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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
UNM’s commitment to sustainability has been rewarded by the Princeton Review for the fifth year in a row. The “Princeton Review’s Guide to 353 Green Colleges: 2015 Edition” provides prospective college students with a comprehensive list of schools that offer green campus initiatives.
The Student Publications Board on Friday unanimously selected Jyllian Roach to once again lead the Daily Lobo as editor-in-chief for the 2015-26 school year after holding the position the last two semesters. Roach ran unopposed and will be the first editor in almost a century to serve two consecutive full school years, according to the publication board’s website. Ernest Hammond was co-editor with Clyde Morris for the 1918-19 school year after serving in the position from 1917-18.
Three UNM students have been awarded Fulbright scholarships for the academic year 2015-16 to study and teach in Europe and Asia. Anna Adams, a graduate student in the German Studies department; Caroline Muraida, a graduate student in international environmental economics; and William Taylor, a doctoral student in the Anthropology Department have each been awarded one of the highly coveted graduate scholarships.
Despite prevalent disagreement between two student organizations, a divestment resolution intended to encourage transparency in access to UNM investments will be presented and voted on at Wednesday’s Associated Students of UNM Senate meeting after unanimously passing the Steering the Rules committee last week.
Students will have the opportunity to eat locally grown food, watch live music and dance performances, purchase growing supplies and learn about sustainable practices at the 7th Annual UNM Sustainability Expo. The event, organized by students enrolled in the Growers’ Market Practicum course through the Sustainability Studies program, will host local vendors, farmers and value-added producers. Break dancers and local folk indie band Brush Strokes will perform from noon to 1 p.m. In addition, the event will feature work from the ASUNM arts and crafts studio and various student projects related to sustainability. The expo takes place Tuesday from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Cornell Mall.
Five shipping containers were cemented in place at Green Jeans Farmery off of I-40 and Carlisle Boulevard on Friday. The recycled containers are the first of eight that will house several local businesses come early summer. Roy Solomon, the developer of Green Jeans Farmery development, said he is excited to bring something entirely new to Albuquerque. A third of the one-and-a-half-acre piece of land will be dedicated to the businesses within the shipping containers, and the rest to a small portion of parking. That was partly why the lot stayed vacant for so long, he said: it’s such a small piece of land to work with. Part of the land needs to be accessible to the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority and the easements underground.
The medical field usually reigns supreme when it comes to who gets paid the biggest bucks. At UNM, it is no different. According to the University salary book, which can be found at sunshine.unm.edu, each of the top 10 highest-paid employees at UNM are associated with the medical field in one way or another, from chairs of medical-based departments to professors to deans. Their average salary is $481,552. The top earner is Paul Roth, chancellor of UNM’s Health Sciences Center, CEO of the UNM Health System and dean of the school of medicine. Roth makes $650,000 a year, and is one of only two at UNM who make more than half a million.
Some UNM students are running a campaign to inform others of the detrimental effects from bottled water, and to make clean drinking water more available on campus. The Lobo BYOB (bring your own bottle) campaign provides education to staff and students of UNM about the cleanliness of the tap water on campus versus the cleanliness of one-time-use water bottles. According to the organizers, the movement also focuses on the detrimental effects of plastic bottles on the environment. The initiative aims to support the ‘Take Back the Tap’ campaign by Food and Water Watch, “a nonprofit organization that advocates for common-sense policies that will result in healthy, safe food and access to safe and affordable drinking water,” according to the organization’s website.
Albuquerque Rapid Transit made an appearance on campus Thursday in an effort to hear students’ opinions on a new line that will connect Tramway Boulevard and Central Avenue to 98th Street and Central in about 30 minutes. This meeting was one of a series dedicated to receiving feedback from the community, said Dayna Crawford, deputy director for ABQ RIDE. Forty-one percent of ABQ RIDE’s passengers commute along Central, which is why the $100 million project is so important, she said. The line will stretch 17 miles down Central, stopping every seven minutes.
Campus briefs HEADLINE The U.S. Department of Justice staff will visit campus Tuesday through Thursday to discuss issues pertaining to sexual violence with students, faculty, staff and others, according to a UNM press release. The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division opened a review into the University’s policies and procedures regarding sexual harassment, including sexual assault, at the University of New Mexico, last December, as stated on the UNM’s website. “UNM is fully cooperating with the DOJ on this review.
A panel of experts spoke about the process a survivor of sexual assault at UNM would go through at an open forum on Thursday. LoboRESPECT organized the event in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and in perfect timing with respect to the Department of Justice’s visit next week. “I get this question quite a bit: ‘When are you going to be satisfied? When is it going to be enough?’” said Thomas Aguirre, dean of students. “And I always say, ‘Until we don’t have any more sexual violence.’ One is too many in my mind, so we’re just going to keep pushing at this and keep working on this until we have created a culture where everyone feels safe.”
After five years of research, UNM’s Health Sciences Center has created an interactive website to help parents and their daughters make an informed decision about the human papillomavirus vaccine. HPV is common and many types can cause cervical cancer and genital warts. Today, it is highly recommended that girls ages 11 to 13 get the vaccine. At a Communications and Journalism research colloquium on Wednesday, Gill Woodall, a communication professor and researcher, discussed the website and the research that went into building it.
On April 7, an employee at the Student Union Building received a disturbing voicemail about the Muslims Student Organization event on March 31, which some considered to be a pro-ISIS talk. According to a UNM Police Deparmentreport, the recording was of a male voice that cussed at the employee and suggested she kill herself because she invited pro-ISIS people onto campus.
The Global Education Office is hosting the annual International Festival on campus today outside the SUB with new additions to the event since last year. While many food options will be available in booths, this year many food options will be served in trucks. The event, described as “a true celebration of culture and diversity at UNM --- featuring food, crafts and performances from all over the world,” by its organizers at GEO, will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today in the Cornell Mall, east of the SUB and west of Mesa Vista Hall.
The MiABQ Millennial Project and The Young Professionals of Albuquerque are organizing the first-ever city-wide young professionals mixer event, coming Friday. The event will provide an opportunity for young professionals in the Albuquerque area to meet colleagues, network, mingle and join a new organization if not already involved with one, the organizers said. “This will be a great opportunity for young professionals and UNM community to get involved with the wide variety of organizations in Albuquerque, and network with other professionals and colleagues,” said Jaclyn Myers, social committee chair for the Young Professionals of Albuquerque, a non-profit organization.
Solutions by The State News
