Although campus police and University security constitutes most of UNM's safety force, there is a small group of students standing ready to do their part to make the community safe. That group is the UNM Student Patrol and this is its eighth year of working to provide late-night escorts and lending a hand to assist UNM police and campus security.
by Emily Williams Daily Lobo In 1969, Hispanic students created a program on the UNM campus to serve as a support system and encourage the success of students. During the past 30 years the program went through name changes while growing as a staple for the Hispanic student population.
Bob Martin has spent more time as an embedded journalist during military conflicts throughout the world than the majority of his counterparts. Martin, a photographer, reporter and helicopter pilot for KRQE-TV, told stories of his 26 years of experience to a class of aspiring journalists Thursday.
The Department of Communication and Journalism is seeking an estimated $3.7 million in capital improvement funds to renovate its 54-year-old building that department officials say is badly in need of repairs. Rising maintenance costs and a demand for more space are key reasons for the request, made by the department to University administrators who allocate state funds each year, said Brad Hall, the department's chairman.
With the Albuquerque Police Department's infamous Party Patrol out of commission, some students might think the time is right for public debauchery, but police are still looking to break up parties. Party Patrol, the brainchild of Mayor Martin Ch†vez, was aimed at curbing underage drinking and drag racing but has been shut down for about two and a half months, APD Sgt.
Dean Jones, an employee at the New Mexico State Fair's Indian Village, remembers when it was nothing but a dirt lot; he sat and watched the rodeo from a set of bleachers outside. Back then, he said, it was only 25 cents to get in. "As people's needs and wants change, fairs need to change along with them," Mike Cerletti, the fair's manager, said.
University police are crossing their fingers a federal judge will award them a portion of nearly $40,000 seized from an Albuquerque man who was stopped near campus on Aug. 19. An agent from the Drug Enforcement Agency said law enforcement officials have reason to believe the money, now being held as evidence by University police, comes from the sale of drugs.
by Keri Burson Daily Lobo Along with the convenience of living on campus comes the student responsibility to ensure rooms are properly cared for, and officials say so far damage has not been a major problem at UNM. "Students live hard in the residence halls, but I don't think they're abusive," said Robert Schulte, director of housing and food services.
Despite rising natural gas prices, UNM officials say they are committed to reducing air pollution in the city by continuing to run many of its vehicles on the fuel source. The University teamed with the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department and PNM in March 2001 to install a natural gas station on campus, said Louise Martinez, director of the natural resources department.
UNM's Campus Office of Substance Abuse and Prevention in conjunction with the Albuquerque Partnership, a nonprofit organization dedicated to substance abuse prevention, was recently awarded a grant from the United States Department of Education Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools.
The Recording Industry Association of America filed 261 lawsuits Monday against people allegedly sharing large amounts of music over the Internet in violation of copyright law. According to the U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, none of the lawsuits involve UNM students as of yet, but the association promised more such lawsuits - possibly thousands of them - in the coming weeks.
Warren Smith, chairman of the Foreign Languages and Literatures department, said the manipulation of time sheets by two employees is to blame for the department being more than $16,000 in debt. Smith said the two staff members, Wilma Williams and John Owen, allegedly began falsifying time sheets for personal gain around December 2001, six months before he became department chairman.
Sandia Labs helps NASA in shuttle crash cause ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - From the serial explosions of the Unabomber to the crash of the space shuttle Columbia, Sandia National Laboratories has done its share of detective work. With Columbia, a Sandia computer simulation showed the plausibility of a theory - regarded with skepticism while the shuttle was still airborne - that a piece of foam dislodged during the launch and damaged a wing.
New Mexico's drought situation, solutions to the problem and consequences for the state were the topics of a panel discussion featuring several local experts in the field Tuesday night. "What drought and climate change to New Mexico," the first in a four-part lecture series titled "Water Issues for the 21st Century," is intended to educate the UNM community about the state's growing water concerns, said Marilyn O'Leary, director of the Utton Transboundary Resources Center, one of the event's co-sponsors.
The UNM Board of Regents voted unanimously Tuesday to accept the University's pay- increase proposal of 2 percent plus $350 a year for more than 1,000 United Staff-UNM employees. Contract negotiations between the union and UNM began in May. US-UNM rejected the percent-bonus-based offer in June, favoring instead a step-in-grade increase system, sending the process into mediation, which failed Aug.
The convenience of cell phones and the rising cost of landlines has UNM students following the national trend of people using cell phones as primary sources of telecommunication. Megan Gallegos, a UNM freshman, said having a cell phone is convenient and that it is pointless to pay more for a landline when she can take her cell phone everywhere she goes.
More communication and integration among UNM's three English as a second language programs will benefit each of the colleges the separate programs are in, directors say. Though it would be difficult to get all three programs under one administrative structure, such a concept could streamline the teaching of ESL at UNM, said Larry Smith, academic director at the Center for English Language and Culture.
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, stricter visa guidelines and a more stringent application process have made it harder for international students to study in the United States. The Student and Exchange Visitor System, which includes the newest set of rules foreign students must comply with, has cut down on the number of international students studying at UNM, said Ken Carpenter, an adviser in the Office of International Programs and Studies.
Isotopes attendance exceeded expectations ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The Albuquerque Isotopes say their first season was off the Geiger counter with ticket sales tallying about 100,000 above predictions and merchandising that led all other minor league teams.
by Kate Crofts Daily Lobo UNM students returned to class this semester with the weight of their academic choices not on their shoulders, but on their backs. Marvin Arnsdorff, co-founder of "Backpack Safety America," researched the health effects of backpacks, and his findings may help explain the pain suffered by students.
Solutions by The State News
