UNM has turned over information requested by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of an investigation into the school’s handling of reported sexual assaults and harassment on campus. According to a press release, UNM handed over the information just in time for the Jan. 9 deadline set by the Justice Department back in December.
At the start of this new semester, two University officials have compiled a list of facts and tips that can help new and returning students protect themselves from crime while on campus. The UNM Police Department and the Global Education Office have advised students to follow the guidelines issued by the university to avoid thefts and other scams.
A committee convened by UNM President Robert Frank visited two universities in Colorado during winter break to investigate ways of bringing in more new students, including the possibility of building a new wellness and recreation facility at UNM. The committee — which included Provost Chaouki Abdallah, Executive Vice President David Harris, ASUNM President Rachel Williams, GPSA President Texanna Martin and Frank himself — spent a day each at the University of Colorado at Boulder and Colorado State University and toured the facilities on both campuses.
The three new members of the Board of Regents appointed by Gov. Susana Martinez last month are waiting to be approved by the New Mexico State Senate during this year’s legislative session. Matt Chandler and Robert Doughty III are new appointees, while Jamie Koch has been reappointed to take the place of Regent Conrad James, who resigned following his election to the state House of Representatives in November. Koch will remain on the board for another four years to finish the duration of James’ term.
Seven bills regarding UNM will be brought to the upcoming New Mexico legislative session, including one to establish scholarship programs for national merit scholars. If passed, Senate Bill 11 would amend the Legislative Lottery Tuition to grant national merit scholarships to cover students’ tuitions and fees so long as recipients have been “designated a national merit finalist by the national merit scholarship corporation,” the proposed amendment states. The proposed legislation, introduced by state Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque, and published on the Legislature’s website, stipulates recipients be enrolled in a higher education institution or branch campus within one year of high school graduation or receive a graduate-equivalent diploma. No more than 75 percent of the scholarships will go to out-of-state residents, the legislation states.
At least six House bills with relevance to the UNM community will be presented in the next legislative session. The draft bills in the House are for minimum wage increases, supportive and rapid rehousing for the homeless, a pregnant workers accommodation act, an employee preference act, no public employee union dues from payroll, and a LGBTQ health disparities task force. A bill proposed by lawmakers Luciano “Lucky” Varela and Sheryl Williams Stapleton pushes for a raise in the minimum wage up to $10.10 per hour.
As state lawmakers gear up for this year’s 60-day legislative session in Santa Fe beginning on Jan. 20, one Albuquerque organization is readying to advocate for issues related to peace and justice both in the community and nationally. The nonprofit Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice, in collaboration with UNM and the Albuquerque community, is preparing for one of its busiest projects of the year: calling attention to peace and justice issues at the New Mexico Legislature, Sue Schuurman, center coordinator, said. Juliana Bilowich, a community liaison for UNM’s Peace and Justice Studies program and an intern at the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice, said the organization is building upon last year’s action platform so that volunteers in the community can pledge to call their state lawmakers and share their opinions on issues related to peace and justice.
Parking enforcement resumed on Monday Jan. 5 UNM Parking & Transportation Services (PATS) resumed regular parking enforcement on Monday.
As winter approaches and the semester winds down, students and faculty alike may be turning their attention to things such as hot chocolate and warm sweaters. But one lab on campus is trying to make things colder — much colder. Using crystals and lasers, a team of scientists headed by Department of Physics and Astronomy professor Mansoor Sheik-Bahae has developed and is currently fine-tuning a novel method known as optical refrigeration for cooling solids to extremely low temperatures. “It is fair to say that our team is the leader in terms of achieving the lowest temperature and advancing this science into a practical technology,” Sheik-Bahae said.
A Truman Scholar and human rights activist is the second consecutive UNM student to be awarded the Marshall Scholarship, allowing him free graduate-level study at any institution in the United Kingdom. Ryan Roco said he will pursue an M.Sc. in Asian Politics and an M.A. in Southeast Asian Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He will graduate from UNM in July 2015 with a B.A. in Political Science and minors in Asian Studies and Philosophy. “In the U.K., I’m most excited to study and to build my regional expertise in Southeast Asia, particularly Burma. Outside of school, I’m looking forward to connecting with human rights organization and policy think tanks,” he said.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that it has started investigating UNM regarding the school’s handling of reported sexual assaults and harassment on campus. According to a release issued by the DOJ, the department will look into UNM’s policies and practices on sexual assault prevention as well as complaints made by students, under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Both acts ban sexual discrimination, the release states. “We have assured the DOJ of our deep concern about the issue of sexual assault and the seriousness of its nature,” said President Bob Frank in an official statement. “We look forward to sharing the many steps that UNM has already taken to address it, as well as detailing the programs we are continuing to implement for training and education aimed at prevention.”
Car radio stolen from Lobo Village On Nov. 23, UNMPD was dispatched to Lobo Village in reference to auto burglary.
The Daily Lobo photo desk put together its end-of-semester issue called Five: A photo essay series. Take a look at the photography work done by Sergio Jiménez, William Aranda, Diana Cervantes, Di Linh Hoang and Kanan Mammadli.
There are many theories about which methods are most effective at delivering news information to the public, but one UNM professor is certain that he knows which technique is the best. Journalism professor Richard Schaefer and senior journalism major Natalia Jacquez have finished collecting data for a study that will analyze which visualization techniques in news are most effective in conveying information to audiences. Schaefer said the primary question driving the study was ‘which of three visualization techniques are most effective in helping audiences develop cognitive, or informational, understanding of the issue at hand?’
When David Gutzler applied to the doctoral program in meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he did not know what to expect. He said he had recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in engineering physics and had never taken a climate or meteorology class. “I had no idea what I was getting into, but I figured that I would find something fun to do,” he said. “Looking back, I am astounded that any respectable meteorology department admitted me for graduate study.”
Looking at Jimmy Lujan, it is hard to imagine the trials he has faced. Lujan, a member on the board of directors for Health Care for The Homeless, sits smiling next to his wife Shawna and 5-month-old daughter Akiya. Life for Lujan was not always so hopeful, he said. Until three years ago he was one of the many people experiencing homelessness on the streets of Albuquerque. Lujan, 55, was raised in northern New Mexico and worked as a licensed funeral director and embalmer for 27 years, he said. That changed in 2006, he said, when his wife of 13 years was murdered.
After consultation with the Strategic Budget Leadership Team, the Student Fee Review Board made its final recommendations on Monday for the use of student activities fees for fiscal year 2016. The SFRB has recommended an overall increase to student activity fees of 2.45 percent for the financial year 2016.
The last segment of this semester’s ‘Meeting of the Minds’ art conversation series is centered on photographer David Maisel’s Black Maps collection and will be held on Thursday at noon in the UNM Art Museum. “David Maisel/Black Maps: American Landscape and the Apocalyptic Sublime” is a solo exhibit surveying four chapters of Maisel’s larger Black Maps series, according to the Art Museum website.
The term “natural product” might sound more likely to be associated with a new organic diet or retail fad, but to scientists it is a term corresponding to clinically prescribed drugs used for decades.
At a time when U.S. soldiers are returning home from conflicts overseas and enrolling in colleges across the country, UNM’s own student veterans have varying opinions on what UNM has to offer those who have served. Richard Baca, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq, said he believes that the system in which the benefits a student veteran receives are based on service time should be amended. He said he would like to see all benefits be equal.
Solutions by The State News
