Opinion

Opinion

Letter: Our paranoid society is too hard on kids — and on parents

Daily Lobo Readers | July 9

Editor, In the latest sign that America has gone stark-raving nuts at the expense of its parents and children, the Rochester, New York Democrat & Chronicle reports that a "mother faces child endangerment charges for letting her 10-year-old hang out in a Lego Store while she shopped elsewhere" in the same mall. Not a week goes by without a report of parents getting arrested or having their children seized by social workers for the "crime" of letting them walk to or from school or a local playground. Despite the fact that violent crime — including crimes against children — has been on a downward trend since the early 1990s, we're constantly propagandized about the danger of letting kids out of our sight.

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Culture

Travel Blog: Cuentos de Costa Rica

Elizabeth Sanchez | July 5

Two cooking lessons, one soccer game and a hundred hugs later, I’ve returned back to the States with improved Spanish jargon and a new perspective on travel. I spent three weeks in Costa Rica, entirely out of my element, but also incredibly in it. I joined a UNM professor, a few professional Costa Rican (Tico) athletes and around 20 collegiate student-athletes from across the U.S. for a summer internship like no other. I have the superpower to trip on thin air, frequently burn dinner and experience chronic nose bleeds—if you know me, you know that I’m not a student-athlete.

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Opinion

Letter: The Castile Doctrine—Cops without consequences

Daily Lobo Readers | June 25

Editor, On June 16, a jury acquitted St. Anthony, Minnesota police officer Jeronimo Yanez of all charges in the 2016 killing of motorist Philando Castile. That acquittal was, in a sense, also a death sentence — not for Yanez, but for future motorists unfortunate enough to encounter cops like him. No, this is not a "bad cop" story. It's a sad tale, and I actually feel sorry for Yanez. But the facts are what they are. Yanez killed Castile. The killing was caught on video, and neither Yanez nor his attorneys denied it.

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Opinion

Letter: ABQ residents can help preserve Bosque

Daily Lobo Readers | June 25

Editor, The past few years, city leaders and civic activists within the Albuquerque Metropolitan Area have made an increased effort to help preserve the Rio Grande Bosque. The "Bosque" as it is colloquially referred, is recognized as an "exotic" ecosystem; it constitutes a stretch of wetland unexpectedly situated in the middle of the vast, dry plains of the Albuquerque Basin's desert region. Recent measures being taken in aid of this area include: improvement of walking trails in Rio Rancho and Albuquerque, as well as the possible establishment of new trails in open space areas to encourage walking and hiking.

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Opinion

Letter: Devastating Uniform Bar Exam on UNM Law School

Daily Lobo Readers | June 18

Editor, Students Contemplating UNM Law School Should Be Leery of the UBE. In February 2015, the New Mexico Board of Bar Examiners (BBE), without apparent authorization at the time, instituted the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE), nationalized, standardized bar exam questions pushed by a Wisconsin corporation, the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE). Reflecting a national trend, post-UBE test results have been devastating on test-takers in New Mexico. Pass rates plummeting 30 percent for UNM law school graduates post-UBE prompted the UNM Law School Deans to state, "The low passage rate is related to the adoption of the UBE..."

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Opinion

Opinion: Alzheimer's Disease — A public health crisis

Daily Lobo Readers | June 18

Editor, As a New Mexican, I am concerned by the rapidly growing public health crisis of Alzheimer’s disease. There are 5.5 million Americans living with Alzheimer's — by 2050, it could reach 16 million. They are cared for by 15 million unpaid family caregivers. In New Mexico 38,000 citizens live with Alzheimer's (expected to reach 53,000 by 2025) and they are cared for by 106,000 unpaid caregivers. I am a volunteer advocate for the Alzheimer’s Association, N.M. Chapter, because I believe that this disease affects us all.

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Opinion

Letter: VA Healthcare improving for N.M. Veterans

Daily Lobo Readers | June 4

Editor, Dr. David Shulkin, Secretary for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, recently talked at a news conference about the challenges facing the VA. He spoke about such important issues as access to care, accountability and the quality of care. Now I would like to tell you about what is happening within the New Mexico Veterans Affairs Health Care System (NMVAHCS) and what we are doing to improve health care services for our Veterans. Since I arrived in Albuquerque in December 2014, I have made it a point to travel to every area where we serve Veterans with a community-based outpatient clinic and listen to their concerns, ideas and often praises about their VA care. Near the top of our Veterans' issue list at every town hall has been patient appointment wait times. We take those concerns to heart and have made significant... 

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Opinion

Letter: Stand with Ross Ulbricht

Daily Lobo Readers | June 4

Editor, On May 31, a panel of three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the second Circuit upheld the conviction and sentence of American political prisoner Ross Ulbricht. It's been two years since I last devoted a column to Ulbricht's plight, so a refresher seems in order: After a show trial so obviously fixed in advance that Stalin's pet prosecutor, Andrey Vyshinsky, would have blushed with embarrassment to participate in it, Judge Katherine Forrest sentenced Ulbricht to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the crime of running a website. Yes, really.

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Culture

Freshmen Issue: Things to bring when moving into college

Celia Raney and Celia_Raney | May 14

Most students would agree that going away to college is one of the most exciting things to happen to them so far. Okay, maybe it isn’t going to college that is exciting, rather getting out from under your parents noses. As August approaches and you are beginning to pack up your room of childhood memories, remember this — you do not need to bring every little thing that holds a memory; there is not enough space in your dorm room, tiny apartment or, if you’re lucky, low-rent house. Also consider the fact that you will most likely be living with at least one roommate, and if you both empty out your rooms at home, there won’t be any space to move, eat, sleep or study. Here is a go-to packing guide that will prevent you from hauling things back to Mom’s house every weekend and help keep the sense of newfound freedom to do-what-you-want-with your-own-space from taking over.

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Opinion

Column: Why it's ok to have a meltdown in college

Celia Raney and Celia_Raney | May 14

If you thought high school had it’s rough patches, well I’m sorry folks, but you are in for a major realization. College is hard. All cards out on the table, college can kick your butt. You’re probably living on your own now, you have to feed yourself three meals a day, wake up on your own, manage your time by yourself and worst of all, Mom isn’t there to make mac and cheese when you mess up. Chances are, you will have several meltdowns, possibly within your first semester. What they aren’t going to teach you in school, kiddos, is that it’s okay to cry, to freak out (just keep it to a minimum).

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Opinion

Column: Five Things I wish I knew as a Freshman

Denicia Aragon | May 14

From a new living space to different instructors to interacting with peers, adapting to your first year of college can be difficult, but here are a few tips on how to academically succeed, take care of yourself and make some great memories along the way. 1.

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Opinion

Letter: Take time for Mom

Daily Lobo Readers | May 14

Editor, I wish I had my mother this Mother's Day, actually every day. How sweet it would be to talk to her on the telephone and talk about the weather, family and friends and hear about what she was doing. How better yet it would be if life was such that I could take her to G.C. Murphy's snack bar and buy her a hotdog. Dad and mom gave me $5 and bought me a bicycle if I agreed to have my tonsils removed when I was about seven years old. When dad gave me the $5, I wanted to pay for our lunch, which consisted of hotdogs and Cokes at the old soda fountain bar in the now defunct G.C. Murphy's store in downtown Paintsville, Kentucky. It was the most money I had owned in my life, and it felt good to treat mom and dad.

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Opinion

Letter: Reconsider decision to cut the UNM ski team

Daily Lobo Readers | May 7

Editor, Athletic programs are a source of pride for any strong university, and for the University of New Mexico, college sports provide a valuable activity and recruiting tool, an engagement point for students and a key cultural identity for the University. As the president of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association and a collegiate All American skier myself, I've felt a very heavy heart recently in following the abrupt dismissal of the UNM Lobos Ski Team, one of the really important programs in NCAA skiing. My sadness is not just for the student athletes who have had their program disrupted, but also for the University which stands to lose a vital cultural program and one that typifies all that should be positive about collegiate athletic programs.

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Opinion

Letter: Trump is right, "shutdowns" are good for America

Daily Lobo Readers | May 7

If he's remembered for nothing else, Donald Trump will go down in history as the first president to think out his policies in public, 140 characters at a time. That may not be a bad thing. In fact, I think we should strongly consider a constitutional amendment limiting Congress to 140 characters per law. Hold that thought... "Our country needs a good 'shutdown' in September to fix mess!" the Donald suggested in a tweet on May 2, in a fit of pique over the U.S. Senate's 60-vote cloture requirement. That requirement forced Republicans to negotiate with Democrats over a stopgap spending bill, in turn requiring Trump to give up on some of his policy goals for the short term to avoid the dreaded "shutdown."

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Opinion

Letter: Inadequate Campus Security

Daily Lobo Readers | May 3

Editor, One of my favorite things about living on campus is paying a parking permit fee that is approaching extortion just so I can have my car within a half mile of the dorm. What's even better is seeing that my window got smashed out and my glove box ripped open, despite being parked not even eighty feet from the security shack that is occupied all night. While I can appreciate the studious nature of the student employees who man the shack every night, I'm not too pleased that their negligence is coming out of my pocket. UNM needs to patrol campus far better than they're doing. Additionally, students who work for Residence Life security need to be earning their pay. If Residence Life security can't handle the task, then UNM must make the University PD pick up the slack.

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Opinion

Letter: ​For the love of knowledge defend education

Daily Lobo Readers | April 30

Editor, In his Symposium Plato states, “it is indicative of the tyrannical nature of imperial rule that it condemns love as well as philosophy and sport." With his sudden and dictatorial decision to cut UNM’s most successful sports program Athletic Director Paul Krebs proves Plato right. The disrespect hurled against generations of dedicated young men and women displays an utter disregard and total lack of understanding for the exemplary mission of athleticism. This mission has been perfected over the years by UNM’s outstanding Ski Team.

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Opinion

Letter: Transwoman on Campus Attacked — Anti-Trans Violence on UNM Campus Must Stop

Daily Lobo Readers | April 26

Editor, On Wednesday, April 19, something happened on campus that should sound the alarm: A transwoman who is a student at UNM was violently assaulted on campus by three fringe activists in a shocking display of bigoted thuggery. Many witnesses have confirmed this heinous act. There is no excuse for this bigoted act of thuggery against a transgendered student and activist, no matter what their political views might be. That evening, while students rallied and survivors bravely held a vigil against sexual assault and rape culture on campus, three well-known lone activists — with no following — shouted at her for her political affiliation with the Students for Socialism—UNM club (SFS), a chartered student organization that holds regular meetings on campus.

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Opinion

Column: What being a college student really means

Nichole Harwood | April 24

“The public sees two characteristics as essential to middle-class status: a secure job and the ability to save money. Other characteristics — including owning a home and having a college degree — are not widely seen as necessary to be considered middle class,” said a Pew Research Center survey conducted Dec. 8 through 13, 2015. Information like this plays a large part in the mentality of a college student who’s preparing to go out into the world as an independent adult. It can be scary. The world of teenagehood is a pale reflection when compared to adulthood. Information found in the Center’s survey and elsewhere can seem completely different from the information incoming college students were given as teenagers.

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Opinion

Letter: America needs to stop arming terrorist groups

Daily Lobo Readers | April 23

Editor, A diplomatic fallout is currently taking place between the nations of Turkey and Iraq, but it is only a small symptom of a much larger problem. The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has long been accused by regional leaders and political analysts of being one of ISIS' biggest supporters; his recent comments seem to cement these accusations. Speaking about the volunteer militias in Iraq, 

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Opinion

Letter: Healthcare cuts will be detrimental to the economy

Daily Lobo Readers | April 23

Editor, Worse for your health than any chronic health disease you could name. The Washington bureaucrats have devised a plan which will make you sick! Yes, that’s right: they are pushing their “American Healthcare Plan” again. Only this time, it really will make you sick. The plan will slash Medicaid, leaving 180,000 New Mexicans without health insurance. Quite possibly, at least one of your family members, friends or acquaintances will lose health coverage under this bill.