News - The Daily Lobo

News

Campaign to abolish seal talks to Regents

Johnny Vizcaino | May 10

Despite being denied an official place on the agenda for last Thursday afternoon’s Board of Regents Academic/Student Affairs and Research subcommittee meeting in Scholes Hall, proponents of the movement to abolish UNM's seal were in attendance. Members of Kiva Club, The Red Nation, and others from the UNM community were afforded the opportunity to address the Regents during the public comments portion of the meeting.

Gonzalo Correa is graduating in mechanical engineering in order to stay connected to his former racing career in Peru.

News

Graduation Issue: From motor racing to an engineering degree

Robert Maler | May 9

One UNM student underwent a unique journey to graduation. It started on a race track, switched lanes into the classroom and could end up with a degree that puts him right back on the track again. Gonzalo Correa-Kemish, a senior mechanical engineering major and motocross enthusiast, said motor sports have always been his passion. He knew at a young age that a mechanical engineering degree could be the bridge that keeps him close to the thing he loves.

Katrina Davidson is a former Air Force servicewoman who is graduating with a 4.0 GPA while raising three children.

News

Graduation Issue: Mother of 3 balances life to finish BA

Johnny Vizcaino | May 9

Katrina Davidson-Shea, a U.S. Air Force veteran and mother who is expecting her fourth child in October, will graduate with a degree in English and history and a sterling 4.0 GPA this week. Davidson-Shea said after originally deciding to minor in history, the decision to pursue a double major seemed practical since it would require the same amount of work.

Maria Mendez will be the first in her family to graduate with a bachelor's degree, while also coping with her father’s suicide.

News

Graduation Issue: Tragedy doesn't stop student from completing her degree

Liam Cary-Eaves | May 9

Maria Mendez tries to remember July 10, 2012 not as the day that her world stopped, but as a marker to keep going. That’s what her father would have wanted, Mendez said. “My dad, I don’t know, he was tired ... and that’s when he shot himself,” Mendez said. “It turned my entire family’s lives for a whirlwind. All of us suffered in different ways, but for me it was different because I was so close to him, but I was also so far away.”

Biochemistry undergraduate Ayse Muniz says she would like to focus on the engineering side of her studies after graduation.

News

Graduation Issue: Student aims to integrate engineering and medicine

Audrin Baghaie | May 9

We are led to believe that the technologies of science fiction are impossible to achieve, and are merely outlets of creativity for writers and dreamers. Biochemistry undergraduate Ayse Muniz strives to challenge that assumption by integrating the fields of medicine and engineering, and in turn pushing the realm of possibility to the limit.

AnnaLisa Hightower is graduating with a degree in nutrition and dietetics despite dropping out of highschool and battling drug abuse.

News

Graduation Issue: Single mom bounces back from addiction to graduate

Sayyed Shah | May 9

AnnaLisa Hightower, a senior nutrition and dietetics major, overcame a lot of personal and social hurdles to pursue her education. She dropped out of high school and then got addicted to drugs.

Nikole Couler will be obtaining her degree in elementary education after gaining experience working at a local elementary school.

News

Graduation Issue: Education graduate hopes to change students' lives

Isabel Gonzalez | May 9

A little boy came into kindergarten without being able to read or write his name, hitting his classmates and refusing to talk to teachers. But by the end of the year, he had completely changed. The solution? Batman. Nikole Couleur has been a student teacher at Bandelier Elementary School for three semesters. During this time, the UNM senior has worked hard to engage kids and make learning fun for them. To do that, she worked to figure out what each child's individual passion is.

Francisco Cuellar, having overcome many challenges in his life such as a stint in jail and being orphaned at a young age, is now a father and soon-to-be graduate.

News

Graduation Issue: Ex-convict turned graduate making a better life for his kids

Matthew Reisen | May 9

Francisco Cuellar will graduate this spring with a degree in psychology despite insurmountable odds. Born in Albuquerque, the father of three has been hit by a car, served a lengthy stay in prison and been shot in the head.

Dominic Aragon works in his dream job running his own site while holding New Mexico’s highest media access for NASCAR.

News

Graduation Issue: Student runs NASCAR website he founded

May 9

A UNM student set to graduate this semester is already living out his dream by creating and writing for his own website focused on NASCAR. The nationally accredited website, TheRacingExperts.com, is owned and operated by UNM’s own Dominic Aragon, graduating with a degree in mass communication.

News

Graduation Issue: Ex-Marine overcomes adversity to graduate

Wally Gallart | May 9

As a first generation college student and the daughter of two factory workers, Taren Smith-Townsend initially struggled to balance the responsibilities of being a single mother and finishing her degree. Born and raised in Flint, Michigan, both of Smith-Townsend’s parents worked for General Motors. Her mother has been in and out of her life due to alcoholism, she said, leaving her father to raise her since the age of three.

News

Some Native American students condemn seal campaign approach

Denicia Aragon | May 6

The ongoing campaign to abolish the University of New Mexico's official seal accuses it of neglecting indigenous students of New Mexico in the display, but Native Americans students themselves feel neglected as a result of the campaign. Eric DeLorme, a senior majoring in Chicana/ Chicano Studies, said he does not believe every Native American student’s view is represented with the movement, and a majority of the students had no idea it even existed.

Rebeca Hummell gives a massage to Kyle Stepp during the OEO Open house on Wed. 4, 2016. OEO's open house lasted from 8 am to 11:30 where food and massages were given to students, staff, or anyone who went in.

News

OEO holds open house to show its whereabouts

Johnny Vizcaino | May 6

The Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) at UNM held an open house Wednesday morning, inviting the UNM community for coffee and breakfast while talking face-to-face with anyone in attendance. After receiving complaints about difficulties locating the office, OEO staff members said they recognized the event as a tremendous opportunity to spread awareness of the its whereabouts.

News

Parking battle takes to businesses across from campus

Evan Barela | May 5

The ongoing battle between commuter students for parking at UNM has claimed a new victim; nearby businesses. Business owners that used to turn a blind eye to students using their parking lots are finding that policing their grounds may be the only way to keep unlawful motorists from taking parking spaces normally reserved for their customers.

News

Poor CNM advising hurting UNM seniors

Nick Fojud | May 5

With graduation quickly approaching, some seniors are realizing they have not only met their mark for credit hours, but vastly exceeded it as well. Many students transfer from CNM, a two-year community college located nearby, to UNM in hopes of finishing their degree program.

News

Photo Issue, Spring 2016

May 4

Editor's Note: This issue is a collection of photo essays that the Daily Lobo photo staff have been working on throughout the Spring 2016 semester.

News

ASUNM election voter turnout relies on competitive races

Denicia Aragon | May 4

Since 2009, the number of candidates running for Associated Students of UNM president has been low, with either two or three students competing for the seat in a given cycle. With the highest number of votes for a single election in that time being 2,303, in the same year with three presidential candidates, there could be a correlation when it comes to voter turnout and the options to support on the ballot.

At UNM there is approximately one UNMPD officer for every 632 students. For comparison, in Albuquerque there is approximately one APD officer for every 695 citizens.

News

UNMPD, APD officers respond to concerns regarding police presence

Bryce Owens | May 4

As with previous years, UNM students consistently received LoboAlerts throughout the 2015-2016 academic year. Some of them have prompted discussion regarding safety on campus, and the topic has been a hot button issue, particularly this semester. Since January, there have been 100 crime reports filed by UNMPD, including 93 incidents of larceny and 40 of battery, according to the UNM Police and Security website. Some have questioned whether APD involvement would reduce campus crime.

Alma Rosa Silva-Bauelos speaks during a LGBTQ conference November 5, 2014.

News

LGBTQ center's director working toward Albuquerque's future

May 4

Alma Rosa Silva-Bañuelos is the founding director of the LGBTQ Resource Center for UNM and the recipient of the Stonewall Achievement Award from the Albuquerque Pride Board for her work and devotion to the LGBTQ community. She said she was “honored and humbled” to be recognized while keeping her emphasis local.

News

Ad firm founder talks about state pride, family and work.

Bryce Owens | May 3

Steve McKee started out just as another University of New Mexico college graduate would: looking for a job and trying to figure out his next move. His first job came when he began working for a Pizza Hut account in southern California at an ad agency. From then on he took on multiple jobs until he opened his own firm nineteen years ago.

UNM President Bob Frank speaks at the SUB on the afternoon of Friday, April 22, 2016. Frank took to Twitter Monday night to address some of the backlash against the UNM seal.

News

UNM president discusses seal debate on Twitter

May 2

University President Bob Frank took to Twitter Monday evening to address UNM's official seal and the campaign demanding it be changed. First, Frank provided some history behind the current depiction of the seal - which portrays a frontiersman and a conquistador - emphasizing that it was a Native American that designed it.