Editor, Speaking to CNN on the possibility of resuming hostilities in the nearly 70-year-old Korean War (in uneasy ceasefire since 1953), U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says, "All the damage...would be worth it in terms of long-term stability and national security." Worth it, Sen. Graham? To whom?
Editor, The biggest faker of all is none other than President Donald Trump. He is posing as a "Conservative," but he is actually a fake Conservative. What is my evidence? You can look this up for yourself on the internet.
Editor, The recent signing of a ceasefire at the U.N. for the area in Syria known as East Ghouta is not something that Christians, Jews and decent Muslims should necessarily be celebrating. The reason I say this is because whether it was in Syria or Iraq, these so-called rebels made it a point of ruthlessly persecute religious minorities like Yazidis, Christians and Shia Muslims.
Editor, In late February, Venezuela's government began accepting presidential candidate registrations and announced a snap legislative election for April. The country's opposition denounces the process as a sham and Maduro as a dictator, both of which may be true. Oddly, a third voice — the U.S. government — also weighed in. Per U.S. state media outlet Voice of America, "The United States, which under President Donald Trump has been deeply critical of Maduro's leadership in crisis-torn and economically suffering Venezuela, on Saturday rejected the call for an early legislative vote."
Editor, I am a UNM alumnus who works out regularly at Johnson Gym. When I entered on the east side of the building on Feb. 23, I noticed my ID card, which was current, once again did not activate the turnstile. The monitor informed me, before letting me in, that neither turnstile was working. A work order had been submitted some time ago, but nothing had been done to repair either. I called UNM police soon after and explained to the student dispatcher that, given the climate of campus violence, I thought it was important for two reasons to repair these turnstiles ASAP. First, to help monitor individuals entering the building. I could have easily gained entry with no current ID, which can obviously be problematic. Second, to send the message to students that someone actually cares about their safety.
Growing up I was always into sports. Playing them, watching them but, most of all, talking about them. I remember in my younger days watching College Gameday with Lee Corso and always looking forward to waking up at 9 a.m. to hear him and his crew’s predictions on the upcoming college football games. To me, that’s where the real fun was. Growing up, for most of my elementary and middle school years, I had dreams and aspirations of being on Sportscenter and talking about the day’s highlights. But like time, change in myself—and my interests—was always inevitable. I was still just a young boy, learning new things about myself each and every day. Being on Sportcenter, being an anchor on set, wasn’t for me. What was for me, though, was still being involved in sports somehow and someway.
First off, I don’t care about college sports, but I do care about college athletes. I don’t have a “team,” and I’ve never been to a game. However, that does not take away from the fact that people are placing themselves into a brutal arena, unpaid for the work they do, for the sake of entertainment. Athletes are working 40 hours a week minimum at their sport — a full-time job on top of classes. They are limited by schedules and practices. Athletes cannot control their image, endorse products or receive payment for autographs unlike other “amateurs." This arbitrary rule is enforced across sports, not just the money-makers like football or basketball.
I really don’t care for sports. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Lobos, but hear me out. Student-athletes lay it all on the line for a chance to make professional sports their career. Some of them make it, but most of them do not. If we look to the numbers, it seems that only one party is guaranteed to profit from this relationship: the NCAA and their partners. For example, according to the NCAA’s estimated probability of competing in professional sports, out of the 18,684 student-athletes playing men’s basketball in 2017, 4,152 were draft eligible. There were 60 draft spots open, and only 44 players were drafted — making the probability of being drafted pro from NCAA men's basketball 1.1 percent.
For the first time ever, the University of New Mexico's all-girl cheerleading team will be playing STUNT during the Big 12 Meet, Friday through Sunday in Oklahoma City. As a freshman on the UNM all-girl team, this is super exciting for me. I have cheered for a long time and competed in a variety of competitions — both high school and all-star, at the state, national and international levels.
Editor, The following letter is addressed to Students Demand Action. Dear Students Demand Action, I understand. You've witnessed — far too often at first hand and in the most terrifying circumstances — the violent deaths of your fellow students. You refuse to accept that's just how it has to be. You're organizing for change. You deserve to be heard. Don't let anyone talk down to you or minimize your concerns. You want action. I don't blame you. But it's important to consider what kind of action you want, how to go about getting it, and what it will accomplish.
Editor, We know that the latest mass shooting in Parkland, Florida is not the last. It stands in an endless series of past and future massacres that will continue to plague this country as long as politicians are permitted to define “freedom” in the antiquated terms of the anachronistic Second Amendment. The so-called sacred “right to bear arms” is perverted to an infamous “imperative to get armed.” A country like this, driven to its own downfall by the decadent impulses of capitalist impunities, is bound to distort freedom to unrestricted recklessness. The pathological urge for absolute self-protection is bred by the gluttonous promise that it be conducive to lucrative business.
Editor, While stricter gun control might help curb gun violence in the U.S., do not fool yourselves into believing it's the root of the problem. We have deeper-seeded issues causing these crises, and we need to be more proactive in weeding them out to solve them. To be clear, this is not an argument against gun control — just an observation of the faults in our problem solving. As long as our society is producing damaged individuals, proper safety precautions should be enforced to prevent further harm. However, it is our job as a society to look beyond reactionary solutions and be more proactive in finding the origin of the damage.
Editor, Politico reports that the Trump administration wants to partially replace "food stamps" with "a box of government-picked, nonperishable foods every month." Under the plan, recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, which these days are delivered as debit card balances rather than as physical — "stamps" — would receive about half as much money to buy food with. The other half would be replaced by the "America’s Harvest Box," stuffed with "100 percent U.S. grown and produced food" such as shelf-stable milk and canned goods.
Editor, When would it be right for an enemy nation to murder your family? If never, how can it be right for the United States to murder families in enemy nations? Would I, as an openly gay man, celebrate acceptance into the mafia? Would I, as an openly gay man, celebrate acceptance into a violent street gang? Would I, as an openly gay man, celebrate acceptance into a band of drug dealers or bank robbers?
Editor, I am a senior citizen, longtime auditing UNM student and now food-insecure person. Food insecurity is the current term for hunger in the U.S., and nearly 50 million of us are affected, which is shameful in this wealthiest and one of the highest-food-producing countries in the world.
Editor's Note: This piece was originally published online in the UNM BioBlog on Feb. 7, 2018, written by Emily Chavez.
Editor, My boyhood hero, Robert Kennedy, used to say that "Jobs are better than welfare." As a liberal/progressive Democrat, I agree.
Editor, For the fourth consecutive year, the New Mexico Lottery is pushing legislation to repeal the guarantee that at least 30% of lottery revenues must go to college scholarships. This fight goes back more than a decade.
Editor, I was appalled when I saw that the Albuquerque Journal published an offensive cartoon a few days ago, depicting Dreamers as MS-13 thugs assaulting a conservative couple at gunpoint. It was particularly offensive to me, because I fit into the same demographic as the Dreamers: I was brought to the USA from Mexico by my parents as a little 7-year-old boy in pursuit of a better future. I grew up and graduated from UNM with my bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, became a U.S. citizen prior to graduating from UNM and I have always been a productive member of American society.
Editor, It’s hard to turn on the news anymore and not have a feeling of helplessness about the amount of crime in our state and the safety of our citizens. While it’s nice that Albuquerque is ranked as the nation’s kindest city (Whisper app, 2016), it’s equally disturbing that we are also ranked as one of the highest places for crime in the nation.
Solutions by The State News
