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ASUNM senator resigns after use of racist slurs

Hevyn Heckes | February 1

Associated Students of the University of New Mexico (ASUNM) Senator Romie Sandoval has resigned after text messages emerged in which Sandoval repeatedly used the n-word, causing a public outcry. On Jan. 20, Twitter user @ntonyjean published screenshots providing evidence that Sandoval used the n-word in private messages. @ntonyjean didn’t disclose in the post the origins of the screenshots or whether they were the original recipient of the offending messages. The Daily Lobo spoke with ASUNM president Mia Amin on Jan. 25 regarding the complaints about Sandoval’s language. Amin said she had no knowledge of the allegations and requested to have the screenshots forwarded to her so she could research the situation.

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Grad students protest at president’s house for right to unionize

John Scott | January 29

“Hungry minds, not hungry students” read one sign at Wednesday’s protest organized by the University of New Mexico’s graduate student union decrying the University’s recent attempts to block graduate student workers from unionizing. The protest started with a rally outside of the University House, with students socially distanced, as well as a parade of cars with signs taped to the side that drove around the area. Students’ chants echoed across the campus, saying things like “Trump and Stokes may not agree, but who are we? Employees” and “We. Are. UE.”

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Future bill would help hold New Mexico police officers more accountable

Nikita Jaiswal | January 25

New Mexican lawmakers are reacting to the galvanizing calls for police reform around the country by introducing legislation to clean up the state’s law enforcement academy regulations. The legislation focuses on transferring and creating deadlines for some of the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy’s (NMLEA) responsibilities. The NMLEA currently has two primary responsibilities: training officers and suspending or revoking certification to serve as a peace officer. Representative Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque, highlighted the clear contradiction of those responsibilities, noting that misconduct often goes unreported or without a hearing.

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Navajo Nation, UNM Rainforest affordable housing agreement set to terminate

Hannah John and Shelby Kleinhans | January 25

After July 31, an affordable housing agreement for Navajo students at the University of New Mexico’s Rainforest building will end, leaving 118 residents of the downtown apartment complex looking for alternative — and undoubtedly more expensive — accommodations. Former Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye signed an agreement on Jan. 3, 2018 that provided housing for Navajo students on the fifth and sixth floors of the Rainforest building at a discounted rate of $945, or $189 a month, per fall and spring semester. Since the Navajo Nation decided not to renew the agreement, it will end after its originally scheduled end date this summer.

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Stokes gives State of the University address on public safety, structural racism, COVID and budget crises

Maddie Pukite | January 22

On Thursday, Jan. 21, University of New Mexico President Garnett Stokes released her pre-recorded 2021 State of the University address, reflecting on last year’s major events like the pandemic and community protests. “We have endured one of the most disruptive eras in our nation’s history, from a global (sic) pandemic to a summer of social unrest to a recent shocking assault on the seat of our government,” Stokes said. “The past 12 months have challenged all of us and have further exposed the divisions and inequities in our society.” Stokes covered the University’s response to the summer’s protests and counter-protests, COVID-19 and the resulting financial crises in which the University found itself.

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Vaccine supersite opens at The Pit

Nicholas Romero | January 22

New Mexicans took to The Pit Wednesday morning as University of New Mexico Health officials began distributing the first round of COVID-19 vaccinations. The Pit, normally packed at this time of the year for an evening basketball game, saw empty stands as a large crowd of masked residents lined up outside. The Department of Health, the UNM Health system and UNM Athletics coordinated to distribute about 1,700 vaccines on Jan 20. Their goal is to replicate that for the next three weeks.

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State money for child care available to graduate students

Lissa Knudsen | January 19

As a full time PhD student, with one child at the University of New Mexico’s Children’s Campus half-time, Naomi Ambriz used to pay $568 a month in child care. With newly available child care assistance from the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD), her copayment is now only a third of that amount. Ambriz, a fifth year American studies graduate student and the student parent advocate at the Women's Resource Center, said she first learned about the temporary eligibility rule change that made graduate student parents eligible for child care assistance through the UNM Graduate Studies listserv.

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‘Wishful recycling’ leads to trash taking long, expensive route to the landfill

Maddie Pukite | January 19

The ubiquitous blue recycling bins seen around Albuquerque are being filled improperly, and city and community leaders are trying to correct course to a more sustainable future. According to the City of Albuquerque’s Solid Waste Department, 32% percent of what residents currently attempt to recycle is trash. This is worse than prior audits, where only 20% of the items placed into recycle bins was unrecyclable. The contamination of trash in United States recycling caused China — a major importer of recyclables — to completely stop accepting recyclables from the U.S. in 2018. The decision had a direct impact on how much recyclables are worth, according to Sarah Pierpont, the executive director of the New Mexico Recycling Coalition.

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UNM files to block graduate student union’s right to organize

Ana Straight | January 18

On Dec. 9, graduate student employees at the University of New Mexico officially filed for union recognition with the state Public Employees Labor Relations Board (PELRB). The grad student employees submitted signed cards from a supermajority (60%) of all UNM fall 2020 graduate student workers, and on Dec. 11 the executive director of the PELRB issued a letter finding the petition was “facially valid” and was “supported by a sufficient showing of interest.” In response, UNM filed a petition blocking the unionization request on two grounds: 1) that teaching, research and other graduate “assistants” are not actually employees and 2) if they are in fact employees, then their individual job descriptions are so vastly different that they cannot function as one bargaining unit.

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State Police, National Guard troops patrol Roundhouse in response to FBI warnings

Liam Debonis | January 18

New Mexico State Police and National Guard troops stood watch over the seat of New Mexico’s government in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Jan. 16. The increased security came in response to warnings of potential violence from the FBI ahead of the presidential inauguration on Wednesday. Following the deadly insurrection at the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, the FBI cautioned that state capitols across the nation could see “armed protests'' in the days leading up to President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s swearing in, according to an internal bulletin obtained by ABC News.

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Alabama selected over New Mexico for Space Command HQ

Adam Evarts | January 15

ALBUQUERQUE — On Wednesday afternoon, Air Force officials announced the location of the permanent headquarters for the United States Space Command. Unfortunately, New Mexico’s Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB) was not chosen. Sherman McCorkle, board member of the Kirtland Partnership Committee, told the Daily Lobo that Alabama’s Redstone Army Airfield was chosen as the site for the headquarters. Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller isn’t giving up on the project, however. “By showcasing our space technology expertise and long history of government contracting, Albuquerque made it into the small group of finalists, but it’s no surprise the outgoing administration would make a politically-motivated decision on their way out the door,’ Keller said.

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More stimulus money for students, but timing remains uncertain

Liam Debonis | January 12

College students are set to receive a second round of direct payments through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) following the passage of a coronavirus stimulus package in December. In April of 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided $8.6 million to the University of New Mexico to be distributed as emergency relief grants for students. Undergraduate students were awarded a sum of either $465 or $779, depending on their expected family contribution. The recent stimulus package included renewed funding for the HEERF and once again directed that a portion of the funding be set aside by higher education institutions for grants to be paid directly to students to aid with pandemic-related hardships.

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State film office announces training program for intimacy coordinators

Dylan Haworth | January 12

The New Mexico Film Office has announced a new training program for intimacy coordinators, who serve as on-set mediators focused on decreasing sexual violence and maintaining a safe and supportive work environment for all actors and staff involved in simulated sex scenes. The new role on film crews emerged in the wake of the fight against workplace discrimination and exploitation in the entertainment industry. In a historically male-dominated field, there have been many cases of men committing sexual assault and using the industry’s toxic power structures to exploit talent and crew on set. The training program will take place over 16 weeks and cover topics ranging from consent, power dynamics, LGBTQ+ allyship, gender and sexuality literacy.

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State legislature poised to pass police reform bills

Nikita Jaiswal | January 11

After nearly a year of national uproar and calls for action sparked by the murder of George Floyd’s at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, law enforcement reform is on New Mexico’s spring legislative agenda for the 60-day session. “I anticipate at least six or eight bills dealing with police reform this session,” Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque and co-chair of the criminal justice reform subcommittee, said. Enraged by excessive police shootings and violence, hundreds of New Mexicans took to the streets last year calling attention to the reinvigorated Black Lives Matter movement and the need for change within police forces in the state, particularly the Albuquerque Police Department.

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Will NM legislators abolish qualified immunity?

Nikita Jaiswal | January 10

In the majority of police brutality cases, officers are not criminally prosecuted, and reform advocates contend that is in part because of something called “qualified immunity.” According to Merriam Webster, qualified immunity is “immunity from lawsuits that is granted to public officials (such as police officers) for acts that violate someone's civil rights if it can be shown that the acts do not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would be aware.”

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Trump loyalists decry election results at Roundhouse on Insurrection Day

Nicholas Romero | January 10

On the day the votes from the Electoral College were scheduled to be certified, recognizing Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election, New Mexican supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump took their cars, trucks and horses to the Roundhouse in Santa Fe to protest unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. The Jan. 6 protest came on the heels of a pro-Trump insurrection by far-right radicals at the U.S. Capitol building on the same day. Extremists stormed the halls of Congress and halted the Electoral College vote count with little resistance from Capitol police. The protests in Washington left five dead, and arrests continue to be made with a litany of federal charges facing the rioters.

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Natural hair gets thumbs up with passage of Albuquerque anti-hair discrimination amendment

Maddie Pukite | January 7

At the first Albuquerque City Council meeting of the calendar year, the governing body unanimously passed the CROWN Act, an amendment to the Albuquerque Human Rights Ordinance that will explicitly prohibit race-based hair discrimination. The amendment protects against the denial of employment and educational opportunities because of hair texture or culturally-specific hairstyles, including braids, locs, twists or bantu knots. The CROWN Act, short for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, started with a national campaign created by Dove and the CROWN Coalition, which includes the National Urban League, Color of Change and the Western Center of Law and Poverty.

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Native American voters help flip the vote: UNM students weigh in

Hannah John | December 4

During the November election, Native American voters helped turn states like Arizona and Wisconsin blue with a record turnout. For some Native American students at UNM, this was their first time exercising their right to have a voice in the democratic process. “Yes, this was my first time voting,” Orion Martinez, a Navajo student and psychology major, said. “I am going to vote again because I realized how much power we have in contributing to our future, as well as for all younger generations who are not yet able to vote.”

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Tiny Home Village to have first five residents by end of the year

Beatrice Nisoli | December 2

Tiny Home Village — a transitional housing complex in Bernalillo County’s Albuquerque Indian Center — is scheduled to complete construction next month. The village is made up of 120 square foot micro-homes that aim to address the unhoused population’s need for affordable housing. According to the project’s website, the criteria for residence is “living at or below the 30% of Area Median Income (AMI) level and (agreeing) to pay no more than 30% of their income or a flat rate of $30 towards village maintenance.”

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Netflix to make Albuquerque production hub of North America

Dominic Banghart | November 24

The Albuquerque Development Commission (ADC) approved a request Monday from Netflix for an additional $24 million in Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) funds and a $500 million Industrial Revenue Bond (IRB). If approved by the Albuquerque City Council in early December, this would expand the Mesa del Sol campus by 300 acres and establish Albuquerque as the primary Netflix production site in North America.