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Sports

Women's basketball: Lobos give Rebels a run for their money

Liam Cary-Eaves | February 23

Sound interior play from UNLV and UNM’s inability to keep the Rebels off the line shattered New Mexico’s eight-game win streak with a 79-73 loss to UNLV on Saturday. Head coach Yvonne Sanchez said the Rebels took advantage of sophomore Kianna Keller’s and junior Khadijah Shumpert’s trouble with steering clear of personal fouls. Despite the fouls from the Lobo forwards, UNM was not content with walking away from the 1,311 fans at Cox Pavilion without a fight. “Their bigs kind of took it to us when we got in foul trouble,” Sanchez said in a statement. “UNLV is playing really good basketball. We had to fight back on the road and it just didn’t work out for us. We had an opportunity.”

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News

'Black and blue' panel examines cultural rifts

Fin Martinez | February 23

In the wake of numerous deadly encounters between police and African Americans across the country, an intense national debate has been raging about the intersection of police brutality and race. Last week UNM students joined the conversation by inviting black police officers to share their experiences on the front lines of this battle. On Feb. 19 the UNM Black Student Union held a conference titled “Do You Know Your Rights?”, an event held in conjunction with Black History Month featuring a panel of African American police officers answering various questions about law enforcement issues and the difficulties of being both an African American and a police officer, or being “black and blue.” “For me, being a black law enforcement officer is one of the most challenging things I’ve ever faced in my life,” said officer Dajun Clark. “Just for the simple fact that when we walk into a room we don’t get the benefit of the doubt, and that’s one of the major things that I’ve noticed.”

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Opinion

Letter: Employment precarious for University staff

February 23

Although the administration is perpetually exhorting the UNM community to buy more corn dogs at the ball game, or to buy them a new gym that will photograph better in brochures, I would like to direct the reader’s attention toward another matter. UNM (or is it WisePies? Or, as former President David Schmidly maintained, Wal-Mart?) is most properly understood as a tax-exempt corporation operating a sports franchise and an academic theme park. Accordingly, the actual management of UNM employees is by the Wal-Mart corporate model: every employee is seen as a black mark against departmental management. At the Center for High Technology Materials, staff was laid off with just four weeks’ notice after decades of documented excellent service.

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Sports

Baseball: 'Road' game to be held in Albuquerque

Thomas Romero-Salas | February 20

Lobo Field will be the site for the New Mexico baseball team’s first road series of the season. No, that’s not a typo. Because of inclement weather in Colorado Springs, Air Force was unable to host UNM and will instead come to Albuquerque for a three-game Mountain West series that begins today. However, the Falcons will still be designated as the home team this weekend.

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Opinion

Column: as 1 percent is coddled, time for new tea party

Jason Darensburg | February 20

“No taxation without representation!” That was the motto of the original Tea Partiers in pre-Revolutionary War Boston. The phrase encapsulated one of the primary grievances the American colonists had with King George’s government: Parliament kept imposing new taxes and tariffs without their knowledge or consent, and the revenue was being used for purposes at odds with the immediate needs of the settlers in the 13 colonies. The colonists argued that they had no representatives in Parliament and therefore their concerns weren’t being addressed. The British claimed they were being “virtually” represented. Tensions rose. In 1773, colonists violently rejected a proposed tax on tea imports at the so-called Boston Tea Party. What exactly transpired that night is under dispute, but the end result was that Britain retaliated in an escalating chain of events that ultimately led to the American Revolution.

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Sports

Men's basketball: Team stays positive despite losing streak

Kyle Tomasi | February 20

The losses keep piling up for the New Mexico men’s basketball team, and head coach Craig Neal continues to point to the team’s youth as the cause. Neal said that he is trying to stay as positive as he can with his young and inexperienced team, using the losses as motivation to get better. “I’ve been sending the message out to the guys to be real positive,” Neal said. “We need to get back to doing the little things, trying to stay within the culture that we’ve built. I know we’ve been struggling and just trying to do the little things to get back on the winning way.”

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News

ASUNM puts Columbus Day decision on hold

David Lynch | February 20

Several impassioned students voiced their anger during Wednesday’s Associated Students of UNM meeting over the tabling of a resolution that would have encouraged the University to no longer recognize Columbus Day, and instead celebrate Native American resistance to colonization by the explorer. Emotions flared during the portion of the meeting devoted to comments from the packed gallery. Several students and some community members expressed their disappointment at the student governing body, hurling remarks such as “racist,” “evil” and “ignorant” at the senators and urging them to “change the damn name” of the federal holiday. Although members of the KIVA Club, which promotes Native American issues and identity, and other organizations criticized the student governing body for being ignorant, the backlash may have fueled by misunderstanding.

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Sports

Women's basketball: UNM hoping for 9th straight victory

Liam Cary-Eaves | February 20

New Mexico will gear up for a showdown as the team heads into Las Vegas to take on the UNLV Rebels Saturday. The last time the two squads faced off, the Lobos squeaked by the Rebels 63-60. That game, on Jan. 21, UNM forced the win with its deep bench as three starters and a key bench player had early exits. The game required junior forward Alexa Chavez and junior guard Bryce Owens to be assisted off the court with injuries. Owens would later return in the contest to accumulate the team-high 15 points, but Chavez’s late injury sidelined her for the rest of the game.

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News

Campus group celebrates gun rights

Marielle Dent | February 20

UNM’s Young Americans for Freedom rallied on Thursday to celebrate the recent failure of state legislation that would limit citizens’ access to firearms. The group also educated students on gun rights laws with the hope of gaining support for its organization. The Firearm Transfer Act, or House Bill 44, would have criminalized non-dealer firearm transfers at gun shows, according to the New Mexico Legislature website. The so-called “gun show loophole” currently allows any person to buy a gun from a private seller without undergoing a background check or being subject to other regulations.

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News

Lawsuit: UNM botched rape investigation

Thomas Romero-Salas | February 20

A former UNM student who alleged that two New Mexico football players and a third man raped her last April filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the University, alleging violations of Title IX regulations. The lawsuit states it is “arising out of alleged willful indifference of UNM in the manner in which it responded, or failed to respond, to her report of a gang rape on and near campus committed by UNM football players.” Crusoe Gongbay and SaQwan Edwards, who were UNM football players at the time, as well as CNM student Ryan Ruff were arrested on charges of rape, which was alleged to have occurred in Ruff’s BMW. The charges against the three were dropped on Aug. 12.

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News

Title IX lawsuit filed against UNM, a PDF document

February 19

Shown below is PDF document of TItle IX violation lawsuit filed by a former UNM student who said she was sexually assaulted by UNM football players Crusoe Gongbay and SaQwan Edwards, along with a third man, Ryan Ruff.

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Sports

Women's basketball: Lobos continue winning streak at SDSU

Staff Report | February 19

A second half surge against San Diego State preserved New Mexico’s eight-game winning streak during Wednesday night’s 63-47 victory. UNM came out sluggish offensively against the Aztecs, shooting just 9-27 from the field at the Viejas Arena. However, head coach Yvonne Sanchez’s second half adjustments sparked rhythm on the offensive side of the ball. Senior guard Antiesha Brown proved to be a big part of the Lobos’ first half problems. UNM’s leading scorer was unable to put anything together, going 0-2 from the field in the first 20 minutes of play.

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News

UNM searches for better LGBTQI resources

Moriah Carty | February 19

New research on campus may widen UNM’s resources for a minority group – the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and intersex community. Kristopher Goodrich, program coordinator and assistant professor of Counselor Education in the College of Education’s Department of Individual, Family and Community Education, is researching how to add diversity within counseling sessions at UNM. The program focuses on understanding the best ways to counsel LGBTQI individuals. People within the LGBTQI group are an important part of the community on campus, he said.

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News

Academic dishonesty not clearly defined

Moriah Carty | February 19

A college degree can mean the difference between earning a livable wage and living paycheck-to-paycheck — but that degree hangs on academic honesty. Syllabi handed out at the start of each semester often include some reference to plagiarism and the punishment that stems from such writing violations, but the boundaries of what is and is not academic dishonesty are still unclear. Each campus department handles possible plagiarism differently, said Robert Burford, student conduct officer in the Dean of Students Office. Some departments have a specified policy teachers should use. Others let faculty decide for themselves. No matter who makes the decision though, the policy should match up with UNM’s Academic Policy, he said.

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Culture

Five & Why: What Lobos love with Candice Smart.

Skylar Griego | February 19

These days it seems as if all we hear about are the awful things going on around us. For those who want to get away from all of it, fantasy books are a great escape. Candice Smart, freshman in the University College, said her favorite books are fictional tales, many of which have had a very real impact on her life.

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Opinion

Letter: Reactions to recent killings could be positive development

February 19

The recent execution-style killing of three Muslim American students in North Carolina by a man who had posted anti-Islamic and anti-religious messages on social media could hopefully be the catalyst for some positive change in this country. While some stupid, racist people with low self-esteem have actually praised suspected killer Craig Stephen Hicks on social media for what he did, the overall reaction of many ordinary non-Muslim Americans has been horror and rejection of this cowardly act of terrorism. Average non-Muslim Americans need to understand that the mainstream media has corporate sponsorship which makes money from invading and taking the natural resources of Muslim countries.

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Opinion

Column: Students should utilize the SHAC

Dr. Peggy Spencer | February 19

You know that feeling you get when you’re up on stage accepting your Oscar and you forget to thank your director? Neither do I. How about the feeling when you have a party and you forget to invite your best friend? You make all the arrangements and are careful to invite your other friends, but somehow you just assume that your best friend knows because, well, they’re your best friend. I’ve been there; in fact quite recently and right here in this column. My last article was about sexual assault and resources to tap into if it happens to you. Yet I somehow managed to not mention the resource most near and dear to me and most convenient and immediate to you on campus: our very own SHAC. I guess I figured SHAC was a given. My grown children know all about this. They are always the last ones to hear plans for a family reunion. I just assume they know by osmosis or something. Chalk it up to my middle-aged brain.

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Culture

Review: Nic Cage makes another once-a-decade masterpiece

Graham Gentz | February 19

It’s a contentious stance, but I like Nic Cage. He’s an easy man to disregard. Sure, the bottom 85 percent of his filmography is earth-shatteringly bad. But every 10 years or so, he makes a really good movie. And if you blink, you’d miss films like “Adaptation,” “Raising Arizona,” “Matchstick Men,” “Bringing Out the Dead,” “Lord of War” or “The Weather Man.” Go watch them and see what I mean. You won’t be disappointed.

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News

Online business offers coffee tree adoption

Sayyed Shah | February 19

For many people, the idea of getting coffee from their own coffee tree is a wild fantasy. But for customers at one student’s new online business, it’s a reality. At Apasionado Coffee, customers adopt a tree on the coffee farm and get specialty coffee straight from the adopted tree to their cups, said Emily Lilo, an associate scientist at the UNM Prevention Research Center and co-founder of Apasionado Coffee. The venture is one-of-a-kind and, Lilo said, completely sustainable – for every tree people adopt, farmers plant a second one to support conservation and reforestation of the cloud forests of Bolivia. “We are not a coffee shop. We skip the coffee shop and bring the coffee straight from our farm to your door,” she said. “Only members can get this coffee. It is exclusive access. Once you have adopted a tree you can order as much coffee as you want when you want it, roasted to your taste and brewing preferences.”

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Culture

UNM's sexual assault reporting pathways a confusing process

Lauren Marvin | February 19

Two weeks ago my editor sent me on a mission: Investigate how the sexual assault reporting system works at UNM. After interviews and constant follow-up phone calls, I can say for certain that the folks at Pilgrim and Associates Law Offices had it right when in their report they said UNM’s sexual assault reporting system was confusing. The scope, depth and possibilities when reporting a sexual assault are endless, so for the sake of this investigation, I focused only on sexual assault as a policy violation and stayed away from questions about criminal cases for now.