Opinion

Opinion

Editor's Reaction: Finger pointing seems pointless in no-win situation

Robert Maler | August 22

A story typically benefits from having a protagonist and an antagonist — a good guy and a bad guy (or gal) — someone to root for and someone to bear the burden of villain for people to root against. The student-athletes who make up the University of New Mexico sports programs seemed to be an easy choice for the side to cheer for — a natural fit as they are competitors who rely on and thrive under the support of fans in the community in the respective sports they play. Despite an outpouring of support, many of the students involved in UNM sports found themselves caught in the crosshairs, targets of a plan for a reduction in sports. And it seemed only natural that people would rally against the students unfairly becoming casualties due to other's errors, including a lack of financial oversight, Title IX non-compliance and a myriad of other issues.

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Opinion

Column: An ancestral visit to Sweden

Megan Holmen | August 19

Sweden was the longest leg of my journey and the main reason that I decided to visit Europe in the first place. My father’s family is Swedish and I always wanted to visit my Swedish relatives. All in all, I met around eight relatives in Gothenburg, Stockholm, Lund and Gunnarp. The first cousins I met were Sofia and Henrik Holmén. We spent most of our time outside near Gothenburg. The scenery around Gothenburg belongs in a book of fairy tales. We went swimming nearly everyday, be that in a lake or in the sea off the western coast of Sweden.

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Opinion

Daily Lobo: We are not the enemy of the people

Daily Lobo Staff | August 16

Dear President Trump, It’s clear you hold quite the disdain for the media. While this is not uncommon for people in your position, the level of ferocity that you have shown has gone far beyond simple critiques. Even after five journalists were gunned down in their own newsroom by a man who did not agree with their coverage of him, you stated publicly that those in the media are “the enemy of the people.”

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Opinion

Column: Packing for an international trip

Megan Holmen | August 12

We’ve all had that “oh no” moment when it dawns on us that we forgot some critical items for a trip. When traveling internationally there is an extra-long list of must-have items you might not use in your day-to-day life. It’s easy to accidentally forget something or not even realize you needed something until you're halfway across the world. Deciding on what kind of bag to take on your trip is important because size, shape and type of bag matter. When choosing travelers need to know if their bag will be checked or carry-on only. When traveling, I choose not to check my bag, which means whatever bag I choose needs to be within the standard carry on dimensions; the biggest allowed is 9 inches by 14 inches by 22 inches (22cm x 35cm x 56cm). If during your travels you plan on walking long distances or anticipate standing for long periods of time, then a rolling suitcase might not be the best choice. Instead of having to lug around a rolling suitcase around there are many backpack options that are easier to carry with you, no matter the terrain.

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Opinion

Column: Traveling the United Kingdom

Megan Holmen | July 31

Castles, churches, fish’n chips, museums, the sea — and a whole lot of walking. The United Kingdom is comprised of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and all are uniquely incredible. Spending the past week in the U.K. has been a wonderful opportunity to visit new places and learn new things. Unfortunately, this time around I was only able to visit England and Scotland, but I know I will be back to visit both Wales and Ireland. London, England and Aberdeen, Scotland were the two places where I spent most of my time, but I also visited Cullen, Stonehaven, Banchory, and Braemar all in northern Scotland. Having lived in both London and Manchester as a child, my experience going back to London as a tourist was both unique and refreshing. London through the eyes of a child and through the eyes of an adult are two very different things.

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Opinion

Column: Why I still believe in UNM

Kyle Land | July 22

To say that morale is low at the University of New Mexico would be a dramatic understatement. Following the Board of Regents’ approval of eliminating four sports from the University, including the successful and beloved men’s soccer program, feelings toward New Mexico’s flagship institution have soured beyond recognition.

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Opinion

Column: My trip to Italy

Mikhaela Smith | July 15

Spaghetti alla carbonara in Rome, squid ink pasta in Venice, Margherita pizza in Naples and gelato everywhere in between. These are just some of the dishes I had the opportunity to try this summer during my five-week study abroad experience in Italy. I do not speak a word of Italian, but I took a leap of faith and traveled with a University of New Mexico professor and three other UNM students to the hilltop town of Perugia, Italy to take a course called Writing Italian Food at the Umbra Institute.

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Opinion

Column: "Dry Campus" policy holds little water with taproom

Donald Amble | July 15

New Mexico State University is not a dry campus. New Mexico Tech is not a dry campus (except the one dry dorm hall. It’s their “quiet dorm,” where even residents over 21 may drink if they have no underage roommates.) The University of New Mexico has made a blanket decision about all of its students. The school says we cannot drink in our dorms and gives a myriad of reasons remiscient of Reefer Madness. However, all of these reasons lead to one conclusion: the population of UNM living on-campus is a ticking time bomb that is not to be trusted. It makes me feel like a criminal and a child, which is exactly what the school is saying.

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Opinion

Column: How to best fly internationally

Megan Holmen | July 8

Planning an international trip can be a long, complicated and stressful process. Buying plane tickets is just one of steps on the way to an exciting once-in-a-lifetime trip, and how you go about doing this really does make a difference. There are several things to consider when deciding what airline to fly with, when to fly and when to buy your ticket. Generally, it is best to buy your ticket several months in advance all the way out to six months ahead of time. This is because most of the time plane tickets will become gradually more expensive the closer to the date of the trip.

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Opinion

Column: Reporting on homelessness leaves much to be desired

Danielle Prokop | July 2

Local news outlets in New Mexico need to do a better job in covering both poverty and homelessness. On June 14, just a few hours apart, KOB 4 published two stories that exemplified poor reporting, and failed to inform the public. The first was titled “Twerking Panhandlers Spotted in Albuquerque.”

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News

Editorial Board: A response to the Capital Gazette shooting

The Daily Lobo Editorial Board | July 2

Last Thursday, five people were killed for doing their job and exercising their first amendment right to publish. The Daily Lobo stands in solidarity with the victims and staff of the Capital Gazette as they grieve during this horrible tragedy.

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Opinion

Letter: Family separation not cut-and-dry

Daily Lobo Readers | June 25

Editor, I am writing to correct two key oversights in the Editorial Board's most recent column, "Our government must stop separating families." First, the column falsely states as a central point of its argument that "it's not a law and it never has been" for immigration officials to separate adults and minors at the border.

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News

Column: Our government must stop separating families

The Daily Lobo Editorial Board | June 17

Few issues divide our nation quite as much as immigration. Nearly every period of American history was accompanied by a wave of migrants, traveling from some far off land in search of new opportunities and a greater quality of life. Whether from China, Ireland or Japan, in each of these periods immigrants have often been the subject of xenophobic acts and legislation.

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News

Column: It's about more than cake

Kyle Land | June 10

Let’s get one thing straight: I’m gay and I don’t like cake. This simple pastry, though, has come to symbolize the fight for full and complete LGBTQ equality in recent years. Just a few days ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of a baker who refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple in Colorado in 2012, with an incredibly vague opinion that does little to help defenders of LGBTQ rights or religious liberties.

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News

Column: Reconciling faith with LGBTQ identity

Gabby Rivera | June 10

In early December of last year, I kissed a girl for the first time. It felt, among all the usual things associated with a kiss, as wholly natural as my first kiss with a guy years ago. I had been dimly aware that I was not straight, but attracted to both sexes since my years in Catholic high school — it wasn’t until college that I consciously acknowledged it. By this time, I felt ready to tell my family, and from there, others. I remember thinking Christmas might be a good time.

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Opinion

Letter: Missing children — the Pottery Barn rule revisited

June 3

Editor, If one in five American parents couldn't figure out where their kids were, most people would rightly see the phenomenon as a crisis and a national scandal. Grandstanding prosecutors with visions of gubernatorial campaigns dancing in their heads would conduct mass parental perp walks. Legislators would boost their presidential aspirations by co-sponsoring legislation requiring universal implantation of GPS trackers at birth. However, when the same U.S. government that postures as a better parent than real parents, crows over "extreme vetting" of immigrants and announces separation of undocumented families as policy loses track of 19 percent of unaccompanied refugee children placed in homes by the Office of Refugee resettlement, ORR is "not legally responsible," according to Steven Wagner, acting assistant secretary for the Administration for Children and Families.

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Opinion

An open letter to my mom

Madison Spratto | May 13

There have been 21 years of hugs, tears, laughter and love. 12 years of soccer practices. Three years of care packages and phone calls to make up for the missed Thanksgiving’s and birthdays. It’s been four years since the last time I had the chance to wish you a happy Mother’s Day in person.

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Opinion

Letter: Opiates are a trap

Daily Lobo Readers | May 7

Dear Editor, I don’t like traps. I don’t appreciate an ambush. Right now millions of Americans, some say up to 5 million, are trapped and being ambushed by the Opioid Crisis.

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Opinion

Letter: For Whom The Nobel Tolls?

Daily Lobo Readers | May 7

Editor, Sure, things don't exist in international relations, but we seem to be witnessing an impending settlement of the nearly 70-year-old Korean War. Kim Jong-un recently became the first ruler of North Korea to officially visit the South, where he conferred with president Moon Jae-in. Denuclearization and a peace treaty look like real possibilities. Kim is also working out plans for a summit with US president Donald Trump.

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Opinion

Letter: California Secession — A Good Start

Daily Lobo Readers | May 2

Editor, On April 23, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla approved language for a 2020 ballot proposal submitted by the Yes California Independence Campaign. The proposal will -- assuming the campaign can collect and submit signatures from 365,880 registered voters by October -- kick off a process already widely known as "Calexit" (after the United Kingdom's "Brexit" from the European Union). That process entails three parts: Asking Californians (in 2020) if they want to "discuss" secession; if yes, asking Californians (in 2021) if they want to secede; and if again yes, asking 2/3 of both houses of Congress and 3/4 of the state legislatures to pass a constitutional amendment allowing California to leave the United States.