Traffic congestion will increase dramatically in the University area by 2035, according to a multi-county governmental agency’s projections. The Mid-Region Council of Government is accepting feedback on the 2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan, said Terry Doyle, MRCOG Director of Transportation.
DL: What do you see as the biggest issues facing the graduate community? JC: The two issues that directly impact graduate students the most are the availability of research funds at the institutional and state level as well as the cost of attendance and the employment opportunities available to graduate students in New Mexico once they complete degrees. It hasn’t really been discussed by this University that graduate students here leave with more debt relative to their peers nationwide and encounter fewer employment opportunities in the state.
The odds a nuclear reactor will explode in Japan are minimal, and citizens there face slim chance of radiation side effects, according to the UNM section of the American Nuclear Society. “Everything indicates that the efforts to keep the reactors and spent fuel cool using sea water are succeeding,” ANS representative Margaret Root said.
A magnitude 9.0 earthquake and 30-foot tsunami hit the northeast coast of Japan on March 11 — and the aftershocks are affecting people as far away as UNM.
This summer, UNM students will travel to Central America’s poorest country to learn economics and lend a helping hand. Professor Matias Fontenla will take 18 students to Nicaragua in June for his Sustainable Development in Central America class.
The oversized soda can in the SUB is meant to demonstrate how small pieces of trash can turn into big problems, but the soda can is made of material that isn’t environmentally friendly. The soda can, which stands about 10 feet high, is made of Fiberglass and Styrofoam, said Adam Greenhood, the creative director of the Albuquerque-based Esparza Advertising firm.
Lobo Village plans to allow alcohol for of-age residents when the dorms open in August, but no one ran that policy past the City Council. “It was never revealed to anyone here,” Councilor Isaac Benton said. The City Council in November denied UNM’s requests for a liquor license at The Pit.
The GPSA presidential race kicked off Wednesday with the first of four debates, and candidates discussed student fee allocation, departmental cuts and student government transparency. Candidate Katie Richardson said GPSA should set an example as an open, inclusive government for the University.
UNM teachers may not receive a pay cut after all, since top UNM administrators are willing to take the cut on their behalf. The state Legislature passed a mandate that would force state employees to pay an extra 1.75 percent from their paycheck into their Educational Retirement Board (ERB) pensions. Faculty Senate President Richard Wood said Tuesday that the University could cover the ERB costs if the Board of Regents approves budget recommendations. “UNM proposes to cover the full 1.75 percent additional hit to salaries permanently,” Wood said. “Except administrative vice presidents and above will not be covered.”
How certain is professor Howard Kraye that his students have a keen business sense?
Albuquerque residents will soon have an alternative to calling a cab or designating a driver when drinking.
ASUNM senators held an emergency meeting Monday night about UNM’s $5.4 million budget shortfall and subsequent measures to bump up tuition costs. The Board of Regents is expected to recommend an 8-10 percent increase on top of a 3.2 percent increase mandated by the state Legislature, a tuition increase of roughly $300 per student.
Five students who needed transportation, or were tired of emitting pollution, got free bikes March 5 to use for the semester. Student Matthew Wilder developed LoboBike, an upstart program where he and his partner Richard Rivas fix bikes that would otherwise take up space at the landfill.
Conservation isn’t just for endangered species. It’s also for the diminishing funds of the Natural Heritage New Mexico Division, a program in the Museum of Southwestern Biology that works to identify and rehabilitate native endangered species, said Esteban Muldavin, the division’s curator. “They (other divisions of the museum) have fishes in bottles and stuffed birds,” he said.
A group of students spent part of its spring break demanding that the Board of Regents cut administrative pay and put the UNM salary book online. GPSA council chair Megan McRobert said at the March 16 meeting that administration doesn’t allow students to be part of budget-related decision making in a meaningful way. She said that decision-making groups should include students, and meetings should be advertised to the public.
The 60-day legislative session ended Saturday, and New Mexico legislators narrowly passed a $5.4 billion budget just before time ran out. Lawmakers allocated $730 million for higher education. Nearly $43 million, or 6 percent, was cut from higher education funds compared with last year.
LAS VEGAS — There’s a reason Utah’s Michelle Plouffe was the Mountain West Conference women’s Freshman of the Year. After hitting a similar, end-of-times buzzer-beater against BYU in the semifinals, Plouffe hit a two-point jumper with 24 seconds left in overtime to lift the fifth-seeded Utah women’s basketball team over second-seeded TCU 52-47 in the MWC tournament championship.
LAS VEGAS — It was a Jiimmer jamboree. For four straight contests, the UNM men’s basketball team walked away with wins against BYU.
Nine graduate and professional students announced their candidacy for GPSA leadership positions, stepping up to the plate for a tenure rife with budget concerns and cutbacks. The GPSA Elections Committee met Thursday to begin coordinating for the debates, the first of which will take place March 23. “I get the feeling it is going to be a high turnout year,” GPSA member Michael Verrilli said.
State workers and public school teachers might have to pay more than 12 percent of their salaries toward retirement starting July 1. HB 628, which extends an increase of 1.5 percent and tacks on an additional 1.75 percent to workers and teachers, passed the House in a 43-26 vote Monday.
Solutions by The State News
