It wasn’t that long ago when the decision between going to the University Hospital (UNMH) and some of the other options (Lovelace or Presbyterian) for a UNM employee was a no-brainer: If you had to get major surgery or had a major illness, you went to UNMH, you paid out $150 and that was the end of it.
I got to attend the Lobo/Aggies game Wednesday night, and although the game was great, my experience ... not so much. Recently the naming rights to the Pit were sold to WisePies, a local (yes, they’re local) pizza joint, and now their name is sprawled all over the Pit floor. Not only is their name on the floor, but Bank of Albuquerque’s and Verizon’s are, too. The Pit floor is starting to look more like a billboard than a basketball court.
WisePies has purchased naming rights to The Pit. So now, it’s the “Pizza Pit.” Great. Now the rawest building in the state alliterates with bummy sandwiches. You know what else could have paid for the renovation? Abolishing the football team. I’m not sure how this would have affected women’s sports teams with regard to Title IX, but on the flip side, why not just fund them anyway?
Before anyone calls me “anti-teacher,” let me say that I have a degree in education, my daughter is at UNM majoring in education, and I believe the starting pay of teachers in New Mexico should be $5,000 to $10,000 higher. With that said, I have to give credit to the APS school board for delaying a final decision on paying teachers for days they are absent while serving as state legislators. Granted, legislators are not paid a salary.
If the United States wants fewer immigrants, it needs to work for justice for the millions of poor and working people in other nations. Instead, the U.S. government routinely and deliberately sides with the filthy rich to rob and kill the poor. Many immigrants flee here from war, persecution and severe poverty caused largely by the U.S. Many immigrants would prefer to stay in their native lands if living conditions there greatly improved.
I see hundreds of people on my way to class every week, and I try to smile, tip my hat or at least nod to anyone who walks by. Only rarely do I get any sort of response. More often than not, folks simply ignore me. Most people walk right on by, too busy sulking to acknowledge another human being crossing their path. I’m not going to stop doing it, though. As disappointed as I am with humanity, I still enjoy human interaction — and besides, I’m just trying to be polite. I mean, is it really that difficult to connect with another human being — even for a split-second? I can accept that kids are under a lot more stress than when I was growing up, and people are extremely busy nowadays. Others are not so kind, however.
Got a problem with the WisePies Arena name for UNM’s basketball venue? Get used to it. If this deal runs through the length of the agreement, the fedora-clad logo will be on the building for the next 10 years.
Editor, Trayvon Martin was shot to death in Sanford, Florida, on a Sunday night, Feb. 26, 2012.
Editor, As a freshman attending the University of New Mexico, I am required to have a meal plan and eat at the main dining hall, La Posada.
Editor, With the way technology is nowadays, it seems like more and more people are going paperless.
Editor, On Nov. 25 more than 300 citizens of Albuquerque collectively decided to take to the streets to disrupt business-as-usual in the wake of the decision denying young Michael Brown justice. Protesters marched peacefully between San Mateo and Yale Boulevard. Brown was assassinated by the killer cop Darren Wilson and left in the street for four hours in a way that horribly traumatized friends, families and onlookers. The police in all cities act as a cartel or gang in that they are always sending a message about their capability to inflict violence and death.
Dear Dr Peg, Some friends introduced me to hookah smoking a few months ago, and we've been getting together to smoke a couple of times a week. It;s fun to hang out, and the smoke smells nice. I know cigarette smoking is dangerous, so I've never done it, but hookah smoking is safe, right? Doesn't the water filter out all the bad stuff from the smoke? And isn't hookah tobacco healthier than the tobacco in cigarettes? -Hooked on hookah
Editor, Sexual violence is a very serious issue, and I can say with confidence that many would agree that all survivors deserve healing, hope and love.
Julia Butterfly Hill chronicles the two years she spent living 180 feet up in the branches of an ancient tree, on a tiny platform exposed to the wind, snow, sun and rain in her book “The Legacy of Luna.” She went 738 days without ever touching the ground. One night in particular, during a fierce winter storm, as her 6 square-foot plywood home rocked and jumped around crazily, she clung to the great redwood’s center and prayed she might survive the night. Foot-thick branches snapped off all around her head. Are you wondering why on earth she was even up there?
Editor, The GOP-led House Intelligence Committee recently released one of many reports absolving the Obama administration of any mishandling of the now infamous Benghazi affair.
Editor, I was deeply disturbed on Friday when I was walking in front of the SUB to find the campus organization Students for Life using cases of rape and sexual assault to push their anti-choice agenda.I was even more disturbed to find out that some of these students are part of the Sexual Violence Task Force on the UNM campus.
Editor, On Friday the Students for Life were outside providing information, at a quick glance, on rape. With further exploration it became clear that their table of information and handouts were littered with pregnancy resources, birth control information, and anti-abortion literature and available services.
Editor, Some people might have seen Student for Life’s display addressing the issue of sexual violence on campus, but what many might not have realized in passing was that this display was actually a front to push a particular viewpoint that in fact stigmatizes some survivors of sexual assault — those that have abortions after being raped.
Low voter turnout is not simply a national problem, a statewide problem or a municipal problem this election cycle; UNM felt it, too. Only 682 undergraduate students voted in the recent Associated Students of UNM Senate elections.
Editor, The holiday season is approaching and with it a wonderful time to support our local economy.
Solutions by The State News
