As the University of New Mexico settles into finals, there is new leadership to help guide the University’s future. A 10-month process of finding UNM’s 22nd president has led to the unanimous selection of Garnette S. Stokes, the University’s first female president. However, Stokes is not new to handling campus controversy.
As any student will tell you, college can be one of the most demanding times in a person’s life. Between classes, jobs and a social life, there is very little free time. This situation is more stressful when the student is also raising a child. Currently, around 26 percent of all undergraduate students are also parents, according to a study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. For these parents, every day can be a constant juggle of responsibilities which could be detrimental to their studies.
In the coming months, University of New Mexico graduate students will have the opportunity to compete in UNM’s biodesign program, which builds new devices for patients suffering from strokes, trauma and other injuries. The biodesign program was initiated by the UNM Health Sciences Center Clinical Translational and Science Center in partnership with the UNM School of Engineering. The program involves a competitive process that combines interdisciplinary teams of faculty members and graduate students from the UNM HSC and the UNM School of Engineering. The program focuses on a different theme each year to address unique medical issues.
Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon On the morning of Nov. 8, officers were sent to a parking lot near UNMH in reference to a man who pulled a knife on a groundskeeper, according to a UNMPD report. The officer observed a male subject in a white UNMH van that security pointed out. The officer called the subject out of the van with a microphone. The male complied, telling the officer that the knife was in the van. He also gave the officer permission to search the van. Upon searching the vehicle, the officer located a silver folding knife. The man said he pulled the knife, because he was annoyed that the groundskeepers were blowing dirt around his vehicle, and he was trying to rest.
Over 96,000 Albuquerque residents exercised their right to vote in the mayoral runoff election Tuesday — a race that was decided in under just one hour. Democrat Timothy “Tim” Keller claimed 62 percent of the votes, making him the next mayor of Albuquerque. His opponent, Republican Daniel “Dan” Lewis, only managed 37 percent. “The early vote numbers look encouraging,” said Elizabeth “Liz” Keller after the polls officially closed at 7 p.m.
With an institution the size of the University of New Mexico, it is easy to get lost in the crowd during lecture classes, which could leave some students feeling disconnected from their professors. Connecting students to faculty members is what Todd Quinn, the business and economics librarian and an associate professor for the College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences at UNM, aims to do with the Parish Memorial Library Lecture Series. In order to showcase the research done by University faculty, Quinn has put together a series of four lectures every fall semester that are open to the general public.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
Solutions by The State News
