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Brewery backpedals on proposed plaza project

David Lynch | June 15

Plans for the University to create an entertainment plaza on South Campus have grinded to a halt after project partner Marble Brewery decided to back out of the venture. Tom Neale, interim director of UNM Real Estate, which manages all property holdings of the University, said they were notified in late May of 
Marble’s withdrawal. Neale said that despite presenting financial figures of their plan to the Lobo Development Corporation earlier in the year, Marble became uncomfortable as they and the University worked to finalize a contract.

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LGBT edition: Resource center seeks campus-wide Safe Zones

Sayyed Shah | June 8

The LGBTQ Resource Center is arranging Safe Zone trainings across UNM campus to make the University more welcoming for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. The resource center will offer cultural competency workshops to build allies who recognize homophobia and stand up against it, said Alma Rosa Silva-Banuelos, director of the LQBTQ Resource Center. “Providing the Safe Zone trainings has been part of our mission to make sure this campus is welcoming and safe for LGBTQ-identified students,” she said. “We really want our students to be able to go to school and not worry about all the other issues that they face when they are in higher education or at college.”

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LGBT edition: Prof. studies relationship between race, sexuality

Matthew Reisen | June 8

Shinsuke Eguchi, an assistant professor of communication, said he approaches teaching as a way to practice his culture, gender, sexuality and communication research. “I am strongly devoted to developing an academic advising relationship between students and me,” Eguchi said. “By doing so, my goal is to assist students to become active members of an intellectual community and to develop critical, creative, transformative knowledge that is relevant for today’s globalized, intercultural communication contexts.” Originally from Tokyo, Eguchi came to the United States in 2001 to attend an undergraduate program in California. He started as a theatre arts major and wanted to be an actor, but said he fell in love with communication studies.

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Website puts UNM law school in nation's top 20

Jyllian Roach | June 1

The UNM School of Law has made its way onto a list of the top 20 law schools in the country. Above the Law ranked the top 50 law schools, looking specifically at the cost, amount of debt and quality law jobs graduates had after their time at each school, according to the legal trade website. “Forty percent of 2014 law graduates did not secure a job in the law,” surveyors said on abovethelaw.com. “We believe the ATL Top 50 gives prospective law students a way to analyze schools using metrics that actually matter.”

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UNM group raise funds for Nepal

Matthew Reisen | June 1

A collaboration between groups at UNM is finding ways to bring assistance to those affected by the recent earthquakes in Nepal, the most recent endeavor being Nepal Film Night, which aimed at raising money and awareness for the crisis. Nepal Film Night, presented by UNM4Nepal in collaboration with Nepal Study Center, is just one of the fundraising efforts put together by the student group, said Jen Van Osdel, President of UNM4Nepal. Van Osdel, who has been with the group since its beginning, said it was heartwarming to see the big turnout for Nepal Film Night, which showed the first Nepalese film to be nominated for an Academy Award, and to see “the way that the UNM community has rallied behind Nepali students and faculty in their time of grief.” About 50 students, along with their friends and family members, attended the event.

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Ophthalmologists look into diabetics' blindness

Sayyed Shah | June 1

A UNM research team is working to find molecules that cause retinal damage in diabetic patients, and is developing ways to stop those molecules from entering the retina. Following experiments on diabetic mice, the researchers found there were a lot of white blood cells infiltrating the retinal vessels, said Arup Das, chief of the Division of Ophthalmology in the UNM Department of Surgery. The researchers think the molecules they found during their experiments on animals could also be found in humans. The drugs that are presently used for treatment of blood leakage in the eyes are called anti-VEGF drugs that are directly injected into the eye, Das said.

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Assault campaign aims to create unity

David Lynch | May 26

A public service announcement, created by UNM students driven to spur a culture change surrounding sexual assault and other abuse on campus, was released early this month as part of a new campaign dubbed Protect the Pack. The 45-second long PSA shows a diverse group of UNM students, as well as President Bob Frank and other members of University administration, saying “it’s time for a change, of real change,” concerning issues on campus that make it an unsafe environment. The Protect the Pack initiative is the student-led side of LoboRESPECT, an initiative created in September to “combat sexual misconduct on campus, including assaults, domestic violence, dating violence and even stalking,” according to a University press release.

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Matthew Grant: Fraternity brother inspired confidence

David Lynch | May 4

Whether he was walking across campus or going to the store to pick up groceries, Matthew Grant took it upon himself to turn everything into an adventure. That kind of confidence — the kind that saw the potential in every situation — was Grant’s most telling trait, said Gage Gutierrez. Gutierrez, a friend of Grant’s since they met each other in Sigma Alpha Epsilon their freshman year, said that poise rubbed off on him and anyone else who knew him. “Hanging out with Matt, you always felt more confident and it always seemed to end in a good time,” Gutierrez said.

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Briana Hillard: Sorority sister loved all

Matthew Reisen | May 4

UNM will award posthumous degrees to Briana Hillard and Matthew Grant, both of whom died in a car accident on Nov. 20. Briana Hillard started her college career at UNM in August 2011, having graduated from Sandia High School in May earlier that year. “Briana was the third generation of our family to attend UNM; however, no one in our family loved UNM more than our dear daughter, Briana,” said Michael Hillard, Briana’s father and, until recently, a psychology professor at UNM for a quarter century. “She was extremely active in her sorority and participated in numerous campus activities. Her entire adult life, as it turned out, was deeply involved with campus life.”

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Kadija Chudnoff: Aiming for high achievement despite dyslexia

Fin Martinez | May 4

It took six years of hard work, but one student will graduate with a near-perfect grade point average despite battling against a reading disorder. Khadija Chudnoff, a liberal arts major, said she was diagnosed with the common learning disorder dyslexia when she was in kindergarten. “I used to love telling people I had it because people thought it was a disease, so I’d get sympathy. I would tell my classmates I had dyslexia to try to get attention,” she said. “I liked it at first. I didn’t know that I was so far behind; I thought it was normal to get taken out of class for extra help. Until I was in middle school I didn’t get that I had to do so much extra work.”

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Crystal Arietta: Setting an example for others

Lauren Marvin and Robert Maler | May 4

“You need to be a doctor,” John Wade said. “You’re crazy. Me, a doctor?” Crystal Arrietta said. “Yeah! You’ve seen the most messed-up people in the world, and you’ve been able to move on from that,” Wade, Arrietta’s co-worker, said. “Don’t you think you can help those people?” This short conversation was one of the major turning points of Arrietta’s life, she said. With the help of family, friends, advisors and professors, Arrietta will graduate Saturday with a bachelor of arts degree in sociology.

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Josh Martinez: Grad brings reforms home

Thomas Romero-Salas | May 4

osh Martinez is all too familiar with the problems surrounding Northern New Mexico. Martinez, who grew up in Chimayo, had to deal with the drug issue that Rio Arriba County is known for. Rio Arriba County has one of the highest death rates per capita due to drug overdose. However, thanks to his faith and his family, Martinez was never involved with the drug problem that plagues his hometown. Now Martinez will be graduating from UNM for the second time with a master’s degree in public administration.

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Barbara Gomez Aguinaga: political science graduate plans to work in immigration law

Moriah Carty | May 4

Learning a new language can be challenging, but attempting to learn a new language while studying at a university more than 1,000 miles away from home is even more so. Like so many other students, Barbara Gomez Aguinaga has a lot of support from her family in Jalisco, Mexico, but that doesn’t make being away from home any easier. Gomez Aguinaga, a political science major who will graduate this semester, said she will be the second person in her family to graduate from college.

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Elaine Lieberman: Student to graduate after 30 years

Marielle Dent | May 4

Many people take four years to complete a college degree. Elaine Lieberman spent 30 years working on hers. After enrolling at UNM at several points throughout her life, Lieberman, a liberal arts major, will graduate Friday with a 4.0 grade point average at 74 years old. She said she decided to persevere toward a degree about six years ago, and has been taking classes since then. She was only able to afford six credit hours each semester.

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Verity Bornet: Skater followed alternative path

Skylar Griego | May 4

In 2013, the average age of a UNM student was 25 years old. Verity Bornet, a senior psychology major, defies the average. Verity Bornet will graduate this semester with a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the age of 19. Bornet started figure skating when she was 13. A year later, she opted out of attending high school so she could commit more time to skating. She earned her GED and began working toward her associate’s degree at Santa Fe Community College. Four years later, she is substituting a high school graduation with a college ceremony.

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Matthew Singleton: Broken family didn't deter education major

Liam Cary-Eaves | May 4

For Matthew Singleton, getting through college was more difficult than it is for most. But he will be the first person in his family to graduate from college. Singleton spent most of his life living in Roswell with his grandparents, and rose out of hardship to receive his degree in secondary education this semester. While Singleton’s father was not around, his mother was in and out of his life.

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Photo Issue: C'est la vie

April 30

The photo desk this semester has compiled the stories of people from all walks of life. The images witnessed by our eyes and lenses and presented here serve as a celebration of life; as a means to preserve the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly; and as a means to keep moments captured forever in time. “That is life.”

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Crime briefs for April 30, 2015

Lauren Marvin | April 30

On April 15, an officer was sent to 400 Cornell Drive NE regarding multiple incidents of harassment. According to the report, a UNM advisor said she approached a female subject in the bathroom because she had suspicions that the female subject was upset. The female subject said she was dealing with harassment from a male subject who she said worked at the University of New Mexico’s School of Engineering. The female subject said the male subject had made several threatening statements towards her like “I will get you kicked out of school and kill you.”

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Annual memorial honors medical donors

Matthew Reisen | April 30

The donated cadavers of friends and family were memorialized this weekend by UNM medical students. The cadavers are donated to the anatomy lab and are used to further student’s education. The annual memorial was held at the Newman Center, across from Dane Smith Hall on Saturday and lasted from 10 a.m. until around noon.

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Evicted eatery petitions to stay

David Lynch | April 30

For six years, Sahara Middle Eastern Eatery and Times Square Deli Mart have been serving students in the SUB, making everything from lamb shawarmas to roast beef sandwiches. They had no complaints, and no issues with the SUB or University administration. Which is why Sahara’s owner, Helen Nesheiwat, and the restaurant’s employees were caught completely off guard when they received a notice early last week saying they are being replaced, and have until May 22 to pack up and leave. “We were shocked when we received the letter,” Nesheiwat said. “We never had any problems [with UNM]. We had good numbers and very very good service.”