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Culture

New UNM art curator breaks barriers between art and audience

Zara Roy | December 5

On Wednesday, Dec. 7, the University of New Mexico Art Museum will welcome Angel Jiang as their first curator of collections and study room initiatives. In her new position, she hopes to craft a dynamic and intimate experience with artwork for students at the University. A study room is a special area in a museum which houses pieces that are fragile or otherwise not on display — they are often difficult to access or find, according to Jiang. One of her primary goals in the new position is to increase accessibility and knowledge of the study rooms at the UNM Art Museum. These rooms are special to her; they give students a chance to directly interact with pieces not confined behind glass.

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Sports

Swimming and Diving: Lobos look to improve after tough meet

Thomas Bulger | December 4

The University of New Mexico's swimming and diving team went up against the Colorado State University Rams and the Air Force Academy Falcons in a two day meet on Friday, Dec. 2 and Saturday, Dec. 3. Each school sent out two teams, an A and a B team, to compete at each event. Colorado State's A team came in first with 272 points. They were followed by the Air Force's A team with 251. Then Colorado State's and the Air Force's B teams earned 237 and 116 respectively. The Lobos finished fifth and sixth with the A team scoring 102 and the B team earning 81 points. The Lobos have an overall record of 2-5 and are 0-3 in conference play.

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Culture

Local band neglects no inspiration in search of inclusive music-making

Elizabeth Secor | December 4

Self-Neglect, a band formed by University of New Meixco alumi Matt Rogers (guitarist) and Alex Denbaars (vocalist), along with Leon Arnold (drummer) and Derrick Moore (bassist),  finds inspiration to create music through their enviorment. The band was formed in 2015 on Rogers’ birthday, which also happens to be New Year's Eve. He and Denbaars, old friends from a Magic: The Gathering group, decided to make music together after Denbaars’ old band broke up. The band struggled to choose a name when they first started until a nurse friend of Arnold’s wrote up a list of “gory medical-sounding stuff,” which included “passive self-neglect.” The name stuck, acording to the band members.

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Sports

Men's basketball: With the team 7-0, now’s the time to pay attention

Thomas Bulger | December 4

Nearly a month into the season, the University of New Mexico men's basketball team are 7-0 and are one of only 14 remaining undefeated teams in Division 1 basketball. While the Lobos haven't played a lot of prestigious programs, they have played against a lot of competitive teams. After a win against St. Mary's College, UNM looks poised to make a run in the conference — and maybe make the NCAA tournament.

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News

Officers detain demonstrators during protest on UNM campus against conspiracy theorist Charlie Kirk

Maddie Pukite | December 1

This story was originally published by Source New Mexico State Police in riot gear showed up at the Student Union Building at the University of New Mexico during a peaceful protest and detained three protesters of color on Wednesday, Nov. 30. The protest was held in response to Turning Point USA’s UNM chapter hosting a speaking event on campus with Charlie Kirk, the founder and president of the national conservative group.

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News

ASUNM senate calls for increased funding to UNMPD

John Scott | December 1

The Associated Students at the University of New Mexico voted to approve a resolution calling for an increase in funding for the UNM Police Department during their last full senate meeting on Wednesday, November 30. The approval comes in the wake of a deadly shooting that took place on UNM campus resulting in the death of two students.

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News

LETTER: Grad Workers deserve insurance and a living wage

Victoriano Cardenas | November 29

I’m not currently a graduate worker, but I’m an alum and I had to put off an eye surgery for years because the University of New Mexico doesn’t offer vision insurance or a living wage. Let me say that again: UNM employs a bunch of nerds and provides no eye insurance. Seriously, what? In 2017, I got into UNM’s creative writing program. I was working retail at the time and had health, vision and dental insurance, so of course, I scheduled as many appointments as possible before school. I went to get an eye exam and my doctor said, “something’s going on with your corneas, but we’ll just keep an eye on it. Come back next year.”

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News

Vigil in Albuquerque honors people killed in Colorado Springs at Club Q

Maddie Pukite | November 28

This story was originally published by Source New Mexico The realities of the Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs were close to home for many in Albuquerque, and people gathered in Morningside Park on Tuesday evening to grieve the lives lost in the queer bar. Several people knew people at the club on Saturday, Nov. 19, and many at the vigil frequented it themselves. 

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Culture

UNM senior aims for community in Honors Pathmakers program

Marcela Johnson | November 28

Katie James has been spending her senior year working to further develop the community of the University of New Mexico Honors College through her role as mentor coordinator and leadership team lead for the Honors Pathmakers mentorship program. Pursuing a dual degree of psychology with a minor in math and biology with a minor in chemistry, James hopes to create traditions that will continue after her graduation.

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News

OPINION: Now’s the time; let’s lose Twitter

Spenser Willden | November 28

Losers, rejoice — in a move sure to be celebrated by the worst men you know, Elon Musk completed his long-threatened acquisition of social media platform Twitter on Oct. 27, bringing with it changes that have prompted many users and staff members to finally call it quits. Verification overhaul, content moderation changes and more are all on the table and have already altered user experience nearly beyond repair. With Twitter going through rapid change, now is the time to leave it behind for good and move on to greener, less awful pastures. 

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Culture

UNM professor hosts long-awaited reading of novel “48 Hours to Kill”

Maddie Pukite | November 22

In December 2021, University of New Mexico English professor Andrew Bourelle published his first suspense novel, “48 Hours to Kill.” Due to the fluctuating situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Bourelle never really got a chance to celebrate the achievement in person, which made the Nov. 16 reading of his work hosted by the UNM creative writing department all the more special. While working on “48 Hours to Kill,” Bourelle co-wrote several books with New York Times bestselling author James Patterson. Prior to becoming a fiction author, he worked as a journalist and wrote academic articles while pursuing his doctorate in English.

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Culture

UNM swing dancing club celebrates first dance

Spenser Willden | November 22

A crowd of over 50 students gathered in the Student Union Building for the first meeting of the University of New Mexico Swing Dancing Club on Sunday, Nov. 20. Starting with an introductory West coast-style swing lesson from the SouthWesties dance troupe, the night brought dancing to campus for students of all skill levels. By meeting on campus, the Swing Dancing Club gives students the opportunity to engage in dance in a safe and welcoming space for those under 21 and without the transportation to go off campus, according to attendee and dance enthusiast Brianna Knox Hubbard. “I’ve been looking for an under-21 space to social dance since I’m 19, and this provides that,” Hubbard said.

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News

GPSA passes resolution in support of United Grad Workers

Annya Loya | November 21

The Graduate and Professional Student Association of the University of New Mexico showed their support for the United Graduate Workers of UNM through a joint resolution, which was adopted on Saturday, Oct. 29. Joint Resolution 1F advises UNM to tackle various issues that affect graduate students at UNM and are still in negotiation between the Union and the University. “For us, this means that we want to uplift the voices of our constituents. I believe as a minority-serving R1 institution, we carry a shared responsibility to support marginalized demographics in pursuit of Higher Education,” Shaikh Ahmad, GPSA president, said.

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Sports

Football: Lobo offense not enough to take on San Diego State

Thomas Bulger | November 21

The University of New Mexico football team lost to the San Diego State University Aztecs 34-10 at their final home game on Friday, Nov. 18. It was also senior night for the Lobos which gave fans a chance to say goodbye to the team's 12 seniors. It was the second coldest home game in Lobo football history: at kickoff, it was 30 degrees. The coldest home game in history was against Brigham Young University in November 1976. UNM is on an eight-game losing streak that started back in September. The Lobos now have a 2-9 overall record and have yet to win a conference game.

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Sports

Volleyball: Team falls to Boise State ahead of conference tournament

Thomas Bulger | November 21

The University of New Mexico volleyball team lost to the Boise State University Broncos 3-2 in the final regular season game of the year at home on Saturday, Nov. 19. Before the match, UNM head coach Jon Newman-Gonchar honored both Lobo and Bronco seniors with flowers, and the fans gave Lobo seniors — Alena Moldan, Avital Jaloba, and Anilee Sher — a standing ovation. UNM clinched a spot in the Mountain West conference tournament with their win over Utah State University on Thursday, Nov. 17.  Uxue Guereca led the team in kills with 18. Kaitlynn Biassou had 12 kills and tied with Jaloba for most blocks with 8. For the Broncos, both Paige Bartsch and Lauren Ohlinger had excellent scoring with each having 21 points.

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News

UNM alumni presents a new approach to journalism at UNM

Aldo Jurado | November 17

On Wednesday, Nov. 16, Gail Rosenblum, a journalist and alumnus of the University of New Mexico, visited the communications and journalism department to talk about a new form of journalism — solutions journalism — that Rosenblum has been incorporating in her work.  Rosenblum is currently the editor of the weekly “Inspired” section in the Minneapolis Star Tribune where she aims to focus on the hope, optimism and solution stories, according to The Loft. Solutions journalism is a way of approaching the news by focusing on the responses to social issues as well as the problems themselves. The topics can range from racial equity to climate change, according to Medium.

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News

Grad worker’s union pickets for better health insurance, higher wages

Maddie Pukite | November 16

On Tuesday, Nov. 15, the United Graduate Workers of the University of New Mexico held a picket starting at the intersection of Las Lomas Road and Yale Boulevard in front of Dane Smith Hall at UNM and then marched to spread petitions across Scholes Hall. The Union called for the University to come to an agreement by their last scheduled bargaining meeting on Dec. 7 so they can finalize a contract. The Union has been at the bargaining table with the University since early May 2022. After recent bargaining sessions, the Union is working toward better healthcare coverage, raises and coverage of parking costs, among other topics.

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Culture

Lobo Food Pantry breaks stigmas and tackles food insecurity

Elizabeth Secor | November 14

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, almost 30% of all college students struggled with food insecurity during their college careers, according to Health Affairs. The Lobo Food Pantry, located on the first floor of the Student Union Building in room 1093, provides University of New Mexico students with free food to help combat food insecurity at UNM. The pantry is a donation-based system that is free for all students, according to Amanda Martinez, a basic needs specialist at the LoboRESPECT Advocacy Center and Lobo Food Pantry supervisor.

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Sports

Women's basketball: Lobos defeat Houston in home opener

Thomas Bulger | November 14

The Lobos defeated the University of Houston Cougars 68-61 on Saturday, Nov. 12. Going into the game, the Lobos looked to bounce back from their 76-68 loss against Southern Utah University. UNM lost to Houston last season 89-60, in that game the Lobos had an abysmal 34 turnovers which led to 21 fastbreak points for the Cougars. A key to winning this game would be taking care of the basketball: the Lobos ended up with 24 turnovers, which nearly cost them the game, but they held on for the win.

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Culture

REVIEW: ‘The Season of La Llarona’ is a faithful rendition of a classic tale

Maddie Pukite | November 14

“The Season of La Llorona” opened on Friday, Nov. 11 at the University of New Mexico’s Experimental Theatre and is a loving adaptation of the tale. The adaptation was written by New Mexican author Rudolfo Anaya and directed by theater student Paul Esquibel. The show opens with a family celebrating Halloween and preparing for Día de Los Muertos, when the abuelo (Manny Lopez Ainza) tells the story of La Llorona. It then flips to La Malinche's (Lasha Kirker) story being told by actors on the opposite side of the stage.