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Tent City residents ordered to break camp

Matthew Reisen | January 30

The intersection of Iron Street and First Street now goes by an unofficial name — “Tent City” — due to the substantial homeless population that camps beside the rail yard fence. Neighboring homes and businesses have called upon the city of Albuquerque to help with the situation, relying on charitable organizations like St. Martin’s Hospitality Center to relocate and assist those who live on the small stretch of sidewalk.

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Crime briefs for Jan. 29, 2015

Erika Eddy | January 29

Tool stolen from UNM employee On Jan. 20, a UNM employee made a report with UNM Police Department in reference to larceny. According to the report, the employee’s work drill was stolen from a storage room in Hokona Hall between 4 p.m. on Jan. 16 and 9:30 am on Jan. 20. Several people have access to the storage area and there are currently no suspects.

A student smokes outside Castetter Hall on Tuesday afternoon. UNM is considering a revision to the universitys smoking policy to include cracking down on smokers outside of designated smoking areas on campus.

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Smoking policy may soon get strict revision

David Lynch | January 29

The University Policy office is in the preliminary stages of updating the University’s smoking policy to include enforcement of protocol, among other initiatives. University Policy and Administrative Planning Director Pamina Deutsch said she hopes to revise the policy to include cracking down on smokers outside of designated smoking areas on campus has been a goal of hers for some time. “Ever since I’ve taken over this role — I’ve been here since Feb. 2012 — there have been concerns about enforcement (of the smoking policy),” she said.

Senior academic advisors Maureen Johnson, left, and Maxine Padilla have a conversation inside one of the new cubicles at Travelstead Hall on Wednesday. The cubicles were renovated to give students privacy during advisory appointments.

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College of Education makes upgrades to entice students

Liam Cary-Eaves | January 29

Over winter break, the College of Education underwent major renovations to entice new students while providing a professional ambiance for those already involved in the college’s programs. Program Operations Director for the College’s Center for Student Success, Smith Frederick said the changes implemented in the college have been driven by the needs of the students. The college utilizes the opportunity to have students take surveys and provide feedback in other ways to address support services and potential areas in need of updates or enhancements, he said. Frederick said a major concern of the students was the need to update the areas in which advisement occurs in the Center for Student Success, located in Travelstead Hall.

A piece of pallasite meteorite is seen under a binocular microscope at Northrop Hall on Tuesday. Meteorites can be analyzed at the Center for Stable Isotopes, a new research facility soon to open its doors at UNM.

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Interdisciplinary research center to open

Lauren Topper | January 28

UNM will soon open the doors to its newest research facility, the Center for Stable Isotopes, which will allow researchers from a wide range of fields to delve into the mysteries of the natural world by looking at its smallest building blocks. The new facility will expand an already existing program based within the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences into an interdisciplinary center.

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UNM campus briefs for Jan. 28

January 28

The UNM Human-Centric Security Initiative presents speaker Adrian Chavez from Sandia National Laboratories, with the lecture “Projecting the Integrity and Confidentiality of Security Functions Through Provable Code Obfuscation” on Friday from 3 to 5 p.m.

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Sustainability manager applies eco-friendly mindset to her job

Lena Guidi | January 28

Before the term “sustainability” was coined, Mary Clark was interested in leading an environmentally-friendly lifestyle. Now, Clark is the manager of UNM’s Office of Sustainability, a one-person department that oversees the University’s recycling programs, green fund, conservation initiatives, energy use reports and the promotion of sustainable practices on campus. The position is part of the Physical Plant Department, which produces and distributes all of UNM’s utilities.

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Innovate ABQ seeking proposals

Jonathan Baca | January 27

Innovate ABQ, UNM’s ambitious plan for a business incubator district, is looking for private developers who are interested in investing in the project during the first phase of development. Innovate ABQ sent out a Request for Statements of Interest and Qualifications last week, hoping to get private companies to submit proposals for contracts to build on the new campus.

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Grant to fund future undergrad professors

Sayyed Shah | January 27

UNM’s Honors College, in partnership with the Mellon Foundation, is using a $420,000 grant to fund undergraduate students who would like to become professors. The primary objective of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program is to increase diversity among professors, said Kate Krause, a professor of economics and the dean of the Honors College and University College at UNM.

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Man indicted in DWI crash that killed two students

David Lynch | January 27

An Albuquerque man has been indicted in the November car crash that killed two UNM students and sent two others to the hospital. Joshua Leal, 21, is charged with three counts of vehicular homicide due to reckless driving, one count of vehicular homicide due to DWI, and one count each of child abuse, larceny, tampering with evidence and stealing a motor vehicle, according to nmcourts.gov.

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HSC pain center lowers state opioid abuse

Jonathan Baca | January 26

With the help of a Health Sciences Center research group, New Mexico’s accidental opioid overdose deaths and addictions are down for the first time in years. A new study released by the UNM Pain Consultation and Treatment Center shows that a new state-mandated training program for doctors and clinicians is resulting in significantly fewer opioid painkillers being prescribed to patients, which has led to less addiction and fewer overdoses. Dr. Joanna Katzman, associate professor of neurology and director of the UNM Pain Center, led the team that developed the training program. Katzman was also integral in writing the legislation, Senate Bill 215, which passed the New Mexico Legislature in 2012 and created the mandatory training program.

Students interested in joining Lobo EMS raise their hands during an informational meeting at the Acoma SUB rooms on Friday afternoon. Lobo EMS is UNMs first emergency medical service open to all students who would like to volunteer.

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Volunteer EMS program launches on campus

David Lynch | January 26

MedBow, a branch of the UNM Center for Disaster Medicine, is preparing to jumpstart the University’s first student-run emergency medical services team, which will consist of student volunteers responding to 911 calls on campus. UNM EMS Chief Kane Darling said the group’s main goal is timely and efficient medical response to 911 calls — essentially being an extra set of eyes for UNM police. “Our mission is dedicating ourselves to providing quality emergency medical care to all students, faculty, staff and visitors to the UNM campus,” Darling said.

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Prof. teaches heritage folk healing

Lena Guidi | January 23

By Lena Guidi When Eliseo “Cheo” Torres was working as a program officer for the state Department of Education in Austin, Texas, he met a man named Juan Morin who would change his life.

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Panelists promote openness

Moriah Carty | January 23

The panelists on the Sexual Violence Assessment Report Q&A panel presented many different ideas on how to decrease real or perceived instances of sexual violence on campus, but they all boiled down to one thing: Better communication. Jill Pilgrim, whose firm conducted the study that lead to the report, suggested that students start believing people who claim they’ve been assaulted, listen with openness and offer help. Pilgrim reminded audience members that it is not solely the job of the University to make campus safe, but that students carry the responsibility to be conscious of sexual violence and report it.

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E-magazine brings ASUNM to students

David Lynch | January 23

By David Lynch In an ongoing effort to improve engagement with the undergraduate students they represent, the Associated Students of UNM launched an e-magazine this week, the first of its kind for the student government body. The first edition of the publication was emailed to all UNM undergraduates on Thursday.

Lawyer Jill Pilgrim delivers a climate assessment report on sexual assaults at UNM during an announcement event held Thursday morning at the SUB Atrium.

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Law firm releases climate assessment on UNM's sexual violence

Lauren Marvin | January 22

The law firm of Pilgrim and Associates released their findings Thursday on how the UNM community is reporting and responding to allegations of sexual violence. According to a 71-page UNM Climate Assessment Report, the key findings suggest UNM students, staff and administration are unfamiliar, unclear and confused about the University’s policies and procedures in addressing sexual violence.

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UNM legislature requests face challenges

Staff Report | January 22

UNM is requesting about $28 million from the 2015 New Mexico Legislative Session, but the low prices for oil and gas may turn the request in to a battle. At the January Board of Regents meeting, UNM President Bob Frank noted that the dropping oil prices could mean an almost 50 percent decrease for the University’s state funding. But as the legislative session begins, the near $7.5 million loss in revenue for the state could impact a number of other projects for which UNM had hoped to receive funding. Above the normal 14 percent of the state budget that goes to high education each year, UNM announced that it needs $27,859,516 for infrastructure projects on multiple campuses. This money would could mostly from future General Obligation and Severance Tax Bonds.

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Campus briefs for Jan. 22, 2015

Erika Eddy | January 22

On Jan. 8, UNM Police Department was dispatched to an area near Redondo East and Redondo Court in reference to battery. According to the report, a UNM employee approached three subjects, including a UNM student, on skateboards. The employee asked the subjects to stop doing tricks on their skateboards in order to avoid damage to UNM property. Two of the subjects, including the UNM student, disregarded the UNM employee and started cursing at him. The employee told them he was going to call police if they did not leave. The student continued to perform tricks and skateboarded toward the teacher, striking him in the face with his forearm as he passed him. UNMPD reported that the student was argumentative and disrespectful while officers interviewed him. The teacher refused to have charges filed on the student.

A series of supercomputers found at the Center for Advanced Research Computing can be accessed by students and faculty for research purposes. The center is going through renovations to add all 13 racks of the Ulam supercomputer.

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Center makes room for new supercomputer

Sayyed Shah | January 22

UNM’s Center for Advanced Research Computing is renovating its principle machine room in order to install a new supercomputer. The expansion of the machine room will enable the center to complete the installation of all 13 racks of the Ulam supercomputer, a powerful machine that the center received from The New Mexico Consortium, said Susan Atlas, director of CARC. “The expansion will be complete by the end of February or beginning of March and the Ulam machine will come online about a week after that,” Atlas said.

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UNM campus briefs for Jan. 21

January 21

The UNM Maxwell Museum of Anthropology hosts the Ancestors Lecture with senior archaeologist for the Yukon Government, P. Gregory Hare, on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Hibben Center. According to UNM, the lecture supports the Archeology on Ice exhibition, funded by the National Science Foundation, currently on display at the Maxwell Museum.