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UNM Libraries turn sights toward turnstiles

Maddie Pukite | May 16

As new and returning students walk into any of the libraries on the University of New Mexico’s main campus this fall, they will be greeted by newly constructed turnstiles. Construction on the turnstiles began May 11 and is anticipated to be completed during the summer months, according to Lea Briggs, the department administrator for the College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences. The University is implementing these turnstiles in an effort to increase safety at the libraries on campus. UNM’s libraries are currently accessible to the public, with only select online resources being reserved for the UNM community, according to the University libraries help page. UNM libraries will continue to allow non-UNM affiliated community members to use the libraries, but they must show a photo ID to enter, according to Jason Shoup, senior operations manager at Zimmerman Library.

News

UNM-H employees call for safe staffing

Maddie Pukite | May 14

On the morning of Thursday, May 12, employees at the University of New Mexico Hospital held a picket line outside of the hospital’s entrance on Lomas Boulevard to speak out against severe understaffing, an issue that has endangered both patients and employees alike. Amanda Gutierrez works in the neurology unit at UNM-H and was a part of Thursday’s picket line. She said that short staffing at the hospital recently led to her receiving an injury on the job.

News

Students with disabilities struggle to obtain resources in and beyond college

Zara Roy | May 9

As graduation draws near, most every senior is working to navigate next steps. Disabled students, however, have the unique challenge of preparing to move into a new environment where they may not necessarily have access to resources they have previously been able to obtain through their university. “It definitely sucks to be cut off from those resources because it is really nice to know that there is someone in a position of power that has your back as a disabled person,” graduating senior Micah Glidewell said. Glidewell has been receiving accommodations from the University of New Mexico Accessibility Resource Center since his freshman year and has worked at ARC for the past year.

Culture

OPINION: Why I don’t want to get an MFA in creative writing

Nell Johnson | May 9

In a letter to a friend written at the peak of Virgo season, Anton Chekhov wrote: “Medicine is my lawful wife and literature is my mistress.” Wikipedia touts that he is “considered one of the greatest writers of all time,” Russian or otherwise. But he was never a student of the arts; he spent his days watching human beings fall apart and doing what he could to reverse the human condition, something that is temporary, painful, and disgusting to look at. I graduate this week and people are very curious about what I’m going to do with my dual degree in English and Russian. Most people assume graduate school is the immediate next step, but studying what, they ask?

Culture

UNM grad helps writers and refugees

John Scott | May 9

Hot off the release of the 2022 edition of “Limina: Nonfiction Review,” former editor-in-chief and University of New Mexico graduate Indica Simpson has been busy celebrating her hard work and looking forward to her post-graduation plans. Simpson, graduating with a bachelor's degree in international studies and a double minor in Arabic and peace and justice studies, left her home town of Fallon, Nevada with her heart set on studying medicine at UNM. After her first year, though, Simpson realized that this wasn’t the field for her.

Culture

Acclaimed student journalist graduates, inspires with determination and heart

Natalie Jude | May 9

After five years of undergraduate work split between Champlain College in Vermont and the University of New Mexico, Shelby Wyatt, formerly Shelby Kleinhans, is preparing to graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in film production. The current winner of the Mark Holm photojournalism award, an annual award given to an exceptional Daily Lobo photographer, her work at the Lobo as a dedicated journalist and photographer will not be forgotten. During her three years at the Daily Lobo, Wyatt has had the opportunity to explore photographic and written journalism as well as, most recently, the position of multimedia editor. Like many other Lobo employees and alumni, Wyatt fondly recalls having “fallen into” journalism by way of the Lobo.

Culture

Eagle-eyed editor-in-chief ascends to professional journalism

Natalie Jude | May 9

After four intense years with the Daily Lobo, Megan Gleason is ready to move on from student journalism and step out into the world of professional journalism. Having served as a freelance and beat reporter, culture editor, news editor and editor-in-chief, Gleason is counting down the days until her graduation, when she will receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in music. Gleason began as a freelance reporter after a distasteful hiring process for the Lobo and “never would have guessed” she’d move up the ladder so quickly. “I initially decided I didn’t want to work at the Daily Lobo,” Gleason said. “But my sophomore year …

Culture

Award-winning photojournalist to graduate from UNM

Natalie Jude | May 9

Spring 2022 graduate Liam DeBonis began college with few clues as to what he wanted to pursue for a career. Following a random application for freelance photographer at the Daily Lobo, according to DeBonis, everything fell into place. Currently freelancing for the Albuquerque Journal, he is excited for graduation and the opportunity to focus all of his attention on his photojournalism career. “Honestly, school has kind of taken a back seat to my job as a photojournalist,” DeBonis said. “I’ve definitely put my heart and soul into the photojournalism aspect of my life.”

Culture

Outgoing sports editor juggles journalism, computer science, passion for sports

Natalie Jude | May 9

Matt Salcido, the outgoing sports editor at the Daily Lobo, will soon graduate with a Bachelor of Science in computer science from the University of New Mexico. Having fallen into the position of sports editor with no journalistic experience following a back injury, Matthew has learned quickly to translate his extensive knowledge of college sports into journalistic writing. “For a few years prior to beginning as sports editor I was a basketball coach … I ended up hurting my back and I knew I was going to have to take a year off,” Salcido said.

Culture

Graduating Daily Lobo designer dedicated to digital art

Natalie Jude | May 9

Joseph McKee, an art history major and retiring director of design for the Daily Lobo, is awaiting their graduation from the University of New Mexico this spring. Having joined the Lobo three years ago, McKee’s designs for the paper over the years trace the evolution of their design styles and abilities. “I started at the Lobo because I really wanted to work in graphic design. I thought it would be really fun and interesting. I really enjoy collaborating with people and I enjoy design, too … I was looking for some sort of community or club that I could join on campus and it worked out pretty well, I would say,” McKee said.

Culture

Graduating ASUNM president leaves lasting legacy

Zara Roy | May 9

As the curtains draw closed on the final undergraduate semester of 2021-22 for former Associated Students of the University of New Mexico President Greg Romero, he still maintains the same passion and love for the school as he did when he first began his term. Still, he is ready to graduate with a liberal arts degree and a wealth of leadership experience. Romero came into the University with the intention of focusing strictly on his academic pursuits with little time for putting himself out there, but this plan soon fell by the wayside when he joined Alpha Tau Omega his freshman and sophomore years.

Culture

McKinnon Poetry Contest winners navigate identity, origins through poetry

Nell Johnson | May 8

The three winners of the 2022 McKinnon Poetry Contest hail from different hometowns and academic disciplines, but their poems all explore personal origins and their impact. The contest was coordinated by department head Diane Thiel, and winning poems were selected by faculty judges. In first place was senior Benjamin Tabáček with “Homesick;” second, freshman Ariel Menendez with “La Chicana;” and third, senior Indica Simpson with “Résumé.” The McKinnon Poetry Contest is an annual event involving cash prizes, which are awarded thanks to an $100,000 endowment from UNM alumna Karen McKinnon. Thiel praised her giving nature in an email.

News

Albuquerque community continues to protest leaked Supreme Court draft opinion

Maddie Pukite | May 8

Albuquerque community members took to the streets again on Saturday, May 7 to protest the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, cases that provide constitutional protection for abortion in the U.S. under the doctrine of privacy granted by the Fourteenth Amendment. The protest was organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation to continue motivating people to fight back and not fall into apathy while calling for the Democrats in Congress to act to protect abortion rights. “We have to keep up the energy, and we have to remind people that we can't stop just because we came out right after it happened.

News

UNM showcases a range of commencement events

Maddie Pukite | May 8

On May 14 at 9 a.m., the University of New Mexico will be holding its in-person commencement ceremony at the University Arena. The ceremony will be only the second ceremony in which guests are allowed back in person since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We're thankful that we can get back to having families and guests there and celebrating our students for this wonderful accomplishment,” University Secretary Nancy Middlebrook said. The event will feature keynote speaker Mark Herman, CEO of Dion's, along with performances by the UNM Brass Choir and the singing of the national anthem by Cameron Smith, a graduate student in the vocal performance program.

News

Leaked Supreme Court draft opinion terrifies, angers ABQ community members

Maddie Pukite | May 3

Protesters gathered at the Pete V. Domenici U.S. Courthouse in Albuquerque on May 3 in light of a leaked draft of a majority opinion from Politico written by Justice Samuel Alito that signifies the court’s decision to overturn Roe V. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, both landmark cases that provide constitutional protection for abortion in the U.S. under the doctrine of privacy granted by the Fourteenth Amendment. The protests, one in front of the courthouse organized by the Party of Socialism and Liberation and one kitty-corner in front of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court organized by Planned Parenthood, were each attended by hundreds of people.

Culture

‘We’re All Going to the World’s Fair’ is a creepypasta coming-of-age gem

Zara Roy | May 2

“We’re All Going to the World’s Fair,” directed by Jane Schoenbrun, is a dizzying, slow-paced horror that uses the language of internet urban legend as a springboard to showcase the supreme loneliness of adolescence. Released April 15, the film follows the reclusive Casey (Anna Cobb) after she embarks in an internet horror game called the “World’s Fair Challenge” and her subsequent mental decline. Clocking in just under 90 minutes, “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” completely defied my expectations of the formulaic and tried found-footage genre (although, to be fair, this film cannot be neatly classified as found-footage) and showcased the versatility of a genre I previously thought to be a one-trick pony.

Culture

Ukrainian student takes pride in her homeland

Maddie Pukite | May 2

The day before Russia invaded Ukraine, Yuliia Kashuba, an international student at the University of New Mexico from Ukraine, gave a presentation to her class about the fighting that had been going on in eastern Ukraine against Russia, explaining that it was not a full-on invasion, not knowing what would happen in the coming day. “No one deserves to be killed in this way. There's no reason. We used to live independent, we (were), like, pro-European country with our own freedom of speech, freedom of expression. You (could) be wherever you want in Ukraine,” Kashuba said.

Culture

Loboscopes: May general predictions

Zara Roy and Nell Johnson | May 2

The transit of several key planets into Aries this month — Jupiter, Venus and Mars — will precipitate a wealth of ideas and physical blessings. The sun remaining steadfast in Taurus until the end of the month should give flashes of inspiration some staying power, as Aries isn’t known for its follow-through. A Mercury retrograde will begin in Gemini on May 10, adding fuel to the Aries fire burning in the heavens. Beware of backwards movement, like reverting to old habits and communicating with those you’ve left behind. The reckless Ram running rampant across the sky will make this difficult. How will you manage? Read on for more specific advice.

Culture

The Kooks have lost it, parsed release disappoints

Natalie Jude | May 2

Just over halfway through the quartered release of upcoming album “10 Tracks to Echo in The Dark,” there seems to have been little improvement since The Kooks’ 2018 album “Let’s Go Sunshine,” a tragic release save for two half-hits: “Picture frame” and “No Pressure.” In their earlier days, English rock group The Kooks were fresh. Their unpredictable melodies pulled from post-punk and the best of indie rock. Since the release of their fourth album in 2014, “Listen,” though, they seem to be steady in their decline. The losses of members Max Rafferty and Paul Garred could be to blame for at least a portion of the slump, but with longtime members Luke Pritchard leading vocals and Hugh Harris leading guitar, these recent and absolute failures should have been impossible.

News

Albuquerque undergoes redistricting committee sessions

Maddie Pukite | May 2

The city of Albuquerque is currently undergoing a redistricting process as is required by the city charter following every census, the latest of which happened in 2020. The redistricting committee has been meeting since early March to discuss potential new district lines and hear community input; their latest meeting took place on Wednesday, April 27. Redistricting has a substantial effect on how the city government operates as it ensures that the populations of different districts are equally represented within the City Council. Some districts have grown unevenly in the 10 years since the city was last redistricted. The redistricting process can also be used to ensure that marginalized communities' voices are being adequately represented and heard.