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UNM playwriting class holds silent gathering for Ukraine

  On March 2, a week after Russia invaded Ukraine, University of New Mexico visiting playwright professor Erik Ehn and his students organized a silent witness for peace at the University of New Mexico Duck Pond. “Whether people can stay for five minutes or for the full hour, I hope that it's something that just inspires people to assess themselves and be mindful of the people around them and to carry that with them outside of the hour and to check in with each other and to send peace always,” student Monét Taylor said.  While the silent witness did not have a large turnout, it was a somber moment of time and silence for those in Ukraine. 

5 and Why: 5 ways to honor Women’s History Month

  With March comes Women’s History Month, and University of New Mexico senior studio art student Taylor Wachs is excited to celebrate. She shared five ways to honor women for Daily Lobo readers. Represent women artistically Wachs believes art is a great way to represent people, problems and solutions. She is taking part in a large photographic mural for Women’s History Month and said it’s a great means for representation and appreciation. This, Wachs said, is a kind of project she’d like to see more of. “We’re designing a whole wall in the art building … a whole public art program,” Wachs said. “Doing something like that is always good.”

Kirsten Buick ready to take helm as director of Africana Studies

  Intensely passionate about mentoring students, Kirsten Pai Buick is ready to lead Africana Studies as director at the University of New Mexico. Africana Studies, which was voted to move to department status by the Faculty Senate last week, will teach undergraduate students and, eventually, graduate students. “The history of African Diaspora people in this country is fascinating, and it’s a story that can’t be contained to one discipline, and so the multidisciplinary nature of Africana Studies means that we also have our eyes trained on political science and sociology and art and theater and dance and English … Just any place on this campus that you could point to, African Diaspora people are there,” Buick said.

Comics February 28, 2022

SRC construction causes unexpected disturbances for residents

  Construction on the Student Residence Center stairwells has caused complaints from residents on the lack of advanced notice of the project and early morning noise pollution. The first stairwell repairs began on buildings D, F and G Dec. 20, 2021 and are scheduled to finish by May, according to project superintendent Manuel Jimenez of ESA Construction, the general contractor hired by UNM. The Board of Regents approved the three-phase repair project on Aug. 19, 2021 after an inspection found the stairwells to be “very deteriorated and in need of immediate attention for repair and replacement,” according to the Board’s meeting minutes from that day.

ASUNM key advocate for legislative funding for UNM scholarships, infrastructure

  In the New Mexico legislative session that concluded mid-February, multiple bills were passed aimed at helping higher education students in the state, specifically for the University of New Mexico. Individuals advocated for funding for the lottery scholarship, the opportunity scholarship and infrastructure improvements at UNM. The bills are currently awaiting signatures from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to officially become law. These initiatives were advocated for in large part by representatives from the Associated Students of UNM, specifically the Governmental Affairs department, who spent time during the legislative session in Santa Fe lobbying for funding.

REVIEW: 'The Power of the Dog' seethes with deliciously soft tension

  Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog'' is a masterful and visually rich film. The story, sometimes a slow build, is propelled along by incredible acting and interesting character dynamics.  Released last November, this film has well-earned its 12 Oscar nominations. Campion made history by being the first female director to be nominated twice for the Best Director category. At the time she received her first nomination for Best Director in 1996, she was only the second woman to have ever been nominated for the award. The movie is a tense, simmering tale of a rancher, Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch), and his antagonistic relationship with his brother’s new wife Rose (Kirsten Dunst) and her son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee). 

Small businesses respond to mask mandate lift

  Although Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham lifted New Mexico’s indoor mask mandate in mid-February, small businesses have been deciding for themselves whether or not they really want to stop wearing masks. Matt Alexander, the owner of Picture Perfect Photo Lab, said he allowed his employees to vote on whether or not they wanted to continue requiring masks in store. “The employees aren't comfortable yet not wearing masks,” Alexander said. “We're asking the public to wear a mask when they come in, and we still have signs up asking to wear masks.”  Like Picture Perfect, Evolution Body Piercing has decided to continue wearing masks inside their business as employees don’t feel safe without them yet.

UNM theater students gear up for SCRAP spring fest

  Thespians rejoice: starting March 4, the University of New Mexico’s department of theatre and dance and UNM’s student theater organization SCRAP are holding a festival of two new plays written, directed, performed and coproduced by undergraduate students. The two plays are “The Jaw Comb” and “Letters to a Dead Poet.” Performances will be held at the X – Experimental Theatre March 4-6 and 10-13. “I’m really excited, just for everyone to have their own piece of this play … I’m excited to see how it flourishes and how everyone gets to work on stage with it and takes it in a way that they feel proud of,” Savannah Ramirez, writer of “The Jaw Comb” said.

REVIEW: ‘Drive My Car’ is a smooth, emotional ride

  With “Drive My Car” being both a foreign language film and having an almost three-hour runtime, it checks off two boxes that a large number of successful Oscar-hopeful films have had in the past few years (like “Parasite,” “Roma” and “The Irishman”). But to say that “Drive My Car” is merely a combination of previously successful elements would be almost an insult as Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s film seems to defy all definition and explanation. Even with a runtime of almost three hours, “Drive My Car” never lets off the gas. Hamaguchi has slowly been making waves throughout the indie film scene ever since the 2015 film “Happy Hour” garnered him international attention.  

Lobos men’s basketball secures win over Air Force 69-65

  The University of New Mexico men’s basketball team secured a hard-fought victory against the Air Force Falcons on Saturday, Feb. 26 at The Pit. The 69-65 final score was much closer than the Lobos’ 91-77 win at Air Force earlier in February. Both teams struggled with fouls; UNM earned 20 fouls and Air Force got 21 by the time the final buzzer sounded. The entire first half was neck and neck between the two teams with the largest lead being six points at the very end of the half when Air Force was up 30-24 against the Lobos.  Jaelen House, who put up an astounding 42 points in UNM’s first outing against the Falcons, finished the first half with zero points despite having played 17 of the first half’s 20 minutes.  

Stokes’ State of University address covers COVID-19, new projects

  On Thursday, Feb. 24, University of New Mexico President Garnett Stokes delivered her annual State of the University address. Like last year, the COVID-19 pandemic was at the forefront of topics covered within the address. “Over the last two years, we've found many new ways of doing things in the interest of keeping our community safe — different ways of communicating, learning, collaborating and even different ways of celebrating,” Stokes said.  Despite the ongoing pandemic, she said the University has made strides to return to a somewhat normal college experience, citing both the recent in-person fall commencement ceremony and having students be able to come back fully to campus. 

UNM softball team dominates Lobo Classic with four wins at home

  The University of New Mexico softball team won all the games in their home tournament, the Lobo Classic, Thursday, Feb. 24 to Sunday, Feb. 27 at the Lobo Softball Field. The Lobos beat the University of Texas at El Paso Thursday, North Dakota State University Friday, the University at Buffalo Saturday and Tarleton State University Sunday. The Lobos now have a record of 10-3 and are on a five-game winning streak.  The Lobos had exceptional pitching in their games Saturday and Sunday. Both Amber Linton and Emma Guindon pitched full games and added nine and seven strikeouts to their respective records. Offensively, Andrea Howard shone in both games. 

Lobos track and field teams compete in Mountain West indoor championships

  The University of New Mexico track and field teams competed in the Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships Feb. 24-26 at the Albuquerque Convention Center. This competition gave the Lobos the chance to show off their best and jockey for qualifying positions for the NCAA Indoor Championships. It’s no secret that the best of the Lobos’ track and field are in the women’s distance program, and they got the chance to prove it again first thing Thursday, Feb. 24 in the distance medley relay, though there was some drama on the way. On the first 1200-meter leg of the relay, the lap counter jumped erroneously from three laps to one. 

UNM softball team off to a promising start in nonconference season

  Having been on the road to kick off their season, the University of New Mexico softball team stands at 7-3 after playing their first tournament at home in the Lobo Classic after the Candera Classic and the Cardinal Classic. The Lobos started the tournament with a game against the University of Texas at El Paso on Thursday, Feb. 24, which they won 5-4 after a close seventh inning. Standout players thus far include center fielder and former Olympian Andrea Howard, new pitcher Amber Linton, returning pitcher Emma Guindon and freshman infielder Emma Bramson.

Heinrich discusses UNM professors’ methane emission sensors on campus

  Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., visited the University of New Mexico on Thursday, Feb. 24 to discuss two UNM professors’ research on sensors designed to detect methane leaks along natural gas pipelines. Research associate professor Lok-kon Tsui and distinguished professor Fernando Garzon are leading the research, which was awarded $1.5 million from the Department of Energy, according to the UNM Newsroom. The meeting largely consisted of Tsui, Garzon and Kamil Agi, a representative of SensorComm Technologies, UNM’s partner in developing the sensor technology, explaining how the sensors detect methane emissions along pipelines.   “Over the course of the past two years, we’ve made a number of improvements to the design of our sensor.  

President addresses Russian attacks on Ukraine

  On Thursday, Feb. 24, President Joe Biden spoke at a press conference regarding the Russian attacks on Ukraine. In his speech, he condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for the attacks, announced a major sanction package against Russia and said although U.S. troops will not go into Ukraine to fight, he is committed to defending nearby NATO allies. “Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences,” Biden said. His remarks come after Russia’s missile attacks on many Ukrainian cities on Feb. 24 Eastern European Time. 

Arda Azkara captivates the Mountain West

  Arda Azkara may be a new face around the Mountain West Conference, but the freshman tennis player from Turkey has been gunning to conquer the tennis world ever since he was a kid. Now playing for the University of New Mexico, Azkara seized the conference’s attention when he swept the Mountain West Player and Freshman of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 10-16. When asked about that week, the first thing he talked about was his team’s success. “(It was) a tough week,” Azkara said. “Two big matches against Santa Clara and GCU … We were 0-2 on the season but we had those two good wins and now (on Thursday) we’re at 2-2.”

Street medic advocates for ABQ’s marginalized communities

  Albuquerque resident Ciel Melody works tirelessly to advocate for marginalized communities in the city and is building up a new local street medic coalition where they’ll train other community members in street medicine. Originally from North Carolina, Melody first became interested in activism in 2015, around when they were hospitalized for a chronic illness and also came out as transgender. “Ever since I came out, really … I’ve been interested in trying to make a difference in my community … I’ve been sick and tired of sitting around my whole life and watching things happen and saying I’m gonna do something. I want to actually do something,” Melody said.

Comics February 21, 2022