Editor, ASUNM elections are approaching, and candidates will become more active on campus to seem involved and appealing. I have a suggestion for candidates looking to reach out: Campaign to make textbooks affordable. The average student pays about $400 a semester on textbooks, which is about one month's rent.
Editor, On March 8, the world is recognizing the importance of females throughout the past, present and future on International Women's Day. Oftentimes, the roles of women in society are undermined through stereotypical assumptions made by those with many psychological and sociological problems.
Editor, One of the many blessings of living in this country is freedom of speech. However, after passing by Smith Plaza last week and witnessing religious proselytization, I noticed that the event quickly devolved into inaccurate and hate-mongering speech about the Islamic faith and culture.
Editor, Mental health clinics provide help to a large aggregate of mentally ill patients with severe psychotic conditions. Many of these patients require more than one anti-psychotic medication to become or remain stable. In November 2006, Gov. Bill Richardson - along with ValueOptions, the mental health administrator for Medicaid in New Mexico - changed stipulations set out in the ValueOptions mandate by allowing only one anti-psychotic medication per patient.
Editor, Last Wednesday, I stopped to listen to an argument between Christians and Muslims taking place in front of Zimmerman Library. I stopped for only a few minutes, but what I heard was exceedingly telling. As I arrived, one of the Christian preachers was scoffing at a story from the 18th sura of the Quran about a group of monotheists who hid from persecution in a cave and slept for many years, awak ing in a changed world.
Editor, I am a volunteer at the Agora Crisis Center and a psychology major at UNM. Recently, I was requested to assist someone who was threatening suicide. I was able to persuade this person to go to UNM Hospital for an evaluation, after I felt that I had done all I could to help.
Editor, The term "gay marriage" sets up a dichotomy that should not be present in our society. Framing the issue in terms of gay and straight leads to arguments supporting a separate but equal approach - marriage for straight couples, civil unions and domestic partnerships for gay couples.
Editor, As a member of two GPSA regent selection committees - in 2002 and 2004 - I take great umbrage at the content of Diane Albert's letter in Monday's Daily Lobo for this simple fact: The selection committee never selected Rosalyn Nguyen as one of the candidates whose name was forwarded to former UNM President Louis Caldera for consideration.
Editor, Though I have found it difficult to stomach past commentary from the impudent and self-righteous right hand of columnist Scott Darnell, I must agree with a point he made about Al Gore on Friday. As a cheerleader for a more progressive national energy policy to address global warming, concerned Americans expect Gore to be the archetype of a carbon-neutral lifestyle.
Editor, I have been in love with certain men. I treasure mutually passionate romance with a man but do not want a license from any state for my deep romantic connection with him. I want him to stay with me because he wants to stay with me - not because he feels stuck with me in a legal cage called marriage or civil union.
Editor, Is it me, or does the Lobo men's basketball team play more as a team when J.R. Giddens isn't in the game? Granted, he had a long-overdue good game in the Lobos' final home appearance of the season, but just as head coach Ritchie McKay got canned, so should Giddens.
Editor, I am writing to say thank you to an exceptional person, Rosalyn Nguyen, for her service to UNM and to the state of New Mexico during her two-year tenure as student regent. Nguyen has demonstrated the qualities of a true leader, working tirelessly behind the scenes to lobby state legislators, meet with the Board of Regents and advocate for UNM with Gov.
Editor, The SUB should not be used as a concert hall. On Friday, a co-worker and I were enjoying a nice lunch in the SUB when our conversation was muted by the deafening sound of a marching band. Thankfully, the band played for only about five minutes. But during those five minutes, I noticed people having to yell at the food vendors just to have their orders heard.
Editor, I was dismayed Friday by columnist Scott Darnell's factually incorrect and logically incoherent piece on energy conservation. Darnell rightfully objected to former Vice President Al Gore's massive personal energy bill and lack of frugality. However, his claim that Gore does not participate in a voluntary program that uses renewable rather than carbon-based energy is an outright lie.
Editor, I would like to share my thoughts on the topic of riding the UNM shuttle bus. I need to vent, because I find this means of transportation an atrocity - not because of the service, but because of its patrons. I feel that common courtesy has been lost.
by Mario Hernandez Daily Lobo columnist Society has always told us that love is all you need. It seems, however, that love isn't all you need. To be legally wed in the U.S., you need more than love - you need a man and a woman. While still a minority, gays are more apparent and more abundant these days.
Editor, What is a conflict of interest? I am the president of Black GPSA and the tutorial coordinator at African-American Student Services. I was appointed by the president of GPSA to the Student Fee Review Board this past October. However, within a week of my appointment, I was called into my boss's office and told that the director of African-American Student Services had implied that my presence on the committee would present a conflict of interest.
by Peggy Spencer Daily Lobo columnist Dear Dr. Peg, In a recent TV commercial, the makers of a certain drug claimed that their medicine raises good cholesterol by up to 14 percent and lowers bad cholesterol simultaneously. Their ad slogan is "down with the bad, up with the good.
Editor, I am writing in response to the letter from Benjamin Sanchez in Monday's Daily Lobo about the failure of the U.S. to realize Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream. I was impressed with his supporting arguments, showing contemporary examples of dehumanization due to attributes and characteristics of a group.
The U.S. has changed since Vietnam. It may seem like the public took a long time to turn on the war in Iraq. In Vietnam, however, tens of thousands of troops had to die before protest became widespread. The majority of the country supported the draft. Richard Nixon was elected president twice - even though he failed to end the war - and actually increased the number of troops fighting.
Solutions by The State News
