Sam Adams went to UNM's kickoff for Black History Month because the celebration brings out feelings of pride, passion and belonging for him, he said. On Saturday, the Africana Studies Department held a brunch titled "From Civil Rights Activism to the Election of Barack Obama.
Students who want to attend the legislative session in Santa Fe on Monday can sign up to receive a free Rail Runner pass to get there. GPSA and ASUNM are providing the passes, and students can sign up online at either group's Web site. ASUNM Chief of Staff Jake Wellman said students should consider trekking to Santa Fe to fight for funding that would benefit them.
Student Health and Counseling's new health education manager plans to revamp the Peer Education Program, after serving as a peer educator while she attended UNM. Jessica Spurrier will oversee scheduling presentations and training peer educators. Spurrier said the Peer Education Program allows students to teach other students about various health topics, such as depression and stress management.
President David Schmidly's campus-wide e-mail, sent out on Monday, gave a positive - but inexact - outline of steps that UNM will take to make up for shortfalls in the state budget. Schmidly said in the letter that the University has already worked to save money, such as through the hiring freeze, but that it will now save more by reducing nonacademic administrative spending by 15 percent in the next three years.
Many campus groups fearing a loss of state funding redoubled their efforts to claim part of the estimated $8 million the Student Fee Review Board can distribute as it sees fit. At forums Monday and Tuesday in the SUB, representatives from African-American Student Services, American Indian Student Services, El Centro de la Raza, the Office of International Program Support, PIRG, the Student Health and Counseling Center, and the UNM Children's Campus argued about why they deserved a part of the more than $500 each UNM student pays in student fees.
The burning question at the Smoke Free Environment Committee's open forums this week was whether designated smoking corridors will be set up across campus. Pug Burge, co-chairwoman of the committee, said she has received positive feedback from the UNM community on the corridor proposition.
Colorado State was like glass at The Pit - Plexiglas. The Rams didn't bend or break easily, even though the UNM men's basketball team (13-8 overall, 4-2 in the MWC) ultimately earned a 68-50 victory. The key word here would be earned. Rams head coach Tim Miles made sure of it.
The Physical Plant Department said it is well on the way to its goal of saving $75,000 in energy costs over winter break. The project, known as the Winter Setback Program, aimed to save money by reducing temperatures in unoccupied buildings and was introduced in President David Schmidly's final Monday Morning Message before the break.
A team of UNM engineering researchers is working to develop a new composite material to rival concrete, which deteriorates after a few decades. The team is looking to make the material as blast-resistant as possible. The research is being funded by more than $2 million in grants from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the National Science Foundation and the Army Research Office.
Are you a monkey? Chalk drawings have appeared all over campus asking this question, prompting more than 1,200 hits on RUAMonkey.com. The Web site features a video of about 20 people wearing monkey masks and dancing to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" on the steps leading into Smith Plaza.
Proposed legislative budget cuts could end UNM's free bus pass deal with the City of Albuquerque. The Legislative Finance Committee is proposing to cut all of its funding to the program. UNM spokesman Benson Hendrix said that during the last fiscal year, the Legislature allocated $35,000 for student bus passes.
Program directors and students were upset and in disbelief over a proposal from the Legislative Finance Committee that outlines budget cuts to 62 University programs, including African-American Student Services and El Centro de la Raza. The proposed cuts range from 3 percent to 100 percent - with a bulk of the campus' ethnic programs recommended to lose all their legislative funding.
The Briefcase that UNM has long provided its students will soon snap shut forever. Briefcase is the name of an online file-storage system available to students when they log into their UNM accounts. Vanessa Baca, spokeswoman for Information Technology Services, said the application will be removed Friday.
Students nationwide will spend billions of dollars on college textbooks and course materials this year, but they have more options of where to spend than ever before. According to the National Association of College Stores' financial report, students spent $5.
Student regents get to sit at the table with government-appointed, middle-aged businesspeople and take part in million-dollar decisions that affect the future of UNM. This year, Cate Wisdom will be the first undergraduate to take the student regent seat, and she intends to make the most of it.
Daily Lobo: How long have you been playing guitar? Claire Wright: I've been playing guitar about six months. DL: Why did you pick it up? CW: Because I like to write and I've always wanted to write songs as well. DL: Do you know the theory behind the guitar? Or are you just kind of fiddling around? CW: A little bit.
President David Schmidly has outlined an economic plan for the fiscal year 2009-10 that relies heavily on halting all increases in compensation. Schmidly briefly described the economic plan in an e-mail sent to the UNM community on Monday. He said the context of his plan was in keeping with mid-year revenue adjustments, which he expects to be included in the state's solvency plan.
Wednesday was an unusual day for Newsland Bookstore. It was busy. In the early hours, people swept in and out of the newsstand at 2112 Central Ave. Some bought six or seven copies of the New York Times. Others grabbed a Wall Street Journal and a USA Today.
UNM's Smoke-Free Environment Committee is gearing up for its next set of forums this week. The committee is seeking input from faculty and students on how to implement President David Schmidly's policy and make campus smoke-free, said Pug Burge, co-chair of the committee.
Solutions by The State News
