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Comic, April 22, 2025

Cherry Reel Film Festival celebrates 10th anniversary

The Associated Students at the University of New Mexico Southwest Film Center celebrated the 10th anniversary of its annual Cherry Reel Film Festival on Friday, April 18, awarding Golden Cherries for Best in Fest, audience’s choice and best animation, cinematography, script, acting, directing and experimental. Submissions for Cherry Reel are free for all UNM students. Entries must be 12 minutes or less and submitted by someone involved in the project. Cherry Reel Chair Jax Maloney said the festival has especially grown within the past few years. This year welcomed a new award category for best acting, as well as the return of the animation category that was introduced during the 2024 festival.

United fizzles out against rival El Paso

New Mexico United faced off against Western Conference rival El Paso Locomotive in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, April 16. The stakes were high: the winner would advance to the Round of 16. Early on in the match, United struggled with turnovers and sloppy passing. Just 20 minutes in, El Paso capitalized on a crucial corner, with forward Daniel Carter converting it into the game’s first goal.

Two arrested for arson on campus

Just before 5 a.m. Tuesday, April 15, the University of New Mexico Police Department responded to a fire that reached five feet in height outside of the Communication & Journalism building. The officers and Albuquerque Fire Rescue successfully extinguished the fire, according to the incident report. At the scene, officers contacted the two suspects, who claimed they saw the fire and walked over to get warm. One suspect claimed he saw another person walking away from the fire when they arrived, according to the report.

Students, faculty and staff walk out and rally during ‘Higher Education Week of Action’

On Thursday, April 17, hundreds of University of New Mexico students, faculty, staff and community members joined a walkout and rally in front of Scholes Hall to protest against President Donald Trump’s policies on higher education. Faculty and student speakers discussed the graduate worker union, UNM’s changes to diversity, equity and inclusion and affirmative action policies, federal research funding cuts, academic freedom and free speech during the rally. Various organizations were present at the rally, including the United Graduate Workers of UNM, United Academics at UNM, UNM Students for Justice in Palestine, UNM Leaders for Environmental Action and Foresight, Stand Up for Science and UNM Law Students Against Imperialism.

Regents’ affirmative action policy changes take effect

Changes to two Regents’ policies on affirmative action at the University of New Mexico went into effect on Tuesday, April 15. The revisions largely remove UNM’s commitment to affirmative action. This comes amid proposed changes to similar policies in the University Administrative Policies manual. The Regents’ Policy Manual consists of policies adopted by the Board of Regents for the governance of UNM. It serves as a resource on the fundamental policies of the University and the operational procedures of the board, according to the manual’s preface. 

UNM president and provost address federal actions at ASUNM meeting

On Wednesday, April 16, University of New Mexico President Garnett Stokes and Provost James Holloway addressed the Associated Students at the University of New Mexico senate during a meeting to discuss pressing University topics and field questions about UNM’s response to executive orders, funding loss threats and more. "A lot is going on for university leadership,” Stokes said during the meeting. “There is a lot of pressure on higher institutions, and UNM is feeling that pressure.” Stokes’ meeting with ASUNM followed the termination of some international UNM student records and proposed — and actual — changes to UNM affirmative action policies.

Governor signs bill requiring training for university regents

On April 8, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed Senate Bill 19 into law, requiring all members of university boards of regents to undergo 10 hours of training. The training, required for regents at all universities and public post-secondary educational institutions, will cover topics such as state law, financial and fiduciary responsibilities, student success, available state and nongovernmental resources and ethics and accountability, according to the now-law. “I've always felt like we should be looking for regents who have a lot of experience and passion in higher education, and I feel like that's not always the case in the people that get selected,” Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D-Las Cruces), who sponsored the bill during the legislative session, said.

OPINION: Stanley Cup Playoff predictions — round one

It’s the most wonderful time of the year as the quest for the Stanley Cup began Saturday, April 19. Only one team will claim the hardest trophy to win in professional sports. Here are my predicted winners for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

OPINION: Bobbleheads of the week — NBA Play-In Tournament edition

Where there’s a victor, there’s a loser, and sometimes certain athletes contribute to their team’s shortcomings. These athletes are favorably called bobbleheads. The NBA Play-In Tournament is a place no team wants to be. It is the ugly middle ground between being a true contender for a championship and being a mediocre team hoping to sneak into the playoffs. In this no-man’s land of basketball, there are quite a few athletes who decided to force their team backwards and into the offseason.

Rough fifth inning leads to Isotopes loss

On Friday, April 18, the Albuquerque Isotopes took on the El Paso Chihuahuas for the fourth game of their series. The Isotopes came into the game leading the series 2-1 over the Chihuahuas, after beating them 11-8 on Thursday, April 17. This game, however, did not have the same outcome for the Isotopes, as a 10-run fifth inning by the Chihuahuas fueled the Isotopes’ loss, tying the series at 2-2. That fifth inning was nightmarish for the Isotopes. Going into it, they found themselves up 3-1 due to a solid third inning. Pitching up until the fifth inning for the Isotopes was decent, but something switched going into the fifth.

Chihuahuas take second game of the series against Isotopes

On Wednesday, April 16, the second game of the six-game series between the Albuquerque Isotopes and the El Paso Chihuahuas ended in a 9-6 loss for the Isotopes. The Isotopes started the game with pitcher Carson Palmquist, who pitched for the first five innings. In the first inning, both teams came out of the gate putting up zeroes on the board. While the game started off slow, it picked up speed in the third inning when El Paso scored two runs, capitalizing off of errors by the Isotopes. At the bottom of the third, the Isotopes responded by scoring three runs.

Baseball: Lobos dominate against Texas Tech

The University of New Mexico baseball team took on the Texas Tech Red Raiders on April 8. The Lobos wasted no time during the game, starting the night off with two home runs that ignited a scoring surge — racking up seven runs in the first inning alone. UNM ended the game with a 15-5 win. UNM Head Coach Tod Brown said he was pleased with the team's aggressive start. “I thought our guys came out and had a great plan and executed it very well,” Brown said. 

Immigration officials terminate some UNM international student records

The federal government terminated the records of several University of New Mexico international students amid reports of the revocation of hundreds of student visas across the country. The Student & Exchange Visitor Information System is a federal tracking system for nonimmigrant students and exchange visitors in the United States, according to the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. A “handful” of UNM students had their SEVIS records terminated recently, according to UNM Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Cinnamon Blair. The termination of a SEVIS record does not necessarily mean a student’s visa was revoked, but there is often overlap between the two actions. 

Norton wins ASUNM presidential race, six new senators elected

On Friday, April 4, the Associated Students at the University of New Mexico Elections Commission named Andrew Norton the winner of the ASUNM presidential race over current Vice President Mutazz Jaber, certifying the results of March’s election.

Governor authorizes deployment of National Guard to assist APD on Central Avenue

 On April 7, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared a state of emergency in Albuquerque due to a "significant increase” in crime, authorizing emergency funds for the New Mexico National Guard to assist the Albuquerque Police Department, according to her executive order. Beginning in mid-May, 60-70 National Guard members will be deployed to Albuquerque, according to a press release from the governor's office. They will focus particularly on Central Avenue, which encapsulates the southern boundary of the University of New Mexico’s main campus. Lujan Grisham signed the order after APD Chief Harold Medina sent her a memorandum requesting assistance due to the “fentanyl epidemic coupled with an increase in violent juvenile crime.” In the memorandum, Medina wrote that the problem “can only be resolved with consistent and visible presence of APD officers to Albuquerque’s citizens.” 

Comic, April 14, 2025

Construction on new UNMPD headquarters set to begin this month

Construction on the new headquarters for the University of New Mexico Police Department is set to begin this month in the former Greek Lot. The new UNMPD headquarters, on the southeast corner of University Boulevard and Mesa Vista Road, will replace the current headquarters located in Hokona Hall and include an updated dispatch center, dedicated training areas and a public meeting room, according to Lt. Tim Delgado. The project will address the growing need for a facility dedicated to supporting effective operations, ensuring safety and enhancing community engagement on campus, Delgado wrote in a statement to the Daily Lobo.

UNM faculty members hold discussion, Q&A on tariffs

On Wednesday, April 9, the Albuquerque Consulate of Mexico and four University of New Mexico faculty members held a public meeting to discuss and answer questions about the tariffs recently implemented by President Donald Trump. Earlier this month, Trump paused tariffs on nearly 60 countries, but imposed 145% tariffs on products from China, according to the New York Times. In the simplest form, tariffs are taxes on goods that come from other countries, Reilly White, a UNM associate professor of finance, told the Daily Lobo in March. Event coordinator and law professor Paul Figueroa believes that tariffs will raise government revenue, but he finds “less empirical evidence” to substantiate the idea that the tariffs will save money for the average consumer, he said.

UNM retracts some draft affirmative action policy changes after criticism

After receiving hundreds of public comments largely criticizing the University of New Mexico’s prospective affirmative action policy changes, the school released two new draft policies Thursday, April 10. The new draft policies keep in more references to affirmative action — or sometimes replace it with “inclusive excellence” — but still remove requirements for UNM to have an affirmative action plan and gather and report affirmative action data. The new policies also still remove the ability for a hiring official, in certain circumstances, to fill a position with a member of a historically underrepresented group if another more qualified member of a protected group is unlikely to apply. The previous draft policies — released March 28 — removed nearly all references to affirmative action.