News

News

Despite prevention efforts, spam still plagues LoboMail inboxes

Brendon Gray | September 5

For many at the University of New Mexico using LoboMail, spam emails come with the territory. For Eden Vigil, a UNM senior, spam means “non-stop” emails asking for passwords or soliciting jobs. She receives as many as two emails daily. Often, the senders claim to be from UNM’s “IT Desk,” she said. Vigil is not alone. Though only five percent of the millions of daily spam emails make their way to student inboxes, the effect of spam is widespread.

---

News

Brief: Students walk out in defense of DACA

Celia Raney and Celia_Raney | September 5

“The University of New Mexico supports DACA students, supports everyone who is on this campus,” said Chaouki Abdallah, University interim president at a Defend DACA walkout on UNM campus Tuesday. Several hundred students joined together Tuesday morning to show their support for immigrants, specifically those benefitting from the Deferred Actions For Childhood Arrivals program. Many students did not attend class, walked out early or were released by instructors who also wanted to show their support.

---

News

Fall Sports Issue: Football ticket price drops for upcoming season

Cameron Goeldner | September 4

The UNM Football program announced during the offseason that it is lowering season ticket prices by 10 percent across the board in an effort to bring more fans into Dreamstyle Stadium. In addition, the program has announced single-game promotions for the year — this started with last Saturday’s game against Abilene Christian. "We are constantly evaluating ways to get more fans to come enjoy Lobo football, and we have a product that we are very proud of," former Athletic Director Paul Krebs said in a release at the time of the announcement.

---

News

UNM names Nuñez as new Athletic Director

Gabriella Rivera and Cameron Goeldner | August 31

Eddie Nuñez, the Deputy Director of Athletics for Louisiana State University, has been named the 13th Athletic Director for the University of New Mexico, Interim President Chaouki Abdallah announced on Thursday. "We had a good search process that yielded three qualified and personable candidates," Abdallah said in a release. "We were looking for a leader who is dedicated to academic excellence, strong ethics, careful financial management and community engagement. The committee and I agreed that Eddie is the right person for this key position at UNM. Welcome to our Lobo family, Eddie.” Nuñez will replace Paul Krebs, who served in the position from 2006 until his retirement last June.

---

News

UNMPD officer under investigation for alleged assault

Celia Raney and Celia_Raney | August 31

“Everyone was horrified, and none of us knew what to do,” said Lisa Chavez, associate professor at the University of New Mexico, after witnessing a UNM Police officer punch a woman while taking her into custody. A video originally posted to Snaphat using the UNM geotag seems to show a woman being punched and thrown to the ground by a UNMPD officer. The incident occurred around 12:40 p.m. near the bus circle on the north side of the Duck Pond on Aug. 25. UNMPD issued a statement Friday describing the progression of events.

---

News

UNM rolls out its new logo

Ashish Khatri | August 31

This June the University of New Mexico launched a new logo, represented by the interlocking letters “UNM.” “The previous logo appeared on letterhead and on websites but was not sold more often at bookstores, neither appeared as much in T-shirts or caps,” said Cinnamon Blair, chief marketing and communications officer at UNM. “It’s about pride to wear the campus logo/mark and build recognition with the branding effort.” The previous logo was an image of Mesa Vista Hall with “UNM” written beside it. This version of the logo was created in 1989 for the University’s centennial.

---

News

Honors College moving to make room for SHAC expansion

Nichole Harwood | August 30

A proposal this summer stated that the University of New Mexico Honors College would move their services to what is currently the University's Art Annex, which would allow the Student Health and Counseling to expand their services. Reactions from the Honors College and students who hold space in the Art Annex seem to indicate this plan seems to solve one problem while creating two more. “SHAC has occupied the same facility for over 50 years without any addition of space,” SHAC Director James Wilterding said. “Everyone agrees that expanded space is needed. The nature and type of the upgrade has been actively discussed for more than a decade.”

---

News

LaPo ready for students to start digging in

Madison Spratto | August 30

Students got the chance to experience the newly renovated La Posada dining hall Aug. 30 at the University of New Mexico’s #EatLikeALobo Block Party and Grand Opening event. “Today we are excited to celebrate the upgrade of this dining hall in the heart of our student residential neighborhood” Interim President Chaouki Abdallah said. Abdallah said he was excited to participate in the grand opening event, because he understands that food service “plays an important role in education performance.” “(La Posada) is a space to foster inclusion in student success, and it’s a safe place for our campus community to study, collaborate and to nourish their minds,” Abdallah said.

---

News

Crime briefs for Aug. 31

August 30

Battery at Casas Del Rio On Aug. 17, an officer spoke with a male student at the UNMPD station, because the student said another student was harassing him, according to a report. The male said he was attending an event at Casas Del Rio with his girlfriend when he saw another male student staring at him — the two males previously attended high school together in Gallup, New Mexico. The staring continued, even after the couple moved to different locations at the event, the reporting male said. The couple decided to leave, but the other male followed them when they walked outside. The reporting male said the other male approached them, kicked the reporting male in the leg and said, “You’re lucky I’m on probation.”

---

News

UNM student in stable condition after Clovis shooting

Celia Raney and Celia_Raney | August 29

Editor's Note: This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available. Two people are dead and four others are injured after 16-year-old Nathaniel Jouett opened fire Monday afternoon at a public library in Clovis, New Mexico. The incident occurred at Clovis-Carver Public library just after 4 p.m. According to local law enforcement, two women were found dead inside the library — two men and two women were injured.

---

News

Local organization offers help for immigrant women

Nichole Harwood | August 27

New Mexico Women's Global Pathways is a local grassroots mutual assistance organization, seeking to help refugees and immigrants through design and development of effective self-reliance programs that promote economic independence and independent living. The organization began in 2008 when several newly arrived refugees from Africa and Bhutan were finding jobs only to lose them within a few days, said Nkazi Sinandile, director and volunteer program coordinator. “As their economic situation became more desperate, we began to discuss ways to become self-sufficient but realized that we did not have the tools and did not know how to get resources from the community,” Sinandile said.

---

News

Crime briefs for Aug. 28

Elizabeth Sanchez | August 27

Disorderly conduct, assault on a peace officer and battery on Lomas Blvd. On Aug. 4, a UNMPD officer heard a UNM security officer calling for help over dispatch, according to a report. Although the transmission was cut off, the UNMPD officer heard the location, 2000 Las Lomas Blvd. NE, and left to assist him. Upon arrival, the UNMPD officer saw a male leaving the area; the security officer said the male leaving tried to fight him and struck him with multiple rocks. The security officer said he was on duty, patrolling campus, when he noticed an individual sleeping on the sidewalk. When the officer woke him up, the male stood up, taking an aggressive stance and hitting the officer’s upper body with rocks.The officer blocked the rocks with his arm. The male threw rocks at bystanders as well.

---

News

UNM gives back with new minor program

Madison Spratto | August 27

The University of New Mexico’s Community Engaged Learning and Research office is working with students to incorporate volunteering into class curriculums with hopes that students will gain a wide variety of benefits that come from helping the local community. “I think New Mexico has a really rich history of activism,” said Monica Kowal, the associate dean of CELR. Their efforts are focused on getting students to apply their knowledge from the classroom to a “high-needs area within the community,” Kowal said.

---

News

UNM pres condemns Charlottesville, encourages peaceful discourse

Kelly Urvanejo | August 27

The events that happened at a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia on Aug. 12, 2017 have initiated hate crimes around the United States, shocking and disappointing many Americans. “I was saddened and disturbed by what I read and watched on the news. What happened in Charlottesville brought back memories from my teenage years in Lebanon and reminded me of the thin veneer of our civilization,” said Chaouki Abdallah, President of the University of New Mexico. Members of the Associated Students of UNM were also shaken by these events.

---

News

ASUNM gears up for budget distribution

Brendon Gray | August 24

With the fall semester underway, the budget and appropriations process has begun for some student groups. For the Senators of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico, that means beginning the process of dinearly $1 million. For the current fiscal year, the ASUNM general fund is estimated at $981,659, according to ASUNM documents. The fund is primarily financed by student fees, specifically the mandated $20 ASUNM fee all full-time undergraduate students pay. Part-time students pay based on their number of enrolled credits.

---

News

Student activity fees breakdown: Where do the funds go?

Kael Krepfl | August 23

At the University of New Mexico, every student pays a student activity fee as part of their tuition. The process for deciding which fees should be applied to a tuition bill varies between schools — at UNM, there are two main parties involved in the student fee evaluation process: the Board of Regents, and the Student Fee Review Board. The BOR determines what fees will be applied to the tuition bill, how much the fees will be, how they will be allocated and which of those fees will be mandatory for all students.

---

News

UNM employee audited for unapproved purchases

Elizabeth Sanchez | August 23

Alma Rosa Silva-Banuelos, the University of New Mexico LGBTQ Resource Center’s program specialist, has been terminated by the Office of Academic Affairs, following a UNM Internal Auditing Department review of the center’s financial transactions and travel. Since Jan. 2016, Silva-Banuelos started “raising red flags” with purchases on her University issued Purchasing Card, former Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Dr. Jozi De Leon said in an email to Silva-Banuelos. P-Cards are issued to UNM employees for the purpose of making purchases on behalf of the University that do not exceed $10,000 for approved transactions for goods, materials and supplies or $5,000 for transactions of approved services, according to the P-Card page on UNM’s website.

---

News

UNM to implement tobacco-free campus this Fall

Nichole Harwood | August 23

The University of New Mexico is now fast-tracking its way to becoming a completely smoke- and tobacco-free environment. The new policy, No. 2250 under the Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual: Transition to a Smoke-and Tobacco-Free Campus, states “UNM will, with few exceptions, become a smoke- and tobacco-free environment by Fall Semester 2017.

---

News

Photo Story: Eclipse viewing party showcases science behind shadows

Cameron Goeldner | August 21

The University of New Mexico Department of Physics and Astronomy and the UNM Observatory hosted a viewing party on Monday morning to celebrate the first solar eclipse in almost 40 years. 

---

News

ART expected to clean up Downtown

Brendon Gray | August 20

The City of Albuquerque is looking to clean up its act this fall and hopes the Albuquerque Rapid Transit project will make major strides with the roll-out of 60-foot, all-electric buses. As the ART project aims to wrap up by year’s end, Mayor Richard Berry’s office hopes the new transportation system — along with other large investments — can transform Albuquerque’s center. Earlier this month, the mayor unveiled the new buses and announced Albuquerque would be the first in the nation to have all-electric rapid transit. Reminiscent of a Route 66 diner, the buses have a grey body, a checkered stripe and a neon accent running along the top.