Dispatch said a person with a baseball bat broke through the windows of a red Toyota parked on the top floor of the parking structure, and the person was inside. When officers arrived, the windows were not broken, but at least two people were inside. One officer told the people to exit the vehicle one at a time. A male exited from the driver’s seat — he was handcuffed and patted down for weapons. When asked if he had weapons or needles, the male said he had a knife, but he did not know if he had needles.
Students and community members gathered at the University of New Mexico LGBTQ Resource Center Wednesday, Oct. 10 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of National Coming Out Day. According to the Human Rights Campaign website, National Coming Out Day was first celebrated in 1988 on the anniversary of the Second National March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights, which took place on Oct. 11, 1987. It was created to encourage and celebrate those who made the decision to come out. “For a lot of people coming out is a moment of being able to say, ‘This is who I truly am,’” said Frankie Flores, educational director at the LGBTQ Resource Center. “Being LGBTQ is not just about who we love and who we chose to share our lives with, it’s also a culture. It’s history. It’s tradition.”
Editor’s Note: This article is the second in a series of coverage on the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Crisis averted. Day two of ACL had been plagued with worry and stress about what looked like an unavoidable storm, but as the day went on the clear sky was visible leaving many guests still sweating bullets. The morning started off with a young, charismatic band called the Wallows. Many people might not have heard of them but will surely recognize front man Dylan Minnette from his leading role as Clay Jensen in “13 Reasons Why.” Don’t let the fandom of that get in the way because the Wallows actually put on a great live performance.
This year has been full of high expectations for superhero movie releases, including “Venom,” which did not disappoint. Warning, to those who are waiting and have yet to see the film. There are hints to plot points, spoilers to the film and the extras after the credits present in this article. If you do not wish to ruin the movie before you see it, please consider skipping over this article. The story focused on journalist Eddie Brock, played by Tom Hardy, whose hard hitting news stories dealt with bringing down corrupt people in society. Carlton Drake, played by Riz Ahmed, the founder of the human conservation and life lengthening research project called the Life Foundation, is the next on Brock’s list of people to take down.
Young the Giant, an indie-rock band based out of Irvine, C.A., released their fourth studio album, “Mirror Master,” on Oct. 12, 2018. The quintet has been egging on eager fans who have been tuned into the band’s instagram page for the album’s release since early June. Several tracks have been released since then, leading up to the official release of their new 12-track album. Starting up in 2004, the five bandmates Sameer Gadhia, Jacob Tilley, Eric Cannata, Payam Doostzadeh and Francois Comtois have come a long way from their former days as “The Jakes.” Although there are different members of the current band, the present quintet has been together for 10 years. It has been two years since the band’s last album, “Home of the Strange,” and eight years since their self-titled debut album back in 2010, which included three chart-topping singles of the alternative genre.
Midterm elections are approaching and there are countless races voters need to know about. Early voting begins on Saturday, Oct. 20 and the General Election is Tuesday, Nov. 6. On the ballot are two Federal Offices, seven New Mexico State Offices and more than 10 other items. For this article, we’ll be focusing on federal elections that will be on this year’s ballot. Local and state elections will be covered in subsequent articles.
Solutions by The State News
