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School of Law fields LGBTQ legal questions

Robert Salas | November 17

For the first time in New Mexico history, volunteers from the law school’s clinical program met with members of the LGBTQ community to provide legal assistance on specific issues. In New Mexico, the LGBTQ community has made strides on their mission towards full equality with the recent legalization of same sex marriage. However, there are still challenges the community has to overcome, said John Flores, program coordinator for EQNM.

Jodie Herrera works on an oil art piece for her solo art show titled “The Shape I’m In” on Thursday. Herrera combined her show with a raffle of works by local artists to benefit Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless. The show will be held Nov. 22 at Tractor Brewery.

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Charity art raffle to benefit homeless community

Matthew Reisen | November 14

A UNM alumna is organizing a charity art raffle to benefit some of Albuquerque’s neediest citizens. Jodie Herrera, a New Mexico native and 2013 UNM graduate, said the event will combine her solo art show along with a raffle of works done by dozens local artists to benefit Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless. The show, titled “The Shape I’m In,” will be held on Nov. 22 at 6 p.m. at Tractor Brewery off of Fourth Street, she said. Herrera said she wanted to address the issue of homelessness in Albuquerque as the winter season approaches.

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Grad student one step closer to Mars

Marielle Dent | November 14

Zach Gallegos, a graduate Earth and planetary science student, is intent on being a member of the first astronaut team to establish a permanent colony on Mars. This Dutch non-profit agency has set a goal of sending the first four-person crew to Mars in 2024, and then successive crews every two years after, according to the Mars One website. There is, however, no return mission planned. The astronauts would live out the rest of their lives on the Red Planet.

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Multiculturalist braves old world

Lena Guidi | November 14

Jan. 14, 1984, was an important day for Feroza Jussawalla: Her son was born, and it was her birthday. If that wasn’t enough cause to celebrate, her first published book, “Family Quarrels: Towards a Criticism of Indian Writing in English,” arrived in the mail. The book is an analysis of how Indian writers who write in English have been shaped by criticism and Western literary trends. It is one of many works Jussawalla has published over the years in her academic specialty, post-colonial literature. “I focus on literature written by people who grew up in countries that became independent from Britain in the 1940s and ‘50s,” she said.

Nick Gannon, a biochemistry major, cultures cells in the Biomedical Research Facility on Tuesday afternoon. Gannon, among other researchers, is looking into anti-cancer agents produced naturally by the body.

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Lab studies the body's tactics against cancer

Lauren Topper | November 13

In the face of cancer, the human body is often portrayed as helpless, requiring the aid of countless hours of chemotherapy and, most likely, surgery to defeat it. However, a combination of long-standing evidence and new advances in the field is painting a potentially different story — one suggesting that a lot of what you think you know about cancer is wrong.

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GPSA funds for graduate research increase

David Lynch | November 13

The Graduate and Professional Student Association at UNM has awarded its funding grants for the fall semester, and the sum is higher than it has ever been. According to GPSA Grants Committee’s Fall Summary, $131,632 in funds was awarded this semester — more than GPSA has ever given out. For comparison, $23,140 was awarded over the summer. This fall 245 students applied for the grants, and as of Tuesday 129 have received funding, whereas only 50 students received grants last fall. Awardees were notified on Nov. 3, according to the GPSA’s website.

UNM mechanical engineering sophomore Jorge Guerrero, mid center, reacts after he learns he has the most votes in the election for Senator of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico at the SUB on Wednesday night. Guerrero will be announced as the new senator at ASUNM’s last meeting of the semester.

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STRIVE team strides onto ASUNM floor

David Lynch | November 13

Ten senate spots for the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico were up for grabs, and one team had almost all of its candidates elected. Of the nine members of the STRIVE team, eight were elected to serve as ASUNM senators after 682 Lobos voted Wednesday. One STRIVE member who made the cut was Bryce Matanis, a sophomore political science major. “It shows that the team as a whole actually put forth the effort to get elected,” Matanis said. “The fact that we got eight out of nine is incredibly, incredibly awesome.”

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Campus briefs for Nov. 13, 2014

Erika Eddy | November 13

University Student Cabinet discusses key issues affecting students The University Student Cabinet met for the first time last Friday. According to UNM, more than 40 Cabinet members participated in focus group-style discussions on subjects identified as critical to students at UNM. The meeting revolved around four topics: campus safety and civility, transparency and communication, student support services and tuition and fees. Students circulated every 15 minutes between four focus group tables. The student-initiated conversations were directed at UNM administrators, who took notes and answered questions.

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UNM crime briefs

November 12

Frat house break-in On Oct. 30, UNMPD responded to an alarm around 10:20 p.m. at the Alpha Chi Omega House.

UNM Hospital received a D in safety based on the Fall 2014 update to Leapfrog Group’s Hospital Safety Score website, which assigns a standard letter grade to hospitals based on their ability to prevent medical errors.

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UNM Hospital receives a D in safety score rating

Marielle Dent | November 12

UNM Hospital received a D in safety from an industry watchdog group, but a spokesman for the hospital said the numbers are not what they seem. The D rating came from the Fall 2014 update to the Leapfrog Group’s Hospital Safety Score website, which assigns a standard letter grade to hospitals based on their ability to prevent medical errors. But UNMH spokesman John Arnold said the hospital doesn’t accept the assessment.

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Event showcases local researcher's various projects

Tomas Lujan | November 12

The College of Education is set to host the fourth annual IFCE Research Showcase, an event bringing together a diverse group of UNM researchers to present their work in the spirit of collaboration. More than 45 different research projects will be on display demonstrating the efforts of some of the brightest students and faculty at the UNM COE in an event that is free and open to the public.

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Ladies' night shows women fun without alcohol

Matthew Reisen | November 12

It’s ladies night with a twist — and not a twist of lime. The Campus Office of Substance Abuse and Prevention is hosting Lobo Ladies Night, an event with the goal of showing women that drinking is not the only way to have fun, but just one of many options.

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New Mexico college graduates struggle with loan debt

Sayyed Shah | November 11

New Mexico colleges have the highest number of student loan defaults in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The recently published Cohort Default Rate shows New Mexico’s student loan default rate was the highest in the country at 20.8 percent in the financial year 2011, whereas the national average percentage was 13.7, according to the press release.

UNM biomedical engineering sophomore Lynne Tucker, left, German senior Nate Webb, center, and political science junior Torin Hovander, right, destroy a cardboard replica of the Berlin Wall outside the Humanities Building on Monday afternoon. Sunday, Nov. 9 commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Berlin Wall being brought down.

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German Club commemorates fall of Berlin Wall

David Lynch | November 11

“Freedom is for everyone.” “No more walls, no more wars.” “Forbidden.” These phrases and others were scrawled in German and English on a replica of the Berlin Wall erected by the UNM German Club on Monday in front of the Humanities building.

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Professor studies perils of mixing medications

Lauren Topper | November 11

Start with daily allergy medicine. Then throw in something stronger for cold and flu season.Add a helping of painkillers for that splitting headache or your lingering sports injury. Each of these things by itself may be harmless enough, but together they could be a recipe for disaster.

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Aggies burned by OSU, Lobos rally in support

David Lynch | November 10

The Associated Students of UNM has voted to support New Mexico State University, UNM’s main sports rival, in the lawsuit NMSU is facing over its mascot, Pistol Pete. NMSU is being sued by Oklahoma State University over the use of the mascot, a pistol-wielding cowboy that OSU claims to have exclusive rights to. ASUNM unanimously passed Resolution 7F during Wednesday’s meeting stating that the student government body is in support of NMSU in the lawsuit. Sen. Tori Pryor, a graduate of Oñate High School in Las Cruces, authored the resolution, which essentially states that ASUNM is on the side of UNM’s in-state sister school in the wake of the lawsuit.

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LGBTQ Resource Center gets national recognition

Matthew Reisen | November 10

UNM has been named one of the top 30 schools in the nation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning students, thanks to the efforts of a resource center on campus. The list, compiled by BestColleges.com, ranked UNM number 17 in the nation for LGBTQ college students based on high levels of support and innovative resources at the university, according to the website. “The LGBTQ Resource Center at UNM provides a significant array of services, such as hosting awareness events, conducting Safe Zone training, providing safe sex resources and hosting educational lectures at cafes,” the website stated.

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Student initiative seeks green proposals

Tomas Lujan | November 10

Students will have a chance to make a difference in sustainability, thanks to a new project on campus. The UNM Green Fund is a student-led collection of resources aimed at empowering innovative young minds to promote all types of sustainability, and the group is asking students to submit proposals for sustainability projects. Earl Shank, a senior business and economics major and the acting sustainability coordinator for the Green Fund, said this is the first year the Green Fund will accept project proposals. The fact that it is so new is exciting because it means they can fund almost anything, he said.

Naomi Martinez relaxes inside her home at the Sundowner apartments on Thursday. Martinez found her studio apartment through the Supportive Housing Coalition, an organization that helps find permanent housing for chronically homeless people.

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Homelessness in Albuquerque: Group helps find housing

Lauren Marvin | November 7

This story is part of a weekly series on homelessness in Albuquerque. For the last eight years Naomi Martinez was chronically homeless, occasionally staying at friend’s houses, but without a home of her own.. After applying with almost 15 different organizations, though, Martinez contacted the Supportive Housing Coalition of New Mexico and now has a studio apartment that is hers and hers alone.

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UNM may divest from fossil fuel companies

Marielle Dent | November 7

UNM is considering an end to its investments in fossil fuels as a way of showing the University’s commitment to sustainability, thanks a very successful petition circulated on campus by the Fossil Free campaign. On Thursday, the administrators of the UNM Foundation and the Office of Academic/Student Affairs met with Tom Solomon, co-chair of 350.org New Mexico, to discuss the University’s possible divestment from fossil fuel companies.