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GPSA announces support for graduate worker union

Bella Davis | October 21

University of New Mexico graduate student workers are organizing a union called United Graduate Workers of UNM, with the support of UNM Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA), as was announced to all graduate students via email on Monday. Pay, benefits and working conditions, all of which would presumably be the focus of union contract negotiations, “are of material importance to the ability of our graduate and professional students to access a high-quality education, maintain good standing in their graduate programs and complete their degrees in a reasonable timeframe,” the GPSA email said.

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Medical abortion available to New Mexico women through telehealth

Sayra Ramos | October 20

New Mexico residents can now obtain abortion medication through the mail. Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains (PPRM) is now participating in a study known as TelAbortion, which provides telehealth medical abortion services. The process is the same through TelAbortion as that of a regular medical abortion, but does not require patients to physically enter an abortion clinic.

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Campus organizations lobby for $12.6 million in student fee funding

Lissa Knudsen | October 19

The University of New Mexico’s Student Fee Review Board (SFRB) held its first of two student forums on Thursday, Oct. 15, with close to 50 attendees and board members participating via Zoom. This year, 30 programs have applied for recurring funding, with six asking for an increase of more than $100,000 over what the board recommended last year. The SFRB is a student committee — consisting of five undergraduate and two graduate student leaders — that meets annually to draft recommendations on how approximately $12.6 million in student activity fees should be allocated.

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COVID-19 jail outbreak jeopardizes vulnerable populations

Bella Davis | October 19

The Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) on the far west side of Albuquerque has seen a dramatic spike in COVID-19 cases this month. Between Oct. 12-15, the jail reported 139 new cases. In response, public defenders are calling for police to cite people rather than arrest them when possible. MDC bookings show that over the past week, dozens of people have been jailed for minor, nonviolent crimes like possession of a controlled substance, driving with a revoked license and criminal trespassing. Trespassing is a charge often leveled against unhoused people, as the Daily Lobo previously reported in July.

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Operation Legend leaves behind a cloud of ambiguity

Gino Gutierrez | October 16

ALBUQUERQUE — U.S. Attorney for New Mexico John C. Anderson appeared alongside U.S. Attorney General William Barr at a press conference Wednesday about the status of the Operation Legend task force. In a statement released in July by the Department of Justice, Barr said Operation Legend aimed to “combine federal and local resources to combat the disturbing uptick in violence by surging federal agents and other federal assets into cities.” Barr praised the actions of the 40 Operation Legend federal agents in Albuquerque. “Violent crime is solvable. It’s not something people have to live with at the levels they’re living with,” Barr said.

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Haaland aims to make outdoors more accessible

Cameron Ward | October 16

U.S. Reps. Deb Haaland and Grace Meng have introduced legislation highlighting the issue that many Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC) and low-income families don’t have equal access to outdoor activities and economic opportunities. “Equal access to natural areas and open lands is a right that everyone holds. However, low-income communities across the U.S. are consistently denied access to these natural treasures and the benefits that public lands provide,” said Haaland, the vice chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources in her introduction of the Environmental Justice in Recreation Permitting Act.

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Guns, oil and outside money: The expensive race for southern New Mexico

William Bowen | October 13

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story ran in the Daily Lobo’s print edition on Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. That story has been updated with quotes from one of the candidates that came in after deadline. One of the closest congressional races in the country is taking place in southern New Mexico: House District 2, contested between incumbent Democrat Xochitl Torres Small and Republican and former state legislator Yvette Herrell. The race is a rematch of the 2018 election, which Torres Small won by only about 4,000 votes — and polling indicates the race is tight once again.

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Graduate student workers organize for better pay, working conditions

Bella Davis | October 13

At a virtual town hall attended by over 150 people, University of New Mexico graduate student workers discussed how the administration has continuously ignored their concerns related to pay and working conditions. Now, they’re organizing to form a union. “This is a historical moment for us to be organizing and unionizing during a pandemic,” United Graduate Workers of UNM organizer and Chicana/o Studies PhD candidate Natalia Toscano said. “The fact is that we’re standing up to ensure that all workers have a voice at the table and that we’re getting all of the benefits and pay and resources that ensure that we live full and dignified lives.”

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Protesters chain themselves to obelisk in opposition to lack of action regarding indigenous recognition

Nicholas Romero | October 11

Two protesters chained themselves to the obelisk in Santa Fe Plaza on Saturday afternoon. A sign chained next to the two men read, “Here I will remain, a white ally chained to the monoliths of racism, colonialism and hatred holding a sign that makes me feel hopeful. But I can no longer be willing to hope for a better future, rather I now must be willing to fight for one!” A crowd of protesters gathered around the obelisk with signs and intentionally disrupted patrons walking around the plaza. The protesters asked passersby to donate directly to them, rather than supporting those other businesses that claim to support Indigenous peoples but don’t give the money back to the people that need it. Protesters also called out those without masks in the plaza and tourists from out of state for increasing the spread of the coronavirus.

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UNMPD officer receives written warning for racist video

Bella Davis | October 11

After a TikTok video featuring a South Park “scanning for Mexicans” voiceover circulated on social media last month and caused an upset among the student body, University of New Mexico police officer Eric Peer was placed on paid administrative leave for two weeks while an internal investigation was conducted, as previously reported in the Daily Lobo. At the time Peer was allowed to return to work, UNM spokesperson Cinnamon Blair said “appropriate disciplinary action” had been taken but declined to disclose any details. Through a records request, the Daily Lobo has learned that the disciplinary action levied against Peer was a written warning.

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UNM withholds on-campus dorms coronavirus data, citing privacy concerns

Bella Davis and Spencer Butler | October 11

Mirroring many other universities across the country in lack of transparency, the University of New Mexico is refusing to disclose how many students living in on-campus housing have tested positive for COVID-19. Responding to a question from the Daily Lobo about which dorms have had outbreaks and how many students who live on campus have tested positive, Sarah Scott, a spokesperson for UNM Institutional Support Services which UNM Residence Life and Student Housing falls under, said the University will not release those details “to protect student privacy.” Melanie Majors, the executive director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, said that universities nationwide are abusing federal privacy laws as an excuse to not disclose coronavirus data.

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Party for Socialism and Liberation courts young voters

William Bowen | October 9

ALBUQUERQUE — As the 2020 election cycle nears its end, some voters are turning away from establishment political parties. One of the parties attracting young voters in particular is the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), a self-described revolutionary Marxist party whose presidential ticket will appear on New Mexicans’ ballots in 2020. The PSL 2020 presidential ticket features Albuquerque native and longtime activist Gloria La Riva for president and disability rights advocate and cultural worker Sunil Freeman for vice president. The party is hoping to ride a wave of youth support.

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UNMPD files leaked in large-scale law enforcement hack

Bella Davis | October 7

Amidst national protests against police brutality spurred by the police murder of George Floyd, hundreds of University of New Mexico Police Department files were leaked in what is reportedly the largest hack of United States law enforcement agencies. Notably, UNMPD appears to be the only university police department included in the leak. It’s now been over three months since the hacked files were published with no public action from the University. Responding to a request from the Daily Lobo, UNM said they were unaware that private information — like home addresses and driver’s license numbers collected for police reports — was made public.

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COVID-19, flu season threaten to push hospitals over the edge

Nikita Jaiswal | October 7

U.S. health officials are bracing for a potential perfect storm as the flu season begins amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Each year influenza, or the common flu, poses a large burden on the health care system. Within the last year, New Mexico has seen several hundred deaths due to the flu. The state’s mortality rates follow closely with national mortality rates, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The University of New Mexico Hospital is operating at critical levels, “well above the 85% average capacity threshold considered optimal for hospital efficiency,” according to a UNMH report. A heavy flu season could stagger hospitals already dealing with COVID cases, as both respiratory viral infections can require intensive care treatment.

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Balloon Fiesta takes flight in a different light

Nicholas Romero | October 4

New Mexicans were able to experience some bit of normalcy amidst the ongoing pandemic on Saturday and Sunday as hot air balloons took flight in the crisp early morning October air. Due to COVID-19 social distancing regulations, the 49th annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta was postponed to at least 2021, and all events this year were canceled. The International Balloon Fiesta traditionally is a nine-day event which not only brings in hundreds of different hot air balloons from across the world, but also brings hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world to Albuquerque.

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Trump tests positive for COVID-19

Liam Debonis | October 4

President Donald Trump confirmed in a tweet on the evening of Oct. 1 that he tested positive for the coronavirus, along with first lady Melania Trump. According to reporting from the New York Times, Trump’s senior advisor Hope Hicks began exhibiting COVID symptoms “around the time of Mr. Trump’s rally” in Duluth, Minnesota on Wednesday, which she attended with the president. Hicks was quarantined while returning to Washington on Air Force One and received positive test results the following day. No details have been provided about if the air in her area of the plane was recycled and filtered throughout the rest of the aircraft.

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UNM employees plead for better working conditions, hazard pay

Jasmine Casillas and Maddie Pukite | September 29

With the University of New Mexico currently reporting 42 cases of COVID-19 among students, faculty and staff, some employees working on campus are requesting better working conditions and hazard pay. Dante Gonzales, a representative of the labor union Communications Workers of America, explained some of the fears and concerns UNM employees have, many of which have been lingering since the coronavirus pandemic began over six months ago. When asked about job security and the potential for layoffs, Gonzales said the rumor mill is abuzz. “(There is) lots of fear around that, especially with temporary workers, because there are definitely rumors about layoffs and furloughs,” Gonzales said. “But to my knowledge, there have been no answers regarding that question.”

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Four UNM buildings still bear names of violent conquistadors

Gabriel Saiz | September 29

The University of New Mexico’s Committee on Naming has reported to President Garnett Stokes that UNM should develop thorough criteria and an enduring, community-inclusive process for removing controversial names from campus buildings. After a counter-protester shot a man protesting the Juan de Oñate statue outside the Albuquerque Museum in June and the sign outside UNM’s Oñate Hall was vandalized, Stokes requested that the committee review the University’s building renaming policy. The committee reported their conclusions and recommendations in a memo sent to Stokes on Sept. 23. The committee reported their conclusions and recommendations in a memo sent to Stokes on Sept. 23.

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Breonna Taylor grand jury verdict sparks nightly protests in Albuquerque

Bella Davis | September 27

Joining nationwide protests over the grand jury verdict in the police murder of Breonna Taylor, protesters in Albuquerque have taken to the streets every night since the decision to not indict the officers was announced on Sept. 23. Taylor was a 26-year-old Black woman killed in her apartment by Louisville, Ky. police officers during the execution of a no-knock warrant in March. A grand jury indicted one officer, Brett Hankison, for wanton endangerment for his actions that night, but none of the three officers who fired shots are facing charges for Taylor’s murder.

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College voters poised to impact 2020 election

Liam Debonis and William Bowen | September 27

As the 2020 general election approaches, the role college voters might play is taking shape. Early polling indicates young voters are highly engaged and that college students strongly favor Democratic nominee Joe Biden, making them a potentially pivotal group. Voters aged 18-29 turned out in the 2018 midterm elections at a higher rate than any time in the last 30 years, according to U.S. Census Data. Furthermore, over 70% of college students surveyed in a recent poll by College Pulse said they were definitely voting. The majority of college students polled are planning to vote for Biden instead of President Donald Trump — but the trend seems to be driven by disdain for the president, not enthusiasm for Biden.