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Tracking down the mysterious Juan Tabo

Mychal Miltenberger , Kyle Lord and Scott McCoy | March 30

Most Burqueños know where Juan Tabo Boulevard begins and ends. However, the story of whom or what the name refers to has no clear beginning, middle or end. Nancy Brown-Martinez, a librarian at the UNM’s Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections, said the Juan Tabo question has come up many times, but added there is no definitive answer. The CSWR has only a few clues as to whom or what Juan Tabo might have been.

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GPSA candidates debate ahead of elections

David Lynch | March 30

Online voting for Graduate and Professional Student Association leadership starts next week, and on March 28 the two presidential candidates discussed rising student fees, increased outreach and cooperation with student and University groups in their platform speeches. Current GPSA President Texanna Martin and challenger Diego Urbina spoke about their accomplishments so far and their visions for the graduate student population in the coming year. Urbina is a second-year graduate student at the UNM School of Law and a first-generation college student. He said he is driven by the desire to give other UNM students that same success.

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UNM Microwave research intensifies

Sayyed Shah | March 27

A team of UNM researchers is developing next-generation microwave sources for high-power applications. With their new approach, the researchers are trying to create devices with smaller size that are reconfigurable and highly efficient. “This could be a breakthrough in the high-power microwave world,” said Sabahattin Yurt, a graduate research assistant in the applied electromagnetics research group.

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Survivor's support program awarded

Matthew Reisen | March 27

Dalila Romero, peer navigator and co-founder of Comadre a Comadre, was awarded the Spirit of Hope Award on March 21. The award is given annually by The Nancy Floyd Haworth Foundation to “exceptional individuals who have made significant contributions in the fight against breast cancer.” Comadre a Comadre, founded 10 years ago, is an organization on UNM campus that “helps empower the lives of Hispanic/Latina women and their loved ones through advocacy, education, information, resources and support about breast health and breast cancer.” Born and raised in a small Texas town, Romero moved to New Mexico when she was 16 and has done various community work in Albuquerque. She received her certification as a navigator through the Harold P. Freeman Patient Navigation Institute, which teaches methods for more effective cancer screening and treatment.

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Senators forget homework on failed resolution

David Lynch | March 27

The Associated Students of UNM failed a resolution at Wednesday’s meeting that would have asked University administration to remove the need for a social security number in University applications, thereby allowing undocumented citizens to attend. Resolution 8S sought to ease admission and accessibility to UNM and its resources for the undocumented student population who do not have social security numbers. However, confusion and debate over the structure and preparation for the resolution ultimately led to a general uneasiness about passing it. Sen. Kyle Stepp said the Senate passing the resolution without doing its due diligence is the wrong thing to do.

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Development plans progress

Lena Guidi | March 26

Innovate ABQ is moving ahead with its plans to develop a seven-acre site to create an “innovation district” that ties UNM to downtown Albuquerque’s business community. Lisa Kuuttila, CEO of UNM’s Science and Technology Corporation, said that rather than acting as a final plan, the development framework approved on March 9 provides ideas to developers whose building proposals will be accepted in April. “This is meant to be a living document,” she said. “We can give it to developers in April, and they are going to work within this framework. They are not held to specific ideas on what a building has to look like.”

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UNMPD on high alert after eight vehicles targeted on same day

Lauren Marvin | March 26

Some days are better than others, but for eight unlucky car owners, March 18 was one of the worst. Seven vehicles were reported burglarized and one was reported stolen to the UNM Police Department. Most of the incidents happened at the Lands West Parking Lot, which is located at 1209 University Blvd. NE. According to the daily crime log report, only one other auto burglary has been reported since March 18.

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Santolina plan raises concerns for residents

Steven Mo Fye | March 26

More than 100 residents met downtown on Wednesday to protest against the proposed Santolina Master Plan. Members of nearly a dozen community organizations, along with five tractors belonging to local farmers, marched to the Bernalillo County Commission office to share their concerns about how the proposed city would affect the area’s already limited water supply. Virginia Necochea, executive director of the Center for Social Sustainable Systems, said despite their opposition to the plan, the Contra Santolina coalition is not an anti-growth group.

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UNM crime briefs for March 25

March 25

On March 15, two officers were dispatched to Redondo Village in reference to a missing utility cart. According to the report, the officers made contact with the reporter who stated the cart was in its stored location at the Student Residence Center. The staff became aware of the missing cart the previous day when they were in need of it. No one had permission to take the cart. The case is closed pending further leads.

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Architects design children's dreams

Marielle Dent | March 25

Class has become a playground for a group of architecture students. A UNM architecture and planning class is participating in Parade of Playhouses, where teams from across the state design and build playhouses to be auctioned for charity.

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New Mexico DoH simulates health disaster at UNM

Jonathan Baca | March 25

Scenario: a terrorist has unleashed an attack of weaponized anthrax onto a southbound Rail Runner Express train. Public health officials need to set up a Point of Dispensing location to hand out emergency medications during this crisis — and do it fast. This was the mock scene on March 18, when UNM Hospital’s Health Sciences Center and other emergency agencies teamed up for a training exercise put on by the New Mexico Department of Health.

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Growing Chicano studies program gets votes from faculty senate

David Lynch | March 24

UNM’s Chicana and Chicano studies program recently continued to gain recognition when the faculty senate voted for departmentalization of the program, allowing for more structure and opportunities for students interested in the field. Irene Vasquez, director of the program, said that growing the program has been an ongoing process since 2011. In 2013 a bachelor’s degree was installed, and in the fall it will get even bigger.

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Researchers looking at better ways to eliminate bacteria

Sayyed Shah | March 24

A team of researchers at UNM are developing new wipes for killing bacteria on different surfaces. The wipes aim keep different surfaces clean for longer than usual with the help of compounds developed by the researchers, said David Whitten, associate director at the Center for Biomedical Engineering.

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Native law grads in demand

Robert Salas | March 23

By Robert Salas  UNM’s School of Law recently ranked among the top 100 law schools in the country and part of the reason for that may be a program offered at only two dozen universities in the country.

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Legislators pass blame for unpassed bills

Marielle Dent | March 23

This year’s legislative session ended on Saturday with a major task left incomplete: Passage of a $275 million capital outlay bill that would have funded infrastructure projects statewide. The bill, which is usually passed every session, died because of partisan disagreements that characterized most of this session. On Friday the House Ways and Means Committee voted to cut $45 million in funding for community colleges, senior centers and pueblos across the state to put toward highway funding. These changes to the Senate-approved bill were debated until the final minutes of the session.

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LGBTQ student finds place on UNM campus

Cara Grasso | March 23

For most students, college is a time for experimenting with new identities and figuring out which ones fit best. For at least one student, arriving at UNM was the first time she felt she could truly be herself. Liviana Rodriguez, a freshman fine arts major, said she remembers being seven years old, throwing pennies into wishing fountains, wishing she could be the gender she felt she was on the inside. She began her transition from male to female during high school, and said she faced discrimination. “I heard slurs all the time,” she said. “I heard ‘tranny’ and was referred to as my old name, and people purposefully used ‘he,’ and that felt really bad. I always felt really alone, especially in my high school.”

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Biologist studies, saves NM heritage

Lena Guidi | March 20

Esteban Muldavin gained a passion for the natural world — and its conservation — at an early age. The director and senior ecologist of Natural Heritage New Mexico said spending his childhood on a ranch in northern New Mexico deeply impacted his decision to become a scientist. “I grew up, in part, between Santa Fe and Las Vegas on my family’s ranch, and since my early days as a kid I used to wander around,” he said. “It’s like a lot of ecologists and biologists: We grew up outside, and it became part of the fabric of our being.” In addition to having an environment to explore, Muldavin said he was also influenced by his grandmother, who was the first female member of the San Miguel County Water Conservation District. He said she was engaged in environmental efforts throughout the area during the 1960s and ‘70s.

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Campus briefs for March 20, 2015

Sayyed Shah | March 20

CAMPUS BRIEFS UNM School of Medicine ranked third in the nation The University of New Mexico’s School of Medicine has been ranked third in the U.S.

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Psychedelic studied as treatment from alcoholism

Fin Martinez | March 20

Experimenting with drugs is not uncommon on college campuses, but UNM is one of the only universities in the country conducting research on possible medical uses for hallucinogenic mushrooms. Dr. Michael Bogenschutz, a psychiatrist at UNM School of Medicine, said he is studying the use of psilocybin — the active psychedelic compound in many species of hallucinogenic mushrooms — for the treatment of alcohol abuse and addiction. “There were a number of trials that had been done with LSD back in the early 1950s through 1970s that were pretty promising, but not entirely conclusive,” Bogenschutz said. “There was a growing body of literature exploring the effects of psilocybin in normal volunteers and also in patients with anxiety related to a cancer diagnosis.”

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Sun power rises in West

David Lynch | March 20

A new solar energy array was recently unveiled at UNM West in Rio Rancho, which constitutes another step by the University toward being environmentally friendly. Jeff Zumwalt, interim director of UNM’s physical plant department, said it took about six weeks for the solar panels to be installed. The array cost $465,000 and will account for almost three-quarters of UNM West’s energy needs. “We’re hoping it’ll offset 70 percent of the building’s electricity,” Zumwalt said.