UNM is set to launch its annual United Way of Central New Mexico’s fundraiser. UWCNM is the local branch of the United Way of America. The organization focuses on helping communities in Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance and Valencia counties by obtaining resources to improve lives and strengthen communities, according to the UWCNM website.
Leona Woelk is an associate scientist at the UNM Prevention Research Center. She works under Theresa Cruz, principal investigator for a sexual violence prevention project. They work with the New Mexico Department of Health, the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs and rape crisis centers and other organizations across the state that are receiving funding from NMDOH to work on sexual violence prevention. The researchers provide training and technical assistance to the organizations to implement and expand primary prevention efforts, meaning efforts to prevent sexual violence from happening in the first place. In June 2015, the UNM Prevention Research Center completed a year-long, statewide strategic planning process for primary prevention of sexual violence for NMDOH. The scientists worked with many different organizations and communities throughout New Mexico to complete the plan, including conducting 11 focus groups across the state to learn more about sexual violence and prevention efforts in the local setting. One of those focus groups was conducted at UNM with male students and other young men from the Albuquerque community to learn more about how to engage men in sexual violence prevention work.
ASUNM held its latest full senate meeting last Wednesday, and discussed several pieces of legislation including a new bill to amend the senate's standing rules and the latest round of appropriations.
UNM is hosting a rare opportunity for students to hear a world-renowned environmental activist speak on the relationship between Earth and those who inhabit it. Vandana Shiva will speak at UNM for an event organized by UNM’s Sustainability Studies Program, entitled Abundance 2015: Earth, Health and Wellbeing. Her speech will focus on the concept that “we are all seeds of abundance and creativity.”
What are your general thoughts on Homecoming Week?
For some, growing vegetables is a job. For others, it may be a hobby. For Silver Leaf Farms, it’s a way of life. Co-owners Aaron and Elan Silverblatt-Buser have been promoting the use of local produce for six seasons by producing and selling to local growers markets, restaurants and grocery stores. It wasn’t until two months ago that the brothers decided to take the next step to better the Albuquerque community by reducing the team’s carbon footprint. Silver Leaf Farms has now expanded its business to be open year-round with hydroponic plants, and chose to install 20 solar panels in order to help minimize energy waste.
UNM is preparing to launch its third annual mobile app contest, partnering with CNM for the first time in a collaboration that has brought innovations to the competition, including an award for teams composed exclusively of women. The “Women in Technology” award is up for grabs for female applicants to the contest, whether they apply individually or as a team. So far the contest has four such applicants, according to Manikantam Chitturi, the contest coordinator. “We thought of encouraging women to be involved more,” Chitturi said.
The UNM Police Department’s annual Security and Fire Safety Report, released Oct.1, shows that the number of reported sexual assault, stalking and domestic violence cases on campus property increased in 2014 from the previous year. According to the report, the number of reported sexual assaults on campus increased from 12 to 18 between 2013 and 2014. The number of reported stalking crimes on campus also increased from five in 2013 to 28 in 2014.
It’s common for students to be unsure about career options before or even during college, and CareerBuilder’s new website, findyourcalling.com, is trying to help. Around 41 percent of freshmen in higher education do not finish their college careers, according to the National Center for Education. All of these people who are unemployed and undecided on their next career moves have many resources that attempt to point them in the right direction, with findyourcalling.com now in that arena.
The New Mexico News Port, a digital news lab at the UNM's Communications and Journalism Department, was named the grand prize winner in the Online News Association's “Challenge Fund for Innovation in Journalism Education.” UNM was one of 24 schools out of 200 to be selected for this program, accordingto the News Port. The journalism lab will receive $10,000 in grand prize money from ONA. “This is exactly the high level of work we were hoping for when launching the Challenge Fund,” said ONA President Jane McDonnell in the statement.
Spain is the most popular country for UNM students to study abroad, according to data from the University’s Global Education Office. Mexico is second with a large number of faculty-led programs, and the United Kingdom is third. One of the many things college students are invited to do during their time in school is study abroad. However, there are various factors to consider before making a final decision such as finances, what type of program to do, credit transfers and, most importantly, where to go. With the rise of globalization, especially in the job market, international jobs are becoming increasingly popular. This makes being bilingual or having international experience, such as studying abroad, invaluable. Overall across the United States and at UNM, study abroad enrollment is on the rise.
Professor Richard Wood, chair of UNM’s department of sociology, traveled with 150 other New Mexicans to research Pope Francis’ recent visit to America and its effect on the political forum, according to a University press release. Wood traveled to Washington D.C. to watch Pope Francis address Congress from the capitol building, and he attended his speech on religious freedom and immigration at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. “What I focus on is the intersection of faith and public life in the United States,” Wood said in the release. “Think of it as religion and politics, but really thinking about when people of faith, of any tradition, come into the public arena, what difference does their faith make as they vote and as they take positions on issues.”
The University of New Mexico received the 2015 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the “oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education,” according to a University statement. In the November issue of the publication, UNM will be featured with 91 other participants being honored for the award. The HEED award is the only such honor recognizing colleges and universities for outstanding diversity and inclusion efforts across their campuses, according to UNM. UNM was selected by INSIGHT for its dedication to recruiting historically underrepresented and first-generation minority students, as well as having resource centers for various ethnicities represented by the University’s diverse student body, according to the statement.
The Associated Students of UNM hosted a summit on Friday at the SUB to discuss possible upcoming changes to the Legislative Lottery Scholarship. The summit was attended by student representatives from colleges and universities across the state. It was coordinated by the efforts of the state’s student governments to work together in adequately representing the needs of students in New Mexico affected by the Lottery Scholarship, participants of the summit said.
From a crumbling or missing sidewalk to missing curb ramps to difficult-to-access bus stops, pedestrian obstacles can be viewed as either unnoticeable or as a major issue. Numair Latif found that the UNM area is no different. Latif, an architecture and planning graduate student, tripped on a square plot of several inches of uplifted concrete and fractured his right elbow walking from Nob Hill to the Rapid Ride bus stop on Carlisle and Central going west.
Albuquerque municipal elections will be held Tuesday, and among the city council seats up for grabs is the representative for District 6, where UNM’s main campus is located. Three candidates are running for the office: Pat Davis, a former police officer; Hess Yntema, an attorney; and Samuel Kerwin, a UNM student.
Two UNM facets have been recognized for their continuous efforts to improve campus safety. Safe Campus announced UNM’s University Communication and Marketing, as well as the Dean of Students Office, were rated 10th in the nation on the Safe Campus Top 25 list for 2016. According to its website, Safe Campus and the National Campus Safety Summit, is the “premier national conference on university safety” being held in Las Vegas from Feb. 24 through Feb. 26. Safe Campus chooses their honorees based on “execution, by providing concrete examples and case studies of innovative campus safety initiatives,” and “provid(ing) actionable insight that you can immediately apply to improve safety.”
On Oct. 3 and 7 UNM Hospital will be hosting a drive-thru flu shot drive as a part of their free vaccination clinics this semester. “The vaccine is the same everywhere, but if you get vaccinated at UNMH it’s free,” said Marsha Houck, director of occupational health services at UNMH. “The hospital absorbs the cost of the vaccine and we have multiple clinics.” A list of vaccine drive dates can be found on the UNM HSC website
Following a lack of procedure-mandate communication from the Associated Students of UNM, the undergraduate student governing body will co-sponsor an event hosted by the Student Athlete Advisory Committee next week. “I’m still disappointed that everyone had to spend extra time and energy sorting through the mess, but ultimately I’m happy that ASUNM wants to support the event,” said Aasha Marler, president of the SAAC, which speaks for the interests and concerns of the University’s student athletes. The original appropriation submitted by the SAAC, 13F, requested $2,400 to help fund the hosting of speaker Corey Ciocchetti at WisePies Arena aka The Pit on Tuesday.
This year two of UNM's published magazines, Scribendi and Conceptions Southwest, have been nominated as finalists to be awarded the Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker award.
Solutions by The State News
