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UNM alum helps connect the New Mexico aerospace industry

Adam Evarts | March 2

Casey DeRaad sits at her desk. Behind her are pictures of her family and a company plaque that reads "NewSpace New Mexico," and in front of her is her laptop with Zoom loaded up. It's time for DeRaad's "Third Thursday Tech Talk," where NewSpace connects with representatives from other aerospace companies to share insights and new developments in the burgeoning industry. This is the idea behind NewSpace New Mexico: to connect New Mexico aerospace companies with one another in order to facilitate mutually beneficial relationships.

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UNM women’s soccer coach scores big with national role

Shelby Kleinhans | March 2

Heather Dyche has lived and breathed soccer for as long as she can remember, and after years of dedication to the field she was elected to the Board of Directors for the United Soccer Coaches, creating another avenue for her to share her passion with others. According to the United Soccer Coaches' website, the organization's goals are "to promote the game of soccer, generate greater publicity for the sport and improve teaching of the game through soccer clinics as well as research and evaluation of coaching of the sport." Dyche said the group oversees collegiate soccer, youth soccer and soccer for people with disabilities, but their focus on advocacy and trying to help people sets them apart from other organizations.

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Jennifer King: Breaking barriers in the NFL

Jesus Mata | March 2

The Washington Football Team made history on Jan. 26 when they announced that Jennifer King was promoted to assistant running backs coach, making her the first Black woman to hold a full-time coaching position in the NFL. Prior to her stint in Washington, King was an offensive assistant at Dartmouth College, interned during multiple offseasons with the Carolina Panthers and was a seven-time All-American quarterback and wide receiver playing for the Carolina Phoenix, a women's tackle football team, from 2006-17. During the 2020 season, King worked as a full-year coaching intern and is credited with helping develop the team's running back corps with the offensive staff and running backs coach Randy Jordan. Under King and Jordan, Washington's running backs totaled 423 rushing attempts for 1,697 yards and 20 touchdowns.

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UNM advocacy group fights for lower campus sexual assault rate

Lissa Knudsen | February 28

Reports of sexual violence in on-campus housing at the University of New Mexico — including rape, dating violence and stalking — increased dramatically in 2019, according to the 2020 UNM main campus Clery Act report released last November. According to the data, there were 17 reported rapes in on-campus housing out of 23 campus-wide in 2019, marking a 21% increase from the year before. During the same period, reports of dating violence increased from 16 to 30, and stalking cases increased from 36 to 45.

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New Mexico abortion ban repealed

Sarah Bodkin | February 28

The bill to repeal New Mexico's 1969 abortion ban (Senate Bill 10) was signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday, Feb. 26. The repeal adds an extra layer of protection for abortion health care in the state in case Roe v. Wade is overturned by the right-leaning Supreme Court. "Anyone who seeks to violate bodily integrity, or to criminalize womanhood, is in the business of dehumanization. New Mexico is not in that business — not any more," Lujan Grisham said in a press release announcing the repeal. Many supporters of the bill, including Lujan Grisham, believe that ensuring protections for abortion rights in New Mexico will save the lives of people seeking abortion care.

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UNM plans fall return to campus

Spencer Butler | February 27

A faculty-wide memo released by the University of New Mexico provost’s office on Feb. 26 said that while the University can’t predict the future status of the public health crisis in the U.S., fall semester classes will likely be held in person. “The fall 2021 face-to-face experience might still involve some ongoing precautions such as mask wearing, directional signage, symptom checking and continued disinfection in classrooms and other University spaces such as research laboratories, offices and libraries,” the office of provost James Holloway wrote.

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Rural, small K-12 schools begin in-person instruction while urban institutions remain remote

Jasmine Casillas | February 25

On Feb. 17, the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education voted “no” on a voluntary re-entry plan that would allow students and teachers the choice to return to in-person learning. Had the plan passed, Albuquerque teachers would have been expected to be back in the classroom by Feb. 22. Elementary students would have been allowed to return on March 1, and secondary education students March 8. The motion failed on a tight 4 to 3 vote.

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Vaccination plan reaches nexus for UNM students and employees

Nikita Jaiswal | February 25

As the state continues to work through phase 1B of its vaccination plan, the University of New Mexico is strongly urging faculty and students to sign up for vaccinations. In an effort to help motivate registration, ASUNM senators passed legislation on Jan. 27 encouraging individuals to make plans for receiving the vaccine “to increase the vaccinated population and help provide for herd immunity.” “We want to inform the student population,” ASUNM senator Helen Zhao said. “Not many people know where to sign up for the vaccine, and some of the process is confusing.”

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UNM provost: Spring break to continue as usual, with precautions

Spencer Butler / @SpencerButler48 / Daily Lobo | February 23

James Holloway, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of New Mexico, confirmed in an interview with the Daily Lobo on Feb. 21 that spring break is still on schedule. “We hope that spring break can happen as planned and that students can take advantage of the break to recharge safely,” Holloway said.

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City Council agrees to consider racial equity for future building projects

Maddie Pukite | February 18

On Wednesday, Feb. 17, the Albuquerque City Council voted unanimously in favor of creating a racial equity criterion for the Capital Implementation Program (CIP). CIP's mission is to “enhance the physical and cultural development of the city ... Through a multi-year schedule of public physical improvements, CIP administers approved capital expenditures for systematically acquiring, constructing, replacing, upgrading and rehabilitating Albuquerque's built environment,” according to the City of Albuquerque. The ordinance, if signed by the mayor, will give the CIP access to a series of maps that show the location of underserved communities in Albuquerque. The geographical information will help determine the location of new projects, such as community centers, parks and public spaces.

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Unhoused woman cited for littering dies in MDC custody

Gabriel Biadora and Shelby Kleinhans | February 16

Ten months ago, Joleen Nez was accused of the crime of improper trash disposal in a southeast Albuquerque neighborhood. The petty charge ultimately cost Nez her life. Nez, an unhoused Native American woman, was cited, released and issued a criminal summons for the petty misdemeanor of littering on public property by officer Preston Panana of the Albuquerque Police Department on April 16, 2020. The original complaint filed by Panana said that Nez was issued a civil citation for kicking over a cup and bowl at the intersection of Texas Street and Zuni Road and refusing to pick up and throw away the cup "after (Nez) was given several opportunities to pick up her litter." On Jan. 30, 2021, Nez died in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center custody.

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Black veterans affairs nominee endures racist questioning in confirmation hearing

Maddie Pukite | February 16

On Feb. 12, Senate Minority Leader Gregory A. Baca, R-Belen, posed racially targeted questions towards Sonya L. Smith, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s nominee for the head of Department of Veterans Services, during her confirmation hearing in the Senate Rules Committee. Baca, a member of the Senate Rules Committee, asked if Smith, in her seven years in New Mexico, had immersed herself enough in the culture of a state that is “2.6% African American and 48% Hispanic” to be able to adequately represent the interests of its veterans. Smith, who served in the Gulf War, replied, “Are you asking if I feel comfortable representing the Department of Veterans Services as a Black woman?”

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NM’s ‘Student Athlete Endorsement Act’ passes first hurdle

Spencer Butler | February 16

On Feb. 3, the Senate Education Committee passed SB 94 — known as the “Student Athlete Endorsement Act” — clearing a hurdle for the bill to become law and allow student-athletes to make money from their name, image and likeness (NIL). Similar laws passed or proposed in sundry states across the country would allow student-athletes to profit from their NIL, with several due to take effect on July 1. Thus, if a student were to appear in a commercial and earn money off the appearance, for example, a “post-secondary educational institution” — i.e. the University of New Mexico — couldn’t prevent that athlete from doing the commercial or receiving compensation from the appearance.

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ABQ teachers union ‘surprised, alarmed’ by plans to resume in-person K-12 classes

Gino Gutierrez and Jasmine Casillas | February 15

One week after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that K-12 schools across the state can return to in-person learning regardless of their red to green risk designation, most elementary and secondary students remain at home. While the announcement came as welcome news to a number of students around the state, many teachers were skeptical, suspicious or downright bewildered about the abrupt about-face regarding convening groups of five or more people while the coronavirus vaccine is still slow to roll out. “All of the members of the union were surprised at the early date,” Ellen Bernstein, president of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation, said.

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New female pastor at Grant Chapel AME adapts to pandemic

Maddie Pukite | February 11

Margaret McFaddin has continuously made a point to tie social justice into her preaching, and her work in Albuquerque is no different. “(The church) empowers you to be able to love people without restriction. That's really who we are and what we do,” McFaddin said. McFaddin was appointed on Sept. 11 of last year to Grant Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Albuquerque, and she currently serves as the second female pastor in the church’s history.

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Abortion decriminalization bill making way through Legislature

Sarah Bodkin | February 4

The New Mexico Legislature has introduced two identical or "mirror" bills aimed at repealing the 1969 law that criminalized abortion — which currently cannot be enforced due to the Supreme Court passage of Roe v. Wade in 1973, wherein the court declared it unconstitutional to restrict a woman's right to choose. On Jan. 25, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the Repeal Abortion Ban (Senate Bill 10), which would repeal New Mexico’s 1969 anti-choice statute if approved by the full Legislature. Six Democrats voted in favor and three Republicans opposed the bill during the committee hearing. The Senate bill has 28 sponsors and was previously passed by the Health and Public Affairs Committee.

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New Mexico aims to provide protections for natural hairstyles statewide

Maddie Pukite | February 3

The No School Discrimination For Hair Act passed through the House Education Committee on Jan. 28, moving New Mexico one step closer to outlawing discrimination against natural hairstyles and cultural headwear in schools and workplaces. Filed as HB 29 and passed unanimously through its first committee, the bill would “prohibit schools to allow discipline or discrimination or different treatment, based on a student’s race or culture, or a student’s use of protective hairstyles or cultural headdresses,” according to the legislation. The statewide push comes after the Albuquerque City Council passed a similar ordinance earlier in January, as reported by the Daily Lobo. Both of these efforts stemmed from a national movement, created by Dove and the CROWN Coalition, which includes the National Urban League, Color of Change and the Western Center of Law and Poverty. The project stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” or CROWN.

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State paid sick leave bill yet to clock in

Maddie Pukite | February 3

After years of grassroots organizing for paid sick leave, a state bill that would recognize those efforts and provide relief for working New Mexicans has yet to be heard in the House Labor, Veterans’ and Military Affairs Committee. House Bill 37 is a paid sick leave bill, co-sponsored by Democratic state representatives Angelica Rubio, G. Andrés Romero, Patricia Roybal Caballero and Linda Serrato. The bill would — upon passage — immediately require New Mexico businesses to provide their employees with paid time off due to illness. “This is a very familiar piece of policy for me and for people across the state who have been working to find some equity in a lot of the worker’s justice legislation that we have been trying to push for over the last few years,” Rubio said.

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Police use of force accountability bill resurfaces at Roundhouse

Gabriel Biadora | February 3

As the 55th session of the New Mexico Legislature picks up steam, state lawmakers have introduced a number of police reform bills. One of note is the return of a bill that would provide reporting mechanisms to investigate police officers after their use of “deadly force” on an individual that leads to great bodily harm or death. Senate Bill 274, introduced on Feb. 1 by Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, aims to reform police accountability laws after a surge in public calls to reduce violent activity by law enforcement. There were 16 fatal police shootings in New Mexico in 2020, according to a database compiled by the Washington Post.

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ASUNM senate elects new president pro tempore

Hevyn Heckes | February 3

The Associated Students of the University of New Mexico assembled on Zoom Wednesday, Jan. 27 to elect a new president pro tempore, ensure more transparency in proposed legislation and call for a more collegial relationship with the Daily Lobo. Raina Harper, a junior studying film and digital arts, was nominated for ASUNM president pro tempore by Finance Committee Chair Sarah Polsin. Polsin said she nominated Harper because “she’s such a well-rounded person” and “she knows what she’s doing.” Harper, the only nominee, was elected by a majority vote. Votes were conferred confidentially to Ryan Lindquist, the director of the Student Activities Center.