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UNM students win diplomacy award in Spain

Justin Garcia | April 1

From bioweapons to blockchains, Andrew Baker and James Goodman know their stuff.  During Spring Break, while a lot of students were taking it easy, the student organization World Affairs Delegation was winning awards in Madrid, Spain.  Baker and Goodman both took home diplomacy awards, given out to members who “seek to empathize, to understand, and to collaborate with their fellow members to produce the most positive change and advancement they can,” according to the Harvard World Model United Nations (WorldMUN).

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Questions raised about legality of ASUNM meeting

Kyle Land and Justin Garcia | March 28

An undergraduate student-government committee violated the New Mexico Open Meetings Act (OMA) during a meeting last week, according to open meeting experts. The Associated Students of the University of New Mexico Steering & Rules Committee held a meeting on March 20 and unanimously voted down a series of bills that would have dramatically changed the structure of the institution. At Attorney General Emily Hartshorn's suggestion the committee adjourned to discuss the idea of changing ASUNM's makeup further. 

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ASUNM: Biederwolf wins presidential election

Justin Garcia | March 28

Adam Biederwolf won the 2019 Presidential election of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico, defeating his opponent, Mohammad Assed, by just over a hundred votes.  Biederwolf received 779 of the 1,476 voted in the election, according to the Election Commission. Assed received 664. Madelyn Lucas won the Vice President’s office with 868 votes, beating Holly Gallegos by 372 votes.   Biederwolf said after hugging his brother, mother and father: “When you’re running a campaign you have to be dedicated mentally and physically. I guess it just went my way."

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Heated exchange takes place in SUB mall

Justin Garcia | March 28

University of New Mexico Police Department was called out to the Student Union Building Mall during a heated series of arguments for a potential assault. The incident stemmed from a series of heated exchanges between a group called Christ In The Wild Ministries and UNM students.  The incident happened between Amanda Baquera and Sean (who declined to give his last name). Baquera said that Sean had shoved her while the two were arguing. Sean said that he did not.  “He tried going through me, but I stayed as a wall and he shoved me and once he shoved me I said ‘you're not getting to her’ because to me that’s aggression,” Baquera said, referring to another student in the argument. 

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2019 ASUNM Presidential elections begin today

Justin Garcia | March 25

The administrations of Becka Myers and Emily Wilks are coming to an end.  From Monday March 25th until 5 p.m. on Wednesday March 27th, the undergraduate student body — at least a portion of it — will elect a new president and vice president of the Associated Student of the University of New Mexico. Voting on Monday is all online. Voting on Tuesday and Wednesday is online and in person at the Student Union Building.  A handful of things are clear at this point in the race. 

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LoboTHON raises over $100,000

Justin Garcia | March 25

In 2016, LoboTHON raised just over $25,000.  During the 13.1-hour dance marathon on Saturday (and into Sunday), LoboTHON said they raised $103,408 for the University of New Mexico Children’s Hospital. That's just above the group's stated goal of $100,000 and smashed 2018’s total of $95,432.  The dance marathon is the last in a series of year-long fundraising events for the UNMH Children's Hospital Miracle Network.  

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UNM buildings kill dozens of birds, study finds

Anthony Jackson | March 25

Not only is the Farris Engineering building one of the newer buildings at the University of New Mexico, but it is also one of the deadliest buildings — for birds.  It stands erect against a blue sky, massive windows providing camouflage for an open ambush. Smudges on the reflective glass detail individual feathers of a wing and some bear the imprint of a beak, almost like a gravestone bearing their memory after hitting the glass.  Window strikes are not a new concept to the University. Data collected from Museum of Southwest Biology (MSB) researchers dates back to 1965 — the first entry marked the death of a ruby-crowned kinglet. Over the course of 53 years, more than 60 bird deaths have been recorded on campus. However, there is an issue with the data set — it is incomplete and sporadic. 

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Professor discusses how to navigate privilege

Danielle Prokop | March 25

Dr. Stacey Pearson-Wharton has previously titled her presentation on privilege, difficult conversations and apologies: “When you step in the multicultural poo,” poop emoji optional.  Around 500 people filled the ballrooms in the Student Union Building to attend Pearson-Wharton’s talk: “When Intent Doesn’t Equal the Impact: Healing Relationships in the Wake of Offense” on Wednesday evening.  Pearson-Wharton said her goal was to give the attendees the tools to effectively apologize and to recognize their own privileges, and recognize what to do in uncomfortable situations arising around race, gender and sexuality. “I want to be clear that just because you feel uncomfortable does not mean you are unsafe,” Pearson-Wharton said.  Pearson-Wharton emphasized her focus was teaching people how to better apologize to one another — to make sure the apology is not reluctant or insincere. 

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ASUNM votes against new senate seats

Justin Garcia | March 21

It was big. It was radical. It was something that had come up a number of times before. And it would have restructured undergraduate student government. But, it wasn’t ready.  At least that was the consensus of the Steering & Rules Committee of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico, who voted down a package of legislation that would have added up to 10 (possibly appointed) seats on the Senate. 

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ASUNM forum focuses on campus resources

Justin Garcia | March 21

Resources and how to access them dominated the discussion at Monday’s Associated Students of the University of New Mexico endorsement forum. The forum, mandated by ASUNM governing documents, gives student organizations a chance to endorse candidates, as the name suggests. The event doubles as a forum, where Elections Commissions Director Jordan Montoya and Assistant Director Christian Ojeda moderated the candidates.  “I don’t think the endorsement forum is useful,” Montoya said. “(The forum) doesn’t mean people will vote.” This Presidential Election comes after a Fall semester Senate election that saw record-low turnout. Just over 1,000 undergraduates voted, according to the Elections Commission. That's about six percent of the undergraduate student body for Fall 2018.

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UNM recommends labor board reject union's petition

Kyle Land | March 19

Editor's Note: The University's official response submitted to the labor board can be viewed in its entirety here. The University of New Mexico has recommended the UNM Labor Management Relations Board reject a petition signed by over 900 faculty to create a union, according to their official response submitted to the board. UNM said the bargaining unit, United Academics of UNM (UA-UNM), was not stated appropriately and should be ordered to submit another petition with UNM’s recommended changes.  UNM’s response — delivered to the labor board Monday afternoon — was written by Loretta Martinez, chief legal counsel for UNM. President Garnett Stokes has previously said the president’s office is in charge of drafting the position. The University was required to meet a March 18 deadline for the response, which was extended from March 1. 

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Presidential candidates discuss the issues

Justin Garcia/ @Just516garc/ Daily Lobo | March 18

This year’s race for president of the undergraduate student government is a decade in the making. Adam Biederwolf and Mohammad Assed, both raised in Albuquerque, have known each other since elementary school. Now, heading into what is likely to be their final two semesters of university, they are running against each other to represent the undergraduates as President of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico.  The President is elected by a plurality of main campus undergraduates and comes with a $10,000 per semester salary and a scholarship for two semesters. According to the ASUNM constitution, the ASUNM President is responsible for the eight student service agencies of ASUNM, (this coming year) co-chairing the Student Fee Review Board, representing the undergraduate student body to the Board of Regents and enforcing the ASUNM Senate laws. 

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ASUNM Vice President candidates share their ideas

Justin Garcia/ @Just516garc/ Daily Lobo | March 18

The next Vice President of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico will have been a Finance Committee Chair. That much is clear.  Whether it will be current Finance Chair, Holly Gallegos, or last semester’s Finance Chair, Madelyn Lucas, will be decided by the undergraduate student body during the election, which runs from March 24-27.  The ASUNM constitution describes the role as “the president of and preside over the Senate, and shall have no vote except in the event of a tie. “ The Vice President also appoints Senators to committee chairs along with assigning senators to one of the three committees. Like the president, the Vice President also comes with a salary and scholarship. 

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The Legislature may be over, but UNM's budget woes are not

Danielle Prokop | March 18

Focus will shift to the University of New Mexico budget, following this year’s legislative session. UNM’s appropriations from the 54th New Mexico Legislature saw an increase in general funding, and more money for the Department of Athletics. However, the University is still facing enrollment shortfalls — that means less in tuition and student fees, and pressure on teacher and staff salaries.  According to House Bill 2 (HB 2), this year UNM received $188 million from the State General Fund, which goes directly to the Instruction and General purpose fund (I&G). Those funds are used for supporting the academic mission of the University. 

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Johnson Center renovation nears completion

Justin Garcia | March 18

After almost a year of construction, the redesigned Johnson Center is beginning to take shape.  While there will be many new additions, the remodeled recreation center will not have a rock-climbing wall, a feature suggested at the start of the project.   According to Director of Recreational Services Jim Todd, there wasn’t room in the $35 million budget for the addition.

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Photo Story: The D.C. you don't see

Anthony Jackson | March 18

My first time in Washington, D.C. was not special. I remember spending most of my time working in my dorm room and in the Senate Press Gallery of the Capitol building. I never saw as much as I wanted to. I walked the National Mall and went to museums dozens of times, but I never took the time to explore as much as I should.  I visited a friend in D.C. over the break and I wanted to makeup for lost time. Instead of keeping my head down and avoiding human interaction, I made it a goal to get out and notice the small things. 

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University to make decision on union petition today

Kyle Land | March 18

On Monday, University of New Mexico officials will be releasing their response to a petition signed by over 900 faculty members across all five campuses in support of the formation of a collective bargaining unit, which was filed under the name United Academics of the University of New Mexico (UA-UNM).  The decision will come more than a month after the petition was first delivered to President Garnett Stokes during her traveling office hours. UA-UNM allowed the University until March 18 to reach a decision Lee Montgomery, an associate professor and member of UA-UNM, said the University essentially has three options on how to respond to the petition:

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Regents discuss Athletics, union in Spring Break meeting

Danielle Prokop | March 11

On a rainy Monday during Spring Break, the University of New Mexico Board of Regents discussed support for a faculty union, resurrected the Athletics cuts discussion and elected new leadership positions on the board. Douglas “Doug” Brown was elected to regent president, Kimberly Sanchez Rael was elected vice president and secretary-treasurer went to Sandra Begay. All votes were unanimous. This removes the mantel from both Regents Robert Doughty, and Marron Lee, former regent president and vice president respectively. They are also the only holdovers from former Gov. Susana Martinez’s appointments to the seven-member governing board.  At the top of the meeting, the regents voted unanimously to appoint Marianne Bowers and re-appoint the UNM/Management appointee, Charlotte Lamont, to the UNM Labor Management Relations Board which governs labor negotiations. 

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ASUNM doles out $8,000, changes Joint Council's role

Justin Garcia | March 7

With the first day of spring break so tantalizingly close, the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico held there fourth meeting of the semester, doling out about $9,000 to eleven student organizations and modifying a few positions within the government.  Christian groups, most of which were requesting money to attend conferences, were the biggest recipients of Wednesday night’s appropriations. Deviate, Navigators and InterVarsity received a combined $3,139.  Deviate received the most. According to their appropriation request, the money is to attend a retreat in Colorado. 

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GPSA in turmoil following heated meeting

Justin Garcia | March 6

This spring semester has been a busy one for the University of New Mexico's Graduate and Professional Student Association. They've experienced conflicts of interests, people in the gallery becoming voting members of GPSA in a matter of minutes, accusations of unethical behavior and presidential impeachment proceedings.  And that was all in one meeting.  That February meeting began with Director of Student Affairs, Ryan Lindquist, explaining to the council what abstaining means. Shortly after, it was announced that three council members had resigned since the last meeting.