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Stanford and California leave Pac-12

Lily Alexander | September 5

Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley left the Pacific-12 Conference for the Atlantic Coast Conference on Friday Sept. 1. This paves the way for the Pac-12’s two remaining schools, Oregon State University and Washington State University, to join a new conference or create their own. The MWC and the American Athletic Conference originally stood as the top two contenders to take Oregon and Washington State, according to CBS. Comments made by AAC commissioner Michael Aresco on Friday seemed to remove them from the equation.

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What is going on with college athletic conference realignments?

Lily Alexander and Maddie Pukite | August 27

Listed to improve athlete welfare, the athletics department Research and Public Service Projects Funding request was increased by $3.5 million from last year. This increase comes amidst conversations about the potential realignment of the Mountain West Conference. “With the recent changes in membership composition in several conferences, the Mountain West is exploring all opportunities to strengthen the league, including through the addition of new member schools,” MWC Board of Directors statement from Aug. 9 reads, which President Garnett Stokes serves as the chair of. The MWC is one of 10 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision conferences with some independent programs. Its uncertain future follows the reorganization of the Pacific 12 Conference, now left with four teams.

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The sky’s not the limit

Danielle Knox | August 27

Recently, the University of New Mexico’s physics and astronomy department was granted $750,000 from NASA. This grant is headed by associate professor, Diana Dragomir, who leads the research into exoplanets at UNM. “What we want to do with this grant is find a different kind of exoplanet. We want to find more of them. Especially those of a longer orbit,” Dragomir said. The benefits of this research for the average person, Dragomir said, is to help provide answers to the fundamental questions of life. Why is there life on Earth? Is there life elsewhere?

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Librarians advocate for alternative to textbooks

Maddie Pukite | August 27

An alternative to requiring students to purchase textbooks, University Libraries have begun to develop programs and offer grants to help professors integrate Open Educational Resources into their curriculum. All resources on an OER are licensed as Creative Commons - free to use. Three librarians at the University of New Mexico – Holly Surbaugh, Jennifer Jordan and Leo Lo – conducted a study in July of 2023 on the impact of textbook cost at a Hispanic-serving institution UNM. 70% of the 315 UNM undergraduate students in the study reported the amount they spent on textbooks was “somewhat or extremely unreasonable,” and 102 said the cost of materials impacted their ability to purchase basic needs such as housing, food and transportation.

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Miles to fight cancer

Sydney Walker | August 24

The seventh annual fundraiser event for the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center is taking place at University Stadium on Sept. 23. All money raised will benefit the Cancer Center and its patients. Last year the Lobo Cancer Challenge raised $373,500. Those participating this year will either take on a 5K, stair challenge, 25 or 50 mile bike ride or virtually decide which athletic challenge they will do individually. For children ages 1-10, there is a cub pack 1K run or walk.

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Students hate PATS

Maddie Pukite | August 20

“I hate PATS” is what the stickers plastered all over campus last year read. Created by Tomas Chacon and his roommates. The stickers were created in protest of the Parking and Transportation Services at the University of New Mexico at the beginning of last year, Chacon said. Currently, the cost of parking at UNM is on the rise. Since last semester, the cost of parking meters on campus has been raised by 25 cents per half hour, totaling $1.75 per half hour with the maximum payment of $28 for 8 hours – $3 more than a parking citation. In April of 2022, parking was a dollar per half hour.

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UNM Board of Regents files as a party in air pollution regulation

Maddie Pukite | August 20

This past May, the University’s Board of Regents filed as a party in the ongoing petition to amend the New Mexico administrative code to stop new air-polluting projects in communities that already live with environmental hazards via a Health Environment Equity Impact regulation. The Mountain View Coalition alongside the New Mexico Environmental Law Center filed the petition back in November. This October, the Air Board will vote on the regulation. In May, the Board of Regents entered as a party.

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‘It smelled like plastic. That creates a memory’

Austin Fisher and Megan Gleason | August 17

This story was originally published by Source New Mexico Celerah Hewes lives in southeast Albuquerque. On Aug. 6, she was driving home from the grocery store and happened to see the smoke plume from the Atkore United Poly Systems fire. “Otherwise I would never have known,” she said. “I would have stayed in my house, my swamp cooler on, and maybe had no idea that there was an air quality issue.” As of Tuesday, city and state authorities still have not said publicly how much smoke the fire generated. They also have not provided any detailed documentation of where the smoke went. Through a spokesperson, the city of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department said the smoke drifted south by southeast “away from populated areas.”

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Legislative meeting highlights plans for a school year alongside AI

Lily Alexander | August 14

Faculty at the University of New Mexico are preparing for the impact of artificial intelligence for the upcoming academic year after professors weighed its benefits and risks at a Science, Technology and Telecommunications Committee meeting on July 24. The committee was created by the New Mexico Legislative Council in May. AI was one of three topics the committee discussed, and the subject was given additional meeting time to develop legislation.

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Board of Regents approve RPSP requests

Maddie Pukite | August 14

Passed unanimously, University of New Mexico President Garnett Stokes presented the Legislative Research and Public Service Projects Funding requests for FY 2024 - 2025 to the Board of Regents at their meeting on Thursday, Aug. 10. The largest RPSP request for 2025 was $11,941,700 for athletics to improve student-athlete welfare, recruitment and “enhancing the university’s brand”; it was $3.5 million more than last year’s request.

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UNM’s Film students & faculty stand with the strike

Elizabeth Secor | August 14

In early May, the Writers Guild of America went on strike. The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Union soon followed, striking in early June. As the 2023 fall semester begins at UNM, film students are looking at their future field without regrets despite the strikes, senior Michael Madrigal – who’s in the Film Department – said.

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Trans and non-binary students report mixed experiences with SHAC

Lauren Lifke and Milan Ortiz-Ruiz | July 28

Over the past two years, several trans and non-binary University of New Mexico students have reported mistreatment and lack of access to hormone therapy at Student Health and Counseling (SHAC), according to Juniper Reimagined’s outreach coordinator, Ophelia Aragon. This has resulted in a delay of medically necessary gender-affirming care. Juniper Reimagined is a Queer and trans student alliance at UNM amongst several LGBTQ student organizations on campus. Five student members of Juniper Reimagined have said they had a poor experience with SHAC, including trans and non-binary individuals who said they have dealt with being misgendered, Aragon said.

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ICYMI: Summer Coverage Collection

Daily Lobo Staff | July 27

With 6 new people on staff and summer classes in full swing, the Daily Lobo has spent the summer in the newsroom writing stories. Below is a sampling of some of the work that has gone out in the Daily Lobo email newsletter this summer.

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Adderall shortage impacts Queer community at UNM

July 24

The Adderall shortage continues to impact those on the medication, including members of the Queer community who are more likely to be neurodivergent. Multiple studies find a correlation between neurodivergence and Queerness. Adderall is the most commonly used medication for Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; 50-70% of autistic folk have ADHD and the drug has faced a shortage since Oct. of 2022, forcing millions to go without their medication. “There is a link between certain neurodiversities and being Queer. They're also linked in that way where there is a disproportionate amount of people who identify as both Queer and neurodiverse in some way,” Tiziana Friedman said.

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Accommodations for queer students living at UNM could go further

BillyJack Davidson | July 24

For Queer students, finding out who your college roommate is can cause anxiety, Mara Cox – the president of Juniper Reimagined – said. While having roommates is a common practice at the University of New Mexico, for trans students it could possibly create an unsafe living environment. “One of the biggest anxieties I personally had to face with getting a roommate you don’t know is wondering if you’ll have to hide yourself. If you do have to hide your identity, the best case scenario is just not interacting with the roommate at all – basically having to purposefully avoid them, which is hard when you live with them,” Cox said.

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Unsafe driving conditions impacts campus

Francesca Cicconetti | July 21

During the summer and with the current heat wave, tension and stress can be higher. This can cause more aggressive and confrontational drivers on the road, according to Associate Professor of Urban Design, Moises Gonzales. The heat and amount of time we spend in the car may play a role when it comes to road rage, Gonzales said. “There are some studies on specific human behavior … Even heat affects how people engage or how it affects mood,” Gonzales said. “Based on your commute trend, you may have an obvious higher probability of expecting road rage.”

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UNM Housing expands use of triple dorms

Marcela Johnson | July 19

Last Monday, students were notified via email that UNM Resident Life and Student Housing would convert multiple double rooms to a three-person capacity in order to meet housing demands. The halls with rooms that can be converted into triple capacity dorms include Coronado, Hokona, Santa Clara and Alvarado. The exact cost of the rooms were not given by Megan Chibanga – Director of UNM Resident Life and Student Housing. However, students in these rooms will have a reduced rate compared to traditional double rooms, according to Chibanga.

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Lobo Food Pantry provides year round access to necessities

Detroit Kallunki | July 16

Facing a lack of basic needs affects university students year-round, however during the summer when temperatures are higher, campuses aren’t fully open and the availability of resources are lower for many. 67% of college students surveyed across New Mexico campuses have experienced some form of insecurity, according to the 2023 Basic Needs Project. The survey completed by the UNM Basic Needs Project is a group that UNM’s Basic Needs Specialist, Amanda Martinez, put together to gain insight on data about student needs. The Lobo Food Pantry is a resource available to students that operates four days a week and allows any UNM student with a student ID to come and pick up a basket of donated food.

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Lack of maintenance for parks in Albuquerque causes harm to communities

Weston Quintana | July 14

Amidst New Mexico’s summer heatwave with temperatures in the 100s, concern has spiked over the inadequate maintenance and neglect of parks in communities of color and low-income areas. The poor maintenance of parks is an example of environmental racism. “The dire state of these parks hinders the residents' access to green spaces, but also permeates into environmental racism and there is a need for change,” Enrique Cardiel, a community organizer, said. The Regional Recreation Center/Quality of Life Grant was a state-led effort to improve amenities at public outdoor spaces in the state. While none of the funding went to Bernalillo County, Urban to Wild coordinator, Rachel Swanteson-Franz, said these efforts are to help improve equity in public green spaces.

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UNM’s Challenge Course brings the community together

BillyJack Davidson | July 11

The University of New Mexico offers a multitude of resources for its students, faculty and alumni. One resource is based on growing a foundation to the skills taught at UNM: teamwork. UNM’s Outdoor Activities Center is located outside Johnson Center and is a part of the University’s Recreational Services. The OAC has a program called the Challenge Course and Leadership Development initiative which consists of the Challenge Course.