Opinion - The Daily Lobo

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.

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.

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.

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.

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,

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.

A bowl of vegan Japanese stir fry sits on the counter of Naruto on Wednesday, April 19, 2017. The Japanese stir fry is one of the many dishes that can be made vegan at Naruto.

Culture

Green Issue: The vegan’s guide to off-campus food

Diana Cervantes | April 19

1. Naruto Not only does Naruto host authentic Japanese cuisine, but they offer two vegan-friendly options to satisfy any palate: Fried Rice and Vegetable Eggless Noodles. The fried rice can be made vegan by requesting no eggs, or by simply stating: vegan noodles. The noodles are then fried with carrots, green onions and spices, topped with garnish. The vegetable ramen comes with shiitake mushrooms, kombu seaweed broth with black mushrooms, cabbages, bok choy, Chinese cabbages, carrots, tofu, and red bell peppers. Ask for no boiled egg.

Opinion

Letter: Proper nutrition can help with substance addictions

Daily Lobo Readers | April 16

Editor, Nutritionist Roger Williams in the 1950s proved that not enough nutrients causes alcoholism. In his experiments with rats, only 10 percent of those with full nutrition became alcoholic. When nutrients were cut by one-third, about 33 percent became alcoholic. When nutrients were tripled for super nutrition, only one percent became alcoholic. In a study on people who boozed and smoked, an amazing 80 percent stopped without even trying when they received super nutrition.

Opinion

Letter: Trump has violated promise to stay out of Syria

Daily Lobo Readers | April 16

Editor, Is it just me or did Donald Trump swear up and down during the election that he would not militarily escalate the U.S. presence in Syria? In fact, if I remember the debates correctly, he took more than one pot shot at Hillary Clinton for supporting unnecessary wars in the Middle East that, at the end of the day, did not benefit the people of the United States.

Opinion

Column: UNM skiing should be prioritized, not discontinued

Gabriella Rivera | April 16

Two days separated the announcement of Paul Weir as the new head men’s basketball coach and the discontinuation of both the men’s and women’s ski teams. This jarring sequence reflects the wider — and questionable — priorities of UNM Athletics under the leadership of Paul Krebs. Weir’s contract is to be 2.5 times that of his previous salary at NMSU. The base salary for his first year at UNM will be $625,000, escalating to $825,000 by his sixth year. Buyouts for basketball and football coaches have been costly for UNM in recent years, from Locksley to Neal.

Opinion

Letter: Gov. Martinez cannot be allowed to cut higher education budget

Daily Lobo Readers | April 12

Editor, I am stunned that Susana Martinez has chosen to defund the legislature and all colleges and universities in our state as her way to balance our state’s budget. If this particular situation is not resolved, then EVERY institute of higher learning in our state will be closed as of July 1. This is truly the most unconscionable act of political gamesmanship I have seen in a long time.

Opinion

Letter: It's time to question the viability of athletics

Daily Lobo Readers | April 9

Dear President Abdallah and the Board of Regents, I support your efforts to deal with one of the worst economic crises our University has ever suffered. However, I am very concerned about the draconian cuts now occurring to core academic programs at a time when the Athletic Department is hemorrhaging millions of dollars, and consistently running deficits year after year that must be made up by legislative funds, student fees and cuts to other University programs. I believe that no public employee in a state like New Mexico should earn multi-million dollar salaries and contract buyouts.

Opinion

Letter: Bursar's credit card processing fee is harmful to students

Daily Lobo Readers | April 9

Editor, Recently, I found myself in a predicament that many students at UNM face during their academic tenure. A financial hold had been placed on my account, and I needed to make a payment to the Bursar's Office in order to have it removed. This seemed like a relatively simple task; I needed only to log on to their website and pay through my debit card, and all would be well. Little did I know, this was not the case.

Opinion

Column: The rocky relationship between press and government is a necessary one

Nichole Harwood | April 5

“Anybody (especially Fake News media) who thinks that Repeal & Replace of ObamaCare is dead does not know the love and strength in R Party!” tweeted President Donald Trump on April 2, 2017. This tweet is one of dozens sent by Trump that help form a picture of the current presidential administration's relationship with the media — a rocky one at best. But how different is this administration's relationship with the media, and how important is this relationship as the foundation of the principles and purpose that define the role of a reporter?

Opinion

Letter: UNM is exploiting vulnerable faculty to pay unnecessary expenses

Daily Lobo Readers | April 5

Editor, It is difficult for me to believe what just took place over the last week. On Tuesday, March 28th, (acting) President Abdallah held a town hall where he informed us that furloughs are on the table.

Opinion

Letter: The University should prioritize education, not athletics

Daily Lobo Readers | April 5

Editor, As the University loses another sport coach, talk has started about who to hire to replace him. I find this disgraceful. The sports department has been losing money and cannot support themselves, so it should have to make the same sacrifices that the rest of the University is (being) asked to make.

Opinion

Letter: Universities are now about profit, not education

Daily Lobo Readers | April 2

Editor, In all my years at UNM, acting President Abdallah is the only head of the school that I have seen who openly encourages community debate and discussion on controversial issues. This is the kind of openness and thinking that UNM and our state needs if we are to solve some of our social and economic crisis that seem to come rolling in like waves of low pressure weather off the Pacific coast. On the issue of the UNM budget problem, we have to face the unspeakable fact that the modern university is a business corporation with education as a side product and not a main mission.

Opinion

Guest Column: Roadblocks to reentry

Barry Ore | April 2

It is 7:15 a.m., and I am standing 20-people back in a line outside the Midtown Public Health Office, where folks needing a birth certificate start congregating around 6:00 a.m. every weekday to claim one of the limited number of documents given out by the Vital Records department. One of my clients stares down at a phone without service, playing a game and lightheartedly fighting off a second client, who encroaches on the screen with a plastic ballpoint pen and says, “it’s a Stylus.” They both giggle, uncharacteristically joyful for the circumstances.

Opinion

Letter: Trump's abortion policies resemble Nazi Germany

Daily Lobo Readers | March 29

Editor, The Republicans' failed American Health Care Act would have effectively dismantled all insurance coverage for abortion; eliminated requirements of essential services to be covered under Medicaid; and defunded Planned Parenthood, a move opposed by 75 percent of Americans. It was reported in January that the U.S. abortion rate is now at the lowest level it’s been Since Roe v. Wade. That is probably due to both expanding contraception coverage, and also the GOP's War on Women. In Israel, abortions are both legal and free? They are covered under insurance. So, why make it harder here especially since we're buddies with Israel and give them tons of money?

Opinion

Letter: Medical residents are overworked and understaffed

Daily Lobo Readers | March 29

Editor, Your report “UNMH residents face 24-hour shifts” (Daily Lobo, 3/27/17) does not mention a big reason for resident stress: the shortage of residents at any given hour in a hospital. This makes many residents overloaded, and likely to cause medical errors. One way hospitals are trying to increase the number of residents on hand is by extending the shift length. This is going to result in greater fatigue, and therefore more medical errors.