Elliott Wood - The Daily Lobo

News

‘250 years of survival’: UNM alum debuts new mural at Albuquerque Museum

Elliott Wood | August 24

The first thing that hits you about Eric Garcia’s new mural in the Albuquerque Museum, “Since 1776…”, is the sheer size of it. “I wanted to first play with the architecture,” Garcia said on Thursday during the ceremony devoted to him, his team and the mural itself. “I wanted to do something that no one had done before. I wanted to go bigger.” Garcia, a Daily Lobo and University of New Mexico alum, opened the exhibition this month as part of the Frederick Hammersley Visiting Artist Program to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the United States of America’s founding.

News

Keller introduces ‘abundance agenda’ during ninth ‘State of the City’ address

Elliott Wood | August 17

Mayor of Albuquerque Tim Keller sought to foster a new “abundance agenda” during his ninth State of the City address on Saturday, highlighted by multiple policy announcements he said were meant to grow the city government’s role in “reducing the pain of everyday life” for Albuquerque residents. Among the new policies was a new “say yes first” approach to certain types of permitting requests, offering up unused city properties and lengthening the operating hours of others. Keller also announced a “backyard exchange” stocked by homegrown goods and produce volunteered by city residents and an expansion of mental health and drug treatment programs.

Culture

REVIEW: Fourth Holland Spider-Man really feels like a ‘Brand New Day’

Elliott Wood | August 5

Editor's note: This review contains spoilers If you listened to a comic book fan gush about the first trailer for “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” after it was released in March, you might think they were crazy.

Sports

Habtom Samuel to go pro

Elliott Wood | July 9

University of New Mexico track & field and cross country star Habtom Samuel announced Tuesday that he would be leaving the University after completing his junior year to begin his professional career via a statement on social media. Samuel, an Eritrean native who competed as a Lobo for his entire collegiate career, would have had a fourth year of eligibility remaining, and in remarks to the media last month said he would “definitely” return next season for UNM, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

Sports

Lobo athletes score top honors in Mountain West conference awards

Elliott Wood | July 1

Athletes from the University of New Mexico took top honors in the Mountain West yesterday, with the announcement of multiple awards including Male Athlete and Female Athlete of the Year for Habtom Samuel and Pamela Kosgei, respectively, and Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Akili Carris. Samuel and Kosgei’s wins mark the first time in Mountain West history that both Athletes of the Year came from the same school.

Culture

REVIEW: ‘Star Wars’ creature feature too afraid to slow down

Elliott Wood | June 29

Last month, the first “Star Wars” film in almost seven years, subtitled “The Mandalorian and Grogu”, was released in theaters. It follows the titular Mandalorian peacekeeper Din Djarin and his very small companion on another adventure after three seasons of the show that introduced audiences to the characters in 2019. The first big question that arises after you adapt a show into a movie tends to be, “Is it worth it?” The big budget, the advertisements and global press tour? The answer isn’t quite as obvious as the question, but after reflecting on all of its parts, this film replies “no.”

News

Governor, DEA demand investigations amid claims federal agency allowed fentanyl trafficking

Elliott Wood | June 26

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has asked Attorney General Raúl Torrez to investigate allegations by a former Drug Enforcement Agency agent that the DEA allowed tens of thousands of fentanyl pills to be trafficked into New Mexico in the name of tracing the drugs’ path to make more major arrests from 2023 to 2025, according to a statement the govorner released on Wednesday, June 24. “If the justification for letting these pills flood our communities was that it would somehow make New Mexico safer down the road through bigger eventual busts, the results say otherwise,” the governor’s statement reads.

News

President Stokes looks back on eight years at UNM

Elliott Wood | May 11

For many at the University of New Mexico — and throughout the state — President Garnett Stokes’ name looms large. Stokes joined UNM as its 23rd president in 2018, the first woman to hold the position after previous stints at the University of Missouri, Florida State University and the University of Georgia. In September 2025, Stokes informed the Board of Regents that she would be retiring at the end of the 2025-26 academic year. Stokes was inspired to take her first real trip to the state after reading a novel by another big name in New Mexico, author Tony Hillerman, a UNM professor who taught journalism and served as an assistant to two University presidents.

News

Shin Thant Hlaing centers the people at the heart of law, journalism

Elliott Wood | May 11

Next year, Daily Lobo beat reporter Shin Thant Hlaing will be headed to one of the best law programs in the country after graduating from the University of New Mexico with a degree in political science. If you’d asked her a year ago about what her plans were after UNM, law school wouldn’t even have been in the conversation. “I wanted to either become a researcher or a policy advisor,” Hlaing said. “My mind was going in a lot of different places, but what drew me to law was when the earthquake happened in Myanmar.”

News

Page beats out incumbent Broadhurst for GPSA President

Elliott Wood | April 6

Marisa Page will be the new president of the University of New Mexico’s Graduate and Professional Student Association, defeating incumbent Travis Broadhurst in the election held from March 23-27, according to unofficial results posted after the ballots closed. Page, a GPSA council member and Native American Studies doctorate student, defeated Broadhurst 135 votes to 120, amounting to a 5% margin of victory.