News - The Daily Lobo

A bronze statue of former mayor Harry E.Kinney stands in Albuquerque Civic Plaza. It is one of many public artworks that is subject to routine maintenance by the city.

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Database helps track artwork restoration

Thomas Romero-Salas , Liam Cary-Eaves and Aaron Anglin | April 30

It’s hard not to notice the many pieces of public art around Albuquerque. In fact, Albuquerque has more than 820 pieces of public art and about a third of those are outdoors, which are subject to the unpredictable weather conditions. To combat this, Albuquerque has a Public Art Program which is dedicated to maintaining and restoring public art. Dan Fuller, the Public Art Collection coordinator for Albuquerque, said the way the city goes about deciding which public arts need restoration and or maintenance is decided by several different factors.

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UNM's law school dean to resign

Staff Report | April 29

David Herring will resign from his position as the UNM School of Law dean, Provost Chaouki Abdallah announced Wednesday morning. Herring's resignation will be effective July 1, having served as law school dean since May 2013. He will stay with the law school as a tenured faculty member.

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Adjunct professors on lower end of income scale

Matthew Reisen | April 29

Part-time faculty pay has long been a subject of criticism among community colleges and universities, and UNM is no different. According to a report by the American Association of University Professors in 2013, adjuncts typically earn between $20,000 and $25,000 annually, compared to the average salary of $84,303 for full-time instructors and professors.

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Campus briefs for April 29, 2015

April 29

This past weekend the students of UNM Anderson School of Management dominated as they won the Daniels Fund Consortium Business Ethics Case’s fourth annual competition according to the UNM press release. Justin Fouts, Mercedes Pratt, Austin Tidwell, Lauren Wade, Phillip Doerges, Harry Van Buren, Shawn Berman, O.C. Ferrell and Linda Ferrell of the UNM team took on nine other consortium schools.

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UNM medical school returns to top 10

Moriah Carty | April 29

The UNM School of Medicine made a comeback this year and was recently ranked one of the top 10 schools in the nation by the American Academy of Family Physicians. UNM made the top 10 from 2011 to 2013 but didn’t make the cut in 2014. This year however, UNM made the list once more, according to a press release. The award recognizes the school’s efforts to foster student interest in family medicine and produce graduates who enter the specified field.

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Immigrants bypass New Mexico, experts say

Casey Purcella | April 29

Of the Southwestern states, New Mexico has the lowest share of residents who are undocumented immigrants. Experts cite a variety of reasons - a lack of an existing population of undocumented immigrants, few low-skill jobs that don’t require English and control of the state’s border by drug cartels - as reasons for this discrepancy.

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ASUNM taking its elections online this fall

David Lynch | April 28

Undergraduate students won’t have to visit the SUB to vote in elections for the Associated Students of UNM in the fall. In fact, they won’t even have to be on campus. ASUNM unanimously passed Bill 21S last week at its last Senate meeting of the semester, approving an initiative headed by Sens. Nadia Cabrera and Bisaan Hanouneh that would allow online access to ASUNM elections.

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Alum's effort shows locally

Matthew Reisen | April 28

Adrian Carver is a native of Albuquerque and Spanish alumnus. As a student Carver became a founding member of the New Mexico Youth Alliance, and he is now serving as the co-director of the New Mexico Forum for Youth in Community. Through the years he has served with many other organizations, including Amnesty International, the Educational Equity Working Group and the New Mexico Men’s Council for Boys and Young Men.

Brandon Schmandt, an assistant professor for the Earth and planetary science department, along with scientists from the University of Utah, recently discovered a large magma chamber under the Yellowstone caldera in the Yellowstone National Park. The chamber is about 19 miles below the caldera.

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Assistant professor studies sea of magma

Moriah Carty | April 28

Yellowstone National Park’s bowels are at least 9,000 kilometers deep. Although this may seem like an odd statistic, one of UNM’s assistant professors, who is working in conjunction with the University of Utah, said it was partially expected.

Passers-by walk past the University Grill on Sunday afternoon. The University Grill moved to a new location on 120 Harvard SE. The local restaurant had been located on Central Avenue, but a disagreement with the landlord caused University Grill owner Paul Kress to relocate the business two months after it opened.

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Grill relocates due to rent dispute

Thomas Romero-Salas , Liam Cary-Eaves and Aaron Anglin | April 27

Less than two months after opening, University Grill will be moving to a brand new location. The previous location, at 1606 Central Ave. SE, did not work out for restaurant owner Paul Kress, who said his landlord, David Souls, was charging him for the utilities of the other businesses housed in the complex where the University Grill used to be. After engaging in several conversations, Kress said the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement, and required legal assistance. Kress said he has since pressed charges against Souls and has moved his business to 120 Harvard SE. “Everyone said I was crazy for moving. My friends said I was crazy,” Kress said. “My attorneys said I made the right decision.”

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UNMH pursues plans for new building

Sayyed Shah | April 27

UNM is again planning to pursue a state-of-the-art replacement facility for the overcrowded University hospital after the plan was rejected by the State Board of Finance in 2012. The decision was made public earlier this month by UNM Chancellor for Health Sciences Paul Roth during a board of directors meeting, according to the Albuquerque Journal. The main building is aging and the flagship hospital is unable to meet the demands of the increasing number of patients, he said. “Right now we are in the planning process that includes evaluation of a replacement facility toward the main UNM hospital,” said Dr. Michael Richards, executive physician-in-chief of the UNM Health System. “This is still in the planning stages.”

A group of local gamers, who call themselves, Game Night Every Night, play Russian Railroads at Empire Board Library on opening night. The cafe opened Friday and is the first of its kind in New Mexico.

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Game cafe in Albuquerque the first of its kind in NM

Imani Lambert | April 27

The Empire Board Game Library celebrated its grand opening on Friday after a successful soft opening two weeks ago. The board game café is the first of its kind in New Mexico. Rory Veronda, the owner of Empire Board Game Library, said he was influenced by board game cafés in Europe and Canada. The Empire Board Game Library contains more than 600 games, including iconic games like Monopoly and Risk as well as the various themed boards. “The idea is that we want to build a board game community and build a collection,” he said.

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Pregnant students seek resources at UNM

Taylor Mallak | April 27

About 10 percent of pregnancies occur while the woman is in college. At the University of New Mexico, there are 14 lactation stations for breastfeeding mothers and three changing tables. Carolyn Romero is due July 19, and said she goes to school full-time. She will graduate in July, as well. She said that while staff and faculty have been supportive and understanding, she wishes there were more resources on campus for her and her baby. “More support groups and more information out there about the different resources,” she said. “There could be more resources that I just don’t know about, but it’s just not very well-known.” UNM’s Students for Life chapter offers one resource called Pregnant on Campus that focuses on women who have or will have children while attending UNM. They often provide help with rent and a finding place to stay, as well as getting food benefits such as WIC or EBT. They also work closely with other programs on campus.

Sandra Akkad, an elementary education graduate, student listens an ASUNM senators discussion about Resolution 12S. If it had passed, the resolution would have asked UNM to be transparent with its investments.

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ASUNM divestment resolution fails after hours-long debate

David Lynch | April 24

After nearly three hours of heated discussion, the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico’s senators failed Resolution 12S by a vote of 4-14-2 at their final Senate meeting of the semester on Wednesday. The legislation would have called upon the University to be transparent in its investments, and it specifically urged UNM to pressure companies, such as Hewlett-Packard and Caterpillar contributing to the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestine.

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Campus briefs for April 24, 2015

April 24

The UNM Cancer Center is conducting phase-3 trials for a vaccine that may be capable of detecting kidney cancer cells that are otherwise undetectable, according to a UNM Health Sciences Center press release. Richard Lauer, chief medical officer for the Cancer Center, said his clinical trials may unlock the mysteries of cancer.

Department of Justice representatives Torey Cummings, right, and Colleen Phillips talks at the UNM focus group meeting on Monday evening at the SUB. The DOJ held three focus group meetings this week about sexual assault with students.

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Justice Department reps discuss sexual assault

Marielle Dent | April 24

Representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice visited UNM this week to hear from students, faculty and staff about sexual violence issues on campus. They conducted multiple focus groups that were open to all students as well as a few specifically for student athletes, fraternities and sororities. They also held open office hours.

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UNM's sport district plan gains motion with partner

David Lynch | April 23

UNM is one step closer to breaking ground on its new sports entertainment district after the Lobo Development Corporation chose Marble Development as a partner last week. Marble Development’s proposal is essentially a 1.4 acre plaza that will house a restaurant, a coffee shop and a taproom, according to a UNM press release. There will also be a stage for entertainment and live music before big events. There is currently no estimated cost for the project, but Thomas Neale, director of financial transactions for LDC and director of UNM Real Estate, said the University itself won’t have to pay a single penny.

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Pot legalization supporters back benefits

Steven Mo Fye | April 23

New Mexico has long been the site of a struggle regarding marijuana. The state historically is one of the big thoroughfares for the illegal smuggling of weed from Mexico, and curanderos have been using it for folk medicine in the Southwest for even longer. One of the most vocal advocates for the legalization of marijuana, whether for medical, recreational or industrial use is Bryan Krumm. Krumm, a licensed psychiatric nurse practitioner, said he recognized the benefits of marijuana and decided to become active in pushing for legalization when he got out of the Army in 1986. “I’d like to see the full legalization of marijuana and hemp nationwide. For food, for medicine, for fuel, for fiber uses,” Krumm said. “It has industrial and medical uses.”

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Campaign aims to combat NM drug problem

Moriah Carty | April 23

New Mexico had the second highest total drug overdose death rate in the nation in 2011. In effort to combat the issue, the New Mexico Human Services Department’s Office of Substance Abuse Prevention, announced a new campaign Tuesday called “A Dose of Reality.” The campaign aims to inform teens and parents of the serious risks involved and how to properly handle and dispose of medications. According to the release, 49 percent of unintentional overdose deaths were the result of prescription painkillers.

Adrian Johnston, a philosophy faculty member, reads a book beneath a Japanese pagoda on Tuesday afternoon. The Japanese Pagoda is only one of the thousands of trees that are a part of UNMs Arboretum.

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Campus takes great lengths to maintain aboretum

Marielle Dent | April 22

UNM is akin to a small city, and all great cities include outdoor spaces for recreation and relaxation, said Sue Mortier, a landscape architect at UNM. While the Physical Plant Department overseas many aspects of campus, the grounds and landscaping section maintains the grounds and water features with a staff of about 50.