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Monday on the Street: The election crosses the finish line
Matthew Reisen | November 6How do you feel about the election season coming to an end and why?
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Ballot measure aims to straighten up the bail system
Brendon Gray | November 6On the ballot this election, New Mexicans will vote on a proposed constitutional amendment to reform the bail bond system. If the amendment passes, New Mexico will be on the frontline of a nationwide surge of bail reform. The amendment will ensure non-dangerous and non-flight risk defendants won’t wait in jail simply because they can’t afford bail. The amendment also gives courts the power to hold defendants without bail as long as sufficient evidence has been provided to prove they are a flight risk or a danger to the community.
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Shifting to digital classrooms
Skylar Griego | November 4With registration for the spring semester beginning on Nov. 14, many students are browsing the UNM course catalog to start piecing together their class schedule. Some may notice a number of courses available online for the first time. Students may also notice that many of the new classes aren’t actually new — they’re online sections of courses already held on campus. The Daily Lobo spoke with experts of UNM Online about the process that goes into the formulation of these classes and the trends surrounding them.
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Local hotline medical service closing after 10 years
Megan Nyce | November 4As the end of year approaches, New Mexico will possibly be losing the only program that has provided free medical services to its residents for the past 10 years. NurseAdvice New Mexico is a hotline service that provides medical advice for callers — insured or otherwise — from registered nurses who determine what the best option is for symptoms they are having, whether that be linking callers to resources or educating them.
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UNM voting site makes casting ballots easier for students and staff
Nichole Harwood | November 3Early voting is underway in Bernalillo County, and there will be an early voting site open in the UNM Student Union Building until Nov.
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Study finds that the benefits of housing the homeless outweigh the costs
Sarah Trujillo | November 3UNM released results of an extensive study conducted by the Institute for Social Research, which found that the benefits of paying to house the homeless population far exceed the costs.on the costs and benefits of the Heading Home Initiative here in Albuquerque. The study looked at the Heading Home Initiative, a program that aims to expand resources to house chronically homeless people who are grappling with addiction and connected disorders. The study analyzed which costs more — housing the homeless or letting them remain on the streets. After an almost three year long process with 95 applicants, the researchers concluded that for every $1 spent, the program yields $1.78 in benefits. Breanna Anderson, Communications Director for Heading Home, said five years since the program started, the initiative has housed 610 individuals and their family members, as well as saving millions of taxpayer dollars, all while expanding efforts to end homelessness.
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Hazardous waste mishandling may prove costly for UNM
Matthew Reisen | November 3UNM Safety and Risk Services is still in conversations with the New Mexico Environment Department --- and may be fined ----- over numerous safety violations, mostly concerning the handling, labeling and disposal of hazardous materials. Carla Domenici, director of SRS, said they are still in discussions with NMED over almost 30 violations, stemming from an inspection conducted in March 2016. UNM Safety & Risk Services Department provides “comprehensive occupational safety, health, and environmental management” services to ensure that departments are providing a safe working environment. Allison Majure, NMED communications director, said the Environment Department’s Hazardous Waste Bureau’s oversight assures New Mexicans that hazardous waste is managed safely and that contaminated sites are cleaned up, in a manner that is safe and protective of human health and the environment.
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First-time voters weigh in on the election
Brendon Gray | November 2Since the last presidential election in 2012, 10.7 million young people have become eligible to vote, according to an analysis done by the Pew Research Center. While the center estimates that less than half of the Millennial citizens over 18 turned out to vote in 2012, many first-timers are taking to the polls at UNM this time around. However, those first-time voters have expressed concern about the two major-party candidates and their campaigns. “It was an interesting first-time voting experience,” said Shantell Moreno, a junior Psychology major, after leaving the early-voting station in the SUB. “With these two candidates it was like, ‘Where do I go from here?’”
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How will the outcome of Election Day affect New Mexico?
Nikole Mckibben | November 2The presidential election results may have more of an effect on New Mexico than many may think. The candidates have polarized the major parties this election season, creating gridlock and a divided government, said Lonna Rae Atkeson, director for the Center for the Study of Voting, Elections, and Democracy. The general population sees this, and any election, as a type of sporting event, she said. People get caught up in the excitement of winning and losing.
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UNM report recommends 'more inclusive' changes to University seal
David Lynch | November 1A report by the UNM Division for Equity and Inclusion is recommending that UNM administration consider a change to the University’s official seal, following a campaign by local groups to abolish it due to its allegedly offensive imagery. In addition to suggesting that the seal be changed with “something more inclusive, aspirational (and) honoring diversity,” the report recommends a plan be developed that allows graduating students to opt out of wearing the seal, as well as providing the opportunity to get a new diploma that doesn’t bear the image. The division compiled feedback from multiple forums that have been held in recent months to gather opinions on the seal.
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UNM working to close in on national average with faculty pay
Jon Natvig | November 1Compared with other research institutions across the country, UNM faculty members are compensated less, and although there is no immediate solution, the University intends to continue to study and correct pay gaps with respect to national averages. According to an Office of the Provost report analyzing faculty compensation, 30 percent of UNM tenured and tenure-track faculty are paid “below the 25th percentile of the average of salaries at 76 other public research universities.”
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UNM professor: Labels don't help state, even when ranking high in crime
Megan Nyce | November 1New Mexico has the third-highest violent crime rate and the second-highest property crime rate in the nation, according to recently released FBI crime statistics for 2015. The numbers also showed a rise in crime in Albuquerque specifically, with a 9.2 percent increase in violent crime and an 11.5 percent rise in property crime in the city. Christopher Lyons, an associate professor of sociology at UNM, said that when crime statistics are calculated, the main two categories that are examined are violence and theft.
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Social media the newest way for politicians to connect to voters
Cathy Cook | October 31Throughout U.S. history, politicians have used different mediums to connect directly with their constituency, from Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “fireside chats” in the 1930s to the contemporary White House YouTube channel, which posts videos of the Obamas checking out science fair projects and greeting visitors, alongside videos explaining policy and political issues. To this end, presidential candidates in the 2016 election have used the ever-expanding opportunities of social media in traditional and innovative ways, said Jessica Feezell, a political science professor at UNM who focuses on American politics. Feezell said Clinton’s use of Instagram has been novel, utilizing video posts and allowing other people to post for her for a day, as she did with running mate Tim Kaine.
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Election 2016: Trump makes another stop in ABQ just nine days from election
Matthew Reisen | October 31Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump visited Albuquerque 10 days after his running mate and just nine days before the finish line, raising the energy of his campaign while also emphasizing the high stakes of this election. Inside an aircraft carrier, Trump addressed a crowd of thousands who waited patiently for his plane to arrive. “It is so great to be here in New Mexico,” the presidential candidate said as he took stage. “In nine days we are going to win this state, and we are going to take back the White House.”
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Fewer LoboAlerts means fewer crimes
Sarah Trujillo | October 30LoboAlerts, the University’s emergency text messaging and email alert system, has only sent out a single alert to UNM students and staff this semester — a test message, on Sept. 6. Byron Piatt, emergency manager for the Center of Disaster Medicine, said the University has been fortunate this semester to not have to send out any notifications. He said between the 2015-16 academic year, LoboAlerts were issued a total of 82 times, mainly for training purposes.
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Voter's Guide: Secretary of State race
Johnny Vizcaino | October 30On the ballot in 2016, a special election will determine who serves the remaining two years as New Mexico secretary of state after the mid-term resignation of former Secretary Dianna Duran, R-NM, last summer. Duran, reelected to office in 2014, pleaded guilty to six charges including embezzlement, and admitted to using campaign funds to fuel gambling trips to Sandia Resort and Casino during her first term. Her plea deal involved light jail time, five years probation and allowed her to keep her public pension.
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Monday on the Street: Halloween
Matthew Reisen | October 30What is it you like and dislike about Halloween?
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Voter's Guide: 2016 presidential candidates on the issues
Brendon Gray | October 30Where Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Gary Johnson and Jill Stein stand on the issues, according to their campaign websites.
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Voter's Guide: Supreme Court seats
Cathy Cook | October 30The New Mexico Supreme Court has five justices who serve eight-year terms. The current court consists of Chief Justice Charles W. Daniels, along with justices Petra Jimenez Maes, Edward L. Chavez, Barbara J. Vigil and Judith K. Nakamura. While it is up to voters to retain Vigil’s seat, Nakamura will run against Michael Vigil for her seat.
