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News

Q&A: ASUNM candidates discuss their hopes for UNM

Gabriella Rivera | November 13

In this week’s Associated Students of the University of New Mexico Senate election, four slates and several individual candidates will be asking for your vote. With elections taking place Monday through Wednesday, Nov. 15. The Daily Lobo's Gabriella Rivera asked them about their campaigns and how they hope to make an impact on the University. Candidate Brandon Bennett (No. 4) did not respond in time for this interview.

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NYT reporter talks natural disasters and science

Kyle Land | November 12

As 2017 starts to wind down, the amount of high-profile natural disasters that have affected every part of the world this year is shocking. Communities grappled with hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, wildfires in California and Montana, massive flooding in India and many more. Last Thursday, longtime environmental reporter Henry Fountain spoke at the Hibben Center to explain his fascination with disasters and how they radically change the future of the world. “I’ve always been interested by disasters,” Fountain said. “I’m fascinated by the power of nature.” Fountain has been a New York Times reporter for over two decades, where he writes mostly on science and environment-related topics.

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Drag contest celebrates LGBTQ culture

Rebecca Brusseau | November 12

The drag culture in New Mexico may be rather small, but the close-knit community got their chance to shine this weekend. On Nov. 11, the Queer Student Alliance held their 9th annual drag show in the University of New Mexico Student Union Building: “Drag in the USA.” The show aimed to celebrate talent within the community and for contestants to compete for the title of Miss USA. This event was hosted by Sabryna Williams, who is an assistant manager at the Albuquerque Social Club, New Mexico’s longest running LGBT bar. The show was sponsored by Self Serve, Boba Tea, Rude Boy Cookies and the LGBTQ Resource Center.

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ASUNM hopes to improve candidate diversity this election

Brendon Gray | November 12

The Associated Students of the University of New Mexico are gearing up for another round of senate elections and, with only 10 available seats and 28 contenders, this semester’s competition is sure to be a tight race. Recent legislative changes have moved voting to back-to-back days. Polls open Monday morning, and online voting will remain available until Wednesday. The change was endorsed by the ASUNM student service agency Elections Commission with the intent of increasing voter turnout.

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Student Fee Review Board recommends budget cuts, fee increase

Brendon Gray | November 12

Last week the Student Fee Review Board gave its recommendation on how nearly $16 million of student fees should be distributed. The student board — made up of undergraduate and graduate students — cut nearly all of the requested budgets by 1.4 percent, citing the worsening condition of the University of New Mexico’s fiscal climate. In addition to the across-the-board cuts, there were also some larger decreases. In their recommendation, the board made the largest cut to the athletics department, slashing the unit over $650,000.

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LoboTHON raises money for sick children

Tom Hanlon | November 12

A University of New Mexico fundraising organization got creative last week raising money for children facing serious illnesses during Miracle Week. LoboTHON, the group responsible for last week’s philanthropy efforts, aims to raise money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, a non-profit organization that fundraises for more than 170 children’s hospitals. On Thursday, UNM students hosted a variety of events to fundraise before the annual LoboTHON Dance Marathon, including taping students to a wall and the chance to win a gift basket. Aaron Ochoa, executive director of LoboTHON, said the group is UNM’s largest student-run philanthropy organization.

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Grand opening of resource center celebrates veterans

Jonathan Baca | November 12

Student veterans celebrated Veterans Day this year in a very special way — with the grand opening of the new Student Veterans Resource Center. Located in the former LGBTQ Resource Center building, the facility provides a wide variety of resources geared toward giving student vets what they need to succeed in college, said Eliberto Calderon, president of Student Veterans of the University of New Mexico. “Personally, it’s a source of pride that this University not only talks about being veteran-friendly, but carries it out,” Calderon said. “They actually put some resources behind it and are walking the walk when it comes to supporting us.”

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Audit on Athletics reveals hundreds of thousands in uncollected revenue and overpayments

Cameron Goeldner | November 10

The State Auditor released an audit Friday on the University of New Mexico Athletics Department, revealing the University has missed out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue, due to what the audit calls “a lack of financial controls and confusion about responsibilities among staff.” “A tangled web of transactions has made it difficult for the public, and even some of the financial staff at the University, to be able to decipher what is going on in the Athletics Department and the various supporting organizations,” State Auditor Tim Keller said in a press release after the audit was shared.

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Pro-life students air their grievances at ASUNM

Brendon Gray | November 8

At Wednesday evening’s meeting of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico, members from Students for Life rekindled a debate over a pro-life resolution that failed to pass last week. Emotions were high as several members from Students for Life expressed their concerns to their Senate representatives. At one point, one student supporting the pro-life effort drew astonishment from the room, saying there was “no difference between (ASUNM) and Adolf Hitler.” The resolution — introduced by a seven-person, pro-life voting bloc — failed in committee following scrutiny of its sourcing and statistics.

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Crime briefs for Nov. 9

Kelly Urvanejo | November 8

Disorderly Conduct/Criminal Trespass Notice On Nov. 3, UNM officers were dispatched to the Robert Hartung Building in reference to a male subject, according to a report. When officers arrived, they found the male with most of his face covered with a gray blanket. The man was yelling, flailing his arms aggressively, not making sense to the officers and wanting to speak with a professor. When the man found that the professor was not there, he began complaining to other employees, scaring them.

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Brief: Mayoral runoff election heats up

Kyle Land | November 8

Runoff mayoral candidates Timothy “Tim” Keller and Daniel “Dan” Lewis squared off on KOB 4 Tuesday for the second-to-last debate before election day. As the election has heated up, so has the candidates’ rhetoric. Both Keller and Lewis found themselves launching attacks, while also being forced to defend themselves from accusations that have followed them throughout their campaigns. Many questions came from members of the community, resulting in a large focus on crime, an issue that has taken the spotlight in this election.

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Crime briefs for Nov. 6

Kelly Urvanejo | November 6

Attempt to commit a felony, aggravated assault On Oct. 25, two female UNM students were walking to their vehicle when they noticed someone was following them, according to a UNMPD report. The first student was approaching the passenger side door of the vehicle when the man following them approached her. He held an object in his hand and smelled of alcohol, saying he needed $20. When the first student told him she did not have the money, he moved closer to her, and again said he needed the money.

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Drug testing plan for athletes stalls

Aaron Cowan | November 5

Most people would probably agree Lobo student-athletes should not use dangerous substances such as illegal street drugs or steroids. The University of New Mexico’s Student Athlete Handbook states, “the use of drugs or narcotics not prescribed by a physician is prohibited and a violation of (our) policy.” To enforce that policy, the UNM President’s Office recently committed $23,000 to a new student-athlete drug testing program to be conducted by Aegis Sciences Corporation. In a purchase order dated Sept. 14, 2017, Margaret Davis, administrative officer for the Office of the President and Main Campus Compliance Office, described the purpose of the order as “random drug testing program for Athletics managed by Main Campus Compliance Office.”

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Cheo Torres inducted into HACU Hall of Champions

Kelly Urvanejo | November 5

Eliseo “Cheo” Torres, a professor in the College of Education and vice president for Student Affairs, was inducted into the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities’ Hall of Champions on Saturday, Oct. 28 in San Diego, California. Torres grew up in south Texas but moved to New Mexico in 1996 to work at the University of New Mexico as the vice president of Student Affairs and has stayed in the position thereafter. Torres said he was a member of the group that first came up with the concept of HACU in 1985, before the association became official in 1986.

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CAPS receives national tutoring award

Tom Hanlon | November 5

The University of New Mexico’s tutoring service, the Center for Academic Program Support, was recently certified as a Learning Center of Excellence by the National College Learning Center Association. CAPS received the award in October, and two of its supervisors were also named outstanding supervisors by the NCLCA. Aeron Haynie, executive director for CAPS, said the award is something CAPS worked hard toward achieving.

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C&J professor receives prestigious fellowship

Kyle Land | November 5

Michael Marcotte, professor of practice with the Department of Communications and Journalism, recently received a fellowship with the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism. Only seventeen instructors are selected each year for this prestigious honor. Marcotte, who began teaching at the University of New Mexico in 2014, received the fellowship for his innovative work with the New Mexico News Port, a journalism lab based off the “teaching hospital” format. This format focuses on students learning new skills by being put in professional scenarios.

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UNM selects its 22nd president

Gabriella Rivera | November 5

The University of New Mexico has found its next president, the first woman in the school’s history to serve in the top position. Garnett S. Stokes was selected and approved as UNM 22nd president in a unanimous Board of Regents vote this week, according to the UNM Newsroom. "We are proud and honored to announce that Garnett Stokes has accepted our offer to become UNM's next president,” said Board President Rob Doughty in the official announcement. “This is a transformational time at UNM, and Dr. Stokes brings the experience, skills and vision that UNM needs in a president to drive UNM beyond just its potential.”

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Lecture series explores Russian history, culture and politics

Kyle Land | November 5

Russia has filled the headlines over the past few months for many reasons, most notably allegations that their government colluded with Donald Trump’s campaign to interfere in the 2016 election. With this in mind, as well as the 100-year anniversary of the Russian Revolution, which ushered in the start of the Soviet Union, the University of New Mexico Department of History organized a series of lectures concerning past and current events of Russian history. The event was organized in large part by Dr. Erika Monahan, professor of Russian history at UNM. She said planning for the series began as far back as April.

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Letter: How to have a good day

Daily Lobo Readers | November 5

Editor, Everybody needs a good day every now and then! Think of something or someone for which you are grateful. Maybe this is easy? Hopefully you have one or maybe dozens of people that are meaningful to you. We all have someone that aggravates us or maybe worse. We're not going to emphasize that group in this column. They get enough glory. Today just think about those people you enjoy seeing or hearing from.

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Renowned architect donates archives and center to UNM

Madison Spratto | November 5

World-renowned architect Antoine Predock ensured his legacy at the University of New Mexico, where his passion for design was cultivated, by gifting his archive, work space and other personal items to the School of Architecture and Planning. Although he was born in Missouri, Predock flourished during his years at UNM, eventually earning his architecture degree at Columbia University. Geraldine Forbes Isais, dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, said Predock is an extremely passionate individual.