Editor, As we build toward the climax of the 2014 college football season, you can already hear the perennial debate beginning again — should college athletes be paid for their work in addition to the scholarships they receive?
According to the Macpherson report, institutional racism is “the collective failure of an organization to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their color, culture or ethnic origin, which can be seen or detected in processes; attitudes and behavior which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping that disadvantages minority ethnic people.” Whether one believes that institutional racism is real or not, there has long been a perception in so-called minority communities throughout the United States that the various police departments are ready to kill them on the flimsiest pretext. As of this writing, Ferguson, Missouri prepares for a possible race riot if police officer Darren Wilson is not indicted in the killing of black youth Michael Brown.
The lobo is the mascot of UNM, but New Mexico’s wild lobos have held a spot on the list of endangered species for several decades. Recently, statues of this wild animal are abundant throughout campus, but their presence in the wild remains precarious. The Endangered Species Act is designed “to provide a means whereby the ecosystems upon which endangered species and threatened species depend may be conserved, (and) to provide a program for the conservation of such endangered species.”
Times have changed since solar and wind power first became available. Across the country, the cost of coal is going up, and the price of clean energy – like wind and solar – is coming down. Employment trends are changing, too. Today, more workers are employed in the clean energy industry than in coal mining nationwide. Since 2012, New Mexico’s solar industry has added nearly 1,000 new jobs. Almost 2,000 New Mexicans now work in our state’s growing solar economy. As owner of a local solar company, I’ve seen the remarkable transition to clean energy take root in our region. Solar electricity costs less than grid energy, and home and business owners are taking advantage of the opportunity to fix their energy costs for the long run. We’ve added 30 employees in the past year to keep up with demand. It is a really exciting time.
Whatever happened to the Space Age? I never thought I’d grow old in an era where everything is actually worse than it was in the good old days. Civilization has seemingly gone several steps backwards spiritually, socially and technologically since the 1970s. I grew up expecting to take my summer vacations on Mars, and here it is 2014 and we’re living in a country that currently lacks even a high-speed rail system. The aging space shuttle fleet was decommissioned a few years ago, following numerous catastrophic failures, yet America is supposed to be the wealthiest, most technologically advanced nation on earth. What went wrong?
Editor, From an early age I learned life is not certain. Tomorrow is not guaranteed to any of us.
Editor, The reason for writing is to let you know about the lousy experiences I have had from departments at the college where you sign up for programs and then through advisements where we are asked to sign papers which we do not want to sign. The advisement office told me I had to finish classes before fall which I think they and I knew just couldn’t be accomplished in that given amount of time.
Editor, It is no secret that the “special relationship” between the United States and Israel has been strained as of late.
Editor, In my early 20s I didn’t care about the subject of abortion. I figured it was a woman’s right. The first president I voted for was President Bill Clinton, who was a major supporter of abortion. As I matured in my own education, I began to oppose legalized abortion more and more.
The Land Commissioner is one of the most important public offices, but most voters are only faintly aware of how the management of state lands impacts wildlife and ecosystem function. The State Land Office manages 13 million subsurface acres and 9 million surface acres of public trust land for the benefit of New Mexico’s public schools and hospitals. In the 2012-13 fiscal years alone, UNM received $8.9 million from the State Land Office.
Editor, If you haven’t already heard, this week marks the second annual “Free the Prisoners” week here at UNM. A collaborative effort between a variety of student and community organizations, Free the Prisoners week draws attention to the plague of issues related to the Prison Industrial Complex as it criminalizes our communities locally and internationally.
On Friday the Daily Lobo reprinted an article by Michael Reagan originally called “Riding the Wave.” This article overlooks the actual landscape from which Republicans were able to benefit simply because they were not the party of the president. There is a term among political scientists called the “six-year itch,” which in essence predicts that in the second term of a presidency, the president’s party will likely suffer defeats during midterm elections. Mr. Reagan should be quite aware of this, given that his father suffered the very same problem in his second term, losing eight seats in the Senate and five seats in the House, as well as the fact that previous Democratic majorities with which Obama entered office were based upon gains made during midterms in George W. Bush’s second term.
Editor, Now that the voters have spoken, I hope New Mexico small government Republicans rethink their lockstep support for the 80-year failed big government federal prohibition on the cannabis plant.
Editor, Do I ever know myself or the other person or the future well enough to know for sure we both will do well with only each other romantically until death?
Editor, As we approach the holiday season, I would like to remind everyone whether they are spending the holidays with friends or family that this joyous time is not joyous for everyone, for some it is a nightmare.
Would you like to know who and what to vote for? Well, that I can’t tell you. How you vote is up to you. I am not about to take a political stance in a health column. The reason I am writing about it at all is that I believe voting is good for your health, and I am not the only one.
We’ve all heard about endangered species that exist globally. Majestic creatures like the humpback whale, Bengal tiger, and Mexican wolf are all species that represent pure wildness for many, and galvanize public support and money for their survival.
My wife and I recently celebrated our 31st anniversary. With each passing year we’re more convinced we made the right decision by not having kids. We decided long ago that we didn’t want to bring children into this world because we could see a looming disaster on the horizon. The future looked pretty bleak at the time, and things have only gotten worse since we tied the knot back in 1983: overpopulation, pollution, economic meltdown, disease, endless war, religious strife — how can anyone turn a blind eye to it?
Editor,On Nov. 4, we have the opportunity to elect our next state auditor. It may not be the sexiest office or the most publicized.
You would think that feudalism is a thing of the past, when land-owning lords rented out to peasants who did all the work and the landlords just sat back rubbing their fat bellies while counting out their money. You would be wrong.Today there is a resurgence of feudalism in all but name, and it is right here in the U.S. of A., and it is people who to this day call themselves “landlords.” The only difference is they rent out apartments and houses and parking lots, and where they are making their killing is around college campuses.For one thing, they serve a transient population of students who would rather not take the landlord to court because they are going to leave sometime soon, and they are young and are looking forward, however illusorily, to a materially successful future after graduation.
Solutions by The State News
