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Clery Report: Sexual assaults up, burglaries down at UNM

Sayyed Shah | October 6

Three new categories for UNM’s annual Security and Fire Safety Report, also known as the Clery Report, show that the University has some problems with relationship violence. Lt. Tim Stump of the UNM Police Department said the three new sections of this report, released Oct. 1, include data on dating violence, domestic violence and stalking, and were added based on recommendations made by the Violence Against Women Act of 2013.According to the Report, the number of sexual assaults increased from four reported in 2012 to 11 in 2013. Additionally, Stump said UNMPD had six reported sexual assaults between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31 of this year.

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Journalists create database to log APD violence

Sayyed Shah | October 6

An online news outlet is developing a searchable, interactive database of audio, video and other records associated with fatal police shootings in Albuquerque. Journalists at the New Mexico Compass, in partnership with KUNM, have gathered as many materials as they could find, and have organized an Indiegogo campaign to raise money to build a searchable, free-to-the-public database on their website.“This project is a big one and will be unfolding for quite some time,” said Marisa Demarco, editor-in-chief at the New Mexico Compass. “The plan is to build a database with the material we received and invite other media and people to contribute their own primary-source recordings or documents.”

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Suspected bike thief baited by APD, UNMPD joint effort

Daniel Montaño | October 3

UNM Police have been cracking down on bike thieves through sting operations. A joint effort between UNMPD and the Albuquerque Police Department has already caught one alleged repeat offender, Daniel Lee Lawrence, who had a warrant for bike theft, said Lt. Tim Stump, UNMPD’s public information officer.Lawrence was arrested on Wednesday, after being seen riding a bait bicycle valued at $1,600, which was planted by APD at UNM Hospital, according to court documents.

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New breath may detect tuberculosis

Lauren Topper | October 3

Eleanor Roosevelt, Jane Austen, George Orwell, Chopin — all are believed to have died from tuberculosis. Scientific advances have lowered death rates, particularly in the United States, where TB was once the leading cause of death and known as the “white plague.” Yet today, TB remains a leading infectious disease killer around the world. At the Health Sciences Center, associate professor Dr. Graham Timmins is continuing to make advances by developing a breath test that has the potential to determine if someone has TB within minutes.By sampling the breath of the animals Timmins said he was able to tell 100 percent of the time whether or not an animal was infected with TB.

Around 60 students attend the “O Face Oral” workshop as part of UNM “Sex Week” on Thursday. The seminar took place one day after the University formally apologized for the controversial nature of the events.

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Sex event titles, not content, provoke apology

Lauren Marvin and Moriah Carty | October 3

What’s in a name? Judging by the uproar surrounding UNM’s Sex Week, quite a bit.Sex Week, co-organized by the Women’s Health Resource Center and Self Serve Sexuality Resource Center, was designed to stress the importance of consent and raise awareness about sexual assaults, but not everyone was happy with the execution of the event.

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UNM campus briefs for Oct. 02, 2014

Erika Eddy | October 2

Celestial show opens at TamarindTamarind Institute, a division of the College of Fine Arts at UNM focused on lithography, will host an exhibition of more than 20 works related to the sky, universe and extraterrestrials.

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UNM Prof. may render diabetes needles needless

Lauren Topper | October 2

Eggs, toast and an insulin shot. It may not seem like the typical breakfast, but it’s the daily reality for millions of Americans who depend on insulin injections to keep diabetes symptoms under control.In an effort to free diabetes patients from the too-frequent prick of the needle, a team of scientists headed by associate professor Jason McConville has developed a way to administer insulin without needles. Instead, McConville’s method allows insulin to simply be absorbed through the inside of the cheek.

A type of crystal known as a floret lies in a clean room laboratory inside Northrop Hall on Monday morning. This was found on the 13,000-year-old remains of a female discovered in a collapsed chamber in the Hoyo Negro, part of the Sac Actun cave system, located within the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

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Remains suggest united ancestry

Tomas Lujan | October 2

Researchers theorize that the ancient remains of a teenage girl may represent the missing link between modern Native Americans and their Paleoamerican ancestors. Scientists at UNM’s Radiogenic Isotope Laboratory, located in Northrop Hall, said the discovery is among the most significant advances in the scientific understanding of the origin and development of the earliest Americans — especially in relation to the link to modern Native Americans.Earth and planetary sciences professor Yemane Asmerom, who led the research at UNM, said “Naia,” the name given to the remains, is the most intact skeleton ever recovered from the era.

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Success of Native American students a priority

Jonathan Baca and Raleigh Silversmith | October 1

Keeping and graduating Native American students has a problem for some time, but the source and solution have not yet been found.

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Frank urged to divest from fuel companies

Marielle Dent | October 1

A group of activists and students is urging UNM President Bob Frank to sell off all University investments in fossil fuel companies within the next five years -- and UNM administration is listening.

Panelist Dr. Nancy Lopez, left, speaks during the “Exclusion Masked as Excellence” seminar in the SUB Santa Ana A&B on Tuesday afternoon. Panelists at the seminar discussed their disapproval of raising the high school GPA requirement from 2.5 to 2.75.

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GPA increase discussed at conference

Jonathan Baca | October 1

Students and faculty crammed into a crowded conference room in the Student Union Building to discuss the “continued practice of keeping students of color out of the University.”

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Crime briefs

Erika Eddy | October 1

UNMPD reported that the “prickly pear cactus” suspect had created more graffiti around campus using the juice of prickly pears.

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Scientists don't make light of EM threats

Sayyed Shah | September 30

UNM scientists, in collaboration with the University of Maryland, have received a $6 million grant from the federal government to study electronics in highly electromagnetic environments.The grant was awarded to create an Air Force Office of Scientific Research, which is a basic research funding agency.

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Smart grid can reduce emissions

Tomas Lujan | September 30

Campus researchers are developing a smarter way to power the future by providing buildings with the ability to communicate.Known as a “smart grid,” the experimental system was installed at UNM’s Mechanical Engineering building in 2005.

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Eichenberg's experience drives campaign for state treasurer

Michael Warren | September 30

This is not Tim Eichenberg’s first rodeo.After a short hiatus from state politics, the 62-year-old Eichenberg is looking to make his return to the political arena.

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Lopez looks to end Republican drought in campaign for treasurer

Kyle Lord | September 30

Rick Lopez is running against Democrat Tim Eichenberg to be the first Republican state treasurer New Mexico has seen since 1948.The treasurer serves as the state’s banker and is responsible for handling its finances and investments.

Tracy Birtel holds a Grey Horned Owl at Sunday’s event. Birtel and her colleagues are part of Wildlife Rescue of New Mexico, which helps rescue and rehabilitate injured animals before returning them to the wild.

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Fall's pagan pride festival fills pantry

Daniel Montaño | September 29

Early-morning rain clouds parted and the sun illuminated psychics, gypsy dancers and henna healers who all came together to celebrate the autumnal equinox. Albuquerque Pagan Pride Day took over Baatan Park on Sunday to educate the public about pagan traditions, encourage community service and bring food to those in need during the harvest season, said Ramona Stipe, event coordinator and president of the board for Pagan Pride Day.The event was one of 115 that took place nationwide over the past week, all of which were aimed at helping others in a loving way and spreading awareness, Stipe said.

Sen. Tim Keller, democratic candidate for New Mexico state auditor, said he will probably never grow out of his love for heavy metal music.

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From metalhead to public servant

Jyllian Roach and Aaron Anglin | September 28

State Sen. Tim Keller may look like the image of an All-American guy, with his side-swept blond hair, polo shirt and nicely manicured nails.But he has a dark secret.He loves heavy metal music.

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Prenatal arsenic exposure linked to disability

Sayyed Shah | September 28

A neuroscience researcher at UNM has found that mothers who drank water containing even moderate amounts of arsenic were more likely to birth children with depression and learning memory deficits later in life.Christina Tyler, a biomedical sciences graduate student, has developed a model using mice to measure the negative effects of exposure to arsenic and ways to counter those effects.Tyler’s pregnant mice were given access only to water that contained 50 parts per billion of arsenic – the same levels the average American adult drank prior to 2006.

Robert Aragon, republican candidate for New Mexico state auditor, said he wouldn’t have run for the office without the blessing of his wife and three daughters.

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Father of three runs for state auditor

Jyllian Roach and Aaron Anglin | September 28

Like most choices in Robert Aragon’s life, the decision to run for state auditor was not made in an office or at a meeting, but at his dinner table.That’s because, Aragon said, he doesn’t do anything without his family’s support, because his family comes first.“I’m a dad – and that sounds really corny, but one of the best things I’ve done in my life and the best things when I’m breathing my last breath will be raising our children,” he said.The 57-year-old father of three had had a promising political career at an early age.