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'I couldn’t stop looking to the rooftops': Protesters left scared, frustrated as President Stokes doubles down on continuing relationship with local law enforcement

Joe Rull | June 6

A photograph of two New Mexico State Police officers climbing atop the University of New Mexico's George Pearl Hall carrying what appeared to be sniper rifles on Sunday evening has circulated widely on social media, drawing condemnation from the campus community in all directions. All directions, that is, except from UNM President Garnett Stokes. "I really cannot condemn police for actively trying to protect people," Stokes told the Daily Lobo.

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Amidst week of protests, APD shoots another man in crisis

Bella Davis | June 5

Albuquerque police responded to a call Thursday afternoon from a man who said his son Max Mitnik, who is in his mid-20s and has been diagnosed with a mental health disorder, wanted to be taken to the hospital because he was afraid he was going to hurt his parents. He was shot at least once by an Albuquerque Police Department officer and is in critical condition.

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Fall semester will include masks, physical distancing and a lot of online classes

Beatrice Nisoli | June 4

 The University of New Mexico is planning a combination of both remote and in-person classes for fall 2020. “We expect fall will be a hybrid semester – some classes in-person, some a mix of remote and in-person, and some fully remote, and lots of masks,” Provost James Holloway said. On May 22, UNM released a tentative plan for how the University will resume operations. Coined “Bringing Back the Pack,” the plan details rules and restrictions for faculty members returning to work and sheds light on what campus life will look like in the fall 2020 semester.

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APD arrests Black Lives Matter organizer accused of violating parole

Bella Davis | June 2

As a fourth night of protesting over the police killing of George Floyd got underway in Albuquerque, Clifton White — a 36-year-old Black man who helped organize Thursday’s protest — was arrested by the Albuquerque Police Department in a shopping plaza across from the Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center. White’s wife Selinda Guerrero, a community organizer for Forward Together, and other organizers said that White’s Monday night arrest was retaliation for his organizing work. Guerrero posted a video on Facebook of White’s arrest. As he was taken into custody, White said, “There’s no jurisdiction. I’m being illegally arrested.”

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Peace and Justice Center holds vigil for George Floyd

Spencer Butler | June 1

ALBUQUERQUE PEACE AND JUSTICE CENTER — On May 31, a crowd of roughly 800 people gathered for a vigil honoring George Floyd, a Black man who was murdered last Monday by a law enforcement officer and has since become a symbol of the systemic racism and police violence against people of color that pervades the country. Video evidence showed Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis policeman, pressing a knee into Floyd's neck for around nine minutes while Floyd pleaded for him to take his knee off of his neck. Floyd eventually stopped breathing and was pronounced dead later. Chauvin has since been arrested for third-degree murder and manslaughter charges.

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City of Albuquerque deploys riot police after peaceful Black Lives Matter protest

Bella Davis | June 1

Downtown Albuquerque more closely resembled a theater of operations on Sunday night as riot police released tear gas and shot rubber bullets at protesters and journalists following hours of peaceful protests. The escalation marked the largest law enforcement mobilization and use of force against New Mexico citizens since the police murder of George Floyd last Monday. Albuquerque residents marched earlier in the evening in response to the murder of Floyd, a Black man who asphyxiated after a police officer pinned him to the floor with his knee for just under nine minutes.

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APD uses tear gas against protesters after George Floyd demonstration

Bella Davis | May 31

"Take it to the streets and fuck the police. No justice, no peace," protesters chanted during an Albuquerque march and car rally on Thursday evening. The several hundred people in the streets demanded justice for the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer on Monday. Late in the evening after the initial demonstration had largely dispersed, a SWAT team dispatched for reports of gunfire in the area arrested four people, leading the remaining protesters nearby to go to the scene. Following this, a riot police team arrived on the scene and allegedly injured at least one protester with tear gas canisters.

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Undocumented students receive aid from UNM

Liam Debonis | May 22

As federal aid initiatives designed to blunt some of the financial hardships from the COVID-19 pandemic sidestep undocumented students, some colleges and universities — including the University of New Mexico — have decided to fill in the gaps with relief of their own. UNM has pledged aid to undocumented students who have filled out state financial aid forms. While most undocumented students are barred from federal financial aid, the state of New Mexico permits all students to apply for state financial aid regardless of immigration status.

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Grace McNealy continues school after graduating with three degrees

Megan Gleason | May 14

After an undergraduate career that was as circuitous as it was prolific, involving a heavy focus on student publications, Grace McNealy will continue her academic journey at the University of New Mexico as a graduate student in the fall. McNealy is finishing her undergraduate degrees with a double major in English and Spanish, along with an honors minor. McNealy plans for a master of arts in English literature with a long-term goal of a publishing career in the future.

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UNM town hall addresses anti-Blackness on campus

Alyssa Martinez | May 13

A Zoom town hall to address anti-Blackness within the University of New Mexico community was held Tuesday following a series of racist online attacks hurled at Director of Africana Studies Program Charles Becknell, Jr. On April 30, two separate special event request forms were submitted that contained racist slurs and threats directed at Becknell, as reported by the Albuquerque Journal. “I know that everybody here knows why we’re here,” UNM President Garnett Stokes said at the start of the town hall. “A member of our faculty was recently a victim of what I think was a horrendous hate crime.”

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UNM prepping for up to $53 million budget cut from the state

Justin Garcia | May 12

State funding for the University of New Mexico could soon plummet some $53 million or 15%, according to UNM’s top finance administrator, raising questions about cuts and reductions across the University in the coming months. Teresa Costantinidis, UNM’s vice president for finance and administration, told the Board of Regents on Tuesday that UNM is prepping budget scenarios for the likely loss of a significant chunk of state funding due to a historic crash in oil prices and a reeling COVID-19 economy.

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COVID cost UNM nearly $50 million in lost revenue

Justin Garcia | May 5

The novel coronavirus hit the University of New Mexico’s budget hard. Teresa Costantinidis, UNM vice president for finance and administration, told a Board of Regents Committee that COVID-19 has cost UNM $49.8 million in lost revenue.  Administrators didn’t say what actions they might take to stem off repercussions of the revenue lost beyond lobbying the federal government for more relief. However, Provost James Holloway told the Daily Lobo that UNM is under a hiring freeze with an undetermined end date.  “We do expect (for fiscal year 2020) additional allocations of approximately $10 million in total,” Costantinidis said. 

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NSO goes online

Beatrice Nisoli | May 4

The University of New Mexico’s New Student Orientation (NSO) is officially transferring to an online format.  In a continuing effort to mitigate the potential effect of COVID-19 on UNM students, NSO Director Jose Villar developed an online orientation program for specific groups that has since been extended to all incoming students. According to Villar, he and his team “are committed to doing their part to flatten the curve.”  Coined “NSO...To-Go,” the online orientation will feature live presentations, Q&A panels, webinars and virtual help sessions, among other events. Villar said familiar NSO-specific activities, such as the annual completion of The Grey Area talk and academic advisement and registration, will also be conducted in a remote format. 

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Social media, bullying dominate final ASUNM meeting

Alyssa Martinez | May 2

As outgoing senators shared solemn goodbyes and incoming ones watched on the Zoom call, one parting piece of advice was unavoidable in the last full senate meeting of the semester: Social media conduct matters. When they weren't passing three bills — two of which were related to the internal protocol of an Associated Students of UNM State of Emergency — and a resolution acknowledging the hardships brought on by COVID-19, several ASUNM senators spoke on the virtual presence of those within the organization. Outgoing ASUNM President Adam Biederwolf was the first to raise the topic during his final presidential report.

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Bucking popular vote, committee moves forward with new seal

Justin Garcia | April 30

The popular vote wanted design A.  Supporters said in write-in comments that they preferred the artwork, that it provided a sense of pride and that it told a story better than other options.  The Regents disagreed.  Despite not receiving popular support, design C was chosen unanimously by the Academic, Student Affairs and Research Committee (ASAR) over four other designs. The seal is not the logo. Instead, the seal is reserved for official documents, including diplomas. 

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Kiana Caalim and Nahje Flowers considered for posthumous degrees

Justin Garcia | April 30

Posthumous degrees for Nahje Flowers and Kiana Caalim unanimously approved the Academic, Student Affairs and Research Committee Thursday, signaling approvals at an upcoming Regent’s meeting.  Flowers died November 5, 2019. Caalim died on December 11, 2019.  “The University of New Mexico recognizes that earning a degree is a matter of legitimate pride of achievement not only for students themselves but also for the family members and friends who provide students with vitally important support,” read Caalim and Flowers’ posthumous degree request form. 

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COVID-19 disproportionately impacts marginalized populations

Amanda Britt | April 29

The coronavirus pandemic is not the great equalizer some in the limelight have touted it to be.  Melanie Moses, UNM professor of computer science, has been studying the racial disparities of the coronavirus spreading within our state. Moses said there needs to be policies implemented to protect vulnerable groups as individuals plan to open economies, distribute personal protective equipment and develop vaccination plans. “There are shocking disparities among African, Latinx and Native-American populations with mortality rates at rates at least two or three times higher than white populations,” Moses said. At least 31% of New Mexicans who’ve contracted COVID-19 are Native American despite only making up about 11% of the population, according to an article New Mexico In Depth published based on publicly available data.

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UNM announces virtual commencement ceremony

Makayla Grijalva | April 27

In an email sent to those graduating in spring 2020 on April 27, the University of New Mexico President Garnett Stokes officially announced a virtual celebration to honor graduates.  The celebration will take place on Saturday, May 30 at 9 a.m, with more details expected to come later this week from the Office of the University Secretary. The email added that a virtual commencement does not replace an in-person one, so spring 2020 graduates will be invited to walk at a later commencement ceremony.  “To say that a virtual celebration is an imperfect solution would be an enormous understatement—and believe me, I’m as upset as you are that we won’t be celebrating your new degree in person, in a crowded Dreamstyle Arena (Pit) filled with family and friends,” Stokes said in the email. “Commencement is a life experience, a genuine rite of passage—and as such, it truly cannot be experienced virtually.”

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Politics, misinformation enter fray as 'anti-quarantine' protest and COVID cases continue

Andrew Gunn | April 26

A small group of protesters demanding the reopening of New Mexico’s economy gathered at Civic Plaza Friday while the death toll from the coronavirus in New Mexico continues to mount. The demonstration — organized locally on Facebook by longshot Republican congressional candidate Brett Kokinadis and a group called “NM Freedom Rally - Operation Gridlock NM” — mirrored other anti-quarantine protests held in Santa Fe and across the country in recent weeks calling for the softening of social distancing restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic. While the small nationwide protests continue to make headlines and grab attention online, their origins remain unclear. A Washington Post article found that three brothers from Ohio were responsible for some of the largest anti-quarantine Facebook groups in the country.

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Agora Crisis Center faces high-volume chat services during pandemic

Megan Gleason | April 24

The University’s Agora Crisis Center has seen an increase in the use of their services during the coronavirus pandemic. Agora — a UNM student organization — is a free, confidential all-issues support center accessible to anyone.  “Our whole mission is really to just help our community,” Agora Associate Director Kyle Dougherty said. “Anybody can get in contact with us at any time.” Agora reported they’ve had an increase in online chat services, while their phone services remain consistent with previous records.