As an incoming freshman, there are some things to know about being on campus. UNM is in the center of the city and there are some issues which come with that, specifically with crime, which isn't exactly rare in the area. According to UNM Police, since the start of January there have been at least 58 incidents of burglary, 99 cases of larceny and 41 incidents of battery.
Senior family studies major Khiara Sumone Loera didn’t come to class with a just notebook and a pen, but also with her 2-year-old daughter Illiana. Loera will be graduating this spring after taking her daughter to most of her classes as an undergrad.
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.
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-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 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.”
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, 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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-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.
Solutions by The State News
