NM closes in on 700 cases, including a dozen deaths

By: Joe Rull | Apr 6

Check this page for the Daily Lobo's updated testing and confirmed case data for the COVID-19 outbreak in New Mexico, thanks to the COVID Tracking Project. This page will be updated daily as more data is produced and reported.

Meeting to fast-track med students graduation canceled

By: Justin Garcia | Apr 7

A Board of Regents meeting that would have graduated medical students early was canceled Monday after a residency accreditation body issued new guidance on the matter. 

The cancellation comes as some medical schools across the United States, but largely in the pandemic’s American epicenter of New York City, are graduating students ahead of schedule to bolster hospital ranks to handle surges of COVID-19 cases. 

Health Sciences Center Public Information Officer Alex Sanchez said that some medical students at the University of New Mexico had expressed interest in early graduation as a means to assist the fight against the coronavirus last week. 

Lobo Food Pantry sees increase in demand, decrease in donations

By: Megan Gleason | Apr 6

As cancellations and operational changes to staples persist as a response to the global pandemic, the University’s Lobo Food Pantry remains a hub for hungry Lobos.

Olivia Torres Jojola, coordinator of the Lobo Food Pantry, said the Campus Lobo Food Pantry had 158 students attend in March — a vast difference from the 50 to 70 students it would typically average. This increase came as the novel coronavirus hit New Mexico in mid-March.  

The LoboRESPECT Advocacy Center is hosting a weekly Campus Lobo Food Pantry pick-up service every Monday from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. outside the University Advisement and Enrichment Center throughout UNM’s limited operations. 

According to LoboRESPECT, pre-made bags are available for students to pick-up, whether they drive or walk and include non-perishable goods, toiletries, diapers, feminine hygiene products and more.

UNMH begins clinical trials for COVID-19 treatments

By: Justin Garcia | Apr 5

The University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) started one clinical trial and is preparing another to examine potential treatments for COVID-19, as deaths and cases swell across the world.

A trial for hydroxychloroquine, a drug typically used to treat malaria and lupus, started last week, while an upcoming trial for remdesivir, an antiviral developed during the 2015 Ebola epidemic, is in the works. 

Both trials are small parts of an unprecedented global research effort to find treatments and a vaccine.

After veto, ASUNM Senate fails novel fee raise

By: Alyssa Martinez | Apr 5

Budget bills, Zoom bombs and the year-long fee raise debate sounded through the computers of student government leaders on the first of the month. 

As the University grapples with the unprecedented changes brought by the coronavirus pandemic, the student government assembled on Zoom Wednesday night to debate the reinstatement of a fee raise, already voted down by the student body and vetoed by the student-body president. 

The evening commenced with the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico’s President Adam Biederwolf announcing three major breakthroughs prompted by the pandemic. 

Some college students excluded from stimulus checks

By: Liam Debonis, Alex McCausland | Apr 3

While many Americans wait eagerly for their $1200 stimulus check to come in the mail, some New Mexican college students have been left to fend for themselves. 

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the president of the United States signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act into effect on March 27, authorizing $1200 payments to individual Americans, along with a number of corporate bailouts. 

For 19 to 23-year-old full-time college students, however, their status as legal dependents or undocumented immigrants bars them from receiving stimulus checks, according to Business Insider.

Dispatch: COVID cases, deaths continue to climb on Navajo Nation

By: Sharon Schischilly | Apr 3

GALLUP, N.M. — COVID-19 has gripped the Navajo Nation and given no sign of letting go as new cases and deaths continued to climb this week.

As of the publication of this article, there are at least 241 cases of COVID-19 and eight deaths, according to the Navajo Nation Department of Health and Navajo Area Indian Health Service.

In an effort to combat the spread of the disease, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer have called on Navajo Nation citizens to social distance and stay home.

New Student Orientation weighs options amid pandemic

By: Beatrice Nisoli | Apr 1

New Student Orientation (NSO) may join the increasing list of services being transferred online in response to COVID-19.

NSO, which typically occurs during the summer, is a mandatory two to three-day orientation for incoming University of New Mexico students. The purpose of the orientation is to welcome students to the UNM community through a combination of team-building activities and sharing resources for succeeding in a University setting.

An online orientation option had been available for specific student populations previous to the technological shifts brought by COVID-19. Since this is an already existing initiative, an exclusively online orientation format could quickly extend to every incoming student should the need arise.

Student employees to receive pay through May 15

By: Alyssa Martinez | Mar 31

University of New Mexico student employees were just given a big promise. 

University President Garnett Stokes announced in an email March 31 that student employees who meet eligibility requirements will be paid through the rest of the semester, regardless of whether or not they are actively working. 

“Some of you may still be working while others may not,” the email read. “Regardless, please know that the University values you.”

UNM gives $200 to eligible students for internet

By: Alyssa Martinez | Mar 31

As courses reconvene in an online landscape, select students at the University are being granted $200 scholarships to assist in their transition. 

Associate Provost for Student Success Pamela Cheek said up to 400 students will be able to receive the Lobos Connect Mini-Scholarship, which aims to financially assist students who need reliable access to the internet. 

“(The $200) amount is based on an assessment of how much it might cost to purchase a MiFi or to augment cell phone or internet services for a few months,” Cheek said. 

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