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 Stanley Cup playoffs are underway, and we have made it through the first week of the two-month gauntlet to claim the Stanley Cup. Here are a few bobbleheads from this week’s playoffs.
On Thursday, April 24, the 15th annual University of New Mexico Sustainability Expo invited the community to visit dozens of booths that promoted efforts to increase sustainability and environmentally-friendly practices. Ansely Emeanuwa, whose business — Live Flowers by Ansely the Flower Guy — can be found at the Downtown Growers’ Market and the Rail Yards Market on the weekends, said the expo was a rare opportunity for UNM students to have access to locally grown vegetables, herbs and flowers on campus.
On Saturday, April 26, New Mexico United faced off against Union Omaha, where it secured a 2-0 victory. United kicked off the first half of the game with a burst of energy, ready for what was to come. Fans packed the stands, ready to cheer on the team with traditional chants. United did not disappoint; it had a great first half.
The student-run newspaper has been a near constant presence in the history of the University of New Mexico. The New Mexico Daily Lobo serves as a resource to students and carries more than 125-years of University history within its many pages, names, and iterations. The newspaper’s humble beginnings started in 1895 when The Cactus, a student-run paper, began to circulate on the UNM campus. However, it didn’t last more than a school year and only released a few issues.
Troy McCasland was the ad manager for the Daily Lobo in 1985. He began his work in ad sales in 1981, and immediately became fond of the Daily Lobo as a community. “It was a fraternity, it was a business organization, it was an education,” McCasland said. “It was like everything all wrapped up into one. It was truly the best part of my whole time at UNM.” McCasland was fascinated by the vast archives of old Daily Lobo issues and the rich history of the newspaper. He recalled seeing Lobo coverage of anti-Vietnam protests when National Guardsmen struck students with bayonets.
On April 21, Pope Francis died at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican. In an interview with the Daily Lobo, Archbishop John C. Wester described the Pope as a humble, kind and gentle man who put people at ease. “I think Pope Francis brought the virtue of compassion and mercy to the forefront of his ministry,” Wester said. “I think people picked up on that: Catholics and non-Catholics alike, worldwide and in New Mexico. He was a parish priest, and he looked upon the world and the whole Catholic Church as his parish.” Francis’ motto throughout his papacy was “A merciful God has called me,” which was a message he lived by, Wester said.
When students and community members established the 25-day occupation of Yale Park at the University of New Mexico during the 2011 Occupy Wall Street movement, it was all hands on deck for Daily Lobo journalists. The Occupy Wall Street movement was a protest against economic inequality and corporate corruption, during which protesters occupied a park in the New York Financial District, according to Britannica. This inspired similar occupations across the country. The protest in Albuquerque, which took place at UNM, was called (un)Occupy to honor Indigenous people.
For many University of New Mexico students, the Daily Lobo isn’t just a student newspaper — it’s the start of a lifelong career. Two former reporters, Ryan Tomari and Isabel Gonzalez, carved their own paths from the Lobo newsroom to the world beyond. Ryan Tomari Tomari’s journey into journalism began before he ever stepped onto UNM’s campus. A natural storyteller and lifelong sports fan, Tomari worked as a high school sports reporter, inspired by a teacher who had once written for Stars and Stripes. After deciding to stay closer to home, he ended up at UNM, where he found his place at the Daily Lobo in 2008.
At the Daily Lobo in the early 2000s, Jeff Proctor cut his teeth covering campus protests against the Iraq War, uncovering billing fraud at the University of New Mexico’s Health Sciences Center, and chasing stories on the golf course — all of which helped him launch his career into investigative journalism. Proctor was the assistant news editor for the Daily Lobo over the 2002-03 school year. He later worked for the Albuquerque Journal, the Santa Fe Reporter, New Mexico In Depth, KRQE and is currently the executive producer of New Mexico PBS.
In July 1980, Daily Lobo reporter Lester Slick published his review of Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.” He did not like the movie very much, calling it “spotty” and “so-so.” Now it’s my turn to write for the Lobo. I love “The Shining,” so here’s my critique of his critique. “The Shining” is a psychological horror film about novelist and recovering alcoholic Jack Torrance, who takes a temporary job caring for the Overlook Hotel during its offseason. The hotel is haunted and plagued with a supernatural “shine,” though as Jack descends into madness, no ghost could be more terrifying than him.
During his two years at the Daily Lobo starting in early 2020, Liam DeBonis worked first as a reporter before becoming photo editor, and later, copy editor. His coverage included the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests held in Albuquerque, which DeBonis said helped him discover his voice as a journalist and photographer. “I think one of the most important things that we covered during my time was the climax of the national anger and rage and conflict,” DeBonis said. “I was out in the street pretty much every day, every event, every protest — whether it was anti-lockdown, pro BLM, or counter BLM. Whatever the case, I was out there with my team, and we were trying to cover it the best we could.”
Here are a few of the many films that will be shown at Albuquerque’s Guild Cinema in May. Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 1997 film “Cure” is a masterpiece of Japanese horror. The film follows a worn-out detective, played by renowned actor Kōji Yakusho, investigating a series of murders — each of which have been committed by a different person, but with the same calling cards left behind. His search leads him to a troubled young man who refuses to provide any answers. “Cure” is set amid the metropolitan malaise of late-‘90s Tokyo. Its abandoned buildings and haunting shadows provide the perfect setting for an existential horror/noir mash-up. Kurosawa’s film is all the more terrifying because it could easily be real.
Iliana Limón Romero is the assistant managing editor for sports at the Los Angeles Times, but before her job at the sixth-most circulated paper in the nation, Limón Romero wore more hats at the Daily Lobo than many people have in their closet at home. “I was a reporter, I was an assistant news editor, I was managing editor,” Limón Romero said — on top of being a photographer and, during her final year at the Lobo, the editor-in-chief. “I did some copy editing shifts and some design shifts, and tried my hand at a lot of things.” From 1998 to 2002, Limón Romero studied journalism and Spanish at the University of New Mexico after growing up in El Paso, Texas. She joined the Daily Lobo her freshman year.
The University of New Mexico Lobos faced off against the rival New Mexico State University Aggies for the last time this season and delivered a game-winning strikeout April 22, ending the final match up 7-6. The Lobos faced the Aggies four times this season, which all ended in victories. Leading 7-6 on the scoreboard and having two outs, the Lobos struck out the last batter, eliminating the possibilities of a tied game. This is the first time this season the Lobos had a one-run advantage over the Aggies, where victory was truly on the line.
On March 21, indie-pop band Japanese Breakfast released its fourth album, “For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women).” The record comes four years after the band’s previous album, “Jubilee,” and lead singer Michelle Zauner’s memoir, “Crying in H Mart.” The lyrics of Japanese Breakfast’s early work, as well as the content of Zauner’s memoir, centered around her grief following the death of her mother. On “For Melancholy Brunettes,” the band’s explorations of sadness are not as grief-centric. Instead, Japanese Breakfast is more concerned with the concept of sadness itself.
On April 12, the photography exhibit “Safe State” by Jimmy Himes-Ryann opened at Bingo Studios art gallery in Albuquerque. The exhibit intends to explore through a visual medium what it means to be a transgender person in a “safe state.” Himes-Ryann is a journalist, photographer and adjunct professor in the communication and journalism department at the University of New Mexico. As they explained, much of the exhibit was inspired by state laws meant to protect seekers and providers of reproductive and gender-affirming care, leading many people to use the term “safe state” to describe New Mexico. Through their work, Himes-Ryann questions — and invites others to question — what a “safe state” really means.
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.
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.
Solutions by The State News
