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News

NM ranked sixth most diverse state

Nichole Harwood | September 27

New Mexico the sixth most diverse state in America, according to a recent WalletHub study. Lawrence Roybal, interim vice president for the UNM Division of Equity and Inclusion, said this is an impressive recognition and one his division is proud of. “We are extremely proud that the University of New Mexico is an important part of the tremendous diversity that we celebrate and honor throughout the Land of Enchantment,” he said. “It is important for us to continuously advance a variety of diversity, equity, and inclusion endeavors through UNM in collaboration with our many committed campus partners and community allies throughout each year.”

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UNM's new sexual assault training continues progress

Cayla Montoya-Manzo | September 27

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on Sept. 26 and written by New Mexico News Port reporter Cayla Montoya-Manzo. This is part of our new project to help connect the Daily Lobo audience to more members of our community. UNM’s Mandatory Sexual Misconduct Prevention Training is a sexual assault awareness program, which has reached approximately 15,500 of UNM’s 25,000 plus students. “That’s far better than we were expecting,” said Heather Cowan, UNM’s Title IX Coordinator. Cowan’s job is to assure the University is in compliance with federal guidelines.

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ASUNM provides variety of events geared at UNM community

Ashish Khatri | September 25

It’s Homecoming Week at the University of New Mexico, and the Associated Students of UNM are organizing a slew of on-campus events through their subgroup UNM Lobo Spirit. 3-D chalk artist Chris Carlson will be working on a large chalk art piece at the Duck Pond under the Alumni Clock on Monday and Tuesday. On Sept. 26, Lobo Spirit and the Student Activities Center will be hosting a Neon Skate Down event from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. in Student Union Building Ballroom B/C. DJ music and refreshments will be available. Students, staff and faculty will be able to rent skates with their UNM ID.

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Homecoming goes beyond the dance

Aaron Cowan | September 25

Homecoming is not just for students — there are an abundance of activities for alumni as well. In fact, for almost 100 years, UNM’s Alumni Association has been putting on Homecoming events, according to Susan MacEachen, the associate director of Alumni Relations. “This is the 92nd year of Homecoming at UNM,” MacEachen said. “It’s a traditional event. Our goal is to have alumni connect back to the school.” Homecoming festivities start on Monday, Sept. 25 at 11 a.m. with a Kickoff Rally in the newly refurbished Karen A. Abraham Courtyard at Hodgin Hall Alumni Center.

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ASUNM considers budget reform

Brendon Gray | September 24

Some representatives in the Associated Students of UNM are looking to redesign the way ASUNM money is distributed. If passed, the legislation will require ASUNM balance forwards to be approved by the full Senate. As it stands, a seven-person finance committee is required to pass the balance forward. Balance forwards are extra money not used by ASUNM entities, called student service agencies. Agencies retain 80 percent of their end-of-year surplus, and the remaining 20 percent returns to the ASUNM general fund. “We need this bill to pass to make sure we get veteran eyes on (balance forwards) before they get approved,” said Sen. Theo Aufrichtig, a sponsor of the bill.

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Homecoming candidates share Lobo spirit

Madison Spratto | September 24

As a part of the University of New Mexico’s Homecoming Week, ASUNM Lobo Spirit and the Elections Commission will be holding elections for the Homecoming king and queen Sept. 27 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the SUB and online. Before the election, all 15 candidates were given the opportunity to share something about themselves through interviews with reporter Madison Spratto. Not all candidates were interviewed, as Samuel Eze did not respond in time for this publication.

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Dreamstyle Arena will host Party in the Pit

Makayla Grijalva | September 24

Party in the Pit is the first student event to offer Lobos the chance to party on their stomping grounds, the newly renamed Dreamstyle Arena. ASUNM Student Special Events is teaming up with Lobo Spirit, University Communications and Marketing and the Fractal Foundation to put on the event to cap off Homecoming Week. Party in the Pit will be held on Sept. 29, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Dreamstyle Arena. The stage near the dance floor will feature DJs Berret and Jay, as well as an opening by Yak Pak. “Party in the Pit is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime, fully immersive experience,” said ASUNM SSE Promotions Director Xavier Vallejo.

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Lecture debunks rape culture myths

Amy Byres | September 23

Editor’s Note: This is part of a project to better connect the Daily Lobo with the University of New Mexico Communication and Journalism Department. Kate Harding spoke at the University of New Mexico Thursday night, to address the myths of rape culture in her lecture, “Taking Down Rape Culture.” Harding said she is a proud feminist and author of several books concerning rape, rape culture and feminism. Her lecture came during UNM’s Campus Safety Week and National Campus Safety Awareness Month. “I believe this talk will help people to understand more about what rape culture is,” said Rob Burford, the Office of Equal Opportunity Clery Act compliance officer. “It’s important that other people hear about that.”

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Students rally behind Black Lives Matter march

Celia Raney and Celia_Raney | September 23

“Shoot us in the arm, shoot us in the leg, not in the heart and not in the head.” Dozens of signs and the voices of hundreds rang out over a Black Lives Matter march on Central Avenue Friday, organized by Albuquerque native and University of New Mexico graduate Nikki Archuleta. After the crowd gathered outside the Cinemark 14 Theater in Downtown Albuquerque, the march took off down Central Avenue, united in chants of: “Hands up, don't shoot,” “Whose streets? Our streets,” and “No justice, no peace, no racist police.” Marchers carried a slew of signs sporting slogans such as: “De-militarize the Police,” “#BLM,” and “End Police Brutality,” as they traveled west.

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Brief: Baby socks combat abortion

Celia Raney and Celia_Raney | September 22

Laundry baskets filled with 6,276 socks were on display Friday at the University of New Mexico’s Main Campus as part of a tabling event held by Students for Life of America. “That’s how many abortions happen at Planned Parenthood each week, Monday through Saturday,” said Jessica Roseman, one of the event’s hosts. The UNM branch of the national group set up under the Alumni Presidents' Clock on the south side of the Duck Pond to “educate and inform” people about what abortion really is.

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In light of new changes, some UNM officials support DACA

Gabriella Rivera | September 22

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and the “dreamers” affected by it face massive uncertainty under the Trump administration. On the campaign trail, President Trump took a hard stance against DACA, vowing to extinguish the program. His rhetoric on DACA has gradually changed, indicating on several occasions that he considers it a difficult topic — at one point, he said he intends to treat the subject “with heart and compassion.” In the opening months of Trump’s presidency, the number of new applicants denied into the DACA program doubled from about 16 percent to 32 percent.

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Safety Walk notifies PPD of potential hazards

Tom Hanlon | September 21

Editor’s Note: This is part of a project to better connect the Daily Lobo with the University of New Mexico Communication and Journalism Department. On Tuesday evening, University of New Mexico students pushed to improve campus safety through the annual Campus Safety Walk as part of UNM’s second annual Safety Week. Throughout the walk, students, faculty and staff searched for campus safety issues, such as improper lighting and obstructions in walkways. The walk was first held in 1994 and takes place in September, which is National Campus Safety Awareness Month.

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Affirmative Action Bake Sale charges customers based on race

Celia Raney @Celia_Raney | September 21

A bake sale held by conservative group Turning Point USA drew more than 100 students Thursday to the north side of the Student Union Building on the University of New Mexico campus — but it wasn't the baked goods that drew the crowd. The group was selling muffins, cookies and other snacks, charging Asians $1.50, Caucasians $1.00 and African Americans and Hispanics 50 cents, which is meant to mirror affirmative action, according to a sign made for the sale. “This replicates affirmative action in the way that Asians are most affected by affirmative action because they perform the best in society,” said TPUSA Secretary Christian Portilla. “They are the richest population, and they perform the best on tests and that kind of thing, so if an Asian and a Hispanic, both having the same test scores and that kind of thing, the Hispanic will often get in over the Asian, because (admissions committees) just think they’re oppressed.”

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Locals help out with Harvey relief efforts

Celia Raney and Celia_Raney | September 20

One month after Hurricane Harvey struck southern Texas, a local business is planning a second trip to Houston with trucks loaded with supplies for the victims. The Tuesday after the Category 4 hurricane hit Houston, Chris Brahs, president of Brahs Solutions, realized he needed to do something to help the people suffering in Texas. “I couldn’t sleep,” Brahs said.

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UNM joins campaign against sexual assault

Brendon Gray | September 20

On Tuesday, the Associated Students of UNM launched the first event in their effort to prevent sexual assault on campus. ASUNM partnered with the national It’s On Us campaign, started by the Obama administration in 2014, and facilitated 211 students in taking the national pledge against sexual assault. “This initiative is going to change lives for students at UNM as it has for hundreds of thousands of students across the nation who have taken this pledge,” said Noah Brooks, ASUNM president. The pledge was created through the national campaign and has been taken by over 300,000 people, according to its website.

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Crime briefs for Sept. 21

Elizabeth Sanchez | September 20

Aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, leaving the scene of an accident, injury to a pregnant woman on Yale Blvd. On the morning of Sept. 2, UNMPD officers were dispatched to 2600 Yale Blvd. SE in reference to a traffic accident in the parking lot, according to a report. The call initially stated it was a hit and run to a pedestrian in the parking lot outside a UNM psychiatric clinic. When the first officer arrived, the victim was inside the clinic, and bystanders were looking after her. She was bleeding from the mouth and had bruises and road rash on her legs. She was in a lot of pain and her clothing was torn. The officer asked the female if she knew who ran her over, and she stated it was her boyfriend. According to the female, the two were dating for just over a year, and there has been some history of domestic violence.

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All hope is not lost for DACA beneficiaries

Christian Marquez and Makayla Grijalva | September 17

President Trump, along with top democratic party leaders, announced that they are working towards an agreement for securing the future of hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients. The announcement came following a meeting with the lawmakers on Wednesday. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi met with Trump this week to discuss the future of DACA over dinner. Afterwards, a joint press statement from Schumer and Pelosi said that they had reached an agreement.

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Mayoral candidates discuss crime

Nichole Harwood | September 17

The eight balloted Albuquerque mayoral candidates gathered Friday, Sept. 25 in Smith Brasher Hall at Central New Mexico Community College to answer city residents’ questions. The candidates — Ricardo Chaves, Brian S. Colón, Michelle Garcia Holmes, Wayne Johnson, Timothy “Tim” Keller, Daniel “Dan” Lewis, Augustus "Gus" Pedrotty and Susan Wheeler-Deichsel — treated each other in a friendly manner after taking to their podiums, with Garcia Holmes and Johnson taking a selfie, while Wheeler-Deichsel and Pedrotty spoke before the broadcast began. Local broadcast station KOB hosted the forum, using reporters positioned at four locations across the city to develop and deliver questions from the community.

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Mayoral candidates weigh in on the issues

Nichole Harwood , Brendon Gray and Kelly Urvanejo | September 14

Early voting for the Albuquerque mayoral race is already underway and will continue through Sept. 29, followed by Election Day on Oct. 3. With that in mind, the Daily Lobo compiled candidate responses to a few key questions in our community. This does not include write-in candidates or Dan Lewis — Lewis did not respond in time for our publication date. Compiled by Brendon Grey, Nichole Harwood and Kelly Urvanejo

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UNM Entrepreneurs kicks off second year

Madison Spratto | September 14

The world of business is ever-changing, and the University of New Mexico Entrepreneurs is taking big strides this year to help students keep up. UNME is an interdisciplinary entrepreneur group that is teaming up with high-profile speakers to start off it’s second year. “We’re going to learn from each other, and we’re going to see what happens,” said Michael Sanchez, president of UNME and a senior business major at UNM. “I think some good things are going to happen.”