When the officer arrived, dispatch received a call stating the male was yelling he had a gun. Over the radio, the officer asked for assistance at Ortega Hall and notified other officers there was a possible firearm.
The University of New Mexico received a $2.8 million grant in September from the National Institutes of Health to study diabetic blindness, also known as diabetic retinopathy. According to Dr. Arup Das, the the division chief in the Ophthalmology Division at UNM Hospital, diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in Americans aged 20 to 64. There are two types of diabetic blindness, Das said. There is mild diabetic retinopathy and moderate diabetic retinopathy.
The newly established University of New Mexico Speech and Debate team hosted the UNM Lobo Howl on Saturday Nov. 3 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Judged by UNM student volunteers, New Mexico high school students were welcomed to compete in the tournament to win from a variety of awards. The tournament offered 10 events for students to compete in, including extemporaneous speaking and student congressional debate. A total of 18 New Mexico high schools participated, making the total amount of attendees over 180 participants. Awards were given out to the top three competitors of each category.
Her cluttered office glows with a burnt-orange hue. Binders of music sheets, books of children's songs and a mini fridge fill up this otherwise cozy office. Yet, everything here has its place. This is the academic office of Dr. Regina Carlow. She is set to become the interim Dean of the College of Fine Arts, according to interim Provost Richard Wood. The position opened after the previous dean, Kymberly Pinder, accepted a position as provost and senior vice president at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, according to University of New Mexico Newsroom.
On Oct. 30 in the Student Union Building the Dueling Pianos came to the University of New Mexico. It consisted of two pianists, Kirk Garrett from Yosemite, California and Rich Wyman from Allentown, Pennsylvania under the name “Killer Keyz,” each playing their own piano and singing at the request of audience members — though there were duets as well as individual songs sung by the two. The pair has known each other for six years and have been playing together since meeting. This stop at UNM was part of their current fall tour that started Oct. 11 in Riverside, Wyoming.
The University of New Mexico’s LGBTQ+ Resource Center hosted “A lunchtime conversation on Transgender rights” in collaboration with Equality New Mexico this past monday. The event shed light on transgender rights in the current political climate, ways to combat transphobia and resources at UNM and the surrounding community. According to the UNM LGBTQ Resource Center website, the center works to create a welcoming health and learning environment on UNM campus for all students. Equality New Mexico is a statewide LGBTQ+ advocacy organization. Keynote speakers Adrian Carver, the executive director of Equality New Mexico and Janice Devereaux, LGBTQ Resource Center program assistant discussed the recent federal memo to redefine gender as purely biological.
The University of New Mexico Panhellenic sorority organizations are organizing fundraisers for their chapter’s philanthropies. Two of UNM’s four Panhellenic Council (PHC) sororities, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Chi Omega, have already had their major fundraising events for the semester. Kappa Kappa Gamma’s fall semester fundraiser “Kappa Karnival” took place last Saturday, Oct. 27 and raised money for the sorority’s philanthropy Reading is Fundamental. Reading is Fundamental is the largest non-profit literacy organization in the U.S.
A piece of legislation and two appropriations were sent through committee Wednesday night during the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico committee meetings. A resolution asserting that solutions to combat sexual violence should be pursued was passed through the Steering and Rules Committee. The resolution's author, Senator Rose Cary, highlighted fixing the broken blue light phones across campus, installing more lights in parking lots around UNM and extending shuttle hours as solutions students would benefit from.
The University of New Mexico’s Africana Studies Program and their unofficial student-organization, Uhuru Sasa: Freedom Now, are pushing for departamental status. While Africana Studies, founded in 1969, was the first ethnic studies program at the University, it is the only one not currently a department. The Program must submit a proposal to be approved by first the UNM Board of Regents Academic/Student Affairs & Research Committee. It then will have to face a full BOR meeting and finally go before the Higher Education Department for approval.
Monday, Oct. 29 is the deadline to submit applications to run for Senate of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico. Undergraduate students who want to fill one of the 10 available seats must be enrolled in at least six credit hours, not be under any kind of University probation and have at least a 2.5 GPA. “This is a big election for Senate, ASUNM and UNM as a whole,” said ASUNM Vice President Emily Wilks. “There are so many diverse challenges facing our community right now.”
The effects of the “Year of the Woman” are being seen in New Mexico. In particular, the number of women running for the New Mexico House of Representatives is up eight percent from the 2016 election cycle. “We have a whole group of sort of younger women who are more inclined to see politics as a gender neutral place as opposed to a man’s world,” said Lonna Atkeson, a political science professor specializing in gender politics at the University of New Mexico. “Maybe they see it as a man’s world, but think it should be a woman’s world too.”
Gubernatorial candidates Michelle Lujan Grisham and Steve Pearce squared off on Wednesday night for a debate hosted by KOAT that highlighted the major differences in their platforms. Through the entirety of the debate, the candidates distanced themselves from each other not only politically, but also morally and ethically. Pearce’s opening statement ended with “this race is about the insider, my opponent, versus the outsider, myself,” and he often used the term “corrupt” to describe Grisham. Grisham compared Pearce to President Donald Trump, and accused Pearce of profiting unethically through his connection to the oil and gas industry.
Three University of New Mexico student organizations hosted a watch party on Friday night for the three New Mexican candidates running for U.S. Senate. College Republicans, College Democrats and Students for Gary booked the Student Union Building ballroom to watch Republican Mick Rich, Democratic-incumbent Martin Heinrich and former Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson, who is the candidate for the Libertarian Party. Going into the debate, which was hosted by KRQE, Heinrich was polling at 45 percent, according to a KRQE/Pacific Market Research poll. Rich was trialling at 32 percent, with Johnson in third at 22 percent.
Students at the University of New Mexico will begin to see new common course numbers beginning in the Fall 2019 semester. The new mandated Common Course Numbering system (CCNs) is being implemented by the State of New Mexico’s Higher Education Department to standardize common courses among higher education institutions. According to the Common Course Numbering Project on UNM’s Office of the Registrar page, New Mexico House Bill 282 requires that 100 and 200-level courses share the same CCNs to ease transfers between higher education schools and for higher degree completions.
The Associated Students of the University of New Mexico put together hygiene packages for students and individuals struggling with housing and food insecurity. The effort was spearheaded by the ASUNM community service agency, Community Experience. With help from volunteers, they assembled the packets together on Oct. 23.
Burglary, criminal damage at Santa Ana Star Field Press Box On Oct. 5, an officer was sent to 1313 University Blvd. SE, due to a burglary no longer in progress at the press box at the Santa Ana Star Field, according to a University of New Mexico Police Department report. When the officer arrived, the student who contacted police said it appeared that the suspect(s) entered the press box through a window. The student said he left his laptop in the press box overnight, and it was taken. It appeared the suspect(s) forced the window open, damaging it. Footprints on the top of a desk seem to indicate that only one suspect was involved in taking the laptop. The laptop could not be entered into the National Crime Information Center, because the student did not provide a serial number. The area was searched. However, no suspicious activity on Oct. 5 or the evening of Oct. 4 was observed.
On Oct. 26, the University of New Mexico student organization, Students Creating Really Awesome Productions (SCRAP), held their opening night for their show “Too Much, Too Much, Too Many.” The story focused on Rose, played by Domenica Nieto, a grieving mother who has just recently lost her husband James, played by Nicholas Johnson, to Alzheimer’s disease. When she decides to lock herself in her room, her daughter Emma, played by Kristine Padilla, brings Pastor Hidge, played by Nicholas Caine, to try and get her to come out of her room. The set provided a fluid transition between scenes with a well designed layout that accommodated the feeling of separation between Rose and the rest of the cast, while also showing the audience the full picture. This was reinforced by the collaboration of the cast and delivery to the audience, showing how strong the feelings of these characters were.
In this year’s Student Fee Review Board process, organizations across the University of New Mexico requested $4.5 million more than what was available, according to Becka Myers, chair of the SFRB. Myers, who is also president of Associated Students of UNM, told Senators during Wednesday’s Full Senate meeting that about $17.6 million had been requested, while only about $13.1 million was available for the fall 2019 and spring 2020 semesters. In the latest Board of Regents meeting, interim Provost Richard Wood stated that the University faced a $2.1 million shortfall in student fees due to decreasing enrollment. He added organizations relying on student fees could face cuts of up to 12 percent if they were fully implemented.
There’s a purpose behind the purple today. October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and in recognition of that LoboRESPECT Advocacy Center asked the University of New Mexico campus to wear purple today. It also happens to be the day of observance and all around the country communities are partaking in “Purple Thursday.” Linda Lindquist, director of LoboRESPECT Advocacy Center, said Purple Thursday is a chance for the campus to observe and show solidarity in awareness of domestic and intimate relationship violence.
The University of New Mexico Women’s Resource Center (WRC) supports the UNM community in a variety of services, including the Gendered Violence Prevention Program. According to WRC Outreach Specialist Caitlin Henke, the Gendered Violence Prevention Program focuses on both sexual violence awareness and prevention, in addition to bystander training. According to the WRC website, “The Gendered Violence Prevention Program trainers have presented to Res Life, the Greek Community, Athletics, CEP, New Student Orientation, LoboRESPECT Student Leaders and advisors. Trainers have trained students and staff within our new Peer Educator Model.” Reina Davis, the outreach coordinator for WRC, said the program was established in 2013 by the first author of “The Grey Area” training, an online training that UNM requires students to take.
Solutions by The State News
