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Burqueños march at Sunport in opposition to 'Muslim Ban'

Celia Raney and Celia_Raney | January 31

More than 1,000 demonstrators marched from the corner of Yale Boulevard and Renard Place to the Albuquerque International Sunport on Sunday afternoon, in a show of solidarity for immigrant citizens following President Donald Trump’s Executive orders restricting entrance to the United States from several countries. Co-hosted by the Islamic Center of New Mexico and Showing Up for Radical Justice Albuquerque, the event came together in about 12 hours, joining a wave of similar demonstrations nationwide. Shakir Farid Abdullah, an activist who helped organize the march, led most of the chants and invited anyone in the crowd to make their voices heard.

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​Grant workshop benefits local nonprofits

Elizabeth Sanchez | January 30

Starting March 6, the UNM Foundation will host a Grantsmanship Training Program Senior, an initiative aimed at working professionals in the nonprofit arena. “This workshop provides participants with high-quality, hands-on training in how to identify and secure grant funding for their work,” said Betsy Till, the senior director of Corporate and Foundation Relations for the UNM Foundation. Till said that after applying on a first-come, first-serve basis, participants will receive instructions from a trainer as well as engage in hands-on activities, group work and a collaborative writing and critique of a short grant proposal.

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Wolf Tracks 6: So long, Milo Yiannopoulos

Jonathan Baca | January 30

Milo Yiannopoulos has come and gone from our campus. His high profile alt-right views drew hundreds of fans, crowds of angry protesters and four different police departments to try to deal with it, including cops on horses and helicopters overhead. Outside the Student Union Building, riot police were chasing the protesters around campus, and things got messy on both sides. I was inside the event, along with a team from every other news outlet in town.

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ASUNM fights to preserve lottery scholarship

Nichole Harwood | January 29

With the start of the 2017 year the ongoing legislative session will be reviewing many important issues in New Mexico. For many students, chief among them is the status of the Lottery Scholarship. The Lottery Scholarship has provided a gateway to college for thousands of New Mexico students, ensuring there is no financial barrier for any student to pursue their dreams of attaining a degree. But underwhelming sales by New Mexico Lottery in recent years have put the future of the scholarship in doubt. “We are concerned that if portions of the Lottery Scholarship funding expires, this will deeply affect the enrollment of the University,” said ASUNM President Kyle Biederwolf.

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Students find many ways to dissent from Milo event

Cathy Cook | January 29

In a wide open workshop with folded stacks of canvas and an old blue sewing machine, students and professors gathered to create banners. Afew buildings over, students sat in a dark theater learning about astronauts, discrimination and space tampons. Both events were organized to give students an alternative to protesting Yiannopoulos or going to see the controversial Breitbart editor speak Friday night. Advancing Women in Science, a relatively new student group, held a screening of the documentary “Women in Space.”

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Monday on the Street: Free speech

Matthew Reisen | January 29

Do you think there is a line to be drawn with free speech?

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Yiannopoulos talks at UNM, touches on immigration, progressive movement, Islam

Nikole Mckibben | January 28

After weeks of not knowing for certain whether the University would allow the event to go on as scheduled, polarizing right-wing Breitbart writer Milo Yiannopoulos was met with acceptance and some resistance inside the SUB Ballroom Friday night, where touched on immigration, Muslims in America and his distaste for the progressive movement. Yiannopoulos’ speech, titled “America Deserves Borders” was part of his country-wide “Dangerous Faggot Tour,” which has encountered opposition and, in some places, violence. Yiannopoulos cast these leftist activist and minority groups in a negative light, but last night he ensured that no one was in a bubble. The speaker is known to be a provocateur in many places.

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Local areas of worship unite to oppose Trump immigration policies

Matthew Reisen | January 28

The Islamic Center of New Mexico held a press conference Friday in reaction to President Donald Trump’s immigration and refugee restriction, calling them xenophobic. “President Trump’s recent and anticipated executive orders send a clear and unequivocal signal,” said Abbas Akhil, President of the Islamic Center. “That the bigoted and hateful rhetoric uttered during the presidential campaign has essentially transformed into devastating and very divisive policies.” Akhil said the Trump administration’s actions reflect a clear Islamophobic sentiment, one which he called “unprecedented,” citing policies that ban immigrants and refugees solely on the basis of religion.

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Yiannopoulos protesters question the line between free speech and hate speech

Matthew Reisen | January 28

Controversial right-wing writer Milo Yiannopoulos came to UNM Friday night and, along with over 200 demonstrators spurred into protesting his message. The group of protesters started by chanting “Alt-right, that’s a lie, you a nazi in disguise” as they set up shop in Cornell Mall not far from where Yiannopoulos attendees were lining up to enter the event. They carried signs saying “Immigrants, in racists out,” and “Nazis not welcome.” The attendees and protesters were separated by a large contingent of police, but that didn’t stop the numerous, sometimes heated, interactions between those coming to “shut down” Yiannopoulos and those coming to hear him out.

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#NoDAPL protests heat back up after Trump executive order

Nichole Harwood | January 26

Protesters gathered on Third Street and Lomas Boulevard in front of the Wells Fargo building to protest President Donald Trump’s executive order to reopen negotiations for the Dakota Access Pipeline. Protesters held several different bearing messages like “I stand with Standing Rock,” and “All eyes on standing rock, water is life.” David Maile, a rally organizer and member of The Red Nation, said he felt the turnout for the protest was solid. “We’re excited for the turnout because we really wanted to pull people immediately to a platform to strategically attack the Dakota Access Pipeline, and one method of doing that is to defund,” Maile said.

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SUB services to close early on Friday for Yiannopoulos event

David Lynch | January 26

On Thursday UNM announced that as a result of the large security presence that will be on hand for Milo Yiannapoulos' visit, and presumably heightened tension due to scheduled protests, some facilities and services will be shutting down earlier than normal on Friday. University officials continued to assure students and other concerned community members that, despite the event being held in a UNM venue, it isn't an official UNM event. The early closures are to ensure the safety of everyone in the area, making clear that University administration is fully aware of Yiannopoulos' controversial nature, and the heated protests that tend to erupt at his visits to college campuses.

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Campus Briefs for Jan. 26

Matthew Reisen | January 25

UNM-Valencia receives a STEM grant award, bringing a big boost to local economy According to a UNM Newsroom press release, The National Science Foundation recently awarded UNM-Valencia a grant of $1 million to provide STEM scholarships for students. The Scholarships for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics grant will be dispersed over the next five years to provide a minimum of 15 scholarships a year for students who have financial need and are majoring in science, mathematics, engineering or information technology at the branch campus, according to the press release. “I am pleased that UNM-Valencia has been awarded the NSF Scholarship grant.

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Yiannopoulos speech still on, despite safety concerns

Gabriela Garcia-Huff and Nikole Mckibben | January 25

The upcoming talk by alt-right speaker Milo Yiannopoulos on UNM campus, part of his “Dangerous Faggot Tour,” has been a controversial and hotly discussed topic for students lately. Several student groups and individuals have taken it upon themselves to protest the provocative nature of Yiannopoulos’ political views and ultimately shut down the event. The event organizers, from the University’s College Republicans and Young Americans for Liberty, have been working to promote their value of free speech throughout this entire process. Ryan Ansloan, a member of both groups, said he fears the possible actions of groups who disagree with Yiannopoulos’ political ideologies.

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Free speech issues discussed at panel

Cathy Cook | January 25

Dean of Students Nasha Torrez hosted a panel on free speech rights on Wednesday in the SUB atrium. The event came in the wake of major pushback from the UNM community over controversial speaker Milo Yiannopoulos, as well as a report filed by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, stating that parts of UNM’s speech code violated the First Amendment. The panel featured Greg Williams, an attorney who specializes in free expression laws, Marty Esquival, an attorney who specializes in media law and is also an expert on free speech, Eliza Bechtold, the legal director for ACLU New Mexico, and Debbie Morris, the Student Activities Center director.

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New Mexico could benefit from legalization of recreational marijuana, expert says

Robert Salas | January 25

With a budget crisis confronting the New Mexico Legislature, some legislators plan to float a controversial idea gaining momentum across the nation: Legalize the adult use of recreational marijuana, or cannabis. Adult recreational use is now allowed in eight states plus the District of Columbia, and more than 25 already authorize it for medicinal purposes. And in 2016, after three years of being bogged down in Senate committees, an effort to legalize recreational use in New Mexico made it to the Senate floor for a vote.

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Advancing Women in Science group asks UNM to be accountable with Yiannopoulos visit

Cathy Cook | January 24

Another UNM student organization has sent a letter to UNM administrators expressing concern over Milo Yiannopoulos’s speaking engagement on campus this Friday. Advancing Women in Science wrote the letter — which was signed by 300 other students and other University community members — on Monday morning. “One of our goals is to take action against sexism on campus,” AWS Co-President Andrea Chavez said. “We wrote this letter to raise our concerns about the importance of the University’s role in providing an intellectual space for students to be exposed to and to engage in key controversial debates of our time. It is the responsibility of the University to ensure that speakers — and the groups that bring them — are not engaging in hate speech or harassment, endangering or marginalizing students, or stifling productive discussion.”

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Governor nominates pair of new regents

David Lynch | January 24

Governor Susana Martinez has nominated two appointees with business backgrounds to the UNM Board of Regents, pending Senate committee approval. Following confirmation, Don Tripp and John Ryan – both Republicans – would replace current Regents Jack Fortner and Bradley Hosmer. The transition would spell an end of an era of sorts for the board, as Fortner has served in the seat since 1998, having been appointed to successive terms by three different governors. According to a UNM release, Tripp graduated from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. He has served in the state legislature, and was speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives from 2015 to 2017, according to the release.

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Acting UNM Prez: Banning Milo would detract from role of the university

David Lynch | January 24

In response to ongoing pressure by student groups and local activist organizations looking to “shut down” the Friday visit by Milo Yiannopoulos, interim UNM President Chaouki Abdallah offered his two cents in his weekly University-wide communique, explaining in the process why he is not electing to cancel the event. Abdallah doesn’t mince words when discussing Yiannopoulos’ rhetoric in the emailed message. Without referring to him by name – but instead “controversial speaker” – Abdallah suggests that the conservative Breitbart writer will distribute messages that contrast the University’s mission. “He will use the platform to personally denigrate specific members of our campus, to sow division and to attack many values that we hold dear,” he wrote.

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Column: So Trump is President - now what?

Fin Martinez | January 23

January 20th was the day that many feared. It was at 11:30 a.m., on Pennsylvania Ave, in the rain that Donald Trump was sworn in as President of the United States. Some cheered, some cried, others expressed smug superiority and some contorted with anguish. The 2017 Inauguration was a historic day, regardless of which side you’re on. Even before President Trump put his hand on the bible protests, resistance and rage gripped the streets of D.C., and so began the wave of protests and demonstrations that would sweep the nation and the globe from D.C. to Los Angeles, to Berlin, Germany and Sydney, Australia.

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UNM partners with Air Force to help STEM students

Cathy Cook | January 22

UNM and the Air Force Research Laboratory are working together to encourage STEM students to pursue internships and plan for careers. The UNM and AFRL mentoring program, which began in fall 2015, is accepting applications for this semester until January 30th. Tara Hackel, who helped create the program, said it pairs scientists who work at AFRL with UNM students to support students with an interest in STEM — the fields of science, technology, engineering and math — to help scientists build their leadership skills. The program was created by the STEM Collaborative Center and AFRL to build a pathway for students interested in internships at the Air Force labs, Hackel said. “I’m coming from an engineering background, and being one of the few women in my field and a first year student it was really hard to find mentors that I could relate to that understood what I was going through,” she said.