Opinion

Opinion

Letter: Religious books contain dangerous messages

Daily Lobo Reader | November 15

After the Gulf War, a large Albuquerque fundamentalist Christian church held a rally celebrating U.S. victory in Iraq. I went to that rally. I held up signs strongly opposing war. A man told me, “Blessed is he who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock.” That is an awful, actual verse in the Bible (Psalm 137:9). Many Christian fundamentalists believe the whole Bible is the perfect Word of God.

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Opinion

Letter: The Daily Lobo is a waste of time

Daily Lobo Reader | November 15

For a long time I've considered The Daily Lobo more of a daily lobotomy, or more accurately Twice-a-Week Lobotomy. The Twice-a-Week Lobotomy is in good company with the Alibi. I remember when there actually was a Daily Lobo published daily, at least Monday thru Friday. I can also remember when the Alibi was actually not too bad.

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Opinion

Column: You should vote in the ASUNM Senate Election. Here's why.

Justin Garcia | November 13

Most students will probably never meet a member of the board. Some undergraduate students, however, go out of their way to meet and influence them. They’re called senators, and they are a part of the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico.

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Opinion

Column: Why it's important to vote in 2018

Megan Holmen | November 5

According to a study conducted by PBS, only about 58 percent of eligible Americans took to the polls in 2016 to vote in the presidential election. For many Americans, it might come as a surprise that so few eligible people vote, but some may expect this. With midterm elections approaching fast, now is the time to vote Many Americans feel that their vote doesn’t matter — which could be a key issue to why voting statistics are so low. If you type into Google “does my vote matter?” a whole host of articles pop up with phrases like, “No really, your vote doesn’t matter.”

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Opinion

Letter: I want to live simply and die simply

Daily Lobo Readers | October 28

Editor, I enjoy living simply and I want to die simply, whether I die tomorrow or 30 years from now. I reject cremation! Cremation of one body requires the energy it takes to drive a car thousands of miles. I reject embalming! Embalming is an expensive, unnecessary use of poison chemicals. Cooling the body with no embalming can delay burial to two or three days after death.

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Opinion

Letter: Faculty need more management training

Daily Lobo Readers | October 28

Editor, In some academic departments, faculty members supervise some staff members. We will refer to these faculty members as FSS (faculty supervising staff). While FSS may go through the minimum required mandatory training such as sexual harassment and safety many do not take any organization development courses offered by Human Resources (link provided above) which teaches them useful skills to be a good supervisor.

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Opinion

Column: Racist Halloween costumes are never okay

Sol Traverso | October 28

The controversy over the offensive nature of certain Halloween costumes has been revisited once again this year. NBC canceled Megyn Kelly’s show for comments she made about blackface as a Halloween costume. On her show “Megyn Kelly Today,” Kelly posed the question to her show’s all-white panel on the topic of ‘blackface,’ and asked, “What is racist about that?” The next day she apologized for the comments. “What is racist? You do get in trouble if you are a white person who puts on blackface for Halloween, or a black person who puts on whiteface for Halloween. Back when I was a kid, that was okay as long as you were dressing up as a character,” Kelly said.

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Opinion

BioBlog — Honey and New Eye: The Ingredients to Combat Modern Bacteria

Eldjon Baltazar | October 23

Since their discovery and widespread use, modern antibiotics have changed society and saved countless lives. However, microbial resistance to our panacea against infection is becoming a serious problem. Undergraduate Eldjon Baltazar discusses how scientists and medical professionals are using older remedies to solve modern problems and recounts how his experience battling antibiotic resistant bacteria influences his future career path in a recent UNM BioBlog.

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Opinion

Letter: Bashing Trump will not help Democrats

Daily Lobo Readers | October 23

Editor, I seem to be in the minority in today's national Democratic Party. I disagree with the tendency of most Democrats (including political candidates for Congress and those in the news media) to constantly bash Donald Trump over his obnoxious personality and his divisive comments.

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Opinion

Letter: Taproom doesn't mitigate dangers of alcohol

Daily Lobo Readers | October 23

Editor, Many people who were taught that having sex with anyone they are not married to is sin — drink booze to turn off their shame and guilt. Many men who were taught that having sex with men is sin, many women who were taught that having sex with women is sin, drink booze to turn off their shame and guilt.

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Opinion

Letter: We stand against racism at UNM

Daily Lobo Readers | October 18

Dear UNM Community, We were disappointed to hear that harmful racial remarks were stated by students at the 2018 Greek New Member Summit. We felt moved to write a statement of support for the Black Student Alliance (BSA), African American Student Services (AASS), and all African American students, staff and faculty at UNM. First and foremost, we commend the BSA for taking action. As academic advisors, we are well aware that many UNM students are stressed from not only meeting the demands of their academic workload but also having to hold jobs and navigate the administrative requirements of a flagship research university.

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Opinion

Letter: UNMPD's bike policy does it right

Daily Lobo Readers | October 16

Editor, I wanted to commend the UNMPD for the timely response to an interrupted bike theft that I encountered this summer outside of the Johnson Center. I was leaving the gym when I saw a man fiddling around w/my bike which was locked at the bike rack. He had cut the cable and when I confronted him he walked away. I was lucky, because two staff bystanders came to my assistance right away and called UNMPD. The officer who responded was Officer Robert Duren — he responded promptly and was very courteous and professional. A foot chase ensued (by two other officers), but unfortunately the thief escaped.

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Opinion

Letter: Ken Starr should not be allowed to lecture at UNM

Daily Lobo Readers | October 16

Editor, On November 1, the UNM School of Law will welcome Kenneth Starr for a lecture entitled “Investigating the President, Now and Then: Living in a Constitutional Quagmire”. Love him or hate him for his political views and for his time as an independent counsel investigating a president, I have little doubt that he can provide unique insight on the issue.

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Opinion

Column: 2018 — A deadly year for journalists

Kyle Land | October 15

On Oct. 2, Jamal Khashoggi walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. He hasn’t been seen since. While the official status of his whereabouts are still unknown, Turkish officials have stated they have proof that Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post, was killed and dismembered after entering the consulate. Saudi officials state that Khashoggi exited the building through a back door, and was never imprisoned nor murdered — although that is looking less and less likely. Khashoggi, a respected journalist and close adviser to the royal family in Saudi Arabia, was in a position to explain the insular mechanisms of Saudi power in a way few others could. His columns became increasingly critical of the Saudi government, especially of the royal family.

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Opinion

Column: Why everyone needs to check their privilege

Megan Holmen | October 4

No matter where you go or what you do in your lifetime, there will likely be someone better off than you, and there will be someone worse off than you. This is — in its essence — a very basic definition of privilege. There are many types of privilege, including white privilege, male privilege, Christian privilege, straight privilege, rich privilege, able-bodied privilege and more. These factors impact the way an individual is treated, the ability to move up in the social system and their quality of life. It is a well-known fact that people are born into circumstances beyond their control, be that negative or positive. Often these factors may be both a blessing or a curse, and only defined by the beholder. Still, much of what surrounds us when we are brought into this world is completely out of our control.

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Opinion

Column: There's nothing wrong with finding your passion

Gabriella Rivera | October 1

Stanford and Yale psychologists recently published a paper titled “Implicit Theories of Interest: Finding Your Passion or Developing It?”. They conducted several studies that claim those who seek to “find their passion” — which they define as believing one has “fixed interests” as opposed to believing your interests change over time — might develop mindsets that make them less successful. They conclude with a warning that “urging people to find their passion may lead them to put all their eggs in one basket, but then to drop that basket when it becomes difficult to carry.” Why does there have to be a dichotomy between finding your passion and developing it?

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Opinion

Column: In light of new allegations, Kavanaugh confirmation must be postponed

Kyle Land | September 24

Christine Blasey Ford is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee this Thursday regarding an alleged incident of sexual assault that occurred 35 years ago. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh denied the allegation in no uncertain terms. “I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation,” Kavanaugh said in a statement released by the White House. “I did not do this back in high school or at any time.”

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Opinion

Letter: Activism helps promote healthy communities

Daily Lobo Reader | September 16

Editor, Albuquerque's Climate March was full of strong opinions and even stronger hope, but not full of youth. That's why I showed up. It was not because I have a particular love and affection for all things green or can be found hugging trees in my free time. Truth be told, I am not an environmentalist. I am simply an activist. I showed up because I was called on to spread a message and to act for love and justice.

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Opinion

Letter: BOR is unwilling to listen to the community

Daily Lobo Reader | September 13

Editor, It’s a special “club,” and you are not in it, until we need you. That is essentially the message sent to Faculty Senate President Pamela Pyle by Regent Tom Clifford at the meeting on Tuesday, September 11, 2018. We do not want to take your advice on anything to do with UNM decisions, until we need you to give us some cover, was the other message he made clear.

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Opinion

Predatory Songbirds: the case of the murderous tits

Jenna McCullough | September 13

Editor's Note: This piece was originally published online in the UNM BioBlog on September 4th, 2018, written by Jenna McCullough. This is part of our project to help connect the Daily Lobo audience to more members of our community. When you think of a songbird, like a finch or a sparrow, what kind of food does it eat? For many people, the first thing that comes to mind is bird seed — it fills feeders and the shelves of our local bird-watching stores. But songbirds are more diverse than finches at your neighborhood feeder and they eat more than just idyllic bird seed.