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UNM Law professors request delayed fall semester after two test positive for COVID-19

Genevieve Romero | August 10

A group of tenure track School of Law professors at the University of New Mexico have formally requested a delay in the start of the fall semester. According to a letter obtained by the Daily Lobo, law school faculty members Christine Zuni Cruz, Barbara Creel and Marc-Tizoc González sent a letter to UNM School of Law Dean Sergio Pareja on Aug. 5 urging him to push back the start of the semester until Sept. 8. The letter referenced that the law school has reported two positive cases of COVID-19 in the past few weeks. The first was announced on July 24 and the second on Aug. 4, according to the letter.

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New Mexico’s new voter registration numbers plunge

Spencer Butler | August 10

Amidst national concerns over the safety and security of the November elections in a nation still ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, low numbers of new voter registrations have voting rights groups anxious about representation at the ballot box in an extraordinary election year. According to the civic engagement advocacy organization Civics Center, New Mexico has seen a precipitous 79.5% decline in new voter registrations in April 2020 compared to four years prior. 8,021 individuals registered to vote in April of 2016, while only 1,644 people registered to vote during April of this year, according to the Civics Center.

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UNM reconsiders buildings named after violent conquistadors

Gabriel Saiz | August 10

Four University of New Mexico buildings, built and named over two mid-century decades, still bear the names of conquistadors: Coronado Hall, Alvarado Hall, Oñate Hall, and DeVargas Hall. Now, UNM is taking the first step in a long procedural process toward addressing campus buildings named after contentious historical figures, according to UNM spokesperson Cinnamon Blair. The UNM Committee on Naming has been reviewing whether current University policy allows buildings to be renamed or if new provisions must be written to do so, Blair — a member of the committee — said on Wednesday. Current UNM policy covers naming new buildings but lacks a specific provision on their renaming.

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Community members protest police presence in Albuquerque Public Schools

Genevieve Romero | August 10

Nearly 150 young people, students, teachers and community members demanded Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) defund its police department during a protest outside of APS headquarters on Saturday evening. Organizers said police departments in school systems contribute to the criminalization of Black and Brown communities and aggravate the school-to-prison pipeline. “We are out here to demand the defunding and abolishment of the APS Police Department,” Fight For Our Lives organizer and leader Zoey Craft said. Monica Armenta, a spokesperson with the APS superintendent’s office, said Albuquerque Public Schools “understands many of (our) students and their families experience public education through a lens not always understood by all, and (they) will continue to do what they can to eradicate racism where it exists” in a statement to the Daily Lobo.

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Police response, news coverage of incident with New Mexico Civil Guard at Filling Philly’s biased, protesters say

Bella Davis | August 7

About fifty protesters — including families with children and moms in yellow vests — gathered downtown in front of Filling Philly’s, a cheesesteak shop on Central Avenue and Third Street, on Thursday afternoon to decry an incident that happened there Sunday night. As a Black Lives Matter protest came to a close at around 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 2, Black New Mexico Movement organizer Te Barry walked a few protesters to their cars. They’d heard that the New Mexico Civil Guard (NMCG) — a local militia founded by Bryce Spangler Provance, a man who has a swastika tattoo and a documented leadership role in a neo-Confederate organization — was in the area but didn’t know precisely where.

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UNM neglect reason for Student Family Housing closure, students say

Megan Gleason | August 3

Residence Life and Student Housing announced in late June that the Student Family Housing (SFH) complex near south campus would shut down in May 2021 due to insurmountable renovation costs, giving residents time to pack their belongings and find a new place to live. However, some residents are questioning the University of New Mexico administration’s stated reason why SFH is closing. A number of Student Family Housing tenants claim that UNM has been a negligent landlord and treated the SFH complex differently than other potential — and completed — construction projects on campus.

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Expansion of ‘Operation Legend’ into Albuquerque prompts hundreds to protest downtown

Liberty Stalnaker | August 3

As the work day came to a close on July 31, Albuquerque’s courthouse district resembled a ghost town. Roads were barricaded for blocks in each direction, and the air felt still in the absence of the usual motorized vehicle traffic. But by 6 p.m., hundreds had assembled at the intersection of Fourth Street and Lomas Boulevard chanting, burning herbs and readying shields. The assembled protesters shouted that they were rallying against the influx of federal agents into Albuquerque.

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Update: Trump announces Operation Legend is being expanded to Albuquerque

Bella Davis | July 22

President Trump announced Wednesday afternoon that under Operation Legend — an initiative launched in Kansas City, Missouri earlier this month — dozens of federal officers will soon come to Albuquerque, as well as Chicago. Reports emerged Tuesday that this move by Trump was likely, as reported in the Daily Lobo. “Under Operation Legend we will soon send federal law enforcement to other cities that need help,” Trump said. “Other cities need help, they need it badly. They should call, they should want it. They’re too proud or they’re too political to do that. One of them is Albuquerque, New Mexico.”

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Unhoused people in downtown Albuquerque in need of water, PPE and a safe place to sleep

Beatrice Nisoli | July 22

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has cost countless Albuquerque residents their employment and disproportionately affected the existing unhoused population, leaving them scrambling for life-saving resources. As of 2019, homelessness in Albuquerque has nearly quadrupled, launching from 144 to at least 567 people, according to an assessment the Urban Institute released in May. A recent New Mexico Coalition To End Homelessness survey puts the numbers even higher at 1,524 unhoused people in Albuquerque alone. These findings do not account for the pandemic’s impact on housing and employment instability. According to a fact sheet from New Mexico Voices for Children, between the months of March and May, 134,513 New Mexicans filed for Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits -- which aim to combat homelessness — out of a workforce of 835,800. UI claims show a dramatic increase of 2,272% since the pandemic began.

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Trump considers sending federal officers to Albuquerque

Bella Davis | July 21

As federal law enforcement agents continue to brutalize and detain Portland, Oregon protesters, President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to send federal officers to other Democrat-controlled cities, saying officers have done a “great job” in Portland. On the list is Chicago, with Kansas City, Missouri and Albuquerque possibly next. Federal officers have been detaining protesters in Portland for at least a week, as reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting. Protesters have described officers dressed in camo pulling up in unmarked cars and detaining people with no explanation.

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City firearms ban not enforced uniformly at protests

Bella Davis | July 19

CIVIC PLAZA — On Sunday, July 19, what was intended to be a conservative-led, anti-mask protest became a heavily policed counter-demonstration which raised questions of uneven enforcement of a mayoral administrative decree banning weapons in city parks. The Albuquerque Police Department drew criticism for detaining two armed Black men — Frankie Grady and Te Barry — who were part of a counter protest at Civic Plaza on Sunday. In stark contrast, a dozen mostly white, armed protesters — including members of the New Mexico Civil Guard — who were at a reopen protest on Thursday were given a warning rather than being detained.

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‘We asked for help — Why did you shoot him?’: Body camera footage of APD shooting of Max Mitnik released

Bella Davis | July 18

Editor’s note: This story contains discussion of suicide. If you’re feeling suicidal, you are not alone. Please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or contact Student Health and Counseling at UNM at 505-277-313 Seconds before being shot in the hip and side of the head by Albuquerque police officer Jose Ruiz, 27-year-old Max Mitnik calmly said to Ruiz, “I’m going to suffer a lot if I don’t kill myself. Will you please kill me, sir? Kill me.” Albuquerque Police Department body camera footage released last week shows the events that led to the June 4 shooting that left Mitnik alive but severely injured. The following is a breakdown of the 911 call that preceded the shooting and the police lapel footage that captured it.

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Fraternity with long history of sexual assault allegations planning to return to UNM

Bella Davis and Cameron Ward | July 17

Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) — a fraternity with a history of sexual assault allegations and misconduct related to underage drinking dating back to at least 1998 — is planning a return to the University of New Mexico this fall. As the Daily Lobo previously reported, SAE had its charter revoked in 2013 for student code of conduct violations, including consumption of alcohol by minors. Per the revocation, they were eligible to come back to campus in 2017. After two months of investigation, the University administration revoked the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity’s charter in May of 2013. According to a press release from UNM at the time, SAE was disbanded because of student code of conduct violations, which included use of alcohol on campus at an unauthorized event and consumption of alcohol by minors. The Daily Lobo reported at the time that members admitted to consuming alcohol at the party and said they didn’t register the party with the University.

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Board of Regents reject calls for pandemic tuition reduction, move forward with increase

Lissa Knudsen | July 15

In the wake of a nearly $30 million dollar cut from the state, the University of New Mexico’s Board of Regents voted to adjust the University’s budget in a special meeting on Tuesday. The new budget held the previously approved tuition hike in place. The total cost hike is still $125.08 per semester for a full-time undergraduate taking 12 credit hours. For graduate students, the increase is $156.72 per semester for those taking 12 credit hours, as reported in the Daily Lobo after the regents approved the increase at their March 10 meeting.

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Trump administration rescinds short-lived ICE policy affecting international students

Annya Loya | July 14

On July 14, the Trump administration, after multiple lawsuits and outrage from colleges and universities across the country, rescinded the rule in which international students would have been forced to leave the U.S if their schools did not offer face-to-face classes. “The decision of forcing international students to leave in the first place was the dumbest idea they ever came up with,” said Admed Abbas, a UNM international student from Saudi Arabia. The news was probably a relief for a lot of us that feared such a problem to come.” On July 6, the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) agency released a new policy regarding international students in the United States that had the potential to profoundly impact the lives of more than 1.1 million international students across the country.

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CYFD adopts new directives to further its mission of youth inclusion

Beatrice Nisoli | July 12

The New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) recently announced two directives to better support all New Mexico children. First, CYFD updated its non-discriminatory policy to include LGBTQIA+ individuals, and second, the institution extended its age of services from age 18 to 21. According to its website, CYFD “provides an array of prevention, intervention, rehabilitative and after-care services to New Mexico children and their families.” This mission is accomplished by enrolling children and/or their families in different categories of services, like behavioral health or early childhood care, on the basis of an initial screening to determine potential abuse, neglect or other similar instances of trauma.

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Petition to slash UNM tuition gains traction online

Spencer Butler | July 10

As college classes have been forced to switch to online or hybrid instruction during the pandemic, many University of New Mexico students have called for lowered tuition in response to a perceived decrease in the quality of online education. An online petition demanding a reduction of tuition has garnered more than 4,000 signatures and has spread throughout the UNM community. Students at campuses across the country have been making similar demands. According to Inside Higher Ed, students at University of California campuses and the University of Chicago have called for a reduction in tuition, while students at Miami and Drexel Universities have filed a class action lawsuit for tuition refunds.

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GUEST COLUMN: Native students, instructors especially vulnerable to campus reopening

Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi | July 10

While the rest of the Southwest opened up its doors and gathered for July 4 festivities and birthdays, those in the Navajo Nation and in pueblo communities remained at home. A fraction of those who remained at home are Native American college students, including some who are students at the University of New Mexico and some who will make their college debut this fall. When I learned that UNM was taking a hybrid approach to classes for the upcoming semester, my first thought was about those Native students and exactly how this approach would likely affect them. As a Native student and a Native core writing instructor in the English department, I found the decision disconcerting.

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Trespassing arrests, water scarcity traumatize unhoused community already in distress

Bella Davis | July 8

Among the slew of challenges people experiencing homeless face with a sometimes difficult, oftentimes punishing existence rests an ugly injustice: being targeted with criminal trespassing arrests. It’s a trend that some cities have taken steps to change. Last year, San Antonio District Attorney Joe Gonzales said he had started instructing his prosecutors to dismiss cases “if it appears that the only reason the person was arrested was because they were homeless.” Albuquerque, on the other hand, hasn’t taken quite the same approach. Over a nine-day period in June, the Albuquerque Police Department made at least seven criminal trespassing arrests. Police reports obtained by the Daily Lobo detail officers arresting people in parks and — in two separate cases — in an arroyo and near an abandoned building.

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Dion’s in, Pi out as SUB’s fast food revolving door spins once again

Spencer Butler | July 8

Dion’s Pizza announced on Tuesday that a location of the venerated local pizza chain will open in the University of New Mexico’s Student Union Building, with the grand opening expected to happen at the start of the fall semester. Dion’s will take over the space formerly occupied by Pi, another pizza, pasta and salad outlet that was operated by the University’s food service contractor Chartwells. Pi took the space over after WisePies, another local pizza chain, left the SUB. Dion’s joins a fast food lineup in the heart of main campus that already has local franchises like Blake’s Lotaburger, Satellite Coffee and Twister’s and the national chains Subway, Chick-Fil-A and Mandalay Express.